Game of Chance (Tarot/Survival RP) IC

[jumjummju]

The man called Wolf was obviously not someone that looked completely... stable. Or clean, for that matter. The entire time that Wolf spoke, Owl hadn't really broken eye contact, as she was studying him. She looked him up and down, trying to get a feel for who he might be, going just by appearances. Though, she hoped the staring didn't come off as a threat. The man's disheveled, long, and black hair was a greasy mess. Did this guy ever bathe? Confusingly, however, his teeth were perfect in every way, shape and form. He also looked somewhat angry, with his brow almost always furrowed. Also, earlier on the train Owl noticed he scratched his head a lot. Did he have lice?

He was also a somewhat skinny man, even if his shoulders were a bit big. She felt that if it came to trading blows, she'd come out on top. At the very least, she knew she was in shape, as she oddly remembered running a hell of a lot, and even right now her legs itched to get running. From what she could gather, the man looked homeless, and the way he so matter-of-factly spoke about the killing of people made him probably mildly insane. He could be a veteran with PTSD, or some bum with Schizophrenia; she honestly couldn't tell much more than that he was dirty and insane. And somewhat short, shorter than her, even.

As he finished speaking, she kept her hands in her pockets and furrowed her brow, mulling over what he said for a second. Murder and kill to survive? The thought struck her as ghastly, but oddly she felt like it wasn't anything new. Had she killed someone before? Just who the hell was she, anyway? He had said he wanted to work with her, but she wasn't sure if she could trust him. But then again, he seemed like the kinda guy that'd just kill you outright rather than back-stab you. Unless he did have schizophrenia and the "voices" told him to. Regardless, she decided she'd just have to keep her eye on this creep.

After a brief pause, she replied. "Alright, I'll work with you," she said, matter-of-factly. "So, we need to kill 2 people each? With our bare hands?" She asked, rhetorically and irritated. "Well, that's just great. Well, whatever, we should probably figure out where we're going to go, first." She did a quick 360 to look around for anything promising, and saw a cave in one direction and the forest in the opposite direction. "I say we go explore that cave over there. Even if we don't find anything, it'll be good shelter. Let's go." She honestly didn't know if she'd find anything, but if she was lucky she could find a stalagmite or something she could bludgeon someone with, if absolutely necessary, since she wasn't about to try and kill people with the glorified Uno card in her back pocket. What the hell was it supposed to do, anyway? Paper-cut them in the neck? Nevertheless, she started a mild jog towards the cave, not waiting for an answer from Wolf.

[Voltin]

The man woke with a pounding headache. Where was he and what was he doing there? He couldn't remember. He couldn't remember much of anything at all for that matter, just a few images anf sounds that he couldn't exactly put together. It appeared that he was on a train of some sort by the sights and sounds that surrounded him, and for some reason that comforted him. There was a ringing next to him, and across from him as well. It appeared he had some company; he would have greeted the woman but she was on the phone, much like the one ringing next to him. He picked it up.

...

What the woman said on the other side didn't faze him; if anything the man, who had just realized his name to be "Knight" for the time being, was more shocked by his lack of disgust at the prospect of killing a human being. Did that make him some sort of sociopath? Probably not, he didn't feel any sort of glee in potentially killing another mortal, it was just something that he needed to do to survive.

Knight took some time to examine the card he had been told about in his back pocket. He was of course careful to shield the image from his competitor across from him, wondering why that was so important if even he didn't know what it did. At first glance, it appeared to be a regular tarot card, nothing special about it. He felt a certain urge to try it out, just to see if it had this power that the woman had talked about. There was also the curiosity as to whether this card held the power to take a life, and for a brief moment he believed it did. His situation took on a certain familiarity, but he couldn't quite place as to the reason why.

The man put the card in the front pocket of his jeans, for easier access, and it was only then that he realized the strange mix-and-match outfit he was wearing. A wight dress shirt with a just as white undershirt. The previously stated jeans as well as some hiking boots. It looked like he had just thrown the first thing on he had found in his closest that morning. There was the sound of stopping. "What was tha-" Knight didn't get the chance to finish his question as it felt as if the car was being violently tossed.

...

The man picked himself up, somehow now out of the train car. He looked around, their was the girl from before only a short distance away and around them, forest. She she peered at him cautiously, and that's all she did. To him, she looked like a scared deer who had just caught sight of a wolf, ready to run away at a moment's notice. Knight dusted off his pants and proceeded over to the girl with an outstretched hand. "I'm uhh... 'Knight' according to that woman," He chuckled trying to add some levity to the grim situation, "Who are you? Now don't be scared, I won't bite... not yet at least."

