Sigil

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

Thalia Angelica Carmichael "I wouldn't get my hopes up, Gramps. Between now and mealtime, lots can fuck up. Lots." - to Mugsy, before the attack on Eden ⚘ Looking Inside ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Thalia is a young woman who shows steady support to those she chooses to let close to her, or those to whom she pledges herself. She is dedicated to family and those who prove themselves worthy of her trust. It is not blind compliance, but she is loyal and will do what is needed of her. When pursuing an end, or just going for a walk, Thalia always looks for the best situation or plan of action. She needs to know where the exits are, what contingencies are available, and who to attack first in a scenario; generally aiming at an end beyond immediate action while keeping an eye on her surroundings. In most things, Thalia prizes her capacity to think and act with an assured sense of self-reliance. Her independent nature tends to keep her more comfortable operating alone or within a small group, though she recognizes the value of community. Thalia merely prefers to keep toward the fringe where possible. Authority for its own sake makes little sense to her. Thalia will follow orders, but from people that she respects or had pledged to. Even then it is usually taken as a hard guideline, changeable as the situation changes. The same applies to the reciprocal of this; Thalia is not always comfortable taking on positions of final authority. Specific circumstances would have to be present for her to volunteer for leadership roles. She has no desire for power over others, preferring to contribute to a group as an individual pulling her weight, working within her skill set. Along a similar line, she is eager to learn whatever will make her stronger and more adaptable from people who might teach her. Sustained survivability is top priority. Concerning new situations, or any to which she has reservations, Thalia can be overly cautious. Her tendency toward tactic has her observant, reserved and unrevealing, often reluctant to open up or speak more than is absolutely necessary. Even at her best, Thalia appears restrained, holding something potentially dangerous back; the human equivalent of a predator pacing back and forth inside of a cage. Thalia shows signs of becoming at least partly feral. When committing to speech or socialization, Thalia is straightforward to a fault, rarely softening conversational blows and often without internal mediation. She is direct, making no attempt to disguise unpleasantness. When committing to action, Thalia does so at a punishing pace, pushing herself to break limits. And when in conflict, she is savage and remorseless, trying to end things as efficiently as her means allow. Thalia is coldly barbaric in the application of violence. A decent person, if very rough around the edges. She has a profound sense of family honor and its darker aspects. She also loves to eat, and has a lack of formal manners in that regard. Oddly enough, she is one of those blessed types with a freaky ideal metabolism. She can keep shoveling it in, the calories only serving to maintain her form without causing noticeable gain. Another interesting thing of note - Thalia has shown signs of budding pyromania. It remains to be seen whether it is an interest or an obsession, but so far she has not been foolish about it. The girl just likes fire. ⚘ A Brief History ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Pre-Outbreak Growing Up: Born in San Francisco to a single mother, Thalia Carmichael had no knowledge of her biological father until the age of ten. Her mother, a Miss Angelica Carmichael (maternal family name), left the father the day she discovered that she was pregnant. The history of the Gonzalez family was soaked in blood, and she had been planning to make a discreet exit from them anyway. Angelica wanted a safe, normal life for her daughter. As soon as little Thalia was old enough to travel, they moved to the elder Miss Carmichael’s home city of Boston, MA. Unbeknownst to all, Benicio Gonzalez (biological father, independent contractor, and firearms enthusiast) had taken a semi-retired lifestyle and joined the Priesthood. In his younger years, Benicio entered and graduated from a prominent Seminary school; circumstances led to his more combative lifestyle before taking his Vows. Addressed as Father Benicio Gonzalez, he still performed the occasional service related to his former life. A car accident in Boston deprived Thalia of her mother. In her will, she revealed the identity of her biological father, Benicio Gonzalez, briefly explained their history and why she was kept from them. When he was notified of this, there was an understandable element of surprise involved. DNA tests confirmed their relation, and Thalia was released into his care. It was a little unusual, a priest with a daughter, but they got the permission of the Church and the State found no legal reason to keep them separated. Benicio took to calling her Angel, a pet name he used for her mother. From the age of ten, Thalia (Angel) was raised as a Gonzalez, with all of the good and bad that came with the privilege. She idolized her older Prima, Alicia, wanting to be like her in many ways. This is probably why she took to the family business and college with as much gusto as she did. Her area of expertise differed, but there was a significant amount of overlap in their skill sets. Adulting: College and the beginning of a legitimate career working for her Tío & Prima as a Security Specialist (with opportunities for trouble every now and again) was her life plan, and it wasn’t bad. Over years of training with her family, she was even able to distill and quantify the unarmed fighting technique utilized by the elder Gonzalez brothers and their predecessors, breaking it down into a teachable discipline. Angel entered several local and regional boxing matches of questionable legality as they came up, honing her techniques until the competitors refused to step into a ring with her anymore unless the “Marquess of Queensberry Rules” were applied. Post-Outbreak Your First Walker Encounter: A late evening at work turned into an early morning. Angel remembered waking up on a couch in her office just before the sun illuminated the Boston skyline. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and decided that then was as good as time as any for breakfast. There was a bakery she liked a handful of blocks away from the office, so she took a quick jog up the mostly deserted street, the smell of fresh bread and pastry calling her onward. Before she made it to her breakfast spot, Angel noticed a trio of people stumbling up an intersecting avenue, strangely wearing stained hospital gowns and seemingly unaware of their surroundings, very likely coming from the nearby Medical Center. She saw them try to attack a stray dog, and when a morning shift garbage collector stopped to see if they needed help, they clawed and bit him savagely. The man escaped the attack and got back on his vehicle. The last she saw of them, the Sanitation workers were driving in the direction of the hospital, and the three attackers were shambling after the garbage truck. In hindsight, that was her first Walker encounter. The experience wasn't a total loss, though: Angel was able to pick up a box of creme doughnuts and a loaf of cranberry almond bread. Those First Years: Miss Carmichael was assigned to her old stomping grounds in Boston as the site’s Electronics Engineer and Close Combat Trainer when the Outbreak began. As the situation became royally screwed with zero clear endgame in sight, Angel decided to book it back for the central office in Chattanooga, TN, hopefully to meet up with her family and figure out what to do from there. The problem then became sneaking out of a major metropolitan area that the military could not hold onto with full resources and manpower. In the beginning, it took much longer than expected. Building by building, block by block, ever southward until she escaped the city proper. When she finally reached Chattanooga, there was evidence of continued Post-Outbreak survival of some of her uncle’s people at the Home Office, though she could not tell how long before they had vacated. She did note that some of their signature working gear (personal machetes, leather vest, knives, motorcycles, etc.) were missing, but the place was not ransacked. Her satellite phone had died some time before, or she would have tried one of he few communication systems left to the world. Keeping hope alive, Thalia re-equipped with what she could find, and set out for Metro Atlanta. For various reasons, it seemed the most logical place they might try next, if they chose to brave the hordes diffusing from the higher population area. They might make a push to Texas or Mexico from there, meeting back up with whatever family might survive. It was worth a shot. Some hard times later, a starving and desperate young lady was picked up by a group of medieval and Viking reenactors on horseback, wearing old-world armor. It was a little freaky at first for the urban and pragmatic Angel, but she stayed with them for some time in their little Castle Town in Fairburn, recovering and growing stronger. She learned many useful survival skills from the Northumbrian community, teaching some of her own in trade and helping them out with runs and defense. It was really a fine time for Angel; she dedicated herself to learning as much as she could as completely as possible, training almost constantly. It was like a bad Kung-Fu movie from the 1970's, where the protagonist walls up in a Shaolin Monastery for great lengths of time and emerges a better, stronger, and wiser person. But with Vikings. And Jousters. And grizzled, medieval(ish) survivalists. She made an interesting Half-Latina Shieldmaiden. Then disease hit Fairburn hard. Angel made the decision to leave when it got really bad, as many did. She spent some time traveling by herself, mostly just surviving on her own and plotting her next move. The Gonzalez clan was large and reaching, but the center of their existence was in Monterrey, Mexico. She would try there next. It would be a hell of a journey. More recently, the errant Miss Carmichael stumbled across the mother lode: an mostly intact electronics supply store. Inside, she found the tools and parts necessary to repair her satellite phone. Soon after, she was able get a solid charge into a couple of compatible batteries by rigging a charger and hot-wiring a car as a power source. It was unsuitable for transportation, but it made a passable makeshift generator. With food starting to run low (but a full battery charge), Thalia is attempting to reach out to anyone in her contacts list that might still have a working company phone. It is a long shot, to be certain. But worth it, and a more productive use of battery power than rocking a few levels of Tetris 2006. Since Entering RP Newnan: Angel had been holing up in a tank for the last part of the winter. Yes, a TANK. When you see a massive piece of custom motorized armor coming up the road at you in the middle of a cover-less clearing on level ground, you can either give the gunner a moving target or you can hold fast and find out what the hell is going on. As it was alone and headed in her direction, she took a risk and stuck out her thumb. When the weather had begun to break, the time had come to set back out into the world. She had braced herself for the extremely high probability that her immediate family is dead, but felt obligated to find out. A chance meeting with a recent expatriate of Newnan, James Grady, and his small group answered the question as to the status of her friends and family; indeed dead after all her time searching. Another chance encounter with the Zed version of Astrid gave the Valkyrie final peace, and netted Thalia a familiar shield that was crafted by her good friend Bridgette (also dead). Eden: The opportunity to destroy the people most responsible for the deaths of her people was made available, and so Thalia took part in a two-pronged attack that ultimately brought their enemies down. She lost her best friend in the attack, made other friends, and pledged her assistance to Thana until she got to Mexico Beach, Florida and reunited with her guy friend Ash, with whom she also has business. Namely, the details on Alicia, Caesar, Astrid, and Bridgette's passing. It has been a year now, but they're still kicking. Searching: The goal was to help Thana get to where she was going, find who she was looking for. They were doing pretty good, too, until that incident with Mugsy and the bear trap. Then getting herself bit. Don't let anyone