Something quickly flashed in Brandon’s eyes when she asked if he was nervous for the coming night, but Tempest didn’t quite catch what it was. It was gone in a second as Brandon pondered and answered the question. Though Tempest looked completely calm, she couldn’t help the feeling that something bad would happen on this run. However, she dismissed it as nerves or her lingering fear after a night of night terrors. Recently, she hadn't been able to sleep through the night without being terrorized by flashbacks of what she experienced before finding solace in the Haven. Some dreams even involved some of the Rovers running into trouble that they couldn't get out of on the missions. They always ended the same, with Tempest stuck in place, unable to help her friends, waking up only when that danger came for her.
As they sat near the others Tempest began to absentmindedly pick at the various fruits on her tray, zoning out until Brandon spoke up again. Her eyes widened as Brandon told her about the x-ray machine. With a big smile plastered on her face, Tempest thanked Brandon. “That’s amazing, Gideon and the other medics will be so happy to have it, it’ll really help us in the clinic. I don’t understand how someone could be so good with technology, it’s so interesting, but mind mind sadly isn’t wired to work that way…” Tempest realized she was babbling and said “sorry, I-thanks again. Also, this reminds me, one of the books I recently found is over computer science and electrical engineering. It was written by a professor from MIT if I’m not mistaken. You can come get it after the run tonight if you want? Or just remind me to bring it to you tomorrow.” Tempest invited, wondering what time the Rovers would leave and which area they were going to venture into.
The man nodded eagerly taking in the advice that Jin gave him. Well if you could even call it advice. It was still helpful though. “Thanks, Jin…it’s probably a bit weird to ask you that huh? Usually, you try to ask me I guess but I just feel stuck ya kn-…” He jumped up and hit his knee hard on the lunch table almost kicking over his breakfast as the sudden squeal of Zahira rushing by startled him. Just as he turned to look at her she banged her hip on the table and limped away. He held his knee as it throbbed with a sudden pain he sucked his teeth too before he rubbed it out and it finally went away. When he came to, he blushed a bit, if he had to assume Zahira knew how he felt…she was always one for being nosey…but at least this gave him a good idea of how she felt about the whole thing. It caused him to gain a slightly hidden smile on his face.
“H-hey you okay Zahira? Ya gotta be more careful when listening in on others conversations.” He smirked at the woman teasingly. He ate some of his oatmeal and took a bite of his toast after installing some nice strawberry jelly on it. He wouldn’t get on her too much about it…he just needed to figure out a way to really tell her how he felt. Besides who knew if they would make it on this mission. No! Gerell needed to think positive, he could tell her after. “Hey, did you ever figure out if you had time to pencil me in after the mission Za za?” He said as a cute nickname he just made up. He quickly looked over to Jin and whispered. “If your advice works then I owe you one.” He gave a thankful smile. Interacting:StormeTogy
Upon looking at her face Brandon could see that Tempest was worried about something. Maybe she was scared about dying? Getting others killed? That would explain why she asked him that question earlier but he wasn’t sure. “You…doing okay? It feels like even though you show you are excited for the mission you are more worried about something, I’m always here to listen if you wanna talk about it.” He said after she responded to him about his work on the X-Ray device. He loved being praised by her, well he always liked being praised by anyone for his work. “Ya, I’ll be sure to give it to you or Gideon after the mission…I think you bringing the book over would be a bit easier though since I may need your help taking some of the machine over to the medical sector.” he explained. “And then…maybe after we can actually go over the book together? I’m sure I can help your mind wrap around some of the analyticals you seem to have trouble comprehending…it could be like before this whole Core thing hah…when you used to ask me to help you with homework and we stayed up all night just talking…”
He seemed to be just daydreaming about it and he didn’t notice but a glimmer of happiness could be seen in his expression as he thought about it. “Oh…didn’t mean to really say all that…but I would like to do something like that…whenever you aren’t busy I mean, who knows if you have plans later or not.” He finished as he grabbed food for them and sat at the table. Brandon ate some of his toast, wasn’t the best meal but energy is energy and he needed a lot of it. He then grabbed the chocolate bar out of his bag and broke a piece of it to hand to Tempest. “I know how much you like chocolate, heh, you want some?” He asked before noticing Mae. She never talked much…maybe she needed a friend? “I have a piece for you too if you want Mae.” He offered her also. Interacting:LindsMageeAameuSHhen1Tn2ba
(Mae)
"No problem man. I know what you mean. I'm not exactly the best guy to talk to about this stuff" Jin said, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm willing to be your wingman whenever you nee-crap!" Jin hissed as his food tray fell off the table, fueled by the vibrations going across the table because Gerrell hit his knee on it. His tray tilted over the side of the table and sent his food plummeting to the ground. He just kind of stared at his food for a while before sighing. "Well, guess I'm going hungry" Jin said, sulking in his seat. "First the car, now my breakfast" Jin grumbled.
