The Phoenix Colony

Fox looks down at the girl. "I somehow always give a bad first impression while on this planet. I won't say that I'm a completely innocent person, but you can count on me as an ally. So if you don't mind me askin, how did you end up getting sent to prison? You don't seem like a murderer or anything else really bad." says Fox.

 

"You alright?" he asked Reva. "I owe you one."

"I'm fine," Reva answered, shaking, then she registered the look on his face. It didn't take a psychic to know that his arm had taken a beating, "Oh geez, I'm sorry, here...let me help."

She struggled to help him up, the two of them awkward and rubbery-legged from fear, slippery snow, and relief.

Reva beat a look in the direction of the departing tracks. It looked as though the whatever-it-was walked along on its feet and then tucked them up so that all were left were huge 'S' shaped squiggles of snow.

"I think we should get back to the cave," Reva said a little breathlessly, looking to see if any new tracks appeared, coming back, "and tell the others." she added as an afterthought.

 

Smith scowled at Ben hesitated a moment and unslung the shotgun and threw it at him. He then slowly shifted the rifle into the low ready possition and flicked the safty off. "Ben, you are to dangerus, and no longer welcome in this cave." He said in a low voice. Tears in his eyes, half from hating him, the other hald hating himself. "I exspect you gone by tommorow." Smith said and strightened himself up. He didn't care what Ben had to say now, it was decided. He turned and walked into the cave closing the door behind him. He had never exspected Ben of all people to wear out their welcome but he had, Smith would not allow a danger to the others, even if it was the price of a friend.

 

Derek grudgingly accepted help getting up, then patted his bad arm with his good one, saying "What this? It's fine." He forced another smile, then let it disappear as he said "Yeah, we should get going. You go first, I'll watch our backs."

He searched around for a moment, retrieving his javelin and taking a quick look around for any movement. He didn't see anything, so he turned and waited for Reva to move. "I'm still gonna head over and keep an eye on those guys though, I just have a bad feeling about 'em."

 

Ben scooped up the gun and flipped the bird at Chad's back. He was done there anyway, so out he ventured, away from the cave and into the woods.

OOC: I really hate making this post so short, but it's all I can do at the moment.

 

Licking a different fingertip, Chrys responded, "I have a love of spray paint, and some freinds dared me to tag a ship. Dummy me, who should have just gone to school, decided to tag a ship full of inmates, in front a guard no less." Stretching her hands, "Aw well, I like it here better than my old life. Far less bullets here." Chrys practically purred the last part.

 

Derek didn't need to wait for Reva, she had been pushing at him to move since she helped him up and now she walked ahead as he bade her, eventually breaking into an anxious jog.

She kept waiting to be pounced on. For something she couldn't see to press down on her. To hear that menacing growl from the trees.

Nothing happened.

Except that she nearly smacked directly into Ben.

"Holy ****!" Reva said, stress and her time in prison conspiring to the unladylike word, "you're hunting, too?"

 

Derek was jogging just a few feet behind Reva, looking around to the sides and behind him when he heard her yell. He immediately stopped and turned to see Ben, holding his shotgun. What's he doing out here? Derek thought. Chad couldn't have kicked him out...he's too much of a p**sy. No way he'd give him back the gun though. This can't be good.

Derek approached Ben warily, still glancing around for any sign of movement. "What're you doin' out here? Doesn't seem likely that Chad would give you your gun back."

 

Ben laughed a bit, "No, I'm leaving. Chad doesn't trust me, and I no longer trust him, or Fox for that matter. Regardless, I'm getting the hell out of dodge and never turning back." The laughter got heavy in his throat as he looked around, feeling the fear and apprehension all around him. "Maybe I'll catch up with those 'scary' men, or maybe I'll go find someone else entirely, but one thing is for sure. I won't be going back to Chad, he seemed alright, you know? I know him better than anyone on this planet, he used to give me a little credit, but he changed. Somehow, he changed, and more than the rash, he became a bit more than a nice guy, he became a nice guy with limits, but everyone has limits." Ben sighed and looked down at his gun, his only friend left, and said, "You know, he is the best example of humanity, all smiles and happiness when things are good, but when a guy like me asks tough questions and doesn't back down, when a guy like me strays from the status quo, everything changes."

 

Reva grabbed Ben by his coat lapels and did her best to stare him in the eye from her deficient height...which included pulling him down a little.

"You are going to go..." she let go with one hand and pointed from where they had just come, "...out THERE? By yourself? Are you NUTS? It. Will. Eat. You!"

 

Derek shoved his javelin into the ground point first and put a hand on Reva's shoulder to calm her. "Woah there little fellah," he joked. He turned to Ben. "No need to run away. Chad may think he's the big man but that's only 'cause he assumed power. I'm tired o' his rule and I'm thinkin' about runnin' things myself. What d'you say to helpin' me out?"

 

"It? If your talking about Satan's invisible hound, then yes, it might eat me. But then again it might not. Great things are built on chances, if I get eaten, it will suck, but . . ." Was Ben ready to die? I have nothing behind me and nothing in front of me, so it's really only up from here. "I think I'll take my chance now."

"No need to run away. Chad may think he's the big man but that's only 'cause he assumed power. I'm tired o' his rule and I'm thinkin' about runnin' things myself. What d'you say to helpin' me out?" said Derek.

