- Mercy -

Mercy’s eyebrow peaked up again as she watched Chris’s features contort into a frown unsure as to its origin though she nodded her head, smiling as the other woman seemed to be introducing herself to the horses she found it to be amusing though she didn’t want Chris to assume she was making fun of the interaction so to distract herself she shifted back from Bandit to check him over...shy of needing that bath he was clean, she was just brushing him for the sake of it now.

She glanced at Chris as she asked another question, feeling a small chuckle escape her she replied with. “Just irresistible of course” though she felt her smile falter for a brief moment, unfortunately once something was said you couldn’t reel it back in and her ever so helpful brain had only just registered what Chris had said after clearing her throat. Ah...I see why she did that...harmless though? Deciding it wasn’t a big deal she merely continued to smile and left it as it was moving around Chris to duck down next to a small bag holding an assortment of brushes. She caught the change in the other woman’s voice as she mentioned her grandfather, she glanced up at her but figured perhaps it wasn’t a good subject to breach.

She saw Chris look at her again becoming slightly flustered under her gaze when she didn’t respond she just brushed aside, getting to her feet and brushing her hands together. Ah, of course she’d forgotten Ash had shared that information in a rather vocal manner, she shifted her gaze to Bandit as Chris gave her name. She remembered Tony had introduced her as Chris the day before...but “Christina, got it” She smiled earnestly and with ease, though she cast her glance aside at the second comment. “You make it sound like there are a lot of them left...” She murmured more to herself than the other woman, pushing the memories aside she noticed Bandit pushed his head out to investigate her, snorting liquid out his nose as she lifted a hand and gently prodded the end of his muzzle. “Eww, Bandit!” She complained, grimacing as she jumped back feeling the water speckle her she wiped the liquid from her arms, shaking her head talk about changing the mood.
“You’re gross” She grinned at him, hoping none of the offensive substance had reached Chris in the process, though it probably had...the Pinto now content with himself took a small step back reaching around to grab a mouthful of hay before returning his head for petting purposes.

Mercy shook her head at the horse, he was turning out to be quite the character “Did you want to spend more time with him?” She asked Chris, lifting her hand to her face to push her fringe back off of her forehead for a brief moment. “I was going to sort the chickens out next, if you weren’t doing anything would you mind...perhaps coming with me?” Mercy asked though she looked rather nervous whilst asking the question. Should I just say they freak me out now...no she’ll think I’m weird, I can pretend I’m not bothered Yup, even her thoughts were unconvincing. “He can just go back in his stall until later if you’re finished with him...I may need to talk to Lloyd to see whether they’re able to ridden” She commented a secretive smile apparent on her face. What was the point of having horses about if they couldn’t be ridden? Besides what if they needed them in an emergency and they hadn’t been ridden for ages? “You know...just in case” She added, though her smile told Chris it wasn’t a purely business like reason.

- Tamashii -

Tamashii noticed he was border lining staring at her as she got changed, she didn’t mind...though perhaps she should? It had been a while since Mercy or herself had been around other people, perhaps she should be a little more reserved, even the thought made her scoff. “Take a picture it lasts longer” She chimed at Remy, as she turned back towards him. Having raised both her eyebrows at him with an ‘Oh really?’ expression on her face at his mock shock, she rolled her eyes at him. “Good be sure that you do” She bit back though a smirk lifted the corner of her lip just a smidgen, it vanished quickly as she realized she was appearing far too comfortable around him.

She mentally shook herself off watching him bend down to pick up his noisy bag, before he glanced as her and answered. She folded her arms across her chest defensively, her normal frown taking up residence of her expression as she listened to his plan, though her lip twitched up again as his stomach joined in the conversation, amusement danced across her eyes at the slight flush to his cheeks. She turned away from him as he summarized the choices attempting to hide her smile as she shoved a few things into her backpack making sure it was ready to go should she need it, she glanced over at Mercy’s shaking her head as she realized both her bow and quiver were leant against the wall beside the bunk beds. “Perhaps eating first would be a good choice” She pointed out, her lip still raised in mirth as she turned and moved back over towards him. “Otherwise you’ll be blushing every 5 seconds because you’re stomach wants to be involved in our conversations” She smirked reaching over and patting the bottom of his vest, realizing what she’d done she retracted her hand breezing out of the door casually, though she checked both ways before entering the corridor openly showing her suspicion.

“Remy how long do you think we can keep this place secure?” She asked him naturally checking doorways before passing them, she wasn’t about to be surprised...again today. She took the stairs slowly, trying not to be too heavy on her feet as she moved. What she really wanted to say was ‘Should they trust the others?’ though she’d stopped herself because that sentence alone implied she trusted him and she would rather deny that, it would also highlight her anxious suspicion of everyone.

Tony

Code names? That seemed a little odd. As “Cat” continued to explain, Tony became increasingly sympathetic to the pair, which in turn unnerved him even further. Should he really be feeling sympathy for them? Would anyone else? No one else has bothered to talk to them, though, he reminded himself. It struck him that he might ask if they wanted to have normal names, yet he neglected to ask upon realising that perhaps the twins didn't want to be normal.

Dog proved his theory only seconds after her thought it up. Following that, they maybe unknowingly mocked his own name. The twins were fast-paced even when they weren't moving and spoke softly, Tony's thoughts bounced from one theory to the next but never came up with a successful explanation for the two. Like a cell signal darting about to avoid tracking systems. What did he come up to the attic for, again?

“Heeeeey buddy could you do me a huge favor? Could you watch Cat here while I get some water?”

His eyes shot back to the girl in front of him, widening at the mere mention of being left alone with the spookier twin. He started to protest, but all that came out were “ums” and “ahs” as the girl went on, rambling about her brother. The beaten infected dog flashed to the forefront of his mind, and he shuddered. Dog looked at him like... well, like a dog, a really cute one, and before he knew what he was doing, Tony nodded.

He slid his attention over to Cat, finding his mouth dry. Desperately meaning to say something and distract the man from whatever thoughts were running through his mind, Tony mumbled out, “Electronics.”

---

Chris

Chris elected not to dwell on Mercy's response to the first question. Fortunately, the other woman changed the subject before a blush could arise. The horse must have sensed the need for a distraction, too, for he snorted water at the pair of them. Instinctively, Chris raised an arm to cover her face, but the horse managed to leave droplets along her other arm. Suppressing a snicker, she wiped her arms dry. Bandit was cool, she decided. Grandpa would've liked him, too.

It grew harder not to laugh when the horse snatched up a mouthful of hay and promptly turned his head back towards them for more petting. Chris didn't notice the smile that crept onto her features, though she felt a flicker of her former self rise out of the place she'd buried it. She knew spending a prolonged time at the farm, where their worries shifted from the undead to how much food they had, and they needn't be moving constantly, she would see more of that person. But who she was now kept her and Tony safe. She could not afford to lose that.

Mercy's words snapped her out of her thoughts, the request surprising her. Someone asking for her company felt... weird, after so long. Even stranger was Mercy's demeanour when she asked; did she look nervous or had Chris' imagination taken the blushing and ran with it?

“Yeah, sure. I'll come,” she said, giving the horse a final few strokes. Mercy was the least convincing person Chris had ever met; her smile screamed her true intentions, if her eyes hadn't already managed to get the message across. Chris couldn't blame her, though, in this new world of little freedom, getting to ride a horse again would be as thrilling as a rollercoaster in the old world. She took Bandit back to his stall – at least she hoped it was his, she guessed – with a fistful of hay. “Later, Bandit.”

Returning to Mercy, Chris gestured to the barn entrance and jogged out. Though she still wasn't exactly sure how long she slept, she remembered roughly the layout of the farm. Out of habit, she look in every direction as she walked the short way to the chicken coop. Chris crouched outside the heavy duty mesh and peered in. The healthy flock clucked and peeped around the coop until they saw her there, then hobbled over, apparently recognising humans as food-givers. “Do people bother naming chickens when there's so many?” she wondered aloud, before remembering she wasn't alone and looking around for Mercy.

Dog
At the nod of a head, the brown haired girl gave a yip of approval before losing control of herself for a moment and reached out, her arms wrapping around the trembling boy and piled him in for a great big hug. Her strong arms holding in place as she just practically cuddled the fellow person like he was a teddy bear, but thankfully was gentle enough not to hurt him.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you! I was dying up here!" Dog gave a cheerful laugh as she let this shy man go before looking over her shoulder toward her twin. "Hey I'll be right back, so you be a good kitty and be nice to our guest okay?" she teased with a grin.

