The Final Saviors (1x1 Private)
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Posted 2022-11-12 12:54:11 (edited)
Seth- Group One- He/himSeth soon finished packing away the newly found supplies, zipping up his bag and then carefully putting it back on. He took a moment to readjust the strap, not wanting to lose the bag in case they had to really run later. He glanced up, catching Charlie's eye briefly. They seemed to be deep in thought, and he wondered if he should call them out on it. But he decided against it, it wasn't any of his business to pester Charlie about whatever it was that was troubling them. And plus, in all the time he had known them, they didn't talk about their feelings so easily. In all honesty, he was the exact same way. Feelings were complicated, emotions were complicated. This life of theirs was complicated, but he couldn't remember how to live without such complications. He cleared his throat awkwardly. At Charlie's suggestion, he grinned cheekily. "Sure thing, Parental." He joked. Despite his teasing, he actually did value Charlie's advice. It was good looking out, the two had no idea what any of this actually was. And to be completely honest, the memory of his sister was still fresh in his mind. He didn't want to die after everything that had happened, especially not to sickness. That would just be an insult to her, and he had to stay alive so that he could remember his family and keep their memories alive. He wasn't ready to join them in whatever came next. Seth picked up his spear, it's familiar weight reassured him. He wasn't sure why he had chosen it in the first place, but for some reason it was just the most natural choice. Nothing else felt right. He wasn't too fond of revolvers, but he knew how to use one. Archery was out of the question. Of course, there was a downside to fighting with a spear, it was a one shot if he threw it. The likely hood that he missed was something he had to consider. But he also had his knife, and he wasn't bad with it. Kat- Group Two - She/herKat didn't mind that Stella rambled. She listened intently as the other girl spoke about this and that. The fact that they both could talk for days was part of the reason that Kat believed the two were good companions. Silence was not something she was absolutely fond of, and so she enjoyed the chitchat. "That sounds pretty reasonable." Kat answered. She noticed the saddle in Stella's arms, they were almost as heavy as a picking up a Labrador retriever on a whim. "Well, we should get this show on the rode then cause I'm sure we have other things to do today." Without another word, she went to retrieve one of the more intact harnesses as well as a lead rope. That way the two girls could catch whichever horse they'd be working with first. Sherlock might be the smarter choice considering his temperament, but then again, maybe it would be better to save the "best behaved" for last. Best behaved was a bit of a stretch, but it was the only phrase that came to mind. Kat quickly returned with the necessary items, and she held them up to show Stella. "Which horse would you prefer to start with?" She asked. |
Teen_Wolflover #49394 |
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Posted 2022-11-13 09:00:15
Charlie - group one - they/themCharlie teasingly punched Seth's arm at his remark, and held back a joke in case it ended up being something that was touchy in his past. They bit back any words of concern or curiosity that danced across their tongue. The distance they kept from each other was like some big safety net, and Charlie only wished the distance had kept them from caring about Seth and his wellbeing. It felt unsteady, like walking up a hill sprinkled with gravel, slipping every-so-often while on your journey to the top. Charlie folded the blade back into the pocket knife and pushed past Seth. "If I am the parent that means you have to follow me," they teased. Their steps seemed so quiet now that the ground was completely void of the wood and glass shards. The gentle thud of their boot was all that marked their steps. They stepped out into a room lined with beat up metal shelves, some were dangling by a screw or two. It was a room that likely used to buzz with the glow of the fluorescent lights that had now been ripped from the ceiling. What purpose people had for them in the state of the world Charlie didn't know, but they kept moving. The room had been void of furniture, so there wasn't a possibility of something hiding from them. On the far side of the room loomed a large white door. Foot prints, slashes, and dents - presumably from bullets - decorated the otherwise pristine door. "Well, this doesn't seem like it'll be easy. Let's just hope if we get it open that someone didn't hole up in there and turn during all these years." Stella - group two - she/herStella silently celebrated as Kat broke from their conversation to receive the other items they would need for their test. She was certain there was more to do today; the home still had a bunch of dusty stuff in the attic that she wanted to work through. Plus, the garden would need a bit of tending. She intended on making a little box so that the smaller garden plants could be transported into one of the homes vacant rooms during colder seasons. Stella wasn't sure that would keep the "out of season" plants alive when their intended growth period had ended, but she hoped it could give them a bit more produce if not last out the whole of the off season. Perhaps, she thought, they could work on a small green house of wooden beams. The beams would provide a frame for a tarp in certain weather, and they would let the light in at all other times. She'd love to have an actual greenhouse, but glasswork isn't something she really wanted to try. Nor did she want to try and track down the supplies needed. "I think that Sherlock would be our safest bet, but you are the horse expert. So, if you think that approaching this in a different way is best I will follow you!" |
