Re: Clouds of Dust and Death

[Patchworks]

It wasn't long before Veroe took off her overly warm jacket and tossed it in the cart, pushing it uphill with a slight grumble. "Just putting the dumpster against the door." Veroe didn't think of explaining further.

"Make myself a huge sandwich, see if I can sharpen this." She patted the sword that was now between her back and her white shirt. "And take a nap. That's the schedule for today. And they better appreciate this or someone's having the bolts for dinner." A part of Veroe was slightly worried that they wouldn't exactly appreciate the things they found but the variety and amount could make up for it. "I-I don't know what you won. What do you want?" She wasn't exactly good at following orders and possibly worse at entertaining others but she couldn't back down from a fair bet. She squinted forward, scanning the distance for the camp. Maybe she could see the top of the warehouse building but that was a really tenuous maybe.

The minutes felt like hours pushing the cart uphill. The landscape was tinted in orange sunset by the time they'd arrive at the camp and Veroe could see a human signaling to someone below when their eyes met.
"Looks like they didn't expect us to be out so long." She said to Landon, waving widely at the distant human. Veroe redoubled her efforts to get the cart into the camp, panting as she placed it besides the door to the camp's warehouse.
The human yelled at them from the roof. "Anders wants to see whatever you brought in!"
"So that's his name..." Veroe grumbled to herself as she pushed the cart inside, beckoning Landon with her.
Anders was rooting through a crate when they entered. He turned to face them, looking towards the odd case on Landon's back. "So, what do you have for us?"

[Vatusia]

As the duo trekked on, Landon found himself wanting more and more to get back to the camp, just so he could take out the cello and start playing. It had truly been too long since the Feline had touched an instrument. However as soon as he saw that there was a person signaling to someone else, Landon knew that he wouldn’t be allowed to go just yet. “Looks like they didn’t expect us to be out so long.” The taller male nearly stumbled as Veroe started pushing the cart faster. When they got to the warehouse and were informed of Anders wanting to see them, Landon pouted. All he wanted to do was get back to his sister and start playing the music they had found while out. However it seemed like the Human wanted to figure out what had been brought back to the camp.

“We found a bunch of nails and screws and stuff, but other than that it’s mostly just kinda odds and ends. There was a dresser that was nothing but hats, so we brought the warmer ones back so that maybe some of the others could keep their heads warm. And this Cello~! It was possibly one of the best finds ever, thank you again Veroe, and I’m keeping it~!” Landon hummed as he reached one hand back to place it on where the scroll of the wooden instrument would be. Of course the human probably wouldn’t care much about the musical instrument that they had found, but since he’d been eyeing the case, Landon figured he might as well explain the large object. Golden eyes looked at Veroe, wondering if she would finish off what they had found or if he should start filling the empty space with more words. Either way, as long as he was released quickly he didn’t mind.

[Patchworks]

Veroe grinned as the cat described their finds, the memories of the busy day quickly coming back. The scout leader stepped back when Veroe drew her sword, resting it on her shoulder after showing it off. "Yup, we also found this, some alcohol, and a few cans of spray paint that we left behind. Couldn't really see the use for it. Ah there was also a barrel of clean water but we're not about to roll it uphill, thank you~" Veroe's grin widened slightly as she kept herself from mentioning the shelter or the other things inside.

The man nodded slowly, moving back towards them to look through the contents of the cart. "Not... exactly what we expected but I can see you two worked hard for it. If you're up to it you can do it again tomorrow. Please do be ca--"
"You got it chief! Me and L here are just raring to go out again." Veroe cut Anders off, smiling excitedly, looking over at Landon to see if he shared her excitement.
"Could you not interrupt me for once, Veroe?" Anders sighed, leaning back. "As I was saying, please do be careful, one of the scouts around camp said they saw a strange figure stalking the outskirts of town. We're not sure if it's a human or one of you but it's not someone from the settlement so keep your guard up. Questions?" He said his whole piece of advice turned to Landon, assuming the Feline would be more likely to listen to him than Veroe.

