[1x1] Fight the Dead, Fear the Living

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"That's right. For now, we won't even think about said bridge," Jenna replied, shaking her head. "It's a shame that in this day and age we always end up talking about such negative things, huh? I miss the days where the only thing I worried about was earning money and coming home to watch my favorite TV shows in the evening." But now, life was a constant struggle. She grew tired of it sometimes, wishing it could all be over, but the basic human instinct inside her drove Jenna to keep going. She just hoped that going on would be an option for her, and that she wasn't sick with something that was going to kill her.


"Yeah, we probably should investigate it. Walk beside me slowly. If something attacks or looks unusually we should try to get out of here." Lia didn't like the idea of rushing off since she really wanted to grab those berries, but she knew she did what she had to sometimes. Gesturing for Aidan to follow her, Lia took a few steps forward, scanning the area around herself carefully. Once she saw the source of the sound, she stopped walking, widening her eyes a bit. Before them was a brown horse, a bit bloody here and there, looking around in distress. "You think it came from the farm?" Lia asked, very surprised at the sight before her. She couldn't believe to see the animal out in the open still alive.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia nodded, sitting back and sighing. "Yeah, it's crazy. A bit over a year ago, the only real thing I was worried about was school, and I'd never even touched a gun before. But now, all I've got on my mind is surviving." she said, tilting her head back a bit and glancing up at the sky. "More stressful and tiring than school. At least I had Summer to look forward to."


Aidan followed her quietly, stopping beside her. He was silent for a few long moments, staring at the horse in thought, before grinning. "I don't know, but if we can get someone onto it without it shaking us off, we can use it to our advantage. You ever interacted with a horse?" he asked, slowly approaching it. "If it's tamed, then we can get Jenna onto it -- she should be able to sit on it without a saddle..." he eyed it, stopping a few feet short of it.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"I know what you meant there. During summer break, when I was a kid, I had nothing to worry about at all. Those were the days," Jenna mumbled, sighing afterwards. "People used to complain about how stressful our world was back then, even me. But now I would give almost anything to go back to the way the world was before, just because it is far less stressful." Jenna never had realized how well she had it until it was too late. It's a shame that's how it had to be. "If you could have one item now that you can't get anymore, what would you have? I'd have a candy bar," she said with a smile, trying to bring back cheerful memories. "I'd kill to have some chocolate again."


"It looks tame to me," Lia said, tilting her head as she studied the horse. "It looks like it's hair has been groomed. I'm not exactly a horse expert, but I did used to ride horses on my uncles farm when I was a little girl, so I do know a few things. Have you ever ridden a horse?" she asked Aidan, continuing to watch the horse. "Those berries would come in handy right about now. We should grab some and offer them to it," Lia suggested. That would be a good way to show the horse that they weren't a threat.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"A bathtub, warm water included." Olivia said with a sigh, running a hand through her hair. "Maybe some soap and shampoo, if I'm lucky." she paused, shifting a bit. "Unless you're talking about something small. In that case, I'd want something to play video games on. Something that works, I mean. It'd be entertaining, at least." she shrugged, sitting back and glancing around again, frowning. "How long's it been so far? Five, ten minutes about?"


"No, never ridden one. But Olivia had a pretty big horse phase when she was younger. Dragged my parents and I to petting zoos and stuff." he said with a shrug, looking back at her. "Go grab some of those berries, then. We want this thing to like us." Aidan was silent for a moment, before chuckling lightly. "I'd like to see the looks on their faces when we come back with a horse." he smiled, shifting a bit. "Not really what any of us anticipated, is it?"

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"I didn't peg you for a gamer, Olivia," Jenna teased lightly, smiling a little. "But honestly, whether you were a gamer or not before, I can't blame you. If I had a working game I would play it too. At least it would be something to do. Now that all the technology is gone, it feels like a lot of the entertainment went with it. I miss being able to watch TV," she admitted, resting back a little and closing her eyes. She waved Renegade away from her, who came over to try and lick her face, before replying to Olivia again. "It's been about five minutes. We'll give them a little more time." The girl bit her lip. She hoped they would return soon. She didn't want Olivia to leave her alone and go looking for them.


