fandomhigh | Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You, Week II [Monday, Period 1]

Current Mood: devious

Entry tags:

keeping your advantage

Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You, Week II [Monday, Period 1]

"Welcome back," Ghanima said as the students entered the Danger Shop. She was standing beside two large trunks, and the room was blank, not yet assigned an environment. "Today, we're going a bit farther north than many of you, myself included, are accustomed to."

She pressed a button on the remote, and suddenly the students would find themselves surrounded by snow. "Welcome to the Arctic!" Ghanima said cheerfully, apparently unbothered by the sudden drop in climate.

She was cheating and regulating her own body temperature, which was why she seemed so perky. Normally she wouldn't use her Bene Gesserit talents in such a flagrant way, but it was only for an hour, and was hardly going to lead to Abomination. "I hope you brought your mittens! For those of you that didn't..." she knelt to open the first chest, which was filled with coats, hats, mittens, and snow shoes. "Luckily, I happen to have some."

"Long before brick or wood houses with indoor heat became commonplace, people had to be creative when building homes to protect them from nature's elements," Ghanima lectured as people got dressed. "Wealthy Europeans embraced the concept of a nearly indestructible castle built from stone. Native Americans in warmer climates favored the tepee, or tipi, made entirely of animal hides or bark. Unfortunately, for the inhabitants of Earth's more frigid regions, such as the Canadian tundra, neither of these were good options. Building materials were pretty much nonexistent, making it difficult to craft even the most rudimentary home. These people used the only abundant material to form a modest roof over their heads: snow. Thus, the igloo was born. The Inuit, better known to some of you as Eskimos, invented the igloo centuries ago. The igloo was a means for hunters to survive brutal winters in a vast area spanning more than 3,500 miles, including eastern Siberia, Greenland, Alaska and parts of Canada."

"Today, we will learn how to build the most basic of snow shelters," she continued. "Knowing how to make a snow trench shelter, a snow cave, or igloo can save your life in a winter survival situation. The great insulative qualities of snow can be used to help keep you warm enough to survive in even the coldest weather; but only if you know how to use the snow to your advantage."

"Only experts should try to make an igloo to spend the night in, least it collapse on you. A snow trench or cave, however, almost anyone can do," Ghanima said, quickly explaining the techniques behind making a trench. "I've provided shovels and knives for today's work, but you won't always have such equipment in the field. Snowshoes also make good digging tools, and if you're carrying a field kit, a cup or pot will also work."

"Now get to work," she said, opening the second chest to distribute tools to the class before taking a knife for herself. She wasn't going to ask the students to do something that she was unwilling to attempt herself. "Feel free to work solo or in groups. I programmed the room so that we've got one hour to dark, and you don't want to be caught out without a place to sleep."

[OOC: OCD IS UP! Sorry for the repeat class, RL bit me.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Like you're Sam McGee!

Cassidy

Nobody Owens

Cara

Katniss Everdeen

Ben Skywalker

Lion-o

Proto

Shane Gooseman

Asuna Kagurazaka

Spock

Talk, suit up, plot revenge against the teacher! Honestly, she deserves it.

Instead of being annoyed or plotting against Lady Ghanima, Cassidy was paying strict attention to her lecture. This was pretty fascinating to her.

Bod wasn't going to think about revenge because he was too busy trying to stay warm. He was used to chillier temperatures but this was extreme and his body was taking its sweet time adjusting.

Cara was completely unimpressed with the choice of environment this week. Ignore the way she kept sneaking glances around the landscape and grinning like an excited child whenever she thought no one else was looking.

Edited 2010-07-19 14:43 (UTC)

This was easy -- District Twelve was given to some fairly cold winters, though this still put them to shame.

In any case, she knew to trust her body, when it came to dressing appropriately. She grabbed a jacket and a hat, pulling it down over her ears, and snagged some snow shoes and mittens, as well. With the temperature taken care of, she turned her attention back to her teacher. She wouldn't be surprised if within her lifetime, she had to mentor a pair of tributes through a frozen arena, at least in part. (Completely desolate, snowy arenas weren't popular -- watching more than one tribute freeze to their death made for a disappointing Games.)

After the weekend, Ben really needed something to focus his attention, and being really cold would do it.

