Enoch Crosslin (crossedwire) wrote in thefield, @ 2009-06-29 11:27:00 |
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Current mood: | concerned |
Entry tags: | cross, helena, z - 1st tribe - day 26 |
A New Threat
Who: Helena and Cross, plus Olivia and Meredith (NPCs)
When: Just before dawn
Where: Their lean-to
What: Experiencing the storm
Helena was frozen but she tried hard not to let her teeth chatter. The coming storm had caused the temperature to drop dramatically and even though she'd put her clothing back on and wrapped her robe around herself again, she just couldn't get warm enough to more than fitfully doze. Cross must have been well aware of her miserable state because he'd gathered her onto his broad chest and had tucked their blanket tightly around her. His arms and warm breath were likely the only things keeping her from expiring due to exposure. She couldn't even imagine the state everyone else was in. By the time the rain finally started to fall, she was living in guilt over that fact. "M-maybe we should invite a few people in here," she stuttered through her shivers. Their lean-to had mudded walls, and was definitely the driest and warmest of the structures. Most of the other five lean-tos had a roof in place but no walls. Or at least, unmudded walls. There were still plenty of people who were sleeping on the ground with no cover at all.
"How?" Cross wanted to know. There was no sarcasm in his tone; it was a simple question. "Wind's howlin' out there. I dunno how anyone would hear." He had no objections to anyone sheltering in their lean-to, but he didn't feel that they should step outside it themselves. The rain was beginning to sheet down, and lightning illuminated the sky in a strobe effect that was incredibly eerie. "Storm's getting worse," he remarked. It was almost daylight. Whatever daylight they could expect in the face of such an awful storm, that was.
Helena shook her head even as a blast of wind rattled the long wall beside her. Her arms tightened around Cross and her hands were like ice. "I d-don't know," she told him. Water was trickling through the thatching and blowing right through the wall she hadn't had the chance to mud yet. She bent her knees, hoping to conserve a bit more body heat. "C-can you s-see anyone out by the f-fire?" He was at a better angle to see out of the bottom of the lean-to.
Cross squinted out into the blustery early morning even as he pulled the edge of the comforter up higher over his neck. "See somethin'. Not sure what it is." He couldn't tell if it was a blanket-covered person or just some bedding abandoned as the person it belonged to ran for the bushes or a lean-to. As if on cue, the sound of something hard bouncing off the mudded side of the lean-to could be heard. The wind roared around them and nuggets of ice began to litter the ground and fall through the unmudded wall.
Helena's eyes widened as a lump of ice the size of an standard ice cube bounced onto her pillow and followed the indentation to slide wetly down her neck. She squeaked and pulled the blanket up over her head even as someone threw themselves through the door of their lean-to. Gasping, she yanked her legs up to make room for this new arrival. "Who's that?" she asked, grabbing an arm and pulling them deeper into the shelter. The answering voice was Meredith's, followed by Olivia's.
Cross pulled his legs up, as well, making his bulk as small as was possible as the girls crammed themselves beneath the lean-to. Not that they were all that large, but the interior of the lean-to wasn't intended for more than a couple of people. He knew Meredith had a blanket, though he wasn't sure about Olivia. He nodded to himself as the blonde teenager arranged it over their heads like a tent. That would keep the worst of the hail off of them, he thought.
Helena, surprised by the sudden invasion, shifted herself around and marveled that she could see the breath of the two other women as they came in. There were some faint hoots and yelps from the others but none of the sounds they heard were from serious alarm. Her hand found Cross's under the blankets and she leaned against him. "I hope the lean-tos hold up," she fretted. The disc tree wood was very light and the massive trees had practically crumbled into kindling when Cross had applied his will to them. What if they'd made a poor choice of building materials? As the ice pellets rattled around them, so loud that talking was impossible, Helena lamented over the choices she'd made for her people.
In Cross' opinion, they'd had no choice but to work with what they had. The disc trees had been the most plentiful and the most easily conquered without an axe. His free arm circled Helena's body and he tucked his head down, calmly waiting out the hailstorm. As far as he knew, hail did not generally last long, and it was generally an indicator of tornadic activity in the area. Sure enough, within moments the hail had ceased, but the roaring sound that accompanied it continued. Cross lifted his head and squinted out of the lean-to through the slacking downpour, then froze at the sight of a massive tornado in the distance, headed straight for what looked like a herd of stampeding grazers. He could only hope that the gigantic funnel would not turn and head in their direction, because there'd be absolutely nothing any of them could do.
