Orientation

[Lady Hammer]

((ooc: yes it is!))


"It's good to know that people still appreciate the stars," Lanz said.

"I APPRECIATE THE STARS!"

"Ignore her," he said in regards to Aeslyn's distant voice. "And about being friends, I said I understood. My patience has been known to run thin--"

"IF THAT'S WHAT YOU WANNA CALL IT, HAH!"

Grumbling, he went on, "but I think I have more than most people these days, at least where I come from. And... it's strange being called an alien. The people in my world don't have technology advanced near enough to go into space, much less find a decent way to travel."

[Jesse]

"I love the stars, they're a constant. Even though they're different everywhere I go, they're still there." Her eyes darted across the sky, "I've never seen ones like these, we must be far away. And don't worry, most of the people we call aliens aren't very advanced. We were a lucky people, to escape the Goa'ould for so many thousands of years and to never know the threat of Wraith until this expedition. And because of that we advanced far past most others. But in the past ten years since we discovered the 'Gates three interstellar wars have started. It seems our luck is failing."

[Lady Hammer]

"It always seems like it has to be like that," Lanz agreed. "Good things don't last very long."


Aeslyn looked over at Lanz and Kat smugly as she began to collect some tinder and kindling. Placing it in the middle of the clearing outside, she hoped everyone would catch on. A bonfire sounded like a decent idea. As she was setting some rocks around the area she was preparing, Levviel promptly sat.

"Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?"

'I'm sitting.'

"I saw. Why? Go help me!"

'What am I going to do? Lift something? I am sorry, Aeslyn, but the best I can do is supervise.' The firebreather shook her head, and then blew a flame to the pile of wood and brush in the rock circle. To her delight, it caught fairly quick, and there was a decent fire going.

"Yes! Alright!"

[Jesse]

"No, they never last quite long enough do they?" Kat sighed. Then her eyes caught on Aeslyn building the fire and she got up quickly. "Need some help?" It wasn't as good as explosives but it was something.

Pyro

Shut it Ai

[Lady Hammer]

Things were finally starting to go a bit better, Aeslyn realized. She grinned when Kat came her way.

"Know how to find something good to eat in the woods?" she asked. "I doubt we'll find any marshmallow colonies hanging out, but strangely, if you roast the right fruits, they taste... good." She handed the woman a decent sized piece of wood and gave it a flame. "Well... you probably have decent night vision, so you probably don't need it, but you can have it anyway."

Rocutia watched the scenes from under a tree, licking clean one of her feet.

"Lady you left too soon. This may work out after all," she said under her breath.

[Jesse]

"Sure, I can't stand eating MREs on every mission so I've learned as much about the local fruits and stuff in Pegasus. I'm not so sure about here but I'm sure I can find something. If you hear any shooting it's because I found some weird animal. Or I got bored." When the piece of flaming wood was pressed into her palm Kat smiled, deciding it was best not to tell the other woman that she had a flashlight in her bag and extremely good night vision. "Thanks, I'll be back in a minute."

[Lady Hammer]

"Awesome."

Aeslyn waited for a moment before going off as well, sort of standing idly, at first swinging her torch around in boredom, her eyes watching the flame with a weird glee. Then, she went from swinging to tossing, to almost dancing a little bit.

'Why do you watch her?' Levviel suddenly asked in Lanz's mind.

'I don't know. Same reason people pay her to see her do it. Fire is mezmerizing.'

The fire was warm, and it was nice for a change. The cold weather he had been in previously he was getting rather sick of. Good call, Aeslyn. Suddenly, he watched her amble off into the dense trees in search of something to eat. His stomach grumbled.

"Good call again," he muttered. "But Kat seems to have better observing skills... I bet she'll come back with more."

'... me too...' Lanz chuckled silently and sat by the fire.

[Jesse]

It took only a few minutes to find a tree with large, orange and purple fruit handing from it. Putting out the torch Kat scrambled up the tree with her flashlight in her teeth. Halfway up she found a branch that would easily support her weight and sat to examine the fruit. It look rather like a sweet fruit native to Pegasus that made a wonderful snack, though it had very little nutritional value.

