Zoick
Location: Newnan: Courthouse outside the Infirmary >> Shower room
Interacting With: Each other, Ms Sally
Interaction Tags: @Lady Amalthea
Richard was silent enough as Zoie wheeled him out of the infirmary and he gave one last glance back to the Smith sisters who were dealing with loss in a few different ways. Despite himself, he couldn't help but smirk as he realised that Maria would never get to use her beloved bow and arrow ever again and he did his best to hide the face from Zoie but putting on a coughing fit that he soon regretted once he felt the pain in his ribs. His coughs became real as he hacked his lungs up for a moment longer. Once they had subsided, Richard leaned back and wheezed a little as he looked up to Zoie while she looked out of a nearby window.
Sidd nodded to Zoie's request and he gulped as he made his way into the infirmary. Richard could tell the kid was uncomfortable in this world and he began to wonder just how long the kid would have lasted were it not for all these walls and all the people dying to keep him safe inside. Shaking his head, Richard reached a hand up and lightly caressed Zoie's arm to draw her attention.
"Yo, Daisy Duke, y'alright?" Zoie reached over and rested her hand over his as it caressed her arm, squeezing his fingers gently before she glanced towards him and gave him a soft smile. He smirked back to her and gave her a half capable wink with his swollen eyes.
"Fine as strawberry wine," she said warmly as she stepped over to him and knelt down beside the wheel chair. Her head tilting to the side some as she looked him over.
"Seems I should be the one askin' dat. How you holdin' up? Them girls did a number on that pretty face of yers." "I'll be right as rain soon enough, 'sides this is just gonna give me more character darlin'. Least I ain't missin' any body parts..." He grimaced a little at the thought of the screams that Maria had let out in the infirmary and he shuddered. He may hate the poor bitch but that was a hell of a thing to deal with in this world. He'd had his joy from her misery and now he just felt sorry for her. Zoie clearly had one hell of an affect on him and maybe it was a good thing. He didn't much like his chances in this new group with people already hating his guts here. He'd have a lot of work ahead of him to build up trust with the people here.
"Well that be good to hear, would suck if I went through all dat out there only to come back and find out you be missin' somethin' important," she laughed softly as her eyes traveled down to his lap and then back up, giving him a bit of a wink in the process. He grinned like the cat that had got the cream then. Resting her hands on her knees, she pushed herself to a standing position and took a breath. They day had been hectic to say the least. Hopefully some sleep would be in order tonight, from the look on the street the town was clearing things out quickly. Grabbing a chair she pulled it over and straddled it as she sat down next to Richard, making sure to face him so he didn't have to turn to look at her.
"That Froggy is one hell o' a doc. There'd be more dead than livin' if it weren't for his handiwork." He tucked a few strands of bloody hair behind Zoie's right ear and picked a few bits of wood chip and metal shavings that had found their way into it.
"Froggy be one hell of a fixer upper. Would done died of this if it weren't from him," she said as she pulled the leg of her shorts up a bit until it reached her hip and the jagged roughly healed scar could be seen. Richard scowled as he looked at the scar but didn't say anything. He just placed a gentle hand over it for a second before moving his hand away. Shrugging a bit she let go and looked back over to Richard and smirked. He didn't want to think about what had happened to make her face so beaten and ruined.
"You sure you don't need Froggy to look you over? Yer face ain't exactly in much better shape than my own right about now. What happened with your... "old acquaintance" was it?" "Well ain't ya a sweet one. Trust me hun, I be as fine as Dixie right now. Little bruised and busted up but nuthin that won't be a healin' right quick like," she assured him as she reached forward and cupped his chin softly as she spoke. Slowly she let her hand fall away, her fingers trailing through his beard a bit in the process. Richard reached up and scratched the itch that her fingers had left there.
"I told ya, he lost his head," she laughed, holding her side as she explained what went down in the fight. She was rather graphic with the whole thing but that didn't matter. She spun the tale like a right proper southern girl would. Lots of flair with a perfectly timed "Bless his heart" at the end as she rolled her eyes.
"Well that was a hell of a tale, girl. Glad you shared it with me and extra glad that fucker lost his head the way he did. Good job, darlin'. Glad you're on my side." He smiled at her with half closed eyes as his gaze lingered over her injuries on her arms and side. He'd liked to have been the one to help her out with her old acquaintance but he knew that she didn't need his help really. He wondered what a girl like this saw in a guy like him. He knew he was a dirty, lying, cheating scoundrel of a man but why didn't she see it?
"Aww ol' Cletus watn't anythang to worry none about. Now, Adamm, he be a different story but that be for another time," she said with a visible shiver that ran down her spine remembering her time in Eden. Now, that was a place that was the definition of hell. Shaking off the thought she looked back over to Richard and grinned a bit.
He looked out of the window as best he could and he cracked his knuckles before beginning to pick at the rough skin around his fingernails that were causing him aggro. Glancing out of the window she saw things seemed to calming down some. Part of her felt she needed to get back out there and start rounding up the bodies so they could get them outside the walls but right then she was just happy to catch her breath. She really hadn't since that morning. Huffing slightly she blew her bangs out of her face before turning her attention back over to Richard.
"Listen, once things get calmed down out there and we can hunker down for the night yu'sa probably gonna need to bunk with me. Froggy gonna have to be takin' care of One Armed Legolas. So he ain't gonna be able to tend to ya fully. I ain't no nurse but I know enough to get ya settled." Richard nodded and looked over to her.
"Aye, you're probably right about that. The armless archer ain't gonna want to see my mug when she wakes up. Now just promise me one thing, sweetcheeks..." He let his voice go low as he leaned in closer to her, his breath was hot over her ear as he whispered to her. Zoie perking a brow slightly as he came closer to her, just what was ol' Honkey Tonk up to now?
