All that remains, are shadows of humanity...

Who: Remy, Floyd…and ALL of the little ones
What: Baby-sitting for Asher and Tannis’ anniversary
When: Night-time
Where: The bunker’s movie theater

The place looked like some sort of out of control daycare center, if Remy was being honest. The theater was really the one room in the bunker that could hold all of the kids comfortably, not to mention that it was their favorite place to be when cooped up inside. They’d been able to run loose outdoors earlier, running themselves down so that once Asher and Tannis left for the night it would be easier to get them all to relax, to eventually go to sleep. Now their movie room was littered with sleeping bags, pillows and blankets, little bodies strewn across every available surface as they snacked on crackers and juice boxes, waiting for their movie to start. Remy had left Floyd to helping them all decide, needing to take a few minutes in their room to feed Ruger, the newest addition to the Devils. He’d been a few months before (earlier than Cora had expected) and his sudden arrival had nearly put a cramp in the Ryans’ anniversary plans; once children entered the picture, you started planning nights out along together months in advance, it felt like. Tannis and Ash had been looking forward to this little private celebration for far too long for Remy and Floyd to let them even think about missing it. Remy had assured them both that dealing with the kids was old hat by now, that after the twins, and then Colt especially, the two of them could have handled the bunch with their eyes closed. After all, so far all Ruger seemed to need to be happy was a warm meal and his mum – he hadn’t fussed for anything else in his short time with them so far. And besides, Nolan would be there and he was always more of a help than one of the kids himself. There had been no reason for Tannis and Asher to reschedule and so they’d shooed the pair out the door as soon as it was safe to do so.

Honestly, the only person that Remy had been concerned for in all of the commotion surrounding tonight was her husband. He’d been working so hard to re-adjust to things as the Devil’s leader again, to rediscover his place at the head of all of them, but she knew it wasn’t easy. It was impossible to ignore the little struggles that only she was privy to. For a moment, she’d worried that maybe have so many of the children put into the care of just the two of them would overwhelm Floyd, that maybe he wasn’t ready for such a task. Of course it was a silly concern, he’d been nothing but perfect with all of them since the moment the little Ryan clan had come to join their own. How she had ever doubted him, Remy couldn’t guess – either the man was feeling completely at ease with the children or he was faking it convincingly. “Did they pick that bloody fish movie again?” sleeping baby in her arms, Remy bounced Ruger gently as she re-joined their little sleepover. She watched as Floyd sifted through a stack of movies for whichever one was the lucky winner, digging through the various cases stacked up. “I’ve seen the thing so many times, I can quote et now.” It was frightening to be able to recognize the lines when your children parroted them back at one another while playing, to know that you could pinpoint the exact moment in the film they were re-living. “I’m half-tempted te hide the bloody thing so they’ll have te start watchin’ something else.” But the hell they’d all raise, Sian and Bowie especially, it wouldn’t be worth it.

“Da?” Thalia made her way over to where her parents’ were firing up the night’s feature presentation, her favorite blanket clasped under her arm. “They didn’t pick a scary one, did they?” Nolan and Wesson were old enough to start to like some of the more frightening movies the group had, but their eldest wasn’t quite there yet. Ever since Floyd had come back to them all, his one and only daughter had developed a strong dislike for letting him out of her sight too long; it was a miracle that she’d stayed sitting with her cousins as long as she had before wandering over to check on him. “I’m sure da didn’t let them pick a scary one, love,” Remy assured her, reaching out to trail her fingers through Thalia’s dark hair. She left the two of them for a moment, long enough to deposit Ruger into the little portable crib she’d set up for him, doing a quick check on the rest of the family just as the movie started up on screen. Dimming the lights, Remy made her way back to the projector where her husband stood, slipping her arms around his waist from beside him, “Thes es the first time we’ve had them all since ye’ve been back. Feeling overwhelmed yet?” Because it was incredibly easy with this group.

Who: Charlotte, Max….and maybe some visitors
Where:Zoe and Charlotte’s Apartment
When: Early Evening
What: A Father Visits His Daughter

Ever since he’d been freed, at least once a week, Max had taken the time to come back into the city and spend some time with Charlotte. There was nothing easy about it – he could never guarantee what day he’d be able to return, what time or for how long he’d be able to stay, but there was no way he could stay away. He’d lost so much time with she and Lukas because of Kaledin, because of Sacha… No, that wasn’t a name he wanted entering his thoughts. Just the mention of the enforcer’s name was enough to bring an unwelcome reminder of how involved the man had become in all their lives. This time wasn’t about Sacha or Max or even Zoe, it was about Charlotte and learning everything that he could about her in whatever short time frame the two could get. To be honest, he wasn’t even sure if Zoe knew that he’d been coming by, how she felt about his visits or that he’d been going a bit out of his way to make sure that their paths didn’t cross…

