The Phoenix Colony

"I'm sorry, if I was being too argumentitive." says Fox in an apologetic voice, "If there are no objections, we should decide who the main fighters of the tribe will be. The only ones that I can think of that should with out question be among them is myself, Brit, Chad, and Juliano. The four of us have been trained in combat. Man, I wish we still had Pasha and Viva; that would help even the odds."

 

CHrys became excited at the comment of deense. "I think I could pair up with Britney, I'm pretty good with fire as a weapon, and she seems to intuit fire to her advantage."

 

"I'm sorry, if I was being too argumentitive." says Fox in an apologetic voice, "If there are no objections, we should decide who the main fighters of the tribe will be. The only ones that I can think of that should with out question be among them is myself, Brit, Chad, and Juliano. The four of us have been trained in combat. Man, I wish we still had Pasha and Viva; that would help even the odds."

Reva turned on Fox.

"Look, rather than trying to appoint people let's do it this way. When I point to you and ask what you want to do just tell me. If we end up with not enough doing any one thing I'll ask you to change."

One by one Reva pointed at each member of the group and asked, "Defense, Procurement, or Livability?"

 

"I think I could pair up with Britney, I'm pretty good with fire as a weapon, and she seems to intuit fire to her advantage."

"That sounds like a good idea. I guess me and Chrys will be procurement." says Britney.

"I'll be defense." says Fox.

 

"No, stop." Reva snarled at Britney, "YOU do not choose for Chrys. Only you."

"Chrys," Reva added, "What do YOU want to do?"

 

((Okay, guys, to skip over the long and boring account of who chose what can we just assume that everyone chose and move on from that point, please? To make it easy for everyone to stay together...post what you picked on the Discussion thread. Defense, Procurement, or Livability))

 

Smith had anouced his intentions allready, had his partner, Joey and left at a jog. Only stopping shortly into the woods to put Joey down on top of the snow. She cherped anoyed, but knew the rutien now, it was time to hunt down some food. She took off quickly, Smith jogging after her in the snow. Hoping to find some food, quickly, and get back to help with the other parts.

 

As the three returned, empty handed at that, Frank got angry. "Useless pathetic idiots!" he yelled as he approached the first he saw, Dwayne. He was big, muscle bound, frightening, but even he bowed to his master. Pulling back one hand he yelled, "I should beat you dumb bastards into th-"

"Wait!" shouted Dwayne, raising both arms over his face. "We found something, we came right back to tell you because we think it's important."

He lowered his hand and asked calmly, "What is it?"

Lowering his hands as well, Dwayne said, "Another group, down the mountain where **** is still green, there small, only four from what we saw, but they didn't look hungry."

Frank chuckled a bit and turned to his men. "You know the drill boys, Jacob and Lyle, you two lucky ducks get to stay behind, keep up the appearance that we're all here. The rest of you, we follow Dwayne."

 

Allen had chosen "procurement." It would give him the perfect opportunity to be away from the group for long periods of time. The only problem was his hands, but he could work around that. He could use a lot of that time to do some checking on certian things. He headed towards the entrance, and before he left he asked Reva, "What else do you want me to do?"

 

Derek was still unhappy about the idea of a government, but decided that Reva would make a sound leader and he could choose to leave whenever he watned if s**t hit the fan. Still, he watned to some time to get away without having to be anywhere near Chad. He walked to up to Revan and whispered into her ear, saying "Can I talk to you for a minute? Preferably somewhere quiet."

 

"What else do you want me to do?" Allen asked before he left.

Reva looked at him and shook her head slightly, smiling a little.

"Just...come back, will you?"

"Can I talk to you for a minute? Preferably somewhere quiet." It was Derek.

"Of course," Reva told him, raising her eyebrows, "where would that be?"

 

Joey didn't dissapoint him this time eaither, her keen since of smell lead her to a small group of Chocostrawberry bushes. He proceeded to pick them clean until his hands, pockets, and shirt where full. Scooped up Joey, and began walking with several pounds of berries. It'd take him longer to get back because he didn't want to drop all the food.

 

Derek lead Reva just outside the cave and began to talk very quietly, hoping no one would hear him. Before beginning, he took a deep, calming breath and watched the air coming out of his mouth appear as smoke in the air. Get your mind off cigarettes he thought. They're gone.

Returning his mind to the topic, he began. "Look, I don't know if you could tell but I'm a bit fed up with this group. There's fights everywhere, and if I'm anywhere near Chad I can't guarantee nobody's gonna get hurt." He shrugged. "I need to get away for awhile, and with him on procurement I don't have much of an oppurtunity to do that." He paused for a moment, choosing his next words carefully.

"With you as the...leader," Derek said, still not trusting having a leader although he fully trusted Reva's ability to lead, "I would like to ask permission to leave for a day or two. If someone wants to come with me I don't mind, but I'll be fine with or without help. I was thinking about keeping an eye on that group that came by earlier and nearly attacked us. I might even scout around a bit. I just...I just need to get away from this organization for a bit and let it settle in my mind before I do something a little too...rash."

 

Zorell listened to the swarm of movemnet and conversation that seemed to envelop her. I am not going to just sit here...No, I'lll find the cave wall... She ambled over to the cave wall, taking minute steps.

Her fingertips carressed the rock, Okay, listen for the opening....Alright, now walk along the wall...

Chrys was outside f the cave, now focusing her ears to the sound of wind blowing throgh the tall grasses..."That's what I can do." She stalked over to the grass, feeling for the soft clumps. She found some that felt about waist high, "I can use these."

She stooped untill her hands patted the ground, them she started to uproot the grass in clumps. Her arms full, she listened for the hum of sound agai, and slowly headed for it.

