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Shrugging her slim shoulders, Shiko followed Marek and Stilletto, bringing up the rear. As usual. She wasn't really in the mood for meat, but if Stilletto managed to bring down a Viperwolf, you wouldn't catch her complaining. In the meantime, Shiko was going to keep her eyes peeled for those delicious plum-like fruits that literally grew everywhere on Pandora. Leave the hard work for Stilletto; she was going fruit picking.

Shiko, who had been trailing further and further behind the two males, was now scampering up a tree, her finger digging into the soft bark of the tree as she shimmed towards her goal; a cluster of ripe blue fruits. Once they were in hand, she let go of the tree, and dropped lightly to the ground below. Standing up, she brushed herself off before offering one of the fruits to Marek. "Careful, they squirt juice everywhere." She warned, raising one eyebrow in sardonic amusement as she looked at Stilletto.

Shiko shrugged and bit into of the one blue plums, holding the fruit at arm's length away so as to not get juice all over her white (well, now it was gray, but it had been white once upon a time) jacket. Blinking in surprise at Stilletto's question, she wrinkled her nose, as if thinking about how to answer. "Well, for starters, I can create footholds and places to grip in the tree by pulling the bark aside and digging into the softer wood underneath." Shiko began, spitting the pit of the fruit into her hand and tossing it away. "You can't do that with rocks. Also, the rock wall went straight up, more or less. But a tree doesn't go in a directly vertical line; it moves gradually up, like a slope." She shrugged. "Plus, and this doesn't really mean anything, but a tree is a living organism. Rocks are not."

Shiko looked away from the dead Viperwolf, muttering the Na'vi prayer under her breath. "I don't know about you, but I'm not eating that raw." She said, still looking away. "I'll go get some wood for a fire." She headed off into the woods, bright hair and pale jacket shining like a beacon in the dark forest.

Shiko sighed in annoyance as she pulled a short knife out of her boot and began hacking away at one of the lower branches of the nearest tree. "I don't need you to come babysit me." She said shortly, hearing Stilletto behind her. "You're forgetting who worked with the Na'vi long before you arrived on this planet. I know this forest just as well as you do; maybe even better, since I've been here longer. You seem to forget that I'm capable of looking after myself." With one final, angry slash, a heavy branch fell to the ground and Shiko muttered another short prayer of forgiveness before stomping several times on the wood to break it up into smaller pieces. "The one who should really be worrying about their personal safety is yourself." She slid the knife back into her boot, and began picking up the smaller sticks.

Shiko laughed bitterly. "Doesn't matter, I still know this planet better. This place is like my second home. I don't need you looking out for me, ready to shoot the first Na'vi or Thanator that looks my way. Besides, you not the only one who just f ucked up by Alice. So..." She trailed off, and picked up a piece of word with an angry look on her face. "She may be my birth mother, but I had Na'vi women who acted more like mothers than that woman did." She spat before storming away, holding the wood in her arms.

Shiko slammed the sticks down on the ground, glaring at a patch of dirt as she piled the wood there. "Anyone got a lighter, or matches?" She asked, without much hope. She doubted Marek did, and she knew Stilletto wouldn't. Shiko could start a fire without one, but it would take much longer.

Shiko rolled her eyes, trying to hide a smile. "Show-off." She muttered, folding her legs and feeding the now roaring fire another stick or five. Her nose twitched, and she sneezed, eyes watering at the thick smoke that bellowed up from the fire.