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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:11 pm
"I... I think so." Cassidy was trying to resist another reflexive tongue-flicker; she didn't want to smell this smoke any more than she already was. "They do seem a little sluggish."
She peered at Em curiously. "What do we do now? Pry the log open and run with honeycomb?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:19 pm
"I think there's an opening around the top." She could see the dark hole from her vantage point- and didn't want to rub it in to the low-bound Cassidy that she had a higher perspective. "Hold on... I think we can get away with not fanning for a while." She put the leaf down, away from the pile, and ducked low to get to the log. The bee that was on her back flew off, and she tentatively kneeled near the rotting log.
"Ooh..." she said, nervous about reaching her hands into the log. She could see a crust of honey deep within the opening, but before she could reach into it, she winced- a bee stung her neck.
"Holy crap, that hurt," she said, but the sharp jolt of pain gave her the incentive to get her hands into the log quickly, and grab at the mishapen comb with both hands. She stood up, and for her trouble received no less than three other stings, but she thrust the comb into the cloud of smoke, then bat away at the remaining bees that clung to it. She rushed away from the log, wincing- there was undoubtedly more honey inside, but this was all she was willing to head for.
She took one cursory look at the log, the fire, and then down at Cass.
"Ouch."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:26 pm
"You okay?" Cassidy's eyes were wide. She couldn't imagine ever doing anything like that. "Maybe we should get out of here before we lose all the smoke," she suggested. "Or, uh, put it out or something first."
All the first aid for beestings she could remember involved things they had no way of getting. No ice, no antibacterial cream, no baking soda paste. And you had to get the poison sac and the stinger out, she remembered that, but they'd always suggested using either tweezers or a credit card to do that, of all things, which she didn't have either.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:32 pm
"Yeah, I'm fine," Em said, rubbing gingerly at the area around the sting on her neck. The other three were all on her hands and arms, and somehow didn't cause her as much grief as the steady burn at her neck. "Yeah, we should probably put out the flames. Here." She handed the honeycomb to Cassidy, then went over to the pile and kicked at it until it lay flat on the ground. Luckily, the sloping edges hadn't been lit, so it was easy to do with her immense boots.
She coughed through the smoke, which was dying down, and stomped at the now flat pile of embers. Then she scooped up a measure of earth and packed it down tightly onto the area, in case any of the embers decided to be tenacious. It took her much longer than she'd expected, and when she went back to where Cass was, she opened her eyes wide and made a mock-face of terror.
"Ooh, that honey better be good. ...Would you mind holding it for a bit? My hands sting."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:40 pm
"Not at all. Yeck, it's sticky, though." Cassidy grinned. "But I'm not sure what else I would have expected. I can't believe you actually did that."
After a brief moment of thought, she added, "Maybe just some cold water on the stings might help? It's not ice, but it's better than nothing."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:43 pm
Em laughed, a low and dry chuckle as she walked, hands in front of her, back towards the campsite. "Yeah, well... I've done stupider things. I told a drug dealer in Den Haag to stop selling pills to my friends a few years ago. ...Thought he was going to blow up my apartment. Bees are nothing." she laughed, but the fact was, her neck was killing her.
"Cold water sounds pretty decent. And I hope the others like the honey. ...Damn, we have to get more moss, don't we?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:47 pm
A drug dealer? Cassidy had to suppose that if she'd ever had to deal with anybody psycho enough to blow up her apartment, she'd probably be a lot less scared of things, too.
"Moss. Oh. Oh, yeah." She grimaced. "Maybe we should bring the honey back first, though... so we don't get dirt all over it."
(This is the end. I do believe.)
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Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2006 11:06 pm
Hunting Party!Ambrose headed north-eastward with Amaya in tow, retracing his steps back towards the crash-site with no small amount of trepidation.
He really didn't want to see that sight again. Nor have it clog his nose any more with the stench that only brought back flashes to his mind of what must have happened to the people inside. But... no matter how they cut it... they needed that metal.
Ambrose paused to pick a particularly large and thick leaf from one of the plants. If nothing else... he could wrap this around his nose to help...