The rational part of his brain knew that there was no reason for him to blame her for being with Sacha, that he had no right to even be angry with her, but… In situations like this, when emotions ran as high as they were in the little family, being rational wasn’t really a common occurrence. It was impossible to know what he did know and not look at Zoe and imagine the two together – it was just all too much to handle. The two of them would have to talk about things between them later, discuss whatever might remain of their marriage. For now, Max’s focus was on getting to know his children and keeping them all safe. At least Lukas has come with him and he could keep a constant eye on his son. He even seemed to be finding his place among the Devils, losing some of that resentful edge he’d carried for so many years. Next time Max would bring the boy back with him, to give he and his sister some time together, but it was still a little too early to risk the both of them making the trip. Each time he came back to the city, he worked to perfect the route with the least risk, though he had to be careful of Kaledin’s guards and their ever-changing positions. Max was getting rather used to being a free man again, he wasn’t all that eager to give up this new-found lifestyle.

He watched the building that house Zoe and Charlotte for over half an hour before he determined that no one else was doing the exact same thing. Pulling his beanie a bit down over his forehead, he ducked his head and made a casual stride through the front doors and straight up the same stairwell he had followed Zoe up not so long ago. Pausing for a moment at their floor, he poked his head out to make sure that no one else was around that might see him, might be suspicious of the strange man that came to visit the two women so often. Once he was sure that the place was deserted, he hurried out of the stairwell and down to the door that was theirs. Max slid his sunglasses off, reaching up to knock soundly against the door, waiting to see who, if either of them, would be home today.

Who: Quinn and Jaspar
Where: Quinn's workshop
When: Night
What: Going over their usual anti-Kaledin stuff
Tag: Future

The wall of monitors stretched out in front of him flickered with the action of the city, giving Quinn an eye into almost everything that was going on in the city…which was exactly how he liked it. If he watched long enough, paid close enough attention, Kaledin’s men were bound to do something stupid and he just wanted to be there to catch it on film. And then, of course, it went right on to his little website where it belonged, where anyone brave enough to visit could see it. Unless you had a night like tonight, when nothing even remotely exciting was happening and you were left, bored as fuck, watching a bunch of soundless televisions. Kicked back, his legs crossed at the ankles and resting on his desk, surrounded by the deliciousness that was Oreo cookies and Cheetohs, Quinn couldn’t have been more bored if he was watching a knitting how-to video. Not to say that no trouble from the ‘people’s government’ wasn’t a good thing, but it was more unsettling than anything else. Were they up to something? Just waiting to last out? So far he’d only seen one beating and it hadn’t even been that severe, definitely not up to par with what the guards could usually be counted on for. If Jaspar or one of his other sources didn’t pop up soon and give him something worthwhile, he was pretty sure he’d be the first person to officially die from lack of stimuli.

Pushing aside that nutritional bounty of his, Quinn slid his feet to the floor and slid closer to his workbench, booting up the laptop that he tended to work on. Now that he thought about it, there was plenty of video to edit, to get ready to make its appearance on what was left of the world wide web. Keeping the site up took a fair amount of effort – it wasn’t easy to make sure that none of the government lackeys found out where it was being hosted from, even if they didn’t really present that much of a challenge. Running something like his site could easily get him killed, could get everyone working with him offed in the process. It wasn’t really like their ‘fearless leader’ needed much of an excuse to take someone out. Besides, what techie didn’t like the challenge of trying to outsmart the Russian’s machine? If they ever actually started to give him a run for his money, Quinn would really start to enjoy himself. For now, they were better than nothing.

He was halfway through his second video when he heard the door behind him squeak, sending him out of his chair and tearing across the workshop to see who it was. Given that only a very small number of people knew where his little lair was, let alone how to get inside, chances were it was one of his many co-horts hopefully bringing him some rather incriminating footage. “Fuck yes!” he was clearly overjoyed to see that it was Jaspar, “Dude, I’m so fucking bored, I’m going mental here. Please tell me you have something I can use. Please, please, please.” He waited, obviously hopeful, for Jaspar to give him some sort of sign as to whether or not he came bearing goods.

Who: Thalia and Wesson
Where: The bunker
When: Afternoon
What: Wonder twin powers, activate!
Tag: Future

Remy and Jagger had known about her art for awhile now and she'd just recently added Nolan to that list of people she trusted with that secret as well. So far, so good. Thalia knew she was working her way up to Floyd, climbing the ladder of people that were closest to her. The idea of showing her father what she spent so much of her spare time doing was still a bit terrifying and for reasons she couldn't even really name. Nolan had been right when he'd said that if it was something she was passionate about, something she really loved, that her da would find a usage for it that would benefit the group, he'd find a way to make it work. Still, something about it just terrified her. It might have just been that need for every daughter to make her father proud of her that was flaring up - she didn't want to be a disappoint to him, to either of her parents. But of course there was one other person she wanted to make sure she took to her studio before she worried about how she'd break the news to Floyd, the one person that she'd never hidden a single thing from before. She knew that she needed to tell Wesson and soon, that he'd be even more supportive of this talent of hers than anyone else had been so far.

