recolle | [CLOSED] you better pack your bags

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[CLOSED] you better pack your bags

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!))

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[ 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. ]

-Satsuki spotted it too, at least she thought she did, and was off like a rocket to snatch it up, speeding towards it. Her extra power didn't make her that much faster of a swimmer however, and Jen and Satsuki were bound to reach their destination at the same time.

And collide with one another.-

[ Satsuki is lucky that she doesn't end up with a high-speed robot punch to the face, though just barely! Jen yelped and reached out with her arm to grab onto her friend tightly in any way she could to prevent herself from going under by reflex. ]

-Satsuki flailed for a moment, before clinging perhaps a bit *too* tightly to Jen in order to keep herself, keep them both, stable. Everything that could go wrong sure was going wrong, wasn't it?-

[ impulse to keep the both of them safe and steady overrode whatever else was going through her mind in that moment. except, of course, the need to breathe. Jen wriggled in a futile effort to get loose, coughing. ] Satsuki... ease up a little...?

[ she was still hugging her tightly, but did thump on her friend's back in a bid to get her to realize what was happening. she wanted to be loose, not to be let go entirely. ]

S-sorry! -She hadn't even realized she was doing it, easing her grip on Jen, which allowed her to just sort of... hang off the other woman, there in the chilly waters, still only half dressed, and becoming quickly aware of how close they were, her cheeks going a pretty noticeable shade of red...-

It's fine! Just remember I'm not as strong as you super-ladies, okay? [ she quickly assured Satsuki, with a smile and a... wink.

the wink was probably not necessary. ] Not yet anyway.

[ of course now she's made the mistake of looking downward, turning her head at the last second to look beside them, and downward. this is indeed a compromising position. ] You, uh, want to go get that or... should I?

-... Jen's reaction sort of settled it, didn't it? That the dream hadn't been her own experience. She would have been embarrassed before, sure, but the subtle difference in how the other woman reacts isn't lost on Satsuki. Body language was one of the many artforms she had to master for her own craft, after all.

Satsuki sighed, hating how awkward this was. Because it didn't have to be. None of it had to be. Before that dream, everything had been fine, hadn't it? They could be close and not have to pretend anything else was happening. Jen could give her massages and tuck her into bed, and it wouldn't be some weird... thing!

Pushing away slightly, she made for her top, diving below the surface just long enough to get it back on and secure before popping back up with a breath. By then, the water didn't feel nearly as cold, but... there wasn't much warmth to be had, either. Figuratively, at least.-

[ meanwhile, as Satsuki took that dive and took her time to even get dressed before surfacing, Jen is just left floating by herself. confused, more than anything. not... even a word before her friend went ahead and took matters into her own hands, huh? o...kay...

by the time Satsuki is back with her Jen was wearing an openly perplexed look on her face. ]

Are you okay?

Yes. Fine, just... had to get my head together, is all. Losing your top is pretty embarrassing, yanno? -Blame it on that. It was easy, believable.-

Yeah, that's true. [ Jen chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood again, just as she had tried before. ] But hey, at least it was just with me? And not, like, everyone...

-Satsuki was pretty sure that made things worse.-

Everyone's taking their sweet time getting down here.

[ Jen put her hand to her forehead as she looked up toward the first cliff. ] Not everyone's as gung-ho as we are.

Of course, they could also be going around to the other side. Or waiting for us to move out of the way...?

[ she spotted a little alcove where the water was stiller but the sun still came in at an angle. ] Hey, let's move that way! [ Jen is already off, not watching if Satsuki was following. ]

-Welp. It'd be just that much more awkward if she didn't follow, and so she did, smoothly kicking off and keeping up behind Jen. She really wished this hadn't gotten off to such a rocky start...-

[ now that they're out of the way, Jen waved up for whomever else might be waiting on their turn to dive. they could have seen what had just transpired, too, but... ] Huh. Doesn't look like anyone saw us.

[ lucky for Satsuki, especially. Jen found a comfortable spot to brace herself against a rock, getting more than just her shoulders above the surface of the water, and started fussing with her hair as the weight strained against the ponytail. ]

[ she is desperate for small talk, to keep some momentum up, but nothing comes forth. Jen is oblivious to the actual reasons for Satsuki's discomfort, so she'll just take a shot in the dark as to the reason. ] Do you think I invited too many...?

