Fandom High Dormitories

"Thanks for coming," Karla said, once everyone had assembled and had a chance to grab something to eat and drink if they were so inclined. "So, those of us who were on the island a few weeks ago remember that great chunks of the island went missing before we were able to set everything aright--including most of the town and all of the restaurants. We were lucky that it didn't last long enough for there to be a food shortage--" in part because the cafeteria had remained, even if people would argue whether the cafeteria had anything that counted as edible in it "--but the point is there could have been. Considering most of us can be described as two-legged locusts, that would have been a serious problem."

"There are any number of reasons why we might get cut off from our usual supplies: an invasion, a trip that doesn't goes as planned, a bout of Fandom weird, whatever. But there are ways we can prepare without wringing our hands and bemoaning our fates: specifically, we can learn some basic skills to let us live off the land if such a thing ever happens. Hunting, gathering, knowledge of edible, medicinal and magical plants are all useful bits of knowledge to have and might serve to keep you and your friends alive should something unexpected happen."

It took Dolf a few seconds to realise the attention was now on him. It hadn't been more than a few weeks since the last time he'd had to speak before a large audience like this, and while they were vastly different people... he scraped his throat. "Hi, I'm Dolf," he started, "I'm here to lead Support Services from now on. Uh," and now that that was out of the way, he did feel a hint of nerves. Not so much because he didn't know where to go with this, but because he hadn't been here for all of these invasions, and he wasn't sure yet what to prepare for.

"...Like Karla said, it can be very important to know what you can eat," he segued, at last. "Some might already know what is good and what is not. Some might not. Meat is also important, so is hunting. If you are under attack, or have to come up with food yourself every day--" he struggled against the English language a little. "--it is important to know these things." He leaned down and picked some leaves off the ground. "This, you can eat, if you smash it enough," he said. "Other things can make tea. There is lots in the forest to be found if you're really hungry. Not just meat, but the plants. It takes work to recognize sometimes, but it's there."

He closed his mouth, exhausted with the language, but then opened it again to point at a few random plants around them. "Edible. Poison. Uh--" He blushed. "...don't try that."

Only then did he send a questioning look in someone else's direction. He'd completely forgotten about his nerves, and now he wondered if he'd said too much.

Tara didn't think he'd said too much, but it felt like time to step in. "And, um -- people who do magic can find supplies here, too." She knelt to pick a flower. "This one is in most protection spells. The bark of that tree helps find lost objects. And the red berries on that bush over there make a good base for love spells. Not that I think people should do love spells."

Karla shook her head at Tara's last comment and stepped forward again. "Yeah. Definitely avoid the love spells. But, no matter why you might find yourself out in a place like this, it's filled with things you can use to keep yourself fed, healthy, and stocked up on spells. So, today, we're going on a scavenger hunt in the Preserve. We've got some lists of common plants, herbs, and fungi that can be found in most similar areas. See what you can gather and harvest and bring it back to compare."

[Hold on for OCD up! Co-written with the wonderful life_inshadow, swordsandsoccer, and trigons_child.]