Bella? Was that the female's name then? Avi filed the name away for future reference before straightening his body from the slight crouch he had taken as soon as the individual spoken...well the male, since the voice sounded decidedly male. "I feel no need to tell you who I am, when I do not know who you are." Avi replied swiftly, not meaning to come off as rude, he was just being blunt.

He shifted the duffle bag on his shoulder so that it rested higher up so that it wouldn't get in the way of his arms if it became necessary for him to fight. Another female voice had drifted through the air, a Miria judging from Bella's shouting, and Avi shifted uncomfortably. That made four others in the supermarket, including whomever had fallen and caused this Bella person to inquire if they were alright. And if he wasn't mistaken, this Bella, Miria, and the male before him all knew one another. The odds were not looking favorable at all.

The male before him made a valid point, but he couldn’t really tell him who he was since he had yet to decide on a name for himself. From what he could tell Bella and Miria seemed to be fine and handling things. To him the man didn’t really seem to be much of a threat, but he couldn’t be too careful. The man’s scent was more metallic then Bella’s was. “Well are you alone then?” Even though he felt no threat Damon stayed tensed and couldn’t let himself relax. All the changes and strangeness was starting to take its toll on him.

((Kry had to leave so bird boy's going to just stand and hide, too scared of the 'humans' to speak.))

Bella looked up as she heard her name being called by the cougar. Considering the foreign male voice she couldn't help but worry and glanced at the bird with a clear expression of being torn. The bird stood but dashed behind some rubble to hide, peaking out at them. He appeared unharmed, just scared and not sure of the humans. That made her decision and she ignored the slight quiver of the earth to run towards the cougar to make sure he wasn't being attacked.

"Hi there. I'm bella though, and you are?" the red head responded as she stepped into the aisle way. She held her hands slightly away from her body to show she meant no harm and offered the stranger a smile, though she wasn't sure he would be able to see it. She instinctively was trying to defuse the situation as she approached the cougar. She put her hand on his shoulder, a sign of support that would hopefully help keep the cougar calm.

"Miria, come here and introduce yourself." she called out, though her eyes never left Avi. She wanted to make it clear none of them were 'hiding' from him to ambush him. The easiest way to make a person feel paranoid was for them to think you were keeping secrets from them. Still, it would also hopefully make it clear that if he wanted to be friends that was great... but by sheer numbers a fight was not a good idea... as long as he was alone which she was pretty sure he was... didn't seem to be others around.

Her green and blood shot opened as she heard Bella call her name and looked towards the sound of her companion's voice. Miria place her hand on the floor and tried to calm the Earth as she calmed down, too. She stood slowly and looked towards the frightened bird boy with her sad green eyes. The green haired woman walked towards Bella and the cougar passed another decomposing body and turned her head away. Seeing the other person with them, Miria stopped in her tracks and blushed a little, she never thought they'd have to meet so many people. "Hello..." She said softly as she held her empty hands out in front of her. The blonde male seemed to be dressed with armor as they were. 'He probably has powers, too.' But Miria thought that to herself until she was sure.

She stood there quietly and tried not to feel any emotions since her powers seemed to copy her emotions. The green haired woman held onto her duffel bag of supplies and food. Miria wanted some bottles of water before they left the store, just so she was sure everything was safe for her to eat.

Oh dear. As Avi was about to respond to the male's question, the people facing him multiplied as Bella and Miria appeared. They didn't appear to mean him any harm, judging by the way they held their empty hands out. But he was still wary of them, seeing as he was sure one of them had been the cause of the earth's tremors...and he didn't put it past them to have some sort of powers...since he had somehow managed to make a steel wall appear in front of him just a couple minutes ago.

"Ciao." Avi mumbled. "My name is Avi." However reluctant he was to give his name, it was only fair, seeing as they had provided their names. "E sì. I am alone." he answered the male's question, reaching up a hand to make sure his hood was still secure on his head. He then motioned to the male with his hand. "May I ask for a name from you now?" He relaxed slightly, shifting the duffle bag he carried yet again, though this time into a more comfortable spot.

Bella’s hand on his shoulder helped him calm down a little. Slowly he stood to his full height, still watching the other male. His companions introduced themselves and the man did so in return. For a moment he looked like he was trying to decide on something. He gave his companions a glance before answering Avi. “My name is…Damon.” Without much thought he began to lick his hand, like a cat would their paw.

