Oakhearth, The Eternal Flame of Vale (private w/ Pericles, Ela & Kailyn)

[Forrest Waldstein]

The gang had gathered all the necessary supplies for a trip to Oakhearth. The weather was predicted to be clear throughout the week, but despite the reports, the weather ended up being quite snowy. Several inches of accumulation had occurred overnight, covering the ground and trees in packable snow. It was eerily quiet this afternoon, not even the hoot of an owl to break the silence. Dusk was approaching, and the sun was illuminating the environment behind the clouds, creating a beautiful purple backdrop of clouds with red and yellow skies behind the forest. Forrest was leading the others down a footpath in the middle of the woods.

"It's more dangerous to travel at night. Because of the snow, we'll likely get there a day later than expected." Forrest stated, hoping the rest of the journey would be just as uneventful.

[Ela Motley]

Ela, usually much more casual about her choice of clothes, had packed on a little more, adorning her body was a long black winter coat, complete with dark brown lines and similarly colored (fake) fur collar.
In her hands she held her scroll, which she was of course eagerly tip tapping away at as she was doing some reading and research about their route, she had of course done plenty of preparations, easily visible with the gigantic backpack she was carrying with her, yet compared to the half giantess it looked relatively normal in proportion to her, the pack was of course joined by her weapon, Love Tap, the ridiculous large Mace-hammer rested in a deactivated state upon her back, yet set a clear signal that she was prepared for any situation.

Ela followed by Forest's side at a leisurely pace, her heavy boots stomping through the snow with ease.
"Well, it's not too bad, the snow may slow us down a bit, but I do like the white, it's cozy, in its own way."
She finished typing away at the scroll, then handed it to Forest.
"Here, this should be the best route for us to take, does this look about right?"
Ela asked him, she had taken it upon herself to guide the group of first years, in the stead of one of the professors, as a way to prove herself, despite that she'd still rather confirm this with Forest, he was the only one here that knew of Oakhearth after all.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles, adorned in a deep blue and bronze accented himation overtop his armored form, trudged through the snow alongside them. His own supplies were carried in the large pack strapped over the shield on his back and the satchel bag hung upon his right shoulder. His left hand however was occupied with King of Kings, currently in the form of a dual ended sword-stave that Pericles was using as a pseudo walking stick for the rough terrain.

"If fate smiles upon us, then perhaps these trails will widen out into fortunate plains of opportunity, rather than the dense overgrowth of disarray we are currently subject to. Such auspicious comings would grant opportunity for utilization of my chariot for an expedited journey, though the lady holds her cards close to chest." Pericles said to no one in particular.

Looking over their 'chaperone' for the trip, Pericles couldn't help but feel she looked quite familiar, though he decided to table such musings and possible discussions for later, "Our host's words hold true, journey by night would be inadvisable with only one of us neighbors to the path. The winds call to us in fair greeting and honest warning of the approaching night. We shan't overstay our welcome, when the Sun departs our gala, so to shall we be ushered to the door by the Moon's gentle sway. Does the path offer us tidings of fair grounds of dwelling, or only the urgence of further march?"

[Kailyn Keison]

Kailyn was having a blast. Sure, it was a bit colder than forecasted, and sure, there was snow on the ground, but that had never stopped her from running around in it when she was a kid, and it wasn't gonna stop her from zipping around in it now.

"Bro, you have got to start speaking in modern parlance," she joked at the lion Faunus who had joined them on their expedition. "Your penchant for historical... everything -" she gestured to his outfit as she floated by him upside-down - "is great and all, but I'm supposed to be the one who makes people look at them funny, mm'kay?"

She was mostly messing with him, of course - she had to find some way to keep herself entertained without bothering their chaperone or their guide. Forrest had invited her along on this excursion when they grabbed food after she'd met him on the dorm roof, so she'd normally be messing with him, but he was the only one who actually knew where they were going, so that was out. Ela could probably handle Kailyn's brand of banter, but not only was she Lin's older sister, meaning Kailyn wanted her to like her, but she was also helping Forrest plot a revised route due to the inclement weather.

That left Pericles, whom she had met mere minutes before their band left the school. She knew who he was, of course: his parents were well-respected in their field and his family was ancient - it was difficult for anyone who grew up in Mistral not to have heard of his family if they studied even a little history, and her mother had made sure Kailyn's education was thorough.

Besides - Forrest and Ela had already met her. It was his turn to go through the crash course in weird. As if to emphasize this point, Kailyn's lazy upside-down orbit around Pericles brought her back in front of him again.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest took a good look at the route from Ela's scroll, looking surprised for a moment. He produced his own scroll from his new winter outfit that he wore for this excursion. With a quick glance, Forrest noticed that they both were receiving a signal before returning his own scroll to its pocket.

"That's the most direct path, yes. I'm glad they finished constructing the signal extender for our scrolls, that makes our lives much easier." Forrest said as he continued walking, his thoughts of home coming back to him. His eyes scanned through the forest, clearly in search of something useful to the group.

"There's a clearing up ahead and to the right where we can stop and make camp for the night." he added, pointing towards it as he trekked through the snow. The sun was slowly but surely descending, making the clearing ahead a great boon for them, as the Grimm in the Oakhearth region tended to be more active at nighttime.

