OP: Magical Story~Time


"Wake up! Wake up, Vita! Harper! It's observation day!"

Harper groaned and pulled her blanket over her face. Vita rolled over, away from Mallory. Mallory frowned. Okay, so it was not nearly time to get up, but she couldn't quite understand how the two girls were still able to sleep. Even for a day at camp, it was special. Today was the last day before the first weekend break that came as standard of a half-resident camp. It was also the day the CITs took their first step into staff responsibilities. They got to watch the campers.

Mallory said as much, albeit keeping her speech quiet. Harper ignored her, and Vita rolled back over just to open one eye and groggily whisper "We aren't even doing anything with them, we're just seeing how counselors interact."

"Aren't you excited, though? It's our first time doing it!"

Vita closed her eyes again and made a sound that was comparable to a long stretch of the letter 'm.'

Mallory pulled herself back into her bunk and pouted as she stared up at the ceiling, still not sure as to why she was the only excited one. After all, they were here to be counselors. They all had to love kids, and they all had to be good with them.

Didn't they?


Mallory ended up sleeping a little more before getting up for the day. As she stretched and reached for Myfanwy, she blinked. The bird wasn't there. That in itself wasn't unusual- after all, the small fairy sometimes had to go use the restroom or fly off to stretch her wings for a while- but she hadn't been around earlier either.

Digging for clothes in her dresser, Harper looked up at Mallory. "Is something wrong?"

"Myfanwy's gone!" Mallory said, a little louder than intended.

From her own bunk, Vita looked up at Mallory curiously, and across the room, Brooke flashed the others a glance. Even Delcine smiled reassuringly as she put her shoes on. "Don't worry," she said quietly, "I'm sure she'll show up. I know your stuffie is really important to you, she probably just fell out of your bag. If you want, I'll check the lost and found with you."

"I, uh, doubt that will be necessary," Mallory said. "She'll probably be around somewhere, just like you said."

Delcine nodded solemnly. "I hope you find her."

Mallory sighed and looked out the window, hoping to get a glance of her fairy friend. "Me too," she said.


After breakfast, in which Myfanwy still didn't show up, Biddy and Amelie led the CITs around camp, dividing them into four groups. Delcine and three of the others were the first to leave the group as the two staff members dropped them off with a group of fourth and fifth graders. Down the trail, another group, including Kendra, went with a middle school program. As the Care Package Precure walked farther along, they saw that they were heading towards a kindergarten and first grade group.

Vita, Mallory, and Brooke smiled; little kids were great. Harper swallowed hard, though nobody seemed to notice in the excitement.

As they approached the group, where six little girls were running in the open games field, another counselor stepped up to meet them. "Biddy!" she said. "Are these the CITs?"

"Yes. I'm dropping off four of the CITs to your care, Li. These are Mallory, Vita, Brooke, and Harper. Guys, this is Lilac, a counselor for the five to eight age group." said Biddy. "Lilac, they're going to return to the CIT staff at dinner, okay?"

"Got it! Are they just observing?"

"Officially, but feel free to put them to work if both they and you feel comfortable with it," Biddy said with a nod. "Alright, I'll be off. I'm doing paperwork in the CIT cabin if anyone needs me, okay?"

"I'm helping in the kitchen," added Amelie, and the two turned and left.

Lilac smiled softly, kindly, at the four CITs. "I know you're only observing officially, but would you like to come say hi to the kids? We can go from there on if you want to do more for now, or just watch,"

Vita didn't even respond, instead opting to simply run up to the small group of kindergarten and first graders. "Hi, everyone!" she said enthusiastically. "I'm Vita, and I'm going to be watching you guys play today. What are all your names?"

The girls immediately crowded around their new playmate. Lilac smiled, but clapped in a rhythm that caught the attention of all the campers. "Hold on, girls, before you play with Vita, let the others introduce themselves too."

Mallory stepped forward, then got on her knees, tilted her head, and smiled, her worry for Myfanwy almost forgotten. "Hey there! I'm Mallory! I hope we can all get along." The campers all smiled back, looking pleased to meet her.

Brooke followed the lead of the first two. "My name is Brooke, and I'll also be spending the day with you. I hope to… oh! Is that a Shiny Starlight Club tee shirt? I love that show!"

The little girl in the pink shirt decorated with magical girls doing various club activities grew wide-eyed and nodded enthusiastically, rushing over to Brooke with a huge smile.

