|
Post by Dussie on Jan 6, 2014 19:03:50 GMT -5
Connor stirred awake slowly enough. He got up on an elbow and looked around briefly before letting his head slam into the mattress. He was hoping it had all been a bad dream. "Morning." He said groggily. He hadn't really undressed the night before save for his boots, so he pulled those on, and grabbed his cap, which had fallen off. Getting up, he rubbed his eyes clean of sleep and sighed. "I suppose it's too much to hope you made breakfast?" He joked with a bit of a smile. He peered out the windows for a second before turning back to Deryn. "We should plan this out, while they're aren't down our necks. We need food and water, firstly." He wasn't exactly a survival expert, but he figured they didn't really have any other concerns that took priority over sustenance.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Moose on Jan 7, 2014 17:52:23 GMT -5
"Well, there's a river by my...er...family's house, but it's all dirty because of the factories. I think that would be the same in this city for the most part. So unless we buy some things from shops, which I don't think we should do, we'll have to go outside the city. But before we leave, if we even decide to do that, I'll go into a shop or two and 'negotiate' with the keepers so I can get us some backpacks and another blanket. The important part is being prepared before we do something rash. I know we need food and water, but if we're going to find that we'll either have to 'negotiate' with a lot more people or leave the city, and we shouldn't do either without being prepared to make a mad dash for a way out of this town where we're less likely to run into someone we know."
|
|
|
Post by Dussie on Jan 7, 2014 19:53:39 GMT -5
Connor thought over what she had to say and nodded his head. "Right. I understand." He said, rubbing his chin. "Guess I'm not all that great at this fugitive thing just yet." He sat on the mattress and asked, "Okay. So what do we need? You mentioned packs and that's probably for the best, just like another blanket. We're gonna need some way to defend ourselves. I have a knife but that isn't much. I thought I saw you had a pistol. Gonna need a little more than just that." A rifle would be perfect. He'd seen impressive ones, ones with revolving loaders, but a normal black powder one would work fine. Even some swords. "We're gonna need to try to get as much as we can today, and some water, too. We'll be set for a few weeks if we have water. Food isn't important yet. Did I miss anything?" Once they had a plan they could start enacting it.[/b]
|
|
|
Post by Lady Moose on Jan 7, 2014 21:46:28 GMT -5
"No. That sounds about right. How about I focus on the packs and blanket and you on the water? We can both try to find weapons on the side, because we need as many as possible and they're kind of hard to come by in this situation. If we split up, it should be safer because they won't know that we know each other yet and that we're working together." Looking at Connor briefly, she nodded to herself. "We can meet up in front of this building again once it's done. Hopefully we'll still have enough daylight afterwards to get a start on leaving town. If not, we'll have to stay here." Opening the door, the young woman paused and looked back for just a few seconds. "I'll see you soon, Connor Plume." With that, Deryn sped down the stairs with the aid of gravity and momentum to propel her and out the door of the building. She would do everything in her power to make sure they could be as efficient as possible. From her days as as serving girl, Miss Hanway knew that getting an early start was vital to motivation for the rest of the shift. Getting started early really got her raring to go and helped her get a job done faster and with less apathetic pauses. So she ran off to the closest camping shop and approached the counter. "Can I help you?" "Can I...help you?" Deryn responded, leaning over the counter in a less than proper manner. "See? I've got to buy two camping packs and I don't have any money..." "Move along, lady." "Does...this change anything?" she murmured in a provocative manner as a fake-out before lifting the pistol to the counter and pointing it directly at his heart. "I'm not looking for trouble, but I really do need those for free." "A-alright." "Oh, and forget I was ever here, alright? In fact, you haven't had anyone in here with read hair since a few years ago, and that was definitely a man." "Alright, lady. Here, take your stuff and get out." "Thank you kindly." Leaving the store, she smiled and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. This is really a lot easier than it probably should be for me... If only I had the guts to actually shoot this damn weapon.
|
|
|
Post by Dussie on Jan 7, 2014 22:15:21 GMT -5
((I feel like if she had been thinking she might have attained more.))
