After the End RP discussion
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Arcade
Mod
How Alexander hated having to deal with the peasantry. So emboldened since the end. He smiled charmingly.
The beam wavered for a moment before slowly dipping down to point at his feet. "Try anything and Jax will rip your balls off." She warned, still holding the arcade gun out. She wasn't sure she trusted him, but it was worth a shot. He was right, however irritatingly he put it. Was it that obvious she didn't know anything about guns?Jax's ears flickered back as he heard his name mentioned, his growl cutting short as Ailee spoke softly to Jax, "Down boy." Jax visibly relaxed, but the dark chocolate pool of his eyes never strayed from Alexander.
"I'm Alejandra, but most call me Ailee." She spoke softly, finding it strange to be speaking in such a darkly lit place to a stranger. "I'm STW and not one of those blasted agents." Her delicate frame shifted, the beam bobbing to the light movement. "I'm not looking for trouble, I'm just trying to find some light and heat in this place or something that can be used to create a fire. That being said, please remove all your weapons and I'll drop mine."
Mod
"Drop my weapons? A reasonable demand, were I to be carrying any, Alejandra. If I were I wouldn't be talking, less still to a STW. A faction that founds itself around bringing peace, but remains in itself so anarchic and divided that it split in two over a matter of administration? I'll keep myself to myself, at least there' some order in that; some continuous logic." Pausing, as if thoroughly deliberating his next words, he looked around before continuing. "Heat and light? If. That's all you want, I'd wager there's plenty in an arcade that will burn, and I might have some flammable liquids, and you have a torch, from which I could barter a spark to light the flame. Unless you decide you'd rather feed my genitalia to your delightful mutt."
Alejandra's dark eyes narrowed at his reply, though more out of puzzlement than anything. He sure was an odd fellow, that much was sure. Her head tilted ever so lightly to the side, her hair slipping off her shoulder in a dark wave. After the man finished speaking, Ailee glanced over at Jax questioningly before sighing and shaking her head. There really wasn't any point in living in this world if you couldn't have a little faith in your fellow travelers. Her voice broke the silence, "As entertaining as that could be, I'd prefer we get along and work together." There was a light clatter as she tossed aside the fake gun, the plastic of it resounding with a hallow echo as it bounced against the side of an arcade machine before settling on the ground.
"And I have a lighter. All we need is something to burn. I was hoping to find an office with some books that could light easily, maybe some wooden furniture. Hang on," Ailee shifted to hold her keys between her lips so she could use both hands to rummage around in her purse. Jax relaxed more as it became clear his master was more at ease. He walked forward to investigate the new person, tail wagging softly as he curiously sniffed around his feet.
"Aw, eff off." Ailee muttered around the keyring as she nearly dropped a couple items from her purse. Eventually she pulled out her phone again and let her purse settle back where it belonged. The keys dropped back into her hand, the light bobbing until she got a firm grasp of it. "Here, you can use the flashlight, I'll use my phone. Easier with two lights." She tossed the keys over to him without looking as she kept her gaze on her phone to try and find the flashlight app.
Mod
"Indeed, we are more likely to outlive this damnable storm together. An office would be a grand find, or a prize room - or any storage facility at all. If the worst comes to it, we'll only freeze to death. Perhaps not even that, if the storm blows over soon." He looked around diligently, finding his perspective much altered by the beam of light now aiding him. "Have you seen anything promising? A locked door, or suchlike: an obstacle that would be more easily cleared with two pairs of hands than one? Anything at all?"
Alejandra glanced up at him, the soft light of her phone illuminating her face and casting sharp shadows. Somehow the light managed to make her look even younger. Granted her extremely short height didn't help, but the light cast shadows that managed to emphasize her large eyes and full cheeks. One eyebrow quirked up to give him an, 'Are you serious?' look. "Don't you think I would have mentioned it by now or you would have heard the noise?" She pointed out, but shortly after a low sigh escaped her lips. "No, I got a little distracted by all the.." She gestured to the area around her, ducking her head in embarrassment as her bangs shielded her eyes, "machines. They're creepy. Only doors I saw were the ones you just came out from and a couple exterior doors. But I haven't looked very long. I'm sure with the two of us we could find one."
