#slivko & Blair

[tmuses]

Slivko groaned, the heat of the sun beating down on him. Setting his rifle down next to him, he shoved a hand into his pocket. His fingers grasped around for his pack of cigarettes, though it was met only with junk. Even before the apocalypse he'd been the kind of person that kept the most pointless shit in his pockets. If anything, it should've been less cluttered, what with the lack or receipts and loose change but it'd only gotten worse. "Man, what the fuck are we even doing out here?" he complained with another heavy sigh. He shifted his body weight to better access his other pocket without standing up. This time he found his pack with ease, and his lighter too. Flipping the lid open and placing his mouth to the pack he grabbed one and lit it. Without saying anything, he offered the pack out to his companion in case they wanted one too. Cigarettes were a hot commodity these days, but he was nothing if not a saint.

[utahbastards]

It was a bleak sort of awakening. Even well into mid-morning, a thick fog cloaked the campus, steeping the grounds with a gloomy unease. Cain’s eye snapped open at precisely five a.m., as it had almost every day since he was eighteen only to stare listlessly at the dim, greywashed ceiling. He'd been tethered to this stagnant schedule for the past month. Previously, he had struggled to find enough hours in the day for the things he needed to do; managing such a large group invariably involved friction, and he spent much of his time daily greasing those wheels to ensure everything remained on track. However, since his eye... each morning brought a chorus line of well-meaning voices urging him to rest. “Take it easy. Slow down. Just relax.” Their incessant advice had begun to wear on him, leading him to reluctantly embrace it—rolling over and compelling himself back to sleep for another few restless, disorienting hours, that were supposedly doing him so much good.

He stumbled squinting from Slivko's room, far more fazed by the uncomfortable piercing glare through the windows than by the fact that he had not returned the previous night. It wasn't unusual; only typical of Slivko to finally be interested in getting his dick wet when Cain wouldn't have minded his company. The room had not been Slivko's for long; prior to that, it had belonged to Cain. When he had arrived, battered and bruised, the sergeant had readily offered his own quarters without hesitation. At that time, Cain had spent most evenings drifting off in Shiloh's room, whether slumped at the desk or sprawled on the couch, so relinquishing space he wasn't utilizing felt like no great sacrifice. Today, however, if a genie were to grant him a wish, he would be tempted to travel back to that moment, stifle his own words with a hard fist to the nose, and reclaim a bit of much-needed peace and quiet.

People began to stir in every corner of the faction, but their gazes remained largely averted as they brushed past his stormy presence. He paused as he rounded into the kitchenette where Blair was slouching, uncharacteristically disheveled. Cain had witnessed firsthand that not even an apocalypse could disrupt Blair’s devotion to her hairbrush. Apparently, it seemed all it took was Slivko—who looked entirely at home beside her smudged mascara and messy bun, still clad in the same clothes he had worn the night before, sipping from his mug nonchalantly. She leaned in to whisper something and Cain felt a sharp twist of envy in his chest at the sight of them conspiring. He and Shiloh hadn't spoken in days, and the few words shared before had been glacial.

Cain had never been prone to jealousy, despite his wife's best efforts to provoke it. Monica had once straddled his own brother at Thanksgiving, not long before his car unexpectedly hurtled into traffic. He had merely let out a brief, uncomfortable laugh, wordlessly wishing the pair well before withdrawing back inside to assist his mother with the leftovers. Cain didn't even mention it on the drive home, instead letting the talk radio fill the silence they could not. Now it took only the shade of Shiloh to ignite a seething viper coiling within his mind, threatening to unravel the good sense he typically held. He bit his tongue, uncertain if a snide remark was off his agenda. It wasn’t their fault, he told himself—he had lost her all on his own. He didn't need something to eat this badly; though he would have claimed the same after a month roaming the desert, whatever it took to get them out of his sight. With a contained sigh, he turned to retreat.

