Fantasy Glasynys: The Blue Island

[dazzling]

Mila swiveled around to stare at the newcomer. Blinking blankly at her, she smiled coldly. “Listen sweetie, I know my way around this kinda stuff. The water near the island was colder than the water farther out, so we know there’s a river. And from how tall those mountains over there are,” She said, jamming her finger over her shoulder to point to them, “There’s probably uncontaminated water.” Biting her lip and looking over the girl, she added, “The average person can last about 3 days without water, but for someone smaller like you only expect two. I’d love having perfectly clean water, but we don’t have time for that.”
Dontforgettograbastick

 

[Dontforgettograbastick]

Rena Ladera

Rena grinned. Dayum, this girl was sassy. She was going to enjoy being around her. In fact, she was going to relish in her company. Patronising, coldness, and personal offensive jabs in all one speech? This girl scored a combo! Although, Mila seemed to be easily angered. Once again, she was looking forward to exploiting that.

"Not my problem if you get diseases." Rena shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly trust an island that we randomly all washed up on to be... safe. Unless you know your way around this once again?"

She now directed her question to the entire group. "By the way, does anyone have an idea how we even ended up here?"

dazzling D. Rex KroNicc115 L Leavant Carver Elise Ebele

 

[D. Rex]

"Between the exertion, heat, and sun. We would be lucky to live two days without water. The same goes for food. The harder we work, the more energy we use." Rudolph said to the aggressive girl. "Furthermore, I'll be more keen to learn about each other later once we get things in order. Knowing you alls life story will be a pointless waste of time if we end up dying tomorrow. And to put it simply, we have bigger things to worry about than extended introductions."

Rudolph looked back to the redhead. "Stupid or not, dirty water is better than no water. One of the reasons why I asked guy here to start a fire. We aren't going to have any thing that is going to filter out germs from water. Silt and dirt, maybe, but not what is going to be dangerous. We can probably find something to boil it in."

"Another reason why I suggest we circle the beach. If there is a river, it will exit to the ocean and we will come across it. As well, we might be able to find some trash or stuff along the beach we can use to boil or carry that water. Like some plastic bottles or something."

"And even if we can not find any bottles, a river on this island isn't coming from rain runoff. It would be coming from a spring or something, and that would render it a lot cleaner than any stagnant pool we come across."

"And I'm not about to assume anything here is safe. By the way, my name is Rudolph."

 

[Dontforgettograbastick]

Rena Ladera

Rena nodded, and breathed in relief. At least someone had at least thought about the issue of dirty water. "I'm Rena." She said, smiling at Rudolph. Although she had to admit, this guy looked dark and brooding, something like an edgy cartoon character. Yet his name amused her. "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer, had a very shiny nose!" She sang whilst laughing. "Jeez, talk about names that don't suit ya!"

"Right then," She began, "I'm going to walk along the beech and look for something useful, anyone who wants to assist just follow along." She said turning away from the group with a flick of her hand. She didn't care much for getting to know any of the others. At least not at this moment in time.

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana and Obediah-Ishmael

​

Obediah already knew there was no point in breaking off to find water, if they had no way to carry it back. The girl who had declared her self Rena and already left the group, and he lacked the resolve to make her stay. In stead, he did the only thing he knew how.

While the others were discussing, he climbed a tree, and faced the mountain. It was a two day’s walk away, at the very least, and there was no way to know if a spring would flow from it to where they stood. But he could guess. There was a spot not too far that was thick with greenery. Normally, he wold listen, but all he could hear was the ocean. Instead, he looked for one key thing; plants that needed water to grow. There are plants that can only grow close to water, and he spotted them in the distance. There was also a spot where the greenery seemed to part widely, but that was a long ways away.

He slipped down from the tree and inserted him self in the midst on the others who had gathered. “Hey look guys, I don’t want to be that person,” he started, trying to speak over any thing not helping, “but I get the feeling that not all of you actually know how to locate water... I grew up fetching water every day and I can lead you all to some. There is a source not far from here.

I know we don’t have things to filter it with, but as long as it is not a place where animals constantly poop, it shouldn’t kill us. Water sources tend to be safer further away from people so it should be ok. Unfortunately... I don’t have any thing on me to carry water in. But what ever we decide, we need to be in agreement, butcause we are all too tired to fight each other..” He waited to see what kind of consensus. One person had already left; he didn’t want the group spread too far.

