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Ciel nodded, walking into the house. He was starting to wonder why Meg had brought him along, seeing as she and Tatiana were likely going to be talking about the wedding, of which Ciel was no part of the planning process. That said, he was glad to be out of the cold for a bit. Any longer and he might just be spending Jack and Tati's special day in the infirmary. He took a seat on the floor in the living room, Ryan's coat still draped over him, accentuating just how small he actually was.

He finished Neisha's ginger concoction, stifling a few coughs and reassuring himself that he'd been doing okay for the past couple of days. They were running low on his medications, and any time he was in the infirmary he was taking time away from more important cases. He couldn't afford to be careless right now. He set the empty cup down, pulling Ryan's coat closer around himself and silently listening to Tatiana and Meg talk. As he imagined, they were planning the wedding. Ciel had never actually been to a wedding before, and he was more than happy that Jack had found someone. Ciel didn't really know Tatiana, but she seemed nice. He could definitely see why Jack liked her.

After a moment of quiet, Ciel slowly started to realize exactly how little sleep he'd been getting recently. The next thing he knew, he could barely keep his head up, but he did his best... falling asleep during the day was a bit childish, really. Besides, all he had to do was get through the wedding, which from his understanding would just be a whole lot of sitting down and applause and congratulations. Not exactly an exhausting procedure, though it would be a long one. He let his head fall forward a bit, but stayed sitting upright, watching Tatiana and Meg out of the corners of his eyes.

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Riley looked over towards Beatrice for a moment as she reached over to grab her boots as Beatrice forced a smile, which she returned back for a moment. "Nothing really on the training front, I was going to go and hit up the rec center to see what kind of music is stored there since Meg and Tati wanted me to sing for their wedding." Riley answered as she started tying up her shoe laces and then stood up. "Your more then welcome to come if you'd like." Riley said as she stood up and stretched slightly letting out a slight yawn, she was still waking up after all though having only been up for five minutes now.

Riley then started to make her way towards the door, she wasn't going to force Beatrice to go if she didn't want to. Though she would like a second opinion for what kind of music that they could find in Newnan's selection. "First i'm gonna swing by the repair shop to ask Richard to see if I could borrow the music player there." Once she was out and Beatrice was Riley closed the door and made her way out of the apartment. She gave a few friendly smiles and nods to the people as she made her way into the Newnan gate making her way down Lagrange Street, Riley couldn't wait to actually sing again in front of a crowd again.

The last performance that she actually had done was on the night when everything turned to shit and quickly, Riley shook slightly at the memory as Riley continued her journey towards the Repair Shop. Once she was there Riley leaned herself up against the entrance to the shop, she just stood there slightly overhearing Ryan ask about her sister. "Trying to ask my sister out again?" Riley asked jokingly and smiled slightly, she turned her head slightly just as Beni came walking by with Peaches in tow. Riley cringed slightly having a fear of dogs, ever since she was little and got attacked, she feared dogs even the cute little yippy ones. "Seems she really likes you Richard." Riley said and then closed her eyes for a moment before taking a slight breath before asking Richard remembering her first time here over how Richard felt about Zoie. Though Riley never got to know the woman, she seemed to be well liked in Newnan. "So, anyway I wanted to ask your permission to use the CD player in your place for the wedding?" Riley asked, if he said no she could certainly memorize a song from the selection and sing without the background music, but then it would just sound a bit boring.

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Kristina finished cleaning up the animal crap out of their pens and moved over towards a wheelbarrow to dump it inside, she did that for the rest of the animal pens. Kris quietly hummed to herself as she moved over to check their water, and started to fill their water bowls and troughs with water. The wedding she was really excited for, seeing Jack and Tatiana finally getting married she was really happy for them, and when Tatiana asked her to be one of her bridesmaids she couldn't turn it down. She took a little break as she went to tie her hair into a pony tail, then slipped on her beanie she took out of her room earlier before leaving putting it on.

A few minutes later Kristina finished giving all of the animal's fresh food and water and a clean set of hay on the floor, Kris moved towards each of the horses and went to groom each of them. Getting the knots and tangles out of their mains and coats. Kristina gave them all a gentle and friendly smile remembering the first time she got on one of them, was the bad day when people died and she sprained her ankle because of one of the horses getting spooked by a raccoon. Kristina caught movement in the corner of her eye she caught a glimpse of Ashton, James and a figure walking by. She didn't think much of it, as far as she knew the third person was another Newnan just wearing more just to keep warm.

Kristina then went towards the chicken coop and grabbed a thing of their feed, pouring more on the ground for them to start eating seeing all the hens and roosters going for the food. Kristina also went to make sure that their water was also changed, once that was done she reached over for a nearby bucket and started to extract the eggs that were in their nests putting them down gently so she didn't break them. Once her duties with the livestock was done. Kristina slowly started making her way back towards the inner wall heading up Lagrange Street Kris headed back to her assigned building and went towards Miss Sally's Apartment and started to knock on the door to give her the eggs that she requested for the cake.

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Meghna looked at Ciel and smiled shaking her head slightly. "No I was actually waking up when you knocked." Meg answered as she leaned up against the side of the door to wait for Tatiana to open the door. Meg turned her head when she caught movement in the corner of her eye as Tatiana went to check the window, and a few seconds later Meg smiled instantly when Tatiana opened the door. Meg returned the hug giving her best friend a very tight and loving hug before letting the ballerina go. She headed inside of Tati and Jack's house Meg went to take off her shoes and closed the door behind her.

"I just wanted to swing by and see how you were doing." Meghna went to take off her jacket setting it down on a nearby table she turned to look at the window outside. She remembered Tatiana did say that having a wedding outside and the snow reminded her of home, which Meg had took that into account. "Seeing as the snow stopped, and its actually sunny for once the wedding will be set outside."[/color] Meg answered and smiled looking towards Ciel sitting by the fire. "Also wanted to see you in your dress once more."

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Raymond waited for a moment until Jack opened the door, he smiled towards his friend and gave his shoulder a hard pat. "Just wanted to check up on my friend, since hes getting married today." Ray said as he looked over and saw Ms. Sally he gave the elderly woman a very friendly smile. Ms. Sally reminded him of how his grandmother was when he was younger. Ray walked inside when Ms. Sally walked over towards him, and handed him a shoe box. He wants expecting a present actually as Ray went over and sat down onto the couch Ray opened the box up seeing the sock and what appeared to be a finger of a glove.

When Ms. Sally explained what they were he was really grateful for the gift, he did have a lot of trouble walking over ice when he wasn't riding Cadence around Newnan. "Thank you so much Ms. Sally." Ray said with a smile as, he gave the elderly woman a very tight hug before letting go he went to put them on his shoe and the tip of the crutches. He did remember also coming to get a tux from her, as Ray then turned his head as he heard a knock on the door wondering who it was at the door.

Niesha returned Victor’s smile, and nodded, ”Yes, I nearly gave the messenger a concussion, rushing back from giving Ceil his Ginger. It worries me, as well. Still...it could be explained that she is young, and the young are susceptible to sinus infections, but still better to be safe than sorry. I’ll help keep an eye on her” She said as she followed him back into the infirmary. She listened as he rattled off the symptoms, rolling them around in her head, thinking. For a time before the outbreak, it wasn’t uncommon to have people ask for advice in the pharmacy, the patients not wanting to wait at a doctors office if they could help it. Niesha sighed softly, ”Well, it all sounds pretty normal for a sinus infection, but I don’t like that it developed from a cold, it's not that common to do so…” Niesha looked over to Anna, and nodded, ”Honey should soothe the throat, can make it much like I do Ceil’s ginger, in a cup of hot water. It will do her some good as well”

She glanced over to Victor, at his concern, giving him a small, but genuine smile. ”You could ask that question to at least half the people here and get a similar response. It's hard to sleep the night through when we know what's out there” She dodged around the question a moment, before she sighed once more. ”I’m alright, Victor. I’m might never be fully alright, I don’t think anyone could be, after everything we have seen and done, and maybe that’s okay. Its always about finding the balance between carrying on...and not. I’ve always had trouble processing emotions, you know that...perhaps better than anyone still alive. But...I know I’m better. I’ll be okay” She promised,looking away, back to Anna. If she couldn’t be alright for herself, then she could be alright for the ones counting on her.
As Chloe called, Niesha stepped back, spying the note on a cabinet, she retrieved it, reading the note, she thought back to where she’d left the extract-or rather, who she had given it too. Titania had borrowed it, a couple of days ago. She didn’t think there was any almond left. . ”I’ll go get some honey, and quickly run an errand for Miss Sally, and be back” She said, heading out the infirmary, wanting to get the honey at least prepared for the girl when she woke, she went upstairs to Titania’s office. She knocked on the door, not expecting Titania to be in there, but it was nevertheless polite to knock, just in case, before she pushed the door open, thinking if the extract wasn’t in here, then she’d have to hunt Titiana up, bother her for a few minutes.

