You can make me go away, you can take my son from me, but you can't make me die

[cavelion_totem]

Ayla passed the broken ridge and kept walking until dark. She didn't know where she was going, and she was alone. Creb and Iza, both dead. Her son, her Durc, his plaintive cries for her haunted her dreaming, he was with Uba, now. More than once in her travels toward the rising sun her weak eyes poured hot tears that cooled fast before she wiped

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[todddowney_said]

Mort was wondering at the moment what could have possibly driven him to leave the warm shelter of the Compound to trudge through the snow. He couldn't think of a good reason, he just recalled getting up, getting dressed, pulling on some boots and heading out. No good reason for it. But, even as he trudged, trudging as while he was alright with the decision he still wasn't quite pleased with it yet, he decided that maybe he'd needed this. The bite of the old air was refreshing, the sun on the snowy landscape could be called somonewhat harsh on the eyes but it was better than staring down rude parrots.

He was minding his own business too, when he stopped and squinted, and stretched his neck to see behind a group of evergreens. "Huh," and against better judgment he took a step back to see if maybe he was imagining things.

"Hello?" He called, hoping that Asher wasn't playing somekind of game with him. He wasn't up for those kinds of games.

[cavelion_totem]

She crouched low and moved slowly, slipping behind a bush that had sharp points on its shiny, dark green leaves. The red berries were poisonous if eaten, but had several medicinal uses. Ayla wasn't interested in that at the moment, not when she could see a man of the Others. Only the fur of her hood and one blue eye were visible, the rest of her well-concealed by the holly.

His coverings were strange and she wondered if They hunted some other sort of animal. Her skins and furs were different than his. He made mouth sounds, and they were loud and fluid and unlike what she and Durc had played at. Everything he did, she watched closely, taking it all in. Was this what her people were?

[todddowney_said]

The thought he might have just seen a bush move, but he couldn't be sure. He was probably stressing over a rabbit or a squirrel...or a lost dog maybe. A rabid dog? Old Yeller? Coukld animals arrive on this place, anyway? He'd heard of fictional people, but what about fictional animals? Maybe one day if a little kid falls down a well, Lassie will show up and save the day.

"Um, is somebody there? Hello?" He almost took a step forward but changed his mind, and took one back instead. It was probably nothing, he should keep walking.

Then again, he'd never been very skilled in the art of common sense.

[cavelion_totem]

Hel. Oh.

He had made that sound, and then made it again. Ayla whispered it as softly as she could to keep her breath cloud small. He was looking at her, or where she was hiding, and she knew the smallest movement would give her away. It was fortunate she had gathered the mammoth wool; if the wind carried her scent his direction, he would only smell the beasts and not her.

[nevergrowsup]

He was supposed to be in class, but instead Peter was way out in the woods. To a young boy who was having difficulty with his p's and q's, hunting a whooly rhinoceros was infinitely more exciting than school. Of course, he had only one sword and a dagger, so the chance of actually bringing was down was slim to none. But the chase was what was really exciting.

He was sitting down in front of a small fire he'd built as he ate a sandwich. Even in great, daring hunts, a boy needs lunch.

[cavelion_totem]

Ayla saw the fire before she saw the boy-child. Surely he wasn't a man, not so small and slender as he was. It was how she had been before she had carried her baby. She watched him with interest, mostly concealed by the large trunk of a conifer. The fire was as compelling as his food. She had never seen anything light colored and soft like what he was consuming.

She watched long enough that she had to remove her basket and set it beside her. Ayla moved slowly, so slowly, as if she were stalking prey, or watching habits of wolves or even when she'd learned to use the sling. She'd learned so much just by watching; if this boy-child of the Others was someone she could learn from, she could watch.

[nevergrowsup]

If you were wondering why Peter hadn't noticed the girl in the snow earlier, well, he is a summertime boy and quite unused to the way winter muffles sound. Plus, he had been trekking around all morning and quite absorbed in his lunch.

But under the crackling of the fire, there was the soft sounds of something moving, and eventually Peter noticed it. He scrambled to his feet and pulled his sword out with his sandwich in his other hand. There had been a large, furry animal trying to sneak up on him.

"If you're a rhinoceros, you could at least run away before I catch you," he told it confidently. "I'm going to bring your horn to Wednesday for her birthday, which is sometime soon."

[cavelion_totem]

He was quick and she froze as he brandished a...a spear? It gleamed in the sunlight and the fire shone on it like sun on water. For being so small, he was obviously a well-trained warrior. Ayla wondered where the man of his hearth was, because she could evade a boy-child, but a man of the Others who was as fierce as this one would be frightening. More frightening. The boy-child was no one she wanted to face, and hunting was not combat. Women did not fight.

She did not move, and tried to keep her breaths small so the cloud from her mouth and nose would not alert him more.

[crazyspacegirl]

River was out, some ways away from the compound, because her dog was hunting. She let him go on his own, but she liked to be nearby, within hearing distance, just in case he ran into something he couldn't handle. He was almost fully grown and well capable of taking care of himself, but she still worried. Besides, she kind of liked being out in the snow almost entirely by herself. It was peaceful.

People who suddenly appeared on the island now, when it was cold, concerned River. At least this one was dressed for the weather. She watched the new arrival for a little while after she saw her blink into being there, and wondered why she didn't seem too worried about being where she hadn't been a moment before. It intrigued her. She didn't try to hide herself. She just observed.

