✞ - 𝕴𝖙 𝕯𝖔𝖊𝖘𝖓'𝖙 𝕰𝖓𝖉 𝕳𝖊𝖗𝖊 O/A

[`silver]

SILVER BLACKWOOD | inside the record shop | tags: Kiren [Aria]

A slow drawing of breath followed by the shifting of clothing against fur signaled the return of consciousness to the girl that had once rested against her white wolf. The untroubled, youthful expression that softened her face was now replaced with that of a sleepy look, appearing more comical than anything else. Dark hair somewhat disheveled and framing her visage, dark brown eyes appearing nearly black in the lacking light but a yawn only confirming her slow awakening. She went to rub her eyes with her knuckles only to feel something shift around uncomfortably inside of her wrist, a harsh shudder passing through her as that dark look was now full of fear at the sight of her wrist being wrapped up. There was still a needle in her. It was then that she realized there were multiple others around her, the fear momentary as she steeled herself up almost immediately upon scanning the shaded area. She moved to sit, catching glimpses of Jackson with Dog remaining attached to his hip to then make note of the sound of a brush scraping against something. She pinched the bridge of her nose in a bit of irritation that she hadn’t realized Kiren had been standing some few feet away from her this whole time--brushing away at his equine companion. Kiba was swift to nudge her side roughly at the emotions he quickly caught coming from her as if to say that she didn’t have to be aware of everything around her at all times. The woman’s shoulders visibly relaxed in defeat as she sat cross-legged, her hands laying palm down in her lap as she watched the horse curiously. The mare was stoic, undeniably intelligent and she seemed to be enjoying the grooming being done to her despite the dog brush that her companion was using, it seemed. Kiren brushed her in a leisurely manner, the gentle strokes correlating with the benign air he gave off. He appeared to be lost in thought though, she noted, his focus not wholly on Aria.

Part of her didn’t want to bother him out of not being used to asking for help, even if it was for something small, but the other part of her really wanted the IV removed from her arm now that she had managed to drain the last of it’s contents throughout her slumber. The strengthening light from outside was beginning to brighten illuminated corners but also deepen shadows and judging by how the skies were being overrun by an azure blue, it must be later in the morning. Last night had felt eternal but she felt herself missing the interactions it had brought. She’d travelled solely with Kiba for all this time and now people were once again breaking through her floodgates, pushing through the cold exterior she offered to them to find a place in her heart she wouldn’t have remembered that she would’ve had should she not have decided to join Grayson’s group. It nearly felt as if she’d known them forever--or perhaps that was what she’d call the ‘irrational’ part of her heart attempting to create connections that she knew would slip through her grasp someday. Wishful thinking.

A huff sounding from Aria, wrenched her from her own thoughts and caused her to avert her eyes to a nearby patch of sunlight in realizing she had been staring at Kiren. Allowing herself to think of anything but how Kiba and her were going to get their next meal was odd. She could rest now, spend time with Kiba just scouting areas and come back with food to share with others rather than half-heartedly feeding it to herself and moving nomadically. Now she’d return to people like Jackson, Kiren and even Aisha. The woman’s reaction to her quick-witted words the prior night had been amusing to say the least. Her body had gone rigid if only for a heartbeat as if she hadn’t been expecting such a response before a smile crossed her face, their eyes locked until Silver had nonchalantly pulled away first to use the close moment to feed Aisha a peach wedge. She could’ve only imagined what Kiren had been thinking while witnessing their exchange. Silver sighed softly, wanting to lean back against Kiba and sleep the rest of the day away as a wave of exhaustion crashed over her. She couldn’t allow herself to become further caught up with others. “Kiren”, she murmured, her voice rough and holding a lower drawl than normal due to her having recently awoken, “Whenever you’re finished with Aria, could you remove this?” The woman spoke to him but her eyes were trained on the horse instead, her inner desire to pet the mare slipping out a little in the form of obvious interest. “Would it be too much to ask.. To pet her, as well?” A rush of embarrassment made her fumble with the collar of her mock neck top as her eyes focused on the ground again, feeling as if she were giving away too much already as her expression darkened a bit. It seemed like her nearly predatory aura was dampened when she was freshly awakened from deep slumber.

