Oregon Trail Revitalized Part 3 - RPLOG
From Flexible Survival
Participants
Date
3/12/2022
Log
(Erika) After the near scuffle on the bridge, the group continued on down the windy, wooded street. There's a subtle but overall curve towards the south, but several miles after the bridge the right side of the treeline begins to open up. At first it looks like a thin field, but it turns out to be the narrow inlet of a rather green but beautiful lake. It's narrow at first, but as the group travels further, it starts to open up, only to be hidden away again behind the thick line of trees. The road never strays too close to the lake just yet, just a glimpse of what's in their future. Erika's tail begins to wag, and she smiles. "This is it. I recognize where we are, for sure. Not much further now guys, we've almost made it to what I saw on the hill the last time I was here." she says, clearly becoming excited.
(Fenris) Fenris saunters along, the burly tanuki dressed in his working grubbies and wearing an open canvas jacket despite the cold weather. He swings his long bladed spear as a walking stick and is singing a nonsensical little walking song as he goes. Something about birds and bats and a jitterbug.
(Euoia) Euoia looks over the area and is tempted to take an aerial view. However she fights back the urge and keeps her wings close. The anime babe keeps humming the sailor moon opening song subconsciously while following the party lead along the road. With her staff at the ready as a walking stick, Euoia tries to pay attention to the possible places another ambush might happen.
(Anbessa) Anbessa, despite the group having gotten out of that attempted bit of banditry from that rather desperate group, is still taking a lot of time glancing back towards the path they came from. He wasn't entirely sure if that group would keep stalking, or if any felt cheeky... But safe to assume the bunny is a bit more on edge now after that fight nearly broke out. Still, the bunny is following along at the normal pace with everyone else, his ears lifted high now and staying that way, a tad bit more alert now! But as Erika speaks up, the bun pauses and smiles towards her as he chuckles. "Well, lets hope we can find a secure little spot to hunker when we get there. Anything of note that'd be a good place to sit at when we arrive?" He asks curiously, tilting his head before he resumes his cautious lookings around."
(Junes) Junes takes a long glance at the lake happily while walking near the end of the group, they unzip their hoodie and pack it away revealing a sweater that was underneath "i cant wait to come back here sometime later" glancing to the forest but looking back to the path
(Forkbomb) "Did you... Ever tell us what it is we were heading towards?" The lithe tanuki-morph started to pick up the pace to join up with Erika. Her mind began to buzz with possibilities. Is it a ghost town? Is it one of those malls that got abandoned because malls are instinctively a bad financial decision? Is this a nuclear bunker, and we're going to have to fight Erika to the death in an anime-esque swordfight to stop her from reducing this all to zero so we can start this all over again properly this time? She hopes it's not that last one, but she's seen enough garbage TV to completely discount it. Her little round ears twitched with a little bit of anxiety. She was the kind of person where her skin began to crawl when she wasn't inside, so maybe it was just the irritation of having been outside for so long. But she had a weird foreboding feeling climbing her gut.
(Luard) Luard hadn't forgotten about their earlier encounter either, his ears poised and ready, listening for even the faintest sound of oncoming threat from behind, or either side of them. But seeing Anbessa was constantly checking the back of the group, the large winged husky elected to stay up front walking with Erika, looking out ahead to make sure nothing else dangerous would approach them, his glaive held in hand by his side. He chuckles as he catches sight of the husky's tail wagging. "That's a pretty nice looking lake. Almost there now then, Erika? That tail of yours must be wagging for a reason." He shares a playful smile with her, before looking at Forkbomb. "Take it easy, we're all okay. Bandits and ferals are one thing, but where we're going shouldn't be so bad. If Erika is correct, I'm assuming we can hopefully use it as an outpost, right?"
