Expedition - Departure!

[not_mafia]

[To some it's a familiar sight: the castle grounds and lobby bustling with activity as everyone checks their supplies one last time and comes together to discuss the situation, what may happen and what they need to prepare for. Food, first aid, and all the essentials are being transported into the wagons and vehicles, while the mounts are fed, saddled and harnessed for the days to come. It's on these busy days that the population of the castle truly becomes apparent as the grounds and lobby are nearly filled with all of the residents.

And once everybody is ready, they'll be off.]

LOBBY | KITCHEN | OUTSIDE | Feel free to make your own sections!

Comments

LOBBY

[not_mafia]

[Double checking your supplies? Giving goodbyes to the ones who are staying back? Either way, the lobby is filled with the chatter of anticipating residents and the bustling of bodies as everyone comes to congregate into one unified group for the expedition.]

[sworn]

[How expeditions have changed. She eyes the group, looking for familiar faces who will be tagging along. It's certainly a different cast than she remembers from years prior, which leaves her a bit weary. She pushes that feeling aside. After all, they held up well enough against the creatures at Terre Haute.

She has a pack on her shoulders, but it's small in comparison to others'. She's always packed lightly, if she's packed anything at all. Such is the way of an elven ranger.]

[is_mafia]

[Giotto was leaning against the wall with his things, watching people. If truth be told, he was actually watching a bit for his grandson, just to make sure he was all right.

He didn't approve of designating him as the leader of this, even if he was proud of Tsuna for trying. He would just have to watch out for him and make sure nothing happened. Hopefully, with how long it took to get this started, they wouldn't be too late.]

[putuporshutup]

[Meg pauses in the lobby to see if Cas is there. She sighs when she sees that he isn't, but switches her focus - no time to worry about that now. She sets down her backpack to make sure she brought the right maps for her own tactical reference if things got sketchy in Winchester and Fairfield. She'd been around the block plenty of times to know that exploratory trips often ended up as conflicts and she wanted to be as prepared as possible. Before turning her attention to the map once again, she scans the room for other familiar faces to see who else is coming along, and who is staying behind.]

Re: LOBBY

[silentrunning]

[Chell's checking her supplies, out of the way, at least hopefully. This is her very first expedition EVER. She's going over all the things she's read, all the stuff she's packed, and though she knows it's gonna be dangerous, truth be told she's excited. She's never ridden an animal before... But it can't be THAT hard, right? She's read books about the subject, at least.]

KITCHEN

[not_mafia]

[Might as well grab a hot meal before you go! After all, once you head off, it's all preservatives and rations from there. Well, you know, unless you're the Once-ler and you haul a fridge around in your wagon.]

[luxe_can_kill]

[While all dressed up and ready for an expedition, Mitsuru dropped by the kitchen to get some snacks. Training for five days in the outdoors before this made her pretty hungry, because she didn't get to eat nasty poor-people food much during those days. Of course she wouldn't admit it, though

A rare sight to behold, Mitsuru's eating quite fast and seems to be enjoying her breakfast, with a cup of tea in hand]

[acesarewild]

[expedition? there's an expedition? the minute he started hearing the scuttlebutt, Ace knew he had to go, if only for the sheer amount of animals going along. he's currently filling a backpack with rations - a can of Spam, a box of crackers, a giant bag of sunflower seeds ...]

[cyan_maid]

[Jane is, of course, not the type to have her own wagon or anything, and she certainly can't carry all of them in her sylladex if they'll be out in the Dead Zone, so the mass amounts of granola bars she made? Yes, she's giving out as many packages of them as she possibly can to everyone who comes in.

Don't try to avoid the granola. She'll only sneak it into your pack if you refuse.]

OUTSIDE

[not_mafia]

[The mounts have all been reined in and calmed, and now it's time to saddle them and harness them. This may also be a good time to make sure that all the vehicles are in working order and in tip-top shape. It wouldn't do to lose a wheel in the middle of the journey, after all.]

[schrodingersghost]

[Danny is leaning back against the wall of the castle as he watches the animals and vehicles get ready. His fully stuffed backpack is sitting by his feet, with something that looks an awful lot like a baseball bat tied to the top.]

[wilder]

[Zelos can be found outside, readying his mount for the trip. He seems a bit preoccupied with thought, and frowning when he thinks that people aren't there to see it. There's a lot of his mind- the distress call, his new loss, Raine not being here- or Colette. And most important...]

...Wait, did I pack my hairbrush?