[Vatusia]

The Feline giggled as Veroe once again interrupted the scout, barely hiding his smile behind one hand. It wasn’t like the Human had much presence anyway. However when Anders mentioned that they should be careful, Landon’s ears perked up and his smile faded. Someone was lurking around the settlement? Though he’d been mostly lucky enough to avoid most of the bad things had happened since everything fell apart, Landon had seen the results of the violence. Scared people were unpredictable and if there was someone stalking them then it really could mean trouble. “We’ll be careful, don’t worry. Now are we free to go? I’ve got to show my sister the cello we found~!” Landon chirped. After getting a nod from the Human, Landon turned on his heel, grabbed Veroe by the hand, and skipped out of the tent and back towards his own. The Cat didn’t even think about the fact that the Avian might want to go see her own family. He wanted Veroe to meet Lei. The blonde was sure that his younger sister would be happy to meet the small Avian, just as the small Avian would be happy to meet the smaller Feline.

[Patchworks]

Anders shook his head, already organizing things on tables and shelves, emptying the cart. That'd be all, you're free to go. See you two tomorrow when you're ready to go again." Veroe did a mock salute before her hand was grabbed and she found herself out of the warehouse and further towards the houses.

Veroe chuckled to herself, trying to keep pace with the younger Icarii. "So L, where are we going again?" She said towards Landon before waving towards a large male Harpy with gray feathers lining his hair, sitting on the porch. "We're fine! Talk to you soon!" The man waved calmly towards her, laughing to himself as Veroe followed Landon to wherever the Cat lived.

[Vatusia]

The male Feline dragged Vere behind, giggling as they finally approached his tent. “You're going to meet my sister. Lei will be really happy to meet you~!” Landon chirped back at the female. The tall blond only slowed once they were directly outside the flap and he could hear Lei’s soft breathing inside. She was probably drawing in the dirt again. Maybe next time they went out he could look for something for the Kitten to do while he was away. Landon grinned as he pushed open the tent flap, slipping inside as quietly as he could. He was hoping to scare his little sister, but of course she was staring up at him with golden lavender eyes, her ears twitching slightly as she took in the cello on his back and the Harpy behind him. For a few seconds the Kitten only stared at Veroe before she moved forward and buried her face in Landon’s stomach.

“You were gone longer then you should have been, what were you doing?” She said softly. Landon smiled down at the smaller Feline and ran his fingers along her cat ears, soothing her as best he could. “Yes, but we brought back some pretty cool stuff. Also I made a new friend and we may have found a place to stay that could be better than this little tent.” She stared up at him with huge eyes, knowing what shelter would mean for them. “But first you gotta say hi to Veroe~!” Soon Lei had stepped to his side to stare at the Harpy, her eyes looking her over curiously. It wasn’t long after that before the Kitten stepped forward with her hand outstretched. “I’m Lei, Landon’s little sister. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

[Patchworks]

Veroe smiled and took the girl's hand. "Ah, so you're Lei. Landon's talked a lot about you, you know? I've been making sure your brother stays out of trouble out there. How were things in the settlement?"
Veroe swung the sword off her shoulder, removed her jacket and sat on the floor, stretching her arms forwards then upwards, feeling her muscles cramp slightly from the day's exertion.

Veroe looked around the tent, grinning tentatively. "Pretty nice place you guys got, but~ Should we tell her, L?" She grinned wider and almost whispered the second part to the cat, trying to build some some expectation on Lei. Veroe was fully aware of the barrage of questions she was presenting but, as usual, she didn't quite see a problem.  

[Vatusia]

As the female Harpy introduced herself, Landon made himself busy with clearing an area in the confined area for the cello to rest. It was neatly settled against his resting area so that he could grab it and run should they need to move quickly. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that, but one could never be sure anymore. When Veroe asked the Cat a question he turned around with a grin on. “Tell her, tell her~” he chirped as he skipped the two steps between himself and the smaller Feline. Lei looked slightly confused and annoyed. The Kitten didn’t like not knowing things, especially when it was being dangled in front of her face like this. Maybe he should get her some books next time he went out! “What did you two find that has you both so excited?” Landon rubbed his cheek on his sister’s, bending over and holding her shoulders so she couldn’t get away to do it. “Will you stop that? Just tell me!”

