Doesn't Really Matter Forum High Park

Eryn ♪	High Park 10 Years Ago My starting zone is Toronto, in High park, a once well maintained and beautiful park is now overgrown and wild. Summer: I wake up in a daze, the bright sunlight silhouettes the structure where I lie, I recognize the shape of high park's playground almost instantly. It's wooden turrets looming ominously over my head. "How did I get here?" I ask myself, getting up. I look around but see only trees.
Silent Wolf	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Alright, I start in Toronto, not far from High Park, because I've no idea where else to start. Linnaea: I wake up and all I can see is green and yellow. I slowly push myself to a sitting position and realize I'm in a building that has collapsed around me and is full of vines and plants and bright sunlight. I shield my eyes from the sun and look around.
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago I have no idea so I'm starting in Toronto within the forest. Miharu: I wake in the forest were I usually hunt thanks to my jack russel terrier Cerberus. I look around, but find nothing put animal tracks. " Where did my rifle go?" I ask Cerberus and begin to look for it.
Cousitarian	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Heh, you know that this idea - although somewhat hard for me to jump onto and try to join in on - is quiet genius, right? I'm a bit ashamed that I didn't think of it before... Anyway, even though I haven't been able to write often with work and all, I might as well as give this as good a shot as I can. Here I go. +++++ August: It was odd at first but from out of nowhere... Everything was pointless. Where I had been able to see lights, colors, familiar faces, just life altogether, months beforehand, there was nothing around me now. There was only ruin, emptiness, silence, overflowing foliage here. There was only open space which echoed with the every breath I took for it was probably me and me alone that remained alive amongst it all: in this newly born dead world covered in vines that lacked structure, purpose, and aim. How had I gotten here? How had I ended up in this place that was lacking in anything good, that was lacking in anything worth fighting for? I still remembered friends, family, along with my simple life before... before all of this had come to be around me. Before what seemed to be the abrupt end of the world, the sudden end of all things, had struck. Yet, despite the hopelessness here, despite my complaining, wasn't this still a world for me to live within? As long as I walked, breathed, as well as thought, did I not have a purpose still? And, looking down at my side to see him panting up at me, did I still not have a friend - my faithful husky dog, Loki - at my side to help me along the way? Yes. Yes, although others would argue, there was still a world - this ruined world filled with desolation and invading foliage, mind - for me to call my own. As for my purpose in going on living, that had always been illustrated to me by a peculiar dream I'd been having for the past few months. A dream that had been spurring me on ever since waking up in what had formerly been my apartment in Grand Rapids, Michigan of the US and A, to find it - everything - just... lost. Yeah, here and now, there was nothing left of what had been called the "Modern World". As crazy as it sounded, a few months ago, myself and Loki had gone to bed without a care in the world to only wake up the next morning to find everything had been destroyed, ruined, covered in vines along with other foliage. Why was a good question... one that had lacked an answer in my book for far too long. As for everyone I had once known and not known, well, they had just up and vanished then. There was no living being, strangers or not, to be found anywhere. Or so I would have thought if I had ignored the constant dreams of Loki chasing after a certain red haired girl on a bike through a park filled with friendly faces that looked to welcome me into their community, into paradise, with open arms. Heh, of course, that was just a dream, a mockery, an illusion. However, it at least got me realizing that I and Loki were truly alone and, no, that couldn't continue. Together, the pair of us were strong against the unknown after all but since I had seen such a sweet dream, such an awesome possibility for the both of us to maybe achieve... we had no choice but to eventually pick up our things, say goodbye to whatever was left of good old Grand Rapids, and look for other survivors which, unfortunately, had go on without success for several months now. Yet, Loki and I couldn't be the only living beings after the, uh, end of the world, right? North America, the earth was much too big a place for only one human to have survived the end of all things. And why did I keep dreaming of being amongst friends, a new family, in a park if there was no hope for me then? Nah, there was just something in my heart, an urge, that was telling me that my dream would become a reality one day. Loki and myself would find others soon enough. I mean, after having not found anyone else for several months, ugh, I was due to have a break and be lucky soon, correct? Someday, I was going to find another human being to join up with and then, later, another would show up. Until then, even though it was getting harder, all I had to do was keep walking, keep living, keep believing. As for where my travels had taken me over the past few months, I'd been all over and seen plenty but didn't find... anybody in the meantime! Agh! Presently, I found myself in the north, in Canada's city of Toronto, amid the same old, same old - you know, desolation, ruined buildings, just emptiness covered in vines in general - while traveling along. Nonetheless, pulling out my glasses from my cargo pant's right pocket, I placed them over my blue eyes while brushing back my dark hair to get a good look around at what would serve as my