Jack felt his eye widen at the idea of meeting a hungry bear just up from hibernation. It took a moment for the memory of his Uncle telling him about bears last summer to penetrate, but when it did he piped up "Yeah, but they'd rather leave us alone. As long as we're careful with the food waste - which Allison definitely will be at camp - we'll be fine. Besides, Uncle 'n me have got bear bells." He bounced up and down a bit jangling the bells attached to his pack wildly before he settled the bag back to the asphalt. "D'you have any extra ones Uncle Danny?" Pretty sure his uncle always had extras in his truck, since part of his job was to hand out the 'Canada Parks' emblazoned bells to as many hikers as possible. Even a government organization wasn't above a bit of easy advertising, the safety was a bonus.
Grinning broadly as his uncle nodded and opened the truck to retrieve a few more bells Danny shifted the angle of his smile to the new woman, Mellie. Her owl on top of the truck was eyeing up the squirrel in Danny's hood, but a round of ear piercing chittering - that had Jack covering his ears - put an end to that, at least temporarily.
~~~
Danny nodded to Tyko as he offered the bear bells to the other man and Mellie, "Yeah, go ahead and bring it. I've got a rifle at camp, but it's not a bad idea to have one with us now. Especially since we might not make it there before dark."
He shouldered his pack, locked the truck, and started across the blacktop to Mellie's vehicle. They would have a few minutes to check through what she'd brought if they needed to, but he had a hunch they would be ready to leave the parkinglot within the next 20 minutes. Good thing too, since they'd be cutting it awfully close to full dark at this point.
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Well that settled that. The tiny owl that had awkwardly side-hopped out of the bushes was an obvious indication that Landon had been right to send her. Danny just watched as Tyko's raccoon-friend - was it Lois, he wasn't sure - head bobbed at the owl and the woman standing a few feet away. Suddenly feeling a bit awkward and more than a little outnumbered Danny cleared his throat, ran his hand through his hair, and grabbed his pack.
"Alright. Well, if we want to make it to camp with enough time to eat before it gets dark we should get going." His eyes met Mellie's eerily blue ones, even more jarring in her dark face, "You have been waiting for us. Do you have a pack?" She didn't seem to be carrying anything, but from what he could see her car was stuffed to the gills. Hopefully she'd brought a smaller pack that would do for the night. A small part of him hoped she'd say no, just so he had an excuse to go through her car and see what supplies she had brought. He had a hunch it was going to be a long and lonely summer, and he wanted to know what she'd be able to contribute. What people chose to bring on this sort of last minute trip would be a pretty good indicator of their skills as well as their basic personality traits. He shrugged, mentally, he knew there would be time to do it. He just hoped that between the three of them they hadn't duplicated too many things.
"We'll be able to come back for another few loads tomorrow, so if you have a bag with just the necessities..."
~~~
Mellie nodded and replied "Yeah, I've got an overnight bag. It's not a pack though. I didn't know where I'd end up, Landon just sent me coordinates. It's just a gym bag." She shrugged, unsure if Landon and Ruth-Ann had even known exactly where she'd end up.
She felt a small prick on her calf and looked down to see the owl nudging her with his beak. She somehow knew he wanted a better vantage point, so she bent and lifted him to her shoulder. For once in her life she felt none of the need to cradle or protect an animal. It was the strangest feeling, but she just knew he'd be as competent as she was. She felt a quick warning, enough so she could turn her head sideways, before he launched off. He'd managed to barely miss buffeting her ear, but not by much and she heard his low 'hoo' of amusement - sure that's what it was - as he landed on top of the truck.
He boobed his head, then turned it nearly completely sideways, looking at the tall red-haired man and Mellie felt herself say "He wants to know your name." She was sure the look of shock on her own face matched that of the man's when he looked back at her. She turned her head, a little more certain of herself, "Yours too." Meeting the ice-blue eyes of the boy, and the other man.
