For those still kicking about and want general interactions for the 3 month gap, feel free to post here.
Who knows, maybe good plot will develop
Make them as poetic or as plain as you like
For those still kicking about and want general interactions for the 3 month gap, feel free to post here.
Who knows, maybe good plot will develop
Make them as poetic or as plain as you like
The sun rose on Crosspire as Artemis walked towards the gate of the now strangely quiet town. The remnants of the night before were still present. Blood was spotted across the ground where others had been shot. Not by her though, for once. It didnât seem like anyone was up. Most are probably sleeping off the chaos of last night. The hospital seemed mildly busy though, but that was to be expected. Looking down, she noticed Fox and Sosaâs faces on the wanted posters that were plastered across the town briefly. âWanted for War Crimesâ it boasts. Artemis smirked to herself. The Clements were idiots. They always were. At least they got the âArmed and Dangerousâ part of the poster right.
A weird feeling came over her. She realised no one was around to give her orders. Fox and Sosa had disappeared. Whether they were still in town or not was unknown to her. Sitting down on a nearby bench and sighing, she took off her cap and put down her gun next to her.
Freedom sure feels lonely, she thought.
James approaches Artemis from behind carrying a hot drink, trying not to make her jump, he coughs lightly.
âDidnât expect anyone else to be up so earlyâŚâ He takes a sip, looking out towards the wilderness, he closes eyes and breaths deeply, with a big sigh he turns back to Artemis
"so whats your plan now?? Seems Sosa & Fox have gone, half expected you to be with themâŚ"
[quote=âTazzyDâ]James approaches Artemis from behind, trying not to make her mump, he coughs ligtly.
âDidnât expect anyone else to be up so earlyâŚâ[/quote]
âWell you know us military types⌠Always up earlyâ she replied, moving her gun so he could sit down.
Artemis stared off in to the distance. âI half expected the same thing. I guess I have no planâ. She scratched her head before adding âHowever, that um, assistant lady. Canât remember her name. She mentioned something about bringing me in along with them, hard to remember with all the confusionâŚâ
âBesidesâ she sighed, âI have no where to go. I guess Iâm stuck here. Not that anyone seems to really want me aroundâ Her usual glare softened a little upon saying this, as though through a form of revelation.
Behind the bar, Flora sat on the floor with her music box and a bottle of God-only-knew what that sheâd dug out of a supply crate in the back room.
So, this was it.
Even though she knew that she could, with her brotherâs help, probably get back to the Arc within a few days, there was that debt of honour to be repaid to the Righteous Bear Clan, and somehow she just didnât feel right about leaving before sheâd taken care of whatever-the-hell it was theyâd want in exchange for rescuing her from those militia bastards.
She took a drink straight from the bottle, contemplating.
Things could be worse, she reasoned. She had a job now, she had her music box, AJ was alive (though not exactly happy with her), and being stranded in Crosspire was better than being a prisoner of the Clement Republic.
Yeah, she figured, she could accept being stuck here for a while, at least until she managed to pay back those freaks with the feathers and tattoos and learned what the hell was going on with the Arcs.
Didnât mean she had to like it, though.
[quote=âBlackDahliaâ]
Artemis stared off in to the distance. âI half expected the same thing. I guess I have no planâ. She scratched her head before adding âHowever, that um, assistant lady. Canât remember her name. She mentioned something about bringing me in along with them, hard to remember with all the confusionâŚâ
âBesidesâ she sighed, âI have no where to go. I guess Iâm stuck here. Not that anyone seems to really want me aroundâ Her usual glare softened a little upon saying this, as though through a form of revelation.[/quote]
âHey nowâ James replied, sitting down. âThe last thing anyone should be thinking is that no one wants them around, I mean, I know the feelingâ he glances back towards town. âIt seems a bit crazy, a few months ago, I felt like lying down in a ditch and waiting for the end. But now⌠Iâve got people who seem to care, so much in fact that it seems to hurt more than if no one didâ
âBesides, having no where to go, thatâs a perspective. Youâre not stuck here unless you want to be. Iâm waiting for a⌠response, of sorts. But if you want to leave, Iâm planning to head east in a few days.â
[quote=âTazzyDâ]
âHey nowâ James replied, sitting down. âThe last thing anyone should be thinking is that no one wants them around, I mean, I know the feelingâ he glances back towards town. âIt seems a bit crazy, a few months ago, I felt like lying down in a ditch and waiting for the end. But now⌠Iâve got people who seem to care, so much in fact that it seems to hurt more than if no one didâ
âBesides, having no where to go, thatâs a perspective. Youâre not stuck here unless you want to be. Iâm waiting for a⌠response, of sorts. But if you want to leave, Iâm planning to head east in a few days.â[/quote]
âI donât think no one wants me around, I know they donât. I donât blame them eitherâ she edged a little bit away to avoid any form of comfort he might try to provide. âPeople like me, weâre seen in a particular way. We serve a purpose when they need it, then are called monsters when weâre not needed. Itâs a cycle that happens no matter where I amâ
She smiles briefly then adds âMonsters like me donât belong around nice people like theseâ
âWell, Iâm not a therapistâ he stands up and gets ready to leave. âIâd suggest you find what you want in life, stop letting others tell you what to do, Iâm sure the military gave you purpose, but it looks like itâs not the best long term professionâ
James heads towards the Infirmary, tossing the dregs of coffee into the dirt. âI need some real coffeeâ he murmurs to himself.
Artemis smirks a little as he leaves, thinking she would be a therapistâs nightmare. Looking around, she notices some of the town are now slowly waking up. Not wanting to have to deal with their tired blames for the night before, she gets up and heads in to the bar, hoping it is open.