newest surroundings. For however long I would be sticking around, I at least needed to be familiar with this Toronto place. It was as I sought to find proper lodgings in the ruins next after having trekked through open plains, a forest, some high hills, along with more during the many days beforehand, that Loki's ears perked up. He stopped ahead of me to eagerly sniff the ground, making me notice his odd behavior at once and get a bit riled up too. Perhaps, despite the lack of anything around, the dog had picked up something? I slightly hoped he maybe smelled another human but, heh, it was more possible that he'd simply caught a whiff of what would be our next lunch. Mind, it was better for the both of us to cook some wild rodent than delve into the dwindling supplies we had at hand that I carried upon my aching spine in a backpack. In order to preserve livability, in order to remain alive, I had come to quickly learn that hunting had become a required trait to survive in this ruined world. A required trait if one wanted to live for as long as I had, anyway. "Do ya smell our next meal, buddy?" I curiously questioned, adjusting the backpack of necessary travel gear strapped upon my shoulders while watching Loki smell around, "Gonna get a squirrel for us maybe? A groups of rabbits? Venison doesn't sound too bad at the moment, does it?" In reply to my questions, jumping to his feet, the husky simply did a casual spin in place before he a raised a leg and... well, relieved himself of his extra bodily liquids in a steady, yellow stream. "Ah, right..." I drawled, rolling my eyes as Loki did his business and drowned my hopes of maybe having a successful hunt meanwhile, "Why am I surprised? Leave it to me to keep hoping in stuff only to be continually disappointed, right?" "Bark!" Loki answered, finally getting done with his break and happily bounding about for reasons only he could understand, "Bark! Ruff! Yip!" "Yes, yes! You're a big boy! Oh, yes you are!" I chuckled, not being able to resist tussling my furry friend's happy expression at the same time he jumped up on me, "You go do your business standing up like all of the grown ups, don't you? Ha ha, yes! Yes, you do!" It was then that, once more, my dog companion abruptly became serious. As I let him get back onto all fours, he looked about with a certainty that made me have to say, "Got to go again? Well, be off with you then. Don't do your potty business near me." And, at being told, Loki did do his business. Not his relieving business, mind, but his random dog business of bounding forth without warning and barking up a storm through the ghost town all the while! In astonishment, not really used to seeing him act this way unless it was an emergency, I tried my best to keep up with him while yelling, "Hey, hey! Take it easy, bud! Wait - wait up! Don't go and get lost! We haven't come this far to be split up now!" I was so distracted with chasing after my unpredictable dog that I didn't notice where we had run. I didn't notice we had in fact ventured, like in my dream, into a park but one that sported a fading title at the front gate that read: "Toronto High Park: Come, Relax, Enjoy Yourselves". Well, even though without my knowing but for sure, for the first time in several months, I was going to relax and enjoy myself for a change... along with plenty more. ++++++ I rambled with this. Sorry, sorry, sorry. I guess I let the moment get to me. I hope that it doesn't interfere with this project. Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun with this. I hope we all can keep this up. :) - *Cousitarian*
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago I certainly didn't expect such a large intro, but I did enjoy it. Miharu: I find my rifle, my revolver, bow , and enough ammo to last me months with every weapon in my hollowed out tree dead drop. " Ok so I was expecting something to happen." I say loading the guns and putting on the quiver and gun holders. I put the weapons on my person and make a fire. " I'm going to need food." I say when I get the fire going. " Come on Cerberus. Let's get our dinner." I say bringing out my 30/30 rifle. After a few hours I find a family of deer. I manage to kill two and begin to field dress them with my hunting knife, Hades.
Eryn ♪	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Summer: As I walk alon one of the wooded paths I am shocked to see a bike lying at the side, tangled in a mess of vine. I decide to get a closer look and scramble over to it. I amsuprised to find it my own bike my faded name scrawled on the metal body. It looks like it had gone through a waterfall it was so rusty. I untangle it and lift it onto the path. I fix the chain on it back into place and try to get it moving. Despite its old look it still works well and so I take off down the path. I decide to head towards home. As I am about to leave I hear a barking coming from behind some overgrown bushes. I cycle around to find a dog barking its head off and coming straight towards me.
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Miharu: After I begin cooking the meat I sneak after Cerberus who went barking after what I assume would be another animal. I see that it is a man with another dog, and cycle to a new bullet. I make sure to mask myself so that the person doesn't know where I am.
Eryn ♪	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Summer: I reach down to pet the dog, hoping its owner willcome and possibly tell me what is going on. As I am petting him I hear the click of a safety being disengaged. Quickly I get up and look around. I decide it isnt safe here so I get back on my bike and head down the path as fast as I can. As I ride I notice the dog chasing along behind mme..
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Miharu: I follow the girl through the trees thanks to Cerberus. I notice a man who must be that dogs owner and throw down a pointed stick showing him where to go as I pass.
