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 Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:35 am
It was true- the log was hardly free of bees- they flew before, the closest bunch not two or three feet away.
"Maybe you're right," Em said, taking a step back... but her head was still geared towards what her nose told her was a valuable vault of honey. "Except... if we go back and get some of the fire, we could smoke them out. That would calm them enough. ...Maybe."
She was feeling a little reluctant to suggest it any stronger to Cass- who probably didn't have a taste for honey with her new palate.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:43 am
Cass blinked at Em, for a moment. "You really want some of this stuff, don't you?"
She tapped her fingers together. "If you really want some honey, I'll help, though I don't think I'll eat it." Think, think, think. "I'd think that smoke would be the best option. It's a lot better than just charging in there. But just a flaming stick..."
Cassidy looked down at the moss in her hands, and a grin spread across her face; she was remembering something she had once done on camping trips to amuse herself. "You ever throw moss in a campfire?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:50 am
A wide grin spread across Em's face.
"I'm reading your mind, Cass..." she took what moss was still in her hands and put it down on the ground. "Hold on, I'm going to go get some of the fire, I'll be right back." A bee zoomed between them, and Em ducked. "Whoa. Careful- you may want to get back a little. I don't know how strong your..." she stopped short of saying scales as a gut reaction, but then realized that there was no use trying to pretend something wasn't there, and finished. "scales are."
With that, she loped back to the campsite, where she wrapped a segment of moss and fur that they'd used to make the fire in the first place onto the forked end of a stick, and got a bit of flame started on it. It took her a few minutes, as the fire was practically embers from the night before- no one had tended it in a while.
She made her way back to where Cass was, picking through the underbrush.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:56 am
Cassidy was pretty sure that at no other point in her life she had ever wondered what would happen if a bee stung a snake. She shuffled back a metre or two and settled down.
Bees. She could not believe she'd volunteered for this. Insects were gross, and creepy, and these ones could sting. What if they were killer bees?
No, that was stupid. If they were killer bees, they'd be dead already.
She raised her head as she heard Em returning. "Success?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:02 pm
"Flame. We are successful cavepeople," she said, smiling as she held the stick at arms length from her. She eyed the log, then turned to Cass to suggest a fire pattern... only to see that there was something unreadable there in those changed eyes. She narrowed her own eyes in thought.
"Are you okay with this? I mean, if you're uncomfortable, I could do it alone. I know you don't want any honey- and I don't want you to get stung."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:10 pm
Cassidy fidgeted a little, her feathers fluffing themselves up. "Hell, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared shitless," she admitted. "But my own reflection scares me more. I said I'd help, and I will."
So, with that said, she gave herself a shake and forced a grin.
"Er. How are we going to do this?" Her tongue flickered as she thought.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:13 pm
Em felt a wave of guilt. "I'm sorry- I didn't know it bothered you so much. ...Just... don't get close enough to get stung. I don't mind being stung, I'm not allergic to them, so I'll be the only one to get close enough. If everything works out, you just get to help carry honey back. ...And help me figure out what to do." She laughed, waving the stick gently in the air to get oxygen to the infant flame.
"So how do you think we should go about it? I could pack moss around the opening to the log, and some of those leaves, and light the fire... what could we use to fan the smoke when it gets up enough?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:21 pm
"No. Nah, don't be sorry. I didn't say anything." Cassidy concentrated on looking at the beehive, rather than Em. "Do you think you can get close enough to do that, though? I mean, if you think so, I say, go for it. Might want to be quick about it.... do you see any big leaves around? We could fan with something like that..."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:26 pm
"I can get close enough, I think." She looked at the rivers of bees in the air. "Well... maybe not JUST around the log," she abridged, "but I could get a few steps closer. Look for some leaves, and I'll start it up."
A bee flew past her as she gathered a bundle of sticks and the moss they'd collected for the shelters at the base of a tree near the log. Her instinct was to swat it away and run- but made herself stay calm, letting the bee land on her back. Her skin must be warm, she knew- exposed to the sun for so long. She had a good sized pile that sloped on either side, packed with moss, and she put the stick to it, hoping for the flame to catch.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:37 pm
Cass could only stare at Em in awe, before she gave herself a sharp shake and turned her attention to leaf gathering.
Nothing on the ground that would do... but... that tree had leaves that were big enough. Only problem was that they were a little high up. The lowest branch would have been only just within her reach if she could stand.
She exhaled sharply, and made her way up to the tree. She'd done this coming down; she could do it going up. Right? Yes, just think positive.
The hardest part was just getting herself onto the tree itself. That done, though, she clambered up using fingers and arms and legs and even her tail, hugging the trunk with her limbs and slowly shuffling up. It was definitely a way of climbing that would not ever have occurred to her before having to come down in just this way.
Just, don't look down.
Finally close enough, Cass plucked a few nice big leaves and let them drop. Four should be enough. More than enough.
She took another deep breath and started making her way down again.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:45 pm
Em was so intent upon coaxing the flame to take to the pile of moss, fluff, and sticks that she didn't see Cassidy's efforts. If she had, she would have felt a mix of more guilt, for forcing her to exert herself on Em's behalf, and mostly amazement at her tenacity... and also to wonder if this was what Moreau had in store for them, this change that required such strength of spirit- the human spirit- no matter how ...unhuman they became.
She blew on the flame, coaxing it with gently waving hands and a small tunnel of leaves and fluff to protect the flame. Suddenly, it picked up, and Em waved her arms in the air.
"Success! Quest for Fire, baby..." she laughed. Only then did she turn back to Cassidy. "I think we can start fanning it now."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:50 pm
Cassidy was brushing herself off; there was no sense in staining or ripping a borrowed shirt. Still rather out of breath, she merely nodded, and gathered up the leaves she'd dropped from above.
She took a few "steps" forward on her knees, and held out two of the large leaves. "These'll do, I think."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:53 pm
"You okay? You seem a little out of breath. Oh, thanks..." she took the offered leaves, and felt the heft of them in her palm. They were sturdy, with thick veins coursing through them from the center to the tips- they should work perfectly, she thought, as she came closer to the fire.
"Please don't let me burn the forest down," she laughed, ducking a wayward bee as she started to fan the flame. The smoke at first was thin and swirling at best, but the oxidation seemed to feed it, and a small cloud of smoke formed above the makeshift fire.
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:01 pm
"Just tired. Never did a lot of tree climbing even as a kid," Cass murmured.
She turned the leftover leaves over in her hands; she'd had ever intention of helping fan, but she had suddenly realised that not only did she not really know what to do, but the extra wind could very easily put out the smoky fire.
"I think it's working," she said, and coughed. "Yick. I forgot how awful burning moss smells."
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Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2006 1:06 pm
"It's pretty damn potent," Em said, coughing a little herself as she turned her head away from the smoke. "Wooooo..." she exhaled, blinking away the moisture that gathered in her eyes. "I think it's working, though... do the bees look like they're calming down?"
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