Acid Fog

[Malia]

Wind blowed fiercely from every direction. Leaves tumbled in the air as the wind dragged them, and my plans of a calm solo hunt, along with it. Sighing in frustration, Malia stepped lightly through the tangled grass and loosened her grip on her spear. She hoped that the game her warriors had hunted earlier would be sufficient enough to feed the whole village. She considered turning around, but decided against it. While it would be dangerous walking below swaying branches---in case they were to come loose---she didn't want to give up so easily. Call her stubborn, but she wanted to catch something for Mia Te Mak. She needed this hunt. Sometimes staying in the village made her feel a bit caged, and this was one of those times. Cautiously keeping one eye at the treetops and the other in front of her, she continued to make her way through the forest.

Tags: Leiana

[Leiana LaCroix]

Panic quickly overcame logic when Leiana realized she'd wandered too far from the others. She shouldn't have come with them--it was stupid and dangerous but she was so sick of being stuck at camp. She had been a prisoner to her fears on the Ark, then a prisoner again when she was arrested, and then once more to the camp. She wanted a little freedom. But this might have been too much.

The wind was picking up and she could smell moisture in the air--a prelude to the coming storm. Now that she'd been on the ground for a while, and having taken Earth Skills on the Ark, she knew that the wind tended to carry the rain in and it wouldn't be long until it was on them. And as if to make matters worse, it was getting dark too. There was no way she would make it back before nightfall.

Shit. This is bad. Her panic increased as she moved nosily through the trees. She was trying to move quickly and trying to stay low to avoid grounders and wild animals alike. There had to be a cave or something nearby; somewhere she could take shelter for the night before trying to find camp in the morning.

Tag: Malia
Notes: Sorry for the delay in replying!

[Malia]

After trudging through the forest for a while, Malia finally allowed herself to recognize that she wasn't going to catch anything anytime soon. She was just about to make the trip home, when the wind suddenly changed. She looked up at the bit of sky that peeked through the tangle of leaves above and saw that its colour had changed. Birds screeched and flew away from the approaching ominous clouds of orange. Acid fog. A wave of panic washed over her and her heart started to beat erratically. She wouldn't be able to make it to Mia Te Mak (her village) in time. Luckily, there was a small cave nearby. Malia took off in the direction of the cave, worried frantically about her Clan, hoping that they would all be able to reach shelter in time. The orange fog chased after her as she finally made it to the cave's entrance. Ducking inside, Malia scrambled to the furthest side from the opening. Acid fog didn't tend to enter caves---this she knew, as she had experienced acid fog many times before, but always with her warriors, never before alone. Malia took a deep breath and searched blindly through her bag to find her flint and steel to start a fire. It was nearly pitch black, and the smoke would escape to the entrance, not cloud up, trapped, in the cave. Finding some tinder also, she striked the flint against the steel until it sparked, the tinder catching fire. Light spread through the cave faintly, and Malia searched the ground to find something to make the fire bigger. While she knew that it could take acid fog hours to days for it to leave, she hoped that it wouldn't take long for it to clear up. She was a bit claustrophobic, and being trapped in a small cave for a while could cause her to panic.

Tags: Leiana

[Leiana LaCroix]

Leiana hadn't seen the orange clouds approaching but had found the cave before the fog was upon her. She slipped inside, relieved to had found settle before the storm hit. Leiana walked slowly forward, her head on a swivel, looking out for dangers even through she had trouble seeing in the dark. Except it wasn't dark. And if she looked into the furthest corner of the cave there was a fire burning, and if she squinted hard enough she could see a figure seated at that fire. It was a woman whom was unfamiliar to the teenager.

For a long minute Leiana stood motionless, her mind blank as she struggled to process this realization. Leiana had known the the grounders frequented the forests but had never imagined running into one of them without the other delinquents. At least she was assuming it was a grounder. Crap. Panic shot through her once again but she remained motionless, trying to appear non-threatening. "Hello...?" There was a knife in her boot, if she could get to it without rousing suspicion then she at least stood a chance.

Tag: Malia

[Malia]

Malia snapped her head up when she heard and saw someone enter the cave. The person spoke English, so she didn't have to do much thinking to guess that she saw a Sky Person. She had heard from others that Sky People were dangerous, but she hadn't met one until now. In all honesty, she wouldn't criticize them until she'd witnessed their actions for herself.