He added a pair of gloves to his normal Jedi uniform and listened intently to how to make a shelter in the snow.

One never knew when one might get stranded on Hoth.

Lion-o was ~~looking for an excuse to use this icon~~ trying to keep warm as he listened to the instructions. He thought he was tough enough to brave the cold and pretended that it didn't bother him.

Five minutes later, he was going through the coats, looking something that fit.

Cold. That suited Proto just fine. It was even colder than Bahamut, but it was better than the oppressive heat of the island.

Asuna's teeth chattered and she wondered if they'd fall off or break the longer she was here. She hated the cold!

Spock wasn't really in the mood for talking or plotting revenge. He was too busy planning how to marshal his resources so as to not die of hypothermia. Vulcans did not do particularly well in cold climates.

Work alone or in groups to dig shelters into the snow, using these instructions as references.

[Warning: Both links are image-heavy for those at work. Totes WS, but I thought I'd give ya'll a heads up.]

Since the work would warm her quickly enough anyway, Cara didn't bother to put any extra clothing on before she picked up a shovel and started digging.

Proto hadn't really talked to any of his classmates, so he sort of picked one at random. It happened to be Cara.

"It's been my experience that a two-person shelter is is faster to dig and actually retains heat better as long as two people use it."

That was an offer to team up. If she wanted.

"At least we don't have to use a taun-taun," Ben muttered as he dug.

Asuna started digging out the snow and tried to do it fast, thinking that speed would equal warmth.

She's around!

Kate was still a little wary of Ghanima, what with having been paralysed in class, and having let her secrets slip that one other time, and everything. So she wasn't too keen on talking to the woman, but she'd promised Leto she would, so... She came to find her at the end of class.

"Professor Atreides?"

"Miss Gregson," Ghanima replied, giving Kate a nod. "What can I do for you?"

"I, uh..." Oh, right. There was also that bit where Ghanima kind of tended to manage to intimidate her without trying to. "I talked to Leto last night, and I, um, I'm here because of him, actually."

Well, that could be good or bad. "Are you here because I'm his sister?" Ghanima asked curiously, "Or because I have already been through his part of the timeline?"

"... I hadn't even thought of that." Sometimes Kate found it easy to forget about the timeline issues. This was one of those times, so she'd forgotten that someone knew how the situation with the aunt would turn out.

Still, she pushed that thought away. "No, I'm just-- He wanted to know if you got any... visitors, this weekend."

Ghanima smiled sadly. "No more than the ones I usually have," she replied. "Did he?"

"No," Kate replied with a brief shake of her head. "That's probably why he wanted to know."

"I can't say I'm disappointed," Ghanima confessed. "I would rather have none of my loved ones come back, than have them ripped away again after a day."

"Yeah, I understand that," Kate said, nodding. "No one showed up for me, either." She couldn't even figure out anyone who could have. "Watched someone else get his parents back, though."

"That would be difficult." Leto had gotten time with their father -- would get time with their father -- that Ghanima would never have, and she knew how much it had hurt Leto to lose him again.

"How did it go?"

Kate shrugged a shoulder. "Well enough. I mean, he was happy he got to see them, and that I got to meet them too, but... "

But he knew they'd keep living in the graveyard, and he wouldn't be able to see them until he died, and he felt sad alone.

So she just shrugged again.

Today's class is for all of you who are melting in the heat.

Edited 2010-07-19 13:42 (UTC)

Wonder Twin Powers, Activate! Form of: Classes about cold!

Mmmm, thinking cold thoughts.

We know the truth, you are really some sort of delicate arctic flower of cold. I am just going to bask in my nice warm weather. Baaaaaaaask...

I will not deny my delicate arctic flower-ness! My brain shuts down the moment the thermometer hits about 28°C. And then all you American folks laugh at me, because that's only like 82°F.

I MELT.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You, Week II [Monday, Period 1]

Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

Re: Sign In III

During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Re: During the Lecture

Activity: Make Your Shelter

Re: Activity: Make Your Shelter

Re: Activity: Make Your Shelter

Re: Activity: Make Your Shelter

Re: Activity: Make Your Shelter

Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

Re: Talk to Ghanima

OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC

Re: OOC