rivaan

Frozen Darkness

She grinned at the raspy reply and lowered her weapon a bit so it wasn't pointing directly at the man...ghoul...mutant anymore. It was a more neutral posture and a sign of goodwill than anything. She hadn't seen anyone quite in his condition in a long while, once she had met a traveler on an expedition to the surface, but they had gotten chased by her 'colleagues'.

"Not as much as you probably think, I've always been good at spotting things when others don't. A bit of a talent and a gift." She replied in turn with a well meanigng smile towards the man. Name was Hunter, huh. Well made sense, given he was trapping and hunting in an area by the looks of it. She heard Donny introducing himself behind her and she tossed him a glance.

"Well, name's Cat... well Catherine, but nobody really calls me by the full name anymore. I'm from 'Fourth Kingdom'." She made air quotes of sarcasm at the name of her former 'home'." Soldier and a scout more or less." She finished her introduction as she looked at the man from Underhaven." Figured the same as Donny, that Underhaven might be a good place to just start anew without all the imposed slavery." She added, her feet precisely positioned around some of the traps so she can easily at least do a sidestep or lean outo f the way of an arrow without stepping into one of the traps. Survival habbits.

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"As much as logic that might have, look at what they are wearing..." Cat gestured at the shattered remains of the ghouls." They wear practically nothing and as far as I'm aware even most mutants require clothing to preserve warmth in this hellhole we live in. No... these seem too bare to be would be settlers of any kind. Ghouls do wander from time to time so it might be just that, but we better be on guard just in case." She shook her head as they resumed walking.

The more they traveled the more Cat went on edge as she started spotting the traces of a lot of traffic and likely the traces of a horde. Now that was concerning. A group of ghouls could be dangerous enough in tight spaces and a horde was downright horrifying. Her old place had dealt with one horde while she was on duty a few years ago. They basically holed behind layers and layers of fortifications and obstacles like razor wires and spikes, delivering non stop hail of bullets until everything stopped moving and afterwards lit everything ablaze just to make sure and even then they still lost a guy to a ghoul that somehow jumped through the last set of the obstacles. Unlucky sod... GHouls appeared stupid, but they could be damn spry if a human meal was on the line.

"That's the best defense against ghouls... lack of human presence means ghouls won't wander down that path and the traps would cause them to stop advancing after a while. Ghouls might be with intelligence akin to or lower than animal, however I've observed that without a reason to venture in specific direction if a few of them die, they will just go another way. SO it's not ismply crafting, that's smart." She stated and already started walking and navigating the traps.

"Bren, we are at the edge of what's considered known world, there are NO traders that make their way here. At least no traders from our areas. If anything, any traders who travel between Underhaven and our known settlements are likely to be from Underhaven so they know any and all secret routes that this place has and uses so while there might be another entrance, I'd bent it's heavily masked and hidden from view." Cat stated and swiftly walked around some beartraps." I'm actually wondering where they got the bear traps... some of those don't look makeshift, bur rather properly made ones. Myabe they found a pre-apocalypse hunting store of some variety or something." She stated and suddenly raised a hand and gestured to Bren to stop as she staretd peering into the darkness and listening. They had walked a good deal inside hte trapped tunnel and now something was off. She readied her rifle, eyes locked into the darkness further down the tunnel outside of the light radius of the weakening makeshift torch." I know you are there, if you are sentient and from Underhaven please show yourself, we mean no harm, but I'd rather deal in person instead of a lurker in the shadows." She stated, preparing herself for a fight in a frankly uncomfortable for fighting place such as a corridor filled with traps. But hey, she could probably hook one of hte bear traps and kick it off with a kick in their direction if she had to.

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Through the frosty underground air they steadily walked. Cat's nerves were filled with tension at every crack of the frost covering the ground, the detriment and benefit of better hearing she supposed, still at least for the time being nobody nor anything would be able to ambush them easily if every movement caused sounds like these. Still she was taking point, walking with her gun at the ready and the sparkly new crowbar at the backup, her breath misting out in front of her face even through the makeshift scarf she had on.

"Hmmm..." Cat made a sound, eyes narrowing at the sight of frozen figures standing. Her trained eyes quickly took the surroundings and their getup and all manner of red flags flashed in her mind." Those aren't people, Donny." She told him as she pulled the crowbar in her right hand swug with all force at the closest one's neck, sending the netire thing tumbling down and a bunch of things from it breaking off, including a cracked from her strike neck that shattered from the impact." That's ghouls..." She explained and proceed to do the same to the other standing one without pause.

