Aberrant: Dead Rising - Chapter 10e: Chaos

[Atomicweasel]

"Really!?" Hana bounced off the bed like a coiled spring and made right for Kristin. "That'd be really great! I've only got what I was wearing and I've been on the road for months now and my clothes are kind of a mess so--" Hana paused for breath, interrupting herself as she took hold of the offered clothes bag.

She blushed, stepped back and sat down. "Thanks." Hana had just started looking through Kristin's clothes, noticing with growing excitement that they were all very much her own size, when the girls heard Daniel's angry shout. Hana shot to her feet again, a tee-shirt tumbling out of the bag. She listened a moment, then bent to pick the shirt up and lay it on the bed beside her.

She looked toward the door, then turned to Kristin and shrugged lightly. Sorting through the rest of her new clothes, Hana pulled forth a clean pair of white panties with little pink hearts on them. She held them up for Kristin and raised an eyebrow. "Nice."

Kristin turned beet-red. "Um, those aren't mine." she mumbled unconvincingly.

"Right," Hana giggle-snorted. She set them down next to the shirt and then drew out a pair of powder blue draw-string pajama pants with thin brown stripes.

"Okay, I guess they're mine. But they're all I could find." Kristin rallied in her own defense.

Hana stood and looked down at the invisible dress up doll she'd created upon the bed-spread. The plain black tee. The panties. The striped pajamas. "It's cool, I get it...you're a girly girl." Hana glanced over her shoulder at Kristin. The muscle-bound teen looked nothing like a girly girl, but Hana couldn't resist the urge to tease her a little.

"I'm not!" Kristin denied vehemently. "I grew up on a farm! I hate pink!"

Hana peeked into the bag. "Oh. Sure. Okay...did they have elephants on your farm?"

"What?" Kristin exclaimed.

Hana pulled out a dirty little stuffed elephant. It was pale blue, roughly stitched in places. She wiggled it for Kristin, "Hi Kristin, I'm Mr. Eleph--" Hana's squeaky impersonation was interrupted when Kristin leaped up and snatched the elephant out of Hana's hands.

"His name's Lellfant." Kristin corrected defensively, clutching the elephant to her breast.

It was Hana's turn to blush then. "I was just messing...thanks, thanks a lot for the clothes." She turned her back to Kristin and stepped into the panties, pulling them up under the robe. Then she shrugged out of the robe, letting it pool at her feet. Kristin was treated to the sight of Hana's smooth slender back and the sight of her own panties hugging the perfect round bubble of Hana's little ass. Next Hana wriggled into the pajama pants, and finally she yanked the tight black tee over her head before turning back to face Kristin.

Kristin's tee left only a thin swath of Hana's midriff bare, not quite as revealing as it'd been on her. Hana was nowhere near as strong as Kristin was, but she was slender and athletic--and if she couldn't boast a flawless six-pack like Kristin had, at least she had a lean flat stomach. The two girls looked each over, silently appraising one another.

"Hey, you wanna go see what's going on downstairs?" Hana asked after their silence had grown awkward.

"Yeah!" Kristin readily agreed.

"Come on." Hana padded noiselessly out of the room and down the hall again. She turned half way to look back at Kristin, and placed her index finger lightly to her lips. Kristin nodded somberly and the two of them crept forward, sneaking their way to the top of the stairs. There they crouched, Kristin just behind Hana, peering over the younger girl's shoulder and down at the adults arguing below.

Click to reveal..

Stealth checks!

(00:37:06) ChatBot: (Hana) rolls 8d10 and gets 3,7,8,2,2,5,3,7. 3 suxx

(00:40:14) ChatBot: (Kristin) rolls 8d10 and gets 7,8,7,4,5,4,3,9. 5 suxx (1st is mega)

[Courier]

James opened his mouth to reply to Simon when Dan interrupted and ended the conversation. Fine. I can live with that.

James turned away from Simon and walked towards the stairs with the parting shot, "Hell didn't end at Hornsbeck's wall. Let yourself suffer over other people's pain and you'll go nuts."

[Dawn OOC]

"Unfeeling asshole!" Simon shouted back. "No one's asking you to suffer! They're asking you to sleep somewhere else!"

"And you!" he turned on Dan. "You're just as bad. You could make him sleep somewhere else. What is all that power for if you don't use it in defense of others?"

"I'm not staying here," one woman said suddenly. "I've had enough of sleeping near sociopaths and douchebags." There was a general chorus of agreement.

Simon raised his hands placatingly. "Alright, alright, let me go talk to the boss-"

"No! Fuck some man tellin' us what ta do," another woman snarled.

"Sorry," Simon said softly. "How's this - why don't you ladies wait outside while I fetch Fox for you? You'll have to talk to him anyway - he runs this place."

One woman started to cry as the second one to speak snapped, "No fuckin' way am I lettin' some man control my fate! C'mon, sistas... let's find our own place to sleep. Somewhere we can defend. Somewheres we select." She exited the building on a wave of agreement.

A few were left and Simon turned to them. "Can I help you ladies get settled? Put down some blankets for you?" One of them hesitantly nodded and Simon got to work.

Outside, the women began to gather and mill around before heading off into the open area of the refuge. There, they gathered in a bunch, talking and looking lost. After a short time, Emma from the Hays Enclave approached them. "Can I help you?" she asked.

A short time later, the elderly woman came to Gabrielle and murmured in her ear. Nodding and frowning, the angelic super murmured instructions. Emma gathered members of the enclave and they started to move their cars into a large circle.

Click to reveal..

Timewise, Gabby hasn't collapsed yet. Just to keep things straight.

