IAmKnight

The Fireflies Settlement

Hooray, it's up, and I'll let the others post before I respond

The Fireflies Settlement

Another day in the yard, with a few hares bundled up in a dirty, brown bag. Verelik had just come back from the forest, after snagging some hares from some traps he had set up the previous night. It wasn't necessary to bring a rifle for this particular task, but he brought it as usual, in case an early bird deer strolled by. After all, he had left at five in the morning, as those hares came out just as the morning dew would settle.

He had already collected them though, of course. Now he was in the yard, skinning them each one by one, a task he had performed countless times already. It wasn't yet seven, so Alyssa would still be asleep. Verelik finished the first hare and hung it up by the legs on his second clothes line, which he used for hunting instead. Since he had only recently moved into this particular house, nothing here was yet second nature. He'd have to fix this all up and make it feel like home for the third time again.

By the time the clock tower's bell rang, he had finished. Blood dripped onto the concrete beneath the hares. As a kid he had learned there used to be vegetarians, though of course food is not so easily forged these days. Good thing, too, or he'd probably lose his job. He arched his back and rolled his neck, before heading back inside.

The house wasn't very furnished, but it did its duty. Verelik dumped his bag near his rifle and walked over to the kitchen. Guess we'll have hare kebab again.

He began cooking, occasionally letting it cook while he looked out the window, watching settlers head to their respective duties. He had a coffee mug in his hand, and took a sip every now and then. Occasionally, he heard footsteps from Alyssa's room. She was awake, so he finished up with the food and set them down at the table. As if on cue, she stepped into the main room, her hair tied back into a simple ponytail that reached just below her neck, save two locks of hair let loose at the sides, followed by side-swept bangs crossing to her left. She shared the same brunette hair as her father, along with the blue eyes. Without saying much of a word, she sat down at the table, made a slight grunt, and began eating, all while Verelik sipped coffee and read some paper. This was their way of signifying the two's relationship, while seeming dormant, it was rather caring.

Halfway through eating her meal, Verelik spoke. "Looks like Fay's still teaching. She'll probably be your teacher."
Alyssa had to quickly swallow what she had in her mouth before responding. "You didn't think she'd be there?"
Verelik looked up from the paper, his eyebrow slightly raised. He hesitated before speaking. "That's not what I meant. I don't know, it was idle talk."
"Uh-huh." Alyssa continued eating.
Verelik put down the paper and gulped the rest of the coffee. "Come on, Aly, it's only been a year."
She finally looked up at Verelik, with a slight raised eyebrow. She was in the middle of chewing, but her face still screamed "I'm pouting right now".
He sighed, then got up from his seat. "Sure, be like that. I'm getting my jacket, make sure you wash up, 'kay?" Without waiting for a response, he walked off to his room. Alyssa shrugged and finished her meal.

It was almost 8, but luckily the school was of walking distance. Verelik had been in the shower for long enough now, even though he had said he'd only grab his jacket. In the mean time, Alyssa had washed up and was now enjoying a simple hobby. She was good at lots of things, thanks to her father's skill teaching, and one of those things was darts. That, along with the standard survival skill set that Verelik would of course teach her. Darts however was simple to play, and easy to set up. There was no time to enjoy a song on the guitar or climb the tree in the back. "501, let's go!"
At that moment, she heard Verelik finish his shower. She groaned. "Alright, let's get at least 100 then." She had three darts. She pulled her arm back, then let it fly. She aimed for the inner 20, but got the non-ringed patch. "80." Another dart flew, this time aimed for the outer 20. It landed, and she smiled. "Niiice, 40! One more!" She held the dart up, took a breath, an--

"Hey, Sweet Cheeks, what're you doing there?"

The dart flew off into the wall rather than the board. She slowly looked at Verelik, who was smirking with his arms crossed, while leaning against the wall. She tried to be angry, but she lost her composure and giggled. He smiled back. "Okay, I owe you one. Remind me later, but for now, let's go."

The walk to the school was brisk. It was known to both of them that the Lover's Incident ended up lowering their reputation, though the looks weren't common, most likely due to the morning rush. They arrived at the school, just as a group of other kids crowded Fay. The clock tower above them rang, signalling that 8th hour. Alyssa and Verelik walked up to the group, and Verelik patted Alyssa's back and slightly nudged her forward, while smiling in the general direction of Fay and the kids. "Good luck, try not to beat the boys up."
"Dad..." She looked sheepish.
Verelik chuckled. "Alright, alright, have fun now, yeah?" He looked over at Fay and nodded. "Nice to see you again, Fay. Look after Aly for me." As he said that, Alyssa walked over to the group, looking for familiar faces.

The Fireflies Settlement

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Verelik Riddare

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SETTLEMENT: Fireflies

AGE: 33

OCCUPATION: Hunter

APPEARANCE: Verelik usually wears a brown leather jacket everywhere he goes, fitted with a loose fitting white button-up shirt covered by a navy blue vest, along with a dark face mask he lives hanging around his neck when in the settlement. He stands at about 6 foot, with lean muscle gained from nothing but hunting. He keeps his facial hair somewhat trimmed, usually left as a thick stubble, and rarely keeps his hair tidy, preferring to simply comb his hair back with his hand as he's on the move. Verelik is hardly phased by many events, and tends to keep his thoughts to himself, though he shows slight emotion from events, be it amusement, sadness, or anger. He speaks with a deeper, masculine voice that shows a slight hint of sadness, and he usually puts on a slightly mixed sad but content smile around others.

