Devil's Tower

Who: Honey and Allen, later Ruby
What: She's worried about him
Where: Honey's house
When: Early Sunday Morning Week 22
Rating: TBD

Honey woke slowly, barely able to move from the angle she'd fallen asleep at. She wasn't even sure when she had fallen asleep. She'd been trying to keep Allen comfortable, worrying that if she left him alone he'd fall out of bed or stop breathing, or something. All she knew was that she hadn't let go of his hand, and now her arm had gone numb from where she'd laid on it

Eyelids flickering open let her know how uncomfortable she was, even the faint light burned her eyes and sitting upright made pains shoot down her arm and pins and needles radiating through the hand that still loosely held Allen's. She looked at him as she shifted, breathing out a sigh of relief as she watched his chest rise and fall.

WHO: Bear, Ruby and Tink
WHAT: Some news and then possibly some wedding invitation delivery
WHERE: Starting in their treehouse
WHEN: Morning
RATING: G-PG (?)
STATUS: Incomplete // Closed (for now, possibly)

Every morning when she woke up, Ruby was sure of a few things. One, that she was extremely lucky. Two, that she loved the man lying next to her in bed. And three...that she was more than excited to really be a mother. With every coming of the sun, she couldn't help but reach down and settle her hand on her stomach. It had been about five or six weeks since the day that she and Bear had made love for the first time. Of course, it had happened other times since then as well. Given the symptoms that she had begun to experience since then, she was estimating that she was a good amount into her first trimester...meaning that she was definitely pregnant. Complete with the nausea and slight fatigue. But Ruby could have cared less, because she was pregnant with Bear's child. She was on her way to having a real family of her own. The thought always made her smile in the mornings, when each day she'd be closer to a baby of her own.

This morning was no different. She woke up before Bear, wrapped up in the warmth and the strength of his arms. A soft smile curled her lips as she shifted a little bit in his hold. Then, she placed a soft kiss to his lips. Bear looked so peaceful when he was sleeping. Of course, every warrior had to sleep sometime. Ruby took in the lines of his face as she hoped that her kiss would beckon him from slumber.

She smiled still, letting the fingertips of one hand caress his cheek and trace the line of his jaw softly. When it seemed like he was waking up, she chuckled softly. "Good morning..." she said, voice ever soft and sweet.

Tags: bear, ruby, tink

WHO: Ruby and Bear
WHAT: She's coming to check on the addition to Bear's treehouse!
WHERE: Bear's treehouse
WHEN: Saturday afternoon
RATING: R/NC-17 for Ruby and Bear's "alone time" and G for everything else
STATUS: Incomplete // Closed

( She missed him when she wasn't able to see him )

WHO: Hawk and Ruby
WHAT: They run into each other around the gardens
WHERE: The Gardens
WHEN: Afternoon
RATING: PG for mention of stitches?
STATUS: Incomplete // Closed

( She was up in the clouds )

Who: Bear and Ruby
What: Bear just returned from hunting.
When: Thursday, 8:30 a.m.-ish
Where: the Canopy.
Rating: TBD

Bear huffed as he carried his prize back to the Canopy. The sun was out and the wind had died. Bear's t'shirt actually clung to his skin, damp from the sweat of his exertion of carrying the buck over his shoulder. His long hair flicked from side to side as he walked, for once simply laying down his back, no wind to lift strands about his face. Wishing his hands were free to strum the string of his bow like an instrument, Bear let a low chant, the simple words growling out of his throat and voicing the joy that came with this war being over. Of course, the aftermath would include the Feathers in a way that was more unpleasant than the tree-dwellers would like. They hadn't chosen a side during the battles, hadn't made a move against the Jackals... but they couldn't stay tucked up in the branches forever. Bear knew that his services as a negotiator would be in high demand soon. The leaders would be at each others throats if they did all of the talking directly to each other and Bear did have a tendency to think before he spoke. He wasn't terribly excited about meeting these Jackal people and their Leader, but he supposed someone had to set up contact.

