Devil's Tower

***OOC: Be sure to label the subject line of every post with either "Open" or the names of the chars that are involved in a particular thread! This will help eliminate confusion and let you know what threads are up for grabs!***
Who: Anyone and everyone who’s in Sundance at the time!
What: St. Patrick’s Day/Spring party!
Where: The Trading Post
When: Saturday
Why: Because it’s fun!

In the warmer months the Trading Post is almost always busy, full of drifters and members from every tribe who come there to barter, socialize, and a whole host of other things. It’s generally a peaceful place since it exists in neutral territory and everyone who comes there seems to have an understanding of an unspoken truce. The Trading Post is a large park the sits on the banks of the Belle Fourche river. There are picnic tables, a delapidated swingset and monkey bars, old grills, and of course trader stands. There’s also a dock there, but it is understood to belong to the River Runners, as it’s where they are docked most of the year and those wishing to use it usually have to give the RR a token of some kind, or at least ask nicely.

The St. Patrick’s Day/ Spring party was not planned or hosted by any tribe. The whole things seemed to have come about on its own, first as a rumor and then with complete strangers and tribe members alike planning for it. Saturday morning the place was busy with people decorating in any way that they could. The place was strung with streamers of all different colors, some torn and ratty. There were candles, and lanterns strung about and a few different musicians set up throughout the park. By the time the sun set the park was teaming with people, more people than it had seen in years. Between the boos and the open admission there was no telling what the night would hold.

Who: Blaze, Hazard & OPEN to Carrion!
Where: the Hospital
When: late afternoon
What: Party!

Hazard made sure that everything was in place before his brother arrived. For an important occasion such as Blaze's birthday, he took it upon himself to arrange a party. After all, Alex was going to be old now and more at risk. Hazard did not like the thought of losing his brother and tried to push it out of his mind as he inspected that the food he placed was free from rat nibbles. Recently more of them found their way into the hospital and Hazard spent part of the day killing as many as he could and setting up makeshift rat traps. They might not work, but at least he was doing something to help.

Preparations were more difficult than he thought and involved Hazard sneaking out of the hospital and scrounging around for anything that he could use for the party food or a birthday present. In one of the houses, he'd found a Swiss army knife hidden in a forgotten corner of a dresser and couldn't believe his good luck. He polished it the best he could and hurried into the cold to return to the Hospital. It had been so busy for the both of them that they didn't have much time to spend together, but this birthday party was going to make up for it.

He spread the word to all the Carrion to join the party if they wanted and especially hoped Mouse would arrive later. She liked both boys, didn't she? Just in case, Hazard combed his hair extra well and cleaned his face and teeth as much as he was able. The sight of him in his smart clothing which he saved for very special occasions was going to be as much of a surprise as the actual party for Blaze, he hoped. Knowing the tribe, his brother probably knew about it already. He had to think positively, though! Yes, this was going to be excellent.

Who: Carbon [Open]
What: Finally home
When: Monday evening
Where: In his 'hospital' bed

Carbon had been sniffling all evening and day.  His nose was sore from rubbing it and he was running desperately low on tissues, if his nose didn't stop running he feared he may have to start using his sheet and that was guaranteed to create germs that he daren't even try.  After the incident in the library Blaze had left pretty sharply, wanting nothing more than to get Carbon and him out of that library before Carbon said anything else compromising.  Carbon actually found the whole ordeal fascinating, he now knew that Sensei was just being overly cautious because he'd met other people and they had been nice, he'd also gotten a new text book out of the whole thing which suited him just fine and had managed to keep him busy for the majority of the day.

When he'd finally arrived back Mouse had rushed him off to his own bed and got him all warmed up.  He did love Mouse, she reminded him of his mother with the way she was constantly fussing.  She probably found it easier to take care of Carbon because he didn't put up a fight, he'd had people doing things for him his whole life and whilst he sometimes longed for independence it didn’t mean he'd know what to do with it if he got it.  Other members of the tribe figured Carbon was her favourite guy in the building because he didn't walk all over her, Blaze had once said she was such a timid thing it was a miracle she was never frightened by her own shadow…Carbon found this sentence rather puzzling because as far as he knew shadows were always with you, why would you be surprised to see them?  He'd thought about asking but didn't want to seem silly so he kept quiet and just sat in the bed with a ton of blankets around him.

