One More Day

[adrianestrada-survives]

Music Therapy || Roxy & Adrian

[adrianestrada-survives]

roxy-robert·:

roxy nodded, listening intently, unaware of adrian’s lie. “yeah, it’s still chilly out there,” she replied, still embracing the dark body of the guitar with a light touch. her fingers stank of steel, and the tips were tinged a graphite gray from playing so long. how long had she been there, playing alone? she often lost track of time these days, only having a general sense of time from the meal bells. the days were sluggish and like clockwork, and as they melded together, roxy sometimes found herself losing track of the days as well. if the children didn’t show up at the schoolhouse by 8 am, roxy just assumed that it was the weekend. she’d ought to make a calendar, but had been pushing it off.

to his question, she just smiled. adrian was always working in the field, and likewise, she was always doting around somewhere near the school with her guitar. in truth, she, too, had been looking for an escape from the cold. “i sometimes like to stay a little after they leave, just in case someone forgets something,” she answered sweetly.

she hardly wanted to admit that she had almost nothing else to do. practicing in the makeshift classroom felt much less lonely than practicing in her less-than-stately cabin. at least here, there was the off-chance that someone would stop by. it seemed those odds were in roxy’s favor that day.

“did you need something, then?” roxy asked. usually if people dropped by, they were looking for a book, or maybe some extra chairs. “i hope you’re not about to ask me to dig up some potatoes today,” she half-joked, brandishing her stinging fingers in front of her face with a graceful wave.

Adrian’s head darted towards one of the windows and nodded again, slowly. “Yeah... It’s not getting any better. Maybe I should take the rest of the day off,” he said, inwardly cursing at himself for not being able to get off the topic of weather. He used to be charismatic, he was pretty sure? “I hear they’re not picking up much medicine on their runs, so if I catch a cold, I’m probably screwed. And anyone eating my crops.” Talking about another deadly pandemic? Definitely worse than the weather talk. 

He wasn’t sure what time it really was and couldn’t really catch Roxy in her lie either. They were all suffering from loneliness, and it was such an everyday thing that people either quietly accepted it or just flat-out ignored it. 

When she asked him her own question, Adrian felt nervous. He didn’t want to leave just yet. Leaving meant walking in circles all over again, slowly making his way back to the field before getting kicked out a second, third, maybe even fourth or fifth time. But he couldn’t quite find an excuse. “Uh, well... I was just trying to find my binder,” Adrian joked, or attempted to at least. 

He moved closer and sat down when Roxy revealed her raw hands. “May I?” he asked, motioning his own larger, thick, tanned hands towards hers to survey carefully. As his brown eyes scanned over the red skin, Adrian grimaced. “Ay dios mio, maybe we should get you digging up potatoes. Your skin would be rough and calloused already like mine.” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

secondsonya·:

the latest hunts had bored sonya out of her mind: fruitful in game, but not in walkers. she had taken no interest in killing deer or trying to fish–her real pleasure came from killing what was already dead. the few dead they had occasionally encountered were often too slow, anyway. their food rations weren’t too bad, and hopefully with adrian’s sprouting roots, they would be set for the rest of the winter.

with no zombies to slay, and the threat of starvation hopefully solving itself, sonya felt useless. sitting on one of the benches near the mess hall, she watched as people filtered in and out. spying a familiar face trodding towards the dining area, presumably for lunch, sonya stood up, long legs closing the distance between them. she had already started shrugging off her winter coat, casting it aside once she was within arm’s reach of them.

“forget everything you’re doing,” she said, tone devoid of humor. “we’re going to spar. right now.” hunching over and raising her fists, sonya gave a ‘come here’ motion, hoping they’d accept her invitation.

Adrian was just trying to go about his day. He’d been skipping lunches lately, trying to help with the rations. It made him feel a little bit better that he was helping in a guaranteed way, rather than the crops, which were unpredictable. So far, everything was growing fine. He seemed to have chosen the right things, and since they were just root plants, they weren’t even that fussy. Most of it was keeping pests and the cold away. And while normally he would be in the field at this time of day, Adrian had actually skipped breakfast on accident. He’d woken up too late. He couldn’t skip two meals, he knew his body wasn’t capable of that much with all the energy he expended. 

