Aberrant: Dead Rising - Loose Ends [Complete]

[Atomicweasel]

Hana raised herself up off her knees and smoothed the hem of her light summer-dress down.

"Where you going, Bana?" Pumpkin looked up from where had stretched out on the grass, propped up on her elbows, to watch her glowing citizens scamper around their little city of scraps and paper tubes and trees made from twigs. Pumpkin's face showed plainly her disappointment and alarm as she watched Hana dust off her hands.

"I need to go talk to Jasmi--Azzy, for a sec, kay, Squirt?" Hana answered gently, but with a hint of grown-up pride.

"But you didn't do the palace right!" Pumpkin pointed accusingly at the lop-sided milk carton jammed onto its popsicle stick foundation.

"It's fine, Squirt. It's supposed to be like that." Hana replied as she squared the strap of her dress back onto her shoulder.

"It's not, it's crooked!" Pumpkin protested with indignation.

"That's because..." Hana stared down at her cousin who stared back up at her. "because it's the leaning Palace of Pisa." She concluded.

Pumpkin's eyes narrowed into a suspicious squint. She bit her lip thoughtfully as she considered the milk carton.

"It's historic." Little glowing people with tiny claws were scrabbling their way up into the clumsy door cut into the milk carton. "See? They like it."

"What's a historic?" Pumpkin asked, sounding slightly mollified.

"It means important." Hana squatted on her heels and planted a swift kiss on Pumpkin's brow before rising quickly back to her feet. She padded off hurriedly, before Pumpkin could lodge another complaint against her scrapworks architecture, and all but ran the last few meters to Jasmine's side. She arrived looking a little flushed, her knees marked by earth and grass, her hair mussed up.

"Hey," Hana brushed her hair back from her face and smiled demurely up at Jasmine.

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Jasmine Gentian

"They seem like they're having fun.. I hope they didn't give you any trouble."

As she waited for Violet's response, Jasmine caught Hana's attention when the young pre-teen glanced up at the sound of her voice. She motioned her over, looking as if she wanted to talk to her about something.

"Do you mind keeping an eye on Pumpkin for a minute? I needed to talk to Hana about something."

Violet had been watching the two girls with growing compassion and joy. It brought some of it back that had been lost over 6 months ago, when the world got flushed down the toilet. Violet looked at Jasmine and smiled sisterly at her and nodded, "Sure - no problem at all.", she said wanting to ask Jas if everything was alright with her but that would have to wait. Something told her that now wasn't the right time for this kind of conversation... and maybe Jas wouldn't want to share that with her anyway.

Violet kept her perfect smile and took Hana's place kneeling down next to Pumpkin and watched the little blue creatures with a mixture of joy and a good portion of caution. "Mind if I play a little with you until Hana comes back?", she asked the little girl with genuine intention.

[Fox]

Quote:

"Smooth - looks like you found yourself a Bond girl, huh?"

"So it seems." Bond said absently as he watched Jasmine leave, then he blinked slowly and looked at the newcomer with a sly grin. "Let's hope she sticks around for the sequels, hmm?" The other man grinned back and nodded.

"Well, that's up to you, ain't it Jim?" Bond shrugged as the man chuckled again.

"So what're you looking for, Paulie?"

"A decent shotgun and some ammo, plus some canned food if you've got it. I don't have a whole lot to trade, but I do have this pistol, about four clips of ammo, a couple o' tools and an auto-repair manual." Bond looked at the goods, checking the automatic pistol and nodding as he worked the slide before flicking through the manual.

"Not too bad. Alright, let's see what we can fix you up with. There's a good 12-gauge semi here, but that'll cost you all of this... How about a nice double-barrel?" And the so the haggling started.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine nodded gratefully at Violet as she headed towards Pumpkin, and even returned the sisterly-type smile, for a moment forgetting about her vague mistrust of Violet. It was, after all, very easy to do.. she was so beautiful, and charismatic, it was almost impossible to resist.

Snap out of it, girl. She still tricked you, and she'd do it again if she wanted something badly enough.

She shook her head faintly, and smiled gently down at Hana as she approached, though not quite in the way that she did Pumpkin - it was more the smile of an older sister or an upperclassmen, someone who wanted to talk to you as more of an equal than a superior.

"Hey Hana. I had something I wanted to.. talk about with you. Jim too. Some stuff we thought you should know about. Would you mind?"

As she talked, she started walking back towards the area of the refuge that her and Jim's camp was in, leading the young woman away from Violet and Pumpkin, and keeping her voice conversational but low, so that their discussion stayed between the two of them.

[Dawn OOC]

"Ok," Pumpkin said, her eyes darting after Hana. When they were far enough away, the little girl turned to Violet and demanded, "Fix it!" One stubby baby finger pointed at the offending leaning Palace of Pisa.

"Isn't it historic?" Violet asked the child.

"Isn't some boy's toric, and Bana lef' it crooked!" the child declared.

[Venus]

Violet almost giggled at Pumpkin's little outburst and of course she had to oblige. The little girl's charm and demanding voice was too compelling and there was no chance denying Pumpkin.

"As you wish, Pumpkin", Violet said trying to be as caring and playful as possible. She didn't have much practice in these kinds of things but took it with rising curiosity. Maybe one day she'd have her own child. Maybe sooner than than later - depending on Dan's desire and wishes of course.

She reached out for the cardbox and tried to 'fix it' as Pumpkin demanded. "I'm not sure if I'm making it right, Pumpkin. How is it supposed to look like?", she asked the little girl. Keep her involved...

