DATE: July 20, 2001 CAST: Bushrod, Holly, Mr Soil and Willow Center of Ant Island You come to the center of the island. This is a large clearing with the ant hill mound nearby. There is also a banquet to one side, the tree to another, and the offering stone. On a sunny day in the summer you can usually see a line of ant coming through here with all kinds of food. Working out in the mid morning sun, a line of ants can be seen carrying various food stuffs from the harvesting area. It's no coincidence that Holly is amongst the others working in the outdoors area. She would normally be in the tunnels, but a nagging feeling has been bothering her ever since Willow hasn't shown up after their little encounter. It makes since that with her injured foot, she would take a while to get back, but then it was taking longer than she expected. Holly is simply interested in keeping things in check in case they get out of control. Hop. Hop. Hop. Stumble. Cringe. "Gaah." It is in this way that Willow negotiates the clover forest, relying on her left foot. Her right ankle is out of service, swollen, protesting excruciatingly when any weight is applied. Though forced to spend the night in the canyon, she's fortunate she managed to get out at all; walking isn't exactly the easiest task when you're only allowed to use one foot. It isn't any better when it includes maneuvering around gaping cracks in the ground and doing some serious climbing under the scrutiny of unrelenting sunlight. Just as she reaches the end of the forest, she collapses in the shade of a blade of grass, panting audibly. In the interest of keeping things under a watchful eye, as well as assisting in taking care of any anomalous incidents, is Mr. Soil. The resident thespian and teacher has been given the assignment of keeping an eye on the harvest. "Yes, very good, excellent, simply continue to keep the same rhythm going!" He calls out to the other ants occasionally to give moral support. Mr. Soil may get a little overly protective of the workers, but then considering how timid they can get in loosing the line, he has more than ample reason to offer the encouragement. "All, you need to do is keep in rhythmic step, and you'll be fine!" He calls out. Smiling at the continued success of the day. Among those helping with the harvest is Bushrod -- although in his case, it's not exactly 'helping'... more like hampering. Well, at least he got this far without too many mishaps, right? Right. Well, this good fortune can't last forever. While adjusting his hold on an especially large grain, his brain gets confused and sends a garbled message to his legs, and as a result, they trip each other up. Thus begins what looks suspiciously like the beginning of the domino effect, wherein he tumbles forward, probably hitting the ant ahead of him. Holly rolls her eyes at the comments made by Mr Soil. 'Oh, how simple minded ants can be!' She expresses in her mind. She trudges on with the berry in her hands, shifting it's weight to get a better grasp of the object she's holding aloft, and upon looking straight ahead, the image of Bushrod can be seen. It takes a minute to figure out in her mind exactly what he's up to, but by the time he looses footing, it's pretty obvious. She makes an effort to suppress a laugh, and takes a mental note of the other ants mistake. 'That guy will probably make an easier target' She muses, still feeling the pain and frustration dealing with the trouble that last ant gave her. After taking a few seconds to recover and shake the dizziness away, Willow struggles to her feet, er, foot. If she sees Bushrod and his tripping act, it goes unnoticed. Instead she shades her eyes, scanning for some authoritative figure. After singling out Mr. Soil, she walks -- no, she hops/staggers in his direction. "Sir," she gasps out, "I need to... there's been... slavers..." after all that shock, and running around, her breath is coming out in weak, ragged bursts. Bushrod's little misjudgment in how to place his feet in a moment of confusion does not go unnoticed as Mr. Soil eyes Bushrod's tumbling forward, causing several ants to be bumped into from behind, some losing their various cargos to the ground. "Oh, good heavens, Bushrod!" He winces and shakes his head a few times, but maintains patience with the individual he approaches. "I'm sorry you are having so much trouble in keeping even keel with the progression of the harvest, but it would be helpful if you keep a little more in step with the other workers..." His voice trails off as he hears someone addressing him, to which he shifts his attention to Willow, and notices the young lass out of breath and limping in a rather painful manner. He walks over to her in a swift yet calm manner to see what all the trouble could be about. "I'm sorry, young lady, what ever seems to be the matter?" Oooops. So much for stepping with rhythm. Bushrod stands arrow straight after recovering his feet, eyes darting left and right as he tries (unsuccessfully) to pretend nothing happened. Didn't do nothin', just standing here, la la la... his facade shatters like glass when Mr. Soil addresses him, and when several glares are thrown in his direction, making him tuck his head deeper between his shoulders and chuckle nervously. "Er... sorry, just not my day, I guess. Won't happen again." Suuure. He kneels over to reclaim his grain, then practically drops it when Willow comes hopping over, something about... "Slavers? Where?" Darting his gaze all around. By now the situation with Bushrod has taken Holly's full attention, so that she doesn't realize who is addressing Mr. Soil, in such an out of breath expression. Then the sound of that voice rings through her antenna clearly. 