forum 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚠𝚑𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚛𝚎, 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗. // 6/6 // CLOSED

Started August 25, 2022 by @EtherealDreamer

tune

Alastor highly doubted that Liam was attatched to him, but he didn't argue.
"If Ariella chooses to leave, then hopefully she'll be safe," he decided to say instead. He didn't know her that well (or anyone else in the group for that matter) but he felt a bit disappointed that someone from the group might leave them.

"It probably gave amazing milk." He smiled. "And it would never achieve it's life long dream of being a tornato."

"It died to young, its time was not yet. May it rest well" She sighed dramatically.

Lucky nodded. "Yeah… but it'd be nice if we all stayed together." He glanced over at Lucas, who was still talking to Ronni. He seemed out of it for now.
He glanced back at Alastor. "Would… I mean, no pressure, but… would you wanna help me get the food inventoried? I don't know what we have and the kids seem too busy with their cow nonsense." He paused a moment. "Again, no pressure, but I'll be in the kitchen if yes."
He stood, smiling at Alastor and giving Zeus a pat on the back, before walking into the kitchen. He started separating the food into piles based on how it was packaged.
He glanced over at Ariella. "Hey. You doing ok? Been awful quiet."

Ariella perked up when she heard her name, listening, but didn't say anything. She didn't have an answer anyways. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see if her family survived. But she couldn't do it aline. And what would she do if she went home and it was empty? Where would she go from there?
She looked down at the ground, swinging her legs back and forth. She jumped when Lucky entered. She hadn't heard him come it. She just shrugged at his question. "Just thinking."

"About what?" he asked gently.
So far, they had a decent amount of canned goods, and some stuff sealed in plastic that would keep ok.
They also had a lot of junk food which would go bad quickly. Lucky separated that out.
He worked on their drinks next, separating the flat pop from the water and other stuff.

Ronni sat down next to Lucas, and looped an arm across his shoulders. "What's wrong?" She was quiet, but the fact she was speaking and not gesturing showed she was worried about what was aking him react like this.

Lucas waited a beat to lift his head and uncover his eyes, where black dots danced across his vision quickly every time he blinked.

"I'm fine, just a little dizzy." He lied and gave a small smile to Ronni and patted her knee, which was touching his own. "I think we could find another empty apartment, I think we should try to find one more apartments and fill the rooms in that, so everyone can sleep in a bed tonight."

He took a deep shaky breath and continued.
"But people have to go scout for another empty apartments and maybe even have to clear it of bodies." He stood up quickly and stumbled forward, catching himself on the wall. He slowly sat back down. "Can someone else scout? Please? I would do it myself but I'm not feeling the greatest."

Alastor nodded and followed Lucky to the kitchen. He spotted Ariella and kept his distance as best as he could in the tiny space, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. He also remembered the slightly hostile way she acted when they first met, and he didn't feel like making any enemies in the group. Still, he offered her a small friendly smile as he went past her.
He noticed the way that the foods were being sorted and attempted to help organize them into the piles.

Devon sat down beside Alastor and Zeus, gently petting the dog. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the other dogs, but at least he knew Zeus and the horse liked him.

Ariella gave Alastor a tiny smile, returning it. She felt bad she had upset him earlier and perhaps she would try to talk to him when it was less crowded. She wasn't so keen on others hearing her conversation. She just wanted apologize but she was still wary of everyone.

Devon sat down beside Alastor and Zeus, gently petting the dog. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about the other dogs, but at least he knew Zeus and the horse liked him.

Since his human left to go to the kitchen, Zeus wagged his tail in greeting at Devon, and rolled over to expose his stomach, demanding a belly rub from him.

Devon smiled softly, rubbing the dogs belly. He liked the silence animals provided.

Lucky slid the drinks in Alastor's direction, and began trying to think through how much food they'd need for a group this size, to keep everyone healthy. He glanced at Ariella again. "You don't have to share your thoughts, I guess, but did you at least talk to Devon?"

Ariella shrugged again. "I think he's more interested in Liam than me."
Not a lie. But not technically true. They did talk a bit. It was awkward and weird. And they were being watched which was even more weird. And it was true, Devon like Liam more. That was the way he swung. It was the end of the world, they might as well take advantage what was right in front of them.

Ronni shook her head at Lucas. "Were you not listening? The boys did nothing all day but kick in the doors of other apartments in this building. There's plenty of space for everyone, and no one has to scout." She stepped back from him, noting that he looked pale.
"Lucas, I need you to tell me your symptoms. Right. Now."
There was no way she was just going to gloss over that. Not in a world where a disease had killed everyone.
If he was sick, he could forget about sleeping in the same room as anyone else. Heck, he could forget about sleeping in the same building as the rest of them.

Ariella shrugged again. "I think he's more interested in Liam than me."

"But did you talk to him?" Lucky asked her again. He was still trying to count off calories in his head and remember what he knew about nutrition, which, admittedly, wasn't much.

Ariella rolled her eyes at how pushy he was being. "Not that it's your business, but yes."
She watched him quietly. She didn't say anymore. Only sipped her water. Her stomach rumbled quietly but she didn't make a move to eat. Despite her stomach, she found she didn't have much of an appetite. She had always had a problem with eating, even before. She was always so busy she rarely had time to grab a bite to eat.

Alastor took the drinks and put them in a pile. He tuned out the conversation Lucky and Ariella were having and took a quick glance at the overall supply of food. They were definitely going to need more fresh fruits and vegetables, but the ones in grocery stores were all probably rotten by now since most businesses didn't have people to run them thanks to the flu.

Zeus let out a sigh of content, wagging his fluffy tail lazily against the floor.

Devon smiled at the dog, "you are so much easier to get along with than people, all you need is to be loved on and fed."

Zeus gave a huff of agreement, rolling over so his head laid on Devon's lap and letting out a big yawn before closing his eyes.

"It died to young, its time was not yet. May it rest well" She sighed dramatically.

"May it rest well." Liam repeated while wiping away a fake tear. He held that air of sorrow for as long as he could before bursting out laughing.

Lucky noted the rolling of the eyes and her irritated response to him. He paused what he was doing for a moment, and just looked at her for a long second.
"You're right. It's not any of my business."
He looked back down at the food, and continued calculating, not saying anything else.
He stepped towards Alastor. "Anything we need more of that you noticed specifically?"

Ariella went back to sipping her water every so often. Her legs swung back and forth more, her fingers tapping against the glass in her hands. Her anxiety was starting to peak again. She could feel her heartbeat picking up. She wasn't sure what started it. Maybe the fact she was in a room with two men. Or maybe it's because she felt so cramped. The room was too small and the walls were closing in.
She murmured a small excuse, more slurred than she realized. She set her water down and hopped off the counter. She strode as fast as she could for the door and walk out, into the fresh air. It wasn't enough.