Ever since Nolan's birthday party and the date the two had gone on afterwards, Thalia felt a bit like she'd seen less of her twin brother than normal. Usually the two found themselves spending time together, either because they'd planned to do so or simply because they always seemed to seek the other one out when they were bored. So was he avoiding her? Had she pissed him off the night of the party? She couldn't honestly recall doing anything he'd been ticked about, but he'd been in a strange mood that night, period, so maybe it had had something to do with her. Maybe showing him what she'd kept tucked away in that top-secret studio of hers for so long would help bridge whatever gap had formed between them. Besides, she missed having her twin there with her, talking to him about nearly everything so she needed to buck up and make an effort to go to him.

She took her time getting ready, trying to figure out exactly how she was going to approach this without Wesson catching on that she had an ulterior motive, that she wanted to figure out whether or not she was upset with her and expose this secret talent of hers to him. Once she was dressed and had stopped off in the kitchen to grab a quick bite to eat, she set off to track down her twin brother, checking each room as she went. Obviously Wesson hadn't been in the kitchen, the training and tactical rooms were both empty, as was the theater. The closer she grew to his room, the most she could hear him moving around in there, the music pouring out of his slightly opened door. "Hey," Thalia leaned around, knocking on his door frame so that Wes would know she was there before she just stepped inside and scared the crap out of him, "you got some time? There's something I want to show you. Doesn't have to be now...I mean, I can come back later if you're busy..."

Who: Floyd and Remy
Where: The bunker/near the bunker
When: Early evening
What: Some big news
Tag: Past

”Say et again then, Cora?” Remy needed to hear it one more time, just to be sure her ears weren’t playing tricks on her, to be sure that she’d truly heard what she thought she’d heard.

“You’re pregnant, Remy.” The older woman wasn’t making any bones are reassuring her about the big news she’d just broken, since clearly her patient was experiencing a little bit of shock.

“Right,” Remy nodded, hands wrapped around the edge of the exam table as she took in her prognosis, “shit.”

She’d just been working on getting Floyd to warm up to the idea of them possibly having a family someday and now here she was already knocked up. This really wasn’t going to look very good for her – she wouldn’t blame her husband for feeling a bit like she’d planned this all along. Remy knew she wasn’t some innocent little thing, they’d both been married long enough to have pulled a thing or two over on each other before, she just hoped he believe her when she said that wasn’t the case this time. Of course, that was going to be the direct result of just how she went about revealing this little bit of information to him. For once, she was thankful that her husband had taken a group of the men off to meet his little Texan friend, to freshen up their ammo supplies. The trip usually took a day and, given that he’d taken some of their best along with him, she wasn’t too worried for his safety. She’d have a few hours still before they returned, a nice chunk of time to try and figure out how to break the news to him. Would Floyd be excited, would this revelation make him happy? Remy honestly didn’t know. Sure, the idea of kids seemed like it was starting to appeal to him, but an idea and an actual event were two very different things. What if he truly wasn’t ready to start a family? Where would that leave the two of them? When the subject had first come up, he’d been adamantly opposed to it, after all. Had being around Nolan truly reversed his opinion all that much?

There wasn’t much else Cora could tell her that she was going to hear after dropping that bomb. Remy was vaguely aware of the instructions she was giving her: things to avoid, things to make sure to eat more of, no smoking, no drinking, etc… It was a lot to take in and she just needed some time to sit down, to think, to get her head on straight. She swung by she and Floyd’s bedroom long enough to grab her jacket and her thigh holster, setting off for the little ridge she and Floyd tended to hike to when they wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of the bunker. It afforded her a view of almost their entire patch of land and it was so quiet up there – if anywhere was going to let her have some peace and quiet, it was going to be that particular spot. The cold air alone was bound to clear her head. She needed to get her thoughts in line, to come up with the best way she could to tell Floyd her news. This wasn’t some little thing she could keep a secret from him, she didn’t want to hide it from him. And, above all, he deserved to know. This was something they’d done together, they’d have to reach a solution together and hopefully it wouldn’t be one that tore them apart.

Who: Thalia and Nolan
What: Heading into the city
Where: The bunker to start, then the city
When: Early morning
Tag: Future

Thalia was in desperate need of some time outside the bunker. As much as she loved her family, sometimes there was such a thing as too much time together - especially when you were Floyd Clea's only daughter. To say that he got a little carried away with how over-protective he was of her didn't even begin to cover it. Thankfully, some of her supplies seemed to be running out just in time for her to track Nolan down and ask him if his offer to help her get into the city was still good. When he'd assured her that it was, she asked flat out if the next morning was too soon - well, you couldn't blame her for asking, right? Besides, he'd told her that she could meet him before he headed off to class, so everything had worked out. Now all that there was left to do was take a quick inventory of what she'd need to purchase in the marketplace the next day and make sure she was up on time.

