#p: alex001

[coltbuckley]

starter for: @alexpanganiban

location: Alex' bungalow

For an island full of what were probably rich, European fuckers, most of them didn't have anything worth stealing. This was the third bungalow he'd hit up. First one hadn't been too bad, just some clothes but, tucked away in the corners of the closet, a little pill bottle. Painkillers, over the counter, no Mister Blue but he could make it work. Second one had been a complete bust. The lady who lived there had stuffed her purse full of make-up shit, menthol candy and hand sanitizer. Credit cards in her wallet that wouldn't do shit on the nowhere island where he'd gotten washed up. (Still pocketed the candy though)

Door number three wasn't doing much for him either. Clothes, food in the pantry, same as anywhere else. The chick (judging by the three bottles in the shower, who needed that many?) at least had left her bag, which Colt was currently rummaging through. Keys, water bottle, tissues, moisturizer. Wallet had a condom at least, which he took. And- jackpot.

Colt grinned wide as he swiped the open pack of cigarettes, holding the red box up into the light. Malboro, one of them fancy brands, too. Would probably taste like shit, but he'd take it. Which meant it was time to scram. Apparently, he hadn't heard the door open. Just as he turned, lit cigarette in his mouth, he found himself faced with someone who definitely didn't look like some random girl.

A guy. Younger and smaller. Colt sucked smoke into his lungs, burying his free hand in his pocket. "You the chick that lives here?" He asked, blowing out as he spoke. He smiled, showing teeth. "Don't mind me. Just lookin' around, seein' what this place's got too offer. You got a mighty fine house here, miss."

[elijahbell]

Elijah was, honestly, finding Alex' tendency to roll with the punches delightful. Whatever was thrown at him, he seemed to have an answer, and an unexpected one at that. As if it'd take quite a bit to throw him off the course he'd set for himself, or probably hadn't even set at all - after all, no way to stray off a road if you weren't following it to begin with.

"Mh. That's one way to look at it. And, if I'm listening to my gut feeling, it's the right one." That comment had changed the tone, the other man shifting from a bubbly cheeriness to a more thoughtful mood. As if Alex had been thinking on it before. Well, he probably had given his profession - both as a survivalist, and as an actor. After all, bad faith actors and unpleasant personell existed everywhere, didn't it?

There was the switch, back to a more light-hearted tone, though the previous conversation still lingered, a small drop of color in a pond enough to tint it just a little. "That is going to be the interesting part. Seeing who joins up with who, and who you're going to partner with. Well-" They'd reached the edge of the little forest now, giving a wide view of the field of bungalows, looking much less ruinous than Elijah had expected them. He turned to his companion. "I would enjoy cohabitating with you, at any point. I do bring some excellent qualities to the table. For example- I'm a talented talker."

Elijah smiled, though it was halfway to a grin. "If you feel like visiting my house at any point. The door is open. I might stop by yours. Until then."

// END //

"I think the third date is exactly the right time. Second base and freebase." Alex laughed lightly, and then sobered for a moment to clarify, "--not that I was big into freebasing. I tried it once at a GQ thing with Glen Powell and thank god he knew what he was doing because I sure didn't. Aaaanyway he had this watch that he'd gotten when he was working on The Expendables 3 that had a fake face and you could store coke inside it." Alex waggled his eyebrows, tapping the side of his nose. "Gotta have your candy for when you need it, I guess."

Elijah was back to actual useful thoughts, though, so Alex left behind thoughts of afterparties and attended to the new thought, the prospect of swapping bracelets around. "I feel like," Alex said, uncharacteristically sober for a moment, "gut feelings are something we should pay attention to in this place. We have them for a reason, after all, and this is exactly the sort of context we evolved them for, right? Being somewhere that our survival depends on what our instincts tell us."

He didn't want to dwell on that too long, though, so when the conversation with Elijah presented a distinct opportunity to switch back into more light-hearted stuff, Alex bobbed along with the surf. "Total strangers all getting to know each other and make connections," Alex said, with a slight toss of his head, a lift of his shoulder. "I'm looking forward to the part where we decide who we want to cohabitate with."

