Strife

TheQueensGuard

Edgepeasant
Original poster
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  2. One post per week
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  1. Male
  2. Female
Mid-morning
Breez


Today started as any other day in Breez. The sun shined but grey clouds blocked the warmth of the star. A cool Fall breeze chilled the morning air, causing a few fires to be lit around both the Market Courtyard and the Subway Square. Most of the shop owners and cart vendors were set for the day and were only waiting for their regular customer, many of which were starting to awake and go about their business. Though the city looked ruinous, the people breathed a small amount of life into the landscape.
An unusual occurrence did happen as the first customers made their way to the market square. The low hum of an engine rolled into Breez. A well-kept white van, which stuck out in the rubble landscape, rolled to a stop in front of the market square. A blue cross was painted on the side, beneath it in black letters reading 'Providence'. It garnered some attention, a few people expecting a trader from Providence to emerge to sell some better repaired equipment or perhaps a priest to try and convert some of the citizens to the safety of the city walls. Most people continued about their day however, not interested in the occupant of the van.
Emerging from the van was a lone young woman, wearing a white hoodie, reading glasses and carried a journal in her hand. She glanced around nervously, and carried herself timidly, unsure of her surroundings. She took a quick look around the city, before finding the building she was looking for. A makeshift sign reading 'the Breez Bar" hanged above the door, moving slightly with a gust of wind before she disappeared inside.
~~~​
Logan Russo

Not far from the city, an old man woke himself up coughing. He sat up from his bed roll, hacking loudly before spitting out a gob of spit and mucus. He groaned and glanced around the old apartment room. It was dirty, almost has it was never cleaned from the first portal that opened up centuries ago. In fact, the various bricks and debris that laid in the corners of the space might've been that old. Light shined through drawn blinds on one wall, a desk sat in the corner with a chair and a near empty closet, it's door ajar, was near the exit of the room. Despite it's dirtiness, the walls were intact, the roof kept the rain out and it was far enough from the city so Logan could be alone.
Pushing off the bedroll and walking towards a table on the far side of the room, the old man reached for a glass of water left from the night before. Taking a drink, he sighed satisfied as the water hydrated his dry throat. He took a seat in a chair beside the table, rummaging in the desk draw before finding a filled syringe. The liquid inside the needle was a light blue, something swirled the water even when it was still and it glowed every so often. Wrapping his arm with a belt and waited for a moment. His veins bulged and it was easier to see as the blood flow was cut off.

He glanced down at his hand as it went numb. It shook almost uncontrollably, his finger tips glowing as if they were lit cigarettes. Taking a deep breath he slid the syringe into his vein, exhaling with a satisfied chuckle as the liquid flowed inside his muscles. He unwrapped the belt from his arm and sat silently for a moment, the shakiness and glowing finger types of his subsiding as he relaxed. He took another drink of water before stretching his arms. He continued about his normal morning routine, did some push ups and sit ups before getting dressed. He headed out, grabbing a small pack that laid beside the door before going out into the hallway of the apartment. Heading down a flight of stairs, he left the apartments and covered his eyes with a hand, blocking the sunlight as he adjusted to the brightness before heading down the street towards Breez.

Reaching the edge of the Market Courtyard, he glanced uncaring at the Providence van. If it was Inquisitors sent for him to 'purify' him for his past sins, they would've sent more than a van full. His stomach rumbled loudly, reminding him what he was doing in town today. Heading to his normal vendor he pulled a mostly intact stuffed bear from his pack. One button eye was missing but was sewn shut. "Morning Logan, getting your usual?" The vendor said, taking the bear and looking it over with a smile. Logan nodded simply, grumbling out "Not sure why you need a toy." The man pulled a slice of meat off his cart, wrapped it with a napkin and handed it towards the older man, who took a greedy bite of it. "It's for my niece, she's about to be three so I thought I 'outta get her something, you know." Logan raised his eyebrow and took another bite, saying between chews. "You should get her something useful. Like a slingshot or pocket knife." Without waiting for a reply, he headed off towards a bench at the corner of the market, a burning metal trashcan sat beside it to give off heat.
 
Nomad

In the forest nearby, there trekked a lone individual, one simply by the moniker "Nomad." A young scavenger that no one had seen the face of and didn't talk for whatever reason. The two giving way for all sorts of silly rumors. Some of the kids who know of him wonder about it, saying he has a square jaw and enough scars to rival veterans of the wasteland. While others tend to be less nice about, making rumors that he is disfigured or some other nasty word and that is why he covers up his face.

Nomad personally didn't like the rumors, but for the most part it gave him space from other people. Which was a bonus in his head, as it meant less chances for his trust being placed in someone only to be betrayed over a can of beans. That little reminder made him shudder, a gloved hand briefly touching his side where he had been stabbed in the past for said item. There were other risks such as someone who is woefully unprepared for the lifestyle of not taking shelter in the settlements, who could end up making a mistake that could cost both the lives of the unprepared and whoever else including Nomad.

But it didn't mean he was a complete hermit as when he was roaming around, he would occasionally stop in settlements, take up scavenging or guide jobs to places that were decent in supplying whatever a scavenger might want for whatever reason. Going out into danger to get canned goods, medical supplies that haven't gone bad yet, or find some tool or item to fix something of great importance to the settlement. Such as he was doing right now, hauling a duffle-bag given to him to collect spare parts for a malfunctioning generator, in exchange for some food and basic supplies that he could use to survive longer from a random person in Breez.

The settlement wasn't bad of a place to go to, at least it didn't have over-zealous people trying to get you to convert to their religion or kill you because of some silly reason like in Providence.

