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Lir_the_witch

Lir the Forest Prince
Roleplay Type(s)
It was a mild day on the outskirt of Johnsburg city, spring and just before the summer heat would set in, Rafael was in his crews downstairs office, working on some old radio junk to see if he could get it working, cheaper than buying a new radio part, and it was in honestly fantastic condition. The radio kept his eyes off the open garage door, no clocks for years since time was sectioned differently now, days and weeks where kept for date tracking, but no one needed to know exactly when it was 3 in the afternoon, besides the sun was a good enough clock for that.

The one thing Raf hated was being force handed into something, like getting a new member for the team, it made him stick his heels in the dirt and resist, trust is a hard thing for him, really considering what happened to his first crew, and the one he has now being so tight knit- it's fine, the dudes not super young so he should know how not to die, everything's going to be okay.

Rafe sighed and pulled back, leaning in his chair and covering his eyes with his gloved hands, rubbing the heels into his eyes and feeling the leather against his skin. He looked down when he heard a sound, picking up one of their shop cats and putting him in his lap, going back to the radio, he let everyone have a day off, so the others where in various places, like inner city or just taking a nap.

The cat on his lap was named burrito, on the account he was thick, orange, brown and tan and everyone loved him.

[ wowie wowie ]
 
Diego stood in the doorway of the crew's abode, his shadow looming large over its floor. This was in stark contrast to the bewildered grin stretching across his face while cautiously entering. Having received his assignment without question there was no indication of how spacious scavenger bases were...well in comparison to the guard quarters anyway. Tentatively Diego cleared his throat to announce his presence, only drawing silence.

"Ay anybody home?," He questioned loudly without noticing the tubby cat making its entry into the office.

[2 days ago]
"Your wish is granted. Congrats Diego," A stoic captain said stone faced with a nod to the guard. Having chosen to serve the camp's border patrol for 3 years, Diego hadn't counted on the commitment being such a drag. Advertised as a way to valiantly contribute and protect the human race there had been no mention of the weary nights spent keeping watch over a sleeping forest for even the glimpse of a zombie. No such luck befalling the man he opted for a reassignment following the termination of his service. "Thank you sir!" He said with a hint of relief as there's no secret surrounding dwindling ranks of border patrol as fewer individuals chose dangerous positions, a cowardly sentiment Diego found dumb as all hell. Having been only 8 when the zombie hordes uprooted normal life Wombat found little truth to the supposed 'safe' jobs of pencil pushers in the camp. Following the destruction of Home, sudden changes to the natural order became fluid. Houses downgraded from 2 story to tents as meatloaf became whatever mammal his parents could catch. However unlike many Diego remained unfazed in this change with his personal mantra of "It'll end" offering a bleak comfort to the growing boy. Taking refuge in a ill-fated safe zone his parents both became Hunters and conglomerated with a capitalistic survivor camp. This period was uneventful to Diego until the ignorance of peace was torn by the raving madness of utter greed. The collapse of his secondary home led to the death of many along with his parent's disappearance. A small migration party thus found it wise to embark on finding another camp, leading a 19 yr old Diego to his new normal. With an affinity to fire reflective of his bold character Diego's success as a guard and as a fighter assisted his assimilation into the camp's life.

[now]
Although none of this rather long winded backstory written in an English teacher's vernacular helped to justify his utter blindness. Truly a miracle of both fighter instincts and utter stupidity helped the lucky Wombat survive thus far...but assists naut in discovering where the hell the new crew is.

{ Lir_the_witch Lir_the_witch }
 
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Rafe lifted his head up at the sound of a voice, he was hidden behind junk so it was an easy push of his wheely chair to the left that he was in full view, the wheels made a loud sound against the concrete floor.

"You must be Diego, some of the others are asleep or out."He commented and sat the fat cat down on the floor before getting up, Rafael had a tired voice, kinda gravely with an everlasting scratch, he looked old, bags and wrinkles from the stress of work in life or death and hours under the sun. When he got in front of Diego he stood maybe an inch or two taller than him.

Rafe took his right glove off and held it out for a hand shake.

"I'm Rafael, head of the salvage crew, you got your stuff with you? if it's being dropped off later I can show you around the upstairs living area."He nodded up and pointed up with his left gloved hand that had once been resting on his hip.