"Well, I'm off. See ya later Gerrel" Jin said, seeing no reason for him to stay. He left just as Zahira and Gerrel began to talk to each other. He walked back outside and started running to the council building. He figured he should go get the briefing for the scouting mission now since he had nothing else to do. He arrived at the building shortly and saw Gale entering the building as well. "Hey Gale" Jin greeted as he walked inside. "Any idea what the mission entails?" Jin asked as he headed to get the debriefing.
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[div class=title]Zahira Naoki[/div][div class=box1][div class=image][/div]
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Zahira held her breath as she heard Gerell speak. Guess she wasn't as sneaky as she'd thought she'd been. "I-I...uh....I'm just.....clumsy?"She said, internally kicking herself for making the statement come out more as a question. But what else was she supposed to do? Own up to eavesdropping and face his confession head on? If you can even call that a confession? She should just take a deep breath and calmly apologize, dance around the subject an-
"Do you like me?"She blurted out, still not turning to face him. God, she was so dumb; the woman had no filter. Blushing deeply, she practically ran out of the cafeteria, leaving her tray on a table on her way out. Her stomach was too much in knots to eat and her mind was focused on other topics at the moment. Like what if Gerell followed her......what if he kissed her.....Zahiras heart beat erractically, forcing her to stop and sit down in between two houses a little ways away from the cafeteria. Who would've thought here she would be at the age of 22, in the midst of an apocalypse and her only real worries at the moment was a boy.
But, God, did she like him. He felt like home, the only thing left of a life that she no longer lived; sure their friendship might seem immature and simple but in times like these you really need someone to lean on and Zahira trusted Gerell with her life. So what difference would taking their relationship to the next level make?
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He frowned as he noticed Jin’s food fell. “My bad…” He said but Jin wanted to get out of there anyway so he shrugged and ate more of his food as he listened to Zahira’s response. “Ya you are clumsy too but that doesn’t get past the fact that you were listening in and almost hurt yourself because of i-…” He blinked hard at her next comment. Well, fuck…so much for waiting till later. He sighed as she ran off. He wasn’t too sure what to do but his instincts told him to run after her and with that, he grabbed the last of his toast and ran after her trying to not say much to the others possibly watching this go down. He rushed after her and she disappeared….how did she do that? He scanned the surroundings still couldn’t find her so he did what he knew best to get her to not be mad at him anymore…embarrass himself. “Za Za I don’t like you…I’m pretty sure I fell in love with you a long time ago!” He yelled out. “Now will you please come out before I start dancing and look like an idiot?! You know I’ll keep adding on more ridiculous things until you talk to me!” He yelled out and with determination attempted to pop lock and looked as stupid as he thought he would make himself. TogyStorme
Zahira
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Zahira choked back laughter at Gerells little display. Love, huh. The word felt a bit archaic in the present, but, nonetheless, it warmed her heart. Still, she couldn't bear to let him see her face when her emotions were so out of whack. Anxiety settled in the pit of her stomach as she tip toed her way around the shadows so that all she could see was his back. Staying low, Zahira managed to put on a false air of confidence.
"So it took the world to end for you to finally fall for me?"She said, feigning a lighthearted laugh. "Don't turn around!"She said hurriedly, ducking further into the shadows. She hugged her knees to her chest tightly; what the hell was she so afraid of? She's a complete badass on the field but in her personal life she loses her shit over a guy? Her inner lioness was raging against the walls of her insecurity, scratching and clawing to try and gain control of her body in order to force herself to face her fears.
