-Camp Wewa Part 3-
"What trouble did you get us into now?" Emily mumbled as she tried to keep a smile on her muzzle, hiding the obvious fact she was rather nervous.
All of them were, well except Trisha, the bunny was standing casually in the grass rolling on the balls of her large feet as she kept her paws behind her back.
The reason for everyone's hesitation had started right after breakfast in the main mess hall. Head counselor Flowers had made an announcement that certain campers were to wait in the field outside of the mess hall while the other groups headed out for the day's activities.
Wouldn't you know it, every name on the list was sitting at the same table.
"I didn't do anything today," Trisha shot back at Emily as she tilted her head and looked up at the vixen.
"Today?" Emily growled, "What about yesterday?!"
"Well unless they found my secret hiding spot already then I don't think they will have enough evidence to convict us," Trisha answered as she looked up at Counselor Flowers who was busy speaking with another member of the camp's staff.
"We aren't even in the same groups," Nick pointed out. "Why are we in the line up because of Trisha?"
The brown bunny snorted and looked at the fox, given him a playfully angry look.
"You should know by now Nick," Delta began as he looked straight ahead, "We are all guilty by association."
A small pinecone whizzed by the painted dog's head causing him to nearly jump backward.
"Oh so close," Judy said with a giggle.
"Need to practice more," Trisha mumbled as she rolled one of her arms, "I am getting rusty."
"Is this what it's like to be tall?"
Everyone stopped their conversation for a moment to look over at Sarah who was currently sitting on Copper's shoulders, the doe's ears high above her head as she scanned the field.
"How's the weather?" Delta asked with a smile.
"Fuzzy," Sarah said as she ran a paw over Copper's ears, causing the painted dog's tail to sway.
Everyone shared a laugh at the doe's antics, her small tail flicking at the attention.
Delta looked from Sarah over to Atom who was standing on the other side of his cousin Copper. His eyelids drooped as he noticed Atom wiggling in place as he munched on a waffle.
"Didn't you eat enough already?" Delta asked which caught Atom's attention.
The lighter painted dog looked over at his friend with his bright yellow eyes. He took a moment to swallow what he had in his mouth before sticking out his tongue.
"Alright Campers," Flowers said as she finished her conversation with her fellow staff member and turned to look at the ragtag group she had assembled. Her eyes went to Atom who was still munching on the waffle he had snuck out from the mess hall. She raised her brow at the young pup who slowly stopped munching on the breakfast item and held it up towards the cheetah, wiggling the waffle slightly. "I am….good, thanks though."
Everyone was a little taken aback by the cheetah's comments, having fully expected the strict feline to berate Atom for sneaking out food or some other manner of rule-breaking.
"I asked you all here because it has been decided to make another group," Flower's explained as she looked down the line.
A series of bright smiles broke out in the group. The gang looked up and down the line at one another, tails wagging, ears raising, Atom munching on his stolen breakfast food.
"Your group will have a special camp counselor who will be here in a few minutes," Flowers continued. Try as she might she couldn't help but let her own tail sway, happy to see so many smiling faces.
They are kind of adorable when they are young.
Trisha cleared her throat which caught the cheetah's attention. The doe bowed and lowered her head.
"Thank you, M'Lady."
"I am not a princess," Flowers grumbled.
"Why not?" Sarah asked from atop Copper's shoulders. "You are so pretty like one."
Oh my gosh, why is she so adorable?!
"Th...thank you camper," Flower's said, somewhat flustered at the sweet comment.
Sarah beamed at the cheetah and wiggled on top of Copper who smiled up at their head counselor.
Some movement behind the group caught everyone's attention much to the relief of counselor Flowers who was worried her tough facade was about to crack.
Ed was making his way across the grassy field, a broad grin on his face. The yak looked like a completely different mammal today. Though he had a slight limp he still had a spry essence about him. A broad smile was on his face as he stopped in front of the campers.
"What up my little dudes?" the yak asked as he stretched out his arms.
"Dude!" the gang responded with smiling faces.
"Campers meet your group leader," Flower's explained.
Everyone was in disbelieve as they looked from the cheetah to the mellow looking yak.
"Perks of owning the camp," Ed said as he gave the gang a wink. "So who is ready to cause some trouble."
