i'm lost again, father -- [JOINING]

[HOLLY A. WESTFALL]

HOLLY A. WESTFALL

[sub][[[  24 | FEMALE | "talking" | thinking | text  ]]][/sub]

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She felt numb, inside and out. Despite that, Holly trudge on through the snow, shaking in her long coat as she looked around at the blurry horizon, "Why did this happen?" she spoke aloud to no one, wiping at her eyes as she felt the tears stinging at them again. Why did she let it happen, that's a better fucking question.

          Her knees ached, she was hungry and tired and cold... she needed to stop, she knew that, but at what cost? She had to find her sisters. If she didn't- oh she didn't even want to consider that possibility. It was then something came into view in the white flurry of the soft snowfall that had come down earlier in the day... some kind of building? An old lodge maybe? Holly stared at it, her grey eyes exhausted at the sight. Just a few nights... she'd gather supplies and keep going. But first... she needed to see if anyone was actually here. She struggled forward towards the building, a numb hand reaching for her pocket knife inside of her jeans just in case, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

[truce.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 1.5;"]･ﾟ✧ — It was comforting to have a special armchair to curl up on when the cold was simply too much to bear. Situated in the perfect position, it allowed for Elinor to cozy up with a good novel to read yet also allowing her to peer out of the window whenever she wished to admire the glacial conditions. Blizzards always looked so much more beautiful when you didn't have to endure the bitter chill that came with it. She moistened her fingertip with her tongue before flicking the page of the book, pausing to flicker her pale gaze out of the window as she reached the end of a chapter. And then, she frowned.

Like a blaze of fire scorching through the winter flurry, a woman with thick red locks approached the Lodge. Glancing around, Ellie wasn't quite sure if anybody else in Flintlock had noticed the new arrival, and so she'd open up to get the woman out of the freezing cold. Closing the novel and placing it on the end table, Elinor stood up and trotted to the front door, clicking it open hesitantly and peeking her head out. The stranger looked weary... Exhausted, and Elinor was born to altruistically take care of others. "Oh, come on inside. You look freezing." Her lips flickered a small but sympathetic smile, taking a step back to hold the door open a little more. "I promise it's safe here."

[HOLLY A. WESTFALL]

HOLLY A. WESTFALL

[sub][[[  24 | FEMALE | "talking" | thinking | text  ]]][/sub]

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Holly looked up at the open door, her eyes meeting a pale woman with a halo of long blonde hair. She stared at her... Was this truly safe? Hell, was she even alive? It was hard to tell with how cold it was; the bitter winds whipping her hair into her face.

She pulled her hands out of her pockets, leaving the pocket knife in her jeans, and pushing her hair out of her face as she trudged forward to the entrance and the woman, "What is this place?", was the first question out of her lips as she reached the door. Holly's grey eyes looked at the woman, tired and fearful. She didn't know her. She didn't know what she'd do. And in a world like this, lies of safety were not uncommon.

[JAY]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Good God, this place was like heaven on earth. It was no beachy Bahamas paradise, it was no blazing summer sun on his family's farm, but there was warmth and comfort. That was all that Jay could really ask for at the moment. These people had saved him and his horse from eventual frostbite, that was for sure, and he'd be a popsicle buried somewhere in the mountain had it not been for them. Jay only knew a couple of people so far, but he wasn't planning on leaving until this harsh winter subsided. He was certain that there would be plenty of time to acquaint himself with people, even if he didn't necessarily consider himself a people-person. Considering the confinement of this lodge, he'd practically have no choice but to interact with others.

The young woman, Ellie, had rose to her feet and hurried towards the front door. Jay noticed this, noting her movements, and he began to wonder if she saw something outside in the flurry. The man rose to his feet as well, peering out the window and giving a slight tilt of his head. There was, indeed, an approaching figure to the Lodge, though she didn't appear to be a threat. In fact, she looked like him when he had first arrived in the mountaneous territory.