tell you that when someone saws a limb off that shock sets in and it doesn't hurt as much. It does. A lot. The only relief came from passing out when the jury-rigged power saw hit bone. She survived, and learned how to improvise a passable prosthetic. With a pointy end. Sadly, Thana never made it back from a supply run immediately after the amputation. They waited as long as they could, but eventually had to resume their trek to Mexico Beach. Camp Mexico Beach: The Camp was not what Thalia was expecting. Military(ish) run, by Thana's family no less, with much of the trappings of civilization. She did not like the relatively larger grouping of people. She did not like the air conditioning. She did not like the constant scrutiny of their guards. Nor did she like the feeling of being trapped indoors. She liked the food, though. First day in with seafood, and a plate mounded with mashed potatoes acting as a deep bowl for clam chowder. Thalia was a Boston girl. he could handle chowder. Being reunited with Thana was an unexpected but very positive experience, though she was basically glued to Ash, preventing any meaningful conversations from taking place. Then she lost Beatrice; not to the elements or Zeds, but because she was unwilling to give Mexico Beach a chance. They shared a night with each other. It didn't hit her until later. This was what it felt like to be abandoned. Camp Mexico Beach gave her a new, shiny prosthetic. And probably the main thing that kept her around: her brother Joaquin had taken up residence here. Moreover, she might get military training here. Thalia was already learning ballet from Tatiana, who she suspected was quietly a badass all along, and made friends (sort of) with the crazy guy Wayne. The beach party was also a nice touch, even if she couldn't appreciate it as much as everyone else, but she was obviously trying. Thalia made up her mind to say here and get stronger. The next day, she was assigned to clear out a basement in their Admin building (instead of soldiering or training, she noted), which she later found out was going to be used as a Communications room, now that they had people with her and Alexander's training in electronics. ⚘ Relations ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Major Thana Martin "It's so good to see you, Navy. You look like shit." - through joyous tears, after finding her alive at CMB Taking point and killing Adamm together was a hell of a bonding experience. Thana and Thalia seem to have an understanding, and have become good friends over the difficult months. It is not without tension from time to time as Thalia has a predisposition toward independent action, and has also made her intent to eventually part ways and see to her own quest well known. Thana has left an impression on her, however, and she can trust that Thalia will have her back. After the Eden situation was handled, Thalia promised to help her get her back to Mexico Beach, hopefully to find family and her Army Captain boyfriend before setting back on her original mission. When Thana went missing and was presumed dead, Thalia still held out slight hope that she might get her friend back. This was ultimately realized when she appeared back in Mexico Beach, though with scars and injuries that spoke of a massive ordeal. Her joy at seeing that Thana was alive was accented by heavy but well intended snark. Seeing that she and her boyfriend have finally reconnected, Thalia is backing off some, with the understanding that it's space and not abandonment. Thalia will still be there for her if need dictates. Alexander Polawski "Us cripples gotta stick together, right?" - Thalia, reassuring Alexander that she wasn't going anywhere. These two didn't start off as friends. Thalia distrusted Alexander the moment she laid eyes on him, which pretty much sums up how she views everybody she just happens to meet out in the world at large. She sent him on a stupid errand to fetch coffee mugs from an abandoned house in exchange for a packet of MRE powdered cocoa mix, and derisively referred to him as "Mugs" or "Mugsy" afterward. Sometimes "Gramps". But he proved himself in a pitched battle later on, and remained a steadfast survival companion following, prompting an eventual change of heart. Seventeen or so months later, during which she lost an arm and he lost a leg, they're still looking out for each other. Alex and Thalia are on good terms, and it doesn't look to change soon. Even after time spent behind the relative safety of CMB's walls. Emanuel "Manny" Newman "If we're going to do this, then fucking do it! I don't gaht all day!" - Thalia, before Manny cut her hand off at the forearm with a juryrigged power saw Manny was pulled out of a very bad place in Eden, a cult compound in Peachtree City. He was rescued by others in her newly formed group while Thalia herself was on a roll, shooting and stabbing as many people as she possibly could. The two of them didn't talk much, and like everyone else, there wasn't a whole lot of trust until he proved himself. In his case, it took a little longer than most. Emanuel has been a solid and responsible member of their group, and she will admit that. There are mixed feelings over the fact that he cut her arm off, however. Yes, it saved her life. Still, he cut her arm off, and she wasn't crazy about the guy to begin with. All the same, she can trust him, and has, for quite some time in "Apocalypse Years". To Thalia, that counts a lot more than pleasantries. Tatiana Korvo "That's some next-level shit... Can you teach me? Ballet, I mean." - finding out she had a child in the wilderness, and wanting to train with her, CMB Quarantine Thalia's experience with Tatiana started with introduction, short discussions, and training with ballet in the CMB Quarantine. Full, oft exhaustive training in dance, to fill out her physicality since losing her hand. Thalia knows that she conceals strength behind her meeker persona. The two of them have gotten closer, owing to what appears to some as complementary shades of darkness but in reality is a sort of mutual respect. Neither are particularly ardent conversationalists, however. Minor Ashton Holloway "Pareces el tipo de chico que mi prima hubiera follado por deporte." - becoming impatient with Ash. Thalia isn't sure just yet whether she likes or hates Ash. A male analog to Thana in many ways, though his previous involvement with her cousin complicates her feelings about the man (this fact realized from a detail dropped, p.113). Hearing what he went through to get back with Thana has earned him Thalia's grudging respect. Maybe time and association will clarify her better intentions where he is concerned, if she ever spent any time or association thereabouts. Nigel Cooper "Yah, okay... Pool cues? Or yah want to fistfight in the pouring rain?" - Following Nigel's first offer to spar, or "duel", as he put it. There hadn't really been much in the way of meaningful interaction between these two, up until the topic of sparring became an issue. And by "issue", Thalia might be more accurate in saying "stress relief". It felt good to hit someone without worrying about what came after, and it did her heart good to see that the time spent in repose hadn't dulled her ability to take a hit from a larger opponent, either. They remain regular sparring partners, not engaging in much conversation before cordially pummeling one another senseless. Lisa Mason "Well, don't I feel like the prettiest girl at the Hahvest Moon Ball?" - First words to her and others around the bar at the beach party. Thalia has attempted conversation with Lisa twice. The first time was at the party, where it could be taken from context that she was rebuffed. No big, Thalia was new and kind of edgy. These things happen. The second time was in the Mess Hall after the Hunter trial. It started out okay but quickly went to Lisa making aggressive bedroom eyes at Guy, also at the table, prompting Thalia to make a highly transparent excuse to leave. The point was cemented that she did not mix with the "normals". Though it might have just been a result of timing or misunderstanding, she is convinced that Lisa hates her, and thusly remains standoffish. Even abrupt. How abrupt remains to be seen. Amelia Payne "Wait, who?" - owing to a lack of interaction of any kind. It's difficult to get a feel for someone secondhand. Not that Thalia made any grand attempts to introduce herself to Amelia as she always seemed busy, joined at the hip with Riley (if that was her name; there wasn't any interaction there, either). Thalia is aware of Amelia's name and that's about it. Maybe they'll have meaningful interaction as events progress. Nikola Warren "Naht the tiara type, girly girl," - after Nikki suggested Thalia needed one, then disappeared into the crowd. Interaction between Nikki and Thalia is minimal, but not nonexistent. Most of Thalia's opinion of her is formed from observations made at the beach party and her relationship with Thana. To Thalia's opinion, she seems okay enough. Trouble, but okay. Hunter Monroe "Bit. A Zed took a piece of my arm. Those two cut it off with a jury-rigged power saw a while north of here." - when Hunter asked her about "the arm". Thalia's opinion of Hunter isn't exactly warm. The similarities of their experiences following the Outbreak couldn't be denied. Their choices as to how they handled those experiences was a different story. Though a little antisocial, Thalia understands the value of community. Even friends and allies. The phrase "there but for the grace of God go I" might have crossed her thoughts, almost as many times as the concept that one well-placed knife could end the uncertainty of his presence. Thalia hopes the man can turn things around, if only because of the ways in which they are alike. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Female ↕ 29 ↕ Mestiza-American ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 5'9" ↕ 145lbs ↕ Athletic ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Hazel ↕ Black ↕ Pale Tan ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Psychology [+] Positive Traits: Loyal Tactical Independent Negative Traits: Guarded Direct Brutal Fear: Satanic Leaf-Tailed Geckos ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Abilities [+] Strength: 20 Dexterity: 22 Fitness: 27 Intellect: 20 Will Power: 15 Perception: 31 Attractiveness: 19 Luck: 25 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Languages [+] English (Native): 30 Spanish: 30 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Skills [+] Knife: 61 Pistol: 61 Shield: 38 Spear: 31 Hard Martial Arts: 79 Foraging: 30 Horsemanship: 22 Survival: 50 Computer Operations (20th Century): 30 Computer Programming: 30 CPR: 21 Electronics: 30 First Aid: 30 Law: 30 Redneck Engineering: 22 Scavenging: 31 Security Systems: 30 Stamina (Physical): 50 Stealth: 80 Surveillance: 30 Dancing (Ballet): 22 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Profession [+] Security Specialist: MSS Boston (Pre) Security Specialist: MSS Boston (Outbreak) Shieldmaiden: Fairburn - Castle Town (Post) Bushcraft Survivalist: Wilderness (Post) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Family [+] Benicio Gonzalez - Father (Unknown) Angelica Carmichael - Mother (Deceased) Joaquin Gonzalez - Half Brother (Alive) Alicia Gonzalez - Cousin (Deceased) Caesar Gonzalez - Uncle (Deceased) Maria Santiago - Aunt (Unknown) ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Character Trivia [+] Sexuality: Fluid Likes: Training Fire Alone time Food Sharp Things Sparring Tinkering Bushcraft Horses Anime "My Little Pony" Dislikes: Condescension Unnecessary Cruelty Loud Noises Boredom Lazy Folk Large Crowds Scars: Slashes on lower back and right side Bullet, below left collarbone Bullet graze, left side Deep bullet graze, left thigh Irregular slash mark, left cheekbone Disfigurements: Transradial Amputation, right (Prosthetic) Piercings: Ears - wears studs Tattoos: Black Dahlia "cutie mark", upper hips Angelic Wings - removed, upper back Feather, small, as if dropping from the previous tattoo, right middle back Blood Type: O+ Religion: Catholic (with cultural accents) Birthday: March 21 Face Claim: Jacqueline Toboni Nickname: Angel Theme Music: Descending Angel - Misfits Items Of Note: Yellow Rubber Duck, squeaky, good condition Picture of Joaquin, Thalia, and their father leaning against an old El Camino outside of their uncle's place in Mexico. Fun Facts: Has been learning ballet to supplement her melee and stealth abilities. Refers to zombies as "Zeds". Sometimes rants to her rubber duckie. Preferred monosyllabic grunt: "Nnn." Thalia lost her arm on April Fools' Day. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Bar -> Kettles) -> M12 (Beach)
Skills: N/A

