Parker Torrens

[cptdonovan]

Watching and Waiting || Sam & Parker

[cptdonovan]

Sam nods and shrugs, “it’s just one of those days.” The heat just makes everything seem longer, and Sam’s glad the line isn’t getting any longer, eventually it’ll come to an end and she’ll be ready to report and check in on her squad as one unit.

“Good thing at least the line isn’t getting an longer, you’ll get to the door soon enough.” She spots Alvarez ahead of her and Sam needs to make her rounds again, “hopefully you’ll get your rations quickly, have a good afternoon Toy Story.”

She tips her hat a little towards Parker and spares a look down the line behind them, splitting from the line and making her way towards the front, checking in with her squad as she goes.

[parkertorrens]

____________________________________________

[cptdonovan]

Watching and Waiting || Sam & Parker

[cptdonovan]

Once she turns around and see’s just who it is that spoke to her Sam smiles, and moves closer so she doesn’t have to shout at her. Sam can see the exhaustion in her face and it’s not something rare here, it seems like more are prone to be tired instead of well rested.

“Toy Story,” She only nods and works to keep her eyes on the line, “the line’s moving, not as fast as any of us would like but it’s almost afternoon.” She shrugs, it always goes quicker earlier in the morning, but by the time it creeps up on the afternoon it takes longer. The morning is Sam’s favortie time to work the line, it’s not the hottest and most people seem to tired to bother throwing fits.

“I have to say, I pegged you for an early riser.” The line moves a little more and Sam keeps her eyes steady and alert, she’s not about to let something happen on her watch.

[parkertorrens]

Parker’s glad that Sam recognizes her, they’ve only talked a few times, but it’s been a while and she’s sure that Sam sees a lot of faces. So it’s nice to know she’s memorable enough, especially for the nickname. Sam knows her name now, but the nickname makes it feel like they’re kind of friends, which is weird, but not unwelcome.

Her answer, though, isn’t all that encouraging. Not that she expected any wonderful news. Parker inches forward with the line, but she’s at least pleased now that she has someone to speak with.

“I usually am,” Parker says. “Every day I’m up early, sometimes even before curfew’s lifted. Waiting around to go outside isn’t all that great,” she adds, making sure to be clear with someone in a uniform that she isn’t sneaking out early before curfew’s lifted. “But I overslept today. Bad day to do it, too.”

[cptdonovan]

Watching and Waiting || Sam & Parker

Rations are important, it’s the only way of survival these days. Civilians are antsy and the heat of the day only makes things worse. The line is moving slowly and Sam has already had to break up one fight and drag someone to the end of the line after they tried to cut in line. Her M16 is around her shoulder and Sam rests her hands on the butt of it, pacing back and forth, eyes checking out those around her.

She’s closer to the front of the line when someone exits, their ration in hand and they pause, apparently adding the single of today to a few of their others, Sam keeps an eye on them and rolls her eyes. It’s a quick way to getting yourself robbed, or killed. They finish what they’re doing and move away quickly, hands in their pockets and Sam gives them a slight smile as they rush away.

Once they’re out of ear shot she shakes her head and continues her walk back down to the end of the line, checking on her squad as she goes, making sure they’re following her rules and not getting into anything with the civilians, Sam does not need another Morgan.

It’s not often that civilians speak to military first, so Sam is surprised when she hears a voice from the line speak to her.

[parkertorrens]

Parker hates ration days, mostly because of the lines. Even as an early riser, the lines still feel like they take ages. Parker just wants her damn food. She’s getting tired of the limited ration weeks, too, but at least she’s sitting on a good handful of extra rations just in case. 

Parker isn’t pleased with the line today. She overslept a little and it’s completely the wrong time to do so, because it’s hot and sticky and so. fucking. slow. She could go outside and shoot her own breakfast before the line would move even an inch, and the frustration is eating at her. Her stomach rumbles and the back of her neck is damp with sweat - she needs to buy more hair ties this afternoon - and she’s just ready to make a racket about it when she sees someone familiar walking up and down the line.

She hasn’t seen Sam in a while, and this is the first time Parker’s really seen her on duty. The uniform, that’s nothing new, Parker’s seen that before. But she’s got a rifle and a look in her eye like she means business. The boredom and need for a distraction is what makes Parker speak to her.

