[Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics
<h1 id="title">Elliquiy Role Playing Forums</h1>
		<h2 id="linktree">Play-By-Post: Bondage, D/s, S&amp;M =&gt; Bondage: Exotic Small Groups =&gt; Topic started by: Xurtan on 04-04-2022, 22:47:26</h2>
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				Title: <strong>[Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>04-04-2022, 22:47:26</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/KOImXuU.png)<br><div align="center"><strong>Courtney Jones</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 4.10.22 | June 4th, 6:35pm | Forest Path -&gt; Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr>"Come on, Campers! You can do it!" Counselor Courtney cheered. "We don't have far to go now. The Camp Runamuk overnight is a time honored tradition, you're going to love it." They'd been walking for what must have been at least an hour, and considering if people wanted a tent to sleep in they were forced to carry their own it had made for an interesting trek. Supplies had been spread out amongst the group, and the clearing they're headed towards has a river alongside it so she doesn't expect water to be a problem. "Once we get settled in you can rest," she assures those that are tired. <br><br>It didn't help that due to the terrain, parts of it had been uphill. Eventually, however, after meandering along forest paths and seeing the ground grow steeper and the trees denser, the group breaks into a surprisingly flat clearing. It's almost a shock to go from thick woods to clear ground, the space large, circular, and blanketed with grass. "And there we have it!" Courtney grins, gesturing grandly. "Come on, we've still got a lot of work to do!" she says, tone energetic despite the hike as she starts walking backwards, talking to the campers. A good bunch this year, she thinks. "Y'all can set those coolers down in the middle there," she directs, Southern twang coming through. "Uh, let's see. We're gonna need some of you to collect water, some to find firewood, and some to get started on putting tents up. Any volunteers for any of it, or should I start picking?" She winks, dropping her own supplies off and stretching. <br><br>The clearing is relatively quiet other than the burbling of a brook, and she points in the direction of the water. "Y'all can fill canteens that direction. I'll start seeing about finding some good rocks for a campfire barrier. If any of you need help, just let me know!" she chirps. "We've got maybe two hours until dark, and then the only things you'll be able to see will be the stars and the moon. It's a full one tonight!" From tone alone it's clear she's excited. "You don't see stars like this anywhere in the city, you're all in for a treat!"
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				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Totoro</strong> on <strong>05-04-2022, 00:56:28</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/50/24/97/502497d2d30e9c87d95be93aba326c38.jpg) (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/de/68/ffde68bef367fb2e8f316ecb1ce39f94.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Lorelei Russo (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Black top, Grey Hoodie, Black Combats, Boots. Hair tied back.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>CJ, Danica, Faith, Felix, Layne, Liam</em><br><hr><br>Lorelei didn't know how she felt about all that enthusiasm. It was both a little awkward but also legitimately encouraging and certainly a more than welcome change from criticism. Besides, she really was sure she'd love it and so she at least believed what she was being told rather than listening to something falsely saccharine. Despite the length of the hike, she was still quite fresh-faced and comfortable, carrying the weight of her tent on her back fairly well.<br><br>Even the hills were met with a quiet kind of determination that refused to show any real strain from the activity while also making sure to keep up a good pace. Laurie hadn't been camping many times before but she knew a nice campsite when she saw one and the little clearing that met them earned a very genuine smile from her as she listened to Courtney talk.<br><br>Having carried her own tent it only seemed natural that she'd set it up and so she just nodded, slinging it from her back and setting it down as she began to unpack it. She didn't particularly like to seem too over-enthusiastic and so she didn't say much as she just got on with it, glancing around to see if everyone else was doing the same. Just like Courtney, she was enthusiastic about the full moon, smiling and hoping they'd get to tell some campfire stories later on.<br><br>Looking down Laurie examined the makings of her tent before glancing about at the group. She could put it up alone but it'd be much faster with a little help. "Could someone lend a hand?" She called out, her voice soft and gentle but not too quiet to be heard in the still of the clearing with only the babbling brook to contend with.
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				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>06-04-2022, 04:26:25</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. A matching windbreaker is rolled up in her backpack. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Lorelei | Courtney, Danica, CJ, Felix, Layne, Liam</em><br><hr>It had been a while since Faith had been camping and even longer since she had hiked this far. Her suntanned flesh was coated in a thin sheen of sweat, and her hair was a little frizzed from moisture and wind. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was breathing harder than usual. Still, Faith never complained or fell behind, unlike her cabin mate Danica. The group had to stop and wait more than once as she wandered off to watch a butterfly or two squirrels fucking or some other shit she found interesting. The girl was already exhausting, and camp had just started.<br><br>Camp. Seriously. She was eighteen. She should be lying on the beach with her friends, watching all the guys work of the courage to talk to them, then shooting them down in new and inventive ways. Camp wasn’t her choice. This whole fiasco was her mom’s fault. It wasn’t the joint found in her room or getting caught shoplifting a fifth of jack from the base minimart. No, this was her mom trying to control her. Treat her like some little girl in pigtails who couldn’t make her own decisions. Sorry, mom. Baby’s all grown up. You just missed it.&nbsp; <br><br>The hike had been one long mental bitch fest where Faith laid out every indignity that led her to this point in time, and of course, all roads led away from her and directly to her mom. It did serve to push her through any potential fatigue. By the time they approached the clearing, Faith had mentally stomped all her frustrations into the long hiking trail behind her. She was sure to pick them up again on the way back to camp, but at least she was away from the worst of her cabin mates and had been too distracted with her thoughts for the new people to annoy her.&nbsp; <br><br>Even Courtney’s chipper attitude had been mostly ignored, not that she would have lipped off to the vapid blonde anyway. Faith wasn’t stupid. She knew if the camp counselors liked you, you could get away with murder, so her acerbic barbs were saved for the rest of the plebians. Courtney got helpful and pleasant Faith. The Faith people loved and adored. The Faith face, as it were. Faith hated that face. All sweet and happy and fake.<br><br>Courtney’s beaming countenance announced their arrival with a flourish, and Faith wondered if she was always this way. So happy and chatty and sweet. Seriously, her orgasm must sound like two chittering chipmunks. Super cute yet fucking annoying. However, watching how Courtney’s butt wiggled back and forth had gotten Faith through that last incline. She probably owed her something for that. <br>The least she could do was not bitch and moan when the counselor asked them to start pitching tents.<br><br>“Yeah. I’ll help.”<br><br>Faith wasn’t sure she would use her tent tonight but had brought it along just in case, and she wasn’t going to let any of these other idiots set it up. It would be liable to come falling down around her ears. She found what she felt was the best spot and set about pitching her tent. Faith had been camping since before she could walk and knew how to set up just about any tent imaginable. Hers’ was built in no time, and she tossed her backpack inside. There was the slightest. “Ooph,” from inside of it.&nbsp; <br><br>“That was quite uncalled for,” came the indignant muffled voice from inside the pack. It had the vaguest of English accents. Faith poked her head inside, wearing a vindictive smirk.<br><br>“I didn’t ask for you to come along. You insisted. Besides, you said normal, sane people shouldn’t know about this, and since there are normal, sane people around, maybe you should…you know…shut up.” Faith snarked back quietly. She wasn’t certain Courtney was really sane. She was a camp counselor and abnormally happy. No sane person was that happy…or a camp counselor, but Coral didn’t need to know that.&nbsp; <br><br>“I’m still not certain I didn’t eat some bad mushrooms or some shit, so don’t push me, Coral.” Faith said before ducking back out of the tent and zipping it up before Coral could say anything more. Faith didn’t want to process the insanity of her situation. She had done enough of that the past couple of days and had come to one of two conclusions. Either she had gone irrevocably insane, or that magic was real. She wasn’t sure which one of these conclusions made her feel worse. For now, she wasn’t going to think about it and a task, any task, was a decent enough distraction.&nbsp; <br><br>“Okay, who’s is next.” She said, dusting her hands off and looking for the next tent to work on.<br>
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				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>06-04-2022, 11:40:20</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Forest Path -&gt; Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Courtney, Campers</em><br><hr><br>Liam was no stranger to hard work. But there's still a difference between spending twelve hours on his feet bussing tables, and hiking all over creation. The terrain is rough, and his boots aren't exactly in the greatest shape. Thinking about the quality of his clothing is almost enough to make him flush, eyes flicking to the ground for an instant before he forces himself to look back up. He can almost hear his Dad telling him to quit the pussy shit, and he breathes out carefully. So what if everyone else is probably wearing name brand clothing bought just to show off at camp, and Liam is left in whatever he was able to shove in the ratty suitcase he'd brought along.<br><br>The brush of Balor's fur against the nape of his neck makes him flinch, pulled out of his thoughts. He'd left the backpack unzipped so the cat could get some air, but the stuffed animal had apparently taken it as an invitation to peek out over Liam's shoulder now and again. He'd freaked the first time, hissing at the cat and tripping over a rock--to the great concern of Courtney--but since then had mostly resigned himself to it. The truth is he'd have brought Balor along even <em>if</em> all the weirdness hadn't happened, finding comfort in the animal's presence. It's just. Embarrassing, now, to think about everything he'd shared with Balor, never expecting the cat to <em>come alive</em>. <br><br>He's not sure how to handle it, so there's... some awkwardness.<br><br>Shaking his head, he catches up with the group and does his best to meet their eyes and give them a grin. He's okay. Even with the unexpected 'awakening', he's away from home, and he'd brought his guitar with him on the hike just in case. Every chance to play a tune, right? Between the eight of them they seem to be carrying enough tents and coolers and who knows what supplies to last far more than a day, but what does Liam know? He's not opposed to the outdoors, but his Dad wasn't exactly the <em>camping</em> type. Why camp when you can be working? <br><br>Rolling his eyes and blowing sweaty bangs from his face, he's glad when they finally get to the clearing and they can set everything down. Evidently hiking works different muscles, because he's already <em>aching</em>. He's barely sitting for a moment before Courtney is chirping, and he swallows a groan. Balor's muffled laughter isn't helping, and he hits the bag with his elbow, snickering to himself at the quiet 'Oof'. "I can go get firewood," he volunteers, after a moment's thought. He has no idea how to put a tent up, let alone one he has on loan from the camp itself. <br><br>Pushing himself up he snags his backpack, glancing around to see if anyone wants to join him and then walks towards the tree line. "...What does firewood look like," he asks aloud, staring at the trees. From the bag Balor pipes up, voice a quiet, amused growl. <strong>"Look for dried out sticks that aren't green."</strong> Blinking, Liam frowns over his shoulder. "How on earth do you know that?" The cat's tail flicks out of the bag in a lazy shrug. <strong>"I listen."</strong> Multiple sets of eyes peer out from the pack, and Liam rolls his eyes again. "Smug little shit," he says, fond. <br><br>...Come to think of it, he really hopes Courtney isn't watching him too closely. He doesn't want to get a reputation for talking to himself. Either way, he starts trying to find some dried branches along the forest floor, not wandering too far.
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				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Aethyrium</strong> on <strong>06-04-2022, 16:55:47</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://imgur.com/8u49qBc.jpg)(https://imgur.com/z3USgpj.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Felix Elliot (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16147442#msg16147442) &amp; Hissy Fit</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/18/58/531858649f4d2e264b3e453766c63d47.jpg)<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam, Lorelei, Faith | Robin, Elle</em><br><hr>Outdoors. Felix loves the outdoors. Always has. Ever since he was a little girl, Felix has spent as much time outdoors being active as he could manage. Not that it included a lot - or any, really - camping. Trips away from home had always needed to be a family photo op to satisfy mom’s vision of the status quo, and spread out enough to not drain dad’s bank account. There were two photos in the living room back home, one when Robin was five, and another when he was thirteen, where they had taken a little trip up north to go to Disneyland. They’d have been beautiful memories had they not been surrounded by and spurred by the looming need to fit in. Regardless, Felix takes to the woods and the hike like a fish to water. Hiking is just hard walking, and he does plenty of that recreationally so as to not be phased by this in the slightest. If anything he’s <em>chipper</em> about it.<br><br>Not as chipper as Courtney, though he appreciates her demeanor. No, Felix wanders around the side of the group headed up. Like a yo-yo he drifts close to the group and away from it, keeping pace with them but expending extra energy in non-forward oriented movement. Between music - his birthday present this year had been a set of wireless earbuds he’d been overjoyed to get - and wandering thoughts, the hike really feels like it's over too soon.<br><br>The clearing is gorgeous, and Felix can’t help but wish Robin were here to see it with him. <em>But</em> it’s actually Elle that fills his mind. This is the sort of thing that she’d love. Or that she <em>would have</em> loved, he supposes that he can’t say for certain it’s still true. His insides tell him that she hasn’t changed so much that it isn’t true though. No matter. Courtney talks about full moons and starfields, and Felix just wishes Elle could see it. Before the camp is over, he vows internally. It’d be romantic. Of course she’d probably prefer it was Robin making that gesture. <em>Bah</em>, who needs her or romance anyone. The thought sees Felix scoping the people on the trip - surely one of them would be fun to make a tent shake with.<br><br>“<strong>Water, got it!</strong>” Felix says, setting down his pack - larger than some, because before the whole thing started, he’d volunteered to carry extra. Maybe he wasn’t a pack mule like some of those other newly-magicked folk, but he was in great shape. Hiss is coiled around one of the straps of the pack, “<strong>You going to be good here?</strong>” He whispers.<br><br>The snake somehow manages to roll its beady eyes, “<strong>I guessss.</strong>” Felix furrows his brow - sassy little thing.<br><br>Felix shakes his head, pops up, and makes his way to gather containers for water. He gives Liam a bit of a side eye and a grin. Musicians are hot. “<strong>Don’t get lost mister, I’m looking forward to what you can do with that thing.</strong>” He makes a little gesture at the guitar with his things. Half a skip, and Felix continues on his way.<br><br>It looks, momentarily, like one of Lorelei’s poles is going to pop out - and don’t you just hate when that happens? - and so Felix makes a quick dash and grabs it before what progress she has made is undone. “<strong>Woah, okay. Got it?</strong>” He holds up a hand and flags Faith over, since she seems to be ready to assist with tent construction. “<strong>Alright, let just…</strong>” He slips past Faith, giving her the pole he was holding onto, “<strong>Get… Out of your way, ladies. There. Alright.</strong>” He says, back pedaling away. Felix claps his hands together and smiles, “<strong>Have fun, see you both soon.</strong>” He winks, spins and <em>finally</em> makes his way to containers to be filled.<br><br>Even he isn’t looking forward to carrying a bunch of water up some slope. So he casts a look around and makes a gesture at the first person who looks available, “<strong>Gimme a hand?</strong>”
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				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Drowned Vandal</strong> on <strong>07-04-2022, 02:45:30</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ZkUqzm7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HDfKZf7.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Carter Jak (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145246#msg16145246) &amp; Bully</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> Loose fitting shorts, sneakers and a white-t. A stainless steel cross hangs from his neck<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam | Robin, Felix, Courtney</em><br><hr><br>Carter had followed along with a slight pep in his step, this was no worse than the camping trip he took with the pastor James and some of the other kids. And Just like that trip he’d taken to breaking away to move a bit further ahead at least until Courtney reminded him how far he’d gone. He’d apologize, let the group catch back up and do it all over again, ignoring her sighs along the way. He preferred the fields than the woods but there was something remotely calming about being away from everything.<br><br>Maybe he was slightly more relieved to get away from Robin for a moment. They hadn’t said a single word to each other but they sure as hell made eye contact constantly for the first few days. Carter was not even really sure why or how he ended up here. It was an odd coincidence that wasn’t helping things. The other Campers were probably whispering about it, he was pretty sure that goth chick saw something. He just didn't want that rumor to take off. <br><br>The jock found himself staring at the clearing as they made it, grinning a bit and lifting up his t-shirt to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He’d met a lot of people that questioned his faith but they never really could explain how something this beautiful just happened. He bent down to pick up a rock. “Really is something else,” he mumbled more to himself, though it did get his bag to ruffle a bit. His scanning seemed to stop as Liam got back up from his seated position and his eyes lingered a bit right as the marble stuffy eye peaked through the small opening of the non-branded drawstring bag on CJ’s back. “Let me see, let me see.” The voice was soft enough that no one else seemed to notice and he jostled the bag.<br><br>“Something else huh? One track mind kid,” Cj’s face reddened a bit and he turned his head. “Shut up, I was talking about the thing.” He muttered. “Same thing you were thinking abo-,” Cj gave the back another shake, which was when Cj realized everyone else had split off for the most part. He looked around and rubbed the back of his neck. Felix was on it but uhh Robin’s brother seemed like a bad idea. There were already two people on the tents. Crap. Did people see him muttering under his breath? <br><br>“Hey, man! Wait up.” He went after Liam right before Felix asked for help. He exhaled, at least he dodged that awkward bullet. Though, the nudging in his back from the bull was not going to be fun. <br><br>“Right firewood,” he said as he started grabbing sticks. The first one he picked up, he made a sword fighting gesture he saw on TV at Liam with it. “Unguard.” The bull sighed loudly in his backpack and CJ just dropped it. “Just get the firewood before no one wants to talk to us anymore.” Carter just grunted and bent down to start grabbing some pieces he thought would work, going a bit out of his way to grab bigger pieces or at least more than Liam. <br><br>“That one was barely a twig!” Cj just grunted. “We need smaller bits to start the fire. Can’t just burn a log.” &nbsp;There was a moment of quiet and then the bull decided he couldn't let it go. "Pussy."