"Considering that unlike most mutants ghouls don't seemingly have improved bodies to maybe wait out the flast frost with only their outer layers freezing over, or dig or anything to protect themselves from it, I wouldn't put it past these things to restart 'living' after thawing out well enough. So better make sure just in case. I might not be right, but considering that ghouls are still a thing despite the cold waves, it's a decent logic, no?" She asked him, proceeding to shatter off the heads from the fallen ones.

"Problem is... if there are four... there might be more around the place. We are supposed to be somewhat close to this Underhaven place, so I don't think their presence should be regular occurance. No settlement or shelter would keep dangerous mutants close." She pointed out and readied her gun again." Now, from this point on expect ambushes. Remember for ghouls, it's like with most humans, you got to take out the head, it's by far the fastest way." Cat added and began walking.

While a group of four ghouls wouldn't be unusual, their presence this close to a supposed survivor settlement raised questions and Cat knew that Ghouls often flocked in groups, sometimes big groups. She had heard of one that a squad from her former place had encountered which was 15 ghouls packed in a single building. They had only 1 survivor out of 20 since they got surprised and swarmed, not expecting such numbers. So standard protocol since then was assume the worst.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Amelia Payne Location: Mess Hall→General Housing Skills: N/A

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In the end Riley and Amelia continued their meal in peace, not minding the chatter of the people that had more than gathered by this point. They didn’t dally too much and ate a bit fast, but it wasn’t rushed. They talked a bit about what they expected from their life in the camp from now on, given today’s events at the trial. A few points were made that a place with running legal system was a rather huge deal. Law could be said to be the greatest of human inventions in a way. Though in Amelia’s silent humble opinion, the ways to abuse laws was way more ingrained in humanity’s mentality.

“So, what do you think will happen to him now? After all, I know we will learn for certain later, but still.” Amelia asked Riley, as she was eating her food rapidly. She was hungry and wanted out of the gathered crowd.

“Well… they wouldn’t kill him… I don’t think they will anyways.” Riley replied.” I hope it’s exile or basically observation. Though whichever is chosen, I mostly hope it doesn't come back to bite us in the ass.” She replied.

“I know, I was for keeping him around and even now I feel off agreeing with that opinion, but it felt like the right thing to do.” Amelia quietly replied, receiving a hug. The two then continued their chatter for a bit more before finishing their food in haste and proceeding to put the trays away. It was a very quick meal, but with Amelia already having her fill of crowds today, it was probably better to leave early. In the end once outside, they headed to their new home, walking side by side and holding hands. All Amlia could think off while they walked on the peaceful street was the hope that this was peaceful living would continue for a long long while.

“Home sweet home.” Amelia said quietly once they entered their place.

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Lisa Mason Location: Mess Hall Skills: N/a

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“Indeed. Probably the one animal I’d love to have as a pet. Besides their quills make for excellent prank materials. Ever sat on one?” She asked with a huge grin.” Nearly the same as sitting on a spiky cactus… well not that I’ve experienced it, but on hand observations of others who have, collaborate with the theory.” She chuckled.” I should really talk with the expedition groups to keep an eye out for one if we could get one around here by some sheer miracle. Would be great to have around if for nothing else but as a nice communal pet for the kiddies. I doubt they’ve seen a live one.”

Lisa chuckled loudly at the ninja comment towards Thalia. That she was for some weird reason. The followup choking up at food brought her attention back to Guy with a raised eyebrow. Took her a moment to realize it was about the fabled Great Fuck Hunt. She started laughing aloud at this point.” Ohh yes, I forgot, sorry. No boys were present at the girls’ chat back then. It’s a girls’ only topic.” She found his expression incredibly amusing and kid of adorable, so innocent.” Alright, alright, it’s nothing too big, just a bit of an inside joke now.” She grinned.” Well… mostly anyways.” She added in teasing voice and narrowed her eyes on Guy in predatory manner.

“Hmm, you might just learn the meaning of the inside joke eventually at this rate.” She quipped and returned to finishing her meal with a very pleased and amused expression on her face. She closed her eyes and thought about the happenings from today, a more gentle smile graced her lips.

Frozen Darkness

"Another one will not come soon... Cold waves hit with rather big interval between one another." She replied, but nodded and stood up." I see your point though. Sooner we make it to a town the better it would be in the long run." With that she started to make sure her jacket was well closed and secured. She wasn't as heavily dressed and armored as Donny, so she had to make sure as much as possible of her body was covered and the least amount of heat could escape, thus the zipper on the jacket was pulled all the way up including the neck area.

