Blue Rose Posted December 29, 2012 Posted December 29, 2012 Sam, for her part, is rather pointedly looking as far away from the squirrels as she can, having been reminded more than enough of where food comes from. Her gaze shifts to the forest. Boring. Then to the tents, which remind her of a devious plot she'd considered earlier. Were a key component of her tent to break, then clearly she'd have to spend the night in someone else's tent. But she's in no mood for being tricky at the moment, and there's a teacher here anyways. Then, to the other food, that doesn't involve raw, bloody flesh yet. She pulls a can of green beans from her pack and takes it over in time to hear ponderings on the creepiness that dwells in the forest, so she decides to make up some bullshit on the spot to keep her mind off of things. "Well, there's that overgrown Indian burial ground nearby. Not a lot of folks know about it, but the spirits get restless when you disturb the area." In reality, she knows next to nothing useful about the arcane, but as a self-styled witch, people tend to assume she does, so she's been known to take advantage of it to her benefit. Or mild amusement. Either one works.
Ari Posted December 29, 2012 Posted December 29, 2012 Starting at Sam's wholly unexpected voice, Subito looked over at her excitedly "Really? That's good research, Sam. I thought the closest place like that was miles up south!" It never would have occurred to him that she would say something like that, and not be absolutely truthful. Intently watching the chicken as he cut it with one of the clean knives, he asked the young gentlelady adventurer "Is it anything like that Happanuk Hill place? I've heard that place has some kind of weirdness goin' on." '"Some kind of weirdness", Herald? Are you sure you want to say that in the presence of one who carries the memories of the Taino?' he paused, frowning for a moment, sighed and corrected himself "Sorry, sorry. Shouldn't have said it like that, I know. I've heard that that place has some kind of powerful spiritual presence around there." he said with great deliberation. "You met that Morgan Crowe guy around campus, Sam?" he asked with a hopeful smile "He's pretty into mystic stuff, I bet you'd have a lot to talk about." A worried look suddenly came over his face, and he said quietly "Uh, you don't think we'll be in much danger of disturbing them, do ya?" 'This is sinfully funny. Whatever, mom.' "Hopefully we won't need to worry about endin' up in a ripoff of The Shining."
TheAbsurdist Posted December 29, 2012 Author Posted December 29, 2012 Funnily enough Elias still had his old pup tent, one of the few things he had brought with him. It was low to the ground, and ruddy brown color. Definitely showing some age. Several decades ago it was likely a more expensive thing. Without looking up from what he was doing he added to what Subito said. "Squirrel." Cutting the meat quickly, and in strips, he resumed a point of conversation. "Awareness. That is what you have to learn, to not cut yourself. To know where the knife is. It is practice, cutting different things, and learning how they interact. Knowing where the blade is in relation to your hands." And then he started to cut rapidly, but he lifted his head and looked at Subito in the eye as he did so, not looking at his hands, or the knife or the meat. Grabbing a paper towel, he moved to pour oil with the covered hand into the wok. Before moving back to scoop up the meat. "Don't need to thank me I didn't do anything. It's just..." Frowning a little as he stirred the meat to stop it from sticking to the stainless steel. "You have a choice. Act or not act. There are consequences to both. Which would you prefer to live with?" And then he he nodded towards the container of salt. "Subito, can you sprinkle a little on the meat, and then go hand the rest to Antoinette, she needs it to preserve the skins." Once the meat started to cook, he grabbed the onions and threw it in with the meat. He looked at Sam, flatly, but from the car ride here she would be aware that such an expression was kind of the norm. "Hm." It was clear he was processing, trying to figure out how much of it was the truth. Though the supernatural stuff tended to be outside of his realm. But he frowned and looked down at the food.
Blue Rose Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Sam holds the green beans out to Elias and waits for an answer whether he wants to add 'em or not, figuring he's fine doing business that way while she carries on the conversation. "Dunno that part," she continues her yarn. "Tribe died out a long time ago. Before European settlers even came here. Not much known about 'em, not much left to study. And investigators found out early the place doesn't want investigated. But I wouldn't worry too much. If there's any trouble, we'll probably get extra credit for dealing with it. More if it's dangerous." Of course, there's nothing wrong with making up stuff like this. After all, ghost stories are a camping tradition.
