Wanderlust (Marina Elemento x Kiyiya Sakura)

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust blushed at her words, quickly turning back to the bike to hide it. "Well, that's... good." He did not know how to respond to that. I like watching you to... That sounded creepy. He cleared his throat and took off the mask completely, setting it down on the bike. He went to the window, looking out, searching the darkness for any sign of dangers. He did NOT want to sleep here, but that meant going out into the darkness to get that last piece. He turned back to Estelle, "Okay, it looks like there are some apartments above some of the shops down the street. I'll be right back. Stay here okay?" He grabbed his jacket and put it on. It looked like it could start raining again.

Outside, the wind had picked up, but the rain stayed in the clouds for now. When would they see the sky again? He dashed down the street, not wanting to be out longer than he had to be, and tried the doors to several shops. All locked. He really did not want to make noise, but what could he do? He had to break a window. Looking around, he found a piece of broken cart wheel. He took it up and went over to a large shop front window and swung at it. the window shattered with a loud crash, and Rust wasted no time in climbing in. He looked behind him. All clear.He ran around the shop until he found the stairs, scaled them two at a time and kicked down the wooden door into the small living quarters. As he suspected, there was an oven, but was there a toaster? He looked in the cupboards and cabinets. No such luck. Toasters were a luxury, and if he really wanted to find one, he would have to find the upper class area of the city. he did not want to take the time. The oven would make do. he opened the door and reached inside, wriggling the component he needed, trying to get it free.

There was a soft clink of glass down below that made Rust freeze. Someone was in here? Or was it the wind blowing the broken glass about? He had almost got the piece free, but he had to stop. He did not want to get sneaked up on. He moved slowly over to the window to check on the shop where he had left Estelle. His heart leaped up into his mouth.

At the shop, Rust's leaving had been noticed. A small group of people came out of the rubble and made their way to the shop, snickering and smiling hungrily. One of them went to the garage door and slammed his hand on it, making a loud clang! He then proceeded to drag his fingernails across it. They were going to have some fun,

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle bit her lip, staring at her feet again. I shouldn't have said something so weird, she thought to herself, but tried to push her other thoughts away. She watched him peer out the window and followed his gaze. It had indeed gotten quite dark. So dark, in fact, it made her rather uneasy. She nodded when he told her to stay put. "Okay. Hurry back." she said as he left and shut the garage door behind him.

It had become rather quiet without his presence, and Estelle found herself staring down at the floor again, twiddling her thumbs. Her stomach interrupted the silence, and she rummaged through her bag to find a bag of bread. She took bits of the bread and nibbled quietly, crossing her legs in the chair. It was odd to her how used she was to all this already. She didn't have to be scared or worried when she was with Rust. She felt safe at his side.

Suddenly, an alarming thump against the garage door made Estelle jump. Her heartbeat began increasing, and she fumbled to stuff the bread back into the bag. "R-Rust?" she called out, rising to her feet despite her quivering knees. Another noise came to her ears then, an long scratching sound, as if someone were clawing at the door. "Rust?" It came out more as a whimper this time, as she slowly moved towards the door.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker




Rust rushed down the stairs. He had to get to Estelle before those weird things did. They looked like humans, but they did not feel like humans. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he came face to face with one of them. Rust shouted and swiped at him, trying to get away. This guy was fast though, unnaturally fast. Before Rust knew it, he was being pressed up against the wall, the attacker had his hand around his throat. Suddenly, there was a break in the clouds, revealing a full, bright moon, and the attacker smiled. Then his face twisted and Rust heard what sounded like bones breaking. He fell to the floor as the man stepped away and began to scream in agony, but laughing at the same time. Similar sounds were coming from the garage. To Rust's horror, the assailant's bone were breaking, then reforming into a grotesque from. Fur sprouted out of his skin and the deafening cry of multiple howls pierced the sky. Rust ran for it. He had to get to Estelle. They could fight them off together, or at least keep them at bay.

The noises from outside the shop grew louder as the me screamed and laughed, their voices distorting into animalistic noises like howls, yips and snarls. the garage door began to shake as if a pack of large dogs were scratching to get in.

