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 Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:55 am
As Harrison examined and massaged Cruz's fingers, trying to bring sensation back to the Frei's hand, he would also begin to feel the slowly increasing tingling sensation. Whatever it was, it is infecting via touch! Oddly enough, only the hands that had touched the dog tags, and of course Cruz's hand, were affected by this strange affliction.
If Harrison and Cruz were calm enough to examine their surroundings, they would see a couple of hemlock bushes near them. The small white flowers clustered in an umbrella fashion, growing at the tip of long green stems, very much resembling the Queen Anne's lace. Which would perhaps give them a basic idea of what they are dealing with. And to their horror, they would also notice that the place is littered with hemlocks, one right beside the rock where Melisande had placed her things.
Although not deadly, but it is still poisonous when touched, and would cause numbness for a prolonged period of time.
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:13 pm
The water soothed away everything for a while, and Melisande relaxed...letting her head hang as she held her wet hair gathered in one hand. As much as she wanted to stay, the fact that Kyou was still somewhere out there lost constantly nagged at her. She'd seen how dangerous the jungle was...surely the doctor was frightened, if nothing else.
With a sigh, the Sigel let herself drift backwards out of the spray. The heat of the jungle returned almost instantly, making her feel muggy rather than fresh and clean. Wringing out her hair, wincing at the pain in her hand, Pasha took a look around.
Trox and Cruz were still conversing, and it looked like the Frei was having his arm rubbed. Her brows knit, and she absently picked a few petals out of her wet curls. The flowers at her temples weren't doing too well...they looked slightly wilted, which wasn't far off from how the Muse felt.
"Everyone okay?" She called, voice sweet and clear over the rush of the waterfall. Pasha tucked the chain and ring she wore back into her tank top, preparing to dress again. "Find anything else?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:23 pm
The frei didn't understand what Trox was going through. For all of his physical responses, it was silent and only played out as confusion, which Cruz could definitely get behind. He was confused too. The true nature of dog tags wasn't something he understood in the proper sense; he knew soldiers wore them and he knew that this set belonged to Trox which, by all accounts, shouldn't be possible, but he didn't know why this situation was strange beyond the fact he'd never set foot here and he was quite willing to believe that since the man had given no reason for him to suspect otherwise. He was still nervous, though, and worried as Trox's eyes swelled with tears. Just as he was going to ask if the man was alright he approached and spoke, but his words meshed together clumsily and were difficult for the croc to understand. He did his best, breathing nervous and elevated. The name "Moore" hadn't struck him as anything significant until Troxel corrected himself and it only caused the Frei to double take, not paying it much mind as the man tried to help him.
His fingers were deft and there was a sudden calmness to him that Cruz didn't comprehend, he just tried to concentrate on breathing normally. The massaging "felt" good but it didn't necessarily stop the tingling, in fact it actually seemed to spread it around more easily. Once Cruz noticed this his fingers unconsciously stiffened -- or, they would have if they weren't completely numb now.
"Ah--!" it was a subdued yelp but certainly distressed, and his other hand hovered over Trox's own as if to intervene but he didn't pull away, "T-Trox, my fingers won't move!" The frei refrained from shouting despite his distress. He'd hardly heard Melisande's curious call. Cruz's eyes raised to the muse in worry, mouth hanging open without knowing what to say. After a second he quickly shook his head, mouth shut tight.
Anita wasn't privy to any of this until Melisande asked them, having taken her shoes off and dipped her feet into the water and busied herself by testing her phone signal. It was absolutely blank, of course, so she looked through her contacts with that simple identifying label she'd given anyone affiliated with Lab 305, wondering just how many of them were involved in this mess. She looked up when there was no vocal response, glancing to the boys and instantly flipping her phone shut and getting to her feet. Something was very wrong, what the hell was going on? "What's up?" she called firmly, voice surprisingly sturdy despite her growing apprehension.
