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After she had gotten what she needed, she was on her way back when her green eyes landed on him and his dog - or was it a wolf? It was enough to make Wanda stop in her tracks out of fear that his canine companion would attack her; and the first thing that came to mind was having that said confrontation. Wanda could have defended herself, sure, but here was outnumbered. Even 2 to 1, she didn't like the odds. Even if one was a canine.

She was relieved when nothing happened, and a civil conversation ensued. After getting an initial read and not sensing an immediate threat, Wanda made her offer sincerely. There was safety in numbers after all, and frankly there was a part of her that didn't want to be alone anymore - even if she was accustomed to it by now. And truth be told, if the situation was reversed and Wanda needed a safe place to stay, she'd wanna take the chance.

While her life had not been easy up to this point, it still hadn't taken away from her gentle nature and willingness to see the good in people. Of course, it also didn't mean that she wasn't wary of strangers or hadn't acquired a rough exterior due to being taken advantage of from others. She'd seen the worst of humanity before the world went to shit, and it was something that had only been amplified after the nuclear winter.

When he agrees, she allows a small smile. She knew all too well, given her own past experiences with strangers, that there was no reason to trust her but she hoped that would change in time. And this was a good start. ❝ It is not too far from here, ❞ she answers, her Sokovian accent heavy. ❝ It is just up the road, through the woods. I'm . . . I'm Wanda, by the way. ❞

Growing up in a world of privilege and luxury, it was difficult not to mourn the loss of it in the wake of society's downfall. Especially when Carol was constantly having to scrounge for her next meal, which was almost never satisfying considering it usually came out of a can or from a wrapper. She had definitely taken all those little things for granted and that was never more glaringly obvious than it was now in this ugly hellscape devoid of color and happiness. At least current company was pretty to look at though.

❝ Yeah? ❞ His tone carries genuine interest, albeit teamed with concern over what happened to make the arrangement so short-lived. Handing her one of his bottled waters and sitting beside her, brown hues study his long-lost friend. He's been doing that a lot since their paths had crossed again. Any moment, he's expecting to blink and see that she's gone - to discover this has all been some kind of hallucination on his part due to being alone all this time. After all, that's a hell of a lot more likely than the odds of this being a reality. Still, if it is, it's more than he could've ever hoped for in a world as void and devoid of hope as this. ❝ . . . Me too. Sort of. Back when it happened - in the fallout shelter. Didn't take long for people to get desperate. Then dangerous. ❞ Slowly he extends a hand, wrapping an arm around her shoulder comfortingly. Wow. She really is real. Really is here. ❝ What happened? ❞

The water bottle is taken, and it's a few greedy pulls before Ellie lowers it to catch her breath again. She felt like she'd been running, hiding for weeks. The reality was likely less than a couple of days, and more unlikely that anyone was still looking for her. Why would they, when the elements were like this?

She offered the bottle back to him, the back of her other hand pressing to her lips. "Same thing that always seems to happen," Ellie began softly, "Someone's in charge, someone else wants to be in charge, and then..." Her head shakes as she leans into him, and it's like a piece of her falls back into place.

The search for resources was only getting more difficult with most places she found along the way having already been picked clean by scavengers. As much as Barb had tried to stretch out her own to keep herself going long enough to restock, she used the last of them up a few days ago and now she was running completely on empty. She's not sure how much longer she can keep going like this; muscles cramping and her brain in a near complete fog. Stumbling out of the woods onto a deserted road, Barb slowly looks around to try gathering her surroundings and spots a store of some kind in the far distance, feeling a small trickle of hope return to her. She starts to make her way forward, her movements sluggish and clumsy as she fought against the dizziness that threatens to overtake her. She manages to make it about halfway before the exhaustion starts to win and her legs begin to give out from underneath her. Barb leans against an old abandoned car nearby for support, slowly slipping down onto the pavement to sit. Just for a minute...

