Irissa turned her head as she heard Jethro approach. "Why good morning," he stated after he stopped admiring the stream. Iris rolled onto the balls of her feet and stood to glance back down to the stream. She cocked her head slightly as she surveyed the man, pursing her lips when she saw him take a swig from his flask.

"Drinking already, detective?" she asked and then gestured toward the stream with her chin. "Water's fresh. We should start clearing some of the forest a few way's away from the stream so we can set up a camp," she said, looking into the forest as she thought.

She patted her right pocket to be sure her newfound lighter was still there before she nodded to herself and surveyed the environment they were going to live in, at least until help came. Iris's mossy green eyes took in the hanging vines that wound through the treetops like spiderwebs. Speaking of spiderwebs, insect life was everywhere; in the trees, in the air, and on the forest floor. She recognized a few of the poisonous ones and made a mental note to tell Jethro about them later.

She frowned at the realization that they'd have to build their own temporary living space. Her mind whirled, as did she, because she turned to her right and spotted an animal trail. She knew the jungle was going to be dense wherever they went besides the stream, but she didn't want to take the chance of a thirsty animal stumbling upon them while they rested. A cave would be better, she figured.

"Alright. We don't have anything to clear-cut some of these trees so our best bet is to walk by the beach and see if we can find a bluff. We'll have to stay in the near vicinity of the stream, of course, but we can't camp here. If you want to try to follow the stream upward, we can try to reach the topmost point of the island, but I can't see the good that will do." She finished in a rush and looked at Jethro expectantly.

"What say you, detective?"

Jethro eyed the stream skeptically before sqatting down next to it and dipping his fingers inside. He brought some liquid up to his mouth, it tasted fresh enough, but then again it could always be some island creatures toliet. He stayed near the water an was aware of Iris prattleing on about something. He looked over at her and listened intenting smiling slightly as she rushed the ending.

"What say you, detective?"

He stood up and wiped his hand on his jeans. 'Well Cupcake, you have such a great plan so there no use arguing." He grinned slightly. He extended his arm and motioned out. "Lead on."

((Sorry for the fail XP Can't think))

Ooc; Tis fine. ;P

Bic;

Iris rolled her eyes at his remark to her 'plan'. She motioned toward his flask, grinning as she did so, and pointed to the stream. "We'll probably need to keep ourselves hydrated in this heat; as far as I know, alcohol doesn't really do that. Be a dear and fill those with water instead," she said. Though her voice was strong and unwavering, there was a touch of nervousness to her usually stinging words. She didn't want the man to be angry with her, no telling what he could possibly do to her.

She ran her thumb in circles on her right palm, something she's always had a habit of doing, before she turned away from him and began her trek back toward the shore. Her watchful eyes pinpointed the landmarks she'd kept in her memory to remember the way back; a mossy stone, a broken twig, and even a funny-looking branch helped her find her way back.

When she stepped out onto the beach, she was slightly surprised by the drastic change of forest floor to soft sand. Shaking her head and making her black hair swish slightly, she held up a hand over her forehead and squinted against the sunlight. She could see a few shadows at the end of the beach and she figured those would be a good place to start, seeing as they could be bluffs themselves.

"Hurry up, detective!" she shouted into the forest, not really sure where he was at this point.

Jethro raised an eyebrow when the girl pointed at his flask, before a horrified look crossed his face, when he realized what she meant. He rolled her eyes as she called him dear and he made a face. There was no way he was going to get rid of perfectly good bourbon for her. But before he could protest she had walked off. 'Smart kid.' He thought as he looked down fondly at his flask. It was still full, and he didn't want to waste it. He rumaged around in his coat and pulled out the nearly empty whiskey bottle and grinned to himself.

It was going to be done soon anyways. He raised the bottle to his head and took a giant gulp, finishing what was left of the liquid left inside. He blinked as blurriness flooded the edges of his vision. He shook his head and rubbed the blurriness from his eyes before sqwatting back down next to waters edge. He dipped the now empty bottle inside and took some water. He washed it out first before hurrying to full it so he could keep up with the girl.