Ari Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 "Keep aware of where the blade is? Okay, I can do that." Subito nodded, gently beginning to practice slicing through the meat and gauging its position by touch and the resistance of flesh. Holding the bit of fowl aloft on the knife he grabbed the salt tin with a deft movement, tossing it into the air and shaking a fine measure of the crystals onto their meal, neatly returning it to its place with another flick. "I suppose there is that," he admitted "I mean, I probably would have said somethin' in just a couple days, but I didn't want to act like I was in some kinda hurry." He shrugged, smiling warmly at Elias "Anyway, I get your meanin'." The stocky teen's eyes practically lit up when Sam mentioned that there remained the chance of trouble, and with ancient ghosts! "Aw man, that'd be awesome! And I bet we could totally deal with a few ghosts from the dim recesses of past ages!" he said with complete confidence, glancing over at Cerys as his voice took on an admiring tone "After all, it's not like we haven't got a whole bunch of people real experienced at it!" He smiled cheerily at the well-traveled redhead "Have you met many ghosts, Sam? I sure haven't!" he said with a laugh.
Tiffany Korta Posted December 30, 2012 Posted December 30, 2012 Blodeuwedd gave one of her tight little smiles at Tona. “It’s no problem, I hope everyone appreciates the way I’ve laid out the camp.†After quite a bit of thought she had subtly laid out the camp, placing Tona and Sam’s tents close together and leaving a subtle bit of room of them from everyone else. She could tell from her subtle body language that Sam really didn’t want to be here and was making an effort for the sake of Tona. That gave her a bit of a free pass for such a sweet gesture, but it only went so far. Without looking up from her book she added in normal deadpan voice. “There are no registered sites, archaeological or otherwise, in this area neither are there any myth, legends or traveller tails associated with this area. And there are no magical aura within the immediate area.†She tapped the goggles she on her head, which most of them knew allowed her to see magic “And yes I did do the research, these things seemed to happen to us even at a simple picnic.†She then carried on with the same deadpan voice “I’d be more worried about the Bear-that-Walks-like-a-Man. Let’s hope he likes Squirrel Stir Fry if he turns up…â€
Blue Rose Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Sam visibly deflates at Cerys' flat little speech, so dull, so lifeless. How are you supposed to respond to something that boring? She goes through a series of faces and hand gestures in the process, though. Eventually, she settles for just pointing at Cerys and giving curt, "You suck." Then, the finger moves to Subito. "And you're easy." Then, she hefts the can in Elias' general direction, happily changing the subject. "You wanna use the green beans?" Which, of course, is the sign for all the wittier comebacks and covers to come springing to mind. Maybe something involving a chupacabra.
Raveled Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Tona sat by the fire, skinning the animals, and listening to the back and forth between her fellow students. The idea of an Indian burial ground nearby confused her -- why would that be something to worry about? She'd visited burial grounds back in her home world, and while they could be creepy places to be around so could a lot of places on Tona's homeworld. She didn't understand why Sam would make up stories about such a place, though, if one didn't exist. She was surprised that Elias knew anything about skinning and leatherwork, but accepted the salt with a nod. "It's Tona, Elias," she called over to him. She laid the skins out and applied the salt liberally, massaging it into the folds of the skin. She picked up the squirrel meat and carried it over to where the boy was preparing the food. "Only ma pere calls me Antoinette, anymore," she told him, placing the meat near to hand. She picked up a pair of squirrel heads off the pile and went back to the fire, beginning to scrape the meat off them carefully and clean the bone as best she could with just a knife. She had half a mind to polish the skulls and keep them in her room; it reminded her of hunting with her dad back home, and they'd be cool trinkets to keep on her shelf at Claremont.
Ari Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Subito's fingers froze in mid-cut, and his smile vanished at Cerys' serene exposition and then Sam's short and sour insult. 'Wait, what?! Why would she do that? You cannot see it, Subito, but I am grinning right now. Don't you start! No, you are right. This is too soon, and I can bring this up for months yet!' He looked positively crestfallen for a few moments, more at the revelation that Sam had been lying to him for no reason he would have understood than the mild derision she had thrown his way. Insults weren't exactly foreign to him. Glancing over at the girl he said "No hard feelings, Sammy. If it makes you feel any better, I was totally convinced" he added crisply. Gathering up the salt tin nearby, he carried it with great care over to Tona, handing the container to the archer with a smile, nodding over to Sam discreetly(for him, at least) and asking in a low voice "She...does Sam do that a whole lot?" He sat down next to her, watching her work with great interest.