However a long sigh left his lips when he heard yelling from upstairs and then loud rapid thump thump thump down the stairs in the back, and out popped a scruffy man who looked around the same age as Rafe, if maybe a year younger.

"And this is Ezekiel- second in command of the salvage crew, and Licker of random shit" He gestured vaguely with his right hand.

"You can call me E.Z. for short kid, I have the highest count of things I have licked"

"Because you are an actual raccoon, you want to help me show this new guy around or are you off somewhere?"

"Got to go grab some groceries, Lens caught deer the other day and they're making something 'special'- see ya kid!" and like that he was gone, pulling some heavy boots on before hopping onto a sun powered scooter and being gone.

[ wowie wowie ]
 
At Rafe's approach and subsequent introduction Diego stood at attention while shaking his hand, "Nice to meet you formally. Thank's for having me aboard it means a lot.." The words trailed off after Ezekiel's boisterous entrance which drew a grin and a friendly wave to the man. A description as 'Licker' is met with a chuckle, "Got it. Safe me a piece of the deer!" E.Z's departure brings Diego's focus back to the captain as he triumphantly holds up a stuffed duffle bag, "Fit everythin' in here. But it might burst if I don't unload soon so a tour would be nice."

With a quick scan Diego evaluates his new captain internally while fighting the urge to crush Burrito in a hug. 'Serious type? Shit maybe I should've dressed better.' Clothed in a tank top and jeans he feels beads of sweat cling to the shaggy walnut-brown mullet he regrets not styling. 'Nah its probably fine. He looks tired though.' Even a slight glance at Rafe's eye bags can confirm the fact with Diego's mind running absolutely wild trying to think of what has him so beat, 'Lost a fight...nah he looks like he would win. I wonder his fight style...a heavy hitter? Or agile? I wonder who was here before me....I shouldn't ask....or maybe? No don't do it. This cat is fucking cute I need to find his treats so he likes me the best...I'll buy some just to cheat my way.'
 
Rafe saw Diego staring down Burrito, and it seemed Burrito knew too and walked over, sitting down to then be picked up and stretch out, he was a big cat, around the size of a toddler.

"Burrito loves people, you won't need to win any hearts over for him to like you." It was also now clear Burrito had a short bob tail. When the cat was adjusted and sat like a toddler in Rafes arms, then he nodded and started towards the back. "Keep up, I'll be showing you the upstairs living areas and your new bedroom to drop the bag off for the rest of the place."

The stairs where a bit tight, there was enough room but definitely a 1 x 1 situation when going up or down, the stairs opened up into the kitchen, it looked

Homey, the theme was yellow and greens, middle was a old looking wooden table that shined in the light from the above sink window, lots of cupboards space as well.

"Here's the kitchen, we have a connected back sheld storage that has a large deep freeze for extra shit, and downstairs normal fridge for drinks."He offered casually, to the left seemed to be more stairs where the in kitchen fridge sat. So He wasn't a hard core serious type, maybe he was just not a very social person?

"Common living are next and then the bedrooms, we got two bathrooms on the bedroom level and a bathroom in the garage area below us."He commented and walked a smooth line around the edge of the table, "Watch your hip, the table likes to attack."

That was supposed to be a joke? or a warning? Either way onto the next floor.

[ wowie wowie ]
 
Quickly acclimating to the atmosphere of their home Diego eases up, making a mental note later to purchase toys for Burrito.

'Extra? I wonder what that could mean' Eyeing the fridge door with suspicion, he entirely misses the warning and bumps into the table's unforgiving edge. Wincing a little Diego remarks, "I see what you mean. Well what fun is anything without a few bruises along the way?" The harmless innuendo layered inside his remark acted as a shot in the dark as he attempted to crack what exactly the stoic captain found funny.

As they continued to the next flight of stairs Diego missed the Polaroid of a lightning split tree that escaped his back pocket.

Moving to follow Rafe up the stairs he inquires, "So I was wondering what's the order of operations here? Like do you specialize in getting any one thing from outside or on a case by case basis?" While speaking Diego searches the man's face for any notable reaction and inwardly puzzles, 'How does someone like him have a cheery second in command? I wonder what the rest of the crew's like.'
 
He glanced over with a lifted eyebrow, Burrito purring loudly as Rafe held him. Rafe took a second to pause before responding as they made it to the living room area.