"N-numb!" Cruz finally managed to call back and instantly Anita went on the alert. Her eyes scanned for any sign of more bugs but there was nothing, everything was clear and pleasant here. There weren't even any thorns on the nearby plants, but -- she paused and scrutinized the leaves. Of course this beautiful clearing was too good to be true, there had to be something, and without fail that something was <******** hemlock.
Wasting no more time, Anita practically threw herself at her pack and dug out the book again. Hemlock was dangerous, deadly, but she distinctly recalled that only being the case if it was ingested. Cruz had no reason to eat anything physical and he'd never shown any interest in putting random things in his mouth, so that was as unlikely as Dr. Kyou dropping into the swimming hole from the sky. Finally stopping on the hemlock page she nearly balked at its initial warnings but it stressed that these were reactions to ingestion. There didn't seem to be much of anything relating to touch at all, not even ointment suggestions for potential rashes, and certainly not particular numbness except for that being how it killed a person.
"Did you eat anything?!"
"NO!" His shout came out louder than intended as his entire hand became limp and the numbness seemed to creep further and further up to where he felt nothing at all. It hadn't reached his elbow yet but it was closing in fast.
"Trox, what is happening?" Anita closed the book and tossed it back onto her bag, finally making her approach to examine the situation first hand. She gave pause when she noticed the slight wet glint on Trox's cheeks, his eyes still puffed and red but she had no idea why. Her eyes quickly traveled to Cruz, whose jaw was lowering and rising silently as if his mouth needed a jump start before he could speak.
"Th-there -- um -- dog tags. T-Trox's. Picked them up. H-hand's numb. The one that touched them." He would have flexed that arm if he could to show it off but that was precisely the problem.
That didn't make any damn sense to her so she turned back to Trox, leaning a bit toward his ear so she could speak succinctly. "There's a bunch of hemlock around here. The book doesn't say anything about touching it being dangerous but this s**t is bad news." At that she glanced to Melisande who was still hovering near the water and, once she caught the muse's eye, raised a hand silently telling her to hang back and, hopefully, not touch any of the plants. "Maybe it got on his skin, I don't know, see if you can wash it off or something."
Unfortunately, her attempts at quieting this information were lost on Cruz and his eyes widened with horror. "N-Nita! How dangerous?!" The poor frei was beginning to hyperventilate, tears starting to sting his own eyes. This was so uncomfortable and weird and stressful. What was he supposed to do?!
"It's fine," her voice and expression were surprisingly firm, "You're going to be fine. Just do what Trox tells you, okay?" His tears finally bubbled over and all he could manage as a response was a weak sob but Cruz nodded and turned his attention back to Trox for now. "Can I use your satellite phone? I want to call some of the other groups and see if this entire mission isn't completely ********> With Trox's permission, she retrieved the phone and stepped away, heading closer to Melisande's location.
With the assistance of her own cell for contact numbers, she flipped through and tried to guess who might have signal. Would anyone else have satellite connection or would they just have to call emergency services and call it a bust? At this point she honestly wouldn't mind, wanting to put this entire experience far behind her as quickly as possible. The first number she tried was Zeke, then Duncan, and Ronan; she knew all three of them were present and Zeke in particular was an important contact both due to their friendship and also him actually working for Lab. She'd only just met Ronan but she was worried for him, and poor Duncan, what the hell was he even doing here? She'd spotted him briefly on the bus and hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now...
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Posted: Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:52 pm
Trox could do little more than focus on the task at hand- and that task was to get Cruz back to his normal 1/3rd of a body self back to as normal as a half glowing entity can be. He shuddered, numbness tickling at this fingers. The ridges of the dog tags, where he had clung to the metal during his panic attack, left a ridge of no sensitivity. The imprint of his tags had created a void in his nerve endings or something. Now as he worked the Croc's arms and muscles, trying to stimulate the muscles, work the blood, trying to get something to flow. It wasn't working and now the icy feeling of deprived nerves crawled up his forearms. The aviator gritted his teeth and breathed deep. Get a grip of yourself, Harrison. Then Anita ventured into the picture.