(Erika) Erika glances back at Anbessa and gives a quick nod. "Yeah, for sure. I saw something from a distance. You'll all see when we get there." she says, her voice giddy, seeming to be quite pleased with herself. "I'd say it's something of note, and a spot to hunker down." she adds on, her tail swishing from side to side. Glancing over at the worried tanuki, she smiles warmly at her. "I might have, but hey... If you forgot, it's alright. I don't want to ruin the view, so embrace the surprise. It'll be all good, I promise." she responds, striding confidently forward. So far there haven't been anymore sounds in the woods, or stalkers for that matter. The sky above is clear and gradually darkening, but the air isn't too cold this time. It's cold, for sure. But not freezing. A soft huff escapes her when Luard mentions her tail, the husky taking a second while walking to wiggle her shapely butt for the rest, her tight black jeans only letting it jiggle slightly. "Hell yeah, there's a reason. An outpost, at the very least. At most, much more than that." she says, the road leading also at a slight decline. It only takes a little longer for a road to turn off northwards towards the lake, and Erika takes that little road. As the group rounds the corner of the turnoff, the trees once again part, and the group is given a grand view of the lake, as well as a few other things. The road first reaches a small parking lot, which has a small building stationed on it. Further beyond the parking lot, the little road slopes down a bit to the lake's edge, where a compact latticework of docks lay, most of them floating on top of the water even to this day. Some of the docks have sank of course, but most of it is still floating. Additionally, there are many small boats docked on the lake. Some of those are clearly broken, even from here, and others sunk in the lake, but many of those are afloat as well. And to the right of the parking lot, a dirt trail leads off into a quaint little campground, complete with yurts. Frayed and unusable yurts, but still yurts.
(Fenris) Fenris whistles at the sight, hooking his spear to its harness on his back. "There's a sight and no mistake," he grins, scratching his belly idly, "And you don't think anyone is living there yet? Any of Bear's fingers about, you think? I still haven't met Bear."
(Euoia) Euoia started to swing her head around with some zoom function pointing out briefly a view of the lake. She noted that and really started to wish she did fly up. Briefly stopping, she brought up the image she thought she saw... "That lake... I think it's prolly worth a look later once we get a forward base to explore from." Euoia goes back to scanning the nearby area, her targeting array popping things up that might be important and manually touching parts of the glowing array just at the edge of her Scattershot's 'force shielding' she forced into the underarmor device. Once more, she sweeps the area looking out for anything that might be threatening.
(Anbessa) Peering around the new area, the buck hums a bit as he twitches his ears. At least this is a more open area, so... Less places for things to hide behind. Less places for them to hide too, but by this point with what they are going to be doing, it ain't like stealth is gonna be an option for long term. Anbessa can only hum for a time... Though the wiggle of Erika's rump only distracts the bunny for a moment. Just a moment, he is not stealing glances, he swears! But after a second or two he hums. "Well... Definitely not a bad view around here. Wish the territory was nicer though." He says with a soft huff. Man, it just being Packmind territory in general puts him on edge... Still, hopefully this can all work out in the end.
(Forkbomb) Forkbomb noticed that little bounce. The way her rear, tightly hugging those black jeans, let a little bounce along, as if the way they were swaying like two giant marshmallows being shoved into seats on one of those maw ocking boatnea rides. Therenude a difference between only a slight bounce, and a subtle bounce, and she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt, this was a subtle bounce. A bounce to promise more to come. Or, sooner than she mightnumber e thought, given that therenude a lake here now. Her mind wandered to old days where her family would go to a lake called Lake Hamilton and catch catfish. She, of course, preferred to stay in the A-frame house and then, occasionally, would jump into swimming garb and cannonball into the lake. And she realized with some hidden perverse glee, nobody brought swimwear. Everyone that wanted to keep their clothes dry would be skinny dipping. She gives a shifty glance at Erika and everyone around, and simply said, sell ibs on that one white boat that looks like a floating brick with a toothpick standing out of it, and by chance did anyone actually bring swimwear?sow ?sow
(Luard) Luard chuckles at Erika's huff again, his eyes also somewhat distracted by her wiggling rump. But only slightly. Definitely. Probably. But as he sees their destination come into view, he lets a small smile form on his muzzle. As far as lakes go, this was a pretty good sight. "Yep, the view is pretty good from here" He smirks, using his tail to lightly swish and slap Erika's butt with a wink. "Oh, and so is the lake." Following along with the smaller, female husky, Luard finally hooks his glaive on his back, taking a final look behind them just in case. "So, are we all heading down together, or should we go down in smaller groups in case someone or something has moved in since you were last here?"