"We go for scrap and building supplies a lot, anything antique that seems in good condition too, I was just working on an old radio when you came in."He offered with a casual one shoulder shrug.

The living room was large, had many different places to sit with a t.v. and what seemed to be a large collection of different things to watch on it, a bunch of shelves with books on it as well, it had a mainly brown theme, but other random pops of colour from the mismatch furniture.

"But on searches if you see something easy enough to grab and want to keep it whatever, we have a lot of movies and books from everyone doing that."

"Most tech has been grabbed already, so if we find it we grab it too if it seems to be in good enough condition, the science departments always need more tech shit."
 
Diego moved to examine the shelf of dvd's while responding, "Great, couldn't be more excited after monotonous sentry duty. I've bounced around Virginia for a while so I'm familiar with the terrain-" A smile beams to his face as one title in particular jumps out, "I Love Lucy? My family and I used to watch this!" Sighing gently he warmly reads the description, "The wife of a band leader constantly tries to become a star - in spite of her having no talent and gets herself into the funniest predicaments. No talent is a bit harsh wouldn't you agree?"

Setting the case down Diego rejoins Rafe with a laugh, "I'm a sucker for those old romance tropes. But in all seriousness I could try taking a stab at the radio? My background was mechanical repair before the guard post, wasn't sure if that was on the files but some of those skills stick for life. I've got all the 'trophies' to prove it."

Holding up one arm there's an evident abundance of both fading burns and fresh scars with a couple bandaids plastered throughout, evidence of rather intense fight training. However Diego's earnest confidence paired with a steel resolve never faltered against any opponents (even after getting his ass kicked). "I should still have some tools stowed away in this bag, two heads are always better than one."
 
"I would say someone has to be good at something to be famous, but there are a lot of people who've become famous for being stupid."He offered when the comment about no talent came up, he nodded along but added, "It's a pet project at the moment, and I did see, you and SQ should get along easy, I wanted to make sure the new crew member isn't on one trick show pony."

At least he thought highly of Diego? Well yeah! he lowkey just made comment on the fact Diego was high enough to his standard! which can be assumed to be pretty big! like he just said Deigo was good enough to be on his team. Rafe nodded his head to another set of stairs.

"Come on, next level is first set of bedrooms and then another one before we hit the storage floor and garden on the rooftop."and with that he started moving again, making his way to the stairs, "Watch your bag, we have some 'decorations' leading up here" it was much more clear of an explination when all the different wall hangings came into view, one for each team member it seemed.

"Don't worry, you'll have one hanging on the wall too, E.Z. will bully you into it- when it comes to rooms you have the one next to mine, I tend to be a light sleeper so if you need something come get me- E.Z. sleeps through anything- he almost slept through the first wave back 17 years ago, I know because I was having a sleep over with him and his Mom came in."

That was, a lot? like he just dumped that out that E.Z. and Rafe knew each other before the world went to shit.

The next floor was first a hallway, having passed through a fabric 'door' that hung, it set some sort of cozy atmosphere, colours being set to calming blues and purples.

"I rather no one start fighting at 2 o'clock in the morning so I painted this myself-" after an easy walk, with the walls lines with personalized decore and name tagged doors, the end is where Rafe stopped and pushed the door open. "And here we are, we share rooms in twos normally, since you haven't said if you want to be a guard or not I've held off on hiring another member, for now you get the room to yourself."

It was surprisingly large, two beds situated on either side, mismatch dressers and clean but simple sheets and bedding.
 
Diego fires off finger guns, "So what you're saying is I passed the first test! Well how about this for the second one..." His ears begin to wiggle while Diego grins, "One trick ponies can't do this. Some real quality skills." Following Rafe up the next flight of stairs he contemplates the day thus far.

'I think it's going well? I'm surprised at how easy Rafe is to talk with, his blank face makes a great wall to rattle off jokes to. I wonder if the other crew member, SQ, can give me some pointers.' Mulling this over Diego almost runs into Rafe when he stops in the hallway, sheepishly backpedaling after the close encounter.

