a zombie, an alien, and a monster hunter go on a camping trip...

[detectivetroll]

Who: Nick Burkhardt, Anthony Javier, Alex Kusnitz
When: Backdated to 3/21
Where: Campsite on the outskirts of Locke
What: Attempting to grab a little piece of something less dangerous than aliens and giant pink snakes, before the next wave of crazy happens.



It's been an insane week, and it's... probably not going to get less insane any time soon. But Nick still wants to make time to carve out a little slice of normality amongst all the insanity - well, as normal as two teenagers who are temporarily human but are really a zombie and an alien centaur, accompanied by a monster hunter is, anyway. Maybe 'fun' is a better word than normality. Normal or not, they all deserve some fun.

So come Friday evening, the trailer that Nick'd pulsed back is all packed with everything they'll need for their camping trip. It's decently spacious inside, with two sleeping spaces and a desk area - especially without all of the books, papers, somewhat-deadly knickknacks, and other various substances that Nick remembers being in there. He's actually glad he'd got it back incomplete; it means it's much better for the purposes of camping.

He'd hitched the trailer to his station wagon, and he and Anthony had picked up Alex as promised. Then Nick'd driven out to the furthest campsite he could, while still being within the boundaries of the network, before parking to set up camp. ...which is apparently a lot easier, when you have a trailer instead of a tent.

"It's been way too long since I've been camping."

Comments

[moarnomsplz]

Part of the point of telling his parents about all the numbers craziness was so Alex wouldn't have to lie to them anymore, but he's been leaving out pretty much all the details of the fight at the farmhouse and the snake's rampage through downtown. They found out a lot from the news coverage, and he hasn't wanted to make them worry even more than that did. So it's a relief to be with people who know and understand.

He was expecting to be roughing it a little more. Not that he minds that Nick's trailer is pretty fancy on the inside.

"I was a cub scout, but don't ask me to build a fire or anything-ing." Making s'mores is about the limit of his wilderness survival skills, but he has brought supplies for them.

[scramasax]

It has in fact not been long at all since Anthony was last camping - last was Halloween, with the vampire Alex, Banagher, and Vanessa Carter. It had been different enough then - he hadn't been able to expect to actually get any sleep for that trip, for example - that this still feels like the first time in what might be four or five years. He knows nothing about camping at all, himself; is on edge to change back at any moment, though logically it should not occur until much later; is grateful that they've got the shelter of the trailer in case anything does occur; and is simultaneously from there at a point between having a sheepish laugh at himself and counting an additional petty blessing or so in their not quite doing it "right".

Excused himself with an "Um", and sprung of that lightly with a thin and mostly throat "Can we get anything -- ?"

Ready, that is.

[detectivetroll]

Nick himself hasn't gone camping since shortly after college, but hey, if nothing else, at least remembering how to do everything would give him something else to focus on than alien and police stuff. And considering his mission for the camping trip was to avoid thinking about that as much as possible, he was counting that as a success.

He chuckles at Alex's comment, grinning at both of them. "That's what you guys have me for, to be on fire duty." Then he nods towards a cooler and a couple of paper bags. "Grab those and start unpacking while I get the fire started? I'm pretty sure I brought enough for dinner for all three of us. As long as you guys like hamburgers or hot dogs." He'd brought along potatoes, corn, peppers, and onions, too, but that was mostly because he's trying to be at least a little bit responsible and provide some vegetables.

[moarnomsplz]

"I like both!" Alex says, with a grin, knowing that's probably entirely predictable.

He starts unpacking the supplies. That's a whole lot of healthy stuff. He hopes it's mostly for show, or to assuage Nick's conscience. The corn will be OK if they roast it and smother it with butter.

He's desperately curious about how Nick helped Anthony, but it's clearly impossible to ask about it in front of him. For now, he just shoots Anthony a look that's meant to say You're doing okay, right?

[scramasax]

"I like anything," Anthony says at a quick and dry-voiced mostly-a-mutter as some manner of token response - he misses Alex's look entirely, but he's smiling, himself, if absentmindedly. Doing okay, he definitely is.

And he follows the sound of Alex unpacking to do the same. Unpacks whatever Alex doesn't seem like he's just about to, and once enough space opens up that he begins more actively feeling around, "scans" around where he last heard some sound of movement from Nick.

"Um -- where - should we... put - this...?"

Some height to that - natural and easy, rather than nervous.

[detectivetroll]

"About the answer I'd expect from teenagers," Nick teases as he stacks up wood for the campfire. He's brought enough for tonight, but in the morning, they'll have to go hunting for wood.

He's guessing that Alex is probably really wondering how Anthony's human, but he's... putting the explanation off, for the moment. It's not exactly the best "around the campfire" story, but it's still better than trying to bring it up while making dinner.

"Oh, uh, on the picnic table, for now? We can move stuff over to the fire when everything's on sticks or in foil."

[moarnomsplz]

Alex moves the stuff he's unpacked so far over to the table, sorting it moderately neatly into different areas for the different kinds of food. He grabs the s'mores supplies from his backpack and sets them out, too.

"Brr, burgers in foil, dogs on sticks?"

He's possibly more amused than he ought to be at the chance to make a 'weenie roast' joke soon.

[scramasax]

Quick pause - next directive, then!

"And where are those...?

"Er - foil and sticks..."

[detectivetroll]

Nick flashes a grin at that.

"I learned the hard way that burgers on sticks tends to just end up as burnt ground beef in the fire."

He finishes with the fire and stands, moving over to join them. "Foil's in the bags, sticks - those are going to be us finding the best looking ones off the ground, I'm afraid."

[moarnomsplz]

"Yeah, we're not to the part where we light stuff on fie, fire just to see what happen-zuh yet."

Eating is a higher priority than that. Alex finds the foil and pushes it over to Anthony with a quiet 'here.'

"I'm on finding-ing sticks."