We're going hiking!

Gwen has been spending her weekend the best way she knows how, going out occasionally and hanging around with Stephanie. She's been in and out of the bedroom a few times and she's noticed the sergal messing with a half-packed bag and clothes sprawled all over the bed. At first Gwen assumed Stephanie was just trying on outfits, but once she noticed the bag she got to thinking. She's unsure of what the southerner could be planning. As tactfully as the shark can, she hazards to ask. "Stephanie, honey, what gives? With the bag and all, I mean."

Stephanie pauses for a moment, a pair of athletic socks in her hand. The sergal tosses them in the bag, giving a little coy smile. "I was getting kind of annoyed being stuck in here. So I figured we'd go hiking. Maybe camping, if you're up for it." The little sergal says, walking over to the shark and wrapping her arms around Gwen's waist. "That okay with you?" Steph asks. She's wearing a tank top and a pair of tight athletic capris, her tail swishing along behind her as she squeezes herself close to the shark. "I figure it'd be a good use of an afternoon." The petite sergal obviously seems pretty happy with this, and she stands on her tiptoes and gives the shark a little kiss on the muzzle as soon as she begins to speak. Giggling, Steph rocks back onto her feet, letting Gwen actually speak her mind.

Gwen quickly loses the look of concern and lets out a sigh of barely perceptible relief. As always, the headstrong shark softens up immediately as Stephanie gets close to her. She doesn't move much aside from pulling her head back with a nervous smile. After a few seconds she recovers and lowers her head again so that the Southerner can reach her muzzle. "I could be encouraged." As Stephanie lowers herself the shark bows her head a little further and puts her arms around her sergal. "In fact, I love the idea of spending time outdoors."

Stephanie grins at the shark, pressing herself a little closer to Gwen. "I'm glad you're up for it." Steph answers, closing her eyes for a moment and enjoying the shark's warmth and scent. "I'm really glad. What did you think I was gonna do?" The sergal asks, opening her eyes again and giving Gwen a little kiss on the collarbone, content with the embrace. "I don't really have anywhere to go if I was trying to run away, much less a reason to." She says lightly, a small smile on her muzzle.

Gwen is a little troubled. It must show that she was at least considering the idea, even if her suspicions were completely off base. "You'd better not, you goof!" She lets out a little chuckle and squeezes Stephanie a little tighter for just a second. She closes her eyes and takes a few breaths before opening them again and getting right back to thinking and fussing. "Right! So where are we going? What do we need to pack? Are we actually camping? I don't have a tent."

Stephanie gives a little happy sigh as she squeezed close to the shark. "I don't have a tent either. We could rent a cabin, if you wanted." The sergal says. "But I was thinking we could go to the national park outside the city, or hike around whatever forest the cabin we may or may not rent is in. Sound okay?" Steph asks, smiling up at the shark. "As for what to pack, I dunno. Comfortable clothes or athletic clothes, whatever you feel like."

Gwen gives Stephanie's ideas some thought as she sits on the edge of the bed. "I like the idea of a day trip around the park. I think I went a couple years back. I went on a shorter trail, but we could totally go on a longer one and make a day of it! There's a campground, rentals for equipment and things too. Tell ya what, let's pack and maybe think about it!"

Stephanie nods a little, standing on her tiptoes and giving the shark another quick smooch. "Sounds like a great plan." The petite sergal says, pulling slowly from the shark's arms and giving a happy sigh. She turns towards the bed, packing a jacket, extra socks, and a water bottle inside before zipping the little day bag up. "Should we pack a meal or snacks? How long are we gonna be out there?"

Gwen shrugs. "A bag isn't really enough for two of us, even if it's just clothes or just food. We probably need more water though, along with something to carry the rental gear just in case we don't get a bag from the park." She stops and realizes she's been speaking a little fast--maybe the shark is excited. "Wait...we are going camping, right?"

Stephanie laughs a little, plopping down on the bed and smiling at the shark. The sergal, seeing Gwen's enthusiasm, has a hard time staying still, her foot bouncing up and down. "I'd love to go camping. So yeah." Steph says, standing slowly and giving a little stretch before ducking into the closet and digging around around for a bigger backpack. She finds one pretty quickly, shaking it out and setting it on the bed. "There we go. We could get a big water bottle or a jug or something on out way up there, if you wanted." Steph says, dropping back down on the bed and opening the day bag back up.

Gwen starts going through the drawers in her dresser as well as the closet, gathering boots and sneakers, socks, loose fitting clothes and some outerwear. Lastly she pulls out a roll of cushy fabric that fits in her arms. It's a black sleeping bag, a bit overlarge by the looks of it. Room for a shark or even two. Maybe sergal will fit? The shark looks at everything she's tossed onto the bed with a smirk. "Could you help me out a bit? I suck at folding things."

Stephanie laughs a little, smiling at the shark. "Sure, sure." The sergal says, grabbing the sleeping bag and setting to work folding it. She hums as she works, rolling it tight before putting it in the bag with a little smile. "There we go, there's that." Steph doesn't comment on there being only one sleeping bag. She has a pretty good idea that they'll fit in it together.