[salemcampbell]

A town like Redwood. A town just like them. Even if they couldn't build up any proper relations to Iris, or at least not have any frequent communication with them, the mere fact that they weren't alone out there, that Redwood wasn't the only place of it's kind filled Salem with something akin to hope. Something he had to admit he hadn't truly felt in a long time. He thought he had, because he kept going and Redwood was going well and it hadn't been burned down to the ground yet, but just... seing people rebuild something of their old world helped.

But it wasn't just that. Salem stood there, heart pounding in his chest, hammering against his ribcage in quickened beat, blood rushing through his ears as he waited with bated breath for Alex' answer. Knowing that the chances were small, the odds so low that having hope would pretty much guaranteed heartbreak. But - Alex said yes. For a moment, the council member couldn't believe it because after all that time, what were the fucking odds?

"She's my sister." Salem' voice choked up, thick with relief. Because finally, something. The confirmation that his sister was alive (had been alive when Alex left, a voice in his head corrected), that she wasn't dead, a walker, that he still had one last piece of his family left. That he wasn't as alone as he thought he'd been. "So she's in Iris. Probably has been all that time."

Salem needed a moment to steady himself, taking a long, deep breath. His sister had had the same idea as him - head to the nearest point of civilization and hope her brother had the same idea. And he had. Just, with a different town. "Thank you." It was genuine. Even if it had just been a coincidence. "Lily, she's... I lost all my family in the outbreak. I hadn't heard from her for so long. I thought she was..." Another breath. He wasn't going to break down here, but it was hard keeping his composure. But he didn't want to overwhelm Alex like that.

"I'm going to need to know where exactly Iris is. If you could pinpoint it on a map, that would be great. I need to know everything about Iris you can tell me, history, current layout, everything." He needed to go there. Of course, he'd have to talk it over with the council, but... just knowing that there was an actual, real chance, not just a wish on his part. Jesus, it was freeing.

“Yeah. I won’t lie and say it’s been easy, but I know I’m lucky since I have Cass still. A lot of people have lost more than I have.” As awful as the deaths of his family members were, he also knew what had happened to them. In many ways he preferred that to the not-knowing when it came to Andy, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself that he would never see his brother again. There was always that little bit of hope that was nearly impossible to squash. Alex was aware that he had it better than a lot of people in the world.

Salem seemed interested in Iris, not that Alex could blame him. Though towns like Redwood and Iris weren’t exactly rare, he suspected the majority of people in the world still hadn’t been able to find one. He wasn’t sure how long Salem had been in Redwood and what he had been through beforehand.

“Yeah, like Redwood. Albeit from the little I’ve seen Redwood has quite a few more amenities that Iris never had. Still a lot better than living on your own, though. Iris is the only other town I’ve ever been to outside of Redwood, but there were a few people in Iris that had been to other towns. Cities, even, with more amenities and all that than even Redwood probably has. Guy I knew said he was from a place called Navezgane all the way in Arizona or some shit, though with the way he talked about it... I think he might’ve had a few screws loose,” Alex admitted, the tiniest hint of a smile on his face as he remembered some of the outrageous stories the man had told. “There were other places mentioned, too.” Places that Alex thought were truly real.

In the midst of the chaos that had gone on, Alex hadn’t thought too hard about Salem’s last name. Lily had made some vague references to a brother around Alex, but no specific names. ‘Campbell’ wasn’t the most uncommon name in the world, but as Alex looked at the man’s face it was easy to see some resemblance between him and Lily. “Yeah, actually. We were friends. Are friends. You’re....” he trailed off, still in disbelief that Lily and Salem were connected.

[coltbuckley]

"I just got here, bub." Colt swallowed down his mouthful of chocolate waifers, and met Alex' provocation with another predatory smile. "And you're already askin' me to unload? Did Daddy teach you that too?" If there was one thing Colt liked, it was prodding people where they didn't want it. And while Alex face had remained the same impassioned mask, his words and that icy tone told a story of it's own about his Daddy.

Taking another drag from the cigarette he'd deposited on the counter in favor of the chocolate wafers, leaving a small spot of ash on the pristine surface, Colt blew out the smoke in Alex' general vicinity before he answered. "Colt. Colt Buckley. A name you should remember, Alex." Colt's voice had dipped, and not just because of the smoke now lining his throat. A low, throaty hum that matched the sharp canines that flashed when he smiled again and pushed himself off the counter to saunter closer once more, though this time not quite into Alex' personal space.