The flashlight on her phone turned on, casting a bright light on her intense highlighter pink sneakers. "Aha!" The light from her phone was much brighter than the tiny flashlight she kept clicked on to her keyring, but she didn't like the idea of using the light for too long. She found the light from her phone much more harsh in the darkness. But maybe she was just imagining it. Who knows.
"So was there anything promising where you came from, Mr. Alexander? Any locked doors or obstacles more easily cleared with two pairs of hands?" She asked casually, imitating his tone. Honestly she just hoped they wouldn't have to split up. Now that there was another person around she felt a little more comfortable even if it was a stranger.
Mod
"I found nothing you could help me with. The door I came inside through, and the door behind me. I had been keeping my hand on the wall, before I heard you and deserted that path, perhaps illogically. Nothing of merit." He eyed the harsh light from her phone: "You may wish to turn that down," he said, referring to the brightness, "There'll be nowhere to charge it, and it could be a long while yet before we find anything. If we do."
When the light highlighted her shoes, he had one thing to say. "I believe the term is 'What are those?'"
Alejandra's face brightened at the mention of her shoes, where before she held a lightly irritated look. This man made no sense to her, but hey, they didn't have much of a choice but to stick together. He looked little more than a Popsicle when they found eachother and she at least had light and a faithful dog to cozy up to. But at his suggestion she had found herself turning down the brightness to the best of her abilities and aiming the light in a more useful location than her shoes. "What are these?" She balanced to put one foot up a few inches in the air as her toes waved back and forth to show off her shoes. "These are the f****** awesomeness that drew you in to find me however illogical you may find it to be." Her foot went back to the ground as she rebalanced her weight. "Aren't they cute? And I've trained Jax not to chew on anything this color. He's a smart little guy, aren't you?" She cooed as Jax came over in response to her saying his name. Her hair slid around her shoulders as she leaned forward to give Jax a light kiss on his cold nose.
Straightening back up, she shifted the strap of her purse so it settled back where it belonged at her side. "All jokes and shit aside, we also need to find my backpack and Jax's cart. I set them along the wall somewhere by the entrance when I first came here but I got turned around in the dark. This place is f****** maze without proper lighting. But if we find them we will have blankets and food and cooking supplies. And don't b**** to me about how I lost them. I wasn't expecting the power to go out so I didn't plan for it. We can find it after we find something to burn, though if all we find is furniture we will want the tinder I keep in my pack." Her flashlight beam was already moving around in an attempt to find anything of use, eyes peering into the darkness. "So, which way do you think we should go first, handsome?"
Mod
Immortal gods. The peasantry and their pets. Yes, I'm sure it took you absolutely ages to train it not to eat your disgusting shoes. But can it hunt?
"Very impressive," he said at last. "And I see you know precisely how to handle yourself in a crisis, swearing loudly and panicking is always the best choice. How about thinking rationally for now, though? You say you have supplies which you left where you came in. Then let us go back to that area of this place, find a wall, and stick to it until we trip over your luggage. After that, we hope it does not sprout legs and eat us. Providing this, we should be fine to wait out the storm, though I myself have a desire to go back outside once I am sufficiently warmed, and find some other place which would perhaps prove more hospitable to me. Therefore, lead the way."
(('Tis ok, me too.))Alejandra examined him critically for a moment, her dark eyes conveying a mix of emotions ranging from frustration to confusion to sadness at the idea of being alone in the storm again. But she simply cracked the lightest of smiles and commented, "Hey, who said anything about panicking? Think you let loose a little Freudian slip there, pal. And if you think I'm letting you go back out in that storm, you're insane." She started walking towards the closest wall, shaking her head at the pure insanity of the man. Jax glanced to the stranger before falling in step with his master, his paws soundings softly on the carpet
"Are you new to this area?" Ailee asked curiously, one hand trailing along the wall as she let the beam of light shine alternately ahead of them or towards the interior of the room. "I haven't been here in a couple years. I prefer to travel and see how things work in other areas. Find a way for us all to get along and improve life, you know? It's a miracle we've lasted this long. If we don't hear anything else from some corner of the world soon this will be interesting. I mean, what happens when people have kids here? I don't think anyone here is trained for that. But we have to keep the population going somehow, you know?" She spoke largely just to fill the silence, still finding the whistling of the wind and the sheer oppressive darkness and silence unnerving.
