Kyra / The Farmers / Laborer
Be yourself; everyone else is already taken
Name: Kyra
Age: 30
FC: Phoebe Tonkin
Role: Laborer
Personality Traits: Strong, athletic, fit & capable of handling herself should the need arise. Awkward around people & in social situations; doesn't know what to say or how to deal with them. Her decisions are usually rash & impulsive; doesn't plan ahead or think about possible consequences. Calm, collected & not easily angered; often appears as if she isn't showing any emotions at all. Tends to forget about her limits & often doing too many things at the same time, but is capable of dealing with the lack of sleep. Hard worker & doesn't stop until the job is done. Prefers to do everything on her own before asking for help; used to relying on herself only. Great orientation skills; knows her fair share about hunting & fishing.
Ohio Desert
Story
XV
"I think that is all." Kyra closed one of the truck's doors before she turned around to meet Brayden's gaze, "Ready to go?"
By her count, it would take them a few hours - at a minimum - to reach Ohio if it went without any problems... given what had all happened during the journey so far, everything seemed possible at this point.
"Yes." Brayden replied though she could see in his eyes that his mind seemed to be somewhere else.
Dropping the bag she had been holding, Kyra took a step closer towards him and reached for his hand, "Hey... is everything alright?"
"I am." he gently squeezed her fingers, "It is just that part of me still can't fully believe that this is going to happen... I'm not only talking about going after Reese but also that it was your idea." A soft smile was playing on his lips.
"Anyone else would have done the same." she pointed out trying to sound casual about it but the slight blush on her cheeks easily betrayed her true feelings. Kyra knew that she had risked a lot when she allowed Brayden to get closer than anyone else before... and she knew that finding Reese wasn't going to be an easy task and the same could be said for getting back the soil. But she was willing to whatever was necessary and all because of him.
"Maybe. But for me, it is more important what you did for me." He was still smiling as he brushed a loose strand of her hair back, "I know that we didn't get off a great start... that I kept being hot and cold with you and yet you kept opening up to me."
"I didn't even notice... that you were acting differently towards me I meant." she gulped. Being close to him was still a new sensation for her, one that made her heart beating like crazy. Feelings had been a strange concept to Kyra before she met Brayden... before she got too invested in getting to know him better.
"I noticed." Brayden chuckled, "There is something you should know."
"Yes?"
"The more time we spent together, the more I learned about you and the more I told you about me... it reached a point where I thought that I was falling in love with you." His fingers brushed over her cheek.
"Oh... and now?" Kyra blinked a few times before she licked over her lips.
"Now, I know that I do." He closed the last distance between them placing his lips on top of hers.
Kyra closed her eyes wrapping one of her arms around his neck... back she had joined him on this journey developing feelings, let alone falling in love had been the last thing on her mind... and yet it happened. She might not be able to tell how long it was going to last but she knew that she wanted to make the best out of it as long as possible... even if that meant going after Brayden's ex-lover who might have stolen his most treasured possession.
It was her who pulled away from the kiss resting her forehead against his, "I do feel the same... and while I wouldn't mind continuing this, we should get back on the road. We don't know where exactly Reese is and the longer we stay here, the longer it is going to take us to find her."
"I know." Brayden let out a sigh... stealing one last kiss before he took a step backwards. He picked up his two bags glancing at her from the side while she reached for her stuff as well... at this point, Kyra's main interest was in bringing along her weapons. She hadn't trusted Reese when first meeting her and now knowing what she potential had done, Kyra had even less reason to like her.
"Any idea why Reese might have taken the soil? Or what she plans on doing with it?" Kyra was sitting cross-legged on the passenger seat glancing at Brayden from the side.
She had a few doubts about the car they had taken from that strange town but it proved to be in excellent condition with a full fuel tank and it was pretty faster than the truck had been. At this point, it should indeed not take too long to reach Ohio... Kyra had a bad feeling that finding Reese was going to be their hardest task yet to come.
"Well, she does know what it means to me and why I have brought the soil with me on this journey... honestly, I have been asking myself the same question. Maybe it was just revenge for denying her the help she needed but it could also be something completely else." Brayden let out a frustrated sigh, "I thought that I knew Reese and that I could trust her even after we parted ways but that..." he stopped in the middle of his sentence punching the steering wheel while cursing loudly.
"Hey, you couldn't have known." Kyra scooted closer to him placing one of her hands on top of his, "It isn't your fault that Reese did this okay?" She bit on her lower lip thinking carefully about her next words, "Maybe we should have helped her... maybe if I hadn't..."
