A Hunting We Will Go (IC Thread)

[Largent]

With the zipper to his sweatshirt tentatively and tightly gripped between two fingers, Sage stepped off the shuttle to guage his new surroundings. Just as he had told Tia, his first breath was just as telling as his first sight of the planet. He had once been told that smell, above all other senses, was the one humans associated most with memories. As the alien air filled Sage's nostrils he felt the onrush of no memories. The air here was foreign. For the first time in a long time, Sage felt uncomfortable with his surroundings. It wasn't the cycads, nor the ten ton beasts that had him on edge. Those were to be expected. What bothered him most was knowing that the unexpected surreptitiously laid in wait despite the lacking ground cover.

Sage paused momentarily with the rest of the group to listen to DD-3421-A as it floated from the shuttle.

"This unit advises that all organics designated as male and all organics designated as female should not attempt to enter into the sleeping areas of the organics grouped in the opposite fashion, and doing so will be punished in the manner Overseer-Designate Oswald views as fit."

It was surprising that Sage had not grown to resent his father or his image. From a young age odd expectations had been placed on the youth. Sage recalled flashing, multicolored lights, a pulse-pounding bass. Such and intimate setting for such a necessary public display. He recalled the surprise that gripped him when he found girls' skin to been cool and smooth. He also recalled the feel of a blue blazer running between his thumb and index finger, hushed voices, feelings buried so deep he could hardly feel anything anymore, his father, not yelling, but hissing. The disgust. His own and that of others.

As Sage left to choose his bed he slung his bag over his shoulder and slid his sunglasses back on. Luckily he proved an efficient packer and everything, with some effort, fit under his bed, which was located essentially in the middle of the boy's tent. It was partly due to his personality that he chose to be not at the center of attention but easily visible. It was also because he realized that everyone here stood out and that those who retreated to the dark corners of the lodging stood out for the wrong reason: they didn't want to be scrutinized. Or at least that was his take on them.

Feeling sufficiently settled in, he departed the tent to explore the camp grounds when he heard a commotion in the direction of the fence. Striding towards the source more curiously than hurriedly, he found Leo and Raoul gazing off into the cycads. Removing his glasses and squinting, trying to distinguish whatever it was that had their attention, he asked "something go 'bump' in the night already?"

[JenningsandRall]

“Yeah, of course I’m excited about being able to draw new landscapes; I mean this is the first time I have been off Rechart. Besides, even though I could have hopped a train over to one of the colonies, none would be as pristine as this.” Alex replied, pausing as he looked past his conversational partner and into the world beyond the electrified perimeter.

The plants here on Nelesar were so much different than those he could find in the temperate forests that surrounded his family’s home, somewhat similar to the more exotic specimens one would find in a museum back home. Although the Federation had spread its influence to several worlds past the Rechan homeworld, in most cases the colonists of the past had opted to basically overwrite the preexisting environment with something more familiar.

“But, to be honest, the real reason I am here is because of my parents, except my spot on this trip was a graduation present before I went off to the military. Since my early years I loved nature, I couldn’t go without being outdoors; Hell, I have even wanted to be an ecologist since I was twelve, and hopefully after my stint in the Army, I will be.”

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Striding towards the source more curiously than hurriedly, he found Leo and Raoul gazing off into the cycads. Removing his glasses and squinting, trying to distinguish whatever it was that had their attention, he asked "something go 'bump' in the night already?"

Leonardo arches a brow at Sage, then nods firmly, gesturing vaguely off in the direction the beastie had disappeared to. "Some damn thing pounced the fence trying to get at us. They weren't lying about testing that thing, apparently. Spooked it off alright, but not before ht gnawed on it a bit. Raoul's got the right idea. Not going to go wandering about without some sort of weapon after this, tell you straight. We're heading over to pick some up, if you're game."

[Skeelzania]

“Don’t mind at all. Would probably score points with the old Jagermeister, seeing at least some of his charges showing a bit of spirit.” Raoul’s body was returning to some semblance of normality, allowing him to give a heavy sigh. “I don’t want to know how some of these Roanians are going to react if something like this happens in the field. Probably blow someone’s head off, or drop the gun on their own foot.”

“Something go 'bump' in the night already?"
The Skeelzanian whirled on Sage, but stopped just short of drawing the knife on him. Instead he grunted and forced a shrug. “Yes, you could say that. We think a Tomois tried to take off Leo’s face here. Fortunately the fence here is a little more advanced than our housing accommodations. We were just heading over to Oswald to see if he might hand out weapons now, or at least condone some supervised target practice. Care to tag along?”

A few minutes later and across the clearing, Raoul stopped a respectful distance from Oswald. The Huntmaster seemed to be laying out some sort of tea service, and looked quite focused on the task at hand to boot. Raoul adopted a parade rest stance, hands again clasped behind, eyes staring out over Oswald’s head into the distance but still capable of telling when the Huntmaster decided to acknowledge the Skeelzanian youth’s presence. Raoul waited.

They had been waiting for some time. Raoul could sense the others shuffling, but he was somewhat thankful for the delayed acknowledgement. It let him continue to cool down, recollect his thoughts. At first he merely wanted to get his hands around a rifle, to feel the reassuring weight of the weapon, a talisman against the malevolent shadows lurking at the edge of the clearing. But now he didn’t want to simply exterminate everything not descended from a plains-dwelling ape. He wanted to see that which would keep him alive in the bush. To strip it down to its component parts, clean it, and put it back together in working order. To have it kick him in the shoulder and let him inhale the sharp scent of the propellant, hear the crack of ignition. Raoul wanted to know his weapon.