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It had been a good, long while since Ash had sauntered up to a bar. Even more so since he had come upon a boatload of spontaneous, conversational laughter. He was still an outsider, and this was reinforced heavily by the conversation at hand and the various reactions of the people present. The one-armed woman's general and continuing snark notwithstanding, he was going to refrain from addressing directly at this time. For a lady who wanted to have an in depth conversation with him, she sure as hell wasn't scoring any brownie points. Ash did have an interesting if very mild moment of detachment as his more formal recognition (sir and ma'am) of the others present was laughed at. "It's considered polite where I'm from," was all he would comment to Lisa, directing his attention back to the bar immediately thereafter.

Objectively, it was nearly impossible in the circumstances not to direct one's attention to the bar, as the bartender went into a rant about the capture and evolution of the Wild Fuck. Not one to interrupt the progression of a conversation that he had just wandered into and had no desire to join for any length as he had someone to get back to, Ash merely stifled a chuckle and accepted his drinks with another polite intonation of, "Ma'am," and nodding when she gave instructions about the bottles. His eyebrow quirked a bit as Adelaide busted out with the absolute worst Croc Hunter impression that he'd heard in his life, culminating in her collapse behind the bar. At least everyone was having fun. For himself, Ash was a little rusty at it.

Ash took a second to try to work out the best way to carry two capped bottles and plates besides when he received a bit of commentary from the younger woman, Nikki. It took him a second, context being what it was, to puzzle out that she has meant that Ash had found a Fuck in the Wild. But by the time that realization came in full, she was already on her way off to do her own hunting. Overall, Ash wasn't sure what to make of the most recent series of interactions. Were people of Mexico Beach razzing him for being the new guy? Or were they acting in a more familiar manner to make him feel welcome? Since arriving, it seemed like even the people he'd known for the better part of this particular Apocalypse were distancing themselves. But that might be the easy explanation that they were giving he and Thana time to devote to each other. Yeah, Ash was definitely rusty at having fun.

Effecting a smile, Ash looked back to the bar and gave a somewhat warmer, "Thank ya much," before strolling off toward the kettles. Be it that things were winding down overall, Ash had little difficulty moving the distance from A to B and locating two of the plates on the more sparsely appointed table nearby. He looked over to the sovereign authority of all matters foodish, intoning, "Taking for two, ma'am," Maybe he did speak with social formalities too much. Well, best to err on the side of courtesy until he knew how things worked here. Ash no longer set policy. He slipped each of the beer bottles into his front pockets and picked up one plate in each hand, nodding his thanks with a polite smile and issuing a direct, "Thank you." He might assume that Cook knew for whom he was taking the extra plate. It was apparent that he and Thana were joined at the hip since she arrived.

Direct steps removed him from the area of the Kettles and brought him around the stage. He kept is pace moderate and even, tempering a desire to get back to Thana quickly with the practicalities of carrying plates of food. As he came closer, the smile shifted from the polite and sociable to the more genuine. Though deep down (deep, deep down), Ash was a social animal, he really only wanted to be around one person right then, and might feel that way for a long time yet. "Sorry if I took too long," he started, handing over a plate. "They were screaming about hunting feral Fucks at the bar. Hell of a thing. Got away as soon as I could." One of the bottles in his pocket followed the plate.

Settling in next to Thana, Ash looked into her eyes. "The view here is amazing," he commented simply. One might note that he hadn't looked at either the sea or stars since returning.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Bar)
Skills: N/A

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Too many drinks. Yeah, Manny looked like he was dead-on right about that. Well, it happened. Thalia wasn't exactly a bastion of moderation herself, being just as prone to excesses. Food, obviously. Though that was, in recent years, a survival strategy based upon the idea that she had no idea when her next reliable meal was going to come from. Taking out whatever crossed her path with a pointed stick or a pistol shot (if she was desperate), she kneejerked toward cooking and consuming as much as possible in one sitting. Likewise the element of pushing herself in training. When she was strong enough to, she pushed herself physically like her life depended on it. Simply put, it did. A tiny amount of consideration put this time heavily in the latter. She was strong enough to train now, and being relieved of her dominant hand from the forearm down had decimated a lot of her key survival skills. Thalia always was her skillset, period. She needed people now, and it sucked. Well, adapt or die. Thalia had business to finish first.