Her eyes feel so heavy and it's a struggle to keep them open. She wants to cry, fearing for the end but knowing she is far too dehydrated to produce any tears. Resting her tired head against the car she's propped against, she can feel herself starting to lose consciousness as her eyelids droop but before it can completely drag her under, there's a press of cool metal against her chapped lips with instruction to drink as water is tipped into her mouth. Barb needs little more encouragement than that as she slowly swallows the first gulp, the wetness of it soothing the painful dryness of her mouth and throat. She quickly becomes a little more greedy as she's given renewed energy; eagerly gulping down bigger mouthfuls as she replenishes all that she has lost. The flask eventually runs dry to her disappointment and while she still didn't feel great, she did feel significantly better than before. The fog that had been clouding her head was mostly clear now and she is aware enough to be able to acknowledge her savior.

Even now, in a world of ash, fights boil down to the same thing: WHO IS TOP DOG? Before, when the world was green, becoming top dog established only petty things that left marks in school hallways and acclaimed make-out spots (Skull Rock, made popular by Steve Harrington!). Now, becoming top dog ensures survival. Steve's fist lands the first blow on stranger number one, and he springs from the balls of his feet to connect his fist into stranger number two. But it's number three who kicks him at the back of his knees, launching him onto the ground. Not a fair fight, but the world is not fair, either.

He'd been such a fool.

Desperate for companionship, he'd followed them to their camp... only for them to try and eat Frodo. How he'd managed to escape the camp he'd never know, but two of the men managed to track him down, and now he was sprinting through the dead woods, Frodo tucked against his chest. His lungs hurt. His muscles burned from the effort.

They'd been after him for nearly a full day now, and he hadn't rested beyond sitting briefly to catch his breath. They were dogged in their pursuit, and gaining on him. He didn't know where he was. Didn't know where to go, or how to avoid them. All he knew was the cat in his arms life depended on him.

They were close now though, and terror rang in his head as he realized he'd run himself into a corner. He'd backed himself against a ledge, breathing hard and shaking as he held Frodo. "Please," he pleaded. "You don't- you don't know what he is to me, please-"

The men laughed, hungry eyes at the ears peeking from the neck of the tatty yellow cardigan. They stepped closer, and in a rush of panic, he opened his sweater and scooped Frodo up. He tossed him up and over the high ledge. The men cursed as the cat scrambled up the rest of the way and ran off. He sighed with relief...

... until the men turned their ire on him, next. "You fucking- why?! He's meat! Do you have any idea how fucking long it's been since I had meat?!"

Eric trembled, stumbling back against the rocky ledge. "I d- I don't-" His heel hit a stone and he tripped back, landing on his ass with his back pressed against the rocks. The men raised their weapons and moved to charge, when something massive, snarling and snapping leapt between them. Eric's eyes went wide as they fell on the massive wolf- or, perhaps it was a dog?- as it growled and snapped it's teeth at the men.

He watched with confusion and fascination as the animal succeeded in frightening off the starved men. There may have been two of them, but their melee weapons would mean a brutal fight, and one they were likely to end up injured from. Their retreat made sense... the canine helping him, however, didn't.

Blue eyes blink against the dust that settles like soft powder across her face. It covers the freckles that dot her cheeks (a small taste of being buried alive). Something twists in her gut, triggering that claw-herself-the-hell-out instinct that is a constant in her life. Max drags her arm across her face, swift and defiant, and glares at the rubble that was, only mere seconds ago, their way out. She feels the distant rumble of debris beneath her feet and quickly corrects her stance, loosening her knees lest the floor give out beneath them.

It doesn't come... for now.

She flicks her gaze to watch the the other guy begin to pace, quiet and assessing in the way she follows him. Max is not sure of this guy, though he looks like someone she knows... someone trustworthy who is (was? she does not know) her friend. It makes her heart skip, whispering cautionary tales of what happens when she lets her guard down. But Max does not have a choice in the matter. He is all she has right now.

Eddie never thought he'd miss the chaos and annoyance of regular society but the absence of it was so much worse than he could have ever imagined. It's too quiet now and that really drives home just how dead the world has become. Even the crickets weren't chirping anymore. "Yeah. It's ominous, right? It's like you always have to be watching your back because you never know when something or someone might be lurking about..." He felt on edge just speaking about it as he briefly glances around the surrounding area to make sure there was no danger creeping along the edges of the trees.

The one silver-lining he had left in this dying world was that he wasn't alone. Eddie had been a lone wolf for a long time so finding a companion in Alex had made living in this hellscape easier the bear. Survival felt like less of a constant struggle having someone else he could rely on as well as to fill the unbearable silence.