riverviewlogs | [closed] mission: carnivorous harvest

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[closed] mission: carnivorous harvest

who: hana song, genji shimada, x'rhun tia, shigeru miyata, keith, shiro
what: the carnivorous harvest mission
when: sept. 15-18
where: the jungle; outside of the abandoned city walls
warnings: none foreseen; will update as necessary

TRAVELING, CAMPING

[ It’s early in the morning when the team sets out from the Perimeter Guard’s base of operations; they have a long ways to go to reach the jungle, which lays beyond the outerwall that surrounds the abandoned city. The Guard has equipped them with supplies for traveling, including camping gear, containers for collecting the Lababerries in, and of course the information they need to reach their destination within the jungle.

Passing through the abandoned city before reaching the outer wall is quicker than the traveling they will do outside of the wall; while the abandoned city is grown over, there were still paths that were relatively clear for the party to travel along – there won’t be much of that out in the jungle. That does not, however, preclude any sudden appearance of the monsters that may have broken through the outer perimeter of the city.

Traveling concludes during when night falls, which puts the team just within the confines of the city: it would be easier for them to take on what may lie beyond the fence once they’ve rested for a night. They camp out around what would have been an old house on some small plot of farmland at the very outskirts of what would have been settled before the Quarantine was compromised. At the very least, it provides some solid shelter in the event of a freak weather event, but vines and other vegetation have overtaken it to the point that it was really barely a shell of its former structure. The area around it is open and well-suited for setting up tents and a fire and everything else.

Members of the team, of course, take turns keeping watch through the night.

The plan would be to find a suitable campsite for the following evening within the jungle but away from the area where the Lababerry plants grow; it wouldn’t be wise to camp near carnivorous plants, after all, although there’s nothing to say that there aren’t other dangers lurking within the jungle. After examining the search area and locating the plants, they would harvest the fruits and then journey back, likely making this a four-day trip in total. ]

SURVEYING THE SITE

[ After about half of a day’s travel into the jungle from the outer perimeter, they reach an area that had been marked down as habitat for the Lababerry-growing, carnivorous plants. The party will have to make camp at least some distance away come nightfall lest they be eaten in their sleep, but in the meantime they can get to work by surveying the habitat area and pinpointing the locations of the plants; both for data collection purposes and to make it easier for the seasonal harvest that will take place once the plants are once-again dormant because, in an environment as rapidly-growing as the forests outside of the Quarantine, things are constantly changing.

The Lababerry plants grow on a shrub that enjoys the shade and dampness of the jungle’s understory. At first glance, it is almost indistinguishable from most other plants growing beneath the large trees, but closer inspection would reveal the Lababerries themselves growing in clusters directly along the shrub’s stems. But closer inspection would get your hand and/or face possibly bitten off by the leaves also growing on the stems. They appear to be completely unsuspecting until someone gets too close, at which point the leaves split and reveal toothy openings much like a venus flytrap’s that can elongate and extend from the stem almost like a vine, and snapping at its prey much like a snapping turtle. So, good luck fighting off the plants while making sure the berries stay in tact (which probably means less fire and explosions, more hacking and slashing). The goal, for now, would merely be to observe the plants’ behavior and come up with a good strategy for harvesting later.

Oh, and making sure the party doesn’t get attacked by any of the other monsters dwelling in the jungle. ]

HARVEST

[ After a day of surveying and clearing the area of any outside threads, it’s time to harvest! If the team has prepared sufficiently the previous day, this should be the easiest part of the mission! Hopefully. Barring, again, any angry monsters coming through.

Using the information they gathered on the plants and coming up with a good way to extract the fruits, the team will have to fight the plants without completely destroying them to leave enough crops for the next harvest season and collect them in the containers provided by the Guard before making their journey back toward the inhabited area of the city. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Shiro really didn't seem to care as much about that. He'd dealt with a lot worse conditions so camping in a jungle really wasn't that big of a stretch for him. He could live with it at least for a little while.

Shiro pulled his end taut as well as she adjusted hers]

Right, there we go. Let's get the poles set up so we can get the tent across them.

[So yes, they need to put the tent down now, but since it is laid out, they can put the frame up]

Thanks for the help.

[ She waves her hand dismissively. ]

No sweat! [ And then she looked a little sheepish, although she would never admit it as much. ] I've never really gone on a trip like this, so...

[ She wants to do the best that she can. Sure, she was going to have diva moments, but adventuring in the jungle? That was stuff she'd only been able to read about in Mei's journals. She never would have gotten this kind of opportunity at home. ]

Anyway, yeah! Let's set this baby up. What do I need to do?

It's been a while since I've done something like this. At least a few years. Luckily its not too difficult.

[Jungle camping was not what Shiro was used to, to be quite honest. Desert camping was what he had been trained in because the Galaxy Garrison was surrounded by a desert. Hot during the day, freezing at night. But it was a dry heat... which people claimed was better than humid heat. Based on his limited experience otherwise and today, he would tend to agree. The steps were basically the same though aside from the steps to make sure one didn't fall over from exhaustion]

Those piece there? We need to put them together in the floor of the tent. That will keep it flat. Then the remaining pieces go through the sleeves to form the canopy. So we'll start with the floor.

