"Uh… well… I was." Kas grabbed onto the tree next to him and managed to drag himself to his feet, although he was still wobbling dangerously. "But a group of people seem to have decided they're keeping me or something as of like… uh… an hour ago tops?" He was still breathing heavily from getting to his feet, and he kept his weight off of his injured leg. "They don't have any real food other than like… fruit snacks… so I figured I should do something about it. I'm supposed to be laying down, and they don't know I'm gone I don't think, so… y'know. Who're you?"
When Bean noticed the ice wasn’t doing much, she started to panic. “Oh god, oh god…” she mumbled. She didn’t know what to do. She tried putting wet washcloths on Tohru’s forehead as she went to get some water for him. She couldn’t call 911, since they were in an apocalypse, so she also went looking for some aspirin.
"Oh, me? I'm Lis. I was traveling with some people for a while, but I uh… I left during the night a few days ago because who wants to spend their dying moments surrounded by world-class assholes, ammirite?" Lisa explained, "Anyhow, you definitely need that deer more than I do. I'll carry it back, and you're supposed to be resting you said- so maybe sneak back in and I'll cover for you? As far as they know, I was just hunting and I'm sharing my kill. I'll scope things out, and if they seem nice, I could always use another group to travel with."
She gave a slight smile.
"If that's all good with you, of course."
The washcloth didn't help, but it at least felt nice on Tohru's hot face.
He pulled the cloth over his eyes and laid down, still curled up in a little ball.
Kas nodded along a bit as Lis spoke, feeling a bit more amiable towards her than usual. He tended to like people who were willing to help in more subtle ways, especially since it wouldn't get him in trouble for being up. "Uh… yeah, sounds good to me. It seems like they like picking up random people they come across, so I'm sure you'll be alright." He stood up straighter and tightened his grip on his bow, trying to not look like he was in pain. "They've got a fair few people with them. There's uh…" He considered for a moment, trying to remember. "Luka, his two sisters… three adult guys, I think, one other teenage girl… some goth kid who's probably younger than ten… that's all I can think of. Pretty sure that's everyone."
(Not Kas only remembering Luka's name 😳👀🥱)
"Gods, a lotta kids, huh?" Lis replied, "They could probably use an extra set of hands then."
"Anyway, you can go on ahead, and I'll carry this doe in."
Lis bent down and hoisted the animal up over her shoulders, grunting as she stood up. It was quite heavy, but she could definitely carry it up to the porch, which would be better than dragging it up through the leaf litter and dirt.
When she finally made it to the porch, she put the deer down on the wood.. That was exhausting, but manageable for sure.
She knocked on the door.
Kas slipped through the door before Lis and stood in the living room for a moment, but went to open the door for her after a moment. "Hey, there's someone here!" He called out to the others, pretending that he had been in the house the whole time.
Luka rushed over to the door. “Who is it?” he asked as Bean sighed. She had no idea what else to do. “I’m sorry I can’t help much…” she whispered to Tohru. She felt terrible for not being able to help as much as she would like.
Kas stepped aside so that Luka could see, leaning against the wall to help his leg not hurt as much. "A woman. I'm gonna head back to the couch. My leg is hurting." He said before wandering back into the living room.
Lis looked at Luka.
"Hey! I was just hunting in the area and looking for a place to stay tonight. I noticed there were a lot of people in and out of this place, so I figured I should share my kill," she said, motioning at the dead deer on the porch.
"May I come in, or are you guys not too keen on having strangers here?"
Tohru shuddered a bit, shaking his head dismissively. It wasn't her fault, after all. Not at all.
Levi had seen something like this happen to one of the guys at his old shelter and was trying desperately to remember what it was and how to fix it, when he was thrown into a memory again.
No no no! Not now-
They'd told him to wait at the outpost. The outpost where he'd met Tohru and the others. That's why he was there. To meet up with his group. Why had he left? Why hadn't he stayed there, like he promised? Now they'll think he's dead, if any of them are still alive. And now he'd never know.
Levi shook his head to snap himself out of it. Tohru needed him, the group needed him. He certainly didn't need to be fussing over the past now.
He stood up and walked to the group finally. "Alright, give him some space, don't crowd him." He said, trying to keep his voice calm.
Tohru opened his eyes a little bit, just enough to see Levi's blurry figure. He hadn't fully turned his head to look.
Needless to say, some sense of relief washed over him. Did Levi know what was happening? Or was he just trying to make Tohru a bit more comfortable?
Kas lowered himself to the floor and lay down on the floor, panting softly. He felt woozy and lightheaded, and his leg was hurting more now that he had a chance to rest. He kept quiet, however, trying not to draw too much attention to himself.
Mori kept close to Tohru, close to tears. He was confused and worried about the man, and he has no idea what to do.
Lilac was in good enough condition to now get closer to Mori. She held him close as Bean moved back so Levi could help Tohru. Luka, meanwhile, had followed Kas and sat next to him. “Do you need anything?” he asked.
"Mm…?" Kas looked up at Luka, trembling lightly where he lay on the floor. "Eh, I'm fine. It's kinda cold, but I'm also laying on the floor, so…" He shrugged a bit.
Mori hugged Lilac tightly, obviously upset and not feeling well. "I-Is he gonna be okay…?" He asked weakly.
“God, I hope so…” Lilac whispered as she pulled Mori closer to her. “Okay…” Luka sighed. “If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask,” he smiled as he stood up and walked over to his sisters.
Kas curled up on his side on the floor, still shivering a bit from the chill. He yawned and closed his eyes, pale and uncomfortable where he lay. Mori started crying softly, curling up in Lilac's arms.
Lilac tried to hold back tears as she hugged Mori tightly. Bean hugged them both, staying silent. Luka looked back at Kas before looking at his sisters. “He’ll be fine…they both will…” he tried to reassure them. They have to… he thought to himself.
(what is up with Tohru, if I can know, so Levi can help?)
(He's having a panic attack, but he's never had one before ✌)
(It really is ;-; Been there, buddy.)
(ohhhh yeah Levi knows all about those)
"Hey, Tohru." Levi said quietly, gesturing at the others to move back. "It's okay. We're all okay, everything's gonna be fine." He knelt down by the couch so he wasn't standing over him. "Tell me what's wrong. If you can."
The siblings nodded and Lilac pulled Mori away so that they weren’t crowding Tohru. She was ignoring the pain in her abdomen from her wound since Mori needed her right now. Luka sat near Kas, keeping an eye on him just in case something happened.
Mori watched worriedly from afar, still crying softly in Lilac's arms. Kas was a little out of it, still exhausted from lack of sleep and exertion and distracted by the pain in his leg. He glanced up at Luka, humming questioningly.
.jpg)
