NationStates Jolt Archive

Will looked at Lauri, as she held him close, feeling the fear draining from him.

He could feel her caring, in her voice, in the way she held him. Just like his mother had.

Lauri was good people, and for the first time, he truly relaxed as she held him.

[ooc: as most of the other players have left, I am taking the liberty of using their characters as NPCs, I have permission from Diablo NL to control his character out right.]

They were no longer walking, picking up pace as they heard the noise up ahead the group could hear the chase. The sound of bodies brushing past bushes, snapping twigs and rustling leaves, could be made out up ahead.

Stopping out of sight, a couple climbing trees to improve their view, giving them a better aim. Darret took himself up to a shielded from the others in the party, just in time to see the man and beast break into the open. From his viewpoint he could see that the man had little chance of surviving for long.

Watching he saw the others beginning to pummel the animal with the projectiles they had gathered, giving the man a chance to gain a little respite as the animal slowed as its body took a beating. Growling louder, its anger rising, its pain showing as it made a move against another of the party.

Just for a moment, Darret considered remaining where he was, before raising the gun and finishing the beast of with a shot to the head. It stopped mid-leap, falling to the floor, catching his victim with his claw scratching a wound through thigh flesh.

Concealing the gun about his person, Darret jumped down from the tree, as the others in the group split between helping the injured and dealing with the felled beast. There would be meat on the menu tonight...

Blinding pain radiated from his thigh. Must have been the creature's claws. What was that about the claw of a preditor? Something importent... something he should remember...

'Always watch out from infection son. Predators have the dirtiest claw's you could ever dream of.'

"Shit...'

Picking up Hao-li carefully, several of the group carried him back to the beach, one of them had taken the precaution of covering the wound with his shirt, though not totally clean it helped to stem the flow of blood until they could find something better.

The others grabbed the predator, hauling its carcass to camp, struggling under its dead weight. But they knew that it was well worth their effort when they tucked into its cooked flesh.

Breaking through the bushes some fifteen minutes later, Hao-li was lowered into the shelter, groaning slightly as his wound was jarred in the process.

Lauri, getting up from the sand, as the other arrived, walked over to the fallen man. She ran her eye over his body, her eyes resting on the make-shift bandage, the blood already beginning to show through. She knelt down beside him, removing the originially blue material, and looked at the gash.

"We need some hot water." She looked at the others. "And we are going to need something to put on this, before an infection sets in."

Everyone set out to do whatever they could...

In 2 hours, dispite their efforts, the warm climate had already cause the wound to swell up in the beginning stages of infection. Puss leaked from the wound in ever increasing amounts and bloodflow slowed to a trickle, but never completely stoped.

As one of his last acts of lucid thoughts, Hao asked the group to try and find maggots to place in the wound to eat the corrupted flesh.

20 minutes after, with his forhead burning, he lapst into a state of fevered dreams and uncounsiousness.

Hao rolls over and *bumps* into a log.

Lauri sat near Hao-li watching as he slipped into fever, not knowing what to do in order to help him. Before he passed out, they heard him mention maggots, and several went in search for some, while she remained in the camp with the injured man and Will. The boy playing in the sand just outside the shelter.

Wringing out a piece of cloth that had once been part of a shirt, dipped in cool fresh stream water that Darret had bought back, she slowly shock her head as she spoke softly to her charge.

"This is a fine mess you've gotten yourself into. Couldn't you have climbed a tree or something?" She smiled sadly, as she applied the damp rag to his head. "You really shouldn't have played the hero. But you have to recover so I can thank you for saving Will and me."

She turned her head as she turned some noise, as the others returned, the ever present coconut shell presented to her. She shuddered as she saw the maggots wriggling inside, looking up she shook her head. "I can't do it."

Moving aside, she allowed a braver person than herself to get close enough to see to the patient. Tipping the nutshell over, the maggots now against the infected skin, as another piece of shirt was used to hold the casing in place.

Frowning with disgust at the sight before her, Lauri held Will tightly as she hoped that they had done enough, and that it wasn't too late.

A perfect blue sky, waves washing against the shore, a beautiful lady beside him. What a life. That cruise had almost taken a turn for the worst when something had ramed up against the side of the ship, but lucky, there had been no punctures and the Liner had sailed on.

This beautiful island hadn't been on their itenerary, but the captian had called a halt anyways to let the passengers off for alittle break from the seas.

Of course, he and Amber were much enjoying the rest break from their vacation. He was almost sure that she was married, but she hadn't mentioned anything about it, so he didn't worry.

So, he turned to her to see the wonderful sun light glimmering off her hair as the rain poured down and the lighting struck all around them. They clung to each other whispering that it would be ok and that they would be fine, and that a ship would come to rescue them soon.

"Don't leave me alone Hao, just hold on to me... we'll be saved. I'm sure of it."

And so, they floated with their lifejackets bobbing around them, sometimes sleeping, but most of the time resting in each other's arms, whispering with salt cracked voices and crying to, sometimes, when the need caught them, but still holding on to each other, and when they both woke in the morning they found themselves cuddled together in a bed aboard a ship which had managed to reach them in time to save what remained of the passengers, only Laura and Will hadn't survived, but wait, Laura and Will, Didn't he meet them on the island but he had spend all his time with Amber on the island so how did he know them, there was something, something didn't fit right, he loved Amber but where were Laura and Will and the others, the ones that actually survived, but what, actually survived, what do you mean actually survived, he was with the survivers right now, only....

And the thunder roared again and the ship sank again, and again Hao held Amber in his arms and they whispered to each other but that big wave, the one that had dunked them and the one that had drove them down where Amber had been, no Amber was alive, she had to be, he saw her right here, on the sunny beach on the sandy island where they lay in the sun, but that wasn't right, the ship had sunk and they were in the water, clinging on to each other for dear life and Amber had "DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"

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

"DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!" and out Hao-li came from his dreams, after 3 days of unconsiousness.

Sitting silently outside the shelter, playing in the sand with Will, which had become a major part of her day as she sat within hearing distance of Hao, yet far enough away so that the child was not affected by the strange ramblings that had haunted the fevered man's dreams.

Startled out of her game by the sound of his voice, Lauri looked into the shelter, then turned to Will. "Stay here, Sweetie." She stood up, smiling at the boy, ruffling his hair as she moved inside to take a look at Hao. She picked up a coconut shell before entering, knowing that if he was indeed awake he would be in need of a drink.

Crouching down beside him where he lay on the makeshift bed, Lauri put down the cup and moved the damp cloth over his face as she checked for signs of wakening or whether this was just another fevered dream. He had mentioned the lady several times, calling out her name. It had torn at her heart, the raw emotion that was displayed on his features, his tortured brow, which she always assumed was a replay of the sinking, her own dreams were still haunted by those visions.

Wetting her finger in the water, she drip a few drops onto his lips, hoping to bring him out of his sleep. Into what? Another nightmare? One that wouldn't end with the opening of eyes.

"Perhaps you are wise to sleep." She spoke more to herself than to the prone form lying in front of her. "What is there to wake for?" Strange, that was a question that seemed to enter her dreams every morning. Shaking her head, she banished the thoughts to the deep recesses of her mind.

From the dreaming world to the waking world took 3 seconds. In those three seconds, there was one more vision.

At first, Hao thought it was his dad, but a feeling said that it was himself, walking along a beach, at first alone and then with Amber. She was saying something to him, but the sound of the surf covered her words until, turning towards him, the younger him and said something.

What was it?

The image of her face was fading into the background light but her lips were still moving.

N... No.... Not....

"Not

--------

Alone. Not Alone." he spoke aloud softly as his eyes opened to see Amber's... no, not Amber, Laura's face looking down on him.

"We're not alone." he said with a faint smile while looking into her eyes; then, relaxing and alowing his eyes to close again, he fell into a deep, non-fevered sleep.

One without dreams.

Lauri smiled as her patient opened his eyes, for a moment keeping contact with her own, before slipping back into sleep. She gentle stroked his forehead with the back of her fingers, feeling the temperature slowly ebbing. His face peaceful for the first time in days. Not wanted to disturb his sleeping, knowing he needed all the rest he could get.

Leaving the shelter, she walked over to Will, ruffling his hair briefly as she stood beside him, watching as he played in the sand. In the background she could her the roaring of the waves as they broke upon the beach. The sun was beginning to lower in the sky, soon the sand would turn a golden orange before darkness fell.

She walked towards the sea, bare feet sinking into the sand as the grains moved under her weight. She stopped just before the line that indicated where the last wave had travelled, watching the wash as the next wave moved ever further up the sand, claiming it as its own.

Staring at the horizon, she stood looking for a sign that someone was looking for them. It had been nearly a week now, and still there was no sightings of boats or planes, the feeling of abandonment began its usual tugging at her heart.

She jumped as something touched her foot. Looking down, she watched the water slide gently off the beach, gathering its strength to attempt another run. The wet sand reflected the setting sun, only to be blotted out as the wave broke, already up to Lauri's ankles.

Come to us...Please find us...I want to go home...

Her thoughts spoke to the sunset, hoping that dawn would bring about their rescue.

Darret had the gun, and for him, with the gun came authority. But this authority had to be carefully wrought.

And so the hunting began, people were, after all, controlled by their stomachs.

