Roleplay

There was a long, uncertain pause.

“I’m sure I’ll come up with something for you to do,” Ponytail said eventually. "Or maybe something for you to give me. For now, though, let’s just get moving."

Brick grimaced but said nothing. He stuck a hand down his jacket pocket, running his fingers over the knife there reassuringly. If Ponytail got any creepier than vague half-comments about Brick doing things for him and giving things to him, the guy was definitely getting stabbed.

Ponytail started forward, talking about how his place was close, but stopped with an "Oh," of realization.

"The name’s Raymond, by the way," he said, pointing to himself.

He started walking again. Leg Lady fell into step, though she kept her distance, and nodded thoughtfully. Brick trailed behind them, close enough to hear but out of arms' reach. He mouthed Raymond to himself, looking up at Ponytail. The name suited him, Brick guessed, in that weird way most everybody's names suited them.

While rooting through her bag, Leg Lady said, "I'm Sabbinth, though people usually butcher my name for an easier nickname."

Brick skittered back automatically when she suddenly pulled a boxcutter on them, thoughts rapidly descending into a confused tangle of swear words - but all she did was stab a hole in her can of energy drink and guzzle like a professional frat guy. She popped the tab, finished it off, and tossed the empty can aside.

Why hadn't she just popped the tab from the start? God. Brick gritted his teeth and shook the adrenaline jitters out of his hands, kicking the can down a nearby alley. There was a pink-dyed camouflage sleeping bag nestled beneath the dumpster lid - propped open against the alley wall to function as a makeshift ceiling - that he'd recognized; she wasn't around, but the girl who slept there collected empty cans to turn in for cash. She'd be glad to make a few more cents.

"What about you kid?" Leg Lady - Sabbinth - called.

Brick refocused on her just in time to catch the tail end of the glance she tossed back at him. It wasn't exactly friendly, but it wasn't hostile, either, or even vaguely annoyed. It was just...there.

"I'm Brick," he said to them both. Then, to Raymond specifically, "What's your place look like?"

He was done trying to pry the price of his stay out of the guy. Either he'd find out and he'd pay it or he'd find out and he'd run very, very fast, maybe with a little bit of stabby action thrown in if he had time. Whatever. For now he was willing to tentatively believe they weren't gonna murder him horribly or chloroform him into a weak little puddle of idiot kidnapping victim.

It'd have to be enough.

It was always weird to put names to stranger’s faces: Sabbinth and Brick. Not too hard to remember, at least, and it gave them a little more familiarity. Hopefully, he was making the right choice bringing these two into his home. And hopefully, no one else thought he was opening his apartment for just anybody to waltz in; he didn’t want any of the other people in the building taking their presence as an invite.

Raymond glanced back at Brick when he asked about his apartment with an apologetic look. “Well, it used to be nice,” he said with a sigh. “But since... all this started happening- the neighbors aren’t what they used to be, and my own apartment has pretty much gone to sh*t. I admit, there’s been a few break-ins, but none for a week or two now, so we should be fine. I still have the key, so at least it locks. That’s more than can be said for the other... uh, ‘tenants.’”

He pulled his keys from his pocket and twirled them on his finger to emphasize the point. “Actually, I might have you help me clean it up a bit. I haven’t really had the time to do so since-“ He paused for a moment. Really, he hadn’t bothered taking care of the apartment since his friends had gone missing. He had been out nearly every day and every night looking for them until he finally started to lose hope. “Well, my point is we have to find the other two mattresses. They’re there somewhere.”

Sabbinth makes a small grimace whenever Raymond mentions cleaning. It wasn't so much the idea of cleaning, after all, that was the least that she could do considering he was giving her a safe place to sleep for the first time in several days. However, whenever he mentions having to find his spare mattresses, that was a cause for concern. How dirty was this place? She didn't know if she was going to have the energy to deep clean a stranger's home.

"How charming." She mutters, before catching herself. It wasn't fair to be rude, especially if he was being hospitable like this. Sabbinth really needed the rest, enough so that she couldn't burn any bridges with Raymond until her energy was back to normal.

