Wild Hollywood (closed)

[WatchingCloud]

Carl humored Zia by tickling her, himself feeling better for the interaction.

"I'll catch you two at the next shoot," he said to Alexis and Zia.

On his way out of the plane wreckage set, Carl made a point to swing by Dominic and Tomo. To Dominic, he said, "Sorry about all that, and thanks for being flexible. We'll get it sorted out."

Then he leaned down to Tomo, forcing himself to get past his involuntary reaction to the cat's teeth. He scratched him behind the ears the way he liked. "You were great," he said. "Too bad you have to work with an amateur, eh?"

Carl make a quick stop by his tent while the crew relocated. He washed his face and recomposed himself. There was little doubt in his mind that Alexis would be able to help him work through that scene. He also knew there were a couple other scenes that could be problematic. He just hoped he'd be able to work through this so he didn't embarrass himself in front of the crew again.

Off to the next scene.

 

[Asa]

Zia was ready sitting on some low branches hidden from the view of the road till she saw Carl and existing had to make her stay put till after the scene. There was convenient color coding marking what piece she threw when which was how Alexis kept her focused when Dominic yelled

Action!

Zia was okay with the "gunfire" knowing it was fake sound effects guns that "Grandpa Zach" the pyrotechnics guy made himself.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl was impressed with Zia's big scene in the chase. He spent most of it running from the Jeep chasing him, but in his glances back he saw the gorilla hurling props right on cue. He'd seen human actors who couldn't handle instructions that well.

After two takes, Dominic retreated to a tent to review the shots with his director of photography. Carl made his way over to Alexis and Zia, handing his costar a banana while he chugged a bottle of water.

"How'd our big girl do?" he asked Alexis. "Looked good from where I was."

 

[Asa]

She did well including the case you found when the truck wrecked. Right on the passenger's lap where it was supposed to be.

Zia smiled and made quick work of the banana and signed happily.

She is telling you the Jeep like to play catch.

Alexis laughed slightly. She enjoyed how simply animals viewed even complex emotions.

 

[WatchingCloud]

"Good girl," Carl said to Zia. He signed what he thought was "good." He'd managed to pick up a few of the signs in the last week.

"Tonight okay to work out the...my...issue? I can swing by your tent after things get settled down for the evening."

 

[Asa]

Sure. I will keep Tomo with me and once I have the others down for bed time Tomo and I will wait for you. It might be best since the scene is in the wreckage if we are getting you past the noise there. That way I can find a place for Tomo that will also help you.

She smiled to him and looked back to Zia who had taken his hand like a child looking to a parent.

She really is taken with you. She tolerated your predecessor in he first movie all of them did but they were never this accepting of him as they are with you.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl appreciated Alexis's kind assessment of his relationship with the animals. She had been right in her advice when they first met - treat the animals with kindness and respect.

He liked the idea of meeting at the plane wreck set rather than her tent. The confined space probably had contributed to his reaction earlier.

After sunset, with the last of the day's shooting and dinner behind them, Carl cleaned himself up in his tent and readied to make the short hike to the set. Thunder rumbled and he peered outside at the dark clouds that blotted out what little light from dusk remained. Lovely, he thought to himself. The one thing he didn't have in his tent that he could really use was an umbrella. If they had cell service here, he'd call up Alexis and suggest they just reschedule. Since they didn't, he figured he'd better head to the set and wait.

He grabbed a flashlight, stuffed his script and a bottle of wine he'd begged off the commissary staff as a gesture of gratitude to Alexis into his bag, and headed down the trail away from the camp. Before he was halfway there, the storm caught up and dumped torrential rain on him, soaking him through in seconds.

Carl ran the rest of the way and ducked into the fuselage set, finding Alexis and Tomo already there and dry, the crowded interior lit feebly by an electric lantern.

"Should've left a few minutes sooner," he said, running his hands in a futile effort through his hair.

Lightning lit the interior for a blink, followed almost immediately by a boom that rattled the entire structure. Carl was glad he'd made it to cover ahead of that one. He stripped off his shirt, revealing the chiseled physique that had gotten him started in action movies, and squeezed as much water from it as he could before hanging it over the arm of a seat.

"Don't suppose you've seen a towel or blanket around this mess?"

 

[Asa]

She pointed out some of the towels they had if something like this happened during filming to dry of the cameras. Tomo nudged his hand.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl thanked her and toweled off as best he could. Then he scratched Tomo behind the ears.

"None of your crew bothered by the thunder, I hope?"

 

[Asa]

Nope animals know what to do in bad weather and they know when they have a job to do.

