forum //where the dead men lie// >>closed<< stalkers welcome tho 0.0

Started May 24, 2021 by @Celeste_X0X0_ group

tune

Gus pursed his lips. "Well, thanks for givin' me permission t' try. My thinkin' is, he's better off knowin' how t' safely use a weapon than he is pickin' one up with no training. If I'm wrong, I'll let it go fair 'n square." Bracing his hands on his knees, he stood up and glanced at Darius. "C'mon, I think I know where we can find you a good knife t' start with."

June rolled her eyes.

Darius nodded, 'ok" and followed Gus.

Gus gave him a smile and led him to the checkout counter, behind which was a locked display case containing more expensive and dangerous items. In one section was a row of hunting knives, some plain and practical, others finely made but mostly for show.
"With a good knife," Gus said, starting to sift through the large bundle of shop keys for the correct one. "You can do a whole lot of stuff. Hunt, fish, work with wood, build campin' gear 'n shelters, and acourse fight. It ain't th' best weapon since it's short 'n close range, but it's good fer beginners. Hard t' hurt yourself with it unless you fall on it or somethin'." Finally unlocking the case, he scanned the knives with a shrewd eye and selected a mid-sized one with a wooden handle and serrated teeth along the edge of the blade. "See this? 'S called a clip-point 'cause the points a lot narrower 'n more curved than the rest." He found a tough leather sheath for it and handed both to Darius. "Lesson one, put it in th' sheath 'n clip it to your belt. Don't pull it out unless you need it, clear? Knives ain't toys."

Darius nodded and put it in the sheath and attached it to his belt before pulling out his notebook and writing something in it. "Knifes ain't toys- …aren't." he said crossing out a word and re-writing it. "thank you for helping me with this" He smiled.

Gus grinned. "No trouble at all. Now, lesson two: How d'you know when t' draw your knife? For a fight specifically, I mean. The answer is, if somebody's pointin' a weapon at you, that's prob'ly a good time. But don't act like you wanna fight just yet. They might just be scared 'n won't attack if y'give 'em a nice smile 'n say you ain't here to scrap. Clear?" He was sort of simplifying it for Darius's sake, but these rules had worked for him many times in the past.

Darius nodded, "I mean, if I saw someone holding a weapon i would think they want to fight..like June. She always has a weapon in her hand."

"Mmm, well some people like to be prepared for th' worst. And some people jus' like to pick fights. But that don't mean you gotta be one of those types." Gus shrugged. "Use your own judgement too. You'll get a feel for it and figure out how to tell when somebody means business, eventually. Now draw th' knife and let's see how you hold it."

Jez realizes that probably wasn't the best question to ask her. Especially after the "talk" they just had.
He cringed and cursed himself on the inside for being so insensitive.
"Ah-sorry. You don't have to talk about it. I shouldn't have asked." He talks taking a sip of the water.

"i-its..its okay.." she mumbled, still playing with her sleeves, "i-its…j-just been..all i can…remember is just, being there…w-with t-them…" she didnt seem to get anything else out, but her eyes were downcast, almost afriad.

Darius drew the knife, holding it sideways "this…is not right is it?" He frowned slightly.

Gus winced. "Uh…..naw, that ain't it. Here." He drew his own knife, flicked it open, and held it so the blade faced backwards, sharp edge out away from his arm. "Reverse your hold on the knife like this when you're fightin'. It's better for stabbin' and slashin' than if you held it like you were cuttin' taters. Also, brace the blunt side of th' blade against your arm so you can protect it. Now watch this." He held the knife as he'd described, tucking it tightly against his arm and covering the handle with is hand. Then he let his arm drop to his side and angled it so the knife disappeared completely from view. "There. Now you can have your knife ready, but nobody will know until you show it to 'em. Let's see you try."

Darius nodded and copied Gus' motions, he did it exactly like Gus did, as he had learnt how to copy people long ago, it helped him act like he hadn't forgot things. "like this?"

"Yup! That's perfect. Now keep doin' that over 'n over, so you get used t' how it feels. Maybe if you do it enough, your body will remember even when your brain don't." It was a shot in the dark and Gus wasn't sure it would work, but he figured it was worth a try. "Now, always keep track of where the sharp end of the knife is. Very important. Even when you don't think there's any chance you'll get cut, it pays to be careful 'cause accidents happen. The more aware you are of your weapon, the better you can control it, see?"

Darius nodded, he agreed with the muscle memory concept, after all that was how he knew how to write and walk and basic things like that, after a while he just remembered how to. " that makes sense" He said practicing with the knife.

"Good. You're doin' great." Gus clapped him on the back. "Make sure to write this stuff down too, if you gotta. That notebook of yours seems like a great tool. I'm thinkin' of rustlin' up a blank book and pencil for myself, t' be honest."