"Nice to meet you avi...Now you don't have to be alone. You can join our little group of survivalists if you want." Bella commented after a moments thought, finally relaxing. Avi was just like the rest of them, scared, uncertain, and confused. He didn't want to hurt them, and she suspected that he too just wanted what they did. He just wanted to survive in a world that had gone bat shit crazy with no warning or time to prepare. She did glance at Damon, surprised in a way. Had he given himself that name just now or had he always had a human sounding name?

She realized then, just how little she understood about the animals turned humanoid. Perhaps they were more human then she had realized. She turned her gaze quickly back to avi, her almost black blue eyes friendly if a little cautious. She hadn't thought of herself as the motherly type or one to be a leader but she seemed to be falling into that role. She already felt protective of the cougar who had asked her for help and Miria who had no memories. They both seemed alone, just like her, and it brought something out in her that she hadn't expected. Perhaps it was his being alone that made her reach out to Avi now too.

"Sei sicuro? That would be...nice." Avi answered slowly, each word passing his lips after careful consideration of the situation. "It is nice to meet you all." He added on. Even if the world was headed for the end, there was no call for him to stop being polite. Even if he had no idea what the heck was happening anymore.

It was nice of Bella to offer to let him join. He would have to repay her for this favor eventually. No matter if it was just her being nice, he felt the need to repay her for her kindness. It was just the way he was brought up. ...And maybe someone in the group would be able to explain how he had suddenly gotten powers that he certainly had not had before star fall. though he had an inkling it had something to do with the star shards in his skin. He unconsciously tugged on his hood yet again.

Miria bowed her head to Avi as she tried to remain emotionless so she did not hurt anyone. Her eyes went to the cougar who seemed to be thinking mid-sentence. 'Did he have a name before this?' His pause before the name Damon left his lips told her no. The green haired woman smiled at the cougar before looking at Bella as she invited him into the group without asking the others first. Even though she was having trouble remembering things, electing Bella leader was not one of them. She looked back at Avi and wondered if they could trust him...Miria wondered if she could trust anyone but did not say that out loud.

She stood there before grabbing her arm and holding it behind her back. The woman just wanted to get out of this grocery store and away from the dead that made her more depressed by the moment. Miria looked at the floor as she tried not to stare at the new person.

"We were just gathering supplies, i suspect you were doing the same. We should probably finish then get back to the forest I think... It's more stable then the city and the plant seems to be leaving it alone..." She suggested with a shrug, her own supply gathering having been interrupted. She glanced towards the bird again, wondering if he was still hiding. She couldn't expect he'd speak to them much now... Oh well, maybe he'd come out before they left.

With that she returned to filling her own bag with supplies that wouldn't likely parish too quickly and bottles of water. She could boil some of the river water but all things considered bottled drinks were probably a better idea. There had been a resort near the coast and she didn't imagine the plant had left it alone so there was no telling what...or who... was in the ocean that fed the river. She would finish as quickly as she could, keeping the group in sight at all times. Protecting them, it seemed, was her greatest instinct. Perhaps simply because it gave her something worthwhile to do and something to focus on that didn't scare the hell out of her.

The crow remained hiding for a long few minutes. Though he wasn't entirely sure how much time had passed, crow's weren't the best at keeping track of the passage of time. Surely it was safe to come out now, though. Besides, one of the humans had been very shiny. It made him curious, it made him want a another look at her. Still there were many voices now, or perhaps it was just a few. He slipped from his hiding place and stretched, his wings spreading out behind him, one of them knocking more things from the shelf.

At the clatter of unexpected noise, the crow was in the air quickly with just a few wing beats. With another clatter of noise he had landed on a top shelf again. He hated making all that noise, but the only high perches available to him were filled with items. Still he didn't let such a thing stop him as he half hopped and half glided from shelf to shelf, leaving in his wake many disturbed items and clattering noises. The crow didn't stop until he landed on a shelf overlooking the female that had approached him earlier. She was so shiny! He clutched at the shelf with his bird feet, and his hands gripping the edge of the shelf between his feet. Crouching there, his head tilted to the side slightly as he watched the shiny one.

He watched her, but his eyes and ears were alert for any signs of danger. She seemed to be gathering things, none of the things she was gathering seemed particularly shiny, so he didn't really understand why she would be gathering them. It made him very curious.

"Plant? You mean that the vines out there, impaling nearly everything that touches them, are all from one plant?" Avi asked with a tinge of disbelief in his voice. And judging from Bella's words...he supposed it was safe to guess that she had run into it at least once. For now he would have to just take her word for it then.

The forest huh. He'd never really gone into the foliage even before star fall, so he had taken refuge in random rundown areas for the past three days. Eh, better now than later, at least now he had people willing to let him tag along with them. His duffle bag was already full to bursting so he merely shifted his weight a bit as he waited for Bella to finish filling her bag, tilting his head curiously as he watched Damon and Miria.