At least ten minutes must have passed by now, ten minutes of waiting in the mid-afternoon heat while the Oyadan boiled water. Raoul was more than collected now, he was starting to feel self-conscious. Perhaps Oswald’s nation simply didn’t have the same protocols about approaching one’s superiors over non-urgent matters. “Herr von Burkensteiner-Sinivskiy?”

Perhaps the glare was positive. Raoul continued. “Huntmaster, with your permission we, meaning myself and my companions, would like examine our weapons for this coming safari. Leo and I were just recently attacked by what we think was a Tamois, and would very much like to be able to pay the creature back next time it shows itself.”

[Scolopendra]

With the Rechart... ian... ik... san... i. The person from Rechart.

Chip tilts to the side a little bit as Alex looks past him, politely moving out of the way since he is mildly huge. Scolopendrans, due to their extremely varied cultural backgrounds, can take or leave eye contact; what someone is actually saying, and the expression they have on their face, is more important. Then again, staring at a kzin is a challenge, so even when eye contact is used it's usually not held for extended periods of time. "Hrrr. Then this is definitely the place for you, I suppose... though apparently the goal is to perforate the local wildlife rather than study it." He scratches behind his ear in thought. "Though I suppose that can be part of the study as well, if you're willing to take things apart to see how they work. Worked," he corrects himself.

While unasked, he answers his own question for the sake of transparency. "What I said on the shuttle more or less fits. This is something of an adventure... not necessarily the riskiest of ones, but, well, when your dad is my Dad..." The ratcat frowns slightly with a ticking in the back of his throat. "I know I'm being unfair, but let's say you knew a famous artist who was honestly happy with whatever you ended up drawing but because of the comparison you felt like you didn't quite live up to the legend? It's something like that, but let's extend the metaphor so the artist is a tightrope walker who has no interest in you doing tightrope walking--or anything similar--because he realizes it's risky and doesn't want to see you harmed. That's my end of things." He states this matter-of-factly, but with a touch of wry humor peeking through the undertones of his voice, like he's smirking at himself. It's less of 'opening up' and more 'setting up a joke' in a very mildly self-deprecating fashion.

"Anyway," he changes the subject, "you were saying about becoming an ecologist after going through the Army. If the Army doesn't meet your objectives that way, why join? Is it some sort of conscript force?" Honest curiosity.

* - * - *

With the Martians

Having satisfied herself that the yurt is indeed a proper collapsible field yurt, Sunny peeks around the rondure and through the door upon hearing Talia and Maryesselle titter over something. Her greeting matches the image of her Pantera tigris-like head poking from the side of the rectilinear doorframe, BDU cap placed squarely on top between her bat-wing ears. "Oh, hi! I guess everyone's getting set up here!"

Slipping in like a fluid more than a solid body, she unclips her packframe and sets it down next to the Martians. Testing out her issued camp bed--which she makes look comically small--she looks at it a moment before curling herself up into a nearly impossibly 'small' (in that she now fits) ball atop it. "Adapt and overcome! Arcenar?" She pops her head up from the ball of camouflaged Kit-ness that she has become. "I heard from Naiya and Marcus that their family is notorious for that sort of thing. Apparently some sort of eugenics thing and their matriarch started pimping her daughters to Marcus in a total creepshow! I was tempted to check the IntRelate network via my mom's computer but it would've been a breach of trust and she's as paranoid as Dad when it comes to passwords and computer security... Still, what he said matches up with what I heard so it's circumstantial support, at least. So what are you guys doin'?"

So cheerful.

[JenningsandRall]

Turning his eyes back to the formidable camouflage-clad Kzin, Alex listened as Chip began talking about his father . Although he wasn’t exactly all that sure he had grasped the message that was hidden behind the word choice, he interpreted it as his father believing this safari was enough to make him proud, without placing his son in harms way, well too far. His dad had always been encouraging of whatever he had decided to get into, whether it was ecology, or some of his phases which ranged from computer programming to wanting to follow in his father’s footsteps and work for the company. As the subject shifted to the Rechan military, Alex decided to just respond to his inquiry into his career choice.

“No, nothing like that. I didn’t originally plan to enlist, but after my applications to a few universities with ecology programs got denied, I didn’t see the value in sitting home for an entire year. I figured with a two year enlistment I would get some money to shift a bit of the financial burden off my parents, get to see some new places, and get something to put on my applications next time” his voice giving off a slight tone giving the impression he somewhat regretted the choice.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

It was soon clear that Raoul had a good deal more patience than Leonardo had himself. Granted, he understood all too well the merits of not interrupting one’s elders. Especially when one’s elders were well-acquainted with weapons, their uses, and various other unpleasant applications of … force. While Oswald had yet to earn the same respect as his father, grandfather, and the other Dons he’d grown up around, he got a similar ‘no nonsense’ vibe from the man.

Best not to ruffle him overmuch just yet, at least not until he was more familiar with the huntmaster, and how he reacted.

He did shift now and then, not having the strict military bearing of the impressively tall Skeelzanian, but allowed the other boy to do the talking all the same. If Oswald did take issue, he could bloody well take it with someone other than himself.

--- --- ---

Ah, the exuberance of the bubbly ‘ret.

Talia stifles a broad grin as she looks over at the all-too adorable ball of Kit curled up on the cot, only to blink at the response concerning the Roanian boy.

“No,” she says, scandalized and yet trying not to laugh all the same. “Their own mother? Ewwww! That’s just … ewww! No wonder he’s glad to be out of there. ” the rest concerning paranoia and passwords and security sort of gets pushed to the side in favor of the more juicy rumors.