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				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wyatt</strong> on <strong>08-04-2022, 22:37:00</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713373042520096840/957459763694825523/20190927_3bf4cb.png)(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691657169988485150/957457550079586394/6b6405dbaff8917f8168729d1a5cc408.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Layne Opa (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145938#msg16145938) &amp; T-Sam</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/0f/a1bc0faafcf5f6234ce3a69a1fc8c171.png), <em>plus desert camo military style backpack, older blue canvas high top/white sole Chuck Taylors</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Hike ---- &gt; Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Courtney, Lorelei, Faith, Danica, Felix | CJ, Liam</em><br><hr>Layne was bringing up the rear on the hike, it was second nature, something his Dad always did until Layne ended up being four inches taller, and also always his place even before then when his Dad wasn’t around.&nbsp; Bringing up the rear, keeping an eye on everyone, making sure no one straggled behind, seeing if they needed help, even his teachers had given Layne that role on most fieldtrips, being tall and quiet, which came across as extra mature, and usually at least a year older than his classmates seemed to mark him for the task.<br><br>His backpack was one of his Mom or Dad’s, not that it really mattered, they both had friends in other services and the National Guard, and so things like backpacks you didn’t buy.&nbsp; Instead people scarfed them up when they were being replaced in military inventory and took home, rather than see them thrown out, at least anything that wasn’t secured or classified and that had any kind fi usefulness.&nbsp; Probably his Dad, who found a use for everything, including bartering with buddies, which was presumably how two Air Force parents came to have an army camo backpack.&nbsp; In fairness, it was pretty roomy, not that heavy since if wasn’t filled with usual military things and had tons of pockets, compartments, and places you could attach things with carabiners and the like.<br><br>Layne had his water bottle hooked that way on one of the front shoulder straps, which made grabbing a drink along the hike easy, and he was big on staying hydrated after getting an IV at a basketball camp for dehydration a couple of summers earlier.&nbsp; Hydration at hand, and hands mostly full of things he offered to carry, in addition to his own tent and backpack, for Miss Courtney, the hike was worthy of breaking a good sweat and working his legs and even his core a bit, but other than watching his step since he lacked boots and his Chuck Taylor’s were not the most supportive high tops he owned and he didn’t want to turn an ankle stepping awkwardly on a rock or something, it was all good.&nbsp; Nice scenery, good workout, easy pace and, well, but there was one thing.<br><br>“Sleeping out under the stars, noiccce, so which one are you going to nail first?” T-Sam asked right in Layne’s ear as the suddenly both alive and lively stuffed animal had managed to position his giant beak atop Layne’s left shoulder, even though he was technically hooked onto his backpack.<br><br>“Nail?!?&nbsp; What, who…seriously, can you stop with that already, its so embarrassing.&nbsp; It’s a campout, nothing else,” Layne hissed back, though he wasn’t really a hissy sort of guy and worried that even a loud whisper might carry to those T-Sam was perving on since Layne’s voice was naturally deep and though he didn’t talk a lot, except to animated carny prizes that was, it tended to boom out and carry well, which was not a desirable thing at the moment.<br><br>“Which one is Lori again, and Fay-Fay, oh man, no wonder you take the rear, Buddy, you can see all of those bodacious rears I can spy from heres by your ears,” T-Sam blathered on and Layne shook his head, but only slightly and dropped back a little more from the rest.<br><br>“I think it’s Lorelei, and Fay-Fay…um, Faith, I think, is her name.&nbsp; Lorelei is the tall one there, and Faith is the...why am I even telling you, gah!&nbsp; I told you before I am not interested in doing any of…that, those...things…with them.&nbsp; I’m at the back to watch out for people, not to stare at their butts, plus, me being in front, it blocks their views too.&nbsp; We went over this earlier, Sam,” Layne growled and tried to smile, probably idiotically he felt, anytime someone looked back at him.<br><br>“So no Lolo and Fifi, not your type, I feel that, man, still noice to look at tho, amIright?&nbsp; Buttt, you know, you’re 19 so totally legal for sharing a sleeping bag with counselor Courtney, I mean, that fluffy hair, the smexxi derriere, I rhymed that on purpose.&nbsp; Yeah, I'm a poet and I know it, heh heh heh, she's givin' your stuffy a stiffy.&nbsp; You say I'm your good luck charm, so it's my duty to get you lucky, Buddy, and I will have to beak that counselor booty if you won’t. Hmm, how about Danic-uhhmphhh,” T-Sam’s raunchy rant suddenly ended when Layne reached up and pinned his beak beneath the shoulder strap, sighing and wondering what in the hell kind of place he had gotten himself into.&nbsp; He would have to keep Sam under wraps, apparently around Courtney most of all, and what did it mean that mentioning Dani was what got Sam temporarily silenced?&nbsp; Layne didn’t even know, but she was, you know, interesting.<br><br>Finally they were at the clearing that was to be their camp, and Layne grabbed Sam, who made some quick and insanely blush worthy remarks about Layne at least getting some privacy to choke his own chicken, before Sam was half choked himself as he was shoved into one of the many empty pockets of his backpack and while still flustered and hoping the blushing looked like it was just from the workout of the hike, set down his pack and tent in a spot that looked reasonably flat and without any obvious rocks or tree roots in the way, then put the things he was carrying as extra where Courtney indicated, <br><br>“Got it, Ma’am, is this where you wanted them?” he asked and after Sam’s earlier comments had a bit of trouble looking their counselor in the eye, but then again was worried that if he didn’t look her in the eyes it would seem like he was looking the places Sam would no doubt be gawking at if he wasn’t put on timeout for the moment.<br><br>He was no expert at tent putting up, but they looked simple enough, so he figured on getting to his own before anyone else would have to, but first there sounded like things needed done around camp.&nbsp; He noticed Felix was a ball of helpful energy, and that was something he could identify with, though Felix seemed to jump in and talk to and help out Lorelei and Faith pretty seamlessly, while Layne was more looking for something less overtly social to do and he helpful at the same time.<br><br>Layne was right there when Felix motioned and asked someone to give him a hand, and Layne was two of his super long strides away and loped there a moment later,<br><br>“You want to go get the water together, Felix?” Layne asked, simply confirming the task they would be taking on, then grabbed the carry handles of the two sizable, maybe 5 gallon capacity, plastic jugs that had spigots built into the twist off openings that you would use to both fill them and later to fill things from them, “Lead the way, maybe upstream a little so no one accidentally gets any dirt or mud kicked up where we fill them?” he asked, not necessarily a skilled camper, but having gown with his family a few times and pretty much just going with common sense.<br><br>The whole place was nice and pretty to look at, seemed like a decent place to camp with the guys and the ladies, and two hours was plenty of time to get everything ready in his mind.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>09-04-2022, 00:07:22</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara and <strong>Balor</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>CJ</em><br><hr><br>Liam doesn't really expect anyone to follow along with picking up firewood; if there's one thing he's learned it's that kids are often lazy. Liam might be expected to get off school and immediately go to work at the diner, but his classmates just seemed to laze around playing Xbox. It just makes him want to scoff, though he can admit--sometimes at least--that he's mostly just jealous. It isn't that he thinks his Dad doesn't care about him, but they have such different world views and expectations...<br><br>Sighing, he stares at the branch he's holding long enough that Balor lets out a questioning mrow. Shaking his head, he mutters back, "It's nothing." Either way, he's decidedly surprised to be told to wait up. Looking back, Liam tilts his head at CJ. What does he want? He almost looks around to see if the other boy could be talking to someone else, but no. It takes him an embarrassingly long moment to realize Carter plans to help with the firewood, Liam blinking at the 'sword'. <br><br>It sees a small smile forming on the musician's face, laughing slightly at what he caught of the bull's muffled speech. Evidently they have an interesting dynamic. Staring contemplatively at the wood he's gathered, Liam bites his lip and then grabs one that he thinks is about sword length and thickness before dropping the rest in a pile. <strong>"What are you doing?"</strong> Balor asks, before letting out an annoyed yowl as Liam drops his backpack next to the pile. <strong>"How <em>dare</em>--"</strong>, the cat begins, before the grumbling trails off as Liam walks over to CJ and taps him on the shoulder with the stick. "Engarde?" he offers, a little awkwardly but seemingly willing to go along with it if Carter is.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Envious</strong> on <strong>09-04-2022, 17:00:44</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/eGp9EM9.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/0TqlRxT.jpg?1)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Dani Kumar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145277#msg16145277)</em> | <strong>Dani</strong> | <strong>Kraken</strong> <br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>French braid pigtails, brown hiking boots, clothing (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/1a/0d/4a1a0d17e161fa9463b6617291ce3afd--camo-hats-white-tank-tops.jpg), no hat.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Faith | CJ, Lorelei, Felix, Layne, Liam, Courtney</em><br><hr><strong> </strong><br><br>The soft microfiber of two of Kraken's tentacles woven tightly around Dani's neck and the weight of his body pressed against the back of her head was causing her to sweat. A bead of perspiration ran down her temple and the stray baby hairs around her hairline were stuck to the side of her face. The teen didn't mind. She was currently inspecting a beetle on the bark of a tree as Courtney suggested ways her fellow campers could help get ready for the night. She watched the little critter skitter through the deep grooves of the bark and attempted to count the vertical stripes that decorated its back, but her attention would be pulled away by something else before she could complete the task. A little ant. A piece of moss. A strand of web. The tree was filled with a fascinating variety of life that was not dissimilar from any of the other trees she had stopped to look at, but she had stopped again just the same. A goofy grin lit up her face pleasantly and quiet <em>oohs</em> and <em>aahs</em> escaped her mouth as she marveled. To Courtney's credit, Dani's level of enthusiasm had been entirely matched and the counselor had never faltered answering any of the youth's endless questions.<br><br><strong>"Oooh, I can take off my backpack,"</strong> she finally declared, spotting that people had begun unloading their supplies and getting to work. She was still at the edge of camp and barely breaking the edge of camp, but that didn't seem to phase her at all. <strong>"Do you want to come with, or rest for a bit?"</strong> Kraken had been perched on top of her backpack, gripping on for dear life as Dani ducked, dodged, climbed, and jumped around the forest trails. She wiggled out of her pack and sighed comfortably as its weight dropped to the ground and her back was exposed to fresh air. <br><br><strong>"Come."</strong> Kraken was not a creature of many words today. Dani wondered if it was due to the temperature, but her companion had made no complaints. Without the backpack, Kraken adjusted his position to take its place; tentacles slithered across shoulders, under her bust, and looped her arms to create 'straps' and become a new backpack that was securely pressed against her body. It might have been hot as hell, but it was such a comfort that Dani wasn't going to protest.<br><br>Layne stomped past and it looked like he was shoving Sam in his backpack in a very aggressive way. This amused Dani and she looked around to see where she was needed. Everyone was already being productive! She took long, contemplative steps forward. Sword fight - very fun. Might head towards. Collecting water. She did love a good splash. Putting up tents? Not really interesting. Faith asking who's next? Alright, alright, alright!<br><br><strong>"Excuse me, miss,"</strong> she said from behind Faith. When the woman turned around, she'd see a Dani with her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels, and looking up through her lashes. She was innocent. She was shy. <strong>"I need the help of an adult."</strong> She was a devilish twat. The shit-eating grin that would follow hinted that Dani didn't need much help at all, but Courtney was near enough that the bratty teen thought Faith's response might be tempered. Still, the jock was 100% prepared to duck and run! She pointed to her bag. The one all the way at the edge of the clearing. <strong>"Could you... you know... help?"</strong> There were so many small pleasures in life, but taking any chance she could to tease Faith was right at the top.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>10-04-2022, 18:52:32</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/KOImXuU.png)<br><div align="center"><strong>Courtney Jones</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 4.15.22 | June 4th, 6:35pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>While the campers go about their work, Courtney can be found looking around the clearing and making sure there aren't any insect infestations or the like to worry about. She has a perpetual smile on her face and a bounce in her step, seemingly genuinely happy to be out in nature. She occasionally makes a noise of excitement or interest upon sighting a particularly shiny rock, and eventually ends up working them into a circular pattern around where, clearly, other camp fires had been held before. <br><br>Grinning as she finishes, she looks to see how the campers are managing, calling out advice as seems needed. "Don't forget to really hammer down those stakes!" She makes a gesture with an invisible hammer while making a 'grr' noise, seemingly to indicate hitting something quite hard. "We don't want any of them falling in the night." Courtney's grin widens as she moves to the supply packs and coolers, digging around until she pulls out a giant pack of large marshmallows with a triumphant noise. She shakes it for incentive, adding, "Once we get the fire going we can get some burgers on and roast marshmallows!" with a slightly raised voice so CJ and Liam can hear her. <br><br>She's thrilled to be meeting all the new campers; it's her first year as a counselor, so she's doing her best to make sure everyone has a good time. She flits around as needed, judging the tents to likely take longest so that's where she primarily spends her energy as everyone goes about completing their chosen tasks. And sure, maybe this group of campers seems a little odd, but that's okay! She suspects they're just uncomfortable, and it's up to her to help with that. Layne calling her ma'am has her giving the boy a wink and squeeze of the arm. "Just Courtney is fine, sugar. I don't stand much on ceremony."&nbsp; <br><br>Consequently as everyone ends up gathering back together, she starts asking them 'getting to know you' questions. "Does anyone have much nature experience?" she starts with, curious as to who has been camping before and who hasn't. "Camping might seem a little scary at first, but it's nice to get back to basics, y'know? Besides, you have me to protect you!" She gives an actual thumbs up. "Before the end of tonight you'll be sorry to go back to your cabin!" Courtney laughs, and much like everything else about her it's exuberant.<br><br>It's an exuberance that fades a bit as she glances towards the woods. Huh, she'd thought, for a moment, that she'd seen a large shadow move. Shrugging it off as a trick of the light, she thinks about what else to ask... but can't help a slight sense of unease, like she's being watched. Though, she thinks with a private grin, who <em>wouldn't</em> want to watch her? Tossing her braid over her shoulder, she pounds a stake into the ground with flair and sits back on her haunches. "Any favorite camp activities, or memories anyone would like to share?" <br><br>It's always awkward with a new group, she thinks. Maybe a story of her own will help? "I used to go camping all the time with my Daddy when I was younger," she muses. "We'd sit out at night and look at the stars and he'd tell me about all the constellations, his arm around me. You never forget about that smell of woodsmoke, or the way the wind sounds. Cities just don't compare." 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Drowned Vandal</strong> on <strong>11-04-2022, 03:19:15</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ZkUqzm7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HDfKZf7.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Carter Jak (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145246#msg16145246) &amp; Bully</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> Loose fitting shorts, sneakers and a white-t. A stainless steel cross hangs from his neck<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam, Courtney | Other Campers </em><br><hr><br>Cj was bent over picking up sticks when the stick tapped his shoulder. He had to shift his foot to catch himself from stumbling too far forward, startled by the action. There was a moment it took him to process what Laim was doing, considering he clearly said the word wrong. Maybe he was British or something. <br><br>CJ dropped his pile of sticks aside from the one that he had originally used as a makeshift sword. With an overly bright smile he spun around and smacked his stick against Liam's. The sound echoed a bit and the overall action made his bag swing around, before he let it fall. Bully grunted as he hit the ground, working on loosening the drawstring bag enough that part of his face poked out. Meanwhile Cj was bouncing around and energetically engaged in the stick fight, even if he did not seem very interested in hitting Liam himself, only getting the admittedly cool sound of the sticks clacking together. There was footwork involved but it falls short of anything too impressive.<br><br>Courtney’s voice is about the only thing that brings CJ back to reality. He clears his throat and snickers at Liam. “Quite the swashbuckler there matie, though we should probably get back. They might think we couldn't handle the firewood,” Cj said with a sheepish grin. Bully only groaned, shifting in the bag that had been abandoned on the ground. “Had to find a way to make this even more lame didn’t ya kid? This is what happens when you only watch veggie tales.” Cj bushed a bit and grabbed the bag from the ground, giving it a rough shake. “I haven’t watched that in years,” he muttered, loud enough that Liam could hear, even looking his way to make sure he did. He then went to pick up the sticks again. He’d steal a few more glances at Liam as they finished up and made their way back to the others.<br><br>While bully wasn’t able to talk in the group, Cj could feel him moving around the moment Courtney was in sight and talking to them. The jock raised his hand when she asked about nature experience. “Went camping all the time with my youth group,” he shrugged a bit, trying to play it off like he wasn’t expecting everyone to be impressed he’d done some version of this before. Even if all the time only equated to three times.<br><br>He eyed her momentary glancing towards the woods but said nothing of it. Even if it made his own gaze look out there. He really did not want to see a wolf or something like that. Her question seemed to excite him and make Bully try to give him several signs to keep his mouth shut, all of which he ignored. “Every night before he turned in we’d go for a swim in the lake. We camped right next to it for a reason, there was a tire swing that would go right into the water.” Cj made a gesture with his hand and then an explosion motion that was probably supposed to be the splash from the water.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>12-04-2022, 19:18:20</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. A matching windbreaker is rolled up in her backpack. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Danica, Lorelei, Courtney | Karina</em><br><hr>Keeping busy kept Faith's mind off of "things," and at the very least, this would be a night under the stars and not stuck in a cabin surrounded by annoyances. The ritualistic nature of making camp was a centering influence on Faith as much as she would loath to admit it. She even found herself helping Lorelei without her typically prickly nature poking through.&nbsp; <br><br>Well…until Danica piped up anyway.<br><br>At first, Faith didn't realize Danica was talking to her. No, one called her ma'am. Ever. There was no way she was a ma'am. Not yet. Ma'am was for old people, and Faith was not old. When it became apparent that Dani was, in fact, talking to Faith. She gave her a level, flat gaze. There were about 50 things that came to mind as her eyes narrowed, none of them pleasant. Her lips parted to unleash a string of venom sure to reduce the girl to a quivering bowl of jello when Courtney spoke up. <br><br>"Isn't that sweet? I am sure Faith will be happy to help," The saccharine southern voice of the camp counselor made Faith's eye twitch in cold fury. She bit back her snotty retort and quickly transitioned to plotting some form of petty vengeance to put the conniving little girl in her place.&nbsp; <br><br>"Sure. I'd be happy too," Faith answered though her tone didn't exactly make her words. She moved across the clearing to the edge where Danica had dropped her backpack. Danica was more intelligent than she looked and stayed just out of arm's length of Faith, that shit-eating grin of hers on full display. The little pain in the ass has guts. Faith would give her that.&nbsp; <br><br>Faith dumped Danica's tent onto the ground unceremoniously right where her backpack was and started building the tent right there, far away from the rest of the tents. She hadn't said where she wanted her tent after all.&nbsp; &nbsp;A self-satisfied little smirk played across her face. Once again, Courtney managed to stymie her little revenge game, however.<br><br>"We should move her tent closer so we can all be together. Don't you think so?" The chipper voice carried across the clearing, and Faith froze as she was about to hammer a stake into the ground. She took a long, slow, deep breath and forced a smile on her face.<br><br>"Of course. What was I thinking?" Faith said with all the false pleasantry of a Moriarty conversing with Sherlock Holmes. When she turned her back to Courtney, her smile disappeared, and she grumbled something about thinking if she was any closer, she might wring her neck. Faith pulled up the stakes and wadded the tent up in a ball. Conveniently forgetting to pick up the backpack, she walked toward the rest of the tents.&nbsp; <br><br>Faith quickly scanned the clearing while Courtney cleared it of stones and spotted a patch their camp counselor hadn't gotten to yet. It was perfectly bumpy, with one sharp-edged rock jutting up just so. Before Courtney or Danica could get close enough to see, Faith tossed the tent down over the area and started to build.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>"Don't forget to really hammer down those stakes!"<br><br>'The woman had eyes in the back of her head,' Faith thought as she looked over her shoulder and watched Courtney pantomime hammering a stake into the ground while making the cutest little 'grr' noise. That sound had Faith reassessing her early thoughts on what a Courtney orgasm might sound like. <br><br>Foiled again. Faith finished hammering in the tent spikes with force akin to chopping wood. It was a little much, but she pretended the tent spikes were Danica's face, which made it somewhat cathartic. She would have to be satisfied with knowing Danica would not sleep well tonight. Served the little snot right.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>Eventually, Courtney gathered everyone around the camp and started with the inevitable 'getting to know you' questions. It was a herculean effort for Faith to not roll her eyes so hard they fell out of her head. She didn't raise her hand when asked about having much nature experience, even though it was obvious she did. She wasn't about to be picked on to talk or continuously asked for help. It was one thing to volunteer and let Courtney be grateful to her for doing so. It was another thing to be constantly voluntold to help.<br><br>The goofy thumbs up did get a smile despite herself from Faith even as she shook her head in disbelief. It was so nerdy. It reminded Faith a little bit of Karina. Considering how Faith had been entertaining herself by guessing what Courtney sounded like when she was having sex, equivocating it with Karina startled her. This time she shook her head to clear any thoughts of associating sex and her former friend from her head. Inevitably Karina was going to come and find her. She would ask her all sorts of questions she didn't want to know the answer to, and Faith didn't want to give. Why didn't Karina just leave her alone like she asked?