It was night when Hao woke up again, feeling rested but dry as hell and quite hungry.

"Laura?" he rasped out.

Lauri sat outside the shelter, a little way from the fire but still within its orange glow. The others were seated in groups around the the camp, disgussing the kill of the day, and planning how to capture the next days food.

Turning at his voice, she rose and went in, crouching beside him, a smile on her face. Before she spoke, she turned and picked up seem water. Helping him rise, she lifted him to a sitting position. Placing the shell against his lip, she slowly gave him a drink, only allowing a steady flow of liquid to dribble into his mouth.

"Welcome back. You must be hungry." She turned to the opening, calling over to Daniel who was sitting in view. "Could you get our patient some food? He's finally entered the land of the living." She returned her gaze to Hao-li's face, grateful that he was at last out of danger.

"More thirsty than anything... " he mumbled while drinking. As he finished, he looked around with eyes that didn't seem to see right.

Everything was blurred. He could see the colours, the shapes, the sizes, but all the edges seemed to blur, even when he consintrated his gaze on them.
However, he didn't have the heart to worry the others any further, after all, his eyes had been closed for three days, wasn't it normal that is vision was a bit off?

To get his mind off that, he joked "So, what's for dinner? The other other white meat?*"

(OOC: * other other white meat was in referance to eating babies, haven't you ever Seen Austin Powers 2? lol)

Hao felt strangely light, strangely able to joke without the sadness of the past week weighing down on him and, though flashes

["Not Alone, Hao, you're not alone, I'll always be there."]

of images he saw burst past the back of his eyes sometimes, he couldn't quite piece together the dreams...

While Lauri helped Hao-li take some more water, Daniel walked over to the fire where that evening's meal was positioned by the fire. Breaking off a fair portion, he walked over to the shelter and handed the food to Lauri, who in turn gave the meat to her patient.

Standing in the entrance for a moment, Daniel checked that neither inhabitants needed anything else, before turning away and returning to the position he had vacated moments earlier. He looked around the group as they began to wind down after a day of foraging, hunting and exploration.

Over the last few days that had seen Hao-li fighting his fever, the others had taken the opportunity to slowly begin to see just what their new home offered them. They had managed to pull together enough shelter for the whole group. And even when they explored the island, they all went out with the thought that there could be more survivors out there.

He turned to the others around him, and they began to discuss their plans for tomorrow. One of the most important jobs was the hunting, a job made more difficult by the loss of the gun. Every time the group went out, they armed themselves with rocks and other projectiles in case they ran into another predator, fortunately up until now they had been lucky.

Daniel turned as he saw movement in the shelter, Lauri had helped Hao-li into a sitting position in order for him to eat. He knew that it would be some time before the patient would be back to his old strength. If he was honest with himself, he was more than a little surprised that Hao was alive to tell the tale.

Derret saw the camp fire.

"Fu_k'en finally." he muttered to himself and once again hefted the teenaged Boar he had shot down before entering the camp.

"Some one lose something?" he asked to the group waggling the gun.

The food was good on an empty stomach, but as they taught him, it went down slowly, bit by bit.

"So," Hao asked between mouthfulls, "what's been happening?"

Daniel watched as Derret reentered the camp carrying food and more importantly the gun, which had gone missing before the incident with Hao. As he moved further in towards the fire, cutting off Derret as the other man threw the carcass onto the sand.

"Where did you find that?" He looked at Derret, trying to hide the suspicion from his gaze, there was something about him that Daniel couldn't quite explain. "It's been missing for days."

* * * * *

Lauri sat beside the bed, as Hao continued to eat. Will, who had woken up and searched her out, now sat in her lap. Both of them watched Hao as he tucked into his food. She gently stroked the boy's head, as he played with some shells that they had collected earlier in the day.

"We've managed to cover a bit more of the island. Daniel and Derret go out most days." As if speaking his name had made him appear, Lauri watched as he carried the boar into the camp. "Seems he's mastered the art of catching food." She turned back to Hao, smiling. "Other than that nothing."

She went silent, as she thought for a moment. "We've taken to lighting fires at night in a hope that someone would see it, but so far, there's been nothing out there. We can but hope that someone is looking for us." A sadness crept into her eyes, showing that in reality, she didn't think they would ever be found.

OOC: a reply will be forthcomming in about 3 or so days, lol, I'm not gonna have comp accsess for the weekend.

OOC: a reply will be forthcomming in about 3 or so days, lol, I'm not gonna have comp accsess for the weekend.

"Outside camp, about 40 meter's in that direction." Derret replyed, pointing to the east of the camp. "Didn't you have it last Daniel? You should take more care of it. It's a dangerous tool."

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

The edge of sadness in her voice knawed at his heart, and for once, this feeling aroused no comment from the hateful part of him.

Hao put down his eating utencil. "I don't really remember much about what I drempt about when I was out... but one thing keeps on comming to me."

He turned to look at Lauri. "We're not alone here... you know? Whether we're rescued or not. Our loved ones," Hao glanced at Will, "I don't think they'd want us to give up, or give in to grief... sadness... no. I think they'd want us to

["I'll always be there."]

go on with our lives... for better of for worse."

Daniel looked at Darret, his expression unreadable as a multitude of thoughts and emotions flooded over him. His eyes, never leaving the other man’s face, searched for something that would give him a clue to his ultimate goal. No matter how hard he tried, Daniel found it impossible to trust Darret. Something in his attitude irked, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

“Yes, I did have it last.” He knew that he hadn’t taken it out of the camp, but then, he also couldn’t outwardly call Darret a liar without having some proof. “Guess I should be more careful.” He put out his hand, silently requesting its return.

* * * * *

Lauri looked at Hao, feeling more than a little guilty for letting her bedside manners slip. She hadn’t come in here for him to cheer her up, he hand more than enough problems of his own to deal with, without her adding to them.

Ruffling Will’s hair, she nodded slowly at Hao’s words. “I know we’re not alone, sometimes it just sneaks up on you when you are least prepared.” She sighed, as she pulled the boy tightly against her, arms wrapping around him protectively. “You’re right, it’s foolish to give up hope. I’m sure they are out there right now, looking for us.”

She smiled, with genuine happiness. “Can I get you anything else to eat or something?” Reaching over, she took the now empty bowl from his hands.

"I dunno man, if you lost it once, you might lose it again..."

Derret set the gun back into the back of his pants. "I think I'll hold on to it for safety's sake."

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

"Arrg, no, that's ok. After a few days of not eating, that was more than enough," Hao replyed, smiling up at her with gratitude. Her own smile at him made his smile into a grin.

"You should smile more Ms. Lauri. Even here."

Will watched as the man, Hao, woke up. But he was still silent.

He had not spoken for days.

Eating the food that was provided to him, he never strayed more than a few feet from Lauri.

Most of the time, whenever he could, he remained in physical contact with her as well.

But it was as if he had gone mute...

Daniel watched the retreating back of Derret as he walked away, the outline of the gun evident from this angle. Any doubt of his disliking of that particular individual evaporated, his suspicion rising even more.

Fists clenching, he ground his teeth to keep his anger down. He knew that he hadn’t lost the gun, but he would play along, he would continue with Derret’s little game, and when the time came to show their hand, he would be the one holding all the aces.

* * * * *

“Sorry, I wasn’t thinking.” Lauri lowered the boy from her lap, presenting him with the bowl. Watching him as he left the shelter and walked over to the pile of used utensils, her eyes sparkling with affection. She couldn’t pin point the exact moment that he had become important to her, but she knew that it was for him that her hope hadn’t totally left her.

Returning her gaze to Hao, she continued to smile. “Sometimes it’s hard to smile, but I will try. If not for myself, then for those around me.” She laughed lightly. “It’s not like I’m not used to smiling to order.” Her nights on the ship came to mind, having to entertain the guests even when she wasn’t always in the mood to be cheerful.

“You should get some rest.” She stood up, head bent to stop it hitting the top of the shelter. “We want you back on your feet.”

Derret could feel Daniel's gaze boaring through his back. He did not, however, care in the least. The time for subtlety was almost over, after all.

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

"I dunno Lauri, I kinda like being waited on, hand and foot. I could get used to this treatment." he said in a mock serious tone.

Hao couldn't keep it going however, and his face split into another grin. "I'll try," then, turning over, he prepaired to, once again, delve into sleep. Before Lauri could exit the tent, though, he spoke up once more.

"Now that I think about it, I recognize you. Weren't you one of the hostesses on the ship?"

Daniel walked over to Derret. No matter how much her might have held him in dislike, he knew that for the greater good of the group, he should assist in the preparation of the food. After all, best to keep the other man wondering exactly what he was thinking rather than having his feelings so plainly in his actions.

“Do you want a hand?” He nodded in the direction of the dropped carcass, his face now emotionless. “Least I can do, considering you caught it.”

* * * * *

Lauri laughed. There was something about the situation that struck her as funny. Possibly the thought that someone trapped on an island, just recovering from a serious injury would be lying on the roughest of beds, in a barely acceptable shelter, making a joke.

As she reached the door, his question stayed her movements, she turned back to face him. “Actually I was one of the cabaret.” Indicating her tattered dress, she smiled ruefully. “Did you think I always dressed like this?” She laughed at her own attempt at humour.