[Venus]

"Great - just effin great...", Violet went from being worried and compassionate in one moment to being angry and upset in the next. She looked at Dan and James and shook her head then she went after the women who just left leaving Simon behind to take care of the women who decided to stay.

Outside she searched for the angry "mob" of ultra feminists who just took her offer of warm shelter with a roof above their heads and stomped all over it because of... men?

Men!

She found the gathered bunch with relative ease and got their attention easily.

"Hey you!", she spoke up addressing the woman she identified as the angry women mobs leader.

"How dare you! James and Dan are good men and they just put their lives in danger to rescue you out of your misery - every single one of you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for their help and dedication. These men won't hurt you, they're here to protect and preserve - we all are and if we don't start to help and trust each other we might as well turn ourselves to fate and die miserably as Zombiefodder.", Violet's anger was subsiding as she tried to get reasonable.

"I know you all went through hell - you may not want to believe me but I can actually feel what you all been through. I know there is no way to undo what happened but please... you must believe me - there is no immediate danger within the walls of this refuge. There are no men who will take advantage of your situation or even abuse you. I ask you... please rethink your position and put aside your anger - I want to help... we want to help you. And that includes the men, too. I try to keep contact with them at a minimum but we can't avoid it... that's impossible.", Violet's eyes roamed through the crowd trying to find understanding among them.

"I can't force you... no one does but this is wrong. It's wrong to blame these men for crimes they didn't commit... these are good men."

She let that last sentence linger for a moment before she slowly backed away. Now it was up to them to decide if they trusted her words or not.

Click to reveal..

OOC: Charisma+Rapport for my little speech. F...9d10.hits(7)=5) including Willpower that should make 7 suxx

[Dawn OOC]

The glob of mud came from a tall black woman. It impacted Violet's front, splattering on the woman's massive breasts. "Fuck you!" the woman shouted, picking up another handful of mud. "The way you fuckin' look, you woulda fuckin' been that shithead's favorite toy. He woulda stuck all kinds of things in that cunt of yours. He woulda burned pretty little pictures into those tits."

"And that James isn't a good man," another woman said; she also held a handful of mud in her hand. "He's an asshole. He's just another man who smiles and is nice until he has you in his prison, then he turns on the jerk."

"And you're just the puta lettin' him fuck you over," another finished, just before she threw her handful of mud at Violet.

[SalmonMax]

Once through the gate, Myfwany parted from Fox and was pleasantly surprised to see Gabrielle there working too. She hadn't known the new super could heal, but the sight of it lifted her spirits considerably. Even so there was no time to chitchat. The very basic triage done before moving the women through now had to be followed up by much more comprehensive first aid and paramedical work. The worst cases were set up for healing...the ones that could get by without magic, but were still bad off, were routed to the clinic.

Myfwany put Dr. Singh in charge of the clinic patients...but as the numbers there swelled found herself having to spend all her time there as well. She finally enlisted a pair of men from the Refuge to carry her desk out of the clinic so her office could be made into more bedspace. This procedure was repeated for every other room in the clinic, saving only the bathrooms. She put any able hands to work. Fires were built outside to boil water to make it sterile and to sterilize the tools and sheets that were being torn up to make bandages once the supplies were gone. Blankets weren't torn though...they needed all of those they could get and then some. In some cases they had to sew spare towels together to improvise more blankets. But they made do.

[Venus]

Violet didn't expect that reaction at all. For a moment she couldn't decide if she should get angry or start crying. The mob got angrier with each passing second and Violet could tell that this didn't help a single bit. It actually felt more like she just gave the women even more reason to actually hate them... or her?

Somewhat confused Violet retreated, slowly at first but then she started running back to her home and stormed through the crowd while the angry women cheered and howled more insults at her as the improperly curvaceous now muddy sexbomb fled the scene. Once she reached her home she ran right upstairs to her quarters to get herself cleaned up. She got out of her robe ignoring everything and everyone around her. She just wanted to wash this off her... both the dirt and the embarrassment. Fuck them! Fuck them all!, she angrily thought.

Click to reveal..

Gonna give one of the guys a chance to run after her

[Mr Fox]

Fox began to become aware of a commotion over near Violet's, and looked just in time to see someone he could only assume to be Violet from the distinctive profile running into the club. He looked quickly to the men around him and said, "Markham, please take over for me here for a minute while I find out what that is all about." He gestured to the group gathered outside Violets.

He flew over to the group quickly and settled on the ground. "Is there a problem here?"

[Dawn OOC]

The women immediately drew together like frightened birds. "No problem," one of them said, shaking wet mud off her hands. "We're just looking for a place to sleep."

"And we ain't stayin' with that puta ojos púrpura," one woman announced with a little more bravery. "Ella está intentando decirnos que tenemos que permanecer con ese asshole."

"Yeah, it's pretty goddamned bad when fuckin' Brownnose Simon is more sympathetic than our supposed rescuers," yet another woman said. A second later, all was noise and fury as all the women started to talk at once.

"Shuddup!" a tall black woman said fiercely. Slowly, the women subsided. "I'm Duchess, and yeah, that is the name my mama gave me." She crossed her arms and glowered. "I'm talking for my sistas here, so you can talk to me. We ain't staying in a building with no fuckin' man who thinks he's sufferin' if he has ta fuckin' sleep somewhere else."

"I used to have to sleep outside, on the roof," one woman blurted. "There was a zombie up there, chained to the access door. They'd wait until I was asleep, then let the chain out a bit through a hole in the door." Her eyes looked shocked. "Let's make him sleep like that."

"Shuddup!" Duchess barked. "We ain't fuckin' treating no one likes we was treated. We was treated like animals, but we's better people than these men. We's finding somewhere else to sleep, and you can tell that whore and her 'good men' to stuff their ugly building up their's asses."