"It isn't your fault either, Kyra." Brayden was quick to interrupt her, "As you said...I couldn't have known and neither did you. What is done is done... no use in thinking what we could have done or said instead. All that matters right now, is that we find Reese, get the soil and then we are getting the hell away from Ohio... without ever looking back."
"Sounds like you got it all planned out." She tilted her head to the side looking at him.
Kyra wasn't the most optimistic person before meeting Brayden and setting out on this journey... and after everything that happened to them along the way, she found it even harder to stay positive. Rationally, she knew that Reese taking the soil or Chase deciding to stay in New Appalachia weren't her fault even if some of her decisions were partly to blame.
She wanted Brayden to be right... that they could just leave after finding Reese and getting the soil back. At this point, she no longer cared if they would ever reach the place he claimed existed. Part of her was willing to blindly follow Brayden wherever he wanted to go and honestly, it scared her... years of being alone and of only relying on herself is what made her the person she was today.
"Penny for your thoughts." Brayden's voice broke through her train of thoughts.
"Oh, just thinking about that but mainly... well, you and me," Kyra admitted drawing her knees close against her chest.
"I like the sound of that." there was a soft smile on his lips as he glanced at her from the side.
"I do too. Though little warning, you might have to be patient with me since this is all new for me... and since we have established that I'm not the most talkative person."
"When you say all is new for you, do you mean?" Brayden left his sentence unfinished but his expression showed exactly what was on his mind.
Kyra rolled her eyes before she playfully punched him into the shoulder, "You don't need to be in love to have sex with someone."
"Mhm, fair point. Though I must say that I find it hard to believe that I'm supposed to be your first in all the other aspects." He replied, "I'm not complaining or anything."
"I know that you aren't but it isn't much of a surprise and you know that... I'm not a people person and I think I mentioned a few times that you know me better than most other people I have met before." Kyra explained with a soft smile, "I couldn't even imagine that I might fall for you when I first saw you but here we are... and I'm not complaining either."
"Good." Brayden returned the smile only for his expression to get serious a moment later, "Oh, that doesn't look good at all."
Kyra turned her head spotting an ominous storm cloud in the east... the sound of what seemed like war drums echoing loudly through the landscape.
"Shit! That is exactly in our direction." she pressed her lips together. Never before had she seen and heard something like that but she knew that it couldn't mean anything good.
"It is." Brayden grimaced tightening his grip around the steering wheel as he kept looking straight ahead.
For a brief moment, Kyra turned around looking back towards where they came from... it was tempting to go back and get away from whatever storm was brewing in the west. But it wouldn't be fair towards Brayden who was close to losing his only chance at ever having a family.
"Keep on driving," Kyra said with a determined expression. She had told herself that she was going to do everything she could do to help Brayden and there was no turning back from that.
I hope that wasn't the wrong call to make. Kyra thought to herself... her eyes were looked at the storm clouds right in front of them. It looked like they were getting darker with each moment that passed and the war drums seemed to be louder as well.
"They are still in the distance." Brayden said as if he had been reading her mind, "Could be hours if not even longer before whatever that is will reach us."
"Let's hope that you are right." She murmured under her breath.
It wasn't only about being scared about whatever was brewing in the east... it was also the fact that she had absolutely no idea what it might be. Kyra had seen storms before but none of them had looked as dangerous as this one did.
"We have managed to make it this far... and we both know that our journey hasn't been free of any mishaps and unexpected stops." he told her, "I will be honest. I have absolutely no clue whatever those clouds and strange drums mean. But I believe in you and me... and I know that we can get through this." Brayden reached for her hand.
"I know. It is just that I would feel better if I had the slightest clue what is going to happen." Kyra squeezed his fingers, "Hopefully, we can avoid it." she let out a soft sigh.
Still, holding onto Brayden's hand she leaned her head against the car window... it wasn't too long before she drifted away.
Kyra woke up hours later to the sound of Brayden's loud curses and strange sputtering noises coming from the car.
"What's wrong?" she muttered stretching her legs and arms before she turned her head to look outside.
In the distance, the sky was still full of the dark storm clouds and the war drums could be still heard... it appeared that they had finally made it back to Ohio.
"I don't know." Brayden admitted, "Everything has been going smoothly until now and there should be more gas left." he let out a frustrated sigh dragging a hand through his hair, "I don't know how much longer we will be able to drive."