She quickly found the bottle of extract, her hand brushing the open book, knocking off a loose piece of paper. She retrieved it, giving it a quick glance, she recognised Astrid’s handwriting-after working in the infirmary for months, it was impossible not to come across the dead warriors handwriting. Curious, wondering Why Titiana had was looked like blood work that was months old, she glanced about, feeling like she was snooping as she read it. The date June 13th, last year, so eight months ago. Which seemed important when Niesha realised the results were a positive pregnancy test.

There was no name, but it was obvious it wasn’t Titiana’s. It could be any one of the girls that had recently given birth, but why would Titiana have kept it then? It seemed...important when you considered that. Setting the paper back on the book, Niesha bit her lip. So, had it been one of the women that had died, in the last...8 months or so? Niesha stood a moment. Perhaps it had been a miscarriage...in which case it could have been Titiana’s. Sighing, Niesha knew she’d carry that mystery with her until she could figure it out. It was obviously important to Titiana. Or...maybe to one of her patients. Shaking her head, Niesha headed out, seeking Ms Sally, she headed to her apartment, rather than the kitchen, as it seemed like a day when everything would be different.

”Miss Sally? I have the vanillia” She said as she knocked on the door, ”And was wondering if I could get some Honey, for a throat soothing medicine?”y

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Amelia slowly opened her eyes in the morning as the sun started to shine into her room. With the weather that was going for a while she didn't bother to put any cover on the windows, but it seemed today mother nature had finally decided to grant them a boon of sorts. Just in the day of the wedding the weather had at least turned sunny. Granted Amelia realized full well it didn't mean it would be warm, but sunshine was better than the snowing they experienced.

She slowly showed her head completely above her blankets, experiencing the chill in the air. Amelia made a grimace, blinking a few times and then yawned. If there was one thing she appreciated about snow was the fact it proved good way to spot approaching dangers from distance... when everything was white unless the danger was camouflaged also in white, it was easy to spot it. At least for walkers that weren't buried in the snow, frozen, unmoving, waiting for their flesh to thaw so they can rise and start making their lives into insanity once more.” Why is this never just a bad dream...” She mumbled, gathering all her willpower to slip away from the comfortable warmth that the blankets and her own body heat had created and show her skin on the cool air.

Amelia shuddered for a moment before quickly pulled the clothes she kept near her bed on a chair. Frankly she never expected to experience such weather here. After she was dressed up, she quickly pulled one of the blankets and wrapped herself in it as she walked over to the window, her mind now turning to the wedding at hand. She liked weddings and it was the wedding of two people she liked, but that said Amelia was not good with weddings. Mostly because of the big number of people that tended to attend those.

Taking another breath of gathering willpower, she put the blanket down and quickly made her bed, before exiting her room. She wondered if Riley was up, maybe she could ask her friend if she was going to go help out with the wedding preparations. She had went to check, but no one replied from her friend's room.” She's out already... and Mike's out on guard duty from what he told me...” She mumbled to herself, feeling a little disappointed, and turned around heading for the exit.

Finally she decided to head to the Mess Hall. There was a constant need of help there no matter the time of day, so Amelia decided that her limited use would be of best help there.

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"Permission granted. Please, make yourself comfortable. We shouldn't be disturbed here. You're welcome to anything I've got here - shower, fresh clothes, I have some cornbread left in the kitchen, ah.. wait, Coffee!" Yes, Ash distinctly remembered her saying she was willing to brew a pot. And here he was offering some of his homebrew.

Thana was grateful to finally pull the scarf down and take a deep breath without wool going into her nostrils. Unwinding it from her neck she pulled it free and smiled slightly. "I'll take one of everythin'. In due time that is, for now though coffee and cornbread sounds divine."

Of course she would want coffee. She wasn't Ash, drinking thick, bread-in-a-bottle homemade beer for breakfast. And considering the grim man's state of irritation at their lack of the glorious roasted bean, he should have jumped at the woman's offer to make coffee. Of course, as she was a guest in his house, etiquette dictated that he at least offer to handle the preparation of the steaming, black refreshment.

"I hope you take it black. The recent Apocalypse has forced us to do without certain luxuries. Oh, did you want to handle this, or should I do the honors?"

"I'll let you take the honors, not sure how strong you like it. Got any salt?" she asked. It was one of those things navy folks were used to adding to this coffee. Whether it was to cut the bitter or to keep sodium levels up while on the sea was always up for debate but either way, it was the usual method.

Taking off her pack, she rested it on the table and unzipped it, pulling out a can of Foldgers Medium Roast from it. It was a large can, one of those people who drank one to two pots a day bought to get through the week. Stepping over to Ash she popped the top and the smell of ground coffee beans wafted out.

"Oh momma is gonna enjoy you in a few minutes," she said in an almost loving voice before handing it over to her host.

Ash was mesmerized by the large can of coffee. He accepted it gingerly, almost lovingly, as one might handle a baby for the first time. Nary a granule of the beloved dark stuff would be spilled on that day, oh no. Nary a granule. He set it down on a countertop just in the other room, and measured out six lightly rounded scoops into his personal coffee maker. Fluidly, he filled the pot with water from the kitchen sink and poured it into the back of the machine, and almost gasped at the wonder and majesty of the little orange light clicking on when he depressed the "Start Brew Cycle" button. "I think there might be a partial cylinder of ...salt?"

"Yes salt. N A C L, sodium chloride," Thana said idly as she looked around and slowly unbuttoned her bridge coat and shrugged it off her shoulders.

A look of slight revulsion passed over Ash. Why would you ruin coffee like that? Then he remembered. "Ah, Navy. Forgot. Might be a prehistoric cylinder of Morton's somewhere in here, but I know there's some down at the Mess. I'll look while it brews."

"If ya don't no worries," she said as she stepped towards the kitchen, the coat draped over her forearm.

This was a nice chunk of pleasantry, but ultimately it felt like stalling. Ash had to say what he needed to. Rip it off like an adhesive bandage. Just as soon as that cup of coffee was halfway done. Two thirds, max.

Leaning against the wall she took a deep breath, enjoying the heavenly aroma that was filling the room. A small smile curled at the corner of her lips. Without the thick heavy coat one could see her Navy issue fatigues were aged but well taken care of and her dog tags rested there, obviously shined regularly. Even her boots showed a fresh shine. She took care of her things.

Reaching up she pulled her cover off. Dark hair cut in a chin length bob but it was hardly bone straight, little waves kept it soft. "So, you mentioned cornbread?" Thana asked as she took her things and set them with her bag on the table.

"Cornbread, yeah." Ash muttered absently. He was unsure how exactly to broach the rather unseemly topic he had a responsibility to share with the newcomer. But he did try to be a decent host nonetheless. On his kitchen table lay a bowl, within which lay a tightly wrapped bundle of cloth. Parting open a fold or three revealed a collection of delicate, golden bricks of baked cornbread. Technically, it was his ration of the stuff for the next couple of days, but he was fairly certain that he could scare up some more, circumstances being what they were. Ash held the bowl out to Thana, motioning for her to partake: to which she did.

"We're building a respectable medical team here in sunny Newnan, Dr. Martin, should you be interested in a position. What kind of Doctor are you, if I can ask?"

Thana was about to take a bite when she stopped mid-motion and looked at Ash oddly before starting to chuckle. Shaking her head she pulled out a chair and sat down, still holding the cornbread in her hand. "I think I would be better suited for them fields out there," she responded still giving a slight laugh. Taking a deep breath she leaned back in the chair slightly, yet even as she did she sat at attention for the most part. "I'm a botanist by degree sir. My doctorate is in Plant Pathology, basically production agriculture. My masters was in Agronomy, basically soil management and crop production." Looking down at the cornbread her fingers ran over it carefully as to not crumble it as she told the leader of Newnan all of this.

Looking up at Ash she smirked a bit. "I basically just science the shit out of things."

"You and James should get along just fine. Been keeping us fed for a while now. Not so much of a science guy, though. Just knows things."

The coffee pot had gotten about halfway full, enough to more than comfortable to pour a cup for each of them. Ash reached into the cabinet above him and pulled out the two mugs nearest him. One of them was a fairly standard ceramic affair, featuring a big, yellow smiley face with a bullet hole in the forehead region. The other was a piece of Discovery Channel merchandise, reading, "I Reject Your Reality And Substitute My Own". The irony and/or appropriateness was not lost on him. He made quick work filling each cup, and pressed Smiley into Thana's hand.

