Framing A Moose

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

Location: Garage
Skills:

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As soon as this new stranger got into the car, Waverley followed suit - and this time, she got to stay in the car. She immediately propped her foot onto the dashboard in what seemed to be her natural passenger seat position. She took Kaitlyn's phone as it was offered to her, flicking her way over to her maps app. Her fingers tapped on the screen for a few seconds, before the GPS' automated voice came on over the speakers, announcing its destination as, Beyond the Veil.

"Here's the other thing," Waverley began as soon as they were all in the car. "If we decide they're zombies, we're pretty much saying that at some point, we're going to have to kill them. So, we need to be one hundred percent sure. But, Kaitlyn brings up a good point: a lot of them seem like they'd be dead if they weren't zombies, so..." Waverley pulled her backpack up from the ground, unzipping it. She pulled out a hunk of metal the size of a short sword - it appeared to be the armrest, unscrewed and stolen from a park bench by some vandal. Some punkish, purple-haired vandal, most likely. "If we do need to kill some zombies, I have this." Then, offhandedly, she added, "Oh, and the handgun in my pants."

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

Location: Garage
Skills:

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"Awesome, let's go!" With a light tap of the car's roof, Waverley slipped inside, settling comfortably into her place in the passenger seat. She grabbed a soda from the box with the intention of opening it (rather than tossing it at another fasc-mobile), but before she could, her eyes drifted out the window to see the stranger beginning to walk away. She hopped back out, her chin popping back up over the roof of the car. She did her best to add some amount of understanding or approachability to her 'where the fuck are you going, get in the car before that zombie sick person grows a brain' face, but a woman can only do so much.

When he finally turned back around, Waverley nodded, satisfied, and slipped back inside. Her butt had barely touched the seat before the man decided to ask a question, she'd been really trying her darndest to avoid. With a sigh - for the third time - her face popped back up into view, chin jutting out in a huff.

"I'd been trying to avoid that possibility. Zombies usually imply zombie apocalypses, which..." she trailed off, her eyes drifting away from the man. She found herself once again looking at the shambling maybe-zombie still clawing at the Cybertruck's stainless steel. After a moment, she shook her head. "Zombie or not, no point in sticking around. Let's all get in the car and get outta here before it realizes there's not a nice, juicy techbro in there for it to sink its teeth into."

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

Location: Garage
Skills:

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Waverley watched from the passenger seat as Kaitlyn fumbled with her keys, only for them to fall through her fingers and clatter on the asphalt beneath. Waverley didn't need direction, popping open her car door as soon as Kaitlyn got to the ground and started searching. Perfectly gung-ho to give her failed vandalism attempt another go, she pushed herself up, perching her elbows on the roof of Kaitlyn's car. She grabbed a soda from where she'd placed the box on the dashboard and launched it once again at the Cybertruck.

The sound of shattering glass rang out, followed by the car's alarm. Waverley's lips curled into a smug, self-satisfied grin as she pumped a fist into the air. With her mission completed, she lowered her gaze to meet the man now behind Kaitlyn. She pulled out another can, ready to lob it at his head, but shook off her protective instincts when she realized he wasn't sick like the others.

"Shit's kinda going down all over the city, so we're headed to a bar. Hoping to skip town from there. Always room for one more, though." She slapped her palm against the roof of the car to indicate the backseat - light enough to hopefully not draw the attention of the 'stumbledy fellow.' Her smile wavered for a moment, her eyes drifting back up to the Cybertruck. "Unless that's your car, in which case you might want to see if there are any auto repair shops still open."

Primality

Hey y’all! Been thinking about joining up with you guys - have a potential character concept in mind who I like, so I’ll likely end up working on her a bit tonight. Is there/will there be a Discord server or anything for OOC discussion?

