HALLELUJAH — JOINING

[WOLF!]

[align=center][div style="0px; width:450px; height:auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 9pt; line-height:13px;"]Wolf was very fond of the terrain, that was for sure. After weeks of nothing but forests, and plains, and rough terrain, Wolf was ready to let his feet hit something fairly stable, and fairly easy to move on. It wasn't like there was much for them in the forests - silence, and scarce food had driven them outwards, the two of them desperately clinging to each other for some semblance of normality. This was fine. They were fine. Wolf had definitely not taken the two of them out here, into the wilderness, to meat their untimely end.

He refused to leave her, of course. Her, and their rat. At least Bubonic was doing better than them - Wolf and Fox had both lost a few pounds since their last stopping point. It was hard, not being in a stable place. Not being with family, not knowing where to do. Wolf could never go back of course, and Fox would never have the opportunity to.

Perhaps there was some guilt over that, but Wolf didn't really know. He didn't quite care about the circumstances, just that he didn't want to watch Fox get hurt, or witness Fox starve to death. He'd known her too long, and they'd become far too close for something like that to separate them.

"We might be able to check for supplies in the buildings up there, Foxie." Wrapping an arm around her shoulders and gently squeezing her close to him, he tried his best to sound optimistic. He couldn't let them fall into a despair, and they were smart enough to find something. Bubonic was resting on his shoulder as they walked, probably asleep - definitely safely curled close to his neck.

Coming to a stop, Wolf sighed. "Let's just make sure to avoid any stairs. I'd hate for us to fall and break something."

/pls wait for [member=34]demaury[/member] [member=9923]fox a.[/member] to post thanks

[fox a.]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; text-align: justify; width: 435px; font-size: 8pt; color: #808080; line-height: 120%; font-family: arial; text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"]—-  & anything was better than nothing. to see buildings towering above them and not just an endless row of trees was calming to the young woman. she carried a pessimistic attitude, so her only thoughts for the past few weeks had been that they were doomed. losing weight, no real place to rest, they were fucked. though, she didn't worry much about herself as much as she did wolf. despite her small size, she only wanted him to be taken care. she would try to give him some of her food to eat and when he would deny it she would try to feed him it herself ( it still didn't work ).

fox idolized wolf - he was her hero - and without him she had nothing and no reason to live. he was the only light in her dim and gloomy life, the only person able to put a smile onto her face. he saved her from a life of lies and pretending. with him she was able to be herself, even if it did mean ultimately putting a permanent end to her family. a gruesome way to end, really. wolf and bubonic were her family now and the only living creatures that mattered to her.

when his arm wrapped around her shoulders, fox instinctively wrapped her arms around his waist and held on as tightly as her thin arms could squeeze. she looked up at him, a dreamy look crossing her features, listening to him speak and losing herself in his eyes. she was hooked on him. obsessed. ❝ alright, doll, ❞ she hummed, laying her head against his chest. ❝ we do have to get some food in you. ❞

[CAUSTIC]

[align=center][div style="width:500px;font-size:9.2pt; text-align:justify"]Caustic's nose wrinkled from his place on a window ledge. Wasn't like the pair was being quiet- didn't even look like the idea of being discreet fell anywhere their little bubble. Doll.

Jesus Christ. Guess they were lucky the dogs wouldn't fuck them up unless they went in too far and touched shit that wasn't theirs, though at the rate they were going, he wouldn't be surprised if they did manage to singlehandedly ignore the obvious signs of people. Should've known people wouldn't get what the skulls on the fence meant.

Caustic made his way down the fire escape, jumping the last before the honeymooners ran into something they shouldn't. Namely the entirety of Los Santos when they didn't have permission, but if Caustic were in a position to be picky, he'd let the dogs find them. Get some entertainment out of it. Instead, odds were he'd have to see these people around. He'd rather deal with a hundred Volatiles all wounded at the same time.

