A False Call (Cherry and Helanna SL)

It was a hot day out in the dryrange, well hotter than it normally was. And it was finally begining to get to Cherry. After hours of walking she finally had to sit down. Sitting down on her large left arm, she tried too cool herself down with some water she had collected a few days ago. Out of all the places in paris Cherry has been to over the years, the Dryrange had to be her least favorite. She never found anything cool here, it was always so hot, and she always got lost! It was even worse these days, because of her left arm it took Cherry ten times as long to get out of the Dryrange! Although something funny did happen today. Cherry was busy, out looking for some food or items. When she ran into this little boy.

Now it wasn't common that Cherry ran into something or somebody that didn't want to hurt her. So, curious. Cherry began to walk up to the boy, before she even had a chance to say hello. The boy ran off. Yelling at the top of his lungs "Demon! Demon!" And no matter how much Cherry tried to calm him down, nothing worked. So in the end Cherry gave up, and continued traveling through the dryrange.

Little did she know however, but that boy wasn't running away from her. But was running TO somebody. A women by the name of Helanna. The boy was still quite scared of Cherry, so once he found the fameous nun. He quickly told her about his brief meeting with the 'sickly demon lady' as he called her. Telling Helanna where he found her and roughly what she looked like.

Of course since Cherry was unaware of all of this. Even after she finished her quick drink of water, Cherry stayed at her resting spot. Totally unaware that she was currently being tracked down.

Helanna was in the Dryrange to help people she had found there to get somewhere more hospitable, at least slightly so, and they had a slightly nomadic community now, nothing permanent of course, the place could be broken down and moved in minutes if needed, something she made sure everyone could help with in case of Demons.

She was just helping to Diagnose some of their ill, nothing to serious thankfully when Leton ran into the camp screaming about demons, and she stood up after making sure the ill were tended. The boy ran up to her and explained what he seen, she nodded as she walked to her small lean-to, the most she made for herself since she expected to be the last to leave... if she got to leave at all "I see.. " she said as she gathered her weapons and then kneeled down and gently placed her hands on the boy "Good work... I am glad you ran... now go help your sister and mother pack up... you did a good job little one" she said gently rubbing his head.

"I will take care of the situation..." she said as she stood up and looked to a few of the others there "I am going to go confirm this Demon... if you hear fighting... pack up immediately... don't wait for me.. I have shown you all the path to take to escape... remember move quickly and quietly... but only leave if you hear fighting..." she said and smiled to them all before bowing her head a moment

"Oh Gods... please protect these people in my Absence.. guide them to safety and watch over them, my the Demons eyes never see them... may the Shadows hands never tough them... Grace them with your love..." she said as she gave a short prayer before nodding to everyone and smiling "do not worry... if I fight it will only be to distract it... I will not stay to long if I don't have to" she said reassuring the doubting gazes she seen before heading off.

With the encampment ready to move if they heard trouble Helanna headed to the place the boy said he saw this demon lady, it took some walking but she got there, and as she searched around she did notice a strange sight... a tree? she was sure she checked the area before and there wasn't a tree here... Taking her Minigun out she started to advance slowly circling around the tree till she seen a body attached to it.. she knew some Demons could be talked with... and if it meant buying time she decided to try that "Who are you?" she called in a non-threatening manner, her minigun held low not in a ready position, but with her training bringing it up and ready to use wasn't going to take long

"I am the storm that is approaching, provoking, da, da, da, da, da, da, da~ Cherry hummed and sang to her self softly. Not even noticing the nun coming close to her. The song that she was currently singing was one that her mother would sing to herself ever once and awhile. Cherry believed it to be very important to the culture of france, as that is what her mother told her as a child. But in truth she just didn't want to explain to a five year Cherry what 'Devil May Cry' was. She didn't have any time to finish the song however as soon enough the demon hunting nun soon called out to her, making the girl twitch in suprise and fall off of her arm.

