We Survive Nuclear Seasons [Closed]

[celebrityskinned]

WHO| Barricade boys, Max and Venus
WHAT| General allies catch-all post.
WHERE| A store in the middle of town.
WHEN| Week 1
WARNINGS AND NOTES| Discussions of dead spiders. I figure we can set up Les Mis cast & co. threads in here, so just put in your subheading when and with whom you're threading with.

She brings guns from the amusement park.

None of them are loaded, of course; they're just props from the galleries, the ones where young men used to try and show off a skill bygone in the fifties to win big stuffed animals for their girlfriends. Still, she imagines that they look threatening enough, and at the very least they're heavy enough to be useful bludgeons.

The shoe store, aside from the splatter of blood in the carpet, has been relatively put back together after the spider attack. The shoes are again in boxes, though many of them have been stripped of their heels, which have been broken off to make little shanks. The front door is barricaded with an upturned table and tied off with twine, leaving only the back door as a reasonable entrance. All told, there is a store room, an employee office, the main room with a cash counter, and a bathroom. It's not cozy, but the bathroom has running water, and Venus has erected her tent in the office with intent to share it with Joly.

The spider corpse has been unceremoniously dumped in the street a few hundred yards from the store. Every day it gets a little bit more putrid.

Joly found himself a boxcutter from the back, and Venus still has her chain, which she's outfitted with a piece of one of the foot-sizers to have a heavy 'dart' end. She trained a few times with a nine-piece chain-whip as a teenager, and has been trying to dust off the skill when she's not looking for allies or supplies.

"Scream if anyone shows up," she tells Joly, then clambers up to the roof via a gutter pipe in the back. She paces across the shingles, swinging the chain less out of habit and more to try and make herself familiar with the weight of it, toeing her way over pieces of the roofing that seem moldy and dangerous. Now that it's later in the evening, the temperature has gone back down, and her jacket seems cold with the sweat the humidity leeched from her earlier in the day.

She shades her eyes and looks out over the Arena. The fog's still too thick to see anything on the ground, but from above it she can make out the ferris wheel and rollercoaster in the back, the lake with dull clouds skating across its surface to the east. And she can, potentially, make out allies.

Comments

JOLY: OTA

[medecin]

"Of course." Joly agrees, glad of the box-cutter that he's wearing at his side just now, and setting about on a project, of sorts, of his own. One never knows when that running water might run out, or when it might seem amusing to the gamemakers to end their supply, so he has taken to gathering what of the water he can, in makeshift containers, against the day when they have to rely on a stored supply instead of what they have.

True, the location did not provide much in the way of those containers, but there WERE some plastic bags in some of the boxes of shoes that hold a little water, and have not leaked so far. Besides that, it was a good sight more comfortable here than otherwise, and his breathing was nearly normalized again, enough that Joly has some semblance of a normal thought process.

That is why, when he is done collecting water for the moment, he is moving back to sort through the items in the shop, including a small selection of ladies' purses, which allow for some straps that would work well to hold bandaging in place, or for scavenging supplies if they dared. Sorting so far, he finds himself keeping an ear out, even as his mind drifts and he hums a bit, unconsciously, as he works.

you mean open to MAX X(

[designatedfreak]

She's scavenging when she comes across the shoe store that has been or is occupied. It's the barricaded front door that makes her think that Courfeyrac might be inside. After helping Molly, Max had rummaged through a few buildings and now had a bag that was once a pillowcase, filled with canned foodstuff, half of which the labels are missing from. It was still better than starving.

Max is careful not to make too much noise as she enters through the back of the shop; should it be anyone she's not familiar with she'll need to make a hasty retreat if she wants to save her supplies for the group. It's the humming that draws her further in, quiet enough to not bring attention, yet loud enough that Max can easily find the creator. Joly. With a slight smirk that only Courfeyrac may have noticed, she removes her knife and throws it so that it lands near Joly's left ear. An inch closer and it would have landed through Joly's ear.

