<span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">When Sofia mentioned that they came from the compound area it caused Lorenzo to arch a brow in surprise. <i>People still live dere?</i> He’s never seen the area but he heard plenty of stories about that place. The ghost stories of the new era...The juiciest one involved ‘super-shamblers’(infected) lurking inside the research facility that come out at night to wreak havoc on any traveler they find.<br/>
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Lorenzo watched Lucille and Dex carry away their kills as he adjusted his ballcap, wiping away any sweat clinging to his forehead. He would’ve helped her but she didn’t seem in a ‘accepting-help-mood’...<br/>
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He chuckled at Sofia’s comment about their ‘partners’ not being people persons. “Very accurate. Mine’s got a bit of a mean streak,” he warned as he watched Lucille disappear into one of the stores. “But...I tink she means well.”<br/>
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He stood there with his hands on his hips, unsure whether he should join Lucille or stay with Sofia...<br/>
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Thankfully she made things less awkward for them by introducing herself and her archer friend. Lorenzo smiled friendly at her as he placed his hand on his chest, “Lorenzo Orfeo, and dat was Lucille Wilder,” he said with an Italian accent. “Some advice...Don’t call her ‘Lucy’. She hates it.”<br/>
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He watched Sofia crouch down to gather dry grass. That’s when the penny dropped for him, tinder! With a quick adjustment of his backpack straps he joined her gathering dried grass and leaves for the fires.<br/>
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He nodded and hummed at her, responding to her question. “Who doesn’t dese days?” he chuckled when it reminded him of the time he struggled with getting a fire going once. He decided to share it with Sofia as they continued to gather tinder and firewood.<br/>
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“...after hours of trying I finally got it zmoking. I transfer de tinder to my pit, successfully. And den I kicked dirt over it when I got up…”<br/>
<br/>
Meanwhile at the store…</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">After unceremoniously dropping the animal on the floor with an audible thud Lucille glanced around. The floor crunched with dried twigs and leaves. Here and there were patches of dirt and weeds that managed to thrive in the shade. The windows were broken but boarded up, walking up to them she licked her finger and cleaned a small spot through the wooden planks.<br/>
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She continued exploring as she pushed empty clothes racks out of the way...<i>Actually</i>, she thought. She could use them to dry the meat on. But besides some vines and bushes there wasn’t anything of concern.<br/>
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With hands on her hips, her sunglass covered eyes peering into the distance, spotting Lorenzo and Sofia gathering tinder and firewood. Pleased that she didn’t have to tell him to grab some.<br/>
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As she headed back inside she dropped her backpack and took off her sunglasses and hat, and worked to make a spot for them to sleep and make a fire, and worked on the coyote.<br/>
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It wasn’t too long after that Lorenzo arrived with a bundle of wood in his arms, gently knocking on the doorway to announce his presence. “Knock, knock. I brought stuff for de fire.”<br/>
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Lucille looked up and nodded at him, then pointed at a spot in the store, “Ya can set everything up there. Then place the rack over it. There’s some hangers over there.”<br/>
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Lorenzo nods and walks over to the assigned spot for the campfire. He took off his ballcap and backpack as he glanced back and forth between Lucille and the windows. “So...what do you tink about-”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">Lucille cut him off, “Don’t wanna talk…”<br/>
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Lorenzo paused, sitting in a crouched position staring at her with a sigh. “Non mi aspettavo che tu lo facessi…” he muttered under his breath which caused Lucille’s dual colored eyes to glare at him suspiciously.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">Lorenzo decided to do the talking himself then, she never said about not listening…<br/>
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“I like dem. De girl is nice. Dey’re called Sofia and Dex…” he glanced at her, wondering if she was listening. His small smile started to disappear when his attention caught both her tattoo sleeves. Particularly the one with the gang tats.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">He cleared his voice as he continued to work on the campfire, using his matches to light the tinder. “Maybe...um...Maybe you should hide your...arms.”</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">Now that made her look up from stripping meat. She glanced down at her arms before looking back at him, surprised by the hint of worry in his voice “They probably already noticed...” she said as she started to pout. <i>Great</i>….now he made -her- worry...last thing she needs is more paranoia, especially this early into the trip.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">She dropped the knife in annoyance, glaring at him and licking her lips in frustration.</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">Lorenzo nodded at his backpack, "I have an extra shirt. Long sleeves."</span><br/><br/><span style="font-family: 'Book Antiqua'">She reluctantly agreed to his plan, fishing out his shirt and putting it on to hide the tats. "For now...I'll hide them."</span>