H-huh, what? W-where?" Cherry stuttered as she got back up on to her frail two feet, this action took a little longer than it should have though. Due to being weighed down by her own large arm. "Uh.......... Me? Um, my name is Cherry. It's nice to meet you? Cherry softly said. Her eyes focusing in on the mini gun in her hand. It was common for people to have weapons on their person in this day and age. So Cherry wasn't ready to fight. Just yet at least. She was still on her guard though, and the way she stood reflected this.

Her large left arm was raised up and pushed slighty in front of her. The limb currently acting as a sort of shield to protect her, just in case the nun tried anything. Her eyes kept bouncing around the place, trying to find good places to run if the need should arise. And sometimes looking over the women to try and see if she had anymore weapons on her, or if she was trying to use her gun. For now she seemed trustworthy, at the very least trustworthy enough to talk with her for a little while. Cherry has dealt with many different people in her short life, and has seen how they act. Some could be kind and nice to her. Giving her food and water, and old objects they didn't need. While others would try to hurt her or kidnap her. And because of this, she had learned one very important lesson. You need to give people a chance. And she was willing to give this women a chance, for now at the very least.

I could ask you the same question though. There aren't many people who hang out around here. Well, other than that little boy I saw early. Cherry said, her voice tone like a curious bunny. Quiet and with a air of nervousness to it. She was never good with new people. Always nervous about if they would turn out to be another bad guy or one if they would proof to be a good guy.

The woman... or... child? still had their wits about them it seemed... though that tree turned out to be their arm, was it a mutation? was she just a calm demon? it was hard to be sure but she was talking at least "Well I should ask then... are you a Demon?" she simply asked to her face as she looked at the arm. But looking at they way the Girls eyes darted all over the place she could tell she was nervous, and at least she wasn't hostile.

Though the Girl mentioned the kid from before, and they had waited here apparently... or perhaps they were unaware of their camp? though the Girl looked sickly thin, if she was a human anyway... for all she knew it was a demon trying to look like a human but not knowing what a healthy one looked like... or it did know and it was trying to appear weak and fragile.

Though the Girl had introduced herself... with a name even... "I am Helanna.. it is nice to meet you..." she said smiling a bit, it seemed that perhaps her worries were unfounded? and she relaxed her stance a bit, not completely but she wasn't as on edge as before at least. One thing she did notice was how tired the girl seemed "Have you been in the desert long?"

The fact that if it was a demon at least it was talking was reassuring... but if it was some mutated human? well she would have to try to help them, it was her duty after all... so the girls answer to her question of what she was was very important.

When the women asked Cherry if she was a demon, for a second her air of nervousness was replaced by a look of annoynce as she let out a soft sigh at the question. If she had a bottle of water for a each and every time somebody asked her if she was a demon, she'd have enough water to turn Paris into a new sea. She really hated her arm. It was heavy, it was ugly, it felt weird, it made people distrust. Honestly that was the worst part. Before this many people would take pity on the girl, she was just a small little girl then. Now people viewed her as a monster. Always looking at her with a mix of fear or malice in their eyes. But, this women didn't seem to have hate or fear in her eyes. Confusion? Yes, but Cherry didn't mind confusion. Upon seeing the other women relax, Cherry allowed her large arm to fall to her side. The limb making a rather loud *THUD* as it fell to the ground.

"N-no, I am not a demon. Im a human, I just.........." She softly bit down on her lower lip. She didn't want random people to be aware of her past, but she would get in trouble if the women found out that she was lying. After a few seconds though, Cherry set her mind on lying about it. This women had no way of knowing if Cherry was telling the truth, or not. "I-I just was born this way. I know I look weird, I didn't choose this. But I promise you that I am not a demon." Cherry's eyes showed that she was cleary uncomfortable with this subject matter, but she may give up a little bit more info if pushed enough.

