Privilously Poncheezied

Darren sat at the fountain that was in the middle of the park. All the water that's left in it had grown moss and algae. He imagined it must have been so beautiful to watch at one point. A place where couple would come and make wishes for their love to last long or kids wanting to get a toy that there parents had said no to. He laughed. Such stupid and selfish wishes.

Karma, still a little shaken up about her incident in the forest, decided to take a walk in a more open area. With her hands dug deep in her jean pockets, she made way to one of the parks. Karma managed to walk some ways into it before the fountain came to view, marking the middle of the park. After glancing at it, Karma noticed a boy and stood still.

Darren wore a black plaid unbuttoned, short sleeved shirt that showed his white undershirt. The plaid covered his twin daggers that hung in holsters around his waist. It was never wise to show you were armed. Darren pulled a dirty quarter out of his jeans pocket and flipped it into the pond. "Here's to hoping I guess." He'd wish for the shadows to go away. The world to go back to normal. Not very selfish but it could be taken into that context.

Karma watched as the boy flicked the coin into the fountains skill waters. What type of shadow would make a wish? she questioned herself. Taking a small step forward, Karma tried to force herself to walk again.

Darren turned around and spotted Karma's figure. His hand instinctively went to one of his sides, touching the hilt of one of the daggers calmed him. He walked toward the person with ease.

Karma froze again when the boy moved, and it took her a moment to realize that he was walking towards her. Frightened, and not completely certain it was human, Karma took a step back

Darren realized who it was when he got closer. "Um... Hi. Karma...? right?" He asked, remembering the girl from the store. His hand dropped from his dagger.

Karma let out a sigh, not noticing that she had been holding her breath. His voice was familiar and she recognized him as he walked closer. "Yeah, " she said softly, trying to muster up a smile, "And you're Darren, if I remembered correctly."

Darren nodded. "Yeah. Looks like your mind hasn't gone anywhere. Unlike some other people I've been with..." His sentence trailed off. "Anyway. What have you been up to?" He smiled back at her.

"Killing shadows, near death experiences, the usual." Karma said softly, shrugging. "I now refuse to go to the forest. I used to love being there.."

"Hm. Sounds like a whole lot of drama.." Darren gave a small laugh. "Parks are where it's at anyway." He told her.

"I bet.." Karma said, looking around the park. "This place must have been beautiful before all this happened.."

Darren shrugged."It's sad but you can't let it get you down. Think of it. If this ever ends and you stuck it out... I guess that would just make my day." He laughed again, a little more heartly this time.

Karma gave him a confused look. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well a lot of people between here and Vegas have died from giving up. They lost their spirit in the fight for life and it lead to their demise. I've watched it over and over. I've kept up my spirit all that time and haven't lost the heart in life. What a great reward it would be to live through all this." Darren was staring up at the sky at this point. "A wonderful gift for the hopeful."

"Not even a week ago I would have been on of those people who had given up." Karma muttered softly. Taking a breath, she shook her head. "I lost my family to these shadows...these demons. I plan to avenge them, and I also want to see the day where this park comes back to life.. That's the only thing propelling me forward."

Darren laughed and gave her a pat on the head. "That's the spirit. Just think. When this place goes back to normal and the world has the chance to start over, the families that will be made. I can't wait to see smiling children faces.." Darren became absorbed in the idea.

Raven sat a ways away, watching the two. Her black heart wasn't moved by Darren's approaches to the hopeful. It made her sick. If only they could see it the way she did. The shadows made the world better. Humans were polluting the entire world. Now there are no cars to pollute the air, no factories or boats to pollute the water. She figured this life was better. A lot better and they were just ruining it by existing. Her small hand wrapped around the hilt of her knife. They needed to die.

OOC: No killing my favorite character yet! DDD:

Karma batted his hand away from her head, glaring at him. "The world can't start over if theres no one left to help it grow.." she said softly.

OOC: I'M NOT GONNA KILL 'EM

Darren laughed again. "Well there's us. All the people at the super market. I'm sure we can help it grow, but first we have to help it by destroying the shadows."

Raven was tired of all the talk. She started down after them. Loomy hung back at her command.

"Destroying the shadows isn't as easy as it sounds though. If we aren't careful, many of us are going to die in the process." Karma told him.

Darren nodded, he looked around and spotted a tiny figure coming toward them. "Look at that.." His hand went to his side wear a dagger resided.

Raven went down to the two people and stopped when she was a good six feet away.

Karma turned and her hand automatically went to her knives but soon changed track and rested on her bow. It's too far away for a knife attack.. she thought to herself.

"It's a little girl..." Darren noted. His hand dropped once more and he walked over to Raven. "Hello little girl. Are you scared?"
Raven decided to play along. She nodded. Little fake tears came out of her eyes.

Karmas hand didn't leave her bow. Being a girl, she knew when one of her own gender was faking or not. What she couldn't place was if this girl just wanted the boys attention, or if there was something else wrong with this girl.

Darren smiled. "Awe. It's okay. I'll protect you young one."
Raven smiled sweetly. Her skeletal frame was only clothed by a black dress, it gave off the essence of pathetic.
Darren moved toward her and easily scooped her up in his arms. "You're so dirty. Poor thing. And so thin. Have you been hiding here the entire time?" Raven nodded softly and wrapped her arms around Darren's neck. "What's your name little one?" Darren asked her.
"Raven..." she spoke in a cracked voice.