1X1 - Ineffable Woes and FWR

[Ulabryn]

||No worries! I know the feeling, but I think I'm pulling through, fingers crossed! Quality over quantity and you have quality! ||

Lissy was simply checking for any cuts or burns, her gaze often confused or made people uncomfortable, though she often did not notice, it was her job to look after people and there was a growing shortage of people. She was somewhat taken aback at his comment, though she smiled softly, ready to speak, though it faltered as he stood to leave. "Important meeting after your coffee?" She asked, trying to be a little jesting, it seemed like forever since she had last had a conversation, or even company, and she was disappointed that it was so fleeting. "I've got water and food, if that would keep you longer, I'd really appreciate a little company." Honesty was the best policy and there it was, honesty.

[anvil]

((Thank you! :) You do, too.))

The add-on to the "joke" he made earlier changed his mind. This woman can talk. "Yeah, that would be nice." Jonathan accepted the offer and sat his bottom right down. Some company in this deserted wasteland stops insanity. He wouldn't even mind if a 11-year-old troll hitched on to his journey. Anything to keep his mind occupied as he logs another 50 thousand steps. Extra water and food could make his days more enjoyable. His canteen was lacking some water. Lake Huron was how many kilometres away? "But could we do something while we talk? I just want to do something to help my chance of survival, y'know?" he proposed and gritted his teeth. His eyes scanned the piles of debris around them. Life of a scavenger. Trying to find food while strong rays of sunlight burn your eyes. The shade of the restaurant helped somewhat, but the humidity and sweat that clung to his grimy tan skin reminded him yet again of the unfortunate circumstances.

[Ulabryn]

||thank you! ||

As the man had sat down, her smile widened, she was certain she was borderline of losing her mind entirely. Loneliness was a special kind of madness and she had not been used to it before the world went to hell, pushed into a cavalcade of new things that had been extremely stressful, but she had managed. She was still alive, that counted for something these days. "Well, my plan was to sew my coat up and sort out a.. uh... burn on my shoulder." With a brief pause between her words, she raised a brow as she looked over at him. "Have you got any injuries?" She couldn't see anything looking over him, so thought it best to ask. If she could help one person this week, it would give her the motivation to move along to Lake Huron, her final destination as it were, the one place where people would have a chance of surviving this nightmarish heat.

[anvil]

((I haven't given you much to work with. I'm planning on having Jonathan meet something or someone hostile for a bit of action. Maybe a gang? Sorry. Lake Huron/Georgian Bay is quite close to Owen Sound. I was thinking their destination is Arviat, Nunavut or Northern Manitoba near Hudson Bay, which is 2,000 km away and takes about a month to walk to. I don't know if you want it to be that long, though. They could travel up the Bruce Peninsula to Tobermory (100 km), still Lake Huron.))

Jonathan simpered, this young lady asked about his well-being right after admitting her own injury. He raised an eyebrow, flummoxed in a good way "I think you should first fix up the burn on your shoulder. I'm fine. My hope in humanity has been restored, because of you." Unless she was finding my weaknesses so she could exploit it. His eyes narrowed, he trusted this woman now, but how had she survived all this time? Was she a doctor? Expert survivalist? Conwoman? Did she abandon her group? He would get these answers when the sun set, when he wouldn't have to work. He stood up and hefted the heavy hiking backpack onto his shoulders. "I'll be back." he mumbled while exiting the Tim Hortons. As soon as he stepped outside, he felt the full intensity of the ray's beams. It was stuffy inside, but he wanted to run back in right now. He lifted his arm up to shield his eyes from some of the blinding light and began walking down the street.

[Ulabryn]

|| That sounds like a decent plan, action is always useful. With a nurse not too far away, also useful. Ooh, okay. I don't mind how long it is. Wherever you think would be the best place is, I'm up for. A month gives them time to get used to company and working alongside someone else, 'cause they've both been kinda lone rangers for a while.||

As the man spoke, Lissy was going through her rucksack, pulling out a dirty grey roll of fabric, placing it onto the table. As well as a glass bottle half-filled with a clear liquid, and a smaller bottle full of a light green ooze. She glanced up as Jonathon stood up and her brow furrowed a little, the company was short lived that was certain. Though, it would give her the privacy to sort out her shoulder and bandage herself up without worrying about being indecent. "Well, I will be here for some time if you need any injuries seeing to. I've got to make more progress at night, it's easier to move in the lesser heat of the evenings." She watched him leave and shook her head softly, unrolling the material to show the variety of surgical and sewing needles and equipment she had, having it within the roll, usually kept it cool enough to use, to not cause more of an injury. She took out a smaller sewing needle and wrapped the other items back up and returned them to the bag.

