The Field

Who: Cross and Helena
When: evening, day 16, after the rain begins
Where: the rock ledge
What: an end to anger
Rating: PG

( she knew that he had her well-being at heart )

Who: Cross and Helena
When: morning
Where: Grazer Island
What: into every life some hot and potentially radioactive space rocks must fall
Rating: G

( No Way We're Huggin' It Out )

Who: Cross and Helena
When: noonish, Day 15
Where: the stream, then Grazer Island
What: arriving
Rating: PG

( adventures in tree climbing and swimming )

Who: Helena and Cross
When: Just about sunset
Where: The stand of spindly trees, half a day from the grazer island.
What: Making camp for the night and spotting something incredible.
Rating: PG

Helena sighed with relief when she shrugged her pack off of her shoulders. Sure, it was only bedding and a few bits and bobs but over the day it had grown rather sodden, weighed down by water. She rubbed away the dig lines from the straps, grateful to be free of it for now. Her feet ached, her legs and back. She was not looking forward to a night sitting awake in a tiny tree.

"So there's a creek just over there?" She jacked a thumb around the edge of this little mini-forest. None of the spindle trees were taller than twenty feet. It was dark and shadowy beneath them though because their branches interwove to form a nearly impenetrable roof. She was fairly sure that, despite the on-again-off-again rain they had all day, it would be fairly dry in their perches tonight. She unzipped the orange hoodie and hung it over a low branch in the hope that it would dry out a bit. "I'm just going to go over there and freshen up a bit." She knew she'd be within sight if he wanted to spot her so she wouldn't get too fresh. More than anything she just wanted to gulp down some water.

( incredible things )

Who: Cross and Helena
What: Walking east toward the lake in the grasslands
When: Beginning at first light on Day 14.
Where: The camp tree and then the path east.
Rating: PG

Helena sighed, feeling bad as she crouched to slip the braided straps of her makeshift bedroll pack on to her thin shoulders. Rook had appeared as she'd climbed down the tree. He'd strapped some bark to his feet and was attempting to lash it on with strips of material. It had been a bit of an argument but she had insisted that he stay behind with Kenneth to help with the projects. To help gather or hunt with the rest of the people staying put. He hadn't liked it, revealing another long stubborn streak amidst the men of this group. In the end she'd just had to be firm about it. She wasn't risking his life on this trip. No way. No how. As Cross had emerged from the bushes with his own bedroll assembled, she had called up a farewell to Kenneth who'd waved from the stream, giving her nod to say that he knew what had to be done. She knew he'd take care of things and it was a relief.

( a quick and violent storm )

Who: Cross and Helena
Where: the climber tree
When: evening, day 13
What: Getting busted and making plans.
Rating: PG

( How Far Ya Walkin' )

Who: Cross and Clay
Where: the tanning pit
When: afternoon, day 13
What: pissing contests
Rating: PG

Cross had been working in the hot sun ever since he'd returned from washing the blood-stained blanket he'd taken out of the field. He'd taken his time with that task, feeling an instinctive need to be away from everyone else at camp as he processed his frustration at not being able to help the new arrivals this morning. He'd had only soap pods to work with, and most likely all of the blood wouldn't come out, but he wouldn't know that for sure until the blanket completely dried. So he'd hung it up and left it, moving on to other tasks.

By early afternoon he'd sweated his shirt through, so he'd taken it off, not caring if he got sunburned. He was going to develop a seriously thick hide by the time the shirt fell completely apart, which it would eventually. He looked quite a bit like a wild man with his bare chest, dirty khakis, rumpled blond hair and scruffy beginnings of a beard as he strode toward the tanning pit. Several of the men, at least, were helping with the hides in their own unique way, and he would most likely do that if there were no women around.

Who: Cross and Rook
Where: the field
When: mid-morning, day 13
What: gathering the remnants
Rating: PG
Status: complete

( don't move and they won't find you )

Who: Cross and Helena
When: After sunset
Where: In the tree
What: Being stubborn and chivalrous
Rating: G

Parting ways with Kenneth, Helena watched as people climbed the tree in the near-darkness. It was always dangerous to wait this late to climb, footing wasn't so sure, but there had been a sort of festive air tonight. The return of the eastern party had soothed a lot of fear and doubt. Helena really didn't feel good about the meeting. It was never more obvious to her than it was tonight that she was no inspirational leader. The camp was divided, which was exactly what she hadn't wanted to see happen. She supervised Rowan, Quinn and the meat being stowed safely in the tree before climbing herself. She lingered on the branch that led to her and Rowan's hammock but in the end she diverged. Scrambling over and under, using the dangling vines to hoist herself up to loop around the trunk a ways, she found herself on the western branches. There were some empty hammocks up this way. She'd let Rook, the new guy, have the twin sized comforter she'd found. It was still a bit dirty but a day in the tree had dried it out. Sophie had arrived with her own bedding and so was fine. Helena hadn't lied when she'd said there was spare bedding for Cross. There was, her own duvet was empty now that Annie was gone. "Cross," she said, watching him getting himself organised to crawl into his old wicker hammock.