“Long time, no see, Lieutenant,” Parker says, flashing a smile that’s tired around the edges but still completely sincere. “I don’t suppose there’s any hope the line will speed up anytime soon?”

[parkertorrens]

Market Mess // Open

Parker hates having her hair down. It feels gross, hanging limp around her shoulders. It sticks to her skin and makes her even sweatier than she already was in the hot Atlanta weather. After breaking her last one, she hasn’t been able to put her hair up in about a day, and it’s already stressing her out. She’s gotten so used to having her hair up that it feels wrong to walk around with it down.

This is the reason she’s heading to the market this afternoon. She’s willing to spend a few rations for however many elastics she can find, whether it’s hair elastics, rubber bands, whatever. Parker just needs her hair up, like, yesterday. She’s not a big fan of the regular market, but this is hardly something that requires going to the black market, and honestly, going to the black market is a little nerve-wracking when she knows that Victor is usually there. 

It takes her a while to locate what she’s looking for, but once she does, she’s content again. As she’s walking towards the exit, she’s about to take one of the elastics to put her hair up, but in her fumbling her hand slips, and all six skitter across the ground. Rolling her eyes at herself, she crouches down to pick them up when a pair of feet appear in front of her. Ugh, she’s blocked the way, squatting in the middle of the market. She starts grabbing for the hair ties as quick as she can, muttering “sorry” to whoever it is.

[georgiarays]

Business First // Ray & Parker

[georgiarays]

“Well that’s fantastic to hear,” Ray answers as he gets to work in wiping down some of the glasses he washed earlier. One at a time he cleans them, looking over at Parker when she speaks. She doesn’t seem to want to go into detail, which is fine. The fact that she isn’t here to drink herself silly or take the edge off whatever’s bothering her. Right now seems more like social drinking, or drinking for celebration, and those are two of Ray’s favorite times to drink. Parker doesn’t make any faces at the beer, so either Ray’s getting better at chosing, or she’s acquiring a taste of alcohol again.

“You’re never a bother, you know that,” he says with a wave of his hand. If Parker was a bother, Ray wouldn’t put up with it, simple as that. He has to deal with a lot of people throughout the day, and the ones that talk to him are almost never a bother. It comes with the bar territory, and Ray’s used to emotions of all kinds being thrown at him.

[parkertorrens]

“You know I know that,” Parker responds with a light smile, taking a long drink from her beer. Ray always says she’s not a bother, and Parker is honestly starting to believe him. They’re friends now, he said so himself, although they should hang out off the clock sometime if that’s true. Parker’s not sure that it’s a real friendship if they mostly interact while Parker’s drinking Ray’s supply.

“I’m afraid I won’t be sticking around very long,” she says. “I have plans for later. But make sure you let me know about that flask. It’s got me curious. Did you ask your buddy about it like I suggested?” Parker suspects that Ray’s searched every inch of the bar at least twice looking for the thing, so it only makes sense to her that that’s the next logical place to search. 

[parkertorrens]

Around the Block // Parker Solo

After Gregory departs, Parker tucks the two rations into her pocket and heads back out. Well, that was easy money. Maybe it isn’t just a bad idea to escort people outside. She’ll have to thank Kat for that later, if she ever sees the girl again. Parker’s sitting on a good stack of ration cards now, so she’s not worried about finding work just yet. Besides, Ray did mention not long ago that he would ask her help if he needed some extra hands cleaning the bar. Parker couldn’t be happier, really. 

Well, she could. But she has it pretty good at the moment.

Now, Parker can finally do what she came outside to do. She’s been itching for a hunt, and after killing that runner on the way to the store with Greg, she’s ready to have some fun. She pauses to pull out her pistol. It’s been a while since she got to shoot.

The peace and quiet of the outside is nice. She spends a good few hours taking out whatever straggling runners she can find, steering away from big groups as usual. The first one goes down by her blade, effectively snapping her shiv in two. She has another, but she’d like to keep it intact, so she changes it up with the pistol. 

