OUTBREAK: ZERO is a semi post-apocalyptic pandemic roleplay set in the fictional city of Lethford, USA. Current season: Winter, 20/21.
March 2020. The world is in pandemonium as one month ago, GHNv-20 was confirmed, five months after the beginning of norovirus season. The number of the infected are in the higher hundred thousands, and the death toll is at an estimated 250,000, with about seventy percent of the rest of the population experiencing mild to moderate illnesses connected to the S. pyogenes bacteria.
The fear of the unknown has caused mass hysteria and panic.
In an attempt to provide a semblance of safety and control, military personnel patrol the streets, even here in Lethford City, and the police force is trying to keep up with the rising street violence, assault, and theft.
Welcome to OUTBREAK: zero. Will you survive?
HAYANA
SITE OWNER + HEAD ADMINISTRATOR
Hi! I'm Haya. I'm pretty much your girl for everything! If you have any questions regarding our plot, membergroups, etc. don't hesitate to ask me. I'm also in charge of coding, graphics, anything skin related, and advertising/affiliates.
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ADDI
ADMINISTRATOR
Hey! I'm Addi. Hit me up if you need help with anything. I'm always for plotting so don't be shy. I like coffee, booze, and working out. I'm back from a long hiatus the dead so if you need anything, best ask the others until I get back into the groove of things!
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FINNLEY
GLOBAL MODERATOR
Hi hello! My name is Finnley, or Finn, call whichever and I'll be there for you (yes like the FRIENDS theme song). I am in charge of the claims and helping with miscellaneous things. Let me know if you have any questions!
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outbreak
/ˈaʊtbreɪk/ zero /ˈzɪərəʊ/
a sudden occurrence of something unwelcome, such as war or disease. number, no quantity or number; nought; the figure 0.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Another day, another stupid idea. Raphael rolled out of his bed early - or at least what he considered early. The digital clock on his bedside table displayed 4:38 PM in bright, red digits. His sleep schedule was pretty messed up ever since the lockdowns started and school closed. He opted not to take online classes if possible because he just didn’t feel like attending them. He would rather play games all night. After a quick five minute shower, slapping on some wearable clothes aka his all-time favorite grey hoodie and a pair of jeans which seemed to smell just fine despite being in the laundry basket, Raphael grabbed a slice of leftover pizza, his backpack and rushed out of the apartment.
He took the bus to the suburbs, which was a good thirty minute ride from his apartment. The only good thing about this whole pandemic was that traffic was actually okay. In fact… the city was almost empty. He adjusted his black and red bandana and tightened it around his mouth-nose area. Once the bus reached the last stop between city borders and suburbs Raphael let the bus driver know to stop and got out of the vehicle. Raphael, trying to look cool, jumped out of the bus but instead of landing with a cool pose he twisted his ankle and tumbled to the ground. The bus driver didn’t care and just drove away.
Mumbling his overwhelming gratitude under his breath he got back up to his feet, popping in his wireless earplugs, blasting Mr. Blue Sky on the highest volume possible, and walked towards his final destination: the school district. All schools were forced to shut down once the pandemic arrived at the end of the city but Raphael had other plans. He wasn’t planning on attending classes - not to mention he was a university student and not a high schooler, even though, people would mistake him as one just by his behavior.
His reason to check out the school buildings were rumors. Just like always - rumors. Rumors about rebels using it as a hideout, illegal gatherings for a cure, military using it to hide away stashes of supplies. Of course it made Raphael want to check it out… like last week, when he thought it was a good idea to sneak into the quarantine zone only to stumble over a dead body by accident and getting his ass whipped by a cop. This time he made sure to make an escape plan beforehand.
Once there, he hid behind tree to check out the area, his gaze wandering from one side to the other while he took out the earplugs. Quiet. No one seemed to be around. Maybe it was too early. With an excited grin on his face the brunette tip-toed over to the main entrance of the high school building but soon discovered it was locked with a pair of heavy duty chains. He sneaked around the building, his body pressed closely to the wall, as his eyes spotted a door with the chains broken or cut through. Now, everyone would say it’s definitely not a great idea to enter a building when obviously someone already went there. But it was Raphael… he didn’t think about that. He opened the door, his hand covered with the sleeve of his hoodie as he turned the knob, and squeezed through.