"I'm startin' to feel you got a problem with me, Alex. With me bein' here, just askin' for a lil' bit of hospitality from ya. Am I right?" Of course he was right. Colt was always right. He'd broken into this guy's apartment, after all. The condom he'd stolen was still in his backpocket, and the taste of chocolate lingered in his mouth. Colt's eyes were firmly fixed on his target, slightly narrowed as he prowled closer. "You got quite the mouth on ya, dontcha? Ready to talk to me like that. Tell me, Alex- what should I think of that?"

Alex's cushy ease and unruffled response flicked, when Colt made his response; although there wasn't much of an outward change in his demeanour, there was a chill injected into his tone when Alex responded: "...oh, you don't know the first thing about what my daddy taught me." Nor would he, because whatever Colt had insinuated with his own statement and might take from Alex's, it was guaranteed to be far from the truth, and Alex remained where he was, meeting those hard emerald-chip eyes with matching unwaveringness.

--though he wasn't as butch as all that for him to not draw in a relieved breath once Colt broke the stand-off and moved towards the kitchen. Alex had already had one swing-and-a-kiss with Adarsh, he didn't need to have a punch land on him in his own home. That was one that would be harder to spin into something different and beneficial. He followed, crossing his arms lightly across his chest, and it didn't hurt that the position accentuated his very well-toned arms as Colt opened cupboards for the hell of it. They both knew there wouldn't be much new and original there. This was just a version of rummaging through Alex's panty drawer.

Though the wafers Colt unerringly located and pulled out did annoy Alex as he saw the red packaging opened, the precious hazelnut-chocolate treats shoved into that bold, uncaring mouth. "Close," he said. "Alexander. Alex if you're nasty." He tilted his head. "What's yours? Rock? Snake? Ridge? Blade Hawkson? Snap Chestly? Come on, let's have it. Unload some of that testosterone you're choking on along with my choccie wafies."

[elijahbell]

Elijah was starting to feel that Alex liked talking just as much as he himself did, providing a slightly-excitable and pleasant stream of engaged chatter in return to Elijah's remarks. And no trace of worry in sight, either. The assuredness made sense given Alex' knowledge of survival, though his certainty about being rescued - when, not if - still caught Elijah's attention as much as that smile had.

Yeah, Alex most definitely was interesting. Elijah listened, studying the pink-green gem with interest, listening to the stream-of-conciousness of Alex' theories and jotting them down in his mind, only raising his head at that last one. "Cocaine?" He interrupted, eyebrows raised with amused surprise. " I've heard a few theories about these, but that's the most creative one yet." His raised brows furrowed slightly. "And it's oddly specific. Is there a story attached to it, or would that be inappropriate to ask before the third date?"

Though, there was a possibility that something might be hidden in them. Maybe Alex wasn't too far off. Though prying them open felt like a bad idea. "I do think you're right, about them being related to us being here. A tagging system sounds like a good theory. Makes me wonder what would happen if people switched their bracelets around. I tried losing mine but I got a gut feeling that I shouldn't, so I couldn't."

His eyes remained on Alex' wrist for a moment longer, before trailing back to the person himself. Bubbly and fearless, like he felt right at home in a place like this. "With so many strange things, and the loudspeakers - and the cameras - I'm starting to feel like we're at the beginning of a survival show. It would be the perfect set-up. Total strangers, washed ashore on a shipwreck. Maybe we'll truly have to earn our habitat."

"Listen, I'm all about sharing habitat. I think a habitat shared is a habitat..." Alex stalled out for a moment, trying to reconfigure the expression he was turning into doggerel. "A habitat earned," he decided, then nodded, pleased with himself. "Who knows? When we get out of here, I might even have made you a believer in trying out for when we either get picked up by another network, or have an offshoot of the show! Not a spin-off, strictly, they'd have to tinker with it, but still. A survivor situation show."

