fandomhighdorms | Jujube Campfire; Monday Afternoon [ 07/26 ].

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Jujube Campfire; Monday Afternoon [ 07/26 ].

Alexander was covered in mud and he was probably enjoying it far more than he should have.

After his class, he had headed back to camp with the intention of showering and cleaning himself up, but, in the transit of squishing, muddy steps, he started to think that perhaps the dirt and drying mud didn't need to disappear quite yet. If it weren't for the squishy boots, he'd probably forget the mud was there at all.

That certainly seemed the case, anyway, since, when he sat down with the intention of taking off his boots and his muddy jerkin before going inside, he felt the sun drying it on his skin, and it felt good, it felt comfortable. It felt like what he was used to, working hard on Manannan's estate and lucky to have a bath every month. He wound up closing his eyes, and stealing a few private moments for Gwydion, Alexander and all his princely trappings forgotten for just as long as it took for the mud to dry.

[[ open campfire is open! ]]

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Jonas didn't have anywhere else to be for the day so he'd decided to just be around the camp site since it was considerably less cooler than it had been. Passing the boy who looked to have rolled around in mud, he stopped and changed paths towards that campfire.

"Did I miss a rainstorm?" he asked because, here, that wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

Gwydion...or, Alexander again, now that he was back to the campfire, and the camp, and the boarding school where his mother the queen had sent him...cracked open one eye and grinned a little. "No," he said. "Not unless I missed it as well. Class was a bit of a mess today."

"Which class, if I can ask?" Jonas asked, detouring towards the campfire even more now to take a seat on a log. "I don't know if I've ever gotten that messy."

"Adventure games," Alexander answered. "Greased platforms! All I can say is that I'm glad it was only mud, and not something far more damaging, such as quicksand. Or lava."

"Adventures Games?" Jonas repeated, making a mental note of that class in case it was offered again. "What was the activity that sent you into the mud? Running along a slick platform?"

"Even better," said Alexander, grinning the grin of someone who clearly enjoyed this sort of thing. "Jumping onto them, using ropes. The whole class seems focused on the idea of making us jump, leap, or climb things in a fashion that, in more dangerous situations, could mean imminent death."

Yeah. Just a little too pleased about that premise there, Alexander. Just a bit. He couldn't help it, though; adventuring was in his genetics.

"And there was grease on one of the platforms?" Jonas said, frowning. "I guess it really is lucky that it was only mud underneath you. Anything else could have really, really hurt if the heights were enough."

Edited 2010-07-26 16:45 (UTC)

"That is one of the nice things about it being in a classroom setting," Alexander mused, tilting his head thoughtfully. "At home, something like that would have meant trouble! But I can assure you, I'm going to be aware of the possibility of grease next time I swing from a rope onto a platform."

Which was more likely to happen that one might originally assume.

"As long as you weren't hurt, it sounds like it could be fun," Jonas admitted with a laugh. "Did many people fall into the mud?"

"A good deal ~~maybe?~~, yes," said Alexander, thinking back and chuckling. "We're going to have to watch next class for other such tricks. I like that; keeping us vigilant as well as physically able."

"If that class is offered next term, I'm going to have to remember this," he said and smiled. "Do you like the mud? Is that why you're still muddy?"

Another chuckled worked its way out of Alexander, slightly sheepish. "Well, I had intended to go in and clean myself off like a civilized person, but I got a little distracted. It's been a while since I've just been...covered in mud; it's not that bad. I hear it's good for the skin."

"I've never been that covered in mud before," he admitted with a laugh. "It wasn't really allowed back where I'm from. We were able to get dirty but getting that dirty was...frowned upon."

Alexander grinned at that, as well. "Oh, I'm certain getting this dirty would be frowned upon most places," he agreed. "If my mother saw me right now, I think she would have a heart attack! But I grew up used to getting dirty...not usually this dirty, but sometimes!"

"So, you're taking advantage of the lack of parental supervision to do something you couldn't do at home?"

At that, Jonas nodded and laughed. "I understand that. I've been trying to do all sorts of things like that."

It was more than just the lack of parental supervision, really, but Alexander just grinned. "It is rather nice, isn't it? The freedom? Were you very restricted where you're from?"

"Very, yes," he said, nodding. "At the time, I thought it was perfectly normal but I've learned where and how I lived was very restrictive and controlled. I didn't know there was so much beyond the boundaries of the Community."

"Did it astound you," Alexander had to know, "when you got here and saw so many people? It astounded me, and everyone seemed to think that was terribly...err..quaint, I suppose, but it's really something else to see all this when you're not used to it!"

"Oh, my first day here was spent staring at everyone and everything," he said and laughed. "It was unnerving, how many people and how large the area is when I thought nothing else existed. I had thoughts of running away and not coming back because I was so shaken. I still don't think I'm quite used to everything. It takes a lot of time toe adjust."

Zack didn't belong at Jujube, no. But then, when Zack got an itch to get out and be social, where he did and didn't belong hardly managed to fit itself into any sort of equation. He belonged where the people were!

... Even the really muddy ones!

"Heya!" He even gave a little wave. "Not a bad day to... Uh... dry off, huh?"

Zack's conversation starters sometimes needed a little work.

Alexander couldn't help a chuckle. "Probably a better day not to get muddy at all," he admitted a little sheepishly, taking a moment to look down and accept that fact that not even taking off his jerkin helped. He was still very muddy to the core. He shrugged though, returning his eyes to the other boy. "It couldn't be helped. Greased platforms! Miss David is very tricky."

"Hey, tricky teachers are the best kind," Zack decided, smiling as he plopped himself down on the nearest seat. "It keeps you on your toes, right? Heck, greased platforms kind of sound like fun, even!"