"Alright. Well, if we want to make it to camp with enough time to eat before it gets dark we should get going." His eyes met Mellie's eerily blue ones, even more jarring in her dark face, "You have been waiting for us. Do you have a pack?" She didn't seem to be carrying anything, but from what he could see her car was stuffed to the gills. Hopefully she'd brought a smaller pack that would do for the night. A small part of him hoped she'd say no, just so he had an excuse to go through her car and see what supplies she had brought. He had a hunch it was going to be a long and lonely summer, and he wanted to know what she'd be able to contribute. What people chose to bring on this sort of last minute trip would be a pretty good indicator of their skills as well as their basic personality traits. He shrugged, mentally, he knew there would be time to do it. He just hoped that between the three of them they hadn't duplicated too many things.
"We'll be able to come back for another few loads tomorrow, so if you have a bag with just the necessities..."
~~~
Mellie nodded and replied "Yeah, I've got an overnight bag. It's not a pack though. I didn't know where I'd end up, Landon just sent me coordinates. It's just a gym bag." She shrugged, unsure if Landon and Ruth-Ann had even known exactly where she'd end up.
She felt a small prick on her calf and looked down to see the owl nudging her with his beak. She somehow knew he wanted a better vantage point, so she bent and lifted him to her shoulder. For once in her life she felt none of the need to cradle or protect an animal. It was the strangest feeling, but she just knew he'd be as competent as she was. She felt a quick warning, enough so she could turn her head sideways, before he launched off. He'd managed to barely miss buffeting her ear, but not by much and she heard his low 'hoo' of amusement - sure that's what it was - as he landed on top of the truck.
He boobed his head, then turned it nearly completely sideways, looking at the tall red-haired man and Mellie felt herself say "He wants to know your name." She was sure the look of shock on her own face matched that of the man's when he looked back at her. She turned her head, a little more certain of herself, "Yours too." Meeting the ice-blue eyes of the boy, and the other man.
Danny nodded, "Yeah. We'll meet my partner up at the cabins. When I left to grab grad Jack she headed for the camp site to get things set up." He grabbed the strap of the smaller backpack he'd packed for Jack and a few solid tugs had it pulled free from whatever had been on top of it. "I got a text after we left Tim's that another woman should be meeting us here. I'm betting that's her." Jerking his chin in the direction of the fully loaded station wagon.
He'd noticed her when they'd pulled in, but Danny thought it'd be a good idea to let her approach on her own time. From the look of things she was alone, and lone women could get antsy when approached by a group of men.
"A guy I worked for once, we kept in touch. His niece headed this way and he sent her friend to us. She's probably in the same situation as you and Jack...but Landon didn't say." Danny knew that was awfully scarce on info, but to be truthful he didn't have much else. Landon had retired years ago, and wasn't the greatest texter, so their conversation had been short and sweet. Besides, Danny had had to relate his half through Jack, since he was driving and his brother would have killed him if he found out Danny had texted while driving with Jack in the car. Bad role-model, unsafe, ect. Danny half grinned to himself just picturing the lecture he'd have gotten.
~~~
Jack had grabbed his pack off the tailgate of the truck and set it down by the rear passenger wheel, out of the way. His uncle was shoulder-deep in the truck bed, fishing for his own pack, and he'd said they weren't going to take any extras tonight...so Jack wandered around the edge of the brush that came right up to the edge of the concrete. kicking stones, scuffing his feet, and generally being glad he wasn't cooped up in the truck's cab anymore.
He felt a now familiar push against his shoulder as the squirrel lept into the nearest tree. Jack heard scratching and scraping as the red blur raced into the canopy. Shortly, the climbing noises were followed by the piercing shrieks of an angry squirrel. The 'Chit-chit-CHIT' kept right on repeating and Jack looked over his shoulder, a bit sheepishly, at his uncle who was glaring at him. Jack lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug and made a face. It wasn't as though he could control the little guy.
It was another 10 seconds of squirrel-chattering later that TWO red blurs spiraled down from the top branches of a pine three trees over from where the squirrel had entered. Jack moved close enough to the tree and his particular red blur launched back to his shoulder and re-buried himself in the hood of the sweater.
