“...And that is why you would be best off making the journey back to South America: by foot, if need be.” Said her boss, a sentiment it had been repeating since they left the confines of her city. Liv rolls her eyes, trying her hardest to relax as the sun pours its gentle rays down on her bronze skin for the first time in her life. After exiting the city that had plagued her for her since birth, she got to experience the treat of what the outside world could look like. Sprawling hills of grass and trees as green as emerald, breezes running across her face to cool her from the sun, the sound of running water tickling her ears, clear as crystal, and clouds fluffy and white dotting the sky like sheep in a flock. This was supposed to be bliss, something she had only been able to dream of: unfortunately, her boss had spoken more in the last handful of days than in the entirety of their tenure together. Loud, insistent, and with that pragmatism that made her blood boil. It was infuriating, but managable when alone. Liv did not have the fortune of her boss being the only nuisance during her trip

“...And you just knocked it down! That weapon is sick!” Ean gushes over her, his eyes practically sparkling as he oohs and ahhs over her and her weapon, opting for the middle of the car’s back seat to be as close to Liv as humanly possible. She had tried to engage him in conversation, she truly did: answering questions about her home, what she did, why she did it– a tidbit of knowledge she didn't know herself– and the specifics on her weapon. While annoying, and unwanted, it could be managed. It, unfortunately, couldn't be that simple for her.

“I mean, they’re fine,” The girl Liv has come to known as Olivia mutters odiously, her arms crossing tight against her chest, “could've been a bit faster with the draw, but it worked out."

Olivia had been like that since Liv got there. Dismissive of her every word, snide marks at every turn, and glances thrown in her general direction for seemingly no reason. Every question answered earned her a glare from Olivia, the ire clear in her expression. It added an extra layer of annoyance to Ean's ceaseless questions, each one adding to the detest in Olivia's gaze.

“Easy on ‘er. She’s a newbie!” Alexis laughs, giving the wheel a quick jitter, causing all 5 passengers to get flung around like rag dolls. Liv grounds out a groan, gripping her head as her fingers dig into her head. Despite the carelessness of the large man, him and Jessica were some of Liv's favorite. Jessica had helped her with her tent, and Alexis' stories were a fun distraction from her boss' ceaseless voice.

As she continues to grumble, her gaze squarely turned away from anyone in the car, Olivia pipes up again, her arms crossed as she speaks, “What’s up with the rags? I saw a bunch of apparel shops n’ stuff with some cute stuff." She says snidely, giving Liv a once over. "Do you even wash those things? They look decomposed.” Her voice is filled with accusation, especially eyeing the tank top Liv wore.

Liv looks down at herself, pulling on the collar of her tank top, truly observing it for the first time in nearly a decade. She never really considered what other people wore since she never had anyone to impress, nobody but her boss. Her only frame of reference for what would or wouldn't look good were some posters she took from shops when she was way younger of models, that and her Ma'. Of course, the models weren't built like Liv in the slightest, and her Ma' had dressed just in the same rugged tank top and jeans she did, so she never saw a point in wearing anything else. Her thick tank top and jeans had always served her well, blocking shrapnel and stone when she blew them to pieces. What more would she need?

“Uh… I didn’t really know what to wear, I guess,” Liv starts, a bit of confusion and melancholy creeping up in her tone. She considered what to say next before just shrugging, continuing, “These were my Ma’s. These and the boss were the last things I got from ‘er ‘fore she got, uh… “Caught”. Ain’t really know how to clean any of this ‘sides washin' in 'em. Ain’t get a chance to do that ‘fore you guys rolled in, though.”

The car goes as quiet as a funeral, the motor the only thing that dare make a peep. Liv looks around, seeing their faces, her own confusion growing further and further, her eyebrows furrowing more than she though possible. Olivia looks like she just saw another demon, her jaw dropped as far as it could go, and Ean looks paler than a ghost. Jessica, who’s hair Liv learned was called Strawberry Blonde, has her head in her hands, almost as mortified as Olivia, and Alexis has this expression on his face, something akin to sadness, but not quite.

“Really, Olivia?” Ean pipes up after a second, his body turning to her, disappointment awash in his tone.

“How the hell was I supposed to know? I literally couldn’t have known!” Olivia shoots back, her face turning redder by the second.

“You could’ve, I dunno, inferred that it might not have been a good question to ask about someone who lives alone in a dangerous city?” Ean retorts.

“It's a simple question! I didn't know questions were banned in Ean's Hellfire Initiative!” Olivia growls, her teeth clenched.

“C-Can you two calm down, p-please?” Jessica interjects, trying, and failing, to calm the argument that was brewing between the young members of the group.

“I, uh, don’t really mind I guess,” Liv interjects as Ean prepares to retort. The retort, obviously, dies on his lips as Liv continues, “It's in the past, I guess. No skin off my back.”

Silence reclaims it's grip on the car once more, just as overbearing as it was the first time. Liv leans to the side, hoping to get a bit of a break from the loud noise of everything, to watch the beauty of nature, to feel the wind whipping against her face-.

“What… happened to her? Your mom, I mean.” Ean asks, his voice small. The question is a meek one, a voice juxtaposed to the blabbering he was doing earlier. The strange switch in tone sends Liv for a loop for a second. It hardly sounded like the loudmouth boy she met a few days ago.

“So my question is bad, but that’s ok?” Olivia snipes, a shit eating smirk mixing with a sneer plastered onto her face.

“She said it was ok, so I'm asking questions!” He defends himself, looking bashful as he turns to her, reassuring with a follow up, “That question's cool, right?”