Malia knew that while the acid fog was here, both of them wouldn't be going anywhere. She wasn't planning on harming the girl, but was the girl going to harm her? She had to be on guard, but Malia didn't need to be the one to jump to conclusions. Instead of acknowledging that there was another person in here, she kept her gaze on her fire, watching the girl out of the corner of her eye.

Tags: Leiana

[Leiana LaCroix]

For several long minutes Leiana didn't move, didn't say a word. She stared ahead, struggling to see the person seated at the fire. Her vision was blurred in the low light, a series of colors and shapes blending together. She could see that the person was small, feminine, entirely unfamiliar. "We don't have to fight." Leia spoke softly, keeping her voice low and gentle as to not cause anxiety. She moved forward one step at a time, allowing plenty of time for the woman to tell her to stop.

Leiana didn't want to move to fast, wanted to be prepared in case something happened. "We both need a place to stay for the night, until the storm settles, until the fog clears," she was hoping that pointing this out would help. They both needed to be here and there was no need for a fight. And yet she was ready for one, if that was what it came to. "I'm Leiana..."

Tag: Malia

[Malia]

Malia looked at the girl when she spoke. She already understood that there was no need for a fight. She didn't want one. And she wasn't planning on throwing the girl out of the cave into the acid fog, or killing her right here. She still listened, though, in case she said something fairly important. When the girl told Malia her name, she tapped her chest lightly with her fist, saying, "Malia," in a slightly accented voice.

Tags: Leiana

[Leiana LaCroix]

"Malia? It's nice to meet you." She was making small talk, trying to be friendly, to come across as non-threatening. Leiana hesitated for a moment longer, still not entirely convince that there wouldn't be a fight but when Malia didn't move away from her fire, or throw a spear, or shoot an arrow, she relaxed, if only slightly. She moved forward slowly and kept her hands up to show that she was unarmed and didn't pose a threat.

She sad down on the opposite side of the fire, her attention never leaving Malia for very long. Leiana was still tense, still expecting the worst of the worst. And could you blame her? After everything the grounders had done to the delinquents, almost killing Jasper, torturing John, practically poisoning them with some unknown virus? Yeah, the distrust was understandable. "Did you get trapped by the acid fog as well?"

Tag: Malia

[Malia]

Malia did not answer when the girl spoke. She kept her eyes on the sky girl, much like she was. She did not trust that she would not do anything to harm her. Not that it would get her anywhere. Malia was confident that she would win a fight against Leiana. She did not look particularly threatening and seemed as if she had no weapons.
Malia frowned slightly went the girl spoke again. If course she had been trapped by the acid fog. She did nor live here. But the girl would not know that. She did not know her. Still, Malia did not answer her. She moved a bit, tending to the fire while watching Leiana out of the corner of her eye.

Tags: Leiana

[Leiana LaCroix]

When Malia moved, even only slightly, so had Leiana. She flinched away from the woman, expecting an attack, one of her hands immediately reaching for the knife hidden in her boot but stopping before it could. Malia was sure to know she was armed know but it didn't matter right that second because the grounder woman wasn't attacking--she was stoking the fire. Leiana relaxed a little and let out a shaky breath as she moved back to her seat. The air was so thick with tension that a knife could carve through it.

It was stifling, making the cave uncomfortable and claustrophobic. There was no telling how long they would be stuck in here and Leiana thought they needed to as least try to get along. But that was proving to be difficult with Malia's selective mutism... or maybe she couldn't speak English... only grounder. "How... how long does the fog usually last?" She asked, trying to find something to talk about that wouldn't lead to a fight. "You have more experience with it then I do... is it usually a few hours, a day, a week?

Tag: Malia

[Malia]

Malia snapped her head up when the girl moved, her hand going to her spear automatically. She stared at her, tense and ready to move. But the girl did not seem to be attacking, rather just being jumpy from when Malia originally moved. She slowly lowered her hand, but kept her gaze on the Sky Girl. She moved a bit away from the fire, going further from the girl. She did not want to be anywhere near her. She pulled out a knife, and sharpened it using a stone, the shrill scrapping sound filling the cave. It was off to their ears, but she did not let that stop her from sharpening her knife, though the sound could be uncomfortable. She did not reply to the girl, scoffing internally. "Leiana" did not seem to know anything, at least about the acid fog. She did not feel the need to reply to her. She was good at this, keeping quiet around strangers. Nothing, not even torture, could make her talk.

Tags: Leiana

OOC: Sorry for the late reply.