Gwen finishes shoving thinks into the remaining bag of mostly-folded clothes. After much frustrated sighing and the protesting sounds of strained zippers it all comes together. Gwen gathers her toiletries in a pouch and grabs the things Steve took from Freya's, grabbing a few bare essentials to get the two women through a weekend of camping. There's room for extra first aid things and whatever else the two of them might need, but it'll be close. "There! Is this everything?"

Stephanie pokes around in the bag, looking through it before giving a happy nod. "I think it'll be enough!" The sergal chirps happily, her tail swishing as she picks up the bag, testing its weight before setting it back down. "I think this is gonna be fun."23:10

Gwen gets her pack of things and heads for the kitchen to grab food, mostly non-perishables. She hands off some to steph and jams the rest in her side pockets. With her keys and her sergal in tow the shark is ready to go. "Alright, let's do it!"

Stephanie trots along behind Gwen, humming happily and swishing her tail behind her. "This is gonna be fun." Steph says, jogging a little bit to catch up with the shark, groping at and grasping Gwen's hand. The sergal gives the shark's fingers a little squeeze, keeping up and humming happily.

Gwen "Sure is!" She squeezes Stephanie's hand on the way to her car and gets in. Once the both of them are squared in and bucked up she gets on the road to head for the sporting goods store and ultimately the park.

Stephanie drums her fingers restlessly on the armrest of her seat, humming happily. The sergal's smile is bright and happy, and she glances over at Gwen occasionally, as if to make sure the shark is still there. "I can hardly wait." Steph admits, giving a little giggle.

Gwen nods along. "Neither can I! I'm glad I let you talk me into this." She takes Steph's hand and holds it all the way to the store, which thankfully is en route for the park. "I know we need something for clean water. I already got a lighter too, you want to look for a tent or depend on the rentals?"

Stephanie thinks for a moment before turning and standing on her tiptoes. Steph gives Gwen a quick kiss before grinning brightly. "I'll go get us a small tent. We don't need anything too big, don't you think?" The sergal says, giving a coquettish smile. "Plus, we can use it again if we go hiking sometime in the future. You can go get a water bottle, I guess."

Gwen ruffles the fur topping Stephanie's head, flattening out her ears with a playful smile. "I'd love to! Oh, and pick out something close and cozy." The shark sets out in the direction of the camping section, all the while hanging close to Stephanie.

Stephanie keeps close beside the shark, humming happily. The sergal pauses for a moment, giving the shark a quick kiss before peeling off and heading for the tent aisle, her tail swinging behind her. The sergal's capris hug her rear tight, giving the shark a show of her departing rump before Steph turns and heads down the aisle of tents, humming happily.

Gwen lets her eyes stay stuck on the sergal for a second too long before heading for an aisle full of small necessities. Iodine drops, flint and steel, canteens, camel packs, boots that apparently didn't fit in the 'boots' section--Gwen looks through everything before remembering what she came for and getting it.

Stephanie wanders among the tents for a while, humming to herself. Steph eventually finds a small tent, billed as a 1-person tent. The sergal smiles knowingly, grabbing the small bag that contains the tent and swinging it over her shoulder. Satisfied, the petite sergal walks over to the assorted items aisle, finding the shark and sidling up next to her. "Found one for us."

Gwen has an arm full of things from picking through the shelf that she carries with her. "Awesome! Let's ring up," she says, giving Stephanie a peck on the muzzle before heading back to the front of the store.

Stephanie pads along beside the shark, the heels of her athletic shoes slapping against the floor of the store. They look a little bit goofy on the sergal's wide feet, but they work well. "I should warn you. The tent's a little small, so we're gonna have to be kinda close. I hope you don't mind." The sergal teases, grinning brightly.

Gwen giggles. "Better hope I don't roll over and crush you!" The shark's warning is a pretty lame joke, but she plays it well, accompanying it by veering to the side and bumping Stephanie two or three times on the way to the register. She puts her stuff on the belt and waits for the cashier to ring it up.

Stephanie laughs a little, stumbling playfully at the bump and pushing back against the shark. "I'll try to be careful." The sergal says back, setting the tent on the conveyor and leaning against the shark as the clerk rings the items up. "This is gonna be nice." Steph says, wrapping an arm around Gwen's hip as they wait.

Gwen gets the bags from the cashier, leaving the tent for Stephanie to grab as she heads back to the car.

Stephanie takes the tent and flashes a smile to the clerk before skipping along to catch up with the shark, humming happily. Steph catches up with Gwen after a moment, humming a little tune and staying close to the shark as they trek back to the car.

Gwen sweeps her tail at Stephanie's leg as she goes for the back seat, stowing her bag of stuff in the back with the bags. "Hey, wanna finish packing while I drive us out there? We're not really short on time or anything," she says as she gets the car started.

Stephanie nods a little, grabbing a few of the bags and the backpack, hauling them to the front seat and siting down beside the shark. Steph sets the plastic bag on her lap, opening it and peering inside. "Alrighty."

