When the girl beside Finn had spoken, he returned his gaze to her. Why couldn't she just shut up and eat the food, he thought. She was just being wary, or something but gosh Finn is doing something nice. "I mean I can, but I'm offering it to you first. Plus, I don't eat much in the morning so just leave me a couple of spoonfuls, I'll be fine with that." Finn replied, trying to keep his composure. He could understand her a bit though, being so untrusting and not knowing why someone would be so nice to the person that had tried to steal from them. "I mean we're all struggling here, trying to live out on our own, it's pretty damn hard sometimes. Well I mean it's the worst when you don't have food because you kinda need it to survive but when you have that you're good for the most part." Finn spoke, stopping himself from saying too much, he already was probably talking her ear off. "Anyway, have at it fox." Finn said, looking back at the fire. He then began to collect all the empty cans around him, putting them all near each other. They could definitely reuse the cans, but they needed to be washed before that. He then looked around for anything near him that needed to be clean, but he couldn't find anything. Sitting back, he put both arms behind him and held himself up with his hands.

(Ah its so short)

Aleria's confusion only grew when the male spoke, answering her question. She hadn't missed the annoyance that seemed to have flitted across his features but chose to ignore it. Instead, she gave a slow nod and turned her gaze to the food. If he was offering it to her first, then what was the harm in taking him up on it? Reaching forward she grabbed the pan and, picking up the spoon began to eat. She glanced up at him, watching as he looked around before leaning back and propping himself up on his hands. He was confusing, in fact, they both were confusing, letting her sleep here by their fire, eating their food, after she'd tried stealing from them. It was like this act of kindness was some abstract thought and act that she couldn't quite wrap her mind around. After several minutes of shoveling food into her mouth, she let out a soft sigh and moved to clean off the spoon she'd used, ensuring no remnants of soup remained on it before she moved to offer the pot, and it's remaining contents to the male. There was still a fair bit left in there, surely, she hoped, enough to fill him up as well. "Here." She said as she held the pot out towards him, her tone not nearly as sharp as it had been the night before.

It had been several minutes since Finn had given the pot of remaining soup to the girl and she was finally done. Finn wasn't starving but it would be good to get something in his stomach, but he was used to savouring every last can and not eating as much throughout the day. Now, since they are stocked up, they sometimes eat more and sometimes eat less. They should eat a little more carefully though because going on food runs is terrible. Once they learn how to hunt and eat animals, they will not have to steal and risk getting caught, but hunting is not that easy. If they arent able to catch anything, some days they won't have food, plus hunting would only provide meat and animal pelts/fur. Finn shook his head at the thought of the future, it scared him a bit, and he didn't want to admit it. He had to be strong for Jinx, he just had to be. "Thanks." Finn said, returning his gaze to the girl and grabbing the pot. He then grabbed the spoon Jinx had used and began to eat. The soup was now mostly cooled off, which was fine with him, he didn't need to blow on it whatsoever. He ate slowly but finished pretty quickly since there was only about a 3rd of a can left. He wasn't going to complain at all though, after all he did let both the girls eat first. By the time he finished, funny enough, as soon as he put the pot down Jinx walked through the doors. "Hey, how was your cold shower." Finn asked, chuckling a bit. "Honestly refreshing." Jinx replied, walking over to the both of them, glancing at the girl a bit. He stared at her intently, as she came and sat down beside him. He gave her a warm smile before looking at the girl for a second. "Did you have anything that you wanted to do today?" Finn asked, looking back at Jinx. "Hmm." Jinx replied, thinking. "I mean we could explore if we're planning on staying here for a bit." She then added. "We can do that for sure." Finn replied, looking bad at the fire, which was now just ashes.

Aleria let out a soft sigh of contentment as she leaned back. For the second time in twenty-four hours, she was full. This, she had the male and his female companion to thank. She watched as he finished off what was left of the soup, a twinge of guilt tugging at her heart for having eaten as much as she did. She parted her lips to say something as he finished eating but was silenced when the woman returned. She flicked her blue hues over to her, watching as she strode in and sat down beside the male. This place was safe, these people were... safe? It was an odd concept, after these months of being on the run, on her own, to think of other human beings as safe. To view them not as threats, but as potential allies, possibly even friends. The moment that thought crossed her mind she stiffened. Friends? Had she seriously just thought that? Eyeing the two of them she listened as they continued speaking, chewed at her bottom lip before sighing. "You guys are staying... here?" She asked, glancing at the empty expanse of the building they were in before looking back towards the two of them.