Cherry continued to relax as the women gave her a name. "Helanna? What a curious name." Cherry said, her voice almost like how Helanna's student's voices sounded when they learned something new. Bright and happy, before she returned to her more collected and nervous nature. "Oh, uh me? I mean I guess so. I don't live here, but I cross here every now and again while on my way to a different part of paris. Right now I am headed to this place, called the bellows. You ever heard of it? I've never been there before, so I am hoping too find some pretty cool stuff there!" Cherry replied, her lips curling up into a giddy smile as she spoke. Her eagerness on the subject of exploring paris shinning through, bright and clear.

"But anywho. What about you? How long have you been dwelling in the desert? I've never seen you around here before.

The girl was strange but it seems she was born this way? well then a mutation with a Sigh Helanna put her weapon away using it's sling to slip it over her shoulders "Well then I am sorry for asking if your a demon, I am taking care of a group of people and we have to stay on guard..." she said and gave her a gentle smile. She could see talking about the arm made the girl uncomfortable, but as she learned things well her curiosity shone through.

She walked closer a warm smile on her face as the girl answered he questions, so she walked around Paris? maybe she knows where other people are? that would be very helpful, she also seemed to know the names of Areas something that would also be helpful, Helanna stopped walking when she was a good distance still from her but she was a lot closer then before, she didn't want to get to close in case the girl was still nervous of her.

Now that she was closer her height would much more obvious as she looked down at the girl, "Well I suppose trying to find things is quite helpful" she said with that kind smile. and then the girl asked her about herself and she only continued to smile, it was a genuine smile.

"Oh I just got into this are recently, maybe a month ago?" she said thinking for a moment "I know I approached with my weapon drawn... and you are going somewhere, but I couldn't help but notice you seemed tired... and maybe you need some food and water? I could take you to the camp where the Others are... we can get you a few things... and if you still want to leave later... I can give you a backpack to help you carry things?" she said with a motherly tone, this girl clearly needed help, and if she would allow Helanna would help her, after all that was her Duty, and it was something she herself wanted to do, to help people.

"No, no. It is understandable. Demons take all different types of forms and shapes, you can never be too careful." Cherry was a drifter. And as one she knew first hand just how dangerous and vile those demons could be, one of the many reasons why the young girl didn't like people always confusing her with one. As Helanna walks closer to Cherry, the girl's eyes widen as she saw the height difference between the two. The elder had a clean two feet height difference over Cherry, which shocked her. She hasn't seen men this tall! "You are quite tall miss Helanna! Very, very tall indeed. You must have drank plenty of milk."

It wasn't only her height that impressed Cherry. Her muscles, her well kept hair, her eyes. She was just so clean! And well put together, it was amazing! Cherry on the other hand was cleary a mess. Her hair was a total mess, her wild blonde hair has clearly never been brushed or washed before, actual clumps of dirt and grime where stuck in it, and the length was simply way too long. It reaching to her mid back. And that isn't even talking about the other things about her. Her plain white T-shirt. With holes and tears in it, some parts totally caked in mud. Her pants was in the state, and she wasn't even wearing shoes. As for her build, it didn't even seem like she should be able to stand on her own two feet. Let alone being able to lug this monsterous arm behind her all day. "Oh no, no! Most of them aren't helpful at all!" Cherry said with a light giggle.

"Everything I find tends to be broken or useless, but it isn't about the money or usefulness, it is about the history! I mean, here, here! L-look at this!" With thr eagerness that could only be matched by a child on chirstmas day, Cherry reached into her pockets and showed Helanna a busted up old phone. The screen was cracked to hell and back, the back part of it was popped of, and it seemed to have some strange black goo in it. But nevertheless, it was one of her most prized items. Isn't this cool!? I mean who knows what this was used for? A weapon? Some sort of teleporting device?" Cherry continued to list off the theories Cherry came up with iver the years. Before pausing, and averting her gaze to the ground for a few seconds. "B-back to the camp?" Cherry wasn't quite sure about this.

