gooseberryhigh | OUTDOOR EXPLORATION CAMPING TRIP

OUTDOOR EXPLORATION CAMPING TRIP

It's a sunny morning when the participating Outdoor Exploration characters meet Mr. Thorn and Mr. Covington at the docks. They're packed and prepared for the two night trip to Wolf Island, as selected by Hazel Keating.

Ennis Harper coordinates a bon voyage! sendoff, getting as many students as they can to stand at the docks, wave handkerchiefs and throw confetti at the departing boats. We'll miss you so much! Don't forget us!

Upon arrival at the island, Dahlia Hale has the unfortunate luck of slipping as they get out of their canoe, and they fall into the water. Lachlan Galbraith came prepared, and kindly lends them their spare jacket for the trip.

The campground is on the lake shore, and all the tents circle where a large bonfire will be set up. The clear night promises excellent stargazing to all who are interested.

CAMPING RULES:

Dress appropriately for the weather. Although it's getting warmer, you must bring a jacket, a change of clothes, and appropriate footwear. You will be left behind if you're not dressed properly.
No large electronics of any kind. If you brought something he doesn't like, Thorn's confiscating it, no questions. The only exceptions are: flashlights, small music players with headphones, GPS devices, and cameras. And before you ask, no, portable video game systems are not allowed. Thorn says: "Come on, why sign up for a camping trip just to play on your little no-maj thingies? You can do that when we get back."
Buddy system at all times. Do not go off on your own.
Don't leave the trail.
Respect your tent-mates. If Thorn suspects there's a problem, he's stepping in.
Lights out is 10:00 PM. All students must be quiet with lights off after this hour.
You must help carry the group's equipment.
Clean up after yourself.
All the rules that apply on campus apply here, kids! The only things you're escaping are your uniforms and classes.
If you act up, you're being sent home early with Mr. Covington and will be banned from future OE trips.
Thorn is serious about making sure you kids learn how to survive in the great outdoors without your wands, and therefore insists all the set up and take down be done without magic. He doesn't humor any arguments about wandless magic, either. "Those are the rules. Now get to it!"

HOW THIS WORKS

Students will leave Friday morning to take boats out to Lone Wolf Island. They are permitted to skip class that day.

Upon arrival, tents are set up. It's four people to a tent!

No magic is allowed when working on setting up camp and survival skills.

Although this is a single IC/OOC, the trip is lasting two nights.

Students who don't have sleeping bags, pillows, boating or camping gear will be provided with school loaners.

TENTS:

Kazim, Nathaniel, Neil & Takeru	Sylvester & Jacob	Dahlia, Faye, Henrietta & Sun-mi
Kurt, Solomon & William	Damon & Calvin	Charlotte, Fern & Hazel
Christopher, Jefferson, Zachary & Wilde	Clementine & Adeline	Avery, Estella, & Lachlan
Mackenzie & Iliya	Dominic, Matteo & Wyatt	Cecil, Diego & Levi

» DEPARTURE ON BOATS: Those leaving gather at the docks to boat out to the island. A number of students not leaving on the trip ham it up by standing on the docks and tearfully waving handkerchiefs at the campers as they boat away.

» SETTING UP CAMP: Everyone arrives at the camp site and begins setting things up. Remember: no wands! Henrietta Gray oversees the process.

» SWIMMING, FISHING & BOATING: The climbing temperatures means that it's perfect weather to jump in the lake! The water's still awfully chilly, but if you keep moving, it's not so bad. You can also take the boats out onto the water and do some fishing.

» CAMPFIRE & DINNER: Mr. Covington cooks up a hearty meal, and the campfire roars pleasantly as he shares with you some stories about his youth in Colorado. There's a little live music and dancing for those interested!

» NIGHTTIME: The sun has long since set and it's almost quiet time. Time for everyone to get some rest.

» RETURN HOME: Some of your friends may be waiting at the docks to greet you when you return Sunday morning.

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Will only just realised that Covington was from Colorado, and he listens to the stories with rapt attention.

Wyatt spends maybe not enough time eating, but instead very enthusiastically chipping in for live music. He won't actually sing to any of these, but if people want him to play accompaniment to any particular song, just let him know! He brought his guitar along for this exact reason.

There's something pretty magical about campfires. It erases all of Addy's fears from her discoveries earlier in the day, and reminds her exactly why she wanted to come on this trip in the first place. Her classmates are talented, the stars are bright, and she's been dragging as many people as she can off the sand and into dancing. Eyes bright and a little out of breath, she throws herself on to the ground instead, dramatic, but grinning.

She looks up and sees that she's landed next to Lachlan without entirely meaning to. "You're going to dance with me in exactly three minutes." She informs her friend all too casually. "I'll recharge, then watch out."