"So..." Ambrose started up as they walked. "You used to go hunting, eh? What for?"Amaya silently followed the wolfman, looking straight ahead and only occasionally looking towards the sides of the narrow path at the surroundings. Her head jerked foreward as he spoke up, the daze snapped from her mind. "Oh... well, I thought it was pretty boring when my dad took me. I was still pretty young, so sitting in a tree doing nothing in the morning was pretty dull. The only times I went with him were when he went deer hunting. Only one or two times I saw him actually get one..." She paused, realizing she was rambling.Ambrose smiled back to her as they walked. "Well... it sounds like at least it was some good... bonding time with your Dad." Ambrose scratched the back of his head. "I would have killed - no pun intended - for some time like that with my father. He... we never really did anything together." His ears lowered and his eyes trailed towards the ground before he shook his head. The mood was already low enough without depressing talking like that.
"Well... I wish we could set up a deer blind or something like that.... but we don't exactly have any rifles... or anything really that we could use to hunt from a distance... I could see us making a knife... maybe a spear from the shrapnel... but unless you know about how to make anything else..? I don't know if we can do anything else." "Yeah..." The iguana-girl trailed off, her large hands locking behind her back as she let the subject drop. It would do no good for both of them to get depressed.
For a moment she fell in silence and pondered the question. "Hard to say... I never really needed to make a weapon from what was around me, dad always bought them y'know?" Her scaled shoulders gave a tiny shrug. "A spear or knife seems simple enough though." She paused for a moment before continuing. " If we make a spear and then set out some of the fruit we found far enough from the campsite we might be able to attract something close enough to spear."Ambrose scratched his chin. "That's not a bad idea.... I've never really tried my hand at throwing much, really. Certainly not a spear. I did a lot of work with a rapier, but unless whatever it is decides to stand and fight, then that will likely not come in very handy.
I can... probably find a game trail... it's crazy how acute my sense of smell has gotten. I guess though the main problem with just tracking something would be the whole.. pursuit part."Amaya nodded. "I'm not very good with throwing things either... and my hands won't exactly help any." She frowned and refrained from scowling at them. "Though if you can track something then maybe you could get close enough to attempt with the spear?" She asked, green eyes looking up at him.Ambrose mulled over the thought and finally shrugged. "You know... it's worth a try at the very least. Worst case scenario I miss... try to chase it... and after that we can try the whole hiding by a game-trail and waiting."
He smiled to her. And almost immediately afterwards raised the leaf to his face. Even days later, it was still very obvious that they were getting close to the wreckage."That's true." She nodded and looked straight ahead once more. By the look on his face she could tell they were probably getting close to the wreakage. Even though she couldn't smell it, Amaya knew she could probably taste it... so her mouth almost clamped itself closed.Ambrose walked a little further before pausing at the tree line. He snagged a vine from its cling of a tree, and wrapped it around the leaf at his mouth/nose to keep it in place while freeing his hands.
"There" He said in a muffle behind the leaf.
"You... don't have to follow. I'll try to be back in a bit.. but it might take me a little bit to get some of the metal without cutting up my hands..."Amaya watched him and then looked ahead. Her hands made themselves visable in front of her again as she fidgetted with her hands. "No... I can help. I can probably carry a lot." With how big her hands were it was no doubt... though she might get a few cuts it was no big deal to her as long as she helped out.Ambrose raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" He didn't want to pressure her more than she already was.
Picking up a long stick - hopefully to use as leverage and to get at some of the metal without having to use his hands - he turned back before leaving the jungle."Yeah... I'm sure." She nodded, looking up at him once more. Though it was obvious she was nervous, the last thing she wanted was to chicken out and leave all the work to Ambrose. It was just unfair.He gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry... nothing's going to jump out at us.." He gave a wincing smile before parting the foliage and stepping out onto the hot black tarmac....
To reveal a clutch of vultures hunched over the wreckage. A few of them looked up in irritation as they were joined, one with something hanging from its mouth gave a large SQUAK at them.
