Nexus: Virtues and Sins

Avaritia

"This avarice strikes deeper, grows with more pernicious root."


​
Ava smirked at the tone in Devin's voice – not knowing what to make of the semi-flirtatious vibe she was getting. It was probably nothing, she thought and continued to eat and poke at her food. He didn't want to eat it, but there wasn't much left – so she couldn't really complain. She took a sip of her coffee, noticing that quality of that was also quite sub-par.

After her suggestion about taking a trip to Nexus, Ava was not suspired by Raz's attitude. He didn't have to come along if he didn't want. She didn't respond to his question, sipping coffee and looking outside. Was the male always so sassy in the morning? Was he butt hurt about her not liking pasta? Deciding not to care about it now, she let the lingering questions flow out of her mind. Green hues opened curiously to Devin when he gave the opposite reaction to her suggestion. A friendly smile came over her face as she placed the coffee mug on the table. "Yeah, it would be good for him. Cool him down a bit." She wondered where he was now. Her right eye brow rose slightly to Raz's change in views. Knowing it had to do with Devin's response she laughed a little under her breath and smiled at Raz.

When the boy's voice came through the kitchen Ava smiled sincerely and waved him over to come sit next to her. "Good morning!" he said, and smiled. For some reason whenever she saw hothead, she would get this maternal feeling about him. As if she had found a kitten walking alone in the street on a pouring night – of course she would want to take care of it. After Raz had given him his food, Ava patted the seat next to her calmly. "Eat." She said, motioning for him to sit next to her. "It'll be good for everyone. We need to stretch our legs." She added, and waited for hotheads response.
 
The small teen kept his eyes trained on Raz as the older male twisted around in his seat to look at him, his expression not really changing at all from the hostile glare that he chose to wear, even to Ava as she cheerily waved at and greeted him unlike the reaction most would have. Even as Raz turned back to his food Faulklin only cast an uncaring glance at what was left of the food sitting on the counter, but didn't move.
His single eye trained on Raz again as the older leapt up to drop his bowl into the sink before sliding a bowl towards him and what remained of the food, rolling his single eye and fully returning the suspicious look as the man chose to lecture him about eating.
"What, are you going to shove it down my throat if I don't?" He tossed flippantly. Even so he dumped what was left from the strainer into the bowl, eyeing the others as he moved not to sit down - fully blowing off Ava's invitation to sit next to her - and opted instead to stand against the wall and just hold his bowl while he ate, still keeping an eye trained on them in distrust.
When Raz went on to explain that they were going to be taking a trip to the Nexus, and that he could probably use the sunlight, he couldn't help but scowl at Raz.
"It's not real sunlight, it's just a fucking simulation." The teen spat, a note of bitterness to his voice, single eye flashing dangerously at the suggestion of entering Nexus. "And about damn time. Fucking pricks need a wake up call from their damn utopian 'dream-land' and return to living in the shit-hole they created and left for the rest of us to suffer through."
 
Raz sighed, rolling his eyes as Faulklin whined about the pasta. "I'll eat it myself if you don't take it. The more for me," he said, putting his now clean bowl on a shelf, and getting himself a cup of water. But this time the sarcastic edge to Raz's voice seemed to be dulled, less energetic. The man was quickly loosing the teaspoon of energy that he had to deal with the teen's shit first thing in the morning. But the kid took the pasta. That was progress, and progress was one of the few ways that Raz earned his keep - he was not exactly a handyman or a fighter.

"Passing up a pretty lady's offer to sit next to her, Faulklin? Rude." Raz clicked his tongue in half-mocking disapproval as he returned to his seat next to Devin. He found himself rolling his eyes again as the teenage boy ranted about fake sunlight and giving the Nexus a wakeup call. "I'd take fake sunlight over this dump." Raz picked at the dirt under his nails, giving his best impression of somebody who was barely interested in the conversation. After all, there was no use pretending that he would be willing to fight over his opinion or to go out of his way to stop anything that his fellow gang members decided to do. But, to tell the truth, Raz was sometimes scared that Faulklin would take things too far. The two of them shared similar opinions in some ways: Raz fully believed that the inhabitants of the Nexus (the legal ones, at least) had a sense of self-righteousness that was harmful to the rest of the population. But still, the older man couldn't help but feel a certain amount of distaste for just how violent the teen could be.​
 
"And I'd rather the real world still be nice with real sunlight like it's supposed to instead of just a computer generated copy," the teen spat snappishly, practically bristling. "But we can't all be happy, now can we?"
 