Raveled Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Tona worked on scraping off the muscle and ligaments off the skulls and tried to get the eyeballs and juices out with the tip of her knife. She was a bit at a loss at how to get the brains out; if she could dislocate and remove the jaws, perhaps? But she didn't want to break them... Subito's question gave her a reason to set the skull aside and clean off her knife as she thought. "When we were waiting for Mali one time," she replied, lowering her voice as Subito had done, "she switched mine and Cerys and her own image around. So we all looked like different people when Mali showed up." She shrugged. "Mali saw through it right away, so it's not like anything came of it." She looked up at the bigger man and grinned. "It's just a little story, Subito. Besides, would it be so terrible if you and Cerys had to sit up on Indian Ghost watch?"
Ari Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 Struggling visibly not to laugh at Tona's story, the Puerto Rican boy replied "That's pretty good! I didn't know she did stuff like that, she must be a lot of fun to be around." he looked thoughtfully at the treeline just before Tona's last words rang out into his ears. He lowered his gaze at the ground as he nodded slowly, murmuring "I...yeah, that would've been quite nice. Not that we'd do much, but it's always nice to talk to her about stuff like spirits, monsters and weird stuff like that." There was a brief silence as he considered the idea, smiling despite himself. Suddenly coming back to the present, with a sudden blush and a mutter of "S-sorry, I..um..so, any part of this I can help y'with Tona?" he asked hopefully, a light-bulb seeming to appear over his head as he added hurriedly "Ooh! Also, I wanted to know: you know the Bowman? That guy in the Freed League? I was wonderin' if you'd ever thought about being Arrow." he frowned "...Huh, sounded better in my head."
Raveled Posted December 31, 2012 Posted December 31, 2012 "She... seems to like messing around with what people see. With what they know, or at least what they think they know." His question about Bowman made her frown. She had met the older archer when she arrived at Freedom Hall, fresh from the Silver Tree. It had been interesting to talk with someone whose life was so much like her own, and yet so very, very different. "I've never really thought of joining the Freedom League after graduation," she said. "Truthfully, I'd like to kind of... go back home and take care of a few things." Maybe it was a silly hope, but she didn't want to simply ignore her home world. If she couldn't go back and save anyone, then what was she training at Claremont for?
Tiffany Korta Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Blodeuwedd continued to read her book whilst she listened to rest of the teenagers chat away. She wasn’t overly bothered by Sam outburst, it was by now a well-rehearsed series of insults and putdowns they playful exchanged between themselves. She was a little more interested in the conversation between Tona and Subito however. “I’ve not had much experience with actual ghosts, I don’t mind the idea of stalking out a burial ground. I find graveyard quite relaxing places of contemplation, though I’d prefer you didn’t share that information with everyone. With everything else it would probably give people the wrong idea.†She then let the crest of the conversation ash over her, until Tona started talking about going home. Putting her book, carefully, aside she walked over and put a hand on her shoulder. “I can’t speak for any of the others, even that lughead there, but you know that if you need I’ll come with you in an instant to help.â€
Ari Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Her listener nodded in understanding "She likes pranking people, got it." He examined the squirrel carcasses with interest as the archer explained what she wanted to do with her life after graduation, looking suddenly up in surprise when she mentioned wanting to go back home and "take care" of something. He frowned at the fire, mulling over the surprising coincidence and wondering how to respond when Cerys spoke. "Yeah Blodeu, they might start thinkin' you're, I dunno, weird or something." the stocky boy commented cheerfully, smiling up at Cerys and moving aside when she approached Tona. He was abruptly struck with the impression that this was something that had been going on for a while, and momentarily felt irritated that Cerys hadn't at least mentioned it to him, quelling it with the remembrance that he hadn't asked 'I need to talk to her more...we don't really do much together', it probably wasn't any of his business 'Quite so' and the best thing to do would be for him to offer his help with whatever trouble Tona was having. Aloud he said warmly "If there's a chance you need some lughead to take a whole bunch of hits for ya, I'm in if you'll have me. Besides," he added crashing on his back onto the grass "no way anyone who goes to Claremont could say 'no' to the chance to help!" He lifted his head up and looked at Tona "Anyway, just wonderin'. Lots of other people at school talk a whole bunch about how they want to join the Freedom League when they graduate. Except Sleet-Saru, she hardly ever says so much as "Hi, nicetomeetyoubye"." he said, uncannily mimicking the Earth-Ape transfer student's subdued speech and accent. With a thud his curly head dropped back onto the grass.
