⇨ CAMPING GROUNDS

[ringleaders]

Who: Everybody!
When: Day 64
Where: The Camping Grounds
What: While the Ringmaster attempts to purge the carnival of magical tracing spells and deal with the angry fire fae in her belly, everyone else is getting sent on an emergency camping trip with some unusual local fauna.
Warnings: Camping.

CRYPTIC CAMPGROUNDS↴ You're given about three hours to prepare, after the Ringmaster tells you her plans for the coming week. There is a vast selection of camping equipment at your disposal, and the means to take along enough food for the length of the stay. The wilderness of the planet you're left on is nearly idyllic, but some people just don't like the great outdoors. ► CRYPTOZOOLOGY: As it turns out, the carnival won't be alone here. There is a varied ecosystem of cryptids to be found as well, living in relative peace and mostly reacting to the newcomers with curiousity. More details can be found on the plotting post. You are free to NPC the cryptids as much as you need to, as long as you stick to the behaviours described. ► DREAMSHARING: There is a player plot going on which will allow characters to share dreams! These are specifically more dreams than nightmares, and the mushi-adept characters will be here to help. ► CHILLAX: There isn't any plot twist for this setting, so this is mostly an opportunity to decompress from the last plot and get ready for the future. The Ringmaster will show up occasionally to help with needed medical treatments and check on things, but won't stick around for long.

Comments

here to wreck yukio's peaceful dreams

[exaomori]

[Was this old monastery her home? No, not quite. But today, it's good enough. She doesn't have to think too hard about it as she makes her way through the gate and beelines to the kitchen. There should be something to eat in there, right? She was hungry. There had to be some juice at the very least...

Oh, and maybe she should announce herself or something. Well, it's not like she was a total stranger here.]

I'm back~

[Back from somewhere she couldn't quite remember. But that's fine, she knows she's somewhere decent now.]

let's make this good

[reflash]

You're late. [Yukio (age... somewhere like 12) is sitting at the table, pouring over homework. It's not a surprise to see Shura here, of course. This is as much her home as his. It's also not a surprise for her to come back late even though she said she'd help him study for his certification exams.]

[exaomori]

Nyaa, don't make that face at me~ [At least let her get something to drink! Of course she was late, but she had a good reason for once. This time it wasn't fooling around with one of her boyfriends. She hadn't forgotten her promise, she just took a bit of a detour before coming home.

She rummages through the fridge, taking a bottle of juice out before sitting beside him at the table, peering over his homework.]

What's this, calculus or somethin'?

i need to get little kid yukio icons

[reflash]

Mmmhmm. [He says, a little noise of assent. Then he closes up his textbook and his notebook.]

Nee-san, did you get the plants I need from the herb shop? [Yukio can't get into the shop yet, he's not a certified Exorcist. But he wants to work on actual hands-on Doctor things.]

little crybaby yukio faces oh no

[exaomori]

[Shura makes a vague groaning sound. Seriously, it was calculus?? Sure, the kid was smart, but someone needed to rein his ambitions in just a little bit. He was going to burn out at this rate.]

Yeah, yeah, I did. I ain't gonna forget something like that.

[They're in the bag on the counter, but Shura isn't in a hurry to get up and get them. Instead, she's reaching to pull something out from her lower seal, casually setting it on the table in front of Yukio.]

Take a break for a minute, and I'll get that stuff out.

[Yukio can probably recognize what Shura set out. It's some snack that's been trendy and hard to find. She may have noticed him looking at it one day when he didn't have the pocket money to get it.]

little crybaby yukio was adorable

[reflash]

[Yukio's about to complain but then...

Then there's a snack he wanted on the table in front of him and Shura telling him to take a break. And even though Yukio knows he has to work hard and he has to make better grades than everyone else, he sometimes likes it when Shura interrupts him.]

Thank you, neesan.

[exaomori]

Ah, you like that stuff? The guy at the store said it was popular.

[Shura says as if she didn’t go to multiple stores to track the thing down. She isn’t the type to nurture or have soft, gentle feelings. Still, it’s a little satisfying to see the nerdy kid smile like that. Also, this is a great opportunity to down her juice and think about what she could rummage up to eat. But she only has a moment or two to relax before she knows she ought to get up to get out the stuff Yukio asked her to get. ]

[reflash]

[There's some food in the fridge, thanks to Rin (as always). Yukio's twin brother might not understand all this exorcist stuff (he can't see demons, after all), but he's always good for supporting his family from home. Yukio can't imagine trying to keep everything a secret from Rin, Shura wouldn't be able to stand it and Yukio wouldn't want to either.

