[center][sub][b][h3]T H E   S P A R L I N G S :   G R O U P   P L A Y T H R O U G H[/h3][/b][/sub][/center]
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[center][color=#ffdead][b]W I N N I E   S P A R L I N G[/b][/color][/center][indent][sub][color=#ffdead][b]Location:[/b][/color] [i]Balcony, Sparling Home[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#ffdead][b]Timeframe[/b][/color] [i]Late Evening[/i][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][indent][sub][color=#ffdead][b]Interaction(s):[/b][/color] [i]Lila, Jason[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#ffdead][b]Previously:[/b][/color] [i]N/A[/i][/right][/sup][/indent]
There was a lot that Winnie had wanted to say, but she'd held herself back, lest the grownups in the room decided that she was, after all, a dear small child and not fit for the responsibility of keeping watch that she had so desperately desired. Their plan was... stupid. Everyone knew that you needed to start by raiding all the local stores and restaurants for food. Instead, they'd spent the whole week putting up strings of little bells and other jingly things all around the property and clearing their backyard of grass. They'd commandeered her to help plant the seeds Nonna Lucia had given them last year when she'd encouraged them to start a garden. 

[color=ffdead]"We should be taking the car to one of the big towns and grabbing everything we can,"[/color] she grumbled, and Lila twisted to glance up at her. It was almost 10:00 PM, and things were winding down. The lights of the Sparling home still blazed into the night. A gentle breeze still whispered through the trees and stirred the hundred bells and other bits of junk the older of the sisters had been putting up for the past few days. [color=bc8dbf]"You're not wrong, Win-win,"[/color] she admitted, [color=bc8dbf]"But you're not right either."[/color]

Winnie scowled. [color=ffdead]"How is it a bad idea?"[/color] she demanded, finding herself a bit more genuinely annoyed than she should've been. [color=ffdead]"And if you tell me it's [i]dANgEroUs[/i] one more time I'm gonna scream."[/color]

Lila blinked. [color=bc8dbf]"Well, then get your lungs ready, Lightning Bug, 'cause it is."[/color] 

Winnie visibly rolled her eyes and Lila let out a sigh. One of the older two had started calling her that about six years ago - they disputed who should lay claim to the honour - and they had never stopped. [color=bc8dbf]"And no, it's not because there are... zombies."[/color]

[color=ffdead]"Yeah, I know. People are awful."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"Sorry."[/color] The elder sister shrugged awkwardly, and Winnie found her thoughts turning to The Last of Us - a game she'd played not a month ago after bingeing the whole HBO series when Jason had ditched her. They were [i]supposed[/i] to have watched it together. [color=ffdead]"You really think it's gonna be like that?"[/color] Something tight and electric began to inflate at the top of her stomach and Lila looked over. She nodded. [color=bc8dbf]"Better if everyone on our street can stick together: more like Jackson, maybe."[/color] She swept some hair from her face.

[color=ffdead]"You watched it [i]too?[/i]"[/color] the younger sister exclaimed with a start.

Lila rolled her eyes this time and it was Winnie who felt evaluated. [color=bc8dbf]"No. I just roll around all day playing violin and doing boring adult stuff."[/color]

[color=ffdead]"Sorry,"[/color] the girl replied, letting out a little snort and smiling faintly. [color=bc8dbf]"Played the game too,"[/color] her sister grumbled, but Winnie's hands clenched and unclenched, nails digging into their palms. This was [i]real[/i]. It wasn't supposed to be possible. It wasn't supposed to [i]actually[/i] happen, but it had. She could feel her heartbeat behind her ears. She looked out across town from the balcony. A week ago, she'd been going to school. Everything had been normal. Now, there were things out there that wanted to kill her: that would - that might kill Lila. Desperately, the preteen looked over at Lila, and the older of the two immediately released the brakes on her wheelchair and turned. A couple of gentle pushes brought her to Winnie, and her knees slid under and behind the girl's. A pair of strong arms did the rest. 