But back to the point of this train of thought. Hunter's excesses had eliminated one social avenue but it seemed to open others, in the form of someone checking up on him. Strengthening community, and in his case, hopefully instilling an element of trust because someone was going out of their way to make sure he was alright. Maybe getting shitfaced early in the night was going to be to his favor in the long run. If she cared enough about the situation, she might have crossed her fingers. Sometimes apathy was a blessing.

Of course, someone did answer the question she had posed. Couple of them. Adelaide's mention of The Great Fuck Hunt drew a smile from her, and the almost simultaneous "Finding fucks for the evening" from Nikki fully backed up the claim, informing her that it was not just something she had made up. Though her face spoke to the slightly amused, Thalia's voice was a little more even as she responded to Nikki, about the arm being badass. "Thanks. Still getting a feel for it." She gave it a little more consideration, twisting it with the more limited range of motion that her stump allowed.

Perhaps the reason for the even voice but lingering smile was the Australian accent, imitated poorly by Ada. It seemed a lifetime ago that she heard a similar, neighboring accent. Memories of Lola came back to her, the Kiwi tank commander that kept her from spending a winter stuck in one place, huddled for warmth. She might have saved her life that winter, as the season was notorious for claiming the alone, unlucky, or unprepared. Lola definitely saved her life on that last day, or rather, her last day, before being gunned down. She had grabbed Thalia and heaved her back just before the ground swallowed her up, like it had done to others standing close to her. Lola had occasionally flirted with her, making comment or suggestions but never pushing a physical agenda with her. She expressed interest, and while relations of that type were still pretty new to her, Thalia had never taken her up on it. It just wasn't how she viewed her. Lola was a steadfast and honest friend; her best friend in a very long while. After saving her life, Thalia had decided to throw her a bone by, well, throwing her a bone, metaphorically speaking. But later that day, before any bone throwing was possible, Lola's life was taken from her by Edenite bullets. It killed Thalia to leave her body there. It just wasn't fair.

The first sip of her sweet tea was magnificent. It was a moment that she might remember for a good, long while, but none of it showed on her face. Instead, her eyes welled up with tears and a single line of moisture spilled down from them. Everybody had lost people. Everybody still would. Beatrice, the only woman since Lola that she allowed close in that way (only person, period, thinking about it) left of her own accord. Just left her, and the flowery promises about looking into her family meant nothing then. Was that why Thalia's mood was toward the irritable that evening? Was that why she was coming close to ignoring Thana, arguably her best friend in the world now? There was the guise of giving her time with Ash, but how true was that in her thoughts? She had only tried to approach when she wanted something explained to her, and left abruptly after giving them both The Finger. Or Ash, a guy she didn't really know - she was being rude as hell to him. Yet here she stood, weeping slightly with a stone face. Tio Caesar might be proud, except that she was laid low by a shitty Aussie accent.

Well, fuck feeling sorry for herself. People left. Either they died or they moved on, and Thalia just had to get used to the part about people moving on. She had family here and this was a place where she could get stronger. That was enough. Thalia raised her arm to wipe her face on the back of her sleeve, completely forgetting that it was made of steel and, of course, there was no sleeve there. Thalia succeeded in bashing herself in the face. It wasn't enough to cause damage, but it sure as hell got her attention.

Quite independent of the discussion around her, Thalia set her tea down an exclaimed a very surprised, "Well, fuck!" as it seemed to be thematic of the conversation. She dried her face with the proper arm this time, and sighed. Turning back to the bar, she began to chuckle at herself. Indeed, this would take some more getting used to. Nikki had left, going fuck hunting. Ash had left, probably back to Thana. The guy might be an asshole but he was a straight shooter. Looking to Adelaide, she mused over what she remembered hearing from her last. "Fuck Hunt? Like that video game from back in the day? ...hate that dog..." Another sip, "Assuming I'm ahn the hunt," which she really wasn't, but it would do her good to converse with people outside of her own, tiny circle, "who ahll's open?" The question was phrased openly to whomever was still around the bar rather than just the bartender.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: M12 (Beach) L11 (Beach, Bar)
Skills: N/A

---

---

"Angel?" The word sounded strange in Ash's ears. Or rather, he didn't remember that word being used to describe the young woman. "I was close with some of her family. We're lucky if that's the worst of it." Indeed, getting a rude gesture from her cousin Alicia or her uncle Caesar was like getting bid a fond "Good Morning" from anyone else. But as much as the stroll down memory lane might have been a bittersweet and rewarding process for him, Ash was far more interested in building new memories, and it showed. "Well, whatever's irking your friend'll have to keep for a while longer." It could be deduced that he was still quite eager to spend quality time with his lady.

Ash listened to the whisper from Thana with a supportive grin, like the idea of privacy was just the thing for them at the moment. He could meet and greet the greater of Camp Mexico Beach's population when he started to whatever job they assigned him tomorrow. Tonight was his and Thana's. He completed his turn back in the direction indicated by her, behind the stage and nearer to the pier. One might still hear music from whomever was getting up to play next, but as it was broadcast in the opposite direction it truly was background music. When he found a suitable spot (accepting every piece of input Thana might have on the subject), Ash carefully set Thana down and gave her a quick kiss, promising, "Drinks, plates, and I'll be back as soon as I can be. Okay?" He started back toward the party at a jog, then halted, turned around, and came back for another kiss. "Sorry, needed one more. I'm good now. Be back soon." He grinned like a schoolboy, or just a man in love, and took back off in the direction of the party, proper.

At the bar, Ash saw a couple familiar faces and a couple not-so-familiar ones. Walking up, he could have sworn that he heard the younger woman, Nikki, about to embark on an epic quest to troll for easy and temporary nocturnal companionship, and the less familiar woman agreeing with her, saying something about a hunt. Very much not his business. Extremely not his business. Mustering as much courtesy as he was capable, Ash instead tried to spark up a quick professional dialogue with the bartender. "Ah, Miss Adelaide? 'pologies for interrupting you soon as you get a plate." His Virginian accent was starting to flare again, though he was remembering his manners. "I'm carryin' back drinks and plates for two, if you've got anything that travels well, or has a lid? I 'preciate you, thanks." Ash gave a courteous nod to those who were present at the bar, extending a series of monosyllabic greetings, "Ma'am. Ma'am. Sir," as necessary. Drinks, food, Thana. It was good to have goals.

---

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Kettles -> Bar)
Skills: N/A

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---

The ongoing conversations around Thalia might have made for interesting conversation had she not been mildly annoyed right then. It occurred to her that she was being toyed with by both her brother and Thana, with a tiny mark of betrayal inking its way in there. Then it occurred to her that there might be a difference between "being toyed with" and "playing a game with". One was a potential cause for stabbing. The other was meant to be fun for all parties. It had been a while since she had done anything purely for fun, with the upright arcade game back in Quarantine being an exception. Even then, Thalia could have said that it was to train her left hand to take over more duties. This thing might be fun. Still, it didn't do her any good to let anyone else know that just yet. Fun. It seemed a foreign concept.

Still, the area around the kettles seemed like a breeding ground for conversations she's rather not be a party to. Most especially the alcohol inspired ramblings of immense incoherence from the other person present with social issues. Well, we all had our bad nights, and she was certainly no exception. Just right then, she didn't feel like being too near to someone who might spew at any moment, nor the attempts to coddle him. Not the most compassionate thought she'd ever had, granted, but it was honest and she was keeping it to herself. Small miracle, that.

Thalia redoubled her efforts to finish the food on her plate. It was all simple enough, though admittedly the corn posed a little it of a challenge to someone with one fully working hand. That was a sobering thought, if ever there was one. She had been described as a "dexterity monster" at one point in time, and much of her training played off of this. Thalia was going to have to learn different ways to do things she'd been doing instinctively all of her life. It sucked and it didn't seem fair, though at least she had been getting pretty good at using her "off hand". Thalia hated feeling weak like this. Her food, at least, fell mercilessly and quickly under her onslaught; she then rose, moving to the spot for plates and compost bin. Her little act of sustainability handled, it was time to move elsewhere. The bar was good enough. Mental note was made to find Maddoc and ask about training. That could wait a little, though.

