Watch for the woods

[Larkin Jones]

@harpermcintyre

She had no shift that night. In truth Larkin was only put on the rota for watches because she had good eyes and knew how to alert others to threats, not necessarily to shoot them herself. She was getting better at shooting, but she was nowhere near being a good shot. That evening Larkin climbed up to the tower for other reasons entirely. The boy that lived with her dad was sick and whining. Her dad was winding up catching the sickness himself, so they both basically kicked Larkin out. She didn't want to feel useless during that time, so she decided to help out with the watch.

When she saw who was on rota, she smiled. Harper. Harper, from what she has seen, was a great girl. She was fun, always up for a little bit of teasing her colleagues and friends. It was kind, teasing, too. She never saw Harper be mean really. Given the other guards for that night - all male, all old, all more serious than an infection, she was kind of happy she climbed up there. That way Harper would have some company while those men talked about whatever the hell raised their masts lately.

"Is that seat taken?" She asked Harper once she was close to where the girl sat.

@harpermcintyre

[Deleted]

This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG Harper was on night watch. Out of all the things that being in the guard involved, this was probably the least favourite of hers. Harper loved training and she loved going out of Arkadia on missions or being on watch during the day in different parts of the settlement but night watch held nothing interesting in her opinion. With the truce still happening, nothing bad really happened outside the gates of Arkadia. There was no danger present apart from animals and maybe the occasional rogue grounder that didn't quite get the point of a truce. The first of those didn't need any reaction from those on watch and the second wasn't overly difficult to deal with. Sometimes troubles broke out inside the gates, mostly between people who had drunk too much but even that didn't tend to happen to often. Things were quiet and Harper easily became bored. That meant that she was extremely happy when she had someone to talk to on her watch. Tonight she was left with no one but a few older guys, all stuck up in her opinion and too interested in their job or each other to want to talk to Harper. She couldn't imagine them being particularly fun to talk to anyway, really, unless they were willing to tell interesting stories about being on the guard. Even that couldn't be particularly interesting to her. So Harper sat back and watched in silence, trying her best to not fall asleep. Her eyes were half shut when Larkin appeared, asking if the seat next to her was taken. Harper jumped up a bit, waking quickly and looked up at the girl. While the two hadn't had much interaction at all, Harper could remember hearing her name and seeing her around at different times. She rubbed at her eyes and smiled at the other girl. "No, not at all," she said, loosely gesturing for her to sit. It would be nice to have some company even if Harper didn't remember seeing Larkin on the roster. Maybe the girl enjoyed being on night watch though, or she couldn't sleep. There was a lot of reasons she could be there even when she wasn't on the roster and it didn't particularly matter. The roster wasn't law. "You're Larkin, right?" she asked, wanting to at least be sure she had the right name. Larkin Jones || ROSTER. That is all.

[Larkin Jones]

Oh. That was a surprise to Larkin. Someone knew her name, almost that easily. She plopped herself down next to Harper and looked at her. From when she had seen her, she knew she was very competent at this job. She had, like with many of the other cadets and young guards, wondered, if that was always their path or if they had another goal once, just like Larkin. But maybe she was still following her goal by becoming a guard. In the end it was all about making a better future for those she cared about. 

"Yeah, that's me. And you're Harper." That was no question. She like many others knew exactly who she was. She and her friends tended to be in the center of attention around the leaders of the Delinquents. She heard many good things about her, how she fought for her friends and her people in those times. In Larkins eyes Arkadia needed more of those people. "You're somewhat of a celebrity." She added, remembering the little boy all giddy when he saw Larkin coming from training, close to Harper once. He thought she had trained with them. Larkin had to disappoint him, sadly. "The kid that lives with us is like a big fan of you and your friends. You guys make quite the impression on kids."