Cousitarian	Re: Loki! Come Back Here! Augh, a Stick! Augh, another Human! 10 Years Ago August: "Loki!" I roared out across the park that was my surroundings, finding myself getting increasingly impatient with my furry friend's randomness as well as not coming back to me when called, "Whatever it is you're after, just drop it! All - all of this running isn't worth it in the end! Get back HERE!" For the seventh time since he'd started barking up a storm over what I assumed was nothing more than having scented some wild animal, Loki didn't come back to me when I ordered him to do so. In the distance, somewhere to my left, his howling, yipping, and calling out just kept becoming more distant until... I felt like I had lost track of him altogether. "Bloody christ almighty..." I hissed to myself, slowing down to catch my breath from the running. Hoisting my gear onto my back for a better grip, I said to myself, "Alright, okay, fine. Heh, Loki does this all the time. He is a dog, after all, and such randomness is to be expected of him. He'll... He'll be back." Knowing that my husky wasn't one to abandon me in an empty world - he had always been at my side since childhood, you know - I, with another brushing back of my hair along with several tired panting breaths, took to looking around at my environment. It seemed, without my noticing, Loki's crazed bounding about had led me into what seemed to be something of an unfamiliar yet familiar park. Of course, at seeing the nearby playground, swing sets, teeter-totters, along with more, I began to recall the dream that had made me set out on this mad venture of a quest in search of humanity in the first place. Naturally, over the last few months of having wandered aimlessly across the remains of the modern world, I'd seen plenty of parks much like this one and, ha ha, none had been the right ones like the prophetic dream had shown me. Here, there was no girl with red hair riding along on a bike, there were no groups of friends looking to welcome me into their community... Here, like all else in this empty world I called my own, there was only emptiness, silence, disappoint, swings lacking laughing kids, slides devoid of children fighting over them, teeter-totters only being moved by the occasional breeze rather than - AUGH! Oh, holy meteor showers, come on! As I had been distracted thinking of the past, as I had been looking over the depressing empty scenery around me, I hadn't taken notice that a sharpened stick had purposefully landed near my feet from the trees and... one thing led to the other before I slipped on it, let out a sharp yell of shock, as well as crashed to the ground in rapid succession! Of course, as if that mistake wasn't bad enough, the backpack of heavy equipment upon my spine knocked out all of the air in my lungs at the end of my falling over! Dirt, grass, filth... Not exactly the kind of lunch I had had in mind when chasing after Loki. No, this hadn't been what I had planned for at all. For a moment, in grim silence, I just laid there on the grassy ground with my frame aching all over. Finally, letting out a chuckle at my misfortune as well as thinking things could have gone worse for me than they had, I half snickered half groaned out, "Lordy lord... Oh, why do you hate me so? What did I do to you to earn such hatred from your almighty hand?" As I was pushing myself back up, while I was sitting up, I continued to laugh at my misfortune and took notice of the mischievous stick that had unbalanced me. So, as I examined the curiously sharpened object next, I wondered aloud to whoever was upstairs in that blue sky dotted with puffy white clouds, "God, can't you give me a break?" Naturally there was no answer to my inquiry and, throwing the sharp stick as far as I could to vent a bit, I snarled to myself, "Nah, maybe me having survived the end of all things this entire time... Maybe that was my break and now I'm reaping the benefits of having been your favorite until this point, eh?" Looking to pick myself back up, looking to be on my way with my mad venture of finding another living human being to party up with, I audibly snapped, "Well, if you think making everyone else vanish from the face of this good earth, if you think leaving me with nothing here and making me the ultimate loner was a way to get on my good side... No, that was a terrible idea!" Now back on my feet, I looked towards the heavens to roar, "Thanks for making me the only guy on this good earth! Thanks for taking everyone, everything, away!" At this, I looked around with renewed vigor, "Well, actually, I still have Loki... and, bah, you're not going to take him, my best friend, away from me - Ow! Ouch! Naugh!" It was then, it was as I looked to find him as well as keep him from maybe hurting himself, that Loki charged out of the nearby brush to collide with me! Completely, take off guard, the pair of us rolled about in a mad ball and, when still, the husky went right to licking me in the face! "God, we are now enemies!" I yelled from the ground that I had been making a good friends with, shoving away Loki's affectionate attempts to get back on my good side as well as spitting out more dirt at the same time, "Do you hear me? You and your mysterious ways stay away from my dog and me! I swear, ever since ruin, desolation, and emptiness have struck everything, you've just been lounging up there over who knows what and - and - annnnnd..." It turned out that Loki hadn't been chasing some wild rodent for our meal beforehand. For once, he hadn't been being completely random in bounding away into the unknown. And, ha ha, it would only make sense that as I shouted at him in a rage that god would find it fitting to shut me immediately up next second. It turned out, in a split second, that I wasn't the only human on earth any longer. That much was certain when, after having gotten back on my feet and taking a moment to look around, I found what I had been looking for for the past few months... Loki and I had finally found her. We had, like in the dream, finally found the red haired girl riding a bike in a park. There, ahead of me and giving me a look that suggested I was not right in the head while ready to ride