The buck thudded to the ground at the base of Bear's tree, it's rack almost cracking as the full force of its weight hit the earth. It was a beautiful work of nature, something the Great Spirit must have been proud to create. But this morning had been the first time in a week and a half that Bear had found the time to go out and hunt- the Feathers needed the meat and the buck had been a great prize indeed. Pulling the creature behind his tree, where no one would see the blood coming from it, Bear took out his knife and began skinning and gutting the animal, letting the blood wash over his hands as he thanked the Great spirit for his gift. Bear's low, rough voice carried slightly through the light air, the Cheyenne words almost mystical in the golden light of the morning.

Who: Psych, Echo and Open
When: Saturday Afternoon, Week Seven
Where: Twin Feather Territory
What: Julian AKA Psych decides to play in the snow on top of roofs...

( Not the snow ball fight he enjoyed before all this mess.. )

Who: Libby and anybody/everybody!
What: Library Winter Slumber Party
When: Early Tuesday Evening
Where: Sundance Library

The shelves looked nice enough to the untrained eye; everything had been righted and the books put back up somewhat close to where they belonged. with her arrival Saturday, Libby really did not have all that much time to set her beloveds in their proper order, but the fact that they were off the floor gave her some comfort. With that task out of the way, she had spent the day shoving desks and chairs against the walls to make enough room on the upper floor for everyone to congregate, or at least enough room for the attendees to establish little territories to keep some stability. To say Libby felt nervous would have been a great understatement. She was eager to bring all the tribes together, but knew such a thing would not happen easily. Who could guess what would happen that evening, or if anybody besides her own tribe would show up.

Though she had requested that everyone bring their own provisions and sleeping materials, Libby had gathered what extra blankets, pillows, and food she could get. With winter already upon them (and it wasn't looking too bright either), they had to be careful not to be too lenient with their rationing. Then again, how could she expect the other tribes to trust the Wolves if they were stingy with their own supplies? For their little world to remain safe, everyone would need to cooperate. It would only take one weak link to destroy everything they had built.

Rolling up the sleeves of her cream turtleneck sweater, she made a simple sign on a white piece of paper, which read, "All are welcome!" and stuck it to the glass of the front door to the library. Then, with an old shawl wrapped around her shoulders, Libby paced the rows of bookshelves, reorganizing the books into their proper order, and waited for her guests to arrive. "If tempers raged and a fight broke out, at least the activity would keep everybody warm should the heating fail," her queer sense of humor pointed out. That was a main point, after all: work together, keep warm.

Who: Blaze and Ruby
What Blaze gets himself in some trouble and Ruby finds him!
Where: A couple miles from town near the south-western banks of the Belle Fourche
When: Monday early afternoon



Blaze loved days when he was able to sneak out before his brother and the others awoke. Mornings like this he avoided the curious questions from his brother and the untrusting gaze of Sensei. God, it was like every time he went out it was a game of twenty questions. What did they think he was going to do anyway? All he wanted was some of his own time to explore. Most of the people in the Carrion were of a younger persuasion and they had a tendency to get on his last nerve. It wasn't that kids bothered him, he just didn't want to be around them all of the time.

He left the hospital at dawn in the warmest clothes he had: jeans, t-shirt and a black hoody. Needless to say they didn't do much to keep out the biting wind and the threat of an oncoming snow storm but it was more than some people had and he was grateful for that. He often wondered why it was Wyoming they had to be stranded in? Couldn't it have been somewhere nice and warm like Arizona? Of all the places to be at the end of the world Wyoming was perhaps last on his list. He liked snow, hell he even liked cold weather but being stuck inside for days at a time was not his cup of tea.

He ran from the city that morning, trying to get his body heat up. He planned to go quite far today and it wouldn't do to get frozen to the bone within the first five minutes of his journey. The place where he was going he'd only been once before. There was a little shack practically in the middle of nowhere to the southeast of the city. Last time he'd seen it he'd been out scavenging with a group of Carrion. He didn't draw attention to it, having proffered the idea of exploring it on his own. In the backpack he carried there were bits of cloth and water for the adventure he had planned.

