Alexandria
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Post by Ella Fisher on Dec 2, 2016 17:35:41 GMT
October 12th The woods were an interesting place to run. The abundant plant life meant there was plenty of resources to be found, but the more shadowy environment was the perfect place for walkers to hide. Not to mention, if you didn't know what you were getting, you could accidentally harvest something poisonous. The willife posed a serious threat if they thought you looked tasty. The forest was a dangerous place, but if you were successful, the bounty it offered was worth the risk of being there. Especially if you set up traps, which many people had. But you had to be fast. And Ella was. She was light and quick on her feet, moving through the woods with ease. She wasn't alone; Bridge had asked her to take her out for a practice run. Ella couldn't blame her, running was kind of fun, as long as you stayed out of trouble. Ella was normally...okay...with that. She didn't actively seek trouble, it just occasionally found her. But right now, she was probably fine. She had an adult with her, and she was focused. She looked behind her, making sure Delacroix was still with her. "Alright, we're gonna head...hang on," she looked at her pocket compass, "North." She ran in that direction. After a few seconds, she slowed down to let Bridge catch up. "I wanna see if any of the other runners set up traps," she explained, "So we'll work our way north, then head east," she scanned Delacroix for any signs of infirmity, not wanting to need to carry her back. "Ready?" Bridge Delacroix
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Alexandria
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Yeah, okay. What's the worst that could happen?
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Post by Bridge Delacroix on Dec 4, 2016 2:36:41 GMT
Bridge held a steady jog as she followed Ella Fisher through the forest outside of Alexandria. She was keenly attentive to her surroundings; taking it all in. She was looking for any points of interest that might serve her in finding her way back, if something were to happen. Her senses were on high alert and it wasn't just because of how dangerous it was with the walkers roaming free. There was also other survivors to worry about, strangers who might turn out to be foe, not friend.
She knew herself to be capable even without 'landmarks' to find her way back if separated from Ella. She knew she had the physical ability and mental fortitude to survive alone if it came to that, but the one strike against her was the concussion she'd sustained a few months prior.
Bridge seemed to be a bit more 'directionally challenged' than she used to be. She struggled to orientate herself sometimes and her surroundings often blended together. Even sometimes in Alexandria she mixed up her 'left from her right.' She found it hard to focus on details such as street names and they were hard to remember. She used to be fine with names, now it seemed she needed the aid of visual things.
She needed points of interest. Landmarks to follow.
Right now she was nearing a tuft of ferns that were as tall as her shoulders. It's green fronds curled outward like the petals of some prehistoric flower. It looked as if it might have been there since the dawn of time. It was rather quite brilliant.
Behind it was a brown damp tangle of bramble bush where animals clearly traveled. It was dark in the middle, hollowed out and barren because of the animals foot traffic.
The broken branches that weighed down the brambles above the little trail were bowed. She had half a mind to squeeze in there and wait for Ella to come stumbling back in search of her.
She imagined jumping out from the little den and screaming SURPRISE! Funny yes...but no. The woman chuckled and jogged on thinking that a great way to get stabbed in the eye. Ella slowed down a bit further up while Bridge was eyeballing a dirty red gas can that had been discarded long ago. Her mind backtracked from the dirty red gas can to the ‘foxhole’, just to make sure she still had her bearings.
”Alright, we’re gonna head…” The blonde hurried forward to Ella’s side as the girl checked her compass. ”North.”
With that the little ball of energy surged forward. North…Bridge glanced quickly behind her, committing the gas can to memory and sprinted ”NORTH!?”
Immediately Bridges mind went blank. Which way was that? The short moment of disorientation passed as she focused on Ella while she put ground between her and Bridge. The competitive streak in the girl came out; she didn’t like looking at peoples backs.
Bridge sprinted forward, breaking her trail directly behind Ella only when the girl veered to the left. Bridge had no choice but to take the ‘easier’ route' when she came upon the fallen tree trunk…mainly because her eyes were on Ella and not her surroundings. Too close...the log was too coming up too fast...
She was running now nearly at top speed and even if she wanted to stop, she was too near the mossy, thick trunk to be able to. Her only choice was to jump it and it the speed vault came in one effortless, fluid motion.
She brought her hands down onto the top of the trunk just as she came upon it. Her arm strength hoisted her body above the wood and her momentum propelled her forward over it. The blonde landed lightly and met Ella a few seconds later. She still lostthe race, but not by nearly as much as she would have if she’d gone around the deadwood...and she did put on a show...not that there was anyone to see it, but it was stilla point of personal pride.