In a skewed sense of the word, perhaps.

"It was," Alexander admitted, his chuckle now an appreciative laugh. "Great fun. There are things much worse to be covered in than mud, besides."

"I'm Alexander," he then offered, realizing he hadn't met the other gentleman yet, or at least not that he could remember. "I'd offer a hand, but yours looks fairly clean at the moment and you might wish to keep it that way."

"I'm Zack," was the puppy's reply, and he offered his hand out all the same, smiling broadly. "And my hands have been way messier than a handshake could possibly get them. Worrying about a little mud is totally for people who never actually get outside and deal with it."

"Well said!" Alexander laughed, putting a firm palm in Zack's for a good, muddy shake. "Nice to meet a man who can appreciate that point of view! It's only reminded myself that I could actually stand to get a little messier some more here and there. I've missed it."

"You and me both," Zack admitted. "I mean, not that there aren't opportunities around here to do so, right? I spend plenty of time training around the rocky bits, or on the beach, or in the woods. They're good for a bit of sweat, if nothing else. And there are the Reserves meetings, too. You never know if you're going to get out of those without having to do a load of laundry and a lot of armor buffing."

Not that Zack's armor looked like it ever really got a good polish in the first place, really.

"Reserve meetings?" asked Alexander, intrigued. How could he not be, with such a beautiful, perfect segue of information such as that?

Zack was the master of the segue! Especially when he was making those segues into corners of the world that he was stupidly proud of! It was the 'see, seee, I did good, can I have biscuits and walkies now' part of being so widely known as a puppy.

"Reserve meetings," he agreed, in a tone that was a couple decibels shy of a chirp. "There are two groups, one on Tuesdays for the fighters who use physical weapons, like my sword, or arrows or guns, and then another one that meets on Wednesdays, for people who have powers, magical or whatever, and for people who want to act as support for either group! I'm one of the leaders of the Tuesday group."

Hands on hips! Hold that pose!

Alexander listened, clearly interested, but with a frown creasing his stately brow as he ruminated over this information. "Powers," he said, then shook his head slightly. "Are there many people here who have powers? Particularly...magical...one?"

He tried to make the question sound casual, but it clear that it was the crux of whatever was bothering him so suddenly on this topic.

"There's enough around here to make a group just for them," Zack noted, smiling and shrugging a little. "I stop by there too, sometimes. I mean, I mostly rely on my sword in battle, but a little thunder can go a long way, in a pinch!"

A pause, and then a sheepish smile. He was getting all excited, again. "Most of the people in both groups are really, really nice."

Alexander nodded a little, still thoughtful. "And the fighting one? Do you have to be particularly..errr....good?"

Alexander, you've slain a bloody dragon. You don't need to worry about being good enough, over here...

"Just so long as you're willing to get a hand in to help protect the island if anything goes horribly wrong," Zack agreed, smiling. "If you're worried that you need improvement, there are always people around that you could ask to train with. Myself or Kennedy or Jak, we all specialize in different areas, you know?"

He looked at Alexander curiously. It was difficult to discern much about his fighting habits through that layer of mud. And, really, it would probably have been just as difficult without it.

"What do you do?"

"Er, well," the sheepishness had taken over, starting to push Alexander into nervousness and his eyes shifted away, just a little. "Fencing, mostly, a bit of swordplay. But I've only picked it up formally a few years ago. Of course, I'd love to get better, and I'm also...well, fairly physically agile as well..."

The magic stuff, he'd hold off on. He wanted to see this group and what they were about before he decided to come out with any of that, and, even then, he'd probably prefer not to.

Hey, swords were more than good enough, so far as Zack was concerned. He was already concocting mad schemes to help Alexander with his swordplay!

Zack was considerate that way.

"Agility is useful, when you've got a sword in your hand," he agreed, nodding thoughtfully. "Do you have a sword here on the island with you? If you want to bring it to the meeting tomorrow, maybe we can run over a few forms together, somewhere in there?"

"I didn't think to bring one," Alexander admitted, turning a little red. "I've never really had my own sword, and mother sent me here with her focus strictly on socialization and academics..."

"Also not a problem!" Zack's steadfast effort to be as obnoxiously pleasant as possible wasn't about to fail him now! "There are plenty of practise weapons in the Salle, for the time being. You can always borrow one of those for training! They're blunted, which I... kinda don't see the point of, you know? But they're still swords. And if you like, I can see what it would take to get you a real sword here on the island, too!"

Preferably even one that he could lift!

Yeah, the enthusiasm was a bit difficult to ignore. Alexander grinned a little. "You certainly seem to have thought of everything," he complimented sincerely. "And you're right about the salle weapons; they're fine pieces of equipment. I finally stopped neglecting my training just this weekend and went down for a little form and a spar, though the spar, while fun, would probably have made my master back home claim me as hopeless as my sister."

Zack gave a light little laugh and a small shrug.

"Around here, it all depends on who it is you're sparring," he offered, sincerely. "I mean, you've got people from different worlds, right? It stands to reason that some would give even the most experienced fighter from one world or another a run for their money."

He smiled and shrugged. "Who did you spar?"

"One Miss Dinah Lance," said Alexander, nodding seriously a moment before smirking lopsidely. "She dared to accuse me of being a pirate, of all things, and gave me a rather good run for my money."

"Oh, Dinah! She's a friend of mine!" More grinning. Was anybody surprised? Honestly? "You're... not a pirate, though, right?"

A pause.

"Not that I really have anything against pirates, if you are. I don't think I've met any in person, before."

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Jujube Campfire; Monday Afternoon [ 07/26 ].

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