(Np probllleeemmm. She’s not as well put together as Astrid though! I love Astrid and roger and just woahdlMsbislaieva good characters.)
“Depends. Have you been abducted recently?” He asked with a grin, laughing. “No, I don’t think you would. You don’t seem like a lab escapee.” He replied simply, disabling the chip before he carefully removed it. It was set on the table, bloodied and yet in perfect shape. “There.”
Stephan’s hands worked quickly to seal the wound back up. He made sure it was clean and the stitching was secure for the male. Once he had finished he gently wiped away the blood and went straight to the sink, grabbing a few chemicals to sanitize his tools. “He’ll wake up in a few minutes. Keep him down and don’t let him touch the stitchings.”
(Okay! Goodnight! Don’t over work yourself!)
( AH! I've finally finished! I'm sorry it took so long I found myself in an absolute rut with art:( but i got out! hopefully,,,,,anyway here it is!! i'll type up a response as soon as I post this! i hope i didn't get anything wrong w Juniper uwu)
Astrid carefully glanced over at her unconscious brother, who seemed to really enjoy his first sleep in a while. Astrid may have actually been a little bit jealous of how peaceful he appeared; she felt like she hadn't gotten a good night's rest in a while, but she didn't want to say anything. She looks up at Stephan's direction.
"Thank you," She murmurs quietly, eyes gradually retreating to the floor.
(ITS PERFECT HOLY CRAP. BEAUTIFUL! and you’re okey. I understand the rut. I’ve been in one too recently. Thaaannkksss for making my entire week tho with your beautiful art!!)
Stephan nodded curtly, wandering to The table where Atlas sat, passed out in his chair. He snored lightly, a bottle of alcohol hugged to his chest. It was a wonder the male wasn’t dead yet from alcohol poisoning.
Stephan scowled at Atlas and sat down in the seat farthest away from him. “I’m sorry about Atlas. He’s been drinking a lot more since he lost that little side job he had. I sti don’t know where he gets the alcohol though… I think from the soldiers who come down.”
Juniper nodded gently and ran her fingers through the longest part of her hair, for a moment feeling where it went from thick locks to shaven stubble. “It’s fine Stephan. He’s always been an idiot.”
(Aawwww ofc ofc also dont worry ruts rlly do suck but once u get out of em you feel great LMAO)
Astrid watched Juniper as closely as she could, occasionally glancing at Stephan's movements, but she kept a soft hand on Roger, who himself was only just starting to hear the conversation around him, but he kept his eyes closed. Still barely awake, he wasn't fully sure where he was at the moment, and too far from consciousness to care.
"Have you met anyone like him before?" Astrid wondered aloud to Stephan, still curious about whoever took Roger. She knows she's already asked Roger, but there's no telling how much memory they took from him; Astrid wanted to know more.
(You right you right!!)
His eyes fell to the floor. Juniper looked away for a moment, shifting nervously. “Only the dead.” He murmured, shuddering. “I’ve seen the ones who didn’t get so lucky.”
“So there are others.” Juniper asked suddenly, her eyes wide.
Roger's eyes remained closed, but he was awake enough to understand his surroundings. He listened softly to the conversation.
Astrid's lip quivered as she looked to the floor, clenching her fist.
"Roger…how close do you think he was to meeting the same fate? How close do you think he was to being thrown away for who he is?"
Tears dared to fall from her eyes as she tried not to shake in front of everyone, but unable to stop herself.
Stephan looked to Astrid as she spoke, folding his arms tightly across his chest. "I have no idea. We could have had years, maybe only seconds." Stephan wouldn't admit to it, but he had worked closely with the dead who had met a fate similar to Roger's. He had worked right alongside a genetics laboratory located to the south, just past the wastelands, where there were trees and grass and living things. But those who were brought in, usually never left alive or quite the same. "I don't even know if this is the same group I worked fo- with."
It was Juniper who suddenly wrapped her arms around her friend, engaging in a touch she hadn't been used to for years. "Astrid, he's alright now. We saved him. You wouldn't have lost him I wouldn't have let that happened." Juniper murmured, her tough front dropping to reveal a softer, more sensitive front that just might have been what she would have been like had this whole situation with the world not happened.
Astrid shook, hesitant to accept the hug, but unable to figure out what else she should do, so she lifted two shakey arms, gently resting them on Juniper's shoulders.
