Welcome to Gaia! ::

Rowan looked mildly resigned when he heard their next project in science class would be a group project. Really they should probably consider theirselves lucky that they hadn't have a group project before now. The teachers seemed enthusiastic in having freshlings work together and bond. Rowan didn't really object to the idea, but the practice was enough to try their patience. They'd been told their social skills could use some work, but as long as they were getting good grades that was all Rowan cared about.

They sat patiently as the teacher described the project. They were studying plants previously, so as a kind of continuation they supposed to make something entirely out of found materials. It could be anything from a candle to clothes to whatever their imaginations could dream up, as long as it was made entirely from found materials. The teacher then started listing names of who would be paired with who. Rowan softly drummed their fingers against the desk, wondering who their partner would be. Then their name was called.

Lynx.

Rowan cast a glance over at the Bakeneko. He was still very new, but already Rowan had heard a few things about him. Hoping they were just blown a bit out of proportion, and that they could work together, he gathered his books and moved to sit next to Lynx. Freshlings all over the classroom were doing the same, their whispers as they discussed their projects forming a soft buzz of background noise. "I'm Rowan," the Nixie introduced politely. "I've got a few ideas for the project that we could do, unless you had something in particular you wanted to try." He waited, figuring it was only polite to hear someone out rather than take over the project on their own, though Rowan was perfectly prepared to do just that if they had to.

Rowan tilted their head as Lynx began to ramble. They weren't sure if he was being serious or opening the project with a joke. If so, they really didn't get it. "It would be structurally impossible to make a fort one could play in out of paper clips. Its own weight would make it collapse." They propped a head on their hand. "We have to use natural materials anyway, and I've never heard of a paperclip plant."

Rowan opened one of their notebooks to a clean page and absent-mindedly tapped a pencil against it, thinking. This was supposed to be a group project, so maybe they should try to cooperate a little bit? Just in case it counted towards their grade. "If you're set on a fort, it'll have to be smaller. We could make it out of leaves and twigs, with clay as a binding agent. That'll be hard to find though. Mud might be easier, but clay holds better." It was clear from the way Rowan trailed off their mind was working on the clay versus mud problem and weighing all the pros and cons.

Rowan wasn't sure how one was supposed to have fun with a fort made out of muddied clay, leaves, and sticks, but he refrained from commenting. The important part was just to get it done.

"Do you want to work on a design now? We have to wait for class to end before we can go looking for the materials anyway," he said, putting down the beginnings of a sketch. Four walls, definitely, since all forts had walls. Should they attempt gates or towers? It would seriously depend on the kinds of materials they found. Maybe they could find some tough reeds or grasses to help with that.

"Do you think the walls should be simple so we have more time to work on the building, or do you want to try for towers in the corners," Rowan asked, lightly nibbling on his pencil as he considered the options.

Rowan bit his lower lip, flexing his gills slightly as he fought to get himself back under control. He must not release a sarcastic comment within hearing a teacher. He just had to try his best to keep this all on track and gets things done as quickly as possible before everything was swept entirely out of his control.

"We're not building an actual fort," he said, voice a bit tense as he tried not to snap. "We can't pick up a fort or fit it through the door, and we don't have materials to make something that big. We are making a small fort, something one of us could pick on on our own." He paused, and gave a very slight eye roll. "If you want you can think of it as a model of your fort, so you can decide what goes where before you build the real, big one."

Rowan gave a tiny exhale in relief. Though he was a bit doubtful that this would be the last time that he would have to try to reign Lynx's energy in, he would take the brief respite.

"Okay, so a fort. We'll do walls and some towers, and then there's the actual fort itself." Rowan tapped his pencil lightly on the desk in though. What were they going to build this on? It wouldn't be stable enough to move without a base. "We gotta find something we can build this on. Like a flat rock or a big piece of bark."

Plan in mind, Rowan nodded decisively. "Okay. After class, we'll go out and try to find something to build on that we can carry the fort around on. Then we'll look for clay and other building materials. I'll make the walls and towers. Since you have all the ideas for the fort, you can make that while I make the walls." It seemed like a good plan. Hopefully the process of finding the thing to build their fort on would give Lynx a better idea of the scale of the project, and being able to actually build the fort himself would appease all the creative thoughts running wild in his head.

"We need a base cause it makes the fort stronger, otherwise it might break into pieces when we pick it up," Rowan replied a bit absently. He was trying to think of where a good place to build this might be. He reeeeally didn't want to meet in his room if there was going to be clay and bits of nature involved. Granted he had more easy access to a water source, given his physical health needs as a Nixie, but he was pretty fastidious and didn't want his room to be a mess. This project sounded like it was going to be a very horrible mess...

"We can meet up near the front doors, or by the play area," Rowan said, trying to think of landmarks they'd been been around. "We can also probably build the fort outside as well, that way we don't have to worry about cleaning up a mess since it's outside."

The bell rang, signaling the end of class. Rowan collected his things and nodded at Lynx. "See you after classes, then." He really hoped they'd manage to pull this project off!