Parker heads back to the QZ in a better mood than before. A few trips around the block with a shiv and a pistol and she’s on cloud nine. The only thing that keeps her grounded is the knowledge that things aren’t perfect - far from it - and there are still a lot of conversations ahead that she’s not ready for. 

Slipping back into her dorm, Parker drops her bag by the door and pulls at the elastic in her hair. It snaps and she sighs, tossing it aside. Too tired to go out and find more in the market, she flops down on the bed, and falls asleep seconds later.

[parkertorrens]

Escort // Parker & Greg

[gregjeung-hunter-deactivated201]

It’s a quiet walk back which Gregory doesn’t mind. Talking isn’t his thing, and though most times he doesn’t mind listening he won’t hesitate shunning away anything pointless. He’s already done so, rudely and bluntly, but he’s confident that Parker wouldn’t say anything as payment is involved.

They are close, and really with how quiet it was Gregory could have made it back safely on his own. It was better not to take chances, so he won’t mentally complain too much. “Two sounds reasonable,” he says, and he pulls his bag off of his shoulders to open it up. Tucked away are his cards, and he pulls two out of his remaining three to hand over.

“I’ll keep you in mind,” he says, but not for future escorts. By then he should be well equipped and be out here with Shane rather than any other Atlanta civilians. Parker hunted and scouted skillfully, and maybe he abilities aren’t to be wasted. Nadine needs recruits, but an hour and a half isn’t at all enough time to judge someone’s level of use. He hardly even nods as he walks towards the tunnels and leaves her on her own to enjoy whatever expedition she had in mind before he caught her.

[parkertorrens]

____________________________

[parkertorrens]

Escort // Parker & Greg

[gregjeung-hunter-deactivated201]

Although he doesn’t show any gratitude or appreciation, Parker is going a good job. If he has his own surplus of supplies he would’ve ventured out on his own. Doesn’t matter because his destination is right ahead.

He waits behind for her and keeps a lookout outside while she disappears in there. He hopes nothing is in there to raise the price of this once more. He smirks a little to himself when he realizes that his only concern is what he’s paying rather than Parker’s safety. If he heard any scuffle he would just walk the path back and not even glance over his shoulder. She emerges though he doesn’t have to worrying about walking off, not that abandoning someone innocently doing their hired work would bother him that much.

“Not bad,” he does finally compliment when she mentions that the coast is clear and heads on in. The place is picked pretty clean, nothing on the shelves and anything expired tossed off onto the ground and side. Most places look like this. Traveling down from Pittsburgh they came across worse. Buildings that suffered from the bombing, crumbling under just the weight of gravity and hardly safe to even peek into. At least this store is standing stable, it’s just torn apart on the inside. There is a rack near the register he sees, underneath all those useless lotto tickets that mean nothing now that money is useless. He approaches and combs through all of the paper there. Apartment guides and places to eat in Atlanta are listed here, and look, there it is. He finds what he’s looking for on worn old glossed paper.

Perfect.

He takes his bookbag off and slides it in there so it doesn’t get damaged and exits the store to find Parker waiting for him. He doesn’t need anything else, and he doesn’t think it’s much of a big deal for him to be escorted back if she has anything to do out here. It’s not unfair to ask if he’s paying, anyway. “Let’s make it back before you determine what I owe." 

[parkertorrens]

Not bad? It seems like a weird version of a compliment but Parker will take it anyway. Gregory doesn’t seem like the type to hand out compliments and warm remarks. Whatever, Parker doesn’t really care. She doesn’t need his weird compliments to feel validated, she knows she’s better than “not bad”. How many people go outside and kill infected just for shits and giggles? Probably not very many. At least she can take pride in that.

Parker leans against the doorway as she waits, twirling her shiv in her hand. She hums absentmindedly as she looks around, surveying the area to make sure no infected are going to pop out anywhere. It can’t be more than a few minutes until Gregory returns, which is good, because she’s already begun to grow bored by the time he reappears. He doesn’t have anything in his hands, so he must’ve packed away whatever it was in his bag. It’s not like it’s any of her business what he was looking for, anyway.