Raveled Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 Tona glanced up as her friend approached, but her eyes went wide when Cerys starters talking about going back with her. She stood up quickly, dropping the squirrel skull on the ground. "No no, that's not... You don't need to do anything like that, Cerys." She gave Subito a look. The girls knew where Tona was from, but neither of the boys did and Tona was happy to keep it that way. She grabbed Cerys's hand and dragged hr roommate away from the fire and listening ears. She was still careful to keep her voice pitched at a harsh hiss, though. "I'm not asking you to come to the Terminus with me. You could be killed there, any of us could!"
Tiffany Korta Posted January 1, 2013 Posted January 1, 2013 “I know Tona, I’m volunteering. I know the risks, I’m a Foot soldier in a family that is prepared to go toe-to-toe with Gods. One of my favourite spot to just sit and think is the graveyard back home, it’s filled with my ancestors, and not many of them lived to die of old age.†She paused and them gave one of her tight almost smiles. “One thing they drum into you is loyalty to the family. I choose to extend it to my friends. If Sam asked I’d follow her into hell to help her out…†her choices of words were deliberate, they both knew a little about Sam’s past “I’d even jump at the chance to help Mali if I knew what they were all planning.†What she didn’t say was that Tona was a little more than that; she had been her first real friend outside the order. And maybe a little more if it hadn’t been for Sam… or Subito. She turned away for a few second to hide her feeling and gather her thoughts. “And you know me, when the time comes whatever you decide at least let us sit down and come up with some kind of plan.†She managed a real genuine smile “Now come on we’re meant to be having fun. Let’s get back before Subito decides to spice up those squirrels.â€
TheAbsurdist Posted January 1, 2013 Author Posted January 1, 2013 "It wont hurt." Said to Sam before he took the green beans, and took a small slip of metal out of his pocket, and using it to quickly start opening the can. As usual the Telepath seemed to be in his own little world, oblivious to most everything else here. As Subito had learned that was not the case. Though he was actually doing something right now. He set the can aside, as he opened the package of udon noodles and dumped them in, working to break them up. "Tona it is. Elias is short enough, but if you want to give me a nickname, I wont be upset. Even if you want to call me Creepy Eli, like some of the others. But I wasn't really raised in cites, sure New Freedom for a bit, and Macau, but... those really don't count. I learned to do a lot of things to survive." Of course not that anyone did call him that here, well maybe Sam might, but he stared a lot, and as a known telepath it tended to freak people out. He lapsed into quiet for a moment, understanding what was going on more than Subito, before finally adding his two cents, two and a half tops. Of course not knowing Tona meant that he didn't feel comfortable volunteering for her visit home. "There is reason I don't talk about my plans. Wolves at my back..." Trailing off as he kept stirring. Glancing to Sam, "Subito said, when I first met him that I would get along with you. I think I know why now. You can tell me more about the Indians. I like a good story." His tone was his normal serious tone in his stilted accent, for him it was pretty irrelevant whether the story was real, he know how often people embellished things. Not finding what she said about Cerys or Subito all that harsh or shocking. But then to rattle the boy it took a lot.
Blue Rose Posted January 2, 2013 Posted January 2, 2013 While Elias talks, Sam is distracted by Cerys and Tona's conversation. When the boy takes the can and starts addressing her, she just offers a nod of acknowledgement and follows up with, "Just a second," only really having the vaguest idea what he actually said. She missed some of the details of the whispers, but she knows enough about Tona's home to make a good guess. She walks up behind her kinda girlfriend and places what she hopes is a reassuring hand on her shoulder as she whispers. "Just promise me you won't try to sneak off on your own because you're afraid for us or something. I'm going with you, and I'll make sure you can come back." She'd heard more than most about Tona's world in their time together, and in truth it sounds more like a lost cause to Sam, not nearly so bad as Dis but just as unsalvageable. While she genuinely wants to help Tona improve things in her home, you'd need an army of supers to oust Terminus, and even that would have losses. No, Sam's bigger worry in going along would be to make sure Tona doesn't get in over her head. To make sure she doesn't die.
Raveled Posted January 3, 2013 Posted January 3, 2013 A low-grade churning had settled in Tona's gut as Certs started talking about friendship, and when Sam came over and added her opinion the churning migrated upwards to become a hand squeezing her heart. For a moment she couldn't speak. "You, you all... trip bon amis. But no I am not going to let you all do this, I am not..." She choked up as emotion washed over her, and she squeezed her eyes shut to stop the tears she could feel coming. "I will not[\i] let you foolishly follow me. Do you understand?" She sniffed. "I couldn't... I couldn't bear it if I was the reason you... you died."
