Charlene looks curiously at Leoian. "I am not certain why you consider offering alternatives as a racially biased dismissal of what you say, but have it your way. Tell me what to do and I will do it."
"You can put whatever you want on the hoverboard, so long as it doesn't displace me. It's kind of my spot, you see, and I don't want to give it up. At least not until we find my Montgolfier balloon, at which time, well... SCORE!" says Mittens, stretching on the hoverboard and then adding, "Leoian is correct that I'm not going to put myself in the water, though. I have electronics attached to my brain. And a mind, my mind in particular, is a terrible thing to waste!"
Leoian shakes his head "I didn't mean to say it was a racially biased dismissal, just a regular dismissal... and even that is maybe unreasonable of me. I'm sorry Ms. Oftenseen, my outburst was uncalled for. It has been... a long day." Somewhat of an understatement.
"We need food, if you could gather some that would be a huge help, fish, fruit whatever's easiest for you. But be careful of your injury, I really don't have the supplies to stitch it back up again. I don't want anyone alone, if possible please work with a partner so you can look out for one another."
He looks towards the tree "I'll gather other supplies that we need, and check with Finwa to see how she's doing with the shelter on the way. Mittens if you come with me to help carry supplies that would be very helpful." He starts making his way to the entrance of the tree.
Bryn smiles and winks to Finwa, he then approaches Charlene with open countenance. "Well shall we be about it?" Bryn asks rolling up his sleeves; "Of course, Ms Meowselsworth you won't have to swim or lose you mind. That's our job."
He moves to the water-fall to find some fish and tickle them for supper.
"Okay, yeah, help carry supplies. That's me, the ever-helpful Mittens," says the tuxedo cat without even a hint of sarcasm, directing her hoverboard to follow after Leoian.
Charlene nods at Bryn and follows him quietly, accepting the caught fish and impaling them through the gills on her spear.
"Maybe we can smoke some tonight, I saw a small cave back in the hill-side. Light a fire, let it smoke and it'll dry the fish out. Ideally you'd do it over a longer period." he says practically. "Then in the morning we can move on?"
"I've little idea of how to cook fish besides to order it a certain way, Mr. Silenoz. I can count them for you, but that is about it. I hope we can move on tomorrow, though this is not such a bad spot. It seems that you all can manage fairly well in the wilderness."
She pauses for a moment, then continues slowly, "Of course, we do not know what we are moving to. We've no clue where we are nor what else we will find in this place."
Sleeping away against the edge of the doorway was not the best position and in fact made a great way to fall to the side and drop to the ground, giving Finwa a sharp bump which woke her up. Unhurt she rubbed her head, then eyes and yawned sharply to get up when suddenly there was a shadow right over her.
Finwa looked up only to find Leo there looking at her but she could not disguise her yawn as she gave a little wave to him, "I got the bed made. It's quite like a nest. And ... hey, that got made too? Oh well we have a potty room as well." She smiled up at Leo as she put her hand out to be helped up and seemed rather happy with her work. She didn't know any different for manners of humans' sleeping habits as she was used to sharing a bed with others when she had to.
"I was thinking of closing off the front for the night and setting up a small fire pit here where the air can flow out. That would give us the ability to let food cook overnight so we can have some to take with us when we are ready to go."
Her ideas were sound enough but the exact placement of the fire pit probably was not best, "How's Charlene? I mean, Ms. Oftenseen."
"I was brought up in a small town; not very 'rock 'n' roll' I know. But it gives lots of inspiration for songs... of course this whole situation has my mind spinning." Bryn tells her as they have collected the fish and move towards the others. He looks up to Mittens; "Do you like your fish raw?"
'Oh how my fingers itch for a guitar, or at least some pen & paper to write down the lyrics that whirl in my mind.'
Entering the shelter Bryn gasps; "This is magnificent, it has an amazing aesthetic sense as well as the practical. Reflecting it's creator, you are amazing milady." He bows before her, a slow yawn escaping his lips.
"I think I am ready for bed." the tone a warm lazy drawl. However he knows that there is so much to do, he goes outside and preps the fish before packing the excess in clay to slow bake.