On one hand Helanna was being rather kind to her. Offering her food and water, and a safe place to rest. All free of charge. And that isn't bringing up just how useful a backpack would be. But on the other hand, a group filled with people. All looking at her? All looking at her ARM? She just wasn't sure if she could deal with that level of stress or judgement. "I don't know, I-I mean........ Cherry paused before letting out a heavy sigh.

"Alright I'll go with you, But um. Only for a little bit, I don't like being tied down to one place.

Helanna smiled at the girl and giggled as she mentioned her height, well it was true she was incredibly tall, maybe she could be considered a mutant by some too? she knows she startled a lot of people with her height, "Well thank you, I just kept growing, I guess my body didn't quite know when to stop, but it helps when I need to carry a lot of things" she said with that motherly tone. as the girl talked she looked over Cherry, she was dirty, disheveled, likely cause of the arm causing her issues, and her clothing could be better, thankfully she could fix all of that if the girl would let her.

though when Cherry started to talk about the things she found and brought out the Cell phone she smiled "Oh! I See" she said as she looked at the device, not reaching out for it but she moved closer to look, kneeling to see it better, even in this position she was still likely taller then the Standing child. Looking at it she smiled at the imagination of Cherry on what it could be. It was good to see that even in this Desolate place and even alone this Child was still able to be so hopeful and imaginative. it made her smile more and she nodded.

At the mention of going back to camp she nodded once more, the girl seemed hesitant... she could guess why, the large arm after all, it was rather obvious and she did seem sensitive about itthe girl did relent though and Helanna reached out her hand "Well then lets go" she said as she very gently took Cherry's Wooden hand clearly not bothered by it at all and stood up making sure not to strain the shorter girl.

"We can get you a meal, some water, and some clothing if you wish, we have some supplies for that" she said smiling down at Cherry, not bothered by the girls arm at all "And if anyone bullies you while you are there tell me okay? I will set them strait, we all need to have someone we can rely on in these times... we are all the gods children after all" she said as she smiled and started to gently guide her back to Camp, making sure not to pull her along and helping to carry the weight of the large appendage "If you want I can tell you about where I come from while you visit the camp too?" she offered

"That's good though, like you said your height is good for lifting things and such. Plus it could be very useful for scaring away demons!" Cherry chirped out. In some ways she wished that she was as tall as Helanna, but in other ways she was glad that she was on the shorter side. She didn't need to draw any more eyes, plus her small size could be very useful when sneaking around. Well it was useful for that, until she got her left arm. That tended to ruin all of her 'sneaking missions.' But it did help keep her safe.

Cherry seemed to grow even more nervous as she took her wooden hand. Cherry did not hold the older woman's hand but she did follow her closely. Now Cherry's left arm was very odd, and this isn't just because it is made out of wood. For one thing, she had no control on her strength. When she used her arm, it was either to very slowly and carefully scoop something up. Or to crush the object into mere dust. There was no inbetween. What made this worse is the fact that on the outside she had no feeling with this arm, everything felt numb on the outside. So sometimes she would forget that she is holding somebody, and crush it under her might. Of course that was probably not going to happen with Helanna since she could see that her hand was in the palm of Cherry's wooden hand. But still the threat of crushing this wonderful ladies hand weighed heavily on her mind.

"All of those would be very nice, thank you miss. I have been wearing these clothes for months now." These where the clothes that they had given her at the lab, and of course clothes wheren't easy to get these days. So despite her dislike for her clothes, she had to use what she had. Cherry gave a nod. "I will remember that, thank you." She didn't really like people bullying her. It always really hurt her feelings, these days she just hit people with her new arm when they messed with her too much. But she had a feeling that this wouldn't sit well with the people at miss Helanna's camp. And she did not want to anger her new friend. "Huh? We are? So we have the same dad then? Oh that makes us sisters! Like a light switch she went from being nervous to being giddy again as she misunderstood Helanna's statement.

