JENNA: * Morning comes, as it always does, and the pair manages to get out of bed and on the town with surprisingly little fuss. It doesn't take much asking around to find someone willing to build a house -- particularly for them -- and only a little more to find out how they can deduct money from their considerable account. Jo stays largely out of the way, except to direct them to the site, which is pronounced absolutely suitable, and it's from there that the nitty gritty parts of the planning begin. Unsurprisingly, they are of little interest to her.

JUSTIN: * Shane does his best to keep Jo interested in the process, but he realizes fairly early on that she'd probably prefer keeping more or less out of the affair. Aside from consulting her once or twice for her opinion on something, he seems intent on keeping focused on the project the majority of the day, letting her keep herself occupied however she pleases.

JENNA: * Jo doesn't seem terribly bothered by it, doing just as she promised and keeping herself occupied. She begins to lose track of the days in that manner, occasionally stopping by the site to see what kind of progress is being made (not much at first) between visits with the shepherd and time at the beach.

JUSTIN: * The slow progress doesn't bother Shane in the least. After going over a year without a house to call his own, he is dead set on making sure every little detail is taken care of. Though days go by with little more than lines of twine going up to mark the position of future architecture, and some mild preliminary landscaping, things eventually begin to take shape. The cellar is dug in good time, and the foundation laid, and soon the skeletal structure of the walls start to appear. While the final product is still a good way off, Shane is well and truly excited.

JENNA: * Orders are placed for a few, vital things -- supplies for the bath, an order for a bed (both more to Jo's interest), and a few odd things that are harder to get ahold of in Hugel. The house's skeletal framework is pretty well complete when Jo decides to take a few days hunting and swimming down by the river. Doubting Shane will be interested, she doesn't bring it up until the day she plans to go, tapping him on the shoulder as he continues his habitual overseeing of the building.

JUSTIN: * Shane starts at the unexpected touch, turning from his watch quickly, only to relax when he sees just who's behind him. "Oh, Jo -- I didn't expect you to stop by." He catches her hand and holds it in front of him, smiling with an sort of glee that he hasn't had in a while. "Come by to make sure I'm not breaking anything?"

JENNA: * Jo shrugs, grinning drily and turning her attention very briefly to the work going on at the site of their future house. She looks back at him, only faintly amused by how happy he is. "I doubt you would.. you're the one watching them, after all." She scratches her head, shrugging again. "I was gonna take off a couple days.. do some hunting and swimming. Won't be more than a day or two away."

JUSTIN: * Shane blinks his eyes, his joyful expression creasing slightly with something akin to concern. "Take off... by yourself, you mean?" He casts a look over his shoulder, back to where a group of men are hammering away at some sections of wood that will eventually become another piece of the house. When he looks back, he seems peculiarly torn. "Must you?"

JENNA: * Jo arches a brow and shrugs, following his gaze to the workers and back again. "I'll come back. I won't drown or get killed or run away. I just want to move around." She tilts her head, looking toward the workers again. "I don't have to go alone. I just thought you'd rather stay here."

JUSTIN: "No -- no, I don't have to stay here." Shane takes a quick step toward her, holding onto her hand a bit tighter. "There's nothing I can really do at the moment, anyway. I've already had the floorplan and everything laid out for them, and they probably won't finish with that for another week or so, anyway." He looks down at her with hopeful eyes, not sure why he expects her to try disuading him.

JENNA: * Jo gives him a long look, frowning, and scratches her head with her free hand. Her plans, admittedly, did not include Shane, and having him a long will likely cut into a few of them. After a moment, however, she shrugs. "Like I said.. it's up to you. I'm ready to go, though, so if you're coming, you'd better make it snappy."

JUSTIN: * Shane nods his head sharply, some of his cheer returning -- though it isn't quite as shamelessly blatant as before. "Of course. My pack is right over by the break table. We can leave whenever you want." He turns to go, almost forgetting to let go of her hand, until the last moment, and jogs off to reclaim his gear.

JENNA: * Jo waits for him to meet up with her, then starts walking away from the site, angling her route toward the river. "I was just going to walk, if that's all right," she explains, glancing over at him. "Stretch my legs a bit. Besides, nothing feels better than a swim after a day of hiking." A grin flits across her features, though it does falter momentarily.

JUSTIN: * Shane fixes the straps on his backpack, and quickly gets into step beside her, breathing out fitfully. "I don't mind at all. A little exercise now and then isn't a bad thing, after all." He glances over at her, grinning sheepishly. "I guess I haven't been getting as much as I should lately."