The shack was at least two hours away from the main city on foot so his running didn't last long. He followed the river until he saw the two crossed pine trees that he had made a mental note of last time he'd seen the shack. It was about a half miles walk from the river, straight through the pine trees. It was a small thing made from grayed pine boards and looked like it had seen better days. Vegetation grew all over it and the few wooden steps that lead to the door were all but swallowed by vines and brush. Blaze straddled the remaining edges of the steps and brushed off the door with his sleeve. Painted red on the door was a familiar diamond shape, and within that shape were three letters: TNT. Below that was a skull and crossbones.

Blaze was pretty sure that he wasn't going to find what he was looking for. The government normally took care of places like these ages ago. Still, it was possible that one site had been missed. There was a lot of exploratory blasting done in the Sundance area decades before the Vance Copper mine was discovered and various remnants of such days still lingered in the forested plains of the area. This shack was one such remnant.

Blaze dug his fingers into the door jam. The handle that had been on the door had long since broken off but the door was swollen shut from the weather it had endured year after year. After what seemed like ages of prying at the door it finally gave way and sent him tumbling backwards. He sat up rubbing the back of his head and small of his back where he'd landed on the canteen that was in his backpack. "Jesus Christ, the things I go through for this stuff..." He crawled back onto his feet and stepped into the darkened shack.

( A Heart Full of Napalm )

Who: Ruby and Hawk
What: Ruby's starting to head back from the gardens
Where: In between the gardens and the Feathers' main camp
When: Mid-afternoon
Rating: TBD

As the medic for the tribe, Ruby didn't always have a whole host of things to do. Sure, taking care of Tink did keep her busy, almost like a mother was busy taking care of her child. But other than that, she didn't have many other things to fill her day. She tried to help others in the Feathers out when they needed it, like watching the younger ones to helping to patch up old clothes using her mother's old sweing kit. And then there were just those days when she felt like going out to the gardens. If not to work, then just for a change of scenery from the inside of the treehouses. Today, incidentally, seemed to be one of those days. Tink was off with some of the younger members of the Feathers, so a walk to the gardens seemed perfectly in order.

Now, most of her clothes that she still had were clothes from her teen years that by some miracle still fit. Today, since most of the clothes she normally wore had yet to be cleaned, she was wearing a pair of slightly tight low rise jeans that were faded from the sun and a fitted white t-shirt with a red rose printed on the front. Though casual, anyone with a mind could tell the outfit had originally bought to play up her slender figure. That wasn't why she wore them nowadays, but for someone who didn't know her well, they could very well think otherwise.

It never seemed like a long walk to get to the gardens. Once there, though, it seemed that the people already there didn't need her help. Not wanting to be a bother, she just took to wandering around the gardens, giving a polite 'hello' to anyone she happened to pass. It was easy to spend the whole day doing so, but toward the middle of the afternoon it was starting to get warm. She expected that Tink would be back soon, so she started to head back towards the main camp.

Though, in her mind, she thought about how beautiful a day it was and partially wanted an excuse to linger outside before having to go back and deal with an overenergized nine year old.

Who: Psych, Ruby, and Echo
When: Sunday Night
Where: Twin Feather's Camp
Why: Julian is asked to fix a leak, Echo hates the storm, so Ruby is picked to help him out.

There was a leak in one of the roofs and he had been asked to go fix it, just because this leak happened to be dripping right onto his fellow Twin Feather's bed. And he everyone knew he had a hard time saying no. And this rain was getting worse, or it felt like it was getting worse, so the leak would just get worse. Julian just stared at the other for sometime, they were covered in water, looking desperate at him. He licked his lips before nodding his head and told the other to come inside, stay at his place while he went to fix the leak. His tools were grabbed when he suddenly felt a little hand grabbing how own.

Echo looked up at her father with those wide-eyes that always reminded him of Katherine. One hand was on his while the other held Bear. She was dressed in her PJs and he had just sang her to sleep. There was a tremble to her lips that made him think at any moment she would just start crying. Carefully he turned so he was her level and brushed back her tangled hair, smiling for her, even though he was not looking forward to the job before him. "Now, sweet pea, I have to go fix a hole so this nice person here can sleep. You just wait here, with Bear, and I will be right back."

