[ OPEN ]

[dendarii]

Who: Miles Naismith (dendarii), the Dendarii, and YOU!
When: Forward-dated to late Day 4
Where: The Boneyard
What: ICly prepping for adventures, Dendarii recruitment, and poking at trilobites for fun and/or food??

[ Somehow, despite everything, Miles has gotten quite bored very quickly. Being unable to do much with shelter or searching thus far - curse his fragile body - Miles finds himself wanting to do absolutely anything except sit still another day. He's already paced himself a visible trough in the sand next to his corner of that massive skull.

When the trilobites start showing up in greater numbers, Miles is pretty much ecstatic. Finally, he can do something that involves staying still while also getting to do something moderately dangerous. Low against the sand as he is, he finds it a worthy pastime to belly crawl after some of the solo critters. Trying to ply them with a bit of rations or coral meat - or a scrap of his suit ...

When not doing that, in the interests of making himself useful, Miles turns to planning. When anyone gets near his spot, he brightens and turns to them regardless of their interest level. (He also may or may not be continuing to try taming one of these little wiggly bastards.) He grins brightly and draws himself up to his full (if short) height. ]

For all that we've made a lovely home for ourselves here, I'm getting antsy. Wouldn't it be worthwhile to see where all these things are coming from? I personally intend taking my mercenaries to investigate, but ...

[ A coy pause.]

Well. The more the merrier. The Dendarii Mercenaries are always looking for new recruits.

Comments

@team hijinks : assemble!

[ex_bossily211]

[It's not all that hard for Clara to gather up a group among the ragtag team of survivors that are around. Miles and Clark are her first choices, with her only having to grab them both by the hand over to where she is. Inui and his friend are cornered next, with her not really giving them a choice in the matter. After a while of just sitting around due to her injuries obtained while out exploring, she's restless.

And all that restless energy has been turned onto the new little creatures that have popped up and infiltrated their camp. She has a couple of them cornered out in the shade, and as they all gather around them she points at the smaller of the two.]

That one's called Darcy, and the other's Bingley.

[Smiling and looking generally pleased with herself she rocks back to rest on her heels, looking over at her assembled team of men. She's going to love bossing them around.]

They're here for us to...well, look into. Follow back home, see what makes them tick. Whatever we decide is most beneficial, really. Do be gentle though, I haven't decided if I'd like to keep them around or not.

[dendarii]

[ Miles is the very embodiment of stealth here, peeking out over the ridge of sand between them and their quarry. He's not sure if he wants to try eating one or taming one first... ]

Named already, eh? I call dibs on the next one we encounter.

[ He's already eying one of the burrow holes in the sand, wondering if he'll fit. ]

[ceruleo]

[ When a pretty girl asks Lance to jump, the next thing out of his mouth is 'how high?' so really, it doesn't take much to convince him.

He's crouched, more than a big grossed out at how the bugs are moving. They're nearly the size of small dogs, what the heck. ]

Pretty sure the next one would be Wickham, if we're keeping the theme.

[ Look........................he has a lot of sisters ok, he has absolutely watched P&P!! ]

[anewhope]

[ Clark frowns. He's not sure about keeping the local wildlife as pets but the trilobites seem unassuming as they scuttle away from them. He bends down closer to them as they approach, thin claws grasping at the suit. ]

It's similar to the old fossilized anthropods. Like the kind of Earth during the dinosaur periods. Or even earlier. I've never seen ones that can live in an environment like this one though.

[ At Lance's comment, Clark raises a deadpan eyebrow. ]

Is this a Jane Austen convention?

[ceruleo]

[ He turns a little pink at Clark's ribbing. ]

I have sisters, okay?

[anewhope]

[ His expression flickers, bemused. ]

That's fine. Just wondering if I lost my invitation.

[ex_bossily211]

[Clara, for her part, just grins and laughs, glancing up and over at Clark.]

Oh, if this was an Austen convention, I'd be sharing about what an amazing kisser she is. If I ever do decide to host one though, you'll be the first person I invite.

[anewhope]

[ He ducks his head slightly at the last sentiment. ]

I'm not sure how you gleaned that bit of knowledge.

[ Clark taps on their shells lightly and they skitter away. ] Their shells seem fairly dense.

[ex_bossily211]

[Focusing on the task at hand, she reaches out to lightly run a finger along one of their shells.]

I ran into a species one time that had exoskeletons this dense. Their only vulnerable spot was tucked away up under their chin.

[Not that she plans on having to kill her new pets friends, but she tries to feel up under one of their heads to see if there's a squishy spot.]

[anewhope]

[ Clark nods. ]

The anthropods of Earth were generally marine life forms, so the insides were softer to make it easier to navigate shallow waters and shorelines. I don't know if the same weaknesses or physical structure would hold true here. The sun seems a lot more intense as well, so I imagine the shell isn't just for show but a way of reflecting heat.

[dateme]

Wait...who's a good kisser? [ Inui only catches the most important of information okay. ]

[ceruleo]

[ While these Actual Nerds carry on, Lance is still watching the bugs scuttle in the sand, wondering if they're actually aware of the humans around them beyond a surface level. ]

Uh, me, duh.

[ Wait. ]

Wait—

[dateme]

[ lol Lance pls ]

[ex_bossily211]

[Rolling her eyes, Clara balls her tiny hands up into fists and punches the both of them on their upper arms. Pay attention, boys!]

[ceruleo]

This isn't a toad-into-prince type of scenari--ow!

[ RUDE. ]

[dateme]

Heyyy, how come I got hit too...

[anewhope]

[ Does he want to know? Does he really want to know?

The answer is no. ]

Anyway, I'm not sure they can be . . . tamed or taught. We might have a hard time not letting them out of our sight. Their pincers make them good diggers.

[dendarii]

[ Miles is over her laughing his fool head over at the lot of them. Quietly. So as not to scare off their quarry. ]

So we change the avenue of attack. Get one isolated somehow.

[dateme]

Maybe Lance can show them how good a kisser he is and charm them that way.

[ex_bossily211]

[Another eye roll happens, and Clara huffs a bit as she glances between Miles and Clark.]

If we can isolate one well enough, we might be able to use them to dig. Do you think they could help us find water?

[anewhope]

[ Clark shakes his head in his steady manner. ]

Not if it feels threatened. That wouldn't be its first instinct. If it can trust us enough, it might go back to its daily routine and we can follow its footsteps.

[dateme]

Aren't there footsteps all over the place by now though? How're you gonna tell which way they came from? They sorta appeared out of nowhere.

[ceruleo]

[ W O W no comment on that Inui!! ]

If they're diggers, they probably have burrows. Considering the size of these guys, a bunch of holes should be visible...right?

[ Right??? ]

[dendarii]

[ Miles brightens a bit. ]

And if they're large enough, I might be able to fit down one. Potentially.

[dateme]

You're definitely short enough, haha!