Rust ran down the street, but did not get far. The gigantic wolf creature was on his heals and pounced, flattening Rust to the ground. Rust felt something dig into the flesh and bone of his shoulder and he screamed in pain. He began punching desperately at the wolf's maw, trying to get it off. One solid hit to the eye and the thing yelped, rearing back and giving Rust a chance to run. He saw three more of those things trying to break into the garage. "Estelle! Get back! Hide!" He went over to one and kicked it square in the ribs. It toppled over, then righted itself with a snarl. Rust found the rest of the wagon he had taken the broken cart wheel from and tore off a sharp wooden beam used to keep the horses that pulled it in line, He turned just in time to knock the wolf away as it lunged for him. the other two turned their attention away from the door and focused on him, the smell of his blood incising them to lick their lips, Rust also heard the one from behind him. they attacked at once, and Rust attacked back, Yelling as one by one, they inflicted bites and scratches at him, while he drove the sharp end of his wooden spear into chest of one, and the skull of another. The last one looked at it's dead and dying pack mates and turned tail to run. Rust let it. He dropped the wooden beam, now covered in blood.

He staggered over to the garage and fell against the door, trying not to lose his consciousness. "Estelle... O-open... the door." he pleaded, unable to stand anymore.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


The noises were getting louder, and increasingly alarming and rather violent. Bangs and other arrays of sounds Estelle wished she couldn't hear echoed off the walls. The garage door quaked from the blows and whatever else was going on. She had been going to open the door, but at the sound of Rust's voice, she flinched in horror. The noises were becoming increasingly violent; it sounded as if he was warding off an army. She could hear his painful screams, and her body was shaking so hard she fell to her knees helplessly. Too terrified to open the door, yet wanting to help in any way she could. Don't be a coward... he needs your help. Open the goddamn door! a voice in her head screamed. At the sound of more screams and violence, Estelle hid her head in between her hands and shook, waiting for it to end.

When it seemed to be over, Estelle could still hear Rust's voice, but this time he sounded different. Defeated, small. As quick as she could, Estelle heaved open the garage door, just in time for him to practically fall into her arms. He was a bloody mess, and the surroundings were no better. "Rust! Oh my God, Rust. What happened?" she choked out, holding him up as best as she could. She barely had a moment to look at the dead bodies before rushing him to the back of the garage with all her strength. Her hands were shaking violently, but she did her best to fold up her jacket then put it under his head and lay him down on the cold floor. She could see he was losing too much blood, and the gauge in his shoulder was the worst wound of them all.

Estelle paused for a moment to pace her breathing and relax her body. When she felt she could handle things a bit calmer now, she rushed to the bag and her coat, unzipped all the pockets and gathered as many bandages, medicine and gauze as possible before fleeing back to Rust's side. She couldn't tell if he was conscious or not, but she touched his face very gently with her fingertips. "Rust, please be okay," she whispered, trying to hold back the tears as she tended to his wounds.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust slipped in and out consciousness as he was dragged inside of the garage. He saw the door of the garage, then Estelle's worried face, her hands wrapping around him and dragging him inside, the ceiling of the workshop. He felt cold. Very cold. He coughed, finding it hard to breath.

He was able to breath better when there was something propping his head up. He fought to open his eyes. His eyelids fluttered, "Est-t-t--" He coughed. He wanted to make sure she was alright. He reached for her, "A-are you hurt?"

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle grabbed a bottle of water from the back and drenched an old towel in it, proceeding then to clean his wounds. When he reached out for her, she took his hand gently in hers. "Shh, I'm fine." When she was mostly finished cleaning the wounds, despite how bad they'd looked she managed to keep her cool. She tossed the bloody towel aside and began covering each scratch and wound in the medicine she'd found in the shop; it would clean out the wounds and help them heal. Outside, it was getting even darker, and a single full moon peaked out from behind a mass of dark gray clouds.

Estelle shivered, but continued to tend to everything, suddenly becoming very calm, letting her motherly instincts take over. She got the towel and propped his head up a little more, hoping it would allow him to breathe better. Her eyes darted to his shoulder; she had cleaned it but the puncture marks were rather deep and terrifying. Unsure of what else to do, she gently put medicine on it and carefully wrapped gauze around his shoulder. She tried her best not to hurt him further; she hated seeing him this way.

When she was finished wrapping the worst wound, she tended to the scratches on his face. She was so gentle that she was barely touching him with the medicine-drenched cloth, dabbing lightly on each cut.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust relaxed when he heard she was okay. He soon lost consciousness after that, feeling her warm and loving touch. His breathing slowed and he went limp.