When Jack looked back at his uncle he was just quick enough to catch the end of an obvious eye roll. The larger of the two squirrels had retreated from the humans to a higher branch and was still loudly expressing his displeasure. Before the squirrel in his hoodie could start screaming back Jack made a tactical retreat to the rear of the truck.
Shrugging again, he stood silently, waiting for Danny to decide what would happen next.
~~~
It had taken Mellie a good 10 minutes to screw up her courage enough to start across the expanse of blacktop. Even then, the owl clearly sensed her anxiety and was matching her pace from the relative safety of the sparse underbrush. She could hear the occasional sounds from him, and was becoming more and more certain with every step that he was trying to soothe her.
Even more oddly, it was helping. She felt her shoulders relaxing and her breath coming more smoothly. Although she'd never had any men truly threaten her she still found herself very aware of how isolated they were and that there were two men and a boy, and no one else. The presence of the boy settled her a bit to, he looked like he was young enough to be in one of her classes, and if the men had taken on the care of a boy surely they wouldn't do anything...
This time she forced herself to take a deep breath, settle her shoulders, straighten her back, and walk right up to them.
"Hi. I'm Mellie. I think I've been waiting for you?" She felt her voice raise a bit more than usual on the last word, her anxiety peeking out, but the calm stance of the older man, and the fact that she had now read the 'Canada Parks' decal on the side of the truck, had eased her mind a bit more. She smiled, a little forced, but mostly just from the discomfort of meeting new people without any real introduction. She felt the lest of her anxiety melt away when the boy grinned back, obviously unaware of the squirrel peeking at her from the hood of his sweater.
Now a true grin broke her face, and she sent a welcoming tug towards the owl still hiding in the brush. He hooted softly, and cautiously sidled out from under the bushes. He didn't come more than three feet out, but there was no way the men could have avoided seeing him.
He'd noticed her when they'd pulled in, but Danny thought it'd be a good idea to let her approach on her own time. From the look of things she was alone, and lone women could get antsy when approached by a group of men.
"A guy I worked for once, we kept in touch. His niece headed this way and he sent her friend to us. She's probably in the same situation as you and Jack...but Landon didn't say." Danny knew that was awfully scarce on info, but to be truthful he didn't have much else. Landon had retired years ago, and wasn't the greatest texter, so their conversation had been short and sweet. Besides, Danny had had to relate his half through Jack, since he was driving and his brother would have killed him if he found out Danny had texted while driving with Jack in the car. Bad role-model, unsafe, ect. Danny half grinned to himself just picturing the lecture he'd have gotten.
~~~
Jack had grabbed his pack off the tailgate of the truck and set it down by the rear passenger wheel, out of the way. His uncle was shoulder-deep in the truck bed, fishing for his own pack, and he'd said they weren't going to take any extras tonight...so Jack wandered around the edge of the brush that came right up to the edge of the concrete. kicking stones, scuffing his feet, and generally being glad he wasn't cooped up in the truck's cab anymore.
He felt a now familiar push against his shoulder as the squirrel lept into the nearest tree. Jack heard scratching and scraping as the red blur raced into the canopy. Shortly, the climbing noises were followed by the piercing shrieks of an angry squirrel. The 'Chit-chit-CHIT' kept right on repeating and Jack looked over his shoulder, a bit sheepishly, at his uncle who was glaring at him. Jack lifted one shoulder in a lazy shrug and made a face. It wasn't as though he could control the little guy.
It was another 10 seconds of squirrel-chattering later that TWO red blurs spiraled down from the top branches of a pine three trees over from where the squirrel had entered. Jack moved close enough to the tree and his particular red blur launched back to his shoulder and re-buried himself in the hood of the sweater.
When Jack looked back at his uncle he was just quick enough to catch the end of an obvious eye roll. The larger of the two squirrels had retreated from the humans to a higher branch and was still loudly expressing his displeasure. Before the squirrel in his hoodie could start screaming back Jack made a tactical retreat to the rear of the truck.
Shrugging again, he stood silently, waiting for Danny to decide what would happen next.
~~~
It had taken Mellie a good 10 minutes to screw up her courage enough to start across the expanse of blacktop. Even then, the owl clearly sensed her anxiety and was matching her pace from the relative safety of the sparse underbrush. She could hear the occasional sounds from him, and was becoming more and more certain with every step that he was trying to soothe her.
