Event: Sunday evening

[utopiamods]

The train finally came to a halt in which seemed to be the middle of no where. There was a small hut, but just like the train station in Rakuen there were no staff. Still the doors opened and out on the platform a woman stood. She looked stern and some might recognise her from the town; her dusky pink hair made her stand out in a crowd.

"Weapons please collect the equipment of your colour from the luggage compartment. One tent per team, one stove, one sleeping bag. If Players require their Weapons to have sleeping bags come and tell me, I have some extra in the store." She spoke in a tone that seemed used to being obeyed; a soldiers tone some might recognise it as.

After the equiptment was collected she set off up the hill expecting everyone to keep up. Astute campers will have noticed Dolorosa, Day, Nanami and Santana in the small crowd and so hopefully realise that escape was nothing but futile.

Of course if they still tried they would find they couldn't get very far, if they went too far in any direction or tried to follow the tracks they would pass out and reappear just a little behind the main group.

The camp site was just over the hill, a valley surrounded by hills, a river running through it. Their guide told them to make camp, Fortitude this side of the river, Conquest the other; there were stepping stones. "All Players are to report to me while Weapons pitch the tents."

She waited until the Players were gathered, "My name is Clara, I am your guide for your trip and I expect you to behave yourselves. As you have guessed we have a slightly separate set up, you have each been provided with a Weapon, in some cases two. There shall still be fights, training fights each morning in your camps and a fight in the evening which shall be interschool. Do your best; for as well as raks winning fights will get you more points."

There were no smiles but a pause for them to take in what she had said so far. "There will also be other activities, from climbing to walking to canoeing. I am sure you will all find something you excel in. Each of your Weapons has been provided with a ring, it cannot be removed until the end of the trip. Touching it with your gloved hand will invoke the penalty, though I trust you all not to abuse that power."

She looked over to the campsite and the activity there and raised her voice so she could be heard by those putting up tents. "All cooking is to be done by the Weapons, points will be given and subtracted for cooking skills, tents will be inspected every day. Weapons require permission to share their Players food, there are Weapon meals provided. If you wish your Weapon to stay in your tent they may but permission must be given." She looked like she couldn't work out why anyone would want that despite the grey skies and drizzle.

"Today you may get to know the camp site, there shall be no fight tonight but there is wood to be collected and if you collect enough we can have a large camp fire. Points shall be awarded for meals, Weapons are to come to me for ingredients."

With that she nodded and walked away, presumably to pitch her own tent. Have fun campers!

Comments

[nocathere]

Cheshire grinned wider at the offer of tea, taking some gratefully. He was rather confident that his meal would be appreciated, as long as they didn't mind spice. It wasn't overwhelmingly spicy, but there was no doubt it had a kick- and Cheshire had made enough for all three of them with a side of rice.

He also seemed more than happy to serve it out, though it was hard to tell the way he was always smiling.

He seemed intrigued by the warning directed at him alone, "Something baaad." Curiosity did kill the cat, after all.

[sword_that_protects]

Aria perked up at the offer to have some of Yuka's tea. She grabbed a bowl of whatever Cheshire had made for dinner (having now been given permission to do so), sat next to Yuka on the ground and took in the aroma of the dish. It didn't smell bad - it actually smelled quite intriguing with a hint of heat. Knowing Yuka would be gauging her reaction, Aria deliberately did not look at Yuka as she took her first bite.

"Mmmmm! The texture is fantastic! The flavors aren't monotone - they have a nice delicate harmony and - ." The heat of the dish hit her then, and she took a deep breath, a small shimmer of moisture beginning to shine on her upper lip and brow. Aria quickly took a gulp of tea.

"It's been a while since I've had something spicy, but I like it. It's not overly spicy. It doesn't consume the flavor of the dish. I just wasn't ready for it, even though it's what was asked for. I love it!"

With that, Aria began to dig into her meal again, with gusto, as though she hadn't eaten in days. She had a new respect for the cat who can cook. Who would've known it was possible?

[justaflowergirl]

Yuka smiled. "Well, I can't be sure -what- I might come up with when half asleep. But I think I could probably pick you up, throw you in the river, and get back in my sleeping bag without fully waking up. And then, when you got back, you'd come in the tent and get Aria and I wet, and we'd all be very unhappy. So please don't."

(Yuka wasn't going to examine too closely the idea of Aria sleeping on her head.)

Yuka looked at the meal. It didn't look particularly threatening, but from what Aria said...

She wasn't looking forward to this part. But it was like any student of magic except Marisa learned - if you wanted to get the correct result from a ritual, you had to follow all the steps. She carefully took a small bite...

And froze. For a moment it almost looked like her eyebrows were standing up on end.

Then she threw the spoon down so hard that it sunk several inches into the ground, ran for the river, and stuck her head in.

A couple minutes later, when Yuka could feel her mouth again, she stood up and wrung out her hair. Her expression as she came back to camp was strangely pleased. "Thank you, Cheshire. That was perfect."

