wolverbells

Among the Ruined - Season 4

Samantha and Scarlett - After the mayhem - Group of unknown people

The reunion of the sisters had not gone as Samantha had planned. She wanted to get in, and get out. No if's, and's, or but's. Unfortunately, with all the commotion going on, Scarlett had practically ignored Sam and gone off to find the man she had been with the entire time. Thomas? Tyler? It did not matter. Sam was not here for him but still, she got stuck taking care of a little girl while her own sister ran off.

Once Sam and Scarlett had found each other again, Samantha had noticed that there was blood on Scarlett's hands and blouse. Something was off about her but she had little time to analyze her further. They had to get out and find Abram.

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Samantha found herself more confused than she should have been as the large group of people walked in an unknown direction. Why would her sister want to stay with a man that had such a terrible reputation? His actions had probably won him a first class ticket to one of hell's most dark pits and yet there she was, helping him walk. She had made attempts to talk to Scarlett about it, while giving her the machete and other weapons she had found, but Scarlett merely shook her head and ignored Sam. It was beyond frustrating, but still, Sam would defend her sister and her choice to aid the man. It had already been proven in a previous altercation.

"Abram... Where are we going?" Samantha decided to take her mind off of it and picked up the pace to walk next to the man. "I don't feel comfortable with so many people walking around in a group....." Sam looked away from Abram and let her eyes scan the faces around them. This many people would draw out the undead for sure. 'I just have to be faster than the majority...'. Once again, Sam's eyes lingered on her sister and the man she helped, looking on as Scarlett smiled at the little girl named Katie.

Unlike Sam, who wanted nothing but to ask questions, Scarlett wanted peace and quiet. She had gone through enough the past few weeks that all she wanted was to sit down and clear her mind. She found herself helping a man who might or might not have terrorized a large amount of people. By the way things were looking, Scarlett feared that he had indeed done what he was accused of. Either way, Tyler was in no shape to deal with it, so she would wait. He wouldn't exactly be let off that easily but she still wouldn't allow anyone else near him to accuse him once again.

Luckily, Katie was around which meant people would think twice before coming near them. Given the circumstances, children still seemed to be a deterrence when it came to violence. In a way. She had walked along side Scarlett, then along side her dad, then in front of them, practically beaming at them. It was as if the fractured rib either didn't exist or had already healed. She told Scarlett why she was so happy. Apparently, amongst the many people, there was a man in the group named Floyd that she remembered. She had met him before and he had saved her from a mean man. Scarlett had simply smiled and acknowledged her story until Katie made the comment about wanting to keep him as a pet. This made her want to laugh but she just smiled at the little girl and shook her head, commenting about how keeping people as pets never worked out. "You should ask my sister how it felt. I think I pretended she was my pet for like two months."

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Aubrey - Apartments under construction - Levi

Putting differences aside was a bit more difficult than Aubrey had imagined. She was used to saying things and having people deal with it. Here, with Levi, she had actually explain herself and acknowledge things. Not exactly her idea of a fun time. Still, she remained respectful and nice to the man, because of course, he was helping her with her bullet wound.

"Did..... Did you hear that?" Aubrey asked as she looked up from her makeshift bed. It was the sound of bullets and something louder. "Are those... They sound like bombs?" Aubrey was confused but she had a pretty good idea of what was going on. It was the whole Richard versus Tremblay bit that Kerry had mentioned to her before she had left. Aubrey made no sign of getting up to check at the window and she signaled for Levi to stay put as well, shaking her head when he began to get up. "That's something you don't want to get involved with."

Once the commotion had died down, Aubrey stood up and looked around. They would need to move. Depending on what had happened down at the Plaza, especially if super nazi's overtook everything. "We need to go.... There are these Nazi people who try and kill everything they lay their eyes on." She was already in action, gathering what she would need in her small backpack, along with a couple of arrows she had found under a quilt. She cared little that Levi was in the same room with her, with a quick and sharp inhale, Aubrey kept from shouting due to the pain as she took off her shirt to put a clean one on. It was then when she heard the shuffling of footsteps. The young woman dropped to a crouch as she listened closely, fearing that it was some type of horde.