FAMILY: Verelik's only family is his 14 year old daughter Alyssa.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single.

FRIENDS: Long-time friends with Astor, along with other hunters, in both Fireflies and Water Leafs. He would also appreciate the teachers, for taking care of Alyssa, and also Mayor Bellamy. Apart from that, he would be acquainted with the other's, though would not be on high friendly terms with them.

HOBBIES: Besides hunting, he enjoys playing his guitar, and the company of Alyssa. He quite enjoys navigating and tracking in the wilderness, along with resource managing. He also likes to spend time at The Damn Pub, though on weekdays he will refuse a drink. Though he has extensive training in sniper rifles and firearms, he does not consider it a hobby.

BIOGRAPHY: As a young kid, Verelik enjoyed exploring the settlement, and causing havoc like any troublesome kid would do. He loved hearing stories about the old world, and always enjoyed sneaking off to look at the Dam. His parents had two children, Verelik himself and his younger brother who was younger by 6 years. They had a quaint life, his father being a dam engineer and his mother being a doctor. For Verelik, however, he found it to be quite tiresome and boring, since his little brother was too young to really enjoy. Thus, his friendships began through school, where he became friends with the few kids of the settlement. One of these kids was Astor, who was three years younger than him. Verelik didn't want to be like his parents, being the troublesome kid he was, so quite frequently he hung out at The Damn Pub to meet with Astor, and together they slowly shared the same goal of becoming a hunter. He was a troublemaker, yes, but deep down he wanted to help the settlement, and clearly his shenanigans didn't phase anyone, because they saw it too.

Verelik lived his life quite normally, up until the age of 15, where he fell in love with a girl, and remained together up until they had an unplanned kid at 19. Reckless, his parents obviously thought, but no matter, the past had happened. Verelik was now a father, and thus began his childhood dream job of becoming a hunter. He received training in firearms, and he especially excelled with perception and dexterity. It wasn't long for him to become another useful supplier of food.

Half a decade later, at the age of 24, his life changed. Another raid by the Roaches, and the guards weren't quick enough. His family lived together in the one house, and they were the first to be attacked. Verelik hadn't even been in town; he was out in the forest hunting. He came home with a deer behind him, and while yesterday he had a loving mother and father, that day he had become an orphan. Most importantly to him, however, was the hardest change in his life. His parents, they were already old, and albeit he was upset they had passed, it was nothing compared to the loss of his wife, and his younger brother, who had recently become a guard at 18, and died protecting the lone survivor, Alyssa.

Verelik knew he wasn't to blame. Many people told him this, in fact, they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Deep down, however, he knew he could've stopped them, or at least tried. His emotional state drastically changed that year, and he become more of a recluse, much to Alyssa's dismay. For the next two years, Verelik hardly spoke, remaining in constant despair.

This changed, of course, as it always does in life. Verelik had fully understood the passing of his family, and slowly he began to mend himself. He still had his daughter after all. Coming up to his late 20s, Verelik had finally accepted the tragedy, and had become more positive, albeit he still spoke less than he used to. It was at this time Alyssa gave him a guitar, and together they bonded over learning the instrument. This was short-lived, however, as another raid caused some casualties among the guards, and getting slight PTSD, he decided to move to the Water Leafs settlement with Alyssa, who was sad to have left her friends.

He lived among the Water Leafs for just under a year, making friends with other hunters, and enjoying their so-called "New Life". Of course, happiness lasts for so long, and the Lover's Incident occurred. From that day, both he and his daughter received looks he could not even describe. For the sake of his daughter, he moved back to the Fireflies, which made only a slight improvement. Of course, Marcus Bellamy was happy for Verelik's return, along with his old friend Astor, but there was evidence of some members of the settlement who disapproved of Verelik's constant side switching, accusing him of being a spy or a double-agent. He brought up the point of moving away entirely, but his daughter wanted to stay, and it only took the sparkle in her eyes for him to agree. As of now, Verelik and his daughter have lived in Fireflies for only a couple weeks.

The Fireflies Settlement

@Days Yeah sure, no worries, I'll move my post to the character tab

That's all then, I should be able to start?

The Fireflies Settlement

@Days Then I have my character ready.

The Fireflies Settlement

@Days One more thing that I already assume, since there are only three teachers in the settlement, should I assume students are generally in the same classes or something, regardless of age, and the three teachers teach different subjects, or are there three separate classes depending on age (and if so, what would those ages be)?

Crusty Post-Apocalypse Pokemon, now with tetanus

@HokumPocus How many players do you reckon you'd want to make this thing a thing?

The Fireflies Settlement

@Days
Does the clock tower ring per hour? And, assuming it does, would it be audible from past the settlement, say within the nearby forests?

The Fireflies Settlement

Alright, I can work with that, I'll just wait for a pm from Jet just to confirm something.

The Fireflies Settlement

@Days How many years ago did the incident happen? I'm thinking of having my guy originate from Fireflies, move to Water Leafs, then due to the incident and like xenophobia or something he'd be thrown back to Fireflies, and probably receive some looks from both sides.