He stood back up and his feet, is she was mad, that was fine, becuase this was the best she was going to get from him. He followed her back out towards the shore, glad he had flattened alough of the brush as he walked through earlier. Then he heard her voice call out to him and he sighed as he sped up. He felt kinda woozy, he had never drunk that fast before. Normally he drank that much liquid at a slow pace, but he just guzzled half the bottle in one gulp. He breathed in the ocean's smell as he walked out onto to the beach where Iris was waiting expectantly. He let out a little hiccup before tapping his chest. "Lead the way Cupcake." He said; surpressing a burp.

Iris turned at the sound of the man approaching off to her left. Her eyes narrowed as he walked out and she instantly recognized the slight stagger to his step and the cloudy gaze of his eyes, not to mention a bit of a slur to his words. He wasn't as bad as he could be, but Iris realized exactly what he'd done when two and two clicked together.

She shook her head, the movements terse and choppy as she fought to control a bit of anger that had flooded through her system. Her fingers twitched as she had the urge to push him on his chest, picturing herself satisfied if he lost his balance and slumped onto the ground. Instead, she went the adult way about it and showed her anger through her eyes and more importantly, her words.

"Look, Jethro. I'm not going to waste my time babysitting you so you better get your act straight and stick with me for a possible chance of better survival, or I could leave you here on the beach right now. And you'll be alone by the time you manage to waste the rest of the alcohol down your gullet."

"Whether you live or not, I don't really give a damn. I'm just not letting you bring me down with you," she said and turned sharply on her heels before marching off across the sand, footprints deeper than normal because of the anger she was emanating.

((Whoop Res works on my iPod ^^ I'll have post.))

Jethro raised an eyebrow at her. What the hell was she going on about. He wasn't even that drunk, just a little buzzed; he'd be fine in a few minutes. 

"Babysitting me?" He scoffed. "Let's not forget who's the adult here. I've fought fought actually children who are younger than you, who wouldn't think twice about taking the clothes from dead chick who doesn't need them anymore." He said glaring at her as he slipped the water filled whiskey bottle into his coat pocket and trudged after her. "Did you ever think that because your a giant b-tch that why I drink." He said playing that dumb card. "So why don't you keep you childish comments to yourself. Or next time I'll kill you nice and slow, and believe me I won't think twice." He yelled after her. Yep, things definitely weren't going to work out between them. He pulled the flask out and took another sip as he struggled in the sand. He hated it enough, but now that he was buzzed and he was pissed it just made things worse. 

Ooc; How'd you get it to work on the ipod? I try to stop the page from loading all the way, but the "Post Reply" button doesn't show up. :c

Bic;

Excuse me for not being the type of girl who doesn't give a damn about anything or anyone. I think, I do, and I accomplish," she hissed as she balled her hands into fists. She knew from past experiences in the mountainous forests, places she used to hike at with her father, that one distraction could cost you a lot. She had the scars on her back to prove it.

"And if I'm such a b-tch, why do you insist on sticking around with me?" she muttered. Her green eyes almost missed the sight of the bluffs approaching, and she blinked as she neared them. Her fingers automatically streatched out to scrape against the rugged rock, memories rushing back to her all at once. She continued along the beach sand until she met a small cave carved into the rock, no doubt having been dug out from hundreds of years ago when the water would have slowly carved into it.

She stepped inside the cave and checked for any sign of dampness, finding only a slightly irritable chill. From her calculations, the tide wouldn't reach in there at all. She was surprised when she caught sight of an uphill path at the far end of the cave. Curious, she trudged up it and suddenly found herself in another cave, this one warmer and the air more dry than below.

