JULY MINI EVENT - Branching Out!

[pumpkinhollow]

Branching Out

A cool breeze threads through the trees of Lockwood Forest as Teddy Pennyburrow and his gaggle of volunteers begin to set up the camp.

It's been a monumental occasion, receiving enough funding to the Autumn Leaves Dormitory House to give it some much-needed upgrades and expansions, but the process hasn't been without its trouble. Finding somewhere to keep the children while the construction is under way took a great deal of thought and deliberation--- after all, the Oak & Iron doesn't exactly have the space to accommodate so many displaced kids, from toddlers to teenagers--- but with some assistance from those working so closely with the House, a seasonally-appropriate consensus was reached.

What better way to pass the time and make it fun for everyone involved than to have it be a camping excursion?

Summer Camp Season

In a wide clearing within the centermost area of the woods, Mr. Pennyburrow has gathered as many volunteers as he could possibly manage to keep the children active, engaged, and most importantly, safe. Among the roles called for in his volunteer-seeking notice on the public bulletin board, Pennyburrow called help for:

➤

Teachers, to educate the children on survivalism and nature, as well as any other subjects that might be easily taught to a gaggle of children in the woods. Math might prove to be challenging, here. (Anyone aspiring to teach full-time at the Dormitory House are encouraged to join them, as with the expansions and additional funding, Pennyburrow will be looking to hire a few offworld teachers to create curriculums!)

➤

Storytellers, especially anyone with a knack for tales of mystery and terror. (Campfire for ominous lighting while telling the stories will, of course, be provided. The teenagers would be willing to settle for no less.)

➤

Foragers and cooks, especially with skill in campfire-cooking.

➤

Warriors and guards, for assistance with keeping the campsite safe from any threats that lie in the forest.

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General attendants, particularly anyone with a keen eye (and potentially with the ability to guide rowdy groups into games to pass the time).

Though the position is voluntary, Pennyburrow still offers a humble 100B to anyone who comes to assist. (Mod note: if your character attends the event, feel free to go ahead and add 100B to their ledger!)

♥

Comments

[aghostinthemachine]

"Really? I'm shocked to hear that! You're so good!"

Alex can sense that he's 100% genuine in his words. He's awe-struck with getting to meet a human — one who is clearly talented at music.

"If you were ever interested in performing more, I would love to help! I was a performer back in my world. I'm not the best with instruments but I can certainly sing!"

[peoplepleaser]

Kabru moves around correcting postures with simple instructions and explanations, occasionally a hand on an arm raising or lowering it slightly. His smile brightens when he gets to Kris. "Good form! You've got your weight evenly distributed, hands are looking good. I can tell you've got some experience. Do you mind demonstrating an overhead strike?"

If they refuse, that's fine-- he'd planned to demonstrate it himself, but he's curious to get more of a read on how experienced they actually are with combat.

summer nights

[hate_gettin_older]

"Hey," comes a voice from a little ways off, approaching along the perimeter of the camp.

Kabru might or might not have encountered this fellow before, over the days: helping with the petting zoo, herding kids from one event to another, putting his name on the guard roster, watching the sword training with a look of interest. They probably haven't spoken much yet, if at all.

[peoplepleaser]

Kabru hears the approaching footsteps before the voice, drawing up a smile in greeting of one of the other volunteers. They haven't spoken, but Kabru makes a habit of memorizing faces and names-- Edgar. He's noticed the curious eyes on the sword training lessons. "Hello. Lovely night out, isn't it?" He waves a hand towards the logs positioned around the fire for seating, inviting the other man to join him. "Having trouble sleeping? It's a little early for the shift change."

[hate_gettin_older]

Edgar settles in next to Music at the campfire, and offers her a tin cup full of some unidentifiable fruit drink. "Hey, pretty lady."

[tehilim127_1]

"Pleased to meet you, too." She gives a little half-bow back, with a slightly awkwardness that makes it clear it isn't her usual mode of greeting but she's game to try it. "I'm glad you liked them! I figured they'd be new to the kids too, since most of em aren't from my world."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Yeah, I took a couple hours before and now I'm not sleeping til after my shift. Rather stay up too late than get up too early."

He seats himself on one of the logs and stretches his legs a little. "It's, uh ... Kabru? Did I say that right?"

[peoplepleaser]

"You did. And you're Edgar, right? It's hard to get a chance to talk one on one here, isn't it?" Kabru chuckles, trying to keep an eye on the treeline while still making sure Edgar has his visual attention.

[takethatnature]

He doesn't run after them, at least not immediately. Those casually paced footsteps soon fade into the distance as Kris outpaces the masked menace.

But it doesn't last long. The thing steering Mr. Higgsbury's body has no difficulty seeing in the dark. When Kris stops to catch their breath, they can hear something sprinting through the trees not far away.

[battlebyballad]

A laugh bubbles out of her, light and warm, as she accepts the cup and takes a drink from it. "Well hello, handsome. Firelight suits you."