"...promise me you won't break my good ribs when we get down to the rodeo, alright?" He laughed a little as he leaned back and looked at her with a twinkle in his eyes despite the pain he felt. He knew nothing like that would be going down tonight but that didn't mean he couldn't have a joke about it with her. Now hopefully she didn't beat his sorry ass for his comment.
Zoie smirked. So that was the game he wanted to play. Poor thing had no idea what he was getting himself into. She bit her bottom lip slightly as her hand reached out, running along the line of his collar as she stood up. Her leg swinging over the back of the chair as she stepped closer to him.
"Careful there country," she said in a sultry voice, her words slipping off her tongue like velvet as she placed a knee on either side of his lap and gripped his shirt. Her lips came so close to his, just a feathers touch away as she whispered.
"Wouldn't want to break ya before I had a chance to have any fun." Her tongue flicked out against his lips before she slipped away from him and sat back down in her chair smirking.
Richard physically shuddered at her words and touch and he couldn't help but barking out a loud laugh.
"C'mon Daisy Duke, that ain't fair! I'm chair bound and er'ythang." His Southern drawl came out clearer as he whined like a wounded puppy dog. He tried to cross his arms without hurting himself and he pouted like a child as he gave her his best puppy dog eyes.
"Yer killin' me, sweetcheeks. Absolutely killin' me." Zoie had to bring her hand to her mouth to stifle the laughter. He was so pathetic right then and it was too damn adorable. Her lips thinned as she brought her hand down from her mouth, still smiling over at him.
"You poor thang. You look likes I just swatted you with a rolled up newpaper after stickin' your nose in my fields," she giggled. Shaking her head she rolled her eyes a bit before leaning close to him.
"This just be havin' to do fer now," she whispered before she placed a delicate kiss to his lips; soft lips that tasted like Georgia honeysuckles. He closed his eyes and savoured the gentle, sweet taste of her lips and smirked as she pulled away. Well at least he'd gotten something that he wanted today. Besides ol' Beaner taking a dive into some Deadbrains and Dyke-o losing her arm.
Leaning back she gave him an endearing little smile as she crossed her arms over her chest. Richard's smirk never waivered and he held her gaze as he licked his lips happily.
"Two things could make this moment better. First thing, I wish I had my flask in my pocket rather than in my pack. I could do with a shot of whiskey right now." He chuckled and shifted himself a little in his seat, easing the sleeping ass cheeks that he now had before he continued.
"Second thing, I wish I wasn't so battered and bruised so that I could lift you up and press you against that wall right there. Get a real good taste of you instead of that teaser." He adjusted himself downstairs as he looked to her, the second time he'd done it towards her since they'd met that morning. He was super surprised she didn't take him for a pervert. Really it was just that he had no shame and knew what he wanted.
"Aww, I bet you say that to all the girls," she said with a smirk as she leaned back in her chair a bit. Standing up she shook her head a bit, figuring he was probably just wanting to get into her panties because she was the only woman right now not trying to kill him. She was a sweet girl but she wasn't naive. Granted she would be lying if she said she wouldn't mind a tumble in the hay stack with him. It had been way too long.
"Well I can take care of one of them wants, you just hold tight. Zoie Mama be right back in two shakes of your tail," she said before turning on her heels and making her way towards the door. Things were calming down outside, might as well start grabbing gear.
Richard watched as she jumped up and and made her way to the door.
"Hey now! Where you think you're goin' off to?" He wheeled himself forward a bit in the chair, his hands gripping the wheels as he moved.
"It's not safe out there still and you've done your fair share today." Zoie unsheathed her blade from behind her back and spun them around a bit before glancing over towards Richard as he wheeled over to her. She just giggled like he had just told her not to go out in the rain.
"Don't you be gettin' your panties in a wad Honkey Tonk. I gots this, you just hold tight and I be back faster than you can stand up," she laughed. Leaning down she nipped at his bottom lip lightly before turning and heading out the door, closing it behind her as she looked around the streets. There were still Walkers roaming around but it wasn't anything like earlier. Ash and his folks were cleaning up things nicely outside and the fire was still burning from her little 4th of July display earlier. Things looked about as good as they could get right then.
Grumbling to himself, Richard rolled his eyes at her comment and sat back in his chair before wheeling over to the window to watch her go. He'd get her back for this eventually, but at least she was able to handle her own. He watched her making her way out and down the street until he lost sight of her from his post by the window.
Zoie wasted no time in darting over to the Buster, the path was still pretty clear and most of the people in Newnan were taking care of things. She wasn't about to get in the way. Running over to the broken down machine she jumped up, grabbing a hold of the ladder at the side and climbing into the back of it to grab her own pack. Slipping it over her shoulders she adjusted the straps some before climbing out of the dump bed and onto the roof of the Buster. Bending over she reached into the cabin and grabbed Dexter and Jaime's bags, she didn't know whose they were but hell, bags were bags.
Jumping down she saw another pack on the ground and hoisted it onto her shoulder before she started to make her way back towards the courthouse. A few walkers had had their attention gotten by the country girl; she hadn't exactly been quiet crawling up and down the steel of the machine. Was no time for flair and dramatics; she was tired and had a lot of weight in all the packs she was now carrying. A few simple swipes of her blades and the Walkers in her path dropped to the ground. Taking her time she strolled back to the courthouse; like she was having a Sunday stroll as she flicked the brain matter from her weapons before she sheathed them at her back.
Pushing the door to the courthouse open, she stepped inside and closed it up behind her. Glancing around she smiled as she headed over towards Richard and placed the packs she had retrieved on the ground.
"Miss me?" she teased as she sat down and pulled her pack over to herself.
"You know it, dolly." Richard looked down at the three packs she'd presented him with and he laughed.
