Taking It Easy [open]

[Melissa|Tristan]

The forest felt very peaceful today, with a gentle breeze rippling through the trees on either side of the trail. It was a cloudless day, one that had prompted Melissa to wear capris and a light sweatshirt. She was following what appeared to be an animal track, but it was a very well worn one. Even as she knelt now, she could make out the tracks of two wolves, a single deer, a hyena, a kangaroo, and a bear. She didn't know which tracks belonged to humans with talismans, certainly the hyena and the kangaroo, for they weren't native to Canada. However, the other animals were, so there was no way to tell for sure if they were people, or real animals.

Upon reaching a split in the trail, Melissa examined the tracks and chose the left track. The bear had taken the right, and after her recent run in with a bear, she had no wish to repeat the experience. After travelling in a westerly direction for a while the trres suddenly began to open up into a clearing beside a calm lake. Even after her walk, Melissa was still practically vibrating with energy. I need to run. Her cheetah nodded enthusiastically. After setting down her backpack underneath one of the larger maple trees, Melissa carefully pulled off her sweatshirt. Ugly gauze bandages covered her left arm and shoulder, covering even more horrid stitches from sight.

I look so hideous right now. Melissa sighed, feeling stupid for speaking out loud to herself. She put the sweatshirt down on top of her backpack, and knelt down on the grass in the Cat yoga pose. She gently stretched her back, trying to relax enough to be able to shift. In truth, Melissa wasn't sure whether or not she should shift, and how that would affect her injury. Maybe it's better to wait. The cheetah silently growled, it's mood quickly turning foul at the thought of still not being able to run as it liked. We'll see, we'll see Melissa thought as she folded her legs and sat cross-legged. The grass was very soft and gentle on her skin. Melissa decided to check her injury, so she carefully began peeling off her bandage. As she did so, she glanced around uneasily. She wouldn't be caught off gaurd if someone approached.

[DesperateDark]

The mountains stood out against the clear blue sky today, the sun was shining down upon the lake and the air was crisp but warm. The leaves on the trees rattled as they came off the branches in a cascade of beautiful, fiery colours. It was the fall season; warm days followed by cool, quiet nights.

A lone buck wandered among the trees; his antlers blending into the various branches that stuck out from the trunks above him. He walked along the shrubbery, occasionally bringing his head up – ears flicking – to listen to the call of a shore lark or a snapping twig. His gate was measured and calculating, as if every move was planned out and intentional. At first glance, he would just be any other deer in any common wood; nothing way to special. However, if a person knows their biology, then they’d think this particular deer was out of place in the Canadian environment.

The Hokkaido Sika Deer, native to Japan, lifted his head and sniffed at the breeze; inhaling the scent that floated upon it.
This particular Sika had a name… It was Takeshi Nakamikado, but often answered to ‘Caleb’ as well. He was not an escaped zoo animal, nor was he some stray import; he was just himself, thank you very much.

It was getting a bit late in the day as he reached the shore of the glimmering lake. Though it was only autumn, some ice had formed on the surface of the body of water. His face lit up in a rare smile; he loved to jump across the ice when it formed. Not bothering to look around much, he stopped out to the bank of the water and leapt right out. With a slight clatter of hooves he landed on a plate of floating ice a bit inwards. He made a happy little whickering sound as he jumped again and landed on another floating chunk of ice.

Jumping around in his deer form like this was like feeling a bit of what life would be if he wasn’t so weak. The thought saddened him as he made another jump, landing neatly once again. His deer form gave him independence, no longer restricting what he was doing because his human form was so delicate. He would have never been able to do this normally.

He relished every moment of the feeling; the cool lake breeze against his cheek, the harmony of everything, the… Who the heck was that?
Caleb was nearing the other end of the lake when a flash of brown and gold caught his eye. He looked towards it and misjudged his next leap. His hoof clipped near the edge of the ice floe; too close to the edge. The fragile ice cracked under his weight and he was sent plummeting into the icy water.

The bitter cold of the lake punched the air out of his lungs as he struggled back to the surface. His panicky cries seemed to span the lake as he thrashed about, trying to breathe.

[Melissa|Tristan]

The day was chilly, and as she sat breathing slowly Melissa noticed that there were patches of coloured leaves on the grass around her, and still more were falling around her. The temperature had been dropping steadily recently, and she was getting chillier as she sat, so she pulled out sweatpants and pulled them on over her capris. The gauze on her wound needed to be changed, but she’d do that once she got home. Well, her temporary home anyways.

The stitches felt rough against her fingers as she gently ran them over the cut before replacing the gauze. Melissa noted that even though it was still autumn, there were actually chunks of ice on the lake, and ice lined quite a ways around it too. Winter would soon sink it’s teeth into this region, but that time wasn’t here quite yet. Thank goodness, because Melissa wasn’t looking forward to it. To her knowledge, cheetahs didn’t do very well in dealing with the cold.