Everyone looked over at Trisha whose arm shot right up into the air, the doe hopping on her large feet as she let out a laugh.
The day was kind of like a fun-filled blur to the members of team Pumpkin Army.
Ed made sure that they all caught up with the different activities that had been promised in the brochure along with a few fun additions.
-Ropes course-
Nick and Emily were neck-n-neck, the cousins enjoying a friendly competition as they shot down the ropes course towards the next obstacle.
"The last one loses dessert at dinner," Nick said with a pant.
"You're on cuz," Emily said as she looked straight ahead, her eyes narrowing.
A gray blur shot between them which caused the foxes to nearly stumble and fall into the sand beneath their paws. Nick watched as Judy darted past and reached the rope ladder before them. She looked over her shoulder at Nick and gave him a wink as she grabbed the rope ladder and hopped up towards the top.
"Wow," Emily let out.
"Right?" Nick responded.
"So do I get both your deserts if I win?" Judy asked as she looked down at the foxes from the top of the first obstacle.
"Naw," Emily said as she waved a paw. "You and I can just split Nick's."
"Hey!" Nick shot back as he looked at his cousin, taking a moment to catch his breath at the bottom of the rope ladder. "How come I lose desert?"
"Because you are a stinky tod," Emily said as she stuck out her tongue.
Some laughter behind them caught their attention and they turned to see Sarah dashing towards them, her mouth open in a broad smile.
"Run! Atom had too much sugar!" Sarah squealed with laughter as she reached the ladder and grabbed the rope, trying to scurry up towards Judy who bent down to help her sibling.
"Too much sugar?" Nick asked as he looked at Emily whose eyes went wide, the young vixen grabbed onto another part of the wide rope ladder and hurried up.
Nick was a little confused at first and turned to try and find Atom.
He saw Delta and Copper running off away from the ropes course towards Ed who looked like he was about to fall over from laughter. The old Yak holding his side as he took a seat and watched.
Nick spotted Atom, the only problem was Atom had also spotted Nick. The light-colored painted pup opened his arms and began to run at Nick, a look of pure happiness on his face as he hurried over.
Trisha whizzed by Nick as she frantically scrambled up the ropes course.
"So what he gives extra hugs or something?" Nick asked as he looked up at his cousin.
"That and he is still covered in sticky syrup from breakfast," Emily pointed out.
"So what...wait...sticky?"
There was a loud sneeze behind Nick as Atom hurried over.
"Yeah, and with his lack of personal space you are about to get sticky too," Trisha said as she looked over her shoulder at Nick who was still at the bottom of the rope ladder.
"It's so gross!" Copper shouted as she ran up and hid behind Ed who finally managed to catch his breath.
"Run foxy dude!" The owner of the camp yelled.
Nick suddenly realized he should have spent more time climbing and less time looking around. The young tod grabbed onto the rope ladder and hurried up towards the girls who were all calling his name.
A loud sneeze behind Nick told him Atom was close.
Ed watched from atop the grass-covered hill nearby as Copper and Delta plopped down on either side of him.
"So what do we say?" Ed began as he looked at Delta and then over at Copper, both painted pups looking up at the older mammal with tails wagging. "My money is on him catching the tie-dye bunny first."
"Tie-dye?" Delta asked as he tilted his head.
"Yeah dude," Ed said as he pointed over at Sarah who hopped off the raised platform she had been using as a refuge to hurry to another hiding spot. "The cute one with the radical colors on her fur."
"Naw," Came Copper who caught Delta and Ed's attention. "Its gonna be Trisha. She gets too confident and that's where she will slip up."
"Well I am gonna bet its Nick," Delta said as he looked back at the ropes course and watched as his friends darted about, trying to hide from the sugar-crazed Atom and his sticky hugs.
"Ok so its a bet," Ed said as he nodded his head.
"What do we win if we are right?" Copper asked excitedly.
"Cookies for breakfast sound good?" Ed asked, knowing full well how tempting that offer would be to the pair of young mammals.
"Yes!" Delta and Copper said in unison and went back to watching the ropes course intently.
Atom hurried around, arms open wide as she tried to scoop up one of his friends. At one point Judy had been cornered but used her strong legs to bounce up and over the painted dog who watched in surprise at the bunny flying over his head.
