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Post by Deleted on Sept 5, 2016 21:01:16 GMT -5
 Antonio Ortega
The worst thing, in Tony's opinion, was not having something to keep him busy. Downtime allowed his mind to wander and when it did it wandered all the way back to Earth. He thought about his sisters -- wondered if they'd made it onto a ship -- and he thought about his mother -- wondered if she'd sobered up -- and he thought about his father -- wondered if someone had finally put a bullet in his head. The more he thought the more anxious he would get about not only the past, but the future. What were they going to do on a new planet? How many people were coming? What else or whoelse was on Petra Exterior? Were any of the 'animals' there worth hunting? Were there even animals?
All of the questions that ran through his mind were maddening and it further instilled in him the fact that he could not sit idle. He needed to do something to keep himself busy, whether it was just walking around the forest looking for game trails of making traps to try and catch one of PE's 'animals'. It would at least give him an idea of what was running around and he'd be able to get a rough idea of how big these animals were.
And it would keep his mind busy.
As he walked through the forest he noticed little things -- scrape marks here, thrashed bushes there, scattered leaves that looked as though something had taken off in a hurry, scratch marks on the trunk of a tree that made him really wish he had more than his knife with him. He was never one to do only one thing at a time, he was a multitasker and as he walked he gathered up 'supplies' -- straight sticks and some kind of plant that resembled palm fronds from back on Earth. To some it would seem like he was gathering trash, but Tony knew that there was a river nearby and where there was water there was fish... at least he hoped.
After a few more minutes of treking through the trees Tony finally broke from the treeline and could see the river looming ahead. He didn't stop until he reached the bank and that was where he set his pile of sticks and fronds down. He quickly got to work, humming to himself as he began weaving a fish trap.
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Post by JJ Whitlow on Sept 6, 2016 19:25:19 GMT -5
 JJ’s mind rarely wondered to earth. The only time it came close to earth was when she wondered were her stuff was. Her mind especially strayed to the guns and ammo she was waiting on as she wandered through the forest. JJ half expected some large bear, sabre-tooth tiger combination to jump out and get her any second. She had a knife sure, but that wasn’t going to be much use against the mystical sabre-tooth bear she was picturing in her mind. Despite the potential danger, JJ felt that she needed to get more familiar with the woods if she were to patrol it properly. If she knew what it looked like normally, she would know when something was different.
As she walked, JJ was aware that she was making a great deal of noise, but she didn’t mind if whatever else was in the woods knew she was there. She adjusted the knife strapped to her belt for easier access should she need it. She hadn’t seen any living animals in her time on Petra Exterior yet, but JJ knew that eventually she would, and she wanted to be prepared.
Eventually her walking took her to the river and as she approached, JJ was surprised to see that she wasn’t alone. “Hello” she called, not wanting to startle the other person - because she really didn’t want to get accidentally shot. Her eyes strayed to the item in his hands and JJ titled her head slightly as she studied the object. Even after a few moments of studying it, JJ had no idea what it was.
“That looks very interesting.” She commented, gesturing to the item he was working on. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 9, 2016 0:14:40 GMT -5
Antonio Ortega
He could hear soemthing moving around in the forest behind him and as soon as he did his humming stopped. Tony never could make himself forget that he was on a foreign planet, even when he was busy working. He couldn't really imagine what was lurking in the forest behind him -- he was sure none of the animals on PE looked like anything on Earth -- but he was sure whatever it was it could be killed. Luckily for him he'd brought his knife with him -- he wouldn't be going down without a fight.
The sounds behind him were growing closer and because of that Tony stopped weaving the fish basket. Part of him had hoped that whatever was in the forest would stay in the forest, keep going, and just leave him the hell alone. But when in his life had he ever been that lucky. His hand inched toward his knife and his fingers had just touched the handle when he heard the voice behind him say Hello. He hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until it rush ed out of his lungs with a very audible woosh!
Tony's head turned and he regarded the woman that had walked up behind him and he frowned. He couldn't exactly say that she had snuck up on him -- she'd made enough noise that he was sure everything in the forest had heard her. That alone was enough to make him suspect that she wasn't a hunter. Hunters went out of their way to make sure that they didn't make noise. "Noisy." He commented, before turning back to the fish basket in his lap. "Muy ruidoso."
He found himself glancing at the woman again when she said the basket was interesting. "For pescado." He said and he held the half finished basket up. "For .... fish," He held the basket up and gestured with his hand toward what would be the opening. "Swim." His hand stayed inside of the basket for a moment. "No come out." He was sure the woman would understand, so he set his work of art down on his lap and patted his chest with his hand. "Antonio."