[FluffyBirdie]

Kiren Stewart | Lead Doctor | Location: record shop, inside| Tags: Silver

Kiren slowly moved his way towards Aria's rear, almost done with brushing one side. His mind was similarly moving slowly, absorbed in making the simple, repetitive movements of brushing, and occasionally cleaning out the brush into the small pile of hair forming near his foot. Hair was useful to start a fire, and he didn't want to create a mess so early in the day. As he continued his idle movements, he heard the rustle of movement behind him, and maybe for the first time since this apocalypse, he didn't flinch or make any attempt to investigate the sound or leave. Silver was behind him, she was likely waking up. Man, when had he last felt this relaxed? It was amazing, how knowing that this building was safe and had good people in it could lift one's mood. Even if no one openly said it, they had each other's back. Maybe they weren't at the stage of jumping in front of each other in defense, but he was certain they would at least warn the others of danger. Not that he wanted anyone leaping into harm. If anything, conflict should be avoided, though with Greyson's little armory of guns and crossbows, and everyone's predatory animals, that wasn't likely. His old lifestyle of fleeing had to be given up, if he wanted to join this group. That meant more risk and stress, as with conflict came the potential for injury, and death. Of others and himself. But somehow that felt better than just living a life on the run, alone. Even with Aria, he wasn't sure how happy he'd be without other people to talk to, banter with, argue over.

He became increasingly aware of the sensation of eyes on him, and looked over his shoulder, wondering if Silver needed something. She was looking at the ground though, did he imagine it? He turned back only to hear his name, this time seeing Silver look at Aria with interest. To her first question, he nodded, though he planned to help her first before finishing with Aria. She was clearly uncomfortable with needles, and he didn't want her to linger on the sensation in her arm for longer than necessary. At her second question and the unexpected embarrassment, he smiled, chuckling lightly to himself. It was nice, to see another expression besides the calm and focused one she had last night, even when waking up from a weakened state. He wasn't sure why exactly she was embarrassed though. He gave Kiba some pets without her permission, she could do the same.

"I think she'd be more than happy to get a few pats. She was nervous yesterday around all the changes and animals, but I think she's settled down a bit, and some friendly touch wouldn't hurt." As he looked at Silver, the bandages around the needle, and then at Aria and the brush, an idea came to mind. "How about I remove the needle, and you can finish brushing her? This side is done, you can brush the other side. I don't think you're the type to aggressively sweep with the brush, so it'd be fine." He walked as he spoke, and as he finished speaking, he leaned over, holding out the brush. He was planning to remove the needle before continuing anyway, and maybe letting her neaten Aria's fur would help reduce whatever embarrassment she felt about it.

[`silver]

SILVER BLACKWOOD | inside the record shop | tags: Kiren [Aria]

The moment her eyes caught the ground’s haphazardly paved surface was when she felt Kiren’s stars on her, fully aware of the questions they might’ve been flooded with. She tended to be easily distracted when sleepy—a fault she didn’t want to mention for risk of it being used to undermine her. She found herself wanting to know more about these people as if they’d be different from the rest she’d met from before the apocalypse. Another string of wishful thinking. Her requests slipped from her lips and it gave her a moment to look up Kiren, his smile igniting a flame in her eyes. Was he laughing at her because embarrassment was scrawled all over her normally steely face? Ridiculing her for exposing her weakness? No. Kiren was too genuine for that. She’d come to learn quickly enough that he didn’t share a bad bone in his body; his intentions were true like that of an outstretched hand wagering hope and promise rather than misguidance or a double-edged blade.

Silver could only nod at his words as she believed herself to not be in any position to make demands. She wanted to argue that she’d never groomed a horse, let alone even met one before in real life but Kiren had already cleared the distance between them, his hand offering her the makeshift tool he’d been using to wipe away Aria’s excess coat. It was some kind of dog brush fashioned to work for a horse. She seemed almost unsure when she took the brush into her possession with her non-dominant hand. The idea of harming Aria on accident sprang into her mind but with the way she’d seen Kiren scoring her coat, it didn’t appear to be too hard to do.

