The Path Less Taken (A Walking Dead RP)

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Aaron didn't think he had ever witnessed someone able to talk so much and so fast in one breath- it was making his own throat hurt just watching him. He wanted to focus on the task at hand, but they wouldn't make it anywhere with Torin in this current state. The older man glanced around uneasily, trying to think how to best handle the situation, but he was a bit terrible with things like this. Robin was much better with people than he was. He wasn't sure what the importance of being bitten was, but perhaps Torin had been?

"Hey, calm down. We're going to be okay." Aaron managed the most calming voice he could conjure as he placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a slightly awkward pat and squeeze combination. He gave a side glance to Robin who looked just about as clueless as he did an gave him a gentle shrug. 'Very helpful, thanks.' He thought inwardly at her. How often Aaron wished he was more eloquent and well versed in situations like these.

"Let's...go to that restaurant you mentioned. You're probably hungry." Robin finally offered, her own stomach making a soft gurgling noise. "I think maybe we all are."
 
"Hey, calm down. We're going to be okay."

Beneath the elder's hand, Torin instantly relaxed his shoulders and quieted, like 500 pounds of weight had just been dropped off and he was finally free. The younger let off a small smile and put his hand over Aaron's on his shoulder, giving it a soft squeeze before lowering his head and staring at he feet. After a few moments, he spoke up, "I know- I know we'll be fine. I just-" he cut off, searching for words.

In the meantime, Robin spoke up, "Let's...go to that restaurant you mentioned. You're probably hungry."

Torin slowly looked up, slightly blank, wide grey eyes staring at the girl as he softly nodded. He turned on the rooftop and started walking against the horde, a small voice escaping his lips as he did so, "Uhm... Yeah. Its- Its on the way to the camp. I still don't know if you are or aren't going there." The male went silent after that, trying to still come up with the right words. Why was this so hard for him to do? Why could he never express his thoughts. A little while into their walk he groaned and tugged at his hair a bit, eventually staring at Aaron. "I'm sorry I'm acting so strange, I just have such a hard time communicating myself. I can't find the right words to explain what I'm thinking." He atared ahead and waved his hand at his head, rolling his eyes, "forget about my emotions." Torin looked back at the older male, his face scrunching up a bit in effort, "I'm-... I'm just really scared and doubtful all of a sudden, for the first time since all of this started. It suddenly scares me that the world is ending and that scares me even more because that is so unlike me. I'm supposed to be the happy one, who takes everyone's worries away. The comedic relief. Something. But thats not the case right now and it kind of hurts that everything has fallen to shit. And it also hurts that I'm finally coming to terms with this after weeks of this bull." He shook his head, looking back down at his feet, feeling awkward, "Sorry, I shouldn't be dumping this on you. Thats selfish. You need to worry about your sister. Not me."
 
"No, we aren't going. At least not now." He had made a mental promise that he would, one day, if all other leads proved fruitless. For now he needed to stop acting so desperate and wait out for a less risky opportunity to arise, for Robin's sake. Torin seemed hell bent on the idea that the refugee camp was not a good idea, so he would give in and wait for a better time. "We'll look for police stations, fire departments. Any place that might have something."

He allowed a peaceful silence to fall over them as they wandered the rooftops, carefully navigating the gaps and dips from one building to the next. Aaron couldn't help from smiling softly, running a hand against his stubbled cheek at Torin's words. Even if not in the same exact way, if there was anyone who understood how he felt it was Aaron.

"Torin...this is the Apocalypse, or whatever you want to call it, that we are talking about. I don't think anyone expects you to be anything. All we can do is survive. We're out here alone. You're allowed to be scared." Aaron chuckled, perhaps for the first time in a long time. "I sure as hell know I am. But...if you stick with us at least we'll have each other, right?" He let out a heavy sigh, glancing ahead toward Robin who had stopped, peering over the edge of the building they were currently standing on. The old smell of hamburgers and french fries still lingered, as if infused into the walls itself.

"Found it." She grinned, looking over her shoulder at them. "But we have just one small problem." She pointed down the ladder that led to the back alley below, Aaron following her motion to see a few corpses wandering around the space.