Thana took the mug in one hand, resting the cornbread down on the table with the other. This man wasn't explaining things and he wasn't exactly asking her a lot of questions. That got her attention. All of this to get her under lock and key without people seeing her face. Promises to answers and an explanation that still hadn't come. Taking a slowly sip of the black gold, she savored it before resting the coffee mug down on the table and straightening her back slightly.

"I'm sure we would if I stay but frankly I don't know if I will. Not too keen on secrets and subterfuge. So, before we go any further Captain Holloway mind explainin' what all cloak and daggerness it about? Why you be sneakin' me around like this is some stop on the underground railroad?"

Ash sighed. "Fair enough." he held up a cardboard tube of iodized salt and shook it lightly. There was very little of the saline commodity in the cylinder, maybe enough for two or three uses by the average adult. He set it down in front of Thana and took a seat at the kitchen table across from her. His mood shifted from lightly nervous host to businesslike officer instantly. He took a sip of his coffee, silently nodding heartfelt appreciation that did not show on his face, again stoic as per his usual habit. He did like his caffeinated beverages, and coffee topped that particular list. "I don't usually stall, ma'am; I'm sorry. I'll try to be as direct as possible. I owe you that much.

Here is is, start to finish. The reason for the secrecy, the odd looks from my team, everything:

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Richard knew that he’d be fat chance of luck getting a drink if Ash-hole had his way but it didn’t mean that he wouldn’t try and get his hands on some of the really bitter, good stuff. “Well the day I see another drink in mah hand, I’ll think ‘bout believin’ ya.” His eyes spotted the clover and Richard rolled his eyes, at it and at Ryan’s answer about Chloe. He wasn’t fucking blind, granted Ryan was good at keeping it quiet around him but there was something going on, sure he didn’t know what exactly but he knew.

As the door opened, Richard looked over and saw Riley walking in. Her comment firmly planted the seed of confirmation in his mind. Ryan was into Chloe for sure. He didn’t say anything though, not now. He would save this one as ammunition. Not long after Riley sauntered inside, the familiar pitch of Peaches rolled in, coupled with Beni’s dulcet bellows. Richard ducked down and scooped Peaches up in his arms as she bounded towards him. “Calm yer shit Pipsqueak, what’d I tell ya about bein’ quiet in the shop, eh?” He scratched her behind the ears and let her lick and bite at his hands as much as she wanted. Peaches and Schrodinger were pretty much the only things in Newnan he gave a proper shit about, well not including Sana... But that was a whole other mess of shit. And he kind of gave a shit about Froggy but right now Richard didn’t want to deal with his judgemental ass.

Popping Peaches down, he gave a half smile at Riley’s comment about her liking him and then scooted the little pup across the floor with his foot towards Beni. ”Away and see Beni, ya pain in my ass.” He watched her scamper off back to Beni but not after she licked his boot though. Riley’s voice sounded out and Richard heard the words permission, CD player and wedding. Turning to look Riley full in the face he began to frown.

He had nothing against Riley, in fact she was alright in his books, not a friend but she at least didn’t judge his ass each time she looked in his direction and he could respect her guts for coming to ask him directly. Had it been anyone else they’d have rather fucking hummed kumbaya as a backing track than ask him for his shit. However, she said the bad word beginning with W and that made Richard pissed off. As if he wasn’t already pissed off after dealing with Ryan’s shit this morning. Last thing he wanted to think about, let alone have mentioned to him or spoken about around him, was about fucking Whiplash’s day of fucking happiness.

Clearing his throat, Richard grogged and spat on the ground before speaking as calmly as he could muster. It still wasn’t Riley’s fault so he’d try not to yell for her sake. “Don’t reckon I can do that. See, that there CD player is gonna be the only thing that saves me from havin’ to listen to all the wedding bullshit that’s goin’ on. So nah, gonna have to decline yer request and ask ye to leave since I got better things to be dealin’ with, like actual fuckin’ work.” Richard then turned away and went about his work, refusing to give Riley any more of his attention. If she knew what was good for her, she wouldn’t try to fight him on this.

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Having made it out of the gate and down to the Southern area, Bryn noticed people walking about the streets and were all bundled up and she had no clue who was who half the time from the layers covering everyone. She shrugged to heraelf and kept on her way to find Jim. She smiled a little to herself in her journey, seeing the kids playing with one another. It was her one failing in this world, children. They brought out the maternal side of Bryn that she buried deep inside of herself. Her chest tightened as she thought of Bobby and her scowl returned. She tried not to think about it.

Spotting Jim heading back up to the top of the wall, Bryn gave a wolf whistle out and waved to him as she made her way forward. She liked Jim, he was a good guy and to the point from what she could tell of him. Granted she couldn’t tell much since they only really interacted on an official capacity but hey, she didn’t want to shoot him between the eyes with a bolt so that meant he was a-okay in Bryn’s book. She then caught sight of the strangest creation she had ever seen and it stopped her in her tracks.

Was that a god damn four wheeler… boat?.. that was parked in the street? Her face showed confusion and then she pulled herself back together. She gave it an appraising look and noted that the welding was good but had been done quickly. Bryn would like to meet whoever was responsible for this creation and she wondered just how in the hell she hadn’t heard it entering Newnan.

Reaching the wall, Bryn climbed up after Jim. She nodded to him and then looked over the wall and noticed the snow that had been ploughed out of the path of what could only have been the weird vehicle down on the street. She glanced back to it and then over the wall and back again before bringing her focus back to Jim. “Visitors or new project?” She couldn't think of too many other people who dealt with welding in Newman but to be fair, she didn't interact with many people so chances could be she just didn't know them.

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Relief washed over Victor as he heard Neisha finally vocalising that she was never going to be completely alright. He knew that just getting the words out of ones own mind could do wonders for helping the healing process and he was so glad that she had managed to get there on her own. He was glad for giving her the chance to prove herself and he smiled softly as she said she would be okay. “That is good. Glad to hear.” He gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder as she looked away to Anna. His attention was only drawn away from Neisha when Chloe’s voice called out after some gentle knocking on the door to the infirmary. “Ah, it is Miss Ridgeway…” He took a deep, relaxing breath and nodded to Neisha as she excused herself. “No rush Neisha, take all the time you need. I have got this for now.” He shooed her off to her tasks and made his way towards the door with her.

As she darted out, Victor looked to Chloe and spotted Tiffany there with her. ”Oh Miss Lyle, I did not hear you out here.” He looked genuinely surprised and then turned his attention to Chloe, giving her a small smile. It wasn’t that he disliked Chloe exactly, he just didn’t trust her alone in his infirmary, even if the “good stuff” was all under lock and key. “Miss Ridgeway, thank you for waiting outside. It may not appear this way, but I assure you I appreciate your cooperation.” He held the door open wide for both women and motioned them both inside.

“Good morning ladies. Now, I assume you are both here for work assignments but as today is Jack and Tati’s wedding day, workloads are light. Miss Lyle, I do believe you would be best suited helping Mister Mendoza into the stunning tuxedo that Miss Sally has adjusted for him for the wedding. I understand he is becoming more able each day, but I believe he could do with some help in this regard. He’s never been a very sharp dresser, non?” He gave a warm smile and let out some laughter to show that he was joking. He was in high spirits today thanks to the wedding.

He then turned and looked to Chloe. “I believe it is best for you to report to Miss Sally today. I understand it is not your normal work tasks but the garden is in hand with Siddharth and Neisha will have the infirmary in check once she returns. I know that Miss Sally would love to have the extra hands.” It was Victor’s polite way of saying – “I’m not going to be around so get the fuck out of my infirmary before I chase you out.” Chloe would most likely be aware of what he was doing but Victor at least thought she deserved the politeness of the brush off rather than him treating her like a criminal. Okay, she had been a criminal but he didn’t mistrust her because of that. It was simply her addiction. He knew all too well how addictions could affect a person and he did not want to risk Newnan by allowing someone with that kind of reactive personality to get near the drug stores even if they were clean now. It was one of the reasons that Victor agreed wholeheartedly with Ash's decision to cut off Richard from the distillery despite his request to work there as his secondary task.

Once the girls left the infirmary, Victor fully intended to start getting ready. He very much wanted to check in on Tatiana and Jack but did not want to leave young Anna on her own until Neisha returned. He could wait, he had a book on botany that Siddharth had recommended that he wanted to read over anyway so it wasn’t going to be a tedious wait at least.

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Jack pulled Ray into a hug, patting him on the back as he did so. It was a genuine bro-ment, and he couldn't have been happier. Although his previous best man had died tragically and ironically, Jack had really gotten to know Ray since the man had arrived in Newnan. He was absolutely thrilled that Ray would be there with him, on the biggest day of his life. And with the help of Ms. Sally, things should be a bit easier for Ray to move around. Ray looked incredibly happy--and Jack couldn't blame him.