[InsanitiesJack]

Another twitch, as he tilts his head lightly; her eyes, her voice, her words. He could feel the groves of his face as they passively lacked a response, something it merely serving to make him match her stare with his own. She was neither distraught nor did she appear greatly amused. She seemed quite irritated, in point of fact, to him almost as though this were some simple prank rather than a threat against their lives. As she turned, her body and eyes twisting to search the grounds for interesting or useful areas of... interest. He twitched at his repeated use of the same word, momentarily searching for a replacement before dismissing the matter as unimportant - it, perhaps, indicated a certain fondness for the English literature and the proper use thereof, but at the moment survival was a more important and pressing matter, especially considering the previous him had been a less than ideal person with his apparent lack of cleanliness.

But then it was back to listening to the woman - Owl - take charge, her voice strong and confident. He took two steps to follow her, before twitching as a thought occurred to him. They were in the wilderness with no civilization in sight, restricted in where they may go by red flags. Which meant it was very, very likely that they were restricted to wilderness only. And even if they weren't, they were probably days away from any civilization at the least, which meant they needed to survive by themselves.

But there was a train. A coach within which he may just find some vital item to use. Perhaps nothing more than a seat cushion to use as a pillow, perhaps an item to use as a weapon, perhaps more. No matter the possibilities, before they moved it would be best to ransack the coach for possible supplies. But, taking a single glance at the massive thing, he saw no obvious entrances. A near body-wide twitch encompassed him, as he felt a scowl grow on his face with unrestrained rage. Another obstacle, this one somehow worse than the rest. He should've expected it, but still the resilience with which it appeared the car would withstand assaults made him feel heat in his chest.

He turned, abruptly, looking on in the direction that Owl had pointed out. Took a single deep breath, and rubbed his silver-encased hand through his hair, letting it pause slightly to rub roughly at an area that had felt on the verge of itching yet again. He really, truly wished his past self had made proper use of shampoos and conditioners. And then, he began walking. If they wished to 'win' this game of survival then they would need a base of operations. Depending on the climate of the area they wouldn't need an actual shelter that they couldn't build themselves, and perhaps not even that, but they did in fact need food and, even more importantly, water.

And weapons.

"Owl," he addressed the woman, a slight note of pensive forethought in his tone. "If we wish to survive we need to begin... planning. Not just for possible confrontations, but for food, water, weapons, shelter. The cave, if it pans out, should solve the least pressing of the four; shelter. From there, I suspect our best option would be to seek out weapons. Rocks, sticks, even create a few crude spears. Perhaps even knives of sorts. What do you think would be most important?" After all, they were allies now. Perhaps there was no clear structure of command, but it would be okay at the moment. What was more important was gathering information and deciding on a course of action.

[emptychronicles]

Griffin wasn't sure how to react when the guy approached her. She studied him carefully, taking in his looks, the way he stood-- she even started to wonder what his card was, but thought better of it. Perhaps in these games, an ally would do good. Then again, trusting someone she barely knew was about as foolish as putting one's self in the path of a train. But did she have much of a choice? She figured she was better off with at least one ally rather than-- well, none.

"Right. Because when I first meet a person the first thing that comes to my mind is 'does he freaking bite?'." As soon as the words left Griffin's mouth, she slammed one palm against her forehead in frustration. She ran her fingers through her hair, collecting herself, before shaking the man's hand. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I just said that. Griffin. Well, according to my trinket, that is."

She glanced around, taking in the woodlands that flanked them North, East, and West. Looking South was a large mound, holding four pillars of stone. She decided that North seemed to thick, as was East. It was either West or South. West sounded more appealing, going South made her feel uncomfortable and vulnerable. She felt like she was easy pickings if she headed into territory that had no shelter.

Then again, maybe she could just stay put... Nah.

"What the hell did I do to get myself into this mess," she grumbled crossly under her breath.

[Oblivion Fangx]

As the dust finally settled down, Dragon took note of the building they had crashed into. She craned her head, straining her eyes to take a better look at it and judging from the disgusting rotting smell it could have been a human slaughterhouse or something. She wouldn’t put it past the insane lady on the phone. She still hadn’t wrapped her head around the fact that to survive, she had to kill two people… all of them had to kill two people. That meant that she, Dragon, and her companion were probably being hunted down.

"Yes, whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen,”

Dragon found herself agreeing with him as she stood up. What if he killed her, right here and now? She didn’t know him or what he was capable of. But still, with twenty one people just like herself stranded out here – wherever ‘here’ was – she’d rather have an ally. “So… uhm…” At a loss, Dragon wondered what to say. She dusted off her shirt and pants and pulled out splinters stuck in the material, all the while thinking of something to calm herself down. Running for it, in this situation didn’t really seem as appealing as it was when she was still sitting in the coach. Where could she go? She didn’t know the lay of the land and she certainly didn’t want to be blown up by that necklace. Dragon sighed and turned to face the man.

