Ralph sighed as he entered the central building. He wasn't sure whose job it was to come up with names for the settlement or this building, but he had a feeling that they needed to come up with something better. To him it sounded like they were being lazy and going with something that was very half-assed. If he didn't know any better, he'd think that these things were being called what they were until the Blue Rose, whoever she is, came up with something better. Something that was an actual name.
Though, Ralph wouldn't care so much about it if they hadn't been stuck there for much longer than they'd planned. Naturally, they had actually planned on staying more than a few days, but at the same time, that was when they'd expected this settlement to require longer to explore.
With the level of development they'd achieved on this settlement, Ralph couldn't say that they really needed this long to explore it, since they'd already finished that a while ago.
The reason they'd stayed longer was simply because of the spotted plague appearing on their second day here. Which meant that Amelia wasn't going to go anywhere until she'd finished taking care of everyone. A task that Ralph wouldn't be surprised if it added a week or two onto their original timetable. Which meant that he was likely going to be stuck here as well.
Although, it wasn't entirely Amelia's fault, given how serious these people took the plague and insisted on a quarantine of the settlement until they were confident that the plague was taken care of.
Which Ralph could only assume meant that they'd likely forcefully stop him from going through the gate if he made any attempt to leave given how extensive the infection had spread through the community in this world.
He'd just come to that realization when he'd been trying to talk to Tim and Wes about leaving Amelia here so they could check out the other settlement that Beth had mentioned. Simply so they'd at least be able to keep from wasting time here, but it was clear from the reaction some of the guards here had that any attempt to leave wasn't going to be taken too kindly. Hannah would likely want to stay with Amelia, which Ralph wouldn't have any problem with…
"Ralph, wait up!" Tim called after Ralph, though Ralph didn't turn to see what Tim wanted. He was already annoyed enough that he wasn't sure he wouldn't lash out at him if he had to talk with him more right then. "Come on! Just because we're stuck here doesn't mean that we have to get upset."
Ralph could hear Tim catching up to him, which made Ralph more annoyed. He'd rather be left alone right then, but it didn't look like he was going to get that wish. Not that he usually got it when he wanted to be left alone in the past anyway. After all, if it wasn't his friends who wanted to bug him during those times, then it was his family.
"Man, it's like you don't want to talk to anyone now," Tim remarked as he started walking next to Ralph.
Maybe you should use that thought as a hint, Ralph thought sourly.
"So, what was it that you wanted to do? I get that these people won't be happy with us breaking their quarantine, but I'm sure we can manage if we time it just right," Tim said catching Ralph's attention.
"So, what you said in there was-" Ralph started to say but Tim cut him off.
"Yeah, it was agreeing with them, but mostly because I couldn't think of any better reaction to have when they were being so adamant about us staying here. If I thought that they'd let us go then I wouldn't have been so ready to agree with them but now that I made it clear that I agreed with them, then maybe they'll be less guarded around us about us leaving. After all, even they said that those who get the spotted plague in the past won't contract it nor spread it. Meaning that we're completely safe from any of their worries about it."
Ralph sighed. Maybe if Tim hadn't been so convincing with his performance, then maybe he wouldn't be so annoyed right then. At least assuming this wasn't a performance in order to get him under control. Since he had to admit that when he got like this he could sometimes be a wild card.
Largely it was just that he wasn't sure how to react overall to this development.
Besides, he knew that he'd have to come back here at some point. If only to collect Lily who seemed to have gotten Embris to let the girl hang out with her from time to time and Ralph was certain that Lily would be welcome to stay with her for a while. Though, Ralph got the impression that Embris hadn't warmed up to the idea of her being called 'mama' by the little girl. Not that Ralph himself had gotten used to the idea, either. Even despite being around Lily as much as he had and heard her call him 'papa' multiple times.
Not that he'd shared with anyone that she'd called him that. While Embris had told the others what Lily called her, he didn't think that it would be a good idea to share what she'd called him. If only because of what that meant about what she thought of Ralph and Embris getting together. Something Ralph wasn't sure if he wanted to happen himself.
Especially with how Embris had been building a life for herself in this world. Somewhere Ralph wasn't confident that he'd be able to build one for himself when he still needed to return to Earth when they were done here. Which Ralph was pretty sure Embris understood as well, which he wasn't sure would create complications or not if they did try going out.
"Hey, Ralph, are you listening to me?" Tim snapped, pulling Ralph out of his thoughts.
"Sorry, got lost in thought there for a moment."
