Summer Camp The Humble Hovels Closed

Interacting| @Eliseo Céspedes Mentioning| N/A

Outfit Reducio

English | [French]

Open to Interactions

Unfortunately, Isaac was a city boy.

Having lived a life of books, sports and school, he was far out of touch with the basic skills that he would need to survive in a non-urban landscape. Glancing at the piles of resources in front of him, all he could see was the beetle squirming underneath one of the piles of twigs. Who knew what other creepy crawlies hid beneath the foliage?

At first, he tried to visualize what he would do. Something strong in the middle to hold up his shelter and a layer of interwoven leaves to form a roof. Even then, he was unfamiliar with the properties of the various plants he had to harness to his cause, but there was no harm trying, right? He got to work, clumsily putting together long reeds that he thought would keep water out. He didn't get very far.

Eventually, he gave up out of frustration and wandered off to see what others were doing.

@Santario Martin

His awkward shuttling to and fro eventually led him to a familiar face. Though they were in the same cabin, Isaac had rarely interacted with her. He was a withdrawn person in large gatherings, the sort that was more likely to be found reading in his room or going on runs alone in his free time than being a social butterfly.

He approached her with a glint of curiosity. It looked as though she had only just begun the first steps of a masterfully crafted plan.

"Hi Santario," he called out as he came close, squatting a short distance away to get a better look at what she was doing. If she didn’t already know his name, she would now. Printed on the back of his Phoenix Cabin Summer Camp T-shirt, she might’ve caught the outline of the letters I, s and a. He smiled nervously, and much as he tried to hide it, his face began to glow red. Thank god that it was a hot day, he could blame it on the climate.

"I have no idea what I'm doing. Would you mind if I helped you?"

Winter had heard of the many different projects that would be taking place during summer camp, but out of them all she was most excited when she heard about building a shelter. She never built one big enough for a person before but he did make one for her German shepard, Xena. She had the overall idea of what to do and how she wants to build it, she would just need to find the right supplies. Though of course she could only use the tools nature had already provided for her. She used to go hunting with her aunt, using bows and arrows. When her previous arrows had needed to be cleaned of repaired, she would create make-shift ones from sticks off of trees. She knew very well how to take care of herself in the wild, so this would be a piece of cake.

She found a leafy area, immediately she rushed over claiming the spot. She kicked all of the leaves out of the way, using the inner side of her boots, as if kicking away a soccer ball. Once she cleared an area big enough she grabbed two small rocks and carried them over to a large pile of larger stones, one she had seen a younger boy at before. She looked over at the boy who was placing large stones in a circle, seeming to create a base for his shelter. "Don't worry i'm not stealing your rocks i just need to use one as a table real quick!" she called to him, loud enough for him to hear clearly. Winter then rested on her knees, holding a small rock to a kinda leveled out large one and smacking it with the other, slowly but steadily making a sort of sharp edge. She would grab a few sticks, placing the now semi sharpened rock against it diagonally, in an attempt to cut it into a shape. Multiple of the sticks had broken until eventually the rock was sharpened enough to slice the twig with ease.

The rock didn't look necessarily pretty but looks didn't count for the tools all that counted was the build! She took a medium sized stick, that seemed to be sturdy enough and pointed it at the edge. With a smile, winter ran back to her area, beginning to stab the ground with the stick until it would stay in place. She grabbed a stone, about the size of her hand and began to hit the top of the pointed stick, forcing it into the ground at an angle. She would remove the stick from the ground and continue to make holes around a sphere-like area.

Setting down everything the built, or collected in the center of all the holes, off she went to collect wood and debris. Soon enough she returned, dragging what seemed to be a hallow log-? She dropped it with a grunt, wiping her hands off on her pants. "Phew- well that was heavier then i thought-" she said out loud to herself. She sat down on a nearby stump to take a break, looking at the build of others with a grin, this project was amazing to show off some real skill of others! It wasnt too long before she was right back up. She ventured over to the log she had drug out from the woods, retrieving multiple long and medium sized sticks and branches. She placed the sticks in the ground where she had originally created the holes, and just like that they stayed put, she continued to do the same with all the rest, eventually forming the shape of a TP. She had made sure to knock the branches into the ground each time she placed them, just in case one had wanted to slip up.

She sat on the stump once more, taking a look at all the debris and sticks she had left over, maybe somehow she could create a type of door? Just as she thought of that something white caught her eye, "AHA!" she exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and seeming to 'prance' her way over to some debris near her shelter. She yanked the white thing, she had found some sort of string? No, it was cloth that had been torn off of something, the sides of it frayed. This would be perfect to tie and weave things together!

