The Phoenix Colony

Fox suddeny feels the movement of the beast and pulls out her gun. Then it disappears. The other three stare at her. "Um..I thought a heard something. Hey guys, do me a favor and don't mess up the bottom half of those rhines. We can use them as cups." says Fox.

 

Tatee made Raylene cringe. She didn't want to even touch it and Pasha and Viva seemed really attached to it. Would they really be able to use their "pet" to lure out the beast? It seemed unlikely.

Raylene finished piling the furs and took a seat next to Pasha. She took his hand in hers and looked at his wound. "I have a pod in my bag that has a gel inside that might help this." She retreived her bag and sat back down. She applied the anteseptic to his burn and then wrapped his arm with some cloth she ripped off of her shirt. She whispered in his ear as she was putting things back inside her bag. "You two really should talk." She stood and went to help Viva.

 

Raylene and Chrys had managed to make a sled out of two branches and one of the furs so it would be easier to take everything with them. The extra furs could be carried and all the meat, skulls and horns were piled onto the sled. Raylene and Chrys each grabbed a rope that Pasha had made and began to pull the sled towards home. Viva, Pasha and Cevin followed, carrying the furs and the "pet".

 

Pasha held on tightly to the makeshift leash on Tatee, he stayed close to the group, not saying much. He made sure to keep his distance, and walked next to Raylene. The sadness had left, but he was filled with an emptiness instead. He couldn’t look at her, nor could he manage to walk without the slump.

“What kind of weapons do you have for this beast?” he asked, “I can manage some spears…” he looked at his arm, not so sure he could make anything anymore.

 

Raylene looked at Pasha before answering his question. He was sad and withdrawn. "We have 2 handguns and a shotgun, but I don't know how much ammunition we have left. Spears are easy to make, and we have those exploding horns from the hell deer. That's really all we have." She shifted the rope to her other shoulder and continued to pull the sled. "Pasha, please tell me what happened back there. Please help me understand. I want to help you."

 

Pasha looked down at his burnt arm. It throbbed painfully, but felt much better after Raylene had taken care of it. She reminded him so much of his mother.

“I’m still here you know.” his mother stated.

“It’s getting worse.” He muttered. His face was red with embarrassment, as he bent in closer to her, “More voices, more whispers… more visions. Memories, they’re so real though.” His voice was barely audible.

 

Raylene looked at her feet as they walked, not wanting to look him in the eyes. She was afraid of what or who she might see looking back at her. "I made a promise to everyone in our tribe that I wouldn't use this "gift" without their knowledge. I've learned to control it. I can turn it off. I make you the same promise. I won't break that promise unless I hear something that is an immediate threat to someone else in our tribe. In all honesty, what I heard today really scared me. I can't imagine how you feel right now. You know she still loves you...even with all those people in there."

 

Pasha kept at her side, his back still slouched so he was close to her ear.

“I never said I was a good person.” He said.

For in fact, he wasn’t. He had murdered enough people to be put on death row a million times over.

“She has changed me. She has. I’m not the same person, but I don’t like how I’m changing. Her lies changed me. She was sent her to kill me. All her so-called love did was make me weak. I won’t be weak anymore. I don’t need these lies.”

 

Raylene let his words sink in. She didn't like how all the men in her life had changed her, either. "Have you ever been truly happy? Were you happy when you thought you loved her?"

 

His mother was pushing him on the swing again, as his father came home with his shirt inside out. He could see the stain in the sunlight. Not a food stain, that was for sure. Pasha eyed him angrily, but his mother was oblivious as she ran towards him, and kissed him on the cheek. She giggled with glee as he pulled her into his arms.

Lying piece of shxt.

“Ignorance is bliss, but that doesn’t make it right.” He growled. He fell back, going to the back of them. His hand clutched his bludgeon stick from the sled, and he went back to his thoughts.

 

Derek looked at Fox inquisitively. "Was it....?" he trailed off of the question, glancing momentarily at Mineko and Bull. He hoped Fox know what he meant.

 

Fox shook her head, "No, if it was, it would have attack. The weird thing is that it just disapeared. I think I know what it was though, in which case, we will be fine. Hey guys, when you finish eating your pinegrapes, hand me the bottom half of the rhine. I can smooth it out with my knife and we can use them as cups."

