After the End of the World [1x1, Pari and Laine] [Inactive]

[Laine]

Laine submitted a new role play:


After the End of the World [1x1, Pari and Laine] - As the world recovers from an devastating virus, romance blossoms within the newest generation...

[Based fifteen years after our original rp, found here http://www.rpnation.com/threads/at-the-end-of-the-world-laine-x-pari.24272/]

Read more about this role play... 
A chill breeze ran through the town as the early-risers made their way through the streets, carrying banners made of soft material to decorate the newly-renovated town hall and museum. Stood in front of it was a long, 8ft high wall, painted a grey-ish white, marking the town centre with it’s eerie stillness. Built to commemorate the ending of a 15-year struggle with a terrifying virus, the White Wall of Over stood not only as a memorial to those who had died, but as a reminder to rebuild and move forward.


Three or four workers were still making the finishing touches, adding the last names from an enormous list that’d been collected over the past few weeks. Every person there felt a pang of sorrow as they worked on it, almost all of them there having at least one name written on it to dedicate a loved one they’d lost. As well as this, another group were tugging a vast sheet over it, protecting it until it was due to be unveiled later that day. After they completed their work in the early-morning light, they slipped away back into the town hall, to finish off the preparations for the long, hard day ahead.


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Russ stirred in his sleep, squinting at the sunlight streaming in through the slats in the window, which he still hadn’t gotten around to replacing with curtains. He shifted over onto his back, tugging his arm gently from underneath his other half, grunting in irritation as it tingled from the loss of blood. He sighed contentedly, trying to work up the motivation to get out, trapped in the laziness and warmth of his bed. At that moment, he was thankful he had kids, especially those that were eager to fill the morning shifts in exchange for extra allowance, as it allowed him just a little longer to sleep in (that is, until one of them broke something). He eventually slid out, careful not to wake Autumn as she quietly dozed, leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead. Russ stood up, stretched and slowly dressed himself, ready for the day ahead as he padded down the stairs.


When he got down to the shop floor, Daniel had already opened up, and was leaning over the counter, leisurely reading one of the books he’d been given for his birthday. He squinted at the perfectly-printed antique, facinated by the odd language and situations the characters found themselves in. “Morning, Dad.” He mumbled, refusing to tear eyes away from the page, “Do you know what a…‘vacuum’ is…?”


Russell stood at the counter next to him, yawning loudly in an attempt to wake himself up. “Morning.” He scratched his head as he tried to think of a simple way to explain the unfamiliar words, something he was having to do more and more now the newest generation were growing up. “Uh…they’re like…machines…that people used to clean the house with. Like a broom, but…louder.” He smirked at the awful, primitive-sounding explanation, knowing that it’d be hard for him to understand without seeing one. “I’m sure we have one tucked away somewhere.”


“Mmm. Okay.” Daniel mumbled in reply, the freckles on his cheeks bunching up as his face remained furrowed in confusion. There was a few minutes of silence, before Russell started shuffling around the shop, taking inventory of the stock and raising his eyebrows as he read the list. “No-one’s been in yet? That’s odd, usually Harry comes in early to get the-” Daniel cut in, looking up from his book and mumbling softly, “- They’re doing that…memorial thing today, aren’t they? I guess everyone’s getting ready for that. We probably won’t get many people in at all.”


“Oh, crap, that was today?” Russ winced. He hadn’t exactly forgotten about it – everyone had been talking about it for the last month or so – but he had been trying to avoid it, disliking the premise of it as a whole. Why commemorate such a devastating event in his life, when he had spent so long trying to move on from it? He’d made himself scarce as people volunteered to help make preparations, hoping he could get out of going by insisting he had to man the shopfront. “Mom said we have to go.” Daniel stated flatly, as if reading Russ’ mind. He turned a page in the book, sniffing as he reached yet another word he didn’t quite understand, this time choosing to skip over it. “She said it’s important we’re all there - as a family.”


Russell groaned, rubbing his temples. He changed the topic, deciding to wait until Autumn was up to talk to her about going. “Where’s Lexi? She should be down here helping out with you.” Dan shrugged, although he could very easily guess where his sister was. He deliberately failed to meet his father’s accusatory expression, “I ‘unno. Probably still in bed. Or maybe she…went out.” he said, concentrating hard on his book as Russell cocked an eyebrow.

 

[Error404]

It felt nice, to not wake up with a nightmare. The other side of the bed was empty when Autumn woke up, though for once she did not worry. A sleepy smile graced her face, feeling warm and comfortable under the blankets. The sun was shining, and the room was warm and inviting. She laid in bed for a few more minutes, not wanting to get out. After a little bit, she sat up, getting out of bed and getting dressed, taking her time. It felt odd, not having to hurry or watch out for anything. It had been fifteen years since she last had to, and yet she never took it for granted, enjoying the peacefulness every morning. Sometimes she woke up, immediately looking around the room as if they would be attacked any moment, something she did during the times of the virus. That morning was not one of them, and she was so glad.