Much to his disappointment, someone stopped him. Adrian’s stomach growled just as Sonya called for him, and the farmer scrunched his face together in confusion. “The fuck we are,” he replied, grumpily, “If you want to hit something, go find a corpse. Or a tree.” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

Music Therapy || Roxy & Adrian

[adrianestrada-survives]

roxy-robert·:

roxy looked up from where she was perched atop the oak desk, sitting on one of her folded legs while the other had been dangling, swinging in time with every soft strum that emitted from the beat up instrument. it wasn’t hers–she had found it among some of the miscellaneous other belongings that were in the storage closet in the back of the classroom. back in the day, it would surely have been a beautiful instrument… if she hadn’t found it when she did, it would have made a great meal for the termites.

the last chord of ray lamontagne’s “trouble” still rang in the air as she met eyes with adrian. “thank you,” she said humbly, though her eyes were wide with surprise. roxy was neither shy nor arrogant when it came to music: she had outgrown stage fright many a year ago. she, however, was surprised to see the head farmer so far away from the fields that he had been tending to so feverishly the last few weeks.

folding her hands into eachother, roxy bit hard into the flesh in her cheek as she felt her raw fingertips brush against the skin of her other hand. leaning over the top of the guitar, she gave a sweet smile. roxy shifted her weight from one leg to the other, pulling up the one that was dangling so that she could cross them both under her. “what’cha doin’ over here?” she asked, brow raised. “that bored of your potatoes already?”

Adrian slowly made his way into the room, each step almost asking for permission. Even though it’d almost been a year with this group, there were still rooms like this that were completely unfamiliar. Adrian was afraid that his intrusion into what very much felt like Roxy’s domain might be akin to someone coming in and stepping all over his vegetables. 

He smirked at the mention of the potatoes. “I’ll never get bored of potatoes, trust me,” Adrian replied, shoving his hands into his pockets. Should he admit that he got kicked out by his helpers? That he was stressing them all out with his own anxiety that they couldn’t bear to be around him anymore? Adrian thought better of it. “I just... Was getting cold. Thought I might warm up inside for a while before I head back out there.” 

“What are you doing here without the, uh, kids?” Adrian asked. Maybe I’m not the only one obsessed with work around here, he thought to himself. 

[adrianestrada-survives]

( oscar isaac ) adrian velasquez estrada, 38, head farmer. He used to be a restaurant owner before the outbreak. He has been at the camp for seven months. He is called the resident grump.

+ Passionate, Kind, Loyal - Stubborn, Blunt, Hot-headed

DATE OF BIRTH: November 14th HOMETOWN: New York City, NY LIVING RELATIVES: None.  LIKES: Spices, the noise of a crowd, long drives, the feeling of wet soil between his fingers, rainy weather, Cholula. DISLIKES: Arrogance, bullying, blueberries, Tabasco, most perfumes, and tulips. MOST HAPPY MEMORY: Thanksgiving 2018. It was the first time his parents and sister made the cross-country trip to him and his wife after they moved to Portland. All of them cooking and laughing together, showing them his new business and beautiful home... He’d never seen them so proud of him. Unfortunately, it was also the last time they were all together before everything went bad.

BEFORE THE APOCALYPSE

Adrian’s parents fled Mexico when his mother was still pregnant with him, alongside his 3-year old sister. They settled where most immigrants did: New York City, and in that bustling city that never slept, Adrian was born. He grew up in the colorful neighborhood of the Bronx, a cultural hub for the urban street youths. Adrian’s mother ran an under-the-table tamale business, and she turned her 11-year old son into her delivery boy. It instilled a strong work ethic early on, as well as a passion for food. 

