the shadows kept me hidden

[priorcommitment]

There had been a part of Ishiah which suspected, when a large group of people had suddenly gone missing from the island, that all of them would manage to return relatively unscathed. It seemed to be the modus operandi of the island, to snatch people and put them into uncomfortable situations, but in the end never to be a direct and concerted cause of death. Ishiah had to wonder what the reason was behind it, if indeed there was any reason at all, and the peri thus spent a great deal of time simply sitting in the hut and pondering over the possibilities. Perhaps the island was a sort of limbo, a nexus of an afterlife, one that went beyond even the Heavens he was personally familiar with. Perhaps it was the work of a strong and sentient being. Perhaps still it was random, a tear in the fabric of reality through which a great deal of people seeped and came together.

Perhaps.

In the end, what he had determined was that no matter what the island was, he could not count on the place to stay safe. Hauling his sword from where he usually kept it stashed under the far side of the bed, the peri sheathed the weapon and made his way over to Jack's hut. The dinosaurs were a threat that needed to be overcome for one reason or another— either they were hiding something, or they simply posed a danger to the island residents.

Sharply, he knocked on Jack's door, hoping to find help, whether in the form of a weapon or a person to stay by his side as he trekked through the jungle.

Comments

[priorcommitment]

Ishiah tugged the fallen blade out of the ground, not because he needed a pair in order to work on the third dinosaur, but instead because it always paid to be careful, just in case something happened. With both blades held in his hands, Ishiah bounded after the remaining dinosaur, enough practice that even his slower human pace had been accounted for in his mental and physical preparation. In little time, the third dinosaur was letting out a sharp cry as it fell to the ground, dead.

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

Jack fired another shot and put the wounded dinosaur out of its misery. Then he stood up and sighed softly.

"Too bad. I always feel bad having to kill them," he said.

[priorcommitment]

"They're animals, the same as any of us, Jack," Ishiah pointed out, although he imagined that there was no need to. For his part, he stared down at his blade, knowing that the blood would harm the sword if allowed to stain too long, and took the softest portion of his shirt to wipe the weapon clean. A weapon well tended to was worth countless times more than a decent shirt.

"And unless all of them are brought down at once, I doubt that we've made much of a dent in their population."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, and I have a feeling they get brought here the same way we do...maybe we're lucky we don't show up with collars on," Jack grinned. "Come on...the smell of blood will draw others. Unless you feel like slaughtering them all, we might as well get to the water."

[priorcommitment]

"Dinosaurs and humans," Ishiah just had to marvel, mostly at how completely random it seemed, no strong connection between either of the species aside from the human fascination with a group of animals large, majestic, and completely before their time. "How absolutely arbitrary of the island. But yes, that sounds like the proper plan to me."

[captainjack.livejournal.com]

"Okay thenQ" Jack smiled. He held out hand for the machete and nodded down the path. "It's not far. Maybe another half mile."

And once they got there they may as well continue on to the beach, he thought. It would be faster to get home, taking the coast path than the route through the heart of the territory.