Mod
"I am new here, relatively. I'm English, by birth. Ended up on the wrong side of the puddle when the world went to crap. I don't deny I'd like to know what things are like, back in Woking. And as to a new world? It'll happen. We get by, us homo sapiens's. What we did before doesn't really matter: who needs a lawyer now, even if I was the best?" He fell silent then, for a moment, contemplating deeply.
Alejandra cast a quick glance over to the stranger, not entirely sure how to respond to all that. He seemed an interesting character, that much was certain. Finally she asked the question just itching to roll of her tongue, "A lawyer? Aren't you a little young to be a lawyer? Or are you one of those f****** smart people who makes everyone else in the world look like a little b****?" She eyed him for a moment before nodding, "Eh, I can see that." Her gaze moved back to graze over the machines before focusing ahead of them, squinting into the darkness to try and make out the area ahead of them. Her small frame of 4'11" expanded as she took a deep breath, letting it out in one whoosh of air. "Well, as far as who needs a lawyer, I can see them being useful now. Once we get to be more advanced of a civilization you could act like a peacekeeper, help negotiate, stuff like that. Think, you're probably one of the few lawyers left in human existence to the best of our knowledge. That gives you a lot of leverage. You could help in government if one was to ever be properly established, you could teach others to be lawyers... your options are basically limitless. You are more fit to fall into a role in society since most people have to find and create theirs, and you actually have the qualifications for your role. Pretty useful tool, if you ask me." Her dark eyes flickered back to him for a brief second. "So quit your moping and think of the positive."
Mod
A light smile tugged on the corners of Alejandra's lips as she cast another look at him, noticing his posture and the pride rolling off his being. "See? Now that's the lawyer we all know and hate," she teased, chuckling softly. But all jokes aside, he was right. She knew it. Anyone with their right mind new it. They were all screwed if something wasn't done to fix everything. "Yeah. I know." Her gaze returned forward as she turned a corner, fingers moving from the wall long enough to move from one wall to the other. "I keep going around city to city, town to town, trying to find a way to make things work. Trying to find a way for people to get along, to see the need to think ahead.... I almost want to be OTW if it would lead to some way to give people a smack upside the head and tell them to get to work and get the hell along." She sighed, shaking her head lightly. "Most don't listen. I think I'm starting to get what the adults used to say about us being a lazy, good for nothing generation leading the world to Hell." The bitterness was clear in her voice, her mind playing the familiar phrase in her head. She could practically hear her grandfather say it, though she hadn't seen him since the End.
Mod
"Yeah, that sounds like the world as we know it," Alejandra said in a hushed voice, contemplating his words. Kind of strange how she got the whole spiel on how awful this generation was when he got the complete opposite. Must be the sheer difference in thought processes between the two countries. Or just social differences. Eh, it didn't matter.... Alejandra's voice filled the silence again, "We could probably make a good team, you know? You're a lawyer, I know the people in the surrounding areas and have some good contacts. If we work together maybe we could find a way to unite the people even if it's just on a small scale. I mean, if we don't who knows where things will go from here on out. Someone else could step in and unite the world in a bad way. Would probably be better if we took the first step than let someone else do that. The probability of us succeeding is slim, but at least we would have tried. Even a light change now could make a world of difference in the future."
Mod
He was realising now that he was growing considerably away from that.
"Maybe we could. But I'll tell you this: once I start this, I'm not going to back down, and play second fiddle to someone more recognised. If I'm involving myself in this, I'm sure as hell seeing it through. It's got to be worth a shot."
((I'm assuming they don't have cars, right?))A satisfied grin lit up her face as she turned to face him, walking backwards into the darkness as she swapped what hand was holding her phone so she could keep one hand on the wall. Her dark eyes were lit up out of excitement. "Perfect! I think we will make an awesome team! Once we get a fire going we should totally start coming up with a plan. I think I have a good idea on where to start, too. Maybe. I dunno, we will see!" It was almost shocking how much excitement and energy could fit into such a small person, her optimism almost radiating out in waves.
