Wildlands (rskde & BurningWillows)

[BurningWillows]

Dakota~

She looked back at him innocently as Vanessa snuck out.

"I never said anything, I only implied. But this is serious. We need to make sure she's safe."

 

[Risky]

Andrew nods, running a hand through his hair before walking out with her. "She probably went somewhere out of camp, we should sweep the perimeter first." He says to his sister.

 

[BurningWillows]

Dakota<

She nodded, following him into the hall and finding the group pooling out.

"Where's Iris?" Nicki asked, looking concerned.

"That's who we are looking for. Can you guys do a sweep of the encampment. Andy and me are going to look around the perimeter."

Iris~

Iris was indeed outside of grounds. She had fallen asleep on the roof and woke now, dirty and cold. Getting her sore body up she hobbled to the stairs and made her slow decent, and hour away from home.

Half an hour later she was running down the street for her life, her feet pounding the ground. She'd run into a group of people she thought were rebels, even called out to them. But they weren't, and they weren't UN either. They were the kind of people who stuck around to take advantage of the war and loot everything and everyone. Including her. And when she had taken off running they had laid chase, some of them even brandishing knives. Iris just prayed she could make it back to the camp before they caught up. She'd been an hour outside the rebel walls, meaning she had half an hour of running. God, she'd never run that much in her life.

Don't give up Iris. Dont let these bastards win. Cmon. Run. Run fast. Think of Dakota. She'll miss you if you end up dead. And Collin. And...and Andy...

 

[Risky]

Andrew walks around the perimeter with their small search party, hoping to find Iris not far from the walls, but to no avail, as they don't find her. Andrew begins to feel a sinking feeling in his stomach, where was she?

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris could barely breath, her legs felt like jello, and her stomach was in knots. But she had gotten away. She couldn't hear their footsteps anymore, and she prayed that meant she had lost them. Still she refused to stop running till she was safe. Sweat ran down her forehead, and she felt dizzy, but she pressed on, wanting to be safe. She didn't want to die, she wasn't ready to join her parents. They wouldn't like that. They would want her to continue living. She had come to that conclusion the night before, but it hit home now, how badly she wanted to keep living. How much she couldn't bear to lose the few people she had left.

She turned a corner and spotted the one face that made everything alright, that she could rely on. She couldn't even scream his name, her body fighting to stay balanced and not pass out. She just ran head first at him, wanting to launch herself into his arms, and know that everything would be alright.

 

[Risky]

He spots Iris and he calls out to the rest of the group, watching her run full speed, he knows something is up. "Hey hey, wha-" She crashes into him.

 

[BurningWillows]

Her arms wrap around his neck with ease, her body practically lunging at him as she uses his frame to slow her process. Iris' face buries into his neck without hesitation, her whole body shaking harshly in his arms. It's the pain building up inside her adding to her sore body, her lightheadedness, and the fear of having just run for a steady half hour from men hunting her with knives. She doesn't want to talk or explain, she just needs a minute to unwind, to know that after everything that had happened, her closest friend wasn't lost to her too.

 

[Risky]

He nearly stumbles back but his arms wrap around her, he pulls her into a small ruins, completely in privacy as he holds her tightly. "We were so worried.. I was worried." He says to her quietly, feeling her body shaking against his. "Are you okay?" He asks quietly.

 

[BurningWillows]

"N-no..." she squeaks out, wrapping her arms tighter around his neck, afraid he'd pull her away, "I just needed to get away...and then I fell asleep...and then I was on my way back...these men...with knives...they chased me...and I...I..."

She sniffled back the tears, obviously upset.

"Just hold me a little longer. Please Andy, don't let go."

 

[Risky]

He rests his head against hers, still unsure of what to think about their encounter yesterday. "Don't worry, I won't let go.." He says to her quietly. A part of him still aches from when she had run away which really hurt him, but now she's hugging him and he doesn't know what to think.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris just stood there on her tipy toes, hugging him fiercely as she caught her breath and her heart calmed, the sweat drying from her brow. Finally she pulled her head away, but kept her iron clad grip around his neck.

"All last night I spent thinking about my parents. About how I didn't know how to move on. And didn't think I could. I wasn't even sure I wanted to feel anything anymore, this grief hurts so badly Andrew. But those men...they put the fear of god in me, and I was so worried they'd catch up and kill me. That I wouldn't be able to come back to all of you."

And just like that her head leaned forward and she kissed him. Tentatively and sweet, nothing fueled by fear or lust. Just a sweet innocent kiss, like they were two school kids on a playground.

"I can't sort the mess in my head, but I know you've stuck around at my worst and at my best. The least I can do for you Andy is try...try and see where this goes."

She hesitated then, waiting to see if he would flip out at her, or if he'd caress her cheek and pull her in for another kiss like she was secretly hoping.

 

[Risky]

Andy feels her lips against his and he basically melts, his body whole heartedly groaning when she pulled away. He listens to her, his eyes locked with hers before she finishes and they are left staring into each other's eyes.

He closes his eyes and presses his lips to hers hesitantly, as if still afraid that she would back off and abandon him again, he leans his body into hers as he continues to kiss her.

 

[BurningWillows]

She kissed him more fervently, her fingers kneading the back of his neck as Iris kissed him, the adrenaline and fear coursing through her turning to heightened lust.