[Atomicweasel]

"I don't mind," Hana answered. Her voice was subdued, as usual, but she gave Jasmine a pleased little grin. She felt suddenly important, being consulted by Jasmine and Daniel Craig, and she held herself a little taller, tilted her chin up a little higher, and padded along with an eager sense of adventure.

It didn't take Jasmine and Hana long to walk back down to Bond's converted garage. There they found Bond, standing in front of a long table lined with an assortments of firearms, parts and ammunition. The steel barrel of a scoped rifle gleamed as Bond swung around. Hana froze in her tracks.

Bond lowered the rifle and smiled disarmingly. "Hello ladies. Just checking my sights."

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine nodded, and disappeared into the tent they used for living space. A moment later she stepped back out and held out something Hana hadn't seen in a very, very long time - a *COLD* can of Coke. She'd had a couple, salvaged from broken ice coolers in long-abandoned gas stations, but they'd been warm if she was lucky and hot when she wasn't. The can Jasmine handed her was icy-cool and felt wonderful in her hand in the hot Oklahoma sun. Her instinct was to pop it open immediately and take a huge gulp, but instead she decided to savor it for just a minute.. you couldn't keep a soda cool very long, but she could at least enjoy the feeling of the cold metal for a couple minutes before drinking it.

"Thanks for coming, Hana. Jim and I have decisions to make, and as they involve your cousin, we felt you should have a bit of a say in the matter. You see, since we rescued her, Pumpkin's kind of become my responsibility. Like I was telling you before, she.. well, she kind of took to me, became attached. Not only that, but there aren't a lot of people around here who can care for her very well. You seem to have adjusted well, but she's your family.. you know her. Her gifts.. they kinda scare some people, you know? And the rest of the others around here.. the ones of us with special abilities, I guess you'd call them.. they don't exactly have a lot of time on their hands. Or.. the temperament. For child care. You know?"

She studied Hana's face, to see how well the young girl was handling the discussion so far. If her instincts were right Hana was a mature young woman, someone who had survived the months since Z-Day with intelligence and common sense. Jasmine wasn't sure she would've gotten that far, not without her powers. But she might be wrong, it might've been luck. Either way, she was curious to see how Hana responded to their discussion so far.

[Atomicweasel]

The cold can of coke beaded with moisture as Hana held it in her hand. She looked up at Jasmine in disbelief, as if to say 'are you really giving me this?' In stunned silence she accepted the frosty soda, pressed it first to her forehead and then the side of her neck, letting out a little gasp and shivering with delight.

As Jasmine spoke, Hana popped the tab on the can, listened to the magical fizz of the coke and took her first sip. The taste of it was instantly familiar. It carried her back to Valley Fair, sitting on a bench after riding the roller coasters until she thought she'd pass out from the sickening thrill of it. That slow rise. The downward plunge. Her stomach had been in her throat after every ride, but she'd never told Amanda or Jamie how much it had scared her. Afterward a coke to settle the tight knot of nerves. It took her back to swimming lessons when she was seven. Her mother waiting for her by the poolside with a cold can of coke and a big fluffy towel that Hana all but disappeared into. She remembered winning second place, because she'd had to breathe at the last minute, and then being upset with herself and wanting to go again, right then and there with the other kid, a boy with freckles all over his face. Her mother's chiding laugh. All that in one sip of coke.

Hana looked up and found Jasmine studying her face. She had to think to remember what had been said.

"I'm glad you're taking care of my cousin." Hana finally said. She took another furtive sip from her coke, then elaborated "I feel like I can trust you, Jasmine." the admission made Hana blush, but she soldiered on, excited by how mature she was sounding, "what kind of decisions did you need to talk to me about?" Hana's eyes darted from Jasmine to Bond and back again.

[Fox]

"It's about you and Pumpkin." Bond said with a smile for the girl and started to break down the sniper rifle as he spoked, hands deftly twisting apart the various pieces and returning them to the impact-resistant carry case. "Pumpkin is attached to Jasmine, and vice versa." He winked at the dark-skinned girl, then continued.

"We're going to be leaving here soon. Not for good, but for a little while. We need more supplies and I need to get out and stretch my legs, so to speak. There are other enclaves than this one and they all have different news, goods and services to offer. Before we go we need to talk over our options, with your help, naturally."

"So here's the choices: we leave Pumpkin with you. Assuming she's content with that." Bond glanced at Jasmine. "We're not too happy with that one, mainly because you're one person and Pumpkin can be a handful. There's other reasons, too." He snapped the rifle case closed and locked it, placing it to one side.

"Another choice is that Pumpkin comes with us and you stay here. Before you turned out to be her cousin, that was the plan anyway." Bond watched Hana's face as he spoke, his pale blue eyes friendly despite their vaguely inquisitorial air. "Third choice is for you to come with us. That way, Pumpkin and you stay together, you'll both be well looked after and protected, and you'll get to see more of what's out there." The mercenary leaned against the wall and smiled at her as he caught a second can of Coke that Jasmine tossed his way.

"What do you think?"

[Atomicweasel]

“Oh...well,” Hana paused to think it through. She took another, longer sip from her can of Coke and chewed her lower lip. “Definitely not the first one...” Hana announced after a short pause. That was easy to rule out. She’d never admit to it, but she was just a kid herself. And she was new to the Refuge. She couldn’t take care of Pumpkin all alone. “And I don’t want you to take Pumpkin away, either.” She looked up at Bond, and then sought sympathy with Jasmine. “I just got here. I’ve been running for so long. I’m just...” Hana paused, looked down at her Coke can and then turned her gaze toward Bond again. “I’m tired. And Pumpkin’s the only family I’ve got. That’s it, you know? My mom and dad...my little brother...” Hana sucked in a shaky breath. “Pumpkin’s the only one left.”