"Of course there would be more." Aaron groaned. "You up for it?" Green eyes looked back to Torin as he pulled the hammer from a belt loop on his jeans. "I don't know about you, but punching things helps me unwind sometimes." It was all in jest, of course, but there was some truth to the statement.
 
"I sure as hell know I am. But...if you stick with us at least we'll have each other, right?"

Torin stared at the older male, a soft smile smile playing on his lips, suddenly respecting him so much more than before. The younger fell silent, stepping over the rooftops beside his two new partners. Maybe being in a group wouldn't be that bad? I mean, if they were careful, things could be rather nice, safe. Did this really have to be fought alone, did he really have to be such a recluse when the world seemed out to kill him? This and many other thoughts raced through Torin's head as they walked. Once they reached the broken down restaurant, Robin pointed a slight error in their form. A set of striders that were shambling down below.

"Of course there would be more. You up for it? I don't know about you, but punching things helps me unwind sometimes."

Torin stared down at the things and shrugged. "Six striders? What could be so bad, just keep it quiet. We don't want the street horde on us." He shot Aaron a grin. "Punching out my anger doesn't work, besides," He lifted his bow and three arrows, "It'll be better if I stay up here and support." Torin reached to his belt and pulled out his gun, handing it over to Aaron. "But take this. Just in case. It has four bullets. Use them wisely." He winked at the other male, notched an arrow, and aimed below. "Whenever y'all are ready. Don't worry, I'm a good shot. I promise." he gave the elder another wink.
 
"Suit yourself, then." Aaron gave a gentle shrug and half smile at Torin's decision to stay behind, pretty confident in his own abilities to take them down, so long as he was able to take them out quick enough before they were able to surround him. He took the gun willingly, stuffing it into the hem of his dark wash jeans- although hopefully things would not come to that. "Robin, you stay here." He turned to face the ladder, but was stopped when she grabbed his arm.

"Like hell I am. I know you want to protect me, but Jesus I'm not five, Aaron." She insisted, crossing her arms to inform him that there was no way he could convince her otherwise. "I am going with you. I'm every bit as capable as you are." Aaron could feel his annoyance rising once again, but he knew there would be no reasoning with her. They were siblings, after all, and while they were vastly different they did have their similarities. This unfortunately included hardheadedness.

"If you do anything-"

"Stupid, I know. Don't worry. Now get down there. I'm starving." Aaron gave her one last warning look before descending the ladder, as quietly as possible so as to not alert them. Luckily he was able to make it down silently despite the how rusted it was was, gauging he next move as he analyzed his position. He gave one last look up at Torin, nodding gently and then looking to Robin who was half way down but waiting for him to make the first move before climbing the rest of the way. With a deep sigh and a roll of his shoulders, Aaron dashed toward the first one, making quick work of them with a single blow to the head. One down, five more to go- and they were all now heading his way.
 
Torin Pulled back his string and fired at a strider to Aaron's left, which was getting a bit too close for comfort as Aaron and his sister began taking down the others. By the time all of them were down, Torin had fired another arrow, and they had hardly broken a sweat. The young man slid down the ladder and ripped his arrows out of the corpses before turning and approaching the couple.

"Nice going. Quick work." He murmured, giving Robin a smile and shooting Aaron a wink. As he reached for the side entrance to the building, something moving on the edge of his vision,catching his attention.

A group of ten or so striders had noticed them and split from the main road and were now shambling towards the tiny group. Torin yanked the door open and held it open for the other d two. "No going back now, in. Quickly." he muttered as he pulled his axe out of his belt, resting it on his shoulder just in case.
 
Robin managed to jump in and take out a single infected, freeing up the space and time for Aaron to take care of the remaining two once Torin had also taken another out with an arrow. Once went down just as easily as the other, but the other was large man and not so effortless. Robin offered herself as a distraction when she noticed the look in Aaron's eyes, waving her arms. The corpse turned slowly, heading toward her. This gave Aaron the perfect opportunity to kick the back of his knees, sending it plummeting to the ground gracelessly. With a stab to the back of the skull with the dagger he held in his alternate hand, he stood up and wiped the blood away that speckled his forehead.