When the other girl spoke, both Jinx and Finn looked over at her. "I mean, yeah, until we have to move again." Jinx said, frowning a bit. "That's if we have to move again, we might not have to for a while." Finn replied, looking at Jinx to reassure her. "We're hoping to stay here for a while. It would be great." Finn then said, looking back at the girl. He offered her a small smile, before looking back at Jinx. "Okay well lets get going. You're welcome to join us if you want." Finn said, standing up. "Let's not go too far though, I don't want to have to walk back from really far." Jinx said to Finn as she stood up. "We can just check out close around then. Works for me." Finn said, and then they both began to walk towards the doors. "You coming fox?" Finn asked, turning around when he got to the door. Jinx already went out, but Finn was going to wait for the girl, hoping she would go with them. Even though he didn't know her, he didn't like the idea of her being out on her own.

Aleria watched as both of their attention turned to her after she posed her question. Tilting her head slightly she listened as they both answered before giving a nod. All things considered, this place was as good as any to stay. It was a fair distance from the city, far enough to be relatively safe from people but not so far away that they couldn't go to town and get food and any other supplies they might need. Not only that but this place offered four walls to protect from wind and animals with a roof over their head. Biting at the inside of her cheeks he watched the two of them and listened as they continued to speak, only to pause, her eyes widening in surprise when an offer to join them was extended. For a second she considered turning it down, but instead found herself huffing at the nickname that the guy seemed to have given her. "Yeah... I'm coming." She said before she moved to stand up from where she'd been sitting by the fire and then moved to take a step after them toward the door of the building.

(Time skip 3 months)

Over the next three months, Finn, Jinx, and Aleria had all become great friends. They stayed at the warehouse and started to build things to make life a bit easier. The building part was hard, but in the end, it would be worth it. They knew they would be staying there for a while, nobody was searching for them out there, that they knew of. It's been so long since they all ran off, so any cops or investigators might have closed their cases. That's what Finn assumes and hopes. They built a pretty shitty but working bathroom, a shitty shower and a water system. Even though they had a slightly working shower just outside the warehouse, Finn preferred the river. Yeah, the river may have more bacteria but he just preferred it. He didn't have any infections yet, so he decided to continue until it causes a problem. They also made many kitchen items and stuff for food. Their food supply was running out, but luckily they all started to make weapons so they can learn hunting soon The weapons included wooden spears, bows, and pocket knives that Finn and Jinx had brought from when they first ran. The bows were the hardest to make but they knew if made right they would come in handy. Hunting was something they needed to learn while they still had food left, so that's where they are currently at. Finn's happy, as happy as he can be in this situation. He's trying his hardest to make the most of the situation and be there for both the girls.

With Aleria joining them, it made things a bit harder, food-wise. Apart from the food, it was better having her there. Both Finn and Jinx quite liked her and liked having her around. For once it wasn't just Finn and Jinx, even though that's not a bad thing, it just got a bit lonely sometimes.

'

It was late August when they first found the warehouse, now it was late November. With winter creeping up on them, they needed to get warmer clothes. Finn was thinking of doing a trip into town, but that's risky. After all these months of being safe and happy, he didn't want to risk it at all. "It's getting colder, we need to hunt." Finn said as he stared at the cracking fire in front of him. "I know, we cant risk getting caught going into town. Going into town should only be for food emergencies." Jinx replied, stating her opinion. Finn agreed with her, so hunting was something they definitely needed to start doing. Finn was sitting by the fire, with Jinx beside him. They had just finished eating lunch. Maybe it was time to try hunting. "You both ready to give it a go today?" Finn asked, looking at both Aleria and Jinx.

The past couple of months had been a series of events that had brought Aleria closer to Jinx and Finn. True nothing crazy had happened, nothing death-defying to build the friendship that she now shared with the two people who had helped her. No, it was the small things. The friendly talks, the teamwork, the feeling of safety that had gradually grown into something that Aleria hadn't thought she'd feel again, not since leaving home, since striking out on her own and being caught up in the mess that she was in. It was almost funny, how quickly this run-down building had become a home and the two people with her were more than just friends. They were family, people she'd do anything for. Of course, she never shared such thoughts aloud, holding her feelings for Finn and Jinx close to her heart.

`

With a sigh of contentment falling past her lips, Aleria leaned back, letting her legs stretch out in front of her while propping herself up with her hands. Her gaze was on the fire, crackling as it hungrily devoured the wooden fuel it had been given. This was more than just surviving, it was living. True there were trials and tribulations but her days were no longer filled with an all-consuming fear of being found. Instead, she'd been able to open up to people, to smile and laugh again. God, the first time she'd done either of those things the sound had startled her for how foreign it had been. Hearing Finn's voice she was pulled from her thoughts, her blue gaze flicking up and towards the male sitting across from her. Nodding in agreement she listened as Jinx audibly agreed but shared some of her own concerns. Food. The main issue they had been struggling with these past few months. Three mouths to feed was a lot when you didn't have money. The weapons that they had been carefully crafting in hopes of hunting, she sincerely hoped would alleviate some of the tension in regards to food. "I'm down." She said with a nod and a faint smile upon hearing Finn's question. "We've got enough food for the time being right? Might as well spend this time learning how to perfect our hunting skills." She said.