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan looked at Simon, and he nodded as he finished clearing the last of the furniture. "You're right, I could ostensibly stop him, but at what cost? The fight between the two of us would destroy this structure. That would be bad for everyone, and we simply can't afford it. Before you condemn me too much Simon understand it was a combination of my limited trust in you, and Ashley's vouching for you that you aren't with the others from the Prison."

He was about to say something more to Simon when the women lashed out at Violet. He heard the words and restrained himself from reacting, simply walking to the doorway. "If you don't want to stay here, then you don't have to. Violet was kind enough to open her home to all of you. You can do as you wish."

He Saw Fox moving up and spared the Captain a nod before going inside to check on Violet. He arrived at her door and knocked. "Violet, it's Dan."

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Crouched down on a knee at the top of the stairs, Kristin looked down on the rest of the club, biting her lip nervously at the sight of the three men trading hard words, Ashley standing resolutely behind Simon. She wanted to go down there, to stand beside her cousin, but her legs refused to move. She wanted to protect Ashley, but she had seen how strong James and Dan were - much stronger than her - and Simon had been a guard in Paradise, and her pounded against her full and toned chest in dread.

Straining against her crippling apprehension, Kristin was about to force herself downstairs when the powerful figure of James turned to head for the stairs, an irate expression across his face - having seen James tear steel apart like licorice, his expression carried even more fearful weight to her.

Suddenly, Kristin became acutely aware that she was only wearing a towel to preserve her modesty. So long without wearing clothes on a regular basis, Kristin had followed Hana without really thinking about it. Now, especially after unveiling her eyes to her physical changes, she deeply regretted the oversight.

Barely squelching a squeak of dismay, Kristin jumped to her feet and raced back to her room, powerful legs propelling her with greater than human speed. Hana glanced down the stairs, then followed her room-mate at a much more considerate and stealthy pace.

Hana entered the room just as Kristin was pulling the pair of undersized shirts she had been wearing earlier down over her braless breasts. Hana couldn't help but notice, with a trace of envy, that despite her prominent chest, Kristin didn't even need any support. Kristin had already donned her tight, torn jeans that seem to display as much of her strong legs as they covered.

Kristin glanced up at Hana, her wide green eyes filled with shame, face flaming red. "I'm... I'm still getting used to wearing clothes again."

Several moments later, Kristin caught a flash of the improbably proportioned beauty as she ran pass the door to her room. Kristin blinked at Hana in surprise as she heard a door closed, sharply, her mouth open in shocked awe at the undulating sight.

[Venus]

Violet was still half in her dress and had just wiped away some of the mud out of her face when she heard Dan knock on the door. Without hesitation she opened it and literally fell into his arms sobbing and crying heavy tears of frustration and anger. "I hate them! I hate...", she couldn't finish the sentence and broke into another fit of sobs and wailing.

"Oh Dan...", she couldn't say much more than that. The outside observer could see a half naked Violet clinging dearly onto Dan, Mud was dripping down from her hair and parts of her robe.

[Dan Hawkins]

considering her relative lack of clothing, Dan carried Violet back into her room and closed the door behind them. He stroked her hair gently, willing himself to remain strong.

Come on Violet, let's get you cleaned up. "Pay no heed to them they've been hurt so long they've forgotten kindness, and the proper response to it."

"Go ahead and get cleaned up and get some rest, being exposed to the raw emotion you have today has have made you as exhausted as I am." He guides her to the shower.

"You'll feel better after a shower, I'll get Jill to come stay with you, despite everything and my own exhaustion, I have to continue helping these women."

It was obvious he wanting nothing more than to collapse in the bed, but something spurred him on. A profound protectiveness and sense of duty seemed to radiate from him, He meant whatt he said.

[Mr Fox]

Fox frowned in confusion, "Duchess, I'm sorry but I don't know what you are talking about. You don't want to stay at Violets? What's this about not sleeping in a building with a man who thinks he's suffering from having to sleep somewhere else?" Fox was doing his best to be his normal commanding self but not in a threatening way. He was also doing his best to be understanding of their feelings, but he was completely out of the loop on what they were talking about and obviously wanted a more detailed explanation.

[Dawn OOC]

"Excuse me," Emma said softly, coming back, a little out of breath. "Mr. Fox, I'm from Hayes, and we're putting up a temporary shelter for those who won't stay at Violets. From what I've been able to hear, there was an altercation, and one of the men, one of the supers, was cruel and thoughtless. Of course, that's second-hand reporting - you'll probably need to ask inside."

She turned to the women and said, "Gabrielle told me for us to gather our vehicles in a circle and erect a shelter over that." She pointed to where the men were moving the cars and trucks. "You can wait here, or I can come get you when we're done." Her smile was gentle and grandmotherly.

[Mr Fox]

"Thank you Emma, that's very kind of you." Looking to the group of gathered women, "Ladies, you may sleep in that shelter if you wish, but I would like to hear what has happened regarding Violets. If someone here has done something inappropriate then I need to know about it so I can take action." It was clear that he wanted an answer although he wasn't being overbearing or threatening in any way. It was a fine line to walk between being a leader needing answers and sensitive to their condition.

[Amarant]

Walker stared at the man in the priest's robes and tried to figure out how he knew his first name. But he shrugged mentally and pushed the question aside. It wasn't as though no one at the Refuge knew Walker's first name - even though no one used it - so perhaps the priest had heard it from someone else. He'd worry about it later, if at all.

Walker realized he was staring again, so he cleared his throat and said to the priest, "Sure. Lead the way."

