JUNE EVENT: CAMP

[sailmods]

early on June 10th, Friday's morning announcements end with a request for everyone going on the latest excursion to meet her in the atrium. she seems in noticeably better spirits than she had been last time, and she leads them cheerfully to the tender. once they are all aboard, and the door is securely shut, the interior fills with gas, and, perhaps, their last thought before they slip into unconsciousness is "oh shit, not again."

passengers wake up on a rickety old school bus, driving down a dirt road surrounded by woods. what is it that they notice first? that, no matter what they were wearing before, they are now wearing a camp t-shirt and legitimately horrifyingly short shorts? the overstuffed backpack between their knees? the words "take one down and pass it around" dying on their lips? the fact that Friday is absolutely driving the bus?

or, maybe the fact that it's already slowing down, pulling up in front of a massive wooden sign, saying:

 

 

 

 

 

CAMP AION

when they get out of the bus, Friday is the one to divide them up into their cabin groups, and she is the one to give the counselors their very official-looking clipboards and whistles. she explains that they are in charge, and that she will be back to pick them up in a week, and... very little else. she responds to nothing outside of whatever is on her unseen little script, and she gets back on the bus shortly after, leaving them there.

welcome to camp. let's make some summer memories!

Comments

[gapmoe]

[ NOT HIS HARD-EARNED POINTS... see, that's the problem. ingo has noticed that the luggage looks a bit too light for someone planning to sleep outside.

though... he has a feeling it won't be welcome if he comments on it too openly. ]

Perhaps it might be wise to check one last time before departure?

[broshaw]

"Oh, like, Staying Alive? You Should Be Dancing? The point is, just like. Put on some music, turn that shit up so high you can't hear yourself and..." You know.

Be a weird freak, he guesses? "Ouch!" he exclaims, taking almost-but-not-quite actual offense at the term (and the shove, hey, rude!). "Hate to break it to you, girlie, but every fuckin' dude out there is a weird freak about something in bed. Besides, you're so hot he probably won't think twice."

[broshaw]

Sharky doesn't really... uh. Know how he feels about the idea of going back home, and he's not sure he's in any mental space to, like, process the thought to begin with. Which is a bullshit excuse, but he's gonna take it.

"Yeah -- except, uh. Well, he's gonna need someone watching out for him, too. And it's really weird 'cos, like, from when he is, I was only like, thirty-something. Now I'm..." Old, "And he's like..." Young, "And it is so super fuckin' weird, dude!" Weirder still because the age discrepancy comes from Pratt fucking dying 17 years ago, but hey, whatever, that's not his story to share.

With no booze and probably only healthy food around, Sharky comes to the conclusion that he's going to be suffering for another night. "Oh, fuck vanilla extract, I tried that once and it, uhhhh, did not go well. It's like, higher proof than vodka but the rash it gives? Not worth it." He's very close to being that desperate, though. No. No, he'll be strong in the face of another person. "Probably just stuff my face for a minute and then go lie down by the fire." Because he's been kicked out of his cabin. Ava kicked them all out! It's a bonding experience.

[sabigoe]

"That's him," she grins. Honestly, she's not sure what Jade is thinking at times. But she does consider him to be "nice", even for all his smirking. Though, she has seen a much more different, rare smile with a tinge of warmth from the man before.

"I feel very lucky. I have this and now I've got your friendship bracelet," she says, turning over her arm a little as she looks over both accessories, "It reminds me that I'm not lonely."

It's like friendship is magic too! Maybe her words sound really sappy, but Fio says it without any sense of shame.

[touchofcashmere]

The low warning rumble is dangerous itself in a completely different way and goes right down in ways he'll dwell on later.

"Ed, then," He takes Ed's arm again, tucking it through his and holding the man close to his side. "My Ed..."

He likes the way that sounds... almost too much. His face feels suffused with heat but maybe Ed won't notice as they enter into the doors and the bizarre music and everyone dancing and having a good time or a bad time and everything in between. Maybe it looks odd or silly but--

They are his crew and if not his crew, people who don't matter as much and he is the Gentleman Pirate for whom parties and other social engagements are as easy as a turtle falling off the log.

He's still half waiting for someone to introduce them, but it's also nice just to be with Ed together.

It's right in the middle of a song, though it seems to be winding down and... as soon as it's over, Stede's going to have to pluck up the nerve to ask Ed to dance.

[touchofcashmere]

Because of what happened last time. [he takes a breath and gives the man a very serious look] Here you should expect death at any moment.