"You're too loud." With a thunk, Max drops her bag, letting the cans roll around the floor.

So open! Open like...everything i can think of is totally inappropriate. Open like his heart! There!

[medecin]

Joly is, of course, too busy concentrating on his task, so that, when the knife comes whirling past him, he's immediately jumping, looking about for the source, a panicked expression on his... Oh. She's speaking. Joly relaxes, a bit, recognizing Max, though they have never had the chance to speak alone before. But he knows her to be the genius who set up their great strategy with the explosives last time, and she gets a sheepish smile.

"I...suppose I am, at that. I am quite lucky it was you who found me." He's answering, then standing to help her gather the cans. "At least, I hope I can be glad it's you, this early in the game." He adds, a little wink showing that to be a joke. "It is good to see you are all right so far."

[designatedfreak]

"Courfeyrac hasn't checked in?" Joly shouldn't be too hurt that her first concern is her brother instead of the hypochondriac; Max has priorities and at least she brought enough food stuff for everyone. She lets Joly pick up the cans as she looks around the room. "Who else is here?" Because there's evidence of someone helping him.

[medecin]

Joly is not hurt at all, no. He's nodding at the question in fact.

"As of yet, we have not found him, no." He's shaking his head, a bit worried himself. "Venus and I found our way here from the cornucopia. There was a massive spider who had taken up residence here. For once, I understand what it is like to be a fly." He adds, looking, well, a bit disturbed.

"We'd hoped to gather everyone else though, in time. I do hope Venus has some luck with that. How have you done, so far?"

[designatedfreak]

She turned back and took a seat on the dusty counter. "I rummaged through a few buildings and got this knife at the Cornucopia." Max brandishes the six inch blade for a moment before putting it back in the holder she had quickly put together. "I found a woman and she's in another building. A blond man was able to escape with his supplies." She glanced at the cans and then back at Joly. "We'll need kits for first aid in case the others return hurt."

Max didn't want to think about the others returning injured. She didn't want to worry that Courfeyrac might not even find them. "They'll find us." Yes, she wasn't going to thing about the what-ifs.

[medecin]

Joly studies the blade, plainly impressed.

"That ought to help considerably, yes. Venus found one of the supply bags herself. It was too foggy for me to breathe much there, let alone to see."

Here, he nodded toward the bug spray and other supplies that had been brought along.

"Venus took some of the spider's...death explosion bile and was burned fairly painfully. I've had water to put on it, we've a running source here, thankfuly." He gestured toward the containers he had been filling.

"I've been collecting more in case it stops at any time. First aid kits would surely be a blessing. The fangs on those things concern me. If infection becomes fever and anyone is bitten..." He let out a deep sigh there.

"At least some of the others know more of the kits now. We had a strategy meeting where Enjolras taught me a bit more of the knife that Venus got me started on the strategy for and I demonstrated all of the contents of the kits. Of course, it hardly helps us if we cannot find them." And he shook his head here, clearly concerned.

"The medication that brings down the fevers and pain and the stitching parts would be most useful I think. At least a needle. There is some thread here, ancient though it is that could be used in a pinch. Does your woman require any sort of aid that we could give now? I would gladly go to help if needed."

Not for the first time, Joly was feeling rather useless here, actually. Gathering emergency water was one thing, but, there was a lot more that he could be doing, asthma attack inducing fogs or not.

"I can easily scavenge, and look for the others once Venus returns, or...if she does not after some time. If we see no one else soon, that may be a good idea. A fresh set of eyes at least. I wonder though, in all of this, perhaps there ought to be some sort of trail that could go with me so that returning would be easier. A pity we have no twine as Theseus." He added, half in jest. It WAS Theseus, wasn't it, and the Minotaur and ball of yarn? There were shoelaces here, but they were better served for tourniquets if needed, really.

open;

[libertin]

Courfeyrac had managed to amass a small cache of supplies in his backpack, with enough rations packed inside to keep him alive for a few days at least. If he were on his own, he might survive, but since passing Enjolras in the fog on the first day, he hadn't really seen anyone since. He'd heard people, heard screams, heard the disgusting skittering of insects, things like that, but he hadn't actually seen anyone. They were like ships in the night, passing one another without stopping to say hello. He wondered where his friends were. He wondered about Max. He especially wondered about Cindy.

