tsaf loop 2: vagabonds.

SLAM.

Trunk's filled. The parking lot is right next to town hall. The brain over there is freaky but it’s not close enough. Perrie’s in the car while Henry rests on it. The driver’s door is open to talk to Perrie, but the back is filled with more stuff and a secure Bartholomew tank.

...Man, this place is dead.

“Wonder when they will get here,” Henry says.

Bailey’s already here — they met up with them shortly after their text conversation. Their dad’s van is parked next to Perrie’s car, the back stocked with a couple cases of bottled waters and some of the snacks that don’t easily go bad.

...It's... kind of scary, actually. Perrie fiddles with their hair some, biting their lip. They still don't know where Ann is, or... where any of the adults are, actually. It's like a ghost town.

"I think Roxie's going to pick up Roux now," they mumble. "So... hopefully soon."

They're looking over at Bailey. "...How's the Mister?"

“He still seems really nervous...”

Bailey's taken one of the extra seats out of the van in order to set up a playpen for him, with some food and water. He’s got a little harness on, clipped to the railing just so he doesn’t try to get out and wander off. He’s just kind of sitting in the corner.

Perrie offers a sad smile. "...I've never seen him look so... down." Normally the duck seems so... perky, though his eyebrows would suggest otherwise. "...Bartholomew seems really nervous too, though." He's just been hiding in the plants in his tank. Not really doing much.

“...When did we get a duck?" Henry asks.

"...They've always had a duck," Perrie answers. Well-- since Christmas, at least.

“They did?”

"Yeah," Perrie says with a soft chuckle. "...He's usually a lot happier, though."

“Don’t blame him.” Henry lets out a huff.

“C’mon, you even gave him his last name!” Bailey's leaning in to pet the duck’s head, trying to calm him down. It hurts to see him so unlike his usual self. “— Mr. Quackquack Motherducker.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhh.” Henry forgot.

Perrie snickers. "He was at the dance, remember...?"

“HE WAS?”

"Yeah...! He was running around with a dog, I think..." Perrie only saw him, like, once. But it was really cute... Here. Um... Perrie's going to slip out of the car and give Mr. Quackquack some pets, too. Poor guy... They let out a small sigh, though. This all feels so... unreal.

"...You think Roxie would be okay with a few of us borrowing some weapons...?"

“As long as we give them back,” Henry replies.

Perrie softly nods. "Just... wanna make sure we're all gonna be safe. So..." They're going to sit back in their car, reaching for Henry's hand.

“Where is Roxie...” he mutters.

Lacing their fingers in between his, they rub a thumb lightly on the back of his knuckles. "Close, hopefully..." Perrie has no clue how far away Roux's house is from here. Please don't let anything bad have happened to her, or Molly, or Roxie... they think.

"...Maybe I should text her again..."

“Maybe...” Henry shifts. It’s getting dark.

from: perrie
message: hey, um... just checking in again. want to make sure you 3 are okay

from: roxie
message:  on our way!
message: needed to go check something first for my own sanity ;P

from: perrie
message: ok, just wanted to make sure you didn't run into any trouble
message: we're all here

from: roxie
message: don’t worry! the three of us are fine
message:  i just needed to go look. 

"...She's on her way. She just needed to check on something first." Perrie exhales. That makes them feel a little better...

“I see.”

Buzzbuzz. It's Perrie's phone. They're pulling it out to check.

from: roxie
message: it's gone.
attachment:

from: perrie
message: what? how?

from: roxie
message: i don’t know
message: it’s just like my twitter posts.

"........The diner's gone."

“It’s what." Henry's dumbfounded.

"Check your texts. It's just... gone." At least Roxie's safe, but... A shiver runs down Perrie's spine at the thought. What would have happened if someone was inside...?

— Beep beep! The Bel Air’s pulling into the parking lot. Roxie’s finally here. ( With Molly, Roux, and Nea of course. ) Roxie parks the car close by, before getting out. You can tell that she’s on edge, but she smiles anyways, waving as she heads over.

Oh-- perfect timing. Perrie's pocketing their phone again, and offering a small wave.

Molly's following, carrying Nea in her arms and holding the door open for Roux to step out as well. She's too nervous to speak.

"...You guys okay?" Perrie asks.

Roux steps out the car when Molly opens the door. She seems to be looking around quite franticly? Not panicked, just hyperactive. She's got a blue bag slung around her shoulders and well, another bag also hanging off of one. Two bag style. She gives a thumbs up to Perrie. At least Roux's alright...ish.

Thumbs up! Molly holds Nea's paw up, waving at Perrie with it. She could be better, but hey.

Heheh... That manages to get a small laugh out of Perrie. Poor Nea, though... They'll wave back at the kitty, and Molly in turn. "...How is she?"

Ah, umm...hold on. Molly will put her down to write on her notebook, not like Nea minds. She'll just stay in the middleground between Molly and Roxie. a little freaked out, but i think that's most pets. i just hope she knows that she'll be safe no matter what <<;;

Perrie nods just a little. "Yeah... Barty and Mr. Quackquack are, too." They offer a half smile. "At... least she's not alone."

right. and neither are we, Molly writes. Confidence in groups....or something like that, right?

