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There was a strange moment that passed as Victor’s words lingered in the air, the last of the trio to refuse Verity. That open hand of hers closed into a fist, and that fist of hers…

…laid at rest by her side.

[b]“Mhmmm.”[/b] Her eyebrows lifted up along with her chin, the smile that stretched to the corners of her face cat-like in nature. [b]“How unreasonable.”[/b]

But by the way she about-faced immediately, feeling for a length of vine that was still flexible enough to be tied with, still sturdy enough to hold her weight, still weak enough that she could tear apart to an appropriate size, it looked as if it had been Verity’s first choice as well. The choice she would have taken from the get-go, if the second choice hadn’t been the [i]funnier[/i] one. Couldn’t lose one’s sense of self just because they were stranded on an island, after all. The situation wasn’t nearly so desperate yet.
Though perhaps they would become desperate, depending on what happened in the next ten minutes.

Verity squatted down, measuring out a loop of vine roughly her width, and tied it together. Braided that loop with another length of vine. Then a third. A fourth. Her fingers moved slowly but assuredly, building up a loop that grew stiffer with each iteration. The fourth was done, and then the loop itself was twisted into a double helix, which she set her bare feet against.

A strange feeling, to have a half-dozen bumps dig against the arches of her feet. But it was flexible enough, and the lack of stretch would be accommodated by the increased friction. Now, it was just a matter of her body.

Waddling over bowleggedly, the pale-skinned girl set her hands around the trunk of the tree, one on the far end, one on the near end. Main purpose was to keep her body perpendicular to the ground. Her feet rested at the base of the trunk, soles pressed against the surface alongside the twisted cordage. Her eyes, set on the prize. Her mind, having forgotten the others around her. What was it like again…

[b]“Frogs.”[/b]

Verity stood up.

Leapt up.

Landed into a crouch.

Stood up.

Leapt up.

Landed into a crouch.

Stood up. Leapt up. Landed into a crouch. Stood up. Leapt up. Landed into a crouch. Stood up. Leapt up. Landed into a crouch. Stood up. Leapt up. Landed into a crouch. Stood up. Leapt up. Landed into a crouch. 

A splinter in her palm. She’d have to pick it out later. Better than the pinching of her skin, caught by the twisted vines. Her soles were tough enough though. Tough but malleable, able to get a feel for the bark that shoes wouldn’t have. Shoulders were shaking more though, and in some lizard part of her brain, she could feel how insane it was, to stand like a mountain goat on the sheer side of a cliff. Except she had no hooves, and it was a tree instead.

Huh. That explained the goat story.

Two stories ended too short, and it was almost a relief for Verity to reach the top, to be able to grab a branch with her hand. She stood up, looked back down, and once again smiled at those beneath her. A two-story drop would be uncomfortable on all of them, alas. They were saved by their bony, fleshless frames.

The video she watched had the beefcake twist a coconut off, smash it open against the trunk, and then guzzle it right then and there, atop the tree, but Verity’s own sense of stability was perhaps not quite there yet. So she settled for only doing the first bit, reaching for the green fruits, twisting them methodically, and then tossing them down at the trio below.

[b]“Catch.”[/b]

A fun experience, to be sure. A real tropical experience, even! But not something she’d want to do more than she had to, so Verity just…kept at it. Twisting them off and dropping them down. Emptying the tree of all but the smallest of the batch, whistling a tune all the while, until it was all done and there was enough to possibly feed people with if the coconuts actually had anything inside. Now, there was the other conundrum.

Getting down, from a logical and mechanical perspective, was easy.

But mentally? Gravity was a bitch: fun to fight, hell to work with.

...

Of course, Verity wasn't [i]stuck[/i].

This all just required some mind-gaming.