That was when Olabisi woke up. It was suddenly, and with a slight jolt. Even though she was out cold, she felt she had heard most of the conversation. “Moto...” she mumbled, through her sleepiness. She flung her hands up in a ‘fwoosh’ motion, to look like fire. She was going to need one to keep every one warm, and to treat any pressing injuries.

Thankfully, no one had pointed out to her brother the bullet wound in his shoulder. She assumed the bullet was keeping it from bleeding out. She figured the others thought it was adrenaline keeping him from feeling it.. but the truth was that her brother was quite numb to pain... until you pointed it out, at which point, he became a baby, and a useless one at that. Yeah... so if every one remains focused on the task, it would be ok.

She tried to stand up, but imidiately fell back down. Her braces were not on right, like she had taken them off and thrown them on last minute. She tightened the straps around her feet and ankles, then adjusted the ones below and above her knees. Then she locked the metal parts where they were supposed to be, and lowered her kanga back down over her legs. She would have taken the floor lenth skirt off, but what was under it was only knee length...

Olabisi was now able to stand up. She walked past the others and towards some old-looking sticks in the grass. “Nitafanya moto...” she mumbled. She was not too thirsty, and would wait to drink.

Obediah heard her and pointed at her with his thumb. “O will stay here and build a fir... and wait for Rena!” he shouted that last part so she would hear. “We don’t all have to go... but we can.”

((It’s not a super super gun wound. O is just paying attention to it because she only ever focuses on Obediah))


​

 

[KroNicc115]

Brandon was now know as hat guy. Nice. This nice girl though..and Mila. Both very sassy..and attractive. NO BRANDON NO RELATIONSHIPS. Survival was key right now.

"I agree with this guy(Obediah). He seems to know his stuff. Then lets find something to carry water."

He kind of peered up at his head. His hat had very small holes in it, possibly letting impurities in the water not pass through, and it was clean.

"This might sound a bit ridiculous, but I could filter water with my hat. The holes are small enough to let only water through and any gunk and stuff will stay in the hat. Its just an idea."

He took the hat off of his head to examine it. Underneath was very short hair, a bit wet from the ocean, but still very neat. On the other hand we need to get to know other people. There was Rudolph, Mila, and Rena. Strengths and weaknesses.

"We could use the bark of a tree to carry water no? Cut it in such a way and use vines to tie the ends together. I'm not the most inclined when it comes to survival. I lived in the city most of my life. My name is Brandon by the way..if any of you wanted to know."

 

[Leavant Carver]

Taking the lighter from Rudolph, Stacey nodded, finding the man's leaderly qualities to be respectable. He had no problem with taking order, and stretching, would rise to his feet slowly, ready to start collecting wood for a fire. Looking at Mila, he nodded as she put in her own commands about what needed to be done, finding that her council combined with Rudolph's would be benificial. However, as Rena appeared, the boy's eyes would narrow with doubt as he could already hear from her tone of voice that she was not a good person in the slightest. Incincerity, deceit, manipulation, he could tell what type of woman she was just by looking at her. He could only hope her negative nature wouldn't put them all in danger, watching as challenged Mila's advice. And seeing as this woman, Rena, had such a teasing and confrontational demeanor, the boy could only sigh, shaking his head in dismay. As everyone began to come together, introducing themselves and making plans, Stacey would be silent for a few minutes, then say his name.

"Well, I guess I should probably say my name too. I'm Stacey, nice to meet you all I guess."

He looked around, organizing everyones names, giving a description. Mila and Rudolph, pretty much defacto leaders, trust worthy for now. Rena, snarky redhead, best to not get involved with her unless he wanted to get stabbed in the back. The siblings, what had he heard the man call his sister? O? Perhaps it was a personal nickname, he was unsure if she would even be responsive if he tried to call her that. For now though, he could atleast tell the two were a close knit pair, that probably spent alot of time together. He could tell O was intelligent, alot more than her brother, and he felt she probably made up for him in terms of mental fortitude and intellect. He hadn't noticed before, but now, he could see that O was wearing braces. He hoped they would stay operation on her for awhile, as they weren't alot of ways to even repair those things currently. He noticed that her brother ordered her to stay behind and help build the fire, which he had to agree with, especially since she was the one collapsing on the beach. From the aura her brother gave off, he could tell the man was strong, much more than the average man. What he lacked in the brains department, he made up for with strength. There was something about him though....something that threw the boy off. He didn't want to overthink things though, so he simply left it at that, remaining silent. O and her brother, a perfect duo, two that would definitely be useful for the group.

