As the sun rose the next day, Margaret Kane returned to the delinquent camp from where she had slept the night before. After talking to Murphy last night, she had thought that for a moment, perhaps the company of others might not be as bad as she had once thought. Of course this revelation wasn't going to make her talk to everybody who she could see, but it was definitely progress. The girl had unfortunately lacked many social cues as a result of her prolonged isolation so she was rather hesitant and unsure of John Murphy, and where the two stood with one another.
The girl managed to navigated her way around the camp, admiring the small civilisation they had all made so far, a wall had begun to be built and makeshift tents had been planted around the large drop ship. However her small and refreshed smile faltered at the stares she had received from just about everybody who came into her view. The girl shrunk into herself, beginning to feel embarrassed as she caught people whispering with their friends about her.
"Better luck next time, junkie." A boy called, before walking off with one of his friends who laughed and praised him for his words. Margaret lowered her gaze and had considered leaving camp once again but was caught off guard when the sound of gasps filled the air and a loud "oomph"followed by body hitting the ground. Snapping her head to the side where the sound had come from, Margaret couldn't help but let a giggle escape her lips, before quickly placing a hand over her mouth to hide the smile that had appeared.
John Murphy had stood over the boy who previously made the crude comment, his eyes flicking up to Margarets and sending her a wink.
"You wanna try that again?" Murphy challenged, finding joy as the boy beneath him stared upwards in fear.
"I-I'm sorry man, I didn't mean it." The boy stuttered, holding his hands in front of his face to avoid any potential blows.
"Yeah that's what I thought. Get out of here asshole."
Margaret could definitely admit... that was hot. She appreciated Murphy standing up for her, and all of the stares seemed to disappear, all she could see now was him.
The boy scrambled to his feet, nearly falling flat on his face as he did so, and rushed away from Murphy as quickly as he could. As soon as he was out of sight, Margaret finally let the laugh escape her lips, walking closer to John.
"That was... amazing." She gawked, standing awkwardly in front of him. "I don't think anybody's every stood up for me like that." Margaret was now smiling sweetly up at the boy who watched her intently. "Yeah well get used to it." Murphy spoke lowly, wrapping an arm around the girl as the began to walk with one another. "C'mon, me and a couple guys are doing some weapon training."
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Margaret sat crossed legged with her back against the tree as she observed Murphy's so called 'weapon training'. She played absentmindedly with the grass beneath her feeling a lot less of an outsider as she watched the boy in front of her poorly throwing knives around and gloating at any chance he could find.
John Murphy had taken off his jacket and now stood with a tighter long sleeve layered under a ratted blue t-shirt. She could make out his figure far better now, he was much slimmer than she had originally thought but still enough muscle on his arms to be considered brawn as apposed to lanky.
"Impressive." Margaret chuckled, as yet another small blade bounced off a tree and onto the ground rather pathetically.
He glanced at her playfully before retrieving his knife from the ground. He melted into a smile however when his eyes met hers and he wandered over to where she stood. "I doubt you could do any better, Kane." He challenged looking down at her seated figure with a childish grin plastered on his face.
"Is that a challenge? Because I'll have you know I am way too sophisticated for that." Though it might have sounded sarcastic out loud, the teen had meant every word she had said, she would not stoop to a level low enough to turn weapons into a sport.
Murphy reached down his hands for Margaret to take, hoisting her up so she was now standing with her back still pressed against the tree, and a lot less tentative than the night before, John Murphy had leant down and kissed the girl, she too feeling more natural and relaxed with her lips against his. Their blissful moment however was interrupted by a rather aggravated "Hey!" coming from behind them.
The two broke apart immediately, trying to play off their antics as naturally as possibly, only making things more obvious. Bellamy stood before them with his hands on his hips, glancing between the two and rolling his eyes as if to say 'I don't even want to ask.'
"I've heard you were quite the book worm on the ark. Is that true?" The elder Blake asked, directing his question at Margaret. "Well, I-uh" She stuttered but was stopped by Bellamy immediately cutting her off, giving her no time to reply.
"Look I need a tracker for a hunting party, you in or what?"
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Somehow, Margaret had caved and found herself out side of camp with a group of 6-7 boys, including Bellamy Blake. They were all decently spread out keeping an eye on the direction the Kane girl would lead them. Not a single word had left her lips since departing for the trip, she simply kept her head down and focused on tracking down any source of food. She had shivered as the breeze slightly picked up, regretting the decision to leave her jacket back at camp.