"I've got it!" Jack called out, as two distinct knocks came on the door of Ms. Sally's. A lot of people had to run over to see the mentor of Newnan for the big day, either to pick things up or drop things off. In a way, Jack felt a little bit guilty about all of the effort everyone was going through for Tatiana and himself--but at the same time, he was on cloud nine. All he could really think about was Tatiana, the woman who was doing him the honor of becoming his wife.

Opening the door to Ms. Sally's place, Jack grinned as he spotted Kris, and then a bit behind her, Niesha. "C'mon in, Ms. Sally's right inside." He gestured for them to enter and took a step back, before heading over to fix up some tea for them all. He fetches a couple of cups from the counter, looking at Kris and Niesha to see if they'd like some as well. "Want some tea? Ms. Sally makes it nice and strong." He poured a few cups out, and once he distributed it to those who wanted it, Jack remembered the original reason as to why he'd come over.

"Guess I should see about puttin' on that tux, huh?" Jack mused, going over the mental checklist of things to grab. His present to Tatiana was one of them. "Thank you so much, Ms. Sally. You're amazin', plain and simple."

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Beatrice nodded, mentally planning out a jogging route for the day. There wasn't much that had to be done for the wedding that she was involved in, since a nice-ish dress had been dropped off last night. It wasn't very often that Beatrice got dressed up, since her clothing was generally meant to be good for sleeping on the streets of Justice, while working a case for a client. And while she did find the lovebirds to be a bit nauseating, when Riley offered to let Beatrice tag along, the quiet woman paused for a moment.

She didn't exactly have anything better to do. And it would be awkward if there was just Riley's voice singing without any background music. Reminding herself that she'd have to sit through whatever performance went on, Beatrice instantly became a strong advocate for the CD player retrieval. "Why not?" Beatrice shrugged, stepping back slightly as Riley tied her boots. The prospect of going to the repair shop intrigued her as well. Exploring was one of her favorite things to do, and seeing a new building in Newnan could be interesting.

During the brief walk to the repair shop, Beatrice couldn't help but note that the temperature did seem to be better than in previous days. She wouldn't be surprised if the wedding turned out to be an outdoor affair, at this rate. However, the amount of romance that would be shoved down their throat that day was bound to make her gag. She could hardly blame Dick for his refusal to hand over the CD player--she likely would have made the same decision. Perhaps the best part of the wedding was that it came with alcohol.

"Booze and music, the wedding survival kit," Beatrice muttered, not one to talk all too much. She figured that Riley would want some sort of solution to her problem, and certainly her ears would later. As much as Beatrice enjoyed rock music and the like, it was always better with a backdrop. Perhaps there were people in Newnan who played an instrument, provided there were instruments for them to play.

For a moment, Beatrice imagined someone beatboxing as Riley sang at the wedding. It brought the slightest amused smile to her face, as unlikely as it would be to happen.

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As Tiffany approached her and nodded, asking her if she was there to see the doctor, Chloe had to hold her tongue. Tiffany had treated her like shit, in Chloe's opinion, ever since she found out what Chloe had actually been putting her skills to. Clenching her fist, Chloe began counting backwards from one hundred in Spanish in her head, all as an attempt to distract her. It wasn't like prison anymore, where if she had a problem with someone, she could grease the right palm or fashion a shiv to rectify the situation. Punishments in Newnan, from what Chloe had come to understand, were more severe than just a few weeks in the SHU.

"Yes, I am here to see Froggy," Chloe replied, a bit thin lipped. "It's not like anyone else is in charge of the infirmary and spends a majority of their time here." As much as she tried not to roll her eyes, she couldn't quite help it. She had a limited capacity for putting up with other people's shit.

Luckily, or perhaps unluckily, Froggy opened the door for the pair of them a moment later. Froggy gave her a small smile, but Chloe didn't have the mental energy to do more than just force one back at him. Ever since college, she'd had a horrible time with authority figures. Neither of the Ridgeway twins did too well with them. If Froggy wasn't right almost all of the time, Chloe'd just write him off as yet another asshole--especially when he laughed and smiled with Tiffany, and then a minute later, politely told her to get out. And it hardly helped that someone assigned to pharmaceuticals would be watching the infirmary.

"Got it," Chloe replied shortly, using every technique she could to stay calm. She forced another smile and quickly left the infirmary, knowing that while Miss Sally might be in need of help, she hardly felt like going to assist the elder of Newnan. She almost missed prison. Everyone was just as fucked up as everyone else, and no one pretended to pity anyone. Kicking slightly at the snow and rocks on the ground, Chloe let out a deep breath.

One fucking day at a time, she reminded herself. It's better here than out there.

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Tiffany couldn't help but notice the eye roll. Fine. If she wanted to act like a bitch, that was her issue. They all had to live here in Newnan, why try to start fights? She shrugged her off when Froggy opened the door and allowed them inside. She liked Froggy. He was a capable doctor, he helped Ray, and Ray had nothing but good things to say about him. She didn't talk to him much, but he was warm and welcoming to her. Plus, he seemed to give Chloe the brush off, which made her like him more.

She had to admit, she was kind of disappointed. She didn't mind helping out with the wedding, but she was hoping to do more. Instead, all she had to do was help Ray into his tuxedo. Not only that, but she had her own dress back at the apartment and she needed to make sure it was all right in time. She decided to go see Miss Sally and, by proy, Ray and see if there was anything else she could do. She bid Froggy goodbye. She wondered if Chloe would walk with her, but the girl had already left and was making her way. She felt a twinge of guilt, she couldn't help it, it was partially her fault, but she did try to be cordial.

She walked the streets to Miss Sally's apartment. When she got there, she knocked on the door. She heard a few voices inside. It seemed there were quite a few others there.

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Sana got dressed quickly, pulling on a black pair of jeans and an olive green thermal. Using her hair dryer she got most of the damp out before shrugging on her worn leather jacket and heading to the back door. Grabbing her boots she shoved her feet into them and headed down the back stairs. She normally would have taken the tracks cut out int eh snow but she wanted to "wash" her boots, so she trudged through the snow, leaving Georgia red clay foot prints in it until she got into the inner wall near the north end of the medical garden.

Taking the street she figured they were good enough now. She needed to grab her dress from Miss Sally. The damn slit had split yesterday when she was trying it on and it needed a quick fix. Sana didn't to needle and thread as well as the old lady did so off it went to Newnan's resident "tailor."

At Miss Sally's the woman seemed to have a full house that morning, not that she was complaining. Each and every one of the young folks were like grandchildren to her now. It did her good to see them happy and ready for the day to come. "Ahh thank you Kris! Now, I just need the vanilla and we should be good to go," she said to Kris.

When Niesha came in she nodded and stood up, heading over to a lock box type safe in the corner of her room and pulling a key from around her neck. Somethings were still kept under lock and key. Honey was valuable and the kids liked to sneak into it. Miss Sally had found it best to keep where only she could get at it. Pulling out a mason jar of honey, a smaller one, with a bit of honeycomb in it she locked the rest back up and headed over to Niesha. "Make sure to lock it up with the meds otherwise it'll be gone before you know it," she told the resident pharmacist.

"And yes Jack, slip into the bathroom and try it on, want to make sure I got everything right," she told the young man as the door was knocked on again. Laughing to herself she shuffled over in her bunny slippers to answer the door personally this time only to see Tiffany standing there and Sana coming up the hallway.

"Come on in, we seem to have a pre reception happening in here right now. Tea?" she asked as eh let the two girls in.

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Tatiana closed the door once they were inside and smiled over at Ceil as he made himself about as comfortable as he seemed he would in her home. He was a titchy little thing, always seeming like he was sitting on pins and needles to her but in this world she couldn't blame him. She remembered how she was when she came to Newnan. Like a little bird who was scared of everything and barely saying a word to anyone.

Things had changed though. She was still that frightened little bird but being within the walls for months now, working to help, learning, getting to know the people, she was pretty at ease as of late and much bubblier than she had been when she arrived. People were not able to see the side of her that Jack had managed to bring out when they were alone. At least most were, she was still rather bird like around some. Dick being one of them. He never seemed to be open enough to let her settle in around him.

Ash was nearly the same way but there was something different about Ash than Dick. Ash just seemed closed off, Dick was well trying to be a Dick, so Ash got her affection. Like an older brother who had been beaten by bullies and now that he was no longer around them he didn't know exactly how to bring out the lighter side of himself. Oh well she would keep hugging the man until he cracked. He was getting better though, she wished Dick would.

Looking over at Meg she giggled. "Afraid to put on yet. Vaiting until last minute. Still have to do hair and make-up. Vell vhat counts as make-up these days. Don't vant to stain dress but here," she said, locking the door quickly. Turning she rushed back to her bedroom and retrieved her dress, hanging it up in the archway before pulling the sheet gently off of it. The dress was hardly a traditional wedding dress but it was perfect for the little dove.

