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 Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 2:11 pm
Gee, she was really embracing the clingy thing a bit too literally there now, huh?
Had he not been such a sturdy young lad, Yossarian would've probably complained about his ARM no longer having any feeling left-- but no, he kept his mouth shut, his chin up, and his posture rigid the whole while, only stealing the occasional glance over to his side to make certain it was in fact Aster tagging along.
He'd be happy to get out of this wretched environment as soon as possible... but that didn't mean the idea of tagging along with complete strangers thrilled him, either. A prickling distrust remained in the pit of his gut, but there was nothing he could really do to validate it now.
He hated going with the flow. He hated it so very, very much. Sore feet were nothing by comparison.
"Ooooh, you bet'cha!" Roy grinned as if failing to remember no one could SEE it beneath his rags, tail wagging so hard that it thunked audibly against his legs. "All the way through the pass an' some pretty ugly desert-- but all the boys back home are jumpin' for new world merchandise, so y'know how that goes!"
... Why they were looking for merchandise in a place like Zanadu seemed absolutely ridiculous not JUST to Yossarian, but Shae, too, catching bits of the conversation amidst her bleary lagging and sand-expulsion. Still... illogical and maddening though they were, there didn't seem to be any GUILE about the strangers. Weirdness, sure, and an impending sense of disaster... but no wicked murderous intent.
"So where're the lot of you from, huh?" Roy went on brightly, practically hopping a meter at a time in their awkward, clumsy descent. "Somewhere 'round here, or farther up? Y'don't really smell like locals."
Oh, now that was charming.
"Much farther up," Hanna obliged him, "I'm more of the forest dwelling type, myself."
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Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 2:33 pm
Hey, at least clinging meant she was still FUNCTIONING inside of that little terrified mind of hers, frowning the whole walk (really, she was going to be a snugglemonster later and whine and talk about how much she didn't trust their current company and how it was going to kill her, blah blah blah blah).
"t-that sounds like it'll be a long walk.." Aster whined, not exactly very keen on remaining walking as long as it sounded like they were going to be walking, give or take how long it was they'd ALREADY been walking.
Noooo! She never wanted to see sand again in her entire liiiiife! She didn't want to travel anymore! SHE JUST WANTED TO GET A HOUSE AND SETTLE DOWN AND SIT AT HOME AND COOK ALL DAY. (Oh dear, this trip was submitting that she was going to be a housewife into her head.. how..charming, at least she wasn't getting baby jonesings).
Jade, however, was more than happy to submit that they would be walking for some time with this odd little duo, ignoring the sounds of 'fjsadklfjds' behind him and just continuing on his merry little way. AH HA HA HA HA. "Ahh~ Sounds like a charming little walk. We're from a little further north than all of this.. whew~ not used to it gettin' so hot out.."
Which was true, they were more of the 'HI, WE LIVE IN THE SNOW' specie, unfortunately. Merry just laughed. "There'n't a lotta forests out here..Ah think we gots one'r'tew?"
A thought which seemed to sadden Merry..perhaps from the canine point of view, but she perked right back up again soon enough. AH HA HA.
Kanda, on the other hand, had finally been able to take a peerk through his tarp at their 'guides', frowning after the duo. faklfjdkl. Okay, why was HIS tail prickling up too? Honestly, were they being lead by suicidal people.
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 1:54 pm
(For the record, long was a VAST understatement.)
"Well I would hope so," Hanna nodded, humming a note to herself just behind the odd duo. "It'd be just dreadful if there were no forests down south for people to enjoy; I've always found a certain soothing quality to self-immersion in nature..."
"Self what, now?" mused Roy, something like an ear appearing to c**k under his hood as he glanced behind him. "You got'cherself a pretty fine vocabulary there, Miss. 'Specially for skulkin' about in these parts."
Yossarian nearly rolled his eyes right then, inwardly willing for the dense clods NOT to flatter dear Miss Therapist right then, but no, he controlled himself, and just kept walking... and walking, and walking some more. Sure, the way down was far less strenuous than that painful upward climb they'd endured that morning, but it still wasn't pleasant by any means, what with sand in their faces and the hot sun and dehydration already nipping at all their heels despite a careful water ration.
His tail remained prickly, but he ignored it the whole way... and it was only Shae who finally caught on at a conscious level when she got a brief view of HIS backside, not even considering that her own was even worse off. Hell, this whole thing unsettled her, and deeply-- but what could she do about it? Staying around wouldn't serve any purpose but making it all worse; that much she knew.