 

Derek pushed his rhine over to Fox and stood up, lifting his javelin. "Alright, well I think we should bring these two back to camp," he says. "Then we can either head back out or just stay in." He glances around worriedly, not so sure that the beast would just walk away.

 

They get done eating the pinegrapes and Fox uses her knife to smooth out the rhine. "Hey, do you two want to come back with us. We should have enough space at our cave." says Fox. The two newcomers shake their heads in agreement.

Fox stands and hands the ten cup like rhines over to Mineko to carry. The four of them start to head back to the cave.

 

Viva shuddered as they paved across the mountain, making way for the beast. She wasn't afraid - only depressed. She didn't know if she wanted to do this anymore. For the sake of passing time, she asked:
"So what are the plans, Raylene?"

 

(sorryforgot I have to answer:redface)

Raylene looked over at Viva, wanting to talkk to her about Pasha, but deciding it was best to just answer the question, "Reva, our leader, thinks it would be a good idea to know all our allies, just in case the beast decides to return. Also, ther's safety in numbers."

 

Cevin kept staring at the rocks lost in thought. Would Owne had been better off if he'd been left alone? Would he have survived? It would be so easy to just walk off and forget everyone and thing. Only Owen's name carved on his spear kept him from just dissolving into the forest.

Raylene's words cut through his thoughts. He looked up. "In case the beast returns?" He shook his head. "She'll be back. We're her favorite snack."

 

CHrys laughed at that remark, "Snack? Snack you say?" She looked back at the man, "I think we're her whole darn diet. Wonder how she survived without us here?" She continued to drag one of the sleds, luaghing even harder bow, fer tail swisking franticlly.

 

The hunter kept focusing on putting one foot in front of the other. Every inch of his being wanted to just run away. Just one more step Cevin, he thought. He repeated the phrase over and over until it became a prayer and the only thing keeping him moving.

He looked at the girl. "We messed everything up. She was hunting those ape things you call ceaders. If things got hard, she'd always have those weird deer with the explosive antlers. Then we showed up, suddenly her favorite foods were being poached. Then she discovered how much easier it is to pick us off. I'm kind of surprised she hasn't come after her baby yet. So ... what's your leader like?"

 

...Scared, and definitely a biot unsure...Chrys thought to herself, "She's very good at what she does, and stays focused on us being cohesive.

Raylene added,. "This may just be what she was born to do.The position realy bodes well for her."

 

Cevin nodded. "Good, we'll need one voice for everyone to listen to." He spread his fingers. "Know what the first thing any good knife fighter learns? To keep his fingers together. If you keep them all seperate, it's a simple matter for someone to just start lopping them off. Maybe even just split your entire hand open." The hunter curled his hand into a tight fist. "It isn't always faster, just it can survive a lot more. So do you guys have a lot of loose finger around? A lot of people who just won'r listen?"

 

CHrys answered, "I've no freaking clue." As Raylene answered, "Of course, that happens with any group, but Reva handles thenm well."

That made Chrys think about it, "Well, I can name two, but one might have a crush pn her; and the other is simmering down. We're a bit of a mogde-podge of a group, but, hey, we're all in it together." She shrugged, releasing her claws and retracting them, the walking becoming tedious.

 

Raylene pointed ahead of the group. "Right there, past those trees, there's a clearing and the cave is just beyond. There's a stream down the hill a little ways. That's our water source...please respect it and help us keep it clean. I'm starving! I hope they caught something today!!!"

She picked up speed as the thought of food filled her mind. She couldn't wait to see Reva and show that she and Chrys did exactly what she needed them to do. She definately was proud of herself and Chrys. She hoped the other scouting team found others. They needed numbers if they are to be triumphant over the beast.

 

Cevin looked at the lay of the land. THey might be able to make their stand here, but there were too many ways for the beast to approach. "So have you guys figured out how you're going to kill it?"

 

"No, that's why we're scouting, Reva wants as many brains in on this as possible." As she answered, the reached the clearing, "Ooh-ooh, we're almost home!"

She rushes across the clearing, sled dragging behind her.