Realistic or Modern From the Ashes-IC

[WeaselThor]

Traverse city Michigan, Nomad Main camp.

Mark watched with mild irritation as his Nomads continued to build their shelters up. From traverse city to the Old mission lighthouse nearly 15 miles up the peninsula. The Scouts and guardians had cleared the narrow peninsula nearly two weeks ago and their camp was big enough that the entire mile wide, by fifteen mile long area was occupied by them. Children and non combatents had tents and shelters build near the center, where as the scavengers were in a ring around them with the majority of the guardians setting up along the coast incase mutant creatures from the great lake came ashore. However the most fortified area was the mile wide entrance to the peninsula which had nearly a hundred guardians alone, not counting the six squads of scouts that were there.

He was nearly lost in thought when Cole approached to tell him the Scput captains were waiting for him in the central defense tent on the Traverse City defensive line. He nodded to his brother and turned to shamble off towards the tent. As he walked in the camp the four men and two women of the scout captains saluted him and he waved them off immediately. "Glad you guys could make it, wish i could say it was good news. Fact is we have a crisis." he said as he sat in the chair at the head of the table. "We have about three months worht of supplies left, this area has been picked clean. Our only saving grace is that winter just ended, so we can fish on the lake, but that said its not a year round solution, it'll last until winter, so we have nine months to find a new place or we are gonna start watching our friends and family starve to death. If that wasnt all bad enough The mega hares went south for breeding season so we wont have them to tap into for a few months meaning our emergency supplies will be what we are living off of."

The captains each seemed to take this blow differently, Captain thomas seemed unphazed by this though. He had been here the whole time the problem was rearing its head and had already discussed with Mark what the plan was, he was honestly just waiting on confirmation to let his crew know. That confirmation would come now. "Luckily ive got you all. Diana you and squad one are going to northern washington where i want you to take the coastline up to alaska, rumor has it there is ample land up there and only a small settlement, plenty of space for us. Leonard your gonna be keeping an eye on new york, if the demons dip out or get clobbered by the angels report back, that city is a damned treasure trove and if we can get back there that would be ideal. Robert, you are heading down to Massachusetts to take the coastline down to florida honestly ive got no idea what is there, we have stopped the explorations since the idiots who lived there detonated that nuke, bring Hazmat gear. Leela your going to northern california and moving into mexico, bring lots of water rumor has it there are some oasis in the desert that are untouched you get to use the Jeep. Ruben your gonna go north and try and make it to the Hudson bay, I've heard reports of dozens of settlements around the bay. Your gonna be establishing trade routes. Lastly Thomas, you are heading south to Houston, from there you are gonna tour the gulf coast until you rendezvous with robert and his crew. Your area is a hotly contested zone so bring loads of ammo, your objective is to Try and form alliances with the natives of that area, if we can find a section in the gulf to set up we will be good for decades to come."

As he spoke he showed them the map he had marked off and handed each of them a map to use. "You all need to be out of here by sunrise tomorrow,and its a long mission so let your crew know so they can say their goodbyes." he said, then he got comfortable and continued to answer questions and concerns for nearly an hour before he dismissed the captains and gave each of them a blessing of good luck before he stepped out to talk to his brother.
~~~

Thomas was running over what he had been told in his head as he walked to his scout tent making a stop to swap one of his two magnums and some rounds for a few bottles of Whiskey, vodka, and And twelve pack of those old boon farms wine bottles that were scavenged from the city before it became a demonic hellhole. This was a part of traditions apparently going back to before he was on the scout squad. But each mission he went on his captain would get the crew loads of liquor the night before. Seeing him arrive with the booze would immediately let the crew know that they had a mission. "Good news scouts were headed south, pack your swim trunks were lookin for beachfront property." he said as he hefted the bottles on the table, securing the first pick from the wine, and popping its cork off with his knife. "Bad news is its a long trip, we arent due back until winter so say your goodbyes, just so you know its gonna be a hotzone when we get there so expect some fuckery." he said as he took his seat and propped his feet up on the table while he tended to his new bottle. He scanned his crew and despite the danger and hardship ahead of them had no doubts they would make it. After all Squad three was the best, no matter what any other captains said.