"It's like we're wild animals and you're presentin' me with your kill, seekin' my approval." He grinned and laughed before stretching down for his pack and grabbing the hip flask from it. Zoie just chuckled and rolled her eyes a bit. He took a swig of the harsh liquid and gasped in a satisfied manner as he licked the remaining drops from his lips. He'd need to stock back up soon enough. He held the bottle out to Zoie in case she wanted a drink but when she refused he sealed it up and tucked it into his inside vest pocket.
Then he noticed the other two packs and smirked.
"Them backs belonged to the boys I was travellin' with." He hadn't been told yet, but he pretty much assumed that Dexter had been killed outside. He felt a little bad for the kid but knew that it was just his time. Jaime on the other hand? Richard was really happy he served his purpose as a meatshield. He still didn't know why he ended the idiot's suffering but he had.
"Well looks like them packs belong to you now cause you, me, Froggy, and Mr. James be the only ones left alive that were in the truck when it got here," she said as she pulled out her water bottle and undid the cap from it. Placing it to her lips she took a long overdue drink.
"Yeah, seems like they're mine now..." Reaching down, he grabbed Dexter's pack and searched around it until he found what he knew the little shit had been hiding from him. A single cigarette that had been wrapped up in plastic and stuck down in the lining of the bag itself. The kid had probably forgotten he had hidden it there considering the frantic question he had asked Chocolate Thunder back when they first entered the Buster. Flicking out his lighter and putting the cigarette to his mouth, Richard lit it up and took a deep breath that caused him to go into another coughing fit. It had been so long since he'd had a draw from one that he'd pretty much forgotten how to do it properly.
He put the light out from the end of it between his two fingers so as not to waste any of it while he coughed like an old man. He spoke through ragged breaths as it subsided.
"Serve me right for smoking while I look like a side o' beef that's been hammered more than a few times." Zoie couldn't help but laugh as she sat there shaking her head a bit.
"Now Honkey Tonk you'd best be savin' that until after yer healed and we've done been doin' some celebrating," she teased as she handed over the bottle of water to him. She figured he needed it as much as she did at that point.
"Baby, I think I'll need it before we get to any celebratin' at the rate you're teasin' me. Need somethin' to take my mind off the ol' blue ball." He raised his eyebrow at her and gave her a cheeky grin before taking the bottle of water from her and taking a mouthful of the cool liquid. He glanced back towards the infirmary door and smirked.
"Is it bad that I'm glad it was her right arm that she lost?" He pointed to his nose and chuckled.
Zoie perked a brow at his words and didn't know whether to laugh or give him a good bible beating for the statement; maybe both? Shaking her head she only smirked a bit.
"Yeah, well I be half scared to tell ya how it happened. You might crack a few more ribs laughin' if I did." She felt bad for the girl, losing her arm was not something easy to deal with even before all hell on earth broke loose, now it was basically a death sentence in one way or another; but looking over at Richard and seeing the condition he was in and thinking back to how she had gotten herself bit she couldn't exactly not chuckle herself and had to bit her bottom lip hard not to. Oh Sweet Baby Jesus, don't be comin' back now.
"There's an actual story to how she got bit instead of just bitey-bitey I am walking death, destroyer of lives?" His voice was incredulous as he looked to Zoie and waited for her to fill him in. Zoie nodded slowly as she reached over and took the bottle of water from Richard, taking a quick drink of it to wet her whistle before handing it back over to him; at this point she couldn't help but laugh. The more she thought about the entire thing the more ridiculous it was.
"Oh Honkey Tonk, you shoulda' seen it. There I be on top of that old armory. Jerry riggin' this little 4th of July display. Everythag bein' done gone fine so far. It go off without a hitch. Then I see that archer running out of this here court house. She just barreling with everythang she got over to Marine, who mind you was already dead as a doornail. Thang was, Marine was part of the Ryan's all you could eat buffet right then. Couple of Eater done be chowin' down on her like they paid buy one get one half off. Archer done walk right over, totally ignorin' them Eaters eatin' and kisses old Marine on the head! Then she be done take off her coat and lay it over the girl, right then old Eaters say to themselves' Marine be a nice course but I be thinkin' I want me Archer for dessert and boom! They started gnawing on her arm like it was a peppermint stick," Zoie said, trying to keep her voice low so others weren't going to hear her and to try to contain her laughter at this point' tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Holy. Fuckin'. Shit. For serious? That dyke went and kissed a dead woman gettin' chowed on by Deadbrains? I knew she was a little loose in the brain but fuck me..." He ran a hand through his hair and took a drink from the water bottle Zoie had handed him back. He wasn't laughing quite as hard as he expected, might've been because he found out that Lorna had become Deadbrain chow. Despite everything, he still held a lot of respect for that Marine. He went a little quiet and just chuckled lightly to himself, thinking about Maria being as thick as a bag of shit.
Zoie leaned back in her chair, catching her breath and nodded as she rested her hand on Richards knee.
"Serious as a heart attack. I think that girl be a few bricks shy of a load if ya know what I mean," she quipped as she shook her head. She understood loosing people. It hurt but to go pull a stunt like that, she was lucky that she didn't end up being the main course and was only an appetizer. Letting a long calming breath out of her lips she took the water back and pressed the thing to her chest to cool down a bit, the condensation beading up on skin as she looked over towards him.
"Oh hun, what I'd give my right arm to find a cool creek to go skinny dippin' in right now." "You and me both, hot lips. You and me both." He leaned back in the wheelchair and closed his eyes for a second. He felt like a bag of bits and was growing weary after everything that had went down today. Opening his eyes and looking to Zoie he gave her a warm smile.
