The Last of Us

[Melszyy]

Riley grinned for a moment. Yet her grin faded when it sounded like Tio wanted to talk about the evening it all happened. She listened to him and could not imagine how it must have been to not know what happened to your parents. She squeezed his hand every now and then, to made him feel as comfortable as possible. She wanted to let him know he could trust her while she listened to every single detail of his story. "I am so sorry to hear that," she said softly, "At least you got out safe before hell broke lose in that little bar." She could not begin to imagine the horror that must have happened in the small bar when those people turned and probably killed each other. It gave her shivers down her spine. She stayed quiet with him for a while before he basically asked her the same question.


"I about fourteen and home alone. I had two older brothers, Ivan and Isaac. Ivan was drug addicted and had ran away a few weeks earlier. Isaac lived in Europe where he worked for a successful business. I don't know what happened to them. I think Ivan died. If it weren't the zombies, than it definitely was the drugs that killed him. I don't know if the outbreak is also in Europe. I haven't heard from Isaac in years. I fear the worst. My parents were at Broadway at the time. They were musical players. I was watching tv and they were broadcasting this emergency thing. I heard sirens, helicopters and stuff the whole night. I didn't wanna wait for my parents to get home so I grabbed some stuff. I found the crossbow in my brothers room which I took and I grabbed some food. I made my way to the theater where my parents were. It was deserted. I went to the back, to their dressing room where I found dad dead. He had been eaten, by my mom. His neck... there wasn't much left. My mom was in there too. She was making her way towards me when Drew came in and killed her. He took me with him and took care of me ever since. I hated him for a while. Blamed him for my mom's death. After a while I realized she was already dead when she was infected. Drew taught me how to fight and how to protect myself. We wandered around for a good year and then we found the Newlands. They took us in and I started as a nurse in the medical department. When I turned 18 I was old enough to scavenge around. That's what I did for years. Look for supplies and survive." Until she found Tio of course. Her hand moved to the necklace around her neck and she opened it. She showed it to Tio. "These are my parents," she said, pointing at one picture, "and me with my brothers. When I was about 12."

 

[wichtlein]

Tio nods, he wasn't sure what to say. He'd only ever spoke about it to Luke, he hadn't regretted leaving the bar, he'd tried to convince every one not infected to leave but most wouldn't even consider it and he knows if he'd of stayed he'd likely be dead or a clicker by now. His only regrets with not searching for his family, he wanted closure but he knows that it's impossible to ask for that.


As she speaks Tio looks to her, he hadn't expected her to speak of it, not when she had been so young. To think that she had seen her parents killed, that she'd witnessed her mother as one of those things. Tio thinks for a moment that it was better that he didn't know, now seeing she had had to live with that image, to come to terms with it. Although it certainly showed how strong she is to move past it so young, to understand what Drew had done, Tio wanted to give her some comfort but had no clue how to even approach that, he couldn't understand what she'd gone through. Yet when she opened her locket he couldn't help but smile as he peers at the small pictures "You can tell you're family" He grins looking to her parents and looking to her "They were on Broadway? They do look kind of familiar, my uh roommate from before he was big on his Broadway so his side of the room was covered in playbills and such" He tells her, looking back to the photo "Do you still miss them?" His voice hesitant, Tio not looking away from the photo as he asks.

 

[Melszyy]

A soft smile lingered on Riley's lips when she looked at the photos in the locket. It was the only thing left that reminded her of her own family. She sighed for a moment, her hand still holding Tio's. It felt comforting to tell someone this story. She barely shared it. Drew and Gabriel were the only two other people who knew about it. Now she could add Tio to that list. It was good. She trusted him. Besides, sharing the story helped. It gave her some rest. Also it reminded her that she wasn't the only one with a sad story in this shit hole. Every living being lost someone which made them the way they were today.


"They were. They played in several musicals," she replied. The smile on her face got a bit brighter when Tio seemed to recognize her parents. It was like they weren't forgotten yet. She stayed quiet for a while when he asked that last question. She took the locket back from Tio and hung it back around her neck. She wrapped her fingers around the silver material. Eventually she nodded. "Every day," she replied, "but I guess I am lucky to be alive." She didn't felt lucky. Often she wished that it was her who died instead of her parents. She kicked a small rock away from her. "What about you? Do you miss them or regret not contacting them before hell broke lose?" It got out of her mouth quicker than she wanted. It sounded quite harsh. But she was curious about Tio's answer.