“So wow, you guys really are pretty tight,” she observes. Having never been one to push for favors like some of her classmates, she wasn’t about to start now, and so moved on. It simply wasn’t a concern, merely a confirmation of what she’d heard roundabout.

“We were just setting up, thought about checking out the area – if Maryesselle and you are up for it, at any rate.”

Still, the thought of a family acting like that kind of gave her the shivers. That just didn’t seem right, and so, piqued her curiosity. Added to the fact that he acted different from the other Roanian boys … She was simply going to have to find an opportunity to ask. Shyness just wasn’t in her nature.

[New Naggoroth]

By the gods, but it was hot out.

Both of the druchii decided to spend some time in their tents, unpacking their thing in the space allocated to them. The shade was welcome, and it wasn't long before their jackets and vests were dumped as they were both soon sweating profusely. The campsite would wait a little while for them to catch up. Scarlet, in particular, was quite put out by the conditions.

"Saanar, it's so bloody hot..." she grumbled, sweating through her army green tank top as she flopped back on her bed, complaining to anyone who was still around to listen. "Tens of thousands of years of evolution to perfect a species living in near freezing temperatures at all times of year, and enough of an air conditioning bill to pay for a small spacecraft, and father forgets to mention that this is a damn tropical forest..."

The rest of her rant quickly devolved into cursing in druhir, while she lay back and fanned herself with the wide-brimmed hat she'd packed...

Calvyn fared slightly better. He at least had Arcenar to commiserate with.

"Oh, you're quite welcome. I just wished he'd picked something with an air conditioner... I think I might melt if I spend too much time out in the sun," he chuckled, giving him a bit of a grin. "Suppose it could be worse, though. The scenery is nice. And so are the trees..."

[Perimeter Defense]

"Right, my dear young lady, I suggest that you might go and get yourself a place in the ladies’ tent” (yurt, rather, but who really cares overmuch for the name?) and see to your effects, hm? Then we shall sort out your presence with Patrician Drakharn when we check in tonight. Now be off! I have much I wish to do before we get started, and I have no doubt that you are equally eager to be about it!”

Oswald's voice rang clear and authoritatively in Nicola's head, though not much else rang in there either at this moment. Some would joke that she exists only in "asleep" or "sleepy" states, but this is very much untrue. At least, the proof of as much as this will arise later, when she finally gets a gun - that is, if she is not eaten while asleep first.

"Oh, okay," Nicola said, as the much larger man moved away quickly; presumably the HuntMaster had lots to do in the way of preparation. On her part, she proceeded in the general direction of the girls' yurt, buttoning up her brown jacket and fixing up her rather faded blue shorts, trodding off on a pair of self-adjusting hiking shoes that squeaked ever so slightly with each step.

The place was beautiful; with the artificial whines and whirs of spacecraft receding into the distance, all that could be heard were the local approximations of birds and crickets, and the swaying of the leaves in the gusty, fresh wind, and the arbitrary trickling or gushing of a river and its tiny tributaries sprouting like veins into the surrounding grass. Nicola loved places like these - an artifact of generally having lived around them for most of her life. She changed direction for a while and moved towards the treeline, scanning the viridian-and-ash horizon with curious eyes. Of course, there wasn't anything of interest yet, besides a flier that looked like one of the designated game depicted in a slideshow.

Her interest piqued but necessity denying further fulfillment for now, she reverted to a path back to the yurt, and soon she became aware of some of her other companions on this trip. It was a pity that she'd met no one back at the yacht or the shuttle, or even at Rudan Prime, perhaps, during the short wait for the trip to high orbit, and this was mostly her fault. No more sleeping for you, girl! her father had said once, after she was caught at the tail end of a particularly impressive ten-hour nap on some blissful weekend, missing a party that she'd promised to attend. She'd try harder now.

From her current position, she could see three boys - one extremely tall - peering over the electrified fences that rounded the clearing perimeter. The looks on their faces and the commotion that had preceded them by a few seconds suggested that the fences had just demonstrated their efficacy through practical means; hopefully whatever tried to bite their heads off was running off with a sore mouth.

In the direction she was walking, a girl was poking at one of the yurts intently. To describe the act of "poking intently" in greater detail would be futile for meaning; to do so would be to open any number of external possibilities as to what the girl could be doing. Perhaps she was playing with someone inside the tent, poking accordingly; perhaps she was obsessive-compulsively brushing off a piece of dirt that had blemished the relatively clean, matte white skin of the yurt. But for all intents and purposes, this girl was very much alive in her poking, and Nicola thought to file this memory away for reference.

Enough observation. Nicola finally reached the girls' tent, and poked her head inside, saying thus:

"Hello? Anyone here?"

[Tanaara]

Fai' had wandered the camp a bit, ascertaining the layout and watching from a short distance as something tried the fence - and caused Raoul and Leonard to jump back in alarm, having been the fairly obvious object of its appetite. Though she would readily admit its attack had had startled her equally and sent her tumbling off her feet - she didn't think any one had seen her though. What was even more embarrassing was that she had started to Morph, though it hadn't gotten any further than internals and for that she was thankful. And equally thankful no one had seen her blushes as she dusted herself off.

Fai dismissed the notion of approaching that spot of the fence. However much she might want to catch a whiff of it's scent, she also had not intention of attracting the beasts attention if it still lurked nearby. The fence might not stand too many of such attempts. And she had no desire to be there, especially unarmed, if the fence failed.