"Thank you for the breakfast." She replied to him, getting to it and adding the water right awya." I could have used the one in my own cantine, but this's better and saves on my water alcohol mix." She chuckled and pulled a small spoon and began eating... rather devouring the food. She ate fast and big mouthfuls. In the end she was done before long.

"Alrigth, let's go." Cat stated and walked over to teh frozen door, knocking on it with the knuckles on her right hand a few times, just to confirm something then she pulled hte crowbar and with a well placed nudge, pull and push, the cracking of ice could be hearda as the frost gave way and soon the door creaked slightly open, then she pushed harder and harder until it was open enough so they could pass through which was admittedly ab it harder than she initially suspected, mostly because Donny's profile was a lot wider than her own. There was a distinct lack of something in the air as they made their way back into the metro tunnels proper. The cold wave had frozen everything, including whatever old sewege had cloged pipes in teh metrostation because the air was incredibly clear! Even for the underground, the incredibly cold air was very fresh and clear, one of the few times a person could find clear air. Still, breathing it was hard with the low temperatures it was at, so she pulled a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her mouth and neck, making a makeshift scarf to breath through and it made the cold air just a tad more bearable.

"We shouldn't be too far from the Underhaven place, maybe by tonight we should reach it, though we might meet scouts or perimeter guards first. Given the cold waves, they are likely completely isolated, so it must be formed within a place underground that they had completely closed off, so it should be easy to spot, unless it's even deeper hidden with tiny entrances instead."

With that she once more took point mostly because of better sense and also because with Donny at the rear since he was more armored, it would make any back ambushes less dangerous overall.

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and back to regular posting with the easter holidays over

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Amelia Payne Location: Mess Hall Skills: N/A

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With the two of them having given Lisa their distant greeting with waves, they headed down to the table they chose, took seats next to each other and started their meal, not really paying too much attention to the surroundings as people were now filling in the Mess Hall. Their time was enjoyable, spend eating and talking about pleasant topics. Stuff like how they will be spending their free time from now on. Amelia suggested Riley getting back into music to a proper degree now that they had a stable enough home once more. She loved listening to her lover singing.

In return she even got to talk a little to Riley about the D&D group she was going to be joining to play with. Amelia didn’t really talk too deeply into it, but described the general setup of how it’s played. Stuff like what dice they are and that it’s really technically a bit of like acting in a really nerdy amateurish way for the most part. Still she had fun in the past with it so she hoped this was a nice way to experience something she hadn’t in many years now. Honestly she much preferring listening to Riley talk about music and singing. Now THAT was something magical.

“Should we call it an early night after meal?” Amelia asked after a bit, resting her head on Riley’s shoulder.” Honestly tonight I just want to lay down and not move anymore. I had enough stress for a few days over with this court case.” She added. She was never comfortable with being in too great groups and the court room was filled with people, add to that having to speak to all those people present and she was just about done with the day and all it’s stress. Well maybe they’d wait for Chase and see if she want’s to walk home with them.

“We could, if you want to. I don’t mind.” Riley replied softly.” Been a long day.”

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Lisa Mason Location: Mess Hall Skills: N/a

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“Understandable, however as I said, I recognize today’s happenings as the probable best course this entire thing could have taken short of a miracle.” She told him softly, looking at the food for a moment before looking at him.” It will be alright and don’t worry about me. Still your presence is great to have, I enjoy company at all times and yours is quite enjoyable to have. Now let’s move onto lighter topics.” She replied to him with a grin.

“Mmm, they are indeed adorable enough, glad to hear it’s not a new thing. They are both rather pleasant folk, I personally am glad they are here, given my interactions with them so far.” She nodded.” Their adorable puppy love is quite the entertaining distraction.” Lisa grinned and looked at Guy once more.” People change, especially with the world we live in and usually for the worse. What caused her to change, I don’t know, but she survived. We do everything we need to survive if we’ve got a reason to.” The woman pointed out calmly, unperturbed by the topic in the least.

Lisa couldn’t contain the laugh when he asked her for her favorite animal and his reason for doing so. She probably would have choked on her food if she hadn’t decided to not take that bit in the last moment.” Good plan, it does get kind of annoying, yes.” She nodded in agreement.” As for my favorite animal… if I really have to say one… humans.” She replied with completely serious face.” Nothing beats the absurdity we humans can cause and experience. I can watch us mankind failing and stumbling for eternity without getting bored. Guess I’m a fan of comedy as portrayed by the fact that in the root of all comedy is tragedy.” She grinned and sighed.” Still if you mean only actual animal kinds, I think it would be hedgehogs. Great little things, very adorable and they eat snakes. What’s not to love?”