[Excuse him as he stops so he can start shifting through his bags to figure out that all important question]

[heal_theworld]

[Martel has Feathers, and she's quite glad to see him after the mounts got scattered by the dinosaur. Of course, that had delayed their leaving, and now she was worried about what had happened to those people out there...but it couldn't be helped. They would just have to hope they weren't too late and that this wasn't a terrible trap.

Though currently Feathers was trying to affectionately groom her hair...which does not need grooming.]

Feathers, stop it!

[She pushed his beak away, but he wasn't listening to her and was making her hair a mess. At least it was helping to lift her spirits a bit.]

[toobravehearted]

[Just as he promised, the Doctor is outside with the TARDIS. There really is a lot of hustle and bustle and he is just as busy, ready to direct anyone that wants to travel with him to various areas that he's designated inside.

And when we say he's busy, he does have his hands full with a horse. A stubborn one that is reluctant to make its way inside and he finds himself in a one sided conversation with the same.]

What do you mean that old horse box? No, no, no, not even close. Now just hold on, there's no need to take that tone of whinny.

[whichwayyoulean]

[The Once-ler is of course here, with his wagon-slash-cottage, Melvin harnessed up to it, all set to go.

After his unwelcome stowaways LAST time, however, he's checking the wagon more carefully, just in case some kids decide to try to hop a ride. Again]

Re: OUTSIDE

[pint_sized_carnivore]

[Chie was all geared up and ready for the big trip. Her expression had both nervousness and excitement. It's like waking up in the morning for a school field trip, if those things could result in your death...

So right now, she's looking left and right for familiar faces so she'll feel more safe in this trip.]

[encryptedlock]

[York's chilling near the TARDIS, doublechecking his packs. Out near where the TARDIS will land, he's moved the half-dozen steam-powered sleighs that Santa had built. They all seem to be in working order now, so they should be able to use them once they reach the border.]

[waterproofed]

[Percy is talking to each of the horses in turn, rubbing their noses and soothing them if needed. They seem much calmer now, even though he had to assure them about a hundred times there would be no more dinosaurs. Paradisa better not make a liar out of him]

[hellofist]

[Of course Cass is here, waiting for things to kick off so they can get going. Like last time, all she's got is a backpack to take with her. One of these days she's going to have to get a horse or wish for her motorcycle from home but for now, looks like she's walking and perfectly content with that.]

[fanstheflame]

[thanks to his time at Hogwarts, Gale is now pretty fantastic at handling hippogriffs. he's currently getting acquainted with the one from the stables, having bowed to it and initially gained its trust. he's now going through his gear nearby, talking to it quietly as he does, giving it a run-down of where they're going and what they'll be up to.]

Re: OUTSIDE

[the_effect_she_has]

[Katniss had her horse, had her weapons and her gear packed on the horse itself. She was making sure that her saddle was set on it correctly as Percy and the others had taught her, patting the horse's neck.]

[She'd been ready to go for days. The sooner they could get moving, the better.]

Re: OUTSIDE

[lara_the_explorer]

[Well would you look at her. Lara looks like she's in her element, armed to the teeth and just waiting for the go-ahead from the others. But it seems the others are taking too long for her liking so she's reading the map one last time while munching on some snacks

She's on a horse /Old Spice whistle]

[eat_me_beat_me]

[Nora sits off to one side, leafing through a sketchbook as she waits for everyone to get going.

Her backpack is by her feet with a mace propped up next to it]

[putuporshutup]

[Meg is feeding a few sugar cubes to her chosen horse to break in the friendship a little. She's relieved to have found an animal that isn't spooked by her - understandable all things considered, but tiresome nonetheless. Given that they're heading into a completely unknown and likely volatile situation, she's glad to have found a pretty black one that doesn't seem to be phased by much at all.

She's got her saddle bags and backpack filled to the brim with provisions, ammo, and books for down time when everyone else stops to rest. She's packing a 9mm handgun thanks to Lara, and a machete along with a little ankle dagger hidden in a sheath around her boot thanks to Katniss. Without her powers, she might actually be hurt if her vessel is damaged in the dead zone, so she's not taking any chances.]

Re: OUTSIDE

[assassino]

[Ezio has been busy these past few weeks –– training his new apprentice, tussling with Connor over pointless things, and reading. Christ, he spends so much time reading these days. But when adventure calls, he's more than content to put the books down and saddle up for a journey.

So there he is, with Maximus tacked and packed up. Ezio, however, isn't in much of a hurry to leave. He knows everyone else is going to take a million fucking hours to get ready and go, so he's currently sitting under a tree, hood up over his eyes so he can "nap" and do a bit of people-watching. Don't mind the guy with dark, decorative robes watching you all!]