Women's Lingerie - Aisle 5
Who: Alex & Angelica When: evening of Day 29 What: The lumberjacks have returned, sweaty, tired and singing Where: the campfire
Despite being sweaty, tired and exhausted it was hard not to be pleased with what they had accomplished during the day. They hadn't dragged back dozens of giant oaks to use for Abe Lincoln style log cabins, but they had felled some trees and brought them back on the carts. They were sort of small though, at least in Alex's eyes and he wasn't sure how they would be used, that was more Adnan's expertise. It had taken a lot of work to bring them down anyways, more than he had expected. He knew that he would hurt tomorrow, but so would everyone else. A little muscle soreness wasn't a bad thing though, not at all.
Sitting on the ground near the fire, he enjoyed its warmth, even though he wasn't cold out. It was pleasant. Leaning forward with a groan, he took some of the nights meal with his fingers and dropped it on his leafy plate/bowl then paused to pray and cross himself before eating. They might be on another planet, but he still prayed daily before breakfast and every afternoon or evening as he had opportunity and before each meal. They were little things perhaps, but the little things mattered more now than ever.
Angelica had spent the day perched on top of the spring. It was high and it hadn't bothered her one bit. It had a nice view. The redhead hadn't cared as much for the sun as she had the view, but it had been worth it. She knew that she had been protecting and helping the others in the camp, which is what she'd done back on Earth. She was adjusting better to life here now than she had been. Everything was clearer, it was easier for her not to b as hateful. She'd accepted the cards she'd been dealt for the moment and was just hoping to make the best out of them. That's all that any of them could do. Still, when she'd come down from the spring she was glad for it. She'd not done anything as strenuous as others. She knew she wasn't going to be hurting the next day, but she felt accomplished. Everyone was safe as far as she knew.
Hair falling in her face, Angelica approached the fire. She could see that Alex was sitting there eating. She hadn't spoken with him in some time. Automatically, her legs carried her over to him, not even bothering to ask as she plopped down next to him. She was certain to leave him space, but sat close enough so that they could talk. She didn't know why, but she was in the mood for a conversation. "How'd it go today? Fall into lumberjack duties pretty well?" She grinned, pushing red strands out of her face.
"I'm a lumberjack and I'm okay," he replied through a mouthful of food then blushed and swallowed, "Hi. How're you?" he hadn't meant to neglect chatting with Angelica, but he had been busy over the past few days, getting things settled, seeing to the council stuff, being sick. He was glad that she had approached him. He'd noticed that she seemed to be doing better, getting along with people. That was good.
Angelica was staring at Alex as he replied and it was only a moment before a rather large laugh escaped her mouth. She cut it off after a few moments, but found herself smirking. She saw the blush and chose to say nothing. She figured he had been taught not to talk with his mouth full. Most people had been taught manners, but sometimes they slipped. "I'm good, surprisingly. No new enemies, and I'm not red as a lobster for now." She replied to his question, looking at the fire a moment and then back at him. It was strange how much someone could change. She had thought so much differently about Alex before now. Time had seemed to change everyone, though it hadn't really been all that long.
They had all changed a lot and for the oldest of them it had been what...a month? Maybe a little more? Not the oldest age-wise, but those who had been on Wonderland the longest. There had been a lot of changes in that short amount of time, "Always a plus," his own skin was darkening into a deep tan and the Hispanic part of his heritage was becoming prominent. It was not a concern, though he had very distinct tan lines where his clothes covered him, "I noticed that. And you have a shotgun now," he nodded to it, "so you can continue to serve and protect," he added cheekily.
Angelica felt like it had been a lifetime already that she'd been stuck in this place. It was strange to think that it hadn't been nearly that long at all. They were still getting new arrivals too. It was hard to believe that some people were still popping up. Not a one of them understood why they were here either, but Angelica had given up trying to figure that out a long time ago. "Better than being sunburned all the time. Don't think I've ever had this much sun in my life." Angelica commented. She wasn't near as pale as she had once been, but at one point in time Angelica had been a night owl. She peered over at Alex, grinning at his comment. "That's what I do. It's what I'm good at I guess." She said with a light lift of her shoulders. "Feel better having it anyway." The fire crackled and Angelica spared it a glance before grinning. "You did a hard days work, you feel the burn?" She joked.
The question caused Alex to break out into song, "I cut down trees. I eat my lunch. I go to the lavatory. On Wednesdays I go shoppin' And have buttered scones for tea." He sang, referencing the Monty Python skit, though he was very careful not to sing the bit about wearing women's clothing. This might be Wonderland, but he was not about to risk the rumours. It didn't matter that he had never cross dressed and never would, that was not the point. People talked. "I like it. Adnan's a good teacher and we need the shelter desperately."
Angelica let out another laugh, this one rather bark like because it came out loudly and from her stomach. She definitely needed a good laugh. Her spirits were pretty good right now and she found herself shaking her head lightly. "Yup, I think the sun is finally getting to you." She joked. It felt nice to be able to joke for the moment. It felt nice to be calm. Who knew how long it would last, but hopefully there weren't any more dog attacks or other surprises heading their way. "Guess that means he's good at what he does. And yeah, we really do. Give us something like normalcy here." Angelica agreed.
