(Untitled)

[practiced]

DATE: December 6th.
CHARACTER(S): Everyone!
SUMMARY: Shoot, scavenge, survive. It's going to be a long week.
LOCATION: The Fort of Dead Shambly Merchants.
WARNINGS: Zombies and appropriate zombie-type violence likely.
FORMAT: Action, prose: commenter's choice. Go crazy!

Comments

( OPEN )( can switch over to action, np )

[practiced]

It was difficult, not being in the way, what with the constant commotion. There was very little that Sansa could do, which made her anxious, but it could not be helped. When it became clear the gates would not open and the wagon train would be unable to leave, many of the parties drew their wagons together, forming circles much tighter than upon the trail. They sheered up their ranks with tables and slats of wood scavenged from further into the forth, but Sansa could not help in such endeavors for she was weak and a lady, and frightened as well

[wolfinthesnow]

Jon carefully levers the tip of his sword to open the canvas back of the wagon that he knows Sansa is in, and Ghost peeks his white head in to look on their little sister (yes, their, Ghost is as much a part of Jon as Jon is a part of Ghost, it seems). There is shuffling out, but it is the fear that makes it worse.

Even Jon Snow knows this.

"Sansa," he says softly, making sure all is well. "How do you fare?"

[practiced]

Where once she would be loathe to greet Jon Snow so quickly and with such fervor, Sansa does not hesitate to move to him now. Sleep does not come easily here, not with the noise and the barrages of gunfire at a distance and, on occasion, at a much more chilling proximity. But Sansa Stark has suffered more than mere sleeplessness in the past; she has known fear and war and the threat of things far worse than death, and so when she comes to kneel before Jon at the mouth of the wagon, she does so with poise despite the wild beating of her heart.

When she reaches to touch the white fur on Ghost's neck her hand trembles only for a moment before she wills it to stillness once again. When she looks at her half-brother there are dark marks beneath both of her eyes, made all the more harsh by the pale whiteness of her skin.

"No harm will come to me here, I am certain of it," she reassures. Whether that is meant for her or Jon Snow, however, she does not know.

[wolfinthesnow]

Jon sees the darkness against her pale, the fear in her eyes. He recognizes it almost at once - it is a look he has seen in those around him at the Wall. Wights are terrifying things, maybe moreso because they were once only tales.

Jon lifts himself up into the wheelhouse. "You have not slept at all." It's not a question, but rather a declaration of something that ought to be put to rights. "I'll leave Ghost here, you should sleep. He'll wake you if something is not right, I promise."

[modernholmes]

Shinichi had his own concerns. Normally he would have already been out attempting to determine how these so-called zombies operated. Obviously there must be some kind of trick to them.

But at the moment he had a serious mobility and supply problem. With Ran's broken arm and his own snakebitten foot, there was no one in his wagon capable of moving about easily. But they needed supplies. He had originally purchased only enough food and supplies for one person. Among other things, that had left Ran borrowing his spare set of clothing.

And he knew better than to suggest that Ran accompany him. No, even with his injury he was still mobile. And he didn't fear such tricks.

Armed with a list of supplies and a makeshift crutch, he sets out.

[pishirogane]

Shinichi wasn't the only one with a mobility problem. Leg broken in the bear's assault, Naoto wasn't allowing her condition to keep her just at the wagon anymore. While she hadn't been expecting a fort with zombies, she was pretty sure she had requested this Shinichi fellow to become more open to the possibility of the abnormal on this trip.

The rifle slung over her back, Naoto makes her way away from the wagons and towards the small shops and houses. Bad enough one person with an injured leg come out here. Well, there was always her fall back if there was an emergency.

[modernholmes]

Shinichi spots the familiar face on his way back to the wagons. He gives a polite nod as he moves along on his crutch with a bag slung over his back.

[pishirogane]

Of course this would happen. Annoyed, Naoto sighed.

"You made your friend worry leaving the wagons like that."

(open)

[wolfinthesnow]

Jon is not going to use a gun; frankly, that isn't his style, and secondly, he isn't sure it would work, either. Wights and nightmares, what a fantastic turn of events. It's like being on the Wall again, except that at least the cold isn't so devastating that it can kill.

But his sisters are here and so is Bran and that doesn't help things, and the wolves are pacing and unhappy, feeling anxious regarding the matter of whatever lurks out there in the dark. Jon keeps his sword close and a torch closer and hopes that Arya will not venture out. She is more capable than Sansa and Bran in this kind of affair, but that doesn't mean that he wants her to be out there where he will only worry for her. At least in the wheelhouse, there is some measure of safety.

Although who knows. The Lord Commander should have been safe in his own bedroom, and yet.

And yet.

Let me know if this isn't okay!

[sarcasticseer]

From behind a nearby wagon there was a crackle of what might have been lightning, short and loud and bracing, and then a half-charred zombie body came tumbling out into view. It was smoking a black, unsettling cloud that seemed to leak into the air instead of float, and the creature twitched for several seconds before it finally fell still

It's fine!

[wolfinthesnow]

Jon stares even as he was about to engage the creature, his torch swinging an arc, when the girl steps out and does something - magic, surely, it must be. Jon has heard of magic, the people of the Free Cities are said to be potent with it, and he wonders if this is what it looks like, what real magic is, or if this is just another kind of weapon, like a gun. Jon doesn't know and he isn't sure he cares. He takes a step back, not noticing her glow, because there are simply things that are not strange enough, things worth dismissing.

When the creature rights itself, though, that is when Jon runs in and lights it afire. It screams in protest but it does not matter.

