Post by Magella Jones on Jan 22, 2015 13:31:24 GMT 10
Let's Get Down to Business
The sun was just barely poking over the horizon when Magella had woken up, leaving the bunks and heading out to wall. There was a cool breeze blowing through the area as she paced the walls in the cool morning. After making a circle, she dropped down into the area she would use as a garden.
The ground was still slightly damp under her feet as she walked around, measuring how big the area was. She guessed there was room for three or four garden beds in the area. Lifting her head, she smiled at the sunrise, grateful that she was alive for another day.
Looking around, she spotted a door on the mess hall that she hadn't noticed before. She crossed over to it, tapping at the door, her ear against it to listen for any noise. There was nothing and she pulled the latch, the door swinging open. It didn't open into the mess hall like she expected, but into a small shed-like square.
Magella gave a cheer and stepped in, grabbing out a shovel and testing it's quality. It passed her judgement, not that she could really choose a different one, and she moved back to where she wanted to put the first garden bed and shoved it into the ground, her foot placing itself on the top and pushing down with her weight, cutting into the ground.
Alice awoke to dead silence, her body stiff from sleeping so long, the dawn was just starting to filter through the building, slightly raising the light level, enough for her to see around, but not enough to see into every shadow. She felt safe though, a feeling she had never felt upon waking and trying to get her bearings.
She stood from the bed, wearing only her underwear she shrugged on the cleanest dress from her backpack, a short grey cotton dress. It flowed over her body, short spaghetti straps keeping the top in place, a job she could not rely on her chest to do. The backline plunged low, but the chestline high and straight, the skirt scalloped to be shorter at the sides and longest at the front and back, the longest point stopping just above her knees. She pulled on a pair of thigh high knitted socks, in a darker grey shade than her dress. Then pulled her boots on and tightened the laces. The air was still a bit chilly with only the suns very first rays to warm it so she searched through her backpack for a chunky woolen cardigan and shrugged it on to keep her back warm.
Alice remembered what Magella had said about cutting her hair, she could never bring herself to do it though so she pulled her bed hair into a loose braid and turned the tail into a plaited bun, hoping the compromise was good enough for her.
Now dressed Alice exited her room and went in search for Magella, she found her in the garden and stood for a while watching her before approaching, "Morning." Alice said with a smile to the other girl and checking out her progress with the garden so far.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 22, 2015 14:46:54 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
She hadn't stopped digging since she had started, her brow beading with sweat. Unfortunately she hadn't made as much progress as she had hoped, only half of a garden bed dug out. The grass was thick and strong, and it fought against every attempt for her to dig it out of the ground. The roots seemed to go on forever and she had to stop every few moments to carefully pull the roots out so they wouldn't break.
Her palms were starting to blister and they hurt every time she took hold of the shovel again. Who knew she could get so unfit by running away from zombies. Even her heels were blistering inside her shoes, she could feel that they had popped and the ooze was running down into her socks.
Magella was taking a break as Alice emerged from the barracks. eyes raked the girl's form and she grunted at her. She had a dress on. A dress. Gripping her shovel again, Magella dug it viciously into the ground. One of the blisters on her hand popped under the pressure and the rough handle of the shovel grated against the tender skin under it.
"Shit!" she swore, dropping her shovel and taking a look at her hand. Luckily it seemed she hadn't gotten any splinters from the handle. Dropping down onto the ground beside her partial garden bed, she scowled up at Alice.
"A dress? Are you kidding me woman? You're supposed to be getting in the tank and cleaning the filth out of it, and you put on a dress." Shaking her head, she wiped the sweat off her forehead, pulling a face at the moistness that came together on her hand. Her words were quieter, but it was uncertain if Alice was supposed to hear them or not. "I can't believe that you survived. What I wouldn't give to have just one of my siblings here. Stupid city people and their inability to make sensible decisions."
Alice was taken aback by Magella's outburst, she felt that she had lost all progress they had made into getting to know each other last night, and were back to the first moment they met on the beach when Magella threatened to drown her "I... I can clean it in a dress, it's easier to move in something not constricting." She said trying not to sound as defensive as she actually was. . The words that she would trade Alice's life for her siblings cutting deep but remaining unaddressed.Alice hated pants, she hated them with a passion, the only pair of pants she had pre-apocolypse had been for her chef uniform. She hadn't worn a pair of pants in over a year, she had worn shorts, yes, but not pants.
Alice looked at the big tank, "Did to get anything for it?" She asked hoping the change of subject would take the spotlight off her dressing habits. Alice wanted to get the tank spotless today, the sooner they could start collecting water the better, since they had no idea when the next time rain would strike.
Alice was itching to get inside, there were so many projects left to do before they could stay here comfortably for any length of time, and if they were going to bring back more people, then they would need to get them done as soon as possible. Alice wanted to do them all at once, a list already forming in her mind, she wasn't sure just how much of it Magella wanted to do though, and Magella was most certainly in charge, her stinging words just spoken proof.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 22, 2015 16:39:19 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
Alice's defence of her dress did nothing to calm her frustration of the girl. She ground her teeth, her fingers picking at the blister on her palm. The loose skin was split across the centre and she grimaced a little. Part of her wanted to pick the skin off so the skin wouldn't keep flapping around while she was working, but she doubted it would help, the new skin would be tender and blister again.