His head whipped left and right, checking the darkened corridors for other people. Making sure no one seemed to be around he made his way down the hallway, checking one classroom door after another. Locked. Most of them were locked. Letting out a frustrated sigh he climbed up the stairs to the second floor. After another bunch of locked doors he thought about giving up and he blankly stared at a shelf full of cleaning and restoration supplies, but then click... a door right next to it opened. Raphael slipped inside the room, closing the door behind him with a little too much force.
Raphael jumped at the noise the shelf made as it tumbled over, everything on it crashing to the floor. He winced, grimacing at the scene unfolding behind him. Slowly he turned around, his hand reaching for the door handle. He pushed. It wouldn’t budge. Great. He was stuck. A student’s worst nightmare? Being stuck in a classroom. Well, at least he wasn’t naked.
He tried to push against the door with all the power he had, slammed his fist against the hard material and screamed his lungs out. “Hello? Hello? Hellooo? Is anybody out there? Help? I could need a little … help?”
Makenna hated being confined. She knew that it would be the smarter decision for her to stay cooped up in the apartment and only go out when necessary, especially since her school was shut down and not that many people were worried about buying art. So Makenna had been doing quite a bit of sitting around, doing nothing, and she was completely tired of that. She took her backpack full of supplies, her special spray painting mask - a heavy duty paint respirator that she had painted a random design of swirls on in a rainbow of color. Slipping it into her bag, checking to make sure she had all the colors she wanted to use today, Makenna made sure to lock the door on her way out. She dressed in black - from her jacket down to her boots - because she intended on going to the shut down high school today to paint some murals. The trip there was quiet - with all the recent activity, the streets seemed to be deserted. It was as if the city was on it's death bed, taking it's last few breaths. Makenna tried to ignore any news that came up recently - seeing footage of the riots had made her insides burn, her chest tight. People were angry, hurting, dying. It made her heart ache. Of course, she couldn't ignore the news for long, but she needed to take a breath and just...exist.
She had music pumping in her ears as she walked, letting her phone choose the music of the day for her. As the soft voice of Christina Perri floated into her ears, she did her best to discreetly enter the school district - heading for the high school. She figured she might find some buses still parked there, and if she did, she was definitely going to paint one. She didn't bother removing her earphones when she finally reached the high school, just glancing around before stepping out into the open instead. Makenna wasn't exactly worried about getting caught - when you were an illegal street artist, you learned to run fast. But she didn't want to run into any punks who might give her a hard time.
Makenna didn't spot a bus, but she did notice that the school was pristine on the outside - no one had tagged it yet. Smirking to herself, she stepped up to a big expanse of brick wall, looking it over and imagining what she should put on it. Without really thinking, she started to spray paint the outline of a woman's head and shoulders, making big sweeping gestures as she went so that it was as large as she could make it without a ladder. The thought made her immediately think of a time when she'd stood on the back of one of her fellow street artists, just so she could reach where she needed to. Smiling beneath the paint respirator on her face, she continued her work, adding in explosions of color to the black outline. And then she started on the mask.
Once she was finished, Makenna took out her earphones and took a step back, staring at her creation. A woman, no one in particular, with a paint respirator much like hers, minus the color. The colors painted into the backdrop looked a lot like an evening sky - oranges, pinks, blues. Some dark purple sections. The woman was crying, which Makenna thought was a nice touch. She was still admiring her handiwork when she heard it - shouting?
Hesitating, Makenna turned her head to try and hear the voice better. Someone calling for help? A spike of adrenaline hit her suddenly, her feet dragging her to the side door nearest to her - so distracted she completely forgot her bag of supplies, only having her respirator still snugly attached to her face. The doors were chained, so she knelt down and examined the lock they'd used. Not impossible for her to pick - she she did just that, fishing a bobby pin out of her hair. She almost always had bobby pins in her hair for this specific purpose - they didn't work very well against better locks, but clearly the city thought that a simple lock would deter most. Too bad for the city.