After performing his ablutions he drops into the soft bed of leaves, stretched out in a languid fashion. His body radiating heat, despite the loose clothing he wears, in fact the soft linen coat that's draped invitingly over his body is barely required.
Charlene drinks from the waterfall several times as Bryn fishes. We've been swimming and washing gods know what from ourselves in that pond. Who knows if it's safe to drink. She leaves the spear near him as a fish receptacle and gathers up the wooden plates that Finwa created, piling one with the washing plant Finwa found, another with clean sand, and a cup with water. Taking them off to the side, away from the pond, she scrubs and rinses all the utensils clean, returning for water several times to be sure the job is done right, then lays them out upside-down on the clean grass to dry.
She helps Bryn roast and clay-pack the fish, setting the lumps of clay into the outer ashes of the fire to slow-cook for the night, then creeps half-asleep into the tree-nest, too tired to notice much of anything as she burrows into the soft branches and curls up to doze off.
"Wake me when it's my turn to watch."
There is little time to spare as darkness is starting to spread so Finwa does her best to get the fire pit ready to go. She gets her clothes and hangs them up to dry then closes off the tree with only the vent for the fire pit as a hole for the smoke to get out. There are other holes as vents around the tree, with lattice work to keep out insects and other creatures.
In her work she also decides to create a door not unlike the door of a vault which you turn a handle and spikes go into the frame to hold it all secure. She also sets a couple of windows with the lattice work so that she and Leo as well as Bryn and Charlene could look outside.
Finwa smiles giddily at Bryn's compliment then looks to Leo, "I'm really tired or I'd stay up with you Leo."
She yawns in the middle of speaking showing exactly how exhausted she is from the work she's done then gives Leoian a kiss on the cheek and gets into the nest beside Bryn. His body heat is too warm to resist lying beside. She curls up comfortably and falls off to sleep.
Leoian gives Finwa a weary smile, and takes her hand to help her up. "It looks perfect Finwa, I couldn't possibly have asked for better, and I think it's secure enough even to satisfy Ms. Oftenseen." He sighs softly when Finwa asks about Charlene "I lost it at her... but she seems to be fine, I should apologize again in the morning. She's helping to get us food. Mittens and I are going to get supplies in the woods"
With the help of Mittens and her hoverboard he's able to collect quite a bit of firewood, and various different supplies from medicinal plants to some they can use to block their scent, to branches they can strip and weave into rope.
When he returns he's quite happy to see that Bryn and Charlene have done an excellent job with the fish, and have even smoked smoked them to prepare for the next day. He watches as everyone seeming quite exhausted curls up in the nest Finwa made. He nods to Finwa and smiles at her when she kisses his cheek, though he looks pretty tired himself "It's ok, I don't expect you to stay up with me, you've been working really hard, and deserve a good sleep." With everyone else quickly off to sleep this could actually be a good time for his talk with Mittens. "Mittens, if you're not too tired, could we talk for a bit?"
"What? You want to talk? I am pretty tired..." says Mittens, laying down on the hoverboard. "But you know what Mousekewitz, just for you, I think I'm going to not take a nap check." The tiny helmet cat wills her hoverboard to move sidelong with Leo's path, instead of following behind him. "What's up?"
Leoian smiles gratefully towards Mittens "Thanks I really appreciate it." He closes the door Finwa made for the tree to let the others sleep inside.
He sits himself down on one of the trees roots to keep watch while he talks to Mittens.
"Also somethings are confusing me... I'm getting some feelings that I just don't understand, I thought it might be a malfunction, but I ran diagnostics and didn't find anything. I get a... strange feeling when I'm close to Finwa a kind of warm... hard to explain feeling and it makes me need to stay close to her. He tries to consider what it might be "Is she magnetized maybe? But then I get a sort of cold, but not exactly, feeling in my stomach when she gets close to Bryn instead of me, and it makes me want to steal her attention away. I don't understand why that's so important, it must be some kind of malfunction right?"