'Huh, you finally made it back. Sure would have been a shame if something happened to you' She speaks of Willow sarcastically in her mind. Holly by now has stopped along with the other ants, and keeps a watchful eye on the conversation being made between the girl and 'that pompous old wind bag' she's nicknamed Mr. Soil. Pausing to catch her breath, Willow continues to lean heavily on her left foot, as she begins to explain in a more coherent tone: "Slavers just outside the... (pant) island. Yesterday. They took an ant with them, Basil." Her eyes harden. "Holly took Basil to the other side of the canyon, telling him her... her sister was dying over there. I followed them. When we got there, she handed him over to a stinkbug, who had this big wagon full of even more ants..." Mr. Soil's eyes widen deeply as he is instructed to the events that are being infolded before him. During Willow's retelling of the incident, his mouth drops open widely, and his hand goes in front, to keep his politesse in check. "Oh, my great skies and heavens above! We must act upon this immediately! " Mr Soil exclaims as he turns to a group of ants that have been assigned to the harvest and quickly claps to get their attention. "Everyone, may I have your attention please!" He calls out in a tone of deep concern. "It would seem that the reports of slavers have quickly become evident. We need to put the colony on full red alert." Mr Soil turns and picks out five ants, two to sound the alarm, and three others to find the queen and the other counselors. Eyes are widening all around indeed, especially Bushrod's. "Eeee! I thought those grasshoppers were supposed to stop this kinda thing from happening. Weren't they? Huh?" He starts to rush forward, probably to run around like a chicken with his head cut off, and abruptly trips over his grain in the process. He utters an "oof" as he flattens his face. Glancing up, he can't help but notice Mr. Soil picking out ants to spread the alarm and stuff. Hmmm. Guess that means harvest duty is over. 'This is not going at all as I had hoped' Is Holly's first thought as the situation suddenly gets out of control. She passes a nasty glare away from the eyes of others fully intended for Willow, then decided to keep herself calm, and to /handle/ the situation as best as she can not arousing suspicion. "Uh, Mr Soil. I'm so sorry to interrupt, but I feel that this decision is being made in haste." Holly then approaches the tall narrow framed councilor, and in a false showing of respect, continues. "I believe that miss Willow has her information incorrect." The glare is reciprocated quite readily. Willow glowers defiantly at Holly as she approaches, hands doubling up into fists. "Incorrect? Incorrect, my foot!" thus saying, she impulsively stomps her right foot which quickly proves to be a very bad idea. An unspeakable pain lances up from her ankle, temporarily rendering her speechless, other than a tiny whimper. "...ow..." An expression of concern is still etched deep within his visage as Mr. Soil calls out to the other ants, who have stopped to see if his opinion might change. "Please continue to do as ordered." He then looks toward Holly and Willow, and then back to Holly. "First of all, if the reports of slavers are true, then it would be imprudent to simply do nothing until this little altercation is clarified." He then stands up a little more erect, and directly addresses Holly. "I'm hoping you will be so kind as to explain your views of the situation." Mr. Soil is so caught up that he barely notices Bushrod hitting the ground again, lets out the tiniest sigh and refocuses his attention on the two female ants before him. Bushrod awkwardly gets up, coated in dust, but doesn't bother trying to wipe it off. Since he wasn't one of those ants who were sent off to spread the 'red alert,' he just kind of stands nearby, at a loss as to his course of action. So unless someone tells him to bugger off, he'll probably just stick around and listen in. Holly looks up slightly at Mr Soil, and then a flame of absolute resentment fills her. 'He's giving me that look again, that arrogant self righteous expression' She nods her head slightly and addresses him calmly. "I'm very sorry for what Willow has been through, but I feel that they are influencing her emotions." Holly passes a glance at the other female ant and fakes the most sincere look of concern she can muster, then continues. "I know for a fact that Basil was not captured by slavers, but left on his own accord." Holly then shakes her head and shows an expression of confusion. "Crumbs," Willow snaps, probably the equivalent for 'balderdash,' folding her arms and maintaining a rigid posture... as much as possible for one who must rely on one foot for balance without toppling over like an unsteady pile of rocks. "I know what I saw." Mr Soil nods at Holly's words, and then acknowledges Willow's expression as well. "It would seem that we are... " He is suddenly cut off by the sound of the horns being sounded to announce red alert. He restates his sentence when the sound diminishes. "It would seem that we are at a bit of a quandary." He then gives a passing thought and glances at Holly. "Did he tell you what reason he chose to leave?" Bushrod just sort of stands there, real interested-like, but not necessarily interestING. As long as he remains stationary like that, eavesdropping, he shouldn't get into too much trouble. For now, he offers none of his Trademark Words of Wisdom--or idiotic comments, as one of his acquaintances put it. "Why, certainly!" Holly calls out, and then takes in a short, even breath. "He told me that he was /dissatisfied/ with Queen Atta's