Cat merely glanced at them out of the corner of his eye. "...... Don't play long." he instructed.

"I have no idea what your talking about. How could you think your dear brother would play around at a time like this?" Dog asked innocently, glancing away from him.

"......."

"Okay okay fine maybe a little bit!! Geez you mind reader!" Dog pouted before patting To y on the shoulder and bounded out the door, closing it behind her before moving down the stairs, her footsteps quick but quiet. A learned skill over the years.

Checking around corners to see if there was anyone around, she continued on until she managed to get outside. Almost instantly, after glancing around for any sign of zombies, the tall brown haired girl made a dive to the grass and rolled in it happily. It was nice to have grass, it was soft and cooling. Way better then city streets. Water can wait for a little bit.... A little bit of fun wouldn't hurt.

---

Cat

The tall black haired twin looked out the window, soon seeing his sibling rolling around the grass gleefully. Rolling his eyes a little, he glanced toward the nervous boy who uttered what he was looking for. Standing up, Cat smoothly walked over to a pair of boxes, picking one up with ease then setting it down and kicking it lightly with his foot. The box slide over to where Tony was, slightly bumping his leg. Inside was a bunch of cable wires, most likely used for T.V's and computers.

Soon after, Cat dug into a box and pulled out a white and large old computer, before he walked over and set it down beside the scared man. He had already looked through the boxes in case of food or blankets, so he knew where some electronics were. The taller twin didn't know if these were exactly any use, but that's what this boy wanted. Honestly though, most farmers like this don't have much electronics, if any.

Cat's blue eyes blinked slowly as he looked at Tony, but made no move to actually do anything to him. He could and he was mildly tempted to see just how much he could torment this man via tickling or poking, but he refrained.

His expressionless face simply watched him as his tall form towered over this boy. It was expected that Tony ask questions, it was natural to be curious. Dog tended to sugar coat their life a little, since their life tended to make people more uneasy than they already were. Cat of course, if asked, gave blunt cold hard truth responses. Although he admitted to being a ruthless killer, a predator amongst this flock of sheep, he never lied.

Reaching out his right hand in a tight gloved fist, he turned it so it was palm up to reveal a small blue square. A I-Pod he believed is what people call them.

Olivia

“Yes,” Olivia said. She looked back at the strangely dressed woman and smiled, through her eyes looked haunted. “I grew up on a farm, similar to this, so we had everything. Dogs, cats, chickens, horses, cows, even a couple goats.” She looked down at the floor as they walked toward the kitchen, her hand idly reaching out and petting Kaylah’s dog whenever he got close to her.

“Of course I expect they are all gone now.” She did not elaborate. In truth, she had no idea if things at her farm were okay. She knew her family were gone, but when the outbreak happened, she had been at school. The crazy things started happen around the time her dad, step mom and step siblings came to pick her up. It happened so fast and she ended up being separated as a group of undead advanced on her family.

For all she knew, her farm could be safe like the Mathews’ farm.

When they got to the kitchen, she was surprised to find it really clean. In fact, now that she thought about it, the whole house looked like it had never been infested with the undead. She raised her eyebrow, wondering which one of their companions had done all the cleaning. At least someone was getting things done.

“What do you want?” Olivia asked Kaylah. SHe walked over to the fridge. It was at least double the size of a normal refrigerator. She opened it and smiled. Food. Oh, it was like Heaven.

“The power still works, so hopefully nothing in here is spoiled. How about eggs and bacon? There looks to be enough in here for everyone.”

---

Remy

“You know if I had a working camera, I might take you up on that offer,” Remy said, with a much needed laugh. It had been a long time since he could just chat with someone, even a stranger, and joke around. It felt nice. More than nice, but he was trying not to get too attached to anyone.

As they talked about what they should do first, he could not help blushing yet again when Ash teased him about that. He rolled his eyes at her, pressing his hand to his face. Yes, so he was a little embarrassed. He lacked much experience with the fairer sex, especially since the outbreak stopped anyone from having normal experiences.

“Shut up,” he said, in a friendly, half laughing tone.
Ash stepped closer to him and touched the bottom of his vest. He looked down at her, moving his hand from his heated face. Before he could say anything else, she took off and walked out of the bedroom. He followed, walking next to her. He watched as she checked everything as if expecting an undead around the corner. Remy couldn’t blame her.

“Remy how long do you think we can keep this place secure?”

“I-I honestly don’t know,” he said, his voice hesitant. He wanted to tell her that everything would be fine and that it would be easy to keep this place forever as a safe haven, but that was not going to be the case. The undead would get in or one of their companions would do something stupid.

Like the guy in the attic. There was something not right with him.

“Theoretically if everyone does their part, goes on hunting parties to kill the undead who are getting close, raid nearby towns and just keep this farm maintained, the animals alive and the house stocked, we should be good, but we’re all strangers.”

“Who can we trust? You? Me? Them? Someone could be a threat to us. We have no way of knowing.”

He reached out and touched her shoulder, as if to comfort her. “For the record, you can trust me. I saw the way you looked at me the first time we met. I don’t blame you, of course.”

A sudden aroma overcame his senses. He sniffed, looked Ash in the eyes and grinned. “Am I dreaming, or do I smell bacon and eggs?”

They were closer and closer to the kitchen as Kaylah listened to Olivia speak. She smiled as the young one spoke but also made a sad face when she heard her say they are all gone now. They were soon in the kitchen though the first thing that happened was Olivia saying something.

Olivia: “What do you want?”

The woman in blue had no idea, normally she thought about her pets needs first but she only had one pet left plus the farm pets that were most likely hungry as well as her own. Since the farm was fully stocked most breakfast type meals could be made. Pancakes, cheese on toast, homemade hash browns and……… Her flow of thought had come to an end when Olivia spoke up again. While she had thought about that Bruiser had sniffed about the kitchen.

Olivia: “The power still works, so hopefully nothing in here is spoiled. How about eggs and bacon? There looks to be enough in here for everyone.”

Kaylah: “A survivor breakfast, it would be a good way to get to know people. Do you think it would be a good idea to make breakfast for everyone? Sit around the table or something.”

It would be some weird family like time but with complete strangers who were all over the spectrum, aka the cold crazy guy in the attic and the young sweet thing in the kitchen with Kaylah. She was surprisingly happy for a world infested with the undead and the crazy psychos. For all she knew she could like Cat a lot, it was a scary thought but maybe she could get to know him and maybe he would not be so cold though understanding his background would help. She liked people so she was sure she would talk to Cat and Dog, did she dire put the two as one name, probably not.

With all this going on she final realized how clean the kitchen was, it was surprising. Was someone bored? Did someone have that cleaning trait where things had to be clean? It was a nice change and a real surprise it was clean. It was nothing like her house when the infected were not present. She worked nights, slept days and if she was up earlier than normal during days would do her weekly gaming show thing on the internet. In-between that she would feed, cleaned and walked her dogs. Mess would pile up but it was not extreme, it just was not clean enough to bring people around. As she remembered that she made another face which was a weird frown though she was looking away as she did it.

‘Was I really that much of a pig?’ she thought to herself.

Her face soon went to a neutral state once more though how could one tell behind her vial which was on, but why? Most likely a habit. Kaylah began to look for the dog food and cat food because of the cat they had. KK was gentle, she was sure the animals would know that, Bruiser certainly knew. As she looked she wondered if they were around, she would have looked but she had her head in the cupboard. One would probably find it strange but she was doing it. She could see red, blue, green, yellow and all sorts of coloured labelled goods.

Kaylah soon looked elsewhere to see if she could find the pet food and she did, she looked in one of the lower cupboards. There was plenty of animal food which was food. She picked up a box of dry cat and dog food as well as some wet cat and dog food. She places it on the counter as she closes the cupboard doors. By this point she would normally be talking to her dogs or dog at this point but today was not one of those days. She could not afford to do it as she and Bruiser would get loud and the survivors did not need the attention. KK soon started to look around the kitchen to see if the cat and other dog were in the room. She looked like a ninja though her costume was of a ninja design. Her walk had a ninja flare to it and so did her posture. She was quite as she walked around the kitchen, of course with the dogs could hearing they would hear her.