'Hm...interesting poeple all around me...I don't know if all of them are trustworthy, but...I guess its worth a try. Not like it could go any worse than highschool.'

Looking at the other guy, Brandon, he noticed the way he eyed the women around them and restrained himself from sighing as noticed the older guy refocus himself. He prayed this guy wasn't a person easily go distracted, especially in a situation like this. Not particularly special in the intelligence regard, but he could tell Brandon had determination and strength. Whether it would serve to be good or bad for them would be decided in the coming days. Looking at the lighter in his hand, he decided it was about time they get to work on this fire. Picking up some sticks and walking over to O, he would try to ask for her help, thinking the girl would finally start speaking english, that they she knew he was aware she could. She looked shy and very closed off, but he hoped she would atleast be able to open up a little to help out. It was obvious he wasn't exactly good with poeple either, his voice lacking a commanding tone as he seemed to be pretty shy talking to her.

"Uh...So, O right? Guess we should start building the fire huh? Think your gonna be alright, I saw you with your braces earlier....Not that you have to help if your too tired...."

Being the youngest person in the group, Stacey had no problem taking orders or working on his own. He had come to expect most poeple to push him off as weak willed or awkward. He didn't care what poeple thought, and looking around, he didn't think poeple had much time to ridicule others. Well, maybe Rena did, but for now she didn't seem to be focused on anyone right now. Rubbing a hand on his afro, he couldn't help but think why he was here again. As soon as he recovered his stamina and healed fully, he would definitely find out. But for now, he would work with everyone to survive until help came for them.

 

[D. Rex]

Rudolph didn't pay the jab about his name any mind. He had heard it so often that he was basically immunized against such assault. "If you are going to go alone, at least stick to the beach. Won't get lost that way." Rudolph was indeed planning on going, but he was going to see if anyone had any other ideas for. Like muscles here, as he chimed in.

"By all means, please be that person. If you can deliver, then I am all behind that idea. If it takes the guesswork out, all the better." Rudolph said with a nod.

"We can figure something out for carrying it. Worst case scenario, my rain jacket could probably carry it. And I'm sure once we start looking around, we will be able to figure out a way to use what we got. We barely know what we have to work with. We just need to find the water first. But if it is clean enough that we feel it's worth risking. We won't really have to. We can just plant ourselves beside it. No need for carrying, anybody who is staying behind, we will come back for them. By that time, they would have some rest, and have dried out enough to move on. I don't think we need everybody to go out yet, though."

"How about this, send two out to look for the water. Big guy and someone else. Two people can move faster than a handful. They go, come back, and we can decide from there where we go. We have two people for sure right here, Stacey and the girl. They can rest up and get us a fire going. Anyone who doesnt need to rest can look around the beach and the immediate area to see if we can find anything we can use, eat, or something that might help answer the predominant question on everybodies mind."

"We would then all meet back here, and we can share what we learn, if anything and decide a course of action. "

It was just then he realized he had forgotten about the cigarette in his hand. A quarter inch had burned off already and he had barely had any. He brought it to his lips and left it there.

"We can also go over everything we have that we can use. Any objections or ideas?"


"Otherwise, I can go with big guy if nobody else wants to. I believe I am good enough for a long walk."


KroNicc115
Elise Ebele
dazzling
L Leavant Carver
Dontforgettograbastick

 

[KroNicc115]

Brandon started weighing his options. It seemed that everyone had their job set out by Rudolph. Maybe going with Rena was the best course of action. She was alone. Something is telling him to go with her. Not even just to be a bit flirtatious. Something in his mind. Always trust your gut is what he was told.

"I'll go with Rena, she shouldn't be alone."

He began to run after her, as she walked a good distance away already. What would they find. Was this island inhabited? Brandon can fight sure. Hes very strong, but people or..creatures..on this island may be stronger. Maybe he was the brawn of this little outfit, he seemed to be the oldest, probably the strongest too. Ah no time to gloat about strength.

The boy caught up to Rena and was walking at her same pace. He turned his head toward her and gave her a long up and down look. That red hair of hers, it was marvelous. The clothes she was wearing seemed fashionable and expensive..or used to be since the salty water ruined them.