“Sounds good,” she says, and starts walking. They don’t talk on the way back, which is fine. Parker learned quickly that Gregory isn’t a big conversationalist, so she doesn’t bother to run her mouth this time. She did that enough on the way to their destination, and Gregory didn’t seem very impressed. Not that she feels the need to impress him, or anything... but she doesn’t often get the chance to show off her skills outside the QZ.

The way back is quicker, as they don’t run into more infected that need slaughtering. Twenty or so feet from the tunnel back to the QZ, Parker stops. She tucks her shiv away into her pants. “This is your stop,” she says. “So, Gregory. Payment. I’d be inclined to ask for two rations, since I used my blade.”

[georgiarays]

Business First // Ray & Parker

[georgiarays]

“Beer it is,” Ray answers, grabbing the first lighter beer he can find. He pops the lid off of it easily, tossing it into the bucket he has with an easy, practiced motion. He’s done it a thousand times, and he’ll do it hundreds more. Ray slides the beer down to Parker, flinging one of his towels over his shoulders. He knows that Parker will be good for the rations, and that she never asks for a glass so he doesn’t bother to ask any more.

“It’s still hidin’ from me,” Ray says with a tight smile before he turns the conversation back around. It’ll show up. It has to freakin’ show up. Maybe he should check the back room again. He will, later, after Parker leaves. “Now that you’ve got your beer, fess up. What’s got you grinnin’ bright as the sun?”

[parkertorrens]

Parker grabs on to the bottle as it slides towards her and lifts it up in a silent cheers before she takes a drink. For someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy alcohol, Parker sure does drink fairly frequently now. She’s beginning to enjoy the taste of beer, slipping back into how she was in her college days. It took her a while to like drinking then, too, so she’s not surprised that she’s become accustomed to it quicker this time around.

“Hm,” is all Parker has time to say before the conversation is back on her. She’d been about to ask if Ray had talked to his buddy about the flask yet, but the thought escapes her when Ray asks her what’s up. “Ah, just, y’know,” she shrugs and stalls by taking a drink. “Things might be looking up. Nothing’s solved, just. Looking better than it did before.” She refrains from mentioning the love part. Is it normal to want to tell everyone when you’re in love? she wonders. Probably. “But the good news is you don’t have to hear me whine as much. At least for a little while.”

[georgiarays]

Business First // Ray & Parker

[georgiarays]

“If I had a quarter for every time a pretty face told me that,” Ray says with a smile, recognizing Parker’s voice instantly. She seems happier, downright cheerful, and maybe Parker’s luck took a turn for the better. Ray sincerely hopes it has, with all of the drama she seemed to have going on in Parker hasn’t cracked a real smile in months. As he dusts off his jeans with his palms, he notices that her smile looks a lot less forced. He’ll have to look for the flask later. For right now, he’ll enjoy the company that Parker provides.

“You look like you’re in a good mood.” Ray notes out loud, wondering if Parker wants to share about it. He gives her a solid minute, listening to her answer, before he remembers her question. He should probably answer that. “Everything’s just fine, darlin’. What are you drinkin’ today?”

[parkertorrens]

Parker laughs at his response, though she was expecting something like it. He seems happy to see her, which is nice. Parker’s happy to see him, too. Even through all her turmoil that she seems to have no trouble expressing around him, Ray is always chipper and is brings up her mood even just a tiny bit when she’s around him.

“You could say that,” Parker says, her smile widening a little bit. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it. Get me a drink first and we’ll see.” She nudges his arm to show she’s joking. 

“Just a beer should do. I’ve got plans for later, don’t want to end up stumbling out your door,” she says as they walk back towards the bar. Parker takes a seat and folds her hands on top of the wood. “You find your flask? Or was that what had you on the floor a minute ago?”

[georgiarays]

Business First // Ray & Parker

Over the week, Ray’s devolved from calm but steady searching to something much more frantic. It has to be here, it just has to but it’s not and he’s about ready to pull his hair out. Just the night before, he had a dream that his great granddaddy rose from the grave just to scold him for losing the dang thing. Jesse says he hasn’t seen it, which Ray believes since it was in the damn bar. He remembers seeing it on the bar, right up until he woke up the next morning. It’s possible it got kicked over somewhere, but Ray would ave found it by now.