&nbsp; <br><br>Determined to excise Karina from her thoughts, Faith decided to actually listen to what Courtney was saying, and boy did she regret it. The fond memories Courtney shared of her father only brought on painful ones of Faith's own. If called upon, she would say she enjoyed archery and swimming and would leave it at that, clearly lost in her own head. Trying to re-compartmentalize the feelings being dredged up unknowingly by Courtney.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>13-04-2022, 00:46:42</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara and <strong>Balor</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>CJ, Felix | Courtney</em><br><hr><br>CJ almost stumbling has Liam grinning, bouncing back on his feet and gesturing with the 'sword'. His grin widens as CJ snags his own and smacks it against Liam's branch, the two of them dancing around a bit awkwardly. It is, in truth, not exactly much of a sword fight. Liam doesn't seem to know what to do with himself either, so the pair are evenly matched. Tossing a quick glance at Bully as CJ's bag falls, Liam winks at the stuffed animal and then two-hands the stick, swinging it as the pair of them circle each other. The clatter no doubt draws attention which is maybe a little embarrassing when they're acting like school children, but for Liam it's... nice. Nice, and so far from what he's used to back home he's sad for it to end.<br><br>Consequently as Courtney calls out, Liam adjusts, letting CJ 'stab' him and trapping the stick under his arm, staggering backwards and to the side so it looks like the stick has gone through him as he dramatically 'dies'. From his backpack, Balor calls out. <strong>"You know cats eat their owners if they die."</strong> From his place on the ground Liam huffs, cracking his eyes open slightly. "Quiet, I'm winning my Oscar." <br><br>Still, he can't stay on the ground forever. A smile breaks the act of his death, and he grins up at CJ. "Good fight," Liam says, weirdly pleased by the compliment from the other boy. It's not something he gets often. Validation tends to come only in tolerance, and even then only when he's doing what the other person wants him to. Pushing up he drops the sticks onto the piles they'd managed to collect, though can't quite help the look he gives Bully and then CJ when the stuffed animal talks about veggie tales. "...I don't think I'm familiar with it?" he says cautiously, squinting a little. "Is that that show with the singing veggies? You uh, a fan?" He doesn't sound judgmental, more slightly confused. <br><br>As someone with few experiences talking to friends, he's trying to keep the conversation going and figures talking about CJ's interests is the way to go. Consequently before he thinks better of it, he asks, "Which was your favorite vegetable?" And then vaguely wants to hide, because what even is he asking. At least he has the excuse of picking up firewood to not look at CJ, and he can <em>feel</em> Balor staring. When he glances over the cat looks sympathetic, which just makes it worse. <br><br>Whatever, he decides, toting the wood back towards the circular stones Courtney put down. The woman's energy is definitely <em>out there</em>. Dropping the wood down in a pile, Liam grabs his guitar and plops down onto a log that previous campers had no doubt used to sit around the fire. He starts idly tuning it as he watches everyone go about their business. Flex gets a hesitant smile, appreciative of the boy's previous comment even if he hadn't known what to say. Why are you so awkward, he thinks to himself, fingers plucking at the strings with a sigh. <br><br>He doesn't have any nature stories to share, except maybe the one failed time he'd been taken hunting with his Dad. <em>Not</em> a story he's interested in sharing. CJ at least seems to have had good experiences, so has Courtney. He's vaguely jealous, but tries to shake the mood off by smiling, even giving a wink to Carter. "We'll have to check the lake out here sometime," he ventures. He's here to push himself out of his comfort zone, right? So might as well be forward. Fake it till you make it, as they say.<br><br>As people share stories he starts up a quiet little melody. Something pleasant and slow, more background noise than not. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Aethyrium</strong> on <strong>15-04-2022, 20:29:56</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://imgur.com/8u49qBc.jpg)(https://imgur.com/z3USgpj.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Felix Elliot (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16147442#msg16147442) &amp; Hissy Fit</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/18/58/531858649f4d2e264b3e453766c63d47.jpg)<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Layne, Faith, CJ, Liam | Robin</em><br><hr>“<strong>That’s the plan.</strong>” Felix grabs up <em>three</em> jugs, because Layne grabbed two - he won’t be out done, he’s just as much a man as the rest of them, and dammit, no one will say otherwise. These days, usually, that attitude wasn’t even a conscious thought. It was just a <em>thing</em> he had programmed into himself when he’d begun his reinvention of self. He always had to go harder, as if that would be what proved he was a man - and it had a bad habit of rearing its head more forcefully when in the presence of men who displayed manly attributes. Even ones they didn’t have control over. In poor Layne’s case his only offense was that he was <em>tall</em>. Yup. Tall is a manly trait, and one that Felix doesn’t have - there’s almost a half a foot between them. Felix isn’t <em>short</em> by any means, but he isn’t six foot tall. That’s a sticking point somewhere in his misaligned brain. Six foot is the height of <em>men</em>. If you doubt that, you haven’t looked at tinder profiles lately - six feet, six inches, six figures.<br><br>Upstream sounds as good a place to grab water as any other, and Layne even has a good reason to do it. So off they go. “<strong>I love that button down.</strong>” He tosses a glance over his shoulder as they go and grins. “<strong>Some camp huh?</strong>” Felix stuffs one of the jugs between his arm and chest, and reaches up, plucking the earbud from his ear on the side closest to Layne and drops it into his zipped breast pocket. “<strong>So, you uh army brat, Layne? What’s that like?</strong>” He makes a mild gesture at his pack. “<strong>Do a lot of travel?</strong>”<br><br>Filling jugs of water isn’t a glamorous - or particularly involved - task. Before they know it they have twenty-five gallons of water for the camp. It’s probably way more than the group will consume in their single evening, but that’s fine. Felix frumbles a minute when figuring out how to position his hand to carry two jugs in one - but not once does he complain or make a deal about it. When they turn back for the camp though, the hair on the back of his neck prickles. He squints out and surveys the slowly growing darkness. It’s nothing. Of course it’s nothing. Besides he’s not about to look like he’s afraid in front of Mr. Six-Three. “<strong>You good?</strong>” He questions, nodding at Layne’s jugs.<br><br>Back at the camp, Felix strides to the center where people are gathering - good to see the tents are going up nicely. He sets his jugs down. The hand that had been carrying two of them gets <em>immediately</em> shoved into a jacket pocket, where it rapidly clenches and unclenches to stretch out. “<strong>Hey, thanks for the help.</strong>” He lifts his other hand and offers a fist bump to Layne.<br><br>“<strong>Heeyyyyy, that sounds like fun!</strong>” Felix bellows in exclamation to CJ, walking around <em>just</em> in time to hear about the swing. There are really two problems in this situation. Liam, the musician, is winking and paying attention to CJ. This is only a problem because Liam the musician <em>should</em> be paying attention to him. And CJ should be busy paying attention to Robin. Not that Robin is here, but brothers really are the best wingmen. Or they should be. That’s a rule somewhere, he’s sure. “<strong>You know, Robin loves that kind of thing.</strong>” Felix ends up behind CJ and Liam, squatting down. He reaches out and claps a hand firmly on Liam’s shoulder, “<strong>Yeah, that’s a great idea mister.</strong>” He winks, then shifts his gaze to CJ, “<strong>We should do that, don’t you think CJ? You and Robin, Liam,</strong>” Felix tosses a glance across the way at Faith and lifts his brows twice, “<strong>Faith looks like she’s down for a good time.</strong>” He’s grinning, “<strong>Me of course.</strong>”
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wyatt</strong> on <strong>16-04-2022, 17:36:04</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713373042520096840/957459763694825523/20190927_3bf4cb.png)(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691657169988485150/957457550079586394/6b6405dbaff8917f8168729d1a5cc408.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Layne Opa (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145938#msg16145938) &amp; T-Sam</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/0f/a1bc0faafcf5f6234ce3a69a1fc8c171.png), <em>plus desert camo military style backpack, older blue canvas high top/white sole Chuck Taylors</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Campsite</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Courtney, Felix |&nbsp; Lorelei, Faith, Danica, CJ, Liam</em><br><hr>All, well, mostly all Layne could think of with Courtney gripping his arm, calling him ‘Sugar’ and the wink she sent his way was thank god Sam was on time out for the moment and didn’t see all of that.&nbsp; Layne mumbled a reply that almost had ‘Ma’am’ in the middle of it, but managed to&nbsp; transmogrify that into an awkward sounding <em>“McCourtney”</em> as if they were off in Ireland somewhere, but was happy to quickly head upstream with Felix and the jugs to be filled.&nbsp; He wasn’t sure they needed five of the huge containers of water, but his Dad was big on having water around even for a small firepit fire in their backyard at their current house, so he reasoned that was why so many were needed.&nbsp; Besides, Felix was a confident sort and must know better what they needed.<br><br>He looked at his shirt as Felix spoke of the button down and shrugged, but with a friendly expression,<br><br>“Thanks, Man, I really have no clue how to dress for this place half the time, but my Mom is big on wearing layers.&nbsp; I’m kind of outgrown for this one, not sure I can even button more than two without tearing them or the shoulders, cool shirt though, right?” he said in a question that was more of a response than asking a question since Felix already said he liked it.&nbsp; <br><br>He thought about the simple question about the camp, and would normally toss back an easy, short answer, but this camp was anything but normal as T-Sam reminded him constantly,, but maybe Felix had it just right, so his answer was a little repetitive,<br><br>“Oh yeah, some camp…nice people, pretty to look at…I mean, the camp is pretty to look at, mountains and trees and all, not the…um, not that the people aren’t, uh, nice to look at too, but mostly nice people to be in camp with,” he stumbled through that response, cutting two thoughts together as he often did to save words and it ended up costing him more words, some that made “McCourtney” sound like something more on the erudite side of things by comparison.<br><br>“Air Force, but yeah.&nbsp; We don’t move as much as some say, but like every 3-5 years, so just often enough that you start to get comfortable one place, then off to start over somewhere else,” he said in a way that didn’t sound like bitching or complaining, more matter of fact, a fact of life he didn’t love but had become accustomed too.<br><br>The pair worked together well and between the ease at which they fell into teamwork and the smooth way that Felix moved, and some of the things he said at camp before they left gave Layne a clue about Felix that he finally gave words to, not quite Sherlockian in its intuition by any means,<br><br>“Hey, you play sports, right?&nbsp; Any favorites, teams you play on, root for?” Layne asked, as basketball, baseball, and football, the real kind as far as Americans were concerned were his faves, along with track and field, though that was more like exercise that one competed at in his mind, “I’m a big Spurs fan in hoops, we lived down there near San Antonio when I first started to watch, Card(inal)s in baseball and Seahawks, mostly like their uni colors in Seattle.”<br><br>Sports, talking about them, playing them, talking about playing them, they weren’t Layne’s only interests in life, far from it, but they were a safe and easy place to make friends while playing or chatting about them.&nbsp; In any case, he was pretty damned impressed with Felix carrying three near full to the top jugs of water back to camp, but did offer to at least share the burden, not because he was bigger and taller with shoulders a mile wide and huge hands, but because it was the right and fair thing to do and right and fair pretty much was Layne at his heart.<br><br>Back in camp, water placed, Felix thanked for the teamwork, he watched his new, he hoped, friend, head about energetically again, far more easily social than Layne had the capacity for, and headed to finish setting up his tent and things, glancing at the others just to see what was going on, then letting T-Sam out at last, sitting him on his shoulder like some sort of tall pirate hunting not for treasure, but colorfully sugary cereal,<br><br>“We good?” Layne asked him as he watched to see who might need help, if anyone, and with what, and of course he and Sam had very definite differences of opinion on what good meant.<br><br>“Totes good, my fellow…and, heh, how you doin’ Sugar?” Sam asked and Layne quietly breathed out in an undertone of exasperation and somewhat of an admission that Courtney grabbing his arm did have some effect, “Fuck me.”<br><br>“Exactly,” Sam replied, then looked around at the edges of the clearing, “Not that you all might not be fucked out here anyways.”<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>17-04-2022, 06:57:24</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/KOImXuU.png)<br><div align="center"><strong>Courtney Jones</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 4.22.22 | June 4th, 6:50pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>It was nice to see everyone getting along, Courtney thought. The tents had steadily come up, water and firewood was gathered aplenty, and Liam gets a thankful smile for the peaceful music. As the fire gets built, burgers are brought out from the coolers along with buns, condiments, toppings, and, Courtney's personal favorite, <em>hotdogs</em>! <br><br>Even hearing the fat pop and the smell of smoke makes her smile, and she sits back to grill a dog on a stick and listen to the campers share stories. Her previous unease has seemingly vanished, and she's laughing at something Layne had said and simply enjoying the energy of the evening. Sure it wasn't a long hike by her standards, but it was still a trek carrying as much as they had. That, and not all of them were used to the physical exertion. <br><br>By the end of the summer, she hopes to have converted a few of them.<br><br><div class="floatleft">(https://assets.vogue.com/photos/58916dd223f9887c0e0e0fbd/1:1/w_612,h_612,c_limit/17-hailey-baldwin.jpg)</div>Unfortunately all good things come to an end, and her instincts end up proven right. Just as Courtney is about to get up to flip the burgers, there's an ear-piercing scream. A woman comes <em>sprinting</em> out from the tree-line, gibbering and yelling. "Help! Please, God, help me!" Her tone is filled with terror, and there's an expression of sheer panic upon her face; it's a face that was, at one point, probably quite pretty. Now unfortunately, mucus and tears have smeared her makeup and left her a blotchy mess. Her dress, too, seems to have been half-torn to shreds, as if she were attacked by a wild monster.<br><br>She looks back to the tree-line once and ends up tripping, crying out. "Please, don't let it get me! There's a m-monster..." She sobs, covering her face with her hands. <br><br>As soon as Courtney realizes what's happening she's getting up and barking orders, commandingly taking the lead. She ain't her Daddy's daughter for nothin'. "Someone get her a coat and some water, and put that fire out. Watch the trees and stay here, I'm getting the emergency radio in my tent," Courtney barks. Her heart bleeds for the poor girl, but if she's wounded they're going to need a medic, and if she's not but there's a bear or something out there attacking campers, then they need that dealt with immediately. She's sure as squirrel shit not just leaving it be, not when she can help and make sure <em>every</em> camper is safe. "Stick together!" is the last thing she throws over her shoulder, ducking inside her tent to dig for the radio. <br><br>But Courtney doesn't come out of her tent. A minute passes, then two. Anyone listening hears nothing. When someone finally gets impatient--or worried--enough to open the tent, they'd find the back-half of the tent has apparently been ripped open. Courtney is there, still as stone. Not the stillness of death, but <em>actual</em> stone. Anyone that touches her or tries to move her finds that Counselor Courtney has literally become a statue, her face frozen in an expression of pure shock.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Totoro</strong> on <strong>18-04-2022, 01:06:58</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/50/24/97/502497d2d30e9c87d95be93aba326c38.jpg) (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/de/68/ffde68bef367fb2e8f316ecb1ce39f94.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Lorelei Russo (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Black top, Grey Hoodie, Black Combats, Boots. Hair tied back.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Courtney, Yelling to the group</em> | <em>CJ, Danica, Faith, Felix, Layne, Liam</em><br><hr><br>Lorelei was, by and large, just getting on with it. It was all nice enough but she wanted to get the necessary out of the way so that they could all have fun afterwards. Luckily it felt like the rest of the group thought the same way, at least for the most part, as things were progressing better than she'd have guessed they might.<br><br>All of those thoughts, though, went sharply out of her head when she heard that scream. Lori's head turned sharply to see her panicked features and hear her begging for help. Ever since all the oddities that had unfolded on this camp some part of Lori had been wondering when something would get more serious. Right now Bella was snug in her tent and she immediately missed her bear, guessing she might have at least some better idea what was happening, as her eyes widened.<br><br>Of all people, Lori didn't expect Courtney to take command so swiftly or effectively. Lorelei stood, watching for the trees and wondering what was after this woman. Her alertness to the treeline soon turned to confusion as she realized it had taken far too long for Courtney to get hold of that radio. She dashed over to the tent, wasting no time opening the tent and throwing it wide to see something shocking. Of all the things she thought she might be faced with stone was not on the list. Even a bear attack would've got a more clear response from her but instead, she was just wide-eyed, taking a few steps back.<br><br>"What the fuck," Lori stated, plainly, not shouting it but almost just speaking to herself. "Something's happened to Courtney!" She then shouted, glancing around to the others to see who was nearby to come take a look and see that she wasn't just going mad. It certainly felt like it, at this point, and she had a strong sense that things would only get stranger from here.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>19-04-2022, 04:35:52</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. A matching windbreaker is rolled up in her backpack. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Lorelei, Courtney</em><br><hr>After the previous couple of evenings, Faith wasn't exactly in the mood to be social, which was a little uncharacteristic for her. Faith was often the life of the party, making damn sure that she was the center of the kind of attention she desired that evening. In her social circle at home, such that it was, everyone knew their place, which was in line behind her. It was just a matter of where they were in line. This very dynamic allowed her to dowl out praise and punishment on a whim. The closer you were to her in line, the more popular you were, and it took very little to send someone to the back of the line if they stepped out. It was control, plain and simple. She needed it, so she took it. Anyone who bucked her was an outcast.&nbsp; <br><br>So, it was a little strange that Faith was not casually manipulating the social dynamic of even this tiny batch of weirdos. No, she sat just outside the circle, near her tent, her legs curled up against her chest, the light windbreaker zipped up to keep her warm, so she didn't need the fire. Maybe she didn't care enough to be involved, or she just had a lot of shit to deal with, and she wasn't in the mood. <br><br>Hell. Maybe she was slipping. Nah, fuck that.&nbsp; <br><br>'Great a fucking musician. There was always one. Ugh. Future camp counselor creepo,' she thought with a shake of her head watching the kid strum his guitar by the fire while people ate.&nbsp; There was a half eaten hamburger on a plate next to her that she had been nibbling on and her canteen sat next to that.<br><br>"Psst," There came a soft noise from inside her tent. "Psst. Faith." She ignored the sound of Coral's voice, hoping she would talk the hint and leave her alone. <br><br>"Faaaaaaith," a little louder and more drawn out. Her eyes scanned those nearby to ensure the dragon's voice had gone unheard. Seeing no one the wiser, she dropped her chin onto her curled-up knees and did her best 'leave me the fuck alone' body language. <br><br>"FAITH!" The sound was a sharp his that caused her to whip her head around.<br><br>"What?" she hissed sharply, trying to keep the sudden anger and her voice in check. The zipper on her tent slowly unzipped, and Coral's pastel blue snout poked out, then her fluffy maned head.&nbsp; <br><br>"Aren't you supposed to be hiding when people are around?" She said pointedly and nodded in Courtney's direction.<br><br>"Something is wrong."<br><br>"Yeah, no shit. I am talking to a fucking kid's toy. Something is clearly wrong fucking wrong with me," Faith answered, sarcasm dripping from each word.<br><br>"No, Faith. Something is really…." A scream cut through the night, and Faith snapped her head in that direction. She was standing instantly, but her eyes couldn't make out a damn thing, having been staring at the fire only moments before. It wasn't until the girl stumbled into the camp that Faith was beginning to make out the nearby trees in any detail. Thankfully Courtney wasn't just a nice ass was a southern drawl and started barking out orders that actually made some sense.&nbsp; <br><br>"Come here," Faith stepped forward and unzipped her jacket, feeling the warm faux fur of Coral encircle her waist as she did so. When removed, she approaches the gibbering girl and puts her jacket around her shoulders. <br><br>"Okay, okay." She says, putting her arm around the girl to comfort her and calm her the fuck down.&nbsp; The girl was shaking from more than the cold.&nbsp; "Lets get you some place to sit." <br><br>Faith started to lead her towards the fire when someone dowses it with a sibilant "HISSSSSS." The sudden plunge into darkness causes the young woman's breath to catch in fright before the sobs continue with renewed vigor.<br><br>"Hey…wha…hey its…Hey…HEY…HEY!" Frustrated with the girl's interrupting sobs, Faith reached up toward her face and snapped her fingers three times, loudly. Trying to get the girl to literally snap the fuck out of it. She looks up at Faith in shock and surprise, but at least she is looking at her now.<br><br>"There we go…" she said, her voice much softer now. "Now, what's your name?" Faith asks, the answer not mattering as much as getting the snotty mess out of her lizard brain so they could find out what the fuck is going on.<br><br>Lorelei's worried shout caused the girl to jump again and start to sputter.&nbsp; Faith swore under her breath and looked towards the nearest camper.&nbsp; "Can you go see what the fuck she is shouting about?!?" She orders the person still holding onto the scared woman.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Drowned Vandal</strong> on <strong>19-04-2022, 05:07:20</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ZkUqzm7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HDfKZf7.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Carter Jak (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145246#msg16145246) &amp; Bully</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> Loose fitting shorts, sneakers and a white-t. A stainless steel cross hangs from his neck<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam, Courtney, Faith, Felix, Lorelei | Layne, Other Campers </em><br><hr><br><br>The grin CJ displayed was quickly swallowed by the embarrassment of Liam not letting the damn Veggie tales thing drop. “It was all my mom let me watch when I was a kid,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck slightly. “Wasn’t even that into it.” He seemed to try to focus more on regathering the wood he discarded than anything else. Mostly so he didn’t have to talk about the lame christian TV show he watched growing up, probably a little past the intended age grouping. <br><br>Unfortunately for CJ Bully was too amused to let the subject drop. “He likes the pickle.” Cj just grunted and rolled his eyes. “Larry was a Cucumber.” There was an awkward moment . Then one could hear bully sigh. “Kid…” There was an awkward pause then Bully spoke again. “You want to call your mom to pick you up or should I?” Cj seemed content to let the Bull talk to his heart’s content, with only the occasional rough shifting of his bag.