Kaylah: “Whiskers are you in here? Marvin give me a sign you are here?”

There it was her thing about talking to animals. Most would call their names, but she would talk to them like they were people. Was shed mad? Possibly so or she just loved animals so much that she treated them like people, well close enough anyway. Bruiser was right next to Olivia, clearly the dog liked her a lot already.

– Mercy –

Mercy bit her lip attempting to look apologetic as she realized Bandit had successfully sprayed Chris as well, though she ended up succumbing to the amusement of the situation as Bandit swung his head away from them. She glanced at Chris noticing the smile that had crept onto her features, she was completely unaware she was border lining staring by the way she was looking at her. It was rather nice seeing her smile, Mercy concluded as she switched her gaze to Bandit who had returned for more petting.

Her nerves seemed to ease away as Chris agreed to come with her, her smile switched to a grateful one before she mentioned riding. She was acutely aware of her inability to hide her intentions, it was a tweak in her character Ash often chastised her about. In this new world they needed to be more closed off and defensive if they wanted to survive. She watched Chris lead Bandit back to his stall, idly passing her fingers through her clean hair as she watched the Pinto eagerly follow along behind the other woman. Realizing she didn’t need to be watching she turned away moving a little closer to the door, she reached down to pick up a small silver bucket a 1/3 filled with what she thought was chicken feed...it had a chicken on the bag so she’d had to guess. She glanced up at Chris as she approached her gesturing towards the front of the barn, Mercy smiled and nodded her head once tilting her head to the side as the other woman jogged out of the barn. A dull ache ran the length of her body at the sheer thought of trying, she shook her head and made after Chris at a brisk walk to catch her up.
Once out of the barn she did quickly scan the horizon, glancing at the farmhouse as she made her way over to the chicken run, swinging the bucket quietly beside her, she slid her free hand into the pocket of her jeans.

It wasn’t far to the chicken coop, she took a deep breath before coming to stand just behind Chris slightly off to the right placing the bucket down quietly she watched the beady eyed demons merrily cluck and peek their way around the run. Maybe they’re not as bad as I remember...they look kind of- Her thoughts were cut off as the chickens all hobbled towards Chris clucking expectantly, Mercy flinched away from them inaudibly exhaling a sigh of relief when they didn’t begin flapping around. She glanced at Chris with a raised eyebrow as she spoke, leaning forward and resting her hands on her knees there was still a respectful distance between the two as she peered down at the chickens. Thinking the other woman had asked her that as a question, she adopted an amused smile and answered. “I reckon it depends on how attached to them they are” She answered her, brilliant blue eyes inspecting the chickens in front of her. “Judging by Lloyd, I wouldn’t be surprised if at least a few of them had names” She stated, tilting her head to the side by now the chickens had started to get a little restless clucking louder and ruffling their wings the simple action caused Mercy to take a hasty step backwards, clearing her throat she slid one of her hands into her pocket pulling out a hair tie, she quickly pulled her hair back into a pony tail.

“Hey Christina, do you think you could feed them?” She asked a faint pink tint returning to the tops of her cheeks as she did, she reached up sweeping a lock of her fringe behind her ear. “Lloyd asked me to empty the egg boxes as well” She explained with a small smile. “I think it’d be easier if I do that whilst you feed them...just warn me if they start to come back into the house ok?” She added shifting to the edge of the house glancing at the egg boxes. “One surprise is more than enough for one day hmm?” She smiled with a quick wink before returning her attention to the task at hand; a few of the chickens had followed her along the fence unsure of where the food was going to be coming from. I’m pretty sure if one of these things flies at me my heart will just stop beating

– Tamashii –

Tamashii's smirk grew as she noticed him cover his face in embarrassment after her teasing, rather enjoying how easy he seemed to be to tease. Although the smirk fell from her face as he moved his hand away from his own and looked down at her, catching her eye. She felt a prickle of discomfort course up her spine causing her to look away first as she retracted her hand What was that about? Was the only thought she pulled up from her mind, refusing to entertain any of the other questions that plagued her mind as she checked her corners glancing at Remy questioningly for a moment as she noticed he was merely watching her as she did so. "What? Pays to stay aware" She mumbled at him after a while, her tone matter of factly.

She noted the hesitation in his voice as she reached the top of her stairs, she didn’t comment on it however. She didn’t share Mercy’s naivity she was more than sure they were merely on borrowed time at the moment, nothing was ever simple...her view on things had always been gray but in this new world it had rightfully slid to a darker shade. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs she stepped to the side, spinning to face Remy as she listened carefully to his theory, noting an optimistic edge to his words...it was true of course, theoretically it would work like that. She sighed heavily lifting her hand to her forehead running her fingers through her hair, her expression remaining in a tense frown. Everyone is a threat...especially to Mercy. If they knew- She was pulled from her thoughts as she felt a hand slide onto her shoulder, her hand jolted up as if to grab his wrist she pulled out of the movement halfway through, lifting her eyes to his face briefly checking his sincerity. Even if he was sincere, her issues with trust ran far deeper than one could see and simple reassurance wasn’t enough...despite the fact he’d saved her life and lead her back to Mercy. “It’s not that easy Remy, I trust you more than the others but I’ve known you for all of 48 hours...it just doesn’t happen that fast” She sighed, lifting a hand to her head she wanted him onside so lying to him wouldn’t have been wise perhaps honesty was a better way forward.

She had just folded her arms back across her chest, closing off her body language when he caught her eye and grinned. She blinked in surprise taken aback by the sight, his current look reminded her of a child waking up at Christmas to find Santa had visited. Although she couldn’t deny that smell was heavenly...bacon and eggs? It just wasn’t something she thought she would smell again. In answer to his question a smirk crossed her lips as she reached out towards Remy. “I’m not sure let me check” She jested easily as she went to pinch him for good measure. Regardless of his reaction she almost allowed a smile to replace her smirk as she turned towards the kitchen eager to explore the source of the smell. She walked into the kitchen after checking her corners, her judging eyes falling on Olivia and the dog by her side first before shifting to the woman in the blue...outfit.

Tamashii’s shoulders instantly tensed as she watched Kaylah move around the kitchen noticing how fleet footed she was as she moved, the brunette had taken an instant dislike to the veil that the other woman seemed to always be wearing it hid too much of her face which made Ash uncomfortable. She glanced back at the dog, trying to contain her hostility in case the animal reacted badly to it, she wasn’t about to randomly attack anyone but she was clearly on edge. “Morning Olivia...” She murmured to the red head stood by the stove before nodding her head towards Kaylah. “Morning” She offered in greeting before moving towards the kitchen table moving around it, to the trained eye when she finally came to a standstill she had positioned herself at an equal distance between both the back door (?) and the hallway door, keeping her back to a wall and all survivors in front or just to the side of her. “Is there...enough there to go round?” She asked awkwardly.

Tony

Tony clamped his mouth shut to keep from squeaking when the puppy twin pounced on him. His arms trapped, he could do nothing but submit to the gratuitous cuddling. As the twin snuggled into him, he started to feel almost... comfortable. When did he last hug anyone? Long before the infection broke out – he could be very selective about who touched him, sometimes – and Chris kept herself so occupied ensuring their survival she never considered how comforting a simple hug could be. But the very moment Tony became used to the hug, it was over and Dog bounced away, closing the door on the way out of the attic.

Alone with the quieter, far more terrifying twin, Tony looked everywhere but directly at him. Suddenly the floorboards were of great interest to him. In short time, "Cat" began to deliver disused electronic equipment exactly suited to Tony's needs; cables wrapped in yellow, white and orange rubber and a computer from the late nineties. The similarity to a house cat presenting its family with dead birds and mice wasn't lost on him. Still avoiding the man's gaze, Tony went to his knees by the box and carefully rifled through the cables. I need tools... wire strippers, screwdrivers... a soldering iron. That's not likely.

He was acutely aware of the unwavering stare of the man towering over him; the height difference made even more obvious when Tony knelt on the floor. He tried to keep his mind on the task, and not dwell on the many hundreds of ways this man could torture him. Summoning all the courage he possessed, Tony lifted his head to ask for the man's help once more, and instead froze again when Cat moved, raising his right hand and revealing an iPod.

