The Field

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: Ryan and Thorne
When: evening
Where: at the edge of camp
What: caring & comfort
Rating: PG

Ryan had been looking for Thorne for a while now. It had been a really bad couple of days for just about everyone, and he knew Thorne would be feeling particularly awful right now. He hadn't seen him at the funeral and he hadn't seen him afterward, and as the day wore on, he'd started to feel more and more anxious about that. He needed to be sure he was all right, so he began searching for him around camp and its periphery, hoping he wouldn't have to venture into the woods where he wouldn't be able to see where the hell he was going. Despite the lightning flickering overhead and illuminating the dark sky, he was always at a disadvantage during the nighttime.

( you can't fix everything by yourself )

Who: Adnan and Analiese
When: evening
Where: near the campfire
What: returning a jacket and conversation

Analiese had just returned from the spring, where she'd gotten a cool, fresh drink of water and a handful of the mint brush plants Delilah had read to her about from the notebook she'd found. It was indeed in Russian, and an examination of the first few pages had given up this find. It might not be much, she thought as she chewed on the rough, bristly head of the one she had in her mouth and savored its minty taste, but somehow having a fresh mouth made this wretched day a tiny bit better. She'd spent the walk back using the plant to clean between her teeth the way the notebook had described-- that was what the Russians who'd been here had used them for-- and now she was using its mouthwash effect. She'd been handing them out to everyone she passed and telling them briefly what it was and how she'd found out about it. They grew in shady patches everywhere, and there were a bunch of them around the rock edges of the spring.

( Read more... )

Who: Alex and Adnan
When: Day 25, late morning
Where: around camp

Adnan had stayed a respectful distance away from the funeral. He'd been tempted to offer to play some music, but in the end had refrained. He hadn't even met the deceased gentleman, and didn't want to overstep any bounds for those who actually knew him. It was tragic that a man was dead, but Adnan had seen enough in his life that it didn't throw him into somber introspection. He was there often enough as it was. He'd kept the fire going and waited until it seemed like people had dispersed and settled down enough. Then he'd waited a bit longer.

After it felt like enough time had passed, he got up and walked over to where the priest had gone. It was his intention to introduce himself to all three members of the council, and speak with them about his plans. He'd already talked to Helena, and this man was next. He cleared his throat faintly as he approached and offered a hand. "Hello," he said, his tone quietly respectful. He hadn't known many true priests in his time, and he wanted to get the measure of the man.

Alex had been sitting alone away from everyone else, rosary in hand and knees up by his chin. He wasn't praying though, not quite. He was thinking mostly. Thinky thoughts. The heavy kind that were dangerous. The kind he specialized in. Sighing, he turned towards the man who had spoken. He was new and Alex hadn't met him formally. "Hello," he replied, his voice hoarse. Alex's eyes were also red rimmed. He looked like crap, but he was long past caring. After a moment, he uncurled enough to reach up and take his hand in a brief shake. "Something I can do for you?" he asked, trying to keep his voice level and his tone reasonable. He wasn't sure how much he could do for anyone right now.

( Future plans. )

Who: Helena and Cross
When: late afternoon
Where: the lean-tos to start
What: working, and then bathing
Rating: NSFW (sexual content)

The cool, cloudy day was perfect for working on the lean-tos. Cross, who was filthy from his stint at gravedigging and then helping to fill the grave back in, had scraped off just enough of the dirt that had coated his arms and hands so that he wouldn't get it on everything he touched. He was only going to do more work that would get him sweaty and dirty, so he didn't see the need to clean up yet. That could come later, once he'd raised blisters on his hands and worked his muscles to quivering exhaustion. He couldn't have articulated why, but it felt important to be too tired to think by the end of the day.

Cross was working on a wall for one side of their lean-to, using some of the thin branches he'd brought back the previous day. To start with, he planned to tie them together at the top and bottom with some of the tough cord the blind kid, Ryan, had been braiding together in between his pottery attempts. Once he had a rough semblance of a wall, he would figure out how to weatherproof it a bit; climber resin would most likely be the best option. Even mud would probably serve, he thought. He worked fast, ignoring everything around him as he knotted cord expertly. Some of the branches were too short, some too tall, but nonetheless he thought they would serve their purpose.