[color=ffdead]"I don't need -"[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"Shush, Buggie."[/color] She was on Lila's lap now, like some kid, and her big sister's arms were around her, their puffy jackets wheezing softly as they deflated in the embrace. [color=bc8dbf]"I love you, okay?"[/color]

Winnie didn't say anything, but she wrapped her arms around Lila's a little tighter and managed a slight nod. 

[color=bc8dbf]"Don't worry,"[/color] the older one joked, [color=bc8dbf]"I'm not mom. You don't need to say it back."[/color]

[color=ffdead]"Mhm."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"I won't shame you."[/color] There was a brief pause and Winnie wondered if, in fact, she [i]was[/i] being shamed. [color=bc8dbf]"I won't guilt you..."[/color]

[color=ffdead]"Fffff. Shut up."[/color] She let out a sniff of laughter and glanced over her shoulder at a smiling Lila.

[color=bc8dbf]"Shut [i]down[/i],"[/color] Lila pouted, and Winnie grinned.

She felt embarrassed just thinking it, but Winnie decided that she [i]should[/i] tell Lila that she loved her, because she [i]did[/i], and there was danger, but then there was a noise behind them and they separated immediately, both whirling on the spot.

It was only Jason, coming onto the balcony to relieve Winnie for his turn on watch. [color=7ea7d8]"No group hug?"[/color] he taunted, and the girl grimaced. [color=ffdead]"Not for [i]you[/i],"[/color] she managed to tease.

[color=7ea7d8]"So mean, Winster."[/color] Unbidden, he ruffled her hair, and she swatted at his arm. [color=7ea7d8]"I'm heartbroken."[/color] He turned to Lila. [color=7ea7d8]"You know she still holds it against me for not watching The Last of Us with her?"[/color]

The youngest of the three was about to say something, but her sister preempted her. [color=bc8dbf]"Well, we all get to watch it together now."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"Group playthrough?"[/color] Jason suggested darkly. The other two made appreciative faces. Then, silence began to fill the gaps between them and Winnie decided to put an end to it. Feeling unusually sentimental, she reached down and hugged - first - Lila, before reaching up to hug Jason. She separated and headed for the sliding door. She paused with it half open. [color=ffdead]"I...[sub]loveyouguys[/sub],"[/color] she said quickly, glancing back at her older siblings before slipping inside and stalking off to bed.

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[center][color=#7ea7d8][b]J A S O N   S P A R L I N G[/b][/color][/center][indent][sub][color=#7ea7d8][b]Location:[/b][/color] [i]Balcony, Sparling Home[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#7ea7d8][b]Timeframe[/b][/color] [i]Night[/i][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][indent][sub][color=#7ea7d8][b]Interaction(s):[/b][/color] [i]Lila[/i][/sub][sup][right][color=#7ea7d8][b]Previously:[/b][/color] [i]N/A[/i][/right][/sup][/indent]
[color=7ea7d8]"Never thought I'd see the day,"[/color] remarked Jason.

Lila snorted. [color=bc8dbf]"She's [i]that[/i] scared."[/color]

His eyes flicked her way concernedly and she caught them with hers. It was still a bit surreal, having Lila around again like this. For three years, she'd been little more than a Christmas and Easter relation: his big sis, his partner in crime, the person who'd always finished his sentences. She'd run away to New York and he was under no illusions that it was going to be a permanent thing, but now they'd spend the apocalypse together. [color=7ea7d8]"Heard anything from dad?"[/color] he asked, trying to shift into neutral.

Lila nodded, retrieving her iPhone from between her legs. [color=bc8dbf]"We talked for about twenty minutes. You?"[/color]

Jason nodded. [color=7ea7d8]"Same. He tell you anything? He never tells [i]me[/i] anything."[/color]

Her gaze was evaluative, for a moment, and he wondered why. Then, she shrugged. [color=bc8dbf]"Just that he's still in Boston and it's hard to keep a consistent charge there, much less get a signal."[/color] Absently, she passed her phone from hand to hand. [color=bc8dbf]"We shouldn't come to him. It's bad outside the Quarantine and they're not letting anyone in. He'll come to us. It could take a few months."[/color] She glanced up, pulling a few strands of hair from her eyes as the wind stirred them. [color=bc8dbf]"That kinda stuff, and then some reminiscing. You know."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"He'll be okay."[/color] Jason wasn't sure why he said it. Maybe he really believed it. Maybe he just wanted to reassure Lila. If their dad couldn't make it back, then he'd go retrieve him. You just had to be smart with these kinds of things, and prepared. Everyone was working hard. They were setting themselves up well - the whole street in their own ways - especially now they were actually [i]listening[/i] to him.