Having successfully bypassed the lock, she wrapped the end of the chain around her fist and let the rest dangle heavily from her arm. Just in case she needed it. The shouting was coming from upstairs - so she made her way up quickly, following the echoing sound of the guy screaming at the top of his lungs for help. Down the hall was a door with a toppled shelving unit in front of it - not to mention the many supplies that had fallen with it. Makenna stepped up to the door, suddenly coming face to face with the owner of the shouting voice. Reaching up, she pulled her respirator down so that it hung around her neck. "Need some help?" She asked, a bemused expression on her face.
Looking down at the mess in front of the door, she nudged a few supplies with her booted foot before looking back up at the guy locked in the room. "Promise you're not some thief jacked up on drugs whose gonna rob me as soon as I let him out?" Makenna raised her brows questioningly as she asked this - you'd be surprised what kinds of people you run into in places you're not supposed to go. She was only partially kidding, too.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Raphael’s hand started hurting from the pounding against the door. It was no use. He almost found himself getting quite comfortable with the thought of starving and dying in a classroom. He never thought he would live his last hours on earth inside one of the most hated places in the world. School. Awful, horrible, terrible. “Whyyyyy, whyyy me? Why here?” he half-sobbed, slapping the palm of his hand against the glass. He checked the door itself, the hinges, everything around the frame, but nothing seemed to be the cause of the problem. It had to be outside. He remembered the noise of something falling... could it be the shelf blocking the door? He pushed against it, trying hard, but it wouldn't budge.
He paced around the room, checking out the windows. A quick look out of the window by the front and he knew he wouldn’t be able to survive that jump - or get away with it without sustaining any injuries related to broken bones. He considered it but promptly dismissed the idea. Raphael could be stupid at times - like at times like this - but he wasn’t that stupid. A shudder went up his spine and he couldn’t help himself but grimace at the thought of his bones sticking out of the flesh, lying on the ground in agonizing pain. No, thank you.
Moving back to the door he tried to look out, but his view of the corridor was very limited. The chances of anyone being outside now were so low he almost gave up when he heard a voice speak to him on the other side of the door. He stood in front of the small window, looking at whoever came to his rescue - or so he hoped. His eyes lit up at the spark of hope appearing out of nowhere. The lights appeared to brighten up the area around her, or so he thought, and he spotted her blonde hair. Was it an angel who came to his rescue? “Uh yes, please. The… the door doesn’t open anymore.” he explained, trying to move the doorknob again just to make sure and to show her.
The brunette raised an eyebrow at her question, looking up, lips pursed as he thought for a moment. Stepping back but still visible through the window he pointed at his own face. He wasn’t sure if he should take it as a compliment or insult. Compliment: because she thought he would be smart enough to be a thief and rich enough to buy drugs. Insult: because she thought he was a thief and a drug addict. “Do I look like a thief jacked up on drugs who is going to rob you as soon as you let me out?” he asked, bewildered, tapping his chin in a thinking motion. “I would rather be called a serial killer like Bundy… at least that would mean I’m attractive.” Pretentiously running a hand through his hair, he winked at her and was meaning to do a half-spin and pose but he ended up tripping over his own shoelace, sending himself face-first into the door. Grumbling he pushed himself back, taking a step away.
Raphael coughed, clearing his throat, trying to play it cool. That never happened. “See. I’m neither. I’m just a guy stuck in a room because the door won’t open. So if you could please, please, let me out I promise I won’t rob or murder you and I totally owe you.” he said, half-pleading, his lips forming into a pout. He dipped his head, eyes looking up like a puppy’s. “Pretty please?”
Makenna couldn’t help but laugh in response to the guy’s reaction to her question. It was fair to be a little indignant - it was a rude question, but one that needed to be asked. She shrugged her shoulders, raising a brow when he added the comment about Bundy. ”See? That doesn’t inspire trust. Maybe you just trick people into trusting you before you murder them and use their jewelry to buy more drugs.” She said, her tone playfully sincere, her poker face twitching with amusement.
The task of remaining serious became nearly impossible when he promptly tried to execute a spin and instead slipped and fell. Pressing a fist into her lips, Makenna cleared her throat, giving him an innocent look when he got back to his feet and turned back to her. She tried to continue the serious look when he started to plead, and gave him a thoughtful look before tossing her hands in the air, sighing as if put upon. ”Alright, I believe you.” Makenna held up a finger, smiling. ”Gimme a sec.”