<br><br>Thankfully Courtney was a fine distraction, as were her impromptu questions to get to know them even if CJ was the most eager like some little teacher’s pet. Still he grinned a bit at Liam’s offer for a lake trip. “Uhh, yeah that sounds like…” His own declaration was cut off by Felix leaning into his space. His back stiffened and he felt like he was on the stage. His hands tightened a bit, and mention of Robin made his cheeks heat up. “Yeah, sounds good. Name the time and place… er just the time… I guess.” He didn’t know if Robin really liked that kind of thing, or if Felix knew… and he imagined he might. Not that there was anything to what there was to know clearly. <br><br>Cj suddenly stood up. “Oh hey Courntey let me help you with that,” he muttered, leaving the group to aid Courtney in spearing her marshmallow, a task she definitely did not need his help in.<br><br>The scream made CJ jolt and look at the blonde woman heading their way. “Hey,” he stood up, gesturing to her. Though of course Courtney was on it. But still the idea of a monster… Cj bit his lip and put the fire out with the water Felix and Layne had gotten. There couldn’t be an actual monster right? Had to be some kind of bear or something. His heart was pounding a bit.<br><br>Be barely noticed Faith coddling the girl there. What he did notice was the command she threw his way. “Keep quiet, do you want to attract whatever she was screaming about?” he snapped back at Faith. “You go in the damn tent.” He muttered something about Faith being bossy but stopped short of saying the bad word on the tip of his tongue. He was not about to go in there and see Courntey exploded or whatever the fuck the monster did to her that he was not admitting existed just yet.<br><br>“Was going to say you finally found your balls but lost ‘em again huh scared to go in the tent?” Cj sucked his teeth at that one. “Shut up,” he muttered, trying to see if there was anything else in the darkness but there wasn’t, at least not with his eyes. “Crap.” He eventually followed Lorelei’s screaming and peaked into the tent… nope. He took several steps back. He was going to pretend he didn’t see that. Should have ignored Bully’s goading. “This ain’t funny, that can’t be real. She looks like she is made of stone….”<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Envious</strong> on <strong>19-04-2022, 06:17:37</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/eGp9EM9.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/0TqlRxT.jpg?1)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Dani Kumar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145277#msg16145277)</em> | <strong>Dani</strong> | <strong>Kraken</strong> <br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>French braid pigtails, brown hiking boots, clothing (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/1a/0d/4a1a0d17e161fa9463b6617291ce3afd--camo-hats-white-tank-tops.jpg), no hat.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Faith, Felix | CJ, Lorelei, Layne, Liam, Courtney</em><br><hr><strong> </strong><br><br>The seventeen-year-old was having far too much fun as Faith huffed and puffed. The exuberant teen hopped, skipped, and jumped around as Faith moved the tent to a new location. She had forgot her backpack at the edge of the clearing, but that was the last thing on her mind as she offered commentary on her fellow camper's skill. She mirrored Courtney's chipper attitude to a fault. <strong>"You'll have to teach me how to hold a hammer like that!"</strong> and <strong>"Oh, is that how you do it? Who knew!"</strong> and <strong>"Gosh, this sure does look tricky! I'm so glad we have such an <em>experienced</em> camper with us!"</strong> were among the highlights of her over-the-top grateful remarks. For all her teasing, Dani was paying attention. By the second to the last stake (funny how she knew when it was coming up), she had made herself scarce with a flimsy excuse of seeing if she could help anyone else out with everything Faith had just taught her.<br><br>By the time the icebreakers had started and the meat was out, Dani was happily chatting away with whoever would listen and starting her second cheeseburger. She was having fun and her easy laughter filled the air as she asked questions and shared stories around the campfire, but that quickly came to a chilling halt when the scream cut through the air. Everyone seemed to be up in action, following what Courtney had asked and attending to the frightened woman. Unsure of what to do, Dani kept eating.<br><br><strong>"Do you recognize her?"</strong> Dani asked in a whisper, leaning closer to <strong>Felix</strong>. She decides to simply just scoot closer to him, remembering Courtney's advice to stick together. The jock had a good eye for faces, and even with all the snot, this one looked unfamiliar. She took another bite of the cheeseburger. <strong>"Do you think she got separated from her group?"</strong> she asked around a mouthful of meat. She looked behind the hysterical woman. Dani was assuming she was a lost camper, completely ignoring the screams about a monster. Monsters were about as real as... talking stuffed animals. The thought caused a short circuit in her brain that she promptly ignored. Now Lorelei was screaming and Faith was barking out orders and Dani was still just sitting there, confused. This was remarkably less fun than 96 seconds ago.<br><br>She licked her finger after taking her last bite and looked around for her flashlight. The dark would sneak up on them and she didn't want to be without a light if the fire was going to be out. Where was her backpack? She hadn't seen it since... She looked towards the edge of camp. Right. <strong>"I'm going to get my backpack,"</strong> she said, getting up with a grunt. <strong>"It has my flashlight."</strong> Apparently, she had forgotten that they were supposed to stick together. <strong>"And take a peek to see what's chasing after our damsel. I bet it's a skunk or something."</strong> Dani didn't seem to be taking the threat of danger very seriously. She thought it was far more likely that the woman had ripped her clothing running around in a blind panic. She was wearing a dress in the woods - that alone was an indication that she wasn't particularly suited for the camp lifestyle! The fact that <em>something</em> had happened to Courtney didn't even register with the teen. <br><br>A brisk jog had her at the edge of the clearing in just a few seconds. A few seconds later, her backpack was in hand and she was circling the perimeter of their camp site, heading towards where the woman had entered.<br><br><strong>"You should stay with the group,"</strong> Kraken said softly.<br><br><strong>"I've got you, Krak. Between the two of us, I'll be right as rain,"</strong> she said rather fearlessly. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wyatt</strong> on <strong>19-04-2022, 07:55:16</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713373042520096840/957459763694825523/20190927_3bf4cb.png)(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691657169988485150/957457550079586394/6b6405dbaff8917f8168729d1a5cc408.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Layne Opa (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145938#msg16145938) &amp; T-Sam</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/0f/a1bc0faafcf5f6234ce3a69a1fc8c171.png), <em>plus desert camo military style backpack, older blue canvas high top/white sole Chuck Taylors</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:50PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Campsite Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Courtney, Dani |&nbsp; Lorelei, Faith, Felix, Danica, CJ, Liam, Blondie</em><br><hr>Layne was munching of some trail mix, which was mostly peanuts, some dark chocolate nugget things, small pretzel bits and thankfully not too many raisins.&nbsp; First, he didn’t like raisins all that much, second they sometimes looked like bugs or attracted them, and Sam was always insisting Layne pick out the raisins for him, which was a pain in the ass, since of course Sam’s nose had a thing for fruit, even dried up ones.&nbsp; Washing down a few handfuls, sans the couple of raisins he grudgingly picked out for T-Sam to gnaw on or whatever animated stuffed animals do with food, with water from his water bottle, Layne unfolded himself from where he was sitting close to his tent and away from most of the others, thinking about getting his bottle filled and checking out the burgers that Courtney and some of the others were working on.<br><br>Stretching as he stood, he was looking towards the water and not the trees when all heck seemed to break loose.&nbsp; He turned to see a girl or woman, gods they got so picky about which term you used some times, running or run-stumbling out of the tree line and from the look of her clothes and face, she was practically hysterical, scared shitless and had run into issues with something or someone.<br><br>Layne started heading straight for her, taking off his outer shirt to cover her in, but Fifi, damn you T-Sam, Faith got there much more quickly and seemed able to direct the girl her way.&nbsp; Courtney was yelling things, some of which made sense and some of which didn’t,<br><br>“Why put out the fi…er, never mind,” Layne grunted as the three thoughts about what the monster might be, other than the woman getting overly scared and lost from another campsite telling ghost stories that freaked her out, was in no particular order, bear, wolf or some bad dude, criminal or pervert camper sort, whatever, it made no sense to put out the fire.&nbsp; Clearly anything or one following the blubbering blonde could do that well enough by the sound of her and the rest of them weren’t exactly quiet, and the fire might be useful in keeping a bear or wolf away, at least it always seemed that way in movies and kind of made sense.<br><br>Didn’t matter then, fire was out, Courtney was doing something in her tent, people were congregating there or around the blonde and Layne was, well, sizable.&nbsp; It wasn’t like he was an experienced bear or wolf fighter offer, but he grabbed&nbsp; the small LED flashlight out of his pocket, one he planned to use in the tent later or to find his way to take a wiz, probably booth and picked up a&nbsp; good hand sized rock he could hit or throw and hit something with.&nbsp; If he was more a baseball player he might have grabbed a big stick, but the rock was there and of late he seemed unable to miss a shot on the court or anywhere else he threw, tossed or flicked things, so the rock seemed pretty damned useful, since not having a fire or anything.<br><br>Courtney’s advice to stay together and watch for the trees made more sense than putting out the fire or whatever people were screaming about over by her tent, and Layne went to take up a position between the campers and the tree-line, flashlight and rick in hand.&nbsp; Sam was making some weird remark as he was left behind at the tent about Courtney being a stone cold bitch, which was rude as hell and not as funny as the snickering toucan seemed to think, and Layne quickly found that someone else had at least somewhat of a similar idea.&nbsp; <br><br>Running into Dani, he had been kind of expecting Felix as the fellow seemed like he might be good in a scrap and not afraid of one, Layne wasn’t going to complain about nearly bumping into Dani and was pretty impressed that she was taking up a sort of guard duty too.&nbsp; He heard her talking to what sounded like herself, until something else answered and shrugged as talking things tended to be campers or their stuffed animals, it just was the weird new normal.<br><br>“Hey, Dani,” Layne called out as they were circling towards the same general area near the woods, but from somewhat opposite directions, though really not that far apart, “Can you wait up a second?&nbsp; We can check out whatever was scaring or chasing her together,” he said plainly and loped a few long strides to catch up to her.&nbsp; Layne brought no backpack with him like Dani had, and which now struck him as a really smart idea to bring, but both had flashlights and Layne had, well, a decent sized rock that felt both useful and dumb looking to be carrying around all at once.<br><br>“Did you spot anything yet?” he asked, directing the bright, narrow beam of his light towards the trees and place he thought the girl had come from, not knowing who or what they might find, if anything at all.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>20-04-2022, 20:54:18</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara and <strong>Balor</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>CJ, Felix | Courtney</em><br><hr><br>CJ being embarrassed is cute. Liam, of course, not knowing when to let something go can't help but try to continue the conversation. "Did you have a favorite song the uh, pickle sang?" His lips quirks a little, because it's. Absolutely ridiculous. But Liam doesn't know where else to take it, and Bully seems to enjoy teasing CJ. "Your family is pretty religious, huh?" he asks, not really sure what to think of that. He's only been to church for major holidays, and even then his Dad always griped about having to put money in the collection plate.<br><br>Either way they end up around the fire, Felix leaning between them. "Robin's your brother, right?" Liam ventures, mostly trying to make conversation. Obviously he <em>knows</em> the answer to that question, they all share a cabin together. He'd at least picked up on <em>that</em> much in the last couple of days. Unfortunately his conversation with Felix isn't much less awkward than the one with CJ, and somewhere he can feel Balor sighing. "I'm an only child, what's that like?" he tries instead, curious. What <em>would</em> it have been like, to grow up with someone else there? Would they have turned out like Liam, or would his Dad finally have had the Golden Child he'd always wanted? <br><br>Having his shoulder clasped is slightly odd, he's not used to being touched. At the same time he doesn't want Felix to <em>stop</em> or think he's weird, so Liam does his best to ignore it. "Mister?" he blinks, frowning. "That makes me sound <em>way</em> older than I am. Just Liam." He still snickers a bit, figuring Felix is mostly messing around and giving the other boy a grin. "Hey it sounds like a plan. We'll all go to the lake, then." He nods, as if it's a done deal.<br><br>The conversation likely would have continued on if they hadn't been interrupted, Liam startling badly and almost falling over at the first scream. "The fuck--," he manages, setting his guitar to the side and looking the direction the woman ran from. "Monster?" A few days ago he'd have dismissed it easily, but well. He can't help the creeping unease, and he moves closer to CJ and Felix. <br><br>Courtney at least seems to know what to do. He assumes putting the fire out is to hide, or maybe to stop the smell from luring anything in? He doesn't know. But he still listens, throwing water on the fire before he thinks twice about it. Maybe that would have been the end of it if CJ hadn't come back looking like he'd seen a ghost. Balor apparently decides it's time to stop pretending, instead climbing up to sit on his shoulder and peering out into the dark, the cat's many eyes looking in different directions.<br><br>It's not yet dark so he doesn't pull on the cat's powers, but it makes him feel better to have Balor around at the very least. Peering into the tent, he swallows roughly as he stumbles back towards where most of them are congregating. "Courtney's been uh. She's been turned to stone." It's half mumbled, because what? He didn't think CJ was being-- <strong>"She's a literal statue,"</strong> Balor confirms. <strong>"I don't like this. I <em>told</em> you there was more to magic than just us--,"</strong> the cat begins, and Liam waves him off. "Yeah, but I didn't expect to run into it on a camping trip!"<br><br>Scratching at his chin, he doesn't know what to do. What would his Dad do in this situation? Probably get a gun, he thinks. "Hey uh, Courtney said she had a radio. I'm going to go look for it," he decides. Even if he's scared, he's not going to be a wuss about it. His Dad already thinks he's weak; it's time to prove him wrong. He winces when he sees the statue again, but still takes the time to look through the counselor's tent and see if he can't find anything useful. The radio, maybe a flare gun, he doesn't know. <em>Anything</em>.<br><br>Though how, exactly, they'd explain this if he <em>does</em> find a radio he has no idea. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>22-04-2022, 23:29:54</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://assets.vogue.com/photos/58916dd223f9887c0e0e0fbd/1:1/w_612,h_612,c_limit/17-hailey-baldwin.jpg)<br><div align="center"><strong>Janise Hutchins</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 4.28.22 | June 4th, 7:00pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>Faith approaching the girl has her flinching, looking up as if expecting a trick. When the jacket is placed around her shoulders she grabs the sides and pulls it around herself quickly, ducking down as if she can hide from the world. Her sobbing quiets but doesn't stop; she's a messy crier, makeup smearing, snot dripping. She wipes her face on Faith's jacket almost absently, sniffling as the other girl snaps her fingers. "M-my name? It's Janise. Janise Hutchins." <br><br>She looks around as if he realizing where she is for the first time. "Who... who are all you people? I was just running, trying to get away, and..." She stops, sniffles, and glances back the way she came. Janise shudders, and anyone that gives her more than a cursory inspection will see that she was apparently fleeing quite quickly--she has several surface wounds from being slapped or tripped by branches, roots, and likely thorns. <br><br>CJ snapping has Janise all but squeaking, peeking at him from around Faith. "L-loud," she murmurs. Her head jerks back and forth, looking at the sides of the clearing. "Too loud! It'll hear you," she warns urgently. "You don't understand, I was being chased by a giant snake. Don't let it find me!" Janise wails, clutching tightly to Faith. <br><br>In the tent, Liam does manage to find the radio. Or, rather, the pieces to it. Courtney had found it, and subsequently landed on it. Not a problem normally, the woman becoming stone made her descent rather more complicated. A larger inspection of the tent, however, reveals a long sheathed machete, as well as a flare gun with two cartridges.<br><br>The further Dani and Layne go into the woods, the darker it seems to get. It's an almost immediate darkness, particularly odd as the sun hasn't set yet, as if the trees block out even a hint of it. What becomes evident <em>very</em> quickly is that they're not alone. Twigs snap and brushes move, but maybe most damning is a distinctive--if perhaps unfamiliar--sound of scales sliding across bark. It's a <em>heavy</em> noise, too, as if something big, much bigger than any creature around here should be, were moving about just beyond view. Watching. Waiting. <br><br>Then, a voice. <strong>"Give usss... the girl..."</strong> It echoes long after it's done speaking, as if moving between the trees. The voice itself is cold, angry, and most of all <em>demanding</em>. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>24-04-2022, 02:40:10</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. A matching windbreaker is rolled up in her backpack. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Janise, Carter, Liam</em><br><hr>Some embers of the fire still smoldered in the muddy ash of the doused flame. Faith guided the girl over to the log Liam had been sitting on only minutes before. She sat the girl down and put an arm around her. Snapping her fingers in front of her face had jolted the girl into giving Faith her name.<br><br>Janise Hutchins.<br><br>She sat quietly while the girl sobbed, her arm around Janise, gently rubbing her shoulder and trying to soothe her. At the same time, watching Janise utterly ruin her jacket with snot and tears. Faith gave a defeated sigh. Camp just had it out for her.&nbsp; <br><br>At least Carter had done what she ordered. Sure, he had tried to snap back, but guys were always liked that when a woman told them what to do. The important part was he had done as he was told like a good little boy.&nbsp; <br><br>Janise’s halting question came with a trail of snot dangling from one nostril to the sleeve of her jacket. It took a superhuman effort to not roll her eyes and groan. Coral had better be watching this from where she was, coiled around Faith’s waist. It deserved plenty of praise.<br><br>She looked around and found a napkin discarded in the chaos of Janise’s arrival and picked it up to help Janise clear the glistening string from her nose and help her wipe her face. Some girls just shouldn’t cry. Janise was definitely one of them.<br><br>“We’re from Camp Runamuk,” Faith said, hoping to god that Janise would assume she was a counselor and not a camper. She didn’t want to answer the embarrassing questions about why a girl her age was in summer camp. <br><br>In the light of the moon, now that her eyes had time to adjust, she got a better look at Janise. Her dress was torn and gashed, but it was long and covered her form, like a peasant or prairie dress and not even a cute one. Not something you would typically go camping in or wear…like ever.<br><br>Faith had been coming to camp for years, and she was certain no one lived nearby. There were no other camps either. Sure, it was possible some campers may have ignored the private property signs and set up out here in the mountains, but it wasn’t sitting right. <br><br>“Where are you from? Is your campsite nearby?” She asked, still wiping Janise’s face before handing her the sticky napkin so she could do it herself while she answered. CJ didn’t help matters with his snappishness, though and Janise ducked behind her, scanning the darkness by quickly whipping her head back and forth. Faith found the girl’s arms wrapped around her like she was about to crawl into Faith’s skin if she could.<br><br>“Hey…hey…Nothing’s gonna find you, and if it does, I won’t let it hurt you, okay? No one here is going to let it hurt you.” Faith offered. <br><br>As acerbic and biting as Faith could be, the girl was terrified. Now, suppose she found out this giant snake was a two-foot garter. In which case, the bitch was gonna buy her a new jacket. Until then, she felt for her, even if she was trying to climb up her back and snot all over her hair.&nbsp; <br><br>“Now. Normally I wouldn’t mind a cute blond girl climbing all over me, but I want to breathe some, so could you lighten up a little on the squeeze?” Faith asked, a twist of a smile touching her lips as Coral thumped her tail on her back in annoyance.&nbsp; <br><br>“Thank you,” Faith said as the pressure around her belly and back eased slightly but didn’t altogether leave. Apparently, Faith had a Janise backpack for the foreseeable future. Sigh. “So, tell me about the snake.” She asks. If the girl was going to climb her like a jungle gym, she might as well find out what she could so she could help.&nbsp; <br><br>Faith barely hears Liam and Balar as they back out of Courtney’s tent, and what they say doesn’t wholly register to her. Courtney…stone…? Courtney is stoned? Well, it certainly explained some things, but what the fuck? This was not the time. Damn, that bitch was holding out on them. When they get back to camp, she is totally getting some of Councilor Courtney’s stash one way or another.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Totoro</strong> on <strong>24-04-2022, 10:32:27</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/50/24/97/502497d2d30e9c87d95be93aba326c38.jpg) (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/de/68/ffde68bef367fb2e8f316ecb1ce39f94.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Lorelei Russo (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Black top, Grey Hoodie, Black Combats, Boots. Hair tied back.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> Liam, Faith, Janise | The group gathered by Janise<br><hr><br>Lorelei was trying to process the situation as best she could as she regarded the statue and listened to everyone else reacting around her. She briefly glanced over at Liam as he looked in and confirmed what she was seeing was actually real. From there it took until Liam was back, sorting through the tent, for her to snap into action too. She joined him in sorting through it all and soon came across the machete and flare gun, snatching both up. <br><br>She held out the flare gun by the handle, trusting the strength Bella gave her to give a bit of an edge with the machete. "Take this, I've never used one before," Lorelei suggested, hoping that he had but realizing that most people probably hadn't ever actually had to fire one. In a moment she was gone, darting back out of the tent to her own that Faith had helped put up.<br><br>After a brief scramble she had hold of her backpack, Bella inside, which she slung up and onto her shoulder before heading back outside, machete in a tight grip, to join the group. Much as she clutched it she didn't want to panic the blonde woman clinging to Faith and so she held it low, at her side, as she surveyed the treeline again. That strange voice in the treeline had her brow furrowed. "You all heard that, right?" Lori checked, still a little concerned that it might just be her.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Envious</strong> on <strong>26-04-2022, 06:31:48</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/eGp9EM9.