Lila sighed, reaching down to lock her wheels again. She met his eyes for a brief second, evaluative once more. [color=bc8dbf]"I dunno. [i]God[/i], I hope so."[/color] She shook her head and he noticed her fumble her phone, missing a grab with her left hand. She let it sink between her thighs. [color=bc8dbf]"It's just... I can hear it in his voice. I can literally [i]feel[/i] it inside me: this fear that he [i]won't[/i]."[/color] She swallowed. [color=bc8dbf]"That the phones will cut off and this could be the last time we ever speak to each other."[/color] She looked up at him and it was no secret that he was holding back tears. [color=bc8dbf]"[i]Fuck[/i], Jason..."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"Lila..."[/color] They regarded each other: grown siblings, for an eternal second before he turned away, to look out across the yard and the street and the signals they'd been rigging up. It had mostly been her. Aside from printing out, writing out, or memorizing every possible thing of even remote relevance while the internet was still up, it had been one of the few tasks she could do without help. He'd been the heavy labour, digging up the yard for planting when he hadn't been practicing with his weapons or trying to build useful things. There was no school anymore. There was no schedule except for these nightly watches now. No people except for those on Mulberry Street. At least Triple H - Holly, Hailee, and Harper - were alright, even if he wasn't equally close with each of them.

[color=7ea7d8]"So, how many pages you up to now?"[/color] he asked, trying to change the subject.

[color=bc8dbf]"Everything the printer has ink for,"[/color] came the reply. [color=bc8dbf]"Good thing mom's got an office rig for her practice. We'd have gotten a [i]fifth[/i] of what we did otherwise."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"You looked up gun stores?"[/color]

She nodded. [color=bc8dbf]"Yeah. Made a map too. Made a [i]few[/i] maps of essentials. I'm writing whatever I couldn't print while I still remember it."[/color]

Jason smiled.[color=7ea7d8]"Couldn't ask for a better end-of-the world buddy than you, Squeaky."[/color]

Lila smiled faintly back. [color=bc8dbf]"Mutual, Chop-chop. Just trying to be useful anyways. Gotta do [i]something[/i]. Set you guys up for success."[/color]

There was something that he didn't like in her tone as she concluded, and it got to him like nothing else had over the past few days. [color=7ea7d8]"Don't,"[/color] he warned, voice going serious.

[color=bc8dbf]"Don't [i]what[/i]?"[/color]

Now [i]she[/i] was being avoidant. [color=7ea7d8]"You're useful, Lila. You have an eidetic memory and you're the only person in this family who's like... competent and has their shit together. Even if you weren't, it's not like I'd just be like... 'peace out and good luck'."[/color] He rolled his eyes before they flicked in her direction.

[color=bc8dbf]"Debatable,"[/color] she sighed, releasing her brakes to roll up to the railing. She turned at a forty-five degree angle and, as her right wheel clanked lightly against it, she twisted in her seat, rested her elbows atop it, and rested her chin atop [i]them[/i]. She turned her head his way for a second. [color=bc8dbf]"I know."[/color] it came out with her breath, barely audible. [color=bc8dbf]"I could be."[/color] Her cheek was resting on her folded arms now. [color=bc8dbf]"I [i]should[/i] be."[/color] She blinked and looked at him sadly. [color=bc8dbf]"Brother..."[/color]

He bit his lower lip and forced himself to listen, knowing what would be said, or at least some version of it.