[chenpathy]

"I'm— still thinking about if I am," she answers, which is true if you count 'absolutely was not intending to play publicly again for a while' as thinking about it. "Doing it for the kids is one thing but stages actually make me a little nervous? Which I know probably seems a little silly."

It does feel silly, especially after performing with Steph went so well, but it's still so nerve-wracking.

"But, if I do, I'll remember that. I bet your performances are great."

[bedknobsandbroomsticks]

Handshakes aren't really the norm for her so Sorceress never thinks about it as a way to greet people. She takes no offense to any awkwardness on Zivia's part.

"I'm a bit surprised to see children here..." A bit sad, too. "Do you know if they're mostly natives or are there some from other worlds like us?"

[aghostinthemachine]

Mettaton smiles warmly, hands still clasped together as he lowkey fanboys over her.

"That's not silly at all, darling! I was rather nervous the first time I performed... but the love I received helped my courage immensely."

He puffs his chest plate out slightly, hands moving to rest lazily on his hips. "I'd say I don't like to brag but... that's a blatant lie. I was the Number One Star in the Underground back in my world! Of course, that was only performing for monsters like myself but still~"

[chenpathy]

"Ah, the Sound of the Underground." Oh god that's a heavily outdated musical reference even to people who come from the right places. Come on Alex, your bad jokes are only funny if people can understand them. She clears her throat a bit. "You live underground?"

She's so smooth.

[heartofadreemurr]

"Yeahhhhh okay," Kris grumbles, rolling onto their back. "Whatcha need?"

[heartofadreemurr]

"Yeah," Kris wheezes, wiping sweat from their brow. "I'll probably have to go get it back soon... But not for a bit longer."

Be sincere Laugh it off *Worry

"...God, I hope nobody finds it. If Susie opens my bag and sees it in there, she's gonna freak."

[thismaskismybadge]

"I've been keeping a pretty good eye on where everyone's going. If it looks like she's gonna head that way, I can run interference."

No hesitation. Helping cover for someone is firmly within her comfort zone.

[aghostinthemachine]

He's thrown off for a moment, not understanding the reference. Unless... she's familiar with monsters...? No, that's probably not it...

"Ah, yes! I do. Or did? It was a complicated matter but things are better now. I won't bore you with the details. We didn't have much in the way of entertainment so I took it upon myself to provide!"

[hate_gettin_older]

"With all the kids running around like fuckin maniacs? Yeah." He says it with far more amused fondness than the words would suggest.

"Listen though, meant to ask -- they save you anything at dinner? Saw you were busy."

[hate_gettin_older]

He takes a swig from his own cup, and grins. "Yeah? Lucky for me there's a fire right here. Couldn't have planned it better myself."

[tehilim127_1]

"Well, this was mostly just an ordinary town before the curse, so they tell me. So there's kids here like there's kids anywhere, and ... also like anywhere, there's gonna be some who get orphaned."

Glancing over the camp: "There's at least a couple of the older ones here from offworld. I don't think any of the littlest ones are."

[heartofadreemurr]

"Uh. Thanks. Sure thing." Suddenly feeling very Watched, Kris stiffens ever so slightly, but raises their wooden blade overhead and brings it down sharply on the dummy in front of them with pretty decent follow-through. It has the feel of someone who hasn't been trained formally, but has some sort of instinctual muscle memory. Maybe they've watched a lot of sword fighting very carefully and are self-trained?

Or maybe they got isekai'd into a video game pocket dimension in the school closet.

Bastion E54 | Overwatch 1

[configuration_birdwatcher]

Foraging is how Bastion earns a living, and fighting is the function they were built for. It's barely even an imposition for them to accompany the Autumn Leaves children and adolescents on their woodland excursion. Children from other worlds tend to find their weaponry exciting rather than frightening, which still hasn't stopped feeling bizarre to them. Many of the kids want to impress them, or tone down the boundary-testing in their presence.

The problem is, neither their programming nor their past experiences have set them up for success in social endeavours. While they're willing to take the kids along on their searches for mushrooms and berries, Bastion's idea of teaching isn't much more than narrating what they're currently doing and answering questions as they come in. Even reading the fine details of the children's emotional states is challenging, never mind managing them. They would greatly benefit from the assistance of someone with more people skills.

After night falls, the battle omnic and their Togetic can be found guarding the perimeter, decompressing from the stress of the day with a familiar and solitary task. Bastion's on watch all night and into the morning more often than not; their systems only require a recharge period approximately once every four days.

Campfire Cookery

[configuration_birdwatcher]

Bastion approaches the soup preparation station with a basket of chanterelles and a couple of morels. // Are these useful now?

They have a collection of recipes committed to memory, but what Zivia's doing isn't a close match for any of them and Bastion's unwilling to improvise without guidance. They won't be the one who has to eat it if they ruin the meal.

[bedknobsandbroomsticks]

"That's good, at least. For a child to be brought here..." The witch frowns. "Obviously it's terrible to have orphans at all but I can only imagine how difficult it is for the ones not of this world..."