482/Exercise Trip

Exercise Trip
Date of Scene:	22 October 2015
Location:	Japan
Synopsis:	Gaofele, Hinote, and Rune return to their camping spot outside Tokyo, taking the opportunity to talk and continue the princess' recovery.
Cast of Characters:	Runealy Waldia, Gaofele Doiru, Hinote Kagari

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Runealy Waldia has posed:
After her last few attempts at solo 'magical rehab' ended in encounters with danger, Rune got the hint; stop wandering Tokyo alone while working to overcome demon poison.

Thus in the evening hours she arranged for a private driver and limo to take her and Gaofele outside the city... the driver has tended to wonder why he always brings them to a spot near the forest several miles south of Tokyo and then is told to come back tomorrow, but these trips seem to end well enough and he's getting paid well enough to simply carry out instructions. Still, the ride over - with the glass raised to ensure privacy - gives her a chance to talk with Gaofele. "Thanks for coming with me. I'm still not a hundred percent yet, but maybe this will help... and it'll let us spend the night somewhere /quiet./" The apartment is quiet. By modern standards.

Out here, toward the tail end of the day while there's still some sunlight, it should be closer to their kind of 'quiet' once they arrive, which is only minutes off. "Actually, we kind of stopped doing something important, and it's mostly due to what I was up to."

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Peace, quiet, and fewer youma -- all good reasons for sudden camping trips! "More trees to climb, too," Gao chuckles. Some of their classmates still give him odd looks when he spends a break resting up in a tree, and passersby in parks tend to make small hubbubs about it as well.

He tilts his head as Rune mentions that they had stopped doing something important. "Oh? What did you have in mind?" he inquires.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"I have no idea how you get up them so easily without transforming," Rune observes. "Whenever I try it, I have to claw and twist and basically drag myself up and... well, what's your secret for climbing them?"

Her eyes stay firm on Gaofele, mood relaxed and calm but serious about the topics at hand. "Making good on a lot of big talk. Remember how we talked about working together, being in this together, improving our teamwork? Sounded great, until I kept running off alone. So what I'd like to do is work on my exercise, and getting back on track with actually teaming up properly. Leaving you on your own like that for the last few months..."

A few slow headshakes follow, "...not exactly the best example of being part of your circle of shields. So I'm apologizing for that, and want to /fix/ it."

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"Practice, mostly," Gao grins. "It's a skill, like most things -- knowing how to find fingerholds and toeholds by sight and by feel, and things like that."

As Rune explains her idea, Gao nods. "It worked decently well, yeah," he agrees. "Working on it again should definitely help with our teamwork and your magic! Besides, a bit of exercise would do all of us some good."

He reaches over and squeezes her hand. "Apology accepted," he says gently. "There were things we all were concenred about, but they're getting better. /You're/ getting better. And that's the important part."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari was along! He was mostly quiet and also he made a phone call to his dad that was along the lines of 'oooohhhh nooooo I dropped my phone off the pierrrrrrrrr. *splash*'. And he actually did that then bought a new phone because he was gonna upgrade anyways- and he wanted a good excuse to not be bothered. This ends, however, with him playing pack mule and carrying a big backpack of camping gear. He can handle it.

It IS causing him to lag behind juuuust a bit, but he's able to keep up and stay in hearing Runealy talk distance. "You're right!" he exclaims with a smile. "I mean. About keeping up with each other and working together. I've never camped before!" he admits with a doofy smile. He finds this /exciting!/

He does frown a bit at Runealy's accusation that she hasn't been the best example of a part of your 'circle of shields', a concept she explained to him before. He keeps his thoughts to himself on it for now as he keeps up.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Toeholds? But your toes would be inside your sh-- oh, you mean the 'toe' of your sho-- wait whaaaat?" Rune actually changes who she's talking to, mid-sentence. It was Gao at first, but then something Hino just said has sunk in to her mind and she looks scandalized.

"What do you mean, 'never gone camping before'?" Eyes wide, Runealy isn't upset; she's just baffled. "How does that even happen?"

Gaofele manages to calm her down though with his gesture and talk of important things. "Yeah... you're right. We'll just push on and make it work from here, together."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari blinks! "People in Tokyo and this day of age don't really go 'camping' and when they do 'camp', it's in a vehicle with a bed and microwaves and TVs and all sorts of different cell phones." he helpfully adds and unhelpfully fuels Runealy's terminology of calling everything cellphones!

He keeps climbing up!

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"That would explain some of the things I saw in the camping goods store," Gao muses, then chuckles. "We have tents, sleeping bags, and we'll cook over the fire." This time, since they had more time to prepare, he brought along a dutch oven for cooking actual meals in over the fire.

"Guess you'll be learning a few additional things this trip, Hinote!" he grins. The last camping trip was moderately productive in teaching Rune things about camping; perhaps on this one Hinote will learn a few things!

