The Field

Who: Kenneth and Bazzer
What: Pollen affected
Where: a bit away from the tannery
When: Immediately after Helena and Kenneth
Rating: NC-17

( Bazzer is not exactly himself. )

Who: Kenneth and Helena
When: Early Afternoon
Where: Some back route away from the beach and camp.
What: A chance encounter from two people who were hoping to avoid other people.
Rating: PG, pretty much

( What Are You Doing Here? )

Who: Kenneth
Where: Camp
When: Early morning
Rating: PGish

Kenneth was not thrilled as he watched the group going after lumber pack up their necessities and leave. He should have been with them, but every time he stood up to try and follow, he listed heavily to the side and the world spun around him. There was nothing he hated more than feeling useless and despite his past contributions to the camp, he was not feeling like he was pulling his weight at that precise moment.

Who would have thought he'd have been brought down not by a laugher or a roc, but by a stupid wild dog and a rock monkey. Granted, he wasn't sure why the damn thing insisted on clinging to his shoulder, but he heartily wished he'd never given in and fed the little rat. Ever since it followed him about, appearing at the oddest times. Like when he was aiming at one of those dogs. That was not the best time to have a monkey launch out of nowhere and land on his shoulder. It was fortunate he hadn't accidently shot anyone, but the four extra rounds he'd wasted by holding the triggor too long did not add to his current joyful state.

The concussion he'd sustained falling into a rock and the bites down one leg and on his forearm didn't exactly help either. As he watched them set off across the lake, Kenneth frowned and took out his gun and the cloth he used to clean it. At least he could do that much. Or so he thought, as he tiny, furry, chittering companion appeared. "Fuck me now," he muttered softly.

Who: Adnan and open to Alex, Kenneth, and Helena
When: midday
Where: near camp, by the water
Rating: tbd, likely G

Adnan had gathered the council together. It was a little nerve-wracking, being in front of all three of them at once. He'd never really done public speaking or presentations or anything, living the life he had, so it had taken a moment for him to gather his wits when it was time. But once he'd gotten started, it had gotten far easier. He felt like he knew what he was talking about, after all. Mostly, anyway.

( Okay, so ... )

Who: Aaron, Open to one more! (Posting Order: Cross, Angelica, Aaron)
Where: The beach in front of camp
When: Early Afternoon
What: Archery lessons to anyone who wants them.

Arlo was no teacher, that was plain to see. He was downright unpleasant to be around for more than thirty seconds. That is, unless you were a young girl. Aaron had butted heads with him a time or two but one thing they did both agree on was that Aaron was the more experienced archer. Arlo had thusly given him four of the composite bows he'd made and a thick bundle of arrows.

After speaking with Bazzer about the state of their skins, furs and needs in that respect, he'd come back to camp with a bit of determination. He was going to get the hang of these hand made bows and arrows. He was going to learn to hunt with them. So he'd bundled up some of the fallen thatching scattered around camp and tied them all into a thick bale that he could use as the target. There was nothing like paint to put a bullseye on it so they'd just have to eyeball it. After setting it on a boulder on the beach, he paced away from the target and set the bows down, sticking the arrows point down into the sand.

It was still drizzling from time to time but for now the wind was down, which helped. Trying to calculate the angles when accounting for wind was never the easiest thing. It took practice and time, and when your tools were not exact from arrow to arrow, that made it even harder. Before long, he felt he'd drawn a bit of an intermittent crowd. Stopping to wipe a bit of sweat off of his brow, he turned to look at the watchers. "Anyone want to learn?" he asked, "I can probably teach you."

Who: Coop and Tripper and Open
When: Home and Here, bedtime and wake up time.
What: An arrival
Where: New Mexico and Grazer Island

Daylight was just starting to break on the dusty horizon as Coop steered Betty off of the interstate and in to an awfully nice looking state of the art truck stop not too far out of the city limits of Roswell. It boasted showers, rooms, a pool hall and a diner, she noticed as she cruised on through at a leisurely and cautious pace. There were people about and her heavy load in the trailer wouldn't allow for any quick stops.

On the passenger seat, Tripper stuffed his head out of the half-lowered window, drooling a little bit down the glass as his tongue lolled. Ever the showman, he barked a couple of greetings to some burly men hanging about out in front of the pool hall. No less than one of them raised their meaty hands and hollared a greeting right back. She thought she heard her name, Coop, on the wind from their direction. It happened more and more. The longer she took these long hauls the more she made what she called 'road friends'. Sure, she got ribbed for being a girl and pint-sized to boot but there were plenty of Ol' Gals to back her up if anyone got too mouthy on the subject. People rarely did though, she took most things in stride and Coop genuinely liked people. She tried to get along with all of her fellow road warriors.