"Yeah... I've seen the center but never been able to get close before it moves to another part of itself. I'd guess it has one of the stars that fell imbedded in it." Bella responded absently even as she cringed from the scattering sounds of falling objects. She glanced up towards the bird a moment, curious. It didn't seem particularly interested in human speech but did seem to be interested in her.... why? She'd been nice but not that nice. Wait... could it be her armor? With it's prominent gold diamonds it was a glittery thing and weren't certain types of birds suppose to like shiny things?

She thought this over a moment as she gathered the last bit of supplies she thought they needed, wondering if the cougar had gathered any or just eaten the meat that the human's couldn't anyway. She checked on his bag a moment and if it was empty would fill it for him while explaining the reason for each object as she inwardly debated what to do about the crow. She finally decided to try something and with her sword cut one of the gold diamond chips from her leggings. She watched in surprise as the star shard at her belly button flashed a dark blue that was almost black briefly and repaired the legging somehow. Too bad it couldn't repair her regular clothing that easy... Oh well. With a shrug she tilted her head upward and looked at the crow.

"Catch. A gift..." She said to the crow softly before tossing the glittering stone near him. He would be able to reach out and grab it if he wanted but there would be no danger of it hitting him. She hoped this would be enough to make it clear she wasn't trying to throw it AT him, but it would tell her if he understood human speech should he understand and react to the word 'gift'. She knew it wasn't wise to stay long in the supermarket, they weren't the only ones likely drawn to it or the meat littering the floor, but at the same time she didn't want to leave the fragile bird to die either...

Her eyes went to Bella as she started to talk about gathering supplies. Miria walked over to the pop and water aisle before opening a package of bottled water and put most of the bottles in her bag. She adjusted the items in her bag before standing and walking over to get a can opener just in case. The green haired woman looked at the crow as it moved to another shelf to perch and watched Bella toss something at him, calling it a gift. Miria looked at the others as she waited with her bag full of food, first aid supplies, and water near the front door of the store. She wanted to stay away from the corpses in the back of the store. Her eyes went to the floor as she traced her finger through the dust on the floor.

The woman sat there trying not to think of the plant and the poor creature that was hungry. Miria sighed and closed her eyes just wanting to get out of the city. She craved normalcy for some reason even though she did not remember much.

He watched those that he could see carefully with his grey eyes, but always most of his attention seemed to be on the woman. Such a shiny human! He licked his lips slightly, just moistening them as he kept a careful eye on her, his head tilted to the side and a look of questioning appeared on his face when the woman spoke to him, moments later something shiny was sailing in the air towards him. The crow flinched back just a bit, he could tell the object wasn't going to hit him, but another attack might come. Was she trying to frighten him off? The shiny landed harmlessly close to him on the shelf he perched on and he eyed it warily but curiously.

Slowly he reached out and poked the shiny with a clawed finger tip, he drew his hand back quickly after only touching it for half a second. He stared at it, the shiny didn't do anything and it was very pretty. The crow decided it was a harmless shiny rock and his hand snaked out to snatch it up quickly, he clutched it tightly in his palm. Fingers curled possessively over the shiny, and his other hand came to rest over the one that held the shiny. Both hands were at his chest, and he clutched the shiny to his chest, as if it were his most prized possession. He watched those humans more carefully now, suspicious they might try to take the shiny away that they had just given him. Humans were known to do cruel things like that, he was certain.

They didn't seem to interested in his shiny though, and slowly he relaxed and opened his hand to look at his shiny. He admired it for a few moments then brought it to his mouth and bit down on it. Holding it tightly between his teeth, making a decision, a foolish decision. The human was covered in shinies, and she had given one to him, or so it seemed. He would follow her for a while, perhaps she would give him another shiny later or even better, perhaps she'd toss bread crumbs at him. He had seen humans do that before, before everything had changed, the pigeons always got fed bread crumbs. He stared at the shiny female almost expectantly now, as he held that shiny between his teeth.

Damon was more lost then the others, but he let them do what they wished while he snuck back to his little snack. If he was to travel with his new companions it would be best to do so on a full stomach so he wasn’t tempted to try eating one of them. As he tore into a few more packs of meat he purred. By the time he was finished with his little meal his hands and face were covered in blood, not that it bothered him. He just began to lick his hands clean as he looked to see where the others had gotten to.

