Bircab Collapse Au

[Deathcap]

Raven moved along quietly in formation with his broken up squadron, marching on tiredly. Quiet words murmured through some of  the other soldiers and he looked up. From where he stood on the muddy, torn hill, he could see a collection of old buildings and farms, some more recently constructed from timber and straw, others were old and built from mossy brick. He felt dread weigh him down. Another settlement. At the last one they had made themselves welcome by trampling the crops, taking supplies, and planting the army down in villagers' homes, and in the end it had been thrown stones and shouted words only to be met with fire and guns.

As the army moved in and sat down, soldiers filled up open space and lit fires as the sun lowered in the sky, crowded into the bar and barked at anyone who got in the way. He watched muttering townspeople scatter and try to keep out of the way, but even that wasn't enough. Some of the captains were soon snapping at the residents to have food, to make accommodations; the usual, as if they were obliged to care for the military simply because it could roll over and crush them if it so chose.  He stayed away from the main fire. He didn't want to see Marcel, not now; his friend would be eating the locals' food and drinking the locals' beer and singing with the others. Instead he wandered to the edge of the settlement, treading lightly over the snow and trying to forget the noise behind him in the village as he walked. Raven didn't get far; he had nowhere to go. He stopped where the shadows of the trees merged with the light of the fires, and folded his arms over himself as he stared into the sparse woods. The rifle was cold on his back and the wind bit at his nose and ears, but it still seemed better to him than being with the others.

[FictionalPieces]

Even before the sun had rose into the sky that morning, Kail was out of the confides of the small settlement and into the woods. It wasn't that he disliked the people around him he just felt a little more at ease out in the woods. It was quiet so he had time to think, and he wasn't going to be forced into any awkward interactions with others. Not only all of that, but being out in the forest helped provide not only for himself but the village as well. If he caught anything that was. The snow made hunting harder for the most part. Even if he had gotten use to the sounds it made, and how to step to try and be as silent as he could he still managed to spook any animals off. 
Despite everything that he had to deal with or that could go wrong, it was a lot better than the city by a long run. Things hadn't been too bad until he and his boyfriend had been found out. He was really only certain that the other had been killed due to the fact that he had been a carrier of the illness while the brunet himself wasn't. 

As a small bit of snow fell from a tree and landed a top his head, Kail jumped as he was pulled from his thoughts. He had come out to hunt but he instead had ended up walking lost in thought. 'Not that I would have caught anything anyway...' he thought bitterly towards himself as he started his return home. Kail wasn't exactly to sure how far he had ended up walking. For all he knew it would take him the rest of the day and into the next morning to get home. Thankfully that wasn't the case. By the time he had made it back to the edge of the forest the sky had grown dark. Nearing the edge of the forest, he was rather confused as he picked up on the faint light of some fires. It wasn't until the people in the settlement to light fires outdoors in the summer, but in the winter? Stopping at the tree line he realized that the people surrounding the fires were in fact not the people from the settlement but another group completely. With a furrowed brow, he had been about to quietly head home before seeing something(yeah your future boyfriend) out of the corner of his eyes. Realizing it was a person, who was likely with this strange group, he stood in silence, not to sure if he should carry on or say something. 

[Deathcap]

Raven glanced up quickly as he noted someone approaching. He took a step back and tensed up, not sure if it was another soldier, a villager or... someone else. They didn't look to be armed with anything military issue though, and he relaxed a little, curious. Not that the boy was really any of his concern anyway, but he couldn't help being a little confused. He didn't look like a rough, shaggy-bearded, accented villager, but... there was no way he was from the Union, was he?
If he was, Raven had no intention of doing anything about it anyway.
He awkwardly looked away as the other stood there motionless, and raised his hands in a quiet, passive greeting to let the other know he was aware of him and not an immediate threat so as not to scare the other any more than he already had by standing out here at the edge of the woods in the dark.  He tried to address the other quickly, taking another step back. "Uh- Hello, sorry- I didn't mean to, ah-.." He broke off, uncertain of what he was even saying. He didn't want to get into an fight or something because of all this. He swallowed and quickly composed himself. "I'm sorry if-I was on your land, I was just, erm- our military- we're one of the FL Expeditionary Forces, we moved in to camp here for tonight- so- I'm sorry for any inconvenience." He added honestly, though he wasn't really in a place to make amends on behalf of the others, he was pretty much the lowest rank possible, and the others didn't tend to have any respect for the settlers anyway, but he tried to at least give a formal greeting, and hoped it wouldn't result in an argument.