[color=bc8dbf]"Half of me doesn't work."[/color] She gave him something like a shrug. The lights inside the house were all off by now, except for Winnie's, and only the moon and the stars lit her face. [color=bc8dbf]"Not just my legs."[/color] She pushed herself up from the railing and stared out across their property and surroundings. [color=bc8dbf]"I'll be good for a few years,"[/color] she admitted hopefully.

[color=7ea7d8]"More than -"[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"But what happens when my wheelchair breaks?"[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"We fix it,"[/color] he assured her, [color=7ea7d8]or find you another, or fucking [i]carry[/i] you if I have to."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"Come on, dude,"[/color] she replied. [color=bc8dbf]"You're not a videogame character. I'm not a mission. Besides, how about when the catheters run out and we've cleaned out every pharmacy and hospital within a fifty-mile radius?"[/color]

He grimaced, but she continued, [color=bc8dbf]"Or the pill salad? What happens when I get some infection in a few years?"[/color] She regarded him, face soft and sad and merciless. [color=bc8dbf]"I will [i]not[/i] have anyone die just so I can keep [i]existing,[/i] helpless and bedridden, and I [i]mean[/i] it."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"So you're just giving up?"[/color] Jason retorted, narrowing his eyes. [color=7ea7d8]"That's not very -"[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"No, dumbass."[/color] She snorted defiantly at something in the distance before twisting to regard him. [color=bc8dbf]"I'll squeeze every ounce I can outta life. Don't worry. It's [i]me[/i] you're talking to here."[/color]

Why was she dropping this on him? Jason didn't know. He didn't want to hear it. He didn't want to because he knew, on some level, that it was true. People would die - millions already had - but not the people close to him, and not on his watch. The teenager's heart beat a little faster. [i]That[/i] was [i]not[/i] something he was prepared for.

[color=bc8dbf]"Just..."[/color] Lila exhaled and most of whatever she'd had pent up inside of her seemed to go with it. [color=bc8dbf]"When I go, I go, and you've gotta let it happen."[/color] She managed a weak kind of smile. [color=bc8dbf]"Or I'll kick you in the fuckin' nuts, alright?"[/color]

He understood, now, that the embrace between her and Winnie that his arrival had broken up had been as much for Lila as it had for little Buggie. Silently, he reached down and did the same, lifting her halfway out of her wheelchair. [color=7ea7d8]"You can do it anytime,"[/color] he promised her. [color=7ea7d8]"I love you, sis."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"I love you too, bro."[/color] Her embrace was tight, and the fact that he found himself surprised by the strength of it served as a reminder of how few times they'd hugged over the past couple years. [color=bc8dbf]"Now, put me down, and don't you breathe a word of this to anyone, capisce?"[/color]

He nodded.

[color=bc8dbf]"We're all smiles in the morning. We need everyone at their best."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"We do,"[/color] he agreed, letting her down. [color=7ea7d8]"No mopey shit."[/color] Lila took a moment to adjust her position. A thought came to Jason, then. [color=7ea7d8]"Group playthrough?"[/color]

His big sister grinned. [color=bc8dbf]"Group playthrough."[/color]

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[hider=Watch Schedule][h3]W A T C H   S C H E D U L E[/h3]
Watch Kept from 7pm - 7am 
Winnie: 7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Lila: 8:30 PM - 11:30 PM
Jason: 10:00 PM - 1:00 AM
Carina: 1:00 AM - 4:00 AM
Alana: 4:00 AM - 7:00 AM[/hider]
[hider= Sparling Hex Codes][h3]S P A R L I N G   H E X   C O D E S[/h3]
[color=f6989d]"Welcome to the voice of reason with Alana!."[/color]

[color=a2d39c]"Minty fresh fish with cheese, courtesy of Devon."[/color]

[color=bc8dbf]"Stepford Smiling Supreme, by Lila."[/color]

[color=7ea7d8]"Jason has his shit together too."[/color]

[color=ffdead]"Winnie obviously knows better."[/color]

[color=ec008c]"Here comes a [s]Karen[/s] Carina!"[/color][/hider]
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