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Usernames: crayons 4 the color blind, JaelynWolf
Who Gets Which Leaf: Jaelyn gets the leaf on the left. Crayons gets the leaf on the right.

Entry:

Natasha glanced at her watch, frowning and hastening her step, it was getting really close to curfew, not only would the city patrolmen be on the lookout for any kids out even a minute later, but their parents would flip if the two of them came in late again.... "Hey... come on pick up the pace we are gonna be late!" she urged her brother

"It's not my fault we are late Tasha!  Your the one that wanted to stay out so long," Connor complained as he trailed behind his sister. He loved his sister but there were times she got on his nerves and this was one of them.  He always seemed to get in trouble by following her crazy ideas.

"And you're the one who never goes out and has any fun! I'll just let you stay home next time" she snapped back with a huff, she didn't really mean it, she did enjoy hanging out with her brother she was just a little frazzled at the prospect of getting grounded. She shook her head and glanced around, where to go where to go.... There HAD to be a faster way home....

"Ha! Yeah right! Who else is going to help get you out of all the trouble you find yourself in!" Connor said as he too looked around.  He glanced in the direction of where their house was supposed to be and shivered a bit. No, just no.  "Come on!, The street lights are coming on, we have to hurry," he said pulling on his sisters arm and trying to drag her down the street, around the woods.

Now THAT was an idea!! Ignoring both her brother's pulling on her arm and his comment about her ability on landing herself in trouble, she grabbed onto his wrist with the very arm he was pulling and yanked him with her as she careened off the sidewalk and straight towards the woods, their house was just on the other side of the small patch of trees that they called "The Woods" and cutting through it would save them a butt load of time, heck they may even make it home EARLY....

"NATASHA! I don't want to go into there!  It's spooky and who knows what's in there!" Connor protested as he was dragged along.  "We could make it if we go the other way and hurry...maybe"

"Stop being such a baby Conner!!" The scenery changed abruptly from dimly lit concrete to brush, trees, and dirt. The moon was out at least so it wasn't pitch black, and some of the light still lingered from the street lamps, it wasn't as if they were TOTALLY out of the suburbs at least... just on the far edges. "If we turn around now we'll be late for sure, we'd have to take the extra time." she didn't know that but it sounded like sound logic to her at the moment.

Sighing, Connor looked longingly towards where they had come from.  Just because it was true didn't make him any happier about it.  He hated nature...we okay not all nature, just bugs and he was sure there was going to be bugs in there. Lots of them, just crawling everywhere.  "We better make it there in time, otherwise I'm never forgiving you for making me go in there for no reason.

"Baaabbbbbyyyyy." she teased her brother at his continuing complaining about going into the woods. "It's not even that bad, we'll just cut straight through and be there in no time, just hurry up if we keep dragging butt we'll totally be late." she picked up her pace to a slow jog and tugged a bit more on her brother's wrist, still holding on, half of it was to comfort her brother, she knew he hated the woods. The other half was to keep him from running off and leaving her all alone in here.

"I'm not a baby! I just don't like it in here!" Connor protested loudly.  He was still looking back when she tugged on his arm making him speed up, so he didn't see the stick poking out of the ground as it snagged his foot.  Falling forward and dragging his sister down with him.

Feeling a tug, Natasha didn't realize what was going on until it was too late and she gave a small startled screech before she hit the ground with her brother, literally, on her heels, she felt bad, her sneakers must've hurt landing on. "Connor you clutz! We're gonna be late for sure now!" she bitched at him, struggling to get up from under him when something caught her eye. "Hey- Hey Connor lookit this!" she stopped her squirming and reached forwards, grabbing what looked like two painted leaves to her. It wasn't fall or anything so she didn't understand why there would be grey leaves on the ground, so they must've been painted! Her brow creased when they didn't crumple under her touch.

Connor didn't care about whatever she found, he was still trying to catch his breath since it had been knocked out of him when he landed on his sisters sneakers.  Those things were hard and he almost didn't care he was lying on the ground were bugs lived...well almost. Once he could breath again, he quickly got up and brushed off all the dirt and grime. Finally looking at his sister, he frowned, " It's just a pair of leaves, Tasha. We are surrounded by the things."