He tries to keep it out of his mind as he serves people, giving them the friendly, laid back Ray. It’s a chore and a half when his nerves are frayed, but he does a really good job of keeping his work face up. He’s giving under the bar another search over when he hears the door open to his bar and the footsteps approach. Ray’s on his hands and knees, seeing if maybe he did kick it somewhere, when he lets out a soft sigh and gets to his feet. Business first, after all. It is his motto.

[parkertorrens]

Parker’s in a good mood. She’s planning on going out on a hunt later, still elated from everything that’s happened, but she wants to take a quick stop at the bar first. She figures she at least owes it to herself to buy a drink in celebration. She and Victor are ok, or at least they will be, and that’s something to commemorate. Besides, it’s about time that Ray saw her in a genuinely good mood. She hopes he’s feeling better today than the last time she saw him.

When she pushes through the doors and sees Ray on his hands and knees, Parker notes that perhaps things haven’t improved. He looks like he’s looking for something - his flask, she’d guess, if he hasn’t found it yet. She makes her way right to him, figuring she may as well say hello before she sits down. He must hear her coming, and as he stands up, Parker can’t help but smile a little.

“Don’t get off your knees for me, cowboy. Everything alright?”

[parkertorrens]

Spreading the News // Parker & Aiden

[aiden-lwdrp]

He doesn’t know if he needs to worry at all, so Aiden nods in silent acknowledgement to the statement. Tomorrow is Tuesday, the only full day he has before Victor has him for an unknown amount of time. He wishes Victor wasn’t so vague with his answer of destiny and all, and seriously, he grows curious on what his and Parker’s interactions are actually like. But Victor likes Parker, there’s probably plenty of other nice, affectionate, gross stuff.

“Oh, you will. Let me know when the wedding is, alright?” He elbows her and smiles teasingly. Dropping the ‘L’ word doesn’t necessarily mean wedding bells, but this is good. Victor’s broken in through her glacier fortress walls, and just look how happy she is. Her face and eyes are lit up, it temporarily distracts Aiden from his worries.

Curfew is approaching fast, and that means Parker’s going to leave, and as she does she ruffles his hair. He laughs a little and ducks his head. “I’ll try not to be.” And he says it like that not because he’s worried about not waking up anytime soon, but because Victor may consume his time. “Bye, Parker. See ya around.” And when she’s out the door, he flops back down into the same position he was sprawled in and flips his light switch off. He needs to start resting, tomorrow he’s going to have to run around and get things done.

[parkertorrens]

______________________________________

[parkertorrens]

Spreading the News // Parker & Aiden

[aiden-lwdrp]

He doesn’t want to have Parker stray from talking about what makes her happy, it leaves him shrugging awkwardly and looking a little guilty for cutting her off. Aiden pushes himself up into the sitting position and scoots up to lean against the wall next to her. “I told ya I scared her off. It’s no big deal.” It’s not like Aiden’s sure anything could’ve been pursued with where he stands right now. Victor will fulfill his promise, but that wouldn’t grant much time for socializing he is sure. The fun luxuries need to be abandoned, sometimes.

“Haha, no! It’s okay, really, and it’s okay if she decided to stay away from me. I still think she’s awesome. She helped me deal with Rodney, too.” That day they first kissed there was so much tension everywhere. Aiden was crumbling on the inside over Rodney’s death, and Marlene saw right through his smile. He wore the loss and pain in his eyes, and she hugged him and supported him. She even told him her wish, which most definitely wasn’t stupid like she originally insisted. There has to be a good reason Marlene’s vanished…

He sighs and leans his head down on hers and shuts his eyes, lost in temporary thoughts. It’s hard not to tell her anything, but he made a deal, and Aiden doesn’t know what telling her would mean for him and Victor. If she did involve herself, whatever it may be. He was looking forward to her teaching him how to hunt, but Victor suggested he start a work out regimen, and he can’t even take a stab at what Wednesday has in store for him.

“I sleep on and off. The stupidest of sounds keep me up, but she hasn’t left anything for me. Not since I’ve seen her, but I know she has more coming.” He hopes not, if Victor does get her to back off, but even Aiden can’t sound relieved about that. He’s not lying because she hasn’t asked, but Aiden still sees no difference. He frowns and lifts his head back up knowing he can’t slip up just an hour later. He’s still scared and nervous about everything, and figuring it out on your own makes it all that much more mentally exhausting. 

