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Post by Corliss Makwa on May 12, 2009 18:13:44 GMT -5
The sun was just starting to set over the mountains of Forks Washington, shedding its last breams of light across the land before twilight crept over the forests. It was the time for the night creatures to wake, the fireflies to dance, and the world to take a deep breath of relaxation. The hussle of the day was at rest, and people often turned in, watching TV or going to a movie, or even reading in bed. A time for family and small guilty pleasure.
But seeing her family was thousand of miles away, nestled in the small state of RI, she didnt have anyone to go to. Her mother would probably be watching TV, guessing along with the game shows or commenting like a critic on musical preformances of American Idol. Her father would still be at work, collecting the two dollar toll that seemed to get higher every year. Part of her wished she was there, snuggled on the couch watching the hopeful trying to sing there way to stardom. But she was pleased where she was.
Her husband would have been rather put out if he knew where she was. He never set rules, that she had to stay in La Push, but he thought her days of wondering were long over, settled and packed away in the new home that they shared. But she couldnt just sit and look over everything she had already seen, so her feet had found there way along the road, camera in hand as she walked from La Push to the Forks border, crossing the boundry of a old stone wall and entering the thick emerald green woods. Zak would be having kittens if he knew.
The trip wasnt a waste, she found some nice little sites to just relax at, and let the land inspire her. She happened across the river while leaving a local book store, her purchases tucked within her yellow backpack that now slept at her side. Corliss often had the habit of finding a place she liked, and just sitting there for hours on end. Letting the land talk to her, tell its story, and the world unfold to her. Her spot by the river was a large flat rock, still warmed by the earlier sun's heat. The trickling of the water over the smaller stones was soothing, and the rushing sound of the river was inviting.
The tourist was laying back upon the rock, her ankles crossed as she sometimes wiggled her toes within the hightop converse sneakers she always wore. Her jeans were worn and a comfortable boot cut fit. She couldnt stand the slutty hip hugging show your butt crack to everyone jeans that seemed to be popular. So most of the time she found herself shopping in the mens or teen boy section of stores. Her large neon orange sweatshirt was a gift from her father, knowing how she often liked to treck within the woods. He knew she would love the color, and hell it would keep her from getting shot by hunters. The girl looked out of place within the middle of nature, her arms folded behind her head as she watched the first stars come out to play for the night.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 18, 2009 15:37:18 GMT -5
-<=Elsewhere in the Forest=>- "Look Maya, how many times do I need to say I'm sorry?" Jerith wasn't angry, and he hoped Maya wasn't really either. After the plan to hang out on his last day off had been interupted by having Leah imprint on him, he thought he owed her more than just and apology. So he planned a make-up outing for him and his cousin. He really hoped she was just teasing him, because she seemed to bring up Leah up alot.
'Just thinking about her makes my heart race. I can almost smell her scent.' Jerith had promised it would be just him and Maya today. He grinned to himself, knowing that Leah would show up at the tower later that night.
He stopped at a fork in the tral to rest a minute and drink from his canteen.
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Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 19, 2009 8:50:12 GMT -5
Maya trudged on through the woods next to her cousin wearing a pair of worn skinny jeans tucked into brown leather boots with a gray sweater over her un-tucked plaid button down. Her long wavy hair was tied with a leather strap and she wore a chunky pair of fingerless gloves that belonged to their late grandfather when he was in the coast guard.
She wasn't MAD so much as surprised and confused by the almost instantaneous attraction between Jerith and her new friend Leah. It was so strange and she wasn't prepared to "give up" her new friend AND favorite cousin in one day. Besides, with the whole Duncan situation this was all starting to seem somehow connected. She had no idea HOW or WHY, but it just felt too strange to be a coincidence.
She sighed as she stepped over a fallen tree. "I know... I know... You can't help it... it's like something came over you... I KNOW!" She said echoing everything he'd been going on about that afternoon. And she did know, she had felt similar things about someone as well. Instead of giving in she pulled away though, tried to resist. How long could she stay away though? The magnetism pulling them together was so strong it felt unreal but at the same time so natural. She couldn't explain it.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 19, 2009 9:22:17 GMT -5
Jerith pulled his flannel shirt off over his head and tied it around his waist. His t-shirt was sweat through around the neck and down his back. His jeans were a favorite pair; comfortably broken in and fitted enough he didn't look sloppy. He raised his leg up and sat his foot on a stone so he could tighten his boot laces.
"Hey, you have been listening." His face cracked into a silly grin. Both of them being only children and born so close to each other, their relationship was like siblings, who could actually get along.
And something didn't seem right with Maya, and Jerith knew it. "Whatever happens, nothing changes us, we're family." He offered her the canteen. "Is there something else...on your mind?"
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Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 19, 2009 9:54:48 GMT -5
Maya stopped and took off her gloves, shoving them in her back pocket and looking up into the canopy above. He could always see right through her. There was no hiding things from him, but she of course still tried.
She bit her lip, "I don't know... everyone around here is just so different now.." She said cryptically. Jerith was like a brother, and talking about "boys" with him just felt weird. She didn't know if he would press the issue, but if he did she would be able to bring herself to talk about it. She brought her back mentally to Duncan's kitchen table, the things they had talked about, the feels that had come over her. She still didn't fully understand them. How were things so clear to Leah and Jerith and yet so confusing for Maya and Duncan? She wished she could ask her cousin, but she just couldn't. Not yet at least.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 19, 2009 10:39:18 GMT -5
As they started off again, Jerith grabbed the branch that was hanging low and pushed up on it so he could walk under it. He held it for Maya, but she was more than half a foot shorter than him, so she could have walked under without help.
