The
Shokushu Outdoor Exploration Club, popularly called
the Scouts or the
Tramps is formed for the benefit of students who likes exploring the outdoors. Activities includes things like
hiking, camping, rock climbing, swimming, and off road biking.
While primarily focused on being recreation for students who likes the outdoors, or who needs a change of scenery from the dorms and the campus, the Scouts also combines this with more academic pursuits, botanical excursions as an example.
The scouts are also eager to show themselves in a good light by showing their loyalty to the school. For instance, it is not impossible that members might be asked to volunteer for such things as cleaning up neglected parts of the basement or even being asked to
assist in the lab. A rare honor, for sure!
The Scouts are perhaps best known for their uniforms. While the scout uniform does not have the same status as the official school uniform, but the administration,
demonstrating a keen interest in the club, has been kind enough to provide outfits for the members, and many take pride in their signature clothing.
The uniform consists of the following:
*A beret and a scarf, both in colors determined by rank (see below).
*The main uniform, consisting of a shirt and either a skirt or shorts. For some reason, the shirts have a tendency to be a bit small, causing girls with a large chest to have problems with buttons popping when subjected to strain. Girls with this problem can order new ones, off course, or just leave the topmost part unbuttoned.
The shirt is pale green, and the skirt a slightly darker shade.
*A belt.
*The school has also kindly provided boots, but due to some mistake or other it seems they received
a shipment with elevated heels, enough to be impractical in such hypothetical situations as having to run from someone. Members are advised to purchase their own footwear, or not try to use only moderate speed when outrunning hypothetical pursuers.
Off course, the Scouts will use any type of clothing appropriate to the current activity. With a group of free-spirited girls out and about in nature, away from the eyes of authority, it is not unknown that clothes may be
abandoned altogether.
The Scouts do have an internal ranking system. This is not a very strict system, but merely to ensure that someone with a little experience is at hand, in case of an emergency (which
pratically never happens anyway) should arise while camping overnight and such.
Basic members wear green berets and scarves. More experienced members wear blue ones, and senior members wear red.
In order to ensure these leaders do have mental endurance as well as physical skills, the candidates for promotion will be tested before given their new rank. Always concerned with the well being of students,the administration helps with this, often arranging tests for the scouts. The basement is often used for this. It is impolite to pry about these tests, obviously. Being told beforehand is cheating!
The ranking system carries no authority outside of the scouts, but prefects who join is automatically assigned the second rank.
As with any group, the Scouts have their own customs and unofficial rituals. Many enjoy scaring each others by telling stories of monsters around the campfire. Some have even managed to convincingly disguise themselves as monsters. All in jest and good cheer, of course.
There is a chance that a new member might be subjected to
certain initiatory rituals on her first outing, this might either be considered a hazing ritual or a warm welcome, depending on the girl. But rumors of such initiation being of a nature beyond what is considered decent are surely fabrications. If a scout leader should see something like this, she would surely
join in intervene after she has finished observing, even at the risk of having the playful mob turn on herself.
The Tramps have devised many handy guidelines for outdoor activities on Shokushu Island, such as two and two girls sharing sleeping bags and blankets, in order to cut down on things to carry. Sunscreen is also important in such a sunny climate, so the girls are encouraged to spend quite some time help each other applying it to as much of each others anatomy as humanly possible.
