Waiting to Die

OOC: Previous post.

*Roatha now approaches them.*

Astarte walked over to them, "Hey. Where is everybody else?"

<We'll get whatever they->

*Eve pivots to face Roatha, one hand gripping her phone and the other tapping Lilith's shoulder*
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*Tirea looks from Astarte to the new arrivals*

Azuma: "I don't have all day and for all I knew no one was coming."

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Taiyo withdraws behind everyone else.

S"Sorry we have other problems to attend to. Whatever, just follow me."

*He turns to walk out.*

V"You 2 look ridiculous, don't you even have a change of clothes?"

*She glances at Astarte, apparently just noticing her.*

V"And how did you get here?"
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*They turn to stare, Lilith looking angry & Thiera concerned. Roatha smirks at them.*

R"Did you all enjoy my room service?"

L"You're Ira, then. What do you want?"

*Roatha tilts his head.*

R"Did I kill her crooked-eyed whore already, or are you just hiding her somewhere? It gets confusing after a while."

L"(Answer the question!)"

*He leans in, causing Lilith & Thiera to withdraw, Thiera hanging onto her sister's arm. Roatha rolls his eyes.*

R"(You...aren't in any position to make demands!)"

"All day to do what?" Astarte asked Azuma, then turned to Vanessa. "Didn't Eve say? Were you guys even with her? Can we please just stop and clarify everything?"

*Eve takes a step back as well, then squeezes Taiyo's shoulder reassuringly*
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*Tirea moves to follow Senthose, holding her hands up and shrugging apologetically at Astarte*

Azuma: "If we do or not doesn't matter."

R"So, where is it? Actually, you know what, you can play it that way if you want. We like it when you fight, anyway. It only makes it more satisfying when you--"

L"Is this all that you came to do? Make fun of us?"

R"Not at all! In fact, I'm gonna reunite your little club so you can plan out your last stand. Also took the liberty of putting something in your little info file."
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S"No stopping. Clarify along the way."

*Schreiber & Vanessa follow Senthose.*

V"I guess she did say SOMETHING about you getting away, but it still doesn't make much sense. You betrayed us to Ira, didn't you?"

S"Kids, please don't fight until we get to the fucking store."

"Fuck you, cunt," Astarte spat at Vanessa's feet. "No I didn't. Maybe you betrayed us a long time ago and that's how you've never been caught."

*Tirea looks back at Astarte and Vanessa*

<Come on guys, Senthose's right! Can't this wait?>
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*Keeping one eye on Ira, Eve quickly texts Senthose before opening the document*

Ira is at the store taunting us. Be careful.

Azuma: "Of course it can't."

*Thiera glances over & Ira takes a quick step forward, snickering when she jumps. Lilith clenches her fists.*

Th"S--so what? What is the point of sending us psychologists' notes."

R"Fuck do those tests ask you, what diseases you got from eating each other out? College must really be goin' down the drain if bimbos like you are considered--"

*Figuring he's distracted, Lilith aims a punch at his jaw, but he grabs her hand, squeezes her knuckles, & twists her arm behind her back, forcing her to kneel on the ground in a very compromising position. Lilith's face turns red as she squeezes her eyes shut chokes back the pain to a series of gasps. While pulling Lilith's braid with his other hand, Roatha notices Taiyo & does a double-take, his snarl turning into a grin.*

R"Oh, there you are. Don't worry, I wouldn't leave you out of the fun."

*While all of this is going on, Thiera just looks frantically at everyone in attendance, waving her arms around & choking whenever she tries to speak.*
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S"Settle down, we're just a few minutes away."

*Vanessa doesn't look back, not noticing that she was spat at.*

V"...That's stupid. You're a retard."

Astarte lifted her chin and shot a more considerable and gross glob of spit at Vanessa, aiming for the back of her head.

Taiyo backs the hell up.

*Eve freezes momentarily, then moves to grab Thiera's hands, face slightly pale. She then leans in and whispers in her ear*

<(He's toying with us.)>
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*Tirea stops and her face turns red as she holds back tears*

<Why are you egging each other on?!>

*Roatha rubs up against Lilith.*

R"Well, Lily is sure into it, but the REAL fun comes later. Enjoy your final hours. The clock will be ticking down to our next meeting."

*His eyes kind of glaze over & his grip starts to relax.*

L"Get--OFF!"

