ZRP-2: Chapter 4, Backtracking

(Sam)
=I heard some shouting, a very dull thump accompanied by vibrations, and then a yelp of pain. That made me run to the bathroom door=
"Eve? You okay?"

(James)
"Ha, chances are I'll come in for a tie."
=I noticed though from her posture that she wasn't exactly.....okay=

"Hibiki, you sure you're okay?"

(Allie)

I raise out of some bushes where I had been hiding with ny ghille suit. A few feet away a rabbit sat nibbling on some grass, unaware of me. I pull out my buck knife and crouch ready to spring.

valar morghulis

"I want asprin." Hibiki said.

Eve sniffed, holding back tears. "Punching walls hurts. So go on. Call me an idiot or whatever."

(Sam)
=Honestly, I did my best not to laugh for the sake of her pride. But I still chuckled a little=
"You're not an idiot Eve. Hell, I punched a tree once or twice back in the caravan. How's your hand?"

(James)
"Well, we may still have some in the bags. Want to go check?"

(Allie)

I jump out and slam down, my elbow barely missing as it shots off last second. I lay there laughing for no apparent reason.

"I see blood." Eve responded.

Hibiki nodded. "Does a damsel in distress get to be carried away by her prince charming?"

(James)
=I smirked at her=
"I don't know? Are you really that helpless a princess? Because I always had you pegged as a warrior princess."

(Sam)
"Eve, can I open the door so I can take a look?"

"Just carry me to our room idiot." She said affectionately.

Eve whimpered. "Yes."

(Sam)
=Opening the door, I walked inside. When I saw her hand coated in blood, I hissed. Kneeling down, I took some of the toilet paper, and did my best to wipe away the blood=
"Why would you punch the wall though Eve?"

(James)
=Grinning, I bent down getting an arm behind her leg, and scooped her up into my arms. It was something that overdue, considering the wedding earlier=
"So, where do you want to go, my fragile princess?"

"I am frustrated because I don't know when you are joking or serious and was annoyed at falling and seemingly being scolded. So I yelled why can't anything be fucking simple and did a Falcon Punch." Eve responded as Sam tended her hand.

"Anywhere with you." Hibiki said.

(Sam)
=Once it was cleaned of blood, I wrapped it up. Toilet paper wasn't the best of bandages but it was all we had=
"Well, I wasn't scolding you for starters. And also, if love was simple, it wouldn't be fun."

(James)
"Well then....it's not your lucky day, because I have no idea of where to go."

Eve blushed with embarassment.
"I'm sorry for causing trouble." She said, sincerely believing she had caused Sam some inconvenience. "And it's only fun when you don't get frustrated."

Hibiki shrugged. "Just walk?"

(James)
=I chuckled, though my arms were already starting to ache. It was a very tiny, dim pain though=
"With you in my arms? Are you really going to be that pathetic?"

=I said it with a smile though, not wanting to sound mean=

(Sam)
"Heh, what you're thinking of is perfection Eve. I can safely say that no relationship is ever perfect."

(Allie)

I head down to to rivers edge and strip to my undies and a shirt the tie my knife to a stick. I used to spear fish a lot in Alaska, but those were smaller rivers.

"Outside by a tree...just to have some fresh air."

Eve looked at Sam...she really wanted to kiss her badly, but she had to take it slow.
She felt some tears build up. "But I only seem to cause frustration, annoyance...nothing good..."

(James)
"Alright then...."
=With that, I carried her out of the gym, down the hall and out the doors. It looked weird, her in my arms, the two of us in sweats, but frankly I didn't care. All I cared about was the woman in my arms, and of course trying to find a tree=

(Sam)
"That's just us working out the kinks. That way we know what to do and what not to do."

Hibiki laid her head on James' sboulder happily.

Eve reached out with her free hand to touch Sam's cheek. "So...would kissing be on the 'not do'ist?" She asked with a shy smile.

(Andrew)

=With those remarks, I chuckled, giving James a smile. I couldn't stay mad at the guy. I then found another spot just to sit and think, not a soul to disturb me=

And I can't stay mad at myself, either...

=I then look to where my sidearms would be=

I could also use some range time too, come to think of it...that, and get back on my old bow again...

=And with that thought, I left the gym, walking out with a smile on my face=

(Allie)

At some point I had ended just swimming and I was okay with that, it felt good to relax.

(Sam)
"It would be on the 'not' list for stuff between friends. Last I checked, we were still working up to relationship."

(James)
=Neither of us really talked....mostly because if I expended the effort to talk I may have dropped Hibiki. My arms were starting to ache, but thankfully we reached the edge of the park that had the giant arch, and there was a nice tree. Carefully, I put her down=
"So now that we both created a sight by me carrying you through the city......is there anything else you're too lazy to do?"

=Still, I said it with a smile=

"I'm not good at either. Give a foolish little girl a break?"
Eve didn't remove her hand.

Hibiki grinned. "Some water?"

(Allie)

I faintly hear voices being carried down from the hill at the arch. I slink down into the murky water and slide slowly towards the bank, hiding in some cat tails.

(James)
=I grimaced at her=
"Does it look like I brought any water bottles?"

=I sat down against the tree, the bark hard and rough but still a decent enough surface to sit back against=

(Sam)
=Grinning, I let go of the hand=
"COme on, if I made things easy for you, then the whole thing wouldn't be worth it."

(Allie)

I sneak up the bank and scan around the arch. I spot James and Hibiki under a tree. Being only in my underwear, I walked back down the bank and put on my clothes that I wore their. (Aka the ghillie suit) I shoulder my rifle and grab my spear and walk back up the hill. I walked far away, not wanting to disturb them.