AliceNWeb ChunkyBeef Satanic Nightjar Rusty of Shackleford Rcticwolf Shog Abientot Worthlessplebian D U H​

 

[AliceNWeb]

Traverse city Michigan, Nomad Main camp, Scout Group 3's Tent
John was already sitting with his boots pressed into the bits of blacktop, grass, and concrete whittling away at a small piece of branch with the tip of his combat knife as he heard the captain approach from outside the tent, something clinking. "Clinking? Ah god damn it...." He thought as he looked up to see the captain come in with an arm-full of booze before placing them on the table and taking a seat addressing them all as to the next mission they'd be on.

"Isn't it always... I mean a long trek, lots of shooting..."

He reached down pulling a wine bottle from it's cardboard sleeve a bit forcefully giving it a bit of a toss in the air before catching it again. He went over to the opposite end of the table where Thomas had put his feet up, ripped off a bit of twine from the tent's structure - he dossed it with a bit of rubbing alcohol and tied it around the top of the wine bottle just beneath the cork and then lit the twine on fire. Watching the flames burn the light glinting off his eyes and warming his face briefly.

After that he took the back of his combat knife - knocked on the glass above the twine with it and the entire top portion, cork and all, fell off leaving a clean edge to the bottle. He took a seat next to Thomas after a nice long swig of the cheap sweet wine.

"You know this is gonna give me a big ass headache tomorrow, but booze are always a nice change."

He laughed, sheething his knife into its holster at the back of his torso.

"So we leaving tomorrow morning?" He asked Thomas

WeaselThor

 

[Abientot]

Traverse city Michigan, Nomad Main camp, squad 3's tent

Anaïs was making bandages, she had found a large pile of sheets and figured they would work well enough. She started her tear with one of her daggers and then ripped along the grain of the fabric, it wasn't hard work, just tedious. So when Thomas walked in with an armful of drinks she was glad there was some drinking she could do but of course by now she knew what that meant so it wasn't all fun and games.
"Another one? We just got here!" Her accent was light, and clearly annoyed as she ripped the sheets some more, she started to fold the bandage up as she watched John use his fancy technique to open the bottle. "Putain, you don't need to try so hard." She slipped off one of her boots and stood up, picking up a bottle and banging the sole of the shoe against the bottom of the bottle a few times until the cork came loose. A trick she had learned from her mother once she was deemed old enough to drink. She pulled it out and took a large sip, it was good wine, at least to someone who was raised in the apocalypse. She sat back down next to her pile of sheets and started to tear them, they were going to need them.

 

[WeaselThor]

Traverse city Camp, Michigan.
Scout tent 3.

Taking a pretty big gulp from the bottle Thomas chuckled at his still awake squadmates exchange. "Yup we ship out at dawn, full access to all resources on marks tab. Were gonna go all the way down to Houston and tour the gulf coast. Were lookin for somewhere to set up shop for a permanent settlement. Defensible, resource plenty, and not occupied by anything dangerous." he had to say those old wine tricks never got old. Part of the fun being in an elite squad was watching survivors try to outdo one another, non easy feat considering their wide range of skills. The game was always going. He shifted his chair slightly his eyes doing the weird vibrating thing they did when he checked the other dimensions. By now they would be used to it, he did so like clockwork constantly checking for any incoming threats. However only a few angels hovered around. Lesser angels of sleep, and a mid teir angel of birth near the maternity tents. Of course they were in their realm hovering close and letting their power seep through the dimensional barriers. When he snapped back his usual look of boredom signalled no threats were nearby.
AliceNWeb Abientot ​

 

[AliceNWeb]

Traverse city Michigan, Nomad Main camp, Scout Group 3's Tent
John had turned his attention to Anaïs watching her take her boot off to open her wine bottle.

"Yes well... I like the fire and I've still got both of my boots on"

He said with playful condescension. He leaned back in his chair slinging an arm over the back brace of it, putting one foot up and meticulously balancing the chair on two legs. His eyes narrowed to his own personal bottle of wine as Thomas briefed him on what they'd be doing.