Hearing someone approach, Flora struggles to her feat and reluctantly turns off her music box.
âOh, hey, 's you,â she says when she sees Artemis, not bothering to hide her exhaustion. âWhaddaya want?â
Remembering that she hasnât quite established the relationship with the local clientele that she had with the regulars at The Cat and the Fiddle back in New New York, she ammends; âI mean. Can I help you with anything?â
[quote=âsiximpossiblethingsâ]Hearing someone approach, Flora struggles to her feat and reluctantly turns off her music box.
âOh, hey, 's you,â she says when she sees Artemis, not bothering to hide her exhaustion. âWhaddaya want?â
Remembering that she hasnât quite established the relationship with the local clientele that she had with the regulars at The Cat and the Fiddle back in New New York, she ammends; âI mean. Can I help you with anything?â[/quote]
Artemis was a bit taken back by seeing a new face behind the bar. But whatever, itâs quiet in here. âIâll just sit in here if thatâs okay. You can go back to⌠whatever it was you were doingâ she said, raising her eyebrow a little. This must have been that Arc girl that Sosaâs tribe brought back, she looked a little familiar.
Flora shrugs.
âYou can do whatever you want as long as you ainât causinâ trouble. Or if you want, I can pour you a drink and you can tell me whatâs actually been goinâ on around here, seeinâ as I got no idea, 'cause up until now no oneâs had the chance to stand still long enough to explain anything.â
âAint no free rides Darlinââ Travis said with a wave of his hand as he walked by the bar on his way towards the Diner.
âPaying customers first and donât drink my profitsâ He says with a preoccupied smile.
Travis had noticeably been preoccupied over the last few days. He had started to drink a little less and while Val was recuperating he had turned to helping Tom in the diner. Something certainly wasn;t right, and the man hadnât really smiled much since the outbreak.
âI never said nothinâ about not makinâ her pay,â Flora yells after him.
[quote=âsiximpossiblethingsâ]
Flora shrugs.
âYou can do whatever you want as long as you ainât causinâ trouble. Or if you want, I can pour you a drink and you can tell me whatâs actually been goinâ on around here, seeinâ as I got no idea, 'cause up until now no oneâs had the chance to stand still long enough to explain anything.â[/quote]
âMaybe just a waterâ she replied. She was never one to drink this early in the morning, no matter how bad she felt. âAnd as for what has been going on. Well, I will only be able to tell you a small part of it. More shit goes on in this town than any other place Iâve been inâ
[quote=âBlackDahliaâ]
âMaybe just a waterâ she replied. She was never one to drink this early in the morning, no matter how bad she felt. âAnd as for what has been going on. Well, I will only be able to tell you a small part of it. More shit goes on in this town than any other place Iâve been inâ[/quote]
Again, Flora shrugs.
âYour choice. Personally, Iâd trust the whiskey more 'n Iâd trust the water in this place.â
[quote=âsiximpossiblethingsâ][quote=âBlackDahliaâ]
âMaybe just a waterâ she replied. She was never one to drink this early in the morning, no matter how bad she felt. âAnd as for what has been going on. Well, I will only be able to tell you a small part of it. More shit goes on in this town than any other place Iâve been inâ[/quote]
Again, Flora shrugs.
âYour choice. Personally, Iâd trust the whiskey more 'n Iâd trust the water in this place.â[/quote]
Artemis smirks. âThe water is the same as it is in most places. You get used to itâ. She sits down, trying to avoid having her remaining dagger stabbing herâŚagain. âWell I can tell you those idiots in the Clement Republic probably wonât bother us anymoreâ she says with a slight grin.
âGood.â Flora slams a glass down on the table in front of Aremis and begins rifling through the array of bottles. âOne of these has gotta be water, I think. Anyway. Yeah, Iâm glad to hear that.â
âGood.â Flora slams a glass down on the table in front of Aremis and begins rifling through the array of bottles. âOne of these has gotta be water, I think. Anyway. Yeah, Iâm glad to hear that.â[/quote]
âThey came in here thinking theyâd scare me and others in to accepting their so called amnesty.â Artemis smiles âIâve made enough of their men cry for mercy to know theyâre all spinelessâ
With that, Flora takes a slight involuntary step back from the bar.
For a moment, this had almost felt familiar- Her on one side of the bar, the customer on the other, bustling around as she tried to guage information both from the conversation and from whatever wasnât being said- Usually, foremost at her mind was: How dangerous was this person? Were they a legitimate customer, or were they an exterminator?
There ainât no 'sites here, she reassures herself, whatever else is goinâ on, it ainât illegal for you to exist, and you ainât done nothinâ so you ainât got nothinâ to fear from her but the work of training herself out of fifteen yearsâ of one kind of paranoia in favour of whatever countless others are necessary here are too much for her drunk, sleep-deprived mind, and so she only says: âOh,â and hopes she doesnât look too frightened, or that she looks frightened enough, or whatever is the appropriate response.
Suddenly, she has a new understanding for what AJ -naive rich girl, outsider who didnât know when to keep her mouth shut- must have felt when sheâd first begun hanging out in Floraâs neighbourhood. She remembers how angry sheâd been with her for not observing the unspoken rules that everyone in New New York, particularly 'sites like themselves, lived by, and makes a mental note to apologise to her after she sobers up and sorts out all of the other things she probably owes her an apology for.
It isnât as though Seargeant Fallon is the first person sheâs ever encountered whoâs committed whatever sort of atrocities sheâs casually alluding to. But at least in the Arc, people are civilised enough to not admit whatever atrocities theyâve commited to near-strangers.
She locates a bottle of whatâs probably at least mostly water at last, and fills Artemisâs glass.