"Yes." Hibiko quipped.

Eve blushed. "I know. Least I know you care."

(James)
=I gave her a flat look=
"Yeah.....I'm no magician Hibiki. You....us, was the only rabbit I ever pulled out of my hat."

(Sam)
"That I do. Now, let me check my bag for something better than toilet paper. Your hand looks fine though, at least with the bones anyway."
=I got up and walked out of the bathroom, moving for my bag and checking the contents=

Eve relocated herself to the sink counter, sitting there patiently.

Hibiki smiled and snuggled up to James. "I'm a rabbit? Don't remember working at Playboy."

(James)
"Heh, well you'd certainly be a good model for them."
=My eyes raked over her, a greedy look on my face=

"Not that I'm saying you'd model for Playboy I mean. Too busy kicking ass elsewhere."

(Sam)
=I managed to find a small roll of gauze, enough to wrap the cut. Walking back over to her, I pulled out a strip=
"Hold out your hand."

(Allie)

After stealthy sneaking around and hearing hibiki worked for playbunny (I think that's what she said). I heard back to my tent and dine on a slicd of venison then crawl into my tent and head to sleep.

Hibiki laughed. "Probably Playboy: Cop's Edition." She joked.

Eve held out her hand.

(Sam)
=Silently, I wrapped up her hand in the bandage=
"Feel any better? And don't say yes just because I'm holding your hand."

(James)
=That made me laugh a little. It felt good just sitting here, a nice quiet moment. What with the zombies and everything, I had almost forgotten moments like these=

Eve giggled. "Yes. I'm doing double good because you're holding my hand." She paused, then tilted her head. "May I have a hug please? A nice long one?" She put on her cute face.

Hibiki laid her head on James' shoulder. "When we win...I want a penthouse suite here. Overlooking the river. Maybe an adjacent one for Sam and Eve. Rooftop pool...think we can find one and all?" She sighed. "Something we can dream about..fight for..."

(James)
=I smiled a little at the thought. It was a nice dream I had to admit=
"Maybe.....but I doubt there's anything like that here."

(Sam)
=I simply frowned at her=
"Eve, be serious here. You could have broken your damn hand, and if we're going to go scouting tomorrow, then I need your hand to not be broken. So I'll ask again: dos your hand feel any better?"

"We can house shop once we secure the city from Walkers and Shepherds." Hibiki said.

Eve's smile disappeared, and she looked down. "It does ma'am. I'm sorry for doing such a stupid thing."

(James)
"I think the city is already secured....well, not from the raiders I mean. But maybe push the walls back a bit more, encompass more residential areas...and yeah, we may have something to work with."

(Sam)
"Look Eve, don't beat yourself up over it. You were angry, and you needed an outlet."
=I bent down a little so i was at eye level with her=

"But like I said, times like this are no time to be cute, playful, or flirting. When real danger is involved, or when your hurt yourself badly, you get your head in the game. Only when you're safe, can you be all of the above."

Eve nodded. "I'm sorry. I'm still learning..." she managed a small smile. "I thought our bathroom was safe enough is all." She said shyly, again looking at her lap.

(Sam)
=I snorted=
"Yeah well sometimes safe is only half of it. The other half tends to be made up of timing, and appropriateness."

=I checked the bandage a few more times=
"Open and close your fingers Eve, see if you can form a fist without causing any pain."

Eve did as instructed, opening and closing. She winced a bit, but seemed ok.
"I'm ok..." she said. She sighed.
"It's not appripriate...to want a hug when hurt?"

(Sam)
=Sighing, I couldn't help but grin at her=
"Think of it this way Eve: would you want your doctor to be giving you hugs and kisses for every boo boo you get?"

"If you doctor was you." She parried. "Otherwise...no ma'am."

(Sam)
=Standing back up, I placed the roll pf bandages on the counter=
"Well, try and be professional in moments like this Eve. Not every moment we're together has to be a romantic or flirtatious moment."

Especially since you practically strangled me with it last time.

Eve nodded, sliding off the counter and inspecting her hand before letting her arms hang at her sides.
"Yes ma'am..." she said.

(Sam)
=Seeing her look that pathetic, made me decide to give her that hug. Wrapping my arms around her, I pulled her in close, though it wasn't a crushing hug or anything=
"Look, I don't mean to be harsh Eve. But I'm trying to avoid the same stuff that caused the rift between us before."

Eve smiled this time, slipping her arms around Sam.
"You could try saying that all with a smile first off...silly."

(Sam)
"Yeah, I could. But then where would be the seriousness in the relationship?"
=I let go, and walked out of the room=

"Come on, it's been a while since I had any practice and I want to make sure I'm not rusty. Care to join me for some target practice?"

"You can be serious and smile." Eve said.
She followd Sam. "I'll try and not show you up."

(Sam)
"Hey you're good with a bow, that's it. I'll show you up with that Winchester."
=Which I grabbed, making sure the ammo for it was in the bag. We left the room soon after Eve had her weapons as well=

Eve ran after her.
"I know the basics of a handgun...can you show me some more pointers with a handgun?"

(Sam)
"I can try. I'm better with a shotgun or rifle though."
=Leaving the hotel, we headed for stadium. I had a feeling that was where the shooting range was=

(Andrew)

=I then head back to my room to get my weapons, grabbing what ammo I could=

I haven't been to a range in awhile, and it's good to stay sharp...

=I then sling my bow over my shoulder, looking to Mira=

You want head out to the range with me? I mean, you and I could both use the practice.