I'm going to need more screwdrivers. Slowly, Tony lifted his hand and, being careful not to make any sudden movements, picked the iPod out of Cat's palm. “Thank you,” he said quietly, but clear enough for Cat to hear. “This is, um... very helpful.” He held the device lightly so it was easy enough for the other man to snatch it back if he didn't want Tony to have it. “Do you know if there are tools up here?”

---

Chris

“Yeah, maybe,” Chris replied, cautiously poking a finger in through the mesh and stroking the neck feathers of a particularly friendly hen. Another came along soon enough to nip at her finger, mistaking it for food, and she pulled her hand out of the mesh quick. A small cut, almost a pinprick, bled at the tip of her finger; she sucked it into her mouth before the blood could drop and cause concern. She gave Mercy a sheepish, that-was-my-fault look.

Mercy's restless steps struck her as odd, but only when the other woman asked Chris to feed the chickens while she snuck into the hen house did Chris understand what the problem was. She considered asking outright, “are you afraid of chickens?” but decided that might be a tad nosy. Instead she opted to express her understanding with action. “I'll do both, if you like. Feed them and get the eggs.” You don't have to do it if you don't want to, her tone implied.

She stood and collected the bucket of chicken feed. Dipping her hand in, she scooped out a handful of grits and sprinkled them in through the mesh. The chickens flocked to her side of the coop and the first handful of feed disappeared in moments. Chris crouched again and tipped the bucket from the bottom, drawing a heaped line in feed at the edge of the coop. With the bucket half empty and the chickens feasting, she moved around to the small door in the coop and slipped inside. In fluid motions she retrieved the two grain dispensers and ducked back out of the coop. She filled them with the remaining grain and slipped them back into the coop behind the chickens.

Chris stood straight again, dusting grass and grain off her knees. “Tadaa,” she gestured like a game show host to the coop. She looked at Mercy, trying to offer a supportive smile – though she knew not why she felt the need to support this woman. “Want me to grab those eggs?”

Cat

Continuing to watch the smaller man, Cat's cold calm blue eyes never left his only current company. It was obvious just how scared this boy was, how he never looked straight at him and flinched away as he neared and showed just how much bigger he was. Perhaps it was a natural animal instinct. Quite a few animals can't make eye contact with their dominant counterparts. Still, in a way it was smarter to simply submit to ones bigger than them.

Perhaps that was what was wrong with the tall violent men? Born in the streets and living off raw instinct, perhaps that is why he didn't feel much need to torture those like this boy or Dog. Sure, the same dark thoughts still entered his mind but they weren't quite as strong compared to someone of challenge or during his regular dark dreams.

At the question for tools, Cat merely turned away, moving deeper through the attic and roaming around piles of boxes. His powerful hands moving some around until he finally picked up a old dark red tool bag. Slightly holed up, obviously had been well used. Striding back over, he knelt down in front of his current companion and set the bag down. Unzipping it to reveal some common tools. A couple screwdrivers, a wrench, and even a power drill that looked a bit worn and rusted. The tools looked old, and well used, but now dusty from lack of use in recent years.

"Most of the newer tools, if not taken, are probably in the barn." Cat finally spoke to speak his thought. His voice deep, cold, but crystal clear yet holding what one may call a minor mysterious sultry nature.

---

Dog

After some time rolling around in the grass, Dog sniffed the air as she smelled the scent that was familiar. Food. Just food. She didn't know exactly what, but it was food... And she was starving. Cat delegated their eating since he didn't want to waste food... But man she was starving! Driven by her hunger, she stood up and jogged into the house, sniffing the air and following the delicious scent like her given name implies.

Poking her head around the corner of the doorway, she saw the kitchen filled with four people. One being the little girl, the other the blue dressed woman who reminded her of several women back home, and that woman who was friends to the blonde girl. As well as one of the guys. She smiled as she spotted the blue woman's dog, resisting the urge to snuggle the cute animal.

With a slightly shy but friendly grin, she waved her hand a little. "Whatever that is smells awesome." she chirped in her husky deep voice.

~Olivia & Remy & Rena

"Morning. Wow, everyone is early birds."

"Is there enough for everyone?" Olivia repeated. "Are you kidding? There is enough for an entire football team, their apposing team, and their fans." She looked over at the huge family table Ash was standing near. "Everyone take a seat. It's ready." She busied herself grabbing plates and putting equal portions on each plate. She left the plates on the counter, not sure who would want to eat at the table, but it would be nice if they could all sit together. Hopefully, they could get to know one and another a little more.

"Whatever that is, smells awesome."

Olivia looked up. "Oh, it's eggs and bacon. Go, go, sit down."

Remy took two plates and went to sit down next to Ash, giving her one. Olivia followed behind him, carrying silverware. He took the offered forks and smiled down at the small redhead. She seemed eager to please everyone. It was refreshing to be around someone like her again.

"Here you go Ash," he said, putting the fork down near her plate. He tried to meet her eyes as he set down next to her. One day, he hoped he gained her full trust.

Just as he was about to take his first bite, the ballerina girl came waltzing into the room, looking damp from a recent shower. Her cheeks were rosy red and her eyes were very alert and curious.

"Mm, that smells heavenly. Hi guys," Rena said, standing a little awkwardly off to the side. Before the world turned to Hell, eating anything like bacon had been something she could not do because of her role in the American Ballet Academy, but now, she could care less, because fighting zombies had to be the world's best fitness plan. She inwardly laughed at the thought, before grabbing a plate and sitting down on Remy's other side.

The kitchen soon had a few more additions, Kaylah had yet to speak to any else in the room but they had time so there was no rush to do so as she soon watched as the cat popped up on the counter next to her. She watched as the cat moved around the dry cat food, seeing it stop here and there as it circled the food. The woman in blue smiled a little as she soon felt something tap her left leg. It was the farmer’s dog, he had heard her call. Since both Whiskers and Marvin were here she starts to serve there morning meal. Kaylah went to get their bowls; both had the animal’s names on. The cats bowl was blue and the dogs bowl was red. As she picked them up she remembered Bruiser did not have one and so she would have to use a normal bowl or something.

‘I am sure if I clean it then it will be ok to use, no? No I am sure it will be ok’ she thought to herself.

She took both to the counter and placed it on the counters surface. She then fetched a bowl for her dog before slowly putting enough wet food in the bowls for the dog before petting enough wet food for the cat which followed with her putting some dry food on for the cat and some dry food for the dogs. With that done she takes it back to where she found the bowls and placed it down where both the cat and dog went at it. Bruisers bowl was to the left of Marvin’s though it seemed Bruiser was wandering around the kitchen. There were more people in here now as she approached Remy who was handing something to Ash. It was a plate but a dog had no idea what a plate was though after a few sniffs made her way elsewhere around the kitchen.

Eventually Bruiser saw this other person; they had said something not too long ago while Blue was feeding the animals. It was one of the twins, Dog was what they were called and Bruiser just sat in place as she looked up at the gentle twin. Dogs and animals in general could tell if one was gentle or not, even more so Bruiser as she was a watch/guard dog and was one of the smarter dogs out there. Her brown eyes staring at the woman who was poking her head into the kitchen. It was only moments later before the dog charges at her, not in a brutal manner, but more in a manner that Dog would be able to handle which was playful with a bit of roughness to it. Compared to Cat Bruiser would seem like a puppy though no one had seen what she was like in certain situations.

Rena: "Mm, that smells heavenly. Hi guys,"

Kaylah looked over to where Dog was who by this point had to deal with Bruiser who was being rather playful and even big people had to watch out for a dog of Bruisers size. Bruiser was actually bigger then most other rottweilers, originally she was the smallest of the litter but she turned out to be the biggest, that just meant there was more to love about her.

KK: “I would watch out miss, she has been known to knock big and tall people over if you are not careful. But when it comes to people she is just a complete puppy unlike certain situations I have been in before which involve the infected.”

She soon looked over to Rena before picking a plate up herself and making her way to the table to join the others. She was a social butterfly or was more so before the world began to decay, the decay being the infected slowly removing all life on the planet. The woman in blue soon sits down on the opposite side of where the ballet dancer was; maybe this was a good time to get to know her and the others in the kitchen at this point.

KK: “So what’s the topic of discussion going to be today? Should we exchange survivor tips or talk about our favourite things on the farm? Don’t let me tell you what subject to talk about, I am sure something will come up.”

