- Fennel, whom hadn't slept well the past few nights, paced the perimeter of the camp. They'd been carefully cleaning up small, almost seemingly random messes every day. One night a camper's scarf had been found coated in mud-- another, the prey pile the campers had been collecting was gone. Fennel just couldn't figure out what was happening and now it seemed even the other counselors where noticing.
Before long the sun seemed to be peeking over the horizon. Fennel carefully began to pick their way home, when the sudden noise of someone calling for them sounded. Fennel's ears perked and, before a moment had passed, began racing back to camp. Something was wrong.
--
Hana, happily jogging back to camp after a warm night in her twoleg den, skirted right around the camp entrance and toward a shortcut she'd found earlier in the week. She had asked some of her kittpet friends how to cook fish a bit better, since it seemed some of the campers were just deciding to not eat breakfast due to how 'gross' it was (not her words). A very soft scuttering noise halted her march to camp. "Helllloooo, Snow are you awake early again trying to scare me?" A dark shadow covered the moon in that moment, leaving the kittypet nearly blind for a brief moment. In that time, she could see a soft light emanating from camp and hear the crunching of paws race away. Horrified, the lynx point quickly decided to forget about the pawsteps and get to camp.
--
Snow, sat at the center of the three cabin's nesting areas. She'd seen Cliff, only moments before, nodding to sleep while "guarding" his campers.. and there was no sign of Fennel. Her eyes carefully surveyed the sky, sleepiness tugging at her coat. As soon as the sun could peek over top of the horizon, Hana would be here to wake everyone and she could nap.
A wave of heat seemed to, out of no where, bare down onto the she-cat. And moments later, the smell of ash. Suddenly on her paws, the warrior let out the loudest noise she could muster," WAKE UP! EVERYONE NOW!" She pushed warriors awake, pulled at apprentice's ears, and managed to wake each counselor. "We need to go, come to the abandoned twoleg den now!"
Birchmist lead the way, demanding no campers stay to help Snow, Furzetuft, and Cliff. He met Hana on the trail and filled her in. The two cats agreed to leave the fire, or whatever it was, to the others and keep the campers safe.
--
Furzetuft splattered mud, dirt, and sand, with all her might, onto a smoldering pile of grass. It seemed the campfire wasn't entirely put out and someone.. or something judging by the tracks she found in the dirt, had knocked some of the smoldering and hot fuel into the forest. She glance backwards at Snow, who was carefully climbing up a tree to snap a smoking branch off. The fire wasn't too big, but it certainly was dangerously close to the nesting areas. Cliff had raced off to find Fennel, whom no one could locate. It was like the camp lead had entirely disappeared.
After what could have been hours, Furzetuft finally felt the forest was safe once more. She'd sprayed nearly every tree with mud and coated her pelt in the process. Snow looked similarly covered, and both were exhausted. Cliff had returned with a surprise, but it wasn't Fennel. It was Mousespeck. The torbie didn't betray her emotions, instead getting right to work ensuring that Snow and Furzetuft weren't hurt. "It's a good thing I decided to come along right about now, I had no idea you wouldn't be able to..",her eyes caught a glimpse of anger and disappointment in Furzetuft's. "C'mon, take a seat, I need to apply some herbs to your paw pads. You too Cliff."
--
Fennel had found themself at the twoleg den, not camp. Somehow their path had mixed with Birchmist and Hana's, following the scent of the campers to the den. Birchmist seemed to have taken the lead, pushing the campers into the den and ordering Hana to protect the garden entrance. Hana's fur stood on end as she protected the spot, almost shaking with nerves.
When Fennel pushed into view, the small kittypet pounced on them, claws extended, without hesitated. "Who are y-" Recognition lit up her eyes and she fell ontop of the warrior, purring," Fennel! You're safe, oh my goodness, you're actually safe!" A handful of campers exited the den and surrounded the pair, telling the camp lead about everything that'd happened (well, not that they knew too much about what happened after leaving). Hana refused to move from the cinnamon tabby's side and escorted them back to camp.
