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Post by ivory on Jun 25, 2009 13:05:46 GMT -5
"Anyone got any questions or discussion?"
Angel thought about asking a random question that'd take them off guard so she could see how fast they answered before thinking better of it. Instead she commented, "We still don't know your name." She inclined her head toward the oldest with a mischevious grin to take the sting out of the possible embarassment. A few chuckled and shook their heads as they realized the same, but none seemed to want to vote against him because of it.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 25, 2009 15:10:37 GMT -5
Malphorius furrowed his brow. Had he forgotten to say his name? It was hard to tell. If he did, none of them heard it, so he may as well have said it again. "My name is Malphorius Lymph," he said loudly, trying to disguise his embarrassment with confidence.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 27, 2009 7:49:52 GMT -5
Rick hid a smile at Malphorius' discomfort, not wanting to embarrass him further. Besides, he had done the same thing except that he had remembered to introduce himself at the last moment.
"Why don't you ladies preside over the election?" Rick suggested to Angel and Ivory. "It wouldn't be right for any of us to do so."
Rick glanced behind him towards the ocean, the moon was starting to come up and the weather was balmy, but getting cooler fast. They should wrap this up and get the sail draped so they had some shelter for the night. It wasn't likely to rain for the next couple days though.
From past experience Rick knew that storms like the one they had just gone through tended to suck the moisture out of the air and usually 3 or 4 days of perfect weather followed them up. He had lived in a southwestern coastal fief long enough to have gone through about 4 big storms like this one and in every case the weather was nice right after.
That was good because it would give them time to scout out their surroundings and get shelters built. He was worried about the food though. If this was a small island, there might not be enough food here to support all these people, even with the supplement of fish.
Rick forced his mind back to the task at hand. First they needed a leader, then some sleep and then tomorrow the real work would begin.
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Post by ivory on Jun 27, 2009 10:07:22 GMT -5
Angel nodded at Rick's words to tally the voting. She didn't want to be the leader, but being a leader for a certain task while stuck here, was fine with her. She looked back up toward Ivory to find her gone. Obviously, the girl had a much different matter. She wondered what that was even as she began to speak, "Those that vote for Rip," she started to say to split off into a group, but decided against it, instead saying, "raise your hand." This way they wouldn't be forced to choose and thus it would lower the chance of fights breaking out. It wouldn't eliminate it completely, but it'd help some. She'd also thought briefly of having them close their eyes while she counted, but figured it'd just come back to bite her later as she was accused of rigging the contest. After all, they didn't know her so why should they trust her?
She counted the hands and saw even a few in the crowd look around and do the same. Her thought of their lack of trust in her had been right. Even if they were doing it only for curiosity sake, unconsciously, they weren't. The human mind knew how to take care of itself, even if the brain didn't know it. Otherwise, humans never would've survived so long.
She counted aloud and then scanned the crowd to catch the eyes of those who'd counted with her to affirm it. A few quick nods, one man frowned and repeated his counting. She waited until he too confirmed that he'd miscounted before asking for the votes of Malphorious and Rick. The same patience and waiting followed after there's too. As soon as the votes were done, she stepped foward and proclaimed the leader. Malphorius.
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As soon as Malphorious stated his name, Ivory figured her time was done here and she slipped back into the shadows. Right in time too. She didn't like any kind of limelight, preferring the shadows. Always preferring the shadows.
Later, when she was done with it all, she thought she'd step out every once in a while, slowly reenter the social world, but not now. She had to keep to the shadows, especially when he was here.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 28, 2009 14:26:04 GMT -5
Rick saw that the one girl was gone, either hiding back in the shadows, or had slipped away altogether right after the voting. He found that very interesting. She was definately acting strangely for someone who had just been shipwrecked. Either she really hated being around people, or she was hiding something. Maybe both. Unfortunately he wouldn't be able to find her until daylight. It would be stupid to go wandering around an unkown island in the dark.
Rick leaned over and whispered to Malphorius, their new leader, "Congratulations, Doc!" Rick was relieved he had not gotten the most votes, but also surprised to find he was just a hair disappointed.
