[X-World - Wales] The Hills Are Alive

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:55 pm

The grinding noise of a shift back announced Gemma's return to Carreg Cennen Castle. She snagged a robe off the entry room wall and wrapped it around herself before she went further into the castle proper while some of the survivors sorted the net of supplies she'd gathered from Swansea. She looked a little out of sorts and was licking her canines fitfully.

by **Trev Anderson** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:05 pm

"What's wrong?" Trev called out, a hint of concern in his voice. He was walking straight towards her down one of the castle's corridors from their large shared quarters--what he often jokingly called the Dragon's Lair

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:08 pm

"Not feeling well," she said. "I think it's that deer I ran down on the way there." Less plentiful meals and more exercise had slimmed Gemma down a decent bit. "And a scavenging gang decided they could pick a fight with the dragon. Unwise."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:28 pm

The lack of food had certainly trimmed Trev down as well, and he was sporting a relatively-well trimmed beard.

"Well...raw meat can be a bit tough to digest, no? That or some of the animals are getting sick and changing just like the people."

"....you didn't *eat* the idiot scavengers, did you?"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:38 pm

"No," she said, shaking her head. "One or two of them may have some burns they didn't start the day with. And yeah, I don't normally eat raw meat, and I'm not certain stuff I bring down can be considered 'raw', but I got really hungry flying down."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 9:04 pm

"Well good. Hopefully the scars remind them not to fuck with us."

Trev gave her hand a squeeze and kissed her cheek. "Just glad you're back safe. I know you're more than capable of defending yourself, but I still worry every time you leave."

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 9:06 pm

"Well, you have to worry about something," she said, smiling and giving him a kiss back. "I think word's getting around though that this place isn't to be bothered."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:08 pm

"Having a dragon with a loudmouth husband tends to drive the point home," he smirked.

"Good group of people we have here. Generally all working together to try and get through this shit. Speaking of...what were you able to get this time?"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:26 pm

"Assortment of odds and ends really. Swansea is getting picked over pretty solidly at this point. I think people are coming from Cardiff. I think most of it's only going to be useful for its raw material potential."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:38 pm

Trev sighed, "Getting harder to find stuff every month...this whole leading a town thing would be easier if we still had internet, electricity, and gas stations that actually had gas."

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 10:41 pm

"I'm afraid we're going to have to start turning people away. I don't know that the farm for this place will support that many more people."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:19 pm

"Yeah...no getting around that any longer. Winter's going to be rough, even with the stuff we've been able to can and jar up ourselves, and canned stuff we've managed to steal."

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sat Feb 21, 2015 11:32 pm

"At least the cave under the castle will provide some additional shelter."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:15 am

"Yeah. We'll need every inch of that. Though it's hard to get cold with you around," he teased.

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:30 am

"Ah, you only want me for my warmth," she teased back, heading back towards their quarters to grab some clothes, dragging him with her. "I do want to try to make a trip to London before fall gets here. I don't think I could bring anything back from there, so it'd be pretty much an information trip."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:56 am

"I was thinking the same thing, honestly. And we might be able to find some things on the way...could at least fill a backpack with some supplies. And I think I could probably fly some of the way if we do find more stuff than you can carry and stay aloft."

"Hope you found some earplugs though," he smirked.

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:02 pm

"I never thought I'd say this," she said as she started changing, "but I miss my training uniform."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:18 pm

"I don't," he grinned, watching her and letting out a wolf whistle.

"...suppose if we're on a fact-finding mission we could check out the school..." he added a bit more soberly after a moment's thought.

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:23 pm

"That's further away," she said, "And there's those rumors of a seer in London. Maybe, it's Professor Weaver. She might know what's going on."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:07 pm

"Well...it's closer to London than here so if we ever were to go....but yeah...we probably shouldn't *both* be away for very long..." Trev chewed his lip thoughtfully.

"Though I think people listen pretty well to my grandmother since she can make all of the shit we find still taste pretty good. How are we on weapons?"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:29 pm

"Probably not as good as we'd like, but good enough to hold out for a bit. And if we can disguise the fact that I'm not here, things might stay quiet for a while."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:55 pm

"Alright. That'll have to do. So we leave on foot or at night when it's harder for anyone to notice that we've slipped away," he nodded.