The dress was pale platinum, lace like with a fitted bodice that hugged her to the floor, whisping sheer fabric flared out from it moving like the wind around her as she ran her fingers over it. On one breast in the light color fabric was a cut out of a bird and a sheer cover draped over here her shoulders would be to her waist. When she had found it she had fallen in love, even though it was too big but Miss Sally tackled it, relacing and rebeading it as needed to draw it in and make it fit Tatiana like it was made for her.

"I cannot viat but I so nervous, butterflies," she said turning back to her best friend.

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Ryan nodded to people as they entered the Repair shop, hearing Dick give the answer he expected he would. The man was an ass but Ryan didn't say anything right then. Slipping the four leaf clover into his back pocket before pulling out a pack of smokes he had found on his last run outside of the wall. Wrestled it off a walker, well not so much wrestled. More like wrestled the Walker, killed it, then raided the dead mans pockets.

Beni headed into the front of the shop, he knew better than to yell at Dick even if he wanted. Yelling just riled Dick up and made him lash out. The last thing they needed that day was a brawl in the middle of the streets. Peaches yipped about and ran off after Beni, keeping close to his heel.

Leaning his head against the wall, he lit one of the cigarette's, a valuable and rare item in the city. It was like finding Chocolate or Coffee these days. Looking down at the pack Ryan did something that wasn't like him. Or maybe it wasn't. Slipping the pack back into his pocket he leaned into the shop, poking his head in and grinning with the lit cigarette between his lips.

"Well that's a damn shame. I saw the dress Sana found for the reception," he said before letting out a long whistle as he pulled the smoke from his lips and rubbed his chin. "Will be showing off them legs of hers tonight and the heels.... Oh man, be a shame not have any music for her to shake her ass to," Ryan added before taking another long puff from his smoke and wandering off.

Spotting Chloe coming out of the infirmary he grinned widely and dashed over to her with his cigarette in hand. "Well aren't you looking beautiful as usual, found something for ya," he said before pulling out the pack. Taking half of the remaining ones he held them out to her.

Over on the wall Jim saw Bryn heading up and take a look at the redneck mobile. He was hoping everyone was too busy getting ready for the wedding to be up at the gate to ask any questions. Why she was up there in the first place was was a little odd. Maybe she was just bored. He wasn't surprised by the question of visitors with the vehicle sitting there but at the half about a new project, he wondered where that came from. They normally didn't keep their vehicles under armed guard and there were two standing there who had actually closed ranks when Bryn approached to keep her a good distance from it.

"The first one," Jim said looking over to her before radioing in his half hourly all clear to Jack then hearing it go off on the second radio on his belt. "Oh fuck, forgot I had Jcks radio since I have to do Security lead today," Jim laughed and shook his head.

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Tatiana and Meg had gone into a conversation about Tatiana's wedding dress. Ciel wasn't really sure what he'd be expected to wear... he didn't have any formal clothes of his own, and hadn't had the nerve to ask Miss Sally about it. He knew he was kind of running out of time, but to be honest he wasn't feeling up to that much social interaction. This was bad enough, and he'd only come along for this because Meghna was the main reason he had a job. Just thinking about having to actually carry on a conversation by himself made him feel sick. He already had to return Ryan's coat at some point today, and even that thought was causing him some anxiety.

He shrugged Ryan's coat off his shoulders, carefully folding it and placing it beside him. If something happened to it, he was afraid Ryan would eat him or something. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, willing himself to stay awake, The idea of unconsciousness had started to terrify him since a while after the outbreak. Just the thought of being completely vulnerable to anything and everything, unaware of his own surroundings. He probably needed a lot more sleep than he was allowing himself to have, but he maintained that it was better this way. Better that he be awake in case of the next inevitable catastrophe.

Ciel silently continued to observe Tati and Meghna, wondering what he'd do after Meg was ready to leave. If she didn't have anything for him to do after she was done talking to Tatiana, he supposed he'd just have to swallow his anxiety and go talk to Miss Sally, and maybe return Ryan's coat if he could find him. Ciel found himself absentmindedly biting the knuckles of his left hand, an old nervous habit of his. He flinched, forcing himself to stop before anyone noticed... at least, he hoped Meg and Tatiana wouldn't notice. He didn't need any more reasons to be worried about what they thought of him.

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Thana had sat there listening to what the leader of Newnan had to tell her. At first she thought it was a joke but slowly her smile faded. As the information dump continued she didn't react other than asking the occasional question. Once Ash had concluded she picked up her coffee mug and held it out. "I think I could use something stronger at this point. Care to make this an Irish Coffee?"

Under most circumstances, breaking out the hard alcohol that early in the morning would be a sign of major alcohol dependency. This day already had the earmarks of one of the more interesting of the fiscal quarter, however, not to mention the bombshell that Ash had just dropped upon his guest. A little ethical wiggle room was permissible. "Yeah, no problem. Give me a sec."

"Thank you, sir," Thana said stoically as she sat there, resting the mug on the table.

Ash did have a small stash of spirits for personal use. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing he advertised, for obvious reasons. And it was indeed just a small stash, by Appalachian Virginia Irish standards. He walked into the living room for a moment and returned with a mostly full pickling jar of fragrant, clear liquid. "I'd go easy on this stuff, ma'am." He set it on the table and slid it across to Thana.

Thana took the mason jar, unscrewing the top from it and tossing it down unceremoniously on the table. "Thinking back on things, she was the main reason I joined the armed forces," Thana commented with a shrug. Swirling it it around for a moment as if she was going to say more, then she simply took a small breath and chugged two or three good gulps of the burning liquid as if it was water. Not even a long exhale followed. Just a nonchalant screwing of the lid back on and sliding it over to Ash.

"Now that I know, I request permission to remain within the walls for the evening to gauge the pro's and con's of this settlement. If due, to the circumstances, that is not feasible I request an escort back to my vehicle and that my identity not to be revealed to any others," she stated in a militaristic tone as she rested her hands in her lap, her back still as straight as if a rod was down the center of her spine.

Ash looked at his guest for a few long seconds. Then down at his jar on the table. The woman could drink, that was for certain. And from the looks of her, despite the discipline and training, she needed some respite. "I usually have a speech for times like this, ma'am. It's this thing that I do so that new folks know that there are rules and impress on them that it's important. The first part of my speech starts with: "If you need a place to stay overnight, great. Collect your weapons in the morning and leave us with a full belly". There's more, but I'll bore you with it later. Request approved."

This was a stretch of protocol, Ash's protocol, point of fact. But this was also a very unique circumstance. Extenuating, one might say. He was a bit less stern than he usually was, almost to the point of kid gloves with this woman. It wasn't the act of a man trying to impress anyone, either. Sympathy? Empathy? Other concepts seemingly foreign to the grim Captain? It was anyone's guess.

Looking at Ash, Thana cocked a brow at his words. "I appreciate the granting of my request, especially when it was not placed in triplicate. Please do not change your speech for me. I am a sailor and a botanist sir. Qui Plantavit Curabit." he words Thana said were all too fitting for her and were known through out the US military. They were the motto of the USS Theodore Roosevelt: He who has planted will preserve.

"If ma'am insists." Ash rose from his chair and slid it back underneath the table, then stood behind it. His face solidified into a manner stereotypical of an Army officer, with the exception of a single corner of his mouth. It was taut, as if suppressing the tiniest of mirthful expressions. "Now... it's very simple. If you're just passing through and want to do some trading, great. If you're passing through and need someplace safe to spend the night, that's fine too. You'll have a full belly and a bunk for the night. You may pick your weapons up on your way out in the morning."

Ash leaned forward just a bit on the back of the chair in front of him before continuing. He was acquiescing to Thana's request, but he felt just a little dumb giving her the Welcome Speech in front of his kitchen table, especially to someone he didn't feel the need to impress upon that he was the guy in charge in Newnan. All the same, he moved forward with it. "But if you stay, the rules are simple: Everyone who's able works, everyone who's able fights. We take care of our own and we build this place up. You will be given work assignments, primary and secondary, based upon our needs and your skill sets. Listen to your Leads. You report to them, they report to me. If you feel that you do not have a skill we can use, we will teach you one. We can always use more people tending crops, raising livestock, and working domestic chores. Every job is important."

Somehow, that last part seemed a little unnecessary. "We have a system of discipline in place that largely mirrors my military experience. Punishments for infractions run as slight as unfavorable assignments and as high as execution. Thankfully, I have not had to do that yet." Ash concluded his speech and sat back down at the table across from Thana. "That's the long and short of it. Any questions?"