"Hey, hey Cruz? Simmer, guy. It's gonna be oka-" His words were quiet, broken and didn't do a lick of good given how Cruz's pulse was definitely quickening under his fingers.
Hemlock. ********' great. How long had they been breathing in the pollen filled air? He glanced around and shook his head- listening to Anita as he focused on the task at hand. He raised a brow and glanced at the woman approaching and looked to the blasted plants around them and bit his lip.
"Hemlock? I mean, topically it shouldn't do anything... Unless- You're not amphibious, Cruz are you? Like.. absorbing oils through your skin like frogs?" He looked back at Anita for confirmation, "Unless we'- He's allergic and the pollen is able to, yenno?"
Harrison chose to ignore the numbness crawling up his wrist. After all, his could be a coincidence- pinched nerve from being old with a fused spine and sleeping on the ******** forest floor. Remind him again why he chose to go out on this adventure? ******** it.
s**t. s**t s**t s**t... No this wasn't supposed to happen. His entire team needed to get through this relatively unscathed. Harrison hissed and worked his own fingers before pulling Cruz's arm over his shoulder- like an assisted carry, despite the Frei yenno... Floating. He wiped his own face quickly, everyones looks directed to his cheeks and eyes was a bit of a tell that what he thought happened and what actually carried over from his nightmare didn't exactly queue up. He listened to Anita, nodding and shaking his head remembering the satellite phone.
"Yeah, small pocket. Turn it on and follow the instructions on the screen. I printed out a cheat card on how to call out in the case..." He moved Cruz towards the water, kicking off his boots after a moment of struggle and stepping backwards into the water. Best he go first in case any more of the Frei went numb. He was also within shouting distance to Pasha.
"S'okay Cruz. H'won' letchu go under, just breathe deep. Fill dem lungs and exhale completely before suckin' in again, kay?" Trox had his soothing voice on, the southern lilt peaking out. This was the same hushed tones he used for injured dogs- his household has fostered many recovering pups. He breathed slow as an example for the croc.
"Hey Pasha?" He called out over his shoulder, "Be careful of the white flowers tha' look like baby's breath or whatever. It's hemlock, and Cruz might be a tad allergic. Kin you dig out m'first aid kit and get the toxin kit out? It might have a powder we can absorb any oils on his skin wid..."
The pilot looked back to Cruz and managed a smile for him before scrubbing down his arms in the water. "How we doin' Cruz?"
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Posted: Tue Oct 22, 2013 6:37 am
Thankfully for the two guys, after a prolonged scrubbing and washing of their hands in the waters, they began to regain feeling in their fingers. The irritating tingling feeling remained though, and would likely continue to plague them for the rest of the day. Likely due to the fact that their skin had absorbed some particles of the hemlock.
It is also a good idea to wash the dog tags in the water. Upon touching in the water, Harrison would find that it's coated with something that is invisible to the naked eye, but it would be easy enough to wash off.
Also unfortunate for the both of them, that their clothes are wet now. As Harrison forgot to take off his boots and clothes before taking a dip. The water was cooling in the warm and humid weather though, and they would be able to feel the occasional fishes swimming past them as they went downstream, their tails splashing around and grazing them in the water. It was an unusual feeling for fishes to be so near to them. Likely because there are so few people that manage to come up here, that the fishes see them merely as how they would view a floating log in the water. Simply an obstacle, and not something that is able to catch them and eat them.
If Anita dialed Zeke's number first, she would find that she was unable to reach the vet's phone at all. There could be a number of reasons why this is so, perhaps Zeke is in an area so deep in the forest that his phone was unable to receive any signal, or he wasn't with the phone at the moment, or perhaps... his phone was destroyed. Whatever it was, Anita would have to reach out to either Ronan or Duncan.
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Posted: Wed Oct 23, 2013 6:40 pm
The serenity of the waterfall was shattered as everyone began calling and scrubbing. Melisande paused, still hovering over the rippling basin, as Trox splashed into the pond boots and all. Between his warnings and Anita's readings, she cast a side long look at her own gear.