Hana’s lips stayed pressed together as she thought of what more to say. She drank from her Coke, finishing the rest of the soda in one long slow sip. Then she put the empty can aside and tugged the slipping strap of her summer dress back into place. Stupid dress.

At length Hana raised her deep and dark blue eyes to the pale runny sky-blue of Bond’s eyes. “Why do you wanna go, anyway? This place has soldiers. It has food and water. Electricity. Dr. Myfwany even said they were going to build a school.” Hana looked between Jasmine and Bond, trying to read their faces, then delivered her daring conclusion. “I think you’re making a mistake, Mr. Craig. Jasmine’s pregnant now and if she wants to have the baby,” another mistake Hana thought “then she’s going to need a place like this. I mean...like what if something goes wrong? You might be pretty good at shooting guns and stuff...but do you know anything about infections and um, complications, and miscarriages and any of the other problems that can happen when a girl gets pregnant?” the precocious girl demanded of Bond. “Dr. Myfwany can take care of her and the baby right here. Out on the road...” Hana shrugged, “anything can happen. That’s a big risk, Mr. Craig. And I don’t think it’s very fair to Jasmine...or your baby.”

Hana had dealt her trump card. She waited now to see how Bond and Jasmine would take it.

[Fox]

Bond listened, that half-smile never wavering on his lips as Hana made her case. Those lips quirked once as she called him 'Mr Craig', but otherwise he stayed silent until she finished.

"An excellent point, Hana. But one that ignores some fundamental facts. One: baby or not, Jasmine is faster, tougher and stronger than any ten normal human beings you'd care to name. We don't get sick, Hana. I've suffered some nasty wounds since I changed, most of them without the benefit of a doctor, and there's never been an infection." He smiled into her eyes again, his own eyes twinkling. "Two. This Refuge is in dire need of more food, water and better electricity. We just grew from a small enclave to one of the largest. Bond and Co., which currently consists of myself and Jasmine, are going to need more supplies. We'll be hitting my caches back East and bringing word about Fox's place to some of the civilised enclaves there that think they're alone. I'm going to be calling in favors and promises kept to get Fox the stuff he needs to build a hydroelectric plant at that river out there. Fox is going to need wells, seed stock, building supplies. I know the people who have them and would trade them for a place here."

"Three. There's someone out there hitting successful enclaves, using airborne assault and leaving no survivors. Fox has a lot of supers here. Plus nuclear weapons. It's a big fat tempting target. My short term objective is to get my family clear of that target for a couple of months. When we return, I'll be bringing all the serious military hardware that I cached. Surface to air missiles, mortars, that sort of thing. This little enclave on the prairie needs to get serious about it's defenses. What it has will stop zombies and raiders, but will only slow down a military-grade assault." Bond tapped his chest. "I can get those things for Fox." He grinned like a cat.

"Oh, and one final thing..." he pulled a wallet out of his pocket and tossed it to Hana. She caught it and, looking at him curiously, opened it up. It contained a couple of photos: a young man and woman, somewhere in a park in Fall. Hana didn't know them, though they were a cute couple. She looked up at Bond, who was watching her with one eyebrow raised. This was obviously some form of test. Hana looked down again. There was also a drivers license, tucked away behind the photos. A British driver's license. The face on it was the handsome dude from the photos. He had brown hair and dark eyes and a nice smile, and the name...

"James Bond?" Hana looked up, puzzled. "Is this supposed to be you? It doesn't look like you."

"Blame my parents for the one, and blame the Z-Virus for the other." Bond said calmly, taking a swig of his coke. "I got sick and huddled under my blankets, clutching at a gun and getting ready to blow my brains out rather than become a zombie. I was watching a tv spot on Casino Royale while the world burned outside my apartment. And after a seriously weird feverdream I woke up like this. So you see, my name really is Bond." He grinned again, all mischief and humor.

"James Bond."

[Atomicweasel]

Hana scowled at the picture in the wallet with an air of suspicion. She rubbed her thumb along the leather crease of the wallet. Then she stepped forward and held the wallet out for Bond to take back.

"I dunno. That sounds pretty crazy. I mean, it's not like I haven't seen a lot of crazy, lately...but still--you saw a preview for Casino Royale so you turned into Daniel Craig? I mean..." Hana looked helplessly at Jasmine. "I mean it's not a big deal I guess, cuz you know, the end of the world is kinda more important but...but it's just..." It just bugs me! It's fucking retarded! Hana wanted to yell. Instead she brushed her hair back from her face, took a deep breath and tried to drop it...

..."It's just--what if you were really Daniel Craig, and you had some stupid dream and then thought you were really James Bond...and then you found some guy's wallet and it said James Bond and you were like, ohmygod, that's totally me before I turned into James Bond, only it wasn't and it was just some guy who just happened to be named like that, I mean, he can't be the only one, right? And maybe you were all messed up on Z and you had some crazy dream cuz you were freaking out from your fever," Hana blurted out, pausing briefly to breathe. "and then you made up this crazy story cuz you're like totally convinced the virus turned you into a super hero, except James Bond isn't Daniel Craig. Daniel Craig never even got to be James Bond, I mean, not really, cuz of Z day. If you were really James Bond...you should've been like...Pierce Brosnan. Or something."