 

His tummy grumbled uncomfortably and Carbon glanced down at it, "Sssshhh," he hissed putting a hand over it.  It had been a while since he'd eaten but food was scarce so it did nobody any good for Carbon to remind them that his belly was never full.  He did however voice his complaints about not seeing Sensei, he knew the older boy would be mad but he did want to see him and tell him that he was okay and that he'd discovered all sorts of things.  It was getting incredibly boring sitting there on his own.

Who: Libby and anybody/everybody!
What: Library Winter Slumber Party
When: Early Tuesday Evening
Where: Sundance Library

The shelves looked nice enough to the untrained eye; everything had been righted and the books put back up somewhat close to where they belonged. with her arrival Saturday, Libby really did not have all that much time to set her beloveds in their proper order, but the fact that they were off the floor gave her some comfort. With that task out of the way, she had spent the day shoving desks and chairs against the walls to make enough room on the upper floor for everyone to congregate, or at least enough room for the attendees to establish little territories to keep some stability. To say Libby felt nervous would have been a great understatement. She was eager to bring all the tribes together, but knew such a thing would not happen easily. Who could guess what would happen that evening, or if anybody besides her own tribe would show up.

Though she had requested that everyone bring their own provisions and sleeping materials, Libby had gathered what extra blankets, pillows, and food she could get. With winter already upon them (and it wasn't looking too bright either), they had to be careful not to be too lenient with their rationing. Then again, how could she expect the other tribes to trust the Wolves if they were stingy with their own supplies? For their little world to remain safe, everyone would need to cooperate. It would only take one weak link to destroy everything they had built.

Rolling up the sleeves of her cream turtleneck sweater, she made a simple sign on a white piece of paper, which read, "All are welcome!" and stuck it to the glass of the front door to the library. Then, with an old shawl wrapped around her shoulders, Libby paced the rows of bookshelves, reorganizing the books into their proper order, and waited for her guests to arrive. "If tempers raged and a fight broke out, at least the activity would keep everybody warm should the heating fail," her queer sense of humor pointed out. That was a main point, after all: work together, keep warm.

Who: Carbon (Open, otherwise Narrative)
Where: Near the Sundance library
When: Saturday afternoon
Why: Carbon begins to panic.  He wants to go home.

When Carbon was a child his mother had always been there.  His first day of school she had waved him off with kisses and hugs and told him to "have a good day" and that she would be back before he knew it.  His uncles were also amongst the people he knew cared for him most, though he did not always understand the subtleties of human behavior he knew what love and security felt like.  He didn't ever really understand what had happened to the town apart from it all seemed so empty now and the only place that was really safe was the hospital.

The hospital was a long way away; Carbon was no longer safe.  He hadn't meant to stray so far and get so lost but after chasing a stray rat down the alley and turning down too many un-named roads he had found himself intrigued and lost.  It had been days since he had disappeared from the hospital and he wondered if Sensei was going to turn up soon to take him home.  He hadn't eaten properly and he was so thirsty his mouth had gone dry, he started to doubt if Sensei cared about him at all.  If his mother was here she would have had him home by now.  He had enjoyed exploring now, though the weather left much to be desired, he had been able to see all the things that had been kept from him.  Luckily for him he hadn't really encountered anybody and he found it fascinating that he was the only boy in this strange land.  Along the way he had wondered why Sensei had been so concerned, there was no on here and for all he knew the Carrion were the only people living in this town.

It was on the Wednesday that Carbon had finally heard other voices than his own; naturally he scurried into the closest alleyway to hide but he had heard the heated words even though he couldn't understand them.  He would have liked to introduce himself but by the way the voices were being raised he knew that perhaps it was not a good time.  Although Carbon was not the best person when it came to reading emotions, when people shouted it made him nervous and made him panic.  So he stayed in the alley way, he stayed put for the next three days with only some stray rats to play with and a flicker of hope that his best friend would find him.

