Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[BurningWillows]

She bit her lip, looking up at him when he said it. What did she say? She'd only realized days ago that she even like him.

"I know," she whispered, kissing his chest and closing her eyes, "You should rest till dinner sweetheart."

 

[Risky]

Andrew knits his eyebrows together, feeling a little hurt that she can't say those three words back to him. He nods to her before closing his eyes, trying to get some rest out of the day.

He wakes up to the smell of cooking, his eyes flutter open, his tongue tracing his lips to prevent them from drying too much.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris had stayed curled into him, even when Dakota returned to check on them. When he woke, he woke to her smiling up at him, happy he was alright.

"Dinner's in ten baby. Vanessa and Dakota are back and packing."

 

[Risky]

Andrew smiles at her, his head nuzzling against hers before yawning. He presses his lips against hers for a moment before nodding.

"That's good, we'll be out of here by morning, right?" He asks, as if having completely forgotten about their conversation earlier.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Before morning," she corrected, "Dakota and I are starting to think your plan is better. We will eat, get a few hours of sleep and leave before dawn, to make entirely sure Collin can't touch you again. It's safer for them and for us. No one wants either of you to get hurt."

 

[Risky]

Andrew nods before closing his eyes again. "Thanks for everything you're doing.." He says to her quietly, pulling her against him tightly as he slips into sleep again.

 

[BurningWillows]

Ten minutes later she wakes him up for dinner, pulling him from the room towards the kitchen. The other three are already there and the table is set, leaving Andrew and Iris to just sit down.

"It looks delicious Mrs. Miller," Iris smiles, staring at the casserole on the table, "You said it was Andy's favorite?"

"Andy and mine," Dakota grinned, "There was a lot of things we loved together - a twin thing. Mom's cooking was one of them."

 

[Risky]

Andrew wakes and walks into the main room, sitting at the table before immediately eating, having gained an appetite from sleeping so much.

He nods to the conversation, Dakota and him had enjoyed a lot of similiar things when they were younger, mom's cooking being one of them.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris steals the spot beside Andy so that Dakota sits on her other side, with Vanessa and Serena stealing the last two. As everyone digs in Iris pipes up, "So any plans on WHERE we should go?"

 

[Risky]

"Well, we have two options as of now.. North to Canada, or west to see if the UN made it past the Mississippi River, because if they didn't that'll be our honefront." He explains. "And Canada wasn't really involved in the whole ordeal, so its obviously safe."

 

[BurningWillows]

"West may be best," Iris held Andrew's hand under the table, "If Canada is excepting Americans, its as refuge's. We'd be cramped with hundreds of people. We'll be of more use out west."

 

[Risky]

Andrew squeezes her hand reassuringly, a smile appearing on his face before he speaks. "West it is, then, I'm sure there's a bridge or something we can walk across to get across the Mississippi."

 

[BurningWillows]

Dakota nodded.

"And we know the route to get out. All we need is a set of wheels. The people at the border will recognize me too, so we should get across just fine."

 

[Risky]

Andrew~

He nods. "There's a car dealership not too far from here, lots of fueled up brand new cars that nobody really looked to when the looting started, we could get an off-roader and easily get across the border." He says.

 

[BurningWillows]

Dakota nods, "The only problem will be gas. The rebels get thiers from across the border, with some to spare for the trip back. All the stations in New York and around have guards stationed. We step near that and we are dead."

She ate her food for a few minutes, thinking about it while the other three chatted before lifting her head, "If I can get to a good vantage point, I can take the guards out. You'll all have to wait in the car, and it will be risky. If you take too long reinforcements are sure to show up, but if your too close to save time and I miss and hit the station? You'll all be fried. You'll have to wait a block or two back and race in the minute I'm done...then fuel up and meet me somewhere hidden."

 

[Risky]

Andrew~

Andrew nods as he listens to her speak. "We could also just walk around the dealership and siphon the gas from other cars." He says to her, his eyebrows raising at her. "It's really easy too."

 

[BurningWillows]

"Andy, what Dakota meant was whichever car we took would barely have any gas. Dealerships don't keep gas in every car, and I'm sure by now other people have gotten desperate enough to do what your suggesting. We won't have enough gas without any actual station to get out of the state."

 

[Risky]

Andrew grinds his teeth against the inside of his cheek before sighing. "I don't want to kill anymore.." He says softly, running his hands through his hair. "I'm done with war.. Fighting, I don't even want to hear gunshots anymore." He says softly.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris strokes his hand, knowing what he's feeling. But Dakota looks stubborn, her eyes turning steely, like she's ready to fight her case.

"You won't be doing anything more than driving and pumping in gas. You saw their message to the troops. They won't hesitate to kill. We can't hesitate either...not till we are safely behind American borders."

 

[Risky]

Andrew smiles a little when he feels Iris' hand against his own, though when he meets the agrivated gaze of his sister his mood darkens a little bit.

"You know, we're going to live with the burden of this for the rest of our lives, killing, and it's never going to stop unless we stop it." He says to her quietly. "Those soldiers don't want to be here, who says they're all bad?" He asks.

 

[BurningWillows]

"What did you think I'd be doing as a Ghost? Sitting around a camp fire, talking about our feelings with the enemy? This is the life I chose Andrew. The three of you will stay in the car, and I will deal with the soldiers. And no, they may not all be bad, but I can't give them the benefit of the doubt. Or I'd be dead already."

 

[Risky]

"Your senses will go numb if you keep with that attitude, not everybody outside of this door is an enemy, even our enemies sometimes aren't enemies, if we just siphon fuel we can leave without killing anybody.." He says to her pleadingly.

 

[BurningWillows]

Dakota shoved her chair back hard enough that it creaked and groaned, standing and taking her half finished meal.

"I'm not arguing about this. I'm done. We leave at 4 am."

She tossed her plate in the sink and stormed out, leaving the other four to awkwardly it around and eat. Iris focused on her food, not wanting to get into the middle of this fight. She couldn't pick either side anyways, not when she saw both their points.

 

[Risky]

Andrew finishes his food before getting up, his hand leaving Iris' while he walks into his room, closing the door behind him and sitting on his bed, his head in his hands.

He runs his hands through his hair before allowing his fingertips to graze the bruises that had been forming on his neck, the pain of everything seemingly crashing down on him at this given moment.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris finished her plate and helped Mrs. Miller clean the dishes, allowing Vanessa to tend to an angry Dakota. Andrew would probably want a few minutes of space, and it allowed Iris to do something mundane like chores to relieve stress. When all was done she did sneak off to his room, slipping in and closing the door.

"Andy...you know she's stubborn. Please don't be upset."

Sitting down she noticed the bruises on his neck and let out a low hissing sound, "That jerk."