[center][u] Nathalia Soltero – Gift Stop – Finn & Nicole [/u][/center]

Nat’s eyes stayed glued to the man before her, refusing to break eye contact and show any more fear that she probably already did. It wasn’t until a shadow of a figure appeared behind him and a young woman peered over, her eyes seeming welcoming. The sight of her nearly broke Nathalia as she seemed to be the age of one of her younger sisters. She gave herself a brief moment to feel her emotions before turning back to the man and forcing herself to stand her ground.

[b]”I’m Finn, Finn Loughty”[/b]

The sound of his voice softening gave Nathalie a sense of relief. They couldn’t be there to hurt her, could they? Especially not when there seemed to be a teenager involved. Only a monster would do that. “I….” before she could say anything else, the young woman stuck her hand out in a gesture that Nathalie had not seen in what seemed to be decades. “Nicole. That’s a pretty name, you can call me Nat.” The woman’s voice was must softer and trusting than before as she took a couple of steps to reach over and shake Nicole’s hands. She turned her attention to the man again and nodded after he spoke, “I came here to try and get some time to myself. I haven’t eaten in several days and I just wanted to sleep. Can’t catch a break though.” She gave him a half smile before returning to the window where she had initially stood.

As Finn spoke, Nathalie took the time to study him and his companion. If they had meant any ill will they would have already tried something. Both seemed like they had gentle souls, at least for the time being. It was almost comforting to have others around her. She was tired of always having her guard up, but even then, she couldn’t afford to give herself that false sense of security, especially when she hardly knew the couple. When he spoke about the mall soon being filled with the dead, she sighed and took a look out of the window, agreeing silently with him.

“I don’t have any family here. I am originally from Cali, I don’t know how to get back. Before all of this happened, my parents had told me how horrible things were getting over there, worse than here, so I think going back is a mistake all on its own.” She looked back at them for a second before crouching down and packing any items that might have been messily poking out. She noticed she had two cans of chili which she had been saving for a rainy day. She was tired of chili, it was all she had eating for days on end and was hoping she could find something else in the mall. She planned on eating half a can later that night if her adventure was not successful. Although she didn’t fully trust the two that had broken into the shop, she wanted to both show that she meant no harm and that she was grateful that they didn’t rob or kill her.

“Um,” she cleared her throat, “Here. I have two of these if y’all would like them.” After fixing her backpack, she stood back up with the two cans in either hand. She tossed one at Finn and the other at Nicole. “Take it as a token of my appreciation for not jumping me and running off with my stuff.” She let out a soft laugh before wrapping her jean jacket around her waist and placing the backpack on her back. “Finn is right though; the mall will be crawling with the dead if we do not move.” She walked slowly back to the barricaded door and sighed, not knowing exactly where she would go to next.



[@Juniper]