When she walked to the cave edge where sunlight filtered in, she realized that a hole was cut into the wall. She could lean over the edge and see the beach below, along with the entrance to the first cave. An amused smile crept onto her lips as she compared this to a two-story house.

Seeing Jethro, she snorted and moved her gaze back up to the rising sun.

((Well, I let the page load entirely and it worked for me. Although I also have Java turnned off so the box loads properly.))

Jethro rolled his eyes at her words but continued on behind her. Shaking his head as he heard her mutter to herself. The only reason they were together and he was sure she knew it too, was becuase it'd be easier for both off them. Sure they hated eachother, but they were better of together seeing as they could help eachother out. She knew survival stuff from TV, and he had the knifes and he could do heavy lifting if needed. Not to mention they both seemed to have expirence in the outdoors, although this island was completely foreign to him. He got his badge surviving in the desert, much different from this lush jungle.

He followed her, seeing as she clearly knew what she was doing. Keeping a watchful eyeout for anything that may be helpful, while his gaze trailed along the way they were walking, a force of habit from his war days. He shook his gaze from the floor and looked back up as they neared a cave. He muttered something under his breath and followed the girl inside, watching as she checked out the cave. He too observed, and noticed the slight chill in the cave, nothing that bad. He turned his head in time to see her climbing up a wall at the end of the cave. Raising an eyebrow her followed and looked up. He heard her snort and he tried to push the anger down in her throat. Once he was sure she wouldn't hear any tinge of bitterness he spoke. "Anything up there Iris?"

Ooc; Alright, thanks. :3

Bic;

Iris tapped her chin thoughtfully as she looked out onto the water, the sight of the waves calming her stressed nerves. She hadn't meant to snap at Jethro like that, in all honesty, but she didn't think the man was taking this seriously. Before she could work herself up again, she closed her eyes and sighed, consoling herself with quiet for a moment.

She cocked her head slightly and blinked open her eyes, sighing in annoyance when she heard Jethro's voice call up to her. She shook her head, chiding herself for acting so young and squared her shoulders as she headed back down the rocky cave path. She saw him down on the bottom floor and did her best to give him a comforting smile.

"Another room out there. It's amazing," she tried, trying to keep the falseness from her voice. With a sigh, she slouched against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. "Look. I'm sorry I got all pissy with you before. We barely know each other and I have a feeling we'll be stuck with each other for quite a while," she said and tapped her fingers against her elbows as she contemplated her next words.

"So what do you say we make this our encampment for the time being? Then if you think it best, we can set up some snares in the forest to catch whatever animals are running around in there. If you don't know how to make a snare, I'll teach you." She rolled her shoulders and watched him curiously.

Jethro stepped back as the girl descended. Shoving his hands in his pockets he listened as she said there was another room up there. He looked up at the ceiling as if he could see through it, and mentally made a quick layout of the cavern. That was great, now they could seperate.

He turned his attention back to her as she started to apologize, he guessed they were on speaking terms once more. He nodded and shifted his weight uncomfortably, wondering if he should pologize also. He did after all, threaten to kill her, if she pissed him off more.

Luckily for him, she had started to speak once again. "So what do you say we make this our encampment for the time being? Then if you think it best, we can set up some snares in the forest to catch whatever animals are running around in there. If you don't know how to make a snare, I'll teach you."

He smiled slightly, before saying. "I don't need snares I have a gun-" he hand reaching for his empty gun hoslter. Her eyes went wide. 'Oh no way.' he though as he looked down frantically, he always had his gun on him. How could he have not thought about checking for it earlier. He looked up rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I guess I don't have it." He said quietly. He honestly really didn't want the girl to show him how to make snares, he didn't want to appear dumber than he was. "How about you make the snares, and I make a fire pit and skin and cook whatever you catch?" He suggested, cooking was about all he could really do without help.

Iris bit her lip when he mentioned a gun, sighing in relief when he couldn't find it. At the offer of him cooking instead, she decided not to bring up the fact that shooting a gun would scare all of the game away, even if it was just a pistol. She cracked her neck before nodding to him again, massaging her shoulders as she peeled herself from the wall.