Kiren was swift to remove the IV that had made its home furrowed into her arm. All that was left in it’s wake was a fresh set of bandages that wrapped around the location where the needle had once punctured the inside of her wrist. Her shoulders visibly loosened as she breathed a quiet, relieved sigh before she stood up slowly so as to not startle Aria. She may have been less nervous than the night prior but she wasn’t going to risk stressing the ungulate out. “Thanks. Let me know if I do something wrong.” Silver nodded to Kiren as she stepped forward a bit, a little surprised at how much taller the mare was than she’d originally thought. The dark-haired woman’s eyes just barely reached above Aria’s shoulders. A bit of amusement flooded her heart as she offered the mare her hand to sniff, stroking her velvety muzzle if she allowed it in order to greet her and give up her scent so she could recognize her docile approach. “Nice to meet you Aria. I’m Silver and over there is Kiba,” she murmured, making sure to move to the side so that she was visible to her. “He won’t hurt you, I promise. I’m going to brush you now though, alright?”

Silver spoke as if Aria could speak to her, moving only when the mare offered soft huffs or slow blinks of uncanny understanding. She definitely was attempting to earn her trust and despite her lack of physically being able to interact with horses, she knew enough to remain in their line of sight when introducing yourself to them. One way to get a horse to hate you would be to approach from behind—something she was obviously avoiding. Slipping around to the side Kiren hadn’t begun brushing, she mimicked his efforts from before by gently finding purchase in her neck, giving the sinewy area a few strokes as she stuck a bit closer to Aria while still keeping herself in view of the mare should she turn her head a little to look at Silver.

[lynettetan1]

Aisha Innez
Location: Record shop
Feeling: Rested, hopeful, tentative
Tagged: Kiren (Aria), Silver (Kiba)
Mentioned: Jackson (Dog), Riki

As the gentle morning rays turned to more of a heated glare, Aisha leaned back unto her backpack, putting on a pair of sunglasses to help with the intensity. In contrast, Eve stretched out on the patch of sunlight that hit the roof, muscles loosening in relaxation at the warmth and energy.

Looking down, Aisha found herself observing the fried zombies from yesterday. From them and the mutilated zombies from when she'd found the large group, it was clear to Aisha that she'd stumbled upon a group that was much better suited to combat than she was, even if she didn't count the animals. What she was trying to figure out, was what was linked to who.

If their powers were linked to exertion, then the frying had definitely been by Silver, which would probably be something like fire? Lightning, perhaps? It certainly would fit her personality. What of the mutilated ones, then? Maybe Grayson, with how he was blind, but what exactly the other's powers consisted of she couldn't tell. Did they all have powers? What of Jackson, then? Or Jasper? Both males looked muscled, though Jackson did seem like more of a fighter, if she was to judge with physique.

And did Kiren have a power? Would it have anything to do with healing?


"Some of them woke up." Eve hissed, and Aisha looked in the direction of the stairs, wondering who it was. Would it be Jackson, with how he'd wanted to go search for the stranger? (That was yet another worry, but Aisha forced herself to calm down. Some people weren't morning people, and the stranger had been exhausted.) There hadn't been any sudden movements around town, so there probably wasn't any trouble anywhere-if she were to be honest with herself, she'd been scouring the streets, trying to hear for any sources of commotion, any hint that the stranger might be less than okay. But she'd spotted nothing, and it was getting hot, and Aisha just had to resign herself to the fact that the stranger was probably sleeping in.

Still, she couldn't quite stop herself from worrying, which was probably why Eve had taken the time to say something.

Not having great senses of hearing, Eve 'heard' more via vibrations in the floor, and saw with heat signatures, so Aisha had been shocked when the snake had first spoken. It definitely wasn't normal, but Aisha couldn't say if it was a bonded animal thing or if it was due to their power being sound manipulation. She had found the ability to center her powers round Eve, after all, and when they had been playing around with ventriloquism-Aisha had been making Eve sound like a nerdy comedian-, the snake had replied, startling them both.

The mamba cycled between voices, usually settling on a deep, feminine voice that sounded more thoughtful than anything else. Still, they usually understood each other without the need for speech on Eve's end, so Aisha ruffled her hair nervously. "Sorry, were you trying to signal me?" Eve turned away silently, but that was message enough.

