[RP] Harmonia's Peacemakers - *Takes Defibrilator* CLEAR!

[blue_green]

She wiped away her tears and suddenly seemed angry again. She raised her hand as she grabbed Julius' wrist. "I'll be searching with Julius!" she called out energetically, speaking of surveying the area for supplies and other useful things. Before anyone could argue, she dragged him off, and she knew he wouldn't be able to argue either, her grip too strong for him to try to break.

Once she felt they were far enough away, she released him, turned to him and suddenly blurted, "I'm sorry." Her anger was gone, and she truely seemed appologetic as she rubbed her arm shyly. She avoided eye contact and preffered looking at the ground in shame. "I'm really sorry."  

[Xanatos Forever]

Julius put a hand over his face for a moment after Gaiathi slapped him, trying to regain his composure. This is exactly what I was supposed to avoid, he thought to himself with disgust, oh muma, poppa, I've brought disgrace to us...

Before he realized it, he felt himself being dragged away by an incredibly strong grip. He lowered his hand just as the hold was released and found himself facing a very different Tsuki. Her apology seemed genuine, and it made him feel all the worse for his outburst. "...It's alright," was he could muster to say to her, and before she could respond, turned and walked back towards Gaiathi, raising a hand to his face once more, this time to hide the red from his cheeks, burning with shame...

He heard Mauser trying to get the team back together, and with a soft sigh, he lowered his hand, his face clearing up. He fell in step with Gaiathi for a moment, head turned away from the girl. "The Peacemakers are my ideal," he mutters quietly, not looking at Gaiathi, both out of the shame of his actions, and his personal infatuation with the girl that he now insulted, "I did not mean to belittle their loss...I am sorry." With that he quickened his pace towards Mauser, returning to the same stoic, determined poise that he felt was the trademark of a true Peacemaker...  

[Thaliat Everwood]

Gaiathi blinked with surprise at the unexpected apology. She looked over at Julius, but found he would not look at her. Instead he started walking towards Mauser, though his demeanor had again returned to that of determination.

Gaiathi fell into step beside him and lightly tapped Julius on the shoulder. "I guess you aren't such a selfish cad after all."

Gaiathi offered him a grin, then wondered if her humor had perhaps sounded like a jab instead. She didn't want him to think of her as cruel and Gaiathi quickly stammered and apology. "I...I'm sorry I'd call you such before. And for slapping you, I think that really was not called for, regardless of how I felt."

Gaiathi blushed, feeling a little awkward. She respected and rather liked Julius, though she'd not openly admit it. The last thing she wanted was for him to think of her as another face in the crowd of Firsts that stared down on Seconds. She wanted to be better than that, even if she meant nothing else to him.  

[blue_green]

Tsuki lagged far behind, not even re-joining them untill at least five minutes after Julius, and even then staying a few yards behind them. She was the very essence of doom and gloom in that moment and you could almost litterally see a dark cloud floating over her head. She would occassionally glance up at the group, shooting them strange glares that were hard to read, not angry, not sad, not vengeful, and yet at the same time all of the above.  

[WiskersThCatfish]

Mauser curled his lip a little, looking intense. "You people are supposed to be soldiers! Buck up! Spread out and look for food. Preferably non-perishable. Things in jars and cans. Bread is best if it's fresh. Cheese is good as long as it's yellow. Any alcohol or honey is a must-take. Look for bedding too. Sheets, not comforters, and definitely no pillows." He paused to let the words sink in for them. "Scan, don't search; and hit up places that look like houses and shops first. If you can find easy to carry bags to put your findings in, grab them. Otherwise, grab a pillowcase or a tablecloth and wrap it all up. Items of interest are small bells, or match-sticks. We're leaving this town in twenty minutes, and going west. My guess is that it's that way..." He points in a direction relatively close to west, and then turns on his heel beginning over towards a cottage.  

[Sentama Lin]

Much of the village is in shambles. Some of the one-level houses were nothing more than a heap of logs while others were burned to ashes. In those houses little could be seen that would be useful, lest people lifted and cleared the logs away from the debris. Still, there were still a few houses that seemed intact enough to contain some materials the group may find useful.

Now that the turmoil of the situation has ceded, some more details of the bodies littered on the village grounds could be seen. Most of the ones that looked vicious, nails outgrown into claws, fangs bared, eyes totally blackened with evil, were shot by the bullets from Peacemaker guns. Other non-first-class-Harmonian victims also seemed to be shot, though their forms looked much more civil than the group's attackers. Some of the killed were women and children. Some were people dressed as farmers or other artisans. To help rebel against Harmonia had strict punishments for citizens who truly rebelled, one supposes.

The cottage Mauser approached was still whole, and looking inside one could find a mostly-stripped place. Clothing from the dressers were scattered on the floor, while some furniture was already broken. The cupboard doors were broken off, some dried fruits and pickled vegetables could be seen in jars. A single person bed was found with all the sheets and pillows still there, along with a crude leather backpack.  

[Thaliat Everwood]

"He's right about the supplies. We shouldn't spend too much longer here. I'll look in this direction." She gestured to the east side of the village and moved off in that direction. Gaiathi looked about for another cottage that wasn't completely destroyed and began making her way over to one that looked promising. It still stood upright and that was good enough. She hoped Mauser knew the way back to Harmonia. Gaiathi had never left the city's limits and felt rather lost now. She had seen her father's maps of the surrounding areas before, and could recall a lot of the areas depicted on them, even now, but she was not certain her memories of them would be enough to get them home. Shaking her head to push aside her concerns, Gaiathi pushed open the door to the cottage she selected.