Avaritia

"This avarice strikes deeper, grows with more pernicious root."

​
Ava made a pouty face as the kid completely ignored her invitation to sit next to her. Why couldn't he just sit? Was it really more comfortable for him to lean against the wall? She heard Raz's response to Faulklin's cold response – not wanting to be a part of Raz's teasing. She wanted hothead to trust her so badly – still not having a clue why. Maybe she saw some of her old self in the boy. She knew what it was like – not trusting anyone. She was like that right after he father left her and her mother . . . Not wanting to think about her past, Ava looked back to her food and let the kid stand by himself.

She didn't say much when Raz and Faulklin were bickering – not wanting to get into it. That was until she heard Faulklin talk again. "Well we're not going to get real sunlight so you should stop hoping for it - if that's what you're doing." She said, responding to Faulklin, her eyes on the pasta in the bowl as she took another bite. Maybe the boy needed a little tough love. "It's never coming back so don't complain about it." She told him – not at all scared of this kid. "Know what you want, and go get it." She said plainly, looking up to the window. "Nexus will be good for all of us."
 
Faulklin's whining simply garnered a roll of the eyes from Raz. No point in arguing. Especially once Faulklin was on his high horse. But Ava's response caught Raz's attention. The man chuckled. He could not help but wonder why the girl decided to weigh in and attract the snapping and snarling when Faulklin was already focused on Raz. Not that Raz was any better at not drawing Faulklin's attention. "Faulklin doesn't think we'll ever get to stay in the fake sunlight, cherie," Raz told Ava. "At least, he believes that the best course of action is to mope about and whine. I do believe I've taught him well in my ways." He grinned at Ava, giving her a wink.​
 
Devin glanced up with a raised eyebrow as Faulkin entered his usually cheery personality filling the room with such warmth. Indeed he could almost feel the heated animosity frying his skin. Taking a few large bites of pasta he let the others argue, prefectly content just to sit back and laugh quietly to himself.

"All right all right, sun or no sun that is not the question. If we all go to the Nexus we have a bit of fun or just sit and brood under a dark bridge somewhere, either way it is better than sitting around here arguing." Devin finally interjected. His eyes purposefully stopping at Faulkin at the brdge aprt for that little bit of added emphasis. He then took another big bite of pasta affectively finishing his breakfast, before standing up and dropping his dish into the sink.
"Now if all of you are done being friendly we should probably get ready." Leaning casually against the door frame he waited for the rest of the Sins to act.
 
Avaritia

"This avarice strikes deeper, grows with more pernicious root."

​
Cherie . . . Cherie? What a little shit. Ava's eye twitched in response to the word, but went unnoticed due to the fact that she was still eating. She looked up just in time to see that wink and she promptly gave him the stink eye in response "How unfortunate." She said and stood to put the bowl in the sink, seeing no use to argue anymore. She tried to help the boy, but if he doesn't want to go there is no use dragging him. Ava wanted food and sunlight she was going to get it with or without the group. Raz was starting to get more annoying by the second as well. She didn't turn when Devin spoke, but heard him all the same. "That sounds good to me." She said and passed him through the door way, trying not to look at his huge arms, before she tracked back a few steps. "Should someone wake up the princess?" She said, talking about Vollerei who had not showed herself at breakfast yet. Ava assumed she was still sleeping but wasn't sure whether to disturb her or not.
 
