ᴠɪᴋᴛᴏʀ (mobdog) wrote in remains_rpg, @ 2016-06-25 15:18:00 |
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The RV had been just fine for months, and Vic had never had reason to consider living anywhere else but in the Dog Park. But now that the prospect of living somewhere else was on the horizon -- just a few days away, if they so chose to move as soon as possible -- it suddenly felt fucking cramped as all hell. Vic was happy to spend his downtime outside, rather than inside the RV; by the time Marina found him after her rounds with TJ, he was sitting at the picnic table, flipping idly through one of Sasha's comic books. "How was your day?" he asked her in Russian, standing up to greet her with a kiss. “Not as exciting as yesterday, with the burgers and everything, but not too bad,” she replied, returning the kiss before sitting next to him at the picnic table. It wasn’t strange to find Vic out here. This table seemed to be the heart of their rag-tag family, the place where they gathered, but also Vic was simply too large to want to stay in confined spaces. Their RV had been worlds better than the tent they’d shared last summer, but even still, Marina knew he much preferred the open air. “What’re you reading, dorogoy?” "Batman," Vic said, closing the book in question and putting an arm around her. "One of Sasha's. Looked kinda interesting from the cover, but I feel like I'm missing some of the stuff I'm supposed to know." Marina rested her head on his chest, glancing at the book in question before shrugging. “Don’t worry. I don’t really get it either.” "Oh, good. It's not just me." Vic pushed the comic book aside. "But, hey. You see the thing on the Freenet yesterday about all the changes they're making?" he added, almost as an afterthought. "Housing and the new council and shit. New sober community for the Ghouls." She nodded against him, staying quiet a moment before responding, “You only get that stuff if you register, though, right?” Marina wasn’t quite decided how she felt about all of that just yet. A whole new world had been revealed to them in the past month and she was still in shock, as well as skeptical as hell of any government that had even let Austin get to the state it was in. How was she supposed to believe it was going to be better this time around? "Yeah. That's how they're doing it. Bishop's gonna be on the council, too." Weird to think of a man like him hobnobbing with important political people, and the Mayor, too, but what choice did they have? Vic didn't see anything else they could do; both of them had sons to protect, and the way things had been sure as hell hadn't been sustainable. "I'm thinking it's a good idea." “It doesn’t seem like we have much of a choice. Scavenging around in the city is going to be a crime now and rations can only stretch so far,” Marina said, the look on her face clearly expressing that she was less than pleased. “Do you really think they’re giving us a clean slate or is registering and letting them know exactly who we are just going to bite us in the ass later?” "I dunno. Could always ask Bishop, since I know he's got some concerns about that, given his record and all." Vic had been lucky enough to escape jail time prior to the whole zombie thing, something even his own brother hadn't been able to accomplish. Though he'd done time in La Quinta last year, he didn't have as much to lose as his wife and his President. "But if he's for it, I kinda figure you don't have much to worry about, you know?" Vic’s words made a lot of sense but emotions were never logical. However, she trusted Vic. And she trusted Bishop. If they were willing to go along with this new regime, especially after their bad relationship with government authority and for a longer period of time than Marina ever had to experience, then she should be at least willing to try, shouldn’t she? “Yeah, I hear what you’re saying. Still makes me nervous, but you haven’t led me down a bad path yet. I trust you, dorogoy.” "Hey, me too." Vic squeezed her shoulder, turned his head to kiss her temple. As much as it all seemed good enough, there was always the risk of the government pulling the rug out from underneath them. What would he do if they went back on their word and his wife and best friend were hauled off to La Quinta? "We can see if we can get some kinda contract or something about this amnesty thing. Register only if we got it down, you know?" “That seems like a good idea,” Marina said. Words and actions were very different things but hopefully some sort of arrangement could be made. “That way we can register and move into one of those new cleared out houses, right?” She teased, then continued, “Seems like you’d sleep outside if I didn’t drag you in every night. Are you starting to feel claustrophobic?” He laughed, shaking his head. "Starting?" he returned, glancing over his shoulder at the RV in question. As nice it was to have a place that felt like more of a home than the tent he'd been living in when he and Marina had first started up, nothing could compare to the prospect of an actual home -- an idea he hadn't allowed himself to really give a lot of thought to before Marina brought it up herself. "Yeah, that's how they're saying it's gonna work." It was kinda bittersweet, imagining himself living anywhere else in Austin. The Dog Park had been the only home he'd ever known, one he'd forged himself with the rest of his brothers and his family. Obviously, things were a hell of a lot different these days. The politics of their district had changed even before the government rolled into town. As much as it hurt to face the change that was coming, Vic couldn't keep them bogged down in the past. "If they're really gonna let our kind into those houses, we better make sure we get first pick of the best ones," he said simply, smiling over at her. “You going to push your brothers out of the way if they try and grab the house you have your eye on?” She teased, smiling back. Even though she’d only lived at the Dog Park for less than a year, it was the only place that had ever really felt like home. Vic, Sasha and Max were her family now and they’d built this life and home together. Would leaving the Dog Park ruin that, though? "Mm, yeah, probably." Vic's smile broadened at the thought, imagining himself and the rest of the officers -- hell, some of the patches too, while they were at it -- brawling for the best house, ignorant to the concerns in Marina's head. "Survival of the fittest's just how we do it over here." “You’re definitely the fittest,” Marina smirked, her eyes looking Vic up and down. He made a noncommittal noise, thinking of his shoulder and just how well -- or poorly -- he'd actually fare in a real fight against the others. But that wasn't the point of this, and Vic didn't want to dwell on that just then. She sobered after a moment though, and asked, “Do you think Sasha and Max will come, too? Or do they not have the option of not coming?” Vic's smile lessened at the thought, though when he answered his tone was still light-hearted enough. "Dunno about that. Haven't given it much thought but I don't think it'd be safe for them on their own." He could trust himself and Marina outside the Dog Park's walls, patrolling soldiers or not. Sasha and Max, though? "They better come with us." Marina frowned and gave a nod. The last time Sasha went out, even with other patches, he got jumped by ghouls. She wasn’t even sure Max knew how to fire a gun. Vic was right. “Yeah, we’d better find a place with enough rooms then. Or do you think they’d like bunkbeds?” She laughed. "Hey, they may." The mental image was pretty fucking great, but the idea of Sasha and Max somewhere he could keep an eye on them was even better. He was glad Marina saw eye to eye on that as well. "I guess we'll just have to see what we end up getting." Still weird to think of them living somewhere else, but he felt good knowing they'd still be together. |