Being armed...and that thought lead her directly to where the HuntMaster was undertaking a human ritual that her mother had adopted and had been ever so fond of Oh that looks so much like mother's... she blinked hard for a moment and realized that no it doesn't but still Her lips turned down in a mournful little smile as she settled cross-legged on an as yet unmoved crate to wait until Oswald was finished with his ritual. He was as intent on it as her mother ever had been and that memory tilted her lips up ever so faintly.

That and the sight of Raoul, yes that's his name at parade rest, and then after what must have been a good ten minutes --his stilted request to the still deeply engrossed in his tea-time ritual Oswald. Oh that almost made her laugh aloud! She bit her lower lip hard and ducked her eyes for further decorum. She had no idea how the HuntMaster would react to such an interruption, but it might be as impressive as any she had ever witnessed.

Leonardo's small movements, such a sharp contrast to the so very impressively tall Skeelzanian's formal stiffness, caught her eye. She had chosen a crate that just happened to put her across from where the others stood - Oswald in the middle so to speak. Slowly she dipped one eye in a wink. She had no intention of getting on the HuntMaster's bad side either.

[Roania]

Scolopendrans and Nathicans; Naggarothians and Defensicans, and things that go bump in the night

"Why should you get to be special just because Patrician Drakharn is running this nightmare?" Lorelle snapped at Scarlet. "You don't hear the freak complaining." She rubbed the swelling bruise on her head and glared at Maryeselle and Talia. "I think you're both lucky to have your House Names. Not all of us can get into a greater house just because their mother caught the eye of a Patrician, you know." The bitchy Roanian girl glared up at the feline head as it poked in. "There you are! I want you to go and tell your overseer that..."

"It's not one of ours." Alies yawned, poking through one of her bags and inspecting a small pocketknife. "Oh, my father remembered to pack it. That was nice." Where Lorelle was violently protesting the mere existence of this camping trip, Alies seemed to be more content to ignore everything that did not fit under her bleached white hair or into the slightly vacant expression in her eyes.

"Oh..." Lorelle fell silent. Then she stood up. "Well, the rest of you can sit in here if you like. I'm going to go and see if I can force a felinoid to tell me where the actual bathing areas are. We can't possibly be going to bathe in the river!" She pushed out the door, dodging whatever steps might have been taken to stop her in a flashy two-step.

"U-uh..." Maryeselle flushed bright red and smiled at Scarlet and Sunny. "She doesn't know what she's saying, I don't think..." The young martian girl whispered, apologizing on Lorelle's behalf, then gasping in a scandalized fashion at Sunny's story about the Ophar twins. Maryesselle looked at her hands for a moment. "They don't like humans much, so there aren't any of them on Mars that I know about, but House Ophar has not had a Patrician in over 5000 years. They're not particularly fond of men, and Matrician Asure is worse than the others." She shivered, uncertainly. "I met her once, and she just 'looked' at me like I was a bug." It was a common enough feeling for Mary, of course, when dealing with a lot of other Roanians. Even her grandfather was distant to her, though her uncle insisted that was just his way. "I think what Arcenar was going to say was that... uh..." She blushed crimson. "Well, we hear stories on Mars that Matrician Asure prefers her sons to grow up to be women..."

"Uh... hello, there!" Maryeselle waved at Nicola a bit, grateful for a change in topic. She thought she might have seen the girl sleeping somewhere, but had thought she was a servant or something. "We were about to go for a look around, but if you want to come with us, we can wait for you to set up..."

Boy's tent

Arcenar laughed at Calvyn and shook his head. "Ah, well. Back on Centerpoint, this would be a cool day, I'm afraid. I'm glad our little Cheruv is coping. I've visited Mars once before, and it's icy there." The Roanian flipped open his small pack, studying its contents. "Your cousin has treated me very kindly," He said, idly. "I do hope Her Majesty doesn't expect this equipment back, but I fear she might be eyeing me as a potential husband for the princess." The Roanian lay his pack out on the floor for Calvyn to see. A small, but high quality multitool, a canteen, and a spray of healing agent were inside, tied with a little red bandanna and a small field manual.

Arcenar was jealous of Calvyn, but too proud to show it. Calvyn had known his father all his life, while Arcenar's father had passed away shortly after his birth. And Calvyn had had his own equipment provided for him by his family, while Arcenar had been forced to petition the Empress for anything more than the clothes on his back. "Is there any truth to the rumor your father is thinking of starting a new estate here, then, Calvyn? Maybe he feels the same as you about the trees."

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Talia just sort of shrugs idly at Scarlett’s comments on heat. Sure, it was hot, but then Devras could get fairly hot and humid. Especially humid. If she needed to, she’d switch to some shorts, though granted, what she had on kept her fairly cool as it was. Lorelle’s reaction elicited an arched brow, a mildly incredulous look, and a lazily amused expression as she carried on, made a fool of herself, then stormed out of the yurt.

“Il dio,” she murmurs idly, lidded eyes following the Roanian’s progress out the door. “I do hope she doesn’t require an airlift for that rather serious case of constipation she has going on …”

She pats Maryesselle on the shoulder, very gently, trying to reassure the girl that she at least doesn’t have any problem with her. She figures Sunny, by nature, will likely shrug it off as well, but all the same, offers the ‘ret an apologetic smile and another shrug, as if to sum up the whole ‘whadda gonna do about it’ sentiment.

“Pretty sick stuff there,” she observes at the extended explanation of House Ophar. “Poor kid. Hard enough growing up with all these snitty folk without having your own family turn on you. That just doesn’t make sense.”

“Oh, heya,” she says to Nicola, belatedly. “Sure, why not? More the merrier after all.”

