Realistic or Modern When Hell Freezes Over

[OdysseyImperfect]

"Let's just put this away before Dimitri gets back on his high horse about morality again." Dale thought as he slipped the picture into his pocket. He briefly noted Dimitri's refusal on his comment about learning Caitruvdeamonian and several cracks of splitting wood moments later. As he bent down and placed his knife at his feet he thought "We'll see about that. If you have such a high opinion of Caitruvdeamon, it's probably in my best interest to act intrigued in order to offset our unfortunate introduction. At least, for as long as I'm stuck here."


Seconds later Dale thought "Now let's see if there's some food that hasn't been covered in fungus or infested with maggots. Maybe some matches or a lighter too." as he began systematically searching through the cabinets and piling their contents into the center of the room.

 

[Steel Tiger]

The cabinets, did not hold much hope in them in terms of food. There were some spices maybe about five or so but none had the labels intact, and the bottoms seemed to be covered in some kind of icky grime and would likely be stick to whatever the grime and the bottom was placed upon. There was a closed jar of peanut butter inside, did not seemed to be opened or used yet. There was also a beige and somewhat porcelain looking cookie jar inside the cabinets as well, the lid was cracked a little, an opened small box of sour and likely stale lemon candies and if someone was really looking there was a comic book covered in plastic and stuck to the inside top of the cabinet the tile being Prince Shinobu Volume #1: Daybreak Diplomacy. Beyond that, there was not much else to be found in the cabinet, except for maybe some water stains and some kind of grime in the corners. Might appear pretty empty, cleaned out even or perhaps not used for storing much in the first place.


Dimitri had managed to add more fuel to the fire place. The fire continued to burn and warm the place up further from the cold. As the weather continued to come down outside. It was hailing at this point instead of simply snowing. Light knocks against the house may be heard every now again from the hail, but either very quiet or not very audible at all.


Farah continued to search upstairs for the time being. Venturing it one of the bedrooms. There two upstairs bedrooms, a bathroom, and another room which was assumed to like be the closet or the laundry room but the door was closed unlike the others. She decided not to venture into it. Instead going into one of the bedrooms and gathering up what seemed to be crotchet blankets, on top of dirtier and raggedy ones, the main color being blue. She remained careful to of course, not light these on fire.

 

[Shiki Kenju]

The room kept getting warmer and warmer, and Dimitri, sitting on a rocking chair, was watching the fire, without a care in a world. Never after the explosion he was feeling that way. He pulled the compass out of the pocket. East. Without a map, he was heading straight to the east, hoping to reach the Caitruvdeamonian borders. Not the best plan, but still better than no plan at all. His homeland was enormously huge, there must be some cities left intact! That hope, that assurance in the invincibility of the Caitruvdeamonia, kept Dimitri on his feet. What is the point of his struggle if he have no place to call "home", nowhere to return? Being brainwashed since his childhood, Dimitri couldn't even imagine a world without his country, the country that raised him, fed him, gave him education...


And then sent him to die for the "undying glory". He was simply chosen to be sacrificed, either for the well-being of the others, or just for the amusement of leaders. What does this all mean?... Must he be proud to be a hero for his Fatherland, or be angry and betrayed by his superiors?


Alone with his dark thoughts, staring at the compass, Dimiri just sat there and wasn't paying attention to anything around him. One may easily sneak up on him and kill without any resistance, but it's not like anyone here is in the mood for murder now.

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

Slipping the comic book out of the cabinet he stared at it momentarily while thinking "It's been a while since I've seen one of these. Perhaps something for a bit later." before he tossed it on the pile and picked his knife off the floor. Dale called into the living room "I think I've found pretty much everything that's in here. If the fire is set up, I could use a hand with this stuff." as he began searching through the fridge. He continued working he tried to assess his new acquaintances "I suppose I have a plan for Dimitri, but I still don't know enough about this Fire-Keeper. I'll have to have a chat with her in a bit, preferably when we're alone. If I ask her to assist with the search upstairs that should provide a good opportunity."