She had crouched down and brushed her fingers over some small yellow flowers that had been pressed into the ground, however they were dense and alive enough to indicate that whatever had trampled them was close. Confirming her suppositions, she snapped her head upward at the sound of a small twig snapping, a large boar stood oblivious to the group.
Margaret had crouched behind a bush watching the creature intently, the animal was not how she had imagined it when studying in Earth Skills. Feeling a presence next to her, Margaret turned to see Bellamy, and the rest of the group excitedly following behind.
"Shh.... She's mine." The Blake whispered, taxing aim with his makeshift throwing axe. "It's a he. Male boars have a steeper forehead and a sturdier snout." Margaret muttered under her breath rolling her eyes.
Before he could kill the beast however, another twig snapped from behind the party, panicking Bellamy, prompting him to throw his axe towards the new noise, hitting a tree and narrowly missing a small girl who gawked at the weapon that sat just besides her head.
The Kane watched the others run after the Boar but turned back to see Bellamy approaching the girl and retrieving his axe from the tree. She had revealed her name to be Charlotte and claimed she didn't want to stay at camp as a result of Jaspers screams. What really peaked Margarets interest however was when Bellamy knelt in front of her with a kind smile.
"...you can't hunt without a weapon." He said handing her a small knife. "Ever killed something before?" He asked.
'What was this man thinking, handing a child a weapon of any sort'? Margaret thought to herself, unable to decide whether his actions were kind and protective, or just plain stupid. "Who knows? Maybe you're good at it."
The group had continued on their journey a long side their newest addition; Charlotte. Very little was said as they continued to walk, hoping for anything after narrowly missing the Boar. Margaret kept her eye's trained on Bellamy deep in thought, she simply could not figure him out. His entire existence was just one big question mark... what are you hiding blake?
Everybody was now drenched in sweat and their pace had slowed as the day grew long. The hunt was proving to be unsuccessful and not nearly as exhilarating as everybody one anticipated. Margaret however, could not wipe the amused as credulous looks of her face. Earth truly was beautiful, and she would get distracted every second when she saw an unfamiliar flower or plant. She enjoyed being out in the wilderness and did not tire as the hours continued.
Jolted out of their thoughts however, a loud horn-like noise was heard off in the distance.Making Margaret stop in her tracks with knitted brows. Taking a few tentative steps closer, a thick yellow fog appeared in front of the group, who all now stood staring at the Kane girl in front of them. Reaching out her hand slowly, Margaret's skin was consumed by the quick paced fog almost immediately.
A hiss escaped her lips as she quickly pulled back her hand, holding it in front of her face dumfounded. Her once porcelain skin was now covered in burns and blisters that unforgivingly sent a wave of pain throughout her entire body. Stunned, she turned back to the group with her mouth agape. "Run." She whispered, before looking at each member of the group still trying to process what was happening. "RUN!"
"Come on! There are caves this way." Bellamy exclaimed, being the first to sprint off away from the fog, everybody else quick to follow suit.
Margaret could hear nothing but her rapid heart beat ringing in her ears and her heavy breathing as she ran. Her body was not used to this type of physical strain but she pushed forward, much preferring aching muscles than whatever lay in the fog.
Making the mistake of looking over her shoulder to see how far the fog was from reaching her, her foot caught on a stray rock sending her tumbling down, bringing a boy; Atom, to the ground with her. A string of curses escaped his lips as he rolled over. "I think you broke my ankle." He screamed trying his best to stand but failing as more pained cried escaped his lips. Without even sparing him a glance, Margaret got back to her feet and continued sprinting.
Now, her heart and her breathing weren't the only things she could hear. She could her Atom cursing her and his pained screams and pleas faded into the distance. Margaret had lost sight of the rest of the group, whipping her head from side to side as she continued jumping over rocks and branches, afraid for her life, running on nothing but adrenaline.
However, it seemed luck was on her side, or maybe it was just Bellamy Blake. Two strong arms grabbed the girl and lifted her off the ground, quickly carrying her into a dark cave and out of the acid fog. The Kane girl could not enjoy the relief of safety however as her hand a a large majority of her wrist was still in the most pain she had ever felt in her life. She continued to grunt and curse as Bellamy sat her down.
"You're okay." He assured her. "You're safe now." His reassuring words were cut short however once he was finally able to get a good look at her wound, widening his eyes and glancing up to the girls face. He looked down to his hands which where covered in the girls blood, his breath hitching.
Her blood was pure black.