"So, you said your name was Rena right? I'm Brandon." He gave of a cheeky smile.

Dontforgettograbastick

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana and Obediah-Ishmael
​

Olabisi was not really paying attention to the guy who called her. She think she caught that his name was.. Stacey. No matter. It had only been a couple of moments, and he had already crossed a thick line. This is why she usually layed out ground rules... shame on her for not doing so before. Now she stood there, looking this guy directly in the eyes, with a clear scowle on her face.

For some one as normal-seeming as he was, he sure was forward. How dare he call her by her precious pet name. She supposed, that was her Nduguye’s fault. But Stacey should have read her mind better than that. How dare he utter a name reserved for only one person in the whole world? Oh no... he would not make that mistake twice.

Olabisi turned her whole body to the guy and declared very seriously, “Jina langu ni,” she placed her hand on her chest to make it clear what she was saying, “Olabisi Jana!”

She turned around and started back in the direction on the wood. She grabbed her hair, which was becoming heavy, and rung in out. Buckets of water fell from her thick hair, and now that it was nearly empty of water, she was able to tie it back and get to work. The first thing she did was run her hand over the grass when she got there and let any thing dead get tangled in her fingers. Then she stored them in her pocket, before sneezing, and continuing.

​

Obediah-Ishmael was pleased with the other guy’s sugestion. “You’re with me, then,” he nodded, pointing to Rudolph. He didn’t waste any time with any more chit-chat. He looked up at the mountain and then back at the sun to plot his course. “This way,” he pointed, before ducking in to the thicket.

As he walked, he kept his eyes peeled for any thing that might be useful to carry water in. He thought if her could only find a coconut... or a gourd, he would be set. He walked for a minute before he turned to acknowledge the other guy with him. “What did you say your name was again?” he asked.

 

[dazzling]

Mila observed the group, evaluating the members. Aside from the redhead, she was liking what they had thought of. “Alright,” She agreed. “Got the food. I’ll be back,” She quipped with a wave as she started into a sprint down the beach. After getting down a long stretch of the empty coastline, she hesitantly turned to the dense forest to her left. Shrugging lightly, she jogged through the brush, soon finding a clearing. Reaching up, she found a few lush peaches hanging from a tree. There were only three, but better than no food. She grabbed them and tucked them into her cargo pant’s pockets before continuing on deeper into the forest.

 

[Dontforgettograbastick]

Rena Ladera

"Brandon? At least your name suits you." she chuckled slightly. Observing Brandon closer she realised he had a very handsome face, all the guys where he came from must of been jealous of him with those looks. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

She continued to wonder along the beech, she wasn't making much of an attempt at conversation, at least not yet. She had to agree that survival was at the very tip top of her bucket list. She was not going to let herself die at the age of 21, no way, no how.

Ever so conveniently, Rena noticed something looking like plastic near the edge of the shore. She ran up up to it, and sure enough a plastic bottle was lying there completely in tact. Rena smiled once again. "How convenient." she remarked. "It remains in one piece, even after its long travel." She brought the bottle closer to her to inspect it more when she was hit by an unpleasant smell making its way to her nostrils, causing her to physically flinch and almost throw up. She coughed slightly as she called to Brandon. "Here's an early Christmas present!". She then proceeded to chuck the stinking bottle at Brandon, hitting the guy in the face.
KroNicc115

 

[KroNicc115]

Brandon watched as Rena made her way to something along the shore line, he couldn't see what is was, but decided to let her investigate. Staring off in the distance he was looking for..well anything really. Just a bunch of trees and such. There were a couple of fruit trees a little deeper in. Maybe that should be the first stop. Coconuts could be useful, they have water in them right?

Suddenly his ears were met with Rena's voice. A Christmas present? The boys face was met with a rather smelly plastic bottle, of course he tried to stop it from hitting him at the last second, so he looked a bit stupid when he threw his arms in the air to make an effort.

"HEY! What the hell was that for!?" Brandon sighed

He looked down at the bottle that rested on the sand beneath him. Carrying water in that would be nice, but the putrid smell warranted any desire of taking it.

"Let's try and find something not as..smelly perhaps."

Brandon had an idea, a mischievous one. He decided to take the bottle anyway, he might be able to get back at Rena somehow. Stuffing it in his pocket so it stuck out just a little bit, he pointed to the trees inland a bit.

