Mary gives Rufus's back a probing look as she follows Gabriella into the room, wondering - not for the first time - if he has some sort of disorder. She wouldn't even mind it, as she's already committed to the welfare of multiple people with far less capacity for self-preservation than him, but nonetheless, she'd like to nail down just what the nature of his eccentricity is.

Mary steps over to the table, taking the liberty of resting her fingertips upon the map. Maps are nice, she thinks, but is able to resist voicing the thought aloud. She scans it for any markings or notes that can inform her activities in the town before looking over at Gabriella expectantly.

Crisis averted. Hopefully Mina would live long enough to thank Ivy for it someday.



"Something like that," the young girl answered vaguely. She could have just mentioned that their group didn't actually live there yet, but maybe these miscreants would have a higher opinion of her if she pretended to be more of a delinquent than she actually was. "Guess we're both misbehaving. I won't tell if you won't.

"...Could you maybe do that somewhere with open windows, though?" she continued. "Or...outside? It's really starting to stink in here."

Shaw High School - Outside

The mohawk teenage boy nods in affirmation when Trisha reveals her firearm. "We're going past the church and cross the bayou." Nathan points his finger towards North.

Before long, Trisha, Ashley and their guide, Nathan, make their way to their promised haven for the night. They pass by a few strangers on the street. Trisha notices most of them are not wearing the school badge. Those who choose to don the red bird pin tends to be armed and travel in small groups. After around ten minutes of walking, the group crosses the bayou to and find themselves walking near the north side of Shaw in front of a small condo.

"I think we have space in here." Nathan pounds against the door a few times. The group hears faint footsteps coming from somewhere in the building. The teenage draws a knife from the side of his belt pocket. He looks back to Trisha and Ashley. "Um... I don't think its clear anymore. I'm going to clear it." He states.


Shaw High School - Meeting Room
Mary sees several markings on the map. There are circled red markings with the word "undead" out in the farm fields away from the city. Some of them are crossed out, while others have arrows drawn from the circle. On top of the map stands a couple of proud chess piece. They are distributed almost evenly around the edge of the city. One of each marks the location where Mary's group encountered Marcus.

"So here we are." Mary sees Gabriella's finger pointing at the center of Shaw, where the school is. "It took us a while, but we got most of places around the school cleared out."

"What are these chess pieces for?" Natasha asks.

"They're out lookout points. Leo set them up after we got a good foothold at the school. We have people at every lookout points to keep an eye out for the dead, and other survivors." Gabriella answers.

Rufus turns one of the chess pieces in place with his fingers. "I heard two bodies were found at one of these lookout points?"

"Yes, we found them here." Gabriella points to one of the North-Eastern lookout points.


Shaw High School - Library

The teenage girl lets out a single mocking chortle. "Yeah, like anyone would believe you." She rolls her eyes.

The boy with the smoke snickers at Ivy's suggestion of relocating their fun 'activity'. "Naaaaaw. This is out spot. We do what we want here."

The two other girls stands on both sides of the girl speaking to Ivy.

"Yeah kid, beat it."

"Ain't no one likes a snitch."

They say. One of them wags her finger at Ivy.

"That's cool. We could go see if there ain't no bullfrogs still down in the bayou. Might not be too cold for 'em just yet." Trisha begins to chatter as the three head off, deliberately avoiding any talk about churches.
"You guys do much frog giggin' out here?" She asks Nathan. "I'm real good at it, I could show y'all how to catch the quickest ones."

The trip there is an easy one, made much more exciting by the number of strangers walking relatively peacefully through the street. Trisha makes an effort to smile, nod or otherwise greet every person they pass by, regardless of whether or not they acknowledge her.
Fernando trots close by, though he occasionally veers off the road and travels through more covered areas, only to zigzag back and join the three again.

Walking up to the house, Trisha takes a moment to properly look at the environment around it. She knows that Mary is trusting her to report anything dangerous or suspicious.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Will do perception roll. 01:23, Today: Trisha rolled 19 using 2d10+5 ((6,8)).

---

Trisha raises an eyebrow at the boy's awkward wording, and a thought hits her.
'I bet he don't know what he's doin'.'
At this, she draws her hammer and walks up to the door. "Not by yourself you ain't, dumbass." She smiles at him, to show him her insult is all in good faith. "How'd we even know what's in there? It could be alive people, then that knife ain't gonna do us no good."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:25, Mon 02 Aug 2021.

