"Well, it's the apocalypse. I didn't really have the luxury of acting like a kid." Kas sighed, running his fingers through his hair.
Mori was still shaky and pale, struggling to relax. "Everything hurts…" He whispered. "Wanna not be awake…"
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(Ah, sorry about that! I'll see you around!)
Bean held Aspen close. “Shh…it’s okay…I’m here,” she held the other girl close as she wiped her tears. “I’m always gonna be here…” she smiled softly. Luka nodded, leaning against Kas. “I know what you mean…” he muttered, looking away. Lilac continued to brush her fingers against Mori’s hair. “Did Rachel tell you anything on how to stop the pain?” she asked, holding him close.
Kas glanced down at Luka and hummed thoughtfully. "I mostly had to keep quiet and stay alive. I didn't really have toys or anything since we couldn't afford to have a lot of things to carry around with us."
Mori shrugged weakly. "I-I dunno… she just gave me the pills and it eventually didn't hurt as much… b-but now it hurts again."
Luka turned to face him. “So you know how this whole thing works?” he asked, hoping Kas had some idea on how to get through this whole situation. Lilac sighed softly. “Can you stand? If not, I’m gonna carry you to Rachel and we’re gonna get some more pills for you. At least…until we can figure out a better solution,” she looked down at Mori.
"What whole thing?" Kas asked, confused. "If you mean the apocalypse, I don't think anyone really understands it. As far as surviving, uh… I guess…?"
Mori shrugged and attempted to stand. After a bit of struggling, he managed to get to his feet, but his legs were shaking a lot and he was wobbling dangerously. He didn't look like he was very steady.
Luka nodded. “I meant surviving…no one exactly knows how this whole apocalypse thing works, despite everyone reading about it in books,” he laughed nervously. Lilac stood up as well, offering her hand to Mori as she picked him up. “You didn’t look very steady,” she told him as she started walking out of the room with him in her arms.
"I mean, I've survived this long, so I guess so." Kas shrugged, humming softly to himself. "I'm good with a bow, so I've been able to hunt for food and stuff like that."
Mori rested his head on Lilac's shoulder and closed his eyes, whimpering softly. He was limp and exhausted, and he clearly didn't feel well.
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Aspen wiped her eyes with her fists and pulled away, exhaling shakily, she gave a sad smiled to Bean "sorry, its just I've been alone for so long now…" she said softly.
Bean nodded sadly. “Well, you’re not alone anymore,” she smiled and she wiped away some of Aspen’s tears. Luka smiled a little. “Yeah…” he leaned against Kas’s shoulder. Lilac held Mori close as she looked around for the others. “Rachel!” she called out, still really worried about the kid.
Aspen looked around wildly, before leaning into Bean's hand as she wiped away her tears, she closed her eyes and sighed, grabbing Beans wrist softly "do you like clay made things?" she asked quietly, so no one else could hear.
Bean nodded. “I used to make little animals out of clay when I was a kid,” she giggled, holding onto Aspen’s hand softly. She remembered when her dad would bring her some clay and she’d make a mess before finally making little birds and bears. Those were the days… she smiled softly.
Aspen rummaged in the pocket of her oversized pants, pulling out a small red and white spotted mushroom, made of clay. She placed it in Bean's palm, smiling at her softly. "Here I made a bunch of these, while I was alone, but never had anyone to give them to" she added quietly.
"I guess you've just been traveling with your family?" Kas asked. "Your sisters, I mean. I've never had any siblings."
Mori coughed weakly and huddled closer, seeming pretty uneasy in Lilac's arms.
“Awww, it’s adorable!” Bean squealed, holding the mushroom softly as she did not want to break it. Luka nodded. “At first it was me, Bean, and…and…” his voice started to break as tears pricked the corners of his eyes. He took a deep breath and started again. “A-And my twin Hailey…when we reunited with our sister Lilac, it wasn’t long before Hailey…died,” he looked away, still feeling awful about the incident. He blamed himself for his sister’s death. When Lilac noticed no one around, she immediately went looking for the pills instead. “Hang in there, kid…” she told Mori.