It was a good thing the weather was working in their favor the next day - it was perfectly sunny outside and there was no rain. The trails would be bone dry and they wouldn't have to work hard to make sure they didn't leave tracks. She dressed quickly the next morning, still trying to wear something not as colorful as her usual choices, and threw her usual collection of miscellaneous crap in her bag before she rushed off to meet Nolan. It was surprisingly quiet hiking up to the crest of the hill where the two of them tended to meet on days like today - the silence made it that much more obvious that she had managed to beat him there this time. Dropping her stuff into the grass, she lowered herself down to settle in and wait a little bit for him, they still had plenty of time, after all, so there was no rush. Besides, it was a pretty rare thing for a Clea to be on time, let alone early, so she might as well bask in it.

It wasn't too long before she saw Nolan's head cresting the top of the hill, a smile spreading over her face, "Morning, Ryan. Ready for another fun city adventure?" Thalia pushed herself back to her feet, grabbing her bag from where she'd tossed it aside, slinging it over her shoulder. "I'm ready whenever you are." He was the one with the schedule, after all, she was just tagging along for fun. It was a pretty risky thing for him to be late to classes and she didn't want the fact that he was doing her a favor to be what got him in trouble. "So, shall we go?" she nodded towards the path behind them that lead towards the city, ready to head off.

Who: Slade, Joel, and baby Addison
What: Moving in
Where: The main bunker
When: Afternoon
Tag: Future

　
Life had been a whirlwind, in the past few months. Consider how his entire life had been lead, that was really saying something. There was a chance encounter, with the daughter of a former friend, which had brought him to this place. A place with metal walls, metal ceiling, and cold metal beneath his booted feet. It had been at his mother's request that he, and his daughter leave their flat in the city, to come, and live with the Devils. To join the group, that had once been the enemy of his family. Joel hadn't been immediately sold on the idea, given the past that was set between them, but, he wished to be closer to Slade, and he wanted his daughter to grow up, in a safer place. There was a school here, family. There was no better place, it would seem. Still, with all of that in mind, he wasn't easing into all of it, without some protest. Everyone had been very welcoming, well the women had anyway. Then men, unstandable stand offish. Bending forward, he soothed out the gray rug, until it stretched comfortable across the small space, that was his floor. It wasn't the most stylish piece of cloth that he owned, but, it was thick, and soft. Perfect for Addie to play on, once she was a little older. Once each corner had been straightened out, and tucked beneath the furniture that interrupted it's setting, he turned, and looked at a small stack of boxes. Ones he had yet to touch. It was so odd, he'd moved more in the past year, than he had in his entire life. You would think by now, that unpacking would be second nature to him. Yet, it was still a donting task, which he hated even the idea of.

From her crib, Addison began to kick, and coo, watching the spinning mobile above her, with an intense fascination. Joel watched her for a moment, smiling, before he lifted the top box, and pulled back it's flaps. It was packed with both of their clothes. An odd mix. Delicate, pink, purple, and green garments, mixed in with black, gray, and brown denim, and leather. Shifting out a pile, or two, he walked over to the locker, and began filling it's drawers with clothing. The right side was his, and the left her's. He knew, no matter how organized he managed to make it, he would still find pink socks, tucked into the sleeves of is black t-shirts. It never failed, and it always gave the guys at work something to pick on him about, when one happened to fall loose. He wouldn't be returning to his job though, that had been apart of the deal he made with the Devil's leader before he was allowed to join them. He had to give up his government job, because they couldn't risk having the ties. Floyd had told them that they needed a capable mechanic, so, if he agreed to function in that position, he, and his daughter could live there among them. Joel had obviously agreed.

It was difficult to miss that tapping against the heavy metal door, and he figured it had to be one of two people. Either his mother, or Remy stopping by to check on them. Once his hands were free, he crossed the room, and pulled it open, finding identical eyes peering back at him. "Hi," He said lightly, smiling that tired smile, before stepping back, and welcoming her in. "Come in. It's still a mess, but, I've made some progress." It had been nothing more than an empty room, that morning when he had first arrived. Now, it looked lived it. The bed was made, the crib was erect, and in use, even the rocking chair he'd brought along was placed perfectly in the far corner. "I've still got clothing, and toys to unpack, but, she's content with what she has at the moment." Since being reunited, the two had only seen each other a handful of times, and it was still odd for him to be around her. For so long, he'd been convinced that she was dead, and now here she stood, healthy, in one piece. His mother. Boy life had thrown him for a loop, hadn't it?

Who: Flux, Clarke and some of "the boys"
What: A little live music
Where: A dive bar in the city
When: Night
Tag: Future

The bar was already packed by the time she arrived - it was about an hour before their show, plenty of time to get changed into her stage clothes, out of what she'd worn to the bar, and to get everything set up before it was time to get things started. Shoving her way through the crowd, Clarke tried to beeline it as best she could towards the little backstage room that the bar tried to pass off as a dressing room. As far as set-ups went, this place was about as good as it got when you weren't one of those musicians that sold your soul to Kaledin - they might have gotten changing rooms that were higher quality than the flat she lived in, but she wouldn't have signed up for that lifestyle for anything. She paused for a moment outside the battered door, pounding heavily against it before she pushed it open and stuck her head in to see if Flux was already there. "G'day mate!" she greeted as cheekily as she could muster, stepping inside to drop her pack onto one of the small light-lined vanities with a grin. "Crowd out there is pretty ace tonight, don't you think?" Clarke moved to rifle through the bad she'd brought with her, digging out the clothes she'd brought to change into and, at the same time, starting to change from her jeans. "See any familiar faces out there, yet?" she glanced back at Flux over her shoulder, tossing her 'dirty' clothes into her backpack.

