He looked up at her curiously before closing the notebook. "Plans," he explained idly, shrugging slightly. "We can't stay here forever; it isn't fair. I'm just exploring some possibilities. What are you doing?" * * * "Huh. Good thing I am 100% enthusiastic," he shot back, pulling the sheet onto the clothespins with a practiced hand. "I would want nothing more than to do this." * * * "Dion?" Aisling croaked weakly, knocking on the door on her side. "Is that you?" * * * She opened it and her eyes rested upon the tools with something close to adoration. "Oh, bless you. Okay. Okay, okay, okay. This is gonna be good. I'm going to fix everything in this house." She closed it and looked up at him. "Wanna come?"
She shrugged, pursing her lips as she sat back down. *** "How sweet," she teased, rolling her eyes slightly. "I didn't know you were so keen to help do chores. Is this your way of repaying me?" *** He laughed, putting an ear to the door. "Aisling? What are you doing in there?" *** "You seem.. excited," he commented flatly. "Sure, I'll come with."
"Are you bored?" he asked pointedly, leaning back in his chair. "You seem bored." * * * "Repaying you?" he replied indignantly, looking over at her playfully. He bent over and grabbed another sheet, moving to hang it up. "For what?" * * * "I got stuck," he would hear her reply. "Please help. I'm kinda panicking." She knocked on the door rapidly. "I get claustrophobic. Please hurry." * * * She nodded, pulling her hair into a bun before giving herself an excited little shake, heading off to the bathroom.
She shrugged, leaning against the wall as she observed him. *** She looked up at him, her expression somewhat serious as she hung up a shirt. "Helping your clan." *** He went to open the door, pressing himself against it to open it with a frown. *** He followed, a bit curious to see what would happen.
He nodded sagely, leaning back against the bedframe. "Yeah, you're bored. What do you do around here, anyway?" * * * "That's fair," he said with a nod. "But I also helped you out of a trap. Maybe I'm just being a nice person." * * * The door screeched open and Aisling hurried into the sunlight, looking panicked. "Jesus. Thanks, Dion. *squee!*. I hate that." * * * She got to the bathroom and took a deep breath. "Okay. Okay." She set the toolbox down and set to work. She moved so fast, it almost seemed like she was just walking around, checking various faucets and spouts. Only the squeak of the wrench indicated that she was working. The shower stopped leaking and so did the sink. The lock on the window was screwed back in and she tipped her head back, looking up at the light. "It's about to go out. Do you have a ladder?"
She brightened, standing up and gesturing him to follow with a dash of excitement. *** "Psh.. Not possible," she said sarcastically, "not here." *** He returned, putting a rock between the door and frame, stopping it. He stood up and looked back at her. "It's a rule to have a door stop if you explore by yourself in the city. You never know." *** He leaned against the door frame, watching her go back and forth with his arms crossed. "Wow.. Er.. No, I don't. You can get on my shoulders if you want," he added teasingly.
He raised an eyebrow in confusion before following, leaving his notebook on his bed and crossing his arms. * * * "Not here?" he asked with a small laugh. "What does that mean? Is there no room for niceties in the city?" * * * She glowered at him, but relented, looking down at the doorstop with a look of disdain. "Doors don't lock in the woods," she said resentfully. "They've mostly rotted away anyway." * * * She raised an eyebrow, glancing over her shoulder at him with almost a playful look on her face. "I might take you up on that," she said thoughtfully, looking back up at the light. "Wait one moment, though." She went over to the shower and pulled down the curtain rod. She slipped the curtain off of the rod and stretched it out, jamming it between the two walls of the bathroom. After hanging on it for a moment to test its strength, she pulled herself up, straddling it and reaching up to change the light with ease.
She led him to the last floor before the roof, taking him into a room. The walls reflected green from the plants inside. It was a garden, a hole in the roof allowing plenty of sunlight for them to grow. There were herbs and fruits, a few flowers here and there. *** "Exactly," she said matter-of-factly. "Else you won't survive." She was quiet for a moment before looking over at him with a raised eyebrow. "So is it true you were in a working car?" *** "You'll learn from your mistakes then," he said simply, going along his way again. "Doorstops, for one." *** She looked up with a frown, though it seemed like a worried frown more than anything. "Be careful.."
His tense demeanor relaxed as he looked around, running a hand through his hair slowly as the sun hit his face. He exhaled before looking down at her. "Mallory, you have a green thumb." * * * He glanced at her, raising one eyebrow. "Yes. Lucy is quite the mastermind with machinery. You should see her in action, Blaise. It's kind of amazing. Have you never ridden in a car before?" * * * She raised an eyebrow, leaning against the wall. "Are you with the clan?" she asked after a moment. "Or what?" * * * "It's alright," she said with a frown, biting her tongue. "I'm almost done here... Could you pass me the screwdriver?"
