At the mention of making a shelter, Sasha looked up at the clear sky as the sun set. It was turning bright orange, and they would probably only have about an hour of light left at the most.
"It might be too late to make one tonight. I don't think the benefit would be worth the risk of rummaging through the woods at night barefoot. We should take shifts keeping watch, but other than that, we may have to make due for now."

As it grew darker, it also grew colder. Sasha knew the need for clothes would be pressing soon. Hopefully, it wouldn't get much colder than it already was. The animal hide would take at least a full day to dry, and it certainly wasn't enough to cloth all of them. Being the biggest, he figured it was only fair of him to wait. It would probably take an entire animal to make something that would even fit him. And anyways, he was fairly tolerant to the cold.

While the fire burned, Sasha began fiddling with some of the stronger branches he'd found. He found two with forked ends and snapped them in half so that they were each about three feet long. He then began working on sharpening the end of a third. When the fire was burned down to the white hot coals, he staked the two forked branches in the ground, and skewered meat with the pointed one to lay across the firepit. It would have to be turned fairly frequently, but it got the job done.

He sat back when he was done, his eyes settling on the shifting light of the embers. It was peaceful, almost. Peace was something that he hadn't felt in a long time. A man constantly at war, Sasha wasn't used to having quiet moments like this. Letting his guard down was always too dangerous.

It occurred to him that he hadn't even shared his name with these new people yet. Most people he met didn't care enough to ask, but seeing as he was stuck here for X amount of time with them, it might be worth mentioning. Honestly, it was probably for the best that they didn't know too much about him. Many people found it hard to look past what he did for a living, regardless of his intentions. He was a professional killer, even if he only tried to kill bad people. Not to mention that his work was, more often than not, illegal. But what did any of that matter now?

"You, uh, can call me Sasha," He said, seemingly out of the blue.

Ysran walked over to the fire, fish in hand, or arms, in this case. Setting the fish down next to Sasha, he realized as well that he, too, had not said anything about himself either.

"Sasha huh? You can call me Ysran. Strange name, I know, but I come from a strange place. Anyways, you still have that rock? I'm gonna need it." he said, holding up one if the purple fish he had caught earlier.

May awkwardly sat atop an uncomfortable branch of a large tree. It may not have been cozy, but it served the purpose of staying out of sight. As she relaxed against its trunk, May reflected on the events prior. She was trying to make sense of it all, but that didn't seem to be working out too well for her. The first thing she remembered was being shaken awake only to see unfamiliar faces. As alarmed as she was to wake up to that, it paled in comparison to the shock that set in when she noticed they were naked. Immediately, she tried to move away and, as she did, she noticed a warmth beneath her in stark contrast to the coolness over the rest of her body. May recalled the horror she felt when she realized she was also bare. In her startled but groggy daze, she tried to cover herself, but it didn't do much at that point. Everyone was the same.

Despite May's weariness, the group was kind and understanding. They explained they had similar reactions as well and asked if she remembered anything about how they get there. To their dissappointment, she didn't. She tried to keep up with their conversation, but they seemed far more awake than she did. Her brain felt strange and cloudy.

Once May was more with it, four of them made way out of the strange clearing. It was only as they were exiting that small red head had gotten a good look at her surroundings. There were bizarre circles all around, like the one she had woken up in, and stones with unfamiliar symbols. The whole thing made her very uncomfortable. All she could think of was ritual sacrifice.

As they made their way through the forest, they stumbled upon another clearing with a similar set up as theirs, except this one had a large blood stain in the grass. As one of the men bent down to exam it, they heard a growl. Before they had the chance to even attempt to locate the source, a strange creature was on the man, attacking him viciously. Immediately, May took off running- the other two not far behind.

May was not the quickest of the three, but she was by far the most nimble. While she effortlessly darted around trees and hopped over roots, the woman in front of her tripped. The man behind them stopped help her up. May kept going. May was not aware that she had such a drive to live until that moment. Nothing else mattered in that moment. Not the people, not the lack of clothing, not how she got there.

May pondered about if was possible that the man stopped to help because they had known each other previous to this. Regardless, no good deed goes unpunished. Moments later, they were stuck down by the strange animal. Or so she thinks. She didn't exactly turn around to make sure. However, once she thought she put enough distance between her and the beast, she found a low hanging branch of a tall tree and decided to climb it. She climbed as high as she deemed necessary to stay out of reach and out of sight.

Still and hardly breathing, May waited for the creature to pass by, but it never did. May wasn't sure if it gave up on chasing her or if it was lying in wait for her too. At least an hour had passed without any change, and the sun was starting to set. So, now May was just sitting in a tree naked, stranded, and feeling as though she were staring in some awful B flick horror movie she had seen a long time ago. She vaguely recalled that the girl died in the end. In spite of everything she experienced, May hoped her fate had a more pleasant resolve.