"Oy, I worked on a bit of a set list," shimmying into her leather pants, Clarke stopped half-way there for a second to toss the sheet of paper over to Flux, "feel free to change it or whatever. I got bored and needed something to do earlier. If its total shit, we can toss it." She shrugged, reaching down to pull her pants up the rest of the way, fastening them closed and sitting down to buckle her feet into her shoes. "What do you think? Is it all rubbish?" she nodded towards the list in her friend's hands, pulling her top over her head. Drawing the straps up behind her neck, she pushed her blond hair out of the way to tie them in place and reached for her belt, waiting for a reaction. The list had been something she'd done at her 'day job' in the marketplace, given how slow business had been earlier, it was her contribution to the whole pre-show ceremony. "At least they got my kit set up ahead of time this time, I lugged everything over here this morning first thing." Someone should have told her that the drums weren't going to be the best idea before she started in on them - now it was a pain to lug them all over and manage to get them set up. Of course, it was giving her killer biceps, but that was beyond the point.

"So," she plunked down into a nearby chair, blowing a stray strand of hair from her face as she dug around for her make-up bag, "how's life then?" It had been a few days since the two had last spoken, so it was a valid question. Flux was the closest thing Clarke had to family, the two had a good system going with the band and watching each other's backs when the need arose. The only way to truly survive in the city was to have at least one other person that gave a damn about whether you made it through the day. There were a lucky few that had managed to keep or establish families in the wake of every Kaledin threw at them, but for the rest, it was all about who you met along the way that was wanted the same things that you did. Clarke knew that she was lucky to have found Flux when she had, lucky that things had worked out as well as they did. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than the alternative.

Who: Thalia and Floyd
What: Talking about bringing Jagger into the fold
Where: The bunker's control room
When: Morning
Tag: Future

It was never easy talking to Floyd Clea about anything too serious, at least not when you were his one and only daughter and definitely not when you knew it was a topic he wasn't necessarily going to be thrilled about to start with. She knew it was something she had to do - lately it had been getting more and more dangerous around Jagger's shop, apparently Kaledin was really starting to clamp down on all the independent businesses that people had taken it upon themselves to open in the city. There was really only a handful of solutions to the whole problem and it seemed pretty unlikely that Jagger would just shut his shop's doors. He'd been nothing than a friend to her, done nothing but keep an eye out for her on her little ventures into the city and so maybe it was time to try and pay him back for being her 'inner-city guardian,' as it was. Which meant that really the only thing she could do was try and convince her father that bringing Jagger into the Devil fold was the best thing to do. She honestly believe that it would be for the best, that he had things to offer their family and that leaving him in the city would end up getting him killed. It didn't help matters that Jagger liked to help out the underdog, that he had a tendency for sticking his nose into things that didn't involve him to try and lend a hand - that behavior was never rewarded in Kaledin's city. More often than not, it would get you killed and if something happened to him without her so much as having tried to help, Thalia would never forgive herself.

She'd overheard her mom and dad the night before discussing Ken needing the next day off to go into the city and meet one of his tech friends and so Thalia knew that her father would take over watching the monitors. Every now and then she knew he liked the task, liked to see for himself that their monitoring system was truly operating the best that it could. She wanted to make sure and get to him before the rest of the bunker was up and going, trying to track down Floyd for their own issues and so she made sure to get up earlier than usual. She was quick to shower and get ready for the day, pulling out what she only hoped was an outfit her father wouldn't have an issue with and scooted out her door just as quickly as possible. She didn't hear the usual sounds of everyone else up for the day, so hopefully she'd beat the usual morning rush.

Thalia made her way to the monitoring room, pausing for a moment to collect herself outside. She took a deep breath, making sure to square her shoulders - this was serious business, after all. She wasn't leaving until her father agreed to let her bring Jagger into the group, to give him the safety that the Devils provided for all of their members. Before she could chicken out, Thalia reached up and knocked on the open door, leaning in to make sure he wasn't already busy with something. "Hey da," she smiled, giving him a slight wave from the doorway, "do you have a minute or two? I kind of need to talk to you about something...it's important." And it was, to her especially. She was hoping that her dad would feel the same way and that, if he didn't, her mother's charm wouldn't fail her in a moment as key as this one.

