fh_trips | Backpacking Trip: Ancient Greece, Saturday

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graduate backpacking 2010

Backpacking Trip: Ancient Greece, Saturday

The weather was about the same today as it was yesterday, although from the sound of giggling and hooves clopping around to be heard on the Amazons' side of the river, some of the young centaurs must have been over visiting with Ephiny and her son Xenon. Nice weather wasn't stopping Solari from putting the younger Amazons through their weapons paces, either, no matter how much some of them might be grumbling.

Across the river at the centaurs' settlement things were much the same, weapons drills and playtime and chores all mingling into a pleasant buzz of activity.

Xena and Gabrielle were supposed to be visiting today, and no matter which side of the river you happened to be on someone was probably excited about it.

[OOC: The crazed Amazons have been called off. Have at.]

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On a perfectly normal day like today, the usual round of chores is going on.

Just . . . always accompanied by drumming, for some reason. It's like a compulsion.

Sleep okay, if you stayed here last night?

Hopefully you didn't set anything on fire. Even your own hair. That's embarrassing.

. . . today, there are actually s'mores makings, courtesy of Gabrielle, who's gotten used to campfires in Fandom.

Ephiny's probably facepalming.

Dinah was watching the weapons drill, and after ten minutes, couldn't stay on the sidelines.

So yeah, that's her at the back, with the staff 'Dite gave her, going through the same thing. With waaaay too much enthusiasm.

"It looks like you've got the hang of that pretty well," Ephiny observed, making her way over. (She needed a break from facepalming.)

"Thanks!" Dinah stopped to catch her breath, grinning at Ephiny. "Everyone here is really impressive. I hope I'm managing to keep up." She held out a hand. "Dinah. Lance."

"You're a lot better than Gabrielle was when she started," Ephiny confided, reaching to grasp for Dinah's forearm instead, in ancient-time-honored tradition. "Come to think of it, she's mentioned you."

"She has?" Dinah said, surprised but pleased, and fumbled to return the forearm-gripping thing. "I've been doing this for a couple years now, so, good to know it hasn't been time wasted." She cocked her head. "She said she knew Amazons, but it's still a surprise to actually be here."

Ephiny laughed. "It was a bit of a surprise when she came to ask permission for you all to stay here, but she can be . . ." She scrunched up her face, possibly searching for a diplomatic way to put it. "Very persuasive when she wants to. We aren't used to visitors, generally speaking."

Dinah snickered. "Yeah. I can imagine that. Gabrielle's good at, uh. Explaining indefinitely." She smiled. "We appreciate it, a lot. The last five weeks have been interesting for some of the places we've had to sleep, but your village is great. It's gorgeous here."

Give it a few weeks, Dinah. It wouldn't be so gorgeous then.

"I'll say that for it," Ephiny agreed with a knowing smirk; Gabrielle had definitely taken a while to grow on her. "I'm sorry we can't offer you some of the luxuries of your time, but a comfortable place to sleep is more than many people get, sometimes."

"We were stuck in tunnels last week, and a burnt-out shell of a city three weeks ago. This is fine," Dinah assured her. She gestured to where the Amazons were still drilling. "So, are you guys preparing for anything, or is this just what you do every Saturday?"

Ephiny gestured to a passing Amazon, who brought her a pair of short fighting-sticks with leather wrapped grips, not entirely unlike Dinah's eskrima sticks. "Things have calmed down quite a bit since we brokered peace with the centaurs, but you can never be unprepared here. There's always some warlord trying to conquer, and --" She snorted. "A tribe of women who don't need men around is always a tempting target."

Dinah nearly snorted right back. "Some things don't change. Unfortunately." She grinned a little. "But, people still talk about Amazons as the model for strong women..." She gave the sticks a speculative look, bouncing a little. Maybe. Just a little. "I have sticks like those."

Not hinting, or anything. Right.

"Do they?" Ephiny couldn't help a grin. "That's good to know."

She twitched the weapons in her hands, holding them out to Dinah for inspection. "You know how to use chobos?"

"The ones I have are called eskrima, from another part of the world ~~if you ignore how the Phillipines are closer to New Zealand than Greece~~, but they're very similar," Dinah said, taking them and getting a good look at the grips. She held one in each hand, did the wrist-twirl she'd inherited from Arthur and now couldn't get rid of, and grinned wickedly. "They're very useful in New Gotham."

Ephiny crossed her arms and watched, evaluating. "Not bad; you seem to have the hang of it. They're a versatile weapon. One of the first things we train the younger girls on."

"Thanks." Don't wriggle at the praise like a puppy, Dinah. You're older than that now. "I've been trying to train a couple people back home on them, too." A few short passes, and back to rest. "If you don't mind me asking... this is just curiosity... but. Uh." She paused, and looked over at the younger girls. "Are they all adopted? The younger girls?"

Ephiny grinned wryly. "No, that's a fair question. Some of them are; some of their mothers are part of the tribe as well. Have you seen the centaur boy wandering around? That's my son, Xenon."

"I did! And... " Dinah blinked, brain mentally stuck on pause of, How big was he when you gave birth to him?. "He's adorable." Her main question was answered, of birth *and* adoption. And now she was wildly curious. "Soooo you're-- in a relationship, with one of the centaur guys?"

Holy wow.

It's sort of luxurious. In a sweaty kind of way.

Yes, they really do hitch themselves to their own carts when they need to. Yes, it probably does look weird.

If you stayed here last night, and also presumably did not burn the place down.

You're likely to find Tyldus wandering about here, keeping an eye on the youngsters so they don't get too rowdy if Xena's visiting. Even if she does tolerate it.

Dinah was wandering through and trying not to gape. Or stare. Or anything.

Centaurs. Whoa.

If you want to explore the woods around either settlement, or use the river for . . . river-related needs. There are both Amazon and centaur patrols keeping watch, but still, try not to stray too far?

The World Cup ate my day. And also, apparently, my brain.

Oh, just as a note, you will get cell phone reception here -- you just might want to keep a careful eye on your battery charge.

Edited 2010-06-12 22:35 (UTC)

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Backpacking Trip: Ancient Greece, Saturday

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The River and All Points Elsewhere

OOC: VSG