Derret looked at the offered helping hand.

"Sure, everyone has to pull their weight around here if we want to survive." half implying that Daniel, through his supposed "loss" of the gun had not done so.

-----------

Hao looked down at the refered to dress... or rags of the dress anyways. And, though it still covered enough so that Lauri wasn't exposed, it was quite tatered in places, and formfitting in others.

He blushed and stuttered "er... no, of course not."

Hao was, after all, still just a teenager.

Will came back over to Lauri now, having deposited the bowl as instructed. He always did what she told him to, even if he never acknowledged her.

Returning to the tent, he, as usual when he wandered more than a few feet away, hugged her legs before looking at Hao.

He smiled a little, then ducked his head, burying his face in the remains of Lauri's dress.

Daniel helped Derret strip the carcass, made difficult by their lack of tools. They had managed to find some sharp flint during their discovery trips, but they were really no substitute for the feel of steel. Hacking away at the dead animal, pulling back the skin with his hands, their slowly made progress.

After some minutes of silence, with eyes still focused on the job before him, decided to break the uncomfortable silence that rested between them. “So, Derret, what brought you aboard this particular voyage?” Only once the question was asked did Daniel look at his companion.

* * * * *

Watching Hao’s face as they spoke about her dress, Lauri laughed again. For the first time since arriving on this island, she was beginning to feel a little like her old self. The carefree Lauri, who smiled and laughed, who enjoyed life and made the most of living. She looked at the teenager in the face, sun-touched cheeks glowing with the gentle blush of laughter.

“That was unkind of me, sorry.” She pulled the makeshift covers over his body as he lay back down. “I forgot myself for a minute. Sleep well, and I’ll be back a little later to see how you are.”

Feeling Will against her leg, Lauri bent down, and pulling herself from his hold, she moved him into her arms, smiling down into his face. Giving one final look at Hao, she carefully carried Will back out onto the beach.

Derret did not return the gaze and kept working, though he replied.

"Things were gettinga bit dicy at home. Needed a bit of away time." he answered. "And you?"

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

Chuckling to himself, Hao's only other comment was "Smooth man, real smooth." and this was softly, and only to himself.

Still, it was very nice to see Lauri smile... and the Kid... wait, was that the first time he had ever seen Will smile? Maybe things were looking up.

And with that thought, Hao drifted off into sleep.

Edit: Yeah, writing style is kinda screwed today, lol, ^^::

Still struggling with skinning the carcuss, Daniel wasn't at all surprised that Derret was trying to avoid trouble. It seemed to hang around him like a mist, almost warning those around him to be weary, to take care. If he had been taking more attention when they first arrived on the island, Daniel was sure he would have picked up on it sooner, rather than now have to try and correct his error, and get the gun back.

Looking up from his task, Daniel fixes his gaze on his companion, watching silently for a moment before responding to his question. "Just a pleasure trip, time to unwind and all." He lowers his head and continues to work. "Was planning on relaxing on a beach...guess I almost got my wish." He laughed, trying to keep up the pretence of friendship.

* * * * *

Lauri sat down on the sand with Will, playing with the sand, as she ran it through her open fingers. She smiled as she thought of Hao, finally seeing him on the road to recovery had made a difference. Had made her think that perhaps she and the others trapped her could survive this. Wasn't Hao proof of that?

Pulling the boy onto her lap, she held him in her arms, enjoying his company. Over the last few days she had been using his need for her to help her through each day. His clinging onto her was recipricated equally. He had become her anchor, her reason for waking each morning, her purpose for surviving.

She looked over to the fire where Daniel and Derret were working on tomorrow's food. She smiled, knowing deep in her heart that everything would be alright. They had managed this long, they could keep doing that until that ship or plane finally spotted them. She held onto that dream tightly.

Getting up from the sand a little while later, she walked back to the shelter, where she prepared Will for sleep.

Derret made no responce, none was really needed after all. He just continued skinning and butchering.

Skinning, butchering and plotting.

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

The sun had barely risen above the horizen when Hao awoke, feeling not only better than he had last night, but also much more in the mood for food.

Rising slowly, his legs shaking slightly beneith weight they hadn't had to bare in days, Hao slowly made his way out of the tent and into the fresh sea breaze.

"Beautiful." he said with little bitterness and much hope.

Lauri was sitting on the sand, watching the sunrise, its orange glow shining off the sea. She always got up before the dawn, making sure that she was there when Will awoke, not that sleep had been that forthcoming since her arrival, and at least while awake she could banish the nightmares.

Turning as she heard a noise from the shelter, she had expected to see the little boy walking towards her, her surprise at seeing Hao was evident on her face.

Getting up quickly, she rushed over to him, offering her body as support, she lead him over to the fire, throwing out its heat into the still cool morning. “What are you doing up? If you had wanted something you should have called.” She lowered him to the ground carefully. “I don’t want you up before you are ready.” Smiling, she suddenly remembered herself. “And how are you this morning?”

Will blinked his eyes. Noise.

People talking. It was early. He yawned.

He looked around. There was Lauri. He curled up in a ball, sitting up slowly.

The sun was low. It was right in his eyes. He blinked again. He looked back at Lauri, over near Hao.

He stood unsteadily, wobbling a bit with not quite passed sleepiness.

He stepped towards Lauri, the one person who he trusted here.

Had his mind been able to accept the concept, Will would have been able to say he loved her as his mother, but it could not, and so, he could not.

Not that he ever said anything anyway.

"Feeling good mom, how about you?" he said with a big grin, teasing her.

"Kinda hungry though... actually, really hungry. What's I gotta do around here to get some grub?" he asked, still grinning.

Hao was, after all, in high spirits. He didn't know why, but he felt good.

The sound of steps in sand brought his head in another direction towards another apporaching figure.

"Morning Will."

Lauri laughed, more than happy to see the young man before her making jokes, feeling for the first time in days that things weren’t as bad as they could be. She spotted Hao turn towards Will, and her gaze followed, her arms immediately outstretched to welcome the boy into her embrace, giving him a tight squeeze, as was their morning custom.

Releasing him from her arms, she looked at him and smiled, her hand ruffling his already unkempt hair. “And how is my little hero this morning? Hungry?” She returned her attention to Hao, as she slowly got up from the floor. “I’ll get you both something to eat.” She crouched again to speak to Will. “You stay here with Hao, and I’ll be right back.”

She moved away from them, heading towards the still burning fire. While from behind, Daniel stepped out of the shelter, and stretched as he yawned. Taking a moment to gather his thoughts, he didn’t at first notice Hao sitting on the sand, until his mind finally came to terms with the fact, that he had until recently, been lying at death’s door.

“Well, you are a sight for sore eyes.” He lowered himself to the sand, picking up and sifting a handful of sand. “Good to see you up.” Finishing his subconscious act, he turned and smiled at Will, ruffling the boy’s hair even more. “You coming hunting with us today?” He asked the same question every day, hoping to get him to speak, so far he had failed to get even the briefest of sounds. He drew his attention back to Hao. “Lauri getting you some food?”

As Hao watched Lauri move away, a quite normal, but, lately absent, sensation made itself known. Blood started to flow to both his face and to somewhat... lower regions. Hao just chalked it up to the reinvigoration he had been feeling this morning.

A pickling sensation on the back of his neck told him that Will was stairing at him.

Hao looked back at the young boy with an embarrised smile and shrugged "She's only about 5 years older than me, right?"

“Well, you are a sight for sore eyes."

Only through supream will did Hao not jump into the air as that voice startled him from his attempted one sided conversation with the little boy.

Daniel lowered himself, picking up a handful of sand before sifting it through his fingers.

“Good to see you up.”

Hao nodded in agreement with half a blush still on his face.

The older man turned and smiled at Will, ruffling the boy’s hair even more. “You coming hunting with us today?” He asked with what seemed to be the tone of a question repeated every day in hopes of getting a reply. Or at least, it was so to Hao's ears.

Getting no reply, Daniel turned his attention back to Hao. “Lauri getting you some food?”

"Yeah, I came out of the tent to get some fresh air and she was on my like a mother hen." he spoke, before laughing with a edge of nervousness, trying to cover his other bodily state. "So... how are you doing this morning?"

Daniel looked at Lauri over collecting the food for Hao and Will, before turning his attention back to the young man. He laughed, as he flicked his head to indicate Lauri. “Yes, she has a tendency to be a bit of a mother hen. And she’s been worried about you.” He winked conspiratorially. “Just don’t tell her I told you.”

He saw her making her way back to the group, and passed some food Hao, before kneeling in the sand beside Will, who she handed a chunk of meat to. “Good morning, Daniel. Our patient is up and about.” She frowned, as she noticed his slightly reddened cheeks. “I just hope he isn’t over doing himself. We don’t want him relapsing.”

Daniel took this moment to look at Hao, and smile knowingly, then turned back to his female companion, who was glaring at him with a slightly puzzled expression. “I think I’ll grab something to eat.” He rose from the ground and walked away from the group. His shaking shoulders evidence of his laughter.

Following Daniel with her gaze as he walked away, Lauri pulled Will onto her lap, and shaking her head, brought her attention back to Hao’s face. “I’m not sure I want to know what all that was about.” She laughed, to show that she wasn’t offended, then her features clouded over. “Are you sure you are alright? I meant what I said, I don’t want you doing anything that you aren’t fit to do. If you need to rest, then rest. We can manage without you for a while.”