Kaylah was more outgoing now, something she had not been in a while. Being with other people meant her anxiety of being left alone was gone, the more people with her the less she would feel about this none stop problem. She was going to have to put her life in their hands and they had to do the same so the more she knew about them the more comfortable she would be with putting life in their hands.

– Mercy –

Mercy raised an eyebrow at Chris as she poked her finger through the mesh to stroke the ‘friendly’ hen...well she had to admit it did look fairly friendly for a chicken anyway. She noticed another zip along and aim its beak at Chris’s hand, adopting a concerned look as she pulled her hand back from mesh hastily. Mercy found the sheepish look rather amusing, she couldn't keep the amused smile from her face. “Sorry that wasn’t funny...are you OK?” She apologized after clearing her throat as she watched Chris place her finger in her mouth, the blonde woman lowered her hands to her pockets, sliding her hand into her left pocket she pulled a slither of plastic from it. “Plaster worthy? Even little cuts can be a risk...” She offered with a small smile on her face, she held out the plaster to the dark haired woman, upon closer inspection the plaster was a rather interesting yellow color with a well known character from the Mr Men on it, Mr Bump. “Just ignore the design...can’t really be picky these days” Mercy told the other woman, biting her lip in slight embarrassment as that pink hue reappeared on her cheeks again.

She looked a little surprised as Chris offered to do both jobs. “Oh...erm...” She murmured, in reality that sounded perfect...Why did she suggest that? There was of course only one conclusion to that question. I must look like such an idiot... Embarrassed again...Mercy didn’t answer Chris straight away, as soon as the other woman was distracted and feeding the chickens she lifted a hand to her face covering her covering her eyes for a brief moment, not entirely sure why she was so bothered about admitting it. She dropped her hand moving over to a soft wicker basket rested next to the coop, watching Chris move around as she hovered by the small door. One hand idly playing with ends of her hair as she waited for a chance to slip into the coop. She stepped back about to say something when Chris stood straight dusting herself off before making the peculiar gesture coupled with a ‘Tadaa’ whatever she was about to say was lost as she was unable to stop herself from laughing lightly.

She lifted a hand to her mouth as she slowly managed to calm herself down, that shouldn’t have made her laugh quite as much as she had...but it had been a while since she’d even had a reason to, it felt good just allowing it to happen. “I’m sorry! That was...” She trailed off, clearing her throat unable to wipe the smile from her face. “...perfect” She finished glancing down at the chicken coop, she crouched down next to the mesh watching the hens peck at the ground hungrily. She lifted her gaze in time to catch Chris’s supportive smile, before she offered to grab the eggs. That smile... She got to her feet, shame apparent in her features though she actually attempted to hide it this time. “...if you wouldn't mind” She murmured in answer offering Chris the basket, dropping her eyes to the floor in front of her, feeling guilty for allowing herself to be an obvious coward. “I’m not very good with birds...” She admitted in a low voice, reaching up to play with the angel winged locket hanging around her neck.
.
– Tamashii –

Tamashii nodded at Olivia her mouth twitching up into a small appreciative smile, she pulled a chair out about to move over to grab a plate when she noticed Remy had already beaten her to it. She sunk down into her chair accepting the plate from him. “Thank you” she thanked him, catching his gaze with her own as he sunk into the chair next to him. Her eyes narrowed slightly as curiosity tinged her expression, she looked away reaching for her fork and a knife. Her eyes drifting over to the light hearted twin that had made an appearance in the kitchen, Tamashii watched her for a moment relaxing when the larger of the two dogs bounded over to the twin. She was pretty sure she could trust the animals intuition on this account...besides this food was not to be ignored for starters it was warm when was the last time they had, had a chance to eat hot food? As the ballerina girl made her appearance she gave her a half smile in greeting. Tamashii had just taken her first bite of food and was in no hurry to swallow it without savoring the heavenly taste first, she chewed slowly but with a purpose before swallowing and answering blue veiled woman. “Perhaps we should work on a plan instead?” She put forward.

“As much as I don’t want to bring the mood down in here but if we want to stay here we need to be more organized. Patrols around the borders, look outs and probably a backup plan in case things go pear shaped” She put forward, before taking another mouthful of food. It wasn’t the ideal topic for breakfast...but the majority of them were here, she was sure the others could be caught up later and this was definitely something that they should discuss. She turned her attention to the twin who was no doubt busy with the dog.“You should grab some of this” She suggested to the jovial woman, realizing she didn’t even know her name. “I’m Ash by the way, this is Remy and Olivia, Rena and...” She trailed off as she looked at the blue veiled woman. Damn I’ve forgotten her name... It was very unlike her to forget such crucial information. “You are?” She asked after a small pause, hopefully the woman in the blue costume had filled in the silence with her name.

Tony

When the man made no move to snatch the iPod back from him, Tony brought it closer for inspection. All the while aware of Cat's lingering gaze, he quickly recalled how the device came apart. He spent a large amount of time during his teenage years taking things apart and putting them together again once he figured out how they worked. The things Cat presented him with would be no challenge.

At the movement, Tony's eyes flicked up and watched the other man move across the room. Like a deer sensing something in the long grass, his eyes followed Cat everywhere he went. The kneeling came as a surprise, though. He had thought Cat enjoyed making a point of his superiority. Still, he didn't say a word about it. Instead he turned his gaze on the tool bag, leaning forward just slightly to look into it.

Screwdrivers, pliers, wrenches... no soldering iron, that's to be expected. There was even a power drill and a few of the interchangeable heads. Tony looked at the cables and the computer and the iPod, a million thoughts running through his head so loudly he almost didn't hear Cat's words.

Finally, Tony found his voice. “These will do brilliantly,” he said, keeping his tone fairly monotonous for fear showing his emotions, particularly his excitement, would not end well. “Thank you, sir.” He would need somewhere clear to work, with lots of space and light... a magnifying glass would make everything a lot easier, but he could make do without. There had to be somewhere within the farm house he could work. But he couldn't leave the attic until Dog returned. “Do you... want to help?”

---

Chris

Chris examined the still-bleeding cut in her finger. For the past few weeks, the only times she saw blood that didn't immediately point to danger were when she or Tony injured themselves. She tripped numerous times towards the end, once right in front of Mercy and the others if she remembered correctly. Running through the forest earned her a few cuts, too. She looked up when Mercy spoke, then down at the cartoon band aid in her hand. Chris couldn't help but smirk as she gently took the plaster and applied it to the cut. “Thanks,” she said, wiggling her fingers. “I look real scary now.”

That laughter was infectious; it latched onto Chris and brought about a truly heartfelt grin. The very first in a long time. The smile was so covert, in fact, that she did not realise she was smiling until a blush crept back onto Mercy's cheeks. When the other woman tried to speak, only to find she was unable to because of her own smile, Chris laughed. It was a soft, rusty laugh, the kind that promised more but had been held at bay for so long it almost forgot what to do.

“It's cool,” she said, waving a hand. “I got it.” She plucked the wicker basket from its place beside the coop and slipped inside while the hens were pecking away at their grain. In quick time she eased into the den and filled the basket with eggs. According to the multitude of them, the hens had made the most of what grain they had during the time they were alone.

Chris emerged from the coop within minutes, the odd strand of hay sticking to her hair and clothes, and presented Mercy with a basket of eggs. She chose not to question the woman's aversion to birds, but the locket... “That's pretty,” she said quietly, pointing to it.

Cat

Watching the man fiddle with the devices and tools, Cat mearly watched with mild curiousity. He didn't know much of electronics. Only basics like hotwiring a car and maybe a maybe a bomb or two but that was about it with electronics. He just knew they were usually worth a lot of money when put together. Like a computer or large tv.

This boy was no real threat, and the taller man figured the boy already knew who was the bigger male here, so he didn't feel the need to stand. Plus he felt cramp as it is up here in the attic. It made him edgy, stir crazy... Like keeping a tiger in a cage, he felt he could just lash at someone for the mere entertainment. Still he didn't, because Dog wanted to run around playing with the rats.

At the soft question, Cat mearly gave a shrug. "....I have nothing else I can to do." he stated simply, his words clear, though careful of the wording.