Well, it was worth a shot. Shrugging her shoulders in defeat, Ivy turned to leave. "Fine, whatever. C'mon Mina, let's leave these nerds to their books."

Unfamiliar Condo

"We have people living in homes all over, they won't attack us. But I didn't see anyone in here last time." Nathan unlocks the door. The footsteps seems to be coming from a room down the hall.

Nathan takes the lead and advances down the hall. A sudden glass shattering sound stops Nathan in place. The group hears a low moan from one of the rooms nearby. The door to the room is open.


Shaw High School - Library

"Yeah, get out of here, snitches." One of the girl shoos the children away as they leave.

Dwayne joins the girls as they walk away from the teenagers. They hear giggles and snickers behind them. Looks like they decided to resume their activity.

"I don't like them." Dwayne says. "They were mean."

"Who's mean?" Edward appears from one of the aisle. He tosses a book he was holding onto a shelf.

"Don't touch those," Mary chastises Rufus as he starts rotating the chess piece, though his actions draw her attention to a strange element. Her eyes move back and forth between the chess pieces and the red markings before she speaks.

"You've marked the undead on your map permanently," Mary says, pointing to the farm fields on the map, "and your guard posts with chess pieces, so they can be moved around. I would have thought you'd do the reverse."

Her gaze focuses on the north-eastern lookout point specified by Gabriella. In particular, she studies the area around it, trying to see what environment the attackers may be hiding in - forest, farmland, city blocks, or so on.

She looks back up at Gabriella. "So where did you want us to look for supplies?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:29, Wed 18 Aug 2021.

"Teenagers," Ivy answered simply. It needed no elaboration. "Can we go somewhere else now? It smells in here."

Trisha stands by and lets Nathan unlock the door and be the first to step inside, though not without first giving him another piece of unwarranted advice.
"Just 'cuz you know 'em, don't mean they won't attack you."
She heads through the door after him. Fernando sniffs around the doorway and watches as the others walk down the hall.

Trisha hears the glass break and takes the opportunity to step ahead of Nathan, wanting to be the first to investigate.
"I'll go look."
Without giving anyone time to disagree, she walks straight up to the open door, pausing only briefly before poking her head inside.
"Hello?" She says in a low voice, hoping to call out anything that might be hiding.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
20:59, Today: Trisha rolled 21 using 2d10+5.  Perception-Whats in that room?

---

Edward, Ivy

"It just smells like smoke," Mina says, looking at Ivy. "What's a snitch?"

"It's like a bad word!" Dwayne exclaims in a whisper, as if trying to shush Mina before Edward hears them. "It's a...a word that's more than one word. A compound word! It's short for 'son of a...'"

He nods meaningfully, as if he and Mina are sharing a profound thought. Mina frowns.

"We didn't even do anything!" she grumbles. "They are mean."

Trisha

Nathan is already close to the door as Trisha steps past, his knife in hand, his eyes focused on nothing as he listens with rapt attention. His concentration is broken as Trisha steps past.

"Hey!" he protests, but Trisha already has her head in the room. The room appears to have once been a cozy office; a comfortable reading chair stands in front of a bookshelf lining one wall, and a rolling office chair sits in front of a wooden desk adorned with an expensive-looking computer. In the exterior wall is a large window that provides what was probably once a beautiful view of the back yard and a garden outside. Now, however, the garden is overgrown with weeds, the window is partially shattered, and a walker is stuck trying to force its way through the glass. It's trying to push itself through a gap too narrow for it and tearing its skin open on the razor edge of the remaining glass. Two more walkers stand behind it, one of them pawing pointlessly on the glass.

All three walkers, by chance, are looking at the door when Trisha sticks her head through. When they see her, their body language changes from that of languid wandering to aggression, and they start to moan.

Rufus, Regina

"It's not permanent," Gabriella says. Reaching out, she drags a fingertip over the edge of a one circle, wiping a tiny section away. "It's erasable marker. See?"

She smiles up at the group, then continues talking. "Our scouts have already searched some of Shaw, but there's a lot more people living here. They're not officially part of the school," she says, making air quotes around officially, "but they help us to greater or lesser degrees. We know what buildings we've searched and what we haven't, but we don't know what other people have already cleared out, and sometimes those people are friends.