“What should we do now? Should we go our separate ways or er… group up or something?” She inquired. By the looks of him, he seemed okay. Probably not the type to kill immediately but hey, who was she to judge? “I’m Dragon, for now. And you are?”

[simian]

Snake & Cockroach
Cockroach lay on her knees against the forest floor, 'I can't imagine you're someone that frequently touches dirt.' She thought to herself which again caused her to question, 'So who are you? - Am I! Who am I?'

Lil' missy, d'you know what in the Sam hell is goin' on?" Snake asked.

'Certainly not his Lil' Missy, What a pig.' Looking up from the floor it was difficult for Cockroach to distinguish the towering cowboy between the tremendous trunks of the copious amount of trees that surrounded them.

"Ah serious-lee hope ya know what's goin' on. Because this has t' be a joke 'r somethin'. A sick joke. Kill two people 'r be killed? Makes a lotta sense." Snake said.

Instantly she was intimidated by the hulking man. Should this elaborate joke turn out to be true Cockroach was convinced this man was capable of killing her in a pinch.

"Th' name's Snake. Ah think." Snake said.

Cockroach stared at the man's hand trying to calculate the most intelligent course of action when almost subconsciously she burst into tears and the answer was revealed. Her glimmering eyes filled up as she spoke, "I'm so scared, I just want to go home! I don't want to hurt anyone!" Cockroach genuinely appeared terrified as floods of tears streamed down her face. 'How are you doing this?' She thought to herself before continuing her spontaneous act, "Please don't hurt me.". Cockroach used her scarf to dry her damp face, Hiding it from Snake. 'Are you perhaps an actress?' She asked herself, Pleasantly surprised.

[Sir Beowulf]

She started crying.
Wasn't the reaction Snake was expecting.

"I'm so scared, I just want to go home! I don't want to hurt anyone!"

"Ah.. um.. don't cry! Please?"

"Please don't hurt me." she whimpered as she used her scarf to dry her tear-filled face.

"Ah ain't gonna hurt'cha. But ah don't think y' have a choice to leave. Neither of us do. Now please, would y' stop cryin'? Yer' gonna make me spurt out some man tears. And nobody wants that. Man tears ain't a pretty sight."

Karl smiled, hoping that his joke would cheer the girl up. He really didn't like it when people cried. It seriously wasn't what he was expecting. He really hoped she would stop, as crying really wouldn't get the job done, and he didn't want to babysit the poor girl. Well, he probably was going to have to. That sucks.

"C'mon girl, you don't wanna sit in th' dirt all day, do ya?" He looked towards the sun, it was about midday. "We might as well start walkin' somewhere. Uhm, d' you know which way north is?" It was times like this when he wished he had a compass. And to not be in the middle of wilderness hunting other people. That would be a plus.

"Hmm. How'bout we go that way!" Karl declared triumphantly and pointed in a random direction. He grinned and looked at the girl, hoping she would approve of his choice.

[WittyReference]

"Actually, just thinking about our situation, it would probably be better to spend our energy moving to higher ground…"

Hm, Book. Book. It fits...

Oak had been tossed unceremoniously from the boxcar, the pleats of his slacks muddled with earthen residue as the older gentleman fell to his knees. Turning to his makeshift companion, Oak noted the man's studious frame, his posture denoting a man of intellect, a suitable ally for this game of murderous ultimatums. Book had been landing blow after blow against seemingly impenetrable glass for some time before Oak had an idea.

Hm. Perhaps we may not be able to get inside this bucket of bolts, but then again, maybe we won't have to...

Rising to his feet, Oak spoke flatly to the man by the name of Book. "Listen, I don't exactly know what's going on, but as it stands murder seems to be our only option." Unflinching, Oak continued. "Now, taking stock of us both I'd reason neither of us were much for brawling before...before whatever happened to get us here." Oak marched around the back of the train car as he spoke, "Come here a moment, would you? See this handle here? I need you to hold her steady while I climb up."

Wordlessly, Book took a firm grasp about the lever, intrigued as to his budding companion's intent. With a few labored breaths, Oak had perched himself atop the lip before stepping daintily across to a lip protruding from the back of the train. The lip served as a platform from which to view the world through a glass window and as such allowed Oak to peer inside briefly; little more than pillows and tin cans littered the interior.