"Not to tell you what to do, but I suggest that we should post a watch tonight. We don't know what, or who, might be on this island with us. There are enough people here that we could probably do pairs in one hour shifts." Rick looked around at the people waiting to see what was going to happen next. Personally he wasn't planning on sleeping much.
Rangers learned to do a kind of waking sleep where they could put their mind at rest, but their eyes and ears remained alert. Though he was as tired as everyone else from battling the storm, Rick figured he could stay in that state throughout the night and then take a nap during the afternoon when the heat was up and be fine.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 28, 2009 14:38:17 GMT -5
Malphorius nodded thoughtfully. Why had he won? Were these people really so engrossed in their respect for the elderly to the point that the wouldn't elect a ranger? It didn't make much sense to him, but there was little he could do about it now.
"Yes," he replied to Rick. "That would be a good idea." He turned to Rick and made very deliberate eye contact with him. "Your survival skills far surpass mine, young man. Your counsel would be very much appreciated whenever you have it to give."
He thought that as the elected leader, he should say something, but nothing came to mind. Looking at the faces in the crowd, some of them definitely expected it. He would pay them no heed. He would not be improvising anything. If no words came, he would not speak. Besides, there were more important issues to tend to. It was already dark and there were barely enough shelters constructed to house a quarter of the people here. They would have to depend on the firelight for warmth tonight and start building again in the morning.
He relayed that thought to the people and found the majority to be consenting. He sighed inwardly with relief. They would listen to him. That was good. As everyone started quieting down and falling asleep, he selected the watchmen for the night. Four pairs of people, each pair doing a two hour shift.
When everything was settled he found Rick again and, making sure that the man was awake, he said. "It is true that we do not know if anything else inhabits this island. That is a problem that we should solve as soon as we can. Tomorrow, I'd like you to scout the island. Gather what information you can--especially any sign of other people... And take that Rip fellow with you. He seems like the sort that would be quite helpful on a scouting expedition."
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 28, 2009 16:34:44 GMT -5
Rick nodded. "Good idea. I was thinking along those lines myself." Rick looked around as people tried to find a comfortable place to sleep. "Maybe we could get a couple volunteers to walk the perimeter - make sure this is an island and get a sense of how big it is. They could even row around it in the boat."
Rick was thinking that things could get ugly if the people weren't fed decently soon. "I will do some hunting while I am at it too." Rick made ready to settle down for the night, turning back to Malphorius, "Don't worry about tonight. I don't intend to let my guard down, even with a watch posted."
With that Rick slipped off into the shadows, pulling his ranger cloak tight about him, Kira on his heels. He slipped just far enough away from camp to allow his eyes to see through the darkness unhindered by the firelight. Then he climbed into a nitch low in a tree and curled up as if to sleep. Kira climbed up and draped over a branch above him. Rick settled in for a long night, his eyes roving the campsite and then the surrounding area every few minutes. His mind wandered, thinking over thier current dilemma and what they could do to get rescued.
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Post by ivory on Jun 29, 2009 19:45:09 GMT -5
[OOC: Ooh ooh, can there be cannibals? *hopeful eyes* lol. :-)]
Angel hid her doubts well after tallying the votes. Oh well, she was used to adapting and would do so with Malphorious as leader too. Shrugging her concern off, she turned toward the 'tents' and watched as each was taken even as she overheard the conversation between two of the candidates.
Scouting out the island would be a good idea, one she'd planned to do tomorrow anyways, and she decided that tomorrow she'd volunteer for the job since as a mere dressmaker, she'd hardly be able to go off alone without raising suspicions. Knowing the island would be a great asset should she need it. Besides, she liked the woods.
A slight smile touched her lips as the last of the tents became occupied and she turned toward the trees. She'd rather sleep beneath their tops than beneath any man-made structure and if anyone asked why a woman such as her character preferred the previous over the later, she'd brush it off on her soft heart. She was used to putting herself last anyways, half-enjoyed it.
