Game Over // Scarlett

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"All I can say is that my life is pretty plain.
I like watchin' the puddles gather rain."

Work done. Nothing else to do. What now?

Well tonight the hang out spot was the good ol' local pub. Jamal was no drinker apart from on occasion, though the buzz of an evening in the pub was a comfort to him. It had become his favourite hang out spot since moving into the Safe Lands, simply because you met all kinds of characters in there. Besides, there were only so many places you can go these days.

It was probably an odd thing to see, a man hammering away at a Game Boy in the nook of an English pub. Though there he was. There were a few things you couldn't drag Jamal away from, even in the wake of an apocalypse. One of them was video games. Mastering retro video games was his forte. He spent too much of his childhood mastering the classics on the Super Nintendo or the Sega Master System. It was evident in his nimble thumbs, a product of button mashing over all these years. He successfully finished the current level. That was it, level 7 was now complete in Super Mario. Jamal felt the notion to celebrate, and did a brief pump of his fist. "Yes..." he let out before taking a swig of his soft drink. It was now time to proceed onto level 8. This was the Daddy of them all. He wiped his mouth and continued, slouching further down in his seat to maximise comfort. Jamal looked awkward now, with most of his slender body on the seat, legs sprawled out as a hazard for some poor soul to trip over. He wasn't caring, not when he had Bowser to defeat and rescue the Princess.

He was so engrossed in it he had cut himself off from the world around him. A zombie could burst through the window and he would barely notice. The sound of chatter from the other pub patrons was drowned out. It was just Jamal and his Game Boy. That was, until, the batteries in his beloved handheld console decided to give way. The screen switched off. Game over. It wasn't Mario that died this time, it were his batteries. They were completely flat. "WHAT? NO!" Jamal exclaimed. His outcry caught attention from those around him, and they stared him down like he was an idiot. He was completely outraged. All that hard work for nothing. Frustrated, he dumped his Game Boy on the table with a loud 'thump' and breathed out a hot breath of irritation. Now he was pissy. He was going to be pissy for a while now. He could sense it.

At first he thought about going 'home' - or what he called home these days - however he opted to stay instead. There was nothing else to do apart from sulk. Right now he hungered for a smoke, but he surprisingly refrained. The smoking ban was still in place wasn't it? Probably not. Still, he would have to adhere to old habits and step outside for a smoke.

Words: 530 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett |
Notes: Don't have to match the word length. Hope its okay xD

[scarlettjenner]

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notes: 588 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

The Safe Lands...what on Earth had possessed her to come back? She knew for certain that it wasn’t her family. Because they were safe and even though she had just been to see them, it was a little depressing. Because sooner or later, she’d have to go back outside and she hated the look on her poor mother’s face when she said that. Still, her mother had still dumped her in the shower to wash off the grime and blood that had been caked on her skin and in her hair. And even though she had just left her family, she felt rather happy about the fact that she felt clean and comfortable for the first time in a long time. Which of course, lead to her having a spring in her step. Not that there wasn’t always a spring in her step but today, it was more pronounced.

It was obvious to the people that she walked passed that she was an outsider. The large silver bow on her back kind of gave that one away. Because no one had need for a weapon in the Safe Lands...not really. So, to have a bow on her back was a dead set that she really didn’t belong. But Scarlett really wasn’t one for being bothered by people’s opinions. So, the looks that her weapon was getting weren’t really noticed by the tall red-head. Now...where did she want to see before she left? Well, there was the pub that West used to drink at when she lived here. He probably still did but she didn’t ask him before she left so she would just have to assume that that was the case.

So, as she wandered down the streets to the pub in question, she noticed the man sitting outside and she couldn’t help but tilt her head almost confused. What was he doing outside? Oh...he was smoking...but wasn’t the smoking ban kind of null and void now. Smoking in a public place was the least of the Safe Lands worries now. She bounded over to him on her long legs. He seemed nice enough so she was going to talk to him. Whether he liked it or not.