"Reckon Daisy Duke could take her Honkey Tonk to bed? And nah, not what you're thinkin'. I could do with some shut eye after today. D'you mind?" Zoie perked a brow at his turn of phrase right then.
Her Honkey Tonk? The man must be tired. He didn't seem the type that would ever be happy with just one girl, hell she'd be surprised if he was the type to be happy with one at a time. Sitting up in her seat she glanced around. Richard stifled a yawn and winced from the bruising on his jaw. He watched Zoie looking around the area and he realised she knew as much as he did. She wasn't exactly sure where there were beds in this place. Ash and the rest of his crew wasn't back yet.
"Let me see what I can find hun, I don't know this place any better than you do," she said as she looked back over to him and stood up. Stepping over to him she pressed a soft kiss to his temple before walking off and finding some random person that she didn't know to talk to. A sheepish grin spread across his face, not his usual look but right now he was too tired to care about his "reputation".
"Oh yeah, we have little apartments set up but Ash will need to assign you one. But come here, I can get you a few things that might be useful until him and the rest of the crew get back in here," an older woman with graying hair said as she took Zoie's hand and led her off towards the hallway on the main floor and down the corridor.
"Any help be much appreciated ma'am, Richard and I had one long day if I do say so. Oh, sorry. I am Zoie, pleasure to meet ya," Zoie said respectfully towards the woman who was clearly her elder. The woman's eyes lit up as she was called ma'am. Manners were not something that was common in this day and age, even in the south. James and most of the people were kind enough but it was nice to see a new young face around the city that didn't have to be taught manners.
"Nice to meet you as well Zoie. You can call me Sally. Here we go," she said as she reached into a closet and pulled out a stack of medical scrubs, some soap and a few towels; handing them over to Zoie. Zoie smiled brightly to Sally as she took the items.
"Oh I do declare; clean clothing? And towels? I think I found the gates of heaven. Much thanks Ms. Sally," Zoie exclaimed happily.
"Oh you sweet thing. It is no trouble. Now, down the hall there is room we have a shower set up in. You and your man should be able to get all cleaned up. Now, you come find me once you have, I'll square away something to eat for you two once Ash and everyone is back in here," she said as she gave Zoie a pat on the shoulder.
"A shower?!" Zoie's repeated as her eyes widened.
"Hot shower, so go on now and get cleaned up. I'll be in the main room taking care of the others while you two get cleaned up," Sally chuckled. Zoie nodded quickly and made her way quickly down the hall to drop off the items before speeding back over to Richard with a bright smile on her lips. Grasping his thighs she leaned down; it was clear she was rather excited at that point. Richard had been dozing off in his chair a little when he felt the pressure on his thighs. He sat up straighter and looked right at her gorgeous black, blue and red tinted face. Something had got her excited and he was keen to find out what it was.
"Y'find us a bed yet?" He gave her a cheeky, albeit sleepy, grin and tried to wink at her but failed due to the excessive swelling. Oh well, he had tried.
"No bed yet Honkey Tonk but they got us some clean clothes, food later and you get this. A hot shower, can ya believe it? Let's go get cleaned up," she giggled as she gave his legs a quick pat before stepping behind him and wheeling him down the hallway.
"You're fuckin' shittin' me?! I knew they had good shit here! I FUCKIN' KNEW IT!" He was way too excited. She couldn't help but giggle at that point, the thought of an actual shower had her giddy as a preteen talking about her first kiss.
The room wasn't much, seemed it was just an old office that was turned into a clean up room. There was a shower constructed in the corner of the room with glass walls, mostly clear except what looked to be around the main areas that counted though Zoie could tell you could probably still see the silhouette of a persons figure through it but seriously, beggars were not going to be choosers that day. There was a couch on one end of the room and a table next to it where Zoie had laid down the clothing and such when she had dropped them off. Pulling him to a stop she locked down the breaks on the wheel chair and stepped in front of him.
"So, this is about to get interestin' ain't it?" she said with a smirk as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"Too right it is. You'll get to see me lookin' suave and smellin' good instead of lookin' and smellin' like shit." He barked out with laughter and then realised that there was a small problem.
"Oh sweetheart... You're gonna have to see m'weapon before the showdown. I don't reckon I can wash myself properly in my state. Care to lather a poor wounded man up sohe might sleep better in your arms?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her as best he could considering his state but he chuckled through the mild throbbing that it caused.
Zoie just rolled her eyes playfully as she stepped closer to him and knelt down.
"Oh I think I can manage," she chuckled as she took his leg gently and pulled off his biker boots before setting them to the side and then following with his socks and making a gagging face before tossing them over into the corner on the far side of the room.
"We'll ain't gotta worry about us getin' all romantical now," she teased as she stood back up.
"Aw c'mon babydoll, you know you want some of my natural musk." Reaching out she carefully helped him to get out of his vest, shirts and such before doing anything where he would need to stand up. He winced repeatedly throughout the efforts of getting his clothes off. Raising his arms above his head was the worst part. He bit his tongue to keep from yelping at various points.
"A'right, gonna have to take care of something else first before I canna get you to stand," she said quickly. Stepping over to the shower she turned the water on and let it warm up. She looked utterly amazed that they actually had hot water. Turning back to him she smirked.
"Probly' be a damn good thang you hurt since I gotta join ya," she joked, sticking her tongue out at him before she began to peel out of her clothing. Richard watched her as she stripped off with no shame on her face. He definitely liked this girl. Well worth his efforts, maybe even more if she kept this up. The girl wasn't shy that was for sure; she wasted no time getting out of the blood and gut drenched garments and kicking them to the pile. He endded up distracted by the raven like wings that spanned across her upper back and over the uppermost part of her triceps. That was some fine ass ink.