Even more oddly, it was helping. She felt her shoulders relaxing and her breath coming more smoothly. Although she'd never had any men truly threaten her she still found herself very aware of how isolated they were and that there were two men and a boy, and no one else. The presence of the boy settled her a bit to, he looked like he was young enough to be in one of her classes, and if the men had taken on the care of a boy surely they wouldn't do anything...
This time she forced herself to take a deep breath, settle her shoulders, straighten her back, and walk right up to them.
"Hi. I'm Mellie. I think I've been waiting for you?" She felt her voice raise a bit more than usual on the last word, her anxiety peeking out, but the calm stance of the older man, and the fact that she had now read the 'Canada Parks' decal on the side of the truck, had eased her mind a bit more. She smiled, a little forced, but mostly just from the discomfort of meeting new people without any real introduction. She felt the lest of her anxiety melt away when the boy grinned back, obviously unaware of the squirrel peeking at her from the hood of his sweater.
Now a true grin broke her face, and she sent a welcoming tug towards the owl still hiding in the brush. He hooted softly, and cautiously sidled out from under the bushes. He didn't come more than three feet out, but there was no way the men could have avoided seeing him.
You don't have to reintroduce him, you just get Nick to the meeting point and Bunnita and Co. Dont show and no one knows why.
As for missing archetypes ect, tbh I'm not interested in what we have vs what we don't. I don't think you need to have a perfect set in order for a game to be fun and interesting. To me the fun is in the flaws.
As for missing archetypes ect, tbh I'm not interested in what we have vs what we don't. I don't think you need to have a perfect set in order for a game to be fun and interesting. To me the fun is in the flaws.
I can give it a shot, but TBH I'm at the point where I'd rather have a few dedicated people than more people who will ditch out... :/
If you know someone who's interested though have them PM me. I'll consider putting another ad up after the long weekend.
If you know someone who's interested though have them PM me. I'll consider putting another ad up after the long weekend.
Danny hopped out of the cab of the truck, grateful to finally be able to stretch his legs. He'd set the cruise control when he could, but his legs were long and he couldn't stretch properly without interfering with the pedals. He locked his fingers together and stretched, bending slightly to the left and right, then front and back. His ears came out of the thickness you got from a really great stretch as Tyko's last words reached him. Danny blinked owlishly a few times, giving his brain a second to process the words. Long distance driving always put him in a bubble of focus it took a minute to snap out of.
"Yeah." He nodded, then scrubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, well...sort of."
He rested his eyes on the heels of his palms for a second, forcing himself back into thinking mode. He lifted his head then shook it slightly, finally feeling himself re-settle and snap into awareness. He nodded again, then added "We're supposed to be meeting someone here, my partner texted me an hour ago. Anyways, we pick her up, hike in a few kilometers to where I've got the four wheelers stashed, then we can ride most of the way."
He eyed the loads in both trucks, then the concerned look on Tyko's face, and grinned. "It'll take a few trips to get all our stuff up there, but it'll be worth it. It's not like we'll have much else to do." He shrugged, then motioned for Jack to come over. The boy walked, stiffly, around the truck, backpack in tow. "C'mon kiddo. You ready for a hike?"
Jack groaned, but he'd been told to expect a decent walk when they reached their destination. "Yeah, alright." He answered his uncle, bending his head from side to side to try and stretch out the kink he'd gotten from napping the last half hour.
"Alright then." Danny said, "While we wait for our other party we should go through and get out the essentials. We'll only have time for one trip tonight, so only bring what you need for the night. We'll come back for everything else over the next few days." He suited action to words, walking to the back of his truck and lowering the tailgate. "We won't need to worry about anything going missing. It's still too early for most people, and anyone who's out here this time of year will have brought plenty of their own gear. Besides, this place is off the beaten path even in tourist season. It'll be safe to leave the trucks parked here."
He motioned Jack over and the two began pulling things off the truck and making a pile on the blacktop. They had packed most of the things they'd bring tonight closer to the back of the truck, but it was best to put heavy things on top during travel so there was still some things to move.