As the night crept in, May shifted uncomfortably on her wooden throne. Despite no longer being afraid of heights, May wanted to be on the ground again. She felt like a prisoner and ached to be free to roam and seek answers to the dozens of questions she harbored. It wasn't until an yellow-orange glow caught her eye that she felt some sort of relief about her situation. Maybe there were people and maybe they could help. May used her vantage point to attempt to see who was there, however, all she could see was that they were near water.

Hesitant, the small girl lowered herself branch to branch until she had descended to the soft ground. She ignored the scrapes and dirt she acquired from her time in the tree in favor of following the glow. After a bit of a walk, she happened upon a group of also naked people trying to cook something rather large over a fire. She stayed back a little and hid behind a tree when she noticed another man approach with some fish. Peering from around its trunk, she watched the group, hoping to feel them out before approaching. With her luck, they'd end up being her captors who were trying to force people into joining their nudist cult.

Gemma didn't know where she was, who any of these people were, nor why the ground was so warm beneath her feet as she ran. She just knew she had to keep going. She tripped over a root and went down. A girl about her age flew past without stopping. One of the men bent to help her and together they ran again. Before long the creature caught up with them and tackled the man to the ground. Gemma turned to help him and caught a glimpse of something she had never encountered before. It looked like a panther with reptile-like parts and before she could make heads or tails of it the man screamed at her to run. She didn't want to leave him but spotted another creature closing in, blood smeared over its mouth. Gritting her teeth, she took off in the same direction as the girl.

What was going on? Where were they? How did she get here? Did someone slip something into her drink last night? What were those circles? Questions upon questions flew through her mind as her feet carried her forward. She slowed down when she could run no longer, her chest heaving. Gemma spotted the other girls tracks and followed them. It was getting dark and she'd be in the trouble if she didn't find anyone soon. Those creatures could be behind her as well.

As she walked she saw a light in the distance and thinking she had nothing to lose, she followed it. To her surprise, the girl who had run ahead was crouching beside a tree, watching a group cooking something on a campfire. She approached her slowly.

"Oi. That's some cheek you have, leaving me behind there." She smiled, somewhat apprehensively but warm nonetheless, and held her hand out in greeting. "I'm Gemma."

Sasha looked down at the fish plopped beside him. He, personally, enjoyed fish. And as hungry as he was, Sasha could probably eat several. Typically, he ate around 4200 calories a day, well over double what the average person would eat. Most of it was protein drinks mixed with fruit and vegetables. He rarely ate bread and usually tried to avoid carbs. A guy didn't get his type of physic without effort. However, Sasha knew that his diet would change drastically as long as they were lost. There was no way he'd be able to reach the caloric intake he had before, and he would probably lean down quite a bit, as the type of weight lifting exercises he normally did would just be unnecessary excursion. He had to think in survival mode for now.

When Ysran asked for the rock knife, Sasha reached over to his other side were it sat beside him. He handed it to the man and stood to turn the meat over the fire. "Do you want help?" He asked, turning back to Ysran. He eyed the fish, some of which had spiny fins. He hoped they weren't the stinging type like catfish.

"Any help would be appreciated. I never really got the hang of gutting fish, I usually just catch them".

Ysran, grabbing the rock knife began to dissect the fish, studying it, rather than preparing it for food. Quickly, he had recognized what he was doing, and began to prepare it for real this time. Occasionally asking Sasha for help, all the fish had managed to be gutted and prepared.

"Alright... I think that'll do it. Thanks for your help."

Looking at what he and Sasha had made, Ysran looked a little closer. The organs in these fish looked much like a normal fish's organs, minus the color, of course. The meat looked pink, thankfully. With any hope, this will be a relatively normal meal.

May spun around, wide eyed, at the sound of a familiar voice.

"H..how...." she began to asked, mouth agape. However, she realized that now might not be the best time and asking felt like admitting to her cowardess. Quickly, she glanced back to the group around the fire. To her relief, they hadn't seemed to hear Gemma's voice. Standing up, May shifted uncomfortably. She had just left this poor girl for dead not long ago. Why was she being so nice? Also, did she not realize May was trying to be discreet?

"May." She whispered hesitantly before shaking the other girl's hand. Her gaze shifted back to the group. They seemed to be talking among themselves while cutting open some fish. It put May at ease to see them fully involved in their activities. "So," May started in a hushed tone as she looked back to Gemma. She hoped the other red head would follow suit. "What do you think of these guys? Do you think we can trust them?"