Prompted by Devin's comment, Raz stood and stretched, yawning pointedly. "Am I being recruited, or do I get relegated to the joys of washing the remaining dishes?" the 23-year-old asked with a sneer of mock disdain at the idea of getting to stay behind. Raz was already making his way towards the sink when Ava asked about Vollerei.

"Agh, let Little Miss Sunshine rest," Raz said with a wave of the hand. "Seems silly to deprive everybody of their beauty sleep. Even the princesses among us." He began to scrub the dirty dishes to get them clean, only to freeze mid-scrub as a thought occurred to him. "You guys wouldn't make me go in her place, would you?" Raz gave Devin his best puppy eyes. "I mean, if you need me, I'll go. But, you know..." Well, the rest of his useless argument would hopefully be won by looking as cute as he could.
 
Faulklin narrowed his eyes at Raz as the man felt the need to take credit for teaching him anything, rolling his own single eye.

"Oh get over yourself," the teen snapped with lips curled back. "Only thing you could ever teach me is another lesson in how stupid and disgusting the human race is you fucking lazy-ass snob." Something of a cynical smirk crossed the boy's lips. "But of course leave it to the idiot that hates the Nexus to lecture me about how much more wonderful the fake sunlight is. Fucking hypocrit."

He fell silent as Devin broke into the conversation, the teen all but scarfing down what few bites of his food that remained before walking over and tossing his bowl into the sink, swiping a thumb over his lips to rid them of any remnants of food.

"Great, let's get this fucking thing over with." He cast a glare at Raz by this point. "Sooner we get to the Nexus, sooner I can stop listening to that jackass."
 
Avaritia

"This avarice strikes deeper, grows with more pernicious root."

​
Ava stopped in the door way as she was about to wake Vollerei only for Raz to start talking again. Ava gave him an un-amused face when she was called fucking princess again. No wonder hothead is pissed off at him – he doesn't know when to stop. Eventually he'll be hit – she knew it – but she didn't know by whom or when but eventually it will happen. And he was gonna laugh. She rolled her eyes and watched how Raz looked at Devin, only to laugh out loud at how much effort he was using to look 'cute' – hearing hotheads comment in the background. "Oh man. He wants you bad." She snickered and patted Devins shoulder. "Have fun with that." She said and turned down the hallway and up the stairs to her room.

After closing the door, she sifted through all of the clothes she had collected until she found some dark jean shorts and a tight black tank top. She tied her bag around her waist so that it would sit over her right thigh. It was mostly empty, besides a knife. She wanted enough room just in case there was something she would need in Nexus. Anything that wasn't a hologram that is. A sigh came from her lips. She kinda wanted Vollerei to come – so she wouldn't be the only girl on this trip. Hopefully they won't be bothered by the goodie-two-shoes group.
 
⇥Corvid Hyde Davis
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Beneath a mountain of ragged, tattered wool, a man struggled to exit under the quilted sheets, a rather wrinkled t-shirt and faded denim jeans pushing up from under the suffocating mass of blankets. "Lu- Lucian! Help!" he shouted out while struggling to wrestle the heavy trap of cotton off of his body, not quite clear on how he came to become so entangled under them in the first place. It took a minute or two to shove the heavy bedding off of himself, though he managed to crawl out from under them in the end, kicking them aside and off of his mattress. "Damned things! Why must your hold be so suffocating!?" he questioned to the defeated monstrosity of comforting strangulation. While it was not often that his counterparts would hear his confrontation with the demons that possessed his quilts, it was surely a bi-weekly event. Standing straight, the male dusted off his clothes, though it was in vain, partially due to the fact he slept so close to the floor, partially because his clothes were almost washed in the dust by this point in their lifetime.