Fortunately the sound of feet was too fast. Aubrey crept up to the window and peered out, her eyes widening when she saw the number of people moving down the streets. "They're leaving?!" Her voice was a quiet whisper as she made her acknowledgment. She turned quickly to Levi and motioned for him to look. "We have to go with them.... We can stick to the back so they don't notice us."

Northwood Academy

Maribeth - 6:30 AM - Dining Hall

Everything seemed to have fallen in place this morning for Maribeth. Although she had gotten very little sleep, due to not being used to her surroundings, she had gotten up with more than enough energy to go for a run.

After getting herself up from bed and showering, Mari made quick work out of getting ready for her first day of classes. She did not take too much time since she did not like to get dolled up like most other girls. She simply braided her hair and made sure her clothes were presentable before turning and walking out of the room. She had already seen Elizabeth's note and had kept reminding herself to go and find her in the breakfast area to eat something. The girl smiled as she remembered hearing the door open and shut before the curfew was even lifted.

As she walked in, feeling a bit more confident about herself, her eyes immediately began to scan the tables. Finding Elizabeth wouldn't be that hard of a job, but what would probably give her trouble were the two blue eyes that locked on to hers from across the room. Maybe not the eyes, of course, but whom they belonged to. She had never seen the girl in her life, yet something about her made Maribeth freeze in her spot and gape at the older girl. Unfortunately the look that the other girl gave back to her, did not match Maribeth's. It was filled with anger and sadness all in one.

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Athena - 6:30 - Dining Hall

Wide awake, even before the curfew lifted, Athena had gotten up rather than just stayed in bed. She knew if she stayed there, she'd fall back asleep and then no one on the planet would be able to wake her up. Instead, she quietly did a few stretches in the room before showering and making herself look decent. She pulled her hair up in a high ponytail to make sure it didn't go into her face, and took one look in the mirror before quietly heading out. She had stayed up with Zaylin the night before and did not want to wake the poor girl up. Especially since she did not know if her roommate was a morning person or not.

Once in the breakfast hall, Athena found her normal spot, a wide grin stretching across her face as she saw her old friends from the dance team. They had gotten her food already, which she quietly thanked them for, and sat down. Falling back into her old routine was easy. Getting used to the changes around it though, was a bit more difficult.

At a point in time, though. When Athena had gotten up to dispose of some of her trash, she had turned around and accidentally locked on to a pair of blue eyes that were across the room. They had not meant to be staring at her, that much Athena knew, but something about them was a bit off. No, not off. Something about them was familiar. Athena's mind raced as she tried to find out a reason as to why she felt such nostalgia when she looked at the girl across the room from her.

It took her maybe a half a second to a minute to finally figure out why. The eyes that stared at her were from somebody she knew. She had seen them countless of times in person and in pictures. The girl was her younger sister. The one their own father had picked because Athena was not a normal child. The one that left Athena and her mother without a home or any money. Instantly, Athena was filled with something a bit stronger than anger, yet at the same time, a heavy wave of sadness crashed into her as she felt feelings that she had bottled up so many years ago. The yearning for wanting her father to take her and her mother back.

"Maribeth is here..." Athena breathed, not being able to take her eyes off of her sister.

Northwood Academy

[place holder post!]

The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

Road To Nabsezal

"I apologise for our lack of ability," said Abbas. The tanned man had an apologetic look. Coupled with the dark rims around his eyes and his haggard face, one could only describe it as a pitiful state.

"Doesn't matter," Isen'roy was the next to speak. "At the end of the day, we're just dealing with an overgrown tree." He scratched his head, being empathetic wasn't his style but Allush had clearly put effort into his task. Though his words were mostly meant to console Allush, they were still a half-truth. Their opponent wasn't to be understimated; that was crucial information in and on its own.

"An overgrown tree that can fight back." Jade fought the urge not to roll her eyes as she made her remark.

To his own surprise Ashaad grinned slightly from beneath his shemagh. "A normal tree can kill a man simply by falling over", Ashaad turned to face Isen'roy with emotionless eyes.

"A person pitiful enough to die from a mere falling tree doesn't have the right to call himself man." Isen'roy roared with laughter.

This time, Jade could not contain the urge to roll her eyes. She wanted to laugh as well, but instead, turned her attention to Reiner so that she could keep a straight face.