She'd set her extra tank and the utility belt on her bolero, which was resting on a slanted rock near the waterline. Unfortunately, there were those lovely baby's-breath-like plants not that far away...and while they might not have tainted her clothes, they might have coated the rock over the months while they'd grown. With a rather unladylike grimace, she slipped into her second tank and belt only, leaving bolero laying on the slab.
Pasha refocused on Trox as he called out a request for the first aid kit. She'd just come out of the waterfall, and a large part of her felt inadequate. The Muse had tried to relax, focus on the patter of the water and the one bright point of the venture, but her attempt vanished with a wrench. Distantly, Melisande realized what she'd been trying to do. She'd been trying to focus on herself, to draw her world inward and spend a little time grooming and relaxing...
She'd been trying to self-feed. Little questing tendrils curled and tugged at her locks, the last effort of wilting blooms.
Her rune twisted, dimming slightly as her ribbon flickered in its spiral. Pasha had told everyone that she would be fine, but her well being wasn't as simple as a kiss on the cheek. Especially not when she'd been expending herself like she had. She clenched both her tiny hands in fists...one at her side, and one around the ring she wore over her heart. They were close. A first aid kit and a few more hours of searching were all that stood between them and her Maker. Of this, the Muse was certain.
Taking just a moment to twist her wet curls into a knot, she called out to the rest of her party in a tone that was far more assured than she felt.
"I'll get the first aid kit, and the rest of the gear! Start moving again, we can look for a trail? You know what you're looking for, Trox...leave the rest to Anita and me."
There was a slight note of desperation to Melisande's voice. She had produced the first aid kit and was moving towards the two...all the while motioning them forward. Truth be told, Pasha was feeling guilty for ever taking the dip in the water fall. Everything they were experiencing, Kyou was likely experiencing alone.
It was something like an adrenaline rush, pushing on when she was running so low. As humbling as it was, she realized that she would have so much more to give if Cesc or Rivener were nearby. She was a well without a bucket, and had no way to express that.
Chewing her lip, mind miles away, Melisande dug through the first aid kit and encouraged the others along away from the clearing.
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Posted: Sat Oct 26, 2013 6:53 pm
The water surprised the frei, causing him to let out a short yelp as Trox quickly directed him. It was cold but compared to the numbness it was a relief from the muggy air. He hung on, both to the man's arms and his words. Or at least he was hanging on with one hand, the other having become completely limp and immobile from its increasing numbness that was beginning to make its way well past his elbow. It made his skin feel cold and clammy and in his frenzy Cruz's nails dug nervously at Trox's skin. He nodded and whimpered to Trox's instruction, eyes wild as they followed his call to Melisande and she was given a quick update.
"U-um -- mm," he could barely get a coherent response out, toothy maw hanging agape while he stared dumbly but finally nodded to the question. Whether it was helping or not yet he didn't know but he was trying to hold it together, keep calm. Never before had he been in a situation like this, though he'd certainly been scared and injured in the past, but this was different, this was internal, it was something he saw no way to avoid or control and it was completely terrifying.
Anita's first call was to Zeke, considering his position as an employee. Friendship not withstanding, he was the obvious choice to call when she didn't have the number of the guy in charge himself, Jeremy. Unfortunately for her, it rang and rang and didn't even manage to connect to voicemail the signal was so low. Cursing under her breath, her thumbs moved quickly between both phones, checking instead for Duncan's number since it was higher up in her contacts than Ronan. There was also the added bonus that, even if she and Duncan weren't close, she certainly knew the older man better than Ronan whom she'd spoken to all of twice.Quote: (Corresponding with this post.)
