Florida gave a weak smile then backed up. "When should I try to find the flowers? Now or when you're making the holes?" She pushed back against the wall then pulled the sweatpants legs up her calves. "You're right. It is hot" she let out a breath "How long will this take?" She asked

Sage glanced over at her and backed away from the fire, the heat causing sweat to form on his skin already. "you can do that while I creamate them," he suggested. "it won't take long. Half an hour maybe," he added with a shrug. "just be careful," he added, moving out to start grabbing bodies.

She followed him out then continued to walk to the door when he tured into a room. Florida opened the doors to the outside and she was slapped in the face with the smell of fire and ashes. She held her breath and pushed through, finding a patch or pink flowers tha had somehow survived. She looked around and started walking, picking some here and there. She ended up with about thirty flowers when she turned around and couldn't see the hospital anymore. Florida glanced around, her eyes searching for a path back.

Then the world shook.

The now familiar sound echoed through the woods, her hands flying to her ears as she crouched down, the flower petals in her hair. She jumped up and tried to find a place to run, making her way down what she hoped was the path she had come from

Sage had slipped into a room soon enough, working to gather the bodies and burn them one by one. They each deserved their own graves, at least. He made sure to mark the ashes, keeping them in bottles he'd found from the storage room. He wished he could do better, but this was all he could do. By the time he'd gotten the last body in the incarcerator, his shoulder was bleeding again and he slumped against the wall, hot and exhausted by the time he'd turned the machine off.

When the bombs fell though, his heart climbed it his throat. What was he thinking, letting her go out there? It wasn't sage, he knew that. And she hadn't yet come back. He sprinted from the hospital in a panic, running outside and spinning in circles as he tried to figure out which way she'd gone. He caught a wife if her scent after a few terrifying moments, when he followed, running as fast as his body would allow.

Florida ran, her hands around the flowers to rotect them from the wind and new ashes that were circling through the air. "Sage!" she called out in a desperate attempt to be found. "Sage where are you?!" She cried, her voice breakig as she tried to escape. She could see planes here and there and she knew there were troops because some of the planes were colliding or being shot down further away

Sage followed the girls scent blindly, occasionally sucking behind trees or bushes or piles of rubble, in old habits from his own military days. They certainly weren't anything he wanted to remember, but now it was happening all over again, blood and sweat and all. He heard Floridas yell after a moment and he took food from where he was standing, getting knocked to the side as a bomb hit near him. He staggered to his feet and took off again though, sliding over and down towards the girl, who's by now he'd found. He scrambled up to her, hair loose and having come out from where he normally kept it in a messy bun. He'd reached out to grab her face in his hands, frantically checking her over for injuries. "my God are you alright? You're not hurt," he asked, breathing heavily as he looked her over.

She trembled when he finally found her, her fists white where she was holding the flowers for dear life. "I found them" she said in a raspy voice, her eyes glued to his. "I- Im fine." she said. Florida swallowed, her gaze shooting over to where another bomb fell. She instinctively ducked her head into Sage's chest, her arms pulled in and huddling against him for protection

Sage sort of just shook his head when all she mentioned was the flowers. She could have left them, but she's kept a hold of them despite all the bombs. He relaxed slightly when she said she was alright, letting out a heavy sigh of relief. When the next bomb hit, he instinctively dragged them to their knees, shielding her with his body as the rocks flew at them, staying there until the planes had flown past and he dared move. They watched them fly away, the earth stilling, before he looked at the girl, trying to catch his breath. She was alive. And alright. Thank God. She was still pressed against his chest, and he impulsively grabbed her face, pulling her into a kiss, just incredibly relieved she was alright. Of course then he realized what he was doing and yanked himself back, blush forming on his face as he stammered out some form of apology to the girl.

Flo tried not to scream when the rocks started flying and Sage pulled her down to the ground. She waited for him to move, her ears ringing a little from the impact. "Oh my-" before she knew it his lips were pressed against hers. She froze, her eyes wide for a moment before she relaxed. Her cheeks reddened when he pulled away. "We need to go" she mumbled, collecting a flower that had fallen from her grasp

Sage sort of just nodded when she said they should go, staggering to his feet and moving to hold a hand out to help her up. His cheeks were still burning, and he did feel sort of bad about kissing her like that. Just because she was friendly to him doesn't mean she'd want....that. Hell, a week or so ago she's been bullying him. Shit. He needed to get a hold of himself. "The hospitals this way," he murmured after a moment, turning to walk towards it, mins whirling and body aching. He wasn't even sure if he was hurt or not, though his shoulder had been bleeding even before this, so that was probably still happening.