Harper went last. She walked straight up to the nearest five-year-old, her confidence ringing through her every step. "Hello, I'm Harper Hoshikaze," she said briskly. "Pleased to meet you."

The little girl stared at her.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce yourself?" Harper asked, confused.

Lilac stifled a laugh. "That's Emmeline. She's a little bit shy, but don't let that fool you. Once she gets to know you, she's very enthusiastic and talkative. Of course, I don't know that she's fully up to date on proper introductions for adults."

Harper blushed, and Lilac winked. "Well, I'll leave you to watching the group. If I were you, I'd pay attention to how I interact with them… what works, what doesn't… and make note of your opinions. Feel free to try interacting for yourself if you have an idea of how to. No counselor is perfect, and I'm sure you can think of ways to relate to the group that I might not be able to.

Despite the words, as Lilac walked away, Vita, Brooke, and Mallory turned to Harper with suspiciously sweet smiles playing on their faces. Mallory giggled, and Vita grinned. "Harper!" exclaimed the blonde teen, "don't tell me you're no good with kids!"

"I'm plenty good with kids!" Harper said in protest.

"You tried to shake hands with a kindergartener," Brooke pointed out, stifling giggles. "Not to be mean, but everyone knows I'm the worst with body language, and even I know you don't do that."

Harper took a deep breath. "I was handshaking since I was five."

The three CITs stared at her disbelievingly.

"Well, it's because my sister told me we'd need to learn how to do handshake events when we were famous," she explained. "So, I suppose it's not completely unlikely that most kids wouldn't do it."

"Harper, it sounds like you and your sister were weird kids," Vita said flatly.

Harper pouted. "I was a completely normal child. I'll prove it to you. By the end of the day, all the kids will love me… especially Emmeline!"


It was right before lunch that the Care Package team decided to try to start engaging the kids. Each girl did so with a different style. During adventure, in which the small girls attempted a low to the ground balance beam, Mallory wowed them with a number of simple gymnastics tricks that they begged her to teach them. After lunch, Brooke got into a discussion over whether it was Shiny Starlight Art or Shiny Starlight Chef that was the better magical girl, and let the kid win with a wink to the others. Vita didn't seem to even do a thing; kids flocked to her as naturally as butterflies flocked to flowers.

Harper watched and tried to learn. A couple hours after lunch, she approached Emmeline again, with a stilted smile. "Are you having fun?" she asked, trying to seem like someone that the little girl could talk to.

She must have failed, because Emmeline nodded, then ran away to hide behind a sympathetically smiling Lilac.

Harper sighed. It was already a long, long day.


"Swimtime!" announced Lilac an hour and a half before dinner started. "Everyone quickly get changed and get into the lake!"

The girls crowded into the changing hut and Lilac turned to the CITs. "How are you doing?"

"The kids are so great!" said Mallory. "I like them all so much!" Vita and Brooke nodded agreement.

Lilac laughed. "I can tell they like you, too. There's some natural flair there, no wonder you want to be counselors."

Harper looked down and adjusted her glasses. "Good job, guys," she said, trying to smile.

"Harper," Lilac said, "don't be upset. Lots of people need to learn to work with kids. It doesn't come naturally to everyone."

"I tried to shake a child's hand, and I'm fairly sure small children can smell fear."

"Well, um, more or less, yes," said Lilac, blushing. "Still, just give it more time. You're here for the next two months to learn how to do this."

Harper didn't seem reassured.

The kids came streaming out, one after the other. Trailing behind was little Emmeline. As the girls filed onto the beach, Lilac faced the CITs. "Emmeline hates the lake," she said. "If you want to really test your skills with kids, get her into the water at all. I sure can't."

"Challenge accepted!" Mallory said. "We'll get her, don't you worry."

As the other girls ran into the water, Emmeline plopped down on the sandy beach and silently began to watch her friends. "Okay!" said Mallory to the others, "our new Care Package mission: engage the kindergartener! Mission start!"

"I'll go first! I have an idea!" Brooke stripped her shoes and socks and waded into the lake. "Come play with me!" she said. "Emmeline! The water's great! We can just stay in the shallow end."

Emmeline shook her head and remained sitting on the beach. "Lemme try!" said Vita. "Emmy, come on, we have to go look for mermaids."

The little girl stared at Vita sourly. "I don't like mermaids," she said stubbornly. "And my name's not Emmy."

