The Field

Who: Bazzer & Helena
When: day 9
What: A chit-chat while Bazzer works on the laugher hide
Where: A little ways away from the camp
Rating: PG

( Making Mental Notes Out Loud )

Water was one of the the things Kenneth was most concerned about as they headed out to the east. There had to be some source though for the rich fields of grain they were currently moving through. His eyes scanned the ground even as he plucked the occasional head of grain off and ate the kernals. It sort of reminded him of his childhood, what memories he had that he hadn't blocked out entirely.

He glanced at the person walking next to him then went back to scanning the ground and the distance spread before them as he thought ahead to approaching nightfall. With no signs of the grazers, they were going to have to find shelter from the laughers before dusk arrived.

Who: Olivia & Clay
Where: The climber tree, and then a clearing near the camp
When: Early morning
Rating: R (Self harm, mention of rape)

Thorne had woken up early after sleeping much better in the cooler air. He'd gone about and gathered those that had volunteered, Cross, Alex, Jasper, and Kenneth. He didn't pack much food since there would be food on the other end of the journey and headed out through the thick sticky mud, which slowed them down considerably. That and having to avoid the puddles of blue fish, which Jasper was kind enough to pause at and catch a few which they had at lunch.

Just after noon they reached the plains, stretching as far as the eye could see to the east. Jokes were made about the purple waves of grain that spread before them. Thorne explained what the grazers looked like and where he and Bazzer had found them before the headed off into the grassland looking for any signs of the herd.

As dusk approached without any sign of the herd and with increasing thoughts of laughers, the party began to worry. When they spotted a stand of flowering trees in the distance, Jasper volunteered to run ahead and scope them out. The trees were reminsicent of Rhododendrons, large umbrella like tops with deep purple leaves that were almost black and multicolored flowers, even on the same trees. Under the trees it was shadowed and cooler. The trunks were less than a foot in diameter, but strong enough that the larger men could get high enough off the ground to avoid the laughers as long as they stayed against the trunk.

It wasn't going to be the most comfortable way to spend the night, but they'd survive.

Who: Payne and Quinn, then Clay
What: A crime of opportunity
When: Late morning/early afternoon
Where: About fifteen minutes away from the camp.
Rating: R (drugs, innuendo, violence, gore, all the good stuff.)

( Kids Who Do Drugs Always Die In The Movies )

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

( before the journey )

Who: Ryan and Clay
Where: near the climber tree
When: morning
Rating: PG-13 (language)

Ryan, who was ordinarily cheerful, was feeling more than a little cranky as he slogged back from making a short trip into the woods to relieve himself. It was so foggy that he'd almost gotten turned around, there were muddy puddles everywhere-- his socks and the bottom third of his pajama pants were caked with the stuff-- and he'd stepped on a fish that seemed to have teeth, as his left big toe could have attested to. Fish. In the forest. What the hell? Washed up from the stream by the monsoon, yeah, but it was still weird and just one more thing to have to watch out for.

He had the slippery, scaled creature in one hand as his other trailed over the tree trunks, counting his way back to camp. He should spread out his damp sleeping bag and hope it dried some; it hadn't been the most comfortable thing ever to sleep in. At least he had one though, he reflected. Ryan emerged into the main camp area just past the climber tree where most of them slept and ran right into someone. Par for the course today, he guessed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, squinting to try to recognize the person, temporarily breaching their personal space so he could see them. It was Clay, the guy he'd met the first morning he'd arrived here. "Hey," he said, stepping back again and holding up his hand to show off the peculiar-looking fish. "Where I come from, fish aren't s'posed to have teeth."

Night fell at the end of Day Eight and still, no laughers. All of the arrivals are wet, cold, pruney and otherwise pretty miserable but the quiet of the forest after the storm allows everyone to drop off asleep without any troubles. Midway through the night though, it starts with a chuckle and builds to a crowd of uproarous response as the entire population of the laughers species returns home.

Dawn breaks with some peace and queit. The fog has returned but it's not pea soup thick as it has been known to be. Now it's low lying, swirling around the roots. The air is notably cooler, much more comfortable as they travel on through the afternoon.

In the early morning several groups go their own way. Everyone has particular projects they are anxious to get started on and so the climber tree clears out. Three women in particular - Lauren, Nancy and Annie - gather their leaf bowls and pouches and announce they are going to forage to the south. Annie left behind her orange sweatshirt and her black striped long sleeve shirt. By nightfall, the three women do not return.

Back at camp it is a struggle to dry everything out. The mud is thick and everywhere. The water in the stream is too muddy to drink without boiling first, so climber leaves in the tree that caught water during the night is at a premium. The bedding is pulled down, and spread from branches. Wood is regathered and the firepit becomes an all day project. The remainders of the laugher meat and the fish from yesterday have spoiled and must be buried. Fortunately there are still some blue fish struggling to survive in shrinking pools here and there. By noon, there is a new problem. The beat of tiny wings reveal a plague of flying leeches, brought on by the surge of the storm. The little creatures were carried east from the swamplands on the water and have discovered a taste for humanity.

( Mod Note - Please Read )