Lia chuckled shaking her head. "No, I'm sure they will be completely shocked when we come back with horse when all we did was go to look for blueberries. But honestly I think this is better than blueberries. I hope we can keep it safe. I'm sure there are few horses around anymore."


The blonde walked over to pick a few of the blueberries off one of their marked bushes, wandering back to Aidan when she had a big enough handful of them. She took Aidan's hand and placed the berries in his palm. "Move a little closer to the horse and leave a trail of the berries leading to yourself. Let the horse walk up to you slowly on its own following the trail of berries. I'd to it myself, but Renegade might get jealous," she said with a snicker at the end.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Olivia nodded, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "Yeah. I took a load of stuff for granted before all this. Like, everything is rationed. I can't eat until I'm full, and I have to be careful with how much water I drink, and I normally can't even sleep throughout the whole night." she frowned. "It's like, what seemed like something totally normal is suddenly this luxury. I, uh, also had the luxury of not fearing for my life all the time. And video games. And soda. Man, last time I had soda was when we looted a convenience store a couple weeks after the outbreak. Don't think we'll come across something like that anytime soon." she sighed, glancing around again.


Aidan glanced back as she left to collect the blueberries, watching the horse warily until she returned. He accepted the berries, carefully and quietly approaching the horse, before placing a few near it. He then took a couple steps back, leaving more berries as he moved away from the horse, stopping when he had run out a few meters away from it.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia watched as Aidan followed her instructions. "Good job. Now don't make any sudden movements or you could scare the horse. Be slow, and very gentle," the blonde explained, freezing in place when the horse finally noticed the berries and then noticed Aidan. The beautiful creature ate the berries the young man left in his path and moved over to Aiden, snorting at first and eyeing him up nervously. Lia made a couple clicking noises and stood still, waiting to see what would happen. She knew horses could be very skittish at times, and had a feeling that with walking corpses of people wandering about, that this poor fella would be very wary of anything remotely human shaped.


The horse, indeed wary, took a step or two back as it looked at Aidan, trying to decided if approaching him was worth the berries or not. The animal gave in after a moment and moved closer to the male, hesitantly sampling the berries out of his hand. "Nice, just keep standing there and letting him eat. Once he's done, pet the tip of his nose and talk softly to him. I can tell this horse is already tame, it just looks like it's had a bad week." Lia frowned. Nobody had exactly had a good week apparently. Not even the poor animals.


Jenna chuckled. "I have to admit, all of those things are nice. But out of all the things you've mentioned, I would say that not fearing for my life was probably the biggest luxury of all. This might sound weird too, but I've kinda missed being able to have pets. I loved fish, cats, and dogs. It's pretty nice seeing that Lia actually has a dog," she said, shooting a smile to Renegade. "And do you know what I miss most of all? Horses. I loved horses, especially when I was a little girl. I haven't even seen signs of one since this mess started." She said this, ironically, not even knowing what Lia and Aidan had found in the woods.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan remained still as the horse began to eat the berries from his hand, staring at it quietly. He looked over at Lia for a moment as it finished, nodding. "Alright..." he said quietly, carefully placing a hand on the horse's nose. "Just... pet it? Alright. Uh..." he eyed it warily, continuing to pet the horse carefully. He was quiet for a few moments, before looking at Lia again for a moment. "What are we going to feed it, if we get it back to the others?" he asked quietly. "And, water... how will we go about that? How do you get your dog to drink water?" he asked quietly.