Why was she so afraid? Its not like it would've been her first love or anything, yeah she didn't have much experience with guys but this wasn't her first rodeo either. But things felt so much more serious now. By attaching yourself strictly to one person, that person becomes your responsibility. If they go down, your obligated to stay behind. The instant you enter into a relationship, your essentially picking out your shared plots for your funeral. At least, thats how she always saw it. Before the creation of Haven, Zahira had seen too many couples and families die essentially by each others hand; one man was running hand in hand with his wife away from some stalkers, man goes down and wife refuses to leave him. Boom dead. Mother and son climbing a gate to escape from some bloodsuckers, mother misses a foot hold and boom. They both go down. It never ended well.
But, watching and hear Gerell pronounce his love for her out in the open like that made it all seem worth it.
“Yeah I’m fine, just overthinking things” Tempest said, plastering a light smile on her face. “Yes, I’d like that” she responded as Brandon offered to go through the book with her like old times, Tempest couldn’t help but reminisce. She had just begun to truly start living life the way she wanted to. She got herself into Yale after rigorous hours of work, study, and sports, finally got away from Detroit. Until it was all ripped away. Tempest wasn’t as sad at the fact that life was spun out of her control as she was at the fact that she didn’t appreciate what she had enough before she lost it. Remembering the late nights where she and Brandon helped each other with homework, the days where she beat her personal records in track, aced a quiz, had a fun time with friends…all these happy memories gave her hope for the future, a hope for rebuilding society after the Cure.
She noted that Brandon seemed as lost in thought as she was at the thought of those moments, but he snapped out of it soon enough. Tempest laughed lightly, saying “I don’t exactly have any plans for after the mission”. It seemed laughable that someone would have plans other than work or sleep in the Haven, but Tempest felt relieved at the sense of normalcy his question posed. Just then the sight of chocolate completely distracted Tempest as she felt her mouth water. “Where did you get this?” Tempest asked, astounded. She hadn’t seen a chocolate bar in ages. Sinking back in her chair as she took a bite, Tempest relished the decadent flavor. Then she turned to Mae, “You should try some, it’s amazing”. Mae was a quiet girl who usually kept to herself, especially in the mornings so Tempest wasn’t really counting on a response. Despite her lack of socialization, Tempest liked Mae, she brought great skill and evenness to the otherwise rambunctious group of rovers. She hoped to get to know her better as their time in the Haven went on.
He looked around for her as she spoke then her voice came from behind. “Well…I wouldn’t say that, I’d say I had the feeling after our service as soldiers…I just didn’t wanna ruin what we had ya know? I was scared and hell I’m still scared…I mean you heard me, I asked Jin for help haha. Not the best person to choose for advice on females but…he did help.” He explained then she told him not to turn around…not to look at her. “You know damn well after I just embarrassed myself I’m gonna ignore that.” he chuckled and turned slowly to see her hugging her knees. He walked over to the woman and sat with her and just hugged her. “I think another thing that helped me tell you is that well…I don’t want either of us getting hurt before we explain our feelings ya know? So here is my confession.” He lifted her chin and had her face him, he slowly moved his head forward as he looked into her eyes and kissed her. He was pretty passionate about it until he pulled away to get her response. “Heh…I understand if you don’t like me in that way at all…so just tell me…what are you thinking? How do you feel about me? And I swear if you do like me the same way you better kiss back.” He tried to tease in a joking type of way but Gerell wouldn’t have actually minded if she did kiss him back. The feeling of him doing that just then gave him goose bumps…his heart pounded with happiness. Storme
He couldn’t help but flash a warm smile at her. “Great, then it’ll be just like old times.” He said excitedly. “And I dunno I thought you be assisting again at the medical center…don't wanna pull you away from your job if you had something to do ya know…” Brandon was never one who liked to get in the way of others' plans so he liked to make it known and take extra precaution when he found necessary, though something like trying to plan study group time wasn’t that big a deal…it was really just him trying to not mess up the perfect opportunity to try and explain the way he felt towards her since they met…or maybe now wasn't the time. But if now wasn’t the time then when would the right time be?! His thoughts once again crumbled back into reality as she looked like a child getting a new toy from Toys R Us. “Well, I have my ways. I may or may not have another sweet you may like when you come to study later.” He said excitedly. Just the other day he asked Gerell if he could bake a small batch of cookies from some ingredients he found and he actually said yes, Gerell was definitely a guy that was on his good side and he may owe him one if things go the way he wants them to. “Hey, you plan on bringing your sleeping over stuff? You know how we get sometimes, it is really…just advice.” He explained. LindsMagee
Her heart did backflips as their lips crashed together, and for the first time in what felt like ages she forgot about all her worries. She pouted when he pulled away, her eyes lingering on his lips before meeting his eyes. A burst of giggles burst from her mouth as she listened to Gerells spiel on portraying their feelings.