He'd been wandering through the orchard for awhile, hopelessly lost in the blanket of fog when the ground seemed to shift dramatically from earth to pavement. Fearing one of those creepy rifts in the ground, he prepared to fall into the abyss. But instead, the crack seemed to move slowly, unfurling itself like a carpet, leading him out of the mass of trees and into the town proper. The fog was still thick, but he could make out the shadows of buildings on either side of him.

Encouraged, he decided to explore the shop indicated by the crack in the ground, and thus he approached the shoe store.

Re: open;

[celebrityskinned]

"Courfeyrac." Venus says it more to herself than loud enough for him to hear, as if saying his name out loud will make it certain that he's the one wandering through the mists. She spies him from her little vantage point and grabs the chain up in her hands, quickly scrambling her way down the gutter and back below the line of clouds.

"Courfeyrac! Watch out for the dead spider!" This time her voice is a little louder, cutting through the fog. It's hard to mistake the sound of cheer in her tone, despite how abysmal this Arena has felt so far. Nothing about it has been enjoyable; not the insects, not the temperature, not the fog that presses on them from all angles, making the whole world feel heavy and impossible. There is no joy except for the company they keep. "It's me. I have Joly with me."

She has part of her arm and her collarbone covered with tape and a towel, a makeshift bandage for the burns the spider-venom gave her, but otherwise she looks alright.

[libertin]

He recognizes Venus' voice right away, rolling his eyes a little at her warning about the spider. How preposterous. How utterly ridiculous. And how typical, that a woman should be afraid of a little spider. Of course, his scoffing is quickly interrupted by the appearance of the hideously huge spider corpse in the street, the one which he very nearly falls over. "Mother of God! What the devil is that thing?"

He doesn't have time for the answer. Instead, he's leapt up and away from the ghastly thing and practically into Venus' good arm. A second later he notices her injury. "Good, lord! Did that thing get you? Where's Joly? Is he alright? He gets so squeamish around spiders."

[celebrityskinned]

"It's nothing, just some burns."

She gives him a squeeze, although lighter with her bad arm than the other. It's brief, because they don't have time to keep both their back exposed when enemies could be only feet away and cloaked in cloud.

"He held up like a champ. He tried to kill it with a shoe, even." She gestures with her free hand. "Come on, we have shelter. Have you been wandering alone this whole times?"

[libertin]

He follows her lead, entering the shop and shrugging off his bag once the door is secured behind him. It's cluttered, cramped, and not exactly welcoming, but to him it may as well be paradise.

"I passed Enjolras in the mists a few days ago. We'd planned to meet up again, but I suspect were both lost." Courfeyrac opens up the backpack and rifles through for supplies. "I have food here, if you're hungry."

[celebrityskinned]

"We haven't seen him yet." Venus' lower lip crinkles into a slightly concerned expression - though Enjolras seems in a more stable state of mind than a few months back, she still worries for him. She's almost selfish in her desire to keep him safe this Arena. "Or Combeferre or your shadow. Or Marius."

She leans forward to look at his supplies.

"I don't want to be toward and take all your food, but we're starving." She pauses. "Well, not starving starving, but we haven't gotten much."

[libertin]

"You haven't seen any of them?" His brows furrow in concern as he hands the package of beef jerky to Venus. "That is rather disappointing isn't it. Though I can't see the use in mounting any sort of search for them." Not unless they want to get lost in the fog again. "Let us take no news to be good news from them in any case. Perhaps if this fog clears we can look for them in the daylight. Until then, let's eat up. We'll need to be strong for the coming days."

[saisamour]

Perhaps what caused the most distress to Marius was that he had not even acquired anything to aid his friends during his particularly disastrous Cornucopia run.