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

Location: Garage
Skills: Perception

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Waverley followed Kaitlyn into her apartment complex's spacious garage, eyes immediately scanning the scene. As they marched behind the line of parked cars, an annoyingly familiar sight caught her eye: the ugly stainless-steel looming over the both of them, coming together in jagged, unpleasant angles. As the pair passed, Waverley offered up a middle finger to the so-called cybertruck, silently cursing whatever wannabe tech bro had parked it there. She turned her attention back forward to find Kaitlyn fiddling with her keys in front of what Waverley figured must be her car.

"Hey, nice ride," she complimented, eyes gliding along its side. They stopped at the rearview mirror, narrowing at what she saw in the reflection - a half-dead looking figure shambling through the darkness towards them. Whoever they were, they looked the same as the guy they'd encountered back at the school. Waverley backed up a little, in doing so bumping her heel into a twelve-pack of soda, sitting next to the car next to them's closed trunk. Probably forgotten by someone after a grocery run...

"Don't freak out, but we've got one of those sick people coming up on us..." Waverley subtly glanced at the figure, wary to leave her eyes on it for too long. She chewed the inside of her lip, before glancing to the cybertruck they'd past along the way. An idea began to form - a loud one, and one that filled Waverley to no end with satisfaction. She hoisted up the forgotten box of Coke, pulling it open and grabbing a can from inside. She stepped away from Kaitlyn's car, and she aimed for a moment, can held high, before launching it at the overpriced rustbucket. She chucked it as hard as she could at the car - only for it to bounce off the back bumper and into the floor. Waverley was about to grab another can when she noticed the sick guy's attention pulled away from her and instead to the hissing can spraying coke onto the cybertruck's tire. Waverley quickly through open the car door, sliding into the passenger seat, keeping the soda on her lap. "We should go - I don't know how long that soda's gonna keep him distracted." There was an undercurrent of disappointment in Waverley's voice, clearly having wanted to give the owner of that truck a little more than a sticky tire to worry about.

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

Location: School
Skills: Radio Knowledge

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Waverley nodded along to Kaitlyn's reiteration of their plan. She wondered if Kaitlyn had anyone of her own she needed to make contact with in the city; probably not, considering she was willing to help her, a near complete stranger, get back to her merry band of misfits. As it became clear that Kait was ready to go, Waverley stepped away from the window, instead making her way towards the door. She held it open for Kait, letting her take the lead guiding them to her car.

"Sounds like a plan. My friends, they're great if you don't mind counter-culture types," Waverley gave Kait an analytical once over, trying to determine just how outside of her comfort zone Beyond the Veil and its people might be for the TA. She seemed alright, if a little preppy. She was altruistic, which was generally enough to satisfy her pack of punks. As they stepped out of the apartment, a though came to Waverley's mind. She adjusted, maneuvering her police scanner out once more, flicking it on. She gave it a listen for a minute or so, before giving a satisfied nod.

"Not getting any reports on major traffic accidents, so getting there shouldn't be too complicated."

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

Location: School
Skills:

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"Maybe..." Waverley said as she followed Kait into her apartment, though she didn't sound entirely convinced. She lingered at Kait's window, peering wearily outside. She wasn't looking for anything in particular; if she was being honest, it just felt better to have a lookout, out of habit if nothing else. She wasn't exactly a crime boss, but she still sometimes worried her transmissive transgressions might end with the cops pounding her door down. Keeping an eye on the streets below usually soothed the anxiety that gnawed away at her gut. "She never met any of them, but she knew the name of the bar we all worked at. If she were to go looking for me there...they'd take care of her."

"Once I make sure Riley is safe...I dunno. Try to skip town, maybe?" Waverley let out a sigh, turning her gaze away from the window towards Kait. She eyed the woman's hands, trying to decipher what it was she led them back to her apartment to get. "We don't really have a lot of extended family that we know of, and my mom is a cop - so either she'll make it out on her own, or..." Waverley flinched a little at how uncaring she'd sounded talking about her mother's fate. She wasn't close with the woman, but some part of her still prayed for the woman. For Riley's sake. "What about you? Got any family you can stay with outside the city while...whatever this is is handled?"