 

[Steel Tiger]

The fire in the living room continued to burn brightly and warmly. The room continued to be warmed by the flames. The fire may seem oddly quite effective seeing how it is doing such a good job to combat the cold and chill that was around. The fridge, was an oddly even worse place to look than the cabinets had been. There were two bottles inside with a purple liquid inside and having loose caps at the top. Beyond that, the fridge seemed empty of nearly any other occupant. The drinks would have been slightly chill to the touch but not because of a working fridge.


The search of the bedrooms, had not been fruitless. Blankets were found and gathered up around and upon the other arm that was not being used to carry a flaming torch about to and fro. The rest of the rooms seemed quite empty, except for the closets and a night stand in each which had not entirely been checked through. Carrying the blankets, while trying not to light them on fire felt somewhat cumbersome on its own. Farah began to make her way back down the stairs carrying the blankets toward the living room below. Quiet for the most part as there was not much to say, but sounded like blade man had called out from the kitchen, she did not really catch it from her transition from upstairs heading downward.

 

[Shiki Kenju]

The voice from the kitchen somewhat pulled Dimitri away from his thoughts. He shook his head, put his compass back into the pocked and said:


- What? Yeah, the fire is finished, coming!


Reluctantly pushing himself upward, away from the chair, Dimitri strolled towards the kitchen, where he found Dale, standing near the fridge. Doesn't look like he found a lot of healthy and nutritious food in there, but there must be at least something, right? He noticed the magnets on the fridge, but those three letters weren't telling much to him, so he just asked:


- Well, you filthy scavenger, what did you found? Something to eat, something to drink? I could really have a shot of vodka. Or two. Gotta stay warm somehow, yes?

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

"Here's something to drink, but I doubt it's vodka." Dale said as he handed Dimitri one of the bottles of purple liquid before picking up as much of the pile as he could and carrying it into the living room. Placing the pile next to the rocking chair Dale noticed the Fire-Keeper dragging blankets and an improvised torch down the staircase. Furrowing his brow Dale thought "I see someone else has been busy, good. Wait a minute... how did she find blankets? If I were looting this place I could understand leaving the spices, peanut butter, and lemon candies behind if I were already carrying out other food, but why wouldn't I take the blankets when Dosil is known for being as cold as death? If nothing else, I probably could've used them as improvised sacks to carry that food or any other supplies. Hmm..."


His mind continued winding through possibilities "Unless they didn't make it up the stairs. They were either desperate or insane enough to steal the trash can down here for some reason, but if they were in a rush they may not have had time to search upstairs. Which would mean they wouldn't have seen the blankets or anything else up there." He turned towards the Fire-Keeper and asked "This is going to sound very strange, but did you see a trash can up there?"

 

[Steel Tiger]

Farah continued on down the stairs and into the living room down below. Heading into, as the others Blade man had entered it as well. She placed down the blankets on the floor of the living room and was about to head back upstairs to search for more. There could be more things to find up there in the closets and maybe that other room that wasn’t checked out yet. It probably would turn out to just be a closet or a laundry room or something that nature anyways. “Found some snacks? Any particular good ones?” She asked, not really paying a decent amount of attention to Dale. Expecting to hear the answer when she was half way back up the stairs, and assuming that shovel man had been put to work in the kitchen to search some more or perhaps try and make something in there, who knows?


She continued on her way back up the stairs, again. In order to find more useful items and goods. “Nope!” Was her response, as she heard the question about a trash can. She hadn’t noticed any, but she wasn’t really looking for any either. If there were some trash cans around, it seemed it would be more desperate to search through them for food or anything like that and likely a health hazard. She somewhat began to question the quality of some of the foods or whatever blade man had found and dragged out of the kitchen. She had not been looking closely, or much at all.