When he got older and his mother started working from an actual legal stand in Times Square, no longer needing her boy, he started working in kitchens and attended culinary school as soon as he was out of high school. He was an executive chef by the time he was 30 years old, but Adrian didn’t think he could actually own his own restaurant until he met his future wife, Nikki, at a community event his restaurant owner was running at a local soup kitchen. She was a regular volunteer, and it was practically love at first sight. Without a family of her own in the big city, Adrian and the Estradas became the family and security she’d always wanted. And to Adrian, she was the cheerleader he’d never had, who always encouraged him to dream bigger, eventually convincing him he could be a successful business owner. 

And so they moved west. Adrian was able to buy a nice home in Portland, Oregon, with the picket fence and yard Nikki wanted to use for her garden and chickens. He opened up his own Latin restaurant and flourished. Adrian was on top of the world and happier than he’d ever imagined he could be. 

AFTER THE APOCALYPSE

Adrian and Nikki had two very different reactions when they realized what was happening. Watching people attacking each other on the news, and seeing it start to affect their own little city, they had two options: run or stay. Nikki wanted to stay. She argued that they could live off the chickens and their eggs and her garden, that Portland and Oregon itself weren’t densely populated enough to be as terrible as what they were hearing from Los Angeles and New York City. But Adrian insisted they leave. He wanted to find his parents and his sister, insisted. He argued that home wasn’t home without them. 

So they left. They packed up their chickens and got into a truck. The airports were overrun, and their only option was to drive. It took four days of near-constant driving and breaking into abandoned homes to get a few hours of sleep each night. The entire time, Nikki tried telling Adrian that the risk was too much, but he didn’t listen. Not until they reached the highways blocked with abandoned cars and corpses littering the streets. Not until he saw his own neighborhood and half of New York City up in smoke from military attempts to bomb what was left of the mobs of Undead. 

As they tried to escape and figure out what their next move was, Nikki was bitten and infected. Unable to kill his wife in cold blood, Adrian left her in an abandoned building while she slept, kissing her on the forehead and promising to come back and find her when there was a cure.  

After her death, he just drove. Drove until he found a group that told him about the Camp. Adrian was able to barter his way in with Nikki’s chickens and his knowledge on growing crops. He put himself to work quickly and became Head Farmer, throwing himself into his work and new cause to keep his mind off of what he did, and the thought of an undead Nikki looking for him. 

[adrianestrada-survives]

Music Therapy || Roxy & Adrian

Adrian was usually allowed to take at least a day off once a week. He never did use it though, playing a helicopter parent to his crops and animals while the extra workers went about trying to fill in for him. The head farmer was sure that they hated these days the most, with him constantly behind them telling them what minute detail they’d forgotten, how they could improve, and depending on how foul his mood was, berating them on perceived failures. Today, he’d been pushed out, his coworkers insisting that he take a break and essentially banning Adrian from going outside. 

Relax. How was he supposed to do that with so many hungry mouths depending on him? Rest. How was he supposed to cat nap when anytime Adrian slept, he had nightmares that made him twist in his sheets and wake up with a cold sweat? 

For now, he was practically just pacing back and forth around the camp, exploring rooms Adrian had never thought to step foot in before. Everyone else was going out about their days, seeming so useful, and for one of the first times since joining the camp, he just felt... Lost. Useless. And then he heard the sounds of guitar strings. Following the sound, Adrian found himself at the door frame of the classroom, hands crossed over his chest. He leaned against the frame and listened to the soft sounds quietly, closing his eyes for a long moment. 

“Finalmente...” Something to distract from the screaming. His eyes opened when he realized he’d spoken, Adrian’s eyes meeting Roxy’s. He ducked his head, embarrassed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. It, uh... It was good. You were good.”  