[nocathere]

Cheshire was not going to sleep on her head, no, but it was tempting still.

He seemed to be watching carefully for Yuka's reaction as Yuka ate, but then completely non-pulsed when she ran off. If anything, he looked proud. Was that supposed to be odd? Because Cheshire didn't seem phased at all. He just smiled up at her proudly, "You're welcome!"

She asked for something spicy, after all.

"Do we have more tea?

[sword_that_protects]

Aria just stared as Yuka ran off after her first bite. She knew the flavor of it would be too much for her, so why did Yuka request something spicy?

When Yuka came back from the river (evidence of her escapade dripping from her hair), Aria looked at her a bit askance, Cheshire confused Aria too much right now, so she didn't bother to speak her questions now.


"Shall I clean up dinner, assuming everyone has had their fill?"

[utopiamods]

Clara was doing her rounds and had seen Yuka run away from the blue teams tent but continued her rounds, by the time she got to their tent Yuka had returned. "How are things going?"

[justaflowergirl]

"Everything's just fine. But I do have a request..." Yuka smiled. "You mentioned there were meals for Weapons. May I have one of those? I'm afraid I still can't handle spicy foods..."

[utopiamods]

Clara's eyes narrowed as she looked at the two Weapons. "And did you not think to ask your Player what kind of food she could eat before you cooked?"

[justaflowergirl]

"Oh no, it's quite the contrary. This was what I requested." Yuka shrugged. "It was something of an experiment..."

And that wasn't even actually a lie...

[utopiamods]

"An experiment?" Clara raised an eyebrow, "And you thought a camping trip where supplies were limited was the place for an experiment?"

[justaflowergirl]

"What other time could I have done it? It was, after all, the rules you set out that inspired it."

[utopiamods]

"Truly? How did I inspire this experiment?"

Clara looked around the camp, really those brought to the city used to be more obedient than this.

[justaflowergirl]

"You said 'Weapons require permission to share their Players food'. I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if the Player requested food which, while good, the player can't eat?" Aria's presence had simplified that part a great deal - it would have ruined Yuka's plan if the meal had been inedible to everyone.

"Of course, it would have been fine if I had been able to eat it - thanks to Aria, my tolerance has improved quite a bit. But I really would also like to try those Weapon meals. I've become rather fond of the porridge they have in the cafeteria..."

[utopiamods]

Clara's eyes narrowed more, "I have half the mind to give you a Weapon meal and take the food away, letting your Weapons go hungry. But I hate waste."

Yuka was firmly on her list of people to watch though, "Go and get your food and don't pull a trick like this again or you will all go hungry."

[justaflowergirl]

Yuka gave Clara another big smile. "I think Aria would be happier if I asked for food we could eat together anyway."

Unsaid, but strongly implied, was that if Aria *wasn't* here, Yuka would do this for every single meal! Just like in a children's novel! Or at least until she got bored.

[utopiamods]

Aria... Clara was going to assume that was the Weapon that was not a cat and nodded. "I am sure you would not want to disappoint her." Or make her go hungry.

[justaflowergirl]

"I think we'll be just fine."

And with that, feeling that she'd said what needed to be said, she turned and went to get her fertilizer. She wondered what it would be? Probably not something as good as the porridge, but one never knew.

[A while later...]

Yuka came back a bit after Clara had moved on to another team. She was kind of disappointed. She thought it might be a bit saltier than usual, but the bowl of stuff she had been given was pretty much the same as what she could get for dinner back at Conquest - not really bad, but not up to the standards of their porridge. She'd be just as happy to spend the week trying more new things with Aria and Cheshire.

Overall though, she was pleased without how that had turned out. She smiled as she poured Cheshire another cup of tea. "Do you want any more, Aria?"

[sword_that_protects]

"That sounds splendid!" Aria accepted the tea proffered and took in the pleasant aroma as she let it cool slightly. Placing the cup gently down on a rock, so as not to get it filthy, Aria reached over to her duffel and dug out a small paper bag.

"Here!" Aria reached into the bag and placed a small, round, red orb into Yuka's hand. Reaching back into the bag, Aria grabbed a yellow one for herself. "It's called 'candy'. Dunleavy sold me a variety of these at the shop. Want to try some with me? They're really sweet, I'm told." With that, Aria plopped the morsel in her mouth, careful not to bite it. It seemed too hard to not hurt her teeth if she tried.

[nocathere]

Cheshire takes his tea, gently blows on it and takes a little sip. He wraps his tail around in front of him and places the saucer and cup down on it before leaning over to look at what Aria had. Candy! And she didn't offer him one?

He grinned wider, "They are lemons and cherries! I prefer the pink clouds!"

[sword_that_protects]

"Clouds? Why would anyone want to eat clouds?" Aria voiced her inner thoughts unknowingly. "You have some interesting notions."

[Now that Cheshire mentioned it, this candy did taste a bit like a very sweet lemon.]