Ellie had dealt with the first greeting, opening up the Lodge to the exhausted traveler. Hands falling to his sides, he stepped forward and gave her a once-over with a flicker of his gaze. She appeared to be in fine condition; she just needed warmth and rest. Observing newcomers had been a habit of his, considering his experience with treating loners and passersby if they needed the medical attention. "This is the, uh, Flintlock Lodge." Said the Southern male. "I was in your shoes a few days ago. These people don't bite; promise." Jay was one to be wary of strangers as well, but if this woman didn't accept their help, then she would freeze to death.

Reaching over onto the couch, he scooped up a fuzzy blanket and offered it to the disheveled girl, "You look like you could use this." Along with a seat by the toasty fire and a hot beverage.

[HOLLY A. WESTFALL]

HOLLY A. WESTFALL

[sub][[[  24 | FEMALE | "talking" | thinking | text  ]]][/sub]

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With the appearance of another person, Holly was even more on edge. Neither of them seemed threatening immediately... but she wasn't sure. But the man answered her question, giving her an idea of what this place was at the very least. Some kind of refugee place, I assume... She thought, before Holly was torn from inside of her head and back to the world around her at the sight of the blanket. Just a little while.

She nodded before walking in quietly, "Thank you," she murdered as she accepted the blanket, "Um... you mentioned being in my shoes... are strangers really that common of an occurrence her?" Holly asked, looking at the two with a frown. She just wanted some answers a this point, despite the equal pulling want in her head to just collapse in the seat and fall asleep after having been in the cold for so long with little to no sleep.

[truce.]

[align=center][div style="width: 450px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 7pt; line-height: 1.5;"]･ﾟ✧ — Ellie softly shut the door behind her with a soft click, mainly because the blizzard-like conditions were sneaking their way through the doors very swiftly, her warm skin shuddering and showing goosebumps at the frigid breeze. She turned, eyes following Jay as he handed the newcomer a soft-to-touch blanket before Ellie gestured towards the fireplace, peering over at the redhead woman. "You can sit where I was sitting over there - it's so warm and cozy." She cracked a small smile. She liked to think that her good deeds around here could keep her safe; after all, coming from a toxic gang environment, this was like a whole new start for her. She wanted nothing more than to feel safe, and the Lodge was surely doing its job at keeping her mind at peace.

She took a small step back as Brendan entered the front entrance, huffing a short breath of laughter at his sudden demand. "It's okay... She's harmless, I think." She pointed out calmly, giving him a short but reassuring smile before turning to walk over to the fireplace, hugging her cardigan around her torso. "I'd say quite a few strangers have turned up recently... I've not been here too long myself, but everyone here is... Well, they're all nice."

[JAY]

[align=center][div style="width: 500px; text-align: justify; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 1.4;"]Along came the kid who had also shown up when he had first joined. He seemed a little too headstrong, way too much for his liking. There was a time and a place to be demanding of someone, and now was not the time. Hadn't he ever learned how to treat a lady with dignity? Obviously not. "Cool your heels, kid. Let her sit down 'n get warm first." It was obvious in his voice that he was simply being defensive of the newcomer and not trying to start an argument with the teenager. He didn't have the strength for that, no one did. Brendan bluntly hounding her with questions could possibly overwhelm her, although Jay did not seem to understand the tense situation between the Lodge and enemy groups. He didn't consider the fact that this could be a rogue or a spy. He was just so used to showing others "Southern hospitality".

Jay took a seat in an unoccupied nearby chair and rested his elbows upon his thighs as he leaned forward. "She's right." The Southerner chimed in, agreeing with what Elinor had said. "The people here don't seem to have a problem with welcoming people in, as long as you ain't a threat." The Lodge seemed to house plenty of weary loners and such, almost like his family farm had.

[HOLLY A. WESTFALL]

HOLLY A. WESTFALL

[sub][[[  24 | FEMALE | "talking" | thinking | text  ]]][/sub]

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Holly frowned at the boy who had come in and immediately started questioning her. He didn't look to old, but the voice he put on was as demanding as most adults she had met, "I could be asking you the same damn thing," She said stiffly, putting up her own guard of sorts. She didn't exactly enjoy being interrogated by a stranger, let alone in a house full of them, "But if you're so inclined to know, the name's Holly." If she had been in a different environment and her head wasn't distracted by a bunch of people and the cold in her bones she probably would have given an alias. But the older man and woman seemed to be quite kinder to her than the boy.