 

[wichtlein]

He nods, lucky was a term used loosely now and he gives her hand a soft squeeze, he couldn't imagine what it would be like for her to loser her parents to see it and to accept that and move forward must have been hard, for Tio he may not know what happened and have no closure, he still had hope that they were alive somewhere, even if it was false hope he could still have that, and for this Tio wanted to comfort her, although not knowing how to comfort her, so giving a solemn nod of understanding and staying silent.


Tio, slightly taken aback by the question hesitates for a moment, shifting slightly and looking to the floor for a moment to compose himself, "I uh I miss them, they're my family and before all this all we really had was each other, and before I came up here to study we weren't on great terms, my elder brother he was pissed that I was leaving them to study, we were already going through a lot of trouble and me going off was going to double all that. But we never really made up after I left" He pauses for a moment, looking to her as he speaks now "I don't regret not contacting them though, I mean chances are they'd already left or I wouldn't of been able to contact them, I mean the whole damn country would of been trying to phone everyone they knew, and it wasn't like I could wait for it to clear up I would likely be dead if I'd lingered in that bar any longer. Going down south just wasn't an option either, not even first few years in, too risky with raiders and hunters out. I don't regret it though, if I'd of done it differently I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now"


He sighs quietly, before nudging her and letting go of her hand "I do have this though, a dumb idea me and my brothers had when we all thought we were going to have to leave each other, we were going through a lot of financial troubles and this asshole my mother once taught was trying to sue her for using his name as a way to promote herself, so we were all sure we were going to be taken away from her." He grins, lifting his sleeve to show a crooked moon and thin clouds surrounded by the script 'dreamers often lie' in a traditional style on his inner arm. "It was a dumb idea, but it seemed fitting at the time" He laughs "It's a quote from Romeo and Juliet, me and my brothers are all named for characters from it. Our mum used to teach Literature at a college and I guess she liked the play or something" He shrugs, smiling once again.

 

[Melszyy]

Riley bit her lower lip when Tio told her that him and his brother weren't exactly on good terms. To be thrown into this mess while you basically never made up with your own brother would be horrible. She held his hand tightly and squeezed it back. She wanted to say something to him but decided to let him speak first, instead of interrupting him. She laid down a bit more comfortable, with her head on his lap and looked at him. Still holding on to his hand. Every now and then she nodded or gave him a soft smile. She was glad that he never tried being brave by looking for his parents. He was smart enough to understand that he would probably not survive that. A lot of people died because they tried looking for family or friends. It was the most logical thing to do. Yet also the most dumb thing. She sat up when Tio let go of her hand and her eyes moved to the tattoo on his arm. She let her fingers slide over it and smiled softly. "It's not dumb. It's maybe the only thing you have left that connects you with your brothers. You should cherish it." She turned her head away from Tio and lifted up her hair, so the tattoo in her neck was visible. It was a ying yang. "I got this one at the community. It reminds me of my family. The good and the bad, you know? It's a bit cliché but..." she let her hair fall again and grinned, "It was the best I could think of at the time. 

 

[wichtlein]

Tio laughs gently "I got a lot to remind me of my brothers, I got a scar on my collarbone from when Paris pushed me from a tree, and I got a weak knee from the time the both of them thought they'd teach me to ride a bike by loosening those training wheels just before I was about to go down this concrete hill" He looks to the tattoo a last time and smiles fondly as he pulls his sleeve back down. He'd always thought it was stupid, especially since the argument but he wouldn't change it for the world, and she was right. It was the only thing they had left together. Something they all had. No matter where they are now. If they were surviving on their own, living with others, or stumbling around a blind clicker, even if they were lying lifeless they still had the same slightly faded tattoo with a cliche living in the words. It was comforting to know this. But it did not make it any easier. As she pulls her hair to the side he shifts to look at the tattoo, leaning closer to look at it and touching the tips of his fingers to the ink "Everything's a cliche Miss, that tattoo is something sweet and it reminds you of the imperfect balance in the world so don't let anyone shame you for it. Plus it's pretty cute" He grins to her, dropping his hand from her neck and holding it out to her. He was reluctant to disturb the moment but he had could feel the exhaustion of the day sending aches to every muscle, his leg in particular, throbbing and aching as if there would be no tomorrow. 