[Courier]

James walked up the stairs, noticed a half naked Kristin running away, then noticed he'd lost Helen and Jan in transit.

Let me guess, I said the wrong thing? Or maybe just put it the wrong way? Let's check up on Jo anyway.

James had moved into a room on the opposite side of the building from Violet. Entering he found... no Jo. Right. Not a shock, she's a people person, it's not really like her to wait alone in a room. Let's get a fresh shirt and keep looking. She's probably out looking for me.

James put a new shirt on and turned around and, missing Violet and Dan going into her room, headed out of Violets. Spotting the crowd and Fox he said in greeting, "Morgan", fully intending to continue on his way.

[Jasmine Gentian]

She leaned into Jim's side as he spoke, and after considering his offer for a moment, she nodded briefly. After all, she might be a woman but Jim was a quicker thinker than she was - if trouble broke out here it would probably be better that he was around. Especially with how she was feeling at the moment. She glanced at Caleb, and motioned towards the direction of the tent Bond occupied.

"Yeah. That might be a good idea. C'mon, Caleb.. follow me."

She gave Jim a light squeeze with the arm she'd slipped around her waist, then pulled away and led the devout young man through the crowd. She led them across part of the camp to one of the more secluded areas. It was quiet over here right now, with most of the bustle of activity happening in other areas of the refuge, and no one here for trading or the like. She stepped up to the tent flap, and pulled it open for him to carry her in. It was large enough, with a small table and a couple chairs in the main area, as well as a small space arranged for cooking on the hotplate. There was a small section off to the side that housed an area just big enough for the mattress laid out on the ground and the pillows and blankets piled on top of it, and Jasmine motioned to it.

I made love to Jim on that bed less than forty-eight hours ago, and now it's the resting place of an angel.

Jasmine flushed very faintly, though it wasn't very perceptible in the darkened tent, and dismissed the superstitious thought. Gabrielle wasn't any more divine than she was - just someone with special talents. She hurried over and smoothed out the blanket over the sheets, then propped the pillows up in a way that would accommodate someone laying on their side or stomach. It was the only way she figured the winged blond woman would be able to lay down.

"There.. you can lay her there so she can rest."

"There.. you can put her in there."

[z016]

Caleb nodded in gratitude and gently maneuvered the girl onto the bed, keeping her on her side and propping the wings so that they'd rest on pillows as she slept. It was obvious that his entire attention was on his leader; once she was settled in he was satisfied that she was only sleeping, he stood and hesitated. There was still so much more to see to, but seeing to it meant leaver her alone here.

The man's warring duties were clear in his expression.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana glanced over at Kristin. Getting used to wearing clothes again? God, what did they do to you in there... Hana tossed herself onto the bed she'd claimed and gazed up at the ceiling. "I wonder what happened to Violet." She said aloud.

She turned her head to look thoughtfully at Kristin again. A thousand images, none of them nice, crossed through Hana's mind. Looking like that, in that place, could not have been good. She reflected. Hana knew little about sex, a topic she had just begun to discover before Z Day, but she wasn't a total child. She understood what rape meant. And it didn't take much to conclude Kristin had been the victim of it. Likely lots of it.

As she crossed her arms behind her head and bent her left knee up to lazily swivel it back and forth, Hana found herself suddenly and strangely aware of the inadequacy of her little breasts. They were so small compared to Kristin's. Tiny mosquito bites compared to Violet's. And then she found herself wanting to know...

"Was it..." of course it was awful, stupid. "Were you there a long time?" Hana finally settled for asking. Her voice was kept to a low a whisper.

[Jasmine Gentian]

Jasmine tilted her head and studied him, looking tired. While he hadn't been there, he'd heard some of the women Gabrielle had been healing talking about the monstrous zombie that some of the supers had been forced to do battle with, and their descriptions of the supers that had been fighting it, combined with the weary expression on the young woman's face, told him that she'd probably been one of the ones in the fight against it.

"Why don't you go back and help, Caleb? I need to stay and rest for awhile anyway, I've had a long day. And I'm sure Gabrielle would want you where you could do the most good at the moment.. there's still a lot of women that need help. I'll keep an eye on her and let you know if she needs anything from you, okay?"

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Unaware of the chaos in the encampment behind her, Jules walked out to the Scar. The closer she got, the more she slowed, her feet hesitating. At the ugly, black stain on the earth, she stopped, pressing her lips together. "Hi," she said after a moment. "Sorry there's no where better to visit. You don't have a grave, baby."

Tears rising in her eyes, she hunkered down, balancing on her toes. "Sorry I haven't been by. I've been a little busy. Your uncle Morgan is a busy guy, but not so good with the books, right? So I've been helping, just like I used to do for Daddy." She cleared her throat. "Poor excuse, though. I know. I just..."

She looked down as her vision clouded with tears. "It's just... I should have done something more for you. I should be holding you right now, thanking God I'd come home safe to you. Instead, I don't even have a grave for you. At least, and this is a small saving grace, but at least I killed that fucker who scared you so badly."

She tightened her arms around her knees, shivering in the May air and weeping. "Baby, I'm sorry... it shouldn't be like this," she bawled, pressing a hand to her face. "You shouldn't be dead, I shouldn't have been in Hell, even for a while and your father and sister should be alive. I shouldn't be lust-" She stopped, letting the words die in her throat. She couldn't believe that she was that shallow, that her feelings for Morgan should even be on her litany of 'how it should be'. It only made her feel worse, in part because she wasn't sure how she felt about him anymore. He'd given her rare moments of peace and comfort, and even some laughter. He was an easy man to like, but she remembered his bitter disappointment at her when he'd threatened to leave her behind. And then her pain and rage when she'd realized that he wasn't going to allow her to kill Hornsbeck, like he'd promised. She'd had to take matters into her own hands for satisfaction.