 ajax.17 #85666 |
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Posted 2022-11-15 11:59:20
Seth- Group One- He/himSeth cursed himself softly under his breath for walking into that one. Though he just rolled his eyes with a playful smile a moment later. "If you want to walk into uncharted territory and potentially have a zombie encounter, be my guest. Just don't come crying to me." He stepped to the side as Charlie pushed past him, giving them room to get by. As he followed after Charlie, he kept his steps as light as he could so that he didn't make quite as much noise, but obviously he wasn't able to completely disguise the soft thud of his combat boots. In all honesty, the boots were a little too big for him, but it wasn't like he had easy access to new shoe apparel. He had found these in an abandoned van not long before he had met Charlie, and they had been in decent shape all things considered. One thing he had learned from his time as a "rogue" was that you made do with what you had or what you found, the world was different now and a person had to adapt to overcome. "Wouldn't be the first time." Seth muttered in response. He had come across a few situations like that. Part of him always felt a twinge of pity for anyone who ended up like that. Though it never lasted long. The person they had once been would have been gone the moment they turned. Their soul moving on to whatever came next after life. And it didn't keep Seth awake at night. That sort of thinking was probably cruel of him, but it helped him not to linger on the fact they had once been people. If he allowed himself to get overly worked up then it would just slow him down, and that wasn't something he could afford these days. It would just remind him of all the terrible things he had endured, the things he had done. He cleared his throat, attempting to distract himself. "Alright, so you want to hold the door open or be ready to take down whatever might be behind the door?" He questioned. Kat- Group Two - She/herKat had been considering which horse would be their best bet. She nodded in response to Stella's comment, humming quietly to herself as she determined what would be smarter. "Let's go with Sherlock. He'll be easier, hopefully, to work with. He can be our guinea pig so to speak. We can learn what works and what doesn't so that we can come up with better techniques for the others. I mean, all horses are different and just like people, they react differently. But overall, we'd have a better idea of what to do. Plus, it'll give me a chance to remember what to do, and hopefully, that can help us." Kat announced. Her face flushed warmly as she realized momentarily that she was rambling. "Sorry." She chuckled nervously. The girl walked over to Sherlock, gently stroking his neck and murmuring words of reassurance. Moving so that she stood shoulder to shoulder with the horse, she faced Stella with a small smile. Slowly and carefully, she brought the halter up towards Sherlock's face, pausing when he flinched. "It's okay, buddy. I promise." She murmured. Once she was sure that Sherlock wasn't going to freak out, she continued and slipped the halter onto his nose. It took a few moments but soon Sherlock was standing beside Kat with the halter on properly, and she made sure that he was comfortable before clipping the lead to the halter. "See, that wasn't so bad, huh Sherlock?" Kat chuckled, reaching up with one hand to pat the horse's neck. |
Teen_Wolflover #49394 |
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Posted 2022-11-17 15:42:17
Charlie - group one - they/themThey pretended like the decision was hard. "Hmmmm," they mused, tapping their chin and looking at the ceiling. Charlie even began to tap the toe of their boot against the ground. "Considering, and hear me out, I am out of bullets, and you have seen my skills with a pocket knife. So, as long as I can trust you not to skewer me, you can have the honor of killing whatever may emerge from the darkness," they wiggled their fingers as if casting an evil spell. Cracking their knuckles, Charlie got back to business. The first thing to do was to figure out how to get the door open. Their knuckles rapped gentle against the door, metal. Shit, they thought. With a firm grip on the knob Charlie leaned on the door, turning the knob as far as they could convince it to go. Nothing. The knob was definitely locked and all they had access to was a small hole. They had seen locks like this before. The door came with a long, thin key that had a flat