JENNA: "Then it'll be good for you, right?" Jo grins, picking up her pace a touch. The river isn't far, and they find it within an hour. "There's a pool a few miles in. Good fishing, good swimming, and the game in the area likes to use it ... so I thought I'd camp there for a couple days." She scratches her cheek. "I wasn't planning on using more than a cookfire.."

JUSTIN: * Shane shrugs his shoulders, folding his hands behind his head and watching river. "That's fine. Whatever you want." He's awfully agreeable, what with the fact he more or less invited himself along. "We're just camping for fun, right? We should go rugged. Maybe we could set up our tent, if you've still got it." He leans back to eye her pack for any attached tent posts.

JENNA: * Jo arches an eyebrow and shrugs. "Sure, I don't mind. It's a good way to stay warm without keeping the fire burning all night." She peers along the river, giving a long stretch. "I just never unpacked it ... means it probably hasn't torn or anything since the last time we used it." She looks thoughtful for a moment. "I could try rabbits for dinner instead of fish ..."

JUSTIN: "It has been a while since we last had some rabbits, hasn't it?" Shane seems to find this idea rather pleasing. "If we're roughing it, I suppose I shouldn't try seasoning them, though. That would rather defeat the illusion." He stretches, breathing deep, and lets out a long breath. One would think he hadn't been out of doors in months, the way he's exagerrating his actions.

JENNA: * Jo gives a soft 'tch.' "If we were roughing it, we wouldn't use the tent ... You're turning back into a city boy already." She shakes her head, giving him a slightly annoyed look. "Season the rabbits. There's nothing stopping us from carrying herbs with us, is there? They don't weigh much."

JUSTIN: * Shane sighs heavily, folding his arms over his chest and turning Jo a mildly affronted look. "You're killing the mood." He lets ones arm fall back to his side, reaching the other up to pluck a leaf from a low-hanging branch. "Well, I guess you have a point... But the tent is a camping tradition, isn't it? I mean, what do you think of when you see a tent?"

JENNA: "I think of rain," she replies drily. "That's the only reason I ever used one." She smiles faintly and shakes her head. "This is how I lived for most of my life, you know ... I'm not doing it just for fun. It's normal for me." And her own sense of normalcy has been severely lacking in the past several weeks.

JUSTIN: * Shane looks over again, flicking his leaf at her half-heartedly. It doesn't make it an inch before flitting off behind them in the breeze. "It's still fun... right? I mean, all your favorite hobbies generally involve camping or hiking or swimming in a freezing river." He sets his hand on the top of her head, rubbing idly with his thumb. "So what's the difference?"

JENNA: * Jo looks at him sideways and shakes her head again -- very slightly, with his hand in the way, a tired smile on her face. "Nothing, I guess." She doesn't say anything else for a while, occasionally watching the sky and occasionally looking ahead to judge their distance. "It shouldn't be more than an hour now," she says after one such check.

JUSTIN: * Shane makes a slight face, but he does his best to cover for it by pretending to scratch at the side of his nose. "An hour? You're sure it's just a /few/ miles?" He clears his throat quietly, and quickly amends his question. "I mean. Not that I mind or anything, just... checking." The last thing he wants is for her to think he's getting softer by the day.

JENNA: * Jo smiles, almost a smirk, and elbows him lightly in the ribs. "It'll /definitely/ be good for you if you're complaining about this. I could have made it there by now alone." She points ahead to where the river bends into a grove of trees. "See where it hooks there? It's just a little way after that. We'll get there before sundown."

JUSTIN: * Shane rubs absently at his side, not honestly the least bit hurt by her jab. "Are you insinuating that I slow you down?" He hooks his arm around hers, giving her a suspicious look from the corner of his eyes. "Did you plan to run the whole way there? Then you'd be too tired for your post-hike swim." He looks down at his stomach, and pats at it lightly with his free hand. "I'm not out of shape /yet/, you know."

JENNA: "I implied I'm going easy on you," she says drily, slipping her hand down to catch hold of his. "And if I have anything to say about it, you won't get out of shape." She quickens their pace a little, eager in her own right to go for that swim and thinking rapidly about how she's going to deal with things once they reach the campsite.

JUSTIN: * Shane shuffles his feet a bit to keep up with her increased walking speed, turning his attention to the forest ahead of him as he does so. "Well, if you're going to be monitoring my fitness so closely, I reserve the right to do the same to you if I feel like it." He gives her hand a squeeze, smiling slimly. "So I hope you get used to eating big portions of vegetables with your meals."