Having missed the conversation concerning The Great Fuck Hunt, Thalia couldn't contribute in any meaningful way. She did make it a point to not give any one person a sustained length of eye contact. Maybe it was a piece of survival instinct, or maybe it was just born of a cynical weariness that was starting to creep into her bones. She couldn't quite tell. It did look like she was a little less nervous about being around people than she was a hour ago. An unspoken mental list was made as she approached, "Nikki, Lisa, Adelaide, Manny, Ash. Wait, the fuck?" Knight-Errant Captain America was here, by himself? Oh, he must be doing bitch work for Thana. Whatever. Thalia raised her metal hand as she leaned on the bar. She had forgotten to un-extend the middle finger still. Something to keep in mind. Staring at Ash, Thalia undid the locking mechanism and folded the finger back down with a sound reminiscent of metallic knuckles popping. Yes, she was starting to like this hand a little more. When a moment presented itself, she asked the bartender, "Ada, you had, um... Tea? Back there? I haven't had tea in years." She mulled over, "Yah, years. The biggest damn glass you can spare, please."

Looking around to everyone else, "What are we talking about?" Large crowds bothered Thalia. Smaller ones, she was getting better with. The bar crowd seemed okay.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Backstage -> Dance Floor)
Skills: N/A

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---

The approximate time it took to have Thana down from the stage was just long enough for Ash to get over to her. It struck him as very odd at first that, even though Ash had been acting as her personal transportation since they had arrived, and indeed helped her up to the stage in the first place, they felt it necessary to assume the same role without prompting. But that was just at first. Thana had been hurt for a while, and he assumed that even after (and during) a lengthy session of healing, she wasn't going to stop doing what she wanted to do. In truth, she was still healing. Continuing on this train of thought, it was probably second nature for those close to her in the community to move in prearranged ways to help her. Whether or not there was any truth to his assumptions, he was there with her now, and he took over the personally gratifying task of helping Thana get around.

"Well hell yes, I enjoyed the show," he responded to her comment, landing a quick kiss on the tip of her nose. He gave a warm smile, though it faded a little to confusion as he saw the one-armed girl making a rude gesture at them with her prosthetic. "That's something you don't see everyday..." he mumbled, shaking it off as being hopefully inconsequential. Not that anything with her family ever was without consequence, in his experience. But his attention wasn't for her, it was for Thana. "Yeah," he agreed. "Let's go find a seat."

He hoisted Thana up in a bridal carry and began walking back in the direction of the bar and kettles, then stopped, looked back toward the gulf, and asked, "Would you want to sit for a while on the beach? I can get us a couple of plates, drink or two, and we can look a the stars for a time." There was no telling when someone else, friend or family of hers, might need to call upon her. But a few moments with her on the beach, the sound of pounding surf and music in the background, and a plate of southern shrimp boil was heaven enough. If not now; if she had other wishes or plans for the evening, then he could content himself that it could be reserved for another time.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach -> About -> Kettles again)
Skills: N/A

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---

Plate balanced in her prosthetic hand and letter in the other, Thalia was walking in search of her dear, long-lost brother. It was a fair bet that as long as she kept her senses tuned for he only Latino who spoke in iambic pentameter for several hundred miles around, and probably the only one left in existence who used the word 'thee', she'd be in the clear. Thalia took a mental pause to consider what her life might have been like if she didn't lose her mother all those years ago. She wouldn't have known about this whole other part of her family. She wouldn't have known that she shared a father with one of the most annoying men on the planet. Oh, she loved him. They were family after all, even if the exact meaning of that had changed in recent years. The thought of it made her hungry. Or mindful of the fact that she had food in her heavy, metal hand. Pausing in her search, she leaned her head down to delicately sink her teeth into a tiny, red skinned potato, then tilt her head back to let gravity deposit it into her mouth.

Chewing thoughtfully, she shook out the paper to better unfold it, and went over the words again. Thalia began to mumble, "Mason, shipwright, carpenter... who wrote about.. ?" Even if she didn't look like it anymore, Thalia received a contemporary education in both Mexico and the United States, not to mention college in Boston. Fat lot of good any of it did her now, but at least student loans weren't an issue anymore. But she did seem to remember something from classical literature, and if anyone knew anything about classical literature, it was Joaquin. Hell, the people here called him Shakespeare, and... "Sostenga el puto teléfono₁," she uttered, looking at the exact wording of the riddle again:

"A clue to find a clue, here is a riddle for you: The question is not _'what is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?'_ but who did write of he?"

They were in it together. Thana and Joaquin both; considering that her brother's nom de guerre was Shakespeare in this place, and the passage in the riddle was from Hamlet... the very person she was looking for to help figure this out was the actual answer the entire time. That bastard. Unfortunately, she didn't see him anywhere. He was hiding, or not in attendance. This was not a thing which would be solved today. Thalia stuffed the paper into her back pocket and started toward where she saw Thana last, shifting her plate to her good hand in the process.

What she saw there from Thana? Intentionally ignoring her, like this was all some game. But of course it was. Something to divert, maybe. She didn't know. Oh, that smirk. Thalia would come back to that smirk later. Maybe she just imagined it coming off of Thana, but she responded by raising her metal hand toward the pair of them. Having not messed with it since opening the letter, its middle finger was still quite extended. Fine with her. Thalia returned to the kettles and sat down heavily in her spot, and set to devouring her food in earnest. She'd see about her brother later.

Translations

1 = Hold the fucking phone

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Backstage)
Skills: N/A

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Though the novelty and wonder of the occasion was heavily coloring Ash's thoughts, he couldn't help but continue to keep a mental checklist on what was going on around him. Maybe that was just how people had to live, anymore, and every so often he thanked whichever incarnation of God was still looking down on them that he hadn't become a truly paranoid individual because of it. All the same, when the ruling authorities of the settlement began to have earnest conversation and point in his direction, Ash took notice. The fact that they were all blood relatives of Thana was just a detail.

In time, Thana's song came to an end and Ash began a spirited round of applause, but that came to an end as her uncle and the guy he had met just earlier in the dance area came to hoist her away. Ash took a balanced step forward, unsure as to what he might do when he got over to her but still of the mindful of her request to stay close, no matter what. As she was carried back, he relented, taking his spot behind the wings again. Something seemed like it was up. Thana looked just fine. Happy, even. He caught her gaze, and her wordless message. Thana meant to sing another song.

It was good-natured ribbing when Thana vented what he said to her privately about singing some Rolling Stones. He knew that. To say that it might sound like a Virginian cat's final screeches after he got himself drunk was colorful, if not entirely accurate. Oh, he couldn't sing a bit, that wasn't the issue. The truth was, for him to get up and sing now, the amount of alcohol he'd have to imbibe would render him partly comatose. He might not even make it to "dying cat" level. He smiled back at Thana, returned the wink. He was about to be treated to "Paint It, Black". That counted for a lot. Likewise, it was nice of her to call out the other Rolling Stones fan from her group out on the road. She was thoughtful that way.

The song queued up, and the first words of it began to roll out from her lips. This was good. This was something he might have gone to see, even back Before.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Kettles)
Skills: N/A

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It seemed that the party was following Thalia, whether she liked it or not. Of course if was a coincidence; she was at the bar with a group of people getting a drink, then they all decided to grab some food at more or less the same time. Even though she was logically aware of this, it still felt like she alone was driving the Party Bus, and everyone else was annoying the hell out of her. Thalia figured that she'd better get used to it. This was life now. She couldn't be a hermit. People had risked their lives, even died, for her to get here, and she had risked her life for the same. Hell, her little group literally paid an arm and a leg to get here. She could try to handle being around people for a while.

