We have to WALK? (DaftDeviant)

[Anonymous]

Simon Black's enthusiasm had dwindled.

Dwindled was too small a word. Rather, Simon Black was coming to regret his decision of hefting a rather heavy--and almost dead--pirate lord down south. What kind of idiotic plan was that? His enemy lay in Arca! If not for the issue of the Belial virus...

Damn it all. Why did he have all the worst luck? Misfortune followed him like a cloud, embracing him like an unwanted lover. Still...the prospect of finally finding that demon which he'd spent two...almost three years searching for...the prospect was scintillating.

Wind howled across the grassy plains. Serha was not a treacherous place, to be honest. It was just big, and dry. He'd scored them some supplies from a merchant caravan, but they had to ration their food. Even Simon wasn't exactly clear where they were going--he knew what direction to take, and what to look for...but how long, and how far...well, that was a bit of a mystery.

He looked over his shoulder at April.

April Vasquez. Goodness me, they do make them young. The poor thing shoudl have gone insane by now, if anything of this affair made sense. Her parents gone. Her life shattered. Kidnapped, nearly killed, and she had to see all...that...

He shook his head. Too young to have to deal with all this. Why, if he were still in a former life, she'd likely be a student. She probably hated history. She had the look of a spirited girl--no bookworm.

Of course, if this was as serious as he feared, she might be MAKING history--which was an irony in and of itself.

He spoke to her casually.

"How ya holding up?"

[Anonymous]

April was having quite the time dragged her feet. Each step was agonizing. Eventually though, after many hours of walking, she became numb to each step she took, numb to nearly everything. She just…walked. Her eyes stared dead ahead, and her mind continued to fall back to the events. She’d never sleep a peaceful night again. She’d never have a pleasant dream. She’d never forget what had happened.

Soon, she was snapped from her thoughts by the man’s voice, and she lifted her weary blue eyes to him. After blinking she attempted a smile, and it probably came out to be more of a grimace.

“I’m fine. How’s Crimson?� She asked, her voice crackling and she winced from the lack of use. The torn flesh of her shoulder had stopped bleeding, the blood clotting and drying to form a mess. She’d picked most of the dirt from her hair, but the blood seemed to die the blonde locks. The only part of her face that wasn’t dirty was where the tears had fallen earlier.

She hadn’t complained once the entire way. All she continued to think about was saving Crimson, and getting as far as possible from Arca. If they succeeded in doing both of those, then she would be happy, or, well, she’d keep her mouth shut.

[Anonymous]

"Oh, him? He's fine--bout as fine as you are. I may not be a mind-reader, but I'm an expert at smelling out bullshit. You havn't said a damn word this whole trip. You dont' sleep. It's been three days, you've maybed dozed an hours worth."

He shook his head, stopping and setting Crimson down gently.

"This isn't gonna get any easier. A girl your age needs to take care of her self."

[Anonymous]

April about nodded, before realizing saying Crimson was in about as good as shape as her wasn’t a good thing. She didn’t say anything, instead she turned her head down and stared at her feet and the front of her dirty and soiled dress. When he put Crimson down her eyes snapped up to make sure he was alright, before thinking of a way to get out of this conversation, and into a new. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened, didn’t want to talk about it with this man she didn’t know.

“I’m April.� She spoke out after a moment, and she took a step forward, extending a dirty and bloodied hand out to him, staring at him with those blank, blue eyes, waiting for him to take her hand in greeting.

[Anonymous]

He stared at her hand in wry amusement, not bothering to take it. A smile played on his lips, and he reached into his pocket and pulled out a new pack of cigarettes--along with their supplies, he'd managed to barter these off the merchants too.

"I believe you know my name. Cigarette?"

He offered the pack to her, smiling wryly. He'd put his sunglasses back on--April could see how messy and dishevled her face looked in their reflection. The noonday sun was beginning to sink. It would only get hotter before the freezing nights came. Simon had plotted a course that would take them near a lake--he said that a bath for all of them--Crimson too--may help their spirits.

