Reaching Salvation: Post-Acer Part 2

OOC: Polar opposite, huh...I wonder who that could be.

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Joey sighed. "Anyways, I have to go out to collect firewood, we're running low, I'm going to get Gabe and Ven to help me carry it back." He said to Erika, before turning towards the forest

Heidi grunted, a bit annoyed and angry at being tricked into apologizing. "Stop doing that, I can't tell when your kidding. Soon I'm just gonna stop apologizing even when I really do screw things up."

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Kira tugged at the back of Luke's shirt as the crowd dispersed. "I...g-guess nothing t-too...bad happened..."

"Yeah. It's an... odd situation, though," Luke replied, poker-faced.

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"My bad," Tom apologised, moving along the wasteland.

"Y-Yeah... Suddenly, everyone i-is e-everywhere a-and everything's s-so...busy..." Kira sighed, playing with her hair nervously as she glanced towards her forest, noticing Joey going in.

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Heidi groaned, following after Tom. Now that apologized she felt even worse. Damn Tombo, exploiting her soft-heartedness without even knowing it. "Marshmallow..." she muttered to herself, deciding that at some point in the near future she was going to have to work on her mental training and now just physical.

"Huh?" Tom asked obliviously, not understanding.

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"Now there's goin' to be two big villages instead of one," Luke replied. "And one of 'em is up to something, I can feel it."

Heidi punched Tom's arm again. "You're a jerk," she stated. "And the best part is you don't even know it."

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Kira sighed, two villages meant more people coming into her forest for food and the whatnot. "More p-people..." she mumbled, sounding a bit upset, since she figured that unlike the other Acer survivors, the Illuminati wouldn't have the decency to stay towards the edges of the forest. Then they might find her, and who knows what would happen from there...

"Don't worry, Kira," Luke replied stoutly, his old protective instinct rising.

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Tom didn't know how to reply to this, completely bewildered, so much so that it was evident on his face.

"What's the matter?" Heidi asked, raising an eyebrow.

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Kira nodded slightly, although she was obviously still worried. She glanced towards the village, before sighing. "Minds a-as well a-ask E-E-Erika for a-another blanket while w-we're here..." she mumbled, remembering her lack of supplies to accommodate two people.

"Sounds good. Do you have to pay for stuff here?" he asked. Generally he just helped the person out in return for some supplies. Or stole them on occasion, he reflected guiltily.

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"Just confused," Tom replied.

"Er-Erika usually lets me have some th-things th-that they don't n-need..." Kira answered a bit ashamedly, feeling a bit as though she was cheating them out of supplies. Then again, though, she didn't chase them out of her forest, did that count as help?

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"It all makes sense to me," Heidi shrugged.

"That's good of her," Luke replied, a hint of ruefulness in his voice. He felt a bit bad for misjudging Erika.

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"Well I s'pose that's one thing," Tom replied, still confused.

Kira nodded. "I-I'm gl-glad she does... I-I h-have trouble m-making cloth still..." she mumbled, looking down at the long brown skirt of her dress. While the color was kind of ugly, she figured one couldn't be picky, plus it worked as a sort of camouflage in the forest.

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"Meh. Race y' back?" Heidi challenged.

"I haven't been able to find clothes the right size since I hit a growth spurt after the tower," Luke replied, who had grown taller somewhere between fifteen and sixteen. "Ah well. I've never really minded."

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"You're on," Tom replied, starting to run even before he told her.

"I-I'm sure Erika'll h-have something th-that'll fit you..." Kira frowned.

---

"Cheater!" Heidi cried out, running after Tom.

"With a bit of luck," Luke shrugged amicably.

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Tom grinned, keeping up the pace.

"Still gonna win," he called back to her.

Heidi sped up, having always been able to run fairly fast, plus her small and rather thin stature made running easier. "Cheaters don't win, Tombo!"

---

"I w-wonder where she is..." Kira trailed off, looking at the gates of the village. She didn't particularly like going in there, but she supposed it had to be done.

Tom was outsped by Heidi, being more of the big and strong than light and speedy type. He did his best to keep up, though.

"Not fair," he panted hypocritically as he came in second.

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"Is there like a town center? She could be there, if she's supposed to be the leader," Luke replied, looking in. He recognised a lot of these faces, and idly wondered how many were living in the town.

"I...I d-dunno..." Kira admitted. "I d-don't come here th-that often...a-and I only stayed h-here a few months b-before I m-moved to m-my forest..."

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"That's what y' get 'fer cheating, Tombo," Heidi replied, walking backwards towards the village gates as she childishly stuck her tongue out at Tom.

"I'll see if I can recognise someone I liked," Luke replied, eyes taking in the scene.

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Tom stopped beside her, hands on his knees.

"You're too speedy..." he replied, almost accusatorily.

"Still the only thing I got runnin' for me," Heidi laughed, not seeming too phased by the running. She paused, looking over to see Luke and Kira standing a little ways away, on the other side of the gate. "Oi, hothead, what'cha doin' here?" she called over.

Kira flinched away upon hearing Heidi's voice. That person was loud, and kind of scary. She inched closer to Luke, so he was between her and Heidi.

"Supplies," Luke replied concisely, noting Kira's discomfort. "Memories too, I suppose."

Heidi sighed, waving them into the village. "C'mon, we'll go t' th' supply shed."

"Cheers," Luke replied, subtly keeping himself between Kira and Heidi. Tom merely followed on silently.

Heidi nodded, taking them to a decent sized building, vaguely resembling a warehouse of sorts. "Here 'y go, take what 'y need," she stated, emphasizing need as she pulled open the large door, revealing the various objects that their scavenging parties had recovered.

"Thanks," Luke said, stepping aside to allow Kira in first. Chivalry aside, she'd know better than him what they needed.