Her awareness didn’t extend over the water; she wasn’t expecting something to be in or on the water, so most of her attention was on the trees surrounding where she sat. Therefore, when she heard a clattering of hooves coming off the water, she was questioning enough to wheel around in time to spot a deer. On the lake. Melissa had just a second to watch in awe as it jumped nimbly from one ice flow to another, enough time to note that it was male. That’s so cool! I wonder . . .

For a split second she almost considered trying it herself, in her furry form of course. Almost. An instant after her thought, the deer looked directly at her. Prey animals don’t make eye contact. That’s a person. And what was that look for? It was amazing how Melissa was so suspicious of wildlife now; she checked every single creature she came across to see if they followed the behaviour they were supposed to. It had worked well, thus far.

Sadly, looking at her seemed enough to cause the deer to lose concentration, making it slip. Oh my god, he’s going to fall! Melissa jumped to her feet, stopping only to snatch her sweatshirt off the top of her backpack, before racing towards the waters edge, towards the deer. Watch out! Her warning did no good, because the deer fell into the water anyways, and began flailing about in terror. Melissa caught glimpses of wide, white-rimmed eyes as she reached the edge of the water. There was ice between herself and him, but she laid down on her belly and inched her way towards him. Easy boy, easy. It’s alright, I'm coming. You’re going to be alright, but you have to stop thrashing so I can get closer. She was especially concerned by the stag’s horns, which were waving about wildly in his panic. They looked lethal, and he probably wasn't really thinking straight right now, so who knew what he would do? Her motion stopped as she waited for him to realize that she wasn’t going to hurt him. He’d better realize it soon. That water’s cold and he won’t survive long if he stays in. Melissa got ready to hook the stag’s horns with her sweatshirt, so that she could pull him at least partially out of the water. She knew that the stag would help himself out. The question was whether or not he would let her help him.

[DesperateDark]

Flailing about in wide-eyed terror, he didn’t notice the blond-brunette crawling towards him on her belly. He felt as if he was being dragged under and, barely breathing, he finally saw the woman. She had stopped dangerously close to the water’s edge and was holding her sweatshirt out to him, speaking soothing words to calm him. Admittedly, it was barely working through his terror fogged mind, but it was getting there slowly. Caleb calmed a bit as he looked at the blond-brunette with fearful, yet questioning, black eyes.

His thrashing slowed as he watched, wondering if he should. He was still in a state of shock and alarm and the cold water was getting to him; his fur did nothing to repel it. Deer were normally good swimmers, but it was different when you had a human mind and was panicking all over the place. At last, fearing he would drown and with no other choice in sight, he reached out and bit down on the sweatshirt as gently as he could. ”Stay calm, Caleb, go easy…” His Sika cooed slowly to him to ease his mind.

At last, a few minutes later and after much strain, he lay on the bank of the lake. His breathing came in hard gasps as he tried to regain what oxygen he had lost during his plight. He lay on his belly; long legs folded beneath him and head resting against the ground. Christ, he was tired and wanted nothing more to do with water for the next little while.

At the same time he starred up at the woman, knowing full well that he owed her much more then he could ever repay for saving his life. But he was grateful for her deed and decided to delay running off as soon as he had the warmth in his legs to dart away; it was the very least he could do to thank her by sticking around a bit, even though his talisman told him to leave as soon as he could.

Caleb lifted his head in the direction of the forest, then looked back in the general direction of the woman, though not daring to make eye contact. He hated eye contact because he felt threatened, unless he knew a person very well he avoided it. Caleb made a soft nickering sound at her, ears flicked back and forth, then down, in submission. What she would do next was up to her, but he decided to just play low and hope she didn’t find out who he really was.

[Melissa|Tristan]

The ice felt fragile underneath her body as she slid out on her stomach towards him. His horns were still waving, but not quite as wildly as before. The terror that had been evident only moments before had dimmed to extreme nervousness. Not that Melissa blamed him for feeling that way; she would’ve been panicking just as much had it been her in his place. The strangeness of the deer continued as it met her eyes and held them in it’s gaze. This definitely isn’t prey behaviour. It’s deep gaze pulled Melissa in, making her freeze momentarily. Her murmuring continued, even if her thinking processes didn’t, and the stag slowly stopped his thrashing movements.

After waiting a second just to make sure that he was actually finished whipping his horns around, Melissa continued her belly crawl towards him. She was now close enough to touch him, if she’d wanted to, but she didn’t because that could quite possibly scare him more. Icy water was soaking into the stag’s fur, weighing him down. I’ve got to get him outta there before he freezes. Her cheetah was giving her a look that clearly stated that the stag had some explaining to do if they got wet because of him.

