Thread: Dani's Post Journal

Arx Bellum Probably my favorite roleplay I've ever done It had been far too pretty a day to remain cooped up inside. Originally, Cat had only planned on helping her mother in the garden but she had soon found that she was too restless for weeding. Rather than staying there and irritating them both, she had taken one of the harvest baskets and went for a stroll, hoping to gather some fresh herbs or berries. She knew that her father didn't like when she went too far away from the house but someone had to do it. They couldn't live on dried and canned foods for the rest of their lives and the garden hadn't yielded any fresh vegetables so far this year. She and her mother had pickled and jammed what they could from last year's garden but that still wasn't enough. Besides, she had been reading a book about herbal remedies and she wanted to find some of the ingredients to see if they would actually work as well as the medicine in the cabinet. That too would only last for so long. She had also thought about taking her older brother along with her to check his snares, if they could even be called that. He had been trying to catch a rabbit or a squirrel for some kind of meat but, after months of failed attempts, she doubted that he would ever actually catch anything. Besides, he was so loud that she couldn't find the same amount of peace as she could by herself, not that she minded really. He was her only friend now that the schools were closed. Her older sister was a brat and they fought all the time and the younger two were five and seven and they were more annoying than anything. Alone was better. There was no one to get bored while she searched for berries. No one to tell her that she was going to get poison ivy if she wasn't careful. No one to shove her into the weeds in the hopes that she did get poison ivy. She sighed happily as she knelt beside a particular herb that she recognized from her book and dug it up from the roots. Her long chestnut colored hair, fell forward over her shoulders to drag in the dirt as she did so and she tossed it back to keep it out of her way. She should have put it up, especially as it grew warmer the longer she was out. That finished, she moved on until she found some wild berries that were safe to eat. She didn't particularly care for mushrooms but she picked them because she knew that her parents like them. After all of the rain that they had had recently, there were definitely a lot of them. Once her basket was brimming with her finds, she turned to wander back to her home, looking through what she had in the basket to make sure that she had gotten everything. She froze when she actually looked up to see where she was going, pale green eyes widening in fear. There was a man...no two, two men just staring at her. The way the stood and the way that they looked at her sent a shiver down her spine. It was like the time she had been cornered by a wolf. Then she had had her brother to chase it off but she was alone now. They looked hungry though she didn't know for what. Her father had told her to be wary of men because people tended to act crazy when things like the lights going out happened. Surely it had been long enough for people to adapt though. Her family had. She took a step backward and they took a step forward. Somehow they were even more menacing now. She took another step backward. This time they took two steps forward. No, she was not going to play this game. She turned then and ran, dropping her basket and moving as swiftly as she could. Brian! She screamed for her brother as she ran. Papa! She was close enough to the house that they should be able to hear her, even if she was running in the opposite direction. She could hear the men behind her but they were slow and couldn't move through the trees as swiftly as she could. She thought that she would be fine, thought that she could circle back and warn her family, but a hand came out from behind a tree in front of her and grabbed her by the neck. She slammed against the trunk and everything was tinged with black for a moment before she came back to her senses. The other two had caught up now. They didn't say anything but they were laughing. I don't have anything. My basket had food in it but I don't have anything. She tried to tell them but they didn't seem to mind. HEL.... She tried to call out for help but the man that held her clamped his other hand over her mouth and grinned. ----------- A little later in the rp Once she heard a response from the man, she moved forward and gently moved her brother so that he was laying flat. She didn't want to move him too much but she did move him closer to the window so she could see better. By then the man had returned and she was able to dig through the duffel bag for what she needed, though she flinched a little when he touched her. The first thing she did was cut away his shirt so that it would be out of the way. Then she dug in the duffel for some gloves and gauze. She didn't mind that the man had left. She didn't know how to talk to him right now and she needed to focus on fixing Brian. She didn't know if she could make it if he died. Where is Mara, Brian? She asked when she saw him start to lose focus. He was blotchy but he wasn't overly pale or sweating but she supposed that he could still be in shock. She needed him to stay awake. His eyes fluttered back to fully open. She ran after they got mom. One of them went after her. I think she went out the back. Cat nodded and took his vitals quickly then put the gloves on and moved to his side, cleaning the area as best as she could before putting gauze over it and applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Now she kind of hoped that the man would come back. Actually, she needed him to come back. She had to tell him about Mara. After about five minutes, she grabbed Brian's hand and put it on the gauze. Apply pressure. Listen to me, Brian. Apply pressure. Once he had, she moved to take his vitals again then sighed with relief when they were about the same. She would check it one more time in about five more minutes and then the nasty part would begin...if he was still stable anyway. She moved back to his side and took over for Brian. I thought they had gotten you. We heard you call out before the others got to us. He told her and she grimaced. He sounded so weak. She had to keep telling herself that he was alright. With his blood pressure and heart rate, he would be fine as long as the wound didn't get infected. I wanted to go but Dad told me to look after mom and the girls. They got him on the stairs, Cat. His gun did fire and they just... Shh, shh. It's alright, Bry. You did what you could. I saw the one that got your knife. He nodded and then looked toward the window. Mom got one too. She gave him a small smile but she didn't want to talk about this. She couldn't deal with that right now. She needed to focus on Brian. She moved his hand again and this time she didn't have to tell him to apply pressure. She took his vitals one more time and then nodded. Good. He was more or less the same. He had clotted enough for her to clean the wound and sew him up. If you're still out there, I could use your help for this next part! She called to the man. My older sister ran and one of those things chased her. Brian thinks she went out the back. Last edited Dec 9, 2018