Dark Requiem | Role-Play

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Marianna notices Charlie's smile and responds with a bright one of her own, full of hope, as well as enthusiasm instilled by her new travelling companions. She prefers not to be alone, in the end, and the isolation of the life wandering had been pressing down on her almost painfully. Sure, the young woman is capable of managing well enough on her own if she chooses to, but in all honesty would much rather have people around her to lighten the mood and such. Well, Charlie doesn't really appear to be the mood lightening type, but he at least seems nice enough, if slightly strange from time to time. She can see that he has some sort melancholy still clinging to him, but dismisses it as typical of someone living in this world of strange creatures, no longer human, and a sun that flickers on and off like a faulty light bulb. Either way, he seems intelligent enough, and lowered his vocabulary slightly to her level, something the young woman is grateful for.

The young woman has her things gathered and follows after Charlie, who drags Al along as one would pull an overenthusiastic child through the aisles of a shopping market. It is necessary, of course, especially as Al has somewhat erratic behavior, and might be prone to running off for all that they know. The trio reach a tall apartment building, the door able to be opened without a code or key of any sort. Charlie turns to look at her, and asks "Are you ready?"

Knowing that Tenebrai may lurk in the shadows of the building, Marianna's hand tightens around her weapon, ready for anything. She is quite capable, despite her cheerful smiles and such. "Yes," the young woman nods with resolve.

Allen gave an indignant cry as the applesauce went soaring past Charlotte's ear and landed with an unappealing splat against the cement sidewalk. "Griselda would scold you, wasting good food like that," Allen said matter-of-factly, giving Charlotte a disapproving frown, "She would give you a hard, long lecture." He sighed softly, allowing himself to be dragged along none-too-gently by the younger boy, "I miss Griselda. She was simple. My mother and father were always altering who they were. Kind in front of me, commanding in front of workers, malicious in front of enemies. Even I don't know who they are...even father. People say I should be angry with him, casting me off like that to the APFWC. But..." he trailed off, seeing the apartment they were about to enter. "Are we going in there? Why are we going in there?" he asked curiously, tapping on Charlotte's shoulder.

As the trio eased their way inside its hallways, Allen had enough sense to shut up. He was, after all, a surviver and venturer, and had learned along the years that Tenebrai lurked in every possible corner. He couldn't rely on his eyesight anymore. Not now, anyways. Fever and fatigue blurred the edges of his vision and left his slightly dizzy. Allen gave a small, experimental sniff. Nothing. Tenebrai usually reeked of...Allen struggled to think. Of something. Allen strained his ears, but there was an odd ringing that he suspected on he could hear. "What do we do?" Charlotte suddenly asked, turning to Maa, "Should we try going inside a room, or stay here?" Allen replied swiftly before the intended ever got the chance to, "Check...the journal. My journal," he said a little too loudly, "It's..." Allen nodded towards his backpack, "I have an entire section on Tenebrai in that thing." His journal. Small, but sturdy, with a solid back cover and smooth white sheets, filled with small notes on what to eat, what not to eat, where to find shelter, which kinds to choose from, and pages on pages of Tenebrai and the Dark Rays and the immune.

Had he been a little less disoriented, he may have thought twice about giving his most prized possession to a stranger of fifteen minutes.

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Marianna, who has learned to be slightly more observant thanks to a lack of ease in communication recently, notices that Charlie glances towards several mailboxes, which look as though they have gone a while without being unopened. This is an apartment building, and so one might assume that the people living here felt safe to at least wander within the building itself, as long as the main entry points were barred from entry. In fact, they could have gathered their supplies together and such, rather than keeping within their own rations. The fact that there isn't a sign of anyone makes it clear very soon to Marianna that this place isn't as safe as she, and probably Charlie, would prefer for it to be. That does not seem to be the case, anyway, and Marianna is the sort who tends to act primarily on instinct, giving her a decisive but often somewhat careless personality. The young woman shifts her gaze back over towards Charlie, wondering if the same thoughts are flitting through his mind at the moment, though of course in a different language. The idea of thinking in English is quite strange to Marianna, but that is to be expected of someone who only has the gist of the language.

