[hr][hr][center][h1][i][b][color=4682b4]Ash Holloway[/color][/b][/i][/h1][img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/c6f0f86d13839f8542e4b754c251da73/tumblr_ojog8uNf9k1qdhps7o1_r1_500.gif[/img][/center][hr][center][color=steelblue][b]Location:[/b][/color] The Bus
[color=4682b4][b]Skills:[/b][/color] N/A [/center][hr][hr]

	Air conditioning. Just damn. It was an incidental luxury, something that would have been utterly taken for granted a few years ago. Even complained about in the summertime, if it wasn't performing up to snuff, or worse - broken. No, that simply wouldn't do. But he had been raised as a sort of outdoorsy type. Rural-ish, at least. There were many a time that he spent warm nights in front of the lake after a swim, or counted fireflies from his front porch with his father and brothers, all without the use of freon enhanced atmosphere. He got spoiled in his late teens, though. If Ash hopped in his truck and couldn't get it to spit frigid air at him, he was pissed. The Army cured him of that, and in a hurry. Getting stationed in some godawful unstable portion of [i]América del Sur[/i] made him extremely grateful for any occasion for life's little luxuries. The first time on site he got his hands on a Coke, you'd have thought he had discovered gold. This moment was the first since the untimely death of his Hordebuster that he had access to the bounty of a functioning AC unit, and it was appreciated. A lot. 

	After the initial bout of thankfulness for the rarity of climate control, not to mention the anxiety of being out in the open abated, Ash took a look around the interior of the bus at everyone present. A second of doubt plagued him, but only a second. He was taking a lot on faith here, and betting the lives of people he had come to regard as family (be it fairly dysfunctional) in the bargain. But they were safe [i]now[/i]. Their situation likely wouldn't change for another hour, and he was seeing this through. So he took a little time to just observe these men and women who, despite all of the differences among them, had at least one thing in common: They were alive. After the last five years, that counted for much. 

	One of his observations was that most of these people had paired off, in a manner of speaking. Almost everyone had somebody they were close to in one way or another. Jack and Tati had each other (and their baby), Amelia and Riley, Beatrice and the hazel-eyed woman; even the two older men had a hetero-lifemate vibe going on. [i]Both[/i] pair of them. The younger man didn't seem to have anyone, but memory had him as protective of a dog that was with him earlier. Human nature, he supposed. Not that Ash was a psychologist or sociologist, nor anything of the sort. But it did make him a little self conscious of the fact that he was supposed to be meeting up with someone. He had a promise to keep. Rather than tip his hand by starting a conversation right then, Ash continued to merely observe, both the people inside the bus and the area outside of it, just in case. 




[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=dc143c]Thalia Carmichael[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/d3b5fd39-04ec-401f-a25c-35f55d7ad76e.gif[/img][hr][b][color=crimson]Location:[/color][/b] The Bus
[b][color=dc143c]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A [hr][hr][/center]

	For his general agreement that they had a lot to talk about, and his insistence that they do so on the bus, the Army Captain didn't pursue conversation with Thalia nor Beatrice right away. Instead, he seemed to be watching people. That was either smart of him or downright creepy, and because she didn't really know the man, Thalia pegged it as equal chances at both. She had her own agenda for wanting to talk to him; that was going to wait until stuff was settled on her end a little and she could tell if he was stable. Some people weren't meant to be outside of walls for very long anymore. 

        Instead, she followed a piece of his example and setted in with Beatrice. It was best to keep to her own and figure stuff out for a minute before making a social event of it. And there were a lot of people on that bus. More than she had seen in one place in a while, and it made her a little uncomfortable. Large crowds weren't Thalia's thing. This was hardly large, but it was still a little irksome. 

        Thalia responded to the air conditioning with a mix of reactions. Awe was in there, but simultaneously she instinctively tried to huddle up a little, shielding herself as best she could against the abrupt temperature change. She had been [i]outside[/i] for a long while now. This would take adjustment. Thalia focused on listening to Beatrice as she made her rounds describing the people of Newnan. While she had asked for an introduction proper, she conceded that these baby steps were probably a good idea. [color=dc143c]"Tatiana, Jack."[/color] she repeated quietly, making mental notes. [color=dc143c]"Ash,"[/color] she already knew his name, but it didn't hurt to cement it. [color=dc143c]"Riley, Amelia. ...thanks."[/color] These were the people who were supposed to be their allies when they got to where they were going. A lot can change in a year or so, though. She knew the four of her group had each others' backs, and would find out soon enough if the Newnan people were solid. 

        Right then, she was going to take advantage of the relative safety, even if it was short-lived. Thalia settled up against Beatrice and crossed her left arm over the stump of her missing right, murmuring, [color=dc143c]"Hey bitch, gimmie a nudge if one of them comes our way."[/color] Thalia closed her eyes, content to take respite and conserve her strength while she could. 
 




[hr][hr][center][h1][b][i][color=deb887]Hank Wright[/color][/i][/b][/h1][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/c8c5d962-6833-4611-be6b-8b3b5e8f6784.gif[/img][hr][b][color=burlywood]Location:[/color][/b] The Bus
[b][color=deb887]Skills:[/color][/b] N/A [hr][hr][/center]

        When he stepped into the bus and got over the fact that it was a comfortable temperature, the first thing he noticed was that there were more older people like him onboard. A couple of them might even be able to call [i]him[/i] 'sonny' or 'sport' or 'champ', if they could get away with it and not get their dentures forcefed to them. Well, one. The point was, he and Wayne weren't the oldest people in the room anymore, and that was surprising. They must be tough old bastards, else these younger, more "Thunderdome-y" people were looking out fir them. Or both, hell, it could easily be both. Either way, the presence of these men, and alive, was a damn good indicator of the character of the people on the bus. 

        Now he could start ignoring them. 

        Of course, it wasn't entirely true that he noticed them first. The platinum blonde lady driving the bus diverted hus attention for a little bit. He gave her a silly smirk and continued inside to find a seat next to Wayne, because hell, they had set off together an epic quest to retire in Florida like men in their fifties were supposed to epically quest for, and goddamnit, they were going to arrive together. [color=deb887]"Hey there, Maldonado, bus ride in, huh? If there's a crab boil and a beer waiting, I'm completely sold. You?"[/color] He'd play the whole "getting to know you" game with the others later. Hank wanted to arrive there first.