Weighing Responsibility and Fairness
Who: Rook and Helena Where: At the camp tree What: First encounters When: Around noon Rating: G
Helena had her meager belongings gathered around herself where she sat amidst the roots of the great climber they used as their base camp. She was taking a moment to just close her eyes and breathe, thinking about her next move. She had a spade shovel that she often used to dig her latrines every day. She had her pillowcase, still unwashed from Cross's exploits in the east. She had her sharp little chip of shale that worked well for cutting climber vines. It wasn't much of a weapon but it was something. She had her blue bic lighter which still worked and had lots of fuel. There was her little coil of fieldgrass cord and the rubber soles that Cross had found her. A couple of needles that she had fashioned out of some of the eleboar quills and the leafpocket of yarnball fibers, yet to be actively spun into yarn.
Heaving a sigh her dark brows drew closer together. What to do first? Build a secure platform for Rowan to sleep on here at the tree? Or go and assess the situation at the grazer's island? Who should she take with her? Arlo had gone that very morning, and taking a group with her now would only leave them even more short handed here at the home tree. She opened her eyes and looked down at her meager belongings. Maybe she should just go by herself? She thought that maybe, if she worded it right, Kenneth might lend her his sidearm. She was fairly certain that Angelica wouldn't. Helena had never fired a gun but she knew that knife or a club in the hands of someone so small and underweight wouldn't do any good. Not against laughers, eleboars or even stampeding grazers.
She knew that she wasn't alone in the camp just then but she was tucked so deeply into the cleft between two bulging roots that she was easy to overlook. For the better part of an hour she had been able to sit and watch people come and go, debate about the merits of their company on this trip. She was still unsure she could ask anyone to come with her. Arlo hadn't.
Rook was carrying the pillows and blanket back to camp, still in a very quiet, contemplative sort of mood. His jaw was tense as he strode straight into camp, looking for Helena. Whether it be due to his years of training or just being hyper-sensitive from no sleep and adrenalin, he caught sight of her fairly quickly, and strode over. She seemed to be deep in thought, and Rook was slightly worried. She was their leader, but there were small signs of stress in her posture, in her expression... A worried, stressed out leader never led to anything good.
He didn't want to die like the people out in the field, and he would entrust his life to this woman if she was able. If she was trustworthy.
Softly, so he wouldn't scare her, Rook cleared his throat. "Hey."
Helena's chin jerked up in surprise at the unfamiliar voice but the face wasn't strange. She knew it was Rook Hendrie, new arrival. She just hadn't had the chance to speak to him yet. Her thoughtful expression rearranged into a sheepish and amused one. "You caught me wool gathering. Sorry about that. What can I do for you?" Her eyes dropped to the unfamiliar bedding and she realized he'd probably gone out into the field to locate those items this morning. Her expression became much more solumn. "Hmm," she nodded. "Did you arrive with any bedding, Rook?" Canting her head slightly, she shaded her eyes from the dazzling white sunlight in order to look up at him. His blonde hair threw a nimbus of light around his head that was sort of startling.
"Don't worry about it. Wool gathering would be mighty useful right about now." Rook indicated to his lack of proper clothing with a small smile. It wasn't a great joke, but it was the most he could come up with given the circumstances. He watched the short play of emotions on her face, and suspected that she had been thinking about the camp, their survival... the deaths in the field just a few hours prior. She cared, and Rook respected her more for it. He shook his head, "Just my boxers." Seeing her squint a little from the bright sunlight, he shifted a little, blocking the sun from shining directly into her eyes. "There were out in the field this morning... Thought I should give them to you."
She shook her head, dropping her hand as he moved to shade her. "I have more than enough bedding. You haven't even got a shirt," she pointed out. "You keep them. You can find a nearby climber tree to tie that blanket up like a hammock, use the smaller one I gave you as a blanket. Or you can use it to pad one of the wicker hammocks already up in this tree." She gestured over their heads. The hard dried forms of the climber vine beds were easy enough to spot despite the dullness of their colour. "That's up to you." She offered him another smile and gave him a shrug. "I helped Sophie get hers up last night. I think she's set." Frowning, she thought on it. "Carlita had a blanket, Arlo didn't but he's gone now. Angelica didn't. Um...Cross didn't but I've given him mine. I share a hammock with Rowan. I don't think Kenneth had one or Thorne. Payne has a sheet but Clay didn't. She might have had a sleeping bag though. I know Ryan had a sleeping bag." Chewing her lip, she sighed. "Why don't you just hold on to that bedding until we find someone who needs it more. Does that work?" The nights could be chilly, especially when sleeping alone. The poor guy could probably use it. "I have an orange fleece hoodie with a zipper, but I think you're too big in the shoulders for it." Annie had left that behind. Helena had used it for a pillow last night.
