The Field

Who: Coop and Adnan
When: after dark
Where: down by the water
Rating: PG for makeouts and dirty thoughts

As predicted, the day had been hot and still and sticky. Adnan was fairly certain he sweated off about ten pounds as he and the men worked on hauling felled trees back to the island. They'd quit a little earlier than previous days, so as not to completely exhaust themselves, and he'd taken on the task of cleaning himself up. He might not have bothered, but for one thing. He had a date tonight. Which was just strange to think about, but undeniable. After washing thoroughly with the soap pods, and again wishing desperately that he had another pair of jeans, he went about setting up.

Adnan dug a small pit in the sand and built a fire in it -- something he was actually pretty good at -- then went to fetch some food to cook over it, including some of the flat bread the girls had made that morning. What he would've given for his mother's advice. But one worked with what they had. There was no way to avoid being hot, and he considered just going shirtless, but decided against it. He chewed on a couple of the mint-brush pods for his teeth, splashed some more water on his face, and then went in search of Coop.

( Or something like that. )

Who: Alex, Kenneth, Helena, Bazzer, anyone else that would like to jump in with an opinion
When: Day 31, morning
What: Discussing what to do with Bazzer's tanned skins
Where: The center of "town" the campfire!

( Decisions, decisions )

Who: Adnan and Jasper
Where: At the nice rock outside her lean-to
When: Breakfast
Rating: G, prolly

Jasper was munching happily on her flatbread, since it was definitely a treat. You never knew how much you missed something until it was in your hand and you could feel it and taste it. And she was also keeping an eye out for that Adnan guy. The guy who had the map that Jasper wanted to see so badly. The kids, happily, were off harassing Kenneth or Helena or someone.

Of course, the moment she did see him and wanted to get his attention, her mouth was full. Brilliant. She chewed, swallowed, and quickly wiped her mouth so that she didn't look all crumby. "Oi! Ad... Adnan, right! Come 'ere!" And she gestured, hoping that would help.

( Coop: Please don't kill Jasper for that title... )

The night is windy, gusting loose sand under carts and into the openings of lean-tos. It moans across the plains in the eeriest way, only made all the more creepy by the laughers on the far bank. There had been no sign of Olivia by nightfall, those who searched for her were relatively certain that she wasn't on the island. Around the fire in the morning it's widely believed she may have drowned while bathing. Olivia never hid the fact that she was terrified by the water, a very poor swimmer. The council asks that all eyes keep an eye on the water, as grave as that sounds, incase she happens to surface.

The winds die down into absolute stillness by morning. The surface of the lake is as smooth as glass without a single ripple. The day is still and hot. Gauzy clouds cover the sky, filtering the sun and insulating the earth. Over the afternoon the humidity builds to the point where you feel wet in the lungs when you draw a deep breath. Air fit to drown in. Any exertion at all brings sweat out on the skin. No one would believe that winter was around the corner today! The only areas of relief are the spring and the lake.

Two things of note are discussed at breakfast. The first is that Sophie and Rowan hand out small and crispy flatbreads with the usual breakfast of milk melon and grazer jerky. They have perfected the recipe of sweetgrind flour, fostriche egg, a pinch of hummabee salt and a splash of ungoat's milk. Two flatbreads per person and a small stack of them packed up for the lumberjacks to take with them for lunch. The second thing is Bazzer's presentation of two cured laugher hides. He proclaims them to be finished and offers them to the Council to decide where they would best be put to use. The debate begins! Shoes or shelter?

( Mod Notes - Please Read )