off at a moment's notice, was a most enticing girl dressed in the appropriate summer clothes on a... rusted bike? Okay, moving on, her eyes... they were as green as the best emeralds that could be found and only radiated more so while framed in the fiery hair that freely fell around her shoulders and fluttered in the breeze that rolled by. A sensation that dampened my hand and made me nearly jump out of my skin caused me to notice Loki licking me before, with a sniff, he moved away to join with this newly arrived girl. She, with a continued show of uncertainty towards me, wet on to pet my dog with tenderness next and then... I truly understood everything. It seemed Loki had bounded off so crazily earlier because, after months of having searched without success, he had finally smelled another human: this red haired girl. And, even though having just met, they seemed to be friends! Great! Good start! So, the dream... it had been real! This girl was real! Everything here was real and, becoming giddy with excitement and after having adjusted my glasses, I glanced upwards towards the heavens before admitting humbly, "Okay, lord almighty. Wherever you are... we're friends again. I forgive you for everything you've done to me. Thanks for this." Then, trying to get a hold of my rapidly beating heart, I looked back to the girl showing Loki so much care while nervously asking of her with an outstretched hand for her to maybe shake, "Ah, heh, y-you've already met Loki it seems..." At this, as she directed her piercingly green eyes back onto me when I spoke to her, I couldn't help but stutter under her gaze, "Yeah, yeah... He's my dog. Um, I'm sorry if he scared you earlier. My name is August. August Shane Cousitar. And you would be...?"

Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Miharu: I watch the man and girl from a tree, my rifle trained on the man. Cerberus suddenly goes up to exchange pleasantries with the other dog. " Cerberus why are you so social?" I ask him from the trees. The other two hear me and try to find me, but don't seem able to.
Eryn ♪	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Summer: After a time of racing through the park I stop. Something is wrong here. I shoild have managed to find an exit. I notice a panting beside me and look down to see the husky from before. He lies down next to me looking back at me with bright blue eyes. Setting down my bike I sit beside him forgetting for the moment that there is someone with a gun hiding in the park."Well you sure are a persistant little guy." I say scatching him behind his ears. "Loki!" I hear someone shout from a short distance away. Soon a man walks into the opening with us and stops. I look up at him unsure as to weather or not he was the one with the gun. "Umm... I see you have met Loki" he says nervously, he is not the shooter. He stutters as he introduces himself. I pause before replying, "My name is Summer Rose Shadowbane." I watch as another dog comes and joins us. "Cerberus why dou you have to be so social?" A voice asks from spmewhee in the trees. This must be the shooter. As I keel next to the dogs I pick up a stone and throw it in the general direction of the voice and watch as a man with a rifle falls out of the trees.
Cousitarian	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago August: It was funny. The situation I suddenly found myself in the middle of in High Park, I mean. Yet, heh, why was that so funny? The almighty Lord I'd come to vent at, question, along with trust over the last months of traveling liked to put me into those hot spots, after all. First, there was just the girl - the one I had been searching for for so very long now - affectionately showing Loki all the care he could ask for by scratching him behind the ears. During it all, I couldn't exactly find my voice again to ask of her so many things. Where had she come from? Did she live here in Toronto? How much did she know about the current state the formerly modern world was in? Did she have friends or family nearby who had survived too? Wait, did she have a boyfriend - Nagh! What kind of question is that? Of course, she doesn't! With it being the end of all things, who has time for that stuff! And if she does... Why am I getting stuck thinking about this certain topic? Lord, dude! I just met this chick! Then again, I have been alone without any real human interaction for a few months and that tends to - okay, anyway, anyhow, moving on! Then, out of nowhere, I swear I heard something that immediately drew me out of my serious pondering. The noise that distracted me was as soft as the wind or meant to be for, as I tried to listen intently, a voice seemed question itself in a whisper close by, "Cerberus... why... so social... stay... here..." Cerberus? Stay? Wait, what? This was my cue to raise my eyebrows in curiosity as well as look around at the environment without any real aim or purpose. The whisper of a voice, quieter than a whisper to be frank, had probably been my over eager mind playing tricks on me for having found the girl of my dreams; for having found another person to get to know. Well, wait, she wasn't the girls of my dreams in that way. I hadn't been looking all of this time for her to begin some big romance, no, I had been looking because... Yeah, you know why I've been looking for her. End of story. So, thinking there was nothing troublesome going on, I sought to begin trying to get the red haired girl's good side by resuming our former introductions. I knew now that she was Summer Rose Shadowbane - wow, trying saying that five times in a row without tripping - but I needed to know a bit more about her background. Again, did she live here in this town? If she was alive, were there others she was working with? What did she know about all of this ruin and overgrown foliage that covered everything? "So..." I started dumbly, trying to ignore the growing uncertainty in my gut while trying to find the right things to say to the girl who would hopefully be my newest friend in the bleak future, "Uh, wow, well... Then your name is Summer Rose Shadow-" It was at that moment that the girl firmly held up a hand. I silenced at once, feeling a bit hurt in