Cubby looked down the slope he'd finally managed to stop sliding down. If it hadn't been for the roar of the Big Bear River, the three figures below would have heard him. As it was, they still weren't aware of him and the figure above hadn't managed to track him down yet. He rooted through his pocked and pulled out one of the three weapons he had left. Ideally would be taking out the person above that he could hear but couldn't see. Unfortunately, there was no way he could get back to the top of the embankment. It was pure mud and he knew he was too big and clumsy to make it back without revealing himself to the person above. He could probably take out one of the people below, but there was no way he'd be able to get the other two before they got him.
He gnawed on a fingernail while he thought. There was always the possibility he could stay right where he was, but it would only be a matter of time until the person above tracked him here. Cubby hadn't had time to think about hiding his trail and he knew the person above could have tracked him even if he had. Another look below showed only one figure visible from where Cubby stood. He reached into his back pelt pocket and slowly pulled out a slingshot, one that still had all its pieces in working order. He loaded the weapon that he'd pulled out earlier and slowly pulled it back. Just as he was ready to release it, a projectile from above hit the slingshot's ammunition, puncturing it and causing the strawberry juice it was loaded with to explode all over Cubby's face and chest. He gave a startled yelp and took a step, which caused him to tumble down the embankment, across the trail, and into the river, where he swept downstream like a leaf.
"Did you see that?" Tig asked Leo.
"I don't think I've ever seen Cubby move that fast before," his twin laughed as he stared downstream at the bobbing brown shape that was getting farther away. Red ran up and joined them.
"That was Cubby, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, it was. Think we should go rescue him?"
"Of course we should go rescue him," Leo said a bit indignantly. "Why wouldn't we?"
"Does he really need rescuing? He can float, after all."
Before Leo could reply to his brother, Surefoot came sliding down the embankment above them. "Did you see that? That was awesome," Surefoot crowed as he joined them. "He was ready to nail you but I got the pod he was getting ready to shoot you with, with a stone. You should have seen it. He got covered in berry juice and the expression on his face was priceless."
"What expression? When he went rolling by us, he was laughing so hard I thought he was going to choke," Leo said, a bit confused.
"Wait a second, where's Stumble?" Red suddenly asked looking around. As if in answer, a small pod dropped out of a tree and landed smack on the hood of Red's fox pelt. There was a popping sound and Red's hood and face blossomed with strawberry juice.
"Get him," Leo demanded as he loaded his own slingshot with a berry juice pod and pointed it up the tree.
"You can try Cat-boy," Stumble called down from the tree before flinging himself from it and into the river. Like Cubby, the current caught him quickly and pushed him down the river. Leo tried taking a shot at the plunging Lost Boy, but missed.
"Great," Red said in disgust, "not only am I out, but I gotta sweep the common room for a week."
"I hate to say it, but you've actually got kitchen clean-up for a week," Tig said with a smirk.
"No way. Cubby was the first one to get put out so he's got kitchen."
"He would have if he'd gotten covered with blackberry juice, but he got hit with strawberry juice. It doesn't count if you're stained by the juice your team is using."
"What?" Red asked. "That's not fair. When did that become a rule?"
"Nice try," Leo said, grinning. "That's always been the rule. It's about the only one he hasn't changed."
Red thought about cursing but simply shrugged instead. He'd gotten away with it once and hadn't really thought he was going to a second time. "I'm going back to the Tree," he announced. "As long as I'm dead, I might as well go make myself useless."
"That wouldn't take much," Tigger pointed out.
"You'd know."
"Says you."
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." Both boys glared at each other for a moment and then started laughing. "Later," Red called over his shoulder as he started off. "Don't forget about Roo."
"Oh crap," Tig said as he turned a 360 to check for the kangaroo pelted boy. "I forgot he was playing this time.
"I bet he didn't," Leo said as he did his own sweep. There was a yell from above and both Tig and Leo looked up to see Roo trying to swim in the air. He was having spectacular non-success. There was an oof as he landed between the twins. In a single motion, Tig pulled out a berry juice pod and dropped it on Roo's back where it splattered in a cloud of blackberry juice.