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/0TqlRxT.jpg?1)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Dani Kumar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145277#msg16145277)</em> | <strong>Dani</strong> | <strong>Kraken</strong> <br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>French braid pigtails, brown hiking boots, clothing (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/1a/0d/4a1a0d17e161fa9463b6617291ce3afd--camo-hats-white-tank-tops.jpg), no hat.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; 7:00</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Layne | Snot girl, Courtney</em><br><hr><strong> </strong><br><strong>"Laaaayne!"</strong> she said cheerily, drawing out the name with a pleasant smile. She waved with the hand holding the flashlight. <strong>"I've always got room for a friendly face. Especially one without snot."</strong> She shouldered one strap of the backpack and took a look into the woods before taking the path of least resistance inside. There was nothing rushed about her stride; she didn't seem to be concerned about the state of their visitor or have much sympathy. She swatted low-hanging branches with her flashlight as she chat.<br><br><strong>"The lady sure is in a panic. Do you think someone played a prank on her? Or she saw a wild animal and freaked out? My money is on a skunk. What do you think?"</strong> Her tone was conversational, but a tad derisive. Something about the state of emotional distress the woman was in made Dani feel a bit frosty on the inside. She screwed her face in confusion as things seemed to get noticeably darker with each step. Was that natural? She felt Kraken squeeze around her ribs.<br><br><strong>"I didn't recognize her. Did you?"</strong> she asked, still chattering on as Kraken continued squeezing harder. The stuffed animal was stronger than she gave it credit for, because he was starting to hurt her. <br><br><strong>"Ease up, will you?"</strong> she asked, patting one of the tentacles nonchalantly. She turned on the flashlight, but the illumination didn't seem to extend very far. She turned the beam to Layne's chest. <strong>"Do you hear th--"</strong><br><br>The voice from the void caused Dani to whip her head around in an attempt to give the sound her full attention. She weighed the tone carefully before turning back to Layne. The downturn of one side of her mouth conveyed her displeasure. She wanted to roast marshmallows, not fetch some snotty, crying lady for <em>"usss."</em><br><br><strong>"I mean, you can get her yourself. She's just over there."</strong> Dani pointed over her shoulder back towards camp. She spoke with the confidence of a jock and the attitude of a teenager being asked to do an unpleasant chore. Combined with the squinty-eyed head-shake she gave Layne that silently asked <em>what in the actual fuck was going on</em>, it borderline confrontational. She eased up on the attitude when seeing her fellow Jock's face, though. He looked far more concerned and it tempered her. Slightly.<br><br><strong>"Or I guess we could take you there,"</strong> she amended in a half-assed attempt to seem a bit more helpful. Dani was at camp to have fun. Courtney could figure out whatever weird drama this was. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Aethyrium</strong> on <strong>26-04-2022, 17:40:16</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://imgur.com/8u49qBc.jpg)(https://imgur.com/z3USgpj.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Felix Elliot (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16147442#msg16147442) &amp; Hissy Fit</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/18/58/531858649f4d2e264b3e453766c63d47.jpg)<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Layne, Liam, Dani, Lori | Janise</em><br><hr>“<strong>Layers are in anyway.</strong>” He chuckles. “<strong>But,</strong>” Felix tosses Layne another glance and looks the shirt over, nodding, “<strong>Very cool shirt.</strong>” It’d look equally good on the floor, Felix suspects. But that thought is one he keeps to himself, hinting at it only with suddenly cheek raising grin and mild laugh as he turns back to the path and ensuring he doesn’t end up tripping over himself.<br><br>Layne’s stumble over the bit of the camp gets a loud, amused, but not at all contradicting laugh out of Felix. “<strong>Some of them <em>very</em> nice to look at, right?</strong>” He clicks his tongue. “<strong>The mountains and trees too though.</strong>” You know, if you’re into those sorts of things. “<strong>Oh man, that sounds terrible.</strong>” In a lot of ways, if he was going to be moving all over the place, he’d want it to be <em>much</em> more frequent. Long enough to leave a mark maybe, short enough to ignore the consequences of that mark - or to not care about potential consequences? That might be kind of freeing. Though that might be only true from his, admittedly, unique perspective of the world. “<strong>That blows.</strong>” He muses and lands on, for Layne’s benefit entirely - if he didn’t like it, it sucked. Down with traveling parents!<br><br>“<strong>Oh I play <em>all sorts</em> of things.</strong>” Felix confirms, spinning around as he walks to Layne, smirking. Innuendo aside it’s true, Felix plays or has played a bit of everything - at least, everything he’s been exposed to, “<strong>Little bit of everything, but soccer is my game. I play defensive midfielder.</strong>” Teams are their own whole topic, and Felix is happy to talk about them with Layne most of the trip back - except for baseball, which he doesn’t keep up with, because it is the world’s worst sport. “<strong>Heyyyy,</strong>” He gives Layne a little nudge as they walk, “<strong>San Antonio’s got a good team, good pick mister.</strong>” When the conversation circles around to soccer teams, Felix groans and offers little more than, “<strong>MLS <em>sucks</em>. You’ve got to play in the international leagues if you want good teams.</strong>”<br><br><div align="center"><strong>* * * * *</strong></div><br>Lake adventure on the docket, Felix makes a mental note to tell Robin that he needs to at least pretend he likes jumping from tire swings into lakes. Or maybe off a big rock. What were the chances they had a tire swing? Exploration was needed. “<strong>Sure, sure, no problem, <em>Liam</em>.</strong>” How Felix had picked up the word mister as a flirtation is anybody's guess - but it was cute, he thought, when it worked, and when it didn’t it got him names. Foolproof!<br><br>Felix is quite happy to share - or more listen and offer enthused commentary on - stories as they get settled in. Dani somewhere along the line ends up beside him - or had he moved beside her? It didn’t much matter more than it happened, and he was <em>plenty</em> happy that it had. Now fortunately Felix isn’t the easily spooked type. So when the scream breaks the night, he looks up and around trying to figure out where it came from. The woman streaking out of the woods is unfamiliar, and he puffs his cheek, brows coming together in confusion and concern, head shaking, “<strong>Don’t think I’ve seen her.</strong>” Of course, who could tell with all that snot and smeared makeup. “<strong>Hope that’s all it is.</strong>” So much for cheeseburgers and camp stories. Felix pops up and off the ground, abandoning his food - but Dani, who remains collected enough to finish hers off gets a mental “that’s hot”. Very much a ‘cool guys don’t look at explosions’ moment.<br><br>Instructions are good, so Liam follows Courtney’s original instructions, grabbing water - glad he decided to get that extra one now - and douses the fire in the middle of the camp. Janise’s earlier screaming was not half as alarming as the various people talking about Courtney being stone - and Felix has to see that for himself. So he ends up at the tent, in front of the stoned woman, snapping his fingers in front of her face, “<strong>Hey sweetie? You there?</strong>” Suddenly, Felix feels very lost. He taps her cheek a couple taps and grimaces.<br><br>The voice makes his spine go rigid. Stepping out of the tent, Felix looks at Lori and nods, “<strong>Oh yeah, I heard it.</strong>”<br><br>Alright! Time to test what Hissy had told him. Felix holds up a hand and covers his mouth, and whispers something barely audible into it. And for everyone near him, that’s what it is. But for Layne and Dani, he might as well be on the walk right next to them, talking between them, “<strong>Hey friends, something’s moving out there. Watch yourselves huh?</strong>”
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wyatt</strong> on <strong>27-04-2022, 19:41:38</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713373042520096840/957459763694825523/20190927_3bf4cb.png)(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691657169988485150/957457550079586394/6b6405dbaff8917f8168729d1a5cc408.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Layne Opa (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145938#msg16145938) &amp; T-Sam</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/0f/a1bc0faafcf5f6234ce3a69a1fc8c171.png), <em>plus desert camo military style backpack, older blue canvas high top/white sole Chuck Taylors</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:50PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Campsite Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Courtney, Dani, Felix|&nbsp; Lorelei, Faith, Danica, CJ, Liam, Blondie</em><br><hr>Felix being into soccer doesn’t surprise Layne, he has that wiry athleticism that a lot of soccer players seem to have, although Layne hasn’t played since grade school in and really doesn’t follow it, it fits Felix.&nbsp; It’s also a sport that requires insane cardio, if you want to do it right anyway, and again Felix has that kind of energy and stamina and strength that go beyond what his lean frame seems to belie and Layne figures he is the sort that can go all day and then some.<br><br><strong>“Soccer, I wish I knew more, just not big in my household and I dropped it when I had to start narrowing down stuff to play.&nbsp; My Mom says when she was in school it wasn’t so intense with all of the travel leagues and tournaments in every sport, people played a bit of everything.&nbsp; Would be cool if it was still like that, not that I don’t love hoops, but variety is, you know, good.&nbsp; I bet you kick ass at kicking…um, I was gonna say kicking balls, sorry, I don’t know my soccer slang or jokes too well,”</strong> Layne admitted, and if he was good at anything, it was admitting what he wasn’t good at or knew very well.<br><br>Felix just seemed a bit like his opposite, which he liked, not opposing opposites, more the kind you could hang with and be different together, plus he was, it sounded weird, but pretty.&nbsp; Not that Layne hadn’t been called pretty before, girls seemed to like using that term to describe him, which he figured was because of his hair, but it fit Felix and that was cool too.<br><br><strong>“Thanks for working with me, catch you later,”</strong> Layne said to Felix as they parted for a bit.<br><br>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<br><br>Heading into the woods with Dani was something that might have seemed a lot more appealing if there wasn’t some blonde woman screaming and crying about monsters.&nbsp; He hadn’t really gotten that close to her before Faith collected her, but she looked a bit of a wreck and that was worrisome, but still not exactly explaining what happened.<br><br><strong>“Heyy,”</strong> Layne replied to Dani’s greeting, not having seen the lady mucus bombing Faith, Dani’s comment had his trying to check to make sure there wasn’t something hanging from his own nose, and there wasn’t. so he just moved past that.<br><br><strong>“I’m thinking maybe she got lost in the woods, got all turned around and,” he nodded toward the tentacle thing she was talking to, “It isn’t like this is the most regular camp ever.&nbsp; I got lost when I was little and freaked out, so if she did that in the woods and all the shadows and stuff, looked pretty scratched up running, maybe it seemed like a monster grabbing at h…”</strong> he never got to go any further, probably all the better since the time he got all lost and turned around was in a large grocery store while on vacation.&nbsp; He was little, maybe 4 years old, and it really freaked him out, but not the kind of thing that one always wants to share with a girl you are interested in…so an, um, good thing that freaky sounds started moving about and talking to them from the woods, sort of.<br><br>The thing sounds big, sounded like a snake or something similar, not that he could see it yet, and for a moment Layne wondered if it was like Sam or some of the other stuffed animals that were now alive in camp, but damn, it really sounded big.&nbsp; Not being entirely knowledgeable about snakes, other than they were to be avoided generally and could be cool to look at from a distance or in a zoo setting, he knew enough that regular snakes don’t talk, except in the Harry Potter movies, and this didn’t seem like he was the only one hearing it judging by Dani’s face.<br><br>Then she replied to it and Layne did nothing to hide the ‘what the fuck, are you crazy’ look on his face, but said nothing of the sort.&nbsp; His Dad always joked that the most attractive girls were the craziest, which his Mother heard once and joked back that she must be the craziest he knew then.&nbsp; It was pretty cool having parents that actually liked and loved each other, he had enough friends from divorce and worse families to know that usually wasn’t the case.<br><br>He was trying to decide if maybe Dani had a sneaky smart plan that just sounded, you know, crazy, or maybe figured the thing was another stuffed animal, then he heard Felix’s voice and turned about this way and that quickly as if Felix was right there, but he wasn’t.<br><br>Layne hated lying, for himself, but had no trouble doing it to protect others.&nbsp; Otherwise his little sister would get in wayyyy more trouble than she did as Layne was always covering for her, and just before camp had found out that she was pretty sure she liked other girls…which he was cool with, not sure both of his parents would be, but kind of felt like he did something right that she trusted telling him that first.&nbsp; As far as he knew, she wasn’t really dating yet, and it wasn’t like he had any luck figuring girls out himself, so he told her they would talk more when they both got back from camp, him in this weird ass place and she off to some kind of math camp.<br><br>He thought about it quickly for a moment, throwing the rick really hard was a definite thought, but Dani wasn’t playing it that way and then as he tried to figure her play out, Felix seemed to be warning them somehow,<br><br><strong>“Whoa, hold on, are you sure that’s a good idea?”</strong> he asked, trying not to sound like he thought it was a totally whack a doodle thing she said and offered to <em>‘Ussss…’,</em> but instead tried a different tact,<br><br><strong>“I mean, I think our visitor is like a snake, right, you’re a snake of some sort?&nbsp; Maybe you should wait here, we have a couple of animals of our own, some birds and wasn’t that one kid’s thing a mongoose, mongeese, however you say it?”</strong> he asked, hoping the snake would buy it and Dani would go along, and invoking that Riki Tiki Tavi knowledge he had from watching that as a kid and later with his little sister,<br><br><strong>“I mean, my bird alone is pretty close to a phoenix, and you know they don’t like birds, can be pretty nasty.&nbsp; Let’s get them put away before we invite anyone in and cause trouble, don’t want trouble, right?&nbsp; Birds can put an eye right out you know,”</strong> he said half confidently, not really a great liar, not terrible either, and this was for Dani and the rest, so lying for others he did better than for himself.<br><br>Sure, his entire plan was based on a couple of movies and cartoons about snakes and birds and mongooses, and wondered just how cool Sam would be with getting called a phoenix.&nbsp; Layne stepped in between Dani and the sounds in the forest, still rock in hand and that as his remaining plan if throwing out some bullshit about mongeese and raptors didn’t do the trick, either was he wasn’t going to let this thing get any closer to Dani, the camp or the girl without a fight, unless he was sure it wasn’t an actual monster of some sort.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Drowned Vandal</strong> on <strong>29-04-2022, 04:47:10</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ZkUqzm7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HDfKZf7.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Carter Jak (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145246#msg16145246) &amp; Bully</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> Loose fitting shorts, sneakers and a white-t. A stainless steel cross hangs from his neck<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam, Courtney, Faith, Felix, Lorelei | Layne, Other Campers </em><br><hr><br>Cj only blushed deeper as Liam kept pushing on the subject, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t answer, instead he just focused on the task at hand. Though notably several times he opened his mouth to comment on the song he might have liked or… Bully snorted. “There is not flattering answer to that one,” the Bull finally muttered to CJ. Thankfully Liam’s follow up broke that tension a bit. “Yeah, we go to church all the time. Honestly most of my time not in sports is there,” he admitted with a shrug. It felt normal to him even if other students didn’t always share his beliefs. "Is your family?" he asked hopefully.<br><br><hr><br>Cj had just taken a near stumble back after finding Courtney turned to stone, his heart was pounding and he was looking around. This couldn’t be possible. He started eyeing the forest around them, not like running was a solution at this point. Whatever she was screaming about was apparently real and he didn’t want to be turned to stone. “Kid, calm down… Pretty sure you don’t want to soil those underwear, probably not getting back to the cabin anytime soon.”Cj grunted and shook his backpack again as Felix went in after him to confirm that Courtney was indeed stoned. <br><br>There was a momentary hopefulness that Felix might have found something that he didn’t, that he just hallucinated for a moment and Bully could tease him over it. None of that happened though, Courntey was very much still stone, probably dead and CJ was not confident he knew his way back to camp let alone what the procedure was for a counselor turning to stone during a camping trip. It wasn’t until the voice demanded the woman that the jock stopped thinking. He just glanced to the trembling and sputtering woman and then to the woods. “No.” <br><br>He looked to Liam and then to anyone else around her. “We won’t let it get you, I promise,” he said with something of a forced smile. “I play running back but I’m a hell of a blocker,” he said with a flex of his left arm. The entire interaction got a chuckle from Bully. “Fuck yeah, about time we act like we work out every day, lets rip that snake a new ass-” Cj shook the bag. “Watch the language,” Cj hissed, fighting back something of a smile.<br><br>“This is why you’re single. No fun.”<br><br>Cj squared his jaw and huffed. “Whatever, hey Janise… right?” he asked. “Just focus on your faith and then put in the work and we will come out on top. I promise.” He bounced on his toes. “Please god, let that not be just hot air.”<br><br>“Everyone pick a direction to watch until we know for sure which way it is coming. I got this way,” he said pointing in whatever direction he was facing.<br>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>29-04-2022, 08:41:16</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://assets.vogue.com/photos/58916dd223f9887c0e0e0fbd/1:1/w_612,h_612,c_limit/17-hailey-baldwin.jpg)<br><div align="center"><strong>Janise Hutchins</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 5.4.22 | June 4th, 7:00pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>Janise seems to look to Faith like a lifeline. Someone that can protect her. She takes the discarded napkin with a smile, small but there, and works on cleaning herself up as best she can. "Camp Runamuk?" she manages, glancing up at the other girl. Having something to focus on is calming her down, at least. Even enough to inject a faint tone of incredulity over the name. "A play on words," Janise murmurs, some faint amusement conjured somewhere. She's determined not to look at the trees, staring solely at Faith as if she pretends hard enough, it'll just be two friends conversing. <br><br><div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/9f/8e/67/9f8e674feffdac520f58bc44fb92cc56.jpg)</div>The questions seem to confuse her, though, and she shakes her head. "No," she pauses, hesitates, then adds "I don't know." Folding the napkin and judging herself as cleaned up as possible, she tugs the jacket offered by Faith closer around herself again. "I was home, putting the goats away. I saw something in the woods and I was afraid it was the local boys looking to make mischief, but then I got lost, and chased by that...," she shudders. "What kind of God can allow such a thing to exist?" Janise asks, not expecting an answer--or even particularly to be heard--directing the question more at the ground.<br><br>With CJ's antics sending her adrenaline pumping again, she blushes a bit as she realizes she's clutching onto Faith. "My apologies," she says, clearing her throat. "I'm not usually like this." She looks at Faith from under her lashes, managing to summon another smile. She doesn't get to answer before that strange echoing voice speaks, and she goes the color of curdled milk. "It's here," Janise wails. <br><br>It's a statement made all the more obvious by Dani's helpful directions. Layne's less than confident assertions of there being a nearby mongoose and phoenix have the snake letting out a hissing laugh. It's the only thing it says before it <em>blasts</em> past Dani and Layne, trees, foliage, dirt, and anything else in the way knocked down. It is, as it goes by, notably much larger than any mere <em>snake</em>. Perhaps because it is <em>not</em> a snake, but rather possesses the top of a human and the bottom of a serpent. The woman, for it is indeed a women, possesses three sets of arms and is as pale as the moon. Atop her head is a crown of snakes rather than hair, and one snaps at Layne almost idly as she slithers by at incredible speeds. Dani and Layne feel the brush of it, and feel the wind...<br><br>But <em>everyone</em> feels it as the creature attempts to slam through CJ only to be held fast. There's enough strength behind it that the ground around them cracks, and the sound the woman makes is all anger. <strong>"How?!"</strong> she demands. Janise whimpers, and it pulls the naga's attention like a moth to a flame. <strong>"You!"</strong> The noise that follows is more enraged, ringing, <em>shriek</em> than scream. It is a sound no mortal could make. Faintly, there's the sound of Janise praying. <br><br>"Lord God, heavenly Father, through your Son you promised us that whatever we ask in his name you will give us. Keep us in your Word and grant us your Holy Spirit, that he may govern us according to your will, protect us from the power of the devil, from false doctrine and false worship. Defend our lives against all danger and grant us your blessing and peace--" It's hurried and repeated, the rest of the prayer almost mumbled as Janise clings harshly to Faith and faith both. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>01-05-2022, 00:50:49</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. A matching windbreaker is rolled up in her backpack. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Janise, Carter</em><br><hr>Okay, it was becoming pretty clear now that something was seriously fucked up. Janise seemed to have no clue what Camp Runamuk was, and Faith was damn sure there were no farms with goats nearby and certainly not some “local boys.”&nbsp; What the actual fuck is going on around here? As much as Faith would love to have those answers right about now, she had the snot queen looking at her like she was the last life preserver on the Titanic. First things first, Faith. <br><br>Talking to her seemed to be helping, so she continued doing that as the woman cleaned herself up. “There you go,” Faith encouraged. Faith was gonna have to burn her jacket at this point, but at least Janise was coming around some and didn’t look like she just took a gallon of Nickelodeon ooze to the face. “Yeah, boys are the worst,” Faith agreed with a sage-like nod as she listened to what was an impossible tale. At least CJ was coming around to being useful. His football boast was rather lame, but at least he was following her lead that they wouldn’t let anything take her. What could she expect from a jock?&nbsp; <br><br>“Hey…hey…it’s okay. You’re scared. Nothing to be ashamed of.” It totally was, but that would have been detrimental to Faith’s efforts to keep the woman from dissolving into a pile of snotty goo again, so she left it unsaid. “No, I bet you have all of the local boys sniffing around your barn door,” Faith said with a playful wink. Best to keep her focused and engaged. It might have worked, too, until that creepy-ass voice slithered across the clearing, and Janise freaked out again.&nbsp; <br><br>“Remember what CJ said. We aren’t going to let anything hurt you. Just focus on me, Faith.” Faith’s back was turned when the snake-haired medusa slithered into camp like she was shot out of a cannon and slammed into CJ. The sound caused even Faith to jump. Yelping in surprise. Which only pissed her off more.<br><br>“Look out, Faith!” Coral yelled her warning just before the creature collided with CJ, sending cracked earth scattering across the camp as they slid to a halt right in front of Janise and Faith.