The site was disgusting. Ambrose raised a hand quickly to the leaf over his mouth as he saw them ... picking... at the bodies. HE was thankful for the blocking of his sense of smell, but wished that he had something keeping him from seeing it as well.
HE stood there, stunned, for a moment, before starting to wave the big stick at them. "Get! GEt out of here you damned vultures!!" "Oh my god..." Amaya stood at the edge of the foliage, staring until Ambrose finally ran foreward at the vultures. Shaking a little, for forced herself to run forward towards them as well. "GYAH! GET OUT OF HERE!" She swiped her clawed fingers at the ones who would simply hop out of her way instead of taking off. Her voice shook, a clear sign of how disturbed she was over all this despite if she was really allowing it to show through.Ambrose also was trying not to show how revolting and disturbing this imagry was. The thought of dying... having carrion-feeders pick at his bones.... Eyuuugh!
"Scram! Get out of here!" He shouted at them. Finally, some of them, after some unfearful nips at the stick he swung at them and Amaya's proximity and volume, hopped further away, some of them taking flight only to perch on some of the trees at the edge of the helipad to wait their turn. Many squacked irritably at them for disrupting their meal.
Ambrose shuddered, and eyed them again before forcing his attention back to the metal.
Luckily... it appeared that no one else had scavenged at the metal yet... though this might also not be a good thing if it meant that there weren't many others around. Ambrose worried about the rest... Colche... Greer... Joliette and Chubbs... had they found eachother? Were they alright?
He shook his head again, frustrated at the depressing subjects his mind seemed to be turning to. They were in luck and he should view it like that. Several of the twisted pieces of metal had apparently broken off from the main unit in the crash and was strewn on the helipad. They may not even need to pry the sharp, dangerous pieces away from the main cockpit at all. Once most of the horrible birds were gone or at least were away from the two corpses she took an unsteady breath. Think of it like roadkill on the side of the road... she used to see that all the time. After taking a few more labored breaths away from the cockpit, she turned and looked around at all the scrap metal.There were pieces of varying sizes - from pieces as large as a good chunk of a propellar or tail, to medium pieces of twisted metal unidentifyable as anything in particular,, or nuts and bolts and tiny scraps.
Ambrose looked around and picked up a few of the middle-sized pieces, carefully feeling around the edges to see how sharp they were. Most he put back down, a couple he carefully cradled in the nook of his arm or held by a less-sharp looking side.Amaya gradually wandered over to a pile of chunks that had broken off the helicopter, leaning down and tapping the edges with her claws to help her determine how sharp they were. Some of them she would put aside into a pile, not picking them up until she was finished. Her tail gave a twitch towards the vultures in apprivation though she made no real move to look over and see if any had gone back to the corpses.The vultures, thankfully, remained on their perch, though several of them shifted from foot to foot or squacked in impatience as the two of them collected pieces of the wreckage.
After Ambrose had found a few suitable pieces he gestured back to the forest. "This should be plenty, Amaya" He mumbled behind the leaf. "Let's get out of here and see what we can make of these."Amaya nodded and started to gather up the pieces of metal she had found, being able to hold more with her large hands. As she headed over to Ambrose, green eyes trailed back to the corpses. She felt so bad about leaving them there... to the vultures no less... but what was she to do? Drop everything for her own survival and take days to bury them? She sighed, a bad taste in her mouth from the wreakage.After they got back into the treeline, and traveled far enough away from the wreckage that the smell had diminished, Ambrose took a seat and set down the pieces, pulling off his impromptu 'mask'.
He rubbed his hands off on his pants and gave Amaya a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry... you had to see that... But.... thank you for your help. I'm sure we can make a few knives and spears from these... and hopefully get the group some meat to eat..." He hesitated, remembering her food choice. "I... really do appreaciate you helping me with this. I know that you don't usually even eat meat anymore..." His stomach gave an audible growl at the mention of the food that he had been lacking."It's alright, I'll live." She forced a smile, setting down the metal pieces before sitting on the ground, her tail giving a quick swish of the grass behind her. She had gotten a few cuts and scrapes from the metal, but it was still nothing serious or anything to be worried about. "And I don't mind helping you guys even though I can't eat meat anymore... we have to do what we can for each other if were gonna get through this."Ambrose nodded at her. "We have to look out for eachother... you're right. Maybe we'll get lucky and be able to find something we can eat for a while... or at least figure out how to do it.."