”Hello...you know, I don’t know if the smoking ban really applies now, worse things to worry about, you know?” Then she realized what she was saying and quickly shook her head, waving her hands in front of her face. This really wasn’t the kind of thing that a previous nurse should be saying really. ”Not that I’m condoning smoking because I was a nurse and it’s bad and...wow, I’m saying it’s alright to smoke inside but not to smoke...that doesn’t sound right...” She let out a little giggle, before turning her head to the sky. He probably thought she was crazy. And in a way...she probably was a little.

”Can I sit with you? I promise I’m not going to steal you cigarette,” She shook her head. One, she didn’t smoke...unless she was drunk and that was another story all together. And two, she really didn’t think she should really be telling him what to do. After all, she wasn’t a nurse anymore. She took a deep breath before turning to him, holding out her hand. ”I’m Scarlett...but you can call me Scar, Lettie, Bambi...whatever you want really. What’s your name?” She wasn’t quite sure how Bambi got in there but she had had a friend call it her a few days ago. But maybe he didn’t really do nicknames.

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

Rules were rules, and usually Jamal followed them, especially when it came to the law. He didn't hesitate in lighting up the second he stepped out of the door, sheltering the flickering flame with the barricade of his hand. Having a cigarette was a de-stresser as well as a habit. Survive a fight with a zombie? LIght up. Batteries run low on your Game Boy? Light up. It was sad how Jamal had come so dependent on cigarettes after the outbreak. He was a smoker before, though now he had been shoved into the 'chain smoker' circle. It would be soon enough until he would get completely defensive over it.

There were a few people skulking around him, most of which he didn't pay much attention. He was in his own little bubble again, still unwilling to mould himself into the crowd again. Yet, here he was, in the midst of other survivors. He had a few casual puffs of his cigarette, until a red headed girl approached him. The smoking ban. He was just thinking about that. An eyebrow raised at her comment. She did have a point. Yet, he was still doing what he thought was right by society's standards. "Well, I guess old habits die hard." Die hard indeed. "I don't think people like to breathe in others' smoke so, I came out here," he tried to justify himself. He was conscientious that way. Jamal was in means selfish. He considered other people. Smoking outside was one way to get rid of unwanted smoke a lot quicker. He breathed a light laugh as she continued talking. Who cares if she sounded crazy to him. Jamal had seen worse in his experience these past few weeks. He wouldn't be surprised if the whole population of London had a mental breakdown.

When she offered to sit with him he nodded his head. "If you like," he consented, tapping the place beside him. No harm in letting her sit beside him. Jamal was a social guy really. Alright he sulked like a big cry-baby from time to time, and liked his own space to compose himself again, but in this dark age of London meeting new people could make or break you. A light laugh fluttered from him when she talked about the cigarettes. "Don't worry. I trust you," he said in passing. When she held out her hand he latched onto it with his own, giving her hand a brief shake. Jamal's eyes narrowed gently when she introduced herself. "Scar, Lettie, Bambi...you got two Disney nicknames in there," Jamal said to her with a spring in his tone, for he was being light hearted. He flicked a piece of smouldering ash form his cigarette. "Jamal. No nicknames. Though I have had Jay before...old highschool name." Jamal grinned at her amiably. He might as well mention it.

Words: 477 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett |
Notes: Forgot she was an outsider. Woops! My bad o.O lol

[scarlettjenner]

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notes: 453 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

She had rather expected that answer. Old habits die hard. She guessed they do. Even with all that was going on, people still managed to maintain relative normality. It was nice in a way. She actually enjoyed it her, seeing how everyone was just getting on with their lives. Though she couldn’t say she preferred it here. It was just a nice change. She hadn’t had a zombie attack her the whole day and she was welcoming the break she was having. She sat down when he told her she could, her usual smile never dying. It was nice to be able to find someone to talk to. She hardly saw anyone outside and she had noticed that in the Safe Lands, everyone had somewhere to be. Typical London then, obviously. No one had time to stop and talk to her. In fact, today most people had avoided her. Though that might have had something to do with the fact that she was covered in blood and dirt.