[adrianestrada-survives]

roxy-robert·:

roxy smiled brilliantly, her eyes lighting up at his response.·“brilliant!” she exclaimed, looking out once again at the crops that were popping out their little green heads.

at his insistence that she take his coat, she shook her head humbly. she ate less at meals because she had no need for any egregious amounts of energy like the hunters and laborers of the camp, and this was no different.·“thank you,” she said with a bow of her head. meeting adrian’s eyes with her own, she added, with confidence:·“you need the extra coat. i’m inside all day, but you’re out here working to feed all of us.” her tone was thoughtful, kind. there was no need to spare her a coat when she’d be heading off to her own quarters soon.

arms still crossed, she nudged the head farmer with a grin.·“so, when do they start?”

He cocked an eyebrow. “But we’re both outside now,” Adrian pointed out, but she seemed set on it. With a sigh, he shrugged his jacket back on, knowing that his mother would have slapped him upside the head if she ever saw him let a young woman stand in the cold without insisting she take his coat. “Maybe the zombie apocalypse is when chivalry really does die. Come on, let’s go inside.” 

Walking side by side, Adrian smiled softly at Roxy’s beaming, hopeful face. Could someone really get that excited about making scarecrows? Or was that just how the world worked now that there was no internet or reality TV? “I’m going to get some supplies together, but maybe in a couple of days?” Adrian replied, “It looks like the weather’s only getting colder, so I’m trying to figure out a way to keep the animals and plants from freezing. After that, scarecrows are the primary focus.” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

roxy-robert·:

roxy smiled, nodding at the pointillism of green that speckled her vision. the sprouting tops of the plants were hard to miss in the landscape of soil. “rooting for the potatoes,” she emphasized, unaware of whether the pun was intentional or not. “good one.”

“i’m sure that they kids would be happy to spare their old clothes, though,” she added. “it could be a little art project for them. i’m sure you could use some extra hands on deck, too.” she crossed her arms as a gust blew by, and flyaway locks of hair whipped out of her hastily tied bun. “i was hoping to teach them something more than just how to read and write, anyway.”

He blinked, not realizing he’d just made a pun. “Oh, don’t give me the credit on that one,” Adrian chuckled softly, “I’m only funny on accident.” He had a sense of humor before. Before all of this. It only came out in brief spurts these days, mostly when Adrian was trying to hide the fact that he was worried he’d fail his job. 

Roxy’s idea was brilliant. This entire time, Adrian had been trying to figure out where in his day he was going to negotiate getting the supplies and then take away the workers from their other everyday duties. “Actually, that’d be great. It’d be nice for the kids to get a taste of work, too,” Adrian replied, remembering his own youth working with his mother, “If you’re sure the supplies can be spared -- it looks like you need an extra coat yourself.” Adrian nodded towards Roxy’s crossed arms, the wind blowing small wisps of hair around her face. He started to shrug off his own coat. “Here, take mine. A returned favor for letting me steal your class away for work.” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

emergencyprotocols·:

    “Yep, I’m always serious. Serious’s my middle name, mister.” she was largely playing with him, as evidenced by the smile on her face.  Pressing her lips together, she delicately furrowed her eyebrows, unreadable thoughts flashing across her face as she considered his question; it wasn’t that she didn’t wanna help feed the pigs– Liz was not scared of getting her hands dirty; she was self-reliant, strong willed; she had been on a farm before, she knew her way around a shovel– cleaning, planting, filling in mud holes and turning the soil; she just didn’t like bonding with them because she hated the thought that they were, eventually going to be slaughtered for food; it made her sick, thinking about it– it was ironic, really– a bad joke, she thought; they were food for the dead, and yet, here they were, eating flesh, themselves: it just didn’t make sense to her; never had, and never would.  Then again, it’d be better to help him feed them– give them a little love, spend a little time petting them, making sure they were clean and nice and comfortable in their pen before they grew fat enough for slaughter– and even though the thought turned her stomach, she cared more about doing her part and offering every last ounce of help she could, both to their little community, and the animals themselves,  than herself and her own personal comfort– she wasn’t a damn baby, she would suck it up and handle it; it was the least she could do, for them.   “I mean… we could do both…” she ultimately decided, delicately shrugging a shoulder as she reached over and swiftly snatched up his binoculars, smiling cheekily. “Unless you’re too tired to handle more than a task a day, old man.” she joked. 