There was something he could do. He could toy with this boy in many ways that could entertain him for sometime. Tongue would have to be cut out first so he didn't make so much noise though. But he doubted doing those things would comply with anyone's needs. So far, this boy hadn't given him much reason for Cat to do such things to him. Perhaps if this guest got bit, he'd make his end at least somewhat swift.

"What do you need me to do?" Cat asked cooly, to rid of the dark thoughts that always managed to haunt his mind.

---

Dog

Dog smiled as Olivia offered the tall brunette some food and a seat at the table. Such a kind little girl, one of those little girls that Dog had sometimes watched on her free time back at the gang. A childish dream of wanting that life and being so innocent. Most of the children she saw as a kid though, were either crying, fighting, or dying. Cat had to fight many over scraps of food.

"I'd live to stay and sit with such a lovely lady as you and the rest of these fine fellows, but I have to get back to my brother. He'll be hungry too, but he's a bit too scary to sit with the others." she said with a cheerful smile though with her rusty gaze held disappointment.

She did want to sit at the table, it wasn't often she did and if she did, it was usually a stump or a broken table. Even if it was a lie, she could pretend it was like eating as real family. But she wasn't going to abandon her brother either and that boy was still stuck up there with him.

It was then when the bigger dog noticed her before playfully charging her. Dog grinned just as playfully, gripping the dog by the shoulders as she jumped on the twin. Playfully rough housing her and patting the dog's head. Using her strength to assist in pushing the dog and not falling backward from this's hounds playful assault. Such a big and strong dog, it was quite impressive really. If Dog wasn't careful, she would have been knocked over by now. She always liked animals, and always hated it when Cat killed one and made her eat it when they were on the streets. Luckily, thanks to this plague that had died down now since it seemed all animals were infected with this virus.

As the dog's owner spoke to her in warning, Dog blinked a little at the word 'miss' was spoken to her. "Mr. I'm a boy." she pouted as if her pride was hurt for being called a girl. She chuckled though and looked at the dog she was petting and smiled a little as if to say 'our little secret puppy' knowing full and well there was fooling a dog.

"Your dog is very sweet, such a good big puppy." Dog cheered as she gingerly scratched behind the ears before standing and walking over to the counter and grabbed two plates. Her mouth almost drooling at the delicious smelling food. Mhm much better then protein bars.

As the woman known as Ash spoke and introduced everyone except the blue clad woman, Dog grinned sheepishly. "Nice to meet everyone. My name is Dog, and my big scary brother is Cat. Weird names I know." she chuckled.

Dog: "Mr. I'm a boy."

Kaylah: “Ummmmmmm, sorry about calling you a girl.”

The woman in blue soon started to think why the twin was hiding her woman like identity? There were reasons why but she was not going to push them out of the twin who wanted to pretend to be a guy. They were not going to fool Kaylah the detective, she kind of laughed at the detective part. In the end she would just go with it, but she was curious, she was allowed to be curious wasn't she? Asking was probably out of the question or was it? If only Sigmund Freud was here, he could decode Dog but he wasn't and she would respect the twin’s wishes.

Dog: "Your dog is very sweet, such a good big puppy."

Kaylah: “She sure is a sweet dog. She can go a bit mental in certain infected situations and all psycho situations. I won’t go into it but overall she is a puppy.”

Ash: “I’m Ash by the way, this is Remy and Olivia, Rena and...”

The woman in blue heard most of the names but hers had not been mentioned yet, did she not remember. She was sure her name was given but then again she did ask for Olivia’s name earlier so maybe it was still a time of remembering names to faces. By this point Kaylah was making sure some food was on her plate before her tummy made a noise. The smell of eggs and bacon was a pleasure to the smell receptors and to eat it was a pleasure to the taste buds. Shame she could not eat it much, she had a figure to keep which was more of a personal choice then a job requirement which did not exist at her strip club. Soon the question was asked.

Ash: “You are?”

Kaylah: “I am Kitana from out world…….”

She paused for a moment hoping someone got the joke/reference. She gave a quick look to see before going on to tell them her real name.

“I’m Kaylah though you could call me KK or for those who really want to could call me Blue. If you throw my real name in time to time then it is all good.”

Dog: "Nice to meet everyone. My name is Dog, and my big scary brother is Cat. Weird names I know."

‘Dog and her brother Cat, I am sure I will remember there names’ she thought to herself.

Kaylah soon went back to what Ash said earlier, patrols and a backup plan was a good idea. She thought for a moment as she soon pulled down the vial to reveal her sparkly lips, she still carried her stripper make up because she happened to have it when she left her house and she did not go out of her way to find it or anything. Kaylah wanted to be able to hold out as long as she could or as long as they could was probably a better thing to say.

Kaylah: “Should we set up a schedule which has about four or maybe eight hour slots and have the people involved? It is not like I am sleeping easily at the moment and so I believe what Ash said should happen and the backup plan is certainly needed or we would be running around like headless chickens. Also it is a good bonding experience too. Maybe two teams of two. Both teams move around the grounds going in the same direction but starting from different points. Numbers certainly makes things safer.”

She paused so the others could talk or it would just be her spouting words. She did wonder if anything had a plan for when and if the farm became a lost cause. Kaylah thought to herself about adding more defences because there was never enough when there was a million undead roaming the land. She was most likely very anxious if anything so maybe she was just over thinking and being a bit too paranoid at this time.

– Mercy –

Mercy felt her smile widen as Chris accepted the plaster, feeling as if she had finally done something useful...slightly useful. “You’re welcome” She murmured as Chris wriggled her fingers, the bright yellow band aid was rather visible. “Definitely” She agreed with the other woman’s statement, there was a teasing edge to her voice however as if she were merely returning the jest. Chris’s sudden laughter caused more color to enter the blonde’s cheeks; she hadn’t heard another person laugh for quite a while. Chris’s promisingly soft laugh was very much something she wasn’t averse to hearing in the slightest.

“Thank you” Mercy thanked her with a small inclination of her head as Chris waved a hand and went into the coop with the wicker basket. Mercy shuffled uncomfortably as she waited for the other woman to reappear, she cast her gaze over to the pond and its surrounding grassland subconsciously checking for the tell tale signs of the shambling creatures that haunted their lives. Hearing a shuffle beside her she brought her attention back to Chris, the worried look she had adopted gave way to a warm smile as she presented her with the basket, amusement danced across her expression as she noticed the odd strand of hay sticking out of Chris’s hair.

“What did you do, roll around in there?” Mercy teased in a light manner, accepting the basket with one hand her other lifted up as if to alleviate Chris of a blade of hay from her hair, she fell short of course quickly disguising her intent by pulling her hand round and threading her fingers into her own hair. “You've got hay...” She murmured, pointing at her own hair in indication as to where it was, thinking to that had been a close call, in her excitement of being around another person she had almost forgotten the first rule of personal boundaries, she should know better. “This is great by the way, saved me again for sure” She grinned, glancing down at the chickens with a mistrusting eye as she said the last part.

Mercy glanced down at the locket she had been playing with a moment ago. “It is” She agreed, reaching down to run a finger over one of the dark silver wings . “I don’t have a good story to go with it I’m afraid” Mercy shrugged, offering up the small slither of information though she was aware it wasn’t interesting. “It was pretty and available” She stated with another warm smile. Mercy’s mannerisms and body language had a habit of betraying her, like now for instance she knew there was a chance she should be more withheld but she was already displaying signs of being happily comfortable in Chris’s presence. “Don’t feel like you have to answer this but what did you do before...this happened?” Mercy asked in a small voice, aware it was a very open ended question, in fairness that had been her intent it gave the option of a vague answer if Chris was at all inclined to say anything in response to it. “If you wouldn’t mind we could walk and talk...this thing is kind of heavy” Mercy added with a sheepish smile, indicating the egg laden basket she had in her hands she took a step backwards in the direction of the house only hesitating if the other woman decided not to follow her or spoke up.

– Tamashii –

Lovely lady...? Can tell you don’t know me Was possibly the first thought Tamashii got as she munched through her breakfast. She was surprised when the twin announced ‘she’ was in fact a he, she had instantly pegged the young chap as a woman because of his slightly feminine features. Her natural suspicion kicked in, she wasn’t often wrong about people though they could surprise her on a regular basis, her instincts were usually pretty spot on. She had already decided to keep a close eye on the twins and was especially keen on keeping them away from her companion...bloody woman was the type to attempt to befriend everyone even if this twin seemed fairly harmless ‘his’ brother made Tamashii’s spidey senses tingle. She offered up a half smile at Dog once ‘he’ had introduced himself, though amusement danced across her face at the concept of 'his' brother being called Cat. Heh CatDog...what kind of parent calls their children Cat and Dog? Must be codenames She thought to herself looking from Dog to the woman in blue as they spoke, she was almost finished with her food by now.