There was a vibe about Elijah that Alex was picking up and finding very appealing indeed; he seemed essentially unbothered, like a big serene turtle-lion mythical being. What will be will be, que sera sera, all that. "We won't worry about what's going on with the rescue, then," Alex said breezily. "I mean, that's for emergency teams to worry about, isn't it? We're normal joes working our way through the situation we've been plopped down into."

Not that Alex was a normal joe, not really. He was castaway plus. But it would be rude to say that outright so he kept it to himself and instead said, once Elijah's gaze trickled down his arms to his wrist (very nice, Alex took note of that, maybe a hookup or two wasn't entirely out of the question in this place), he held up the bracelet so they could compare.

"Not bad," Alex said, examining it from every angle. "Although honestly there's not much in the way of accessories that I can't pull off." He tilted his hand around so they could take it in from all angles, shaking his hand to see if anything would come loose. "Some kind of elaborate Fitbit? If it was something else it would be branded, I bet. Maaaaaybe it's got something to do with why we're all here. Either a wristband like you get at a resort, or a tagging system of some sort, or a credit system like at a theme park, or you can pop off the little jewel thing and there's cocaine inside, or--"

[elijahbell]

At the mention of the show, Alex Panganiban's face had lit up like a christmas tree. Even when Elijah had seen him on screen, he'd had one of those infectious smiles - the kind that reached into every part of his face. In real life, it even made his eyes look brighter, shift from their usual hazel to a green hue. That smile hadn't been the main thing that'd drawn Elijah's attention when watching the show, very far from it, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't noticed it. What could he say? He liked a good smile.

And he noticed Alex' glance running over him, bordering on demonstratively noticeable. "You think I would have? That's a pretty big compliment, coming from you. You honor me, Mr. Panganiban." Elijah bowed his head a little, grin still playing on his lips, eyebrows quirked up. "I hope you don't mind sharing habitat. I can certainly say I won't."

If Elijah was being honest (and he was always honest to himself), he was starting to enjoy this whole situation. The whole island business hadn't bothered him as much as it should have to begin with. Interest, curiosity, the faint anxious yet exciting thrill of the unknown. And now, here were people he'd been wanting to meet, both for the first time and again. Alex had called it a cosmic meet-up, maybe half-in-jest, but it was starting to feel like he was right. Like none of this was entirely random.

Alex' comment drew his attention again. "That's a good question. I have to confess, I'm not very familiar with getting shipwrecked. First timer." It'd been the first time Elijah had heard anybody talking about rescue - and with complete certainty nontheless. Not a question of if, but of when. Elijah hadn't even thought much about it himself. Maybe because he was less accustomed to being noticed. Or missed. Alex was the type of person whose face would pop up on national news, and be spread over social media with pleas for info about his whereabouts. He probably knew that too.

"Maybe a few days, maybe a couple of weeks. I'm not sure how long we've been on the ship to begin with. A very convenient moment for my phone to die and my watch to break. Perhaps they knew it'd make for more mysterious storytelling." There were people from around the world, and none of them remembered getting on. It must've been longer than a few days already. Losing that much time felt uncomfortable. Elijah shrugged the feeling off, opting instead for a smile. "I'm sure we can find something to fill the time. I do have some questions I've been wanting to ask you." Elijah cast another look at his companion, running it down his shoulder, muscular arms to his wrist and the flash of white on it.

"Same bracelet, I see. What do you figure it's for? Every cruise guest seems to conveniently have one."

Ah, those beautiful dulcet words that Alex loved hearing more than anything else other than 'name your price' and 'we need to rest i can't cum any more' -- and he lit up even further, eyebrows shooting up in the way he knew made his face look even more open and engaging. "When you watched my show!" he repeated with a delighted laugh, before listening attentively to the rest of what Elijah had to say. Lucky, he said. Oh, this was one hell of a meet-cute.

"Elijah, a big fan, no less. Oh my goodness." Alex looked him up and down, tongue slightly running along the inside of his lower lip. "You sure look like you would've made it to the final round in We The Survivors, no question. So maybe this is one big cosmic meet-up, since you weren't the convention-going sort? It's gonna be a shared natural habitat, for as long as we're here."

