Day 004: Grumpy Warnings
Summary: Lots of grumpy people around camp, and a few warnings for the following day.
Date: 4 May 2016
Related: None directly.
Ruth Grey Cole Mikaela 


Forest Around the Camp, The Wilderness

This forest is a mingling of hardwoods and temperate evergreens, with towering oaks and cedars mixed with slender alders. The ground is covered in grassy mosses and thick ferns — some with sharp, sword-like leaves and others with tight spiraled stems that unfurl toward the crowded canopy. Beyond the trees and ferns, the forest also hosts arching, moss-draped vine maples and flowering blackberry bushes as just some of its flora occupants.

Toward the west, the forest begins to break as the mountains climb, revealing meadow balds and the broad web of the divided Potomac.

4 Days After Landing

Ruth steps into the treeline from just outside camp at a hurried pace, a bit more learned in the positioning of roots and other such obstruction so close to camp enough that she's relatively unhindered once away from the clearing. Though a makeshift bag of parachute remains is slung over her shoulder, she makes no move to collect edible plants or any such thing, focused on simply being away and alone for the time being.

Grey is not in a pleasant mood. He's coming back toward camp with a trio of spears and… no dead animals. In fact, he slashes at ferns here and there as he returns, lashing out without any real rancor, just letting out frustration. Spotting the woman with the bag over her shoulder heading away from camp, he frowns, then turns his steps in that direction. His frown deepens as he gets close enough to recognize her, "Hey. Ruth. It's Ruth, right? You were the one who looked around for food in the cargo bay on Landing Day."

As Grey draws near, it would be evident that Ruth's mood is just as sour as his; however, a quick glance at the weapon in his grip does well to assuage her own scowl, at least for the moment. "Yeah, what about it?" she clips, her tongue darting out to prod at her lower lip.

Grey grounds the butt of his spears as Ruth turns to speak with him, leaning on them in a calculated sort of manner to make them not a direct threat… but it also emphasizes that he has the hunting tools on hand. "Where ya headed with all that stuff?" An upwards nod of his head indicates the bag of parachute material slung over her shoulder. He tries to make the question non-accusatory, just casual, but… he doesn't entirely succeed, his narrowed gaze adding a probing quality to his words no matter his tone.

Ruth's parachute-made bag of parachute material is glanced at without much ado before she graces Grey's inquiry with an understated sneer. "Okay." She presses her palms together as if she's about to entreat Grey to pray with her to the Eden Tree. Instead, with all the patience she can muster, she directs, "Get out of my face. I'm not in the mood right now. This was my part of the parachute, fair and square."

Cole is busy, he's busy lugging the large metal cone bell, and the stuff needed to build the purifier all being pulled in one of those large totes that're pretty numerous on the dropship. Looks like he's heading for the river, though he comes up short, looking at the exchange between Ruth and Grey, panting a moment and stopping his trek towards nearest body of water. "Oh goody, more people fuckin pissed off at life." he grunts, then nodding at the other man. "Sup, Grey."

That response draws Grey's brows up sharply, and he leans forward slightly, still resting a bit of his weight on the peeled saplings that have become makeshift spears, "I could give two shits about the piece of parachute. I'm more interested in what's inside, considerin' that even with the stuff I'm holdin' from the Grecco, Tides, and Kellie, I don't got enough stuff in my life to need a bag." Cole's arrival draws a glance, a blink, "You're not tryin' to drag that shit to the river on your own, are you, man? I heard it was like… two hours' walk. And had things in it."

Cole earns an agitated side-eye. "He says, sounding pissed off himself," she adds, making his words the dialogue in some meta narrative. She finds the strap of her bag with a white-knuckled grip before pulling out her orange-lined grey jacket, several smooth stones, and an incomplete bolt of cloth with either side secured in a knot. "For your viewing pleasure," she says airily with a flourish of her hand towards the objects. "My jacket. My unfinished sling. The rocks I will use to pound the head of anyone else who gets on my nerves today. This is all mine." This last part is practically spit, her fingers rubbing absently at a particular spot on her scalp. "Are we done here, Grey?"

It's likely somewhat important to note that Ruth's hair looks like a rat's nest and her clothing is in a slight state of disarray as if she's just emerged from a tousle. She doesn't sport any visible bruises, so she may have just been the victor.