Connor nodded as she left and waited a few minutes. Of someone saw them together it might raise suspicion. He got up and trotted down the stairs but chose the back exit. He had to force the door but he managed it and walked out into town. Water. Where to get water? He noticed a constable and changed direction smoothly. Up the road a car was pulling a trailer. A shipment. As it turned down the alley to the side of a store, he realized he had a golden opportunity. There would be enough time to snag whatever was in the trailer. Possibly useful. The driver unlocked it and carried one box in, likely to return with aid. Rushing forward, he took two boxes and ran. He had no time to even look at the items he carried. Seven blocks away, he slid into an alley and crouched behind a dumpster. Jimmy-ing a box open with his knife, he removed the lid and peered inside. He found a lantern. That wasn't expected but it wasn't unwanted. You could control how bright a lantern burned and they were easy to light. It looked like it was oil and had at least a month's worth of refills beside it. Wonderful. He was hoping he hit the lotto with the other crate and it wasn't another lantern. It wasn't, at least. It was a canteen. He'd robbed a general store, then. He cursed his luck but he was grateful for what he'd found. Clipping the canteen on his belt he carried the box with the lantern and oil in it. He stopped by a public restroom and filled the canteen off the sink. In light of it all he'd been more prosperous than he'd deserved. Pondering that, he made the walk back, avoiding the store entirely. He made it to the back entrance after a long while of walking and trekked up the stairs. He wondered momentarily if Deryn would actually return and not just sell him out for her own freedom. He paused on the last stair and tried to figure out a way to ensure his safety. They weren't too high up. He could survive the fall if he jumped with the mattress, or at least he hoped. That was probably the only thing he could really do since he was so unsure. He opened the door to the little apartment they'd taken and waited. He was well aware that she had said in front of the building but that was kind of foolish, no?
|
|
|
Post by Lady Moose on Jan 8, 2014 20:13:15 GMT -5
(That's probably true, but her intelligence about WHAT they need had to be counteracted by some flaw, and I chose that to be method of attaining those things.)
On the walk back as she carried the two packs, she cut through a dusty alley. Unfortunately, a constable saw her and she saw him. Inevitably, a poor-looking girl carrying two expensive camping packs was quite suspicious. And, more unfortunate still, he called her on it. "Put the stolen items down and raise your hands to surrender yourself." "Why?" "Because I told you to. Now!" "I don't want to." "Wait... Aren't you a fugitive? Yeah... You're suspected for the murder of the king!" Shit. He recognized me! Good going... What do I do now? "Um... I think you've got the wrong girl..." "Good try. You're the one on the posters. Can't fool me. I was top of my class." And then he tried to rush her. Bad idea. In a rush of half instinct and half skill, she pulled out her pistol on a quickdraw duel fashion and shot. Sadly, she was not nearly as accurate as was necessary, so she only shot him in the foot. Even still, it was enough to know him down. Standing over the man, she held out her gun with the intent to kill him. Yet she found that she couldn't look into his eyes. So Deryn looked away and shot blind, but still only hit his shoulder. Putting the gun away because she couldn't bear to keep shooting, she took his rifle and his knife and put both in her utility belt. After thinking for a bit, she also took his jacket and then walked away with a surprisingly clear conscience. Little did she know, though, he would die about an hour and a half later due to blood loss before someone finally found him. But before that, she went to a general store, stuffed a blanket in a backpack, and left the store without incident due to the clerk sleeping on the job. Silly, silly. When she finally got back to the apartment building, she found that Connor was not in front of the building. That's alright. I'll just go inside and wait. Climbing the stair sluggishly, Deryn finally got to the room they'd settled on and opened the door. To her great surprise, the young man was already there waiting for her. "Oh, God. You scared me," she whispered mostly to herself as her heartrate slowed. Nevertheless, the red-haired woman stepped inside and closed the door before kneeling down and opening the packs. To her surprise. they already came with blankets, tents, and rations of dried food that would last them both a long time, though the taste was less then phenomenal. That left the issue of the two additional blankets that she'd already stole. Would they just use two blankets or...?