He increased the pressure against the wound that cut down close to his dislocated collarbone as he half-walked, half-stumbled along, just as his attacker had told him, to keep himself from losing too much blood. It helped only a little but it was better than nothing, and in the farthest, blackest depths of his mind he wished to simply die and have it over with.

Immediately, the guilt stung where physical pain could not reach. He had promised Enjolras to assist his brothers; he had to repay his debt. So he struggled onwards through the thick fog, barely even taking in his surroundings, until he almost tripped over the pavement.

He stared dumbly at the ground for a long while before a movement in the fog caught his attention. His breath caught in his throat, and he took a wary step backwards, far from keen to encounter another attack, and so soon at that. He stood silent until through a clear patch in the fog he recognized the familiar mop of hair, and his expression brightened considerably.

Limping towards the figure, he called out in a cracked whisper, "Courfeyrac!"

[libertin]

"Marius?" Courfeyrac squinted into the fog, staring for several long moments until he could clearly see his friend emerging from the blanket of mist. Instantly he felt concern well up in his chest as it became clear that Marius was bleeding. Without hesitation, he was at his friend's side, ready to carry him to safety if necessary. "Good God, man! What has happened to you? You're a mess! Come, let's patch you up!"

[saisamour]

It was tempting to simply collapse on Courfeyrac the moment he had come to his side, but Marius bit on the inside of his lower lip and reached for Courfeyrac with the hand earlier pressed upon his wound. He grasped at his friend's shoulder to steady himself, and squeezed his eyes shut as a wave of dizziness washed over him.

When he opened them again, it took several seconds for the blurriness to dissipate. In the end though, all he could sputter out was an embarrassed, "I-I am sorry."

[libertin]

Why was he apologizing? Stupid man. Courfeyrac wanted to shake the stupidity right out of him, make him listen to reason, fix him. "You've no reason to be sorry, my friend. Come now, and be quick about it before you faint. What in God's name have you gotten yourself into, Pontmercy?"

[saisamour]

It was rather embarrassing, he thought, to be wounded so early on, but at least it was Courfeyrac whom he had first encountered. He shifted so that he could lean onto his friend and tried his hardest not to stumble as they walked, and to keep himself conscious.

He glanced at Courfeyrac and managed the faintest of smiles that was also a little delirious. "Fortuna abandoned me at the Cornucopia."

Enjolras OTA

[orestes]

It's dangerous to be walking in the street, but then, it's dangerous to be so much as breathing in an Arena, and Enjolras suspects that sneaking around the edges of the buildings would be no better for them anyway. Combeferre's shoulder is less of a concern than he had worried, but it's still a concern, still something that nags at him, and forces them to take things more slowly than he'd really like. If he could be bothered to reflect on things as such, he might find it slightly amusing that absolutely everything about Combeferre's person, not just his words, urge him to slow down and consider each of his actions. In a way, it's as if nothing has really changed between them at all.

He smells the spider before he sees it, and reflexively wraps his jacket up around his nose and mouth to combat it. Gases, he realizes, could be a very real threat. They wouldn't be so far off from the fog, after all. It becomes apparent on sight, however, that the thing is several days old and that that's very likely the cause of the terrible smell. The stench of death hangs around them in the humidity. While it isn't the first time they've experienced the combination of heat and decay like that together, Enjolras is certain he's not alone in thinking that he'd rather not ever experience it again.

And more importantly, the spider's putrefying body make it obvious that someone else was near them, and not terribly long ago at that.

"Stay alert," he says, low but firm, in French that's muffled only by his makeshift mask. "We're probably being watched."

[philosophe]

The fog and the abandoned buildings have made this a very unsettling Arena, in Combeferre's mind. Then again, one cannot and should not expect anywhere they are forced to play a game of death to be pleasant, he supposes. In any case, he is grateful for Enjolras' presence at his side, despite his reassurances that his shoulder is fine, thank you very much, he knows quite well what to do with a wound like this; but perhaps it is the Arena that has put Enjolras on edge.

