[CLOSED] you better pack your bags

[burndownforwhat]

WHO: the birthday girl & invited guests
WHERE: Magatus
WHEN: 7/16 ~ 7/18
WHAT: (short) road trip
WARNINGS: Probably nothing but will update if something happens

Jen had this trip all planned out. The camper looked a bit riduculous with the pirate flag Satsuki had stuck to the side of it, but it was all in good fun so why not leave it?

On Monday, Jen arranged to pick up everyone ini the city before noon. The idea was to get them all to the recommended camping site well before evening, set up the tents and fire pit, and scope out the lay of the land before taking it easy. Of course the roads are not without their share of hazards, in the form of the random small monsters getting curious about the engine noises. Curbing any temptation to run the beasties over (it's a RENTAL, people!), Jen will suggest that the two powerhouses of the group (Kara and Satsuki) hop out to deal with them while she grabs the emergency tool kit in case anything manages to sneak inside.

Tuesday was a day to be filled with exploring, hiking, some climbing, and the highlight of it was the end of the trail with cliffs peering out over deep, clear waters below. Perfect for diving for the more adventurous of the lot. All the while Jen will be leading the charge like she'd been saving up energy all week for the trip. When they all get tired of that? Time to retire to camp for grilled meats and veggies, popcorn, s'mores, soft drinks and hard drinks, and chatting around the campfire. Maybe someone has some good stories to tell - spooky or otherwise? It's just the five of them underneath the stars.

Wednesday morning was time to take in any last-minute sightseeing, clean up the camp, and head back to Recolle. Hopefully with their sense of adventure satisfied, friendships deepened, and spirits high. Most of that is up to each individual, but Jen will do her best to make sure this birthday outing went as smoothly as possible.


((OOC: kinda barebones in a way but I didn't want to bog everyone down with a boatload of details. if your chara wants to bring along some games, suggest activities, or w/e Jen will be happy to oblige!))

Comments

[burndownforwhat]

I.)
[ anyone familiar with Jen knows she's more active than most, but in this particular group she feels the need to pull out all the stops and operate at 200% at all times. whether it be to volunteer to spend the most time driving, trying to set up her tent the fastest, being the one to haul out shovels for digging the fire pit, leading the charge hike... there's almost no stopping her unless she's forced to. ]

II.)
[ except once the days are done and it's time to sit, eat, and rest up. then she just absolutely sinks into her fold-out chair and melts. even the athlete has her limits, and being social on top of being active is just. so draining. she doesn't want to let on that it's too much for her. this was all her idea. gotta stay positive, and make a good example for everyone else.

she sincerely hopes they all have a good time. this is her first time ever doing something like this, and it's with people who aren't forced to be around her, like family or teammates. everyone here wants to be here, and she wants them to be here. you might catch her just observing the rest of the group with a goofy grin on her face. ]

Man. I could stay out here forever.

III.)
That's... a long way down, holy crap. [ Jen was standing close to the edge of the cliffside. the hiking trail led right past it and the guide booklet marked the confirmed safe diving spots. it felt unreal. ] You ever done this before?

[ even as she asks, and with whatever hesitation was in her voice, Jen wasn't about to stop here. this was the big draw of the trip to her in the first place. if she isn't the first one down, she'll be right behind whoever is in stripping down to her swimsuit and tying back her hair. there's a path that leads back around from the bottom all the way back to this trail. it's not the kind of dive people will be doing more than once, probably, unless they have a way up.

Jen might have a way to cheat that... ]

wildcard.)
[ you know what to do, just go for it ]

II

[argone]

[Operating at 200% is a whole lot of Jen, and Kara's not complaining, but when they've finally stopped for the day it's easy to hear that she's in need of a break. Kara flops down next to her, sort of. She floats, more than anything, literally hovering in a seated position next to Jen's foldout.

She's been good, keeping her hands to herself and avoiding the little looks she knows she gives people she's involved with, but right now she wants just a bit of contact. Dropping her hand gently onto Jen's, she smiles.]

I'll bet. Plenty of fresh air, all the exercise you could want.

[Her hand lingers, but only for a moment, before sliding off.]

You holding up okay, Ms. Energizer Bunny?

[burndownforwhat]

[ to call being apart from Kara without actual distance between them as torture would be overstating the fact in an overdramatic way. but god, does she ever feel it when that contact happens. Jen plays it off, too, by reaching her hands behind her head and stretching them out before collapsing further into the seat. ] Yeah, I'm okay, Kara. I know I'm going to be sleeping good tonight that's for sure! [ the smile she wore hid the unspoken inconvenience therein. that Jen would have to spend the night in her tent. alone. ]

[argone]

[Kara felt it. Deeply. But at the same time, she could just make it up to Jen later. And she was pretty sure Alison, Satsuki, and the others didn't need to see her macking on Jen either way.]