She was able to move the bigger pieces fairly easily - just grab it and drag it out of the way. The painstaking part was clearing out the rest of the stuff - the odds and bits that had been on the shelves. She decided to just kick it out of the way, thinking the school probably had bigger worries right now than a little vandalism. Glancing at the rubble-esque pile of shelving and supplies, Makenna didn’t waste time feeling bad about it. Wasn’t even her doing.
Reaching out, she opened the door, stepping back as she did so to give him room to come out. There was a virus going around, after all. ”I’m Mack.” Too late, she considered giving her street art code name instead, but then he’d already seen her full face, so maybe she shouldn’t do that.
”I’m curious to know the reason behind breaking into the school.” She admitted, her expression bemused. Letting the door go once he’d cleared it, she glanced down the hall where she’d come from. Looking back at the guy she’d just rescued, Makenna gestured over her shoulder. ”I need to go make sure my stuff doesn’t get stolen. Wanna join, or were you thinking about getting yourself trapped somewhere again? I hear the roof’s really nice.” She joked, a playfully questioning look on her face.
Normally, she preferred to spend her time alone or with her fellow street artists. Makenna didn't often invest her time in making new friends - because new friends could sometimes just be new problems in disguise. She'd learned to keep her pool of friends small, but to always seem like you had infinite friends. Kept some types at bay. Which is why she was both comfortable being completely alone, or in the middle of a crowd of thousands. It just so happened that the pandemic made it easier to spend time by yourself. She'd painted more buildings in the past few months than she had since she ever started this hobby up.
It definitely afforded her more peace than stealing often did, though she had to admit even her fingers were itching. She was pretty sure she could find some really interesting things in the abandoned high school, but the atmosphere of the building creeped her out a bit. And she didn't want to lose her painting supplies.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Raphael exaggeratedly rolled his eyes at her, making a great motion with his head as well to get his point across. “Thanks for thinking I am capable of murdering people despite me being stuck now in this classroom.” he said, enunciating each word clearly, eyes widened, head tilted slightly down and to the side, as he nodded, a mocking are you serious smirk playing around his lips. He tossed his hands up when she finally told him she believed him not to be a drug-addicted murderer. “THANK YOU.” Raphael replied, shaking his head lightly.
Raphael watched her move the stuff around, drumming his fingers against the door hoping she would hurry up a little bit. He almost said something but bit his lower lip to keep his mouth shut. Nagging the only person who could help him out of this situation wasn’t the best idea… not that this whole day was anyway. His eyes kept glancing at all the things scattered around the floor, his lips parting and closing, feeling the need to tell her to move this instead of that.
Stepping out of the room the brunette felt the biggest wave of relief wash over him. He could hear angels sing in the background, as he was so happy to be free again. “Freedom! And fresh air. Haaah-” he uttered, waving some hallway air into his face, nostrils flaring as he made sure to take deep breaths through his nose. But when the dust hit him in the nose he coughed, slapping his chest a few times. “I’m good, I’m good.” he assured, more to himself than to Mack. Once he was back on track he cleared his throat, ruffling his hair slightly gave her a cool head nod. “Raaaaph-” he paused, knitting his brows together. “-ael Hernandez Paulos Roberto Alejandro Doritos Chipotle Super Hot Flaming Cheetos.” Never trust anyone, he thought, giving her a satisfied smirk.
“No, nope. I’ll gladly join you. You shouldn’t be running around here alone anyway.” he said, shuddering at the thought of being stuck on the roof or simply another classroom. All the nightmares from school and his teachers came rushing back at once and he rubbed his arms, trying to keep the goosebumps at bay. “I was just… exploring. Going after rumors, investigating. They say rebels have taken over the school district over here.” he stopped in his tracks, backing away a step, back arching inwards very softly, his chin meeting his chest as he looked at her. “You’re not… a rebel, are you?” he asked her, wanting to slap himself for getting distracted by her asking him if he was a murderer but not thinking about doing and assuming the same.
What if she was the murderer here? The drug addict? Although, she didn’t look like a typical drug addict. Raphael took another step back, lips pursed outward, brown eyes glued to her. “I have a weapon. He didn’t. If you do anything shady I won’t hesitate just because you’re a girl.” he told her, trying to sound a little badass as if he was making an actual threat, however, if it really sounded like that was up to the listener. Pretending to fumble around at his back as if he actually carried a gun or a knife with him.