Knowing that Jason and Cap would hit her for stupidity if they knew what she was doing Kat took a huge bite out of one of the fruits. It really wasn't smart to go around testing random food without knowing what it was but she was hungry.

I refuse to be blamed if you kill yourself. Ai muttered, Kat ignored her.

"Mmmm." The fruit proved to be worth the risk. It was sweeter even than she remembered the Pegasus version being.

She took an armful back to the edge of the firelight where the others were but paused when she saw Lanz. An idea popping into her head. With a smirk she dropped most of the fruit, keeping hold of only one. Then she threw the fist sized fruit at the back of the man's head. Quickly followed by a rain of others.

[Lady Hammer]

"Ow! Hey! What's going on!?"

Lanz stood up, trying to shelter his head with his wounded feeding hand (adorned with the cutest Big Bird bandaid there was) and his other one, getting a little frustrated when one of the fruits bursted open and the sticky insides got all over him and his hair. He stood up and turned around, seeing Kat guilty with the fruits.

"What's the deal?"

[Jesse]

Smiling slightly Kat dropped the fruit and ran for the nearest tree. "I got bored." She yelled as she settled herself on one of the top branches, out of the man's reach, hopefully. Jumping slightly when It creaked under her weight, maybe this wasn't the best idea.

You think? Ai asked sarcastically.

Before Kat could reply the branch gave another groan and snapped, sending her tumbling towards the ground. "Damnit!"

[snowkitty]

Hm. Was Jake always foul? Kora mulled over Kat's words, barely acknowledging the events around her.

Social leper, he called you, Satchel reminded from a distance. Remember?

Kora focused her jade eyes on Jake, narrowed in a near-glare. "You are, aren't you?"

Jake blinked, unnerved by the fact that she had actually addressed him. "I'm what?"

"Foul."

[Lady Hammer]

Aeslyn was out in the middle of trees when she heard a thud from Kat, and then she could've sworn the ground was rumbling when Lanz came up to her, stomping his feet like he was some kid getting ready to have a temper tantrum.

"This--" Lanz began in a very loud voice, taking his hand and wiping some of the fruit innards from his hair and showing it to Kat, "--is very sticky! There is NO place for me to wash my hair here, either! I'm going to smell... I... I'm going... to smell--"

"Fruity?" Aeslyn finished for him.

"YES!"

Lanz looked over Kat with earthy brown eyes that were almost glaring, but not quite. His burnt hand was jammed in his trouser pocket, and he summoned his staff with his other.

"If I was like Aeslyn, I'd beat you with this." Then it disappeared. "But I'm not, 'cause the fruit tastes kinda good."

[Jesse]

For a moment all Kat was aware of was pain in her entire body, then Lanz was towering over her holding a staff and saying something she couldn't make out. She caught somethign about beating her with it and flinched before he made the staff disappear. She got slowly to her feet, saying things that would get her hit upside the head back home and have Cap swearing that she wasn't going anywhere near Marines ever again.

At least he smells better now. Ai said.

Kat snorted and shook her head to clear the ringing, let's just say that didn't help. You could take away some of the pain you know. She hissed.

Yes, yes. That's all I'm good for isn't it? Taking your pain away? Despite her complaints the pain dulled almost immediatly.

"Lanz, Ai says that you at least don't smell so horrid now. I think that's worth being sticky, at least to me. 'Cause I was about to find a lake to shove you in."

[Lady Hammer]

Suddenly, the large man was sniffing his underarms and whatnot. He neared Aeslyn.

"I didn't smell that bad, did I?" he whispered in her ear. "I mean you gave me that mango stuff imported from Hillia a long time ago, and I've been using that, and--"

She pushed him away.

"You smell fine. Get away from me. Let's go roast some fruit!"

[Jesse]

When Lanz actually smelt his armpits Kat burst out laughing. This damn camp is killing my selfcontrol. She complained when she was done. "I'm starved, hurry." She said aloud, following Aeslyn toward the fire. Though she still stayed a fair distance away, not quite comfortable with the other woman yet. It was amazing that she was willing to hold a conversation already, really. "I think I gave myself whiplash." She moaned when she turned her head. "What a pain."