Wanderlust (Marina Elemento x Kiyiya Sakura)

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust felt proud of himself. he wheeled the bike to the garage door and let it stand while he went to the chain and pulled. The door slowly rose until it was open enough to fit them through. Back out into the rain he pushed the thing, returning inside to close the door, and re-emerge from the main entrance with a tarp rolled up under his arm, locking up behind him. He too their things and tied them to the back, covering them with the tarp to keep them dry. He pulled out a pair of goggles and handed them to Estelle, "The rain is going to blind you when we get going with out these." He pulled his own pair down over his eyes and mounted the bike, waiting for Estelle."Hold on tight"

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Though Estelle's heart was beating rather fast, she followed Rust, keeping herself rather calm, at least much calmer than before. For a moment, she paused, making sure everything was settled and that she had remembered most of the things she'd need. When everything was strapped to the bike and ready, Estelle inhaled and exhaled deeply. She took the goggles, a smile tugging at her lips. "Thanks," she replied, pulling them over her eyes and putting the hood of her jacket up, drawing the strings back tight. Then, she got on the bike behind Rust, her body pressed against his. She held onto his torso and braced herself for the ride.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust started the bike again, revving before taking of down the street. It was a bit loud, and he hoped the noise would not attract their unwanted follower. It wouldn't matter though, who else had one of these things to keep up with? "To the west we go. Huh, I always loved playing the cowboy." He laughed as he drove. It did not take long for Rust to feel the absence of his jacket, but he wanted to be clear of the city before stopping. He would ask for it then. It was being put to good use anyhow, and the warmth that it provided for Estelle seeped into his back from her front and arms as she clung to him. Still, the rain stung his bare arms like tiny icy needles.

As they neared the city limits, he saw more people. People who had yet to evacuate. He wondered if he would be able to get by them all, but he had to try. He could not imagine trying to use this thing yesterday during all of the panic.

He slowed the bike down, but did not stop. People were being alerted by the noise, and they turned to look on in astonishment. Rust did not like the look some of the younger adults were giving him. He'd be damned if he let some punk steal his baby. Seeing the intent, he revved the engine and took off down another street, hoping there would be another way out that was less crowded.

It took some time, but he finally spotted their chance. An empty street leading out south. It would be easier to find their way west once out of the city, so he drove down the road and left the towering buildings of New York behind. At this point, Rust could barely feel his arms as he shuddered almost violently. It was worth it though! His invention was amazing! It had worked better than he had hoped! Lost in his excitement, he continued down the road, turning right at a fork and heading west. Things were looking up.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle's smile widened at his remark, the hope inside of her broadening as well. The rain was a pest, scratching her bare legs like tiny claws, but she did her best to ignore it. After all, they were making their escape, and it didn't matter what the weather, they were finally getting the hell out of there. She realized then that she was still clutching hard onto his jacket as it draped around her shoulders. She should have given it back to him before they began their journey but she would just have to make it a priority to give it back to him at some point.

As they passed through a light crowd of wanderers, Estelle could feel him tense up a bit at the many looks they received. The bike was rather loud, but at the same time, it was amazing. She didn't care of the circumstances, however. For as they soon found a way away from the people, she exhaled in relief and turned her head to lean her head against Rust's back.
As they left New York, her eyes darted behind them and a feeling like a rock fell in the pit of her stomach. At the same time, however, a huge weight lifted off her shoulders and she began to realize they were finally free. For however long the freedom would last, she didn't care. She would cherish this freedom, along with her new companion and his great kindness toward her. Estelle then made a silent promise to herself that she would repay his kindness in any and every way she could.

 

[Player Advisor]

Genevieve ValJean





Gen had searched the building, finding nothing but a black cat. "How cute." she remarked as it hissed at her and ran for the window. She paid it no mind. "Alright, where did they go? Lets see." She went out onto the fire escape, climbing down it whilst communing with her otherworldly business partners. "Well find them. You want the blood right? Just charge that old man more blood the longer it takes. Shoot, you guys might even end up with an entire life. Throw i the poor sap's soul too. Just get that girl before things become too difficult. I'll be along."