He looked her up and down, giving her a thorough once over. She looked like an angel, in combat boots, but Lucifer was once an angel too before he fell and descended to hell. And after mentioning handsome serial killers he couldn’t be too sure.
Makenna tried to hide the bemused smirk on her face as she worked to move the debris from in front of the door, listening to the attitude dripping from his every word. Okay, so she’d definitely insulted him at least a little, but could he really blame her for being careful? ”I think everyone’s probably at least a little capable of murder in their own ways.” She told him, her tone thoughtful. She could practically feel his gaze burning a hole in her back as she leaned down to clear away the remaining debris.
She wasn’t expecting him to be eternally grateful; and she definitely couldn’t begrudge him his impatience. Though he was definitely more polite about it than Mack would have been, in his situation. She could only imagine what he’d been thinking - when no one came to get him out at first, had he considered that he could easily die of thirst before anyone came looking around and found him? Mack didn’t make that point, of course, because it was morbid. These were just the things she thought about. A satisfied smile spread over her features as she cleared the last of it, moving out of the way so he could come out of the room. She stood to the side as he celebrated, one arm over her abdomen and her other hand’s knuckles pressed against her lips to hide her amusement.
Brows raising as he began to cough, insisting he was alright, Mack gave him a ‘you sure?’ sort of look before nodding her head as he seemed to recover. She was caught by surprise by his introduction, and felt her brows pulling together in a questioning expression as she chuckled softly, shaking her head. ”Well, it’s nice to meet you, Cheeto.” She told him, crossing her arms as she gave him a lopsided smirk, tilting her head, as if waiting for him to correct her.
As he mentioned her being alone out here, she glanced back at the classroom where he’d been trapped. She shouldn’t be out here alone? He shouldn’t be out here alone. But she didn’t correct him, rather nodding her head, expression solemn. ”You’re so right. It’s terrifying being out here all by my little lonesome. So glad you came along to protect me.” Pressing a hand to her chest, Makenna gave him the best ‘helpless damsel’ kind of smile, as if he were some knight in shining armor who’d come to her rescue all of a sudden.
“You’re not… a rebel, are you?”
Oh, well, that hadn’t been where she thought this encounter was going to go. Raising a brow, she watched as he backed away, proclaiming about having a weapon and how he’d certainly use it on her if she tried anything. A quizzical expression on her face, Mack tilted her head. ”I guess that depends on what we’re rebelling against. Personally, I probably identify more with the rebels than the government.” She mused, looking up as if deep in thought. ”But I am really against the use of violence, unless absolutely necessary. Hmm. Am I a rebel?” She asked suddenly, as if questioning her very existence.
Shrugging her shoulders, she flashed a grin in his direction. ”Let’s go with undecided. Lone wolf?” Brows furrowed playfully, she turned and started walking down the hall. Turning around and continuing to step backwards, Mack focused on him again. ”Let’s just agree not to beat each other silly, cool?” Spinning around on her heel, she started off down the hall, back towards the stairs. ”I mean, even if I am, why would I waste my time letting you out if I was going to hurt you?” She threw over her shoulder. Mack would leave it up to him to decide if it was worth the risk to go along with her.
Despite the fact that he didn’t seem to trust her - which was, obviously, completely fair - Mack thought he was funny. She liked his personality - he was interesting to her, and not many people caught her curiosity like that. As she continued towards the stairs, she felt a smile pulling at her lips, thoroughly amused.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
Raphael listened to her explain who she identified with more, flinching as she said she did indeed identify more with the rebels than the government. He pre-cautiously took another step back, his hand resting on his back, still pretending to have a weapon ready for usage. “Sooo… you’re half a rebel?” he suggested as an answer, eyebrows drew together and lips pursed outward as he stemmed his hands on his hip. “I guess I will trust you 50% since you’re only 50% rebel.” he added, nodding as if what he was saying would make any sense. It did to him… kind of? All the nonsense that came out of his mouth always made sense to him and sometimes even his roommate understood but that’s about it. Strangers? Hello no, they probably all thought he was some sort of crazy nerd who played too many video games and watched too much Star Wars… which admittedly, he did.
