Julien watched Drew leave and then took the flashlight back, tucking it away again.
Only him and Juliette now; favour owed aside, one other person was about the extent of what he wanted to be close to for long. His friends all rather liked attachments, and even Blaise would likely endeavour to stay in company, albeit by changing faces, he was sure. Unknowns existed, even for them, both in spite and because of this place at once.
"Bad is a grave understatement for an injury like that one," he glanced her way, "though— hm."
The hypocrisy of saying what had been on the tip of his tongue wasn't lost on him, having made such judgements about people himself in the past, most of which had been about those closest to him too, and he certainly felt that time had imparted enough knowledge to assure him that he was correct. So Julien opted for a different response.
"He has a chance, as do you, I and everyone else alive here," for a given value of alive, "and temperament isn't the only thing that holds sway over that."
Like A Pack of Wild Dogs
Open, pre-announcements Day 2
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Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2724
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
"Sure," Juliette said, straightening up and stretching her arms and shoulders. She wasn't exactly tense, but the position she'd held had been a bit awkward, and she had plenty of discomfort in her life without allowing stiffness to set in due to negligence. "Those chances aren't equal, though."
She trotted over to her own bags, retrieving them and fussing with them a little as she got them properly stowed for travel. She wasn't necessarily planning to leave immediately—Julien was pleasant enough company, to the point where she wouldn't even object to sticking with him for the time being—but leaving her belongings lying around unattended was unwise in the extreme, especially now that Johnny was no longer there to dissuade would-be thieves and Drew was no longer there to present a more attractive target.
"Luck is a big factor too, but if that doesn't get infected, Drew should buy a lottery ticket. This usually takes, what, two weeks?"
There were so many little things to bring Drew down. He'd gotten shot, run off on his own, and just did not seem to quite understand the gravity of the situation. Any one of those things could kill him in an instant. Or, perhaps, he didn't care. More power to him if that was the case, though it would be rather hypocritical for him to knowingly throw his life away doing what he wanted after chiding Juliette for thinking she could hold any sway over her own destiny. Then again, gross hypocrisy was rather rampant among her peers.
She shifted her bags around some more, making sure to keep her assigned one on her right side. If she had to grab for her weapon, she wanted to spend as little time as possible fumbling around. Her personal belongings were in a backpack, which made them both more secure and less immediately accessible. She'd split the food and water between both bags overnight, the better to allow her to jettison one in a pinch without completely dooming herself. She wished any of the spare clothes she had included decent pockets, but none did.
"If someone comes to save us in a few days, yeah, maybe he makes it."
She walked back towards Julien, looking him up and down, appraising. She was pretty sure she knew what he'd think about that, though. She was pretty sure he was astute and aware enough.
"I doubt that's going to happen, though."
She trotted over to her own bags, retrieving them and fussing with them a little as she got them properly stowed for travel. She wasn't necessarily planning to leave immediately—Julien was pleasant enough company, to the point where she wouldn't even object to sticking with him for the time being—but leaving her belongings lying around unattended was unwise in the extreme, especially now that Johnny was no longer there to dissuade would-be thieves and Drew was no longer there to present a more attractive target.
"Luck is a big factor too, but if that doesn't get infected, Drew should buy a lottery ticket. This usually takes, what, two weeks?"
There were so many little things to bring Drew down. He'd gotten shot, run off on his own, and just did not seem to quite understand the gravity of the situation. Any one of those things could kill him in an instant. Or, perhaps, he didn't care. More power to him if that was the case, though it would be rather hypocritical for him to knowingly throw his life away doing what he wanted after chiding Juliette for thinking she could hold any sway over her own destiny. Then again, gross hypocrisy was rather rampant among her peers.
She shifted her bags around some more, making sure to keep her assigned one on her right side. If she had to grab for her weapon, she wanted to spend as little time as possible fumbling around. Her personal belongings were in a backpack, which made them both more secure and less immediately accessible. She'd split the food and water between both bags overnight, the better to allow her to jettison one in a pinch without completely dooming herself. She wished any of the spare clothes she had included decent pockets, but none did.