 

[Melszyy]

Riley laughed along with Tio when he started telling her about the scar and his weak knee. They sounded like typical brothers. The ones that made adventures together but also fought every now and then. It was good to talk about all of this with Tio. Especially because she was learning more about his past. More about the guy that she was going to be stuck with for a long time. "Ivan always took care of me. We used to bother the shit out of Isaac, who was always studying or reading. New York isn't exactly the place to ride down hills or climb trees but Ivan took me to Central Park a lot, where we would just lay down in the grass and look at the clouds. It feels like a lifetime ago." She forced a soft smile on her face. She missed her brothers. Ivan more than Isaac. When Ivan ran away, she never understood why. It was like the drugs were more important than she was. Now she understood it a bit more but she wished she could've helped him. Her gaze moved to his hand and she gently took it back and moved her thumb up and down over the back of his hand. She looked at Tio, who seemed exhausted. "Try to get some sleep," she said, "I'll stay awake and keep guard." She placed the gun next to her and looked from one side to another. It was quiet and almost peaceful. She rested her head against the wall of the bridge.

 

[wichtlein]

Tio couldn't stop the warm smile from breaking his exhausted frown, her talking about her family was oddly comforting, to hear how she had teased her older brother and the fondest memories of watching the clouds it seemed so surreal to think that everyone had a life before this hell, that everybody has gone though pain and suffering to get to this point in their life that even through that they could look back on these memories that surely once brought great pain and feel at least some familiar happiness in the comfort of knowing they still had those memories, even if the people were gone. "It was a lifetime ago miss, but where ever they are now, I bet they think of you just as fondly" He gives her hand a soft squeeze and shakes his head when she suggests he sleep. As much as he wanted to sleep, especially with the ache in his muscles growing, he felt he shouldn't sleep, after all it sounded like she'd had the worse few days. Bad enough to send her looking for trouble at least, so making sure she sleeps was now his top concern. But he knows that he won't be much use if he falls asleep whilst on watch, if he did then something surely worse would happen. "I'll only take a couple hours, trust me I think you need it more than me but I don't want to mess up because I was trying to be chivalrous" He tells her trying to put the edge of laughter in his voice, letting go of her hand before leaning back against the wall of the bridge, closing his eyes as he crosses his arms across his chest "G'night miss" The words mumbled from his lips as he slips out of consciousness. 

 

[Melszyy]

The way he talked to her about her family was comforting. She did had an amazing bond with her parents and brothers. She was always the small daughter or sister they tried to protect and raise. Tio was right. No matter where they were, they loved her and always wanted the best for her. She was sure that no matter where they were, alive or not, they were proud of how for she came. Riley pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around them. Thankfully Tio agreed with going to sleep. She knew he was stubborn enough to disagree. Yet he needed his strength with his leg. It was still healing and she was still concerned about it. The last thing she wanted was for him to get another infection. Funny enough she feared for his life. More than her own. "Chivalrous?" she asked as she chuckled softly, "how good of you. Now try to sleep." She ignored the fact that he seemed to care for her in the same way. She wasn't tired. There was still an empty feeling inside of her that kept her awake. Even having Tio next to her didn't made it any better. The rampage didn't make it any better. She was afraid nothing would. She let out a small sigh as she noticed Tio's breathing getting slower and more regular. He seemed peaceful. She pushed herself up, grabbed the shotgun and sat herself down at the entrance. Her eyes scanning everything she saw moving. Most of them were lost animals. Every now and then she saw a clicker in one of the buildings but non knew she was there.  

 

[wichtlein]

Asleep, Tio dreamed of little, distant memories, spinets of faces and laughs he can barely even remember, each new scene making his restless, shifting occasionally, some quite mumbles escaping his lips. It made waking only that much harder as he rubs the backs of his hands to his eyes waking groggily with his head spinning with exhaustion. His eyes trying to adjust to the dark, the light of the moon illuminating Riley's silhouette. Shifting and groaning lightly as he forces himself up, stumbling slightly as he makes his way over to her, resting a hand gently on her shoulder as he sits down next to her "Any trouble tonight?" He asks her, his voice cracked and dry, he'd had little rest over the past day and it had apparently given him a dry throat, still looking to her he moves to grab his bag, pulling out a half empty bottle of water and taking a couple sips and offering the rest to Riley. "You can rest up, I'll take the watch from here. If we're quiet I don't think we'll have much trouble" He tells her softly, the sleep still burning in his eyes as he tries to wake up. 

