NationStates Jolt Archive

[ooc: Continuation of 'Isn't it a little warm for Icebergs? (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=282980&page=1&pp=15)

Day followed night, followed day, followed night. And a year and half had passed since the fatal night that had sent The Silver Storm to its watery grave and the survivors to an island, fighting the waves to drag themselves up onto the shore. The days that had followed had been hard, trying to find survivors, burying the dead that washed up on the beach, and more importantly surviving.

People always think that its easy to adapt to a live without luxury, that if you take away all the everyday items in life, that a person can make do without, and eventually that might be true, but if it had not been for the gun that was brought shore, those that had made it to safety probably would be dead by now, but a eighteen months later, a gun was no longer needed, as spears and other basic weapons had been crafted, and even with a little ingenuity, skills that had long since been forgotten with the arrival of stores, clothes had been fashioned with items found.

Lauri sat on the beach, something that she did every so often, even though she had long since given up looking for a ship or plane, knowing by now that if they wanted to be rescued, it would have to come from their own hands and not from the outside world. And in a strange kind of way, she was quite happy where she was, having grown accustomed to her life on the island, not that she would say no to a rescue, but it was no longer like it had been when she first arrived.

And she put this change down to two things. She had grown content on the island; she had little Will, who had become like a son to her, coming into her care with the death of his parents. She could still remember the day he stumbled on the beach, crying. Taking him in her arms she had comforted him as another of the party, Daniel she recalled, had gone looking for his mother, finding her dead where the two had been washed ashore, and had buried her. Lauri, from that moment, had taken over the roll of his mother, and a strong bond had grown between the two.

The other thing that had helped her was love. She had not thought that such a thing could have happened, but it had and it caused her to smile when she thought of him. Hao had been through hell since his arrival, being attacked by a wild beast and almost dying, Lauri had sat with him through his illness and tended him, and during this time, though she would never be able to point to the exact moment, the two of them grew close, but it was only during a dream and a conversation that had occurred afterwards, that the two had realised their feelings for each other, and the rest, as they say, is history.

At first it had been awkward with the other people in the group, although at the time there were only five of them. Derret and Daniel making up the rest of the party, but over the days, and their new central position on the island, a few others had appeared and the group swelled, not by large amounts, only a few, but it had transpired that the island was not as small as they had at first assumed, but then neither was it extensively large. A person could not go missing on it, but they could certainly disappear if they wanted.

But the island also had dangers for the unwary. Wild beasts roamed the area, and there were patches of mud and sand that would suck an unsuspecting person to their death. Yet all in all the island sustained the few that now called it their home, and a series of caves in an enclose ravine, with a fresh water pool nearby, made the ideal place for this little group to call home.

* * * * *

The sound of a tropical bird squawking in the trees, accompanied Lauri as she made it back to the camp, the walk was a good couple of hours, but it gave her time to clear her mind and think things through. No matter how much she liked the people here, she sometimes needed time alone, just like they did. As she broke through the bush, her eyes took in the camp, empty at first glance, but she could see some people milling around at the far end.

She saw Will sitting by the entrance to one of the caves, the one that Hao, Will and Lauri called home. Despite their ages, they had turned into quite a little family group. And slowly she watched happily as the small boy took to Hao. Maybe not trusting him as much as he did her, but at least she felt happy leaving her little charge in Hao’s care knowing that he would feel safe in his company.

Walking briskly over to the cave, she sat down beside Will and smiled, before she pulled him into her arms and hugged him tightly, pressing her lips to his head. “Hao hunting with the others?” She noticed that several of the men were missing. Daniel and Derret had always been the head hunters, and Hao had joined them more and more as he grew stronger. The three were often away for hours at a time. “Have they been gone long?”

She stood up, cradling the boy with her as she did, hugging him against her, before returning him to the ground. “You want to go for a swim?” It had reached midday, and the heat became stifling, and the best way to cool off was a dip in the natural pool, the water always remaining that little chilled no matter how hot the rest of the place got.

Taking the boy’s hand, they made their way out of the camp, heading towards the water pool. Lauri continued to chat away happily, with Will answering now and again with movements of his head.

* * * * *

Daniel sighed heavily. They had been out hunting for a while, and he had been hidden in the bushes for what seemed like an age waiting for some unsuspecting animal to cross into their path. For the umpteenth time, he weighed the makeshift spear in his hand, finding the central point, before again lowering it to the ground, as his eyes darted about the clearing, a small watering hole in the centre.

He looked over at a bush to his right, and could just make out the concealed form of Hao, and moving his head to the left, he located the position of Derret. All three men taking up similar positions surrounding the pool area, tripling their chances at a kill, should something turn up. He sighed again, just before his attention was caught by movements at the edge of the clearing. A quick look indicated that his companions had also heard the arrival of dinner.


[ooc: Although this is a continuation of a previous thread, it is open to new characters. All characters are to be everyday humans. No military, no superheroes and no one with special powers. This is about a group of people working together to survive. No attempts at rescue are to be made. TG or PM me if you want to join.]

Will was enjoying the swimming, and especially enjoyed ducking out of sight under the water. He had become very good at holding his breath, once he had overcome his fear of the water.

In fact, while he had little technique, he swam like a fish after nearly a year of swimming. As he surfaced on the far side of the pool from Lauri, he noticed a small lizard sunning itself on a rock, and his eyes lit up. This was another thing he had become quite adept at… catching small animals.

He floated, watching it, letting it drift back into the sleep his presence had awakened it from. His hand darted out, striking like a snake, and wrapped around the little critter, pinning its legs to its sides and its jaws closed.

He had had enough bites and scratches to learn better, and which ones to avoid completely. Not all the lizards were playful. He had been sick a long time with that one.

But he caught a lot of this kind. Holding it out of the water so it could breath, he swam with just his feet back to Lauri, who was climbing out, seeing him coming back. He smiled, and let it go on her neck.

It burns.

The salt water burned her eyes, ears and throat. It seemed that unlike fresh water, salt water actively looked for places where it would cause the most discomfort. It was that burning that brought Kim back to the waking world, and she spat weakly, coughing as she did so. The surf had not only abused her with its salt, but also had managed to cram gritty sand into her face and neck. Bringing a feeble hand to her face, she brushed the sand off as best she could, wanting desperately to rinse off in the water, but not wanting anything more to do with the salt water that had made her life Hell for the past several days.

She managed to crawl up the beach a little before collapsing again, thankful to just be out of the water, feeling depressed at the realisation that it was a temporary fix at best, as the remains of her clothes were as soaked as she was. However, this was dry land, which was an improvement. She opened her eyes slightly, only to find that she couldn't see a damn thing because of the halos surrounding everything. Her eyes stung so badly from the seawater that she closed them again before giving up her ideas of exploring. She was too tired, too weak. She could rest for a little bit, she figured. The gnawing ache of hunger in her stomach had become a common companion, and she didn't have the will or the strength to fight with it right now.

Just a little rest, it won't hurt.

Let the burning fade.

Though, at first only the faint outline of it could be seen, the animal's features slowly came into focus.

A predator, only the second animal of the type that had gored him 2 years ago that he had ever seen.

Hao barely surpressed a shudder that wanted to run like icewater down his back. That predator had gored him and had been eaten for all it's troubles. This one wouldn't even get that chance.

Moving with the practiced stealth of one who knew his dinner depended on it, Hao slowly gestured to Daniel on his left.

'Wait until it starts drinking.' he motioned.

But the animal paused at the tree line, as if sensing danger of some sort, and for a few minutes, there it stood, sniffing at the air.

All they could do was wait for it to attempt to drink, else they would risk their prey getting away. Thus, they waited.

And as they waited, Hao reflected on the last 2 years as he seemed oft to do as of late.

When the shock of being traped on this island had finally wore off and a small acceptance of their fate had sunk in, their merry band of 5 had begun to settle, and really, for the last 2 years, that's ALL they did.

Not that he minded so much. This was a fitter life than what he probably would have led out in the world, with daily hard exercise that had brought him back to fighting trim.

They hunted what they needed, and picked fruit and legumes besides.

A simple life.

And really, he found himself much in love with Lauri who had helped him through difficult times, when his heart was still aching over the loss of

("DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!")

... her.

But it felt like She too had given her agreement and after a particularily hard day carrying all their meager posessions up the island into their current residences, followed close by thunderstorm, he no longer dealt with the horrifying dreams that seemed to haunt him.

Life was good; he had food, shelter, fitness, love... so why was something stiring itself into restlessness in the back of his mind lately?

Something that wormed it's way into his throughts whenever he stoped moving, whenever his mind wasn't busy consintrating .

And sometimes, like now, wormed it's way into his mind even when he was.

Something that, if he really wanted to be truthful to himself, resembled a longing. A longing to go home infact... anyway possible.

The predator turned prey finally made it's move, slowly slinking accross the sandy terrain that surrounded the soothing spring.

Gripping the jagged sheet of metal that had once been part of a door on their poor doomed ship on one arm and a roughly carved wooden spear in the other , Hao got ready to move.

------------

'Eye on the Prize.' Derret said to himself before springing out of the bush, closely followed by the two other hunters.

“Ah!”

The feeling of the creature crawling over her skin made Lauri shreek, as her hand instinctively reached up and grabbed it from her neck. Shuddering slightly as she brought it around in front of her, she sighed with relief then began to laugh as she saw the lizard in her hand. Turning back to the pool, she shook her head at Will, a look of mock annoyance on her face, before she broke into a smile. Offering her free hand down to the boy, she took hold and pulled him out of the water, as he used his feet to aid her.

Making sure he was safely on the bank, she handed him the tiny reptile and lowered herself to the ground. She ran her hands over her hair, wringing the excess water from her blonde hair, longer than she was used to, and much more unkempt then it had ever been, but the lack of scissors meant making do with things that were available, and a comb could not be brought easily to hand, as it would have been a lifetime ago.

She looked up at the boy before her, and smiled, as she watched him play with the lizard, letting it crawl over his hands. “Shall we give it a name?” Of course, she would have to think to a name, and he would motion with his head whether or not he liked or disliked it. She wondered if he would ever speak; wishing she could have a conversation with him, discover what he was thinking. “What about George?” She grinned playfully, as she made the suggestion.

* * * * *

Daniel stood silent; watching as the beast appeared and stopped, sniffing the air as if it was expecting trouble. He could not help hoping that they were standing down wind, hiding their scent as best as they could. He once again cast his eyes over to his companions, getting the silent signal from Derrett, who was nearest the animal.

Suddenly all three men burst out of their hiding places, rushing towards the startled creature, that stood still for a moment, before attempting to make its getaway, racing into the middle of the clearing where the three men were also aiming, weapons raised ready.

Will nodded happily, liking the name, as the lizard quickly became used to being in his hand, eventually settling there, letting him stroke along its spine gently.

He leaned his head against Lauri's hip, and let out a sigh, the most noise he ever made. But it was his way of saying 'thank you' and 'I love you' all rolled up in a simple motion and sound.

Then he sprung into motion again, the emotion moment over, the little boy back in full, as he darted into the jungle, headed back towards the cave, though not very fast, so he would not ever leave Lauri's sight.

The rest had been nice, but hunger was once again rising up, lashing at her stomach, demanding her attention. Still, even as it demanded action, it sapped the strength from her body. She sniffled slightly to herself, I'm not made for this... I'm just a secretary... With great effort, she rose up on unsteady feet, her balance made all the more fragile by the soft sand she was trying to stand on.

She looked around, taking in, well, her new home. Like it or not, she was stuck here. At least for now. She sighed pondering calling out. She was certain she was alone, it seemed somehow proper. Or at least cliche. After all, she couldn't think of a single shipwreaked-and-or-plane-crashed-on-a-deserted-island movie where the person didn't yell something like 'hello' as soon as they woke up, washed up on shore. When in Rome...

"Hello?!"

Derret reached the predator turned prey first, slapping at it's hindquarters with the shaft of his crude spear.

It whined in indignation, running harder towards the center of the clearing, and beyond that, the tree line. Before the wildly bucking animal could react further, Derret had broken off the chase and Hao instead dived forward, ramming the creature's snout with his makeshift shield.

The beast turned blindly away from it's new tormenter, running full speed again towards the side of the clearing where it had first emerged.

Blood splated in several directions as the animal ran, completely taken by the pain in it's face, directly into the point of Daniel's spear as he proped it against the ground. Pitiful squeels emerged from what had been the animal's mouth before it's meeting with both the spear point and the shield had torn it open.

"You know... I knew reading books about Pre-historic hunting would come in useful. Thank you to Earth's Children." Hao muttered.

But the beast's round belly told a story that they hadn't notice before. "Huh... I think he's a she, and that she was pregnent." Deret commented.

Watching Will as he began to walk back to the camp, Lauri smiled to herself. It always made her happy to see the small boy interacting with the small creatures on the island, even if she was sometimes concerned that he would become interested in one that would turn out to be dangerous, but so far he had been lucky, or perhaps the whole group had, and the island was devoid of all poisonous animals.

She followed him, not too close, but aware of the fact that he never strayed far from her sight, even when they were safely back at the caves. The only time that he left her was if she entrusted him to another member, by way of explaining to Will that she would be back shortly, or when he slept, but even then, she made sure she was never too far away, in case he woke in the night. Nightmares were something that all of them experienced sometime, as they relived that fateful night.

Re-entering the camp, she once again looked around to see whether the hunting party had returned. The group was not very large, so if ever more than a couple of people left, then the place seemed very quiet. She walked over to the edge of the cave she called home, and sat down in the entrance, the floor raised from the ground, making a makeshift seat. Her eyes followed Will as he continued to befriend the lizard he had picked up at the pool.

* * * * *

Daniel walked up to the fallen body of the animal they had just felled and shook his head. Derrett had been correct, and in their haste they had managed to bring down a pregnant beast. Stabbing his spear into the ground, he looked at his fellow hunters and sighed. “I guess that explains the ease of the capture.” He crouches down and examines the kill, running his hand over the body of the dead animal. “We weren’t to know, the angle of the entry had her in too much shadow.” He rose back up from the floor. “Still, it’s a shame.”

* * * * *

Sitting up on the rocks over looking the beach and sea, Christian Longman watched the waves crash against the shore, the roaring greeting loud to his ears, and yet strangely calming. For a long time he had been unable to look at the water, had shied away from the place that had almost taken his life, now he came he most days to off his thanks to whatever had chosen to let him live, when so many had died.

He recalled, at first daily and now less frequently, the tremendous relief he had felt when he reached solid land, and yet at the same time had despised the fact that so many other had lost their lives, and he had been allowed to keep his. For days he sat alone, having found no other survivors, wondering constantly if he had been the only person fortunate or in his eyes unfortunate to have been washed up on land.

For months he stayed locked in the tiny part of the island he had claimed as his own, seeing no one, and barely surviving, but by a stroke of luck. And yet as each day progressed he began to give up, and at the same time, had been too stubborn to give up on life. So, eventually he stopped feeling sorry for himself and began to feel grateful for the chance that he had been given, unlike so many others.

He leant back, and rested on the grassy bank, his eyes closing against the sun, as he lost himself in the now familiar sounds of the island, feeling himself drifting off into a light slumber.

“Hello?”

He remembered the day that he had stumbled on the first signs of other human life; the shock had almost ended his existence then and there. He had been making his way deeper and deeper in land, having decided to explore more of his home, and see just what he had been given. As he walked along, he heard some strange sounds coming from behind some bushes, and being either brave or foolish, he went to have a look.

“Hello?”

As he entered the clearing, he came face to face with a spear, and then three men showed themselves. At the time, Christian did not know whether to be relieved or annoyed at his second near-death experience in this part of the world.

“Hello?”

Opening his eyes, suddenly realising that the words were not part of his memory, but someone actually speaking, he sat up and looked about him, expecting to see Lauri. The voice had been female, even if it was hidden amidst the crashing waves. It did not take him long to discover the voice was not nearby, but was coming from the beach. His eyes taking a moment to locate the owner; and as he did so he emitted a long outward breath, for there on the golden sands was a woman, but one who looked like she had stepped out of the waves.

Quickly rising to his feet, Christian was halfway down to the stranger before he even knew what he was doing; the rest of the way was taken at a run. He stopped a little distance from the woman and just looked at her before rushing forward to offer her some support.

“Are you alright?” He let his gaze travel over the woman, and he couldn’t help wondering as he saw the state she was in, just what had happened to bring her to this island, and from the look of her, it was not a pleasant journey.

Oh, look, here comes someone... The dissonance of the thought lurched in Kim's mind like car starting in fifth gear. She was pretty sure this was an uninhabited island, but she had a hard time thinking of the man running down the beach towards her as a hallucination. He couldn't be real, of course, but he certainly seemed perfectly real. She peered at him curiously until he ran up to her and she all but collapsed into her arms.

She looked up at him, her eyes begining to unfocus, "Water? Real water...?" She fought unconsciousness, trying to regain her footing and largely failing, licking her cracked lips, "Help?"

For a moment, Christian went into a slight panic. It had been a while since he had seen anyone alive washing up on the beach, for weeks after the initial sinking it was common to discover the sea had given up its dead. He lost count of the number of burials he carried out, the thought making him almost gag as he recalled the condition that they has been found in. And yet, here in front of him was someone alive, and he knew that she could not have come from the boat, not this long afterwards. For a moment he had to shake himself to prove that he was not still asleep on the rocks.

Bringing himself back to the woman in front of him, her words sinking into his head, knocking him into action, Christian looked about him, trying for a moment to remember where he was in relation to the camp. It was at least an hour away, but he was knew there was a fresh water pool not too far from here, he usually took a refreshing sip on his way to and from the beach.

Then came the next decision, should he carry her to the water or bring the water to her. The first option had the added bonus that he would not have to leave her, the second, on the other hand, would be quicker, but also meant that he had to hope he could find something to bring the life saving liquid back in. Making up his mind, he put his arms around the woman, and lifted her from the ground. “I’m sorry, but I think carry you is going to be quicker. You can hit me for it, once we get you sorted.”

Without another word, or waiting for her to protest, Christian headed for the edge of the beach, carrying his precious cargo through the undergrowth, until they eventually made it to the small pool, barely more than a meter in diameter, feed from a small spring that ran down the stone surface.

Laying his charge on the ground, propped slightly against a tree, he moved over to the small pool, his eyes scanning for some small cup shaped item, but after a frantic search, he found nothing, so with nothing else left to do, he cupped his hands, and scooped up the glisten liquid, carefully carrying it the short distance to the woman. “

“Here, drink this.” He placed his hands to her lips and tilted them carefully. “Drink it slowly.”

Kim let out a soft "awk!" as Christian scooped her up and carried her to the spring. It was more an exclamation of surprize as opposed to a protest; she was far too weak to be voicing any objections. In fact, as her mind tried to process everything, she realised that she wouldn't have been able to make the walk herself.

And when she saw him using her hands, she realised that he never would have made it all the way back just cupping his hands. She leaned forward weakly and fought every urge to gulp the water down. She knew enough to know that doing that would just make her sick, and vomiting all over his hands didn't strike her as the best of plans.

After the stranger kindly made several trips back and forth to get her more water, she finally relaxed against the tree again. "Thank you," her voice was still pretty weak, but she was feeling a little better. Food would probably be a good idea next, but she didn't think her stomach was quite ready for that, it was still coping with her being rehydrated. She smiled weakly up at Christian, finally starting to feel safe. Or at least out of immediate danger.

Christian crouched beside the woman, happy to see her taking the water, even if she still looked in a pretty bad way. He had to get her to the camp, and get the others to aid in her recovery, and then hopefully they could find out how she got here. He was not really medically minded, and they had food and cuplike items to aid the newcomer. A fact that still played heavily on her mind, there could be no way she could have been on the cruise ship, and yet where did she come from. An image of the Goddess Venus coming out of the waves filled his mind.

“I’m Christian…Christian Longman.” He smiled kindly. He really was not good with people, normally shying away from the group and keeping mainly to himself, disappearing when he was not scheduled to do anything, mostly to the beach. “Once you’ve rested, I’ll take you to the others.” He fidgeted, unsure what else to do. “We have a camp a little way inland. In case you thought it was just you and me.” He sighed audibly; he really did not have a way with the spoken word.

Patrick O'Farrell stared at the large mass of land that made up the island a hundred yards away. He had a vantage point on the godforsaken rock he was stuck on for a year and half. After he washed up on some scraps, he climbed up on the rock to avoid the waves, but soon found he was trapped between the pounding waves and a reef barring his way to the island. He had survived off of fish, seaweed, coconuts off of the single tree on the rock, and the odd bird that made the mistake of coming to near.

Patrick had often thought of getting to the island so close yet so far away, and had even tried, once at least, but it had come out rather badly. He glanced at his leg, which bore a narrow scar, barely visible unless you looked long enough. In his attempt to get across, he had made a small raft made up of palm fronds and scraps from The Silver Storm. At first it seemed he'd make it, but as he neared the reef, where the waves began to break, the raft pitched about, and soon, he himself was pitched straight into the reef, which sliced his leg from the ankle to the knee open, reddening the water about him. Near to panic about the thought of drowning and sharks, he barely made it back to the rock, where he was able to patch up his wound. Luckily he avoided infection, which would have killed him without any medicines.

Patrick laid back on a little dip in the rock that was filled with sea water warmed by the sun, and thought about his home, the Wicklow Mountains back in good old Ireland. He sighed and stood up, trying to force out memories of home which just saddened him.

He looked at his reflection in the water and laughed. He had a barbaric look on him now, a badly needed shave, jean shorts torn at the knees, wild unkept hair, a shirt with tears here and there, and a couple scars here and there on his arms and legs. Back home he'd be the guy that had the cops eyeing him as he moved along if he walked around like this. He jumped up, a desicion made in his head. I'm getting off this bloody rock once and for all

********

Patrick tied the last knot out of his handmade rope of strips of palm tree bark. He coughed into his hand. Over the days he was hard at work, no rain had come and he had gone thirsty for three days. His lips were cracked and his mouth was behind the cotton dry. He breathed in deeply, and the dry air made him cough again. I better not have a fever, or I'm a dead man he thought to himself.

He looked at his raft with pride. His raft, made on his own. He looked at the horizon, looking for any reason the water would be rougher than usual, but saw barely a cloud in the sky, let alone a storm cloud. He carefully pushed the raft into the water sheltered by the rock and lowered himself onto it. The rickety raft wobbled in the water as he balanced himself so it didn't tip. This raft was a lot smaller than the last one, as he had used all the wreckage he had before, and had only palm fronds and layers of bark to keep the raft afloat.

Patrick pushed off the rock and used his hands to paddle and steer the raft forward. He moved as fast his hands could make him go, rising and dipping back down as waves passed under him. He slowed down as he neared the breakers. I've got to time this right, he thought. He looked behind him and saw a wave coming at him as it rose, preparing to crash on the reef. He waited until the right moment, then used his arms and legs to propel himself into the wave has one would do on a bodyboard. He kicked to hard however, and went straight to the curve of the swell, and was brought into it. The wave curved over with him in it, and he was flipped forwards off the raft and was at the sea's mercy. He was twisted in every direction, the wave carried him straight towards the reef, and he looked on helplessly as the reef rose up at him. He did the only thing he could and brought his knees up to his chest to protect his organs, and a branch of Elk Horn coral stabbed into him, the branch broke and stuck in his leg as the swell carried him over the reef and threw him into shallow water.

Patrick sucked in the air and crawled up the beach. He exhausted, injured, and thirsty beyond belief. Patrick could barely find the energy to keep going and soon his arms and legs would work. He collapsed in the sand, blood reddening the white sand around his wound.
At least I'm off that ruddy rock...... Soon it all went dark as he passed into unconciousness.

OOC: EDIT: Forgot to add he passed out in the end...

She was adrift.

The water, dark and sinister surged around here, like a wild maelstrom. She was tossed around like a lifeless rag doll, her body the plaything of the storm.

Occasional, while in the surging water she could see light. With all her might she tried to escape the watery mass but to no avail.

Dejected her limbs went limp. A cruel lethargy overcame her, cutting of her cries.

The water was a good a place as any to rest…

A sense of lifeless peace descended upon her. Pictures drifted through her head, she was overcome by a desire to turn back time; to escape what only must be her destiny.

And then black.

A playful chattering and a nudge awoke her. She was drifting lazily on a flat sea. The warm sun was a welcome change from the dull gray world that she had lived in.

She opened her eyes, and slightly moved her head to see what was happening. Nothing. She might have been surprised, or even a little frightened, but she simply didn’t have the energy to extend upon superfluous emotions.

Again, a playful, almost birdlike chatter and she was pushed in the opposite direction.

To weak too attempt to move her head she just floated there, waiting for her death.

Suddenly a svelte grey shape burst out of the water, sending a cascade of water flying through the air, creating miniature burst of colour when the drops passed over the sun.

The shape was familiar. After a while her hazy brain finally located the information she was looking for.

A dolphin!

A weak smile came to her face.

A moment later, with she was nudged, much more forcefully, underneath her arm. An instant later a similar force, a dolphin her hazy mind assumed, was applied underneath her other arm. She then started to, at rapid speed, zoom along the surface of the water, propelled by the two, or perhaps more, helpful mammals. A few minutes later the water changed from dark sea azure to a crystal clear blue. Ahead she could see…the sight of land bought tears to her eye. She sobbed as she was gently let go and then by the tide pushed to shore.

As she landed on the white sand of the beach she could see a pod of playful dolphins splashing off shore. She smiled weakly, before she fell into the darkness once again.

For awhile, Kim didn't say much of anything, her body wasn't in the mood for small talk, it just wanted to sleep. For about two months. She slowly shook her head, coming out of her fatigue. Hell, she'd climbed Mount Voormithadrith on a bet, she could handle a little starvation and dehydration. Besides, sitting here wasn't going to accomplish a damned thing. Except maybe make this guy blush some more.

She smiled weakly at him, opening her eyes again, "I'm Kim Sinclair, nice to meet you..." She gave a vague shrug, rubbing her eyes some more; the salt water's sting hadn't completely vanished. "So, ah... Christian, where's this camp? I might be able to walk if it's not too far."

Patrick awoke suddenly and pushed himself up, which he soon regretted, a sharp pain shooting up his leg and sending shivers down his spine. He groaned and rolled over onto his back, squinting against the sun. He propped himself on his left arm as he bent over to examine his leg.

"Sweet mother of God," he whispered to himself. A piece of Elk Horn coral, about three inches long, was imbedded in his leg like an arrow. He touched the coral and immediately shot his hand back as another sharp pain went through his leg. Aw hell, he thought. This is gonna hurt. He gritted his teeth, then fast as he could gripped the coral and ripped it out of his leg.

"Aahhh!" he shouted out in pain. He stared at the coral and threw it angrily. His leg had stopped bleeding while he was unconscious, which saved Patrick the trouble of having to try and stop it. He looked for a sign of infection, but saw none. Lucked out again, he thought. Thank God for that. He tried standing on his leg, but feel back. His leg was still to weak to move on. He ripped of what was left of his left short sleeve and ripped it into two strips. He tied it around his wound to keep out anything unwanted and to stop it from bleeding in case it started again.

He crawled to the treeline to find a sturdy stick to lean himself on. Once he reached the treeline a shadow passed over and he glanced toward the sky to see a cloud overhead. He felt some drops of rain dripping from the leaves above him and quickly ripped a large leaf of a low tree to gather some rain. He was able to gather enough for a sip of water before the cloud had already passed over. He licked the leaf clean of water and dropped to the ground. The little water he had gained was a simple tease and made seem even more thirsty than before. He continued scanning the ground for a good stick.

Patrick found what he was looking for and tested his weight on it, and the stick didn't break. Finally, something works right. He walked just in the treeline, keeping sight of the beach as he slowly moved leaning on his stick. He stopped suddenly, staring at a low, thorny tree branch. A piece of cloth was stuck on a thorn, ripped from where ever it came from. What the....Other survivors?! He glanced around him quickly, as a sudden feeling of paranoia swept over him, but the feeling vanished quickly. I wonder if they are still alive, its been a long while since I've seen another human...