Helena had flitted around the camp, trying to stay out of Cross's way since his face had clearly said he didn't want to put up with any fussing or pleasantries that day, as well as attempting to be useful. A couple of the other guys who were working on lean-tos had noted Cross's method for building the walls and were busy at it. He'd mentioned the idea of filling the chinks in the wall with a paste of some kind and Helena had disappeared with one of Ryan's largest clay bowls. She'd scavenged some of the clay-like mud and mixed it with a bit of water to soften it and added some dried straw and sand. The finished product wasn't exactly like the stuff the ancient Egyptians had made bricks out of but she thought it might do well enough. Once it dried (if it dried) they could treat both sides with climber resin. Returning to the build site, she set the heavy bowl down out of the way and armed some sweat off of her brow. "It looks good," she told him, a little breathless.

( Without Saying A Word )

Who: Aaron and Nefertiti
Where: In the camp
What: Building a lean-to
When: Afternoon, after the funeral
Rating: Probably G

Aaron armed some sweat off of his brow with the sleeve of his t-shirt. He'd used his new hammer and a stone wedge he'd found to split logs into planks the past several hours and now he felt as though he had the makings of a lean-to frame. He chose his spot where the sloped back would mostly face the water (and therefore keep the worst of the wind off of the grasslands out of the hut) and the open front would face the fire pit (thereby absorbing maximum warmth). He paced it out with his boots and then dug a pit for the first two posts, nearly eight feet apart. Given his height, he thought that was a good length. Then he could store pots of his personal possessions at the foot of his bedroll. That is, when the mama cat inside his sleeping bag allowed him to get anywhere near it without hissing and attacking. So far, his blanket was still sitting on the cart it had arrived in. At least he had his pillow, he thought as he hammered the posts in nice and deep.

The first night for Nefertiti had not been easy. However the familiarity of having to wake up every few hours to check on a pregnant animal comforted her and made her feel safe in this alien world. Some facts of life just never changed. The warmth of Lucien next to her had also helped ease the distress gnawing at the back of her mind. Never gonna see Milford again, or her own goat, Bran. Still she reminded herself to remain strong and guarded against any panic attacks. They would just do no good out here.

With the goat comfortable and secured under her and Luc's tree ( and the funeral for someone she had never met avoided ) Nefertiti was looking around for something to keep her hands and her mind busy. When she saw a man working alone on what looked like a lean-to she weighed the pros and cons of offering her assistance. On the good side, she'd have something to do. On the bad side, she'd probably end up with blisters and a solid crick in her neck. Always practical, she found her feet carrying her over to him. Tilting her hat back away from her face she called out, "You need help? I got some good strong arms and I helped build fences more than a few times."

( The Common Thread )

Who: Analiese and Helena
When: not long after the funeral
Where: a short distance from camp, at the water's edge
What: fishing... sort of
Rating: G

Analiese kept expecting it to rain. The sky was dark and the air breezy, and there was a tension in the air that would seem to indicate a coming storm. She was just glad it hadn't poured down rain on Quinn's poor, naked body in its hole in the ground during the service. That was a sight she wished she could forget, though she wasn't having much luck pushing it from her mind as she walked along the edge of the shore headed away from camp. She'd been leaking around the eyes ever since the funeral; it was more because she was scared than anything. She couldn't say it was because of Quinn, because as sorry for him as she'd felt, she'd barely known him.

( catching dinner )

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

( Requiéscat in pace )

Who: Ryan
When: early morning
Where: at the fire pit
What: focusing on nothing
Rating: PG

( you realize that sometimes you're just not okay )

The morning dawns with considerable cloud cover; dark, ominous clouds completely obscure the sun for the entire day. The high will reach about 22C (68F), and the weather will be windy and blustery. It will look as if a storm is rolling in, but it won't rain. At various times during the day, any unsecured items will blow around, possibly never to be seen again if they are not caught! The water around the island is also affected; fish are easily caught today, both in the choppy lake and when they wash up on shore.

At mid-morning, Father Alex will hold a graveside service for Quinn, who died the previous morning of anaphylaxis; the news had made its way around camp by evening. Cross and Arlo dug the hole for his interment, a process that took a couple of hours with the makeshift tools they had to use. In other, more cheerful camp news, the notebook Analiese found is indeed written in Russian, according to Delilah. After the first few pages are read, a discovery is made that will aid everyone: mint brush, a tough, spiky, mint-flavored plant stalk that can be used as a toothbrush. It grows in most shady areas on the island.

After all daylight fades from the sky, lightning begins to flicker and thunder to rumble. The night air is heavy and oppressive, and the wind is high. The light show continues for several hours, but there is still no rain, and eventually it fades to the occasional grumble of thunder.