The Phoenix Colony

Pasha looked at her with concern, not really liking the idea. He grabbed the furs that they had been using to help carry things, and flung them over his shoulder. He slid the knife into his pocket, and kept his bludgeon stick tightly in his hand.

He stopped just before he got to the gate as he looked out at the dark night. He sighed, that ghastly noise still bothering him. Creatures of the night, he couldn't afford to lose his Furstin. He stopped in front of the gate and parked himself there.

"No ones going out for gathering tonight." he muttered, looking at Viva, "I'll get up early and get us some rabbits and then we can get more fruit... it's too dangerous."

 

Britney's stomach rumbles when Viva mentions food. "Thats a good Idea. However be really careful. We haven't seen any of the nocturnal animals of this planet. For all we know there could be things more dangerous than ceaders out there." says Britney.

 

Raylene had been in a trance, of sorts. She couldn't remember most of the afternoon. What had happened this morning? She heard a voice in her head again...a female's voice. "At least Ben didn't find out I was a spy like Allen." One of the girls was a spy, but who was it? Fox was knocked out, Britney was in the cave, Reva was sort of out of it....Viva. It's Viva! The ditz is a spy? Could it all be an act?

Raylene looks up, and there's a new guy in their midst. She sort of says hi and introduces her self, still enthralled in the happenings of her own mind. Fox is the only one she's confident in sharing what she heard. She moves closer to her friend and inspects her wound. "Who took out my stitches? These aren't my stitches." She looks up wildly searching for answers.

 

Viva smirked and then went to the other end of the cave. She was bored.
"Well...if this is how it's gonna be...let's play a game!"
She clapped her hands, jumping up and down.
It's been a while, hasn't it?
"Tell me about it."

 

She sniffed the air and caught the new animal’s scent. The weak ones with no spikes or shells. There was another scent too. Decay. Their dead. Silently she slithered through the ground towards the smell. In the distance she could make out two dead. She sniffed them and pulled back. Rancid. Poisoned. As she turned away the wind shifted and another odor caught her nose.

The beast turned and licked her lips. Fresh meat. She rubbed her ears on the surrounding rocks leaving a pungent musk. It was her territory now and her food. Movement in the distance caught her eye. Bigger food. More meat. She would return for the snacks later.

 

Britney looks at Raylene, she didn't like other people touching Fox while she was unconscious. She points at Cull and says, "Cull did, he's our newest member. He also found out that there was an infection that needed to be sterilized. Don't worry she's find now. I've been keeping the gash clean. By the way, have you finished any of those cloaks that I asked you to work on, this morning?"

 

"Did you ask me that? I'm sorry Britney. I've been sort of out of it. My head just isn't right. I honestly didn't hear you. I'll do it now, but I don't want to use my stitching needle. Pasha, did you save any bones from the carcus?"

Raylene drags the large skin onto her lap and takes Fox's knife and splits it down the middle.

 

Pasha took the roughly made bone needles from his pocket. During the day he had worked on grinding them down on and off. He tossed them down to Raylene, throwing some of the extra bone down with it.

“Is that what you meant?” he asked with a half-smile, “Careful, if you break it wrong, it splinters badly.” His fingers touched the cut on his hand from the bone, and walked back next to Viva, leaning against the side of the cave wall.

"Let's play truth or dare." he said with a wink.

 

"Yay!"
Viva jumped up and down, attracting attention of most of the tribe members.
"I know what we can use as a bottle. All we need is PLAYERS!"
She then pranced along, pulling Britney and Raylene up.
"Come on, have some fun already!"
Then she nudged the newcomer.
"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't greet you. I'm Viva - Vee, Aee, Vee, Ai! Come on, let's play...umm...whoever you are!"
She was smiling crazily, even more than ever.
"And they thought you were acting."

 

"Thank you Pasha." Raylene replies. Puzzled at the psycho's niceness.

In no time, she has fashioned 2 cloaks out of the hide. Each one has a loop and wooden dowel for a closure. She places them next to the fire, fur side down so they can finish drying out.

Looking at the newcomer, she can see he is in desperate need of a new shirt. His is torn and blood stained. She rummages through her bag and finds a sweatshirt and takes it to him. "Here, this might keep you warmer. I found it in the ship before we came here. You can have it. Thank you for helping Fox. I guess you know more about medicine than I do. Are you going to be staying with us?"

Viva pulls her up just then, insisting that she play truth or dare. Reluctantly, she agrees. She'll talk to Cull later.

 

Viva, practically drags Britney over to the other side of the cave to play truth or dare. "Alright already I'll play." says Britney with a small laugh. She thinks to herself "Playing a game should help ease some of the tensions from this morning."

