savetheearth | (no subject)

Who: Anthony Janvier and OPEN on the 23rd; Harper Sutherland, Reilanin Bainbridge, and Angeline Strauss on the 23rd and 24th.
Where: Around Locke, rounding a park and ending at one grocery store on the 23rd; the library and Angeline's place of work on the 24th.
When: Backdated to Jan. 23rd to Jan. 24th; midday to evening.
What: The resident zombie is, courtesy of Master Nine-Lived Detective, perfectly alive again for a few days. What better way to spend them than outside a bit, running a few errands?

By the time he has split off from Alex, he's already out and well-out and underprepared for it. No tasks lined up, nothing on hand except for a bit of cash, but that's well and good - he hadn't known what to do with this time in the first place, and he's got another day, at least, in all likelihood - this is hitting the ground running.

And running, he can do! Heads quickly down a few blocks in a store-lined zone, remembering his way around and enjoying it - open space without any need for a hiding spot, not that he feels coming on. Occasional bump or near-bump on his blind side, but open, nonetheless, and the sun's no bother and he can properly feel the wind. Both facts are the winter weather aside.

Meanders into the park for maximum effect of outside-ness within a few hours. He flatly drops into a bench. Brings out the sheet of paper he's got pocketed to check up on the network, unfolds it. Proceeds with the checking to his left, in case - not even thinking to compensate for incomplete view of the right.

And with that similarly cursory check done with he can resolve to get at least one minor thing taken care of - he expects he's actually going to need to sleep today, after all.

Fetching what it surely was that at least some of the money he's got on hand was meant or implicitly encouraged to be used for, it is.

He's at the store picking backing ingredients off a shelf and of all things he's forgotten how to do this without actively thinking. He didn't take a basket on the way over here - and obviously whatever he's going to pick is going to be bagged, but then he's going to need to carry those bags by hand on the way home...

Has his arms a bit full scanning shelves for more manageable shapes, if not sizes, turning a bit - doesn't need to be everything at once, just what he'll need to fill in gaps in or re-supply anything there's an obvious shortage of. He can and should come up with a proper plan tomorrow.

-----

He does set out with a proper plan today. Doesn't leave too early, seeing as technically he should be in school now, and has a backpack on him, which may or may not allow him to stand out a little less in addition to serving its utilitarian purpose.

Firm note to drop by the library, which he does - pushes the door open and promptly slips off into an aisle at semi-random just in case by some chance anyone might be present who might recognize him, ask where on earth he's been or pass on word to certain parties to who might be interested.

Either the layout's a hint different, it's occurring to him, or he's misremembering - he supposes either the earthquake forced some reorganization thinking back to Ms. Bainbridge's network message or he's just a bit out of touch. Goes to wandering back around, peering around and into the aisles to at least clue himself into a quick re-mapping-out.

At the store by the time the sun's started going down, however, he knows just where to go. Has made a proper list, weaved in and out of and picked from the aisles, and is at the front. Makes it to the register, hands over cash, responds to a well-meant inquiry about the patch over his eye with a sheepishly-laughing "Oh - it's -- surgery," stuffs the change back into his pocket and takes the bags with a thanks and a duck of the head.

He slows down towards the door stalling on whether to set down his bags and try to fit the shopping bags into the backpack with the books before or after he walks through it.

Catches a glimpse, as he does so, of what looks rather like long blue hair with streaks back inside.

Does a double-take and freezes to the spot. Partly blocking the doorway. That does look rather like who he thinks it does.

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Holly smiles all the same. "It's the fact you offered to help that matters." She tells him, before tilting her head at the question.

Had she been alright since then? Yes, amazingly enough she had. Perhaps the zombies and blood keys had been her quota for excitement for a few months. "Yes. It's been pretty calm." If you don't count getting caught in Skylers room when he's returning dressed up like a hooligan, which she wasn't because he promised he had that under control and she believed him.

"You look better. Is everything alright with you?" She questions, adding on, "I'm not sure if I said that night, it's all a blur now, but I'm Holly." She holds her hand out in greeting.

His smile relaxes. Voice overcompensates - there's a creak in his voice when he answers "I'm fine -- !"

