paradisabeyond | (no subject)

[Good evening, explorers! After departing from Cair Paradisa, the path was south at first, but turned west fairly early on. Skirting well south of Eldritch Forest, the travelers had camped near the edge of the Amber Steppe, not quite within sight of the forest that marks the Totem Coast. The grasses are parched brown by the heat, though greener patches mark the presence of water. It's near one of these - a small, bubbling stream leading west that Raine has chosen to follow as it will almost certainly run into the river marked on her map - that the travelers have made their camp.

The carts and wagons are arranged in a defensive circle, though the campers are free to set up their tents outside them as well as inside wher ethe rest of them are. There are small cooking fires scattered around as well as a large bonfire in the center for socializing.

Play music? Sing? Teach those poor non-Earth kids how to make s'mores? Or just sit around and socialize with others.

Or hide in your tent and ignore everyone, if you really want to.]

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[South drops down next to Rue after scrounging herself up some dinner, but she's slow to actually dig into it. She's not used to horseback riding, and she hasn't quite been keeping up on her training regiment since she arrived. ~~That and she learned that you can get motion sickness from riding a horse.~~]

[Son instead of eating she just sort of watches Rue throw sticks at the fire, oddly entranced for the moment.]

[You're right. Guess who quietly saunters up, sitting nearby, pretending like she's reviewing some notes and making sketches of the area. She sends Ruu off to go watch the area for her, flipping her cape's hood down and snorting a bit.

She's quiet. She looks like she has something to say, but she's letting her quiet intimidate you. Her eyes stay sharp, shifting to you now and again, sighing.

You are so being graded.]

[Yuan's been looking for her, and when he finds her, approaches quietly, stopping beside where she sits and looking vaguely guilty.]

...This spot taken?

[The knight takes a seat nearby, setting down a small frying pan and a bag next to him]

Hello again, Kate.

...Heh.

You're better off not knowing.

Exactly!

So the one and only I am!

You heard of them? [He sounds a tidbit excited. He knows that the idea of Hermione knowing how to even breed them floored him!]

Fiiiiine, do it yourself. Take all my fun.

[Close to where Echidna has made herself ugly and comfortable is Alleyne, holding a notebook out and surveying the area. Her notebook is propped up in her lap against her tomato cap,leaving her ears and head free for now. Everything is recorded carefully in shorthand and in sketch form. She flips between pages now and again, marking numbers down next to names, looking as serious as she ever was. Next to her is her staff and her bag, not leaving her sight, within a quick hand snatch's distance. Just in case.

If you look around her, you can catch a glimpse of Ruu, her small pet monkey, looking around and helping her survey things. He's friendly, don't worry.

Once in a while, she reaches in a pouch on her belt to pick out a snack and nibble on it neatly.]

[She looks up at him when he speaks, slightly surprised. She was not expecting him. To be honest, she thought he was still sulking.] Well, it obviously is, since you're here now.

[ Oh yeah, she's very intimidated. If by intimidated you mean annoyed, which can have a similar effect on her at the very least. She had been expecting some sanctimonious speech or sharp remark right off the bat, but then there's the chance Alleyne doesn't even know and is just lurking to keep a general eye on her.

Appearing to casually stretch, Echidna tips her head back to get an upside-down glance of the older elf's posture, and she immediately knows that isn't true. Which only makes her grin. ]

The sky is beautiful, isn't it? Don't tell me you're drawing the stars. That would be sentimental of you.

Got it, Carolina.

[That catches him off guard a bit. Then again, Zelos always seems to give him little surprises like this.]

What makes you say that?

[ She giggles. ]

It's called The Pie Hole. Mostly I help bake and serve the food.

Only a little. Zack won me a stuffed one at the carnival.

[Now she does laugh as he sits beside her, and it feels good to do so. Although he's not sticking his feet in, she hopes he doesn't mind if she keeps hers doused in the water.

Their idle movements stop when he offers her the food, wondering if he had seen her earlier. She's still not hungry, but she'll feel impolite if she refuses. She nods slightly in acceptance.]

Thanks.

[A nod.] Nice.

Bah, I'm making a map of everywhere we've been. The sentimental can wait for after the practical is done with. Romanticism won't find us our way home nor give accurate record for those that stayed behind.

[She puts down another negative notch by your name. Don't be such an invasive, peeking poophead.]

I've no time for trivial pursuits or other nonsense. Unlike you.

[That last part sounds especially damning and sharp.]

[He snorts and raises an eyebrow at the kid]

You can't even handle conversations with me most of the time. You get too scared.

No offense, stuff about the castle might be too much for you. This isn't a field trip, you know.

[ Rolling over onto her stomach, a deceptively innocent position (it is what snakes do, hello), Echidna props herself up on her elbows while rolling her empty cup about with a fingertip. ]

Trivial is in the eye of the beholder, hm? Not that I would know of what you're referencing.

Wait wait-

You know how to make pies?

[He lets out a little grunt as an answer. If she eats or not... Well, truth to be told, it's not his problem, but he tried. Hopefully she'd eat later; they all needed their strengths. A bit of silence from his part, enjoying the sounds of the night (which in the Dead Zone were almost none...) until he speaks again.]

Is it your first one?

[He smiles at her, or makes an effort at it, although the corners of his mouth seems stubbornly fixed in place, and sits down, staring up at the stars. Eventually:]

I shouldn't have yelled.

Fine. Let me see what I can do.

[Examining the other Spartan and how she's stuck...]

...Speaking of that, how did you get your Buster Sword back?

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