Running her fingers over the other's smooth scales, Aisha leaned down, brushing her lips gently over the other's forehead. "Thanks, Eve." She whispered softly, before standing and hefting the bag, making her way down. Eve stayed, apparently wanting to absorb more sun before she would be hidden under clothes once more.

Stepping down the stairs, Aisha was greeted with the welcome sight of Kiren and Silver both being awake. Having awoken first (out of the humans, anyway, she was quite sure at least Aria had been awake, and had waved to the equine before going up the stairs), she'd partly wanted to watch the sun rise, and had found it a bit awkward to watch the others sleep. Personally she felt they'd all looked pretty cute, but given that they didn't know her before that day, it seemed a little too vulnerable, and so she'd given them all some space.

Neutralising her power, Aisha gently rapped on the wall so they'd know she entered. "Good morning." She greeted softly, silently placing her bag on the floor so as not to wake anyone. "The both of you look better."

She meant it too. Silver seemed sleepy, but vibrant, as if there was a wakefulness to her. Kiren seemed like he was in a great mood too, seeming a lot more relaxed than yesterday. But then again, that was to be expected. Yesterday had been a hectic day.

Looking around curiously, Aisha spotted Jackson still asleep, and smiled at the sight of him sleeping so soundly. It really was cute watching people safe and together. Shrugging, she looked back at the other two, coming closer and expanding her powers so it was around the three of them and she could talk without waking the others. "Eve told me that some of us were waking, so I came down to check it out since I promised Jackson I'd go search for... the person with the bat. But I think we can afford to wait a little." She once more at the others in the room. "In these times, it feels good to let others sleep in."

As she did so, she caught sight of the records and a record player close by, and an idea came to her. They probably didn't know her powers were being used, nor that it was currently around them. Most others who first met her usually just assumed that she just had very quiet movements, and she often didn't correct them. But being in a group like this on such a great morning, Aisha was filled with a sort of fulfilled contentment that she wanted dearly to share. As such, looking at Kiren and then Silver with a secretive excitement, Aisha grinned, her hand causally gesturing to the records. "Do either of you miss any specific songs?"

[FluffyBirdie]

Kiren Stewart | Lead Doctor | Location: record shop, inside| Tags: Silver, Aisha

Kiren had been slightly afraid she would refuse to brush Aria, and return to being the cool-headed person from yesterday. Maybe she was embarrassed because she was requesting something? Silver seemed to be someone who was extremely independent, never asking for any help (or anything at all), and perhaps one who preferred to form shallow connections. If she did reject his unspoken offer to be friendlier with Aria, what should he do?

Luckily that bridge didn't have to be crossed, as she tentatively took the brush from him. Happy she wasn't jumping into being stone-faced just yet, he moved to her side, unwrapping some bandages to get to the needle. He quickly but carefully removed the metal, knowing she was very uncomfortable with it, but also not wanting it to shift in her arm and upset her more. Her fear for the sharp object must be pretty strong, for someone like her to be so visibly tense and then relaxed at its disappearance. Kiren folded the needle away within some scrap paper from the floor, thinking to hide it away first for Silver's sake before disposing of it somewhere. He could just throw it outside really, as everywhere was a garbage bin now. As he tucked the bundle into a pocket, he watched Silver and Aria interact, marveling at how well she knew what to do. He was definitely not as careful as her the first time he met Aria, only knowing how horses looked like and nothing else. Those first few meetings were quite the disaster.

Kiren walked over to lean his arms on Aria's back, watching the other woman move the brush gently. The mare huffed contently, moving slightly to look at Kiren, then at Silver and back to him, as if telling him to take notes. "I can't believe you were worried about doing something wrong, Silver. You're going to replace me as her owner at this rate." He chuckled, shaking his head. As he did so he heard a knock by the staircase, looking to see Aisha standing by it. So she was upstairs then, perhaps looking over the city for danger, or for that other stranger. "Morning to you too. I don't think Jackson's awake yet, but as you said, it feels good to sleep in. Have you been awake for a while?" He was slightly surprised as the topic of music came up, though they were in a record shop so he really shouldn't be. Aisha looked excited as she gestured towards the record player, maybe she was eager to use it? He hadn't seen one before, and they had discs around them, so maybe they could try and use it. "I can't think of any songs that might be in a record off the top of my head. What's an old band, the Beetles?" Most of the discs were still on the shelves, as a shop like this wasn't the first target for looters. If it was sorted alphabetically, they could find something they knew.