Emily almost got her tail pulled but managed to weave away from Atom before darting up a ladder.
Sarah was almost caught, the bunny squeaking with laughter as she tried to scramble away from Atom whose tail was wagging as he hurried after the small bunny.
A sharp whistle from nearby distracted Atom who looked to see Trisha give a wave. The brown bunny managing to distract the sugar high canine long enough for Sarah to find a new hiding spot.
Atom spun around in circles a few times, looking around at all his friends who had managed to find hiding spots on top of various wooden structures around the ropes course. He let out a soft whimper as his head drooped.
"Oh no! Not falling for that again," Trisha shouted from on top of a series of boxes where she and Sarah had taken refuge.
Atom snapped his digits and was instantly back to his normal self, realizing his plan wasn't going to work.
"Hey who is that?" Copper asked as she spotted a lovely whitetail deer slowly walking onto the ropes course.
"Oh that's Mary," Ed explained. "She is my niece."
Both Copper and Delta looked at one another and then to Ed, the confusion on their faces was obvious.
"Long story dudes," Ed explained. "But she is sweet as can be and helps me around the camp."
"She is pretty," Copper said sweetly.
"I'll say," Delta mumbled.
"Ohhhh! I am telling Trisha!" Copper shot back.
"Wait, Trisha?" Ed asked as he looked at down at the embarrassed looking pup next to him. "The brown one?"
"Shut up," Delta grumbled.
"Dude that's awesome!" Ed exclaimed.
Their conversation was interrupted by Mary who was looking around the ropes course, "Ed?"
"Up here Mary," Ed shouted as he waved a hoove over at Mary who tilted her head slightly.
"What are you doing all the way up there for? Where is the rest of your group?"
Ed simply pointed towards the course.
Mary looked over as a light-colored painted dog came running around a corner, his bright yellow eyes zeroing in on Mary.
"Oh! Well hey, there big guy," Mary cooed sweetly as she put her hooves on her knees and smiled at the young pup.
Atom wiggled in place for a moment as he stared at Mary.
Up on the hill, three mammals watched intently.
"Should we warn her?" Delta asked.
"Oh no," Ed chuckled. "Don't want to ruin the fun."
Atom broke out in a sprint, his arms opened wide as his tongue hung out the side of his open-mouthed grin.
"Aww," Mary cooed as she opened her own arms. "You want a hug cutie?"
"Its almost cruel," Copper mumbled from her spot on the hill.
"Poor Mary," Delta added.
"This is gonna be-" Ed began as he watched Atom leap into the air and dive towards Mary whose eyes went wide.
"OH MY GOSH!" The white-tailed doe shouted as Atom made contact with her. "WHY ARE YOU SO STICKY?!"
-Arts and crafts-
"Paw paints, paw paints, paw paints," Sarah sang quietly to herself as she put one of her paws into a jar of bright blue paint and then onto the large piece of paper spread out in front of her.
"She does know there are brushes right?" Ed asked in a whisper to Mary who was trying to resist the urge to go crazy from all the adorableness she was witnessing.
Sarah tried to reach a little too far on the large piece of paper and lost her balance, her face falling onto one of the wet spots of paint. The doe sat up and looked around, a smear of blue paint on her cheek.
"You ok Sarah?" Mary asked as she hurried over.
"Now she really is a painted bunny," Trisha said happily from her end of the table.
"Painted bunny!" Sarah echoed as she raised her paws in the air, little flecks of blue paint landing on Mary who simply giggled and grabbed a towel nearby to help clean up.
"Think your Sarah is having fun," Nick said as he looked over at the bunny who was currently being toweled off by an attentive Mary.
"She doesn't get to be like this when we are at home very often," Judy said as she smiled over at her sister and then back at Nick.
"Still?" The fox tod asked with a slight sadness.
"Well, she doesn't have a painted protector like you," Judy said as she scrunched her nose and nodded over at Copper who was busy trying to blue some popsicle sticks together. An annoyed looking Atom sitting with his arms crossed nearby, having just learned that there wasn't any actual popsicles to be had.
"We look out for one another," Nick admitted.
"Its good to have back up," Judy said absentmindedly as she tried to tie a knot in the necklace she was making.
"That it is."