"A moment? It's been a few minutes! What were you even thinking about? I tried talking to you but you wouldn't even act like you were listening, much less could hear what I was saying."
Ralph sighed as he turned to Tim. He certainly wasn't going to let Tim know what he'd been thinking about. Though he supposed that he could at least see what he could do to either come up with something that he was 'thinking about' or redirect Tim from asking about that. After all, he didn't even want anyone to know the general direction his thoughts had been taking him right then.
"Well, I don't think that Charlie has been here," Ralph said, hoping that Tim would take the bait, or at least assume that that's what he'd been thinking about. "I mean, no one seems to recognize that name or tell us anything when we try to ask about her."
Tim nodded but looked more skeptical than Ralph felt about the matter. "I'm not so sure," Tim said, confirming what he suspected. "Maybe she hasn't been here with these people, but I can't say that for sure. I mean, no one's said anything about seeing her, but it still feels like they're hiding something. Something that I can't say what it might be, just that there's something that they won't talk about and are pretty good at hiding."
Ralph shook his head. He wasn't sure what Tim was seeing that he wasn't but he couldn't think of how to argue with him. After all, it wasn't like Ralph thought that these people trusted them implicitly. Nor did he really expect that.
"Also, if Charlie hasn't been here, then would looking at their other settlement be something that we'd need to do? After all, if she hasn't been at this settlement, then wouldn't she also not have shown up at the other one?"
Ralph sighed as Tim's words sunk in. He hadn't considered that part. After all, if waiting her with nothing to do was a waste of time, looking somewhere they didn't think that Charlie would be would be just as much of a waste of time. In essence, it would be an exercise in futility. Something that would probably annoy Ralph even more than he'd like right then.
"So, are you saying that we should just pack up and leave once Amelia's done with treating this entire settlement?" Ralph asked, not sure if he was hearing what Tim was saying clearly.
"Well, she'd need some time to recover from being the only medic around here. Even with Cinder as her nurse, Amelia is running herself pretty thin. Though, maybe it'd help if someone here would also help her out."
Ralph nodded, not all that surprised at Amelia running herself dry, given how she typically was. What he thought would be helpful was for at least someone in this community to offer to help her. Although, given how many were sick and the fear this spotted plague had on these people, he couldn't find it in himself to really be that surprised.
"So, in that case, how long should we give her to recover? She's likely going to not let us make her rest until everyone's been taken care of," Ralph wondered out loud, doubting that even using their magic to make her fall asleep for a long period would do much. At least aside from getting them on her bad side.
Although, she might not be as upset about it if they first let her treat this entire settlement and ensure that everyone has recovered. The only real problem with that part is the fact that they couldn't be sure that she wouldn't have worn herself out before that happened. Even if they helped, there's no telling how long it would take.
"Well, what if we first talk to… uh, who was it that we met after we defeated the wolf? I swear, some of the names around here were pulled out of someone's ass and not real names," Tim said, sounding like he was starting to let his annoyance get the better of him, which Ralph couldn't say that he found it that surprising.
Especially with how all of them were getting being stuck here all this time.
"I think her name is 'Tchisa', but yeah, I agree the names can be a little difficult to remember," Ralph remarked, feeling like Tim might have gone a little far with his assessment. Even if Ralph mostly agreed with it.
"Whatever her name is. What if we talked with her? I mean I think some of the ones who were already treated should be well enough to help at least take care of some of the closest to them and then there's some who seem to not have any trouble not catching the plague. I'm not sure if that's because they survived it before or if they're just naturally immune to it, but that's for another discussion."
Ralph nodded even though he didn't quite follow what Tim's suggestion was. It almost seemed like he had been getting at something but Ralph couldn't say what it was that he'd been trying to say.
"Uh, could you say that again? I didn't quite catch that."
The look Tim gave Ralph could have curdled milk but Ralph had seen that look often enough so it hardly fazed him. Though, usually it was given when he'd pulled some prank at times when he probably shouldn't have.
"What I was saying was that maybe we could get some of the people that have already been treated and have recovered, as well as any who haven't needed any treatment, to help Amelia take care of those who are recovering," Tim said, sounding like he was trying to keep himself from trying to strangle Ralph.
Ralph wasn't sure where that hostility was coming from, but he didn't care. It wasn't the first time that had happened and he'd be shocked if it was the last.
"Where do you think we should look for her? I mean, she wasn't in that central building and I certainly haven't been keeping track of her," Ralph asked, wondering what her reaction to Tim's suggestion was. After all, it wasn't like she didn't know about how Amelia was getting with treating everyone by herself.
