ASTIR * OPEN

[benjamin]

A single limped paw clutched the womb of the three, disabled from stationing the animal along with the other three ink-dipped feet. In and out these claws moved into the bark, slowly pumping a dry rough carving about the molding wood of the branch. Insignificant patterns shaped the tracks his claws had created, leaving his scent, his perfume that wouldn't make one difference to the next two, three or four temporary residences of that same branch. For someone so private and alone, Benjamin was terribly reckless when it came to physically exposing himself. What could one do with a simple sighting of him anyway? Hang up photos of some wanted mangy raccoon? He would still keep his label to himself, trade out self-proclaimed names to tie himself up further in the deep-webbed lie of his life.

The tip of a claw diverged into the softness of the fruit, piercing delicate skin to extract translucent juices. Scratchy tongue lapped at the sweetness, stale from premature age but delicious nonetheless. The taste seemed to be dissatisfying, at least compared to the sensitivity of human taste buds. A soft growl rippled in the tunnel of his throat, longing for that sensation and cursing himself for wasting just a dribble.

Raccoons were naturally attracted to scavenging, supposedly capturing things that weren't theirs and discarding these treasure turned trash the next day. Despite this, Benjamin was also naturally blessed with the gift of gratitude. The treasures he gathered were never wasted before they were disposed of, but used in every which way possible. Powdered fresh fruits and vegetables stripped bare, cleaned and polished until they practically became unrecognizable. He didn't waste materials, resources or opportunities. . . yet he wasted every single day of his life. The fear of social interaction held him back from a world he had never experienced since the death of his parents. Each night the animal was stressed and gripped with the anxiety that his life would belittle into nothingness. An average fear, considering the number of young people trying to make the best of their lives, but this fear controlled Benjamin's entire life. There was nothing he could diverge his attention with. No friends. No family. No lover to keep him warm at night, steal every thought in his mind. Instead his head was swimming with anxieties, worries and terrors.

For moments he just couldn't care anymore, couldn't comprehend the meaning of it all and became tense with frustration. Body began to change, skin shivering and pulsating as fur disappeared against a pale complexion. Grunts and moans cried from his lips as his frame widened, morphed until long legs hung over the sides of the branch and unsteady hands gripped desperately at the branch. The human searched the ground feverishly for any audiences, digging his thumbs into the carvings to try and soothe this embarrassing fear of heights now that he was in such a clumsy form.

[BILLIE MARIE STRAUSS]

we are broken - -

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W H A T M U S T W E D O T O R E S T O R E
- - our innocence[/font][/center][/i]

Life had changed so drastically since Billie had been dumped on this island. She had only been here a two weeks, right? Longer? Shorter? She wasn't sure. After the fifth or sixth day everything had just started to blend and mesh together. It had been a miracle when she found more people on the island on the second day, trudging around like a blind man in a maze, just the clothes on her back and scared out of her mind.

It had been almost two weeks (she thought) since that day, and she was still waiting for her world to turn right-side up. Or, if it insisted on staying topsy-turvy, for a map to this new lifestyle. She should still be on that cruise with her parents, reading a book in the sun and enjoying life. Not pushing her way through shrubs and cobwebs in the forest like some sort of wilderness explorer. Which she obviously wasn't.

Wait. Billie stopped mid-stride, balancing the basket of fruit she was carrying on one hip, and looked around herself. She was heading in the right direction, she was pretty sure? But this didn't look familiar, and she supposed anything other than the right path would look unfamiliar. The people that usually accompanied her only took one main route, after all. And she had gotten pretty accustomed to that, she had thought.

Apparently not. A second glance around her confirmed it: she was lost. Again.

She growled quietly to herself for not paying more attention, for letting her mind get away from her again. But now she had to focus on getting back. She had one of two options: wait and hope that someone would come along and find her, or try to find her way back. And, as her frustration found her patience lacking, the latter seemed more appealing at the moment. She began to head a little left of of the direction she was originally going, hoping that she had just barely strayed off the path and not gone in a completely different direction.

Different noises pulled at her ears; a bird chirping, a rustling in the brush, a near-silent slither that worried her just a bit. But it was the cry that came from just ahead of her that had her stomach jumping. It sounded like a human, not an animal, she was almost positive. Billie hurried forward, moving a thick layer of ferns out of her way.

At first, seeing nothing, she was confused. Then her eyes took in the legs dangling from above, and as her eyes rose... "Oh!" Billie dropped the basket, averting her gaze to the ground and turning away anxiously. "I'm so sorry! I--" Her eyes flickered for a brief double-take to the naked boy in the tree before flinching away once more, her face turning a violent shade of scarlet. "I didn't realize that anyone was--- That you weren't--" Her hands, which had been fluttering around her waist in embarrassment, moved up to settle over her eyes. "I'm so sorry."

Status: Complete.
Muse: 'Chariot' - Gavin DeGraw
Outfit: Clickeh
Lyrics: We Are Broken - Paramore
Credit: credit for this awesome plot page goes to COLIExCHAOS[/color] @ Caution 2.0. Don't steal, and don't remove credit![/i][/font]