rule, as well as the council members in general." Nodding her head to the affirmative, she then continues. "He told me that the rulers of his last colony were much better, and more forgiving, and wondered why he left in the first place." Willow's eyes burn into Holly as the other female ant just keeps piling on what she knows to be lies. Something about this excuse she's made up on Basil's 'behalf' also strikes a chord; if there's one thing she knows from experience, it's bad leadership. "You..." she trails off, unable to come up with a really crushing remark. As it is, she barely seems to be restraining herself from lashing out at Holly. Without uttering another syllable, Mr Soil turns toward the remaining ants that were assigned to the harvest detail, and addresses them. "I'm in need of eight volunteers to go and see if they can find evidence of slavers, and hopefully the possible whereabouts of a possible missing colonist." He then awaits as a number of interested hand are offered to make the journey to discover the truth behind the allegations. "It is most imperative that you all stay together. It is quite unlikely that they will not attack a larger number of ants, but if any of you are separated, you will incur the risk of being captured." Oooo, oooo! Opportunity's knocking on the door! Bushrod's hand shoots up like a grain stalk being shot out of a Harvester, almost hopping. Now, after his obvious fear of slavers, why would he want to do something so crazy as to look around for them? Just one of those mysteries of the universe, perhaps. Holly's eyes go wide as her statement seems to be ignored, but she isn't about to give up yet. "Mr Soil, I was there at the time, I tried to keep him from leaving, but he wouldn't listen to me." She casts a big deep beam at her resourcefulness. "I can tell you where the incident happened, and this whole situation can be resolved quickly." Holly folds her arms and casts a triumphant smile, toward Willow, and out of the sight of Mr Soil." "Yeah," Willow provides, lowering an eyeridge as she regards Holly with folded arms. "You can have fun time explaining away the stinkbug stench and tire ruts. Unless it rains, I doubt *that* will fade away anytime soon." She grimaces slightly at the recollection of that particular scent. She tries to summon up a smug expression, but fails, and lowers her gaze to contemplate the ground pensively. Even if Holly is proven guilty, it still won't bring Basil back. Mr Soil casts a nod at Willow's statement, taking it into acknowledgement and then sees an opportunity to give Bushrod some energy consuming activity. "You may attend along with them, Bushrod." The other ants groan a little, but know better than to debate the issue. "Please keep an eye open for the various signs mentioned by miss Willow here. They will be critical in discovering the truth to uncovering the details of this situation. Whether or not you find anything, you must return here before sundown, to prevent any possibly personal hazards." Cool. He's on a mission now, a *real* mission. Esctatic in his own little mind, Bushrod eagerly positions himself with the others, despite their groans and glares. Aw, who cares what they think? At least this is a nice change from dragging grain around. Holly can't believe the way events are turning out. She doesn't utter another word for a moment, but watches the scouting party ants prepare to leave to find the whereabouts of Basil. She feels her grasp on the situation slipping, and goes into an immediate panic. "How can you simply accept her word against mine." Holly lets out a raging expression and flashes a pointed finger toward Willow. "She is just a child, and hasn't been here nearly as long as I have." Holly's arguments are loosing support fast, like a sand castle on the beach as the waves roll in to claim it. Willow picks her gaze up from the ground, flashing a searing look at Holly. Haven't they been through this before? Yeah... which resulted in the younger of the two lobbing a rock at the other. Willow is almost tempted to do it again, but refrains. She doesn't even respond. Mr Soil looks down at Willow again noticing her injuries, but needs some information before she goes to the infirmary. "Where were you located when you witnessed the events of which you have reported?" He then passes a glance as Holly but does not acknowledge her comment. It would seem that he is a few grains ahead of the line (kinda like being a few steps ahead of the game), but does not let on any information he might posses. Heaving a sigh, Willow glances back at Mr. Soil, then points her gaze in the direction of the path. "It was at a clearing on the other side of the canyon," she says absently, "exactly straight across from the cliff where the dandelion is." She wobbles uncomfortably on her left foot, but somehow manages to stay upright; as it is, she wouldn't mind collapsing, if only to recuperate. Mr Soil reiterates the directions to the ant scouts, and then sends them on their way. "Oh, one more thing, Holly. Until the situation makes itself clarified, you will be held under constant observation, so I don't recommend you make any attempts to leave." Mr Soil seems to know very well the intentions that Holly has, but gives no indication of why. "Arright, cool," Bushrod exclaims, once the group is some distance off. "Make like Sherlock... James Bug... or somebody, I dunno." Despite the magnitude of the situation, he jaunts off like it's an idle excursion, not a search for slavers or a missing colonist. Probably to the annoyance of his companions. Holly glares a look of unbridled hatred, she storms over to Mr Soil, about to say another word, but remains silent. She simply