Rook glanced up at the wicker hammocks in the tree. He had lived in uncomfortable situations before - backpacking in China, being robbed in Europe and accidentally stumbling across a mafia war in Russia were all experiences that he had faced and survived. Sleeping in a prickly, wooden hammock didn't seem half as bad. "Perhaps I should just leave it with you? It might be more comfortable for you to have your own hammock?" If he had been paying enough attention, Rowan was the pregnant woman, and she was getting undoubtedly large around the waist. It couldn't be very comfortable for Helena. "I'm sure there are others who need it more than me, and it'd be easier for them to collect the extra bedding from you, if necessary? I might move to this tree tonight though, if its okay with you." Rook had simply climbed a tree and sat on the branch all night. Having something that looked and felt vaguely like a flat, stable surface would be a good idea. Helena wasn't exactly well-clothed either, most of them weren't. It was sweet of her to offer. "Keep the jacket, you might need it."
She chuckled. "Chivalrous. We have a bunch of your type around." She smiled, her expression slightly teasing but she was thinking of the stubborn arguement between herself and Cross the night before. "If no one picks these up by nightfall, you should use them. As for me sleeping alone?" She shook her head. "Rowan's probably my best friend here and I can't see myself leaving her alone. Her back is killing her, her feet are starting to ache. Being pregnant isn't easy, especially in these circumstances." She worried her lower lip between her teeth for a moment. "I think I convinced her that it's time to leave though." Rowan had finally agreed that the food situation was too dire for them to stay at the climber tree. No more mirkweed tubers to be found, stripped roseberry bushes and scraggly, crushed patched of citrus cress meant slim pickings for munching and nothing was regenerating quickly.
He couldn't help but laugh a little, "You must be mistaken, I'm as selfish as they come." Rook didn't think of himself as noble or considerate as he ought to be, and then there was his streaks of violence which had ended him in trouble several times... No, he didn't think of himself as a good person at all. There was a flash of worry across his face at the mention of Rowan. He didn't know her, but he had seen enough botched pregnancies due to insufficient medical care to know that the situation wasn't exactly peachy. "Is she all right? If you need any assistance..." Truth be told, Rook thought that she would need all the extra bedding and care that she could get, and would definitely keep an eye on her, just in case. "Leaving? Is there a more secure location?" It couldn't be safe to move her too far at her stage, although he could probably build a makeshift stretcher out of one of those blankets if necessary.
Helena waves a hand. "She's fine. She's doing well, she's just a little bit nervy because our situation is so, um, perilous, I guess." She dropped her chin to poke around at her tools. "As for the more secure location..." She shrugged her thin shoulders. "The eastern scouting party brought back some news of a place only a day's walk away." She trailed off for a moment before continuing. "I'm trying to decide if I should go and check it out first, or just load everyone up and head out there. It'll take a lot of work to get the place set up for our needs but I'm not sure what the best course will be. All of us pitching it to get it done fast, or only risking the health and safety of one or two?"
Anyone would be, considering the severity of the situation and how far developed she was into her pregnancy. Rook nodded, understanding her troubles. It was tough to decide when people's lives were at stake. He thought to himself for a moment, "If you'd like my opinion... I think checking it out first would be the safer alternative. And if a small group got started on building... at least you could choose those who are able to escape if anything happens? That's just what I think, though." No point pushing people to do physical labor if they weren't able to. Rowan definitely couldn't, Sophie would be having difficulties... and well... it just didn't seem right to rush every one into a new, unfamiliar and potentially dangerous place without a few days of scouting and preparing.
Helena nodded. "You're right. But our more capable people, most of them, just returned from a trip east. It wouldn't be fair to ask them to go again right away." She tuilted her head as she looked up at him. "What about you, Rook? Can you swim? Would you be up for a long walk on bare feet?" She asked the last as her eyes fixed on his shoeless feet. That was a big problem indeed. "You might be eager to help out but you aren't in the best shape to." No shoes, no personal tools yet, nothing to keep the sun off of himself. He'd never make the walk in time, she thought.
Rook blinked. He hadn't exactly been eager to volunteer himself, but... he wanted something to do. Rook hated feeling useless or powerless and it had been grating on his nerves all morning. Self-preservation was one thing, becoming a pathetic wimp was something else. He wasn't exactly weak and defenseless... not yet at least, and he didn't intend to be for a long time yet. He was about to say so to Helena, to protect his pride, to tell her that he wasn't some kind of skill-less eager beaver ready to rush off and save the camp and be a knight and all that crap. He didn't want or need the pedestal. But he stopped himself. There was no need to let anyone know of his past. Managing to offer a twitchy, forced smile, Rook spoke quietly "I am able to." He was, and had always been a stubborn kid. This was nothing, it would be nothing. What had all the rest of his life been for then, if it was to be a complete waste now?
Helena leaned forward. "Rook, you need to be really sure. You need to think about it, or ask around if you can borrow someone's shoes. The grass out there ranges from being knee to chest height. You won't always be able to see what you are putting your foot down on." She set her tools aside and stood up. She was considerably shorter than Rook but she still thought it helped to emphasize her point, to be closer. "And we'd have to make the island by sundown, or else..." Well, he'd heard as well as everyone else what happened if you weren't out of range. She smiled up at him. "You don't have to come though. You could stay here and help protect the ones that are here."
