Therian At Camp (chapter 8)

Instructions

All of the story is true, except names (changed for privacy). ————— I quickly finished the signature Pack jump and quads, impressing Ash. After doing vocals — we all tried to mimic the calls of our kintypes and then some other random animals that Ash called out — we voted Jessi winner of a horse whinny and Quinn winner of a snowy owl and bobcat. Finally, I brought my backpack in and put on my mask and tail. Ash questioned me on my leopard’s age, name, size, and experience. “14, Blossom, pretty small for a leopard, and new.” I answered quickly. “Then, by the power of the animals, I name you a part of the Pack, Blossom.” Ash declared. He brought his hand down onto mine. Everybody cheered first in human, then in their own tongue. I smiled. I finally belonged. After that, we all chatted— Ash asked me if I liked Bamboo Kingdom, and I answered yes and asked him if he liked Warriors. Sunny liked my mask sketches, and Alex brought out her journal with her own sketches and we traded tactics. Jessi, Quinn, and I shared contact info so we could talk outside of camp. Suddenly, as Quinn was getting out her cards for us to play, a kid from outside the camp crashed through one of the bushes. They stared at us for a second, then turned over their shoulder. “They’re all hiding and doing weird stuff back here!” I realized with a sinking feeling that we were about to be pulled back into camp. The kid turned back to us. “We’re making s’mores, wanna come?” “No, thanks.” Alex said, and everybody, including me, shook their heads. The kid scratched their head — probably thinking, “Who wouldn’t want s’mores?” — and walked back through the bushes. Quinn pulled more cards out of the deck once again, but Ash pushed her hand gently, still staring at the place the kid had been in. “Come on, Pack.” He said, standing up and brushing the dirt off of his knees. “There’s something I need to show you.” We all followed Ash into his den, and gasped when we realized for the first time that there was a crack in the rock ceiling — blocked by moss, but Ash ripped it aside and started climbing up. We followed him onto a small platform. “Woah!!” I exclaimed, staring at the giant nest made of woven sticks, twigs, and branches, just as Ash said, “This is the nest. I made it last time I came here.” He shifted aside some debris from a flat stone propped against the nest. He had carved the therian symbol into it. “Only if you want to, but every time you come here, please add a couple sticks to this pile.” We all nodded. “Thank you,” Ash suddenly exclaimed, and surprised us all by pulling us into a group hug. ——— Heart and star if you liked please!!!