Who: Thalia, Jagger, Joel and a glimpse of Nolan
What: Sneaking off to the city
When: Mid-morning
Where: Starting at the bunker, heading to the city
Tag: Future

It had seemed highly unlikely for awhile that the rain would stop in time for the trail to dry out so that she could keep her plans to head into the city with Nolan in two day's time. Luckily, a few hours after their movie had ended those couple of days earlier, the drum of the rain on the bunker's roof had grown more and more quiet until it had lead up completely. The ground outside had been a mess - her father and uncle had gone out with crews immediately to double check and make sure there was no serious damage. They couldn't do with many of the animals going missing or the crops being drowned out in flood waters. In the end, the rain was actually helpful for their little plot, given that it got rid of the two biggest obstacles for her to get out of the bunker for the day. Remy was still a bit uneasy about any of her children heading in to the city, but she knew that smothering them wasn't the answer. So she sent them off well trained, well prepared and trusted them to take care of themselves. It was a system that had worked out well so far and Thalia didn't have any plans to ruin it for herself or the others. Had she not been so worried about Jagger, she wouldn't have pushed so hard to find a way to make it to the city. But she hadn't seen him in nearly a month now and she knew that Kaledin was fighting to shut down any businesses that weren't government run or that wouldn't pay a tax to his troops. Leave it to the Russian bastard to wait until the poorest of the poor had set up a little world that actually allowed them to survive before he turned his attention to them. She just needed to make sure that Jagger was ok - he had a tendency to stick his nose in where it didn't belong and drawing unwanted attention to yourself could have dire consequences inside the gates of the city.

Heading out of the safety of the bunker meant she needed to tone down her usually overly-colorful wardrobe. Looking too closely at her could easily reveal exactly whose child she was and standing out like a neon sign didn't help with avoiding unwanted attention. So Thalia made sure to go for a less interesting ensemble, pulling a knit cap on over her dark hair and sliding a pair of sunglasses over eyes. Together, the two hid enough of her face that she felt as though she might stand a good chance at blending in. It was her eyes that tended to draw the most attention, they were nearly the exact same shade as her mother's after all, and with those hidden she'd just keep her head down and ignore the city-dwellers. Going about your business and paying no attention to anyone else seemed the best way to stay under the radar. Thalia paused long enough to give herself another glance-over in the mirror, then moved to grab the bag she usually hauled with her into the city to pack for the trip. It always held the gun her father had given her (a new one he'd had Slade craft her, to boot), a knife and, though no one would know it was there, a camera her mother had brought her from the city. Slinging the bag over her shoulders, she pushed open the door to her room and headed off to find Nolan.

Generally, when any of them were heading out together, they met at the break in the fence line of the Devil's property. From there, the hike to the city could take anywhere from an hour to the rest of the day depending on how quickly you moved, how often you stopped and how many troops were out on patrol. Thalia made her way out of the bunker and out into the forest that surrounded their little homes, heading up the hill towards the usual meeting spot. From the moment she crested the incline, she could see his familiar outline waiting for her - hopefully, he'd just arrived. She didn't want to keep Nolan waiting when he was trying to help her. He probably had found himself something to do in the city since they'd be there for the day and she didn't want to complicate his plans. "Hey," she greeted him with a smile when she was close enough, "ready to go?"

Who: Thalia and Nolan
Where: The bunker's "theater"
When: Mid-afternoon
What: Trying to stay out of the rain
Tag: Future

Hadn't is just been gorgeous out like...two days ago? Thalia couldn't believe the weather had taken such an abrupt turn for the worse. They'd gone from days full of sunshine to a handful of them now filled with rain....nothing but rain. At first, it had been a nice relief. Their fields could use the extra moisture and it cooled off everyone's living quarters in a nice, natural way. Then it started to wear on them, the weather keeping almost everyone stuck inside instead of letting them loose on the Devil's turf outside. There was only so much that could be done in a downpour, after all. The gym had been packed with people spending their time training, Slade had been beyond busy working on a few special weapons for members of the crew, even Wesson had found ways to keep himself busy. None of it had appealed to Thalia, though. Her mother had been scheduled to head into the city the day before, which would have meant a few new art supplies to tinker around with, but the weather had kept that from happening. Had everyone else been too busy to notice, she could have slipped off to get a little work done. As it was, they were all hyper aware of one another given the small quarters they lived in. Finding the "theater" room empty had been a miracle, she'd expected Colt or Ruger to be camped out watching some ridiculous movie on the giant screen. She'd even peered in tentatively, expecting at least some of the seats to be filled. Thalia had breathed a sigh of relief when the place had been empty, slipping in quietly before someone else caught sight of her and decided to join in.