It was just... they were damned if they did, and damned if they didn't-- and now, at last, it seemed they'd gotten down to relatively flat ground at the basin, only to find...
A wagon.
Yes, a cart-- the broad, tarped, old fashioned wooden sort, almost like something fresh out of oregon trail... sans the two enormous, scruffy sand-coloredmules tied in front of it and a scrawny looking tarped figure who seemed to be fussing with their reins, but instantly perked up when they noticed the approaching group.
"Roy! Merry! Did ya' get anything good?" they all but BARKED in a high giddy pitch at the top of their lungs, jogging over happily.. and just THEN noticing that Roy and Merry weren't alone, giving the latter a puzzled look. "Hey... who're these guys?"
"They got our stuff for us!" Roy beamed-- and as if to prove his point, gave the nearest person a friendly clap on the shoulder (... it happened to be Yossarian and he SEETHED in silence). "Say hullo to 'em, Shim! They're a good lot!"
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 6:08 pm
Oh yes, all of the sane ones definitely by that time had puffy tails of 'waaauugh!', but Aster wasn't checking out any butts to be aware of such a thing, just forcing herself to relax the arm she was using to cut off the circulation on Yossarian's. She was okay, she was okay, she was okay, she was okay fjdfs;klajdsflkdjsflksdjafl;.
Okay, she was cowering under the blankets tonight. Possibly while being latched to someone else's chest. fodasjfl OHGODSTHEREWERETHREEOFTHEMfdjasdlkfjasklfjdsklfj;dasjskdfj;lsdfjlk!!!!!!! Aster's tail puffed up further (if it was possible at that point), it's entire length standing on end at the sudden addition to their group suddenly piped up. WAAAAHHH!!!!! No really, why the hell was she so unnerved?
Why was KANDA unnerved? Something felt off to him with the whole crew, grumbling a bit as he finally took the tarp off of his head (much to Merryweather's surprise), earning a curious snuffling in his direction as he 'came out of nowhere'.
"Haaaay! They've been hidin'un of their own!" she yipped, her tail wagging vehemently under her sand-protective poncho. Ohhhh curious!
"Strangest lot'o Kanus I've ever seen though.." she added.. "Looks like sommaya need to regrow yer fur!"
Ohhh dear, there was a word in there that Jade had never heard before. HMMMMM. HOW CURIOUS. "Kanus? Why...."
He looked to Hanna. SHOULD THEY SAY IT? HOW WOULD THAT GO OVER?
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Posted: Tue Oct 13, 2009 10:47 pm
... Well of course their new traveling buddies had be be a bunch of wild Kanus! How absolutely fitting indeed!
Unfortunately however, Yossarian was far from amused by this new discovery and, in fact, it only put him all the more on edge, all of his tail flattened save for a very obvious, very frayed prickling tip. He didn't even notice that Aster had relaxed her death grip, so focussed on keeping his gaze dead-set elsewhere that it failed to register.
"Well, some of us aren't quite fullbreeds, you see," Hanna replied as smoothly as ever, just giving Jade one of those sweet, knowing looks, before turning her smiles back to Roy and Shim and dear, lovely Merry. "They're not quite as common up around these parts, as you can see!"
Which, of course, went doubly for Zanadu on the whole, given such huge no-breed masses.
"... Weeeell, no matter there!" Roy, following a long and studious pause to 'observe' their new friends a bit closer, just grinned and laughed it off heartily. "I got me an' auntie back home with no hair, anyway; I think you'd all like 'er. Old crested lady an' a bit hard'a hearing, but nice enough. Her biscuits are howlin' tasty--"
"A-ah, Sir...s... Ma'am... everyone, perhaps we should conserse as we go?" Shae offered feebly at the back ranks as Shim gave her a particularly funny stare, as if her 'exposed' skin was some dire scandal). "I mean--"
"Oh, great idea!" Roy barked. "Just tie yer' mule up on the back'a the wagon and hop on in, if you want!"
... No one needed to tell any of THEM twice, as Hanna greatfully nodded and thanked them, and Shae, without missing a beat, gently took Fabio by the reins to go lead him over towards that cart... with, of course, Sir still riding (rather literally) in tow.