"I had a hell of a night with your girl last night, Ransome." It took a moment for the words to register; Slivko’s sing-song tone reverberated in Cain’s mind. A shot fired off in a bulletproof case, looking to penetrate any soft spot it could find. He looked thoroughly self-satisfied, the quintessential cat who had caught the canary, and he swatted the bird between his paws, watching Cain expectantly to join the game.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" His response was blunt, uninterested in playing. Cain paused in the doorway, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, acutely aware that every second he lingered was a victory for Slivko, ever proud of his efforts to provoke him at every opportunity.

"Shiloh!" Slivko exclaimed, a plume of yellow feathers all but falling from his smug lips. Cain slammed the door with a decisive thud, reentering the room with an unimpressed scowl. "Last night. Loads of fun!"

"What the fuck are you—" Cain halted abruptly, refusing to indulge him further. His gaze dropped to the blonde who developed a sudden interest in her feet. His eye narrowed in confusion, bearing down as he tried to will her focus back to him. "What the fuck is he talking about?"

Blair exhibited a behavior that Cain had never witnessed from her before under pressure: she remained silent. Even when he sharply demanded that she meet his gaze, she looked up at him through wet lashes, offering no response. Frustrated, Cain stepped forward, spared from the weight of the implication by Slivko’s bemused interruption.

"Jesus, relax a little, yeah? You're as dramatic as your girlfriend" Blair abruptly shifted her wide-eyed gaze from Cain, shaking her head in desperation at Slivko, who persisted despite her quiet protest. "She’s at medical; everything is fine." He elongated the last word as if Cain was an idiot incapable of grasping the point he was attempting to make with such deliberate coyness.

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Cain finally erupted, fury radiating from every pore.

"She tried to... Well, you know..." Slivko’s attempt at pantomime was far from charming; he pretended to swallow pills by the handful before letting his expression fall into an unflattering distortion of death, his tongue protruding from the corner of his mouth for dramatic effect.

He turned back to Blair's stricken face. "He wasn't supposed to say anything; I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? You're sorry?" Cain began, the rage bubbling from his core, crackling through every nerve ending like disorienting static. Shiloh was hurt. His mind attempted to reconcile the information, only for it to spit back out like a faulty register; rejected. Shiloh had killed herself. He tried to awkwardly ham fist Slivko's words deep enough to stick and take. No- Tried to. Shiloh tried to kill herself. He locked the thought in place, following the trail. She was at medical. Everything around him faded into a loud hum, and all he could focus on was an overwhelming urge to break something. "Who the hell are you to decide what I need to know, Blair? Huh?"

"Quinn said-" She managed in a small voice.

"Oh Quinn said!" He barked back incredulously. "Her sister who has done nothing but make her life harder? The one who had a year on her own to finally grow up and still showed up to try and fuck her sister's boyfriend, that Quinn right?" Cain was shaking, his voice rising increasingly with each word. Blair mirrored his trembles, wrapping her arms around herself as her head sank lower and lower until she could no longer meet his gaze. The sight was pitiful; normally, it would have silenced Cain in an instant. He hated seeing women cry, even more so if he caused it. Yet, nothing seemed capable of dousing his burning anger. "Are you stupid, Blair? Is that it? Are you so fucking senseless that you would leave her with Quinn of all people?" He began to badger, a rapid-fire of sharp angry words. "Are you serious? No, answer me! Genuinely, are you such an idiot you think Quinn has anyone's interests in mind but her own when she told you to keep this from me? Her own fun little gotcha." He could envision it clearly: Shiloh waking up, wondering if he really cared so little that he wouldn't even show his face. His bitterness surged anew. "Why are you even here?" he seethed. Blair recoiled further as if she could shrink herself enough to disappear entirely. Perhaps she was naive enough to believe Quinn’s narrative, but leaving Shiloh alone? What if something happened? What if she attempted it again? "What kind of friend are you? She helps you bury your brother and you what? Come home for a nap when she needs you most?"

Shiloh is in medical, he tried to remind himself. She is hurt— She hurt herself, and she needs you. The thought struggled to take hold, unable to penetrate the hazy images of her that flooded his mind. Did she call out for him, wondering where he was? Did she question why he hadn’t come? If he'd known he'd have come running, she had to know that right? It wouldn't have mattered if he were on another continent; he would have swum to reach her if necessary. He would have done anything to stop this, she had to know. But, how was he supposed to protect her if he couldn't even stop her from hurting herself?

