The Children of the Fall: A Post-Apocolyptic tale of struggle, family, and hope.

[Toska]

Night was falling more quickly now, as summer turned into autumn, and the surviors were hurrying to make use of what light was left. The comforting sound of crickets prompted some to start a small fire in an old fire pit sheltered between a rusted old RV and a sheet of canvas trussed up between two trees. Soon the smell of cooking venison wafted through the air, and spirits began to lift for what seemed like the first time in weeks. Still, years of experience had taught the survivors to be on edge, and every single one was subconciously listning for any subtle signal that trouble was approaching. Merriment could quickly become panic, and every individual was prepared to douse the fire and run for cover, or fight for their lives.

[Little Fox]

“Food's done.”

A young Lakota woman called from her position hovering over the fire pit where she had the last bits of her latest kill coming out of the frying pan and into a large baking pan they had found in the RV. A bit of washing and it was good as new – Sort of. It was bent out of shape, but otherwise fine. Emi pushed away a few strands of hair that were sticking to her face with sweat, blinking quickly to remove the pieces of ash that flew into her eyes. She stood and stepped away, leaving the pit for everyone to get their fill.

Instead of preparing to stuff her face, she moved towards a nearby tree where her things were gathered. There was a small sack of apples and carrots from a previous loot run. She reached in and grabbed one of the “baby apples” as she called them and a couple carrots. There weren't that many, but it'd be enough. Maybe last a week or two if eaten sparingly. She moved towards her horse, Sutake. She was a sweet mustang, though she wasn't very old. Emi rescued her from a farm just only a few months ago when they had stopped there before it became overrun by the diseased.

She cooed softly to her equestrian friend and patted her along her nose before holding out the carrots on the palm of her hand. She smiled as the horse stopped her grazing to greedily scarf down the delicious orange vegetables. When the horse finished them off, Emi plopped down on the grass nearby to watch the horse flick its tail and go back to grazing. She wished that she could have found some oats, but there hadn't been a feed store around in a while. She sighed heavily and simply lay in the grass, making sure to keep her legs close together; She was wearing leggings under her buckskin dress, but it was still unladylike to just lay with your legs open. “Kasna atewaye...” She mumbled to herself, silently mourning the recent loss of her father.

[Jilted Yellow]

Sofia tightened the bindings once again, before standing back to survey her handy work with a squinted eye. "That's good...," She murmured to herself. The ties that held the canvas tight to the trees had come loose on one side, and Sofia had jumped when she heard the material flap against itself earlier in the evening. Willing her heart to settle, she'd gone over to fix it, glad for something to do with the anxious energy that was winding its way through her body. Now that it was up again, the fabric taut between the trunks, she felt like some small piece of her had been fixed and put back into place too. Like she had some inward stability--but then, maybe it was much like the canvas, with bindings that would loosen up again soon enough, and leave the supported thing folded over on itself, flapping in the breeze.

"Food's done." She heard the voice, and then turned to see Emi crouched by the fire. "Thanks..." She spoke softly, and then walked by her, carving off pieces of meat with her pocket knife and placing them in an old bowl. As she went to perch herself on a log beside the fire, Sofia watched as Emi headed to her horse and fed it a handful of carrots. She couldn't suppress the scoff that came, barely muffled, from her lips.

What a waste of supplies.... She thought. Why in the world did they allow her to keep a horse? They could eat the thing and be the better for it. It wasn't as if it served any purpose but to eat what few rations that they had. That, and crap everywhere. Sofia doubted anyone could even ride it anywhere in case of danger--it was probably sick, and if anyone escaped on it, it would only be one person, Emi. If they had a proper rationing system, they would count the animal's share against her, ...it's her freaking horse...but then, it must be nice to have something real to call your own. Something like family.... And then she felt her stomach drop, and the weight of how alone she felt since her father's death hit her again. She put her bowl, now empty, down on the ground beside her and looked away from the horse and its owner, staring instead into the crackling flames before her. It was amazing, how similar Sofia's and Emi's thoughts were at the moment, but there was no connection to be had there. I hate that freaking horse, was all she thought, stare as hot as the embers before her.

[Athinar]

(sorry to interrupt, but does this have an IC?)

[Zephyr116]

(Athinar, GTFO. PM people questions. This RP is closed.)