As Finwa settles down beside him, he opens his eyes lazily. Long lashes languidly open revealing just the edges of his crystal blue eyes and he smiles softly. "Hi" he whispers lifting the coat and places an arm around her before drifting off to sleep.
"As for why you get tired, it's so that you rest. Non-stop function will wear you down, and I want to keep you well! But you're probably going to want to know the why of why you have emotions so let's get this out of the way: It's so that you're alive. People say you have to be flesh and blood to truly live, and I say... Bah! What nonsense! Your mind is not meant to be a simulation of sentience, it is meant to be life! I wanted to make sure that it's possible, so that when the time comes, I don't dismiss an AI replica as being just a thing... As with everything having to do with the Deathmatch, everything has a dual function... Life and death, joy and suffering, brilliance and oblivion... You have to be truly living, so that you can experience all of these things and get along fine in this little band. You may be a chassis full of blood and steel, but your heart and mind should be intact. After all, you're like my offspring, and at the same time, a gift to these people, a chance at having a future. You're like my big horrible bald bipedal kitten! And I need to give them not just a tool, but a friend, my 'kitten', to make it through whatever this place throws at them. And isn't it better to truly have a mind than not?"
Mittens lets out a soft sigh and says, "But I'm not going to let them know any of that. I'd rather they feel indifference towards me at best. If I die here, I will be out of their lives permanently, and for all of this to work properly, I might just have to die. In fact, it's even better if they experience at least a little bit of enmity. Maybe even a lot of enmity! I don't know much about this place or time, I'm not picking up any wireless interference, and so I am starting to believe that it is in the past rather than the future. So you and I, we might meet again, as time wears on, because your future might just be my past and, if this succeeds, my future. We will see. But them? If I die, I want them to say, 'Good riddance!' and move on. Besides, I have better things to do than make sure a bunch of death row criminals like me."
"Anyways..." says Mittens, gaze shifting about, "Enough of this talk of feelings and gooshy stupid nonsense, we've got some branches or fish or... Actually, I forget what we're supposed to be doing out here."
Before she fully falls asleep, Finwa notices Bryn stir and smiles up at him as he speaks then wraps his arm around her. Her emerald eyes soften more so as the coat covers most of the cat like humanoid and she purrs while the warmth envelopes her as she falls asleep, her cheek against his chest.
He listens to her tell him why he needs to get tired and sighs "I know it makes sense when you say it, but it would be easier to stay up on watch if I didn't have to rest. Of course my perimiter alarm will notify me even at rest so I guess it doesn't really matter."
He smiles listening to Mittens explain why he has emotions and nods "Well I did mostly understand why I had emotions, but it's always nice to hear you say it. I just didn't understand these particular emotions I guess I do a bit more now... affection is along the lines of choosing a mate, and jealousy is... something to do with a rival for affection? I'm not sure what sexy beast is... but I'm guessing that's why I'm losing." He sighs softly
"Well thanks for the talk Meowsie, and sorry to keep you up, but you're like a best friend and momma rolled into one who else can I talk to about stuff? You probably could have left out horrible though... and I'm not bald. You shouldn't tell your kitten you're going to die... you know I won't say good riddance and move on."
"I think we collected enough supplies before dark at least to give us a pretty good start in the morning, mostly out just to talk, and I guess keep watch, but I can do that just as easily from inside."
He hops off the root, and goes to open the door to let them back into the tree "Oh and one more thing Mittens... what's a criminal?"
"A criminal is someone who breaks the law. Finwa is guilty of genocide, Charlene is responsible for manslaughter and Brynjard is guilty of... well, I don't know, anarchism? Anyways... they've all been judged to have done bad things and they're in punishment for it. And dying, pff, everyone dies, who cares!" says Mittens, before heading back in.
"The law? hmmm... So are you saying they're all bad? Even Finwa?" This law thing brings up even more questions, such as who makes it and judges people, and what gives them the right to decide what's good and bad? Genocide didn't sound so bad, manslaughter seemed to have a more brutal ring to it, though he should maybe inquire about the meanings later; anarchism too, he couldn't really put his finger on it. As for everyone dying, that may be true, but he doesn't have to like it. Leo shrugs his shoulders and supposes those questions will have to wait for another time, they should really get some rest.
