[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? >

[chittybang]

[Asami isn't much for trekking on foot; but while her feet are sore, she opts to make herself useful at Collette's request. She may have a minute compulsion to display her worth to any group. More than that, she wants to enjoy this reunion with Collette, because she was one of the first people around with whom she got along in Exsilium.]

Here, I gotcha. [She takes one of the packs in both arms and carries it off of Collette's back.]

You know, I can't believe I didn't know you could do this before. [She looks her up and down, gesturing her form of a horse.]

[whatsupcroc]

< Thank you! >

( She holds still while Asami helps her unload, shaking her mane once one of the packs is fully off. Pawing at the ground with one hoof, she looks at about how much area she has right here.

Enough to sit, for sure. )

< I tend to forget to bring this up. See, back home, we weren't supposed to tell anyone. Then Marco went ahead and told people here, so it's not a big deal like it was back home! Wrong war, really. >

[chittybang]

[Asami rolls her shoulders after unloading the packs from Collette's back.

And hey, she's never seen a horse sit before. Let alone that many horses. City girl is out of her element.]

Why was it a big deal back at home? [She picks a tree stump near Collette to sit on for a little rest, water bottle in her hand.]

[whatsupcroc]

< We were fighting a war half-way under cover. If the guys we were fighting knew who we were out of animal form, they would have come after us and all our families. For those of us who had one. >

( She amends, sounding fairly factual about her announcement. )

< I'm going to demorph now, I recommend not watching. It's totally gross! >

[chittybang]

Oh. Alright.

[Asami sympathetically frowns at her story, and she holds her questions until after she demorphs. Curiosity makes her want to watch, of course, but there's the possibility Collette will just come out naked, so she deserves her privacy at least. She glances off to watch the others in the group.]

Do you need extra clothes or anything? I brought a lot.

[whatsupcroc]

< I should be f-- >

( Collette's thought stays unfinished as she begins to demorph, the horse shrinking in size closer to her usual proportions, hooves becoming hands while the long face slowly pulled in, ears moving down to the sides as her eyes repositioned back around front.

Asami is saving her stomach a hell of a sight by looking away. Nothing, absolutely nothing, can make morphing look tolerable, outside of an incredibly gifted natural morpher. Collette was not one of those.

She clears her throat once she has a human enough set of vocal chords to speak. )

-- mrgh grifth clothes, actually. I mean, I've got something on, but it'd be next to useless if I wanted to stay warm! I'll probably morph something smaller in a few minutes. Coyote, maybe.

( She adjusts, scanning around and picking out a nearby rock to scoot herself toward. She doesn't fancy lounging around in the dirt and mud any more than the next person. )

So I might take you up on that later, Asami!

[chittybang]

Just say the word. [She returns her attention to Collette once she hears her scooting, smiling like she means it. Asami wants to be as useful as she can be, especially now considering she's never truly gone camping. The closest she got to that was on that Moony Jackson mission, but the difference here is that this is for fun, and not because of vacancy issues.]

So does it hurt when you transform?

[whatsupcroc]

Nawh, hurt's the wrong word. It feels weird, but none of it is really pain? I'm not sure what it's like. A little like being squeezed but it doesn't hurt, it's just this weird shifting pressure.

( She tries to encapsulate what she feels with words and hand motions, ultimately failing. )

Which word? There's so many good ones I could use!

( She's joking -- mostly. )

Could you pass me my pack?

[chittybang]

I think I got it anyway. [She winks at Collette before shifting her attention. She stretches out an arm and lifts it over, then gently hands it to her.]

What's in there?

[whatsupcroc]

It's a secret!

( Collette winked, pausing in her digging around to hold a hand up to her mouth and press one finger to her lips. )

You gotta promise not to tell if I show you!

[chittybang]

[Asami smiles playfully and leans closer to her, and in effect the package.]

Alright, I won't. I'm good at keeping secrets.

[whatsupcroc]

( Collette pulls out a titanium stop-watch. )

Ta-dah!

( With a flourish, she displays it to Asami. )

My perfect time keeping device! Helps me do everything quicker, and on time. Couldn't wear it so reliably as the horse, though, and it's not always something I should use.

[chittybang]

[Asami grins with humor, curling up her knees as she rocks a little.]

Wow! Just make sure you use your time-telling powers responsibly. We wouldn't want anyone here to get hurt. [She WINKS!! and idly collects her hair over one shoulder.]

Anyway, it's nice to hang out with you again. You were one of the first people I got along with here.

[whatsupcroc]

I'm glad you came back. Not just that, but that you remembered.

( Collette idly fiddles with the chain of her stop watch. )

Did you know there's this guy named Merlin who's been here and gone three times by now? He doesn't remember anything at all from the times before! It's all so crazy.

( She trails off for a moment. Then she shakes her head, sending a look and a smile over toward Asami. )

It's good getting to hang out with you again, too.

[chittybang]

[She acknowledges her final statement with a light, grateful shrug of her shoulders, but her mind only trails back to Merlin.]

Wow, three times. That's so sad. I thought it was just once...

[whatsupcroc]

Yeah, three times. He's really cool, each time I meet him, but it gets funny when you're reintroducing for the third time over and you know them better than a stranger should! Wow, how weird must that feel?