This wasn't to say he didn't do runs for them, as sometimes they might offer some rare supplies that would aid Nomad better than usual, and when that happened he would feign mild interest in their religion then move on. It worked for the most part, he wasn't branded a heretic and he wasn't stuck somewhere else for whatever reason.

He just hoped his little faking interest ploy would continue to work.

Beneath his mask, he yawned. Mainly because this would be his second day of no sleep. Sure, people would tell someone to not do this as it could have major affects on someone, but in his opinion, it wasn't too bad as he didn't want some creature or bandit sneak up on him in the middle of the night, slit his throat or tear his guts out and he gets to spend the last seconds of his life in agony. He was going to have be careful though, as eventually he would have to fall asleep lest he end up making a mistake that could cost him his life. Nomad was briefly rejuvenated from a gust of cold wind that snuck through his coat and his hoodie, shuddering once more. That was the other cause, as last night he didn't want to risk an open fire that could attract unwanted attention, so he tried to sleep in the cold which only served to keep him up and shivering.

He was going to have to look for a tent or something similar to act as a mild shield against the elements when he got to Breez.

Speaking of which, he soon stumbled from the tree-line and could see the settlement just a distance away. It would take him a few more minutes to get there, but eventually he did. Dropped off the duffle-bag of spare parts, received payment for his services in the form of some canned food, some ammunition for his old rifle and revolver, and was sent on his way, ignoring the odd stares from passersby. Before leaving Breez once more, he mentally slapped himself. He couldn't forget to at least check and see if there was a tent or something to barter for in the marketplace of Breez. Otherwise it'd be another night spent trying to sleep in the cold, unless he wanted to risk a fire.

With the item set in his mental 'checklist' which also had after that 'see if anyone has another job that has supplies as the reward', he made his way to the marketplace, trying to find a trader that had what he was looking for, although he did keep the Providence van some distance away from in-case something was going to go down, and he would just enough time to get into cover, assist before pulling back and running back into the wilds....
 
Lyra Rosewald

The small town of Breeze woke up early as usual. As the sun reared its ugly head over the courtyard, Lyra growled and turned away from the window. She crawled deeper into her refuge under the nice, warm blanket. As time passed, she curled more and more into the blanket, until the entrance bell sounded throughout the building. She rolled out of bed, and lazily walked over to the closet and quickly slipped into the first pair of pants and shirt she saw.

The rotting foundations of the building subtly shook as the young woman rushed down the stairs with a chunk of the previous day’s leftover bread locked in her jaw. She let out an incomprehensible monosyllable sound with a wave to the young boy looking through the books in the alchemy section. She recognized him as one of the apprentices at their neighboring potions shop, Ralph. "Good mornin’ miz," he said enthusiastically. Lyra ripped through the stale bread and placed half of it on a desk.
"Need something?" she asked, walking over.
"Yea, master wan’d--" He stopped himself, grumbled, and spoke again, slowly and deliberately. "want-ted to get the book on lie-can-throw-pee. The ‘un by miz Ramadan."

Lyra almost seemed bemused, but let out a sigh that betrayed her irritation. "You won’t find that in potions," she said, walking toward the back of the room. Ralph followed close with a mischievous smirk. Finally, they arrived at the “Disease/Medicine” section, the words scratched into the wooden plank on top of the half empty racks of books. She grabbed it from the top shelf and gave the boy a small, nudging push with her knee. "What’re you doing following me? Go sign it out!" she berated him. He scurried giggling to the counter and wrote down something on the blackboard with the tiny piece of chalk next to Lyra’s bread.

She walked to him and handed the book over. As Ralph grabbed the cover of the book, Lyra’s grasp tightened for a second, almost freezing in place. After a moment, she let go and regained her composure. "Now git, li’l scamp," she said with a pat on the boy’s back. He gave her a curious look before quickly marching out the door.

Lyra swept the sweat on her brow before walking into the room behind the counter, and started searching the small broom closet full of potions for a small vial. She impatiently downed the purple liquid in the glass. After a minute or so standing still in the closet, she left the claustrophobic room. She placed a piece of paper on the counter that read:
Gone to the market
DON’T FORGET TO SIGN BOOKS OUT
A failure to do so will result in burns


She put on her hat and jacket, and left the building, only to freeze upon laying her eyes on the Providence van. The color drained from her already pale face. As someone got off the car, Lyra quickly started walking toward the stairs leading down to the subway square, almost bumping into the woman in her effort to not look at her. She hastened her pace and started running, until she reached the front of the Twist household. "Mona!" she called out right before she chucked a stone next to the window of her friend’s room.
 
~~Mona Twist~~

It wasn't much of a household or much of a room. Used to be an administrative desk for the metro, a place where you could go file complaints or if you really went out of your way to be annoyed at the city bureaucracy get a meeting with the station manager. It was essentially a two-room living arrangement where one room had a painted over plastic pane where the clerk used to sit. This was where Mona was sleeping whenever her parents were around and also where she kept her stuff. She was often the last one to wake, living underground had that effect on people, natural sunlight is impossible to reach them made it hard to wake up on time. So when Lyra shower up to yell and throw rocks Mona shot upright and looked at the ticking clock on the wall. Looked like it was still early. There was a sound of the deadbolt sliding and then a shout. "Door's open!" She yelled to her friend as she moved on over to her box of clothes. Autumn being what it is she slept under enchanted blankets that preserved her warmth, courtesy of Mr Adar.