Just as she was about to turn back around, she stumbled and tripped backwards over the harness attached to her Jax's cart. "Gah! Well that was f****** embarrassing." She shook the harness off her foot and got to her knees, leaving the phone on the floor with the light shining up.
"Come here, buddy." Jax came over and stood by the harness as Alejandra fumbled around with it until it was laid out right before carefully strapping it onto Jax so he could pull the cart. The whole thing was very makeshift yet effective. The cart itself was a sled with high sides, one meant for transporting things in snow. Over the top of it was thick plastic sheeting and some bungee cords strapping it down to hook over the lip of the sled. Also on the top of the sled was a large lightly modified offroad electric skateboard that allowed for it to be more easily steered with Jax pulling it and gave it a larger top for the sled to rest on.
"Hold still, Jax." Ailee pulled the skateboard free and set it by the sled. Carefully she lifted the sled up and onto the board before tugging on the bungee cords so they could reach down and clip into the holes she had drilled into the board. She tested that it was secure before sitting back on her heels and reaching over to grab her pack. She repositioned her light so she could see the contents before pulling out a couple packets of hand warmers then some toe warmers. She used her teeth to tear a couple of the packages open before shaking the contents of the packages inside and holding two handwarmers out to him with one hand and the toewarmers in her other hand. "Here, put these in your gloves or pockets. It'll keep your hands warm. And the other ones go in your shoes. You look like a popsickle."
Mod
He chuckled. "Good we're here, though, in all frankness and honesty. A fine contraption. Pragmatic in the utmost." He took the foot/hand warmers gratefully, and directly set about installing them. "Let's get a fire going, then."
He paused for a moment, considering how cold he discovered he had been, and how she'd described him: "I look like a what?"
Alejandra let out a light laugh, shaking her head at his comment. Grotesque poetry, ah, the thought made her cringe. Put she really was proud of Jax's cart and that alone made her happy, "Thank you, I think." She slipped her own hand warmers into her gloves before double checking Jax's harness and grabbing her phone. She paused, however, at his last question. "...A popsicle? Or a freeze pop? Like the flavored sugar water on a stick? Or fruit and juice, if you get the good kind. Don't tell me you've never had one before? Or do they call it something else where you come from?" She stood up so she wouldn't be craning her neck nearly as much to talk to him, honestly quite curious about this all now.
Mod
Jax curiously sniffed at the hand before walking forward a couple steps to push his head up into his palm, his nose moving closer to the man out of curiosity."Well I don't really have anything we can burn," Alejandra responded, leaning against the bitter cold of the wall and watching them. "I have what we need to start a fire but nothing to keep it going. Unless you want to burn, like, seat cushions or the arcade systems or something. Won't smell pleasant, though." Her gaze moved from them to examine the darkness around them, her light moving from object to object before settling on the polished wood check-in counter. She curiously walked around it and looked at what was behind it, though there wasn't much. Phone books, though.
"On second though, we should be good here for a little while." Alejandra shrugged off her pack, dropping it loudly. She was honestly a little relieved because the pack was much heavier than she cared to admit. She didn't like loading Jax up too much, even if he was aided by the skateboard. And she reminded herself that it kept her fit. "Mind unclipping him from the cart?" She asked as she pulled the rolled up bag attached to her bag off and opened it. Inside was an assortment of light tools including a small crowbar and a saw.
Mod
((Sorry about the short posts, relatively.))
((It's ok.))Jax helpfully moved forward before holding still so the harness could be taken off, one of his large chocolate eyes focused on his master as it almost seemed to be him asking if this was what the new man was supposed to be doing. But he stayed still obediently.
"Yeah," Alejandra breathed as she pulled her crowbar out, a little distracted. She hated these tools because she really wasn't a fan of violence and these could be used for violence, but they were necessary to survive so she kept them around.