Will watched the lizard running over his hand as he rotated it under the small reptile’s feet. Eventually, he deposited it in a woven basket. He knew it would be gone soon, if he did that, but it no longer bothered him for things in his life to go missing.

He smiled as he poked the lizard back in every time it tried to escape, sending it scampering in the other direction for a moment. Rocking the basket with his hand, he brought back a memory, and tears crept into his eyes.

The basket was floating in the pool, just out of his reach as it slowly filled with water, the lizard that had been inside trying desperately to avoid sinking into the water as its boat went down under it.

Mother. Her face came back to him, the last two memories of her, one, happy and laughing, her eyes bright as she played with him. Then the other, her lifeless face staring up at him from the sand.

A single tear ran down the nearly seven year old’s cheek, which he wiped away, and began drawing in the dirt, momentarily forgetting the lizard, and letting it escape from the basket.

Hao shook his head.

"Shame? Not even. We needed food and this animal," his nudged the corpse with his toe, "is our ticket to a couple of good meals."

His tone was more callous than anything that they had heard before since they had landed on the tropical island.

Derret's eye's slid over to catch Daniel's gaze, as if trying to tell the older man that something was wrong, before turning to Hao.

"Damn rights, now lets drag this girl home and start cooking some of her fine meat."

As if pulled out of his reverie, Christian once more snapped into action; her words waking him from his thoughts. “The, ah, camp is a little way in land.” He flicked his head in the general location, which could really have been just about anywhere on the island. “It’s quite a way; about an hour on a good day.” He looked at her condition and knew it would probably take longer than that if she was to walk, still he would let her start on her own two feet, and then offer to assist her if it got too much. He had a feeling Kim was a little independent, and would not admit defeat until it was glaring her in the face.

“We wanted some shelter, and there is a nicely enclosed ravine with caves and fresh water nearby. It’s close to a known watering hole for the wildlife, and in a good central position to reach most areas in good time, if you consider an hour or two good time?” He stopped suddenly, realising that he was waffling. He stood up, and offered her his hand. “I guess we should get moving. Are you sure you want to walk it?”

* * * * *

Lauri closed her eyes for a moment, blocking out all thoughts of where she was, and for a moment stepped back to a time where she had a life, and family, and everything was easier to come by. For a moment, she tasted fries and chocolate, coffee and bread, all the things that she had once taken for granted, that had now become luxuries…no, dreams. The sweetest things they had on the island were coconuts and other fruits.

Gone were the days of clothes shopping and manicures, lunch with friends, or chilling to music with a bottle of wine. She sighed heavily as she brought herself out of her thoughts and returned to the reality around her. She still had friends, and in a strange way, she still had family. She considered Will a part of her family, having taken the place of his mother when he lost her on that fatal day. They had both become important to each other, giving each other the strength to carry on and survive whatever the island had to throw at them. And then there was Hao too. She smiled as she thought about him, wishing he was there with her.

Her eyes fell upon the small boy as he played with his lizard, the sight made her smile as she watched him battle to keep the creature in the basket. She frowned slightly as she witnessed the change in his demeanour, growing concerned as he lost interest in the lizard, allowing it to get away.

She stood and walked over to where he was sitting, and crouched beside him, coming to him from behind; unable to see his tears, but knowing they were there anyway. “What happened to George?” She placed her hand gently on Will’s shoulder then pulled him around towards her, hugging him tightly. “It’s alright. I’m here for you, always.” She wrapped her other arm around him, and sat on the floor just holding him.

* * * * *

Daniel caught Derrett’s look, even if he did not need it. He was a little taken aback by the young man’s reaction. He usually came over as a force of reason, but then the island got to them all at one time or another. Perhaps he was just having a bad day. Daniel made a mental note to approach Hao once they were back at the camp, hopefully catching him on his own and would see whether there was something troubling him.

Grabbing hold of one of the fallen beast’s legs, Daniel positioned his spear in a fashion that made it appear more of a walking stick, than a weapon, but in a way that would enable it to be used quickly should the scent of the carcass bring about unwanted attention from other animals. “Derrett, help here. Hao, you go on ahead, and keep the route clear.” That way he was clearing the way for Derrett to speak his mind without the younger man over hearing.

“Let’s get dinner back to the camp.” He grinned as he began to walk, the beast dragging on the ground behind them. “I don’t know about you, but I’m famished, and I’m sure the others are too.” Without another word, the three headed out of the clearing.

Patrick walked as quietly as he could through the woods. He decided that if there were in fact other people on this island, he'd do his best to stay hidden and see if it was safe to let these people in on his being there.

Three days since his injury, he found he could walk again and now held the sturdy stick more as a weapon and to swipe large spider webs out of his way. He had two sharp pieces of obsidian with him and planned to make a spear once he found a safe place to settle down and make one. The other he used to sharpen his stick for the time being.

Patrick cautiously ducked his way under a low branch and saw a pool of water in front of him, containing more fresh water than he had seen in over a year. He grinned widely and was about to step out into the open but regained his composure. He paused and listened intently, but heard no sounds other than the birds and animals. He quickly moved to the side of the water and kneeled to one knee and cupped one of his hands as he scooped up water. He drank quickly and after a few moments quickly went back into the cover of the trees. He listened again, then moved on quietly for safe place to hide.

******

Patrick smiled at the shelter he had found under a large tree. The tree's roots rose high out of the ground and made a small cave underneath, hidden by shrubs and low hanging branches. He crouched in and sat back against a root, dumping an armload of limes from a nearby tree. His stomach growled as he used a piece of obsidian to slice open a lime. His fac squinched up as he bit out of the lime, but swallowed it down since it was the nearest source of food he could find. He finished the lime and threw the peel to the ground and grabbed his stick. Ripping of yet another piece of his shirt, this time from his right sleeve, and then using his obsidian knife to cut into thread-like strips. He cut knotch into the tip of his stick, then took the other piece of obsidian and placed it into the knotch and held it there while took the strips of cloth and wrapped it around the tip with his other hand. He laid the stick down and tied the cloth tight until it squeezed the wood together, lodging the speartip in tight. He admired his handy work and laid the spear against the side of his shelter.

Patrick squinted in the dim light to look around his shelter some more. I need a fire he thought. He dug a small hole in the center of his shelter and put some twigs on bottom. He found a rock, then glanced around for another to make sparks with but could only find his obsidian knife. I guess if it breaks I can always find a new one.... He scratched his knife against the rock, and a small spark landed in the hole and small stream of smoke came from a single twig. He leaned over and blew the tiny fire, feeding it oxygen to burn. It grew a small bit, and he quickly found a leaf to give it some more to burn, and gently lowered it onto the small flame, careful not to smother his tiny fire. The leaf ignited and he laid back on the ground. He wrinkled his nose a the stench of the burning leaf and grabbed the lime peel he threw on the ground and threw into the fire, which soon emitted a citrus smell throughout the shelter. Probaly should put that out before someone notices, he thought. Eh, no ones probaly around for a bit o' ways anyway.....I'll just put it out after I rest my eyes a bit.... He fell asleep on the ground nearby his citrus smelling fire.

Kim pursed her lips, mulling over in her mind about how far a an hour long walk would be, and her chances of making it without collapsing. Not bloody likely, girl. She sighed, rising to her feet, leaning against the tree wearily, glancing around before smiling a little at Christian, "Well... I can give it the old college try... don't know how far I can go." She put her arm around his shoulder, leaning slightly on him, "I guess I'm ready..." She smiled at him gratefully, "Thank you for helping me." Slowly they started making their way to the camp.

Christian grinned to himself, pleased that Kim had at least accepted his aid, he was sure for a moment that she would insist on making it the whole way there. And as much as he knew it would not have been a good idea, he was not sure he would have been able to persuade her otherwise, fortunately her own body had done the job for him.

As they continued to walk along, his mind filled with thoughts. He did not think that he would be finding people still being washed up on the shore this long after the event, and yet here she was. If someone had asked, he would have to admit that he was more than a little confused.

“There are a few of us that survived the boat sinking.” He frowned as the thoughts filled his head and needed to be answered. “Where have you been all this time? I mean, we believe its about eighteen months since The Silver Storm went down, and you couldn’t have been in the sea all this time.” He looked at her, his brows furrowed in question.

* * * * *

As Daniel and his companions made there way through the jungle, taking their usual route back to the camp, he let his mind wander, as was normal, thinking things through, revisiting old memories, or just thinking about what his life held in store for him now. Derrett and Hao would make a little conversation, and so would he on odd occasions, but they were all focused on getting back to the camp, that they rarely said more than a few words, plus they did not want to draw unwanted attention to themselves, the dead animal was more than capable of doing that for them.

It was during one memory of this home life that he began to see his mother making lime jam in his mind’s eye, which struck him as peculiar as she never made jam in her life. But no matter what he did he could not shake this association, the smell of citrus being very clear in his head. And then he realised that it was not an imagined smell. Taken a deep breath he could catch the scent of lime in the air, and yet it was not the clean fresh aroma that he remembered; this was tinged with burning.

Furrowing his brow as he tried to work out where this smell was coming from; he knew it could not be the camp as the breeze was travelling in the wrong direction for that. He looked over at the others who were also sniffing the air in puzzlement. He called to Hao. “Help Derrett get her back to the camp.” He pointed to their future dinner. “I’m going to check it out.”

Not waiting for an answer, Daniel moved in the direction that smell was coming from. He was not a natural tracker, but after a year and a half of living on his wits, he had learnt the odd thing or two. And fortunately citrus fruits had quite a strong scent, and the fact that it was burning meant that he had the added aid of smoke which would help with the search.

Not long after, he could see the smoke rising from behind some bushes. Creeping forward carefully, unsure of what he would find once he broke through into the small clearing. Raising his makeshift spear, he edges forward and without making a sound he enters, his eyes scanning the area and quickly locating the man, though with closer inspection he did not appear that old. Crouching down beside him, Daniel lowered his weapon, yet kept it in a position of attack.

Reaching out he carefully touched the sleeping man’s shoulder, having seen the wound on the man’s leg, it did not look good. “Are you alright?” He spoke quietly, enough to be heard but not loud enough to scare him out of his sleep. Not seeing any movement from him, other than the rhythmic rise and fall of his body.

Looking around the area, he decided to make himself useful, and gather some sticks and leaves to build up the fire. Once that was blazing away, he made himself comfortable waiting for the man to awake, and then perhaps he could think about getting him to the camp, and getting his wound looked at.

The waves lapping at her feet woke her up with a start. For a few minutes tears of helplessness threatened to overwhelm her.

Why? Why? Oh the Cooler why?!

With a visible shake, she silenced the voices of doubt.

She was stronger then this. She was stronger then this. She was.

After a few minutes the tears ceased. She slowly sat up, observing her surroundings for the first time. She was laying on a beach.

Where?

She wasn't sure. She tried to recall how she got here.

Her mind was..gone?! She tried to remember what had happened before this point. A massive pain surged through her mind, causing her peripheral vision to fade out to black.

She gulped for air, her fists clenched in pain.

After she recovered, she resolved not to that again. Pulling her tatted clothes around her she looked around.

Oddly, the island looked ... familiar.

-Running. Sounds behind her. Screams. Pain.

As quickly as the images had entered her mind they had gone.

A sound distracted her. A shiny fish flipped weakly on the damp sand. Immense and unending hunger overwhelmed her. With an uncharacteristic speed and fury she snatched the fish and then forced it onto her mouth.

A few moments later she splashed away the foul remains. Her strength thus recovered she made her way inland, her natural curiosity, and her immense thirst driving her onwards.

As she made her way onward she eventually started to her voices.

People?!

She then started to walk faster toward the voices. She entered a clearing, and saw what could only be a camp. Suddenly her combined exhaustion, thirst, emotional and mental problems, overcame her, and she again collapsed, the darkness returning vindictively.

Perhaps it was the rundown of adrenaline from the kill, but Hao was having trouble deciding wheither or not to follow the older man.

After all, the meat was importent, but meat could be re-hunted; Danial's life, if somehow he fell into danger, might not be saved.

'And then they would be down a hunter.' the thought came unbidden into his head.

Down a hunter? What kind of thought was that? Hao blinked owlishly trying to sort out where such a cold thought had some from. After all, after what felt like years on the island, the older man had become a friend to him.

Still, it was another thought to add to his growing conserns. Hao did, unknown to the rest of the group, have the party's only gun strapped onto his lower back; conseeled by his fairly ragged shirt, as he had been tought. It was the Glock 20 which they had used for hunting in the early days. The hundgun's 10mm cartridge was able to stop any of the beasts that they had seen on the island and had been used fairly often before they had aquired the skills to hunt with their own roughly hewn weapons.

Of course, the gun, to everyone else's knowlage, was back in the camp in one of the few water proof containers they had been able to find; a safety incase they needed it.

Only Hao knew that it was no longer there.

The meat was importent though and although there was less than a kilometer back to camp, Hao hesitated to let Derret carry the burden...

"Just go after him, it's not THAT heavy and it shouldn't be hard to get back into camp."

It was a surprisingly un-self-serving sentance from a man whom Hao hadn't quite trusted in the earlydays.

Still, Derret had expressed confidence in being able to get back ok...

Hao nodded at the other man and went after their exploring friend.

--------

Derret shook his head at the foolishness of the other men. Exploring something at a time like this? They already had enough people to hunt for, and althought more people might mean more hunters, it might also mean more deadweight.

Deadweight that they really could ill-afford.

But Derret smiled to himself anyways. More people would mean more of a group too select from, and options were always good.

The smile stayed on his face while he started dragging the corpse again, and though Hao's smile had gained a bit of an edge to it, Derret's had lost much of what it had contained before.

-------------

It didn't take too long to track Daniel. Indeed, at a stiff pacing, what was probably a distance of just over a kilometer was devoured in less than 5 minutes.

Infact, Hao arrived just in time to see Daniel making himself confortable by a fired with another man; a new face he had never seen before.

Just a couple of steps more led the not-so-teenager out of the dense jungle and right behind the sitting man.

"You know, if you weren't planning on getting back for a while, you might have worried us."

Will buried his face in Lauri's body, as the tears began to flow, his sobs wracking his smaller body. Eventually, he cried himself out and curled up in Lauri's loving arms.

Lauri. His mother's name had been Lauren. Mother. Lauren. Lauri. Perhaps Lauri could be mother now. Now, after being silent for more than a year, he murmured something against Lauri's soft body, something that sounded suspiciously like 'Mama'.

Then the tears came again.

Patrick walked through the library in Trinity, his favourite place in the entire college. He had just finished his essay due on the morrow, and was headed to a local pub to meet his girlfriend and some of his friends to celebrate his eighteenth birthday. He walked past the last shelf of books and looked around the outside....

Patrick's eyes shot open and he looked frantically for what had awaken him. The snap of sticks in the fire sounded again and he almost sighed with relief until he realised he hadn't put any sticks in the fire. He then saw the two men nearby that he did not recognise. He jumped backwards, and his leg hit a little rock in the earth.

"Bloody hell!" He held his left hand over his wound and eyed the two newcomers. His right hand had already grasped his newly made spear and thought wildly about who they might be. He then calmed down, realising that if one of them helped out a fire, they can't be to bad.

Having not been in any contact with another human for over a year, he couldn't think of much to say. "Well then," he began hesitantly. "The name's Patrick, Patrick O'Farrell..." He faltered as a pain shot through his leg. He cursed under his breath; when he bashed his leg on the little rock, it started bleeding again, though not much, but even a little could be bad on a small island.

"Err, who are you?"

Turning at the sound of the familiar voice, Daniel spotted Hao and laughed, as he pointed to the man by the tree. “I’d hope you all give me a little credit for being able to look after myself.” The tone of his voice indicated that he was only joking. “And to be honest, I wasn’t expecting our friend here to be dead to the world.” He looked at Hao suddenly. “And not literally, although I think he could sleep through most things at the moment.” He let out another laugh, before coming over all serious, wanting to ask Hao about his current mood when he was stunned into silence by the voice of the other man.

Turning from his friend, he listened as the man spoke, smiling at him in a friendly manner so as to allay any fears he might have. “Hello, Patrick. I’m Daniel and this here…” He indicated the younger man beside him. “…is Hao.” He could not stop the questioning look that came over his face. “And I have to ask, how did we miss you?” He looked once again at his companion. “We’ve got to have covered the whole of the island looking for other survivors.” Before either of the others hand a chance to answer, Daniel spotted the injured man’s leg. “That doesn’t look good. How long has it been open?”

* * * * *

Lauri had been miles away with her thoughts as she held Will in her arms, wishing that there was something she could do to aid the little boy’s suffering. She knew how hard all of this was on her, but he could not really comprehend what was happening; not to mention he had no one of his own age to play with. And no matter how much of her time she gave to playing games with him, it would never be the same.

She gently stroked his hair as she hugged him against her, whispering words of comfort, as she did whenever he was upset. So busy was she with her own words that she almost failed to hear the sound he had made. No, not sound, speech. He had uttered a word and it sounded to her like a very potent word, he had called her…or was she just imagining it…Mama.

Loosening her hold, she moved Will, until she could see his face, a large smile on her face as she pressed her lips to his forehead. “You called me…” She could not complete the sentence, so happy was she. “Oh, Will.” She pulled him close to her again, and held him tightly. “I love you.” She laughed lightly, her happiness too much for a mere smile to convey.

Suddenly a sound from the entrance of the camp grabbed her attention. She whispered to the little boy as she once again loosened her hold, and gently rubbed away his tears with her thumb. “I think the others are home. Let’s go greet them.” She ran her hand over Will’s head, ruffling his hair then stood, as she reached for his hand. “I wonder what they caught today.”

Upon turning, Lauri was not faced with the arrival of the hunting party. She stood for a moment, the little boy’s hand held tightly in hers, before she once again crouched down beside him. “Stay here, Will.” Giving the boy another kiss on the forehead, she made her way over to the person who had entered the camp, and was not laying flat out on the ground, looking in a very poor condition.

Leaving Will a little way away, Lauri moved swiftly over to the woman, and crouched beside her, instinctively feeling for signs of life. She hoped she was not dead, she knew that Will had seen his own mother dead, and Lauri really did not want him to see another person’s life extinguished before him. He already had had enough bad dreams in his short existence; he really did not need any more. But a quick check confirmed that the woman was still breathing, which caused Lauri to breath a sigh of relief, as she called over to the boy. “There’s nothing to worry about, Will. Can you fetch me over some water?”

Leaving him to carry out his task, she turned her attention back to the woman before her, as she gently made a few more necessary checks, before attempting to turn her over and get her into a better position; hoping the whole time that one of the others would arrive back soon.

Will said nothing more, that one word all he would, or perhaps could, say. But he followed directions, not wanting go near the body. Until... It was like... Mama. The tears began to well up again, but then...

“There’s nothing to worry about, Will. Can you fetch me over some water?”

He moved quickly to help. The older he got, the more he got to help around the camp. He ran to the water container, as fast as his short legs would take him, and sensing that it might be important, walked carefully back to Lauri. To Mama.

He handed her the water container absently, staring at the form laying on the ground.

Kim did a surprizing job of keeping up with Christian. Even in her weakened state, she still had a tremendous reserve of energy; years of physical training clearly were paying off. Of course, she definately wasn't up to making the whole trip on her own.

After awhile she slumped, half falling to the ground, gasping for breath, "Sorry... I need a break." She simultaniously managed to look both better than when he'd found her, and more drained then ever. She closed her eyes, breathing deeply a few times before looking at Christian again, seeming to struggle internally with getting up and swallowing her pride and asking him to carry her.

As a distraction, she decided to answer his questiong, "No, I wasn't on The Silver Storm. Not even very familiar with it, but I think I heard about it vanishing last year." She smiled weakly, "I'm here because I'm an idiot, really. There have been several reports of ships and planes vanishing in this area." She sighed, figuring this wasn't what he wanted to hear, but she felt that she owed him a bit of explination, "So... about a week or so ago, I guess, I took a plane out to check it out. Big TV special and all. Kim Sinclair Defies Death Again! Watch Live!... that sort of thing." She laughed darkly, "Not the smartest stunt of my career. Which is probably over now."

The voices above her awoke her from her slumber.

Weakly she lifted her head up towards the source of the noise.

People!

She felt a a wave of panic

-Gun shot. Him. Screams. Beating her again and again. "Get up!". Anger.

Again a series of bizarre, yet oddly realistic visions flooded her. She looked at the faces staring at her and scrambled backwards, till a tree stump blocked her path. She staring crying.

What do they want?!

She tried to sat something, but the words simple didn't come to her. She tried again, but she could not vocalise what she wanted to say.

Seeing however one of the two people; a young boy, had a bucket of water her fear was temporarily ignored. Hesitantly she pointed at it, then pointed at her mouth.

Her eyes where moist with tears, she didn't know what was happening. Before she could do anything else the half poisonous fish she had eaten early forced its way up, causing her to vomit weakly.

Suddenly a wave of convulsions hit here, causing her to spasm weakly as the effects of the poison took hold of her.

She made a weak moan and then lay still.

Christian listened as Kim explained how she got to the island, and for a fleeting moment, or perhaps a little longer, he had to fight down his anger. He had been trapped on this island for over a year, and she had decided to follow them for a show and some recognition at how brave she was, but then a little light came on and it cleared away his temper and filled him with a touch of hope.

Sitting down beside her, he looked into her eyes and smiled. “So, that means, they must know where we are.” He was internally celebrating their rescue already. This was the news that they had been waiting for all this time. “They would have been following you and will know where you went down.” He had to stop himself from standing up and dancing. “They’ll come and take us home.” He wanted to hug her, but her weakened state and his own sense of reserve held him back, but the smile that was now plastered on his face indicated his excitement.

* * * * *

Lauri sat back and watched as the woman woke up and behaved…strangely. She was not unaware of how people who were sick reacted while under a fever, she had nursed Hao through one when they had been on the island only a short time, but this was even more dramatic, and not being a woman with any real medical knowledge other than basic first aid, she was a little unsure of what to do.

By the time that Will had appeared with the water, the woman was once again unconscious on the ground, much to Lauri’s delight if she was honest with herself. She turned to the little boy, and smiled. “You hold that for me, for a moment, and I’ll just get the woman settled again.” Running her fingers lightly over his cheek, she moved closer to her patient, once again cheeking her vital signs in case these had been her death throes.

Once again happy that the woman was not dead, Lauri made her more comfortable then moved back over to Will, and took the water, carrying the coconut shell cup carefully to the woman. Dipping her fingers lightly in the water, she dripped a little onto the parched lips of her patient.

As Danial plyed the other man with questions, Hao started to circle around the clearing; as though he didn't quite trust that this wasn't some sort of trap.

The younger man was wary of anybody new. After all, the questions about where this man had come from and why they had never seen him before were quite valid.

'Maybe he didn't want to be found?

Indeed.

-------------

Cursing that he hadn't made Hao stay with him to drag the stupid carcuss back to the campsite, Derret finally exited the brushline into their home clearing.

Sweat ran down his body in rivets.

"This friggin' thing is HEAVY." He muttered to himself, acknowledging that at least the exertion was over.

Of course, the body of a second woman being attended to by Lauri and Will was something of a surprise to him.

Kim winced slightly, she hadn't even thought that her precence, and how she got here, would give Christian, and the others, false hopes. It didn't strike her as very fair to build up his hopes like this, only to shatter them again. She sighed, looking up at him, already fearing his responce. Would he leave her here? She was in no shape to make the hike to the camp, not that she knew where it was. "Well... not exactly." She sighed again, her words flowing faster and faster in an attempt to get everything out before he could cut her off or leave, "It was a solo mission, there's been lots of stories about this island making ships and planes dissapear, so I went alone, there was just a bunch of cameras and a GPS system on my plane so people could see where I was and that I was where I said I was but my plane went down and everything was destroyed I barely got out myself." She paused to take a breath, and looked quite pitiful. "I wasn't trying to screw with you... or get your hopes up... I... I'm sorry."

She drank the water, her eyes saying what her mouth could not.

After awhile she began to feel better. She tried to thank this woman, who ever she was, but again she couldn't form the words.

Instead she resigned herself to another smile, hoping it conveyed her immense gratitude.

As Kim spoke, Christian’s whole demeanour changed. With every word that passed from her lips his hope began to die. “You came here alone?” He frowned at her questioningly. “You knew that this area was dangerous, and yet you came out here anyway?” He did not know whether to be impressed or dismayed; it took a brave person to risk such a thing, but then she had been doing it for fame and glory. Perhaps a brave person would have come to take them home.

“I guess it was a long shot. We’ve been here for over a year, why would we suddenly get rescued?” He smiled, showing her that he was not too upset by her announcement, even if he was a little disappointed. “You think you can walk a bit more?” He grinned at her. “Or shall I carry you?”

* * * * *

Lauri smiled back at the woman before her, and held the cup up to her to lips offering her more water. She was grateful that there was some sign of life. “Drink it slowly.” As she tilted the cup a little more letting the liquid drip slowly into the woman’s mouth.

Suddenly she heard a voice, a familiar voice. Turning she saw Derrett walking into the camp, dragging a dead animal behind him; his words indicating that he had been dealing with it on his own. She looked around him for the others of the party. “Where are Hao and Daniel?” She frowned as a million thoughts flooded her mind; most of them were not good. “What’s happened?” Her voice rose slightly in panic.

OOC: Sorry I'm a bit late all....grounded here at home....:( I won't be able to post again until next wendesday...
IC:

Patrick listened to the other man speak, taking in every word. The younger man, called Hao, looked suspicious, as if looking for a trap. Patrick turned back to the other one, who called himself Daniel, as he asked a question.

"Born in Ireland," he answered one question.
"Was stuck on that godforsaken rock a while back from here, across from a cove," he answered another.
"I didn't want to be seen until I was able to see if it was safe," he answered again. He answered a couple more questions, then the conversation turned casual and to the talk of a camp, and other survivors. After a few more minutes, Patrick sighed and looked around his meager shelter amongst the roots of the tree.

"Well," he said to Daniel. "I wouldn't mind seeing this camp of yours, and mabye get some water...." He tried to stand, but a sharp pain through his leg brought him back down. "Damn, it was healing okay yesterday too....."

Joe was floating along, on his makeshift raft. He hit land, weakly, he got out with his gear and collapsed on the beach. He thought he was the only survivor of The Silver Storm. His hhunger and lonlieness had driven him to the point of abandoning the island he lived on and try his luck with the sea. He may have died, but it was better than going crazy and starving on that one acre island. He was glad he brought an extra ear of corn, his wooden hoe, and his knife he was carrying when the ship wrecked. He was a farmer on that island, having killed all the game earlier on.

Daniel watched Hao wandering around the area, as he listened to the man before him. Nodding at the appropriate times and asking general questions to gain as much knowledge that he could of the stranger. He took a moment to think what it would be like being stranded alone, and he thanked his lucky stars that he had found himself with company.

Finally at the mention of the camp, Daniel came to his senses and stopped his interrogation. “What was I thinking?” He grinned to the man, as he stepped beside him, taking the weight of his body. “Hao! Time to go.” He turned back to Patrick. “We’ll take it as fast as you can manage. If you need to stop just say.” Pulling the man’s arm over his shoulder, he made ready to leave.

Patrick thanked him after he took his arm and moved at a decent pace through the trees in a direction that Daniel was leading toward. Patrick was still holding his spear, and was using it as a walking stick at the moment. They moved through the forest until they reached a pool of water. Patrick recognised it from before.

"Wait a sec," he said to Daniel. He leaned near the side of the water and cupped his hands together, taking gulps of water. After a couple of gulps of water, he stood and leaned on Daniel again and continued toward the camp.

Joe wakes up, "Where am I?" he thinks as he crawls towards what appears to be the light from a campfire.
Joe, an former combat Marine, has a small beard and many scars suggesting he shaved using his knife. He looks like he has seen much in his thirty-seven years of life, including a war or two,

'She must really care about th...'

"They're fine Lauri, they just went off to explore some smoke that smelt like Orange or some damn fool thing like that." Derret responded.