Ambrose located a few long, sturdy branches and some vines and brought them to the pile before them.
"I say use the longer pieces of metal for knives... the shorter ones for spears. We'll lash the vines around them to hold them to the handles... Some of the knives will need handles if the metal is sharp all around - but some we can just use as-is."
He handed her some materials and got to work himself, remembering some of the old knot-tying. He paused as he worked. "Erm.... if... you have any problems with the tying... I can handle it.." He winced, thinking belatedly that her hands might or might not be suited for the task.
Something to talk about..... Something not depressing.... "Though... I have to admit, Amaya... having you for a little sister has certainly been a silver lining to all of these dark clouds. "Nodding, she followed his example and set to doing what she could. "It's alright, I can adapt." Her hands were making it a little more difficult and she was certainly a lot slower then Ambrose, but she kept at it. Letting her transformation get the better of her was just what Moreau wanted to see. To watch them squirm. She would never give him the pleasure... well, aside from when it initially happened. Despite her will, it was always too painful to do anything but cry and scream.
She smirked and gave a tiny laugh. "Same goes for you, big brother."He gave her a quirky smile as he secured another knot, then picked up another set of stick, vine, and metal. "Glad to hear it, kiddo."
The work went pretty quickly, and before too long, they had a small group of crude weapons: about 4 spears and 3 knives. Ambrose looked at the set with a smile.Even though Ambrose had made the majority of the weapons, Amaya was still glad she could be of some help at least. She smiled down at the weapons before up at the wolfman. "Now all we gotta do is get back to camp and figure out how were gonna get some meat."Ambrose clapped his hands. "Indeed! Well, we could also head off to the woods and hopefully come back to camp with bounties of meat!" He picked up one of the spears, and one of the knives, lashing one of the spears to his back."
He gave her a feral grin. "Now, let's hunt us some meat!"Amaya laughed slightly and grabbed a spear and a knife as well. "Alright, well... follow your nose?" She gave a nervous laugh.Ambrose took a breath, suddenly feeling a bit awkward. Was it okay to do this? Depend on the lupine ... skills... that Moreau had left him with. He remembered a particular jab of the redheaded scientist about eventually coming to use the abilities he had been given.
But he was hungry. And like it or not, because of the animal blood that was coursing in with his own, he couldn't subside on the mangos that the others had been eating.
And with the hunger that seemed to be intensifying by the moment peaked again, the scents of the jungle seemed that much clearer... the plants, the salt from the sea... and most especially the wildlife. Before he even thought about what he was doing, he started off following something his stomach told him was food, his footpads keepign his steps silent.Amaya followed in silence, trying to be as quiet as possible. Unlike Ambrose, who was light on his feet from both fencing and the wolf in him, she wasn't. Her appendanges were larger and harder to manuver, though she still managed to follow.His ears pivoted on their base as he scented in a variety of directions, moving off diagonally for a few moments before squatting and getting a closer 'look' at a trail.
Very, very quietly he whispered. "I... I don't know what this smell is.... but... I think it's food-er, I mean a...uhm... something we can hunt...?" He winced. "Alright." She nodded, seemingly unphased by the 'food' comment. After all, that's what it was. When her father had brought home a deer or rabbit or whatever he had managed to kill in season, she didn't really think of it as a poor defensless animal that had been killed... it was a meal for them, a meal they had worked for.Ambrose had found a trail... and it was fresh. He turned back to Amaya, raising a finger to his short muzzle.
He padded quickly along he trail - which if Amaya looked there was a visable sign as well - the brush seemed disturbed and packed down - making traveling for them easier as well.Amaya nodded, keeping as silent as possible and doing her best to keep in tow.Time passed, And Ambrose seemed a man focused. Going several days now without meat had done something to him, and he needed real food.
