[closed] So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my road

[reconnaissance]

Date & Time: forward dated: Friday 22nd – Sunday 24th March
Location: a fair way into the Outlands
Characters:
Asami Sato chittybang, Cedric Diggory theboywhodied, Collette whatsupcroc, Ellie Linton reconnaissance, Fi Maxwell burnsinvisibly, Katniss Everdeen accidentalrebellion, Mitsuki Ishikawa drowns, Peter Parker arachnoid, Steph Brown controlledvariable
Summary: Nine teenagers with varying degrees of trauma decide to go camping.
(Actually, eight teenagers get bullied into going camping by Ellie.)
Warnings: Not sure yet; I'll add them as they come up. At the very least some language, and fallout from PTSD.



Ellie had found the place once before on her wandering into the Outlands; a dilapidated old barn, with stone walls and a roof that was, by some miracle, completely intact despite all the evidence of nature clambering up its walls and trying to reclaim it for the land. There's a hill leading down to it, and if you follow that hill down, you meet the woods, a big lake. It's beautiful, she thinks. Nowhere near so wild as Hell, but that was better.

Finding that place had been how it started, before thinking about getting some of the others together had kicked in. A way to unwind, after the body swap. At the very least a chance to get some decent people all together in the same place (and maybe a way to apologise to Asami for pointing a gun at her that one time).


OOC: Party style, adventures everyone.Just go wild, if you want it to be set at a particular time, maybe specify in the subject line? I'm doing some starters just... in case that helps but do whatever you like tbh. YEAH. There's also the ooc plotting post so chuck folks in there and scheme and let the madness and CR unfold.

Comments

Getting there/Setting up

[reconnaissance]

The plan was for them to leave early on Friday, but of course it didn't happen quite that way – they don't get going until mid morning, and probably don't get there until into the afternoon.
Collecting firewood, throwing down sleeping bags, revealing the embarrassing amount of sugar that makes up their food supply? YES.

[whatsupcroc]

( Being the pack-mule was how she figured she was a useful part of this expedition. She had a few plans, as she considered the people she'd come out here with, but those would actually need to wait for now.

Yeah, as of this moment? Collette's major goal was shedding her load by the building they'd decided looked like an opportune camp-site. She has no idea what makes this one better than the last three they considered; none of them look all that more defensible, which made her pause and consider if she's been spending too much time with Caesar.

Her mind balks at that thought, and she reaches around, using her teeth to worry the strap keeping her packs on close to tight. World's only horse to load and unload herself on cue! )

< Anyone got a free hand? >

Campfire

[reconnaissance]

They're there for a couple of nights, and campfires are always awesome. Yes. Marshmallows and playing with fire and idk card games and scrabble.

[reconnaissance]

( Ellie's that special pain in the backside who's always playing with fires. Even when they're fine she's trying to fix them, prodding the embers around and trying to get stuff settled down just so. And if she's not playing with the fire, then it's with the wall of stones around it that they piled up to help keep the fire less visible, more contained.

It's more concerning when she reaches in to grab hold of pieces of wood already burning to rearrange them, though. )

[controlledvariable]

[Steph, knowing teenagers, assumed that there'd be an oversupply of junk food and a lack of anything actually filling, so she'd pre-made a few assorted meals that are reheated in a pot over the fire each night. If any of the hunting trips bought back edible meat, she'll cook that, too.

Which means she's by the fire most of the night, partly to cook, but mostly to make sure no one is messing around with the open flame. She brought her first aid kit, but she'd rather not have to treat any third degree burns.

Later in the evenings, when the marshmallows and cookies come out, she'll happily stay with everyone around the fire and offer to braid people's hair. She even brought a hair brush and a comb, much to Ellie's eyerolling, but these sort of things are important. Sometimes it's nice to pretend to be a normal person.]

Swimming

[reconnaissance]

There's a LAKE YOU GUYS and you betcha there's a giant rope swing that Ellie put up so they can dangerously throw themselves into the water from great heights
Didn't bring a swimsuit? TOO BAD.

Diving

[theboywhodied]

Cedric looks up at the rope swing with an excited gleam in his eye. He's made sure it'll always swing back by now, so it should be a good time to head in, right?

Not quite. He watches the water with a suspicious expression on his face, pondering the secrets that might lie beneath the surface. He's seen a few lakes in his time, and often they're more dangerous than they first appear. No better person than him to clear it out, right?

"I'm giving it a look underwater to make sure we haven't got any giant squids waiting for us," he announces. "Anyone want to come diving with me? We can stay underwater as long as we like."