Seeing as how that didn't sound too much more reassuring as 'I dunno', the sweating man continued, "Don't worry eh? Between the two of them, I'm sure they can handle whatever that comes their way."

"Now," Derret justured to the body of the new women, "What's with her?"

----------

Hao followed behind Daniel and the man called Patrick. Mostly, he was there to make sure that a nearby predator wouldn't try to snag their new find, but partially...

"Hey Patrick, when we get back to the camp, I'll take a look at that leg ok? I did some training in first aid when I choose conscription for 2 years when I was 16."

Not quite a subtle hint that he better stay good, but the best that Hao could have come up with in such a short time.

OOC:

Hey, Crazed Marines, was your guy discharged for something like Medical reasons?

OOC: My guy retired after his 20 years. He was coming home abord the ship, and it wrecked

IC: Joe was crawling for over an hour and a half before he reached the campsite, where he collapsed from exhaustion. He didn't see anyone, but where there is fire, there are people.

OOC: Ah, aights, but just remember, you're not rambo, :P

Kim smiled sadly as she watched Christian's reaction. It was pretty much what she had expected. Well, what she had hoped for; her earlier fears still rumbled in the back of her mind: a specter waiting for her to relax. She felt awful for wiping out that last bit of hope that he held on to, but she knew that lying would have only made it worse as the days would melt to weeks to months with no rescue in sight. She nodded to his questions, "Well... I made my money as a daredevil. Climbing buildings, base jumping, tightrope walking, that sort of thing. I had done some stunts in planes before and figured this wouldn't be a big deal, I didn't believe the stories about this place," she laughed darkly, "seems I was wrong."

Her legs were a little unsteady as she stood back up, pondering what she wanted to do. She wanted to walk, but she'd probably have to sit again after a couple dozen yards. She took a moment to look over Christian; he seemed to be in pretty good shape. Unfortunately, her pride was overriding her sense of reality, she just couldn't force herself to ask to be carried. She smiled weakly at him, "Well... if you... er... don't mind..."

“Let’s just say I offered for purely selfish reasons.” Christian looked at Kim and smiled, seeing how much effort it had taken her to ask. People who did what she did simply did not ask for help, especially if it meant admitting some kind of defeat. “I’m getting pretty hungry, and if you hadn’t agreed I was going to carry you anyway.” He laughed to show that he was teasing, even if he was looking forward to getting her somewhere safe.

The island might have looked like paradise, but it liked to remind everyone on it that this was no walk in the park. Beautiful sunsets, palm trees and other exotic scenery hid a fierce side that would take you down if you let yourself forget. And the light was beginning to fade, only subtly but as soon as the sun began to set, darkness crept over the land quickly; blanketing everything is total blackness, making the inhabitants wish they had electric lights, rather than just the glow of the fire.

He looked at her, feeling a little awkward as to how best to approach his next task. Should he toss her over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift, or carry her in his arms. He knew which would make it easier for him to traverse through the jungle, but it was not the best way for her to first be introduced to everyone. “You think you can manage to stay on my back, piggyback style?”

* * * * *

Lauri looked at Derrett and shrugged her shoulders, her eyes showing her own bewilderment at the turn of events. “I have no idea. She just kind of…appeared and then collapsed.” She took a moment to look at the woman, realising how rude she was being talking about her as if she was not around. “She only just woke before you arrived.”

Feeling a little more at ease knowing that nothing had happened to Hao and Daniel, Lauri made herself comfortable on the ground, casting a quick glance in Will’s direction to make sure he was still all right. Suddenly, Derrett’s word seemed to take on some meaning. “A fire?” She looked back at the woman in front of her questioningly. “Is it yours? Did you make a camp on the island?” She would leave the topic that was itching to be broached until her patient was much stronger.

As if in answer to her question, or at least giving her another possible solution, the bushes at the side of the camp rustled, as if an animal was trying to break through. But it was no beast of the forest. A man in a pretty poor condition crawled into the clearing and fell flat onto the floor.

“What the…?” Lauri looked at Derrett in confusion. “Where did these people come from?” Her brow was creased as a million thoughts swept through her mind. “Derrett, help him!”

* * * * *

Taking most of the man’s weight, Daniel began the walk to the camp, silently thanking whoever was looking down on them for the small mercy of not leaving them too far from their destination. He had to agree with Hao, Patrick’s leg certainly needed attention, and the sooner it got it the better.

Even as he had these thoughts, a little of his mind was focused on Hao, or more importantly his behaviour. He remembered the boy they had – mostly Lauri – had nursed back to health. He even recalled the day that he walked onto the beach, carrying the body of a woman; unfortunately, she had not made it safely to the island, her life having been extinguished before then. He knew it had to be hard on the younger man, and in a way he had grown up fast over the last year, not that he had much choice. The island did not forgive adolescent behaviour, or even overconfidence.

“You could not have asked for a better offer, Patrick. Hao here has patched up the rest of us a few times, I can tell you.” He shifted the injured man’s weight, taking more of the strain himself. He shot Hao a glance. “We could have done with him when he was injured.”

Will moved closer to Lauri, sitting down, leaning against her as all the strange people appeared, people he didn't know.

He half hid his body behind hers, leaning out to look around at the others, a slight fear in his eyes, but trust for Lauri and Darret.

OOC: Actually Crazed, I believe Lauri was pointing out your character to one of my characters, :P so for plot sake, I'm gonna ignore your last message, ^_^ )

IC:

Derret droped the animal carcuss to the ground and sprung over to the newly arrived man.

"Sh*t, they're just poping up all over the place arn't they?"

The bisexual man grabed the body by it's shoulders and hauled him out of the brush and into the clearing near Lauri.

"Looks like dehydration. I don't see any visable wounds. You got any water around here?"

----

Hao nodded at the older man's praise of him and flashed a small smile\blush in embarrisment; a hold over from before the sinking.

As he finally re-assured himself that there was no predator close to them, the teen came abreast with the other two and dropped his shoulder under the newcomer's armpit.

"If we carry him it should be faster."

Making sure that Phil's arm was circled around his neck, Hao picked up the leg on his side and motioned for Daniel to do the same.

Kim managed a weak laugh, "You're hungry? Who's been floating for a week?" She smiled before turning serious a moment, "But... thanks... I owe you a lot, Christian." She stepped forward, giving him a slight hug before moving behind him, "I can manage piggy back." Putting her arms around his neck, she barely managed a hop. Luckily it was enough, and she soon found herself being carried through the jungle.

A piggy-back ride on an island struck her as a perfectly enjoyable way of spending some time, really. Hunger or no, Christian seemed a nice enough sort, and he was able to keep his pace pretty steady so that she jostled around too much. She rested her head on his shoulder as they made their way through the jungle. She could almost fall asleep. Almost. Her concern over falling off prevented that, as did her interest in watching the foliage go by. After all, she was going to have to learn the island eventually. Might as well start now.

Joe woke up being carried, "www...Water....Water...please." He was totally parched. He could walk, if only he had water.

OOC: Expect longer posts when he gets better and when I get a project done.

Patrick sighed with relief as the camp came into view. He could see some people already out and about helping someone else. He chanced a look at his leg injury and groaned. God I hope this Hao can fix this up.... he thought.

"Do chorp don diabhal*!" He said in Irish angrily as someone stepped in a shallow hole, the sudden change in balance sending a ripping pain through his leg.

Getting and idea she reached for a stick and slowly dragged it through the dirt in the ground. After a minute of work she had written in small, almost childlike font, 'Thank you.'

She then shakily stood up, looking around the camp for the first time.

She bent back down and then wiped her hand over the dirt. That done she wrote, a little neater this time, 'Who are you?'.

Another wave of exhaustion overtook her, and she sunk back down till she sat with her back against the tree trunk.

Hearing Patrick groan in pain, Daniel was pleased that they were almost at the camp, knowing that the sooner Hao got to look at the man’s leg the better it would be. He knew what happened if infection got into a wound, and they had already been through that once, they did not want to chance a second time, as they might not be as successful this time.

Looking in front of him as they neared the entrance, he was surprised to see both Lauri and Derrett bending over prone bodies. Frowning to himself, he looked over at Hao, not speaking his thoughts, sure that his young friend must be sharing the shock of seeing other people.

Stepping into the camp, he came face to face with the others, their features displaying the same look of confusion as their gaze fell upon Patrick.

* * * * *

Lauri watched for a moment as Derrett walked over to the man, confused where all these people were coming from. It seemed they were appearing out of the woodwork. Leaving her companion to deal with his charge, Lauri was drawn to the touch of Will, as he moved close to her. She looked down at him and smiled, her hand running lightly over his hair, trying to convey to the small boy that there was nothing to fear, not that she was feeling that comfortable herself.

She handed him the cup that she was holding, and pointed over to the two men. “Can you take some water to Derrett?” Giving the boy another encouraging smile, she hugged him to her. “And then you can come back and help me.” She hoped that by setting Will some tasks it would take his mind off the two strangers that had suddenly appeared.

Before he gave an answer, the woman that she was aiding picked up a stick and began to write in the dirt, struggling slightly to read the messages upside down. “You are most welcome.” She smiled at her patient, as she watched her etch the second message. “I’m Lauri…and this is Will.” She presented herself and her charge, turning back to see her sink to the ground. “Woah, take it easy. You rest there for a moment.”

She looked over at her companion. “Derrett, how does he look?” She really did not know what to do first. Before she had a chance, she heard a rustling to her right, turning her gaze to see what had now been delivered upon them.

Her eyes fell first upon Daniel, and then on Hao, her eyes brightening as she saw him, wanting nothing more to run into his arms, but her motions were stopped by the man that they were carrying between them. “Who is that?” The frown creasing her brow grew deeper as she flicked her eyes between the two people she knew.

Daniel laughed lightly. “I was about to ask the same about your guests.” He gestured the woman sitting by the tree and the man that Derrett was administering aid to. “We seem to have become overrun with new arrivals.” He turned to Hao. “Let’s get Patrick to a place where you can take a look at his leg.” The two men moved through the camp, placing him at in one of the caves.

Leaving Hao to deal with Patrick, Daniel made his way over to Derrett, whose patient seemed to be in the worse condition of the other two. He strode over to the man, and crouched down in the dirt, aiding Derrett.

* * * * *

“I guess you win.” Christian grinned as he carried Kim on his back, pleased with the progress they were making, even if he was taking the journey a little slower than he would normally. “We should be at the camp any time now. I don’t know what the others will say when I walk in with you.” He laughed lightly. “You’d best let me do the introductions.”

He continued through the jungle for a while, the two of them falling silent. After a few minutes he could see the familiar surroundings that told him he was almost ‘home’. He grinned to himself at how quickly that term seemed to take over a place where you could rest your head and feel safe. “Do you want to walk into the camp, or are you okay with arriving like this?”

Joe, supported by Hao, just barely made it into cam. There, he was laid down to rest. He still needed water, and meakly expressed a groan. Nobody understood this, so he took out his canteen he had carved. It was an almost perfect cup, with a rough spot here and there where the knife had slipped. They seemed to understand and filled it up with water. He got help in drinking. He wanted to gulp it, but he knew he must sip it, or he'd puke worse than when he accidentally ate that poisonous mushroom.

OOC: Dude, you're really gonna have to learn to read for content, lol, Danial asked for Hao to deal with Patrick whilst going over to Derret to deal with you. But that's fine, I'm sure you ment that. ^_^

IC:

The dehydrated man had managed to ask and receive water from then, showing signs of basic first aid by drinking slowly instead of gulping it the way some did.

"Smart guy, maybe he can help us out too." Derret muttered.

When he judged the man to be finished drinking, Derret finally gave in to curiosity and asked "Who are you?"

--------------------

It was good to be back, to see Lauri again. The weird mood that had been hanging over his head from the end of the hunt seemed to fade away leaving him feeling slightly disoriented.

Still, he grinned at Lauri and, before leaving to set Patrick into the cave, winked at her, commenting "Fancy meeting you here."

*Minutes later*

"Shit."

The wound was already showing signs of infection along it's edges.

"This is gonna suck for you, but, well, since we don't really have any kind of medical kits here... I know only one way to treat something like this. You're kinda lucky, the infection hasn't really set in yet, but..."

Hao paused before looking away from Patrick.

"We're gonna have to cauterize it."

OOC: What I understood it being was that Derret was sent for someone, then I came in...but you understand I'm a little confused from the sentence structure.

IC: Joe finally, after drinking four glasses (one-half liter glasses), said "I'm Joe. I was coming home on that darned boat after retiring from our Marine Corps. I was in the infantry. My uniform was shredded, I lost my gun, and only had my K-Bar and some corn I was eating when the boat sank. I used these things to survive, making a hoe and spear, and became a farmer and hunter. I killed all the animals on the tiny island I was on, and saved up my crops. They grow pretty-much year round here. I said that death was better than being alone for one more day. I made a raft from my home and sailed. I was probably on there for four days. I only had one ear of corn left when I landed. Here." Joe presents the large, silver and gold ear, "It's half Silver Queen an half of that gold stuff they had in the ship's galley."

As travel arrangements went, it wasn't too bad. Perhaps a bit humiliating, but better than being slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. She nodded absently at his suggestion, "Sure, you can introduce me. Probably would be better that way. I'm sure it'll be... interesting."

As they neared the camp she smiled, a light laughing tone in her voice, "Well... I don't know how good I'd be with walking. I'd really hate to collapse as we walk in." She chewed her lip a bit before continuing, "If you don't mind... I... I guess like this..."

Patrick's eyes grew wide when Hao said he'd have to cauterise his leg. He wasn't sure what that wore meant, but the first thing that went through his mind was amputation.

"Woah there lad!" he said quickly. "You get anywhere near my leg with a sharp object for amputating, and send this spear of mine straight through your sternum! I've taken punctures like this while rock climbing back in the Isle, isn't there any plants that can help?! I know Aloe is a tropical plant, can't we find that?!"

He gripped his spear tightly. I'll be damned if someone starts slicing me leg out here in the middle of nowhere.....

OOC: I will no longer RP my man after this post
IC:
Jow, hearing the conversation about the wound and said, "In the island I lived on before, I saw a few antibiotic plants. We might find some here. Give me fifteen minutes to recover, and I'll help you find some."

"I never mentioned anything about choping anything off," came the irate rejoinder from the younger man. "When I say Cauterization, in this case, all I'll be doing is inserting something, briefly, into the wound to kill off the bacteria. After that, we'll wash out the wound, and it should, hopefully, be able to heal."

OOC: That lil post of mine was my RP way wondering what the heck cauterise means :D

IC:
Patrick calmed down, kind of embarassed at his own reaction.

"Sorry," he muttered. "Kinda jumpy, ya know? Leg doesn't look to good an' all...."

He glanced around and outside the cave at the other people.

"Care to introduce me?"

Daniel looked at Joe and then looked at Derrett, before returning his gaze to the patient. “I don’t think you’ll be going anywhere in fifteen minutes.” He took the cup from the man sitting on the floor before him. “It’s not wise for anyone as dehydrated as you’ve been to go wondering around the island, and I certainly don’t want to send anyone out looking for you when you don’t come back by night fall.”

The newcomer looked at Daniel and Derrett, a look of determination in his eyes, he wanted to help, wanted to share his knowledge, but he knew with his own military background that such an endeavour could put people in danger, and he was new on the island, so he bowed down to the others’ greater experience of the place. “I understand. Perhaps tomorrow?”

Daniel nodded and grinned. “Tomorrow sounds like a good plan to me. I’ll grab you something to eat.” He rose from the ground and patted Derrett on the shoulder as stood up. “I’m going to start on the kill. Can you make sure Joe and the others are okay, and then come and give me a hand?”

* * * * *

Christian once again smiled, pleased that Kim could not see his face otherwise she might have changed her mind and asked to walk the rest of the way. “They are a friendly group of people. I’ll point out who’s who when we meet them.” He looked at the foliage before them that indicated the edge of the camp. “We’ve just got to go through that gap and we’ll be there.”

He looked up at the skyline and sniffed the air briefly, wondering what had kept the hunting party so long, normally the fire would be pumping the smell of cooking meat into the air. Frowning slightly, he shook the thought away, knowing there had been other occasions when the camp was not as alive as he had expected on his return, and he had been on unsuccessful hunting trips himself, when the group would come back bruised, tired and empty-handed.

Stepping through the gap, Christian expected the others to exclaim their surprise as he brought Kim into the fold, but it was totally the other way around, he was the one that let out the sound of surprise as he looked around the camp. “Wha…?” He spotted the others, the familiar faces around the area, but each of them were busy with other people, strangers.

“Well, so much for the greeting I was expecting.” He spoke to Kim, as he moved further into the camp, heading for Lauri and Will, who were with another woman. He looked at his old friend questioningly, and received the same look back. “What is going on?”

Lauri looked passed Christian at the woman still sitting on his back. “I was about to ask you the same thing.” She smiled. “Hello. I’m Lauri. Welcome to confusion.” She laughed lightly at her own joke, before pointing to the ground beside her own patient. “Do you want to sit down there, and Christian will get you something to drink or eat?” She looked at Christian and waited.

He lowered his passenger slowly off his back, and helped her to sit comfortably on the ground, smiling as he flicked his gaze between the two women. “Kim, this is Lauri; Lauri, this is Kim. Her plane crashed on a solo flight.” He did not feel the need to explain what she had told him.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Lauri took over again, as she silently pointed Christian to the food. “I’m afraid you’ve caught us at a bit of a bad time.” As she spoke, she rubbed the hair of the little boy who was once again standing close to her legs, almost hiding behind her. “This is Will, I’m afraid he’s a little shy.” She indicated the other woman sitting on the ground. “I’m not too sure on this lady’s name yet as she only just arrived today.” Smiling she flicked her eyes between the two women.

Moments later, Christian arrived back with a slate covered with meat and various fruits that could be found around the island. He placed the food down between the two women. “I didn’t know what you wanted.” He smiled, as he two glanced between the two, although his attention lingered longer on Kim. “Did Lauri point out everyone to you?” Not waiting for an answer, he pointed out all the people that he knew.

Lauri smiled, having not seen Christian take much of an interest in anyone since they had met. Guiding Will beside her, she sat back down next to the other injured woman. “Eat something, and then we’ll get you settled into one of the caves for the night. A good sleep will make you feel so much better.”

Hao shrugged, "Sure, the guy that just came in from the bush... with another woman I don't know, another new arrival I guess, is Christian. The guy that helped you up here, is of course, Danial. Over there by that other man is Derret and the woman with the child," a faint blush colour Hao's cheeks, "is Lauri and Will."

He turned back to the injured man, "Well, I've bound this leg as well as I can, we're gonna have to get a fire going to do the rest, but you're gonna have to rest up here. Lie back and get as comfortable as possible eh?"

The teen exited the cave and squated down beside Lauri, slipping his arm around her.

"Hey. One more newbie to the island eh?"

Patrick glanced at each person as Hao said their name, registering each face into his memory. After Hao finished telling Patrick who was who, he moved over near the woman Lauri. Patrick shrugged and made himself as comfortable as he could, like Hao said, in a small space between to boulders. He nestled in and rested his spear against the side of one of the boulders. He rested his head against the rock but sat back up. Need something to act as pillow.... He looked around and saw some little grass like plants growing next to him and ripped them up, bundled them into a ball, and laid it against the rock. This time when he rested his head back, the little ball of weeds flattened out into a somewhat decent pillow. He sighed and closed his eyes, slowly drifting off into sleep.

Kim nodded hesitantly. Despite being forewarned, she hadn't expected to meet so many people at once. She smiled weakly at Lauri, "Well... can't imagine there'd be a good time, after all." She looked over the tray Christian brought over, trying to balance her ravenous hunger against her desire to not make herself horribly sick. She settled on a few pieces of fruit, wanting to get some sugars in her system before she tried to have it process animal proteins. Those would come soon, but getting some quick energy to jump-start her system seemed like a good idea.

She showed remarkable restraint in her eating, keeping from eating too quickly. After managing to keep down several bites of fruit she picked up a small piece of the meat, sighing softly, and wishing she could just tear into the food. She smiled at Lauri and Christian, "Thanks for helping." She sighed, "I don't think I should eat any more, or I'll be sick."

Turning and smiling as his hand wrapped around her body, Lauri placed her hand lightly on Hao’s thigh as she pressed his lips lightly to his cheek, blushing slightly at her show of feelings before the two other women and Christian. “We seem to have a deluge of new arrivals.” She furrowed her brow almost questioningly as if she expected him to be able to relieve her puzzlement.

She looked back at Kim, as the she finished eating, and talking, understanding exactly what she was going through. How long ago it seemed now. “It’s the least we could do. And it’s nice to see new people.” Even if she didn’t know where they came from or how they came to be on the island. She looked between Christian and Kim, feeling sure that he was more than capable of dealing with the situation.

Facing Hao once more, she smiled. “Help me take…” She turned to her patient and frowned even more. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.” Smiling awkwardly, she slipped her arm under the woman’s and helped her to her feet.

She once again smiled at Hao, her feelings for him displayed opening on her face, pleased that he had returned. “Can you get Will something to eat? I’ve completely forgotten with all the excitement.” She crouched slightly toward the little boy, still holding the woman. “Will, go with Hao and I’ll be back in a minute.” She pressed her lips lightly to his head, before walking the woman towards the caves, helping her to get comfortable; the heat from fire warming the interior.

After several minutes, Lauri emerged and headed over to her little family group, and sat down on the floor near the others, cheekily stealing a little morsel of food from Will’s slate, and popping it in her mouth as she giggled lightly. “I don’t know about you, Hao, but I don’t think I’ve seen this many new people since…” She looked into his eyes, not finishing the sentence, not feeling the need to. “Where did they come from?”

* * * * *

Christian watched as Lauri and Hao left, each with their charge in tow, before he turned his attention to Kim and shifted awkwardly. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting such a greeting.” He frowned and nodded in the direction that the other people were occupying. “Still, once you get to know everyone it will be better, and like Lauri said, today seems a little hectic, normally it’s much quieter.” He laughed, then stopped suddenly.

“Do you want anything else? Drink perhaps?” He looked at her questioningly, wishing he was a little better at this nursing business. “Or maybe you would like a rest? It’s been a hard day for you and you are looking a little worse for…um…pale.” He finished poorly, wanting the earth to open up and swallow him.

* * * * *

Joe groaned as he brought himself to a standing position, using his years of training to stop himself from falling into a heap on the ground. He looked at Daniel as he walked off towards the carcass and then turned to Derrett. Feeling a wave of dizziness sweep over his newly hydrated body, he grabbed the young man’s arm to steady himself. “Guess I’m not feeling as good as I first thought.” He stood for a moment before moving his hand, once again relying on his own strength. “Perhaps I should be following everyone else’s example?”

A shiver rushed over his body, racing up his spine. “Then again, maybe a warm by the fire first?” The wetness of his clothing and the long hard struggle to get to the camp was beginning to take its toll on him. Moving steadily forward, he dropped down as he drew near to the heat, feeling it seep into his skin. Sitting silently as he watched the flickering flame, the ex-soldier was soon fast asleep.

Kim shook her head, feeling Morpheous' embrace enveloping her, "No, nothing... sleep is my friend..." She grinned a little at Christian, "I haven't slept for shit the past week, after all." Leaning back, she stretched out on the ground she'd been sitting on, "Actually..." Her eyes closed and she sighed happily before opening them again and favoring Christian with a smile and a wink, "You know... you're cute when you're flustered..."

She was asleep as soon as her eyes closed again.

Her name.

She wished she knew.

She drew a question mark in the sand, and then pointed at herself, her eyes welling with tears.

She wanted to remember, but each time she tried to recall her past a cloud and that intense headache consumed her.

Patrick stood at a street corner with three of his friends. All of them but Patrick had a grim look on his face, who wore a false grin. There was going to be a fight, turned out Patrick's friend Brian got into a little trouble with a gang at school, and as usual, it was up to the rest of the guys to help him out of the trouble, only this time it was going to be against five different guys known on the street for being able to beat down those they didn't like.....The two groups stood back and stared at each other. Patrick stared at their leader, then put a foot forward and raised his fists. He put up that demeaning grin and winked. The leader suddenly rushed forward, head low, only to be met by Patrick's knee, which smashed the gang leader backwards. The other four jumped in.....

He awoke with a start, his fist flying forward, straight into the rock wall beside him.

"Son of a b-" he shook his hand. He glanced around the cave, which was dimly lit by the fire. He glanced outside, night. He grimaced, his knuckles still hurt. Wonder I didn't break my hand....Gotta lighten up a bit.

He sat up and checked his leg, which remained unchanged. Good sign, at least it isn't getting any worse. The memory of his dream still flashed through his head. He laughed to himself. That little fight was one of the reasons he was stuck on this sandbar in the first place. I gotta remember to payback Brian for getting us into that once I get back....If I ever get back... A sudden sense of sadness went over him at the thought of never getting off the island. It was quickly gone. Patrick was never one to stay depressed, and back home was usually the one that kept the guys cheered.

Wonder what time it is....Or even what the date is, had a year really gone by already? Sometimes feels like a century, other times feels like time is going by to quickly....At least I know how those guys on tv felt like, being stuck in the middle of nowhere with people you've never met in your life. He sighed and leaned back again, trying to sleep. He couldn't. He grabbed his spear and busied himself with trying to smooth out the bumps in the wood.
God I'm hungry, wonder if they got anything to eat around here.

Finishing the preparations of the kill, Daniel made it ready to cook over night, so that it would be ready to eat the following day. Once he had it over the fire, he turned to the others sitting around it and smiled, before casting his eyes over to the caves, where the majority of the injured arrivals were resting, the other two had fallen asleep and would need to be moved inside for the night. Even though the fire tended to keep most of the wild animals away, it was not worth the risk of having someone out in the open, especially one of the wounded.

As he scanned over the entrance, he could see that one of the people inside was not sleeping, and grabbing a plate, as several of the newcomers had not had the chance to eat anything, he walked over to the cave and stepped inside, spotting that Patrick was awake, he moved over to him and placed the meet and fruit beside him.

“How’s the leg?” He sat down on the ground, and made himself comfortable as he watched the other man. “I thought you might be hungry. I’m afraid in all the worry about your injury we forgot to feed you.” He grinned slightly then became a little more serious. “Do you need any water?” Knowing that Patrick would not be able to easily walk and get his own. “If you need anything else, just shout, otherwise, I think sleep will be your best bet.”

* * * * *

Christian smiled to himself at her words, as he watched her fall asleep, surprised that she had managed to last as long as she had. He could remember how tired he had been the first few days that he had been on the island, wanting to do nothing more than sleep away the nightmares, if only they would have let him. Sighing to himself, he swept away the images of the past and looked at the sleeping woman before him.

Sliding his arms under her body, making sure she was secure in his arms, Christian carried her carefully to the caves, watching where he placed every step so as not to drop her. Finally reaching the entrance, he looked at Daniel, who indicated a spot next to the other woman, before lying her down gently on the ground. He smiled again, and whispered softly. “Good night, and may pleasant dreams keep the nightmares stay away.” He moved away slowly, and headed for his own sleeping spot in another cave, feeling tired after the day’s events.

* * * * *

Lauri snuggled against Hao, for a while her arm wrapped around his body, as she held Will against her with her other. She smiled happily; her eyes closed losing herself in the moment, before she began to yawn tiredly. “Mmm, I think it’s time for Will to go to sleep.” She ruffled the little boy’s hair as she spoke, before turning towards Hao and kissing his cheek gently. “I’m going to turn in too.” Climbing to her feet, she scooped Will into her arms and made her way slowly to the cave that the three of them called home.

She lowered Will to the ground and kissed him tenderly on the forehead. “Good night, Sweetheart.” Smiling, she waited for him to make himself comfortable, before pulling the makeshift cover over his body, the cave remaining relatively warm with the heat coming in from the fire. Happy that he was settled in, she walked over to her own ‘bed’ and lay down, within minutes the hassles of the day became distant memories as she slipped into a peaceful sleep.

Joe was sleeping.

Well... almost.

After years in the marines he had developed a odd semi-sleep state where in he was partially aware of that which would go on around him, but still enable his mind to rest in sort of trance state.

