Mako ran his thumb under his lip, feeling the stubble scratch against his dry skin. He craned his neck over his shoulder, paying more attention to the approaching jungle than the nonsensical chatter of his colleagues. They gave him a headache with the constant shallow jabber. When he first started his job as a reporting journalist for the Republic City Institution of Natural Study (RCINS) he expected to be immersed with intelligence and brilliance. He was excited finally be surrounded with people who shared the same taste for study and knowledge like he did. But after the first few days he realized how his expectations let him down. The range of the intelligence stopped at being able to write down simple data from what the eye could see. Not what the mind could. Most of the research journalist who had been working there long before him were more novices in the science of observation than he was. And he was merely a kid straight out of school.

But he wouldn't dare complain. It was a blessing to have found such a reasonably paying job straight out of school in the field he had hoped for. If it was feeding his younger brother and putting a roof over his head, than it was a good job. Dim witted co workers or not.

Mako continued absent mindedly watching the blur of every shade of green suddenly starting to arrange itself into high quality detail. He could start to see the levels of ramose trees blanketing the coast, preventing the rang of view from going much past the top branches.

He could hear the surrounding conversation switch from some grotesque discussion of sports and bedding women to announcements of their arrival soon approaching.

A mechanical voice announced through the airship to fasten seat belts as the aircraft made its landing.

Mako sighed and sat more comfortably and stretched the seat belt over his chest. He put away his notebook and pen in the front pocket of his faded, leather bag and zipped it up and tucked it under his seat.

Although he would be bunking with these agitating men, this assignment seemed to promise adventure. Just the idea oozed with excitement. Traveling half way across the world to a jungle to investigate its natural inhabitants. All he had to do was log articles of his findings. He wouldn't even have to spend most of the day with these people. He could spend the entire day immersed in the wild and come back late in the evening. If he stuck to his plan than it would be en enjoyable trip. Doing work that one enjoyed was more anyone could ask for and here Mako was, lucky enough to have found it.

The air ship arrived and the door unlatched, revealing an cleared field with and abundance greenery surrounding it. And right smack in the middle was the headquarters where they would sign in and out everyday to their bunks and report in the offices. Something about the sight was off. The cold, hard, metal of the monolithic building looked painfully out of place. It was an eyesore and Mako couldn't wait to escape it. And he hadn't even been there more than two minutes.

They were led into their bunks and Mako picked the cot in the far corner. It seemed more distant that the rest of the grouped beds. As though it was almost placed exactly to be apt to his attitude. He set his trunk down and placed a few of his belongings into the drawers of the armoire next to his bed. He slung his personal bag with his notebook and pen ( all he really needed) over his shoulder and headed out to the entrance hall. He stamped the card with his name with his exit time and signed next it it. He quickly refilled his temperature controlled bottle with fresh water to the brim. He stepped out side and a shock washed over his body.

He has stepped from crisp, air conditioned air into this humid and muggy terrain. The vacancy around him felt almost sticky. He could feel around him how the air was heavier and less forgiving. He took a deep breath of the watery air and and rolled up his sleeves, continuing to embark to the fascinating jungle ahead of him.

He brushed away thick vines and stepped over roots. He pushed away branches and avoided soggy puddles. He could hear the buzz of the wild. Soft chirps and deep groans. He could smell the damp earth. It was just what he expected. Teeming with life.

But what kind of life, he wasn't sure. They merely told him to record the indigenous species. What species, they didn't specify. They were told to look for arthropods, reptilia, aves, and mammilia. While the shrubbery with odd looking spikes intrigued him, that was not was he was there for. He jotted down small notes on the minuscule bugs flying around. Most likely a source of nutrition to something larger. He looked up to see a a woven web in between two branches. It was resemblant of a spider-frog web, but with an unfamiliar pattern.

He jotted that down too.

He found a stump and cleared off some over grown vines, moss, and crinkled, brown leaves and sat down, pulling out his note book.

He jotted down a few characteristics of the strange braided mess of thick silk strings.

The pattern was square like with each individual box woven on its own. Almost like a quilt.

He wrote down all that he saw and set his book down. What ever creature lived there had to come back eventually right?

He looked around him, taking in the new sights and noting what he could to make any hypothesis he could. After further investigation he decided to not look further until the inhabitant returned. His eyes scanned his surroundings. The tall canopy, the think layers of shrubbery, the labyrinth of trees and vines that limited view and provided great cover for any creatures lurking around.

After about an hour of sweating he had taken note of every detail of every vein of every leaf around him, the web was still empty. He sighed of boredom.

What an exiting adventure. His own thoughts were riddled with sarcasm.

He zipped open his bag and pulled out a bag of crackers he has stored. They were simple water crackers meant more for entertainment then to ease hunger at the moment.

His first crunch seemed small and insignificant and he realized how loud everything was. How there was still the buzzing of probably various bugs and the croaking of some creature and rustling in the bush…..wait…. rustling in the bush?