[Ela Motley]

Ela nodded, very pleased with herself that she found a route that Forest approved of.
Yet, the comment about the signal extender left her confused. Was Oakharth too far away to not have any connection?
Well its a good thing she planned ahead.
"It's good to have signal but better to be prepared. I downloaded the map on to my scroll, so I can still lead us even if we lose connection."
She shot Forest a smirk, as she yet turned to their other two travel companions.
"I'll have to agree with Kailyn, while history is a great subject and your manner of speech is very eloquent, this is not the time or place, communication is key and it needs to be precise and snappy."
Ela looked back at Pericles; her expression was apologetic, but she still held firm with her comment.
"Regardless, yes, let's make camp in the clearing up ahead."

As they reached it, Ela put her heavy backpack on a stump, as she turned to her fellow students.
"Alright, let's do this.
Kailyn, I need you to be our eye in the sky. We may not be too far away from Vale yet, but I'd rather avoid being ambushed.
Forest, set up the tents.
Pericles, use the gas burner to heat up some food, and use snow for water, this far out, it should be clean.
I'll gather firewood and set up a campfire."
She nodded to everyone, as she then went ahead and walked of a few paces.

Pulling Lovetap from her back, Ela picked out a tree, not too big—about 20 feet tall—but still plenty of wood to be had; gathering wood from the ground would be painful as it was all wet already.
Ela pulled Lovetap from her back, and with a quick and brutal strike, the tree fell. Ela lowered it to the floor, as she began to break off the branches, stripping them off needles and gathering the branches and the pine cones in her backpack.
She then shouldered the tree, walking back to camp as she laid down the log. She grabbed a shovel and freed an area near the camp off the snow, gathering rocks she found beneath to the snow to build a circle, filling it with pine cones, and then building a stack of wood on top.
With another swing of Lovetap, the log was broken a few more times, the two thickest pieces now serving as an improvised bench, as the others and remaining branches would serve as more firewood.
Tossing a tiny piece of fire dust into the stack, boom, the camp had a good campfire going.
Ela looked satisfied, hands on her hips as she looked to Forests and Pericles process, then waving at Kailyn to come join her.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles hummed in amusement as Kailyn orbited him, "My diction, while infused with grammatical choices found to be far more prevalent in historical works than the set pieces of the present, solely utilizes verbiage present in the modern lexicon." Pericles paused and listened to his own breath for a few moments as he walked, "That being spoken, I believe that I am able to put forth an effort to speak in more manageable terms, if this shall suffice? I admit, that I embrace a certain ease of familiarity in speaking in my more traditional manner, but I am willing to adjust for the sanctity of our journey. Though, I ask for your forgiveness if all of my colloquialisms are several hundred years out of date."

Pericles set down his own pack as they reached the clearing and pulled his hood back from his head. Unclasping the leather beneath his chin, Pericles removed his helm allowing the cold wind to pepper kisses against his skin. Taking a few breaths to steady his mind, Pericles firmly took hold of his Aura as his Semblance activated, the Eye of Horus glowing like a spotlight in the twilight light. Focusing on the small area of the clearing they planned to camp in, Pericles willed the land to suddenly become perfectly flat in a circular radius around himself.

Taking the gas burner from Ela's bag, Pericles perused over the options of meats available before eventually settling on a frozen chuck roast. Setting it next to the now lit burner in order to dethaw as best as it could in the icy weather for a few minutes, Pericles retrieved the beef stock as well before he spoke with Kailyn once more, "Ms. Keison, if you'll forgive my inquiry, your Semblance perplexes me. You appear capable of levitation and possibly flight, yet I am uncertain if that is by a negation of gravity or creating your own force than runs in opposite parallel to gravity, would you be willing to share?"

Pericles started sifting through his own bag, pulling out various herbs, spices, and oils. A cutting board and carbon steel knife followed as Pericles began to arrange all of his ingredients. Cubing the meat with his knife, Pericles generously seasoned the meat before throwing it into a skillet with olive oil. As it seared, he placed nearly two dozen shallots on the cutting board and sliced off their ends before peeling them of their skin. Mincing a few cloves or garlic, Pericles removed the meat from the cook-top before replacing it with the shallots and garlic, alongside a spoonful of margarine. Soon after a bottle of red wine was procured from Pericles' bag that he sparingly poured into the cast iron. Quickly after followed oregano, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves, sugar, allspice, and rosemary sprigs. Corking the wine and returning it to his bag for the time being, Pericles tossed the beef into the pot with a liberal amount of stock, before placing the lid upon it and starting a timer on his Scroll.

Cleaning up his cooking station, Pericles announced to the rest of the group, "The Stifado will take roughly an hour to cook, but we'll have enough food for three meals with the amount I made."

[Kailyn Keison]

"My Semblance? Sure," Kailyn said as she floated by him again. It wasn't like she hid it or anything - Hunters were all on the same team, after all. "It's gravity," Kailyn summed up. "I don't negate it, I change its direction and strength for specific objects. I can't make it zero, but any sufficiently small number is equal to zero, mathematically speaking," she shrugged.

"Kailyn, I need you to be our eye in the sky. We may not be too far away from Vale yet, but I'd rather avoid being ambushed." She could do that.