At Rafe's comment concerning E.Z Diego's attempt at silly antics relents for a moment, having his own vivid memories of that day where everything fell apart. "I had something similar that day. He was lucky to have a friend like you to be with him then." The moment of silence was broken by Rafe's tour of their living quarters, Diego quickly perking back up at the cheery paint job. "Couldn't have done it better myself, this is amazing! Just in time too because I think my arm's gonna fall off with this bag." Setting it down on his new bed Diego ponders his question, "A guard...? It is right up my alley but so is a lot of other tasks. I'd say whatever the team needs, I can acclimate. I understand this is the team's day off but is there any work available now? Maybe I could take a crack at the radio!"
 
Rafe Snortes at the ear wiggling, oh so he found that funny huh?

"Because of Salvage crew rules we need a solid answer," he set Burrito down on the opposite Bed, "if you become a guard we won't need to hire anyone else, if you become part of the crew I'll need to look for another guard, each salvage member needs one guard so it equals out." He explained and scratched the back of his neck.

"As for work nah- nothing springs to mind, we scheduled the first week of you being here to get to know everyone, we won't be going out to work for at least that long, you're welcome to explore once you're unpacked your things- sounds odd but you can ask Burrito to bring you somewhere and they'll lead the way." He offered and gave the Fat cat a skritchy scratch under the chin.

"We have enough parts here for you to make something If you want to, just come down into our garage area, I'll leave you to it, don't be to loud, remember others are sleeping." And with that Rafe left, going down The hall and back down to the garage where he had been before, but this time picking up the picture of the split tree and taking it to his desk.
 
'FUCK YEAH I GOT A SNORT, IM A FUCKING COMEDIAN'

Although outwardly he simply said "I can guard then. Nobody gonna get past these guns." Diego flexed a bicep, confidently puffing out his chest before focusing in on what Rafe was saying. "Alright then noted. I'll start with guarding this baby then," He declared while reaching to coddle Burrito next to his chest. After Rafe exited Diego closed the door gently, flopping onto the bed as a sigh relaxed the tension in his body. A few minutes passed before he sat up to unpack the worn duffle bag he'd been hauling around.

Clothes were quickly folded into drawers, most of his casual attire consisting of similar tanktops/jeans. Some various hair products get stowed away next until only the dredges of the bag's contents were left. Tired lines on Diego's face seem darker as he reaches for a small ornamental wooden box adorned with a combination lock, the contents of which jingle softly. With a delicate reverence it's placed alone on the top leftmost drawer and subsequently shut. Centering himself, Diego lights a candle on the dresser as the flame's gentle flickering steadies him. Burrito jumps to sit by his side to accompany Diego in his thoughts, the latter pulling out a worn tarot card to guide him.

The Fool's moniker is accompanied by a man carelessly gesturing forward while clutching a flower, the image being one he knew well. 'What should I do then? You haven't failed me yet.' Burrito meows at Diego which quickly snaps him to attention, the cat tilting their head. Diego grins and picks them up, "Maybe the answer is you! Rafe did say you'd be a good guide so why not help me out?" Walking to open the door, he places Burrito down and squats behind it.

"So where to my friend?"
 
Burrito let out a mew and a big!! stretchy!! his little nub of a tail twitching as he did, and like that he started off down the hall, seeming to want to go back from where they came, he kinda horse trotted down the hall to the stairs, and proceeded to hop down each of the steps, through the living room and passed the kitchen all the way down to the garage where Rafe was in his chair, goggles pulled down over his eyes and gloves on his hands while he fiddled with the insides.

Burrito rubbed against Rafes leg and let out a mrp, then circled around to rub up against Diegos, arching his back and mewing.

"Well, looks like Burrito wanted to lead you back down here,"Rafe casually said without looking up, "Maybe he's just feeling social, Ezekiel and I rescued him,, ah I'm going to say five years back- his Mom likes to hang in the shed out back, we assume the rest of his litter got crushed during a wave attack." Rafe reached for something on the desk and tossed over a beat up cookie tin.

"Catch, You can give him a treat if you want, Jeff makes them by hand when we got the time and stuff for it.

Rafe sounded, relaxed. It was an oddly domestic thing, talking about cats and feeding them treats, sometimes made one forget what reality you're in.

