Hermits United. Meet up every 10 years and swap stories about caves. [Mostly for Emily, but OTA MTW]

[badplanchaser]

((vague quasi-spoilers under cut))The problem with being safety conscious to the point of paranoia; broken; crazy; and used to living in buildings with lots of locks, seals, and blood tests is that when you're dumped into a fairy wood where you're expected to live in a little unsecured cabin that's in a compound that thinks "a tall wooden fence and

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[savesherself]

It's hard to keep track of the people in the barracks - new people keep showing up, others move to the castle, and some just disappear - but Emily tries to at least recognize everyone who lives here by sight, if not name.

She noticed the very well-armed blonde kid when he showed up. She noticed which cabin he ended up in. She hasn't noticed him coming out of his cabin since then, much less talk to anyone, and by now, she's decided maybe she should check on him. If nothing else, someone should make sure he's still alive in there.

When she gets close enough to hear him talking - obviously to someone, but not to anyone she can hear - she pauses, and just listens until he goes quiet. Chances he's talking on his comm and she just can't hear the replies seem slim. But so are the chances that he's dangerous in a way she can't handle, so she steps forward and knocks on his door anyway.

[badplanchaser]

Okay, so maybe Shaun has been not expecting anyone to bother him. And maybe he's a bit startled by the knock on the door. But he completely does not squeak. At all. Nope.

His first instinct is to whirl around to look at George for direction, but she has helpfully (or not-so-helpfully, in Shaun's opinion) disappeared. "U-uh... Just a second!" he calls out uncertainly, then hisses, "What the hell, George?"

Yeah, like I'm going to let you come across as even more insane to whomever has decided you're too much of a hermit. Just answer the door.

Shaun grumbles wordlessly to himself as he stalks to the door and yanks it open. "What?"

[savesherself]

Emily raises her eyebrows a little at his response to her existence, but that's the only real change in her expression. "Sorry to interrupt," she says dryly, eyes flickering briefly to his hand just to see if maybe he was on the comms, and then over his shoulder to confirm that he's really alone in there. And unless he had a very quiet friend hiding behind the door... yeah, he'd just been talking to himself. Okay then.

"Mostly, I just thought someone should check to see if you were still alive. You've been holed up in here since you showed up."

[badplanchaser]

"Yeah, I'm alive!" Shaun answered quickly, and managed not to grimace at the idiocy of that statement. If he could talk, he clearly wasn't amplified... "Uh, obviously. Just, I'm not really a big people person."

You used to be.

Shaun didn't respond, though he silently willed George to be quiet while he was talking to the very business-like woman in front of him. "Anyway, this place is sort of a death trap. All sorts of hidden corners, no defenses worth shit, and I've got a seriously limited supply of firepower, especially if there's not anywhere to get more ammo."