"But these are gray, it looks like someone painted them and left them here." she insisted. Natasha was really into the weird and abnormal so this was a pretty cool find for her, especially since the leaves felt glossy and smooth, not dead and not painted at all and she quickly scrambled to her feet, leaves in hand, and brushed the majority of the dirt off.

Connor huffed, "Why would someone paint them just to leave them here! Let me see one."   Connor took one, being careful not to crush it and frowned. "...weird.  This really doesn't feel like a real leaf.  Maybe its fabric or something."

"Seeee!" Natasha nodded her head as if that proved a point and studied the leaf a bit more, running her fingers across it lightly and feeling it's odd texture. "It doesn't feel like a fake leaf though Connor, it feels like a real one that's still on the tree." all thoughts of getting home had been forgotten for the girl.

Connor rolled his eyes and rubbed a finger along the leaf he held. It was soft and he had the strange feeling that it was his and he didn't want to give it back to his sister. Holding it close he looked around and noticed how dark it's getting. "Oh no! What time is it?"

Broken from her own examination of her leaf Natasha looked at her watch and groaned aloud, "We have 5 minutes!" instinctively cradling the leaf protectively in one hand and grabbing Connor with the other she broke into a run and dragged him behind her in a frantic scramble for her house.

"NOT THIS AGAIN!" Connor yelled as he struggled to keep up.  He was pretty sure they were going to get in trouble but at least he could study his new leaf with his microscope and look things up in a few books he had in his room if they got grounded. Seeing the woods opening up, Connor let out a sigh of relief at the sight of the house.

The sight of their parents standing in the door only confirmed Natasha's suspicions and the amused yet firm look given to them as they scrambled up the stairs and into the house... Dammit!! If they wouldn't have fell... She shot a glare at her brother as she relinquished her hold on his wrist and followed the pointing finger of her dad up the stairs and to her room, dropping down on the bed with a huff she remembered the leaf in her hand and looked at it again, still marveling at it's oddness. Maybe it was a strange leaf shaped plant? She turned it over in her hands, no roots.... it was defiantly a leaf... she sighed, standing from her bed and setting on the table by the window.

Connor ignored the glare his sister shot him and headed to his room.  Once there he grabbed a book on plants and his microscope and took a closer look at the leaf but didn't find anything different form any other leaf. Sighing, he took the leaf with him as he curled up on his bed with a book on plants and rubbed a finger along it as he read.

Usernames: Ashen Joy and Sabiir
Who Gets Which Leaf: Ash - Left, Sabiir - Right

Entry:

Ash kicked the dust from his boots, shuffling his feet into the heavily-padded working shoes. He cupped a hand to his mouth as a series of ragged coughs erupted from deep within his chest, blowing ash and dust off of his grime-covered hands. His face covered in ash mixed with sweat and his hair caked with dirt, he looked the picture of a blacksmith fresh from the forge. Reaching for his uniform, he donned the thick green-and-yellow coat, slipping on his gloves, safety glasses and hard hat.

Sabiir stuffed her hands back into her gloves after brushing and tying back what originally had been white-blonde hair out of her face, though now the color was more a uniform ash grey, along with the rest of her, despite the protective clothing she wore. Sabiir blinked wearily, wondering again how her Aunt had suckered her into volunteering. Not that she was cold-hearted or anything, but cleaning up after others just wasn't her thing. She trudged back into the open air, though ashes from the fires still drifted down from the skies, giving the whole place a wintry, overcast look. A sudden wracking cough doubled her over, leaving her leaning breathless against the outer wall of the building the rescue workers were stationed, one of the few buildings left standing. Sabiir took several deep breaths, trying to clear the smoke from her lungs, a tad fruitlessly.

Ash straightened his jacket as he walked though a blackened doorway, rebar poking through the concrete walls. He paused a moment beside Sabiir while she recovered from the hacking fit, pulling a mask off his jacket harness and holding it out toward her.
"You sound like you need-" he started, then almost doubled over himself as another fit of coughing took him, his chest jerking as he vainly tried to suppress it.

Sabiir gave him a brief lopsided grin, taking the mask gratefully. She'd left her issued one somewhere. Again. Good for you, yes. Irritating, highly.
"Thanks," her voice was a rasping scratch even though it was hardly above a whisper. She, in turn, offered him a water bottle as he coughed himself. "I feel like I wont ever quit coughing." she commented dryly.