 

......Stupid superstitous natives. There was no such thing as a yeti, everybody knew it was a scam made up by them to get more tourists to come into the region. Why on earth did the men in charge want to send him out to hunt a mythical beast? Was this how they were going to use him after leaving training? He should be out hunting down terrorists.......Allen scanned the snowy ground searching for tracks, those special tracks that wouldn't exist.......He had been out here for days......and both arms were useless.......It was a good thing he wouldn't run into it, or he would be in real trouble.......

 

Britney walks out of the cave and finds Kat, "Hey, do you need any help finding stuff?" asks Britney.

Fox sits there by the fire. She closes her eyes and tries to concentrate on the movement around her. She can feel the bigger muscles of the people around her, as the pain of her nerve endings increased. "Ok, lets see if I can do better." thinks Fox. The nerve endings begin to scream in agony as, she begins to feel the pulses of the people, they're lungs moving with each breath. Fox's muscles begin to tighten up, as if they are ready to react at any second. "Ok, the pain isn't as bad as before, and its unlikely I need to sense this small of movement in my every day activities on this world. But, lets see how long I can keep it going." thinks Fox.

 

Chrys stops suddenly, "Oh, I didn't realize where you were. Brotney, right" Chrys asked, tighting her hold on the grass, "I can help you, yeah. I have to deposit these first. I can weave, i'm the one that weaved the cloak that Derek wears all the time." SHe said with a grin spreading across her face.

 

"With you as the...leader," Derek said, still not trusting having a leader although he fully trusted Reva's ability to lead, "I would like to ask permission to leave for a day or two. If someone wants to come with me I don't mind, but I'll be fine with or without help. I was thinking about keeping an eye on that group that came by earlier and nearly attacked us. I might even scout around a bit. I just...I just need to get away from this organization for a bit and let it settle in my mind before I do something a little too...rash."

Reva listened until he was done and massaged her temples with her free hand. The rifle felt heavy cradled in the opposite arm. Her head was pounding.

"I didn't want any of this," she hissed, "What were they thinking...what was Chad thinking?" She paused, marshaling an answer for him.

"Look, Derek, you and I have never had a problem with each other, I probably trust you more than anyone else I've met here yet. Did you notice that nobody really stepped up for Defense? Nobody. They're out gathering food and that's great but this place needs to be fortified. You saw what we're up against...or rather," she corrected herself, "you DIDN'T see it."

She sighed, looking away from him.

"I fully understand you wanting to get away. Hell, I was out foraging today wanting the same thing. I wanted to go away and not come back and now they've forced this on me but I need you here."

Reva looked Derek in the eye, trying to persuade.

"Some scouting would be helpful. We need to know if the gang is really gone or if they're just out of sight waiting. But I need help here...knowledgeable help."

Reva looked down, now and then told him the same thing as she had told Allen minutes before.

"Just come back, okay? In hours...not days."

 

Smith walked into the clearing over flowing with berries. "Ok, now time to do something about this place." He said and walked over to where Reva was talking to Derek. "I'm gona see about reinfourcing this door and wall." He said and glared at Derek before heading in to drop off his berries. Joey hopping off his shoulder and chewing happily on one.

 

Derek reached out and put a hand on Reva's shoulder. She was right. "I'll stick around." He said. "If we are gonna have order, I guess I might as well take over defense. No one else volunteered, so I'll do my best." He struggled to say his next phrase. It was difficult for him to bring the thoughts to actions. "I'd like to thank you for talking some sense into me. If you ever need anything or any kind of help, I'll be here for you." He gave not a jovial smile, but a sympathetic one, pointing at himself with his good hand. "You are probably the only one here that I trust at all. There's been a lot of wierd s**t goin' on, and it's nice to know that there's at least one person that I can count on. Thank you." He reached out and pulled her in with his one good arm, giving her a hug.

 

"Its Britney. Weaving is pretty useful for a situation like this. Well then lets deposit those and get looking for some food." says Britney. She holds onto Kat's empty hand, "Here I'll lead you back to the cave, to deposit them."

 

CHrys allows herself to be lead, but says quietly, "I don't know how long this will last, so, let me go every once i awhile, I have to strengthen my other senses."

Britney stops moving, so Chrys drops the grass by her feet, "Okay, I smell those weird berries that I'm allergic to. Can we get out of here, like now? I don't want to touch one."

 

"Ok, we'll leave now." says Britney. She tugs Kat's hand, so she knows which direction they are going. They walk out into a clearing. "So where do you think the nearest fruit is?" asks Britney.

 

"I think I'm allergic to the fruits on this planet..." Chrys started, sniffing the air, but there's a pretty aromatic scent that way." She said, pointing to a line of trees. (no, she doesn't know what she's pointing at)

 

Reva sank into the hug, drawing strength from the contact, her forehead against Derek's chest so that the furs of his cloak tickled her face. They stayed that way for a long moment before she blew out a shaky breath and stepped back.

"Thank you." For his trust, for his friendship, for the impulsive act that had renewed her to some extent.

She had the feeling that Derek didn't give his trust quickly or easily. It also felt as though he'd given her an infusion of strength. She resisted the impulse to touch his face and settled for smiling at him.

"I think I'd better put myself on Defense with you and we'll find ways to fortify this place. " She sighed, "And I understand about you and Chad. If you ever need to get away from him I'll understand. Scouting, firewood gathering, whatever...Either you can do it or I'll send him."

She began to walk with him slowly toward the cave mouth so that they could assess what they needed to do.

"I didn't want to be in a tribe with Fox but here I am. Believe me, there are a lot of stresses in this group"