[`silver]

SILVER BLACKWOOD | inside the record shop | tags: Kiren [Aria], Aisha

Aria’s slight panning caught Silver by a bit of surprise, watching as the equine’s dark eye flicked between her and Kiren whom now rested his arms against the mare. “I guess.. That’s a bad thing?” She tilted her head at Kiren, looking almost genuinely confused before her slow startup turned into one of realization as she shook her head to herself; a delayed but amused scoff leaving her. She had forgotten what it had been like to be teased. In her mind, she honestly was scared of hurting the mare more than anything else, believing that if she didn’t take great care in her movements that Aria would be startled or harmed. Even with such a large animal, the worry still struck her heart. The brush glided over Aria’s shoulder now with her hairs scattered along their feet. Silver had just squatted down to gently get at the ungulate’s legs when Aisha’s light knocking sounded, forcing the dark-haired woman to peer at the other from Aria’s underbelly. She’d wanted to mention that Aisha had looked just as rested as them but Kiren was swift to voice the shared opinion, allowing Silver to simply nod as her attention fixated on tending to Aria again; her rigid expression beginning to bubble up to the surface the longer she remained conscious.

The sensation of a veil being placed over them made Silver shudder as she heard Aisha stepping forward. Kiba’s eyes blazed open as he watched the woman close the distance between herself and that of Silver, Kiren and Aria, with some kind of field vibrating like heat manifesting strongly around her. Silver glanced to him as if expecting some kind of answer as she raised herself back up from working at Aria’s legs but when he didn’t move a muscle, she relaxed and started at what she could reach of the mare’s backside.
The fact that Aisha could speak to Eve piqued a bit of her interest though, she noted, wondering now what other abilities the both of them seemed to possess. Did Eve exaggerate her “s” sounds like all snakes would in children’s books and movies? The question was tossed around in her mind until Aisha mentioned music, thinking it might be too stupid of an inquiry. “Or maybe some type of jazz.” Silver offered quietly, almost as if she didn’t want to be heard as she murmured the words whilst having to stand on her tippy-toes in order to fully finish Aria’s backside. The familiar burn of embarrassment from before threatened to come to light in voicing her preference in which she ducked back behind the mare, brushing with a little more attention to her sides. The concept of music reminded her about another curiosity--were there perhaps any instruments hidden around the shop? The possibility of them having been stolen was high but maybe there were a few still salvaged somehow.

[lynettetan1]

Aisha Innez
Location: Record shop
Feeling: Rested, hopeful, tentative
Tagged: Kiren (Aria), Silver (Kiba)
Mentioned: None

The both of them had looked up curiously at her knock, Silver quickly returning tot the task she had at hand. It had been something she noticed before, but Silver seemed most at home around all the animal companions. It was something she seemed to share in common with the stranger with the bat (well, as long as Eve wasn't concerned), and it was an interesting tidbit to shelf away.

At Kiren's words, Aisha shrugged. "Not too long, but I do like watching the sun rise. It's pretty, and kind of like, one of the few things that always stays the same, you know?"

So, the beatles and jazz? There would definitely be some of those around here somewhere. Aisha nodded thoughtfully, flashing the both of them a smile before her control snapped back to herself for a moment. She only really expanded it when she needed to talk to others, and even then usually just nullified her own abilities, but this morning was an exception, with all the people sleeping and everything.

Soundlessly, she moved over to the records, lifting the case easily. There were certain perks of being a kleptomaniac, and being able to get into anything was definitely one of them. Instinctively, her hands hovered above the records as she perused through them, almost looking as if she was running a finger over them all. If one looked closely, however, she touched everything as little as possible, though her hands so close they almost touched the items. There was always something about picking things in a shop that made her excited, even though technically there was no one to pay now.

Finding a few of the records that fit the bill, Aisha lifted them out of their casings neatly, collecting about 3 or 4 records. Not too many, after all, she didn't want to tire herself out before the day even started. As she was picking up one of them, however, the fleshy parts of one of her finger stung a little, making her pause and stare at it almost curiously. Oh, right. She was still burnt.