As Gen looted a nearby abandoned diner, she heard a rumble, but not that of thunder. "Whats that?" she asked out loud, not expecting an answer. She looked up at the sky and cursed. This chase would be alot easier if she had Goliath with her. But he did not do well in storms. He was grounded until better weather came. She whistled for him none the less. She doubted she would have the time to go and retrieve him herself. There was a screeching roar and she smiled. He had heard her whistle and would be along within the next half hour. Traveling on foot was such a pain for him in the big city.

Kaine(Rust) Parker




Rust kept driving, loving the rush of the acceleration.When he began to sniffle, he became more aware of how cold he was. He pulled the bike over and turned it off. They were nowhere in particular, surrounded by grassy hills and thin but very green trees. "W-w-we should f-figure out-t out next move." He said as he got off the bike, rubbing his arms. "I'm af-f-fraid I need my c-coat back, or I'm g-going to f-f-f-reeze."  

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle got off the bike, letting her hood fall to her shoulders. "Ah, yes!" she said in realization, quickly giving him his jacket back. Her brows crinkled worriedly as he shivered. Concerned, she touched his arm gently. "You feel like ice. I'm sorry, I should've given it back to you before we left." She frowned and bit her lip, hoping he didn't catch a cold or anything.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust took the jacket and wasted not time putting it on. "T-thank you," He said rubbing his arms together. "I didn't think about it either, so don't worry." He looked around his surroundings. It was not raining as hard as before, but it was still raining nonetheless. "We should find some shelter. "He looked at his watch. It was eight in the morning. Hopefully the storm would be chased away by the sun in a few hours, But then again, he wanted to be further away from the city and who ever it was that was chasing them.

A thought occurred to him, and he looked to the south. If the other cities had already evacuated to the west, they would be empty. And perhaps, somebody might have left a small aircraft behind. It was a long shot, but it would get them out of the rain in the future, being able to fly above the storms. the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like a good idea. The cities to the west would likely be cd and supplies would be sparse due to high demand. He looked at Estelle, "I was th-thinking, maybe we should head south a ways, just to the next city, and scrounge up more supplies. The cities to the west are g to be overcrowded with ev-v-acuees." He shivered slightly, and shook the water from his hair. "It's out best bet for shelter and food. And maybe we could even find a ship t-to pilot."

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle paused for a moment to look up at the skies. Tiny rain drops hit her face, but they were less harsh than before. She hoped the storm would let up soon, if even just a little bit more. She blinked, brushing water droplets from her long eyelashes and looking at Rust again. He looked freezing, and meanwhile Estelle was finally warming up and getting used to the weather, despite her bare legs. She listened and nodded in agreement. "Sounds good to me," she replied, then with no warning leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him. A smile tugged at her lips as she looked up at him. "Until we find shelter, we have to do our best to stay warm, right?" Her smile was genuine, like the smile she had given him when they first met the previous morning.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust's face flushed when he felt her body against his. He wrapped his arms around her in return, feeling the warmth and never wanting it to stop. He shivered less, and when their embrace was ended, he was smiling happily. "Yeah, staying warm is important." He pulled his hood up and got back on the bike, waiting for her, then turning around to head south. Who ever was after Estelle would not think to look for her where they were going. The reports said the disasters were coming from the south, and it would seem more logical to look for the daughter of a rich family somewhere more safe.

He did not plan on being there long. He did not want to put Estelle and himself in danger, but this was their best option. It took about an hour to get there, and he found what he expected to find. An abandoned city, houses and shops left seemingly in the middle of activity. He turned the bike off and wheeled it under an awning of a shop. "Should be some supplies around. Anything you think might be useful go ahead and grab it. Food, oil for lamps, medical supplies. That sort of thing."

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle smiled and returned to the bike, holding onto his torso again. As the journey continued, she wondered what life would be like from now on. She hoped that her father would eventually give up and leave her alone. After all, she wasn't planning on telling anyone his secret, and who would she tell anyway? Rust? Even if she did, it wouldn't make a difference. What Thomas was up to was his decision, and Estelle wanted nothing to do with it. Her plan was to begin living her life the way she wanted to from now on, and maybe someday she'd find her family again just to see how they were doing. It wouldn't be hard to find such a popular family, even if they ever did move out of the country again.