[ wowie wowie ]
 
Lir_the_witch Lir_the_witch
"Now where are you headed?" Hurriedly he gave chase to the feline, the dash similar to giddy childhood memories of playing tag. Wholeheartedly pursuing the cat Diego almost topples over when Burrito stops in the doorway. Taking note of Rafe he leans against the garage's doorway in an attempt to look cool, '....I think that worked. Yeah super cool the absolute coolest'

Diego smiles and pops open the tin, "I'm glad he did. Wouldn't mind spending more time with my second favorite crew member." Holding a treat out for Burrito he whispers loudly, "You're my favorite!" Sitting on the garage's floor he scratches behind Burrito's ears while staring at the ceiling, "Seems like me and the cat got more in common than I thought. What about you? You from around here?" His eyes twinkle curiously in the room's dusty light, a look many know well from him.
 
"Before or after the first wave?"He questioned but continued to answer, "Before we where much more up north, around new York state, however we settled here When Ezekiel and me turned,, uh I think it was 12, because his Mom found some sort of soft blanket for his 12th birthday- which he still sleeps with." Rafael was just dropping lore on his second in command like it wouldn't cause some stupid jokes.

Burrito was loudly purring, like a car engine honestly as he rubbed up against Diego before crawling into his lap and trying to paw at the treat tin for more.

"No more treats than three a day, make sure to close it tight when you're done-"

The back door to the back yard opened with a slam and there stood a feminine black lady who was covered in blood, coilly hair pulled into two hair puffs and a huge grin on her face.

"Hey Lenny, you done butchering the deer?"Rafe asked and slowly turned in his chair to look at Lenny.

"Yep! Oh you must be the new guy! I would shake your hand but I am covered in blood."She nodded in play sorrow, "I'm Lenny, or Len, or Lens, I use They/Them, what about yourself?"
 
Chuckling under his breath Diego closes the tin, much to Burrito's dismay, "Sorry bud you heard the rules." Petting the feline he continues, "I have something similar. Can't blame a man for the simple comforts, I'm from down south m'self. Winnsboro Louisiana to be exact. Moved up north 'fore the first wave and never looked back, wasn't many safe zones so we kept going." Pulling a lighter from his back pocket Diego opens & closes it while talking, the metal cling a familiar comfort. Engraved on the front was a D, Darlas being his father's name. "If we ever make it down there I'll treat you to good soul food, it's the one thing I miss. My ma kept a cookbook but we left it behind...left a lot of things."

Images of a cheery bayou house and his mother's cooking echo in Diego's mind, nights spent catching fireflies near a teeming marshland. Details of his childhood bedroom remained etched in stone and still, years later, he wishes they stayed longer in what had been the last real "home" he'd had.

Some indiscernible emotion flickers across Diego's face only to disappear at Lenny's entrance, instead replaced with a twinkling smile. "Hey it comes with the job. Name's Diego! He/him suits me fine, need any help? I roast a mean meat skewer, its an art form."
 
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"I have everything all handled, I just need to go wash up and do some prep-work for tonights' dinner," They commented with a light shrug, "got any specific sides you like? I know we got potatoes and home style fries are always a hit with everyone." Lenny offered but looked over to Rafe.

"E.Z. went out to grab stuff on the scooter, he'll want you to make some collared greens if he brings back the right stuff."

"You okay with that southern boy? we'll have other stuff but that's one of E.Z.'s favourite."Lenny offered casually as they moved to the stairs up to the kitchen area.

Burrito was still in Diegos lap and was purring up a storm.
 
"Nothin' in particular. That sounds amazing, if you need any help you know where to find me," Diego said before sheepishly shrugging. "I'd move Burrito off to shake your hand but I think he just got comfy." His furry friend's purrs practically melted the man's heart and again the silly wombat grin made an appearance before Diego turned his attention to Rafe.

"Didn't take you for the chef type, excited to try the famous collared greens." Diego smirks a little while shifting to slowly inch out from under the cat, guilt gnawing at him for moving the purring giant. 'Lord why did he have to get comfy on me now? Please please please just move off I'll give you treats later I swear."
 
"It's easier just to pawn him off on someone else."Rafe said and stood up, making his way over to them and pick Burritto up under his arms, Burrito made a mrrp sound before purring loudly again once he was cradled like a baby. "You need to use the bathroom or something? normally most are trapped under Burrito for at least an hour."

This is when another one of the cats started to come over, a thin lanky beast but was pushed away very lightly with one of Rafes feet, making crackly mrows.

"Better get up now, that lap is free property for any grabs and our cats like laps."
 

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