Forcing herself to keep that in mind, she tucked the records under her arm before closing the case, scurrying over to the record player. She'd done this with Eve many times, after all, making a bubble of sound where she imitated various things or tried to hum songs that she remembered, but it was quite another thing to have an actual record.

As she set up the player, Eve slithered down the stairs, having sensed the excitement in her movements. Climbing up Aisha's leg easily to rest on her torso, the mamba stared curiously at the record, and Aisha used a knuckle to gently rub the other's jaw. "This is a first for you too, right?" She asked the snake silently, before slowing her movements so the other could see exactly what she was doing as she placed the record upon the point.

Blowing a little of the dust off, Aisha concentrated for a moment, letting her ability spread out a little bit. Not too large, but perhaps the size of her bike so that all three of them- and Aria and Kiba, if they pleased- could stand around comfortably. Once that was done, she gently placed the needle upon the disc, and looked at the others, crossing her fingers.

Then, she let go.

The needle scratched across the disc a little at first, a pleasant tickle of sound that perked the ears. After a moment, the starting beats of the song started, and Aisha grinned. Success! Enthralled, Eve shifted closer to the speaker, as if trying to figure out how it worked as she swayed slightly to the beat.

Aisha turned toward the others, and then remembered they weren't inside her field yet. How strange it must have been for them, to see the needle clearly touch the record, yet for no sound to be heard. Giving them a smile, she beckoned them closer with a hand, humming along to the beat. "Slowly." She said, saying the word itself slowly so even if they couldn't hear her, they could read her lips. It was always a bit of a stunner when one first experienced it, after all, to hear nothing, then to step closer and then hear sound like it was always there, instead of a gradual rise and fall, and she didn't want them to get startled. It was a nice morning, and some music always brightened her mood.

[☪ℓυηαя∂яσρ☪]

Tags: Aisha, Silver, Kiren
Rikimaru stepped out onto the street, their feet meeting the ground in delicate steps, heel first. Squinting as their eyes still had to adjust to the light, Rikimaru surmised that it was probably about noon- the sun from behind the clouds was pretty much straight up. They ruffed their collar forward, the sides curling to hover over their pale cheeks. Tucking the brim of their hat down a little tighter to block more of the sunlight, Riki gave a tiny huff and took to the street, hugging the building sides and checking each corner before they passed. They didn't hear much of anything- save for a few undeads past the alleyway where Riki had jury-rigged a Molotov carbomb the other day. The explosion probably didn't kill all of them, but it had done its job.
Rolling their neck to a crescendo of painful pops, Rikimaru regarded the fuzzy little bear in their hands as they walked. It was a nice gesture, if completely unexpected. But surely Aisha would want it back. Besides, Riki didn't want to be responsible for it if it got lost or damaged. Tucking it back under an arm, Riki eventually made their way to the building the group had decided to inhabit. Yawning widely, Riki shook their body a little to try and jolt themself awake. With a last stretch, Rikimaru ducked inside the record shop and made to ascend. Though as they did so their eye was caught by movement near the back of the store. Of course-Aisha's powers were likely running, so those heartbeats on the roof weren't the only people here.
Peering around a shelf for a better look, Rikimaru caught wind of three other people. Aisha and two others that Riki couldn't identify. They were circled around a record player, and Rikimaru watched with round eyes as they noticed the player was running. So the muteness was active over there, understood. But, could they in any way approach the group without causing alarm? They couldn't well just call out to them, and any small noise they did deem safe enough to use to get their attention would likely be drowned out by the record they were listening to.
Should they even interrupt in the first place? It's not a very easy thing to do, to walk up to a bunch of people already having fun in a conversation and just try to insert yourself in there. Rikimaru grimaced slightly- that had been a large reason they had never been able to make any friends in university. When everyone already had a conversation partner, who would want to be interrupted so some random person could barge in?
And so Rikimaru did what they sometimes did back then; they approached the group and slowly sat down nearby. They sat close enough so that they could hear the music and conversation, but they sat out of the way so that their approach wouldn't be immediately spotted. If they could just slowly assimilate themself into the crowd, maybe someone will go to mention them or ask them something. That was Riki's best plan, awkward and embarrassing as it was. They sat neatly, with the brim of their cap down and eyes simply focused on the record player so none of the group would feel Riki's eyes on them.

