fandomhigh | Camping 101; Friday, 3rd Period [05/31].

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Camping 101; Friday, 3rd Period [05/31].

At the meeting spot outside the preserve, the class would find Gladio there waiting, with packs already prepared, and with Ignis there standing beside him, and as everyone gathered, he greeted them with a grin.

"Hey, guys," he said, and then hitched a thumb toward his companion, "I know you all know Iggy here at least a little, if not more, so you've probably figured out just by him being here what today's lesson is going to be focusing on: camp food. So I hope you're hungry, but, if not, maybe the hike to the campsite'll get that appetite going. When we get there, Igs is going to show you a few cool cooking techniques for camping and hopefully you'll have a few of your own you can share, too. But let's save that for when we get there. Grab a pack and let's get moving."

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Ready to eat!

Prompto (and Noctra!) Argentum

Nell Ingram

Arden Finch

Jonathan Sims

The packs today, if anyone goes looking before heading out, are filled with, of course, the finest and freshest ingredients. But, it's a nice day, so definitely enjoy it and the company of your classmates as you make it through the woods toward the site.

Nell obviously checked her pack and was happy to see the ingredients that were there.

Prompto had to do a little bit of adjustments because he also had a his backback for Noctra, but Gladio knew how this worked, so there was a smaller pack set aside for them specifically, and then they were off.

And he thought maybe Noctra had fallen asleep and taken a nap against his back because she was being so quiet, but really, she was just watching everything with her big old blue eyes, and then let Prompto know she was definitely awake when she let out an excited little squeak when she spotted a butterfly and then Prompto had to divert a little off the path so that she could get a closer look before it fluttered away.

Arden was quiet and subdued on the hike up, and, ooof, this bag was not making anything easier.

Once they arrive at the campsite, Gladio will instruct everyone to work on a couple of fires while he and Ignis set up, and then once that's taken care of, the lesson can begin.

"When it comes to cooking equipment for camp," Ignis started, "there are a wide variety of options, to just simple toasting forks to cooking plates to grills. Today, since this is a class that focuses on some of the more casual, easy-going aspects of camping, I'll be keeping it simple with equipment that is very easy to carry around. One is going to be a portable folding grill that can go right over your campfire and be used in a wide variety of ways. Today, we'll be using it to cook some skewers, which are easy to make, enjoyable to eat, and very open to customization. You'll find plenty of options to make your skewers your own in the coolers.

"Our next method will involve these pie iron, which are also a great tool with a good amount of versatility in how they can be used, but today, I'll be showing you how to use them to make your own pizza pocket...a bit like a calzone, really, that you can also modify, as one would expect when making your own pizza.

"There is also the almighty aluminum foil, which is practically a camp cooking essential and also allows one to create some truly impressive meals with just a campfire. We haven't time to go over even a fraction of them, but today, we will be focusing on an easy breakfast, which can also be quite customizable, as well.

"And, finally, and quite possibly our most important camp cooking tool, is a simple camping kettle, which can not only help in ensuring the purity of the water, but can then be used for many things, especially for coffee and tea."

"And?" Gladio grinned, leaning in proddingly.

Ignis sighed. "And," he allowed, "yes, also for Cup Noodle^TM."

"Which I've also brought," Gladio announced proudly, because of course he did! "So, listen up as Iggy here shows you how to make these things, and let's get to cooking!"

Prompto was thinking it would be a good bonding experience for him and Noctra to put together one of those pizzas together, but as soon as the Cup Noodle^TM came out, there was no other option. She started chanting for the Up Oodle and Prompto was sending a withering look over at Gladio as he shook his head and went to reach for a kettle.

Gladio, for the record, was just going to laugh and not feel the least bit bad about it.

Arden would actually just like to curl up on this nice bit of grass here and fall asleep. Maybe...maybe nobody would notice if she just rested her eyes...

With Ignis leading the lecture, Gladio just sort of had to kick back, wait to enjoy the food....and definitely notice.

His brow lifted slightly, and he seemed to have held off until just about that moment Arden's eyelids settled into resting mode to say something.

"Late night?" he guessed.

Arden startled awake, then winced as that meant her arms flailed. "Uh, no sir," she said, a hand massaging her forearm. "Early morning workout. Before dawn, so that's early even for me."

Complete with detention.

Edited 2024-05-31 20:10 (UTC)

Gladio's other brow joined the first.

"That's early even for me," he remarked, sounding as impressed as he was surprised. He then considered that wince and that arm rub.