Ari Posted January 3, 2013 Posted January 3, 2013 'Huh. Must have been through a lot together. Subito thought, the whispers from the two girls echoing in his superhuman hearing. Sitting back up he watched the two become three as Sam joined in. He scowled openly at Tona's attempt to convince Cerys and Sam to let her go alone, and wrestled with whether or not to say anything before getting up and walking over to the bevy, carefully rescuing one of the squirrels from getting too close to the fireplace. Drawing closer he called over "Tona, the only way to make sure they don't follow you is if y'don't go at all. Look at it this way: if Sam was goin' into horrible danger and you knew it, and she told you not to go, would you listen?" he shrugged, looking awkwardly between the Terminus survivor and the thief, glancing anxiously at Cerys as he went on "I know you don't want me involved, and I'm sorry for butting in like this, but you gotta understand. You won't save anyone any pain by making them stay behind if you die, an' the fact that you're this scared for their safety doesn't really bode too well. They'll wish they had been with you, they'll wish they could have done something, even if it doesn't make any sense." He paused for a moment, looking suddenly straight at Tona, his voice strained with an undercurrent of irritation "Besides, what good will it do to go back without at least gettin' some people to back you up? Even the most powerful heroes this world has ever known didn't do everything by themselves, they banded together because that let them fight things they could never beat on their own! I-grrrrgh..." he threw his hands into the air and walked back to the tents "But hey! I don't know what you're dealin' with! Maybe we can't help at all, and that was a bunch of useless crap!" he glared back at the heavily pierced girl "Sorry for shootin' my mouth off, Tona. I wish you the best of luck. May God and the saints be with you." he snapped, stalking over to the small container of spices around the food prep are, searching for the spiciest thing he could find.
Tiffany Korta Posted January 3, 2013 Posted January 3, 2013 Blodeuwedd gave a sad little smile and if she was honest even teared up a little bit. “You see that the thing Tona, we are your friends and we all concerned about you as well. We don’t want you to go off on your own to what amounts to a certain death. We care about you too much.†She then crossed her arms but her tone was still soft. “Beside when have you known me rush off somewhere foolishly? If we go, when we go, it will be with some form of plan. And I promise you you’ll always have the final say in what we do or don’t do.â€
Blue Rose Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Sam glares daggers at Subito's intrusion and shoos him away quietly, fortunately as he was turning to leave anyways. Still behind Tona, she wraps her arms around her and plants a kiss on her neck. "You... you know where I'm from," she eventually says, none to fond of speaking about Dis, though she's already told Cerys and Tona about it. The former more out of necessity. "I was born in Hell and made it out alive. I'm good at staying that way, and you know you'll need all the help you can get. Trust us. Because it'll just be more dangerous if we have to go in after you without a guide."
Raveled Posted January 4, 2013 Posted January 4, 2013 Tona's emotions were in turmoil. She felt dread and apprehension over the idea of leading her friends into danger in her home, but she also felt hope and a feeling of belonging that her friends were willing to follow her into hell, regardless. She pulled Cerys and Sam into a hug, kissing each girl briefly on the cheek. "Thank you," she whispered to them, eyes brimming. "I don't... I don't know what to say." She pulled away and took a few steps into the forest. "I... I have to think about this for a little bit. Excusez-moi." She turned and cut into the underbrush, heading away from the little camp to find a place to be alone.
Tiffany Korta Posted January 6, 2013 Posted January 6, 2013 Blodeuwedd gave Sam a look and raised an eyebrow. “I know what you’re thinking right now, because I’m thinking the same right now. But right now I really think she needs a little time alone. Beside do you know anyone who would be safer in this forest, or any forest as it happens.†She didn’t move for a few minutes waiting to see how Sam wouldn’t react, then she added. “Let’s go have a word to Subito about not ease dropping on other people’s conversations, however well-meaning it was.†She began to move back to camp, but still waited for Sam to join her.
Blue Rose Posted January 6, 2013 Posted January 6, 2013 Sam aches a little as Tona tears out of her arms and runs off, but doesn't follow. "I'm thinking we should have dinner ready for her when she gets back," she lies. In truth, she wants to go running off after her, but even Sam can't set her better judgment that far aside. She lingers for a while, then turns back and follows Cerys back to camp. "Tona'll be a bit. Elias, you know how to get those squirrels ready?" As she speaks, she pulls back her hood, stops alongside Subito, takes off her knit cap, and whacks him atop the head with it before bundling back up.
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