"... Are you doing alright, Sir?..." It was the first time she'd gotten a moment to speak with him and NOT quite be shoulder to shoulder with other bodies.
Now, to just tie Fabio up, help poor Kanda get down and in the wagon, and they could be on their merry way to... somewhere, hopefully.
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Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 6:06 am
And Aster didn't know what a Kanus was either! Aiiieeeee! But it seemed like they'd been tossed out of the awkward loop well enough with Hanna's 'quick save' for their honor... but Hoooo boy, hopefully they wouldn't run into too many more of these types so that she could stay with both feet planted on the ground instead of..say...
...
.. Up a tree, crying and screaming and puffed up to hell and back. It would be fantastic (maybe..) when it came to that point, AH HA HA HA HA. But for now, she could at least manage to not run in some sort of unknown terror (really, she wasn't quite sure why she was bothered by this trio) from such a small group. They weren't a threat (she hoped).
Kanda sighed a bit as Fabio was moved over to be hitched up to the wagon..nnngh.. "Well, other than feeling like luggage back here, I'm doing well enough." OH, AND I CAN'T FEEL MY a** OR TWO OF MY LIMBS, HOW LONG DO YOU THINK THAT'LL TAKE TO FIX UP?
Yeah, there was a reason that had remained unsaid at this point.
Jade, on the other hand, was more than happy to roll with that, going as far as to unload a few of the smaller packs off of Fabio's back to put on the back of the Wagon (Kanda discluded, if he wanted off, Shae could help him hobble). "Well, sounds to me like we'll have a merry ol' time.."
('you don't want to have a Merry-time. SHe's got fleas!' 'hey! D8<')
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 3:25 pm
"Ah, right..."
At least he'd used the term luggage instead of dead weight like he could've opted for so easily... and for that, at least, Shae was thankful. Given how close they'd all come to even greater disaster last night than what had actually happened. With hands lame, and fingers vaguely shaking, she wound up the most secure knot she could think of with Fabio's reins at the rear of the cart, and then...
Well, since Jade seemed happy to start plucking off the lighter luggage (which would've normally been her job, unable to lift much heavier), she moved on the next order of business: helping poor Kanda get himself down without wrecking that bad leg and getting him inside the wagon-back. If nothing else, it would provide them with a bit of shade and some sand-shelter for the ride, right?
She didn't tell him 'careful' or anything like it out loud, but she did her damnedest to discretely brace him when he had to ease down.
"... Come on, then," Yossarian, in the meanwhile, decided that it was best to just give Aster's arm a light tug and make sure she'd climbed into the wagon-back as well. She could get her frantic self settled and contemplate whatever thoughts happened to be baffling her, and he, in the meanwhile, would then be free to help unload the heavier bags... since, y'know, he was the only one there to TAKE that part up.
"You all ready back there?" Roy called from-- ... well it looked like he'd already hopped to the front of the rickety 'vehicle' (if it could even be called that), flopped himself in the driver's seat, and taken up the reins of the scraggly mules. "Shim, you've cleared out enough space in the back for 'em, haven't you?"
Shim (still clad in their sand rags) had already burrowed into said 'back' and was hastily cramming rather ludicrous amounts of boxes, bins, and various clunky wares into piles so there was SOME amount of room on the wooden floor for their guests to sit. Just what all of that was... oh, who could guess? Hanna had volunteered to help them, too, and they'd managed to scoot things around just in time for one gimp of a male and company to sit down.
Just what WAS all of this CRAP they happened to be hauling? Sounded like... metals, woods, rocks, pretty much everything one would find at a giant yard sale.
But oh well; at least they were getting on the move and, thankfully, a little out of the sun now, which had to be a good thing, right?
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:13 pm
Aster was..only slightly willing to release herself from Yossarian's arm, but at least did it without going WHINE WHINE WHINE WHINE WHIIINNNEEE at him for it. Instead, she just sat down AKWARDLY next to where Kanda got planted, just sighing and again pulling out her book to work on fumbling over the last few pages. Certainly it was nice that she was being taken SERIOUSLY on her desire to learn to read (which she could more or less do basically, not to much recreationally), but ...
...
She would have rathered starting off with an easier book for her dumb little brain. Snifflecry.
But eehhh.. if she cheated and counted, she only had like...40..pages to go.
Soo many paaggeeeessssssss. THat'd take her like.. a day! A month! FOREVER!!
