Welcome to Gaia! ::

The time is six in the morning - far too early for anyone to wake up, and even a little too early for the sun to rise this time of year. Sleepy chaperones have come around to knock on cabin doors and wake up students, ensuring everyone is dressed and ready to go for the first real day of the trip.

"Hello, everyone!" a young woman calls from beside the bus. She's a Naga and Bakeneko hybrid, and wearing the gear of an archaeologist. "My name is Dr. Tabi Ketzal, and I'm going to be leading the expedition to the ruins this morning. As you've noticed, we've woken up before even the sun, and that is to make sure that we are at our coolest by the time we reach the ruins. We'll want to be well underground by the time it's noon, the hottest part of the day, and it will be sunset by the time we return to the lodge today. I want everyone to make sure they have their nutrition pack, and have filled up their canteens."

Everyone has received a nutrition pack with several supplemental meal bars and snacks, as well as a large canteen that holds enough water for until lunch, when there will be a water refill.

Take a free canteen! You may take ONE per character.


Please roleplay your student grabbing their canteen, double-checking their packs and herding onto the bus for a short trip to the desert ruins. The next phase of the meta will begin in 1 day.

Suhail woke up the next morning to see that Anukhet had already snuck out. So, she's that type? he mused to himself jokingly. Odd jokes aside, he set about preparing for the day and waking up what students he could. When the time came, he grabbed up a blue canteen and headed towards the bus, where he spotted a familiar face.

"Anukhet," he called out. "Did you sleep well last night?" Personally, he'd slept fairly well, but when he was awake, he found himself wondering about the Grimm behind the curtain.

Topaz was one of the first chaperones to be up and about, looking quite chipper despite the early hours. She woke her daughters first then began making rounds with the other chaperones to rouse the rest of the group. Once it looked like everyone was up and getting ready she made a quick stop at the supply table to grab a nutrition pack and canteen, then stationed herself by the bus. She had a pretty good memory for faces and figured someone should make sure everyone was present; it would be horrible if a student lagged and had to get left behind for the day as a result! Plus she could also make sure everyone who boarded had a canteen, since it was pretty early in the morning and sleepy minds could be forgetful ones. She smiled and nodded in a friendly way to the two students who'd reached the bus while keeping an eye on everyone else and adjusting her new canteen in a comfortable position at her hip. Sneak, curled around her shoulders, hissed a little at all the strap wiggling, but quickly settled down.



Quartz blinked groggily as her mother gave her shoulder a gentle shake. She sat up, hooves settling on the floor, and waited until her head felt a bit clearer before getting up. It only took her a few moments to gather her things, since, on her mother's advice, she'd packed a bag the night before and laid out her clothes. She pulled everything on, slung her bag over her shoulder, made sure to settle Rose comfortably in the bag, and was ready to go. Her sister was a bit less ready, having been quite excited and staying up later than she should have. Quartz had to pick Amber up and get her dressed, and the little freshling was still not properly awake. She sighed in resignation and hoisted her sister into her arms, exiting their cabin and looking around to see what they were supposed to be doing. It looked like breakfast was being served in the main lodge building, as well as a table that seemed to hold supplies with a Bakeneko/Naga hybrid talking in a way that made Quartz think she was an instructor or leader or something.

She resettled Amber in her arms and went to go pick out some food. She wasn't really hungry, but knew once she woke up properly she would be. So would Amber, probably. Once that was taken care of Quartz trooped out to gather a nutrition pack, pick out a canteen, then board the bus. She shared a smile with her mom as she passed, envying how awake most of the adults seemed to look. It was easy to pick out a seat since most were still empty. She took care in settling her sister and her bag, lest she accidentally squish her coatl familiar.



Amber had been so excited last night that it had been hard for her to settle into sleep. She'd laid there, trying to be still but unable to calm her mind as she wondered what the day would hold for them, what kind of amazing adventures she would get to join in. As a result morning came a lot sooner for her than it did for some of the others. She didn't even really register her mother trying to wake her up, and her only response to being dressed by her sister was sleeping mumbles of complaint. She snuggled willingly into Quartz's warm shoulder as she was hoisted up. It was with great reluctance that she allowed Quartz to prod her into consciousness to eat a bit of fruit and drink something; she kept nodding over her meal and dropping bits of half-eaten food back to her plate; Quartz had to finish most of it. She was picked back up and had started dropping into slumber again when Quartz prodded her a second time. Amber blinked sleepily at the table full of canteens as Quartz asked which she'd like. Amber thought she might have pointed to one, but quickly resumed nestling into the comfortable shoulder she was held against. She didn't even stir as Quartz picked up their canteens, clambered up the bus steps, then settled them down in one of the many empty seats.