*Lilith stands up, shoving him off, at which point he backs into a shelf. As he falls, a bunch of merchandise goes with him with a great crashing noise. The saleswoman who greeted Roatha in the first place runs up & peaks around the corner as Lilith rubs the wrist that Ira had a hold of. She doesn't look at her, but remains glaring at Roatha. For his part, Roatha lays there with his eyes closed, half-covered in a pile of merchandise & strands of Lilith's hair.*

Saleswoman<Is everything all right?>

L"Fine. A few of us fell. You should be more careful when cleaning the floors. Isn't that right, Roatha?"

R"...Yeah."

*Thiera tries to look calmer, but is still looking towards various people with a wide-eyed stare.*
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*Vanessa touches the back of her head, then wrinkles her nose in disgust when she looks at her hand. She reaches for her Mace, until she realizes that she doesn't have it, then looks back at Senthose & Dr. Schreiber.*

V<Are you just going to let her get away with that?!>

S<"Yes.">

*Vanessa turns back to Astarte as they continue into the parking lot.*

V"Stupid, ugly, ungrateful bitch."

*She turns to start walking, but it doesn't take too long until she whirls around to slap Astarte across the face.*

Astarte had been expecting to be attacked immediately and was prepared to block it with a forearm, "What the fuck do I have to be grateful to you for?"

*Eve looks at Thiera, then slowly lets go of her hands and looks at the saleswoman*

<Sorry for the commotion.>
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*Tirea just stares at the scene, horrified*

Azuma carries on.

=================================

Taiyo stands silent, wanting to say something, but it's not really the best time.

L"Well, don't just lie there, help me pick this shit up!"

<Oh, you don't have to worry about-->

L"I said we'll handle it!"

*Alarmed at being snapped at, the saleswoman raises her hands & backs away. Once she's out of sight, Roatha slowly rises to a sitting position & starts picking junk off of the floor.*

L"...I don't know if you heard, but Nero's gone."

R"I remember...I also remember Aroma, Sab, Euryale, Cameron--"

L"Maybe it'd be quicker if you gave us a list of people you DON'T remember."

R"...Gabe, Noctis, & Mortal. I have no idea what happened to them. Also, Officer Jane is gone."

*During his recollection, Lilith had sighed & bent down to pick things up. She stops & looks up.*

L"What?"

R"They've got Astarte's dad under surveillance. They kidnapped him briefly, but before they let him go, Jane stumbled upon where he was being held. I only saw it on the security footage. The White Monster took care of her, & eventually the Shadow came to collect what was left."

*Thiera starts adding this information, though from the look on her face, it's possible that it's less about staying updated & more about trying to escape from reality..*
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*Senthose & Dr. Schreiber enter the store, completely ignoring the fight in the parking lot. But as the other group is hidden behind some shelves, they're mostly just dicking around at the entrance.*
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V"I've been helping Dr. Schreiber bail your stupid ass out of trouble! Oh yeah, not to mention that time your idiot cousin or brother or whatever almost got us all killed in the forest! I always knew he'd get his dumb ass killed, I'm just glad he didn't take the rest of us down with him! Also--"

*She returns the favor, spitting right in Astarte's face.*

*Artexi takes one look at the fight and hurries after Senthose*
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*Eve moves over behind Lilith, crossing her arms*

<What of Astarte? Do you remember how she managed to get back down here?>

Astarte wiped it off her face and smirked, "Yeah, you guys have been a whole lot of help. I'm so sorry, you miserable cunt."

*Vanessa shoves her middle finger in Astarte's face &, while she's distracted by that, kicks her in the shin.*
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*They're all just dicking around the front doors when a frazzled-looking saleswoman comes up.*

<Can I help you?>

S"We're looking for some friends."

*She frowns, some color flushing from her face.*

<Let me guess...one of them has red hair, in a long braid?>
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R"...No. I only remember that Ira said something to her--about not trusting Dr. Schreiber."

L"Of course he would say that."

R"You're right. He's probably lying."

L"Get out of the way."

*Roatha hurriedly crawls away so that Lilith can step forward & put things back on shelves. She clearly could have reached over him. When he notices he's moving towards Taiyo, Eve, & Thiera, he stands up, looking at them with an expression of nervous curiosity. Thiera looks up from her phone, opening her mouth & then closing it. Her eyes are getting red.*

Astarte stepped back with a grimace, "Will you fuck off? We have somewhere to be."