He watched her start moving down the hallway and he hesitated for a moment, both hands moving up to his hair as he pulled at it softly, trying to make a decision. To follow or to not follow? She was just a girl, he thought, but even then she would probably be able to overpower him more than he could her. Probably. A swift glance at the door of the room he was locked in just a few minutes ago and he considered going back and locking himself up on purpose in case she was out there for some blood - his blood. A couple of wild scenarios ran inside his mind like several movies cut together. Go. Don’t go. Go. Don’t go. Go. Go. Go. He silently mumbled inside his own head, thinking.
“Wait!” he called out.
Without hesitating any longer he dropped his arms to his side and jogged down the hallway to catch up with her, stopping just behind her into a regular walking speed, hands tucked away inside the front pocket of his hoodie. Raphael gave her a small bow, one arm folded in front of his chest and the other behind his back. “Knight in non-shining armor. At your service.” he said, pretending to have a serious expression on his face before returning back to his normal, dorky self. “Nice to 50% meet you too, Mack. I wonder if we get a chance to meet 100%.”
“By the way, I love how you’re assuming I’m capable of murder, theft, and assault. Even if it’s just a little. You're having some high expectations of me there. Sorry to let you down.” he said, laughing at the thought of himself trying to rob a store or getting into a brawl. He saw himself knocking himself out in both events and then getting arrested. There was no chance he would manage to pull it off. He could pull off a heist in an online game with his squad, yeah pretty sure, but in real life? No way. Raphael was just way too… Raphael for that. It was a miracle he had not been infected with the virus yet.
“What is a lone wolf doing out here in the suburbs? Hunting for something?” he wondered, softly laughing at his joke, although it probably wasn’t even anywhere near funny. Craning his neck to see further ahead in the hallway he looked at the lockers lining the walls - some open, some forcefully opened with dented doors, some still closed. He tried to spot if there was anything inside of them as he walked past, almost tripping over a pile of school books scattered on the floor, but he noticed, doing a little skip over them.
Shuddering, he took out his hands out of the comfortable and warmth of the hoodie and rubbed his arms. “I never liked school back then. Don’t think being an adult changes anything. And the school being so empty? Spooky.” he babbled, pointing back over his shoulder at the books on the floor. “Algebra. Scary.”
Makenna’s brows drew together in an amused expression, a chuckle sounding from her lips. ”Sounds about right.” She told him, giving him an encouraging nod as he told her he’d trust her half way then. Even though the way he went about these topics was weird, he wasn’t in the wrong, exactly. Overly cautious, definitely comedic. ”50% trust sounds fine by me.” She added, shrugging her shoulder.
As she turned away from him and walked away, she kept her ears perked for any kind of signal he might give her. Admittedly, she was actually enjoying his quirky attitude, and she didn’t mind the idea of making a new friend instead of spending all her time alone. But she wasn’t going to beg anyone to spend time with her - and she couldn’t exactly fault him for not wanting to hang out with some random stranger who’d accused him of being every sort of criminal under the sun, even if she’d been joking. Still, when he called for her to wait, she felt a smile break out over her face as she paused, glancing over her shoulder to watch him approach before she started walking again.
“Nice to 50% meet you too, Mack. I wonder if we get a chance to meet 100%.”
Again, that part questioning, part amused expression flitted across her face as she listened to him talk. ”If you keep getting yourself trapped places, maybe.” She joked as they approached the stairs leading to the first floor - which looked exactly like the second floor, but now she could see the doors she’d come in through, and she was really hoping all her stuff was still outside. Her paint mask was still dangling from her fingers, and she considered putting it back on, but knew it would make communication horrible.
“By the way, I love how you’re assuming I’m capable of murder, theft, and assault. Even if it’s just a little. You're having some high expectations of me there. Sorry to let you down.”
A laugh bubbled out of her throat, before she tried to look wistful and gave a sad sigh. ”And here I was hoping I’d finally met my very own Prince Charming.” She quipped, though it wasn’t much of a stretch. The men Mack had dated - if you could really call it that - had usually been criminals. Giving him a more serious look, Mack tilted her head questioningly. ”Trust me, I’d much rather have you here than some other guys I’ve met. I’m pleasantly surprised you’re not a murdering thief, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing.” She said, her expression open and friendly.
