InsaneJournal

Who: Poe Dameron, Finn and Rey
When: Backdated: Early September
Where: Kings Canyon National Park
What: The Trio and BB8 Go Camping
Rating/Warnings: Family Friendly
Status: Complete

Finn was a city boy, through and through. Growing up on the streets of L.A. and all that an urban environment provides (namely a severe lack of green spaces), travelling a couple hours by car to camp in the woods was about as weird to him as saying they were taking a trip to the moon. He was more than out of his element - Finn didn’t have the slightest clue where to start when it came to gear, clothing, or what to expect when they got there. Thankfully, it turned out camping was totally in Poe’s wheelhouse and Finn had basically decided whatever Poe said when it came to this, he would do - no questions asked.

Now they were at the campsite and all he could do was gape about at the woods surrounding them and the piles of gear they were setting up. Well, Poe and Rey were setting up. Finn had no idea how the hell any of this worked and felt about as useful as a protocol droid in a space battle.

“Man it’s so...open.” he said. Sure in the dreams he’d been on Takodana, a green, woodsy planet, but there hadn’t been time for walks in the woods.

Poe had gone camping quite a lot when he was younger, not to mention he’d gone on a few missions while in the Navy where he’d had to do a good deal of camping out and with much less supplies than they had with them at the moment. “Have you never been in a state park before?” He asked, glancing up from where he was securing one of the spikes of one of the two tents they were setting up.

While one of Poe’s tents was big enough to sleep five people, he had thought that perhaps Rey would want her own, so he had brought two and was in the process of setting up the second one now while BB-8 roamed around the campsite, seemingly making sure the perimeters were safe despite the fact that there was little to no danger where they were, but he’d let the droid do what he pleased for now.

All Rey had really packed was some clothing, her lightsaber, and a few things she’d bought just for these; a nice canteen and a new pair of goggles because really, you should never go anywhere without goggles.

The tent looked fun to set up and she resolved to take hers down herself when it came time, but for now she wandered around, taking in the view and chatting with BB-8 now that her binary was up to snuff. “Yes I know it’s a little dirty, but this is good dirt.”

She laughed. “Yes, good dirt as opposed to Jakku.”

Stopping near Finn, she replied, “Green is now my favorite colour.”

The less said about certain events involving death and mind control, the better.

Finn shot Poe a look. “No, I haven’t. Hello? Kid from the streets of L.A.? Greenest thing I ever saw was a salad my grams would make.” Class trips, what few there were, were to local museums or historical spots. “Gotta say it’s really...green.” He smirked as Rey then remarked about her favorite color.

“Think you said something similar in the dreams too.” And he grinned, nudging her a little with his elbow. “You ever go camping?”

Poe laughed as he half listened to Rey and BB-8’s conversation while he finished putting up the tent, “So then I’m guessing I’ll be starting the campfire later on too.” Not that he minded doing all the work; he was getting the chance to spend the weekend with his friends and that was all Poe really cared about right now. “And while we’re on the topic of green, you’re gonna see a lot more colors out here most likely. Also, chances are good we’ll probably see some animals.” They may have been on a campsite, but they were still in a national park and there were wild animals in a state park that one didn’t usually see in the middle of Orange County.

"Not really. I've camped out, but never like this." Rey wasn't sure how to describe it, but she hadn't had the best life growing up nor anything in the way of a decent family. She'd done her best to try to stay under the radar to avoid her grandfather. Even if she had appeared on tv that one time.

That hadn't exactly been her idea.

"And I think I can start a fire thank you very much. I brought a lighter!" Now, Rey knew enough about camping to know that was cheating but she was totally okay with that.

"What kind of animals do we have out here?"

“So...what am I gonna do then? Poe’s got the tents goin’, you got the fire, um…” Finn shrugged a little. If Poe suggested he guard the camp from wild animals he had another thing coming. If Finn so much as saw a Mountain Lion he was taking Rey by the hand and hightailing it out of there as if the First Order were chasing them. It wouldn’t be the smartest move, but he had no clue about wild animals in his home state. Or anywhere, really, outside of the random YouTube video of crazy encounters.

Or racoons eating grapes. He seriously couldn’t get enough of those.

“Ooh, a lighter. Well, that’s definitely a start.” Poe would let Rey make a few attempts at a campfire, helping if she needed it, but he was genuinely curious if she could pull it off on her own without any help. Sometimes people thought it was so easy to start a fire, but if the wood didn’t catch right the wind would just blow it right out. “And as for animals, there’s the small ones, squirrels and chipmunks. Probably raccoons.” He ran a hand through his dark curls as he tried to recall exactly what other animals likely lurked around the area, “And there are probably bears, but they probably won’t come here.”

Rey wondered if she could somehow make any wild animals like her. That was supposed to be a Jedi thing, wasn’t it? At least she’d read about it, since she hadn’t exactly had much of a teaching. How she was going to learn to control the Force was beyond her.

Maybe she should reach out to that Togruta.

She set to work starting the fire, which started out well before the wind kicked up and sent a spark onto Poe’s tent. Cursing, she grabbed the nearest liquid and threw it onto the tent.

"Bears?" Finn exclaimed. He shot Rey a look. "Please tell me you brought your lightsaber. I don’t wanna end up like that dude who ran into that momma mountain lion." He honestly didn’t know what he was expecting on this camping trip. Peace and quiet? Hanging with his friends? Yeah, but now it was hitting him they were nowhere near the modern creature comforts of urban dwelling. He was about to ask Poe if a bear could find them in a tent when said tent suddenly caught fire.

“Whoa!” he exclaimed and started to look for something to throw on it when Rey grabbed his Dunkin Donuts coffee (which had been sitting on the ground near them) and tossed it onto the smoldering tent corner. Finn’s lips pulled inwards together in an expression of “Oops” and looked over at Poe with a look. Camping was definitely not in his and Rey’s wheelhouse. At all.

Poe was about to respond to Finn about the bears when his tent caught fire and just as quickly as it happened Rey had extinguished it. Instead of getting upset though, Poe simply shook his head and ran a hand through his dark curls, “Boy am I glad that I have an extra tent.” Poe may not have expected something like this to happen, but considering Finn and Rey were new to camping, he had made it a point to pack a few extras just in case something happened. “And Finn, chances of actually seeing bears is slim to nil as long as we keep everything sealed.” This was going to be a very interesting weekend as well, he was sure, a fun one.