He is glancing at her in that moment as well, the young woman notices, though his expression is likely to be slightly more contemplative than her own. He appears to be a circumspect sort of person, careful and cautious, and, should they remain in this group, may be capable of balancing out her impulsive nature so that the three make an effective enough team. He doesn't look like much of a fighter, though, Marianna cannot help but observe, for his body is not tightly muscled as hers is, and he doesn't appear to hold a weapon. Remembering how she first saw him leaving a burning building, the ginger decides that he must have remained indoors until earlier today, one of those who have no motivation to venture past the safe familiarity of their homes, even as food dwindles and the Tenebrai close in around them. I wonder if mother and father are inside the house. It is somewhat in the countryside, so they should be safe. If I am unaffected, perhaps they are as well. It seems to be a recessive quality, her thoughts are hopeful, but she still lacks that closure that would set her mind better at ease. Hopes are nice, and may fill the heart somewhat, but they still leave a lingering doubt, regardless of how strong the believer may be.

Marianna turns her gaze from Charlie to Al, who had been babbling earlier but has fallen silent by now. She has only known him for a short while, no more than an hour or so, but his silence already seems strange, thanks to the constant stream of chatter he had been maintaining earlier. When Charlie speaks, however, the young man is quick to respond again. He begins to speak, saying something about having a thing, though she doesn't recognize the word journal until he pulls one out and she puts two and two together. Either way, she had understood Charlie well enough, and begins to try and put a phrase together in English to properly respond.

"Either. Hallway, we are open. Tenebrai yes or no in rooms. Both risk. Room, yes? Kill one, two, safer. One door- less entry, yes?" she says, realizing that her words are probably awkward sounding and that she has a thick accent. The Belgian girl is unsure of whether to be embarrassed about this or not, but tries to keep a calm expression on her face, hiding her slight frustration over the fact that her sentences are likely jumbled.

"Sorry. My English not good," she apologizes, a slight blush of embarrassment nearly visible, though the hallway is ill-lit, making it difficult to see. "Rooms have light, yes? Power gone, no." Marianna turns towards Al for some sort of confirmation for what she has said. "Right? Room?"

Red was burning up. Her legs were hot, her arms were sweaty, and her nose. Basically, she was in b*tch mode. Hot weather always made her mood turn sour, especially when she was tired and running on fumes. With a frown on her face, Red began to sift through a pile of trash. Ah, what was she even looking for again? Eventually, her arms fell to her sides. This silence around her was irritating. Good thing I got my tunie box. She'd found the thing while rooting around in some sucker's house last month. Apparently it was called an "Ipod", but Red saw no point in calling it that. Tunie box seemed more fitting. So this tunie box also played music, and after playing around with it for a bit, she got it to work pretty dang well with her awesome earplugs.

Red put in her earplugs and turned the song to "Sweet Escape" by Gwen Stefani. It was an old song, but beggars can't be choosers. The upbeat pop music soon filled her ears, and she began to work again, her fingers moving quickly to uncover objects. She slowly got into a rhythm of work, and before she knew it, she had sifted through the small junk pile. "Next," She quietly murmured to herself. The gentle voice of Robin Thicke cooed in her as she turned her head to look around. An abandoned wood shed sheltered by trees rested at the edge of the area. Finally, some f*cking shade in this heat. Wiping sweat from her brows, Red picked up her junk bucket and sashayed her way to the seemingly oasis of shade.

A movement near the edge of the shaded clearing made Red slow in her path. Another movement made her stop completely. She had forgotten her own advice about shaded areas. Tenebrai like the darkness. Just as quickly as she registered this fact, a oily skinned Tenebrai rushed her. It almost got her, but she quickly clocked him in the head with her metal bucket. Now I'm going to finish him off with my chainsaw...chainsaw? With alarm, Red realized that her chainsaw was back where she had left it. She stepped back, then narrowly managed to dodge a Tenebrai's lunge. More of them were popping out of the clearing. Just how long had they been there, lying in wait? It couldn't have been that long. Still, how could I not have noticed this spot before? Red backed up, then shot a desperate look at her chainsaw lying so far away. It was a risky move to go for it, but fighting without it would be redundant. After a moment of hesitation, she lunged for it, her hands grabbing the handle just as a Tenebrai grabbed her foot.

With a deafening noise, Red "awakened the beast" and shoved it far inside the Tenebrai's head. It made a horrible gurgling noise, its rotten fangs flashing as its mouth opened in pain. Red leaned away from the splatter of black blood. The gory part always bugged her. She rolled out of the way of its falling body and leaped to her feet. Okay, status check. There are five Tenebrai in front of me, and two seem to be larger than most. One is rushing me. I have one escape route. Red swiftly moved out of the way of one charging Tenebrai and ran in front of a large junk pile. She could try taking them down one by one, but they seemed bent on fighting in a group. I need to get to a place to pick them off.