"Did that kinda backwards there didn't ya?"She said in between howls of laughter. Zahira had no idea why she felt so giddy, but she didn't mind the feeling of pure elation that spread through her body as she relaxed in his arms. "Normally, in a world with consent, you would ask my feelings then kiss me. "She said, pressing her forehead against his. "But your lucky you're cute."And with that Zahira kissed him hard, all of her pent up frustrations coming to the surface in the moments their lips touched.
He noticed her pout and then she stated he did his actions backward. “I mean…I guess I did but I really wanted to kiss you heh…besides it seemed like you enjoyed it otherwise you would have punched me in the face by now.” He laughed a bit and blushed as she put her face closer to his again. Once more their lips touched but Zahira was far more aggressive with her kiss than he was. He liked it so he kissed back feeling her hips with one hand and trying to balance his body with the other so that they both wouldn’t fall over. Then he pulled away. “I can definitely get used to this…” Gerell stated with a dreamy look in his eyes. “Guess this means I’m definitely penciled in at this point…I wanna get a proper dinner for you tonight, we can chill and watch old DVDs or something…whatcha think? I know how much you love my food.” He smirked. Storme
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* TIME- 10:00 AM *:・゚✧*:・゚ WEATHER- SLIGHTLY CLOUDY, WARM
The trek to the governor’s main office took but a couple of minutes, and Gale proceeded to stand and wait as the current meetings of the Haven council wrapped up. As she stood, nervousness gripped her heart. The Rovers hadn’t gone on a mission for weeks. Would they be out of practice? Of course, her group was closely knit, but even as Gale watched and led, she felt as if she was an outsider. Most all of the company had tight relations. Not that Gale was jealous: she had too many worries to become close to any of them. Besides, staying out of relationships was best. It always made her job easier when she didn’t have personal attachments.
She blinked out of her ponderings as a familiar voice addressed her. It was Jin, one of the closest members of the Rover team to her- though it didn’t mean they had tight connections. “The governor should be finished up by now,“ she replied, stoic voice giving away nothing. As Gale finished speaking, the door to the large chamber opened and the ten council members streamed out. The overall mood was a somber one, and only hushed whisperings allowed for any dictation of what was happening. Gale motioned Jin in, then pulled the door shut behind the two.
The governor’s office was a large one. The walls were startlingly white, and in the middle of the minimalist decor stood an antique looking mahogany desk. Sheafs of paper were strewn about, and there, sorting out a handful of documents, was the governor. Governor O’Brien was a stout woman in her late fifties, with a lined face that betrayed the strain of pulling Haven together. O’Brien nodded at the two and motioned for them to sit. Gale quickly perched upon a bench before the desk, again pushing Jin to follow.
“Welcome, Gale and Jin,“ the governor began. “Your mission is as entails-“ she skipped all formality, her tone rushed and snappy. “We are running short of medical supplies and equipment to stabilize our wall. Your team will go out this afternoon into sector B:19. I’ve been informed that there is a small emergency aid office at the northern outskirts of the sector, and a mechanics shop about a mile south of that. Two armored Jeeps have been assigned to you. I hope you find what is needed.“ Before another word could be said, the governor dismissed Gale and Jin. As the door closed behind them, the sound of harried writing and shuffling emitted from the room.
“That was off,“ Gale admitted as she left the city building. She raised a hand as the two moved to Phantom, stroking the brown withers of her horse. She dropped her shoulder, shrugging off her bow in a fluid motion and stringing it before clipping the curved weapon to Phantom’s saddle. She untied the beast and draped his reins across his neck. In a fluid motion Gale pulled herself up. She leaned down, offering her arm to Jin. “Come on. It seems we have a big job ahead of us. I want to get some training in before we go, though it seems we may get in the way of some personal time,“ she murmured.
