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[h3][color=4682b4][i][b]Ash Holloway[/b][/i][/color][/h3][i][b][color=4682b4]Location:[/color][/b][/i] Mess Hall (C) -> Quarantine (W)
[i][b][color=4682b4]Skills:[/color][/b][/i] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.ibb.co/YDbGSVd/Ash-Outstanding.gif[/img][/right]
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	Ash was never a huge fan of rain. That being said, he was fast becoming a fan of waking up next to Thana. The rain served as sleepy, background ambience. Less pleasant was the feeling of her leaving early for her duties. It didn't make it easier that he knew to expect this, either. He was obviously smitten. He was also obviously awake now. The feeling of proximal emptiness that came of Thana's absence was enough to keep him from getting back to restful slumber, so he might as well haul himself up. As not to throw off Thana's morning routine, he kept to the bed until she was ready to go. 

	Stepping out onto the balcony, Ash took in the sight of rain pattering down on the canal. Not for the first or last time, he gave silent thanks that he passed a night in relative certainty of safety; from the living as well as the dead thanks to those walls. He leaned against the railings, peering across the canal and to the walls themselves. It was a point of interest for him, among others. Mechanics was another, though mostly he pushed a broom and did busy work, keeping the place tidy. It was honest enough work. And of course, Distillation was something he thought toward every so often. It was part and parcel with his background that stretched back before he joined the Army. Hell, his name was on a liquor bottle that was once distributed to the public at large. But more than this now, Ash looked to the walls. 

	Newnan had decent walls, be it that they required constant upkeep. He heard from the Fairburn people (and later saw when they visited the abandoned community to salvage supplies) that their walls were essentially a series of vertical logs supported on the inside with traversable framework. They fell to disease, not besieged by the Dead nor attacked by the living. This place, however, from an Engineer's standpoint, had accomplished something interesting, putting up a complex barrier with little personnel while basically in hostile territory. Ash wanted to know more. 

	He figured it was unlikely that it would happen today. In truth, his thoughts would be better put toward the Court Martial. He knew that it was that day, bit didn't know if he needed to be there until he went to see the lists at breakfast. He might have attended anyway, just to see how they handled it. His name written on the board cemented his presence, turning that "might" into a glaring affirmative. He took some brightness with the fact that Thana was going to be in attendance as well even though she didn't have to. it was a shame that she was busy now, seeing as Ash wasn't expected to be at his detail today. He wasn't sure how to handle this unexpected free time. Come to think of it, this might be the first occasion in a while (quarantine notwithstanding) that he had free time. As a man generally accustomed to having something to do in a professional capacity, he was at a loss. The individuals from his group from Newnan were settling into their lives rather readily, from the look of things. His attention had been on Thana since her arrival. Maybe he might have taken some time to get to know the people around him better, or reconnect with his survival buddies now that they weren't fighting and hiding and scavenging in the hopes of seeing another dawn. Now that this wasn't an everyday factor, Ash simply had no idea what to do with himself. 

	In the end, after much consideration, Ash decided to try to lighten up. It was hard for him and he likely wouldn't be very good at it, but worth the attempt at the very least. As Quarantine was the place he started things in CMB and it was open to the general public now as a recreational area, he figured that it might be a good place to socialize for a little while, just to see what might transpire. It felt strange not having a plan. Hell, it felt strange not packing a sidearm and approving planned supply runs or drafting construction specs. It wasn't long before Ash found himself back in Quarantine, looking about to see if anyone was interested in a game or two of pool. 





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[h3][color=dc143c][i][b]Thalia Carmichael[/b][/i][/color][/h3][i][b][color=dc143c]Location:[/color][/b][/i] General Housing (X) -> Quarantine (W)
[i][b][color=dc143c]Skills:[/color][/b][/i] N/A
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[right][img]https://i.ibb.co/zrhf0KK/Thalia-Portrait-II.jpg[/img][/right]
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	The street pounded back up against Thalia's footfalls in a repeating pattern, each making a wet, punching sound that sounded somewhat angrier than it generally might if anyone else was running. It was still dark and she was out early, but the rain but notably up even earlier. Being on D roster meant that she was getting more physical exercise in and might eventually get herself some training in soldiery, which was he goal, though it lacked the comforting feeling of solitude that Thalia sometimes required. This morning, her desire to be alone and outside was helped along by a conversation she had with her brother just over a week ago. It stuck with her, enough so that she withdrew a little more than usual. No flash, no prose, just a short and sweet series of words that didn't go extremely far toward giving her comfort. It's not like she was actively seeking to get herself off of the emotional hook in the first place. Still, the reaction was unexpected. 

	She let herself think her thoughts and kept putting one foot in front of the other. It was good to process, and really, it was a decent enough excuse to go running in the weather. Thalia was oddly nostalgic about being out in the world. She hadn't even reacclimated to air conditioning yet. For that matter, the past couple of nights were spent sleeping out on the apartment's balcony because she lacked the personal comfort of roof access, or barring that, bushcraft accommodation. Sometimes, she felt like a fox that was taken in as a pet but still longed to run among the trees and pinestraw. Maybe throttle the occasional chicken for supper. More thoughts to flash through her brain. More steps to pound out. So many more before she was through. 

	This early in the day, Thalia thought that she saw Thana out in the street, but it was a block over from where she was and just the briefest of glances before her friend disappeared behind a building. The interruption to Thalia's run was enough to snap her out of the near-hypnotism she was under, courtesy of the white noise of the rain, her rhythmic running stride, and a swirl of thoughts that consumed her. She had been running longer and harder than intended and it all caught up to her at once. Thalia dropped to a knee, endeavoring to push and pull air from her lungs as precipitation streaked down from her hair in hot rivulets. After a minute or two, feet found their way under her again and she started back to her apartment.

	After punching a street sign or two and change of clothes later, Thalia had a fast breakfast in a corner by herself, intentionally avoiding speaking to people. Her thoughts went to her Sunday therapy session during this time. She hadn't said much. She didn't have to. She was a woman who stood out, with the irony being that one of her strengths was not being noticed. It was hard to miss the new girl with the scarred face and painful-looking metal arm. So a brief introduction and a lot of sitting. Her eyes found Roy, likewise sitting and saying nothing. She noticed this but did not comment. From the looks of him, it was likely that she would be comfortable speaking to the group long before him. 

	Thalia shook off the thought. There was time to kill, yet, before she had to attend that Court Martial (though why the hell they wanted her input was beyond her) and needed to occupy her mind in the interim. Aside from the feeling of thankfulness for eggs and fresh tomatoes, which was significant despite her outward lack of social inclination. 

	Slowly, she reached into a pocket and retrieved a wrinkled scrap of paper. It was the clue from before. She had put it out of her mind for a while, trying to convince herself that it was foolishness and there were more important things to do with her time, which might have been accurate. Her curiosity was getting the better of her though, which manifested in a growing need to find the next piece of the puzzle. Rather then jump into someone's workspace while the place was gearing up for its next chunk of drama, into which she was being involuntarily thrust. So, Quarantine it was. Nice social place she was familiar with, maybe another round of Pac-Man if she was feeling it, and more importantly it would serve as a gathering place (that wasn't the Mess Hall) where she might ask a couple of subtle questions. 

	Walking into the common room of Quarantine, Thalia shoved subtlety to the side and just asked aloud, [color=dc143c]"Anyone know wheah I can find some weights, huh?"[/color] The simple approach. Expedient, but left her as an even bigger point of attention.