For a moment, she saw it again, felt it again: the heavy meat in her hands, the way it had felt as it and the cloth of his jeans had torn. She recalled the scream as he dropped his knees, jetting blood onto the ground like a child being careless with a hose. The look on his face as the pain had become intolerable and he'd passed out. And then the perfect stillness of death, when the body had become a shell and she'd squeezed the pieces in her hand into bloody mush.

There was still his blood on her hands. She could smell it.

"I did something terrible," she whispered to her son's grave. "But I don't regret it, and I never will. I needed to do that." She just wished she didn't sound like she was trying to be convincing when she said that. "I regret losing you, Ben. If I could undo one thing, I would have traded places with you. I would have walked into death, lost everything, even my chance at revenge, if only to save you."

He'd needed her to defend him. He'd been so helpless, so fragile. He'd needed her to keep him safe. She'd failed. She'd never forgive herself for that. She hugged her knees tighter with one arm as she buried her face harder into her hand. She was miserable; the force that had kept her going since Ben's death was gone. There was nothing that could feel the hole that her son had left behind; no source of rage or love left strong enough to keep her going. And in that moment of utter desolation, he came.

The small hand on her head jerked her upright. Shocked, Jules stared at her son, who looked at her sadly. "Mommy, what are we going to do now?" he whispered.

"Ben?" she whispered, her eyes going wide. With a choked cry, she threw her arms around him. Only there was nothing there, and she tumbled forward, planting herself face-first into her son's pyre. Weeping, distraught, she curled into a ball and sobbed, turning the ashes of her son and dozens of other sons and daughters into ugly mud.

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Dan Hawkins

"You'll feel better after a shower, I'll get Jill to come stay with you, despite everything and my own exhaustion, I have to continue helping these women."

It was obvious he wanting nothing more than to collapse in the bed, but something spurred him on. A profound protectiveness and sense of duty seemed to radiate from him, He meant whatt he said.

Violet held him for a little while longer while her sobs slowly subsided. "Can't you stay here... please?", but she knew his answer.

"I can't... you must understand. I promise I'll make it up to you but these people need me now. Jill will take care of you in the meantime.", he said reassuringly.

The unearthly beauty - even with mud and dirt in her hair smiled weakly at him and didn't put up much of fight. "But you can at least help me out of my dress - it's kinda hard to get out of this alone."

She knew it was a tease and another unspoken invitation to stay with him instead of leaving the building. He was just finished untying the laces of her bodice when it already slipped down exposing her immense breasts which bounced slightly as she turned around to face him. Drawing him closer to her she craned her neck expecting him to kiss her while giving him a good view of her generous cleavage. "But I won't let you go without some kind of compensation..."

[Dawn OOC]

The women drew back into the frightened mass again, undoing much of the goodwill that Fox had managed to gain. The women glared at James with so much anger that the leader of the Refuge had no doubt which man they had been talking about before. They were silent until he was out of earshot, then they started talking at once. Fox got the story in bits and pieces: Dan's suggestion, James' refusal, Simon's argument with Dan and James and Violet's defense. The women even admitted to throwing mud at 'the whore'.

"Now," Duchess said, crossing her arms and jutting her chin forward, "whacho gonna do abouddit?"

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Hana heard the squeak of bed springs as Kristin sat down on her bed. The buff blond teen was silent for so long that Hana wasn't sure if she was going to answer or that she had even heard her. Turning from her intense study of a particular spot on the ceiling, she glanced at Kristin out of the corner of her eye, debating if she should ask her again.

Kristin sat cross-legged in the middle of the bed, elbows braced on her knees, holding her ragged, blue elephant to her breasts. Hana could see her trembling slightly, and though most of her face was concealing by a silky length of pale gold, she still saw the stubborn set to her jaw. Her thumb ran up the of the small elephant's trunk, stroking the head, where the felt had been worn smooth.

Hana hesitantly opened her mouth to ask again when Kristin raised her head, jade eyes burning with smoldering anger and remembered pain, though this time, they stayed dry.

"One day there was too long," Kristin spat with bitterness, her voice just as low as Hana's. Her gaze dropped back down to the stuffed elephant, the only thing she had left from her mother, hugging it tight.

"I was there almost... four months." A single tear leaked from the corner of her eye and she angrily brushed it away. "I... I don't think... I've left it behind, yet."

[Atomicweasel]

"You just got out of there." Hana gently reminded Kristin. She turned on her side, propped herself up on one elbow and idly curled a long lock of still wet hair around her finger. "I...saw some bad things, on the road...and back in Amarillo," Hana spoke in a whispery soft voice, "but probably nothing as bad as that...nothing as bad as you saw." Or went through...

She took a long look at Kristin, sitting there with her stuffed elephant. Hana could almost see just another girl. But other girls weren't made like that. Weren't ripped with tight cords of muscle. Weren't so hauntingly beautiful. Whatever she was, Kristin was not just another girl and Hana thought she would do well to remember it. She's like the rest of them. She's not even human anymore. But Hana talked to Kristin as if she was. It couldn't hurt to have a super-powered friend.

"You're really strong...I don't mean, like, your muscles. I mean. For you to survive that," the quiet admiration in Hana's voice wasn't wholly feigned. "not many people could."