"I don't get it," Roo complained, slowly sitting up.
"What's that?" Leo asked, helping Roo stand.
"How does he make falling out of trees look so easy?"
"Falling out of a tree? That doesn't sound like much of a plan."
Roo sighed. "That wasn't supposed to be the plan. Cub figured you'd never search the tree after Stumble fell out of it. Have you ever tried to climb a tree with kangaroo legs?"
"Uh, no, can't say I have seeing as I don't wear a kangaroo outfit," Leo said.
"It's not easy, believe me. So I got up there with Stumble and I waited 'til he did his thing and then I was getting ready to score against both of you when my foot slips off the branch and… Well, you know the rest of what happened. I'm your prisoner or your body or whatever it is I'm supposed to be now."
Tigger laughed. "What you are is common room sweeper for the next week."
Roo shrugged. "Better that than kitchen or latrine duty." He stretched causing his back to pop.
"I thought you said we weren't supposed to do that," Tigger said.
"No, I said you weren't supposed to do it. Every time you do it, you manage to get all tangled up. It's safe for those who are coordinated."
"'It's safe for those who are coordinated,'" Tigger mimicked. "I can do anything just as good as you can."
"So next time one of you get's clipped with an arrow I should just let you handle it?"
"That's not what I meant. I just…"
"Uh-huh. I should let you get back to work. You still have two to track down and I'm not so sure it's going to be you two who win. Let me know how that works out."
"He's right, you know," Leo pointed out to his twin after Roo left. "Furball has come a lot further than I'd have ever given him credit for."
"Of course he has, I trained him." Leo rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. "But he's still just a babe in the woods when it comes to this sort of thing." Tig looked down the river. "This is probably the first time Cub fell into the river below the falls instead of above 'em. He's going to be wet and probably pretty battered by the time he manages to get out. Stumble will probably be even worse because he doesn't have nearly as much stuffing as Cub to absorb the punishment so we keep an eye out for him but probably don't need to worry about him doing anything."
Leo nodded in agreement. Tigger could be a little bit overbearing at times, but he was pretty good at tactics and everything he'd said so far made sense. "You know there is the possibility that this whole thing was nothing but luck and Cubby's drowning right now." Tigger started cursing a blue streak. "I said it was only a possibility."
"That's not why I'm cussing. Look." Tigger pointed up in the air almost above them. Above them Cubby was floating upside down, a rope attached to one of his legs. "He got pixie dust and Stumble's guiding him."
Tigger loaded his slingshot and fired a berry juice pod at Cubby. The bear-pelted boy was too high and the pod arced below him. "Hey, Tig," Cubby yelled down.
"What?"
"Remember when you said I looked like an overstuffed teddy bear?"
"Aw, c'mon Furball. I was only joking. I meant it in a really good way. You know that."
"Just like I mean this in a really good way," Cubby said with a laugh and dropped a berry juice pod.
"Don't just stand there," Leo said, taking a couple of steps back.
"Naw. I'm going to let it…" the pod hit Tig on the foot turning his orange-striped pawmoc strawberry red. "…hit me. He kinda deserves it and if I let it hit me, he might figure he owes me something later on."
"You're insane, you know. No way I'd do latrine duty just because someone might think they owe me something."
"I don't have latrine duty. I'm just the third one hit. This time it's the fourth one. The third one has to beach forage."
"That's convenient, but I still don't care. I'll get Stumble or Furball before they can get me easy. Cub is stuck floating in the air and the rope will lead me right to where Stumble is. He'll be cleaning unmentionable things in no time. Watch and learn little brother. I'll just circle around and come at him from where he'll least expect it."
Leo took two steps and got nailed by an explosion of strawberry juice across his front. "So tell me about how you're going to get me from where I least expected you to be, eh?"
"Where'd you come from? You were supposed to be holding the rope so Cub wouldn't drift away, not coming from that direction."
"Change in plans," Stumble said, grinning. "The biggest one being that you're going to have latrine duty now. That's gotta be a first."