"Looks like it wouldn't have done us much good regardless." Oak called to Book, the man still grasping firmly to the lever. Upon catching his breath, Oak set about shimmying up one of the metallic support pillars. Between grunts and clenched teeth, he spoke again to Book during his ascent. "I really...umph...must thank you...umph..."

As he neared the top of the pole, Oak wrapped his legs defiantly about the metallic beam and let one arm hang free a while before he continued. "Phew! You see, it was your comment as to Higher Ground that inspired me...hand me up that rock there, would you?" Book quickly raised a sizable stone above his head. Clasping the hefty stone, Oak began pounding the weight against the red plexiglass of the brake lights. The train car's windows had been reinforced times over, but who would think to make impregnable lights?

A few more well placed blows and the first light shattered. Shielding his face from the shrapnel, Oak quickly began bludgeoning the second before it too broke apart, it's jagged shards falling to the lip below. Taking a last look around, Oak saw nothing in the immediate vicinity save the distant rustling of rad flags.

Hm...

Scurrying back down, Oak gathered the shards large enough to be utilized as weaponry before smashing the smaller pieces to bits. There would be none left for any 'scavengers' who happened by, that was for sure. Turning to Book, Oak held out a jagged piece of glass carefully. "As I was saying, neither of us look like we would be much worth in a brawl. That being said, Brains beat Brawn." Allowing a small smirk to cross his face, he and Book divvy'd up the make-shift daggers.

[simian]

Snake & Cockroach

Again, Cockroach baffled herself with her own chain of thought. She was so engrossed in the whimsical world of her inner dialogue that she ignored absolutely everything Snake said,
'Are you perhaps an actress?' ... 'A movie star? Like Marilyn Monroe? Oh my goodness!' ... 'Just so long as you're not on one of those poorly written Spanish soap operas like Una Famlia Con Suerte' ... 'You - I! I speak Spanish? Am I Spanish? Surely not, Your hands look very Caucasian.' ... '...and to be honest I think you're a little racist.' ... 'Demonstrate your ability to speak Spanish.' ... 'Yo no se someterán a su abuso criminal.' ... 'You speak Spanish! But have no idea what it means.' ... 'Yo no se someterán a su abuso criminal! - What does it mean?' ... 'This is ridiculous.' She thought, Tuning back into life.

Peeking her eyes timidly out from behind her scarf she saw Snake was now smiling enthusiastically at her. 'Oh dear, What did he say?' She heartily returned a grin and nodded her head. Cockroach adjusted the scarf once more before picking herself up and buttoning up her coat. "Thank you." She said and went in the direction Snake was indicating. The roots of the trees rose up out of the earth, Beams of sunlight broke through the leaves sporadically and dust danced in between them. "Isn't this forest beautiful?" She said, Trying to make conversation. Cockroach's hands slid casually into her pockets, one of them wrapping firmly around her card.

[jumjummju]

As they continued walking, Owl drooped her head down a little bit to think on what he said. He was right: shelter probably wasn't the highest priority, when you think about it. Still, having a base of operations, or an area to come back to if they got separated was still necessary. Weapons, at least in her mind, was the highest priority. She knew this was a kill or be killed game that was being played, and she didn't want to go in unarmed. Of course, she figured she could kill someone with her bare hands. She could sweep kick them off their feet and stomp their head in, among other things.

Owl's eyes widened in surprise, and she stopped for a second, before shaking her head and continuing on. When did I become so... cold? And it's scary how well I know how to kill, and how I don't have any reservations towards it. Who am I? She wondered, mildly fearful of her own self. Maybe she was just quick to adapt, or something. She preferred to believe that she wasn't a murderer before this whole thing started. Though, her memories of what could very well be police sirens were very foreboding.

"Um, I think that we should try and find a weapon in that cave if we can." Owl spoke normally, as though she were planning a party, not survival. "We can go a day or two without water or food, but we don't know when we'll find someone else. Also, there might be an underground lake or something inside the cave, which could easily handle our water problem. For now, we just need to scout out this cave."

As she finished speaking, the two arrived at the entrance to the cave, and Amy entered in first to see what was inside the cave. It was dark, but as far as she could tell it went in about 20 feet and then curved to the left so she couldn't see any farther in. Plus, it was extremely dark past the turn. The entrance was somewhat lit from the sun, and was annoyingly cramped. It was big enough for the two to stand up and walk around in, albeit uncomfortably on the jagged rocks. Still, it would make a good enough shelter.

"This makes a good base." She said, looking around. The rocks around her could make passable weapons, but they were probably awkward to use. Still, better than nothing. She sat down on a rock against the wall, and started thinking about how they could acquire other supplies.