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[h3][color=4682b4][i][b]Ash Holloway[/b][/i][/color][/h3][i][b][color=4682b4]Location:[/color][/b][/i] The Bus
[i][b][color=4682b4]Skills:[/color][/b][/i] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.ibb.co/WKy5jG8/Ash-Faceclaim.png[/img][/right]
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	Fingers still drumming quietly on knee, Ash maintained his vigil within the confines of his seat upon the bus. It wasn't the bus precisely that invoked his watchfulness, as a moving vehicle was one of the safer places that one might be nowadays, more than it was the newness of the situation coupled with the fact that he was in a confined space with both people he cared about and others who had guns. Logic told him that these people were his people now, even if he did not know them, precisely. But logic did nothing to ease his sense of conscious awareness right then. 

	Everything seemed to be progressing on a timetable based on unfamiliar protocol. Back in Newnan, if there were objections or misgivings about someone, they simply weren't allowed entry. The speed by which someone gained the trust of the community after that was comparatively shorter, if they made it inside. Lord knew that he had some less than optimistic thoughts about some of the jokers they let in, though in the end, most of them were decent enough folks. Astrid and Bridgette came to mind, as did Sophia, though she needed medical assistance at the time. Richard... was a mistake, in hindsight. He remembered when a crop of newer people came in, some of whom he put in positions of authority in an effort to ease the overall transition. Or when the Franklin community assimilated into their group. Of course, things were different. His community needed people with certain skill sets, and backups for the inevitable, random-seeming deaths that occurred. Mexico Beach seemed to have their stuff locked down pretty good. Well enough that they could afford to screen people more intently. Hence, the probationary period after quarantine and the fact that they weren't allowed weapons of any kind. 

	But even that train of thought came to a close as the man toward the front of the bus began to speak. They were being issued weapons? If even "issued" was the proper term. Ash might lose his shit entirely (in a good way) if they had a Detonics .45 system - the last pistol type he was issued by the Army - not to mention the latest in proven handgun technology. It was his primary sidearm for years, until the last push from their ruined home in Georgia. But, beggars and choosers, he supposed. Ash guessed that anything they were given was probably going to be from stock, or something they personally handed over prior to entry. But his opinion, like his guesses, meant absolutely nothing right then. He'd see right along with the rest of them. 

	The first series of buildings seemed to flow past the bus's windows, yet they were not quite out of the settlement's walls just yet. Perhaps they wouldn't be armed until the bus came to its destination. Fine by him either way. Still, he used the occasion the others' attention being focused on the bag in the front to give another look around at the people inside of the bus; the armed guards, his friends, and those he had just met a week ago. This was a motley assortment of people, if viewed by the standards of six years ago. As his eyes went from person to person, they came to rest on the younger woman with the metal hand, who was staring right back at him. She had been looking at him before, as well as Tati and Jack. She wanted answers. Ash could at least provide her one, while he had time. 

	[color=4682b4]"Alicia,"[/color] he began, accenting her name as pronounced in Spanish, [color=4682b4]"Tu Prima."[/color][sub]1[/sub] Not like there were a whole lot of Alicias left in the world, and zero others that they knew in common, in all likelihood. Ash's grasp of Spanish wasn't bad, but he was not a native speaker and so kept his words simple, pitched to hear over the sounds of the bus but not designed to attract a lot of attention. Even so, he had to wonder how many of these people spoke Spanish. At least three of them on that bus that he knew about, including himself. [color=4682b4]"Fue mordida por una Horda de los Muertos, mientras ayudaba a un hombre."[/color][sub]2[/sub] The one armed lady had asked, back in Quarantine, about the her friends and family. This would hopefully show that he wasn't intentionally trying to avoid her. [color=4682b4]"Horda llegó a Newnan más tarde. Vi a Alicia y le di paz."[/color][sub]3[/sub] His words were simpler, almost childlike in their delivery. It lacked nuance but communicated directly what he wanted to say. [color=4682b4]"I want to talk to you about the others when we can."[/color] 

	Ash was surprised to note that the woman's expression was one of realization, not sorrow. It baffled him. 