Cross was so dead tired that he didn't think even the Laughers would keep him awake tonight, foul noisy beasts that they were. He was relatively clean, though his clothes could, as always, use a decent wash, and he was currently pulling his heavy work shoes off and tying them to a nearby, narrow branch. Most of the time he slept with them on, in case he needed to get up suddenly during the night, but tonight his feet throbbed, delayed reaction from all the walking they'd done, and he was going to hope that danger wouldn't abruptly strike. He was lost in his own head, not really listening to the muffled conversations going on all around him, and he yawned as he got the last shoe secured. Then someone said his name, and he turned his head. Helena. "Yeah?" he replied, his voice soft.

( The Closest Thing To Heaven )

Who: Everyone
Where: Around the campfire
What: Catching Up and Discussing The Future
When: Sunset
Rating: G to PG, depending on how the language goes.

Helena returned to her log by the fire and settled down next to the pouch of yarnballs, taking them up once again. She worked at pulling them apart as people began to drift back in to the camp, pausing to breath in the smoking grazer meat and pop boiled pesk eggs into their mouths. Some of them chewed strands of sweetgrind or braided fieldgrass as they chattered and caught up. Once everyone had arrived, she stood up and cleared her throat. "I just wanted to say a few things before we pack up for the night," she said over the din.

"Firstly, welcome back Thorne, Cross, Alex, Kenneth and Jasper. We're really glad to have you back and it's nice to see that you found a few things on your adventure. The grazer hide and meat is especially welcome." She flashed a smile around at the more tanned and sunburned faces in the circle.

"Secondly, I want to pass on a bit of bad news before you hear it from others. We lost four women while you were gone." She cleared her throat, clearly upset by this happening and with good reason. No one had voted Helena as the leader of the group, it had just happened. She still felt responsible and she should, if she were actually the leader. "There's been no sign of Annie, Lauren, Nancy and Jeri."

"Lastly," and here her gaze lingered on Bazzer. He looked...not like himself. She wondered what was eating the younger man. Still, she moved on. "Bazzer and I were discussing the tribe's prospects the other day and I said I would bring up an option to the whole of the group when we were all together again." She clasped her hands infront of herself and tried to organize her pro opinion in order to deliver it well. "Plenty of small tribal societies living without large advancements in technology, much like we are, survived for generations as nomadic peoples." She felt more than heard a hum move around the circle. "I believe that becoming nomadic might be a good answer for us. We're stripping the food supply here nearly bare. We don't know how the weather might change here over the next few months as well. Also, how can we know if there is no city in this world if we don't forge farther out than we can do in a day's run? I think it is safer for the group as a whole if we travel together, look out for each other and move forward rather than wait around here for something to happen." That said, she waited for the questions and opinions of the others. "What do you think?"

Who: Cross and Helena
Where: the forest, not far from the climber tree
When: Day 12, just before sunset
What: a reunion
Rating: PG (for deeply buried UST?)

Cross had not gone directly back to camp when he and the group that had gone East had arrived. He did not have a true explanation for that, and he didn't spend much time mulling it over in his mind, although there was a slight frown line between his brows. Maybe he should have gone all the way to the fire circle and the tree to help the others deal with the meat, but he'd had quite enough group togetherness over the past few days. He needed some decompression time, and he took it, finding a deep portion of stream and stopping there to wash away the dirt and sweat of the long journey. His skin was baked dark brown everywhere his clothing didn't cover, the warm color making his hair look even fairer and his eyes bluer.

He didn't know if they'd need to worry about skin cancer here, and he wouldn't have worried about it much, anyway. He never fretted about harm coming to himself. Cross took his time, finding some of the pods Helena had mentioned and scrubbing himself as well as he was able. He couldn't do much about his grimy clothing since he didn't have anything else to put on, but he felt much better just having clean skin and hair. Once he was finished, he gathered up the pillowcase with the few items he'd found and began trudging toward camp, walking in the forest to stay out of the sun.

He also wasn't going to examine the peculiar feeling he had that wasn't quite excitement, wasn't quite anxiety, nor was he going to ponder why he'd taken so long bathing himself. Cross could hear distant voices as he drew closer to the climber tree, and he slowed down, not willing to admit even to himself who he was actually going to be looking for.

( catching up and gifts )

Who: Cross
When: Day 10, early morning
Where: east, in the trees

Cross was awake before light dawned in the sky. Of course, it was debatable as to whether he'd actually slept at all; they'd had to be so careful to keep their positions in the trees where they'd settled in to keep themselves safe from the Laughers, who seemed to scent human prey and come ganging around as soon as darkness fell. He might have dozed for a few moments at a time, and he thought wryly that sitting upright in this tree made the unadorned wicker hammock he used back at camp seem like a featherbed.

His back was braced carefully against the trunk of the tree, his legs casually spread out, his feet braced in forks in nearby branches. He had one arm wrapped around the nearest branch to his chest and Helena's pillowcase tied around the opposite arm; he could just imagine the three-legged beasts tearing it to shreds if it fell to the ground.