"Sounds about par for the course. Do we have any intel on Texas at all? Or are they sending us in blind without a clue of what we'll be dealing with - as usual?"

He knew what the answer would be, it wasn't unusual that the elites were the ones to go scout out these areas first. That's why they were called scouts in the first place. After casual contemplation he looked up at Anaïs again.

"So how many more of those bandages are you going to make, you want some help?"

WeaselThor Abientot

 

[Abientot]

Anaïs raised her eyebrows towards John and slipped back on her boot, eyes rolling to probably the back of her head. "I don't need to worry about keeping my boots on, unlike you my feet don't smell" She plugged her nose to get her point across. But when he offered to help she threw a sheet his way, assuming he would catch it with no issues. After tearing it a bit she took another swing of wine, she was going to go say bye to some of her people before she got too drunk. But she needed to finish supplying her pack more. Luckily she had been making sure she was stocked on most of her necessities, everyone always needed some sort of treatment and she was always getting and giving away new herbs to those around her. "Do 12-20 centimeters the long way." Anaïs always seemed to know exactly what she wanted in her kit, and even seemed to hold an inventory inside of her head of everything that she had in there. She folded up the bandage and then started on the next one. Then she turned her attention towards Thomas. "Isn't Texas the place with cowboys?"

 

[AliceNWeb]

John caught the sheet mid-air with an overreaching arm, the chair's legs thunked to the ground simultaneously and he stood up to go over by Anaïs - examining how her previously cut bandages looked with wine in one hand and the sheet in the other. He put the wine bottle on the ground and then sat down taking one of his knives out again and mimicking the width and length of hers as he cut the fabric.

"So how long have you been a medic? What got you into this?"

He continued cutting. Focusing on both bandages at the same time. He chuckled at the question thrown Thomas' way.

"I'd say less Cowboys anymore and more over-eccentric rednecks with too many guns."

 

[WeaselThor]

Thomas chuckled at the mention of cowboys. Then laughed out loud at his lieutenants reply. "Well lets hope thats true, nowadays there is no such thing as too many guns." his laughter died down into a chuckle and he finally took his feet off the table and stood up. He moved in two swift steps towards his own bunk and opened it up pulling out several empty shells a bag of gundpowder, bits of lead he had stored away and his smelter. The last bit had cost him nearly a years supply of ammunition but it had already earned its price back several times. He plugged the smelter into the generator and powered it on, a surprisingly silent generator. Another lucky find, this one coming from John. "Gimme your shells and your scrap, if you got molds all the better if not then get a .44 magnum from Cole on the way out." he said as he produced his own mold and dumped some lead in the pot to melt.
AliceNWeb Abientot​

 

[Abientot]

Anaïs moved her arms slightly to show him a better look as she cut through the hem and then tore the fabric along the grain of the fabric. "This way I don't have to sharpen my knife." She explained, reaching over for her wine and taking another gulp before continuing to tear along the fabric. She glanced towards Thomas and then back towards John. "Red neck? I don't know that word. Is there lots of sun down there?" Anaïs glanced back towards John to make sure he wasn't messing up the fabric that they did have. Sometimes she tried to reuse the bandages, but sterilizing took a lot of time, and with their constant movements oftentimes she didn't have the time to. "I learned medicine when I was small with my father. He was very good at it and I was good at it too." She shrugged focusing back towards her work, folding up another bandage and adding it to her pile. At least her work was going to be reduced by a third. The task was mindless, and years of practice made it quick.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Samuel Norman, Scout Group 3's tent​

Sam was sitting on the ground in the corner of the tent, his guns were disassembled and were lying on a smooth, oil stained blanket. He began to carefully comb through the rifle's parts with an oily rag, he took it slowly and cautiously like he was cleaning a nervous baby, part by part his rifle's parts were clean. This rifle was the only thing he had left from his father and he intended to maintain it. He then moved onto his pistol, the motions of cleaning this time were clearly different, professional, quick and efficient and in a short amount of time he was done. He saw Thomas carrying alcohol into the tent and knew there was a mission but he took a couple of seconds to carefully lay out his disassembled weapons on the blanket to dry before getting up and approaching the table, he looked at everyone through his makeshift goggles and replied.