When the stag bit down on her sweatshirt, Melissa instantly felt pressure on her bad arm, so she flipped to use her good arm to help the deer pull himself out of the water. It hadn’t been exactly what she’d had in mind, but it worked, and soon they were both panting as they lay on the banks of the lake. Her cheetah was ticked, because they'd been splashed in the pull to get out of the water. Melissa hadn't seen it this mad in quite a while; it was hissing, but she ignored it for now. She was more concerned with making sure that the deer was okay. After regaining her breath, Melissa took a closer look at the deer. At first glance, he didn’t appear to be breathing, so she carefully moved around him so that they could see each others faces. She knew that prey didn’t like to be approached when they couldn’t see what was doing the approaching, and she was pretty close before she could tell that he was panting as hard as she had been.

It was at this time, when she was close enough to see the water droplets clinging to his long eyelashes that Melissa completely took in the stag’s appearance. At first glance he seemed normal, but a closer look revealed that he wasn’t of this area. In fact, he wasn’t even of this continent. As she was sometimes prone to do, Melissa started thinking out loud, to both herself and the deer. I’ve never seen a deer like you before. You’re the right size, but not the right colour. You’re supposed to be tawny brown, and not so dark. You’re thinner, and shaggier too, and your horns are weirdly shaped. Unsurprisingly, the deer didn’t say anything, but he did look around at the trees. She hoped that he wouldn’t leave so soon; she’d been lonely lately, since she didn’t really know anyone in the area.

The soft sound he made in her direction was encouraging at least. He couldn’t be hurt too badly if he could still make noise, but she’d have to see him walk to know for sure. She’d worked with horses before, so she knew how to find lameness, though a deer would probably be different. It was cute, in a dangerous, wild kind of way, and it took a second for her to remember that it, no he was actually a person. You aren’t from around here, are you? The stag seemed to be listening; she could see his ears flicking back and forth, listening to the sound of her voice. It would have been peaceful, sitting in the long grass with him, had she not begun shivering with the cold, her wet clothes clinging to her body. Apparently it was chilly if you were dry, and freezing if you were wet. And she was soaking wet.

[DesperateDark]

“You aren’t from around here, are you?” The woman questioned.

Well… She was smart and knew her local fauna at least. He put his head down near her knees and looked up at her, making a sort of snorting sound. Caleb had already begun to shiver, and he noticed that she was shaking as well. It had been nice before, but the temperature seemed to have dropped at least ten degrees since then. ”So, give her your coat! Be a gentleman!” His talisman chided him as if it were his mother. He couldn’t help but let out a big sigh before getting up halfheartedly; his legs shook as if he were standing on an earthquake.

Caleb gently walked around her before lying down behind her; his side pressed against her back. He curled his body around her like a blanket, placing his head on her knee like a well trained puppy. He felt the fur on his cheeks prickle in what was undoubtedly the deer version of a blush. ”Aaaaand?” His talisman urged him, lifting its head up expectantly. He squeezed his eyes shut in mortification and made another soft sound, as if he was begging his talisman to stop. This was going to be a very long day, without a doubt. He knew full well that he wouldn’t be able to stand up again; the cold had really gotten into his bones and made his joints stiff.

Seeing her shivering made him feel bad though, it was his fault that she was all wet in the first place. Getting up from his awkward position to slide in next to her, he made an odd attempt to get up, only to tumble back down again. He shook his head and tried once more, and this time stood on wobbly, stilt-like legs. Caleb began his transformation immediately to prevent another fall.

His phase was gawky and clumsy looking, to stay the very least. He never, not even once, had a smooth transaction between his human self and his talisman self. His fur began to grow courser and woven until they became his clothes, his skull seemed to melt and change shape, the anatomy of a deer was just so different then that of a human. It was only when he was finished his change that he realized his clothes were dripping just like his fur had been. Wet hair dripped water onto his shoulders and his shirt and pants were plastered onto him like a second skin; he was even more drenched then the girl was… Which was a given since he had been the one actually in the lake.

Looking away from her, quite embarrassed, he peeled off his still-dripping jacket and held it out to her. ”H-here…” He stammered, cheeks reddening as blood rushed to his face in a blush. ”I know it won’t help much but…” He looked at her and made eye contact for only a brief moment before looking down at his shoes nervously. ”I… I’m Caleb.” It was a simple, brief introduction, but it would have to do.

The breeze had picked up again, sending a shiver up his spine. He hadn’t noticed before, but his breath came out on puffs of smoke that made a cloudy halo around his face. Only now did he actually notice the bandages on her arm, the white gauze had gotten damp and he wondered if that was okay if it got soggy. Caleb knew from his multiple first hand experiences with injuries that most of the time it wasn’t all right. ”You’re arm got wet… I don’t have anything dry on me now but if you can wait or come with me then…” Caleb bit his lip, wondering if he was prattling instead of being helpful.

[Melissa|Tristan]

((OOC: Sorry it's so long again!))

With the wind blowing briskly, the trees did little to stop the air from flowing through the clearing where they sat. Her body temperature was below the average human beings when she was human, but as soon as she transformed into the cheetah, it rose rapidly. Too bad she couldn’t shift, but that would probably scare the stag away. Melissa tried to console herself with the thought that however cold she was now, the stag was probably feeling much worse. He’d moved closer than before, much closer and his head was near her knees now. One of the most prominent features on the stag’s face was his eyes. They were deep pools of soft mahogany brownness, set into an angular snout, which was normal for a deer.