He enters in after Mittens and closes the door, turning he spots Finwa cuddled up to Bryn, and feels that cold feeling again, like a spike driven into his stomach. With a soft sigh he quietly moves over sitting in the nest next to her, he crosses his legs and closes his eyes.
Bryn eyelids flutter as he awakens feeling the dawn breaking, then he closes them. For a moment he forgets where he is and what had happened to him and them all, just basking in the radiance of a new day. Then he closes his eyes again - just revelling in the morning glory.
The soft fragrance of flowers with an underlying musk enters his nostril and the muscular Norseman smiles slightly at the comforting smell. Delicate and yet beautiful, he moves his arm only to find it around the shoulders of the feline. The languid smile widens as he slowly rubs the downy fur. The lines of her curves tight against him draws a soft purr from lips.
Sleep goes on uninterrupted with sweet dreams of being with those she cares for. She basks in the feel of her fur being touched and purrs tenderly with each stroke. Her cheek feels warm against the Norseman's chest and there is a tingling sensation coursing through her making her purr even more.
Finwa slowly opens her eyes, her ears flagged in restfulness and her emerald sights light upon Bryn's neck. She tries to think of where she was but is lulled by the tender strokes. Her head moves slightly to see the man's strong chin and she remembers.
For a moment she becomes rigid then she fights the bad memories to the back of her mind and rubs her chin against Bryn's chest as if to fight off a bad dream.
It is morning and it seems to have come to soon but until anyone else makes a move she doesn't feel like doing so. To avoid it she continues to purr lightly, the sound mixing with Bryn's almost in the tone of a tender song.
Keeping his eyes closed he enjoys the sensation of the soft warm lady, slowly memories of what has been going on come back to him. Then Finwa tenses and he almost lets out a gasp and opens his eyes. 'Oh, not too presumptuous, I hope.' he thinks. Although she relaxes and he looks down at the crown of her head with delight.
Enjoying the sensation of her nuzzling her chest and the way her torso vibrates as she purrs. He continues in their soft song, knowing that this cannot continue for too long as there are others around.
Bryn opens his eyes and in the warm embers he can just make out the shapes of the other occupants. Leoian on the other side of the delightful Finwa, Mittens curled up on a board and in the gloom the manager, Charlene.
Leoian turns his head towards Bryn and Finwa as they wake, his fingers lightly stroke Finwa's arm, she needs a little reminder he's there. He speaks quietly "Morning, looks like the sun's coming up." His eyes shift towards Mittens, and Charlene who seemed not to be up yet, not that he can blame them, not everyone gets up at the crack of dawn. The tree was still plenty dark.
The whisper makes eyes open. Short, thick lashes blink to see Leo beside them and she smiles tenderly at him. She turns her body to place her cheek against his chest, staying between the two men, body touching each in part while continuing to purr.
Bryn stirs slightly more as Finwa rolls over; his eyes open up languidly. He looks to Leoian, Bryn's hair cascading over his countenance like a dark shimmering silken waterfall. Not being able to make out must of the handsome halflings features, Bryn just whispers a "Morning."
Slowly moving his hand from where her shoulders were, the changing curves as Finwa rotated meet the lines of his body taking away all Bryn's thoughts. After a few moments he feels her soft tail entwine around his thigh, the soft fur against his flesh.
'I must get up.' Bryn thinks realising despite the warm cocoon, that the day must be progressing. However this thoughts are easily distracted.
Leoian looks towards Bryn in the dark as the man returns his greeting. Having a better understanding now of why he was getting those strange emotions, Leo wonders briefly if Bryn experiences the same ones. The sexy beast, as Mittens put it, didn't seem to worry when Leo managed to steal away a bit of Finwa's affection.
His train of thought was quickly disrupted turning into a sort of warm mush as he felt Finwa's body move against his, and her cheek on his chest. He sighed softly murmuring to her "Now I don't want to get up..."