Yeah. Me too. But I'll probably stay up late on watch for a while too.

[Because there were definitely monsters on the road here, and they don't wanna get hurt.]

Can't have anyone getting hurt.

[burndownforwhat]

Just got to play the hero, huh. [ it wasn't a question, and it bore no malice behind it. though Jen was watching her tongue a little less since drinks hit her system. she giggled. ] I mean, you're probably the only one in any shape to fight them off, anyway...

[argone]

That, and to be the responsible one. Remember I can hear things other people just can't.

[and since none of them can see in the dark...]

[burndownforwhat]

Okay, but focus that, like... away from the camp, yeah? [ she lowers her voice. ] Some people may want some privacy. [ well. anything can happen here tonight, or here in general. just... y'know. not for Them. ]

[argone]

I try.

[She floats closer, pitching her voice low.]

Something I should know about other pairs?

[burndownforwhat]

[ Jen shook her head, and gestured outward with her bottle of water. at least she had the sense to go back to it after a little while. ] Nah. I just mean... you never know what could happen. Right? [ they're walking proof of that. ]

[me_matey]

[ i - monday ]

-The clashing emotional state she'd been in between her dreams about Jen, becoming at least partially aware of Jen and Kara's relationship, her agreeing to this trip despite the previous two things, and a dozen or so little other things had put Satsuki in the sort of state where the poor behemoths that had decided to interfere in their drive was about to be used as a literal outlet for all of her anxiety and frustration. Stepping out of the camper, she rolled her neck, popped her knuckles, and stomped hard enough in the dirt beside the road to leave a sizeable crater.

These poor bastards... had no idea what they were in for.-

Hey, jabroni! If you're trying to take a shot at the chimp, you'd better not miss, because the Pirate Queen Satsuki Hojo takes no prisoners! -Why... was she cutting a promo in the middle of the road?-

[ ii - tuesday ]

And from the top rope!

-She didn't wait for anyone else. Satsuki didn't feel at all intimidated by the height of the dive. It wasn't all that different form one she'd done in a ladder match back in Japan, and into a much more welcoming surface. Stripped down to her swimsuit, which looked pretty damn close to her wrestling gear, she was leaping and *literally pulling off her signature flying elbow drop* into the water below. Because why not? She put up with enough the day before, she had little to risk losing... Well, besides possible part of her swimsuit. Whoops.-

[ iii - tuesday evening ]

-Okay, maybe she. hadn't. coped with the situation as well as she thought she would. It was impossible for her to just set aside what she'd witnessed in her dreams, knowing it was completely possible Jen had indeed been inside her head, and just... being around her through the weekend. And she wasn't a jealous person, normally; or at least she told herself that. But seeing Jen with Kara... it made her chest hurt. And her throat parched. And maybe that's why she'd put away probably well more than she should have.

Actually, no, she was definitely drunk at this point. She knew it. And once more, she felt compelled by that need to release her anxieties and do something dumb. It was fine, wasn't it? That's what they were here for. To do dumb shit and have fun. And she was going to have fun, damnit!-

Alright. -She put back the last of the bottle she'd been working on, tossing it aside.- I'm antsy and while stories are cool, I wanna tell a story *my way*. So who wants to wrestle the champ? I'll go easy on you~!

-She laughed brightly, but everything about what she'd just suggested was probably a Bad Idea.-

[ wildcard ]

-You know the drill.-

ii

[burndownforwhat]

Holy crap! [ not only was Jen surprised with the sheer speed at which Satsuki was ready to go, but also she swears she can see the splash reaching all the way to the cliff itself. maybe the others were taking their time, or picking a shorter cliff to dive from. safer for newbies and also so that no one risked accidentally leaping onto anyone else's head. made sense. but Jen had some experience in this, and she also wasn't going to go far from the edge itself when Satsuki was down and the waves had settled. she knew that straight down was the way to go and be in the clear so that's the angle she chose for her dive. it was exhilarating. like most things, it was all over too quick, and she surfaced moments later, brushing the wet bangs out of her eyes, looking around for her friend. things may have been tense for reasons unexplored but all that seemed to wash away from her. if for but a moment. ] Whew! God, it's been too long since I've done that!

[me_matey]

-Satsuki burst back up to the surface with what would probably have been an alarming scream had it not quickly turned into boisterous, heart-filled laughter.-

This water is FREEZING, ha ha ha! -And it was. The spring water of the mountains never seemed to really warm up, which made sense if she thought about it.-

[burndownforwhat]

Y-yeah I'm realizing that the hard way! [ Jen had to keep moving. which was almost counter-intuitive. keeping the blood blowing hot helped with the cold, but so did being still and letting her body heat it up around her. there wasn't much of a current to feel that they didn't generate on their own. Jen smiled, seeing Satsuki that happy. that was the goal today, after all. make sure everyone had fun. though something was off about the way she looked and it wasn't her face, it was the distortion of her body beneath the surface of the water... oh. crap. looking away now. ] Hey, uh. I think... you're missing something...

