The Field

Who: Adnan and Coop
Where: The beach near camp
What: Soothing sore feet
When: After dark
Rating: G

Coop had settled herself in the wet sand down by the water, hiked the skirt of her long dress up to her thighs where it frothed around her in hills of crimson cotton. She sighed with pleasure as her travel-weary and scuffed up feet sunk into the cool lake water. She felt reasonably sure nothing would lunge out of the water and bite her feet off, despite the strange gargling laugher that range over the rippling surface from the other side. She believed the others when they said those monsters couldn't swim. She'd been fortunate to never have seen one thus far. If she had, she might be more willing to share Tripper's mindset on the matter. The dog hung back, watching her from the circle of light cast by the fire pit. Every now and then he'd take a couple of steps toward her, remember his fear and circle back to where he started. For her part, Coop was reveling in the alone time. Near camp there just always seemed to be so much action. After such a long day she was glad for a little bit of peace.

Adnan had been rather grateful when the sun went down. He'd stripped his shirt at some point after talking to the council, while helping to secure a couple more lean-tos for people, then had gone to wash off as best he could in the lake a ways away from camp. The soap pods were ... curious. Odd that the land would have conveniences like that. It was the first real bath he'd had since arriving, and he felt ten times better afterward. He'd eaten dinner and found himself with the bizarre feeling of free time. He wasn't tired enough to sleep, it was dark, and there wasn't really any work to do. He'd checked his guitar after the storm to make sure it wasn't damaged, but he hadn't really played the thing since he'd gotten to this strange world. Picking up the case, he started to wander off somewhere a bit more private. He spotted Tripper, standing by the fire, his attention fully focused elsewhere. Following the dog's gaze, Adnan started to walk in that direction, able to make out the shape of ghostly shoulders down near the water.

The squelch of boots on damp sand was a rare enough sound around this place that Coop peered over her shoulder when the footsteps got close. Shadowy as he was, she could still make out the shape of her fellow cart-sleeper back lit by the fire. "Evening Adnan," she said, hoping he wouldn't ask her to get up just yet. Her blisters had blisters and what wasn't bubbled or burst was scratched and splintered. Basically, he feet were an ugly mess this evening. She never wanted to pull them back out of the cool surf for the rest of her life. "Is my cowardly dog still up there?" She hoped he wasn't bothering anyone. He was so spooked it was countering his natural curiosity and friendliness. Hopefully it was temporary. Hopefully he'd realize that the monsters on the prairie would never come across to get them.

( Play Me Something I Can Sing To )

Who: Cross and Helena
When: evening
Where: at the edge of the stream near camp, then their lean-to

The weather had been incredible today, breezy and warm, and Cross had taken full advantage of it. He'd spent the majority of his day repairing their lean-to, mudding the second wall and then moving on to work on the others. He'd started a frame for another of the small structures in the late afternoon, getting as much accomplished as he could before it was time to go and wash up before dinner. He'd made quick work of it despite how nice the cool water had felt on his sunburned neck and shoulders and then made his way back to camp to partake in the seafood stew and grazer jerky that someone-- possibly Sophie-- had prepared.

Now he was washing the plate he'd used; it was one of a set that Ryan had made, and it was actually a cross between a plate and a bowl, with the edges curved up so liquids would not readily pour off of it. He was using sand to clean its surface, only halfway listening to the faint sounds from camp behind him. Once he'd finished with the sand, he'd rinse it in the lake. His close-cropped head was bent as he concentrated on his task; Helena had made good on her promise to trim his hair with the sharply-honed blade of his knife, and he was pleased with the job she'd done.

Helena came down to the water with her own plate. So far everyone had been really good about cleaning what they used and returning the clean dishes to the communal stack next to the fire. She had a lot of things to be grateful for and the small price of still having to do with dishes, well, it was a small thing to accept, given how far pottery had advanced their little tribe. Having a plate to eat off of was like a little slice of home, even if the food didn't quite resemble a hamburger. Dinner had been incredibly satisfying after the day she'd had and she was looking forward to moving their now-dry belongings back into the lean-to and settling down to do a bit of knitting before bed.