The concern was strangely... reassuring. Rook had faith in his fitness and abilities, but Helena did raise a valid point. If he did happen to step on something dangerous, he'd immediately become a burden. Despite their difference in height, he recognised the act as an attempt to take control of the situation, to dissuade him from doing something potentially dangerous. Rook felt all his welled-up pride disappear, and he looked away. It was a reminder that he was in an unknown land, and that he was pretty much useless here. He was the new kid, fresh meat for the laughers if it weren't for this small community of people. Rook was stubborn, but he knew when he had been overruled. He stood down. "When are you leaving?"
Helena took a deep breath and let it out. "Tomorrow, if I decide to go. First thing, as soon as the laughing stops." She'd have some bedding bundled up and waiting. She'd have figured out a way to fix those rubber soles to her feet tightly, even if she had to sacrifice her pillow case to do it. "You're welcome to come too if you can find shoes." She smiled and touched him lightly on the arm, a small piece of physical contact to bring her concern home. "Nothing wrong with staying back here. There's always work to be done." She wondered if there was any hope in hell of convincing Cross to stay here, if she was going to strike out. She'd make a point to look for Kenneth later and try to get a sense of direction. So far she'd managed not to be lost too badly here.
Her fingers were warm, and it was in that one moment that Rook realised how frightened he had been, buried beneath all the nice words and cool demeanor. He felt like a troubled child again, confused, frustrated and fearful of the world that hadn't accepted him. He nodded, "I will try to find shoes, or a suitable substitute." No matter what, he wouldn't let her go alone. Not when she had proved to be more than what he had expected. Rook was going with her, no matter what. Still, he decided to appease her. "I will think about it." He would not give up an opportunity to see and understand this strange world. He wanted to learn more, and going with her seemed the best way to.
Helena nodded and then bent to gather up her tools and possessions. "Good. Good." She offered him a smile. "Thanks for bringing these in," she said as she rested her hand atop the pile of bedding sitting on the root at her hip. She would make sure that it got brought up into the tree at some point in the afternoon. She wasn't sure if anyone would be too eager to yuse them if they knew where they had come from. Then again, no one liked to sleep cold and uncomfortable either. "Anything else I can do for you, Rook?"
Rook smiled back, as warm as he could muster. "You're welcome." He scratched the back of his head a little sheepishly. Back home, it might have been inappropriate to talk to a woman wearing only a pair of boxers, and he still felt vague embarrassment for doing so. If he was honest with himself, Rook really needed a hug, even if it was from someone he had just met. His physical state aside, Rook felt naked and vulnerable, and some comfort would have been nice. But he couldn't say it, so he just shook his head, "Not really. If you need help with anything, feel free to ask." He was about to turn away and leave, but he paused for a moment, and opened his mouth as if wanting to say something.
Helena was no born politician or great leader. Not at all. She was a New York preschool teacher and she recognized the look on Rook's face as much as he thought she had it under control. She gave him a smile when he paused and looked as though he was going to say something. "It's ok," she said as she stepped in closer to him and gave him a gentle hug. "Everything is going to be ok. We'll find a way home, or we'll find a way to make this place work for us." When she dropped her thin arms from around his body she stepped back and turned to root in her leafpocket and emerged with an intact yarnball bloom. "Here, if you need something to do today and are feeling a bit at a loss, I'm collecting these flowers because I think the colourful fibers can be spun into yarn." She flashed him a grin. "I'm calling them yarnballs. It doesn't matter what colour you find, anything is good. If you find me a bunch, I promise that the first thing I knit will be for you."
The hug felt warm and genuine, and Rook couldn't help but hug back, his large body almost engulfing her tiny frame. It was at that moment that he realised how small she was, how frail they all were. He blushed a little, offering a small squeeze before they parted. "Thanks." When she turned around, Rook took the opportunity to compose himself, rubbing at his nose ruefully. He listened carefully to her instructions, and once again felt a tiny bit of warmth in his chest that she could care that much. He wasn't used to such open concern, and Rook smiled back warmly, putting every ounce of sincerity he had into his words, "I will. Thank you, Helena."
She smiled and shrugged. "It's worse when you don't have a mission. Sitting around and vegging seems to have become unbearable." She chuckled and smiled as she stepped up on to the nearby root and wrapping a vine around her wrist as she shoved the last of her tools and knick knacks into her pillowcase. "And if you really want to be creative, try to think of a way that we can make combs for combing out the yarnball fibers. I'd thought maybe the eleboar quills? But I'm not so sure now. They seem awfully thick and inflexible." Hoisting her weight up into the first foothold, Helena was up the tree without any more hesitation. She didn't even seem hampered by the fact that she climbed one handed, her make-shift sack hanging from her other arm.
Rook watched her collect her stuff, and was mildly impressed at the way she climbed the tree, talking to herself as she did so. He couldn't help but smile to himself. "I'll think about it," he promised, turning to head back to his tree to collect his comforter and move it to this tree. It was somehow more comforting to know that he was closer to Helena and to the others at night, just in case something was to happen. Rook felt a little more hopeful about things to come. Now... what the hell was an eleboar, and could he kill one?