MONTHLY BONDING: CAMPING

[goosemods]

MONTHLY BONDING: CAMPING

It's a windy October day, and the entire school is packing up to go on a camping trip. This month's monthly bonding is going to force even the most indoors-loving students out into the wilderness for one night.

There's a rumor going around that the trip is clearing out the students so that MACUSA agents can search campus without the students around. This will have to remain a mystery, however, as nothing interesting happens before the hike gets underway. Quentin Youngblood sets up some magical audio surveillance in their cabin, but when they get back the most interesting thing they recorded was the sound of two raccoons fighting outside. However, they do hear footsteps on the walkways outside the cabin. It could just be staff doing patrols.

Natalie Prince struggles on the long hike and ends up lagging behind, but on the bright side gets to walk with Mr. Covington who's bringing up the end of the group. As everyone's setting up camp, Dinah Dixon suddenly shouts either in fear or excitement: it's Brother! ... Oh, wait, no, that's just a normal moose. False alarm.

CAMPING RULES:

• Dress appropriately for the weather. It's autumn up in the mountains, and it's beginning to feel like it.
• No large electronics of any kind. Alas, Mr. Thorn has been overruled during this particular trip, since it's not actually an OE event. You may bring your gadgets.
• 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 face IC repercussions.
• 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 afternoon and hike out to a large camping area. The trip is about a an hour and a half long hike, but it's low impact and everyone takes a break in the middle for snacks.


• Upon arrival, tents are set up. It's two or three people to a tent!


• Tent assignments were made with a combination of student requests and random assignments. You can choose whether your characters asked to be put together, or if staff assigned them by chance.


• Couples are not prevented from being in the same tent. However, the tent walls are awfully thin, and the campground is crowded. Hanky panky at your own risk.


• Each year has its own campground and fire, but you can wander and mingle with other years.


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


• Students will return Saturday morning. Ebonhide will have to miss their Quidditch/Cheer time on the pitch, but Mr. Thorn will arrange with their captains to give them some choice extra practice slots next Saturday.


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


• Students may bring their familiars so long as they're able to travel safely. Familiars that remain behind will be tended to by staff.


• Staff will come through and do a head count at curfew (10:00 PM) when everyone must be in their tents or at the fire pit. Midnight is quiet time, and everyone will need to be in their tents with the lights off.


• If your characters want to sneak around and trade tents, there's a chance of being caught if it gets too widespread. Chances are, though, you can get away with it.


• Assume that the locations of the tents and campgrounds correspond to the layout of the table that's just below this list.


• EACH YEAR WILL EXPERIENCE A UNIQUE SUPERNATURAL EVENT. There will be places to react below.

SENIORS:

Veronica & Riley	Iliya, Ulysses, & Mackenzie	Avery & Sofia
Saira & Phoebe	Ferdinand, Reid & Cameron	Phineas & Yancey
Adeline & Sybilla	Reece, Jonathan & Sylvester	Lachlan, Jaime & Ennis
Oscar, Dominic & Webster	Roxanne & Rosemary	Olivia & Clementine
Casey & Casper	Kurt & Chloe	Antonia & Ursula

JUNIORS:

Ariadne & Jade	Joanna, Samantha & Evangeline	Sebastien, Lucas & Ramon
Fern & Charlotte	Gabriela & Victoria	Madison & Ruby
Calvin & Micah	Milo & Bianca	Cole & Austin
Regan, Isabelle & Paige	Estella & Jefferson	Zachary & Solomon
Hazel & Susana	Todd & Spencer	Heathcliff, Cassius & Ira

SOPHOMORES:

Archimedes, Hieronymus & Griffin	Natalie & Antigone	Peyton, Grace & Corrigan
Violet & Carolina	Rupert & Quentin	Concordia, Marie & Tuesday
Nisha & Dinah	London & Paris

» THE HIKE: Although it takes an hour and a half, the hike is low impact without many hills, and it's very scenic. The mountains are full of fall colors, and it's perfect scarf and sweater weather.

» SETTING UP CAMP: Mr. Thorn encourages everyone to participate! Help dig a fire pit! Learn to put up a tent! Prepare dinner!

» EVENING: Everything's winding down, and many students have retreated to their tents. Others linger by the fire. Mr. Covington makes some (non-alcoholic) hot apple cider or hot cocoa for anyone who's still up.

» IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: SENIORS: A beautiful teenager in a tattered suit, lace shawl and what looks like a mask from last year's masquerade wanders through your campground, leaving newly bloomed violets where his bare feet touched the ground. If you're awake (one character per player), you can come out and meet Anon in person. He will answer the first 5 questions asked, but... it's Anon, his answers may not be useful. Staff are exasperated by this news, and MACUSA agents will want to interview you. Anon needs to be reminded to keep his distance.

» IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: JUNIORS: Pearl visits your year's campground, and wanders through the tents at night. If you're awake, she will trade with you through an opening in the tent flaps. Give her something valuable, and she'll reward you with something of hers. (One trade per player.) Later in the evening, Peter can be heard coming to collect her. In the morning, members of staff insists all students who made a trade give up their items to MACUSA... unless you hide your prize.

» IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT: SOPHOMORES: Late at night, everyone remembers Mr. Merrill coming through and checking on them individually now that he's finally caught up with the group. Sheesh, that's a long walk, kids! He's a little too quick to tease them, but it's easy to assume he's tired and that's why he's not his usual gregarious self. However, in the morning, he's nowhere to be seen. Mr. Merrill never arrived last night. So who was that..?

» MORNING: The staff are tired and a little frustrated by what happened last night, but this is just what happens at a magical school, right? This is Gooseberry now. Time to pack up and hike back to campus.

» OOC - Questions, comments, concerns!

Comments

Fortunetelling Corner

[victimless]

Hero shuffles his deck with the attempted panache of a Vegas dealer, and lays out three cards in front of Marie. He reaches down and flips them over one by one, left to right. "The Dog, the Ship and the Moon. Almost like the nursery rhyme. Good sign, no?"

He touches the Dog card with two fingers. "The symbol of loyalty and friendship. Someone has been with you on this journey—" He taps the Ship next. "—to write this song. This journey has taken you both deep into your imaginations, mining your darkest subconscious desires." The Moon.

This is kind of a facile reading, because, duh, everyone knows that Marie's in a band, but Hero attempts to project the utmost seriousness as he waves his hand over the cards, as though trying to absorb their prophetic power.

"For your new song to be good, you must rely on your deepest intuition and your dearest friend." Hero taps the Moon, then the Dog. "This person knows your innermost heart, and exactly what it takes to bring out your greatest talent."

Fortunetelling Corner

[prophesie]

Here's the thing about telling fortunes: they work best when you've got a little bit of intel on the person whose fate you're divining. People know she's in a band? Marie has honestly completely forgotten. She's spellbound by Hero's shuffling, and she scooches a little closer to him with every word he says. By the time he's talking about her subconscious desires, her knees are practically bumping his. The small patterned cloth that's spread out between them starts to bunch.

She hadn't realised Calvin's death song would be so important, but she totally sees it now. (Please be responsible with your fortune telling, Hero. At this point, Marie would believe just about anything to come out of your mouth.)

"Tally?" She asks excitedly, looking over her shoulder as she speaks, as if the other girl might've been summoned to their little corner via name alone. "They're—" (the cards) "—definitely talking about Tally, right? I mean, she does know a lot about the inside of my heart." Marie can feel almost feel the non-existent creative agony; she presses a hand to her chest.

Fortunetelling Corner

[victimless]

Oh, hello, this is a lot of... physical proximity. Hero resists the urge to sniff himself. There's a reason he uses lots of deodorant. Trust in the deodorant, even if you bought it for less than three bucks at CVS.

This is fine. Hero has spent years carefully pretending to not be impressed by rich women. With how calm and cool he is, it's absolutely convincing that he meets rich women every day. Even his mother is one!

"Yes! Of course. Tally." Hero feigns surprise, as though this utterly obvious conclusion hadn't occurred to him until Marie gave it breath and life. Astounding, how the cards work. One might think they can see the truth before you do. "It is in partnership that your talents... set sail." Boating metaphor. Keeping it to the cards. "One might even think of it as her being the producer, and you are the star."

Fortunetelling Corner

[prophesie]

What a coincidence, Hero. Rich women are now on Marie's mind, too! Well, rich girls.

Either way, he can relax. Marie wouldn't notice the brushstrokes in a Manet, and a little extra sweat is similarly lost on her. It's not just obliviousness (although there's a bit of that too) — Marie's sense of self is essentially determined by that day's presentation, and she extends the same courtesy to others. If Hero more or less looks Calm And Cool, then to her, he is. No further details necessary.

But anyway. Yes, yes, go on. Marie giggles, almost nervously. "Don't let her hear you say that," she admonishes in a way that suggests she would actually very much like him to continue. "Tally hates when people forget the band was her idea."