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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 10, 2012 23:35:05 GMT -4
Carmindy burst unceremoniously out of the treeline, stumbled over a rock, and fell headfirst into the grass in front of her. Her bag thumped next to her. Groaning slightly, She stood up and brushed herself off. Her stomach rumbled and she mentally shushed it, frowning at herself. Life would be so much easier without food. Especially life here.
Last night had been uncomfortable and cold, and she'd spent the day blundering around camp and getting her foot caught in various places she really shouldn't have been in, messing with people she figured didn't want to be messed with, all in a pitiful attempt to find some semblance of food. She sighed and sat at the edge of this murky pond. She hoped she could have a few moments of peace. The sun was high over the forest and she could hear a few birds chirping. The clearing around the pond was pleasant, and she was hoping nobody else would be around.
She heard a strange, liquid flick in the water in front of her and peered down at it curiously. Her heart jumped in her throat with excitement when she saw the fish. Fish were food. This was good. Nobody was around, there was nothing to steal, nobody to fight. And... she realized in despair... no way to catch it. She wasn't about to give up though, she was hungry, and Carmindy could be very determined when hungry. She'd read in a book once that you could catch fish with your hands. How hard could it be?
She crawled, army style to the edge of the pond and dangled her hands in the water, waiting for her prey. It hadn't crossed her mind how she was planning on cooking it. A fire would probably attract attention...but she could think of no other way, and she needed food. Especially that protein. She took a deep breath and waited, poised over the water.
Finally, after what seemed like years, a fish slipped by her eager hands. While she knew fish were slippery, she didn't realize they were that slippery! She grabbed at it, and made several loud, incoherent noises that resembled a petulant, half-starved kitten as the fish flipped and flopped all over her as she tried to wrestle the minuscule creature out of its watery habitat.
She failed, and lay there, hair dripping, shirt soaked, lips pursed in frustration. If a year earlier, somebody would've told her she would be so desperate for food in a god-forsaken camp that held hundreds of Supernaturals, her included, that she'd try to catch a fish with her hands, she would've laughed in their face! Her ears pricked up when she felt the presence of a mind, the rustle of trees behind her. Her skin crawled, and all the blood rushed to her extremities, ready to run.
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 11, 2012 0:52:56 GMT -4
----------It was at least five minutes, silently watching the girl splashing about in the water like some wild animal from a distance, before David finally approached the pond. Her movements came to an end and she stiffened up, on edge, sensing his presence. He stepped out from the shadows of the trees and took a small throwing knife from his belt. After only a brief moment of aiming he threw it effortlessly into the pond, passing at a safe distance by the girl, where it hit a fish dead-on.
----------"Take it," he said, commanding but not imposing. "The knife too. You'll need it." The girl looked frail, timid, and lost. By the rules of the camp David was not supposed to communicate with the inmates aside from breaking up fights and taking down those who broke the rules, but the second he ignored and he was never one to forsake the helpless for the convenience of some uppity superiors in a comfy office. Even though giving weapons to the prisoners was absolutely forbidden, this also he chose to ignore from time to time, knowing that without defense they would die. "Do you know how to start a fire from scratch?" he asked, trying his best to look friendly as to not scare her off.
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 11, 2012 1:07:10 GMT -4
She eyed him warily, blinking in an effort to clear her head. She was suddenly aware of the fact she had probably looked absolutely ridiculous and completely helpless, and her shy instincts kicked in as she wrapped her arms around herself, backing to take a stance in front of her bag.
Finally her muddled brain registered what he'd said, and she bit her lip, debating on how to answer. No, she didn't know how, but she didn't want to seem like a complete idiot. Then again, he'd already see her try to catch a fish without any sort of apparatus for fishing. How much worse could his impression of her get?
"No." She replied quietly, her head shaking just slightly as her wide eyes continued to take in his appearance and her mind tried to separate his thought process from her own. He was slimly built, but big enough to be potentially dangerous. He was obviously a guard, and she wasn't sure if that should make her trust him more or less. His hair was dark, and his face was somewhat friendly. The whispers from mind were busy and buzzing, like a beehive, and she disliked that. But... from what her untrained mind could gather, he wasn't having any ill-will toward her. No, it was more like pity, and that caused her to feel even more self-conscious.
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 11, 2012 16:29:59 GMT -4
----------She seemed to shrink back from him as he spoke, wrapping her arms around her frail body. Her voice sounded weak as responded to his inquiry. David knew from experience that her type wouldn't last a week alone in this place and he would be caught dead before he let an innocent little girl die when he could have done something to save her. Smiling warmly he gestured for her to come out of the pond. "Get your fish and I'll show you," he said kindly, not offering but rather matter-of-fact in his attitude and tone.
----------Turning away from the pond he began gathering up bits of dry wood which were untouched by the water and had been removed from their trees long enough to no longer be damp. Summer was a good season for fires. The heat provided much for wood and kindling. As he collected debris from the forest floor he began running through his head possibilities on where he could take her. Perhaps assessing her species was the best course of action. In any case he knew of a few gangs which he would not take her near under any circumstances. Some groups would eat her alive, quite literally.