(( Just tossed everybody in one post. Sorry if I'm kinda scarce this week, or next, lots going on. If anyone wants to start up a dialogue with any of my characters I'm checking in at least once every day. Just quote me and I will definitely get back to you! ))

Quartz leaned her head against the window, her sister's warm weight slumped against her side. The landscape was beautiful in its own way, quite different from the green forests and fields she was used to. She was lost in her own little world, trying to envision the places they would see today and resolutely fighting the battle against falling asleep slumped against the window when out of the corner of her eye she registered movement in the seat in front of her. She looked up just in time to see the Fey peaking over the seat at her.

"Hey, you picked out the green one, too."

She smiled politely. "It was a tough choice. I didn't expect there to be so many color options for a canteen."

The smile suddenly turned to a thoughtful frown. Quartz's blue eyes seemed to lose the slightly unfocused, sleepy quality, her gaze sharpening and a slight wrinkle of concentration creasing her brow. There was something nagging-ly familiar about the Fey. It could be nothing more than her seeing them in passing during Academy classes (they were both juniors, it was quite possible), but for some reason that theory didn't quite sit right...

"Did you," she began, still struggling to figure out why the Fey looked so familiar.

"Did you," Quartz tried again. "Um, a spring event or something. Were you part of a group of freshlings wandering around the event together? It's just...you look kind of familiar," she explained, blushing a little at her own clumsy speech and at the possibility that she had the wrong person in mind. It had been years ago, after all.

Annie nodded at the Baphomet's statement enthusiastically, and began to speak, hoping to continue the small talk about the canteens. Then, her expression changed completely. He choked on whatever words had just been about to leave his lips, staring a bit frightfully. Did he say something weird? Did he smell funny? Did he mention the wrong color of canteen? He glanced at her canteen again. No, it was definitely green. Oh jeez, just one interaction with another person and he'd already --

Then she spoke, and, oh. Oh. She did seem kind of familiar. Annie's face contorted in a similar way to hers a moment ago. The only large spring event he'd attended as a freshling had been a ball, and he'd been horribly underdressed, and he'd met his kidden there. But now that he thought about it, yeah, he had been with a large group of freshlings for some reason. They were probably all classmates at some point.

"Actually, I do remember that," the Fey admitted, nodding slowly, then more vigorously. His grin crept back, lighting up his face the same way the sun was just barely beginning to light up the line of the horizon. "That was a pretty fun time! But," he frowned again, staring intently at the girl. His face warmed a bit, and he reached up to tug at his hair with embarrassment. He shook his head. "I'm really sorry, it was just so long ago, I don't remember your name. I'm Annie." He gave her a small, warm smile, a peace offering in spite of his bad memory.

Aurora listened to Dr. Tabi Ketzal, she then gathered her canteen and food, putting her food in her bag with her other snacks and notepad she had packed for herself. Aurora had a cabin to herself for now but oh well, perhaps she would find a friend in the ruins. She didn't mind the morning darkness since Aurora had fur so the idea of being out in the sand at high noon didn't appeal to Aurora one little bit. She stood waiting to make sure all the other students got snacks and canteens. She felt responsible for all their safety since she had come on this trip as a chaperone.

Aedus had easily agreed to the cabin that Niamh had pick, and had gone to sleep early since he knew that they would have to get up early for the next part of the trip. Aedus was thrilled he waited for Niamh to get up so they could head out and he listened to the doctor and got his canteen, then waiting for Niamh to do the same. He smiled at her and said "I'm excited what about you?" He was so cheerful about this, Aedus' greatest love was familiars. Being here with a chance to see familiars he had never seen before was a dream come true for him, and to have her by his side only made it that much better.

At some point Percy had fallen asleep on the bus again ... and somehow, someway, he had stumbled along to his cabin without really being aware that he was conscious enough to move. Their assigned cabin's beds were not nearly as comfortable as the spoiled bakeneko would have liked, but when one was so tired comfort mattered very little. As Percy's thoughts switched from practiced snobbery and drifted in to blissful contentment that he was no longer cooped up in a sticky bus chair, the boy relaxed himself into his dreams.

When the knocking started in the early morning, Percy didn't even budge. Not a single flinch or twitch of the corner of his eye. It wasn't until a familiar voice and a surprisingly strong hand gripped him and told him to wake up that the cat uncurled his long body and stretched out with a yawn. The next thing he heard before Percy opened his eyes was the sound of the door slamming shut.

The sound bristled his senses, ears flattening to the back of his head as Percy slid out of bed to his feet. He grabbed his clothes, dressed himself as best as he could muster on such a short catnap, then put on one of his favourite hats and headed out the door, making sure to seal the door behind him.

Percy rejoined the group, occasionally rubbing at his eyes. Bismae was already waiting with their canteens, and it looked like everyone was already checking their bags. Percy's own was stuffed with snacks mostly. And soon with water as well.

"Do you have everything alright, my dear?" Percy asked Bismae as he slung his canteen over one shoulder, his wide brimmed hat concealing his face.