He gave a modest shrug and grin at the praise from Torin, quickly making his way to the door alongside Robin. Catching a glimpse of the hoard coming toward them, Torin would not need to tell him twice. Although he made the quick decision to pull the other man in after him with an abrupt tug of his arm in case he got anymore ideas about dashing off to play hero once again. Once he was inside, Aaron closed the door and locked it, wasting no time in pushing a large metal shelving unit in from of the heavy duty door- just in case.

"Well, I think it's safe to say we make a pretty good team." Robin grinned from where she was already browsing the food. "Aaron, think you could get one of these grills going? I would kill for a burger right now." Aaron, still a bit out of breath, chuckled softly.

"If that is what her majesty requires, then her majesty shall receive." That statement resulted in a bag of buns being pelted at his head.
 
Torin was grabbed and pulled into the store by Aaron, who obviously felt that Torin would run off again. Its not as if he were planning to, he was satisfied with their position and knew that they would be safe. So, he brushed it of and gave the elder a smile and stood by as Robin and Aaron ensued conversation about food and cooking, ending with buns in Aaron's face. Once Aaron was busy with the grill, Tor approached Robin, assisting her with finding food that wasn't past it's due date for a while before speaking up.

"Your brother's a good man", he mumbled, keeping his voice out of earshot of the elder, "I bet you're proud to have him as a brother... But, uhhh- I wanted to ask... Is- uhm... Is he single? He seems a bit... lonely? If I may say. I dunno. I'm just curious since that has an effect on some peoples' personality..." Torin suddenly realized how he sounded, causing him to reel back and panic, he juggled a jar of sauce a bit before it slipped out of his hands and smashed to the ground. Luckily on a mat, so the sound was muffled a bit. "I- I- I don't mean to ask that for myself or anything, I'm legitimately just curious about him. I mean. he's handsome and I would totally go for him, I ju-just- Ugh!" Torin clapped a hand over his mouth and sat back to prevent himself from saying anything else and making things sound worse. Feeling embarrassed and annoyed, he eventually continued his help with Robin.
 
Robin smiled to Torin as he joined her as she rummaged through the shelves, glancing at labels and picking out cans they might be able to pack for later. when back on the road. It was easy to say she wasn't too surprised at the words that came out of his mouth if how she had caught him looking at her brother a couple times was anything to judge by.

"Oh my god, you are a cutie." Robin was giggling uncontrollably, giving a glance over to her brother who was currently tinkering with various electrical wires. While his strength was in automobiles, he had learned to be pretty handy around the house as well when things broke. One time the heat went out on the coldest day of the year and he spent hours fumbling with the heater wrapped in a blanket trying to figure the damn thing out. She gasped when he dropped the jar, but regained her composure.

"Of course you aren't asking for yourself," she gave him a knowing smile, going back to looking at the food. "I don't think he's even been on a date before, to be honest." Robin's voice was quiet. "You should take him on one sometime- show him a good time. Who knows, we'll probably die tomorrow so what do you have to lose?" She was partly joking. Before the world had gone to crap, she had tried so hard to get her brother to do something, anything, for himself, but he rarely did outside of painting on occasion. Now here they were, in the middle of the end of the world and he brother was a lonely sad sack.

"And we have a grill!" Aaron said, triumphantly placing a hand on his hip at the accomplishment. "I nearly killed myself- again. But, you will have your burgers." Luckily not enough time had passed for the power to run out, and the refrigerator was well stocked with hotdogs and premade patties.
 
Torin shook his head at the girl, a small chuckle escaping his lips as he turned to see Aaron's accomplishment. He nodded and strode off to gather several other bits and babs for dinner. Buns, ketchup, mustard. The lettuce and Tomatoes were mostly rotten by this point, but Torin managed to get some decent looking ones out of the bunch and taking off the top layers of lettuce would reveal clean leaves beneath. He strode back out and placed them on one of the clean trays before dusting off a table and setting them there.