[FictionalPieces]

Not to sure what to say, Kail stayed where he was, only contributing to the awkward silence that seemed to linger over the two of them. Was there an explanation to why the person was there? Maybe they knew why all these strangers were in the settlement to begin with. As the other raised their hands, Kail tensed a little bit, his hand tightening around the bow he held in his hand before his eyes fell on the gun that hung from the other's back. There was no way that his own bow would do enough damage before the other was able to reach his gun. Not That he'd actually be able to harm another human being. Unclenching his fist a bit, he listened to him speak, tilting his head a bit to the side. The brunet shook his head a bit as the other apologized. Sure his house may have been on the outer edge of houses in the small settlement, but he didn't even think this piece of land was owned by anyone. "It's okay... I Uh... Don't think anyone owns this piece of land... It's just by the trees, and it's not used for farming so...." he said, his voice trailing off a little as he finished his sentence. At least he knew what was going on now. It probably wasn't good news that the group had moved in to make camp. It was hard enough to just get by sometimes during the winter without another, what seemed to be large, group of people. Taking a few steps towards the houses, he glanced over his shoulder "Uh... You may not want to...um stay out here to long..." he suggested. "It gets pretty cold..." He paused, realizing that the other was obviously in the military and was probably use to a lot worse than just some cold temperatures. "Not that you can't if you want to I mean..."

[Deathcap]

Raven noticed the other tense and grew wary. He didn't want to hurt the other, and if the boy drew his bow, his only option would be his rifle. It wasn't something that could be used lightly, and he didn't want to deal with any more violence or bloodshed. He was already terrified that something would go wrong between the villagers and the other soldiers again. At the last settlement, the captains had pushed things too far, and when it had come to an argument fourteen people had been killed, one of them a little child he had seen playing happily moments before.
Raven swallowed as the other shook his head and replied carefully. Raven remained still, listening as the brunet spoke. He nodded, uncertain as the other finished, and glanced down in tired silence as the boy started to leave, heading up past him towards the houses.
He was surprised as the other turned and spoke up again, mentioning the cold and offering advice, and Raven looked back at him in curiosity. He seemed so awkward, but he was being kind, or.. was he afraid?
"I-uh...erm..." He knew it wasn't healthy to stay out here in the cold, especially not when he was sick like this, but he wasn't sure he could take much more of the laughter or noise from the group of soldiers, or any more of Marcel's drunken ''fun''. He just wanted to escape from it all, but it felt like the only way to do that was staying out here, far away from the others and freezing himself numb. As the boy in front of him started to falter and correct his words, Raven spoke hesitantly. "N-no, you're right- I- thank you." The other was right, he knew, about heading back. Maybe he could just avoid Marcel for now.
He walked back, quietly, trying not to bother the boy again. He stayed clear of the fire and it's warmth and rested against an unused looking building. He ended up sitting in the snow and only feeling colder, but it was perhaps safer than the woods. He buried his face in his icy scarf as he tried to stay warm and took a shaky breath, watching the bleary light of the fire through tired, half closed eyes.

[FictionalPieces]

Though he was aware that the group of soilders up the hill probably posed more of a threat than the boy in front of him, he was more worried about the boy. It was likely he would heard any of the soilders coming towards them, where as nothing was really stopping this kid from shooting him if he made the wrong move or said the wrong thing. What was to stop him from encountering the same fate as his boyfriend had? 
Shaking his head a bit as if it would help clear the thoughts of Yuki from his head, he had started to head back up to his house after he had warned the other about the cold. Kail himself wasn't that hungry, but he knew he still had to feed the puppy he had taken in. It hadn't been that long, but the puppy seemed to double in size every few days. He didn't know what he was going to do if he couldn't catch anything when he went hunting. 
The brunet had been about to stop and offer the boy at least a bit of warmth by coming to his house, but he stayed silent. It was a better option than standing out by the forest, and it seemed like the boy didn't want to go near the fires the other soldiers had lit. Walking in silence, Kail kept his gaze towards the ground as he passed the fires in order to get to his house. Carefully opening the door so Haekel couldn't get out, he let out a sigh as he closed the door behind him. As the puppy started to bark at his feet, he bent down and gently scratched behind one of his ears. "I know you have to go out, but we have to wait..." he said softly, standing to his full height once more. Hanging his bow and arrows up by the door, he tried to ignore Haekels whining and scratching at the door as he managed to put together some food for the dog. Setting the bowl down on the floor, he ran his fingers through his hair as he sat on the edge of his bed. Before he knew it, the puppy was once more scratching and whining at the door, either having eaten his dinner extremely quickly or Kail had dozed off to sleep; though he suspected it to be a bit of both. 
With a heavy sigh, Kail walked across the room, placing a hand on the doorknob. "No running off," he muttered as he opened the door and let Haekel out. As soon as the puppy was out the door, it squated to do it's business before taking off. "Haekel!" he called out as he took off after the dog. Noticing the dog headed towards the soldiers at the fire, he flung himself at the dog, landing it dirt as he grabbed the dog. 

