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

Reid & Cash

[cygninae]

Reid doesn't talk again for another few seconds. Instead, he starts helping Cash with getting the tent ready. Reid doesn't go camping at home. His parents are too busy, and nature isn't a readily accessible thing in the part of Chicago he's from. But this is his third year at Gooseberry and Sy (fuck that guy) loses his head for wilderness shit. So Reid can handle a tent and not get in the way.

"I'm sorry. About what happened." He keeps his voice low and flat. It's his natural effect, sure, but he doesn't want eavesdroppers. "I fucked up."

Reid & Cash

[longcons]

All right. Wordlessly, Cash moves over, giving Reid space to settle down beside him. They work together for a while, diligently connecting tent poles and avoiding sustained eye contact. For what it's worth, despite Reid's fears, he won't find much of that Coppertale agitation here. Not yet, anyway. He may be an ice prince, but Cash is like a dark rock. He'll absorb whatever rays you throw at him without emitting much of anything in return.

The perfect neutrality is, perhaps, a little overcompensatory. But yesterday slipped away from him a bit, and Cash would rather that not happen again.

Cash's hands stay busy while Reid speaks, but this time, his eyes don't move. He's listening. "You told Sy," he replies. It's not a question, but explicit confirmation of the gossip timeline would be appreciated.

Reid & Cash

[cygninae]

"Yeah." There's no point in lying. It was a mistake. He'd known it was a mistake as soon as he saw Sy's reaction. He'd thought it would just be a relief that there was another viable suspect. Evercreech was almost as built as Sy, he hated him, he was smart or whatever. Sy had an out. It was good news.

And then everything happened. Aren't Cash and Evercreech friends or something? And he's trusted Reid with that detail. Because he's a senior prefect and people trust you when you're a senior prefect, even if you're an idiot who just says or doesn't say shit. "I didn't think that would happen. He's been better."

Reid & Cash

[longcons]

Cash doesn't really care about Sy — why he did it, if he's been better or worse. Well, not much, anyway: there's never any harm in data gathering, and his picture of Sylvester Stoker is becoming crisper by the second. Coppertale's Quidditch captain is angry, impulsive, proud, and at the end of the day, he keeps his word. Everyone had heard him announce his intentions to force feed this (?) imposter a knuckle sandwich. That Reid didn't expect it, perhaps, speaks to a blind spot of the senior prefect's, more so than an unexpected behaviour of Stoker's.

But. That said.

"I have a best friend, too," Cash says, and it sounds like a non-sequitur, but of course, it's not. He understands why Reid told. He would've done the same.

They can keep talking about this — Cash genuinely isn't bothered — but there's something that's on his mind, too, and he's not sure if he should share it. He hadn't exactly been rewarded by his discussions on the topic to date. He turns the thought over in his mouth a few times, before deciding that, fine. One more shot at collaboration. But just one. "Calvin maintains his innocence."

Instantly, Cash regrets speaking up. Ah, fool him twice.

Reid & Cash

[cygninae]

Reid nods. The short statement is enough to assure him. He sees Cash around Todd all the time. Sometimes you've just got that person you tell everything. Not, like, emotions and shit. Just information. What he knows Sy knows. It wasn't a big deal before, when Reid had no responsibilities and knew nothing important.

He doesn't need to elaborate on it with Cash.

"You believe him." Not a question. "Didn't you see him though?"

Reid & Cash

[longcons]

Cash puts down whatever tent pieces he was holding and rubs the heel of his palm into his eye. Yes, he saw him. That should be enough. He trusted his own perception, and he's sure it was Calvin. But. "It isn't consistent. I saw him. The sophomores didn't. He doesn't fit their description."

There's a small pause; this next bit is soft evidence and maybe not relevant, but. "And it's out of character." He just can't imagine Calvin dressing up as a murderer to scare students, even if he knew the blame would fall to Sy. There were other, better methods of revenge — and perhaps it spoke to Cash's respect for Calvin that he believed the Ribbonfin would chose something with a little more... subtlety.