"Lets find some coconuts, they have some water in them we can use to quench out thirst now."

Dontforgettograbastick

 

[Dontforgettograbastick]

Rena Ladera

Rena squinted as she noticed Brandon putting the bottle in his pocket. What purpose did he have for that smelly thing? She would of chucked it away personally, she would of chucked it far, far away. Rena pouted slightly with suspicion, was he planning something? She could usually tell, years of deceiving others had taught her well after all. She decided to keep a close eye on him.

She blinked in surprise when he mentioned coconuts. How hadn't she thought of that? Coconut water would be an efficient method of hydration. Yet now there was the issue of where to find them. She looked up around the trees, looking for something that at least looked like a coconut. To her delight, she found a group of palm trees, each one spouting a few coconuts. However, now there was an issue of how to get them down. Climbing on a palm tree didn't look easy.

"Well then, we've found some coconuts, but how are we going to get them down?"

KroNicc115

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana and Obediah-Ishmael

​

Olabisi didn’t wait for too long for any one to help her with the fire. She put a knot in the bottom of her kanga so that there was a pocket in it. There were fallen sticks all over the ground near the grassy area that seemed to have been sitting there for a while. She picked up all of the littler sticks and stuffed them in the pocket she had made.

When it was full, she stuffed the dead grass in her fist in the space between the kanga and the kente that she had tied around her waist. Then she went about collecting the bigger sticks; the ones that she needed two hands to carry. She was able to find some when she got closer to the edge of the jungle.

While she was there, she spotted the girl from before ((Mila)) not too far from her. It looked like she had found some thing. Olabisi waited til she thought she made eye contact with the girl and waved to her. She looked like she needed a fire.

Once she had every thing she wanted, she walked past Stacey and to where she through would be a safe place to put a fire. There was a flat, dirty spot just before the grass started. She put all her dead stuff down and started working away at the ground with her feet. When she had an indent, she put a few of the little sticks in the hole.

She thought she had seen some one with a lighter, but she couldn’t remember who. And then on top of that, she really didn’t know the English word for the tool she wanted. She she just kind of stood there snapping her fingers, hoping some one would read her mind. That, or she would just start a fire with a stick, which was some thing she was very capable of, any way.

​

Obediah had started off walking paying strict attention to his surroundings. But by now, he was not. He was still paying attention to where he was going, but his eyes were rested on his arms and hands. He had a deep cut across his left palm, and a few odd stabs in his arms. None of them seemed too bad, but they were still fresh enough to where he bled some. He was not in a lot of pain, though, except for a small ting in his shoulder, which he ignored. Every one here was hurt to some degree, and it would do him no good to worry about his own little cuts. He was used to it by this point... If any thing, he was secretly glad for the situation, as it seemed to avert attention away from his older cuts. Perhaps he could get through meeting these people with out that ever coming up.

He was about to open his mouth to talk to the other guy again, but he was inturupded when his foot hit something. It was not big enough to hinder him, but he was amazed at how soft it felt against his shoe. He stopped picking at his hands long enough to turn around and look at what he hit. “Well would you look at that!” he smiled, bending over to dig the lump up. “It might be a mellon....” He shook it. “Or a gourd.. When we get to the water I’m going to break this in half and we can keep the flesh too,” he nodded.

​

L Leavant Carver
D. Rex
dazzling

 

[Leavant Carver]

Elise Ebele

Stacey would look at her plainly with little surprise as she approached him with a scowl on her face. So it was her own personal nickname between her and her brother, it was no wonder she had approached him and responded in annoyance to his question. Never the less, he was glad to learn her name, Olabisi. He would raise his hands as she yelled at him, trying to show he had didn't mean to offend her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm guessing thats a name shared between you and your brother right? I understand. Nice to meet you Olabisi...." He tried to hold out a hand to shake, but she had already turned around and began working, grabbing stuff for the fire. He guessed he should probably get busy too. Taking his jacket off and tossing it to the side, he began looking for fire materials, starting off by picking up medium size twigs and sticks.