After a second of silence, she spoke up, "Accidents happen all the time. You mean to tell me that if some tree came crashing on you right now, you'd be pitiful and we would have reason to deem you lower than men?" Jade turned to look at Isen'roy with amusement now, wondering how exactly they ended up with him as a teammate. Surely there would not be a dull moment around this man.

"Except if by such a miracle a tree fell on top of me, I wouldn't be dead."

The over confidence of others would usually pass by Ward, but this guy's cockiness was definetly not easy to accept. Ward wasn't one to judge, but these warriors were gathered by higher powers to defeat beings bigger than life - literally. His desire was to speak, tell this guy to chill and just calm down before everyone gets on edge, but what was the point? After all, wasn't this supposed to be fun?

Hence with that mindset, the sniper went ahead and just stuck to his own business. He looked down at the talisman, pupils nearly touching each other at how much he stared. "Hmm" he questioned, unsure if this was an asset to their mission, or a liability. "We're getting paid for this right?" he asked, though it didn't seem anyone heard his question.

His eyes returned to the talisman, thinking about the ability to find other warriors with such magical gems. If this was a race like the all-so-powerful-dude-that-spoke-at-the-beginning said, then the first to arrive with news of their prey's death would get more coin. Therefore, couldn't some competators kill each other and take their prey's death notice and call it their own? After all, they all knew where everyone else was.

"Yes, teams will be paid individually based on their accomplishments. However, if Sir Reiner is concerned with the potential of traitors... then precautions have already been taken." Abbas was referring to the way the teams had been split. No team was composed of a singular kingdom; the intentions were simple. It was less likely of soldiers of opposing nations to collaborate and if a lone kingdom attempted it, it would give the remaining two a reason to ally up. In short, the risks far outweighed the benefits.

"UGH!" Ward exclaimed in desperation. All these thoughts were getting to him as the other's conversation continued to heat up. With what most would call migranes, Ward unstrapped his weapon from his back, let it fall off him, then removed his feet from the straps and fell off his horse. He was hungry. "I'm gonna get some food" he said, signaling the others with a hand gesture. The horse just continued to follow the others.

"Ishtar!" yelled Abbas and all the horses screeched to a halt. "Sir Reiner, this is not the time for games!"

Jade would have retorted with something snarky to Isen'roy if it wasn't for the fact that the sudden sound of something falling onto the ground had drawn her attention, causing her head to turn quickly over to see if Reiner was okay.

"Wha..... What are you... Ward stop playing! I have food in one of these pouches.... Get back on the damned horse." The woman first pointed to her friends horse, then quickly grabbed the small pouch she had packed with rations of food in, shoving it in Reiner's direction, but not throwing it.

Isen'roy burst out laughing. He had always considered himself to be a person to follow his own pace but this Reiner fellow was taking it to a whole new level.

With a menacing puff, the man jogged at a slow pace - with his rifle - in attempt to catch up to the pouch - not so much the others. He used his pony's movement to jet him forward even faster, taking the pouch from Jade's hand. "I knew you had food, I was just....." he shut himself up, opening the pouch as he walked alongside his little four legged animal.

There was a couple of fruits and some vegetables, but nothing fancy that would satisfy his cravings. "Jade, you're soooooo boring!" the man said, his head jerking backward as his mouth opened in agony. He started digging under the 'healthiness' and nope, still nothing.

Jade rolled her eyes and slid out her scepter from it's place on her back, smirking at Reiner. "How about.... I jam this pretty, blue sphere in your mouth... And I fill you up with water? Would that make you satisfied, sweetheart?"

"If it tastes better than this crap" Ward said under his own breath. His wrist jittered and the food pouch 'accidently' fell from his hand. With a baby hop, the grown man jumped on the back of Tyrome Rutherford Carter, his itty bitty pony.

Ashaad was deep in thought when the party was forced to stop. The resulting bickering between Ward and Jade caused him to release a sigh of frustration but he did not turn to face the two of them. "If I die on this quest it will not be the creature's doing", he thought to himself as he finally turned around give his new found "friends" a silent stare which could only be described as, "Shut. The fuck. Up."

Looking up and sensing irritation amidst, Ward decided it was time to spin the conversation wheel - hoping he'd hit the jackpot or whatever. "So..." he started, his voice most likely annoying the great sandman warrior of the sand....of the sand. Anyhow, he continued. "....How long until we get to wherever it is we're going?"