<br><br>“Fucking Christ! What the hell?” She wheeled on CJ only to find him face to face with a monster out of mythology. A hot monster, sure. Faith had to give her that, but still a monster. “Fuck me!” she breathed hard as the medusa unleashed a horrific shriek, and Janise’s arms wrapped tightly around her and squeezed hard enough for her to grunt. Jesus, buy a girl dinner first.<br><br>Had she not been so frightened by the fact that a fucking medusa was a mere couple of feet away shrieking her bloody tits off at them. She might have laughed at the irony that her air was being constricted out of her by the very woman she was trying to save, but her mind was in full-on survival mode, and the nerd in her burst to the forefront. Snakes, bad…tail…bad…eyes…the fucking worst. Go for the eyes! She can’t turn you to stone if she can’t see!<br><br>“The water!” Coral spoke as if she were reading Faith’s thoughts. Faith yanked the canteen she spotted from its clip on CJ’s belt. All the while, Janise’s mumbled useless prayer’s in her ear. “The Lord helps those who help themselves, Janise,” Faith said, thoroughly annoyed as she popped the top off the canteen and thrust her hand towards the gorgon’s face, splashing it with water.&nbsp; <br><br>“Ice, Faith, ice!” Coral encouraged. She drew in a deep breath of air, feeling the magic draw in with it. Her lungs grew bitterly cold, and her lips turned a deep shade of blue as the chill that resided deep inside her filled her lungs. Faith lifted a hand to her mouth, and like she was blowing a kiss, an arctic wind blew from her lips. It wasn’t enough to bowl a man over or rip tents from their moorings, but it was plenty enough to cause the water dripping from the gorgon’s face to freeze, blinding her. If only for a few moments.&nbsp; <br><br>“Move. Move!” Faith said, pulling Janice along with her, trying to get them some separation from the creature intent on kidnapping the woman.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>03-05-2022, 01:26:54</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara and <strong>Balor</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>CJ, Felix, Snake Lady(???), Faith | Courtney, Janise</em><br><hr><br>CJ blushing deeper is practically encouragement as far as Liam is concerned. "I'll have to learn to play one," he decides. He's definitely teasing, but also wouldn't put it past himself to actually do it. He hasn't really had friends before, so this is... it's nice. You're supposed to tease your friends, right? Carter being hopeful about his family being religious has his grin faltering a bit, but Liam shrugs. "We uh, were, I think, before my Mom left. My Dad and I are technically Catholic, but we only really go to church on the big holidays."<br><br>Felix practically drawling his name like that has Liam biting back a shudder, glancing at the other and then away as he pinks slightly. He is <em>not</em> used to this kind of attention. It's almost enough to be relieving when things start going to hell in a hand basket. Almost. <br><br><hr><br>It feels like seconds between laughing and joking and accepting a flare gun. He accepts it, looking it over. He's had enough experience with guns that he thinks it should be a problem, at least, so he swallows and nods. Ducking out of the tent after Lorelei, he takes stock of the situation. There's creepy voices in the woods and they're split up, the sound of Janise sobbing the most notable thing over the quiet of the woods. It's worrying. At least Faith seems to know what to do about her, Liam thinks. He's useless when it comes to crying chicks. <br><br>He's not sure where to stand, looking in every direction he can and trusting Balor to watch his back. CJ says to pick a direction so Liam nods and swallows, checking the flare gun one more time--what does he really expect to do with it against some snake?--and setting himself opposite CJ. A decision that he comes to regret, somewhat, as Balor's warning to <strong>"Look out!"</strong> comes just in time for Liam to turn and see the giant woman slam into Carter. <br><br>Only to blink and hesitate as he sees CJ tank the blow, and then Liam grins as Faith blinds the creature. "Nice work! Right, my turn!" They have powers, they can do this. Even as he's wincing at the screech, his form is blurring and as he throws his arms out a Liam appears on either side of him, and then another Liam appears on either side of <em>them</em>, until there's five Liam O'Hara's in the clearing in total. Each is grinning and playing with their own flare gun. The 'primary' Liam stays where he is, but the others all spread out to cover different angles. The five of them are talking, throwing questions out and trying to distract the hopefully blinded snake by not letting it know where any of them are. <br><br>"Who are you?" <br>"What do you want?" <br>"Get away from him!"<br>"Are you okay, CJ?"<br>"CJ, duck!" <br><br>The last from the main version, as in unison the five of them lift their flare guns and let off shots.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Envious</strong> on <strong>03-05-2022, 01:49:47</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/eGp9EM9.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/0TqlRxT.jpg?1)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Dani Kumar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145277#msg16145277)</em> | <strong>Dani</strong> | <strong>Kraken</strong> <br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>French braid pigtails, brown hiking boots, clothing (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/1a/0d/4a1a0d17e161fa9463b6617291ce3afd--camo-hats-white-tank-tops.jpg), no hat.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; 7:00</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Layne | Felix</em><br><hr><strong> </strong><br><br>Lots of voices were floating through the darkness; the latest whisper on the wind was Felix and it made Dani smile. Was he worried about her? He called her a friend. Were they friends? If they weren't before, they were now; it was official. Maybe he'd want to go swimming with her? Girlish thoughts swam through her head as she divided her attention span further. Felix was taking up a lot of space, but Layne was right in front of her, and what was the nonsense about a snake? She gave a mental shrug - it certainly wouldn't be the oddest thing to happen at camp - and listened as Layne attempted to lie his way through the mysterious encounter. He was a terrible liar and Dani thought that was important information to store away for later amusement.<br><br>She wanted to argue that <em>all</em> her ideas were good ideas, but the woman - no, the snake - no, the... what? The reality of the moment seems to hit Dani as that cool and confident composure slips as she attempts to digest what she is seeing. The other-worldly creature is closing the space quickly, slithering towards the direction Dani pointed with a speed that is shocking. Still, as the creature moves past, the jock turns her full body to watch it go by. At the same time, she's reaching out for Layne and grabbing his wrist. For a moment, it's as if Dani is seeking comfort over the surprise of the situation, but she's just seeking an accomplice.<br><br><strong>"So... not a skunk,"</strong> she deadpanned as she pulled on Layne's wrist. There were no stunned silences or frozen-in-shock moments for this girl; she was already moving into action. She had never chased after a monster before. <strong>"Did she look naked to you?"</strong> she asked, perhaps hinting at her sudden interest in the creature that had engaged them. The thing had been after the woman. Why? <strong>"Gosh, do you think this is why we have powers!?"</strong> Her excitement was rising. <strong>"Are we like, heroes or something? Slaying monsters!?"</strong> The idea of murdering hordes of beasts didn't seem to phase her as she looked up at Layne, bright-eyed and grinning. It was a game to her, and she played to win. She pulled Layne along with her, running after the beast. Once she was certain he'd keep pace, she let go.<br><br><strong>"Snakes don't like mongeese? What else? Think we can sneak up and attack it?"</strong> Usually content to take lead, she was offering only the smallest break because Layne had seemed to have some sort of intel about snakes that she assumed was perfectly sound. She breathed heavily, ducking under branches and hopping over some debris, but the path cleared by the reptilian tail was pretty easy to maneuver. <strong>"<em>Oh my god</em>. I'm going to fireball it in the face!"</strong> There was a little too much glee in her voice. Fireball was a bit of an exaggeration, but it didn't matter. It'd still look cool as hell! <strong>"Or maybe I should light a stick on fire to use as a bat. Whaddya think?"</strong> She slowed down, giving the area a brief look. There was a nice stick attached to a big tree! She attempted to bend it over so the end would break; there was a lot of give before <em>snap!</em> the stick broke and one end was left jagged.<br><br><strong>"What if you throw it like a spear!? A spear on fire!"</strong> She was very keen on the fire idea and had seen Layne shoot a ball. He could definitely do this! Proud of her make-shift weaponry, she thrust one end into his hands and then requested he hold the stick still. With her hands cupped underneath the pointed end, several inches away from the tip, she conjured a small flame.<br><br><strong>"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon,"</strong> she chanted impatiently as the green wood started to smoulder, but her magic flame eventually took hold! <strong>"Yessssss!"</strong> she hissed, and it was hard to determine if she was making a joke considering the situation. <strong>"Wanna take point?"</strong> she asked. The puns were now rolling in. She had <del>practically</del> literally pushed Layne into her current course of action, but she wasn't going to <em>make</em> him do anything he didn't want to. She was perfectly fine grabbing the stick and running out to poke the snake herself, but--<br><br>In the not-so-distant clearing ahead, she hears the shouting and the flare gun go off. <br><br>It seemed to agitate Dani. She was missing out on something interesting, and she didn't like that. She was ready to barrel out into the great unknown and attack with a fireball fist to the gut! (Because she wasn't quite sure she could reach the face). <strong>"Yes? No? Go?"</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wyatt</strong> on <strong>04-05-2022, 23:59:56</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713373042520096840/957459763694825523/20190927_3bf4cb.png)(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691657169988485150/957457550079586394/6b6405dbaff8917f8168729d1a5cc408.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Layne Opa (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145938#msg16145938) &amp; T-Sam</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/0f/a1bc0faafcf5f6234ce3a69a1fc8c171.png), <em>plus desert camo military style backpack, older blue canvas high top/white sole Chuck Taylors</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:50PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Campsite Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Dani, CJ| Felix, Lorelei, Faith, Danica, Liam, Blondie</em><br><hr>The thing blasts past them like they aren’t even there.&nbsp; The dirt and some pebbles pelt him and he is rocked just a little off balance by the body of a large, angry, humanoid snake thing from someone’s weird, yet kind of hot dream, slamming on by and hurtling towards the others.<br><br>Then he is thrown completely off balance, an order of magnitude more off balance, by Dani grabbing his wrist and then asking questions about nakedness and superheroes, which in fairness has him thinking about hot female superheroes and how Dani kind of fits that look, and his first couple of answers are an eloquent and smoothly spoken,<br><br><strong>“Ummm…”</strong><br><br>In his mind the superhero thing also sounded cool and made as much sense as anything else in this camp did, really it made sense of the camp in a way.&nbsp; Slay monsters, yeah, that was as realistic as anything else he could think of.<br><br><strong>“You can make fireballs?”</strong> he asked in amazement, his own new found skills seeming to pale in comparison, <strong>“I mean, yeh, I throw javelin in spring track, never a fiery one, but…”</strong> he replies with what can only be described as a confident shrug that screams ‘sure, maybe, why not’ in guy body language.<br><br><strong>“My Dad, the cold, snakes get cold easy, my Dad came across one in early winter and just pushed it over into a snowy spot and it hardly moved, I mean, never moved like she did,”</strong> he added, so naked or not, Layne had seen enough to definitely call the thing a she.&nbsp; As for the fire, he couldn’t recall any mass media info on snakes and fire, but other than dragons, fire worked on most things, and a damn fireball, that sounded too kickass not to work.<br><br>He went along willingly, switching eyes and attention between what Dani was doing and CJ becoming the immovable object to bride of snakenstein,<br><br><strong>“Dayummmn!”</strong> he said, with no additional words attached and yet his admiration for CJ laying the smack down was 10 out of 10, clear as a bell from that one word of exclamation in a tone that said CJ was a dude, the man, kickass to the max.<br><br>The stick and Dani’s fire powers didn’t seem to quite be, well, whelming, not that he was going to say that.&nbsp; It was still a cool, er, hot power, but Dani’s confidence and enthusiasm seemed her most impressive powers or qualities, whatever, if she was leading he was going along with it.<br><br><strong>“Here, hold on a sec,”</strong> he said and took off his button down and was careful to catch it burning, real cotton, not synthetic so it burned and didn’t just melt away, then wrapped the burning cloth around the end of the spear, making it more of a long handled torch.<br><br><strong>“Not really a throwing stick, but you use that to get its attention, confuse and scare it and I’ll smack it with the rock,”</strong> he said and suddenly as their plan was going into action a bunch of flares seemed to come flying from the direction of Courtney’s tent and the peeps over that way.<br><br><strong>“Holy fuck, that’s wild…let’s see what that does, if she rears up, go for the belly and I’ll go for the head, eh?”</strong> Layne offered, it was in his nature to take his time and not screw with someone else’s shot, but to be in position to rebound the situation and then take his own shot, with Dani, if the flare didn’t work.<br><br><strong>“I’ll superhero with you any time,”</strong> Layne said, kind of out of the blue, a weird way of saying I’m really into you to Dani, but at the moment, it just felt like the thing to say as he watched, ready to take a running leap up into the air and bring the rock in his hand down hard on the snake lady’s noggin while Dani get her attention and off balance, that was, unless the flare did something spectacular first.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Drowned Vandal</strong> on <strong>05-05-2022, 02:29:07</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ZkUqzm7.jpg)(https://i.imgur.com/HDfKZf7.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Carter Jak (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145246#msg16145246) &amp; Bully</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> Loose fitting shorts, sneakers and a white-t. A stainless steel cross hangs from his neck<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam, Courtney, Faith, Felix, Lorelei | Layne, Other Campers </em><br><hr><br>Cj’s arms went up right as the creature slammed into him, his feet pressed into the ground as the earth seemed to give way to the supernatural force of her strike. “Heck yes!” He found himself shouting as it worked. “See Janice! We got this!” he called out. “God is with us.” Bully snorted. “Screw that! Pastor James couldn’t block a hit like that! Gunna sign you up for the circus.”<br><br>If CJ were not literally wrestling with the monster he would have had several comment for the stuffed bull harassing him but he just grunted as he held his position. He couldn’t even really look at Faith as she went after his belt and froze the medusa’s face. “Go with her Janice, we will take care of this thing.” He grunted. “You’re not getting her!” He screamed at the creature. The five different Liames made Cj’s head turn on a swivel. “What the..? Yeah I’m fine!” The comments made him grunt a bit but he did eventually duck down right as the flares went off from every angel at the creature.<br><br>He stumbled back a bit as the monster reacted to all the attacks from every angle. He grinned a bit. “Take that you psycho!” he called out, nudging Liam on the shoulder. “Five of you that is awesome.” He was bouncing a bit on his toes lifting his hands up. They really could do this! He shook his head a bit, he could be impressed later, for now he had to make sure Janice was safe. If the creature was still determined after those attacks he would give him a punch of his own.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Aethyrium</strong> on <strong>05-05-2022, 12:57:51</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://imgur.com/8u49qBc.jpg)(https://imgur.com/z3USgpj.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Felix Elliot (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16147442#msg16147442) &amp; Hissy Fit</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/18/58/531858649f4d2e264b3e453766c63d47.jpg)<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Janise | Bully, CJ, Robin, Elle</em><br><hr>Felix hears CJ caution Bully behind him about language, and turns and scrunches his face. There’s a ‘He’s right’ on Felix’s lips that doesn’t come - <em>only</em> because it’s CJ and Robin is all about it. Need to get this boy to loosen up! It’s probably improper to take him back to his tent and loosen him up the good ol’ fashioned way - Robin would <em>not</em> understand his brother taking his crush to pound town. So instead of speaking, Felix shelves the thought, puffs his cheeks with air, and nods in agreement with CJ - “<strong>Nope! You’re totally safe. Just <em>look at him</em></strong>” Felix gestures CJ from head to toe and back up, as if he were some sort of Achilles like specimen - bask in the glory of this one hell of a blocker, and know strange woodland lady, that you are safe! And if putting him on a pedestal endeared CJ to him by accident, forcing him to feel comfortable enough to let loose and tell him all of his delicious juicy personal details so that he could share them with Robin without shame so that they could be weaponized as some sort of love rocket against him, well then so fucking be it!<br><br>As Felix has revealed to Layne earlier, he played defensive midfielder. That position was - goalie arguments aside - the most difficult position in soccer. Not only physically, but mentally. You’re the last line of defense before the ball ends up on your side of the field. You have to be ready to get the ball, and move the ball, position and set people up, take it from others. The short of it is you have to be <em>aware</em>. You have to be able to puzzle out what other people can do, and you have to be able to find opportunities. So in some ways, this is what Felix is great at!<br><br>In other ways, <em>that’s a fucking giant snake-lady</em>. And she’s hot. In a sort of twisted-fantasy kind of way. Not typically Felix’s thing, but as he staggers back watching the creature smash into CJ, he can feel internal unresolved weeb feelings blossoming somewhere in the pit of his stomach.<br><br>Or maybe lower? <em>Ugggh.</em><br><br>Felix blinks and watches. He’s not usually stunned but it’s hard to compute the giant not-real-fantasy-snake-woman with reality as he has thus far understood it. It’s a good thing others seem to be on the ball. One the ball. On the ball. He needs to get on the damn ball! That snaps him out of it.<br><br>Ice. Super strength. Clones. Flare guns? God that’s all a hell of a lot more impressive than what he can do. He <em>thinks</em>. But he doesn’t know. So now’s as good a time as any. Felix scrambles around the tent, grabs the flashlight Courtney had been going after, takes a few steps back and whips it back. Now Felix isn’t a quarterback - when he plays football he plays receiver, because his strength is speed not, well, strength. But he has, on more than one occasion, tossed the ol’ pig skin. So he lines it up, takes a breath and…<br><br>“<strong>JUST DO IT!</strong>” Hissy fits, as he finally makes his way across the field from all the chaos and slithers up Felix’s leg.<br><br>Felix bobs forward and with all his strength to give the flashlight all the base momentum he can, flings it spinning through the air at the side of the naga’s head - and as it leaves his hand, that magic grips it and the force multiples over, and over.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>06-05-2022, 22:06:21</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://assets.vogue.com/photos/58916dd223f9887c0e0e0fbd/1:1/w_612,h_612,c_limit/17-hailey-baldwin.jpg)<br><div align="center"><strong>Janise Hutchins</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 5.12.22 | June 4th, 7:00pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>Janise giggles a little at the comment about local boys, smiling somewhat shyly as she dips her head. "Maybe one or two. Though my Pa would shoot either of them if he knew." It's unfortunately a peaceful moment that doesn't last, interrupted by an impossible force hitting an immovable object. In this case, an actual <em>naga</em> slamming into CJ. At that point there's no calming down Janise, squeezing Faith tightly and praying. <br><br>The woman audibly gasps as she sees the water turn to ice, squeezing Faith even tighter. "Are you an angel, sent by the Lord?" she murmurs. There's something not <em>quite</em> right about her tone, as she lets go of Faith and moves a step away. "Or are you a witch?" Maybe a battle isn't the best time to be talking about such things, but Janise's attention is thoroughly stolen by Faith. <br><br>She lets herself be pulled along, either way, stumbling over her long skirts. She's still sending confused and contemplative looks to Janise, and like she's coming out of a fog she starts to pay more attention to everyone else at the same time. The naga, meanwhile, screams. Blinded and stumbling, her tail lashes and hits against CJ again but she finds little purchase. In her anger she claws at the ice, slamming a fist into it and seeing it crack as she thrashes around, smacking anything that gets too close--including one of the Liam copies, who goes flying and crashes into a tree with a sickening crack, vanishing.&nbsp; <br><br>The flare guns go off, largely missing but certainly distracting the snake heavily. Her head keeps jerking around as she claws at the ice, the sound of varying voices and flares going off disorienting her and ruining any chance the naga has of hearing Janise. The snake rears up, hissing, and finally manages to shatter the ice around her eyes--just in time for Layne and Dani to act. <br><br>The flaming torch slams into the woman's midsection and she howls in pain, while Layne's rock draws blood as the naga lifts her arms to block without much success. Wounded, she cries out, swaying. <strong>"Why?! I jussst... wanted my egg...,"</strong> the naga is confused and in clear pain, shaking her head and trembling. Dani and Layne end up bowled over as she swipes them with her tail, but it's lacking the strength that so easily sent the illusionary Liam flying. <strong>"Give it... back...,"</strong> the naga manages, only for Felix's flashlight to <em>slam</em> into the back of the naga's head hard enough it breaks. The woman drops with a heavy thump, like a puppet with its strings cut. <br><br>She's clearly unconscious, and blood begins to spread across the ground. <br><br>Into the sudden silence, Janise cheers and kisses Faith on the cheek. "You did it! You <em>all</em> did it." She looks around to include the group, smiling. "You saved me."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Totoro</strong> on <strong>07-05-2022, 13:34:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/50/24/97/502497d2d30e9c87d95be93aba326c38.jpg) (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ff/de/68/ffde68bef367fb2e8f316ecb1ce39f94.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Lorelei Russo (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Black top, Grey Hoodie, Black Combats, Boots. Hair tied back.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> Liam, Faith, Janise | The group gathered by Janise<br><hr><br>Lorelei stood, blade in hand, as she watched that thing emerge and lash out. Her brain was running fast but her body wasn't. She didn't move at all. Despite being armed and alert she just couldn't bring herself to strike, not even to protect the others. At first she felt guilt, picturing what might happen if that monster hurt one of the others. She could feel Bella struggling in her backpack, making it shift unnaturally on her back as she stared at the unfolding scene and her guilt turned to concern. <br><br>The monster, for lack of a better word, was clearly a lot more intelligent than she'd have guessed. And Janise was becoming rapidly much, much less trustworthy. Lori's eyes narrowed as she regarded the woman. Despite not having used it she still had a white-knuckle grip on her machete, though she certainly didn't want to use it now. Blinking, she dropped it, tossing it into the dirt and beginning to approach the Naga.<br><br>Moving at a quick half-jog she tried her best to inspect the headwound, trying to see if the snake's skull was cracked and whether it was dying or just knocked out. She didn't know much about biology on her best day and she'd never seen a thing like this before but whether due to adrenaline or foolhardiness, or both, she didn't feel very scared as she approached it. For the moment she was quiet, paying attention and hoping nobody was about to try to attack it again now.
