don't panic || cassie

[Hiero Ibsen]

Time starts becoming rather immaterial the longer one finds themselves wandering in aimless circles, and even the smallest things start to become overwhelmingly interesting. Such was the case with Hiero as he passed the same tree stump for what was very likely the one-hundred-twentieth time. It was a very individual sort of tree stump, with very distinctive peeling bark, very distinctive ants and other insects crawling all over it, and -- "Ugh, nope. Screw this." Throwing his hands skyward and twirling on his heel, Hiero tipped backward and fell into the decaying leaves littering the forest floor. A frustrated huff exploded from his chest, followed closely by an equally frustrated whine. He'd been at this since dawn, walking in god-forsaken circles, not knowing a damn thing about anything in or about this place. The thought of seeking out other people in here and asking for help or companionship was an idea he'd quickly dropped around Day 2 of his new residency in the dome, when he'd observed a man shift into a tiger and viciously rip the throat out of a deer. He could only hope it was just a plain deer - the thought of it having another, more human-esque form was an idea he refused to entertain. Not that that changed much. The point of the matter was that Hiero was firmly convinced he was surrounded by savage things in an unforgiving environment, and he was absolutely not equipped to handle it. Tangling his fingers through the dark curls of his hair, Hiero stared up through the tree branches toward the expanse of grey-blue beyond. Thick blankets of dark grey had blotted out the sunlight for most of the day, but it looked as if they might just be clearing out now, at least for a little while. Little pockets of sunlight were even beginning to break through the cloud cover - a promising sign to be sure. It had been approximately one week since he'd woken up in this place, completely unawares, and more than a little upset. He supposed he could say afraid as well, but it was a feeling he neither wanted to acknowledge nor admit he was experiencing in the first place. So he was upset, stressed, and absolutely aimless in what he felt he should be doing with himself. "Scout camp didn't prepare me for this at all..." Muttering under his breath, Hiero's eyes drifted closed, hands relocating to rest atop his chest. It was a highly vulnerable position, and he knew it, but he just couldn't quite find the motivation to care. At least until he heard the distinct sound of rustling underbrush nearby. Eyes snapping open and scrambling into a crouched position all within a few seconds' time, Hiero stared unblinkingly in the direction of the sound. It felt like there were sparks of static in his underused muscles, but the feeling went ignored as adrenaline washed over him. Creeping toward that friendly tree stump for a bit of cover and snatching at what he supposed was a sturdy enough stick to use as a weapon of mediocre merit, Hiero craned his head forward, brows furrowed. "Well, if you're gonna start shit with me, best make it quick. I have a pity party for one to get back to." --// yeeHAW I ACTUALLY MADE A POST!! anyway, let's throw these nerds at each other and get this show on the road~ B)))

[Cassie Reed]

C A S S I E | R E E D It seemed as though Cass had been running since she had gotten here. Where here was and where she was running didn’t matter much to her at this time – what mattered was getting from point A to point B alive and mostly un-eaten. That was the thing with having as small a shift as hers in a place like this; absolutely everything seemed to think that she would make a delightful, bite-sized snack – one that didn’t even require effort to hunt down! That is, of course, until she zipped right out from under their nose with a squeak and vanished into the undergrowth, scurrying over rocks and twigs and roots. Chinchillas were not cut out for forest, man. There was so much mud, and melting snow, and she’d nearly fallen in it about ten times. She’d heard there was a desert around here, somewhere, but hell if she could find it. Besides, it was occupied by people, and it appeared that most people around these parts were actually, literally terrifying. She wasn’t even being dramatic. They were. The girl generally always hid whenever approaching footsteps could be heard from..well, anyone, but listened in on whatever she could catch them saying. Whispers about places called rings, and …positions? Titles? With names like “scouts” and “medics”. What?! Cass was about ninety six point seven percent sure they weren’t some friendly boy scouts, either, nope, no way. She was certain she’d even heard fights breaking out not far from where she’d been resting the day prior. There’d been a lot of screaming, and sleep was not an easy thing to come by anymore. It felt like she’d been dropped directly into one of those dystopian novels that were a mandatory read in high school English class. And now, lo and behold, she was running again, this time from a massive honey badger that seemed hell bent on making her his next meal. It wasn’t as though he needed it, what with the size of him! Once she’d put enough distance between him and her, she managed to shift, and while the fact that she was human and that she’d grown by about ten times the size didn’t seem to be much of a deterrent for some reason, she was faster, and managed to outrun him until he finally, finally gave up, truddling off begrudgingly in a new direction. No doubt to terrorize some other poor creature, Cass thought moodily. She didn’t slow down, didn’t dare, until about five minutes later when the cramp in her side finally caught up with her. For all this running, her body was sure pissed at her because of it, and she took a moment to catch her breath, hands on her knees and panting. When her heart began to resume its pace of Not Going to Die, she straightened up and pushed her auburn hair back, squinting against the filtered sunlight to see the path ahead. Endless stretches of forest, and more forest. Perfect. Exactly what she’d been hoping for. A mosquito buzzed in front of her face, and she whacked it away irritably with a hand; they’d already drank enough of her blood to have a goddamn feast, and they needed to chill. That blood was in her to live, not give. Well, at least not to mosquitoes, the greatest natural bane in existence. Top nearly getting eaten twice in one day off with said bites and a mild but irritating sunburn that covered three quarters of her entire body (seriously, where. Was. The sunscreen. Who was hoarding it, and what did she have to trade to get some), and Cassie was not a happy camper. If you could call her one, it’s not like she had a tent to even sleep in. Or food. She really missed food. Like Chinese takeout, or a strawberry milkshake with a burger and fries and….her stomach gurgled in the typical sad fashion it had adopted since she’d been thrown into the dome. With a deeply disgruntled sigh, the girl carried on her wayward path at a jog, making no effort to hide her footsteps, mostly because she didn’t know how and figured that if anything else wanted a piece of her, they’d just let her know. And that is, of course, exactly what happened precisely fifteen minutes later. Cass froze, mouth agape in surprise, fear and….irritation, as the words sunk in. Why was everyone so rude around here?! Fed up, she emerged from the bushes with her hands on her hips and a frown curving her mouth, gaze snapping quickly between the boy’s face and the stick he was holding. She raised her hands, then let them drop to her sides again, unable to keep away the slight edge of sarcasm from her voice. “This is me, starting shit by letting you know that not even that stick is going to keep me away from resting here. I’m sorry for interrupting your pity party, though. By all means, return to it.” The girl huffed out a breath, shoulders relaxing, and cautiously crept over to a nearby rock, perching on it. Her muscles were aching in protest, and she reached down to poke at one of her calves, watching him warily every now and then out of the corner of her eye. Finally, whether it was out of the need to fulfill the awkward stretch of silence, dismantle some of her loneliness, or a weird combination of both, she finally said, “I’m Cassie, if you wanted to know.” ooc; EHEHEH….Cass doN’T BE STARTING SHIT MAN, C’MON. LIVING LIKE WE’RE R E N E G A D E S