Slivko interrupted his thoughts with an eye roll, redirecting Cain's intense glare from Blair back onto himself. "𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜! She's going to be fine— everything is fine. Just lock away the knives and move on with your day—"

"Say another word," Cain ordered, his tone suddenly steady and unwavering. He took a bold step toward Slivko, who responded by stepping past Blair to confront him directly, still smiling despite having the hackled sergeant squarely in his face.

"Alright, you got me. It wasn't that fun; kind of dull, actually—" The words became scrambled in his throat as Cain seized the front of his shirt, yanking him forward with a sudden, harsh pull. For months, Slivko had tested Cain's endless patience, and for just as long, Cain had responded with a good-natured, rueful grin. But now, Slivko's hands shot up against Cain's chest, attempting to create some distance between them, the gravity of the moment crashing down on him all at once. Cain's patience had reached its limit, along with his good nature. "Okay, Ransome—"

Cain released his grip all at once, causing Slivko to stumble slightly as he suddenly encountered no resistance. On a better day, this might have signified that Cain had seen reason and restrained himself before something truly regretful transpired. However, he released Slivko solely to free his dominant hand, which he then hurled at his nose with blinding speed.

It didn't end with a single strike; Slivko's hands darted up to shield his face from the barrage of blows. A sharp sound pierced the air, painful to his ears, yet no part of him recognized it as Blair's hysterics. Neither paid any mind to the blood streaming from Slivko's nose, splattering both their shirts in a grotesque spray. He redirected his aim to the man's stomach, feeling Slivko's weight collapse against him with a sharp impact to his abdomen. Cain felt the man's hands against his chest; the push was less an attempt to move Cain than a means for Slivko to create some distance and position himself beyond his reach.

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please—" Blair begged through pained sobs, frantically moving around the two of them as Cain slammed his hand down again, increasingly unsure if he was truly looking at Warren beneath all that mess.

He pulled his fist back once more, poised to bring it crashing down when it unexpectedly became ensnared. That sharp, awful noise was back. He was oblivious to the pointed finger nails Blair had gouged into the skin of his arm as she struggled to hold him. Cain yanked his arm free, forcefully casting the obstruction aside. Blair struck the ground with an awful thump that registered somewhere inside of Cain.

Not enough to stop, but sufficient to induce a split-second pause. He threw an uncertain punch, followed by another for good measure, before finally stalling. Feeling to his hand regretfully returned, his skin broken wide from the bones in Slivko's face stung as an angry reminder of his break. Taking a shaky breath, he refrained from glancing over his shoulder at Blair. He was filled with fury, deeply embarrassed, and sick with worry—his mind a chaotic whirlwind of conflicting thoughts as it struggled to emphasize the real issue: Shiloh is in medical. She's hurt.

Cain used the edge of the counter to pull himself to his feet, his knees still too unsteady to fully trust. His breaths came in labored shakes; part of him was exhausted, while another part desperately yearned to keep throwing punches to regain some semblance of control. It felt as if all that stood between him, a healthy Shiloh, and the restoration of his eye was Slivko's battered face. The man let out a wet cough, rolling to his side with a soft groan.

"I should've fucked her," He managed. "If I was going to get my ass beat anyways, I should have—" Cain cut the thought short with a hefty kick that landed just below Slivko's ribs with a satisfying thud. Blair yelped involuntarily from behind him, and at last, her cries registered enough for him to step back, resisting the urge to strike again. Slivko raised his hands in a mocking gesture of surrender, compelling Cain to avert his glare before he lost his resolve. He wasn't an animal. He knew how to stop.

Shiloh was in medical. He had to go to medical. He focused on those two thoughts, attempting to keep them as straight as an arrow, especially as he turned. Blair looked up at him with a mix of terror and disappointment, her eyes hypervigilant as she assessed what she might do if he turned on her. He shook his head, instinctively denying the narrative unfolding in her mind. He stood like the boogeyman at the foot of her bed, an amalgamation of the violent men she'd come to know. She was between him and the door, still crumpled on the floor. Her gaze flicked nervously from Slivko to him and back, filled with apprehension. He considered offering her a hand up, an immediate apology and retraction attempt—he hadn’t meant it nor would he ever mean to hurt her— but nothing stirred between them. His tongue was unwilling to move, and her ears were reluctant to listen. They locked eyes for another long moment before he shamefully shifted his gaze downward.