Watching him stumble to his feet, Melissa almost jumped to her own feet, and would have if she hadn’t been so cold. She’d tucked her legs underneath herself, trying to conserve body heat. Right now her curiosity was warring internally with the complete coldness she was feeling. I’m gonna lose some fingers at the very least. Of course she was joking with herself; it wasn’t as bad as she was making it out to be. The deer had walked a graceful circle around her, startling Melissa when he suddenly folded around her.

Whoa! Watch the horns bud! She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, but what’s done is done, right? He was more wet than she was, since he’d been the one taking the swim, but it was a sweet gesture anyways. His fur was soaking wet, and even as she leaned back into his luxurious fur Melissa could feel the water soaking further into her clothes. She ran her hand over his shoulder, feeling his thick fur beneath her fingers. It was surprisingly soft and long, very well taken care of she guessed; she’d been expecting coarse and rough. Her gaze flitted all over his body, unbashedly taking in everything. He had good, clean, long legs and a strong, deep chest; not as muscular as one might expect, but deer weren't usually stacked anyways, were they?

Melissa knew deer weren’t known for being vocal, so when he made another nickering sound, she sat up and looked at him. He’d avoided eye contact so far, but for a split second their eyes had met and Melissa got the feeling that the stag wasn’t very comfortable with her company. She thought that her suspicions were confirmed when he stumbled unsteadily to his feet. She half-rose, sitting up to better see him in his ungainly attempts to walk. As the deer's fur retreated all over his body, save his head, she scrambled backwards a few metres away from him. It wasn't a pretty transformation, which made her question if all transformations, her transformations were the same. Melissa liked to think that she didn't look so grotesque when she let her cheetah out, but who knew really? She'd have to ask Aras if she ever saw him again.

The boy was of a different ethnicity than she, resembling an Aisian or maybe a Japanese person. Which also explained why his talisman wasn't one that she recognized. She could tell that he had a small frame because of the way his wet clothes hugged his body, nothing compared to Aras's build, but what the boy lacked in size he made up for in personality. As he peeled his wet coat off, she stared at his lack of common sense. Yes, you were supposed to get out of wet clothes as soon as possible, but not until you had dry clothes to put on right away! The instant he caught her looking the boy's cheeks became stained red with embarassment, tempting her to giggle at him. As it was she restrained herself, because she blushed when embarassed too, so she could relate.

Stuttering, the stag-boy held out the jacket as an offering to her, the blush still very present in his face. Are all the guys here chivalrious? That would be nice . . . It was soaked all the way through, but she shyly took it from him anyways; it was only polite after all. "I… I’m Caleb." Caleb? That's a nice name. I'm Melissa, Mel if you like. A small smile was allowed to slip across her face, but she doubted that he noticed, since Caleb was currently studying his shoes as though his life depended on it. Her head tilted a little while she watched curiously.

”Your arm got wet… She quickly glanced down at her arm and was surprised to see that the gauze was indeed wet from her rescue. She flinched as a twinge of pain ran through her arm; nothing besides the stitches and gauze had touched her arm since the bear had. I don’t have anything dry on me now but if you can wait or come with me then…” The plan made sense, and Caleb seemed trustworthy, so it didn't take her long to decide. Alright, I'll come along . . with you. Boy, that had sounded weird, saying those words in that order. And it probably wasn't very smart of her to go with a stranger, but the apartment she was renting wasn't close to here. She needed to dry off, remove the gauze on her arm and make sure that she was okay. And while she was doing this, she could ask Caleb some questions about the shifting process, things that might help her in the future, things that might help her in dealing with her cheetah, who was frantically warning her not to trust this stranger.

[DesperateDark]

“Mah… Mahlis…” His tongue tripped over the unfamiliar foreign syllables and he swore his face turned red with embarrassment. He couldn’t even pronounce his savior’s name right, so was relieved when she said that he could call her ‘Mel’ instead. ”Mel…” He said out loud, as if to make sure he could say it right and was glad when he could. Caleb knew his English was very limited; he could speak a bit but most of the time was unable to hold much of a conversation. The words simply didn’t come out right since he was so used to Japanese.

”Alright, I'll come along . . with you.”[/i] Caleb nodded at the girl and looked out towards the lake. He tried to remember where exactly had he left his bag before running around as a stag. It was in the fork of a tree, not too far back from the lake’s beach, on the other side. Inside it was a small first-aid kit sort of thing, which came in handy more often then one would think – especially considering how delicate Caleb was. It was getting a bit late in the evening; the sky was beginning to become tinged with bits of orange and yellow, but it wasn’t anything too noticeable. He wondered briefly how long it would take before turning back to Melissa.

