Justric

Found Alive

I would rather he be new to her, otherwise it just seems too... soap opera-ergy.

Found Alive

That could be possible, but doubtful. It would be something of a miracle.

Found Alive

Sorry, took a while to type out! I really hadn't really put too much thought into her background overall, so I just created it whole cloth.

Found Alive

Pony was the sole survivor of a massacre. When the first wave of robots began their attack, the primary school she was in was evacuated by the police and herded up into the mountains. The groups were split up to help hide the children better, each group having around twenty children and three or four adults, the adults being a mix of school staff, parents and police. Most of the groups did not survive, starvation and disease taking their toll over time. The group Pony was one of the last. That group was set upon and wiped out when she was around fourteen.

It wasn't robots who slaughtered her friends and guardians. It was another band of human survivors, turned brutal in this post apocalyptic world. The usual horrors ensued, including rape and murder, and cannibalism. Some of the pre-teen and teenage girls were spared as slaves, one or two boys as well. Pony, because of her small size, was able to stay hidden. Only without knowing where else to go, she stayed close to the raided encampment and ended up witnessing the fate of everyone else. Ironically, the raider's extremes were their own undoing: they lingered too long with their slaves and their feasting. The fires they lit and the total disregard they gave towards hiding their refuse led the Extermination Teams right to them.

No one, not the refugees or the raiders, survived. None of the captured humans were deemed fit for conversion and were so eliminated right then and there. The bodies were then collected and carted away. Again, Pony could do nothing but watch from her hiding spot among the crevices. Even after the robots left, she lingered around the encampment for want of anywhere else to go. There was still enough regular food to last a single person a few months if they were careful, and Pony needed very little to eat compared to others.

Before she ran out of supplies, she was discovered by a Salvage & Recovery Team from the Colony.

Where her tendencies towards bisexuality, physical affection and subservience come from aren't really clear. There was nothing in her past to give any indication that she was raised or taught to be such, as the survivors she had been with maintained good order and discipline throughout their years of hiding. It may be it is just how she naturally is. That along with her rather fae nature made life difficult among the other humans in the Colony, who (while being a mixed group) trended towards more conservative lines. Training her to do anything useful was also problematic due to her simple nature. The less said of the time Toni tried to teach her how to use a pistol, the better! She fared a little better helping with the cooking, and sometime she's been called upon to help whenever perishable food became overly plentiful. Uncle was reluctant to turn her out as the girl honestly did try to do her best at any task she was given. Finally, she was put in charge of watching the few animals that the Colony keeps: dogs, pigs, goats, and several cats. The animals needed little watching, actually, but she was happy to care for them. The dogs and cats kept vermin to a minimum (and so also helped with hunting) while the pigs and goats ate garbage.

Cassie was the first to befriend the strange girl. The fact that they were similar in size, had long hair and were rather attractive (albeit in different ways) might have had something to do with. Lucien offered his friendship next, feeling for her just as much as Cassie did. The outcast girl quickly latched onto them, her only friends in this all too horrible world.

The rest? Well, you pretty much know already from in-story exposition.

Found Alive

Oh, look! It just happened.

Me thinks the forum is acting a tad wonky.

Found Alive

Bleh. Hate when that happens.

Tell you what. Make it a surprise. I like surprises!

Found Alive

Not as such, to be honest. I had envisioned something of a horrible fate befalling her (although without any real clarity as to what), only because as a character she seemed to me to be one of those 'not long for this world' and not everyone can have their happy ending. The sad part about her is that she really, really does try to be likable. And she's not actually stupid. But since she's rather slow on the draw, bubble-headed and something of a sexual deviant in the Colony (bisexual bottom who looks like a thirteen year old girl), she is quite alienated from everyone else.

But as I have no set plans for her, I'd love to hear out your idea! After all, we already know Hassle is not going to have a happy ending.

Currently running about doing family things, but I should get to posting later this evening.

Found Alive

Nope! Just finished!

((Edited about 40 minutes later)) But I think I just missed you. Damn.