"."
translation:
Muy ruidoso - very noisy
pescado - fish
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5'4
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Post by JJ Whitlow on Sept 13, 2016 19:05:55 GMT -5
JJ watched as the man regarded her, and she stayed quiet as he studied her. She studied him right back. She was still studying him when he spoke. JJ chuckled a little at the comment, she was certainly no hunter, though she had thought she was quiet than the average joe. ” Fair. I wasn’t really trying to be -” She stopped at he spoke again, her head titled a little. She recognized Spanish, but only knew the meaning of the first word, which was a pretty common one.
Her eyes followed him when he turned back to the basket and she moved a few steps closer. When he spoke again, JJ shook her head slightly - about to tell him she didn’t understand. However he spoke again and she nodded, ” Ah yes.” She wasn’t sure exactly how it worked, but she understood that he was going to use the basket for fish. JJ assumed that he would be putting the fish he caught in the basket.
Because of this assumption, it took her a moment to understand when he explained that the basket was actually to trap the fish. Her head tilted as she listened and then a moment later she nodded, ”Oh, oh - a trap?” she questioned, pretty sure that that’s what the basket actually was. ” Good idea. Very cool.” she added gesturing to the basket with a grin.
” JJ “ She replied after he introduced himself, placing a hand on her chest as she spoke, mirroring his gesture. ” You’re a hunter?” she asked gesturing again to the trap. @tony | NOTES |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 15, 2016 23:06:56 GMT -5
Antonio Ortega
Of course she wasn't trying to be noisy. Tony didn't think that anyone actually would try to be noisy when doing anything at all. Maybe hunters and trappers were just more sensitive to what they did and how they moved around in the forest. When your livelihood depended on what you could kill to sell you tended to take extra care in certain aspects of what you did. Still, it wasn't any big deal right then because it wasn't like he'd been actively hunting and her noise had scared his prey away.
"Si." Came his answer when she asked if it was a trap. Once it was finished the fish wouldn't be able to escape easily and eventually he'd have fresh fish to eat while everyone else .... ate whatever they ate. Eventually he'd make several more baskets and place them at different points in the river so he'd be able to catch more. At that point he'd be able to trade with other colonists because he was sure that they would want fresh fish as well. He also had plans to set up traps in the forest but he was concerned about other colonists walking into them while they were exploring. It was something he needed to think about and really consider where he wanted to place them so he didn't catch an unwitting wanderer.
When the woman introduced herself Tony smiled. "Hello." he said, because he did know a little English -- he was just a little rusty. He nodded when she asked if he was a hunter. He looked her over again and he tried to figure out what she might be. He really didn't think she was a hunter -- she made too much noise. She could possibly be an explorer seeing as how she was out wandering around the forest. Or maybe a watcher, judging from the knife on her hip. "Obse... watcher?" Was that the right word?
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5'4
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Exurbia
Offline
45 Posts
Played by Babs
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Post by JJ Whitlow on Sept 16, 2016 20:02:25 GMT -5
JJ nodded as he confirmed that it was a trap. She studied the trap again, pondering how it worked. JJ figured that she could hunt if she really had to but it would be more luck than skill. This theory was further confirmed as she tried to imagine coming up with something as sophisticated as the fish trap. JJ was great at fighting and great at guns but she wasn’t particularly innovative otherwise. With a few short steps, JJ moved to sit on a rock. ” Hello.” She echoed with a smile as she settled on her rock.
She wasn’t surprised when he confirmed that he was a hunter. Knowing that he was one of the people bringing in food made JJ less worried that she was going to starve. He looked like he had it together on the catching food front. Her eyes moved to the river and the surrounding woods and JJ didn’t notice that he was studying her. She looked back towards him as he spoke again. She nodded at his question, “Yep. I was in the Army back on Earth so being a Watcher was in my line of work.” She offered by way of explanation.
”Where did you learn to hunt?” She questioned. JJ always found it interesting to know where people had learned the skills that made them so valuable on PE.