(Junes) stopping a moment to facepalm junes faced the feminine tanuki and responded "all this time i fish and ive never even thought about buying any, let alone wading boots but at least being nude is the norm these days, in any case ill keep an eye from here for you" they say with wave watching the boats bobbing like their lures "i wonder how the ocean is these days?"
(Erika) Erika shakes her head softly when she hears Fenris' question. "Don't think so. I've been up here a few times before I found this place, and no sign of bear. From what I've read in the old reports, and what I noticed looking at old maps, Bear's almost 400 miles northeast of here." she says, looking out over the lake. With her tail wagging, not seeming to mind almost everyone staring at her butt, she takes a deep breath and sighs happily, standing in the parking lot near the little cabin building. "Just look at that... Dangerous or not, this is such a beautiful place... I'm pretty optimistic, guys." she admits, chuckling a little from the tail swat to her rear end. "Such a dog." she retorts, putting her paws on her hips. "I think we should stick together. Which means, if we're going to be exploring around, we should choose where to go first." she says, first glancing at the little building, then the actual marina on the lake, and finally to the campground. Afterwards, she glances towards Forkbomb. "Swimwear...? Huh, damn, I forgot. Probably won't go in the lake though. I bet it's cold as FUCK in there."
(Fenris) Fenris shrugs. "It's all the same to a clam," the tanuki says, "Though I would probably start with the building. Nice to have a spot to hole up, after all." He moves to look down the hill, then turns to geon at the rest of the crew. "No time like the present!" he crows, then turns, does a front flip and sets off rolling down the hill!
(Anbessa) Anbessa gazes around curiously as he takes it all in, but as the Bear is brought up, the bunny frowns. "I'd rather not. They are that packmind that just mindlessly attacks, so... It'd be like a horde of brown bears rushing at us." He says with a light shake of his head. "Definitely not one we'd wanna see." He does get curious as he looks towards the lake marina, humming gently. "Man... Would be nice to just enjoy a ride on a jetski..." He says longingly, ears drooping sadly at a memory that passes through his mind. He then rubs his chin lightly with his free paw as he glances around. The campground is also drawing his gaze a tad too, but the bun shrugs a tad. "Hmn... Think any camping tools are there by this point?"
(Forkbomb) The tanuki curses quietly and pouts, folding her arms and pushing up her breasts in the bikini-top she was wearing. The one time she was going to have a little bit of fun, and the weather has to go and ruin it. Damn weather. Being constantly inconvenient and being the single most boring way to start a conversation. She flops her hands to her sides, and watches Fenris roll down the hill like a fuzzy boulder. He's having fun, at least. "Odds are, if there's a pier there, there's some sort of administration building or lodge nearby. That's probably where we're going. Maybe they'll have a hot tub there. What's even the point of a lake if it's too cold to swim in? That is the one good feature about nature."
(Luard) Luard chuckles at Erika again and gives her a playfully fond hug with a wing. "You know me, Erika. I do as dogs do." Nodding, he watches with slight confusion as Fenris goes a-rolling, but shrugs, figuring the tanuki would probably be fine. He gives a light, supportive pat to Anbessa's shoulder when he catches the buck's ears drooping, and looks out over the lake as he walks, beginning to set off in the direction of the building. "I doubt there's much left in the way of camping gear, plus I'd hope we all brought enough for ourselves, but we'll hopefully find anything still here while we look the place over. If we're going to set up here, we're going to be thorough anyway." He chuckles at the feminine tanuki, tail curling in thought. "Hm, well, if we've got power, no reason we can't try to rig one up potentially. Fun as swimming in the lake sounds, I'd not trust the waters being empty right now."