[Mr Fox]

Fox was not happy. This situation was ugly and there was no easy fix. "Right. First of all, let 'me' apologize to you all for the offense, I'll speak with James about it immediately and see to it he sleeps someplace else until we can get you all settled. Second, I'd like you ladies to reconsider Violet's hospitality. It is the best accommodations we have at the moment and they can house one hundred without it getting too cramped. And finally, Duchess, she was opening her home to you and you offered her about as great an insult as it's possible to make. No matter what you've been through, that's inexcusable and that kind of behavior isn't allowed in the Refuge. Any assault against another member of our community is never under any circumstance acceptable."

"Besides that, you need to remember that bad things have happened to other people besides those locked in the prison. It has been ugly out here since the Zombies and Violet has been through some things too. Those of us that got 'changed' like Kristin, Violet, and Jules, they got things might help them survive. Me I got chased off the top of a tall building by a zombie horde and now I can fly. Have you considered what that means for the 'pretty' women? Kristin was Hornsbeck's favorite, she endured more than anyone else and it turned her into what she is now. It's a survival thing like a lizard blending in with it's background or an octopus squirting ink at an attacker. They didn't choose to be what they are, it was evolution or something, but they became what they are now in reaction to their circumstances. If Kristin looks the way she looks now because of Hornsbeck, think about what that means for Violet? What must she have gone through to end up the way she is?" He let that sink in for a minute, "Duchess, I'm asking you to put aside your own pain and consider hers and apologize. If you all want to be part of a community you need to remember that everyone here has lost family and friends in the last six months. Not all of us have gone through the terrible things that you experienced, but we've all suffered tragedy. There's not a person alive now that hasn't felt the pain of family dying, and some like Violet and Jules and Kristin, have been through exactly what you have. So remember the first rule of the Refuge is to be kind to everyone else, we are all suffering in one way or another and trying to survive despite it."

He looked to Duchess hoping he'd gotten through to her but spoke to the whole group, "Ladies, I hope you can find some kindness in your hearts and forgive. Not those who hurt you, but those of us who didn't go through what you endured. We're trying to form a society here where everyone can live without fear."

Click to reveal..

Fox is using Persuader on Duchess and exerting the full force of his mega socials to calm the crowd and get them to empathize and see the people of the refuge as victims like themselves rather than enemies.

Dawn, let me know what specific rolls you want please.

(14:45:46) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 3d10 and gets 2,5,3.

(14:45:51) ChatBot: (Morgan) rolls 1d10 and gets 9.

2 + 2 for persuader.

4 successes.

[z016]

Caleb's gratitude was palpable as he looked at Jasmine. "Thank you. I'll be back later to check on her, but it's chaos out there and I don't want see a riot because people don't know what to do."

He gave the cocoa-colored woman a tired smile and made his way out back into the fray.

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Kristin gave Hana a broken grin, as if she was trying to remember how to do it, then shrugged her powerful shoulders and shook her head, not used to compliments, not sure how to tell her what she thought.

She wasn't the girl she had been before being chained in Paradise, wasn't even the same girl from before Z-day. She wasn't sure the Kristin she knew had survived. She was someone else now. Something else.

"I - I... couldn't have done it, if I'd been alone," Kristin said, her lips pressed into a tight line as she broke eye contact with the younger girl, not wanting her to see the haunted look in her large green eyes. "I did what I... I had to, to keep Ashley safe." Except Hornsbeck wasn't going to keep his word, Simon kept Ashley safe. I - I let all that happen to me for... for... nothing... "She's all I have left, I think."

Kristin carefully set down her stuffed toy next to her thigh, then leaned back, propped up on her hands, her breathing deep and slow, trying to tamp down on the pain in her heart. Behind her curtain of golden hair, Kristin considered the other girl, slight and seemingly alone.

"What about you? I'm sure it wasn't easy for you either. Looks like you survived just as well as I did. Better even." Kristin's tone said she was curious, hoping Hana's life after Z-day had been better than hers, but more than understanding if she didn't want to say anything. Some things, it was better that they were never spoken of. Ever.

[Dan Hawkins]

Dan kissed the nearly nude beauty passionately. He willed himself to break away and then patted her rump. "That will have to be a tiny part in the downpayment for now. I'll make good the rest later Violet, I promise." With that he headed out the door, careful to make sure no one could see inside and made his way downstairs and out to see what else needed to be done.

[Dawn OOC]

The women stared at Fox, but he felt them relenting. Finally, the woman leading them said, "Yeah, fine. I'll do it, tomorra. I'm not..." For a moment, her bruised, tough-girl facade crumbled, and he saw the bruised, battered woman underneath. "Not now," she finished, her expression becoming stony again. If the others noticed her voice shaking, they didn't say anything.

"You're still welcome to stay in the accomdations we made for you." Emma's voice was gentle and non-judgmental. If she was appalled by their treatment of Violet, it didn't show on her face. She glanced at Fox and added, "But moving that fellow out for the evening so that other women could sleep there would be a good idea. Ladies, I think we're about ready for you." She began to herd them away.

[Atomicweasel]

Hana rolled onto her back and bent her knees up. She reached down to scratch an ankle and then sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees and rested her chin on her arms. She licked her lips, looked sidelong at Kristin and finally replied "I've been pretty lucky, I guess."

Hana plucked at the sleeve of her hand-me-down tee. "At first, you know...when it happened I wanted to find someone, anyone who could take care of me."

Hana paused, swallowed. "And I did. But, you stick around people long enough, you watch them, and you start to see." Hana looked away from Kristin, glancing at the door of the room. "You see that when things get really bad...people get worse. Like what happened at the prison. I mean. It's easy to be nice and care about your friends and your family when you've got enough to eat and drink and you're not worried something's going to come out of the dark and get you when you're asleep..."