”Hey...you’re right,” She did have two Disney nicknames. She’d never realized that before. Probably because she never used all her nicknames in the same sentence and Bambi was a relatively knew one. Apparently it had arisen thanks to her long legs and tendency to bound around like a baby deer. She actually liked the nickname. And then as she thought about it more, she frowned. ”Wait...Scar’s evil. I’m not evil. I’m adorably naïve...like Bambi!” She laughed then even though it wasn’t particularly funny. But she did have a tendency to laugh at her own words almost like a child would.

”I like Jay...so, I’m gonna call you that,” She nodded, making her decision before he could even say anything otherwise. She had made her decision and she wasn’t going back on it. She eyed his cigarette for a moment. The last time she had smoked was a few days ago when she had been drunk. It wasn’t that bad really and it reminded her of her brother in a way. And seeing someone else smoke made her want to do it again. ”Can I?” She held out her hand, reaching for his cigarette. She knew she really shouldn’t but it was rather tempting. It was probably a really bad idea.

”So...what do you do here? Since you obviously live here unlike me,” It was a well known fact that you had to work in the Safe Lands to live in the Safe Lands. When she quite her job, she gave up her privileges and was told to leave. And she had done. Without hesitation. She didn’t really regret leaving because she had met so many new people outside that she would have never met otherwise.

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

"Yeah," he faintly agreed with her. Jamal obviously wasn't too familiar with Scarlett to make that judgement, but agreed with her nonetheless out of politeness. "I'll take your word for it," he chipped in with a little humor colouring his tone. "Scar was evil. Did you know that the Lion King is loosely based on Hamlet?" The young man asked her, eyes diverting up to the sky then falling upon her again. He was just trying to get more conversation out of her. Plus he asked random questions from time to time.

Jay. He could get used to it. It was a dub handed to him by a couple of old highschool mates, whom he hadn't seen since graduation. They could be lying dead somewhere, to put it bluntly, but there was no reason why it can't be revived. "Alright, you can call me that," Jamal agreed with a faint nod of his head prior to taking another drag of his smoke. He looked elsewhere for a little while, until he realised Scarlett was eyeing up his cigarette. "If you'd like," he offered his cigarette out to her, a smile stretching across his lips. He had fresh ones in his pocket, but not many. Jamal could offer, though he had to hoard them for now. A selfish thing to do? Perhaps. He might experience a guilt trip later.

Eyebrows shot up at her question. "I help out. Just whatever needs doing, I guess." Jamal said. He was a bit of a 'handyman' around these areas. He liked to think himself a driver more than anything else. "I drive around a lot. I don't know if that's a job, but, it's fun." The young man pulled his legs up, balancing his arms on his legs, sitting casually. His head was to one side, looking at the red haired girl. "You an outsider?" Jamal asked her. Outsiders. God rest their souls. He knew that some chose to wander out in the wilderness, but there were others that hadn't found the Safe Lands yet. London was colossal for a city. It was huge by scale, but the population density meant there were more survivors, and more zombies. Jamal felt the inclination to ask about his so-called fiancee, Kamala, though part of him refused. What were the chances of Scarlett knowing about Kamala anyway? Besides, why was he so curious about her? Kamala had her own life to live. She had told Jamal that over and over again. "I could never be an outsider anyway. I don't think I have the guts to do it." He frankly admitted. Though Jamal did have courageous and at times aggressive moments in his life, he was not the type to look for trouble.

Words: 456 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett
Notes:

[scarlettjenner]

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notes: 446 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

She nodded agreeing with him. Scar was evil and she really didn’t want to be compared to someone evil. Though she tilted her head when he decided to impart some knowledge to her. The Lion King was based on Hamlet? She’d never read any of Shakespeare’s works and she’d always just thought about The Lion King as a boy overthrowing his tyrant uncle to become king. But maybe that was what Hamlet was about. She couldn’t really say anything because she’d never read the book.

”So what you’re saying is that Walt Disney wasn’t very original?” She smiled, before getting distracted with a movement somewhere over to the left. She did get awfully distracted sometimes and really it wasn’t very polite but she couldn’t help it even when she tried. She had the attention span of a goldfish and that was that. She leaned over, rather pleased with herself when he offered his cigarette to her. She didn’t say anything until she had taken a drag. Yep...it tasted just like she remembered it and she was rather happy that the alcohol hadn’t made it taste better.