Alies seems to not care to be included, and given the other Roanian girl’s reaction and attitude, Talia finds this suits her just fine.

--- --- ---

Leo isn’t shy about checking Fai out as she walks over and sits down. He isn’t rude about it, simply looking and acknowledging her presence. The slow wink has him curious, and both eyebrows go up slightly on account, but he continues waiting for Oswald to either let them have the guns, or tell them to get lost – at which point he’ll be quite content to make himself scarce. He nods to the girl all the same – no need to be rude, after all. She had a way of moving that reminded him of something wild, something feral. Kind of like Talia in a way he supposed, but more … serious, as it were. More dangerous.

Much more.

[Gehenna Tartarus]

Tia decided to follow Fai's example and leave the Yurt, as being inside when there were other things to do was not really Tia’s idea of fun. There was only so much that could be picked up about the camp from the inside of a tent.

Checking that her belongings were not in the way by giving them a shove with her foot, she headed off towards the door, almost walking into the newcomer who was entering at the same time. Oddly, Tia could not recall seeing the young woman on the shuttle and she was sure she had given everyone a good amount of her time on the way over. “Hello,” she responded, before continuing on outside.

As she exited, she instantly wondered what had happened in so short a time. There seemed to be some kind of gathering around the Hunt Master, who appeared to be totally focused on more important things...high tea. Once again he reminded her of her grandfather. She brushed away a grin as she moved away from the yurt, her attention caught by the spectacle outside.

[Perimeter Defense]

"Oh, hi. I'm Nicola. Nice to meet you all." She smiled briefly, before entering the tent, and presently she almost collided with another girl who was exiting along with her entry. She opened her mouth to apologize, but received a greeting before she could talk, and she tried to greet in turn, but she was too slow and found herself attempting to say hi to air. Oh well.

"Umm, I'll be quick. Thanks for waiting." She looked around for an assemblage of bags, or at least a bag that seemed to be out of place where everything else had already been organized. Ah, there it was. The purple travel case.

This particular artifact was older than its current owner; it had served Nicola's parents for a short time before she was born. While ancient by her standards, however, it seemed to be as durable as Sandstorm military backpacks, having been dropped, kicked, fallen a story or two, and landed on by a shuttle throughout its existence. Only a single, small indentation on its top casing bore any testimony as regards the Passion of the Purple Case, with the rest of the body looking good as new. Now, it opened again to dispense the needs of life and living - a large pillow. Well, that's just one thing!

Unpack, unpack, fastidious rearrange, and tidy up. One minute flat! 0She seemed to be awake at last, or some approximation thereof. Taking off her jacket - it was getting a little hot for her tastes - she fixed up her grey tank and wore her lucky C60 necklace, grabbing one of her towels to drape over her neck.

[Scolopendra]

Re-chan!*

"Well, it's good to hear you opted into it at least," Kit says with a good-natured smile and flit of his ears, "and even if it's just another line on a resume it'll only take two years so if all goes well no harm should be done." The idea of service for the sake of filling out an 'experience' requirement for a civilian job is not exactly alien to the Scolopendran mind--rather, it is highly frowned upon--but this particular 'Pendran grew up in the Dominion, where pragmatism regarding military 'service' is more common. This is especially true because the Dominioners don't get a choice in the matter... but then again, most of the non-professional portions of the Dominion military are just uniformed boys' clubs with some camping and marksmanship thrown in. At least, that's an opinion quietly common in the Bondayehr family, as fair or unfair as it may be. "Hopefully though the service has something that will suit you best that way, rather than just sticking you in infantry and being done with it. Seeing how apparently you've signed the dotted line already, what's your MOS? Er... or whatever you call your primary duty thing."

Military brattery makes everything more fun.

* - * - *

All them peoples in the ladies yurt!

Kat is completely oblivious to being mistaken for a felinoid and nods at Talia's commentary regarding her relationship with the D'Aquistos. "Like family! It's beautiful outside," she says, hopping back to her feet in an uncannily fluid self-untying motion, "and while all the big critters may be outside the electric fence there's some little ones inside. I found a flugzard! I call it a flugzard at least. It's like a butterfly crossed with a lizard, and it flies, hence the name. And the river?" She swaps conversations with Lorelle without missing a beat. "I think it's west a bit, I was looking through the window on the way down. Head due west from the shuttle, you can't miss it." Back to Talia and Maryeselle in one smooth bob of her head. If she ever does become a tank commander, she'll be a good one, assuming she can concentrate on something for more than five minutes at a time. "What, 'grow up to be women?' That's some weird gene therapy there. Are they fertile? One'd think it'd be easier just to suppress all response to testosterone, y'know, generate a forced Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome..." She taps her chin. "No, no, that wouldn't work because primary sexual characteristics form in the womb. You'd just build men with feminine figures and breasts that way. If it's post-natal then she's definitely doing weird stuff; I'll have to run it past Aunt Shodey, she'd know something that'd work."

Then everyone starts turning to meet someone new, which immediately pulls Sunny away from percolating ideas and into percolating greetings. "Hiii, Nicola!" She waves needlessly inside the yurt at Nicola. "I'm Sunny, but you already know that because I said it on the shuttle! Sleeping was the smart thing to do on the shuttle, it means you're all refreshed and stuff for the upcoming adventure. That being said, let's get out of here and make our own airflow--stagnant air removes no humidity! I lead my Heroes!" And she bounds out of the yurt, pausing just long enough to see if she's being followed at all.

* Insert exceedingly tired "Kawaii desu desu desu (etc.)" meme here.