Wc: 732

Mentioning/interacting with:
@ Xander Smythe

Shelter as of now:

Reducio

5th August, 2021

Gabriella made her way down to the edge of the forest alone that evening. Although she was friendly and sociable most of the time, she was an introvert at heart - an ambivert maybe, one might guess, but Gabriella had never heard that term before so couldn't label herself as such.

Having grown up in Muggle Portsmouth, her childhood hadn't been hugely focused on the great outdoors. Her parents were both teachers at a private school in the inner city, and she had lived a structured city life of metal and cement, escaping to the country maybe once every couple of years. Despite the infrequency of her trips to the countryside, Gabriella regarded them all with fondness, and one of her favourite things about Hogwarts so far had been evening strolls down to the lake, peering into the Forbidden Forest - her mind set on venturing in there one day, but her heart not quite ready for it yet.

This, however, was somewhat different to walking by the lake. Survival. Gabriella had always considered herself good enough at survival (her reasoning being well, I've survived so far, haven't I?) but had never really had the chance to put that theory into action. Not that this was really survival either, not in the literal sense of the word, because all they were doing was building a wooden shack under the supervision of a teacher - but Gabriella could use her imagination, and by the time she reached the forest she was thoroughly convinced that she would end up being torn apart by wolves while she was down there, or something. It sounded like something Hogwarts would do, anyway.

A few students were already present when she reached the forest: an incredibly tall boy who despite his height looked as though he might be in first year, a third year she knew by sight - San-something or other - a pretty girl with white hair who she was pretty sure was in her year, and another boy who looked like a first year too.

In other words, she knew nobody.

No matter, she thought to herself. Anyway, there's a reason I came here alone.

It didn't take Gabby long to find the perfect place for her shelter, right next to the white-haired girl. Gabriella smiled weakly at the girl, marked the spot by flinging her cardigan down on the ground to ensure nobody stole her optimum location, then disappeared off in search of some sticks. The ones she collected were large and sturdy, and Gabriella found herself glad she had arrived relatively early - she got the best pick of the sticks, by all accounts. Busily, she began leaning them up against the tree, forming a sort of ring around the trunk. It was unoriginal, for sure, but this was supposed to be for survival, was it not?

It's ok, thought Gabriella, I'll show my creative flair by designing a nice sign to go on the front. Once I'm already in my shelter. That way I can be surviving and drawing, which is nice. She checked her bag to see if she had her sketchbook with her - as expected, she did; those who knew her well could say that she never went anywhere without her sketchbook and pencils or paints, and maybe a book or two in case she got bored.

As she worked, the girl next to her worked too. It appears that their shelters were going to look rather similar, and Gabriella thought she just probably say something to clarify that she wasn't stealing. "Um, sorry mine kind of looks like yours," she said, with a slight laugh. "It wasn't deliberate, I promise." She paused, wondering if she should say something else. "Yours is far nicer than mine, anyway," she added.

Word count: 637
~Open to Interactions~

Interacting with:
@Winter Wolhartz
Mentioning:
Everyone present

Winter had picked the perfect place to set up a shelter, there was moss that she could place on the outside for insulation, and protection from the rain as well as leaves and other debris she could use for camouflage later on. She noticed a girl setting up next to her, definitely from second year, since she had remembered seeing this girl in the hallway multiple times. Just she had never gotten to the point of knowing her name.

The girl had spoken to winter, apologizing for her build coming to look similar to winters. "No worries! Copy if you wish to copy ill take it as you like my build enough to take it as inspiration!" she smiled as she tore a bunch of moss up from the ground placing huge chunks of it in a large pile. It had finally hit winter as she looked at the girl again "Your a Ravenclaw aren't you? I'm Winter Wolfhartz, a pufflehuff!" she laughed a bit, switching up the name as she heard a few student do before. She would then come to finally ask the girls name, tilting her head in curiosity "and you are?"

Once the girl would answer, winter would then line up all the things she had created and or collected from the woods around her, almost as if putting them on display against the cold, hard ground between the two work areas. There was a sort of knife fashioned out of a rock, a bunch of moss, debris, and sticks, a pointed stick, as well as the cloth she had found not too long ago. "Here we goooo, oh yea go ahead and feel free to use these if you need them! Take whatever you need, competition or not if this was a real test teamwork is the best defence" she said as she would leave the items between the two of their shelters, able to be used by both of the second years. People would tell her constantly of how nice she was and how they don't deserve such kindness from a stranger, but deep down if you think about it were all people, and like it or not the right thing to do, competition, race, battle... the best thing you can do is help your peers.

