fandomhighdorms | Middle of the camp, Friday after classes

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Middle of the camp, Friday after classes

Claudia was sitting propped against the trebuchet-in-progress, surrounded by sheets of paper held down with rocks, with a notebook perched on her knees.

Some of the papers had diagrams of potential finished trebuchet. Some had calculations regarding the probable velocity and forces acting upon anything flung from the potential finished trebuchet. Some of them . . . regarded something else entirely. Something about a very large compass, and accounting for inertia and the rotation of the Earth. Those were the ones she was poking at, now.

It was best not to ask, really.

[ooc: I'm drowning in documents! Save me with distractions of an RP kind?]

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"Damn, girl. You've got some strange hobbies," Gunn commented as he checked out the trebuchet-in-progress.

Then again this is a guy who mounted homemade crossbows on his truck so he really has no reason to talk.

"You're not one of those weirdos who are going to start speaking in a French accent and throwing cows, are you?"

"Only if I can figure out how to give the cow a parachute." Claudia shrugged. "Which wouldn't be effective at that height, anyway. So, uh, no."

"Well knowing this place it wouldn't be that odd to find one," Gunn said inspecting the rig. "Or see a cow with a parachute. Or for it to rain cows with parachutes. Where'd you find the plans for this thing?"

"The internet, where else?"

"Of course," Gunn smirked. "And all these other drawings you've got going on? They additional research?"

Claudia gestured to the papers to her right. And in front. And a few on the left. And that one back there that was almost behind her. "That stuff's trebuchet. Trying to work out a good-clean-fun kind of ammo for it that won't just explode in the air. The others are . . . another project. I kinda got some ideas for it while working on the trebuchet stuff, so I figured I'd break it out."

"Well I'd say go with a giant water balloon for the ammo," Gunn suggested as he looked over some of the documents. "Now if you need anything along the lines of a crossbow, I might have some plans for you."

"Not right now, but that could be a fun project." Claudia shrugged. "I was thinking water balloon, too, but Peter pointed out that I'd need a balloon strong enough to hold up to the force of the fling, but fragile enough to burst on impact."

"Yeah and you'd have to figure out the surface tension and stuff," Gunn nodded.

"Exactly. It's all . . . theory." Claudia wrinkled her nose. "It'd be way more fun to just throw stuff till it worked, but I don't wanna accidentally break stuff."

"Aw, see that's half the fun," Gunn smirked. "You should just take this rig into preserve and nail some trees. Won't do any harm there."

Claudia considered that. "There might be cute little woodland animals."

Look, she was still a fifteen year old girl, okay?

"Who at worse might get a little wet. Right? You're not throwing brings or hot oil with this thing, right?"

"But if I don't have the surface tension right, they might get smooshed by a big squishy thing."

Those were technical terms, yes.

"It'd be like getting bludgeoned with . . . well, a giant unbreakable water balloon."

"Good point," Gunn said taking a moment to circle around the trebuchet. "Then maybe you should set up a range at the park. Cordon off the area and let her rip."

"Better idea. Or launch an unmanned vessel from the beach and aim it out over the water."

"Where you'd litter the water with plastic rubber pieces that will pollute the ocean floor?"

He was teasing just a little.

"I could make the shell biodegradable! Corn starch base, maybe. . . ."

"And just how much effort do you really want to put into this?" Gunn asked with a chuckle.

"Well, I could always switch to very ripe tomatoes for ammo."

"Messy and biodegradable," Gunn said nodding with approval. "Can't go wrong there."

"I think this might be a new plan."

"And a possible tomato crop shortage."

"Bah, people get those all the time. They'll live."

"Do people DO that where you're from?!?!" Kurt had to ask, with an utterly confused expression.

"Oh hell, yeah," Gunn joked. "In fact we then try to figure out air speed of a swallow in conjunction with the weight ratio with a coconut."

Kurt blinked at him. "There's a joke here that I'm not getting, ja? You're quoting something?"

Kurt appeared in a puff of smoke, perched on the trebuchet. "Is this it?" he asked, as he squinted at all the drawings. "Your catapult?"

Claudia looked up. "Trebuchet. And yes, this is it."

"Whoa! This is, like, totally awesome!!! You should use it to attack the school with paint or something!"

He grinned and gave her two thumbs up.

Claudia snorted. "I was thinking water -- though don't think a giant paintball hadn't crossed my mind."

"Oooooh...." Kurt thought about that. "You could wait until everyone's at the campfire, and then throw a big water balloon at it!"

"Dramatic, irritating, and ultimately nonlethal. I like it."

"Well, of COURSE it's nonlethal! What kind of person do you think I AM?!?!?"

"Hey, some guys don't think things through, you know? Like 'oooo, let's launch pumpkins!' without realizing that at that velocity? Not such a great idea."

"No, it's a GREAT idea," Kurt countered. "So long as you're careful where you're aiming."

"Yeah, I'm starting to think I need a nice clear target for this sucker."

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Middle of the camp, Friday after classes

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