Mother never talked about dad, maybe you could tell me a little bit about him? Like is he fameous? People are always talking about him! Cherry never really had a solid grasp on relgion. Her mother being lost her faith when the demons came, and the people who made her into what she was today did not care to discuss such matters in front of the girl. And whenever Cherry asked about this 'god' many people just thought she was being a smartass, scolding her or just flat out not giving her the time of day. Cherry nodded her head. "Yes, I would like to discuss many things with you once we get to the camp, oh and I must thank you for helping me carry my arm. It can be a real pain to drag behind me all day.

Helanna smiled back at her, walking at a steady pace to not tire the girl, taking her own large strides into account and so they were walking at different strides, she was glad to see she seemed more eager to go now, "You have endured a lot Cherry, and you may have to endure more, but  you are strong, you have the will to keep living... that's very important, never lose that" she said as they walked "I know you said you don't like to stay in once spot, but out camp moves a lot, if you wanted to stay with us I wouldn't mind" she added as they walked.

Hearing the girls confusion she smiled and giggled a bit "Under the gods we are all their children, even if here on earth we have different parents, if you wish to call me your sister, then I will not mind considering you family as well, The gods are the ones that look over the world... sometimes bad things happen... it's not part of their plan that it does... so they try to give people the means to live through it... sometimes it comes in strange forms other times it's just the will to live that helps you move on... like with you, the strength to keep going and to learn that you have, that kept you going all this time" she said trying to clear up the confusion with a motherly smile.

"I don't know your father here on earth, but I know quite a lot of the gods who we are all children of I can tell you of them if you like?" she said kindly "And when we get to camp we can also get you bathed if you want? we have enough water to allow for that thanks to proper management of things" she said as they continued on.

She was glad she could come across Cherry, she clearly needed help, she was malnourished, she was mutated... though the mutation didn't seem to harm her to much, maybe she could learn to use it? if she got stronger maybe it could be quite the help? and as they walked and Cherry thanked her for the help with her arm she nodded "It's no worry, I have come across others who are different like you, many choose to go their own way after they get supplies that they need, but I hope you wish to stay for a while, we can get you some good food, some clothing.. I am sure we have the things needed to make some shoes for you... and if you want I can help you get stronger? then this arm will not be such a bother... maybe even I can help you learn to use it? it may be a great help if you want to I mean, I won't force you to do that if you don't want to" her kind smile stayed on her face she meant every word.

As they walked and came over the hill to see the small camp. She waved to the people to show she was okay, it was a small camp but they had supplies and she nodded to Cherry "Welcome to our little camp Cherry, I hope you stay a while" she said in a welcoming tone.

As they walked into camp some of the children looked scared at first, even the one that had called her a demon, but seeing Helanna walking with her, hand in the large wooden hand of Cherry it seemed to calm them, Helanna herself waved to a few and smiled her presence setting everyone at the camp at ease about the strange child with her.[/color]

"The will to keep living?" Cherry repeated, her eyes glancing up at the sky as she thought about her words. Cherry has never once thought about why she continued to endure the wasteland that was paris. But that was mostly because she never once thought about ending her life. Even while she was in the lab the thought simply never crossed her mind once. And the thought of people lacking this will to live was simply too confusing to her. Sure the world and quality of life wasn't the best, but this was the world now. Everybodies life was like this, and you had to make the most of it. Nevertheless, she shook her head when Helanna offered Cherry a chance to stay at her camp once again. "Thank you again for the offer, but I will have to decline. I just, don't think I am the right type of person to live in a big group like that. Besides, I am looking for something......... Well rather, someone. Cherry paused, as she mentally debated with herself on if she should tell Helanna about her mom or not. But after Helanna had offered so much of her help and supplies to Cherry, she saw no reason to try and hide info from her.

