(2nd Collab between Darkraven and AnriuSB Part 1)

[b]November 3rd, 2017, 7:54pm, Waynesville, Southwest Missouri[/b]

"Dad..." Valentina mumbled in her sleep even as the door into her room opened, and in came something that had become almost unheard of. Home-cooked food. The real kind. Living in a biohazard disaster zone had a way of making even the sleepiest infants insomniacs, and Valentina was one of them. The smell of the sweet nectar that was a bowl of hot, steaming soup tickled her nose, but even her subconscious knew that it was too good to be true.

In her daily nightmare, she was still trying to nurse the graze wound on her left shoulder when darkness relieved her once again, pulling her out of the horrid past. Her eyes fluttered open, and sight returned, but only to her left eye, each moment of awakening a reminder of her loss. The first thing she saw was a pair of legs, dangerously close. The shocking sight made Valentina jump into a sitting position with her knees to her chest, her revolver and knife tumbling out, both of which she quickly secured in panic.

The woman snickered at the small girl as she jumped upright. Her arms stuck to her waist in a commanding position the moment the girl became alert. "Good morning sleepy head! Well, I guess I should say goodnight.." Ivy shook her head, her brown hair now tied up in a ponytail, and a white apron laying loosely over her other clothing. "Either way, dinner is served Dumb Ass, hurry up and hop to it. We got a schedule to keep." With that the woman turned to leave the girl, one hand resting on the door nob before stopping momentarily in preparation for the girls' possible retort. 

Valentina kept quiet as the bowl of soup captivated her senses. Had it not been there, she would have been unhappy with the woman's new nickname for her. Yet, the girl could not help but to be afraid of even going near it, fearing that something would happen if she even dared to try it. She kept her one good eye on the witch, who stood at the door, watching her every movement for any signs of danger, the grip on her weapons tightening.

Ivy glanced back momentarily, her eyes locking with the child. She could sense the hesitation and turned away without a word. Moments before closing the door however. "Oh, and I almost forgot! Eat up all of your soup, or I'll steal your soul or something" She announced and shut the door behind her gracefully. Dylan's judgmental gaze met her own as she exited the room.

"Dumbass huh?" He shook his head, "seems like you two sure hit it off.." He chuckled absently at his own joke as he took a swig of his fresh coffee. "Who knows? Maybe I'll have better luck with her."

Ivy smiled at him, her eyes showing her true emotions regarding the child. "Who knows.. Maybe you will.." The Woman then set about the task of prepping her own gear. Tonight would be a long night, and hopefully it would be worth it..

The bowl of soup was smoking, the tendril of aroma beckoning Valentina to come closer. As the witch disappeared, the young girl put away her weapons and came closer to the mysterious, wondrous thing. Memories returned to her about the world before, how Mom would cook the best dishes in the world that not even the Russian restaurants Daddy would bring her to could ever beat. Yet, the nightmare she had before was doggedly haunting her, forcing her to remember. The last time this happened, a woman and man wanted to make love to her, but Valentina could not resist the bowl of soup any longer. Lifting it up, she started drinking the soup from the rim, ignoring the spoon by the bowl, deciding that she could drink the soup and deal with whatever consequences later. With the witch, it was a tough one, as she was too strong, but Valentina thought the soup she made was good.

The soup was drained within minutes.

Ivy finished prepping the needed gear as Dylan sat across from her, cleaning his rifle. "Looks like I'll be the one on guard duty tonight huh?" he chuckled to himself as he cleaned the barrel of his rifle carefully. He checked the barrel and then shot a thumbs up in Ivy's direction. "All good here kiddo, what about your end."

Ivy smiled, this was the first time she had really felt anything aside from frustration and anger in quite a while, despite this child's distrust, she was having an untold affect on them both. Perhaps happiness would be possible in this empty waste.. perhaps, even, a family would be born. Ivy fastened her rifle to her shoulder and shot Dylan a single look, that was all he needed to be certain, she was revved up. "What do you think chief?" she asked, doing a three hundred and sixty degree spin infront of him.