"No problem, boss!" Kailyn saluted before rocketing up into the air to have a look around. There was the top of Beacon Tower in the distance, and their destination was somewhere in the other direction. The forest offered limited visibility of the ground, but Grimm weren't usually what you'd call subtle. There weren't any major disturbances in the vicinity, so she shot off into the trees around their camp, making a wide circle much closer to the ground, easily dodging trees and fauna as she swept the area.

About a half hour later, she floated back into camp, posed as one might relax on a beach chair, hands behind her head. "All clear," she announced with a yawn. "There were only two Beowulves within two klicks of here - emphasis on the past tense." She stretched languidly as she rotated herself back into a standing position and looked around the camp, seating herself eleven meters away from the fire. "Somethin' smells good," she remarked. "What'cha makin', lion man?"

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest nodded to Ela and set down two large tent bags. He opened the first bag, consisting of a dark green and grey tent. Forrest then laid out the ropes, poles, and stakes. He then proceeded to set up the tent, nearly dropping a pole accidentally in the process. Forrest finished with the first tent, and then set up the other tent which was blue and yellow. He took a step back to admire his handiwork with the tents. Overall, Forrest had set them up quite nicely, with both tents placed on opposite sides of the clearing. He then decided to check on the stew that Pericles had been making.

"Three meals is quite the amount of food. Hopefully we can eat it all in a reasonable amount of time." Forrest replied, thinking for a moment before continuing.

"So, its gonna be Pericles and I in one tent and you two in the other. Any preference for which tent you want?" Forrest inquired to Ela and Kailyn.

[Ela Motley]

Ela was just a little bummed as Pericles notified her that the Stifado would take another hour, it smelled so good, and she was hungry from their previous traveling, but three whole courses did sound great, she wouldn't mind eating Perciless cooking for the next few meals, speaking of meals, Ela had used her semblance a few times during their travels, mostly to break through annoying foliage with stone covered hands.
It wasn't much, but she should still make sure she was topped up.
Ela grabbed her bag, sat down on one of the wood log benches she had put next to the campfire, pulled out a vial of stone dust and swallowed its contents in one go, swallowing the substance quickly as she took a swig of water to get it all down.
She then grabbed a vial of ice dust and did the same process again, the rune like markings on her cheeks taking on a much stronger glow now as she was fully topped up.

She then turned back to the others.
"Good job Kailyn, with that we should have a good night's sleep without being interrupted, but we should still take turns and keep watch, I'll take the last shift, that way all of you should still have the campfire to keep warm, Pericles, you should take the shift before me and before sunrise, as for Forest and Kailyn, please talk among yourself for who should take the first watch."
She looked to the lion faunus, as far as she was aware most faunus did have low light/night vision.
"As for tents, I do not care either way."

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles nodded absentmindedly as he rummaged through his pack. Grabbing hold of his prize, Pericles procured his lyre and sat down upon one of the log benches strumming softly, Pericles sang a macabre melody, "Put it away, don't waste your time, Winter will come, and breaketh your spine. Time gives tidings, painted with gold, death smiles at you, a warm friend of old."

Taking a slow breath, Pericles visibly exhaled in the cold air, "Mother promises steel of dragons, father lies of seeking flagons."

Letting the beat pick up slightly, Pericles continued, "Oh, fall away fiercely, my darling gemstone. Fall away clearly, its time I atone. I've promised you much, and satisfied quite little, dance with me sweetly to the Valean man's fiddle."

The song was now much more upbeat and Pericles sang slightly louder, "Beau-ti-ful, such a complicated lie! Ig-no-ble, what a worthless why to die. Dance with me... In the night, in that broken pirouette. Frightened and... Violently upset. Dance with me, in night~"

Letting the music slow slightly, Pericles continued, softer once more, "Dance with me in the night, in that pure-old, little-broken, pirouette... Your dancing, is pretty.... To~ Me."

Pericles gave a slight chuckle as the song winded down and his strumming gently cascaded through the clearing.

[Kailyn Keison]

"You go first, Forrest," Kailyn said when Ela asked them to decide on a watch. "I've got two kinds of Faunus vision, so I'll take the night watch."

Pericles dug around in his pack, finally finding a lute.

Lion man can cook and sing? Look-out, mama, this boy's gonna be beating them back with a stick!

The lion Faunus sang a song she didn't recognize but enjoyed. "That was nice. What's it called?" she asked him as she sat down on the other end of the bench. Taking a moment to settle from her patrol around their campsite, she closed her eyes and sang a song of her own.

"♫ Oh, I could hide 'neath the wings
Of th' bluebird as she sings
The six o'clock alarm would never ring
But six rings, and I rise
Wipe the sleep out of my eyes
M' shavin' razor's cold, and it stings

"Cheer up, Sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean
To a Daydream Believer and a Homecoming Queen?

"You once thought of me
As a white knight on his steed
Now you know how happy I can be
Oh, and our good time starts and ends
Without lien one to spend
But how much, baby, do we really need?

"Cheer up, Sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean
To a Daydream Believer and a Homecoming Queen?
Cheer up, Sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean
To a Daydream Believer and a Homecoming Queen?