Suddenly Danny realized Tyko would have no idea where they'd be staying. Chances were the young man had brought his own tent, but those things could be awfully heavy. "Tyko," Danny said, fairly loudly since the other man was shoulders deep in the cab of his truck, "No tents. We've got two cabins. The men'll share one and the women the other. It'll be crowded for a night or two, but it'll work for now. If it ends up crowded we can bring them up tomorrow. We should fit ok for one night."
"Yeah." He nodded, then scrubbed at his eyes. "Yeah, well...sort of."
He rested his eyes on the heels of his palms for a second, forcing himself back into thinking mode. He lifted his head then shook it slightly, finally feeling himself re-settle and snap into awareness. He nodded again, then added "We're supposed to be meeting someone here, my partner texted me an hour ago. Anyways, we pick her up, hike in a few kilometers to where I've got the four wheelers stashed, then we can ride most of the way."
He eyed the loads in both trucks, then the concerned look on Tyko's face, and grinned. "It'll take a few trips to get all our stuff up there, but it'll be worth it. It's not like we'll have much else to do." He shrugged, then motioned for Jack to come over. The boy walked, stiffly, around the truck, backpack in tow. "C'mon kiddo. You ready for a hike?"
Jack groaned, but he'd been told to expect a decent walk when they reached their destination. "Yeah, alright." He answered his uncle, bending his head from side to side to try and stretch out the kink he'd gotten from napping the last half hour.
"Alright then." Danny said, "While we wait for our other party we should go through and get out the essentials. We'll only have time for one trip tonight, so only bring what you need for the night. We'll come back for everything else over the next few days." He suited action to words, walking to the back of his truck and lowering the tailgate. "We won't need to worry about anything going missing. It's still too early for most people, and anyone who's out here this time of year will have brought plenty of their own gear. Besides, this place is off the beaten path even in tourist season. It'll be safe to leave the trucks parked here."
He motioned Jack over and the two began pulling things off the truck and making a pile on the blacktop. They had packed most of the things they'd bring tonight closer to the back of the truck, but it was best to put heavy things on top during travel so there was still some things to move.
Suddenly Danny realized Tyko would have no idea where they'd be staying. Chances were the young man had brought his own tent, but those things could be awfully heavy. "Tyko," Danny said, fairly loudly since the other man was shoulders deep in the cab of his truck, "No tents. We've got two cabins. The men'll share one and the women the other. It'll be crowded for a night or two, but it'll work for now. If it ends up crowded we can bring them up tomorrow. We should fit ok for one night."
Lol, great. Thanks :)
So, Prince can you be ready to post on Friday/Saturday?
There's only three of us, so presumably it should be easier to get a faster posting schedule going.
So, Prince can you be ready to post on Friday/Saturday?
There's only three of us, so presumably it should be easier to get a faster posting schedule going.
A plaintiff ‘hoot’ from the passenger-side wheel well made Mellie smile softly before she cracked the window. The poor little guy had sat in the car the whole hour Mellie had waited for Landon. It was April in the foothills, so it wasn’t oppressively hot, but for a creature who couldn’t sweat and was used to being out in the weather all the time the car had become a bit too stuffy.
She had run the car a few times, trying to get the air conditioning going, but sitting in a parking lot with your car on could get you some nasty looks nowadays. There was a no-idling bylaw, and it seemed to be enforced more by the angry glares of stay at home moms than by anything else. After the third nasty look from the woman three stalls over Mellie had huffed a sigh and turned off the engine; trying to convey that she was sorry to the little owl. Somehow she was certain he knew what she meant, and maybe even why…but she couldn’t put her finger on how she knew that so certainly.
After a full hour had passed as she read the same paragraph of her book over and over Mellie had given in and called. The first three times there was no answer. The third time an elderly sounding woman had picked up, sounding annoyed and distracted until she realized who it was.