She waited until he had completely passed her before scrambling over to Slivko, her nervous hands desperate to assist as she crouched beside him. Blair's eyes flickered anxiously to the door and back, worried that Cain might change his mind and return, but he closed it behind him with a muted thud, leaving them with the mess he'd made. The eyes that had avoided him earlier now pierced him like a hundred daggers as he realized how many onlookers their commotion had attracted. Cain ignored their meaningful, silent exchanges and the way their stares stung, resolute in his determination to reach medical before anyone could jeopardize that goal.

[tmuses]

For a second he opened his mouth to ask who the fuck John Green was, but quickly closed it upon realizing he just didn't care. The tone of her voice and the roll of her eyes indicated an element of sarcasm. Maybe a couple months ago she would've been too anxious to so much as disagree with him, now though? He couldn't get her to shut up. Blair's quick response was met with a nonchalant shrug and a wordless grunt. Sticking around so they felt safe was one thing, motivating them was another entirely. Motivation in his household was the sound of a belt being unbuckled. Motivation in the army was little short of torture. Light motivation wasn't something he was familiar with, nor was he sure he'd be capable of doing. "If you want light motivation, I'm not your guy" he shook his head, lips pulled together into a thin line.

Blair was a little naive at times, but not a total idiot. She knew how much he hated doing this stuff, and not just because he told her; often. Slivko was lazy by nature. Blair was just sort of hoping it was lazy in like... a lion sort of way, like he might hop up and be really useful in danger and go back to sleeping and eating and being generally useless... kind of way. "So very John Green of you," She commented wryly, rolling her eyes. Not that she expected him to know what that meant, maybe Shiloh would have laughed. The thought soured her fun.

He looked like he was listening and for once not in the patronizing way where he would nod to everything she said and ask her to repeat herself all over when she finished speaking. "No," She answered instinctively. "You're here so they feel safe enough to go look where they need to without worrying about getting eaten... But also... I don't know, a little? Like I'm not talking Guantanamo Bay here, but like a LIGHT motivation couldn't hurt."

[tmuses]

Slivko rolled his eyes at her, uninterested and entirely unwilling to continue the argument. He bristled in irritation, though it wasn't entirely directed at Blair. Mostly, he was frustrated with Cain. At first Slivko had thought it'd be fun to fill his shoes and be in charge for once. Even back in his army days he'd been jealous of the power Cain possessed. Now, he realized he didn't want any of it. He didn't want the pressure, and he sure as fuck didn't want the responsibility. Constantly, he poked and prodded at his former Sergeant, anything to kindle the fire that seemed to be dying more and more each day. Nothing worked and he continued to be nothing but sad, bitter, and empty. He'd intended to take advantage of Blair's momentary silence and wander off but the panicked tapping on his arm put a stop to those ideas. His lips pressed together into a thin line, a heavy sigh pushing through his nostrils. Things could never be simple. He crouched down to put his cigarette out against a piece of stone on the ground, shuffling it back into his pack before standing up again. "Relax, they probably just wandered farther in," he reassured her, though it was less to put her at ease and more to keep her quiet. He wasn't worried, not yet. Screaming usually came first, and it was still relatively quiet outside. Regardless, he checked his weapon, ensuring it was ready if he needed it. "Where'd you last see them?" he questioned, eyes scanning the area while they began to walk. Slivko rolled his eyes at her, uninterested and entirely unwilling to continue the argument. He bristled in irritation, though it wasn't entirely directed at Blair. Mostly, he was frustrated with Cain. At first Slivko had thought it'd be fun to fill his shoes and be in charge for once. Even back in his army days he'd been jealous of the power Cain possessed. Now, he realized he didn't want any of it. He didn't want the pressure, and he sure as fuck didn't want the responsibility. Constantly, he poked and prodded at his former Sergeant, anything to kindle the fire that seemed to be dying more and more each day. Nothing worked and he continued to be nothing but sad, bitter, and empty. He'd intended to take advantage of Blair's momentary silence and wander off but the panicked tapping on his arm put a stop to those ideas. His lips pressed together into a thin line, a heavy sigh pushing through his nostrils. Things could never be simple. He crouched down to put his cigarette out against a piece of stone on the ground, shuffling it back into his pack before standing up again. "Relax, they probably just wandered farther in," he reassured her, though it was less to put her at ease and more to keep her quiet. He wasn't worried, not yet. Screaming usually came first, and it was still relatively quiet outside. Regardless, he checked his weapon, ensuring it was ready if he needed it. "Where'd you last see them?" he questioned, eyes scanning the area while they began to walk.