JJ’s head suddenly whipped towards the tree line again as she heard what she thought was a loud cracking noise. She stared intently at the trees for a moment, swearing that she was being ridiculous. But then, she wasn’t sure she was being ridiculous since they were on a new planet and who knew what was out there. @tony | NOTES |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 18, 2016 17:42:24 GMT -5
Antonio Ortega
Tony watched the woman as she moved to sit on one of the rocks nearby. He hadn't thought she'd stick around, but he was actually pretty pleased that he did. Petra Exterior was pretty lonely when you didn't have any friends or family there with you, so he was open to meeting new people and making friends ... so long as they could handle his broken English. It didn't seem to bother JJ, though, and a faint smile curved the corners of his mouth upward. His head dropped and he went back to work on his trap, eager to finish it and get it soaking so he could check it the following morning.
He glanced up at JJ, but continued to work when she answered his question. It took him a minute to sort through everything she had said so he could gain an understanding -- she was a soldier back on Earth. He couldn't say that he was surprised by that, he didn't think any normal citizen would be a watcher. Soldiers, yes. Police, yes. Hell, even the secret service would probably take up the whole watcher gig when they made it to PE. Maybe even some thugs that wanted to exercise the power to tell people what to do and make them follow orders.
"Méjico." He answered when she asked where he'd learned to hunt. "For familia." He tried to explain. "Hunt for food." He stopped short, though, because he heard the same loud crack in the woods behind them that JJ had. Given the way she'd spun to look in that direction Tony knew that she'd heard it to. He gently put the trap aside, stood, then turned to look at the trees, wondering if it was another person or if something was stalking them. He frowned and glanced toward JJ. He wanted to investigate to see what it was and if it could be hunted, but JJ was the watcher so he'd let her take the lead on this one.
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5'4
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Exurbia
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45 Posts
Played by Babs
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Post by JJ Whitlow on Sept 19, 2016 20:32:45 GMT -5
 A s he didn’t seem to mind her presence, JJ settled more firmly on to her rock - which lets be real, was not very comfortable. When he answered her question, she focused her eyes intently on her. She nodded her understanding. ” Big family?” She questioned. Though of course, then there was the loud crack and JJ quite forgot that she had even asked the question. She stood just after he did, her hand instinctively grasping for the knife she wore at her belt. Her hands also grasped for the gun that should be at her belt as well but wasn’t there and she grumbled under her breath. She glanced towards Antonio, unsure if he was going to come with her. Regardless, JJ needed to know what the loud crack had been caused by. Even as her mind conjured all sorts of horrors she began walking towards the sound. Though she was certainly not silent, JJ tried her very best to be quiet as she progressed towards the tree line and the source of the sound. Her heart was pounding in her chest, but if JJ were being honest, this was what she lived for. JJ generally moved towards scary noises, not in the opposite direction. She freed the knife, and held it at her side, pointed down but ready to be used if need be. As she moved towards the trees, JJ looked back towards Antonio. tags: @tony
crafted by Molly Josephine ☁ |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 4, 2016 10:47:08 GMT -5
Antonio Ortega
Tony stared for a second when JJ asked if he had a big family. From the way he had said he needed to hunt to keep his family fed he supposed it was natural to assume that he'd had a big family, but it was far from the case. Both of his parents had been drunks that were more worried about spending the little bit of money they had on alcohol than keeping their children fed. He gave a slight shake of his head. "Dos hermanas." He said but then he stared at JJ because he'd been given the impression that she didn't know much Spanish. "Two seesters." He clarified.
He could have, very contentedly, sat there and indulged in small talk with JJ while he weaved his fish basket, but that was before they'd both heard something moving around in the forest behind them. He allowed JJ to take the lead since she was the watcher, but had she declined he would have moved ahead of her without any protest. Tony was cautious as he walked along behind JJ, constanrly looking along the treeline as if he expected something to burst forth and rush at them, and part of him did expect that. He hadn't kidded himself into thinking that there weren't any dangerous animals lurking.
"Cuidadoso." Tony murmured as he moved up so that he was walking beside JJ. He motioned to the thick brush that suddenly seemed to be much thicker and ominous now that they knew something was moving around them. He had pulled the knife from the sheath on his belt when they'd entered the forest and now his grip on it tightened as he crept forward. HIs gaze fell to the ground and he paused, head tilting as he looked down at a set of tracks that he was positive hadn't been there when he'd come through a little while earlier. "Hey.." His voice was hushed as he called to JJ and when she looked he motioned her over to where he now crouched. "Big." He murmured as he compared the size of the track to his hand.
