A bit of a storm brew through the night in the jungle. And somewhere deep within the place lay what appeared to be an ancient stone temple, engraved with markings seemingly unknown to man. Nature had reclaimed the area, as it was desolate, covered in vines, yet still seemed to have been inhabited. As within the main chamber, sitting on top of a pedestal was an artifact, a golden skull with green crystal eyes that seemed to glow. Below the pedestal and the stairwell that reaches the shrine, there seemed to be people worshiping the thing; all of them seemed to be part of African origin, as they were Black Skinned, all male, but seemed to have worn nothing but loincloths with tattoos adorning their bodies in white color, with some of their faces even painted as the top half to skulls, and across their arms and chests, runes and symbols made up their tattoos. They were down on their knees, worshiping the relic like an idol, seemingly looking to be without a mind of their own as one of them, their leader, began to ascend up to stairs to the shrine.
The cult leader was also an adult black man, having a muscular body, white paint striped around his body, and a set of chains around his neck with skull-shaped ornaments. Golden rings around his wrists and ankles, and the only article of clothing he had on was a red loincloth, like the rest of his Zealots.
He walks up to the altar, and takes the skull in both hands, raising it up as if it were a grail.
Cult Leader:"To our God, do we pray. Our home continues to grow with lost ones longing for their place amongst us. We will deliver to them the great gift, to become one with us. For what is in this jungleā¦must stay in the jungle."
The skull's eyes suddenly flashed, the Zealots let our roars of cheering, then lightning strikes...and then Carlota can be seen waking up; startled, gasping, and with widened eyes. She found herself on the cot, roomed with that sumo girl, still in the jungle with the other girls at their tree hut. Speaking of whom, Fumi was seen standing over Carlota's bed...which wasn't that shocking, since she took up half the room. But it didn't make Carlota any more uncomfortable, given her current living conditions.
Fumi:"You alright?"
Carlota:"Um...I'm fine, thanks. What time is it?"
Fumi:"Morning. The others are in the main hut if you wanna go see them."
Nodding at that, Carlota gets up and heads over to the door, but looks back at the big girl.
Carlota:"You're not coming with?"
Fumi:"I'll catch up later."
Rolling her eyes at that response, Carlota walks out of the room and heads over to the main hut. Once she was there, she could see most of the other girls talking amongst themselves.
Tricia:"She makes the 9th person this year to get stuck here and survive passed a day."
Kimberly:"It is rather suspicious. Especially considering where we all come from."
Wilma:"There's gotta be something keeping us in this jungle. I say we go after it."
Malika:"We don't even know what we're going to be looking for. Why risk it?"
Kimberly:"We can worry about that later. For now, we need to worry about our newest recruit."
And that's when Carlota made herself known, walking up to the rest of the girls.
Kimberly:"Ah. Right on time. We have something to discuss."
Carlota:"(feeling concerned) What's going on?"
Kimberly:"...We're gonna be heading out into the jungle today for a little hunt."
That made Carlota feel nervous since she already hated being in the jungle in the first place. And the last two days of her survival were nothing short of a miracle.
Tricia:"Before we go, we should probably get you some proper clothes, leaf girl."
A little while later, Carlota found herself dressed in the same way the girls were dressed, in a vermillion loincloth and red wrapping over her chest. She admired herself a little, posing as if it were a photoshoot, and generally liked it more than the leaves she had on before.
Carlota:"Ah, this one's much more my style. Definitely less itchy."
Angelica:"Hey, you wouldn't happen to know where Fumi is, do you?"
Carlota:"Mmm, she told me that she was still in her room."
Angelica:"Of course, she is."
But that is when Fumi had then come in herself, completing the group.
Fumi:"I'm here."
Kimberly:"Ah, perfect timing, Fumi."
Fumi:"So, what are we doing today?"
Kimberly:"We're going hunting today."
Fumi:"Oh. Cool."
Kimberly:"Everybody, let's get ready."
While everyone had gotten weapons of their own, Carlota realized that she was left unarmed since she ended up leaving her spear behind. But that is when Kate came by and presented her with a new weapon; a gunstock war club.
Kate:"Here. This should work better than that spear of yours."
Carlota:"(takes the club) Thanks."
Kimberly:"Glad you guys are armed up. Let's head out."
And with that, they make their way to the Jungle Path. Looking around the place, Carlota couldn't help but get nervous as there was no telling what they would encounter here as the sounds of animals nearby echoed throughout the trees. This made her walk over to Kimberly, who was leading the group as the Latino girl huddled next to her.
Carlota:"So, uh...what exactly are we hunting around here? I mean, I just want to know what kind of animals could be roaming about."
Kimberly:"Well, it could be anything. Lions, Rhinos, Wild Dogs, Buffaloes..."
That did make Carlota feel a little nervous, as she began to shake and quiver, the club still in her hands.
Kimberly:"Fortunately, we don't really encounter that many kinds of creatures around here."
And just as that was about to make Carlota feel better, the sound of some Lions snarling made the entire group come to a halt and raise their weapons. Except for Carlota, who froze in fear right after hearing those Lions.
Carlota:"Uh...do you think I'm really cut out for this?"
Kimberly:"Well, I'm kinda hoping you are. Because now might be the time to find out."
On top of a large rock, the girls spotted the pair of Lions sleeping together. Both seemed to have been male, based on their manes, and the group quickly hid by the bushes in order to sneak up on them.
Dani:"What's the approach here, Kimberly?"
Kimberly:"Follow my lead. VERY slowly."
With the girls all nodding in agreement, they slowly approach from behind, circling around the big rock they lay on. But just as this hunt was about the be extremely easy, Carlota ended up stepping on a twig, snapping it loud enough for both Lions to hear and get startled awake.
Malika:"Uh oh."
Fumi:"Nice going, newbie."
Carlota:"Sorry..."
The lions turned to face the girls and let out vicious roars as the group was forced to disperse in teams of two, enough for each Lion as they were ready for fight. But Carlota panicked and froze on the spot as she saw the girls take on each of the animals.
Carlota:"Uh...(shouts)...I think I'll just watch how you guys do it from here!"
Kimberly:"(struggles against Lion gnawing at her spear) Carlota, get in on this!"
The Lion that was on her wouldn't let up, but Kimberly managed to force it back as she, Jane, Tricia, and Malika found themselves running from the beast as it soon attempted to pounce. But they pointed their weapons upward, right when it was above their heads, and they managed to land a few cuts, which made the Lion back off before beginning to circle around the girls. Angelica, Wilma, Dani, and Fumi seemed to be handling their Lion with just as much luck as the first group; maybe even a bit more as Fumi decided to go and gesture at the Lion to come at her. And that it did, but the Lion was surprised to have found Fumi forcing it on its hind legs while its front legs were at her shoulders and her arms were grabbing at it from underneath. The girls were quite surprised to see Fumi practically wrestling the Lion before she decided to throw it off of her and then take out her staff and begin smacking its face.
Back to Kimberly's group, the girls found themselves backed up against the rock the Lion had laid on, as the beast itself had them cornered. But their leader wasn't deterred by this disadvantage.
Kimberly:"Hold your positions until we can strike back against it!"
Tricia:"We're out of options, Kim. We need help from the other side."
Kimberly:"Right...Carlota, do something!"
Finally breaking out of her panic, Carlota rushed over to the beast and delivered a nice whack to the head with her club; it even broke the skin. The hit managed to leave the lion dizzy, as it was even seeing spinning stakes around its derpy head. Kimberly took this as the moment to strike, as when she saw the Lion rising up to his back legs, she took her spear with a very long blade and drove into the stomach of the beast, where it went straight to the top of its back. Carlotta was horrified by the sight and moved her head away while her arms hid it as she didn't want to bear the sight of it.
Meanwhile, Fumi was back to wrestling with her Lion before throwing it and slamming it against a tree. Getting back up rather painfully, the Lion saw that it was now more outnumbered by the loss of its comrade, and decided to retreat back into the jungle.
Fumi:"Yeah, you better run."
Carlota:"(walking by, stunned) H-How did you do that?"
Fumi:"Years of practice. (looking at Carlota) Well, you were some help yourself, Princess."
That made Carlota feel a little hurt as she looked down to her feet while the other girls went over to praise Fumi for her efforts.
Angelica:"Well, it's nice to see you've done your handiwork yet again."
Fumi:"It was nothing to it."
Kimberly then walks over to the group, carrying the dead Lion over her shoulder.
Kimberly:"Well, one will have to do for today's hunt then."
Carlota:"Really? Are we not gonna hunt anymore? Are there any more animals around here?"
Kimberly:"They might just find us, Carlota. Lions tend to regroup when they're downed. Since one got away, we'll be in for some more trouble if we stick around."
Dani:"Meaning we should leave before we deal with any more beasts."
And with that, they head back to their hut. While they were moving back, Fumi went back to talking to Carlota.
Fumi:"You know, if you're gonna stick around, then we're gonna have to teach you how to survive here."
That made Carlota feel a little concerned since she wasn't a fighter. And looking down at her club, she could see that there was blood at the top from when she hit the Lion with it. Disgusted by the sight of it, she looked away while wiping the blood away with her fingers. It didn't take long for the girls to show back at their hut, with Kimberly taking the body of the Lion to one area, placing it down on some cut logs. Carlota was about to head back to her and Fumi's room when the leader stopped them.
Kimberly:"Hold on there, Carlota. We need to talk."
Now Carlota was worried. She feared that she might end up getting scolded for how little she participated in their hunting session today. Kimberly gestured for her and the others to follow her back into the main hut, with Carlota looking a little slumped as she faced the rest of the group.
Kimberly:"You actually did pretty good for a first attempt."
That...surprised Carlota. She was expecting worse than an average compliment.
Kimberly:"'Course, it's going to take more than a bump on the head to finish off the tons of other predators that live here. In order to survive, Carlota, you must learn to get a bit more in on the action."
Carlota:"What do you mean?"
Kimberly:"Starting tomorrow, first thing in the morning, we're going to be training you."
This made Carlota nervous. She never really had to fight for anything before, unless you count her extended family. But could she really be capable of surviving out here? Learning how to hunt, how to kill in order to survive and live off the land? She was just a city girl, after all.
Kimberly:"If you need some time to think about it, take all day if you'd like."
Carlota:"...No. Maybe it's for the best that I learn how to do things around here."
Kimberly:"(nods) Alright then. We'll get started tomorrow."
Carlota nods back and decides to head back to her room, with Fumi following behind.
Fumi:"You really think you can become a warrior?"
Carlota:"I don't know. But I do come from a pretty chaotic family. That's got to count for something."
Fumi:"Well, you're probably not gonna be as good as me. But I'm sure you'll have potential."
Carlota:"That much is true."
Upon arriving at their hut, Fumi was the first to step in, walking in sideways while the edges of the door would be rubbing against her stomach before she completely enters the room. Carlota was a little surprised that Fumi was able to slip in through a normal size doorway, wide-eyed by the sight of it before stepping in herself. Inside, she found Fumi eating Dango, and she wasn't even sure where she got it from or how there could even be ten kababs of those things. But the sight of them made Carlota realize that she hadn't eaten in a proper while, and she could hear her stomach rumble.
Carlota:"Um...where did you get those?"
Fumi:"Made them myself...(holds up a kabab) Want one?
Carlota:"...Ah, what the heck?"
Taking a kabab, she pops one of the dangos in her mouth and savors it. Much to her surprise, it reminded her a lot of Rosa's cooking...mostly when she cooked rice.
Carlota:"Mmm...this actually tastes pretty good. But, how did you even make this in the first place?"
Fumi:"Believe it or not, I found the ingredients somewhere in the jungle during one of our hunting trips a while back. Strangely enough, it was nowhere that was even considerably civilized."
While resting on her bed, Carlota wondered how the ingredients for Dango would even wind up in a place like this. But it's something that she'll figure out later as she lays down.
Carlota:"Well...I'm hoping that I can train hard enough to help you girls out some more."
Fumi:"Then get to it. You'll probably have a long time to practice."
And with that, the female sumo wrestler got back to eating her dango while Carlota fell asleep on her bed, thinking of trying hard to get strong.