Hana blushed and scuffed at the ground with her Adidas. "Anyway, that's what I think."

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine shrugged a little at Hana's concern, and sat down on one of the crates, crossing her legs and opening the Sprite she'd pulled out for herself. She didn't know how her seemingly superhuman metabolism was affected by caffeine, so she'd decided it seemed safest to assume the normal pregnancy rules applied. She took a sip of the caffeine-free chilled beverage as Hana spoke.

"I know - it seems kind of weird. And I suppose you could be right. He might actually be Daniel Craig, and the stuff that happened to him kind of screwed him up. Except that we do know that he's a super.. or at least, that he knows how to do a lot of crap of crap Daniel Craig wouldn't have known how to do, instinctively. He would've been taught the right way to do his stunts and stuff, but that would have been practiced, rehearsed carefully, done with lots of added precautions. Like choreography, right? I've seen James do that kind of stuff, with no rehearsal, no planning really. Except what he does in a few seconds in his mind."

She paused for a moment, as if unsure about whether to actually say what was on her mind at the moment. She took another small sip of the Sprite, then sat it down with a sigh.

"From what I've figured.. from what I've heard, you know? All of us who changed did it cause something scary or bad happened. We don't know why yet - the docs haven't been able to figure it out. But almost everyone I've heard of was dying.. or in terrible danger of some sort. I was.. in this hospital..."

Ghastly undead children's fingers clutching at my legs, biting into my thigh, the high-pitched moaning of dozens of terrible, horrifying, baby monsters...

"...and there were people depending on me. Kids. And if I hadn't changed, gotten tougher, fought our way out of there.. we all would have died."

Not that they didn't anyway...

"And another girl, the one with the wings.. she was dying of the Z-virus..."

Because she'd been brainwashed into allowing herself to be injected in order to carry out a crazy cult leader's doomsday plans...

"And she was very religious, and thought God was calling her back or something. And she returned looking like an angel. And Pumpkin, who needed something to protect her because she'd never had to protect herself before, and is probably too young to fathom how, so she created defenders for herself instead. And there are others. Similar stories. And it always seems to have something to do with what was happening to you when you changed. Besides, he's not the only one with abilities that I've met who.. looks different than they did before. A lot different. I've seen proof, but I can't really get into that. It's personal, and I promised."

Even if she is a manipulative, seductive, seriously troubled individual who I'm concerned about leaving Pumpkin with for very long, because I'm afraid she might make the kid like her, whether she wants to or not.

"But that means we know it can happen.. people's appearances have changed, and more than just a little. And so.. I suppose it might seem kind of crazy that his name just happens to be James Bond.. and he saw Daniel Craig on TV while holding a gun to his head ready to blow his own head off, rather than become a zombie.. and woke up looking like James Bond instead. But, the world's full of enough crazy right now that.. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. But that doesn't mean you're not free to believe whatever you'd like, hon. No one really knows who any of us were before, anyway.. other than what we tell people."

[Atomicweasel]

Girl with wings? Hana tried to puzzle out what Jasmine was telling her. Okay, so there were a lot of freaky people in the Refuge. Maybe it was like one big freak magnet that drew them all. She sighed and looked up at Bond, wishing her summer dress had pockets for her to jam her hands into. It felt weird being in the dress. She’d never have worn one on the road—that would be like painting a target on yourself. But in a place like this, here with the marines and the gates and all the super people walking around defending the place, Hana could afford to be what she was: A little girl.

And now Bond and Jasmine wanted her to give it up. Or give Pumpkin up. Hana glanced around Bond’s garage. There were weapons everywhere. Big guns and little guns. Rifles. Stubby looking submachine guns like they had on cop shows. He had an arsenal of gleaming death-dealing steal. “How come you’re not staying to fight...if you think this place is going to get attacked?” Hana asked curiously. She looked up at Bond again, studied the passionless blue of his eyes. He didn’t look like the kind of man who scared easy.

[Fox]

"Honestly? That's the smallest part of why we're leaving. But right now, if the Refuge was attacked in serious force, it wouldn't matter if we were here or not." He considered that for a second, then smiled and amended "Probably."

"The main reasons we're going are resupply and exploration. The landscape out there is changing, enclaves are rising and falling, and so on. Traders carry out a valuable service, not just carrying goods around, but news as well." He shrugged. "All of this is just window-dressing, though. The main reason I like being on the road is that it's interesting and fun. There's nothing I dread more than boredom, and it looks like the Refuge is going to be a hotbed of tedious tasks in the short-term future. Latrines, for one thing." He mock-shuddered.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine laughed softly and shook her head at him, then regarded at Hana in that same serious but companionable way that made Hana feel as if her opinions and concerns were valued, instead of dismissed as being that of a "mere child".

"In the end, the refuge is going to be much better off if we can bring them the kind of goods and resources that Jim has stocked away. Not only that but.. I'd feel more comfortable knowing that someone is informing people at other refuges of a potential threat. We don't know exactly what's going to be coming, if anything at all.. no one's been able to tell us anything about these attacks. But they look fast - fast, and coordinated. People need to know to be ready, you know? To know something might be coming. Your concerns and suggestions aren't anything we hadn't already talked about before making this decision - in good detail. You bring up a lot of valid points. But.. to be perfectly honest, if this is where we end up coming back to when it's closer to time for me to have this baby.. and I'd probably prefer that it is from what I've seen so far, since it's got Dr. Shattuck, just in case.. well, I'd rather that this place was armed to the teeth and ready for anything. I don't think a few machine guns are gonna do it."