Tamashii looked at the woman in blue with a raised eyebrow and a rather blank look indicating she had no idea what she was on about. “Blue it is then” She stated with a rather matter of fact nod, she would remember Kaylah’s name but Blue was a nice quick alternative to it usually she would stick with what people preferred to be called...but Kaylah had offered it so she was going to stick to it. She placed her cutlery down still watching Dog out of the corner of her eye as Kaylah piped up with some good ideas about earlier. They were all good ideas, she leant forward and propped her elbows on the table a frown etched onto her face as she processed the information. Good bonding experience? Spare me She kept that thought under wraps. God don’t let her meet Mercy either... Another one to keep away from the friendly blonde, Tamashii’s reasoning’s behind these thoughts were ultimately selfish of course. If Mercy were to attach herself to anyone here, there was no way Tamashii would be able to convince her to leave with just her, her gaze slid to Olivia briefly she was already going to have an issue convincing her to leave the girl behind. Tamashii felt her shoulders tense up as she thought over a game plan.

“Perhaps a schedule would work, we need something tall enough that can be used as a lookout putting it somewhere central...there has to be binoculars around here somewhere, we can work out a routine for that unless there are willing volunteers. We also really need to get those vehicles checked out as soon as possible to make sure they run ok as well as getting the fence fortified. Two people each for those jobs, Remy and I are going to check out the boundaries make sure there aren’t any of those things trying to break in” Tamashii laid out for them, taking control of the situation though she had no intention of fighting anyone else or passing up their ideas she continued on. “As for the backup plan, first we’ll need a map. We should decide on a place to meet up again if things go pear shaped, a maximum time to wait that sort of thing. Once the vehicles are checked maybe we can even work out a code red escape plan, whatever you guys want. I’m serious about deciding on a place to meet though” She also offered up to them. Just in case we get separated again the thought crossed her mind as she clasped her hands together in front of her, resting her chin against them, she let her words sink in and offered the others a chance to lay down their opinions.

Tony

Tony shifted his legs out from under him, moving into a cross-legged position on the floor in an attempt to get comfortable. It was futile under the gaze of a man such as Cat, but at least he could decrease the level of ache in his legs somewhat. He rummaged through the bag of tools until he had a handful of screwdrivers in varying sizes, then nudged the bag aside and started laying the screwdrivers out in order of size between himself and Cat.

“If you wouldn't mind, um...” he indicated one of the smaller screwdrivers, picking up the one next to it and twirling it expertly in his fingers. “You could use that to take apart the iPod... I need the motherboard inside, it's the green square with all the wires attached to it... but I'm sure you know that.” Avoiding Cat's eyes, Tony set the iPod in front of him and tapped the appropriate screwdriver again.

Ducking his head, he pulled the old computer over and swapped out his screwdriver for one of the larger ones, then set about taking apart the other shell of the monitor. His hands had not forgotten and his skill showed in the speed with which he dismantled the monitor. He numbered each screw mentally for fear his muttering would disturb Cat, then set aside the shell and delved into the complicated electronics.

---

Chris

Should it be starting to worry her that she was smiling, and so was Mercy? Not to mention, laughing, too. A voice in her head urged her to close herself off, to shield herself again, but she found herself craving the light-heartedness, the smiles and the laughs. It had been so long that her heart raced whenever she saw or heard them.

Fortunately, the hay stuck in her hair provided enough embarrassment to dull down the excitement. Offering a shy smile – something usually unbeknownst to her – she tugged the hay out of her hair, mussing her braid in the process. She didn't miss the way Mercy reached to rid her of the hay only to lower her hand before she completed the task.

“Thanks,” Chris muttered, tossing the hay aside. She tried slyly to cover her face and hide any blush that might threaten her bravado. “Yeah, I thought I'd start a new fashion trend. You wait, hay hair is gonna rock the world. Everyone'll be rolling around in the chicken coops.”

At Mercy's invitation, she followed her into a walk around the grounds. “You're welcome,” she said in response to being told she had 'saved' the other woman, for the second time. “You owe me, you know,” she teased, smirking to herself. She hardly expected nor required Mercy to pay her debt. She listened peaceably to Mercy's story, or lack thereof, regarding the necklace. She thought it might have had more sentimental value. As they walked towards the house, she tapped the Los Angeles Fire Department logo on her t-shirt. “I was a firefighter in LA. What about you?”

Cat

Watching this smaller boy get to work, instructing the bigger twin on what to do, he picked up the specific screwdriver in a powerful fist. Then the blue little square known as a I-Pod, slowly unscrewing the tiny little screws to take it apart. He had taken apart one before, but only for mere curiosity, otherwise he just scrapped them to the pawn shop to get some money.

After successfully taking apart the device as gentle as possible and avoiding simply crushing it, his blue eyes roamed the wires and other small electronics that made this thing tick. Finding the green little square, he gingerly pinched it between his right index finger and thumb and removed it before holding it out to his current companion.

"....Why do you need it?" Cat's cold calm voice ringed through the attic. Probably the first time he actually initiated a conversation. Though it wasn't for satisfy any companionship people felt they needed, just that he was curious of this foreign thing this boy was doing.

The older twin was clever, he taught himself how to read and write and learned what he could from whatever books that had been tossed away. So he wasn't stupid enough not to turn up some more knowledge, even if it seemed useless to him. Strength was one power, and knowledge was another. Both were necessary for survival.

---

Dog

As the tall boyish girl listened to them, she tapped her chin thoughtfully and hummed. She honestly, wasn't a great planner. Cat usually handled that, he was the better survivalist in general. She was just better with people.

"Well Cat can climb up top the house or barn. He's a good climber and has good eyes." Dog said softly before remembering that these people probably didn't want anything to do with him. None the less make him the look out for their safety

[b]"There may be a map in the attic, there are a lot of boxes." The dirty blonde continued.

Remy & Olivia

"Excuse me," Olivia said in response to Dog. "Wouldn't it be better for there to be at least two people on watch at all times and for us to do shifts?" She looked around at everyone, wondering if they had the same thoughts as she did; she did not like the idea of this "guys" twin brother being the only one on watch. There was something off about him, that was for sure.

"Not only that, but I think we need to let the owner of this place chime in before we go making huge decisions," Remy added. "Like Ash said, we're going to do a check around the boundaries of the fence, make sure we're still in the clear. This is also something we need to have a regular schedule for, and maintaining the animals and crops and bringing in the food they provide."

He looked over at Dog. "No more incidents like with what happened to that dog, infected or not. Keep him in line." Nobody else seemed to want to say it, so Remy knew he had to speak up. If Cat started to torture anything else, be it animal or human... they would have to make the twins leave, or at the very least only Cat. For the safety of the rest of them... and if Cat refused to leave... Remy shook his head. He did not want to think about stuff like that just yet.

Lloyd

Lloyd walked out of his bedroom, feeling disoriented and feverish. He had not felt right since he first got back to the farm and found out what that lunatic did to his dog. His nightmares about end times were not helping either. He went about his morning rituals only halfheartedly and the sluggishly dragged himself into the kitchen where he was surprised to see most of the group, minus 3 or 4 people. He was thankful Cat was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh..." He rubbed the back of his neck and eyed everyone nervously. "Sorry I've been absent the last couple days." He blushed and busied himself, grabbing a plate of food and sitting down. Though, he only picked at the bacon and barely ate any of the eggs.

"Thanks for the food," he said, to whoever had cooked it. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead, which was odd because the interior of the house was rather cool. Someone had opened up some windows to air the place out.

Kaylah sat there as she heard Ash spoke about a schedule, a lookout point, a routine and some other stuff which seemed to have sunk in pretty quickly as soon the backup plan started to come up. Ash seemed to be on top of things as she mentioned a map, a meeting point though Kaylah would make a backup meeting up point just in case the first became a no go. The mention of vehicles made her think, they would take them a great distance but the gas would be limited unless they managed to top up every now and then though that would be difficult. Dog soon spoke up making Blue turn to look at the woman pretending to be a boy.