It had been desperately cold over night and he had developed quite the cold, if someone asked him how he survived he was pretty sure he couldn't tell them, he'd have to find the words first and seeing as Carbon wasn't the easiest person to communicate with in the first place that person would have a pretty horrendous task on his hands.  He shivered and he examined his hands seeing them white which was quite the contrast to his normally tanned skin tone, his hair clung to his face in wet tendrils and his lips were quivering.  His jacket was soaked through and his overalls were clinging to his skin, luckily his boots kept the water out meaning his feet still held a little bit of warmth under his thick socks but other than that the rest of his body was shaking like a leaf in wind.

Carbon remembered being told by one of his uncles that boys didn't cry, that to cry was to be weak and that if he had to it was only ever okay to cry when no one could see.  Carbon was sure nobody could see him so in the midst of the rain and his own sniffling he had cried.  It was lonely out on his own and all he wanted to do was go home and get tucked into bed with some math problems.  He shivered as another cold gust blew by him and he felt a few raindrops fall onto his face signaling yet another sleeting shower.  Carbon knew he shouldn't cry but he was growing scared and this game was fast losing its fun.  He wanted to go home.

Who: Carbon [Narrative]
Where: Center city
When: Saturday morning
Why: Carbon's sick of waiting to be let outside.

Every Saturday Carbon sat on his bed with a maths book and worked his way through the whole thing.  It wasn't very exciting to anybody else but him and he always did it without fail.  Maybe it was because his book was particularly small today that when he was finished and found nobody to tell stories too that mischief struck the boys mind.  He had been warned about being bad on his own, he had been given the dissapointed chat by Sensei enough times to know that what he was doing was going to get him into trouble but the ants in his pants wouldn't rest until he got up and did something.

It was a stupid thing to do.

But Carbon wasn't the most stable minded person around.  Sensei had obviously hoped that his longing to be outside would just stay dormant for that little bit longer, however Carbon's waiting time had gotten shorter and he now found himself standing by the back door to the hospital biting his lip.

"Raining." he muttered looking up and hearing the rain patter against the thick door, he had a coat but it didn't have a hood and for a moment he thought about turning back but his feet urged him on and his hand snaked it's way around the bar and pushed with enough force to send the thing opening with a loud creek.  He froze alarmed at the sound and looked around tentativly before stepping slowly outside.  He had been in the adjacent alleyway so many times but only to walk back down into the sewer tunnels.  This time he was going to go right instead of left and he promised himself he would be back vefore dark.  He pushed the door closed and screwed his face up as big globs of rain fell upon him, he ran desperately down the alleyway and into the open city center stopping to stare at the buildings around him.  Most of the town was not like he remembered, in fact it was more run down than he expected but he still awed at the big grey buildings towering above him, he awed at the graffitti lining various walls and abandoned trash bins.  It was empty and that was the next thing Carbon realised as he travelled the roads with no real direction set in his mind, he made note of where and what he passed so he could get back but he was confused as to why Sensei would keep such a quiet place from him?  There was no danger lurking around here?  

He didn't understand it.

As he walked further from the tall buildings small homes came into view, ones that reminded him of his own home back in Canada, he missed home alot.  So he carried on like a tourist, exploring this empty wasteland that he found nothing short of amazing.

Who: Carbon and Sensei
Where: The Old Hospital
When: Tuesday afternoon
Why: Carbon longs for the outside world

Carbon stood in the water and stared towards the sky.  The muddy, green liquid below surrounded the thick rubber soles of his boots and seeped up his pant leg slowly making it turn a dark blue and wrinkle.  Carbon hadn't even noticed that his leg was slowly getting wet because he was so focused on looking at the grate above him, he smiled wistfully almost as the light from outside fell upon his face and for a moment he thought he could feel the heat of the sun.  He wasn't really aware of the cold because he hadn't been outside for a long time, he wasn't allowed to venture from the tunnels and the hospitals and although he didn't like it he stayed put because his tribe new best.

He sighed before looking down as something rubbed up agains his leg and when he looked down he noticed the small sewer rat sitting on its hind legs, looking at him.  Carbon looked to the rat and then cast furtive glances around him before feeling it safe to bend down and cradle the small creature in his paw like hands.  He had been told off soo many times by the girls and Sensei alike that he was not to touch the rats because they were dirty and diseased but as the rat sat back in his hand it began to lick itself and groom.

Carbon smiled, "Not dirty," he spoke directly to the critter, "You clean yourself."

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