Plus, sick people need fluids and to be cleaned.

[Anonymous]

April slowly dropped her hand after a brief moment of hesitation. She watched him as he grabbed a package, and she slowly shook her head when he offered her one of the sticks.

“N-no thank you Simon.� She whispered out, before catching sight of her reflection in the glasses he had placed on her face. She felt her cheeks turn red beneath the muck and blood, and she turned her head down, not look at him anymore.

“Can we keep going? I need to clean up. There has to be a lake, or pond, or something around here. I feel disgusting.� At least she was making an effort to slip some emotion into her words as she spoke, although each time she blinked images of Arca flashed in her mind. She swallowed heavily as she gave another attempted smile.

[Anonymous]

He sighed, lighting himself a cigarette and hefting Crimson up. He turned and resumed trudging across the dry grass, heading deeper south.

"So, tell me miss Vasquez, how did you come to get kidnapped by this here scallywag...in fact, maybe you should tell me your side of this twisted story. By the time you finish, we'll prolly be at the lake."

[Anonymous]

April took a step forward to make sure he lifted Crimson carefully, and after she was satisfied she took a step back from Simon, and then continued to follow him as they started walking. At his question, she shrugged her shoulders and knelt down to pick up a piece of grass, and began to tear it apart.

“I…I was buying a necklace from this old lady, and next thing I know this man is stumbling into me and I was out. I woke up gods know how many days later, and I was tied to a bed on a boat. He sent a letter to my parents and asked for my weight in gold, or he’d kill me. We…well…there wasn’t a response from my parents. But then there was an explosion in the city and I insisted we go back. That was after I found out about Crimson’s…illness. I, well, I found out, and then we went because I wanted to find my parents.� Her voice became soft and she lifted a hand to press her fingertips into the muscles in the back of her neck. “And we went to Arca. After that, well, nobody was alive. We went to this building…and it was empty. Then there was a…beast there, something, and, it killed Crimson, or I thought it killed Crimson but he was alive and then…� She waved her hands and laughed.

“Are we there yet?� She asked, staring at the dried grass, not even bothering to lift her eyes up anymore. It had gone from staring ahead with a dead gaze, to staring at her feet.

[Anonymous]

The blistering heat was catching up to them. Simon didn't like it at all. Likely meant that tomorrow would be a stormy day. The hours were ticking by, and it was evening by the time they reached the lake.

It wasn't a particularly impressive lake. A few gnarled trees encircled it, and many animals had come to drink and bathe themselves. Still, fresh, cool water was a refreshing sight. Simon, however, had an issue.

"Ok, one of us has to go and scout the area while the other bathes. I've no issues with seeing naked women, but you are...what...16? 17? Too young for my tastes, and unlike you, I sleep. So, I propose that you go see if you can find some more herbs for Crimson's wounds while I clean myself up. That gives you the rest of the night to take care of...whatever. Cleanliness and stuff. Savvy?"

[Anonymous]

April was slick with sweat by the time they finally reached the lake. She finally lifted her head up to look at the lake. It wasn’t anything beautiful, but at least there was water, and she could rest and get cleaned from this dried blood and dirt.

“20, I’m 20, thank you very much.� She grumbled out to him, before brushing her hair behind her shoulder as she heard his idea. After a moment she finally gave a nod.

“Okay, okay, I’ll be back later. Make sure he’s not laying on any sticks or anything.â€? She pointed towards him, and then Crimson, before she turned around and began to walk through the dried grass around the rim of the lake. She picked some interesting looking plants and flowers and what not, anything that looked like a helpful herb. Truthfully, she had no idea what sort of herb would help Crimson, but she figured that Simon might be able to pick a helpful herb from the clump she had gathered.  