"Cheer up, Sleepy Jean
Oh, what can it mean
To a Daydream Believer and a Homecoming Queen... ♫"

She'd always liked that song. An easy smile had planted itself on her face by the time she finished, and would likely be intractable for the rest of the evening.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest nodded to Kailyn as she instructed him to take the first shift. In the meantime, Forrest sat down at one of the benches away from the rest of the group. He enjoyed the songs they were singing, though he lacked the confidence to join in and sing along. He looked over towards the campfire, mesmerized by the flame for a moment. His mind wandered to home, and how it could have changed since last time he was there. He remembered an old lullaby sung to him as a young boy by his mother. Seemingly unaware of it, he sung it quietly to himself.

"♫ There will come a soldier
Who carries a mighty sword
He will tear your city down
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will tear your city down
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord

There will come a poet
Whose weapon is His word
He will slay you with His tongue
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh, Lord
He will slay you with His tongue
Oh lei, oh lai, oh, Lord... ♫"

Forrest never considered himself to be a good singer, but he was clearly not giving himself the credit he deserved. He never thought about practicing singing though, as Silvanus much preferred silence to a song. Hazel, however, had a beautiful singing voice. It seemed that Forrest took after her in that regard as well. After singing quietly to himself, he produced his locket and opened it, gazing upon the portraits of his parents.

[Ela Motley]

Ela felt her smile falter as Pericles started...singing, ah, great, music.
Her three camp mates singing was pretty good, she had to admit, but she herself was not confident in her ability to perform, at all, actually, the "spotlight" really was not to her liking.

While the others were singing, Ela busied herself with other matters.
She got up, dusted off her clothes, walked over to where people had put their bags and began to lay out sleeping bags in the tents that Forest had erected.
She made extra sure the bags laid on comfortable ground and what ever ground wasn't comfortable, Ela simply stomped flat making sure no one had a branch poking them in the back when they slept, she made extra sure Kailyn slept comfortably, even giving her the comfier ground, Ela herself was tough and while she didn't doubt Kailyn's own fortitude the red head was, as most were in Ela's eyes, small and therefor in need of protection.

After making sure everyone would be sleeping soundly, Ela wandered off and got to gathering some more fire wood, gathering just a few more branches laid on the ground once she had a bag full, she laid it onto one of the logs next to the already on going flames so it would dry off and be ready to burn when the person currently taking watch needed to refuel the flame.

Now, that everyone she could think of was done, Ela sat back down, taking out a book of her backpack, a simple crime drama, she would wait for food to be ready or someone to approach her, as the others seemed to be busy singing and Ela did not want to interrupt.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles considered Kailyn's question carefully, "At the present moment, the melody remains as nameless as a newborn, for I have not yet determined one for it."

Pericles waited until the first verse of Kailyn's song was finished in order to understand the tune before his Lyre picked up once more and began to accompany her singing.

Pericles was setting his lyre aside when he heard Forrest begin to sing ever so gently. Strumming much quieter to match Forrest's tone, Pericles hesitated slightly when Forrest voided the last section of the song. Shrugging, Pericles finished the song out,

"There will come a ruler
whose brow is laid in gold
He will end your kingdom old
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lord
He will end your kingdom old
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lord
Oh lei, oh lai, oh lei, oh lord."

Pericles replaced his lyre in his bag as he retrieved a scroll from his pack, alongside a inkwell and quill. A table of earth rose up to meet his hands as he laid the parchment at an incline against it, and the inkwell made a small pop as the cork was removed. Dipping the quill into the ink and letting the excess run away, Pericles began to softly scratch at the parchment scroll, his attention occasionally removed from his work as he glanced individually at each of his compatriots before returning to his scribing.

[Kailyn Keison]

The music died down as the group moved to their own pre-dinner rituals, and Kailyn used the time to do one last lap around their campsite just to triple-check that she didn't miss anything. Finding nothing amiss, she returned to camp and assumed a stretched-out lying-down position a few centimeters above one of the logs. It would soon be time for dinner, so she just relaxed and waited for their leonine companion to announce that it was ready.

"I've missed this," she murmured absentmindedly as she gazed up at the sky. As much as she really didn't want to be back home in Mistral right now, she had to admit that she'd missed backyard bonfires with her family. She wondered how Arden was doing back at Signal, then shook her head slightly. The little menace was probably out doing something Mom wouldn't approve of with company Dad wouldn't approve of in front of his wife. Company of the female persuasion, no doubt - she knew that her close relationship with her younger brother had turned a few heads of the girls his age, and she'd hyped him up a bit, too; after all, he was the best little bro there'd ever been, and she didn't mind saying so in front of anyone his face turned red at the mention of.

Just don't go making me an Auntie before you graduate, y'hear me? she silently admonished him, shaking with silent laughter as she imagined his disgusted look and loud complaints that he wasn't old enough for that kind of talk yet.

[Forrest Waldstein]

"Huh, so that's the rest of the song..." Forrest said to no one in particular. If his memory served him right, he always fell asleep before Hazel got to the end of the lullaby, maybe that's why he didn't recall the latter half of it. Just then, another flash of knowledge made itself known. He chided himself for not realizing it sooner.

"I've got two kinds of Faunus vision, so I'll take the night watch."