Whenever anyone asked, he called it his Jedi Mind Trick.

In this case, he manged to note to himself that someone was moving around... and comming closer to him.

------

Hao passed the sleeping man named Joe. To the younger teen, it was still fairly early in the night and there were preperations to be done for tommorow.

He needed to find a fairly straight stick to carve out some sort of blunt point into. With that, he could heat it in the fire, burn the point to charcol and use it to burn out the small and fairly lazy infection in patrick's leg.

Soon enough the stick was found, the point was carved and the wood was burning. After a few seconds, Hao blew the fire out and placed the point of the stick in the rocks below the flame, hoping to keep the point sterile enough for tommorow.

On the young man's way back to his sleeping quarters, he passed by Derret who had leaned himself against the cave opening, stairing up at the stars.

"You getting to be any time soon?" said the younger to the elder.

"I will in a bit."

Hao just nodded and went inside.

---------

Derret watched the younger man head away from him and puzzled over Hao's behavour earlier.

"Not like him at all," he muttered with an edge of worry.

It had been a long day though, with new arrivels seemingly appearing from no where.

"Screw it, I'm tired."

The bi-sexual man left his seat and headed into his sleeping cave, passing to check on the man named Patrick.

"How're you doing?"

--------

Hao slid in beside Lauri and felt, rather than heard, her give a sigh.

A grin found it's way into his face. He was content, after all, no matter what thoughts he had had during the day. Content and... maybe even happy?

He sliped his arms around her and closed his eyes, drifting to sleep with little problem.

Night passed quickly, or it seemed to as the sun rose over the horizon, brushing away the darkness as the golden glow of morning spread like fingers over the world below. The sea sparkled with a million specks of gold, as the light moved up onto the beach, passing over the greenery of the jungle and bounced off the rocks that made up the homes of the human inhabitants of the island.

Daniel sat by the fire, throwing more logs onto the pile, fighting to keep the flames from dying. Although it was quite warm from the moment the sun began to rise, the fire was needed to finish cooking the kill from the previous day’s hunt, and in a more important way, to keep any wild animal from entering the camp, which it had managed to do very well for the past year and a half.

He always seemed to be the last to sleep and the first up in the morning, making some of the others wonder just how little sleep the man needed to survive. When the rest of the survivors awoke from their dreams, he was always somewhere in the camp either working on the fire or gathering water. It was not that he did not sleep; more that he had trouble keeping away the nightmares. He preferred to fill his time to stop him thinking about what had happened and what he had lost. He had lost all hope of ever leaving and return to the life he had lost.

Picking up a couple of implements that had washed assure from the ship, he made his way quietly to the watering hole; his head filling with the words of a poem as he forced any thoughts from his mind.

* * * * *

Christian blinked himself awake, for a moment forgetting where he was, until the cold surface of the cave that he called home came into focus along with the rest of the history that got him into this position. He sighed heavily, as he brushed away the remnants of the dream that saw him safely tucked up in a comfortable bed; one of his paintings staring down at him, watching him as he slept. Almost suddenly a new thought entered his head, or more so an image.

Picking himself off the floor, stepping carefully so as not to wake Derrett, who slept off to one side of the cave. Christian knew that he had not retired until late, as he had heard him enter the dwelling with Daniel, both having been tied up with the new arrivals. And it was one of them that currently held his thoughts. He knew that she was not injured, but he still felt kind of responsible for her wellbeing.

As he stepped out into the open, he glanced around for Daniel, knowing that the older man would be up and dealing with small chores around the camp. Not seeing him, Christian assumed that he must have left for water, one of his usual early morning routines, and made his way over to the other cave, the one that the newcomers had been made comfortable in. Peeking inside, he saw that they were all still sleeping, no wonder considering the day they had experienced yesterday.

Walking over to the water supply, he poured and drank a cupful of water, before gathering together several of the shells and making his way back to the cave, making sure that each of them had water for when they awoke. He placed the cup beside Kim last, as he looked down at her as she slept. He wondered if her dreams took her back to her life before the crash, and how she reacted when she recalled where she was. He reached over and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face.

“Have pleasant dreams, Kim.” He whispered softly to her. “The nightmare will be here once you awake.” He stroked his fingers lightly over her cheek, his touch soft, as he traced the shape of her jaw, his fingers leaving her body at her chin, his eyes filled with sadness.

* * * * *

Feeling the warmth of Hao’s embrace, Lauri woke and smiled, as she placed her hands over her lover’s as they wrapped around her body. She lifted one and brought it to her lips, pressing a tender kiss on his skin before wriggling around in his arms, until she was facing him. She watched him sleep for a moment, could feel his breath brushing against her skin. Slipping her arms around him, she held her body close to his, making the most of the time they had together before the camp came to life.

OOC: Sorry for my absence all :( My family moved back to our old home in County Longford, computer didn't get hooked back up for a bit....

IC:

After Daniel gave him some food, Patrick just sat against the rock wall, staring about the cave. He had met the one called Derret and noticed some other survivors he hadn't seen before. Soon after his introduction to Derret however, Patrick fell asleep again.

*****
He sat on the side of the ship, staring at the sea as the ship cut through the water. His thoughts traced back home, to where the final fight happened. His little gang of friends had one, again, but this time someone got hurt bad. Patrick sighed. He knew it was an accident, he didn't mean to break the other guys ribs like he did, but he seemed to have zoned out during the fight, as if he couldn't feel anything, sort of like that Furor Celtica he learned about.....He shook his head, feeling like he'd gone mental. He was hoping to start over in the States, where his uncle and three cousins lived. The ship just had to make a few stops along the way.....

Patrick awoke the next morning, feeling refreshed. He glanced around the cave as he woke, rubbing his eyes to get the sleep out. His eyes stopped on the fire. He looked at a stick, a single point in the fire. At first he didn't understand, but as the grogginess of sleep left, his eyes grew wide.

"Aw hell, a cast away caut-a-whatever," he grumbled. He had already begun to tense up at the thought of the stick meeting his leg......

Kim murmured softly in her sleep, her eyes still behind their lids: dreamless sleep. She curled up a little in her sleep, her breathing slow and deep. Eventually, the commotion in the camp and caves overpower Kim's exhaustion and she was slowly pulled to wakefullness. A languid, cat-like stretch and yawn were quickly followed by here looking around in confusion.

The panic of waking up where one doesn't expect to be washed over her like the waves from the ocean she'd been floating in before she shook her head and realisation slowly dawned on her. My plane crashed... I was lost in the water... that guy rescued me... "Oh, God, I'm in a cliche!" She rubbed her eyes, fighting back tears of depression mingled with mirth. The people here had been here for over a year, so she knew she wasn't going anywhere, but at the same time, she was on a deserted freaking island. Was someone going to thwap Gilligan with a hat?

She looked around frantically for a moment, feeling very alone in the cave; which she currently was. She noticed the cup sitting next to her and breathed a sigh of relief, grabbing it and taking a deep drink. She stood on weak legs before heading out of the cave, into the late morning sun. Thirst and sleep had been reasonably managed... food still needed some work.

OOC: Army thing this weekend, should be back by sunday\monday

Hao was quite pleasantly warm.

Infact, he was pleasently warm and pleasently arroused.

So he snuggled in, felt the light brush of Lauri's lips on his, and enjoyed it, ignoring the sounds of a camp comming to life.

-----------

Derret was already awake; his eyes wide open, before his mind caught up to the fact.

'Another day, another dollar,' he thought to himself as he rolled over and started to push himself to his feet.

All in all, it wasn't a bad morning. The weather outside was clear, as it normally is, and the temparture was mild.

Of course, the fact that one of the new guys, Patrick his name was, was huddled tensly 5 meters away from him kinda ruined the pleasent mood.

"Hows it going man?"

-----------

Joe never really got a chance to wake up. Perhaps it had been the dehydration, or the stress of the situation, or even that it was going to happen sooner or later, but somehow, a blood clot found it's way into his brain, cutting off the oxygen while he was sleeping, and killing him in the most peaceful way he had ever seen or experianced.

Scratch that, the ONLY way he had ever experiance.

And thus, without oxygen, the brain had shut down, piece by piece, until that vital spark that had exsisted slowly dimmed, before going out, letting the man called Joe slip away into the night.

To the others though, he looked peaceful in the final sleep, and they would never know until they saw that his chest rose no more.

"Patrick looked at Derret. "Oh nothing, just the prospect of having fire used to clear an infection seems to bother me, nothing unusual..." he paused. "Sorry, don't mean to be a prick, just nervous-" He stopped.

Patrick sensed something was wrong, something strange in the air of things, besides the fact that he was soon going to have a burning stick used to kill the germs in his wound. He looked around the cave, expecting some wild animal with saliva-dripping fangs to be creeping along, but saw nothing unusual, until his eyes stopped on the ex-marine guy. He stared at him, trying to figure something out about him, something was different, but hard to tell in the dim light. Then it clicked.

"Wha?!...oh hell," he began. "Guys! Someone, its Joe! He's....he's..., the guy is frickin dead!"

Daniel turned at the shouts coming from one of the caves, and headed quickly over to see what the commotion was about. He entered and looked about him, already seeing Derret seeing to Patrick, and instantly wondering what trouble the young man had been causing now, when the rest of the words cleared in his mind.

He looked over at Joe, the man seemed to be sleeping peacefully, and for a few minutes, Daniel’s head told him that there was nothing to be concerned about. Then slowly, as his gaze remained on the prone man, a sense of something not quite right seeped through his senses, and he knew that Patrick had been right, and the man that they had only met yesterday was now dead. Crouching down beside the body, he performed the usual checks, but knew that they would only tell him what he already knew.

Raising his head to the others, he flicked his eyes between the other two men, a haunted look reflecting in his eyes. The look spoke of someone who had seen more than their fair share of suffering and death. “Derret, you help Patrick, make sure he is comfortable and ready for Hao when he rises.” He looked down at the body, and spoke quietly. “I’ll take care of Joe.”

Without looking again at the others present, he lifted the dead man carefully from the ground, and carried him out of the cave.

* * * * *

“What’s going on?” Lauri almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of the voice, wondering what had happened. She sat up suddenly, and looked around the cave, sighing with relief as her eyes fell upon the still sleeping Will, before she returned her gaze to Hao. “You don’t think it’s a wide animal attack, do you?”

Even before she finished speaking, she was climbing up to her feet, and making her way cautiously to the entrance of the cave, her heart beating loudly in her chest. Poking her head outside, she saw the camp was quiet, other than the rapid movement of Daniel towards the cave they had put the new arrivals.

She turned back towards Hao. “I think something has happened in the other cave.” Rushing back inside, she crouched down beside the small boy sleeping at the back, near the rear wall. “At least, he’s still sleeping. I don’t want him to see any more.” She gently stroked Will’s cheek and placed a light kiss against his forehead.

Rising carefully, she moved back over to Hao. “We should go and see what is happening.” She pressed her lips lightly against his. “And good morning.”

* * * * *

Christian was unaware of the happenings back in the camp. After leaving the cave, he decided to give himself a purpose, to help him shed the ghosts that fluttered through his mind. He knew that by now he should have grown accustomed to living the way he was, he should have acknowledged that there was no way to return to his home, his life back in a big city, where to get a glass of water you went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle. Instead, here he was with a salvaged bucket from a stricken ship, heading for a natural spring. He laughed at the irony of how much he would have to pay for such a product back in his old life, and here he was getting it on tap.

Finally reaching the pool of cool, clear glistening water, he dropped onto the ground, and sat gazing at the millions of tiny diamonds that danced over the surface, with an almost hypnotic quality. He lost himself in his thoughts, once again stirred as he recalled the moment he had first laid eyes on Kim, and had experienced hope, only to feel it die in his chest. He replayed his feelings over and over again, until he lost all track of time.

Derret looked on at the departing man's back.

'Another death... we've seen far to much of that.'

With a turn of his head, he brought his attention back around to Patrick.

"So," Derret said with false levity and a fake smile, "you ready for a visit with docter Hao? I hear he's the best medic around these parts."

-----------------

'More interruptions.' was his only thought as the outside world finally penitrated his haze. That and Lauri's soft lips pressed against his.

"Morning..." he mumbled into her. "I guess we should go see what all the hubbub is about."

Hao slowly rose to his feet, joints poping as he did and staggered out into the morning sun... only to see Daniel exit the other cave dragging Joe.

Joe, who wasn't moving or wasn't responding.

Jow, who didn't look like he was breathing.

Joe, who.. 'damn it, one more hunter down... he looked like he could have been of some help too...'

It was that passing thought that startled him the most. Such a cold blooded assesment of a human being that he has just seen alive and walking around bare hours ago. Too much death... far far too much death.

Maybe more than enough to start hardening his heart against it?

That was another thought that he did not like at all.

Hao quickly slipped up to Daniel's shoulder, "What happened?"

Yesterday was busy, today was to be calm.

It was anything but, it seemed. People were milling about one of the other caves, talking about someone named 'Joe'. Kim frowned slightly. It was pretty easy to pick up what had happened, but she'd never even met the man, so she couldn't feel much in the way of grief. In away, it ment there was one less person competing for valuable resources. Of course, it was also one less person to help aquire said resources. She frowned again; her analysis was a little too harsh for her tastes, but, again, she didn't know the man and was in a place for cold-blooded assertaions of the situation.

She looked around the rest of the make-shift camp, looking at it with rested eyes, taking in her surroundings. It wasn't perfect, but the people here had done a pretty good job for themselves. The fact that they had survived for about a year or so spoke well of their determination. She couldn't tell if they could survive indefinately, however. She'd have to do some explorations of her own for that. Of course, that would require food.

Which I don't know the location of. Damn.

She wasn't sure where Christian was, the man who'd found her and gotten her to the camp. She still depended on him a little, as she didn't know her way around, nor did she really know any of the other people here. Besides, they were all occupied with this Joe person. She decided to have a seat, watch the events, and generally stay out of the way. If nothing else, it would give her an idea of the heirarchy around here.

Lost in his own thoughts, and his memories, Daniel did not notice Hao had approached until the younger man spoke, and broke his reverie. Turning his head, he smiled sadly, and indicated the body of the man they knew only as Joe, having not being given the time to get to know anything else about him. At least, and this was the only thing that heartened Daniel, Joe had not died alone and would be given some form of burial, and to the bearer of the dead man it was important for him to be laid to rest properly.

Finally finding his voice, Daniel spoke lowly, almost as if the man in his arms was merely sleeping, and the tiniest sound would wake him. “I’m not sure. He went to sleep, and just never woke up.” He gave Hao a weary look, as he dealt with the burden of experiencing another death. “Perhaps it was the easiest way out. Maybe soon, we’ll all begin to wish for the same outcome.”

He fell silent for a moment, contemplating his words, before he continued. “I think you have a patient waiting for you.” He flicked his head back towards the caves. “You’d best deal with him, so he doesn’t follow poor Joe.” Without waiting for an answer, he headed out of the camp slowly, caring his charge to his final resting place.

* * * * *

Lauri stood watching as Hao approached Daniel, then turned and headed into the cave where the newcomers were. She looked around, smiling at Patrick, before she walked over to the woman she was yet to discover the name of. At first she was concerned that she might have gone the way of Joe, but upon closer inspection, Lauri was glad to see the woman’s chest rise and fall as she breathed steadily in her sleep.

Content that there was nothing to do for her at the moment, Lauri turned and shot Derret a smile, before carrying on to the other woman, who had entered with Christian. She was sitting off to one side, looking kind of lost, while at the same time looking as if she was trying to keep out of the way. Walking over quickly, Lauri dropped down onto the ground beside her, looking her over for signs of injury.

“How are you this morning?” She asked a little too brightly considering events, but like most of the others in the camp, she had wallowed in enough death and suffering to want to linger longer than possible. She would never admit to be unaffected by Joe’s demise, but she could not dwell on it for her own sake, and more importantly, Will.

“With all the happenings around here, I bet no one has given you anything to eat or drink?” She spotted the little cuplike implement nearby. “You must be hungry, I know I am.” As she spoke she cast her eyes around the camp, her brows furrowing in puzzlement. “Where’s Christian? It’s not like him to disappear before breakfast.” Turning back to Kim, she smiled. “I thought he would have brought you something over.”

* * * * *

Christian made his way back to the camp, carrying the full buckets back with him, lost in thought, and only making it back without a hitch as he knew the path by heart. If he had needed to concentrate, he would have been well and truly lost, as his mind continued on its journey of remembrance.

As he entered the camp, he was in time to see the back of Daniel retreating from the far end, while the others seemed to be up and about earlier than normal. Scanning his eyes around, he spotted Hao near to where Daniel was walking, while Derret sat near to Patrick. Christian could not help wondering if he was helping ease the man’s fears or adding to them. He himself found the man very disconcerting at times, and he was the last person Christian liked to be caught alone with.

Continuing around, his gaze fell on Lauri and Kim, and a smile came to his lips, seeing her awake and looking much better than she had the previous day. He went to walk over to her, but realised she might think he was getting too friendly. So he decided to make himself useful, and approached Hao, who he knew was going to be attempting to heal Patrick’s leg.

Drawing close, Christian smiled at Hao. “You want me to scrub up and give you a hand with the patient?” He chuckled softly to himself. “I know what you are about to do isn’t going to be too pleasant for Patrick, what with having no anaesthetic or anything?” He grew serious, as he waited for the young man’s answer.

The answer wasn't forth comming for a little while as Hao's eyes just followed Daniel as he retreated away from the caves.

"You know... this isn't anything I've actually done before, I mean... sh*t, I barely did a month of medic work and almost never used it after that..."

Patrick sat, sort of in a trance, against a rock as he tried not to think about a burning stick that would soon be against his flesh.

"Not a good sign when even the Doc seems tense," he muttered to no one in particular. Not a good sign at all...

Kim smiled weakly at Lauri, "Hmm, oh, I'm okay... ah... Lauri, right?" She didn't seem to have any physical wounds, her eyes were still a little bloodshot from the salt water, but that would go away before too long. She was also thinner than would be healthy, but that was, again, an artifact from her time drifting in the ocean. In other words, there seemed to be nothing, phsycially, wrong with her that food, water and sleep wouldn't fix. Of course, chances were that full realisation of the fact that she would never leave this island probably hadn't sunk in yet, but that was a concern for another day.

She perked up slightly at the mention of breakfast, nodding her head as quickly as she dared, "Famished, actually. I couldn't eat much last night, but I'm pretty sure I could keep a real meal down today." At the mention of Christian's name, she furrowed her brown in thought before shrugging a little, "I'm not really sure. I think he went off somewhere. I couldn't really say..."

"Ah, he always gets like this before he does any kind of non-instinctive medic work. He sometimes has a confidence problem, but when he works, he's the best we have." Derret lied, although the words weren't directed at him.

Hao was a good medic, that much was true, but he never really got THAT nervous about non-instinctive work.

Of course, this was the first time Hao had ever had to proform something like this.

"Don't worry about it, it'll be fine."

Christian patted Hao on the shoulder and grinned. “You know, you are the best we have, so if you start to get concerned the rest of us have no chance.” He looked over at Derret and thought for a moment. “I think we need something for Patrick to bite on, something that won’t break under pressure.” He looked at the two men before him. “That’s what they always do in films anyway.”

Turning to Patrick, he smiled. “Hao is the best we have. You can trust him to do his best.” He once again focused on Derret. “Perhaps you should fetch some water or something, while I search for some hard wood.”

* * * * *

Lauri smiled at Kim, and offered her a hand. “I don’t know if you would prefer a better seat, I think this place is about to be turned into an operating theatre.” She looked at the others who were crowding around Patrick. “There is some freshly cooked meat on the fire, and I have to say that I’m getting more than a little hungry myself.”

She looked over at the back to the cave, where the other woman was still fast asleep. Lauri wondered for a moment whether she should wake her and get her to a better place, or just hope that she slept through the procedure. Thinking over the situation for a moment, she decided that she would let her sleep, she obviously needed the rest.

Helping Kim up onto her feet, Lauri smiled as she looked at her questioningly. “Do you think you can make it on your own, or would you like to lean on me?” She suddenly began to wonder if Will was wakening. She really did not want him to walk in on the operation. Once she had seen to Kim, she would gather up the small boy and get him some breakfast, and hopefully find some way to keep him occupied while Hao and the others worked.

* * * * *

Daniel laid Joe on the ground, and looked at the man, who looked like he was sleeping peacefully. Using a flat piece of wood that was kept nearby, he began to dig into the soil. The place that they had buried the other victims of the disaster was in a shaded area, the ground kept soft from the lack of beating sun. Daniel worked hard, making the hole deep enough so that Joe’s body would not be disturbed by scavengers.

He lowered the body into the ground, and carefully covered Joe over, the whole procedure taking an hour. A trickle of sweat rolled down Daniel’s brow as he dug the wood into the ground, and said a few words over the grave. Before he left he looked around the little area that had become the last resting place for so many people, and yet he knew that the sea held so many more. He spent a moment reflecting on the night, and saying a few words for each of those that were less fortunate than him.

Realising this his nervousness wasn't doing Patrick any good, there was a visible effort on Hao's face to push the nervousness away.

He grinned instead.

"Practical jokes are a guy's best friend." he cracked with a wink before turning to Christian. "Yeah, you should probably cut off a branch somewhere, something nice and young."

Hao turned and walked towards the fire without another word to go inspect the coal poker he had placed there the night before.

_______________________

Derret patted Patrick on the shoulder once and noded at Christian as Hao left.

"Guy has a lot on his mind," he commented on the extreme change of behavour, "but it'll be fine, anytime he can crack a joke, he can sew up your leg."

With that, he walked off to get the water.

Heading out of the camp, knowing where there were some relatively new growth on some trees, Christian headed off to complete his task. He really did not relish what Patrick was about to go through, but knew that without the procedure that Hao was going to carry out on him the injured man would be in much worse shape once infection began to set in.

Locating what he decided was an ideal small and young branch, Christian began to work on removing it from the tree, taking a moment to snap the wood. Looking over his choice, he tested it in his hands, making sure it would be able to withstand the pressure it was about to undergo. Smiling to himself as he recalled the effort it had taken to get it off the tree, he declared it perfect for the job.

He returned to the camp, carrying his prize, and headed straight for the cave where Patrick was resting. He looked across at Derret and smiled, before reaching the patient and making himself comfortable beside him, hoping to give the man some comfort as he went through the pain he was about to endure.

“This will be over before you even know it’s started.” He spoke cheerfully, trying to take Patrick’s mind off the situation, and slightly thanking whoever was listening for ensuring that he never had to go through such an experience.

* * * * *

Breaking her fast, Lauri stretched her body as she sat by the fire, needing to feel the heat even in the tropical conditions of the day. She had been watching Hao as he made himself ready for the task ahead, seeing his nervousness. She smiled to herself, proud of the man she found to love in such a bleak condition, one of the people here that gave her hope and strength, the other being a small boy who she really should check upon.

Rising from the ground and casting Kim a smile, she headed for the cave that her charge slept in. She entered quietly, not wanting to wake him if he needed his sleep, although she knew that once they began to work on Patrick, his cries would wake the dead, let alone a small sleeping boy.

She set herself down on the ground near him, stroking his forehead with her fingers, as she gazed upon his sleeping for. “You continue to have pleasant dreams, Will.” Bending over him, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek, and remained close in case he woke up, knowing that he was more comfortable if he knew she was nearby.

* * * * *

Having finished his task, Daniel sat upon the ground for a moment, bringing his thoughts back into order. He rose slowly and headed back to the camp, suddenly wanting to see living people again, as if for a moment he was afraid that all there was on this island was death. His pace was brisk, taking him back to the others in quick time.

Walking towards the fire, where one of the newcomers was sitting, he let his gaze wander to the others, checking their actions to see if he could be of some use. Seeing that everything was in hand, Daniel cut himself off some of the meat, and made himself comfortable on the ground.

Examining the red hot coal poker, a diddy came to mind, shoving it's way out from under his breath.

"A Yellow Bird, a yellow bird
Perched outside my windowsill
I lured it in with crumbs of bread,
and then I crushed it's fu*king head

The Airborne fly, the Armored drive
the finance clerks fu*k up our lives..."

Hao shook himself out of it.

"Hey guys, It's ready, bring Pat over here."

----------

Derret noded to himself and hefted the water container in one hand, offering the other to Patrick, motioning Christian to do the same.

Kim shook her head a little to Lauri's question, "No thanks, I think I'll stay here for now." She smiled, "Conservation of energy and all." Instead, she simply stretched out and relaxed where she had, essentially, been dropped off. Her appetite was back, and getting her strength back were her primary concern. She sighed as she thought of the muscle loss she'd probably experienced. She hadn't been floating very long, but going without any nurishment for that long couldn't have been very good for her. And it wasn't like she had massive stores of fat to cannabalize.

She watched people moving back and forth, aparently dealing with the death she'd heard about and an injury. She shrugged a little, unable to get horribly worked up over people she didn't know. 'I Got Mine' wasn't exactly her motto, but right now she certainly was more concerned about her continued health as opposed to how the others were doing. Besides, she wasn't going anywhere. Plenty of time to meet the others later.

Christian looped his arm around Patrick, following the other man’s example, and helped to walk him over to the spot that Hao had chosen for the procedure to take place. As he neared the fire, he saw Kim was resting nearby. He gave her a smile and mouthed the word ‘How are you?’, watching her as he drew to where Hao was waiting.

“One patient safely delivered.” He aided Patrick to the ground and helped to make him comfortable. From his pocket he pulled out the stick he had collected and handed it to the injured man, as he settled himself down on the ground, ready to help in any way he could. “We’re ready when you are, Hao.” He shot the younger man an encouraging smile.

* * * * *

Daniel sat silently as the other began to prepare Patrick. He saw one of the newcomers sitting alone, and looking out of thing, not that he blamed her for doing so. Getting up from the ground, he moved over to her and greeted her with a smile. “Hello, I’m Daniel.” He offered her his hand. “We’ve not been introduced, but then we were all rather busy yesterday.” He chuckled slightly, which did not reflect his mood at all.

He looked over at the four men standing over the other side of the fire, partially obscured from their view. But he knew that no distance in the camp would stop them hearing the scream that Patrick would soon be releasing. “Can I get you anything? Water?” He smiled. “I would offer you something stronger, but we seem a little out of supplies.”

"Ah, ze payshiont." Hao cracked with a smile, perhaps less fake than the previous, "let us louk at ze injory."

Still posing like a old fashioned germany docter, he circled Patrick, index finger and thumb rubbing at the stubble on his chin.

"Herr Christian, Herr Derret, vat are yor oppinions?"

Derret rolled his eyes at the obvious play, and snorted at the question before turning his head and answering.

"Hmmm... itz louks like ve have tou amputate."

Chuckling softly to himself, Christian listened to Hao and Derret. He looked between the two men, and then towards Patrick, who seemed to be in a slight daze, while looking up at the two men. Breaking into a very poor german accent, Christian looked at Hao and grinned. “Ve shood hurry, bevore ve patient discovers you are a quack.” He winked playfully at Patrick and smiled.

Becoming suddenly serious, Christian looked over Patrick’s leg, which did not need an expert to know that unless they dealt with the injury soon they would have something much more life threatening to deal with. He gazed up at Hao anxiously. “Do you have everything you need?”

Kim smiled and waved to Christian, watching him walk back over to where Hao was working. Her hand went to where a pocket would have been if she still had her vest to pull out a minicomp that was long lost (and would have been utterly ruined even if she still had it). She sighed. Being marooned on this God forsaken island was begining to sink in. No computer, no television, no... well, no nothing.

She shrugged, no longer wanting to feel sorry for herself, and decided to explore a little. The island wasn't terribly huge, after all. She stood and started to wander around, figuring she'd spiral her way out. Start at the saves and go from there.

"Yep, I got everything I need."

Hao guestured for the piece of wood to be put into Patrick's mouth.

Derret did as asked and Patrick clamped down on it.

"Ok, this is gonna sting alittle bit."