She motioned him to sit down and placed Tomo eye level in front of him.

Desensitization...

 

[WatchingCloud]

In spite of the time spent with the leopard, even getting comfortable petting him, it still got to Carl a bit as he sat down and got to eye level. He reflected that it was probably a combination of both his personal experience and the survival instincts of his ancestors. The cat, tame as it was, was still a predator.

He looked up at Alexis, a lovely, distracting view. "Ok. How do we do this?"

 

[Asa]

You are going to give him the growl and silence commands.

Tomo stood there watching him waiting.

Hold your index fingers to your lips like fangs.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl could feel the sweat on his already damp palms and the quickening of his pulse. Stay calm, he kept repeating to himself.

He made the command sign as Alexis indicated and the leopard immediately bared its fangs and growled. Carl fought down his involuntary response, barely...

"Maybe we should have started with the command to stop, first..."

 

[Asa]

Remove your hands from your face that is how he knows to stop.

It is actually very simple commands.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl lowered his hand and Tomo stopped growling immediately, along with most of Carl's anxiety.

"Well that was easy."

He raised his hand back up and the leopard growled again. He repeated the process several times, feeling more at ease with each iteration. Whether this would help with any other animal remained to be seen, but at least it seemed to be helping with Tomo.

"Wish it had been this easy to get my ex to shut up when she was growling at me." He chuckled and gave Tomo a scratch.

 

[Asa]

Now you have the growl command start and stop now for the roar.

Watched him

Cup your hands around your mouth like you are about to yell for someone.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl took a deep breath and did as Alexis instructed. Tomo opened his jaw wide and let out a deafening roar from such close range. It was a bit too much and Carl snapped his hands back down, clamped his eyes shut, and clenched his teeth as it took everything he had not to panic. Involuntarily, he reached for his inner thigh where the scars from his youth were still visible under his shorts.

As soon as he'd dropped his hands, Tomo stopped roaring. Carl was able to finally unclench and crack his eyes, finding the leopard looking at him curiously and without aggression.

"Sorry, big guy. Wasn't quite ready for that."

He stood on shaky legs, embarrassed but in need of a moment.

"Fuck, this is tough. You ever go through anything like this? With all the time you've spent around animals, I'd have to think something went wrong at least once."

 

[Asa]

Yeah It's easy to have a rough time working with some animals. Those returned to the wild after captivity and experimentation. Plus orphan baby animals teeth just like human young only their jaws are a lot stronger.

She pet Tomo and got him to lay down for a bit.

 

[WatchingCloud]

"Any scars to show for your efforts?"

Carl paused by a ripped open hole in the game fuselage to get a breath of fresh air, then turned his attention back to Alexis.

 

[Asa]

She held out her hand with clear bite scars.

Tomo teething as a cub.

Letting her shirt fall off a shoulder and turning to show the back of her shoulder to the clear signs of teeth and stitches

One of the other young primates getting used to not being in a lab.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl had to lean in close to see the scars in the dim lantern light. The puckering on her shoulder was clear up close, but had clearly faded with time. He reached out and brushed his fingertips lightly across the old injury.

"I wouldn't have been happy if I'd grown up in a lab, either."

This close to Alexis for the first time, he could pick up her exotic scent - not floral or fruity from the products most women he knew used, but earthy with hints of the different spices found in the jungle and carrying undertones from the animals she called family. Carl liked it. This wasn't a dainty Hollywood starlet.

"I'd show you my scar," Carl said in a low voice, "but that might be a little forward of me. Let's just say if it had been a couple inches higher, I wouldn't be the man I am today..."

 

[Asa]

She just nodded and then looked around.

We can't really move where you stand in here for the scene but we do have a couple of locations for Tomo to perch outside of the initial spot chosen by photography.

She then went business and guided Tomo to a different location... A broken chair in the remaining debris of the crash.

Get into position Carl we will test here.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl sighed inwardly. Alexis was all business, nothing like most other people he knew. Certainly like no woman her age he'd ever met.

He climbed over some of the prop wreckage to his mark.

"Ok," he said. "Ready when you are. I'll let you give Tomo the signal."

 

[Asa]

Tomo seemed to know what she was doing and while in place looked around as well.

Trying to find an out of shot place to stand where you can also see me give the signal.

 

[WatchingCloud]

Carl took a couple deep breaths and tried to take in the desensitization work they'd just gone through.

Tomo's new location was slightly further back than before. Working in his favor, at least tonight, was the constant rumble of thunder and rain pelting the roof. Maybe the leopard's roar wouldn't be as visceral.