A gentle breeze wafted through the leaves above and around Bradley's head, producing a calm whistle in the air. This was the only noticeable sound, even though there were several people preparing for a meal behind Bradley. It was as if they were all set on mute, or an old silent film with added color. Of course, this didn't bother Bradley. This wasn't "too quiet" like many would think, but perfectly so. The silence calmed him, while simultaneously keeping him awake and alert. There was no static noise to distract Bradleys thought or shroud any signs of danger. Silence meant security. It was like his Nirvana.

Suddenly, the serenity was broken by casual words: "Food's Done."

Bradley wasn't hungry. To be honest, he was hardly ever hungry. Food was a distraction from silence. But Bradley knew that his body had needs. With a perturbed grunt, he pulled himself from the old red camping chair he was sitting in for watch duty and started in the direction of the voice. The Sioux woman -- Emi Has a Horse or something -- who called had already begun feeding her horse the daily waste-of-dinner. The other woman, Sofia, was already eating her own food. Bradley walked past Sofia without so much as a word, hoping to restore the silence, then cut off a small slab of meat and took it to the log across from her.

Sloppily ripping a bite off of his dinner, Bradley noticed how quickly Sofia ate her food and her contemptuous gaze in Emi's direction. Even though no words had been exchanged since the silence was broken, it still felt as if it was broken for good. Giving up any hope of restoring it, Bradley figured he should ask about Sofia's demeanor.

"You got a problem with Pocahontas over there?" he asked, nodding in Emi's direction. "What's wrong this time? Was the deer overdone?"

[Vertical]

The trees were almost indistinguishable from one another. With night falling, the trail Daniel took into the forest was disappearing. Some of it was still visible, some of his footsteps, but for the most part they were becoming invisible. This was a problem. Being stuck out in the woods would present many problems. The shadows that would be cast by the falling sun, especially from a lowered angle, would make it even harder getting back to the camp. This was not the thing that worried Daniel. What worried Daniel was the chance of running into what he dubbed a "straggler". These "stragglers" were infected that wandered far into the wilds. Usually they would be taken down by a wild animal, but occasionally they would make it further into the forest. Daniel was not a man who would be frightened easy, but the night would make an ambush by a "straggler" all the more dangerous. As he continued to walk, the thoughts of everything that could go wrong sped through his mind. When he spotted the light from the campfire, his thoughts were eased. In reality only about ten minutes had passed from when he got "lost" to when he found the camp. The purpose of his little foray into the wilderness was to find animal tracks. He knew there would not be enough time to track and kill an animal, but he knew he could get a lead at least. Supplies were not low enough for him to worry but the old phrase "better safe than sorry" changed his mind and made him journey out. The search had not been in vain though, he did find some tracks. They were canine in nature and Daniel hoped that they belonged to some domestic pet that had been surviving out in the forest. If it was not a domestic dog, then most likely it would be a feral one. A wolf, coyote, or some other kind of dog. If it was the latter, then he would have a harder time bringing it down without a problem. Daniel would most likely pursue the animal in the morning, if he was permitted to.

It seemed Daniel arrived just in time for dinner. The young Native girl had cooked some meat and left it for anyone to eat. Running around in the woods had been tiring, and probably burned a fair amount of calories. Daniel decided to get himself some. Apparently cooking meat was easy, but cutting it into pieces for other people was not. Instead of cutting a piece for himself and letting other people cut their own, Daniel spent a little bit of time cutting the meat into pieces for others. After finishing, he took a smaller chunk and chewed on it for a little bit. He sat down near his backpack. Where he was sitting was about eight feet or so from where Bradley and Sofia were sitting. Daniel did not choose that spot to eavesdrop, he chose that spot because the ground was flat, but he could still hear some of their conversation. Pocahontas Daniel shook his head and let out a quick laugh. He found it entertaining that Bradley couldn't refer to Emi using her actual name. Daniel reached into one of the pouches of his backpack and dug out his deck of cards. The wind was not blowing hard enough to blow the cards away, so he decided to play Blackjack until he got tired.