He turned, his heart racing. Was something trying to sneak up on him? Was it a creature ready to attack? He placed his hand over his back pocket, ready to pull out his pocket knife at any moment. His sweating became more from adrenaline than of the muggy heat and he watched circumspectly as the leaves began to move to the rustling. He swallowed back a lump and suddenly the criminal of the movement came out of the bush and he cringed in surprised.

After a breath a relief he smiled at the creature. It looked like a cub of some sort. Definitely an adolescent mammal. He pulled out his notebook and quickly sketched the creature and jotted down notes.

He noted the stub of forming horns and the tan fur. The damp, brown nose and the wet brown eyes. The big pawed creature, about the size of a cat, sniffed the air and got closer. Mako cracked a smile and held out his hand to sniff. The animal flinches slightly at the movement, but didn't turn away. It took a step forward, smelling the air getting closer to his palm. It took small, cautious steps and got to the point where it was a mere inch away.

As he was about to let the creature get familiar with his scent, he felt a tight restrain on his wrist. He looked to see a small, dark, and grimy hand grasping around him and stopping his action. He followed the attached limb, eyes traveling up the toned arm to see it connected to a sharp shoulder, attached to a lean neck attached to a face that was not looking at him, but the animal. He nearly gasped in shock. For a moment he was frightened, but now his heart started dancing erratically. There was no way someone could be frightened (or at least in a bad way) of thoseeyes.

The girl scrunched her brows together and hissed, baring her teeth at the friendly creature and it scampered away. She threw Mako's wrist back to him and ducked behind a tree with out a word.

"Wait!" He pleaded. Who was she? Why did she stop him? Why did she just leave? He abandoned all thoughts of his bag and notebook and the peculiar tangled web and sought after her.

He saw a mess of rich, brown hair turn the corner and he chased after it, following where ever he spotted it next. He fumbled and tripped over roots he wasn't paying attention to and ripped his way through bundles of vines.

He didn't understand how she was moving so fast and so elegantly through the treacherous maze of hidden obstacles.

He was trying to quicken his pace to catch up with her, constantly calling out "Wait!" and "Stop!" and then she looked back. Still running, she looked back.

And met his eyes with a fiery blue glare. It was an impossible blue. There was no way such a cool color could be so scorching. They almost burned to look at.

Again he was taken off guard and his throat tightened. Everything around him blurred until he was falling over an arisen root and landed to the ground with a thump, barley catching himself with his palms. He looked up, sucking in deep breaths to regain lost oxygen. Slowly everything was coming back. He could feel a sharp twinge of ache in his side from running to long. He pushed him self up, ignoring his scraped knee and aching body's protests and dashed to the spot he saw her last.

She was gone. Not a ruffled bush or sound of running left behind to leave evidence she was anywhere near.

He didn't stop. He kept looking around. Desperate to know who this was. And what was up with those damned eyes.

It was probably hours with no clue to where she was. He found himself back at his bag and notebook, completely out of breath and the jungle twenty shades darker. It was probably close to nightfall and time to check back in.

He would find her tomorrow.

He had to.

He didn't know why…but he did.

He gave him self a moment, resting his hand on his bent knees and chest expanding with large inhales and deflating with his exhales.

Mako found his way back to camp and set his things in his room. He immediately peeled his damp clothes off and stepped into the shower, scrubbing away the day's sweat.

He grabbed the bottle of generic shampoo and clicked open the white bottle. He poured the thick liquid into his palms and watched the blue shampoo form a puddle in his cupped palm. He couldn't help but think how dull this blue was. How it lacked a certain brightness he was positive blues were supposed to have.

He could shake away the thought of … her… what ever she was. He finished up and dried himself off, put out his night-wear and got into bed. The others were gone in the dining hall probably eating dinner and drinking, but he couldn't be bothered nor did he find himself wanting food.

He stared up, laying on his bed, looking more at his thoughts than anything. There was no doubt she would infest his dream. The toasted skin, skidded with dirt and scarred with cuts. The ratted woven cloth tied around her feminine hips and around her chest, leaving her toned stomach and athletic arms and legs exposed. The flushed cheeked that were painted with streaks of green in some sort of intentional marking. The matted, rich brown hair that had two front pigtails sectioned off by blue beads that looked grey compared to those eyes. The burning blue.

The colored irises seemed incommensurate with anything he'd seen…. he hadn't just seen…he'd felt. Maybe not just the color. While not common, he'd seen bright blue eyes before.

There was something… something rare. There was definitely something wild about them. Something untamed. Like an energetic flicker cavorting behind them.

They were painted with bravery and innocence as well, and while these qualities were outstanding, the weren't what caused awe.

Maybe he should just forget it. The bed groaned a metallic squeak of springs as he turned onto his side. He was probably just going crazy. Jungle fever or something. He had a job to do. Observe. Write. Get paid.

He couldn't afford nonsense or distractions. He just needed to stay focused. He'd managed to ignore the idiots he bunked with so why not this?…

Then it clicked.

What was drawing him in.

Why he was going to find her in the morning.

He's seen something in that blue that he'd been missing for so long he barley recognized it.

Those eyes…. they had what everyone around him lacked.

They had depth.