The only thing on her that even close to blushed was the red spots from the fight that outlined all the bruises on her body. He pursed his lips and licked them a little; half because they were dry, the other half was he liked what he was seeing. Then he noticed the amount of bruises and he scowled in, was that... concern? Nah, couldn't be. He was just wondering how a guy that got his ass kicked could still do so much damage to this firecracker. Seemed she had been knocked about a lot more than she let on but she carried herself as if nothing had even touched her. Looking down at her body and examining the damage she shrugged a bit.
"Oh well, done survived worse than this," she said under her breath, remembering how bad things had gotten with her now dead husband. Stepping over to Richard she held her hands out for him. Richard reached out and took her hands with his own. He braced himself for what came next. He'd ask about the excessive bruising later.
"Come on Honkey Tonk, time to get the rest of them vestments off ya." Grunting with the effort, Richard inhaled sharply and let Zoie help pull him up out of his wheelchair. He could stand at least, that was something. He stretched his immobile legs out slowly, letting the feeling come back to them fully as the blood rushed into them again.
"Momma, that smarts. Remind me to ask Froggy for some more o' that painkillin' goodness." His posture was slightly hunched over but that was mostly due to the pain in his ribs. Froggy had wrapped him up well but he wasn't gonna get clean while all wrapped up. He'd need Froggy to re-wrap him later. He nodded down to the bandages that Zoie had left lying with his clothes.
"Might need to have Froggy wrap me up like that Tutenkamut fella again. Didn't realise those bandages were stopping so much pain... Fuck." Zoie looked up at him with worry and concern in her eyes as she looked over the damage on him. She didn't like seeing him like this, if the girls that had done this to him weren't either already dead, missing an arm, or in pain she probably would have gone and had a few choice words with them. It was just down right un-southern to pick a brawl at the wrong time.
"I can help with that hun, don't you worry none. I might not be a doctor but I've bandaged up enough broken ribs in my life," she admitted with a bit of a sigh. Reaching down she undid his belt and pants and helped him step out of the remaining clothing. That last comment caused him pause and Richard's mind began to wonder more about her.
Grabbing the soap and washcloth before slipping his arm gently over her shoulder she helped him over to the shower and pushed back the curtain so he could get in. She knew he was in pain and was beyond gentle in her touch. It was odd, she could cause so much damage with her hands but anytime she touched him it was the lightest touch; nearly like a feather she was so careful and delicate.
"Seems like you've taken care of delicates like myself before. Were you a nurse before all this or somethin'?" Richard did his best to hold in his sounds of pain but her touch was so gentle that there really were barely any. He wondered how he couldn't take a beating like she had. Granted he never usually got beaten like he had, he'd always fight back but when Lorna had laid into him... Yeah, he had let her but he never imagined she'd go so far. Serve him right really... and now she was dead. Literal Deadbrain chow outside. He could feel the weight in his stomach and on his chest when he thought of her and he wondered why the fuck he was thinking about her when he was naked in a shower with a hot piece of ass that was interesting, funny and taking care of him in his current state.
Zoie bit her bottom lip slightly as she went over every inch of him, being careful as she could not to hurt him. At his question her eyes shot up to his and there was obvious pain in them. Clearing her throat she looked back to what she was doing and tried to explain a little bit.
"Naw, was just a house wife b'fore all this went down. Just used to bein' done takin' care of my own pain. My husband made this a daily thang," she said quietly, remembering the night after night of getting smacked and tossed around by him. She had built up an unnatural tolerance for pain because of it.
It was more than he had expected her to share but he could see it in her face. His ma had had the same look on her face before she took to the bottle to deal with the pain. Shaking his head and raising a hand up to rub the water off of his face as best he could, he took a deep breath and smiled at Zoie. He wasn't going to make a big deal about her sharing, she wouldn't want him fussing anyway.
"Thanks darlin', don't think I'd have been able to take a clean shower for a week if you hadn't helped." He rose his other hand and gave her a light tap under the chin with his curled fingers and smirked at her.
"Well I couldn't exactly let ya be crawlin' into bed with me even just to sleep if ya still smelled like last years kill," she said softly as she took the soap and set it down.
"That's fair, that's fair. But thanks anyway, Zoie." He let out a light laugh and coughed some from the effort but not as much as he had earlier.
"Now, lets be gettin' ya out of here and dried so you can get dressed and then I can wash." He let Zoie guide him back out carefully and he let her help him dry off. He took care of his gentlemanly area. Usually he'd have made a joke about her rubbing him down but it didn't feel right at this point in time. He'd take the next opportunity though, so it didn't look like he was feeling bad for her.
"You away and wash now otherwise I'll be makin' you sleep on the couch. Can't chow down on roadkill even if it is disguised as a juicy steak." He gave her rump a gentle tap and turned his back to her as he finished drying himself off. Zoie jumped a bit and let out a gleeful giggle as she glanced over her shoulder back towards him and smirked as she stepped into the shower.
"I'll sit with my towel over my modesty, you can help dress me after. Alrigh'?" She rolled her eyes a bit as she grabbed the soap.
"I done be surprised that the word modesty is in yer vocabulary," she teased as she soaped down and got herself cleaned off.
"Never judge a book by its cover, Daisy!" Richard chuckled as he called out to her in the shower. Peeking out she smirked a bit.
"No darling, if I did that, think I'd be back here alone with you?" she taunted him before slipping back behind the shower curtain. She took a bit longer than she had expected to, just enjoying the simple pleasure of taking a warm shower was more than she had felt in sometime. She found herself actually moaning a bit as she cleaned up. Richard perked an eyebrow and gave an approving nod. The pre-dinner show was shaping up to be quite enjoyable. By the time she was done she nearly felt like a new woman. After rinsing she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower to grab a towel; drying off quickly before grabbing the scrubs Sally had given her and stepping back over to Richard.
