1x1 With AnnaCat17 and Echo!

[AnnaCat17]

Piper nodded and held Clara close but couldnt tear her gaze away from the spot.

Dash laid down in the grass beside them and quickly fell asleep, not caring about being soaking wet and covered in sand.

-next day-

By the time the other two woke up Dash was already awake and calculating what direction to head in. He was unable to get the radio to work, the water having destroyed it, but the few maps they had were still semi readable. He ran a hand through his curls as he tried to think, terrified of making the wrong choice.

Piper followed Iris quickly as she headed back up to tge surface, everyone having been bustling between the bunker and and the surface. "We can't just leave them there! As commander arent they your people too? You have to send a search party." She was baffled by iris' not caring but was desperate to have someone go find the crash site and tell her if caius had survived.

Iros ignored piper as she went about her business. "Only those who were in the bunker are my problem. We have to focus on rebuilding oir lives here on the surface and sending people off on a suicide mission is illogical. Anyone who tries to leavr the group without my permission will be killed."

Magnus lead his horse pulling a cart full of food and supplies into the ruins. He tried to ignore tge stares he got from the people as they looked at him in shock. As soon as he stopped several people hurried forward to take the gifts he was giving them causing him to quickly walk away from the cart and people, uncomfortable in the crowd.

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

"So much for not wanting to lead," Dalton growled, stalking after them. He hated how Iris was acting now. It reminded him of the time she closed the bunker door. Hate bubbled up in his chest as he glared at her.

Liah was crouching down in the grass, telling the twins something as they stared up at her with wide eyes. She kissed the the top of their heads and stood up, letting them play.

[AnnaCat17]

Piper's face turned red from rage and she reached out, grabbing hold of her shoulder to stop her. "We can't just leave them out there to die!"

Iris whipped around and struck Piper across the face causing her to fall to the ground. Clara, who had been trailing happily along behind them began to cry at the sight of her mother on the floor and toddled over to her, grabbing her sleeve as tears ran down her face. Iris glared down at Piper and her annoying child. "You will not question my decision, piper. I am doing what is best for our people. We survived this long without them we will continue to be fine without them. They are unnecessary and dead weight that would prevent us from rebuilding if we went after them."

Magnus looked around at the people uncomfortably, hating all of the noise that came with them. Once the cart was unloaded he walked over to his horse and made sure it was ok, preparing to leave. He had planned to try to find Liah and apologize but with all of the people around he was unsure he could handle the crowds.

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

Dalton shoved Iris against the wall, then crouched down beside Piper, wrapping his arms around her. He helped her up, worried, and he pulled Clara to him, holding her close as he murmured soothingly to her.

Mikah woke up, opening his eyes and staring at the sky above him. It wasn't a dream! They wee actually on the ground! He sat up excitedly, looking around. Caius was waking up and Dash was looking over maps. He smiled, taking a deep breath of the fresh air.

Liah glanced over at the crowd, her eyes meeting Magnus'. Hurt burned in her eyes and she looked away quickly, wrapping her arms around herself.

[AnnaCat17]

Piper held onto Dalton tightly as Clara cried. She glared at Iris but she had already walked away, deeming them unimportant. "What are we going to do?" She said to Dalton as she gently took Clara from him and tried to calm her down.

Dash looked over as they woke up and smirked. "Good morning sleeping beauties. We've got a long walk ahead of us so I hope you slept well." It was obvious from the dark rings around his yes that he hadn't gotten much sleep during the night but he tried to hide it from them. The fear of what lay ahead of them forced him to awake before the sun had even risen and kept him awake and frantically planning throughout the rest of the night.

Magnus saw her and immediately got a sad look on his face. He looked at his horse as he tried to think. He didn't even know what to say to her but knew if he ever wanted to try to be with her again he had to make an effort. He turned back towards her and walked over, his hands buried deep in his pockets. He stopped about a foot away from her, looking uncomfortable as people walked around them, all talking and working happily. "Can we... Can we talk?"

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

Dalton kissed Piper's head, wrapping his arm around her once she took Clara from him. "Let's go talk to Liah about it," he suggested. "We need to think."

Mikah smirked slightly, stretching. He glanced at the lake, but the ship had sank down. "Let's see those maps," he said, going over to Dash to examine them. "Have you figured out which way to go?"

Caius looked over at Dash worriedly, but didn't say anything. They just needed to get to the others.

Liah flinched slightly as he spoke, her heart aching at his voice. She wished that there was nothing going on between them, that it was like before. That they could just be a happy married couple reunited. "Yes," she said quietly without turning to look at him. She couldn't.

[AnnaCat17]

Piper nodded sadly and walked off with him as Clare wiped her tears off on Piper's shoulder and held tightly to her, not understanding why the adults were so angry and scared.

Dash looked at the water blurred maps but nodded. "We fell about a weeks walk east of them. As long as we keep up a good pace we should have enough rations to get them." He glanced at Caius, catching his worried look but not responding to it.

Magnus had hoped they could walk away from the crowd but didn't say anything, seeing that she was uncomfortable with his presence. "I just wanted to apologize for last night. I... I'm not used to all of this anymore." He swallowed nervously, his eyes constantly darting around them despite his best efforts to remain focused on her. "How.... how have you been?"

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

Dalton gently rubbed Clara's back, angry at Iris for scaring her and hurting Piper. He walked beside Piper and her daughter to find Liah, his arm around Piper, holding her close.

Mikah nodded, smiling. He looked over at Caius, feeling excited to get moving. They needed to get there as soon as possible. Caius was more worried about how long the trip was. "Let's go, then!" Mikah said enthusiastically, gathering their things together.

Liah didn't turn to look at him even as he spoke, not trusting herself to react good when she saw his face. She missed him desperately. "I missed---miss you a lot," she whispered. "I thought you were dead. Why are you like this?"

[AnnaCat17]

Pier stopped as she saw Magnus and Liah. It felt odd to see Magnus, everyone having all agreed that he was dead. "He doesn't look so well." She said softly to Dalton, noticing how scared he looked and how he almost seemed to grovel before Liah.

Dash nodded and quickly gathered their sand covered things before setting off across the desert.

Magnus swallowed, watching her sadly. He wanted to reach out and hold her in his arms but was unsure how to, terrified of how she would react, or how he would, to such an act. "I think night bloods are capable of absorbing radiation. I was really sick ad in a lot of pain for a long time but as the levels evened out and started to go down I just went back to normal... I.... I started to try to get you all out once I knew it was safe... Im sorry Liah." He muttered, unsure of what she was even referring to.

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

Dalton nodded in agreement. "Let's wait until they're done," he murmured, sitting down on a piece of rock. He held on to Piper, stroking her hair.

Caius and Mikah followed him, their packs on their backs. Caius couldn't help but think about the trip to the City of Light as they walked through the desert.

She finally turned to look at him, her arms tightly wrapped around herself. She trembled slightly, gazing up at him. "You were alone?" she asked softly. She felt bad for him, because being alone for years must have not been easy for him. She wanted to lean into his embrace, but she didn't want to scare him away like before.

Magi tottered up to Magnus, Lio following behind. She tugged on his pant leg, gazing up at him, her face in a frown.