While Ysran cleaned the fish, Sasha skewered them and placed them gingerly over the fire to cook. As he got the last batch hung up, he noticed that their firewood was starting to run dangerously low. He'd have to go search the treeline for more. "I'll be right back," He said to the others, and turned to head off into the darkness that enveloped them.

He went along the trees, picking up fallen branches and cursing under his breath each time his bare feet got jabbed by a rock or stick. He was used to being strapped into army boots, and his pale, callousless feet showed proof of that. He grumbled softly as he felt the prick of a thorn, and stopped to lean on a tree to pick it out. That was when he heard the subtle shift just beyond the trees. The rustle of leaves, much like the one he'd heard before that animal had tried to attack him.

Sasha perked up, shifting the wood to one arm and picking out a particularly thick branch in case it was time for round two. He narrowed his eyes as he glared into the darkness. He could barely just make out the shape of someone, or something, huddling behind a bushy bramble.

"Who's there?" He asked in a low, dangerous tone. If it was a threat, he was more than prepared to deal with it accordingly, probably by beating the shit out of it.

Ysran noticed everybody standing up and getting into a fighting position. Grabing the stick he had found earlier, he walked near Sasha. There were two figures hiding behind a bush, they looked humanoid at the very least.

Ysran, and all his great wisdom, then went just a little past Sasha. He put a hand on his hip and the stick over his shoulder. He then spoke out to the figures: "Hey, we know you're there. Step out from the bushes, we mean no harm. Would you like to join us for dinner? Hope you like fish."

Gemma smirks slightly at May, "it's nice to meet ya, luv. I know you were trying to go unnoticed but, hey now we're even, eh?"

She glances over at the men by the fire and tries to quickly assess the situation. "I really don't know if we can trust 'em, but we don't have much of a choice neither."

Gemma sees one of the men leave and walk near where they are to gather firewood. She startles a little when he raises his voice and she steps in front of May, almost protectively.

"Just us girlies here. I'd like it if ya put the stick down there now. We don't mean any harm."

She glances around for any kind of weapon but can't see much in the darkness and just hopes for the best in a shite situation.

Sasha startled a bit at the sudden movement and the feminine voice. It was just two women, probably afraid of them. Sasha grunted an apology as he stacked the branch back into the bundle in his arms. He glanced over at Ysran as he invited the two to eat. Which reminded him of the dying fire.

Sasha turned away from two new additions and headed back to the firepit. He began to feed the fire again until it burned brightly once more. Hopefully, it would keep the monsters at bay

The smell of cooked meat made his stomach growl loudly. Sasha pulled the lizardcat meat off the fire to check it. It appeared to be cooked pretty thoroughly.

"Well, here goes nothing, right?" He said, mostly to himself. What were the chances that this thing was poisonous?

"Well, should we take shifts? Or does one of us need to become nocturnal? I can stay up for quite a while, but even I have my limits. Keeping watch in shifts is likely our best bet."

He then remembered that they needed warmth as well, otherwise the cold may kill them off.

"Perhaps the one keeping a lookout could also tend to the fire. It would keep us warm enough during the night, so long as it's well kept. I do suppose that means that you'll have to find more wood as well. Luckily the log Horace brought will likely burn for quite some time, so we might not need to worry about it tonight. As for food, as long as we're near water, we could likely catch some fish, but with so many of us, we'll need more than that. And I doubt we'll be finding a constant supply of those little berries. So, what do you guys think? Any suggestions? I could take first shift."

May had taken a step back when they heard a man shout at them. They were caught and May was at a loss of what to do. It took everything in her not to run in the other direction. In this case, it was a good thing she hadn't. These people didn't try think hurt them and instead offered them food. While settling into a spot by the fire, May made a deliberate decision to sit next to Gemma. Despite everything that had happened between them, Gemma seemed to be a trustworthy person and had treated May very kindly. Sheven made a mental note to thank her for that later and apologize about ditching her.

When the idea of curling up together was brought up, May grimaced. It made her nervous enough to have these men see her naked, despite her best efforts to cover her chest with her arm as she sat. She really didn't like this idea of sleeping next to them or leaving herself in such a vulnerable state with those creatures roaming about.

"I'm May." The red head added after Horace introduced himself. She gave a weak smile as she tried to push away her anxiety. "Also...thank you guys for the food.

Ysran's comment about their need for future food, May wondered whether or not she would be of much use to the group. She felt a need to repay them for their kindness and worried that her current skill set was not necessarily made for life in the outdoors. She could climb and fit into small spaces, but she wasn't sure how helpful those things would prove to be. It was certainly going to be a learning process and she hoped they would be patient with her.