"Apologies, where are we going on the mission?"

Sam inquired as he missed the details of where they were going since he was a bit too absorbed in his ritual of cleaning to notice.

Abientot WeaselThor AliceNWeb

 

[AliceNWeb]

John had been watching and cutting trying to mimic Anaïs' bandage cutting and folding - taking note of the proper way to cut so he also wouldn't have to sharpen his knife. He smiled at her when she asked about there being a lot of sun. "There is actually... you probably shouldn't... know the word. Even better not to use it unless you're prepared to take a punch to the face. Some people prefer the term 'Cowboy' makes em' feel special." John nodded at the comment about her father he figured there wasn't much more to be said on the matter. After a few more moments of cutting the fabric he heard Sam finally pipe-up and ask where they were going.

John reached down and grabbed a pebble and threw it at Sam.

"Hey! We've said it 3 damn times, we're going to Texas - pack your sunscreen, we're leaving tomorrow morning"

He wasn't mad, just giving Sam some shit.

WeaselThor Abientot Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Sam grabbed the pebble thrown at him, he tossed it in the air a few times before he answered. "Texas, huh? Gonna need to pack some water, at night it might get decently cold." He pulled up a chair and sat at the table, he began to toss the pebble between his hands."After my guns dry, I'm gonna head out to buy some ammo for my sniper rifle." Sam cracked his neck a couple of times making audible pops, he grabbed a bottle and poured himself a glass and sipped from it. He still held the pebble in his hands and began to toss it between his hands, catching it in between his pointer and middle finger."Oh, and John, who needs sunscreen when you have a hood?" Sam replied as he pulled his hood over his head, shading his face and makeshift goggles.

WeaselThor AliceNWeb Abientot

 

[AliceNWeb]

John's eyes shifted over to Thomas who was currently smelting ammo, then back at Sam. "You're gonna go buy some ammo huh?" he teased. He continued to cut fabric for the bandages, his fingers were working on their own now and he stopped occasionally to sip from his wine bottle. At this point he was a bit tipsy he looked up at Sam as he pulled his hood over his head, and John replied with a slight slur in his speaking "You're gonna smell like ass with that much cloth on, the enemies will shmell y ou before you can even ge- *hick* get a shot offha hahaha"

He finished rolling the bandage he was working on and placed it next to the others before getting up and stretching his back muscles by rotating both shoulders backwards. Finally he sheathed the combat knife at the back of his torso.

"Hey Sam you wanna get one last spar in before we hit the road?"

WeaselThor Abientot Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

"I appreciate Thomas' hard work but I also like to give back to the community." Sam replied when he got up and pocketed the pebble, he moved over to his corner in the tent where he laid out his weapons to dry, he wiped them one more time with a clean cloth before reassembling them, the weapons all made satisfying clicking noises as all their parts locked together like they're precision crafted. Sam looked at John as he made that slurred comment."The enemies would just need to sniff the air once to know your position, you damned alcoholic, haha."The light-heartedness was clear in Sam's voice, truth be told he does respect John's skill and what he offers to the team.

"A spar? hmmm..." Sam thought about it while he was kneeling next to his weapons."Sure, a basic spar right, punches and kicks only?"

 

[AliceNWeb]

Traverse city Michigan, Nomad Main camp, Exterior - Scout Group 3's Tent
It was evening, a full moon - clear skies. John just got done stretching his muscles before pacing around a fire. There were a few people standing around drinking hot beverages, bundled up, and talking to each other around the fire. The occasional *pop* from the fire broke any pauses in conversation. He was just waiting for his sparring partner to come out of the tent(no innuendo intended). With the remark about John being an alcoholic he laughed and started bouncing from heel-to-toe in slow succession. "You can't be an alcoholic if there's hardly ever any booze, can you?"

A moment passed Johns breathing quickened slightly - it was a cold night, cold enough to see your own breath so the light cardio and fire were helping warm his body up. He could feel his fingers loosen up and become warm again. He stopped bouncing and brought his hands up infront of his chest, fingers curled into fists.