After that, he turned and approached Aaron. "How goes the cooking?" he asked, giving the elder a nudge and a wink. "I wanted to ask you something kind of personal, and I don't want you to take it personally, but I'm just curious about the whole ordeal and your siter kind of encouraged me to do some things even though I dunno if I really want to do them and I just really-" he cut off his rambles and coughed, clearing his thoughts, "Erm. I'm not quite sure how to ask this though... Uhmm- which... way do you swing?" he asked, backing up a bit.


His experience with relationships was hard-wrung and while he didn't quite care for gender, he had mostly striven for guys most of his life. Aaron was a guy. Torin kind of chuckled at himself at the thought. But Aaron was also super caring, that much was obvious and in the super short time that Torin had known him, he had shown bravery and kindness and a huge amount of virtue. So, Torin was curious if he was even available. That being said, whether or not Aaron was available didn't matter if Torin decides that he doesn't want to have anything like that. Relationships during the apocalypse had a short due date, and Torin wasn't sure if he was willing to face that in the first place. But his curiosity had been peakeed.
 
"Can't say it's that great, really. I've never been the best at cooking." Aaron glanced over at him, managing to flip a patty without sending it hurling across the room. If you had told him he'd be flipping burgers by the day's end he never would have believed you. In all the movies he had ever watched on the end of world, never once did you see someone cooking hamburgers and hotdogs in an abandoned restaurant. Maybe directors avoided that sort of thing for dramatic survival effect.

To say the man was taken aback by Torin's questions was an understatement. His eyes widened and his brain buzzed uncontrollably as he barely managed to form a concise thought. "I-I...don't really know how to answer that." Aaron finally managed to stutter, running a hand nervously through his hair. He could feel Robin staring at them from across the kitchen, a big stupid grin on her lips as if she knew what was going on.

"I've never really thought about it..." Sure, he'd kissed his fair share of girls, and maybe even a couple guys during his year in college. But that hardly meant anything in the grand scheme of things. When he took charge of care for his sister all of that kind of went out the window. "What exactly did Robin say to you?" He had a sneaking suspicion she had tried to take it upon herself to play matchmaker, which would hardly be surprising. It seemed she was relentless even in the middle of a humanity destroying infection. He would be lying if the thought that Torin was cute hadn't crossed his mind, perhaps deep within his subconscious, but he couldn't even begin to consider such a thing in a time like this.
 
Torin shrugged at Aaron. "She basically just told me to ask you what was on my mind." He mumbled, backing away a bit at the confusion and hesitation on the elder's face. "Sorry. If you'd rather leave that subject alone, that's fine. I was just generally curious about the subject. And don't take it the wrong way. I'm not much of a relationship person. Especially with all this-" he waved his hand around, "going on. Not- that I was suggesting such a thing... I was just-uhh." He stammered a bit before glancing at the stove. "Your- Your patty is burning..." He softly bumped Aaron out of the way with hip, grabbing a spare spatula and flicking the burning burger into a nearby trash and flopping a new few on the stove. "I'll help." He chuckled, obviously trying to change the subject.
 
Now Aaron felt terrible at the look on Torin's face as he backtracked. He began to nervously twirl a curl around his finger as he often did in situations like this. This didn't have anything to do with Torin, but rather Aaron's inner wiring. He respected the other man, despite their very brief time together. They had almost died together, after all. They'd probably experienced more in a few hours than most did their entire lives.

"Ah-shit..." He muttered as Torin mentioned the burger was burning. He willingly loved out of the way, watching as he cooked a fresh patty, inwardly cursing at himself for how awkward and fumbled he was acting right now. "Look, Torin. I'm sorry, I didn't mean for that to come off that way." He scratched the back of his head nervously, trying to undo any damage he had potentially done. "These are...weird times. And I couldn't even get myself together before all of this happened," Aaron tried to offer him a small smile. Thankfully he was interrupted by Robin waltzing over with plates, hers already set up and ready for a patty.

"You boys having fun over here?" She asked, her eyes practically twinkling. Aaron shot her a warning glance, and she quieted with a bite on her lip. It obviously had not gone exactly the way she'd hoped.
 
"You boys having fun over here?"