"I believe I have the gist of it. No mutiny and I don't have to worry about being keelhauled," Thana said before rising from her place. "I suspect you will need to introduce me to the people of the city, so I do have a question. Where's the head? I need to clean up before introductions are made."

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Riley watched as Ryan turned and headed out of the workshop, then her attention went back towards Richard seeing him spitting onto the ground. Then he gave her his answer which was no which made her sigh loudly to herself and then his attention heading back towards his work effectively ending their conversation. Riley could argue with him to try and le her borrow the CD player, but that would escalate things pretty quickly and make things a lot worse then they were. She imagined Richard starting to yell at her, then she would of course start yelling back, then the fists would start flying. But she wasn't going to ask him any further, she respected the man and she wasn't going to go behind his back and steal it.

"Alright suit yourself, if you change your mind you know where i'll be." Riley said towards Richard she looked over at Beatrice for a moment giving her a slight nod. Plan B then, find an instrument and some CD cases, knowing that they would have a least some song lyrics for some of them that were in there. "Plan B, lets hope there are some instruments here somewhere." Riley said towards Beatrice and started to make her way over towards the Rec Center.

As Riley headed up Lagrange Street she could see Ryan going over towards Chloe she hadn't seen her sister today yet, though they did see each other on a daily basis. She started walking over towards Ryan and Chloe seeing him handing her sister some cigarettes that he somehow managed to find. "Whats up Chloe?" Riley asked as she walked over and gave Chloe a quick and loving hug before letting go looking over a Ryan. "How are you Ryan?"

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Kristina smiled when Jack opened the door and turned around seeing Niesha right behind her and turned around to give Niesha a friendly hug and smiled towards her friend, seeing that she was awake. "Morning Niesha!" Kristina said with a smile, she looked to see who else was in the room. She saw Ray sitting down on the couch putting on what looked like a sock over his shoe, Kristina gave him a friendly smile and wave as she made her way inside of Ms. Sally's Apartment. "I'd love some tea thank you." Kristina would say with a soft smile as she walked over and set the eggs down on a nearby coffee table.

"Fresh eggs just as you requested." Kris said as she moved over and stood next to her friend Niesha, she looked at her asking Miss Sally for some honey to soothe Anna's throat. Seeing the young girl in the infirmary yesterday, she felt bad for the girl and hoped that she would make I through whatever was making her sick. Kristina heard yet another knock on the door, and Ms. Sally getting up to go and answer the door this time around. Kris saw Tiffany standing outside of the door and smiled towards her and gave her a quick and friendly wave. "Good morning Tiffany." Kristina said. "Do you need help with the cake Ms. Sally?" Kristina asked looking over at the elderly woman, she poked her head outside as well seeing Sana coming up the stairs.

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"You and Jack will do great." Meghna said with a happy smile towards Tatiana and nodded, she could understand, she didn't want to get her dress dirty for her special day which was literally hours away now. She watched Tati scamper off upstairs to grab her wedding dress, when she came out holding it Meghna smiled brightly remembering the day that they went out dress shopping just outside of the walls. The day turned out really well they managed to get several clothes from that run just for the wedding. Though Ashton she remembered was furious which ended up having her and Tatiana ending up cleaning up after the livestock.

"Cant wait to actually see you wear it." Meg said as she turned to look over at Ciel. "What do you think of her dress?" Meg asked wondering what he thought about it. "I got some makeup back at my place, it's not much you could borrow some." Meghna offered, she remembered she had left her dress with Miss Sally earlier just for safe keeping. [color="f08080]You know, we should have a girl's night sometime it could be fun."[/color] Meghna suggested looking over at Tatiana and smiled at her best friend.

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Raymond looked towards Jack as he got up and went over towards the door he saw Kristina there he smiled at the girl and gave her a wave as he adjusted the sock on his shoe, he was grateful for the present. "Oh yeah I came here for my tux?" Ray asked as he saw Niesha coming into the room as well. "How are you doing Niesha?" Ray asked as she asked Ms. Sally for some honey, he watched Ms. Sally going for her safe and pulling out a key and pulled out a jar of honey handing it over towards Niesha.

Ray leaned back in the couch for a moment before hearing yet another knock on the door, he saw Tiffany there he got up from where he was sitting and made his way over towards the love of his life. Raymond gave Tiffany a loving kiss and smiled at her. "Good morning love." Ray said as he stood there, it was good to see her he didn't get a chance to properly say good morning to her he was still sound asleep in their house when Tiffany left the house for the day. "How are you?" Ray asked her.

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Jack nodded at Miss Sally and grabbed his tuxedo, smiling at her before heading into the bathroom. He slipped inside shortly after Tiffany and Sana arrived, throwing a brief wave at them as he did. Entering the bathroom, Jack closed the door, and quickly stripped. He had never been one to wear tuxes before. The last time he could think of would have been his high school prom, and that was back in the nineties. Putting on the tux carefully, Jack paused for a moment with the tie, straining his memory as to how to do one.

Shrugging a bit, Jack carefully put it around his neck. He paused for a moment, before brightening into a grin. His mother had taught him a little song to remember, and a moment later, it came to him. "Once around the tree, the fox chased the rabbit...Twice around the tree the little rabbit fled with the quick gray fox close behind." He wrapped the tie ends around each other twice, and then pushed the blade of the tie under the neck loop. Tapping his foot, Jack struggled to remember the next line.

"Shoot...Right. With a giant leap, the little rabbit cleahed the top of a big round log," Jack continued, and then pulled down on the blade, finishing up with his tie. Glancing in the mirror at Miss Sally's, he adjusted the tie as best as he could. The knot wasn't half bad, as far as Jack could tell, and he shot himself a goofy grin in the mirror.

"Go get 'em, tigah," Jack said, flashing finger guns at himself. Chuckling, he then carefully folded up his normal clothes and tucked them under his arm, coming out of the bathroom. Waving a bit at Miss Sally, he did a little spin. "What d'you think?"

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Beatrice could tell Riley's decision without her having to vocalize it. Onto look elsewhere for a source of music for the wedding. For a moment, Beatrice wondered whether or not they could simply go around Newnan, interrogating everyone who played an instrument and rope them into the performance. As far as Beatrice was aware, however, that list only included Riley. However, Ryan's comment about Sana's legs brought the smallest hint of a smile to Beatrice's face.

While it was practically asking for Dick to come and beat him up, Beatrice found Ryan's comment hilarious. She nodded at the men in the repair shop as she followed Riley out, her hands in her pockets. The rec center hadn't been used much lately, mostly due to the cold. "Does anyone else in Newnan play an instrument?" Beatrice asked skeptically, thankful for her gloves as they left the relative warmth of the repair shop.

However, Beatrice soon regretted her decision to assist Riley today. While she was good friends with Ryan, she couldn't stand Chloe. Her face wrinkled slightly with distaste. She knew what people had done to survive Justice, and for that, she could respect Ryan. But drug addicts left a foul taste in Beatrice's mouth. They reminded her too much of the parents who abandoned her on the streets.

Standing a few paces behind Riley, Beatrice nodded at Ryan and Chloe, her face composed for the most part. She was half tempted to go to the rec center ahead of Riley, just to avoid Chloe's company.

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A flash of blonde hair caught her eye as Tiffany left the infirmary, heading down the street in the direction of Miss Sally's. Chloe didn't restrain herself from yet another eye roll, missing the days when things were simpler. She laughed bitterly to herself at the realization that she almost missed prison, in comparison to this life of walkers and judgmental assholes. And she knew that Tiffany's boy toy might not have made it without the extra medic during the trip to Newnan. It was irony, pure and simple, how much the lawyer disliked her in Chloe's mind.

"Oh, fuck o--" Chloe began, but turning as she saw it was Ryan, rather than some random man in Newnan, her face brightened into a smile. While she didn't feel an inkling of sexual attraction to the man, she felt a certain kinship with him. It was easy to fall into a friendship with him. "You got something for me?"

Her jaw dropped slightly as he handed her the cigarettes. Smokes were hard as hell to come by in the apocalyptic world they inhabited, so much so that she looked back fondly on the days where all you had to do for a pack of smokes was blow a guard. She stared at them slightly in disbelief, before pocketing all but one of them as securely as she could, as if they were as precious and rare as diamonds.

"Give me a light?" she asked, having kept her cigarette lighter in her room for a while. Cigarettes weren't her drug of choice by any means, but they were definitely a fantastic start to a somewhat shitty day. "You really weren't fucking around when you said you had the luck of the Irish," she chuckled. However, before she could add anything else she was wrapped into a hug by her twin sister, Riley.

"Just being reminded of life's little miracles," Chloe responded to her sister, removing the cigarette from her lips. Setting Riley's hair on fire wasn't how she intended the day to go. As she eyed Beatrice behind her sister, she shot a bit of a questioning glance at Riley. Neither of the Ridgeway sisters got along very well with her. "Shouldn't you be getting set up for the wedding?"