Vita narrowed her eyes and put a hand on her own chin. "Tough nut to crack," she muttered.

Mallory sat down next to Emmeline. "Do you want to just stick a toe in and see how that is?"

"No." Emmeline scooted away from Mallory and turned her back to the lake entirely.

The three other CITs looked at Harper, who sighed. "Okay, I'll try, but we've already established that little kids aren't my strong point," she said. She walked over to Emmeline and crouched down. "Okay, Emmeline. Are you afraid of the lake?"

Emmeline nodded slowly, looking suspiciously at Harper. The other three CITs watched their friend, amazed that she seemed to be breaking through.

"Me too," said Harper truthfully. "I've never, ever liked lake water. It's kind of weird, isn't it, how you can't see to the bottom?" Emmeline nodded. Her face was loosening, looking more interested. Harper continued, but walked around Emmeline so that the girl had to adjust to face the water once more. "See the lifeguards out on the dock?"

Emmeline nodded.

"They're there to protect you. No matter what, even if you only put a foot into the water, they'll make sure you stay safe. We won't force you to go into the deep end, but you should try to at least get ankle-deep, okay?"

Emmeline paused, then said, timidly, "What about the fish?"

"What?"

"Are they gonna be in the shallow area?"

Harper shrugged. "Yeah, probably. There's all sorts of marine life in the lake… tadpoles, minnows, waterbugs, snapping turtles, water snakes… probably lots more that I've never even seen!"

First, the little girl's lip quivered, then she burst into tears.

Harper grew red and rushed away, towards Lilac. "I'm so sorry!" she apologized, even bowing automatically. "Please forgive me! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

Lilac waved a hand as she walked to Emmeline. "Harper, it's fine, she does this at least once a day, don't worry." Still, as the counselor passed, Harper buried her face in her hands, and was still like that when her three friends caught up to her.

Vita laughed. "Harper, that was awful!"

"Vita!" scolded Mallory, before turning to Harper. "You really were engaging her for a moment. You're starting to get it, you just need… a few lessons… maybe a little push?"

"I'm sure Biddy knows what to do and how to help," Brooke said with a small smile. "She may be a little hard on us, but I've seen her interact with little kids. She's really good at it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," said Brooke. "For her CIT internship three years ago, she was put with the youngest girls, and they loved her! I think she was with them as a junior counselor two years ago too. I was really surprised to see her with girls our age, actually."

"Let's see if Lilac would let us go and find her," suggested Mallory.

The girls waited for Emmeline to be calm and Lilac to begin to walk back to her chair on the beach. As soon as she approached, they surrounded her and explained the situation.

"Well, if you aren't water safety certified, and can't get Emmeline to swim, there's not much you can do here, and so…" Lilac said thoughtfully, "well, then I suppose there's no harm in letting you go talk to Biddy. Stay as a group, alright?"

"Okay!" said Mallory. "Thanks! Guys, let's go get advice!"


"Hey Biddy!" Mallory yelled in a sing-song as she dragged Harper along to the counselor. "We need your help!"

"Is this going to be a Precure thing?" asked Biddy in a wary, but resigned voice. "Seriously, how much trouble can four CITs get into? This has to be a new record."

Vita spoke up happily. "This isn't about Precure! Harper's horrible with kids! Please help her!" Mallory pushed the girl in question forward with a beam.

"I wouldn't have phrased it exactly like that," Harper said darkly, glowering at Vita.

"She's pretty darn bad," continued the oblivious Vita.

Biddy's stoic expression shifted into a smile. "Okay, that I can help with. It's actually really easy to be a cool, relatable counselor. I do it with you guys all the time."

"Really?" asked Vita, blinking. "When?"

As Biddy turned sour once again, Mallory clasped a hand over her friend's mouth. "Sorry about her," she apologized to Biddy and Harper. "Please continue."

"Okay, it's pretty simple for young kids," Biddy said with a thoughtful frown. "Let them lead the conversation as much as you can. Definitely show your interest in what you have to say. Treat them with the same respect as you would an adult or another teen- they can tell if you don't- but remember that you may have to phrase things differently, as they're young."

Mallory waved her free hand in the air, the other still muffling Vita. "Oh, oh! And to make a special point, get down to their eye level. It helps them connect with you to see you making yourself small."

Through Mallory's hand, Vita spoke, and though the words were muffled, they weren't muffled enough. "Mallie, should you really be making yourself any smaller?"

