The edge of the woods.... [Final Results Up!]

[Aey]

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Username: Aey
Link to roll call post: Boop
Prompt response:

Mack breaks from a rough-housing brawl of boys and trots over to the sign up, boys in tow. Some of the group go wide-eyed as they joke about meeting the two counselors in the woods, there's a bit of good-natured shoving and the entire group signs their names one after the other, filling the margin on one side with barely legible scrawl. Mack takes the clipboard last, neatly printing his name on a line with the girly pen.

"Got to be all serious about it, jeez Mack," one of the crowd goads, but Mack smiles back with a light in his eyes and a wide smile.

"Do you have any idea how many fireflies there are going to be? We might even see a deer, or a wolf."

The group had been showing skeptical faces until that last bit. A low whistle sounded as they thought of what it would be like to see a wolf. Terrifying, for most of them, but they couldn't lose face about it now. Mack hoped they'd see at least a fox. He doubted any pranks the counselors tried to pull would get him, he had two older brothers after all, but if they did... Well, he'd have some new ammo for when he went home that his brothers wouldn't be expecting.

He was still smiling, thinking about pulling one over on them, when he fell asleep.

[hellb0und]

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username: inferno,
link to roll call post: xxx
Prompt response: Cedric had just recently packed his belongings away in his cabin, & eager as
ever to head out and meet the other Kampers, he immediately left. Familiarizing himself with
the area as much as possible, he checked out the open events. Although the one which caught
his eye was referred to as the "test of courage". A large gathering had since formed around the
sheet, words were whispered & uttered from one Kalon to the next. Cedric, unnerved, stepped
forward and maneuvered his way through the bustling crowd of varying aged Kalons. He registe
red the fact that some were quite literally trembling, other's stood stoic, & the brave were the
ones with a fearsome look of determination. Faces he could make out through their smirks. His
face, unlike most, was enthusiastic. The woods were his second home. He spent countless hours
among the trees, wandering the untouched areas & admiring the vegetation. This was nothing.
He knew the counselors wouldn't purposefully put any of them in danger, they probably just need
ed a better title than "trail hike". Finally the male Kalon grabbed the pink pen in his brown paw
with hints of gold, changing the color to yellow and carefully writing his name down, attempting
to make it look as neat as possible. Everyone thus far had written their names rather artistically,
a skill he'd certainly wished he possessed but never had. Once it was done, he hadn't put a secon
d thought into it, he was nothing but ready for the challenge. This was the one thing he could
guarantee he'd be good at without a doubt.

[Areater]

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Username: Areater
Link to roll call post: Here!
Prompt response:
A night hike! Finally, something my speed! Pepsi peeled away the (frankly kind of tacky) pen, pushed it to the brown setting, and scrawled their name on the sheet in thick all-caps handwriting. They carefully placed it back underneath the tape and smiled. They barely ever got to go hiking, especially not at night! Skittle would rather eat the slightly stale candies from their dads' stores all night than go on a hike, and they couldn't go alone. But this was camp - everything was different now! Why hadn't they ever come to camp before? It was everything they didn't get the chance to do at home as much as they wished - hiking, canoeing, rock climbing, even archery! And there wasn't so much darn candy all the time!
Pepsi tried to peer into the woods, but they couldn't see much. Wow, the trees were...thick. Was there even a path? The pure excitement was starting to calm down, and now they felt a little...nervous. They'd always been the brave, outdoors-y one in the family, but did that mean much in a family of scared-y cat candy makers? What if they got lost or couldn't keep up with everyone else? Pepsi took a deep breath and grinned. It didn't matter! If they got lost, then they'd just have an even more fun adventure! It wasn't like they liked being around other kalons a lot anyway. And so what if they couldn't keep up? They'd just be more prepared the next time! This was gonna be great!