the process. However, I was quick in realizing next second that I was the only one who wasn't tense over something obvious. If I had taken the time to take the whispering on the wind seriously, then I would have noticed Loki, his ears along with hackles raised, sniffing about with determination. As for the girl, Summer, she turned her greener than green eyes away from me to begin looking up into the... trees? Ah, okay then. Unable to continue our talk, wanting to stay in favor with her, I copied her actions. Yet, as for what we were looking for... All I could see were limbs, leaves, just treetops in general. At least until, from out of nowhere, Summer began to chuck a few rocks up into them! Rocks? The treetops? There was a connection here that I just couldn't put my finger on. What was it Summer and Loki were so intent on discovering that I seemed so clueless about? Well, literally, the answer to that quandary came bodily crashing out of the trees with a shower of twigs, leaves, nuts, along with more next! For the past few months, ever since having woken up in the middle of nothing more than desolation and vines, ever since having a dream about Summer or whatever girl riding through a park on her bike, I'd been fruitlessly searching across North America to see if it would come true. It had been a crazy omen to follow, to hope in, to believe in. Yet, in the matter of only an hour, I had found this Summer Rose Shadownbane lass in a park on her bike and now, from the trees... another human, a younger man than myself, had appeared! This was great! Now people were falling out of the sky! They were coming back! Nevertheless, my optimistic excitement came to an abrupt end as the fallen stranger was quick in untangling himself, getting onto his feet, and load what I came to realize too late was a freaking 30/30 rifle! Oh, bloody Jesus Christ! Seriously?! "No!" I exclaimed, feeling into my own gear to pull out my own defense- a hand pistol I never thought I'd have to whip out ever - as the younger man took aim at me as well as Summer with his gun, "No, hold up! This doesn't have to happen-" "Bark!" Loki snarled, caught up in the heat of the moment, "Yip! Snarl!" Slow motion seemed to take its effect on the scene as my dog, fangs bared and hackles upright, lunged for the stranger looking to take aim with his rifle. In a split second a gunshot went off, the rifle was tumbling about on the ground, and Loki - fit as fiddle to my greatest relief - had the masked young man on the ground with several good yanks of his belt! "Loki!" I exclaimed to my dog as he tried to keep the stranger upon the ground, just about ready with my own gun, "That's it! Keep him down! That's a good boy!" Honestly, I had no idea what was going on. I was lucky to have not crapped myself when realizing I - Summer and Loki too - had been shot at. Still, keeping my cool, having my own pistol ready now, I sought to end this scuffle once and for all without further hostilities. I didn't plan on shooting anyone, anything, anywhere while alive. Well, apart for hunting, naturally. Still, having had a rifle aimed at me had caused me to know that I needed to show this newest stranger that I had a proper way of defending myself too. In the end, despite my showmanship, I just wanted to talk, to live, to get along in this crumbling world and this newest young man had to understand that. There was no need for guns or defense or - it was then that Summer cried out and I panicked! "Loki!" I shouted, seeing the downed young man drawing a blade - a good sized dagger -from a holster out of sight, "Loki! No, stop! Get back! Come here now-" And then, the dagger became the least of my worries when a jack russel terrier half the size of my own dog bolted straight into Loki from thin air! Both canines barreled over for a moment before they uprighted and focused onto each other with much snarling, biting, along with chasing! I had lost control. Everything had gone mad. The one support I had, my dog, was busy trying to defend himself from a feisty opponent no more than half his size. Loki, if able, would have grabbed onto the jack russel and done what needed doing but the jack russel wouldn't have any of that. The terrier kept its distance by zigging, zagging, ambushing, along with nipping without being caught the entire time! Loki was tough yet slow. The jack russel was quick, precise, ad effective! Both canines were trained for different situations and neither could get the better of the other. Yet, it was as a gun was being cocked that I realized I had been distracted from the real threat for too long; the young man who, with a mask over his features and rifle back in his hands, was giving me a cold glare with his steely blue eyes. He hated me. And why wouldn't he? Summer, of course, had knocked this stranger out of the trees but it was myself and Loki who had started this meeting with violence rather than words... Still, like now, he had been aiming a weapon at us and, in grim silence, I had my own pistol pointed at him. Try as I might, I couldn't stop shaking. My aim was all awry but I kept my nerves, my cool, under control. The dogs may have been fighting but no gunshots had been fired yet. Did that mean anything? By this point, after what I had done to him, the young man could have shot me dead within an instant... Yet, here we both stood like we were in an old western stand off, guns aimed and ready to strike death in that little park at a moment's notice. God worked in mysterious ways that could not nor ever would be understandable. It would only be the most ironic thing for me to find others, to find that my dream had partially come true, only to be shot dead in the next second. Yet, it couldn't end like this could it? My journey... it couldn't reach such an ironic conclusion here and now, right? If only I could read the young man's mind somehow. If only I could see what it was that he was thinking of doing by keeping his rifle one me, by having stayed hidden in the trees, by keeping a mask over his face. For now, as the moment stretched on for what felt like eternity, all I could do was... pray. Pray and hope this confrontation wouldn't end with further hurting or even bloodshed.