Right back and drenching wet, likely going to catch a cold... These thoughts were running through his mind but he did not voice any of them to Echo. Still, she shook her head back and forth, stubbornly at his words, the tears beginning to form. Oh no, not the tears! His mind screamed mentally and he picked her up, swinging her around as he held her tight in his arms.

"Shh, shh.. Don't cry. I'm not going far. The rain is not going to hurt you while I'm gone." He tried to sooth her with both words and hands. His body moving like all desperate parent's bodies do when they are trying to calm down their child. The next phase in tears is always the trantrum that follows, that tantrum can sometimes consist of the child suddenly losing the ability to move their limbs and they become dead weight. Echo sometimes did this.

"Gone, gone, gone.." Was all she was saying, about to throw her tantrum. Julian quickly moved to grab up her blankets and wrap her in them, snug and tight, then picked her up in his arms. It was hard to balance her, his tools, and keep from falling out of the tree, but like mother cats caring their kittens around in their mouth he managed not to fall.

He did manage to get wet. Echo had stopped crying though, instead she was just clinging to him. He ran, as fast as he could while still be careful, till he came to Ruby's door. She would hear a desperate knock on it and would likely open it up to see him soaked to the bone, looking wide-eyed, with a huge moving bundle because Echo couldn't be seen with all the blanket he threw on her. "Uh, hi.. Can you do me a favour and just watch her? I'm sorry to wake you but.. I don't want her trying to follow me out here in this."

Who: Ruby and OPEN TO ANYONE
Where: The Sundance Library
When: Tuesday afternoon
Why: She's bored and after talking with Tink, she needs to read some Peter Pan

It was a strange thing for her, not having a desire to go to a party. Back home, partying had been like second nature to her. Something that she had to do to function proerly. But now...it just wasn't. Ruby had spent Halloween back at the treehouses that were home to the Twin Feathers. Tink hadn't wanted to go either because her "big sister" didn't have the desire to. So they stayed home together, telling each other scary stories and playing games. Almost like their own little Halloween slumber party. It was late, or rather early, when everyone else from the tribe who'd gone to the party started coming back. By that time, the younger girl was fast asleep in her room while Ruby just sat up and looked at the night sky. Sleep was something that just escaped her every now and again and it seemed her body didn't miss it much. It was nights like that when she decided to sit up and just take in the sensations of the night. The sights, the sounds, the way it felt to just sit there silently and partake of it.

But the magic of nighttime wasn't enough to keep her awake all night long and soon she'd drifted off to sleep beside Tink.

The next morning had her up and awake, but also lacking something to do. Her "sister" was still asleep and others of the tribe were still comfortable with heads on pillows or up working. Not really in the mood for either at that moment, she got up and dressed to go out. Her intended destination? The Sundance Library. Last night, Tink had gotten her talking about Peter Pan again and, for some odd reason, she wanted to read te story she'd long since memorized. In reality, it made her feel like a kid again. A time where anything was possible if you thought it was.

Ruby left the Canopy, starting for the library. It would take her a little while to get there, but it would be worth it in the long run. Once she'd reached the Garden, Ruby broke into a jog, eventually making it to the library by the time early afternoon rolled around. She looked up at the building ith intrigue. It had been awhile since she'd actually been inside a library. Reading her mother and father's medical textbooks in her house so long before just wasn't the same.

Once inside the building, she looked around curiously, seeing the empty circulation desk and the books which could only be childrens' books first. Walking over to them, she looked for the author's name which she knew so well by now. J.M. Barrie. Author of The Adventures of Peter Pan. Her fingers drifted lightly over the spines of the books until she found it and pulled it from the shelf. A small smile lit her features. She'd long since fallen in love with the story and though she knew the plot by heart, there wasn't any harm in reading it again.

Finding a table to sit at, Ruby opened the book to the first page, eyes scanning over that famous first line. All children, except one, grow up. She was anxious to read it. To be pulled in by the tale of faith, trust, and of course, pixie dust.