She pushed herself up onto her feet and waved her hand at the she door. "There should be things in there." she muttered, stepping in before Alice could. There was a box under one of the shelves in a corner and she pulled it out. Inside the box, were rags. Picking out one, Magella wrapped it around her palm, trying to tie it up with only one hand. It wasn't a very successful venture.
Backing out of the shed, she leaned against the wall, trying to get it done up tight enough that it wouldn't slip while she was working. At this moment her belly decided to tell her it was hungry. It growled loud enough for her to hear and she slid down the wall. She was on her last tin of soup and she hadn't eaten for two days because of the low supplies. Magella didn't want to eat her last tin, but she'd have to if she wanted to keep working, it wasn't something that she could negotiate with her body. It was eat or die.
Alice watched Magella struggle with the bandage on her hand, before admitting defeat as her stomach growled and she slid down the wall, "Did you want help with that?" She asked as nicely as she could, trying to sound helpful and not condescending.
Alice didn't wait for a reply and instead walked over to her, crouching next to her and fixing the bandage on her hand. Magella's hand were rough and Alice could tell a lot of hard work had been done by these hands to keep alive in the last year. She heard Magella's stomach rumble again and she stood up, dusting off her knees.
"I have a few things in my backpack to eat, if you want me to make you breakfast." She said with a smile. It was all tinned stuff so once opened it had to be cooked and eaten anyway. Alice was used to eating it for dinner, then breakfast if she could stomach it, then going a couple of days without food, "After all if I'm going to be the cook you need to know I can do it."
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 24, 2015 10:34:17 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
She grudgingly allowed Alice to take her hand watching the girl tie up the rag around her blistered hand. As much as she hated to admit, the girl tied it well, tight enough to stop from slipping, loose enough that it wouldn't cut off circulation to her fingers. Magella sighed and held out her other hand and another rag for Alice to wrap up while she was still there. "Thank you." she mumbled.
Her eyes flicked up to Alice's face when she mentioned she had food, a slight flicker of hope in her eyes. They dropped back to where she had been digging, not sure if she should, or could, take food from the girl. She was wafer thin already, she probably needed everything she could eat. But she didn't have much food left herself, one tin if her memory was correct.
"Okay." Magella agreed. "I would be very grateful if you would share your food with me." Her stomach gave her a slight stab of pain but she managed to keep a reaction off her face. "You cook, I'll keep digging and then I'll help you get into the tank. There's no rope but I should be able to lower you in and pull you back out."
Alice smiled back at the other girl and stood from beside her, giving her a smile before taking her leave and going back to where she had slept to grab her backpack. She pulled all her clothes out onto her bed and took the whole backpack back with her to the kitchen. She passed Magella on the way back, entering the kitchen through the door near the tank, Magella was already back at work and Alice knew she had to cook Magella something truly amazing, she deserved it.
Alice emptied the backpack on the bench, assorted tins and packets fell onto the bench. She had about half a backpack full of food. She grabbed a packet of linguine, a can of tuna, her can of powdered chicken stock, some garlic, and the main item, a tin of canned salmon. Alice grabbed a medium pot and a saucepan and twisted her mouth up in thought.
She stuck her head of of the door. "You don't mind if I use a bit of water from the jug in the kitchen?" She yelled to Magella. This was all about survival and she wasn't about to help herself to anybody's supplies, she had to use enough to boil the pasta, so it was going to be at least a good two cups.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 24, 2015 16:43:43 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
The sun was starting to get hot on the back of Magella's neck. She barely notice Alice going back into the kitchen, continuing the same motion over and over. Shovel in, foot on the shovel and push down, pull the handle and leverage the dirt up. Over and over, she turned the ground, breaking up the dirt.
She saw something wriggle in the dirt and threw aside her shovel, kneeling down to dig at it with her fingers. A grin spread across her face as she picked up the handful of dirt, brushing it out of her palm carefully. Giving the half dug garden one last look, she turned and darted into the kitchen, cheering happily.
"Look Alice!" She said, shoving her hand under the girl's nose. A worm wriggled around in her palm, flicking dirt as it jerked. "Worms! There's worms here. Do you know what this means?"
It was then that she noticed the food on the benches. Slowly she retracted her hand, covering the worm with her free one to stop it from continuing to flick dirt over the benches. Her eyes flicked from side to side and she slowly started to back towards the door. "I'll just... take this back outside, shall I?"
Alice squeaked as the worm was stuck under her nose, sighing softly as Magella retracted and covered it. "Worms mean fertile soil and breakdown and stuff right?" Alice said knowing that worms were good, but not knowing all the science behind it.
Alice watched Magella, she hadn't seen her so excited about anything so far, most subjects planting a scowl across her face, but it seemed Magella really loved worms. Enough to have come in here in excitement toting her dirt splattering worm. It was... cute? Alice had thought the word reserved for herself, but Magella was certainly owning it this minute.