Ash gratefully took the bottle, a faint shade of red barely visible behind the layers of charcoal-gray grime ground into his cheeks.
"Thanks" he said, greedily gulping down the pure, refreshing liquid. His gaze drifted toward the rest of the burnt-down village scattered with professional and volunteer workers alike, helping to clear the charred remains of what used to be the cherished homes of so many. Ash felt a pressure welling behind his eyes. Only once before in all his years in disaster recovery had he witnessed such utter and complete devastation. But the worst part, was seeing the loss in the faces of the hundreds of victims who had lost all they owned and held dear. Some, even more. Ash inhaled deeply and brushed a hand across his eyes, trying not to be overcome by the heavy weight of sorrow that nearly took him whenever he looked across the wide expanse of flattened, blackened ground that used to be an entire town of nearly two thousand. He gave the bottle back to Sabiir as he placed a respirator over his mouth and fastened the straps.
"Break's over, we should get started".

She smiled at him briefly as he took the bottle.
"No problem." Sabiir watched his expression change as he reviewed the desolate town, and she sobered slightly. It was clear he did this far more than she ever would. The impact hadn't truly hit her yet. She had stayed away from the survivors, instinctively not wanting to see their faces. She kept the emotional wreckage at a distance, working diligently with the rest of them but not connected as some of the rescuers were. She followed his eyes, looking out over the smoking land.
"There's a few houses on the edge there," she pointed, frowning slightly, "It looks like none of us have gotten there yet." She was asking if they should take a look, but new on the disaster team, she didn't know procedures, if they were 'allowed' to go off alone.

Ash nodded. "Sounds good to me" he said. He wouldn't mind getting away from everyone for a bit, sort out his thoughts. He and Sabiir gathered up their equipment, packed it in the trunk of a small truck, and started driving towards the edge of the town. They passed dozens of people digging at the blackened remains of homes with various hand tools. The town was situated in a rather out-of-the-way location on the edge of a mountain range, and was almost inaccessible by vehicle, so there was no hope of bringing in heavy equipment. Instead, the rescue team had driven as large of passenger vehicles as they dared full with volunteers and employed workers in an attempt to replace mechanical power with numbers.
As the two of them approached the farthest reaches of the ex-village, Ash picked a house at random, and stopped the small vehicle in front of it.
"This looks like a good place to start" he said.

Sab hopped out of the small vehicle, fitting her mask over her face as she did so.
"Good a place as any to start." she nodded, coming around to the house, surveying it slowly. Steeling herself, she waded in to the ashes and ruins, picking her way cautiously around the wreck. The house seemed to have fallen in on itself in such a way that the basement seemed intact, parts of the house fallen through to the basement but others seemed supported by a main beam running the length of the house.

Ash saw right away the way the basement was nearly caved in, and followed Sab, pointing out trouble spots on the remains of the floor. He stopped a moment, crouching down to examine a peculiar growth rustling gently in the wind next to the melted remains of a cooking range. The "growth" appeared to be a small, furry arm from a child's plush that had somehow survived the fire. It appeared to have been ripped.

"Mom, mom! Molly's broken!"
Cole ran up to his mother, tears streaking down his cheeks as he held a small stuffed dog in his hands, a leg of the plush torn off and held in his left hand.
"Oh no!" she exclaimed, tenderly picking the plush out of her son's arms. She knelt down and held her son's head softly. "Shhhhh, he'll be alright, he just has a bit of an owie". Just then the doorbell rang, and she stood up, walking into the next room to answer the door. "Oh what now" she said, setting the stuffed animal on the stove, the torn paw falling between the wall and the range.

Sab picked her way through the ruins, nodding at Ash's cautions, carefully treading as she began to shift through some of the wreck. She caught a glint of gold shining underneath the ashes, and she lifted a few scorched shingles, reaching for what had caught her eye. A half melted pocket watch of simple design lay in her palm, still determinedly ticking though it's glass was shattered and it was no longer reading properly.