The hardest part was selecting what to watch, not that there was a huge selection by any means, but the Devils had managed to gather a pretty impressive supply of films. She leafed through the boxes for a few minutes, hoping that there might be something stuck in a box that she hadn't seen quite yet, something that she'd missed all those times before. It seemed that the more popular the film had been in the days passed, the easier it had been for her parents or someone else to track it down. The Spire had even started a film studio, had started making their own pictures. Sure, they were just another way to pass around their propaganda, but the idea of someone still creating something on film appealed to Thalia. She knew it appealed to Sian, too - she'd seen the way her cousin eyed the starlets plastered across the posters the few times they'd been anywhere near town together. Finally, at the bottom of the third box, she lifted out a little case she'd never seen before. The title, Last of the Mohicans, was printed across the front. Taking a moment to pop it into the player, Thalia headed out to take a seat as the credits rolled across the screen at the front of the room. She'd just settled in, legs draped over the seat in front of her, content to enjoy the backdrop the rain provided to her choice when she heard the door squeak open behind her. She'd been so close! With a sigh, she pushed herself upright, turned back to see who it was that had interrupted her alone time - fingers crossed that it wasn't Sian....

Who: Tannis and Asher
Where: The bunker kitchen
When: Evening - Nov. 23, 2042
What: The "big talk"

It felt like weeks since things had gotten ugly between he and Tannis in the city. She'd stormed off and he'd stayed through the night, talking things over with Chloe, reminiscing about old times and seeking her advice into the mess he'd created. He'd spent the night in the club a number of times before and Tau offered up a bed again that night - which he gladly took. It was too late to hike all the way back to the bunker and with Tannis staying in the city hideout, it was no longer an option. She needed time to cool off and he needed to try and sort things out. Eventually they were going to have to talk things over, though he wasn't quite sure exactly what they'd be talking about or how it would go, but it would have to happen. You couldn't live in such close quarters and not eventually have to deal with each and every little problem that arose. So far there'd been too much going on for them to have to talk it over: the twins were the center of the bunker universe and their arrival had Floyd and Asher working on a new, more high tech warning system for intruders.

In the last few days, Nolan had managed to get sick. It seemed just a simple cold, but Asher was worried nonetheless. He made sure to keep him in his room so that the twins wouldn't come down with whatever it was and saw to taking care of him himself. Asher rarely cooked, though he was quite good at it, and instead left the task up to other members of the Devils. But with Nolan sick, he took to making soup for the boy all on his own. The kitchen carried the delicious smell and he'd made sure to have enough ready for others, though a small stash was set aside for Nolan and no one else. Nolan seemed to be improving, which was the good news - he could eat now and keep it down and his fever had finally broken the day before, thanks to Cora and her magic methods. One last dose of soup for the day and he'd tucked Nolan in for the night, handing him over a little two-way in case he needed anything. Ash flicked off the light and headed for the kitchen to get himself something to eat once he was sure his son would be alright for the night.

It was late so he made sure not to turn on all the lights as he moved around, re-heating a bit of the soup and putting together a sandwich. There was still a bit of beer in the fridge, the brew the Devil's made themselves, and he cracked one open as well. It seemed like he might be the only one awake, given how quiet it was in the place tonight. Remy and Floyd tended to seal themselves away rather early at night with the twins anymore and everyone else seemed to do their best not to make too much racket and wake the babies. Which meant on most nights, like tonight, the bunker looked deserted. Ash was fine with that, he was nearly dead on his feet from staying awake for nearly a week straight, and the quiet was rather welcomed. He set everything out on the table and took a seat himself, digging in to dinner. It wasn't until he was through, leaning back to kick up his boots and light a cigarette, that he heard the first pair of approaching footsteps. Apparently he wasn't the only one awake after all.

Who: Remy and Floyd
When: Mid-afternoon - June 7th, 2042
Location: The bunker

If he didn't let her out of here soon, she was going to kill him.

At this point, Remy was pretty sure no one was really going to blame her. The man was being completely and totally unreasonable - granted, a little over-protectiveness was nice, even a bit sexy coming from him, but there was a limit to that. Ever since they'd found out, rather accidentally really, that she was knocked up, Floyd had gone totally out of his mind. She'd been all but forbidden to leave the bunker, which hadn't settled very well with her at first and that reaction didn't seem to be improving with time. In the past four months, she'd been out a handful of times and most of those had been to be escorted to the medical center. Yes, escorted. Talk about annoying. The rest of her little trips had been sneakily done, usually with the help of Asher in distracting Floyd so she could get some fresh air. She wouldn't drag Tannis into the middle of this, but Ash owed her plenty, so she had no problem making him do her dirty work.

Sadly, today Asher was already gone by the time Remy got it into her head that she'd really like to go out and replenish the groups herb supply. Not much still grew wild, but she and Tannis had stumbled across a rather plentiful field about an hour or two's hike north of the bunker. Since no one was around to help her with a little stealth manuever, Remy had simply informed Floyd what she planned to do - which hadn't gone over very well. At all. In fact, they'd been arguing over whether or not she'd leave for so long that she could have been there collecting what they needed all ready. The more time they wasted, the more annoyed she could feel herself getting with him. What was it about men that convinced them a pregnant woman was suddenly completely handicapped? She wasn't about to tip over and break at any moment, for christ's sake.