Steering in to a well-lit parking spot near the gas bar, she noted that she was sitting heavier than most the other trailers here tonight. For a moment she had a qualm. Maybe she should move on, radio to find a secure yard where her load might be safer. Her eyes were burning, though, and she knew her needs well enough to know she needed to park it for a few hours at least. She was only about fifteen minutes shy of her eight hours on and lible to get fined if she pushed on. Nope, this would have to do but she knew she was sleeping with her load for the day and not in once of those spacious rooms.

( Here I Am - On The Road Again )

Who: Bazzer & Kenneth
Where: their sleepingbag
When: the night after the funeral
What: Bazzer REALLY dislikes funerals
Rating: PG-13-some serious snogging occurs.

( Kenneth's not so fond of funerals either )

Who: Alex & OPEN
When: Day 25, morning
What: Graveside funeral for Quinn
Where: at the newly created cemetery

( Requiéscat in pace )

Who: Bazzer & Kenenth
Where: away from the camps near(ish) to the water
When: day 24, midday
What: gun safety and discreet male bonding

( Why is it that, as a culture, we are more comfortable seeing two men holding guns than holding hands? - Ernest Gaines )

Who: Quinn and Open to Ken
When: That darkest hour before the dawn
Where: The spring rocks
What: A finding

( What's This? )

Who: Kenneth
Where: The island
When: Day 23
What: Running and thinking

Kenneth was running along the beach, feet pounding as the warm sun beat down on him. It felt good to run like this, no pack, no guns, just his knife. He’d left the guns with Bazzer. Well, he’d left them hidden, but Bazzer knew where they were and would make sure no one went near them. Kenneth needed to clear his head and work out everything that had happened the night before. He’d kissed someone for the first time in a long time and for the first time in his life, he’d kissed another man. That he hadn’t immediately fled the lean-to in a panic was fairly impressive, that he was contemplating an actual relationship with another man was downright phenomenal.

( Run, run as fast as you can )

Who: Rook & [Open]
When: Mid-afternoon
Where: Grazer Island
What: Building lean-tos
Rating: TBD


Rook knew something wasn't right. He'd been sick all morning, throwing up fluids and stomach acid the moment he had shot awake in a cold sweat. Lugging back disc trees in the freezing cold had been a bad idea, and it was evident he was only just paying for the consequences. Still, he forced himself awake, going back to the large pile of wood he had managed to gather in two days. So far it had been useful for avoiding people, for living in his own world. Now it was time to get to work.

Braiding grass through his dazed, semi-conscious state, Rook felt uncomfortably warm despite the cold breeze gusting through camp. His boxers and the bedding that he had wrapped himself in were soaked in his own sweat, and his muscles ached painfully in time to the throbbing of his head. His hands shook and shivered as he tightened each knot. It was a struggle to focus, to remember what he was trying to do, and at times he stopped without realizing. Once he had a decent amount of the rope, he forced himself to his feet. He tore at the trunk of the tree, pulling it apart into long, flexible sticks. Slowly, the frame of the lean-to came into existence as he dug a hole for the base, secured the stick into the ground and bound up the top ends with the rope to form a sort of dome-shape.

( By mid-afternoon... )

Who: Kenneth and Bazzer
When: Day 22-night, post Jasper rescue
Where: Lookout Ledge
Rating: PG-13

( Inch by painfully slow inch )

Who: Jasper, the npc babies, Kenneth, and then open to everyone!
Where: The lake
What: Badness
Rating: Oh, let's say somewhere between PG and R for profanity

Jasper had made a severe error. One she hadn't made in, oh, years and she was definitely regretting it now because this could very possibly cost three people their lives - her's included. But she wasn't used to being weighed down by two children and a bunch of things left at the prime camp; she was used to running for herself, with the things she was used to running with. But right now she was going much slower than she'd thought she'd been, there was a large tract of land that didn't have any trees, just open field, and on the other end of said tract of land was the lake. It was also sunset. Jasper could hear the laughers in the distance, but she knew how fast those could run and if she made it to the lake it would be by the skin of her teeth, and there were still the shallows that the laughers would undoubtedly be able to get through before it became too deep for them.

( Laughers Are Not Friendly )

Who: Kenneth and Aaron
Where: In the sweet grind fields
When: Noonish
What: Talk.

( Getting each other's measure )

Who: Helena and Kenneth
What: Finding a private moment to discuss the happenings of the last week and the plans for the next.
Where: Walking to the spring
When: After sunset, near full-dark
Rating: G I'm sure.