Suddenly, Ambrose crouched down, readjusting his hold on his makeshift spear. THere was a noise now to go with the now much more powerful scent. A cracklingrustling, and Ambrose's ears swiveled forward, his tongue subconsciously licking his chops.Green eyes watched Ambrose, causing her to crouch as well. By the look on his face she could tell he was 'in the zone'... if they got whatever animal this may be, it would probably be at his hand... or spear. She just hoped he didn't lunge with his fangs and teeth and the head on his shoulders was still the big brother she knew.Ambrose's eyes narrowed and he kept low to the ground, the spear tight in his fist. An animal shuffled its way along - it looked like they were near another river bank - nibbling on some of the new shoots. 
And... quickly, Ambrose lunged! ((*goes to roll some dice* ))Amaya couldn't see the animal past Ambrose, so she remained still and quiet.With quick movements Ambrose uncurls, driving the spear into the animal's side in a lunge reminiscient of the fencing move. The animal squeals and lurches forward, the long spear sticking out of its side, hobbling the creature that looks like an oversized muskrat.
Ambrose stands straight now, drawing the knife and hurrying after the injured creature with only a moment's hesitation realizing what he had just done... but the smell of the blood kept him from hesitating very long.Amaya barely had time to react, standing just in time to watch Ambrose take off after the large rodent. She could taste the blood in the air, much to her discontent and recoiled a little before following after him without a word.It was larger than it looked at first glance, standing a couple of feet at the shoulder, and probably weighing around 75 lbs - certainly a good several meals. It hobbled towards the river, and Ambrose tried to interpose himself, flashing a look to Amaya's spear with a nod as he drew his knife and made a stab at it, giving it another small slice across the shoulder.. The first spear was still sticking out of it, and the creature looked terrified.It was just like a bow and arrow... Amaya told herself as she ran foreward, getting a good grip on the spear and close enough to the capybara before plunging the spear the best she could into where she assumed the heart to be.Amaya's shot was good, and between their combined efforts, the capybara gave one more strangled cry before falling over, struggling, but doing so only seemed to make its blood pump faster and out of the spearwounds.
It lay there, weakened and panting, as it was slowly bleeding to death.
Ambrose swallowed, and, kneeling down, held the knife to its throat - intending on giving it a faster death. Squeezing his eyes shut, he drew the knife across is throat. She watched in silence, frowning but not looking as effected from it as Ambrose did. Walking over to him, she patted his shoulder in hopes of bringing him a little reasurance.Ambrose looked up to Amaya with clear blue eyes as the creature's twitching finally slowed... and stopped.
He took a large breath and stood up, looking down at his bloody hands.... but they had done it... they'd made their kill.... and it would be very good eating.
"Thank.... thank you." He nodded to her. "We... we did it. I.... I can't say that I know what it is... but I don't think there would be a problem eating it...?""It looks pretty good. It can probably last you a couple of days at least." Amaya gave him a reassuring smile before leaning down and putting her fingers in front of it's nose. Feeling no breathing, she started to pull the spears out. "... What is it though? You have any idea?" Make light of the conversation, hopefully it would help Ambrose deal with it. Though not as brutal, she had seen animals get killed right in front of her before so it wasn't anything new. Especially when one needed the meat on it to survive.Ambrose was born and raised very much a city boy, despite some scouting escapades, the closest he had ever gotten to anything like this was fishing from the yaht - and there was a difference between catching and releasing fish and a bloody mess in front of him that was a few moments ago a living, breathing animal. But... he knew where the packaged meat came from, and he never had a problem with it. He just... never had to do it himself... never had to see it.
But.... the carnivore in him... helped. It was right and natural.... and most of all, it was food. "I don't know what it is.... it looks like a giant... muskrat or something... but I'm sure... it will taste good cooked over a fire". He smiled to her, shaking off some of the adrenaline.
He walked down to the streambank, and rinsed off the spears and the knife, and then himself before gathering some more vines and sticks, begining to form a simple shift to be able to drag it back without getting it all dirty.