"I'm sure cleaning will be fine." She says quickly before going on to ask a few questions herself. "Do you having working water? I know that some of the water systems have shut down and it's getting harder to get working facilities, especially with the power being out."

God she hoped his water worked. It would be wonderful to crawl up under a shower, maybe even wash some of her clothes. The girl was beginning to run out of clean garments.

the sun would begin to set soon. Drake had put on a costume he made a while ago before all this. black trousers and undershirt with leather gloves, boots and coat for protection. the rapier's blade shined in the light of the sun before being thrust home to the scabbard on his belt. now he just had to wait for night to fall.

Brick listened as Raymond spoke, stripping the actual information from all the confusing verbal tiptoeing. Something had happened to his apartment complex because of the weird stuff that'd been happening - probably they couldn't afford to keep everything going for one reason or another so the people either left or stayed as squatters, and more people heard about it, and some people left, and so on as it went - and his apartment was probably going to become the nastiest place Brick had ever slept. Which was saying a lot.

How do you lose two mattresses? Brick's nose wrinkled. He opened his mouth to ask why the h*ll he should clean some old guy's junky place (which had already been successfully broken into several times anyway) when there were apparently a bunch of apartments sitting empty a few steps away, but Sabbinth grumbled unhappily from in front of him before he got the chance.

"I'm sure cleaning will be fine. Do you having working water? I know that some of the water systems have shut down and it's getting harder to get working facilities, especially with the power being out," she hurried to say.

Brick's teeth clacked audibly with how fast he closed his mouth, not daring to actually hope Raymond had running water but imagining it regardless. Showering with soap, warm water, drying himself off with a towel, getting into clean clothes...brushing his teeth...washing his hands before eating.

He suddenly wanted it so bad it ached. The thought of scrubbing down with a cold washcloth in the public library sinks, one section at a time, and immediately putting his smelly clothes back on - so familiar and easy a moment ago - suddenly chafed. He hadn't even considered that the man might have power. It was a heady thought.

Ah, man, if he hadn't been hoping before then he definitely was now.

Brick braced himself for disappointment but still turned wide eyes to the back of Raymond's ponytailed head, waiting eagerly for his response.

Ray shrugged his shoulders at Sabbinth’s comment. “Hey, it’s better than nothing. My bedroom is neat, at least, and is big enough to fit all of us. All of the important things are stashed away in there, just in case, and it gets plenty of light. The other rooms, well, that’s another story.” He grimaced at the thought, fully aware that he’d resorted to using the living room for hanging wet clothes.

When Sabbinth mentioned running water, Raymond perked up a bit. “Yeah, the water still runs. It’s cold, mind you, but it runs. I think the bathroom is the only other spot that hasn’t really been ruined in my place, but it wasn’t exactly full of stuff to begin with.“

He paused for a moment, considering something. “You know, I think I might have a metal bucket somewhere. If you really want hot water we could always heat it up. Might take a while, but at least you wouldn’t be freezing. It was a friend’s, she used it to wash her car.”

Whenever Raymond mentions water, Sabbinth lights up for the first time in what feels like forever. She has to fight to suppress the grin that threatens to break across her face as she realized that she was going to be able to shower, maybe even wash her clothes.

"Coldwater is so much better than nothing." She says, adjusting the bag on her back as she quickens her pace a little more. "We can clean real quick whenever we get there and then I plan on showering as soon as possible."

As she talks, she glances back to make sure that Brick was following. The kid had been a little quiet, which didn't bother her, so she wanted to make sure that he didn't dip out. While she knew that it was slim that he knew something new or important, whatever information he had was better than nothing. The more knowledge she got about whatever it was running around the better.

It wasn't just the kid who had information to offer. Eventually, she knew she was going to have to break down that wall with Raymond and get him to tell her whatever he knew. It would be harder than with the kid, especially since he seemed to be hesitant to admit something wasn't right, but Sabbinth was determined.