He moved quietly, his tail swaying lightly behind him as he walked towards were he heard Bella. She was most likely speaking to the bird he smelled earlier. Now that he had a full stomach he was ready to move on and find a place to nap. Even if he did look human he still retained many of his animal instincts and habits. He peered curiously at the bird that looked half crow and half human. So he had been the one to make all the noise. Something told him he shouldn’t get too close as it might scare the poor boy more.

Bella gave the crow a smile, though she had a feeling now from it's reaction that it didn't particularly understand english and that it's animal self was still stronger then most. Still she shrugged and glanced towards the other. She glanced at the cougar's bloody face and resisted the urge to grimace. She did, however, take a towel from a nearby rack and move towards him. She smiled still, debating what to say until she spoke after a few moments. As she did so she began to wash the blood off his face with the towel and a water bottle that had been punctured in some earlier attack so couldn't be taken with them anyway.

"The smell of blood seems to attract things it's best we don't, so you might want to keep as clean as you can Damon. Also most humans consider it kinda icky." She said with a cheerful, teasing smile. She then put the towel aside, not wanting to take the now blood smelling towel with them. She then moved towards the door slightly. She could see how upset Miria was and knew it was likely the bodies. Had she really become so distant from them in just three days? Perhaps she had too much of her father in her... was too well trained...

"Everybody ready? I have a camp kinda sorta anyway, set up in the forest so we can go there as long as no one objects. It has a tent and some outdoor supplies that belonged to my father..." She asked the group as she adjusted her bag and pushed away the rather disturbing thoughts about herself. Even taking over the leadership role until someone else decided to fill the job better then she could was a little too like her father. It wasn't that she disliked her father, she loved him dearly. She just found his 'my way or the high way' mentality rather boorish and was always afraid she would become like him. She'd had to grow up fast after her mother died and taking on responsibility had just kinda been something she had to do, not something she really particuliarly cared for.

Without a sound, Avi followed after Damon, waiting patiently as the male finished his meal, unflinching even as Damon got blood all over himself. He didn't want to think about why he wasn't even slightly disturbed by the blood. He opened his mouth, about to comment about the fact that Damon still had blood on his face, but closed his mouth just as quickly, seeing as Bella was already taking care of the mess. Avi's eyes trailed to the half-bird, half-human that Bella had thrown a shiny shard to. So he had been the cause of all the noise.

He moved from behind Damon to stand next to Miria near the entrance, turning his head to stare at the outside, eyes trailing over the buildings he had refused to look at before. A heavy feeling settled in his chest and he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before bringing his attention back to the group, or more specifically, to Bell, who was speaking.

She seemed to have taken over the role of leadership in the group. Well, it wasn't like Avi had a problem with that. He was just going to go along with...well, whatever they were doing he supposed. He inclined his head slightly while Bella spoke and then nodded to show that he had everything that he needed already.

((since we only have two more days I'm going to move it along and say everyone's following. XD))

Bella smiled as everyone seemed ready and she began to lead the group outside. She again would take them through the side streets she knew the vines were fairly light. She wasn't sure why it seemed heavier on some streets and not on others. She often wondered about that as she moved from the fairly safe camp she'd found and the city. It was probably the only reason that so many of the people had survived the initial attack, certain hamlets of residential neighborhoods seemed to have mainly been destroyed only by the earthquakes caused by its roots rather then a direct attack. Her house had been in one... though a shelf had fallen on his leg and opposing ankle.

She sighed at the thought and wondered when his student, the son he never had, would show up. Had he already and been killed? She didn't dislike the young man and she was grateful that he'd managed to get her father out of here, but she wasn't sure what she'd do once he got here. He probably wouldn't leave her, not after making a promise to her father that he'd get her out. She shook her head and forced herself to pay attention to her surroundings. She soon had them at the camp, deep in the forest near a small clearing.

She had one two tents set up that her father had, though he hadn't let her use them the last few years. Instead he had required she make small coverings as he pushed her into survivalist training. She was surprised he had kept them at all, he wasn't usually so sentimental. She was sure he probably just didn't want to waste the money or thought he could use them again later. He had primarily used them when she was younger.... not strong enough to really do to much.

Miria looked up at Avi as he stood next to her before looking to the crow as it held Bella's gift. Wondering if he'd follow or just stay here, she looked at the others in their growing group. Her green eyes moved to Bella as she spoke of leaving the store to go to her camp. She stood up and picked up her bag to wear it like a messenger bag. The green haired woman hoped she'd feel better when they could finally leave the crumbling city. Following Bella out of the store, Miria only looked forward to avoid stepping on rubble and glass. Her eyes stayed on Bella's back as she lead them through the forest towards her camp.

