You Asked For It: The Beach Trip

[magicademymods]

Be Careful What You Wish For: A Beach Adventure Crowded Quarters To the joy and delight of the Sundered students who feel joy and delight over going to the beach, the Sundered students get to go to the beach in celebration of their completed midterms! Professor Trammel has graciously paid their way on the local airship, which runs regular routes on summer days to the ocean some 45 minutes away, and so every student who so desires can pack up and head onto it to enjoy a fantastic day of fun and adventure! Slight downside: the airship is small and packed, as it keeps its fees low by relying on volume to turn a profit. The crowded travel compartment is standing-room-only, and even those who are lucky enough to get seats won't find themselves with much shoulder room. Some people may even find themselves in the lap of a fellow student, which only the most cynical and bitter of minds would abuse as a way to ship-tease (right?). The trip isn't long, just hot and stuffy. You can make it, students! Wave Your Hands If You're Shore The beach at last! Though the hot sun beats down from above, a gentle breeze blows in from the ocean and the water itself is delightfully cool without being icy cold. Waves run about five to six feet in height, enough to be forceful without dominating like some giant curl suitable only for surfing. Though scores of people have set up tents, umbrellas, blankets, and towels across the sands, the Diatu contingent has plenty of space to conjure up tables and chairs, an awning and plenty of shade. Professor Trammel politely deploys Spells of Sunscreening, as well as directing students to the swimwear the school has obtained and the screened canvas changing areas where they can don them. Helpfully, he's obtained all manner of suits to fit any taste, so... choose wisely? Baskets of sandwiches and drinks kept magically chilled offer sustenance for the busy swimmers, and all manner of balls, nets, and beach toys to enjoy. The Sand Castle Contest Early in the afternoon, Professor Trammel announces that a sand castle contest is open to all participants! The rules are as follows: 1. Headmaster Birony is forbidden from competing. (At this, Headmaster Birony sulkily turns Makerion Keep back into stone and sends it back to the Magicademy Campus. Ka students will be finding sand in odd places for a while.) 2. Students may work in teams of no more than 2. 3. You will have an hour to work with any of the sand-castle tools available. 4. Judging will be on creativity, quality, and durability. 5. 'Bedmaster Hirony' is forbidden from competing. (Headmaster Birony rips her fake mustache off and throws it to the ground in frustration.) You have a few minutes to form pairs and get ready. Who will win the competition? Teachers' Day Off Some of the Professors, too, have taken the day off! Students are treated to the sight of Professor Trammel digging a hole in the surf so his own knocked-together sand structure goes up against the waves, leaving him to improve its walls and channels each time to make for a better hope of surviving. Professor King is teaching anyone who will listen about a new game she calls Sunder-inlota, which involved lobbing a ball through portals to get it into the other team's goal. Headmaster Birony occupies herself doing a Sorcerer's Apprentice thing with the waves, making them smash and crash against each other with glee, while Professors Porfsin and Trent fail to put campus politics aside and both spend the day trying to attract an audience with their own personal performances. And Professor Kith just... swims and enjoys herself, like a normal human being, which is probably in violation of the Adequate Wackiness In Teaching Staff Proclamation, but no one seems inclined to call her on it. Fire in the Sky As darkness falls over the beach, swimming comes to an end as the gathered people move to get home, their day off done. The Magicademy, however, still has some tricks up its organizational sleeve. With fires conjured along the sands, the Professors take turns cooking -- simple fare like sausages and hamburger patties, that even the less adept among them (coughCamBironycough) can't screw up. And as the last vestiges of sunlight vanish behind the horizon and the beach and ocean are both swept in darkness, Professor Trammel pulls off his final flourish: a Discovery of beautiful lights exploding in the sky, a mixture between fireworks and aurora borealis that paints the night in glory. All in all, not a bad day.

Comments

[outofyourshadow]

[She snickers.]

I get that a lot. Thought this would be a good time to work on changing that.

[magicademynpcs]

I've always said self-growth was a valuable thing. [The Headmaster glances down at her own bikini top.] Different context, but the principle is the same! Enjoying the day then? Aside from certain sandcastle contests?

[Cam Birony is remarkably good at speaking through her own clenched teeth.]

[outofyourshadow]

[She can't help raising a curious brow, but from which comment was hard to say.]

Actually, yeah. It's been pretty fun. I've never actually been to the beach before.

[magicademynpcs]

Wonderful! [Clapping her hands together, the Headmaster bounces a little, believe it or not.] I wonder how many here that's true of. I gotta say it's a shame, but getting you all caught up with some fun is a great thing we can do!

[outofyourshadow]

[She can totally believe the Headmaster bounces.]

Well, after midterms, I definitely think we need the break.

[Lena...may not have done so well. She doesn't think she failed them by any means, but she definitely isn't going to be ranking in the top of her classes.]

[magicademynpcs]

Aww, come on, midterms weren't really that bad, were they? I remember in MY first midterm ever, that was for Discovery, my familiar ate my test! [After a lot of encouragement by Cam Birony, of course. They'd actually had an argument right there. Which probably Cam shouldn't have won, what with it being her test and all.] I actually had to Discover an entire new test for myself. Ha, and would you believe that counts?

[outofyourshadow]

[Lena snickers a bit, because somehow, a story like that doesn't surprise her as far as the headmaster is concerned.]

Hey, you did the work, so it should count.

I've never really been a school-type person, though.

[magicademynpcs]

[Cam folds one arm across her chest, propping her elbow on her hand so she can stick a finger up as if she has some amazing insight.]

The way I see it, anyone who says they're not a school-type person hasn't found what they want to learn. So what do you want to learn?

[outofyourshadow]

[Lena pauses a moment at that; that was probably true, and had some merit if her shrug is any indication.]

I don't really know. I've mostly just learned enough things here and there to survive.

[Whether she meant the whole 'learn magic otherwise you'll explode' thing, or something else, she'll let the headmaster decide.]

[magicademynpcs]

Then that's your first question! What do you want to learn? If you answer that, everything else will start falling into place. Like a deck of cards being reverse-dropped!

[Cam's helpful analogy clearly makes everything more comprehensible.]

[outofyourshadow]

[Clearly.]

What if you don't really want to learn anything? And you're just trying to get by?

Or if you don't...know what you want to learn?

[She asks these questions as casually as she can, like she's not really looking for an answer, but there is a bit of genuine curiosity in them.]