He grunted at her and it took all the grace the Warren family nannies managed to instill to not petulantly grunt back, instead scuffing her shoes against the stones, sending them quietly scattering into the brush. It was so hot she wanted to whine, and she hated doing the outside jobs. Blair only liked being stuck in the sun if there was some body of water nearby and she had a little bikini to tan in and frankly a dirty school fountain just didn't cut it.

Blair was shielding her eyes from the sun, wishing she'd been smart enough to trade for a hat before their value raised with the temperature. Slivko said no, what a shock. She shook her head at his rejection, rejecting it in kind. "You are the guy," Blair insisted. "Because you're the only guy I have." She didn't want to think about it, she didn't even mean to. He barely came into her mind, just a passing thought that maybe people might take her more seriously with Jax here. That was all it took and she could hear Beckett trying to manage her name with his teeth being knocked loose in his mouth. She didn't need that today. She turned her face towards the sun, a good reason to scrunch her eyes shut for a moment until all she could think about was the sweat beading on her nose. After a moment she peaked open, blinking back the colored glare that was now obscuring her eyeline. The bush Annika had spent fifteen minutes pruning was now abandoned. Blair whipped her head from left to right, sucking in a panicked breath. Her hand swatted at Slivko in rapid light pats as if he'd some how missed her erratic scanning. "Oh my god, they were just there. Where did they go?"

[utahbastards]

He grunted at her and it took all the grace the Warren family nannies managed to instill to not petulantly grunt back, instead scuffing her shoes against the stones, sending them quietly scattering into the brush. It was so hot she wanted to whine, and she hated doing the outside jobs. Blair only liked being stuck in the sun if there was some body of water nearby and she had a little bikini to tan in and frankly a dirty school fountain just didn't cut it.

Blair was shielding her eyes from the sun, wishing she'd been smart enough to trade for a hat before their value raised with the temperature. Slivko said no, what a shock. She shook her head at his rejection, rejecting it in kind. "You are the guy," Blair insisted. "Because you're the only guy I have." She didn't want to think about it, she didn't even mean to. He barely came into her mind, just a passing thought that maybe people might take her more seriously with Jax here. That was all it took and she could hear Beckett trying to manage her name with his teeth being knocked loose in his mouth. She didn't need that today. She turned her face towards the sun, a good reason to scrunch her eyes shut for a moment until all she could think about was the sweat beading on her nose. After a moment she peaked open, blinking back the colored glare that was now obscuring her eyeline. The bush Annika had spent fifteen minutes pruning was now abandoned. Blair whipped her head from left to right, sucking in a panicked breath. Her hand swatted at Slivko in rapid light pats as if he'd some how missed her erratic scanning. "Oh my god, they were just there. Where did they go?"

For a second he opened his mouth to ask who the fuck John Green was, but quickly closed it upon realizing he just didn't care. The tone of her voice and the roll of her eyes indicated an element of sarcasm. Maybe a couple months ago she would've been too anxious to so much as disagree with him, now though? He couldn't get her to shut up. Blair's quick response was met with a nonchalant shrug and a wordless grunt. Sticking around so they felt safe was one thing, motivating them was another entirely. Motivation in his household was the sound of a belt being unbuckled. Motivation in the army was little short of torture. Light motivation wasn't something he was familiar with, nor was he sure he'd be capable of doing. "If you want light motivation, I'm not your guy" he shook his head, lips pulled together into a thin line.