Perrie grips Henry's hand a little tighter at that. "...Yeah. Right." Hopefully they'll all be okay...

“...Are we all ready?” Henry asks after some time. 3 cars, one voyage.

"...I don't know." Perrie shifts. "...We were going to... head towards Dahlia, right...?"

“Ready as we can be, I guess?” That’s Bailey. “Anywhere away from here is good with me.”

“We need to make some plans first before taking off. Just in case.” It’s Roxie speaking this time. “If part of the convoy needs to stop, if we get separated, if something... bad happens.”

“Maybe we should be on a group call at all times?” Henry shrugs.

"...Can one person in each car leave the phone plugged in?" Fiona chimes in. "So it doesn't kill the battery."

Roxie's nodding. She was just gonna say that. And... Popping her trunk. “...Everybody get a gun.”

“Cool.” Henry grabs a pistol.

Well... guess Perrie's grabbing... this one? Looks like a little revolver.

Bailey takes... a rifle, they guess.

Roux hesitantly picks up a pistol from Roxie's trunk.

"It's... okay to talk to you guys even if it's nothing important, right...? Like... on the call?" Perrie fidgets some.

Roxie nods. “I think we should try to keep conversation up, best we can? That way we know for sure we’re all still here.”

“Don’t talk about anything stupid,” Henry chides.

“It’ll lighten the mood, at least..?” Roxie adds.

"I just... like having the background noise, ehe..." Perrie says quietly. It'll feel less... lonely.

“Alright, any other rules?”

“If someone needs to stop, we tell everyone and stop together. We stay in an unbroken line when driving — if someone else pulls out in front one of us, say it so we can pull over to regroup.” At least if nothing else, Roxie knows how to prepare for danger. “I’ll be first in the convoy. Whoever’s in the back, be sure to have one of your passengers keeping an eye out behind us from time to time. Everyone try to pay attention to our surroundings, even if you’re not driving.”

“We’ll be in the back,” Henry offers.

“Okay. So... our car order is me, Blaine, Bailey, Perrie, since Bailey has most of the supplies. If we stop for gas, we all top up, and fill a couple cans to take with us. Any questions?”

"Yeah, that sounds fine." Fiona nods.

“Can I go to the bathroom real quick?” Henry chimes in.

Molly snickers. It sounds like they're going on a field trip or something.

Roxie nods at Henry. He’s going inside town hall. On his own. Sigh. Roxie’s going to go stand in the town hall doorway with her gun. Don’t die in the bathroom, Henry.

"Fi, um..." Perrie turns towards Fiona, crossing their arms. "You guys have water and stuff, right...? I have extra, if you need some for Stinky..."

"We do! I brought a bunch of bottles from home because I'm always thirsty, though."

"...And... you have snacks too, right?" Because they also brought a lot. "I brought, um... lots of blankets, and snacks, and... stuff."

"I did!" Fiona grins!

...Can Perrie hug the Quad actually? Please? They, Fiona, Blaine and Bailey all close in. Big, big hug. Perrie's trying their best to stay calm, but... they just want to hold onto all of them for a little bit. Deep breaths... before they glance at Molly and Roux. Do they want in, too? Here, they're scooting over so there's space for more.

Molly does, so, she's giving Roux's hand a small squeeze before joining in on the group hug.

Roux's just sorta been... Out of it standing next to Molly. Fairly silent all things considered. The only people she really knows here are Molly and Roxie and she's both too shy and too terrified in this moment to really socialize all too much. Never the less, the comfort of other people is soothing to her mind. And she'll go in for the group hug too.

".........I'm scared," Perrie mumbles.

..."It'll be alright. We're all together." Fiona's voice is quiet.

Soon enough, Henry and Roxie return, the rest of the group still in the middle of their hug. “What are they doing?” he says to Roxie.

Roxie’s grabbing Henry by the wrist, tugging him over to the group. It’s hug time. For everyone.

“-EAH!” Henry yelps.

The whole group stays still for several long moments, before breaking the giant hug. As nice as hug time is... they should probably start heading out.

“LETS GOOOOOOOO.” Henry chides. He’s sick and tired of hugging. He's sitting in the passenger's seat of Perrie's car.

...Deep breaths. Perrie's breaking away, and hopping into the driver's seat of their car. Guess... this is happening. Guess they'll hook their phone up to the car's charger and call the drivers of the other vehicles? Just to make sure it works.

Bailey answers the call once they’re settled back into the van, and... Quack! Well, at least Da Mister has high enough spirits for that much.

Perrie chuckles a little at that. "...Hi, Mr. Quackquack." Thank you for Da Mister. "...Can everyone hear me okay?"

“I can hear you!” That’s Roxie.

"Gotcha," Blaine answers.

“Okay so... we need a name. Like a group name," Henry says. “Actually let’s just call ourselves Caravan, and MOVE.” Patting the roof of the car. “CARAVAN, ROLL OUT!” he yells out the window. Can you tell he’s having fun? This is fun to him.

Well, at least someone’s enjoying this. Roxie’s pulling out onto the road.

Perrie's waiting for Blaine and Bailey to follow, then they'll pull out onto the empty road.

Here goes nothing.