Thalia took her plate and ...envelope(?), bidding Cook a wary "Thanks," before wandering a few paces back to the exact spot she was in before, as hopefully those asshats saved that exact spot like they said they would very loudly and very sarcastically. Mostly, it was because it was near a piece of fire, and she wanted to read whatever this was. "Sparrow, sparrow... oh, Navy? Shit, okay," she muttered. Thalia had heard Sparrow before, but her brain just didn't make the connection for a second or two. Without two fully dexterous hands, Thalia had to sit down on the sand, cross-legged, and put her plate in her lap to open and read the letter. "Good thing I brought my letter opener," she said with no small amount of snark, manually extending the middle finger of her prosthetic hand with her left and utilizing it to tear into the envelope. She removed the note inside and stared at it for a while, the most puzzled expression on her face. Absently, Thalia picked up a whole boiled shrimp and ripped it in half with her teeth, chewing it shell and all. She shot a dirty look at whoever even looked like they might say something about it.

While struggling over what she was reading with pure incredulity reading on her, Thalia happened to hear something massively disturbing going on nearby. This was the first example of creepy drunk talk she'd seen in a good long while, and part of her started to run scenarios in her head of what she might do to intervene, if the blonde girl couldn't handle herself properly. The thought did cross her mind that restrain was going to be a lot more difficult than incapacitate or neutralize, owing to certain factors that were difficult to miss with her. Maybe it was the training at her uncle's hands kicking back in after so long. Or maybe she was truly beginning to look at this place as her new home. She didn't even give a decent shit that she was missing some really awesome music nearby, courtesy of Navy herself. She could come back to that.

Tossing a couple more shrimp into her face, she chewed noisily and stared, debating which course was the best option, if any, though the course of walking up and pretending to proposition the girl to give her an out, came roaring back as the option from college. Thalia swallowed hard, and decided that instead of making a scene or rabbit-punching the obviously inebriated and disturbing fellow in the base of his brain, she'd give something else to draw focus.

"Seriously?" she started, a definitive note of annoyance as she rustled the paper in her hands. "First piece of mail I get in almost six fucking years, and it's some Christmas Story decoder ring bullshit?" Thalia rose, plate hooked into her prosthetic's thumb and note in hand. "...mierda de toro fucking bullshit..." If that diverted attention or gave an out, great. Yay tactic. But whether it did or not, she had food to hork back and a mystery to solve. Preferably painfully. Thalia had someone to speak with.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Backstage)
Skills: N/A

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---

The lady said stick close, as if he wasn't going to do exactly that anyway. Ash stayed by the wings of the stage, out of sight of those in front of it but within full line of sight with the performers. It was a good song, and well done for the setup they had. Hell, it was the best performance he'd seen in years, if one really thought about it. Ash's concentration was on Thana's vocals, however; the fact that she was singing and the melodic sound of her voice, so that it took him a moment to fully realize the intent behind the actual words. When he did, it was a touching moment. The words seemingly spoke to him, as if to outline the trials of both of them, coming from different ends of the same road.

He caught sight of her looking in his direction every so often, catching his eye, which confirmed to him his assumption that the song was about them. Written for them, perhaps. Even if it wasn't, damnit, it was now and that was the end of it. There was a sense of contentment in Ash's psyche, while not as complete and full as it might have been a number of year before, was more than enough for him now. The ever-present threat of the rest of the world had instilled a sense of wariness within him now that would never go away. Ash was cursed with the knowledge that everything can be taken away in a moment, and in his case, indeed was a few times. But tonight Ash was behind walls. The air mild and tinged with salt, carried along by a breeze from the ocean, bringing with it the sound of rhythmic waves. And most importantly, he was reunited with his Thana. Check that, "Thawna..." he whispered. She seemed to react to it favorably, and to be honest, he did miss the colorful accent of his upbringing.

---

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Bar -> Kettles)
Skills: N/A

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Meanwhile, back at the bar, conversation seemed to fade away into a light buzz in Thalia's background. Having summarily decided, even through the mild paranoia of her more tactical nature, that the people directly around her were not an immediate threat, not to mention that the level of inquiry about her was slowing down, her attention was being diverted elsewhere. More specifically, it was moving back in the direction of where she came. Food. Her habit was to consume what she could while she could, for the acquisition of another meal was no longer a dependable event, at least up until very, very recently. Old habits die hard, and this one was five years in the making. She could feel a sudden jolt of adrenaline course through her blood, the instinct born of surviving like she had and going without the basics for longer than was acceptable.

There was one thing that captured a part of her attention, at least temporarily, was Nigel asking something about reenacting. She turned her head slowly to him, her eyes only leaving her target at the last possible moment. "No." It was a simple enough reply to a yes or no question, though it seemed like he might have been pushing for deeper conversation on the matter. Funny thing was, he wasn't amazingly far from the mark. "Did some stabbing. Needed range. Found good teachers." Dama Muerte knew that if she had that range when she needed it, she might still have both of her arms intact.

Thalia polished off the last of her beer and left the bottle on the bar, then strode over to the kettles and food table with all of the directness and caution of a predatory creature. It oddly reminded her of her first meal in Quarantine. In a scene that belonged in the most brutal adaptation of Oliver Twist imaginable, Thalia made her way to the kettles and held her hands out to the one known as Cook. Her eyes had a restrained look, but she really was trying to fit in.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Dance Floor)
Skills: N/A

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As was a little self-conscious by the sudden jolt of his rural, high-elevation, Virginian heritage, particularly as it reared when speaking Thana's name. His accent was always very slight, mostly by means of his training it down amid schooling, only to emerge under cover of alcohol or extreme relaxation. Or both. The fact that it did arise despite the small amount of moonshine consumed, if only for a moment, was further sign that Ash was setting aside the person of extreme responsibility. If we truly ever was, Ash was not a Captain right then. He was some guy dancing with his sweetheart on the beach, and that was more than enough for a lifetime.

Ash had a moment of relief when Thana kissed him again and told him that she liked the way he inflected her name. "Just my Virginian acting up again," he explained. His family had been rooted in that area for many generations, no matter where the individual branches may have stretched. Though he whisper add a heartfelt, "Thawna," with a captivated smile, like he was musing over the novelty of it. Maybe he couldn't address her that way all the time, but now that he knew that she liked it, perhaps he wouldn't try to suppress his accent when it came about naturally.

There was the slightest amount of annoyance that flashed across his face when the extended togetherness between he and Thana that wore the excuse of a dance was interrupted by someone tapping on her shoulder and inquiring if she was ready for something. Ready? About ready for what? It hit Ash that this was something brought up earlier. Damnit. For the time being they would have to not be attached to one another. It was as depressing a thought as any. The good news was that Thana still wanted him to stay close. Ash nodded solemnly, responding with a clear, "Of course," like it wasn't even a question that needed to be asked. Ash transferred their handhold over to his left hand, then slipped his right around her waist. It served the twofold purpose of keeping her even closer than she would have been otherwise and giving her more support if necessary. He was ever the gentleman, of a sort, even if he got a sense of greater fulfillment providing this for Thana, specifically. "Let's get you up there," he said, moving along at precisely the pace she set for herself.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Bar)
Skills: N/A

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It seemed that even while picking up the pieces of a world shattering apocalypse, scrimp thievery was still a pervasive and reaching issue, like it was hardwired into the human psyche to steal otherwise unassuming scrimps from law-abiding citizens. Thalia wondered quietly when such horrors would be removed from them as a species, and more than that, if she wasn't a nobody then she would have to do something about this injustice. Naturally, all of this was internal and very, very sarcastic, as the level of fuck-giving involving an appetizer that wasn't hers was at a heretofore unseen low. And the matter seemed to solve itself.

More than that, Thalia's eye wandered to the happy couple in the dance area, as it had been off and on since they went out that way. They seemed truly happy just to be with each other. It made her feel a little jealous - not of Thana specifically, though they had a good friendship based off of an initial bout of silent rage and blood. It was a good way to start such things. She knew that this was a real thing between the two of them, even if she didn't know the Army guy at all. She knew Thana. Better than he did, possibly. And she had never seen her like that before, until he came back. Thalia was jealous of that type of connection, because it was the greater possibility that she would never have something like that for herself. People died. People left. Most of the time it wasn't their choice, yet sometimes, she found, it most definitely was. That stung a bit.

Lisa... took on an image of the welcoming crew. Speaking about having fun. Yeah, that was the most important thing. Fun. Maybe she was jaded. Check that. She was definitely jaded. But she kept her thoughts on it to herself. Yeah, she could use some fun right about then, though the definition of that was probably different than what she had in mind. Still, she raised her drink with her good hand in the same manner that Lisa did and presented an uncertain smile before taking a small sip and returning to the conversation she had at hand with Nigel.