Bryn stretches slightly, moving away as awareness returns. "I'm already up." he says in a low voice. Realising morning is already upon them, he prepares to move towards the entryway.
Finway murmurs something unintelligible under her breath as the men mention that they don't want to get up and yawns with her hand over her mouth. She sighs and looks up at Leo with an air of partial acceptance. She would love to sleep longer but the faster they got going and out of the area the safer they would be.
"Morning Leo. Morning Bryn. She finally says as she snuggles a little more against Leo, her tail still holding onto Bryn and her not wanting to leave the warmth of the men, "I suppose we should get stuff ready to go. Not that we have much. How should we do this, Leo? I mean, I guess we can't go through wooded areas but I suppose we should have a plan more than just that. Uhm, and get Charlene and Mittens up too."
"Haven't you heard the expression, 'let sleeping dogs lie, because if you don't, you risk waking up the cat, and then you have real problems'?" wonders Mittens, groggily, ears flicking slightly as her eyes are still closed atop the hoverboard. The machine seems to be actually a neat little piece of technology, as its not emitting any fumes or making any kind of sounds, it just hovers there. "We should find my balloon... Good a goal as any."
Leoian smiles towards Finwa when she snuggles more into him and gives her a little kiss on the forehead. Then nods reluctantly when she says they should get things ready "Yes you're right, we have to get up sometime." He considers really how they should do this "Well... we're in the middle of a forest, if we're going to avoid going into wooded areas it'll be hard for us to go anywhere. Not that here is that bad, we have a constant source of nice fresh water, lots of fish, and a pretty secure place for shelter." He gently rubs Finwas ear "I can't make the decision to stay or go on my own, we should all talk about it."
Talking about what they should do seems as good an excuse as any to stay snuggled with Finwa a little longer. He listens to Mittens talk about an expression that he doesn't understand then her balloon. "Sorry Meowsie, even from up in the tree I didn't see any sign of your balloon. If we do decide to leave I'd suggest we go north, I couldn't see any towns from up there either, but there's a strip with no trees about ten miles north. It's probably a river, maybe even a road either way following it is probably our best chance at finding a town if that's what we're looking for."
Charlene opens her eyes at the sounds of Mittens' and Leoian's discussion and lies unmoving for a moment, then rises and steps carefully to the door so she does not tread on anyone.
"I'm thirsty, but amazingly refreshed. If we find civilization, Ms. Finwa, you may be able to sculpt a grove into an incredible bed and breakfast."
She exits the shelter, picking up her spear and looking around warily before proceeding to the waterfall to drink for a long moment. She uses the butt of the spear to roll the fish out of the embers and carefully breaks one open, letting it cool for a moment before devouring the hot, flaky contents.
"Breakfast! Come and get it or I may eat it all!"
"Apologies, Mittens. I didn't mean to rouse you." Bryn rolls over and sees the portal in the tree. Glad of the shadowy conditions he rises and follows Charlene outside. "A Dirigible!" Bryns voice is filled with awe.
Waiting until the manageress has had moved away to the fire. Bryn strips off - glad of the dawn's slight gloom as he dives into the chill water. He shivers in the water as it cools his ardour; 'Well nothing like a fresh dip to awaken the mind.'
After just a few moments he cleans himself up and exits the pool. Donning his clothes, he moves over to the ashes and takes a bite of the flaky fish.
"Follow the river. A settlement is always located near a fresh water source. Around the river it should also be clear of any trees - and the balloon could be parked near there. As that would also require some open areas." he quickly analysises.
Finwa smiles while Leo explains what he thinks and stays cuddled up because she is happy to do so. Her tail slips from Bryn's thigh as he leaves them and Charlene had left the safety of the tree as well. Her ears pick up the conversation easily and she speaks back while continuing to relax with her eyes closed.
Our river from the waterfall goes North, doesn't it? Leo said there is a strip of land with no trees up North so that could be our river or a road. That's what you said, right Leo? Anyway, I think you guys are thinking along the same lines. It is the best route if there is any civilization. Maybe that is what I will do when we get there though. We can run a bed and breakfast from a big tree or trees. Call it the Dark Grove. That fits with Bryn's music and where we have started out from here."