She regarded the girl guietly for a moment, and then reached forward and touched Hana's hair gently, her expression becoming a bit more sympathetic and comforting. It was kind of like she knew when to treat her like an almost-adult, and when to treat her like the twelve-year-old that she really was.

"This isn't something where you have to decide for good, you know. If you come with us and you don't like it, you can stay here when we come back. And we'll probably be traveling back more than once with supplies. It doubt takes that long to travel cross-country anymore, not with almost no travelers on the roads these days. And if you decide not to go with us this time because you want to stay for awhile, that's okay too. It doesn't mean you can't decide to go with us the next time we come back. I know you've probably been on your own for awhile.. I don't blame you for wanting to rest. But until we've done more to see this place better supplied.. well, we're just concerned it's not safe enough here for us. Or for Pumpkin."

Or for you, either.

She didn't say the words, but they were written clearly on the older girl's face, and in her warm, dark brown gaze.

[Atomicweasel]

"I guess...I'll go with you." Hana blushed at Jasmine's motherly caress. "But...you're not leaving right away, are you?" Hana looked hopefully up at Jasmine. "I don't hardly have anything saved up if we're going back on the road. I mean. I've got like one candy bar and half a power bar...and a fruit cup. And that's basically it."

Hana let out a trembling sigh and pressed on before Jasmine could allay her trepidations. "And there's some people I still need to talk to and some things I wanted to do." She shot a look over at Bond, but turned back to Jasmine when she spoke. "I mean...can I have a week...or a few days at least?"

"Four days. Max." Bond answered coolly. "Then we leave." He answered Hana's despairing look with a wink.

"You don't have to make up your mind right now, Hana." Jasmine added kindly. "If you want to wait until we come back around--"

"No." Hana interrupted. "I'll go. But...I can't carry that much..."

Bond chuckled wryly. "Don't worry. My retinue travels in style."

"We'll be driving, Hana." Jasmine explained.

Hana's perplexed expression gave way to an "oh." She answered Jasmine's encouraging smile with a halfhearted little grin. "So, just get my stuff ready and meet you here in four days?"

"That'd be fine." Jasmine nodded.

Hana echoed Jasmine's nod, unconsciously trying to imitate the older girl's maturity and poise. She turned to go with a fleeting finger wave, but she'd taken less than five steps when she turned back. "Mr. Bond...will you teach me how to shoot?"

[Fox]

Bond exchanged a look with Jasmine, then shrugged and looked back at the precocious girl, his pale eyes scrutinising her. There was a moment when Hana wondered if he could read her mind: after all, it wasn't that much of a leap from emotion control, healing with a touch and flying to reading minds. And Bond didn't seem to have any of the flashier powers. So it might even make sense that he could read minds. Paranoia set in and she tried not to think about anything much, which started her thinking about the things she didn't want a mind-reader to know. She tried not to hold her breath.

"Why not?" he asked rhetorically with a smile. "Let me know when you want to start. It'd be best to get the first lessons out of the way here, and you can practice with Jasmine on the road. Does that sound good?"

[Atomicweasel]

Hana let her breath out in a pleased, “Yeah!” She reached down to brush at her knee and walked a few steps backward, as if she were in a hurry to get away from Bond before he changed his mind. “Pumpkin’s probably getting worried about me,” Hana jerked her thumb over shoulder, “but um, tomorrow morning, is that okay?”

Bond gave her a tolerant grin, a lazy reptilian blink.

“Okay,” Hana was blushing by now, “so. See you tomorrow I guess,” She gave a little wave and turned to go.

“Hana,” Jasmine called after her.

“Yeah?”

“Could you bring Pumpkin back when you’re done playing?”

“Oh, sure.” Hana called back.

“Thank you, Hana.” Something about Jasmine’s expression made Hana think the older girl was fighting hard to suppress a smirk. Bond hadn’t bothered with suppression at all. She blushed a little deeper, nodded her acquiescence and ran off to find her cousin.

Pumpkin was much where Hana had left her, kneeling on the ground to supervise the comings and goings of her tiny creations as they romped through the scrap-built city. She had found a new subordinate in Violet, whose giant breasts threatened to crush the inhabitants of the miniature metropolis every time Violet leaned over them. Oh no, here comes Titzilla—run for your life! Hana imagined the diminutive denizens’ screams. She dropped to her knees next to Pumpkin, holding the hem of her summer-dress to her thighs. “Hey, how’s the city?”

“We fix’d it, see?” Pumpkin pointed at the formerly leaning Palace of Pisa.

“Oh, cool...” Hana ruffled Pumpkin’s hair and smiled gratefully at Violet, “Thanks for taking care of the Squirt.”

[Venus]

Titzilla was playing with Pumpkin and it looked as if she was enjoying herself. The two exchanged some giggles and Pumpkin kept ordering Violet around who in return happily obliged.

As Hana approached Violet slowly got up again dusting herself off and smiled at Hana, "It was fun - anytime again if you want."

The impossibly buxom nurse drove with one hand through Pumpkins hair and smiled at the little girl. "Anytime again - just ask, ok?", then she looked at Hana, "I'll be inside and get you something to drink, ok?"

[Atomicweasel]

"Oh great, thanks." Hana looked up at Violet and then watched her go before turning back to Pumpkin. "So...you had fun?"

"Uh huh." Pumpkin kicked her feet slowly back and forth in the air, watching her little creations run about with open mouthed interest. "I'm gonna make s'more!"