“Hey, it’s better than nothing," Raymond shrugged. "My bedroom is neat, at least, and is big enough to fit all of us. All of the important things are stashed away in there, just in case, and it gets plenty of light. The other rooms, well, that’s another story. Yeah, the water still runs. It’s cold, mind you, but it runs. I think the bathroom is the only other spot that hasn’t really been ruined in my place, but it wasn’t exactly full of stuff to begin with."

Brick breathed through the pain of having his hopes dashed. Having to sleep in the same room as two people he didn't trust was the p*ss icing on top of that particular sh*t cake, but whatever - taking a cold shower in the semi-privacy of someone's home was still leagues above giving himself a wh*re bath in the library bathroom, making uncomfortable eye contact with old guys in the mirror all the while.

After a pause, Ray said, “You know, I think I might have a metal bucket somewhere. If you really want hot water we could always heat it up. Might take a while, but at least you wouldn’t be freezing. It was a friend’s, she used it to wash her car.”

"Coldwater is so much better than nothing." Sabbinth said. She shifted her bag, glancing back at Brick, and he bared his little teeth at her automatically. "We can clean real quick whenever we get there and then I plan on showering as soon as possible."

A thought struck Brick. "Do you have a washer and dryer?"

At least they weren’t too upset over the cold water. Or, at least Sabbinth wasn’t; Brick had been awfully quiet this whole time. Ray couldn’t help but wonder what he was thinking. Probably of the best way to rob him and make a quick getaway. It struck him suddenly how he was being awfully irresponsible, letting two strangers into his home, especially considering his harsh view of the city’s current state. But something about these two brought him comfort... Brick’s small voice pulled Ray from his thoughts.

“Well, there’s a laundry room in the basement of my apartment complex,” he said. “Thing about that is, there’s no electricity, so nothing down there works anymore. I’ve been just washing my clothes by hand, in the tub whenever I get the chance and hanging them up to dry wherever there’s room. It’s not very efficient, but it’s better than dirty clothes.”

The apartment building finally came into view, the orange glow of the setting sun casting a warm feeling over it. “Here we are,” he said with an exaggerated bow as he opened the door. “Well, sort of. I live on the third floor.” He led the way up the stairs and to his door. Along the way, it was clear that the state of the other apartments was less than satisfactory; each one had been cleaned of any valuables, with no owner to keep away the thieves.

Ray carefully inspected the lock for any signs of trespassers before he put the key in and opened the door. Sure enough, the main room, the living room, was pretty barren save for an overturned couch on one side of the room and the clothes hanging from wires on hooks screwed into the ceiling. There were scratches on the floor and dents in the walls, as if from furniture being moved around. One doorway led into the kitchen, though it was hard to see from this position. Another doorway led into a hall, presumably where the bedrooms and bathroom were.

Sabbinth internally was overjoyed by the fact that she was going to be able to shower and wash her clothes. Something like that during these times was worth more than gold in her mind. Even if she was completely robbed of everything else she had, as long as she got her shower it would be worth it.

As the building came into view, she felt a rush of emotion. It didn't look the most secure, but some of the windows on the top floor seemed to still be intact and in good condition. There were plenty of spare boards around that she could use to make things a little safer as night was rapidly approaching, though it mystified her that this hadn't been done before already.

Walking up the stairs, she wasn't surprised to see the number of rooms that had been ransacked and completely cleaned, though it did make her feel a little more nervous, especially whenever Raymond inspects his lock for any damages.

"Do people try to break into your place often?" She asks, walking inside once he swings the door open. The place wasn't as trashed as she thought it was going to be. No... this was far more manageable at first sight. Perhaps the other rooms were a little more work, but at least the general living area was pretty okay.

Sabbinth had no qualms about exploring more without Raymond, immediately making herself familiar with the surroundings. She needed to know all possible exit routes and just how secure this place was, especially if the man turned out to be some serial killer or something worse along that line. She was fairly certain she could get both her and the kid out of here if that was the case, but it was still better to find every possible exit just to be sure.