Picking up Finwa's beautifully crafted wooden platter, the golden grain of the wood resplendent with a homely beauty. Bryn then breaks off a large chunk of the flaky fish and adds some of the greens and herbs to them. A magnificent platter of breakfast delight.
Ducking to enter the soft boyer; the soft dawns light plays off his glistening muscular torso. The water slowly rolls down the curves of his thorax; half hidden in in the shadows of the bedroom. Bryn looks with hot eyes upon the cute couple hidden under his long coat, just the occasional glimpse of soft flesh peeking out.
He places the platter next to the pair allowing them to breakfast comfortably. "There you go." he smiles softly before retiring to the outside. With a nod to Charlene he joins her outside.
Leoian snuggles in closer with Finwa not willing to move away from the warm woman yet, especially now that he doesn't have to share. He nods to Finwa as she speaks although noone was likely to see.
"Yes, that's what I said, but Bryn explained it better I'm not always good at saying why I think one way is better. I thought it would be easier to head more straight north and meet up with the river. It might be hard to climb up by the waterfall, and follow from there, especially with Ms. Oftenseen's leg. If we do decide to leave we should do so with the expectation that we won't be coming back. We don't know how long we'll have to travel before we find something, so we should take as much food and provisions as possible, and be prepared to spend the night out there."
His eyes shift towards Bryn when the man comes in and sets down a platter of food for them. Now he had to get up it would be horribly impolite to ignore Bryn's gesture, not to mention the food would get cold. 'Well played Bryn' "Oh, thanks Bryn, I really was going to get up." Leo calls to the man as he heads back outside.
With a soft sigh he eases away from Finwa and forces himself to sit up, the parts of his body where she had been felt cold as if in complaint at the loss of contact. He takes the platter and sets it in his lap before tearing off a small piece of fish and popping it in his mouth, then getting another and offering it to feline like woman next to him.
"It's alright, rest. Breakfast in bed." Bryn tells the pair as he leaves the tree.
Standing beside Charlene he looks to her with a smile of admiration. "Thank you, for the hard work with this meal." he tells her.
Then he looks down at himself; "Sorry about all the casual nudity." he draws a light shirt over himself. "Your leg seems better and if your skill with the rapier is any indicator of your determination and athleticism then we will be able to cover a great distance today."
He looks to the horizon; "When we get to civilisation we will also need your managerial skills. I have no money and no practicable skills..." there is a gleam in his eye that says he is lying about the later. He rips off a piece of flesh and wraps it in a soft leaf before popping it in his mouth.
"Don't worry, I won't slow you down. This bled a lot, but didn't sever anything important. Pain is irrelevant. Survival is critical. If it is necessary, you should leave me behind - or anyone else who flags."
Bryn smiles; "Said like a true manager. 'The show must go on.'" He raises his eyebrows and chuckles to himself remembering Jacob his old manager.
With a shake of his head; his thoughts turn to the last time he saw Jacob...
'The Government forces breaking into the building, Jacob screaming at the group to flee. Bryn running and looking back as the machine guns opened fire upon the computers and Jacob his hands raised.' He blinks slowly his mood turning.
"Don't, Charlene. It isn't so dangerous that we should lose one of our number. We need every person we can find." he touches her arm lightly, she can feel the soft trembling of his grip. Then he quickly removes his hand.
"Nonsense, nonsense, nonsense, if we leave anyone behind, what's the point? No, I need an entourage, and even if you slow me down, an entourage is still required," says Mittens, floating out to peer down at these delicious looking fishes. She leans over the edge of the hoverboard with her paw, but the hoverboard's natural resting height is too hight! "I guess I understand why humans feel the need to cover up their weird pink monkeybodies, but I'm not actually offended by nudity or anything. I wear nothing but a hat most of the time anyways. I'd be a hypocrite. Anyways, death is just a temporary setback... I'm not too worried about it."
Bryn smiles knowing that of course the magnificent Mittens needs an entourage; but decides to tweak the kittens whiskers verbally. "What about the beautiful Finwa, is her furred body weird?"