(Euoia) Euoia keeps an eye out as everyone started... whatever they were doing. She ignored where everyone in the party was and focus more at judging defendible locations and possible. Euoia crouched and continued to look for things.
(Junes) waving to the male husky junes said "hey cloud nine ive got camping gear if we need but that cabin is probably solid plus I could cook something up later" and heading to euoia they mentioned "need any help with guard duty?" as they continue to glance at the sad non-swimmer and something rolling around before looking back to the anime babe
(Erika) Erika smiles from that little hug, turning to look at Forkbomb, blinking a few times. "Pretty sure all the lakes in Oregon are fucking cold." she says, pointing towards the small cabin-looking building next to the parking lot. "That's probably what you're looking for, but..." she starts, turning to look at Fenris as he simply begins to roll down the hill towards the marina. "Wait, what the fuck? He can just do that?" she asks in surprise and bewilderment, letting out a sigh. "We were supposed to stick together!" she calls after him, shaking her head. "Oh well, I guess he can't be stopped. Hopefully he's fine down there, and hopefully he remembers the number one rule." she huffs, beginning to follow behind Luard. "He was right, though. I think this would be best to check out first."
(Fenris) Fenris bounces merrily down the hill and rolls to his feet with surprising grace down at the bottom. He takes a moment to look around before nodding. The big fellow waves back up the hill at the others and makes a big gesture toward the main building and starts walking that way from his new position.
(Anbessa) Anbessa was distracted for a time, clearly being somewhat nostalgic at stuff he remembers from before P-day... But as Fenris literally goes rolling away, the buck blinks in shock at the sight. Huh... So that is what a real Sonic would look like... He shrugs gently, looks towards Erika, then nods. "Seems like it? Probably would be the best place to secure first." He says, shrugging gently as he also begins to move towards that building, though of course his pace is slow, seeing if anyone else is coming with. Best to at least between the group and Fenris, just in case Fenris needs someone to come hopping over to help.
(Forkbomb) It was a good idea. Forkbomb draws her HARE off of her back, taps it a couple of times on her shoulder, and quietly heads over to where the main building is. Somehow, her ass looks better in her thong whenever she's walking like she's intending to get somewhere. The plan is to listen to the front door for anything weird before heading in armed. "We do have stuff like solar panels we can install on top of this place, right? Because this is going to suck for me if I'm on a quest to look for new data, and this place does not even have the common decency to have a working heater."
(Euoia) Euoia is on heightened alert as she starts moving ninja-like towards the main building... if you don't count the holos and flickers of light from her shields. The mage stacks up beside the door to the building, listening for sounds inside. Euoia wants to be ready for whatever might be inside... even if it is just nothing. She peeks inside the main building and tries using her senses to spot anything of interest.
(Luard) Luard chuckles at Junes, shaking his head with an amused shake of his head. "Heh, that's a new one. And that does sound good. Hopefully we can get it secured. Just need to make sure we've got an outpost to secure first." As the large winged husky leads the way, he can hear the footsteps of the others following. But that isn't all he hears. He hears another faint sound. Coming from within the building itself. A slight dragging noise, like something sliding along the ground. He tries to identify the sliding noise, but his attention is caught immediately bt the faint silhouette he sees passing by the tiny window, and then he's immediately crouched down, a hand instantly grabbing ahold of and readying his glaive, and his wings outstretch either side of him as he pauses. The extends an arm out as well, as if motioning for everyone to hold still. "Everyone, hold up, and keep quiet. Erika, we've got movement. I saw someone moving, inside. Heard movement too. I think we've got company. Just not sure what kind. Any idea what could be out here?" He says all this quietly, but at least in an audible talk whisper.