"Hell, if we could kill those damned zed with looks alone.." He laughed throatily and nodded, "your one magazine short of a mobile arsenal Kiddo, give em' hell."

"I will sir." She replied, turning to knock on the Child's door. "Get out here kid, it's your lucky day, you get too meet the chief."

When Valentina heard the witch calling for her to leave the room, she was reluctant, afraid of what might come next. The game she talked about might just be a way to get her to stay after all, just like how she was lead to believe that things would be better, that she would be safe and that she would make new friends, just like how Marilyn lead her to believe... Yet the girl knew that when the witch calls, she had to answer. Resigned to her fate, she gets off her cot and skitters across the room, her palms sweaty as she got ready mentally to draw her revolver quickly. Opening the door slightly to peer through the crack, Valentina saw not just the woman, but a man as well, which confirms her suspicion. Yet she knew that she had to play their game - they had guns, and she had a single bullet for the three of them.

Opening the door fully, the girl came out, her eyes on the floor as she was afraid to look at them or meet their gaze, as she was afraid that they might do things to her...

"You." Dylan's gruff voice called out too the child. "What manner of dress is this?" Dylan stared directly at the child with stony eyes, studying every orifice. The scars, the eyepatch, the worn clothing, the poorly concealed weapons. The way she pitifully averted her eyes from them both. "This won't do..." He sighed and set his rifle at the side of his chair, standing up and approaching the child. He took but three single steps, barely closing the distance between them. "You sure this is the girl you told me about Kiddo? She seems pretty pathetic too me. Unless that is, there is more too her than meets the eye. 

The girl still had not looked up too him. "You! Look at me when I speak!" His voice boomed, echoing throughout the store like the roar of a lion, all of his energy was targeted at the girl, he willed her to look at him.

Valentina seemed to shrink even smaller when the man spoke in his rough and rude manner. Nervous, she balled her hands and shivered, and jumped when the man shouted at her, commanding her to look at him. After a moment's hesitation, Valentina peered upwards, meeting the twin eyes of the bad man with her single, lonely, solitary eye, which was already beginning to water, her lips turning downwards in misery, the scar on her cheek emphasizing it.

The moment the girl's eye locked with his own, the man's gruff face underwent a change. His eyes softened, and a warm, welcoming smile came from his lips. "Now, now young one, there is no need to fear me." His voice poured like liquid honey from a fountain of gold. "You know," He said softly. "Long ago, it was said that a warrior's worth was judged by the scars they held proudly on their faces. You my dear have gained a powerful weapon, one that a scarless man like myself cannot hope to face. The face of a warrior my child, it is a weapon more powerful than any rifle in the land." The old man smiled, Dylan was hitting fifty six soon, but he still showed the strength of his youth, all he lacked from that time was arrogance, in its stead was a kindness that knew no bounds. A kindness that aimed to fix this world so shrouded in darkness...

Valentina could not meet the man's gaze for very long, and she had to look away every once in a while, as if her only working eye would go blind if she didn't do what she did. As the man spoke, gradually becoming less fierce but more and more eerily kind, uncannily resembling something from back before the dead started standing up and walking, Valentina found it hard to understand what he was trying to say, as she never had the need to listen to long talks ever since Marilyn and Manson, which was months ago - which in the land of the dead might as well be centuries, as every second would seem like a minute. When the man stopped, and things went silent again, Valentina recalled that it meant that she had to reply, yet she wasn't sure how to do it anymore.

After some difficulty, Valentina managed to pull something from the distant past, unsure if it was even correct or appropriate. "Y-yes, mister." Valentina said, forcing herself to meet his gaze again, remembering that it was something polite a kid should do when talking to an adult.

Dylan smiled at the girl and walked back to his chair. "She's a good girl Kiddo," He shot a look at Ivy "you treat her right ya hear?"

Ivy smiled, and turned to the girl, her gaze immediately turning back too stone. "Alright Dumbass" She announced unraveling a map that had, up until now, rested at the edge of the store counter. 

"Here's the plan."