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"No tea, just need my dress," Sana said as she looked around. There were plenty of others there and she really didn't feel like talking to any of them. Sure she was on decent enough terms with most there but she was not in a talking mood right now. Miss Sally sighed a little bit and motioned over to the dress bag hanging in the corner of the room with Sana's name on it. Sana moved over, grabbed it, muttered a quick thank you and was out the door before anyone would bother her.

"Mike will be helping me shortly, will be more than enough but thank you," Miss Sally told Kris before turning and looking over at Jack and a broad smile came to her old features.

"You look wonderful! Just one finishing touch," she said as she moved over to the refrigerate and pulled out two small bowls. Each one contained a small boutonniere made of wild flowers. "Ryan dropped these off about two hours ago," she said as she pulled the larger one out and stepped over to Jack, pinning it carefully in place. The other she handed to Tiffany. "Can you keep this one for Ray and take care of putting it on him once he is ready?"

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Tatiana beamed at the mention of make up, it had been ages since she had worn any. She remembered the days on stage, with her face done up. Stage make up had to be so thick and dramatic. Under the lights you easily got washed out and if it wasn't caked on it looked like you had nothing at all and were a ghost. She had gotten so use to wearing the stuff that even when she was not performing she usually wore a decent amount just because if felt off not to have any. Over the last years she had gotten used to not wearing it anymore but she had to admit there were times she wished she could get dolled up like she used to. If any day called for it during the end of the world her wedding day was that right?

"Da, that vould be vonderful. Could you bring back here for me? Can not leave, Jack might see me. Supposed to vait here until Froggy gets me for ceremony but that hours avay, so have to stay put," Tatiana explained as she covered the dress back up.

Looking over at Ceil she noticed he seemed to be trying to keep from dozing off and found herself wondering why he was so tired. It was mid morning, he had put on weight since he joined Newnan so many months ago, was healthy now by all standards. Sure he had asthma but Froggy and Niesha kept him well taken care of and if anything his meds should have made him more awake, not more sleepy. She noticed the knuckles but she didn't pay them anymind. Nervous habits were one thing, being sleepy at this time of day with his current medical status made her wonder if it was a mental problem.

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"I'm the lord of the fucking dance, give me enough time and I can find anything," he said with a smirk as he lit her cigarette for her. He knew Chloe was gay and wasn't attracted to him but he felt the way he did nonetheless and it just was how it was. He had spent time in prison and went plenty of time without a womans touch. He'd deal.

Seeing Riley come over and he found his hand tensing up slightly. It wasn't that he had anything against Riley, but he didn't have anything for her either. Anytime he saw Riley and Chloe together he would feel a twinge of jealously and remember his brother. The blonde braid of hair wrapped around his ring finger the only thing left he had of him. Granted even after all this time in Newnan, he didn't tell anyone whose hair it was or what happened to his brother. Just that his brother had died.

"Better than you from the sound of things. Good luck getting that Cd player," he said in a slightly snide voice. Looking at Chloe he gave her a quick kiss on the side of her hair before wandering off back towards his house. He didn't have much to do today with the wedding going on and had taken care of... Then he stopped and remembered he needed some ribbon for Tatiana's bouquet. Turning he headed back to the girls. "Anyone know where Meg is?"

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Ciel was caught off guard by Meg's question. He honestly wasn't expecting to be addressed, seeing as he had very little to do with the wedding other than that he planned on attending. "...What? Oh, it's nice. I like it." He stammered out, giving a thumbs up and a very forced grin. His hand was shaking slightly.

He wasn't really into fashion, and in this day and age he wouldn't blink twice if Tatiana walked down the aisle in a potato sack. That said, he did honestly think the dress was a nice looking one. Lucky they were able to find one in Tati's size, he thought. He was sure that Jack would like it as well.

He had straightened up a bit, making a conscious effort to seem as alert as possible. He could feel Tatiana looking at him, and that immediately made him afraid that he was doing something weird. His only objective at the moment was to stay out of everyone's hair. He couldn't fail at that, lest he become a liability... another useless mouth to feed. So far, he felt like he'd been doing okay, which only further fueled his need to not fall behind. Here and now, he felt the best thing he could do was act as normal as possible and stay out of the way until the conversation was over, at which point he'd have to take care of whatever last minute tasks he could squeeze in before the wedding. A long day, for certain, but he felt that was how things should be.

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She stepped inside to the little party going on. She waved briefly to Jack as he stepped away before she responded to Miss Sally's question, "Yes, tea would be great." Before she could say anything to her, Sana was off. Kristina was there though and she smiled at the girl, "Good morning Kristina."

Raymond walked over and kissed her. She could feel herself warm up at this gesture. Especially in front of everyone, "Good morning handsome. I'm doing well. My job is helping you get into and fit into your tuxedo today." Miss Sally walked over and handed her the frozen corsage. She nodded, "I'll keep it safe. He would probably lose it." She playfully elbowed Ray before she walked around a bit. It seemed like everything was under control, but still, "Anything else I can do to help? My dress is pretty much ready to go and we got some time before I need to make sure Ray is presentable."

Niesha gave Jack a smile, stepping inside, she thanked him, handing Miss Sally the Vanilla, and waiting for the honey, greating Kristina, "Morning, Kris" She said, giving her a smile,and nodding to MIss Sally, "I'll be sure to do that, thank you Miss Sally" She said gratefully, carefully putting the honey away in a pocket. "I'll go make it up for Anna now" She said, turning to look to Ray, giving him a smile, she said "I'm well thank you", and not wanting to interrupt as he and Tiffiany greated one another, she heading back out of the apartment.

She headed back towards the infirmary, for the moment taking her time doing so. She walked carefully down the streets, and in a few moments, she had reached the infirmary. A lot had happened, in the nine months since she'd fist stepped into the infirmary, and she knew she wasn't the same person. Perhaps none of them were. The time period brought her back to the unknown pregnancy test. Perhaps, later, she could compare blood work of those she knew to the results...later, of course. She knew she could also ask Victor. But not today.

Niesha entered the infirmary once more, going to the medications, and locking the honey away for when Anna awoke. She was a little relieved to see that Chloe wasn't there. There were times when she thought that the girl loathed her. While she could understand it, Niesha didn't really want to be around people who didn't like her. She had enough trouble with people actually wanting to be around her. She gave a soft sigh to herself, going to check on Anna, before returning to Victor.

"I'll mix the honey for Anna when she's awake, to let her sleep some more" She said, quite content in the infirmary despite everything. "If you have some things to do, I'll stick around here" She said, knowing that he and Tatiana were close, and that this was an important day. "If there's any issues, I'll make sure you know"

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It was still early in the morning, and James had been witness to something nigh miraculous. The whole messy business woud have to remain quiet, at least for now. Luckily, the only person he was aware had seen them (that wasn't manning the wall, anyway) was little sis Kristina and she didn't seem too overly curious about it. But there would be questions, and soon. Jim knew. Kris saw something. The security would change shifts eventually, and observations would spread to the general population. Questions would soon follow.

So for the meantime, the best thing James could do was go back about his business. That meant preparing the finest of redneck cuisine, in the most proficient way he could. He had been away from his smoking mobile firepit for long enough; the heat was low but the lid was secured, meaning the tasty tidbits of meaty goodness were still roasting thoroughly and getting flavored through with homemade alcohol and aromatic wood. He returned to his duty here, hoping that his efforts would take his mind off of what was surely to follow.

Smoke billowed from his massive cooking beast as he opened the lid. He turned over sausages and cuts of meat and provided appropriate seasoning. This is what he did for the community - local grillmaster - a thing to which he was surpassed only by his agricultural and hogging talents. There were flecks of meat and crisping fat that James pulled off of the hot grates and dropped into a small bucket. They would go a long way in seasoning the grits later.

It was his first time catering a Post-Apocalyptic wedding. James wanted everything to come out perfect, no matter what other drama unfolded.

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"Just over there, ma'am. Second door. Towels are hanging." responded Ash, pointing toward the nearest bathroom. "We have plenty of fresh water here, but power is rationed. Take it easy on the hot water. I'll try and arrange a formal introduction for a half hour from now."

Physically, this would be an easy thing to coordinate. General announcement, shift some personnel around temporarily, get the ones who had been there for longer than eight months in one place. Emotionally, mentally - problems may ensue. Well, nothing to do but jump in and get it over with. Gritting his teeth, Ash dialed up Newnan's general announcement frequency and began speaking.