"Floyd, I swear te god if ye don't get out of th' way, I might jest kill ye," she growled, arms folded to rest just between bother her ever-expanding bust and the swell of her growing belly. "I'm going out there te get what we need, even ef I have to knock ye out te do et. Ef ye've got a problem weth et, we can talk about et once I've returned." And for the umpteenth time that day, she moved to brush past him towards the door. She loved the man, but really, there was only so much of his company she could take without screaming.

Date: June 3, 2040
Who: Remy and Floyd
Location: Scrap yard in town / Back to the bunker
Warnings: Probably some language

There was no way she was looking forward to what would surely be their afternoon at the scrapper's. The man was an ass, really, it was like he got off on being difficult - nothing could ever be accomplished easily when it came to him. Clearly he liked lording his power over the rest of him because he knew that no one else had the variety, let alone the quality of the pieces that he had. So they were forced, more than anything, to trek across the city to his place of business where they'd undoubtedly have to listen to him flirt, bullshit and brag for the majority of the afternoon. These little expeditions definitely weren't the type one looked forward to, but with Asher having been gone so long, Remy had stepped up to take his turns. Floyd couldn't be let to go alone, he'd likely pummel the guy for any number of reasons.

"So, what all are we after today?" They'd been hiking for a while, avoiding as much of the city as possible by navigating what had formerly been the outskirts of Prague, now more of an overgrown jungle. Remy followed close behind her husband, a few steps, the pair keeping a close eye on things around them as they went. One could never be too careful anymore, not even out here where there didn't seem to be anyone about. She'd already taken one bullet for him, she'd rather not take any more. She would, of course, hence her staggered position, ready to provide cover at a moment's notice. "I know we need a radiator, some spark plugs, ye've got the rest of the list in yer head then?" she teased. Business talk had to get out of the way so conversation could turn to more interesting things. It was really the only reason she liked these little missions at all, the alone time they presented the couple with. Now with Asher back, and Nolan in tow, it would be that much harder to spend any time alone together. One had to take what they could get.

Her attention was on him as he listed out any and everything else they might need to bargain for today, committing it to memory. She was a woman, after all, and one that men seemed to find attractive, so if her looks were going to work against her, they might as well work in her favor too. And maybe that meant she'd be able to glean a thing or two more from the ass than her husband would. Remy hadn't come as far with the rebels as she had by being stupid - smart, beautiful and deadly, was it any wonder why Floyd had married her? Ha ha. "Ye know, ye never answered Asher's question back there," hidden behind her sunglasses, Remy's gaze fixed on him, watching for any reaction at all. Half of it was born of genuine curiosity, the other half...well, she couldn't place what spurred forth asking, "Never think about et, then...little ones?" A wife could ask her husband such things, surely. If she couldn't, the who could? Asher had tried, but she'd swifted Floyd out before things got too awkward. It was more a private discussion than should he had in front of friends and family, no matter how close.

The pair paused in the shade for a moment, breaking out their respective water canteens for a break. The sun was slowly climbing overhead and with it the temperature. Without much, if any, ozone layer left, it made being outside for extended periods of time dangerous. They'd have to watch their sun exposure given the hike they'd take back, carrying things on their way. Remy took a seat in a patch of grass in the shade, pushing her sunglasses on top of her dark hair, gaze fixing expectantly on her husband. Oh yes, she wanted to hear his answer.

Date: June 2, 2040
Who: Asher, Tannis, and Nolan.
Location: The Pistol Grip Devils bunker
Warnings: Probably some language

It had been years - four, to be exact - since he'd been back on familiar ground and it was nice to be home. He hadn't seen Floyd in weeks, the old man hadn't brought that wife of his by and they hadn't met for a drink anywhere. Hell, the little rag-tag group occupying this ancient bunker probably had no idea that he was even gracing them once again with his presence. The entrance was still easy to find - he knew these grounds like the back of his hand - so it didn't take him long to climb back inside the place he'd called home for years before his absence. It took a moment or two for his eyes to adjust to the dimmer lighting though everything looked pretty much the same as it had when he'd left. There hadn't been any major changes in the years he'd been away - strangely,that was rather nice. Everything changed so much anymore that he treasured any little trace of normality.

Asher had changed in the four years he'd been away - not alot, but enough that they were sure to notice. The line of his jaw bore a hint of a five o-clock shadow, his chin covered with a dark goatee. His hair, which before had always been worn closely cropped, now reached to his shoulders. "Oi!" his voice rang out, echoing back from the next room. Combing a hand through his hair, Ash pushed forward, nosing his way through the compound he'd lived in previously, looking for any sign that someone was hanging about. So far the place seemed empty, though given that it was in the middle of the day, that was entirely feasible.

Finding his way into the kitchen, Asher went straight for the fridge that he just knew Floyd was going to keep stocked with some of that underground swill they all seemed to love. The rebels may have been brash, violent forces but they made a damn fine brew. Pulling a bottle from the fridge, he popped the top and raised it to his lips for a swallow. Some homecoming this turned out to be. Nothing better to do but hang around and wait for somebody to come home now......and maybe nose through their stuff.

Just a bit.