[FluffyBirdie]

Kiren Stewart | Lead Doctor | Location: record shop, inside| Tags: Silver, Aisha, Riki

Kiren paused for a bit at Silver taking his statement seriously, wondering if he should explain the joke or just build on it and say that it wouldn't be bad. Her confused expression was quite amusing though, as well as her delayed huff of laughter, and he wondered if her seriousness from yesterday was how she is normally, or if she was just on extra guard because of all the new faces. He hoped it was the latter, since seeing her this relaxed was calming somehow, to him.

"Watching the sun rise? That's pretty early. Though I have to agree there aren't a lot of nice constants left." He nodded. Even the weather can be wack sometimes, with sudden storms appearing from a clear sky or a hail of ice during a warm day. Mutated animals and plants, zombies, unpredictable weather and powers. What a perfect movie setting, though this unfortunately wasn't fictional. Aisha, with their suggestions, vanished to find a record she was happy with, and Kiren turned to check on Silver, standing a bit taller to look for her over Aria as she appeared to have ducked down. She was moving the brush with a lot of care, and Kiren watched her wordlessly for a moment before speaking. "Have you worked with horses before? You seem pretty experienced. If you'd like to, you can brush her whenever you want, no need to ask for permission or anything. Aria definitely wouldn't mind since you're doing pretty well. Just raid that bag, it's where I keep the brush." He pointed at the open bag nearby to confirm that was indeed the one he was talking about.

He briefly checked to see where Aisha was as he finished speaking, seeing her already by the record player, and was that Eve looking at the player too? Kiren was fairly sure Eve wasn't with Aisha moments before, so she must have slithered down just then. He wished his back wasn't facing the stairs, he really wanted to see how a snake moved down a staircase. The first thing he could think of were videos of dogs sliding jerkily down stairs, which then made him imagine Eve straightening out and sliding down in a similar fashion, like a stick. He couldn't help a quiet giggle at the absurd imagery, and if Eve or Aisha had a mind-reading power, he might just be dead later today because he was being so disrespectful.

Movement from Aisha made him focus on what was actually in front of him, properly distracting him from his thoughts as the player appeared to be functional, and the record was spinning. But it must be broken? It wasn't playing any sound. Aisha gestured for them to approach, mouthing a word rather than saying it, and with a bit of confusion, Kiren approached, wondering what was happening. Like he had suddenly crossed a threshold, he could hear music playing, clearly from the record player. He threw a glance at Silver to see if she was experiencing the same thing. Aisha looked quite comfortable and happy, so perhaps this was her power? He took a step back, before stepping forward again, hearing the music cut off and return as he did so. A grin spread across his face, feeling a bit giddy as it was the first time he experienced someone else's powers. "Hey this is cool! Like a sound barrier power?" He would say it was an unexpected power, but then again having powers at all was unexpected. But being able to muffle sound, now that was quite useful, with zombies that are particularly attracted to noise.

With his mind very occupied by hearing music again, he almost missed Aria shifting uneasily and moving closer to get his attention. She was quite stressed, which snapped him out from zoning out to the nice beat, instead scanning their environment to see what made her so panicked. What's out of place, what's new, who freaked her out? Finally paying attention to his surroundings also made him more aware that the smell of 'outside', compared to the dusty smell of the interior, was stronger too. The windows were gone, and Aisha just came from the roof, but it was still more obvious. When his eyes settled on a human figure, he jumped, not expecting anything to be so close. He thought something was coming in, not just sitting right there! Kiren was about to shout a warning before recognition and sense kicked in, seeing it was the stranger from before, and that they weren't in a threatening stance. Actually, they were sitting quite peacefully, looking at the music player. But they still managed to get so close without anyone reacting, which was both impressive, and frightening. "Oh my god, you scared me to death." He laughed, sitting down with a hand on his heart. It was like every muscle in his body had flinched, and he could still feel his heartbeat soaring through the roof. He gave a reassuring wave to Aria, who only flicked her ears in response, still watching the black-clad figure with caution. "I think your stranger with the bat found us instead, Aisha."