As he worked, he also picked up stones, knowing they would probably need these to keep the fire warm and blowing out easily. Focused on his task, he couldn't help but chuckle a bit as he noticed the large amount of water that came out of Olabisi's hair, smirking. He thought of her hair like a spunge, maybe they could have just used her hair to filter the water? He shook his head though, seeing his thought as being pretty rude. As he gathered he materials, he opened his jacket and put them in it, using it to carry them. Noticing that Olabisi had found a spot to make a fire, he walked over to her, beginning to put stones around the outside of the hole she made, while putting some of his sticks in it as well. Hearing the sound of snapping, Stacey looked at Olabisi, noticing that she snapping her fingers in the direction of the hole, along with her frustrated expression. He thought about what she was trying to say, noting the wood pile and lack of fire. Reaching into his pocket, took out the lighter that had been given to him earlier. Clicking it, and bringing a small flame to life, he would use the tool to set the pile of sticks aflame, trying to start a fire. Looking at Olabisi, he pointed at his lighter, and then at her snapping fingers.

"Ah, you wanted someone to light a fire using the lighter right? I saw your pile and you didn't have a lighter so..."

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana​

​

When Olabisi saw Stacey with his hands up, she realized she shouldn’t have snapped at him. She sighed at her self and sat down next to her pile, having given up on the word she was looking for. Just as she picked up a stick to start a fire, though, Stacey came up to her with the tool she was thinking of. That’s right, he had it.

She took the fist full of dead grass and held it over the little flame. They caught fire instantly, and she blew on them a bit. They smoked and burned, and once she got a steady enough flame, she placed them in the hole and put one of Stacey’s twigs on top. She kept putting more grass and twigs on one at a time and kept blowing in the flame. “Asante, Stacy,” she thanked him, still poking at the fire. “And you weren’t being rude earlier.. I was. It’s nice to meet you too.” And then she went back to poking at their fire.


L Leavant Carver

 

[Leavant Carver]

Elise Ebele

"Eh, don't worry about it too much, I forgive you. I can tell you and your brother are close, so I understand what its like to have siblings you love more than anyone else."

As Olabisi would manage the fire, Stacey would sit down beside her and watch, smiling cheerfully. Since the others were still out collecting materials, he guessed it would just be her and himself for awhile. He looked around, hoping no large animals would be coming out at this time, though he assumed most creatures wouldn't be that big since this was a island in the middle of the ocean. He wondered about his family, were they alright? Were any of them in this situation or a worse one? Here he was, about to go to college and this had to happen. Looking into the flame, he sighed in rememberance of his past. He hoped they all wouldn't be stuck here for a long time. Shaking his head at the though, he tried to remain optimistic. Maybe learning more about Olabisi would help? He turned to her and tried to make conversation, smiling.

"So Olabisi, where are you from?"

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana​

Olabisi nodded very firmly at Stacey’s first stantment. “We are very close. In fact, I own him,” she nodded, looking at Stacey very seriously. Her relationship with her brother was something that most people didn’t understand, but as far as she was concerned, that was their problem.

She stopped poking at the fire for a moment and it began to rise, and it inveloped the sticks in the hole. She threw the rest of the twigs in and let them catch fire. Once they did, she started to actually build the real fire. It was very simple. She took the three biggest logs she had brought back and stuck them in the hole in a teepee fashion. They weren’t super big, they only came up to her nose while she was sitting. Those logs would burn slower, so she could leave them alone for the time being.

When Stacey asked her where she was from, a small smile crept across her face. She could tell that he actually wanted to know, and it was a nice break from the people who asked just so they could pick at her accent. “Where am I from?” she smiled. Her thick, East African accent poured from her lips, because she never tried to adapt an American one. “I was born in the Damborri Tribe in Kenya. That is my home,” she nodded. “It is the greatest place in the whole world.”


L Leavant Carver

 

[Leavant Carver]

Stacey would look at Olabisi, holding back laughter at how serious her statement had been. She really meant it huh? Given the size difference between her and her brother, he was amused by the idea of her telling him what to do, but at the same time could see it. His little sister loved to boss him and his brother around in a similar manner. He guessed even in other parts of the world, siblings managed to be the same. He could imagine Olabisi and her brother were probably protective of each other, they probably always watched each other's backs. And given Olabisi's own condition with her legs he imagined her brother always tried to guarantee her safety, which is most likely why he left her here. She probably thought he couldn't understand, however as a big brother himself he had an idea of what their feelings were. "Heh, owner huh? Yeah, you definitely speak like a younger sister." He chuckled, keeping it light as to not get her angry. As she went to get the logs, he assisted her, just making sure they were straight though since it was so simple he didn't have to do much.