 

[Risky]

He sighs into the kiss, as if relieved that she is actually kissing him back. He breaks away,his forehead against hers. "I don't know what to say." He says with a laugh.

 

[BurningWillows]

"Don't ruin it with words," she sighed, kissing him heatedly again, "We...we should get out of here in case I'm still being followed. I won't feel safe till we are in the apartment."

She intertwined her fingers in his and pulled him along, knowing they only had a few more blocks to go. She wanted to lie down and sleep, exhausted from her running, but she needed to get them out of harm's way first.

 

[Risky]

Andrew laughs, knowing that he would be the one to mess things up like that. He blushes a little more when her fingers intertwine with his, and then he's being pulled back to the apartment under suspicion that she is still being followed.

He walks with her back to the apartment, avoiding Dakota and the rest of the group for a little while, deciding that if Iris decided to go to sleep or something he would give them a situation report.. Or he would just go on to Vanessa's handheld radio and explain the safety of Ms Winters over that.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris dragged them into the apartment, looking worse for wear.

"Give me ten, to clean up? I slept on a roof, I need soap."

She didn't ask where anyone was, instead stumbling to the bathroom and locking herself inside for a hasty shower. When she emerged she snuck into Dakota's room for clean clothes and dressing, before returning to the living room where she had left him.

"Would I sound crazy if I asked to borrow your bed? I'm exhausted. You can join, but I just need a nap."

 

[Risky]

He nods to her when she asks for ten minutes, understanding the situation she was in. He sits down on the couch's pullout bed, running a hand through his hair as he thinks.

The relationship between him and Iris had gone from best friends to unknown to secret lovers, and if history still proves correct, this didn't match two and two. For once Dakota is in what seems to be a dedicated relationship, which means that she would not try to intervene between their budding relationship. And as far as he knows there isn't another guy she likes.

He jumps a little when he hears the door open.. Had he really been thinking for that long? He looks up at her before nodding. "Of course." He says to her before walking with her to his room, watching her before speaking. "I'm gonna be right back." He says to her before walking out of the room. He walks into his sisters room, grabbing the handheld radio after sifting through Vanessa's bag before speaking into it. "Iris is back at the apartment, don't disturb her, she's faking a nap." Before turning it off and walking into his room again.

He lays down next to Iris, wrapping his arms around her before resting his head against hers, closing his eyes and starts to drift off.. He'd figure out the relationship thing later, for now his priorities are focused.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris began drifting off before he returned then curled into his arms, drifting even deeper into sleep. Hours later she woke with a start, and at first felt confused by the arms holding her. Than she realized, and that sudden sense of safety made her want to cry, only hours ago feeling absolutely alone in the world.

"Are you awake Andy?"

 

[Risky]

He hears her voice through his dreams.. His eyes flutter open and his eyes meet hers. "I am now.." He says softly, giving a small yawn afterwards.

"What's wrong?" He asks her, knitting his eyebrows together neatly as he notices the tears welling up in her eyes, almost as if she was going to cry.. But why? Wasn't she safe? Wasn't she happy... Did she have regrets?

That last thought sticks in his head.

 

[BurningWillows]

"My life is crumbling around me," she whispered, tears starting to streak her face, "I can't them being gone Andy. I just can't. And Blake...what he did...what he did to me..."

Her head buried into his chest, her body shaking with the pain built up in her heart.

 

[Risky]

He holds her tightly against him as she speaks, biting the inside of his cheek softly before starting to stroke her hair softly. "Iris, you've been through a lot and I completely understand.. Dakota said she would go out to look for our parents.. And then she takes us to some camp where we're expected to work and fight.. I'm here for you, anything you need I will do with every atom in my soul and body." He says to her quietly.

He rests his head against hers and closes his eyes, not liking it when she cries.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris nodded, kissing his chest, "I know it looks hard here, but she is...she is trying. And at least I have you and her still, right? And maybe you're parents...maybe they are alive."

Unlike mine...

A soft knock on the door startled her and Iris looked over her shoulder in time to see Dakota popping her head through, her body not visible behind the door.

"I thought I heard you two talking softly. Can I come in, I wanted to check on Iris."

She nodded and her best friend stepped in, but the tension was obvious. Iris still hadn't approached the subject of Dakota being gay, and Dakota seemed content to ignore the issue of keeping secrets from her best friend. As it was though, the tension was also built due to they had just been talking about the twin's parents, and Dakota's lack of finding them.

"I'm okay Dakota. Andrew been letting me vent."

"He's good like that," his sister grinned, "I just had to see for myself that you were in one piece. I was worried. Scared too; I can't lose any more of you. It's hard enough not knowing where everyone is and how we are going to survive this war. It harder thinking you may have just lost someone."

 

[Risky]

He nods. "She's definitely trying her best.. I just wonder if maybe they're dead.. And if they were, y'know, special military.. Then wouldn't it be better if they were dead? The UN isn't against torture.." He says quietly, closing his eyes as she kissed his chest.

He hears his sister come in, and immediately shoots her a look that asks her to leave them alone, as he is enjoying the moment and he never walks in when Dakota and Vanessa are doing their thing.

 

[BurningWillows]

Iris didn't register the interruption, more concerned with wiping her tears away then anything else.

"I overheard you two chatting about family. Andy, I never stopped looking for them. The trails simply ran cold. I will find them one day though, it's just taking a while."