Eryn ♪	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Leave it to Cou to get things rolling. // // Summer: I watch the two men as they hold their guns, their dogs snarling around in a frenzy. This is stupid, I think to myself, why am I in the middle of a gun fight. This is Canada, there is a law against fire arms isnt there. I decide that this needs to end. I walk forward between the two guns. I grab the tree guys gun first and take it out of his hand. I then walk over to the August and take his. "Is it really nessecary to blow each others brains out?" I ask filcking on the safteys clumsily. I watch the August let out a sigh of relife, but the other man is tense, itching to get into his bag. I asume to pull another vun out. "Dont even think about it." I say taking the saftey off off the pistol and aiming it at him. By now the two dogs are starting to get on my nerves so I raise the gun and shoot just above them. I watch both men cringe and the dogs stop. "Now, can someone please tell me where the exit is."
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago I know right? Miharu: I sigh, " If you give me back my gun I promise not to engage in anymore hostilities and will lead you out. Does that sound fair?" I ask sheathing my knife. " Actually how did you find me anyway?"
Cousitarian	Re: A Stand Off. A Truce. A Meeting at Last. 10 Years Ago August: For eternity, the young man's rifle remained pointed at what I could guess was my forehead. He didn't move, budge, twitch, maybe even breathe while he aimed at me. As for my own pistol, heh, I couldn't hold it still long enough to confirm whether I was aiming at my foe's heart, legs, arms, head, so on. I was so nervous, so unsure of what was going on, that I couldn't control my growing shaking problem. In the background, with plenty of jumping about, Loki and the speedy terrier were still in conflict. I was honestly surprised neither had drawn blood or mortally hurt each other yet. For now, all I could focus on was trying to remain courageous in the face of danger; in the face of that cursed rifle just about ready to blow me to wherever it was you went after dying! As for my nemesis staring me down with his steely eyes, I couldn't keep from noticing that he was quite young. Of course, ever since he'd dropped down from the trees, I'd already guessed he was younger than me but... judging by his build underneath his roguish get up, his unkempt black hair, just everything about him in general, led me to maybe guess that he had to be sixteen or seventeen years in age? What, why, and how had such an individual - a teenager - inherited the icy stare that he was currently giving me? Why did it tell me he was on the very verge of gunning me down at any instant and it was taking his everything to keep from doing so? Sure, I as well as Loki had given this guy cause to want to shoot us but that cold glare he directed at me from behind his mask... it wasn't something someone just put on casually. It had character behind it, a story, and it had probably been gained after years of having gone through awful somethings, somewhere, at some time. It had been gained after too many terrible coincidences, days, losses, maybe more. As I had been awake and wandering for months before now, who knew what this teenager with a rifle had been up and about in the meantime. I mean, could he have been everywhere, done everything, seen plenty, like myself? Perhaps... Had he been put through worse than me since the end of all things? With teh death glare he was directing onto me, that seemed most likely. However, here and now, the two of us had just met. Yes, I was a decent guy, or so I liked to believe. There was no need for the pair of us to start off this way, this barbaric way. If the teenager was willing to call off his dog - obviously, the terrier belonged to him for it had come to his defense in a split second - then I would have Loki back off too. If we were willing to lower our guns, call a truce, and shake hands on it then great! We could get to know each other so well afterwards! Yay for us! Yet, how was I going to start this truce between us without causing shots to be fired? It was madness but I had to be slow, careful, along with place my faith and life in the hands of my foe if we were going to - Hey! What? Whoa, Summer! From out of nowhere, having not given her any attention since being locked into a standoff with the masked teenager of sixteen or seventeen or whatnot, I observed with the utmost shock as the red haired girl causally if not bravely strode past me. As she got to my opponent, he looked to take aim at her with his rifle instead but, with a look of surprise that matched my own, found himself disarmed next instant! It was as he was pulling out his dagger again, intent on retrieving his gun from she who had wrenched it from his grip, that I stepped forward and rapidly stated, "Don't think - Leave her alone - Put that blade away before you make a decision you'll - Ah, Summer!" Before I knew it, I was disarmed too and, with the rifle strapped over her shoulder as well as my pistol in her hands, she gave me a look that demanded I be quiet. However, I wouldn't be silent when the teenager looked to reach into his pockets to pull out another weapon! I needed my gun! I needed it now! Give it here, Summer! "Nuh-uh, don't," Summer firmly stated towards the masked teenager next, making him freeze in whipping out whatever he intended when she readied my handgun to fire at him, "even think about it." There was a tense silence between the three of us only broken by the