"Alright, detective. We might get something by tonight," she said as she strode out of the cave, blinking as harsh sunlight hit her eyes. She paused and reached down into her pocket before waving the lighter back at him, contemplating as she did.

"Since you're cooking, I see you might want this. Since I'll be killing whatever gets snared, may I have a knife?" She held out her hand for a trade.

Jethro watched as she offered the lighter. He could make the fire by striking rocks, but that would take to long anyways. He shoved his hands into his pocket pulling out various things that weren't even close to a knife until he finally got his hands on the swiss army knife. "Here you go." He said and he walked towards her and switching the knife for the lighter.

His eyes scanned the area, it was pretty bright out now. He wondered if they should make a sundial or something before he remembered the watch he'd snagged. Her turned his attention back to Iris and asked her something before she could leave.

"Hey, you want me to make the fire inside or out?" He asked, either would be fine with her. Plus, who ever ended up with the bottom half of the cave would be much warmer, and he didn't think it would smoke up to much. Although his lungs were accustomed to smoke. He touched the box of cigarettes in his pocket. As soon as she left he was going to light up.

Iris turned the knife over in her hands for a few moments as she inspected him before she stuck it in the waistband of her jeans. She gave Jethro a look-over, deciding immediately which room she wanted. She looked back to the bluffs and shrugged. "It doesn't really matter, but I'd prefer outside. Just be careful the tide doesn't come up where it'll ruin it."

She flicked her wrist to wave Jethro a terse good-bye before she strutted off into the forest. Sighing softly as the familiar smell of leaf mold and undergrowth wafted up her nose, she continued onward. Her mossy eyes were alert and she flicked her gaze upward at the sight of a taut vine.

She grabbed onto the lowest tree branch and hauled herself up of it with a grunt. She snagged the vine in her hand, bit down sharply on the greenery, and jumped down from the tree as she slung the thing over her back. She collected a few more individual vines before walking up to a few different trees.

At each tree, she tied the vine loosely onto a branch. She then used a few dead roots to tie one end of the vine to the ground. With the other end of the vine, she looped that into a noose and laid it on the ground. Digging a few berries wrapped in a leaf from her pocket, she scattered them over a few of the traps.

Sighing at her messy handiwork, she hoped she would catch somethiing worth eating, and trudged back to the beach, arms crossed over her chest. She'd give the traps and hour before going back out to check them. Finding the time now by looking into the sky, she commmitted the sun's position to her brain.

"Traps are set up," she yelled, not really knowing where Jethro was. Her gaze was on her feet as she trudged through the sand.

Jethro nodded at her suggestion and watched he walk off. Once she was out of the clearing he reached into his pocket and pulled out the pack of cigarettes, quickly putting on it his lips. He couldn't light up and faster as he took a deep drag of the cigarette, puffing it out in small circles. He slipped the lighter back in his pocket before moving some sand a few feet away from the mouth of the cave, creating a small pit in the sand. He cringed as he wished he had a shovel so he wouldn't be ruining his nice shoes.

Once he was satified, he followed in the same direction of the girl into the forest. Letting out a stream of smoke before looking around. He managed to find a little spot of dry leaves and grass and he shoved it into his pockets before moving to pick up some rocks. He returned to the pit and placed the rocks around the pit before dropping the leaves and grass into the pit. Glad for his moments of solitude. There was no girl as a constant reminder of their predicament. Busying himself took his mind off of what was actually going on.

Soon enough he had the pit full of sticks and it looked like a pretty good campire. He stood back admireing his handiwork a few minutes, he was now happy his mother had sent him off the summer camp, even if it was correctional. He looked down at his watch, the girl would probably be returning soon so he hurried off to their original sleeping place where he had left all the extra coats.