"If someone comes to save us in a few days, yeah, maybe he makes it."
She walked back towards Julien, looking him up and down, appraising. She was pretty sure she knew what he'd think about that, though. She was pretty sure he was astute and aware enough.
"I doubt that's going to happen, though."
"Aren't they? There are always unpredictable elements, Juliette," Julien said, shifting his bags around a little more, "and that aside, I don't recall saying that anyone has a high chance." She had decided to stick around, that much was for certain, else she wouldn't be carrying this on. Whether it was to try and stack up her own chances or not, he could only guess, even if it was an educated one.
It was hardly an unwise choice, to be fair. For someone with a gun or general desire to kill their friends, picking who to get out of the way first between him and her was a no-brainer, and he didn't doubt for a second that Juliette would be running as fast as her dainty little fucking legs could carry her while he bled his life away.
He'd at least make sure it wouldn't be in these woods if he had any say in it, though. Better to be picked at by birds than fucking monkeys. At least that way he could fly.
"Right..." Julien at least had a passing idea of where they were in relation to the rest of the island, so he picked a direction and started walking. "Whatever you'll want that favour to be, there are better ways to spend time thinking on it than standing here and looking good for the cameras. Come on."
[ Julien Leblanc continued in High Hopes. ]
It was hardly an unwise choice, to be fair. For someone with a gun or general desire to kill their friends, picking who to get out of the way first between him and her was a no-brainer, and he didn't doubt for a second that Juliette would be running as fast as her dainty little fucking legs could carry her while he bled his life away.
He'd at least make sure it wouldn't be in these woods if he had any say in it, though. Better to be picked at by birds than fucking monkeys. At least that way he could fly.
"Right..." Julien at least had a passing idea of where they were in relation to the rest of the island, so he picked a direction and started walking. "Whatever you'll want that favour to be, there are better ways to spend time thinking on it than standing here and looking good for the cameras. Come on."
[ Julien Leblanc continued in High Hopes. ]
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Grand Moff Hissa
- Posts: 2724
- Joined: Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:37 am
"As you please."
Juliette didn't have to do any more packing before heading out, so she simply followed along with Julien. His stride was longer than hers, but she was able to keep up well enough. She didn't ask where they were going. She gave little thought to the idea that Julien could be leading her into an ambush; had he anything nefarious planned, he'd had more than enough opportunities to enact it before now. Moreover, while Juliette would certainly not say that she trusted him as a person, she had a feel for him, his style and self-image, and she didn't think him the sort of person to do such a thing.
Julien might be perfectly willing to hit someone from behind, but he would not do so if they didn't have a fairly clear idea that he was violently scornful towards them first. Whatever distaste he held towards Juliette, it did not appear to rise to that level.
As she trailed along, she snatched occasional glimpses through holes in the forest canopy at the sky beyond, noting as it darkened and the clouds overhead thickened. Her mood turned gloomier in time with the atmosphere.
Just perfect.
Of all the days to be wearing white.
((Juliette Sargent continued in High Hopes))
Juliette didn't have to do any more packing before heading out, so she simply followed along with Julien. His stride was longer than hers, but she was able to keep up well enough. She didn't ask where they were going. She gave little thought to the idea that Julien could be leading her into an ambush; had he anything nefarious planned, he'd had more than enough opportunities to enact it before now. Moreover, while Juliette would certainly not say that she trusted him as a person, she had a feel for him, his style and self-image, and she didn't think him the sort of person to do such a thing.
Julien might be perfectly willing to hit someone from behind, but he would not do so if they didn't have a fairly clear idea that he was violently scornful towards them first. Whatever distaste he held towards Juliette, it did not appear to rise to that level.
As she trailed along, she snatched occasional glimpses through holes in the forest canopy at the sky beyond, noting as it darkened and the clouds overhead thickened. Her mood turned gloomier in time with the atmosphere.
Just perfect.
Of all the days to be wearing white.
((Juliette Sargent continued in High Hopes))