"Alrigh' hun, time to get ya presentable," she said softly as she motioned for him to let her help get him dressed. Nodding and letting her pull his weight up he did all he could to help her get the scrubs on his body without causing too much issue; Zoie taking special care when he had to lift his arms, she knew how painful it could be to move with ribs having been beaten like his were.
"Now to get my wrappin' back on." He lifted the lower half of his shirt and could feel his muscles tensing and relaxing through the pain. Zoie picked up the bandages and began to carefully wrap Richard's ribs back up. He let her tighten the supportive bandages and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt the pain ebbing away slightly.
"Much better. Man it's good not smellin' like the ass end of a cow." Zoie chuckled as she helped lower his shirt back into place before turning and going to get dressed herself. Slipping into the scrubs she looked over to him and smiled a bit.
"Alrigh' hun, I'ma go and see what I can do to help out a bit more. Want me to help you stretch out on the couch here to get some rest? Once thin's get settled down I'll find us some where to holds up for the night and some food." Nodding in agreement, Richard started to shuffle over to the couch and let Zoie help him get settled in.
"Thanks sweetcheeks, don't think I'd be half as comfy without your help. I owe you one, actually, more like a few." He let out a deep chuckle and shrugged his shoulders as much as his stiff body would allow.
"Don't be owing me nothin' darlin'. I jsut did what was right was all," she said kindly as she brushed his hair back some once he was settled down.
"Just make sure that the armless archer's little sister doesn't try anythin' funny. I feel like she'd happily shove a knife through my eye socket..." He scowled and glanced towards the door.
"I need my shotgun, can't sleep without it. D'you mind?" He nodded towards his gear that was piled on the floor where the butt of the shotgun could just be seen poking out from beneath his dirty shirt.
Chuckling a bit she grabbed the bags and tossed them into the wheel chair before wheeling it over to him and setting it up within reach.
"Okay, all ya need. I'll be back to check on ya in a while," she said as she stepped over towards the door. Stopping for a moment she turned on her heels and headed back over to him.
"One last thang to help ya relax," she said in a coy voice before leaning down and kissing him softly, her lips lingering against his for a moment before she pulled away. He couldn't do anything but blink, he hadn't expected another kiss already but he'd be damned if he was about to complain. He said nothing, he just let his stupid grin do all the talking for him.
She just smiled towards him as she stepped to the door, giving him one last glance over her shoulder,
"Get ya some rest now ya hear?" was all she said before closing the door behind her and making her way back to the main room of the courthouse to see if there was anything she could help with.
Dr. Victor Bonheur
Location: Newnan Infirmary
Interacting With: Kris, Unconscious Maria, Sidd
Interaction Tags: @Nallore @Aewin
Noticing the paling colour of his latest patient, Victor began to busy himself around the infirmary with collecting various little things he would need for the next step. He looked to Kris and was about to ask her an important question but figured that it was a safe bet to assume she wouldn’t know the answer to it. Grabbing his collected items, Victor moved beside Maria and took a swabbing of her blood from her amputation and began to run some tests.
He looked to Kris and pressed his lips together. He had heard her heart wrenching pleading and didn’t want to interrupt a grieving girl but he had to carry out his test.
“Apologies, mademoiselle, I must take a small prickling of blood from your finger. It will be but a moment, I swear.” He waited for her to present her hand and he took a small sampling of her blood. He then ran the same tests on Kris’s blood sample.
His eyes darkened as he saw the results.
“Merde…” He muttered to himself and shook his head, his hands resting palm down on the flat surface of the table he was using. He glanced over to the weeping child and his chest ached for her. She had lost a friend and a sister this day. He wondered if this woman, this Lorna, was the same woman that had brought him inside this very building to safety. He would need to find a particular flower to place on her gravesite if it were her.
He could say something, or he could say nothing. It might be an idea to say nothing at this point. As far as the young woman knew he had only run a simple test. He opted to keep quiet for now and made his way swiftly to the blood fridge where he found bags of plasma that could be used in place of blood. He made his way back to Maria and Kris and began to get Maria set up for a plasma transfusion.
When he was done, Victor motioned to Sidd and took the weapon from him that he had given the young man earlier, he gently patted him on the back.
“You should go and get some rest, monsieur. I will take care of this dung heap. Go.” Victor ushered Sidd out of the room and out to Ms. Sally that was dealing with the stragglers within the courthouse. Victor turned to the prisoner that was still tied up in his infirmary and he frowned at him as he walked towards him with his machete in hand. He said nothing and simply stood over the bleeding man and glared at him in silence.
Victor may be a soft bundle of care to those that deserved it, but to those that didn’t? He could be pretty damn intimidating.
Agnes Brynja Johannsson
Location: Smokey Road Middle School: Interior >> Exterior
Interacting With: Herself, Lard-o, An Unexpected Thing, Snarlers, Two Battlemaidens (By Proxy)
Interaction Tags: @Lady Amalthea @Sigil
The weather had been threatening to turn bad for days and Bryn wasn’t in the mood to get soaked to the bone again. She had found safe haven inside Smokey Road Middle School on, surprisingly enough, Smokey Road in Georgia. She’d done her rounds and cleared the place out as best she could. She’d taken down six Snarlers so that was something to mark in her diary. There still seemed to be a chill in the air and it made her feel uneasy.
Wrapping her leather jacket around her body tighter, Bryn sat with her back against a wall on top of a cabinet, one leg dangling over the side that swung back and forth, the other tucked beneath her knee. She dug her fingers into the packaging of some stale crackers that she had found in one of the lockers in the hallway. Licking her fingers and lips to steal any loose crumbs, Bryn dug in her backpack that rested on her lap and pulled out a bottle of water.