 

[Melszyy]

Riley her eyes felt heavy but she kept pinching her arm in order to keep herself awake. The skin started turning red. She couldn't fall asleep. Her mind was full with the events that had happened since she met Tio. Full with the talk about her parents and brothers. She never shared much information about her past. Drew was the only one who knew. Yet she had trusted Tio with this information. These stories. It had felt quite comfortable. Yet it had opened a part of her brain that she barely used. One she had locked. One with the happy memories of her family and her past as a little kid. It made the empty feeling in her stomach only bigger. Her eyes were scanning through the darkness while memories of the past few days kept shooting through her head. Suddenly she grabbed the gun tight when a hand touched her shoulder. She had not heard Tio waking up and with big eyes she looked up at him. "Shit Tio!" she brought out, while she felt her heart beating fast, "don't scare me like that." She placed the gun back on the ground. "It is quiet," she mumbled while she grabbed some antibiotic pills out of the bag and handed it to him. She declined the water he was reaching out to her. It was the last they had and he needed it for his medicine. Riley wrapped her arms around her body. She didn't want to go to sleep. Scared of the nightmares. "Just wake me up when something is wrong," she told him. She got up and walked away from him. It was probably going to take a bit to fall asleep but he didn't had to know that. She placed her jacket on the floor so she could use it as a pillow and faced towards the wall. She pulled her knees up, pressing them against her body. She closed her eyes in the hope to fall asleep while she listened to the different sounds in the darkness. Yet everytime she found herself drifting away, she saw Drew in the flames. 

 

[wichtlein]

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you miss" he tells her, a soft chuckle to his voice as he sits down, rubbing the back of his hand to his eyes in an attempt to remove the sleep lodged in the corners, looking up to see her handing him the antibiotics. "I'm sure I'm fine now. I cleaned up back in the zone and look how much walking I did on it again" He take the tablets from her, regardless of his resistance he knows he isn't likely to win this argument but it was worth a shot right? 


Watching as she walks away he gives her a nod "I promise to wake you. But I doubt we'll attract any attention tonight. I suspect it'll be the roads tomorrow we'll have a problem with but that can wait till the morning. No point worrying about it now." He tells her, his breath forming thick clouds in the night air, turning back from her and watching the desolate road he knows she'll struggle with these nights. Losing somebody in this was always harder, with some people it was easy. You learn to not get attached to people. But after a while that fear of losing somebody disappears and is replaced with a newer fear, one worse and more aggressive.


@Queen Lamer 

 

[Melszyy]

It were some restless hours. She didn't really sleep. Every now and then Riley could feel herself drifting away, but her mind kept waking her up. Too many things had happened in the past few days and they seemed to haunt her thoughts. For minutes she'd stared at the wall of the bridge before shutting her eyes again, in the hope to fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning, but couldn't find a comfortable position. She started missing her matress back at the community. The luxury. Having a shower, food and comfort. After a while, Riley turned on her back and stared at the ceiling. She groaned in frustration before pushing herself up.


"I tried," she announced while she pushed herself up, "I tried but I just can't fall asleep." She grabbed her jacket off the ground and wrapped it over her shoulders. It wasn't necessarily cold. It was only autumn. She sat herself next to Tio and looked at the dark haired guy for a while. A soft smile formed around her lips. Despite it all, Riley was glad she didn't had to face this hell on her own. A soft yawn left her mouth as she rested her head against his shoulder for a short moment. "So, what's our plan?" she asked, "you wanted to go south right? Perhaps we should try to gather some more supplies first. We are almost out of water and some more food wouldn't hurt." Perhaps a bottle of alcohol wouldn't hurt either. 


@wichtlein
 

 

[wichtlein]

He hadn't expected her to sleep. Not with everything that had happened, Tio tried to keep himself from thinking about it. But the silence the bridge offered left little else for him to think about. Thinking about everything he'd put Riley through, about the life he left behind, about Luke. He'd been with him from the start. The south had been their plan. Luke always played with the idea, telling him it would give him closure if nothing else. Then they'd hear rumours of the south, of big hauls, military going missing. But the time never felt right, they were between jobs, or supplies were too low to risk a move.

At the sound of Riley groaning, Tio turned to face her, giving her a sympathetic smile as she made her way over. Turning back to face the piled up junk that faced them. Whilst she spoke, he nodded along, she was being practical, and the supplies they had were already running low. That and there had grown a slight itch under the bandage on his leg. "Supplies would be good, I only brought enough for one of us, and it wasn't going to last me long anyway" He shakes his head, smiling at the weight of her pressed into his shoulder. "We can form a real plan or a new one after we're stocked up." Tio assures her, not voicing his second guess about returning south.