 

[Shiki Kenju]

- Trash can? Why would you need a trash can? We got enough garbage on our hands as is. Peanut butter and stale lemon candy! Cheers for healthy meal!


Dimitri lifted the bottle in salutation and made a sip. The purple liquid tasted horrible, but it still was alcohol, so it was fine for him. Grunting, he shook his head and felt the heat flowing through his body. Much better. What was it? Wine? It better not be spoiled, or it may have serious consequences for Dimitri's health. Feeling the urge to search the kitchen again, in case Dale missed something, he made another sip and said:


- Okay, I got the kitchen, don't even worry 'bout it. Why don't you go help our little miss Fire-Keeper upstairs? When you return, the dinner will be served right there, right on this legless table. Then we can finally calm down and rest for a bit.

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

"Well... that puts a hole in that theory. Maybe I'll figure it out later." Dale thought before shaking his head and calling back to Dimitri "Okay, not a problem." Following the Fire-Keeper, Dale ascended the staircase as he finally answered her question "There doesn't seem to be much in the way of food in the kitchen, unless you like lemon candies and peanut butter." Pausing momentarily at the top of the stairs he tried the handle on the single closed door before asking "Which rooms have you already searched out?"

 

[Steel Tiger]

The purple liquid had an odd somewhat ‘goop’ like texture to it. Perhaps a bit similar in feeling to honey or such. Its taste, was horrid and could even be stinging to the throat if drunk down too quickly. The taste, as best to be described was a bitter but mostly dull like tasty, oddly if one could imagine , they could make an odd comparison to burning sunshine but that made little sense. The liquid could send a large amount of tingling warmth throughout the body with a chill running down the spine from it moments later, the feeling of warmth would only last a second or two after a sip. The handle of the door upstairs, seemed somewhat stuck but could be easily slid open after another attempt or some forced leaned against the door.


Farah continued up the staircase and up to the second floor as Dale had mentioned the snacks found thus far. “Hm, either is fine really. Guess, we’ll need to head out for food tomorrow!” She said, almost excitedly. As blade man or Dale asked the question upon reaching the second floor, Farah glanced to the two bedrooms and gestured toward them with her free hand. “Knock yourself out searching in them a bit more, honestly I mainly grabbed the blankets and got out.”

 

[Shiki Kenju]

Dimiti looked upon the stuff the Dale brought, and, taking another sip, delved into the kitchen counters, hoping to find something else. For some reason, Dale mentioned the jar of peanut butter a few times, but still left it in a counter. Also, in the fartherest corner of one of the counters, Dimitri pulled out a porcelain cookie jar, with a cracked lid. Eyes gleaming, Dimitri opened the lid... to find just two stale cookies. With a chocolate chip, at least. It was kind of expected, given that there wasn't many edible items in the first place, but he was still disappointed. Those cookies would give some kind of nutrition, combined with peanut butter (lots of peanut butter), but there was still only two. Staring into the empty counter for a bit more, Dimitri finally grabbed the jars and brought them to the living room. His bottle was already half-drained. Feeling a bit tipsy, Dimitri carefully arranged what little they had of a food on a legless tabletop and stood near the fireplace, trying to enjoy his disgusting drink.


- Heeeeey, you upstairs! You coming or what? This so-called dinner won't eat itself, y'know!

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

Hearing Dimitri calling from down stairs Dale thought "You'd think he'd be happy there was anything here at all with the way things have gone." before he spoke to the Fire-Keeper "I guess there's bound to be food around here somewhere. How about you go enjoy what we found downstairs, I'll just poke around up here for a few more minutes." Deciding to leave the closed door alone for the moment Dale gave the Fire-Keeper a brief wave and slight smile as he moved towards the bedroom. Passing through the threshold Dale began carefully searching one bedroom before moving on to the second bedroom and then the bathroom.