[Strange_Atoms]

boop,

[carotid]

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Username: carotid
Link to roll call post: here!
Prompt response:

hide and seek had led her here. a few of the other kiddos had enlisted muriel into their Treacherous game upon hearing one of her pals gloating that she was the best at seeking of all time (she wasn't, but appreciated the compliment). after the hiders had scampered off, their peals and shouts of laughter and glee departing with them, she was left with silence, a little bit of anxiety, and the urge to prove herself to her fellow campers. eight minutes later, with two hiders found and not much time remaining, this urge- and a little bit of desperation- drove her to the edge of the forest. surely no one was hiding in there... right?

her naivety and determination drove her to the very edge of the treeline until she heard the words "scary" and "forest" from the counselors. alright, nevermind. nope. bye. that was something she would let a hider endure- muriel always found herself weak to any kind of fear. immediately she started backtracking right into said counselors, letting out an embarrassing yelp of surprise in the meantime.

hours later, still cringing from embarrassment- she was not the best seeker after all, it turned out- muriel was a burrito, and the world was a hungry kalon ready for chipotle, and she wasn't ready to be eaten. what kind of burrito? a blanket one. wrapped and zipped entirely in her sleeping bag, she found herself scheming a plan: how could she appear cool to her group of friends again? then, beni and iphis's voices reached her ears as they made their rounds, encouraging campers to sign up. inner turmoil ensued, but after plenty of debate, muriel unzipped herself, her hair comedically frizzy and sticking every which way with static. hell, she was terrified of everything anyways. despite that, her mum, stella, always encouraged her to face her fears. stella had also closed muriel in the chicken coop so she would stop running from the hens.

no matter. that was just one time. it's time to be a Woman.

flattening her hair, putting on her game face, and strutting out of her cabin, muriel took the damned pen right off the sheet and signed her name. the writing was delicate, just like the girl, utterly unprepared for the events that were to follow. if she was a burrito and the world was craving chipotle, and it would probably devour her eventually anyway, she might as well just get on with it. test of courage? no match for the tiny gal who couldn't even face the forest. bring it on.

[fuiuki]

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Username: fuiuki
Link to roll call post: Here!
Prompt response:

Lucas was positively vibrating in excitement.

A TEST OF COURAGE! This was gonna be AMAZING! He was TOTALLY super brave, and he couldn't wait to show his teammates that! He'd go in there, take his time, take in the scenery and just not rush, and they'd all be totally in awe of how cool and composed he was, because Lucas wasn't scared of ANYTHING (within reason of course).

Now that he's gotten the lying to himself out of the way, it's time to be real and say he was honestly terrified. Lucas was a brave boy, but that doesn't mean he didn't feel fear. Really, he was scared of many things. Like bugs, snakes, or the crushing feeling of your teammates's disappointment, or the feeling of humiliation you get when you're excluded from The Nightshades. You know, normal stuff all kids are scared of.

Honestly, there were good reasons to not go in the forest. His mother Nikita would be super upset at the thought of him going into a scary forest where he could get hurt, and he might have allergies! For real! What if he got bitten by a snake? Or fell into a deep sinkhole and nobody noticed? Maybe he'd get sucked into QUICKSAND?? Many reasons to not go I tell ya.

But then again, there were also good reasons TO go. Like how his mom Carmel would laugh herself silly over the fact that her son didn't even dare go into a forest! And really, Lucas wouldn't even be alone. There was NO WAY the adults would let any of the kids do something really dangerous if the risk of getting lost or hurt was really big. And getting some exercise was good too! The stars would probably be really nice as well. What if he saw an owl, or a fox? Being outside was a lot of fun, even at night!

Also... he doesn't want to admit it to himself, but Lucas was a bit scared of getting excluded from the group that was The Nightshades. Sure, they had found his makeup skills awesome, but that doesn't mean he was out of the woods yet! Literally, since he hadn't gone in yet but THAT'S BESIDES THE POINT! If he didn't go into the forest, they'd all collectively decide he was uncool and no longer welcome in The Nightshades! And if he got kicked off the team, he wouldn't be allowed to stay at the kamp, and then he'd be sent home, and THEN his MOMS would be SO DISAPPOINTED in him! Oh my god there was so much to lose by not going into the forest, the choice was clear! He'd HAVE to go in! He'd just have to do what he always did... SUCK UP HIS FEAR AND DEAL WITH IT!

(As all children do though, he'd enjoy getting scared silly immensely. He'd sign up for the next hike as well, because getting so scared you almost cry is too much fun to miss out on doing a second time.

...He also liked the pink pen. Maybe he'd ask whoever owns it where he could buy one?)