“Just like old times…” Tempest echoed with a smile. “And you aren’t taking me from my job, I mostly work the early morning shifts.” She noted how attentive Brandon was towards her and what he said, it was nice to have someone who cared about her more than just a tool to help them survive. Taking a bite out of her green apple, Tempest wondered what supplies she should bring on this night’s run, she’d probably end up packing light. “Another dessert? You spoil me too much” Tempest responded with a laugh, “But that sounds perfect, thank you.” When Brandon mentioned sleeping over, Tempest briefly thought it over, finally settling on a response. “Sure, I’ll bring a bag and see where the night takes us. I do have to wake up early though, hope you don’t mind.”
Tempest then turned back to Mae with a smile, surprised that she was conversing with her. “Oh yeah, homework with another person can be both beneficial and detrimental. Like, when Brandon and I would do it,” Tempest briefly touched his arm as she was gesturing to him, “he would help me with all things tech and science, and I would help him with everything related to English and those respective areas.” Tempest paused before adding, “However, it can be negative in the sense that it can be distracting if you and your friend are off task. I think I can learn a lot from the people around me though, so I take every opportunity I can get. Also, if you happen to enjoy reading or learning, you can stop by at any time and borrow some books. I enjoy collecting them when we are on runs, or I find them in places in the Haven” she added with an open smile. She hoped it would give Mae the opportunity to talk more with them.
Walking out of the building with Gale, Jin felt a little uneasy. "Yeah, that didn't seem right. It's like when you eat a bad piece of food and there's that little feeling in your stomach before the food poisoning sets in" Jin said, using a weird analogy.
At the mention of getting some training in, Jin immediately hopped on board. "Sure! I really need to get used to my shotgun. I mean, it's heavy, it's big, it takes too long to fire, etc. Gosh, why am I even keeping this thing?" Jin muttered. "Uh, anyways. I'm feeling up for a spar. What do you say? Wanna mop the floor with me?" Jin asked Gale.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* TIME- 10:00 AM *:・゚✧*:・゚ WEATHER- SLIGHTLY CLOUDY, WARM
Phantom cantered through the streets, light streaming onto his short coat in dappled rays. His two riders jostled together, Gale occasionally guiding her horse through the winding roads to an open area. It was originally a playground, but most of the equipment had been dug up for scrap parts. Now, the Rovers had fenced it off for combat and marksman training. This was the area Gale frequented almost the most, second only to her job when outside missions didn’t take up her time.
Gale hopped down, landing lightly in the sand and grabbing her various daily items. After Jin dismounted, Gale handed off the reins to a couple standing nearby, who led her mount back to the stables. Gale walked to the middle of the sandy area, scuffing her boots over the partially covered mats that served as a ring. “Mind giving the others a buzz?“ she called to Jin, motioning for him to radio the rest of the Rovers. “After you’re done, we can have a little hand to hand. Maybe I will mop the floor with you,“ she continued teasingly.
Gale stripped off her jacket, leaving her in a tight white shirt and leggings. Her boots were discarded along with the clothing, and she paced to the side of the ring. She dipped her palms in a rather wilted bag, bringing them out dusted with chalk. She rubbed the soles of her feet with the powder. It was a luxury to find the stuff, and helped to grip the mat below. The chalk along her hands gave bright markings to where she would strike her opponent. She kicked her bow and gun across to the rest of her stuff, then sat back on her heels to wait for Jin to ready himself. She would then bounce onto the balls of her feet, lightly shuffling away as she waited for him to strike.
"Right, calling them now" Jin said, pulling out his radio from his backpack and tuning to the Rover's private frequency. "Yo, guys, mission's in the afternoon. Gale said you should stuff in some training, and I'm inclined to agree. Me and her are out in the training grounds right now. We're getting ready to spar, so if you hurry, you can make it in time to watch her ground pound me" Jin said before cutting off his radio. He had zero faith in his combat abilities, which was due mostly to the fact that he was god awful at hand to hand combat.
Throwing his backpack to the side of the ring, Jin got into a beginner's fighting stance. "Alright, I'm just gonna take a line from Anchorman real quick. Rule number one!" Jin said, trying to mimic the voice of Will Ferrel. "No touching of the hair or face! Alright, begin!" Jin said, finishing the quick and stupid quote from his favorite movie of all time before preparing himself to get wrecked. It took him a few seconds to realize Gale was waiting for him to hit first.