"If we continue at this pace, we'll be there by tomorrow night," responded Abbas. "However, fighting under darkness would work against us since we do not know the geography of the forest." In short, the soonest they would be able to fight Nabsezal would be the two days from now. Under normal circumstances, the journey would've taken four days but their steeds were equipped with enchanted armored hooves. Even Reiner's pony was much faster than a regular full grown horse.

"Shall we start devising a plan? Or is the plan to just go in, guns blazing while shirtless?"

Ashaad overheard talk of a battleplan and now seemed as good as any to inform the others of his plan. "The creature is made of wood. All wood burns. If any of you can wield fire then we simply need to get close enough to set the beast aflame."

"Wood? It's a tree! I could easily remove-"

"Oh shut it Jane, you'd just help our enemy grow. With your water mumbo jumbo stuff."

"That's NOT my name!"

"I believe thats the exact reason I'm here," said Isen'roy. Though he didn't exactly possess magic, fire and heat were elements he could wield with his sword.

"As I was saying. Before I was rudely interrupted." Jade shot a menacing glare at Reiner, who stuck out his tongue at her. 'I'm going to murder him' she thought before turning her attention back to the others, crossing her arms, "Nevermind... Carry on."

If he wasn't wearing his shemagh the others would see an annoyed Ashaad staring at them for a good while before breaking the gaze. "If the creature cannot burn then you must drain the water. Once it is weakened we will attack its limbs specifically the joints to immobilized it. If that all goes according to plan one of us should able to deal the killing blow" Ashaad paused for a moment to acknowledge the fact that with these people he had spoken more than he would normally do...It was uncomfortable for him to be honest. Working as a team meant he was accountable for lives other than his own. "Once we arrive, leave the horses and take to the trees. If we attack from the ground we give it an advantage."

"I like it." Jade said, feeling a bit smug that someone else, besides her, had the same idea of taking the moisture out of the plant. She turned to look at her dear friend and smiled at him as if telling him 'I told you so'.

Isen'roy nodded his head approvingly. It was a simple plan but it was precisely because of that that he approved of it. Elaborate plans were pointless when they knew nothing about Nabsezal.

Ward also agreed upon the set rules and regulations. He gave his pals a warm and sweet smile before raising his right index finger and "Check Pleeeeaaaassseee."

The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

I was trying to take a nap but instead I'll type a bit into the collab

The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

@QT Let the fun begin

The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

@TheDarkTemplar Of course! I was thinking maybe when it came down to them actually fighting the monster?

The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

@TheDarkTemplar @QT If and when the time comes, I'm all up for a collab. Of course that's if y'all are okay with it.

Northwood Academy

Maribeth - Very Fast Paced

Maribeth had been more than eager to follow Elizabeth down the hallway, listening intently in case she asked anything. She was going fast now, as if on a purpose. Or maybe it was because Maribeth was used to walking at her own, slow pace. Still, she kept up but kept her eyes on the walls and people, admiring everything and everyone. She had never been amongst so many people in her life!

"Uff." She should have kept her eyes forward though, as she nearly ran right into her roommate once more. "What are you...." Maribeth's eyes scanned the hall to see what Elizabeth was looking at. It seemed to be a boy about their age. She felt it rude to interrupt so the girl kept quiet. Or at least somewhat quiet. She hummed quietly until Elizabeth started moving again. 'She sure is funny.... Does everyone act like this?' Maribeth dared not ask the question out loud, afraid that she'd get on her roommates bad side.

When Elizabeth told her to pick some seats, Maribeth froze in place. "M....M...Me? Pick seats?" She wanted the ground to swallow her whole. There were people everywhere! Sitting in every table!

Maribeth looked around the room, her blue eyes wide. "Um......" Nervously, and a bit hesitantly, Mari took a few steps inside. Her hands were balled up as she dug her nails in her palms from the anxiety building up. "Right here." Her voice was quiet but she had finally found a table where she thought it would be alright to sit at. It was the table where the boy, that Elizabeth had spotted in the hallway, sat at. Surely they had been friends before, so what harm could be done by sitting there?

The Battle for Astrea [Always Open]

@Aerandiroh! It's a good thing I asked then haha.