Wild Beasts of the Earth (Gothic Horror)

Nelly Hacke

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The morning, brisk as it was, was a welcome relief from the biting cold of night. Nothing made one more grateful for cold mornings than freezing night, something Nelly knew all too well - as did those she'd spent the night communing with. She'd felt on edge the moment she found herself on the outskirts of the gathered Nachtwachemen, faces she'd only known in the dim lamplight of the previous night. She'd felt more at home under the uncertain gaze of her peers, measuring her up by the light of a back-alley fire. Some newspaper kindling and a few sips of cheap whiskey was always enough to win them over. The other members of the Nachtwache? They were still a mystery that Nelly struggled to fully put together.

She lingered along the natural border that'd developed amidst the small crowd, ever hesitant to present her back to anyone. Her eyes fixed in the middle of the group, watching the nurse do her ugly work. She was largely silent as the others talked, eyelids lowering into slits as she stared onward. Her hands were tucked into her coat, freshly free of their nocturnal shivering. As Sonja spoke, Nell's lips turned almost imperceptibly downwards.

"Already took d'liberty of performing that unglamorous task," Nelly spoke up, offense in her voice. Her bitter tone sloughed from her words as she went on. "No one's seen anything, dog or otherwise. The victims though...more of 'em than we thought. Beaucoup more'en ten, for sure. All women, 'cept for the gravedigger. No one older than their late thirties..." Nelly's boots scuffed as she sidled forwards, ending up a few feet away from Sonja. "Lucky for you, eh, cher?"

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

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The ringing eventually went dead, replaced by Riley's voice signifying the answering machine. Waverley's lips curved into a frown as the tone sounded. "It's Waverley again - just...call me back. Or text me back. I need to know you're safe. Love you..." With a sigh, Waverley hung up, pausing for a second to check if she has any messages from Riley - or anyone else - before slipping it into her pocket. She sped up, once again at Kaitlyn.

"I don't actually know where I'm going, yet...My sister's not picking up. Not sure how much good going home would do. I guess I could go to the Veil - er, the bar I work at - and meet up with some friends of mine..." as soon as her phone was in her pocket, Waverley's eyes were on the sky, following the aircrafts up above. After a few moments, she pulled out her police scanner, bringing it to her ear. After some fiddling, she managed to tune into the radio waves, getting some of the locations the copters were heading towards. Not bad information to have...

"What about you, Kait - or do you prefer Kaitlyn?" Waverley interrupted her own presumption, before shaking her head, forcing herself back on track. "Any idea where you're headed?"

The Dead Don't Die.

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Waverley Watts

"Not entirely sure where it is I'm actually going, yet - but hopefully I'll figure out where Riley is, and we can swing by to pick her up," Waverley replied, phone still pressed to her ear. Waverley winced as the voicemail began to play. She waited patiently for it to reach its end, walking alongside Kaitlyn. As she did, something caught her eye - a semi-familiar grip sticking out from a trashcan. As they passed, she grabbed it, lifting it into the air: a glock, shoved carelessly into a trashcan. She glanced back to the school, still relatively close behind them, then to Kaitlyn with a questioning look, as if to ask the question, 'what kind of place are y'all running here.' Before she could linger too long on the thought, the tone pulled her attention back to the voicemail.

"Hey, Riley, it's Waves. Something's happening. I think we should meet up, get outta town..." Waverley paused for a moment after saying this, chewing the inside of her cheek as she deliberated something. Eventually she huffed, adding, "We can't be worried about mom. She's a cop - we'll just have to hope she can find her own way out." Waverley wasn't at all close with her mother, but she tried to tell herself that had nothing to do with her prioritizing Riley's safety over that of the woman who'd raised the both of them. "Just call me back when you get this. I'll find you."

With that, Waverley hung up, slipping her phone - and the handgun - into her pocket. She wasn't crazy about guns, but she had to at least keep it until they could safely dispose of it.