"No... I think I'm ready. Spent too much of my time lying down anyways." he joked before taking a bit of his meal. "Hmm... what is this anyways?"

"Who cares, it's food." came a voice from behind him. Hao turned around to see Darret comming up behind him. "Mornin' Hao, Lauri, Will." he offered, looking at each in turn.

"Mornin' man." Hao replied amicably.

"So, think you're ready to start pulling your weight around here? You've spent quite a lot of time on your back sucking up our food you know." Darret said with a laugh that had a hard edge to it.

“Leave him alone.” Lauri looked at the new arrival, her face scowled as her anger blazed over her features. Like a nurse, who fussy over her patient, she wasn’t going to allow all her hard work be ruined because someone didn’t have any patience. “He doesn’t have to do anything until he’s fit. Unless you want his death on your hands.” She shivered as the word passed her lips, ashamed that she had been forced to bring up a reminder of everyone’s loss.

She lowered her head, and turned her attention to Will, as she passed him another piece of meat, keeping her gaze on the little boy, not wanting to see the expression on the man before her. She was a little afraid of him, there was something about the way he acted, and he had the gun, which made him dangerous.

Daniel walked back over to the group, he nodded to Darret in a friendly manner. “Hungry?” He indicated the food he had just collected. “I have more than I need, you more than welcome.” He watched the younger man’s face, his own showing nothing but comradeship.

"Starving," Derret replied with an edgeless smile, quickly changing tactics. He sat, bringing to him a portion of the recently collected food and started eating.

Little else was said as all 4 of the mouths were filled with food, leaving only Will to talk. Of course, as Will had not uttered a words since the sinking, there was only silence.

Derret's words are casted a slight pail over the mood and Hao seemed to lose some of his appitite.

"So, Lauri, how have things been shaping up here?" he asked wanting to keep such silence away.

Lauri sat in silence, until Hao’s voice broke into her mind and bought her thought back to the present. She looked over at him and smiled, the atmosphere when Derret was present grated on her nerves, and made her feel uncomfortable, even though she couldn’t put her finger on what it was about him.

“We’ve been trying to move inland, looking for a more stable shelter base.” She let her eyes come to rest on the makeshift camp they had constructed on the beach. “Of course, the plans had to be delayed until you were well enough to move, but I’m sure in the next couple of days we can begin.”

Daniel finished chewing and spoke up, his eyes taking in Derret before he rested his gave on the young man. “We believe that we would be better provided for near a watering hole, not only for the availability of drink, but also as it should be easier to hunt.” He again let his eyes fall onto the other man, still eating beside them. “And the beach is too exposed, although we intend to keep a watch here, in case they are trying to find us.”

He looked over at Lauri and smiled, they’d had that particular conversation on several occasions, their hope of one day being found the only thing that kept them sane.

Smiling to see that there were indeed plans that had been made, Hao nodded.

"Cool. Any good spots found yet?"

Hao made a motion with his arm, sweeping it across his field of vision, "I mean, with all that space, you'd think there'd be one good spot right?"

Daniel looked at Hao and smiled, pleased to see the younger man taking an interest in happenings. It was hard to imagine that for a while they had thought they would have another body to add to the those that had already been buried beneath the sand, losing their lives to the sea, which at present had the appearance of dead calm.

“Further in the island, you can see a rock formation, there are natural shelters and a water supply nearby.” He nodded towards Derrett. “We found it a few days ago, but couldn’t move until you were well enough. You had us all worried back there for a while, and we didn’t want to hamper your chances.” His eyes remained on Derrett. Well, some of us didn’t want to risk it.

Lauri, hugging Will against her, broke into the conversation. “Now that you are recovered enough to be up, we can begin planning our move to this new camp.” She pulled a wry face. “I will sleep better not hearing the sound of the waves breaking in my ears all night.” She smiled, showing that she was merely teasing.

"Ayia, I've been holding you guys back?" Hao asked. "Shit... well, I guess since I'm pretty ready to get up and about... you guys wanna start the move now? No time like the presant after all."

"Indeed," came the rejoinder from Derret, "no time like the presant now that you're up and about. Lets start by decided what we want to take from here."

Lauri shot Derret an evil look, his insensitivity one of the things that riled her the most, but not wanting to start the day with a row, which would have destroyed the blessing that Hao was up and about. “Oh, you mustn’t think that. Not rushing to a new camp allowed us to find the best rather than settle for the first available.” She smiled kindly, as she rose to her feet, standing Will on the sand beside her. Taking his hand, she led him over to the shelter. “Do you want to help me pack up the stuff in the house, Will?” She walked off talking to the small boy.

“Not that there’s a lot to take.” Daniel’s voice held a note of irritation, firstly at the ill desired affect his words had on Hao, and secondly at Derret’s attitude, which tended to wind him up every time the other man opened his mouth. He got to his feet, as he spoke, and offered a hand to Hao, to aid him off the sand. “If you are up to it, it’s probably for the best if we make an early start, then we’ll be settled by nightfall.” He looked worried. “There are some dangerous animals in the jungle, not that you need to be told that.” He sighed as the ill chosen words left his mouth.

Will nodded to Lauri. He would help pack.

He had helped his mother pack too, before they got on the boat.

A tear rolled down his cheek...

He walked with Lauri into the shelter to help how he could.

Heaving himself off the sand with the older man's help, Hao chuckled lightly at Daniel's off the cuff remark as he watched Lauri and Will walk off.

"Now that's the truth, eh?" Another chuckle. "So, what do we start packing first?"

Darret spoke up, "The shelter's really the only thing that we need. We should dismantle it and cart it off with us."

Hao nodded and motioned that they should follow the departed woman and child.

Working quickly, it wasn’t long before the group had bundled up the camp, not that they had a lot with them. They rescued as much of the shelter that they could carry, planning between them to fetch anything they couldn’t transport at a later time, if they could not find a suitable replacement. But on previous expeditions, they had found the new location to be both safe and sheltered from the elements, as well as being close enough to water and a food supply.

With their arms full, even Will carried a small item to aid with the move, they slowly began to make their way from the beach, the walk would take them an hour. As they walked deeper into the forest area, the sounds slowly began to change, the crashing of the waves were replaced by the calls of animals, fortunately none that could be classed as a threat.

Holding onto the boy’s hand, Lauri filled up the journey playing games and pointing out different objects to him, finding herself enjoying the experience more than she would have admitted to several weeks ago. Now she couldn’t think of being without him, he was her rock, he kept her sane, gave her a reason to keep fighting.

Daniel shifted his load, feeling the weight of it begin to drain his arm of energy, until he changed its position. He looked ahead at the others, having offered to take the rear of the group, Derret and Hao up ahead with Lauri in the middle with her small charge.

He let his gaze linger on Hao. The boy was barely off his sick bed and was already exerting himself, much to Lauri’s annoyance. Daniel had spotted her concerned glances once or twice. Bringing the group closer together, the distance from Derret to himself practically halved, as they finally reached the midway mark. They stopped in a clearing, dropping all their cargo on the floor, as they tucked into some supplies they were carrying with them.

Dropping down near Hao, he turned a worried eye over the lad, before taking a bit of his food, suddenly realising how hungry he had been. “How are you holding up? Not over doing things, I hope?”

"You know, about a month ago, what I just carried would have been nothing to me... now...," sweat rolled down his forehead as he spoke, "now... well. hell, I'm fine. If there's one thing they teach us in the army, it's how to drive yourself."

Hao smiled up at the older man, but trembling hands spelled false on his optimistic words.

Those same shaking hands found their way to food and water, almost forcing the nutriants down his own throat.

"So.. heh, how about this weather eh?" asked to no one in specific, laying back, trying to regain some of his energy.

Watching the young man for a while longer, Daniel looked at Lauri and saw the same worried expression on her face as she turned to look at him. “Don’t overdo yourself, we don’t want you back in the state you were.” He smiled at Hao then Lauri, who returned his smile. “Leave your stuff, or take half of it, I can always come back and retrieve anything you can’t manage.”

Lauri turned her attention back to Hao, after hearing Daniel’s plan. “Once we get to the camp, you had better rest.” She shot a glance at Derret, expecting a see a look of annoyance on his face. She knew he hated to see people not pulling their weight, he had made that more than clear in the past, but she didn’t care what he thought, if he wanted to dislike her more than she assumed he already did, she could live with it. “I could even carry some more, I’ve barely got anything.” She smiled encouragingly at Hao.

“And the weather is…well, the same as it always is.” She laughed, knowing full well that he was changing the topic to draw attention from his situation. “We should get a good tan if it stays like this.”

Derret ignored Lauri's pointed glance and, in the same second, ignored Hao's condition. He wasn't, in fact, heartless. He could see the boy struggling to do what he considered his part and really did not mind the sharing of Hao's load... as long as it wasn't himself that did some of the extra lifting.

“And the weather is…well, the same as it always is.” Lauri laughed, knowing full well that he was changing the topic to draw attention from his situation. “We should get a good tan if it stays like this.”