Well, like I said... it could have just been you and Kara and probably woulda been fine. -That... didn't mean to sound as bothered as it did. Hopefully it just got blamed on the chilly water, though it was decidedly warmer in this spot.-

Like I said, there's no way I would been okay with you missing out on this. If anything, I should have had this been you and me! But, safety in numbers out here and all.

[ Jen shrugged her shoulder. ] Besides, I already saw Kara before for my present. [ ... ] Well, that wasn't a birthday present. I was checking up on my bike again. Still no luck getting it to run, but she gave me a jacket to prepare me for lessons. It's just a thing for big spenders there. I'm lucky I found such a full service shop, you know?

[ she played that off as absolutely casually as possible, but made one grave error. Jen doesn't believe in obtaining things via luck. or fate. it's a small slip but Satsuki knows her well enough to perceive that opening where others might not. ]

-... Alright. Okay, even if she WASN'T jealous, which she still didn't know if she had any right to be, she could tell Jen was lying to her, and that pissed her off well more. Satsuki gave Jen a flat look.-

Hey. Jen.

In all the time we've known each other, have you ever once bought into the idea of luck?

You can cut with the bullshit at any moment.

[ Jen is not the best at weaving lies. you'd think she would have plenty of experience after discovering herself all those years ago, and working so hard to keep that part of her a secret. but still, when it mattered on literally any other subject? her honesty betrayed her at every step.

which is why she knows better than to look too surprised that Satsuki was calling her out on something. it's just... a matter of the specifics. Jen couldn't pretend to pinpoint the exact reason for that but she had some really good guesses. ]

Wh-... what are you talking about?

[ oh, is this going to be that conversation she had been silently dreading for a while now? because if there is any way this could just Not Happen right now, universe, that would be fantastic. ]

-For the sake of them both and not turning the trip into a minefield of awkwardness it could potentially be, Satsuki wasn't going to confront her about their shared dream... even though she wanted to, because at that moment, she was almost certain it was, in fact, shared.-

You. And that Kara girl.

Oh. [ oh. well, that was one of the subjects that Jen was actively avoiding, but not out of a sense of malice. just because she didn't know how things would go, or how to even bring it up. she cannot exactly go around bragging about what their relationship was about, or even that it was something in its nebulous state. Jen couldn't put her words to good use here even if she wanted to.

there's no small part of her that just wants everyone to literally mind their own business, but that shouldn't have applied to her best friend.

right?

Jen started fussing about with her hair. brushing it out of her eyes, behind her ears, and so on. anything to avoid making eye contact. ]

Well. Yeah. I guess there's something there but, I... didn't mean to keep it a secret from you. I was keeping it a secret from everyone. So is she. [ passing some of the blame off onto Kara was extremely unfair, she knows, but it was the truth. they had agreed to this; even if it was 90% of Jen's reasoning motivating them to do it. ]

I'm sorry.

... -Satsuki let out a long exhale, running her hand over her face and just. Letting it all sit for a moment. Well... It sounded like that was what Jen needed, anyways. Something she could just keep hidden away. Satsuki couldn't even pretend she'd be happy with an arrangement like that if it were her.

IF it were her.-

It's fine. I'm happy for you. I just wish you'd told me.

I know. I'm sorry. [ Jen couldn't help but repeat it because she didn't know of any other way to even begin making it up to her. it's not something unforgivable, she hoped. it would be a terrible thing to weaken their friendship over withholding of a very personal event like that. ]

I was going to tell you soon. I swear! I just ... things just sort of. Happened. I'm still in disbelief myself. [ she meant all of that. the joy she felt when she was with Kara was unexpected, inexplicable, and potent. even now some of that leaked into her words and her body language. if Satsuki said she was happy with it, then it was basically like approval, wasn't it? Jen didn't have to hold back quite as hard now. ]

Yeah, well... She sounds like just what you need. -Satsuki sighed, slumping a little further into the water, blowing some bubbles up.-

Mmn, maybe so. [ Jen doesn't have anyone to vocalize her doubts with, but she really is still in that period where things just sound too good to be true. that usually means there's some catch.

there's also that weird dream. Satsuki's reaction doesn't even strike her as particularly telling, and she hasn't found a good way to bring it up. right now may not be the time at all, given there's no real escaping from each other should things get as tense as they did in there. they're hours away from anywhere with only one reasonable way home. ]

I mean it's all just thanks to Retrospec leaving the stupid batteries out of my bike. [ she brightens up. ] But, hey, if I get one back from them anytime soon, we should go for a ride!

[ Jen you don't even have a license for that. ]

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