dogs bickering. It at least remained that way until, with an irritated whipping back of her freely falling crimson hair, she fired a purposeful shot into the air. Instantly, with their ears twitching in pain, the dogs hesitated at the abruptly sharp noise. Then, with a snap of his fingers along with a small gesture, the masked stranger hissed as quiet as the breeze, "Cerberus!" The terrier immediately glanced around at the mention of Cerberus and bounded to the teenager's side when told, "Here, boy. Come here." Following that example, seeing the opportunity to maybe start this meeting over at Summer's nod, I hesitantly ordered of my own defensive canine, "Loki! To me." When my husky had returned to my side, I congratulated him in a whisper on his efforts of protecting me while checking him for any serious wounds, "Yes, that's a good boy. You're a good dog." When satisfied in seeing my dog hadn't been hurt much, I snapped my fingers and Loki obediently sat down as I wanted of him. Still, much like how I had been recently having a staring contest with the teenager, the dogs glared at each other coldly while staying put. It was taking every fiber in their beings for the canines to not resume their furious fighting from before. Nevertheless, to keep from hearing another gunshot, the pets resisted their primal urges for battle. As for the situation I found myself in, I returned to it when Summer - standing between myself as well as the masked stranger - lectured after having looked over the weapons she had recently acquired, "Well, gentleman... I find this whole situation rather strange if not stupid." I raised my eyebrows at the unexpected comment. And here I had been thinking it was necessary of me to pull out my pistol to defend myself as well as her from a guy with a rifle. Still, this was the end of the world. Things had gone loopy. So why was it shocking for me to hear that someone didn't appreciate me trying to defend them from harm? That was life if not gratitude for you. "I mean, you're going to have a gunfight in the middle of Toronto, Canada?" Summer continued to scold, laughing a little, "Don't the two of you know that there's a law against guns up north here?" Laws? Government? A ban on gun fighting in the middle of Toronto? At the end of all things, nobody cared to think about that because there was nothing to enforce the rules! Was this some kind of joke Summer was trying to pull on me? No... she was being serious. She was being absolutely serious in lecturing me and the masked teenager about how there was a ban on guns in Canada! Yet, how and why would she be doing such a thing? Screw the laws, the city, the no guns allowed! For the past few months, all one had to do was take a look around at the ruined world and know that there was nothing left of it but maybe just the three of us in the middle of a park! There were no laws, no organization, no people, no modern world! Getting back in control of myself, suppressing my astonishment at Summer's behavior of talking about nonexistent laws, I listened to the red haired girl state while turning on the guns' safeties, "Boys, all I want to do is head out of here and back home. In the meantime, there's no reason for either of you to blow off each other's heads while I go." First, without much care, she tossed me my weapon which I just managed to catch before it hit the ground and got damaged. Second, she looked to return the teenager's rifle but paused in the act to seriously ask aloud, "Am I right or am I right?" "Of course." I replied shakily, checking over my handgun as well as closely watching the masked stranger eye Summer chillingly, "Look, to everyone here, I didn't want trouble. I was just... Well, if you had a rifle shot at you, you would've reacted just as badly as I did. Forgive me for trying to stay alive and all that, you know." There was a long quiet where the teenager seemed not able to decide on what to do or how to proceed. That dagger he had out was a lethal piece and it could do serious damage to Summer if wielded towards her. Still, she had already placed herself in harm's way - in the way of two guns - so a knife was small time. In the end, her courage seemed to impress as well as win over the cold stranger's favor because, with a skilled flip of his fingers, he had sheathed his dagger and extended his free hand purposefully. Then, in a cool voice that commanded respect, he stated to Summer while not taking his eyes off of her, "Yes, fine, you're right, I understand... No more hostilities between any of us." When Summer refused to hand over the rifle again, the teenager rolled his eyes and admitted smoothly, "I swear there will be no more trouble. Besides, if you're looking to get out of here... I suggest you give me back my gun so that I am in debt to you and, in order to pay that debt, I and Cerberus would be willing to guide you - the both of you - out of here." At this, even though I still questioned his loyalty towards what he'd said, Summer gave the masked teenager back his rifle and he, with another skilled performance, threw the rifle back over his shoulder. In turn, he looked to me not with a glare but with something of an amused expression. "Bud," He told me, a bit jokingly but bitterly, "the next time you find yourself at the end of a gun barrel... I suggest you don't shake so much. It not only ruins your aim but kind of defeats the purpose of having a gun at all. Catch my drift?" Although I wasn't looking for trouble, that was shot. It was a challenge that spelled out for me that there was something of a rivalry growing