( Of councils and dictators )

It was closer to dusk than Kenneth liked when the shore of the lake came into view, but the sight and burgeoning darkness sped the feet of the travelers as their destination appeared. So far there was no sound of laughers behind them, which Kenneth was thankful for.

At the beach, it was organized chaos, but the planning that had been done en route was invaluable as they got the heavier things out of the carts. Kenneth was pleased to see they did in fact float, better even than he'd thought. In groups of two and three people, one stronger swimmer to one or two weaker, they held onto the makeshift rafts and made their way slowly across the fifty or so yards that separated them from the mainland.

Kenneth watched nervously, but some of that disappeared as he made out the form of Helena on the opposite shore. She was alive.

By the time the last raft made it across, which left only the heavier clay pots full of resin, collected food, medicine and Bazzer's skins, the laughers were hot on their trail. On Kenneth's orders, the pots were moved into the shallows and he stood guard over them as their strongest swimmers made a second trip across, this time manhandling the heavy clay pots in groups of two, with longer lengths of braided grass they had thanks to Rowan, tied around them to form a sort of sling like carrier. They took the medicines first, then the resin and skins. Food was easier to replace.

Sooner than he wanted, Kenneth saw the glowing eyes of the laughers. He took one shot then grabbed one of the remaining pots and dove into the water with the laughters splashing in the shallows along the bank. He was surprised to see Aaron, Alex and Thorne make a final dash for the remaining pots and swore softly as he saw the laughers lunge forward.

In a blink, he realized that the four of them had gotten away. They'd sacrificed some of the food they'd gathered, but Kenneth would take that. Given the other possibilities? He'd totally take that.

Who: Kenneth and Bazzer
Where: Sweetgrind fields
When: night of the 20th day
Rating: PG
Warnings: may be added, but none yet


Kenneth was on edge, not that there was any help for it. The expected full out attack of laughers hadn't yet come and Kenneth had gotten everyone into a small circle. The carts had been emptied and turned on their sides, the stuff in them forming another layer of protection between the things in the dark and the people he was protecting. Sharpened climber sticks were pushed into the ground pointing outward and torches ringed the entire thing. They'd pulled up the grass for about three feet all the way around so nothing could sneak out of the grass. It was the best he could do...he just hoped it was enough.

Kenneth himself was patrolling the edge of the camp, carefully avoiding looking at the torches so he wouldn't ruin his night vision as he scanned the field around them, his weapons ready. It was a familiar feeling, the being on edge, senses alert to every sound and he found it somewhat comforting. At least this was something he knew. When he heard someone walking up, he didn't turn to see who it was because it would mean looking at the light. "Who is it?"

Who: Kenneth and anyone/everyone leaving on the 20th
When: Mid morning
Where: Heading east
What: Taking a break


There was no way to keep up the grueling pace all day, at least not for most. Kenneth made sure to call plenty of halts, at least as many as he possibly could, but they still weren't making the speed they'd need to get to the safe camp. Fortunately, he'd sort of planned on that, his worst case scenario. If they didn't make it, he'd circle the carts, build a fire and people would just have to stay awake. The Laughers were smart, he hoped if he took down enough of them, they'd just back off. Did Laughers have a concept for unacceptable losses?

Kenneth didn't know, but he did know that would burn through his ammunition, something he'd already decided was worth it to protect those coming with him. He looked around and squinted up at the sun. Sacrificing a blanket, he tore strips of it with his knife then handed them to the closest person. "Soak these with some water and get people to put them on the back of their necks and heads. It might help."

Who: Kenneth and
Where: Near camp
When: Early morning
What: Testing his cart
Rating: Depends

Kenneth was up far before dawn as he usually was. The finding of the rest of his lost survival gear had sped up his cart idea by allowing him to use the finger saw to cut down some of the smaller climber trees. By pounding them a little flatter, he was able to make beds. The wheels were harder, but layering vines around a round trunk until they dried and coating them with resin and letting that dry again, he was able to get round wheels. Well, round enough at any rate. A smaller round rock approximately the same size as the "axle" he'd found gave him the interior of the wheels and then more climber vines made the spokes.


Now then...everything was done and he just had to put it together. Hopefully, he and Alex could use the cart to collect the bodies of the girls that had gone missing so they could give them a proper burial.

He put the flattened beds onto the axels and attached it with the braided grass that Thorne and some of the others had made then coated it with resin to hold better. Next he got the wheels on then "locked" them onto the axels with more grass cord and coated that with resin. Sides, he was still going to have to work on, but for now they'd just have to tie things to the carts. Finally, he attached the braided grass rope that would serve as the "harness" so people could pull the carts along.

A good two hours later he stood back to survey his work. When he heard footsteps, he called back without looking, "Think it'll work?"