Kanda wasn't too impressed with how 'distressed' Aster was about her situation and being 'trapped' with the book. He was worse off, and getting off the horse awkwardly and then leaning on Shae as if she were some sort of a walking stick to assist him in his walking.
Yaaayy progress! Sort of. Nyeeerrrr. But at least he was getting the feeling back into his butt with where it was being changed to, locationally. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeee!
Well, sans that, he felt FANTASTIC. "I don't know how big of a dent these injuries will have on our future work.." AKA IDK HOW LONG THESE WILL TAKE TO HEAL, SIGH.
Jade, while only moving the 'little' things off of Fabio's back, was at least HELPING.. as much as his 'weak' little body could. "Well, this certainly is an exciting travelling party.
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Posted: Thu Oct 15, 2009 9:10 pm
Aaah, progress: always such a welcome relief at the end (or middle) of a long, hard day. Finally it seemed like everyone had settled; Fabio was tied, the wagon interior had been properly 'resorted', and with Yossarian (and Jade by proxy) having finally cleared out the remainder of the bags, they were all free to clamor inside just as the thing started to move.
Yossarian begrudgingly parked himself near the back of the clutter, figuring that, if ANYONE had to deal with some pile of indiscriminate garbage falling on top of them, it might as well be him.
He'd be a physical blockade between the precariously balanced crap heaps and Aster, anyway, which stroked his protectorate's ego just enough to placate it.
"... So, how are you fairing amidst this wretched mess, Aster?" he couldn't help but as as the wagon gave a sudden LURCH forward, the mules obviously kicking into gear.
Hanna had perched herself daintily atop a wooden crate with legs crossed rather close to him, and Shim was at her side, obviously very curious about the appearance of all the little halfbreeds in the group. With the canvased shelter around them, they-- or rather, he-- had even decided to peel off his rags and throw them down in a careless heap, revealing-- ...
Well, he sure looked young enough, probably in his early teenage years, and covered from head to toe in scruffy brown-and-white splotched fur. Unlike any proper Koshka, however, he had a bulbous black-leathery nose, a stuff brushy tail and, stranger sill, hairy, floppy ears hanging to his jawline, with eyes of an eerie sky blue color.
"So you guys're halfbreeds, yeah?" he barked inquisitively, followed by a slew of other eager questions that, thankfully, she was more than happy to question and keep him occupied by. She'd even offered up her own supply bag for him to gleefully root through in the epic search for 'stuff'.
Shae was just fine playing the walking stick through it all, too, supporting his weight as well as she was able and even sitting right beside him once they were actually off their feet again, more towards the 'front' of wagon's rear, if that made sense... and oh, right, best to let poor Del finally get out of her pocket, huh?
The little golem went whirling off into supply heaps as soon as he was released, but given how closed everything was, she figured he wouldn't cause too much trouble.
She kept her voice consciously low and subdued, unsure of how tuned the ears of her companions were, but knowing that, at the very least, a certain devious duo would always be privy to eavesdrop.
"Well..." She didn't really know what to say that, at first, and thought long and hard on it amidst the rattling and shaking and jarring of the ride. "There's always more of that... elixir Miss Hanna And D-- .... Mister Jade have, if you wanted to risk it?..."
She'd almost slipped a word there, and didn't even know why. Why now? How terribly, secretly frustrating.
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Posted: Fri Oct 16, 2009 9:47 am
Aster looked to Yossarian (SO BRAVE AGAINST THE CLUTTER) and frowned a bit, but nodded. "I'm fine... I think my feet are appreciating this more than my butt is though.." she explained, before she got fl;askfdslk NOSE IN FACE, fj;dklasklfj;dkslfjkldsjfkl!!!!
Merry, following up on her companion's lead, also stripped off her sand-poncho, showing herself to be of a very similar build - big nose, slightly-muzzled, fuzzy all over.. however, her ears were more of an Aster-variety, standing up mostly before folding at the top and sporting a very black-and-brown doberman coloration.. though there were also a few white splotches here and there as well.
"Strangest halfbreed I'va ever been lookin' at!" she added on, shoving her nose into Aster's face and SNIFFING, her tail (which was slightly curled) wagging away. "I mean, they dun' got feathers or scales or nothin'!"
Which was a valid point...... except that even KANDA made a face at that one. Feathers and Scales? NO race up north had feathers or scales... and this... slightly worried him. However, he turned himself from the conversation going on behind him to look at Shae.