“Yeah, and ‘bullshit’ is my middle name,” Adrian chuckled. He was a little surprised to see that Liz actually wanted to help him. He assumed she was too busy with her own stuff, and Adrian was used to just working with the regular camp worker bees. His mouth dropped slightly at her joke, especially from how quickly she’d gotten his binoculars. She’s got the street skills of a Bronx native, he thought to himself. Adrian swiped them back from Liz with a playful glare. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?” he asked, “Now, follow me before you change your mind.” 

He always took care of the animals first. When Adrian was working on the crops, he could sometimes zone out and take too long. Adrian walked towards the animals’ pen until they got to the feeding station. “We’ve got seeds and crackers for the chickens, and table scraps for the others,” he explained, “We have to be careful about rationing. Every chicken gets about a half of a cup of food. The pigs get about 5lbs of food.” He’d read that the animals technically needed a little more, but it was what they could spare at the moment. 

Adrian used a nearby bucket to scoop out enough food for the pigs. Knowing exactly what he was up to, the pigs excitedly snorted at him and crowded around the fence where he stood. The farmer gave a couple of them gentle pats on their heads. Adrian wasn’t completely squeamish about befriending his food, but it was still something he hadn’t gotten completely used to. Their bristly skin was cold to the touch; he’d have to set up some blankets for them, at least until they could work on a better shelter. “Did you ever work with animals?” Adrian asked, looking back at Liz with a smirk, “Or are you just here for me?” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

xnicholaslancaster·:

“—I meant..to make scarecrows…” he elaborates, casually, “not to make the clothing yourself.” even if that was what he had meant, he was pretty sure that Adrian hardly had the time to sew. just the animals alone needing to be cleaned and fed were enough to keep one busy. the thought made him grimace inwardly; all those poor beings being raised just to provide for them, a matter of survival now, more than it had ever been before. regardless, when it came to scarecrows someone had to assist him with setting up the scarecrows to keep their crops safe, and Nicholas was fairly certain that their Head Farmer was more than capable of finding someone willing to do that job.

the answer to his previous question pulled him out of the train of thoughts. “cauliflower?” it wasn’t really a question, much more like him just repeating it for affirmation. good, they were at least going to have cauliflower everything these months, better than nothing. “if we could make garlic bread, that wouldn’t be so bad…” he laughed, though it was void of any real emotion. “anything we can do more so they won’t freeze overnight?” the leader questioned a moment later, adding a “the temperature seems like it’s gonna drop pretty damn low in the following days.” so the crops freezing over was a major threat, much more like the birds ruining the plants or the seeds.

Why? How are the rest of the supplies going? Adrian asked him and he kept his gaze overlooking the farmlands. “could be better.” he replied, honestly. “we will venture further out on tomorrow’s run…and we will probably get better luck.” or that is what there was hoping for upon deciding to go further. “winter is tough.” Lancaster added a moment after, as a matter of fact, “so we gotta preserve, do what we can till spring.”

Adrian smiled at the thought of garlic bread. “And this is why you’re the boss,” he replied, “You have all the good ideas. You know eventually, I’d like to look into making a mill. I don’t know how any of that shit works, but I’m game to try.” It was nicer to look towards the future, rather than dwelling on the past, and as much as his job sometimes overwhelmed him, Adrian saw so much promise in that field. And in this community, really. 

Although his smile died at the mention of the weather getting colder. “Back in the day, I know California used to keep their orange groves warm with torches being lit outside?” Adrian suggested. Honestly, he knew about it from a movie he’d watched, but the concept seemed simple enough. “But it would make us more visible at night, might be a security risk. For the most part, the crops I have now are meant for cold weather. They should be fine, but I’ll keep watch.” 