My mother. I am looking for my mom. I lost her when I was ten years old, and I have been looking for her for five years now. I just wouldn't be able to sleep right at night if I just gave up and stayed at a camp, you know? But I am truely grateful for all the help you have given me thus far. I will never forget it, and if I can ever get any more supplies to give to you. Or if you need any help around the camp just let me know, and I will try my best. She tried her best to let Helanna down gently, trying her best to not offend her. It was a very nice offer, but for the reason Cherry gave to her and many others, she just wasn't comfortable with. And she wasn't silling to do it. Eager to talk about a different subject, Cherry quickly latched on to the topic of gods.

"I see. I was not aware of this, everybody I have met only brought up one god. But I have to say they sound nice, helping people is always nice. I am glad they gave me the will to live, I like living." Cherry commented, with a slight smirk on her face. "Both of those would be nice, I always love learning new things! Plus baths are really nice, ohhhh. I remember one time my mom found a nice little pool that she gave me a bath in, it felt wonderful! Cherry mused, before letting out a chuckle. "Oh don't worry, I don't need any shoes. I have been barefoot my whole life, and as for my physical strength........... Well, how do I put this? That won't really work, my body doesn't really, um work too well because of my arm." Cherry actually had to eat more than what a normal fifteen year old girl would normally have to eat, and that is due to her demon weapon.

Her left arm was still a living being, one that needed much more energy than the girl herself. It was like a parasite. Keeping her frail and weak, with only a little bit of the energy that came from the food and water she ate and drank going to her. So no amount of working out would help her buff up. It was sad, but Cherry has came to accept this fact. "Long story short, my body works very hard at keeping this old hunk of junk up and running. So I don't think the rest of me will be growing any muscles any time soon. But this arm is pretty strong though! Let me tell you a story, one time I was trying to sleep on this building, and some creepy guy tried to kidnap me. So I grabbed him by the legs, and tossed him through the wall." Cherry went on, talking about the times she tossed objects and sometimes bad people who tried to harm her in the past far, far away woth ease. But she soon stopped when they had reached the camp.

Her happy smile soon turned into a frown as she saw the faces of everybody around here. The kids looked so scared, it was like a knife stabbing through her chest. But she tend as she kept walking through the same camp, she notice the fear in their eyes turn to catious curiosity. Cherry herself began to relax. As she walked by, she noticed the kid from before and waved to her with her smaller, human hand. "Hi, sorry for scaring you eariler." She said before she looked up at Helanna. "So, what kind of food do you have here?"

She smiled listening to her, the girl was set on not staying, it was sad but she had seen others like that, she hoped staying with them at least for a short time would change her mind, and then when she mentioned she was looking for her mother she nodded knowingly, that made sense, that's was was driving this girl, it was making sense now. The child offered any supplies she found and she smiled she was at least willing to come back it sounded like, She couldn't uproot the whole camp to just go off and search for Cherry's mother, she wished she could but she had a Duty to preform.

As they got to the bathing area, it was given privacy with some sheets tied to sticks and the like, she smiled at Cherry "We have some meats, from animals we have managed to catch, and some wild plants, we also have some food that we managed to scavenge from places, so it's a fairly good variety, as for you helping us with supplies and not staying long, I understand you need to find your mother, but maybe for at least a few days at least so I can make sure you have the supplies you need to make it across the desert? and that why you can rest up at least a little before you head back out" the motherly smile never left her face.

Though she then thought on the arm and the stories the girl told on the way back, it seemed the arm helped her but it also hindered her "Well at least it seems this arm of yours has the power to let you protect yourself if needed... it may be a bother at times, but at least if it came to it you could protect yourself with it" she said gently placing a hand on the wooden arm "Do you need any help washing up? if so I can help you with that while everyone prepares supper" she offered.

Around them the camp was lively again, people moving around, taking care of what needed to be taken care of, they had large wheeled basins for water, they even had mobile water stills, things Helanna taught them how to make, thankfully the scraps they could find were usable to make such things. the Children also didn't seem to mind Cherry at all, the one she apologized to smiled and waved to her as they walked by, and she would hear a "sorry for calling you a demon" come from the boy.