"Its also good to have someone to talk to," Judy continued.
"Yeah."
"Especially about me," Judy said as the smallest of smirks graced her lips.
Nick nearly dropped the can of yellow paint he had been reaching for.
"Wait what?"
"Nothing," Judy said as she glanced over at Nick, her smirk turning into a smug grin.
"What did she tell you?" Nick asked, his eyelids drooping.
"Stuff," Judy said as she wiggled in place.
Nick looked over at Copper who took a moment to glance over at the fox, "What?"
"What did you tell Judy?!"
"Nothing," Copper said with a smugness that could rival Judy's.
"Lies!"
"She said how you want to hold Judy's paw!" Sarah shouted from the other end of the large table.
Nick had suddenly realized what he had done as the whole cabin fell silent, all eyes going to Sarah and then slowly to Nick who suddenly wished he could turn invisible.
"Ohhhhh!" Delta and Trisha said in unison.
"Look who is talking Thumper," Emily shot at Trisha whose bright blue eyes went wide as she glared at the vixen whose tail swished.
"Big talk coming from the canoe kisser," Delta said with a wicked grin.
If Emily's fur hadn't already been a russet color they would have all seen the young vixen blushing furiously.
Delta stuck out his tongue, only to close his eyes as Emily used a paintbrush to flick some paint towards the smug-looking canine.
"Uh oh," Mary said as she looked around the room and realized just how many paint jars they had left on the table.
"I'll be outside," Ed said as he slowly trotted towards the door.
"Now Campers," Mary said slowly as she raised her hooves, "Let's remember not to make a big mess."
"Right!" Trisha said as she hopped up onto the table and grabbed a paintbrush. "Avoid the walls and ceiling but everyone is fair game!"
"I didn't say-" Mary began but it was too late. The gang suddenly dove for whatever paintbrush and paint they could find, the arts and crafts cabin turning into a kind of artistic warzone.
Trisha ran across the table, holding her paintbrushes out, managing to get Emily and Nick before the foxes could react.
Nick turned to Judy, a streak of green paint on one of his ears only to watch as the gray bunny reached over and grabbed a paintbrush covered in blue paint. The doe ran it across the side of Nick's face before hurrying away, laughing as Nick chased after her.
Mary looked around in pure astonishment as to what she was seeing.
Sarah was chasing after Copper, the doe's paws covered in blue paint, one of the bunny's ears having been painted green.
Delta and Trisha were tossing paint at one another, the doe hopping from cover on occasion before being scooped up by Delta who began to put orange paw prints on her cheeks.
Judy and Nick were swords fighting with paintbrushes in the corner, Nick covered in purple streaks, the gray bunny, however, seemed to have kept her fur relatively clean much to the annoyance of a certain fox.
Mary took a deep breath and looked over at Atom who was watching the chaos ensue around him, a popsicle stick sticking out of the side of his mouth. The deer suddenly had a rather evil thought as she glanced over at the table still filled with paint jars. She scooped up a small can that was filled with a bright pink paint.
"Oh Atom," Mary cooed which caused the young pup's ears to twitch as he glanced over at the approaching doe.
Atom's tail began to swish back and forth and he slowly opened his arms, only to stop when he spotted the jar in Mary's grasp. His yellow eyes looked at the can and then up at Mary, a sense of pleading in his gaze.
"Come here Sticky!" Mary laughed as she rushed over to Atom who suddenly darted in the other direction.
Outside out the arts and crafts cabin, Ed was busy checking out some clouds that were passing by, he was so enraptured with the one that looked like a fish he hadn't heard a certain cheetah trotting up beside him.
"Sir," Flowers said as she approached which startled Ed slightly.
"Oh dude!" Ed said as he grabbed his chest.
"Oh gosh," the feline said as she hurried over and put a large paw on Ed's shoulder. "I am so sorry sir I didn't mean to."
"Naw your good Mel," Ed said as he caught his breath. "Just got lost in the clouds ya know."
Flowers looked around and became somewhat worried at the lack of campers currently accompanying Ed.
"Sir, where is your group?" The cheetah asked as she glanced back at the yak.
There was a loud noise behind the two and they both turned to see the door to the arts and crafts shed suddenly burst open. Atom came rushing out, covered in pink paint splotches, a few of them shaped like hearts.