And, without further ado.... smashed Patrick accross the temple with his fist, rendering him unconcious.

"F*** I hate doing that. Now make sure he doesn't roll over and keep that wood in his mouth."

With glowing stick in hand, Hao decended on the wound.

Christian let out a little gasp as Hao hit Patrick, sending him out cold. Obviously the move was to stop the injured man passing out with the pain, but even so, it caught Christian by surprise, more so the fact that he managed to achieve his goal in one punch. It suddenly occurred to him why he let Hao deal with the medical treatments while he stuck to more mundane tasks around the camp.

As the younger man got to work, Christian allowed his attention to drift between the surgery and the woman sitting over by the fire. In a strange way he felt responsible for her, like his finding her at the beach had tied him explicable to her comfort, and at the moment, she was looking a little lost.

I guess you’ve just realised that there is no going home. He grimaced at her pain, remembering the day that it slowly sunk into his head that he was stuck here, and was sure that his expression was something close to the one on Kim’s face right now. He wanted nothing more than to walk over to her and talk, to tell her everything would be alright, but before he would have been able to react on that she had risen from the floor and was walking away to the exit of the camp.

* * * * *

Flicking his eyes over at the operation and then to Kim, Daniel smiled and shook his head. He looked over at Christian, and saw him staring at the young woman as she moved towards the edge of the camp. Getting up from his place, he moved over towards Hao and the rest of the group, his gaze taking in the situation, before they settled on Hao’s handy work.

“Looks nasty.” He spoke softly, not wanting to disturb the young man, as he touched the hot poker to the wound. “I think if he had left this a few more days, he would be joining Joe.” He turned slightly and tapped Christian on the shoulder. “You might want to ensure she doesn’t run into any trouble.” He flicked his head in the general direction of Kim. “She seems able, but there are lots of hidden elements that tend to strike at the unaware.” He smiled, as he watched the other man get up from the sand and follow the young woman.

There certainly was enough rock. If she ever need some rocks, she'd be all set. There was a lot of flora too. If she needed some unknown green stuff, she'd be set too. And... dirt. More than enough dirt.

Kim sunk down to the ground, almost in a state of shock, resting her head in her hands, fighting back tears. It wasn't fair. There was no such thing as "cursed" areas. She shouldn't be here, wherever the Hell "here" was. She shook her head slowly, cycling through emotions ranging from depression to fury to misery, not even noticing Christian as he walked up.

Christian watched as Kim sat on the floor and buried her head in her hands. He knew what she was going through, he had been there himself. Even now he found himself making brief visits into despair, where he asked whoever was listening why he had been left to live out his life on this lump of rock in the middle of nowhere. But each day it got easy, and the visits became less frequent. It was a case of finding a new purpose in life, and on the island, just surviving was purpose enough.

He moved slowly forwards, not wanting to intrude in her private moment, yet at the same time, wanting to take her in his arms and promise that everything would be okay. Stopping a little way from her, he realised that he could promise her nothing. He did not know what she had left behind. Was she married? Did she have kids? Someone back home that she loved and would spend the rest of her life pining over?

Watching her for a moment, he felt his heart sink, knowing that there was nothing he could do to ease her pain, other than offer her his friendship. “Kim?” He spoke softly, not wanting to startle her. He moved closer then crouched down beside her, placing his hand lightly on her shoulder. “I wish I had the words to make everything alright. To be able to make all your pain and frustration go away.” He looked at her, a sadness resting in his eyes. “All I can say is it gets easier.”

It really was quite a nausiating smell.

As Christian tried to comfort Kim in the distance, Hao finished off his grusome task.

"And I'm spent." he commented as he droped the hot poker back into the fire and watched it sterilize in seconds.

"Would it be wrong of me to say that I'm kinda hungry right now?" he asked as he turned to Derret.

"Hao... I've always thought you were all kinds of weird. Now I KNOW you are."

The younger man grinned and winked before motioning for Derret's help in carrying the still uncouncious man back to the cave.

They laid him down on a pre-prepaired bed of all the softest materials they could find before wrapping Patrick's now toasty wound in a makeshift bandage.

"Hey, you should go have breakfast, I'll go see if Lauri's already ate."

"Sure man, good job on the leg. I'll even try and save you a drumstick."

Hao chuckled, "Thanks."

And with that, the two men were off to their self imposed tasks.

----------

"Lauri?" Hao inquired as he ented the cave, "You in here?"

Looking towards the cave entrance as Hao spoke, Lauri rose from the ground and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, and kissed him tenderly, as one of her hands moved up to caress his cheek. As the kiss came to an end, she smiled at him, her fingers stroking down his neck and coming to rest on his chest. She looked at him questioningly, a slight frown creasing her brow.

“How did it go?” She ran her eye over his face. “You look shattered? You want me to get you something to eat?” Lowering her hand, it travelled down his arm until she entwined her fingers with his. She pulled him further into the cave, to where the ground was covered with their bedding, and sat down, coaxing him down beside her. “Is he going to be alright?”

* * * * *

Daniel helped Derret carry Patrick to the cave and laid him down on the bed. “I think we were lucky today. We could have lost two of them.” He touched the injured man’s head to ensure he was not getting a temperature. “You should grab some food. I’ll stay here to make sure he doesn’t deteriorate.” Making sure the man was comfortable, he moved a little way away and leant against the wall, getting ready for his vigil.

“I hope Hao is alright.” He shook his head. “I think he has taken too much on. He’s practically running the camp, has taken on a…taken on Lauri and Will.” He frowned slightly. “I think we need to keep an eye one him.”

Kim didn't really respond when Christian addressed her. She either wanted nothing to do with him now, or was too lost in her own world to notice his presence. When he placed his hand on her, however, she quickly put her arms around him, needing human contact desperately. She fought to keep her tears in check, still shuddering a little against Christian.

After a few minutes, she regains control of herself, sniffing a little and trying to regain her composure, "S... sorry, Christian..."

Christian was a little startled as Kim threw her arms around him, more so because she really came across as an independent woman, and seeing this fragile side to her made his heart ache. But then, she was coming to terms with a very big shock, her life up to this point being blanked out, replaced with something that sounds good for a few days. Life on a desert island was not as romantic as it might at first sound.

He placed his arms around her then released her slightly as she spoke. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He looked down into her face and gave her a little smile. “I know what you are going through. And even the toughest here have shed a few tears. Why should you be any different?” He brushed a strand of hair from her face. “If you ever want to talk to someone or need someone to shout at, I’m here. Although punchbag duty costs extra.” He grinned as he tried to ease the situation.

Kim blinked and laughed a little despite herself. She smiled at Christian and rubbed her eyes a little, "Well... at least I don't wear contacts..." She stood up and shook herself off, "But, yeah... I guess it kinda blind-sided me." She sighed, "It's just realising that everything's gone..." She fought back the resurgence of tears, smiling weakly, "I'll be okay... just need a minute..."

Christian nodded and watched Kim for a moment silently. He knew that no matter what he said, it would not makes things instantly better for her. He could not do that for himself, and he had been here a year. Yet, he felt better having Kim here, mainly for the reason that while he was helping her come to terms with what had happened, he was not dwelling on his life, and how much it had changed.

“Do you feel up for a walk around the island?” He looked at her questioningly. “There are some very nice spots around here, and it would be useful for me to point out the places you would be best to avoid, should you need time to yourself.” He kept his gaze on her face as she battled her emotions. “And before you say that you are keeping me from something important, I want you to know that I generally take a stroll about this time. A man has to look after his figure, after all.”

Kim smiled, laughing a little, "Well, that's no fair... you knocked my excuse out from under me." She looked around at the area she was sitting in, and thought about the size of the island. She also thought about Christian's warnings of there being areas that one should avoid. While she wasn't exactly in the mood for a stroll about the island, it would have to be done eventually, and it would stop her from feeling sorry for herself. And besides, I need to get muscle mass back... She finally nodded, "Well, I suppose it's a good idea." She smiled, "Thanks, Christian... been a rough week..."

“I’m not going to take you too far. I don’t want to wear you out before you get your strength back fully.” Christian could not help but assume that Kim would push herself to match him, whether she was up to it or not, and he had no intention of soft soaping her by pretending she was fit when she was not. “Plus, I didn’t grab much of a breakfast with all the excitement this morning, and I don’t want to lumber you with carrying me back to camp when I collapse with hunger.”

He grinned, as he pointed off in the direction opposite to which they had arrived. “There is a very nice water pool just through these trees; most use it for bathing. It is a little way from the camp, so it gives a little privacy.” He was about to offer his arm, then thought it would be best to wait until she looked like she needed his assistance. “It’s a good idea to let yell that you are off to the pool, just so you don’t get anyone waking in on you.”

"He.... I don't know," was his cracked reply.

"I mean, if I did everything right he should be fine. And I... I'm pretty sure I did everything right."

Hao's eyes never met hers.

---------------

"Family. He's taken on a family. That's what you were going to say wasn't it?" Derret replyed.

A frown marred Lauri’s features as she watched Hao, knowing without his words that he would have done everything he could to help Patrick. She moved closer to him, her arms wrapping around him as they sat on the ground. “I know there is no one in this camp who could have done more for him than you have.” She presses a tender kiss to his cheek, and smiled, as she raised her hand to his chin and turned his face towards her.

Looking deep into his eyes, she continued to smile. “If things do not work out for him, it will not be through lack of effort from you.” She slid her hand to the back of his neck and pulled him into a tender kiss. As it came to an end, she returned her gaze to his. “No one could have asked you to do more. Now, you relax, and I’ll go grab you and Will something to eat.”

* * * * *

Daniel laughed. “I didn’t realise I was that obvious.” As quick as the laughter had begun, it came to a stop. “Perhaps I’m worrying too much. He’s growing up, and this is not really the place anyone should come to age in.” He shook his head slowly, before looking at his companion. “But I still think we should make sure he doesn’t take on more than he can handle. I don’t want to see him burn out.”

The kisses and her words sent a genuine smile breaking through some of the reserve that had settled on to his face.

"Thank you. I love you, you know that right?"

-----------

Since he had some to the island, Derret had changed, for the better he supposed. The selfishness and paranoia that had originally been washed up with him on to the sandy beaches had faded to a pale shadow of their former self.

Nothing had happened to his ability to read people however.

"I don't think you are Daniel. Hao HAS taken on quite a bit and the burns already starting to show I think."

Looking at Hao from where she stood, Lauri nodded her head and smiled. “I know you do.” She moved until she was standing in front of him then crouched, so her eyes were level with his. “I love you.” She pressed a kiss to his lips, looking into his eyes as it came to an end.

She gently raised her hand and stroked her fingers across his forehead, moving his hair. “Are you alright? You seem kind of…far away.” She had known Hao for a year now, and had been in a relationship with him for over half that time. Lately she had noticed a change in him, but had been too afraid to ask, fearing the answer she might receive.

* * * * *

“I agree, but what are we going to do about it?” Daniel frowned, feeling relieved and troubled by this conversation. At least before Derret had confirmed his fears, he could put it down to his own paranoia. “Hao is a good kid. I want to do all I can to help alleviate the pressure he’s under.”

The smile on his face dimmed again as the reserve half froze over his face once more.

"Of course I'm...."

===========

'...not alright, you know that right?'

'Stop your whining, you said it yourself, I'm the strong one. The part of you that led you through the loss and the pain, that helped you deal with the loss of your beloved Amber. I kept you ALIVE. Don't puss out on me now.'

'I should tell her. Lauri can help!'

'Why worry her damn it? You can deal, you've ALWAYS dealt. With my help, you always will.'

===========

"...alright. Why do you ask?"

The pause in his words was barely noticable.

---------------

"I really don't know Daniel. He's just following the way he was raised. He'll need help opening up enough to share the burden with us. And I don't know who here can do that."

“Hao, you know that I am here for you, don’t you?” Lauri suddenly felt frightened. She could not explain what was causing this fear, but there was something about Hao that was not Hao. “If there is something wrong, I am here for you to talk to.”

She wished she could find the words to say, to get back the Hao that she had fallen in love with. It was hard on the island, she knew that, she suffered every day just like the others, and she knew that he had as much pain as she did. Yet, someone she found peace in her time with the man before her, perhaps that was his problem. He was carrying her burden as well as his own.

“I know it hasn’t been easy, I just wish you would talk to me if something is bothering you.” I want to know if it’s my fault, she thought the words but could not bring them to her lips. She looked at him, talking his hand in hers, and lifting it, to press a kiss against his fingers. “I want to see you smile again.”

* * * * *

“Derret, if Lauri can’t help him, and she’s a hell of a lot closer to him than the rest of us, then I have no idea how we are going to get him to talk.” Daniel sighed heavily. He hated the way the pressure was getting to his young friend. “I’ll try to catch him alone, away from Lauri and the others, and see if I can talk to him.” He let out another long sigh. “Not that I’m expecting miracles, but I guess it can’t hurt.” He looked at Derret.

Kim smiled a little at Christian, thankful that he was going to limit their trip of his own volition, as opposed to her being put in the awkward sitution of having to actually ask him not to go too far. While she hated herself for being unable to ask for help, she found that she just couldn't manage to request help. Ever. She laughed a little at Christian's joke and smiled at him, poking his side jovally, "Good plan. The last thing I want to do while stranded on a island is lug your butt around."

Kim smirked, "Well, that or give pervy members of the camp ideas." She smiled as they walked around before thinking of a question, "Actually... if that's for bathing, where does the drinking water come from?"

Christian laughed, pleased that he had managed to bring a smile to her lips. He never really considered himself a people person; in fact, he normally spent as much time as he could away from others. Yet he liked Kim’s company, it was refreshing to be needed, while knowing that she would make out that she could manage on her own. It brought out his helping nature, without him feeling like he was being put upon. He had to push his aid onto her rather than her talking more than he was willing to give.

“I’m not saying that some from the camp won’t follow you.” He winked and laughed. “To be honest, you have little fear of that, everyone tends to look out for each other. We’re all we have after all.” He frowned, berating himself for bringing up exactly what he was trying to make her forget, at least for a little while.

“Ah, the drinking water comes from a cool water spring, not as big as the water hole. It’s shaded totally from the sun, so it remains cold at all times, whereas the bathing pool gets a good amount of heat.” He grinned as he thought about it. “On occasion, when it gets really hot here, we tend to cool off with a swim. I’ll point out both to you as we look around, so you know where everything is.”

He continued on at a steady pace, not too slow, knowing that she would be offended if he wrapped her in cotton wool, yet at the same time, not pushing her too hard. “Daniel is doing a study of the plants in the area, he and Hao are hoping to find some which might have medicinal qualities. Hao being the unofficial doctor in the group, and Daniel a kind of boy scout.” He laughed, as they went on their way.

He brought her hands to him and brushes his lips against them, mirroring her actions.

"I do smile, I am smiling, I'm just full of smileness." Hao said to her with the corners of his lips curving upwards.

And then he changed to topics, sensing question comming that he could not answer.

"Now, I dunno about you, but I'm hungry, hows about that breakfast?"

------------

"Well, lets hope that it can't hurt anyways." Derret replied back to the older man. "Hey, you already had breakfast?"

Kim, for her part was beginning to rather like Christian's company. He had a good sense of humor, and didn't treat her like an invalid. He also seemed to have a knack for offering just enough help that she felt comfortable accepting without feeling like she couldn't do something. Of course, she'd taken all the help he'd offered when she'd first washed up on shore, but as she found herself regaining her strength, he'd backed off, keeping pace. It was hard to describe, but she'd probably settle for 'comfortable'.

She smiled at his wink, wondering if he was one of those people who'd follow. She fought back a small laugh. Christian seemed way too gentlemanly to ever ponder something like that. Well, she corrected herself, too gentlemanly to seriously consider it. If nothing else, he'd pondered when she mentioned it. She was rather amused at the thought, and wasn't especially upset when he brought up that they were stranded. It was still a painful topic, so she quickly pushed it from her mind, hanging on his words about the spring.

She nodded, trying to build a mental map in her mind as he described the spring and its relation to the bathing pool, "Sounds nice." She shielded her eyes a little from the sun, sighing a little, "Pity my sunglasses didn't survive..." She shook her head and looked at Christian, "That never really goes away, does it? The shock of realising yet another conveniance you won't have?"

Lauri smiled and nodded her head, knowing better than to press Hao into speaking when he did not want to. She was concerned about him, there was no getting away from that, but he would open up to her if he wanted to, and she did not want to make matters worse for him. “I’ve eaten already, but if you rest here, I’ll go and get something for you and Will.” She looked over at the sleeping boy, deciding to wake him once she had returned.

Pressing a kiss to Hao’s cheek, she walked over to the entrance of the cave, and with a brief look over at the man she loved, she disappeared from his view making her way over to the fire where the meat from the previous night’s cooking was. As she walked over, she saw Daniel and Derret sitting nearby, and gave them a smile.

“Everything all right?” She asked, when she saw Daniel looking at her, feeling suddenly that something was happening that she had no idea about, not that she really had the wish to get involved in other’s troubles being she was already concerned about Hao. Without saying another word, she moved quickly to the meal, and served two generous portions for the two men in her life, one smaller than the other, but more than enough to quell an appetite.

Taking the meals, she walked past the two men, feeling very uneasy. “Has something happened?” She frowned watching the expressions on their faces. “Is something wrong with Patrick?” The last thing she wanted was for Hao to have to deal with that.

“No, he’s fine.” Daniel gave her a comforting smile. “How’s Hao?”

“Hao? He’s okay.” She creased her brow, as she looked at him questioningly. “Why do you ask?”

Daniel shook his head, while keeping his gaze to hers. “Just wondering.” He gave her another smile. “He seemed a little tired…thought he might be over doing things. No other reason.” He could tell from the look she gave him, she was not convinced.

“He’s just a little hungry. No time for food before helping Patrick.” Her features relaxed, as she returned his smile. “I’d best give him his food.” Turning toward the cave, she frowned again, even more concerned about Hao than she had been. If others were becoming concerned, then it was not just her imagination.

* * * * *

Christian nodded as he squinted against the sun, his eyes quickly adjusting to the light. “Yes, there will always be days when you remember something else that you took for granted.” He grinned. “I’ve always missed being able to turn on a tap and get water without having to lug it from a pool.” He pondered for a moment. “But at the same time, I don’t recall the tap water being so refreshing, so there is some benefit to this way of living.” He smiled. “And eventually, everything becomes natural, and you tend to forget how you used to do things.”

He turned away from her for a moment, as he took his bearings, deciding the best route for their tour. “I’m not the best of guides; I either talk too much or not enough. But I will answer any questions that you have…” He smiled. “…As long as they are easy ones.” He moved forward, pulling back some branches in the bushes to allow her through.

“We’ll head towards the bathing pool and the spring, as they are the most important places on the island, other than the camp.” He let the bush go as he stepped through, and once again took a slight lead. “If you are interested, I can show you a bit of the island every so often, unless you want to discover it for yourself, although it’s always a good idea to tell people where you are going, just in case there is something to watch out for.”

* * * * *

Daniel watched Lauri disappear into the cave, and turned his attention back to Derret, his expression filled with even more concern. “Once he’s eaten, I’ll try to get a word with him.” He shook his head slightly. “I think she’s as worried about him as we are. I just hope I can get him alone, if she begins mothering him, it will be a hard task.”

Indicating the food, he felt his stomach rumble. “But we’ll eat first, and see where we go from there.” He began to cut off some of the hot meat.

* * * * *

Re-entering the cave, Lauri moved swiftly over to where Hao was sitting and handed him the plate, smiling as she looked down at him. “Make sure you eat it while its still warm.” As she walked past to where Will was sleeping, she laid her hand on Hao’s shoulder, hoping that everything would be go back to normal.

Placing the other meal on the ground, she gentle stroked Will’s hair. “It’s time to get up, Sweetheart. I’ve brought you some breakfast.” She watched him stir from his sleep, as she pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. “Once you’ve eaten, we’ll go and watch up.” She smiled, as she ran the backs of her fingers over his cheek, before letting him continue to wake and eat.

As she moved, she caught the aroma of the meat, causing her stomach to lurch. She tasted bile, and quickly swallowed it down. She stood up, and returned to where Hao was sitting. “Would you like to do something today? Just the three of us.” She gave him a smile, as she settled down beside him.

Kim smiled at the hope Christian offered, "Must have taken some time... still..." She leaned up and gave him a simple peck on the cheek, "Thanks. Hope's in short supply."

She followed him on the tour, looking around and enjoying the scenery. In all honesty, this island would be a bad place to visit, just wouldn't want to live here, she thought to herself, finishing the ancient cliche. Still, at least she wasn't alone, and there was already a system in place. She may have prefered 'doing her own thing', but in a situation like this, a routine was a very good thing indeed. Besides, she could always go off on her own once she was more comfortable.

She smiled at Christian's self depretiation, "No, you're doing fine. Besides, I don't mind hiking and exploring with someone." She shrugged, "Anyway, not much call for a dare-devil here, so I'll avoid wandering off on my own." She grinned, a slight twinkle in her eye, "At least for now."

Looking a little taken aback by the kiss, Christian let his surprise turn into a smile as he turned towards Kim and smiled. “If I knew tourists were that appreciative, I would have changed professions a long time ago.” He ran his hand through his hair, messing up his already unkempt hair, as he chuckled to himself.

“Daredevil? Hopefully not too much of one. Inquisitive? If you weren’t the tiniest bit curious to discover at least a little of the island, I would have to doubt the story of your arrival, and I don’t think you were lying when you said how you came to be here.” He smiled at her, his eyes shining with a mix of humour and respect. It took a lot of courage to fly into a no-fly zone, especially if the place was a know danger hot spot.

Will blinked his eyes open and stared up at Lauri, smiling sleepily. His stomach growls audibly, and he sat up, returning the kiss to her cheek.

Then he dug into his food, eating quickly, hungrily, while Lauri and Hao watched and talked among themselves.

Kim couldn't help but grin at the look of shock on Christian's face, feminine wiles indeed... "Oh, you know us women. We're mysteeeeeeeeerious, Christian." She nodded firmly in mock seriousness, "It's a global conspiracy to screw with men, you know."

She smiled, "Well, my appetite for risk taking has decreased quite a bit, as you can imagine. I could give you a list of my exploits, but that seems rather pointless now. Not like I can show you pictures or repeat them." She shrugged, "But I am interested in exploring the island. Hopefully all of it at some point. Today, the ole' swimmin' hole and the spring would probably suffice."

Christian laughed. “I always knew it was. My mother swore blind that women were nice, with that damn nursery rhyme about sugar and spice, and all along it was to fool us men into a false sense of security.” He looked at her as they walked and smiled. “I’ll have to keep a close eye on you.” He winked, as they moved through another set of bushes that would eventually lead them to the swimming hole.

Pushing back another branch, Christian let Kim through first and there before her lay the pool. Crystal blue in colour, the sun glistened on the surface of the water, reflecting like million diamonds. Behind the pool, a rock face protected the area from through winds. The surrounding foliage and little waterfall added the finishing touches to the fantasy like pool.

“I thought we would come here first, as at this time of the day it’s unlikely to catch anyone unawares.” He walked over to the water’s edge and looked in to the clear depths. “It should warm up in a bit, it cools down during the night, and you only risk jumping in first thing if you need a ‘cold’ shower, so to speak.” He crouched down and placed his hand in the water. “The sun has already done quite a good job.” He turned to Kim. “You fancy a dip?”

* * * * *

As the little boy finished his meal, Lauri briefly turned her attention from Hao to Will, smiling at him as she brought himself to full awareness. “Good morning, sleepyhead.” She ruffled his hair slightly. “Have you had enough to eat or shall I get you some more?”

Hao finished with the meal though somehow it left a vaguely unsatisfied feeling in him.

But the kid was up now, so that feeling would have to wait.

"So, does anyone know what's on plan for today? I mean, with the arrivel of so many people at one time, I think we'll need to re divide up the chores."

Looking back at Hao, Lauri smiled, as she continued to run her hand down Will’s back. “Well, I thought I would take Will for a swim, we haven’t been for a while and he likes the pool.” She gazed questioningly at the man who had captured her affections. “I was hoping you might want to join us?” She turned briefly and watched the boy for a moment.

“I do think that sharing the tasks would be a good idea.” As she spoke she returned her gaze to Hao, a concerned looked once more marring her features. “You have been taking on a lot recently, it would be nice to see you have more time for yourself…” She smiled suddenly. “And us.”

Kim grinned a little at Christian's 'promise'. She smiled slyly at him, "That sounds like a promise... just be sure you don't scandalise me. A girl needs her secrets, after all."

She smiled as she looked over the crystal water, "Oh, it's beautiful." She knelt down and ran her fingers through the water, smiling at how it felt, "Nice..." She frowned a little at the memories of drifting alone in the ocean, and smiled weakly at Christian, "Ah... maybe I'll just sit this one out. Don't have a swimsuit..."

As he heard her words, Christian winced, suddenly realising how foolish he had been. He inwardly berated himself for leading a woman, who only yesterday was floating upon the sea unsure of her own survival, to a pool of water and asking her to go for a swim. He turned away from her and gazed at the scene before him, not for the beauty of the place, but to hide his own foolishness.

Without meeting her gaze, he spoke. “It’s here should you desire to use it.” He began to fidget like an awkward schoolboy. “I…ah…guess we should move on to the water hole. I don’t know about you, but I could sure use a drink.” Unfortunately the kind I could do with right now is not available on this island, he thought as he finally caught her eye. “Unless you would care to rest for a bit?”

The change of mood was chilling and stark. She frowned a little, hoping she hadn't killed their friendship. It would be intolerable to try and manage on this island without any. She nodded at Christian's suggestion, "A rest would be nice, yes..." She sat down on the ground, looking at the pool, "It's nice here. Maybe we could go for a swim some other time." She smiled weakly, "Besides... I'll have to go in eventually. Otherwise I'll stink and everyone will hate me."

Christian smiled as Kim settled down on the ground, and laughed at her remark, shaking his head slightly as he sat beside her. “I don’t imagine anyone hating you…and if you got that bad, we’d just toss you in anyway. Stink or swim, shall we say?” He laughed some more at his own attempt to restore the mood.

He remained quiet for a moment then looked at her, locking his gaze to hers. “I’m not very good at this. Asking you for a swim…it must have seemed very…inconsiderate of me.” He gave her a weary smile. “Having been here so long, I guess I’ve pushed away some of the experiences I had from first arriving, and I’ve forgotten a little of what you are going through.”

As he spoke he took her hand in his, and gently rubbed his thumb over her skin. “If I have said anything hurtful…I am very sorry.” His smile grew slightly. “I like you.” He let go of her hand, realising it suddenly looked like he was coming on to her. “Friends are few on this island. I want to think of you as being one.”

Kim smiled a little at his joke, despite the fact that being tossed into the pool sent chills up her spine. She shook off the feeling; she couldn't be afraid of water forever, after all. His apology brought a bigger smile, "It's okay, Christian. Just a little soon I guess." She grinned, "And since I don't want to get my clothes wet, I'd have to skinny dip, and I don't know you well enough for that."

It was her turn to blush a little when he touched her hand, and even a bit more at what he said. She smiled at him before breaking eye contact, "Thank you... and right now you're my only friend. The only one I've really even talked to."

“Which is something we must deal with once we get back to the camp.” Christian smiled as he let his gaze rest upon the water before him, the sound of the water falling into the pool from the rocks behind always managed to soothe him. “I’ll make sure to properly introduce you to everyone, give you a chance to get to know them all. Like I said they are a nice bunch.”

As he spoke his thoughts had turned to her previous words. He really needed to think before opening his mouth. Over the past year, swimming naked barely even crossed his mind as to being something strange. He really had to start seeing things from her point of view, put himself back to when he first arrived before he really put his foot in things and spoiled everything.

“We can move on, once you are ready. The path back to the camp leads us passed the water hole, so you can get some idea of direction.” He smiled. “If you need to bathe and feel a little…you know, I’m sure Lauri will be happy to accompany you.”

OOC: wow, I'm slow at this, lol

IC:

"Yes, I guess that would be....