"We fuckin need some goddamn drinkable water, don't we?" is Cole's ornry response. But when isn't he? It's his perpetual mood, for anyone that knows him well enough. "This thing fuckin works. /Should/ work. I'll need sand from the riverbank, and smoother rocks. Just making lugging the fuckin thing easier. So..yeah, somebody has to do this shit while everyone else is playin grabass with themselves or each other. Hmph, or at the ones who aren't carrying their own goddamn weight. Them an their fuckin 'dick-measurin' contests about what belongs to who. I don't time for that namby-pamby bullshit." There's a roll of his eyes. "Goddamn, we're all a bunch of hardasses here today, aren't we." he remarks sardonically. "Slow your fuckin roll, I doubt Grey wants your shit."

Grey grunts slightly at the angry response from Ruth, but that's really to be expected. He does lean forward, however, to look into the bag, "Hey, we've had a whole lot of people tryin' to take shit that isn't there." He snorts, "Not that I'm tryin' to be some sort of Guard down here. Fuck knows the other Ex-Cs," yes, he's accepted that nickname, "wouldn't stand for that, or at least Faolan wouldn't. Just lookin' out for everyone." And then he shrugs at Cole again, "Couple of months, we might not need to have the contests." He gives a little kick of one foot, showing off how dirty and fern-stained and… eww, blood-stained, his pants are, "It'll be obvious to everyone when our clothes rot the hell off."

"Yeah, but accusation without proper cause? This isn't the Ark." Ruth stuffs her things back into the bag with little fanfare, already stepping off and away from the two. "Leave off, Menge. I'm off to find something to eat."

"This stealin shit, claiming it as 'their own' needs to fuckin stop. Fuckin childish immature little bullshit." Cole snorts, voice suddenly getting all nasally and, yeah, mocking. "'No it's mine, I saw it first. Don't touch it. I'm here for meeeeee'." A snort, shaking his head. "I'm not fuckin breaking my back just to give myself some warm fuckin-fuzzies." There is a dark chuckle towards Grey. "You know what I fuckin mean, man." He goes back to the tote then. "If you're feeling frisky and want to see if we can get some decent water on our hands, can always help carry this damn thing." Though he sounds doubtful about that. Then over at Ruth. "Have fuckin fun with that."

Grey shakes his head at Cole, "Don't got the time, man. I need to get an Ee-Ess nerd to help me find something big enough that I can't miss it. Need more meat for the camp, so those of us goin' to Mount Weather tomorrow morning can snag more of the nuts and berries and portable food." He frowns a moment, "Find Samson. New tent, big guy. Nice, wants to help out." Glancing over to Ruth, he shakes his head slowly, "Proper cause… that shit's for the Ark. Down here, perception and suspicion is reality, whether we want it or not."
It's with a scornful shake of her head that Ruth steps further into the trees, walking but haste but no particular direction.

"Well, she's a fuckin barrel full of goddamn sunshine." Cole remarks as Ruth leaves, watching for a moment longer before looking back at Grey. "Don't know him, but I'll look around. If I can't find him, I'll just have to deal with this damn thing myself. After that, I have to figure out what the fuck is wrong with the solar stills. Eventually. Maybe I'll work on that tomorrow while the group is gone." He shrugs at that, never really knowing what he's going to be doing the next day. "Probably maybe do some scouting later. Get an idea of the lay of the fuckin land."

Grey frowns, watching Ruth hurry off, and then looks back to Cole, "Never thought the Ee-Ess nerds would be the most important ones among us, did we? Almost wish I'd paid more attention, at least those last couple weeks." Shaking that thought off, he's silent for a moment, then grunts, "Watch yourself when we're gone, Cole. A lotta good people are goin'. Might be a chance for bullies back here."

Cole is about to start lugging the tote full his purifier equipment towards the river, and stops again, looking at Grey. "Yeah, well, you an me fuckin both, bro." he utters with a nod, frowning. "They're the most valuable resource we got. Me? I'm just fuckin guessing most times. I fix shit, even if I tried to pay some attention in Ee-Ess class." There's a certain look he gives Grey then. "I will. I hope that not all the Guard people are going out, we need some to try and keep something that resembles the fuckin peace, man. As for bullies, I'll just point them out to Mika. But she an I, scouting. Might be a good time to get fuckin gone for a bit til people come back."