A child sat hopefully on the couch, nose pressed to the window pane before him. Something was clutched in his hand, and he held it protectively as he watched over the driveway outside.
"Moom, moooom! When is Daddy coming home??"
A soft, exasperated sigh from the kitchen answered, "I don't know sweetheart, he said he'd be home before dinner today."
The child, Cole, turned his eyes briefly away from his vigil at the window to regard his mom soberly through the kitchen doorway. "But mom, we had dinner hours ago."
His mother came away from the sink where she was doing the dishes, tucking a flyaway strand of hair behind her son's ear. "I know, honey. I know."

Ash walked a few feet farther, examining the crumbling floor, wondering faintly what life had been like before the fire for the family who had lived here.

The officer held his hand forward against Andrew's chest insistently, repeating what he had said several times already. "I'm sorry sir, but you can't go back to your house. All civilians are to be evacuated immediately. If you wan-"
"But my family is still at home!" Andrew shouted insistently.
"If you want to see your family, you can meet up with them at the gathering point. Now if you'll please follow me sir, we need to get everyone here to safety".
Andrew sighed, very much discouraged. The forest fire had spread far and fast, and everyone in the town was being evacuated while emergency response teams scrambled desperately, despite being too little, too late. If it weren't for the dense fog of ash and smoke that hung over the whole area, he would have called his wife and son, but the smog had almost completely disabled all forms of communication. He only hoped his family would make it out alright.

Sabiir stepped over a fallen support beam, tucking the useless watch in her pocket, the idea of a family losing everything, and quite possibly their lives in the fires finally beginning to strike her, far removed as they were from the hustle and bustle of the other's cleanup. There was nothing here but ash and memories. Her thoughts were interrupted by a misstep, the weakened floorboard under her creaking ominously. As her one foot crashed through the floor, she flung out her hand to catch herself on the beam she'd just gone over, saving herself from falling completely through the floor, but by no means out of danger.

As she comforted her son, Cole's mother looked out the window her son had been so entranced by, hoping to see his father returning. Every time Andrew was late, Melanie worried for his safety. She knew her concern bothered Andrew sometimes, but she couldn't help it. She frowned slightly as she looked out the window, an orangish cast tingeing the sky towards the far side of town. That wasn't right. The sun had set hours ago, and though the town knew of the forest fires, they'd been reassured that it wouldn't reach them; that it would be stopped before it did; that they'd be warned if it came too near. She released her son, who promptly pressed his nose against the glass again. Had the emergency workers failed to stop the fires? Was it already within the town? They lived on the far edge. It was possible they'd been overlooked in the madness. Melanie spun from the window, grabbing the phone. Where was Andrew?

Ash raced as fast as he dared toward Sabiir, clambering over the burnt wooden beams and trying to not collapse the floor underneath himself. As he drew near her, he went down on his belly, grabbing a piece of rebar and reaching a hand out to Sabiir. "Grab my hand!"

Melanie was in a panic. All the lines were busy, even the emergency 911. She had waited for Andrew to return, had seen her few neighbors this far out on the edge of town get into their cars and leave, and still, he had not returned. The glow in the distance had intensified, and she could just barely see a flickering motion now. They couldn't afford to wait any longer. It was now or never.
"Cole? Get your things, we need to leave right away." She waited a few moments, a stark silence greeting her ears.
"Cole, dear?" She ran downstairs, finding him gripping a small clay pot fervently in both hands.
"No, mommy, I don't want to go."
"Come on dear, we have to go NOW" she grabbed her son's arm, pulling harshly.
"NO!" the child screamed, pulling back, still holding the pot.

Sabiir clung grimly to the beam, her eyes reflecting her fear in the ashen light. Sabiir watched Ash approach, frozen in her momentary shock. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly, and when they opened she was more in control of herself. Trying to move carefully, she reached out for his hand, grabbing it and holding on tightly as she inched forward.

Melanie, after struggling to pull her stubborn child to the stairs, finally tried to take the clay pot from him, eliciting a fresh burst of wailing from Cole, who pulled the pot ever closer.
"Cole, bring it! We have to go!" she cried desperately, pleading for cooperation. Melanie half cajoled, half tugged her son back to the stairs, but by then it was too late. The fires, driven forwards by the winds and easily consumable houses, had already reached them. The old house creaked, timbers warping under the heat. Coughing, Melanie tried to see through the thick smoke leaking down the stairwell, but she had barely set foot on the stairwell before, with a groan, part of the ceiling gave way, collapsing on the both of them. Melanie crumpled at its base, her hand slipping from Cole's.