[Deathcap]

Raven had started to fall asleep from where he was sitting in the snow, the exhaustion he felt made the cold more bearable, and he was half in and out of murky dreams when he heard quick footsteps. Glancing up quickly, he watched a huge, fluffy puppy streak by, fallowed by the brunet from earlier, crying out what was probably the animal's name. At first he puffed out a breath of cloudy air, relaxing, it wasn't really anything to be concerned about. Then he watched the other tackle the puppy alarmingly close to the fires.
He tensed, watching and suddenly alert as a few heads turned.
he hoped the soldiers around the fire would just ignore the boy. But the other seemed to be only settler around, and had just drawn attention to himself and the tiny dog.
Raven swallowed, getting to his feet. If Marcel was at the fire, they would probably ignore the boy, or pay him no more attention than verbally harassing him if he stayed quiet. If it was Brandt, Lunin, or one of the less... friendly captains, the boy might end up much worse off.
He knew it wasn't going to help much to do anything, and it wasn't his concern, but the other obviously wasn't use to the soldiers, or he would have been more careful than running out after a puppy. And standing out like he was or saying the wrong thing was going to put him in even more danger. Some- most of the soldiers, especially the captains, weren't right in the head, even more so after a drink and with a gun in their hands. He'd seen them brutalize and kill people who were completely uninvolved, or waste ammunition shooting at a stray cat or person who got too close to them.
He saw one of the others stand up with a loud exclamation about something to the group, and his heart dropped in his chest as the he walked towards the fallen boy, trying to make it to the him before something happened. He felt only sicker as he recognized Will Lunin's tall form and yellow hair. The other was no captain, and he had been far more abused by the illness than Raven; the darkness was a compliment to his scarred features, but he wasn't someone to be ignored, either. He had been present in Raven's life since childhood, and he was the last person you would want around a small animal.
Raven quickly put himself in between the brunet and the approaching, half drunk boy, feeling a few curious stares at his back as he did so. He knelt down, as if to help the other pick something up, and met eyes with him. "Are you okay? you should go, now- don't look at them." He said softly, hoping he could diffuse the situation before something happened, and stood back up just as Lunin called out in a raspy voice.
"Hey patches, where you been all night? You got a girl there?" He asked, a disturbing tone in his voice as he shifted, trying to make out the two forms in the dark as Raven stood up, blocking his path to try to let the other get away.
"No, just a villager, let him be-" Raven started before the taller boy moved him roughly out of the way to get a better view. "What the hell is with that?" He asked sort of incoherently in amusement at the dog, gripping Raven's shoulder a little too roughly as he held him to the side.

[FictionalPieces]

Realizing that tackling the dog ha been a bad idea only after it had happened, Kail silently cursed himself. He hadn't wanted to draw attention to himself, which had been why he had tried to grab a hold of the dog in the first place so it wouldn't be harmed, but it had happened anyway. Kail wasn't to sure what to do as he realized some of the soldiers heads had turned to look in his direction. His heart sped up in his chest as he quickly tried to think about what to do. If he just sat here in the dark maybe they'd turn away thinking it was some animal, though he doubted it. He wasn't sure if they'd yell at him or anything of the sort if he stayed. But surely they would do the same thing if he stood and just silently walked away. 
Pulling himself from his thoughts as he noticed that someone was now standing in front of him, the brunet tensed and waited to be shouted at. Calming down a bit when a familiar voice spoke asking if he was okay after kneeling down. He nodded a tiny bit "I..I'm fine..." he replied in a whisper, having realized someone from the fire was making their way towards the two of them. Kail kept a tight hold on the dog so it wouldn't run off again, though it hindered his ability to get up as quickly as he would have liked to. Having just stood up, the boy jumped a little as yet another voice spoke. Holding his breath, he knew that he should just turn around now and return home, though his feet didn't want to cooperate and he stayed rooted to the spot. When the dark haired boy was roughly moved out of the way, Kail hugged Haekal closer to his chest, trying to hold the wriggling puppy still. He opened his mouth to apologize, but quickly shut it as he realized it may not be that smart of a thing to do. After a moment, he took a small step backwards before he slightly bowed "I...I'm sorry.. For Uh... I..interrupting you and the um....others..." he apologized quietly, keeping his gaze down to the ground as he retreated backwards a few more steps. 