Her smile broadened as she caught Ivory slipping deeper amongst the shadows. She doubted the girl was an 'actual' danger. She acted suspcious, ill at ease among other humans, and certainly had gained the attention of the ranger, but Angel had full reason to believe that she'd keep to herself for the most part. There was a look in her eyes, one filled with sheer determination. And as Angel curled up beneath a tree and closed her eyes, she felt sorry for whoever Ivory had found at the end of the trail.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jun 30, 2009 19:07:45 GMT -5
Rick stiffened as the pretty girl, the one who had tallied the votes came close and settled down under the tree next to the one he was perched in. Kira lifted her head and twitched her tail and looked to Rick. He shook his head and the cat settled back down, keeping an eye on the girl for a while.
Rick caught a glimpse of the other girl slipping off into the forrest and debated on following her, but then decided once again that it would be folly to run around in the woods in the dark until they knew more about this island. Besides, if he moved now, he would disturb the other girl and he didn't want to frighten her.
So Rick sat up in the tree, slipping into a meditative state of awareness and then back into alertness throughout the night. When he was alert, he couldn't help but glance at the girl sleeping peacefully below. She sure is pretty. he thought again, but he didn't want to start any trouble. He would play it cool, make her come to him, he decided, thinking himself very clever.
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Post by JezusBagels on Jun 30, 2009 21:42:06 GMT -5
Malphorius awoke with a quiet groan. Sleeping on the beach had not done his back well. He would have to find some way to make soft bedding.. but that was a project for another day. He sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. Yawning, he stood up and looked around. It was early and barely light. Very few were awake; just the fishermen from the day before, preparing the catch to be eaten today, himself and the ranger... if the ranger had slept at all the night before. He just sat, huddled by a tree, watching, though he seemed to have perked up a little now that Malphorius was watching him.
He crept his way across the sleeping men and women to the ranger, back aching with every step. He eyed the lynx, wondering if the animal would ever get the temptation to steal food from anyone or if it was trained well enough to keep to itself. Then he looked at Rick. "Mornin'" he said.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 1, 2009 5:55:22 GMT -5
"Morning Mayor." Rick smiled at his own weak joke. He stretched and jumped down out of the tree. Kira didn't stir.
"Guess we need to scrounge up some more food. There might still be something left on the ship." Rick looked around at the sleeping forms, keeping his voice down low. "We need to find that barrel of coffee beans. That would go a long way to lifting spirits around here!" he winked at Malphorius.
"Other than me scouting out the island, what are your plans for today?" Rick asked him, working a kink out of his right shoulder. He hadn't really slept much and was quite tired, but figured he would wake up more once he got moving.
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Post by ivory on Jul 1, 2009 9:20:45 GMT -5
Angel had been awake for a while, but had kept her eyes closed and her breathing deep. The warmth of the sun felt good on her face and she didn't want to move, her body clearly remembering every ache and pain she'd been dished out the day before. Her muscles were not only sore but stiff from last night's sleep and she was slowly relaxing them through a half-phase of meditation.
She didn't mind the pain, could work through it well enough, but had yet to figure out a way to do so if the muscles were cramped and unwilling to move. The last time she tried, she merely collapsed, so not wanting a repeat, she slowly eased them into working condition.
She heard the two men exchange greetings and then Rick launch into a void of remarks and questions. At the mention of the coffee beans, she swore her heart skipped a few beats. Coffee was good. Very very good. She loved coffee. And if he kept this up, she'd fall in love with him too. She fought the smile at her strange humor though not very hard and felt her lips curl up slightly at the corners.
He had a nice voice, she'd give him that, but they were stranded and thus there was too much work to do. He was handsome too, she thought some more. But they were stranded, on an island, she reminded herself sternly. Great walk. Stranded, on an island, in the middle of who-knows-where. Had strength in him. Stranded, on an island, in the middle of who-knows-where and well, they were stranded.
So what was her arguement against it? Heck if she could remember, but there was definitely an arguement. Definitely. She just couldn't remember it. At all. At least not at this moment. Maybe never...
Banishing her treacherous thoughts, she stretched like a cat before groggily sitting up and looking around. She scanned the shoreline before turning to face the two men and offering a greeting of her own. "Hello
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 1, 2009 11:38:14 GMT -5
Before Malphorius could answer Rick, the pretty girl sat up and said "hello." to the two men discussing the day's agenda.