[utahbastards]

Blair was a little naive at times, but not a total idiot. She knew how much he hated doing this stuff, and not just because he told her; often. Slivko was lazy by nature. Blair was just sort of hoping it was lazy in like... a lion sort of way, like he might hop up and be really useful in danger and go back to sleeping and eating and being generally useless... kind of way. "So very John Green of you," She commented wryly, rolling her eyes. Not that she expected him to know what that meant, maybe Shiloh would have laughed. The thought soured her fun.

He looked like he was listening and for once not in the patronizing way where he would nod to everything she said and ask her to repeat herself all over when she finished speaking. "No," She answered instinctively. "You're here so they feel safe enough to go look where they need to without worrying about getting eaten... But also... I don't know, a little? Like I'm not talking Guantanamo Bay here, but like a LIGHT motivation couldn't hurt."

He raised a brow at her response. Normally he'd have something smart to say about the way she was speaking to him, but the way the heat was beating down on his skin was making him feel lazy. He let out a quiet snort at her irritation. When he'd first met Blair he'd thought she was nothing but a useless crybaby. Now he knew she had layers. It was obvious she was trying to fill the void Shiloh had recently left behind, and he could admit she was doing a half decent job. Of course, that didn't make him mess with her any less. When she denied his offer, Slivko put them back in his pocket with a shrug. Her insults meant little to him-- just like her praise. "Yeah? I got some bad news for you-- we're all dying. Some of us are just doing it a little faster," he smirked. Her disgust only lasted a short while, the blonde quickly returning to his first question. He appreciated her honesty, even if his initial instinct was to give her a hard time. She was absolutely right, as much as he wished she wasn't. With Cain and Shiloh out of commission, the faction had grown restless and lazy-- which meant he actually had to pull his weight. He was on board with Blair's plan for the sole reason that if she managed to pull it off, he could go back to riding Cain's coat tails without doing much to earn his place. His gaze wandered over the crowd along with her, noting the way that only a few seemed really interested in doing the work. "Is that why i'm here? To motivate them?" he questioned with a raised brow.

[tmuses]

He raised a brow at her response. Normally he'd have something smart to say about the way she was speaking to him, but the way the heat was beating down on his skin was making him feel lazy. He let out a quiet snort at her irritation. When he'd first met Blair he'd thought she was nothing but a useless crybaby. Now he knew she had layers. It was obvious she was trying to fill the void Shiloh had recently left behind, and he could admit she was doing a half decent job. Of course, that didn't make him mess with her any less. When she denied his offer, Slivko put them back in his pocket with a shrug. Her insults meant little to him-- just like her praise. "Yeah? I got some bad news for you-- we're all dying. Some of us are just doing it a little faster," he smirked. Her disgust only lasted a short while, the blonde quickly returning to his first question. He appreciated her honesty, even if his initial instinct was to give her a hard time. She was absolutely right, as much as he wished she wasn't. With Cain and Shiloh out of commission, the faction had grown restless and lazy-- which meant he actually had to pull his weight. He was on board with Blair's plan for the sole reason that if she managed to pull it off, he could go back to riding Cain's coat tails without doing much to earn his place. His gaze wandered over the crowd along with her, noting the way that only a few seemed really interested in doing the work. "Is that why i'm here? To motivate them?" he questioned with a raised brow.

"Foraging," She snapped, trying to position herself a little higher to see what the others were doing across the way. Annika had been staring at the same bush for almost ten minutes now. "Oh my god it's got berries or it doesn't," Blair hissed irritably, watching the girl fiddle with the leaves leisurely. Blair wrung her hands in front of her irritably, trying to refocus on the mushrooms she was supposed to be plucking. Slivko held out a cigarette in response, one hanging out the corner of his mouth charmlessly. She wrinkled her nose in response, "Gross." That, evidently was not sufficient for Blair. "You're not, like, that old. You know how bad these are for you. There's no more chemo, you're gonna die."