"Oh, um, you're waiting for me?" Jin asked awkwardly, no longer in a fighting stance. He just kind of standing regularly. "I, uh, just thought you'd hit first or something, cause I can't really see me throwing the first pun-you know what? I'll just shut up" Jin said before getting back into his fighting stance. Okay, um, what do I do now? Jin began to circle around Gale for a few moments, a little uncertain on what to do. Uh, just copy what you saw Gale do once. How about I mimic that cool feint I saw her do once. Like, pretend to be aiming for the face then just gut punch your opponent? Yeah, that sounds cool. With that thought, Jin charged Gale, at first throwing a fake punch at Gale's face before throwing the real punch at her stomach.
✧・゚: *✧・゚:* TIME- 10:00 AM *:・゚✧*:・゚ WEATHER- SLIGHTLY CLOUDY, WARM
“Get a move on,“ she chuckled, not unkindly. As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized that Jin was in motion. She stepped aside, tensing her muscles yet keeping her limbs loose. Gale easily blocked the first strike of Jin’s, but had to brung a forearm around to take his next blow. The shock jarred her arm, but she quickly used her momentum to swing around, her back facing Jin as she drove an elbow up to his ribs, then sharply stepped into him and ground her heel into her opponent’s foot. Then, Gale disengaged as quickly as she could, skipping lightly back to her position from before.
This time, she wasted no time in waiting for Jin, either to strike or to recover. Gale slid across the mat, searching for a break in his defense. He seemed put off: maybe because of his seemingly lack of experience in fighting. Gale herself had taken karate lessons until she graduated from high school, and added some of her own moves to the usual lessons. Here, there was no time to for pity nor respect. She often found that when she fought she had almost a lack of emotion for her opponent.
Gale splayed out a hand, aiming to strike Jin palm first in the side, and a follow up punch would barely enter Jin’s range of view before being aimed at his collarbone. As she fought, Gale snapped out small orders to Jin, aiding him in his technique. “Don’t let your eyes give away your attack. Thinking too much gets you killed. Drop your arms, your chest is exposed.“ With each strike that she was allowed in, she tapped his body. Gale made sure to slow her blows before connection, only allowing a small amount of force to hit Jin. She didn’t need him severely injured for their mission. Eventually, Gale grew tired of the traded blows and feinted for his head only to kick out at Jin’s legs. She would attempt to hook his knees and pull him down, dropping to the mat atop of him.
For Jin, the spar was a flurry of pain. Side punch here, gut punch there, that one totally uncool crotch kick, he felt it all. After each and every blow, he staggered around, just trying to recover from his hit, when he just gets hit again. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Jin was incredibly reselient and durable. No matter how much pain he felt, his body and will just refused to give.
"Okay, this was a *Pant* horrible idea" Jin said, trying to stand up straight after the last hit. "Honestly, I don't know what I was expecting. Like, I know you did Karate, you've told me like three times, but still, the bright idea of 'Hey, let's fight Gale!' just popped into my head" Jin said. He was very talkative when he was nervous.
When Gale got tired of the spar, Jin fell to the ground, the impact knocking the breath out of him. "I was in tryhard mode, you were probably just playfighting" Jin grumbled, a sore loser due to his sore everything. He tried to wiggle his way out of Gale's grasp, but when he realized that wasn't happening anytime soon, he gave up. "Okay, let me up. I'm sore all over, but I'll be fine. Just gotta walk it off" Jin said.
Brandon managed a sweet smile to Mae as she took the chocolate from him. “It’s no problem.” He responded with. “Hmm…well depends, I feel like it’s good to have a balance of having fun with it and playing around while at the same time trying to get back on track. This is more so to hang out again like we used to though to be honest…” He admitted. He turned his attention back to Tempest. “Oh, I see…I probably would have known that if I wasn’t always so busy. And I heard every beautiful female friend needs a man to spoil her…” his cheeks flushed a bit. “Or at least I think I read that somewhere…” His heart dropped once more. ‘See where the night takes us.’ Maybe a bit of good luck will happen…or something that’ll get them closer, he wondered. “Oh, no don’t worry. Leave when you need to, I understand how important your role is…heck you were always the popular one.”