Hunting

[reconnaissance]

Who spends money on meat
LOSERS IS WHO YEAHHHH delicious mutant deer mmm

THINK OF THE BEAR NECESSITIES

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette trots along in coyote morph as they make their way back from where everyone had gone swimming -- or more bathing, this time of night. She slows however as a strange scent catches her attention. Grunts off to the far left make her go still, and she calls out in Thought Speak to anyone near her: )

< Houston, I think we have a problem! >

Heading home

[reconnaissance]

Who else misses hot showers

UP A TREE

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette loved her eagle morph, partly for how much detail it could make out, even if the eye didn't rotate like her own human eye did. She felt powerful, like she was a master of the fickle winds, and her feathers kept her warm as she sat up on this section of her own part of sentry duty. Keeping track of any possible approach toward their camp at any time feels smart, and also gives her an excuse to watch her friends from a distance.

Because that's healthy and not creepy at all.

Shifting on her perch up high in this rugged, old tree, Collette watches the world go on around her.

The only question is, what exactly is going on in that world? )

< Fine weather we're having, wouldn't you say? >

( Rhetorical question, meet rhetorical audience. )

collette no

[arachnoid]

[ Half of Peter's never really done the camping thing before. His parents obviously never got the chance to take him, and then Uncle Ben and Aunt May had too much work and not enough know-how, and it was just the sort of thing that hadn't seemed like a priority.

The other half of him - the one that came neatly packaged in a spider bite - loves everything about it. The outdoors and the freedom, anyway. Not so much the other people and the strange noises that make him a bit more fidgety than usual. So while the others are distracted, he takes the chance to slip away and vault to the top of the highest trees he can find. It's a whole different experience from climbing in the city, the rough bark and the branches, and it entertains him for the better part of an hour before he ends up settling in at the top of the tallest one he can find.

He's actually almost dozing off when his senses kick in and tell him there's something here - just a bird. Actually, no, that's a bald eagle, which is kind of weird considering this is not-England. He's about to comment (talk to himself, naturally) when the bird talks instead. ]

Wh-

[ He barely manages a startled noise when he jumps and tips right off the branch, but instincts kick in before he even reaches the next branch down; he grabs it and swings around to the side to avoid hitting others, landing smoothly on the trunk.

Which is completely vertical, but that doesn't seem to be causing much of an issue; he might as well be crawling around on the floor for how easy it looks. But more importantly, talking bird - he'd seen Collette doing her thing around camp, and shapeshifting was becoming pretty standard here, but that hadn't been his first thought. After a second to process it, however, he offers a veeery tentative question. ]

Collette?

→ a little way from the campsite; come run into Steph doing flips and shit

[controlledvariable]

[If anyone thought that a three day camping trip would be an excuse for Steph to take a break from training, they would be wrong. She goes easy on Friday, but she's up on Saturday morning, dressed in leggings, an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of sneakers. It's been a while since she's gone for a run in anything approaching nature, so she goes slow, taking her time to admire the scenery; she does a lap around the lake, makes her way through some nearby woods, before finding a clear space. It's near enough to the campsite that she'll hear if something terrible happens, but far enough to give her a little privacy.

The sweatshirt gets hung from a nearby branch, leaving her in a t-shirt as she starts stretching, partly to cool down from the run and partly to warm up for what's next, and then she moves into a series of acrobatics, something between yoga and gymnastics. The rain makes things a little slippery, but it doesn't seem to bother her too much as she goes through the motions.]

[theboywhodied]

[Cedric is happily out on his usual morning jog, his sleeves pushed up haphazardly as he warms up. The air's so much nicer to breathe out here, he thinks, racing a few laps around the lake. He then makes his way down a woodsy path, stopping in surprise as he spots someone leaping and twisting through the air.]

...Wow.

The Mud Slide

[theboywhodied]

[Cedric has been out in the rain for quite a while, working on his greatest idea ever. His hair's been plastered to his neck for quite a while, his clothes are soaked through, but he doesn't care. He's too busy giddily smoothing a path down the hill. Look, it's a mud slide!

He pulls forth a giant wooden sled he's tied together, rests it on the edge of the hill, and takes a flying leap. He's racing down, no way to stop! Not flying, but the closest he's going to get. If anyone is standing anywhere along the path or near the crash point at the bottom, they're probably getting splattered. Cedric sure is, but he's laughing all the way, wiping mud from his face once he skids to a stop.]

It's perfect.

[chittybang]

[Asami wanted to see how this mudslide was going to work out, but she didn't have very good judgment in terms of distance away from the end of the slide. A bark of startled laughter escapes her as mud flings her way; and although she doesn't mind it on her deliberately worn clothes, her hair is another issue.]

Looks like it works! Did the sled make it? [Her own congratulations while she picks out the mud caked in her damp locks. She tilts her body a little sideways, fingers still picking, to inspect the sled from where she stands.]

sitting on rooftops and talking to yourself is camping right

[arachnoid]

[ Peter could be off exploring the great outdoors, but instead he's sitting on top of the shabby old barn. There's a book sitting near him, but he's not reading; he's got his (also shabby and old) camera out instead. The aim was to take some pictures of the group, but that gets derailed when he notices a spider crawling around and tries to take a picture of it instead.