"Do we... uhm... clean it here...? Or back there..?" "Hm..." Amaya thought for a moment, looking from him to the animal. "We can probably use the insides as bait for other traps, but having them around the camp might attract something we really don't want. I should do it here, we'll drag everything else back to camp with us, okay?" Taking one of the knives in her hands, she manuvered the rodent so it's stomach was facing her. Okay... it's like a big rabbit... Putting the knife from one end of the stomach to the other, she sliced it open and let the organs spill out. For anyone not used to it, it was probably a pretty horrendous sight. The begining and smell of it has always made her flinch a little, even now.Ambrose nodded, listenign to her expertise. "Sounds like a plan... and I'm sure you're right... last thing we want is predators near the camp... or more vultures." He shuddered.
He made himself ready to watch, that is until she eviscerated the animal. His paw-hand immediately went to his mouth and he turned. Apparently he wasn't that lupine just quite yet.
But he didn't say anything, knowing full well it needed to be done, and impressed that she could handle it.
"Uhm... you said you might be able to construct some traps..?""Possibly, but I'm afraid that I don't know much about traps. Theres the whole dig-a-hole-with-spears-in-it thing..." She tried to make small talk while pulling out all the uneeded organs, wondering if Ambrose was okay with all of this. Then again... he didn't really have a choice. Amaya used the end of the knives to help pull them out, using her hands as little as possible. "We could probably make a shovel out of some metal or something, y'think?"If Ambrose had a problem, he didn't voice it. "Ah, well, we can bring back some of the unedible meat wrapped up in leaves.... I remember... was it Emelyn? who said she could build traps.... of course.... if we use meat for bait... wouldnt' we catch predators...?
I say... for now.... we get this back to the camp... eat, and on a full stomach we can start setting up traps tomorrow perhaps." He glanced back around. It looked like at least the .... slimiest part was past. He patted her on the shoulder." Yeah, but predator or not it's still meat... and I doubt there are many large predators on the island. We might have a better chance at catching something that way too, since blood probably carries on the wind moreso then fruit does." Nodding, she looked back at him before grabbing the large rodents legs and pulling it away from the pile of organs. "I'm not sure how we can preserve the meat longest though... does it rot faster when cooked or uncooked?" Amaya raised a brow and stood up. "Uncooked is faster, right?" For some reason she couldn't remember.Ambrose scratched his chin. "I... uhm... think it does cooked... or smoked... but I can't be certain. If we had an icebox... then probably raw. But we don't."
He squatted by her, now that the viscera was out. "Can I help?""Sure... I guess we need to find a way to get this back to camp... maybe we should wrap up some of the organs for traps or something." Amaya went to scratch her head but stopped when she noticed how bloody her hands and some of her toes were, having gotten caught in the line of fire when she had been gutting it. "I'm gonna go wash myself and the knife off." Grabbing her utensil she went down to the river's edge to wash up.Ambrose nodded. "I'll do that..." He swallowed, getting up and finding some large fronds. He squatted down and winced as he picked up the intenstines, quickly wrapping them up and tying it with the vines... which proceeded to drop through the cracks and be altogether nasty. Ambrose made a face... but still didn't say anything.
REpeating a few times, and double-wrapping many of them, he got up to join her at the riverbank to wash his hands again. However, as he squatted to do so, not thinking, he licked at his bloody fingers... and froze, hackles rising.Amaya had wandered a few feet into the water, dunking herself under and cleaning the rest of her body of dirt along with any blood that still remained. Though as she turned around and started to make her way back to the bank she spotted Ambrose and froze as well.Ambrose, silently, but eyes wide just... quietly dipped his hands in the river, then furiously scrubbed. He hadn't just done that!
.... but it had tasted so go- NO!.
He shuddered, and continued to scrub.Swallowing, Amaya wandered back to the bank and kneeled down beside him. Gently she put her scaley arms around his neck in an embrace. "It's okay, Ambrose..." She knew it wasn't his fault, though she was a little frightened by it.Ambrose was tense, looking at the blood that was washing into the river.