"Isn't their city pretty big already?" Hana observed.

"Nuh uh. It needs t'get bigger."

"Maybe we can work on it some more tomorrow?"

"They need big buildings! An' more houses!" Pumpkin exclaimed.

"Okay, but guess who's kinda tired right now and just wants to go sit down for a bit?" Hana asked.

Pumpkin looked at her cousin with a darkening expression. "No one."

"Me." Hana grinned. "C'mon, Squirt. Let's go back inside and see what Violet's gonna give us to drink. I'm like...melting out here."

"Not melting, Bana." Pumpkin contradicted. "Only witches melt. And only when you throw water onnem!"

"Okay, but it's super hot," Hana straightened up and held her hand out for Pumpkin, making little grabby motions.

"No, wanna play!"

"We can play more later, Squirt," Hana looked at her cousin pleadingly. "I promise."

Pumpkin looked dubiously at her city of tiny blue people. "You promise?

"I totally promise."

Pumpkin reluctantly rose to her feet and slipped her hand into Hana's. She allowed herself to be led back to the infirmary, chatting about all the things she wanted to build. "I wanna make a church and a house and another house and a place for the boats to go--"

"A dock?"

"Whassa dock?" Pumpkin scowled.

"It's...nevermind. So okay, what else should we build them?"

"A space plane!" Pumpkin squealed.

"'Kay." Hana agreed as the two of them stepped inside the building and began to look for Violet.

[Venus]

Hana could see how Violet’s obscenely curved silhouette just disappeared in the corridor behind a door. Once she reached the door she found Violet arranging some glasses and a bottle which looked like some kind of Orange-juice/Gatorade mix. Violet struggled a bit with the tablet unable to see beyond the vast expanse of her chest and thus coming dangerously close to toppling the bottle with her bust.

„There you are.“, she smiled at the girls and quickly put the tablet down again. She poured Hana and Pumpkin a glass of the sparkling beverage and handed them over to the girls. „So what are you going to do next? Unfortunately I have to stay close to the hospital else I’d show you around the Refuge.“

It was hard to imagine that Violet actually worked as a nurse and wasn’t employed for different reasons. The blow-up-doll shaped beauty didn’t look at all like a nurse even if she tried to ‚dress down’ which was a futile attempt. There was not a single thing Violet did that didn’t implied some kind of sexual motivation – even if it was just breathing and casually leaning against the doorframe – she always advertised sex…

[Atomicweasel]

Pumpkin and Hana held their glasses the same way, both hands wrapped around the base. Pumpkin drank greedily from her cup while Hana sipped at hers before pausing to answer Violet. “I’m not sure, I guess. Maybe I’ll take Pumpkin down to the river for a bit and we can make some paper boats or something—”

“—Yeah!” Pumpkin interjected.

Hana glanced at her cousin “Or maybe we’ll do some pictures together.”

“Yeah!” Pumpkin squealed again, then returned to her drink.

“So, yeah, I guess that’s what we’re doing.” Hana concluded. “But don’t worry, we’ll be careful.”

Pumpkin finished her drink when Hana was just a few sips in, and set her glass down with a long satisfied “ahh.” She peered at Violet, turning her glass around and around in her pudgy little hands. “How come your boobies are so big?” Pumpkin blurted.

“Squirt, you don’t ask that!” Hana scolded, blushing. She turned quickly to apologize to Violet, “Sorry!”

“How come I can’t ask?” Pumpkin insisted, “They’re really big! They’re way bigger than yours!” she pointed accusingly at Hana’s chest.

“Because!” Hana gasped at her cousin, covering her mouth and trying hard to hide her amusement behind an act of indignation. She glanced guiltily at Violet.

“Because why?” Pumpkin demanded curiously.

[Venus]

„Because…“, Violet wanted to answer but suddenly realized that it wasn’t as easy to answer as she thought. Because I was born like that? Actually she didn’t really know why she looked the way she looked. It was something that happened to her when… she became like James referred to it. The only thing she knew was that Jennifer was really self-conscious about her body, especially her bust. Then she had an idea and smiled broadly.

„… I’m a witch. And we all have big busts.“, she winked at the girls while she gave her impressive chest a small bump making it bulge ominously. Each was easily as large as Violet’s head, maybe even bigger and for the girls they must’ve really appeared gargantuan.

„I’m joking… honestly, it’s nature. You’re still too young but that’ll change once you grow up. I don’t know why mine got so big but I’m not complaining.“, Violet gave them another of her trademark smiles and poured some extra gatorade into Pumpkin’s glass.

„Don’t drink it all at once. Savour it a little, ok? These beverages are getting scarce these days.“, Violet placed the bottle back on the tablet and turned back to the girls. It wasn’t just her impressive bust – everything about her was exaggerated. Her waist was wasplike and her hips flared out lending her an outrageously proportioned hourglass figure which she didn’t do much to hide. Her legs were incredibly long and her skin had a perfect complexion – almost like porcelain. It was certain that they’d never seen a real life person like her before. Maybe in TV or some cartoon – but for real?

[Atomicweasel]

Hana pressed her lips together into a polite smile. There's nothing natural about you... she thought as she looked angelically at Violet. Titzilla had been nice to Hana straight from the start. Even if her brain was as empty as her boobs were big, she'd done a lot to make Hana's stay at the Refuge a pleasant one. And now she was spoiling Pumpkin rotten with orange Gatorade. Hana wasn't the type to look a gift whore in the mouth.