*"NO. What are you talking about? This is YOUR power. If you don't control it, it's gonna go to shit on you man. You KNOW this."

"Quiet."

"Don't tell me to quiet down, I've SAVED YOUR ASS. I've LET YOU LIVE!"

"BE QUIET!"*

... a good idea. We've enough people in the camp now. Enough skills here. I mean, I hear that the new girl's a pretty good hand at adventure training. Maybe she could help me out with the docter stuff."

Again, there was a small, but noticable flicker in his eyes as he said this.

"And you're right. It HAS been a while since we went down to the pool for a swim."

He grinned at her before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him.

"Been a couple of days, far too long for my tastes, since a couple of other things too," he whispered in her ear.

---------

The Meat was good. Once you were out here in the wilderness for a while, the taste of things, meat especially, seemed to be far different than what you might eat in the cities.

More... alive. More fresh. Without all those chemicals and nutrients that get pumped into slaughter animals now adays.

Derret savoured his portion.

"You know, this stuff really is Quite good."

Kim nodded happily, "Thank you. Laurie seemed pretty nice, but she was a little busy to chat, and I was still waking up." She looked at the tranquil waters a little more before getting up and stretching. "Sure, water hole sounds good." She smiled, "That strikes me as something I should know about."

Lauri smiled happily as she wrapped her arms around Hao, pulling him against her body, loving the warmth of his skin seeping through the thin layer of clothing she wore to her own skin. “It has been a while.” She looked into his eyes, her own revealing to him how much she had missed being alone with him. “Perhaps later when Will beds down, we can get one of the others to sit with him?” She tilted her body forward pressing her lips lightly against his.

Once the kiss ended, she again looked into his eyes and smiled. “But until then, it would be nice for the three of us to do something together, unless you are feeling a little tired…” Suddenly a look of concern crossed over her features. “You’ve been taking on a lot lately, and I’m worried about you.” She let the smile return to her lips, not wanting to spoil the moment.

* * * * *

Daniel took another bite of the food and nodded his head in agreement. “I’ll admit I’ve tasted worse…a lot worse, but sometimes I would give anything to pop into a deli and grab a sandwich, or something equally mundane.” He rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth, ridding the surrounding skin of any spilt juices. “But as things go, we could do a lot worse. Although, I think it would be good to have another go at catching some fish or foul…red meat is becoming a little repetitive.”

* * * * *

Christian smiled. “I think she was probably a little worried about Hao – that’s the guy that performed the cauterisation this morning. I’m sure not that it’s over she’ll be more up for talking.” He silently indicated the way they were to take to get to their next destination. “She does worry about him…I guess that’s what love does to you.”

“She also seems to have adopted a small boy that survived the crash. To be honest, I think she’ll be glad to see another woman around the place. There has been a little too much testosterone around here.” He pulled back a branch, and let her work through, finding themselves on a more trampled path. “I have to admit it is nice to see new blood on the island.”

Kim tilted her head, peering at Christian, "She's in love? Hm. Yeah, guess that explains it." She smiled warmly at hearing about Will, "Amazing... helps restore my faith in human decency." She ducked slightly as she passed under the held branch and laughed a little, "Well, I'm glad me ending up here has made someone happy." She gave him a good natured smile.

“Despite us living in the wilds, we are still very civilised.” Christian smiled at Kim, as they moved along the wider path, free from a lot of the overhanging branches that the previous routes had had. “Although, I probably should warn you about the effect full moons have upon us.” He turned to her, stopping for a moment. “I didn’t mean to sound like I was pleased you had landed here, I mean, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, not even my worst enemy.” He sighed slightly. “It’s just nice to see a new face.” He continued walking. “Can you imagine having only the ugly bunch back at camp to look upon for the last year?” He laughed to himself.

Kim smiled, laughing a little with Christian, "You're sweet. Mildly dillusional, perhaps, but sweet." She grinned, "I may have dried off, but I still look like a drowned rat."

She knelt down near the spring as they arrived, cupping her hands to catch some of the water and taking a sip. She started laughing a little before smiling at her confused companion, "Just thinking... I used to pay good money to buy North Hack Water because it came from 'Fresh Natural Springs'. And now, I'm stranded with no modern conveniances," she smiled at the irony, "except for fresh natural spring water."

“Isn’t that the way of the world? You long for something then fate hands it to you on a plate…unfortunately, her service charge is extremely high.” Christian frowned, as he made his way over to the pool, and crouched down beside Kim, before dipping his hand into the clear cool water, and taking a sip. “I admit, it’s a very refreshing taste…if only we could bottle it.” He scooped up another handful and drank, before shaking the remaining liquid from his hands.

He rose to his feet, letting his eyes scan around the area. “Is there anything else you want to know or see before we head back?” His eyes rested on the back of her head, and for a moment, he thought how wrong her statement had been about her looking like a drowned rat. He removed the thought as quickly as he could. “I don’t want the others to think I’ve abducted you…or that you’ve abducted me.”

Kim smiled, "Reminds me of something my mom used to say. 'Experience is the harshest teacher because she gives you the test first and then gives you the lesson.'" She shrugged her shoulders and stood back up, wiping her hands on her partially shredded jeans, before running her fingers through her hair, pulling it back into a ponytail before remembering that she didn't have anything to hold it there, so she let it drop with a slightly frustrated sigh, "Yeah, probably should head back." She turned and smiled at him, "Guess I should find something to do with my time, huh? How do you spend your time, Christian?" She grinned, "Aside from adbucting water-logged women, that is."

“Yeah, keeping yourself occupied is a good idea; otherwise I think you could send yourself mad doing nothing.” Christian looked at Kim and smiled. “I think once we return to the camp and everyone gets together, chores will probably be split. And although it doesn’t sound like a good thing, it does help to fill your day.” As he spoke, he once against indicated the path they were going to take.

“When I’m not doing the tasks appointed to me, and these vary so you are not doing the same thing everyday, as that would almost be as bad as doing nothing.” He pointed suddenly up into one of the trees towards a brightly coloured bird. “Have you ever seen anything as beautiful?” He lowered his gaze back to Kim.

“Sorry, I used to be an artist, back at home…so things with colours tend to distract me easily.” He grinned. “I’ve tried a couple of times just drawing in the sand, unfortunately you need a big canvas, but it keeps my hand in.” He continued to walk, his pace slow, not wanting his companion to push herself too hard. “Next time I get the time to do one, I’ll have to show you. The good thing about the beach is, you get a clean sheet every day.”

Kim laughed a little, "Oh, boy. Chores. Could barely keep my apartment clean back home." She smiled, "Oh well, I guess you're right about it being something to do." Glancing at the bird she smiled, "Ooo... that is pretty." She looked back at Christan, "You know what it's called?"

She was largely quiet as they walked back, lost in thought and not having much to say. As they approached the caves she blinked and stopped walking, her mind racing along a train of thought, making a couple connections and turning to scan the foliage around them, "Wait a minute..." She walked back, kneeling next to a rather uninteresting bush and pulling off a few red berries, squishing them between her fingers and looking at the gooey pulp. She stood back up and walked up to Christian, smiling happily and tapping his nose with her wet fingers, leaving a slight mark on the tip of his nose, "Ever considered cave painting?"

Christian watched silently as Kim stopped walking and began to look around her. She seemed to have thought of something that had captured her imagination. He stood nearby, his eyes following her search. He looked oddly at her as she picked and squished a berry, before the penny dropped at her words, a large smile appearing on his lips at the idea.

“Brilliant!” He grinned, his whole face lit up with emotion. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.” Suddenly he wrapped his arms around her in a hug, and swung her round, before carefully lowering her back to the ground, looking more than a little embarrassed. “I’m sorry, I guess I got a little caught up there for a moment.” He ran his fingers through his hair, as he continued to gaze at her. “All I need is to find a palette full of colours, and I can have permanent drawings.” He grinned. “You are a star!”

Kim squawked in surprize as she was swung around, blushing despite herself, the shade deepening a little at his compliment. She stammered slightly, studying her feet for a moment, "Well... ah... there's a few other bushes I noticed, their berries work for shades of red. Other colors would be harder, I guess." She pondered for a moment, "Might be able to find some hematite in the pool for other colors, would just need to crush it. Charcoal should be easy enough to manage, we've got camp fires." She smiled, "Guess it wouldn't be too hard after all, if you're up for mixing and experimenting." She blinked and blushed a bit more as she noticed the look on his face, "Um... I read a lot on ancient history in school. Guess it stuck with me."

Christian continued to smile, his interest sparked. “I’m up for colour experimenting. There are lots of plants and other things that might give colour.” He frowned for a moment before looking up at her questioningly. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help with the experimenting?” He grinned, his mind already trying to recall any vividly coloured plants that could be used. “I could really use your expertise. I may be able to mix paint and dab it on a wall, but I’m not always the best or most patient researcher.”

The yougn boy bounced eagerly on his feet, ready to be off, glancing around the cave and clearing with a bored air.

For Will, this was home now, there was no other option, and indeed, other options had faded from his mind, completely. He was a jungle rat now, in the parlence of certain groups.

He had certainly matured in the time here, but, well...

Will was still a kid. He had a short attention span, and he wanted to swim.

Kim smiled, happy to have something to focus her energy on, "Sure!" She looked around at the various bits of vegetation, "Well, of course we've got those berries, I saw some others a bit back. Like I said, we've got makeshift charcoal back at camp. Could probably make some proper charcoal later, but I'd hate to waste the wood..." She stopped, blushing a little at her sudden spurt of manicness, "Er... yeah. I wouldn't mind helping..."

“Then it’s a deal…we shall be partners in crime.” Christian grinned suddenly. “I’ll be the looks and you’ll be the brains.” He looked at her for a moment, and then laughed, as he began to examine the berries that she had located, his persona suddenly taking on a businesslike air.

“If you are up to it, we could begin a search of the surrounding area tomorrow, start close to ‘home’ and then work our way outwards.” He frowned for a moment, lost in his thoughts, his mind whirling with ideas. “I’ll have to go back to finger painting, but I think I could produce something interesting, that would at least resemble what I am attempting to draw.”

He looked at her suddenly as another thought came to mind. “And you’ll have to help find subjects for the pictures, I’d probably get caught on drawing the same thing until it is perfect, and I don’t really think I have the time for that…and I believe you have a good eye.”

* * * * *

Lauri looked at Will as he climbed to his feet, her hand offered for him to take, as she rose from the floor. “Are you ready to go, Will?” She gave him a smile as she turned to Hao. “Ready?” She flicked her gaze between the two men in her life, feeling happy and content, despite their situation. “Should we make it a race? It’s been a long time since I left you two standing.”

The warmth of her skin leaving contact with his was slightly disapointing, but the way the sunlight streamed through her hair and outlined her body made up for some of it.

"A race huh? I dunno, might be unfair. Will's got more than enough energy to whip us both. Unless..."

And with that Hao took off from his seated position, racing accross the sand.

"See ya's suckers!!" He tossed back, grinning wildly.

--------------

Derret looked out of the cave just as Hao sprinted by, grinning and yelling something about Suckers.

"I suppose he looks happy enough now..."

Kim laughed a little, smirking at Christian, "That sounds good to me. How deep is that swimming pool, anyway? If we're going to get hematite, we'll have to poke around on the bottom." She grinned, "How long can you hold your breath?"

She blinked at his suggestion, "Subjects? Um, I could probably mange something. You mean like plants, or... models?"

“Hey! That’s cheating!!.” Lauri called out as Hao disappeared out of the cave, leaving her and the small boy stood in the middle of the floor, both caught by surprise. “Go and catch him, Will.” She laughed happily, pleased to see Hao relaxed and showing signs of the man she had met and fell in love with so many months ago. “Quickly!” As she spoke she rushed off after the departing older of the two, making sure that her charge remained in her view as they headed toward the swimming hole.

* * * * *

Daniel, his gaze drawn at the shout, turned to Derret and smiled. “Let’s hope this is not just a passing phase. I still think we need to keep an eye on him.” He returned his attention to the retreating back of the man in question. “The last thing we need is for someone to lose it now, especially not Hao. There are too many people relying on him for him to have troubles.” As if to empathise who he was referring to, he watched Lauri and Will exit after the fast escaping Hao.

* * * * *

“Yes, plants and scenery.” Christian laughed loudly. “If you had ever seen a portrait I’ve done you would never have asked.” He let his laughter die, until only a smile was left. “It’s been over a year since I really drew anything, which is a shame, considering all the wonderful things to draw on this island.” He sighed sadly. “All my life I’ve been searching for inspiration, and when I find it, I’m without the materials to capture it.”

He suddenly took a deep breath, and held it for a long as he could, almost turning blue in the face before letting out a large gasp, before sucking in the air. “Does that answer your question?” He grinned at her playfully. “The pool is pretty deep in the middle, but no more than eight feet at its deepest.”

Kim flashed him a charming smile, "Aww, always kinda wanted my portrait done." She blushed slightly despite herself at his mention of inspriation. She mentally kicked herself for being stupid, he's talking about the island... and... sunsets and stuff... She smiled weakly at him and nodded, shifting her weight from foot to foot a little, "I... I can see how that would be frustrating."

Thankful for the shift in conversation she grinned at him, giving a slick wink, "Well, aren't you the talented one?" She laughed a little, thinking back and trying to remember the Geology 101 course she had her first year of college, way back when. "Hm. If there's gonna be any hematite in the pool, it'll probably be below the first layer or two of the bottom." She smirked, "You might be flailing around down there for awhile."

“A while, huh?” Christian frowned, exaggerating his features comically. “Perhaps I should leave the gathering of materials to my worthy assistant, and just play the world renowned painter.” He gave her a grin. “All I can do is promise to do my best, and hope that you don’t laugh to loud when I fail.” He ruffled his hair with his fingers, feeling the heat of the sun beginning to warm him.

He looked about him, wondering what else they might be able to find to increase the colours on his palette. “If you are interested, I would be honoured to have you as a subject. Landscapes are more my passion, but I might have exaggerated my lack of ability at portraits. To be honest, I find they just seem to take longer…but if the subject is worth the effort, I can keep my mind focused.”

Continuing the game, Kim grinned mischeviously, "You'd be amazed how long I can hold my breath... besides, you probably won't know hematite if it bit you on the ass," big dramatic sigh, "so I'll go swimming for it." She smiled at him and struck a pose, "I would be honored to sit for you. And I promise not to fidget." She winked, "too much."

Christian laughed. “Oh, I think I could handle you fidgeting a little.” He ran his eye over her body as she stood in her pose, slowly beginning to walk around her, an artist admiring his subject. “You would make a very good model.” As he moved around her, he became more serious, gazing at her. As he lost himself in the moment, his hand lightly touched her shoulder, feeling the contours of her, admiring her form, no longer seeing her as anything other than a woman.

“Beautiful.” The word was barely more than a sigh on his breath. Then suddenly, he came out of his trance, his hand moving from her as if her skin had become hot enough to burn his fingers. “Of course…I…ah…think I will need to practice with still life until I get used to the…material.” He completed his walk around her as he spoke, not meeting her eyes as he come in front of her.

Hao's laughter and enjoyment of the moment was almost completely real. He cared greatly for Lauri after all, and even when his mood was terrible, looking at her was enough to re-spark a gladness in him..

He hated to see her worry.

And thus, for her, he would endevour to find out what exactly was happening to him.

"Come on you slow pokes, get the lead out!" he bellowed back with a grin.

---------

"That's... very true. Hey... Daniel?"

Derrets voice seemed to waver as he questioned the older man.

“Hurry, Will! Hao is going to win.” Lauri called out to the boy who was running up ahead of her, somewhere halfway between the two adults. “You are still a cheat, Hao!” She laughed as she continued to run after them, keeping a steady pace, but not pushing herself too hard. She was not feeling too well, and did not want to make herself bad by going faster than she needed to.

Her eyes sparkled with happiness as she watched the young boy attempt to catch up with his ‘father’, although she and Hao were not Will’s real parents, they had slipped into the role since they came to the island. “Keep going, Will!”

She was also feeling more than a little relieved to see the man she loved laughing. It was obvious to her that he had too much on his plate, and she wanted to help, be he could be every secretive with his thoughts and feelings. Keeping a steady pace, she followed after them to the water pool.

* * * * *

Daniel noted the change in Derret’s voice and looked at him questioningly. He found it hard at times to read the younger man, he had pulled a few tricks in his time on the island, and it had taken a while to get used to the man’s habits. Over the months, he had changed someone, lost a lot of the aggression and attitude that he had arrived with, although each of those who survived that night had reacted differently to their life changing experience, and the young man had had a right to be angry.

“Yes, Derret?”

Kim blushed softly as Christian examined her; even if he was doing it as an artist, she found herself mentally going over how exactly she looked. She wasn't very tall, but reasonably built. She didn't look like a bodybuilder by any stretch of the imagination, but she was certainly nicely toned. Her red hair was knotted and tangled from the ocean, and there wasn't much she could do about it, something that irritated her to no end.

Her silver flight suit was tattered and abused, the rips and tears making it much more revealing than it had any right to be. She was mildly embarassed at how it had gone from utilitatian to tantalizing. She'd chosen the pose she was in to tease Christian, and hadn't thought about how she must look until she watched him look her over.

She closed her eyes as Christian touched her shoulder, smiling a little. They snapped open again as his hand left, the sunlight reflecting off the green in her eyes as she looked him over once he completed his circuit, "Um... that seems reasonable..." She looked down, coughing slightly, "Er... should we get back? Um... for lunch...?"

“Lunch sounds good.” Christian smiled, hoping that he had not overstepped the mark and ruined the friendship that was growing between them. He liked Kim, if he was honest, more than liked…but he did not want to abuse their friendship. He had been away from civilisation for over a year and had been without female company, not that he was overly good talking to women, unless they were working for him or were one of his pupils; a little something he did on the side to raise funds.

“You probably might want to rest for a bit, but if you are up to it, we could perhaps start in the morning.” He smiled. “I’m afraid I have a habit of being impatient when something catches my enthusiasm.” He pointed her towards the direction of the camp. “After you.”

He burst out of the bushes into the slight clearing that surrounded the pool, fully intent on striping down before Lauri and Will got there. Infact, Hao had his pants half off before realising that right in front of him were Christian and the new girl... Kim?

Indeed, Christian had been pointing off into the bushes, but with Hao's arrivel, now seemed to be pointing to Hao's... well... groin.

"Oh... hey gu..."

Will scrambled out of the bush, not looking to see if anyone was in front of him and tumbled right into Hao, sending the older man, clothes and all, right into the pool with a splash.

------------

"You... er... you ever feel lonely on this island?"

Christian looked strangely at the bush ahead of him as it suddenly disappeared, changing into the familiar shape of Hao. “Hey, Hao.” He managed to muttered, before everything about him turned into some comedy. Where the man had stood only moments before was Will, while beside them the pool came to life in a huge splash.

As he tried to resist laughing at the spectacle, Lauri burst through the bushes, standing behind the giggling little boy. “How’s the water, Hao?” She laughed, as she moved over to the edge of the pool. “That will teach you to cheat!” Watching her lover as he righted himself in the water, she practically bent double as she broke into hysterical laughter.

Christian turned his gaze towards the pool, no longer able to stop himself, he joined the others, though he managed to straighten his features into a more concerned look. “Are you all right, Buddy?” He called over to the swimming man. Looking over at Kim, he grinned. “This is what happens if people come unannounced, you end up throwing them in.”

* * * * *

“Lonely?” Daniel stopped and thought for a moment, wondering what had brought this particular conversation on. “I guess sometimes I miss my old life, and wish I was back at home, and other times I enjoy the company of the people who are here with me. If I could, I would change things and leave here, but that’s not possible.” He looked at Derret questioningly. “Are you lonely?”

Hao sputtered to clear the water from his lungs.

"Hey man," he choked out, looking from Christian to the girl, who seemed to be in a fairly compromising position.

"We interrupting something?" he asked with a grin.

---------

Derret's lips thined at the question, "yes... I suppose you could say I am..."

He avoided the older man's eyes.

Christian looked at Hao for a moment, before turning to Kim and smiling. Quickly he gave his attention back to the man in the pool. “No, you aren’t interrupting anything. Kim and I were about to head back for some food.” He ran his hand through his hair, suddenly feeling a little uncomfortable. “I was just show Kim around, you know, explaining how things are done around here.”

Lauri looked over at the couple and smiled. “Pay no attention to him. I’m hoping the water will cool him off.” She bent down and looked at Will. “You ready for a swim? Hao looks like he needs rescuing.” Laughing once more, she turned to Kim. “What do you think of the place? Takes some getting used to, doesn’t it?” She sighed sadly. “This is the kind of place you dream of visiting…just as long as you can leave and hit the big city once more.” She frowned. “Sorry, I’m not helping.”

Christian looked between Kim and Lauri, suddenly wishing for the solitude he had been experiencing only moments before. His smile was fixed to his face, as he tried to figure the best way to take himself from the situation he was now in.

* * * * *

Daniel frowned, his brow creasing heavily. “Do you want to talk about it?” He looked at the younger man, feeling his pain, as well as being a little confused by this sudden change in conversation. “You know, if ever you need someone to talk to, I’m here and ready to listen.” He placed his hand on Derret’s shoulder, patting slightly.

Kim turned about eight shades of red, looking like a teenager who'd been caught necking on the porch with her boyfriend. Seeing Hao largely naked was a more intimate introduction than she'd planned on, but everyone seeing her pose was more than enough to make her horribly embarassed. She realised it shouldn't, but here she was, bright red and fighting the urge to cover herself up.

She smiled weakly at Lauri, "Er... it's nice, I guess. Still getting used to it." She manages a grin, "And getting used to naked men bowling me over as they crash through the underbrush." She brushed some hair out of her eyes, smiling apologetically, "Um, I hate to be rude, but we should probably get back... My system's still a little screwy, and I kinda need to eat."

Lauri looked at Kim and then at Christian, before smiling as she turned her attention back to the woman. “You have had a tough few days, and it does take a while to grow accustomed to things.” She flicked her eyes back to the man. “But at least you have a good guide to show you around.” She bit her lip lightly as she once again rested her gaze on Kim. “Hopefully we can catch up a little later. It’s been a while since I heard about anything outside this island.”

She heard a splash coming from the pool, and turned to see Will disappear under the water. “Swim time.” She gave the two another smile, before waking to the edge of the pool. “What’s the water like, Hao?” She called over as she began to pull her dress over her head.

Christian smiled awkwardly at Kim. “Do you want to start heading back?” He felt his stomach give a small growl, suddenly realising his own hunger. It had been a while since he had eaten, and had forgotten all about food until it had been mention, so engrossed in their conversation had he become. “I feel like I could eat a horse. I just hope it isn’t on the menu.” He winked playfully.

It wasn't much of a splash, really. Will could swim like a fish when he chose. Underwater, slipping halfway across the pool before surfacing.

He looked back at Hao and Lauri, smiling playfully as he met the eyes of man who had become his dad.

Then his arm flashed in the water, and a wave lept from the surface, arcing towards his 'parents' as he himself vanished under the water.

Kim nodded, smiling at Lauri, a little relieved that the woman had chosen to ignore her pose, "I'd like that." She sighed knowingly, "'Rough' doesn't begin to describe it, but I'm getting a feel for the place, I think." She watched everybody playing in a water for a bit before nodding to Christian and heading back towards the camp. She grinned at him, "At this point, I'd probably accept horse as lunch."

Once they were clear of the others she shook her head, blushing, "What a way to be found... completely innocent and looking completely non-innocent."

Christian looked at Kim, and then laughed, as the image of how they must have appeared to the others came to mind. He was grateful that they had moved away from the pool, otherwise the others might have assumed he had gone mad. He tried several times to speak, but he could not find the words through the laughter. Finally he managed to calm himself enough, looking kind of guiltily at his companion.

“We’ll be the talk of the camp tonight.” He gave her a grin, and stopped walking for a moment. “I’m sorry, but it’s the funniest thing that has happened to me for a while.” He felt himself building back up into a laugh, managing to shrug it off. “They won’t think anything of it. By the time they leave the pool, it will be forgotten. And even if they do, once they see the portrait, they’ll know you were only practicing.”

* * * * *

Having stripped off and jumped into the pool, more sedately than Will had, Lauri had barely made it to where Hao was swimming when the wave of water hit them. Turning to repay the boy for his impishness, she turned and found the spot that he was in empty. “I swear that boy is a fish.” She smiled at Hao, as she drew close enough to place her arms around his neck, and kissed him tenderly. “Let’s have some fun.” Releasing her hold, she playfully splashed him.

He grinned at her through sopping wet hair, before running a hand through it and tossing it back with a flick of the wrist. Hair, after all, would have been one of those things that few people had bothered with, other than to wash and to tie up behind them. Hao had once muttered something about how his Chinese ancestors would have scolded him for not keeping a proper warriors braid until now.

"Fun huh?" was his impish reply before diving at her sending a wave of water towards the naked woman.

Lauri screamed playfully as the water hit her, her hands instantly moving to her hair, pushing the wet strands back out of her face. “You are not being nice today, Hao,” she managed to get out through her laughter. She turned to Will and pointed at the man. “Let’s get him, Will! A full drenching should teach him we mean business.” She pulled her arm back then scooped a wave of water sending it in Hao’s direction as she brought her arm forward.

Then she ducked under the water, to ward of any reprisals, swimming slightly out of the way to appear several body lengths away. Her laughter filled the air, as she watched Hao and Will. These were the times she always enjoyed the most, when the three of them forgot their cares and had fun like a normal family. Looking at them at the moment, she could not help thinking that they looked like a group of people enjoying a fun vacation.

Her smiled slipped momentarily as she longed for the three of them to be safe back in the civilised world, but the thought did not last long as she once more jumped into the fray, splashing and laughing.

Like his 'mother', Will vanished under the surface as he sent his next wave towards Hao.

But they might have well have started calling him fish, instead of Will as he swam quite a ways under the surface before popping up through the crystal clear water again.

Unlike his 'mother', Will saw no reason to concentrate on one target when their were two available, and a deadly accurate stream of water arced from his mouth towards Lauri's face.

“Ah! That’s not fair.” Lauri screamed in laughter as the water hit her face. She pounced in Will’s direction, hoping the catch the boy before her once more disappeared under the surface. “I thought we were on the same side.” Stopping her action in mid flow, she looked over at Hao and smiled. “Seems like you have been spared, and it’s turned into a free for all.”

She enjoyed their time together; it was when the three of them really got the chance to laugh. She recalled when they had first arrived, when Will would hide behind her, barely looking at anyone, scared and frightened. He had been with his mother when they had been washed ashore; she had not survived the ordeal and his father never even made it that far.

Hao had been through a similar situation, he had arrived on the island carrying the body of a young woman. It always pained Lauri, when she thought back, that the woman he had loved had had to die for her to be happy. Their relationship had grown over time, helped when she had nursed him back to health following his mauling while out hunting.

She smiled brightly, once more burying the past deep where it belonged. There was no point dwelling on what had happened, as there was no way to change that. Looking forward was the only way. She reeled with laughter as another wave of water hit her, returning the hit with splashes of her own.

Kim smiled a little despite herself, "Okay, okay... just worried about first impressions, I guess." She laughed a little, "I'm kinda stuck here, so it's not like I can go anywhere to hide my shame." She gave Christian a little hug, "You sneaky artist... getting me to pose like that..."

Slightly startled by Kim’s hug, Christian smiled cheekily. “If I was being a sneaky artist, you really would have been embarrassed if they had come across us.” He laughed as they continued to make their way through the jungle, the trees and bushes thinning as they drew nearer to the rocky area, which made up one side of the camp.

Stepping through, they emerged from the trees into the open clearing. Near the middle the fire still blazed despite the heat of the sun, which was directly overhead. He glanced around, locating Daniel and Derret by the fire, their attention caught by the return of the wanderers.

“How’s it going?” Christian called over as he guided Kim towards the food. “We’ve come back for some food.” He indicated his companion as they grew near. “I think we might go and eat in the shade, though.” He looked at Kim, and pointed towards a shady section of the camp, where some branches over hung. “Unless you want to eat here?”