[ She looked to the pieces he was talking about and, okay, these weren't the self-assembling tents they had at home but she was pretty confident that she could figure it out. So she dropped to the floor, tucking her legs beneath her in a kneel, then leaning over hte pieces so she could start figuring out how to assemble them. All the while, she kept the conversation going. ]

By the way, can you say thanks to Black for me? I know carrying stuff isn't really what he's for, but...

[Not self-assembling, but they also weren't complicated either. Pretty much connect a to b and b to c and done. Shiro knelt as well, helping to put the pieces together. Granted one person could it on their own, but as long as they weren't fighting over who was doing what, then there wouldn't be a problem.

He looked up at her comment and smiled]

I'm sure he'll appreciate that. I'll let him know.

[Even though Black could probably hear them and what she had said]

This definitely isn't what the lions were made for.

[ Hana was doing pretty well with figuring things out; she always had a good intuition and it came in handy at times like this. She found herself smiling back at Shiro. ]

Well, they're being good team players by agreeing anyway!

[ Her smile softened a bit, then, as she looked back down to the tent poles she was assembling. ]

This isn't the kind of thing my MEKA was made for, either, but at least she can't complain about it.

Yeah, they are. I'm sure they understand that this is important, at least to us. I'm sure that's helping at least. They feel like they have to help.

[It was the nearest explanation for why a robot lion would tolerate being a pack mule through the forest. They could have easily sat down and not moved]

Yeah, a little bit of difference between the lions and MEKA. Okay, so it looks like we have the base done so let's start getting the sides up.

[ Hana held the parts she'd put together rather proudly, like she'd succeeded in doing something incredibly complex. She gave him a nod when he gave the next directive. ]

Roger that! Same kind of deal just putting the parts together?

[ Looking down and setting the bottom pieces down, she started examining the parts to the sides. ]

Still, though, going on a mission like this beats a regular patrol any day.

[Shiro wasn't going to take that victory away from her. She was proud of it so he couldn't say anything]

Yep. Just putting them together. We need to loop some of them through the slots in the tent to keep the fabric up.

[He made sure the bottom pieces were centered correctly before starting to help arrange the sides for easy construction]

Yeah, it does. Completely different than what we normally do.

[ She nodded and got to it, snapping pieces together to connect them and handing them to Shiro as he arranged the sides so he could demonstrate how to slip and loop what would be the frames holding the tent up through the slots he'd mentioned. And in the process, she said, ]

And everyone on the team gets along, so that's good. I was kinda worried about going away for a few days, but it would've been so much worse if we ended up with anyone who wasn't a good player, you know? And I get to be on a mission with Genji!

[ There was a smile on her lips, then - she really, really held Genji in high regard and respected him, and she felt comfortable conveying as much to Shiro, since she knew the two of them had already known each other before this mission. ]

[Shiro did indeed demonstrate the last bit of putting the tent together when she handed him the polls. It wasn't too complicated, but just right to make sure the sides stayed up and of course didn't leak]

Yeah, that's a good thing. Always better that a team work together. Sometimes it takes some time, but this group seems to be getting along without having to do much work. So Genji is from your world but you have never worked with him before?

[ She'd put a lot of stock into how easily the team got along in the fact that many had seemed to be friends already before the mission. X'rhun was one of her roommates before she and Genji moved out of communal housing, and he'd been asking for her tech advice ever since. Then there was Keith and Shiro, of course, and Genji, and Shigeru&mdash— was friends with Genji. (And Hana knew that her roommate had feelings for their glasses-wearing party member. So you know.)

But speaking of their cyborg ninja friend, Hana's face lights up at Shiro's question and she was going about a mile a minute in her answer. ]

Yeah! Genji and I are from the same world, but we never met there. I didn't really get to travel outside of Korea, except for some competitions back when I was a pro, but after I joined the army I only really traveled in Asia. But Genji is— he's kind of like a superhero, you know? Well, he used to be. He was in this organization called Overwatch back in the day before it got disbanded and said he was kind of just traveling around after that, so. He's pretty cool!

[If Keith and Shiro hadn't gotten along there was a problem. Their lions might have been an issue, but since they took their cues from their paladins, they could tell if the situation required them to react. Since Shiro was going about things as if this were normal, Black had decided to just camp out and observe.

Her description of Genji brought a smile to Shiro's face. It was hard to realize things about people when you only just met them randomly so it was interesting to get a third person perspective of them]

Really? I wouldn't have even guessed. It definitely seems like he's been involved in a lot, but he didn't tell me about all of that. That's good to know.

[ She nods, but for a second she put their work down so she could fold her arms and hum thoughtfully. ]

Yeah, he's not the type to just say that kind of thing out of the blue. I think to him, all the stuff he did with Overwatch is kinda 'in the past,' you know? I didn't know him back then, like I said, but I think he's more at peace with himself now than before.