Hana dropped her legs, swinging them off the side of the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and leaned forward toward Kristin. An inky whorl seemed to cross the blue of her eyes, but it could have been a flicker of light, because a moment later it was gone. "But when you don't have those things, Kristin...when you don't have enough to eat and you're thirsty all the time and the next person you see might be trying to kill you...then you change. Right?" Hana fixed Kristin with a long stare. "The person you were is just not you anymore because you need to survive and that means you have to do things you'd never thought you'd do. And it means you don't really have any friends because friends don't make so much sense anymore. You just think, how do I make it through today? And you keep thinking that and doing that--anyway you can--and pretty soon you're not even sure who you are."

Abruptly Hana let out an embarrassed little laugh. She stood up, covered her mouth, blushed and shook her head. "Sorry. That was...um. I didn't even answer your question. I'm just really tired." Even as she said this though, Hana padded to the door and leaned her ear against it, then came back to the middle of the room and paced from one wall to the other. "Are you hungry?" she asked suddenly.

[Mr Fox]

"That would be fine Duchess, I appreciate your understanding, you're a strong person."

Looking to Emma, "I suspect that means James, and don't worry, I'll make sure he sleeps someplace else until we get people settled. It's not right to turn someone out of their home, but sometimes sacrifices need to be made."

"I'll leave you ladies in Emma's capable hands, you can stay at Violets without worry about men being there tonight, or stay in the accommodations Emma's prepared."

Fox headed off in the direction he had seen James go. Clicking on the radio, "Hey, this is Fox, if anyone sees James grab him, I need to talk to him. Thanks."

It was only a minute or two before one of the security guys came back, "I've got him."

Fox made his way to the men and saw James looking impatient and a bit annoyed. "James, I need to talk with you for a sec. What happened over at Violet's?"

[Venus]

Originally Posted By: Dan Hawkins

Dan kissed the nearly nude beauty passionately. He willed himself to break away and then patted her rump. "That will have to be a tiny part in the downpayment for now. I'll make good the rest later Violet, I promise." With that he headed out the door, careful to make sure no one could see inside and made his way downstairs and out to see what else needed to be done.

Violet pouted and frowned as he left but there was nothing short of "forcing" him with her powers to stay and she wouldn't do that... would she?

She took some time under the shower cleaning herself up as thoroughly as she could. Someone had already taken her bathrobe so she had to take one of the silken kimono-style robes she had in her wardrobe for spare. They just... didn't fit as well. Actually not at all. The thin fabric which would've suited a slender woman of not more than 5'5" was hopelessly outmatched to cover the exaggerated curves of Violet's oversexed body.

But this was her place and she didn't expect to run into any men soon after that little fiasco outside the club.

I promised the girls some pancakes..., she reminded herself and looted her little kitchen of the last provisions she had stockpiled.

15 minutes later and several plates full of pancakes Violet carefully carried as much as she could to the girls bedroom. The scent of fresh pancakes heralded her approach but no one dared open the door. With some difficulty Violet managed to open the door walking backwards into the room using her generous derrier to "path" her a way into the room. Without giving it much thought she placed one plate each full of pancakes on the girls beds and then produced a bottle of Maplesyrup from the depths of her cavernous cleavage.

"Tada... I wanted to keep my promise. Fresh pancakes for every one. I've got a bottle of honey in my room, should you prefer that... do you want me to get it for you?", she asked the girls and gave them a warm sisterly smile while her kimono struggled to keep her decent. Still the fabric barely covered her ass and did nothing to keep her outlandish sized bosom in check. Only the tiny silken 'girdle' which was tied in a knot around her waist seemed to do what it was supposed to... everything else was just spilling out.

[Courier]

Originally Posted By: Mr Fox

Fox made his way to the men and saw James looking impatient and a bit annoyed. "James, I need to talk with you for a sec. What happened over at Violet's?"

James replied, "Pissing match between Dan and myself over Violet. He suggested that 'other people', mostly meaning him, would be more comfortable if I moved. I told him it wasn't my business to care how 'other people' felt, this was my house and home, anyone who didn't like that could leave. Simon jumped in to continue on Dan's side and got wet too."

"I understand why Dan wants me out, but I don't understand why he hasn't moved in. Violet owns more of that place than I do."

[Mr Fox]

Fox felt like doing a facepalm. "James. This isn't about Dan, and it's not permanent. It's about the women, they were severely abused and they need some time to adjust to being around men that aren't rapists. I'd like for you to sleep someplace else, just for a couple days until we can get people settled. I'd also like you to play nice with the women. It's going to be damned hard bringing them into the fold here as it is. Right now they all think your little tiff with Dan was about them. They think you are another Hornsbeck."

Fox held up a hand to forestall the reply, "Look, I know they are overly sensitive right now, but we have to make some allowances. Think of it like being a burn victim. It's never going to completely heal like normal, but when the wound is fresh even something as simple as sunlight will cause terrible pain, but the pain fades over time with treatment as the wound scars over. Do you wanna be salt in the wound or medicine? The club is your home too, no one is disputing that, but it has room for 100 women, women who are thinking of sleeping outside unsheltered on the ground right now rather than spend a night under the same roof with you. That's pretty harsh, but true."

He imagined this wasn't sitting well with James but it had to be said. "I want you to sleep somewhere else for a couple nights to give those ladies a chance to recover in a decent shelter where they will feel safe. I'd also like you to think very seriously about apologizing to the women for the misunderstanding. Right now they all think this was about them, they don't know anything about the situation between Dan and you. But whatever you do, give them some space for a couple days to cool down and heal."