"Yeah you got it - punches and kicks. First one to get the other to the ground wins."

At this point a small crowd had started to form a ring around the two of them - non combatants and combatants alike within the scout camp gathered to see the elites duke it out.

WeaselThor Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Sam exited the tent and slowly paced around the fire while stretching his arms. "If you were given the world's supply of alcohol, that wouldn't satisfy you." Sam paused opposite of John while he was finishing his own stretches, he shook his legs a bit and bent them in the air before finally planting them firmly in the ground, his heels were just a small fraction apart from the ground, it wasn't noticeable to anyone unless they had super sight. Sam pulled his hood down and removed his goggles, gently throwing them to the ground near the fire, his brown eyes were staring directly at John with a stern expression.

The small crowd could be heard whispering, placing bets on who would win. Sam rotated his torso one more time before slowly lifting his right hand up close to his face and his left hand was a bit further out but was still relatively near his body.

"The folks could use some entertainment" Sam replied while he was standing in his fighting stance. "Your move" I wonder which side he'll strike from, hopefully it's the one I'm expecting. He thought.

WeaselThor AliceNWeb Abientot

 

[AliceNWeb]

"Ah putting me on the offensive huh? Cheap move." John said with a carefree tone. He rotated his right shoulder again with a clenched fist, circling Sam a bit. John slowly inched his way towards Sam, feet hardly leaving the ground - fists still at his chest. John hunched over a bit and began twitching left and right making it difficult to see where he'd throw a strike from. A moment later and John had rotated his torso as to align his side with Sam's chest, while simultaneously pivoting his right leg, securing that foot to the ground and launching a left foot into Sam's left shin pushing his body weight into the motion so the arch of his left foot would make first contact with the shin. "Don't grab my foot now" he said as he launched the attack.

WeaselThor Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Sam's expression turned into a complete shock as he wasn't expecting that attack, he knew he didn't have much time and just narrowly dodged the attack to his left shin by moving his body backwards, he then quickly retaliated by stepping forward with his left foot to where he originally was, his heel hitting the ground as he turned his left leg and body sideways, thanks to these motions, his right leg was facing John's chest straight on and just as quickly as it was lifted up it extended, Sam's foot was flat and began to hurtle toward John.

 

[AliceNWeb]

When his foot didn't connect John smirked, these sparring matches were always fun. He knew he didn't have much time to correct as his body weight had thrown him too quickly to the left. Once his left foot hit the ground he swiftly slid it inwards, straightened his back (entering horse stance) and met Sam's kick straight-on with the outfacing surface of both forearms - the pain would have been more severe had John not been fast enough to prevent the full momentum, still it made him wince.

John briskly outstretched his left arm grabbing the fabric of Sam's pants around his right thigh tightening it, and used his right hand to tighten the fabric around Sam's right shin and gave a forceful pull to the right attempting to break Sam's balance while simultaneously angling his left elbow in a way that would cause either a chest, face, or gut blow if the tug was effective. Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

To Sam's dismay, he got tugged and took an elbow to the sternum, he groaned with pain but he fought through the gutwrenching feeling and maintained his balance. Sam grabbed John by his shirt on the shoulder for additional balance, he twisted the right side of his torso backwards,pulling John as well and began to quickly use the momentum to launch a left hook at John's jaw. Sam's left leg was very firmly planted into the dirt. If this was an all techniques go, Sam would've planted John in the ground by using his weight against but alas tis not but even if he took an elbow to the chest, he still was glad he could hone his skills.

(Phone mode, sorry for the short text.)

AliceNWeb

 

[AliceNWeb]

(You're fine no worries at all)

John didn't resist the pull against his shoulder but with the landing blow against Sam's chest he had gained the upper hand - he saw the hook coming before Sam could even launch it, still having a hold of Sam's right leg he gave it another tug increasing the momentum of Sam's left hook.

The crowd that had gathered around was actually quite big now and people were actively "woah"ing and "ou"ing. Valuables were being passed between the survivors with each blow Sam and John exchanged. People had even began piling more wood into the fire to keep it going. The occasional heat blast from the fire was a refreshing feeling against John's cold skin as the fight went on.