( Routine Even In The Unroutine )

Who: Ryan and Thorne
When: mid-afternoon
Where: headed toward the northwest shore
Rating: PG

After lunch, Ryan and Thorne had walked to the spring to drink some of the cool, fresh water there and then they'd headed off to gather more plants and roots of various kinds that Thorne could use in making medicines. Ryan had finished several airtight medicine vials, so they could collect enough to hopefully make some larger batches than before, since they'd have a way to store it. Ryan had his pillowcase, and he was mostly carrying the things they found, since obviously Thorne's vision was a lot better than his. "Man, it's hot today," he said; he was already sweating in his tank top from the sun beaming down on them with its white-hot light.

( do we really want monkey pets? )

Who: Nefertiti and Coop ( plus Tripper )
When: Afternoon
Where: The camp, then the rocks in the center of the island
What: Tripper makes a discovery!

( Maybe we should call it a fostrich? )

Who: Adnan and open to Alex, Kenneth, and Helena
When: midday
Where: near camp, by the water
Rating: tbd, likely G

Adnan had gathered the council together. It was a little nerve-wracking, being in front of all three of them at once. He'd never really done public speaking or presentations or anything, living the life he had, so it had taken a moment for him to gather his wits when it was time. But once he'd gotten started, it had gotten far easier. He felt like he knew what he was talking about, after all. Mostly, anyway.

( Okay, so ... )

Who: Delilah and Cross
When: late morning
Where: between camp and the spring
Rating: tbd

Delilah was in the mood to walk, and at least the weather was cooperating. By the time she'd gotten up and eaten something, it was almost hot out, and shiny like a new penny. She wanted some time away, some time to ... bathe and think, probably. Quinn was dead, and Rook seemed to be gone. Taken off with that Russian girl and a couple of others. Which was disappointing and a little chest-achey. This place was difficult enough without people being temporary in it. Which was a preference that she knew was unrealistic, but ... there it was anyway.

She'd taken her pillow out of the case and tucked it somewhere that seemed dry enough, then put the collection of sticks and stones she'd collected into the cloth sack. She was slowly building a collection of runes, though none of them had anything written on them yet. She was attempting to memorize them from shape and coloring. Perhaps she'd find more at the spring ...

Delilah walked with her head down, watching the ground pass under her sunburned bare legs and red sneakers she'd been lucky enough to find, humming softly to herself, head very far away.

Who: Analiese and Coop
When: Early in the morning
Where: In the camp
What: Discussing all of the fascinating things about pesks.
Rating: G, I expect.

Mornings were never Coop's favourite thing. Not by a long shot. She was slow to wake and it usually took a healthy quantity of coffee to get her feeling anything like human. Being cold and sleeping on the wet ground hadn't improved matters and when Tripper had finally forced her out from underneath the cart that they had shared with Adnan, she'd blearily stumbled after him into the nearby bushes. He was so used to being on a leash in public, the poor guy hadn't been able to sneak away to tend his own business without his usual look out.

Somehow, Coop had managed to not get them lost and had returned to the center of the camp where she procured a big handful of dried grazer strips. They were salty but savory and tasted heavily of smoke. It took some coaxing but she managed to get the finicky dog to eat the jerky, all the while Tripper looked at her with one guilty eye. He knew darn well he wasn't supposed to eat people food but sadly his hunter instincts were atrophied by a lifetime of domestication.

( getting acquainted )

In an extreme but welcome contrast to the previous morning, the day dawns bright and breezy with low humidity. By mid-morning, the temperature has climbed to 27C (80F), and there's not a cloud to be seen in the sky. It's an easy matter to relight the fire with the strategic use of a pair of glasses, and it's a perfect day to completely dry out any still-damp items, work on building (or rebuilding) lean-tos and assess what else needs to be done to make the campsite more secure and more functional. It's also a prime time for the council to discuss not only what's next for the group but also the departure of four people during the storm the previous morning.

Sunburn is a strong possibility today for anyone who works out in the open and does not cover up; time to lay in a supply of burnbutter.

There are two discoveries that could be made today if anyone wanders from the campsite: fostriches, whose eggs would be a good source of additional protein, and what appears to be a stone altar on the northwest shore of the camp.

( Mod Notes - Please Read )