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[stand_unshaken]

 

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[stand_unshaken]

"Hey," he says, taking a seat on one of the adjustable chairs in front of the hairdresser's mirror. "What happened?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"He just rounded the corner and nearly walked right into me, so I pulled the gun on him," she replies. Impulsive, but par for the course. "He put his hands up but I shot him anyway. All I could think was that he was Infected and at that range I couldn't take the chance."

[stand_unshaken]

He nods, fingers tapping on his knees as she explains. "You freaked out? Couldn't think clearly?"

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess grimaces.

“I wasn’t freaking out. Shooting someone who looks infected is perfectly clear thinking.”

Better safe than sorry.

“And even if he said he wasn’t infected before I shot him, everyone hides bites. He could have been lying.”

[stand_unshaken]

"I'm askin', Tess, not judging," he tells her, calmly. "How are you feelin' about it right now?"

[dog_eat_dog]

She has no idea how to answer, and she hesitates on it, her pacing slowing.

“I’m just...” She heaves a sigh, aggravated. Fearful? She can’t remember the last time she admitted to that. “This shit is so fucked up. He’s just going to walk around like that? Two weeks from now he could round another corner and we do this again?”

Somehow it felt easier to be cocky about dealing with infected before she personally got bit.

[stand_unshaken]

"So even knowing he's here, and he ain't infected, you still think you're gonna react the same way. I got that right?"

He doesn't judge her for it, but if they're going to solve this somehow, they need to know how bad it is to begin with.

[dog_eat_dog]

“Maybe, I don’t know,” she replies. “I don’t even know if he’s telling the truth, for all I know he was just talking out his ass about ‘radiation’ to not get shot. They all do that. I hid my bite too.”

Wouldn’t explain how far along he looks while still being able to control his own body, but nothing about this makes sense anyway.

[stand_unshaken]

On Sat, Feb 27, 2021 at 6:43 PM dog_eat_dog - DW Comment < dw_null@dreamwidth.org> wrote:

[stand_unshaken]

"They can still talk sense when they look like he does?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"Not really, they can just make noise, croaking, that kind of stuff," she replies. "But sometimes early on you can tell they're still aware. I've seen them crying before, or refuse to attack, even if they can't control themselves otherwise..."

She trails off for a second and then redirects herself:

"Maybe there are more people who have some resistance to it, it's just different from person to person."

[stand_unshaken]

"Are you still not completely sure, bein' away from it now, that he's not infected?"

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess pauses. Edward's situation doesn't track with most of the past twenty years. He'd flinched taking the bullet. He could talk. He could reason. And even if there are ways she could explain those things away, she doesn't have proof. Just a feeling, crawling and itchy under her skin.

She watches Arthur for a moment and then shakes her head.

"I'm not going to rule it out completely," she says, finally. "Not yet."

[stand_unshaken]

"Alright," he says, taking that in. It doesn't have to be rational, but if it isn't, he doesn't know if there's anything they can do to take away her unease. Even if she's saying 'yet'.

"So is there something we can do to rule it out completely?"

[dog_eat_dog]

Kill him just to be sure, comes to mind immediately, but she knows it won’t matter if he’ll just come back.

She folds her arms uncomfortably against her ribs.

“I don’t know. I guess he’s not going to get worse over time here even if he is.”

[stand_unshaken]

"Yeah, that's right. I wasn't getting sicker while I was here, before Goodsir gave me the cure. You want me to get in touch with the fella?"

[dog_eat_dog]

There’s a flicker of a grimace. There’s no cure for this one. Not yet, maybe not ever. Not without her, at least. But how the fuck is she supposed to graduate when this place insists on making it hard, anyway?

But Tess nods.

“I guess you have to, before some asshole shows up looking to march me to Zero or something.”

[stand_unshaken]

"Alright. Just- stick around, lemme see if he picks up."

They're not leaving here anytime soon.

[dog_eat_dog]

“Sure,” she says, and she sighs and sits down to wait.

[stand_unshaken]

He finishes up the text conversation before tucking his communicator away again.

"If he's telling the truth, he ain't told anyone and will make sure Larry won't, either. He ain't makin' a fuss so far. Figure I oughta drop by his place and see what he's got goin' on."

[dog_eat_dog]

Tess grimaces. If he’s telling the truth is her exact concern, no matter how perfectly ideal that response is at face value.

“Go armed,” she replies. She doesn’t really need to say it, but it makes her feel better to. “Just in case. Nobody is reasonable about getting shot.”

[stand_unshaken]

He pats his hip holster; he's always armed, no matter where he's going. No one on the Barge ha stopped him from doing so, yet.

"Lemme get you back to your cabin first, huh?"

[dog_eat_dog]

"Alright," she agrees, moving to the door.

She knows she'll want to hunker down for a few days, and she can't stay in the spa for that. It's either her cabin or the Brew, and her cabin is better supplied.

[stand_unshaken]

He doesn't touch her when they walk back, but he sticks close. He smokes a cigarette and keeps his head down, hiding behind the wide brim of his hat a little as they walk.

When they get there, and the door is closed, he asks her: "You wanna have a drink together when I get back from his?"

[dog_eat_dog]

“Sure,” she says. Company’s good no matter what, but she decides she’ll be easy on the alcohol. No good risking being even tipsy if more shit crops up. “Tell me if you’re going to be long, yeah? I don’t want to sit here wondering if he took it out on you.”