She took a long drink and sealed the bottle up, securing it in her back again for later. Looking around the place that she had cleared out to sleep through the night. She’d actually managed to get some rest and she was glad that she hadn’t slept outside when the storm had hit. That would not have been fun to deal with. She shuddered as she thought back to seeing dead bodies flying through the air and she rolled her eyes.
“No use gettin’ all jittery, Aggy. This is the world now, remember?” Resting her head against the cold brick wall, she looked around the classroom once more and considered if there was anything of use that she could find here. She climbed down from the cabinet quietly and began to search through the drawers of the teacher’s desk that was pushed up against the wall beneath the window. She found a few pencils that were broken but could be sharpened and two wooden rulers that she slipped into her pack. There were no useful scraps of paper unfortunately and she made a disappointed face before shrugging and moving towards the door leading to the hallway.
Shuffling and snarling could be heard somewhere deeper into the middle school but Bryn didn’t want to risk the chances by going deeper to clear it all out. This size of place was not a one-woman job. Besides, she didn’t like staying in one place any longer than she needed to and there was this looming feeling in her mind and on her chest that made her want to move on straight away.
Making her way into the hallway, Bryn glanced up and down to make sure nothing was heading her way and began to walk back towards the front doors of the place that were currently kept shut by a mop handle that she had placed to stop the doors from being pushed open inside easily. The building was beautiful and damn impressive to look at. It was such a shame that it had fallen like so many others in these end of world times.
As she made her way forward she smiled as she saw her Grace. The motorcycle was dusty from dirt roads but it had managed to get Bryn out of Macon and had kept her going this far. She was grateful for it and had grown quite attached to it. She hadn’t tried to hide it, knowing that if anything was going to be touching it, it would be the dead ones. They weren’t going to be taking it for a joy ride anytime soon.
That’s when she heard the bang from the other side of the school and stopped in her tracks. Her fingers gripped her C-Whacker tighter as she turned to look at the source of the banging. She had been in the main building, just down some from the reception area. The banging was coming from the back end of the school, further inside, where Bryn had promised herself she wouldn’t go. She hadn’t survived this long by taking needless risks for nothing. Curiosity was one thing but not when it could risk your life.
Turning away from the banging she began to make her way back towards Grace and then she heard it; a tiny scream. The dead didn’t scream, that much she knew. It sounded too much like a child’s scream, her mind went fuzzy and she staggered into the lockers, causing a noise that stirred rotting bodies in adjacent rooms. She could hear a baby crying, screaming, pleading for help and then she saw a flash of red and crumpled to the floor as she clutched her hair. Her C-Whacker clattered to the floor with the tell-tale sound of aluminium bouncing on concrete before it rolled and hit against her leg gently.
As soon as it had hit her, it was gone. Bryn looked around the hallway frantically as the red ebbed from her vision and she felt around blindly for her Whacker. Her fingers wrapped around the leather grip as she dragged the bat towards herself again. Her eyes scanned around her frantically as she waited for the onslaught that was bound to be coming for her in her moment of vulnerability. Her free hand reached up and rubbed her earlobe until it burned, trying in a vain attempt to calm herself down.
She could hear the bangs and shuffles from various locations in the school but the same banging and shuffling could be heard from the back area of the school. Then the scream happened again. Bracing herself, she waited for her head to hurt her once more but it did not come. Her breathing was ragged and she felt uncomfortable in this building. She had to get out. Now.
She walked at a brisk pace away from the chaos behind her that she could not see and headed back for Grace. Then the plea for help sounded. It was not a child but it was a young girl, probably prepubescent age. Bryn’s head whipped around and she began to take deep, calming breaths as she strode forward with purpose. Her fingers deftly spun her C-Whacker in circles as she walked along and found her way down a side corridor that led to a maintenance cupboard which was being beat on by a single Snarler that was dressed in janitorial uniform, blood oozing from its mouth and was packing more than a couple buckets of fried chicken, if you catch my drift.
“Hey Lard-o.” She called out at a normal, speaking volume but knew it would be enough to catch the monstrosity’s attention.
“Why you lookin’ for the bite size snacks? Don’t ya want somethin’ a little more substantial? I mean you’re a growin’ fella, aren’t ya?” She backed up a couple steps as she spoke, watching the jiggling mass shuffle its way towards her.
“Yeah fella, that’s it. Come get the main course. C’mon c’mon c’mon, all ya can eat!” Swinging her bat backwards and taking the position that she always would in the batter’s box on the fields, Bryn lined the shot up and waited for the opening. The Snarler shuffled closer and closer, it’s wobbling jaw fat making that grotesque slapping noise as it snapped and growled. Its wings flapped as it stretched out for her, the sausage fingers grasping at thin air.
The bat swung around and collided with the side of the large Snarler’s head. The steel spike embedded itself firmly in the temple of the skull. A single motion to release the spike from its head and, with a monstrous thud, it fell motionless to the floor. Bryn nudged the body with the tip of her foot and nodded approvingly to herself.
“That’ll do pig, that’ll do.” Stepping over the newly killed dead body, Bryn made her way forward and moved to the maintenance cupboard that her new friend had been trying so desperately to get inside. A gentle rap of her knuckles on the steel door later and a tiny squeak was all that could be heard from within.
“Don’t worry sweetie, I ain’t here t’hurt ya. I’m very much alive, don’t worry. Ya wanna come out and we can talk? I’m alone, promise.” A moment passed before scuffling could be heard inside the cupboard and then the door opened and a tiny, muddy and bloody face peered out and stared at Bryn with wide, hazel eyes. Her hair was clinging to her face and scalp like a bucket of grease had been poured over her.
“Y-ya not gonna hurt m-me?” The poor girl was terrified, she couldn’t be any older than fourteen years old.
