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Alicia Clark flipped her switchblade between her fingers effortlessly, much of her down time clealy being used as practice. MJ motioned to her hand that lay flat against the wooden table top, her wounds now unbandaged and healing nicely. Alicia flicked the knife one last time, plunging its blade deep into the wood not even an inch from Marie's thumb. She was about to do it again before a stern "DON'T!" from Maddie Clark rang out in the small cabin. The teen girls huffed but turned their attention to the older blonde nonetheless.
MJ had been better these past couple of days, making the effort to occupy her mind, which usually involved stupid games to pass the time. It was the nights she found issue with. Dark thoughts still consuming her young mind that made it almost impossible not to act.
"They don't want us here." Nick was the first to break the momentary silence.
"Most of them don't mind." The mother of two busied her hands with folding laundry, the four of them having properly cleaned themselves up and given new clothes courtesy of Broke Jaw Ranch. It had given them a quick way into fitting in with the crowd. "The ones who we do, we win them over." MJ's mind was immediately filled with the thought of one bkue eyes boy in particular. Nick voiced the brunette's thoughts, identifying Troy as one of the few threats in the Ranch. "Troy is a work in progress." Masidon's eyes briefly met MJ's. "In the meantime both of you stay away from him." The Clark children met in a look.
"And MJ?" Since Travis's passing, Nick Clark had stepped up, increasingly protective over the four women he now felt responsible for.
"He won't leave her alone, not a chance." Alicia and Nick shared a glance of confusion. This was the first they had heard of the predicament. "We use it to our advantage, find what sets him off because he doesn't even know what sets him off!"
"Which makes him dangerous." Alicia Clark interjected, attempting to fight the cause on behalf her her step-sister.
MJ shook her head, smiling slightly to Alicia as thanks for her efforts. "Yes, he's dangerous, unrelaible, unpredictable...whatever." She took a breath. "If we sit here and do nothing while he plays whatever game he's playing , the only outcome is that we lose." Nick crossed his arms, leaning into the nineteen year old's point as she continued. "We didn't come all this way, survive this long to lose." And with that, Marie was gone, snatching up the other teen's switchblade as she left. She knew the Clarks weren't done with their discussions on the best way ro tackle the situation, but MJ was personally done with the whole conversation.
The sun felt especially hot that day, beating down hard on the people at the Ranch. "Marie." Damn - couldn't get even a minute of peace. She turned to see a fast approaching Jake Otto, the much momre reasonable and levelheaded of the two brothers...though it wasn't a gard feat to accomplish. They exchanged pleasantries despite the obvious tension between them, the source of course being Troy.