"You need an ice pack for that or anything?" he checked.

Arden considered it and then nodded a bit tentatively. "Yes, please," she said. "My arms aren't really used to freeclimbing."

They were still pretty spindly and they had climbed a very long way even before she'd backpacked onto Cal.

"You got up before dawn to do freeclimbing?"

So add both respect and questioning if Arden was feeling alright to that tone, but Gladio nodded and went to dig some of the ice meant to keep the food cold out of one the coolers for her and went to hand it over.

"Got a pretty good work out out of it, at least. And yoga later should help those muscles from stiffening up too much more on you, too, at least."

"Uhh, yeah," Arden said, her posture changing from wary to perking up slightly. "We decided to, um. Climb the castle? To see what was in the top of the tower?"

A very normal decision, yes.

"And we had to go early because we figured no one would notice us." Ask her how well that worked out. "I didn't climb the whole way though, goddess no," she said quickly. "I kinda backpacked my friend for a bunch of it."

Gladio took in all this information as he looked at Arden, a faint grin drifting up to his face with a snort at a long-distant memory of Yang Xiao Long giving him the stink-eye for skipping all the practice walls during her terrain class and going right for the super-advanced ones.

"Did you at least get to the top?"

Gladiolus Amicitia, out here asking the important questions.

"Sorta?" she said, wincing. "I mean, yes, but you see, the Dean showed up and kinda chased us up it with his bullshit cheating Jedi powers."

This answer was not helping with the grin, but Gladio at least folded his arms in front of him as if to maintain at least some hint of a disapproving teacherly figure.

"So you went and got up that early to do it," he observed, "and you still got caught?"

"Yessir," Arden said, hanging her head. And then looked back up because this was some unjust bullshit. "And I don't even know how! One minute we were climbing and having a great time and the next we were getting chased by the dean!"

Who was, again, a dirty fucking cheater.

"Yeah," Gladio snorted again, but there was some sympathy in that snort, at least. "He'd got some kind of sense for it or something, I think. I know he busted Prompto," his chin jerked toward him a moment, "and his friends all the time back when he was a student here, too. Granted, one of thr things him and his sister did every semester was rig up the newbie shuttle as something ridiculous the night before, so that one at least worked on a schedule for getting caught. They actually did it up like a giant Cup Noodle^TM the year I started teaching here..."

Ah. Memories. Of a decade/couple of years ago...

He'd been wondering if the tradition would start up again once Noctra reached a good age for pranks.

Arden darted a glance at Professor Argentum and then back at Professor Amicitia. At first, she nearly swallowed her question back, but then in the spirit of fuck it, I already got one detention today, she asked quietly, "Um. Sir? Has he - Professor Argentum, I mean - um. Has he ever mentioned whatever it was that I...did? Or said, maybe? I--I don't really know. I've tried to figure it out? But I can't think of anything, but I'd like to apologize for whatever it was...?"

Gladio frowned at that, with more than a little confusion, especially since, at first, he almost thought Arden meant the whole climbing thing when she said whatever it was she'd done. But that didn't make a whole lot of sense for a few reasons, so he just rubbed his chin thoughtfully for a moment before deciding just to ask.

"What do you mean?" He lowered his voice, too, with a spared glance of his own to ensure that Prompto was still pretty engaged with keep Noctra entertained through Ignis' instructions.

"I, um. I don't think he likes me," she said quietly. "Or maybe I make him uncomfortable? And like, um, he doesn't have to like me of course, nobody has to like anybody--" but she would feel so much more comfortable if everybody did "--but um. If I knew what I did, then maybe I could, well, not fix it, but make it so that he doesn't freak out when he hears about me on the radio?" Because yeah, she'd heard that broadcast.

"Or, I mean, I could also, um, just not take his classes or whatever and give him space! If that would be better! I just...would rather know what I did so that I could say sorry."

"Pretty sure," said Gladio, a bit wryly, "Prompto's just awkward and uncomfortable with most people, honestly."

But, all jokes (accurate though they may be) aside, Gladio did take a moment to look at Arden and consider....well, the Ardyn-ness of it all, and he sighed heavily, shaking his head, rubbing his neck a little as he figured he knew what she meant now and how to best answer it.

"But, trust me," he said, "I'm pretty sure you've got nothing to worry about there. That's..."

Another sigh. A disappointed look sent Prompto's way.

"That's a him problem," he said, returning his look to Arden. "Not a you problem, got it? You didn't do anything wrong."