"Okay you got me, we're not foraging. I don't know what kind of mushroom this is. But these guys normally bring in double, maybe more, and since... you know. No one's asking about it." They'd never underperform for Shiloh, Blair thought miserably. She knew how to make them listen, how to make them work. Blair just parroted Shiloh-isms and hoped it would work, but things were getting worse.

"Cain used to go with them, and I don't know if they've slowed down because they're scared without him watching their backs for Zombie's or whatever, or because they're lazy as hell and capitalizing on not having daddy here to watch them," She sniped bitterly, watching them giggling at the same. Damn. Bush. "They used to go so much further out than this, there's basically nothing here."

[utahbastards]

"Foraging," She snapped, trying to position herself a little higher to see what the others were doing across the way. Annika had been staring at the same bush for almost ten minutes now. "Oh my god it's got berries or it doesn't," Blair hissed irritably, watching the girl fiddle with the leaves leisurely. Blair wrung her hands in front of her irritably, trying to refocus on the mushrooms she was supposed to be plucking. Slivko held out a cigarette in response, one hanging out the corner of his mouth charmlessly. She wrinkled her nose in response, "Gross." That, evidently was not sufficient for Blair. "You're not, like, that old. You know how bad these are for you. There's no more chemo, you're gonna die."

"Okay you got me, we're not foraging. I don't know what kind of mushroom this is. But these guys normally bring in double, maybe more, and since... you know. No one's asking about it." They'd never underperform for Shiloh, Blair thought miserably. She knew how to make them listen, how to make them work. Blair just parroted Shiloh-isms and hoped it would work, but things were getting worse.

"Cain used to go with them, and I don't know if they've slowed down because they're scared without him watching their backs for Zombie's or whatever, or because they're lazy as hell and capitalizing on not having daddy here to watch them," She sniped bitterly, watching them giggling at the same. Damn. Bush. "They used to go so much further out than this, there's basically nothing here."

Slivko groaned, the heat of the sun beating down on him. Setting his rifle down next to him, he shoved a hand into his pocket. His fingers grasped around for his pack of cigarettes, though it was met only with junk. Even before the apocalypse he'd been the kind of person that kept the most pointless shit in his pockets. If anything, it should've been less cluttered, what with the lack or receipts and loose change but it'd only gotten worse. "Man, what the fuck are we even doing out here?" he complained with another heavy sigh. He shifted his body weight to better access his other pocket without standing up. This time he found his pack with ease, and his lighter too. Flipping the lid open and placing his mouth to the pack he grabbed one and lit it. Without saying anything, he offered the pack out to his companion in case they wanted one too. Cigarettes were a hot commodity these days, but he was nothing if not a saint.

[tmuses]

Slivko's face scrunched up in disgust at the mere notion of him and Blair being anything more than casual acquaintances. The reaction was involuntary, and immediate. "Nah, man. I can't get it up for little girls. Not like you," he retorted. Cain was probably expecting his response, or at least something along those lines. The age gap between him and Shiloh didn't really bother Slivko, not beyond the occasional thought that it was fucking weird. It did, however, bother Cain, which meant it a quick and easy jab to make. Still, he seemed happy. Happier than he'd been with his ex wife; Of course, the bitch had tried to kill him but that wasn't the point. Even in the apocalypse, Cain seemed happier than he'd ever been, comfortable even, despite his twitchiness. Slivko couldn't recall a time he'd ever been that content with another person. He brought his cigarette to his lips once more, taking a long and slow drag as he tried to push any further thoughts of the soldier and his missus out of his mind. Thinking about the two of them together forced him to think about his own inadequacies and now wasn't the time or place for that. Slivko let out a small chuckle at Cain's sudden outburst, though he didn't poke him any further. A familiar silence enveloped the two men. Back in the army days they could go hours without talking in order to avoid compromising the mission. Now, the stakes felt lower and that made the silence all the more unbearably boring. He took a final drag before flicking the charred remains away from him with his thumb and forefinger. Various topics floated through his mind as he tried to think of something to breach the silence, only for Cain to do it for him. He knew his answer immediately, though he had a feeling he shouldn't voice it. In truth, Slivko didn't miss it in the slightest. Joining the military had given him purpose, sure, but at the cost of his autonomy. There were so many rules to follow, and when he got home from deployment he was filled with the same emptiness he'd gotten so familiar with growing up. It was ironic, how at peace he was now that the world had ended. There were no societal norms he had to follow, nothing forcing him to be someone he knew he wasn't. "Not really," he shrugged, unwilling to elaborate on it, "Do you miss it?"