Even in his semi-exhousted state, Hao could somehow come up with the energy to imagine her in something that would allow her to tan more easily. Again, a deep blush would have invaded his cheeks and been very noticable if not for the flush from the heat that was already there.

'Well, at least it's going to the RIGHT head.' he thought to himself.

To Lauri and Daniel, Hao replied, "You know, with you two double teaming me like this, can I call you two mum and dad?"

Another big grin, "Hai hai, I think I will be taking a rest once we reach the other camp, but in the meanwhile, I'm gonna get this shit down to that other camp first."

To forstall another motherly henpecking from her, however, he shuffled through his things before comming out with one of the smaller, lighter packages he had. "But, if it'll make you feel better," he placed the package on her head with a smile, "here you go."

“Thank you.” Lauri laughed, as her hand went up to her head to retrieve the item that he had placed on her head. Her fingers clasped the object, and lowered it to her lap. She smiled at Hao, her eyes still twinkling with humour. “And don’t you even think about calling me ‘Mum’, or there will be trouble.”

She gathered up her stuff, and began to make them ready for the next part of the journey. Once that was prepared, she turned her attention to getting Will ready.

Daniel got up and, working with Hao and Derret, they arranged the rest of the goods, sharing the loads so that the younger man was not overly burdened. Once they were ready, they picked everything up and began on their way.

It wasn’t long before the group were on their way, travelling through jungle heading slowly to their end destination. A large rustling in the bush, was the only bit of excitement on the rest of the journey, as a small creature rushed out across their path.

Within the hour, the camp was reached, and the goods were placed on the floor. The high rock outcropping gave the area a shelter from the winds, as well as providing covered sleeping areas in the cavelike holes that were found about the area. Nearby was a freshwater stream, with ended in a large pool, which was reached after a couple of minutes walk.

Daniel turned his attention to building the fire, ready for cooking the food that he had Derret would soon go hunting to find. Lauri took Will, and began to work on preparing the sleeping area. She whistled happily as she worked, between talking to the small boy beside her.

"Well, that was a nice bit of exercise." Hao muttered to himself as he dropped his packs on the ground; rubbing his back from the strain.

And there was Lauri, still busy, still working to make some sort of sleeping area.

She started to blur however; his eyes loosing their focus, lids falling slowly over their sight.

Hao was fast asleep 2 minutes after setting down his pack.

---------

Derret had finished unpacking his load before standing. "Hey Daniel, we're gonna have to catch dinner soon man. You wanna start out now?"

Daniel looked over at Derret, and nodded. “I think we should start out as soon as possible.” He ran his eyes over the camp, watching for a moment as Lauri and Will moved around preparing things as best as they could with the limited items they had, and then his gaze fell on Hao, who was resting on the floor near his packs. “Let’s just grab a few things and then we’ll be off.”

He moved over towards Lauri, shouting in her direction. “We’re heading out.” He indicated himself and Derret. “We could probably use some water. I’d ask Hao but…” He saw her look in the young man’s direction nod and smile. “We should be back soon.”

He turned back to Derret, then grabbed a couple of items from his pack, a sharpened stick and a couple of flints. “Okay, let’s move out.” Within minutes the two men were entering the wooded area again, and were soon out of sight of the camp.

* * * * *

Lauri walked over to the sleeping form as soon as the others had left. Bending down beside him, she found the softest item nearby and placed it under his head. “You really should have taken it easier.” She smiled down on his prone body, listening to his gently breathing for a moment, before getting back to her feet.

Offering her hand to Will, she walked over to another pile of goods and began to sort through it until she came across the items she required. Handing one of the cups to Will, they made their way to the water hole, filling up the cups with the refreshing liquid, taking a quick sip to refresh their dry mouths.

Dusk was approaching as the two men made their way through the forest, hunting for their dinner.

"So... what do you think of Lauri?" Derret asked quietly.

-----------

Hao's dream's were restless, filled with disjointed images people he had never seen and places he had never been.

Perhaps it had been the strain caused by the semi long hike in his condition, but soon he was tossing and turning, groaning about something and someone, the words from his mouth never quite making sense, but always with a air of familarity around them.

As they walked through the forest, Daniel was surprised that Derret had broken the silence, especially with such a question. He looked at the younger man as he thought. “She’s pleasant enough. Good with Will, I don’t know what we would have done there without her.” He recalled the way the boy did everything within sight of Lauri. “I think she had a bit of a hard time to start with, like we all did, but I think she’s coping better now.” He furrowed his brow. “Why do you ask?”

* * * * *
Lauri, if she knew that she was the topic of conversation would have returned to the camp slightly rosy cheeked, but she was oblivious to the fact. She emerged from the bushes, carrying several containers of any kind filled with water, beside her, Will was doing a wonderful job of holding one carefully in his hands.

Looking around her, Lauri was disturbed to see Hao fidgeting in his sleep. As she drew near she could hear him talking, but could not make out his words. She wondered whether she should call him back to consciousness or leave him to his much needed rest, although she wasn’t sure he would actually get any in this state.

“Hao?” She placed her hand lightly on his shoulder. “Hao? Wake up.”

Will looked at the older boy frightened. He had never seen anyone like that before. He looked like he was sick.

Will hated being sick. Will hated bad dreams too. He had had a lot of bad dreams when the got to the island.

But Lauri had looked after him. Just like she was looking after the other boy.

Will smiled at her.

"We're gonna have to face it Daniel, I don't think a rescue is going to come any time soon. and IF it doesn't, then we're left with 3 healthy grown males and only one fairly pretty grown female on the island. I dunno about you, but I don't think it's rocket science to assume that something bad might happen."

As his words finished, 2 wild pigs exploded from the underbrush and dashed across their path.

---------

Her touch seemed to agitate him further, as even louder mumblings tumbled from his mouth accompanying far more violent shivers. Hao's arm jerked up; his own hand grabbing Lauri's wrist in a vice like grip, before pulling her down beside him and burying his face into her chest.

Tears began to leak from his eyes, wetting the front of her already salt stained rags and his voice could still be heard, though muffled by her body.

For several more minutes did this drag on, before, eventually, Hao quieted down and his body stopped it's agitated gyrations. His grip on her wrist loosened, but his other arm had wrapped itself around her waist. Her wrist was pulled towards his chest and, as the last of Hao's troubles seemed to melt away, he snuggled into her in a position that was a bit more comfortable for the both of them.

As the wild pigs burst out of the bushes, Daniel turned rapidly and swung one of the rocks he was carrying, hoping to daze the animal enough so that they could save the bullet they would otherwise have to use. They had managed to gather materials to construct a crude shot with two rocks unfortunately the handling of it was taking a lot of effort to perfect.

As they moved through the forest after what would hopefully be that evening’s meal, Daniel couldn’t help but ponder Derret’s words. He had been so busy trying to survive that he had not really thought about their position. If they weren’t rescued soon, he could well imagine that what the younger man had suggested could well come to pass. He could already see the trouble ahead.

Catching up with his companion, Daniel looked at him. “And what do you suggest to stop this happening?” He was not sure that there was a solution.

* * * * *

Lauri had gasped involuntary as Hao grabbed her wrist, and pulled her against him, although his tears had stopped her from trying to pull away from him. She lay where she was, holding him until he had calmed down enough to release her hand. His hand on her waist at first filled her with alarm, but she soon found comfort in his embrace.

It had been a long time since someone had taken her into their arms. Her body moulded against his, feeling warm and content, a tear began to roll down her cheek as she thought suddenly of all the loved ones she had waiting for her at home, were they missing her like she was missing them. She held on to Hao, needing his closeness, feeling for the first time that she was not alone, that there was someone who was there for her.

She suddenly felt tired, her body draining of energy. The trek through the forest and the arranging of the camp had taken more out of her than she realised. Her mind turned to Will, wondering where he was. She knew that he would not stray too far from her. With him as her last thought she drifted into sleep, for the first time since arriving on the island, her dreams were untroubled.

Will did not wander far. When he saw Lauri go to sleep, he simply plopped down on the ground and began to dig in dirt.

Soon, he was chasing small bugs around with a stick, alternately poking them and digging more little ditches in the ground to uncover more bugs.

But soon he tired of this. And he began to build a small pile of rocks, and covered it with dirt he dug up.

Very soon, he was completely covered in dirt.

[OOC: anyone else kinda reminded of Pigpen from Peanuts?]

Derret stood over the body of one of the pigs when the question hit him.

'What TO do now?' he asked himself, gaping internally at his own short sightedness.

"I suppose someone's gonna have to woo her before anyone else tries to." he replied in a smerking voice; a corner of his mouth turned up in a cocky half smile.

With that, he lifted a heavy branch that he had picked up a small while back, and smacked it down on the daze'd wild pig's head.

"Come on, we got our dinner, lets head back."

Daniel only just stopped himself from laughing out loud at the younger man’s suggestion, of course it was the easiest solution, but he wasn’t sure that it was the best one. Did this not mean that even more trouble would brew between all involved, not to mention whether Lauri would be interested. As far as Daniel was concerned they would be better off leaving things as they were and letting fate take a hand in matters if that was what was needed.

“And what’s you think that Lauri would be interested in this plan of yours?” He bent down and began to help Derret with the carcass. “Have you even considered that she may have someone back home?” He looked up and frowned. “You should give up hope that we will be found. I know I won’t give up believing for a while yet.