"Thanks, Violet" Hana grinned sweetly at the disproportionate woman. It was hard not to respond to Violet's strained beauty, to to not be swayed by the soft cadence of her hypnotic voice, but Hana jerked her eyes away from Violet's puffy lips and sultry stare and gave Pumpkin a soft poke in the thigh. "C'mon, Squirt, Violet's got better stuff to do than take care of us."

"I don't mind at all," Violet said in honeyed tones.

"Not finished drinking, Bana!" Pumpkin protested, taking a noisy slurp of her refreshed Gatorade.

"Well, don't take forever...you want to make boats right? We can put your little people in them and do races."

"I do wanna!" Pumpkin gulped back more of her Gatorade.

Hana turned to grin and blush at Violet, "Hey um, do you think maybe we can have some...paper?" she bit her lip and rubbed at the back of her neck.

"Paper?" Violet pursed her lips. "I don't know where to find--oh wait, I do have an idea. Just wait here!" she said cheerfully and turned to sashay off, swinging her hips and bouncing the high round bubble of her butt. A short while later Violet returned with a dusty prescription pad. "I don't think Dr. Shattuck will be needing this so much any more. Will it do?"

"Yeah, sure. Thanks." Hana took the proffered pad.

"Do you need a pencil, also?" Violet offered.

"No, that's fine. Thanks." Hana repeated. "C'mon, Squirt."

Pumpkin pushed her by now empty glass back toward Violet. "Kay!" she bolted after Hana as her older cousin padded out the door.

"I guess our boats are gonna be kinda small." Hana admitted as Pumpkin caught up to her and grabbed at her hand.

"I don' care."

"Kay, then."

Together, they spent the next three hours folding little boats out of papers torn from the prescription pad. Huddled down by the river Hana lined the paper boats up while Pumpkin created their tiny sailors out of aether. Jacqueline and Emanuele were the first ships to race onto the river after Hana's "Three, two, one, gooo!" Many more followed. The last two paper boats, Charlotte and Gertrude--Pumpkin insisted Hana name them all--featured tiny twig oars. They raced furiously, Gertrude pulling ahead as they vanished out of sight.

"Who won!?" Pumpkin shrieked, bouncing excitedly and having forgotten the last two names just as she'd forgotten all the others.

"Umm. I think it was Gertrude." The sun had long since given way to a pale moonlight.

"Make summore!" Pumpkin clapped, rounding on Hana.

"I can't, Squirt." Hana rose up, slapped at her muddied knees, and plucked an edge of her panties back into place.

"Whyyyyyyy!?" Pumpkin wailed, grabbing at Hana's hands and pulling.

"We're all out of paaaayyper...that's why!" Hana retorted in mock whine. "Plus you can't even see who wins anymore! It's getting dark and I need to get you back to Jasmine and James Bond before they totally flip out, okay?"

Pumpkin searched Hana's face for deceit or trickery, but found only wide-eyed sincerity in the appeal. "Kay...fine." she relented after a thoughtful pause. "Are you gonna stay over with us?"

"I dunno, Squirt..." Hana retook Pumpkin's hand and the two of them walked unhurriedly back toward Jasmine and Bond's tent. "I mean..."

"I want you to, Bana."

Hana felt her throat thicken. "Yeah, okay. But I mean, they have to say it's okay, I can't just invite myself." Hana blushed in the dark.

"Don't worry, Bana. Azzy likes you."

Hana turned a surprised look on Pumpkin. "How can you tell?" But Pumpkin just shrugged, leaving Hana hopeful and flustered all at once. Together they threaded through the tent encampments, until they came to the garage and the big tent next to it where Bond and Jasmine slept. A warm light glowed through the nylon skin of the tent and Hana could hear hushed voices as Pumpkin raced ahead of her to pull at the tent flaps.

"There you are!" Jasmine exclaimed. The limber teen uncoiled herself from Bond's lap just as Pumpkin dashed into her legs and gave her a tight hug around the waist.

"Me and Bana played all day!" Pumpkin declared victoriously.

"I bet," Jasmine laughed, grinning over Pumpkin's head at Hana, who still hovered by the entrance to the tent.

"Can Bana stay here wif us?" Pumpkin pulled her head back from Jasmine's stomach to look up into the lovely young woman's eyes. "Please, Azzy?"

[Fox]

'Azzy' threw a look at Bond that was part-amused, part-questioning, with a sizeable dose of wide-eyed appeal. Pumpkin, quick on the uptake as only a child could be, followed suit. Bond's eyes narrowed at the two would-be manipulators, then crinkled slightly at the edges as he smiled. He glanced over at Hana, then back at the other two and shrugged.

"Why not?" he asked rhetorically. "Dinner is rabbit stew and potatoes, Hana. I hope that's alright." He uncoiled from the chair where he and Jasmine had been enjoying their conversation; which was basically talking and planning in-between kissing sessions, and moved over to the camping stove, lifting the lid on the pot and immediately filling the tent with a mouthwatering smell. Bond looked over at the others and grinned. "And it's ready when you are, ladies. Break out the eating gear."

Cutlery and plates were set out with admirable speed, if not precision. Pumpkin's enthusiasm got the better of her, and Hana ended up with two forks where Jasmine had a spoon and knife and Bond two knives. The state of confusion didn't last long, and it was only a few moments later before all four were seated around the table and settling down to eat, opened bottles of peach-flavored Snapple set down as beverages.