[Oyada]

Oswald was thinly aware, in the sort of fashion in which one becomes aware of the presence of a cat when intently watching a fire, of the presence of Raoul’s gangling form alongside him. He did not have any intention, however, of saying anything until the water in the kettle had boiled and he had examined his equipment for breakages and other undesirable problems. Fortunately, none were to be found; this was as well, since custom dictated that he should have to make good any damage to the cups, the bowl, or the kettle himself, preferably in his own kiln, with his own hands. It left him free to stare into the open top of the kettle, and let the very slightest vapour of rising steam wash over him in the warm breeze, a breeze that hung the little fog with faint tangs of unknown flowers in the encircling jungles, while the water reached boiling point. Only then, and having gently put out one of the two hexamine tablets that was heating the water, did he interrupt the ceremony to speak to Raoul.

He did so reluctantly, for the ceremony was not to be interrupted lightly. But the foreigners could, he reminded himself, hardly be reasonably expected to understand the detail of even this contracted tea-taking. It just wasn’t the sort of thing they did, being entirely too wound up in a funk of usury and scurrying about, barbarically infesting people’s minds with their claptrap… perhaps a little harsh, that, old boy. These are but young; the sins of the fathers, and all that, what?

Indeed, his internal semi-dialogue continued. But recall the wisdom of the ceremonial masters:

Those who would drink well
Should suffer no intrusion
On tranquillity.*

Well, intrusions sometimes happen. And ignorance is excused, on occasion, by youth and unfamiliarity. On occasion such as this, at least. They were, after all, only young, and only uninformed with it.

“Yes, yes”, he grated, coughing a little as the steam loosened some long-lodged catarrh in his throat. “I detected some commotion over yonder, but it seems the fences stopped it.” He turned to face the taller Skeelzanian from where he was perched, a strange, slightly entranced motion reminiscent of a meditating monk, and added gravely: “besides which, it is more than likely that the creature will have been killed in the time you have been standing there, my lad. What they call sub-dermal burns, I believe.”

Having seemingly satisfied himself that the tomois, and indeed any other dangerous wildlife, was for the moment not a serious concern, Oswald returned to the task at hand, carefully checking his own cup for dirt and cracks, and pleasingly, finding none. “Gentlemen. Would you care to join me?” he enquired politely and, above all else, formally. Oyadan tea was a formal thing, after all. Oh yes, you could just drink tea, from a bag, with milk and sugar from a couple of cans, in a big mug. But if you wanted to make a good impression on someone in a formal setting – or simply show them respect personally – you went the extra mile, and did the whole ceremony. Milk and sugar included, and keeping the milk cool in these circumstances was going to be a problem despite the thermos flask and mini-fridge. Such are the changes overlaid upon tradition.

There was one more thing to ask; it was only fair that those who were closest at that moment should be the first to be asked to take part, after all, since the usual system of prestige and closeness of acquaintance did not apply under the circumstances. “Miss Al-Raisharra, would you care to partake?” Oswald did not believe in apostrophes in names. Not even in speech. Fai’ was Faileen Al-Raisharra, just as Ay-dolf Hitler had had the Nar-zies.

*Oyadan tea ceremonies were heavily influenced by those in Japan, from which the custom chiefly derives (or equivalent NS nation, anyway). The ceremony became, over centuries, modified somewhat to fit local changes and fashions before assuming a relatively permanent form during the Great Journey period. The tea ceremony has been the subject of a great deal of poetry over the ages of its existence; many tea haiku can be found in almost any significant poetry book published by Oyadan authors and publishing houses. These usually deal with the processes of the ceremony, mainly by allusion to philosophy, natural phenomena and so forth.

[Tanaara]

Leonardo’s raised eyebrows brought out a full, dimple flashing smile for him as she waited patiently. The sunlight was warm on her shoulders and she was comfortable – Fai could have basked in the life giving for hours without moving. Being one of the People of the Light meant - in many ways - one never had to sweat.

She had begun to unbutton her camp shirt , for though it was of temperature controlling nanofabric, if she removed it then the sunbeams could fall more fully upon her back and shoulders. The halter top camisole she wore underneath covered more than enough to keep human nudity taboos from being outraged, or so she guessed.

But she stopped short as the Hunt Master addressed her and her eyes went wide. “Why thank you. I’d be honoured Hunt Master von Burkensteiner-Sinievskiy” Lithely she stood and stepped over to the table. Gracefully she dropped a curtsey, part of her was aware that it might have looked odd to the others there, which made her half blushed and half shrugged, memories of long afternoon teas with her adored mother swamping her “My mother insisted on proper decorum, if you’ll forgive my outfit sir”

She only hoped her hair was in respectable condition, and not all flyaway.

[JenningsandRall]

“I signed on as a Cavalry Scout, I have the skill set that would be useful in reconnaissance operations, and some of the stories my grandfather told me about his time as a scout stuck with me I guess.” giving a slight smile as he finished thinking of the times as a boy he had listened to his grandpa tell extravagant stories about himself and his teammates.

As the progression of technology ever propelled battlefield equipment forward, the ideals that the eyes of a soldier trumped any remote viewing system were still held true by the Rechan Armed Force. Reconnaissance in the field may have been augmented with advanced tech ranging from comprehensive sensor packages to micro-UAV’s, but even in the harshest conditions a small team of special forces an eye on a target would always be trusted over its electronic counterpart. Alex had chosen this as a way to do something more than clutch a rifle and move to whatever point an officer several kilometers away wanted him to, as well as the fact his job would put him in a position to make a difference in a battle, should there be one.

