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 Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:17 pm
Gnat was tired.
She made a beeline for her dorm, intending to grab some toiletries and a fresh change of clothes, and then hit the showers. She would scrub until her skin was raw - what was important was that she was going to be clean, and good, and done. She'd spent too much time playing around, and not enough time training - the monster in the jungle had made that painfully and terrifyingly clear.
She would consider falling apart about it later, though. Right now she just really wanted a lot of hot water, and fast. She wondered if her hair would survive the ordeal.
One could hope.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:23 pm
Like any good big brother, Tuck had been keeping an eye out for his sister. Partially because he was a little worried that she might find herself fending off unwanted advances (and he would do his best to kick some a**, which would undoubtedly end in failure), and partially because he was ready to make fun of her if anything had gone wrong.
He'd been resting in his room, door open of course, and waiting for any hint that she'd arrived. Each time he heard footsteps he'd peer into the hallway.
Bingo.
"Holy s**t, Gnat. You look like s**t. The ******** happened?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:26 pm
She winced visibly.
Well, that was just about the worst-case-scenario, she reflected glumly. She'd forgotten about Tuck, in her hurry to clean up.
"Th' jungle happened," she replied tersely. Maybe if she was abrupt enough, she could escape without really fessing up...
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:28 pm
Tuck's expression grew thunderous.
"Why were you in th' jungle?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:36 pm
Gnat held her breath.
"I was...on a date."
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:43 pm
Someone had taken his sister on a date into the ******** jungle. Only an idiot would do that. He hadn't gone there himself, but he'd heard about the s**t that went on out there.
"You went to the jungle on a ******** date? The jungle?"
Tuck was feeling pretty furious.
"With who?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:49 pm
She sighed, and leaned against her doorjam, all the fight leaving her at once.
"Jerry."
She picked at some of the goop on her arm, refusing to make eye contact.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 4:52 pm
Tuck wasn't really one to have a temper, but there were a few things that could really set him off.
Top of his list: taking his sister to the jungle and putting her life in danger.
"Take a shower. You eat? I'll get us lunch if you ain't, meet me back in my dorm when you all cleaned up."
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:08 pm
Gnat glanced up, somewhat surprised. She'd been expecting an earful, but...
"Okay."
Some time later, a freshly scrubbed and slightly red Gnat appeared, toweling her hair dry.
Her gurgling stomach announced her arrival. She'd eaten a little before, but the sight of the globs of plant gunk sliding off her person had caused what was left of the sandwiches to make a hasty exit.
They were not, she reflected, any better on the way up.
She leaned in Tuck's doorway, arms crossed somewhat defensively.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:17 pm
There was a plate of sandwiches (complete with torn bread because sandwich making was hard) and a few bags of vending machine chips and candy haphazardly strewn about the top of Tuck's desk.
He'd taken to doing a few hundred sit-ups while waiting for Gnat in order to work off some of the tension that tightened his muscles.
Pausing when he caught sight of her out of the corner of his eye, Tuck didn't say anything for a few moments. Without rolling to his feet, he finally spoke in between sit-ups.
"Eat. Sit. Tell me what happened."
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:24 pm
Sandwiches, again.
She sighed, and flopped into a chair.
"Well." She paused, not sure where to begin.
"I ran into him again, after th' other night."
She didn't feel the need to elaborate.
"He jus' asked if I wanted to go out sometime. I said ok, figured he knew his way around th' place. We went to this nice like, plateau that was near this waterfall. Real pretty."
She opted for the chips instead, noisily opening a bag.
"It was all swell until this - like, big thing showed up. Like, a killer plant. It tried t' eat Jerry and we both nearly fell off the cliff, and then it blew up and there was goop everywhere an-" she stopped, took a forlorn glance at the chips, and set them back down.
"It weren't his fault, really." She sighed. "I jus' felt bad about... well. I'm sorry." Gnat leaned back in her chair, opting to stare at her shoes.
"You was prolly right anyway. He's too old for me. I don't even know what Singin' in the Rain is." She was babbling, she knew, but she was acutely aware that Tuck was probably not going to be very pleased about her misadventures. She couldn't really believe them, herself.
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:34 pm
A sheen of sweat broke out across his forehead as he silently listened to his twin sister talk about her jungle mishaps. Tuck didn't like what he heard, not at all, and the fact that this had all started because she'd been foolishly trying to one-up him made him even more furious. Partially at her, partially at Jerry, yes, but even more than that he was mad at himself.
"You know that was a goddamn stupid thing to do," he grunted, though there was no heat in his voice. "You're my baby sister, you mean more t'me than anythin' on this forsaken island. More'n anyone here."
Finally he stopped and rested on his back, hands tucked behind his head.
"Jungle ain't no place for a date, and it seems to me that any hunter here with a head on his shoulders oughta know that - he a full hunter, ain't he? Why he think that the jungle gonna be the best place for a date?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:45 pm
"Hell if I know," she muttered tiredly. "Said he like, went on patrol there alot."
She paused.
"I know it was stupid."
There, she said it. She couldn't let it stand long, however, without trying to change the subject.
"You know he wears sweater vests? He was gonna be a teacher. I think he means well," she insisted. Lord in heaven, the date had been a disaster, but she didn't want her brother trying to break Jerry's teeth in over it.
"He jus', like. I think he's just a little impractical."
"Sides," she added, this time with a touch of chagrin, "I tole him I couldn't go out again."
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 5:56 pm
Tuck wasn't quite ready to let go of the current topic just yet, but he let it slide. She appeared to be in one piece, and that was really all that mattered to him. She was his sister, but they were twins and shared some sort of weird bond or some s**t - their mom was always telling them that - but the truth of the matter was that he'd move Heaven and Earth for her.
The fact that someone had willingly taken her out to a dangerous place really pissed him off.
"There're plenty of... well, I ain't gonna say nice guys. Things is different here. We never know when we gonna die, you know? I ain't gonna try and sway you from spendin' time with people, but I ain't gonna let you put yourself into any kinna danger, neither."
She wasn't meant to be here. She was meant to be back at home, giving their parents grandkids. Living a long and healthy life, not here. Not on the island.
"You're okay, right?"
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Posted: Mon May 27, 2013 6:41 pm
"Yeah," she replied.
"Just... tired."
She rested her face in her hands.
"I miss home."
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