"Perhaps when we get to a resting point that may be a good course of action." he agreed, propping his bad leg up. Ow ow ow.
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:54 pm
Well that's obviously to be expected, Yossarian's mind answered long before his mouth ever did, though he managed to bite back any sarcasm on the matter and opted for... what was mostly sympathy, instead. Sure, she hadn't dealt with all of the same luggage-related grief protectorate he had, but the trip had been difficult on everyone in its own special way.
Besides, he suddenly had more pressing things to comment on instead-- literally, because that damnable Merry was pressing her face right in somebody else's and he did not like it.
"Excuse me," he said VERY audibly and, to drive it home that he was trying to get the fleabag's attention, gave her a tap on the shoulder... with his sword hilt. "Do you have any consideration whatsoever for personal space?"
"Whas' that?" Shim asked innocently, all the while pulling the exact same stunt with Hanna who, maddeningly enough, didn't seem to mind at all. "Is that some northern thing?"
"It's a standard courtesy--"
"Yes, it's a northern thing," the therapist correct his snap cheerfully, waving it all off. "We're just a bit less accustomed to... brushing elbows, you could say. Please, forgive any unintentional shyness on our part. We're still working to acclimate."
How she kept rolling with the punches and not flinching even once, he'd never know, but it drove him up the wall.
Still... feathers and scales? Just what was all that about, anyway?
"... If we have that luxury," Shae commented rather grimly, but truthfully, doing her best to keep that voice of hers hushed and any signs of anxiety buried as the wagon clattered along. It certainly felt like it was going at a good pace, and out through the canvas slit in the rear (which was mostly fastened, but a touch loose), she could see that the shadow of Zanadu was already getting smaller and smaller on the horizon line.
"At least... we'll be away from that place, though," she added, far more softly, but in her best imitation of optimism. It was really all she could do at that point, not certain of where they'd end up, or how they'd get there in one piece. God, Sir was already shot up and weak and miserable, and she still felt that same lingering fluttery queasiness, but..
No, the spirits had to stay high. The mind had to stay positive. She'd be fine. They'd all be fine. They'd all just... be fine...
Or something like it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 9:16 pm
Aster's tail had again reclaimed it's status of 'completely puffed up', ears drooping a bit as Yossarian stepped in to get the Kanus out of her FACE (albeit, with an ear-perk and a confused look on Merry's part).
"OoOOooh? Is it a rare thing?" she asked obliviously, tail wagging happily away, Awoo woo woo woooo!
dajflkfjakl;djs WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT NOISE?! Aster's entire body felt like it was prickling, clambering around all of their 'Kanus' company to throw herself at Yossarian with a pathetic sound. jdasfkl;jasdflk. Whiiiiine! WHIIIINNNEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Kanda's ears flattened up immediately at the sound of the 'MY SPACE WUZ R INVADED' Asterwhine, wincing at it. "Y-yes, we'll rather adapt well enough once we get settled in.." he agreed, shooting a leer at the butterfur and the other Swordsman. Okay, someone SHUT HER UPPPP.
"We should at least like our visit.." MAYBE.
Merry's ears drooped as Aster fled the scene.
AWWW. "You smell funny.." she pointed out, crinkling her nose before moving on to sniff at Jade. SNIFF SNIFF SNIFFFFFF.
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Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:48 pm
... Okay, there was only so much comfort a man could offer before the reservoir ran dry, and so much patience he could muster before the challenge of unnecessarily lengthy frustration like this. Yossarian, quite frankly, had already been bordering on limits... but this snooping? This whining?
That did it for him.
"Would you settle already?" He didn't advise or gently scold her; he hissed, nearly snarled it sharply under his breath and just gave the woman a sharp glare, no matter how brief, before turning it on both Kanus and just daring them to make a stupid move. Still... there would be no special reciprocal comfort for Aster this time; he wasn't going to put his arms around her or try to tell her that, yes, everything would be okay.
... 'Bonded' or not, there were times he just got irritated with all that whining and had to tell it to STOP.
Even Shim seemed vaguely surprised by the sudden snap, ears flopping back briefly in a moment of hesitation and instinctively looking to Hanna for some kind of guidance. She, in turn, just shrugged 'helplessly' and sighed, mouthing something along the lines of "lover's quarrel" under her breath.
