Hillwood forest RP

"So, we're NOT taking the tents then?", Eugene yelled as he pulled up a spike of Phoebe's tent and the whole thing collapsed. He backed off and gasped when he heard the most terrifying grumbling noise coming from inside.
"Whoops"
He made it sound like it was no big deal but at the same time froze at the thought of what Gino's reaction would be.
"S-s-sorry Gino... hehe," he laughed anxiously.
Now don't make it worse by trying to help, Eugene! he thought to himself, and he backed off to join the group of kids again. Silently, as if nothing happened. But shot another glance at the tent when the kids blocked Gino's view on him, and he saw how Gino crawled out and wiped his hair back before trying to search for the person responsible for that action.

"Well the tents are kind of heavy. Without Gerald and Curly we can't really carry them as well with all our other stuff, plus Helga's out of commision." Rhonda tapped her chin thoughtfully. "I vote we leave them here, then we can come back and get them later, when we have a full tank of gas."

She visibly cringed at Eugene collapsing the tent on Gino, this trip couldn't be over soon enough. And speaking of trip, she had completely forgotten!

"Arnold! Happy birthday, I almost forgot. Here, I got this for you." she dug around her purse momentarily and pulled out a CD case with a ribbon tied crisply around it. She sidled up to him and gave him a glittering smile. "I know you like music, so I got you a collection of the best Jazz songs." she fluffed her hair a little, pleased that she had been so thoughtful with his gift.

(( Oh Rhonda, I love you so. ))

Phoebe stopped dead. She had nearly forgotten the entire reason the expedition was taking place.

"I am so sorry, Arnold!" she cried, backtracking and digging in her bag for the book she had bought him. "Happy birthday, for what it's worth!" she handed the package to him.

As she smiled, she heard a low growl. She turned to see Eugene fretting over her collapsed tent- the one that had still been occupied by Gino.

"Oh dear."

"I..." Helga muttered, but stopped herself. She'd managed to get Arnold one present - she'd had an old picture of his parents restore and framed (Arnold's grandfather had been very helpful with acquiring it), but for some reason it felt wrong to her to give it to him now. "I'll give you your present later. Happy birthday, though, Football Head."

(Awwww!! What a sweet present idea there, Pom. >w< I think Arnold will be VERY thankful for it come the time she gives it to him. X3 *Schemes*)

Though it was spur of the moment, Arnold couldn't help but smile bashfully at how thoughtful they were, even if right now was not the best time to think about his birthday. Still, it was very sweet. He looked at the book and CD that Rhonda and Phoebe had given him and smiled at them gratefully. "Thanks Rhonda, I've been meaning to buy this CD, thanks a lot!" He placed it carefully into a small compartment of his bag, and then studied the package Phoebe had given him. Check it out now, or later?

What the heck.

Gently tearing away the wrapping paper, Arnold's face brightened visibly as he came across the title of the book. "Wow! Thanks, Phoebe! I really wanted this book. Thanks!" He placed it carefully in his bag also, looking forward to being able to read it later on.

Helga's little birthday wish was not lost on him, not to mention the fact she actually had something to give. He wasn't sure why, but hearing her wish him a Happy Birthday made his heart flutter in a way he didn't often feel. "Thanks a lot, Helga. You didn't have to do that, but that was really nice of you." He gave her a fond smile and winked flirtatiously before closing up his bag and hoisting it onto his back.

Pleased with herself, and pulling her hair up into a high ponytail, Rhonda made her way over to help Gino disentangle himself from the tent.

"W-Well, let's go," Eugene said, while anxiously glancing at Gino to find out weather or not he was going to attack him. But the guy kept his cool and Eugene saw that he walked over to the group after brushing his clothes. He probably would be going after him another time.. Eugene shivered at that thought.
Now that the whole group was complete, they could head off to face the dangers of the forest. What an adventure it would be! A smile covered Eugene's face as he eagerly paced towards the lake.
"C'mon guys! We have a long way to go, our woodland creature friends will lead us the way and we'll be out of here in no-time!", he lift his arms and interlaced his fingers while smiling at the ducks who were watching him as he yelled. "Right, guys?", he turned to the ducks. "You know which way to go, right? You'll help us! Yes you will.. YES you WILL!!", he said in an even higher pitched voice as his normal voice.


(( XDD Sorry 'bout that ))

Helga felt a blush creep up into her cheeks. She snorted and tried to shake it off, and was thankful for Eugene being so distracting. "Geez, first we have the Freak running around wanting to be king of the squirrels and now you want us to follow ducks?" She stamped the crutch into the ground for emphasis, "Criminy, isn't there anyone who can lead the way who isn't a total and complete loon?"

Phoebe glanced around at the motley crew, then pulled out the map.

"Here, Arnold." she said, pushing it into his hands. "I think you should lead."

Helga considered Phoebe's suggestion before nodding. "Yeah, better you, Football Head, considering the competition," she rolled her eyes in Eugene's direction.

Rhonda hefted her purse up higher onto her shoulder and scurried after the others, determined not to be left behind at all.

Harold stretched his arms up into the air and felt his shoulders crack with the effort. Finally, they were getting a move on. It seemed like they'd been standing in this same clearing for an eternity... or at least 4 years.

With a crooked smile, he stepped forward and snatched the map out of Phoebe's hands before Arnold could grab it.

"Hey, I could lead us just as easily! See, the map has this line thing here and some... squiggles that look like trees? Or a mountain.... Ummm..." He let out a small laugh and thrust the map back in Arnold's direction. "Nevermind."


((A RESTART OR PERHAPS JUST MY ATTEMPT TO BE THE LAST ONE STANDING???))

Rhonda ran a hand through her hair, shaking out what felt like dust, but was probably just an icky feeling from not having showered in a while. She hadn't minded sleeping on the ground, but she certainly was NOT a fan of the grime that could accumulate after a long time out in the wilderness.

She smirked at Harold, and nudged him in the shoulder with one hand. "While I don't doubt your directional skills, Harold, maybe we should let somebody who actually knows how to read a map figure this stuff out. I mean, we barely know this area to begin with, and I don't really feel like being a missing person's report." she faltered, the idea was unpleasant, and she didn't really know how much longer they'd be stuck out here.

(( If you think I'm letting my seat as last person to respond to this board get taken away from me, WELL HONEY, YOU GOT A BIG STORM COMING. ))

"I know, I know." Harold said with a heavy sigh. "It just feels like we've been stuck here in this same place for like, ever, ya know?" He grabbed her hands in his and shook them up and down really fast. "I'm just ready to get someplace with food and drinks and out of these goddamn woods. Gerald and Curly are idiots for running off like that." He paused. "A-and that's saying something coming from me!"

Phoebe glanced sideways at Harold, sticking her finger in her mouth.  His hasty removal of the map had opened a paper cut  on her index finger and it was bleeding.  She gagged slightly at the taste of dust and mud.  How long had it been since she had washed her hands? The rain the previous night felt like it was ages ago.  She reached out with her other hand and snatched back her map

"Fine, then. Let me see."  She kneeled, spread the map gently on the ground and anchored the corners with a handful of small stones.

((IT LIVES))

(Sorry, guys, have to refresh myself on everything that happened. But then I'll jump right back in if you guys are still cool with me being Helga)

"How far exactly are we walking here, Pheebs? Not sure how long I can keep walking on this leg." Helga felt more impatient than ever. Like everyone else, she felt she'd been standing in the same place for years. Worse still, she really wanted to give Arnold his present, but she didn't want the others to see.

It would be a little too embarrassing for her. She started listing every dirty word she knew (a fairly extensive list that Big Bob had been teaching her for longer than she could remember) to describe both Curly and Gerald.

"Criminy, we need to get going."

Rhonda looked down at Harold's hands wrapped around her own and felt incredibly warm all of sudden, completely missing Phoebe's paper cut, and a little bit unsure of how to respond. "I-I know! I mean, it's frustrating, I get it, but we gotta be a little patient so we can figure our way out of this mess, I think." she squeezed his hands a little, trying to be reassuring when she too was nervous and a little flustered.

"We can take turns helping Helga walk, and maybe it's not even that far! Maybe it just... feels really far, or something. Didn't somebody say there was a lake nearby? A lake nearby might have people on it, maybe somebody who could help us or point us in the right direction."

Phoebe jabbed a finger at the map.

"Yes! There's a lake through that section of forest." She pointed towards the tents and the dark trees that surrounded their clearing. "A few miles, give or take."

"All right then, let's get going. And the first person to mention how much this is starting to look like a horror movie is getting slugged."

Helga readjusted her crutch and started charging ahead as best she could in the direction Phoebe had indicated. "The longer we stay here, the more likely we'll have to walk in the dark."

Harold felt Rhonda squeeze his hands and instinctively pulled them back, although a second later he really wished he hadn't let go of that swooping, reassuring feeling in the pit of his stomach quite so fast.

"H-horror movie?" Harold felt his legs begin to shake. "Awww why'd you have to go and say something like that, Helga?!"

"Oh, c'mon, I specifically said not to mention horror movies, Pink Boy! Now I'm thinking about them, too. Did you guys see the one with the mutant lake monster that tracks kids through the woods? It was worse since it was daylight out...actually kind of scary." Helga didn't notice the sudden worried looks around her. "Like, nothing stopped that thing. Pretty sure everyone bit it in that movie, even the main girl."

Harold went pale.

"I-I don't want to DIIIIIIEEEEEE."


((TOO BAD. THEY ALL DIE. END GAME.

Lololol jk))

Rhonda clapped her hands together when Harold released them, clearing her throat a little. "Well then to the lake! A few miles is no problem, no worse than running around Hillwood, right?"

The moment horror movies were mentioned, she rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, you guys. That crap doesn't really happen. There are no monsters in these woods, there are no ghosts, and if there was a lake monster, it would have attacked us last night when were all rain drenched and vulnerable. Besides, as long as we stick to the usual rules, I don't think anything dangerous can get us. You know; no going off on your own, no saying 'what's the worst that could happen', no romantic entanglements..." she trailed off, suddenly aware of how much she'd spouted about horror movies, then flipped her hair. "Let's just get where we have to go and stay there."

(( THEY CAN'T DIE IT TOOK US FOUR YEARS TO BRING THEM BACK FROM THE DEAD D: ))

Looking up from her map, Phoebe quirked an eyebrow at Rhonda. Well enough for the brunette to talk about no romantic entanglements when she still seemed to be shaking the feeling of Harold off her hands...

Anyway. She shook her head. Phoebe stood, dusting off her knees, and carefully folded the map.

"Helga, don't over exert yourself. You have to go easy on that leg." she said, jogging a bit to catch up with her friend.