His question made her pause for a second, wondering how much to explain to him. She highly doubted he was the kind who would turn her into the police, but it was better to just work under the assumption that the less people who knew your secrets, the better. So she wouldn’t tell him about the activist group. ”Painting.” She explained simply, waving the mask hanging from her fingers in between them. ”I’ll show you once we get outside.” Mack offered as further explanation, before laughing at his commentary about the empty school.
”It’s more surreal for me than scary. Though that doesn’t mean I’d ever want to go back to my high school years.” She made a face at the thought, glancing around the hall they were in as they continued through it. No, she didn’t miss her high school years, but not necessarily because of school itself - no, she had other things to worry about at that time. As they approached the doors to the outside, Mack sped up, pushing it open unceremoniously without checking to make sure it was clear.
Relief washed over her as she caught sight of her bag. She walked briskly over to it, opening it to ensure nothing was missing before she glanced over at Raphael and then gestured with her chin towards her painting. ”See? Painting.” She smiled, proud of her handiwork.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
”And here I was hoping I’d finally met my very own Prince Charming.”
The laugh that left her lips took him a little by surprise. And he couldn't help but stare at her back, her golden locks softly bouncing up and down her shoulder. He caught himself staring, his mind had wandered somewhere else, shaking his head and slapping his right cheek to get back to reality. Whew. For a brief moment he almost thought he was in the process of catching feelings for a stranger - a beautiful stranger that is.
Raphael gave her a small pout, shaking his head. "You wish I was a prince. Have you seen Shrek? If you did, remember the donkey? That's me." he told her and laughed at himself, his shoulders moving up into a small shrug. He never imagined himself as anything but a minor sidekick character. She could easily be the badass heroine of a movie, the one who comes to his rescue just like today. But at least he wasn't a criminal or like she worded nicely a murdering thief.
"Painting."
The brunette paused at the door while she walked outside and over to the wall of the school building. "Painting..." Raphael repeated after her, head bopping up and down, his lips slightly arching downward with his bottom lip slightly pushed forward. "But... you know that this is a felony right? It's not really painting it's more like... you know... vandalism." he said, a finger raised to point at the incomplete mural on the wall. But who was he to say anything. He broke into the school. Breaking in and entering was probably a worse felony. He could get arrested if they got caught because with his luck he wouldn't be able to escape the police. Not to mention he wasn't the best in shape. What's exercising? Unless you count e-sports.
He followed her outside once she got her things and showed it to him. Curious eyes looked at her gear and a can that looked like it fell out of her backpack. He leaned down and reached for it, slender fingers grabbing the can of spray paint and picking it up from the ground. He turned it in his hands to read the label trying to figure out what color it was - gold. Well, Raphael had always wanted to paint walls with spray paint. This was his time to shine! He gave the can a good shake, just as he used to see on television, removed the cap, and then pushed down on the black nozzle on top. Pfffshhhhh.
"Uh-" Raphael managed to say before starting a bit of a coughing fit, head slowly dropping down to look at himself. He didn't check the direction of the opening in the nozzle and now... the gold paint was all over him. "You think I could get a role in the next James Bond movie?" he asked her, scrunching his nose at the stinging smell of the paint.
Raphael held his hands up in front of him to look at the mess, touching his clothes and making it worse. But then he noticed something about it, eyes widening and glimmering like a small child. "Noooo. Maybe I have the Midas touch now! No more studying or working." he said, a little too excited as he inhaled some more of the paint and started coughing once again, waving his hand at the air in front of his face and accidentally smearing gold paint on his face. "Or maybe not."
"You wish I was a prince. Have you seen Shrek? If you did, remember the donkey? That's me."
Mack grinned over at him, raising her brows. ”Even Donkey is a prince charming for Dragon.” She noted, tilting her head as if to drive her point home, a soft shrug lifting her shoulders. And then she was leading him outside and pointing out her handiwork. As she finished checking through her bag, she felt her lips twitch as he repeated the word. Painting. She guessed what he was going to point out before he even said it.
"But... you know that this is a felony right? It's not really painting it's more like... you know... vandalism."