[May]

Sometimes, there were really nice things about being in forests. It was almost always cool. As long as you weren't working too much that is. The light was never too bright, if the branches blocked it out. There was always life too, if fire hadn't run it away and burned it to nothing. But one thing is always did, without a doubt, was remind him of childhood. He had spent so very long in the woods on camping trips. He had hiked with a backpack of his own, following after his old man, the sound of his brother and sometimes his mother and sister behind him. They'd set up a few tents, start a fire, cook either whatever they'd brought with them, or maybe a rabbit they'd caught. Sometimes fish if the river was full of 'em.

He missed those times. He missed his mother and his sister. He missed his father. But they were gone. There was no coming back. And that hurt. He missed his brother too. But perhaps, maybe one day, he might see Marcus again. He had no way of knowing, but thinking that he was alive out there kept him going some days. Marc was strong, he had as good as training as Kyle had. If the disease didn't get him than he'd make it. Kyle knew he would. There was no doubt about that. The doubt came in with the disease.

Grimmy was leaned back against a tree, eyes closed, just enjoying memories of happier times. He sure felt like the happier one in this little band he'd found himself in, but he knew that wasn't true. he had always been a man to put on a front, nothing was going to change now because the world had gone to shit. He refused to let it tear him down too. He was stronger than that. He had to be. Or he'd fall apart. He had to do his old man proud.

He heard one of the girls calling that food was done. He wanted it to have been his mother, but that wasn't going to happen. He knew it wasn't Sofia, it was that other one. The native girl who's name he had the hardest time trying to figure out. He was glad that she had at least one part of her name that he could manage to utter without making a total fool of himself. He might have had to give her a nickname if she hadn't. He opened his eyes to look around at the others, see where they were and if it was okay if he got up to get food. It seemed clear and so he stood, stretching out his long limbs, watching Daniel cut up the meat while he worked out the kinks from his little day dream nap he'd had. He walked forward slowly, mumbling a thanks before the older man went to sit down. He filled himself up a bowl after brushing any lingering dirt or dust off it and wandered over to join the other two, sitting down on the other half of the log with Sofia. He picked up a few pieces of meat, eating with his fingers because he just didn't care anymore, and listened to what was being talked about before chiming in.

[Little Fox]

The young(ish) Lakota looked on as her mare finally settled down and let her long legs fold under her, taking a position of rest. Chapawee herself crawled silently towards the dark horse and laid herself against her side, letting the gentle breathing that made her body rise and fall soothe her. Everything was quiet....peaceful. For now. She took another bite out of her apple and glanced at the others gathered on the opposite side. That's how it had always been – She didn't mind being somewhat of a pariah for five years. Kept people off her back. She was only still here because she promised her father that she would help them.

A sigh came from her as she motioned towards the apples in the bag. “There's dessert. Savor it.” She bit into the apple again, indeed savoring the sweet juice. If they could ever find some peaches that hadn't spoiled. Oh, Great Spirit! That would be perfect. She pulled out her hunting knife from its strap on her boot and gently cut off one half of her apple. “Niye komna ye.” She spoke aloud to the horse, causing Sutake to turn her head, being a bit more gentle with gobbling up the apple slice. Emi enjoyed the horse's presence. She was a playful creature and could always bring a smile to Emi's face. Not to mention she pretty much just ate grass and whatever flowers and wild vegetables were in her grazing area. Besides her low maintenance, she would be useful in the future for carrying more supplies.

“Atewaye...Ehapi k'un? Letanun welo...Ninwankabya, awaniglak' unk'un pi ca. Taku otehila wanicin ktelo. Ehapi k'un? Letanun welo...Ninwankabya, awaniglak' unk'un pi ca. Taku otehila wanicin ktelo. Ehapi k'un? Letanun welo...” She sang softly, honoring and speaking to her father's spirit, praying that he had passed on peacefully. She was glad that he didn't die from the diseased, but rather from a bad flu. He made no fuss over his passing and spent his last days sleeping. When he finally died, Emi spent an hour hoisting his body into a giant oak, using lots of rope, where she tied his body to the top and left after blessing his spirit and the tree. She was still mourning his loss, as it had been less than a week ago that he had passed. The Sioux would pray at night with her horse, sing a song, or chant by the fire whenever the others were sleeping.

Of course, the others thought that she was strange for doing so. She only wished that she could have the same when her time came. But, most likely, she'd be left where she fell or buried in a shallow grave. Hanhon tohatu kici pa iyukca. She chided herself mentally for such negative thoughts, reminding herself that she needed to remain positive. A sigh escaped her as she let her head lean back and her eyes fall upon the stars. “Atewaye used to tell me stories about the stars. The seven girls, the magpie's race...” She paused, her words wandering off as she simply stared.

