no sense in waiting for tomorrow - open

[Russel S.]

I'M TRYING TO FIND THAT PEACE OF MIND･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

A good deck of playing cards was difficult to come across nowadays; luckily many didn't feel inclined to steal from Russel, or call him out when he stole from them. So he'd had a deck of playing cards for quite some time; occasionally it'd been the only buffer between him and mind-shattering loneliness from the isolation of his travels.

Sometimes adults would teach him games to play with them; Hearts, Blackjack, War, one man even tried to teach him Poker so he'd let him and his buddies use his deck to gamble. Of course, all of those things required multiple people to play and Russel didn't find himself in many situations where he had a readily available group of people to play with.

Well, now he did; technically he could round up some idiots from the Rogues and play a few rounds, but he doubted anybody would want to play with him. He was fine not playing with any of them anyways; Wesley would probably try to steal his cards, and then he'd have to retaliate and it'd just get messy from that point onward. So, no group games it was.

That thought firmly set in mind, he found himself sitting on the back porch of his chosen home with his back against the wall as he played a bit of Pyramid Solitaire on the ground in front of him. Cedric peacefully grazed in the yard, occasionally trotting over to sniff as Russel's hair but presently was by the far-right corner peeking over the fence to nibble at a bush.

[THE YOUNG ROGUES]

Sarah Laine & 17 & Easy/Medium & Attack in #dc143c
Different people would suggest different games to play. Wesley liked organizing scavenger hunts (she thought it might be because he got the chance to go through other people's belongings), Samantha liked truth or dare, Peter liked more physical activities (he always won the ones involving strength, so those were often his favorites), Gene liked two truths and one lie. Angie enjoyed pictionary, but she didn't suggest playing it very often, if ever.

Sarah was usually willing to play whatever games the others suggested, but didn't usually try to initiate anything herself, unless she knew she'd picked something the others would play. She suggested pictionary more often than Angie did, just because she knew the leader liked the chance to show off her drawing skills. Looking now at Wesley, it seemed he enjoyed quiet, solo games. Well, that sounded nice to her too. "Hey."

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[Russel S.]

I'M TRYING TO FIND THAT PEACE OF MIND･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Russel's eyes flicked up, silently keeping an eye on Sarah as she appeared. He didn't really know Sarah, not as much as the others; hah, as if he knew any of the other Rogues either. Well, he knew what to expect from someone like Angie, but Sarah was still a mystery to him.

He switched a card without looking, his movements slow and methodical; he'd spent the last half an hour playing this game, he knew where everything was. He kept his eyes on Sarah, though his head was tilted as if he was still looking down at the cards.

"Hi." Russel responded quietly, uncertain of what exactly Sarah was here for. He doubted it was just because she wanted to visit him, so she had to have some other motive.

[THE YOUNG ROGUES]

Sarah Laine & 17 & Easy/Medium & Attack in #dc143c
Remaining a mystery was almost like a defense mechanism. No one took notice of her, therefore no one tried to mess with her, and seeing as she was in many ways an easy target, she'd take whatever she could get. Over the past few years she'd gotten a bit more notice from the group at large thanks to her sister being leader, then being friends with the person that replaced her, but aside from that, she was practically invisible.

Which was... good. Her disinterest and lack of skill in fighting made her weak in the eyes of people like Gene who bought into the Rogues' mentality hard. Not to mention her soft personality, which would make her an easy target for bullying if she wasn't friends with people like Angie, who (at least in her mind) was famous for not putting up with that shit.

Sarah froze for a split second, realizing she didn't know what to say. "What game is that?" She blurted, pointing at the cards he had laid out in front of him.

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[Russel S.]

I'M TRYING TO FIND THAT PEACE OF MIND･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

He flipped another card without looking, not outwardly portraying his wariness except for the fact he kept his eyes locked onto her. He didn't know what to expect of her; Sarah kept herself mysterious within the group, he didn't know much about her except that she was potentially quite brave or stupid by the way she was approaching him.

Nobody approached him if they didn't have an ulterior motive; perhaps she'd been dared by someone? It wouldn't be the first time interacting with him had been treated like a punishment. Oh well, he didn't exactly make himself pleasant most of the time.

"Solitaire, Pyramid Solitaire specifically." Russel answered, moving another card without so much as a glance down at the game. "If you're here for the cards, you're gonna be disappointed. They're mine." Russel said, narrowing his eyes protectively.

[THE YOUNG ROGUES]

Sarah Laine & 17 & Easy/Medium & Attack in #dc143c
She didn't think she was that mysterious, ignored yes, but anyone that wanted to know her deal could find out. As much as anyone could in a place like this, especially as she neared her eighteenth birthday. Even she didn't know what she wanted, if she and Angie would follow through with their old plans despite only being two fifths of what they once were. If they'd do something else, or go their separate ways. Those were things that were a mystery even to her.

Most people were pretty confident that she wasn't out to fuck shit up, or go into things with ill intent. Some might not even say she had it in her and... they'd be right. She'd done what she had to do to survive in the Rogues, but she never enjoyed it and she never did more than the bare minimum. "Don't worry, I don't want them. I've just never seen it like that." She shrugged.

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[Russel S.]

I'M TRYING TO FIND THAT PEACE OF MIND･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Russel leaned back slowly, tilting his head to look up at her. His gaze was questioning, and posture was closed off. He wasn't sure what to make of Sarah, and he broke his gaze away from her to glance around to see if there was anybody else hiding while she distracted him.

There didn't seem to be anybody waiting for their chance to strike though, but that didn't mean this interaction wasn't confusing as all hell. "Well congrats, you've seen them played with like this." Russel said. "So what exactly is your deal then? If you aren't here for the cards, what do you want?"

[THE YOUNG ROGUES]

Sarah Laine & 17 & Easy/Medium & Attack in #dc143c
She huffed. "I wanted to see what you were doing with the cards, but I didn't want to take them from you." She'd had enough of her stuff stolen to know how much that sucked. "Why do you assume I have an ulterior motive?"

//fmm

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[Russel S.]

I'M TRYING TO FIND THAT PEACE OF MIND･ﾟ*:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ

Russel bristled slightly, leaning back defensively as Sarah spoke. He moved another card, turning his gaze down to his game to avoid looking at her. Definitely a strange interaction thus far, and one he kind of wished wasn't happening.

"Why wouldn't you?" Russel responded, flipping another card. He sat, tense and nervous, as he waited for Sarah's response.

[THE YOUNG ROGUES]

Sarah Laine & 17 & Easy/Medium & Attack in #dc143c
She huffed and looked away, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Just because a lot of the other Rogues have some agenda, doesn't mean I do." Her goals had always been fairly simple: to lead a good life. More and more these days it felt like her goals were out of reach. Half of her friends were gone, and she had no idea where her sister was. "I don't care about who's in charge or if I get kicked out or not." Her eyes widened as she realized what she said. "Not like Angie or Peter care, I mean. I wanna be here." She needed to stop before she said something like "it doesn't consume me like it does them", or some other incriminating thing to make Angie think she was a traitor or a horrible friend.

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