Darius smiled, " it was my..dads? idea I think, I don't really remember but I think so, " he said writing stuff down, his notebook was almost full and had a few sketches of people so that he could put a face to the name so to speak.

Jesse crosses her arms, her eyes narrowed on the glass, thinking over her actions.
I didn't accidentally put alcohol in it did i?
She thought to herself, a little paranoid.
"Ve should scout burning building from last night" she says lowly, looking at Elodie.

-

Jez's brows crease, concerned.
them? Who's them?
A part of him thought maybe it was friends of hers. But after looking over her face and her body language, he figured other wise.
"It's fine. You're here now though" he says, putting a hand on hers, hoping to be of somewhat comfort.

His hand on hers made her jump slightly, startled before she grabbed onto it with her tiny hands in comparison to his, and she Sqeezes it. She looked at him, with a smile in her eyes, a soft small one on her face. "I'm fine as long as your here." She smiled at him.

Elodie nodded in agreement, her legs slightly wobbly.

"Yeah– yeah great, just let me change first." She said opening her door wide, and gesturing to it indicating she would prefer if Jesse leave for this part.

Jez gave her a soft, yet awkward smile, not used to being this "mushy" with someone.
"Well I'm glad" he says, ruffling her hair before picking up a can of beans and looking around for something he could use to open it.
Though not having found anything, he picks up his hatchet and presses the edge of the blade to the metal in hopes of opening it.
"You know how to open one of these?" He says jokingly.

-

Jesse stands, "was bist du? schüchtern?" She mumbles as she leaves.
Once out, she looks down at her own clothes, grumbling as she decided to go in her own room and change.
She closes her door behind her and zips open the duffle bag, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a loose t-shirt.
She only had about 5 different outfits and they were more lightweight since she wanted to carry more supplies, tools and weapons. Finding that more important than clothing.
But if they ran into any reapers she'd want it's blood to burn through cloth and not skin.

She opened her mouth to say something, but instead a tar like substance came out from under her sleeves and thread sharpening and opening the can and then returning to underneath her scars.
"I-" her eyes widdened as she processed what just happened and she immediately reached to clamp her hand down on her wrist.

Jezariahs eyes widen as he watches the tar open the can.
He drops the can and stands, backing away from her, his eyes a hard glare at Jasper.
"Get away from me" he growls, stepping back.
His head spun and ached and his chest felt heavy with a sort of betrayal.
Was this her plan? Get close to me and kill us all? Like hell that's gonna happen..

(I told you he's gonna freak out. And not in a good way ;~;)

She sees the glare in his eyes and tries to get some semblance of her words out and in a order that makes sense but with everything that happens she finds it harder to breathe,
"W-wait- p-please- i-i- i didnt-" she could feel tears welling up in her eyes, she was gasping for breath as her shoulders started shaking and trembling.
"P-please- i-i- i i c-can e-explain.." she gasped out, trying to look at him through a swarm of tears and the urge to sob on the spot, her throat hurting her as she spoke. The way he looked at her made her want to crumble, this wasn't how he was supposed to find out…this wasn't how he was supposed to find out….why did it have to go wrong like that?! Why did it..react to that?! She didn't even try to do that! She sniffled wipping her eyes as she cried holding herself.

(I'm back, sorry)

Darius smiled, " it was my..dads? idea I think, I don't really remember but I think so, " he said writing stuff down, his notebook was almost full and had a few sketches of people so that he could put a face to the name so to speak.

Gus saw glimpses of the sketches as Darius leafed through the book, but didn't say anything. He worried that some of the drawings might be of people that were no longer alive, and he didn't want himself or June to be the ones to explain that to Darius. "Well, whoever thought of it, it's mighty clever." He thought he heard raised voices for a moment in the other room, but told himself Jez probably had everything under control. "I think that's enough fer today's lesson. You hold onto that knife and try to remember what I taught you so far, alright?"

(I warned you lol. Jez is very strong-willed and passionate. Lol. He's not gonna let that slide.)

Jez squeezes the hatchet, "was this your whole plan? Just lying to us? Sneaking into our safe place when you're the kind that destroyed this world in the first place? There's no explaining." He says waving his hatchet as he spoke.

"N-no! N-no- its- n-nothing h-h-has b-been a-a l-lie- i..p-please-! P-please- j-just…" She gaspedd for air as a sob escaped her, but this time there were no comforting arms to hold her as she trembled on the ground.
Her eyes widdened as he swung the hatchet and she scrambled away from him into the corner of the backroom and holding her head with a slight scream trembling.
"I-i-im s-sorry! I'm sorry I'm S-sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-" she just kept yelling out her apologies as much as she could holding herself close, it was almost as if she was back there…back then… When she was punished for doing something wrong even though no pain happened yet she hurt so much.

(Gus is here to be the resident adult if somebody needs an adult, just sayin lmao)

(lol he will probably hear jasper having a panic attack.)