@harpermcintyre

[Deleted]

This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG There was no surprise to Harper when Larkin knew her name. Most of the guards tended to know her name...really, a lot more people seemed to know her name than Harper would expect. Harper enjoyed the part of that that told her she was well and truly needed in her position, the part that said she wasn't just a waste of resources but surprisingly, she didn't enjoy the attention. At all. She didn't know why she got it, to be completely honest. There were other people that she felt deserved it more, people like Monty, who had done so much in stopping ALIE. She had just almost gotten killed. Still, she didn't need to put that negativity on Larkin. She was just being nice, mentioning what she knew of Harper and trying to make positive conversation.  "Yeah, I'm Harper," Harper still confirmed, even though there hadn't been a question in Larkin's voice. "And, uh, thanks." That was all she could think to say in reply to Larkin's words. Even in she held no intention of throwing her negativity around, she still wasn't quite able to be all positive about things. A thanks would do and was polite enough. Harper felt the silence for a moment, felt uncomfortable in it although she didn't know if that was her or the actual silence. "Did I miss your name on the roster?" she eventually asked, deciding it was probably the best thing to say. She was curious as to why Larkin was there and she knew that the girl wasn't on the roster. "Not that I think anyone would complain about an extra person up here," she added. Larkin Jones || Notes are cooool and they go here!

[Larkin Jones]

"No you didn't miss it." Larking said. "I'm not on the rota tonight." Or early in the morning. But she would still be there. She had, quite literally nowhere else to be. It was due to the poor boys sickness. He would recover, she was sure of it. It didn't look good, but her Dad didn't want to risk her catching it and in many ways, Larkin was very grateful for it. At the same time she knew it would end in her boredom in the next days, because she couldn't be around the lively kid outside of training and work. "My father kind of threw me out." She still smiled. "The kid of friends - his parents died - lives with us now. And he's sick. Dad doesn't want me to catch it, so I had to leave." So basically her little brother was sick, even though he wasn't really her brother and she had no idea if she felt for him like one would feel as siblings, she never had one, obviously. But she cared a great deal of the kid.

"I thought I should help instead of sitting around, bored out of my mind." She could actually be useful. At least a bit. She knew she was nowhere near ready to be a full time guard. She knew she was not trained as Harper was, she didn't have the aim or experience. But she wanted to gain it, so it was another plus of why she was here.  "I'd much rather spend my time usefully."



@harpermcintyre

[Deleted]

This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG It was no surprise to hear Larkin say she wasn't on the roster, Harper had already been sure of that. Hopefully she would continue on, explaining why she was there then. And she did just that, giving a reason that made complete sense, even if it kind of sucked. "Has he been checked up by one of the doctors?" Harper asked firstly, knowing that it was important to do if someone was sick. Even if they couldn't do anything for him, they would at least know that and be able to watch him. Harper had gotten sick when she was younger, back up on the Ark, and remembered seeing a doctor before being put on rest and quarantine. Larkin being kicked of the house was a good thing too, though. "Your dad's a smart guy though," Harper told Larkin, a slight firmness to her tone. She had seen enough horrors on Earth, enough sickness and death that she didn't like the idea of anyone getting sick or injured. A relax, almost amused smile settled onto Harper's face at Larkin's next comment. She gave a quick glance up to the other guards up there on watch, more experience than Harper but looking just as relaxed. Larkin's presence would help with keeping back boredom for both of them. "No complaints from me on that," Harper said, looked back over at Larkin. Yeah, it would definitely be good to have some company on that night's watch. "Company is never a bad thing." Harper did laugh a bit at Larkin wanting to be helpful, not at the comment itself but that fact that while she would be helpful in fighting back Harper's boredom, in terms of actually being on watch, neither of them would be all that helpful. It was too quiet and there were too many guards up there. All as a just-in-case. "It'll be dead quiet so you won't have to do much. It'll be a long night of talking," she warned with a smile still on her lips. Larkin Jones

[Larkin Jones]

“I think so.” Larkin said. She had heard them talk about it and talk to someone about the little one seeing a doctor. “They have spoken about seeing one when they are free. So either they already have seen a doc or the doc knows and will see them when they have time. After all they are all super busy.” With people sick, due to no longer being used to the ground, there was a lot of work for the doctors around. Larkin laughed as Harper said her dad was smart. She knew that and had to agree. “He is. He knows how to deal with kids. That’s why he took him in.” The kid needed someone and they liked him so taking him in was only natural for them. 

