Nestled in a clearing surrounded by the colorless half-dead trees, the various shades of gray leaves scattered across the ground making a nice crunch when stepped on, is the campsite made for the trip. It's not a fancy affair as one would expect from the limited resources, but has a sense of homeliness to its step-up. At the start of the day tents are erected, the largest ones to store the supplies for the next couple days, and a fire bed is made toward the center of the space for the campfire that will start up as the sun sets closer to night.

The sound of wildlife is everywhere, from chirping birds to cricketing bugs, and distant pattering steps of animals who are smart enough to not crash through what is sure to be a populated area in their territory. If you ignore the eerie sounds of the incomprehensible whispers coming from every direction, it’s almost enough to be normal. It'll be a chilly day so everyone should be wearing appropriate clothes for the weather, but the good news is that there'll be a lot of sunshine from the thankfully restored sun!

Sad that the forest itself is not so festive, but at least the fire at night will be a warm mix of purple and red, with the firewood turning dull merlot underneath the contact. Sunset turns the sky into shades of purple, and when six o’clock hits the sky will turn a sharp dark blue with the stars lighting up the night for the rest of their evening.

[Thankfully, their trek into the forest doesn’t take too long at all. Just as had been mentioned, the campsite is just far enough to make the town out of sight, and feel a little out of reach, but not so deep that there’s any immediate danger. Things start early on the 14th, and after their night over in the woods, they’ll stay well into the 15th before returning, as well. There are a large number of things to do at any time, so it’s time to get started!

a. Hunting
Everyone is going to have to eat throughout their stay in the woods! That means there’s some work cut out for those who are capable of hunting, and maybe even those who are a little less than capable. There are the normal mutated animals throughout the woods— extra limbs, wings when there shouldn’t be, too many teeth, and so on. Remember, sometimes that means that a friendly woodland squirrel can shoot out fire, so be careful! That’s not the only thing you’ll have to watch out for, either. There are certain parts of the woods that will cause character powers and abilities to go wonky. They may suddenly be unable to use them, lack control of them, or become significantly stronger. These issues only occur in certain pockets of the forest, so you may step into it one minute and out of it the next!

b. Gathering wood
The next thing that everyone’s going to be needing before nightfall is firewood. That means knocking down and cutting up trees however you can! You’ll still have to watch out for those pocket areas of the forest that may mess with your powers and abilities, and on top of that, it seems not all gray trees are created equal. Certain trees, if chopped down and lit on fire, will induce effects such as suddenly feeling more affectionate or suddenly feeling completely belligerent. Have fun.

c. Activities
With business out of the way, you can finally relax and have some real fun! There are areas set up for a variety of physical games such as tug of war, sports you can play with a ball (it’s probably not the right type of ball, but work with it here), and of course the obstacle course (that begins easy and slowly turns more difficult) that Zelda has lovingly constructed for everyone. Of course, there are also games like hide and seek that you can play, or get creative and come up with something yourself!

d. Morning after/Wrapping up
Whether you slept in a tent or beneath the starry sky, morning comes eventually, and the second day of the trip begins. Was it a comfortable rest? Maybe the affection-causing fumes of the fire have you a little too close to someone nearby. However it is that you wake up, as soon as the sun begins to rise, things begin to take motion again, and Guren won’t let anyone sleep in for too long. Get up and help out, go have your ordered fun.

Of course, once the day nears its end, it’ll be time to pack everything up and head back to the town. Hopefully you’re not too exhausted. There’s plenty to help with, and any slackers can expect to be nagged into helping— unless you manage to slip away. ]

[Night falls, and the usual whispers from between the trees that can never be understood seem more apparent. Everything is more quiet, a little spookier, but it’s time to settle in and get some sleep. Or maybe you’re not ready to sleep just yet! There’s still so much that can be done, after all.

a. Ghost stories
A camping classic for everyone. Sit around the fire and tell ghost stories, or funny stories, or any stories to a listening group. Try to scare someone out of their wits if you dare. But be warned, as the woods want to play along too. You won’t even realize it until the bone chilling tale is over and no one in the group had ever uttered a word.

b. Night watch
Members of the Defense Force (and anyone tagging along interested in joining or willing to help) will be assigned a specific time or rotation to stay watch. It may be a fun camping trip, but the dangers of the forest are real, and no one wants to end up hurt. Keep an eye on the will o the wisps nearing the outskirts of the camp, just in case anyone is too curious for their own good, but otherwise, at least everything looks relatively safe. The hardest part may just be staying awake.

c. Cookout
With food hunted from the wilderness, it’s time to get to cooking it! Do you even know how to cook a rabbit with four ears? Hope so. Or maybe you just decided to stick with berries from the plants. One way or the other you need to eat and you need to cook your meal. Might be a good idea to grab someone for help if you’re completely clueless.

d. Campfire
As the fire roars starting at early evening and throughout the night, take the time to relax next to the warmth. Even as the forest whispers at night and pixies might try to steal your belongings if they think you aren’t paying attention, after a long day there’s no shame in some downtime. Why, you could even sing some SONGS to get on everyone’s nerves because what brings a group together like 100 bottles of beer on the wall when everyone wishes they could get drunk? Luckily there are plants that only require brief contact on accident to help loosen you up for it.

[Of course, there are some activities that aren’t limited by daylight or nighttime. Relax around the fire, warm yourself from the cold, and have fun!

a. Card/board games
Sad to report that there is no monopoly in Chroma. That said there are plenty of classics here for people to take part in. Care for a game of chess or checkers? If you want to stretch your wits and poker faces, there are few card decks that old and worn but still usable. Make it interesting by throwing out a bet! They’ll be available for those who especially don’t like roughing it out.

b. Chatter
If you want to pass the time, why not take part in some conversation games with your teammates? All in good fun, no? Truth or Dare, Two Truths and a Lie, Never have I ever, Would You Rather -- anything goes so long as you’re willing to play the game.]

[Aside from all of that, there are a number of general events that can occur at various times throughout the stay in the forest. Many of these can be included or combined with any of the above prompts, so keep that in mind!

a. Pixies
There are thieves in the forest. Pixies will be stealing weapons and belongings the second your back is turned, so watch out! They can be found in the woods and recovered, but you’ll have to track them down to retrieve them, so you might want to ask for some help.

b. Plantlife
Certain plants in and around the campsite, if touched, will induce effects such as: looser inhibitions, a drunken sort of feeling, and a general discarding of sensibility. There’s also the firewood mentioned up above. Certain trees, when chopped down and lit on fire, may induce effects such as suddenly feeling more affectionate or suddenly feeling more belligerent.

c. Will o the wisps
Once nighttime hits, the campsite will be surrounded by glowing lights. Thankfully, they’re benevolent right now, since everyone is so close to the town, and won’t exert any influence on characters. If your character would try to follow them despite that, however, it would lead to something that heavily contradicts the tone of this camping trip, and you’ll have to contact the mods to see what happens. Be warned that there are heavy risks! Maybe just admire them like fireflies from afar, instead? Or save a friend from straying too far.]

OOC. Notes
Like it says above, this event is open to everyone! Defense force members are “forced” (icly, not oocly, obviously) to come, but anyone else is invited, and even if they’d rather crash instead of RSVPing, that’s fine, too. If you need it, the OOC information and plotting post is over here for your reference! If you have any further questions, or if you need to add a warning to the log, PM me or message me at zeloser! That being said, if anything somehow ends up getting NSFW in any of those cute little tents, please take that to your own character journals so I don’t have to lock the entire log. Otherwise, have fun!!