 

[Steel Tiger]

There was not much else to be found inside the kitchen then what Dale had already scavenged from it. The liquid may have a similar effect to alcohol and may even cause the vision to become blurry from time to time after some later moments following the ingestion of the said liquid. Exploring the rest of the house would yield very little result similar to the kitchen down stairs with very little food. The first bedroom had little to nothing inside it. There were some cracked vinyl records, not even a player inside in site. In the second bedroom, there was an old plushy abandoned under the bed, one that resembled chibi anthropoid fat silver dog, holding up what appeared to be a mallet, the closet had another comic, Prince Shinobu Volume #2: Son’s Secrets, the pages with advertisements were ripped out. The bathroom had one bar of soap on the sink counter and a trash can, filled with vomit and a small bit of it leading from the trash can to the toilet. The section of ceiling that covered the bathroom seemed to be dented inward and occasional dust or dry wall would fall down from it but it seemed to be in the corner, closer to the extra room with the door closed and a bit difficult to open.


Farah choked down another chuckle hearing shovel man shouting from downstairs. “Best to keep searching.” She said to the one currently upstairs with her, although she doubted there was much left to be found. It was best to motivate. She assumed they were going to be here all night or day, or for a while until the snow and the wind stopped acting crazy for a while. If her defenses were down or no one else was around, drifting into dream for a brief escape would be welcomed gladly. “you might want to have the to-“ Farah did not get to finish as the other had begun exploring about. She did not want to head downstairs yet really, especially if there was anything to be found. Besides, blade man might need some light. She sighed and followed behind him in order to provide some extra light at a bit of a distance, in case it was needed.

 

[Shiki Kenju]

"What those two are doing up there? I should hear screams, if something goes wrong... or moans, at least. Who knows what kind of guy is Dale... Maybe I would go check out... if I wasn't that lazy, yeah. Killing myself with that purple stuff while watching outside is more profitable course of actions for all of us..."


Surfing through his thoughts again, Dimitri stood, sipping his purple drink. Watching the weather raging was oddly calming, or so was it for Dimitri, who almost finished the dubious bottle. Tearing his eyes away from the window, he noticed the wheelchair near the wall. The previous owner must've had a really hard time escaping his home. If he managed to escape at all, that is.

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

Leaving the records alone, Dale moved through each room grabbing the comic and plush toy before he moved towards the bathroom. Grinning slightly he joked "I think I've found the head of Dosil hiding under the bed with an army of dust bunnies." as he passed by the Fire-Keeper while giving the toy a slight shake. He moved into the bathroom pausing momentarily he glanced at the foul smelling trash can before he grabbed the soap while thinking "I suppose whoever was stealing these wasn't completely insane... Oh hey soap! It's been a while, maybe I can take some of this later when they're not watching." A moment later he closed the bathroom door behind him and said "I doubt we want to smell that all day so it's probably for the best that we leave that closed. I'm going to take another shot at this door." Placing the comic, toy, and soap on the ground Dale tried to open the door again with a bit more force than his last attempt.

 

[Steel Tiger]

The weather continued to rage on outside of course. One could possibly notice the snow growing higher as it piled up outside, and beyond the front door. The wheel chair remained in place as it had been just before. Dimitri, may have noticed a faint moan coming from where the wheel chair remained still in the living room. The top wheel would even seem to start turning or spinning very slowly, counter clockwise and a bit of a squeak to it. The others, could not notice such. The door slid open, revealing a laundry room. The washer and dryer which had see-through lids at the front, a rack and an ironing board where all the items present in that room. The ceiling however was noticeably bulging inward, and looked like a large dent or bubble trying to come into the house, and it was seen all around the ceiling of the laundry room.


