CLIW

Just One Bite

That's totally fine.

Just One Bite

Mattie didn't really understand Nicholas' tone when he tried to amend his statement about the weapons. His words tripped over themselves and he ended up finishing with a frustrated-sounding "never mind", which drove the point home that he didn't trust her. She couldn't exactly blame him, though her expression changed from puzzled to hurt, for the most fleeting of moments, and then became deadpan. So, misunderstanding him, she said, "I'm fine with the knife, but thank you."

She leaned over and peered with concern at Cole, then straightened herself up as they walked. The cogs of her mind were going, but she couldn't think of any great ideas. All she could think of, she said aloud. "There's some hippie just outside town who owns--or, owned--goats. Sold their milk and cheese. Maybe they're still there." She hoped they were, because the only other option that came to mind was feeding the baby chewed-up food, the idea of which made her wrinkle her nose.

"No one's prepared to suddenly find a baby," she added quietly. "They weren't prepared for me, after all," she continued in a joking tone.

DinoBlast: RP with a terrible name

Haven't been checking the OOC. Congratulations on the baby!

DinoBlast: RP with a terrible name

Alexis nodded in thanks at Nathan, and Delilah made a happy squawk that showed all of her teeth in what looked like an obnoxious grin. She was pleased to be back on dry land, and at the smell of food she lightly headbutted Alexis in a gesture that said, "Well what are you waiting for? We have a meal waiting!" With that, the deinonychus sped into the castle in a flash of feathers and curved claws. Laughing, Alexis followed at a run, hardly tired from the journey here.

Just One Bite

Mattie held out the baby carefully and let Nicholas hold Cole. In exchange, she crammed the pacifier, the clothes, the monkey and the diapers into the backpack and headed for the front door. She peeked out of the window in case any of the infected were in a position to ambush them. She saw none, but they could be absolutely anywhere. Waiting and lusting for spilled blood. Her eyes flickered toward Nicholas, and she felt a sudden wave of gladness that he had found her. Quickly she suppressed it.

"We'll take turns holding him," she said, turning the knob. "That way we'll give each other rests from it." She opened the door and stuck her head out, again to make sure that no living dead were approaching, and stepped outside. Then she changed her mind, hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a sharp knife, and headed back toward the door. She needed something now that she had lost her crowbar.

Just One Bite

In response, Mattie held up a half-empty jar of baby food that miraculously hadn't expired yet. She slid it into one of the backpacks, then grabbed the bottles and did the same with them, and said, "We'd best be on the move again. I don't want to be stuck in here with a baby should they track us down. Did you pick up diapers? Those would be...an asset." She inwardly shuddered with the knowledge that sooner or later she would have to change this kid's diaper.

Just One Bite

Before Mattie could say anything, there was a baby in her arms. Perhaps surprisingly, though, she didn't complain, just held it and crooned softly, "Aren't you a little cutie?" while making the blankets nice and snug for him. She smiled and cradled him, calming him with a slow and gentle sweeping motion in her arms until Nicholas came back, at which point Mattie stopped immediately so that he wouldn't comment.

When he handed her the birth certificate, she didn't snatch it as she usually did with things, but took it lightly like the paper was an egg and might break if she gripped too hard. "Shraiman?" she said. "Cole Shraiman." She was still at a loss. "I hope he has formula, or something." If there was a thing Mattie wasn't willing to do, it was to rescue a baby from an empty house only to watch it starve on the journey.

Without another word, she gave the slip of paper back and carried little Cole down the stairs and went into the kitchen. "Don't you worry, little guy, you'll have something to eat soon," she said, rummaging with one hand as she did so, careful to hold the infant. She started to whistle softly as she did so.

Just One Bite

"No, I didn't," she called, and she followed him slowly up the stairs, curious as to what he might have found. Shortly after she'd started tailing Nicholas, the most God-awful voice assaulted her eardrums and made Mattie cringe. She knew that sound from underpaid babysitting jobs; a feeling of dread settled over her as she entered the room and her eyes fell upon the crib. Oh, no. What were they supposed to do with a baby?

Mattie was not good at caring for other human beings. Therapists had told her that the lack of human interaction and limited affection in her early life had damaged that bit of her brain or something like that, but she knew that it would be unforgivable to leave the poor thing to starve here. Cautiously, she reached into the crib and prodded at the infant to check for anything like bites. She turned her head and looked at Nicholas with round eyes.

Her voice was soft at this point. "Maybe we should look for diapers and baby food." She chewed her lip. This was a challenge she certainly hadn't seen coming.

Just One Bite

Mattie hurried inside the house and breathed a sigh of relief at the thought of different clothes. She went up some stairs in search of a closet, found a woman's bedroom, and rummaged through her wardrobe. Without a second thought as to whether or not she'd been followed, she pulled on a T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and a jean jacket that looked a little stupid but which Mattie wore regardless. Then she grabbed a pair of sunglasses and put those on.

Next stop: Bathroom. She found some makeup-removal wipes and went through all of them to get the blood droplets off of her skin, tested to sink to see if it worked (it didn't), and investigated the woman's makeup collection (it looked awful). "Boom! I'm a new person now," she said loudly as she headed back down the stairs, but then she made a stop in the laundry room. There had to be some, come on, come on... and there it was! A bottle of unscented bleach.

Mattie grabbed the container and nodded satisfied at its weight; it seemed at least half full to her. She stuffed it into one of the backpacks and turned her head. "I'm good, unless you want to loot the place. It's pretty untouched."

Just One Bite

Grudgingly, Mattie followed him, wondering about the refuge camp. She hadn't had access to radio for a long time, so she hadn't heard anything about it, and she wished that she had. She told herself to be a little easier on Nicholas, and followed (in no apparent hurry) to stand beside him. She sighed, feeling that she would have to speak calmly at this point or risk being turned away.

"They must die," she said, but with a tinge of uncertainty; these things were like nothing she'd ever seen or experienced, and not in a good way. "Whatever's infecting them turns their own body against itself, and if that happens I'm sure everything would fail. Maybe it's like...a ramped-up version of rabies." She hesitated. "Then again, if you shoot a rabid dog in the head, it stays dead... so I don't know."

She changed the subject, as she wasn't very keen on speculating something so unsettling. "It's either we find the camp or head to the country and live off the land, if it hasn't been overrun. And keep in mind...living in groups can help, but if one person gets sick, it's very likely to spread. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it's already full of zombies. Not all these people are careful about who they let in. If they are careful, I'm not getting in, not like this," she added, gesturing to the round splotches of blood on her shirt.