Lachlan, who had been sitting with his head tilted back so he could look up at the stars, starts a little and glances over at Addy as she drops in beside him. The girl's slightly flushed and vibrantly happy and he finds it impossible not to smile back at her. He nods and taps the digital watch on his wrist a few times, either pretending to set a timer or actually setting a timer (it's difficult to tell), then teases, "Aye. For you. Three minutes."

He leans over to nudge her shoulder lightly with his. "Havin' fun, lass?" She is. It's obvious. But that doesn't mean he shouldn't ask.

In any case, Addy looks over at his watch to make doubly sure he's set an actual timer. Or a fake timer, with the intention to be real. "Thank you." She grins, as if vindicated.

Addy lets her shoulder bump Lachlan's right back. "Of course I am. Are you? God, have you even danced at all yet?" Her voice is mock-horrified, but she's still grinning.

If Addy happens to look close enough to see, she'll notice that there are numbers counting rapidly back from three minutes on the face of Lachlan's watch. Which he actually did set. The ridiculous knob. Though, chances are good that he wouldn't actually hold her to that time limit.

"I'm havin' fun. But I havnae gotten 'round to that just yet," he admits and nods toward their classmates, "Just enjoyin' the show and the clear sky so far." Back home, in Edinburgh or the Highlands that were home to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was almost certainly gray and overcast. The stars would be invisible. Here, he can see Cepheus and the Ursas and Cygnus. A whole sky filled up with stars. "I figured I'd wait until the right song or the right partner came along," he concludes and nods toward Addy to indicate that she meets this need perfectly.

Addy does happen to see the clock, and she thinks it's hilarious. She doesn't say much about it, quite yet, and fully intends to spring up, surprised as hell, in exactly two minutes, forty-seven seconds (and counting.)

Addy looks up at the aforementioned clear sky and nods. "You can see a lot from here. Wish we could've brought telescopes." But it's an idle wish, and mostly to kill a few seconds on that watch, so she brings her head back down to grin at him. "Well. The songs have been amazing all night. And I haven't stepped on anyone's feet dancing since last year's prom. So like. This all seems promising."

Lachlan glances briefly upward when Addy does and shakes his head and returns contently, "Out here you dinnae need one. But we'll get our chance on Wednesday, anyway." The Astronomy class will almost certainly be outside, after all. Unless it's pouring.

Then he looks over at Addy and grins right back. "Progress. As a lad that intends to ask you to dance at least once, I'm glad to hear that."

"This should totally be extra credit." But she really isn't worried about class right now. Actually, this year, they're going better enough in general that she isn't worried very often at all. That thought just adds to her good mood on a quiet night now.

"You don't have to ask, you're Required." She reminds him with a poke at his watch, to remind him. "And I don't have heels on, so you won't be damaged even at all, either way." The smile she flashes looks a little more dangerous than that, but it's all play.

Edited (Finish your sentences.) 2017-05-14 04:34 (UTC)

"I meant at prom," Lachlan corrects, eyebrows raised in a 'tell me I'm wrong?' expression as he continues, "Where I'm sure you'll be dressed to the nines. Heels included. Maybe I should charm my shoes. Reinforce the leather. What do you think?" He's definitely teasing her. Then he nods toward the bonfire where some of their classmates are still singing and still dancing. Still having a good time.

"But this'll be good practice. Assumin' you'll save one for me there too, Petty Officer Peridot."

After dinner on the second evening, Faye comes up with the super clever idea to tell scary stories around the fire. She tells essentially this story, claiming it happened to one of her dads when they were living in London. She also adds an embellishment about a large crow that seemingly followed him home after the creepy man disappeared. She'll swear up and down that she is not lying about this, even if anyone points out that she clearly read it on Reddit, which she absolutely did in-universe.

Lachlan, who has a tendency to freeze up in unpredicted situations (the Smiling Man would've gotten him for sure!), finds this story particularly relatable and creepy and maybe moves a bit closer to [Volunteer], who is sitting beside him. He doesn't even like ghost stories. There is no good reason that he should be sitting here or that he should remain sitting here. And yet...

But it's not like any of this is true, anyway.

Edited 2017-05-14 05:43 (UTC)

Etta loves ghost stories, and Faye's description of the smiling man sends a delightful shiver up her spine.

In return, she tells this completely true story which some people might have heard before, but who cares because IT ACTUALLY HAPPENED, OKAY.

Takeru seems very excited to retell a story he swears happened to one of his friends back in Marysville and absolutely did not read on the internet.

OUTDOOR EXPLORATION CAMPING TRIP

CAMPFIRE & DINNER

Re: CAMPFIRE & DINNER

CAMPFIRE & DINNER - SONG REQUESTS!

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1?)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

Addy & Lachlan (Day 1!)

GHOST STORIES (NIGHT 2)

GHOST STORIES (NIGHT 2)

GHOST STORIES (NIGHT 2)

GHOST STORIES (NIGHT 2)