Mallory put her formerly free hand over the one covering Vita's mouth. "You," she said to the blonde girl, "have lost your speaking privileges."

Harper sighed. "I just don't feel comfortable doing it. It feels fake."

"It's going to," said Brooke with a smile. "It's just one of those things you have to fake until you make. If something isn't natural for you, then it isn't going to feel natural. Luckily, working with kids is a skill, and as long as you can fake confidence in it, you'll eventually gain real confidence. If you can't fake it though, the kids will be able to tell."

"That's what I'm worried about, that I can't fake it."

Biddy reassuringly put a hand on Harper's shoulder. "The very fact that you care is the best start you can have. In the end, whether they think you're a cool counselor or a lame one, if they know you care, then they'll like you at least a bit."

"Is this a bad time to say I just want them to like me more than 'at least a bit?'"

Mallory smiled and shrugged. "That's only natural, but if kids aren't natural to you, you'll have to be prepared to work for it."

"Exactly," said Biddy, squeezing her hand a bit, comforting Harper. "You'll get it. Thanks for coming to me to ask, too, that shows a lot of maturity. I'm just glad this wasn't a magical problem."

From the distance, the girls heard a scream.

Biddy sighed. "Okay, I take that to mean that now it is. Let's head over there and see if we can stop it before someone gets hurt."

Mallory grinned and removed her hands from Vita's mouth so she could fistpump. "Let's go! Care Package Precure, time to move on out!"


As they approached the beach, the water was silent and unmoving, not even producing the little ripples expected of a pond or lake. Just on the shore, as though finishing evacuating from the water, were all the little girls the CITs had spent the day watching. Somehow, the sight was worse than anything they'd seen before, though only Mallory voiced it. "Why weren't we here to protect them?" she asked softly.

Biddy's face was set in firm determination. "There's still a chance, girls. Besides, this was on Lilac and the lifeguards."

"There must be another Humglum elsewhere; look, they're gone," said Harper.

"Bingo!" rang out a voice standing on the opposite side of the beach. "Us generals have to do double damage if we want to do any at all. With sixty-five Precure, we shouldn't stand a chance without a bit o' strategy to back us up."

The girls shifted attention to the general standing next to a frozen Emmeline. Sitting at the feet of Plum and the little girl was a Fearful Bead.


EYECATCH 1: A brief montage of Mallory images: petting an alpaca, making a s'more, and finally, twirling around as Cure Marshmallow with a cute smile.

EYECATCH 2: Myfanwy and Hestia fly in circles, then fall into the arms of Mallory. She is surrounded by the two CIT counselors and all of the CITs. Together, they grin, looking for all the world like the best of friends.


"Well, y'all missed the best part!" said Plum cheerily. "Now, would you believe this girl ain't afraid of the lake itself like y'all believed? She's afraid of the stuff she thinks is inside it, and man, the imagination she has would make you think an aquarium escaped into there."

"Plum, don't you dare transform Emmeline!" Harper said, hands on her hips and eyes burning with angry flames. "I'll never forgive it if you do."

Plum considered, then smiled. "Seein' as I'm the bad guy here, I reckon y'all won't do much forgivin' either way. Anyhew, I wanna see yer new abilities. Be sure to give this here villainess a real show, m'kay? Now, little girl, darlin'... as I see your fears, let them become!"

From Emmeline emerged a pink and black jellyfish monster that swam into the air. Its tentacles glowed with a strange energy. "Humglum!" it roared as it shot some at the five.

Mallory and Brooke stumbled back, Harper ducked gracefully, and Vita and Biddy jumped out of the way with a perfected ease. Mallory bit her lip. "Well, there's only one thing to do now. Care Package Precure, let's do this!"

As they quickly came back together, Brooke, Vita, Harper, and Mallory linked hands, leaving an open spot for Biddy. "Well?" asked Mallory. "Are we transforming or not?"

Biddy raised an eyebrow. "You transform together?"

"Well, yeah!"

"I don't know if holding hands with campers is really appropriate."

"It's fine!" said Brooke. "I think you just need our permission, and I'm good with it."

"Me too!" chirped Mallory.

Reluctantly, Biddy joined the circle, just in time to stick her brooch into the hair in unison with the four girls. "Precure!" they shouted together. "Lead me home!"