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 1:58 pm

"On foot is probably better. It'll take longer, but it'll be easier to hide. I'll need to take some extra clothes, just in case. And we should talk to your grandmother."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 2:27 pm

Trev nodded, "Definitely easier to keep a low profile that way. I've got plenty of room in my pack for some spares."

"When do you think we should leave?"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 2:43 pm

"Sooner is probably better than later. We don't know what we're going to run into, so probably best to allow as much time as possible."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 3:51 pm

"Well, why don't we start packing now? We can go talk to Gram, and either leave tonight or first light tomorrow."

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 3:58 pm

"First light tomorrow sounds good. I had plans for tonight," she grinned at him.

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:00 pm

"Plans? I like plans," he grinned, crossing the room and wrapping her in an embrace.

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:03 pm

She smiled and kissed him, "Let's go talk to Gram then, because once I implement my plans, we're not leaving this room til morning."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:44 pm

Trev grinned like an idiot--he was still pretty good at that.

"I really, really like those kinds of plans."

He kissed her back happily and then broke the embrace, grabbing her hand, and lead her down the halls towards the kitchen where he was fairly sure his grandmother would be.

The kitchen was warm, and smelled like roasting meat. Sara Anderson was eyeing a can of something skeptically before opening it, sniffing it and wrinkling her nose in disgust. She was past 70, but didn't look nor act it, her face wrinkled mostly from a lifetime of smiling and laughing, her graying hair tied back into a loose, functional ponytail. Sara noticed her grandson and his wife enter and greeted them with a broad smile.

"I had a feeling you were coming down here. You look beautiful as always, Gemma."

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:52 pm

"Thanks, Gram," she said. "We have a favor to ask you. We want to go to London and see what we can find there, but it means we'll be away for a while."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 5:55 pm

Sara frowned for a moment, but nodded, "Going to try and find some more supplies...or friends?"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:01 pm

"A little of both," Gemma said. "It will also let us look in on Cardiff on the way, so we can see what might be building there. I think a few of the scavengers that I tangled with this morning were from Cardiff."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:25 pm

"Well...we could use both..." Sara said thoughtfully.

"We were hoping you could be in charge while we were away," Trev suggested, leaning over the large table his grandmother stood behind.

"Trevor, find some razors while you're out there, and shave that damn thing off," she smirked, indicating his beard with a nod of her head. "I'll be fine. No one fucks with a good chef," Sara slid her apron to the side, revealing an impressively large pistol, "Especially when she's holding the 'Quiet Gun.'"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:28 pm

Gemma chuckled, "Thanks, Gram. We're planning to leave tomorrow morning. Hoping if we keep our departure quiet, it will buy you some peace and quiet because people will think the 'dragon' is still here."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 6:42 pm

"That's probably for the best. And if you just taught some of those assholes a lesson, they probably will keep their distance...'least until it starts getting cold. "

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 7:05 pm

"We'll hopefully be back well before then. I'm not planning on spending a long time there."

by **Trev Anderson** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:06 pm

"Good," she smiled, though the look in her eyes clearly showed she was a bit worried about them leaving. "Just be safe, you two...you're all I've got left."

"Don't worry, we can take care of ourselves, Gram," Trev reassured her.

"She can take care of us," he smirked, catching his grandmother's dubious eyebrow raise.

Sara chuckled and wiped her hands on her apron before doffing it and walking around the table to give them both a hug and a kiss. "You want first crack at dinner so you can sneak off to rest up for tomorrow?"

by **Gemma Sloan** » Sun Feb 22, 2015 9:08 pm

"Sounds good," Gemma said.

by **Trev Anderson** » Mon Feb 23, 2015 1:37 pm

Sara smiled and went about fixing a plate for both Trev and Gemma, of what looked to be rabbit stew of some description with some carrots and potatoes from the castle's garden. While there wasn't exactly an abundance of meat in the stew, it was hearty and surprisingly delicious.

"Since you're out, grab us some flour, will you?" she teased.

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