"Thank you…" She breathed, barely audible as her voice quivered.
Finally, Roger began to move. Though the movements were slow, and followed by groaning in pain, he was doing better.
June gently pulled away to look over at Roger as he groaned. Stephan hurried into the kitchen to grab a water bottle, placing it on the dirty coffee table in front of the couch. “He’ll need to rest for a moment. And drink some of that water. Do you guys have time to stay here?” He asked, glancing at Juniper, who shifted uncomfortably. She didn’t much like the idea of having to stay in this place with Atlas and Stephan.
“If it’s for Roger then yes, we do have time.”
Roger grabbed the water bottle like it was his lifeline, popping open the lid and downing the whole bottle in seconds. Astrid watched in concerned amazement.
"I think we can stay one night, but we'll have to leave by tomorrow. It's just too risky to stay here."
Astrid eyed Stephan but kept her gaze at Roger, remaining close to Juniper for comfort.
“One night will be enough. Don’t let him rip the stitches or get them dirty, though. Infection in these times is one sure way to die a painful death…” Stephan warned, his eyes flickered to watch as Atlas stirred from the dirty mattress on the floor he had been dragged to, his eyes suddenly saddened.
Atlas had lost his little sister to infections they couldn’t fight without antibiotics. The poor Atlas had gone through hell and back. It was no wonder he became a drunkard at such a young age. Juniper marveled at the fact that Atlas was only a year older.
Juniper’s eyes followed Stephan’s, a light shiver running up her spine. She had heard what had happened and mourned with the male. They had been close when Juniper lived with Stephan.
“How are you feeling Roger?” Juniper asked suddenly, steering her thoughts away from her past.
( HELLO SORRY HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!! I MADE A DRAWING OF YA BOIS ASTRID AND JESSE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS IN THE ONLY VALID WAY POSSIBLE HERE YA GO (gonna type out a response as soon as I post this !! ) )
Roger failed to resist the urge to touch the back of his neck as his finger lightly grazed the stitches.
"I…don't know. Is that okay?"
Astrid took Roger's arm to pull it away from the stitches as he awkwardly moved his neck, looking around.
"I don't know what to do next." He mutters, looking down, frustrated. "The people there, my comrades, they're still people, even if they have been brainwashed. They all have families."
Roger's eyes started to glaze over, as vivid memories flash through his mind.
"I don't want them to meet the same fate I had."
(I LOVE THAT. Super cute!!!!! Also sorry for the wait, I’ve been having motivation issues.)
“That is okay.” Juniper said softly. She glanced at Stephan again, who smiled weakly at her from his tired place against the wall.
“Is there a way to free them…?” She asked slowly, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “Some way we could save them?”
Stephan glanced away for a moment. “None that I know of.”
(Me: doesn't post for half a month
You: takes less than 24 hours to post and apologizes
Me: :'))))))) LOL anyway THANK YOU I had to draw my babes celebrating Christmas bc they're just too cute uwu)
"There is one way." Roger's eyes glazed over as he thought. He almost didn't want to say it, but there wasn't much of a choice. His throat tightened as his eyes started to glisten.
"We infiltrate their base. Find the warehouse where they keep all of their captives, and we set them free. Then, with a whole army of people behind us, we fight back."
(Ooof. I always rag on myself for taking a long time replying to people. I blame my anxiety and depression. I feel like I’m letting the other person down if I don’t respond quickly.
You’re okay. You have a lot of stuff going on in your life too. It’s alright if you don’t show up for a few months. Life is busy. AND I STILL LOVE THE DRAWING. THEM CUTIES)
Juniper froze, her eyes wandering back to Astrid and Roger. “Get… inside?! Into the…” she swallowed hard and shook her head. “Hold up. Where is their base? It isn’t up there is it?” She asked, pointing up at the city she knew was just beyond the ceiling over their heads.
(GIRL DONT EVEN WORRY I HAVE LIKE 5 RPS WITH ONE FRIEND AND WE TAKE HALF A YEAR TO RESPOND AND WE DONT HOLD IT AGAINST EACH OTHER ITS 100% OKAY IF YOU CANT FORCE YOURSELF BC I AM THE SAME WAY AND I 1000% UNDERSTAND in other words don't beat urself up and dont stress over it if u take a few days to respond. You dont know how many times I've been genuinely shocked how quickly you respond with AN ACTUAL GOOD RESPONSE TOO like I'll even post at 3am and you'll respond in like 20 minutes and im like AHHH GO TO SLEEP even tho I'm up that late too anyway I'm rambling BUT DONT STRESS AND DONT OVERWORK URSELF OKAY)
Roger glanced at Astrid as he spoke.