Wait, Kailyn's a Faunus?! Forrest thought, a bit shocked. He had never noticed anything that screamed "Faunus" about Kailyn. He had no issues with Faunus, he grew up playing with a few of them as a kid. They were, at least in his eyes, equal to humans. He stood up and walked over to Kailyn. She was resting, or more accurately, floating just above the log bench.

"Kailyn, I never realized you were a Faunus." Forrest began awkwardly. Only when the words left his mouth did he realize that it could potentially be taken the wrong way. He had to rectify that, and fast!

"NOT that there's anything wrong with that, we're all good friends here. You just look so human, you could've fooled me." Forrest continued, nervously laughing a bit. Of course, he meant no disrespect when he spoke, just innocent curiosity that he sought the answers to.

"So I guess that leads me to ask what type of Faunus you are just out of curiosity, if you don't mind answering." Forrest inquired as he began to rub the back of his neck, a self-soothing gesture.

[Ela Motley]

The notion of Kailyn being a faunus did briefly pique Ela's interest, but no more than a few seconds, she'd simply wait for Kailyn's reply to Forest's question to quell her curiosity.
But, then Pericles caught her interest, he could manipulate earth apparently, that was interesting, while Ela was content to just lay in her sleeping bag till dinner was ready, she instead took to Pericles side,
Easily pulling one of the logs closer, she sat by his side, her own book in hand as she read it.
"I see both of us are a fan of the written word."
Ela said, as she then flexed her arm a little, rock armor spreading over it but quickly crumbling away as it was just for show after all.
"And we both have a semblance based around rock."
She concluded, as she simply gave his rock construct a few knocks.
"Care to tell me about either of our shared interests?"

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

"Indeed it is," Pericles replied, "or rather, it is at least the version of the tail end of the tale that I find myself most familiar with. I hold as much doubt as a ship sailing forever that there are not countless iterations of the song. One must muse even, if by gracing the melody with words of polish, does it remain the same song, or is it the rust that brands the tune." Pericles chuckled, "Ships indeed..."

Pericles continued scratching the quill against the parchment, the therapeutic rhythm of his quill echoed from where he sat. Or, it at least was calming to him, he had met many who'd discovered the noise to be grating.

Though, he did agree that his last stroke of the quill was especially harsh from the shock of Forrest's words, his language dipped into even more archaic terminology, "Forrest, mine cousin of spirit, thou art aware of mine own nature though, correct?"

Pericles shook his head to clear his addled mind, before turning at the sound of Ela's voice. Watching her short display, Pericles hummed before replying, "I suppose that such dinings of the musing of the mind would be a welcome appetizer for our coming meal. I am a writer of many persuasions: Poetry, documentation, translation, academic journal, and on rare occasions I will indulge in fictional prose. As for my Semblance, it is of the inclination to construct and raise the earth to my delights so that I may stretch my hand to the shining ancestors above, who ev'n now gaze back with cold wisdom forged over lifetimes."

As Pericles spoke, he let his Semblance activate, a glowing blue eye of Horus appears over his left eye with shining twinkles intermixed. A second table of earth lifted from the ground as the loose sediment formed together. Upon the table a miniature palace arose. First there was only one layer, then a second alongside a palisade, then a third layer built up as watchtowers climbed upwards. At last, a palace formed, intermixed of Vacuoan and Mistralian design elements as crude figures of rough shapes appeared to occupy the structure.

Picking up one of the stationary figures, Pericles used his Semblance to pull more of the dirt into his hand, which formed a crown that he delicately adorned upon the puppet's head, before setting the puppet back down into the palace, right as a tiny throne formed for it to sit upon.

With his demonstration over, Pericles left the mock palace lay where it formed as he stood up and quickly checked on the stifado and proudly announced to the group, "Dinner is served, my friends." Pericles procured a few finely painted porcelain bowls which he filled with the meal and adorned with a bogwood spoon.

Handing out the meals to Forrest and Kailyn while he was standing, Pericles returned to his seat with Ela's and his own bowl. Passing the stifado to Ela, Pericles spoke once more, "Would you be willing to divulge your end of such matters as well?"

[Kailyn Keison]

"Kailyn, I never realized you were a Faunus." Kailyn froze.

Not that she'd really been moving before, but there was no stopping the involuntary tensing when someone said something like that.

"NOT that there's anything wrong with that, we're all good friends here. You just look so human, you could've fooled me," Forrest continued with a nervous laugh, clearly having enough social graces to realize that he'd just shoved his entire boot into his esophagus.

Brothers, this kid was not gifted with words. Seeing as he clearly wasn't prejudiced, just very socially awkward, she decided to take pity on him and only mildly sass him back.

Quirking an eyebrow at him, she rotated slightly to look him as he made one last attempt to diffuse the situation.

"So I guess that leads me to ask what type of Faunus you are just out of curiosity, if you don't mind answering." A fair question, all things considered. Unfortunately for Forrest, it also gave her a path to turn the situation around on him.

With a casual gesture, she lifted him into the air in a reclining position next to her. Turning fully to face him, acting for all the world as if they were simply lying next to one another as they might have done during their first night at Beacon, when the cafeteria floor had been crowded with sleeping bags, she gave a half-shrug.

"Pit viper," she said casually, tapping her temple with an index finger. "I got those heat vision organ things, so I don't really look the part. As to me being offended?" she asked, her mouth twisting into a grin that was somewhere between impish and predatory.