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>07-05-2022, 23:08:28</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Janise | Liam</em><br><hr><br>"Whichever makes you feel better," Faith says, grabbing Janise after she unleashes her ice on the Naga. "Now move!" She orders and pulls Janise along behind her so they can duck behind one of the tents. <br><br>"Stay quiet, okay? We don't want to give away where you are," she says, peeking over the top of the tent to watch the carnage unfold.&nbsp; <br><br>Her eyes widen as Liam gets slammed by the Naga's tail and sent flying into a tree with a sickening crack. It was an auto accident Faith couldn't keep from watching in all its terrifying glory. A gasp escaped her lips, and she reflexively squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to see what she just saw, but opened them quickly. Faith gave a sigh of relief when she saw the rest of the Liam's fought on and hoped that meant Liam was actually okay. Faith may have a lot of contempt for her fellow campers, but that did not mean she wanted to see them dead.<br><br>In the Naga's final words, the true horror of what was happening fell on Faith. The cry was no longer filled with anger and rage but pleading….begging…questioning. Why? Give it…back…my egg…&nbsp; Her egg? She just wanted…her baby? In an instant, the creature had gone from monster to mother in Faith's eyes as she was stuck down.<br><br>Faith screamed in terror. From where she stood, behind the tent, there was no way to tell if the creature was alive. She could only stare into the space the beast once stood, agape at what they had done. Faith barely registered Janise's glee. She just stared for what felt like forever as the world slowed around her. The spell was unbroken until she felt Janise kiss her cheek. Something she would have been perfectly fine to have moments before when corrupting the faithful woman would have been an intriguing thought. The warmth against her skin snapped Faith's thousand-yard stare and slammed the world into her with incredible speed. She wheeled on Janise, her venomous fury bubbling around and between every word.<br><br>"What egg, Janise? What. Fucking. Egg?"<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>13-05-2022, 17:37:09</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara and <strong>Balor</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em> CJ, Felix, Lorelei | Courtney, Janise</em><br><hr><br>CJ screaming at the creature is kind of impressive, Liam thinks, and at least one of them takes a moment to grin at being called awesome. Or at least, that's how he's interpreting it. "I got skills, they're multiplying," he sings back with a grin, high on adrenaline and... this is <em>fun</em>, on some level. Maybe he'd expected it, that they'd be fighting monsters together. That's what people with magic powers do, right?<br><br>That, or save the city. And the only city is a long ways off from <em>camp</em>. <br><br>So it's easy to focus on... what should be. What makes sense. <br><br>And there are risks to that, as one of the Liam illusions goes slamming into a tree to its death. It has the remaining ones paling and stepping further away, swallowing sickly, reminded that this isn't a game. At least their combined efforts seem to be working, between them and the rest of the 'party'. It's why he celebrates when Felix lands the knockout blow, that flashlight soaring into the back of the naga's head with a 'thunk!'<br><br>"Nice throw!", "Awesome!", "Way to go Felix!" they call out in unison, while the last Liam simply wolf whistles, giving the boy a grin. And then it all seems to fall apart. Because this isn't <em>logical</em>, it isn't some D&amp;D campaign. Of course even the monsters have families and things they care about, and to hear that pained voice, right before she drops, just want her egg..<br><br>It's not a good feeling. There's the unsettling realization that they might have fucked up, that they're the monsters in this case. But that's... that's not right, right? Fighting back nausea as he sees the blood covering the ground, he lets the others deal with Janise, instead immediately digging through any other packs Courtney brought with her and hoping for a first aid kit or <em>something</em>. They're required to have one, right?! He's almost desperate as he digs through the woman's clothing and everything else.<br><br>Whatever actually happened, the naga has to survive for them to get answers. Should he find one, he'd bring it over to Lorelei and try to take stock. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>13-05-2022, 17:41:27</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://assets.vogue.com/photos/58916dd223f9887c0e0e0fbd/1:1/w_612,h_612,c_limit/17-hailey-baldwin.jpg)<br><div align="center"><strong>Janise Hutchins</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 5.19.22 | June 4th, 7:00pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>Janise doesn't react to the mounting tension, instead simply smiling and brushing her skirts down. It's only Faith's cursing that seems to garner a reaction, a narrowing of eyes. "Watch your mouth, girl. You did a brave thing today, dealing with that beast. But there's no need for rudeness." Janise walks a few paces away and as she does, she grows visibly older. There's still an elegance, even beauty to the woman--but she's no longer a young, slightly ditzy perhaps twenty-something. Now she's far closer to sixty than not, having hit that point where age becomes difficult to tell. <br><br><div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/ZslMtVb.png)</div>Her attention is largely on Faith, still, an amused slant to her lips. Meanwhile, Liam does actually manage to find a first aid kit. He might not know how to <em>use</em> it, but it does exist, and it is brought over to Lorelei. Perhaps between the two of them they can figure out a way to at least deal with the bleeding or possible concussion, but who knows? One thing for certain is the naga is not in a great way, and while she's still breathing it's a little unsteady. There's clear wounds on her body linked to large portions of the group, but she's not dead yet. <br><br>Janise, at least, seems to glory in the actions of the day. She barely pays any mind to anything but her own concerns, and her gaze is mocking as she locks eyes with the woman that had 'protected' her. <strong>"But oh, you asked about an egg. Now let me think...,"</strong> she muses. <strong>"It does get so hard to keep track of everything in my old age, you see."</strong> Holding a hand out, palm up, green-gold fire flares for an instant before vanishing. When it does, an oversized egg rests in in the woman's hand. <strong>"I suppose you mean this one?"</strong> She laughs, and it is an actual witch's cackle, straight from media. <br><br><strong>"I will admit, I was not expecting to run into other magic users. But you saved me a great deal of trouble, girl. And oh, you were so concerned about poor me!"</strong> She cackles again, delightfully entertained. <strong>"You're sweet. Why, if I were a few decades younger...,"</strong> she says, eyeing Faith thoughtfully. <strong>"Still, it has been some time since my last apprentice,"</strong> she cajoles, tone almost leading. <br><br>It's clear she has no concern now that the naga has been dealt with, revealing her true self. She holds her other hand out like one would hold a broom, and a giant pestle appears like a staff. She sits, and as she does a large stone mortar seems to appear under her, supporting her weight as she crosses her legs. For now, she seems content to converse, the egg resting in the folds of her skirts.<br><br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Envious</strong> on <strong>18-05-2022, 20:03:12</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/eGp9EM9.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/0TqlRxT.jpg?1)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Dani Kumar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145277#msg16145277)</em> | <strong>Dani</strong> | <strong>Kraken</strong> <br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>French braid pigtails, brown hiking boots, clothing (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/1a/0d/4a1a0d17e161fa9463b6617291ce3afd--camo-hats-white-tank-tops.jpg), no hat.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Lorelei, Layne, Snake | Janise, Faith, Felix, CJ, Liam, Courtney</em><br><hr><strong> </strong><br><br><strong>"That was a most excellent throw,"</strong> she praised Layne, but things were getting weirder! The flame in her torch went out as it was knocked from her hand by the tail swipe and Dani groaned as she got up. She was expecting something more, but the naga was unconscious. She walked over as Lorelei began looking at the injuries. It wasn't dead? Should they give the creature a little stab to finish it off? There was something distinctly uncomfortable about stabbing an unconscious and defenseless creature versus one that was aggressively attacking. Dani nudged the snake woman with her toe, pressing into her scaled animal body with mild curiosity.<br><br><strong>"She's got so many arms,"</strong> she muttered, kneeling to hold one of the snake-woman's hands. She gave a gentle squeeze. Dani was no medic; her parents' were dentists and they weren't dealing with a cavity. Faith and Janise yelling over the egg caused the jock to split her attention. The snotty mess was now a mean looking old woman and Faith was looking pissed. Even with all the back-and-forth the two campers had engaged in, Dani had never received more than frustrated exasperation. Dani had little interest in inserting herself between the riled up Faith and the haughty hag and instead continued to poke at the creature.<br><br><strong>"Help me flip her over,"</strong> she insisted, wanting the creature to be face up. The beast was heavy, but not unmanageable. <strong>"Hey!</strong> she said, giving it a gentle, yet intentional pat against its cheek. <strong>"Wake up, snake lady!"</strong> Dani was a bit rough, but not damaging as she attempted to wake the creature. Kraken began to unwind himself from Dani's back and his eight long tentacles began to reach out for the creature's six arms. Dani wasn't sure it was a good idea, but she wasn't about to stop him from feeling useful. She'd just have to hope his stuffed body would remain safe. <br><br><strong>"What's the deal with the egg? Why did you attack us?"</strong> she asked the unconscious creature. <strong>"She's bleeding. How bad do you think she's hurt? Should we take her to the office?"</strong> She wasn't sure they could drag her back without hurting her more. <strong>"Helloooo,"</strong> she said with a gentle shake to two of the shoulders. <strong>"How do we help you?"</strong> As an afterthought to the nearby group, she whispered: <strong>"Do we <em>want</em> to help her?"</strong><br><br>Evidently, she did have a conscience because she had gone from wanting to slay the beast to possibly assist it, but Dani was just as likely to give it another bash to the head if it wok up aggressively. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>20-05-2022, 01:47:58</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/8kfEsxT.png) (https://i.imgur.com/732iZ76.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Liam O'Hara and <strong>Balor</strong> (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16146551#msg16146551)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>As pictured + black nail polish and a dark green backpack</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>June 4th; evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em> Lorelei, Dani | Janise, Faith</em><br><hr><br>Finding the first aid kit is more than a bit of a relief, and he holds it tight to his chest as he brings it over to Lorelei. "How is she?" Liam asks, likely somewhat inanely because how can any of them <em>tell</em>? It's a <em>naga</em>. Balor seems more interested in Janise--the witch?--but Liam can't spare attention that direction right now, even as the cat pads closer to watch the interaction between her and Faith. <br><br>Liam throws the case open and digs through it, looking at Lorelei a bit helplessly. He doesn't know what to do. He's gotten as far as he's likely <em>going</em> to on his own, and the sense of helplessness is profound. He thinks he might be kneeling in blood, even, and Liam sways, nauseous, before shaking his head sharply. No, he has to focus. He can <em>do</em> this. He thinks. Swallowing, he's about to try anything he can think of when Dani steps in. <br><br>Helping to flip the naga over is... an experience. The body doesn't <em>move</em> like a human's, and he's just glad there's more than one of him to help in this situation. Managing to flip the creature--woman?--over, the limp way she falls back is disconcerting. "I don't think we can get her to the office," Liam pants, trying to look for where the most blood is coming from and wincing when he feels the liquid spill over his fingers. "We should uh, put pressure on it?" he guesses. That's what they do in movies, isn't it? <br><br>The bandages and such are easy enough to figure out, to a point. Dani's question of whether they want to help her at all has him pausing, though, and he bites his lip, looking from the snake to the witch. "I... don't know. I guess I'd rather know we tried and find out we were wrong later than just let her..." Die, he finishes mentally. Either way he tries to bandage the naga, assuming she doesn't wake. "Can we clean the wound with water or something? Or, maybe use it to wake her up?" He's operating on knowledge from TV and movies, which is often at best lacking, but what other choice is there? <br><br>Looking around helplessly, he doesn't know what the right call is. But he doesn't want her to die, and he doesn't know where to even start with Janise turning into an old woman. He nudges Dani and looks over at the woman, though, as she shows off the egg. "I'd bet that's why she attacked us, at least."