Mika takes that moment to stroll into the clearing, using one of the spears Cole made as a 'walking stick', stripped down to pants, boots, tanktop, with the long-sleeved shirt tied around her waist. She smiles brightly at Cole, then offers a more subdued, but still friendly smile towards Grey, lifting her chin in a nod towards the pair. "Hey guys. I was about to go out and see if I could catch us some dinner." Her gaze shunts aside to Grey, head tilting, "Have you guys gathered up any supplies for your trip? You don't know if there will be much of any game going up the mountain, might be a good idea to bag some before you all head out. Just in case, y'know? Maybe try to take some water along, too?"

Grey shrugs a little helplessly at the suggestion that some ex-Cs remain in the camp, "That almost sounds like you trust us." There's a little bit of snide sarcasm there, but it slips away afterwards… or rather, it shifts targets, "I tried to talk Faolan into staying, but for some reason, I don't think the big, crazy bastard trusts me. I don't think much of anyone does. Fancy that." He straightens up from his lean on his spears, hefting the hunting tools idly, then shakes his head, "That's the question, isn't it? Be here and try to stop it, or be gone and hope it can be fixed after." His eyes narrow as he studies the other young man, "If it even happens at all."

Grey shrugs at Mika's greeting, "Not enough. Still another couple of hunting trips to make. Definitely planning to bring food and water though, Princess." Maybe there's not quite so much venom in the title as before, but it's still given.

"Someone has start trusting at some fuckin point, Grey." Cole remarks in an almost tired voice. "Getting real fuckin tired of that bullshit. Not even asking for everyone to start holding hands an singing kumbiya or some shit but…it's gotta start somewhere." A shrug then. "So it's either I start trusting you, or we keep eyeballing each other, wondering when who's gonna try to pull shit first. It is what it fuckin is." When Mika arrives, there's a clear relief on his face. "Hey babe. An Grey was just talking about that." Then back at Grey. "I dunno, maybe we'll stick around, see if we can prevent people from just all out grabbing whatever. That is, if /you/ trust me enough to keep people's hand off your shit while you're gone."

"He has a point, Grey. Much as I'd love to keep stomping around camp, being a huge bitch and calling everyone on their stupid shit… we're in it for survival. And I'd trust you sooner than some of the assholes back in camp. Either of you heard what that Zoe chick was suggesting? Complete and utter chaos, only the strongest survive. The physically strongest, that is." Mika shakes her head and moves in closer to Cole, leaning on the spear lightly. She gives a nod to Cole and looks back to Grey, "Personally, I've moved our tent right up against the dropship, and I'm hunting now. I plan on bunkering down with Cole tonight. Just me and him, watching our backs and making sure we're still here in the morning. If you want us to keep hold of your shit til you get back, we can do that. And yeah, we'll give it back after. I don't think either of us could fit your clothes anyways." She winks at Grey, then almost immediately rolls her eyes at the title, "Okay, Killer. Let me know if you need anything extra. We can tighten our belts for a day or two if it means you guys getting back to camp alive."

The ex-Cadet shrugs at Cole again, a regular shrug-machine, "Oh, he's right, Faolan is. There's precious few of us who can be trusted. We've all got a history." He gestures between the other two with his left hand, "But you're right too. It ain't about trust, at least not entirely. It's about need. I need there to still be one camp when we get back with supplies. I don't care who's running the camp, or if anyone is, I just need it to still be here. Which means I need to talk people who are interested in organization in camp while I'm gone." Focusing his attention on Mika then, he lifts an eyebrow, "I don't have a problem with what Zoe wants. I don't care if people take off their bracelets." His is still on, however, "But if she starts forcing people, then I've got a problem." The new title for him doesn't seem to faze him. It's not something he hasn't admitted to, after all.