Robin had twirled up to the two of them and was instantly skewered by both boys' eyes; but Torin, after a moment, just turned back to his patties without a word. Sprinkling some different spices on before flipping them and running a hand through his hair. "I hate awkward things," he mumbled at nobody in particular, "Its probably one of the biggest reasons I avoided being social when life was still normal." He glanced at Aaron, "But the awkward moments always managed to go own as some of my best memories since they always lead to great things." He shot the handsome elder a smile, "I don't know what it is, but people being bumbling idiots around each other seem to create an interesting result, in the end." He shrugged as he lifted a patty and plopped it on Robin's plate, putting the others on a spare plate nearby before turning of the stove and leaning against the counter towards Aaron.

"Don't worry too much. Things fall into place when all is said and done. So, just relax a bit. Even if it is the end of the world, it should keep you from experiencing your life or trying new things. Cuz, whats the point of surviving if you actually don't give yourself time to live." And with that said, Torin walked to the table with the other condiments and items, and began making his burger. "I liked shopping before all of this. I enjoyed letting my thought wander and worry about color schemes and shoes instead of worrying about life. Thats why you guys found me shopping when we first met." He chuckled,

"That, and I needed a pair of clothes without brains on them."
 
"Bumbling idiot- that accurately describes my entire life." Aaron chuckled softly as he took a plate and patty for himself, Robin following suit and wordlessly making her way for the makeshift preparation station. While he had finally started to not become as handicapped by his own shortcomings, he was still working on the social bit and believe it or not, he had come a long way since his earlier years.

"I...suppose I can see where you are coming from." He said as he followed alongside him, "though, I'd prefer it if this whole life exploration thing didn't end up in character death." Aaron grinned, mostly to himself and with a brief glance to Robin who was now sitting by herself and looking a tad guilty at her botched match making attempt. He opted to eat standing up, taking a large bite out of the hamburger and giving an approving hum as he chewed. "You are hired to do the rest of the cooking from now on." If they were to avoid that whole character death thing, that is. He and Robin had never been much for cooking and family dinners often consisted of microwavable meals.

"I...never said thank you. For helping us. I was kind of a jerk." Perhaps it was the lack of sleep- he and Robin hadn't had a full night's rest in at least a couple of days. "So, thanks for your help today. Not sure how far we would have made it otherwise."
 
"Don't worry yourself with apologizing." Torin smiled at the elder, plopping at one of the stalls and slapping the seat next to him, requesting Aaron sit with him, "You have things to worry about above all others. That would be your sister. Another reason I stay detached from people it that- Well... Love makes you blind." He added the last bit on with a tad of scorn. "It makes it so you don't really realize how much you may be hurting your self or the one you love without a third party stepping ing. And it makes that third party look like the enemy." He knew he was getting on some deep subjects, but it was nie to just loose himself to conversation, so he didn't stop. Yet, after moment, he turned to Robin.

"Oi. Stop being lonely over there in your self-doubt." Torin shot the younger girl a smirk, "Come sit over here." He hadn't talked to the girl much and he felt it was a bit rude to leave her behind in conversation like such. Though, he must admit that his time with Aaron had been more than satisfactory recently. The younger glanced over at him and shot him another wink. "And about character death. Even if there is such a thing, the characters that manage to go down in our hearts are the ones who weren't afraid to be who they were and do what they believed in. If you're a character who decides to go with the crowd and be silent and follow orders, you'll fade into history." He let loose a sad smile, "As morbid as death may seem, its just a part of life, in the end. So might as well enjoy the pathway there cuz its gonna come some day or another."
 
"It may occasionally make you do ludicrous things, and perhaps leave you broken in the end, but I like to think it's worth it." Aaron could easily say he did not know where he would be without Robin. It had been so long since they lost their parents, and they both played big parts in lifting the other up through the hard times to follow. They needed each other and her well being was worth every risk that he was willing take. He followed Torin's line of sight, also motioning over to where they were with a subtle tilt of his head for Robin to come join them.