[touchofcashmere]

It's part of what being my crew means, regardless of reality.

[he peers at Hiram- he gets it's hard but it's also important]

Do I have your word that you'll try to work it out with him? Try to become friends?

[sabigoe]

Despite the little energy that she has remaining, Fio's confident to be walking on her own two feet before she does fall over. All she thinks about right now is how she would rather be sitting down or even better, curled up in a bed. There's a moment's hesitation, before she speaks again. Because she's embarrassed. She wonders if she's too big of a kid to ask for it. It's been a long time since she has been able to indulge in something like this...

"Can you carry me?"

Requests like this, she hardly ever makes herself. Just this once, but she gives him the option to decline. It should be a short trip to her cabin. And he said he's worn out. She would hate to tire him out even more.

[selenokinesis]

[Magnets... well, less important. He can figure out how film tape works later, when they're not camping. Where Mizuki can hopefully show him what is meant by this? Anyway, phone. He looks over at the scrolling, trying to parse all the words as they scroll by and figure out what the songs are. The titles do not tell him much, unless there's a title in there with like "love" or something in it, then he assumes that's a love song. Because that's obviously a love song? It says it. Right there.

When Mizuki springs up, Ebalon grins and holds his hand out, placing it in Mizuki's palm.]

You may, my dear.

[—so who's leading here hold on.]

[sabigoe]

Truthfully, there isn't a song that she's able to request for herself. Any fond memories of music from her parents or the ones that she sang with people that she once considered to be her friends, are nothing but a distant memory to her now. If there were any tunes from her own world that she could name, it's highly unlikely to be familiar. And with a high possibility of giving her painful memories.

So, she would rather find enjoyment in Darlington sharing his favorite piece. She mostly tries to focus on others, often avoiding talk of herself.

While he plays, she's smiling the whole while, eventually bouncing her foot and bobbing her head side to side a little. The mistakes she pays no mind. A cheerful tune that allows her to forget what potential dangers they may face. It's been all buried to the back of her mind. Though very young, she's not completely in the dark about their frightening captain.

Once he finishes playing, she claps her hands together for a round of applause.

[sabigoe]

"Oh," a brief pause, before she eventually decides to agree. Being fully awake now, she can't deny that she wants a turn at trying to use the hose. And won't feel bad with Ava expecting it coming... "Okay!"

Fio picks up the hose, holding onto it just as she saw Ava doing earlier. Wow, she is now wielding some kind of power! Just like her whistle, that she only used once in the entire week. "Now what?"

[selenokinesis]

Oh? I thought I told you about the shapeshifting...

[In... vague terms he did, anyway. "Disguised as a human" totally counts right? He thought it did! But Ebalon's also got that politician "I can't actually answer questions" bullshit going on, so.]

I have gills now for convenience.

[And he's also reworked his lungs... that's not as easy to explain. Mizuki might be able to see said gills if he looks hard enough, though.]

[nostradamnit]

"They look as though they might burn. I'm not sure I'd want to cook over them, though."

It is concerning to consider if fake tree would would affect non-fake food. Oor...or is the food fake too?

"I wonder where the meat comes from, without there being animals to hunt in the woods..."

[sabigoe]

Once her belongings are safely tucked away, she takes a seat. Another adult might have more trouble comfortably sitting in the back, but Fio seems to be able to sit without much issue.

"Uh-huh. I miss wearing my dress." Though she isn't too bothered by their camp attire like others, she's ready to return to wearing her favorite usual black and white dresses and go back to feeling more like herself. She glances back at the kayak, "Is that gonna go in the pool?"

[touchofcashmere]

"Oh all sorts." Books is a topic he can warm to. "Action. Adventure on the high seas. The occasional romance. I read the Count of Monte Cristo so many times and Don Quixote and several versions of the Odyssey and the Iliad... I also like Jurassic Park. There are these creatures called dinosaurs- thunder lizards- which don't actually breathe thunder- but cause havoc and eat people. It's a good read."

He's a bit fond of that book, actually, even if he doesn't understand most of it. "Yourself?"

[touchofcashmere]

"Well fashion is as fashion does." Even if he agrees. "And honestly, there's not many choices to be had-- and fabric quality has gone completely downhill. The colors are beautifully vibrant, though, I'll give them that."

[touchofcashmere]

"Stede. Ah..." He winces as he gets up, taking the offer of the shoulder though it isn't nearly as nice as Ed's.