She turned to him then. He helped out...doing odd jobs obviously. Not that that was a bad thing of course. And he drove. Well...that was interesting. She could maybe bribe him to drive her round outside. That would definitely be a useful thing for taking out zombies. Though she didn’t really know if she could fire a bow from a car...though they could find out. She took another drag from the cigarette before passing it back to him. It was his after all and she wasn’t about to finish it for him. If she wanted one of her own then she would have to get one of her own.

”Yeah...I’m an outsider. Quite my job at the hospital and then up and left. I came back to see my family just this once,” She nodded making sure to tell him that it was her choice and she wasn’t forced into it like he might have thought. She worded it carefully. She’d had people mistake her for a person forced out of the Safe Lands before. Though she was rather lucky to know about the Safe Lands and she could always come back any time she wanted and she was thankful for that. ”It’s really not that bad...as long as you don’t mind blood and guts. And it helps that I’m a dead shot with my bow, so I don’t have to even get close to them,” She flicked her hand back to her bow rather proudly. She was proud of her talent and made sure to let people know it.

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

Odd how the conversation had pivoted to Disney movies, which wasn't unusual for Jamal really. He brought up random subjects to talk about. And it was never a deliberate move to drift from an awkward topic. He just did it out of habit. Jamal was also distracted , though by the movement of Scarlett rather than the thing she was looking at. The young man continued with the conversation. "Hmm kinda. Most of the movies are based off of old fairy-tales and the like, or people in history...Pocahontas was real wasn't she?" His question came out as a question to himself more than to her. He was sure Pocahontas was a real person. She was, wasn't she? He was told that one time. Man, was this young male full of random facts. He let Scarlett take his cigarette from him to have a smoke on.

Jamal took the cigarette from her. "Thanks," he said to her weakly however polite. It was so good having a smoke. It soothed him. It was actually better when smoking with someone else. There was no real guilt trip involved. Jamal was often solitary when he smoked, avoiding those that detested the habit.

He leaned backward, eyeing up Scarlett's weapon. Both eyebrows twitched upon studying it. The bow impressed him. Jamal gestured to it with his hand. "Interesting weapon choice," he smiled, eyes creasing as he did so. "Most people around here carry guns, if they can find them, maybe a bat of some kind..or a frying pan...nothing defeats a zombie like a good smack to the fact with one of those." A small giggle fluttered from him. His sense of humor was childish at times, though he was an optimist. Cracking jokes about killing zombies? He did it all the time. "My weapon is a crowbar. Or used to be. It was my best friend for a while until I found the Safe Lands." Now he managed to get his hands on a pistol. Not that he had mastered it, but it was tucked into the back of his jeans whenever he was outside the barriers, if he was needed out there anyway.

He took a long drag of his cigarette, before offering it to Scarlett. It was burning short. There was not much of a smoke left in it. "Here you can finish it off." Jamal smiled lightly at her. "You can do the honor." His bad temper had dampened. The young man was so easily riled up but he calmed himself quickly enough. There was nothing to occupy his hands. Instead, as he sat, his leg started to bounce up and down out of reflex. How many habits did he have? He was rife with them, and probably the most annoying ones at that.

Words: 462 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett
Notes:

[scarlettjenner]

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notes: 465 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

She supposed he was right. Disney wasn’t too original after all. She’d never really thought about it before. Though she did wonder why they had suddenly started talking about Disney movies. Not that she minded of course. It was a nice conversation. A little different from the conversations she had had in recent weeks, that was for sure. She nodded a little. He was right then, Disney was not original and she had never even realized it before. She smiled as she passed the cigarette back to him. It was odd, taking a cigarette that easily and just smoking. She’d never smoked before in her life until one man had got her drunk and they had smoked together. Alright, she was probably the reason for the drunkenness since she had challenged him to whiskey shots...but that wasn’t the point.

