Sang
The night went by uneventfully after getting meat from half of our 50 traps for supper we left the rest up till morning in hopes of a fresh breakfast. Victor had told the guys I could sing and that lead me to give a mini concert around the fire as I sung what songs I knew and the guys joined in just for fun before we headed to sleep. The morning trap check was just as successful as the night before and left us with 15 rabbits and 5 squirrels after the safe to eat check. We all happily gorged on the meat as we pleased, stuffing the rest into our bags to have for lunch when we got to our next camp.
We had just enough gas in the trucks tank for one more run after the guys got some out of an abandoned Chevy. The ride would take about two hours to cover over a hundred miles, about five days travel on foot so I didn't mind reaching Magnolia Springs state park early. Our trusty truck did it's best to get us there but it was running on fumes by the time it finally died on us, we were 2 miles short of the park but it was better than 20. I unloaded Nightmare from the trailer and loaded him up with our bags as we walked the rest of the way. I wasn't surprised when the guys even picked a campsite next to a huge oak tree for my benefit, even if they didn't mention it aloud I was thankful for the thought.
We were right next to a gorgeous lake with lots of fish and a number of waterfowl and I didn't mind the easy options for our dinner. I told North not to bother with snaring since we could have fish tonight and we all settled down to finish off the rabbits from this morning. Luke went to work practicing with his bow alongside North and Nathan as they aimed at marks in the tree bark, Nightmare was grazing nearby while I brushed Arrow's fur to his wolfish grin. A few of the boys went for firewood and I got to work enlisting the remaining guys to help me braid some vines.
It took a couple hours but we braided enough vines together for me to mesh them into a sort of net, I tied some rocks to the bottom as weights, then came the fun part. "Alright who wants to go for a swim?" I quizzed as I set my bow down by the bank and went to slip out of my shoes and pants, wearing swimwear under your clothes made things a lot easier. "I hope the water is f***ing freezing." Gabe muttered as he and the others started to strip down to their boxers, only Luke and Sean were banished to dry land. I was quick to toss my shirt on my pile of belongings as Arrow settled down to guard them while we worked.
"Okay I want everyone to grab hold of the top of the net at evenly spaced intervals and hold it at the waterline." I instructed as I toke my share of the mesh netting. It's about 16 feet long and although only three feet high it greatly increases the odds of catching fish. I guide the boys towards the waist high water as I instruct them to spread out across a small stretch of the pond. "Now what Trouble?" Gabe growls to my left and I snort. "I thought that was self explanatory Meanie, keep the net tight and walk it towards the bank as we cut this area off from the rest of the pond." I indicate as I slowly march forward with the net tightly in my grasp.
A few smaller fish jump over the net when they realize we've created a corral but they don't worry me, the boys however seem startled by the tiny little escape artists. The payoff for hours of braiding our net together shows as we get into the clearer shallows, a number of decent sized catfish and what appears to be some species of carp are frantically swimming in search of an escape from their watery prison. I order the boys to tighten the net and bring it on closer to the bank before getting North and Silas to join me in catching our dinner.
"Alright guys keep the net tight, step on the bottom if you have to because when we jump in there those fish are going to try getting out." I call over as I hop into the shallow and small netted area with North and Silas following my lead. From there its a free for all to grab the fish and throw them on the bank for Sean and Luke to deal a death blow, or cut with their blades. I start throwing fish as quickly as I can grab them but it takes a few tries for the two boys to figure out how it's done, the others shouting encouragement and strategy as we work. "North, you're supposed to catch the fish not become the fish!" I laugh out as he missed a particularly large carp and took a nose dive into the water.
"Tip boys, don't worry so much about holding onto them, it's more scooping them in your hands and using their own momentum to toss them out of the water." I chuckle as I demonstrate with the fish North missed, Luke quickly dispatches it on the bank. The technique seems to help them a bit as they start tossing fish a lot easier, once we've got enough I tell the guys to let the rest of the smaller fish go and to come on out of the water. "Well that was certainly entertainment Cupcake." Luke beams as we get to work gutting our catch and I'm glad of it. "Yeah it's fun too, when you know what you're doing." I grin back, sending a glance to a grumbly North and chuckling Silas.