And - glances down to her hand, catches up with the rest of what she'd said, and the smile winds up as more active again - not uneasily, simply active, bashfully polite, as he meets it with his - light and conscientious is all it takes refreshed for him to feel he has taken it enough for a greeting, jerks his wrist down a tad for a small shake. " -- I'm Anthony - nice - to meet you," he says. Meet her more properly that is!

" -- Good to hear you're doing well - ...! - Also..."

"I'm glad. I was worried when I left, but I knew I wasn't really going to be much help." Considering she promptly called for a car ride and ended up embarrassing herself by sobbing into the drivers side.

She would have been no help at all to them. "Did you guys figure out what happened?" Like why they all stopped being zombies. Holly was vaguely aware of Angeline pushing Anthony out the door too, but maybe he'd talked to them before her.

And his smile loosens once again. Reasserts that it is there with a twitch, a little rueful; it was better that she had left, the confirmation that she's fine now reassures as to that, the other two had said they were getting hungry again. Wouldn't vocalize it even so - You leaving worked out for the best as a response to I couldn't have been any help if I stayed is faintly nasty, the opposite of encouraging, at least.

His expression then resets to neutrally taken aback. " -- Which um - which part of it - ?" he asks., and knows that he's ridiculous to a second after he's said it, as in any case the answer's likely no.

Glancing around she raises her arms and does a slightly exaggerated zombie impersonation. "Why it suddenly went away?" She's more concerned on how it just faded away. From what Jovan said, Angeline had gotten turned into a zombie from an echo... which was crazy and scary.

He keeps at attention.

Shortly after she's lifted her arms in a sudden internal shake he too does some quick glancing and double-taking about - no one is seeing, right, no cameras up not that a zombie impression would mean anything to anyone not directly in the know, shakes it off as he looks back to her - "Oh uh - I - ...!"

Pulls over a second into another smile with his brows furrowing - ruefully a bit regardless of the fact that he has no idea if the smile is the right expression - shifts a bit, shakes his head. " - Don't think that they did -- I er. - Think they're fine, though! I erm. - Ran into one of them earlier, actually...! The other one I talked to on the network... - A few - weeks ago..."

At least they were okay, even if they hadn't figured anything out, safe and sound is always acceptable. "At least they're okay," She says aloud her smile happy.

"What are you here for? I'm here to get cake ingredients for my brother." She explained, because questions about that night were just upsetting and she was done with being upset.

Besides maybe she could help find something?

An agreeing "Mmh" from Anthony with a component of relief that seems to be settled. No more worry on the subject, at least until further notice.

He'd just started to open his mouth to start an answer when she gave her own first - knocked it to the back burner and his facial muscles loosening. Bumbles " -- Would you like - uhm. - Help with - help with anything? I could pay for some of it - I don't er - I don't have a plan, I -- can always come back tomorrow."

"You don't have to pay! I have the money! But if you'd like to look with me that could be fun!" She answers, waving her hand out in front of her. He's too nice, he shouldn't be offering to pay for her things, that's like something out of a fairy story.

"I'm probably going to make a strawberry cake or something like that, Taylor likes strawberries and that's really the only idea I have so far." She's not a master cake maker, but she's started to get better with more and more practice.

As if it wouldn't be the least he could attempt to do for her after having done nary a thing to any amount of success but hanging out of the way panicking the last time they'd met but even so! He'll take that as an invitation and accept that, should it be "doing something".

"Oh well what -- what kind - ? Did you mean as in - shortcake, or - angel - food, or -- ...something all -- strawberry...?" The trail-off is with a faint creak. "Or other" is meant to be implicit.

Not as if he's tried any of the three personally but he's got enough of a head for any of a number of things toward quote-unquote research that perhaps indeed he could be some assistance in looking for components.

"I hadn't thought that far." She admits with a nervous laugh. "I almost forgot because of how busy I've suddenly gotten. Usually we just buy a cake but mom wants me to try to make it for him." She makes a face at the idea. It's not that she's bad at cooking, it's just that the skill has never been her best one.

"Which do you think is a better idea?" Holly asks with a tilt of her head. She's honestly up for any idea.

"Making it's cheaper -- actually..." It's a remark that strikes him as potentially know-it-all as he says it - he seizes it and winds it down to a whisper and trail.

"It depends uh -- " And he knows what question he's going to ask, gets it bumbled out and picked up on some degree of casualness. " -- W - what king of cake do you usually buy?"