 

Pasha sat down next to the fire, catching Viva's arm as she jovially walked by.

"Sit with with me." he says with a grin. He looked at the others.

"Since it was my idea, I'll start."

He looked around, wondering who to ask. He stopped on Britney, she was the guard after all, the one he never thought he'd sit around a fire with.

"Britney, Truth or Dare?"

 

Viva clapped her hands and then looked into the blazing fire, a little scared. She then looked back at Britney.
"Oh oh, pick DARE!!!"
She almost made the cave shudder because of her lyrical voice.

 

"It figurs that a convict would go after a guard first." says Britney with a smirk. She looks over at Viva, and says, "You got something evil planned don't you? I was going to pick dare, but now I'm going to pick truth. Ask me anything"

 

Pasha smiled at her comment, quickly adding.

“Well ladies and gentlemen, we appear to have a coward amongst us.” He winked at Britney, and thought hard of what he should ask.

“Ask her if she’s really a woman.” Joked Yuri.

“I thought I was the mean one.” He muttered.

“Britney, you’re a guard, but we know you can’t be perfect. Have you committed a crime, and if so, what was it?” he asked.

 

“Britney, you’re a guard, but we know you can’t be perfect. Have you committed a crime, and if so, what was it?”

"When I was eight I stole a candybar. My dad made me cut the grass of our near half-acre yard with a pair of scissors when my little sister told on me." says Britney.

She looks around the fire and then points at Viva "Hey Viva, truth or dare."

 

Viva's eyes widened in excitement.
"Oh, this is awesome!"
She smiled, clapping her hands gleefully.
"Point to be noted, what will it be?"
Truth?
"Naw, they'll ask you to tell whether you're ditz or not.'
No they won't. Not in front of Pasha.
"Oh alright. Then pick truth."
Ha. Truth is for the boring people.
Viva grinned, and replied in a spooky way:
"Dare!"

 

"Dare!"

Britney looks into the fire for a second thinking about what she should dare Viva to do. She looks back up at Viva, with an evil smirk, and says "Why don't you give us a strip dance, I'm sure Pasha would enjoy it."

 

Juliano looked on with disinterest (is that a word?) as the game progressed, games were for kids.

However it was the only thing really happening in the place. After a few minutes of the game he quickly got bored and started to look about for something to do. Then he remembered Fox's knife and he walked over to Raylene.

"Hey Raylene, I liked the shirt you gave Cull, do you have anymore? I would be very grateful. Also I was wondering if I could borrow that knife of Fox's?"

 

Viva's eyes popped out, and she blushed deep red.
"Britney..."
She gritted her teeth and breathed out.
"Oooh, told you to say truth."
I can't do this.
"And why not? You used to be disguised as a strip dancer a zillion times."
I never went as far as the stripping part.
"Whatever. Your call."
Viva deliberately coughed, rather annoyed.
"I don't think that's a really...humane idea."
She shot Britney a fiery glance.

 

Britney lets out a laugh. "Awww, c'mon, don't tell me your too embarrassed to strip. Its not like you're ugly or anything. What happened to the enthusiasm that you had earlier. Fine, either strip, or answer my question. When did you lose your virginity?" says Britney with a smirk.

 

Raylene pulls her bag over and rummages through it. Pulling out a shirt, she hands it to Juliano.

"What do you want the knife for? Planning on sliting our throats?" She's uneasy about handing over the blade. She looks to Pasha for guidance. Would he be able to keep them all safe. There's no telling if she could trust him yet.

 

Pasha growled, he had let the stripping idea slide, but this was too much. He quickly got up, and came down next to Britney and his face full of anger.

“There’s no reason you have to be a little bitch.” He hissed, “Now apologize.”

He looked over at the newcomer, and back at Raylene who had handed him the knife.

“You’d better not try causing any trouble.” His voice was at an angry yell, his hand on his knife.

“Calm down!” Yuri yelled. But he didn’t.

 

"I used to be in the boy scouts you see. I remember sitting on a hill cutting a tree branch into a staff. I want to try this here. It would bring back some good memories and be slightly practical. I won't be long. If you are that suspicous I won't bother but it would be nice."

He looked at her, without revealing any emotion.

"Cheers for the shirt by the way. Any time you need something I am happy to help. Anything apart from that stupid game you are playing I mean!"

Juliano hoped that she would give him the knife, he was genuinely bored and the staff might come in handy.

 

She looks up at Pasha, with a smirk, and says "Its obvious that you have never played this game before." looking back at Viva, "I dare you to sing a song. Happy now Pasha?"