[Shiro sat back on his heels as she put the stuff down. He knew she was thinking but he was getting hot out in the jungle still in his full suit of armor so he began to remove the white pieces of his armor]

He did seem to have a lot figured out when I spoke with him. I wouldn't imagine that he would talk about things of his past, especially when there was something that clearly happened.

[Given Genji's physical state, something had to have happened]

... Yeah.

[ Shiro was right on the mark. Hana had learned a little more about his past when the two of them sat and dyed Genji's hair green and a section of hers pink, but since then she hadn't been sure how to bring it up again.

In any case, she watched him start to remove his armor even as she talked - because she was curious about how the Paladin armor worked, of course. ]

Anyway, I'm glad you and Genji get along! You know, he makes Japanese food sometimes for dinner. You should come over next time he does!

[The armor wasn’t too complicated, but there were a lot of pieces, helmet and various pieces of armor on the arms, torso, and legs. Removing the pieces from his arms and chest revealed the black suit of armor under it. That’s when he opened it, sliding it off his arms, tying it around his waist. Like she had unintentionally showed off to him, he was unintentionally showing off to her now, his chest bare. She would probably be able to see the numerous scars along his torso and arms as well as full length of his metal arm.

He smiled when she said that]

I’d like that. I’ll have to make something as well the next time he does.

[ She watched as he took the pieces of armor of one by one, gaze shifting back and forth from Shiro to the armor set aside, wondering if he'd let her take a closer look at the armor later on.

When she looked back up, her eyes found Shiro's bare skin and. Oh. Okay. That sure was happening. She had seen him like this once before, when they were at the pool during the masquerade, but - the lighting had been dim and weird then and maybe Hana was a little tipsy - so she kinda. Stares. She remembered seeing scars, but seeing them with the light from the campfire cast upon them, she could see them more clearly now.

She snapped out of it when she heard him speak again. Jeez, pull yourself together, Hana. ]

Good! I'll let you know when that happens. Then I can beat you at video games after dinner!

[He'd be happy to let her take a look at his armor more closely later. They were still in the middle of getting set up for the night so it would at least have to wait until then.

He did notice that her gaze seemed to linger a bit when she saw him without the black armor covering his chest. It didn't really give him that much pause. Some of the other paladins jokingly commented on his physique, positive of course. Also he'd notice that other people noticed here as well so he didn't really focus on it.

He chuckles at the last part]

I've been practicing. I might be harder to beat this time.

[Harder. Not claiming she won't beat him]

[ How dare you notice, Shiro.

His claim, at least, manages to be distracting enough from the actual distraction (Shiro's bare chest) because - damn, he was really serious about getting better at games. She did notice that he didn't say he would beat her, just that it might be more difficult for her to. And she... found that she really liked that. For one, that he didn't mind that she kept beating him at games and for another, that he actually worked harder to improve himself even knowing that, honestly, he'd probably never beat her. It was refreshing in a way, when most people either got salty about her wins or sort of just stopped trying. So she smirked at him, humming a bit. ]

Hmmm? What's that? You're trying to make me work harder, Shiro?

[ guys stop flirting you're on a mission ]

Well, the way I look at it, if I'm going to keep losing, it will give me something to shoot for and it will keep you on your toes.

[Video games were something he could afford not to win and in someway that took some of the pressure off it for him. He couldn't afford to lose to Zarkon, to the Galra, to let himself or any of the other paladins be captured. Those were true life and death situations. Playing a shoot 'em up video game to beat zombies or a simulated fighting game where none of the moves made sense and the outfits were impractical to actually fight in was not something he needed to be worried about. Maybe that's why it was easier for him to keep trying and still accept losing to her gracefully. It was something he was allowed to lose at.

Plus it let him spend time with Hana]

I shouldn't make it easy, right?

[ Hana would be glad for allowing him some time to goof off and let loose. She knew - or at least hoped - that he had fun whenever they played together, but if she knew it somehow gave him some peace of mind... she'd gladly play games with him whenever he wanted or needed to.

It let her spend time with him, too.

She smirked at him, chuckling a bit. ]

Well, yeah. It's exactly like you said - if you made it easy I'd just get bored. And you wouldn't want me to get bored with you, would you?

[ She even threw in a wink! ]

[He chuckled at that too]

No of course I wouldn't want you to get bored. Who knows. Maybe I'll actually be a challenge for you.

[These two really do need to stop flirting when there are important things to be done. Like you know, putting together the tents like they are supposed to so people can sleep tonight]

[ what tents ]

Wow. That's pretty big talk, Shiro. I've gone up against the best pros in the world, you know. Think you can keep up?

[Tents? What tents? I don't see no tents. Everyone has to sleep outside tonight because Shiro and Hana were flirting]

I think I can keep up.

[Or he will die trying]

[closed] mission: carnivorous harvest

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