Dinner for Two

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The first day of their journey had passed, and Jaga was almost completely unimpressed by her team. Almost. 

They'd picked a camp spot for the night, and after setting up tents, Jaga slipped away from the group to see if she could find something better than the dried meat in her pack to eat. There wasn't enough of those rations for more than a week, and fresh meat would be more satisfying. After maybe forty minutes, she was about to give up, thinking her group was making too much noise, but she sighted a rabbit. She sent an arrow it's way, killing it instantly.

It wasn't enough for their group to share, but Jaga wasn't babysitting Skaikru, or the Trikru grounder who seemed too friendly with Wanheda. Not when they had their rations.  Instead she carried it back to their small camp, finding Tomac by the fire. Normally a rabbit this size might feed three people, but Tomac was massive. He could probably eat more than the rest of them put together.

She dropped the rabbit on the ground in front of him. "You know how to skin it, I'll share it," she said in Trigedasleng. She knew everyone here, except maybe the small Skaikru boy, knew her language, so she wasn't trying to disguise what she was saying. She was just more comfortable with Trigedasleng.

Tag: @tomac

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Tomac remained as unimpressed now as he had when he first saw his team. The small Skaikru boy had some skill, speaking in a language that Tomac did not understand because it was not English. Some Skaikru gibberish but then, that was his purpose here. To use that strange contraption. Tomac's interactions with the others was limited. Jaga was another that he saw great use with. She was their designated scout, and she knew the area. He tended to walk alongside her more than the others. It wasn't just her height that made her more competent and it wasn't even the fact that Tomac didn't have to strain his neck to look at her -- unlike the others. But she had actual skill. That, Tomac could see true value in. As they set up camp for the night, he sat on a broken tree stump, just watching everyone get settled, occasionally throwing sticks in the fire.

Suddenly, a rabbit was thrown on the ground in front of him. He looked to see Jaga, speaking in their shared language, saying that if he skinned it, she would share it. He didn't fail to notice that the offer was not made to the others. Which suited him just fine. Skaikru ate shit food. So they could keep their disgusting rations for themselves. Tomac, pulled out his blade and picked up the rabbit by the ears. "I am better with fish," he responded in Trigedasleng, as he attempt to start ripping it apart . . . and not very well. "If we were by water, we would not be hungry." He continued to speak in their language, casting a deadpan glare at their leader before turning to Jaga. He missed the water, and clearly he was a little bitter that they were constantly surrounded by woods.

Tag: @jaga

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Fish. Tomac was probably either Floukru or Lakekru then. Floukru, most likely, since Lakekru would still be landlocked and have other options. Jaga was mildly disappointed to find out he wasn't a warrior, but she wasn't one either. And he didn't seem bothered that she clearly wasn't sharing her catch with the rest of the group, so maybe they didn't have his sympathies. It was enough for now. "We aren't hungry," she pointed out. "They are." Skaikru and the other Grounder could eat their pathetic dried meat the entire mission for all Jaga cared.

She watched him poorly try to skin the rabbit until she thought he might ruin the meat. "Pathetic. Move over," she said, her lips curling just slightly. The stump was large enough for them both, and she wasn't sitting on the ground next to him, positioning herself lower than him. Once she was seated, she took the rabbit and started making quick, efficient work to skin it. "You don't look like how I imagined Floukru," she said without looking up at him, betting she was correct in her assumption.

Tag: @tomac

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That much was true. Though why she was sharing with him, he still didn't know. Nor was he going to directly question it. "They are already a pitiful size," he stated, referring specifically to Skaikru. While he had seen others who looked more built, the ones they were now grouped with were tiny. He was unfazed when she insulted him and he shifted over to give her some space as she took the rabbit and started skinning it. She was clearly familiar with such things. And she was their scout for a reason. "How did you think Floukru would look?" He questioned, his tone not sarcastic because, well, Tomac didn't exactly appreciate sarcasm. Not overly engage in it. He also confirmed that her assumption was correct; and that he was indeed from Floukru.

"Why did you come?" He asked her, curious as to what her reasons were when she seemed like someone who was used to doing things alone. That was just an assumption on his part. He was here on behalf of his leader; to represent Floukru. He was one of those who was a former warrior, and as Luna's second, it made sense. But he was curious, as to what her own reasons were. His eyes fell to her hands, watching her skin the rabbit. His first impressions of her was that she was tall but skinny. Yet, she proved to be resourceful . . . more than the others perhaps. Besides, at least she was easier to talk to than those he was equally unfamiliar with. For that, Tomac was not at all rejecting of her company. He was even engaging in conversation, willingly. That was something.

Tag: @jaga

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Jaga continued to work on the rabbit, nodding at his comment about them being a pitiful size. She was skinny herself, but she wasn't small. Their other faction members were both thin and small. She lifted an eyebrow when he asked what she thought Floukru would look like, but she answered honestly. "Weak." There wasn't really judgment in her voice. Her tone was mater of fact. She knew some former warriors ended up there, and Tomac sure looked like a warrior, but if they weren't fighting, why wouldn't they get weak?

Her jaw tensed a little at his next question, but she looked around them for a stick to skewer their meal. "Skaikru killed my whole family," she said, a touch of anger seeping into her voice. Technically, the Mountain Men had killed Jaga's brother and father, but Jaga felt like TonDC had been targeted because it had been crawling with Sky People at the time. "I won't let them kill me by exclusion." She was lucky, she realized, that a group of Trikru had found her on her own in the woods before this mission set off. Otherwise, she wouldn't have known anything about what was happening at all.

Tag: @tomac