Seeing her smile as he asked Olabisi about her home made him smile as well in anticipation. He guessed he must've really gotten her excited, the place she came from must've been very nice and peaceful. He could also tell poeple didn't normally ask with genuine interest, which was another reason she was so happy. As she spoke in her accent, talking about her tribe and Kenya, he looked with intrigue. He had thought she was from somehwere around Africa based on the language she and her brother spoke, but he wasn't able to put his finger on it. So it was Kenya? He had never been there before, but just hearing her tone made him think it was a pretty nice place. Unlike how most poeple she knew had responded, he didn't dislike he accent, he actually thought her voice was very nice. It made him want to know more about her home. "Kenya huh? Thats a country in Africa right? Its sounds cool. Whats it like there?" He was now focused intently on her, looking at her directly with calm eyes.

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana
​

Olabisi pushed some of her hair back and sat comfortably, looking in the fire. She couldn’t meet Stacey’s direct gaze, as that was something she always struggled with. She wawsn’t ignoring him, though. She thought he was a much simpler person than most others she had met before.

“Damborri...” she started, unbuckling the straps that kept her braces on her legs. The metal parts snapped open in the front, and she was able to slip them off and put them off he side. She had a few sticks that she didn’t throw in the fire and started to pick at one. After struggling with the bark for a moment, she found a couple rocks, placed one in her lap, and rubbed the stick between them. She fidgeted with this while she talked. “Damborri is a very happy place, I think.

“In English, it would mean ‘the land of peace.’ We are made up of four clans, and we became a true tribe when we banned together to fight the English. My people believe that true peace and happiness is earned. Every one works to gether so that the whole village thrives. My Mam was the Healer of the tribe and she would heal any one who needed her help, not like the Europeans who only heal the wealthy,” she nodded firmly.

“The biggest difference between Damborri and America, though, is that in Damborri we have many festivals and celebrations and every one there agrees on the origin of them. So we don’t have things like controversy, like Americans. We have huge parties and there is always lots of music and dancing and rituals...” she started to drown off as she remembered just how much fun her home was. You’re American, right?” she asked.

L Leavant Carver

 

[Leavant Carver]

As he recognized her inability to look at him, he realized he must've been making her feel uncomfortable. To try and lessen the pressure, he decided to direct his gaze on the fire as she did, observing the dancing flames. He was glad atleast now he had gotten her to open up to him. Now, they were having a conversation, and he couldn't ask her for much more. After all, he didn't get to really talk to girls outside of his family often. Most peers in his home town looked down on him due to how plain he looked, or assumed he wasn't worth their time due to his quiet nature. But he could tell Olabisi was atleast a little different, atleast he hoped so. He noticed her take off her braces and begin fidgeting around with the sticks and stones, most likely trying to keep herself occupied during the situation.

Listening to her explain her homeland, Stacey would lay back and look at the sky. For a moment, he smiled hearing that it was called a land of peace, but frowned, hearing about the reason the clans had unified in the first place. He knew that story mostl likely didn't have a satisfying end to it. Nothing involving Europeans and Africa or other foreign countries did usually, if the history of conquest and colonization didn't already prove that. He thought about how her whole clan had united just to fight against a overwhelming force from another land trying to conquer their own. It almost seemed like fiction when he thought about it. But it was all too real. "Thats...horrible. Does what they did still damage your clan now?" He had atleast took solace in the fact they still survived if the existence of poeple like Olabisi and her brother didn't prove that already. As she mentioned her mother being a healer, he looked turned his head to her, interested. "Oh, so your mom was a doctor huh? Thats cool! I kinda want to the same thing!"

As she began to talk about America in comparison to her clan, he guessed she must've visited at some point, or read about it. He didn't really disagree on her opinions though, as for him, being an american wasn't exactly enjoyable these days, atleast in his opinion. It was practically a country that fed off of conflict, masquerading as unity after all. As she asked him if he was an American, he nodded. "Yeah, from a state called Maryland. Not very big, infact, its a spec in comparison to most states. America..is so complicated. Filled with so many different poeple, constantly in conflict, and raised in ignorance. I don't think anyone ever thinks about each other or even human decency. Even so...." Even as he spoke about the country's bad side, he couldn't help but think some good things. It was the place he was born after all. "The country itself is large, and having so many different poeple is amazing. If I want to get away from conflict, I can. It may not seem like it, but in America, there are poeple who feel the same way as you, just waiting to meet you. And when you finally find those poeple, it just hard to get away from them." That was it, that was what he had wanted. Acceptance, it was why had tried to go a college outside of his state. Perhaps it was why he felt a bit of jealousy towards Olabisi, knowing she had somewhere to go back to even if the whole world turned against her. But it was more than enough motivation for him to live and keep moving, it was why he fought so hard and kep his head up.