Helena was still shivering violently against his side but it was abating. With another two bodies in the lean-to, and Meredith's added bedding to break up the wind, it was easing a bit of the bitter cold. She felt Cross freeze, however, and pushed some of her long hair out of her eyes in order to crane her neck and look out over the lake. It was impossible to miss the massive twister, a brownish black dancing funnel tearing a wide swath in the sweetgrind. "Oh! Oh my god, oh my - did you see that?!" The other girls crowded closer to their end of the lean-to, gasping in horror as three or four of the fleeing grazers were plucked up and spun into the column of the storm. Her heart beat frantically and she realized none of them would be safe. If that storm turned toward them, they would likely all be killed. Her arm tightened reflexively around Cross as though he was heavy enough to hold her to the earth if she could just anchor herself well enough.
It was a sight almost as awe-inspiring as the tremendous roc bird they'd seen, the one that had carried a grazer off in its talons. This sight, however, was much more dangerous for them. "Sshhh," Cross said to Helena, wrapping her even more tightly in his arms; he'd have to be careful that he didn't hurt her, he realized a few seconds later, easing up on his grip. It was intended to soothe, not as a request that she be quiet. His gaze flickered from her to the girls who were huddled up with them, then outside to see if he could catch sight of anyone else trying to escape the storm.
She felt her ribs creak a little when he pulled her tighter against him, practically hauled up into Cross's lap now. The wind even in their little hut blew her long hair back out of her face as she watched in awe as the twister waltzed with a second funnel across the open landscape. "It doesn't look like it's coming our way. Is it turning south?" She squinted against the blowing wind, her face totally numb from the cold.
"Think so," Cross told her. The more it receded, the happier he'd be. He was already feeling the strong urge to leave the lean-to and see if anyone needed help and to possibly start clean-up, but he felt it would be foolhardy not to wait until he was reasonably sure that the tornadoes weren't going to turn and head back toward them. They had to get more shelters up, and as soon as humanly possible, he thought. That was completely non-negotiable.
Feeling his grip on her slack a little, she turned to look at his face. He had that determined look pulling his brow down. She caught her lower lip between her teeth for a moment and then turned to peer out through the gaps in the wall. The funnels were dissolving or pulling back up. "They're going..." she said. "Does that mean the danger is over? I've never been anywhere near Tornado Alley. I'm not really sure how it works."
"Hail's stopped," Cross told her. "Most of the time, that means it's passed." He could feel some of the tension ebb out of his shoulders. "Rain's slowed down a lot, too." He turned his attention to Olivia and Meredith, asking, "Alright?" Olivia stared at him with wide eyes, not saying a word, and Meredith nodded. Content with that, Cross unwrapped the blanket slightly and reached for his sodden shoes, determined to leave the lean-to as soon as he felt it was safe.
Helena moved off of his lap as he shifted to find his boots. When the hail abated, she too sighed with relief. There was going to be damage from a storm like that. She had no doubt that cleanup would keep them busy for most of the day. The other girls rushed to fill the space he vacated, huddling together to gather up what warmth they could. "I have some grazer jerky if you're hungry," she murmured to them and unearthed the pouch with the food in it. Over Meredith's head, Helena gave Cross an understanding smile. He knew he needed to go and help, whereas she knew she needed to try to keep warm for the time being.
Cross got his shoes on and then pushed his way out of the lean-to, looking around at the soggy firepit and the debris everywhere, shaking his head a little. Two steps forward, three steps back, but there was no help for it, no point in complaining about it. They were alive, and that was enough to be thankful for today. He cast one last look at Helena and the two younger girls all huddled together and nodded. That was exactly where they needed to be. "If you come out later, watch your step," he told them. He couldn't not advise caution; that was just him. That being said, he made his way out into the light rain to begin cleanup efforts.
Helena heaved a sigh that was laced with frustration and she gave the girls a shrug. Let them eat jerky for now, she decided. They'd all be working hard come mid-morning. Something about this storm just seemed so disheartening. They thought they'd made the right choice by coming here and food was certainly plentiful. But would the weather make living here with so few amenities possible? Tornadoes were a terrifying new threat. One that she wasn't sure she could outrun. Sure they could move north into the blue mountains and there would likely be no twisters. There just might be mud and rock slides, avalanches. Food was uncertain, and water. Not to mention the cold. South? Well only Jasper knew what lay there. As she nibbled on her own hunk of meat, Helena wondered if Jasper would be up to talking. She thought maybe it was time to have a closer look at their options once again.