As Lyra entered the room she would see Mona crouched over the box in nothing but her plain white underwear and a tank top. She proceeded to dig out a pair of black leggings, torn jeans, long sleeved plain white shirt and a t-shirt with some old band logo, the only legible word was corpse. She put on the leggings with the jeans over them and did the same with the shirt and t-shirt. She slipped on a pair of comfortable hiking boots she recently found and shrugged into a grey military jacket.

"Alright luv, what was that all about. It's still early." Mona shot daggers at her friend for a moment before sticking her tongue out and moving on over to pack her laptop into the bag. She fastened the baseball bat to it as well and made sure all of her kits were inside the bag as well. Engraving, drawing, carving, electronics... She had most of a toolbox in her pack as she slipped it onto her shoulders and pushed Lyra out of the room. "Come on then, talk as you walk." She slapped a particular part of the graffity on her way out and heard the deadbolt slide shut again.
 
When Emrin woke, the sun was just barely starting to rise. She sighed and then started her morning the same way she always did: summoning her owl. The two of them stared at each other intently several minutes. Emrin, listening, watching for a sign. The owl, doing his best to be heard. A small, almost indiscernable breeze blew gently past Emrin's ear. The wind carried with it, a whisper of a name. The owl tried harder and the wind passed by her again. But as always Emrin, didn't notice it.The owl gave gave her what was an unmistakenly exasperated look and flew around the room in frustration and pulling at her hair with his talons. "I'm sorry! I'm trying! Ow! stop it!"

She swatted at it and the two struggled for a few minutes before the owl landed in front of her and disappeared with an audible and angry huff.

Emrin was a strong mage. Or at least she could be. At least stronger than she was now. As it stood, Emrin could do little more with her Summon than take on some of his traits and let him fly around for relatively long periods of time. The only thing holding her back from being able to use her Summon's full potential was its name. Something so simple, and yet, it was everything. Without learning his proper name, she would never be able to form a connection with him. She still hadn't learned, even after all these years. Emrin sighed and slowly rolled out of bed. She carefully brushed and braided her long hair. Then, she grabbed her cloak and staff and picked up the orders she had completed the night before and left the small house to get breakfast.

Emrin noticed the van right away and immediatly felt her stomach drop. A van from Providence could only mean trouble. She stopped by the bookshop first, but Lyra wasn't in. She left the newly bound books on the table and checked out a couple she hadn't read yet. On her way to the bakery she walked past Logan Russo, feeling her stomach knot up the way it always did when she say him. She walked casually past him, the way she always had for past 5 or so years. Always the same thoughts ran through her head. Will he recognize me? What would he do if he knew who I was? Does he hate me? I should tell him who I am. I should tell him...
 
Kane
Breez
interacting with @The Wanderer

The sun had started to rise with Kane making his way to his first stop. Breez a town that he knew nothing about, all that he knew is that is where the elderly couple that took care of him said he should start looking to end the monsters siege. Having just recently awaken from the mind control of Baroness Grimm he was still foggy on a purpose maybe that's why when he heard of the elderly couple's son fighting to end the monsters he chose that as his new quest right away. He continued to walk though dangerous territory he could hear rustling and snarls in the distance but it didn't bother him he wasn't allowed to feel fear in the past and didn't have a real concept of it. He finally reached the rubble surrounding Breez, he continued on with nothing but a cloak on covering his assassin garb and a satchel over his shoulder filled with what little supplies the couple could spare.

Kane entered the city or what was left of it and walked around. It was an odd sight to him, he had never really walked around a populated area without having an assassination target in sight. He walked around and looked at all the shops and merchants setting up sidewalk displays. He stopped because he saw something that caught his eye, customer and merchant haggling over a part. This seemed odd to him since he never had to buy anything in his life, everything was supplied by the Grimm Group. He watched as he continued walking when he bumped into someone who covered his face with a mask.

Kane was snapped back to the immediate situation and looked at the person. He looked dirty and small compared to the people Kane would usually associate with. He looked at the man and stared at him for an uncomfortably long time. Thinking in his mind what his next action should be. In the past he would have kept walking or stabbed him for getting in his way. Instead he remembered his goal, he spoke to the masked person. "I have a mission that needs to be carried out right away. I need to find monsters and close portals. I've chosen you to take me to the portals. Now lets go." he remembered the thing the old woman did with her face that made him feel at ease she called it a smile. He tried to replicate it but instead of calming the stranger it wouldn't be weird if it made him nervous. the smile looked like the evil smirk of a man with a dark agenda.
 
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Nomad

To say that Nomad's 'quest' to find a tent was being downright tedious was an understatement. As there were two traders that had the item he needed, but had differing prices for the tent. One wanted bullets that would leave Nomad with little to no spare ammunition for his revolver. Most likely he would have to deal with having no spare ammo for that. The other one wanted a book, that would require him to go out into the wilderness to go and find.

And considering that it'd be a several trip that could end in him getting sick, which can in turn get him killed. And Nomad preferred to stay alive. So he went to the former, taking out twelve out of eighteen rounds that he kept in his pouch, offering it to the trader while pointing to the tent once more. "Hmmmm…...Make it fourteen and you have a deal. It's a high quality item. Resistant to tearing and will keep you warm, on my honor as a salesman!" The trader said to him, which caused Nomad to hesitate. But he would begrudgingly add two more bullets to the offer, which after the man took with a big smile on his face, handed Nomad the tent bag.