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana​

Olabisi was still playing with the stick as she talked ans listened to Stacey. As she stuck it in the flame to let it catch fire, she couldn’t help but chuckle softly at his question. “The Europeans don’t still bother us. It was almost 150 years ago when we got rid of them, and we have been unified ever since. Well... the four clans have always gotten along for the most part, but it was fighting the Europeans together that really brought us to gether to be one tribe. So.... I suppose you can say it does still affect us. But in a good way,” she smiled, rubbing the stick between the stones, which quenched the fire.

She picked up a nother stick and started rubbing it between the stones like the stick before. “You make America seem so nice... but I really hate it. Perhaps if I had gone where you were, I could have liked it a bit better. It is, indeed, a large country. I have never been anywhere near Maryland.. only California.”

It seemed to Olasbisi that Stacey had had a lot of good and bad experiences. He was certainly more optimistic about the States than she was. She was getting the since she and Stacey were quite a bit alike. He even wanted to be a doctor, just like she did. “Mama yangu... My Mam.. would never consider her self a doctor. She was.. just a healer. But she was the best and most determined healer in all of Damborri, and it’s surrounding country. I want to be like her.”


L Leavant Carver

 

[JusticeCarpenter]

Dusty 'Big Guy' Tiles​

As the sound of voices rang through the area, one body stirred, still clinging to life near the shore, where a few other bodies that remained still had begun floating towards.

It took the body a moment to remember it's name was Dusty Tiles. As he felt the somewhat familiar sensation of floating in the water combined with the sting of literal salt upon wounds he didn't recall getting, he felt the adrenaline rush coming right before it happened. Noticing several shapes near him, he grabbed them and began kicking his way towards where the water had been flowing. He grabbed another shape in his teeth while he swam and, a few minutes later, he found himself starting to walk onto the shore, with the sound of a fire nearby being what made him stop for a moment.

As Dusty's head began clearing, he realized that the shapes he had grabbed in his panicked swim to shore were bodies. He didn't try to save them. He knew from the stiffness and the cold that they were already dead. As he fell to his hands and knees, the object he had bitten into on the way fell onto the sand as he started gasping for air.

As he got a closer look at it, Dusty recognized it.

It was his keychain, complete with a piece of deer antler that had an eye bolt screwed into it. The antler was about as long as his palm, and the end opposite of the eye bolt curved into a j shape and came to a dull point...

Not that Dusty was particularly focused enough to think about that at the moment, due to having no idea what was happening, having carried two waterlogged corpses and in doing so exhausted himself, and overall not having much time to process the situation.

 

[Elise Ebele]

Olabisi Jana​

By now, Olabisi was starting to actually feel a bit home sick. By now, Damborri would be preparing for Mwezi Mwekundu, which was a really big celebration there. Every year, to celebrate bountiful harvests and give thanks to God, the whole village would celebrate for three whole days and nights. There would be music and dancing and food... and the whole event would be kicked off with a game of football... not the American one. Olabisi couldn’t remember what Americans called the sport, but they were wrong.

She had been quiet now for a good 5 minutes when she noticed some movement. It was not her big brother. He had been out for quite a bit now, and she was begining to worry. Just thinking about all the trouble he was probably getting in to didn’t really put her stomache at ease. She put down the stick she was grinding at and drew her knees to her chin, and sighed deeply.

She had been quiet for a minute more, having forgotten all about the person she saw.(Dusty) But then she remembered. “OH!” she shouted, starting to rise to her feet. Of course, she instantly fell back to her butt, as she was not wearing her braces. Instead, she patted Stacey’s shoulder in quick bursts, and waved her arm in the air. This was some one she had not seen yet. “Hapa hapaaa!” she yelled, calling out to the person. They looked tired and beat, and like they needed a place to sit.

L Leavant Carver
JusticeCarpenter