It didn't take all that long and soon he was back in the cave. He dropped the stuff and looked over at the wall where Iris had climbed up. Curious he easily scaled it to look at the other room. It was much warmer than downstairs, and there was a hole in the wall. He walked over and peered out, it was basically a window. He leaned back against the wall and looked around. Up here was alot nice than down at the bottom. 'Bet, she's gonna want up here.' He thought smiling to himself as he pulled the pack of cigarettes back out of his pocket. He had finished his other one a while ago, and was once again craving the taste.

Jethro had been amusing himself blowing rings out the cave's 'window' when he heard Iris voice call out to him from bellow. 'Sh-t.' he though as he hurried over to the wall. He looked down and windered if he could jump. He was pretty sure he could make it but the last thing he wanted was to sprain his ankle. He squatted down and jumped down his hand gripped the side before he let himself drop to the floor.

Once he landed he walked out of the cave and found her outside. "Great.' He smiled, moving the cigarette out of his mouth. "I made the fire pit, but didn't bother lighting it." He motioned to it with his hand, silently praying she wouldn't harasse him about the cigarette. He slid his hand into his pocket and handed her the lighter. "You should probably hold onto this until we need the fire."

Iris was surprised to see a cigarette hanging from Jethro's mouth and she winced slightly, though she wasn't going to waste words on the man anymore. She didn't like the sight of it, that was for sure, but in a way, she liked its company. It reminded her of her father, and the way his constellation maps smelled; the faint hint of cigars amongst the overlapping sheets of yellowed paper, a faint trace of mint leaves from the natural scent he gave off. She sighed.

She took the lighter gratefully from him and smiled her gratitude. She peered into the campfire for a moment, making sure there weren't any greener sticks; she didn't want a bunch of disgusting smoke to spawn from the fire. When finding none, she pushed her hands into her pockets and sat down on the sand, finding herself comforted by Jethro in actuality.

"Though I'm stuck with the likes of you, I think I'm actually enjoying your company. Beats being on our own," she said almost apologetically as she looked up at him.

Jethro shoved his hands back in his pockets when she smiled at him. He watched as she inspected his fire, he didn't know what she was expecting. He did a pretty good job, all the stick were dry and dead.

He put the cigarette back in his mouth and took a deep drag before blowing out rings once again.

"Though I'm stuck with the likes of you, I think I'm actually enjoying your company. Beats being on our own,"

At those words he choked on the smoke built up in his mouth. He coughed and tapped his chest, before blinking and looking at her. "What?" he said, once his coughing subsided. He didn't want to embarass her so he quickly tried to cover up his earlier exclaimation. "Well, you ain't too bad yourself Cupcake." He said rubbing the back of his neck. Sure, she was a stick in the mud, but she was better than nothing. Plus, he could have been stuck with an uglier girl. He blew out more smoke at the thought. 'Don't think like that Reagan.' He thought to himslef.

She laughed at his words, though it wasn't as carefree as it could have been. She let the guffaw drop off into a sigh as she absentmindedly picked up a stray stick Jethro must have dropped when he was setting up the fire. She snapped it as she watched the sun streak across the sky, standing again when she realized she was a bit overdue on the traps.

"I have to go check the traps. If you can stay quiet in there," she gestured with her chin toward the forest, "feel free to tag along." She turned away as to hide her frown, not really sure if bringing cigarette smoke into the woods would scare away some of the animals. She shook her head as she chided herself. /Relax,/ she thought.

With her stride long so she could walk more briskly into the forest, she tried to soothe the nerves that had begun to work up again. Once she stepped into the forest, she found her way through the landmarks and peered at the traps. Two of them had snapped and had caught nothing. Glumly, she found her way to the third, eyes widening in disbelief as she spotted the rabbit.

Her brows dipped down in puzzlement and she looked up into the treetops just to check herself. Yes, it was a seemingly rainforest-like area, but the rabbit proves it's...not. "What the," she muttered and touched the vine of the struggling hare. Upon closer inspection, she saw the vine had a more red and yellow tint than the typical rainforest green.