[sarcasticseer]

Rose took a step back as the creature was finally back on its feet. She was studying it, since by itself it wasn't a threat and maybe she could work out what was causing...

Her thoughts trailed off as the nearby boy came running into view only to light the creature on fire. Huh. She just raised an eyebrow at him, watching as it flailed about before collapsing in a smoldering heap.

After a few seconds the glow around Rose faded, leaving her looking much like any other slightly sick thirteen year old. "That seemed excessive," she said after a moment, her expression trapped somewhere between annoyed and amused.

[twowheeldevice]

That roaring sound in this corner of the fort? Would be Kanaya's chainsaw as it rips through what feels like the umpteenth zombie but Kanaya knows is her ninth. She's ventured out under the pretenses of "supplies scavenging", but her own little corner of the world back home had been plagued by an undead infestation of its own. So really, this should be all in a day's work.

Unfortunately it doesn't seem that way. Though she's trying to keep up her impassive facade, her arms have started to weaken and her head has started to swim. Unsure of whether she can dine on human blood instead of troll, Kanaya hasn't fed since arriving on the trail. It's starting to take its toll.

But until she drops or backup arrives, she'll just wipe her forehead, fix her bangs, and keep on sawing.

[sarcasticseer]

It was the chainsaw that really got Rose's attention. As weapons of the pioneer trail went, it wasn't exactly standard issue. Plus it was just so loud in what was becoming an almost peaceful sort of pre-technology silence, that it felt...grating, somehow.

So of course, she had to investigate.

When she reached the scene of slaughter, she paused, standing on the edge of the violence to watch Kanaya dispatching one of the creatures with what seemed a very atypical weapon for someone as reserved as the troll girl. Although perhaps it made sense in a troll way she didn't understand.

"Having fun?" She asked, leaning her shoulder lightly against a nearby wagon to fend off the dizziness that seemed to come up from her illness every time she stopped moving.

[twowheeldevice]

Kanaya looked over, a bit light-headed herself, and did her best not to react at the sight of Rose out of bed. A cool, stoic disapproval would suffice, she supposed. It beat the alternative, "Freaking Out Making A Fuss And Generally Abandoning Decorum".

"I'm not doing this for amusement," she replied, turning on a nearby zombie to attack it before it had a chance to do the same. "Nor did I speak in jest when I advised you to stay abed."

[sarcasticseer]

Rose seemed completely immune to Kanaya's disapproval, though she did smirk at the description. "There are worse things to do, I suppose."

She held up her wand and energy arced from one tip to the other, lancing out to burst away the top half of a zombie a few feet to the left of Kanaya. Several others nearby turned towards her, and Rose sighed, pushing off the wagon.

"I am not going to hide in a wagon while this is going on, Kanaya." Rose's voice was firm, insistent, and for the moment even hiding the fact that she felt ill. "And you are hardly in better shape than I am."

[sarcasticseer]

Rose was not supposed to be out of bed. She knew she wasn't healthy yet, though she was certainly feeling significantly better than she had been when John had hauled her into his wagon after she'd collapsed. But she wasn't going to just lay there while zombies...well, not exactly zombies...were attacking the caravan.

Salesman zombies? She honestly didn't know what to say about that. Not that she would ever admit such a verbal loss, of course.

So she'd dragged herself out of the wagon, and with a bit of effort (and the cooler air) had managed to work up enough of her magic to at least have the eerie black glow going on around her, though she couldn't seem to fly. She pointed one of the Thorns of Oglogoth at a nearby shambler, and an arc of black lightning lanced out, turning the poor creature to dust.

...That made her feel a little better, for reasons she probably shouldn't dwell on. She'd have to find more.

[greenstark]

There is only so much Bran can see from his place in the wagon, though he can hear well enough--and he has been told that they are surrounded by fearsome creatures, wights, the dead that walk again, something straight from a tale. But there is only so much that being told satisfies, and so tonight, Bran has pulled himself to the front of the wagon, to peer out into the darkness.

He has been told, too, that there is magic here--true magic--but this is the first that he's seen of it. It has to be magic. The girl has light that comes out of her hands, a light that destroys the wight close to her.

In his place in the wagon, Bran gasps, and immediately covers his mouth. Summer stops where he is, halting his patrol around his wagon to give the magic-girl his attention, his eyes trained on her, as if watching to see what she will do next, what magic she will try now. Or perhaps it is only Bran that is watching for that; perhaps Summer is only trying to work out if she is a threat.

[sarcasticseer]

Rose paused as the last of the zombie faded into ash, taking a moment to settle her thoughts, and in that silence she heard the nearby gasp. Immediately she turned to make sure it wasn't a threat, though she didn't raise her hands. When she spotted the boy sitting in his wagon she was actually surprised. She hadn't realized there was anyone quite that young here...

After a few seconds of watching him, the black glow around her faded away from everywhere except her hands and the wands she was holding. "Are you alright?" She asked, violet eyes flicking from him to the nearby wolf and back. The creature didn't seem intent on attacking, but Rose was a cat person so dogs...or wolves...set her just a tad on edge.

[greenstark]

Summer stayed where he was, immobile--a threat, if something were to happen, but otherwise just quiet and watchful and perhaps a bit more keenly focused than even the cleverest of dogs.

Bran, meanwhile, sits back ruefully, with a slight flush. Bad enough that he is trapped in this wagon--now he's caught attention.

"Yes," he said, lifting his chin a little in an attempt to appear bigger. "What is that?" Her hands were still wreathed in black, as if they glowed right from within with some unnatural light. Bran's eyes kept returning to them, uncertain.