end but was round the rest of the way up. The mechanism inside likely looked like screws that required a flathead screwdriver. They knew that they couldn't jam their knife in there far enough due to how wide the knife quickly became. Maybe, they thought, there is a spare. Charlie reached up, feeling for a ridge between the wall and frame to see if there could possibly be a gap. Bingo, the paint skipped an open spot and Charlie quickly wiggled their knife under the door frame. "If this blade snaps and comes flying at me, at least leave my body in a dignified position," they joked as they slid the knife from side to side between two nails. Once the paint was clear, Charlie worked slowly across the 3 inch section trying to pull the frame from the wall. Slowly it started to come forward, but it was obvious the other nails in the frame would cause issue. "This may take me a minute, but there could be a spare key up here. Special lock. If you don't mind digging around the room a bit to see if it may have fallen on the floor. It'll be a small cylinder likely with some sort of hook on one end and at the other the tip will be flat." Stella - group two - she/herStella nodded as Kat finished speaking. "Your knowledge and opinion are valuable, never apologize for sharing," she reassured the other girl. Hopefully Kat was right about this helping things come back to her. The few times she had slid the halter on Sherlock she had not taken the same stance, and watching how easily Kat did it with her positioning the girl wondered how she'd ever gotten the halter on in the first place. "Now," she spoke softly, "Is there some fancy position that will help me with this?" Stella lifted her arms slightly, as much as she could without displacing the weight and dropping the saddle. Of course, they start with the blanket/saddle pad that she had sat on top of the saddle before picking it up. It was nicely folded across the seat, and she figured Kat would have to be the one to put it on. "I know the blanket er uh, whatever the horse term for it is, should go first, so perhaps you could try that?" Stella shook her head as the words came out. No, she knew that Kat needed to hold Sherlock, and that's why she had gotten the girls help in the first place. After a bit of thought her entire face lit up. The fence! She could set the saddle over the beam of the fence while she put the blanket onto Sherlock. "Nevermind," her feet quickly carried her to the fence, as quickly as they could at least. She swung the stirrups and one side of the cinch over the fence and slowly pulled her arms out as she transferred the weight. The girl turned to face her companion, a smile across her face as she gestured to the saddle sat on the fence. Once she collected herself a bit she grabbed the blanket and unfolded it carefully still standing near the fence. The act of shaking out the blanket would've likely spooked the horse, and she didn't want to commit too much motion close to Sherlock quite yet. |
ajax.17 #85666 |
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Posted 2022-11-21 19:37:31
Seth- Group One - He/himSeth rolled his eyes playfully. "I promise not to skewer you." He agreed that Charlie's skill with a knife was questionable, but to be fair, he thought they had made some progress in comparison to when they had first met. Or at least that had been his own assessment. He readjusted his grip on the weapon in hand, eyes focused on the door and preparing himself for whatever came through the door. However, it seemed as though Charlie were struggling with the door and given that it wasn't a life-or-death situation at that moment, he found it slightly amusing. But he wasn't looking to cause a distraction, especially since things could go sour quicker than either of them could blink. That was just the way of the world these days. "If that blade goes flying, then I'm ducking for cover," he joked, "I'm not looking for a haircut, Char." At her request a moment later, Seth dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Gotcha, be right back. Try not to die." The young man teased, turning around. Looking around the room he quietly mused. "Where oh where would you put a key in this rathole?" He spotted a desk and some cabinets nearby, and he figured it was better than nothing. He moved towards the cabinets, leaning his spear against the wall in order to use both hands for searching. Seth opened the cabinets and he nearly gagged at the stench, looking down he saw a pair of rotting food that had clearly been there for some time. How long he wasn't sure, and he definitely didn't care to learn the answer. But it did cause him to pause, food often meant that a group had or did live here. But the food was so far gone it had to have been more than a few months at the very least. After a few more minutes of searching, he decided that the cabinets were key-free. Maybe the desk drawers? Seth moved to inspect the desk, only finding old paperwork and dust. There was a mouse living in one of the drawers and Seth made a face. Kat- Group Two- She/herKat watched as Stella figured out this part of saddling a horse on her own and she smiled. While she was perfectly okay with sharing her limited knowledge, she was glad that Stella didn't solely depend on