Though Nicholas’ answer seemed reassuring at first, Adrian couldn’t help but focus on the “probably.” He nodded. “We still have some stuff from summer. We’ll have to get better about canning, but... It’s fine. Look at this as a test: if we can get through our first winter, it’s nothing but smooth sailing.” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

roxy-robert·: 

“THAT WOULD DEFINITELY BE A SIGHT,” said the teacher, squinting to see what exactly adrian was peering at. her eyesight was just short of terrible, and even with her glasses on, much of the world seemed to go in and out of focus.

“i had actually hoped that we could use some of those supplies for one of the kids that just hit her first growth spurt, so you may yet have to fend off those birds yourself,” she added, only half joking. genevieve, or ginny, as she was known around camp, had grown over 2 inches in the last month.

giving up on trying to spot what adrian was looking at, roxy redirected her attention to the crops he was tending to. “what is it that you’re growing over there?” she asked curiously.

Adrian rolled his eyes playfully at Roxy. “If you want a show that bad, maybe I should start charging admission. 

He crossed his arms over his shoulder and sighed yet again at the fruits of his labor growing slowly outside. “So, it boils down to what the kids need more: clothes or food?” Adrian asked darkly, mostly a rhetorical question. That was one thing he had such a hard time with. Before all of this, he was just a civilian. Sure, he hadn’t loved the politicians -- hated some, in fact -- but he missed the comfort of not having to make the hard decisions, affecting the whole community. He shook his head. “No, you’re right though. I’ll figure something else out.”

Following her eyes, Adrian smiled at the green he did see in the field. “We’ve got a lot out there. I’m personally rooting for the potatoes. I’d kill for some mashed potatoes and gravy right now.” 

[glitterymcss]

Dec 16, 2019. Oscar Isaac attends the Premiere of Disney’s “Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker” in Hollywood, California.

[theoscarfiles]

[happybeepsisaac]

i’m gonna CRY 🥺

[adrianestrada-survives]

emergencyprotocols·:

       “hey, there cowboy, you keep away from my clothes supplies! we barely have enough to get through the winter as it is, you know…” she warned playfully as she made her way toward him through the fields, smiling softly; the weather had been unexpectedly better today; not that it had gotten any warmer– it just wasn’t storming, for a change, and it had helped a little, being able to step out into the fresh air and sunlight for more than half an hour and actually breathe; it had been driving her crazy, being all cooped up in her cabin or the main hall, sorting through supplies and cataloging every last item brought in from the supply run Nic and the hunters had gone on half a week ago –  her walk to him now was leisurely, slow, until she was finally directly next to him with her fingers curled lackadaisically at her sides.  She stared out ahead at the fields, the crops all slick and heavy with rainwater and the pigs all flopped out in their mud bath in a corner of the pen napping, the half-finished shed dark and grey against the late evening sun; soon, they would be needing more firewood to keep warm; there wouldn’t be enough wood left to finish the shed, not if they didn’t set out to gather more of it within the week– and with the way the weather had been for weeks now, she truly didn’t think they’d be able to head out before the end of the month– the shed would have to wait– but then; where were they gonna be storing their crops? She sighed, before wiping her hands on her ripped jeans and reaching out to absentmindedly poke at a radish, wrinkling her nose a little at the smudge of mud it left across her fingers.     “do you want me to help with.. anything?” she offered then, looking up at him. 

Adrian smirked over his shoulder before turning around to find Liz walking towards him. Given that he was the head farmer and she the head of supplies, she was probably one of the people Adrian saw the most of around the camp. He crossed his arms across his chest. “What is this, inventory day?” he asked, “That is the last thing I need right now.”

His eyes followed hers to the pig pen. Taking care of the crops was easy work. Taking care of the animals however, was quite difficult. When you don’t know whether you can feed your people for the next week, it’s hard to expect those very same people to give up their food for livestock. It was also the area of expertise that Adrian was most lacking. He’d grown plenty of vegetables and fruit for his own restaurant. He’d visited dozens of farms where they talked about hybrid crops and most effective ways to grow them as pure and as quickly as possible. But the animal side... Besides his pet chickens that laid eggs, he really didn’t ever deal with his livestock hands-on. There were butchers and meat markets for that. Everything he was doing for the animals was common sense and the books he’d been studying for the last few months. Winter was really proving to be a challenge though, especially with their half built shelter.