[Patchworks]

Veroe chuckled watching the siblings, waiting for the small quarrel to settle before raising her voice. "Well, little one this is top secret but I suppose we can let you in on it. Your brother and I found a secret base! It's under a restaurant and there's all sorts of stuff like a workshop and a whole motorcycle and it's all ours~ The adults don't even know about it."
The Harpy leaned further back, supporting her weight on her elbows, her stomach rumbling slightly. "We did work up a sweat. Maybe it's time to raid the food storage."

[Vatusia]

Landon watched as Lei blinked, trying to process the information that she had just been told. It took the Kitten a couple of seconds before she turned on her brother, tail moving quickly behind her. “You found someplace we can stay?! Why didn’t you lead with that?! What else does it have? Where exactly is it? Will it be safe?” The questions came out at a rapid pace, the words practically one long question. Landon chuckled before hugging his sister and bringing her to the floor in his lap. “Relax Lei, there isn’t a time limit on any questions~! It had some supplies, not much but enough. It’s hard to tell you exactly where, but it’s on the outskirts of the city so it’s relatively safe and it’s underground and pretty well hidden. And yes, we can probably stay there for some time~!” Landon purred as he nuzzles his sister. Lei let out a small smile as her questions were answered, looking up to the Harpy before wiggling out of Landon’s arms. “You two rest here, I’ll go bring back some food. I’ll be back in just a bit,” Lei chirped as she made her way out of the tent, looking back at Landon once before heading out. Landon smiled at her back before flopping dramatically on the floor. “She didn’t even say anything about my cello…”

[Patchworks]

"She was a bit overwhelmed, is all. You think the others will get suspicious about our outings?" The Harpy stood up and lowered her voice, watching the outside of the tent. "I suppose we could use a third hand on our expeditions~ You sure she won't tell?" Veroe chirped, her mind racing with ideas on how to fool the others. "I think we should try to take that bike outside. Imagine if we got it running~"

A noise on the outside of the tent made the girl jump slightly, moving to the tent flap. She pulled a few inches of it open, the light from the outside eclipsed by the large silhouette of her father. She gave him a brief but complete summary of the day before he asked her something, quiet enough so that only Veroe could hear. The Harpy smiled and shook her head, wrapping her arms around his shoulders briefly before sending him off with a playful push. She dropped besides Landon, sitting on the floor and stretching her legs forward, looking up at nothing in particular."I hope your sister doesn't take too long, I could eat a whole bull right about now."

[Vatusia]

When Veroe moved to the tent flap and talked to someone outside of the tent, Landon collapsed on the floor. The Mammalian wiggled around on his back for a bit to get a scratch square in the middle of his back while his Harpy companion talked with someone. After a few minutes of scratching his back, Ver spoke, causing the Cat to jump slightly and sit up, eyes wide. “She should be back soon, though I’m not sure with what food she’ll be bringing back,” Landon’s words trailed off as he stretched. “I’m also sure she’s not going to leave until they give us enough food for the three of us. She’s a stubborn Kitten~!” The Mammalian purred as he rubbed his face on the cello, still so happy to have something to keep him occupied now. But he was tired and couldn’t help nodding off a little.

“I’m back, they were making ramen tonight. I’m pretty sure it was that stuff Patrick brought back that was already open… And I’m really not sure on this chicken because I know it came out of a can and I’m really hoping it wasn’t open,” Landon heard his sister say, blinking himself awake. Once his eyes were fully open he saw the Kitten with a bowl in her lap, a bowl in front of him and a bowl with Veroe, with a fourth bowl between the trio. Lei was staring at the contents like it would attack at a second before she started picking pieces out and tossing it into the broth. Landon stared at his own bowl, the broth looking a little weak and the noodles hiding at the bottom of the bowl. He sat up and popped a piece of chicken in his mouth. He ignored the funny taste. “I will take any protein at this point. Let’s dig in~!”

