σん เ'м ℓเKє ค Kเ∂ ฬんσ Jυรт ฬσภ'т ℓєт เт Gσ || frosty

[mationix]

Des raised his head to the sky, and let out a strangled breath. His lungs contracted, as he breathed in dust, and a loud cough echoed down the otherwise quiet city. The war had left his city in ransacks, buildings crumbling down, people looking almost like zombies, their bones poking out from their taught and yellow looking skin, and corpses piling up, looking almost like walls. Des' mother and sister had succumbed to the illness, the "government" liked to call it Bronze Fever, from the way people's skin looked after the ailments.

Now the eleven year old was slowly showing the signs of getting Bronze Fever; burning temperature, yellow bruises slowly crawling along his skin, his tongue swelling, and uncontrollable coughing. It felt like his throat was burning, feeling like he hadn't drank water in ages. Though it was true, what with everyone struggling to get even a small drop of clean water. It was getting harder and harder to keep going; everything seemed like shit, so why not just give up and sit around, like almost everyone else did...?

[coldcompany]

Another loud cough filled the air a time after his; its owner sounding as if they were coughing out blood. The dryness was everyone's enemy. The people looked like they were slowly turned sausages that had been kept on the spit for far too long.

One staggered, using the broken down wall beside his for support. He had the yellowish tinged skin, his body looking as if it were going to cave in on itself. With the bones of his feet dragging across the pavement, he continues forward, avoiding the people who had already fallen into depravity.

[mationix]

Des glanced down, a tiny flicker of curiosity appearing. He studied the other with wide eyes, as if he had never seen another person before. Though that was almost right, the illness had torn this city apart, leaving the residents believing their own neighbors were out here, waiting for them to succumb to the sickness. He licked his dry lips, wanting to have some human interaction; it had gotten boring talking to momma and sissy, as most of the time they were sleeping, trying to fight a futile battle.

"Hello," Des finally called out to the other boy, his voice hoarse. "Are...are you OK? I have a small cup of clean water in my house-" He paused and gestured behind himself to show a small slab of stone on its side, leaning against what looked like a piece of a fallen house, a small dirty floral blanket was draped over the entrance in a crude attempt at giving the residents privacy- "Well, clean isn't exactly the right word; there's still mud, and whatever died in it is still in there..." He realized that he was babbling and soon left the sentence hanging in the air.

[coldcompany]

There was a pause from the other boy, and slowly he raised his head. Turning towards Des, his presses his weight onto his elbow, slowly leaning into the wall. Grayed eyes look over him, the pupils slowly moving around as if trying to find him in a dark room. Finally they focus, and he shakes his head.

Using his other hand to brace his throat, he replies, "No... I... Couldn't. Not when... Sister is thirsty... And... You are too. We... All are..." he tries to clear his throat, the words sounding like gravel rubbing together, "Ya know..."

[mationix]

Des smiled weakly, tilting his head, scrutinizing the other. "I guess that's true," he replied, sounding a little amused at this idea, "though I can't just let you go away without anything. You sound horrible." It wasn't an accusation, it was more of an observation, by the sound of his voice. He took a small step forward towards the other guy, like Des believed the other was just a mirage.

He wore a long shirt, most of the buttons were either gone or just about to fall off; the shirt looked almost double the size of the young boy, the sleeves dragging on the ground as he walked. He wore a dirty pair of torn khakis, the cuffs rolled up to keep him from tripping over himself. Des ran a hand through his straw-like hair, blinking up at the guy. "My momma knows about a small river nearby, we always have water each day." He felt compelled to lie to the other boy, hoping that this would prolong the time they would need to part. Then, Des would be back to sitting in the silence, just waiting for his inevitable death.

