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Post by Alex on Jun 15, 2016 18:03:12 GMT -6
"Oh, don't worry about it, it's just-" Clovis cut himself off midsentence, actually processing the words. "... Oh. Oh, did he mean, like..." "Sharp as ever, aren't you?" King muttered. "W-Well, I mean, c'mon! It's been years since anything like this has happened." "You hitting on people?" "No, the other way around!"
Kara shrugged. "Well, if you're looking for a good night's rest, yeah, but... sleeping on the streets is actually kind of interesting. You see so much weird shit. This one time, I was hiding in a dumpster, and I'm pretty sure some guy threw in a dead body. Or something. And then, there was this other time, this couple-" "Why were you sleeping on the streets?" Mallory interrupted. "I wasn't allowed in my house. Cops investigating. Y'know. Anyway, I guess we'll be needing the energy. So, yeah, if you actually want sleep... it doesn't work." Mallory, in fact, did not know. But she'd expected about that much from Kara.
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Post by Kor on Jun 15, 2016 18:16:32 GMT -6
Tanner arches an eyebrow at both of them, tilting his head away a bit, still smiling. "I was just offering, if you want."
"In my experience on the streets, it was noisy and dirty and wet and there were mean people." Guy shakes his head, still smiling despite that and despite what Kara mentioned about cops. "In the middle of nowhere... Well, not specifically THAT area over there, I've never slept out there, but like... open skies, wilderness. Still dirty and maybe cold and wet, but, you know, nicer? Maybe I'm just more used to it."
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Post by Alex on Jun 15, 2016 18:45:31 GMT -6
"W-Well, I mean, maybe after all this shit with the Guardians, y'know..." Clovis trailed off, managing a nervous smile. "Heh. Yeah."
"My mom says sleeping outside makes you sick and die," Topaz spoke up. "Or bugs'll eat you." "I had this one friend who got sick and died from sleeping in the streets," Kara allowed. "He was rummaging through a trashcan when a needle went through the palm of his hand. Yeah. It wasn't a great story." "Why would there be a needle in the streets?" Kara actually laughed. "Christ, you're so sheltered, it's weird talking to you."
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Post by Kor on Jun 15, 2016 18:59:45 GMT -6
Tanner was visibly surprised. "Really? ... Great." Smiling to himself, he looks away and kind of falls to the back of the group so Clovis couldn't see him anymore. Despite his confidence that was definitely the first time in a while that had ever gone that well.
"That is another reason I like the middle of nowhere better. There are relatively less things that can kill you. I guess now is a bit of an exception..." Guy looked solemn for a moment, then grins again. "BUT! We aren't alone. Strength in numbers. We'll protect each other." "Well, this's gotten sappy," sighs Jess. "Who's paying for the room?"
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Post by Alex on Jun 15, 2016 19:29:52 GMT -6
"You're grinning like an idiot, Clovis," King deadpanned. "Let me enjoy this. We can't all be you, happy with being totally isolated," Clovis replied.
"Oh, I have something kinda relevant to that!" Kara spoke up. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet. "Found this on the street a couple of days ago. I think it's got, like, two hundred bucks in it? Maybe three?" "Found?" Augustus echoed, clearly skeptical. Kara shrugged. "Well, he was already dead."
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Post by Kor on Jun 15, 2016 19:43:15 GMT -6
"Oh my goodness you looted a dead body." Guy puts a hand over his mouth in shock and shakes his head. "That's immoral," was all Yaoh said. "Smart," comments Jess. "Let's go set ourselves up, c'mon." She pushes the door open and heads in to scope out the place.
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Post by Alex on Jun 16, 2016 16:51:45 GMT -6
The place was borderline abandoned. The walls were covered in what may have, at one point, been a floral pattern, but it was too torn up and stained to be certain. Only one person was actually there: a middle-aged woman, asleep at an old, dented desk. "Well, this is..." Hazel glanced around, searching for some nice-enough descriptor. "Unique."
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Post by Kor on Jun 16, 2016 19:04:38 GMT -6
"I don't like this place at all," remarks Yaoh as he follows in. "At all." Jess folds her arms, looking mildly uneasy about this. "Hm. Well." She turns to Kara. "Go ahead, get us a room."
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Post by Alex on Jun 16, 2016 19:48:57 GMT -6
"Alright. I'm sure this'll be a great conversation." Kara snickered to herself as she headed over to the desk. Something was making a scratching noise in the floor above. Somewhere behind the building, two voices loudly discussed the "shitload of refugees" nearer towns were getting. "So, what do you wanna bet this place is going to be what kills us?" Mallory remarked, looking around. It'd been a joke, but the idea of spending the night here made her shudder a little. Kara returned with a key. "They only had the one, which is weird but not really surprising. Also, they said neither of the critters bite." "Neither?" "Critters?" Topaz echoed, frowning. "L-Like, bugs and stuff? Gross."
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Post by Kor on Jun 16, 2016 19:58:51 GMT -6
"I am... half tempted to sleep outside instead." Jess squirms visibly. "Well, let's check out the room and... the critters... I guess." She shrugs to herself and starts heading up the stairs. After all, what was the worst that could happen to her?
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Post by Alex on Jun 16, 2016 20:19:23 GMT -6
Up a rather creaky staircase and opening the third door to the right (worrisomely enough, the one next to it was missing a hinge and awkwardly swung back and forth), the group found their place for the night. As soon as they entered, a small, rat-like critter hid under the nearest bed. "Okay, that's great," Kara remarked, watching the thing skitter out of sight. "The hell was that?" "They don't bite," the room service lady offered, nodding in gretting. "We have a couple of fuzzy freeloaders, but they just eat metal and rocks and shit. There was this kid who was here a while ago. One-armed. Probably a refuge from the big City meltdown. Y'heard about that, I'm sure. Anyways, he was covered in sand. Turns out the things like sand, too." "I think I remember genetically modifying something like that," King mused.
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Post by Kor on Jun 17, 2016 5:49:42 GMT -6
"Oh," murmurs Yaoh, holding the bag in his hands a bit tighter towards his chest. "That... may be a problem." "So did they eat him or only the sand on him?" asks Jess, hands in her pocket, eyes glancing over the rest of the room. She pauses, then turns to Yaoh. "Eh?" "To be honest with you, this is mostly chalk. If they eat this away before your tailer gets here, then..." He shrugs.
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Post by Alex on Jun 18, 2016 23:22:08 GMT -6
The woman shrugged. "He came out in one piece. I mean, he checked in one-armed so that can't be our fault." "We can just maybe stick it in this drawer," Mallory suggested, heading over to the nightstand by the window. She was about to open it when the screws came loose and the handle fell off. "I mean... it'll probably work. Or we can put it in a bag or something."
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Post by Kor on Jun 18, 2016 23:51:43 GMT -6
"No, no." Though it was unintentional, Yaoh seemed to have a neverending condescending tone in his voice. "I'm going to need to spread some of this on the floor in the doorway. To trap anyone who enters inside. If they eat it away before..." Yaoh looks down at the bag. "Hopefully the other substances in the mixture will make it less appealing, I guess."
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Post by Alex on Jun 20, 2016 12:14:46 GMT -6
"That might be enough to keep 'em away, yeah," the woman allowed. "... Wait, what's all this about trappin' people?" "It's, uh, nothing," Clovis spoke up. "We just have someone stalking us, and we thought this'd be a good place to stop them." For a moment, she looked ready to object, but she just shrugged and laughed. "Well, as long as you don't disturb the other guests."
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