Once inside she began looking for blankets and linens first as she's want to use them to bundle canned food and smaller supplies.  

[Sentama Lin]

Gaiathi's cottage was in similar condition to Mauser's. The house she entered was searched for items. The cupboard door was broken off and the dresser drawers were scattered on the floor. Little food was found in the cupboard: a few rolls of bread, still soft; a small bag of sugar; and some butter. A water skin sat near a broken dining room table.

The beds, for it seemed to be a house made for two, still had its linens and a messenger bag hung at the bedpost of one of the beds. A book was kept on a small table near the beds and sat next to a quill and a spilled inkwell. The ink dripped from the table to the ground, and it looks like some of the pages of the book absorbed the flooded ink.

On a windowsill sat a window planter of labelled herbs: chamomile, prevent infection; dandelion, for inflammation; comfrey, for wounds. Many pieces of cloth, torn into long 1-inch-width strands, laid on a table next to the herbs.  

[Xanatos Forever]

Julius said nothing to the group as they went their separate ways to search. If they didn't realize they already had something better than any map, it was their loss for the time being. He knew it was selfish thinking, but despite his demeanor, he was deeply embittered by the events they had all been a part of. Mauser is right, though, the wonder child thought to himself as he made a beeline for one of the burnt down structures, we're soldiers now...and there are important matters at hand...

It didn't matter that the building was a smoldering ruin, he'd visited it enough back then to know it was the home of his friend Shelly. She had been interesting character, always enthusiastic, but at the same time, almost uncontrollably paranoid. He remembered how she had said she'd dug herself a bunker. "For when those First Class bastards decide to rape and plunder us again," she had said, and Jules only took it as a natural enmity towards what to her must have been her conquerors.

Let's see just how serious she was, he thought to himself, knocking aside litter and debris, scouring the floor for sign of some type of hidden entrance...  

[Sentama Lin]

Underneath the debris cleared was definitely a small hidden door, one that looked like it could've been covered by a carpet or some other furniture. To further add to the situation, the floor near the door seemed to be clawed, as if someone was dragged away from the spot.

When one entered the opening one could see a small cellar-like chamber. It held a few bottles of fruit wine and some more preserved sundries and two medical kits of linen bandages and a satchel of herbs labeled "Chamomile, Dandelion, and Comfrey; Apply On Injuries And Wrap."

A set of sleeping bags, enough for two families, were also in the corner, gathering dust, as if untouched by the ages. Water was also available in a barrel, though its label stated that it hasn't been changed for a year, making it questionable to drink.

Shelley resembled the Sierra the group fought, though so far no other corpse or person has been seen to share her semblance.  

[Thaliat Everwood]

Gaiathi smiled at the luck of finding the bag, which she quickly slung over her shoulder. She grabbed the book and stowed it in the bag, leaving the inkwell and quill. Quickly she rolled up the bed linens and tuck them under her arm. Moving to the kitchen, Gaiathi choose to take the rolls and the water skin. Finally she moved to the windowsill and pulled up the herbs. These she wrapped in the strips of cloth and tucked the bundle carefully in the bag.

Glancing about once more and finding little of interest, Gaiathi took her leave of the cottage. She decided to look for Julius for she recalled him saying how he knew people from this area. To Gaiathi that meant he had spent enough time in this area to possibly know the way back to Harmonia. If that were indeed correct, he would be the best one in the group to advise them of the route to take, and she wanted to ask him if her summation was correct. He would also then know how many days they could expect to travel.

"Damn, if it weren't for the risk of stray vampires still in the area, I'd suggest waiting until Harmonia sent another group of Peacemakers to find us...I really hope we aren't too many days away."  

[blue_green]

Tsuki was drawn to searching a more damaged building, for whatever reason that seemed to posses her. Only after entering did she realize that she wasn't likely to find anything, though she did a brief search anyways, since she was already there. There was more damage, but it wasn't any problem to move any heavy debree with her strength.  

[Sentama Lin]

The building Tsuki searched was quite trashed. The bedding and sheets were already burnt and unusable and the cupboard sundries lay scattered on the ground. Still, a small backpack could be seen, and it seemed in adequate condition.

The group left at early morning for the examinations and, the battle being finished, the sun began it's wayward descent into the west. It wasn't quite dark yet, but those warm shades of oranges were beginning to tinge the sky, and a few stars began to twinkle prematurely.  

[Thaliat Everwood]

Gaiathi, unsure of where Julius had gone, glanced about a moment longer before cupping her hands around her mouth. "Julius?"

As she waited to see if he would bother to respond, Gaiathi took note of the late hour by the colors playing off the clouds above. "We need to go soon. I really don't want to be here after dark."

She glanced about again, still not sighting Julius. With a frustrated sigh, Gaiathi hefted her bundles once more, instead heading to the cottage she had last seen Mauser walking towards.  

[blue_green]

She grabbed the bag, then left, finding nothing else. Unsatisfied with the results of her search, she walked to another cabin nearby, ignoring Gaiathi's call for Julius since it didn't concern her. She barely even noticed that it was getting dark, hardly knowing the difference between night and day because her determination often led her to late nights of working on some project or another. She seemed a lot calmer now than before, focusing on the task at hand helping to distract her from her own thoughts and concerns.