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"...Oh. We tried using a few Earth things that made it easier, but what you're describing sounds way, way different," Rune comments to Hinote. "That just sounds weird, but... I don't know, maybe we should try outfitting the carriage back home like that?"

She quiets down once they arrive near the site, thanking the driver and then things are underway to head up the forest path to the spot they've set up near, but not directly in view of, the portal.

The notion of learning things on these camping trips is partially novel. Rune used to pick up a thing or two, and help with token aspects of it, but by and large she would let Gao handle most of the things that really mattered when they did this back home. To an extent she's still doing that, but she's learning a little more now at least.

"It's worth it," she chimes in after Gao. "When we go home, we won't always be able to bring everything with us, so someone knowing how to do this right," such as Gao, "is a huge help. And it's pretty fun at night. No cell phones. Just trees and stars and friends."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari smiles. "That's right." he says to Runealy's summary of it all! He didn't bring his cellphone. He thinks of some sort of 'fancy fairy tale' carraige being outfitted like a trailer and it gives him a slight 'hee hee' snicker for a moment. "I think roughing it might be fun!" he says. "I mean. We might not be running away to Waldia forever, but I still need to know all this!" he says as he keeps up.

He smiles at Gao. "What did you pack in this thing anyways? It's kinda heavy." he says.

He better not say a rock collection.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
No rocks, but a fair amount of metal -- there's the dutch oven and a lidlifter for it, a poker for the fire, a tripod to hang the dutch oven over the fire, a shovel to properly deal with the fire afterwards...

"Some stuff useful for cooking over the fire," Gao grins.

All three have packs; Rune's is the lightest (because of recovering), containing the tents and the sleepingbags, while the rest is more or less split between Gao and Hinote. By bulk, the two Knights have roughly the same load; by weight, Gao has the easier time, carrying some spare firewood instead of all of the ironware. Still, the packs are loaded to not be awkward or off-balance, so hiking with them shouldn't be too difficult.

"You'd be surprised how much noise there is in the city at night that you just don't hear when you're out in the wilderness," he points out. "A lot less light, too, for obvious reasons."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Not forever," Rune is very quick to agree on this point. "But we'll be going back some times. It's home. We can't just stay on Earth forever either, and never see our friends and neighbors and family! So when the portal allows it, we'll take little trips back home too."

She trudges along, a step or two behind the others but mostly keeping pace. "He's right. Not sure if you've ever noticed it, or maybe it's normal to you, but Tokyo's pretty loud compared to what we're used to. Sometimes I think we ought to just head out here a little more often to get away from some of that. Not that it's bad,' Rune insists with a few headshakes, "Just loud."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari nods. "I know what you mean. There's always buzzing electricity, cars, airplanes. Dad took me once on a trip to some European mountain village and the difference was staggering. Air a lot cleaner, no buzzing. A weird feeling in the air due to the abscene of... everything you're used to." he says softly to Runealy.

"No smoke or light in the air so you can see the night sky and all the stars." he says with a series of nods as he trudges along.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"Just the plants, the wind, and any nocturnal animals," Gao agrees. "He adjusts his course slightly, following the forester's markers he had set up on previous trips -- small cairns here and there, for instance, and other subtle ways of leaving notes about location and terrain.

"We're almost to the campsite," he announces, glancing at the others to make sure they're doing okay. "Should be the next clearing past that trio of trees on the right, if memory serves."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Mountain village?" Rune's head tilts down a little in thought. "It sounds like you've seen something fairly close to what you'll be in for when we go home, then. Did you like it there?"

"Better than what I've been doing," she adds as Gao points out landmarks. "I've been tying bits of cloth to trees, but maybe that's not the best idea?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari nods. "A ski resort. I don't like sking, so I stay in the lodge and drink hot chocolate. There's some modern stuff, but it's also small. Not a lot of things. Quiet. Away from the city that there isn't a lot of light. Just a few buildings and a lodge." he smiles. "Sure, I could see that being like home." he says. "Just without the glass candles." he says teasingly.

He peeks at the cairns. Then looks at Runealy with a raised brow.

"What's that for?" he asks.

This man is not Mark Trail.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"Using cloth to mark a trail is pretty good for short-term use, but it's obvious and more likely to get worn away, so it's not as good for long term," Gao points out. "Stacking rocks like this is not as visible, especially to untrained eyes, and they don't weather away as easily."

He gives Hinote a grin. "Trail marker -- it's how I'm navigating to the campsite we used last time," he explains.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"To find my way around," Rune answers. "They stick out pretty well, but..." She nods at Gao's points. "'Obvious', right. I probably should have thought that one out better. 'Obvious' is pretty bad right now, we don't need to be spotted here, not just yet. So it sounds like rocks are fine. Listen..."

She pauses a moment to catch her breath. Then, "Once we're all set up, the two things I'd like to do is work on us working together, and... my movement. Right now I'm getting winded just jumping around, so what I'm hoping you two can do is... like, send little things at me. Bits of fire, thorns, whatever you can do to give me something to see and react to, without being dangerous. Think you'd be up for those?"

