Blinky's Express

Harold had only been with them for two days and Kim was already seeing why Stanley had been so eager to find a way to ditch him. In general, she wasn't worried about him tagging along with the rest of them once they parted from Stanley's group, she just worried that some of the others might try to vote to keep them all together.

She was pretty sure that Elmo and Elin wouldn't be in agreement with that, but she couldn't be sure about Bart, Owen, or Patricia. She was confident that Heather and Sonya wouldn't and she'd also gotten confirmation from Elwin, Patrick, and Jonas. Although, she couldn't be sure that Stanley wouldn't find a way to talk anyone into having all their groups staying together. She wasn't sure how far his abilities were, or what they were specifically, but she wasn't sure she should just count on things working out the way she'd like if Stanley had a different opinion.

The fact that no one had reached where they were just yet felt a little surprising to Kim. She was pretty sure that the bear hadn't really traveled that far, but she also had to admit that it probably was able to clear obstacles that would take them a while to either climb over or walk around.

The biggest problem with Harold was that he was pretty much too eager to be helpful. Almost to the point where it was bordering on being unhelpful. Though, Kim wasn't sure if some of his attitude was from being a lycanthrope, and so very loyal to whoever he considered above him in whatever hierarchy he had in his mind. Which Kim was pretty sure that Stanley would be considered at the top of that, with how much Harold seemed to praise him.

Personally, Kim would have preferred to have started walking towards anyone who had been following the bear's path, if only to get their groups to officially separate sooner rather than later. Yet, she had been outvoted by pretty much everyone, except maybe Jonas who'd merely abstained.

What the others wanted to do was to harvest some of the bear's meat, though Kim wasn't sure how good it would taste. Especially since she really didn't think that any of them had anything to season it with. After all, their main supplies weren't anywhere near where their current location was.

However, after spending two days to cut out chunks of the bear's meat, like they were cutting into blocks of ice, it was clear that they'd gotten what they could and even Elwin had to admit that they wouldn't be able to carry any more.

Though, Kim didn't like the idea of having to carry raw meat like that, since they didn't have anything to hold it in and her clothing was just about to fall apart as it was. Especially since she hadn't really thought about what would happen after she'd dealt with the stellar bear's weakness. Especially since she couldn't say that the bear wouldn't just fade away as if it was a ghost or something.

Still, if she really had wanted to have nothing to do with this, she could have easily left when she could. Besides, she'd helped cut some of it up to dry while Elwin showed the others how to smoke it, despite the fact that they pretty much had only pine to work with when it came to burning wood to smoke any of the meat.

What they hadn't been able to take care of in that manner would still be unpleasant for Kim, but she didn't see a reason to let the others become aware of that fact. Especially since she didn't care to bring more attention to the state of her clothing than necessary. While she wasn't sure how much the others had noticed, Kim didn't plan on doing anything that might make them think about that.

When they did start out after a quick meal of bear roasted on a stick, Kim let the others go ahead of her. Not so much because she felt tired or that they were in any way better than her, but rather because she knew they didn't have the ability to see behind themselves without turning their heads. If she'd gone on ahead of them, she couldn't say if their eyes might find something about her clothing that she wasn't aware of that would 'interest' them in a manner Kim wouldn't be fine with.

Plus, if they wanted to look at her, she'd be able to see them doing so when they did so. Yet, if she moved ahead, then she wouldn't be able to know unless she looked at them herself. Though, if she kept looking back at them, she was afraid that it would draw attention to her insecurity about her clothing, which would make it more likely that they'd notice something that she wouldn't care for.

When they stopped for a rest around noon, Kim glanced back at where the bear's body could still be seen and she felt like they'd hardly gone anywhere. While she could see several trees between their current location and the bear's body, it still felt like they were maybe a five minute walk from it.

Despite that, Kim did her best to keep moving. Though, she hoped that as they descended the hill they had just climbed, that it would block their view of the bear for at least a long while as they continued to walk. That way, when they saw the bear again, or if they did, then it wouldn't feel like they'd hardly gone anywhere in relation to its corpse.

While the others talked amicably among themselves, Kim kept herself back. Partly because of her wardrobe issues, but also partly because she just didn't care to socialize with them right then. Maybe if Elin, Heather, Sonya. or Patricia were there she'd be more interested in talking with someone, but at the moment she was just happy enough to be moving in the direction, for the most part, where those people currently were.

Though, it wasn't until around midafternoon that they encountered Stanley and his group with Patricia and Owen.

"Wait, what're you guys doing here?" Stanley asked, sounding shocked.

"What do you mean 'what are we doing here?'" Elwin asked. "We were able to kill the bear and now we're heading back for the rest of our group."

"How could you have killed it?" Stanley asked. "It was too massive for you to have been able to do anything to it."

"Well, if you remember, it was announced a couple nights ago," Jonas chimed in. "If you weren't paying attention to that, then I can't really help you about it."

"I helped take it down," Harold informed Stanley, looking at him almost like he wanted a treat for having done something like that.

Much like a puppy, Kim thought to herself.

As Kim watched Stanley ignore Harold's comment, she couldn't help but feel a little bad about the situation. Harold was like a dog seeing approval from its master, but the master completely disregards the accomplishment. Kim wasn't sure which would happen first: If Harold would turn on Stanley at some point or if Harold would become disillusioned with Stanley and just split altogether.

At the moment she considered it more of a toss up of which it would be, but she suspected that Stanley would prefer the second option. Although, she couldn't help but wonder if Harold would be capable of taking the first option. At least from what she knew about his personality in general.

"So, if the bear's down, then what now? I'm pretty sure we don't have a reason to stick together anymore, right?"

"Well, we do need to get our stuff again from the campsite," Elwin remarked. "Then go collect the others from our group."

"Yeah, but you don't need us for that part, right?" Frank asked, his tone making it sound like he thought working with them, let alone helping them, was a complete waste of his time.

Or at least that's how Kim interpreted it.

"Well, you could see if Blinky would take us back to our camp," Owen suggested. "We can separate from there. That way we'll all be able to get our own things and you can even take some of the bear meat that we'd gathered."

Yeah, says one of those who didn't have to suffer through the laborious task of harvesting it, Kim thought in her mind, feeling rather annoyed by Owen's casual suggestion.

"You know, that might be a good payment for all the help we've given all of you," Stanley remarked.

Kim felt the urge to punch Stanley in the face rising with how arrogant he sounded. Almost like he felt that no matter what he did, that those around him owed him for doing just that. Even if it was something either completely inane or something that he would have done anyway.

Though, she wasn't going to argue with getting back to the camp that much quicker. Especially when it meant that she'd be able to change into something that wasn't partially dissolved. She just figured that she'd only hand over some of the bear meat that she was carrying if asked. Otherwise she'd let the others use their supply. As far as Kim was concerned, it was only fair.

So, as she steeped closer to what Thomas termed the 'Blinky Express,' she took a deep breath. She wasn't going to say anything herself, but she hoped that they wouldn't encounter Stanley's group again after this. Stanley and Frank were real pieces of work and she couldn't say that they were really working together in this, since more often than not, it felt like Stanley considered all of them to have been working for him rather than all of them working together.

Besides, while she was certain that she really just needed a good rest, she doubted that her opinions of Stanley and Frank would change. Besides, Thomas' biggest problem was that it was clear he was loyal to Stanley and Frank. Otherwise she couldn't think of anything that she'd hold against him otherwise.

Yet, if they encountered Stanley's group again, she wouldn't be surprised if they met again as enemies rather than whatever kind of allies they were during this endeavor.