“I’m happy for you, by the way. That’s kinda a big deal, I think.” He wants Parker to talk about her things again, the good and light part that’s still left in this world. He wants to keep borrowing her happiness.

[parkertorrens]

Parker just frowns, unsatisfied with the response. She doesn’t like to think about this girl flaking out on Aiden at all, even if he’s okay with it. Parker isn’t certain about the state of Aiden’s social life, but judging from what she’s seen, he doesn’t have many friends, if any outside of Parker herself. She’s sure she would’ve heard about it during the whole Bobbie situation, if Aiden had anybody else to go to for help. It doesn’t seem like that’s the case. 

“You’ve gotten this far, I wouldn’t worry about whatever she has lined up,” Parker says. “You can only see so many heads before it begins to get a little dull.” She nudges him to show she’s joking, trying to lighten the mood a little. She’s glad he’s at least getting coming rest. If it were her, Parker doesn’t think she’d ever sleep. Even having Bobbie sneak in the one time was enough to put her on edge. 

When conversation turns back to her, Parker tries to suppress her smile. She almost feels a little guilty for being so happy when Aiden’s worried about his life being on the line. It isn’t fair, she thinks, that she suddenly gets to be happy when things haven’t improved for him at all. “Yeah, I don’t know. I guess it is kind of big. I’m surprised I haven’t really really had a big freak out about it yet.” Parker remembers her freaking out to Aiden months earlier about starting to care about people and now here she is, in love, and it hasn’t really hit her yet. Oh well, that’s for another day.

“I should probably go,” she says, realizing suddenly how late it is. The sky is getting quite dark. She doesn’t fancy walking around in the dark alone as much as she used to. She moves off the bed, ruffling Aiden’s hair as she goes. “I’ll talk to you soon, ‘kay? Don’t be a stranger.”

[parkertorrens]

Escort // Parker & Greg

[gregjeung-hunter-deactivated201]

Luckily Parker caught what he was saying, and all conversation has stopped. He’s not in a chatting mood, nor is he ever. And Greg won’t be polite about useless chatter even if it’s unfair to just rudely shut Parker down. Ah, who cares about being rude, today? There are bigger things to worry about, and Greg needs to start prioritizing much better after this excursion.

Parker’s signal has him step back, as he does. The paper with directions he handed to her are put away and Greg is aware she spotted something around the corner that he can’t yet see. He knows better than to interfere or move, especially with such limited supplies. He’ll let Parker do her thing, what she’s temporarily hired for, as he peeks around and watches from his short distance away.

He’s standing full height without any concerns, not expecting them to be interrupted again. Gregory doesn’t hear anything else. He still waits on Parker to wave him on before leaving his place from around the corner. “You do know what you’re doing,” he says observantly, but he sounds neither bored or surprised. It was said as if he was reading a fact from an encyclopedia. Gregory motions forward and says, “This way, right?” And starts heading on. It can’t be much farther than what Victor instructed.

[parkertorrens]

Parker’s glad that Gregory never protests or does anything to mess her up. He’s quiet and compliant, which is refreshing, considering last time she was outside with somebody it was Aiden, and he almost got killed. “’Course I know what I’m doing,” she says, twirling her knife again as she watches Greg. He doesn’t look impressed, and Parker can tell he just wants to keep moving.

Parker follows him as he moves on. “Mhm. Not far now,” she says, pulling out the directions again. She stares down at Victor’s handwriting and has to suppress a hint of a smile. Now is not the time to be thinking about him. She has a job to do, a paid job at that, and she has to do it properly. Gregory seems like an alright guy. As long as they can get to the store and back in one piece, she’ll be up one or two rations.

Parker picks up the pace, coming up alongside Gregory as the store comes into view. “There it is,” she says, pointing. “Let me check to see if it’s clear, then you can take your time finding whatever it is you need. Then I’ll take you back.”

Parker quickly ducks into the store and looks around, but the coast is clear and it doesn’t take her more than a few minutes before she returns to Gregory. “All clear,” she announces. “I’ll just wait here for you.”