"Ah," Duncan began, his voice ragged, "This is Duncan Clarke. Who is this?" Quote: Duncan hesitated-- there was a bit of static over the line, and he was having some difficulty concentrating. "Anita! I didn't expect a call from you," he began, "Everything's-- everyone's fine, relatively. Our campsite happened to catch on fire, but we've dealt with it. How is everything on your end? Is everyone okay?" Quote: Duncan's heart fell at the news. It was fairly discernable that Anita was somewhat tired from her voice, but he moved quickly onto business, "Don't worry about us, Anita-- we've had some bad luck with the fires around here, but no one's gravely injured, I assure you." He wasn't too sure if he could assure that in full truth, given the two Raevans, but it was manageable nevertheless, "About Cruz, what are his symptoms? Is he having a hard time breathing?" Quote: "Oh, no... that's horrible, but I suppose the First Aid Kits will have to do for now, until we reach the park rangers again."
When Anita asked about his location, Duncan went suddenly quiet. It was only after a few moments that he realized static silence was not a wonderful alternative; "We happened to lose all of our maps and a good amount of our materials in the campfire, so I can't say with any certainty. We're nearby a river, and if I recall, this should be the only one in the forest," Duncan scratched his head, "But I can't say for sure where exactly on the river we are. If we're still on the strip of land our team was supposed to cover--"
Duncan paused, gravely. He finally begun understanding the implications of his thoughts, but continued speaking to Anita in as 'good' a mood as possible, "--I thought we were on our way back, but if we continued straight south, we... shouldn't be... does your team have a map available?" Quote: "A... waterfall?" Duncan hadn't been paying any particular attention to the surrounding area save for their part of the map. He nodded at the latter offer, though, until he realized Anita wasn't able to see him, and cleared his breath. "If you could, that would be wonderful." Quote: "N-no, I believe we're going north," Duncan replied, quietly, "We're about a day's or so in to the forest."
While she packed up and started getting ready to move, save for the map, Cruz watched Melisande's approach with the first aid kit. His eyes were wide and childlike, but the longer he stayed in the water and sloshed around, the more it did actually seem to be helping. Maybe it was psychological, since Trox and Anita both seemed sure it would, but he didn't care; the tingling had stopped spreading, at the very least, but it would take a while for it to wear off completely with how deep the numbness had become. Once Trox was out of the water he followed suit, thanking the man and the muse profusely while cradling his limp arm. He gathered his own things as best he could and made his way over to Anita while she spoke with Duncan, staying quiet so as not to interrupt. With a slight nudge he maneuvered beneath her left arm for a hug and, when there was a break in conversation, Anita quickly planted several kisses atop his head, the energy of which quickly seeped in and calmed him further.
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Posted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 1:28 am
Trox kept his entire mind focused on keeping afloat, one hand wrapped around Cruz's upper arm to make sure he didn't float away. Granted, the gesture was mostly to ground himself- stepping into water while parts of your body were turning unusable was not the safest bet but it seemed to be working. He could focus on Cruz, he could focus on himself and he could pointedly ignore the sound of a master caution still haunting him from years ago. He felt calmer. The seeds of his panic attack and nightmares slowly withering and he breathed slowly watching Cruz finally leave the water. He took a moment longer to wash the numbness away, another thing that was completely far fetched but happened to work. He wasn't going to fight it.
Harrison followed Cruz a few beats after Cruz and flopped on the ground to dry his feet. He felt exhausted, his back hurt and he just wanted to return to Trigger and home at this point. A pull he hadn't felt in a long time. He was sluggish in his movements as he pulled his boots back on, and changed out of his drenched clothing- cautious of the hemlock. At least he felt a tad bit more human.
The aviator then moved over to Anita, brow furrowed, pack on his back, ready to step off. He threw her a quizzical look and looked at his watch, finding his 8 digit grid location and pointing to the map in her hands with a raised eyebrow- mouthing 'let me mark down where we are' and pantomiming the same.
He took his time, pulling out a GTA 5-2-12 UTM ruler and succinctly plotting a dot at their exact location before handing it back to Anita. If there was someone else nearby, he'd definitely like to link up with them. Meanwhile he thought of how to continue on with the most tactically logical way. Then he heard Anita mention turning around. Definitely a happier option.
He stretched, rooting through his pack for much needed asprin before looking to Anita for guidance or information before making his own command decision. He turned to Pasha and furrowed his brow in inquiry.