[Deathcap]

Raven watched in apprehension as the brunet pretty much stayed where he was, looking scared. Go away, damnit. If he just stayed there, Lunin was going to have his fun with him and the puppy, and that could mean any number of awful things. He twisted out of the other's grip and refused to move, glancing with wide, concerned eyes as the other backed away, apologizing before the blond fallowed with a lurch.
Lunin hesitated at the other's apparent fear, and got a half grin on his freckled face, reaching out suddenly and grabbing the grey of the other's coat to stop him from backing away. "Heh? What're you doing? You can't just walk off after saying hello." He got out, laughing a little too much.
Someone called out from the fire, their voice mixed with a chorus of others. "Billy! Bring the bottle back, hey?!"
Glancing back, Lunin kept his grin and gave the boy in front of him a clumsy shake before staring back at him and the dog. With an idea, he attempted to pull it from the boy's arms roughly. "Look at this!" He shouted back to the others, who weren't paying much attention. "It's a little dog, maybe we could cook this up- there's nothing else good." He chuckled cruelly. He didn't really have any intention to actually eat the animal, he didn't really care about it much at all, but the brunet looked nervous enough that he figured to would be fun to see how much he could scare him.
He looked at Raven and mockingly held the animal out by it's scruff with one hand, the other holding some sort of large bottle. "Looks tasty, huh?" He asked, glaring back at the boy. "You don't mind if we keep it now, do you?"

Taking his chance to interrupt the other from tormenting the Brunet, Raven tensed up and took the bottle from Lunin's raised hand, and trying not to think about the consequences, dropped it to the ground. It broke with a wet crash on the ice and snow, dark, thick liquid spread out over the ground and around Lunin's feet. The blond looked at him, startled, and then angry, letting go of the puppy carelessly, he turned on the other and gripped his scarf and collar.
"What's wrong with you?!" He shouted, his face full of angry sadness, now ignoring Kail as intended, but drawing the attention of some of the other soldiers.
Raven struggled in the other's hold. He felt slightly nauseous, knowing that throwing the only liquor they had on the ground wasn't going to end well in any sense of the word, and he could only hope Marcel was around to save him and that the boy would get out of there before things got worse for him too.
"That was the last I had!" Lunin snapped, so close that Raven could smell his sour breath before the half drunk boy pushed him back.

[FictionalPieces]

As the boy lurched forward towards him, Kail tried to back up quickly to get away from the blond before he was grabbed. His grip tightened on the puppy as his coat was grabbed a hold of. He wasn't so much worried about himself as he was about the puppy. He had been hoping to just grab the dog and return home without being stopped by anyone of the soldiers. The kid was earlier he hadn't been so worried about running into, he didn't seem like someone who was going to harm him simply for running after a dog, but he had had yet to met the rest of the group of soldiers that had arrived earlier that day.
“I.. I really... really need to get back home...” he said quietly, trying to take a step back to get out of the boy's grip. Looking wide eyed over the blond's shoulder to the rest of the group as some voices spoke up. He hoped that he would leave him alone to return back to the group. His attention was turned back towards the blond as he tried to pull the dog from his arms. “H..Hey! Leave him alone!” His heart dropped as Haekel was roughly pulled from his arms, and the blond yelled back to his companions about cooking the puppy up. His eyes started to water, not even sure what to say. He wanted to try and grab the dog from the other's hands as he held in up, but he didn't want to cause any sort of actual fight. The brunet shrunk back a little bit as he was glared at, but wanting to even attempt to speak in fear he was going to actually start crying, or even that his voice was going to start shaking. Though the puppy probably didn't mean much to anyone else in the village or even back in the city, but Haekel was really the only thing he had left.

Kail was shocked as the boy from earlier stepped forward and grabbed the bottle that the other had been holding. He tensed up before Haekel had been dropped, rushing to grab the puppy before it took off. He had been about to turn on his heel and take off home, but he didn't want to just leave the kid to likely be beat up when he had helped him. Looking over his shoulder back towards his house and then back at the two boys, he chewed on his bottom lip. Taking a deep breath, he ran around the corner, carefully throwing the puppy into the house before closing the door. He made his way back to where he had left the two boys, though he stopped just around the corner of one of the buildings. He didn't want to put himself in the middle of a fight, not against someone who could easily harm him, but he didn't want to just leave the boy who had helped him. If he needed help, he'd step in or even offer to give him some bandages or something if he was hurt bad enough.