[hider=Translations]
1	=	Your first cousin.
2	=	She was bitten by a horde of the dead, while helping a man.
3	=	Horde came to Newnan later. I saw Alicia and I gave her peace.
[/hider] 




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[h3][color=dc143c][i][b]Thalia Carmichael[/b][/i][/color][/h3][i][b][color=dc143c]Location:[/color][/b][/i] The Bus 
[i][b][color=dc143c]Skills:[/color][/b][/i] N/A
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	A general mixture of feelings started to settle in Thalia. To say that she was in anything resembling inner peace was far from the truth; the fact was that she probably wouldn't know what to do with herself if she ever actually felt true peace and/or was content with the world around her. It never even crossed her mind that such a thing might exist in her lifetime. So these feelings that settled were more of a coalescence of things she was willing to put up with for the time being. Demons she had made truce with. It helped that she had family nearby, moreso because he was armed. But when it came down to it, things were not really as bad as they might have been. Though she still had not gotten readjusted to the concept of air conditioning, and instinctively held herself, hunching over a little. Thalia's time in the sticks had changed her. 

	The lack of Thana puzzled her still. Ultimately it was her call, and good or bad there was nothing to say about it, nor was she going to pass judgement on the woman. Beatrice was also not present, which caused her outward expression to grow harder. As with Thana, leaving Mexico Beach was this woman's call, but under the circumstances that she left, Thalia sure as hell was going to judge. Hopefully the woman would find whatever she was looking for, and if they ever met up again, she owed Bea a gut punch. Luckily, these thoughts were interrupted by Manny, extending her a cursory greeting. Snapped from her more judgemental, annoyance-inspired thought process, Thalia looked over to the older dentist. It was always a mixed bag with this guy. Technically she owed him her life, though he had to remove her hand and a good chunk of her arm in the process. Wasn't his fault, either. He made the best of a bad situation and kept her breathing in the process. Thalia returned his greeting with an acknowledging, [color=dc143c]"Yeah. Hey, Manny."[/color] Then it occurred to her that the man hadn't lost anyone close to him in the selection of bodies buried nearby. Those interred had died on the Eden assault or in Newnan, before. She regarded Manny for a few seconds before ultimately letting it go. If he wanted to pay his respects, she wasn't going to stop him. Maybe he just wanted to stand with his teammates, such as they were. 

	Moving forward, the idea of being given weapons appealed to Thalia as surely as a bacon double cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake might have. (Mental note: Inquire into the possibility of bacon double cheeseburger in CMB.) Curious as to the armed proclivities of the rest of the people on board, Thalia turned around and looked at the people around her. Most she couldn't figure out at a glance, though there were suspicions on some. Thana's boyfriend, the Army Captain? She half expected a Holy Avenger or a bigassed, star-spangled shield that came back to him after he threw it. Her mind moving toward the mildly bizarre, perhaps he was worthy of picking up a hammer that she'd never be capable of lifting in her life. 

	It was about then that she realize she was staring at the man. What followed, coming from his mouth was a little bit of a shock. Not the Spanish, even though it sounded a little forced, but the things he was saying. Thalia had heard a version of this story last year, from a man she had met less than a half hour before his death. His name was James, if memory served. Not news, in and of itself. Alicia died with her gun in hand, taken out by a horde. But the exact words that James used were, [i]"Her man wound up putting her down after she turned, luck had it, and it damn near broke him."[/i] And that sparked a sense of realization in her, like pieces of a puzzle coming together. Ash had just claimed that he gave her peace. If he was the guy who "put her down", then they were involved romantically. Army Captain had claimed that they were close. This detail just gave that claim a lot more depth. And he traveled for over a year to reunite with Thana. She only responded to him with a simple, [color=dc143c]"Thanks. I gaht a lot of questions."[/color] She didn't press conversation now. Thalia could wait for this with much enhanced patience, and if Joaquin overheard the exchange, he probably had a few questions of his own.