|
|
|
Post by Dussie on Jan 8, 2014 22:13:51 GMT -5
Connor fiddled with his knife while he waited. He was dye reminded to get that little hangnail. It was on his left thumb and he'd be damned if he didn't cut it off properly. He heard movement by the door and Deryn walked in. He relaxed and sheathed his knife. "Yeah. Sorry about that. I didn't want to have to worry about being recognized so I hiked back up here." He saw that she had attained her goal and crouched by the bags, glancing through them. He was happier to see her with a rifle, however. "Looks like you really made out, here." He gestured to the crate he had brought. "I found a lantern with enough oil to last us awhile. I also have a canteen. It isn't much but at least we won't be dehydrated." They could eat, drink and stay warm. He picked up a blanket and hefted it a bit. "So four, now. I suppose we don't have to share anymore, huh? If you're concerned to stay light, though, we could probably do without two of them and just continue as we did last night." It wasn't all bad. He might have been forced to so he didn't die, but being under the covers with any woman isn't the end of the world... He took a sip from the canteen and offered it to Deryn. Things were looking up, but they were looking up from the bottom of a hole.
|
|
|
Post by Lady Moose on Jan 9, 2014 16:42:20 GMT -5
"You got a lantern? That's great. We'll need some way to walk in the darkness. And it's easier to light a fire using the flame from that." When he remarked about the blankets, she shrugged passively. I want to use one as a poncho. And we could use the other for patches. Even though staying light is an issue, I worked as a maid and did side jobs for the tradesmen at the wharfs, so I have strong enough shoulders to carry a little weight." She shrugged again and took the canteen as it was offered to her. Taking a small sip to conserve water whilst also wetting her desert-dry mouth, she sighed with satisfaction at the sensation. Remembering the incident with the constable, she figured to tell Connor what had happened. They had to establish a bond of trust, after all. "Oh, I ran into a constable on the way here and shot him. I think he's dead, but I'm a pretty bad shot apparently. I took his coat, rifle, and knife, though. So now we'll both have knives and pistols. I think you'd be a more accurate shot than me so you can have the rifle. I've wrestled my brother before too, so I figure I'd be better in close range just because of experience. What did you do before they accused you, by the way? You don't look like a working man. Not my definition of one anyway. Your hands are so soft compared to mine." It wasn't exactly feminine to have calloused hands from working and scrubbing and such, but lower-class people were often more candid anyways. What did they have to lose?
|
|
|
Post by Dussie on Jan 9, 2014 17:01:33 GMT -5
Connor was a bit surprised when she told him she'd killed a constable. He had, too, though. He had wished he'd kept that gun. But it was moot. They had to worry about themselves first and others second. "I was a sailor. I worked on airships. Did odd jobs a lot. I was a privateer for the king, ironically. I was at the helm once but that was because everyone else was pretty drunk. I don't drink much." But the important skill he'd taken away was he knew how to handle himself in a fight. "I hadn't been sailing long so I guess I don't give off that essence." It had only been a couple years. He never became much of anything important. "You can hold onto the jacket, by the way. I'll be fine." He glanced at the window. "Think we have time to make it out of the city before dark? We could probably stand to camp here one more night."
((Ugh. This doesn't stand up to the lofty standard we set but I'm procrastinating and I need to stop.))
|
|
|
Post by Lady Moose on Jan 12, 2014 9:15:22 GMT -5
"That's interesting... Much more eventful than my life. Good for you, I say. I had to raise my younger siblings, though. And there are a lot of them. But only two old enough to understand what I'm accused of. Least you're not related to anyone you worked with. They could probably not care less about what happened. Which is good, I guess. The less people who know our faces the better," she rambled on without reason, seemingly because she was a little upset by what happened and liked to talk so as to get her mind off it. But when Connor went on, she shut her trap and listened. "I could wear the jacket myself, but it wouldn't do much good in warming me because it's not that thick. It's best worn over something else, and my midsection is not really covered by anything, so I'd rather not. Besides, when we leave the city and it gets colder, you might change your tune." After working with children for her entire life, she overestimated how many layers people would need. Kids got cold in the slightest breeze, so they always had to bring coats when they left the house so mom wouldn't throw a fit. Except there was no mom to throw a fit and no kids to watch anymore. No. It was just Connor and Deryn herself that had to be protected. What a strange feeling! "Um... I don't know. It's better to be safe than sorry I suppose. Let's stay here and leave in the morning. Ther we'll have more time before sundown to get as far as possible." (What if the military people assigned to pursue the duo looked like this?)
|
|