“Ah… Follow me.” Well, at least that came out in near perfect English. It was still rather accented though, so he made a mental note to work on that. For a moment he hesitated to turn his back to her, but then he figured that a girl like her would be safe enough. She had saved him after all, so she couldn’t be that dangerous. He began to walk at a steady pace along the beach of the lake, the dirt-sand-gravel mixture crunched occasionally under his shoes. It was nice and peaceful except for the occasional call of a loon across the lake or a lark here and there.

He was having a strange feeling about this girl; Melissa. It wasn’t that wump in his chest like the feeling of love – he had already experienced that personally, and he was sure this wasn’t that feeling. It was more like the something’s-up feeling, as if there was something wrong with her that he couldn’t out his finger on. Caleb took a glance over his shoulder at Melissa; she looked 100% normal except for her bandages. Could she have a talisman of her own? Maybe, but what would she be anyways?

Caleb relinquished his thought process from his physical movements; letting his body walk on it’s own for a bit. It was what most people would call being ‘zoned out’, though he got quite confused with that term since it didn’t make any sense. His body kept on walking but his mind was working on its own. He did take an occasional glance back at her to see if she was doing okay as they walked along.

At last he was looking up into the branches of an old birch tree; its white bark peeling off in strips and green leaves just beginning to turn yellow. As the breeze blew some leaves came tumbling off and scattered the ground around him, as well as getting in his wet hair. His gaze flitted from one branch to another, trying to spot his bag. It was dark brown, so it was a bit hard to spot.

”Ah… C-can help?” He stuttered in broken English, knowing very well that he probably said it wrong. Did Melissa know Japanese? It would be much more convenient if she did. Anyways, he was asking for her help in finding the bag since he was having more then a bit of trouble locating it. [/size]

[Melissa|Tristan]

The brisk breeze wasn't making standing up in wet clothes any more comfortable for her. I should have brought extra clothes with me, but I didn't exactly plan on this happening. It hadn't exactly been the smartest for Caleb to decide to jump from ice floe to ice floe when the weather was so unpredictable and the ice wasn't very thick. It was a couple centimetres thick at best, and was probably barely thick enough to have supported his weight. Which made her wonder if a person's weight would change as they shifted into their talisman. Probably. We do become like the animal physically and mentally sometimes too.

How much did she weigh as a cheetah? Not nearly as much as Caleb did as a deer probably, especially since the cheetahs were the leanest of the big cats. Lions were the powerhouses, whereas the cheetahs were agile and racey. Melissa liked to think of lions as more Mac truck and cheetahs as more Ferarri. Melissa smiled at what was one of her better analogies so far regarding the talismans.

Tiny wrinkles appeared between her eyes as she tried to descipher Caleb's speech. She could make neither heads nor tails of what he was trying to say, but whatever it was, he was embarassed about not being able to pronounce. It was only once Caleb used the short version of her name that it clicked. Wow. He really wasn't from around here, was he? She was understanding though that maybe he hadn't heard that name before, so she smiled encouragingly to him. At least he was trying.

He almost looked lost as he scanned the lake area around them, and Melissa was about to speak but he looked so focused that she didn't want to distub his concentration. It was like he was looking for something . . . or someone. His continuous scanning make Melissa nervous too and she turned to check the forested area around them, finding nothing. That didn't mean there wasn't anything, just that she couldn't see it.

When Caleb spoke again, Melissa was able to pick up more things about him. First, his voice was crisp and sharp sounding, nothing like Aras's smooth, comforting voice. Second, his voice had a strong accent, something Aisian sounding, which went with his appearance. Third, his words sounded broken, like he wasn't completely sure of what he was saying. The second the words came out of his mouth, the cheetah tensed, not sure what to make of it. An instant after his back was turned, the cheetah contracted it's muscles in anticipation of an attack, making Melissa do the same. Did he really trust them that much, or did he just not see them as a threat? After relaxing and picking up her backpack, zipping it up so nothing would fall out, Melissa took several steps before stopping again. Her cheetah was shaking it's head, telling her not to follow, not to trust him.

In the end, she followed, resuming her shivering again. It was colder having her wet clothes move against her body, but so long as Caleb could do it, so could she. After a little while, he seemed to be looking for something. A nice spot to bury us in? Melissa could practically hear her cheetah thinking it. Usually Melissa listened carefully to everything the cheetah thought, but this wasn't one of those times. As they walked, she admired Caleb's lean frame and carefully mussed up hair. Even after a near-drowning incident, his hair still looked like he'd planned for it to look the way it did.

After moving for a couple minutes Melissa's arm felt rather numb; she hoped that they were close to civilization. Seeing Caleb look up into a tree though cast doubts in her mind. They were confirmed when his sharp voice asked for help. Or at least, that's what she thought he'd said. Ummm . . . OK-K-K. What d-d-o y-y-you n-n eed? Now her teeth were chattering, probably making her speech non understandable, especially to him. Her fingers were going numb, prickling slowly while she waited to find out what he needed her to help him with. Maybe after she helped they could go somewhere warm to dry off.