Kim smirked at his vague threat, blushing a little even as she tried to gain the upper hand in their playful exchanges, "Now, Christian, hon. If you threaten me like that, I might just be too shy to pose for you." She grinned, "Or let you come with when I go diving for the hematite." She knew that the nudity was less enticing given the situation on the island. She was also pretty sure, however, that by making something common seem like a treat, it would work as leverage. And, besides, it's not like he'd seen her yet. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she ran through the thought process in her mind, especially as she realised she was essentially making him an offer.

Thankfully they were walking into the camp, which cut their flirtatious banter short. Besides she mused, this way he can dwell on it. She smiled at Daniel and Derret as if their conversation had been perfectly innocent, "Hiya!" She gave Christian a dazzling smile, "Oh, eating in the shade would be nice. It's pretty warm on this island."

Christian walked over to the meat, and pulled off a couple of healthy sized portions, placing it on ‘plates’ before returning to where Kim was standing. “If you want more, just help yourself, it’s there for all.” He smiled as he handed her the food and led them over to the far edge of the camp, where trees overhung blotting out most of the sunlight. Despite the heat, a gently breeze worked its way lightly through the leaves, rustling them every now and the.

Lowering himself to the ground, Christian rested his back against a portion of the rock face that marked the edge of the far section of the camp. He watched as she settled herself down. “I hope you don’t think I’m monopolising you, it’s just…well, no one else here shares my passion for painting…until you came along.” He picked up a bit of meat and popped it into his mouth, chewing it quickly before continuing. “It’s nice to share something so special with someone else.”

He repeated his eating then looked at her and grinned. “And you know, you wouldn’t be able to resist posing for me.” His thoughts returned to their conversation as they entered the camp. “About as much as I could resist going diving for hematite with you.” He winked and continued with his meal.

Kim accepted the 'plate' and followed Christian over to the shaded area, sitting next to him crosslegged and taking a bite. She smiled at him, "Oh, I don't mind." She grinned teasingly, "Besides, I can think of worse people to spend my time with."

She was taking another bite, figuring her earlier comment had slipped by and that she was safe, only to have him bring it up again. She blushed softly, finding herself not entirely opposed to the idea. Especially if he joins me... She coughed a little as she almost choked on her food but decided to continue flirting a little, "I figured you couldn't resist such an offer." She waggled her brows impishly, "If you're a good boy, I might let you tag along."

Christian grinned at Kim as he finished the piece of food he had been chewing. “Seems like a win-win situation to me.” He raised his own eyebrow and then turned away slightly, before muttering softly, but loud enough for her to hear. “If I was a bad boy, I’d just follow you anyway.” Letting out a laugh, he looked back at her, meeting her gaze, his eyes twinkling with fun.

He raised a piece of meat to his mouth then stopped, taking a moment to just look at the woman before him. He had never really been all that comfortable with the others on the island, the always seemed to know what they wanted and how to get it. He, on the other hand, had felt like a left floating down river, not really sure where he was going, just knowing he was going to get there. He smiled. “If this was anywhere else and circumstances were different, I’d tell you how glad I am that you came here.” Resuming the movement of his hand, he popped the food into his mouth.

Kim smirked, trying to fight the rising color in her cheeks. She wasn't used to having someone how could match her quip for quip like Christian could. Every time she figured she'd said something he couldn't top, he was more than willing to do so. She thought back over their day, and about the only time she'd managed to render him speechless was when she'd kissed him. She filed that away for future use, it could come in handy. She decided to let his bit of banter pass on by, opting for another piece of food as she pondered her situation. Being trapped on an island for the rest of her life certainly wasn't high on her list of 'Good Things In Life', but at least the company was nice.

She looked him over, thinking about his comment and how well it meshed with what she had been thinking. She grinned at him, her eyes twinkling a little as she slipped back to the good-natured teasing, "Is that a compliment? If so, I think it could use some work..."

Christian stopped mid-chew and laughed, almost choking himself on the morsel of food he had in his mouth. Swallowing quickly, he regained his composure. “Unfortunately I am a little rusty in the compliment department.” He grinned, as he broke off another chunk of meat. “I haven’t had much call to use it lately.” He looked at her, his eyes fixed to hers, his gaze both serious and fun. “But with your help, I think I could improve if you would be willing to be my test subject.” He winked at her to lighten to moment, but his words held more than a little truth.

He lifted the food to his mouth then stopped, placing it back on the ‘plate’. He could not remember the last time he had enjoyed himself this much; it had been more than a year ago, that he knew. “I hope I haven’t tired you out. Dragging you around the island and making you pose.” He grinned as the image appeared in his mind, almost as if trying to hide the feelings that rose in him. “Those really are a second date kind of activity.”

Kim smiled slyly, "Oh, Christian... you don't understand women, do you? We're always willing to accept compliments. In fact, that's why men were put on this planet." She giggled lightly, more than willing to receive any and all compliments from the young artist. She blinked and blushed slightly, smiling at him, "This counts as a first date? I wish you'd told me, I would have worn something... um... not torn?"

Unintentionally, at the mention of her attire, Christian ran his eyes over Kim’s body, his gaze lingering, as he took in her form. He smiled to himself, as he admired, and not entirely like an artist checking out a piece of art. But to him she was a work of art, the most beautiful kind. He finished travelling over her body, bringing his focus back to her face, giving her a playful grin, once more trying to hide his feelings. “Maybe not the outfit for the Captain’s table, or visiting a head of state, but I think you look wonderful.”

He coughed suddenly, wondering why he was suddenly acting like a love-sick fool. He certainly did not want to destroy their growing friendship by coming on to her, but she stirred something in him that was hard for him to control. It was not as if he had been in this kind of situation for a while. And despite Lauri’s presence on the island, female company seemed like a distant memory to him.

“Finished?” He suddenly asked out of the blue, indicating her ‘plate’ as he fought to regain some composure.

Kim blushed a little as Christian looked her over. She could tell he was at least partially motivated by his artistic eye, but she could help but think about some of the tears in her flight suit. Nothing was really exposed, but she was well aware that at times it was what you didn't show as opposed to what you did show. She smiled at the compliment, staring down at her plate, "Thank you..."

His question snapped her back to reality, and she quickly grabbed the last piece of meat from her plate and popped in in her mouth, nodding and handing the plate to him. She swallowed the last of her lunch and laughed softly, "My kingdom for a toothbrush..."

“A tooth brush, a comb, a shower.” Christian grinned at Kim. “If I’m giving up a kingdom, I want a fair share of goods in return.” He placed the ‘plate’ on the ground, and leant back against the rock face, feeling very comfortable and happier than he could remember being. He got on with the others, but they always seemed different than him. But with Kim, it was as if he had found a kindred spirit.

He closed his eyes, and smiled. “I think you’ve worn me out.” He opened one eye slightly, and looked at her, before letting the lid close. “If I have this much excitement just showing you around the island, what am I going to be like when I get to see you swimming for hematite.” He did not looked at her, he just grinned as he rested his eyes.

Kim laughed, "Good point. Some room service and real plates would be nice too." She relaxed a little; it was pretty comfortable despite being stone. She grinned a little at his final comment, "I'm sure you'll be even more friendly afterwards." She giggled, "At least if those glances when you think I'm not looking are any indication..." She closed her eyes, deciding that a nap was a pretty good idea.

Christian grinned to himself, having been caught like a boy with his hand in the cookie jar. He had enjoyed the morning he had spent with Kim, showing her around and talking about things that interested him. He was a little perplexed to understand why he felt so comfortable in the presence of someone he had just met compared to those he had been living with over the last year.

He leant against the rock, his eyes still closed, just listening to the sounds around him. As he sat there, he heard the change in her breathing, knowing that she had fallen asleep. He smiled to himself, knowing that rest was the best thing for her, especially following the last week she had experienced. He opened his eyes, this time sure that he would not be caught. He gazed at her, watching her sleep, a smile on his lips.

“Sleep well, Kim.” He watched over her for a minute then let his own eyes drift closed, falling into the best sleep he had had for a long while.

* * * * *

Lauri laughed, and then swam over to the side of the pool, where she stopped for a moment before climbing out. She shivered slightly as she made her way over to where her clothing lay and sat down on the ground. She enjoyed the times she spent with Hao and Will, like a real family. Running her hands over her hair, she rung the excess water from it, shivering again as the water touched her back. Picking up her clothing, she moved herself slightly, until she was sitting in a spot not shadowed by trees, and made the most of the warmth on her skin.

As she sat drying herself in the sunlight, she watched the two men in her life swimming and having fun. She suddenly felt a wave of nausea sweep over her, and closed her eyes, waiting for the feeling to pass. Feeling better, she smiled and waved at the two in the pool, enjoying watching them larking about.

A couple hours later, Kim woke up, not wanting to open her eyes, just enjoying feeling rested and safe. She frowned a little as she realised she was still stuck on the island. She finally opened her eyes, blushing as she realised that she was no long leaning agains the rock, but that she had curled up next to Christian, and he'd put his arm around her. She smiled to herself, and snuggled a little closer before closing her eyes again. If nothing else, his reaction when he woke up would probably be amusing.

Christian was far away on distant lands, still on an island, but this one had a boat moored just off the coast, within easy reach. But it was not what waited him in the water that took his attention, it was the delightful creature that rested in his arms, her bikini clad body pressed against his equally undressed form. He ran his finger lightly over her skin, feeling the warm and softness under his touch.

He smiled, his eyes blazing with happiness and contentment. He leant over to her, his gaze locked to hers. “This is perfect. I can’t think of anywhere I would rather be than here with you.” He tilted his head, pressing a tender kiss to her lips, feeling her reciprocate. She snuggled against him, her fingers moving lightly over his chest, his arms holding her tightly to his body, his fingers gently stroking her skin…

…Not skin. He blinked open his eyes, starting out of his dream. It took a moment for his senses to come back to him, the pressure of her body against his, just like in the dream, but this was not a dream. He sat upright, knocking her slightly as he moved, his arm loosening its hold on her, but not letting go entirely.

“I…ah…I must have fallen asleep.” He grinned awkwardly. “Oh, I hope I didn’t hurt you then.” He frowned, not wanting to push her away like he did. “I’m not very good when I’ve just woken up.” He shrugged slightly, and then smiled. “I hope you were comfortable.” Like I was.

Kim supressed a grin, enjoying the way he stammered like a flustered highschooler. She snuggled against him, murmuring softly, taking her time to 'wake up'. When she finally did, she looked up at him, a mischevious smile on her lips, "Oh, pity..." She sat up, stretching dramatically before gracing him with another smile, "Best sleep I've had in ages."

She leaned against the wall and looked around. They had slept for awhile, but the camp still wasn't too busy. Of course, it never seemed to be especially busy except at night when everyone was going to bed. She looked up at the sky, "Hmm... does my intrepid tour guide know a good place to sit and watch the sunset?"

“Well, I’m glad I made a good pillow.” Christian smiled a little, which grew as he caught onto her meaning. “I didn’t mean…” He laughed, and shook his head. “I can see I am going to have to be very careful around you.” Not that he minded. He loved their little sparring chats, as they both tried to outdo each other, possibly seeing who could shock who the most. It had been a long time since he had someone to speak to that he felt this comfortable with, if in fact he ever had.

“Sunset?” He paused for a moment as he gave her question some thought. He looked at her and nodded. “There is a perfect place. Heading into the middle of the island, there is a plateau, even higher than the top of these.” He patted the rock behind them. “It’s a little walk, not too strenuous a climb, shouldn’t take more than an hour.” He rose to his feet, and offered his hand to pull her from the ground. “We’ll be there with plenty of time to spare.”

Hao had noticed was Lauri seemed to waver where she sat before she waved to the two of them.

Even as concern for her rose, he just waved and smiled back.

"How long have we been in here anyways?" He yelled out to her, laughing, "I'm starting to look like an old man!"

Kim smiled innocently up at him, the sunlight reflecting off her eyes, making them twinkle a little, "Whatever could you mean? I'm sure I didn't mean a thing by it..." She grinned a little, enjoying the teasing, especially since she currently had the upper hand. Far more fun to make the other person blush, after all.

Kim gladly took his hand, smiling as he pulled her to her feet. Her eyes locked with his briefly and she smiled, a hint of shyness behind the smile. "I think I can manage the walk and the climb, seems I'm finally getting my strength back." She grinned, the mischevousness creeping back into her demenor, "Which means you better stay on top of your game, I hate a man who can't keep up..."

Lauri looked over at Hao and laughed as he spoke. “Don’t worry, I’ll still love you.” She shivered slightly as she sat on the ground, and gave his question some thought. “Probably long enough to come out now.” She looked over at the boy in the pool. “I think it’s time we made a move, I don’t know about you two, but I’m beginning to get hungry.

Rising to her feet, she walked over to the edge and smiled at the two men in her life. “Last one to back to the camp gets to play servant to the others.” She grinned as she turned, facing the way back. “You’ll want to hurry if you want to stand a chance of winning.”

* * * * *

Christian laughed. “Oh, you have no need to worry about me. I think I will be more than capable of keeping up.” He gave her a wink, and then pointed in the direction they were to take. “The path is just through the bushes, and then you turn right, rather than left, like we took to the pools.” A smile appeared on his lips as he recalled her pose, his eyes flicking involuntarily over her body.

“If you feel tired – and don’t think I don’t have faith in your abilities, but you have had a rough experience – I want you to tell me so that we can pause.” He gave her a grin. “You wouldn’t want me to have to toss you over my shoulder now, would you?”

A slight blushed colored her cheeks as he looked her over again; she wasn't used to this kind of attention. Sure she was used to people making advances and even ogling, but this struck her as considerably more personal. This wasn't some slime from North Hack News trying to snap a picture of her in the shower. She was pretty sure that the fact that the attention was actually welcome was the main reason she found her cheeks darkening so frequently. Of course, she seemed to be doing a good job of embarassing her... tour guide? suitor? so she figured it was fair.

She smiled at Christian, up for his challange, "Oh, I'm sure I can make it. I'm up for anything you, or this island, can dish out." She matched his grin playfully, "Toss me over your shoulder? No, I don't think so, Prince Charming... you'll have to find some other method to sweep me off my feet."

Christian raised his eyebrows at the challenge. “Another way, huh? Hmm.” His brows knitted as he gave it some thought and then he smiled. “I’ll shall do my best to do just that, but not now, I’ll leave it until you are least expecting it, when your defences are down.” He grinned, enjoying himself more than he had for a long time…than he had ever. He looked at her. He could not recall another who had made him feel this alive, this happy. She gave as good as she got, and he always loved a challenge…a mental sparring partner.

But there was something else about Kim. She had made him care about her. He wanted to make her laugh, make her feel safe. He wanted to do things that would make her happy, which would make her smile. He liked her smile. He looked away suddenly towards the direction they were to take, afraid that if he met her eyes she would be able to read his thoughts.

“If you are ready, Cinderella, you shall go to the ball.” He grinned. “Well, a hill. And be warned, I don’t take kindly to being left stranded at midnight.” He looked back at her, feeling comfortable to do so again. “And I hate pumpkins.” He laughed.

Hao grinned to himself, and with a learned lack of modesty, he ran to the edge of the pool and jumped out; bare ass glistening in the sun.

Grabbing his clothes as he passed by, Hao quickly and quietly sneeked up behind the departing woman and grabbed her around the waist, pressing up against here before falling both of them over, out of sight, into the cover of bush.

"You know, it's gonna take alittle while for the kid to get dried and dressed..."

Except for one thing Hao had apparently missed when Will had slipped into the water.

He had not gotten undressed. Some times he did. Some times he did not. Swimming with what remained of his clothing on kept it relatively clean, and despite a fascination with mud, dirt, and other relatively foul things that all little boys have, Will liked to be clean.

So when he struggled out of the pool a few moments after Hao, about the time Hao was catching Lauri, he was dripping wet, but fully dressed.

As he stood dripping on a rock, Will looked around, having missed the adults vanishing in the effort of pulling himself from the water. He was still uncomfortable alone, but he had gotten better now.

Especially when something bright scampered across the rock in front of him and hid under a stick at the edge of the pool's clearing.

He moved slowly, beginning to track it...

Kim simply quirked an eyebrow in her best Mr. Spock impersonation, "Fascinating." She managed to keep a straight face for almost a minute before her stoic mask cracked and she started to grin at him. She grinned even more as he looked away; the paradox of his action being that she didn't need to look into his eyes to read him, turning away told her all she needed to know.

She laughed as he called her Cinderella, being reminded of a book she read that told the Cinderella story from the point of view from one of the ugly step-sisters. So I'm to be a cinder-girl, hmm? She followed him happily, the terrain not being too difficult, "I'll be sure to leave my slipper if I do vanish." She grinned, "Besides, I'm sure you'd just love the challenge of trying to find me again..."

Lauri was taken a little by surprise when Hao grabbed her and pushed her to the floor. She looked up into his eyes and smiled; a little laugh escaping her lips. “You know how he reacts when he’s alone.” She raised her hand and lightly stroked his cheek. “I don’t want him to get worried or wander off looking for us.” She grinned. “Or find us…while we’re…you know.”

Despite her misgivings, she placed her hand on the back of his neck and pulled him down into a kiss, enjoying the moment they had together. As their lips parted she smiled. “We can have some time to ourselves tonight, once Will is asleep.”

* * * * *

Christian grinned. “What makes you think I’d want to find you?” He knew that if she did go missing he most definitely would try to locate her, despite knowing her for only a short time, the thought of her going was not a good one. But he was not about to think she had him too easily. “In fact, I probably won’t even notice you are gone.” His laugh told her he was teasing, and he was sure the look in his eye told her the exact opposite of his words.

Moving a little way through the bush, not rushing as he did not want to cause his friend – for that was what he thought of her already – any discomfort. And although he teased her about her having difficulties it was foremost in his mind as they walked around. “Then again…” He turned and grinned. “If I lose my assistant, that would mean I have to do everything myself.” He frowned playfully and then laughed as he led her onwards.

Kim pouted at Christian as only a woman can: looking horrible put out, personally insulted, and fully intent on making him feel like a horrible, evil person. Unfortunately, she wasn't used to wielding this impressive weapon against men, especially not when it came to using it against men -- a man --- she had feelings for. Thus the pout quickly cracked, a slight smile marring it at first until it fully shattered with her giggle-infused laughter.

She followed him, enjoying the walk. She'd been feeling stronger and better as time went by. Partially from being able to sleep and eat, but she'd always been one to bounce back. When she was younger, her doctor was convinced she was some kind of bizzare enhancile. Federation enhanciles always had red eyes, it was a side effect, but Kim seemed to heal so quickly, her doctor started calling her a 'quasi-enhancile'. As it turned out, she was just one of those lucky people who bounced back really quickly. Still, she mused, the fact that she was hiking after being plucked out of the ocean so recently indicated something. No wonder she'd become a dare devil: hard to be afraid when you're sure you'll survive effortlessly.

She snapped out of the memories and shook her head teasingly at Christian. "Oh, I'm sure you'd be heartbroken if I vanished." She grinned seductively at him, turning the tables once again, "all those possibilities," she licked her lips ever-so-slightly, "only to exist in your imagination." She grinned at him, "I'm pretty sure you'd come running..."

Christian smirked, trying to clear his mind of ‘all the possibilities’ that suddenly sprang to mind as they walked along the path, finally reaching a slight incline which would lead them to their viewing spot. He turned to Kim, his features under control. “I have a very good imagination.” It’s all I’ve had for the past year. He ran his eyes over her body, frowning as he did, a look of concentration etched onto his face. “Hmm…maybe a slow walk.” He turned away quickly, not wanting her to catch the grin that spread over this lips and threatened to turn into a laugh.

“If you ask me…” He continued to look away from her, knowing that he would not be able to keep a straight face if he did. “You’d be the one doing all the running.” He suddenly turned around and caught her gaze. “It’s not every day you meet someone as charming as me…and I think this setting just adds to my Tarzan appeal.” He once more focused on the path ahead. “Come along, Jane.”

Kim smiled smugly at Christian. He was holding his face stoic, but she could see the gears working in his mind. He'd either come up with on Hell of a 'possibility', or a stunning number of them. She wasn't sure which was better. She opted to just smile to herself.

She was happy enough to take a slower pace even if she'd never admit it. She grinned at him teasingly, "All this time to come up with a chat up line once you met a goddess like me and Tarzan's the best you can do?" She winked at him, "So where's your loin cloth, jungle-boy?"

"I think we could stand a couple of hours for ourselfs," Hao replied with a grin. "But alas, you are right."

He rolled over before getting to his feet, still naked as a jaybird. "Lets go back and get'em now then."

And, as she reached out a hand to be helped up, he proved that hunter-gatherer societies will always breed fitness into people at a greater rate. Instead of grabbing her hand, he ducked low and wrapped his arms around her waist and slung her on to his shoulder, cave man style.

"So lets just go looking for our little rug rat why don't we?"

“Well, the loin cloth is not coming out until I know you better.” Christian winked, his smile growing. He enjoyed the bantering, more so because he enjoyed the company of the woman walking beside him. “Anyway, what do you expect? I’ve been out of action for a year, and I have to admit, I’ve never met a goddess before.” He once more let his gaze travel over her, unable to stop his eyes seeking out all the details of her form. “You…ah…leave me a little tongue tied.” He grinned as his eyes once more met hers.

He continued on, the pace steady as they started to feel the incline growing. He turned and offered her his hand. “I get a little wobbling along here. Do you want to make sure I don’t fall over?” He raised his eyebrows questioningly.

* * * * *

“Ah! Not fair!” Lauri giggled, as she found herself tossed over Hao’s shoulder. As she dangled over his back, she let her fingers lightly play over his skin, tracing shapes. “I’m sorry, Hao.” She knew that they needed time together, and she wanted that more than anything, but she would not feel comfortable leaving Will to wander around without them. She wanted to make sure that he was safely at the camp, where there were people he knew around. “I’ll make up for it later, I promise.” She smiled to herself, as he was unable to see her face.

Of course, by the time Hao and Lauri arrived back at the clearing of the small swimming hole, Will was gone.

He had become a fairly accomplished tracker in the last couple years, combining youthful energy and perseverence with a quick mind. Of course, still being young, he was not the best at hiding his tracks.

A trail of bent and broken leaves and branches, as well as stomped underbrush, made a pretty good path for anyone attempting to follow him, following the small colored thing he had yet to identify.

Kim blushed, shaking her head shyly, "You have been out of action if you think I'm a goddess. And I think you've bonked your head, too..." She followed him along the path, able to keep up pretty well on her own. When he asked for her 'help' she smiled at him and gingerly took his hand in her own. She soon found herself torn between wanting to be done with hiking and wanting to continue to have an excuse to hold Christian's hand.

“They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Christian smiled at as he watched the blush rise on her cheeks, finding it added to her charm. “And being an artist, I like to think I’m a good judge.” He stopped there, not wanting to come on too fast, afraid that he was overstepping the mark. He fell silent for a moment, looking back at the path ahead.

They walked for a little while, his hand holding hers as the incline got a little steeper before levelling off as they reached the top. He knew he should have let go of her the minute they reached the flat, but he was unwilling to give up her touch just then. “Ah, finally.” He took in a deep breath, exaggerating his own exhaustion. “We have to just make it through those trees. But be careful, it’s kind of uneven, and there is a little drop, almost like a step, but if you don’t know it’s there it can send you tumbling.” He looked at her. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t fancy the climb again.”

Giving little more time than to grasp the warning, he led her slowly through the trees, pushing aside some branches. If she looked down, she could see the step, but the scenery that was displayed before them, would make noticing such a thing almost impossible. They were on a small plateau that led to a slight incline. What he had failed to tell her, was the incline stopped at another flat, before dropping down the side a cliff. From their vantage point, they could see a portion of the island spread out before them, bordered by the sea, the already lowering sun casting a warm glow on the water.

He did not speak; he let her take in the scene before them, his eyes flicking between the glorious view before them, and the woman who he was sharing his favourite spot with.

* * * * *

As they returned to the clearing, Lauri raised her head and looked around the pool, suddenly becoming very concerned. She wriggled free from Hao’s hold and lowered herself to the ground, her eyes flicking about the area. “Where’s Will?” She turned to Hao, her eyes filled with worry. She knew they boy knew his way around, but she also knew how distracted he could be by things on the island. She walked over to the edge of the pool, checking the clear water for signs of him, and was partially grateful not to find him there, which only led her fear to rise, as that meant he was wandering around on his own.

“Will!” Her voice filled the air, as she shouted. “Will! Where are you?!” She turned to Hao. “We’ve got to find him. I don’t want him to get attacked by something.” She had already born witness to one person she cared for having to fight for his life after such an attack, she really did not want to go through that again.

He said it too low for even Lauri to hear, though she might have been able to see his lips moving, "Idiot child..."

More loudly, Hao responded thusly: "I'm sure he's fine Lauri. Lets just take a look around..."

Slowly, leading her by the hand, he stalked around the perimeter of the pool, examining the foilage with the eye of a hunter that's had to live off the land for a while. It was only a short time later when an area of snaped twigs and trampled grass was discovered.

Only a quiet hum escaped from Hao's lips apon it's discovery.

Still leading her, they walked out of the clearing and into the newly made path in front of them.

Lauri smiled, feeling a little better as they began to search for the boy. Over the past year she had come to think of him as a son, and he had come to treat her like a mother. It had been hard for him, losing both his parents and not being able to talk about it. Only recently had he began to use a few words, never full sentences but he managed to communicate to them.

She tightened her hold on Hao’s hand, squeezing. Sometimes she wished she had more privacy with Hao, to have a relationship like she would have had back home. On the whole, they managed pretty well, despite having to work around everyone. “He’s probably spotted some creature that has caught his attention.” She sighed, though not in a bad tempered way, she was proud of his abilities despite his age. “I’ve lost count of the number of ‘pets’ he’s caught.” She laughed at some of the past events they had experienced.

The brightly colored something was sitting on a rock as Will approached silently. They might have been on the island for a year, but that still did not mean that Will recognized everything there.

Not even everything that was dangerous. Of course, the little yellow and red rodent did not look dangerous, looking as it did like a cross between a mouse and a flying squirrel.

Will did, after all, know better than to track things that looked dangerous. He sniffed the air lightly as he picked up the smell of rot, though. Then, grinning, he extended his arms slowly forward.

The problem was, the danger did not come from the small critter, as Will found out much to his chagrin when he took his next step.

His foot sank into the quicksand, and still not understanding, the seven year old boy began to pull his foot up. But it was the nature of quicksand to not agree with sudden, violent, and strong movements, of which Will was committing all three mistakes.

The commotion scared the little critter he had been pursuing to leap off the rock on which had been sitting upon and dash away, which prompted the distracted and confused child to try taking another step towards it.

Which made the situation immeasurably worse. He screamed.

Kim smiled shyly at Christian, almost afraid to comment as she was afraid she'd say something stupid. She leaned against him, smiling as she felt him tentatively putting his arm around her. She sighed happily as she watched the sunset.

The sky slowly filled with oranges, reds, and purples, the light languidly reaching over the horizon and gently filling the sky above. Down below, the rippling pool reflected the display, its slight distortions making everything all the more beautiful. Kim smiled, the natural sunset far more fulfilling than the chemically and pollution enhanced ones she was used to in Chiba City. While the contaminates in the air made for more dazzling displays, this was a perfect demonstration of less being more.

She stood there, huddled next to Christian not saying a word for the entire sunset, simply awed by the sight. As the moon and stars started to take dominance of the sky and the last of the colors were fading to obscurity, she smiled up at Christian, "Thank you," she whispered, "It's beautiful."

The scream caught Lauri’s attention, sending her heart racing like a worried mother. She let go of Hao’s hand and sprinted off in the direction the sound had come from. Fear filled her body, as she brushed past bushes, barely feeling them flick back against her skin. The thoughts filled with dark images, as she worked her way through all the scenarios that could have befallen Will. She tried to clear her mind, to remain focused, but the thoughts were far too powerful.