Cunt. He always hated that word. That little part of his mother still bloomed in his chest, or rather festered. He could still hear her sharp little don't! Malcolm would say it just to rile her, his brother slipped it out at the Christmas dinner table and he was certain she intended to put him over her knee like a little boy for the entire Ransome clan to see. And so, Cain twitched a little, which is exactly what he wanted. So he gave him no satisfaction of a reprimand. It would only spur him on. God, did he miss the days he could make him do two hundred pushups for a sly word. "Sounds well adjusted, man. Happy for you," Cain smirked tightly, his tongue rubbing against the grooves on the back of his teeth irritably. "You know, I thought you and Blair might. For a minute there." He knew before he said it, that it would invite the snippy backhand; we don't all want to fuck teenagers- or something as equally squeamish. But it made it no less true. Cain remembered watching them standing in his and Shiloh's place. An off-brand imitation playing mom and dad to the flock. It was easy to sleep and seek comfort with someone who... understood. But no, they instead skirted around each other, ever the platonic odd couple until she'd gone back to Jax (he hadn't always been known by his name, a few off-color nicknames had been passed around over the years, but Cain had conceded to his permanence.)

"No, man. Like, you get a random grid and you gotta find as many words as you can, it's like a make your own words- Oh, get fucked," He huffed finally. There was only so much to do in this place without television. He hadn't realized how much of his recreational time he'd spent sitting and staring at nothing in particular. As a kid, he could watch fifteen hours straight if no one came to bother him. In this world, Cain had downtime here and there but no mind for relaxation anymore. It was ever working, ever anxious. Bored games were better than silence, chafing with his freedom while Shiloh was indisposed. So he played with the others and argued about what words truly existed.

"You miss it?" Cain asked suddenly, piercing their stony silence. "Life before this shit, I mean."

[utahbastards]

There was still another hour before the sun would even begin to set, the summer heat eating away at him under his stiff fatigues. Cain found himself grateful again that it was a dry kind of bake rather than a swampy warmth. Slivko seemed less intent on silver linings, huffing and puffing seemingly whenever he thought Cain might've finally forgotten about how miserable he was. "One of the girls," Cain began, knowing Megan's name was an unimportant detail to Slivko. "Swears up and down she's been hearing motorcycles in the night. I don't have to explain to you twice why that's a problem, right?"

They'd been lucky that their biggest problem outside the walkers had been a pigheaded boy and his idiot ideas, who'd been feeding the worms for almost two years now. The idea of someone new in the area for the first time might've been exciting to some. The few with hope ready for the thought of the cavalry pouring in to save them. The pessimists among them, however, had counted on this day. The day when the rats and roaches of the world that had scraped by came looking for more.

"I told you, man. We're here 'til morning light so get comfortable." Blair had promised to bring them an evening meal before she slept, so they wouldn't be stuck on the roof all night with empty stomachs. "Besides, where the fuck else do you need to be tonight, huh? I'm the one stuck out here with Shi' in there. You're missing what?" He shot with a playful brow raise. "Boggle night?"

Slivko groaned, the heat of the sun beating down on him. Setting his rifle down next to him, he shoved a hand into his pocket. His fingers grasped around for his pack of cigarettes, though it was met only with junk. Even before the apocalypse he'd been the kind of person that kept the most pointless shit in his pockets. If anything, it should've been less cluttered, what with the lack or receipts and loose change but it'd only gotten worse. "Man, what the fuck are we even doing out here?" he complained with another heavy sigh. He shifted his body weight to better access his other pocket without standing up. This time he found his pack with ease, and his lighter too. Flipping the lid open and placing his mouth to the pack he grabbed one and lit it. Without saying anything, he offered the pack out to his companion in case they wanted one too. Cigarettes were a hot commodity these days, but he was nothing if not a saint.