[DesperateDark]

”Ummm . . . OK-K-K. What d-d-o y-y-you n-n eed?”[/b]

Caleb raised an eyebrow, not really understand what she had just said. She was shivering pretty badly now and her teeth were chattering. He frowned and bit his lip, troubled by the woman’s distress. Back in Japan, if a woman was in distress then the man had to help her, and that was what nagged at him at the moment. However, both of them were pretty vulnerable right now, making Caleb feel like he was unable to help himself, let alone another.

He gave her a shake of his head that pretty well said; ‘never mind’ before giving her a rare, coy little smile. He looked away from her almost immediately, once again focusing his attention among the branches of the trees. His bag wasn’t that big and was a dark brown with black straps. He reached up above his head, trying to reach at an overhanging branch. Soon realizing he was too short to simply reach it, he took an over-the-shoulder glance at Melissa before jumping up to get at it. This time his thin hands wrapped around the white branch; it gave a little under his weight but he wasn’t heavy enough to snap it.

Swinging back and forth a bit, he rocked his body hard during the fourth swing and was able to get up far enough to wrap his legs around another branch a little higher in the tree. He was hung upside down by his legs in the tree, once again facing Melissa. His wet shirt had slipped half way up his chest and his hair dripped onto the dirt. For a second he just hung there, overcoming the sudden rush of blood to his head, before swinging his torso up so he was sitting in the bow of the branch.

Caleb snuck another quick look at Melissa before continuing his search. It was so far nowhere in his immediate sight, so he stood up carefully on the branch and climbed to a fork in the trunk. He was glad now that he had chosen a rather sturdy looking birch rather then one of the thinner ones. Caleb, as a rule, normally didn’t climb trees… Or anything for that matter. He preferred to stay on the ground, but Melissa was in no condition to start climbing anything because of her injury.

Black and grey eyes continued to search for the bag as he climbed among the branches, occasionally looking down at Melissa to check if she was alright. There was a sudden gust of wind that threw him off balance for a moment, but he quickly regained it without casualty. When he was nearing the top and getting rather nervous about actually finding it, he finally spotted the little brown bag hanging by a strap on one of the branches. Quickly grabbing it, he climbed down as carefully as he could. On his way down he managed to rip the jeans he was wearing and cut his knee on a snapped branch. He had cringed and bit his lip to stop himself from yelping in pain, but he certainly felt the blood on his skin and how the course fabric stuck.

Caleb landed on the dirt with a soft thump, banding his knees to absorb the shock. The bend caused the cut on his knee to open up wider and he couldn’t suppress his pained cry as he fell back to lean against the tree. He just sort of sat there for a few seconds, dazed, before realizing that Melissa was still standing there. Careful with his knee, he got up and limped over to the woman and, for the first time, actually got a good look at her. Melissa’s eyes were an attractive greenish brown and her hair looked naturally two toned. He couldn’t say so much about his own eyes or hair… They weren’t exactly his proudest features. He had heterochromia, his right eye being black while his left being a dark grey. He frowned at the thought of his eyes, they both used to be a beautiful dusky black until the incident.

Kneeling as gingerly as he could to avoid damaging his hurt knee any more then it was, he pulled out the familiar white plastic case with the telltale red cross on it. Caleb quickly got out some fresh bandages and a small white towel, the items would do for now. He held out the two items to Melissa and gave another small, timid smile. ”You’re needing help?” He asked in broken English. [/size]

[Melissa|Tristan]

The whole situation could not have been more strange. After getting wet, they hadn't done the smart thing and gone someplace warm; no, they didn't. Instead they were looking up at a tree, one that looked pretty much the same as the rest at this time of year. The trees weren't very thick where they were standing, so the wind was able to slide through the gaps, contributing to Melissa's chill.

She felt like shaking her head to herself; Caleb obviously hadn't understood what she'd been saying. Heck, even someone who spoke English fluently would've had some trouble trying to descipher what she'd managed to say. She tried to return his sweet smile, but the fact that her teeth were chattering made it more difficult to hold it in place. Her injured arm was stinging, pins and needles running up and down it, so she held it close to her body, trying to keep it warm.

Caleb's attention was focused on the tree, and as he swung himself up Melissa watched carefully, unconsiously moving closer. She wasn't prepared for him to let go with his hands, and a frightened noise escaped her mouth as his head swung, inches from the ground. It would have been pretty funny, if she hadn't thought he was going to fall at any moment. His shirt had come untucked from his pants to reveal a thiner, more ribby body than she was used to seeing. Caleb's frame was small, but even for his size she could already tell that he was too skinny. Quickly making another note to herself to take him out to dinner sometime, she focused on his upside-down face, noticing that his eyes weren't both the same colour. She didn't catch their colours, but made a mental note to check the next chance she got. Thankfully, Caleb was able to pull himself back up and climbed nimbly up the tree.

