So I know there’s a lot going on with Rylo right now, but I’m gonna start off the post with an announcement.

This lil lady here is pregnant!! Go Dorah, Go Sam! Go Dorah, Go Sam!

I JUST HAD SEEEEEX

AND MY DREAMS CAME TRUUUUUUE

WHEEEEEEEEE!

Anyways.

When we left off, Rylo had just witnessed a very unexpected dog death, and he teamed up with the people who killed his dog in exchange for a crossbow. Just everyday kind of stuff.

As an ultra-loner since forever, he’s pretty nervous about the idea of being with a group. The only group he’s ever known was a bunch of crackheads, so.

They finally make it out of the trees, and at the bottom of a hill Rylo sees what must be the rest of Harlan’s group. So far noone looks particularly drugged out. A woman stirs a huge pot over the fire while the others rest or cut firewood.

Rylo’s companions rush to greet the rest of the group, and the air fills with chatter and excitement about the success of the hunt.

Lady: I’m so glad you all made it back before dark! Everything went well?

Guy: For the most part. We brought back lots of meat for tonight’s stew.

Rylo looks down at the aforementioned meat. The idea of eating that makes him uneasy, but he’s sure it’s better than letting it go to waste.

And like, it might be a wolf. Or part wolf. It’s probably not full-on dog meat, right?

Desperate times, yo.

Rylo suddenly begins to feel very self-conscious as an outsider standing just outside the firelight. He starts to wonder if they’ve forgotten about him. Maybe he should just sneak off and forget about it.

Then to his relief Harlan addresses the group.

Harlan: Guys, attention please! I want to introduce you to Rylo, who will be staying with us. There was a bit of a kerfuffle over a dog today, and as it stands now we owe Rylo a pelt and a crossbow in exchange for a few weeks of help. Bea, I know the pelt is your area of expertise. Everyone else, please make Rylo feel welcome and make sure he has everything he needs.

So um, babe alert.

Would you believe that this sex-bomb was literally created when I hit the random button in CAS? Like, what.

And then this other sex-bomb named Danek happened. And they were both so damn attractive that they fell for each other and humans of every gender and every sexual orientation wept, all over the world, because these two were taken. The agony of it all.

Rylo soon finds himself ushered over into the firelight. He keeps his head down and tries to stay out of the way while the others talk and laugh and get the stew going. Eventually someone hands him a bowl of hot, meaty stew. His heart beats rapidly with the first bite as Smiler invades his mind, but he pushes thoughts of her away. The stew becomes easier to eat with every spoonful, until he’s scraping the gravy off the bottom of the bowl with his finger and wishing someone would give him some more.

Everyone lounges contentedly in the warmth of the fire. Danek leans back and closes his eyes, letting the light dance on his eyelids. Elijah and Renna, whose names Rylo managed to pick up, crack jokes with Harlan.

Elijah: We’re on a bench.

Renna: LOL.

Bea beams at her little family as Byron gives Quentin a ride on his feet.

Quentin: Daddy, make me walk like a zombie! Braaaaaaghhhhh!

They sit sharing the warmth of firelight and company late into the night. Rylo’s eyes start to feel heavy, and the heat coming off the flames wraps around him like a blanket.

Quentin is the first to fall asleep, and Bea carries him into the little old house, careful not to wake him. The others trickle in after her, and Rylo eventually turns in as well. Maybe he’ll be able to find a little corner for himself.

Inside the house Rylo finds a big main room filled with sleeping bags and blankets. Most of the group is fast asleep already, with only the sounds of soft snoring and Bea’s hushed singing as she snuggles Quentin on the couch.

Harlan: We have an extra sleeping bag, you’re welcome to use it. If you’re the last to fall asleep just make sure the candles are blown out, cool?

Rylo: Yeah. Thanks.

Rylo pulls his boots off and settles down to sleep. The sleeping bag kind of smells like people. The whole house smells like people. Rylo is sure he’s going to be awake all night, and that there’s no way he’ll be able to sleep with all these people around him. But actually, he’s out within minutes, and doesn’t wake up once all night.

I like my overhead slumber party pics. They all look so damn CUTE.

The next morning, the sky is made of cotton candy.

Rylo rolls up his sleeping bag, pulls on his boots, and heads outside to see if there’s any way he can make himself useful.

To his surprise, the guys of the group are just leaving to hunt and search for vegetables.

He’s not sure why he wasn’t invited along. Finding food is something he’s always been very good at, and he’s disappointed to be left behind.

He scrapes some leftovers of last nights stew into a bowl and eats it cold. He spends the rest of the day staring moodily into the fire. Occasionally Bea asks him for help, mostly out of pity. He wordlessly helps her collect water and with some of the hide tanning process, but his somber presence is draining and soon Bea stops asking him.

In the late afternoon the men return, flushed from the day of exercise.

Bea: And what did you find for tonight?

Rylo is a little bit smug to see they’ve only managed a skinny cat today, but everyone else seems satisfied with the measly catch.

He’s actually a little weirded out at the thought of eating a cat. His face betrays his disgust as Bea drops cubed cat meat into the stew, but she just shrugs her shoulders and says “Meat is meat.”

Rylo supposes she’s right. Some days he sees where the meat comes from, and other times he doesn’t. It generally tastes the same, and Rylo’s not one to be picky.

Five days pass in pretty much the same way.

Harlan: Hey man, how you been? Is everything going okay for you?

Rylo: Sure, I guess.

Harlan: I don’t know man, that might just be how you always are, but you seem kinda glum.

Rylo: Well I’ve just been so useless. I want to help hunt.

Harlan: Yeah… we already kind of have a lot of hunters Rylo. And when we go on a hunt it makes us feel a lot better to know that you’re holding down the fort back here. Byron feels a lot better knowing Bea and Quentin are safe, you can ask him.

Rylo: I guess I just miss hunting is all. I want to try hunting the bigger stuff with you guys, deer and things. You hunt pretty much everything right?

Harlan: Well… whatever we can catch I guess. Meat is meat.

Rylo isn’t sure how to be persuasive, and the conversation ends with no real resolution. Rylo heads to bed early that night, his head full of half-finished arguments.

Hooookay. I think I’m gonna wrap up the post now. Tune in next week to see if Rylo learns any social skills.