[Atomicweasel]

When Jasmine put a generous serving of stew and potatoes in front of her, Hana felt herself go faint. The smell of it, wafting up from the plate, was almost intoxicating. She felt her mouth watering and her stomach growling. Next to her, Pumpkin had already begun noisily chewing a sloppy mouthful of stew. Hana willed herself to be still, though her knee bounced nervously under the table, until Bond had tucked into his food before she took up knife and fork.

She delicately pushed her food around her plate, loading precise little forkfuls with equal measures of stew and potato, and savoring every bite with slow deliberation. Each mouthful made her toes curl inside her Adidas and her knees press tight together. "This is so good." Hana murmured appreciatively.

She wasn't yet half-done when Pumpkin and Bond had already finished. Across from her Jasmine was still nursing her bird-sized serving, eating even slower than Hana. Briefly their eyes met, and Hana answered Jasmine's knowing grin with a demure little smile.

"Bana, finish eating so we can play!" Pumpkin demanded, noting with dismay how much of Hana's food was left.

"Hana hasn't had a lot of real meals, Sweetie." Jasmine took a look at Hana's pained expression and ventured a guess. "Let her take her time, okay?"

Pumpkin's shoulders slumped in defeat as Hana lifted another forkful to her lips and beamed a look of gratitude at Jasmine.

"Besides, it's getting on." Bond observed, giving Pumpkin a wink. "If we're not careful you'll turn back into a carriage."

"Huh?!" Pumpkin rounded on him.

Jasmine covered a giggle with one hand. "He means it's getting late, Pumpkin. Maybe tomorrow would be a better time to play."

"Awww..." Pumpkin threw her hands up. Hana reached over and mussed her cousin's curly blonde mane with one hand while she fed herself with the other. She thought about leaving half her stew, but it was too rich and tasty by far. Besides, where would I even keep it? Hana justified her careless gluttony to herself. So she finished it. The first meal she'd really finished in more than three months. She felt drowsy and contented...and she hadn't even started her Snapple...

[Fox]

They talked quietly as Hana sat in semi-sleepy contentment and Pumpkin, the prospect of further play denied, likewise began to wind down in the way of small children, namely falling asleep in her chair, prompting Jasmine to pick the small girl up.

"I'd better settle her in." she told the other two with a smile, appearing every inch the mother despite being only a scant handful of years older than Hana. Maybe it was the fact she was going to be a mother, Bond mused to himself. Or maybe it was something innate to her, pregnant or not. Jasmine smiled at him as she stepped around the table, leaning down for a quick kiss before disappearing into Pumpkin's small sleeping compartment. Bond watched her go for a moment, what might have been a wistful look in his eye for a split second. He glanced over at Hana.

"Come on. I'll walk you back to Violet's. The Refuge is a little strange right now." he told her, standing and slipping on his battered brown jacket. Hana noted that Bond hadn't removed his guns even to eat, and wondered if he ever removed them, which was good for an internal giggle as she likewise stood up, grabbing her Snapple.

"Take Pumpkin's too." Bond suggested with a smile. "She's barely touched it and won't even care tomorrow. Consider it my thanks for tiring her out today." he grinned wryly as Hana smiled back and took the mostly-full bottle from the table.

The cooler night air woke Hana up a little, as did the sounds of people talking quietly and the few running generators. Somewhere a baby cried, and out beyond the wall some night bird called. Bond walked her through the tent-town that had sprung up, his manner one of watchful ease as his pale blue eyes moved casually over their surroundings.

"I meant what I said, by the way." Bond spoke quietly to her, his voice calm and sincere. "Thank you for looking after Pumpkin. I think you'll be an asset on the road, and not just as a babysitter. You strike me as the type to pull their weight and not neglect practicalities." He grinned. "Like Jasmine and I."

[Atomicweasel]

Hana shot a sharp look at Bond, sensitive to any undercurrent of teasing. But he wasn’t teasing her, she could see. He was praising her, and Hana felt a deep rush of pride. “I will. I will pull my weight.” She assured him. Hana hoped she sounded as serious and mature as she felt. She walked along in silence at Bond’s side, feeling the chill breeze tug at her through the light fabric of the summer-dress, one precious Snapple in each hand. “What did you mean when you said the refuge was a little strange?”

“Lots of new people here.” Bond explained, in a low measured voice. “A lot of women were saved from a desperate situation…but just many of them were in that prison for a reason, Hana.”

At length Hana looked shyly up at Bond, taking his measure until his eyes met hers. “I’m glad you found her.”

“Pumpkin?” Bond raised an eyebrow and quirked his lip into the beginnings of a grin.

“Yeah.” Hana nodded. “My cousin. I’m glad it was you and Jasmine who found her...and not someone else. Not someone worse.”

Bond broke into a laugh, “I’m deeply touched,” he put a hand playfully to his heart, “that you don’t consider me the worst possible thing that could’ve happened to Pumpkin,”

“No, I didn’t mean—“ Hana looked up only to find Bond grinning down at her. “I didn’t mean that,” she blushed “I meant that I’m glad it was you and Jasmine and that you guys took care of her and made her feel safe and...” Hana trailed off self-consciously, then took a breath and tried again. “I’m glad you gave her back what Z Day took away.”

Bond gave her a savvy squint. “A family.”

“Right.”

They stopped in front of the entrance to Violet’s and Hana turned to face Bond. Her expression was guarded, but hopeful. Bond gave her shoulder a reassuring pat. “Goodnight, Hana.”

“Yeah. Thanks for walking me back.” Hana watched Bond go, then turned and slipped through the door of the strip-club made refugee camp.