"Sword." It was a flat statement. But it was almost like shop talk, so she went with it. "Yah, kindah. I'm good with a short blade. One handed; knives and especially up to the longer machetes, punch blades, too." She thought for a moment. While not formally instructed in many things, the specific way in which her family taught her to stab people lent itself to difficulty in explaining it in exact terms. "Improvised cutters, things like that. Wait, spear!" It was almost an exclamation. "Formal training with short and long speahs, while back." Spear and shield was getting to be her thing for a while, and a long poled stabber was a godsend to her while surviving on her own for the longer period that she did.

Then Hunter weighs in with inquiry. Fair enough, if a little stretching into her own personal business. But here she was with a metal limb from the forearm and down. Fine. She looked at the guy for a couple of seconds, trying to work out what his angle was. The man left a bad starting impression with her, but listening to him, they had some marginal similarities so far as how they stayed alive so far. Maybe this was just his way of being sociable, be it blunt and ham-fisted. Okay, benefit of the doubt. Thalia pointed to Thana, and then to Manny out in the gathering of people. With very direct and no-nonsense tones, she explained, "Bit. A Zed took a piece of my arm. Those two cut it off with a jury-rigged power saw a while north of here." That was one of the differences between she and the man to whom she was speaking. She could survive on her own for a long, long while. But being with people, if only temporarily or on an intermittent basis, helped keep them all alive. "Still adjusting. Matter of time."

Still adjusting. It was one of the reasons Thalia pushed herself so hard - ballet, physical training with the Army guy in Quarantine, seeking out the Marines for more serious training, even seeking out Nigel to spar with. Thalia was a weapon whose edge needed honing. Still dangerous, but she could be so much better. But even those thoughts got pushed away for the time being. Food was being given out near the fire. She tensed and straightened up, a predatory look coming over her, like she was about to pounce on an unsuspecting animal with the intent to dismember and consume bloody. "Scrimp." she rasped, sounding very much like her deceased uncle even while poking fun at Dusty from just earlier. "Nnn..." came the lingering growl. It seemed she had a target.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Area in front of Stage)
Skills: N/A

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As the songs continued to roll out and night fell upon the seaside beach party, Ash remained with Thana. Sure, the dancing that they did wasn't exactly in full harmony with most of the music being played, but Ash would have been extremely hard pressed to give a rat's hindparts about the opinions of the rest of the Camp. From a logical standpoint, this should have been the time that he made his rounds and was seen by the locals as much as possible, away from whatever duties he would be assigned so that they might get to know one another on a personal level, but again the whole "rat's hindparts" issue came into play. He was just fine where he was, and with the company he was keeping, period.

Thana's suggestion about keeping close versus singing on stage caught him a little off-guard. "Oh, I think staying close is more humane to your family, rather than havin' me sing. I'm good with cadence, ah, and get me liquored up I think I can sing "Paint it, Black", but I really can't." Ash smiled a little, now fully realizing that she was kidding (and damn grateful for it), "I'm pretty sure the Army would've revoked my commission, to be honest." And yes, as the first hints of grain alcohol settled into his corpuscles, his Old Dominion Virginian peeked out with a touch more color, like one might expect an old Confederate officer to sound like, with full enunciation. In more ways than one, it was a dying accent.

When she began to talk about the last party they attended, Ash's face straightened a little. It was the best night of his life, very likely; a day when he was reminded that it was okay to live for himself as well as others, but mostly because of her. It was funny how life's unexpected changes could be so beneficial, so positive. Of course, change often heralds more change, related or not. It was also the last night that Newnan stood. Thana's voicing of that memory as well had an impact on Ash. For many, the destruction of Newnan happened almost a year and a half ago. That was a long time in this new world. For Ash, the days following it, and up until about a week ago, were all part of the mission that started the day that their home got swallowed up by the earth, and most of their people died. For Ash, this just ended. And he was glad that it did.

Ash felt Thana dance closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her a little bit more and kept dancing with her, bending his neck down so that he could kiss the side of her head through her soft, brown hair. She did have lovely hair. Even post-apocalypse - like it was a gift somehow. Her words resonated with him, and he understood that kind of worry, be it a tangible, rational danger or not. He didn't think that he would be strong enough to survive something like that again, either, whether it was surviving out in the open world for that long or just being without her. Still dancing, he declared, "Thawna..." before realizing that his accent just warbled her name for the first time ever. "...the hell was that..?" he mused, then got back on topic, "Tomorrow we're going to wake up next to each other, and the rest will just be a memory. We had our trials, survived, and found each other. Now we get to be together." Admittedly, her trials sounded rougher than his. Ash held her close, insomuch as he was able without putting discomfort to Thana, before relaxing the embrace. A little. Their dancing might have resembled a prolonged hug to a third party.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Bar)
Skills: N/A

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The bar seemed to be where the action was. In her experience, it tended to be. Why she decided to go over that way in the first place was a little baffling, until she remembered that she was trying to be a little sociable. And there was beer. If anything was going to get her to open up some, it would have to be alcohol. Thalia was not a big drinker. Not remotely as much as others in her family, anyway. And living outside of walls presented fewer times when it was smart to imbibe. This was a rare thing. Likewise was a rare thing that she felt a slight, self-conscience twinge about some notes of her sarcasm. Thalia was a naturally guarded individual, even a little insular. She wasn't necessarily rude nor cynical. Antisocial, sure. Which was probably why her reaction to attention from strangers was met by an encompassing smartassed comment. They were being polite, and trying to include her. It itched a little bit. As did the sudden awareness of the number of people in Camp Mexico Beach, made evident by the now greatly increased number of people standing on the beach. This was not within her comfort zone.

Still, her situational awareness checklist kept ticking off, like the training she got once upon a time might have prompted. Hunter approaching, asking for booze. Probably the only person less socially comfortable than her for miles around. The barber comes up for a drink. Harmless enough, still not the type to piss off unless you want to cut your own hair indefinitely. He did a great job on her. Conversation between Hadrian and the bartender continues. Preacher has wine. That makes sense. Food being served. That and so many other details about what was going on and Thalia started to feel like she should find someplace to put her back to and just observe from a dark corner, preferably with a means of escape handy. Again she caught herself absently feeling for a knife that she didn't have anymore, before she caught herself. This was not what she came here for. She was not in the woods, these people were not potential threats.

Taking a steadying breath, Thalia leaned on the bar where she was standing and took an impressively long pull from her beer. Three, four, five, six gulps or so until she stopped. It was right about then that she realized that someone was saying something to her. Blonde girl with Hunter. "Naht the tiara type, girly girl," she mused, though by that time Nikki was going to find her fun elsewhere. Quite the social butterfly. Well, once, long ago, Thalia was the established urbanite herself. Still a little antisocial, but it was better tempered by circumstances. She could hang out and talk to people, and goddamn it, she was going to. At first, Thalia leaned over in the direction of Lisa and Adelaide, after getting such a glowing if brief assessment from the local girl (even if Lisa didn't address her directly), flatly stating, "Thanks. You all seem nice. I don't do the "people thing" much. Get to know me and I'm a real peach." It was said in such a way that made it difficult to tell if she was being serious.

Others came and went, including the two girls who were obviously a couple, down to matching hairstyles. Kind of. But they looked to have other plans involving a walk along the water. Quiet walks were nice. But suddenly, another thought went through Thalia's mind. Looking to Nigel, she gave a quick, "Hey!" to get his attention, followed by an observation, "You're a Espada y Escudo, um, 'Sword & Board' fighter, right?" and then a quick suggestion, "We should see about getting some sparring time in, yah?"

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Area in front of Stage)
Skills: N/A

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Thana singing a Rolling Stones cover sounded great, except for the part where she would have to move away from him to do it. Considering how long it took to get to her, and the assisted assumption concerning her mortality, Ash didn't want her going anywhere she didn't have to, unless it also involved him. Clingy, maybe even a little possessive even, but that was where his mind was at. His voice was ever so slightly more diplomatic about it. "Hey, if you promised. Just come on back soon, huh?" Ash smiled, practically beaming at Thana. He had much to be thankful for. Thing to be thankful for Number One: she didn't have to go and sing immediately. They had a little time. These days, it was a precious gift.