Liz’s voice pulled Adrian from his anxious thoughts. “Uh... Well, if you’re being serious, there’s a couple of things. Do you want help with the animals or the crops?” Adrian asked, “It’s between helping feed the animals or helping me find some stuff to make a scarecrow.”

[adrianestrada-survives]

xnicholaslancaster·:

—his steps had led him idly to the farmland, as he called it. he was well aware that Adrian had recently planted several new seeds and had a few good plants growing, but he never got the time to go and see for himself. after all, it was this man’s hard work that often kept their plates full, feeding more than enough mouths with the goods he tended for. Adrian spoke before he had the chance, and the leader laughed at the imagery of their head farmer actually doing his best live-action scarecrow impersonation. and though the idea was entertaining, even briefly, the problem was very much real and present. winter had always been a harder time, especially now under the condition they were forced to live in. crops needed to be protected and preserved so they could benefit in a few weeks’ time with fresh vegetables, enough to feed the growing number of residents. sighing quietly, he looked out at the birds circling about the earthly goods. they could not spare people watching over the goods, but also couldn’t install any sound mechanisms to scare the birds away. “more scarecrows…” he mused, with eyes still watching over the feathery creatures overhead. he was not quite certain they could spare clothing supplies. perhaps old clothing, beyond the point of being mended could be used. “you must make some…” he agreed. “just ask for clothes we can no longer salvage.” another thought was playing on his mind, but he was gonna debate that one later. “how does it look? are you gonna have a good harvest?” his tone was somewhat teasing, even though it was of importance to him to know; hunts had not been overly successful and supply runs were sacred were food was concerned.

Adrian tensed when he realized it was Nicholas behind him. He didn’t hate the guy. In fact, he admired him. But it had been a while since Adrian had any boss, and this one’s presence reminded him of just how much responsibility he had. An increasing number of lives were counting on Adrian. What would they do if he failed? 

He nodded at Nicholas’ advice, deciding then and there to spend the rest of the afternoon searching for old rags to try and piece together for his scarecrows. “I guess I better learn how to sew, or maybe get one of the workers on it. I only took one sewing lesson in my home economics class in middle school, and it was just to make a pencil pouch.” His hands were calloused enough by now, he probably wouldn’t mind the occasional pin prick now like he moaned and groaned about back then. 

At Nicholas’ question, Adrian’s eyes moved from the blonde man to the fields. He sighed, running a hand nervously through his thick, dark curls, “The potatoes are giving me the most trouble, but it looks like we’ll all have plenty of cauliflower.” Adrian’s mind was already lit up with ideas for mashed cauliflower to make up for the potatoes. He remembered trying something like that when Nikki was on her keto-craze. “Back in the northwest, the only thing I could successfully grow out there during the winter was garlic. So, we’re better off than that, I guess. Why? How are the rest of the supplies going?” 

[adrianestrada-survives]

“Fucking goddamn birds,” Adrian cursed under his breath, face pressed into his binoculars some of the he’d gotten from the hunters on their last supply run. “I thought these things flew south for the winter.” 

With the winter season came a low amount of crops. This was the most downtime Adrian would ever have, but it was also the most crucial time. He knew that root vegetables grew well in the winter and had planted potatoes, turnips, radishes, and also was trying out the hardy cauliflower, but given so much time, he was watching over the things like a helicopter parent over their firstborn. The man watched as birds flew overhead, no doubt wanting to eat his hard work and tear it apart with their claws and beaks. 

Sensing someone’s eyes on him, Adrian dropped the binoculars to hang around his neck and turned to give the person an exasperated sigh. “Ay dios mios... Either we take from our clothes supplies and make a few more scarecrows, or I’m going to have to go out there and wave my arms around like a lunatic.” 

[rexter-girl99]

Let us all appreciate the Dameron!