Olivia nodded, sighing and tilting her head back a little, still glancing around. "Yeah... I mean, I guess I liked them when I was a bit younger. They're pretty cool." she shrugged, running a hand through her hair and sitting up a bit. "I really miss being able to just... hang around, though. You know? Like, a couple years ago, I could just lie around on the weekends. No problem. But now, it's like... move or you're going to get eaten."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Those are good questions, but it shouldn't be as hard as it seems," Lia admitted, approaching the side of the horse and stroking his mane gently. "I just pour a little water for Renegade into a bowel that I carry around in my backpack. We can do the same for the horse, we'll just need a bigger bowel--which we can probably find at the farm we're headed to. And as for feeding the horse, as long as we can find places for it to graze that should be good enough for a while. I think hay would be most ideal, but I'm certain any hay that was grown before this disaster has rotted by now."


Lia shook her head. "But anyhow, as soon as the horse seems comfortable enough, we can lead it by the reins and head back to your sister. We probably shouldn't leave them alone for too long."


"I used to lie around in my backyard especially," Jenna admitted with a frown. "But I could never do that and be comfortable now. It would be a death sentence." The girl sighed. Speaking of death sentences, if Aidan and Lia didn't get back soon, she would have to send Olivia away and Jenna knew she would surely die on her own. She wasn't looking forward to it. "Are your brother and his friend coming yet?" she asked, hoping Olivia might hear them.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, still eying the horse wearily as he pet it. "Well... I have a feeling we'll probably have to groom this thing, as well. We should be fine once we get to the farm, seeing as it'll probably have stuff for horses. And, hopefully it doesn't have any injuries... I don't think I need to deal with three issues right now." he sighed, running a hand through his hair. "But, we can check it out once we're safe and at the farm. And... we'll have to clear out any corpses we find, somehow."


Olivia nodded, sighing and reaching over to give Renegade a quick pet. "Lying around wherever could very well get you killed, really. We're not allowed to be lazy in the apocalypse. That sucks, doesn't it?" she tilted her head a little, looking over at Jenna again when she spoke. "I dunno... can't hear them coming. Or anyone coming, which is both a bad and a good sign... um, maybe we can give them another ten minutes?"

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

Lia moved beside Aiden after a moment and gently took hold of the horse's reins before glancing to him again. "Yeah, we will have to groom it. I can't tell if it has any injuries or not right now, but I can tell it definitely needs some grooming. As for injuries, I hate to say it, but we'll have to treat this horse like we would a person who was bitten if it had an injury, we would have to put it down," she said, touching the gun at her side. She hated the idea of killing a magnificent animal like this one, but if it was injured, it would only end up dying. They would have no tools to save it whatsoever.


"Anyhow, you're right about waiting to check the horse out. Let's head back to Jenna and your sister," said Lia, clicking her tounge and urging the horse to move forward.


When Renegade was pet by Olivia, Jenna watched has he rolled over on his back so she could scratch his belly. "Yes, it does suck. Especially when you're sick like I am. I'd love to be lazy right about now," she said with a chuckle, which quickly turned into a cough. She covered her mouth and turned away for a moment. "Fine, ten more minutes. But if they're not back by then, please just leave me behind and go look for them. But if you can't find them, then come back to me. I'll be right here with Renegade."

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan frowned slightly, before nodding. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that..." he said, eying the horse as he walked alongside Lia. "It doesn't look like there's anything more than minor scratches, really." he shrugged, following the two quietly, glancing around quickly as they navigated around the trees and bushes.


Olivia nodded, happily rubbing Renegade's belly and sighing. "Yeah, last time I managed to get a cold was when we were with another group of people. It wasn't that bad, but it was really alarming, seeing how easily disease spreads between little groups..." she pauses for a moment, frowning as she mulled over her own words. As Lia and Aidan emerged from the trees, she straightened up. "Oh, good, I thought I was gonna have to... uh," the girl stared at the horse for a few moments. "That's not fruit."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Yeah, it honestly looks like it's okay. Which really surprises me. You'd think that a horse, a big animal like this, could easily be spotted by the corpses and taken down. I guess not. Either this guy managed to outrun them, or just got lucky," replied Lia. She continued to walk along, helping the horse walk around bushes and rocks that were in its way. It wasn't long before they came into the clearing where they had left Olivia and Jenna...


