#deadmans-flush

Fear. My God, the fear. The heart stopping, blood freezing, breath taking fear. It shrunk her down and curled her up, scared prey facing off against the apex predator. She knew what she did was wrong, and felt the burn of hatred and shame. He had every right to yell at her, to be angry with her, to hate her. And she was about to take it. Her hands went up, defensively, in front of her face and neck -- the fear of him enacting the same abuse on her as her father once did controlled her rigid body like puppetry.

Yet, from behind those shaking hands, a hiss of a voice scratched out of her sternum and up her throat, escaping like ice through her lips before she could stop it.

"You had it comin'."

It was horrifying, hearing herself say those words, but the stubborn fighter in her felt she stood in the right; he had hurt her first. An eye for an eye. He almost killed her with a push -- she would kill him in the same manner. It was like the slightest part of her mind that still held contempt and uncontrollable fire was taking the wheel; the piece of her that hated him, wanted him dead, was going to tell him as much.

"Consider it karma for nearly killin' me when we were crossin' the ravine. You're lucky we were a few feet off from a real drop, 'cause I woulda dragged your sorry ass with me. And if the fall didn't kill you, my bare hands would've."

Venom soaked words, accompanied by her twitching fingers curling into a steady fist as her arms slowly uncovered her face, expression burning with a fire she hadn't shown Nick since the day she had nearly put a bullet between his eyes.

Maybe it was all starting to come out because she didn't feel the need to impress him anymore -- he was undeserving of her attention and time, in her opinion. He had done nothing to show her he wanted to make amends, and felt she had no obligation to repair the shattered pieces of their former bond. She had made her peace when she left it all and became who she was -- and he was gonna know that, one way or another.

Franciswanted, very badly, to protest. He didn’t trust this new guy,especially not to patch his wounds. Besides, it wasn’t like the mostrecent meet up with a horde had really helped his mood. Reaching thesafe-house had been one less worry on his shoulders, of course, butthat didn’t help a lot in the long run.

He flinched, as a layer of bandage touched an open wound.

 “Yousure you know what you’re doin’, suit?” he asked tensely, visiblyunhappy with the situation.

Helookedlike he knew his stuff, and he hadn’t killed Francis yet. He had toat least give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, he hadsurvived this long, so that had to count for something.

ain't enough air for us -- accepting

Of course, it was a harmless joke. A prank. Right? Right?

Well, it started out that way. A small lake, nothing really deep. Just a fun little bit of payback. After all, he started it when he knocked her over into a small ravine. Poked by a bunch of needles and scraped up by the rocks, it left her slightly limping, and in a lot more pain than that little tumble was worth. So, it was only fair that he get banged up too. Serve as punishment and even out the playing field.

It was one little push.

It was one little push.

Those 5 words echoed in her head as she kept her hands on Nick's shoulders, holding him down. She wasn't even completely aware she was doing it -- her mind was stuck on repeat as she watched him sink into the depths below. The horror dawned on her as she realized it was much deeper than either of them had truly anticipated; but, rather than drag him up, she forced him further down. In a way, it mirrored the torture inflicted on her as a teenager -- being kept beneath the water, fighting for her life as her consciousness slipped away. She wasn't letting go, only pressing her weight down more, until she felt herself slide down and get a face full of water. The sensation snapped her back and she panicked, wrapping her arms underneath his and yanking him up as hard as she could. She succeeded, and skittered back, awaiting the rage she had become acquainted with during her travels with Nick.

break me open and see what you can find -- accepting

🙉 : what are two (2) things make my muse uncomfortable in conversation?

"2 things that make me uncomfortable in conversation, huh? Hmm.."

There's a number of things that make her change the topic during chats with her fellow survivors, but she hadn't thought about it like this. Uncomfortable? What could she say? Her thumb begins to move against her jawline in a back and forth motion -- a tic of her deep thinking.

"I guess when people ask about my past. Happens more often than ya'd think! Just can't keep their noses outta my business. Who cares about who I was? What matters is who I am in the here and now."

"I think the other thing relates to the whole past thing -- when my skeletons come outta the closet. The ghosts come back. My demons make their return. I leave things behind because it's what's best for me. I don't appreciate them comin' back."

🙈 : what's my muse's biggest blind spot?

"Only blind spot I have is the one that's about an inch away from my face! Proven fact, all uninfected people have one -- it's legitimately a spot in your vision your eyes cannot see. So, it's up to your brain to fill that in. Mine might as well be 2 feet in fronta me, considerin' how many walls I run into."

( Don't believe her. Her blind spot is her paranoia. She doesn't realize how panicked she gets or how overly prepared she is until someone points it out to her. )

🙊 : what would my muse say their biggest flaw is?

"Me? Flawed? You're kidding!" Laughing quite loudly, Ares shakes her head in disbelief. How could anyone think something's wrong with her? "I don't have any flaws! I'm damn near perfect!"

Of course, all superficial. She knows how messed up she is -- she's just tired of having that thrown in her face.

get ready for a little dirt! — accepting

The duo had been trapped in the rain, and the weather finally came to pass, allowing them a clear path and walkable ground.

Or, so they thought.

The moment they stepped out, it became apparent to Ares that the dirt had turned to into a squishy mess. This didn’t bother her, but she knew it bothered Nick, and felt a little mischievous. She kept her eyes low, aware Nick wouldn’t really be able to see her gaze behind her sunglasses. Watching, waiting for the right spot with a good amount of mud before she makes her move. She finally spots one, and smirks to herself. 

All 4 are major leaders in the new society. Busy people. Social time is limited, if any at all

Anytime people come back dead, Bill in the first informed outside of recovery teams. He prepares the recruits for their new posts.

Poppy is constantly coming back injured

Prim is also returning home, injured every time

Prim comes home and locks herself up to deal with her work (which is a lot) and won’t leave her office for days on end

Nick is usually extremely busy running the hospital, but will absolutely leave if he can to drag Prim away from her work so she doesn’t die because she doesn’t take care of herself

Prim and Nick are married, though that may not be public knowledge

Poppy is the only person who knows about certain things Prim does behind closed doors and is trusted to know when Prim cuts through the red tape to get what she wants

When the day comes that Bill passes, his second fills in for him as leader of the infantry, but sticks to what Bill left behind, showing Bill’s effective rules and teachings

Despite Nick’s injuries, he’s still managed to be one of the best snipers the militia has ever had (fact brought to you by Cabot)

Should Prim pass away too soon, she leaves her post as Commander to Poppy rather than any of her generals or even her second because Prim doesn’t trust them to do as she has done. She trusts Poppy to continue her work.

Prim leaves murals all over the place because it does a lot to boost morale

Bill and Nick are left in charge of things while the girls are out doing their work

Prim is the one who is away from home the longest --- she leads the biggest runs back into the world, and so she has to be gone for long periods of time

Surprisingly, this doesn’t fully strain Prim and Nick’s relationship.

Nick has the authority to call off runs and scavenges. As does Bill.