[parkertorrens]

Escort // Parker & Greg

[gregjeung-hunter-deactivated201]

What she says is interesting to say the least. A paid escort? That is an easy way to earn rations as even Gregory has offered her with hardly knowing her. Maybe a bad estimation of her abilities on his part, but if she proves useless he can discard her.

“Seems useless to wander out without knowing how to fend for yourself.” Though Gregory may fall under the useless category, it’s due to his current lack of supplies. If he has just a little bit more he’d be making this trip alone, and Parker is willing enough so that he doesn’t have to. Feeling out anyone not in the current hunter group is a good idea anyway, and strangers are expendable.

But she sure talks a lot, and Gregory doesn’t like to use his voice all that much. If runners aren’t around he can’t complain but still… He’s a couple feet behind her, surefooted and confident enough. She’s got her shiv ready, and Gregory feels secure. Nothing is around him that he can see, and infected are clumsy hunters. They don’t hide in the brush for yoy to get close enough, they charge, and they’re in the clear so far.

His brow arches. “Quiet because I don’t waste uneccesary breath.” And his steps slow as well, he moves a little closer to her with some distance in between still, but he’t too far off. If infected are close by it’s best to make sure there isn’t enough space for one to run in between, though it’ll make it easier to abandon her if need be he doesn’t want to. Not until he gets what he needs anyway.

[parkertorrens]

Parker resists  the urge to roll her eyes at Gregory’s remark. She’s making a bad first impression with all her chatter. She wouldn’t feel so inclined to speak if he wasn’t so quiet, and because she doesn’t know him she’s wary of letting him sneak along so quietly behind her. However, now that they’re getting farther away from the Quarantine Zone, it would be a bad idea to run her mouth, so she immediately falls into hunting mode.

She should have taken out her gun before they got moving, just in case, but now that they’re on the move, Parker doesn’t feel like retrieving it from her bag. She can work her shiv all right, so it shouldn’t be too much trouble, but it’s uncomfortable to not have a backup plan. If they get a chance to pause, she’ll pull it out for sure.

They move along rather silently for some time. Parker keeps a close look at the directions, making sure she’s following the path that Victor marked out correctly. Parker looks over at Gregory every once in a while. She wonders what he must want from the store. She’s been there before, and like most other places nearby, it’s mostly picked clean of supplies. She hopes he finds what he’s looking for, but either way, she’s getting paid.

They can’t be more than ten minutes away from their destination when Parker turns a corner and spots a runner, right in their path. She lifts up a hand and moves back around the corner, signalling Gregory back. She folds up the papers and puts them in her back pocket. She’ll need both hands for this. 

“Stay here,” Parker murmurs so low that he could be missed if Gregory isn’t paying attention, but he definitely is, so she turns back around the corner confident that he won’t get in her way. It’s all too easy to creep up behind the runner and slit its throat. It falls to the ground and Parker surveys the area, making sure there are no other infected nearby before she waves Gregory back over. 

[parkertorrens]

Spreading the News // Parker & Aiden

[aiden-lwdrp]

Well, of course it requires telling someone. Just because romantic love is something Aiden is so skeptical about doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And he’s just mostly concerned that it brings this glorious smile to her face, and she’s just so God damned happy that it’s infectuous. It’s hard to let jealousy and protectiveness overcome that, and well, Aiden is just really glad for her.

“I’m glad I’m blessed with the privelage if being your first choice.” He laughs, and it’s genuine, not forced like the smile before. So what if Victor steals his time with her, or the attention. Parker fucking deserves someone who makes her feel this way, and though Aiden will stand aside and glare daggers and be prepared for him to misstep and hurt her so he can catch her, he hopes just as equally he won’t. The dynamic of their relationship is unknown but really, what does it matter. Parker’s got good judgement.

“Pfft, I gushed about my girl who vanished on me,” Aiden says all amusement and smiles that reach his eyes. “Although I feel inclined to say ‘ew, stop’, please, gush away.” It’s funny to think people can olay such a critical role in your life, and Aiden’s not about to shut it down despite his conflicting thoughts. He can bite his tongue no problem, especially for her.