The slow dance they performed was less of an actual dance and more a demonstration that they wanted to be near each other. In case anyone didn't already know that they were together and had no plans to the contrary, this might have tipped them off. The only problem with the song was that it ended too quickly for his liking. End of the song meant end of the dance, right? Well, just as quickly as Thana threw off the shackles of tradition to solve that very dilemma, Ash was just as quick to agree. The kiss on his cheek was just icing. No, he had no intention of stopping, not while she was still willing to slow dance. This was where he needed to be; let the rest of the party do whatever it was going to do around them. "Good," he replied simply, holding Thana solidly to himself.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Bar)
Skills: N/A

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People giving her shit back at the fire. Her first impulse might have been to extend her middle finger in the time honored tradition of her people. But her formerly dominant hand made that difficult without a little forethought, what with its loss and all. Ah, next time. At least they were more or less good-natured about it. It was an odd sort of settling for her, she figured that a group with actual intentions of harm might try harder to kiss her ass before lowering the axe. Giving her a little hassle in the middle of a community outing was actually a little bit of a relief. If she had to be out around people, at least they weren't sycophants, trying too hard to be agreeable.

Though it seemed something did begin to go down while she was getting her beer - it seemed the moment that Thalia ambled up to the bar, she was beset with interactions. At first, she side eyed Nigel and his apology for, if she got this right, speaking near her. "Wasn't listening to you. Listening to the fire." Fire good. Fire very good. She heard her name mentioned. It was correct, but she neither confirmed nor denied anything. Instead, she wordlessly took her beer as it was passed over, by someone again trying to be friendly. Thalia had just about taxed her willingness to be open with new people already. This was pretty simple though. Name for person A, name for person B, yay beer. "Yeah, Joaquin's sister," she repeated back to Adelaide. Bartender lady didn't seem to press conversation. Of course, if Adelaide's only experience with her family was knowing Joaquin, then perhaps it was a survival tactic keeping terse. She and her brother were different that way.

Thalia looked to Nigel, then Adelaide, and now Lisa, who had just spoken to her. "Nnn," she grunted back to Lisa, before sarcastically wondering aloud (and to no one in particular) in her trademarkable Boston accent, "Well, don't I feel like the prettiest girl at the Hahvest Moon Ball?" She took a quick pull of her beer. Yeah, it was beer all right. Maybe four or so more and she'd feel like opening up. Wait, that probably wasn't best, either. Coin toss.

🧚🏻‍♀️ The Walking Dead - Year 6 Part 1

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Ash Holloway

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Location: L11 (Beach, Bar -> Area in front of Stage)
Skills: N/A

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Such as anyone could enjoy a piece of the world that used to be, Ash was letting himself live in the moment. The tiny voice in the back of his head (metaphorically this time) that told him to remain vigilant, that no one was safe, ever, was still present; it was muffled enough for Ash to enjoy himself. Everything could come to a crashing, screaming halt any minute now, but that was highly unlikely. And honestly, the opportunity for some actual R&R was worth the risk. It had been a while. A long while.

Ash thanked Alexander and Manny for stopping by, even though they very likely just came over to give Thana a touch of accolade and he stepped into it with his own agenda, benign as it was. He needed to try to branch out and get to know people as more than personnel assets. For instance, the old guy was also an Alice Cooper fan. This was progress. They could talk music later. It wasn't his responsibility to tally assets, personnel or otherwise, anymore. Hell, all he had now was the responsibility of keeping Thana happy. No problem. As best he could, anyway.

Speaking to Thana's claim that she had done a cover of "Paint it, Black", Ash gave her a studious look, a nod, and then said, "That's something I would like to hear sometime, Thana." The thought kept with him for a moment as his mind drifted back to the video of her from Quarantine. "Live, I mean." Did she know that video was in there? He raised his glass and smiled behind it. The smile retreated a little bit when she changed the subject over to Riley. It had been another long while since he had heard her sing, too. "She's the real deal, all right. Never really listened to her stuff back Before, but the girl's got talent. Maybe I ought to leave something in a suggestion box about it." He shrugged uncertainly. Doubt lingered as to whether there was something along the lines of a suggestion box, but that was hardly the point. "Still want to catch you belting out 'Stones." He smiled. Some might find it roguishly charming, others might believe that he was trying to dislodge something from his teeth, unaccustomed to smiling as he had become up until very recently. He did somber up a little at the toast, downing his second with the intonation of, "Absent friends." They probably deserved more than a shot, but Ash wasn't out to get sloppy drunk this evening.

The sudden shift to a slow song had Ash looking to Thana with renewed interest in dancing, a sentiment that she beat him to verbally. At her insistence that he sweep her off her feet, Ash dropped an arm behind her and, with stalwart, confident grin, whisked her from the ground entirely to hold her in the traditional "crossing the threshold" position. As he stepped nearer to the area in front of the stage, Ash answered her question about dancing. "Learned a little at VMI, formal ball stuff. I was okay, but I'm a little out of practice, so..." It wasn't highly encouraging, but for Thana, he was going to give it a good attempt, so long as it didn't put her in any danger. She was still healing, and was supposed to be taking it easy. "I'll know enough," he assured her, carefully lowering her feet to the sand. He maintained a simple, appreciative look as he stared into her eyes, and began moving in a passable slow dance, supporting her as best he could. "Offer to carry is still on the table," he whispered in reminder. It had been a long time since he had danced, and was glad it was with her again.

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Thalia Carmichael

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Location: L11 (Beach, Fire Pits -> Bar)
Skills: N/A

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Thalia regarded Mizrahi silently as he cryptically answered her question. The training began whenever she asked. Okay. It seemed a little free and loose for a Marine training regimen, but if they already had a system for it then great, she was game. The thoughts of how to stage it around Tatiana's routines dancing gave her a piece of consideration; she did not want to drop the ballet lessons. It would mean layering two physical disciplines on top of one another, in addition to her work duties, whatever they might be. She would be forcing herself to exhaustion just to get through the day, and her recovery periods would be hell. Oh, and lest she forget her physical therapy for the use of a prosthetic limb. If she didn't break herself first, she was going to walk out of this beast. Ok, a beast who knew how to pirouette.

The food preparation around her seemed to snatch away her quiet time with the fire. While they had made no indication that she should move on, and in fact quite the opposite as conversation was broached, Thalia knew that the relative quiet of her fire-staring experience was done. The first part of that occurred when Morales, whom she was actually glad did not use her fashion advice from earlier, made a crack about her brother Joaquin. Thalia observed the man for a second, the thought "...no speedo..." escaping her mouth at a whisper, mostly covered by the crackle of the fire. She nodded satisfactorily at the thought, just as the guy received a whack from the back of a spoon. In an odd way, the exchange reminded her of some of the big gatherings back home, where the abuelitas got everything together and ran the kitchens like a boss, while you either helped out while holding on for dear life or, more wisely, got the hell out of the way.

In this instance, she stayed out of the way. Being that as it may, Thalia attempted to employ something akin to manners, looking around at those immediately present and saying flatly, "Save my spot, please. I'll be right back." Actually saving a spot standing around a firepit was kind of ludicrous; it was more an indicator that she wasn't leaving because she was being rude nor that they were annoying her. She still felt like she needed to stay on guard a little, but logically understood that it was because she didn't know these people. Thalia was a roughhewn as of recent years, not intentionally rude. Usually. In any case, she was trying to open herself up to the idea that this was a party. Glancing over to the bar, she noticed that Thash had left the area, with only a couple of preexisting locals remaining.

Thalia sighed, mumbling, "Interacting with people. Nnn..." while walking over. She didn't bother making small talk, instead resting her arms, metal and flesh both, upon the bar and looking over the options available. Losing her senses was not the goal. She wasn't so comfortable here that she wanted to dull her ability to think or fight, if need be. At the same time, she really was trying to be a part of the festivities. "Hey, um," she began, a little unsure of herself, "Can I um, ...hmm. Beer?" She noted the people present around her. At this second, aside from Adelaide, another local woman she hadn't met yet was leaning against the bar. She took note of the woman's posture and demeanor, a habit birthed from earlier days of threat assessment. Satisfied, Thalia's overt attention returned to the objective.