He grabbed the animals hindquarters as Derret moved to the head, and with a combined effort they managed to lift that day’s meal off the floor.

The two men humped the corpse back to their camp site in dead silence. But the flies were starting to gather, attracted both by the body of the animal, and the sweat that the two men produced.

Before reaching the site though, Derret finally gave an answer to Daniel's question. "I've not givin up hope, I've just been realistic, and as for what Lauri wants, well.. that's a whole other matter entirely."

Finally, they broke through the vegitation and dropped the animal to the floor.

"Hey... wonder where Lauri, Hao and Will are? We need'em to skin this animal while you and I get a bath, these bugs are killing me."

Derret scanned the site.

"Hmm... there's Will, so Lauri can't be far awa..."

His mouth stopped mid-word as he finally sighted the other two members of the party.

Following slightly behind, it took a moment for Daniel to realise what had caused Derret to stop in mid-flow, his eyes scanning the camp until his gaze rested on the sleeping couple. He turned to look at his companion, searching his face for signs of his reaction, he was sure this was not what he had in mind when he had spoken of his plan earlier. The older man couldn’t help smile as he faced away.

“I guess Hao had less energy than we thought.” He tried to make light of the situation, the last thing they needed was to have a tension build up in the group. Just being trapped on the island was bad enough. “Perhaps we shouldn’t have given him so much to do.” He looked around, his eyes falling on little Will. “And Lauri has been a little busy of late.” He patted the other man on the shoulder. “I’ll get started on the carcass.”

At the sound of voices, Lauri stirred from her sleep, the warm embrace of Hao felt comforting on her weary body. Blinking open her eyes, her gaze fell on Derret and Daniel, the look on the younger man’s face making her suddenly embarrassed about her current situation, and with a little effort she managed to free herself from Hao’s arms, getting up quickly.

Brushing down her clothes, she looked between the two other men. “He was…ah…having a bad dream, and I guess I fell asleep too.” She smiled awkwardly, then a thought suddenly struck her, feeling her instantly with dread. “Will?!”

She cast her eyes around the camp, finally spotting the object of her search, relief and horror filled her body as she watched the little boy playing in the dirt, covered from head to foot. “Oh, my!” She walked over quickly and crouched down beside him, taking him into her arms. “Look at you. You need a bath.” She laughed as she stood, cradling him in her arms, knowing that the others’ eyes were still on her.

Will blinked as Lauri picked him up. He could tell something was wrong.

Other than him being dirty, of course. But everyone was dirty.

But no one was as dirty as he was. He smiled to himself, then leaned his head against Lauri.

But he was young, and did not understand why the atmosphere seemed so tense. He looked at the two men back from hunting. They were dirty too.

Maybe Lauri was upset with them for being as dirty as he was?

Then again, maybe not. He smeared some dirt on Lauri's cheek.

To someone who knowlage ment power, self deception was the way to a fall. Derret knew this, and even as Will rubbed cheek to cheek with Lauri, smearing dirt across a semi-clean surface, tension left his body.

After all, the child was cute, and his actions brought a small smile to the corner of the power-seeking man's own mouth.

'Besides,' he thought to himself as he turned to walk towards Daniel, 'I always did like older men better.'

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

In his dreams, oblivious to the scene playing out before him, Hao noted only the loss of warmth. But the twisted dreams that had sent the yearning through him had been banished to the back of his mind and the teen was able to once again settle into a pleasent sleep.

Dumping the carcass on the ground, Daniel picked up one of the tools they had made, and began to skin the animal. It wasn’t long before he was aware of the company of Derret. Looking up at the younger man, he was surprised not to see him looking his usual angry self like he normally was when something didn’t go to his plan. He smiled, as he tossed his companion another tool.

“So, do you think she’s already chosen, or do you think it’s as she said?” He watched the other’s face trying to discover what Derret was thinking. He had been expecting more fireworks, at least some shouting. “Although I doubt she’ll do it again in a hurry, she seemed a little put out by the look of little Will.” He chuckled to himself as he cast a look at the retreating backs of Lauri and the boy.

He returned his gaze to Darret, feeling oddly on edge. He had considered his opinion of him to be quite accurate, could almost foretell what the lad was going to do before he did, and now he could not tell whether recent activities had altered Derret’s behaviour, or whether he was playing some new game with him. Daniel decided that he was going to have to keep a closer eye on the young man.

"One never knows, I guess." Derret replied, tool in hand; kneeling down beside the animal. "They're.. what, 8 years appart? That's a pretty long span.... but I suppose being stuck on a island like this, and Hao's emotional state as it is..."

He gave a not entirely kind chuckle.

"Time will tell I guess, and we've got plenty of that."

Reaching out to grab another tool, Derret's hand brushed Daniel's thigh.

If Daniel had suspected Derret’s motives, he would have read more into the incident of the knee brushing, but recalling the younger man’s interest in Lauri only moments before, Daniel brushed aside the whole thing as nothing more than an accident, although he would admit to his companion's recent behaviour being slightly out of character. Derret had never been one for opening up his thoughts, and having long conversations, and whenever they had it was usually for Derret to condemn someone, whether for fun or general remarking.

But there was something else in the other man’s speech that triggered a more powerful thought in Daniel’s head, possibly one that he had tried to deny for the time that they had been here, and that was the lack of seeing a rescue ship, or any ship come to that. From the beginning, Daniel had every hope of seeing them all taken from the island and reunited with their families, but as the days had changed into weeks, and the weeks into months, Daniel’s hope had died a little bit, until as he now admitted to himself, he didn’t think they were ever going to leave, and Derret’s remark made him certain that the young man thought so too.

“You don’t think we’ll be rescued, do you?” He raised his eyes to Derret’s, his hand stopping its task of skinning the carcass before him. “You think we are going to be here forever.” He sighed audibly. “I guess I’ve always felt that too.”

'Can't get something if you don't give alittle.' Derret though to himself.

"I didn't say that," he replied, face neutral, "who know, tommorow a plane could fly overhead looking for us."

The gay man shruged, "you never know after all," before turning back to his work.

Hours passed and soon the animal had been skinned and well on it's way to becomming edible. Infact, the odur wafting off the slowly roasting meat suceeded in waking the Hao from his slumber; but slowly and gently.

-----------

Rolling on to one side, Hao reached for what had, to him, been a recent glow of warmth. The teen's still sleep addled mind made his body roll to one side, and then the next searching for that warmth, before finally, his eyelids parted.

Still unfocused, though taking in the fading dusk light, the eyes peered at their surroundings, confussed, for a moment, to their location.

And then it came back to the murky brain behind the eyes.

Hao sat up quickly, much to quickly for having slept on hard ground after hours of exercise.

"Ow."

Daniel finished the rest of the work in relative silence, annoyed at himself for showing his doubts and fears. For days after they had arrived on the island, he had been sure that they would be rescued, that one day soon a boat or plane would come along and take them from their captivity. Trapped on in a paradise that most only dream about, but to him it was more a nightmare, as they had to forage for food and make the best of what was at hand, and he had grown too used to his comforts to adapt easily into this way of life.

He had spent many days sitting on the beach staring out to see, or gazing up into the sky, to a point where he could have sworn that he had seen something out on the horizon, but whether it was real or imagined made little difference as they were still here, and would be for a while yet, at least that was how he felt.

With these thoughts floating around his head, he heard sounds coming from further inside the camp, and turned to see Hao waking up from his sleep, the younger man looking better than Daniel could remember seeing him for a while. Walking over quietly, not wanting to startle the boy in his half awake state, he crouched before him.

“Feeling better?” He threw the young man a friendly smile. “Ready for some food? It’ll be ready in a bit.” He looked over his shoulder in the direction the water pool was. “You might want to freshen up, it’s been a long day.”

* * * * *

Lauri had managed to return Will back to his original colour, although it had taken a lot of scrubbing to do so. She had never seen someone so covered in mud, head to foot with barely an inch uncovered. Finally looking into the face of the little boy before her, she smiled and ruffled his hair.

She could hardly be annoyed with him, as she had been the one who had neglected her duty and had fallen asleep, wrapped up in Hao’s arms. For a moment as she lay there, she had dreamt that she had returned home, safely back with her family, sleeping in a normal bed. Of course she had not been, but she had enjoyed being held. For so long she had felt alone and frightened.

The experience of waking up to see Daniel and Derret had been unpleasant. She had felt their questioning eyes on her, but she did not want to have to explain too much. She hadn’t done it on purpose, and fortunately she was saved from dwelling on the subject by the appearance of Will.

“I guess I owe you.” She pressed her lips to the little boy’s forehead. Standing up, she offered him her hand. “Let us go and get some dinner, shall we?” Smiling, she lead her small charge back to the camp.

Gingerly, Hao picked himself off the ground.

"Yeah, on hell of a long day," the teen muttered, feeling slightly irritated, though not knowing why. It was almost like something was missing but again, he didn't know what.

Grunting, Hao shook his head to clear away the cobwebs and returned the smile of the older man. 'Hell, I need that bath."

He nodded to the other man and made his way to the water pool, leaving Daniel behind him. It wasn't long until the young man passed Lauri and Will.