"We all seek comfort in different things, I guess. Although I think I'll definitely be the least memorable one." He chuckled at that,and it was something he was honestly okay with. There was a small, seemingly insignificant thing that was eating away at him and that was the thought that he might not be able to take paint to a canvas again. It was a hard reality to swallow, and somehow getting through the end of the world without it seemed impossible at times. "Which makes me wonder- what were you doing when all of this happened? It all happened so suddenly." He asked curiously after munching on his food. Robin had settled in the chair beside Torin, obviously very focused on her eating as she glanced between the two of them.
 
"Which makes me wonder- what were you doing when all of this happened? It all happened so suddenly."

Torin stared at the male for a moment before looking back at his plate, "I-... I didn't really do anything." he murmured, "My family was super worried that I may get myself hurt in the real world and they didn't really want to leave me alone, so I was with my family for most of my life. It was suffocating. And when I was diagnosed with minor Aspergers, they clamped on me harder." He grumbled, shaking his head, "I mean, don't get me wrong, I love them to death, but thy could have at least let me stretch out a little. In the end, I kinda just, ran off while they were all sleeping. I didn't have a license, so I took a bus away from home. I moved into a hotel and kept up my life for the next few months working odd jobs and I eventually did get my license. Though, about four days after that, this all reached it's peak and I killed my first strider in my motel room-" he took a bit of his burger, mulling over the memory, "It was an old man who popped up on my door asking if he could settle down a bit. Apparently his best friend had gone mad and bit him and he just needed a place to rejuvenate for a few hours." Torin shrugged as if the memory was nothing, but in his mind he felt absolute dread towards the whole ordeal. "I popped into the shower and when I came out he was a strider himself, trying to kill me. So I killed him first and ran off." he sighe and took another bite. "And that was my hazing ritual into the stupid world we live in today. I guess I passed." Tor glanced at the elder male, "What about you? What did you do before all of this?"
 
Aaron could hardly remember what a life like that must be like: one with overbearing parents that were always watching your every move. He and Robin had been blessed with great parents, and he often found himself missing them. Of course they had not been without their flaws, but they had done their best to raise their children right and their time with them had been cut short. Aaron had been too young to take on a parenting role himself, and it had been a bumpy road but he and Robin managed. This of course went without saying they had inherited quite a hefty sum upon their passing- not that that mattered at all now. So many view adulthood as the ultimate freedom, but that could not be farther from the truth.

His expression fell as Torin went on to tell them about his first experience with the infected. Aaron would have never let someone stay with him, even before all of this. That was something he believed to be common sense, but this had been Torin's first real go out in the real world. "I can't imagine how hard that was, just being out here all on your own." He finished off the rest of his burger, glancing to Robin who was still being uncharacteristically quiet. "Our parents died a long time ago, so it';s just been me and Robin for a long time. I worked at a local mechanic shop while Robin was almost done with high school..." he was cut off when Robin suddenly began to speak, her gaze trained forward as she began to recall of the horrible things that happened that day.

"Our town started evacuation too late. I was in school..." She began, obviously still very upset. "I was with friends and suddenly there were so many. Aaron barely got to the school in time to pick me up. All of my friends weren't so lucky..." Robin took a small bite of her burger as her voice trailed, looking over at Torin as she just barely managed a small smile. "You don't look much older than me. Perhaps in another life we could have gone to school together."
 
Torin frowned at the couple, "Well, your story is a decent bit more severe than mine." he muttered, tilting his head, "why are you guys in D.C?" he asked, "Is it because of the refuge camp or what? That's why I'm here. I was hoping my family would be there, but... It seems like that's unlikely..." His voice trailed off a bit.

He recalled a memory where his parents were planning a honeymoon in D.C. They were bustling around the house, getting packed and calling at eachother to not forget certain things. The whole ordeal brought a soft smile to Torin's lips as he recalled how excited they were to visit the different monuments and have some time alone... Yet, it ll kind of went own when they received a call about his grandmother being in the hospital. Now that he thought about it, whenever his parents were going to do something exciting, something always seemed to come up for them and ruin it. Those were back in the days when everything was open and free. When he was young and his family a bit more loose. MYabe thats why they were so stifling... Maybe they eventually just gave up on being happy.
 
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