"Oh, shit!" Kyra exclaimed.
The next minutes that passed felt only like a few seconds... the car started to sputter louder and Kyra was expecting it to fall apart any moment now.
"Wait! What is that?" she pointed at something over to her left. "Are that people?"
"What the hell are they doing in the middle of nowhere?"
"I don't know but we should ask them about Reese... it could be worth a try." Kyra shrugged.
"Maybe we will be lucky for once." Brayden agreed with her before he stopped the car and rolled down his window.XVI
Kyra kept one of her hands on the gun strapped to her leg as Brayden spoke with one of the people in the little group... she listened closely as he mentioned Reese's name and gave them a description of her.
"We know her. She is our leader." an older woman said with a smile, "Do you know her?"
"We do." Brayden replied and it was obvious that he didn't sound too happy about this fact, "Do you know where we can find her?"
"Oh, she is close by. We can take you there."
"Thank you." Brayden said and then turned his head to look at Kyra, "What do you think? Should we go with them?"
"Mhm, hard to say if they are really telling the truth but what other choice have we got?" she pressed her lips together, "If isn't Reese or a trap, we will make a run for it."
"Okay." he nodded before opening the car seat.
Kyra made sure to tug a knife into the belt before she stepped outside as well... there was nothing around them which made her question why exactly Reese should be here. But for now, she was going to trust this group of strangers.
"We should stick close together." Brayden walked towards her intertwining his fingers with hers.
Kyra made sure to keep some distance as she and Brayden followed the group. She knew it was better to be safe than sorry... and she wanted to be able to get back to the car as soon as possible should anything go wrong.
"What is that?" Brayden asked eyebrows knitted together at the sight in front of them.
It was a field... so lush that it looked completely fake in the midst of the desert. For a brief moment, Kyra considered turning around because this couldn't mean anything good.
"I don't know but... wait is that Reese?" Kyra pointed at a figure standing in the middle of the field.
The scene was too bizarre but it appeared as it was indeed Reese... Reese was directing and giving orders to the people around them. Kyra couldn't tear her gaze away as they kept pulling newborns out of the ground. Days ago she would have thought that she was hallucinating or that she had completely lost her mind. But that had been before learning the truth about the soil and why Brayden brought it along.
"Brayden!" Reese's voice echoed over the fields and there was a smile on her face as she rushed towards him, "You are here and that just in time to meet your children."
"What are you talking about?" Kyra demanded and glared coldly at the other woman... she had a bad feeling about her the moment first meeting her and now that Brayden's suspicion had been confirmed that Reese was the one who had taken the soil she had even less reason to like her.
Reese didn't spare a glance at Kyra... her whole focus was on Brayden instead and she still had that strange smile on her face, "I was finally able to do it... after I had taken the soil and with the blessing of the shaman I was able to create this field and give me... give us the family that we have once dreamt of." She pointed at the fields and the people around them, "Those are all our children, Brayden."
"Is that true?" Brayden asked.
"It is." Reese nodded.
"I don't know..." he took a deep breath letting his gaze wander away from Reese and the children before finally looking at Kyra, "I can't leave."
At first, Kyra thought that she had heard wrong but then she noticed the triumphant expression on Reese's face and her heart dropped... ignoring his protests and Reese trying to reach for Brayden, she pulled him away.
"What do you mean that you can't leave?" Kyra's voice was filled with despair and confusion.
"Because this is exactly what I had hoped to find when Chase and I left... a place to grow our families," he said sounding like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"And what about me? Just hours ago you told me that you are falling in love with me." She felt betrayed and hurt.
"I still feel for you, Kyra." Brayden tried to reach out for her hands but she shook her head and took a step back.
"And yet you want to stay." she pointed out forcing herself to keep calm. Part of her wanted to cry and scream but she was stronger than that.
"I just can't ignore what Reese had done for me... the possibility of life she has created." he replied pointing over to the fields, "Those are my children."
"There is no changing your mind."
"No, there isn't." Brayden shook his head.
"I see." Kyra took another step away from him.
She could try and stay with him and Reese... but was there even a place left for now that he had the family he had been dreaming of? She didn't belong here... maybe she belonged nowhere.
"Kyra, what are you doing?" Brayden asked blinking in confusion.
"I'm sorry but I can't." Kyra breathed out, "Goodbye Brayden." And then she turned around walking away from him... all while her heart kept breaking.
Last edited by schoggettchen (04/09/2021 at 21:11)