The conversation was brief, but informative. Landon had been forced to stay home after he’d had a fall down their front steps; understandable, but inconvenient to say the least. Luckily the woman had been able to give Mellie the coordinates she needed. Mellie used the free wi-fi offered by the store to find out where the coordinates led to, and was instantly glad she had packed as much equipment as her station wagon could hold. It looked like she’d be camping, serious off-grid camping at that.
After a few minutes of thought, and a moment of thinking about what the next few months would look like to bring herself to the brink of hysteria, she called the principal babbling about her mother having suddenly fallen critically ill and needing an unknown amount of time off immediately. She didn’t give him a chance to say no, switching from pleading for understanding and choking back tears to thanking him profusely without giving him much chance to actually respond.
After the conversation Mellie had shut her phone, shaken herself off, and entered the store to grab the few things she’d planned to pick up. Then she added a large number of seeds and planting tools, even a few pots and bags of organic potting soil. There was simply no telling what they’d need, but if things kept going the way they were headed she wanted to be prepared to spend the summer, or longer, away from grocery stores.
She was actually on her way back to the car when she had a sudden thought, she had no idea who any of the people would be up there, and no idea what they would have brought. Her own supplies could, if managed carefully and used to their fullest, supply her and maybe a few others, if they helped plant and grow…but who knew how prepared they’d be.
It took her a minute or two to stuff the items she’d bought into the car, then she ran back in and filled a Rubbermaid tub full of medical supplies, biodegradable soap and other hygienic products – it wouldn’t’ do any good to wreck the campsite if they had to spend any length of time there – and numerous tubes of polysporin, vitamins, and pain killers. The cashier gave her a strange look as she unloaded the tub onto the counter, and Mellie gave her an embarrassed grin in return, but didn’t even bother to try for a lame explanation.
She took the tub out to the car and, with some careful shifting and rearranging, she managed to squeeze everything into the car. Barely.
Now, two hours later, she thought she was within an hour and a half of the destination point. Mellie took a few deep breaths to stave off the anxiety she could feel threatening to overwhelm her, turned up the radio, and settled down to finish her trip and deal with the rest when she got there.
(2 hours later)
~Bug!~
It was the fourth time she’d ‘heard’ that particular feeling of satisfaction mixed with joy and success and the following impression of a nice juicy bug wriggling down her throat almost didn’t gross her out as much as it had the first few times. Almost.
Mellie swallowed hard and tried to think of other things. Other things that were not food. She leaned back against her car and watched the bobbing brown head of the male owl as he scratched and hunted in the underbrush surrounding what could only loosely be called a parking lot. It seemed there weren’t any other burrowing owls nearby, so the local population of grasshoppers and other bugs was unaware of his hunting tactics.
Oddly, Mellie could feel the edges of his satiation as he considered whether to pounce on one more bug, or whether to find a spot for a nap. It was the oddest sensation, to feel what the owl felt.
The sound of a car in the distance roused her from her contemplation and she lifted her head to see if, this time, the car was coming down the winding road she had followed to this day-use area. It was only a minute before she saw that not only was the vehicle coming this way, but that there was another following not far behind.
The two trucks pulled into the parking lot at the far end from Mellie, clearly leaving space deliberately, and parked side by side.
Maybe these people were here fro the same reasons she was, and maybe they’d know who it was she was supposed to talk to. In early April there wasn’t much interest in hiking in the mountains, there was still snow – covered in dirt and grit – under the trees. She’d been the only person around for the past thirty minutes and she’d been beginning to wonder if she was meant to camp right where she stood.
As she contemplated the vehicles the owl meandered out of the brush and underneath the car. He clearly wanted to be right nearby, but out of view. Considering how small he was his presence made Mellie feel oddly safe and comforted, although she had a hard time imagining what help he’d be if these people did have ideas of violence and harm in their plans.
Lol, fair enough.
Alright, I'll get something up this afternoon then.
Alright, I'm done for Mellie. Goldmarble, if you want to post next I'll reply after you with Jack and Danny then Nick can roll up. :)
Alright, I'll get something up this afternoon then.
Alright, I'm done for Mellie. Goldmarble, if you want to post next I'll reply after you with Jack and Danny then Nick can roll up. :)
Prince? Are you still in???
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