[Atomicweasel]

It was a testament to Hana's hunger that the plate piled high with pancakes, sitting on the middle of her bed where Violet had placed them, was able to draw her attention from the spectacle of Violet herself. Hana did stare at Violet, her eyes helplessly drawn to the gargantuan breasts spilling out of the kimono, to the way Violet's round shapely ass peeked out from under the woefully short hem. The tiny kimono would've been a good fit on Hana, on Violet it was obscene. The unnaturally beautiful woman may as well have been naked for all the flimsy little silk kimono covered.

But there were pancakes. Sweet fluffy buttery pancakes. Next to them, even Violet's outrageous display seemed to pale by comparison. Hana hurried back to the bedside. She sat down, drawing her legs up to sit cross-legged and accepted the fork Violet handed her with a trembling hand.

"Syrup?" Violet asked sweetly.

Hana could only nod numbly. It was like Violet had read her mind. No sooner had she thought of food than the pancakes had arrived, and now Hana was staring down at the first real meal she had contemplated in a very long time. Her stomach gurgled happily as Violet poured some syrup over the stack of pancakes.

With the first forkful she lifted to her mouth Hana found, to her delight, that she was not dreaming. The pancakes were real. She chewed slowly, savoring the little bite she'd taken, her eyes closed with an expression of pure bliss.

"They're so good..." Hana mewled. Too good to believe. Except, there she was, lying on a soft comfortable bed, leaning over a plate of pancakes in a strange place with a stripper pole and a jukebox in another girl's clothes--and for once Hana wasn't scared or cold or running for her life. For once everything was okay.

When she looked up at Violet, her deep blue eyes were swimming in tears of gratitude. She took another bite of pancakes and felt her toes curl with pleasure.

[Courier]

James listened to Fox and mulled over what Fox had said and what he himself had said earlier.

If someone had listened to you without knowing the histories involved, how would they have taken it? If you hadn't broken up with Violet, would there even be any question about you staying? How much of that was directed at the Women and how much was directed at Dan? Nothing and everything? ...

It's not going to be a few days. There's nothing as permanent as a temporary shelter. I'm a big scary guy today and I'll be one six months from now too. They'll be afraid of me forever. If I move out, I'm probably not moving back in. ...

And would that be a bad thing? The club is this massive symbol of you and Violet together, and now you're not. It took a lot of your time and resources, but ultimately it was a labor of love for your family... and Violet stole or destroyed all that. She's walking off with a good piece of your soul and with Jill. She might as well take the club too.

A dark thought flickered across Jame's mind, I could burn it down. I'm certainly not going to get any use out of it anyway. It's us together and now there is no us, and no family. It'd be easy. Order everyone out and then destroy my property.

...except Violet is the self destructive one. Even if all you have is bad options, that stands out as being the worst.

James took a deep breath and said, "I've got no problems apologizing to women. It was a misunderstanding. And I guess I'll find somewhere else to sleep tonight."

[Krysti-Lynn Magnussen]

Originally Posted By: HanaBanana

"Are you hungry?"

Kristin's stomach rumbled audibly just as Hana asked her question. "Guess I am." But the mature bodied teen rolled her shoulders, wanting to add something to Hana's statement about change. She wasn't the person she used to be, at least, she didn't think so, but Ashley was the only thread she had left, connecting her to her previous self.

"You're wrong about friends, Hana. When you have nothing else, friends-"

What ever else Kristin was going to say about friends was cut off by the sight of Violet's impossible figure backing into the the room. The overwhelmed kimono she was wearing somehow made her look even more indecent than if she had been naked. Kristin had just come to terms with the fact that she actually had something she could call boobs, but the sight of Violet's over generous breasts made her feel as small as ever.

But even the spectacle of the super-stripper couldn't keep her attention off the stack of pancakes set before her. She tore her eyes away from the preternatural beauty and looked down at the pancakes, wanting nothing more than to gobble them up immediately.

Instead, green eyes narrowed in wariness. Every time she had been offered something resembling real food during her lifetime in Paradise, it had been a trick. And as much as she wanted to trust Violet's warm, perfect smile, she couldn't stop from fearing that this was a trick too.

She crouched over the stack of pancakes, her nose an inch away, sniffing. She didn't smell any pee. When Violet held out a fork with a slight, worried frown, Kristin snatched it from her hand and liberally stabbed the pancakes, feeling for something hiding in the stacks. Still not satisfied, she cut of a small piece and smushed it as flat as she could, bending the fork slightly. Then she stared at it, head shifting from side to side, looking for the glint of crushed glass.

"Please, Kristin, I made the pancakes just now, with my own hands," Violet assured in her silken voice, the soothing tones muting Kristin's suspicions, if not quelling them completely. "Do want the syrup, or should I get the honey for you?"

Kristin glanced at Hana, who seemed to be fine, gobbling the pancakes through an ecstatic smile. It seemed the syrup was safe... but she really wanted honey.

"Honey. Please."

"No problem, hon, I'll be right back."

Violet threw another devastatingly caring smile, almost reaching to slide her hand through Kristin's hair comfortingly, then flounced out of the room, jiggling in more directions than could be accounted for in a three dimensional universe. She was back shortly, and bent over, to pour the honey on Kristin's stack of pancakes.

Kristin almost lost track of the glooping globs of golden honey due to the presented sight of Violet's inhuman endowments.

"Enough. That's enough!"

Violet's luscious lips curved in an amused smile, but then bent downward slightly as Kristin scooted back on the bed to the far edge, wedging herself in where the bed met the corner of the room. She held the plate close to her chin and began shoveling in pancakes with large bites, looking like she was afraid they would be taken away.

Then she glanced up and paused for a second. "Ther'phm gwoord," she mumbled around a stuffed face, honey smeared at one corner of her mouth, before going back to consuming the unaccustomed delight.