Mary came running out after the painted dog, a smile on her face, "Oh no you don't you little-"
The deer came to a halt at the sight of both Melissa and Ed staring at her. While the cheetah had a look of concern on her muzzle Ed was trying not to fall over as he laughed.
"Oh! Melissa, so nice of you to come to check in on team Pumpkin Squad."
"That's Pumpkin Army!" Trisha shouted as she poked her head out of the cabin, one of her ears had been painted bright blue while the other was orange.
Flowers took a deep breath and looked down at her leg where a pink covered Atom was trying to hide, his tail flicking back and forth as he stuck his tongue out at Mary who gave the pup an annoyed grin.
"I will leave you to it," Flowers grumbled as she tipped her heat to Ed before strolling away, Atom tried to keep pace with the cheetah but eventually his hiding spot had picked up the pace and left him at the mercy of Mary who began to chuckle evilly.
-Canoeing-
Nick and Judy sat at the edge of the dock that extended out into the lake that sat on the edge of Camp Wewa. Paw in paw they watched an odd sight play out on the water.
A canoe with what appeared to be sails and a makeshift crow's nest glided through the water. Trisha stood on the bow of the hastily put together pirate ship, laughing manically as she waved a cardboard sword about.
Sarah was holding onto the mass as she too laughed as evilly as she could which amusingly wasn't very frightening as she would occasionally giggle.
"She is such a weirdo," Nick chuckled as he watched Trisha point her sword out towards the center of the lake, claiming that there was buried treasure somewhere beyond the horizon.
"Yeah...but she is our weirdo," Judy said as she rested her head against Nick's arm.
Over the course of the camp, the fox and bunny couple had tried less and less to hide their feelings, not just towards one another but also in front of the others.
They received the occasional tease or jab from their friends. For the most part, though it was worth it if it meant they could remain paw in paw during their days at the camp.
"Oh this is gonna be good," Judy chuckled as another canoe came gliding into view.
This one was manned by Mary who was pointing a hoof towards Trisha's canoe, "Onward sailors. We have privateers to sink!"
Three painted pups in the boat saluted, Delta, Atom, and Copper having been recruited by Mary to help her chase down Trisha's ship.
"Avast me hearties!" Trisha barked as she looked over at the approaching canoe. "Prepare the canons!"
Emily and Sarah scrambled about and began to lob water balloons at the approaching vessel.
"Where did they get water balloons?!" Mary shouted as she tried to dodge the incoming fire.
Judy and Nick glanced over at the shore where a not so innocent Ed was standing next to a water hose, several popped water balloons scattered around the yak.
"I like this camp," Nick chuckled.
"Mhmm," Judy mumbled which caught Nick's attention.
The fox glanced down and smiled as he noticed Judy's eyes flutter closed as the doe began to drift off for an afternoon nap in the warm summer sun.
Nick leaned down and rested his chin on top of the doe's head, a soft purring coming from the small bunny in his arms.
-Archery-
*Thwack*
"No way…" Nick mumbled as he looked down at the target.
*Thwack*
"Wow," Judy said, her mouth hanging open.
*Thwack*
"Dude…"Copper mumbled as her ears went up.
Arrow after arrow was released from Trisha's quiver as the doe slowly walked along the archery range. The small doe would take aim without her large feet even pausing. She would close one of her eyes and take aim, her ears going up and taking a breath before her small paw would loosen its grip around the tail of the arrow, letting it fly towards its target.
*Thwack*
"Show off!" Delta and Emily shouted together which made Trisha pause and look over her shoulder, glaring at the two chuckling canines.
"Where in the world did you learn how to do all that?!" Mark asked, putting a hoove to her cheek.
"Ancient bunny secret," Trisha said with a wink as she lowered her bow and skipped back to the benches where everyone had been watching the display.
"My turn!" Sarah shouted as she hurried over to one of the spots reserved for smaller mammals to try their paw at archery.
The small bunny grabbed an arrow and tried to line it up only for it to fall from her paws into the ground.
"Wait," Sarah said, trying to grab another arrow.
She managed to get it quivered this time but on its release, it simply fell to the ground.
"Wait," Sarah said once more, grasping another arrow in her paws.