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 11, 2012 18:14:26 GMT -4
Groups will eat her alive... Carmindy jumped as the whisper entered her head. That had to be coming from him. There was nobody else around. She glanced around the clearing just to make sure before she bit her lip and turned, grabbing the fish out of the pond by the knife handle a bit gingerly. She wasn't prissy, but she hated dead things. One time she'd actually thrown up at the sight of a bird that'd been carried in by one of her pet cats. She tried not to think about the limp, slippery item she was carrying and walked up slowly to the man, stepping lightly on the grass. She watched him for a while, and then her mind wandered back to his strange thought.
She shivered at that, not wanting to think about her getting eaten by another Supernatural...but...she figured it might be best to know which ones to stay away from.
"Which ones?" She asked rather uncomfortably. She'd never really used her power this obviously before. Last night, she'd used it a bit with Heather...but then...Heather's thoughts hadn't been quite so loud. This man's were loud, and busy, and clever whispers, whispers that liked to zip around like small bees, rather than the puffs of gentle air that Heather's had been.
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 11, 2012 19:54:12 GMT -4
----------David stopped and turned to face her as she spoke in response to his thoughts. Telepath? He was somewhat relieved at that knowledge. He had dealt with her kind in the past. "The Night Walkers and Pack mostly. The former holding a fair number of deadly vampires and the latter being home to the majority of the camp's werewolves as the name would suggest."
----------He knelt and set his armload of sticks and dried foliage on the ground. Rolling up his sleeves, he motioned for her to come closer, making his intentions of teaching her fire-making clear in his mind. "Are they loud?" he asked, referring to his own thoughts. Telepaths always told him he was either a noisy busy mind to be around or a completely silent one depending on whether he was blocking their invasion or not.
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 11, 2012 20:34:17 GMT -4
"Like a beehive." She replied, crouching next to him, still a little tense. While he seemed nice enough...he'd had a knife. What other weapons did he have? She had a small headache that was pounding in her head from his thoughts and she wasn't sure how aware she was going to be if she stayed around his buzzing thoughts for very long. They were worse than her father's. She watched him intently, being more of a visual learner than anything, noting where he'd gotten the kindling and fuel from, and mentally forming a picture in her mind of how to form it all up exactly the way he was.
She decided against informing him that she didn't know what to do with her power. For all she knew, he knew more than she did and could use that against her. The most damaging thing she'd ever been able to do with her Telepathy was erase thoughts, and that hadn't even been on-command, it'd just happened because she'd felt a strong inclination to do so, and she didn't know how to bring up those inclinations again. The loudest thoughts in his head right now were all about fire-making, but there were others, lowly buzzing, as if they were hiding below the others and trying not to be heard. She thought about concentrating on them, just because she was curious, but at the rate this headache was going...that might not be the best idea.
A small smile twitched at the left corner of her mouth as she watched him work, her thoughts flicking to his earlier one. "I think I'd be more of a snack than a meal." She commented quietly.
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 11, 2012 20:45:37 GMT -4
----------David glanced up at her as she came over beside him and silently nodded as she replied to his question. She was not the first to say as much. As he worked at starting the fire his eye stayed focused and he tried to keep his thoughts in check. He chose to ignore her last comment as about anything he said in response to it would only make her feel worse. The last thing he needed to do was make her more afraid. The scent of fear was nearly as strong as that of blood.
----------"I'm sorry," he said in response to his thoughts. "I'll try to quiet them for you." He focused for a moment, controlling his mind until he built up what a telepath friend of his called his 'sound-proof walls.' His eyes shut, trying to bring it all down to at least a whisper for her sake. When he opened them again he smiled. "Better?" he asked hopefully.
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 11, 2012 21:17:44 GMT -4
She nodded. It was strange having things so quiet when another person was about. Normally it was as loud as having them constantly chattering away, which, for some people (one of her classmates, especially, who had a high-pitched voice and never stopped thinking about fashion) made her want to punch something. Of course, before then, she'd thought it was just a random voice that had popped into her head and made an impermanent nest there, but still, it'd been annoying.
She vaguely wondered at his ability to quiet his thoughts. Was he secretly a Telepath too? Or was it some skill that people had that only some developed? Her headache was gradually lessening as her Telepathic "muscle" as she called it, relaxed. She could feel her physical muscles relaxing in response.
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 12, 2012 1:52:37 GMT -4
----------Making certain not to let his mental barriers drop, he turned the majority of his attention back to the task at hand. After several tries he finally managed to get a spark with the rocks and the fire came to life, small at first but quickly blazing with the tinder before dying back down to the steady burning of the wood. Stepping back, he put out his hand for the fish, his other hand holding a fairly long stick which had a more pointed end where it broke.
----------"The fish," he clarified, to explain his outstretched hand. "Raw meat can only be healthily eaten by werewolves and other such animalistic beings." The fire grew slowly and stabilized across the entirety of the logs and twigs he provided. A gently wavering glow of red and gold illuminated his face and reflected in his blue-green eyes which now met hers. There was something kind but also something empty about his gaze, the current feelings and intent mixed with some past burden which burrowed its way deep into his being, ever dwelling, never coming to full light, hidden in the shadows of what is good and present.