She glanced back at her bow when he pointed at it. It was rather unique and when she thought about it, she was probably more at home in a medieval action movie with her bow. Because she was a damn good shot and it made up for her weaknesses everywhere else. She was glad she had joined the archery club at school or she would have been screwed now. She probably never would have left the Safe Lands if she didn’t know how to shoot a bow properly. But she did and it served her rather well.

”Smacking them is good, but I prefer to stay out of the way where they can’t get their teeth into me,” She nodded, wrinkling her nose at the thought of getting bitten by one of those things. She’d already had this conversation with her house mate. About what would happen it one of them had got bitten for any reason. And she really didn’t like to remember that conversation. She lifted her finger then, pointing it upwards. ”Ah...but guns are loud. And loud draws zombies. Me...I’m silent as can be. So my bow trumps everything!” She laughed, more to herself than anything. Even though it was unique, it really was the best weapon of all.

”Really? I can finish it?” She raised an eyebrow slightly. A year ago she would have rejected him downright. She didn’t smoke and she probably never would properly. But she still found herself taking the cigarette from him, taking a drag. There wasn’t much left but maybe that was best. Maybe she needed to break herself into this smoking thing slowly. Not that she was planning to make a thing of it but if she was going to do it every now and then, she needed to be used to it. ”You said ‘Before you found the Safe Lands’...so you were outside at one point. Were you living out there when it all happened?”

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

Head bobbed in a nod. "Yeah I think it would be crazy to strut around and shoot everything in sight," he agreed with her. He had to agree that running around blasting everything wasn't going to help anyone. Jamal's eyes tore from her bow to Scarlett herself, and he felt his lips pull into a smile. He couldn't help but giggle along with her. Simply because he had a vision of the redhead perched up somewhere out of sight, picking off the zombies one by one. To handle such a weapon would require a high dose of skill. Jamal found that to be admirable in Scarlett, not to mention more unique than swinging an object or blasting their heads off with a bullet. "Nah but really, I think its neat that you use a bow," he voiced his admiration for her choice of weapon.

Scarlett appeared comfortable with smoking, hence why he offered for her to finish the cigarette off. Smoking could be a social activity as well as something done in solitude. "Yeah on you go," he nodded and sealed the offer. Jamal sure hoped he wasn't being a bad influence on the girl, but he assumed she had smoked before. He adjusted his sitting position, legs tucking up and slender arms resting on his knees. "I was for a while, but only for a short time. I found the Safe Lands pretty quick," Jamal replied. He turned his head away from her, looking off into the distance, as if pensive about something. Eyes narrowed gently as he pondered, prior to looking back to Scarlett. "I don't know how I managed to get here so fast...whether it was luck or fate..." His voice rang out light and soft, as if he was voicing his thoughts aloud rather than talking to Scarlett. "It's unnerving to think there are people you know still out there..like you don't know what's happened to them...know what I mean?" He left that question to hang. It was more rhetorical than anything else. Jamal didn't expect Scarlett to answer, though she was free to.

He shuffled out of discomfort. He was beginning to feel strain on his lower back. Sitting around outside was taking toll on his overall comfort. The young man then stood up, getting to his feet and stretching out to his full height. Jamal was just short of six foot, though at times he appeared taller as he was so slender and light by stature. "Do you want to head in for a bit?" He offered her. Jamal was feeling the notion so sit in one of the pub booths again, simply because they were such a comfort. Besides, he had left his Game Boy in there. "I left something inside..something dear to me." 'Dear to me' indeed. If anyone pinched his beloved handheld console there would be payback. Serious payback.

Words: 478 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett
Notes:

[scarlettjenner]

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notes: 421 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

Of course, she wasn’t sure if anyone would actually think that using a bow would be a good weapon in the current circumstance. But then again, she doubted anyone knew how to use one as well as she did. Well, apart from the Olympic athletes. They would probably do rather well with a bow out there. She had debated trying out for the UK team at one point, but all that had changed when she was forced to work in the hospital as a glorified babysitter and maid while she watched people getting shot, every day. Not that she minded being a babysitter, she loved children. It was just she didn’t agree with the way that things worked nowadays. It was like no one cared about the infected.