"I've been gone since I was ten, so everything is diffrent. Course you are still shorter than me." He made a face and did a quick step back to avoid the swing at his head that he knew would be coming. He hoped that playful banter would be enough to distract her from what ever it was that bothered her.
The trail started down, in the direction of the river. The trail was rough, with places where they had to climb down, holding on to exposed roots that made make shift foot holds in the washed out bare earth. "But yes, I know what you mean. Is there someone...I mean..." He didn't know what he was trying to say. Was she inexplicably drawn to some random guy that she had only just met? Did she get a wierd feeling in her heart when she wasn't around him, like some part of her was missing
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Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 19, 2009 11:07:35 GMT -5
She shrugged. She had been on the rez until she was 19 and then left for only a couple years before she returned home. But it seemed so much had changed in just those couple years. They walked along and she started at the lush green forest floor of the Fork's park. The forests here were so much greener and thick than the ones on La Push.
He asked if there was someone and she rolled her eyes. It was pointless to try and hide anything round him. How did he always know? "I don't know... Maybe... Not really though..." She said going from one answer to the other as she had been doing in her own head for days now. The gloves in her back pocket bounced as walked down the uneven trail.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 19, 2009 11:49:43 GMT -5
Jerith knew what that answer meant. He decided to let her come to it on her own, made things easier to explain once you had all the pieces already. "Just be careful cousin, guys are only after one thing...or so I'm told" He had to look away so he wouldn't betray himself and what happened after she had left him and Leah alone the other day.
They came out on the rocky edge of the river, where it had carved a path through the stone and ran down the mountains
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Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 19, 2009 12:04:22 GMT -5
She scowled at him as he tried to do the over protective brother thing. He was older than her by only a couple of months, but he never let her forget it. "Not ALL guys..." She said under her breath. She felt strangely protective of Duncan, he wasn't like all the other guys she had been with, not that she was with him of course. She didn't know why she felt the need to defend him either.
As they came out into break in the trees the evening light broke through onto her, bathing them both in moonlight. The fall air was cool and a breeze rolled through. She inhaled deeply letting the fresh air flush through her lungs and back out her nose.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 19, 2009 12:23:58 GMT -5
Jerith ignored her comment and opened his backpack and pulled a set of test tubes from inside. He used one to scoop some water from the river and added a drop of solution to test it. He was checking for pestisides in the water, one of many projects he had planned while he was out in the tower for a season.
He pulled out his camera and photographed a set of tracks in the mud near the water's edge. "These are oddly large for a wolf." he said quietly. He took a ruler and laid it alongside and photographed it again.
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Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 19, 2009 12:37:30 GMT -5
She opened her eyes and glanced down at the riverside where Jerith was examining the tracks. She shrugged "Mountain lion? Bear?" She offered. Even after the animal attacks a few years ago the potential dangers of the woods still didn't phase her. Jerith had always been the investigator when it came to nature related things. Maya was usually content to just let things be, until now of course.
The print did look large, and dog-like, but she was no expert. She probably wouldn't have though twice about it if she had been on her own.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 19, 2009 13:04:41 GMT -5
"Shape is all wrong for a bear, or lion. Definately canine, but it would have to be the size of...small horse." Jerith looked around nervously. He could be wrong of course. Better keep gathering data till he had something solid. If such a thing was running around in the woods, it could be a threat to the locals.
"Let's move down stream some, there is a nice flat spot near the falls, we can rest and eat."
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Post by Maya Lisette Song on May 19, 2009 13:23:59 GMT -5
Maya nodded, still ignoring the foot print. Jerith seemed concerned, but she didn't think much of it. Besides, the day pack on her back was starting to feel a little heavy. They had packed some of her fry bread and preserves for a light dinner before heading out. She had been surprised to find it untouched when she returned to the tower. She was sure he would devour it all in one night like he used to as a kid.
Before starting off down to edge of the river Maya slipped off her shoes and held them in one hand, moving to the edge and walking over the smooth stones on the bottom for the river, the water just barely covering her ankles. She wondered if Jerith remembered how their grandfather used to take them on barefoot hikes.
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Post by Jerith Song on May 19, 2009 13:39:01 GMT -5
He smiled to see her walking in the river, barefoot. It had been a long time since he had walked like that. He wasn't sure his feet could handle it the way he could when he was younger. "Glad to see you can still do that."
They came down to a large flat rock and Jerith sat his bag down carefully. He took off his boots and socks and put his feet over into the water, enjoying the cold chill that ran up his spine.
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Post by Corliss Makwa on May 25, 2009 11:23:44 GMT -5
Her peace in the woods was disrupted by a conversation between ither a couple, or a brother and sister. It seemed that even in the middle of the woods it was impossible to find peace and quiet. Rolling her eyes, she sat up and glanced over her shoulder. Looking down the path, she could see the faint figures of the pair talking and arguing
She wasnt in the mood for a conversation, she wasnt in the mood for anything really. After blowing up on the poor girl Isabella, and then nearly ripping into Zaks heart and asking him to move, she was making all the mistakes possible. She didnt need to make any more.
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