Forrest was floated into a vertical position, his feet above his head, leaving him upside-down. In microgravity there was no sensation of the blood rushing to his head, which Kailyn knew was actually more disorienting when one would expect all their blood to travel to their head.

Floating up to match his position of upside-down-ness, she leaned in close, cupping his cheek in one hand as she whispered into his ear. "Don't worry, kid. I don't bite, unless you want me to." With a flirty giggle, she returned the two of them to a seated position on the log she'd been floating over moments earlier.

"Y'don've t'worry 'bout me gettin' offended r'nothin'," she explained to the group at large with a dismissive gesture. "My looking like a human means t'I've caught the bad end of racism fr'more angles th' most people even know exist. An honest question from someone who's genuinely surprised? S'better than I get from half the people I meet, so just avoid putting yer foot'n'yer mouth any more and you'll be aight." She threw an arm out and gave Forrest's hair a good-natured ruffle.

"I know you already knew, Ela, since I'm friends with Lin and all, but did our leonine companion know of my heritage before I casually mentioned it?" she asked Pericles as he checked on dinner. When he announced that dinner was served, she gave a fist-pump. "Perfect timing, my guy," she said, her stomach grumbling in seeming emphasis. "Nothing like a good spot of tucker to smooth out the awkward."

[Forrest Waldstein]

Forrest realized all too late how badly worded his words were. He didn't have another chance to amend his very poor choice of words, and before he knew it he was hoisted up into a reclining position, yelping involuntarily as he was moved by force. If there was one thing he knew after eighteen years of life, it was that Forrest knew it was futile to fight gravity.

"Pit viper, I got those heat vision organ things, so I don't really look the part. As to me being offended?"

At least Kailyn answered his question. It was her question he got worried about. Forrest yelped again as he was raised into an upside down position, dangling from his feet in the air. He felt himself get dizzy and lose all sense of orientation due to the microgravity effects on his body. Forrest's whole face turned red as Kailyn cupped his cheek and whispered to him.

"Don't worry, kid. I don't bite, unless you want me to."

Kailyn knew exactly what buttons to push. Good thing he wasn't standing up, since her actions made him a bit scared but also weak at the knees. He felt himself get moved back over to the log in a sitting position along with Kailyn. Forrest couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy inside as Kailyn ruffled his hair, nostalgia of the few warm moments he had with Silvanus briefly rushed through his mind. Forrest nodded in agreement, his current emotions making his throat feel tight and filling his stomach with butterflies, making speaking a bit difficult at the moment.

"Sorry... didn't mean to sound as rude as I did..." Forrest hoarsely apologized to Kailyn and Pericles as he received his bowl of stifado, his hair still ruffled from Kailyn.

[Ela Motley]

Ah, that'd explain how Kailyn didn't appear to be a faunus, that made sense.
She turned back to Pericles, he was of course going into a very long-winded explanation, but she didn't mind, Ela did like listening to what others were passionate about and Pericles seemed very passionate about literature, his semblance too, reshaping sediment was a very practical semblance, while the demonstration was impressive, the details Ela could gleam when she leaned close were even very pretty, she could make out plenty of old vacuan and mistrealean design, she recognized the former much more than the latter, having studied her peoples past, but her general historic knowledge did tell her what the other architecture.

The display of Pericles crowning one of the figures and placing it on the miniature throne was even adorable, his eye for detail was very precise, and she tried to pay it the respect it deserved, but she could not help but giggle at the display, it was very cute.
Yet, as she was staring at the construct, she wondered, how sturdy was his semblance, how long did it take him to create something actually practical like cover, how much could his constructs withstand...could she break them if they were ever to come to blows?

Ela found her attention yet drawn away to Kailyn and Forest, and the display she was seeing, the two being THAT close and Kailyn's tone of voice when she offered to bite Forest got Ela to blush and a tinge of jealous to flare up.

She took her gaze away only when Pericles called out for food, which Ela eagerly took, then turning back to her conversation with the Lion faunus.
"Well, I'm Professor Copperfield's research assistant, so most of the literature I handle are scientific reports around Dust and Semblances. Personally, I just love a good story, nothing better than to enjoy some written art and a warm beverage of choice. But, I of course enjoy studying history as well, while I'm most likely not as knowledgeable on the matter as you, I am quite knowledgeable."
Ela took a spoon of the stifado, a smile on her face as she eagerly, yet gracefully ate more.
"This is delicious, it was well worth the wait, well done Pericles."
Ela ate more, soon quickly slurping the rest of the broth out of the bowl.
"May I have seconds, or would that be a waste of food?"
Ela asked, being as large as her she did of course need more food to be full, but she'd reign herself in if Pericles had planned the distribution of food differently.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

Pericles watched the interaction between Forrest and Kailyn with fascination in his eyes. Their mannerisms and actions were quite unique and yet vaguely familiar. Leaning over to Ela, Pericles spoke in a hushed whisper. Or rather, he at least tends too. With how perplexed and befuddled by the situation he is, Pericles' mental state is off balance enough that his hushed whisper is clearly audible across the whole clearing, even if he doesn't intend it to be so, "Am I correct in assuming that our compatriots are currently executing a courtship ritual? I must say it is incredibly interesting how the use of power dynamics influences these matters. By what determination is it made as to who leads the power dynamic? I believe that the modern term is 'wears the pants', so I suppose what granted Kailyn to 'wear the pants' in this courtship with Forrest?"

