singillatim | Я вернулся в деревню

“You know, I've been working with Rorschach -” Ugh. The expression probably shows on her face. What a guy. “- in the library, helping him sort the newspapers he found in the houses. One of the Milton newsletters was talking about some grow your own food program because deliveries from the mainland were getting spotty.”

Sveta looks up. "Really? Did they say anything about seeds or - or where to find anything?" she wonders, brightening considerably. If they had talked about it, maybe that means it is feasible to do so!

“The seeds were supposed to be distributed from the community centre, but I don't know whether they were kept there or somewhere else.” Considering the threat of food shortages even then, they might have wanted to keep it a secret. “Even if there's only a little left, it's better than nothing if we can figure out how to grow them.”

"The next time I travel there, I'll look more closely at the center," she says, firmly. "Will you help or - are you living here?"

“I don't go to the hall very often - a friend of mine got jumped there - but I think it's got a basement. Maybe they kept them down there?”

Perhaps not an entirely accurate interpretation of these events, but she believes it. Chloe sighs.

“I don't really know what I'm gonna do. I've got a place in Milton, but things got kind of weird there and I'm waiting for it to blow over.”

"Oh? What happened?" She holds up her hands. "With your friend being - jumped?" She's not sure what exactly that slang means. "And things being - weird?"

She has a feeling it's more than the weirdness that the rest of the community has been feeling.

Chloe shrugs. “I didn't see it happen, but my mate was at the hall reading and this guy he knew from home rolled in and started beating on him. Random people deciding they can be judge, jury and executioner is the last thing we need here.”

There’d been that stupid-ass wanted poster of her hanging in there too, though that's not a problem anymore because of her new problem!

“As for what’s weird, it's not a big deal. I think a guy back in Milton’s got a crush on me and I'm hoping taking some time away will cool him off.”

That sure is a lot to take in. Violence and relationship drama. She just stares at her for a long moment. "You don't - return the crush?" she wonders, trying to avoid the topic of random violence. The fact that people are still - people - here isn't new. She would just like to avoid it.

Chloe shrugs again. “He was fun, and not bad-looking, but just because I slept with him doesn't mean I love him.”

She can't even really articulate what it is she's afraid of but what if.

Her voice lowers slightly. "You slept with him?" she asks, blinking. "No, of course it doesn't mean that, but - well, did he tell you his feelings first?"

Chloe shrugs, then gestures to the burn on her face. “I got stranded overnight at his place, night I got this. We were bored.”

She’d kept pushing, waiting for him to hit a point where he’d back down, and he’d steadfastly refused.

“I don't know if he had those kind of feelings before that, but he was acting weird afterward.”

"Weird?" she pushes, wanting to know the details.

What a strange feeling this is, gossiping with someone who had been a near stranger only weeks ago like they're best friends. But it's a good feeling to have - to be able to sit and chat about something so damn normal instead of worrying and fretting about this place.

“Well,” Chloe leans forward with a conspiratorial smile, the soup bowl sitting between her elbows. “I’ve got that ability, right, the one from the aurora. Endurance. I could have gone all night and into the morning, probably, but he fell asleep. He cuddled right up to me, I really had to wriggle to get out of there once the fog cleared!”

She’d slipped out through the window as soon as doing so wouldn't kill her, hoping if he had to untape his door alone it’d cool him off a bit. However!

“Yesterday I stopped by the hall and I noticed he took down that stupid poster of me he’s had on the board for ages.”

She leans forward as well, eyes wide. She giggles to herself, behind her hand, at the mention of endurance, of being able to go all night.

"Stupid poster?"

Chloe rolls her eyes. “He was cross because when I was new I went into his house. I didn't know he lived there! He didn't even have anything good.” Yes, she’d also stolen food when he was away with Methuselah but he might never have come back from that! It's not a big deal.

She laughs to herself. "Did he catch you there? Being a thief?"

“Hey! I was not -” Chloe sighs. “Yes. Held a gun on me and everything. Very exciting first meeting.”

"A gun!" she squeaks, eyes wide. "Why did he have a gun?!"

How is that the big takeaway here? “Came with him, I assume. I've got a gun, too, I'm just more polite about it.”

There's a lot to go through!

She looks a little scandalized, but not much more than that.

"What were you - there to steal? Did you get it?"

“I was looking for food,” Chloe admits. “I didn't trust the stuff at the hall - no such thing as a free lunch, right? - and I didn't know how to hunt yet.”

Luckily even here it's usually pretty easy to get men to do things for you.

She nods. It's reasonable. Stealing for food is something that Svetlana has experience with. Not that she's done it herself, but that she knows what it's like to want to.

"I still don't know. But - do you know a man named - Cornelius Hickey?"

“I do, but I’ve got to admit I'm a bit surprised that you do.” He's definitely a strong personality. “That's my mate who got jumped, actually. If he's been offering you food it's legit no-strings stuff.”

"Why?" she wonders. "I - yes, he did offer to help. He was very kind about it." But strong personality? She didn't see it, but she's softer than Chloe. Maybe that meant he was softer, too.

“He helped me too, when I was new.” He’d given her some of the raw meat she’d caught him chomping on, but Svetlana doesn't need to know about that.

“A little rough around the edges, is all. One of the sailor men.”

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject