Book 1 - Puppets

XXII - Recoup and Rearm

*Very old drawing*

The sun is beginning to disappear over the trees by the time Massachusetts returns to the center of camp. Ute creates a firepit with a circle of stones and dry leaves and plant matter thrown into the center.

"What do you think we should do now?" Russia asks.

"We shouldn't travel after sunset. You should stay here for the night. We can find the road tomorrow after sunrise," Ute says, retrieving two stones and striking them together.

Sparks fly, and the leaves ignite.

Canada throws some small twigs into the fire, and Ute looks up.

"Russia, can you take one of the states and collect some larger pieces of wood? I have an extra ax in my Tepee that you can use," Ute says to Russia, gesturing briefly to the Tepee that was the most separate from the group of tents. Russia nods.

"I'll go," Louisiana volunteers.

Russia agrees, and after some careful snooping, he locates the ax and pulls it out. The tomahawk is small, with a handle around the size of Russia's forearm, but the blade is sharp enough to draw blood.

Popping his head out of the tent, he raises the tool in the air and calls, "this?"

"Yes, that works. Try not to scuff it," Ute responds.

"Thank you," Russia says before turning to Louisiana with a nod.

"Wait," Massachusetts calls, causing Russia to pause and turning back to the fire, "don't go too far. The protection spell I cast isn't very large, so try to stay close to us."

"You got it, Massy," Lousiana says.

Russia starts toward the treeline, Louisiana walks next to him, keeping pace. Russia begins scanning his surroundings for any large, dead trees that would supply them with wood. After walking out a short way, he turns, and he and Louisiana circle around the camp. They aren't able to see the fire but can both still hear Texas' booming laughter.

Dusk lights up the trees in shades of orange and pink, and the sky begins to grow darker.

Finally, Russia sees a large, bare tree surrounded by brown pine needles near the cliff edge. He points to it with the tomahawk.

"That will work," he comments to Louisiana, who hums in agreement.

Russia gets to work, cutting out a wedge from the trunk that reaches to about the middle of the tree. Then, he circles the tree and begins chopping away, separating it from the roots.

Once the tree falls, he chops off the branches to collect manageable logs to take back with them and hands them to Louisiana to hold. Then, he spots a branch that catches his eye. It's a straight branch, with a uniform diameter.

'That would make a good baton.'

He hacks at the base and chops off the other extending branches. The remaining stick is around six centimeters in diameter and just short of a meter long.

Placing the staff aside, he chops enough wood to sustain the fire for at least a few hours. He grabs the staff and some of the larger logs, the tomahawk tucked under an arm. Louisiana and Russia walk back to the camp.

A few minutes into their journey, Russia heard Louisiana fall, and he spins around to see what had happened. She has tripped on the skeleton of a large animal.

Most bones had been broken for the marrow, but a few of them still seem intact. Louisiana stands and collects herself before examining the carcass. She hums to herself before picking up the largest of the bones, steadying it in her hand.