"Now go, I think I see another customer." Nomad didn't need to hear the phrase to make his way out of the trading area. But it seemed fate had something else in store in the form of someone bumping into him, or he bumped into them as he was securing the bag to his side so it didn't jut out or hinder movement too much. Whichever it was, Nomad simply stared back at the man in cloak before him with mild confusion and fear. As Nomad didn't know if the man wanted something or if he should say something, but as Nomad was getting ready to wave at the man to hopefully convey he was sorry, the man began to talk about monsters and portals. And how he had chosen Nomad seemingly for no reason to aid this mission.

Or any reason that Nomad could think of before he came to a conclusion, which only came after putting two and two together. There was a Providence Van and Providence Inquisitors tended to hunt monsters or other creatures, from Nomad's knowledge of them and last he encountered people from Providence, he feigned interest in their religion so he could get some supplies.

He knew it would come to back to bite him.

Nomad would take a few extra steps back, pulling his arms into a crossed position so that any tremble would be unseen, simply shaking his head so that he conveyed that he wasn't interested. And then he partially hoped that the man didn't take offense to this.

He didn't want nothing to do with going and being some Inquisitors' sidekick only to be left for dead.

So like that Nomad walked away and headed to where people would make 'job' offers so he can maybe get some extra supplies to make up his lack of bullets for his sidearm. He just hoped they were just something simple....
 
There was some semblance of peace Lauren found observing the flock of Breez. She did it every single day on her own time and she always found something new to explore, whether that be a person she could exploit or a location that may give her new information and resources for her benefit. Word traveled fast around the dirt shed town and today, Lauren was on a scouting mission for a few things; a van and a woman. She stuck to the shadows as her target pulled up in a large white van decorated with the dastardly symbol of Providence.

Lauren sucked on her teeth and narrowed her eyes as a young woman, hardly what one could consider confident, exited the van. She took note of the woman regardless- white hoodie, glasses, black journal, and timid. Lauren could spot her rain or shine and now the woman was heading into Breez Bar. Who the hell was she? Lauren scrunched up her nose as the woman disappeared into the bar. The van was locked up and with everyone focused elsewhere, Lauren could make her move.

Lauren skimmed the van discreetly with her fingers to the locked driver’s door. Something of great importance must’ve been in the van if she couldn’t see what was in there from the window. Her lock pick went in with a small tension wrench as she worked efficiently to undo the tumblers. Her mind was calm and her eyes focused on the mailbox nearby, though always aware of who would come next around the corner and what type of trash would roll down the sidewalk. Lauren licked her lips as she felt her pick getting closer to the last tumbler.

One click. Done.

Lauren casually stuffed her pick and tension wrench back in her deep pocket and slid inside the driver’s seat. She shut the door, locked it, and glanced around, hand and eyes searching for anything of use in the glove compartment, on the floorboard, and up in the sun visor. She felt under the seats, in the car door compartment, and on the side of the seats. Her eyes did a full sweep of the car from front to back before she finally settled in on a bag in the back. Lauren did a quick sweep of the bag, determining there were no foreign contents or explosives of any kind before she glanced around the area.

Everyone was still doing their own thing, it seemed. Lauren grabbed the bag, put the sunglasses from the sun visor on, and casually exited the vehicle with her new haul in tow. Now, she was one of them, but not really. Lauren locked the door and shut it behind her. That would teach them not to leave their vehicle unattended in her eyes. Her steps had purpose, however, to the citizens who were completely unaware of the deed she’d just executed, she didn’t appear as if she’d just stolen a duffel bag from the Providence van. In fact, to those who weren’t witness, she looked just the same as them, except with a few more things to carry.

Lauren entered Breez's main library and snorted at the sign as she walked in. Yet another person who was foolish to think they could trust their neighbors. Someone could steal a book at any given moment, like her, if she found what she was looking for.
 
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Logan Russo
Morning
Breez, Market Courtyard

@Kat

Logan sat alone, enjoying his breakfast. The meat was chewy and warm, what kind of meat it was Logan wasn't sure of, but he didn't care. It tasted good enough and kept his belly full. He looked over the market square, pondering if it was too early to get a drink. His eyes rested across the street towards Jay's bar.
"Nah."
He said aloud, deciding against it. Jay wouldn't serve him any drinks, not until he did something productive. He frowned and tossed his napkin into the fire beside him.
I could help out Natasha, that clever little gal always needs help with something. Kathleen is away doing whatever the hell she was doing...
He thought quietly to himself, scanning the morning crowd as he thought quietly to himself. His eyes rested on the Providence van, beside it stood an inconspicuous woman. For a moment, Logan disregarded her. She probably was with the missionary crew sent to convert the good citizens of Breez, or whatever the hell the Church people were up too. He stood up with intent to find Natasha, but glanced once more towards the van as the woman disappeared inside. Curious, Logan watched from his bench. The woman didn't seem the Providence type. She wasn't dressed in the Church clothing, nor did she seem overly cautious as the people of Providence tended to be outside of their walls.

A few minutes later she emerged and Logans suspicions were confirmed. A new bag over her shoulder and sun glasses on her face, it seemed he had caught himself a thief. Logan smirked, an idea forming in his mind as he watched the woman walked towards the library. He could play sheriff, turn the thief into Jay and get himself a drink. Hell, Jay might even throw one in for free if he was feeling generous.
~~
The door to the library was slightly open, allowing him to push it open quietly. He glanced around and saw no immediate sign of anyone. Lyra wasn't around, so she was likely roaming the streets with that little friend of hers. A scribbled note on the counter affirmed his theory. It was likely the thieving woman was likely browsing the shelves. A small sound in the far corner of the ship caught his attention. While he did his best to step quietly, he wasn't the stealthiest of men. His heavy boots didn't help either. He only hoped the lady was too preoccupied to hear him coming.