She gave Jamal a smile when he agreed to let her finish off his cigarette. She hadn’t expected him to even offer, which was why she gave it back to him in the first place. But she was rather happy with finishing it now she had sealed the deal. She took another drag before turning back to him so he could answer her question. It seemed that he was similar to her in a way. Her family hadn’t taken hardly any time at all to find the Safe Lands but maybe that was because she knew that her hospital was enclosed within the zone. That probably had something to do with it.

She raised an eyebrow, completely understanding what he was talking about. There were still people out there that she didn’t know if they were alive or not. Friends from school, her elderly neighbors. The latter of those two had refused to leave when Scarlett’s family had left. And when she had gone back to her old house, about a week ago, they were gone. She didn’t have a clue what had happened to them. She had to look up when Jamal stood. Simply because she was confused as to what he was doing. But she smiled when he finally elaborated for her.

”You gonna buy me a drink?” It probably was a bit of a teasing thing to say, but if she had a chance of getting a free drink out of him then it was worth a try. She finished the cigarette, flicking it to the floor before she crushed it under her boot. Once she was done, she stood. She was going to go inside with him anyway, but there was no harm in asking for a drink, right?

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

Jamal hoped Scarlett understood what he was on about. She was quiet, but it was understandable as the question as rhetorical. Jamal just left it at that and clambered to his feet. He had to stand up. His discomfort was getting the better of him. "Sitting around outside isn't the most comfortable thing," he mentioned, pretty much stating the obvious.

Smoker he was. Drinker he was not. Jamal had had his fair taste of alcohol before, but he didn't go completely crazy on it like a lot of people his age would. It was all about austerity in his family. They taught him that drinking on occasion was fine, but over indulging was just wrong. Jamal couldn't really pinpoint what was so 'wrong' about it, other than his parent's religious beliefs. "If you'd like,' he gave his consent. Jamal was such a push over at times. It was easy to get favours out of him. But he liked Scarlett. If buying her a drink meant he could hang out with her for a little while more, he would buy her a drink. It wasn't as if money was much of a commodity these days, not like it used to be.

Jamal wandered back into the pub, seeing that there were more people than before. More people must have spilled in without him noticing. He was too busy yapping away as usual. Eyes searched for his abandoned baby. It was still there, sitting in the booth that Jamal was once sitting. He paced over and grabbed it, clutching it in his large palm. "My beloved," he said to Scarlett, waving it in front of her briefly. It was not really his 'beloved'. The love of his life was his car, though the Game Boy came a close second. It was very old school, playing a Game Boy, though Jamal was an old school kid. Retro video games were his forte, until the batteries died on him of course. He eyed it up with resentment. "Unfortunately the batteries ran out...which is typical as I was on the last stage of Super Mario," he pouted with disappointment. Typical how that happened.

He paced toward the bar area and placed it on the bar surface. He pointed his finger at it, looking to Scarlett. "Can you do me a favour? Make sure I don't leave this behind." He smiled lightly. There was no way he was leaving it behind again. Someone could very well pinch it. It was an old artifact after all. He then folded his arms, leaning over onto the bar surface very casually. "Now tell me, what does Miss Scarlett want?" He asked her.

Words: 443 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett
Notes:

[scarlettjenner]

[style= width: 320px; height: 198px; background-image: url('http://primetime.unrealitytv.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/karen-gillan-amy-pond.jpg'); opacity: 0.75; border-radius: 20px 20px 0px 0px; border: 2px #a1a19f solid; moz-border-radius: 20px 20px 0px 0px]

notes: 480 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

She followed him back into the pub with a smile. Free drinks after all and that was a promising thought. Not that she wanted to get drunk but she wouldn’t mind spending a bit more time with him. It was a nice change to have someone new to speak to and she found herself quite liking Jamal. He was nice to talk to and didn’t seem to be fazed by her childishness. And it was a rare think to find someone who wasn’t a little bothered by it. She noticed the looks she got as they entered the pub and she had to raise her arms to promise she wasn’t actually going to use the bow on her back. She went to make for the bar but it seemed Jamal had other ideas.