JENNA: "I'll eat whatever you put in front of me," she replies comfortably, gaze still on the path ahead. "As long as it isn't dangerous. Or alive." They reach the bend quickly at her new pace, and she stops in surprise as they turn. The river drops off almost immediately and widens to form the pool she described. "Guess it was closer than I thought ..."

JUSTIN: * Shane halts his forward motion as quickly as he can, balancing himself before standing up straight and taking in the sight ahead. "I hope you weren't just toying with me to see if I'd complain." He turns her a mild glare and smirk, though he's fairly certain she's being honest. "It looks like a nice spot, either way. And... conveniently close to the house, isn't it?"

JENNA: "If you don't mind making it a day trip ..." Jo starts quickly down the slope, hopping a bit and releasing Shane. "With as much game as I saw around, I don't think the villagers come here often." She pauses near the edge, looking into the deeper water, and ambles along the shore to a wider spot to camp. "Private beach, private pond ... who could ask for more, I guess."

JUSTIN: * Shane makes his way carefully down after her, keeping away from the the water's edge for now, for fear of a premature swim. "I'm sure I could think of a few things." He smiles teasingly, hopping a large rock to come up beside her again. "But I've got most of those already being taken care of. I think it's nice, though. I know you won't be spending much time inside four walls, if you can help it. At least I'll know two places to go looking for you if you disappear on me."

JENNA: * Jo looks at him sideways, momentarily embarrassed at this clear understanding of her intentions, then she nods. "I'll... try to let you know if I go somewhere else." She looks around the area and slings her pack down in a likely spot. "I guess we can set up the tent before we swim ..." She starts digging for the necessary parts and tools, knowing that she at least won't want to do so after they've taken a dip.

JUSTIN: * Shane follows her example, setting his pack down beside hers and helping her to get the required bits and pieces to build the tiny structure. "A little warning would be nice, but I'll try to be forgiving if you forget." He grins a bit, stretching before he sets to work. "It's a bit early for dinner, but I can get things ready for a fire now if you want."

JENNA: * Jo pauses, considering. "If you want ... might as well have one going for after we're done. The water's bound to be cold." She shrugs, taking her own part of the structure and setting it up with practiced precision. Between the two of them, it takes little time to erect the tent, and Jo gives a long, comfortable stretch before eyeing the river again thoughtfully.

JUSTIN: "All right, then. I'll go look for some suitable firewood. Feel free to test the water." Shane gives Jo's arm a squeeze and hops to his feet, dusting his coat off quickly before ambling toward the forest. He pauses, turning to look at her over his shoulder. "If you have any changing to do, you might as well get it done while I'm not looking." He grins again, and then continues his way into the forest.

JENNA: * Jo's expression becomes once again annoyed at this last, as it touches on one of her strongest objections to him coming. She doesn't answer him, however, starting for the river and shedding her boots as she goes. Once at the riverside, she gives the matter long consideration, then sheds her trousers and, only moments later, her tunic. After all, if she makes sure she's under water by the time he gets back, he probably won't notice until it's too late. Content with that thought, she wades in, striking immediately for deeper waters.

JUSTIN: * Shane remains blissfully ignorant of Jo's plot, leaving sight of the camp fairly shortly after his teasing comment. He spends close to ten minutes or so exploring around the campsite, occasionally doing the job he set out to complete, and otherwise enjoying the peaceful sound of birds in the canopy. When he finally returns to camp, he notices Jo's absence, but assuming she's already down at the river, he drops the wood and gets straight to work clearing a circle for the fire.

JENNA: * Jo is content to swim while she waits, exploring the deeper parts of the river and surfacing (gently) to swim a few laps. She's pleased to see plenty of fish, even if she did promise rabbits for the night. And she wonders whether he'll have any appetite afterward anyway. The thought of dealing with another sulk almost sends her to the shore, but she perseveres and continues to swim.

JUSTIN: * Before too long, Shane's got a small fire going -- healthy enough to survive without his care until it's time to cook, at which point he'll probably need to throw some more fuel on. He shrugs off his jacket and folds it up, placing it on his pack, and then turns an eye and an ear toward the river, listening for any sound of Jo's swimming. He shrugs lightly, not hearing anything over the sound of the river itself, and kicks off his boots, whistling quietly as he begins to strip off his shirt.

JENNA: * Jo surfaces once again to see the light of a fire in the distance and frowns slightly, kicking toward deeper water. No good if he turns tail at the shore, after all. She sighs, sinking under the surface again and holding her breath as long as she can, as much out of irritation as a desire to hide. Once she's stayed down as long as she can bear, she surfaces again, though she manages not to kick more than her head above the water.