Gwen gets out on the road and turns on the radio while she drives them out to the park. It's a short ways from the outside of town; all told the trip is maybe an hour outside of the city.

Stephanie hums happily to herself, looking through the supplies in the bag and moving some of the aid supplies into the backpack, smiling faintly as she does. "Did you pack any card games for the evening or anything like that?"

Gwen nods. "I brought my phone too, hopefully we don't need it for an emergency though. There's a deck in the front pocket on the left." She pulls up to the park, takes a map off of the admissions guy at the front, and pays for the two of them to get in.

Stephanie nods a little, pulling the deck of cards from the front pocket and opening the carton to inspect them. The sergal closes them back up when they pass muster, slipping the cards back into the bag and looking over at the shark's map. "Good thinking." Steph says, patting her thighs happily.

Gwen pulls into the lot that thankfully looks fairly empty. "Yep! We should be good to go," she says, leaning in to let Stephanie get a good look at the map too. "So, if we want to go camping we can do a long round trip or double back. The round trip looks like it's either a really long walk or a two night thing," she says.

Stephanie thinks for a few moments. "The round trip seems really fun. We'll be able to see some different places that we wouldn't be able to see if we just doubled back." Steph says, fiddling with her collar for a moment as she thinks. She'd forgot she had it on. "I hope we've got enough stuff to last us." The sergal says idly, before zipping up the backpack and unbuckling her seatbelt. Stephanie opens the door of the car and clambers out slowly, taking a deep breath of the cool air. It was tad chilly, but she figures she'll warm up when they get moving. The sergal swings the almost comically oversized bag onto her back, giving a little grunt at the effort. The southerner's smile remains bright despite this, her tail swishing happily. "Let's get going, I guess."

Gwen grabs her bag of things. It's similarly heavy, but the shark has an easier time carrying the load than her smaller girlfriend. "We've probably got plenty," she answers without giving it much thought. She has the map in her hands and give it a look before setting off for the trail. There's a visitor's center for the park that houses the entrances to the trails on this side of the park. She passes Steph about halfway there and flicks the tags hanging on Stephanie's neck in passing. Gwen's tail switches back and forth with every step.

Stephanie pads along behind the shark, tags jangling quietly with each of the sergal's bouncing steps. She has a little bit of a time keeping up with the longer-legged shark, but does a pretty good job of it. "Hope so." Steph says, humming quietly as they walk. The southerner seems unconcerned besides that, and grins happily as Gwen flicks the tags, delighting in the sound. "At least it's a pretty populated place, if something goes wrong." She says idly, crossing her arms as she walks and enjoying the ambient sounds of the forest.

Gwen looks over at the sergal by her side. "You'd be surprised! The center of the park is pretty far from all the development. We're gonna have plenty of peace and quiet." Gwen gives Stephanie a wolfish smile and pushes open the door to the center, leaving it open so that the two of them can thread their way through the place and past the few exhibits to the posted signs. 'Golden trail - Start', the sign reads. That's easy enough! "The campground is a good eight miles from here. This is gonna be a trek!"

Stephanie giggles happily, her tail swishing as she walks along beside the shark. "It will be, yeah. Are there campsites along the way or're we going to have to find a place to pitch our tent on our own?" The sergal asks, taking Gwen's hand gently, Steph's slender fingers curling around two of the shark's.

Gwen gets her fingers free and reaches to get a better hold of Steph's hand. "The campground is just a bunch of well maintained ground free of shrubs and things. It's not special, it's just harder to burn down the forest. I think." She swings her arm with Stephanie's a little as the two of them walk.

Stephanie gives a little laugh, squeezing Gwen's hand gently. "That's good. I'd hate to be stuck with the fine for burning down the place." She says, adding a little of her own momentum to the swing, a faint smile on her face. "Hopefully there won't be any other campers around. It'd be fun to have the forest to ourselves."

Gwen is excited by their prospects too. "I think we'll be fine," she says, stopping what she's saying to step over a root. "The campground is huge, anyway. We won't have to sneak away or anything," she says with a small squeeze.1:40
Stephanie giggles coquettishly, bumping her shoulder gently into the shark's arm. "That's true. Not that being in public really matters." The sergal teases with a grin, squeezing the shark's hand back.

Gwen laughs and chides Stephanie with a playful tug on her arm. "Steph! They might make the ranger come by and then they're gonna kick us out," she complains with a wide grin on her face. Truth be told, Gwen loves the new Stephanie. She has such great ideas!

Stephanie sticks her tongue out at the shark. "Do you really think a big, strong park ranger would be able to kick us out? I'm sure we could find some way to convince him to let us stay." The sergal jokes, leaning against the shark for a step or two before standing back up. "I doubt anyone'll come by, though."

Gwen shrugs it off. "Oh, like you'd do the convincing! Besides, there's something to be said for getting cozy inside of a nice, small tent."

Stephanie nods a little, smiling slightly. "That there is." The sergal agrees, closing her eyes for a moment and just walking alongside the shark.