With a quiet sniff, she headed down the stairs to the shop, hearing faint voices. Her daughter's was not one of them, so she figured she was still asleep. Quietly descending the stairs, she couldn't help the small smile on her face when she saw her son and Russell. "Good morning." Seeing her kids always reminded her of the better times that had come since the virus had been declared over.


It had not, however, escaped her mind what day it was. She hadn't really discussed it with Russell - but it was important to her, even if it was just a reminder. She shoved her hands in her pockets, glancing discreetly around the store. It hadn't looked like much business had occurred that day, but since it was that day, she wasn't surprised. At that very moment, Lexi was climbing in through the window, hurriedly changing her clothes and straightening up. She never got much sleep, but it didn't seem to bother her. Though she had a feeling her mother was suspicious. There had been a few times where Autumn almost caught her.


Nearly falling down the stairs in her haste, she entered the store, a huge smile on her face. "Morning, Mom, Dad, Dan." Whenever she went out, she was always in a good mood, something she thought that Dan seemed to notice. Her little brother was quite the observant one, and she bribed him to keep quiet with parts of her allowance. Autumn raised an eyebrow. "Good morning, Lexi. Leaving your brother to watch the store alone again, huh?" Her tone was more amused than suspicious, as she had been skipping out on lots of mornings before.


Lexi chuckled sheepishly. "Uh. Yeah, slept in late. Sorry Dan." Shooting her brother a look, she took the hair tie off her wrist and, leaning against the counter, started braiding her hair. She had taken it down before sneaking back into her room, as she never wore it up when she slept, and if she kept it in a braid when she got downstairs, it would seem suspicious. She always did her hair in the store, just in case.


Autumn just shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly. "You seem to be doing that a lot. Are you alright?" She always looked out for her children, and though Lexi looked fine, she just wanted to be sure. The teen sighed, nodding. "I'm fine, Mom." The woman just laughed, seeming to buy her daughter's explanation.

 

[Laine]

Russell smirked, “She’s fine, dear. Infact, she reminds me of another young lady who likes to get her beauty sleep.” He stood next to Autumn, nudging her with his elbow. “It’s Daniel you should be worrying about, waking up at the crack of dawn to read.” He joked. Daniel rolled his eyes, one hand pressed against his face as he leaned against the counter, still paying more attention to the book than the shop.


Russ had always struggled to understand why Daniel was such a keen reader, not getting why he’d go so far as to steal the rare objects, which he’d caught him doing a number of times when they were browsing some of the other stores around town. In truth, Daniel had a severe fascination with the time before the apocalypse (“the before time”, he called it), and had a collection in his room of objects, like cellphones and batteries, hidden away, like his own personal museum, which he enjoyed adding to whenever he could. Autumn had tried to be supportive of his habit, but Russ didn’t like it at all, figuring he was clinging to a time that was long dead and wasn’t coming back. He also didn’t doubt that Daniel was looking forward to the day ahead, to see the newly renovated museum, not fully understanding what an emotional event it would be for the adults involved.


Russell cleared his throat, nodding in the direction of the door at the side of the shop. “Can I have a hand bringing some things up from the basement, dear? I’m afraid my knees aren’t what they used to be.” He chuckled emptily as they both went into the room, none of them questioning why he hadn’t asked Daniel instead. It was well known in the family that going down to the basement meant that they wanted to talk in private, to discuss things away from the children. There was a click on the latch as Russell shut it behind him, and the store fell silent, still devoid of any customers.


Daniel saw Lexi sighing in relief as they left the room, still straightening out her hair. He lifted his head from the book, noticing the faint grin on her face. “You can’t bribe me with your extra allowance if you don’t earn it because you’re skipping out on helping in the shop, you know.” He muttered. He wasn’t irritated with her as his tone would suggest, although he was a little worried about his sister missing work all the time. “Where did you go? You were away longer this time. Dad was asking about you, too.” He sniffed, cocking a suspicious eyebrow.


_________________________________________________________________________


The basement was quite well-lit, for a basement – the windows running along the top portion of it let in enough light for the two of them to see each other’s faces. Russell shuffled around, picking up a box that had bags of flour in it, saying casually, “You know…I don’t think I’ll go to this…memorial thing today. Seems like a bit of a waste of time.” He muttered, stacking the box by the basement door, before grabbing a box of apples. He didn’t intend to bring any of these to the shop floor – he was simply moving stuff about to avoid meeting Autumn’s eyes as he suggested his intentions meekly. “And we need someone to look after the shop. You and Dan can go, me and Lexi will stay behind and look after things.”