Realizing that probably would only leave her with more questions....or casting Prompto in a pretty bad light, he elaborated a little more.

"But another Ardyn did. Not too long ago, either. And it was bad. Real bad. For him even a little more than the rest of us, so it probably still..." And yet another sigh, a shake of his head, "...gets him a little, hearing your name..."

"...Oh!" Arden said, a rush of relief that she, at least, hadn't done anything wrong. "Ohhhh." But that meant she couldn't fix it either.

"Oh."

Hmm. "Do you think he'd...maybe feel better? If he could just...call me Finch? It's my last name, so I'd still answer it and unless you were all attacked by a swarm of songbirds...?" She gave him a small, hopeful smile, moving the ice pack from one arm to the next.

"Honestly?" said Gladio, with a shrug. "That kind of helped me get over it at first."

And then he found out Arden was a real good kid and he started liking her and everything, and the separation couldn't be clearer. But he knew stuff like that didn't come as easily for Prompto. And he could only guess at all the things that man put him through when they were separated in Niflheim....

He gave Arden a faint smile. "Just give him time," he suggested. "He'll come around. And just know it's nothing personal. We've all been through some pretty gnarly stuff because of that guy, but that's not on you at all. I...can talk to him, too, if you want. We're all going fishing this weekend, so it'll be a good opportunity to do so."

There were a lot of things he needed to talk to them about, actually, but he could squeeze that into the agenda easily enough, too.

There was a quick flicker of emotion over Arden's face, and she nodded. "Well, good," she said. "Glad it helped you. Hope it helps him, too."

Professor Amicitia's offer took her a little aback, leaving her stammering through an answer. "Oh, I--I mean...uh." she said. "I'm sure you don't--what's there even to say? Um. Oh, I guess it might be easier? If the suggestion comes from you? And then he maybe won't. Um. Feel weird?"

Then, more softly. "I'm sorry bad things happened to you all. I mean, um. I know that's just life." A bitter, knowing laugh. "But still. It sucks. When it's the kind that lingers. Sorry to um. Hear that you do."

Oh, you know Gladio's coming out of this with a skewer in one hand and a Cup Noodle^TM and wondering if he could get away with trying to use the skewer to eat the noodles...

And Nell was just happily watching him as he debated. She certainly wasn't going to stop him!

Well, Gadio figured he could get away with sneaking it by Ignis pretty easily, which just left Nell, so when he glanced her way and saw that amused, anticipatory look on her face...that pretty much decided it and he took a moment, dipping his skewer into the Cup Noodle^TM, very carefully maneuvering it around until a good deal of the noodles had twisted themselves up in the meat and veggies, lifted the whole mess out of the cup, then threw a wink Nell's way before going and taking a big old bite out of all of it.

And then letting out a very undignified grunt that would probably blow his cover with sneaking that by Ignis after all, but, damn, that was a good idea, and he had to make the sounds to let the world know his approval, apparently.

Nell just laughed. "Taste good?" she asked - already knowing the answer. Hey, Gladio, Cup Noodle and meat on a skewer. What more could he ask for?

Except for Ignis to somehow miss the whole thing, obviously.

"I'm so mad," Gladio said, shaking his head and looking between his two hands with a marveling wonder, before dipping his skewer in again to start prepping it for the next bite, "that I never thought of this before."

But, instead of taking the next bite for himself, he was holding it out toward Nell. "Wanna try?"

Nell smiled at him and leaned in to take a bite. "Mmm..." she said as she chewed, and nodded her head at him. "Good," she said when she'd swallowed. "They go really well together!"

She was already thinking about how she could refine it for a meal at home.

"Just like us, right?" asked Gladio, with an utterly shameless grin, because she pretty much set that one up all nice for him, it'd just have been rude if he didn't take it.

"Good class today?" he asked. "Probably nothing too revolutionary or groundbreaking for you this time, though."

"Exactly," Nell said, with a soft smile. "Who would have thought?"

Not her. And probably not any one who has ever met them separately. On paper they certainly didn't seem as if they would ever work. The confident shirtless Goliath and the reticent tiny woman who wore long skirts and tops that covered most of her arms and neck.

She was less careful about being covered now and certainly more confident and happy. Which she felt are owed so very much of to Gladio.

"I love this class," she said. "Probably would even if you weren't teaching it, though that's a bonus. But it's just wonderful even if I do know a great deal of it."

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Camping 101; Friday, 3rd Period [05/31].

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OOC - Camping, 05/31.