“My favorite was the tale of Man Who Couldn't Be Scared.” She smiled softly before rolling onto her side.

“Now, there were four ghosts sitting together, talking, smoking ghost smoke, having a good time, as far as it's possible for ghosts to have a good time. One of them said: "I've heard of a young man nothing can scare. He's not afraid of us, so they say." The second ghost said: "I bet I could scare him." The third ghost said: "We must try to make him shiver and run and hide." The fourth ghost said: "Let's bet; let's make a wager. Whoever can scare him the most, wins." And they agreed to bet their ghost horses.


So this young man who was never afraid came walking along one night. The moon was shining. Suddenly in his path the first ghost materialized, taking the form of a skeleton.

"Hau, friend," said the ghost, clicking his teeth together, making a sound like a water drum.

"Hau, cousin," said the young man, "you're in my way. Get off the road and let me pass."

"Not until we have played the hoop-and-stick game. If you lose, I'll make you into a skeleton like me."

The young man laughed. He bent the skeleton into a big hoop, tying it with some grass. He took one of the skeleton's leg bones for his game stick and rolled the skeleton along, scoring again and again with the leg bone. "Well, I guess I won this game," said the young man. "How about some shinny ball?" The young man took the skeleton's skull and used the leg bone to drive it ahead of him like a ball.

"Ouch!" said the skull. "You're hurting me; you're giving me a headache."

"Well, you asked for it. Who proposed this game, you or me? You're a silly fellow." The young man kicked the skull aside and walked on.

Further on he met the second ghost also in the form of a skeleton, who jumped at him and grabbed him with bony hands.

"Let's dance, friend," the skeleton said.

"A very good idea, cousin ghost," said the young man. "What shall we use for a drum and drumstick? I know!" Taking the ghost's thighbone and skull, the young man danced and sang, beating on the skull with the bone.

"Stop, stop!" cried the skull. "This is no way to dance. You're hurting me; you're giving me a headache."

"You're lying, ghost," said the young man. "Ghosts can't feel pain."

"I don't know about other ghosts," said the skull, "but me, I'm hurting."

"For a ghost you're awfully sensitive," said the young man. "Really, I'm disappointed. There we were, having a good time, and you spoiled my fun with your whining. Groan somewhere else." The young man kicked the skull aside and scattered the rest of the bones all over.

"Now see what you've done," complained the ghost, "It will take me hours to get all my bones together. You're a bad man."

"Stop your whining," said the young man. "It gives you something to do."

Then he went on. Soon he came upon the third ghost, another skeleton. "This is getting monotonous," said the young man. "Are you the same as before? Did I meet you further back?"

"No," said the ghost. "Those were my cousins. They're soft. I'm tough. Let's wrestle. If I win, I'll make you into a skeleton like me."

"My friend," said the young man, "I don't feel like wrestling with you, I feel like sledding. There's enough snow on the hill for that. I should have buffalo ribs for it, but your rib cage will do." The young man took the ghost's rib cage and used it as a sled. "This is fun!" he said, whizzing down the hill.

"Stop, stop," cried the ghost's skull, "You're breaking my ribs!"

The young man said: "Friend, you look funny without a rib cage. You've grown so short. Here!" And he threw the ribs into a stream.

"Look what you've done! What can I do without my ribs? I need them."

"Jump in the water and dive for them," said the young man. "You look as if you need a bath. It'll do you good, and your woman will appreciate it."

"What do you mean? I am a woman!" said the ghost, insulted.

"With skeletons I can't tell, you pretty thing," he said, and walked on. Then he came upon the chief ghost, a skeleton riding a skeleton horse.

"I've come to kill you," said the skeleton.

The young man made faces at the ghost. He rolled his eyes; he showed his teeth; he gnashed them; he made weird noises. "I'm a ghost myself, a much more terrible ghost than you are," he said. The skeleton got scared and tried to turn his ghost horse, but the young man seized it by the bridle. "A horse is just what I want," he said. "I've walked enough. Get off!" He yanked the skeleton from it's mount and broke it into pieces. The skeleton was whimpering, but the young man mounted the skeleton horse and rode it into camp. Day was just breaking, and some women who were up early to get water saw him and screamed loudly. They ran away while the whole village was awakened by their shrieking. The people looked out of their tipis and became frightened when they saw him on the ghost horse.

