Catching Lizards

[Oki W. Nanda]

Oki sang cheerfully as she wandered about. Perhaps she'd had too much tea or simply it was the dreaming without nightmares. Without a doubt she was in a fantastic mood, she didn't even seem to mind just where she had walked into. Sunglasses on, she didn't have a care in the world. Paddle would agree it was rare, her delight, but with the bounty of tiny lizards they'd caught well... who wouldn't be?

The small woman danced comfortably about, her voice sugar spun lark song, "Jumping quickly. Slick, not prickly. Cold blooded blizzards..." She disturbed some rubble and sent the little anole cluster scattering about and cheered, "Leaping Lizards!"

Catching two, smashing their heads with a firm thumb press, "I can’t stand it! Sneaky bandit, Looking at the moon!" She hopped up onto a rubbish bin, and trilled with her arms out. Taking Paddle out of his peace binding at that familiar rattle sounded from below...

"Crawling along~ Wiley but strong! Better stay awake," she chirped. Directing paddle warningly at the creature. It struck and with a sickening crack the animal was dead, "Slithering snake!"

Hopping to the ground, Oki peace tied Paddle to her back, "Each one is special~ Characteristics sublime." She twittered in delight as she harvested the venom, "Don’t be afraid of the fur or the slime! Animals are fantastic~ Go out and see." Scalpel produced, Oki held just below the head, piercing the scaled skin and began to slice beautifully down the still writhing form, "Watch on the ground, look up a tree! Come, come and watch them with me!"

Separating the scales from the meat, Oki giggled, "Wonderful, wonderful. She things this area is well suited for this. Little plant life and yet plenty of life. Friend, I believe we are on the right track." Paddle complained, he did not like snake and yet she kept catching them. "He isn't going to eat it. Rude," she told Paddle. A smile as she strung the bounty on a fishing line, wrapping it in dark cloth and tucking it into a pocket of her messenger bag. Laying the skin out to dry, Oki ran a long nailed hand over the scales, "She thanks him for his gift of life."

[Thorn]

Watching from a distance, the girl who now knew herself as Thorn watched the strange human female. She chirped and twirled like a song bird, graceful in flight...and deadly when capturing her prey.

This was something Thorn, in all her days in the forest, had never thought to try herself. She knew how to trap and skin animals, but never had she considered a snake food. They were something that the animals avoided at great cost, and in time, she had learned to do the same.

But this female was different, particularly from the others Thorn had encountered so far. She seemed to know much about the world here, almost as if she were a perfect bridge between the human world and the one she herself knew and longed for. That of the wild and it's ways.

She crept closer on all fours from her place among the rubble, hoping for a better view of the human female. She moved slowly, like a mountain cat, head, shoulders and eyes hovering in the same spot while her limbs moved independently with one another. For now, she thought she might as well watch, to see if this woman was good company, as the Lucien had been.

For now.

[Oki W. Nanda]

A slow grin crossed Oki's lips, she was certainly in a silly mood. Lifting the darkly tinted lenses and rubbing her eyes. She looked up towards the head of the boat oar, the sunlight reflecting through the drilled holes of it. "Oki needs goggles. Perhaps she can fashion a blinder from rubber scraps but this would take away her peripheral vision which could lead to trouble[/b]." Paddle agreed it was risky, but considering the dust storms it wasn't a bad idea. Ah! Maybe she could trade for them?

"That is a very good idea[/b]," she encouraged. Full lips drawing into a thoughtful pout, "But all Oki has is food and medical skills. One they may find useful if they are not aggressive towards her. However this is all assuming they trade at all[/b]."

Paddle stood silent, vigilantly watching the world around them. She giggled, looking away from Paddle and around them. It was still a lovely day, there was plenty to do and time to burn. She didn't expect another storm, but played with the dark silk as she thought. She hummed, stretched, "She wonders what other animals are here. Oki does not like birds, too many feathers[/b]."

Paddle agreed in his silent manner. Someone was out there, something had changed. "She knows. Such silence can be broken by so many a thing. She wonders if it is friend, foe or food[/b]." Oki adjust her messy bun and began walking towards another heap of ruin.

"You get a line and I'll get a pole, honey. You get a line and I'll get a pole, babe. You get a line and I'll get a pole. We'll go down to the crawdad hole. Honey, baby of mine[/b]."

[Thorn]

Thorn had no comprehension of the words the Human Female was using, but was able to discern that she was probably chattering for company, like a bird calling for her friends.

Now she was singing again and...walking this way. Still wary, Thorn scrambled backwards into a shallow little divot in the rubble, shifting loose rocks as she went. A less keen eye might totally pass over the area, but for those who were looking, they might instead spot a pair of bright green-yellow eyes staring anxiously out from the shade.

She looked to be in rough shape, though really she was quite healthy, apart from her teeth. She was covered in dirt, however, and her deer-skin was wrapped around her like a towel while her strawberry blonde hair hung around her head in a tangle.

[Oki W. Nanda]

Oki noticed the shifting and paused. Lifting her lenses and rubbing her eyes before looking around. Her smile was slow, honeyed gaze long. Kneeling, her side to where those brilliant eyes gleamed, Oki announced to no one and someone, "Time for a break."

Oki built a small fire, it caught easily enough between the heat of the day and brambles. Piercing the snake meat on a stick and setting it to hover over the tiny pyre. She produced a small bundle from her messenger bag, opening it to reveal yellow cornbread.

She watched as the meat slowly grew close to completion, it smelled wonderful. A side glace, she wondered if her guest was hungry. Paddle sighed, this was a dangerous game to play.