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>20-05-2022, 02:23:04</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/ZslMtVb.png)<br><div align="center"><strong>Janise Hutchins</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 5.25.22 | June 4th, 7:00pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>The naga seems unresponsive, at first, though as her wounds are touched she shifts and lets out a pained moan. It's surprisingly human-like in sound, less the rumbling echo of before. Despite being nudged, slapped, or even doused in water however, the woman doesn't wake. With application of bandages and pressure the bleeding does seem to slow, however, and while she might have a concussion--can snakes even get concussions?--it's at least likely she will live. <br><br>Or at least, she's not in danger of immediately bleeding out. She'd likely be in better straits with proper medical care, but her breathing seems to grow more even. For now, however, she's blissfully unconscious. It's a fact that Janise still cackles over, amused, turning an almost kindly, motherly gaze to those attempting to help the naga. <strong>"Why undo your hard work?"</strong> she croons, even as the mortar under her begins to float her slightly closer. The anger of Faith seems to positively tickle her, though for all her words she keeps everyone in sight. <br><br><strong>"You have me at a disadvantage, though. I hadn't heard tale of a Coven in the area, let alone one with such <em>young</em> members."</strong> It's clear that if nothing else, her curiosity is keeping her from simply leaving. She pats the egg almost absently, gaze going to each member of the little group. <strong>"And why are you <em>here</em> of all places? Surely not looking for little ol me?"</strong> Janise inquires. There's a danger in that question, her tone going slightly <em>flat</em> for a moment before the smile returns. <br><br>The naga she seems to observe with some polite interest, perhaps as much as one might pay a pinned frog to a dissection table in a science classroom. <strong>"My, you all did rather a thorough job of it, didn't you?"</strong>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>20-05-2022, 17:57:45</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Janise</em><br><hr>The sudden backbone from Janice jarred Faith. A spike of uncertainty caused her eyes to narrow and then widen at Janice’s transformation. For a moment, there was fear in Faith’s eyes, but it was quickly overwhelmed with the last moment’s fury. This woman had played Faith and made her an accomplice in a kidnapping infuriated her. Whoever this was, she was stealing someone’s child! The serpent woman had been willing to die to get her child back. Faith could only dream of having a mother like that.&nbsp; <br><br>“Easy, Faith,” Coral’s soft voice sounded little more than a whisper. She knew Coral’s warning should be taken seriously, but Faith was well beyond rational thought. All the hurt and pain Faith inflicted on her mother and her mother on her was poisoning her mind, flooding it with shame, anguish, and neglect. Here was a mother who loved her child so fiercely she was willing to die for them, and they were still being ripped from her, and Faith had done the ripping.&nbsp; <br><br>“Give it back.”&nbsp; She said through grinding teeth. The tension in her jaw was visible when the witch conjured the egg to her hand. Faith took a step forward, which might have looked menacing to a mousey freshman but did little to startle or move Janise. The woman just looked at her with lasciviousness that Faith might have appreciated under different circumstances and different faces.<br><br>Fire came unbidden to Faith’s hand, paltry compared to the magic Janise wielded. She sat on her mortar and pestle with an ease that showed she held no genuine concern for Faith’s pitiful conjuring. Faith hated being disregarded. It burned her. She had been disregarded too long by too many she loved. She had promised herself she would never feel that way again. Faith has spent years ensuring she was noticed, and if she couldn’t be loved, she would at least be respected or feared, and Janice was robbing her of even that. <br><br>With a snarl, Faith threw fire at Janice, over and over while the old witch crooned over what they had done, and it did nothing. The witch waved away fire and ice with embarrassing ease, completely ignoring Faith until one spark caught the edge of her skirt and began to smolder. Janice looked more surprised than concerned, and with a wave, the fires died as Faith slumped to the ground. She was breathing hard from the excursion as Janise regarded her curiously.<br><br>“Please.” Faith said as the fury dissipated, replaced with impotent despair. “Please, give her back her egg. There must be something you want more. Why take it? What do you need it for?”&nbsp; She looked up from her knees, a pale reflection of the fury she had been moments before.<br><br>“Faith?” Coral’s voice filled with uncertain worry.<br><br>“Take me instead. Just give her back her egg, please.”<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Wyatt</strong> on <strong>21-05-2022, 23:27:54</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/713373042520096840/957459763694825523/20190927_3bf4cb.png)(https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/691657169988485150/957457550079586394/6b6405dbaff8917f8168729d1a5cc408.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Layne Opa (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145938#msg16145938) &amp; T-Sam</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/bc/0f/a1bc0faafcf5f6234ce3a69a1fc8c171.png), <em>plus desert camo military style backpack, older blue canvas high top/white sole Chuck Taylors</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>7:00 PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Campsite Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Dani, CJ| Felix, Lorelei, Faith, Danica, Liam, Naga, Witchy-Poo</em><br><hr>Some things are shocking in one way, like having to fight a giant snake woman who seems to be after a blonde girl and perhaps everyone else.&nbsp; Even more so when Dani and Layne attack and their efforts strike the mark, even though they get bowled over in the process.<br><br>Some things are shocking in another way, like getting knocked over by said snake lady and doing your damndest to twist your body to protect and cushion Dani’s fall and finding yourself with, well, more or less, really more than expected, a handful of Dani’s incredibly cute rear in your hand as the two of you hit the ground hard and the only thing you manage to cushion, save, protect if the pretty girl’s ass you have been staring, um, looking at since you left the main camp to head to this freaky place.&nbsp; Was it a matter of best effort and physics and chance, or more or less some bun-nel vision that ended up with Layne sprawled out and his hand being the landing spot for Dani’s rear quarters.<br><br>Somehow that leaves him far more breathless and frozen than taking on a wild and dangerous seeming snake woman creature ever did or could.&nbsp; Maybe Sam is right about him, at least a little bit, maybe he and the toucan aren’t all that different after all.<br><br>Layne does realize he also smacked his own head pretty good, which makes all of these thoughts a bit surreal, as if the night wasn’t plenty of that already.&nbsp; Danica is up and at it quickly, no word about their not fully intended close encounter of the whatever kind that was and is talking about poking the down and mostly out snake lady with a stick.&nbsp; Sitting up and shaking off the cobwebs from his own jolt to the head, which looks far less severe than the one his rock caused and for which a wave of guilt sweeps over him for a moment, his head swivels towards Fifi, er, Faith and the chick named Janise that is suddenly really old and talking about covens and things and eggs, an egg, and then he remembers the snake lady saying something about an egg.<br><br>Slowly getting to his feet, he slowly strides over and the creature on the ground is at least breathing, which he can’t rightly decide is a good or bad thing or something else entirely.&nbsp; He is about to suggest tying it up and then trying to treat it’s injuries, taking a middle path of sorts, when he hears Faith and the silver haired cackler having at it.<br><br><strong>“Enough,”</strong> he grumbled and growled under his breath and started walking that way, then hears what sounded like a not that understated threat and she is grinding or mixing something, like whatever, she seems even crazier than the snake lady.<br><br>Then there were fireworks, Faith had magic, they all seemed to in one way or another, all or a lot of it coming out that evening as the group banded together to defend themselves and each other, and while Faith’s fiery fury was totally fucking impressive, the hag didn’t seem overly phased by it, not enough as Layne hoped she would be.&nbsp; He hoped she would be cinders by then in fairness, which was more wishful thinking than anything he now realized.&nbsp; Then Faith was telling the hag to take her instead of the egg, which, really, had they even seen the egg, and was any of this their business.<br><br>No, no it was not, and Layne stepped in between the hag and Faith as quickly as his long strides could take him,<br><br><strong>“No, you aren’t taking any of us and we don’t give a shit about you, Witch Bitch, this is a private party so take your egg, your friend back there and get the fuck out of here and leave us alone!”</strong> he shouted at her, a deep grumble of a shout, more forceful and powerful than loud.&nbsp; They hadn’t come here to get into the middle of some magical battle between snakes and witches, neither of which seemed to mind hurting, tricking or threatening those people and, creatures of a sort, that had come here together.&nbsp; In his mind he didn’t want to see anyone get hurt, but if a line had to be drawn it was an easy one to draw, us against them.<br><br><strong>“Faith isn’t going with you, none of us is, now get your raggedy ass out of here and take all of your bullshit with you,”</strong> his anger seething, which most would know since he rarely cursed so profanely unless he was really pissed, and maybe to some it wasn’t heroic to have her make off with the snake woman and the alleged snake egg, but then again, it was Dani that called them superheroes, not Layne, and he was doing the best he could for those that were his people and friends.&nbsp; Unarmed, no real magic of his own ready to be unleashed, at best he was acting as a distraction to the creature and maybe making her just a bit unsure, at worst…at worst he was both target for the witch and meat shield for Faith, and he could live with that.<br><br>You know, if he lived, if any of them did.<br>
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Aethyrium</strong> on <strong>24-05-2022, 18:42:00</strong>
			</dt>
			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://imgur.com/8u49qBc.jpg)(https://imgur.com/z3USgpj.jpg)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Felix Elliot (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16147442#msg16147442) &amp; Hissy Fit</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>This</em> (https://i.pinimg.com/originals/53/18/58/531858649f4d2e264b3e453766c63d47.jpg)<br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em> | CJ</em><br><hr><em>Crack</em>.<br><br>Hissy had told him what his so-called kinetic-bullet would do, but this is really the first opportunity - or reason - he’s had to actually try it. It’s one thing to know you can do a thing, to be aware of the force you can put behind something - it’s something else entirely to witness it. The flashlight shatters on the back of the naga’s skull, bits of plastic flying this way and that - if it weren’t so dark you could track some of the heavy D-cell batteries too. And the naga falls. Did they kill it? Did <em>he</em> kill it? Weeb-ish arousal aside, Felix isn’t sure how to feel about that. He sort of stares at his hand, torn between amazement and horror at the power. But even in that aggressively present thought, the words of the creature just before his attack landed gnaw at the back of his mind.<br><br><em>“Why?! I jussst… wanted my egg… Give it… Back…”</em><br><br>Should he be queasy? Anxious? Excited? The naga had attacked first, hadn’t it? He couldn’t recall clearly - too much in his brain to pinpoint the order of events. Did it <em>matter</em>? If an angry bear - hell, if an angry <em>person</em> - came running out of the woods and attacked, you would defend yourself first and ask questions later. Right? Right. They had definitely not <em>attacked</em>, and the naga had gone for CJ. No, they were justified in defending themselves. Even if it was just a mother looking for its egg.<br><br>Felix looks up just in time to see the egg materialize in the older Janise’s hand. His eyes narrow on it, and then her. What had he missed exactly in his thoughts? Did <em>that</em> matter? No. The way she laughs. The way she gloats. The way she holds the egg hostage… She’s no ally. No friend. If there’s guilt in this, then she shares it. His eyes flicker to the naga that so many are diligently trying to make right. He’s not going to be much help there - lack of knowledge, and so many hands already - but maybe he can set something else right. “<strong>Hey Hiss, my powers.</strong>” He questions in a whisper, crouching down inside of Courtney’s tent, “<strong>Can I use them together?</strong>” His fingers wrap around another nice, hefty, solid object - a rubber mallet for driving in tent spikes.<br><br>“<strong>You could, I guess. Why?</strong>” The snake answers.<br><br>“<strong>I’ve got a plan.</strong>” Felix exits the tent and slowly starts moving away from the naga - he’s looking for an angle. The thing about his position on the field is that he’s really good at looking for the play - following it, tracking it, and finding where it can be made. If you know that stuff in advance, you know where to be. And then he whispers under his breath - to everyone.<br><br>“<strong>You should have kept your guard up, now I’m right behind you!</strong>” His voice is right there, right next to Janise as if he’s standing right behind her. And of course that’s true for <em>everyone</em> else as well, but they don’t hear those words - they hear something else entirely, “<strong>Going to try and get the egg from her, be ready. Now!</strong>”<br><br>The hope? Janise will react to the voice behind her - she’ll turn, and look, pivot, <em>anything</em>. Whether she does or not doesn’t really change the next part of his plan. Felix whips the hammer back and sends it spiraling through the air - he’s looking to her her arm, but he’ll settle for anything that’ll make her recoil and drop the egg. And as soon as he’s let go of the hammer, he lunges forward and <em>sprints</em> as hard as he can toward her - so he can slide and catch the egg before it hits the ground, if it gets dropped. If they have the egg, maybe they can sort this whole mess out.
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Xurtan</strong> on <strong>26-05-2022, 08:26:33</strong>
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				<div class="floatright">(https://i.imgur.com/ZslMtVb.png)<br><div align="center"><strong>Janise Hutchins</strong></div></div><span style="font-family: Courier;" class="bbc_font"><span style="font-size: 16pt;" class="bbc_size"><strong>S T O R Y T E L L E R</strong></span></span><hr><span style="font-size: 8pt;" class="bbc_size">Next Post: 5.30.22 | June 4th, 7:00pm | Clearing | <strong>CJ</strong>, <strong>Danica</strong>, <strong>Faith</strong>, <strong>Felix</strong>, <strong>Layne</strong>, <strong>Liam</strong>, <strong>Lorelei</strong></span><hr><br>The fury infecting Faith is observed with keen amusement, even as there's clear confusion at the evident stuffed animals that speak. Janise glances at them with interest, humming a tune from the old world as she contemplates. <strong>"Such fascinating familiars,"</strong> she says, finally. Perhaps she would have said more if Faith hadn't drawn her gaze, fire sparking in the young woman's hand. <strong>"Oh-ho, a firestarter then. I haven't seen one of your type in--"</strong> She's interrupted as the fire is thrown, a frown tugging at her lips even as the flame is warded off. There's the beginning of annoyance brewing as her skirt smolders, a tap of the pestle setting it to right. <strong>"If you're just going to be <em>rude</em>, I'll simply leave then, shall I?"</strong> she mocks, the mortar raising slightly. It's clear she knows the group wants the egg. <br><br>The begging intrigues her enough to stay, however. The despair is <em>delightful</em>, and possibilities run through her head as Faith drops to her knees.<strong> "You could simply come with me and find out what I need it for,"</strong> Janise teases. <strong>"Such knowledge I could share, knowledge not seen by mortals in centuries. Would it help if I looked as I did earlier?"</strong> she asks, the beginning of illusions beginning to blur her form... until Layne interrupts. <br><br>She detests being yelled at, especially by a <em>boy</em>. The arrogance alone has her jerking her head to the side, Faith all but forgotten. Things are rapidly spiraling out of control, and through grit teeth she offers to Faith, <strong>"We could even bring your mouthy little <em>toy</em> along, though he might need to be collared."</strong> Genuine anger sparks as she lifts a hand, and a seamless strap of leather appears around Layne's throat. Janise tugs on it magically, lifting the boy onto his toes and dragging him forward.<br><br>Things may have taken a turn for the worse if Felix's voice hadn't come from directly behind her. It has the witch flinching, the spell failing as she swerves and swipes out with the pestle, accidently side-swiping the hammer and knocking it away before it hits. In her haste and anger the egg tumbles to the grass, however, so the hammer not managing to wound her is of little consequence. Either way, the egg ends up scooped up by Felix. It's an action that has Janise stunned, made speechless as she turns back to stare at the group.<br><br>She clenches her pestle so hard the stone cracks, and her nails grow longer, gaining the appearance of claws. For an instant there's a look of utmost loathing upon her face, and then... she laughs, anger disappearing as swiftly as it came. It's not even a cackle like earlier, but merely an amused, almost indulgent laughter that takes years off her face. <strong>"I can appreciate a trick as much as the next witch, boy, but there's only so far you can take it. What do you intend to do now?"</strong> She stabs the pestle into the ground, leaving it to stand upright as she crosses her arms. <strong>"You can't actually stop me if I wish to take it by force. At best, the egg ends up destroyed."</strong> <em>Not</em> something she's inclined to risk. <br><br>Though her eyes burn a sickly yellow, she still smiles, head tilted as if curious. <strong>"So tell me, young one. What now?"</strong>
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			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Envious</strong> on <strong>26-05-2022, 22:31:05</strong>
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			<dd class="postbody">
				<div class="floatleft">(https://i.imgur.com/eGp9EM9.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/0TqlRxT.jpg?1)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Dani Kumar (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145277#msg16145277)</em> | <strong>Dani</strong> | <strong>Kraken</strong> <br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>French braid pigtails, brown hiking boots, clothing (https://i.pinimg.com/564x/4a/1a/0d/4a1a0d17e161fa9463b6617291ce3afd--camo-hats-white-tank-tops.jpg), no hat.</em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Liam, Felix, Layne, Faith, Janise, Naga</em><br><strong>Note:</strong> Activated Popularity Contest: In the court of public opinion, she wins! She's got confidence and charisma that sway people to do what she wants.<br><hr><strong> </strong><br><br>Dani followed Liam's nudge, eyeballing the egg. <strong>"It's not even a Cadbury Creme egg,"</strong> she muttered impolitely, as if the snack compared to a stolen child. <strong>"Why would she want to steal the baby? And why isn't papa snake here helping mama snake out? And what the hell is going on? We were roasting marshmallows five minutes ago!"</strong> Now they were cradling the bleeding-out body of a monster while an actual witch was cackling in the clearing. What kind of camp had she signed up to?<br><br>Snake Lady wasn't waking up and it was frustrating waiting for something - anything! - to happen with the fantastical creature. It was also extremely risky. Janise had turned from a potential friend to a certain foe in the blink of an eye. Would the reverse happen for Snake Lady? Hopefully, the monster-woman wouldn't be <em>too</em> mad about the attack. After all, she had brought it upon herself! Dani looked around for her backpack and scrambled towards it as Felix whispered in her ear. She would have loved to tackle the witch and demand an explanation for all the bullshit, but she had a different objective. One far less straightforward and enjoyable. With a groan, she hurried back and began dumping its contents on the ground. Snack bars, a pair of binoculars, a watertight container no bigger than a film canister, pajamas, an empty water bottle - things tumbled out as Faith and Layne both tried to take on Janise.<br><br><strong>"Bring the egg back to mama, Felix!"</strong> Dani shouted out. Maybe having her baby back would be enough to rouse her. <strong>"Hear that? Your egg is coming,"</strong> the jock said hastily as she tossed her pajama shirt at Liam. <strong>"Put that on the wound. I'll use the pants to tie it around. Like Rambo! That might help, yeah?"</strong> She wasn't sure, but she was more than willing to try. While Liam pressed the folded-up tank top into the wound to sop up blood and apply pressure, Dani folded the soft pajama pants in half and wondered how to best tie it around all that... hair. Kraken must have sensed the hesitation because one of his remaining tentacles popped up from the hair. Between her and her stuffy, she was able to begin threading the pants around the shirt Liam was holding to tie the 'bandage' in place. As she worked, she was chanting <strong>egg is coming, egg is coming</strong> in an effort to reassure the creature.<br><br>There was blood on her hands. She had never seen so much blood before. Not like this. Should she be more afraid? She didn't feel afraid at all. She was excited. Eager. Curious as to what was going to happen next. The jock turned her attention to Janise as she flung Layne forward and began making threats. That didn't make her feel afraid, either, but a hot anger started to bubble up. She hopped up to her feet. <strong>"We intend to kick your ass you conniving crone! You think you got what it takes to take us on? It took us all of 30 seconds to knock out the snake; something you sure as shit didn't do and if you think for a hot second we won't turn you into a bleeding mess on the floor, you're in for a world of hurt. The egg is <em>your</em> objective, not ours, and if you think we aren't willing to stomp that thing into the ground just to spite you for being a bitch, you're dead wrong. You can't just come into my camp and start taking my things. That's <em>my</em> woman,"</strong> she said with a jab of her finger towards Faith, <strong>"<em>my</em> toy,"</strong> she said, laying claim to Layne, <strong>"and <em>my</em> egg, now! So I suggest you leave before you get more than you bargained for."</strong><br><br>Her voice was loud and clear, full of confidence that burned away all doubt or hesitation that she was stating anything less than the truth. She could feel her own magic starting to course through her and spread out in ominous intent. Dani was working on getting her way. 
			</dd>
			<dt class="postheader">
				Title: <strong>Re: [Camp Runamuk] Episode 1: No Need For Hissterics</strong><br>
				Post by: <strong>Crash</strong> on <strong>27-05-2022, 20:24:31</strong>
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				<div class="floatleft">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/5/59/Seadragon.jpeg) (https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/7/70/Screenshot_2022-04-02_16.55.59.png)</div><strong>Character Name:</strong> <em>Faith Carvalho (https://elliquiy.com/forums/index.php?topic=341012.msg16145110#msg16145110)</em><br><strong>Wearing:</strong> <em>Powder blue sports bra, yoga pants and sneakers with white piping. </em><br><strong>Time:</strong> <em>6:35PM June 4th; Evening</em><br><strong>Location:</strong> <em>Clearing</em><br><strong>Tagging | Mentioning:</strong> <em>Janise</em><br><hr>If there was one thing that would rouse Faith from the impotent despair, she felt looking up at Janise. It would be some misogynistic dude-bro telling her what she would or would not do. Unfortunately for Layne, he was just that sort of dude-bro.<br><br>"You don't speak for me," The words hissed from Faith's lips, and fire burned again in her hands. It was as entirely possible Faith was about to set the little shit's pants on fire as it was she was readying for another go at Janice. More than possible, really. The only thing to stop her was Janice stringing him up like the little pig he was. She had seen him staring at her ass and leaning over when she had bent down to try to get a look down her sports bra. Anger was way better than despair.<br><br>Felix's voice was clear in her ears, and her eyes narrowed. What now? She wondered what was about to happen while trying to keep Janise distracted long enough for Felix to do whatever it was he was going to do. Force was clearly not going to work, but Janise was one over-confident bitch, and that was something that she could use.&nbsp; <br><br>"I have no interest in him," she dismissed Layne as he choked and gasped at the leather strap around his neck. "But your offer has my attention," Faith said, stepping in front of Layne as he dangled behind her. Keeping Janise's focus until she wheeled to swing her pestle at something Faith couldn't see or hear. For a split second, she wondered if she had completely misjudged the situation and the swinging pestle was meant for her. It wasn't. <br><br>Janise spun. The egg in her lap tumbled towards the ground, too far away for Faith to reach it, but out of nowhere, Felix slid under the egg trapping it against his body. Faith had sucked in a breath and held it as the egg had spun towards the ground. She was able to let it out once she saw that it remained unharmed with Felix.&nbsp; &nbsp;<br><br>"Now we negotiate," Faith said. <br><br>The tension over the campsite was palpable. Layne dangled behind her, making gurgling noises she tried to ignore. She was angry at the boy, for sure, but she didn't want him to die no matter what she told Janise. Faith opened her mouth to talk right about the time Dani went on her infantile rant. The stupidity of what Dani was doing caused that anger to well up in Faith again.<br><br>"Shut up, Dani!" She yelled sharply. "The adults are talking." Faith had no doubt Dani was about to do something idiotic. She had to get to the heart of the matter before the hormonal teen could. This meant getting Felix out of the vulnerable position with the egg still in his possession and keeping Layne from death by autoerotic asphyxiation…maybe…probably. Oh, and un-stoning Courtney. That would be good too. <br><br>"You might be able to take all of us, but it will hurt, and you won't get the egg. I am sure its mother would rather we destroy it than do whatever you want to do with it." Faith said. "And we can't take you without something happening to some of us. That might not be a total loss," Faith observed, giving Layne a disgusted look and pretending to consider it. So…what do you want?" Faith asked. "Besides the egg. Perhaps we can work something out?" She adds with a raise of an eyebrow and a smirk that would have wrapped any typical high schooler around her little pinky.<br>
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