[center][u]Nathalie Soltero - Leaving the Mall - Finn & Nicole [/u][/center]

Nathalie had come back, nearly skipping, over to where Nicole waited alone. “Hey!” She smiled at the young girl and stood next to her. “I’ll tell you now before your brother comes back, but I found some pads and tampons! We can check them out once we’re in the clear.” She looked at the young girl and couldn’t help but feel her heart strings tugging at her. Nicole’s features were almost shockingly similar to her own sisters. Or maybe she hadn’t seen them in so long that she was forgetting what they looked like and was making herself remember by Nicole’s image. Either way, Nathalie felt almost a strong maternal instinct or urge to protect the teenager. “You look a lot like my sisters. Makes me miss them a lot, but seeing you also gives me hope that they’re okay.” Nathalie smiled a bit as she reached over and gave the girls shoulder an affectionate rub. These two truly cared about each other, and it made Nat long for the days where she was wish her own family. She wished that she hadn’t taken that time for granted. Hearing Finn’s laugh also made her heart nearly flutter, as it reminded her of all of her guy friends from before that were always there for her. She loved them all and missed them greatly. 

Her blue eyes immediately shot up when she saw movement in her peripheral vision. It was Finn coming back with two full backpacks. Her blue eyes lit up, a grin appearing on her face as she heard Finn mentioned him finding a pantry stacked with supplies. “Oh my god, Finn! That’s great!” She tried to keep quiet, so her voice came out in excited whispers more than an actual tone. She couldn’t help but be happy for them due to how hungry they had seemed when eating the chili she gave them. She wanted nothing but the best for them since they had been so kind to her. [i]’They’re not going to stick around. They are going to leave as soon as you close your eyes.’[/i] the voice inside her head taunted her. She cleared her throat and stood up straight once more, not realizing she had leaned in closer to them. She was about to open her mouth to speak but Finn seemed to have beat her to it, what came out of his mouth though, was very unexpected. “H...half? No, absolutely not. Y’all found it, y’all keep it.” With doe eye and a slight frown, she shook her head and held up her hands to show she didn’t want to take anything. As much as she wanted to see, it had not crossed her mind to take. Before she could say more though, Nicole seemed to have found her voice and spoke up as well, inviting her to at least spend the night at their shelter. At that point, Nat’s jaw dropped, having her mouth fall into a small O as she was incredulous to their generosity and hospitality. 

“I, I don’t know what to say.” Her voice was soft and shaky, almost as if she wanted to cry. “Um, if y’all don’t mind I would truly love to just take a nap without having to constantly wake up to look over my shoulder.” Nathalie smiled a bit as she looked at both of them. Their welcoming words meant the world to her as she had been moving around for so long, going on several days with little to no sleep. “We can drink the wine to celebrate as we look at the supplies we found.” She giggled a bit before looking towards the doors and seeing some shrouded figures down a hall. “Oh, but we should go first. Finn, lead them way.” 

[@Juniper]