The background of pink light surrounded them, with confetti-like shapes in green, purple, yellow, and red floating in it. The transformation, perhaps not built for five all at once, pulled them apart. Mallory floated in the air as light turned into her pink outfit; Harper danced on the ground. Brooke cutely posed, Vita twirled and moved dynamically, and Bitty brushed her hand over her chest, arms, and legs, materializing her costume as she went.

As they came back together, they posed one at a time. "Protecting the promise of hearth and home, I am Cure Marshmallow!"

"Protecting the promise of safety and comfort, I am Cure Belay!"

"Protecting the promise of light and beauty, I am Cure Forest!"

"Protecting the promise of family and friendship, I am Cure Cocoa!"

"A shining light of…" The redhead sighed as she saw her four teammates glaring at her. She cleared her throat and began again, though with less enthusiasm. "Fine, fine. Protecting the promise of warmth and health, I am Cure Campfire!"

"That's better," said Forest with a grin.

Marshmallow smiled as well. "Okay! Let's do this, everyone!"

"The starlight that shines upon these woods, we're Care Package Precure!" The five young women grasped hands and spun around as the pink light blended with the other colors into a rainbow, surrounding them. As Campfire and Cocoa let go, the group became a straight line and posed in unison. "We'll conquer your fears all together now!"

The Humglum didn't so much as appreciate their posing, though Plum smiled at it. "Humglum!" cried the jellyfish-like beast as it shot more of its glowing magic ink at the group. This time, all but Belay shot upwards in response, and Belay summoned her wind, "Blueberry Belay Solaris!" to turn the Humglum's magic against it. The ink hit the thing with a fizzle, burning a large hole into it like acid. It only took seconds for the monster to knit itself back together.

Cure Campfire's eyes were wide, and she shook her head. "That would burn straight through us. See, this is why you need me here."

"I dunno, Belay took care of herself there," said Forest with a grin. "It's not like that goop can burn any worse than you could."

Campfire glared, but Cocoa looked thoughtful. "Hmm! Burning… I wonder if this is something I could help with?" She let herself fall from the sky, rapidly as possible. It was a combination of natural grace and Precure magic that still let her land on her feet, still made it possible for her to automatically move into an elegant curtsey. "Let me show you my own power!" she said to the Humglum, her face almost glowing with anticipation for the fight. "This super-duper seizure-prone strategist won't let you live in your current form! Banana Cocoa Boil!"

The stream of water, however, seemed to have no negative effect on the Humglum. It basked in the feel of Cocoa's glorified water gun, and when the magic faltered, the monster did not. "Humglum!" it said once again, raising its tentacles to attack once again."

From out of the sky, Cure Forest began to free fall. "Wheeeeeee!" she exclaimed, giggling until she softly landed on the jellyfish's big, bouncy back. She began jumping softly, using it as a trampoline to get more and more momentum. After a moment, she seemed to get serious, extending a leg for a kick.

She slammed into the jellyfish, seeming to sink into it for a moment, then bounced back up, out of control. Cure Campfire facepalmed.

Cure Cocoa thought. "Hey, Campfire, would your trick with the stars from yesterday be any good?"

"My trick with the stars? Oh!" Campfire's eyes grew wide. "No, probably not, but some of you also have Courage Beads, and I doubt Plum would be expecting it."

"I will if y'all keep loudly announcing your strategy," smiled the Color War general from the tree where she had perched precariously.

The group ignored her. "What do you mean?" asked Cure Marshmallow. "The beads we get when we defeat a Humglum?"

Campfire nodded. "Double tap one. You should know what to do."

Cure Marshmallow nodded and double-tapped on the Courage Bead she'd gotten from Kendra. "Let's go!" she cried as her power wordlessly instructed. "Storms, courage up!"

Immediately, her brooch glistened and shifted into a lightning bolt shape. Gold trim adorned her outfit, and strands of golden hair highlighted the pink. Marshmallow could feel the energy running through her as she made a determined fist and continued with the next incantation that came to her. "Lemon Stormy Stick!"

A burst of lightning hit the Humglum and it roared and stumbled backwards. As it did, the golden accents in Cure Marshmallow's uniform fizzled out, leaving her breathless and tired.

Cure Forest seemed to notice. "Hang on!" she yelled. "I've got one too! Let's go, darkness, courage up!" A single flash, and the greens retreated to make room for black accents. Forest's gold clover took the shape of a black crescent moon. "Blackberry Darklight Broil!"