Dog: "Well Cat can climb up top the house or barn. He's a good climber and has good eyes." Dog said softly before remembering that these people probably didn't want anything to do with him. None the less make him the look out for their safety”

Dogs mentioned there might be a map in the attic; soon the voice of her roommate was heard. She had a good point but the problem was who would team up with Cat, Dog would not always be around him though she had no intention to keep them apart, that would be cruel. Soon Remy brought something up; the owner should be included in this as this was his place. Blue was sure they would be OK with it if it meant the farm could live for as long as it could. The schedule came up again though the animals were also a factor; they needed them just as the animals needed them. Remy brought up the dog, she was not there for that but it sounded wrong to her ears.

Lloyd: “Oh…”

Soon Kaylah heard another voice turning her head towards that person; it was the owner……

‘Ummmmmm, Lloyd was his name, yes I am sure that is what I heard one of the others call him’ she thought to herself

The woman in blue looking at him, something was up and it kind of worried her. Was he sick? Could she catch it? He looked like shit which was the only word that popped up in her head at the time. He seemed to be going for the bacon a lot too, the eggs were good and she would of spoke up about it but maybe he was not an egg person. Kaylah watched the young man as she watched some sweat slowly run down his forehead. Kaylah watched TV and films about the infected. Shaun of the Dead, the Walking Dead, Land of the Living Dead and those other ones popped up in her mind at this time. TV and movies were not too regular though and only happened once or two a week at most.

Kaylah: “Hey are you OK?”

Her eyes looked over to where Lloyd was. She hoped this was not like the movies where one person was sick and suddenly they turn into the undead the next. She shuddered at the thought. She soon thought about the backup plan and wondered if there was another entrance in the basement, most farms had them for storing things quickly. She thought a little more as she put some egg and bacon on her fork and gave it a little twirl like her food was dancing. Her expression stayed the same for the most part and soon spoke up.

Kaylah: “Well I guess I would take the night shift, I have not been sleeping very well so maybe it would be best for me to do that. Also I guess I could be on the roof with the craz-…… I mean Cat. I have not been in the basement but is there a way out down there? I mean is there another entrance like most farms have? Another question is do we have enough fuel for the vehicles if we use them or will some of us have to take a trip to the local patrol station?”

She was sure she would be safe on the roof; she could take one of the other sides of the roof while he took the other so they had better security. Was she crazy for wanting to be on the roof with the guy who was basically a psycho? Someone had to do it right other than Dog, but maybe she would object to her doing so. They could easily get some more supplies for reinforcing the outside of the building just for extra safety. That is what it was all about extra security. Blue would keep an eye on Lloyd; hopefully he was just generally ill.

– Mercy –

Mercy had only known Chris a very short while but she hadn’t thought her the type to appear shy, therefore the shy smile threw her a bit. Any smile was welcome however and despite trying to give her cheeks a break she ended up offering another warm smile in response to it. She did notice the other woman’s sly move to cover her face, but deliberately looked away for a short moment to give her a chance to right herself. She felt another small bout of laughter pass her lips at the comment on ‘hay hair’, it was probably the mental image of a few choice people rolling around the chicken coop. The scary twin from the attic was one of them. “I wonder how well that will catch on? I’d definitely be inclined to follow it if the barn was also an outlet” She joked, rather enjoying how relaxed she was around Chris. This place in general was making her feel less caged; she hadn’t realized how tired she was of running.

She was secretly rather pleased when Chris accepted her invitation and joined her for the walk. She raised her eyebrow at the tease glancing at Chris she caught her smirking to herself, it caused her cheeks to tint with that tell tale pink blush yet again. She was pretty sure she hadn’t blushed this much in her entire life, it reinforced the idea she had lost her touch in social situations. You didn’t blush this much when talking to Olivia... What an unwelcome thought that was, so as not to cause herself any further embarrassment she mentally stamped on the thought and kicked it to the back of her mind.

In truth she felt guilty for not having a better explanation for the necklace, yet again it was a nervous habit that had brought it to attention in first place, she had turned her gaze forward as they walked “I know I fully intend to repay you somehow” She assured her, she was clearly being sincere about it her smile hadn’t left her lips. Her gaze was drawn back to Chris as she tapped the logo on her shirt, her head tilting to the side as she looked over the logo before lifting her gaze to Chris’s face. “Wow, always admired what you guys do, every day hero hmm” Mercy praised her earnestly, she couldn’t imagine it being an easy job and she unlike the masses was far more impressed with the selfless people in the services. She reached up for her necklace again unable to rub her wrist while holding the basket in her hands. “Nothing nearly as impressive I’m afraid...Student by day Waitress by night and any other spare time I had” She mumbled with a small shrug, again unable to deliver a particularly interesting story. “So Firefighter, how did you get into that?” She asked in the spirit of keeping the conversation going...and perhaps her own interest in knowing more about the other woman, she figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask. If Chris didn’t want to talk about it Mercy got the feeling she’d soon tell her so anyway.

– Tamashii –

Tamashii heard what Dog had said it caused her to raise an eyebrow at him, before she could comment Olivia put forward a far more polite response than that of which the brunette had come up with. She barely trusted Dog let alone even thinking of leaving Cat to do the watching on his own, she did like the idea of two people being on watch Not that you really put a lot of thought behind it Her ears did prick at the mention of a map being in the attic, that would be invaluable if she could get a hold of it. “Really? Do you think you could hunt it out and bring it down here?” Tamashii asked Dog, her brow creasing into a frown as a thoughtful expression dominated her face.

She glanced at Remy not really hiding her look of distaste at his suggestion, call her bull headed but she had no intention of asking Lloyd for permission every time they had to do something. She’d barely seen the guy the last couple of days so she hadn’t really been able to form an opinion of him, at this moment he was the idiot that had got himself trapped in a cabinet and her equally idiotic companion had risked her life to save him. She was so busy immersing herself in her own thoughts she missed what Remy had to add to the plan, she knew he’d said something...to be fair Remy was probably far more suited to organizing this kind of thing, she just got that impression from him. She blinked twice when she realized she’d been staring at him whilst he spoke, her frown deepened for a moment before she simply shifted her gaze from him thinking little of it.

“I’m in agreement, that can’t happen again” She offered in support of Remy although his deliverance may have been harsh but she was in complete agreement with him, she may not have been so open about that fact if a certain blonde was there. Thank goodness... It hadn’t crossed her mind at all how this may affect Dog. Her gaze slid to Lloyd as he trudged into the kitchen, her sharp eyes watched him noticing straight away that he didn’t look right. Her eyes narrowed at the black haired male as he sat down at the table only picking at his food, not to mention the bead of sweat that ran down his forehead. “You don’t look so good...” She told Lloyd, studying him with a suspicious eye. Illness wasn’t something to be taken lightly anymore. Hearing Blue ask after his well being Tamashii felt the need to add “Anything you want to tell us?” Raising her eyebrow at him questioningly, however her attention did drift back to Blue as she willingly offered to take a shift of night time watching with Cat, she wasn’t about to talk the woman out of it each to their own. “If you want to, a schedule would be useful if somebody wouldn’t mind sorting that out” Tamashii decided to say in response to Kaylah.

“Entrances in the house or on the farm in general...the fence isn’t particularly high and there is a place to get out large enough for a vehicle. That’s what we need to check no idea what the fuel reserves are like unless you can answer that one Lloyd? I still think we’ll need to do a supply run soon for fuel etc.” Tamashii reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, she knew all of these things were necessary and were needed to ensure their survival but she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable around so many people, she was watching every one of them carefully monitoring their every move whilst staying aware of her nearest exit. She stood up having finished her food, picking up her plate she glanced at Remy’s if he was finished she wordlessly alleviated him of his empty plate and cutlery to take them over to the sink if he wasn’t she left him to finish up and took only her own dirty dishes to the sink. Washing up...eurgh Mercy can do it She momentarily had a sense of déjà vu, she was the worst culprit for abandoning dirty dishes in the sink and then blagging her way out of washing them up later. “Bagsy not it” She said quietly stacking the dish(es) by the sink, before moving back over to her seat, she leant on the back of the chair clearly waiting for Remy before she made a move.