Going So Soon?

             "Have you guys seen any sign of Shiny and X?" Mama decided to ask after making sure everybody was ok. To her disappointment she did not hear anyone say yes. Lasso and Bones were both curled up against Mama Williams while Pippin had Charlie in her lap. They were questioned here and there by the other men in the camp but for the most part they were left alone. "When do you plan on heading out to find them?" Thompson asked curiously. He didn't want them to go that soon since Mama Williams looked in pain, Pippin looked in pain as well while the other woman in a tank top and cargo pants. He hadn't asked who she was yet, he might later but right now he focused on the others. She seemed okay other then the frightened look she had, must've seen some pretty bad stuff is what he assumed. The cowboy didn't look that well either, the two boys he was with seemed ok for the most part, a little shaken up but that's all. "Possibly tomorrow" Mama said and Lasso silently nodded in agreement but Davy didn't like the idea. "Are you sure? You all look well uh-" he didn't want to appear rude so he abandoned his sentence.

           "Just pick an adjective bud I'm sure we've heard worse" Pippin told him while feeding the little lizard on her shoulder a small pebble. She had taken notice that the lizard she adopted while they were in the small neighborhood eats rocks and leaves. Not the usual lizard diet but this wasn't a normal lizard. "Um- ma'am- I don't think you should feed it that-" one of the ex army men tried to say but she shrugged and gave it to her lizard, Dart, anyway. The toothless lizard swallowed the pebble whole then began scurrying around camp. "I need to find my other sons" Mama told Davy who initially objected the idea. "I understand that but you look like you're in a lot of pain, Pippin's arm is broke, the cowboy is uh- anyways-" he froze, not wanting to start anything with Lasso. He had taken a mental note that the cowboy will choose violence over reason any day of the week and Davy was almost 100% positive that he would lose that fight. "But you guys need to take a break-" he tried to reason but he might as well have been talking to a wall. She had made up her mind and that was that.

          They stayed the night in the camp with the ex military men before waking up early the next morning to possibly start walking. Thompson came out of his tent and saw all of Mama's group already up and moving. "You guys need to rest-" he tried to tell her but the all seemed ok going off of little sleep. Charlie stayed close to Pippin as went to the small stream nearby to refill their canteens. Bones waved to him quietly while sitting on a long, shuffling playing cards in his hand. He wasn't given a task so he was keeping himself occupied by shuffling his deck. "Did any of you sleep ok?" Davy asked and they all nodded but he didn't believe any of them. They all looked exhausted so he tried to go talk to Mama about it. "Ma'am-" he gently tapped her shoulder. The small lady looked at him with a heavy sigh. "Yes?" She asked, not being in the mood for more questions. "Just take another day please" he tried to reason but this time Pippin was the one who stepped in. "With the monsters we've been seeing my brothers could be dead for all we know. We have to find them fast alright." She told him sternly. Davy backed away, realizing that there was no way he was going to be able to stop them.

        Maybe he can. Not him though but his buddy, Thompson maybe could! He's better with words! Davy shot off towards Thompson's tent to try to wake him up before the others could leave. He unzipped the tent, stumbling over the flap as he stepped in and almost fell on top of Thompson instead, who was fast asleep in his sleeping bag. "Shit-" Davy hissed which was enough to wake Thompson up. "What are you doing?..." he groaned. "I need you to talk to Mama- they're trying to leave today-" Davy told him but Thompson just laid back down. "I already tried, there's no getting through any of them." He sighed but Davy shook him. "Oh hell nah you're not giving up." Davy grumbled but was shoved away by Thompson. "Let them go they'll be fine. I'm sure they'll figure themselves out." He told him and Davy grumbled and got back up. "Fine. I'll go talk to that cowboy then." He told the man, trying to go back to sleep. "Your funeral" Thompson told him and fell back asleep.

          Davy zipped the tent back up and began walking. He found the cowboy and began walking to him. Davy noticed that his heart was racing with each step he took. He had heard too many stories of this group and he knew it's walking on eggshells whenever you gain the courage interact with the cowboy of the apocalypse. He was sitting far from the tents, sharpening his knives when Davy finally approached. Lasso glared up at him, not saying a word. "Hey uh- Lasso-" Davy stuttered out. He could've sworn he saw a hint of amusement of those cold, dark eyes that were glaring back at him while he spoke. "So I've been trying to ask-" Davy began. "No." Lasso cut him off, not letting him finish his sentence. "But- you guys are all-" he tried but was interrupted again. "Just go back to sleep. We'll be out of here in a few minutes." Lasso told him, sheathing his knife. He slowly stood up, towering over the man who had dared approach him. Davy didn't say another word. He just nodded and walked away again, clearly defeated.

{Shiny and X}

        It was early in the morning when Shiny woke up from a nightmare. He couldn't get the horrible video he watched out of his head and now it was making him lose sleep. This was the fourth time he had woken up since he went to sleep late the night before. The sun was slowly rising so he decided it was time to get up in moving. Shiny looked over at X and saw him asleep on his side still. He hadn't moved since yesterday afternoon so Shiny went and gently nudged him. "X..." he mumbled but his brother did not stir. "Xavier.." he shook him this time but nothing happened. Shiny frowned while he shook him again. "Xavier wake up." Shiny told him, using his full name in hopes that would help but nothing changed. X would not wake up. Shiny didn't want to yell due to what happened yesterday so he quietly panicked, shaking him more harshly. Nothing. Shiny got up and went to the edge of the lake. He cupped water in his hands and splashed X with it. Finally he heard a soft groan. X slowly opened his eyes, wiping away water with the back of his hand. Shiny let out a huge sigh of relief as he quickly went back to X. "Are you ok?" He asked. All he got was a slow nod as X laid his head back down in the dirt, clearly still exhausted.

          X tried to close his eyes again, wanting to go back to sleep so the aching soreness would go away but Shiny shook him again. "Oh hell no you just gave me a heart attack you got to stay awake" he told him. X groaned again and turned from his shoulder onto his back. "Are you ok? Be honest with me Xavier come on" Shiny fretted but X could barely understand what he was saying. He laid his head back again, noticing that even breathing at the moment felt laboring. Shiny tried to get him to sit up but X had no energy left to do that. He was too tired and sore to do anything but lay there and try to breathe which even then seemed like an incredible amount of effort was being used just to do a mindless task.