While Ralph could have offered his help, he was confident that Amelia would have refused it, even if it was just to clean the room around her patients. Tim, Wes, and Hannah would likely get a better reaction from Amelia, but he knew that they had been busy with checking to see if Charlie had been here.
Although on the other hand, since they'd determined that Charlie hadn't been in this settlement, maybe they'd have to start helping Amelia out now. Which Ralph wondered if Tchisa would say something to that effect. It certainly would make sense and potentially help relieve some of the burden that Amelia, and Cinder, were under right then.
Not that Ralph said so much to Tim. If they found Tchisa, Ralph figured he should let her break that point to Tim. After all, Tim would probably get more annoyed with Ralph if he mentioned it, ignored it, and had Tchisa bring it up as well. Which is exactly what Ralph suspected would happen if he brought it up right then.
"Well, let's see if anyone who is still conscious and coherent knows where she is," Wes remarked, wondering which direction they should start it. After all, it was something that was at least something for him to occupy himself with. At least until it was time for him to sneak out of this settlement.
After all, just because Charlie hadn't been to this settlement or the other one, that didn't mean someone at the other settlement hadn't encountered Charlie sometime after she'd been sold as a slave. Which made it worth taking a look at, even if it was likely going to be a complete waste of his time.
_
Aside from Lily having called Embris 'mama' a few times where she could hear the girl, Embris wasn't sure about how quiet the girl was. It almost seemed like the girl couldn't talk, even though Embris had heard her. In the end, she couldn't say what it was about the girl that bothered her so much, but it certainly wasn't because of how active the girl was.
As Lily certainly seemed happy to play with Nymis, even to the extent that Embris wondered if maybe they'd be good friends. Although, even to Nymis, Lily didn't say anything. Which Nymis couldn't help but notice. Which she'd already spoken to Embris about.
Sighing, Embris turned onto her other side while in her bed. She was better than she had been from the plague, but Tchisa had told her that if Amelia didn't give her approval for Embris to move about, then she was to remain in bed. Which shocked Embris, given how Ameia wasn't one of them here, but she was apparently given authority in this aspect.
Although, she supposed her annoyance at Amelia having the authority to decide things like that stemmed from the fact that she was stuck in bed like this. While she accepted Tchisa's assessment of Ameila being able to treat something that even Tchisa hadn't been sure what to do about, she still wished that she wasn't stuck in bed like this, even having her position as one of the guards for the Blue Rose's stand-ins on the line.
She felt much better and was ready to get up, but didn't want to risk what she'd been able to build for herself here just because of something that she hoped wouldn't last long, at least considering how long it seemed to have taken for Embris' family to recover when Amelia had treated them back then.
Embris felt her breath get knocked out of her for a moment as Lily dropped herself on Embris suddenly, laughing.
"Embris, why won't she talk?" Nymis asked, as she sat by Embris' bed.
Embris looked at Lily, who was snuggling against Embris happily. Even though she wasn't really sure how comfortable she was with Lily doing just that right then, she didn't have the heart to push the girl away. Especially since she learned how the girl had reacted when she hadn't wanted to be around Ralph at that time before she'd come down with the spotted plauge.
"I'm sure she'll talk when she's ready," Embris replied, wishing it didn't fee like she was lying through her teeth to her sister like that. "Just be patient with her."
Nymis nodded, though she hardly seemed satisfied with Embris' response. Not that Embris could blame the girl.
Embris put her arms around Lily, who merely smiled in response, making Embris wondered if she was about to get another person to take care of around here. What Ralph had intended with bringing her here, Embris couldn't say. Just that she wasn't sure how to really handle this girl who didn't even talk when she wanted something.
Although, she supposed that it would at least give her a slight boost in her efforts to advance in the Silverthorns. After all, Lily would at least be considered an 'adopted' child, just like how Jenn had two. Which in turn had allowed her to advance to the rank of 'captain' already. Though, while Embris wasn't looking for a unit of her own, she hoped that it would at least help her advance in the ranks of those guarding the Blue Rose's stand-ins.
If nothing else, she suspected that it'd at least give her a boost in her pay. Not that she'd seen a single tist while being here, but that wasn't something she was concerned about right then given how she'd had all her needs met and was more than happy with how Nymis and Rephis had been getting taken care of.
If she asked about her pay, she was confident that she'd be given it, she just hadn't had any reason to at this point.