Liv thinks for a moment before shrugging with a shoulder. She doesn’t see the harm, not like it's some forbidden knowledge that would kill her if leaked. According to Alexis, they've "all seen their fair share of death", so she doesn't really have a leg to stand on in the horror department. She clears her throat, trying to recall with as much detail as she begins to speak, the memories coming like molasses in her head. “Ma was the only one ‘round. I didn’t really know my dad, he was long gone ‘fore I was born. Taught me how to survive, how to tell if somethin' was expired, how to count, how to speak, and how to grow a garden. Few other things she taught me, but I ain’t exactly got time to rattle em’ all off,” She chuckles softly to herself, her fingers drumming against her knee as the memories begin to flow in quicker, flashes of her mothers face clicking in her mind. “Half my life, she was there. She had my boss ‘fore me, though I dunno if she was diggin’ like me. She could punch a demon, though– pretty damn hard too. She ain't one to play games, but I think she loved me, and I loved ‘er for that. Don’t got a clue how she dealt with these things, though…” She mutters to herself, looking down at the gauntlets. For a second, she lapses back into listening, just to see what it was saying.

“...If you do three, quick jabs on the boy next to us, we can blow up the big one before he can stop you. if my calculations are correct, the explosion will take out the mousy one as well. That will just leave us with the one with the name that’s too similar to yours. I believe you can win the one versus one if you just-.” It prattles off, Liv tuning it out once more. The memories continue to flow quicker and quicker, the dam of thought crashing into her conscious as a single, burning memory plays in her head over and over. She shakes her head before continuing, a sigh peeling from her lips.

“Ma used to tell me all ‘bout Santa, how he came to visit all the good boys n’ girls. Every year, on Christmas day, he’d drop off a present in our lil hole in the ground. Somethin’ nice enough, somethin’ entertainin’, somethin' to get my eyes all lit up. Sounded real cool, yeah? To lil’ me, I was dazzled. Hell, I wanted to meet em’, tell em’ I was bein’ good so he’d give me and Ma' somethin' nice, so he'd take us far away from that place” Her tone becomes listless as she looks to the blue sky, one she’s dreamed of for years, a dream she never dreamed of experiencing. She closes them, her memory taking over fully as she continues, “One night, I decided it was gonna be the night. I was gonna see Santa. Just ‘fore Christmas day, I crawled out of our home, waited to see his sleigh zoomin' 'cross the sky. ‘Course, the ol’ city ain’t exactly kind. Started coughin’ somethin’ nasty n’, havin’ a bit of trouble breathin’. I wasn’t givin’ an inch though, I wanted to be all pigheaded ‘bout it even though I was freezin’ my butt off. Come midnight, I see my Ma comin’ in with a bunch of toys in a sack. I think she was sweatin', I can't recall all them little details. I 'member how shocked I was thinkin' 'Is my Ma Santa?' Then, it kinda hit me that Santa wasn't real. So, I start bawlin' my eyes out... And my Ma ain't the only one who hears me. " Liv mutters, clenching her fist open and shut rythmically. The memory plays through her mind like a song on repeat, the details flashing in vivid detail over and over again. The eyes in the distance, the sound of rumbling, her mothers horrified yet resolved expression... "Demon’s come out, and she’s only able to get me in there ‘fore she’s gotta start fightin’ the big ol’ buggers. I come up and she’s… Gone. All I got left is some memories, her clothes, and some gauntlets.” She murmurs the last part, rubbing her thumb over the knuckles of the gauntlet, a prolonged sigh escaping her mouth as she finally opens her eyes. Many years ago, the memory would make her physically ill, would make her want to throw up. Today? She only felt a dull ache in her chest.

Once again, for the umpteenth time, silence. Despite her internal plea for silence before, she almost feels hollow without the constant dribble of questions. So averse to the strange silence, she actually tunes into the slop her boss is spewing out. His current plan involves grabbing the wheel to force the Buggy onto its side. While not peak entertainment, its better than the somber mood that's fallen over the car. She taps her gauntleted finger on her lap, her legs crossing and uncrossing as she tries her best to ignore how quiet it had gotten.

After what feels like hours, Ean pipes up, his voice even more muted and sheepish than it already was, “I'm sorry that, uh… All that happened to you.”

Liv gives him a side eye, her frown deepening at his expression. It was piteous, as if the mere mention of it would shatter her like glass. Why? It happened, and it sucks that it happened, but it just did. Who cared if it did? “I said it was fine, didn’t I? Who cares? It happened, it's over.”

“Still sucks it happened.” Olivia pipes up, her eyebrows furrowed. lip down turned in something akin to sympathy. It made Liv feel nauseous, but she couldn't understand why? That lack of knowledge cultivated the bud of frustration in her heart, her teeth set on edge as she shifts in her seat, trying to contain whatever was brewing in her soul.

“I said it's fine,” Liv says again, annoyance building in her chest. Her stomach feels like it's on fire, and her chest constricts. This conversation was just getting worse and worse, her nerves running higher and higher. Looking at Ean, she knew he was going to press on. She closes her eyes, breathing through her teeth, trying not to explode. "It don't matter no more. I ain't worried 'bout it, so you ain't need to either."

“But-” Ean starts, concern evident in his voice; however, he’s quickly cut off by Alexis’ sharp voice cutting through, cracking like a whip.

“They said stop, so stop.” Alexis says sternly, giving them a scolding stare through the Buggy’s rear view window. Ean opens his mouth to protest, but the words die on his lips as he sees Olivia turn away from the conversation, subdued into silence. While he seems to want to press the issue, he can’t– especially not without anyone to support him– so he simply hangs his head, silencing dominating the space between the group.

Liv lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding, her head slumping forward as the feeling that coiled so tight around her drains away into nothingness. She felt empty, a husk that burned up into nothing but cinders and ash. At least it was silent, a silence she didn't quite know if she wanted, but a silence she would bask in as her head tilts, watching the sprawling fields of emerald green as they pass by her eyes.