[Deathcap]

Raven felt a sense of relief as the other managed to take off, and worried more about dealing with Lunin, who he knew wasn't going to just let him off over something like that.

Just trying to protect himself, he tensed up but didn't really fight back when the other attacked him, so that it would be over faster, and Lunin was drunk, so the taller boy didn't break anything more than ribs or hit hard enough to do any serious damage. After roughing the other up and splitting his cheek, Lunin simply seemed to get exhausted, and with the crowd around the fire too tired to get involved or encourage him, the blonde staggered back to the fire after a couple long minuets.
Raven didn't make any sudden move to get up off of the snow after the other was done with him; he had nowhere to go, anyway. He took a heavy breath when the other left him and closed his eyes for a moment, and then hesitantly pushed himself up, holding his chest and letting out a puff of cloudy breath in the cold air. He glanced uncertainty towards the fires, and then started to walk back painfully to where he had been sitting before everything.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail stood up a little bit as the dark haired boy was beat on, about to jump to his defense. He soon shrunk back down behind the corner of the building, not wanting to actually be a part of a fight. It was hard to say how long they were going to be here for so he figured creating anymore tension between the settlers and soldiers was likely a bad idea. 

The brunet continued to watch the fight, though it wasn't really a fight where the other wasn't fighting back. He watched closely as the blond seemed to get tired of the boy before he left all together. Kail stayed where he was for a moment, not wanting to draw anymore attention to himself or the other. He felt bad enough as it was that the kid had gotten beaten up because of those goddamn bankshim. When he stood up and slowly made his way away from the fires,
Kail hesitated a bit. He didn't want to frighten him. Before he approached him, Kail headed back to his house quickly. He figured that the other must be hungry. Lord knew the last time any of the soldiers had eaten before arriving here in the village. Carefully wrapping up some bread and a piece of left over meat, he headed back out. He just hoped the other didn't mind not having any utensils to eat the food with. Approaching the male slowly, he cleared his throat a little bit to try and get his attention instead of just speaking. 

[Deathcap]

Jfc

Raven slumped down against the brick again quietly, shutting his eyes, his arms wrapped around himself before he heard a voice. He jumped and tensed up, looking up to the source of the sound in worry. As he moved quickly, he winced, feeling a sharp pain in his side.
He looked back at the boy from before, worried. He didn't see the other's dog, and felt certain that the puppy had been wounded or something, and watched other quietly.
Not noticed the only thing in the boy's hand was bread. Raven warily relaxed a little, still uncertain of the other's intentions, and not overly trusting Of the bank He cupped a hand to the bloody cut on his cheek, trying to wipe clean the stinging abrasion with embarrassment.
"H-hello... I'm sorry... about what Billy did to you. Are you both okay?" He asked softly, getting to his feet to talk to the boy properly.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail blinked and took a small step back as he watched the dark haired boy jump and move around quickly. He felt bad, having not meant to scare the boy in Thr first place. He had tried to help him get away before any of the others had come over, Kail had just been stupid enough to stay put. 
Noticing that the boy had looked back at him, Kail raised his hands in attempt to come off as harmless, to try and show the other it was okay to trust him and not the banks. He wasn't really to sure what to say now. He could certaintly just pass the food to him and leave without saying anything, but of course the boy had asked him a question. He nodded a little bit "W...we're both fine..." he answered after a moment. "Haekels a little shaken up... but I guess that's to be expected..." he spoke quietly, glancing back to the food in his hand. "I Uh... I wasn't to sure if you had eaten... And I Uh.. This was just some left over if you wanted it..." he said as he held the food out in offering. 

[Deathcap]