her. The other girl was incredibly resourceful as Kay had come to learn in the time that they had been together. "Nice job, and when you're ready then you can set the blanket on his back. Just over his withers." Kat said with a small smile. She had a good feeling about their trials today, hopefully Sherlock responded well to it. She had no doubt he would, even if there was a little trouble along the way. But the younger horse, she wasn't so sure. With that one they might have more trouble, but if they worked with all of the horses and spent time with them, it wouldn't be too hard to earn their trust and respect. And of course, their affection because that was also very helpful. The girl remained where she was, stroking Sherlock's muzzle in order to keep him calm. She wasn't fully sure how he might react to the initial placing of the saddle pad. Especially since it had been years. But again, she had faith that things would go well. |
Teen_Wolflover #49394 |
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Posted 2022-11-26 08:11:57 (edited)
Charlie - group one - they/themCharlie shook their head at Seth's remark. "Maybe in spite I shall try to die," she jested to the empty room. Moving along the frame slowly the top piece finally gave out, well sort of. None of the nails had been pulled completely from the wall, rather Charlie had been getting them to what they assumed to be the edge. Gently feeling the back with the tips of their pinkies, they felt across the two centermost sections for splinters. Nothing had clattered to the ground as they'd hoped, but they figured they may as well finish the job. Once Charlie was sure there were no splinters on the back side of the frame they slide their hands up from the bottom and tugged. Planting their feet, they gave another harder tug and finally the wood seemed to free from the wall. "Shit," Charlie noted that the framing had just split in the center. "Cheap construction idiots," they mumbled. It didn't take long to get the pieces completely from the wall. There it was, sort of, what they had been seeking. A deep indent in the wall where the paint had been worn. There was a key here at some point, Charlie decided, they just needed to keep looking. The fact that it had existed in that space didn't surprise them, but they wished it hadn't been moved or dropped. Without really getting close to the wall, Charlie checked the pieces of wood, both having a lighter bit of indent where they'd held the key. Perhaps it had fallen when the board had snapped, so Charlie carefully let their knees meet the ground before they started to feel and look around the littered floor around them. Stella - group two - she/herWithers, Stella asked herself. She slowly made mental sense of where that could be, but ultimately settled on the images of blanketed and saddled horses she'd seen before. Surely, if she used those as base, she thought, there was no way to really mess this up. Plus Kat would definitely correct her should she make a mistake. Slowly Stella approached the horse, making sure she left the petting to Kat. If she started to stroke his neck, she thought, it may confuse or alarm him. Her slowed movement was intended to give the horse the time to really see her before anything made contact with it's body. Once Stella had reached Sherlock's side she carefully tossed the blanket over the horse. Perhaps, she thought, blanket wasn't the right word. Despite the similarities, the fabric seemed much smaller once compared to the horses body. She tugged it down a bit, deciding it was a bit too high on the neck area, and carefully smoothed it across Sherlock's back. Notably, his tail seemed to twitch a bit, perhaps mildly frightened or stressed, but he didn't seem to make many large movements. A twitch here and there wasn't signs of failure, at least not ones Stella was willing to recognize as such. "Good job," she spoke softly to the horse as she made the finally adjustments to the saddle pad. "A very good job indeed." The small female backed a bit away offering Kat a smile and two thumbs up at her success as if the girl hadn't just watched the entire encounter. |
ajax.17 #85666 |
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Posted 2022-11-30 19:01:55 (edited)
Seth - Group One - He/himSeth vaguely heard Charlie's response. He waved nonchalantly with his hand in answer. He gave the mouse in the drawer a withering look before he shut it and kept searching the other drawers. But it was a fruitless search and so he turned to look around the room once more. Seth then got on his hands and knees and began to look under furniture in case it had been dropped or kicked somewhere by whoever had been there before them. Part of Seth wondered who exactly that had been but then again he really didn't care to know, whoever it had been he didn't know personally nor would he ever. What was in the past was the past right now was the present and he needed to stay focused. Something metallic and slightly rusted caught his attention from under a nearby cabinet. He reached out to grab it and cheerfully called out to Charlie once he realized what it was. "Charlie! I think I found it." Hopefully it was what they were looking for and not a key to something else. However if it wasn't the key they were looking for then maybe it could reveal more hidden surprises. Kat- Group Two- She/herKat looked over Stella's handiwork and smiled approvingly. "That looks about right, nice job." She said with a shy smile. She gave Sherlock another pat on the neck and echoed her friend's praise. "Good boy, Sherlock." As she watched moments previously, she couldn't help but notice that Stella seemed a little hesitant. She wondered if it was because the other girl didn't have a lot of experience with horses or if it was because she was nervous. Or perhaps even both reasons. Although Kat was not going to pester Stella with questions. |