"Wouldn't go too far in, unless you wanna lose a liter or two. Dogs don't really like trespassers." He pulled a piece of a twig out of the mesh of his shirt. "This is Los Santos. We got supplies- but unless you got something to trade for 'em, they're for members 'n joiners only." Caustic raised an expectant eyebrow, waiting for some kind of verdict to be reached between the two. Maybe they wouldn't even need to talk it over- wouldn't surprise him if they had some kinda creepy ass relationship telepathy going on.

[fox a.]

[align=center][div style="background=transparent; bordercolor=transparent; text-align: justify; width: 435px; font-size: 8pt; color: #808080; line-height: 120%; font-family: arial; text-transform: lowercase; letter-spacing: 1.5px;"]—-  & fox jumps in her spot upon the arrival of some stranger, who didn’t appear too friendly or happy to see them. a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth and she squeezed wolf tighter, biting her bottom lip as she listened to caustic speak. members only... so this was some group, eh? maybe her and her lover could get in on this place too, especially if they wanted supplies. plus, they could always figure out a way to ransack the place before leaving if they ever decided to.

fox looks between the man beside her and to caustic. ❝ well, maybe we want to join, huh? did you ever think about that? ❞ she questions him with a small tilt of her head. never make assumptions. she wasn’t sure if she wanted to try to get on his good side or just continue to annoy him with every word that came from her mouth and every action she made.

now her attention was on wolf and his thoughts. she looked up at him and pursed her lips, trying to read his face.  ❝ why don’t we stay, hm, wolfie? we can rest up and i’m sure boob wouldn’t mind, ❞ she says, sending him a little wink.

[CAUSTIC]

[align=center][div style="width:500px;font-size:9.2pt; text-align:justify"]"Really? 'S what I fuckin' said. Members and joiners. Threw you a bone." She must've missed that part. Maybe in La La Land, where she'd apparently fucked off to while he was talking. And Wolfsbane would have them taking in people like this. Didn't see how it'd benefit the big man in the long run, but knowing him, it wasn't about self-interest; guy had a soft spot a mile long. Just enough room to squeeze in all the misfits. If Caustic had his way, half the people who showed up at the border would become part of it. Skulls obviously weren't cutting it. Bodies were a little more obvious.

Caustic sat back on part of a collapsed wall, pulling a shirt from his bag to continue tearing it into strips, brow drawn together. All those supplies they handed out for free to other groups, and they didn't get jack shit back. Hell, he wondered what these two would even contribute. Maybe they should set up a test for people who showed up at the fence. Something they had to run through to prove they weren't just looking for easy handouts, because Caustic sure as hell wasn't here to patch up the boo-boos of everyone who walked through here if they weren't planning on pitching in. Wasn't a daycare.

"Soon as you figure that out, gotta run you through a few things. You been in a group before?" He glanced up, expectant again, rolling the strips of cloth over his hand and stuffing them into the bag.

[WOLF!]

[align=center][div style="0px; width:450px; height:auto; text-align: justify; font-size: 9pt; line-height:13px;"]He'd gone silent as soon as the man had appeared. Wolf wasn't exactly one for negotiation (or socializing), he preferred to let Fox do the talking. Things just got messy when Wolf was involved in tricky situations. The man's callous attitude was annoying as fuck, but hey, Wolf wasn't much better. He kept his expression neutral as Fox and the man spoke, trying to decide if this was worth anything to them in the long run. A group was great, sure, but what was the cost? What would they know here? What did they value? Wolf wasn't really anxious to go tromping around with a cult.

But, Wolf wasn't one to speak much. Fox certainly knew what she was doing, and Wolf found no reason to argue with her. "Sure." Wolf said, reaching with an arm to make sure Bubonic was still on his shoulder. The rat seemed fairly content here. So, they were all in agreement then - staying here was better than starving to death in the woods. And hey, if they needed to, they could cut a quick exit with some extra supplies in tow.

The man's question made Wolf think. His family had traveled with Fox's, so that technically made them a group... but he doubted that was what Caustic meant. "Nah." Was his eloquently-worded response. Why lie about that?