She looked up at him, noticing he relaxed. She grinned, going further into the room and picking out a small tomato that looked ripe before offering it to him. *** She shook her head, looking out at the city. "No, the thought hadn't even crossed my mind because I know it's something I could never do." *** He looked back at her, looking slightly confused. "What do you mean?" *** He nodded, grabbing it and holding it up to her patiently.
He considered it for a moment before his gaze flickered back to hers. "My apologies, but I don't eat things from other people. You understand. You may certainly indulge, though. It looks very good." * * * "I'm sure Lucy would be happy to work on another one," he said earnestly. "I could take you." * * * "You don't sleep in the quarters with everyone else," she said, frowning thoughtfully. "You just come and go as you please." * * * She took it from him and returned the light screen to its place. "Thank you! We did it!"
She frowned, but held onto it, starting back to the exit without explanation. *** She gave him a small smile. "That sounds nice and I appreciate it, but.. I wouldn't want to take anyone's time like that. Driving in the city can attract some bad attention." *** He frowned. "They're my family, but I'm not permitted to stick around. I just help out there. We should probably head back anyways. I'd like to feed the chickens." *** He nodded slowly, looking at her handiwork. "So.. how pristine was your old camp?"
He looked confused, tilting his head. "Mallory?" he asked, sounding uncertain if she wanted him to follow. * * * "Well... we could drive in the woods," he suggested. "Away from the city. What do you think?" * * * She looked genuinely interested, raising one eyebrow. "Chickens?" * * * She paused, looking over at him as she returned the curtain rod to its previous spot. "Pristine? That's a weird adjective to use. Why?"
She looked back at him curiously, before holding out the tomato again. *** She laughed, pinning up a sheet. "I think it would be fun." *** He nodded, taking a type of sun hat from around his neck and putting it on his head, shading his eyes. "Chickens." *** "Well, yeah," he said, sounding confused. "Everything must have worked."
He held up a hand, shaking his head again. "No, thank you. Are you alright?" * * * He brightened, looking over the sheet at her. "You do?" he asked, tilting his head. "You wouldn't be too nervous?" * * * "Can I see?" she asked after a moment, sounding a little embarrassed. "Could you show me the chickens?" * * * "Oh," she said, a little bashfully, looking down at the ground. "Yes. It's like an itch, you know? You see something that needs fixing and you can see how, and you know what tools you would use, and you do it and it's perfect and you fixed it. It's wonderful."
She looked confused before nodding and continuing on her way. *** She nodded. "I would like to. Besides, I'd only be a little nervous." *** "Sure," he replied easily, statting off. "They're at camp." *** He raised an eyebrow at her. "I.. see."
He frowned at her back, looking confused for a moment. His face hardened as she left and he headed towards the stairs, folding his arms defensively. * * * "Aisling is the driver in our group, so she'd come with," he said thoughtfully, scratching his jaw idly. "That'd be fun, I think. You know Aisling, right?" * * * "How have I not seen them yet?" she asked indignantly. "I thought I explored everything the first day." * * * She flushed in embarrassment, shaking her head and looking towards the ground. "Sorry. I forget sometimes."
She went to the kitchen, putting the tomato in the basket to be prepared for food before turning back to the stairs. *** "Not well," she admitted, rubbing her arm. "You're the only I've really met." *** "There's a building next door that's been mostly demolished. We keep the animals in there because of the grass and sunlight." *** "What do you forget?" he asked curiously.
Emerson had left, returning to the room and reopening his notebook, beginning to plan once more. * * * He looked surprised, looking down at her. He really was quite tall, his head blocking out the sun as he pursed his lips. "Really? I'm surprised. You don't know Aisling?" * * * "Animals?" she asked, curiosity alighting her eyes. "As in more than one species?" * * * "Other people aren't as excited about this kind of thing," she said with a small shrug.
Rory peeked into the room curiously, a small frown crossing her face before she pulled away from the door, leaving him alone. *** She looked up at him, her brows furrowed. "Maybe I'll get a better chance to meet people at dinnertime. That's when we're all together." *** "Well, sure," he replied idly, glancing over at her. "There's chickens, pigs.. One goat, if I recall. And the dog, of course." *** "I appreciate when someone is interested in something," he told her, crossing his arms. "It's identity."