[coldcompany]

The other takes a step forward to match his, "Water," he rasps, "I haven't seen any in... a long, long time," he admits, removing his weight from the support behind his back. The other didn't seem to notice his lie; but returned the stare with one of his own. "and a river...? It's probably... one of the last few." he mused aloud, his pale, chapped lips parted, and he swallowed down another rising cough. His knuckles seemed to have anything between the air and the bone separating them, and an unbuttoned shirt hung off of his thin shoulders like a towel. There were aged sweat stains on the fabric, but there was no perspiration on his body, or the shirt.

Tiredly, he crosses his arms in front of him and hunches his back up forward, "Eternal summer sounded nice... before... to get out of school... but now... I wouldn't mind being in class..." his head falls to the side for a moment before he raises it back up, as if reawakening, "My names... Teto..."

[mationix]

Des grimaced, unconsciously rubbing his hands together, a nervous habit he had picked up after the start of the war. "R-right. That's right," he managed to say, his voice constricted from lying. "It's...it's really dirty though; it takes forever to make sure the water is cleaner," he continued, licking his lips. At the mention of school, Des blinked up at him. "'School'...?" As realization dawned on him, he rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head in embarrassment. "I had forgotten all about school," he admitted, grinning sheepishly, "it hadn't seemed that important to me, once I got the sickness." It was almost like the name of the fever was taboo in saying aloud, from the nervous glance over his shoulder, to see if anyone heard him. At the introduction, Des held his hand out, the first real grin appearing, the thin skin around his face stretching, making his bones more prominent. "Desmond, though everyone calls me Des."

[coldcompany]

"We always forge' the little things," he dips his head, his chin touching his collarbone in a meek way. "Momma always said that people are like goldfish... We swim to one side and then swim to the other cause... we forgot what's on that one." he lifts his head back up slightly, and looks at his outstretched hand. He takes it, his boney hand awkwardly, feebly, holding onto Des', "Des... It's... Nice ta' meet you,"

[mationix]

"Ah, your momma sounds like an smart lady," Des said, chuckling, though the laughs slowly turned into a racking cough, as he doubled over. The coughs disappeared, as he wheezed, his throat feeling like it was burning. He stood up straighter, and continued, as if nothing had happened, "Yes, it's nice to finally meet someone out here; it's been pretty quiet what with everyone hiding from the world."

[coldcompany]

"Like rabbits, we are," he nods his head, the bones in his neck popping. He noticed the horrid cough, but said nothing of it. You learned not to after being sick with the virus for awhile. "It gets pretty lonely; no one else wants to talk,"

[mationix]

Des blinked, trying to remember what rabbits were. It seemed like any recollection of the old world, for him, had vanished; this new world will always be the past, present, and future. There was no way to break the cycle of spiraling into darkness. He nodded his head vigorously. "It's kind of creepy, like no one else is here," he agreed, casting a nervous glance behind his shoulder.

[coldcompany]

"It 'pends on what part you walk through..." he gets quiet and sways backwards, his hand grabbing the wall for support. "A lot of the time... There really is no one there."

[mationix]

Des shuddered. "Everyone else is out fighting the war," he whispered, hugging himself, looking even smaller than usual, "in a couple of years, I'll have to be shipped off to go and fight..."

[coldcompany]

"I'm not going," the other boy says, his eyes slowly closing before flying back open, "Not to the war. I'm going to leave this place."

[mationix]

Des took a step back, his eyes widening. "Leaving this pl-... Are you serious?" He asked, incredulous. "How are you going to do that, the government is always watching us...?"

[mationix]

Des took a step back, his eyes widening. "Leaving this pl-... Are you serious?" He asked, incredulous. "How are you going to do that, the government is always watching us...?"

[coldcompany]

He swings his head slowly, the pale muscles in his neck stretching like a rubber band. "I think... There might be a way... But I can't on my own... I wouldn't make it." he sighs, his shoulders shaking as he shivers in the heat.

(Finished a backpacking trip a few days ago)

[mationix]

(Welcome back! c: )

Des shifted his weight from foot to foot, his hands behind his back. "We-well, I could come with you," he said, perking up at that idea. "we could run away from this place together!"