The snack is better than Yukio thought it would be, and he's quietly happy with that for a moment, which will give Shura that moment or two he needs.]

Did you bring one for our brother too? [Or is Yukio going to have to share?]

[exaomori]

[Shura had not, as a matter of fact, bought one for Rin. She figured she'd make up for it the next time she found Rin playing hooky in one of her old hiding spots. The problem with having a delinquent older sibling is that they found all the good hiding spots years ago and knew exactly where to look when you were missing from class.]

Eh? I'll get 'im somethin' else. Don't worry about leavin' anything for him. If he was in here studyin', I woulda brought him one.

[But he wasn't! He was off doing something else. Too bad for him. Shura's still going to make herself a little dinner from the food he's made for everyone, bringing her small plate back to the table along with the paper bag filled with the assortment of plants Yukio had requested she bring back. Big sister tax and all.]

[reflash]

You'll never have to bring him anything. [Yukio says, with a wry smile.

He finishes his snack, taking a little bit of time to enjoy it. He'd asked for the herbs, so it would be a disappointment if she hadn't. But the snack is a present, and so it's worth being happy about.

But then comes the bag of herbs, and he starts digging through them.]

[exaomori]

You never know, he might figure things out. [Or he'll just crash through life headfirst. It wasn't as if Shura hadn't done the same thing. Yukio would know, though with the twins to anchor her early on she hadn't gotten into as much trouble as she might have otherwise.

Yukio doesn't take a long enough break in Shura's opinion, but something is better than nothing. Everything Yukio asked for is in the bag and then some. A couple impulse buys, nothing too extravagant.]

What are you wantin' to work on tonight?

[reflash]

[Shura's getting A Look from Yukio. And then he moves on to the plants.]

I need to make sure I have the right bullets for my exam. But I don't know what demons they're going to put me up against, so I need to make a lot of different compounds.

[exaomori]

[Rin couldn't stay an idiot forever! Well, not the same degree of stupid, at least.]

Bullets? Eeh, that's a lot of work...

[A lot of finicky work. Was that why he had asked her to help him?

[reflash]

[Why do you think he asked for your help, Shura?]

I still haven't gotten the hang of it. [HES BAD AT ARTS AND CRAFTS]

[exaomori]

[you little shit]

Y'know, you wouldn't hafta worry about this if you picked up a sword.

[So fine, she wasn't too bad at this, but this was seriously the lamest work!! In spite of her whining, Shura isn't making to leave, grudgingly reaching out to sort sorting the plants she brought.]

slides in very late with an expired paid

[reflash]

Isn't that your job? [He shoots back, playfully.]

[exaomori]

[On the one hand, she's glad he can still tease her even with all of the stress and work he's taking on. On the other hand, that's completely not the point??]

What, you think you're gonna be my partner or somethin'? You're ten years too early for that!

[reflash]

There isn't an age limit for exorcist teams.

[exaomori]

That's--

[She pauses, her expression changing into something unreadable for a moment. Letting him say that kind of thing, even if he was just playing--it was the kind of thing she was going to regret later on, even if he might know the reason why.]

Ain't the point. Focus on passin' your exams, then try talkin' big.

[reflash]

[He doesn't know why her expression changes (or he does, he will, it just has no place in this dream) and he lets himself brush it off. He'll overthink it later.]

I will. Just watch me.

[exaomori]

[What is she supposed to say to that kind of face? She lets out a soft laugh, reaching over to ruffle his hair.]

I know you will. C'mon, I ain't gonna do all the work for ya just because you don't like doin' it.

[but for real, she's going to get her revenge for tricking her into doing his dirty work]

[reflash]

[Yukio (for once) doesn't avoid the hair ruffle, or bat her hands away. He does grumble a bit, of course.]

Nee-san, you're messing up my hair.

[exaomori]

[Nee-san, you're messing up my hair. It's easy to forget the demon that haunts her when Yukio sounds like a little brat. She keeps mussing his hair, merrily ignoring his complaint.]

Your hair~? Nyahaha, got somewhere to be after this? Got a girl or somethin'?

[Actually, she'd be really relieved in a way if that was true...]

[reflash]

No! [Not that he's willing to tell Shura about, that's for sure.]

[exaomori]

['I don't have time for girls,' 'Like I'd tell you,' 'Yes, and her name is none of your business.' Anything like that and Shura would have probably just let it slide. But that kind of denial is completely suspicious. She drops her hand from his hair and leans forward.]

Oho! She must be cute if you don't wanna tell me about her~ C'mon, c'mon, I'll find out about her anyway. Does Shiro know?

[She already knows Rin doesn't know. If Rin knew, then there was no way he'd be able to hide his moping from her.]