So as not to distract him, she closed her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to keep quiet while he searched for something in the tree. Was this a normal thing for him to be doing? What was he looking for anyways? Her questions were answered when he pulled a dark brown backpack off a branch near the top; it had blended in perfectly with the surrounding foliage.

She was consumed with her breathing excersize, but Melissa heard Caleb's quick intake of breath and opened her eyes to glance around nervously. There was no one in sight, so she looked questioningly up at him. He landed carefully, and she noticed him favouring one of his legs, and it quickly became evident that he was hurt. Whatever branch he'd cut himself of, it must have been a sharp one, because his jeans were cut right through, and he was bleeding pretty bad.

You're needing help? Melissa returned his shy smile cautiously and reached out for the two items from the first aid kit he was now holding. I can take care of you first. You're bleeding. But we should find somewhere warm, so we're more comfortable. Do you know of anywhere? She didn't know much about the area, so hopefully he knew it better than she did.

[DesperateDark]

”I can take care of you first. You're bleeding. But we should find somewhere warm, so we're more comfortable. Do you know of anywhere?”

He shrugged, but smiled inwardly at her comment. Nobody had cared for what happened to him since… Since Reyes. It had been so long, and he had sort of forgotten how it felt to have somebody actually care about his plights. His hands behind his back, he rocked on his heels for a few moments before nodding to her question. ”Okay… Follow with me.” At this point, he was tired of trying to think over the English sentences in his head and just did the best he could.

This time he took Melissa gently by the wrist and led her to where he was headed. It was supposedly this old campsite that had been left behind when the people moved on. There was an ancient fire pit, which would make a decent fire to warm themselves by. Looking up at the sky, it was becoming streaked red and yellow; the sun was setting steadily. They would probably need to spend the night out by the lake. It was nice here during the night… When you weren’t soaked and cut up in multiple places.

Caleb cringed as they had to walk over a rough spot of the land, where some of the larger trees grew. The ground was bumpy with buried boulders and wayward roots, which made it harder to keep his knee from moving too much. Some of the blood had begun to dry around the cut, making the whole experience that much more uncomfortable. He tried to help Melissa along the best he could though, even in his injured state.

As night slowly descended upon the area, his nerves began to get to him. Ever since he had been a child, his worst fear had been the dark… That, and loud noises or people yelling at him. He had been teased quite a lot because of it, but he had always remained fearful. It was just something about the dark, the feeling of not knowing what was there and not being aware of your surroundings. Perfectly normal things would turn morbid, and there were the things that were perfectly aware of you.

He was relieved when they got to the site. It was a circular clearing near the edge of the wood, close to the lake. Its grounds were well trampled and worn and there was a fire pit in the middle. By now it felt like his leg was going to buckle underneath him; his knee felt like it had been set on fire. Caleb crumpled to the ground near the fire pit, trying to get a good look at his knee. He knew some stuff must have gotten into it, but he couldn’t see in the dark. He would have to start a fire to shed some light and keep warm, which meant he had to get wood to start it.

[Melissa|Tristan]

Of course she was needing help! They both needed help right now, but Melissa channeled her mild irritation at Caleb into energy used to help him walk. “Follow with me.” For a second she didn’t know exactly what he’d meant, but when he grabbed a hold of her wrist, his intentions were pretty clear. While he pulled on her wrist, she leaned closer to him as they moved. Caleb really seemed like he needed help walking on that injured leg, so she stayed close in case he needed support. Their bodies weren’t touching, besides his surprisingly gentle grip on her wrist, that is.

Going with him probably wasn’t the smartest idea Melissa had ever had, but she could never leave a person if they were injured. Something bad could happen to him. At the very least she would make sure that Caleb’s injury was taken care of and he was actually alright before she left him. Melissa wasn’t one to leave a potential friend in the lurch.

The uneven terrain was causing problems for both of them, but Caleb was doing worse than she. Melissa held her injured arm as close to her body as possible, still managing to keep shivering. His skin was colder than hers, which didn’t help with the shivering, but since she figured that he must be way colder than her she didn’t complain. She was kinda surprised that he hadn’t complained yet either, being as cold as he was.

Their pace gradually became slower, and slower, and slower, until they were almost stopped. Or so it felt. Darkness was beginning to creep across the sky when Caleb finally stopped walking. What appeared to be a campsite opened up in a clear area directly in front of them, with a massive area for a fire exactly in the centre. This’ll work. She smiled, instantly becoming optimistic at the thought of a nice, warm fire. When Caleb collapsed on the ground, she knelt beside him. Will you be okay here if I get a fire started? It’ll be easier to see what we’re doing then. His cut looked pretty bad, even in the dimming light, but she didn’t want to do something wrong in the approaching darkness.

[DesperateDark]

”Will you be okay here if I get a fire started? It’ll be easier to see what we’re doing then.”