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 12, 2012 2:04:17 GMT -4
Carmindy shivered a little as she glanced up at him, feeling this strange chill as the faintest whispers of suppressed thoughts brushed against her mind. Every instinct of her Telepathic self told her to reach out, to prod, to poke, to search and to find. But she held back, knowing first of all that she shouldn't, and second of all that it would probably hurt. She was curious and afraid of him all in one. He was so different than anybody she'd ever met. She felt safe around him, and yet she didn't. He was unpredictable and clever, a bit like a fox or cat. She felt like there was this magmortimus foam or bubble-wrap barrier between them, cushioning his thoughts from hers. What was he hiding?
She quietly passed him the fish and watched to see what he did with it. As he concentrated on preparing the meat, she concentrated on his face, watching him. Carmindy was not an experienced telepath by any stretch of the imagination, and she didn't know she'd wormed her way into his thoughts until everything was suddenly louder, his thoughts flying around her like a hostile bees in a beehive. But there was more than that, a feeling of ominous dread, like she was standing on the edge of some great, dark, emptiness, where it would be easy to topple over and be lost. Fear gripped her with icy cold fingers, and she immediately pulled out, sucking in a deep breath, her head pounding immensely. Crap! She hadn't meant for any of that to happen!
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 12, 2012 2:25:45 GMT -4
----------David took hold of the fish and in one swift movement skewered it onto the stick, much of its blood had already drained out in the water and the rest in the time since it was removed leaving it ready to cook. Holding it out over the flames he allowed it to cook on one side a short while before turning it over, from time to time rotating it slowly so that it would cook evenly.
----------When he spared a glance over at the young girl he was surprised to find her looking frightened, her breathing heavier than it had been a few minutes ago. It was a look he knew all too well from telepaths. Keeping a calm face he turned back to the fire and fish. "It's not wise to prod too deeply into anyone's mind. A man's burdens are his own to bear and some are darker than others." He closed his eyes for a moment, something about her poking around in his memories and thoughts brought them closer to the surface and he tried to force them back. "Think of my barriers like doors. They will stay shut so long as you let them but there is nothing more than a knob stopping you from walking past." He turned his eyes back to hers. "Do you understand?"
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 12, 2012 2:36:30 GMT -4
Carmindy looked at him with wide eyes. She swallowed hard, nodding. "I-... I understand, yeah."
She'd never been that deep into someone's mind before, and it'd frightened her beyond belief that she could do that. She wasn't sure she ever wanted to do that. Not if everybody's mind was like that. Vast, loud, confusing, with pitfals and traps and no-returns... it was terrifying and she instantly wished she wasn't a telepath. Maybe if she wasn't, no... definitely if she wasn't, she wouldn't be here. She'd be at home painting or reading a book, watching the rain while Mikkles the cat rubbed against her legs. She bit her lip and stared into the fire, trying to concentrate on something else. She got the feeling that her curiosity would be deeply satiated for a while after this.
She did wonder at how he'd gotten so much experience and knowledge about Telepaths though. There couldn't be that many about camp that he knew well, could there? Did he used to have a friend who was one? She tugged lightly at the grass while thinking, uprooting some and then tearing it into infinitesimal pieces. She really should be concentrating on how he was cooking the fish...
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Post by DAVID CHANDLER on Jul 12, 2012 14:53:09 GMT -4
----------The following minutes passed in relative silence. No words were spoken and the only sounds that graced their ears were the crackling of the fire, the gentle breeze through the branches of the trees, and the birdsong and scurrying of squirrels. David continued to slowly turn the fish, occasionally flipping it over all at once. Finally when it had turned a darker color, slightly charred across parts of its surface, he pulled it away from the heat and blew out a small spot where it had dragged the fire with it.
----------"You will burn yourself if you eat it right away," he said. "Once it is cool you can eat it off of the skewer. You can eat everything but the bones." He held out the now cooked fish-on-a-stick to the small mouse-like girl, offering it all to her. She was gentle, delicate, and in all ways not the kind of girl who should be in a place like Sangvene.
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Post by CARMINDY FROST on Jul 12, 2012 18:17:18 GMT -4
She took it a bit gingerly. Now that it was cooked and looked more like food than a slippery, slimy, dead thing, Carmindy thought she could deal with it. She smiled a bit at David,
"Thank you."
She wondered how he'd gotten to be a guard here. He didn't really seem the type. He wasn't rough or mean or by any means corrupt-seeming, just... clever and slightly quiet and kind, though... she remembered that pit she'd stood at the edge of and shivered, wondering just what he was capable of, if given the position. She bit her lip and stared at the fire before looking up at him, "Have you decided which gang you're going to take me to?" She asked quietly. She was getting more used to the idea of asking people questions based on their thoughts, considering that one had been loud and clear and she hadn't gone hunting for it in his head or stumbled over it by mistake, it'd kind of flown her way. So she figured he wouldn't mind.
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