Rounding the corner of a bookshelf, he paused at the end of the row behind the thief. She was knelt over, sliding a book into the duffel bag. Logan cleared his throat and knocked on the shelf beside him.
"Planning on stealing some books from an old blind man?" He yawned and scratched the side of his face before continuing. "Judging by how quickly you picked the van lock, it's not your first time thieving. You probably got a few bounties lined up on the board. Lets get you to Kennedy so I can get a drink."
He stood up straighter and motioned for her to go ahead of him.
 
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Lyra Rosewald

As they started walking down the subway, Lyra tried to string together a coherent sentence. She hadn’t gone to Mona with a particular purpose in mind, but rather because she’d panicked upon seeing the van from providence parked in the market square. She bit down on her lower lip as she ran through the events of that same morning. "Well..." She paused to gain some time. Her eyes opened wide with a victorious grin. "Ah!" she exclaimed. "I ran out of… Er, you know, my medicine today. Mind going out of town with me to get some scrap to trade?" She seemed to be quite satisfied with the excuse she came up with to spend some time away from Breez with her friend, even though her problem wasn’t as urgent as her insistent tone suggested.

As they reached the exit to the market square, she froze in place just in the dark. She looked back down the tunnel the old world’s trains used to come and go. She seemed to be about to go back down the stairs. She pulled her beanie down to cover all of her forehead, even a bit of her eyes. "Let’s get to the job board, in case there’s anything extra we can get out of today’s escapade."
 
Lauren grimaced as the zipper on her newly acquired duffel bag made a loud noise in the quaint library. Her heart raced as she heard a few pounding steps and scrambled to get the book inside her bag. A knock on wood and Lauren closed her eyes, praying to God that this man would leave her alone. It seemed, however, that would not be the case. Lauren slowly rose, a small smile on her face. The guy sounded a bit gruff and experienced; not new to her. Lauren turned around, book in her hand, halfway into the duffel bag. If she had to use force, she would.

“I’m not going to him.”

Simple and to the point. This old man acted like he was the sheriff in town, yet he had nothing on him that signified his station or right to bear arms. Lauren backed up a few steps, the plants and herbs book still in hand. She would rather die of shock than get turned in. It was a small world and you could only rely on so much. A library check out and an old man pretending to arrest her was not either of them. Lauren swallowed hard and dashed for the door down the opposite section, feet light as a feather. Her endeavors were interrupted when she felt a searing pain hit her skin.

“Shit!”

Lauren threw the book to the dirt ground and glanced at her hand– red. The book had been burning the moment she'd stepped outside the door. That was no matter now. She dashed down the left side of the main dirt road. There was no way in hell she was allowing herself to get caught and the bounties paid forward for being arrested for thievery and hijacking. The duffel bag slowed her down a fair amount, with the note pads, books, and long distance walkie talkies banging against her leg as she ran.

It wasn’t long for the sheriff to catch up to her. Lauren rounded a corner into an alleyway and a sudden grasp around her wrist had Lauren caught off guard. She smirked a bit, twisting her wrist out of his grip and breaking free. Lauren turned to run off again when she heard the cock of a gun. Her teeth ran over her bottom lip as she took a moment to consider the gravity of the situation. Lauren raised her hands slowly and faced the sheriff.

“Fine. You got me. Happy?”

@TheQueensGuard
 
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~Ghost~
AM - Breez


It wasn’t a polite breeze that lovingly pulled Nissa from her slumber that morning, instead a soft ripple of noise followed by the unmistakeable smell of digested meat. Nissa groaned as she reached down and reefed the cot blanket upwards from underneath Whistler, the dog rolling off the end of the cot as Nissa shoved the blanket over her nose and mouth, her protest stifled as she opened her eyes with a sharp brow.

“Whistler! By the gods you reek!” She grumbled as Whistler seemed to completely ignore the fact that he could possibly be in trouble, his tail wagging contently as his paws pattered along the train carriage floor, snuffling his wet nose into Nissa’s side and under her elbow for a morning pat. She obliged him half-heartedly whilst she sat upright and stretched her neck to the left and the right before eventually swinging her legs off the cot onto the floor. She had nowhere urgent to be that morning and perhaps for the first time in a long while had taken the availability of a sleep in. Yet with Whistler's flatulence she had still managed to wake early and not being a fan of laying around inside when she was awake, Nissa proceeded to go about the monotonous routines of washing her face, making her bed and dressing. The dog made himself comfortable ontop of the freshly made cot, watching Nissa as she walked back and forth, his tail wagging on occasion when she glanced over her shoulder to see him.

“Hungry?” Nissa asked him as his tail wagged in response and he lifted his head from his paws. Nissa chuckled under her breath as she pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. “Who am I kidding, you’re always hungry.”

By the time she had lowered her hands, Whistler was already off the cot and out the door in excitement as he whined and circled on the spot waiting for Nissa. Inside the train carriage she called home, Nissa pulled on her boots and slid her hunting knife into it’s concealed sheath against the calf of her leg, grabbed her hooded coat from the back of the door and swung it over her shoulders before stepping out into the tunnel, closing the door and taking the time to make sure the door was padlocked twice over before turning and heading for the subway stairs whilst Whistler busily moved along with her ducking off here and there to smell out old and new scents.