She remained over on the other side of the lake for some time while Simon was getting cleaned up and doing whatever it was that he was doing. While she walked around on this side of the lake, the scratched at her face, flakes of dirt of blood falling down to the ground. Each time she blinked there was that flash of the city and she clenched her jaw a moment, before she tried to focus on the herbs and slowly made her way back to where the two men were.

[Anonymous]

The sun had set by the time she'd gotten an armful of herbs. The air was no longer hot--it was more lukewarm now.

Simon was laying out on a bed of threaded grass and leaves, snoring softly. He was clad in only his pants, his shirt and suit jacket folded up neatly behind him. He looked freshly bathed--his hair was damp, his chest had a glistening layer of water on it. Crimson lay a distance away, near a clump of trees. It was a quiet area, with some semblance of privacy.

Crimson was, as usual, covered by the only blanket they had. He shivered often in his sleep, but the heartening fact had been that most of the flesh had started growing back. A string of bandages covered up the rest of the wounds. It was rather quiet.

Well, at least nobody would spy on her.

[Anonymous]

April finally made her way back to the side of the lake where the two men were, and she noticed the both of them sleeping. She gave a soft smile, and after making sure Simon was asleep, moved over to Crimson where she set the herbs down. She separated them into groups that looked slightly alike, before pushing herself up to her feet, and walked over to the edge of the lake. After one more check to make sure the both of them were asleep, she slipped out of the dress, or more like, pried the crackling dress away from her body.

It took a lot of scrubbing to keep the blood and dirt from her skin, and she paid extra attention to her shoulder. The skin was torn and it looked horrible, but she was able to get all of the dirt and muck from the cuts. There was lots of wincing and hissing, but eventually it was just blood, nothing else.

When she had finished bathing, she turned her attention towards the dress sitting at the edge of the lake, and stared at it as she crossed her arms over her chest, her wet blonde hair hanging around her face in clean tendrils. After a moment, she grabbed the ruined dress with her hands, and dunked it into the water, cleaning it for the most part. After making sure it was clean…enough, she wrung it out best she could, and slipped it on. The cool air made the dress chilly, and she quickly moved over to the grass and curled up, resting her chin on her knees and shut her eyes. Freezing was one way to put it. If she was cold, the other two must have been cold. She peeled her eyelids open and turned to look at Crimson, if he was still asleep, just to make sure he was still breathing, and not shivering too badly.

“Crimson?� She would whisper loudly, to try and see if he was awake, or if he truly was asleep.

[Anonymous]

A weary voice, surprisingly, answered her.

"Wearing a wet dress is a bit unhealthy y'know. Could get sick."

A rough cough/laugh rose up from his prone body. His eyes were still closed, and his voice was very soft.

"Take it from me. Getting...ehe...*cough*...sick...is  not a fun...experience. Oh yeah, and you've got a rather inappropriate rip on the back of your dress. Don't want you to be showing off parts of your buttocks--regardless...*cough*...of how attractive it may or may not be, unless ye be awares of it,eh?"

He coughed again, chuckling still.

[Anonymous]

April jumped as she heard him, before moving closer to his body. She laughed and rested her cheek along her knee as she remained curled up.

“I won’t get sick.� She retorted back to him, her voice soft, before she heard him and her cheeks flushed red, turning her head so her forehead hit her knees.

“Well then, what do you suggest I do about it? There isn’t exactly a huge selection of dresses to pick from! I’ve got nothing to wear. Absolutely nothing aside from this dress.� She spoke back to him, before reaching out to grab one of the herbs, spinning it between her fingers.

“How are you? Really?� She asked after a moment, tucking a damp chunk of hair behind an ear, careful of her shoulder as she watched his form in the darkness, remaining curled up to ward off the cold.

[Anonymous]

"If you ask me, wearin't nothin' would not rise any real comp-*COUGH*-...plaints. How am I? Oh, swell enough. I mean, It don't hurt none. That simon guy slid enough Numb Root down me throat I'm surprised I can still feel anythin' at all."

He smiled softly.