Looking at the camp in the clearing, Miria smiled a little as the camp came into view. It wasn't much but much better than being in the ruins that were once was bustling town. At least she guessed because of it's size. She had no memories of the city so it did not really pain her to leave it. Her eyes went to a stump before walking over and taking off her boots and letting her feet feel the dirt and grass under her feet.

The crow watched them all, especially the cougar, warily. Humans and cats, were dangerous creatures of their own. Together they were probably more deadly, or so the bird thought. Still, he clutched that shiny hard between his teeth and when the shiny woman began to lead the others out and away, he followed. He waited until they were all out of the building before he left the building though, then he flew over their heads, to high up for them to reach up and grab him or throw things at him. He would fly ahead, then come back and circle above them a few times, he was alert for danger and wary of all the beings he followed, but still his attention always seemed to linger on the very shiny female. He did want all of her shinies, but he wasn't greedy, not really.

When they reached the camp, he perched in a tree at the edge of the little clearing and sat there. Watching them and wondering about the tent. It didn't seem very durable to him, and he wondered if that was what they were going to use for shelter. Humans seemed to be fond of trapping themselves in buildings, even ones that were small and didn't seem as sturdy as the large ones in the city.

Damon did put up a fuss when Bella cleaned his face for him. She along with the other humans knew what was more acceptable in case they ran into more humans. He took in things as they made their way to the forest. The city was a strange place and even stranger with all the destruction caused by the plant.

Once they were in the forest he relaxed, he was finally back in his element. He kept his ears alert while they headed to the camp. When they arrived he was a little surprised, had she really been camped this close to the small den he’d been staying in the past three days? He took a glance up at the crow. He must think all of this is strange as well. The golden haired male stretched before moving into the small clearing. It only took him a few moments to spot what he was looking for. A rock stuck up out of the ground a bit and was large enough for a cougar lie on. He smiled to himself as he climbed onto the rock to take a nap and warm himself in the sun.

Bella smiled to herself as everyone seemed to relax upon reaching the camp. She then turned to the tents, figuring now that it would be one for the boys and one for the girls. Earlier it had been one for herself and one for the supplies. She began to divide the supplies equally between the two tents and put her personal items in the 'girls' tent. She only had two sleeping bags, her fathers and her own. She thought for a moment before she put one in each tent again. She would unzip them so they could be a 'bed' of sorts. She then searched for a couple blankets she put aside and would place one over each. It would be close quarters but it was the best she could do at the moment.... two girls and two boys and then the bird.

She glanced up at the bird, doubting that he would need a bed. She wondered about the cougar... He may or may not. Oh well, everything was set up for now. If anyone objected to the close quarters she could always use her sword to cut the sleeping bags apart then sew the cut ends shut. She nodded, satisfied with her work. It was getting close to dark.. She frowned at the thought but turned towards the group, dismissing it before she spoke to them about the living arrangements.

"I figure we can have girls one tent and boys in the other... Anybody object?"

Avi walked a few feet behind the rest of the group as Bella led the way into the forest where she had set up her camp. As they left the crumbling town behind, Avi couldn't resist turning his head every which way, not having ventured into the forest much before, he wasn't quite used to seeing so much vegetation around. Once at the campsite, everybody seemed to go off to do their own thing so Avi wandered a couple feet away to sit among the roots of a rather large tree.

He settled his supply bag among the roots next to him and pulled his jacket closer around him, his eyes darting around to make sure he was alone, before he pulled his hood down and brushed his hair back. He leaned his head against the trunk of the tree and sighed, finally relaxing. He closed his eyes as he pulled the handcuffs from his side, twirling them unconsciously as he mulled over what he was going to do now.

Bella frowned slightly as the boy walked off without answering, uncertain. He had seemed to want to not be alone so much but now it seemed he wanted just to be alone. She still needed his answer since he was the one who would be with a cougar... She trusted the cougar, kinda, but she could see why others might not. She raised her hands in a helpless shrug towards the others before turning and following Avi. She hadn't expected to see him without his hood...

For a moment she blinked, he really was rather good looking. Why hide it? Sure the tattoos over the entire left side of his body were rather unexpected but they seemed small on the side on his face. Nothing worth hiding so zealously. She realized she was staring and she shook her head as if to clear it. Finally she just crossed her arms and tried to erase all signs of such girly signs of admiration from her face, instead going back to trying to look her usual tough self.

"You will be with the guy staying with someone who was formally a cougar, so your opinion is kinda important here. Do you object or not?" She asked with a little more insistence. She felt kinda awkward looking at him now... her mind couldn't help thinking about how he had hid and why. Generally people didn't hide their face because they were good looking... maybe he was someone famous? But why would anyone care now?