(Junes) as the entire group moved junes tried to keep everyone in sight as they move up and following the lead in being quiet until they see the large canine stop and watched as those ears twitched before keeping still but after hearing about the racket slowly and carefully came closer and motioned with their hands pointing to the door and then fist to open palm before making a wiggling hand motion to imitate walking
(Erika) The husky girl shakes her head at Forkbomb, also approaching the building. But as everyone gets closer, it's clear that the door isn't entirely closed. Rather, it's cracked very slightly. Noticing Luard's reaction, Erika stops in her tracks and listens in as well. Sure enough, there is some movement inside. Some padding footsteps, as well as some dragging as well. And a silhouette in the window passing by again. The husky shakes her head, pulling a gold-plated magnum from her belt. "Not a clue. I didn't get this close last time, and I didn't see anyone using the marina when I scouted it out." she whispers back, huffing. "But that doesn't mean is or was empty. Just be careful, and don't forget the most important rule." she adds on, though despite the quiet murmurings of the group, it seems whatever is inside can hear them, and a low growling sound emits through the tiny crack in the door.
(Fenris) Fenris does not seem fazed as the others stop in their tracks. "Hello, the house!" he calls jovially, "Sorry to bother, but we've been walking a while and would like to stop and rest. Can you talk?" The burly tanuki stops a little short of the house, in plain view and looking for all the world like a slightly grungy teddy bear.
(Anbessa) Anbessa lifts an ear in curiosity as they draw near, and with all the ruckus coming from inside, the bun frowns a tad as he hears it the sounds from within. He was about to say something, but as Fenris calls out, the bun tenses and looks towards them somewhat in annoyance before he just stays on alert, keeping an eye on the windows moreso than the doorways. Well... With their numbers, someone jumping out at them can be dealt with... If it is another situation with bandits though, they might have something along the lines of guns, so... Best to keep the possibility in mind as the bunny is a bit more tense and readied in posture, the bun keeping a nice grip on his polearm.
(Forkbomb) Forkbomb stops dead in her tracks and crouches down as though she were adopting the Bethesda Standard Sneaking Pose, before going down even lower, breasts almost touching pavement, supporting her weight with her free hand. She knew a quick and easy way to find out what this was. However, Fenris looked to have an even faster way. Evenly, quietly, she pads her way towards a space underneath the windows and just waits in complete silence for a second. Coincidentally, her being that deeply crouched meant that if it werennudge for her tail, everyone would be getting a damn good view.
(Euoia) Euoia immediately turns off the dim light from her devices and starts going through the gestures to clean the window magically. With a practiced hands she casts the spell she learned so long ago. Once the spell is finished, she peeks again. "one contact through the window. about two meters tall.. um... Unsure if friendly or not. How's the door look?" She wispered to everyone near the entrance. She waits to see what info the others have.
(Luard) Luard glares silently with a roll of his eyes at Fenris, silently hoping the tanuki doesn't get any of them killed. While this was much more likely to be bandits, ferals or just someone hiding out, the risk of packminds should mean constant caution. He nods at Euoia's information, polearm at the ready, but considers Erika's words. "Alright, fine, yeah. Can't just go kicking these guys out. Looks like we've drawn their attention anyway." Seeing the others sneak forward and many ready their weapons, Luard takes a unique approach by taking off with a beat of his wings, flying up to the roof of the tall building to scan for anything to enter or look through up there, which doesn't take long for someone over ten feet tall. A small cloud of dust kicking up when he flies up. "So at least one. Any idea if there are more?" He's just gathering info, intending to leave the hopeful peace talks to Erika.
(Junes) seeing as all the attention was on the house itself the chimera decided to keep an eye on the surrounding area opposite of the house and treeline, waiting and listening to the group from behind and says quietly "good luck"
(Erika) The tanuki man gets his reply in the form of a slightly louder growl. The door remains mostly shut, and it seems the inhabitant is not too keen on leaving the building. "Hmm... Well, we're not getting attacked..." Erika says quietly, also not approaching any further. Seeing Fenris walk straight up though, the husky sighs and facepalms. "Be careful, you dopey dimwit." she says, though not much else seems to happen. There is no response given to Fenris, only growls, and as Euoia stares through the now less dirty window, the inhabitant doesn't seem to be making any moves. The husky looks up at Luard, shaking her head. "The area seems clear for now."