folds her arms and would just assume to go about her business. At first she has every intention of getting out while no one is watching, but then comes to the conclusion that she might as well quit while she is ahead. Not knowing if they will find anything at all anyway. This ought to feel satisfying, Holly getting her comeuppance after all. But instead, long after the crucial events have transpired, there's little more than a feeling of nausea--and the desire to sit down or something. Willow regards Holly coldly, then looks away, arms folded as well. Mr Soil notices again the injured Willow standing next to him, and a weary smile come across his face. "It looks like you've been through quite a bit of action as of late." His expression softens farther and he offers his hand to help her up. Why don't we get you down to the infirmary, and have that injured ankle taken a look at." He offers his hand in concern for her wellbeing. Holly gives a glare, and shakes her head at the whole situation. She feels her only hope now is that the evidence against her situation will have dissipated, or at least overlooked. She harrumphs and says nothing. Glancing up at Mr. Soil, then down at the ankle in question--which by now looks almost as bad as it feels--, she nods, in silent agreement; certainly wouldn't mind getting that fixed. Although unable to summon up a smile of her own, her expression is no less weary. Apparently she's too tired to spare another glare on Holly. Maybe some other time. [Later...] Mr.Soil stands at the base of the anthill, with his arms folded tightly. He passes a sideways glance at Holly, but utters not a word as the ant scouting party returns. It would seem that he is rather irritated by certain events, but simply will not make any mention of what is on his mind. Mr Soil has had a conference with the Queen Atta and the other members of the council, and depending on the outcome, Holly's punishment will be delegated accordingly. "Phew!" Bushrod exclaims, waving a hand in front of his face as if to ward off an unpleasant stench. "So *that's* what a stinkbug smells like." This is probably not the first time he's uttered this phrase, or a variation of it to his other scouting companions. "I hope I never smell it again. How can those bugs stand to live with themselves?" He stops when he finally perceives they're right back where they started. Holly rolls her eyes at Bushrod, she finds him so irritating, but now won't have the opportunity to get him out of the colony, and to have him enslaved. 'That would have been fun' she thinks. She manages a glance at Mr Soil, who passes a nod to Bushrod and turns her head back again. She can only guess what her outcome will be. "Uh..." is the only thing that she verbally expresses. "Oh yeah," Bushrod pipes up, "And there were some strange things on the ground... some footprints that were too big for an ant. Some weird ruts that faded off to the main road. But really, it just *stunk*." Yes, Bushrod, I think they all get the picture. Mr.Soil shakes his head again at Bushrods comment, but it's enough evidence to make a final judgement. "Holly, what do you have to say for yourself." He only pauses for a moment and continues. "You came to us in claims of refuge from slavers, now we have evidence that you have been /working/ in /association/ with them." He pauses and shakes his head again. Sorrowfully. Bushrod scratches his head, as if to dig out some more valuable information stored away in his cluttered little brain. Mental filing cabinet turns up null. He blinks at Soil's words, then passes a hard gaze at Holly. Yeah! What's she got to say about that? Simply holding her head high, Holly announces, "It doesn't matter why, I did it, and I would do it again in a second if the situation arises." She passes a smile that is devoid of compassion. Her arms held at her sides, planted on her hips to express her defiance. "No matter what happens to me, it will be of comfort compared to what the slavers would have done to me, so either way, I come out ahead." She awaits her final verdict. "Coooold," Bushrod murmurs. Apparently 'cold' has connotations not so flattering as 'cool.' Mr Soil stands erect, and a look of total frustration is evidence on his face. He makes the announcement. "It has been decided by the queen and the council that because of the threat you impose on this colony, that you will be held in confinement to chambers until a proper length of time has been decided." He motions for two ants to take her into custody, to be taken to her chamber. However, before she is taken away, he has one more thing to say to her. "Holly, I don't think you fully can conceptulize the situation you have put /yourself/ into. You can not leave since the slavers will no doubt be looking for you. Then once your sentence has ended, you will have to live in a colony where everyone here will know what you did. It will be a long time, if /ever/ that you regain this colony's trust." Trust? Haha. Bushrod isn't going to trust this block of ice, ever he knows. No pulling the wool over this guy's eyes. Just too good for that. Or so he thinks. Regardless, he stands with arms akimbo, scowling quietly. Holly looks onward, and takes in what Mr Soil has to say before she is escorted away. She has little regard until she is told about how she may never gain trust from the colony. She will in essence be in the same situation as before, an enemy in her own colony, this time unable to escape. Her eyes go wide, and she hangs her head low. She now realizes how bad her outcome is. She is escorted away. [END LOG] Next Log: Getting Involved Return to: Muted Identity logs.

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