He looked over after a few seconds. Autumn’s expression said it all – she clearly wasn’t buying it. He sighed, putting the boxes down and walking over to her, biting his lip. He sat down on one of the stacked boxes, crossing his arms and looking up into his love's amber eyes. “I don’t think I can go, Autumn. Not with everyone there. Especially not with Dan there.” He shook his head, looking troubled.


His breathing became laboured as he thought of walking around the museum and the memorial with his curious son in tow. “What if he starts asking questions? ‘Where were you when the virus came out?’ ‘Hey Dad, why’s my name written on the wall?’ ‘What was it like losing everything and everyone you had in the space of a week?’” He growled, bordering on hysterics as he used the same irritating tone that Daniel used when he was asking an insensitive question. His eyes had welled up with tears, and he pressed his fingers into them to stop them from forming. He stifled a sob, trying to calm his breathing. “I’m sorry, Autumn, but I just can’t handle that.”

 

[Error404]

Lexi just rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. I'll be here for a couple days, though, starting tomorrow." She finished her braid, crossing her arms. "I was just out with a friend, that's all." She was purposefully vague, not wanting to reveal who she was with, or where. Even though she could pay her brother to keep quiet, she was a bit nervous about what her dad would think, considering his shared history with her friend's own father.


"Besides, it's not like you have to do much, anyway. All you do is stand there and read." Admittedly, he was also there, but he held his own just fine. Especially that day. Everyone in the family knew what day it was. For the children, it would be the first time they would really understand what had happened - Russ and Autumn never talked about it much. They didn't like to. Though the kids had noticed some things. The way her mother said her name, and how Russell said Dan's name. It was almost... different. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was like they were remembering something every single time. Lexi regarded Dan's book strangely. "What is so interesting about those things, anyway? Literally whenever I see you, you have your nose in a book, as dad likes to call it." She sniffed. Lexi was never really much interested in the "before time", something her father was probably grateful for.


She paced around the shop, glancing out the window. Everything seemed normal. She wouldn't understand how much of a gift that was, nor would she ever, really. Though she noticed that places seemed closed, everyone was at the memorial. She let out a small sigh. The teen couldn't help the curiosity she felt towards it, knowing it was about what had happened before, what her parents refused to talk about. She paced back towards Dan. "Dad seemed to be bothered by something this morning," she murmured.


Her mother had been quieter as well, but it was harder to notice. Autumn had tried to keep her emotions hidden in front of the children, not willing to have to explain it. Her family made her happy. But Lexi had noticed - her parents were acting odd that morning, almost tense. And of course, they had gone to the basement. It was some inside joke, almost, if it could be called that, that Lexi and Dan didn't understand.


_____________________________________________________


Autumn dragged a crate over next to Russell, sitting on it. She let out a long sigh. Away from the children, she didn't have to cover up her emotions as much. "Russell, I think they deserve to know." Her voice was soft. She understood where his panic was coming from, she really did. She felt that way every time she thought about the memorial, knowing Alexi's name was somewhere on that wall. But Lexi was never much to ask questions - that was Dan. "I'll ask him to try not to question you as much, okay? But please, can you just come with me? I don't want to go alone." Her voice faded out, as she wiped away her own tears.


Scooting closer to Russ, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in her chest, much like she had when they were just two teens in the apocalypse. She felt selfish, extremely so, but she didn't want to go to the memorial without Russell. But she felt it was important to go. Maybe it would answer some of Dan's questions, and he wouldn't ask them as much.


"Just this one time. That's it. And I won't make you go anymore. I don't think I could handle it more than once, anyway." She laughed humorlessly, shaking her head a bit. "Just once. Please."

 

[Laine]

“Mhmm. If you were just out with a friend, you wouldn’t be bribing me.” He stated simply. He decided not to dig any further, knowing that the bribes and extra allowances were a welcome treat for sitting there and keeping his mouth shut. If he thought about it, he could easily work out who it was she was seeing, but he wasn’t interested enough in her affairs to think about it.


Dan shut his book, sighing quietly. “It’s interesting. It’s like reading about another world, but we’re living in it. And these things, they’re part of it, too. Look at how perfectly the words are printed, and how straight all the pages are.” He smoothed his hands over the cover, feeling the fine ridges over his precious item. He had eighteen before-time books in his room, which he treated like gold dust, carefully stacked and covered to avoid getting them dirty. Each one was filled with unfamiliar words, like a language of it’s own, that only the adults could speak. There had been books written since the apocalypse, but without mass electricity or access to modern printing presses, they were all disappointingly primitive, full of spelling mistakes and poorly bound.


Daniel sniffed, looking up at his sister. “Did he?” He’d never been good at reading people, and he wondered whether Lexi had picked up something he’d missed. He scratched his head, “I think he forgot it was the memorial today. Maybe that’s what they’re talking about. I hope we still get to go.” Neither of their parents had mentioned it very much, no matter how much he tried to bring it up. While Autumn had reassured him that they’d all go, Russell seemed to constantly forget or just straight-up ignore him, claiming that he couldn’t hear Dan under his mumbling. "Aren't you excited to go? To see the new museum?"