Now hit from the other side, the Humglum roared and collapsed beneath its own weight as Forest almost did the same. Her outfit flashed again, returning to normal.

Cocoa glided across the battlefield and sucker-punched the Humglum, immediately twisting into a high kick. As she did so, she made eye contact with Belay. "Purification time," she instructed calmly before turning back and grabbing two of the giant jellyfish's tentacles, tying them expertly in a friendship knot.

Cure Campfire's face was mildly horrified. "I think she learned too much at camp."

"Cocoa is a sweetheart until she's angry," Belay noted. "I'd be more worried about what she'd do if she hadn't paid that much attention in knot tying lessons."

"Isn't the strategist supposed to not also be the best physical fighter?" Campfire asked quietly.

"I try not to subscribe to genre stereotypes. If I allowed myself to fall into that trap, I'd never get over the fact that we're not fourteen years old and in a school setting."

They left the conversation at that and Campfire slipped her hand into Belay's as they prepared to summon their weapons.

"Breezy Batonette!"

"Blazing Batonette, appear!"

The two spun their weapons in sync, ending with the batons pointing at the Humglum. As Cocoa raced out of the way, the teammates spoke the purification together. "Fears be banished! Courageous Finale!"

The monster cried out in protest, but disintegrated all the same. From her tree, Plum shook her head. "Really, none of y'all are as bright as I'd expect of a team o' Precure. Flaunting your true power like that? Not leaving anything up to surprise? You spam your magic as soon as you get it, and the others will soon find that pattern out. Still, I can't complain. Makes it easier on me, after all."

"What do you mean?" demanded Cure Marshmallow, still panting softly.

"Geez, you really ain't bright, are you? Figure it out on your own," Plum said, her voice full of scorn, as she disappeared.

Cure Belay and Cure Marshmallow walked over to where Emmeline was sleeping. Marshmallow picked up the bead that had been left behind, which had a lovely painting of fish on a blue background. "Here, Cocoa, you should keep this one," she said. "It's right up your alley, being water and all!"

"Belay can keep it! It might be better if we try to give people unrelated beads so that everyone has a wide range of powers."

"Yeah, but…" Belay shuddered, then continued. "You weren't there for my fear reveal. Water isn't my strong suit, just as much as heights aren't. Besides, you decimated that thing."

Cocoa blushed, but took the bead and slipped it onto the bracelet that materialized.

"So now everyone's got a bead except Belay!" Marshmallow said with a cheer. "And Campfire has two!"

"With all this magic, Color War doesn't stand a chance in ten," Forest added with a grin.

"Shh!" said Belay. She propped Emmeline's head up on her lap carefully. "You'll wake her, and she's so small… she needs the rest."

It was too late. The little girl began to stir, then her eyes fluttered open. Immediately, she smiled, though it was obviously weak. "I remember you," she said. "You saved me! What's your name?"

Cure Belay blushed. "I'm Ha- I mean, I'm happy to help, and my name is Cure Belay. How are you feeling?"

Emmeline yawned. "I'm so, so sleepy. I feel less afraid, though. I think I want to give the water one more try."

"Not now," Belay said, shaking her head. "You need to rest and take care of yourself, okay? The lake will be there for the rest of camp, but only if you're up for it. Promise me you'll get some rest, okay?"

Emmeline thought, then asked, "Can I get your autograph?"

"I don't have any paper, but…"

Immediately, Cure Belay was hit in the head with a notebook and pen. "You're welcome!" yelled Cure Marshmallow as she closed her backpack up with a smug smirk.

Belay blushed bright red, but took the paper and pen and drew a quick chibi anime-style doodle of herself holding her fingers up in two twin victory signs. Underneath it, she wrote in surprisingly cute, quick lettering, Follow your dreams and face your fears! Love, Cure Belay! Several hearts underlined the message.

Emmeline grinned, her eyes lighting up. When Belay ripped the page out of the book, Emmeline hugged it close to her chest. "Thank you! You're the absolute best!"

"Campfire," said Marshmallow, "can you go get Biddy?"

Cure Campfire winked and disappeared into the woods, reemerging a minute or so after as her civilian self. "Let's get back to your group, Emmeline," said Biddy, and the two walked off.


"Sign my address book!" said Vita hours later as she thrust out a small leather notebook. Harper rolled her eyes and obliged, but upon getting it back, Vita pouted. "Hey! This is just your name, not the cute signature you gave that camper! Why can't I have one like hers?"