[Patchworks]

Adrenaline was draining out of Veroe's body at a surprising rate, amplifying the stiffness on her joints. "Honestly, she doesn't look it", the Harpy replied amusedly.
Her mind trailed off as they waited for the girl as she wondered where they'd go next. The city before them was large enough that two Icarii would take weeks to pick it clean and the prospect of being on the move and bringing all kinds of stuff back home was exiciting, despite her exhaustion.

Once the small feline arrived, Veroe couldn't help but stare at the food and mostly block out the comments about it, her empty stomach turning at the sight. The contents themselves, however, were underwhelming. She picked at the food, nibbling at a suspicious piece of bland chicken. "Who brought this in? We should tell them to loot the outside of ditches, rather than the inside." She perked up slightly, the warmth of food and the prospect of adventure filling her body and giving her one last energy kick. "I bet we could find much better. What do you say, L? Up for a food run tomorrow?" She tried blinking the tiredness off her eyes, focusing instead on the food to distract her body. She was enjoying the day too much to simply fall asleep now.

[Vatusia]

Landon snickered into his food at Veroe’s comments about ditches, sucking down a noodle quickly before he could completely choke on it. When she suggested that they could find better he perked up, his tail waving once in curiosity. Could they find better food? “I’m sure we could. But would be bring it back to camp or stash it at the underground lair?” Landon was about to go on a list of questions when Lei stuck a piece of questionable chicken in his mouth. The older Mammalian chewed quickly, wanting to start asking questions when Lei glared at him. She knew what was coming and didn’t want to deal with it at the ‘dinner table’. So the teenager quickly shut up and continued eating his noodles, only stopping to take a breath so he wouldn’t get hiccups.

When she had finished her bowl, Lei looked over to Veroe. “If you two do find anything interesting, I’m sure I could find a back way into camp so you won’t have to take it to the head scout. I know he’s hoarding stuff in there all for himself without actually going out to get any of it,” her tone suggested she didn’t care, but Landon could see her ears drop back and could practically feel the hiss she wouldn’t let out. Landon slurped some more of his broth before setting the mostly empty bowl down. “I say we go out tomorrow and see what we can find. We can always leave it at the restaurant if we don’t want to share it that badly,” Landon spoke softly. He really didn’t see the need to not share whatever they found, unless it would be of no use to the camp. But his sister always told him he trusted others too much and never looked out for himself enough. Maybe this was one of those times.

[Patchworks]

Veroe's feathers raised slightly as the smaller feline told of the Human hiding things from the community. "Why, I oughta bring this up next time he complains I'm, ahem, 'Wasting good firewood to make sports equipment'." Her tone was mocking and exaggerated, though she felt legitimately betrayed by someone she took for harmless.

"Say, do you have where to store things we don't want shared? We have the restaurant but maybe we want to keep things closer, what with the clouds and the rumors of other people wandering about town. When'd you even find out about this stuff?" Veroe hurried to finish her bowl and set it aside, leaning closer for whatever bit of gossip Lei had. Her eyes darted to meet Landon's, her inquisitive gaze almost asking why he was suddenly so silent, or rather why the girl was so intent on silencing him in the first place.

[Vatusia]

“I’ve paid attention to what the scouts have brought back and then what get distributed. It’s not hard to see that sometimes things that go into that tent don’t come back out again. Maybe he isn’t keeping it for himself but for a later time, but I know it isn’t getting used by the community. And since he hasn’t said that he’s keeping things back for the good of the people, I can only figure that maybe he’s stashing things for himself,” Lei whispered. The structures weren’t exactly thin and talking too loud could risk other people hearing. And that might cause panic. Landon may be naive, but he knew that when there was mass panic people died. “And as for where I could stash them, I’m not really sure on that. But it’s not like they inspect the tents while we’re gone. If we can just get them into camp, I’m sure we can hide them in plain site.” Landon nodded in agreement with his sister, not that he believed the head scout was keeping things. But if his sister wanted to be cautious, he wasn’t about to disagree with the Kitten.