In the way of greating, Hao smil

[Warmth]

led at her as they passed each other, though, by the by, as she was passed him, Hao found himself turning to look at her. It was somthing about the scent th

[Warmth]

at she left behind her.

The now slightly confused teen shook his head again and turned back to the water pool, fulling intending on scrubbing away the cobwebs of sleep.

Making her way back to the camp, Lauri smiled as she and Will passed Hao, her eyes brightened slightly, as a faint blush rose on her cheeks, causing her to turn away, wondering why she was acting like a silly schoolgirl. It wasn’t even as if Hao had been awake and was unlikely to know what had happened, not that anything had, but for a moment she had felt, safe and warm.

Smiling down at Will, they finally broke through the bushes and entered the camp, the aroma of cooking meet greeting them, causing Lauri’s stomach to growl with anticipation, her mouth beginning to water. Guiding the now clean boy towards the fire, she cast a smile at Daniel and Derret as she passed them.

She cut some food for Will, passing him a small portion on a makeshift plate, before beginning to serve some for everyone. Watching them make their way to the fire, she handed them both some meat, as well as some of the edible vegetation from the surrounding area, that they had discovered during their time on the island.

Daniel lowered himself onto the ground, his body beginning to stiffen following the exertions of the day. He couldn’t help thinking that Hao had the right idea when he took a rest earlier. Tucking into the food, he let his eyes wander around the camp, swallowing hard before he spoke. “I think we were lucky finding this spot.” He looked at Lauri and Derret, before smiling at Will. “Fresh water, protection from the elements; there’s not much more a person could ask for.”

Following his gaze, Lauri smiled as her eyes lingered on the caves scattered along the rock wall. She had already allotted each a cave to each of her companions, arranging for Will to sleep in hers, knowing he was more at ease with her than anyone. “Yes, we were.” She took a bit of her food. “And the food seems in good supply here, especially with the watering hole so close.” She looked over her shoulder briefly, looking for Hao, until she suddenly brought her attention back to the others. “I won’t be sorry to sleep tonight. What about you, Will?” She ruffled the boy’s hair.

Will consumed his ration of meat quickly, and as usual, silently.

He smiled with Lauri ruffled his hair, though, and reached up to touch her hand.

He shook his head at Lauri's question, not having gotten a nap.

Lauri had, though. Like Hao did. But that was okay. Old people slept more.

Like his parents. His parents had slept more than he had, once he had gotten older.

A tear slid down his cheek.

With the bath done, and the cooler wind now starting to blow, Hao could only wonder one thing.

"What the hell am I gonna use for a towel?"

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

In the months since Hao had left the army, his physical condition had went down hill some. There was more flab on his body than there was previously, and his muscles held not the same amount of strength.

However, as he came striding back into camp, having used his shirt for a towel, trying at least to keep his pants dry and warm, evidence of toughness were still quite apparent. Corded muscle wrapped around his arms and shoulders, while his chest, back and abes, though not the most defined or the biggest, were of good width and solid.

"Hey, anyone know where I can hang this up to dry? Had to use it for a towel." He quired the rest of the group.

Turning around as Hao spoke, Lauri looked at the young man before her, a smile growing on her lips as she watched him indicate his shirt, soaking wet from his wash. She pointed to some branches nearby. “You can hang it there, the heat from the fire should help, if not the sun should get it dry in no time in the morning.”

The sun had already began to set on the camp, even though the air temperature was warm, the humid heat of a tropically island would cool down drastically in the night. Being without a shirt was possibly not the best form of dress for Hao, considering his earlier brush with death.

Reaching over, Lauri cut off some food for Hao and offered him the makeshift plate. “I expect you are hungry. It’s been a long day.” She smiled kindly, unsure exactly how much he remembered of earlier, from his behaviour, she assumed very little.

Daniel yawned as Hao arrived, the hardships of the day finally taking their toll on the older man. He stretched, then rose from the ground. “It’s about time I turned in. I think I could sleep for a week.” He stifled another yawn, as he looked up at the sky, and saw some big black clouds on the horizon. “I think we might have moved here just in time, if they are anything to judge by.”

(OOC: bah it didn't post the first time.)

Derret sat slightly away from the three others, ignoring all talk while consintrating on his food. It had, after all been a long day and food was defenatly welcome. By the time Hao returned however, Derret's hunger had been sated enough for him to glance up at the topless younger man.

'Not bad, though a bit too young.'

Hao, for his part, took no notice of the other man's glance, though something in the back of his mind twitched. He ignored it however and headed off to hang his shirt up.

When he returned, he recived a plate and her words with a grin.

"You know, a friend of mine had a great thing to say in this type of situation," and with a change of his voice with a mock imitation, "'Food me woman!'"

Hao laughed over remembered memories, "His girlfriend would hit him over the head every single time he said that."

After that, Hao dug into his plate and began feeding his stomach, not answering Daniel's comments, except with a nod and a wave at the older man who, Hao assumed, would be heading off to bed.

It wasn't to say that he didn't notice the clouds, however, but they were still fairly far off, and he, instead, prefered to watch the setting sun that still threw enough light that all shadows enlongated to many times their height.

Lauri laughed at Hao as he told the story of his friend and nodded her head as he finished. “I imagine she would, although her punishment seems to have done little to stop him.” She took a nibble of the last piece of meat she had dished for herself. “Although for me, I just serving the food is the least I can do, considering what the rest of you do each day.” She turned to each of her companions and smiled, feeling a little guilty that she couldn’t be much more help around the place, but she was more than certain that they would starve if catching the food was down to her.

She followed Daniel’s gaze to the horizon, her eyes fixed on the clouds that were dominating the sky in the distance, their blackness sending the daylight quickly into night. “Do you think that will hit us?” She turned to Daniel, her expression questioning.

He sighed loudly. “Well, it’s hard to tell, and I’m no meteorologist, but I would say it’s a very good possibility.” He looked around the camp, especially lingering his gaze on the caves. “We might all want to use that one.” He points to the biggest one, that is a step up from ground level. “If this rain comes down, we have no idea how heavy it’s gonna be. Best be safe than sorry.”

Lauri nodded. “Yeah, it’s not like we have a change of clothes or such if these get wet.” She sighed, wishing not for the first time that she did have something else to wear, the red dress that she was had on was not exactly ideal. She tried to stop herself thinking what a good idea it would have been to take some of the clothes off the dead that had washed up on the beach; silently berating herself for having the thought.

Wrapping her arms around Will, she scooped him up into her lap, holding him close to her, as she gently placed a kiss on the top of his head. “I think it’s time for you to sleep.” She stood, lifting the little boy into her arms. “If you’ll all excuse me. Say goodnight, Will.” She smiled as the little boy waved slightly, in his usual unsure manner, before looping his arms around Lauri’s neck. Shifting his weight, she carried him to the cave that Daniel had mentioned, and began preparing him for bed.

Watching them go, Daniel gave another yawn, before addressing the others. “It might be a good idea to get some of this stuff…” He looked around at he camp, his eyes falling on the scant amount of goods they had around them, some things had been washed up over the weeks, nothing substantial. “…Under cover, just in case. I’d hate for us to loose anything in a storm.” Rising to his feet, not waiting for an answer, he began gathering things up. “Don’t forget your shirt, Hao, you don’t want that any wetter than it already is.” He looked over at Derret. “We might also need a fire, not too big a one, I have a feeling it could get cold.”

His plate soon emptied and set down, Hao turned to Daniel.

"Did er... something happen when I was asleep? With Lauri I mean. I keep getting this weird feeling..."

Then, without missing a beat, he muttered, "Never mind, forget I asked. Hey, I'll be back, ok?"

Leaving his plate on the ground, Hao yanked his shirt from their place and strolled off towards the caves, buttening his shirt all the while.

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

Derret view'ed the young man's escape.

"Well now, what do you think is disturbing our fine young companion?" he asked with a sarcastic edge to his voice.

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

His hurried steps soon brought Hao close to Lauri, "Hey, Lauri, wait up!."

Without slowing, almost as if he didn't think that she'd stop, he came within arms reach and put his hand lightly on her shoulder to turn her towards him.

"Hey, ever since I woke up, I've been getting this weird feeling. Something seems... I dunno.. different. Did something happen while I was sleeping?"

Daniel watched the younger man leave, his eyes following his back until he disappeared into the cave. He finally turned back to his companion and smiled. “I’m sure it will be sorted out, they are both adult enough.” He chuckled. “I think he will be disappointed to know that Lauri is making such a fuss over nothing.”

He gathered up the items they were using as plates, and assortments of flint and coconut shells. “I think she really needs to relax, if there is something between them, then all the best I say, if not, then that’s life.” He grinned to his companion. “None of our business either way, I guess.”

* * * * *

Turning to face Hao, Lauri smiled, little Will still wrapped in her arms, his eyes battling to stay open. She listened to his words, her smile slipping as his question sunk in. “No, nothing happened, it’s just…” She saw the others at the fire looking in their direction. “I need to put Will to sleep, came with me.” She smiled again, as she turned towards the cave and entered.

Placing Will down on a bunch of leaves and other soft items they had managed to find, she placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, and ran her fingers lightly over his cheek, her maternal love for him shining in her eyes. “Sleep well, Will. I’ll be right here when you wake up.” It had become their ritual, she knew how much he panicked if he awoke and found her gone. She continued to watch him for several moments until she was sure he had fallen asleep.