[parkertorrens]

Aiden brings up the girl he likes, Marlene Parker thinks her name is, and she quirks an eyebrow. “Hey, yeah, what happened to her?” she asks. “If she’s one of those kiss ‘n ditch girls, she has a big storm comin’.” Parker’s only kidding, but she would be very unhappy if the girl decided to flake out on Aiden. He seems pretty into her, but she’s been MIA for so long that Parker’s starting to have doubts.

Parker looks out the window. The sky is getting a little darker, it’s probably getting towards eight o’ clock now, and she doesn’t want to overstay her welcome. On the other hand, Parker’s curious to know how Aiden’s getting on with the whole Bobbie situation. She can’t imagine he’s sleeping very soundly, knowing that she could come in at any time and do whatever she wanted with him. Parker doesn’t think she’d sleep very well if she was in his position.

“How are you doing?” she asks, seriously this time. “Sleeping okay?” Now that she’s finished her gushing, it’s about time she actually let him talk for a bit. She’ll probably leave soon, as it will be getting late before too long.

[parkertorrens]

Escort // Parker & Greg

[gregjeung-hunter-deactivated201]

He suspected it to be an issue, but he promises, “If it exceeds the price of three rations I will be indebted to you, and I wil provide you with information so you feel secure the debt will be repayed.” It’s all business, and he hopes he doesn’t need to focus on repaying Parker anything more than he has to. Whatever, though. If he has to, so be it. He’s going to get his map because he promised he would. Though Shane probably wouldn’t hate him if he didn’t…. Nadine probably wouldn’t mind a map of Atlanta-including-outside-the-QZ either.

He’s behind her quick and graceful. A month in the wilderness on the travel from Pittsburgh to here makes this easy. It’s a cake walk, really. He keeps up no problem, and if he had more supplies he would have gone by himself. This way is just safer, and it offers him an opportunity to evaluate someone useful.

Her question catches him by surprise, thoug Gregory doesn’t express it. He doesn’t shrug or show hesitance, just doesn’t really expect the answer to matter. Victor gave it to him, the suave gentleman with charisma from the market. He’s definitely a businessman, knows how to sell his products and proves useful to Gregory. Besides, how can he deny appreciation for another well-dressed male?

“Someone I met in the market,” he answers vaguely. He could specify Black Market considering Parker travels outside he doubts she’d care if it was from an illegal source. But, he won’t continue further on the topic,

“You travel outside often, Parker? You’re capable of fighting infected?” he asks, just to analyze he. If she answers in ways that seem good enough, he could further his research on her. Push for another excurison, maybe ask Shane to feel her out, and he could suggest her to Nadine. Anything could happen, but right now if she just proves a competent escort that’s all he needs.

[parkertorrens]

Gregory obviously isn’t that interested in telling her where he got the directions, but Parker just finds it funny that she knows where it came from. She’s sure now that it was Victor. He didn’t say black market, but honestly if he thinks Parker’s going to believe he got directions outside the QZ from the regular market, he’s an idiot. And Gregory doesn’t seem like an idiot to Parker.

Parker nods and twirls the knife in her hand again. “Mhm. I like it. Good for letting off steam,” she says. “It’s kinda therapeutic sometimes. I go outside whenever I have the time and energy, look for supplies, kill some infected. Was thinking about making it into a kind of business thing; escorting people, you know, like you. I had this girl offer me payment to be her bodyguard a while back, and it seems legit. A lot of people go outside the QZ nowadays, but not all of ‘em know how to shoot or use a blade. Which is ridiculous, if you ask me.”

Jesus, she’s rambling. Maybe it’s the way that Gregory’s so quiet that makes her want to fill the silence. Parker hates awkward silences. But they’re getting farther away from the QZ and Parker’s conscious of the fact that infected will hear her if she keeps talking. She stops twirling the knife and turns a corner.

“Okay, I’m gonna shut my mouth, ‘cause we’re getting into infected territory,” she says, looking over at Gregory. Her pace slowly a little so she moves a little quieter. “I don’t think I have to tell you to be quiet. You’re kinda quiet as it is.” That’s the last thing she says before they keep moving. No point in making a stupid mistake by being a blabbermouth.