[nathan67003]

Helena listened to her teammates state just how prepared they were - well, except Cara, who seemed mildly stunned more than anything. Oh, and Shiro'd gotten really energetic all of a sudden! That genuinely, actually completely made up for the fact that Helena had brought sweet eff-all with herself camping-wise. Although her smile had faltered into a straight, neutral face beforehand, something incredibly rare and dramatic coming from the grey-eyed blonde, it returned in full force, seemingly lighting up the clearing alongside Shiro's enthusiasm and the Sun itself.

"Lead the way!", she responded to her leader in a joyous tone before following in her stride.

[Vwyx]

"Wha- H- hey!" Eamon stammered, struggling to repack all his gear in the order he'd had it in. Was it alphabetical, Dewey Decimal, or what he thought he'd need first on top? "Wait up!"

Hustling to catch up to the rest of the team, Eamon left his worries behind, relaxing in the upbeat atmosphere that the group seemed to naturally fall into. Thinking about the team's dynamics, however, brought one concern he'd had ever since the official formation.

"Hey... girls?" Eamon hesitantly asked. "We're, um, Team CHES, right?" He scratched the back of his head, blushing slightly while looking sheepish. "Can any of you actually play chess? I know there's a horse piece, and pawns, and a king, but..."

[Zerco]

Shiro nervously coughed after she realized what she just said and went back to her usual voice. "R-Right... We better get going then." She answered to Cara. She quickly stood up and followed her team.

Thankfully Eamon said something off-topic, perfect opportunity to derail the conversation. "Well I never got to play chess," She explained. "-but since there is a king piece, shouldn't there be a queen piece as well?"

[Flooberoid]

"That's 'knight,' not 'horse piece,' Eamon. And yes, there's a queen too," Cara clarified (Carafied?). "I learned to play Chess when I was a little kid... and always sucked at it. Really badly. My dad used to have a set, but he pawned it off." Cara chuckled at her own joke.

[nathan67003]

Helena unintentionally accompanied Cara's chuckle by a giggle of her own before adressing everyone. "Yes, Shiro, there is a queen piece. It may be, in fact, the single most powerful piece in the game, apart from the knights, depending on the situation. The rules - at least, the basic ones - are actually very simple. What makes chess so complex is the sheer amount of possibilities a single move can lead to."

[Vwyx]

"Thank goodness at least half of us know our stuff," Eamon said in relief. "Imagine if one of the other teams sparred with us, and started making chess puns. We'd have no way to know how to come back!"

Straightening his vest as he adjusted his bag, he continued, "Now we can just have Cara and Helena on high alert for board game-based trash talk." He could practically hear it now...

('Your team is pawnbelievably bad!' 'We were obviously going easy on you bishops.' 'Yeah. Shut the rook up.')

Eamon smiled widely as he imagined further insults to be tossed, his eyes clouding over as his team's mental representations cut down their hypothetical foes with withering retorts. "Checkmate," he said aloud, snapping out of his reverie.

[Zerco]

"Oh, makes sense." Shiro made sure to remember what Helena said just in case they ever get into a situation like what Eamon mentioned. She laughed when Eamon suddenly said "Checkmate!" and jokingly replied, "Say, why not make that our catchphrase or something? Sounds pretty cool to me!"

[Flooberoid]

"I'll, uh, keep an ear open. Trash talk isn't really my thing though." As much as she hated to admit it, Cara didn't think she knew nearly enough about chess to fulfill Eamon's expectations. Sure, she knew what the pieces were, how they moved, and what a player had to do to win... but anything with regards to advanced tactics and the terminology thereof eluded her.

As they marched, the sun reached a low point in the sky, partially eclipsed by a rock spire in the near distance. The team would reach their destination shortly, and not a moment too soon.

[nathan67003]

Helena simply enjoyed the chatter of her companions, smiling at Eamon's remark about 'game-based trash talk', which wasn't really her type.

...This really was a great day.

[Vwyx]

It seemed like most of his team wasn't in the business of trading quips pre-battle, which actually suited Eamon just fine. It was still better to be ready, though - preparations you didn't use were just hobbies.

Soon, their travel took them into the shade created by the crag intersecting the sunlight. Given the angle of the sun's descent, the huge shadow stretched far, drawing a slash across the section of the forest that they were in. For a landmark, it was tough to do better.

"We should hurry to set up camp," Eamon said as the group began the final stretch separating them from their destination. His tone was focused once more, rather than the lighthearted banter from earlier, and his eyes roved suspiciously over the terrain. "I'd hate to have to fight something we know is clever in the dark without getting a chance to know the lay of the land beforehand."

[Zerco]

"Yeah, lets find a good place to set up our camp before the sun goes down." She said as she looked around for any potential spots while also keeping an eye out for danger. "Maybe we could go towards the rocky formation and set up camp at the base of it? In that way we will be protected on one side from Grimm, better than staying in the open."

[Flooberoid]

"I agree with rocks. Provides some protection without allowing anything to sneak up on us. Should get by alright if we post one lookout at a time." Though she talked tactics, honestly something about the image of spending the night among the rocks just seemed nicer than spending it in the spooky forest. With bugs.

It wasn't long before they found a nice spot to settle down. Just at the edge of the rocky section was an overhang about three Caras high, cast over a smooth, rocky floor about the area of an average living room. The wall caved into interesting shapes in the back, some of which formed charming little makeshift seats. The whole area seemed relatively secluded, the overhang of rock and the foliage of the forest making it invisible at any sort of distance from nearly every angle; it was rather lucky for team CHES to have found this place at all.

Along the way to the campsite, Cara had gathered some bits of dry wood that she figured would be good to start a fire. With any luck, she could roast some marshmallows from her pack during her shift on guard without anyone noticing. Her mouth watered a bit just thinking about it.

[nathan67003]

Helena just sort of... stood there. She didn't really have any idea as to what to do, short of just going to stand watch on top of the rock formation by repeatedly stabbing it. She therefore did the only other thing she could think of. "Can I, um, help with anything?"

[Vwyx]

Eamon relinquished his pack with an agonized sigh, rubbing the shoulders that had supported its weight all day. Yawning hugely, he busied himself setting up the tent, and gathering rocks for a firepit. "Oh, um, if you aren't too busy otherwise, Helena, you could grab some water. We can boil it to make it safe, then make a stew or something." He himself began to look for the necessary ingredients to make the cooking fire in the first place. 

As he was carting some smaller kindling back to the area he'd designated for the campfire, he paused to examine the walls of the outcropping. "It certainly is convenient," he murmured, noting the smooth walls. "Hey, guys, do you think that this place was manmade?"

[Zerco]

Shiro sat down on one of the conveniently shaped rocks at the back and lazily unpacked her supplies, all that travelling made her legs a little stiff and she could finally rest for a bit. "I suppose I'll go and see if I can find any food, maybe I could shoot down a bird or two.". She said as she stood up and walked away from the overhang. She turned around, raised her hand and smiled back at her teammates before leaving and added, "I'll be back before sunset!" before disappearing into the forest.


(I'll skip my next turn since it would take time for Shiro to actually find anything and I got assignments piling up so I don't know when I will be able to post.)