“Talking sounds nice.” Larkin almost giggled. “Seriously the others are always that serious, all hush hush. The grounders that are coming to attack us are already aware we are here. No need to be silent.” And the animals usually steered clear of noise. It was the experiences with the grounders. Unless the violent ones and they were stopped by the wall. “Besides talking keeps us awake.” She pointed out. “I have seen some fall asleep on that job before.” And that was the truly shocking kicker. “So any new gossip up here?”

@harpermcintyre

[Deleted]

This is my Fight Song --TAKE BACK MY LIFE SONG, PROVE I'M ALRIGHT SONG Harper nodded. That answer made sense to her, that the kid might still be waiting for a chance to see a doctor. With only two doctors in Arkadia, Harper couldn't imagine that there would be enough time for them to get to everyone who needed them. There were only so many hours in a day and while there were many less people in Arkadia than there had been up on the Ark, there were still hundreds of people in the camp. Hundreds of people compared to two doctors. No large amount of maths was needed to work out how difficult it would be to keep everyone healthy. Just added to it by the fact that even Harper had noticed people getting sick, being exposed to disease that they weren't back on the Ark. It reminded her of something she had learnt in history, about how people had brought disease when they had travelled to new places. "The kids is lucky," Harper added to her earlier words of calling Larkin's father smart. For that kid to have someone capabell take him in and adopt him into the family, that was a really lucky thing and someone that Harper saw hope in. All the horribell things she had seen since arriving on Earth, it was always hopeful to see the little things that didn't scream in your face for attention but just happened. Harper let a breath out through her nose, holding back a laugh as Larkin spoke about the other guards being so serious and all hush hush. It was true, that was why Harper wanted to laugh. The older guards, especially the ones that had been guards up on the Ark, were sometimes too serious for their own good. There was a time for being a work-a-holic and there was a time for just relaxing a bit. Nothing happened on night watch, it wasn't the time to be overly serious. Larkin definitely had a point with what she said as well. The grounders already knew where they were. "Yeah, they are," Harper said, an amused smile at her lips. "You've saved me from that seriousness, that's for sure." She was teasing but honestly, Harper was grateful for the company and someone to talk to. "It does keep us awake." If Larkin hadn't turned up, Harper didn't doubt that she would have fallen asleep. Her eyes had already been half shut before Larkin had turned up, so she had already been half way there. Harper did laugh when Larkin asked if there was any new gossip. "What sort of gossip are you looking for? 'This person got drunk and tripped over nothing' or maybe 'these two people apparently hooked up?'" Honestly, Harper felt like she was too busy a lot of the time to actually know a lot of stuff that was happening around camp. Larkin Jones || Just thought I'd send you a friendly reminder: ROSTER.

[Larkin Jones]

“Any sort of gossip.” Larking admitted. There was not always a lot that would work. Sometimes there was just nothing to tell. Sometimes there were secrets that shouldn’t be shared in the slightest. But she wanted the harmless stuff. She wanted something they could talk about without fearing to hurt somebody. At least without fearing to permanently damage somebody. She had heard things, but they were not the ones that should be shared, no matter how well Harper knew the person that it was about. It was not Larkins story to tell. 

“For once I heard the former history teacher had her implant removed.” She grinned. “And considering how she is getting rounder, I would say it worked already.” New life on the ground. It was hope for all of them and the kind of gossip Larkin liked. It wasn’t harmful as she suspected Harper would feel the same soft joy over this even than she did. A child was something good. Especially a child that was wanted, that was the fulfilling of a wish the mother held. Larkin hoped her wish was actually coming true.

@harpermcintyre