Lucky gave Ariella a squeeze. "You can ride up on Sinjoro with me, if you like, since June seems to want to work off some energy." He could tell she was nervous and anxious and worked up and he wanted to help, but her fear wasn't something he could fix that easily.
Being the voice of reason that they weren't going to die was tiring, especially when she seemed to think of him as some sort of incompetent idiot who didn't know how to survive.
But Lucky was glad Ariella was there with him, regardless.
Ariella looked at Licky, down at the horse, back at Lucky, then back at the horse. She didn't have a good track record with horses. She had an incident with one years ago and she never wanted to get near a horse again. Lucky seemed to be well in control of his horse but the thought of riding one made her nervous.
"Oh umm," she bit her lip. "It's a long fall from up there. Maybe, maybe I'm better off on the ground."
She didn't look at Lucky, not wanting to have offended him. She was just scared. Everything seemed to scare her these days. It was exhausting and yet there was nothing she could do about the trauma surrounding it.
Lucky wasn't bothered, but… "That's fine, but you're gonna wind up running to keep up with June. I promise you, I won't let you fall, and Sinjoro isn't a bronco or anything." He squeezed her shoulders again, his arm looped around them.
"Trust me." he said softly, watching her reaction.
Ariella hesitated to looked up at him for a moment. It felt embarrassing to admit she was scared of horses but they truly were terrifying, at least to her. It didn't feel good to be bucked off of one. Your life flashes before your eyes. The breath gets knocked out of you and yiu can't breathe.
But Lucky looking at her like that, it made her heart pound. He could have asked for anything and she likely would have said yes.
"I do trust you."
Lucky smiled at her. He wasn't going to push it just yet, but if June took off running, he had no intention of running behind her.
They'd cross that bridge when they came to it.
"I appreciate that."
Ariella returned the smile. It was small and disappeared quickly but it was there all the same. She tucked herself further into his side as they walked, as if she was worried he would suddenly dissappear. She didn't want to be left by herself.she didn't think she could survive being alone again.
"So what are we looking to get?"
Alastor nodded and walked out into the main room and saw Liam sitting on the couch.
"Hey," he said, walking up to him. "Dev and I were going to head out and wander around for a bit. You want to join us when you're done cleaning your gun?"
Devon frowned slightly, he wouldn't say anything, but he didn't really feel like being around others, but if Alastor wanted another person, he wouldn't stop him. He looked down at Zeus sadly.
Lucky glanced at June, before answering Ariella's question. "Well, you and I had a list previously of stuff to look for, and June seems intent on some tents, so. Stuff like that, I guess. Maybe more non-perishables, but you don't really find those at Dick's Sporting Goods.
June ran ahead and then ran back, and kept doing that to let out energy, but so she wouldn't leave the two behind.
Lucky watched her for a moment, appreciative that she didn't just disappear. It meant he didn't have to convince Ariella to get on the horse after all.
Ariella nodded her head. "Are we thinking personal tents or the bigger ones that can hold up to six people? How many do we need? I feel like a lot of us like privacy."
By us she meant her. She didn't quite trust any of the others yet, except for Lucky. She was nervous about someone stabbing her in her sleep. At least in separate tents, if someone was trying to break in, she would likely wake at be able to at least attempt to fight them off.
"I was personally thinking some bigger ones. But smaller ones would work too." Lucky was trying to think down the line. If the nights got cold before they found a place to live permanently, they'd need to huddle for warmth or find someway of conserving heat.
"I think they have clothes at Dick's too. Maybe we should have asked if anyone needed anything and their sizes." Ariella nibbled on her lip. "Perhaps we can just grab some things and hope for the best. This isn't really the time to be picky."
They would need layers as the colder months crept up on them. Layers were the smartest. You could take some off as it warmed up during the day and put them back on as it chilled at night. They should probably stock up on sleeping bags and blankets as well.
Lucky nodded. "We can carry plenty, especially Sinjoro. We'll be able to bring back plenty."
He glanced at her. "Do you have the list we wrote out earlier?"
Ariella pulled out the sheet of paper she had put in her pocket hours ago. It was a bit crumpled now, from being in her pocket. She handed it over to him sheepishly.
Lucky let his fingers brush her hand as he took it, smoothing it out over his arm. "Thank you."
Food, canned/heavy preservatives.
Blankets/warmer clothing. *
Batteries
Flashlights,
Portable heaters,
Lighters.
Multiple tents.
Weapons.
Gas containers.
He looked it over. They could likely find all of that at the store they were heading to, assuming it hadn't been cleaned out first.
Ariella's cheeks flushed as their fingers brushed. She turned her head to pointedly look at the ground. She wasn't sure where her crush had come from. After her previous experience with men, she would have thought that she would have been revolted by any man. But Lucky was different. He made her feel warm and safe. And that was exactly what she needed. There was no denying the warm, fuzy feeling in her chest.
( @Davadio )
Lucas woke up suddenly, sitting upright with a sudden jolt. In his dream he had been being chased, by some bigger boys and his heart beat madly inside his chest.
He placed a flat hand against his chest and took deep, slow breaths until it stopped pounding abnormally. He looked around as he did.
"Oh," he said, noticing Ronni looked at him through tired, squinted eyes. She must've just woken up herself. "Sorry to wake you, I had a nightmare."
"oh, you have a list? that's so smart." June said cheerfully, "Sorry if I am a bit much, I have way to much going on in my head sometimes" she shrugged, going back to running.
Lucky nodded at June. "I tried to write down what we'd need, but I'm sure there's more." He watched her keep running, chuckling at her endless energy.
He glanced over at Ariella, glad she at least seemed slightly calmer. "June will probably want to run off once we get in there, but you and I can stick together." He smiled at her.
They kept walking until they were in the parking lot for the big sporting goods store. Lucky kept an eye out, but the place was deserted as best he could tell.
( @EtherealDreamer )
Ronni came awake to the sound of Lucas startling awake. His apology was helpful. At least he was ok.
She shook her head at him slightly. "You don't need to apologize."
She stood up and walked over to him, laying the back of her hand against his forehead. He had a fever, but it wasn't the burning hot, brain-cooking fever of the deluxe flu, and she was relieved. "Drink some water." She handed him a full glass she'd gone to get while he was asleep.
Lucas took the water with non shaking hands this time and smiled.
"Thank you." He said, before taking a long sip.
He leaned back, letting his body relax.
"So, any weird dreams?" He asked, sipping his water.
Ariella nodded her head at Lucky. "Alright. But is it really smart for us to split up? What if something happens to her? Or if there is people there?"
She started picking at her nails as her anxiety rose again. She wished she had a stash if Lexapro or something to help calm her anxiety. Unfortunately, antidepressants were not on the top of her list when she grabbed supplies.
( @EtherealDreamer )
Ronni shook her head. She'd been half awake, as usual, her sleep being fitful and not super restful. At some point, she'd need to get someone else to watch him, so she could go hide and sleep somewhere closed off and safe.
But for now, she was good here.
.png)
.jpeg)