Nissa had flicked her hood up and over her head, often walking in such a manner that told an observer that she had somewhere to be and something to do, avoiding the casual small talk that most people engaged in during their traverse up and down the subway stairs. The air in the tunnels and along the stairs was significantly chilled, partially due to the depth underground and in part because of the cloud cover, obscuring the sun light and covering the earth in shadows. It was the type of weather that brought comfort to Nissa, never a fan of the hot sun.

As she stepped out into the market square it was fairly evident that trade had commenced a little earlier, people filling the market square with vendors in full swing as she walked by with Whistler at her side. She knew her destination, stopping first at a small vendor set up not more than twenty metres from the stairs. The lady was good for supplying all types of long lasting food stores and Nissa was partial to the dried beef the woman had been selling for the last couple of months.

“Good morning again,” The woman announced as Nissa stepped up to the stack of pallets which displayed small jars filled with preserved fruits and lard.

“Morning…just a slab of the usual.” Nissa replied simply, reaching down into her pocket and pulling a small bag containing half a dozen jar lids from her pocket. “You said medium sized, this is what I could find.” Nissa added as she passed over the bag to the woman who took a moment to take the bag and look inside, examining the contents before a small smile spread across her lips.

“Thank you these will do nicely,” the woman confirmed, placing the bag under the pallet stack with her belongings before searching about and rising back up with a small brown paper wrapped package, passing it back to Nissa who murmured a small “Thanks,” before turning and heading further from the stairs as she immediately unwrapped the package, pulling one of the pieces of meat from the wrap and stopping in a clear place to hand it down to Whistler who wasted no time in taking the piece, lowering to the floor and using his paws to trap one part of the meat strip while he gnawed into the other end. While he enjoyed the strip of meat in front of her, Nissa rewrapped the package and slipped it into her coat pocket as she observed the market square around them, the people moving to and fro. What stuck out like a sore thumb was the gleaming white van parked just in front of the square, its blue cross and black writing stirring something darker in Nissa. She hadn’t been back to Providence since Isabel had fled from there and it as sure as hell wasn’t a place she was ever intending on visiting. But why would a providence van simply sit in the middle of Breez?

There were the usual offenders, converters or providence high rollers deciding to trade their goods to people they had no issue with declaring were ‘lesser’ then anyone from providence. Nissa had always made a point of sticking it to anyone who claimed they were high and mighty over the rest of the mob. She continued to people watch for a little longer whilst Whistler finished his snack before eventually stepping out, clicking her fingers for Whistler to follow as she crossed the market square to the Breez bar, intent on collecting her latest payment which she had received word about a day or so ago. Whether Jay Kennedy had any issue with Whistler walking into his bar with her she didn’t know nor did she show any particular cautiousness over, simply pushing the door open and strolling through the door with the dog trotting in behind her.
 
~~Mona Twist~~

She turned her head so fast it may have been screwed on a bit too loosely to her shoulders. "Excuse me!?" She stared daggers through her friend as if trying to burn a mental hole in her head. "You woke me up this early to tell me you ran out of medicine?! Between you and Mr Adar neither of you noticed the dwindling supply and then just chose to interrupt my much-needed sleep to chuck me out of the safety of our streets." She turned and poked her friend in the shoulder with her index finger. "You'll pay gravely for this ya minge. I demand 2 bars of chocolate or any Kinder product still fresh and edible. And a kiss on the cheek for forgiveness." Mona loved her naps, but she loved her friend even more, that, however, didn't mean she wouldn't tease her a little bit.

After a hearty chuckle, she turned and headed for the market job board. "Yeah might as well, right? No sense in letting opportunities pass through our fingers." She led the way there, not really paying attention to the rest of the people and Breez. Few nods of greeting here a wave and a word there. What was she even planning on doing today? She forgot, not that it was more important than helping Lyra. Her parents were out of town again, they almost always were. "Alright, let's see what we got here then." She rubbed her hands as she looked up at the board only to notice a somewhat familiar but uncommon figure approach. "Oh hey! It's the weird mask guy! Learned to talk yet?" She smirked at the fella teasingly. "Hey you looking for work, we were heading out to get some stuff as well, wanna tag along? We could bring more stuff back if there's more of us." She offered the guy a fist bump in ways of greeting in indeed acceptance of her offer.
 
Kane
Breez
Interacting with @The Wanderer

Kane watched the masked man walk away. He was about to reach up and grab him but decided to let him go for now, he wanted to see if it was worth choosing him. He let the masked man walk away and let him think he was rid of Kane. He disappeared into the crowd and followed the masked man like his own shadow close enough to touch him but silent and easily forgotten. He followed the masked man to a place where there were other like him and they all looked excited yelling over one another looking for items for them to go and recover. "a scavenger?" he said softly as he watched. He seemed to be a good one, several people were eyeing him waiting to see what kind of jobs he would take. Kane smiled as he watched the man get offered jobs and as they discussed some sort of payment.

Kane sunk into the shadows and watched as he thought of his next move. He looked around and even though he saw other scavengers none other peaked his interest like the masked man did. The others were eager looking for the highest paying job, but it didn't look as though they could handle them. The masked man was still his first choice, Kane decided he needed him to show him around and find the monsters and portals. He wasn't used to this region and the masked man seemed to know his way around. He continued to watch his target in the shadows ready to approach again once the chance arose.
 
Nomad

As Nomad walked on over to the job board, he saw two people were standing near it, both girls from the look of things. One of whom he barely recognized. And the other looked familiar, but he could barely remember where from. Perhaps he had taken a job from the latter, as he most definitely did for people in whatever town he was currently in. But before he could rack his brain to remember what job, the girl that he barely recognized called out to him.