"I can take first shift if you want to sleep for a little bit," May offered. "Or, I can stay up with you. I just really don't think I'll be able to fall again asleep any time soon, so I'll probably be up for a bit regardless."

Sasha tore at the meat on his skewer while he made enough to pass around to everyone else. It wasn't bad. The best comparison was that one time he ate goat in Brazil. It was gamey, but he was too hungry to care. Sasha tried to get the portions as equal as he could and passed them around with a handful of the fruits that they had collected. When everyone had one, Sasha sat down to work on his own. He was quiet as the others talked about taking watch shifts and huddling for warmth. It reminded him of a time that he and his unit had been stranded in Siberia by a massive snow storm. They had been blocked into their safehouse for a week, no electricity and the pipes frozen over. God, that had been miserable.

"I'll take second watch if you want to wake me up," He offered. When he finished his meal, Sasha got up to poke around the tree line again. He brought back a big armful of leaves and deal foliage and spread it on the ground before going back for more. He made a softer place to lay, so that they wouldn't have rocks jabbing into them all night. When he was done, and the spot looked big enough to sleep several people, he took his place and laid down. Sasha, surprisingly didn't have much trouble falling asleep. He'd learned over the course of the years to sleep where and when he could, even if that was in a muddy ditch with bomb fire all around him. He laid down on his side, his head rested on one arm, and before an hour had passed, he was out.

Gemma sighed as she settled near her place by the fire next to May. She took the plate of food offered with a nod of thanks and began to eat steadily. The meat she realized must be from those strange lizard cats. It reminded her a bit of bear, which she had eaten only once after her Da took one down while out hunting. She hadn't thought of that in years. The berries were sour but as far as she could tell not poisonous, time could change that however if they were very unlucky. She listened to the men's suggestions and nodded here and there. Sleeping would be tricky. She didn't know how the other women felt but she didn't mind as long as there was no funny business. She would hope in light of everything that everyone would be too scared, tired, and hungry to try anything. She glanced at May when the lass suggested she'd take the first watch. Gemma made a snap decision and when she finally spoke it was with a somewhat hushed voice as to not wake the other man who fell asleep so quickly.

"Since there are enough of us, we can take the shifts two at a time maybe? That way someone can always stay at the fire, keeping an eye out, while someone else gathers wood and other necessities. I'll stay up with May for the first watch, I don't think I can sleep much neither. I'm Gemma by the way."

She took a deep breath and at their small food supply. "I know it's not much, but I can hunt. I'm used to a bow but I can make do by setting traps and the like. At the very least, I'll be able to feed myself and May and hopefully have some leftovers to add to the stock."

She hesitates but she's bursting with questions that need answers. "I'm sorry if this has been done to death already... but does anyone know where we are? Or why for that matter? Those circles on the ground, what were they? From what I've noticed we all seem to be from different parts of the world so how did we all end up in this place?"

She stared at the various faces hoping for some kind of answers, some kind of knowledge about what happened to all of them and why they were all there.

"If you two want to take first watch, then go ahead. Wake me or the others when you need to. Don't over exert yourselves. Getting to exausted may prove fatal in some way. As for your other questions, there are few answers I can give you. For where we are, I cannot say, why we are here, is also unknown to us, however the circles, I may be able to explain. Circles like that are usually used in rituals of sorts, so we were likely summoned here. The runes on them look a little familiar, but I don't quite recognize them. Perhaps if I spent some more time to examine them, I might be able to figure something out. Why we are all from different parts of the world may also be explainable. Because of where we're from, we all have different skills. Sasha has great physical strength. I have extensive intellect, you said you can hunt, giving you a survival advantage. But, unfortunately, I cannot say for certain. This is just my theory. But I hope that explains the current situation enough."

And with that, Ysran laid back on the ground next to the fire. He'd slept in worse places. Like that one time he got stuck on a chunk of rock on the middle of a river in Brazil. Heh, good times. The fire was definitely warm enough. He'd likely be fine.

"Well, I'm off to bed. If you have anymore questions, you should probably ask now."

May felt a wave of relief when Gemma volunteered to stay up as well. Not that she had anything against these men, but she felt far more comfortable around women.

"Is that possible? To 'summon' people in such a way. I thought that was all just science fiction." May asked Gemma quietly as she watched the group fall asleep.

"Also..." May hesitated. "I'm sorry about the, whole running away thing. I just...I don't know. I can't really explain it, but that was super shitty of me. It's like my body was on autopilot. I just really hope you can forgive me." It felt better to finally let it all out, but at the same time, it made May tense to admit what she had done. "How did you get away, by the way?"