”Jesus…” The blonde huffed as she came to a quick stop by the girl. Bridges eyes were wide as she inhaled and forced the air from her lungs slowly. The blonde hadn’t been outside the walls in a long time…ever since she arrived.
Apparently, training inside the town wasn’t cutting it; she needed to exercise more. She needed to do this more. Her breathing had returned to normal by the time Ella told Bridge they would be headed east later. The blonde smiled with an eager twinkle in her eyes.
”I wanna see if any of the other runners set up traps.” The blonde nodded at Ella's explanation and put her hands on her hips.
”Sounds good.” Her mind immediately went to meat. It was always food that was on her mind these days. Before the brakout, the fitness nut was what most would have considered a ‘food snob.’ Everything had to be organic, free-range, gluten free…and local. She was one of those people, but the sole reason she he was a vegetarian was because she didn’t care for the living conditions of the animals. She liked the taste of meat, but she didn’t like it that much. Her abstinence was protest enough, but it had been eight years!
”Oh my god…” mumbled the vegetarian. A burger sounded so good, but she was still breathing heavily when the phrase so lightly escaped her lips.
There was a moment of silence that came with an uncomfortableness and when Bridge glanced over it Ella, she began to blush.
”Ready?” Ella asked as a wry smile crept onto Bridges face. Judging by the tone of her voice and the expression on her face, she must have thought Bridge to be winded. Her eyebrow arched for a split second while she wondered what she would have assumed if the situation were reversed. She would have thought Ella winded, but one thing the two seemed to share was their love of adrenaline. Yes, Bridge was breathing a bit heavier than normal, but she lived for this and it would have taken much more than that before she was going to quit. Her arms fell to her side and she nodded.
”Yeah.” She pulled her hair from the loose ponytail and pulled it over her shoulder. Her eyes scanned the area while she methodically wove it into one long plait. She secured it and tossed the strand of hair over her shoulder. ”Are we mainly looking for animals then?”
She was still thinking about a burger, but now it was a double-bacon, cheese burger and she was practically salivating. No, she didn’t eat meat, but she was deathly infatuated with the smell of it while it cooked. That aroma of slow cooking animal was like heaven. She missed meat, but at this point, her vegetarianism was force of habit. She forgot what she was missing long ago…but the smell.
”Or are we getting…”she paused, thinking now on the makings of a bbq and wondering if it possible to find some sort of marinade for their future squirrel smorgasbord. Maybe some kind of macaroni salad, maybe some chips…maybe Carols world famous cookies for dessert...Oh god...
Bridge was practically drooling while she made a mental grocery list. Her eyes vacantly scanned the ground as if she was looking for animal tracks. Side dishes were on her mind. ”Other food…”
(OOC: They won't all be this long. I swear!)
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Alexandria
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I have nothing to say.
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Post by Ella Fisher on Dec 11, 2016 1:48:12 GMT
"Yes, North!" Ella called over her shoulder, not reducing her speed even for a second. Ella would do anything for her friends. Except slow down. That much, she wouldn't do if she was being offered a million dollars. They were hungry. Everyone was. Their run last Friday had been hugely successful, but for the people of Alexandria, it wasn't much. Sure, in terms of quantity, they had reaped a lot. How far it would go was a different story. Nothing lasted as long as it used to. There were a lot of people back in the town. Lots of mouths to feed, which meant lots of running. Ella didn't mind, not at all. If anything, she enjoyed the runs. She liked being on the move. It was stimulating, exciting. The feeling of her heart racing in her chest was one she had come to crave. More than that, though. It gave her that purpose she had been missing ever since the world went to hell. She knew, beyond a shadow of doubt, that running was what she was meant to do. She was fast and small, and she could keep it up for a long time. She had the right build for her job, and it suited her constant need for movement as if it were tailor made. She loved every second of it. The fact that she finally had something to channel her excess energy into was good for everyone. Ella looked at Bridge and smirked. "Anything we can find, really," She said, "I can't guarantee there'll be meat. But there'll probably be some mushrooms or berries or something." There'd better be. Ella didn't want to have to return to Alexandria with nothing to show for the run. This was risky enough, if she couldn't reap the rewards, that wouldn't be good. "Hey, just to be sure, make sure you've got a weapon on you, okay?" She told Bridge, "I don't know what's out here." Bridge Delacroix
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