"Anyway, that means it can be hard to get supplies in safe places, because there are usually people living there already and we have to negotiate with them. We have to spend a lot of time and still don't get much for it. Or, we can look in places where there's nobody living already...but the reason no one is living there is because they're dangerous. Usually because of the undead, but..."

She glances at the north-eastern lookout point, indicated with a black knight. "...you never really know what you're going to find out there."

Gabriella didn't need to spell out the implications, Regina -- and everyone else by her reckoning -- knew just how unpredictable the world had become. Regina curled a strand of black hair around her finger while she studied the makeshift map. "Are these people independent, or part of another group?" Regina asked Gabriella, meeting the woman's eyes. "I don't feel safe around anyone who is 'sometimes' friendly, and engage in lopsided negotiations."

Not that the alternative was better, mind. It was sometimes said that walkers were preferable to people for their predictability, but Regina knew better. Walkers couldn't be reasoned with, and they didn't have motivations beyond their primal urges. More importantly, they smelled. "I'd sooner deal with strangers than walkers," she said, with a slight shiver.

"Yeah they are," Ivy agreed. "Let's just leave them alone." The young girl looked over at Mina. "You wanted to see the roof, right? Wanna go there next?"

Edward, Ivy

Mina's eyes light up. "You know the way to the roof?" she asks.

"Can I come?" asks Dwayne hopefully.

Rufus, Regina

"Independent," Gabriella says automatically, then catches herself. "Well, they have their own little groups, like families or...something like your little group. Nothing organized. They pay us in trade or work, and in return, we keep the city safe. None of them are strangers. We have deals with them. Anyone that didn't want to deal, we've already pushed out of the city."

"So if they don't like you, they have to leave," Rufus says cheerily. "That must mean everyone in the city likes you! I should talk to them about that."

Gabriella pauses for a moment, watching Rufus, before looking back at Gabriella. "Since you don't know what kind of deals we've already got with people in the city, we probably want to send you somewhere that doesn't have anyone living in it already. Like I said, that'll be faster."

"Well, I mean...how hard could it be?" Ivy answered. "We just need to find the stairs and keep going up."



"Duh. We're a team, right? We gotta stick together." So saying, Ivy led the way to search for the stairway leading up to the roof.

Regina gave Rufus a pointed look, the kind that suggested he should watch his words carefully. His insinuation merited some thought, however, but jumping to hasty conclusions at this juncture wasn't wise. They needed more information, sure, but antagonizing these people would come back to bite them if their uncooperative neighbors were in the wrong. "We've all had bad luck out on the road," said Regina, looking to Rufus, then to Gabriella, a terse expression straining her features. "We've been hoping to find something resembling civilization again for so long, it's hard to believe it can still exist."

Coughing into her hand, Regina cleared her throat and said: "I'm a licensed doctor, so if you could place me close to your medical facilities, I'd appreciate that." She looked rather excited at the prospect of being able to practice her trade again. It was the happiest Rufus had ever seen the normally dour woman.

Ivy responded to his question, yet her words didn't seemed to reach him. He wondered how much Ivy remembers about that woman. In truth, this place would've been a perfect place for children like her. But, if she doesn't mind her being here...

His thought was interrupted when the kids started walking away.

"Hol' up!" Edward jogged up to the kids.

"Likewise." Rufus followed up after the doctor. "Amazing to finally witness a community worrying beyond the bases of human needs. I was a teacher, still am in fact should there be an audience."

The doctor's joy must've been contagious. Its been a while since he had his own class of students. Technically he never had, but substituting the same class more than once still count.

Edward, Ivy

"Awesome!" Dwayne exclaims. He pronounces the word like he's rarely said it before, but his enthusiasm his genuine. Mina is less excited, but still game.

Ivy leads the search for rooftop access, but it turns out less easy than described. None of the normal, student-accessible stairways seem to provide rooftop access, possibly because the school was afraid of children sneaking up there. Unless she wants to open every door in the school, Ivy will need to figure out some way to find the stairs to the roof, or at least narrow her search.

Rufus, Regina

"Oh, you're a doctor?" Gabriella's eyes widen. "Kathrine's going to love you! She's been asking for more help forever. We've already got someone else helping her, Chelsea, but Kathrine says she's not enough."