"You must be new around here. At least I haven't seen you ship-board."

[yanwang]

[ it is a curious thing, how fascination touches upon a human's features just the same as those who came before and those who will come long after. it is a grounding thing, he thinks, that no matter the course of lives and the struggles that mortals must endure, there is always room for such moments as these over the simplest parts of their reality. but, is that not what zhongli learned to find beautiful too? is it not what zhongli had come to appreciate, the novelties and innovations of man?

the puzzle in clarke's hands neither budges nor opens. it only rests there, gradual in its eventual erosion. particles of stone and shards of jade, the vein of ore unnamed - it all fragments as he too will one day. dust as dust become, so too will he wear away against the tides of time and the winds eternal. ]

Yes. [ it's a warm, little word. it catches at the edge of his eyes, the red lining never smudging as it vanishes, for a moment, into the minute crease of skin. ] In Liyue, they are known by a variety of names. However, due to the wards upon "outside" languages in this place, it would appear I might only call them by their Common name: burr puzzles.

[ he turns up a hand, the pale of his palm warming to something more golden as the rest of the puzzle dissolves. the debris reshapes between them, slow at first and somehow rough. a rounded body of a bird, perhaps? ]

Though their exact origins are not known, such puzzles have existed for many a century. Often, two master carpenters are given credit for their creation. However, due to the absence of records, it is subject to academic debate. [ he lowers his hand. the bird he's created settles into its form, smooths along its edges. it does not seem to echo the more delicate motions of its namesake, but seems instead to glide as though a kite would. its wings in a permanent stretch, it circles much like his puzzle did. ] What is not debated is their influence upon traditional joinery. Of the pair, one is often attributed the creation of a variety of woodworking instruments.

[ the knowledge isn't something he gets to share often, he thinks. not these days. ]

[touchofcashmere]

"Then what is on your mind, Darcy," he says gently. "What are you worried about. I'd like to know if you'd care to tell me. It'll be good to be prepared." And he can't help her if he doesn't know. But he also has a feeling this is a young woman who has see things, so he won't press.

[sabigoe]

On that first day, Fio had learned what an Omnic is and a bunch of other new words. She feels very proud of herself! And a friend of Skulduggery? She'd better check in on him more often then... "I'll make sure Max stays nice and safe." Too bad he's not waterproof. She wishes Max could enjoy the lake!

She reaches over to pick at least three more flowers. The amount she takes is just enough to either decorate a page in a small notebook or put together a miniature charm.

Once she's decided that she has enough, she sits in the grass next to her supplies. Crouching for too long starts to get uncomfortable. Carefully she places the plants between pieces of paper, then stores them inside the book with the practiced movements of an activity done many times in the past.

"There," she says, closing the pages shut, "I'm gonna get a few white flowers and then I'll be done here."

[opheliac]

Never dealt with plants where I'm from, I could do without.

(so far, the items she's peeking through are not worth of anything. basic bare necessities they will need for the next several days.)

[sabigoe]

I'm sorry you're not having fun...

[ Maybe others might think sitting over here, away from all the dancing might be depressing! Fio doesn't think that at all. In fact, she has company at this moment. Potentially a new friend? She doesn't know for sure. But she likes to talk. ]

You don't have to dance or anything. You can talk to people at parties too! Like right now.

[touchofcashmere]

"Yes, there should be a warning, but don't worry, I plan to see to that." He has ideas, though that will come later and is not really something Steven has to worry about.

"As for why, well it depends on the person. For me, if there's going to be mass slaughter, I need to get used to it if I want to do what I need to." And be better prepared for piracy as well.

"For others...who knows? Maybe they were curious or bored or signed up without their consent."

[touchofcashmere]

"Who might you be making it for?" Call him curious. "Just hypothetically." And as for the other. "I haven't. But it sounds delicious."

[anbruch]

I've had a few of those. [ DILUC, WHICH ONE??? ] Basic first aid and rudimentary knowledge of cauterization will only get you so far, but there's no argument that either will stave off the worst of an infection.

[ honestly, she's more than welcome to it. he'll even move the liquid over a bit without saying anything, just so that she has better access to it. but, he considers her question. for a short moment. ]

I consider both places the same, so I haven't really thought about it. [ uh. but, yeah, he means here and the ship. ] Both have their restrictions on how far you can go in any direction. The only difference is that the backdrop isn't wood paneling - it's artificial pine and loose approximations of cabins.