"If there's anyone who'll sow fuckin discontent and anarchy in this camp Grey, it's fuckin Zoe." Cole seems actually angry at the idea, rather than his usual surliness in all things. "I'll kick her out of the camp myself if it fuckin comes to it. She, right now, is the biggest threat to this fuckin camp, the biggest threat to everyone just throwin their goddamn hands in the air an saying 'fuck it'." But his point is valid one, and the Techie even acknowledges such with a nod. "There'll be a camp with you get back, I'll do what I can in that fuckin regard. I'm just telling you, watch out for her. Not her physically, but her ideas. They're fuckin enticing and worse yet, they're fuckin /easy/. It'll be the easiest way to kill the camp for fuckin sure. But yeah, I'll watch the camp, try to keep people in line, for what it's worth." A nod at Mika. "Hunker down, hope for the best and smack around anyone who tries to start lifting shit."

"I'm not talking about the taking bracelets off, though I think that's a dumb idea, too. From what I can tell, there's more to it than just people taking their bracelets off." Mika frowns a touch but shrugs it off, looking back at Grey. "I'm interested in organization in the camp. I bet Cole is, too. When you're ready to talk to people, let us know, I think we'd both like to hear what you have to say about it." She gives a nod of agreement to Cole, "Absolutely. And I'll fucking well help you." Looking back to Grey, she shakes her head, "Zoe is an advocate of everyone doing whatever the fuck they want whenever the fuck they feel like it. And that's not good for organization -or- there being a camp to come back to." Looking back to Cole, she sighs, "I suppose we should ask a few others if they want to circle the wagons with us tonight. Just kinda… hole up in the corner and keep our heads down together."

Grey shakes his head at Cole's angry words, "Morgan's the bigger threat. Zoe just wants to run the camp. Morgan wants to move it. Fuck the Ark, keep runnin' 'till we can't be found." Raising up his left hand, he chews idly on his ring-finger's nail, "I don't know she's any worse than Jamison or Trace or Trin." That would be a bully, the asshole with the hatchet, and a thief, "But I could be wrong." He nods to Mikaela, "Talk to Max if he doesn't go. Quinn's friend. He might help out. If he doesn't go." There's a certain wariness there, and then he grunts, "But I should get back to hunting as soon as I find an Ee-Ess Nerd to help me find a spot. Need more food than just the deer we caught this morning to replace the nuts and berries I wanna take."

"So we can lump Morgan in the whole 'I did something really bad and I'm afraid that when the Ark comes down I'll be strung up for it'. So nice he's thinking about everyone else." Cole remarks, clear that the last part was meant to be completely sarcastic. "I don't even know the fuckin guy, I've been too busy building /that/." he jerks his thumb over his shoulder at the purifier. "If he wants to fuckin leave, don't let the airlock hit him in the ass on the way out. Zoe is just the one fuckin person I've heard the fuckin most out of. Not going to deal with her bitchass unless I absolutely have to." Everything else, he just shrugs at. "I suppose me an Meeks will go find dinner ourselves. But…hey, Grey.." he walks up to the other man, and offer his hand. "Good fuckin luck out there. Don't die like a bitch out there."

Mika shakes her head slightly, "Morgan's only going to get the idiots that did something so fucked up, they're worried about what the adults would do when they come down. Pretty small group, they're welcome to leave anytime. The danger -is- the ones that want to run the camp. Or at least, want to -own- the camp. Because she sure as shit won't be -running- anything. Have you seen her? That girl has no patience for being a leader. She just wants an easy justification for whatever fucked up shit she feels like doing. An excuse to take what she wants from everyone else." But, its not her job to convince him of the woman's danger, he's got to figure that out for himself. So, she just shrugs and gives a nod to Cole, "Yeah, we're gonna go hunting. Come by the tent before you head out, we might have some extra food you can take with you. You're welcome to leave anything with us that you want to be sure will still be there when you get back."

"No, you can lump Morgan in with the 'I'd rather see the human race burn than help the Ark vent a fart from an airlock' group." Grey shakes his head with a smirk, "Those of us who just did something really bad and don't trust Jackhole Jaha, we're somethin' different, but we aren't a small group." The offer causes him to shrug a little, "We'll take the food from the camp stores," such as they are, "And I'll take my stuff with me. You want to make sure no one screws with my tent while I'm gone, that'd be nice." And then he reaches up to touch his spears to his brow in a sort of mock-salute, starting to turn back toward the camp.

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