"The, uh, counter and stuff there. There's even some phone books we can use to start the fire. Oh, and where do you want to make the fire? I'm a little worried about the flooring." She focused more on the task before shifting her phone so the light lit up the counter. "This will be loud, just so you know," She warned.
Mod
Mod
Jax followed them to the counter, tail wagging lightly. "Well, feel free to help." She eyed the counter for a moment before jamming the end of the crowbar into a joint of the wood and putting her weight into it to slowly try and pry it free. Not that her weight or height did much good, but she did get it a little free as the wood and nails squealed a protest.
"Gah, that's horrible." She shook her head before sighing and jamming the bar in for a round two against the counter
Mod
Alejandra shook some hair out of her face and examined him critically. It was clear she was mildly offended, "What, so just because I'm a short girl I'm automatically less capable to destroy this f****** counter?" She knew it was right, but she was touchy when it came to her height and capabilities. "Fine. Have at it. I'm most certainly better qualified to get the fire started." She left the bar where it was and stalked over to the small pile Alexander had started, completely changing how he had them laid out. It was fine, but she felt she had to do it to make her look better at the job now. Just as she was starting to coax a light spark into the books, the lights flickered back on, blinding her. "Gah! F****** storm!" She blinked away spots from her vision, squinting into the bright light.
Mod
Alexander noticed the hum of electric generators whirring back into life the split-second before the lights returned, flickering. Thus, his hands were already shielding his face when they turned on, nonetheless glaring at him through the gaps in his fingers, however tightly he pressed them to his face. "Power's back," he said, not without a need to state the blindingly obvious.
"I see that." Alejandra muttered in response, her eyes slowly adjusting to the glaring light. Her small frame expanded for a moment as she took a deep, annoyed breath before going back to normal as she let it out in a whoosh. "I don't know whether to be thrilled or irritated," She commented, looking over at the man and taking him in appraisingly. Now that the light was much better she could actually see his features. She had to admit, but he was rather attractive in a serious way. Not bad for company, not bad. She turned her attention to her surroundings. "So do you want to wait it out here for a little while? Let things settle more before we leave?"
Mod
((I've got something I want to say; in fact I've wanted to say for some time. We've been role playing for some time now, and I feel that it's time... that I can trust you thoroughly. I- I want you to meet Tobias.
XD
But seriously, I want to see how you react.))
((Aww, I feel so honored. :P Lol, sure. Let's do it.)) Alejandra sat back on her heels, her eyes narrowing lightly as she processed his comment. "Don't like my company, boy? Fine. You're an odd one anyway," she masked her disappointment with her terse reply, her gaze dropping down as she shut off the flashlight on her phone as her bangs slipped down over her eyes. "Keep the flashlight. You're pathetically under prepared to go travelling." Her nimble hands scooped up the fire making supplies before she stood up to her full height of four feet eleven inches, dark eyes meeting his. The florescent lights washed her out, though the pink of her nose and cheeks from the cold still gave more than enough color to compensate.
As much as she hated being helpful despite how he had led her to believe they would be a team, she couldn't live with herself knowing she didn't try and make sure he would at least survive in this weather. So she asked, "What else do you need? You owe me for this, by the way. I saved your ass."
Mod
((He's currently incarcerated. He could do with a blank perspective, either to aid his escape or negotiate his release, or simply provide a distraction...))
((Okay. How should we have them meet up then?)) Alejandra's lips twitched up into the faintest of smiles at his comment, her eyes revealing her satisfaction at the comment. She was about to comment when he continued on speaking.
How was one to decide what was required with the weather such a mess? She let out a low breath of air that caught and danced with her bangs, letting them settle against her forehead again just as quickly.
"You really are an odd one. Most people would prefer to stick with the amazing company." She shook her head before making her way over to her backpack. She tried not to carry too many duplicate items unless she knew they would all be likely to be used, but she could part with some things and some of the duplicates. A lot of it was easy to find.