[anvil]

xxxxxThe heat of cracked asphalt was felt by the bottom of his feet. The soles of his runners were pretty slick now, worn out by mileage. Jonathan had switched from hiking boots to running shoes when his feet started to suffocate and slip. He underestimated the importance of good shoes and how much walking he would be doing. The day he switched to scandals is the day the temperature isn't scorching 40 degrees Celsius. Dry wind blew around plastic packaging and other trash that led to the stifling atmosphere. Bodies were still in their cars, baked until crispy. Every swarm of flies marked a corpse. His neoprene gloves pinched his nose as he passed a traffic intersection. Many accidents had occurred, evident by the pieces of scrap metal and shattered glass. No electricity to power the traffic lights.

xxxxxScanning down broken storefronts, most of the displays were already stripped bare. Knocked over mannequins, some decapitated or missing a few limbs. Worse than Black Friday. Jon turned a corner before spotting five burly men marching down the street. A handgun could be seen on one's hip, the others wielding makeshift weapons: baseball bats and crowbars. One of them even held a chain, as if they were going to strangle anybody with that. Dressed in leathers and brandishing skull tattoos, they formed a gang. "What's that lil' rascal doing there?!" one of them shouted and pointed a finger. Soon, they were all running towards the young man. Doing the rational thing, he turned back and ran, but the weight of a full backpack slowed him down a good deal. Jonathan let out a strained yell for help "HELP! LISSY! GAN—". He tripped over someone's broken bumper on the road and scraped his elbows. The fall let the gang to catch up to him. He unsheathed his hunting knife and got on his knees.

xxxxxChain-man was first, swinging the metal links over Jon's head to take advantage of his fallen state. His attempt to garrote failed, it caught his chin. Jon countered with an elbow to the gut, grimacing as the skin on his elbows were still bleeding. It only stunned the beefy man for a second, but it allowed enough time for Jon managed to get up and face him. With his opponent on his feet, the gang member decided to lash the chain like a metal whip. Jon stumbled back to get out of the chain's range. Unfortunately, two others joined the man. Black serrated knife pressed against his hip and left hand in front, Jon recollected what he learned from karate lessons he took when he was 8. "Scared, preppy boy?" a man with a shaven head taunted, the men jeered, prepared to give him a good beating.

[Ulabryn]

||I've tried my best, I hope that this is keeping up with my attempts of quality in my previous replies. I'm on medication to help now, so fingers crossed my brain starts working again! ||

The woman gave a shrug as the man had left her to her own devices, carefully threading her needle and knotting the end. Her coat required some repairs, mostly to keep her covered. It was fortunate she had such a light, summer coat with her as the planet had begun to burn up. The length was useful for allowing a little more protection on her legs from the overheated rays of the sun, though it was beginning to reach it's peak of use, falling apart at the seams from the times of use. Though she may repair the seams, she would need to find some other material to properly repair it and keep it going for several more years. She had made several tight stitches along the right side seam as a shout had echoed in the dry emptiness this town had become. She vaguely made out her name, having been lost in her thoughts. The sound was a panicked one and she pulled the needle out and tied the stitches, to leave them as they were.

Pulling her half-mended coat on, and her huge hiking rucksack over her shoulders, wincing as the straps knocked against the untreated burn. She pulled the pocket knife from her jeans pocket and flicked it open as she slowly stepped out towards the window from her comfortable seat. She narrowed her eyes to see through the brightness of the sunlight and was able to make out several figures, one she recognised as the man she had met mere minutes ago, the others quite obviously were not friendly, going on the fact they were clearly armed. With little experience of fighting, and no wish to, Lissy was reluctant to move from her hidden spot, but she realised the likelihood would be that she was going to be found anyway. So she stepped out and took quick, forced paces towards the group, pocket knife firmly in her right hand, though it was not obvious with the long sleeves of her coat. "Hey!" Reasoning was a strong suit of hers, having been in her profession, convincing people to find an even ground of agreement was a talent she possessed. "Wait." She found herself a few steps away from Jon, and her hesitance was obvious, but she was going to try anyway. "Can we not trade our way past this place? I have some items that you might... find far more useful than wasting energy in hurting us." It was not just her tone that was peaceful, but the way she spoke seemed calming, another talent that had gained her a positive reputation in her workplace. Though, the world was different now, she had to be prepared to defend herself, which she was, but she didn't fancy her chances in this situation..