As she waited for the girl to reply Helanna herself was going through their inventory, they had clothing, shoes... though the girl didn't want any... they had backpacks, that would help her on her way, simple collapsable lean-to's for the girl to have some shelter, she would be able to set it up one handed as well, some water bottles, and they had enough excess food to give her some for her trip, other then that... letting her rest and get clean was the best they could offer, and it bothered Helanna a bit, but again this was not the first time... as much as she wished she could she couldn't just chase after every stray sheep, she needed to take care of a flock.. she hoped she could find the Vault here soon, then these people could be safe and she could go out and find people to take back to a more permanent shelter.

By the time the duo had reached the camp the harsh sun had began to set. The glow from the sun turning the once blue sky, to a amazing yellow. Painting a truely beautiful scene that Cherry took in before she went into the bathing area. "All of those sound quite nice. I am more of a meat eating myself, but I am not picky when it comes to meals." You really couldn't be these days after all. You just had to take what you could get, although meat was clearly her favorite. It tastes amazing, and it normally gave her arm tons of energy. But plants where nice too. "I........ I guess staying here for a few days wouldn't hurt, I won't get anywhere by pushing myself right?" Cherry mused aloud as she looked around the bathing area, very pleased with what she saw. It has been a long time since she was ladt in such a fancy place.

"Yes it is quite useful to use as a weapon if I have too. But it is still not very plesant, my shoulder does not agree with me after I use this arm." The young woman had to fight off the urge to twitch away from the older woman's touch. And she may have do so, if Helanna did not carry such a motherly aura around her. It was very smoothing and calming, in some ways she was more motherly than her actual mother. But in some ways that brought up memories. Memories of her mom, the same women that kept her safe while traveling through the wastes. And it only made Cherry's desire to find her stronger. However before she could think on that for too long, her face flushed a bright pink as Helanna asked her is she needed help cleaning herself.

"N-n-no! No! Thank you for the offering, but I can clean myself thank you very much." Cherry began to wait for Helanna to look through the items she had, and after she left the baththing area. Cherry then began to bath herself, spending a long time in the bath. Cleaning herself off the best she could, in fact she spent so long in the bath that one of the people had to go and tell her that dinner was almost ready. Soon enough after that Cherry came walking out, with a new set of clothes that was given to her. The young lady was much cleaner now, most of the large clumps of dirt has been washed out and the grime caked on to her pale skin has been lessened. Although she was by no means clean yet, one little bath was not enough to fully clean her.

"Sorry for taking so long. It's just be awhile since I had a good bath" Cherry said as she walked up to Helanna. "So, one of the people here told me that dinner was almost done. Do, I uh have to eat it at some public place or do we all bring it to a room? How does this work?" Cherry questioned, confused about how all of this 'camp' stuff worked.

Helanna Left the girl to her bath smiling as how shy she had gotten, she simply asked in case the arm was any trouble, but the girls shyness was cute, so she left her to bathe alone as the food was made. Helanna herself walked over to the Medical area and checked on some of the people, thankfully everyone was recovering so there was no work to do there... so She went to the Resources are and started to look through for things that would be useful for Cherry decided to leave, it was clear she would likely leave, though she hoped she would change her mind on that, but looking for a loved one was a strong drive and trying to talk them out of it was only going to force her away, and if she did that there was little chance Cherry would return or seek them out again if she seen them.

She sighed a bit to herself as she wished she could just take the camp with Cherry to help her but they needed to keep moving and they had a lot of people to take care of, the best she could do right now as to give her supplies and a place to rest for a time, and then they would have to move on so she could find the Vault and get these people to safety, then she would try to find Cherry again after that.

She took the time while she was bathing to set some clothing aside, a tough pair of pants, a shirt that would be easier to get into with that large arm, and a backpack that could be sinched at the waist and shoulder to keep it on so the arm wouldn't get in the way, they would need to be altered but she could do that with her measure and alter then while Cherry stayed with them.