Mack stood up, looking up at what she’d painted as if really taking it in. ”Well, vandalism is only a thing because the man likes to control our voices.” She said, flippantly, tossing him a sardonic smile. Mack didn’t really think so white and gray. There were both good and bad things when it came to society. But she hoped she never stopped working to get the word out there about the bad parts. Even if it did make her a criminal. ”It’s not hurting anybody.” She added, thoughtfully.
Next thing she knew she was hearing the sound of a paint can going off, and as she turned around to see what was going on, she had to slap a hand to her mouth to stop the loud laughter that tried to break free at the sight of Raphael. For a minute, as he tried to salvage the moment, she just chuckled behind her hand. The laughter only got worse as he continuously smeared the pain in various places, but once he got it on his face, she figured she might need to step in. Closing the distance between them, Mack reached out to quickly retrieve the paint can from him, holding it away like he might fight her for it. There was laughter in her gaze as she looked at him.
”Are you always this chaotic?” She asked, though her tone was clearly not meant to offend him. In fact, he was kind of like a blast of fresh winter air. Shocking and not always pleasant, but overall quite nice if you just relaxed. Gesturing to her bag, not wanting to somehow manage to get paint all over herself, she chuckled. ”There’s a cloth in there and some cleaning solution in a sauce bottle. It’ll get the paint off. Let’s hope you didn’t get enough fumes to get high, either.” She told him, shaking her head. Mack was mostly joking - paint huffing was a thing, sure, but it probably took quite a bit more effort than accidentally inhaling a few breaths of fumes.
Turning to glance at what she’d painted once more, Mack looked down at the can in her hand before slowly turning back to Raphael, a ‘eureka’ expression on her face, a slow smile curling her lips. ”Do you want to paint something?” She asked, gesturing at her drawing. ”It’s more fun when there’s more than one artist.” She offered, shrugging lightly. She wouldn’t be offended if he refused, which she was assuming he would, but then, he might surprise her.
[attr="class","dilyrics3"]Your lips feel warm to the touch You can bring me back to life On the outside you're ablaze and alive But
[attr="class","dilyric3"]you're dead inside
[attr="class","dibody3"]
‘It’s not hurting anybody.’
Raphael lifted his head to look at the painting on the wall and then to Mackenna. It might not hurt anybody per se it did cause trouble and more work for others. He wasn’t totally against her cause or whatever her reasonings were. He couldn’t really say he was innocent either. And his troubles had probably caused more issues than her murals. “Have you ever thought about the poor janitor who has to scrub it off the walls? No? No one does. Poor janitor.” he said, sniffling softly and wiping away a fake tear but also smearing more paint at his face.
“Chaotic is my middle name. I am the embodiment of chaos. Har, har, har.” Raphael blurted, nostrils flaring softly as he made a funny face and tried his best at making a bad villain voice. Or was that the bad pirate voice imitation? His arms were raised at his sides, mimicking something he had seen on television before he dropped them and swirled around at her telling him about cleaning supplies in her bag. He shook his head, hair shagging like a labrador, a bit of glitter falling out of it.
Without further ado he went for the bag, carefully opening it with his elbows. He struggled with that but surely the cloth was soon dragged out in between his elbows. “A sauce bottle?” he questioned, one eyebrow raised in curiosity and suspicion at her choice of container. “I really hope you didn’t accidentally grab the ketchup bottle from home. I’ve had a bad experience with that.” he said, shuddering and shaking his head at one of his many childhood memories.
He was just about to sit down to clean himself when she asked him if he wanted to paint something too. That’s when an idea hit him. An invisible lightbulb lit up above his head as he dropped the cloth next to the bag and walked over to the wall to just smear the paint on his hands on the wall. He placed both his hands next to her drawing, so he wouldn’t cover that beauty up with his doodling. “Does this work?” he wondered, removing his hands to see two golden prints on the wall. “Ha! Cool. It did. You should totally do the same. Leave a signature of some sort. One that only we will remember.” he told her, smiling at the prints of his hands like a small child who just finished a painting in elementary school.
Raphael stepped back from the wall, a sneeze escaping his nose as he turned away from her. For a moment he thought the world was spinning but that was more or less just hallucinations. "Oops. Maybe I am already high." he said jokingly, chuckling before rubbing the leftover paint on his hands on his pants.