_____

His lungs burned, and his chest ached for all his running. And god, his leg throbbed with such excruciating pain that he was honestly surprised it was still functioning as well as it was. To close. It had been too close a call for his liking. Damn it. He'd thought he'd been keeping two steps ahead of the officer and whoever else was after him, clearly he'd been foolish, naive in thinking such a thing if the events of this morning were anything to go by. His heart was still hammering in his chest as he ran through the brush, flying between the thick foliage of the forest he'd escaped into. He didn't care to think about how far he had run, where he had run to, or how in the world he was going to try and get out of this place. His thoughts were only on running, on getting as far from the threat, the dangers chasing him as quickly as possible.

`

Maybe it was just his imagination but he swore he could hear the sound of someone still chasing him, so close on his heels. This prompted him to move faster, and gritting his teeth against the pain he forced his leg to move, not to give under his weight as the pain only seemed to grow all the more. Honestly, he likely would have continued like this until he collapsed from sheer exhaustion if it weren't for the rise of a tree root he hadn't seen under the layers of the forest floor. The moment his foot connected it he went down, tumbling to the ground with a grunt and a strangled cry of pain. They would be on him, he was sure of it. He had to get up, had to start moving again but the moment he tried standing he fell to the ground again, pain far more intense than what he'd been feeling earlier shooting from his ankle and up his leg. In a panic he looked over his shoulder, back the way he'd come, his eyes wide as if expecting to see the hulking man who had found him that morning, barreling towards him. But there was nothing, just a forest, seemingly void of any life but his own. It was almost as if he'd managed to stumble into some secret world, protected from the dangers that he had fled from.

Finn stayed seated for a moment longer after confirming that they were going to attempt to hunt today. "Okay, let's go then. Actually, let's make it a game. Since we know these woods, let's all go our separate ways and whoever brings home the biggest thing wins." Finn suggested as he stood up. He thought it would be more fun and encouraging this way, but on the other hand, if one person doesn't bring anything then they might feel sad. Finn shook off the idea because he knew that he'd be able to reassure whoever it may be. Finn stood up excitedly, making his way to their water system. He poured a pot of water to pour on the fire before grabbing a spear and bow. "Once it gets the littlest bit dark, go home." Finn said seriously to both Aleria and Jinx. "I mean it." He said then ruffled both of their hair. "Okay now go catch something." Finn said, running outside the warehouse with both the bow and spear in each hand. He had ran pretty deep into the woods, he didnt want to be near any of the girls right now. He was determined to be the winner. It took about 20 minutes of walking to spot a deer. He made sure to stay far back, observing it for a while. Adrenaline ran through his veins, knowing he can maybe kill the deer any second.

Aleria sat up straighter as she listened to Finn's suggestion and then watched him stand up. A competition? Is that what this was turning into? Well, she certainly wasn't going to complain. With a smirk pulling onto her lips he laughed softly when Finn ruffled both her and Jinx's hair after requesting they get back the moment the sun started to go down. Again, no complaints there. She moved to stand up after watching Finn grab a bow and a spear and hurry out of the building before she looked towards Jinx. "What do you say we team up?" She questioned with an arch of her brow. Dusting off her pants she moved to grab a bow of her own as she waited for an answer.

`

You're safe now. Raihn tried to convince himself of that, reminding himself that he was out here, likely alone, or at least far enough away from his pursuers to have successfully lost them. He'd be fine for the time being, long enough anyway to get a better look at his ankle, the one that even now was throbbing agonizingly despite being kept incredibly still. "Please, don't be fucking broken." He muttered as he looked at it. Here wasn't the best place to go trying to figure out the extent of his injuries, and he knew he couldn't exactly walk, so gritting his teeth and clenching his jaw he moved to scoot back towards the trunks of one of the nearest trees. Almost immediately the pain in his ankle and leg intensified, becoming sharp and searing, it was enough to bring tears to his eyes and pull a muffled whimper from his throat. Why did this have to happen to him? What had he done to deserve this?

`

The pain was so intense as he moved back and to the tree that when he finally reached the trunk he collapsed back against it and exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Squeezing his eyes shut he tilted his head back and sucked in lungfuls of air, trying to keep himself from throwing up or passing out, two things that seemed incredibly likely in that moment. He could feel the warmth of a few tears stray from his eyes and trail down his cheeks. At any other moment, he might have been ashamed, embarrassed even to be crying but he was surrounded by the security of a forest with no other human around to witness this moment of weakness.