"Part of it is up there. The public stuff, the pretty stuff, the facade is up there. But the dirty hands and ugly truth is down here."
Roger clenched his fist, again, trying not to touch his stitches.
(Ooooooof moooooood. but okay. I won't stress myself. Or at least I'll try really hard to. But yeee, I'm usually up pretty late too XD)
There was something off about the way Juniper looked. The way she nervously paced as Roger spoke, the way Stephan glanced at her with a knowing look. They all knew the bad stuff was down here, but Juniper was only here to survive. She learned how to avoid the situations that would put her in a bad place.
(Good >:) take care of urself babe)
Roger furrowed his brow as he thought.
"It's not too dangerous if we have a plan. The organization is guarded, yeah, but no one is actually prepared for an organized attack against them. The guards are brainwashed to think that mercy is the biggest fault of humanity. They're 'shoot first, ask questions never.' If we know how to take them by surprise, they won't know what hit them."
Roger looks at Astrid for a moment, then back to the others.
"The only problem is we need to mimic their philosophy. We can't let our emotions get the best of us in this mission. If we allow our emotions to control us, they'll notice our hesitation, or our rage, and they'll see an opportunity to attack. We need to stick to the plan."
(I willllll)
“I-I’m not sure I can do this…”Juniper whimpered, collapsing against the couch. She was paled and terrified, not at all the strong and confident girl she had seemed to always have been around Astrid and Roger.
“I’m in. I’ll take them down with you guys. Besides, you might need someone who can care for wounds…” Stephan mumbled gently. Juniper shot him a shocked expression.
“How can you- you’ve seen what they’ve done!!”
(Wowzers a whole month!!! I'm so sorry i pretty much turned into a workaholic during the holidays. I've barely been spending any time at home so i havent had much off time to either be active or even think too creatively as well. Anyway I hope you're doing well! I've got some creative juices flowing so I should be good for a bit.)
"I appreciate your help." Roger began, standing up. "But we're gonna need a lot more than an unstable group of bandits. No offense." He uttered, mostly to Stephan, and a little bit at himself.
"They're strong. And the-"
Just then there was a knock at the door. Roger's stomach dropped as he recognized the metronomic, almost perfect four knocks.
"Were we…followed?"
(Hiii! I’m glad to see you’re back!! We missed you a lot!! Try and take it easy, get some rest. Make sure you aren’t overworking yourself.)
“You aren’t going to get anything better. Welcome to the Undercities, kid. None of us are anything more than unstable bandits. You’re lucky I’m even willing to join. Folks around here won’t be so willing.” Stephan replied cooly.
Juniper looked absolutely stricken with grief and doubt. The last time she had gone out had not gone well. The pile of bodies that served as a wall around the cities edge kept off the large predators that roamed in the dark. It was hard to get over, and even harder to make it to a safe base to wait out the night.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the knocking at the door. Stephan immediately went into action. He launched himself into the kitchen area and pulled his medical bag from its place. He nearly threw a large backpack at Juniper, who caught it with ease despite her disorganized emotions. Atlas had pulled a gun from some place and was glaring at the door.
“Get to the back exit. Go, now.” Stephan barked.
(Thank u hello! Unfortunately I am abt to do some more work but luckily I took a fat nap beforehand! Love u !)
Roger couldn't peel his eyes away from the door as Astrid started to follow Stephan's instructions. She took several quiet steps away before she realized that Roger hadn't moved. Worried, she turned to see Roger's expression.
"Roger!" She whispered, "Let's go!"
"But…why would they send him?" He uttered, not even noticing that he was inching towards the door.
(Heck yeah. Fat naps are good. I just took one. Be safe kk?? Love u too!)
It was Atlas who stepped between Roger and the door. “Listen, we need to go. Don’t worry about who’s behind that door.” For the first time since they had been around, Atlas seemed serious.
Juniper shrugged the backpack on, glancing back at Astrid and the others. She moved to tug on Astrid’s arm. “We need to go!” She whispered harshly.