Normalcy, but also survival. Who knew what the summers or winters were like here? The temperature was fluctuating wildly, at least that was how it seemed. That meant it was either spring or fall...and Alex had heard others think it was fall. Nodding, he agreed, "Nah. Not the sun. Just..." he shrugged, "No one to tell the monsignor if I make a dirty joke. Priest's aren't supposed to acknowledge that they've watched Monty Python. I can see the headline now 'Priest has life before Church!' It'd be a scandal!"
Angelica knew little about the seasons here, other than at home the winters really sucked and sumer could be just as bad. She honestly didn't have much else to add onto it. She knew that they did need to have some sort of shelter here, though. No one knew what time of year it was here or how the weather was going to act. Grinning, the redhead nodded. "That makes sense too, I guess." She commented, giving a small laugh. "Promise, I won't let anyone know you made a dirty joke or that you've seen Monty Python. Secret is safe with me, Father." Angelica stated with a slight nod. "Long as you don't tell people I'm not badass." She joked.
She was so strange sometimes, "I won't," he agreed solemnly, then smirked, "though I don't think anyone would believe me. You can be a badass and have feelings and such, Angelica. And be nice to people too. And that's what you're doing. You're not weak at all," she was much more relaxed over all, he could tell. Much less stressed.
Angelica had always been the kind that didn't show many people how nice she was. Kids and the elderly were generally the ones that got to see the nice side of Angelica. The other times that she was nice it was generally when it was called for. "As long as you keep my secret, we're all good." She grinned and shook her head back and forth a moment. "Generally those that are badass have more feelings than most people, just don't know how to deal with them sometimes." Angelica stated, and it was true, really. She'd seen it in other people, though she probably wouldn't have ever admitted it about herself. "But you're right." She agreed, stretching her legs out slightly.
"That makes sense," he agreed, shoveling another bite of food in his mouth while she spoke, "But yes. I will keep your secret. Do you want me to take it as Confession?" he asked, utterly serious. A secret might be told for various reasons, especially if it needed to be for her own good, but confession would never be told, ever. Not for any reason. That she didn't believe in confession didn't matter, he did and he would be the one to keep it as such.
Angelica wasn't exactly hungry for the moment. She was watching Alex eat ravenously, though. He must have had a big day of work. She imagined that he had done a lot. It wouldn't surprise her if he had thrown himself into it. Alex was the type that would work hard because that's who he was. Angelica tilted her head at his question and thought about it a minute. After thinking for a good moment she shook her head. "No, you don't have to do that. If you ever have a real need to spill my secret you can, but it better be for a good reason." She told him, jokingly. She didn't think he'd ever have a reason to, but the option was there in case she got accused of something horrible in the future or something as stupid.
"Thanks," he said with a smile, glad that she had trusted him. He would have kept the confession if she had asked him to, but he was grateful that she hadn't. "I'm glad you have that," he nodded to the gun, "by the way. You're a good protector. And I've noticed you've been trying archery. How's that going?" he had intended to learn too, but he hadn't had the opportunity yet. He wasn't interested in hunting or fighting...but he knew that being able to defend the camp could be imperative, like when those dogs had come through. He had missed it, but being able to defend themselves was necessarily, even if it wasn't against other people. He did not condone violence amongst people.
"No problem." She offered for him with a light lift of her shoulders. The fact that she wasn't a stone cold bitch wasn't exactly something that people didn't already know. There were a lot of people that realized she wasn't so horrible. That was easy to see with the fact that she didn't have as many enemies as before now. Angelica blinked at his comment about the gun, nodding. "Well, Ken can only use so man himself at one point in time. And I'm a good shot and know how to take care of it. Guess it's good that he trusts me." She offered a small smile tugging at her lips. She felt like she was a good protector most of the time. "Yeah, I've been trying, it's harder than I thought, but I don't think I'm half bad. I agree with Aaron about practice makes perfect, I'm getting it, though." She commented nodding. "Think I'm definitely getting used to the bow, though."
"You've never done anything to make you untrustworthy," he pointed out. Being rude and a bitch did not make someone untrustworthy, merely obnoxious and horrible to be around. She wasn't either of those things anymore. "Well, if I get some time you'll need to teach me. I doubt I'll be a mighty hunter, but you never know. I could have some caveman instincts hidden somewhere," he acknowledged with a wry smile. He sort of doubted it.
Angelica gave a slight nod. "True, haven't done anything to prove that I'm trustworthy either, though." She shrugged, Angelica knew that people trusted her now. Ken giving her one of the guns was enough to attest to that. She liked being trusted. Gave her a place to be in this whole scheme of things. She was easier to be around now, she was pretty sure. "You get the time and find me, I'll show you what I've learned. Don't know how great of a teacher I am, though. I'm not bad." She commented with a shrug and a grin. She wouldn't mind stealing more time with Alex. He was one of the people that she got along with the best here, even if they butted heads.
"It's a date then," he agreed and stuck his tongue out before taking another bite, "It'll have to wait after these trees though. I think we're going back tomorrow and for a while still after that," until they had enough or ran out of trees. Part of Alex was tempted to consider conservation of natural resources and such, but really, this was a mostly uninhabited planet. They could waste a few resources here and there for their own survival.
"Yeah, yeah, a date." Angelica said with a grin, making a face at Alex rather than sticking her tongue back out at him. "Yeah, I think getting the trees down and building shelters is probably more important than you learning to deal with a bow and arrow. Plenty of time, though." She told him with a slight shrug. Angelica didn't think much about the resources. That wasn't her thing either. She figured that this whole world, or whatever it was, it was them there. They had enough to spare and whatnot.