You could be my luck

[libertin]

Who| Courfeyrac, Marius, Cosette, Joly, Max, and other invited (or uninvited guests)
What| Courfeyrac brings home a stray. Later, the campers gather to watch the nightly soap opera on the projection screen.
Where| 4th floor, near the mammals
When| Week 2, after this & this.
Warnings/Notes| N/A?  No tagging order, make your own threads if you want.  Let's make new CR and tag around!

Courfeyrac was waiting in the hallway outside of the mammal exhibit with his new acquaintance, X5-452, knocking out a pattern on the wall.  It wasn't any sort of standard pattern, but it would be recognizable to the people he hoped were still camped out around the corner as a sign that the approaching footsteps were his and not someone coming to kill them all.  

He waited for a response for several seconds before repeating the knocking, then, becoming eager, he called out to the campers in French, "You must answer when I knock, otherwise I will think you are dead.  Fools."

Comments

[saisamour]

For the last few days a thought had been circulating in an endless loop through Marius's head. He did not know how he had come to possess it, or what shadows had whispered it to him, but once it had been implanted he found that he could not simply brush it off, like a confusing remark, or a lint on his shoulder.

District 13 had orchestrated he underground invasion of the alien abominations.

District 13.

He wondered where District 13 was. If it was possible to escape there. If it was even real, or a sign that he was slowly, slowly being driven into insanity.

He could have rested to see if it was an effect of fatigue. But whenever he slept, he witnessed again the horrid vision of a few days ago: Cosette held between two Peacekeepers, an injection filled with poison designed to deliver excruciating pain before merciful death, its silver needle pricking into Cosette's small, fragile arm. He could hear Cosette's screams laced with soul-piercing agony, and himself in the crowd of marble statues, trying to get through her, to save her even when he knew she was far beyond saving.

And so for the past few nights Marius had slept as little as humanly possible.

Dark grey-olive half-circles swelled under his eyes, his face pallid, lips drained of color. He had himself pressed against the wall next to the tent, knees drawn to his chest and head slightly bowed, eyes glazing over as he stared at nothing in particular. Courfeyrac's knock didn't register the first try, but he jerked his head up when he heard the familiar curls and inflections of his mother tongue.

"Courfeyrac!" he hissed, his voice cracking from disuse. He got onto his knees and forced himself up. A sudden wave of dizziness surged at him and he staggered back, his hand resting on the wall to keep himself steady. He took a deep breath, hastily gathering himself together and hoping that Courfeyrac did not catch his stumble.

[libertin]

It was too late for Marius to salvage any dignity. Courfeyrac had seen him falter and his face was already knit with concern by the time his friend was en route to him. It had apparently been a stressful day for Marius, not that Courfeyrac could fault him for it. He'd been stressed out too, and on edge since his initial encounter with X5-452. Speaking of which...

"Stay back, Marius. I have brought someone, but I do not wish for them to be startled by you." He glanced back to the child, straining to see her in the dim light. "Get a good look at him. Can't you see he is harmless? He will die without me."

[designatedfreak]

"He will die from exhaustion." She can see the dark circles under his eyes and that telltale sound of a stumble. It seemed Courfeyrac really was the strongest of the group. This didn't bode well for their survival.

Max knew she should cut whatever loss there may be and leave. This group, whoever it consisted of, would only hinder her chances, but she was lonely. Despite how many people she had met so far, she had yet to really stay with any of them.

Slowly she stepped forward, making sure to keep Courfeyrac between herself and the other man. "Sleep rotations would help."

[saisamour]

Despite his lethargy Marius had managed with some effort a small frown of protest at Courfeyrac's commentary, although the—sadly—probable truth in them was not lost on him. Still, he did as told, taking a step back and closer to the wall, squinting as he eyed their new companion.

Somehow, the child reminded him a little of Gavroche; he even seemed to act older than he really is. Instantly he felt the need to protect him, because maybe somehow that would make up for how he had failed to save Gavroche from the barricades.

He darted the same sulky look at Max. "I do sleep."

Except only just barely.

[libertin]

He sent Marius a look that begged for patience, as he was keenly aware of just what a thin line he was treading. X5-452 still had her massive knife, and he didn't doubt that she would use it if she were to feel threatened. "We could develop a better system. We need to."

He approached Marius and reached out to his friend, as if to show X5-452 that it really was safe with them. "This is Marius. He is here with his wife, Cosette." And elsewhere would be Joly, though Courfeyrac wasn't sure when he would turn up.

[designatedfreak]

Wife was another unknown concept, but Max kept her confusion to herself.