Aspen looked up quickly, scanning the room, "thanks." She said quietly, she got up, still holding Beans wrist and stood up, searching the rooms, she had heard a voice say 'hang in there, kid…' and she was sure she hadnt imagined it, she drug Bean behind her, and stopped in the room where Lilac and Mordecai were, she paused in the door way, scanning the child for injuries. "oh my god…" she whispered "is he okay?" she asked Lilac, letting go of Beans wrist and kneeling near Mordecai, putting her hand on his forehead to check for a fever, one of the main symptoms of turning.
Kas nodded a bit and hesitated for several seconds before awkwardly taking Luka's hand to comfort him. "Uh… that sucks." He said stiffly, clearly not quite sure what to do. "At least you can still travel with… uh… Lilac and… Bean, right? Now you guys can protect each other better."
Mori didn't seem to be feverish, but he was still pretty out of it. "My head hurts…" He mumbled weakly, closing his eyes to try and rest them a bit.
Bean was also scanning Mori for any other possible injuries before looking back at Lilac. Lilac sighed. “I’m looking for those pills Rachel gave him earlier….he said they stopped the pain for a little so I’m assuming he took Ibuprofen,” she whispered as she continued to look around. Luka held onto Kas’s hand tightly. “Y-Yeah…you’re right,” he took a deep breath as he tried to smile again. It was definitely not easy, that was for sure.
Aspen looked to Mordecai, her eyes full of worry "you're okay…" she whispered to him quietly "where on your head does it hurt?" she asked softly, looking around for medical resources. Her eyes stopped on a bottle of Ibuprofen. She grabbed it and poured two into her hand, she grabbed a spoon and cut one in half, she pulled a quarter full bottle of water she handed the pills to Mordecai "here take these, with this-" she said handing him the bottle of water "they should make you feel a little better." She looked around wildly "and don't fall asleep, whatever you do." She added quickly.
Mori held a bit tighter to Lilac, whimpering softly and wincing. "Everything hurts…" He replied weakly. "But like… behind my eyes hurts the most, I guess…" When the pills were offered to him, he accepted the cup with trembling hands and tried to swallow them. He struggled a bit, but eventually managed to get them down.
Kas nodded awkwardly, looking away with his face lightly flushed. "I'm… uh… not great at comforting people. Sorry."
Aspen looked at Mordecai "just try not to fall asleep…" she said quietly, she grabbed Beans wrist and squeezed it "what happened? did you do something to make your head hurt like this?" she asked worriedly, her eyes brimming with tears.
“No, no, it’s okay…” Luka smiled, leaning against Kas. “I definitely feel a little better now,” he told him, still holding Kas’s hand. “You’re gonna be okay, kiddo…” Lilac held Mori close to her as she smiled a little. She was glad Aspen found the bottle because she wasn’t sure what to do if there had been no Ibuprofen. Bean sighed. “He got a concussion…” she whispered, holding onto Aspen’s hand.
Aspen looked at Bean "how?" she asked quietly, leaning into Bean tiredly, gripping Aspens hand harder. She gave a soft look to Bean, before looking back to Lilac and Mordecai "I just need to know, to be able to tell how bad the concussion is, and how long it may take for it to heal." When she noticed the others staring at her wildly she said "my mom was a nurse for the ER, sometimes even the main hospital in town…" she said proudly "I learned a thing or two from her." She added.
"Zombie hit me into the wall…" Mori mumbled softly in return, struggling to keep his eyes open. "A-And I already slept last night, and a bit earlier I think… is that bad?"
Kas nodded a bit. "Uh… that's good. I'm not great with… feelings, either. I usually try to… ignore them, so to speak."
Bean shrugged a little. “No clue. I wasn’t in the room when it happened…” she admitted as she held Aspen close. Lilac sighed. She looked back at Mori, brushing his hair with her fingers. “Not sure how bad it is though…” she muttered. Luka smiled softly. “It’s alright…”