”I thought you meant a person...not a Game Boy,” She shook her head, chuckling a little. She really had expected someone, not something and she was even more surprised to find out what that something was. It wasn’t what she was expecting in the slightest. So that was what he had been doing before she found him outside. And the batteries had died. How unfortunate. She couldn’t help but laugh though, because it was a rather strange thing to be attached to. She made her way over to the bar and lifted herself up onto a seat before looking back at him.

”I promise...I won’t let you leave it again,” She raised her hands up in almost surrender, as a way of telling him that she would do as he wanted. She turned back to the bar for a moment, casting her eyes over the drinks that they had there. It was an awkward moment when she realized the only drink she had actually drunk in the last year was whiskey. And that had been a few weeks ago and she remembered just how drunk she’d got on that. And she didn’t really know what to get otherwise. She tilted her head to the side a little as she thought. It wasn’t something that she would normally do. Go into a bar and get a drink. Though perhaps she should just go with what she was comfortable with and hope she didn’t end up going too crazy.

”Whiskey on the rocks,” She said once she’d finally decided on what she wanted. She’d only have one or two and she wasn’t going to be downing it like she had done the last time. She took the time to glance around the pub for a moment. Seriously...what was it with some people? Just because she had a bow on her back didn’t mean that they could just stare at her. She caught a few gazes and they were quickly broken as the people in question looked away. And then she turned back to Jamal, to give him a smile.

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

Of course he wasn't fazed by her childishness. Jamal was juvenile himself at times. He himself was used to getting funny looks from people when he tried to crack a joke or mess around with a friend. Upon entering the pub, Jamal didn't notice at first the reaction the other punters gave to the bow on Scarlett's back. Even if he did notice, he wouldn't understand what all of the fuss was. London had turned into a weapon yielding nation now - it wasn't unusual to find someone with a weapon for defense. Jamal had a pistol himself, but that barely saw the light of day.

The Game Boy was a beloved possession of his. He looked at it, then shot a slightly somber glance at Scarlett. "Nope, this is it. Though there are more precious things I'd safeguard with my life...." Jamal paused. "And none of them are people, which is sad." A nervous giggle fluttered from him. He shifted his glance around apprehensively, climbing onto the seat beside her, and wondering why he had said that. Jeez he must have sounded like a lonely bastard. Jamal had no family these days, and he had lost his fiancee to some degree, so he was pretty much on his own regarding kin. He had cousins, aunts and uncles, but most of them were in India. The thought of asking Scarlett if she ever knew a Kamala was still annoying him, but the chances of her knowing of her was very very slim, almost miniscule.

Jamal shuffled in his seat to gain some comfort, pulling out the contents of his back pocket as they had a habit of digging into his backside whilst sitting. It was just his car keys, lighter, and his little charm. Other pocket held his wallet. A small and friendly smirk played his expression as Scarlett took her choice of drink. "Taking a while to choose your poison?" He asked in passing, placing a note of money between his lips whilst he tucked his wallet away. As he heard her order his eyebrows shot up, surprised at her order. "Wow you can drink your liquor." Jamal said light heartedly. He was jealous in a sense. He didn't really drink, and as his liver was not fine tuned for drinking he was probably the biggest lightweight in London. One beer would probably toss him over the edge. Alcohol was dangerous to his bloodstream. He knew that. So to be on the safe side he got himself a coke. Just a plain coke, along with Scarlett's whiskey on the rocks classic.

After they had received their drinks he took a glance around, at the exactly the same time as Scarlett did. That was when he noticed the looks. At firs the thought they were staring at him, but that would be ridiculous. This was London, one of the multicultural cities in the world. It was common to see Indian, Pakistani, South-East Asian people around. Jamal was pretty much the norm. His gaze shot to the bow on her back. "I think they're finding you a bit intimidating," he joked, leaning over the bar slightly to make himself more comfortable.