Found Alive

Pony slipped into the hollow she shared with Lucien, quickly shedding excess clothing and snuggling close to his turned back. It was a bad idea to sleep in too much clothing in the caverns; too much warmth and a person would begin to sweat, filling the clothes with moisture and making it all the colder when they got out of bed. Lucien was still awake but said nothing to her. He simply stared into the darkness that was their shared corner of the world. Pony stroked his bare back gently and felt her own tears start to well up. She knew what was coming, sooner or later.

"You're going to leave me. Aren't you?" she whispered to him sadly. "She's back and you don't need me anymore."

Still, Lucien said nothing. What could he say? She was right. Yet it hurt him even to admit that much to himself, for he was fond of her. He also owed her a great deal since she was the only one in the Colony who kept him going after he had to accept the inevitable acknowledgement of Cassie's loss.

"I know I'm not as smart as everyone else. And I know that... people feel weird around me. You and Cassie were my only real friends. When she was gone, you were the only one I could turn to. I've never had anyone else. And I tried to be there for you, too. I do love you, Lucien. Just like I loved Cassie. Love her, I guess I should say now, huh?" She leaned her forehead against his back and closed her eyes. Pony felt she at least had to make the attempt. "I'm still willing, you know. Remember?"

Lucien remembered. Oh, how he remembered. Months before the planned wedding date, Pony had made her suggestion to the happy couple, a suggestion that both shocked and intrigued him at the same time even as he realized that it would never work out. And not just because Pony talking about it made Cassie incredibly uncomfortable. The girl meant well and had been sincere in what she was offering, but she couldn't see the stresses it would put not only on the marriage but their friendship as well! Pony had wanted (from Lucien's point of view) to 'share' Cassie; Cassie had seen it as wanting to share Lucien. It hadn't set well with either of them, and when gently rejected the blonde girl had attempted to correct both of their viewpoints: she wanted them to share her! Pony had wanted to be subservient to them both because she could not think of anyone she loved or trusted better than the pair of them! Still... unacceptable.

"Cassie would never go for it," he murmured, "And I'm... I can't be that kind of person anymore, Pony. Not with her back again."

Pony sighed and pouted. "But you did it so well, Lucien. Who will I go to if you leave me? I don't have anyone else, only the two of you." She bit her lower lip and then braved another option. "If you decide to leave... and you and she get back together... I want something. Something that will last, Lucien. Please? You owe me that much, yes? Something so I won't be alone and will still have something of you."

Puzzled as to what she was getting at, Lucien rolled to his back and looked at her over his shoulder, brow furrowed. "Pony, what are you-"

"I want a child, Lucien. I want your child. Give me that and... and I won't stand in your way with Cassie. I'll even help where I can." In the darkness, he could still make out the shining tears that ran down her elfin cheeks. Pony's body was shaking with the effort to contain her own sadness at the recent turn of events. Putting a hand to his lips, she shook her head. "Don't... don't answer now. It's too late and it's been a hard day for everyone and no one is thinking clearly right now. I'll give you whatever time and space you need, you know that. Right now, just... think about it and get some sleep, my love." With that, she buried her face against his shoulder and said nothing more as she fell into a grief ridden sleep.

Lucien, still shocked at the request, could only continue to stare at her. Life, as it often does, just became all the more complicated for him.

*****

Come breakfast time, Lucien was nowhere to be seen. Pony, however, sat by herself in a far corner of the hall with a small bowl of oatmeal and a half cup of juice. Everyone else studiously ignored her, as always. The girl's eyes were puffy and swollen as though she had been crying, but her face lit up with a small smile at the sight of Cassie and Jacob. Biting her lower lip in nervousness, she gave a small wave to Cassie to indicate there was space by her should she chose it. She had only had the vaguest idea where Lucien had gone so early in the morning. Left to her own devices, Pony was at a loss of what to do and felt incredibly lonely.

Found Alive

There's a second half to that last post, but I have to take care of something. Be back in about 1/2 an hour.