John met Sam's left hook with the frontal bone of his skull which would crack Sam's knuckles on impact, sent a ping of pain through John's face and caused the skin to break near John's hairline. With that he pivoted his left leg, pulled Sam's right leg up over his right shoulder, and sent the side of his right boot flying towards the inside of Sam's firmly planted left leg - once again attempting to break his balance.

"That really fucking hurt"

He said as the blood began to run down his forehead.

Worthlessplebian

 

[Worthlessplebian]

(Oh, wow, I fell asleep, sorry about that)
Sam anticipated the leg strike, after all that's what any seasoned fighter would go for however Sam had other ideas so,he quickly grabbed John's arms that held his thigh and he extended his torso, facing the night sky and twisted it to the right, this momentary momentum allowed Sam just enough wiggle room to not get his left leg destroyed by lifting it in the air and looking like he was gonna give John a knee to the head but it barely reached his head as Sam was aiming to punish John's attempt at a leg strike by torquing his body to the left so Sam's left foot came crashing down on John's right leg in a wrecking ball this ensured that even if he missed he would still be able to regain his lost balance. Christ on a biscuit, sweet Mary and Joseph, my buttocks got clutched harder than if they were squeezed by a black hole. Sam thought at how lucky he was able to pull this off, if he was even a second late his leg might have gotten a broken tibia or fibula.

"And your head is thicker than it looks"

Sam replied with an ow because of his cracked knuckle.

 

[D U H]

Karma picked up the overly sized backpack, she always went all the way out on their little "trips". Yes, she overpacks but it has proven to be useful sometimes. Karma's memory is the absolute worst so she made it her job to place all her belongings in one place so she won't forget them. Heading towards the tent backpack in hand covering most of her view. It wasn't a surprise when she walked right into a fight literally. This was usual for her, she would constantly bump into things because of her eyesight but this was different (no it wasn't). The impact caused her to lose her balance dropping the luggage. Kneeling down as quickly as she fell she began putting the objects that fell out back in. Without looking Karma could guess who it was, "John you old drunk geezer!" she sighed eyeing giving up once she saw his drunken state. Turning to face John's opponent she meets face to face with Sam, "Really Sam?" she said her tone sarcastic. Picking up the bag this time on her shoulder, "John your so shameless how can you get drunk off of cheap wine! Your the only one who gets drunk off this stuff." Karma said the last part in a whisper.
Tags: AliceNWeb Worthlessplebian

 

[AliceNWeb]

John took the full brunt hit force and all from the left leg but Sam's feeble attempt at an upper-hand blow made no difference as John still kept hold of Sam's right leg, with Sam bringing his left leg off the ground at the same time that left Sam with no footing on the ground. John, slamming Sam's back onto the hard gravel and dirt below them signaling the end of the match.

"I said first one to the ground loses"

John untangled himself from the ground and Sam's body before standing up; a light attention being brought to the Russian woman who had briefly caught blows of their fight. He looked back at Sam huffing - a bit out of breath and certainly feeling the pain.

"You're good but... what kind of lieutenant would I be if I couldn't take you down?"

WeaselThor Worthlessplebian D U H

 

[WeaselThor]

"I resent that comment ma'am." Thomas said stepping out of the Squad 3 tent holding his own bottle with a cheeky grin. "Just in time too, we are getting ready to ship out for a long trip. For once you might not have enough gear with ya." he wore a grin that said he was already a bit tipsy but he had some time befor the smelter did its job. He scanned the gathering and laughed when he noticed what happened. "Careful now john you go tootin your own horn too hard and cole might want a crack at ya. I hear he has been slacking though so you may have a chance there." he held his hand out to sam to help him up then turned back to Karma. "In all seriousness, we are heading to Texas, do you need any ammo made? I got the smelter running and if you got a mold i can stock ya up." he spoke in his usual lax tone though he seemed to glance off into the distance for a moment before shaking his head lightly and refocusing on his crew.
Worthlessplebian D U H AliceNWeb ​