"I know what you mean. It's different having a cold now. I never used to be afraid of getting sick, but now I am," Jenna replied. And she was scared right now. She didn't know what would happen to her. She glanced up, however, shaken from her thoughts when she saw Lia and Aidan return with... a horse.


"No, it's definitely not fruit, but this is better," Lia said to Olivia with a smile. "This horse is going to be a huge help to us." She glanced over to Renegade who hopped to his feet and rushed over to Lia, ears going back when he saw the horse.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan sighed, petting the horse lightly and looking down at Renegade. "Your dog had better not scare the horse away..." he muttered with a small frown, before looking over at Jenna and Olivia. "Well, we were thinking we could get Jenna to ride on it. We could lead it, and she'd tell us where to go... it works, right?" he shrugged.


Olivia grinned, quickly getting to her feet and beginning to approach, though stopped when her brother raised a hand.


"Wait, be careful. Go slowly, don't scare the thing..."


With a slight frown, she nodded, carefully approaching.

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

The quick action of Olivia going to her feet did indeed startle the horse a tad. It stepped back and rubbed one of its front hooves against the ground. Lia quickly moved to the horse's side and began to stroke it again to keep it calm. "Yeah, just go slowly, Olivia. This fella is a little startled and probably has been through a lot. You wouldn't want to scare it off."


Jenna chuckled and lied back against the ground. "Wow, for a second there--when I saw that horse--I thought I was getting so sick I was starting to hallucinate," she admitted.


Lia shook her head. "Nope, it really is here. Do you think you can ride on his back and hang on tight enough? We wouldn't want you to fall off."


Jenna went quiet for a moment, thinking about Lia's words. "I think you and Aidan should walk on each side of the horse, just in case I do start to fall off, but I don't think I will as long as I hold on tight."

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, eying the horse for a moment, then watching Olivia as she approached. "I think we got lucky, finding this thing... we just need to feed it and give it plenty of water. It can graze, at least... what else might we find?" he asked, shifting a bit as his sister cautiously put a hand against the horse's snout.


"I thought, like... people ate all the animals left." she muttered, smiling at the horse. "This is so cool. I have a horse. Uh, we have a horse. The four of us."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"We were pretty lucky to find a horse," Lia admitted. "I'm sure a lot of animals were eaten, but I bet a few of the useful ones were kept around. Horses, for instance, could be pretty useful. If you have a fast enough horse to ride, I bet it helps avoid a lot of the corpses."


Jenna watched the horse, slowly standing up. "Could one of you help me over to the horse then? It won't be useful if I actually can't ride it."


Lia nodded and moved over to Jenna to help her walk to the horse. "So hey, Olivia, what do you think of the horse though? Pretty cool, huh? I used to work at a pet shop, but we never had any animal like this around."

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"I think it's awesome that we've got a horse now..." Olivia said with a grin, carefully petting the horse. "Should we name it, or something?" she asked, tilting her head a little and looking over at Aidan. "I mean, we're gonna be keeping it... it'd make sense to name it. Or whatever." she shrugged.


"Well, I don't know what we'd call it... someone other than myself can handle the naming, I think." Aidan said, looking the horse over. "I'm glad we found it, though. It'll make travel a hell of a lot easier..."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"Heck yeah, this horse sure will make things easier. I won't have to walk or take help from you guys," Jenna said with a small smile. "I don't see why we couldn't name it? Is it a boy or a girl?" she asked.


"It's a boy," Lia replied, feeling as if she was declaring the gender of a new member of their family. "That's a shame. If it was a girl I would have named it Hope. Because finding this horse was something cool that could be helpful to brighten our spirits, or give us hope."


Jenna raised an eyebrow. "But you could still name it Hope. That could be a boy's name. Lucky might be a good name too. Since you were pretty lucky to find him."


"Yeah, maybe," Lia replied, bending down to pet Renegade who still seemed nervous with the horse around. "But anyhow, Aidan, do you want to help me get Jenna up on the horse? He seems calm enough now. We can talk about names for the horse along the way."