"Well, it's not just Chad, it's all of them. I'm sick of people in general, mostly people like Fox, but people who say they have love for you, have trust in you, but the moment you raise one of there eyebrows they turn on you. If your really sick of Chad, come with me."

 

"Great things are built on chances?" Reva stepped back, Derek's hand on her shoulder, "Then why throw your chances away?"

She had begun to like this guy, even if he was a lawyer and nuttier than a squirrel full of acorns.

 

Fox scratched Kat behind the ear as she purred. "You know, I've always liked cats." says Fox.

She turns to see Chad enter the cave. "You know, you actually suprised me. I thought you would bend to his will. You might be a decent leader afterall." says Fox.

Britney walks up to Chad. She says "I know you don't like it when you have to make tough decisions. Are you ok?"

 

Chrys's head was in turmoil, part of her wantd to smack away Fox's hand, but the other part liked the scratching. "Stop." She purred, then stepped away, gathering her composure. "I am ot a cat. Don't do that." She said with only part conviction. "What did I miss this time? Who's will needed to be bent?" She asked, scratching behind her ear with a cupped hand.

 

She turns to see Chad enter the cave. "You know, you actually suprised me. I thought you would bend to his will. You might be a decent leader afterall." says Fox.

Britney walks up to Chad. She says "I know you don't like it when you have to make tough decisions. Are you ok?"

Smith's eyes were cold, he gazed up at Britney "I'm not having this conversation." He said bluntly and walked past her to the fire. He then glanced over at Fox. "You know nothing about leading. Leading is putting everyone elses lives above your own, you are a greedy, hateful woman from what i've seen. You lost most of your tribe due to it, or am i wrong?" He said coldy, this woman needed a reality check.

Then he smiled at Chrys. "Nothing important."

 

"Great things are built on chances?" Reva stepped back, Derek's hand on her shoulder, "Then why throw your chances away?"

"But I'm not throwing it away, I'm taking it. Look, New York, I'm going to sell you a bride in New York, except there weren't any bridges in New York, thats why the joke was funny. People said the person who built the bridge was crazy, but now it's iconic. Same with cars, planes, everything. D-Day was a chance, operation Market Garden, men died but in the long run, wasn't it worth it?"

 

Chrys walked over to Chad, sulking by the fire. She batted one of his arms with her hand, "Smile." She repeated the batting, "Smile." She kept this up untill he looked at her.

 

He looked up at Chrys trying to resist his urge to laugh at her cat behavior again. "At least your still on my side right?" He asked weakly, a smile forced on his face. It seemed Chrys always knew how to make him laugh, though it wouldn't help him this time.

 

Chrys smiled, "As long as you stop tring to make me weave, I'll consider it." She muttered. "I'm the only one allowed to get mad here, kay?" She said, agian inspecting one of her hands, "I seem to be the only one who know how to use my angery energy right." She licked the fingertip, "Oh, where is the food? And the little one, the preggy one that looks like a mouse?"

 

"Stop blowing that philosophical nonsense up my skirt," Reva snapped at Ben, "You're committing suicide again. That's all this is about. Without friends, without a support group you're dead here and you know it."

She stared up at him intently.

"I could have loved you."

She wanted to say more but words deserted her. Instead she walked around Ben and headed back toward the cave.

 

"Almost out of food, it seems fox failed to find any, and Reva and Derek are out looking for some." He said and looked around for Joey, where was she. He saw movment over by the last few nuts and notices she was chewing happily on one. "Joey's finishing off the food." He said with a smirk and watched the fire burning. Everything seemed to be going wrong again, he had thought he had gotten everything setteled.

 

"I do put the lives of the rest of my tribe above my own. I will protect of my fellow tribe members. Britney, Raylene, Cull, Juliano, and now I guess Cody are my family while we're on this planet, and I'll do my best for every one of them. I'm guessing that Reva or Allen told you about the incident. I fully admit that I let the demons of my past get the better of me back there. But you know nothing about me." says Fox.

She then sighs and sits down near the fire. "Kat is right. We shouldn't get mad at each other right now. Oh and Kat, sorry but me and Brit weren't able to find any animals to kill and bring back. It looks like most of them are waiting out the snow, while inside of whatever they live in."

 

Smith sighed knowing he had to get more possitive, he still had Kat, he still had Derek, and he still had Reva. "We could use the horns we have out side to make the cave bigger, they're exsplosive." he said hopping someone had knolidge of exsplosives.

 

Chrys observe the two people sitting to either side of her. Looking into the fire, she commented, "In America, we had these three branches to our government. The Executive branch once encompassed the leader of our country, and sorry to say this," She gazed at Chad, the fire slowly reflecting in her eyes, "You aren't suited for that particular branch, you're more like the Judicial branch' You're honest enough to understand what's going on around you, but you're focusing on being the wrong person. Don't let your delusions of grandeur blind your eyes, we need them," she said, patting his head. She then looked at Fox, "You, you confuse me, I don't quite trust you, but.... you'd be good as our legislature, you know how to put down lines, and when to do them. You also need to stop trying to be the Executive branch of out tribe, it's not your mold, you know. It's like trying to make a gingerbread cookie out of a christmas tree mold. It ain't gonna work."