[anvil]

((It's perfect. Again, no rush. Take the spotlight. You could roleplay the NPCs, too. I imagine them as a tough biker gang.))

"Hey! Wait. Can we not trade our way past this place? I have some items that you might... find far more useful than wasting energy in hurting us."

Lissy's peacemaking voice calmed Jonathan a bit. The sight of her fiery red hair and the unpatched coat put a small smile on his face. The effect it had on the angry men in front of them was unknown. Her attempt for a treaty was stamped out by the supposed leader, the man with the handgun. "Why don't we kill you then take your stuff?" stating his own logic. His subordinates followed, taking several steps forward and prepping for the fight to come. Five to two. Unfair, but they had sharp tools, they had blunt ones. When did bruises ever kill anyone? Jon's grip on the knife tightened. The loner appreciated her coming to the rescue, despite her meeting him only a few minutes earlier. "Brace yourself." he warned Lissy. His body mimicked the position the ninjas took before a battle. He swayed back and forth, light on his feet. Shoot. I don't remember anything after this. Chain-man who he had faced earlier was obviously the least intelligent and charged at him, performing the swinging tactic again. Jon swiftly ducked, knowing what was coming and slit his neck in one smooth motion. Blood spurted from the carotid arteries, spilling onto the hot ground and turning into dark brown stains. Before the young man could realise he killed someone, one of the dead man's buddies swung his baseball bat square in his head, knocking him to the ground.

[Ulabryn]

||Okie dokie. Yeah, that was the image you made come to mind in writing them! ||

The response from the gang did not surprise Lissy, but it certainly made her stop and think. Her eyes fell upon them and she briefly watched them as the cogs in their minds seemed to be an audible whir, she understood the aggression and viciousness of the way things had turned these particular men into fighters, that used their intimidating forms to get what they wanted. She took a step back at Jon's words and watched as the bulkier one of the three had charged at him, her hand coming to her mouth and her head briefly turned away at the scene that overcame her. She turned back to see the bat wielding chap come at her newfound friend and she shouted at them to stop. She pulled her backpack from her shoulders as she came to the side of the deceased man, and straddled it, for the sake of attempting to keep it safe from these bullies. Perhaps her little scene would allow them to keep some peace for a moment, she just hoped none of them would have any high level medical training. She gently rolled the man onto his back, eyeing the injury as she rummaged in her rucksack for an old shirt to press against the bleeding. She pointed a finger at the man attacking Jonathon and raised her voice to get his attention, which surprised the man. The remaining men had brows raised and expressions of confusion as the woman seemed to be giving treatment to their friend. "You." Addressing the aggressor again. "Hold this here." She gave Jonathon a quick glance, hoping he had not been significantly hurt by the blow to his head. She would have him sit down awhile with her when they returned to Tim Hortons, if they successfully did so.

[anvil]

((WB. I'm sorry, I've been busy this week and I wanted to write something substantial, but I couldn't.))

The blow to the head hit hard. Fortunately, Jonathan regained consciousness seconds later only with a black eye and blood trickling down his jaw. Still sprawled on the ground, he watched as Lissy rushed to resuscitate the man he slit and almost killed. Well, his death was assured if he was going to bleed like that from those major arteries. Jonathan loved how she remained calm and took action during a stressful situation. Life-or-Death. Helping strangers and hostile gang members. The old shirt soaked up the blood gushing out of the man's neck. Running his hand through his hair, he controlled his breathing and decided what to do. Feeling guilty, he frantically searched through his full backpack for the first-aid kit or some pain-killers, anything to make up for murdering a man. The confusion on the gang member's faces were clear. Was the woman on their side or the man's side? The one wielding the baseball bat who hit Jon kicked his backpack away, "Stay down, runt." and brought the bat closer to warn him of a second homerun. Jonathan hugged the ground in fear of having two black eyes. Scared for his life, he prayed that Chain-man would make it despite all odds against him. They were in a ghost-town while it's stinking 30 degrees Celsius and medicine is scarce, so he might die of infection. The wound was also usually fatal, with medical personnel. He must have lost a lot of blood. We have someone with medical training and leadership skills. Let Lissy work her magic. If the man lived, the gang might forgive them, but the probability of theft was still high and if he died, Jon would probably be strung up from a traffic light somewhere to warn others. I have been through so much, just to die here out in the open by a biker gang.