The sudden words spoken out from next of her, caused her to raise an eyebrow and her head to turn around.” Hey, Thalia. Just talking about the adorable couple there and of my favorite animal apparently.” She shrugged in amusement, completely not minding the fact somebody sneaked up on her. It was great in execution.” What about you? We haven’t really spoken since the Great Wild Fuck Hunt discussion. All good?” She grinned.

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Cat shrugged and made herself comfortable, laying down and curlign up so she coudl retain as much warmth and have as little exposure as possible. The fire felt nice." Hey, I like talking, I wasn't allowed to do much of it until I left." She simply replied and closed her eyes, listening well to everything happening around. WIth her better senses she could well hear the way the wind and cold air howled outside their door. She could crisply hear the frost forming on the walls by teh door. Such a luck they found this place, otherwise, their best chance would have been maybe holing up in the metro's toilet rooms as htey were likely the only place with a door to close up and bar.

"I will... wake me up when you want to rest too. Can't have you walking around dead tired tomorrow." She replied to him." And I've seen it happen too..." She nodded though not at a forge, but it was the same situation in any case." Fine, I will keep as quiet as possible..."

"I'm still unable to fantom how they've got a nuclear reactor of all things. Any tale I hear is more outlandish than the next, but if I'm to give a guess, they've got the settlement located in an easily closed off area of hte underground. Maybe another metro station or an interesction place of tunnels, possibly with an opening to the other places, but all easily closed off. With most openings closed off and if they do have access to a nuclear reactor, heating would be easy." She staed, recalling what they were taught back at hteir 'school'." I'm more curious how they cool said nuclear reactor, it's a hot thing that requires a lot of water to run properly."

"Heating units are nice, I suppose. Crackling fire is better though." She stated with utmost certainty and let out a light chuckle." Good night, Donny..." She added in a mumble, let out a small yawna nd turned to the other side, with her back towards the fire to warm it, instead of her front. Soon after she started to snooze away and before long was fully asleep, her breathing slow and even. The cold was making it a bit unpleasant, but she was used to it and having a properly burnign fire at her back, warming it up helped.

The Cold Wave continued on, well into the night, it lasted for hours before the howling air outside settled, indicating the wave had died out, but the aftereffects would be present for a good long time yet. The cold while not instantly freezing would still be unpleasant. Nothing happened during Donny's watch on fire duty. It was all howling of hte winds and crackling of the fire. There was a brief groan at one point from Cat, but afterwards she was quiet. Until she suddenly just woke up and sat without warning at least. It was a few hours, the howling had passed not too long agi." So... my turn to watch the fire, you go sleep now." SHe told him and scooted over to the pile of salvaged firewood.

Frozen Darkness

"Yeah... just struck like a minute or so ago... I could hear the cold currents howling in the metro tunnels." She replied, looking at hte door that was the only thing stopping them from flash freezing to death. The door was being covered with frost same with the walls around it and it was slowly spreading deeper into the room as the head was being sucked out rapidly." It's lucky actually... had we been anywhere else, we would have been gonners before we had tiem to react. Worst pat about cold waves is that they arrive without warning and nobody can be sure what cuases them cause nobody survives seeing what happens on the surface when one hits." She told him with a smile." Though now I wonder how hte crabs and every other mutant on the surface survives the flash freeze by the cold wave... Think they've evolved or something?" she asked.

"Well in either case, it's not like we can carry too much wood anyways, wood's heavy and would hinder and tire us in the long run if we jsut carry a bunch of it without an end goal and place to store it." She pointed out in helpful manner. Sure they could use some wood for later, maybe make torches or just to have another campfire, however it was indeed hindering and heavy. There was a reason people usually started collecting bigger amounts of firewood after htey had a shelter to store it in the longterm.

"You know, my former home never dealt much with Cold Waves even in the few rare occasions they did happen. We were too tightly locked up, heavy gates and walls would block hte way and we had more than enough heating for the most part, plus we had no direct close access to the surface. We are very close to the surface and given we are right by a metro entrance, it might be the reason because Cold Waves originate on the surface. THe deeper we and furhter than the surface we go, the better it would be and less likely to affect us as much." She said and moved in closer to the fire, warming herself by it." On the plus side, we don't need to worry about anybody making it inside right now with that cold outside. Even if the mutants survive it, I doubt htey are much active during a cold wave. I will rig a makeshoft alarm on the gate with a bit of the materials around like those empty cans so if the door is opened it they would fall and alert us. So let's rest well tonight and in the morning we can make the final treck to that Underhaven place."

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k weekend over back to regularlyt scheduled posting schedule also hope you had a great weekend!