Raven glanced at the boy, nodding and glad that the two were okay. ~for buttneigh~ ever since the government had banned memes and joined the bank, no one had been safe. Even people who had looked at memes, or harmlessly encouraged memes about the Govener, they had all disappeared along with the memes they so loved. No one really knew if the it was the government, or the bank doing the dirty work. He'd seen Lunin go after others, though they were usually older, feeble villagers or girls too young for him; anyone he thought he could overpower, and it had sometimes escalated to the point where his victim ended up injured or severely traumatized. A month ago, one of the captains had found a dead older man that Lunin and another had brutalized for fun, but it had been waived off like nothing.
He felt confused and glanced up as the other offered him something to eat. "O-oh- I... thank you, but that's alright." He replied softly, shocked. With winter coming on, he didn't understand why the other would offer him food he surely needed. He wondered again if the other was from somewhere else; he didn't seem like a settler who'd had to deal with the destructive military coming through his home ever year, though, he didn't think it smart to ask.
Uncertain of what to say with the two of them just standing there, he offered his hand, looking sheepish. "Uhm- I'm Raven, er, Walker-" He tried hesitantly. Finding it difficult to make eye contact with the brunet... He felt like he'd lost the ability to speak when he looked at the other. He immediately regretted the action; why would the boy want to talk to him of all people, in the bitter cold in the middle of the night? The other had taken pity on him, that was all, it hadn't been an invitation to friendship. He was felt an idiot for assuming the other even wanted to know his name.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail stood in a bit of an awkward silence after he had offered the other the food. He wasn't going to force the boy to take it if he really didn't want it. He wasn't sure if the other had gotten a chance to eat before he had returned to the town or what. He doubted it though. He blinked a bit and nodded "I...it's really fine...You need to eat too..." he said softly, dropping his hand back to his side so it wasn't left extended. It wasn't really the fact that he couldn't use the food; he could feed it to Haekel or keep it for himself, or even give it to another villager if he didn't want it, but the other also had tried to help him get away from the banks blond kid from earlier.
Blinking as Raven offered his hand to him and introduced himself. He watched the other's hand for a moment, not exactly sure if he should take the other's hand and shake it or what. He hesiated for a moment before he carefully took a hold of Raven's hand and shook it slightly "I..It's nice to meet you...I'm Kail...Kail Zarrack..." he replied, offering him a faint smile.

[Deathcap]

Raven was a little suprised as he insisted that he could have the food. Why was the boy being so kind to him. His well being didn't have anything to do with the brunette.He nodded as the other gave his name as well, even smiling a little. "..Y-you too." He got out sheepishly, glancing up as he drew back, though he couldn't bring himself to smile back; he felt far too awkward now, shivering out here in the dark with someone he didn't know and probably wouldn't talk to again. "No, it's okay, you keep it... we have rations, so..." He trailed off. They weren't really food, more of a nutrient powder laced with medicine for the illness, but it was all he and many of the other ill soldiers could stomach, and it kept them going enough to get their job done. The thought of real food was tempting, but he knew he would just make himself sick, and he was sure the boy needed it more anyway.  "I- It's very kind of you, but I'm Never gonna give you up, Never gonna let you down, Never gonna run around and desert you, Never gonna make you cry, Never gonna say goodbye, Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you alright." He added softly. He didn't know what else to say. The other seemed friendly, but nervous, and he didn't want the make the other upset or any more worried. Maybe it would just be best to go back to sleep in the snow at this point, as cold as he was. He spoke up again, hesitantly. "The- we'll be moving out in a couple days, I think. I- I wouldn't get close to the others. I- I don't know if you're from around here, or if you've had to deal with them before, but most of them are much worse than the boy who went after your dog... I don't mean to be rude- I just- just to be safe." He said with honest concern for the other.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail nodded a little bit, looking around as they seemed to fall into an awkward silence. When the food was brought up once again, his brow furrowed a little snit(snail bit) before he nodded. “The offer'll still stand. Just get it before the banks do,” he said quietly, glancing down towards the ground. He wasn't even sure if they would come this way to attempt and steal the little money that the people may have had out here. All he knew that no one was safe. “Sorry I don't have any utensils though...I don't even have any dry cereal...” God he hoped the other wasn't uncomfortable eating with his hands if the food was anything but dry cereal. Unless that was just something he had a problem with. Either way, it probably wasn't something that he should be worrying about that much. “Anyway, here's Wonderwall...” he muttered, wrapping his arms around himself a little bit. He debated on offering the other a place to stay for the night. He was sure that the other soldiers would demand the villagers for places to sleep, if they hadn't already. “Such cold, much snow, so dark, wow!” he said softly, just before the other had started to talk about the group likely moving out in a few days. “Are they black and blue, or white and gold?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. Kail nodded, chewing on the inside of his cheek. “You're not being rude, don't worry.... it's just that feel when no bf” he said with a small shrug. “I'll deal with them if they try again... Don't believe me, just watch. As long as their hips don't lie.” Glancing over his shoulder back the way he had come, he turned his attention back to Raven once more “I.. if you needed a place to stay, you can have an extra hour in the ball pit...."
((Okay so I'm still a huge butt, I'll write a legit reply later that isn't so memed and makes so sense))

[Deathcap]

(So, moving on again haha. This is set a little while later in the plot
raven and kail know each other somewhat from the settlement, maybe other encounters, idk. So, winter, soldiers are all over the place and attacking anyone that has anything to do with the union or the organization.)