between us. However, I didn't need to answer the insult. Before I knew it, much like how she had taken charge by taking our guns, Summer actually came to my defense again. "August may have been shaking earlier," The red haired girl noted to the masked teenager, looking to get back on her bike, "still, he at least kept his footing. He didn't come toppling out of a tree from nowhere." At this, the masked stranger shot daggers in her direction and only looked grimmer when she said to him, "And not that I really care why you were in a tree in the first place, ninja boy... but, if you want to stay hidden appropriately, then try to be quieter next time. You know, don't breathe so loud, don't talk to yourself, don't-" "That's enough." The teenager stated across Summer, releasing the tightening grip on his dagger to get better control of himself, "Fine. You both caught me in hiding. Congrats. Keep taunting me though and I'll vanish again and you two," At this, he smartly gestured all around at the nearby ruins, "can find your own way back home out of here." I had no home in Toronto. To be honest, I had no idea what was going on or who I was dealing with. The teenager was obviously a rival of mine or developing into one. As for Summer... I couldn't tell if she wanted to be my friend or if she simply saw me as childish. Well, when did I think that the end of the world would make sense? Silly me. Moving on, when no one challenged his authority, the masked stranger gave me another icy stare as he said aloud, "Very well. Now, if we're all done being awkward... Let us be off to, hm..." He looked around before focusing onto Summer again, "Where is that you're going? Which exit do you want to find?" At this, at realizing I was following the two newest human aquaintences I'd made in the past few months since catastrophe had struck, I followed the teenager's example in looking expectantly to Summer. She was leaving the park for home? What was her home? Where was it? Either way, if she didn't mind, myself and Loki were going to tag along; maybe meet more humans that had endured the end times. As for the teenager... he obviously was a stranger to everyone and wherever he went... I really didn't know what to think of him yet. Simply put, as she got onto her bike, both of us boys and our dogs awaited her advice on where to proceed next.
Eryn ♪	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Holy smokes batman, you sure know how to write. Summer: I look at the two boys curiously, it seemed both were puzzling about my home. "Which ever one is closest to union station. I want to catch the first train home to Milton." They both seem to return my questioning expresion. "What? Am I speaking jibberish?" "The trains havn't run for months." The boy from the tree says in a serious voice that catches me off gaurd. "Where have you been?" I'm not buying this, I think to myself, surely it is a joke. "Seriously, can you just show me out?" I say angrilly, " Im already having a rough day. Randomly waking up miles from home and then having guns pointed around. Its like some random movie. And how did my bike get out here anyway?" The two boys share another questioning look, but then the one from the tree turns away. He calls back to us in a steely voice, " You should see something." He walks past one of the dead ends and as we follow I see why they had given me such an odd look. Toronto stood no more.
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago I Know right!? Great job my friend. Please continue with what you've been doing. Miharu: " It's been like this for a few months now. Did you really not notice? I mean that is your bike right?" I say coldly pointing to her bike. " Did you not stop to think why it was so rusted or why the park is so overgrown? " I ask not caring that the girl seems to be going through a break down.
Eryn ♪	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Summer: I look at the ruins that I had visted every so often, but then it had been alive and bustling. "I don't understand," I say, close to tears, "What happened between when I went to bed and when I woke up here." I think back to how I had woken up earlier in the playground. "What happened, did a bomb hit or... Or... Is my family ok? My friends?" I ask this flurry of questions in a stupor, surely this couldn't be real. I look for the needle nose point of the CN toer, but it is no longer on the skyline. I get off my bike and sit down on the ground. At least it was solid, something real. "Did you really not know?" August asks me his voice more calming than our friend from the tree. "Months?" I ask, "I was here a week ago, I watched Breakfast television yesterday morning." I couldn't work it out. "Until today, it was just me and Loki here, the rest of the world looks like this too." I pause in thought, pulling at the grass between my fingers, calming myself down. I must get home I decide, to make sure my family is ok. I get up and walk over to my bike, noting just how rough it is, it's rusted frame, it's worn gears. "Alright buddy, I need you to hold up a bit longer, just till we get home." I say stroking the seat. "Do either of you have a map?" I ask, "I'm going to go home to see if anyone is left there."
Hypnos	Re: High Park 10 Years Ago Miharu: " I have one right here, but can't part with it." I say heading back to the woods. " Come, Cerberus dinner should be done soon." I stop right as I get into the forest and sigh as I say, "As an apology for what happened earlier I'll treat you two to some dinner if you want." After that I continue back to my camp.