The Field

Who: Helena and Cross
When: Just about sunset
Where: The stand of spindly trees, half a day from the grazer island.
What: Making camp for the night and spotting something incredible.
Rating: PG

Helena sighed with relief when she shrugged her pack off of her shoulders. Sure, it was only bedding and a few bits and bobs but over the day it had grown rather sodden, weighed down by water. She rubbed away the dig lines from the straps, grateful to be free of it for now. Her feet ached, her legs and back. She was not looking forward to a night sitting awake in a tiny tree.

"So there's a creek just over there?" She jacked a thumb around the edge of this little mini-forest. None of the spindle trees were taller than twenty feet. It was dark and shadowy beneath them though because their branches interwove to form a nearly impenetrable roof. She was fairly sure that, despite the on-again-off-again rain they had all day, it would be fairly dry in their perches tonight. She unzipped the orange hoodie and hung it over a low branch in the hope that it would dry out a bit. "I'm just going to go over there and freshen up a bit." She knew she'd be within sight if he wanted to spot her so she wouldn't get too fresh. More than anything she just wanted to gulp down some water.

( incredible things )

Time: Day 14
Place: A bit away from Camp
Cast: Payne, with a cameo by Clay
Warnings for beetle-eating, incoherence, surreality and run-on sentences.

( Now cast your eyes to a part of the sky where nothing but darkness unfolds, and watch as all around you she reveals the brilliance of secrets untold )

Thorne had been unable to sleep, his thoughts kept turning to his twin over and over again. Not having Rowan here was like a permenant ache or the constant feeling he'd misplaced something. The thought that Rowan was going through the same thing only made it harder for Thorne to endure. Goddess, what must Rowan be thinking? That Thorne had just disappeared? He had to be thinking the worst.

As soon as the laughers melted away, Thorne climbed down and walked away from the camp. He wasn't going in any particular direction, just moving. Yes, he had friends here and people he cared about, but he missed his home dammit and more than that, he missed his brother. He kicked a small rock and swore softly. It simply wouldn't do for the others to see him getting melancholy. Not when he was supposed to be the optomistic one. He headed to the West, not sure why other than he hadn't really been in that direction.

About an hour's walk out, he decided to climb a tree and see if he could find any pesk nests. Might as well forage while he was out moping.

As he climbed from branch to branch, he looked and finally found a nest with a few eggs. He put them in his pouch and was getting ready to climb down when he noticed a bit of white paper stuck futher into the hollow of the tree. Intrigued, he fished it out and found it was a bunch of notebook paper tied together with ribbon.

Seating himself on a branch, he started flipping through it, eyes going wide. There were descriptions of plants and animals and little faded sketches and all the information a botonist or herbalist like himself could possibly want. But...what planet was it for? Then he saw the picture of a pesk and knew. Someone had been here before..and they'd left the beginnings of a field guide.

"RO!" Laughing, he skinned down out of the tree and went in search of Rowan, she was going to be so happy!

Who: Quinn and Kenneth and Thorne
When: Late Afternoon
What: Quinn's not doing so well, Kenneth reacts strongly and Thorne finds his booklet isn't so helpful.
Where: Near the stream at the camp tree
Rating: PG-13-mention of dead girls.

( That's a hell of a long term hallucination )

Who: Baz and Quinn
What: Finding something
When: Morning
Where: North woods
Rating: PG (dead bodies and drugs?)

( Being Eaten Fast And Messy Or Being Eaten Slow While Dreaming? )

Who: Rook & Payne
What: Cleaning. Kind of.
When: Early, early morning on Day 14
Where: One of the bathing pools.

Warnings: R - Nakedness, kissing, touching and general implied-goodness.


( I could get used to this. )

Who: Ryan and Clay
What: Yet again, the throwing of stones.
When: Eh, whenever. Day 14.
Where: In the field.
Warning(s): Just cursing at the moment, but you never know.
Rating: PG-13

( Li'l David was small but oh my; Li'l David was small but oh my; He fought big Goliath, who lay down and dieth; Li'l David was small but oh my )

Who: Cross and Helena
What: Walking east toward the lake in the grasslands
When: Beginning at first light on Day 14.
Where: The camp tree and then the path east.
Rating: PG

Helena sighed, feeling bad as she crouched to slip the braided straps of her makeshift bedroll pack on to her thin shoulders. Rook had appeared as she'd climbed down the tree. He'd strapped some bark to his feet and was attempting to lash it on with strips of material. It had been a bit of an argument but she had insisted that he stay behind with Kenneth to help with the projects. To help gather or hunt with the rest of the people staying put. He hadn't liked it, revealing another long stubborn streak amidst the men of this group. In the end she'd just had to be firm about it. She wasn't risking his life on this trip. No way. No how. As Cross had emerged from the bushes with his own bedroll assembled, she had called up a farewell to Kenneth who'd waved from the stream, giving her nod to say that he knew what had to be done. She knew he'd take care of things and it was a relief.

( a quick and violent storm )

Another night of laughers and comfortable temperatures. For those who feel they need the sleep, sleep comes easy. For those with a lot of things on their mind, maybe not. The night and dawn are not treated to a repeat of the previous days wake up call. This morning it's easier to let go of the thoughts about the two people who might have become tribe members but didn't survive.

Today seems to be a day of journies and discoveries. Some portions of the group split off, heading off on missions of investigation. Searching for a new home, or a new food source or maybe just a sturdy pair of shoes. Whatever they leave to look for...everyone will find something.

The morning is gray and the wind is down. It doesn't feel heavy but there is a slight whiff of rain in the air. A quick storm will blow in from the west, a good drenching across the forest and grasslands. No fish or high winds, no flooding. By sunset the sky will be clear again and dazzlingly red. This will be a sunset that even those in the trees will take notice of, everything edged in fiery light.

( Mods Notes - Please Read )