[me_matey]

... Eh?

-And that's when she finally noticed. The water had been so cold, she hadn't even realized at first it was gone. And immediately her expression changed from one of absolute mirth to "please kill me", face red as a beat.-

Where the hell is it?!

[burndownforwhat]

[ while her friend was going red, Jen's face felt like it was on fire. thankfully, looking around gave her a reason not to stare. ] Uh. Hang on. It can't be that far... [ she swam toward the edge, holding on to a rock outcrop so she wouldn't have to splash around as much and distort the water more. ]

[me_matey]

-At least the water was choppy enough that even its crystal clarity, Satsuki wasn't entirely exposed... but it did limit how much she could move around.-

It's bright orange, it can't be that hard to find!

[burndownforwhat]

[ imagination was a hell of a thing. the chill of the water was doing wonders at taking her mind off of things. like wondering what possessed her to just jump in without taking her arm off this time. at least it wasn't the beach; no sand to mess with. ] Ah! I think I saw it. [ Jen pointed at a colorful blob floating vaguely between them, as it caught the light of the sun from above before disappearing into shadows. she pushed off from the rock and went right for it. ]

[nachetanya]

[ Natalia had invited herself a long, but she did worry about being out of place here. She was... well. She only newly knew Jen (and she couldn't deny she had some ulterior motives there, as bad as it made her feel) but she was assured when she did know several of the other girls here. ... Good. That's good. Thus, the red eyed woman with the prosthesis does operate with a bit more assurance than she might otherwise present.

Well, that and she always operated like she was on top of things. It was just how she was, really. ]

I: The journey there
[ So honestly, Natalia is uncomfortable with killing monsters. She thus, despite having the ability to fight them, choses not to. She actually sort lingers near the windows during those times, frowning at the sight of the combat going on outside. Other than that, though, she is quite social! She's volunteering to drive, she's looking around with bright red eyes, she's chatting up people!!

... She's eating kale chips (yes, really. Anyone that knows her will know she unironically loves them)? But mostly, here and about, she's here to try to make the trip a little bit more interesting. It's a long drive, after all. ]

II: The adventures camping
[ you know, not only is it not as cold as she anticipated, it's actually a little weird how warm Magatus is now. The frozen lake has thawed, there's actually some sand(?)... the mountains themselves are chilly though, so they probably camp near the mountain range, perhaps in them. She looks off at the view every chance she gets, but in camp?

Oh she's in love with these grilled vegetables. She's also here for popcorn actually? She hums a little, prepping those and grinning and, again, chatting up people. But when she's at least pretty sure there's less people around, there is something else she wants to wonder at. Namely...

She spins a finger in the air, a small scalpel sized crystal blade forming there. She spins her finger, causing it to spin too. She practices with this, trying both to refine her control and... honestly, she does still have a bit of wonder at her own powers. ]

III: The mountains
[ She is totally here for this hiking around thing? Actually, the air is cool. She gets in step with the others inhaling deep. That said, while she's totally here for going around and observing things (maybe even taking a picture of some of the wildlife with her phone) when they get to the pond...? Well, lake, for cliff-jumping.

She not only needs to strip down to her swimsuit (which she does look cute in if she says so herself!) she also need to take out her prosthesis. Which is... a bummer? But she hopes it'll be safe. She does want to do the big cliff jump at least once, so she might need to ask someone to watch that and/or make the hike without her arm in. ]

[ Wildcard ]

[ It's lie, whatever, man. ]

ii

[me_matey]

-With a mouth full of meat, Satsuki didn't exactly hide her approach, but she was at least pretty quietly chewing as she watched Natalia twirl that phantasmal blade about, finding herself at least a little mesmerized by it. It was so beautiful. And part of it reminded her of something...-

Whoa... Cool... -Well. Not 100% quiet.-

[nachetanya]

Oh- Oh, I didn't realize you were there.

[ And she lowers her finger the blade shattering into glittering dust as she dismisses it through losing focus on it. ]

[me_matey]

Didn't mean to sneak up on you, either. Whoops. -A nervous laugh.-

I guess I was just in awe.

[nachetanya]

Oh, of the blade?

[ she sounds a little embarrassed, if she honest. Man, she had gotten Retrospec muscles, but everyone else here was so... Well, whatever. She smiles and faces her properly. ]

Awe seems a little much!

[me_matey]

No way, it was really cool and beautiful! I don't think I've seen anything like it before...

[nachetanya]

Oh. Oh, thank you?

[ A...haha. Ha. ]

They're an ability of mine.

[me_matey]

I gathered that much. Wish I could say mine was that impressive. Super strength isn't all it's talked up to be, let me tell you.