He started to walk, tilting his head to encourage Elijah to come along with him, Alex having entirely lost interest in doing first aid triage stuff in the face of a big fan's attention. "How long d'you figure that's gonna be, anyhow? Before we get rescued?" Not that the arrival here had been anything but normal. But Alex wasn't ready to deal with the implications of that yet.

[coltbuckley]

Colt's smile widened, though it didn't reach his eyes, when the other guy walked up to him, looking at him less like the fucker who'd just broken into his home and stolen his shit but more like he was actually sizing him up. As if the little-stick up had no effect, the dude was just taking stock of Colt, and before Colt could blow a cloud of smoke right into that clean-cut prim-and-proper face, he did the same to his belongings.

Of course, he saw the painted nails, almost flaunted like a bar girl's cleavage. No shame at all. Colt's gaze stuck to them, before slowly rising again, back to that bambi-eyed face. "Maybe daddy shoulda taught you to keep your legs closed." He drawled, wispy clouds releasing from between his lips alongside the words. There was a meaning in them, pointed like barbed wire, one this guy might actually catch and take proper offense to like he should.

Clamping the cigarette between his teeth, Colt wandered away from the couch, over to the kitchen. "You don't mind?" It wasn't a question, and Colt didn't wait for a response, as he opened one of the cupboards and surveyed the contents, as if he hadn't just been rummaging through them. Glasses and mugs, all the same like those cups they gave you at the police station in hopes you were enough of a fucking idiot to drink out of them.

The next one held foodstuffs, and Colt started shifting through it as if the thing belonged to him. There was a package shoved to the back of it that Colt pulled out. Chocolate waifers, either unwanted or precious. "So..." He asked, stuffing a couple into his mouth and chewing. "What's your name, bub? Nancy? Nellie?"

The chick that lives here?

Alex watched that plume of smoke -- almost a visible challenge to it -- and the predatory smile that accompanied it, and got a hold of who this stranger was. Pretty accurately, he was certain; celebrity did come with its share of guys who wanted to belly up and stand on your corner, trying to make you walk in the gutter to get around them. And if you were known for being the chipper host of a tough-as-nails reality show who was half-survivor, half-C3PO, all smiles and songs whenever possible, there were a lot of guys who were aching to give you grief and prove how much tougher they were.

"I don't mind you," Alex said, and covered the space between them to study the other man's face more closely. Handsome, in a gas station convenience store kind of way. He let his gaze trace over the purloined cigarette, before picking up his bag to quickly scan the contents.

The money in his wallet didn't matter, but Alex did hold open the spot where he'd had that Skyn Supreme Feel tucked away, raising his eyebrows. "Stealing a rubber? That's pretty low. How's a girl supposed to have safe sex without one?"

His blue-painted fingernails were on full display as he was holding his wallet, and Alex knew it, but why bother to say anything? Sometimes a full hand of Starry Starry Night that hadn't yet started to chip said everything you needed to say.

[salemcampbell]

"Christ. I'm sorry. That must have been hard." It wasn't the first time Salem had heard stories like this. Many people had lost someone. But that didn't make it easier in any way. The sympathy in Salem's gaze was genuine - losing not only your parents but your brother like that? But at least he still had Cas to come home to. Still some family left. In a way, Salem hoped that that helped Alex. "It's great that you found Cas, then. And made it here."

However, something pulled Salem away from his somber thoughts. The mention of another settlement called 'Iris'. The council members brows furrowed for a moment - and he wondered whether this had already come up with some of the other council members. With the open way Alex was talking about it, it had to have happened. He was just surprised no one had mentioned it to him yet.

"Iris? Another town like Redwood?" Well, there were bound to be places like this all across the country. Little survivor communes finding a place to stay. Salem hadn't encountered many of them, or heard much about them. In the end, it didn't matter much to Redwood. 75 miles was too far away to build any proper connection with them, if the town was even up for doing that. But there was a different reason for him to be interested in that.

"Can you tell me more about 'Iris'? They're somewhat closeby, right? Anything specifically notable about them?" A smaller settlement just somewhat close. The chance was slim, but it was there. Salem took a deep breath, hoping but also readying himself for disappointment. "In Iris, did you maybe meet someone named Lily Campbell?"