There wasn't anything in there they'd care for, he didn't think, but he could see them destroying it from sheer contrariness. Cross had never been an animal person, though he couldn't have said he disliked them before... but he could have happily put bullets through their pointy little heads if he'd had a gun. They were vicious and extremely annoying in his opinion. He sighed and shifted the pillowcase on his lap, thinking about the few things he'd found to bring back to Helena.

The most welcome was undoubtedly going to be the rubber soles he'd found. Not quite shoes... actually they looked as if they were the remains of running shoes that had been torn to shreds by sharp teeth. A bit unnerving, yes... but he felt sure that Helena would have enough ingenuity to figure out a way to keep them on her feet. They could be trimmed if needed, bent, flexed. It would certainly be better than having to go around barefoot, and hopefully she'd be pleased. He blinked at the thought, not wanting to ponder why it mattered to him that she be pleased.

Soon it would be time to get on with their day, just as soon as light broke in the sky and the Laughers scurried off to wherever they hid in the daytime. Very soon now.

Who: Cross and Helena
When: Day 9, early morning
Where: the field
Rating: G

( before the journey )

Who:  Jasper and Open to Everyone
When:  Late morning, the instant she can see more than a foot in front of her
Where:  Jasper's Tree
What:  Party
Rating:  G, with potential to change depending on language

Jasper had built herself a nice little nest with a roof-like thing just before sunset the day before, but just before dawn a lot of the "roof" had been torn away.  She had debated for a while whether or not to fix it, then decided no and hung up her sleeping bag upside down so the water couldn't get in - luckily the rest of it was waterproof.  Then she got a long vine, put a noose in one end, and got a dead branch with her other hand.  She stripped it of all the little twigs and things, and broke it so that it had a good, sharp end.

Then she went down the tree, with one foot in the vine so that she wouldn't fall into the water where those big sharp-toothed fish were.  That way, instead of them eating her?  It was the other way around.  Merrily, as she got one and pinned it against her tree so it wouldn't flop away.  It didn't really occur to her that she might have to cook it first.  At the moment, Jasper wanted to catch as many fish as this bounty would allow.  Loudly, without thinking about it, she started singing 'Living Dead Girl' by Rob Zombie

Who: Cross and Helena
Where: In the field beside the stream
What: Apparently, Pesk eggs are for eating.
When: High noon

( How Do Ya Like 'Em? )

Who: Meredith & Cross
When: Day 7 - dawn/early morning
Where: The field
What: Waking up
Rating: PG

Who: Cross and Alex, then Kenneth
When: Week 1, Day 6, early morning
Where: headed north
Rating: PG-13

Cross was ready to go extremely early. It hadn't been difficult for him to get up on time, because he'd barely slept. Somehow, the din of the Laughers was not conducive to getting rest, particularly when one was forced to sleep in a tree. He thought that the notion of a safer campsite was an excellent one, and he had high hopes that it would not involve living in trees. He'd definitely be willing to help with the building process.

Once daylight had stolen over the sky, he'd gone to relieve himself and splash water over his face and then he'd eaten the double handful of berries he'd put aside in one of his pockets. They were not particularly a taste treat, considering that their skins had hardened and become chewy in the time that they'd been off the bush from which they'd been picked, but he couldn't afford to be choosy, so he'd eaten them all. He found himself wondering if there were any native bugs here that were edible. Many people wouldn't consider eating one, live or dead, but Cross had always heard that they were an excellent source of protein. His mind was firmly on survival.

He waited for Alex at the far edge of the firepit, quiet and patient, hoping the morning mists would clear soon since he imagined they'd have quite a way to walk today.

Who: EVERYONE (posting is mandatory)
Where: The base of the climber tree, gathered around the fire after a yummy dinner of tubers, berries and citrusmoss.
When: Late afternoon as the sun is starting to set behind the trees.
What: A State of the Union address.
Rating: G

( Closing The Day )

Who: Cross and Rowan
Where: near camp
When: Week 1, Day 5, midday
What: a conversation of sorts
Rated: PG

Cross had been gathering different lengths and thicknesses of vine, cutting it with the pocketknife he'd had with him when he'd arrived here. He wanted to experiment with it, see what could be done and how easy it was to weave. He absolutely had to have something to do when he wasn't sleeping; he was not a person who could just sit around without something with which to tinker. This could end up being a useful project, he thought. He'd gathered all the fellwood he could find in the immediate vicinity, and it was time to move to something else.

In deference to the heat of the day, he'd taken off his shirt and crammed one end of it into his pants pocket, and it flopped against his thigh as he walked out of the wooded area and looked for a place to sit down. The enormous tree in which they slept was casting a shadow over a large portion of the ground, and he made his way toward it, seating himself not far from the dark-haired pregnant girl, whom he'd nodded to the previous day. Of course, being Cross, he'd barely spoken to anyone beyond the basics. "H'lo," he said, nodding again as he sorted lengths of vine in his lap.

Who: Cross and Helena
Where: the forest, not far from the trees where the others have been sleeping
When: Week 1, Day 4, mid-morning
What: Cross frowns on these shenanigans
Rated: PG

( his brain was telling him firmly that this could not be happening )