"You look a lot older. Been seein' a world I wouldn't have wished on anybody. Keepin' it locked up real good too. If you don't let some 'o them emotions out, yer gonna explode or sommat. I ain't too keen on my memories at the moment...maybe you could enlighten me on how we come from a monster-infested city hall to some ideallic grassland?"

[Anonymous]

April scowled at him, although she wasn’t sure he could see in the dark.

“How about you keep thoughts like that to yourself. And be easy on your voice. We don’t need you coughing anymore than you already are. I…I think I have some more of that numb root, although I don’t know what it looks like. I’ve got nearly every herb on this earth in a pile right here.� She poked the top of the pile.

When she heard him, she turned her eyes away and stared ahead of herself out at the lake, resting her chin on her knees, her arms moving to wrap around her shins. She didn’t say anything for a long time, before she slowly shut her eyelids and shook her head.

“I don’t want to talk about it Crimson. I have to see it every single time I shut my eyes…I don’t want to talk about it anymore than I want to see it.� She whispered out, her damp hair falling forward to brush her cheek, causing her to shiver a moment, before she was able to gain control of herself once more.

[Anonymous]

A bandaged hand brushed the hair from her face. He was warm, despite the shivering, and unlike her, he was dry. The bandage soaked up some of the water clinging to her face. He grinned.

"Come now, no deck-swabber of mine is goin' ta chicken out on tellin' their capn a good tale or two. And I reckon anybody who'll stand up tae Crimson Iscariot like you ain't no lilly-livered swabby, now aincha?"

He coughed again, groaning softly, and his hand fell down slightly, brushing limply past her should and landing with a soft thump on the ground.

[Anonymous]

April tilted her head to the side slightly as she felt his bandaged hand along the side of her face, staring straight ahead, before she felt his hand drop back down, past her shoulder. She bit down onto her tongue to keep from wincing as his hand brushed the injured shoulder.

“If you put it like that, I’d feel pathetic for not saying anything.� She accused him, before sighing, tilting her head to look at him, resting the side of her head along her knees.

“Well…after you…died, or whatever you did, this man came, Simon. He took all of us through the city, and there was these kids and their eyes were gone, and this woman, and then there was this monster with hands and teeth. Then the city started to sink, and you started sinking into the ground. And then this…this horse…but a mechanical like horse came. And we went through the city over these heads with black necks, and, and there was a cliff. And this man on this spire, and my parents, and soldiers. Then…we just left. Simon said there was someone in the south that could help you, so we just took off and started walking here…and this is where we ended up…� Her hands dropped down, realizing that she had been wildly motioning. She curled into that ball once more, dropping her head to fall onto her knees.

“That’s about it.� She spoke out, her voice falling back to that whisper, and she stared at the lake, not turning to look at him or his reaction, if there was any.

[Anonymous]

There was a long pause. He coughed once, twice, three times, and let out a soft sigh, his hand moving up to rest on his head. He groaned softly, speaking.

"...you need to work on yer storytellin' ability. So...I take it Arca...is no more then?"

He didn't need an answer. He'd guessed at it for awhile yet. How or why wasn't a primary concern at the moment. What was bothering him, however, was...

"How you takin' it? How do you feel? You ain't said nothin' on that yet."

[Anonymous]

April listened to his coughs, and when he finished, she easily heard the sigh. She turned to look at him as he rested his hand on his head, before turning to look back out at the lake.

“Nope, no more Arca.� She sighed, shaking her head as she began to twirl a damp strand of blonde hair around her index finger. After a moment, she pulled her hand away and the hair spun free from her finger.

At his question about her, she began to run her fingers through the dried grass, staring at her knees as she slowly shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t say anything for a while.

“I’m fine. I’m not the one coughing every few minutes. It’s me who should be asking about you.� She pointed towards him and attempted another of those smiles, before realizing it wouldn’t look like a real smile, and looked away. At least it was dark outside, she had that working for her.