"So can I borrow some water? And do you have a can opener, of a rock to scrape it against until the seal breaks?" She asked picking up the can to hold it so Magella knew what she was talking about. Alice was sort of self conscjous about her pick of food, and angled herself infront of it so Magella couldn't see most of it. She knew it wasn't the most practical, but Alice couldn't bring herself to eat canned beans everyday, and she she had her pick of everything she wanted from the fiddlier ingredients, most places she had been to, the canned meals had already been ransacked.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 24, 2015 17:47:04 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
Magella blinked at Alice's response. "Pretty much. But it also means I can set up a compost pile and get some really good fertiliser and stuff for the garden!" The woman was practically glowing now, so happy about her find in the dirt.
"Water? Oh, yeah, well, if you need it to cook, just try not to use too much. I've only got one bottle left and then I'll have to go on a another trip, I don't expect it to rain once we get the tank cleaned. That would be too much to ask of nature."
She peeked at the food that Alice had picked out, noting the salmon. Magella didn't say anything, just giving Alice a nod and slowly backing out of the kitchen, her worm still held safely in her closed hands.
Back at the dirt, she let him go, watching him wriggle back into the ground. Her blisters started making themselves known again, a wince on her face as she grabbed her shovel again. Alice probably wouldn't care if she took a break, but Magella wanted to get the garden done. She wanted to plant things again.
Alice flicked the alien pieces of dirt from her bench and wiped it with her dress before getting started. She put as little water as she could in a pot for the noodles and set them going. She starting pondering around the kitchen, moving things to where she wanted them,finding the can opener that Magella hadn't responded about in her excitement and put it on the salmon tin, continuing to work her way around the room, putting stuff in the best place for it and making a mental note of what she had.
The noodles were nearly el dente so she moved back to the stove and started to brown the garlic in the pan. Once it browned she added the stock powder to the pan letting it get sticky before adding half the water from the now finished noodles. Tipping the other half, about a cup, down the drain and feeling guilty about it. Alice simmered the broth as she opened the tin of salmon, adding it to the pan and letting it heat through.
She couldn't find two plates, so decided she would serve Megella's on the plate she found and eat hers from the pan. She tipped the noodles into the sauce and coated them in the goodness before serving half onto Magella's plate. She grabbed two forks and headed out to where Magella was digging.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 24, 2015 19:46:52 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
Magella hadn't continued working, instead she'd gone hunting through the hidden shed, poking through boxes and at the shelves. She'd found a few gardening tools, obviously the original owners had planned to stay longer than they had.
And there, in the corner, was a bucket. Exactly what Alice had wanted. Magella grabbed it, dragging it back out and dropped it out the door. She was about to go back in when she heard the kitchen door open. Leaving her exploration for later, she stepped out, her nose catching the scent of food.
"Oh hell yes, food!" Magella cheered, darting forward. She stopped short of running into Alice, her eyes flicking between the plate and the pan. For a moment she was disappointed in herself, she had wanted to grab both servings and run away, like one of those things.
Biting down on the inside of her lip, she turned away, grabbing the bucket, and pulling a crate from the shed and placing them in the shade near the garden. "Your table is ready." she said with a slight bow, waving her hands at the make-shift chairs. "I'd take the bucket, you'll probably get splinters in your butt from the crate." She dropped down onto the crate, hands on her knees, trying to hide her excitement at food as best she could.
Alice sat on the bucket, tucking her dress between her thighs to keep modest. She lifted the fork and ate a forkful. It wasn't like a fresh Salmon linguine, the texture was a bit off but it was better than nothing, and better than beans. She hoped Magella liked it as much as she did as she put another forkful into her mouth.
Alice the put her fork down, looking around to where Magella had been working as she chewed. Once she swallowed she turned back to Magella, "You've got a lot done, it's looking amazing." She said. Alice could never dream of turning over that much dirt in a day and admired Magella's talent, she really knew what she was doing.
Alice picked up her fork once more and took another bite. Chewing slowly and enjoying the sun on her skin, relaxing into the morning.
Post by Magella Jones on Jan 24, 2015 22:21:49 GMT 10
It is easier to know where you are going... ...When you know where you have been
Magella dug into her plate, the glorious taste of food coating her tongue. She didn't particularly care what it was, only that it tasted divine to her flavour starved tongue. Her eyes followed Alice's out to her garden, examining her handiwork while she ate.
"It's hardly finished. I want to put another two garden beds in, and then I have to find some way of bordering them off so the grass doesn't grow back into it and take over. I'm thinking old sleepers along the train lines or some bricks if I can find any." She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling heat radiating from her skin.
Not only were her hands covered in blisters, she now had a sunburnt neck. A scowl appeared on her face, frustrated with her own incompetence. Without working on her garden, Magella wasn't sure what else she could, or would do. She had to be careful of working her hands too much, she didn't want to rip open the skin and get an infection. She picked up her fork and kept eat, deciding not to bring up the tank until they were finished.