[Dread Lady Nathicana]

Da girls

Talia was relatively unruffled over the flit and flutter associated with the young ‘ret, but then it took a bit to get her stirred.

Like having vases blown up under sudden, unexpected gunfire.

She takes it all in with a nod and a smile, though the considerations of mucking about with nature in the case of the Ophar people bothered her more than a little. She wasn’t sure about all the techno-talk.
“Yeah, Sunny, I—“ What was that, fertile? Huh?

“I dunno, it’s –“ Forced Androwahtsis now?

“Creepy, if nothing else—“

Talia blinks slowly. She had no idea who ‘Aunt Shodey’ was off the top of her head. Must be someone or other of consequence who knows her stuff. But then she was off and going with all the energy of some complex, fuzzy perpetual motion machine set on ‘light speed’.

“So,” she says, grinning in spite of it all. “Shall we um, go on outside then, ladies?”

--- --- ---

Da boys and Fai

Interesting …

Further contemplation of what Fai meant by all that was brought short by Oswald’s question, and Fai’s quick response.

He bowed slightly first, and nodded. “Honored, sir,” he said simply, sensing this was something more than a simple offer to serve up some refreshment. They may not have a tea tradition in the Family, but there were other things that bore serious consideration and due respect. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to show some of that consideration and respect here with the man who was in charge of their entertainment, and well-being.

[Skeelzania]

“If it so pleases you, sir.” Raoul took a step back, so as not to smack Oswald in the forehead, and gave a short bow. He then quickly stepped back up and settled himself on the grass, folding his long legs into a crossed position. Resting a hand on each knee, he watched the kettle boil a moment before speaking again.

Raoul wondered just what Oswald was preparing to brew. This wasn’t weather for coffee; too dehydrating. Certainly wasn’t wine, or beer, or any other liquor. Skeelzania supplied all of these beverages in varying qualities, but never a leaf of tea. Mahon, where his father’s holdings were, was a planet of many small, high continents and shallow seas, unsuitable to large-scale agriculture. Feerott was largely swamp, though its highlands did provide the Sternreich’s coffee crop. And the capital, golden Solomon, was naturally steppe, with one half of the planet given over to bovines and the other to the megalopolis of Skeelzotstadt.

He glanced to his left, cocking an eyebrow at Fai and her unbuttoned shirt. It wasn’t particularly one of interest; the girls here were just far too short. It would be like dating one’s child cousin. He turned back to Oswald. “I did have some other questions, if you do not mind, Herr Huntmaster. I noticed a slight discrepancy in the dates provided by the pilot before landing; am I right in deducing that we are to be moving from this camp in two weeks time?”

[New Naggoroth]

At least one suggestion made sense to Scarlet as she lay on her cot, panting. The air in the yurt was stagnant, and despite the temporary reprieve from the beating sun granted by the roof, it might just prove to be cooler outside. The enthusiasm of her campers, Lorelle excluded, seemed almost buoyant. She couldn't help but pry herself off the bed, and start to shamble about. She'd been quite intent to avoid the discussion about House Ophar and Asure; she'd been present at the events that they'd whispered about, regarding her and Marcus. She knew the rumors, too, and was not surprised in the least.

"Alright, I'm up... I think that river is sounding quite lovely right about now..." she mumbled, digging out her swimsuit from her bag. "Maybe we can document some of the aquatic life!" she called out half-heartedly to the charging kzin, smirking. "Or we could throw Lorelle in and see if Roanian's float!"

'At least someone's having some fun'

---

"Rumor? Here? Gods, I hope not..." Calvyn grumbled. The scenery here was certainly to his liking, but the heat. "I think he'd have a hard time convincing any of us to live here full time, especially mother..." he chuckled, and shook his head, laughing away thoughts of returning home to somewhere nice and cool, "No, I shouldn't think he'd want to set up much more then a cabin out here. Too damn hot, at least for us.

Say... speaking of which, if you happen to like this sort of thing, perhaps we should have you over to our house on Karond Kar. It's fairly remote, but the forests are decidedly less dangerous," he said with a smirk, "And you can meet Hobbes, my nauglir..."

[Scolopendra]

With the Rechan

So he's not really wanting to serve but he's looking to be a Hero of some sort? Economics-Student chuckles internally, eyes taking in the landscape. Well, well. "From what I hear, scouting will definitely give you the sort of... ah..." His mind quickly scans itself for the correct buzzword it was raised with. "The sort of situational awareness that'll make you a good scientist. Just don't get too deep into things, you know? Sometimes that sort of thing has a tendency of drawing people in and keeping them in."

Glancing over towards the yurts, he sees a collection of the male side of the party around Oswald, talking about something, and smells a little bit of the chemical traces of fear on the wind. "No reason for us to stand on the outside looking in, though--shall we join the rest of the group?"

* - * - *

TEEN GIRL SQUAD!

"The river?" Sunny bubbles. "That's a great idea! We can build a raft, not that we need one, but it'd be fun!" Having lead most of the group out of the tent, she's content to march along with everyone else, looking at the clouds and the things are like birds and the flugzards and the palm-tree-like-things and the grass and whatnot. "This is going to be is so fun! And fish! If all else fails, and the river's got plenty of fish, we won't go hungry, that's for sure, and I've got this great way to grill fish with some herbs and stuff, some of which I just so happened to pack!"