Blade man had passed by carrying what looked like a plushy of Dosil’s ‘leader’. It looked, quite adorable and she let out somewhat of a chuckle at the joke. She was also thinking about whether or not she could possibly attempt at creating something like that herself, with the right materials. It may have been worth a shot in the past. “Starting to wonder who lived here with this kind of stuff around still..” She looked to the plushy and the comic. “Wonder if that’s a new or old print..” She mentioned out loud as Dale had opened the door to the laundry room. She, looked inside, but stayed back with a single glance up at the ceiling. It seemed like it may burst out onto the floor below. “I think we found all that we can, and I don’t trust that room very much..”

 

[Shiki Kenju]

- Wh... what the hell?


Being generally hard-hearing guy, Dimitri still heard the moan, coming from the wheelchair, and he definitely saw the wheel starting to spin. Dimitri's heart skipped a beat. There was nothing in the room that may have caused this. Looking at the wheelchair, he put the bottle on the floor and slowly walked up to the cursed thing. Adrenaline rush made him sober up instantly, and he was actively trying to justify this devilry, staring at the spinning wheel, biting his finger. Maybe, the "moan" was just weirdly sounding creak from upstairs. What about the wheel, then? Dimitri bent over the chair to look at it closer. Nothing out of ordinary, just some rust here and there. The strange part was not in the looks of it, however. Dimitri could hear some kind of sounds, faint, monotonous, yet changing from time to time. Chanting a word? Bending closer, Dimitri tried to make out something from the sounds.

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

"Don't remember seeing that on the roof. Let's just hope it's not another nest of rats, I don't need a repeat of last Spring." Dale thought as he stared at the ceiling bulge momentarily before turning his attention back towards the Fire-Keeper. Closing the door behind him he said "You're probably right. As for the comic, I'm guessing it's probably a new print since I couldn't find any others outside of this and the first one down stairs. I'm not sure who lived here, but it's pretty clear whoever was here, they aren't here now and haven't been for a while." before he picked up the toy and comic. "Now let's see if we can catch Dimitri with his hand in the cookie jar." Dale commented as he descended down the staircase.

 

[Steel Tiger]

The wheel that appeared to be spinning to Dimitri had slowed down and come to a halt as he bent closer toward the wheel chair. No odd moans or the like were heard or repeated from the wheel chair for the time being. It had all ceased, perhaps because it was shying away from attention. The bulge in the ceiling in the laundry room let out very faint creaks every now and then but they were below audible to the normal person’s ears.


Farah was definitely not fond of the laundry room because of that large bulge that was in the ceiling. It was looming and worry inducing to know that it was there, but she would choke this down for the moment. “Of course. Might try to read them depending on how long this storm persists….” She shrugged her shoulders somewhat. Hiding back a bit of an unexpected smirk at the mentioning of catching shovel man downstairs. A bit tempted to rush down the stairs if it was not for the fact she was carrying fire in her hands, sort of. She followed down after Dale at a slower pace to be somewhat cautious.

 

[Shiki Kenju]

Desperatly trying to decipher the words, coming from the wheelchair, Dimitri heard the footsteps from behind and quickly leaned away from the posessed thing. The moaning stopped, as well as the wheel stopped rotating. "What the hell was that? Am I going crazy? I really shouldn't drink that purple fucking thing anymore, ohhh..." - thought Dimitri as he was walking away from the wheelchair to greet the Fire-Keeper and Dale. The sounds died away as they went down the stairs, so, maybe, they should stick togetрer to scare away the supernatural... "Stop." - Dimitri changed the stream of his thoughts - "This is bullshit. Supernatural, really? Get a grip, Dimitri, you're not a kid anymore!" Making a deep breath, he turned to his companions on the stairs, pulling on his grin again. He was still shocked, so slightly shifted hat and equally shifty eyes were giving him away.


- Oh, you're baaack! That's wonderful! Come, have a seat and sink your teeth into those delicious cookies! You deserved it, finding all those blankets and stuff! Ha-ha!