"This is Ash. Everyone is to stop what they're doing and listen to me carefully. I repeat, stop what you are doing, listen to me carefully. This is exchange will be a little non-standard." He waited a few seconds before continuing, giving people a chance to put down tools and crowd around available radio receivers. "Lyon: get your personnel from Watchtower to relieve present sentries along the wall and around town. You relieve Jim at the Main Gate. Bear in mind that this is temporary. Security: When you are relieved, immediately locate anyone in your vicinity without radio access, direct them accordingly. Domestic: Assist with this wherever possible."

"I need everyone who has been a member of our community for over eight months to gather in front of my house. I will address you in one half hour. To clarify, no one is in trouble. There is no emergency. But whomever is not in attendance in the next half hour needs a good explanation or will be met with disciplinary action. Jack Hudson and Tatiana Korvo may ignore this order. They have a wedding to prepare for. Everyone else, thirty minutes."

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Richard gave a nod at Riley’s comment and ignored the words from Bea, Richard rolled his eyes at her comment and tried not to grind his teeth into dust. He was in an at least liveable mood this morning but things just kept piling into him and winding him up more and more. This probably wasn’t going to end well. He breathed heavily through his nose and kept himself busy with his work. He didn’t feel like getting kicked out of Newnan today.

Of course, that may not entirely be up to Richard as Ryan’s voice returned and rang out in the workshop. At the mention of Sana’s name, Richard slammed the tools that were in his hands on the surface of his workbench, making as loud of a bang as possible. He didn’t turn around, he refused to out of sheer principal. The bang would satisfy Ryan’s need to piss him off but he wasn’t giving that little flea bagged, shit stain the satisfaction of making Richard fly off the handle at him. At least not yet.

The whistle caused every hair on Richard’s body to stand on end. His eyes narrowed to a slit and his teeth began to grind harder than before. His jaw was clenched and his fingers grabbed at the tools that he’d just slammed down. He tried counting backwards from ten but Ryan had done it. He heard Ryan wandering off but Richard had to do something to get the excess anger out. He yelled out and spun around, chucking a pair of pliers into the toolbox on the floor at his feet. He’d rather have thrown it clear across the room or directly at Ryan but unless he wanted a one-way ticket out of Newnan, he knew better than that. He was angry, brooding and short tempered but he wasn’t a fucking idiot.

Seething in silence now, Richard just did all he could to stop himself from leaving the repair shop in a fit of rage in hunt of Ryan. Really, his words shouldn’t have caused such a reaction but they had. Richard and Ryan were no friends of one another and Richard viewed Ryan as an enemy more than just a hated fellow resident. He never agreed with Ryan being kept around in Newnan and he never would. The snake didn’t deserve to keep breathing and Richard planned to see to that fact himself on day. But not today.

As the speaker on the wall sounded out and Ash-hole’s voice called for everyone that wasn’t a Franklin reject to gather outside his house he had half a mind not to even show up. He looked at the hammer and wondered if he could have a little “accident” to get out of attending. The thought was tempting but the thought of not being injured more so. Out of sheer stubbornness, Richard waited until the last possible moment to make his way to Ash’s home. Hoping that everyone was well on their way or already there by the time he left. Twenty-five minutes passed before he left the repair shop, his feet dragging along the entire way before he stood outside of Ash-hole’s man cave. Richard had no intentions of getting in near the front or centre, he would hover at the edges as he had done for all these kinds of gatherings the last 8 months since Zoie had passed.

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It was a little odd that there would be armed guards around the wheelie-boat (Bryn was so creative with names). In fact, she hadn’t even noticed them until they had stopped her from getting too close to the strange vehicle. She had said nothing though and just went about with finding Jim on the wall and asking her question. Visitors were rare but if they were allowed inside the walls it was clearly not a bad thing so she shrugged and then had to hide the smirk that played on her lips as Jim made himself jump when Jack’s radio went off.

“Easy mistake.” She wasn’t much good at making others feel less awkward or better, in fact her general demeanour usually ended up making other people feel worse. She was just about to ask Jim if there was anything needing done to the walls before the wedding when the sound of Ash’s voice rang out in what felt like surround sound as it echoed out of Jim’s radio and Jack’s radio. Raising a questioning brow, Bryn stared at her feet as she took the words in. Ash was calling for a meeting outside his place. Fair enough, that saved her from looking for something to do before getting herself ready for the wedding at least. She gave Jim a nod and quietly thanked him before taking off from the wall and heading up the street to Ash’s place.

She probably weirded Jim out with her strange arrival and then quick departure but hey, she wouldn’t keep her title as the creepy, quiet chick if she didn’t do these kinds of things at least semi-regularly. She had to keep them wondering about her somehow. She spotted James as she walked by the parking lot of the repair shop on the Gilbert Street side. She made her way over to him and gave a bright smile at the food cooking. “I cannot wait to eat this, man. Are you heading to Ash’s place now? Wanna walk up together?” Bryn really enjoyed James’s company. He was the only adult that she felt genuinely close to in Newnan. Sure, she was friendly with Ash, Sana and Froggy but James was special. They had each other’s backs outside the wall and that was a strong bond between people these days. In fact, besides Ciel, James was Bryn’s favourite living person. If he wanted to make his own way up to Ash’s then she’d head up there herself, otherwise she was happy to walk with him.

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Victor was all too aware that Chloe was unhappy with her restrictions in medical but still appreciated her ability to follow them. Her forced smile and quick exit after his orders was further reinforcement of that knowledge. Victor let out a small sigh and shrugged, knowing there was no way to change how things were. At least Chloe wasn’t as… violent as his last challenging helper. He could smile now at how Niesha had first been when she had arrived at Newnan but back then it was challenging, just as it was challenging now dealing with Chloe. He only hoped that Chloe would have her moment of realisation like Niesha had. Tiffany’s farewell pulled Victor back out of his thoughts and memories and he waved goodbye as the young woman left the infirmary after Chloe.

Moving across the room, Victor gave a quick glance over Anna and then began to tidy the infirmary up some before finishing getting ready for the wedding. He was looking forward to the wedding and really couldn’t wait to walk Tati down the aisle. The thought brought him to the memories of his own daughter’s wedding day and he felt his chest tighten. He tried not to think of his family much, but sometimes he would think of his children and wonder if they were still alive, somewhere…

Fortunately Niesha’s arrival served as the perfect distraction as she returned to the infirmary. He smiled to her as she went about her business and he finished off what he was in the middle of doing before he became lost in memory. As Niesha approached him and began to speak. “Not a problem, Niesha. Thank you for the offer, I may just take you up on that but Anna should be okay with an occasional check up so do not feel you need to stick arou-“ His words cut off as the crackle of his radio sounded and Ash’s voice called out.

Peculiar, what was the gathering for? He frowned slightly, pondering what this was all about but verbalised none of his uncertainty. “Well then Miss. Burkstein, I believe we best get ourselves to Captain Holloway’s home, oui? Medic will be able to take care of little Anna.” When Medic arrived in the infirmary Victor gave the man a nod of thanks and a pat on the shoulder and gave him a brief rundown on what had happened with Anna. When he was done, he hooked his arm and held it out for Neisha to take hold of if she wished to before heading out of the infirmary. It was a good job that Victor had showered already and only had to get into the suit that Ms Sally had so kindly altered for him.

The air was brisk at first but the warmth of the sun began to warm Victor up as he walked down the street and around the corner to Ash’s home. He saw people heading over, some doing their jobs until a stopping point and then almost everyone was making their way to the call point that Ash had announced. He was glad to note that most of the people not moving were their newest arrivals from Franklin and he made a quick sweep to see if anyone from Newnan pre-Franklin merger were unaware of what was going on in which case he would let them know and direct them to the correct gathering point. He was very keen to know exactly what was going on just as everyone else appeared to be. Perhaps it was something to do with the upcoming wedding? Perhaps a surprise for the newlyweds? It didn’t seem exactly Ashton’s style but Victor smirked a little at the thought either way.

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Well this certainly was different from the usual, Amelia thought as she quietly walked over to where people usually gathered to start patrolling the walls. Orders such as this one was frankly a first and she was a little bit confused and maybe scared. Ash did say that no one was in trouble, but still such sudden changes in schedules and orders scared her. What's more she was never really ordered to do regular patrol on the walls, she usually dealt with the majority off everyday tasks that needed to happen from cleaning to cooking or the like. As such she gulped, feeling an very family nerves taking hold of her once more.

Once by the walls, she simply started looking about to see Lyon and any others that could direct her on which part of the wall or with whom to actually patrol. She just hoped this was not going to turn into another sudden chaotic situation. The change in sentries was a good moment to attack, but considering the snow and everything she hoped all was fine." I should have searched for warmer clothign..." She eventually mumbled to herself, rubbing her hands together. Yeah, the snow had caught her unprepared when it started snowing all that time back now. Just goes to show the one thing you don't account for could always happen.