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, carefully petting the horse for a moment, before turning to Jenna. "Hope you don't mind riding it bareback... there might very well be some saddles at the farm, if you need it." he paused for a moment as he helped Jenna onto the horse's back, looking over at Lia for a moment. "Hope and Lucky are both nice names... uh, I think I might be in favour of Lucky. Not that it matters much..." he shrugged, taking a small step away from the horse. "Alright, let's take it slow..." he paused for a moment, looking up at Jenna. "Uh, how're you feeling, by the way?"

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"I don't mind," Jenna replied softly, her voice starting to go hoarse again from using it so much. "It might be a bit uncomfortable, but at least I won't have to use up any more energy walking now." Jenna gratefully took Aidan's help to get up on the horse, watching as Lia came over to help them out also.


"They're both okay names," Lia admitted, speaking while she helped Jenna get on the horse. "Which one do you like best, Olivia? Or maybe you have a different name that you'd like better?" she asked. Maybe they could let the young girl name their horse. She had a feeling Olivia would probably like that.


Once she had settled on top of the horse, Jenna replied to Aidan's question. "I feel a tiny bit better, surprisingly. I think it was seeing the horse that perked me up," she said, smiling.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

"Well, good. This thing's a godsend." he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, running a hand through his hair and looking over at his sister. "And, yeah, I say we get Olivia's input. She had a crazy horse phase, you know..." Aidan grinned.


"It wasn't that bad." she pouted, folding her arms and looking up and the horse. "And, uh... Lucky's a cool name, I guess. I think I like Lucky. Is that what we're gonna call him?" she asked, tilting her head a little and looking over at Lia for a moment. "It's kinda like a new member of the group, actually. Anyone know how to care for a horse? 'Cause, uh, I don't."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"I don't either," Jenna replied softly leaning forward on the horse. She wrapped her arms around his neck to keep herself steady. "But didn't you say that you knew something, Lia?" she asked.


"Yeah, I know a little bit. I mean, not a lot, but enough to keep the horse alive hopefully. He seems to have survived a while on his own, so I think he'll be just fine. He seems strong. Lucky will be a good name for him," agreed Lia. She remained at the other side of Jenna and glanced to Aidan. "Anyhow, are you ready to start walking then? So we can head to the farm?" She paused before glancing to Jenna. "And are you ready to lead the way again?"


"I'll do my best," she replied, a bit of exhaustion in her voice. She was indeed tired and starting to feel a bit uncomfortable again, but she was certain she could still lead them to the farm.

 

[sleeplessCartoonist]

Aidan nodded, picking up his bag and watching as his sister picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder. "Looks like we're ready to head off, then." he said, glancing around quickly. "How exactly are we going to get the horse moving? Just hope it follows us? Or is there some other method that I don't know of? Gently squeezing its sides with your heels, maybe." he paused for a moment, eying the horse.


Olivia began to walk slowly, watching the horse. "It's a shame we don't have a lead, 'cause that'd probably come in handy. Maybe they're gonna have a couple at the farm."

 

[Klutzy Ninja Kitty]

"That's a good question and actually a good guess, Aidan," Lia began to say, glancing to Jenna. "Just squeeze your heels against his sides lightly, and if Lucky is trained he should start moving. If not, no big deal. I'll just walk ahead and leave a trail of berries for him to eat and he'll follow me. Why don't you try it, Jenna?"


Jenna nodded tiredly. "Sure." She gently did what Lia asked and heard the horse snort before he slowly started to walk. Lia grinned.


"I had a feeling he was trained, but don't worry, Olivia, I'm certain everything we need for the horse will be at the farm. Let's focus on getting there now." Lia began to walk alongside the slow-moving horse, glancing between Aidan and Olivia after a moment. "How are the two of you feeling today, by the way? Don't hold back from saying if either of you start to feel sick also." They needed to take precautions if any of them got sick.