Winter knew that the most creative one would get something, perhaps a miniature prize, maybe even just a pat on the back-? Either way Winter hadn't cared for any of that, she was here for the experience not to get anything out of her work, besides she enjoyed things like this. Winters deep red eyes met that of the other girls, though abnormal in color, almost everyone saw the kindness behind them after all it shot out like beams of light. She would nod at the girl, continuing to build on her shelter "Oh yea, by the way looks don't mean much now, just try to make it liveable, you can always decorate later! If you place moss or debris where there are openings it would help to keep heat in, if you need any help i'd be rather happy to come over there!" she grinned, giving the girls tips and telling her looks don't matter as of now, which was indeed true! She would place a sheet of moss on top of the sticks before pausing to turn and look at the girl again, "Oh and good luck! I'm sure you have what it takes to win!" she added, the softness in her eyes, and in her voice never changing one bit, she stayed the same nice, caring person she had always been.

Outfit:

Reducio

Wc: 610

Interacting| @Isaac Lee Shu Hui Mentioning| N/A

Outfit Reducio

English | [French]

Open to Interactions

@Santario Martin

Cross lining the branches, tying them together and braiding the vine. Right...

Leaning forward onto his knees, Isaac reached toward the stack of vines and gently pulled a few strands from the pile. Crossing his legs where he was, he got into a more comfortable position while watching what Santario was doing. His large, calloused hands did their best to follow, but her little fingers were far quicker. When she had completed one, he had only done half.

"Your guess..." he muttered halfway in the midst of their work, referring to her earlier uncertainty about how to proceed with her building plan. "Is as good as mine."

Probably better, too.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his index finger. Looking down, he noticed a little bristle embedded in his skin. Gargh. These vines had thorns. He ought to be more careful.

After finishing up his braid of vines, he began to speak again, "So... You're the Dueling Captain of House Slytherin."

He allowed for a pause, "What's dueling like?"

Though unacquainted with the sport, he partially knew the answer to that question. In the muggle world, he could very well consider himself a 'duelist' as well, wielding fists and proper form instead of wands and spells. He knew about the dedication that it took to train one's body to contend with the physicality of another human being. He could see it in her - she wasn't the unfit sort of skinny, rather he saw the defined curvature of trained muscles, the sort that took months of exercise to build. He was built similarly, but on the bulkier side. His height only seemed to accentuate the robustness of his physique, the kind of form one might expect to see of a bodybuilder.

He also knew all too well what a trained human could do when they were armed with the skills to commit personal violence. He had only once exercised that power liberally, and the amount of detention it cost deterred him from using it ever again.

She might have caught that the look in his eyes wasn't one of fervent curiosity, but one of desire to understand, to critically analyse.

He would listen patiently to her response, and when she appeared to be done, reply in a suitable manner (OOC: In my next post). All the while, he continued to braid the vines into strips of sturdy organic rope.

After which, his empty hands braced against the ground as he pushed himself upright into a standing position.

"I'm going to get more vines," he pointed to the supply piles some distance away. "Do you want me to get anything else?"

Open to interactions
Mentioning @Gabriella Haworth
Interacting with @Xander Smythe

When Cosmo heard that there was going to be an activity specifically designated to creating an outdoor shelter she jumped for joy. This was what her childhood before Hogwarts had been made of, each of her favourite haunts held at least a couple little hidey holes she had constructed and over the years they developed and grew to be very sound little structures. Some had various baskets and nick nacks she squirrelled away, others were pressed up against boulders which she had painted murals on. Cosmo knew that whatever she created today would be special, but nothing could come close to the amount of love she poured into her little dens back at home.

In order to be as prepared as possible, Cosmo awoke early on the morning of the fifth, and set out with her backpack on a collection run. She travelled all around the grounds, spending several hours going from one thing that caught her attention to the next, picking up at least a third of the items she found.

By nine o'clock Cosmo had a very heavy backpack and an impressive list; several smooth flat stones, interesting leaves, an abandoned and soggy ball of yarn, feathers, a few old hair ties, a small collection of brightly coloured mushrooms - some delicate and soft others hardened with rough tops, and of course a big bunch of many different wildflower species. She even found an old milk bottle lying in the roots of a tree, half filled with dirt and moss. Next to it was an old and chipped dish which once washed revealed intricate pink flower patterns around the edges. Lying not far away was a stash of three spoons and a knife, which were caked in rust and mud, but a good scrubbing with sand by the lake polished them clean once more. Satisfied, Cosmo headed towards the clearing hoping she wasn't too late.

The clearing itself was delightful, and Cosmo took in the people and their half finished structures. Several students she didn't know where talking to one another or working alone, but Gabby from her cabin was there, as well as Xander. As Gabby was already involved in a conversation, Cosmo wandered her way over to Xander and his rock base.

"Hey Xander! Good to see you again," she slipped her bag off her shoulders to give them a break from the weight and set it down by her feet. "I really like your stones here, but they look pretty heavy." Cosmo was interested in Xander's plan, and decided to sit and catch up with him for a while instead of starting to build right away.