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari purses his lips and thinks on this. "Oh!" he says. Okay. So they're like...markers. In a video game. Right? Sure. He smiles a bit. "I get it now." he says. Then Runealy asks to be shot at. He gives a wry grin.

"Only if you lemme practice my villian voice while I do so~" he teases.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Gaofele Doiru gives Rune's request some thought. "I think we can pull that off," he nods. "I might even have an idea or two on things to use."

He chuckles a bit at Hinote's request, but keeps his eyes on the hidden trail. "Almost there; I'll check the area when we arrive, but so far I don't think there's anyone else nearby," he states.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Your what voice?" Rune sounds confused. "Sure, 'villain voice' if you want. Just... when I've had enough? Of moving, I mean, not of your voice,"

She takes a breath and insists: "Make me do one more. Just one more than I say I can handle, then let up. That was how mom did things with me in the courtyard, or the forest or mountains or anywhere else we went. She'd teach me, and I'd do things until I was spent... and she'd tell me 'one more.' Just one. And then the day after that I'd do one more than that, and so on."

She snaps herself out of the memory by picking up Gao's words. "'Things to use'? Something I haven't seen about your Knight magic, or...?" The question trails off.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari grins. "Well, if it's stuff you haven't seen- then you'll have to think up a defnese for it. Also. Yes. My villian voice. I'm an actor besides just a knight now, remember~" he says teasingly. Hinote's a lot better since you. Evil Mind Controlling Triple-A battery. Though he still hasn't met that---- dream... person?

He nods at Runealy. "That sounds smart, actually. Pushing yourself little by little, right?" he asks softly to Runealy.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
"Some new plants that might work with my magic," Gao explains. "I've been doing some studying in the library, and a few of them caught my eye. If they work, it might give me a bit more versatility."

He nods to Hinote. "It adds up over time, making it especially noticeable how much she'd improve between visits," he notes. "Between one day and the next, it can be hard to see if you're making progress; between one week and the next, it starts becoming noticeable, and moreso for longer periods."

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Exactly that. That's how she did it. It wasn't anything mean like telling me to put in another five hours when I'd already had enough... it was just 'one more', because the people out there deserve more than just us sitting on what we think is 'good enough.' And I guess now, we owe 'one more' to each other, too. For the first time in centuries, this is a team thing again."

"So that's how it is." Rune resumes marching, jogging to catch up if needed. "One more jump or spin, one more new plant, one more voice, whatever gets it done in the end."

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari listens. "Sounds good. I mean. I guess it's the same way remembering lines for a play. Try to remember five lines one day, six the next, and so on and so on." he says with a smile. He head tilts. "Oh...your magic can effect regular plants?..." he asks Gao.

"I wouldn't try to bring any plants from here to Waldia. There's stuff called....invasive species. Stuff that might kill and replace plants and animals in your world. Not fun, usually." he says with a series of matter of fact nods.

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Gaofele Doiru makes a 'so-so' gesture with a hand. "My staffwork calls on plants that are already present, or that might be in the area, but doesn't call on plants from elsewhere. The archery I do uses shots that are based on plants, but aren't actual plants themselves," he explains.

The forester does nod in agreement with Hinote about invasive species. "The right animal in the wrong place can cause untold havoc," he notes. "And I could easily see plants doing the same kind of thing."

The forest opens up into a clearing, which might look familiar to Rune -- or perhaps not. The scorch marks from their previous campfire are faded, but still slightly visible; a side effect of not having a shovel last time. "Give me a few moments to look around," he remarks, placing his pack onto the ground and darting into the forest. Even without his forester's cloak, it's not going to be easy to spot him among the trees as he circles the clearing.

Runealy Waldia has posed:
"Invasi-wha?" Rune has never heard of such a thing, if the look on her face is any indication. "Wow... I can't believe you two are familiar with that and thought far enough ahead on this to know not to do that. That's pretty good. Though, in case you're wondering?"

She faces Hinote with a tiny smile, "We have cats back home. So Mistpaw," her gaze wanders to Gaofele, "Can come along, no problem." Then he's heading off to check the site, and she nods and lowers her pack to wait. It's a good chance to catch her breath again, anyway.

Hinote Kagari has posed:
Hinote Kagari sits down with Runealy and smiles. "Good then!" he says. "Mistpaw deserves to come. Besides. /one/ cat in a world couldn't cause too much havoc, right?"

Then Mistpaw becomes giant again over there and something. Just watch. /JUST WATCH!/

He puts down his pack a moment as he waits on Gao to return. He can't see him!

Gaofele Doiru has posed:
Gaofele Doiru returns to the group, kicking up some leaves as he goes so he doesn't startle the others by, say, suddenly speaking from right behind Hinote. That would not be a nice thing to do to a pair of tired friends.

(Another time, then perhaps...)

"Okay, nothing nearby," he confirms as he walks over to his pack. "Let's go ahead and get camp set up, and then we can practice!"