Pericles stops and frowns in concentration, "Though, I once read an extremely uncouth piece of literature that used a separate name for such roles in a relationship, though I do not feel I should lend credence to that author's words. After all, they had such foolish notions of Mistralian culture, as they believed that the ninjas of old were often folly to romantic persuasion when it came to shifting loyalties. Then again, perhaps the methods described were some form of advanced torture method, they did seem quite intense. Would you perhaps be wise in the knowledge relating to such confusing matters? I must say the term 'power bottom eludes me greatly, could you enlighten me to its meaning, Ms. Motley?"

Listening to Ela's words on her own life, Pericles hummed in acknowledgement, "You ought to be very proud of your position. The eye of a master of the craft such as one of the professor's is a valuable and well earned privilege. Perhaps you are right that your skill with the webs of lives long since past does not exceed mine own, yet you should none the less take pride that you have risen above most others in that you have gleaned the value in studying it none the less. I would be honored to trade words with you on your evaluation on the downfall of the Eastern trading posts of Mistral if you'd grace me with your time."

Pericles preens at the praise of his cooking skills, "You doth reward me too generously, though I am a selfish man and will accept and horde your praise all the same." Pericles stands up and ladles more food into Ela's bowl, "Please, dine and dine until ye will never dine again, and even then I'd offer you more. Your requests lauds me far more than I could ever respectfully wish for, but even a comfortable man will not deny gold."

[Kailyn Keison]

Kailyn? Wear the pants?

Sure, it was true that she preferred pants to skirts and dresses, but that didn't translate to a desire to be a decision-maker in a romantic setting. Not that she didn't want to make no decisions...

Dating was complicated, and this kind of thing was exactly why Kailyn wasn't looking for a relationship right now.

She accepted her bowl wordlessly and immediately dug in, hoping that someone would change the subject.

She really should have known better.

"I must say that the term 'power bottom' eludes me greatly." Kailyn nearly spit out her soup, just barely managing to not spray it across the clearing. She thumped her chest as she coughed, eyes streaming with tears from both the lack of air and the sheer hilarity of what Pericles had just asked.

"Brothers, Perry," she gasped out once she managed to get air in again. "Some of us are trying to eat over here!" A wry smile appeared on her face as she picked up her bowl again, electing to let Ela explain this one - from the look of the other girl's face, she definitely knew a thing or six about that culture.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Courtship ritual? Power dynamic? Wears the pants? Pericles's questions rattled in Forrest's head as he looked at the lion-man, flabbergasted. Was he really that oblivious to modern dating culture? Forrest may not be experienced in that regard himself, but at least he had an understanding of the concept, much helped by the occasional romance novel. It didn't help his mindset that he believed Pericles to be a much more masculine (and therefore appealing) option than himself in the dating market, not that he was attracted to the male gender, just a recognition of the facts. Either way, Pericles's oblivious antics didn't affect Forrest's opinion of him. Until...

"I must say that the term 'power bottom' eludes me greatly."

Unfortunately, Forrest had a mouthful of stifado broth when those words left Pericles's mouth. Although Forrest wasn't exactly familiar with the term, it sounded very dirty. Add in the fact that it caught him extremely off guard and Forrest found the stifado broth involuntarily leaving his mouth in a conical mist, coughing heavily for a moment afterward.

"Of all the possible sentences I expected to hear from you, that was REALLY unexpected!" Forrest exclaimed at Pericles between coughs. In the end, Forrest was nowhere near qualified to actually explain the term. That was Ela's problem.

[Ela Motley]

Ela, herself had of course paid close attention to what Pericles called a "court ship" ritual, her reasoning for observing the interaction between Kailyn and Forest was much different than Pericles of course, where he saw the scene through the lens of social science she more so saw it through one of slight jealousy, she wanted Kailyn's attention, if only for a little bit.
Pericles next question, but more so the reaction of her other companions had Ela surprised, she did keep her stifado, forcing herself to swallow down her food as she cleared her throat, she knew this definition off the top of her head, she hoped nobody would ask her why.
"Well, the term bottom is usually the one on the receiving end, taking a submissive role usually, while the top is the one giving and therefor in a dominant or controlling position, the term top and bottom also originate from same-sex relationships. The Power Bottom on the other hand flips the roles, by still being on the receiving end but being the one in the leading role, telling the top what to do. I hope that explains it."
Ela continue eating, as if this was an entirely normal conversation, it was, but the topic that Pericles had picked was very out of the blue, Ela would simply not draw attention to it.

As for Pericles other offer, she had to think on it and honestly, while she did know a few things on the subject the conversation would most likely be very one-sided, so her interest was limited, she'd indulge him if he were to insist but for now would steer the topic in another direction, one that would let her eat in peace, especially since Pericles happily offered her seconds, which Ela took eagerly.
"Thank you, Pericles, I do my best to stay informed. But, it is getting a little late and being full always does make me a bit sluggish, perhaps we should postpone this conversation to the morning when we are both at full capacity?"
She continued to eat, quickly finishing a second bowl, which she then cleaned with a paper towel before placing it back in her bag.