Even Shae had winced visibly at the sound of that noxious whining, and felt her already meek posture fall apart even more, slumping over the tiniest bit and willing her ears not to sink any further. It didn't work, but the thought assuaged her a little... and maybe, to keep her anxiety tempered, she could just stay focussed on that seam in the canvas and watch the world go by.
"She's not... suffering any more than the rest of us..." she'd even gone far enough to mutter, so softly and so wearily that perhaps it was only for her own ears, rather than his. "The least she could do is try to control herself..."
(Amen to that.)
No one was coddling her, damn it, regardless of how stressed or anxious she happened to be. Hell, if anything, with Sir in his current condition, she had the responsibility of two to deal with. Having to listen to a peer quite literally WHINING about things just... wasn't jiving at all.
At this rate, it... was going to be a long and unfortunate ride.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 12:36 pm
OoooOooooookay, she'd just go back into the spot she'd been in before.... and sulk. More than sulk, but at least whatever it was she was doing, she was doing QUIETLY, just frowning into her arms and hugging her legs to her chest. Dammit, she wasn't built for this line of work. Yes, she was physically capable, but she was NOT psychologically capable for it.
Nnnnnnngh. sadjflkdasjfkd...
;___________;.
Hey. SHE WAS BEING QUIET STILL. Mope-y, but quiet. Great, now she wasn't going to actually be COMPLIANT for the next while, but she would be out of the way.
Merry's tail thumped pathetically against the ground at the sudden snap on Yossarian's part, peering over her shoulder at the warrior, before again sniffing at Jade..
"Well, this certainly is an odd sensation! It even tickles!" he jested, looking to Hanna as though being the 'chipper distraction' of the wagon. Hey, he didn't mind the little curiousity of the snifffsniffsniffsniffffffff. So he'd just allow it to play on as a drama-redirection.
Kanda was rather pleased to know that Aster was being left alone now... or rather being silenced. Shae, from what he could tell, didn't seem to mind either. Excellent! That meant that HOPEFULLY the rest of their trip would be quiet.
"Control isn't something she's good at."
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Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:08 pm
Well that was one of the most obvious statements stated ever, but Shae just nodded to it silently as any good and tasteful person might, deciding that, no, any response was a little moot by then, and her throat was getting too dry for superfluous words anyway.
So she just sat, and gazed off quietly into the distance as it faded. The wagon rocked and shuddered as a strong wind rushed by, but it kept on going, the mules (and Roy) apparently unbothered. Silence resonated among the quartet, but Hanna, at the very least, was happy to keep the air busy with idle chatter. She talked to Jade and she talked to Roy and she talked to Merry and Shim-- ... though only when the smallest Kanus of the group wasn't busy rifling through all their belongings.
As promised (or just expected), he'd managed to tear through the entirety of the group's luggage in some epic search for indeterminate 'stuff', gleefully procuring, among other things, Shae's chess board, three pieces of candied ginger (there'd been four when curiosity and hunger struck), a clipboard full of innocuous papers, a vial (not the therapist's most important), and even Yossarian's sw--
... Okay, so he'd only tried to take Yossarian's sword and been greeted with a slew of threats for the attempt, but it was the thought that counted, right? After that, he'd tried to barter one of the golems off Shae and Kanda, but... no, they wouldn't have that, either.
These odd 'halfbreed' people were no fun at all! Hmph!
Either way, though, time moved on, and it moved slowly and quietly, and before anyone seemed to know it, mid-afternoon had already passed. The sun was sinking just a little lower, though it was no less hot, and Hanna professed that t would remain so until there was no light left in the sky.
Still... it was time to dig up some grub for chewing on so they didn't pass out along the way.
As it turned out, the Kanus band had secured quite a load of odds and ends in the food department, too. At Roy's barked orders, Shim had, seemingly from NOWHERE, whipped out a tied parcel full of some hard crusted bread, and a massive jar full of dried SOMETHING-protein jerky, and even some sort of orangeish fruit... which was also essentially jerky from the dryness.
There was a ration of water for each of them, too which Shim poured into various cups and tins and other receptacles with a cheer of "drink up, y'all!" loud enough to get not only Shae, but DEL twitching.
... Were they THERE yet?
Or hell, just to the mountain PASS, even? How long could one journey take?
(If only they knew it'd be another three days of constant plodding along before they met the range. Alas.)
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