Fearful Symmetry

[Sh4dE]

"Okay!", he shouted.

Well, if Kasumi wasn't here Lance could just leave.

But he didn't. Instead, he walked a few more steps closer to the quarry until he could see Cody. He continued to walk to them expecting them to not suddenly become hostile. A few more meters until they didn't have to shout anymore.

[CondorTalon]

And there he was. Clair was expecting Lance to just go away and leave them alone after Cody had said he hadn't seen Kasumi. But instead, Lance decided to come toward them. Well, at least that meant Lance wasn't trying to sneak around or anything, right?

Yeah, but that didn't really say too much. As long as Cody had the gun they could at least retaliate to any surprises... but that was only if Lance also did have a gun.

He was approaching.

"Uh... h-hey," Clair said, as he got closer.

[Skraal]

Alright, so Lance hadn’t opened fire on them. That was good. He was also moving closer towards them. Cody didn’t know exactly how he felt about that yet.

He hefted the weapon in his hands as he took a few steps toward Lance, eyeing the guy up as he finally came into few. Lance didn’t seem to be armed, though in this case, it’d probably be better safe than sorry. At least now Cody would be able to defend himself if things went south.

That phrase. Defend himself. In other words, tear his classmate to shreds with a massive fucking shotgun. He hadn’t even been here for a day, and yet already this was what it had come to? Seriously thinking about murdering the class clown? Cody cursed under his breath as he stared forward, his eyes following Lance’s movements.

It'd be best to let Clair handle the conversation for now, and cut in when he needed to. No need to overwhelm the guy with two people barraging him with questions all at once.

[Sh4dE]

Clair was here, too. He came to an halt to avoiding coming so near to them that it would become awkward again.

"Hey", he said while waving his hand at her in a normal-volumed voice.

"You know, this situation is awkward."

He looked at Cody's gun and quickly had eye contact with the both of them again.

"What are you two up to?"

This island was big. Kasumi could be anywhere. Perhaps staying here temporarily could be more productive.

[CondorTalon]

Well, awkward was a bit of an understatement... and also maybe not the best word to use in this situation.

But instead, Clair settled for a

"Yeah, it sure is."

Lance asked what the two of them had been up to.

"Well, we were just talking," Clair said, "there isn't really much else for me to do at least."

She didn't know about Cody, but she didn't have anyone she really wanted to find. So really... talking was the best course of action. Right now, anyway.

"If nothing else, I feel like we shouldn't be wandering around by ourselves, so..."

She didn't finish that thought. She almost wanted to suggest an alliance, but she didn't know how the other two felt about that. Or even how they felt about her.

[Skraal]

Well, looked like the danger had passed for now. If Lance had the intention of attacking them, he wouldn’t have gotten so close, at least not without a weapon out. Assuming he had a weapon, that was. Cody made a careful scan of the guy standing in front of him as Lance and Clair spoke. It was obvious that Lance was either unarmed, or waaaay too trusting. Either way, he wasn’t a threat at the moment. Thankfully.

Speaking of threats, Clair’s proposal did make some sense. Sticking together would prevent them from getting picked off one by one by the various psychos who were now warming up for their imminent murder sprees. It was always comforting knowing that somebody was watching your back. On the other hand though, it was looking rather clear now that Cody was the only one in this hypothetical group with any sort of half-decent weapon. If any sort of serious fighting broke out, the two next to him would be relying on him to take the responsibility of blowing away one of their classmates. Not much better than going it alone, in that case.

Well, not like these things lasted for long, anyway. Despite what you’d expect, it seemed like these groups still usually ended up with members getting picked off rather quickly. All it would take would be one moment of carelessness, or one stray bullet, and they’d be down for the count. It was inevitable.

Cody pursed his lips anxiously as he looked around the quarry. Things had gone well with Clair and Lance, but he wasn’t exactly looking forward to trying his luck with a third newcomer. It wouldn’t be a good idea to linger here. He spoke sharply, his words abruptly piercing into the conversation between the two students beside him.

“I dunno what you think, but this place is pretty exposed, and I’m not exactly a fan of getting sniped. I’m getting out of here, and if you guys wanna follow me, be my guest.”

With that, he hiked his bag over his shoulder and began making his way out without looking back. He’d figure out his next move once he found a safer spot to think.

((Cody Jenkins continued elsewhere))

[Sh4dE]

Yeah, that seemed wise. Strength in numbers.

He followed Cody.

((Lance Adams continued in The Noose of Time))

[CondorTalon]

Clair was caught off guard when Cody suddenly spoke about leaving the location. Before she could even sayanything in response, Cody began to walk away, and Lance immediately followed.

Well. It's not like she was really going to object to Cody's decision. Moving on was probably a good idea. Sticking together was... yeah, it was a good idea.

Especially since Cody had the gun.

Clair quickly gathered her things and followed.

((Clair Belvedere continued in Earth Sky From Venus.))