_____________________________________________________


Russell turned to her, squeezing her against his chest and kissing her lightly on the head. He sighed quietly, still pain in his chest but no longer tearing up as much. “Sorry. That was selfish of me. I know it’s going to be just as bad for you, but…you’re so much better at covering it up than I am.” He wasn’t sure whether it was a compliment or not, but it was true. The kids – especially Lexi – could tell almost instantly if there was something wrong with him, just by the tone of his voice or the way he was standing. But Autumn was much quieter, much more controlled, she seemed to cope better, on the surface at least, with bad situations. She’d gotten better at calming Russ down whenever something seemed to upset him as well, providing she could tell he was sad in the first place. “I wouldn’t make you go alone. I just don’t see why it’s me that has to come with you.” He grumbled.


He thought for a while, sighing at the other's almost begging words. After a while, he pulled away from her, looking her with slightly tearful eyes. Russ swallowed thickly, “Just once...?” He dragged a hand through his hair, thinking of all the things they’d been through together. He probably owed her more than spending an hour or two at a measly memorial service. “Just once. Alright. Alright, Autumn. I’ll go. But, you have to tell him…no asking me...any questions. Period.”


He paused for a few seconds, “A-and then, maybe, if he sees his name, on the wall…you can, you know…take him to one side and tell him.” He’d fantasized about telling his son where his name came from when he was older, but when the time came he still felt like he wasn’t ready to talk about it, as each time he even thought about it, it brough up grisly memories he’d rather forget. He pulled her into another embrace, sighing heavily “And I’ll do the same for Lexi, of course. Unless you wanted to tell her, too. I mean, I didn’t even know her, so I might not- I might not do her memory much justice.” He chuckled emptily.

 

[Error404]

"Eh..." Lexi shrugged, frowning. "I don't know. Everyone's been talking about it. No one really seems happy about it, honestly, though I don't know why. I'm not sure what to think." Neither Russell or Autumn had told the two teens what exactly had happened. They had heard some bits and pieces from a few other people, though everyone else seemed as reluctant as their parents to say.


She leaned against the counter. "Aren't you every curious about what happened? Everyone's so quiet about it... I mean, yeah, the museum might have answers, but doesn't it sort of feel... Wrong, to you? Almost like this museum is less about information and more about the memories," she said softly. She, like her father, personally believed that Dan's obsession over the "before-time" was just a little disturbing. Whatever had happened - something about a virus, she had heard - had changed the world forever, never to go back to how it was before. If what the townspeople said. But leafing through some old books from Dan's collection, and seeing those pictures, she couldn't help but agree. Huge cities, densely populated, full of cars and skyscrapers. Happy people in perfect homes eating a three course meal. Happy people in general. It just seemed impossible to her.


Sometimes, her brother seemed too intrigued by the before-time to really notice what effect it had on the people around him when he mentioned it. She noticed it. How her father would tense up, and how even her mother would get that strange look in her eyes, even if she didn't mind Dan's habit as much as Russell did. Autumn often twisted the ring she had around her ring finger when she got uncomfortable with the conversation, something she did often when the before-time was mentioned. Lexi was curious, what had affected her parents so, but at the same time, she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know. She would hear her parents at night, her room was next to theirs. She would hear them when they talked at night, sometimes one comforting the other when awoken by their nightmares.


______________________________


"...No. You can tell Lexi. And I'll do the same with Dan." It was hard to swallow past the lump in her throat. She sniffed, leaning her head against his chest, comforted by his arms around her. She felt bad, making Russ go with her when he didn't want to, but she felt relieved that he would. She didn't think she would be able to go alone. She knew she wouldn't be able to. She hugged Russell tightly, knowing that he was there and would go with her helping her stay calm. Autumn listened to his heartbeat, closing her eyes, just enjoying the time she spent alone with him. She loved her kids, but sometimes, it was better for her to just be with Russell.


She swallowed. "I'm scared," she admitted quietly. "I'm scared of going to the museum. I don't know what's going to happen, what the kids will think, what everyone else there will think." The brunette sniffed. "Lexi and Dan, I don't think they understand. They don't understand what happened. This museum will be their first source of information, and I'm scared of how they will react." She squeezed her eyes shut, voice quivering. With Dan's curiosity and Lexi able to pick up on her surroundings, she just didn't know.


She had told herself that she was prepared, that she would be okay. But with the museum open, and feeling that she should go, for Lexi, she found herself afraid of going. Afraid of the memories that still plagued her nights, afraid of the questions, afraid of everything that would be in the building.

 

[Laine]

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