[`silver]

SILVER BLACKWOOD | record shop | tags: Kiren [Aria], Aisha | mentions: [Eve], Rikimaru

Silver couldn’t help but spare a few glances towards Aisha, especially when Eve had slithered her way down the stairs somehow and was now slipping back onto Aisha herself as the woman began tinkering with a record player. It’d be interesting to hear music again for sure as it had been a constant part of her life in helping her through the obstacles she’d had to jump through perpetually. Kiba for once seemed uninterested in the player--most likely due to the fact that he just couldn’t hear anything from where he laid across the room from them. With a quiet exhale, Silver straightened up in having finished grooming her side of Aria. Relief momentarily flooded her as she took the breather, remembering the nervousness she’d felt in brushing at the mare’s legs simply due to the fact that she hadn’t wanted to hurt her. “I’ve actually never met a horse before. I just really don’t want to hurt her.” She admitted quietly, not meeting Kiren’s gaze as she gently stroked Aria’s side. It was much softer than before now that the extra hairs had been brushed away. She looked to Aria’s face when he mentioned that she’d done well as if for confirmation. “Fair enough. Thank you, Kiren.” The woman took a moment to look at him now, appearing to be a bit more awake than before now that she flashed him a small grin of what appeared to be excitement. It was a small trickle of emotion peering out of her stony shell that was swiftly replaced by that cooler exterior once again as Aisha beckoned them to the music player.

Moving slowly once again so she wouldn’t startle the mare, Silver made her way to Aria’s front, giving her snout a brief pat before placing the makeshift horse brush into the open bag Kiren had pointed out. Maybe once the mare needed some extra TLC she’d pitch in again. It would’ve been better if she could see clearly at night like Kiba so she could brush her without Kiren noticing but horses were probably to be left alone when there was no longer any sunlight. They were technically prey animals so Aria was bound to become stressed or anxious unless it was Kiren himself brushing her at night. Soft melodies of an unknown tune greeted her ears in a way that she halted the moment she hit the edge of Aisha’s widened invisible range. Brushing her hands together a bit to clear away any stray horse hairs, she soon shoved them into her pockets as she quietly took in the music. Her expression had hardened once again but her eyes told a different story for once, appearing nearly black as her mind was focused elsewhere. The ability Aisha held was in accordance to creating an actively sound or soundless space, Silver noted amongst other thoughts that came rushing back with the music. A mass of emotions she hadn’t expected hit her all at once and she felt her breath catch a bit until Kiren’s excited words had her glancing over in his direction. It was then that she noticed Kiba hadn’t followed her over to the space.

Kiba’s ears swiveled upon noticing movement paired with a familiar scent, his amber gaze settling on the figure whom had taken a seat close by. The white wolf shook out his fur before slowly heading over to Rikimaru, mimicking Silver’s slowness from earlier so as to not scare Aria until he neared the darkly clad human and sniffed at their hat happily. His tail wagged a bit just as Kiren jumped, alerting Silver whom snapped her head towards his direction before quickly focusing on Kiba whom stood somewhat in front of a sitting human. How had she not heard them? Her eyes blazed with indecipherable emotions as she bore down on Rikimaru, pondering if she should do something. Kiba was definitely fine considering his tail was giving her all the information she needed but nonetheless, she couldn’t trust that human. Kiren had been jerked into action to the point that he now sat on the ground in recovery. Should she have not known any better, she would’ve gone over and patted him on the head out of reassurance but she resisted the idea and instead focused on what he had called this new person. Aisha’s ‘stranger’ that apparently had a bat as a companion? That meant this person had powers just like them. If they were capable of being as soundless as Aisha, just what else could they do? Silver bit back a low growl of frustration, the music suddenly becoming overwhelming for some reason as those emotions came bubbling back up to the surface. What was this called again? Anxiety. Silver couldn’t stop herself from stepping out of the range of the music, turning around to stalk off and take shelter behind Aria where she had been only minutes ago brushing away at the mare’s coat. She had forgotten about the feelings music ignited in her if she allowed her mind to stray as well as how long it had been since she’d been around so many new people. She had to admit that she hadn’t been prepared for Rikimaru’s sudden appearance whatsoever either.