(Forkbomb) Alright. We're not going to attack the big growly voice. This also means we're not getting in on any air conditioning. Great.
(Fenris) "Hey there, Mister Or Miss Otter," Fenris says pleasantly, apparently able to make out a bit more than many others through the window, "We don't mean to intrude. We will leave you to it." The tanuki fishes in his coat and produces a large tin of what appear to be sardines. He ooens the can with an attached key and steps toward the door, setting it on the ground, then stepping back a couple of steps and sitting down. "You hungry? Do you want to talk?" The big guys is awfully trusting for having seen what is in there and what ferals are capable of.
(Forkbomb) Alright. We're not going to attack the big growly voice. This also means that we're not getting in on any air conditioning. Great. Forkbomb slowly backs off, and tries to sneak back with the rest of the crew. That sneak up wasn't her best effort. In fact, she would argue it wasn't even her top 90%. Pebbles hurt when you slap a hand down on them, and she's pretty sure her ass clapped at least once. This was not the first time, nor will be the last time her wish to have a hot bod has backfired. When she rejoins the others, she coughs and whispers, "That could have gone better. Could've gone a lot worse, but could've gone a bit better."
(Anbessa) Anbessa certainly feels like Fenris is being just a tad reckless, ears drooped back behind him like a cape as he looks towards Erika for just a moment with a soft shrug. Can only hope this goes well, but with Fenris speaking, the bun lifts his ears again and tilts his head. Otter? With the bunny's posture lightening only a little, he glances towards everyone. Guess it shouldn't be too surprising that there are ferals scampering around here, given the growling he heard, but... Still is concerning in it's own way. Does just mean that the perimeter will need more securing when the time comes, but for now the bunny just stays at the ready. He wishes he could help on this front, but... He is better with talking with people than with ferals. Moreso one to call in New Dawn than anything, after all.
(Euoia) Euoia notes that there was no reaction to the wonderful antics of Fenris when dealing with a contact inside. "No reaction inside. Guessing both are familiar with each other. This bodes well." She waits as everyone parses this information. "At the very least, something to be happy about."
(Luard) Luard overhears Fenris below, mentally noting the information. 'An otter. Makes enough sense around a lake.' He supposed, glancing down at Erika as he hears her, nodding as he lands gently on the roof, surveying it, seeing nothing but worn yet stable roof and a chimney. He tries to listen in, now closer to the room's interior, doing his best to make out any further shuffling noises or sounds of movement inside while Fenris talks to whatever was inside, stepping back over to the edge of the roof to look down at the others. "I can't hear any other movement going on inside. I think it might just be this 'otter' Fenris is talking to. Your call Erika, what's the move?"
(Junes) Junes is fairly confused at the noises from behind ranging from claps to wooshing, speech and even some tin container being opened but as nothing sounds too intense or overly strange continued to look out determined to make sure they don't get surrounded by survivors, ferals or worse packminds and couldn't help but watch the lake and boats around wondering what they all have inside before looking back to the treeline, hills then shore
(Erika) As the flying husky lands on the roof, the sounds of scrambling and growling can be heard, though the sardines do seem to get a reaction out of the inhabitant inside. As Fenris approaches to set something down by the door, Erika almost moves to try and stop him, biting her lip. She's about to scold him as quietly as she's able, but then she stops short. Wait, otter? "How did you..." she trails off, as the door begins to open a crack. It's still dark inside the building, and the gradually setting sun doesn't make it much easier to see. But a very otter-shaped paw reaches out to pull the tin of sardines in, and the otter begins to munch on the salty treats. "T-talk... Why?" an unpracticed feminine voice calls back between sardines. As Forkbomb returns to the others from the sneak attempt, the husky nods to her. "That was close, but no more risky business. We pretty much just have to hope Fenris does it."