Raven trudged stubbornly through the snow, fighting against the bitter gusts of wind and ice. He'd taken off his scarf to wrap the small bundle in his arms, trying desperately to keep it warm. It was tucked carefully into his coat, but he was plastered with packed snow; his hair was frosted and clumped, and most of his body had gone numb with the cold. He wasn't sure how long he had been walking, or exactly where he was anymore. If he didn't find somewhere safe soon, it would be too late.
Pushing on and narrowing his eyes against the wind, he tried to s through the blinding white and caught the shadowy form of buildings stretching up through the the snow.
He stumbled, but kept going, shutting his eyes and trying to concentrate. The small form in his arms was motionless now, and the panic he felt was all that kept him going. He knew wandering into a settlement was suicide; they were no friend of the military and lately it had just gotten worse, but he had no choice now. If this was the last thing he did, if he was at least if he could keep it safe, then at least his death might be worth something.
As he reached the buildings the wind didn't sway him so much, cut off by the brick and wooden walls, but he could barely walk. He was out in the open, and he was half aware of others nearby him. He heard voices, but couldn't make out the words.
The boy attempted to speak, to ask for help, but he couldn't get anything out, and he felt weakness overwhelm him for a moment. The next thing he knew he was laying on his side. He glanced to a set of boots in front of him, heard someone else, and caught the sound of a gun clicking near him but was too exhausted to do anything.

[FictionalPieces]

It wasn't his first winter, or at least first winter in general. But it was his first winter within the settlement. Maybe the season had been as harsh previous years, but it was a lot more noticeable now that he was away from the city. Either way, it seemed impossible to stay warm. Food was even harder to find than it had been before the winds and snow had picked up. It was tough trying to find enough food for himself, let alone for the puppy, who wasn't so puppy-sized anymore. Any food that he did get went to Hekel to make sure he was fed. Anything left over that the dog wouldn't need was really all he got. Though it had been a while since the group of soldiers had left, they had taken a toll on the villagers food supply. 
Most of Kails days were spent curled up with Hekel in attempts to stay warm, even if it were just for a little bit. The dog needed it's excersise which meant he had to follow him outside on a daily basis. He didn't trust some of the other people in the settlement so he wasn't going to just let Hekel wander around by himself when anger and hunger was high. He didn't want to take the chances. 

Having just settled down with the dog after taking him out, Kail had been about to close his eyes before he heard something going on outside. It was likely a fight over food, or someone accusing someone of something else. Either way he figured it may be wise to check it out. Signaling for Hekel to stay put, he stood and grabbed his bow and quiver just in case something else was going on. 
From where he stood, all he could really see was a few people standing around and someone laying on the ground. Gripping tightly onto his bow, he slowly headed towards the group to see what was going on exactly. Had someone been killed?
Kail opened his mouth to ask what was going on before he recognized the boy on the ground. What was he doing back here? Slinging his bow over one of his shoulders, he took a step forward and gently nudged the barrel of the gun on the opposite direction "I'll handle it from here..." he muttered before turning to kneel in front of Raven. Noticing the baby, he frowned and glanced over his shoulder. "Does someone want to look after the child..?" he questioned softly. "I don't think it made it..."

[Deathcap]

As the blurry form of another knelt down beside him, Raven strained to hold on to consciousness. He felt a pang of recognition as he heard the boy's voice. Kail? Though, in his exhausted state he wasn't quite sure what the name meant. He shook his head weakly, holding the child closer to him protectively, his trembling hand carefully holding it's head. "D-don't hurt her-" He got out, barely loud enough to be heard. "please- she needs to stay warm" The boy pleaded softly, trying to move and looking up at the brunet in desperation, his eyes teary as he searched for some hint of understanding on the other's face.

As Kail moved his gun away, one of the men took a step back, angry. "What do you think you're doing?" He demanded. "That's a soldier- I want him out of here before more show come looking for him! It's not our fault he got lost in the storm!" He stated angrily. Another quickly backed him up, pushing past the first man easily. "Oh no, no more of them eating our food, sitting in our fields there's barely enough to go around as it is and what do you plan to do, bring that back into our homes?! Get rid of him!" He snapped at the other, but his voice was torn away by the howling wind. Some murmured something about the baby, a few were confused, but most already wanted to go back to their houses, away from the bitter cold.