"Well, this island's full of surprises," she muttered. She walked out of the bushes and the hare froze, its big long ears perking as it looked towards her. Iris could see the poor thing quivering in terror and she crouched down next to it. It stared up at her with soft brown eyes and Iris raised the knife to its throat, staring back at it as she sliced.

Crimson blood spilled from her hands and the rabbit making a gutteral choking sound before falling over onto its side. Iris unclasped the snare from its foot and grabbed the rabbit by its feet.

"I have to go check the traps. If you can stay quiet in there," feel free to tag along."

She finally said after that awkward moment. Jethro raised an eyebrow slightly, he wasn't sure if that was the best idea, seeing as his smoke might scare off any animal near. But of course she was already walking away. He smiled slightly and shook his head as he watched her walk into the forest.

He stood staring out at the sea for a few moments before his curiousity got the better of him. He moved sand with his feet and dropped his cigarette into the little hole before covering it over. He turned and followed her path into the forest.

It really was nice, maybe somewhere he'd like to go if there was a resort. They could have been somewhere worse, like a barren wasteland of an island. But he was sure this place at its dangers too. He suddenly heard the unmistakable sound of something getting its throat slit and he stepped out and saw Iris standing with a limp rabbit. He made a face as he saw the blood running from its neck. He hoped she didn't mind killing the thing, he could have killed it an gutted it himself if she had brought it too him. "Well, I guess we're having rabbit for dinner." he stated as he took his eyes away from the bunny to look at her. If his daughter was here, he would get so chewed out for hurting a 'poor, innocent bunny'. The thought of his family made him suck in a breath and he looked back at the rabbit. "Here, I'll take that." He said stretched out his hand.

He thought it would have been easier, and alot cleaner if they had just snapped the things neck. Then they wouldn't be walking around with bloody hands, but he didn't say anything.

Irissa shook her head at Jethro's offer to take the rabbit. There was no point in getting both of their hands bloody and she caught the blood dripping from its throat into her hands. "I'm going to spread some of the blood deeper into the forest. It'll attract carnivores and lead the game where we can snare them," she said as she looked at the crimson liquid that was becoming sticky on her palm.

She didn't have time to wait and see if Jethro would follow or not, so she walked a few ways through the forest, sighing as her tense muscles relaxed under the dappled sunlight that shone on her back. She cracked her neck again and stopped when she'd walked a few ways away.

Nose pinching in distaste at the smell of the blood, she smeared some of it on the lower part of a tree. She continued this until she'd make a pretty large circle, mind becoming so absorbed in the task that she truly didn't hear or think of what was around her.

When she'd accomplished what she'd set out to do, no matter how mediocre the result had come out, she sighed and leaned against a tree. "Jethro?" she asked as she stood up, blinking as she looked for him. She'd forgotten all about the detective; she didn't even know if he'd followed her.


Ooc; Fail post with nothing I left for Jethro to really do. :c

((It's alright XD))

Jethro nodded when the girl said she was going to spread the blood around. He shoved his hands into the pocket of his jeans and followed a few paces after her. Watching as she stopped to wipe blood against some trees. Soon he grew bored and leaned against the nearest tree pulling a cigarette out and placing it between his lips. He patted himself and realized he had given the lighter back to Iris.

He looked back in her direction. She was a few paces away from him, leaning and putting blood on the tree. He was actually kinda glad they were back on speaking terms. If he were alone, he'd probably go crazy, but being with her and not being able to speak would probably be even worse. He soon heard her voice call out to him.

"I'm here Hon." He answered as he walked out so she could see him. He looked over at the rabbit. "You ready to eat that now?" He asked motioned to the limp bunny. It had just occured to him the last thing he ate was a steak meal and that was how many hours ago. Thinking about the food made his stomach grown slighty.