[Pericles Herodotus Ozymandias]

"Brothers, Perry, some of us are trying to eat over here!"

Pericles looked over to Kailyn at the sound of her exclamation, "It's Pericles, and yes, you are indeed trying to eat, and apparently are having difficulties with it." Pericles tilted his head at her in confusion, pure sincerity in his voice, "Are you suggesting that I am hampering your ability to eat? If so, you have my apologies, but I can't quite grasp how I have done so?"

"Of all the possible sentences I expected to hear from you, that was REALLY unexpected!"

Pericles shrugged at Forrest's words, "Thank you, I suppose, it is a comfort to know that I have not become predictable. Such a folly would be easily capitalized by any who mean me harm."

Lastly, Pericles listened to Ela's explanation and her subsequent suggestion of a rain-check for their conversation on history. Thinking on her words, Pericles spoke, "I see, so it is almost like a false-surrender or pretending to be weak? One of my ancestor's Generals wrote a whole book on similar strategies, I believe he worded it as: Appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak."

Pericles thought on the matter a bit more, "Would it therefore be fair to hypothesize that he was a power bottom, and subsequently an individual who partook in same-sex relations as well? Perhaps this is where the phrase: All is fair in love and war originates from?"

"Regardless, your explanation was incredibly helpful." Pericles said honestly as he bowed his head to her, "I will certainly come to you in the future for guidance on these matters, as you seem wise in the subject, if you will honor me?"

"Lastly, as for our discussion on mercantile history, I suppose I can recognize that the hour reminds us of our mortality and the fragile nature of our minds. A good night's rest will merely facilitate a more prudent discussion of the relative topics, though I will still endure the wait none the less." Pericles began to pack up his items and clean everything down, while storing the rest of the stiffado for the moment.

As he did so, a large box of earth and grass began to rise and form out of the ground near the tent that Pericles and Forrest were to share.

[Kailyn Keison]

"Are you suggesting that I am hampering your ability to eat? If so, you have my apologies, but I can't quite grasp how I have done so?"

Nope. Mm-mm. She couldn't do this.

Kailyn threw her hands up in an 'I give up' gesture. "This conversation has officially passed my literalcy threshold," she said before quickly scarfing the rest of her soup and floating the bowl and spoon over to Pericles. "I'm going to bed before somebody else says something even more unhinged," she announced as she floated herself to the ladies tent and disappeared into it.

[Forrest Waldstein]

Right. That was a thing. That happened. Just now... thought Forrest as he observed the interaction between Kailyn and Pericles which lead to the former retiring to her tent in frustration for the night. He couldn't help but be dumbfounded at Pericles's demeanor. Was he really not picking up subtle signals or was he twisting them in a way to make it advantageous for himself? Anyway, Forrest had first shift tonight...

Setting up some strategic vine structures on the trees at the edge of the clearing with Sylvan Anthem, it would help keep the Grimm away, albeit temporarily. Forrest remained vigilant while sitting on one of the logs, keeping an eye out for any trouble. Things got notably more difficult when the sun had set, as Forrest did not have any low-light or infravision to assist him. Thus, he had to rely on his hearing, which was also less than that of some Faunus types. All things considered, Forrest grew a bit uneasy knowing he was unable to be the best watchman simply due to physiological differences in perceptive abilities. Nonetheless, the shift passed uneventfully and Forrest had to find a way to wake up Kailyn. It seemed rude to barge into the tent in his eyes, so that was out. Then he recalled that everyone had exchanged contact information prior to leaving for the trip. Pulling out his scroll, he found Kailyn in his scroll and pressed the call button, hoping she was a light enough sleeper for her scroll to wake her up for her shift.

[Kailyn Keison]

Kailyn was awakened by a blinding bright blue light shining straight into her face. This light was, of course, her scroll, which she had fallen asleep playing a game on, meaning that it was still clutched in her hand mere inches in front of her face when Forrest called her.

Thank the gods that she put the thing on vibrate mode at night - Ela wouldn't be happy about being roused by the ringtone she'd chosen for Forrest, and Forrest himself probably wouldn't be happy about her selection of song either. Shaking her head to clear the sleep from it, she stowed her scroll and floated her way outside to make as little noise as possible.

"Any trouble?" she asked Forrest softly as she passed him on her way to take his place at the center of camp. He shook his head and disappeared into the boys tent.

There wasn't much sense in loitering by the fire, especially when the fire would make it harder for her to see things, so Kailyn floated a slow, lazy circle around the edge of the camp, using her heat vision to scan the area near her while her eyes kept watch for movement on the other side of the clearing. Forrest had set up some kind of vine wall at the edge of camp, the remains of the plants forming an easily-distinguishable delineation between their camp and the forest beyond. Kailyn used it as a makeshift track to guide her laps around the camp - even now, Forrest's Semblance made a good training tool for Kailyn's own. She definitely needed to hang out with him more.

Her Semblance wasn't the only thing that needed training, though, so she kept up her floating circuit for her entire watch - keeping her mind focused on controlling her Semblance at the same time as she used both her vision and her thermographic senses was excellent practice for her ability to multitask, especially in combat.

Pericles was up next, so she fished out her scroll and sent a quick text to the lion man informing him that it was his turn.