Mittens confidence has restored his mental equilibrium and then he shakes his head as he visualises the question - accidentally distracting himself.
Finwa looks over at Bryn, an appreciative gleam in her eyes at the sight of him. She tries not to lick her lips knowing that she should not show men exactly how much she appreciates them, or at least remembering that other females of her species said that one should let them guess. No she knew she cared for both men and wanted them to know it. Her society was different than humans but she did not know that as she had not studied cultures. To her it was fine to have more than one amorous partner as long as both could work together and Bryn and Leo seemed to have that well in hand.
"Oh Bryn! Thanks. I just need a bit more time to relax. I'll be up and about soon. She was truly happy for the food and the sight of him. She sat up with Leo thinking about what he had said and smirks in bemusement. One had to jump into cold water and the other feeling paralyzed. She gave each man a smile then took the offering from Leo, feeling no shame in letting him feed her.
Finwa hears Charlene say to leave her behind if she does not keep.up and almost jumps with concern, " NO! This upset the little one so much that she forgot the food and rushed out of their sleeping area. Even hearing the other two tell her they would not do that she was still standing there shaking, "No one gets left behind! No one. We work together. We stay together safe. Only if one wants to leave the group safely do we leave without them. No one is left to die."
The light furred lady is still wearing her underclothing and does not seem to care so much in her concerned manner.
Bryn's eye's widen as his imagination starts to come to life as Finwa rushes from the tree.
"What, no, fur isn't weird. She isn't human..." says Mittens, tilting her head slightly at Bryn. "I mean, she's not exactly a cat, but closer enough."
Leo did notice Finwa's reaction when Bryn came in, and the way she looked at him. That must be what Mittens meant by him being a sexy beast, that he can take all of her attention away just by entering the room. He let out a soft sort of huff he's not sure how he's supposed to compete with that. 'Very well played...'
His eyes widen as Finwa yells out and runs from the tree. "Finwa calm down... He follows her out, in his undergarments as well, they spent most of the day before dressed in only their underclothing, it seems silly to be shy about it now. "Don't worry we're not going to leave anyone behind Ms. Oftenseen is just being too dramatic. We're going to be following a river not fighting a war it doesn't make a big difference if we move a little slower... besides you and I have legs that are at best half as long as hers and Bryn's we'll be moving slower anyway."
He moves over to the fire and carefully gets a fish for Mittens placing it on her hoverboard. While he's there he collects his clothes, then goes over to Charlene. "We should probably take a look at your leg, maybe clean it if it needs. You need a pain killer? There're still some left in the kit."
"It doesn't hurt enough to warrant using our resources, and the pain will remind me to be more careful. Check it if you like. And I don't mean to be dramatic, just to warn people against soppy sentimentality. I was not aware that everyone was eavesdropping on my conversation with Mr. Silenoz."
Charlene allows Leoian to check the wound if he likes, then stands beneath the waterfall fully clothed, washing the blood and sweat of the previous day from both herself and her clothing.
"I eavesdrop on every conversation. I'm recording everything, you know, and the feed is directly plugged into my brain. I am eavesdropping everything everywhere everytime, and don't you forget about it," says Mittens. She then starts eating the fish offered to her by Leoian, making a gurgling growl anyone comes near enough that there is any threat of touching it. She did nothing to gain this fish, but it's definitely hers now.
Finwa looks up at Leo hopefully, trust in her eyes but also some fear she has a difficult time keeping inside. She nods then looks to Charlene and snorts, "We were not eavesdropping. I can hear you perfectly well as you were not whispering." She grumbled, "And if you don't like 'soppy sentimentality' then too bad because you're going to have to live with it."
Turning around she touches Leo's arm for reassurance as he goes to fix up Charlene's leg then walks back into the treehouse and sits on the bed, weaving backpacks for them all except for Mittens. She has limbs molding the weaving and leaves wrapping in and around them for comfort on the back.
She sighs as she starts to work with it and keeps her eyes down to keep from looking anywhere else.