In a grand gesture of trust (actually the firm belief these people held no threat) Max put her knife into its holder. "It would serve you better to add traps. Even with sleeping in shifts an enemy could slit the throat of a guard before they alerted the rest." Yes, she was going to lay low for a while longer and what better place than behind these adults? They already had a relatively hidden space and a basic code of recognition.

Looking up at Courfeyrac, she raised an eyebrow and announced her decision. "I won't kill you. Yet."

[saisamour]

Now, Marius had become vaguely aware of the danger even children could pose from the clips of the Games he had the misfortune of witnessing, even though he actively made a point to avoid them. So he tensed at the boy's conclusion, and every fibre in his being wanted to protest that he will not allow Courfeyrac to die by the child's hands, and that children should be enjoying their life and their innocence instead of murdering people, anyway.

But he was unarmed; he regretted leaving the pocket knife near the ground where he had been sitting only a while back. That, along with Courfeyrac's plea and the boy sheathing his knife, managed to keep his mouth shut.

Still, he cast a wide-eyed, worried glance at his friend. "I... I suppose we must have a system, if you say so."

[libertin]

"Excellent. We're in agreement." Taking this as his cue, he gestured for X5-452 to join them in the camp proper. "Clearly you are exhausted, Marius. Why don't you rest while X5-452 and I set about making preparations?"

As he suddenly as he'd seemed to snap into action, he then came to a stop. Looking around the hall, he wondered aloud, "And where are the others? I do not want to set traps that will hurt our companions."

[designatedfreak]

"Further back," she answered as she came closer. Even with dulled senses she could still observe the tell tale clues of other people within the small camp, a quiet whimpering, a decidedly female scent. Internally Max figured this tiny group would make good shields.

"A simple alert system would work for now. Did that elevator bring supplies?" She wasn't quite willing to part with her own bit of wire, but she would have no problem using their supplies.

[saisamour]

Marius blinked; first at the boy's odd name, then at how certain he had sounded when he mentioned the others. For what was not the first time he wondered whether it was right of Courfeyrac to lead this young one to their camp, and the pang of guilt immediately followed that thought. Despite everything, he was still only a child.

His mouth opened, and he almost carelessly enumerated the supplies they possessed—a crowbar, knives, a flash-light, among others—but he caught himself in time and snapped it shut. Instead, he glanced at Courfeyrac and waited for his friend's lead.

[libertin]

"This is all we have." He gestured to the small cache Marius had brought out to show. He also had the laser pointer gripped in his other hand, as well as the knife he'd confiscated from Max earlier in their encounter. "And food and water to last us another two days or so." He was most concerned about that, in all honesty. Death by murder might be bloody, but it would be quick. Death by starvation sounded far more painful.

[designatedfreak]

"Food can be stolen." She wasn't above leaving strangers to starve if it meant her allies would live a little longer.

Max looked at Marius with a frown. "Sleep. Three hours." She turned to Courfeyrac, "Bones, wood, anything that can be sharpened. Cans too. Noise alerts first, then something..." More deadly. "Bigger. I'll have to go to the cars first."

[saisamour]

Marius pressed his lips together to keep himself from protesting. Truthfully, though, X5-452 was correct in him needing sleep—and his eyelids drooped as if agreeing with the little boy.

Without a word, he curled up close to the corner and leaned the side of his head against the wall, allowing his eyes to fall shut. His breathing evened out almost immediately, and soon the looping narration from the screens and the occasional chatter of conversation faded into a murmur, as his mind drifted off into a place of dreaming.

[libertin]

Once Marius had finally obeyed, Courfeyrac set about preparing to follow his young companion's orders. Did he mind being bossed around by someone so young and small? No, not really. She clearly had a good head on her shoulders, and he was one who thrived when committing the orders of such an individual.

"I shall dismantle a few of the skeletons," he agreed. "And bring back as much as I can carry." This sounded rather like constructing a barricade to him. "You will meet us here?"

[designatedfreak]

Max nods. She's not attached to this group, but counts its members among a growing group of allies. Besides, it would be good to have a place she can bed down without worrying someone would kill her while she slept.

"Also bring back the nuts and screws. And combustibles." A few more bombs wouldn't hurt to have at hand.

She makes sure to leave them with one of the cheese rounds that the Doctor had traded her, if only to prove that she would return, and then she was heading back to the stairwell and down to the place of their arrival. Internally she hoped none of them died before she could return.

[libertin]

He hoped none of them died while he was gone too, though his travels did not take him quite as far. Using the crowbar, he began to dismantle one of the massive reptilian skeletons near the elevator and dragged the mighty bones slowly back to their camp. What started out as a small pile soon grew, though the work was tiresome and sometimes dangerous. Every so often, a section of skeleton would topple to the ground, barely missing his head in the process. But he persevered, and as Marius soundly slept, the materials for a barricade were assembled.