Teen_Wolflover #49394 |
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Posted 2022-12-15 18:32:36 (edited)
Charlie - group 1 - they/themCharlie perked up at Seth's voice. Finally, they thought, a victory. It was quite easy for them to become negative in headspace with the climate of everything. As the whole "disease" had transpired, Charlie often found themselves dealt a short hand, but it had become less short since Seth had joined them. It was relieving, in a way, to have someone close but not close enough. A healthy, livable, workable distance they had once decided. "Finally!" The tall figure rose from their spot on the floor, dusting their hands on their pants. They couldn't figure out if the dust was coming off their hands onto the pants or the other way round, so they swapped to a few quick swipes of their hands across each other. Their heavy boots thudded as they made their way in Seth's direction, just enough to see if they could peek at him. "Anything else of interest or disgust?" Charlie feigned a youthful intrigue, offering a gentle chuckle as they shook from it, "All I found out was that the key used to be here. Oh, and that the boards they installed were cheap." Stella - group 2 - she/her"I don't know if I will be able to get the saddle on as nicely," Stella admitted. It was easy enough in theory, put it on Sherlock the same way it had been placed over the fence. However, the horse was a living, moving creature while the fence remained steady and inanimate. It wasn't until now that Stella had truly realized just how threatening the large figures of the horse could be, their actions potentially unpredictable. It was a lot of weight to through around especially at someone of small stature like herself. "Any tips? Maybe there's a step stool or something in the barn, maybe I should check," the girl rubbed the back of her neck, a bit embarrassed. |
ajax.17 #85666 |
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Posted 2022-12-30 11:46:51
Seth - Group Two - He/himSeth could hear the sound of Charlie's thudding boots and he looked up moments before he spotted them. "Nothing exciting, just a couple of mice, both dead and alive. Lots and lots of dust, so that is very exciting." Seth answered with mock cheerfulness. He looked Charlie up and down with one eyebrow raised questioningly. "What on Earth did you do? You look like you just rolled around in a dust storm." He reached for the key he had found and held it up for Charlie to see. "Think this might go to something important?" The young man wondered aloud, his head cocked to the side like a curious dog. Kat -Group 2 - She/herKat smiled reassuringly when she saw Stella rub her neck awkwardly. She trusted Sherlock enough not to move as she herself moved to gently nudge the other girl's shoulder. "A step stool could be useful if you think you can't reach. Otherwise I think you've got everything down just right." Kat answered, moving back to pat Sherlock's neck. It was then that she noticed his mane was rather tangled still, all of the horses were in no doubt in need of some proper grooming. Perhaps later once other chores had been done, she could find some time to tackle that task. |
Teen_Wolflover #49394 |
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Posted 2023-01-26 10:31:17
Charlie - Group 1 - They/themCharlie rolled their eyes, "I thought perhaps a dust bath would rid me of your lingering stench." They scrunched up their nose and looked away from Seth, turning back only to offer him a small chuckle. "Perhaps it'll go to the door, worth a shot at least right?" They tilted their head in the same way, offering the man a bright smile before turning back in the direction of the room she came from. The boots thudded and they brushed some of the dust from their clothes, now very aware of the dust that caked their clothes and skin. "I dug around on the floor after the boards gave, incase the key had somehow ended up on the floor." Charlie's tone was deadpan, finally giving him a real answer to his taunt. Stella - Group 2 - she/herStella nodded at Kat's suggestion, "There may be a stool in the barn, or at least something that will let me get up off of the ground a bit more. I wasn't ready for the real height of him I suppose." She offered a gentle laugh before heading off toward the barn in a light jog. The girl knew the barn pretty well, but she'd never thought much about climbing aid when she got onto tables, stands, and benches. Most of the typical methods of climbing were bolted or built into the barn, but she continued her search, rummaging ask quickly and quietly as possible. |
ajax.17 #85666 |