Survival Of The Fittest

Oof. Well, what now? Wait and do nothing?

That at least seemed better than the alternative and going out in the cold. So what now? Calvin considered talking more about his classmates, maybe he could ask the "fuck" part of "fuck, marry, kill", but he really didn't want to talk to Piper now about anything, it was hella awkward. Fey was chill, though.

Well, time to be productive. It was cold, they needed warmth.

"Hey, I feel like creating a campfire, you know? That would make this less miserable."

Calvin looked around the room.

"We should collect some wood. I wouldn't complain about marshmellows either."

Piper, after a second, just shrugged.

"If you want. I'm gonna take off."

Yeah, yeah, she was doing that. She'd warmed up some, she'd had a bit of a chance to think. Not enough, but she was feeling like probably that this was as good as she'd get and sticking around anymore wasn't going to get her anywhere. Had some things to do. People to find. That was the committment. Best Piper could do was keep someone else safe. Calvin and Fey were... fine, they just weren't people she'd put right at the top of her list. The top was what mattered.

"Keep these if you want," she shouldered off the other antler and let it drop. It would just slow her down. "Later."

Piper strode past both of them and back out into the elements. She closed the door behind her.

Reflecting on it all as she left, Piper realised that she actually felt a little better, a little clearer. Maybe Calvin was onto something after all. Bit late to go back now and say that though. She'd let him know next time they ran into each other.

Yeah, that was a promise.

((Piper continued in Missing in Action))

"Yeah. I'm for fire."

Fuck yeah. Burn some shit and keep warm. Calvin was on the ball. That was what you were supposed to do here, right? Not freeze to death?

Well, as she'd thought ballooned, it was something at least.

Something that Piper wasn't into, at least. Well that.... I mean, Fey couldn't exactly say it sucked, but still. She wasn't gonna miss Piper or anything, but Piper was just kinda giving the vibe that she had places to go and people to meet.

And that might be it. Fey had nothing she could think of to do and no one she could really think of to meet. Oh sure, she had folks, she had peeps, but she wasn't gonna be going out on any kind of mission for them or anything. So now all she had was Calvin, and Calvin's fire idea.

Fey looked down at the antlers Piper had left.

"Do, like, antlers burn?"

She stomped one, to see if it would break.

"FUCK FUCK!!"

It didn't.

"Maybe we should go grab some wood then?"

„Hey, bring some wood when you return!,“ Calvin called out to Piper.

Did they agree on a time to meet again? Well, whatever.

Fey had the same idea as him, as he looked at the antler, he just didn‘t vocalise it. Well, do bones burn? Maybe not. But, you know. The antler. With his scythe they could carve it into a weapon for Pipez when she‘d return. Not that she needed it with her self-defense shit and all but she was the only one of the trio without a proper weapon. Well, Fey‘s weird gloves weren‘t also proper so he guessed only he had something cool to defend himself, but Fey was large and Pipez had like dunno, karate and judo or whatever.

Calvin stood up. Time to get some wood. Man, this really felt like Minecraft.

„Okay, let‘s go get some wood. I‘ll call you when I‘m coming home. My phone numb-„

He touched where he thought his phone was, then he looked into his bag desperately.

„Motherfuckers took our phones!“

Calvin tried to keep calm and barely managed to act that way.

„Well, anyway. I guess I‘ll be here again before the sun goes down. Then we‘ll have a nice fire place.“

((Calvin Rawls continued elsewhere))

And then Fey was alone there.

"Huh."

She stopped and considered a few moments. Maybe her first time to really actually think.

Fey slipped the gloves off her hands and tossed them back in her bag. She really needed some gloves that wouldn't accidentally scratch her face off.

So what would she do?

Well, for now, she guessed she'd grab some wood and get back for a fire.

Fey knew she was a bit of a follower. But you know what?

She didn't give a shit just yet. Maybe give her another day or so for the whole reality to crash down. But Fey was good at putting that off. It was how she'd made the last year best of her life, hadn't it? Check in with the Vanguard. Tune into a bunch of burnouts and get on the invite list. Follow on her cousin Jade with her fake ID and grab the booze. Act like you've done it before. Smile and nod and go right along.

Wasn't nothing wrong with that. She was still her own fuckin person and she knew it and she also knew that the way out of this situation had to lead with people better equipped to actually figure that way out than she was.

Now, Calvin sure as fuck wasn't that person. Fey wasn't fucking stupid.

But for now? Hey. It was still early. And for now? Grab some wood. Warm up this popsicle stand.

That was fine.

Fey glanced around the station before she left. Piper's antlers were way too heavy to lug around. So forget them. Anything else?

No gloves, of course. She didn't have a goddamn hat either.

Well...

Fey shrugged, and grabbed a dusty pair of headphones; yanked them till they came free from the crumbling console.

Better than nothing.

(Fey Zelenka-Morrison continued elsewhere)