The older Leopard Cat let out a long sigh as he laid down. He’d also heard the rumors about people wandering the city. Other scavengers that maybe weren’t so friendly as those in the camp. Now with Lei thinking that the head scout was keeping items from the rest of their group, and the dangers that the Crimson Death had already brought down, things were looking more and more complicated. Landon heaved another sigh before moving towards his new cello, opening the case and plucking at the strings to test how out of tune the poor thing was. Not that he could be sure it was accurately in tune by ear anymore. It had been too long since Landon had picked up an instrument for him to remember exactly what each sting was supposed to sound like. “We’ll go out tomorrow. Then we’ll see what we find and decide a course of action. That sound alright Ver? No use counting chickens before they all hatch~!”

[Patchworks]

Veroe furrowed her brow, already considering an incursion into the locked up warehouse to see exactly what was being kept inside but decided against making her plans public for the time being. "There's plenty of room at my place if we're storing stuff around here. Dad willl understand. Probably. And for the other scavengers... Maybe they're not that bad? I mean, it's not like we've heard gunshots or fighting recently, they may be in the same spot we are." She shifted slightly, her own words not really easing her mind.

The harpy grinned, standing up and stretching her arms forward. "But for now I think all three of us need a nice long nap. So, unless we want to conspire a bit more, it's gonna be a busy day tomorrow, catch you two at the entrance to the camp?"
Veroe moved over to Landon as he worked the cello, patting him on the head. "And you better get that thing working fine for the next bet, alright?"

[Vatusia]

The two cats shifted as Veroe got up to leave, the thoughts of other scavengers out there enough to set them on edge. Landon perked up however when the Harpy pat him on the head. “Of course I’ll get it working~!” The words were half sung as the blond watched the shorter Icarii leave. “Well we should be getting to sleep Lei. It’s been a long day and if I’m going out tomorrow then I’ll need my rest,” the words floated between them, creating an uneasy silence between the siblings.

Landon fidgeted when his sister didn’t do anything, but left the young female to her thoughts as he got ready for bed. It took her a few minutes, but finally she joined him, curling in to his back and grabbing hold of his shirt with one of her small hands. “Promise me you’ll be safe,” she whispered. Landon turned over, wrapping his sister in his arms and kissing her forehead. “Of course I’ll be safe.”
— Time skip brought to you by Mangos—
One of the first things Landon noticed about the morning was that Lei was no longer anywhere near. The Mammalian wiggled around, flailing his limbs in search of the Kitten, hoping she was nearby even though he knew she was already up. He could hear people moving around outside, which meant the light sleeper would already be up. Still a whine escaped the male’s throat. “Oh quit that. You have things you need to do today, you lazy cat,” the words were soft, despite the chastising tone. Landon peeked open one eye to stare at his younger sister. She was holding a canteen above his head, either to drip water on him or to entice him to get up to drink. He couldn’t tell which was more likely. “You should probably go meet Veroe by the gates. No time for food, you overslept. Hopefully you find something to nibble on.” Landon whined again before sitting up to take the water from his sister. After taking a sip, Lei handed him some dried fruit in a small baggie. He smiled at her as he took it. The Kitten was soon wrapped in a hug before the Cat was out and heading for the front gate. Hopefully Veroe hadn’t been waiting too long.

[Patchworks]

It was the third time Veroe's father tried to shake her awake. She'd spent the better part of the night narrating in detail all their finds before falling asleep halfway through her second serving of dinner, leaving out the fact she'd already eaten at Landon's. "Come now, your friends must be waiting for you." She grumbled something at the middle-aged Icarii before getting off the bed, blindly taking whatever food he offered the Harpy and getting dressed. Before leaving for the gates, Veroe took a detour to the warehouse, witnessing a small dispute between the head scout and a loud human about a missing crate of canned food. Veroe made sure to steer far from the pair as she seized a beat-up shopping cart and rolled it towards the entrance, throwing her sword and jacket in and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. It wasn't long before she noticed Landon sleepily drawing closer. Veroe waved at him, pushing the gate behind her open with her heel.
"There you are. Any idea where we're going today?"