As soon as the sun appeared, however, the skeleton vanished. The young man laughed. The story of his ride on the skeleton horse was told all through the camp. Later he joined a group of men and started to brag about putting the four skeleton ghosts to flight. People shook their heads, saying, "This young man is really brave. Nothing frightens him. He is the bravest man who ever lived." Just then a tiny spider was crawling up this young man's sleeve. When someone called his attention to it, he cried, "Eeeeech! Get this bug off me! Please, someone take it off, I can't stand spiders! Eeeeeeech!" He shivered, he writhed, he carried on. A little girl laughed and took the spider off him.” Emi supressed a giggle at the end of her story as the mare gave a few snorts and tossed her head back with a whinny. “I don't see you telling any stories.” She teased the horse, speaking to it as if speaking to a person, running her hand along Sutake's belly with more gentle cooing.

[Jilted Yellow]

Sofia lifted her eyes from the fire pit, so that her gaze landed just slightly over the flame's edge and lit upon the man's face across from her. Bradley; she had known him for about a month now and never would have pegged him as being overly observant of other people's emotions. In fact, she'd had him pegged as just a crotchety older man, pessimistic as his moods seemed to be. Now though, she felt like he must have some heightened emotional intelligence that she hadn't recognized, as he had asked her about Emi. She didn't show this surprise in her face however, expression as smooth as silk.

"I don't have a problem with anyone," she spoke, shifting a bit and regarding Daniel and Kyle when they came to sit close by. "I don't know what would give you that impression." And, whether she meant it or not, a hint of irritation in her tone served to give the impression that she did have a problem with his asking. 'What's wrong this time?' What does that even mean?

Bradley tore another bite of his meal off and chewed it slowly, but not quietly. After a minute of simply staring and chewing awkwardly, his mouth formed an amused smirk. "Yknow," he started, pausing to chew a bit more and swallow, "when you say stuff like that, it contradicts itself."

He bit another piece of meat from his small chunk, leaving only one bite left. Chewing in the same rude, smacking manner, Bradley continued, "But seriously, what's your damage? Is it the horse?"

Sofia cocked a brow, before straightening her back and sitting taller. She glanced in the direction of Kyle and Daniel and then swallowed, wiping her palms in one definite stroke along the top of her jeans. "It's a bit of an inconvenience, don't you think?"

Continuing to chew lazily, Bradley responded, "Yeah. I think it's a goddamn complete waste." He paused to chew a bit more, then swallowed. "Although, Little Miss Tomahawk over there can hunt. She's good at hunting and has no problems doing so."

He cleared his throat and straightened his posture a bit. "She feeds her own horse with food that she gathers herself, and she doesn't eat too much." Pausing again for a moment, even though there was no food-chewing to justify it, Bradley slouched back down into his original position. "So, as long as it don't affect me, I think she can keep the goddamn pony."

Without letting Sofia respond, Bradley turned his head to Daniel and asked, "What about you, boy? Think the horsey's an 'inconvenience'?"

"Does having a horse benefit us?" She quickly chimed in. "And any food given to it matters, when we're living like nomads. Not to mention the fact that its droppings smell awful."

[May]

Kyle chewed thoughtfully for a moment, looking at Sofia. She was annoyed about the horse. Even if she said she really wasn't. "It does have it's benefits though," he mumbled, mostly to himself. "Horses are skittish, the mare can warn us of things closing in. Then again, it can also give us away." The big man shrugged, lips pursed in thought. "Don't matter much to me one way or another as long as my life isn't pushed aside for the sake of the beasts."

He looked over at Emi at her horse, the two of them thick as thieves. There was no way that she was getting rid of the thing. And frankly, it shouldn't be a problem. But Sofia was right as well. When you lived like nomads, picking off the trees what they could, gathering everything from what lingered or what had continued to grow, it was hard to justify giving up things for a horse, that at the moment, was useless for them. "Be better if we all had rides," he said after a moment in thought, looking at the horse and thinking how nice it would be to have something to ride instead of walking all the time.