He remembered her now, 'Mona' if he wasn't mistaken. Which he hoped he was not, as that'd be more awkward than he was comfortable with. Giving a little wave to them, he stopped near them and the job board, when he heard about Mona's job offer. Seemed decent enough, go with them to collect scrap, haul as much of it as they could, and cash it in for supplies. And hopefully it meant Nomad didn't have to stay in Breez for much longer, as that encounter with that Inquisitor had shook Nomad a bit. And who knows, by the time they come back, that Providence van could be gone and hopefully he won't have to worry about Providence people ready to attack him if he was in their Neighborhood.

He could get some food rations, some more ammo and maybe actually check out that book place he had seen in the past during previous visits, as he was curious as to what was inside.

Mona held out her fist for some reason, though Nomad remembered that this was a greeting/agreement gesture between people. Less personal than a handshake, which in Nomad's severely awkward social skills and personal space saving, was the best thing to have learned.

So, almost mimicking Mona's fist, he gently placed his fist against Mona's until gloved knuckles met knuckles. Although, Nomad was unsure to move his fist away as he had seen people do an extra finger wavy gesture after a 'fist-bump.'

Taking a gamble in hopes of not appearing more awkward, he did said gesture. Although the hesitation and slowness of the gesture, combined with the fact his gloved hand created soft rubbing noises between his fingers seemingly acted as a counter to Nomad's motives of seeming less awkward.

After that, he simply rubbed his left arm to somewhat comfort himself.

Hopefully this job would go smoothly...

@Snowflake @Sketching101 @Kurogane86
 
Logan Russo
Morning
Breez, Bookstore
@Kat


The girls reply was simple, but expected. Logan sighed and rubbed his eyes with one hand, only taking his eyes of the girl for a moment. She took off during that moment, the sound of her running feet caused Logan to look up as she booked towards the door. He frowned and ran after her, grumbling lowly. "Damn it woman." As he quickly followed after her, the clumsy old man bumped into a shelf, knocking a few of the books to the ground. Shit. He kept after her, ignoring the books on the floor. Adar and Lyra wouldn't like it, but he'd worry about it later.

Hot on the womans heels, the woman tossed the book she was stealing onto the ground. She wrenched slightly as she ran, no doubt in response to one of the books anti-theft enchantments. Accidentally steeping on the book as he ran, he cussed at himself again. Knocking a book to the ground was one thing, but he'd get an ear full for leaving a boot imprint on the outside of one of Adar's books.

Finally Logan managed to get a grip on the girl, the added weight of the duffel bag likely slowing her down enough for Logan to catch her. "Quit running lady, you're pissing me off." He growled out before the woman twisted out of his grip. She turned to run once again but Logan was out of patience. He drew his pistol from his waist, cocking the hammer back. The woman recognized the sound and came to a stop, slowly turning with her hands raised. "Fine. You got me. Happy?”
"I'll be happy when I get a drink." Logan held his scold on the woman. He motioned with his pistol to come along, muttering aloud. "Lets get going so I can be done with your smug smile."

Morning
Breez, Bar
@StareNation


"Morning Nissa!" Jay was as charismatic as ever, giving the gunsmith a warm, friendly smile. "And you brought Whistler in today? Today is off to a good start!" In truth, today was not off to a great start. The driver of the Providence van that rolled into town found her way into his bar. She wasn't looking for a drink, but for help. Now Jay just had to get his people to help

He set aside the glass he was cleaning and leaned on the counter. "Getting your usual?" Without waiting for an answer, he started pouring a glass of tequila. "Tell you what, it'll be on me today." Sliding the glass over towards her, he uneasily tapped his fingers on the counter, before resting his arms on the counter top. "I need a favor. I know you won't want to do it, but...." He trailed off, looking up as Logan pushed open the door to the bar, using a pistol to motion for a woman to come inside. "Oh great, not even noon and the old mans already waving a gun around." Jay mumbled to Nissa, before standing up from the bar and giving the two newcomers a friendly wave.
"Morning Logan! Who's your friend?"
"A problem."
Logan answered angrily, a look of impatience on his face.
"But she's your problem now."
Logan slid his pistol back into it's holster on his waist and he took a seat at the bar, two stools down from Nissa. He reached across the bar to grab a bottle of whiskey and glass, before pouring himself a drink. He rubbed his knee and mumbled lowly to himself. "Damn woman made me hurt my knee."
Jay glanced at the older man and chuckled some. "See Logan, I told you you'd be a good sheriff!" In response, Logan glared over at the bartender with annoyance in his eyes.
Jay gave the woman Logan deemed a problem a friendly smile. "So you're a problem huh? What'd you do to upset the old man?"
 
Emrin dropped off the baker's order and emerged with a piece of bread for breakfast. Next, she headed towards the bar. Jay had asked her to repair an old gun. Emrin entered the bar there was a woman who Emrin recognized but didn't the name of sat at the bar with her dog. Logan was there as well, and as usual, her stomach churned. She briefly considered leaving and coming back later, but she'd already been seen. She walked up to the bar and handed a wrapped bundle to Jay. "I don't really need anything at the moment so just remember you owe me." She glanced at Logan. He appeared to be turning in someone he had caught, "Busy morning."

The woman Logan had brought in had a black bag with her, and something on the bag caught her eye and she turned for a better look. A blue cross patch was sewn on the side. "Where did you get this?" Emrin asked her.

Emrin glanced outside where the van was and smiled widely. "Oh my gosh did you steal this from the Providence van? That's awesome!" She sounded excited. "Can I see what's inside?"