[Vatusia]

The question of where they were going nearly went completely over the sleepy Cat’s head. After a few seconds of mulling over the words, Landon finally yawned out “somewhere not far from out base,” before muffling his yawn with a hand. Once he got to where Veroe was, the taller male noticed that the Harpy had remembered to grab a shopping cart. Even if she looked about to drop. Apparently neither of them were morning people. Figures. It didn’t take long for the shambling duo to make it out of the camp and out into the wasteland that the world had become. Landon helped steer the shopping cart from the side, long fingers curling around the beat up metal. “What do you think we’ll find today Ver?” Landon looked back at the Harpy, nearly tripping on a cracked section of pavement. The Cat quickly righted himself, blushing at his misstep. He was a cat. He shouldn’t be tripping over every little thing. It didn’t take long for something shiny to catch Landon’s eye. “Hey look, a used bookstore. Can we go in, please?”

[Patchworks]

"If it's anything like yesterday? I couldn't begin to guess." Veroe grinned, beaming with excitement through her dozing eyes. The harpy gasped and reached for the feline as he tripped, knowing he probably wouldn't need help as he adjusted himself. She turned to face the store's banner as Landon pointed it out. "The Blue Robe, books new and used..." She read out loud, slowly tilting the cart towards it, holding it more firmly as the road grew rougher, admiring the intentionally worn design of the exterior. It was a sturdy-looking, single floor building with the walls decorated with large rocks and redwood columns. The worn banner was decorated with a cartoon sorcerer with a large book held in midair by a purple smoke. "You think we can find any spell books in there?" She giggled to herself and tried the front door, decorated by a wide arch. The door resisted, seemingly held in place by something behind the door. She took a step back and pushed with her shoulder as the door gave in, the sound of a pile of books clattering to the ground. "We didn't have to go behind back this time!" She chuckled, dusting herself off and motioning inside, inviting Landon to enter first.

[Vatusia]

Landon watched closely as Veroe forced the doors of the bookshop to open. The Cat peeked his head inside, noting the dust that seemed to have settled over everything. It seemed like no one had really been inside this shop yet. That boded well for the duo. Landon skipped further into the store, turning to look at the Avian Icarii. “I wonder if there will be anything interesting~!” Landon chirped before he turned on his heel and headed over to a wall of bookshelves. The books were all still in their neat little rows, but it seemed that Landon had wandered over to the used section. The spines all held signs of wear. Perusing, the blonde quickly found out that he was in the romance section. He stuck his tongue out before heading further in, his eyes adjusting to the lower light level towards the back of the store. Here there were even more shelves. Landon shifted a pile of books from his path as he approached what appeared to be old vinyl records. It had been forever since the Icarii had seen vinyl anywhere. His fingers moved between the records. It felt nice to feel the texture of the records. His aunt had had an old record player before things went to hell in a handbasket. “I’m not sure we’re going to find much of anything interesting Veroe. Though maybe they have a survival section~!”

[Patchworks]

The Avian wandered by the newspaper shelf for some time before noticing Landon had strayed far from her, even within the small confines of the store. She felt something odd staring at the headlines of the municipal papers, a weird longing for the times when a junior soccer team's achievements were something worth celebrating. Nowadays, it seemed, all people ever wanted to talk about these days was the merciless march of clouds, the lack of resources and how many friends they'd lost along the way. Before everything had happened, she'd be the first to mock the dull headlines, but those days seemed to belong to another life entirely now. She sighed to herself, noting Landon's absence once more, before shaking her head vigorously. She couldn't let these things get her down. She had people who depended on her back at camp, and maybe her own smile could bring someone else's back. She turned away from the newspapers, grabbing one as a small cone of fabric peeking from behind the counter caught her eye, a moment before she took off to chase the feline.

She watched, curiously, when Landon stopped at the vinyls, before jumping onto a nearby chair, a pointed wizard's hat wobbling on her head. "Halt, mortal! What dost thou seek--eth? Within my magical realm?" She brandished, swinging the rolled-up newspaper in one hand as her staff.

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