He shook his head quickly. "N..no! It's not alright! I just... I just..." He shook his head. That wasn't him...... maybe... maybe he was just really hungry.... no - that wasn't any excuse!Amaya frowned, letting her hands drop. She really didn't know what to say. Though she didn't leave his side and stayed crouched there in the dirt.Ambrose finally finished clensing his hands to his .. satisfaction and he sighed, slumping down to a sit, and wiped his hands through his hair.
"I.... I Don't like to admit... how much this ... whole thing... is affecting me. I mean... it really doesn't bother me when Hargun eats bugs.... or... eating meat is one thing... but... I don't know...." He sighed. Was he being hypocritical...? But still... the fact remains he never would have done what he just did before coming to the island, no matter how hungry he was.She nodded and took a seat next to him. "I don't think any of us want to admit it... even I've been trying to keep myself from realizing how much I've changed. I don't remember if I told you or not... but I got in a fight a long while ago with Lauren. I think I hissed at her and I'm not as talkative or social as I used to be..." She paused, looking at the water's surface. "I hate to think all of this is effecting us outside of just our apperance..."Ambrose paused and looked at her directly. "I... know what you mean. I... havent' wanted to talk about this to Angelina... I know it would scare her." His ears lowered. "You hissed at her...?" He breathed. "I... I've been growling... from time to time.... though I've noticed you've been quieter. I've been worried about you - I wanted to know if you were alright... I didn't think that you might just be becoming less social..."Amaya nodded, looking over to him with scale-rimmed eyes and knowing that these kinds of things would probably worry Angelina moreso then she needed to be worried. "Yeah... though I haven't really mentioned it to anyone. My temper is a lot shorter then it was too... I seem to get angry so often. A lot more then I used to." She pushed a strand of revn hair from her view, water dripping into her eyes. "I read a lot about... green iguanas once I realized that's what they had in store for me. They're solitary and bitchy... the total opposite of who I am."Ambrose frowned at the cruel fate that he wasn't even aware was in store for her. "Oh Lord... Amaya.... I'm sorry.... " He squeezed her wet shoulder. "That... that really isn't fair at all... Do you even think that they even realize the things that they're doign to us... how much they are changing us with minor notes on the animals that they chose for some of us...? Amaya... you're the nicest sweetist girl I've ever known.... I don't think even Iguana blood can change that if you don't wan it to.""It's alright... I can get through it." I hope... She added in her mind, and tried to give him a reassuring smile. "Though I have a feeling they know what they're doing to us... Moreau is an evil, heartless b*****d. He undoubtedly picked each animal himself just to see what would happen. I mean, Cassidy is afraid of snakes and Hargun was an art student." Amaya sighed, her head dropping a little. "But thank you..." She cocked a tiny smile.Ambrose frowned. "I'm sorry... but... it's true... I do have a lot of respect for you, and if any of us can get through this with a positive outlook, it's you . And... if you ever need to talk, or need to vent... you can come to me if you like." He paused for a moment, and leaned forward to give the girl a hug.
Is there a reason for each of the choices? I wonder why he chose a wolf for me? Is it because of the company logo? My old family crest? I doubt he did that much background into me.... or something else?Nodding, she returned the hug with a smile. "I will, definatly." She then pulled away and looked at him. "Though I think we should start heading back to camp... if we wait much longer, something might come along attracted by the blood."He gave her a few patts on the back. Her comfort was definately helpful to his frayed nerves. But yes, they definately needed to head back. He didnt' know how long it woudl take to cook the food, and he was starving!
"You're right... let's head back - I'm sure the others will be happy to see our catch."
Ambrose stood, and got to work putting the meat on their shift to drag back to camp. "Mmm.... I Feel like oversized swamp rat-thing tonight!" He parodied the chicken-song with a grin.Amaya laughed and gathered up the knives and spears, walking alongside him and stopping once or twice to grab some nice-looking fruit along the way for herself and anyone else that could still stomach it.It was about a thirty or fourty-five minute walk back to the campsite, but Ambrose was able to keep the way - the scents of the areas of the jungle were as much of a landmakr to him as any tree or bush. And after the talk, his spirits were higher as he joked with her and hummed their way back to the camp.Following Ambrose, she didn't really think twice about the possibility of getting lost even though the thought that he could literally sniff his way back to camp didn't exactly cross her mind. She joked right along with him and even would sing a lyric or two from a random song. Wow, she didn't realize how much she missed her poor abandoned CD player.Finally, the familiar smell of smoke crossed his nose - and he smiled - not only were they close, but the fire was still going.