They have made their approach together -- Combeferre with some strips torn from his shirt as an improvised bandage, and he cannot help but wrinkle his nose at the sudden stench surrounding them. It is quite reminiscent of where they had been last at home, of the Trois Glorieuses too, and even the hospital, if he must be forced to remember. It is the smell of death, and his hopes that it is not human (or someone he knows) are brightened when he sees it is only a spider. ....Very well, it is an extremely large, decaying spider, but perhaps it means that someone is nearby. (And, perhaps, it means that he can poke about and see if he finds anything useful.) But that could wait a while longer.

"If they are smart, we are," he replies in kind, tugging his own jacket up from force of habit. He is quite accustomed to such scents, but poisonous gases could certainly be in the game-makers' artillery. "Shall we try a building? It would at least spare us from the damned fog."

[orestes]

Buildings mean shelter. They also mean the chance of being cornered. Enjolras considers for a moment, looking from one side of the street to the other uneasily in the fog. It's the smell that eventually gets to him, compelling him to move in one direction or another. Presumably it will be less oppressive when there are walls around to block out the bad air.

The shoe store is what eventually catches his eye, for no reason other than that between it and the clothing store on the opposite side of the street, he figures other people are less likely to head for the shoes. They don't serve a real practical purpose, or at least none that he can immediately think of.

"Spare us from the fog, only to subject us to what, I wonder." It seems dark as they approach, and blessedly deserted. Hopefully that perception could be trusted. Hopefully this wouldn't come back to haunt them in some terrible way.

[philosophe]

"A good question." He steels himself as they approach --heading into a building unarmed and unaware is hardly wise, but they have very few options at the moment.

"Do you have any weapons?" He adds, in an undertone. He does not, at the moment, but he will improvise if he must. Perhaps he would get lucky and find something inside. Once indoors, he glances around, frowning and squinting in an attempt to get used to the sudden change in location.

[celebrityskinned]

It isn't easy finding her way back to the shoe store after a day out looking for Ellie, Kankri and Enjolras. In addition to the fog and heat, she's injured, a knife wound in her back from her tussle with Gannicus and Nasir. Her first impressions of the wound were more serious than it turned out to be, but it still isn't exactly pleasant to have a puncture right near your kidneys, and she doesn't want to speculate on what kind of awful creatures the smell of blood might draw out.

She's tied the sleeves of her jacket tight around her waist to staunch the bleeding and carried on, leaving the memory of how she got it several hours behind her, if not so many miles. It's borderline impossible to tell distance in this Arena, difficult to pick a direction, and maddening trying to retrace her steps. She intended to be back many hours ago, and is sure Joly has conjured up mental images of her dead to explain for her absence.

The stink of the dead spider is, unusually, a welcome reminder of where she is. Somewhere on this street is the shoe store where she, Joly, Courfeyrac and Marius have settled. She's traveling by smell, then by sight as the shoe store just pops up near her, when voices through the fog, distorted by the wetness of the air, reach her ears. She stops and calls out, peering for faces that seem shadowy through the cloud in the air.

"Enj? Is that you?" There's a smile on her face that could only describe relief. "And Combeferre?"

[orestes]

"A knife," he answers before cutting himself off from further extrapolation at the interruption. From his vantage point (which isn't great, nothing is great in this fog), Venus looks, well, quite awful. There's a stain from where she's haphazardly covered her wound and the eerie light of the Arena makes her seem pale and washed out in the relative distance.

He looks over to Combeferre, then back at her. There's a satisfaction in his expression if not out and out enthusiasm. Finding Venus meant they hadn't stumbled into their deaths. At least for the moment.

"The illusions are usually more perfect looking, when they are meant to kill us. I do not doubt that may be a hazard here, they have used it several times before, but I do think that she is real." It isn't phrased as such, but the request is implicit nonetheless. While Venus holds the promise of protection, at least temporarily, and the reassurance of a familiar face, it's entirely up to Combeferre how they choose to proceed. By his thinking, all three of them will be dead soon anyway.