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translation:
Dos hermanas - two sisters
Cuidadoso - careful
TAG: JJ Whitlow / NOTES: let me know if i need to edit |
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5'4
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N/A
Exurbia
Offline
45 Posts
Played by Babs
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Post by JJ Whitlow on Oct 4, 2016 20:06:31 GMT -5
J J turned her gave at his murmur - she didn’t know what it meant exactly, but from his tone she was assuming it was some variation of “be careful.” Her eyes traveled to the knife in his hands for a split second, and JJ was glad to see that he was armed - though, since he was a hunter, JJ supposed she shouldn’t be surprised that he was packing. Her heart was pounding her chest, and she felt suddenly very alive. She nearly walked in to the tracks, but stopped at the last second, reacting to Tony’s voice. Her gaze followed where he motioned and JJ’s eyes grew larger at the size of the tracks. She moved towards him, crouching down as she did so to study the tracks closer. ” Holy..” JJ trailed off, holding her own hand up to compare it to the tracks. She was no expert - but JJ would guess that whatever made those tracks was huge. She opened her mouth to make another comment to Tony when another loud crunch made her look up. Standing there, about 15 feet in front of them was a five foot tall, brown and white splashed bear - in fact it looked just like a paint horse except in a bear’s body. The bear creature studied her with blue eyes as it chewed thoughtfully on some leaves. JJ’s mouth gaped open as her gaze traveled upward to see a gigantic rack of antlers situation atop the bear-creature’s head. She could see moss dangling from the tines of of the antlers. “ What the hell is that...” JJ said softly, her hand still splayed out above the large bear-creature track. She looked over to Tony and then back at the bear-creature which was still contentedly chewing leaves as it studied them. Behind the antlered creature, JJ could see a few other bears of various sizes chomping away - though they lacked antlers. tags: @tony
crafted by Molly Josephine ☁ |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2016 22:07:29 GMT -5
Antonio Ortega
Tony stayed crouched as he studied the tracks. They looked remarkably like bear tracks, but he was willing to bet all of his meager possessions that the creature wasn't as simple as a bear. Nothing on Petra Exterior so far had been simple, so he was sure that the wildlife followed suit. He gave a slight nod of his head when JJ expressed her own surprise at the size of the track. "Big." He repeated, the corners of his mouth pulling down into a frown. He would have thought that something so big would have left more of a trail. More snapped twigs, branches even, and bears clawed trees sometimes... his gaze lifted and he looked at the tree around them, but didn't immediately pick out any claw marks. So ... maybe "bears" on PE had different habits. He sighed and looked back down at the track.
The loud crunch made him look back up and standing there, way too close for comfort, was a .... bearthing. He was frozen in place, his mouth slightly ajar as he stared at the strange looking creature. It had the body of a bear, which the hunter in Tony knew the hide would be good for clothes and blankets, and the meat could feed several people for a few weeks. What he found to be extremely odd was the antlers situated on top of the creature's head, but again, the hunter in him knew that those could be used as well.
"I ... don't know." Tony replied in response to JJ's question. He seriously doubted she expected him to know what it was, but he'd felt the need to speak. He didn't like it, though. It was too bit and it had antlers for gouging and claws for, well, clawing. Ever so slowly, he reached for the hand that JJ had splayed above the track, his fingers wrapping firmly around her wrist. "Vamanos." He whispered as he rose slowly from his crouch so he could draw them both away from the massive creature.
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translation:
Vamanos - let's go
TAG: JJ Whitlow / NOTES: let me know if i need to edit |
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5'4
29
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Exurbia
Offline
45 Posts
Played by Babs
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Post by JJ Whitlow on Dec 8, 2016 22:54:56 GMT -5
J J was still gaping at the creatures as she crouched there. She barely even heard Tony answer her question - not that she had really thought he was going to answer. The bears meandered, or rather lumbered about in the background. The one that was closest to her continued to chew and study her unabashedly. She had been completely unprepared for Tony to touch her, and she jumped a bit. She stood slowly, and took a step backwards just as the bearthing took a step towards her. Keeping her eyes on the bear, which was now closer, JJ began slowly backing away. her heart was pounding in her ears and every inch of her body was tingling with excitement and also a little bit of terror. JJ continued backing up, keeping her front facing the bears until she was finally out of the trees and back in to the clearing. Her shoulder relaxed and she let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. She turned to look at Tony and grinned. ” Well that was cool.” Her mind turned back to the encounter and she tried to burn the image in to her head so she would be able to tell others later. ” Those bear-deer-things didn’t seem too aggressive. “ She added, looking over at Tony again. tags: @tony
crafted by Molly Josephine ☁ |
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