[Avisowl]

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Username: Avisowl
Link to roll call post:
Prompt response:

My fur stood on it’s ends. Kampers ran from all corners past me, almost flinging me off my rock. I watched in wonder as the kals wrote on a small sign up sheet. Some nervous, some proud, and some daring. I bit my cheek and walked over. They all stared at me, I heard small coos from some of the girls, and “c’mon dude” from the boys. I stopped and stood there. My eyes scanning the poorly formatted signup sheet. “Test Of courage” it read in scribbled letters. I chuckled and signed my name, there were noticeably less names on the sheet than the kalons standing around it. I shrugged it off and walked away, they were all whispering nervously, and eyes were staring down my back. “This is his first year”....”Wow noodle legs comin’ in strong”.....”he won’t be able to handle it.” I smiled, text of courage. I’ll show them courage...I’ll show them all my courage!
158 Words

[Birdy]

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Username: The Pirate
Link to roll call post: click!
Prompt response: Aos is not at all excited about this "Test of Courage" hike. Prone to bouts of anxiety, "courage" isn't exactly a word that is used by Aos very often, let alone to describe them. Nevertheless, they are determined to find out who sent them the mysterious invitation to the summer kamp (you can read more about it here.) Assuming that doing as many activities as possible will help them in their pursuit, Aos has decided to give this hike a try. It will definitely be reluctantly, though, and not without the occasional thoughts of giving up (okay, maybe more than occasional!) Thankfully, whenever Aos gets scared they can always think of their partners, Kildare and Aisling, who give them the strength to face obstacles like this. Perhaps this will give Aos the chance to add "courageous" to their list of characteristics- after all, it can't just be Kildare and Aisling who face their fears!

[cocogerber13]

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Username: cocogerber13
Link to roll call post: here
Prompt response:
Scorpio stopped to examine the sign-up paper before... well, actually signing up. It seemed to be legit, with the two recognizable kamp counselors messily thrown on the flyer. Even if the mood of the piece seemed like it was hastily scribbled on it, the kalon guessed it was authentic. Scorpio’s green paws swiped the pen absentmindedly and started to twirl it around his fingers as he considered the challenge.

It was the “TEST OF COURAGE”, also known as the walk through the forest. It couldn’t be that hard, could it? After all, it was just a short hike at night. He had done plenty of those, granted that they were in the daylight, and the so called forbidden forest didn’t appear to be too different from any other woodlands he had been to. Chances were that the only things that might be considered scary were a few tall tales told along the way, “haunted” forest areas, and some other Kamp counselors jumping out to try to scare them. Scorpio doubted it would be worth its title, but hey, a little fun wouldn’t hurt.

He thought back to the pair he had met earlier and finally clicked the pen down to write in his favourite colour- green- and try out the ink on his paw pad. It’d wash off without too much effort anyway. After finding that the object did, in fact, work, the kalon quickly signed his signature and replaced the pen where he had found it. Though the camp had been calm before Scorpio had written his name, he felt an unusually cool summer breeze chill his fur and eyes watching him from all directions. It had to just be his imagination, right?
(284 words)

[recherché.]

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Username: recherché.
Link to roll call post: hewwo.
Prompt response:

Chione took a glance at the bright pink pen as she picked it up and it happened to intrigue her because of the many colors that you could choose from since it was nothing like she's ever seen before back in Egypt. As her favorite color was purple, she clicked the pen to that color and slowly scribbled her name down on the piece of paper. Observing the other kampers, she realized that she wasn't the youngest kid there but certainly wasn't the oldest, but she really felt the most inexperienced because of how foreign this place was to her. Thinking about heights make her stomach twist into knots but she was feeling adventurous at the time. The only reason Chione signed up was because of the pressure from one of the councilors. Looking around at the other kids, she realized that she wasn't the only one with a bad feeling about this. Was this hike going to be safe? Or was it going to be dangerous? Why was Beni so hyped about it? Why isnt Iphis hyped? Grasping at her braids while chewing on her lip, Chione pushed her bad thoughts away and started focusing on the positive. There were probably really pretty flowers and lots of cute animals on the hike-- b-but what if there was a bear!? on second thought,, are there even any bears here? Heck man, she didn't know. The fact that Chione wasn't from around here really made any situation of doubts ten times worse.