Caleb looked up, only to see Melissa kneeling pretty close beside him. She was smiling, probably at the prospect of having a warm fire. Her smile was rather contagious, it seemed, because he felt his own smile tug at the edges of his lips. He stared at her for another second before looking down at her arm; he already had some matches in his bag, but they needed either dry bark or wood to get a fire going. He didn’t know if she was in any condition to gather wood though, but they needed a fire lest they freeze to death during the night.

The dank and cold were finally getting to him; he could feel the chill under his skin. He brought his hands up to his mouth and blew into them to keep his fingers warm; they were beginning to feel stiff along with cold. The first thing that hit his mind was hypothermia, but he hoped it wasn’t true. Wincing, he got up but kept his knee stiff. The blood had pretty much caked around the area and when he got up the layer cracked back open, letting fresh blood seep back up. He inhaled sharply and bit his lip before turning back to look at Melissa. ”I will looking for… Eh…” He closed his eyes in concentration; what was that word again? ”For… For takigi.” He meant firewood, but he didn’t know the English form of the word.

With that, Caleb limped off into the forest. Thankfully it hadn’t rained as of recent, so it wasn’t such a huge effort finding dry wood. It was the mosquitoes and various insects he had to look out for, or anything else lurking in the foliage. He already had a small bundle, but as he stooped over to pick up a good branch, he heard a faint crunch of leaves. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he froze, not daring to move. A minute passed, but there was nothing to indicate anything was ever there. Caleb picked up the branch and made his way back to the campsite as quickly as he could.

Was it just paranoia, or did he really hear those crackles of leaves following him back? Probably paranoia or his fear of the dark getting to his head. He slowed down as he came close to the clearing, not wanting to frighten his companion. He gave her a nervous smile as he came back, dumping the wood into the pit before plopping back down on the ground. He shifted so his good leg was curled towards his body while his bad leg lay flat on the ground. It felt like it was pulsing now and he really hoped it didn’t lead to an infection, or else he would have to go back to that clinic. They would pump him with disgusting antibiotics and leave him in the stark, cold room until he recovered.

”Do you think I’m needing…” His brows knit together in concentration once again, searching for the right word. ”Needing a doctor?” Caleb pointed to his knee, trying to get his point across. He made a sewing gesture near his knee, indicating stitches, before he realized that he must have looked like an idiot. His cheeks flushed red, so he grabbed his bag and took out the box of matches to distract himself. He lit one and placed it into the wood, on the tuft of dry grass he had gathered, and blew on it. He just barely remembered how to start a fire on his own, but he tried anyways.

[Melissa|Tristan]

For just a minute they were so close together that Melissa caught the two colours of his eyes. She’d probably ask him about them later, when they weren’t so pressured. It wasn’t difficult to tell that Caleb was in pain, but as close as she was, Melissa couldn’t get a clear look at his leg. It would have to wait until they had some light to see by. The darker it was getting, the colder it was becoming, and by now Melissa was desperate for warmth. They desperately needed a fire, and now. Melissa pulled herself to a standing position, thinking that Caleb would relax now that she was taking care of them, but he didn’t. No, don’t think – He’d already gotten up anyways, and Melissa wasn’t going to make him; heaven knows that she doesn’t like being told what to do, so why would he? For . . . For takigi. What the? Takigi? What was takigi? It wasn’t French or Spanish that he was speaking, that was for sure.

Melissa settled for giving him a ‘huh?’ look before turning to walk in the opposite direction of him. As she walked out of the spherical clearing the chill didn’t lessen. As she went, she picked up numerous branches off the forest floor; it had been drilled into her by her girl scouts counselor that you are only allowed to remove deadfall, nothing live. She was juggling the sticks with her good arm while carefully picking up smallish branches with her not-so-good arm. It was an uncomfortable arrangement, but it was the best she could come up with.

She didn’t have any fear of the dark, because really, she was more scared of people than she was of animals. Animals didn’t lie, and they didn’t hurt simply for the purpose of hurting. According to the nurses at the clinic, the bear that attacked her could have had rabies, or been injured, and therefore incapable of getting it’s own food. Maybe it had seemed threatened by her, though Melissa didn’t think of herself as appearing very threatening. A sound to her right made Melissa bolt behind the nearest tree and freeze, becoming virtually invisible to whoever it was. Whoever it was, they too stopped moving for a minute, possibly tipped off by her previous movement. She didn’t care to find out who or what it was, so Melissa sprinted back to the clearing, tossing the sticks into the fire pit, and only stopping once she was next to Caleb again.

He appeared to be spooked too, with his eyes darting about nervously, even from where he was now sitting on the ground. Needing a doctor? From his uncomfortable looking sitting position, Melissa guessed that he was in more pain than he was letting on. She knelt once more, and scooted closer as he lit the fire, gently taking a hold of his leg to examine his knee. We’ll have to see. Maybe. His stitching movements caused her to feel nauseous, and she pulled his hand down. Please don’t do that. The fire burned brighter, casting a better light for her to see his injury by.