"The mighty hunters have returned!" He announce with a wide smile. "Bearing MEEEEAAT!" He glanced back to Amaya. "And Fruit!""Whoohoo!" Amaya cheered, coming into camp right behind Ambrose with weapons and fruit in hand.((ANd a final note to those others in this campsite - feel free to slow-tag :3 - no heavilymandate postting order - and we can perhaps RP some as a group or small grousp later.))
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Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2006 10:56 am
Em heard someone whooping as she and Cass came back through the underbrush into the camp area. She was glad to see that the party had mostly reassembled. Angelina didn't seem to be anywhere in sight. ...And that didn't much bother her, either.
"We come bearing honey," she said, "not that it's even halfway decent sustenance, but it should taste pretty dang good." She put the honey-crusted comb down on one of the stones ringing the outside edge of the fire seating, and licked a sticky spot on one of her fingers before heading for the water. The stings were starting to burn, and she decided to take Cassidy's advice and head for the water.
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 1:38 am
"Wow, Honey!" Ambrose said, obviously impressed. "That must have taken some doing.." He commented, eying some of the swelling on her hands. "But congradulations! Sweets are far underestimated hwen living off the landlike this!"
He set down the shift and went about gathering some more sticks to set up a spit over the fire for the meat.
"And we have meat for dinner! Some sort of furry... oversized swamprat of some sort. The thing looked like it must have weighed at least seventy pounds~!" He puffed out his chest proudly.
"Perhaps we can even have honey with the meat." He grinned.
Glancing around the campsite for the rest, he queried. "Angelina ever get back..?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 22, 2006 3:41 pm
Emelyn turned back over her shoulder as she thrust her hands into the nearest crook of the stream.
"...No. I suppose she's not gotten back from the labs. ...Maybe she found a way in."
...Or maybe she fell in a hole, Em thought. As if punishment for it, though, the back of her neck began to throb.
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Posted: Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:59 am
"I hope so" Ambrose said, albeit nervously. He was begining to feel quite overprotective of this little group since they were turned out into the 'wild'. Especially Angelina. He should never have let her go alone... maybe if she had taken Vasile...? Not that he seemed any more capable than she at the moment. IT should have been him.
Looking up from his mental chiding, he skewered some of the slabs of meat over the fire, adding some more wood.
Soon the smell of meat filled his nose, and set him salivating. Even before the flames had barely licked the edges of the meat, it was all Ambrose could do to keep himself from snatching a piece for himself and sinking his pronounced canines into it. It had been days since he had had any meat, and it.... was having an effect on him. Usually he could eat a huge meal a day in the cafeteria, primarily of meat. Recently he had only been scraping by on pieces of intermittant fruit.
His eyes stared at the sizzling meat over the popping fire and wiped at his mouth.
not all of the meat is over the fire currently.... there is still on the shift... you could get some now, tide you over! There is plenty for all of us and it probably won't keep - a voice of his hunger seemed to speak into his mind. Without thinking, Ambrose's hand snaked to the nearby shift and was grabbing at one of the wrapped packages and fiddling with the vine-ties before consciousness snapped him out of it and he dropped it quickly back to the pile. It was raw!
He put his hands back into his lap quickly and tried to pretend nothign had happened.
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Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2006 12:22 am
"Ooooo, honey? Did you get stung?" Amaya asked, looking over to Emelyn as she sat near the fire. Even though the honey comb smelled good, her stomach told her that it wasn't exactly the first choice in food that was available. Looks like she was sticking to fruit.
Though luckily for Ambrose, she was still looking at the woman near the stream while he almost ate raw meat. She turned just in time to miss it, looking up at the sky. Amaya couldn't tell what time it was due to the thick canopy overhead. "Maybe one of us should go look for her...?" Her voice trailed off as she looked over at Ambrose. "I can go look for her."
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