Ash gripped Sabiir's hand hard, when suddenly the rebar came loose from the concrete, as the two of them plummeted to the ground in a cloud of ash and concrete dust, landing on a fortuitously placed, half-burnt mattress. Ash got up slowly, his back sore and stiff, peering around in the dim light of the partially caved-in basement. He offered a hand to Sabiir, helping her off the bed, when he suddenly saw something that sent a shiver down his spine. Buried underneath the wreckage by his foot, a small, human hand was laying limply, poking out from the debris.

Sabiir wasn't aware of the shriek that left her as the floor gave way completely, tumbling Ash and her into the basement. She hit something soft, and groggily shook her head as she took stock. Her leg was gashed from the initial fall, but she was uninjured aside from that. Sabiir used her arms to push herself up, taking Ash's hand to pull herself to her feet and off the bed. She stood shakily, then followed his stricken gaze. "Oh, no." she breathed, shocked. This town was supposed to be.. everyone had gotten out, hadn't they? That's what they said. Sabiir started to pull the debris away, not truly hoping there was still life to the child underneath.

But the child's wrists still had a pulse when Ash checked them. He and Sabiir frantically dug at the ground, pulling the still-warm body out of the dirt. Ash grabbed his radio, dialing it to the emergency channel.
"We have a survivor here, need emergency medical help. Repeat, we have a survivor, medical assistance required immediately at south end!"
"Look," said Sabiir, cradling the child in her arms. Clutched tightly with both hands of the unconscious boy were the two charcoal gray leaves that the child had fought so hard to save.

Ash walked down the stark white halls of the hospital, his face still partly dirtied with the ash ground into his skin from many days of work. He turned a corner and entered the waiting room in the intensive care area, where Sabiir was already waiting. She greeted him softly, moving aside on the bench to make room for him. For several long moments they both sat silently, lost in their own thoughts. Recent events had proven to be both a blessing and a curse. The son, Cole, had been found, alive, although he had suffered severe third degree burns in several locations on his body. Melanie however, whom Sabiir and Ash uncovered not too long after finding Cole, was not so fortunate.
Andrew had been devastated. He had taken an evacuation bus to the safety muster point, being told that he would meet the rest of his family there. For the next week, he had spent his days and nights searching relentlessly for his missing wife and child, only to find that he would not be meeting Melanie again.

Ash looked up at the sound of a door opening, and saw a nurse coming towards him, saying that the two of them were now permitted to see the patient. Sabiir rose with Ash, and though she'd had a chance to take a quick shower since finding Cole, there were circles under her eyes and she looked disheveled from the long stay in the waiting rooms. She brushed her hair back from her face, and they walked into the room together.
Cole was sitting up, propped up on his hospital bed, grinning weakly as they walked in. He'd only been awake for a little while now, and his father hadn't left his side. Although Andrew had already thanked the two people who'd found his little boy, he couldn't help but thank them again for finding his son. The father was obviously still grieving for his wife, but he at least he had had Cole returned to him.
Sabiir walked the few steps towards the bed, Ash just behind her. "Hey, fella, how you feeling?" she greeted him with a big smile, bending down to be on eye level with him.
"Oh, I'm alright," the little boy said, putting on a brave face. He reached out for what was resting on his bedside cabinet, cradling the two leaves in his bandaged palms. "I wanted too see you, to thank you," he paused, studying their faces with solemn eyes, "and to give you these. I don't have anything else to give you."
Ash's eyes flicked to Andrew, one eyebrow raised questioningly. Andrew shrugged, smiling. It had been Cole's idea and decision to make, not his. Sabiir protested, but Cole shook his head with all the conviction of a seven year old child. He handed one leaf to Sabiir at his side, then held the other out to Ash until the man took it gently from him. They held their leaves delicately, not really understanding the gift quite yet but that it was terribly important to Cole.
"That one is yours, Sabiir, because the color goes with your hair," he smiled, though there was only the slightest tint of brown to the leaf she held. He looked at Ash with another winning smile as he made a tiny gesture at the dusky grey leaf he held. "And that one is for you, for your name." His smile wavered, and looked down then, sniffling back tears. "Mama said she'd help me raise them. But...but I think you should have them now"