[FictionalPieces]

Kail placed a gentle hand on Raven's shoulder as he spoke. "No one will hurt her," he promised quietly. He didn't think that the other had realized that the young child had frozen to death. He nodded a little bit as the other looked up at him "She'll be taken care of, I promise." He didn't actually know how the villagers would handle the small child for the time being. There was to much snow and the ground was to frozen to bury it. About to try and take the baby from him to pass to a villager, he let out a sigh instead as one of the villagers spoke up. 

Standing up, he turned to face the man, standing protectively in front of the male laying on the ground. "Soldier or not, I plan on helping him," he said, frowning. He didn't want to start a fight, but he wasn't going to just let the others leave the boy for dead. "If the others were going to come looking for him, they would have found him by now. And if he was lost, I'm sure he would have noticed something that looked familiar that could have told him he was going the wrong way." He glanced at Raven over his shoulder before at the second man to step forward. "I'll look after him, okay? I don't expect anyone to give up what little food they already have in order to feed him, and he wouldn't expect it either. So please, just someone take the child and then we'll be out of your way."

[Deathcap]

(OMG WHAT'S THIS? BRITTNEY IS DOING THE THING? OMG)

A few people grumbled, the man who had originally yelled took a step forward but another behind him caught his shoulder, stopping him. "Let's just get back inside, if the kid wants to freeze himself out here it's his problem, John."
A few people turned to head back to where they had been, others were suspicious and watched quietly.After a few moments a woman in gear stepped forward at Kail's request, and bent down to take the child. The boy resisted at first, having a death grip on the small bundle. She made eye-contact with him, and he hesitated before she was able to move his hands away and stand up, wondering how a soldier had ended up alone in the middle of nowhere with a frozen infant. She didn't think she wanted to know the answer. "This is on your head if you plan on letting this go. They aren't going to put up with a soldier living and breathing on their land. Not after what they've done to us. I hope you realize that before you get hurt." She warned Kail, not cruelly, but in order to make sure he understood.

Raven lay still after the child had been taken. He was still trying to grapple with what had been said. He could only hear half of what was going on, he was so exhausted, but he knew somewhere in him that the child didn't need to be kept warm anymore, and he could feel himself falling apart inside as he tried to deny what he knew. He had nothing left in him to cry, to shout or think, he just felt anguish fill him up as he lay there.
He didn't want help, he just wanted this to be over, he just wanted to stop being a part of this damned world.
He didn't look at the boy, this boy who was trying to save him. He just kept his eyes shut and stopped trying to block out the cold and pain. It was over now, he hadn't made it, he didn't care anymore.

[Deathcap]

(Okay So apparently things are just going to get worse from here but here we go)

Horatio swung his hatchet with deadly force at the first scavenger they caught up with, driving him to the ground with a second swing and a kick despite the other's resistance, and leaving him, stepping over the body and lunging at the next, knocking them off-balance enough to send them staggering. As the other bandits caught up with the second scavenger, he teetered aside from the struggle to pursue the last two males trying to make their escape. They couldn't afford to loose the two and the supplies they likely carried, but he didn't want to waste the valuable bullets in his rifle. He charged after the closer one, a brunet, and shouldered him roughly to the ground, kicking the other hard and pinning him to get a better aim at him with the axe.
The two other raiders had already dispatched the first two scavengers, and hurried to catch up with their leader.

Raven, a bit back from Horatio and his two raiders, trailed sheepishly away from the fight, sickened as the rank smell of blood filled the air. He knew better than to resist Horatio or to interfere with his exploits, but he couldn't stand the fights and tried to close himself off from the noise and sight of it without directly disobeying the other. He silently prayed for the two to outrun Horatio, and felt distress as the brunet was taken down, but knew he couldn't do anything to help them.

[FictionalPieces]

((When don't they olive))

Kail tried his hardest to keep up with the other male, chest heaving as he tried to keep his breath. He couldn't even remember how they had gotten to that point, being chased by the other men, but all he was concerned about now was getting out of there; which was proving to be a bit more difficult than he thought. Falling a bit behind Yuki, he was taken off-guard as he was shoved to the side. He let out a small cry of pain as one of his shoulder blades slammed against a rock. Yuki had turned around to see what had happened to his boyfriend only to see they had been caught. He attempted to duck out of the way before he was kicked and pinned down, heart racing as he stared up in disbelief. Of course he would much rather himself be harmed and let Kail get away, but that was if the brunet would get up and start running.
When his vision finally cleared and he realized the Yuki hadn't been able to get away and that the other two had caught up with them, he froze in terror. There was no way they were getting out of this, but he couldn't just sit there either and watch someone so close to him be killed in front of him.  Without thinking it through, he jumped up and tried to shove the man away "Get away from him!" he yelled, hands clenching into fists.

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