JUSTIN: "You aren't trying to drown yourself, I hope." Shane crosses his arms over his chest, watching her from where he stands at the shore. He's down to his shorts again, having had enough of soggy, wet clothing recently. "The water's not... too chilly, is it?" He eyes the rolling river with caution, not trusting it to be completely hospitable to him. At the very least, he hasn't yet noticed Jo's pile of clothes nearby.

JENNA: * Jo manages to prevent a startled jerk backward, forcing herself to relax -- though she does keep the bulk of her body well below the surface. "No.. it's not bad. It's not too deep.. and the sun gets through the trees." Happily, at this time of day, the bulk of the pool is cast in shade. "It's refreshing," she adds with a grin. "And the fish mostly stay away."

JUSTIN: * Shane rubs at his arm with some uncertainty, but he slowly approaches the edge of the water anyway. "Well... with the number of fish we've eaten... I'm sure word's gotten around..." He sets his jaw in preparation for the cold, and manages to suppress a shiver when his foot sinks into the water. "'Refreshing' is a bit kind, don't you think?" Before he can let the cold scare him off, however, he trudges in up to his waist, face now clearly showing what he thinks of the temperature.

JENNA: "Oh bah. Just get used to it and you'll be fine. It's better than the ones near Juno." Jo swims a few feet closer, but she stays in the deeper water, lifting one hand out of it to beckon him -- glad to have another reason to stay in the deeper areas. "The faster you get in, the faster it gets better."

JUSTIN: "I suppose you're an expert on the subject, so it would probably be foolish not to take your advice. Right?" Shane grins at her lopsidedly, a look that falters when his eyes once again fall on the cold, running water. He sighs audibly and steels himself for the discomfort sure to follow, then plunges straight into the natural pool. His head resurfaces immediately -- along with the entire upper half of his body -- and he lets out a sharp curse, swiping his hair back from his face.

JENNA: * Jo sniffs, unimpressed by this display. "Don't be such a baby." She swims a little closer, grinning, though she does hang back enough the shade hides her nudity. "It's not so bad, city boy. Looks like I'll have to toughen you up a bit after all." She lifts one hand to splash a wave of water in his direction, ducking below the surface afterward and kicking backward.

JUSTIN: * Shane lifts his arms to shielf himself against the splashing water, scowling in mock-anger at her antics. "City boy? I could be a country bumpkin and still prefer warm water." He immediately moves after her, swimming toward the shaded, deeper water, and braving the cold in his attempts to catch her. Briefly losing sight of her retreat, he treads in place and does his best to spot her shadow below. "Come out, come out where ever you are, Jocasta..."

JENNA: * Jo takes her time under the water, comfortable with how long she can hold her breath. For several moments she forgets the inherent danger of getting close to him, and swims by to tug at his leg before flitting away. Then she slips underneath him, surfacing some way behind to splash him again.

JUSTIN: * Shane startles at the tug, turning and reaching as far as he can under the water to grope around for his target. When the water hits him in the back of the head, he snorts indignantly and spins around again. "That's not very nice, Jo." He lunges toward her again, as fast as he can with nothing but water to kick against.

JENNA: * She realizes her error the moment he lunges for her, backing hurriedly away and attempting to duck underneath the water again. She swims away as rapidly as she can, then realizes somewhat to her alarm that she's headed toward the lighter part of the water. For a moment, she stalls in place, uncertain what to do and well aware the problem is entirely her fault and a considerable miscalculation.

JUSTIN: * Shane grins in imminent victory, closing his eyes before diving into the water, and swooping in on Jo's retreating back. His arms cut through the water on either side of her and curl inwards, encompassing her waist and trapping her in place. The pursuit doesn't halt there, however, as his forward charge continues. His head slides up along her side as he follows through with the tackle, chest colliding with the small of her back. At first, he doesn't initially notice the inconsistancies between what he feels and what he expects to feel -- and with his eyes closed, that is the only moment of grace Jo will get.

JENNA: * Jo splutters and nearly swallows water, gasping in surprise first at his capture of her and second at the feeling of his arms circling her bare waist. She lunges for the surface, trying not to gulp in water, and attempts to wiggle out of his grasp, as unlikely as that may be.

JUSTIN: * Shane's momentary confusion doesn't have time to properly resolve itself before things get even worse. Jo's squirming body rockets up toward the surface, and he's dragged along for only a second, before his weight brings him back down again. His arms, at first tight around her waist, begin to loosen, hands pawing hopelessly for something to hang on to. Her nudity is becoming increasingly and horrificaly clear, not the least because he finds his head now resting against her naked hip, and his hands gripping tightly to her bare thighs.