When the arrived at the abandoned city, Estelle marveled in awe. It was almost completely empty; everyone must've hurried away in such a torrent of fear. It felt strange stopping here to get things when danger would be closely approaching. Estelle pushed open the doors of the shop, surprised that no one had bothered to lock it. It was dark and cold inside, and there was a lot of supplies that could be useful. Estelle paced swiftly through the aisles, finding all sorts of different things from food to bandages, until she had a large armful of supplies. She stuffed some of the smaller things in the pockets of her jacket and zipped them up, tossing the food in her bag.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust looked around the store across the street from the one Estelle went into. It looked to be a bookstore, but papers and pages were strewn about as if there had been a raid. "Who would raid a bookstore during an evacuation?" He wondered aloud to himself. He looked around some more, wondering if there would be anything in the brake room or office. When he opened the door, he let out a shout. There was a bloody mess in here. Rust slammed the door shut and held onto the door knob, trying to stay calm, but no succeeding very well. What was that?! He closed his eyes tightly, trying to shake the image he just saw from his mind.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle returned outside to put the bag of supplies with their other things in the back of the bike. As she zipped up everything and recovered it with the tarp, she jumped when she heard Rust's scream. She turned and ran across the street towards the shop. There were bits of parchment everywhere, as if someone had busted in and raided it. Shelves of books were toppled over on each other; it was a huge mess. Estelle frowned. Something wasn't right. When she finally found him, he appeared to be safe, but he looked rather distressed. "Rust, you scared me half to death! What's wrong?"

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust jumped when Estelle came up ti him. "DON"T go in there." He said firmly, pushing himself from the door and running his hands over his face. "Let's check somewhere else. C'mon" he hoped she listened to him.He walked out of the bookstore and went to his bike. He took a deep breath, "So what did you find?" he asked looking under the tarp. He didn't really see what he was looking at. He was trying to figure out why he would see a pile of mangled bodies in the back of a bookstore.If Estelle had answered him, he did not respond. He looked around more closely at his surroundings. Many buildings had shattered windows and boarded doors. Down a street he could see a few doors with long gashes all across it, in every which way, as if someone with a knife had tried to slice the door to pieces. They needed to find someplace safe, and this wasn't it.

He checked his bike, and figured they had about another five miles on it before he had find a way to refill the steam tanks. Where was he going to fine a steam pressurizer in an abandoned city. He knew this problem would arise. He needed to tinker on it some more. there had to be a way of making a small boiler of sorts that didn't heat the bike up too much. Then he would only have to keep a good supply of water for it, and the bike would crate it's own steam. In any case, he decided they had best check the docks. Parts would be abundant there if anywhere else. If that failed, he would make a trip on foot into the industrial part of this city for parts. He informed Estelle of his plan.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle obeyed Rust's warning, but she wasn't sure why. Before leaving the store, she glanced over her shoulder one more time, her brows furrowed. She followed Rust back out to the bike, watching him carefully. Something was still wrong. It was too quiet, even too quiet for an abandoned city. Something else happened here, and it wasn't just the fact that everybody fled. The place was an awful wreck everywhere they looked, and from what Estelle could tell, Rust looked rather distracted. "Lots of fruit. Apples, bananas, that kind of thing. Some bread too. All sorts of little stuff as well. Oh, and bandages. There were little first aid kits in there, so I figured they'd be helpful..." she trailed off, realizing he wasn't really listening. She tilted her head to the side and stood next to him, peering at his face.

She nodded in reply to his plan, still worried about what had just occurred. He seemed to be fine, but something was definitely wrong, and now he seemed to be in a bit of a hurry. "Well, let's do it. But.. Rust, are you sure you're alright?" Estelle looked at him again carefully.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust looked down at her, his face calm, but serious. His eyes betrayed his fear though, and he clenched and un-clenched his teeth, contemplating telling her what he had saw. He had been honest with her so far, and he would like to keep so, "There were dead people inside that room..." his voice cracked. "I think someone went crazy in there..." he looked at the shredded doors and shattered windows. "out here. Maybe more than a few" He straddled his bike, "My bike won't take us very much further, but we could find a nice place to hold up till I can make some adjustments." He started up the vehicle and when everything was settled, drove down the street. They didn't get very far before he started seeing movement out of the corner of his vision. They were being watched.