As she faced forward, listening out for other cries, she could hear Hao nearby, knowing that he could easily outpace her, but it was amazing how much the motherly feelings she felt for the boy pushed her past her own limits. Fear was power in itself.

Breaking through the last bush, Lauri broke into the clearing. Her body went rigid at the sight in front of her. “Will!” She screamed, her eyes fixed on the precarious situation the boy found himself in. “Will! Don’t move. We’ll get you out.” She turned to Hao, her eyes filled with concern, her body shaking with fear.

* * * * *

Like Kim, Christian did not utter a word through the sunset, but for different reasons than his companion. The scene in front of them did not catch his attention like it had done in the past. The dazzling beauty of nature at its best was no comparison to the sight that held his eyes. As Kim gazed at the setting sun, the blazing flash of colour that heralded night, he watched her, enjoying sharing her delight at the view.

“Yes, very beautiful.” He replied to her, not fully on the same track of topic. He smiled, his eyes fixed to hers. He knew he should turn away, to look off to the horizon, pretend that he had been experiencing the view with her, but he could not take his eyes away from her. Moving his hand, he brushed from her face a loose strand of hair that had freed itself from its bind, tucking it behind her ear. He wanted to speak but no words would come. He leant forward, the desire to kiss her leading his actions.

Quicksand, the kid was in quicksand. Of all the...

A stream of curses flowed out of his mouth like water; words that could have made his former Master Warrent Officer proud, as he looked around for something, anything that could be used to save Will from a drowning death.

The knife jumped into his hand without further thought as he scanned the surroundings, taking in every feature that could be used. The knife itself was only a small pocket knife which he had found washed up on the beach on the body of a dead boy; maybe 5 inches in length it was.

But there was nothing to find. Only palm tress and weak underbrush which would be of no used to him.

"Lauri, get down and crawl towards Will, I'll grab your ankles and when I see you grab him, I'll pull you both out."

'Hopefully...'

Lauri looked at Hao for a moment. Her expression did not look too impressed with the idea. She had visions of sinking the moment her hands touch the sand. “Are you sure this is going to work?” She felt grateful that Will was still only a small boy. If he had been older, this idea most certainly would fail at the first. “Is there nothing we can use as a kind of platform thing?”

She had seen movies containing people being stuck in quicksand, and they had always managed to find a solution. She never thought she would find herself playing one out. Giving Hao the benefit of the doubt, he had been more than a stage singer after all, she moved to the edge of the quicksand, and looked over at Will. “I’m coming to get you, Will. Hold still!”

A quick glance to Hao, a nervous smile on her face, she got down on all fours and tentatively placed her hand on the ground in front of her. It seemed solid enough. She rested some weight on it, just to make sure, the slowly using the same method worked her way closer to the boy. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears with fear for Will and herself.

Again, the nature of quicksand was working against the three. It naturally followed, of course, that as you sank deeper into the quicksand, you necessaily got pulled towards the middle.

Which meant that every little bit Will sank, he moved a tiny bit further from shore. He was decidedly out of arms reach, but only just. Well, if Lauri's arms had been a foot longer, he was only just out of reach.

He followed instructions, though. He had always been good at that. He did not move, and merely waited, trusting in Lauri and Hao to rescue him. But the fear in his eyes as he looked towards his surrogate mother and father made them into dark pits that ran over with salty tears.

“Everything is going to be alright, Will.” Lauri spoke softly, almost believing in her own words as she heard the assuredness in the way they were spoken, not that she was not filled with fear. She wanted to cry out and scream as she found the boy was slightly out of reach. She looked back at Hao. “You’ll have to find something, a branch or some vine.” Her eyes were looking at him pleadingly. “I don’t think you’ll be able to pull us out by yourself.”

Almost as she spoke, she heard movement coming from the bushes, in the direction of the water pool. She strained her ears, listening for signs as to whether it was some beast that was about to hamper their rescue attempt. She waited with bated breath, hoping that nothing bad was going to happen. “Hao?” She questioned softly, not wanting to draw too much attention, before turning back to the boy, looking at him with love in her eyes, and smiling encouragingly.

The bushes around the edge of the clearing began to move, and the sound of sticks and undergrowth being trodden on echoed through the air. Lauri turned around, expecting the worse, then sighed with relief.

“Hao?” The familiar form of Daniel broke into view. “Lauri?” With a quick look around it did not take the man too long to see what had happened, or what had caused the shrill scream that had reached him during his walk and brought him running. “Oh my…” He stammered slightly then looked about him frantically. “What is the plan, Hao?” His eyes looked around for anything they could use, being in a jungle type area the possibilities were endless.

While not too far away, physically, Kim and Christian might as well have been on another planet. The shouts and cries for help were absorbed by silent trees long before reaching the outcropping where the two stood. While there was panic down below, there was nothing but silence up here.

Kim looked over, mildly surprized as she felt his hand brushing her hair away. She blushed slightly: his intent was unmistakable. The coyness drained from her body as she leaned towards him, meeting his lips with her own.

Leaning into the kiss, Christian almost sighed with pleasure as their lips touched. He had been afraid, afraid that she would back away from his approach; it was not as if his intention had not been clear. But she had not, and it was with a heavily beating heart that he placed his hands lightly on her arms, holding her as he deepened the kiss, keeping it slow, not wanting to become on too strong too quickly.

Their lips slowly parted, the length of the union lost in the moment. It could have been seconds or it could have been a lifetime. For Christian it had been the most important moment of his life. His hands remained on her body, his eyes locked to hers. He did not speak, he was unable to express in words what he was feeling at that moment, and he did not wish to spoil the effects by breaking the silence. He hoped that his eyes expressed to her exactly what she had instilled in his body. Despite his attempt at remaining calm, his hands shook slightly upon her skin.

He wanted to kiss her again, to feel her lips pressed against his, to once more savour the sensations that she brought to him. But he did not move towards her, prompting her to respond to another, he remained how he was, waiting for her to give him a sign to proceed.

'Ok kiddy, it's do or die time. You've told me to shut up and I have, and now look at where we sit. You can't think for Sh*t about how to save that kid. Want me to speak up now, or do you wanna watch that kid drown?'

'Fine, god damn it, whatever, do what you can.'

------

There was only a slight tenor change when he spoke again.

"Great, now we got three people. Somebody find us a branch or something that'd be long enough to thrust out into that gook. With all 3 of us, we should be able to break it off if it's still on the tree."

In did not take long following a quick scan of the area to find a branch suitable for the task. And within the briefest of time, Daniel and Hao had disconnected it from the tree and made their way back to where Lauri had remained, keeping Will calm, while trying against all hope for her reach to be long enough.

Daniel swung the branch around with the aid of Hao, as Lauri moved slightly out of the way, but remaining close enough for the boy to know that he was near. The last thing she wanted was for him to panic and cause himself to sink faster. She remained speaking softly to him, explaining everything that they were doing, and despite her fear and agitation, she managed to keep her voice calm and level.

Looking over at his partner, Daniel gave the young man a smile. “Ready?” He could not help feeling that Hao was somewhat different. He could almost feel the change that had come over him once he had appeared. He seemed to have sprung into action. But this was not something to worry about now, once the boy was safely out of danger he would give the whole thing some more thought.

Lauri looked over at the two men, and then turned her attention to Will. “You are a very brave boy, Will. Hao and Daniel are going to get you out. Do whatever they tell you, and when they tell you, hold on tightly, Will.” Her voice was light despite the faint quiver. “I’ll be here helping too.” In what seemed like a lifetime, but had only been a mere moment, she waited for two to begin working on freeing the boy.

“Lauri, get ready to pull him out once he is close enough, and try not to fall in.” Daniel gave her a smile as he positioned the branch. It was long, and would easily reach across to where Will was stuck. “There’s a good boy. When it’s close enough to reach, Will, hold on tightly. And keep holding on until you can feel Lauri’s arms about you. Can you do that?”

As he waited for a nod, he spoke to Hao. “Ready, Captain?”

Will, by this point, having followed instructions, was waist deep in the muck. Which meant, having not moved, his arms were down by his sides...

Which necessarily meant his hands were already sucked in. At the new instructions, though, he tried desperately to remove them from the grime and grit, finally freeing one arm to discover the other one now trapped up to the elbow.

He was crying freely now, but it was becoming more difficult. After all, water pressure can crush a full grown man, and quicksand is far heavier.... and Will was only seven.

He grabbed the branch with his free arm, having figured out that trying to free his other arm would only get him in deeper.

"Ready, and PULL!"

The Two fully grown men heaved backwards, trying to pull the child from a suffocation death.

"And Pull!"

Again, they heaved.

Hao wasn't sure if they were making any headway, though he thought he had actually moved a couple of inches back.

The culmination of their flirting, teasing and word games.

Kim met Christian's eyes with her own, half-closed. She smiled dreamily, not having fully expected to find herself in this situation, but wondering how anything else was more likely. He'd saved her life and helped her get accostomed to things. He was also the only one she'd spent any time with. Granted, she hadn't sought the company of others, but didn't that speak volumes in and of itself?

She blushed slightly as she realised she was over-analyzing things, even as Christian was gazing back at her, his desire clear as a giant sign with flaming letters. She smiled at him and reached up, placing one hand along the back of his head and pulled him down for another kiss.

Daniel, like Hao, could feel himself moving backwards, and put this down to them actually achieving their goal. He was confident in their ability to pull the boy free. Of course, his confidence would grow once the boy was able to grasp the branch with both hands, and he was sure that it was only a matter of time before the boy would be safely wrapped in Lauri’s arms. He flicked a glance in her direction, watching her trying to remain brave for the sake of Will, but knowing inside she would be worried.

“Keep pulling, Hao. I think we are making some progress.” He could feel the weight of the boy on the end of the branch, not that he was that heavy. Slowly he could feel movement. He knew that as soon as the boy was in reach, Lauri would be able to grab him from her position and then the three, if necessary, could pull him bodily out of the gunk.

Lauri, a smile of confidence that she did not feel plastered on her face, knelt on the grown beside the edge of the quicksand, her arm outstretched, reaching for the boy. From her vantage point, she could see the movement as he slowly emerged from his trap. “Hold on tight, Will. Once you are close enough, I’ll grab you and help you out.” She risked a glance over her shoulder at the two men who were pulling hard on the branch.

Looking back at the youngster, she gave him her biggest grin, feeling herself growing less fearful as he moved further and further out of the quicksand, her fingers mere inches from his, as she watch the progress. “Once your other hand is free, Will, hold on tightly, then we can get you out quicker.”

* * * * *

Christian had no idea how long the kiss went on for, so lost in the moment was he. Breaking the union of their lips, he gazed in her eyes, a smile playing at his mouth. He tried to speak, his lips moving slightly, but no words came out. Finally he found his tongue. “I…ah…that was…um…” He gave her a huge grin instead, feeling oddly like a schoolboy experiencing his first kiss. He turned his gaze from her for a moment, trying to compose himself. When he woke up that morning, he had not expected the day to end like that.

Returning his eyes to hers, he took a deep breath and grinned. “You seemed to have taken my breath away.” He once more moved his hand to her cheek, as he looked down into her face. At that moment he was lost in what to do, he wanted her and yet, he did not want to move things on too quickly. He was afraid that his lack of company for the last year and a half had turned him savage, and he felt more than just a lust for Kim, although there was a deep sense of just that running through him at that moment. He took that moment to admire the woman that stirred so many feeling inside him.

Kim laughed softly, not in a mocking tone, just amused as he stammered. She smiled up at him, a slight grin playing across her lips, "Glad I can still inspire speachlessness..." She leaned forward and gave him another, much briefer, kiss. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged tightly, resting her head on his chest and sighing happily. "This is nice, Christian... thank you."

Christian, smiling like the cat that got the cream, wrapped his arms around Kim, enjoying the feeling of her body against his. He moved his hand so that her hair brushed against his fingers, playing lightly with it. He could not remember when he felt so happy, especially in the last year and a half, or ever if he really thought about it.

“It is very nice.” His voice was soft, almost dreamy as he looked out over the ocean, the sun disappearing behind the horizon. “Thank you for sharing it with me.” He fell silent, not wanting to ruin the atmosphere. His finger continued to circle strands of her hair, until he moved his hand slightly, stroking her neck.

He felt oddly selfish being grateful for her arrival, knowing that in being here she was away from the people she loved. But for a moment, he was happy to ignore those details and enjoy the company of someone that in a short period of time had become someone he felt comfortable and content with.

(ooc: I'd like very much if Sentient Peoples were to write the next part, cause it's his character that may or maynot die.)

[ooc: We may have a short delay as Sentient Peoples is not around for a little while, but once they come back, we can get the thread started again.]

It seemed like forever to the boy, but eventually, the suction on his arm came free with a resounding 'pop'. Immediately, of course, he reached up and grabbed onto the branch with both hands, holding on as if it were a matter of life or death.

Which, of course, it was.

Will refused to let of the branch with every ounce of will power he possessed, feeling the grimy sand slowly moving down his body, the painful pressure decreasing with each passing moment.

OOC: Pun intentional.

Lauri reached out, trying to grab the boy’s hand, watching almost awestruck as he was pulled slowly out of the sand. She was not sure when they had started, but she could feel tears rolling down her cheeks. Despite this, the smile remained on her lips, and her love for the boy shone out of her eyes, as she became more filled with hope and relief. “When you think you can, try to take my hand, Will.”

Daniel could feel the weight on the branch change as the sand began to let go of the boy, its grip fading as he once more became more under their control than of nature’s. He would have smiled, but his body was too busy focusing its effort on bring the boy back to safety. He spoke softly to Hao. “I think we are winning.” He took a step back, once more taking up the strain.

Kim smiled up at Christian through half closed eyes, "I saw that grin, buster." The sun's show was largely over, just leaving a few after-effects and a little light to see by. She sighed and pulled back from Christian, brushing her hair back, "We should probably head back..."

Christian felt a little disappointed that their time together was to end, but he knew that he had to be careful. Getting up from the ground, he presented his hand to Kim and helped her up gently. He pulled a piece of grass out of her hair and smiled, his eyes meeting hers. “We don’t want everyone getting the wrong idea, do we?” He let go of the grass and let it float off on the breeze, as he turned towards the exit, pausing for a moment. “Today meant a lot to me.” He looked back at her. “Thank you.”

Feeling himself becoming too emotional, smiled and pushed back the branch that hid their way out, letting Kim walk through first before following behind. The jungle had changed already, the falling light making everything seem so much deeper, increasing the shadows. “We will have to be careful heading back, the rocks and twigs seem double interested in tripping you up once it becomes dark.” Taking her hand, not sure whether his words were for that benefit only, they began the climb down the hill.

Will did not speak, but then, for him, that was fairly normal. Instead, as grip of the nasty, sticky substance on his other hand finally came free, he moved with the catlike reflexes of a seven year old who had spent far too long a portion of his life in the jungle.

His arm fastened around the branch, holding on tightly, his eyes meeting Lauri's with tears in them, desperate for her to reach out to him once more and hold him like his mother had.

With another huge tuck of the branch, both men pulling as fast and as hard as they could without causing the boy to lose grip, the began to move him closer to the waiting arms of Lauri. Her arms outstretch, as she felt her fingers finally make contact with his body. The two men, seeing this event, worked harder, bringing him closer and closer to her hands.

Suddenly, her fingers were able to reach him, wrapping first around his arm, and then as he drew ever nearer, her other arm looped around him, holding him, as she helped pull him out of the sand.

Finally after what felt like a lifetime, she felt the boy become totally free from the hold the gloop had on him, and with a mighty pull, both Lauri and Will shot backwards. Her arms wrapped tightly around him, holding him to her, as tears of happiness began to roll down her cheeks. She pressed a kiss to his forehead, as she just lay there happy that he was out of danger.

Daniel turned to Hao, letting go of his hold on the branch. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to go through that again.” He patted the young man on the shoulder, and walked towards the woman and the boy, as they lay on the ground.

Kim smiled at him, "There is that." She giggled, a slight amount of sadness her her laugh, "We'll have plenty of sunsets to watch together, I think. I doubt we're going anywhere..." She smiled at him and gave him a hug, "Today meant a lot to me too, Christian. I... I think I could get used to this being 'home'."

She nodded at his warning, already being very careful as they picked their way back down the hill, taking his hand happily. She grinned, "Good point, tumbling down the hill isn't high on my list of things to do." She laughed, "Even though it'd be a lot faster."

Christian smiled, as the wandered down the hill hand in hand. He really enjoyed being with Kim, more than he was willing to announce out loud but was sure she knew already. “Yeah, there will be lots of sunsets, and when you are feeling stronger, I’ll show you some of the other places where the scenery looks good or even better than that one.” He tightened his fingers around hers.

“But you really need to rest. I have use for you tomorrow, if we are ever going to gather these colours together for me to do your portrait.” He grinned, once more falling into their playful banter. “I can’t have my assistant tired on her first day. I would hate to have to fire you that quickly.”

Kim smirked at Christian as their banter resumed, "Oh, have no fear that I'll be able to keep up. Besides, even if I can't go diving for hematite," a slight blush at the realities swimming involved, "you'll need someone to tell you what you can use." She grinned, "You're cute and talented, but you don't know a damn think about primative inks, honey."

“Cute, huh?” Christian grinned, purposely picking up that point over everything else she had said. “I knew you had fallen for my charms. No that I can blame you, of course.” He winked and turned away, laughing to himself. “But you are right, give me a shop that sells paints and other colour implements and I’m in my element, but stick me on a desert island…” He sighed then grinned again. “If I was a religious man, I would think you were a gift from god. Although if I was a religious man, I would be praying for a way off the island, not someone able to find natural paints for me.”

He led her down the hill, which seemed to take much less time than the climb up. At the bottom he stopped and pulled her around, until she was standing in front of him. “I’m glad you are here, just the same.” He gently caressed her cheek, a smile playing on his lips, his eyes revealing the sincerity of his words.

OOC: yeah, I'm back from a month and a half long hiatus, :P

IC:

It should have been a look of relief on Hao's face. He ment for the look too be relief. Hell, he FELT releaved.

Yet, somehow, he could feel his face mold itself into a frown.

Slowly, he set down the vine and made his way towards the twosome laying on the ground.

"Will? What happened?"

Lauri looked up from her position on the ground as Daniel approached, a huge smile on her face. “Thank you.” She mouthed, still hugging Will to her.

He nodded his head and smiled as he crouched down beside them, rubbing the young boy’s hair playfully. “You gave us quite a fright there, Will.” Daniel laughed lightly, through a mix of relief and wanting to keep the air light. “I guess we need to mark this place off, I’ll put some markers up to remind people to be careful.” He rose to his feet as Hao arrived.

Looking up at the young man, Lauri smiled happily, only to have it wiped of her face as she saw Hao’s expression. “Don’t be harsh on him.” She gave the boy another squeeze as she pulled them both up into a sitting position. “It was only an accident, and everyone is fine.” She kissed Will’s forehead. “We need to get you cleaned and then to bed, I think.” Her hand lightly brushed over his back, feeling the sand that had stuck to his clothing.

Her eyes once more found Hao’s, and she smiled, wanting to show that she meant nothing by her words, and that she was very grateful for all that he had done. “I think we all should head back.”

Even as Will wept against Lauri’s chest, his tears came in silence, dripping down grimy cheeks and splattering on his clothing, dirty once more, despite his bath only a half hour earlier.

He said nothing in response to Hao’s question, refusing to even lift his head from his surrogate mother’s shoulder to look around, his small arms clinging tighter to the young woman than the quicksand had to him, as he trembled with relief, an unconscious explosion of his pent up nervous energy and his fear, now that he was safe and secure back with the one person he knew would never let him go.

It was only with a visible shake of his head that Hao was able to shed the frown and ignore the growing pounding in his temples.

"Yeah, you're right, I'm sorry. Must be the left over adrenaline rush."

Hao smiled at the three of them as if to prove that they could stop throwing such nervous glances at him.

Then he knelt beside Lauri and offered her a hand. "Come on kiddo's, lets get both of you cleaned up."

"Men!" Kim huffed and rolled her eyes dramatically, looking the very picture of world-weary indignation. "As I recall," she continued, grinning playfully, "you were the one driven to distraction by my charms." She struck a glamour pose, one foot in front of the other, her head back and her arms lifted to run her fingers through her hair. The effect was ruined; however, when she realised just how disasterous a week in sea water was on her hair, "Ick." She blinked and giggled, "Okay, I lost that round."

While the trek back was easier than up, it was darker, so she concentrated more on her footing than anything else, more than willing to put the banter on pause for a little while. She was a little winded by the time they made it down -- guess I'm still recovering -- and gasped in surprize when Christian pulled her around at the base. She smiled shyly up at the young artist, "I'm glad you're here with me, Christian." She hesitated a moment and then leaded up, giving him another kiss. It wasn't as long, breathless, or passionate as it had been watching the sunset, but to say it was a quick peck would be a monumental understatement.

She smiled at him again as she pulled back, licking her lips unconsciously, "You should probably get me back, Mr. Artist... the others will think something untoward happened..."

Taking Hao’s offered hand, her other arm wrapped around Will, Lauri rose to her feet, feeling more than a little uncomfortable with the mud that was beginning to dry rapidly on her body. She looked at Hao and smiled. “Thank you, for everything you did.” Leaning slightly, she pressed a light kiss to his lips. “I must look a mess.” Her eyes fell on the young boy in her arms. “You look pretty messy too.” Her eyes glistened with tears of happiness that threatened to fall.

Daniel, who was watching the little family group, patted Hao on the shoulder and indicated the way back to camp. “I think we all need a good helping of food and rest. I don’t know about you, but I feel like I wrestled with the world today.” He playfully ruffled Will’s hair. “And fortunately we won.” He grinned and looked at Lauri. “Are you alright with him?”

Nodding, Lauri smiled. “Yeah.” She pressed a little kiss to the boy’s forehead. “I don’t want to let go of him.”

“I can understand that.” Daniel looked at the group and began to walk off.

Lauri looked after him as she began. “Daniel!” He turned around to look at her. “Thank you.” She smiled, and linking her arm with Hao’s she yawned sleepily. “Let’s get back, before you have to carry us both.”

* * * * *

Looking at Kim, his breath heavy, Christian grinned, unable to bring his features under some kind of control. “If I am honest with you, you did win.” He laughed suddenly, his happiness coming through. “And I’ve always liked the wild, windswept, been in the sea for a week look over those primped and pampered women anyway.” He raised his hand and lightly ran his fingers through a strand of her hair.

“But you are right, we should get back before someone wonders what I’ve done with you.” He smiled and offered her his arm, as he turned them around to face the direction they needed to head. “I can’t have you ruin my good reputation.” He winked and laughed.

"To the watering hole first I think, after all, mud packs may be good for the skin, but I'm thinking you'll all be a bit more comfortable if you didn't go to sleep covered in dirt."

Hao gently led them towards the water hole where the events of the day had first started.

Kim smiled a little, still looking self conscious about the tangled, stringy mess that her hair was. She'd never been a model or anything like that, but she liked to look nice, and having her hair pondering the spontaneous formation of dreadlocks wasn't something she liked. Then again, if she was going to go fresh-water diving, perhaps all was not lost. "You're too kind... blind and delerious, perhaps, but kind."

She took his arm, after elbowing him playfully, and walked with him back to camp, "I'm so thrilled that you place your own reputation over my own. A real gentleman..."

Lauri nodded and smiled at Hao. “I think that’s a wonderful suggestion.” She wrapped her arms around Will holding him close to her body. “Although it doesn’t seem that long ago we were bathing, does it?” She gave the little man a grin as brushed her finger over his nose playfully. “I think we should avoid that spot in future, Will. I didn’t find that much fun, did you?”

As they neared the water, Lauri lowered Will to the ground, while making sure that she remained holding his hand. “I don’t know what I would do without you, Hao.” Her eyes twinkled softly in the slowly fading light. “You really were a hero today.” She pressed a kiss to his lips before turning towards the water. “Are you joining us?”

* * * * *

Christian grinned. “I might be a little out of practice.” He led her back into the camp, the flickering flames of the fire throwing a warm glow over the familiar area. “I’ve not really had anyone to practice being gentlemanly on…not for a while anyway.” He looked at her, his eyes revealing his fun. “Hopefully you can help me find my manners?” His eyebrow rose questioningly.

"Nah, t'was Daniel who did most of the work, I couldn't find anything to use the first time around."

He winked at her before sliding an arm around her slim waist.

"Of course, far be it for me to not take advantage of these very pro-heroic feelings that you're currently having."

Hao then procceded to propel with his one arm and as Lauri splashed in, he commented, with a sh*t eating grin on his face, "Of course, one can't ALWAYS be the hero. Villains have more fun."

Kim smiled as they stepped into the campground, the warm fire casting shadows against the rock-face. She suddenly felt tired from the walk, her recent exertions, and the warmth of the area. She stretched luxuriously, grinning at little at Christian's look of appretiation. She gave him a playful wink, "Don't worry, Christian, I'll whip you into shape eventually." She smiled sweetly, with a façade of innocence, "I don't suppose you'd be willing to get a poor waif something to eat before bed?"

With all the resilience of a child, Will was once more fine by the time they reached the small bathing pool. He nodded, somewhat contritely, as Lauri instructed him not to go near the quicksand again, and then his eyes, but not his mouth, laughed as Hao pushed his surrogate mother into the water.

He managed to hit the water only a second after her, clothing and all, and held his breath, doubting that Lauri or Hao actually saw his knife-like entry with little splash, and he swam under the water towards the waterfall on the far side, knowing he needed its force to get all this muck off him.

Coming back to the surface, following her unceremonious ducking, Lauri frowned at Hao, her eyes still brimming playfully. “If we had a couch, you would be sleeping on it tonight.” She ran her hands over the hair, brushing the excess water out. “And you can stop looking so smug, even villains get their comeuppance in the end.” She shot him a smile, and began to rub her hands over her body, trying to remove the mud and sand that was stuck to her body.

Briefly, her eyes flicked away from Hao. “Will, are you getting in?” She looked along the bank. “Will!” Her heart moved into her mouth. “Hao, did you see where Will went?” She began to move towards the edge of the pool, already her thoughts filled with unpleasant scenes of things that had happened to him.

* * * * *

“Whips, huh?” Christian grinned, intentionally taking Kim’s meaning the wrong way. “I really did not have you done for one of those.” He winked as they moved further into the camp. He really could not remember a day that he had had more fun, even if he included the time before he was stranded on the island. “If you make yourself comfortable somewhere,” he looked around for a suitable place. “I’ll go grab us some food.”

Leaving Kim for a moment as he wandered over to the fire, where the remnants of the beast had been cooking, the aroma making him realise just how hungry he had gotten. He had lost track of the time – as lost as you can be going by the sun’s position – and had been enjoying himself too much to really care to notice how long it had been between the sun setting and them returning to the camp.

Cutting off a good portion for both of them, he knew that Kim needed to get back to full strength as soon as possible. Taking the makeshift plates, he walked back to Kim and presented her with the food. “If you want any more just say.” He lowered himself down onto the ground near her. “I’m starving.” He looked at her and smiled. “And I feel I’ll need to make sure I have enough energy to keep up with you.”

Kim gave him another melodramatic sigh, "You're incorrigable, you know that?" A sly grin slowly crossed her lips, "I don't know why I put up with you, honestly." A slightly more mischievous grin replaced the sly one, "If you're not careful, you'll find yourself 'painting' all by yourself again..." She laughed softly as the look on his face as she settled down comfortably, waiting for him to get their food.

The fire was quite nice, helping her relax. She watched Christian fetching their dinner, smiling a little to herself. She really enjoyed spending time with him, of course, he was the only person she really knew on the little island. Of course, once again, she hadn't been here very long, so it was hard to say. Still, they hadn't turned into some twisted mirror of The Lord of the Flies, so she guessed they were all pretty good people. That, or they had worked out all their problems already.

Lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice Christian returning. She gave him a little smile and accepted the plate, "Thank you." She took a bite from the meat, mildly pleased that she always liked cookouts before, so this wasn't so bad. She gave Christian another grin, "You better believe it, kiddo... I'll put you through the paces..."