Turning around and gazing into the rather empty room, he failed to spot anyone else who might wish to bother him hiding under their sheets. Breathing a sigh of relief, having escaped his possible demise, as delivered by the cotton fabric of his old bedding, Corvid paced out of the room, making it across the hall before almost falling against the opposing barrier in exhaustion. "I am too old for this..... I should be retired by now." the nineteen year old stated, the wooden floorboards of the derelict building creaking loudly as he began downstairs. He could hear the chatter going on in the dining area, and made his approach as silent as he could from across the living room, tiptoeing on the nose of his sneakers. Once he entered the boundaries of the kitchen, he gave Lucian a quick jab to the arm before walking past him "Those blasted sheets will be the death of me Lucian, we need to formulate an emergency 'save Corvid' plan in the case of them attacking me, they will soon make an active attempt at it, mark my words." he made a note of referencing his morning troubles to one of his trusted fellows. Of course he took to greeting everyone else as well, looking towards the rest of those gathered in the rather crowded kitchen. "Morning' everyone, I assume you are well rested?" he questioned, reaching around to pick up the half-empty coffee jug. Obviously disappointed in it's contents, he put the container back down onto its hot-plate and turned his attention elsewhere.

Reaching upwards, he drew open a cupboard, removing the rather well crafted fake top to the container and picking a few unmarked packets of black and herbal teas from the hidden storage space with a nonchalant attitude. Taking a bowl out of the neighbouring white shelve, he placed the five of them into the porcelain white vessel and removed a mug from the same general area. Filling the old kettle with water from the nearby jug, he placed it over the food range and let the water heat up. Only then did he notice the cup of lemongrass sitting on the table next to Sara and Shin; he made his way in their direction, taking a seat next to Shin with a large smile and pulling his PDA out of his pocket. He was lucky to be able to keep the thing alive, although there were a good portion of watches and whatnot that still held a charge and had the battery to power it. "So, I was looking through those maps for the lines that used to run in these areas, and I found out that there is fiber-optic still running right in front of this place." he announced in his typical fashion, seeming anxious to get his point out. "I know that there isn't much of the internet that works anymore, but if we could find a way of running that line up here, then we could be connected to stuff other than just the Nexus; and I heard from my parents that there are still some gov-networks still operational for those who can connect to em', think of what we could get off of those! We could find out where all the food is!"


◊I fear not the barren wasteland, nor the prospect of my own death, only the loss of those who have taken part in this life with me.◊​
 
((Sorry for being gone for so long... Iwaku seems to hate my Mac for some reason.))

Shinobu Yamauchi
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~Patience~
Even a happy life cannot be without a measure of darkness, and the word happy would lose its meaning if it were not balanced by sadness. It is far better take things as they come along with patience and equanimity.

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Shin nods to Daijoudan, thinking, as always, that his plans make sense. There are always things to do here, in keeping their house and running the Virtues, and it seems as though today will be no different. At times, he seems to feel rather out of place here, not having much to contribute beyond the meager harvest from his garden. He has almost no skills at working with the nexus, and his abilities at scavenging are fair at best, but over all it does not trouble him. As with all things, Shin is sure that he has something to offer, even if it is not at this moment.

When Corvid enters the kitchen, Shin is still picking at the half piece of bread that Sara gave him, and he looks up from his small meal to greet the newcomer with a smile. He had always enjoyed the company of Charity's patron, especially listening to his stories, and though he understands little of the things he can do with electronics, he likes seeing the things he can work out with his gadgets. "Good morning, Corvid," he replies simply, and makes room for him at the table.

Listening to his explanation about the fiber optic cables, Shin doesn't quite know exactly what he means, but the last part of it catches his attention. "Or better yet, we could find out what they've done with all the seeds... Then we could grow our own food," he says, his voice holding more than a little hope at the prospect.
 
"There are a lot of things we could do besides just that," Daijoudan observed after listening to both Corvid and Shin. Either way, testing it out would be better than nothing. If it didn't work, they didn't have anything to lose, so the benefits far outweighed the possible reprocussions. "Really, the possibilities of what we could do if we could get our hands on working fiber optics are very substantial, especially if we could form some sort of long-distance communication or survelliance, keep a better eye on the area. Not just for safety but for taking advantage of opportunities for supplies and such. We'll make that one of our priority missions in the next couple of days, if all are okay with that."
 
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