Rick moved quickly to her side and offered his hand to help her up. "Morning! You are looking lovely in the early dawn light!" His eyes sparkled as he looked down at her, brushing his long black hair out of his eyes.
"I didn't catch your name last night." Rick hinted, hoping she would reveal it and that she would take his hand so he could pull her up, giving him a chance to hold and carress her soft hand, however briefly. 'So much for letting her make the first move,' Rick thought, kicking himself mentally. 'Just being a gentleman.' he argued with himself sternly.
"I am sorry you had to sleep on the hard ground. We are going to have to do something about that - uh - for everyone. Hammocks or something might be good." Rick glanced to Malphorius, including him in the conversation.
In spite of sleeping on the ground, it had appeared to him as if she had slept fairly well. He was sure he didn't look so fresh and bright eyed, since fatique hung on him in every stiff muscle. Maybe she wouldn't notice how tired he was. He had an image to maintain afterall, of how invincible rangers are. It wouldn't do to run around looking like something his cat dragged in.
"Malphorius and I were just discussing what the plan for today is, and the possibilities of coffee." he said to Angel. Rick really wanted to find that barrell full of coffee beans and get a pot brewing before everyone got up. "I saw a barrell full of coffee in the galley before that storm grabbed us. Most of the galley is still intact, so it should still be there. Just gotta figure out how to get it off the ship." he said as he turned back to Malphorius.
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Post by ivory on Jul 1, 2009 12:09:24 GMT -5
"Morning! You are looking lovely in the early dawn light!"
Angel offered him a smile even as he offered his hand and after a slight hesitation, she took it. She shook out her skirts after standing, vowing that she'd change them into a pair of trousers as soon as she were able. She'd hitched them up yesterday to gather the water, but had let them fall back down afterwards, not wanting to deal with the extra weight, especially with all the salt water that had been in them. They were still a little damp and highly uncomfortable, but she'd made it gather at the top, allowing her room to actually walk.
"Angel," she said to his inquery about her name, her lips offering a soft smile before dropping his hand. They were after all, stranded.
"I am sorry you had to sleep on the hard ground. We are going to have to do something about that - uh - for everyone. Hammocks or something might be good."
She doubted he fared much better sleeping in that tree if his apperance had any say in the matter, but she kept her mouth closed. Men had a funny way with pride and hammocks did sound good, but with what would they make them from? Vines would so she supposed, but they weren't very comfortable and would take an awful lot of time to make - time which couldn't be wasted thinking how handsome he was. Though in truth, she figured she could probably make them and think at the same time...
Ignoring her wayward thoughts, she focused on his mouth, words, focused on his words, as he said, "I saw a barrell full of coffee in the galley before that storm grabbed us. Most of the galley is still intact, so it should still be there. Just gotta figure out how to get it off the ship."
"What about that boat you were using yesterday? Or is there something wrong with it?" Her eyes shone with mischief and her lips pulled up into a faint smile as she added, "I'll be happy to get it for you if you're not up to it. I do love my coffee." The faint smile turned into a full-fledged grin.
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Post by Brandwyn on Jul 1, 2009 12:38:25 GMT -5
"Well, that is at least one thing we have in common!" Rick smiled back at her teasing. "The boat is fine, but I was wondering more how we are going to get that barrell out of the galley with ship busted up like it is. I think we are going to need some help." he said as he spied two sailors that had been particularly drunk the night before getting up and staggering around.
"Hey, you two, come with me." Rick put on his stern, don't argue with a ranger, face as he addressed the sailors. He turned back to Malphorius, "If you have no objections, we are going on a quest for coffee." He said as he led Angel and the two sailors over to the wreckage. The little skif was pulled up on the beach and tied to a tree just to make sure they didn't loose it.
The three men pushed it back out into the water and Rick gave Angel a hand inside, his hand lingering on hers while he carressed the back of it with his thumb and then leaned down and very lightly kissed the back of her hand before releasing it, as if he were assisting a noble woman. Then he climbed in and let one of the sailors row them out to the wrecked ship.
"If you go on board, be careful up there. The footing is treacherous and the deck is tilted, so it is hard to navigate." Rick warned her. "you can stay here with the skif if you want to." He suggested.
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