"Staaaare. Staaaaare. Staaaaare." The peculiar, soft voice gently pulled Lesh from the deep silence of his slumber. A prickle of awareness, followed by a slight shift brought his focus to the source. Alice was practically a breath away, her wide eyes unblinking as they bored into his own recently opened ones. A small, almost imperceptible finger hovered near his cheek seemingly intent to poke him as her lips keep repeating the same drawn-out word with an unsettling, yet oddly innocent intensity.
"What are you doing?" Lesh's voice was a low murmur, he hoped that maybe, just maybe, this bizarre ritual would yield a remotely coherent and interesting answer.
Alice leaned in slightly, her focus unwavering. "Trying to stare into your soul. Or maybe your mind? I figured if I stare hard enough, I can get a look inside and see John in there and maybe who knows what else in there." Her voice was earnest as she narrowed her eyes as if trying to physically penetrate his very being.
Lesh suppressed a sigh. The early morning light filtered through did little to soften the strangeness of the interaction. "All that's going to do is give you a headache and frankly, it's rather annoying. Why don't you go see who else is up and help organize some breakfast for everyone? You might not realize it but there is a rather large number of new companions now. Hmm I also had tin can and her companions locked up, it took a lot of convincing but Elena eventually agreed." He said well pushing himself up, the unfamiliar sensation of a physical body stretching and coming to life a curious marvel he was still learning to navigate properly well going through the morning routine, a simple act that continued to fill him with a strange, almost childlike wonder due to how new it was to him. This 'living' was an alien concept he had all but forgotten, yet each mundane task—the feel of water, the act of cleaning—unlocked a new, tangible experience he had never known before.
Half an hour later, stepping into the yard Lesh found the group had slowly begun to gather already, a quiet hum of activity now filling the space, hunched over wooden bowls well slowly savoring their portions of dry cereals and fruit. He knew, without a doubt, that Elena had meticulously sourced and distributed the fruit and wooden bowls no doubt only because it was something John would have expected of her. Grabbing a wooden bowl for himself and serving a modest portion of fruit Lesh walked over to join them, finding an empty spot and settling down as Alice happily bounced away well whispering excitedly about hoping to find the sugariest cereal possible. As he sat down a profound silence descended over them, the gentle clinking of wooden spoons against wooden bowls ceasing abruptly. Every eye in the small circle turned to him, their expressions a mixture of surprise and apprehension.
"What's wrong with everyone?" Lesh asked, his brow furrowing slightly. The sudden shift in atmosphere was palpable like a heavy blanket of unspoken questions. "Have I done something wrong, or perhaps broken some human taboo with one of my actions?" He genuinely sought to understand, his non-human nature often leaving him adrift in the nuances of social interaction.
It was the redhead girl, perched beside the old man who always seemed to accompany her, who finally broke the tension. "No no, it's not anything like that, rather It's, well it's because you're sitting and eating cereal and fruit, the same as all of us and even sitting with us, not putting yourself higher or even eating something more?" Her words, though simple, carried a weight as she exchanged a quick, meaningful glance with the elder beside her.
"I see, am I'm not welcome to sit here and eat with you all as an equal though? Am I expected to place myself in some kind of far higher position where I am to look down upon those who willingly chose to follow me?" he replied, a touch of genuine confusion in his tone. His question was met with a flurry of headshakes and muffled denial from the group.
"No, no! It's nothing like that!" she quickly clarified, her cheeks flushing slightly. "It's just… we figured with you being our leader now and everything, you would kind of be eating… better than us? Like, something different, more filling or just I don't know grander? Maybe even just a lot more food than what we're eating." She tried to explain. It took a few moments for it to click into place for him, a look of dawning understanding spreading across his face.
"Uh I see I see, how very interesting. I take it that it's because of my speech last night then? About how distribution will be based on contribution and all that." He asked, taking a slow spoonful of cereal into his mouth, the simple taste something he found himself rather enjoying. "Well, here's the thing in regards to that, I needed to say something to ensure there wouldn't be leeches clinging onto us or our resources, especially in these early days of creating this camp and hopefully future settlement, to deter those who would do all they wanted without care, taking our resources and doing little to no actual work. The best way I could think to do so was to make it seem like it wouldn't be an easy time. Honestly speaking, everyone will start by eating the same. But if you don't pull your weight then you would receive less than everyone else or of lower quality. However, if you push to do more than what's minimally required, then you could receive more in return to reflect those actions. If everyone pushes a bit, if everyone performs really well then, depending on our supplies there could possibly even be treats and such that will be brought out as a show of gratitude. I find it only fair that rewarding everyone for their hard work and loyalty is only fair as long as we have the means to do so." Lesh finished, finally getting his thoughts in order, his explanation clear and deliberate. As he spoke, the apprehensive expressions slowly melted away, replaced by happy, relieved looks and a renewed sense of purpose as those present felt they had indeed made the right choice. The tension in the air dissipating and soon replaced by more murmur of agreement of such a reward system and a palpable boost in morale.
"Now, let's eat our cereals and drink our waters," Lesh instructed, a gentle command replacing his earlier defensive posture. "Once everyone is done, we can start making a makeshift list of jobs and responsibilities for everyone along with discussing where we should begin in regards to building a decent camp." He enjoying another spoonful of cereal. Around him the clinking of spoons resumed, a more cheerful rhythm than before settling over them, Alice having just returned seemed to be thriving in the revived atmosphere as she bounced around from person to person. Her bright, bubbly energy bordering on playful madness, seemed strangely endearing to everyone as they tried to joke with her. Her infectious good humor helped to brighten the morning even further, creating a thread of lightness through the group.
After finishing his breakfast, He had them get down to business, starting with the supplies that had been gathered, particularly the more specialized items. He was told that Elena was diligently keeping them, a decision he understood as there was no better person to trust such a task to. She seemed to dislike the idea of leaving valuable resources that could aid her master just lying around, easily lost or getting damaged. She had taken it upon herself to sort and store everything securely in what she called "tree-lockers" within the broken greenhouse – ingenious compartments carved and sealed into the sturdy trunks of the largest trees. Lesh felt a pang of curiosity, wanting to inspect these clever storages himself to understand the engineering behind them but he also knew Elena's deep-seated discomfort with him meant such an interesting creation was out of his reach for the time being. He understood that her nature of life and his base nature of death, even heavily filtered and transformed as it was to blend nature into it simply did not get along, he silently mused with an internal sigh. Trust, particularly with Elena would be a slow and fragile build for him, one he could not rush.
"Alright everyone, kindly line up in front of me," Lesh announced, his voice carrying just enough authority to gather their attention without sounding demanding. "I would like to hear everyone's names, their class or previous professions and what specific skills or aptitudes you have. If I am to be honest, I would greatly prefer someone with a good memory or a sharp mind to be first so that they may act as a secretary of sorts, I admittedly don't have the best of minds for retaining such detailed information as it never truly holds interest for me." He confessed this with a mild bit of embarrassment, a self-deprecating honesty that resonated with the group and caused a few chuckles to ripple through them, not in mockery but in a shared moment of human recognition, a collective understanding that this new leader, despite his enigmatic nature was just as flawed and relatable as they were, something that they hadn't seen in a leader since before the worlds change and even then it was extremely rare.