“Nah hun, I ain’t gon’ hurt ya. Name’s Bryn, ya need some help? Bryn still couldn’t see anything more than her head and a single arm and hand so far, she wasn’t too keen on coming all the way out it would seem. She had a bit of a sheen on her skin, looked awful red even under the blood on her face. Bryn reached into her pocket and began to rub the smooth stone she’d found a few days before.
“C-can ya do m-me a f-f-fa-favour m-m-miss?” Her slightly swollen eyes were beginning to well up and her bottom lip began to tremble. She slowly stepped out from behind the door and Bryn’s face fell at the sight.
The girl was clutching her arm to her body but the amount of blood there made it very obvious what had happened. Her arm was torn to shreds and tied with the fever and the fat bastard on the floor with a blood stained face...
“Please! I… I jus’… I can’t be one o’ them! I j-j-just can’t!” She fell to her knees and began to beg Bryn, the tears pouring down her grubby face, leaving trails showing remnants of the young girl’s pale skin beneath all of the mess.
Nodding reluctantly, Bryn switched her Whacker into her left hand and took her knife out from its holder on her belt. She walked towards the girl who looked happier than she had moments before even if she still had a terrified look on her face.
“I-is it g-g-gon’ hurt?” She sniffed and wiped her nose with her uninjured arm as she looked up to Bryn’s face.
Bryn looked down to her knife and shrugged a little.
“I don’t rightly know, but I’ll try make it painless… Jus’ close your eyes and lean forward.” The young girl closed her eyes before they snapped open a moment later.
“W-wait! Y’don’t now my name. It… It’s Grace. Th-thank you B-Bryn.” She closed her eyes and leaned forward.
Not wanting to make the poor girl wait, Bryn felt numb as she slipped the blade into the base of the poor girl’s skull and she grimaced as she watched her body become limp. She ran her hand over Grace’s hair and said a silent word to herself. It was fitting that this girl was called Grace in Bryn’s mind. She wanted to bury the poor kid but she didn’t have the tools. Rather than leaving her out to become a meal, she lifted Grace’s body and placed her back inside the cupboard and laid her so that she looked like she was just sleeping before leaving to reach her own Grace that would get her out of this damn building.
She had made her way back to the Reception area and had got herself set up to jump on Grace as soon as she had unbarred the front doors. Unfortunately, it was not going to be so smooth. One of the classrooms that held a few Snarlers had been alerted to Bryn’s presence when she had walked by earlier when heading to the maintenance corridor. They had been banging on the classroom door and it didn’t look good but Bryn thought it would hold longer than this. Glancing down at the loud noise of the crashing door, she cursed under her breath and ran to the front door to unblock it. Unfortunately she’d wedged the damn mop handle in too well and it wasn’t budging!
“Well that’s just fuckin’ peachy. Shit.” She ran to Grace and decided she could just barrel through them and go out the back but she didn’t know what else was down there and she didn’t really want to chance it. Plus, Grace was facing the front doors, not the back. Double shit. The Snarlers were gaining on her and she didn’t have much time to think and she didn’t want to leave her Grace behind. Grabbing a broken locker door, Bryn ran back to Grace with it in her hands.
“So this is my day today. Fuckin’ great. Fuck it.” She jumped on her bike and started the engine, the locker door being held in one hand. The engine started with a soft purr at first but as soon as she hit the gas it revved to life and hurled Bryn forward with it. She was barrelling towards the front door and she covered her head with the locker door and smashed through the wooden doors. The Snarlers were practically on her heels but now that she was on Grace she burled right into the front area of the school. She dropped the locker door and spun Grace around until she was side on to the front doors where she could see the group of three Snarlers walking out to find her.
Jumping off her bike, Bryn walked over and grabbed the locker door she had dropped a few feet behind her and hiked it up as a makeshift shield in her left hand. She grabbed her C-Whacker with the right and readied herself. She swung the bat and took the face off of the first one to come for her, knocking it to the side where it fell with a squelch on the ground. A second one came for her and began to clutch at the front of her leather jacket from her left side.
“Oh god, don’t ya know what a breath mint is?!” She forced it back and knocked it’s legs out from under it, causing it to tumble to the ground where it rolled around for a second trying to get back up.
As it struggled, Bryn strode forward, her Whacker being strapped to her belt quickly as she gripped the locker door with both hands. One strong and fluid swing later and she began to pummel its head until it looked like the inside of Granny May’s mince pies at Christmas. Now holding a particularly bloody locker door, Bryn stood over the third Snarler and pushed it directly down and onto the thing’s neck.
“Here, ya look like ya might have a headache. Lemme help…” The force of her body weight on the locker door caused the head to detach from the body with a cracking noise.
It continued to snap and snarl at her but she just used her booted feet to kick it across the parking lot where it landed into a broken window of an abandoned car.
“She shoots and she scores!” Feeling pleased with herself, Bryn walked back to Grace and got herself on it before she realised that she could still hear snarling and growling fairly nearby and it wasn’t coming from the school.
Looking around she saw two women that could only be described as
fucking badass sauntering down the road on
horseback with a fucking
wagon in tow. Who the hell were these people? Bryn raised an eyebrow and then heard the growling sounds becoming even louder. Oh shit. That… No, it couldn’t be. She didn’t much want to talk to people, not after what she’d just had to do for the first person she had met in six months but what were the chances that she’d run into
more people in the
same day no less.
She could drive away but she couldn’t quite tell which direction all the noise was coming from and plus, they’d probably already seen her. If she didn’t make contact with them they might think she was running away, maybe even try to hunt her down anyway. She’d wait to see what they did first, no point in risking something yet again. She’d already taken her risk today. She sat upon Grace and gently rolled her forward onto the road in front of the school and slowly rolled down towards Smokey Road main as she watched the two Valkyries approaching.
