The World We Left Behind

Lessons learned

"Alright. Let's take it from the top. Thirty-six divided by nine is what?" Medea asked, holding tightly onto Illyasviel's hand as she walked, careful to mind any large cracks in the floor that'd cause either of them to trip.
"Four. Aren't we done with math already? I'm tired of dealing with numbers." Illya complained, playing up the tired portion as she gave a feigned yawn.

"You know, I can't blame her. Who the hell even uses this much math in their life?" Cu chimed in. For the most part he'd been staying out of the conversation, keeping watch over them as they scavenged for a few more supplies to keep them going. They didn't have much further to go, not compared to when they started. He was getting antsy about reaching this little haven his friend had told him about before they seperated. If it was true, he could finally relax. For too long they'd looked for somewhere that would accept kids. Not just take them in, but accept that they should be allowed to act like kids. That's what he wanted. A place where Illya could play and have fun living life for once, and nothing would stop him from getting her that.

"When this infection finally passes and things start to stabilize she'll be thanking me for these lessons. You'll both see." Medea gave a slight huff before returning her attention to Illya, continuing to quiz her on random equations. She was hoping to quiz the young girl, planning to stop when she managed to get five consecutive answers correct. However she was stopped, Cu shushing them both and dragging them to the ground beside him. Neither needed to question why, a few moments of focus making it evident that there were other voices echoing through the street.
"Stay. Here." And with that demand Cu was gone, getting onto his feet and weaving through cars to get closer to the unknown threat ahead of them. Once he disappeared from sight Medea held Illya close, whispering comforts to help calm her.

Cu was straining his ear trying to hear the new group, the further he moved the louder they got. At least he was going in the right direction this time. His hands gripped the spear on his back, peeking above the cars every few minutes until he spotted the group of three nearing them. He wavered for a minute, they were starving kids by the look of it. The biggest of them was seventeen at best, the smallest barely looked older than Illya. Dammit, ever since he took on those two his willingness to survive has dwindled. Putting the spear back on his back he scanned the ground to ready himself with a few rocks.
The first one was thrown out to the open, just to get their attention going in the opposite direction so he could dash through and close the gap between him and them. The amount of panic they went through from a mere pebble furthered his belief that they weren't actively a threat. At least it did until a gun went off, two voices scolding a whimpering third immediately after. He cursed, how the hell did they even get a gun in this day and age? He used some extreme connections just to get Medea a pistol.
Time to switch things up, hopefully the fear they were feeling would push them toward fleeing rather than fighting. "Alright, you morons. One chance. Get out of here now and you won't get murdered." Please buy the bluff. For a few moments it really seemed like they would, but then the eldest pulled out his rifle and started waving it around to act tough. Regrettably it calmed down his buddies too, the lot of them acting like they were equipped with a brass pair. Right. Desperate times, desperate measures.
"Sorry kid." Is all he said before grabbing his spear once again, this time slinging it off completely and taking aim. He's been using this bad boy for years now, it didn't take more than a few seconds to aim and throw, quickly dropping back down to avoid being caught.
One second is all it took before he heard a shrill shrieking, listening to them fall over themselves to run as fast as they physically could. Finally. Hopefully the arm he aimed at would heal eventually, but with how stupid they were he wouldn't be hung up over such a small flesh wound.
Cu allowed another few moments to pass before standing up and walking over to where they were, grabbing not just his spear, but the rifle they'd been showing off too. Well, with a cut up arm the kid wouldn't be needing this any time soon... Even without bullets it'd make for a good blunt trauma tool, it could still be used to fight off hordes if need be. First he put his spear back in place, then he slung the rifle on his shoulder and started making his way back to the others. What a day.

Throughout all of this Medea had just been holding Illya close, praying Cu hadn't just gone off to get shot like a moron. Thankfully the wait didn't last much longer, seeing an all too familiar head of blue hair and an ugly Hawaiian shirt emerging from the cars. A few moments to remind herself to breathe and she was getting Illya and herself back on their feet. "So. What happened? Scavengers? Gang members?"

"No, just a bunch of scared kids. I dealt with it, at the pace they were running they might have made it to Canada by now." He was about to ask Illya if she were alright, but he noticed her attention was stuck on a certain addition to his collection. He couldn't tell if it was out of curiosity or fear, so all he did the only thing he could think of that'd give him an answer. He flashed her a smirk and knelt to get on eye level, shaking the shoulder the gun was attached to. "Want to try a lesson of mine, kid? It'd be a hell of a lot more fun than math."