Though it had been a while since Alex’d had coffee and most people would consider it a luxury, it was easy to remember why he never was a big fan. Especially when it was straight black coffee. Grimacing, he drank the rest of it in one big gulp and set down the cup while Salem asked about his family.

“Not exactly,” Alex answered. “We got raided about a year after the five of us started living together. They ended up killing both of our parents, so then it was down to the three of us. A little while after that, Nathan - our older brother - and I left the ranch for a supply run. There was a group of biters that attacked us, but we got out unscathed for the most part. Or at least, I thought we had got out unscathed. Nathan had a couple of injuries and needed to rest so we set up camp for the night, but we had run out of water and one of us had to go find some. I wanted him to rest, though I didn’t like the thought of leavin’ him alone, but there wasn’t much of a choice. So I went to go find water. After I came back... he had shot himself while I was out. Apparently he had been infected and I hadn’t noticed.” Though Nate’s death still hurt, and it likely’ always would, there had been several years for Alex to process it. Telling Salem wasn’t like telling Cass. “Anyway. After that, uh... I was kinda kidnapped. I never really figured out who they were, I tried to leave as quickly as I could obviously. Some group of raiders I guess. That was for about a week. By the time I got out I had to be at least 100 miles from the ranch, probably more. It was a miracle that I ended up in a town like this - a little smaller, not quite as fancy, but everyone worked really hard to make it work. They took me in since I was willing to do labor and had my horse with me. It’s called Iris - about 75 or so miles southwest from here. That was where I was the rest of the time before I decided it was time to find Cass again.” Iris was the open wound, still. There was no telling how long it would take him to get over leaving the place he had considered home in so many different ways.

[elijahbell]

Elijah, admittedly, had kept away from the triage camp. For one, because he had little medical training outside of CPR and the Heimlich, and since he didn't see anyone actively dying, he figured those skills were not in need at the moment. Better leave that to the doctors for now. And because who, if they got stranded on an abandoned island would not want to explore it?

He'd just been heading in the direction of the forest, aiming not for the buffet and the admittedly delicious food smells, but the bungalows he'd spotted on the ship who'd sparked that itchy feeling at the base of his skull. Fingering with the bracelet he'd slipped back on, he didn't notice he had company until a voice called out. A familiar one, belonging to a familiar head of black curls and with a familiar bunny-teeth smile. A chuckle escaped Elijah. Well, I'll be damned.

"Well, hello there right back." Elijah didn't immediately answer the question, instead letting his eyes wander for a second. Yep, definitely him. Not some twin. "You know it's weird." Elijah started. "When I watched your show, I never thought I'd ever meet you in your natural habitat. I never thought I'd meet you at all, because I'm not the type to go to meet-ups, but here you are on an abandoned island. I'm a lucky survivor." Elijah grinned then, held out his hand. "Elijah. A big fan, who wouldn't mind some company, if you got it to spare."

location: beach triage set call sheet: @elijahbell

"--now, you just make sure you keep your head covered and stay hydrated, okay?" Alex gave the hat he'd placed on the older woman's head a sympathetic pat, which likely would have had more of a heartwarming effect if it wasn't a toque that said "Suck Deez Nuts" on it, but beggars couldn't be choosers and anyhow, who was to say a little offbeat Tarantino style levity would go amiss right now?

"My leg hurts," the old lady croaked, but Alex was pretty much already moving on at that point so he pretended she'd made a joke and laughed merrily and said, "Good one! Oh, Beryl, you kill me," as he took himself out of earshot and headed towards a man he caught sight of walking with purpose along the sand. That seemed like a good person to hitch his wagon to, so Alex approached, taking in the broad, heavy shoulders and the gorgeous hair and the ... everything else that was pretty great too, and waved. "Hey there!" he said. "D'you need any help with anything?

[salemcampbell]

The conversation steered into safer territory. Even if part of his mind was still mulling over what had happened, turning over the events in his mind as if there had been any way of preventing it. Maybe that was the worst part - that they couldn't have done anything. It wasn't like Sol and Ginny had been attacked by walkers or raiders, or had not been careful enough. They had been prepared as one could be, done everything right, and still...