Moving away from the back of the cave, where she had lain the little boy, she approached Hao. “I’m sorry if I made things uncomfortable for you, I didn’t mean to. Derrett just makes me feel uneasy sometimes, like he’s always judging.” She shrugged, and fell silent to make sure the others weren’t coming to retire.

Sure that they were still alone, at least for the time being, Lauri took a deep breath. She knew they hadn’t done anything wrong. “Earlier, when you were sleeping, you had a bad dream and I came over to you to help.” She smiled, realising how foolish this would sound. “You grabbed me and wouldn’t let me go, and in truth…I didn’t want you to.” Lowering her eyes, she looked at her hands as she entwined her fingers then released them. “It felt so warm and tender, and I missed that.”

“Even with everyone here.” She shot a glance at the sleeping form of Will. “I still feel lonely sometimes.” She turned back to Hao. “I fell asleep in your arms, and then when I woke up…there were Daniel and Derrett.” Laughing nervously, she shook her head. “We hadn’t done anything, but the look I got from Derrett, I felt like a criminal.”

Running her hand through her hair, she shrugged then smiled. “So, nothing happened, Hao. Just me being foolish.” She stopped speaking and just looked at the man before her.

"Of course not. None of our business at all," Derret replied with an odd gleam in his eyes.

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

He had stood there, hearing her confession, his mind whirling away at the consiquenses of her words. Hao's arm, without his mind's consent, came up from his sides and grasped at the locket he wore around his neck.

She had told him to move on hadn't she? Hao didn't quite remember how.. but... Amber had told him to move on, that it wasn't a horror what he had been feeling.

But what HAD he been feeling? Was it just all lust? He was a teenager after all, and she was fair from completely covered... no, that wasn't it. Yes she was fairly underdressed, but it just didn't feel just lust.

Like a sister? No, the lust in his feelings pretty much precluded that. He didn't believe in incest after all.

How about as a friend? You could lust after a friend after all. And... you could care for a friend, and laugh with a friend, and hug a friend, and lay closely with a friend...

But that didn't feel completely right either.

Maybe it was something more? Maybe it was...

She had stopped talked and was now just stairing at him.

And so he slid his arms around her and kissed her forhead before resting his chin on her shoulder. He was only a few inches taller than her after all.

"I was drowning," he quietly spoke into her ear, "I guess I was just reliving the past... but, I was drowning. The water swamped over me and I couldn't breathe. But then something seemed to appear in front of me, like a raft I guess. Someone offered me a hand up, and I grabbed at it with all my strength, and they hauled me out. I didn't know who it was at first, and I didn't know who it was when I woke up. But now I know."

Hao leaned back enought to look her in the eye.

"It was you. You hugged me and told me that it was going to be alright. 'Don't worry,' you said, 'I'm here."

He put his chin back on her shoulder, and in a voice barely above a whisper, he finished, "You were warm too."

Placing one arm around his body, Lauri gently stroked the back of his head with her other hand, her fingers entwining in his hair. The closeness of his body against hers sent a warmth racing through her. She felt the coolness of a tear run down her cheek at his words, so tender, so full of emotion, speaking to her heart.

Copying his move, she pulled back slightly from him, so that she could look into his eyes, her own appearing as blue as the sea as more tears welled. Never moving her gaze from his, she slide her hand onto the back of his neck, and reading something in his eyes, she tentatively moved towards him, until she could feel the lightest touch of his lips brush against hers. Closing her eyes, she pressed deeper against him, losing herself in the feel, in her need, in his closeness.

After what seemed like an age, but was merely a moment, she broke the kiss, her eyes opening wide, a look of fear clouding them. “Hao, I’m sorry.” She pulled herself out of his embrace. “I don’t know why I did that, I was just…” Breathing deeply, her cheeks growing rosy, she lowered her face, unable to look at him, her voice falling to a whisper. “I’m sorry. I wasn‘t thinking.”

You fool, you’ve spoilt everything. What is he going to think of you now?

As confused as he was inside, he knew that if he didn't do this exactly right, she'd be hurting even more.

Of course, her kiss had been enough to clear the way for his next actions.

Hao cracked a grin and put his hands on her shoulders, "In the immortal words of Yoda, 'Do not think; Do or do not, there is no try.'"

The kiss that followed was just as tentitive as hers, but far longer. Hao had cupped her cheaks in his hands, lifted her face towards his, and truely kissed her; his mind only clouded now by the left over whisps of self doubt and confusion. Hao had made his decision, and, in doing so, could now only hope for the best.

OOC: Wow. This is the oldest active non-stickied thread I've seen in... well, ever. Maybe I just don't spend enough time on the forums, what with life and all.

Returning the kiss, her confidence growing as she felt his emotions matching hers, letting go of her concern and uncertainty, pulling him to her as she placed her arms around him. She could feel the warmth of his body as a million sensations rushed through her, her mind filled with countless thoughts.

Stepping back from him, sliding her hands from his back to his arms, before guiding them down until his hand were lightly held in hers, she looking into his eyes and smiled, one that contained more feeling than she had dared to show before. Raising one of her hands, his still held, she placed a kiss in his palm.

“I don’t know what to say.” She looked away nervously. “I was afraid that I had…presumed too much.” Laughing lightly, she returned her gaze to his. “It’s been so long since I felt like this, even before we got stranded here. The boat…” She stopped, not wanting to rake up old memories, she couldn’t help recall the woman Hao was carrying when she first met him.

She lowered his hand, but didn’t let go. “I know it’s still early days, but I’ve always liked you…more than liked, I guess.” She felt her cheeks getting warmer.

The flow of emotion from her stunned him, though no visible sign of this appeared on his face. Truthfully, he himself was still very much confused... but this woman in front of him, trusting him with her emotions needed something.

He hoped it would be something he could give.

Hao couldn't think of much to say, so he opened his mouth and just let the words come forth.

"You're beautiful."

Running her hand through her hair and over her dress, Lauri laughed nervously. She knew she looked far from her best, she was beginning to doubt she ever would again. “Thank you.” She blushed even more, wishing not for the first time that she would stop feeling like a teenager on her first date.

She stared at him for a moment, her mouth moving but nothing came out, unsure of what he wanted, what he was willing to give, afraid that she may scare him off. She searched his eyes, as her fingers stroked the back of his hand. “I don’t know where we go from here, or even if there is a here.” She lowered her eyes and took several deep breaths, as she tried to stop her heart from pounding. “Is there a here? Do you want there to be?”

"I think we should just take it one day at a time." he replied, taking her hand into his.

"Now, I don't know about you, but I'm just about tired out. Sleep would probably come in handy right about now."

Hao kissed her again, before lifting her off her feet into a craddle position in his arms, "Now, lead the way Madam." he said with a grin.

Looping her arms around his neck, Lauri held on as Hao lifted her in his arms, she looked at him and smiled. “Yes, one day at a time.” She rested her head on his shoulder, beginning to feel very tired herself. “I think I could sleep for a week.” She couldn’t stop herself from hoping that he would hold her in his arms as he had done when they had slept earlier. “That way!” She pointed a little further inside the cave and laughed.

* * * * *

Daniel looked back towards the cave for a moment, before returning his attention back to Derrett. “Well, there doesn’t seem to be any fireworks, so I guess that’s a good sign.” He looked back over to the clouds building up on the horizon. “We should get inside. I kind of feel bad about intruding.”

Derret just shrugged, "they know we're comming. If they're doing anything private, then they'll hang up a sheet or something."

With one last look behind him, and his various odds and ends in his arms, the bisexual man started to walk towards the cave entrance, leaving the older man behind.

---------

Hao grinned down at the warm bundle in his arms and started walking in the direction that Lauri had pointed. Not surprisingly, her bedpile was next to the sleeping form of Will.

"Hmmm," he commented quietly, "I guess we'll ONLY be able to sleep." Following that, a soft laugh spread through the cavern.

Setting her down gently on the pile, Hao then proceeded to slide in behind her and pull a sheet atop the both of them; keeping on arm wrapped almost possesivly around her.

Finally, he settled down, and gently pulled her towards him. "Think we'll be warm tonight?"

(OOC: hey, post a last post and save this thread, aight? :) )

Pressing herself into the curve of Hao’s body, Lauri placed her hands on top of his, her fingers lightly stoking his skin. She smiled happily, for the first time in months the time on the island didn’t seem so bleak, suddenly there seemed a purpose. Tilting her head slightly, she could see the bundle that represented the other important thing in her life.

“I think I’ll be more than warm enough.” She smiled happily, the heat from his body seeping through to the skin. “And there’s plenty of time for other things.” It wasn’t as if things were going to change any time soon.

* * * * *

Daniel watched as Derret headed towards the cave, and shook his head slightly. There was something strange about the man, for one he was a hard man to trust. Nothing ever seemed that straight forward with him. There was some kind of underlying current, something just below the surface that would one day reveal itself and the true Derret.

Well, I guess he has a point. He looked once more at the growing clouds, then headed for the cave, entering just at the first spots of rain fell.

[ooc: continued in Iceberg: One Lump or Two? (http://forums2.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=358852&page=1&pp=15)]