As the hours passed, Rust began to feel colder and colder as his body heated up. There was something in him that the medicine could not touch. Something eating him up, no, burning him up. From the inside. He shivered violently, no matter how many layers of clothing or any other warmth. His heart rate raised with his temperature. He twisted and turned, trying to get away from the monster growing within.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle was beginning to worry. When she checked his temperature with the back of her hand, he was burning up. Something was inside him and his body was rejecting it. She became more and more concerned as he twisted and turned in agony. All his wounds were taken care of, but something was seriously wrong. He looked so sick. Estelle had gotten up and paced the floor, unsure of what to do. She cleaned the towel and dunk it in more cold water and put it on his forehead, trying to bring down the fever. Whatever had attacked him, she feared, was not human.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



The night wore on, and the sounds of those monsters sounded all around, but they remained distance. Rust's twisting and turning calmed down the closer it got to dawn. His fever however did not go down. Nor did it get worse. As dawn approached Rust began to stir, grunting as his eyes slowly opened. "Wh-wha..." He remembered the night before and he sat up with a gasp, "Estelle!" He cringed as his wounds reminded him they were there. He panted, focusing on staying awake, though the light feeling in his head told him he was about to pass back out. He fought it.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle had been awake most of the night, watching over him to make sure he was still breathing. His fever remained, so she kept close watch on him. She'd dozed off a couple times, not sure for how long, but the noises around the building woke her with a start if she fell into too deep of sleep. She'd made sure to lock all the doors and such to keep them safe.

When Rust began to stir, Estelle leaned over him and brushed a bit of hair out of his face. Her brows crinkled in worry. "Shh, Rust. I'm here. Don't strain yourself," she advised, tipping his head up slightly so she could pour a bit of water into his mouth. She had been doing this a few times while he slept as well. The last thing she wanted to add to his agony was dehydration.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust leaned back into her arms and drank the water. When he no longer felt like he was going to pass out again, he lay back and looked up at Estelle, searching her face for answers. He remembered looking for the heating mechanism, then an overwhelming sense of fear and urgency. He blinked slowly, shivering slightly. "What happened?" His shoulder felt like it was pulsing. He looked over at it to see the blood stained bandages. His eyes widened and his started to panic. It was coming back to him. The fighting, the running, the pain of being bit. Now he knew why there were bodies in the bookstore. "What is that? Wh-wh-what--" he tried to look at it, pulling at the bandages.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle inhaled and exhaled slowly, keeping herself calm. Rust, on the other hand was quite the opposite. As she'd expected, it all came flooding back to him in a matter of moments. She put her hands gently but firmly on either side of his face. "Hey, look at me. Relax." she tried to calm him down. "Leave the bandages be. Most of the bleeding has subsided, but you should be careful. I don't know what attacked you, but it was.. pretty bad..." She trailed off, trying to recall the details of what she had seen. She had been in such a rush, and all she cared about was that he would be okay. It's all my fault, it's all my fault... a voice in her head sang, though she tried to shut it out.
"I promise I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again." Her voice was firm, but her vision had gone blurry with tears. She wiped her eyes then looked at him again.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Rust stared up at her, blue eyes big and fulled with delirious fear. He stopped trying to peel away his bandages. When his fear subsided, he noticed her eyes were glossy, and she kept wiping them. "No, don't c-cry." he looked concerned now. This is all my fault. I shouldn't have left her alone. He tried to push himself up to comfort her, but his head spun and his arms wobbled... or were they shaking? It seemed rather cold in the room.

 

[Marina Elemento]

Estelle Dominique Lareau


Estelle rubbed her eyes and shook her head. "I'm fine, it's just... I was so worried you weren't ever going to wake up again..." she stopped when he tried to push himself up and tried to gently ease him back. "Don't waste the little energy you have on me," she told him with a soft smile, then kissed his forehead. This action even surprised herself, but she was happy about it.

 

[Player Advisor]

Kaine(Rust) Parker



Her lips were so cool on his hot forehead. It felt like heaven. He could remember the last time he was so lovingly treated. He had been with his mother. It was the night before the fire happened. He was falling asleep, and his mother was humming him a soothing song. It was raining outside, and the thunder was scaring him.

He was slipping away again, into the lull of dark numbness. He closed his eyes, still shivering.

He would awake every few hours or so, in the same condition as his body tried to cope with the foreign containment. His fever would peek, then go back down every so often. He would mutter something incoherent from time to time as his fever caused slight hallucinations.A few times he woke up seeing something completely different than the inside of the garage, insist on going swimming or tell her to turn up the radio because his favorite song was playing. "you know what?" he slurred in a brief moment of consciousness.