He then listened to what Tempest had to say about the whole study group description. “Oh, almost forgot, we can hang out whenever you would like Mae, I know I hate being alone a lot so I wouldn’t mind the company. We can even read some stuff together as Temp suggested, could be a fun time. Though tonight I would like to…how do I say talk to Tempest alone…I have something important I need to discuss with her…” He said in a hopeful tone because he could only hope he would actually manage to tell her this time what was always on his mind when he was around her. I mean this wasn’t the first time he planned one of these study events with her in an attempt to express himself and it failed every time but he had a feeling that tonight might actually be a little different. LindsMageeAameuSHhen1Tn2ba
She grinned crookedly,” I guess I can settle,”She said coyly, placing a lingering kiss on his lips before standing up and extending a hand to Gerell,”Now, if you ever tell a soul about how girly I just was, I’ll break that cute little face of yours.”
Zahiras heart was elated but something was still nagging her in the pit of her stomach, small but insistent thoughts floated around in her brain. What if one of them dies tonight? She didn’t know about him but she didn’t know if she could handle that loss. What if she isn’t happy down the road, or even worse what if she was?
What if she becomes so deeply and irrevocably in love that she becomes complacent and when the day comes where Haven is no longer a safe zone, and that day will inevitably come, she’s lost her edge and is unable to protect those dear to her?
There were too many what ifs and too many bad scenarios to count, plus knowing her luck one or two of those were bound to happen. However, Zahira isn’t one to go down without a fight, even when the one she’s fighting is her own paranoia. So she did what her mother had taught her to do when her thoughts were too overwhelming:
She took a deep breath
Focused in on the thing that’s with in her control, in this case it was her fear of growing soft.
And take preventative action.
“You wanna go spar? Or see how fast we can clean and reassemble our guns?”She asked suddenly. Zahira was determined to conquer her fear, plus there was nothing like a little friendly competition to clear her mind.
He gave a smile and small blush as she kissed him once again. He honestly couldn’t believe this…they were finally a thing. “I-…Good, thanks for fitting me into your schedule.” He said, Gerell then blinked as he was threatened. “That’s rude…fine I’ll see how much I can hold it back but I dunno.” He smirked. Gerell would have to make sure he kept her safe at all costs now on missions, not like he wasn’t already but now it felt like it was the most important task. Even though she could protect herself he didn’t want to lose her…not this soon…and definitely not after being her closest friend for so long. The man was frozen in thought for quite some time just thinking about it, maybe it wasn’t something he should have his thoughts wandering about on. He needed to stay positive, think of all the good things that were gonna happen like them clearing out another nest to make the world just even a bit safer, or even the fact that he was finally gonna have that dinner date with Zahira…man who knew what could happen, he could probably get some since it’s basically an apocalypse and the world has to repopulate somehow.
The lost look left his face into a happy dazed smile just thinking about the possibilities. The woman knocked him out of his thoughts however when challenging him, they could never help outdoing each other, they had been even for the most part in terms of wins. “Hmm ya sparing sounds like a good idea, you always beat me in putting our guns back together so I wouldn’t wanna do that right now.” He admitted. “Same rules as last time for the spar though. No nut shots.” He glared at her, whenever he didn’t say that it ended badly for him. “Besides if you keep nutshotting me how would you expect to repopulate?” He said jokingly knowing that it would probably get her all flustered. Storme
Tempest’s heart stopped as Brandon admitted he had to speak to her alone tonight…Could it be a good thing or a bad thing? Tempest took a deep breath and wittily responded with “I’ve been good I swear” in a joking voice with her hands up in surrender. Then, changing the subject, Tempest turned to Mae. “Tell us something about you, favorite color, movie, anything. What you liked to do before…everything” she said with a smile. Mae was a great rover and seemed like she would be a good friend too, not to mention the fact that it was always good to strengthen trust between the group.
Trust in who you worked with made the job go more smoothly and made it more enjoyable. However, strong relationships also resulted in greater losses if anything ever happened to any of them. There have been a few losses in Haven, a few incidents that people tried to forget, just like people tried to move on and accept that their old life would never return. That’s how you survived after the apocalypse, focus on living now rather than dwelling on what you could’ve said or done differently. At least, that’s how Tempest managed everything. She knew that’s what her friends would’ve wanted her to do. Her mind again wandered to the run tonight, prickling with anticipation.