She spoke under her breath as she rummaged through her bag and set things aside, expecting him to interject if he had no need for any of the items. "Matches, space blanket, water purifiers, hand and toe warmers, snacks," she moved to the sled wagon thing and pushed things around in there to continue the list, "boot covers... aw f***, come on." She wrestled with something for a moment before pulling out a small bag no larger than a fat burrito. It looked like nothing would fit in it, but she swiftly unzipped it and pulled on the contents until it all was out of the package and fluffed up to formed a small backpack, the initial pouch the outside pocket. Quickly she set that aside and pulled out some rope, pitch, and a couple of other useful items.
Mod
Mod
((What's he incarcerated for?)) ((Oh, and by the way, I know a really promising advanced rp if that's something you'd enjoy?))
Eyes shot up, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face as she processed this latest turn. "You couldn't have said that earlier?' She tossed everything into the bag, clearly agitated. "Just like the rest of you male species. Horrible communicators," she grumbled, cheeks red in embarrassment. She'd gone through all that just for him to say that? Are you serious?
Shaking her head she stood up, rolling her shoulders before tossing him the bag. The bag spun awkwardly in the air as the contents jangled around.
"Whatever. Your weight to carry now. We can get you some more things as we go, then. Assuming, of course, you really are sticking with me for a little while?"
Mod
((Well... He's accused of being a sadistic, psychopathic serial killer. He's currently challenging them for proof, despite everyone knowing quite well what he is.
As to another rp, go ahead an send it my way. I'll make no promises, but it could be cool.))
"Mostly for you," Alejandra responded, a lightly playful tone creeping into her voice. Shaking her head, she called Jax back over and strapped him back into the harness, taking much less time now that she could properly see. "Aren't you a good boy, hmm?" Ailee cooed to Jax before kissing him on the nose and straightening up. She made sure she had everything before shrugging on her own backpack. "Come on, Jax!" She headed towards Alexander and the exit.
((Gotcha. Hmm... that'll take some thinking on.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
It's fairly new. The head mod recently did a lot of the final work for the rp though I don't think the description has been changed. It's been around for a couple months, but we were figuring out where we wanted to take it. Anyway, it's pretty cool. Some great rpers. The actual rp just started so plenty of opportunity for jumping in, if you're interested.))
Mod
((Yeah. He's pretty competent himself, I must emphasise, however.
Looking at othe rp now.))
((True. So now we need to figure out a way for them to meet then she can put her mind to work..What do you think?))
"Mm, true. But one could argue that that just makes the company all the worse." Ailee adjusted her bag again before walking out into the blinding, damp slush that was outside. "Wow this is melting fast," She commented, kicking at a small clump of ice.
Mod
((Well... I've engineered a situation wherein Tobias is to stand trial. And it just so happens I have the only lawyer left... Mwhuhahahahahaha.
Ahem.
But we need them to find out.))
"Mm, we will see." Alejandra pulled a hair tie off her wrist and carefully brushed back her hair into a high pony tail as they walked, not even wanting to know how messy it might be. "So. Where should we go first?"
((Oooh, nice. This'll be interesting.))
Mod
((Yeah. Should be cool.))
"Alright. Well I know the town fairly well, or at least I used to. Don't know if it's changed since last I was here." Alejandra double checked that Jax was alright with his load, bending down for a moment to tighten a strap lightly. ((Alright, I don't have the faintest idea where they should go, lol.....))
Mod
Well. This could go one of three ways. She could ignore the voice and they might find eachother later or never. She could find the voice and maybe they could help eachother. Or she could find the voice and be harmed or worse. The gears churned in her mind as the silence wore on.
Yeah... there was no way she could live wondering how things would have played out if she didn't see the stranger. That being said, there was no reason to meet him without some caution involved.
Ailee patted Jax's meaty side before standing up, her hand leaving the soft comfort of his fur to turn on her small light and point it in the direction of the newcomer as she raised the arcade gun defensively, hoping he wouldn't be able to tell the difference in the guns or try and make a bold, daring move and attack her. The beam strayed for a little, moving from thing to thing until it finally found the man with the voice.
"Hands up where I can see them." She called out, voice wavering treacherously. Jax sensed her fear and moved out in front of her, every inch of him alert as he let out a deep growl.
Jax's protectiveness put Ailee at ease to an extent, bringing her to say one more thing before she would let the stranger speak. "Who are you and what's your faction?"