With hearing the two mention that it was common for strangers to show up and it being a, well mostly, welcoming place she frowned, one question now prominent in her head, "Have any of you seen two younger girls? Same hair colors. One about 21 and the other 15?" Holly asked, holding onto the hope that if she was lucky... maybe they'd be here? Maybe she would find them and things would go back to normal?

[HAYLEY]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 8pt; color: black; line-height: 22px;"]☁  god, she looked like such a... well, a mommy. she'd been in the kitchen, just up the hallway, with jackson and hope. she'd been practicing the art of making bread, and considering the supplies she had, it was beyond difficult. she'd been trading with passer-by's for the right supplies, and figuring out a recipe was difficult. she'd been sitting on the floor, a small blanket laid out with hope on it, holding the baby in a spitting up position. she was getting better at holding her own head up, and smiling toothlessly as drool dripped down her face, while jackson placed a pan in the oven.

hearing the commotion in the living room, the sound carrying through the high hallways into the room, hayley stood quickly, scooping hope up and holding her small form easily in one arm, the other making for a mug, tilting a kettle into the glass, vaguely orange-brown liquid straining into it, a pot of tea she'd made to sip on while she and her... well, she and jackson worked. whatever jackson was to her.

baby in one hand, mug in the other, she slipped into the hallway and into the foyer just in time to catch holly's name, and the question she post. ❝tea, it'll warm you up.❞ she said, holding the cup out in offering to the young woman. ❝we're out of season for honey, if you're a sweet-tea sort of person,❞ she said apologetically, and hope's eyes glanced over the woman, gurgling a bit in her own little form of greeting. ❝we haven't seen anyone like that, i'm sorry,❞ she apologized, taking a step back to give the woman her space. ❝i can tell whoever's going out to keep an eye out, though. it's a big mountain, but we patrol the areas high enough for the cold to be dangerous. if we don't find them up here, then odds are they're low enough to be safe.❞ from the cold, at least, she thought, though didn't say. there were bears, wolves, wanderers... flintlock was a beautiful mountain, but it was a dangerous one, and you had to survive by sheer force of will some days.

❝i'm hayley, i'm in charge of our little group.❞ she still felt sort of weird saying that. it wasn't really like she ever told anyone what to do; she mostly just made sure people were eating and wearing coats, and they managed themselves for the most part. hope sounded again, another unintelligible gurgle leaving the five-week-old, and hayley had to smile at it. ❝and this is hope, the, uh, resident baby.❞ just about everyone knew hope, and just about everyone took turns holding and playing with her. sometimes it was because hayley needed a break, but sometimes it was because holding a baby that mumbled and gurgled really could make the cold, dreary mountain feel... better.

[HOLLY A. WESTFALL]

HOLLY

• twenty-four  |  female  |  wanderer  ▴▴▴
  

Holly was a bit startled by the sudden appearance of both a mother and her child and the offer of tea. She frowned, but took the cup carefully, "Uh... thank you," she said quietly, listening to the woman answer her question. At the negative confirmation she sighed, muttering something unintelligible under her breath as she pinched the bridge of her nose with her free hand, "Yea, if you could keep eye out for them... that'd be great." she muttered, her voice a bit strained as she held back her frustration.

However, the woman and her child's introduction brought her attention back to them. Hayley and Hope. At least she knew their names now. But the little one's gurgling made her frown as she felt the sting of emotions in the back of her throat, fuck, I still can't believe you lost them, she thought to herself and rubbed at her eyes with her free hand as she tried to ignore it, "It's nice to meet you," she said, but it didn't sound very convincing.

[sub]bio  --  [abbr=currently in: flintlock lodge, owns a pocket knife, may go under alias of ALISON, has knee joint problems, health: 100%, easy physically, moderate mentally, no kill/capture/maim]tags[/abbr][/sub]