Once the fish are gutted we stuff some lemongrass and herbs into them and close it in tightly before handing it over to Kota and Gabe to cook as I let Arrow have his share of the spoils. The herbs help season the meat while it cooks and once it's done the flavour is easily better than plain fish, and it shows how much by how the guys are gobbling down their shares. I wait untill everyone is finished eating before rinsing off in the shallow water and changing back into my shirt and jeans. The next couple of hours are passed with story telling and silly little games until it was dark enough for me to head up in my tree with Arrow to snuggle me in sleep, it was easy to get used to this kind of company.
Kota
The moment we knew Sang was asleep was when we decided to hold a hushed meeting around our campfire. I had greatly enjoyed spending time with her and learning to collect edible plants to help provide for my brothers, however I still was worried her fever would burn to life again any second. I had been so afraid of losing the bird in those tense hours but she had pulled through and by the looks of it wasn't having any lasting side effects from whatever had brought her fever on. The little bikini show today had been making it difficult to focus on anything other than her, and watching her dive in and out of a shallow pool for fish in said bikini didn't help.
I was just glad that I was tasked with helping keep the net tight rather than diving alongside her, North and Silas didn't seem to mind staring when they weren't tossing our food on the bank. "So anything new to report?" Mr. B asked lowly. "Outside of the fact that Pookie is back to perfect health and sleeping in our camp, I can report, she looks better in her bikini from any angle when she isn't burning alive with fever." Sean was grinning like crazy as Mr. B reprimanded him shortly. "She sings pretty amazingly for never taking lessons." Victor added in eagerly.
"She told Silas about a kid she tried to rescue years ago but the girl didn't make it." Nate murmurs sadly and I can only imagine her pain. Silas had given us an idea of what had happened from what Sang told him, knowing how caring she was she probably felt a great loss at the girls death even if they weren't related. "The very fact that she's opening up to us at all is a major improvement to the bird who didn't trust us and was willing to kill us if we posed a threat." North muffs. "I'd say she's still willing to kill us if she has to, but she'd at least feel bad about it... if she did." Luke sighs. I have to admit he's not wrong with how vigilant she's been when they're target practicing, ready to defend herself and her pets if necessary.
"I told her a bit about the base too, how birds take multiple husbands, and are treated decently unlike most places." Silas stated, I can't help but be curious and worried on her response. "Well what the f*** did she say?!" Gabe is quick to miss out as we await an answer. "She didn't seem to be bothered about the multiple husbands thing but she said she has no intention of giving up her freedom in the forest to become a breeder." Silas mutters and I find myself fiddling with my glasses at that term. "Well, that's one way of looking at it, but she would have her freedom, no one is forced to have kids if they are not ready to go so." Sean defended softly.
"So being honest who likes the bird or at least has some form of attraction towards her?" I ask somewhat curtly as my thoughts are confirmed by everyone admitting to my question. "So we all like Cupcake, but no one can be sure how she feels about all of us, or even if she might have the slightest interest in a relationship with our team?" Luke voiced on a groan. "Pretty much yeah, and she's still planning on splitting off when we get to Charleston." Nate huffs as he tosses a stick into the fire.
"We can't force her to stay with us but if she is so intent on carrying out her own tasks perhaps we can convince her to let us tag along and help." Mr. B brings his own idea to light and it is quick to be agreed upon. "Whatever happens after that we'll have to wait and see." I state solumnly to our group. "Take it all one day at a time, Aggele will come around when she's ready." Silas is the one to offer soothing comfort to our worries as we get ready for bed. "Sean and I have first watch, get as much sleep as you can, we're all on foot again tomorrow." Mr. B states as I settle down on my mat to rest, drifting off to the thoughts of special birds and edible berries.