[cavelion_totem]

Ayla was a skilled hunter and soon noticed the shape of a person, but it was distant and she couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman, but she was nearly certain it was one of the Others. The coverings were not what she was accustomed to seeing.

She moved slowly, no closer, but flanking the person. She didn't look away unless she had to, and then only for a moment. She could tell that the form was watching her as intently as she was watching it, but it didn't seem threatening. Just curious.

Like her.

[crazyspacegirl]

River continued to watch, aware of how intensely she was being observed but not at all bothered by it. She was doing the same thing, only standing still while this new person stalked her like prey. And still it didn't bother her. She just didn't see any threat there yet.

After a bit, she took her gloved hand out of her pocket and raised it in greeting. "Hello?" she called, loud enough to be heard but hopefully not loud enough to scare.

[cavelion_totem]

She kept up with her approach and it was a relief, somewhat, that the person waited. No warrior or hunter would flee from what was clearly a woman, by the type of basket she carried. If she had been a man, she would have had nothing but her spear.

Closer and closer--until she heard the mouth sound and Ayla froze for a moment. That was not the same sort of deep grunt that accompanied the gesture of greeting. A moment's panic, and then she mirrored the form and raised her hand slowly. She had sworn to Iza she would do this, but now that she had found Them, even if it was one lone person of the Others, Ayla was unsure what to do next.

[banky]

Banky didn't know what the hell he was doing.

He was on some crazy-assed island and there was SNOW. Yeah, Brodie told him that fucked-up shit happened, but Banky hadn't been prepared for THIS. Rogue real and giving him a black eye? Okay, he could work with that. But snow showing up on a tropical island?

It was a little hard to stomach.

Still and all, Banky was itching to get out in that cold air and just walk, so that's exactly what he was doing.

He might have been a little turned around, too, but he'd never admit that.

Hands crammed in the Jersey Devils parka the box had given him a few days ago, he trudged ahead.

And then he automatically stopped. Movement caught him somewhere to his left, but he couldn't see what the hell it was.

"Hello?" he said cautiously.

[cavelion_totem]

Ayla froze and crouched lower. The man of the Others did not have a weapon she could see, and his coverings were strange, but he wasn't as ugly as she had thought They might be. His hair grew over the high, bulging forehead and the beard he wore concealed the strange knob below his mouth. With the exception of the jutting near-muzzle the the Clan features had, he didn't look entirely unfamiliar.

It was a small comfort.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. This was whatshe had been seeking. She had never expected to encounter the Others away from their cave, but one man was less intimidating than many pairs of eyes scrutinizing her.

Ayla stepped out cautiously, her head bowed, and she kneeled in the snow, waiting for him to acknowledge her.

[banky]

There it was again, the movement.

Slowly, hands clenching into fists deep within his pockets, Banky turned toward the thing. It was shorter than him and woolly. He couldn't tell from where he was at just exactly what it was.

Then it knelt down and he took a few careful steps toward it.

When Banky got close enough, he could see that it wasn't a thing at all. It was a girl.

"What the fuck," he muttered under his breath. Quickening his pace, Banky headed toward her. "Hey!"

[cavelion_totem]

She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and forced herself to remain still. The last thing she needed to do was be rude or inappropriate when she had only just found Them. One deep breath, then another, and she could feel her heart hammering in her chest. She dared one quick glance as he got closer, but that was all, then she lowered her head a little more.

[theunascended]

With the change of the Compound and some of the other items related to the Compound, and with the arrival of some new forms of animals, Daniel wondered if there was anything else on the island that had changed. With that in mind, he went exploring, checking all of the major landmarks of the island he knew.

At some point, his stomach reminded him that it needed food, so he gathered together the material needed and made a fire, cooking his soup over it.

He had the oddest feeling, though, that he was being watched, and he looked around.

[cavelion_totem]

She stayed away, crouched in the low bushes, and watched him. The man alone was intriguing and frightening at the same time, but what truly astounded her was how quickly he had started his fire. With barely any effort at all, flames rose up and she could imagine just how warm it must be near it.

She watched with even more amazement as he began to cook. Men of the Clan did not cook! They did not have the memories for it! Ayla knew when they were out, men ate what the women had prepared for them, or they ate nearly raw flesh cooked on sticks over the flames. They did not, and could not, make anything that smelled like what the man had made.

She could smell it on the breeze, foreign, but it smelled good. It had been days since she had eaten anything warm and filling.

[theunascended]

He didn't see anyone, but he still had a sense that someone was there, and finally he called out. "Hello? Anyone there?" He had an odd image of the girl that had been there when he'd started seeing Adria. The Japanese vampire, or so she'd said. He put the image away. Even if she hadn't been a part of his imagination, she hadn't hurt him, so there was no reason to worry.

[cavelion_totem]

Ayla crouched lower as he got louder. Loud meant angry, and the last thing she wanted was to repeat the angry scene that was only days behind her.

He didn't appear angry, though. Just concerned. She hadn't watched long enough to be sure, though. Everything about him was strange, and he was so young and ugly--just like her. Just like her, but not, in so many ways. Ayla shrugged off her basket so she could squat more comfortably and she settled in the snow to see what he would do next.