For scientific purposes, obviously. It could be a crazy future mutant spider, it's hard to tell. It'd be a lot easier if his camera had remotely decent zoom, though. Or if the spider would sit still. ]

Hey, come on. Just quit moving for a second, would you?

totally reasonable tbh

[reconnaissance]

( What's that, you say? She saw someone climbing and had to go going them/practice her climbing?)

Hey.

( Some people would say popping up behind someone sitting on a roof was a bad life choice. )

peter get down from there

[controlledvariable]

[So. Steph may or may not have been watching Peter a little more closely than she's ben watching the others. There's just something familiar about him that she can't quite place, which is frustrating.

It's why she's ended up standing at ground level near the barn he's perched on - it's not stalking if you just happen to wander by the same place, right? - and why she's calling out to him.]

I like your camera.

[Photography has never been her thing, but it was Tim's, so she's picked up some things by osmosis.]

[theboywhodied]

[Cedric's snooping around too, but he appears far more interested in the camera than in the spider.]

Huh. I'd expect your camera to look...different.

Just Ellie being dreadful lbr

[reconnaissance]

( At least hanging out with Steph she got a chance to make use of all that practice in being stealthy, moving through the bush silently, without making the barest impact or alerting anyone to her presence. It was a pain in the arse that her ability to actually catch Steph off guard seemed practically non-existant, but sometimes opportunities presented themselves, and when they did, Ellie would be prepared.

In the meantime, it didn't hurt to practice. That would be why she has been prowling about in the bushes, and why she is so effectively out of sight.

It might be why she has a shot of catching the poor soul she just crash-tackled off guard before they both hurtle into the lake and a whole lot of mud. )

[chittybang]

[Asami knows they're bound to be collectively due for a dip in the lake sooner or later, and insofar has been a process of getting herself acquainted with the mud and water. She has nothing against mud or getting dirty or wet, but she needs to have a plan.

She squishes her toes in the mud, brushes her foot against the seaweed and combs her fingers through her hair while she's tiptoeing around (raking her hair comforts her). The question of what she's going to wear in the water is certainly on her mind and oh spirITS NO WHAT IS ELLIE—]

No!

[SPLOOSH

Asami grabs a tight hold of Ellie as they fall, yelp gurgled with a full gulp as cold water rushes up her nostrils. She gasps for air as soon as she can reach it and begins lunging her legs in the direction of land, spitting water out along the way. The water might be clean, but she can't mentally make the distinction.

Anyways, congratulations on making her the least graceful she's ever been around here. At least the time she zapped herself was hidden from the public eye.]

Spirits, Ellie!

[controlledvariable]

[There's a brief moment where it seems like Ellie might have actually managed to sneak up on Steph, who's facing the water with her back turned to the bushes. She's not actually planning to go in the water, so she's hardly dressed appropriately for it, and it would probably be rather unfortunate were Ellie to catch her off guard and drag her into the water.

So it's lucky, then, that the brief moment only lasts until Ellie gets within reach. It's then that Steph springs into action, grabbing Ellie, flipping her over, and throwing her into the water.

Then she goes back to watching everyone else muck about in the water, as if nothing happened.]

SENTRY

[reconnaissance]

( Much as she'd love to just kick back and relax, some habits die hard. And when it was her idea to come out here, to get together a bunch of people that she thinks are more than halfway decent, then there's no way in hell she's going to slack off and not have a sentry. Just in case.

So it's some stupid hour, and while there are others gathered around the fire, Ellie is up on the roof, keeping watch. She yawns, rubs her eyes, and wipes the rain out of her eyes. Logic said you shouldn't sit in the rain to keep sentry, but right now the rain feels refreshing, like her skin is too hot and prickly. )

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette had ducked off when nature called, staying around the peripherals after the fact. She's used to being in a smaller group. Her and Caesar, getting a feel for things when she was the one with the reliable means of keeping them safe. Which was weird in its own way, because that had not been her role before. She's always been support, sure, if she looks at her short career as a freedom fighter, but never on her own before here.

Collette wonders when things started being a lot more of "on her own" and less "as part of the whole." When she arrived here, she guesses; about the time when she was dying as part of the whole.

It's a miserable thought. When she demorphs, it's all in order to take to the skies to forget.

Bat makes sense, small as it is, ragged and sporadic as its flight will always be. She zips back toward the fire, then away, a small dark shape lost among raindrops and darkness under the cover of the perpetual clouds making up Exsilium's sky.

It's half an hour before Ellie leaves an impression Collette considers past acknowledging someone as sitting high up above the rest. When they don't leave, when they stay in the same general place, then she wonders. Fitting back Ellie's way, Collette clicks and reads the feedback her ears give her on the shape of what lies beneath her. )

< Enjoying the view up here? >