"Come to think of things, how come you have a cute signature in the first place?" asked Brooke with a tiny frown. "Was this something nobody told me about being Precure?"

"No, no, definitely not. Mariko- my twin sister," she explained to Mallory, "is into pop idols, that's all. When we were both small, she would lead a game where we sat down and practiced what our signatures would look like. I'm surprised it adapted so well into my Cure identity and English; I'm used to signing my name in Japanese."

Vita put her hands over her mouth in surprise, then squished her cheeks together. "Harper's surprisingly cute! Who would have thought?"

"Girls, that's all good, but what about your new Courage Bead?"

The four looked over to the woods, where the voice had come from. Myfanwy was flying towards them.

Mallory's eyes went wide. "Myfanwy! Where have you been?"

The small bird blushed and looked away. "I was scouting out the camp and looking for Hestia. You guys all have a lot on your plate, so we haven't had a chance to find her as a group. I spent five days cramped in Mallory's backpack, too, so I'm a little impatient."

"I guess we should have made your concern for your cousin a priority," admitted Mallory. "Sorry."

Myfanwy waved a wing dismissively. "No, no, I can search for her. You just keep this camp safe so I find her before Color War does. Speaking of it, I saw you earned a new bead, Cure Cocoa. Try it out!"

"Now?"

"Each bead has both a civilian and a Precure use. Aren't you curious to see what they are?"

"I guess," Brooke said, stumbling over her words a bit. She double tapped it. "Let's go, marine life, courage up!"

A fizzle of magic made its way up her legs. In a moment, those same legs had disappeared, replaced with a sparkling yellow mermaid's tail. Brooke flopped it on the ground. "That's the civilian use?" giggled Vita.

"It's a little intense," Harper said with a smile.

"Never mind intense!" said Brooke. "Help me get back to normal!"


Brooke was long returned to her fully civilian form by the time five o clock rolled around. The four girls sat in the waiting area, each passing around their address books, exchanging information. "I hope no Humglums attack anyone while we're alone," Brooke said worriedly. "I don't know if any of us could face one on our own."

"Nobody's had to yet," Mallory agreed, "and when it looked like I might, both times I almost got clobbered."

"Biddy said that the reason Humglums only strike here is because of the proximity to the portal and to the Infinite Princess, whoever that is. The staff stays over the weekend, so I'm sure that they'll be able to take care of any monsters that appear," Harper commented matter-of-factly.

Vita raised an eyebrow. "Sure, because the staff dealing with Humglums and Color War generals has had such a good track record so far. Adults. Can't trust them to do much of anything."

Harper raised an eyebrow. "Isn't your eighteenth birthday in about two months?" she asked.

Crossing her arms and pouting, Vita winked. "Well, I'm not there yet."

The girls laughed as parents began to walk in. Mallory smiled softly. The first week of camp had flown by, and she was almost not quite ready to go home for the weekend.

Still, it'd be nice to have a break from the battles, tragedies, and campers turning into monsters.

As her mom and dad arrived, Mallory hugged Harper, the only Care Package girl left in the waiting area. "I'll see you Sunday night," she said.

Harper nodded. "One of these weekends, you all have to come visit me, okay?"

"Yeah! Definitely! But for now, I'm ready to head home, and it looks like my family is ready to see me. Hope yours gets here soon!"

"They probably got stuck in commuter traffic. It always happens," grinned Harper. "It's okay. I'll go hang out with Mariko. See you soon!"

"Yep! Bye!"

Mallory ran over to her parents. "Mama! Papa!"

Her father lifted her up as though she were seven and not fifteen. "Mallory! How was your first week at your new camp?"

She thought. "Eventful," she said at last. "I'll tell you some stuff about it in the car."

"Some stuff?"

Mallory grinned and thought of Myfanwy hiding in the CIT cabin, keeping the CIT pins safe and sound. "I think some things have to stay here. At least for now," she explained as they walked towards the car.


ED: Summer Camp Can Can


Next time on Care Package Precure:

Mallory: The best thing about a half-resident camp is getting to go home for weekends.

Brooke: Yeah! I did some shopping, and found something amazing!

Harper: Wait…

Biddy: Is that…

Vita: This could change everything! Tune in next time for a new episode of Care Package Precure!

All: We'll conquer your fears all together now!