Smiling to herself she also got a canteen and a large cloth with a pull string to carry the food so the girl wouldn't have to use the large arm to much to interact with this stuff, that was the second priority, making sure she wasn't impaired trying to use this stuff due to her arm, it may get in the way but it also protected her.

it took her some time but she moved everything to her lean-to for now and as she finished gathering everything one of the people from the camp came to tell her the food was done and she smiled and went to go get some food.

As she got there though Cherry walked up looking much cleaner and refreshed and she was asked about the food "We tend to eat together, but if you want me and you can go over to my Lean-to to eat and I can talk with you for a bit, I also need to measure you to alter the clothing I will be giving you for later so they fit properly and won't get in the way or be uncormfortablt" she said as they got to the food prep area and the large pot was filled with meat stew.

Walking up no one had taken any yet and Helanna smiled before clothing her eyes "Oh Gods above thank you for the blessing of this food, and the health it will give us, please watch over us and help protect us all, and please protect our new companions, and give them your blessings in their travels, The World is Harsh but we know you still watch out for us" she prayed before she was handed the ladle and she started to serve everyone, Setting a bowl aside for Cherry and then serving herself last.... something Cherry would likely be able to note was that Helanna gave herself less then everyone else, and even from here she could see Helanna had the smallest shelter, her things stored near it.

One thing that both Helanna and other people would probably notice is that while Cherry herself was still decently wet. Showing that she has not fully dried off quite yet, her left arm however was untouched and bone dry. Her wooden arm always felt so weird when it touchs liquid, that was also pretty much the only time Cherry COULD feel her arm, when it was backed up with liquid. Which was very uncomfortable for her, so she always tried her best to keep her arm as dry as it could be.

"Lean-to eat? I can't say I have ever heard of that before. But that would be very nice, I am sure we have alot more we can talk about. Plus I would like to be mostly alone while you measure me." Even though it was quite clear that the people here had sort of accepted her, Cherry still wasn't fully comfortable with everybody seeing her as she ate. Plus everybody seeing Helanna measure her would also be very embarssing. Cherry walked with Helanna, and looked into the pot of food. Taking a deep breath of the stew, Cherry let out a pleased hum. "Mmmmm, this smells quite good!" Cherry praised the older women, before she paused and cocked her head to the side like a confused puppy. The young women listened closely to Helanna's pray. After she had finished her pray, Cherry began to dig into the lovely meal the nun had made for her.

With each and every bite of her meal, her smile grew wider and wider. It has been years since she had such a good meal, and she was enjoying every moment of it. After a few bites of her stew though, her eyes went to the small amount of food that Helanna had poured for herself. "Oh, it seems like you guys kinda ran out of food towards the end. You can have some of mine if you need it?" Cherry offered with a small, but sweet smile on her face. Helanna was a very large women, so Cherry understood that she would need alot of food to keep her strength up. Much more than she would have to eat, since a cooked meal probably gave her arm much more juice than the random stuff she'd find on the ground, or the rare rat or mouse she'd kill. Plus a small part of her felt like the reason why Helanna's food bowl was some much smaller than everybody else was because she was here eating there food. A extra mouth to feed couldn't be easy.

After she had offered some of her food to the elder women Cherry continued to chow down on her meal, without a hint of table manners as she would make comments about how good the stew was with her mouth full, and sometimes she'd even stick her hand in the bowl. Pulling out chunks of meat to toss into her mouth. So can the gods hear us? Because I heard you talking to them before we ate, and uh, should I have talked to them before we ate too? Is that something you had to do, because I uh, never done that before, heh." Cherry let out a embarssed little giggle as she rubbed the back if her head with her right hand, her demon weapon simply hanging around. The tips of her wooden fingers barely touching the ground below as so far she had refused to use her large limb to help her eat.