Melszyy

 

[Melszyy]

Riley wrapped her arms around her legs and grinned. "I love your positivity," she announced when he talked about the supplies he brought. Not that she could blame him for not taking much. It wasn't like she had expected herself to stay alive for this long. If it wasn't for the community, she would've been dead a long time ago. If it wasn't for Drew. She looked at half the bottle of water they had left. She felt the dryness in her throat, but she did not wanted to risk little they had left. Tio needed it more with his injury. Riley glanced at his leg and the bandage. They needed medical supplies too. The wound was healing nicely, but there were always risks. Besides, the last thing she wanted, was to lose Tio too.

Riley pushed herself up and stretched herself out. She walked a bit towards the streets and looked from her right to the left. It was quiet. No clickers or other creatures she wanted to walk into. She took the bag from the floor and swung it over her shoulders. She grabbed her weapons off the floor as well before reaching out to Tio, so she could help him up. "Come on, lazy ass. Let's do something usefull," Riley grinned.

wichtlein

 

[wichtlein]

He laughs, a short but warm laugh. "I think it's one of my best features" Tio pinches the bridge of his nose before looking to her, allowing himself to truly look at her. He had only looked at Luke with such an eye for detail. If they we're going to travel together, he would have to put his trust in her as he once had with Luke, and despite everything Tio had caused and put her through, she would have to do the same with him. Not that he would blame her if she didn't, or if it took them a while. Yet even so he wanted to be prepared for the moment he could lose her, and whether it was he or she who was being lost, he wanted to know he could have her in his memory. After all, he now regretted the things he never said.

"Lazy ass? I'll have you know that bloater wasn't an easy feat" He jokes, taking her hand and allowing her to help him up. "Even for somebody as spectacularly gifted as me" He chuckles, yawning slightly as he trails off, dropping her hand for a moment as he reaches for his bag, shrugging it onto his shoulders and following after her. "So what's this something useful?"

 

[Melszyy]

A soft chuckle escaped Riley's lips as she looked at Tio who swung the bag over his shoulder. For a moment she wanted to take the bag from him, afraid he would put too much weight onto his leg. Yet Tio didn't seemed like the person who took too much help and if it was her, she wouldn't wanted to be treated like some disabled person. For now she decided to leave it the way it was, but she would keep an eye on his leg. It was still her fault and the guilt was still inside of her. She looked over her shoulder one last time, making sure they wouldn't leave anything behind, before she started walking towards the buildings in front of them.

Her mind wandered back to the bloater and her brilliant idea of going on a killing spree to forget Drew and the rest of bullshit around her. Her own suicide mission because she was just done with everything. If Tio hadn't found her... Well, she probably would've been thorn in pieces by the bloater. A wave of sadness went through her body but quickly she pushed it aside. Riley looked at the big buildings in front of them as she listened to Tio's question. "Looking for supplies would be a good start. Maybe find a place to go next. Perhaps we can find out where to go to. There must be a place somewhere, that is not absolutely terrible yet. Right?"

 

[wichtlein]

He gives a short laugh then a large grin "A place not so terrible? Miss for me, that's right by your side" He exaggerates his movements and wraps his arm around her, giving her a light squeeze. Laughing as he drops his arm, squinting towards the buildings, attempting to work out what they previously were in an effort to perhaps gage what supplies they could offer. "Alright, so I have no actual clue. It's pretty much uncharted territory for me out here." Unfortunately as much freedom as this offered, he didn't know where infected infestations were, or know which buildings were spore free. The maps he and Luke had kept up to date with safest routes, even if he hadn't left them on his kitchen counters, wouldn't have been any use. "Be on your guard though Miss, don't want both of us injured"

 

[Melszyy]

Riley looked up at Tio and rolled her eyes as a grin lingered around her lips. "Oh please, Casanova. You are going to make me throw up." Yet she liked his arm around her and it was a shame he dropped it. She kept on walking slowly, not wanting to get ahead of Tio too much. Especially with his leg. It was healing nicely, but she didn't wanted him to put too much pressure on it. "I still know a few buildings that are safe, but aside from that I have no clue. We need to see if we can get our hands on masks. I know we had some back at the community but I am not sure if you are up to for the travel back." Riley grabbed her blonde hair and put it into a ponytail before planting her hands against her hips and looking up at Tio. "Aside from that, I am not looking forward to seeing Gabriel again..." A shiver ran down her spine when she thought about the creep, but did they had a choice? Riley bit softly on her lower lip.