[Roania]

Maryesselle followed along with the group, panting as she pumped her small legs to keep up with the giant tiger. "Do you think it will be okay, Lady Scarlet?" She asked the only representative of the Patrician available, carrying with her her green bikini as quickly as she could. The young Roanian woman had shed herself of her thick robes as soon as everyone else began to leave, and was now dressed in a thin turquiose shirt and skirt, seeming slightly ill at ease to be so 'underdressed'. She couldn't imagine wearing the halter tops and tees of the other girls there. They seemed so... small, and loose, especially when there were boys looking!

And at least some of the boys were looking in her direction. Tanetheren and Selevar had stopped their quiet conversation to pinpoint the small convoy of young ladies as they walked to the river, watching with evident appreciation. Arcenar, for his part, glanced up, smiled, and then turned back to Calvyn. "The heat does have its good points. Shall we join them?" He said with something akin to relish. "A Nauglir, though? Sounds interesting. What does it do?"

The girls were not going to be allowed to go all their own way, though. After barely a minute, a felinoid appeared, bowing low at the waist. "Mmrrrrr... pardon me, my ladyships... but if you do wish to go to the river, kindly stay on the marked trail. Mrrrr..." It bowed again. "Patrician Casir would be very angry with me if anything happened to you. Mrrr... and don't leave the fenced off part of the river. It's not safe, mrrr... I will tell Master Oswald where you are, but I'm sure he will appreciate that you need to bathe after so long in the shuttle. Mmrrrrr..." The felinoid indicated a clearly lit orange path through the trees and stepped out of the way.

Stepping onto the path caused a tingling sensation to suffuse the spines of each girl, along with an audible hum. But there was no physical danger at all to them. Flugzards danced merrily around, curious about the incoming bipeds, their brightly colored wings crisply circling around the heads of the young ladies, occasionally landing on one. Maryeselle giggled quietly when one of them landed on her shoulder and pawed at her necklace with a tiny, gummy hand. "Do you think they climb walls? My little brother has a pet from Earth that can climb walls."

The true power of the path became evident, though, when a gulica spotted the flugzards and decided to swoop in for a meal. The brightly shining blue creature rose onto a branch, let out a caw, and took off, angling its four 'wings' (really just two flaps of skin along its arms and two 'rotors' on it hips), fanged mouth open wide. It then crashed into an invisible wall at the path's edge and fell to the ground with an expression that could only be described as 'stunned'. The gulica clambered back to its feet and rubbed its slightly dented beak, then clambered back the way it came.

A few minutes walk led to the designated bathing area, more than secluded from the camp and any peeking eyes by a thin line of cycads and ferns. The water was clear and inviting, here on the unspoiled western continent. A small note pinned to a treetrunk gave the water's PH and a brief rundown of the mineral composites, with the net result being that while it was safe to drink, it was a poor idea to make a habit of it. Two very large and ominous metal gates replaced the orange trail at either end of the flowing water, their chainlinks almost certainly far stronger than they appeared. An occasional splash on either side indicated that something was there, but it wouldn't be going near the girls unless they did something foolish.

Maryeselle's thin lips grew into a delighted smile. "It's water!" The half-selkie exclaimed, delighted at the prospect of a free body of water, even if it wasn't the salt water of her home. Her grey eyes lit up as she began to act with an energy that would have almost put Sunny to shame, pulling her skirt down her legs and unbuttoning her shirt. She wouldn't care if half the boys in the camp were there watching her as she stripped her clothes off her delicate body and pulled on her bikini, forgetting the other girls even existed as she dove into a river that should, by all rights, be too shallow for the elegant little swan dive she made. Yet her head popped up after a minute, laughing her ringing little laugh as she felt the water relax all the stress of the past two weeks, sighing as her eyes closed, welcoming the water's embrace almost as if it was that of a lover. "It's nice and warm..." She sighed cheerfully. "Do come in."

If any of the less water-logged girls chose to follow her, they would find that while it may not be as nice to them as it was to Maryeselle, it was certainly warm, sparkling and clean. An occasional flash of some sort of silvery creature on the river's bottom showed that Sunny's predictions of fish might have been close to the mark, though no terrestrial fish had a horizontal tail or three fins like these.

[JenningsandRall]

Looking down at the duffle bag hanging in his hand, Alexander had nearly forgotten the fact that both he and Chip had yet to even make it to the Yurt in order to unpack. Turning his head to the gathering group of young hunters around the huntmaster.

"Alright, lets get going then" his voice upbeat. 

Starting in the direction of the others, he slowed up and turned around to make sure his newfound friend was following.

[Perimeter Defense]

Nicola idly followed the other girls around, using this downtime to form herself some opinions on her campmates, but as of yet there was very little information to go by. Of course she could've asked for introductions, but that wasn't so full of etiquette or efficiency, mind. One common denominator was, of course, that everyone seemed to be light, preppy and friendly - all of which were good on this safari! Friendly more so; it'd help her out later on when she'd try - not shyly, but more of idly again - to make small talk.

When they got to the river, she observed Maryeselle strip quickly and jump most ceremoniously into a body of water that supported no such diving. Nicola was ready to jump in if the girl didn't come out after a bit, but she did in the end. That was to be thankful for.

"It's nice and warm..." the girl had said cheerfully. "Do come in." Nicola was hardly partial to water, but at least she could swim, and she liked baths anyway. Still, it was too much of a hassle to go back and get into a bathing suit...blah, these clothes were dirty anyway. She stepped over the river bank, and then jumped in.

Faded blue shorts and grey top went from dry to soaking wet, but that was all right. They were probably cleaner now than they'd been outside of the water. Her feet just hitting the bed, she pushed up and resurfaced, looking at the waters around her swish and churn in fancy ripples, the caustics of the surface lighting dancing over her body. "It's nice," she said happily.