She pauses, then leans in and drops her voice slightly, as if telling her something conspiratorial. "If she tells you to take a pin, just do it."

Gabriella pauses at Rufus's words, giving him a slightly confused look. "So...you want to help Kathrine too? Did you teach in medical school?"

Trisha's eyes sweep the room before she settles her focus on the walkers. Their pitiful attempts to claw at her through the broken glass gain no reaction from her. She only grumbles quietly to herself before turning back to the others.

"We got this, no problem."
She shrugs, obviously unbothered by the threat. Looking to Nathan, she gestures to the window.
"The one with his head in here's easy, but I say one of us two oughta go 'round back and hit 'em from the outside. What'cha think?"

Though she is happy with her plan and thinks it will work just fine, she waits expectantly to hear from either Ashley or Nathan.

Katherine's enigmatic 'advice' earned her a confused look from Regina, who opened her mouth to question the woman, only to be cut off at the question to Rufus. Thinking it best to drop the matter, Regina's thoughts wandered to the clinic. Though licensed, she'd never gotten the chance to properly practice her profession. I never imagined realizing my dream after the fall of civilization, but... she thought, before shrugging slightly; better late than never, right?

Regina watched Rufus for his answer. "I don't think you've ever told me what you taught," she said, echoing Katherine's curiosity.

"Not quite." Rufus shook his head at Gabriella's question. A doctor? Maybe, if he had taken interest in medicine long ago. Yes, he studied something equally important.

Rufus looked to Regina with a proud smile.

"History."

He answered.

Trisha

Nathan is right behind Trisha. He looks like he was trying to get in front of her, but couldn't find the room in the narrow hallways or within the doorway. He looks over her shoulder at the walkers with an expression of annoyance and slight embarrassment, like a party host whose refreshments had fallen on the floor before anyone could enjoy them.

It takes him a moment to realize Trisha is speaking. He blinks at her his mind clicks. "Oh! Uh, yeah. You stay in here where it's safe. I'll take care of it."

He lifts his knife and nods at Trisha before he starts backing up. There is still a moment to stop him if Trisha wants.

Rufus, Regina

Gabriella's eyes study Rufus for a few silent seconds, as if trying to suss out some hidden meaning. Finally, she seems to abandon the attempt, shifting her weight and looking at Regina and Rufus in turn.

"Weren't you going to help us scavenge supplies?" she asks. "You're in this to get some replacement wheels, aren't you? I thought you were planning to move on as quick as possible, but it sounds like you want to live here. Which is it?"

Mary, so far silent, turns her head to look at Rufus and Regina as well, awaiting their response with a frown.

Regina looked between Mary, Rufus, and Gabriella with a pensive expression; being put on the spot like this was unexpected. The doctor cleared her throat, "We had plans to move on," Regina emphasized 'plans' with a frown. "I personally think we should reconsider them, after what we've learned about your community," Regina glanced from Gabriella to Mary, expecting a response. Her expression strained to remain neutral, and it was apparent that she very much wanted Mary to support her.

Ivy scratched her cheek in thought. This wasn't working. Somehow the stairway up to the roof was proving to be more elusive than she anticipated. She'd need to think of a faster way to do this if she didn't want to end up spending the entire day scouring the school.

And the simplest solution at the moment seemed to be to just ask for directions. And so the young girl led her squad along until they happened upon someone who looked like they lived here.

"'scuse me," the girl called out to catch their attention. "Do you know how to get up to the roof? My friends and I wanna go up and see the view."

"Sounds like a plan." She replies with a chuckle, looking over her shoulder as the boy heads back down the hall. Turning to Ashley, she nods.
"I'm gonna go keep 'em busy by the window. You'll back me up, right?"
Slowly, Trisha begins to creep further into the room, hammer grasped firmly in her right hand. She stops just out of reach of the snarling corpse, looking down at it blankly while she waits for Nathan to make his way around.
She plans to make the first strike as soon as he is positioned behind the walkers. With her in plain sight, she can see no reason he would catch their attention.

---

Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
21:40, Today: Trisha rolled 18 using 2d10+5 ((7,6))
Forgot damage roll. 07:44, Today: Trisha rolled 9 using 2d4+2 ((3,4)).

---

This message was last edited by the player at 21:46, Tue 26 Oct 2021.