"Pasha, do you think you could do a little aerial maneuver and see where the hemlock ends? The quicker we get out of this the better."
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 8:50 am
The hemlock bushes were scattered in a rather wide area, but there seems to be a trail further down the stream where the plants were more scattered about, allowing for a better chance of trekking past safely.
Just as Melisande went higher to try to have a better look of where the reaches of the hemlock bushes end, she spotted a green dot in the far distance flying upwards in a straight line above the tree canopy, leaving a faint trail of green smoke behind. Then it exploded into a small, bright green cloud that lingered for a moment longer, before slowly fading.
It was the green flare that Jeremy spoke about! Does it mean... Kyou had been found??!!
Judging by the distance, it would take them about two to three hours to get there, give or take some more time, depending on how harsh the landscape is in front of them. Perhaps it is a good thing that they are mostly prepared to continue on their way again, with the hemlock mostly washed off of Harrison and Cruz's hands. If they are careful, the hemlock wouldn't be a bother to them.
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 4:47 pm
Taking another look was a good idea, and Melisande nodded appreciatively to Trox. She was in such a hurry to get them away from the clearing that she hadn't considered scouting first.
The Sigel didn't bother with the rope...nestled against the waterfall was far less intimidating than launching off the highest point of a cliff. Taking a moment to gather her strength, Pasha took a deep breath, opened her pale wings wide, and snapped them shut with determination.
She used the waterfall to center herself, orienting against it as she twisted to stare at the jungle below her. The hemlock wasn't bad...it was almost as if they'd been drawn into the very center of it by the mysterious gleam.
Pasha glanced up at the canopy again, making sure she'd memorized the path, when something caught her eye. It travelled up over the trees like a distant green bird, trailing a tail of smoke...and when it exploded almost silently, Melisande jerked in shock. "A flare..." She whispered, watching it disperse in the slight wind. Excitement rose inside her as she remembered Jeremy's words.
Suddenly, the Muse's voice was ringing down to them, clarion clear as she pointed into the distance. Her curls streamed away from her face, revealing her expression of hope even from the height. "The green flare! Hurry, the Doctor...he's been found!!"
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Posted: Mon Nov 04, 2013 9:56 pm
The faint delayed pop of the flare was heard even from their distance but only after Melisande had called attention to its green streak rising into the air. Anita and Cruz's attention both went to the muse, then toward the sky. It didn't seem like they were that far, though of course visual distance was misleading. Anita's first thought was maybe Duncan's group had fired it, considering how close it appeared, so she quickly gathered the rest of her and Cruz's materials while the rest of the group gathered themselves. There wasn't really any question at this point; Jeremy said that they were supposed to not touch Kyou without him and this is what they'd all volunteered to help with. Even if things had gotten confused there was still determination in all of them.
Anita's goals shifted; first and foremost was to keep Cruz safe and with things seeming to be winding down with the hemlock scare aside from his arm still having pins and needles all up and down he appeared calmer. Secondly, now, was Duncan's safety after the news of his entire camp getting set on fire. She hadn't been privy to Trox's post traumatic episode so she was still of the mind he could fend for himself while Melisande she wasn't so sure of; her flowers looked wilted and so did she despite the refreshing rinse she gave herself. Considering how things had gone up till now she wanted to make sure the sigel was alright in all of this, too, not to mention those Anita couldn't get in contact with and, of course, Dr. Kyou. They'd already come this far so backing out now didn't make any sense to her or Cruz.
Their team set out down the more clear path, taking careful routes far from the surrounding hemlock, and after several yards the plants all but disappeared, exchanged for much safer greenery. The entire trek, while rushed, took about two hours before they reached the more eerie signs. Broken branches, purple stains, arrows, debris, blood. Cruz clung tightly to Melisande at Anita's insistence rather than allowing herself or Trox to be tripped up. Apprehension settled firmly in Anita's gut, the blood could have been anyone's and what the hell caused the surrounding damage? After nearly another hour of walking, they were about to find out.
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