Words: 513 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett
Notes:

[scarlettjenner]

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notes: 423 words | tag: Jamal/Scarlett

She had been expecting something other than a Game Boy, if she was honest. But then again, it wasn’t really that surprising. People had gotten rather attached to their possessions in recent months, more so than to people. That was the sad thing. That people had started to be more protective of themselves and their things than others. Though this was the world that they were in now and this was probably going to be the way it stayed for the considerable future. Scarlett herself was guilty of looking after herself and not others on occasion. But she’d never really thought about it until now. Though she still came back to see her family every now and then, so she hadn’t forgotten them completely.

Though she wasn’t surprised in the slightest at his reaction to her choice. It wasn’t really something that a lot of people drunk and she probably didn’t look like the person to hold her alcohol. And she couldn’t really, but one drink wasn’t going to harm anything. And she had never really found anything else that she liked enough to drink. If it hadn’t been for her discovery of whiskey she probably would have still been drinking coke like...wait, what?

”You’re not drinking?” Well that was a surprise. She had expected him to have a beer or something. Now she felt a little awkward drinking whiskey while he had a normal soft drink. For a moment, she debated changing her mind and choosing something else. Though she didn’t have much chance as their drinks had already arrived and now she had no choice but to drink around him. Though one sip from her glass made her forget all about that. At least she wasn’t doing shots this time. She glanced from the room to her bow when Jamal mentioned it. She supposed she did look a bit intimidating.

”I’m not surprised. The amount of looks I go just walking up the main street to my parent’s house. People thought I was going to turn the street into a shooting range or something,” She laughed, picking up her glass again. It was odd really because having weapons was the norm on the outside. And yet, in the Safe Lands, she got odd looks for carrying a weapon around. Though many people had guns, she supposed her bow was a lot more noticeable than those. ”I guess people are more used to guns nowadays than a bow and arrows. I guess I look like a really odd Robin Hood or something,”

This here table was made by Lieutenant Crow. No stealing else suffer my eternal hatred.

[/style]

[JAMAL ANISH RAO]

"Sitting on the side waiting for a sign,
hoping that my luck will change.""

In all honesty, he would probably associate drinking whiskey with old men more than anything else. Seeing a young woman like Scarlett having a taste for the spirit was very uncommon, hence his surprise. There was a subtle shake of his head."Nope, not just now. I'm a designated driver. I don't drink!" He jested for a moment then adopted a more serious tone. "I'm not much of a drinker to be honest. I'm scared that if I have just one beer I'll fall off my chair. That's how bad I can get," he spoke to Scarlett very cooly. That would be embarrassing, but funny nonetheless. Momentarily he pointed at her in a joking manner. "And if I do do that, I have a feeling you''ll just laugh at me," Jamal's expression lit up with a bright grin. Though having a soft drink just now didn't mean he wouldn't have one later. He was debating it, actually. As long as he didn't go crazy on it, tanking shots of tequila or doing Jagaerbombs until the last order bell rang. He picked up his drink and took a prolonged sip, half of it almost disappearing. Jamal carefully placed it back down. "I might have one though, maybe later.." voice trailed off as he glanced around, arms securely on the bar top, back hunched over.

His eyes couldn't leave her bow. The longer he looked at it, the more he wanted to have a shot of it. "Yeah I think they are. But its good that you've got that weapon you. It's unique as I said...probably why everyone is staring." Eyes shifted around quickly, hand running over his raven hair. "Or maybe everyone is coming up with 'An Indian and a Redhead walked into a bar' joke..." He snickered. Boy he was laughing at his own pathetic and rather random humor. He silenced himself with another sip of his drink.

Jamal felt the inclination to talk about the 'outside'. He just wanted to tease out a few facts on what he has missed, or things he'd be thankful he missed. "Are there many of you on the outside? Do you all congregate together in groups or do you just wander about on your own?" Jamal was buzzing with questions about the world beyond the barriers. Alright he was an outsider once, but he was not for long. He hadn't really lived it per se, but had got the gist of it Dark eyes squinted with thought.. "I remember when I was out there a lot of people were just camping out on their own." Coke in hand, he polished it off, before gently pushing it away with his fingers. That drink didn't last long.

Words: 451 | Tag: Tasha's Scarlett
Notes: