Dinoplot.

[quite_a_delight]

The ground was even, and then it wasn't. Mid-step on the relative safety of Compound concrete, an out of date copy of the New York Times tucked under one arm and a cup of chai in hand, Marshall Gregson faltered, tumbling splat face down in mud that hadn't been there before. There was scalding chai splattered all down his front, and he moaned --

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[headofaccounts]

The rain had been bad enough. Suddenly finding himself in the middle of the jungle was another category of bad entirely. Despite arriving on the Island with a rifle, Pete hadn't picked it up since moving in to his own hut, but given the circumstances he was starting to regret it. It certainly couldn't have hurt in a place like this.

His clothes (dry for having stayed in his hut all day) were quickly soaked, sticking to his skinny frame and essentially making it infinitely clear that the great outdoors were not where he was meant to be. For a moment, he just stood still, wondering if this was the Island trying to tell him something or if it was just some snag in its magical doings.

Practically growling in frustration, he reached up to push his bangs from his face, turning this way and that in some desperate bid for a sentient being that wouldn't tear him from limb to limb. His heart practically leaped from his chest when, much to his relief, he saw a human-shaped form a little way off.

"Hello?" he called, beginning to make his way (fairly ungracefully) through the forest.

"You there?"

[quite_a_delight]

They hadn't been walking far, hadn't been out there for more than twenty minutes, but hearing the sound of another voice, someone human and stuck in the same undeniably fucked up situation they were, was an overwhelming relief.

Turning toward the voice, Marshall squinted through the leaves at the shape coming toward them and answered, "Yeah, hi. Really... lovely morning, isn't it?"

[not_the_fish]

Somehow it's comforting to find someone else stuck out here--makes it easier to believe that they haven't been dumped on a new island or selected to roam the jungle alone for the sake of the universe making him feel as useless and embarrassed as possible. That they've finally found an adult should be even better, but in Hal's experience, and judging at least from the guy's appearance, adults aren't always better at handling shit than anyone else is.

He's really not sure anyone but Cal and Niko, or maybe like, G.I. Joe, could handle this, though. "How long have you, have you like, when did you--did you just get here?"

[backward]

Cool and accustomed though she thought she was to this kind of occurrence, suddenly finding herself outside, alone and in the rain (she was at least dry inside her hut), shakes Effy more than she wants to admit, even to herself. She's used to being in control, having spent so much time studying it, acquiring it, and then abusing it. It only further proves that the island - or whatever is behind it all - knows Effy better than anyone else, and as a result is quickly learning how to best shake her up. She is less than appreciative of the effort.

Careful not to make too much noise, Effy moves forward with slow, measured steps in the direction of what she thinks (and secretly hopes) are voices. When she does locate them at last, she hangs back for a few minutes, keeping as quiet as she possibly can so that she might listen in. Only when she's assured that they're just as lost does she step out from behind the trunk of a tree to get her first good look at the other three.

"I thought I was alone out here," she admits. What she's really thinking is that they're all terribly fucked; this won't end well.

[headofaccounts]

"I just got here," Pete tells Hal, as if to say, 'Didn't you?'

"Look, I'm just as happy as you are about --" He stumbles to a halt when Effy appears, just barely able to resist saying something along the lines of, 'Oh, great.' The old adage 'the more the merrier' isn't really applicable in a situation like this. What is less than reassuring is that he's stuck with three teenagers. This goes some way in explaining the look of mild exasperation that quickly settles on his face as soon as he realizes that this is the whole party.

With what amounts to a supreme amount of effort, he manages a quick, wry smile.

"Well, I guess they're right when they say misery loves company."

[quite_a_delight]

Wow, they were literally crawling out of the trees, but adding to their merry band of misfits wasn't necessarily a good thing. At least, the more people lost out here, the more chance someone would be out looking for them.

Probably.

"I think love might be a bit of a strong word, at this point," Marshall said, his lips twisting wryly, his slacks and dress shirt soggy and his suspenders hanging loose from his waistband. This was not a good day for fashion.

[not_the_fish]

There's comfort in more people that has nothing to do with safety in numbers, for Hal. The more voices present, the more he can fade, the more he can hang back and not have to answer questions or voice an opinion that will only be warped in the execution, sound even less valid because his voice gives it no foundation to stand on.

It's just, no one seems to be saying anything important yet, like, "Did you guys, like, did anyone else hear things? There," and he swallows, because the negative side of more people is that when he does try to speak, it's almost guaranteed to falter, "There was um, an animal, before," he suggests, glancing at Marshall.

[backward]

"It was probably a wild boar." Effy tilts her head to disguise the smallest smirk, her chin buried deep into one shoulder as she crosses her arms over her chest to draw attention away from the first gesture. "They're not that dangerous," she continues, her gaze now focused on the trees from which she just surfaced. "Not unless they charge at you, in which case you'd have no chance anyway. None of us have the slightest chance at outrunning them."

[headofaccounts]

So Boy 1 (as Pete has taken to calling Marshall in his head) is sassy, Boy 2 (Hal) is nervous, and the Girl (Effy) is a maniac. Fantastic.

"So, really, they are that dangerous," he says, irritable through and through.

A beat.

"Aren't there dinos around here?"

Not that he's ever seen them, but it's what he's heard.

[quite_a_delight]

To be perfectly honest, he'd heard the dinosaurs stories, but he'd kind of assumed it was just talk. Something to scare the newcomers. If they were actually real, this place was officially crazier than Mom.

"Okay, so, there are dinosaurs, and we're stuck out here, which is why we should be moving. Right now," Marshall said, a little more firmly than before, because the longer they stood around talking about nothing, the more chance there was for something to swoop in and make them dinner.

"Just... somebody pick a direction."

[not_the_fish]

It's too overcast to really tell where the sun is or which way it is back to all the people, but Hal thinks moving is the best idea too. If not because of dinosaurs, then because even on the island, between the rain and the lack of real clothes, he's kind of freezing.

Not that anyone would ever be able to tell the shiver in his voice from how he sounds anyway, he thinks, trying to blow the water away from his face. "I don't, I don't. That is, it's not, like, it doesn't matter, I don't think. Which way we go, there's just, just beaches. Or one beach, maybe."

[backward]

It feels strange to be counted among them, to be part of the "we," even though she knows it doesn't mean very much. Curiosity mixed with disorientation were what led her to them, but she never planned on staying; that hasn't changed.

"It makes no difference to me," Effy offers, allowing the other three to sort it out for themselves. She's never worked well with others, and in no way does she consider herself part of their little group. She's only a visitor, listening in and offering the occasional unnerving response.

[headofaccounts]

"That way," Pete says, pointing an arm in a direction that he has absolutely no conviction will lead anywhere good. But -- the important part is that he seems fairly confident in his choice, a lesson that he learned from the best at Sterling Cooper.

He begins trudging off without looking back. In the pit of his stomach, he is really fucking scared that they won't follow. For a long time, he's wanted to lead, just not under circumstances like this.

[quite_a_delight]

That way was, for now, good enough for Marshall, and after making sure that Hal was sticking close, Marshall trudged after the older man with as much dignity as he could muster.

"I'm Marshall, by the way. Marshall Gregson. I don't think we've met." Names might be important. In the event they had to all run, screaming, in opposite directions and had to find each other again, they'd need something more specific than hey, you there to yell out.

[not_the_fish]

Hal glances up to catch Marshall's gaze when he looks back, a little surprised by it, but he stands by what he said and any direction works for him. If it hadn't been raining for a month there might have been moss or something to tell north by, but it's a humid tropical jungle in a monsoon, he's pretty sure they're all allowed to flounder around and be completely lost. "Hal," he supplies to the other two, not sure if his last name even matters.

[backward]

She is, on most occasions, careful with her name, careful with any information about herself. The details are rarely given away freely; they're either earned (this is rare) or they're dispensed with at her leisure, when she decides it serves her interests. But there are always exceptions, and even her own rules were made to be broken.

Following closely behind the one who introduced himself as Hal (she'll distance herself in due time) Effy allows the silence to drag on uncomfortably, fear and tension mixing in with the moisture in the air. When she finally does speak, there isn't any need to raise her voice; the uneasy calm does all the work, carrying the word along to the front of the group.

"Effy."