No, no point in thinking it over. He had been through that spiel before. Too many times. Thinking about if anything could have been changed. Salem took a deep breath to focus and ground himself, before taking another hearty sip from his coffee. Salem had met all kinds of people due to his work. Some were tight-lipped about the kind of lives they had led before the outbreak - and sometimes even after that for that matter. Others didn't mind sharing - and from what Salem could tell, Alex was on the latter part of the spectrum.

"Five of you?" It sounded like something had happened, and Salem had a hunch of what probably was. After all, it was the apocalypse. He didn't know a single person who hadn't lost someone - whether it was parents, siblings, significant others, children... His gaze was kind as he spoke again, knowing that such questions could be sensitive. "Did you and your family get seperated from each other? I know you and Cas lost each other at some point." Considering that they had arrived seperately, that part wasn't hard to figure out.

Considering he had told the story several times now, he at least hoped hearing it brought some comfort to the council members who had known Ginny. Truthfully he had no idea if her death had been quick and painless, but he wanted to believe it was. “I can’t tell for sure, but I would like to think so,” he admitted. He didn’t want to think about what she had been through if it hadn’t been quick.

Alex didn’t mind waiting for Salem to take a moment for himself. It allowed Alex to down half of the coffee as quietly as he could manage. He nodded and returned a small smile. “It was the right thing to do. It sounds like he’s gonna be okay, so I’m glad for that.” All the thanks and gratefulness was appreciated, sorta, but Alex had never viewed it as some incredible act of service. There was a small part of selfishness in saving Sol since the horses might’ve been lost or gravely injured had Sol not been found. He would’ve saved anyone in that situation, but it also didn’t hurt that he knew Cass had to like the older man enough to let Sol have the horses as well.

The next few questions Alex didn’t have any trouble answering. “Yup. Our baby sister.” Perhaps ‘our’ should’ve been ‘my’, considering his brothers were both not currently here and almost certainly dead (or certainly dead). Neither of those facts mattered to Alex. Being Cass’s big brother was a state that all three of them would share for the rest of time. Death couldn’t change that. “Cass and I were both living on her ranch by the time the outbreak happened. I had moved up from Texas about a year earlier after my boss decided to sell the ranch I had been working at for the past ten or so years. Once it became clear things were starting to go downhill we were able to get our older brother and parents to come up and stay with us. Andy was still in South Africa. So yeah. Just the five of us on the ranch.” Now it was down to just the two of them.

[salemcampbell]

Salem was glad that his offering had been taken, and poured himself a cup too (Ike had told him to wean himself off of it, but you couldn't blame Salem, not in this situation). Though, as Alex was telling the story, the steaming mug stayed entirely untouched. The council member listened carefully as Alex retold the story of how he'd found her in the way of someone who had had to tell their story multiple times already and had become practiced in doing so. And yet, despite knowing the story, hearing it from Aleksander himself helped. As if to finalize everything. Salem let out a soft breath, watching the steam of his coffee curl in the air for a moment, before he finally responded. "It sounds like it went quickly. Like she didn't suffer." Salem closed his eyes for a second. The fact that it hadn't even been a walker, or anyone attacking them. Not that that was preferable, it was just so... mundane? Normal? Like something that could have happened before the outbreak, not the way you'd expect someone to die with what was out there. Salem took a moment to fully compose himself, before openeing his eyes and directing his gaze at the newcomer, putting on a smile. "Thank you for bringing Sol here. You saved a life with that. Losing two people is bad enough." Even if Salem had not been close with Sol, he was glad for everyone that made it. Everyone that managed to survive long enough to get here and everyone who went out there again and made it back. "Cassandra is your sister, right?" Salem decided to change the topic, back to questions he'd probably ask most newcomers. There was no reason to mistrust Aleksander, especially with everything that had happened, but they still needed to be careful. And getting to know the newest arrival a little more could have hurt. "What were you doing before you got to the ranch? Or rather, what were you doing when the outbreak happened?" It was a sensitive question for most, but it was necessary to ask.

So far this guy was Alex’s favorite by far. Not that he had anything against Ermano, but not exactly the most welcoming presence either. Trying to return a small amount of kindness, Alex upturned his lip with the best version of a smile he could manage at the moment. “It’s alright, I get it. You gotta protect what you have.” Alex would be protective of Redwood, too, and not just because of Cass. Just like he would’ve been protective of his previous commune.