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

Dale briefly stared at Dimitri noting the bizarre shift in his eyes and the nervous adjustment of the hat while thinking "You really are a terrible liar. What did you do to the cookies, poison them?" Pulling he soap out of his vest, he said "Sadly, we didn't find much else other than a comic book, some soap, and this little fellow." shaking the toy briefly at the end of his sentence as he placed the toy, comic, and soap in the pile with the rest of the scavenged goods. "I'm more partial to lemon than chocolate chip, but you two are welcome to dig in." Dale said as he picked up the box of lemon candies and moved towards the window to observe the growing storm outside before asking "It looks like we're going to be stuck here for a while. Either of you have any ideas for something to pass the time?"

 

[Steel Tiger]

The storm outside continued to brew on although its severity no longer seemed to be building up. The storm no longer seemed to be growing worse and worse as it had been before. It had continued on at more of a constant strength as the snow and ice piled up outside on the ground and roads, the roof of the house as well, which had seemed fairly stable in the early minutes or hours even. The wheel chair remained in its place and had no sign or indication that something had caused the wheel to move. The wheel itself seemed in the exact same position it had been before, like the rest of the chair. The fireplace, of course was still going, for now.


Farah had heard the mentioning of the cookies, somewhat surprised that they might be remaining from what shovel-man had said. She quickened her pace somewhat as if it was a competition. “Where’s the peanut butter again?” She asked, looking toward Dale. She briefly turned to Dimitri before trying to find the peanut butter downstairs. Tempted to read through the comic book, but not mentioning this aloud. “Campfire stories or resting come to mind.” A hint of demand and authority slipped into her voice as she answered Dale’s question. “think, that’s what they usually do in these situations before the big monster appears in the middle of the night, and the hero has to stop it.” She smirked and briefly gestured toward the comic book.

 

[Shiki Kenju]

- Sure you don't want that sweet, sweet cookie? You're a strange man, Dale. I don't know anyone who would've prefer stale lemon candies over equally stale cookie. You travellers and your weird tastes... Peanut butter is over there, Fire-Keeper, open your eyes! Ha-ha.


Dimitri squatted in front of the tabletop, took a cookie out of the jar and bit it with all his might. The pastry was hard as stone, and the chip has became somewhat similar to the shards of broken glass. Once a delicious, tasty treat, desired by every kid and adult alike, now turned into an impregnable substance, bristling with sharp brown bits of chocolate. Only the most persistent, or the most hungry ones can enjoy it as genuinely as before the catastrophe. Fortunately, Dimitri had both of these qualities. Finishing the half of the cookie, he sighed with relief.


- Damn. I mean - it's still a cookie, and it's still better than nothing. Better than nothing... So we're here now, huh? Can finally relax and stuff...


He looked at the Fire-Keeper and felt the grief and shame sweeping over him, like a wave. The scene of their "meeting" was still pretty clear in Dimitri's memory, and definately in hers too. He should apologize properly, when the time is right...

 

[OdysseyImperfect]

Shrugging briefly Dale said "I've found hard candy tends to last a bit longer on the road than most other sweets." as he popped one of the candies into his mouth. His lips curling inward as a layer of dust and sourness rolled along his tongue for a few seconds before he gave a slight cough.


Chuckling a bit at the Fire-Keeper's comment Dale said "I see you're one for the classics then." as he laid the candy box on the window sill. "Let's at least see if I can get a chuckle out of them." Dale thought as he turned back towards his audience and shifted his voice into an overly dramatic tone as he began his narration. "The kind where the dashing hero, armed with a shining blade," he said smirking as he drew an imaginary sword and held it high. "must defend the townsfolk and their princess" giving a brief wave towards Dimitri before taking a bow towards the Fire-Keeper. "Against the terrifying monsters that stalk the land. Wait, I think I see one now." He said as he stepped towards the plush toy. "Stand back, this one is very dangerous." he said while taking a few swings in front of the toy before tipping it over with the end of his foot "And thus the land is saved from this fiend." ending with a sweeping bow.