gooseberryhigh | SLEEP UNDER THE STARS

SLEEP UNDER THE STARS

Ms. Whittle and Mr. Thorn are waiting outside of Coppertale for students to show up for the outdoor sleepover. Everyone checks in with both their prefects as well as staff, and if Ms. Whittle's a bit lax, Mr. Thorn is definitely not.

The sky is clear, and with each passing minute the stars get more and more impressive. Almost hypnotizing. It's a warm, pleasant night, perfect for camping. You should feel plenty safe, considering how many Aurors and teachers are out looking after you. In fact, it seems like even Anon is present, although his appearance seems to upset the Aurors. It's only thanks to Mrs. O'Hare that they agree not to chase him away.

Riley Stamper stays up into the early hours of the morning having an intimate conversation with Chloe Shepherd. However, the next day learns that their conversation partner was either not in attendance, or asleep the whole time.

Hazel Keating is up very late watching the stars, their friends having long since fallen asleep, when movement in the nearby forest catches their eye. It's a group of what must be people, three or four of them, but they're moving oddly, and their proportions are hard to make out in the shadows. They giggle and whisper, and when they see someone watching them, they gesture for the student to join them. "Look what we found," one says in the voice of Micah St. Clair. "Come on. Look. We found something really interesting. You'll like it." There's the sound of crunching leaves, and the figures freeze unnaturally. Too still. Through the trees, the bright white shape of a moose approaches, lowering its antlers meaningfully. The figures waste no time scattering into the woods noiselessly.

The student feels a wash of Anon's petulant annoyance with the mimics, like he's a young prefect on duty, before he returns to his patrol.

RULES

Everyone will check in at 10:00 PM in the flower fields outside of Coppertale. They must also check in with their prefect. If you fail to check in with both in a gambit to sneak off somewhere else, you'll be in trouble.

There will be June constellations visible. Astronomy students can point them out with ease.

There will be hot chocolate or lemonade available, and some light snacks, but everyone is assumed to have eaten dinner earlier.

You may sleep near anyone you like. There are also tents available if you don't want to be exposed to the elements, in which case those sleep up to four.

Ms. Whittle has convinced Mr. Thorn to not stop young couples who are clearly just here to make out under the stars. Don't get frisky, though!

Attendance is optional, but Astronomy students can earn extra credit for attending.

Everyone will be woken up early at 9:30 at the latest, and breakfast will be served in the lodge.

» STARGAZING: Before going to sleep enjoy the beautiful stars and look for some constellations. Alternatively, tell a cutie that the brightest stars are the ones you see in their eyes. ♥

» ANON'S APPEARANCE: There are so many more Aurors around than there used to be, and it's the same case tonight. This would be fine, ordinarily, but tension grows when the shape of a slim, white moose is seen wandering through the trees around midnight. Mrs. O'Hare gets into a hushed argument with the highest ranking Auror, demanding they leave Anon alone.

» GOODNIGHT: Quiet time is at 12:00 AM, so settle down in your sleeping bag or grab a tent. You may sleep near whoever you wish, but tents only sleep four at a time.

» OOC: QUESTIONS, COMMENTS & CONCERNS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bash folds himself into place next to Jade - suitably adjacent positioning, all things considered - knocking his shoulder into hers lightly.

"I feel like it's maybe because the ocean is a necessary component." He barrels into the conversation without pause, tugging on one of Lucas' curls and letting it spring back into place. "Of the shark one, I mean. And you could, y'know -" he slides his hand through the air, fingers fanning outward accompanied by an explosion noise. "Get meteorited. Could happen anywhere. Ocean included."

Essie's not intentionally being contrary, but sharks seem like WAY more real and dangerous to her than meteorites in her Lucky Charms. Which she also absolutely doesn't question the validity of eating outdoors. She stretches across Jeffy and waves her hands around as she spins a totally ridiculous theory. "Okay, but what if you like cast like a REVERSE Bubble-Head Charm on the shark AND built it like a super cool flying contraption. And like MAYBE added a saddle so you and all your varmint friends could ride around on it??? Like THEN you could be a GANG of SHARK RIDING no good CANDY rustlers???"

Micah throws himself dramatically onto the grass in front of his friends, brings his camera up to his face, and snaps a photo of them all. And then snaps some more, of this very dramatic and artistic angle.

"It's the perfect crime. No one would ever expect to get murdered by a sugar high cowboy on a shark-horse," he muses, still taking pictures. "The Aurors would never catch you because they wouldn't even believe it could happen."

"Flying shark mount?" Lucas says with a surprised blink - he's going to have to remember that for later - offering his candy to Bash as soon as he feels his hair being tugged on, an automatic move done without even looking.

He makes an awful face for the camera before going on. "Okay, but what if there's an arms race of escalating marine-to-sky mounted combat? Pretty soon, you're going to have dolphins flying around stopping people's hearts with their super echolocation."

That's exactly what you're going to have, yes.

"I MEAN, at some point the OCTOPUSES are gonna figure it out for themselves," Jeffy posits, leaning back on his elbows. There's already another cookie in his mouth. Where did that come from? "And once they figure it out we're in a LOT of trouble. I bet they'd pop our sharks' Reverse Bubble-Heads and I'm already attached to mine."

"Mmm, point. All those legs." Jade bumps back into Bash's shoulder, affectionate, even as her brow furrows to think all of this through.

"We're just going to have to get ahead of the problem and use octopi too, for our own good. Maybe get the birds into it. Ocean creatures can't swim, they won't be able to resist the idea of flight. And then we'll also have a thrall army of eight armed creatures on eagles, and we're unstoppable." A flawless plan.

Bash listens intently, candy squirreled into one cheek and puffing the side of his face slightly as he hums in acknowledgement. "Also, occasionally poisonous -" he points out, not necessarily helpfully, but more than happy to go with it. "And/or capable of camouflage."

"No escape, on land, air or sea," Micah intones in his best B-movie announcer voice. "Where did they come from? What do they want? Nothing less than total control of the world's chocolate supply." Micah rolls onto his stomach, lowering his camera. "I think we should consider some of the non-poisonous, non-shark-toothed animals too. You know, as diplomatic envoys."

"Sea sponges are known for their diplomatic prowess." Lucas says, straight-faced and monotone.

He lets a long moment pass, stretching his long legs out in front of him, thinking things over. "What about penguins? Don't they deserve to fly?"

Jeffy evaluates this for a second, bounces his head to the side.

"It can't be BAD to have allies in Antarctica, RIGHT?" is his contribution. "We gotta cover as many hemispheres as POSSIBLE."

"Penguins are the most diplomatic birds of them all." She points out, deadpan, like this is a known fact they all should've learned. "They're ambassadors. They have tuxedos. We need them."

"Ambassadors... or SECRET AGENTS." Essie points out. "They all have tuxedos TOO. Are we SURE that we should be TRUSTING them???"

"So what you're saying is that penguins are maybe the Men in Black?" Bash inquires, leaning forward slightly, his leg bouncing.

"Government penguins," Micah chimes in. "Better look away if you ever see one wearing cool shades."

"I want to know who's making penguin-sized sunglasses," Lucas asserts, pounding his fist into his open palm. "Because I want some for ... my cat."

SLEEP UNDER THE STARS

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