He wasn’t much of a coffee drinker, but the temptation of a little boost was too much to turn down. Alex poured the coffee into the cup about halfway, not wanting to take too much. Nodding to Salem, he took a sip, wincing a tiny bit at the bitterness. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had coffee, much less coffee that wasn’t loaded with sugar and milk. “Thanks, I appreciate it.”

The story had been told a few times over, and Alex tried to make sure he kept to the same thing every time. Not adding or subtracting any details, not thinking too hard about what he did or didn’t see, not making up anything that he didn’t know for sure. Even if he wasn’t being charged with anything, it still felt like a sort of trial. Isaac couldn’t be the only one that might be suspicious of him.

He nodded, taking his cup with him to sit in the chair in the corner of the cell. “Well, I had been maybe a little less than a mile away from the barn. I’d been looking for Redwood for a few days with Cici, my horse. Cass had left us a note back on our ranch telling us where she was and how to find her. Anyway, that night the storm started. A couple ‘a hours later I began hearing whinnies from the horses. I don’t know how long they had been making noise, it was only after all the thunder and rain noises that I could hear ‘em. The horses sounded in distress, and the rain had died down enough that I could make my way over to where the sound was coming from. I saw the horses first - knew that they were our horses. The horses from the ranch, that is. And then I heard Sol under some of the rubble. I got him out, tried to calm him down, all of that stuff. He didn’t trust me, not that I can blame him. But I told him I was Cass’s brother and he believed me, thank god. He wanted to find Ginny, and I knew he wouldn’t calm down without finding her, though I think deep down I knew what had happened. Anyone that woulda survived in that barn woulda been outta there already. But I said I would find her, so I did. I tried to look in the part that hadn’t fully collapsed where someone who had the best chance of survival. No luck, obviously. So I looked over in the main part of the wreckage. She was already cold when I tried to check for a pulse. I knew Sol would wanna see her, though, to know that I wasn’t lying. I put a blanket over her and carried her outside to him,” Alex explained.

[salemcampbell]

Alongside the news, someone new had come into Redwood. And, even though this man was Cas' brother and had someone clearly vouching for him, Salem knew as well as anyone that they still needed to question the new arrivals. Regardless of the news devastating everyone, now more than ever they needed to be vigilant. Though, in this case it was more protocol than anything. Or rather, more for Salem's peace of mind than any actual danger he thought was lurking in that prison cell. Which was why, when he was entering the prison cell, he was holding a thermos as well as two mugs. "Hello there." Salem mustered a friendly smile, though he probably felt just as exhausted as Alex looked. No surprise with what the newest arrival had gone through - probably a whole emotional roller coaster. "We haven't met yet. Salem Campbell, from the council. I know you're probably tired of us by this point, but I swear I'm the last one you're gonna see in that prison cell." Unless David, as the newest addition was planning on also asking some questions, but for some reason, Salem doubted that. "You drink coffee?" Salem gave the thermos a demonstrative shake, before putting it and one of the mugs down on the bench next to Alexander, in case the newest arrival wanted to pour himself a cup. "Sorry, no sugar or milk with me, but caffeines caffeine, right?" The council member paused for a short moment, giving Alex time to pour himself a cup if he wished and to collect himself. "I know you probably went through this enough times, but... could you tell me, again? How you found Ginny and Sol? Just - everything you remember about what happened." Salem found his throat closing up a little at the request, but he needed to know. For himself.

@salemcampbell; precinct jail cells

It had been a long few hours to say the least. After talking with Cass, telling her about everything that had happened since he had left the ranch, had been exhausting in itself. Then came the ever so delightful questioning from Redwood’s ‘Council’, including Isaac. Alex knew that the man was hurting, but it was hard not to be bitter towards him after their first meeting. Ermano, thankfully, was much more level-headed. Hopefully anyone else that came to question him wasn’t going to blame him for what had happened to their members. Alex was too tired to fight with anyone again.

Hearing the door click open, Alex raised his head to see who had entered. A man that Alex didn’t recognize, but he had a kind face. Alex gave him a terse nod. He wanted to be friendlier, to make a better first impression, but he simply didn’t have the energy.