JENNA: * Jo manages to get to the surface, gasping for breath for a long moment before she turns to bat at Shane's hands, catching hold of his wrists and tugging as if to force him to surface. It will only make things far worse if she's forced to drag him to shore to keep him from drowning himself. "Come /on/," she growls, feeling aggravated on several levels.

JUSTIN: * Shane drifts somewhere between the realms of unbridled panic and paralyzing shock, his body suddenly hot enough that he doesn't notice the cold of the water. Jo's insistant tugging eventually succeeds in freeing his vise-locked hands from her thighs, and he immediately begins to flail. Somehow he makes it to the surface without inhaling too much water, but what little does get in his lungs halts any screams or words he might have. He's instead reduced to coughing and sputtering helplessly, barely keeping himself afloat.

JENNA: "Shane, for godsakes --" Jo swims over to him, laying one hand against his back and using the other to get a hold on his arm and attempt to keep him a float. "Shane, calm down --" She gives his back a sharp smack and starts tugging him toward the shore, unable to think of anything else she can do with him.

JUSTIN: * Shane attempts to put up a fight, his confusion and alarm overriding his reason and sensability for the time being. He doesn't have the strength, however, and he can do little more than splash water in odd directions as he continues to hack and spit water from his lungs.

JENNA: * Jo swears softly, nearly losing her grip on him when he begins to struggle. "We'll both drown if you keep that up," she snaps, knowing full well he probably isn't listening to a word. She works her free arm around him, pressing herself against his back to get a better hold on him as she kicks for shore. "You are such.. a big.. baby," she growls under her breath.

JUSTIN: * Shane goes suddenly and surprisingly still when Jo takes him in her arm. The very thing he was fighting to get away from is now pressed quite tightly against the entire length of his back, and the only reaction he can manage is a total overload -- numb, limp paralysis. "I think I'm... going to die..."

JENNA: "Don't be a twit," Jo mutters, relieved to find she's reached an area where her feet touch the ground -- which likely means Shane is already dragging against it. "Swallowing a little water is no big deal. Just start walking, I know there's ground under your feet." She doesn't loosen her hold on him, however, not trusting him to slip beneath the water even under his own power.

JUSTIN: * Shane's feet do indeed find the ground -- in fact, they find it before Jo's, but they do little more than fumble around hopelessly. He's not putting much stock in his own survival, physically or mentally. Every bump and twist that drives Jo's chest against his bare skin kills him a little more inside, and he feels very much like purposely drowning himself.

JENNA: "Shane, I can't hold you up on my own," Jo says wearily as they reach shallower water. She looks at him for a moment, frowning. "You'd better start walking, or I'll drop you." And she loosens her hold on him, briefly, as if threatening to do so. "Just get to the shore and rest. I'll go hunt some damn rabbits."

JUSTIN: * Shane does as he's told, more as an automatic response than out of any desire to make it ashore. He makes a half-hearted attempt to support his own weight, stumbling along and continuing to use Jo for support, whether she wants the job or not. Once they're in the shallows, he falls onto his knees and begins to crawl, finding it easier to move that way, what with his legs being little more than gelatin.

JENNA: * Jo lets him fall, stepping out of the water and watching him to make sure he doesn't try anything stupid before she goes to retrieve her clothes. She continues to watch him as she pulls them on, wet and uncomfortable though this makes her. "Go back to the fire, all right? I'll be back soon." She almost turns, then pauses, waiting for a response before she goes.

JUSTIN: * Shane, thankfully, can't lift his head to see her nude form in plain sight, and he doesn't so much answer her as nod weakly and begin a slow crawl up the riverbank. He coughs up another mouthful of water and pauses to catch his breath, slumping forward to bury his face in his forearms. "Just... go... I need a second..."

JENNA: * Jo glares at him for a moment and nods shortly, even though he can't see it. "I'll be back," she mutters again, setting off for her gear and then into the forest as rapidly as she can. With any luck, killing a couple of small forest animals will help her work off some of her embarrassment and frustration.

JUSTIN: * Shane waits until he's sure Jo is well along her way before he makes any attempt at moving again. He sits back against his legs and groans, feeling a sort of phantom ache throughout his body, as if he'd somehow overexerted himself. When he does manage to get his legs under him again, he makes for the camp with slow, limping steps, using trees for occasional support along the way, and has just enough common sense to throw a cloak out beside the fire before he collapses onto it. He flops on his back to stare up at the patch of sky showing overhead, his wind swirling with thoughts he'd rather not have.