 
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~Ghost~
AM - Breez Bar


Her feet had barely touched the floor of the bar as Jay’s warm greeting emanated from behind the counter, his voice light and chirpy as he made reference to Whistler who by now had already made himself comfortable on the floor beside a stool Nissa always had a tendency to sit at when she idled to the bar side. Nissa eyed Jay with a raised brow as he finished cleaning a glass and she casually walked across the room to the usual spot. Using a hand to pull the stool out from under the bars edge she slid one leg over and slipped onto the barstool. Her coat draped around her as she did so, her free hand reaching up and pulling her hood back as her ponytail of hair rolled across her shoulders.

Jay had immediately commenced pouring her a shot of tequila which did nothing but convince her that she had unknowingly stepped into a situation she probably cared very little for. As soon as he mentioned that the drink was on him she couldn’t help the knowing and sly smile that spread over her lips. Her fingernails rattled across the bar counter almost in time with Jay’s as she watched him with an accusatory stare, her eyes briefly darting down to the shot and back up to see his face as he leant his arms onto the counter. This was a Jay set up for sure.

“You’re awfully nice this morning.” Nissa had managed to murmur, about to mention the non-alcoholic reason for her being in his bar when the door behind them opened. She looked over her shoulder just as Jay had begun to pull her in for a favour as the two of them watched a familiar face appear followed by a woman. She figured by the pistol waving Logan that the woman wasn’t there by choice although she was sure it wouldn’t be too hard to outrun Logan. Jay’s anti-gun grumble had gone unnoticed and she chuckled at the unapproving comment though her smile had immediately disappeared as she spotted the providence bag the woman was clutching. Her expression darkened as she turned back and took the poured shot, not at all impressed at the sight of anything in relation to providence. She tilted her head back as she let the shot swirl down her throat before placing the glass back on the bar, the audible clinking sound as glass met wood. She wouldn’t bother pressing Jay for more details on the so called favour, figuring when he was ready he would divulge the information and that would be when she would either tell him to go forth and multiply or agree with her own terms. She minded her own business as Logan and Jay commented back and forth to each other though did wonder what the woman had been up to for Logan to have caught her out.
 
Breez Am

Rain normal routine is he got up early as normal people do in some shape or form, not today though he slept in for about three hours today because he was shattered from one thing or another, his dog lightning whimpering because he had not been fed, rain gently sighs as he holds his head for a few moments then gets up slowly, pulling the covers to the side then getting out of his bed.
He quickly starts to stretch his body so he wouldn't be tempted to go back to bed, once done makes the bed neatly and then gently pats lighting on the head.


lightning wags his tail and then goes to the kitchen and waits for rain knowing it won't be long before rain feeds him, he decides to drink some of his water in the dog bowl in the meantime.
Rain went to the shower and quickly got undressed doing what he normally did that much of his routine had not changed even though he slept more than normal.

After taking a shower he quickly turns the taps off, then grabs the towel quickly drying off then puts a towel around him then opens the shower doors and gets out of the shower.
The rest of his routine is easy and sort of like a robot he went through the motions before he got into a green t-shirt and grey and black jeans and black trainers.



Rain stepped outside his door with Lightning and then some of the guys that he pathed say" Sorry about yesterday, truth be told that was the first time we had to be fixed up and were scared".
Rain gently sighs then says" I see wish you had just told me instead of making me run around town to get you sorted out, tell you what though I'll need some more jerky from your farm that stuff is the shizz and lightning loves it".

The guys laugh and then say" Yes we can do that for you and thanks for not telling our big sister she would have given us hell for it".


Breez bar

Rain walks in with lightning watching the people carefully, he sees two women one that looks like someone he thinks he knows from way back and a man drinking, and when he starts to remember nisa's family' Isabel Hartley and her father is Hale Whitby, the Whitby family, if I remember correctly the mother had a girl and left providence'
Rain sure as hell was not going to say anything about it, why I'm I starting to remember stuff from back in that crap city it left me with a bad memory, maybe I'm just a little grouchy because I have not eaten yet'.


Rain goes up to bar and takes out a handful of uncommon fizzy drink caps from his back pocket and then says" Three sandwiches don't mind what they are, please and some water, lastly a dog bowl that can hold some water and some food".
 
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Lyra Rosewald

As Mona approached the masked man, Lyra sunk further into her jacket, anxiously glancing back at the van in town from time to time. The spiteful grimace on her face was interrupted abruptly with a stifled chuckle as she saw her friend and their masked companion bump fists, and the man making a gesture with his fingers. She quickly disguised the laugh with a fake cough. "Hm. Coarse weather," she said, looking nowhere in particular. "We should get going quickly. Burning daylight, and all that!"

She turned to the jobs board and snapped one of the pieces of paper. She held it up for them to see. Most of the writing was tiny, leaving a lot of space for a crudely drawn map with a small area marked in red. "This seems good. Just a bit of scavenging for Miz Petrov out east. Apparently there’s another old world station there. Plus, we can cross a couple o’ things from my list just a little further out." She folded the piece of paper up as soon as she was done speaking and hurriedly stuffed half of it in her back pocket, obfuscated by her long jacket. She took a few rapid strides forward before looking to the others. Her eyes slipped over at the van one last time. "Hey, who knows. Maybe we’ll find an uncollapsed tunnel. This journey might even last days!" she quietly said with a hopeful glee.

Mentions : @The Wanderer @Kurogane86 @Snowflake
 
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