This went on for several attempts but much to the small bunny's credit she didn't even seem frustrated as she would grab arrow after arrow and try once more.
Eventually, Trisha skipped over and helped Sarah, standing directly behind the smaller bunny and whispering tips here and there.
A look of concentration came over the small painted doe as she took aim. She released an arrow and it flew threw the air.
*Thwack*
While not exactly a bullseye the arrow had managed to hit the edge of the target.
"Did you see that?!" Sarah shouted as she began to hop in place.
"Way to go Sarah!" Judy cheered.
"Nice shot!" Nick joined in.
"You got it!" Delta added.
Atom rushed over and quickly scooped Sarah into his arms, the doe squealing with happiness as she was held close to her friend.
-Relaxation-
While the camp had a lot to offer for mammals of all shapes and sizes, there was a certain point when even sugar-crazed little ones needed a break from it all.
Fortunately for the Pumpkin Army Ed knew the perfect remedy.
He led the gang to one of the cabins that sat next to the mess hall. He used his large hoove to push the screen door open for the young ones to see inside.
"Bahahahaha!" Emily let out as she tried to hold her side. She pointed at the entrance to the cabin and then looked at Trisha and Delta who were both beat red at this point. "Go have fun you two!"
A pinecone whizzed past the vixen's head and she looked over at Trisha who was looking around for another object to lob at her friend.
"Library!" Sarah cheered as she ran inside, her ears raising straight up.
"So you two just don't like any library now?" Nick asked as he strolled by Delta who tried to shove the smug-looking tod.
"Did we miss something?" Mary asked as she watched the gang slowly trot inside.
"Something must have happened at a library," Ed said as he shrugged his shoulders.
"Any two mammal bean bags in here?" Emily asked as she strolled inside the cabin filled with shelves and books.
Had she been paying attention she might have seen Trisha who was careening through the air. Emily, however, didn't notice till it was too late and soon had a bunny on her shoulders that used her small paws to cover the vixen's muzzle.
"Should have made you walk the plank while I had the chance!" Trisha barked.
It took a bit but eventually, everyone managed to calm down and broke off into their own little groups.
Ed was busy showing a map of one of the nearby towns to Copper and Delta who seemed rather intrigued with what the old yak had to say.
"Used to be an old train community. You see they would cut down the trees in the mountains and bring them down to the town to be shipped to Zootopia back when the city was young and being built," Ed explained as the two painted dogs looked at the old map.
"Must have taken a lot of trees," Delta mumbled.
"It did," Ed said with a sad sigh. "Almost cost Fairfax the loss of all their forests. But that's when the president stepped in and made it a national park in order to protect its natural beauty."
"The president did that?" Copper asked as her ears flicked.
"Well, not today's president. No this was a long time ago. President Roosevelt would visit the town often," Ed said with a smirk. "Some say he had a hidden lodge somewhere in the woods he would hide away sometimes."
"Woah," Delta and Copper said as they looked at one another and then at the old map, wondering if there were clues hidden in plain sight.
In another part of the library, Mary was sitting on an old lumpy couch. Atom and Emily sat on either side of the lovely doe who was reading aloud to the two pups.
Atom made himself comfortable and rested his head against Mary whose lips curled as she read a series of short stories that had been inspired by the camp and neighboring towns.
Down one of the many rows of books, Sarah was sprawled out on a large beanbag. The bunny was kicking her large feet back and forth as her eyes wandered over the pages of a book about dragons, knights in armor, and princesses.
Movement just down the row brought the small bunny from her back to reality as she glanced up with her brilliant pink eyes.
She beamed at Trisha who came waddling over before plopping onto the bean bag so she was curled up with Sarah.
"Whatcha find?" The multi-colored cutie asked as she nuzzled into Trisha's shoulder.
"Not sure," Trisha answered as she got comfortable and held up an old worn green bound book. A single image was on the cover. A picture of a pine tree surrounded by a shield. "It smells old though."
The bunny opened the first page and eyed the text on the paper.
"Ranger?" Sarah asked as she tilted her head, reading some of the text as well.
"Sounds cool," Trisha said, her eyes seeming to brighten as she began to read the old book.
While everyone else was busy reading or learning about days past, two other mammals had found a nice quiet spot in the library.
Judy was sitting on a couch that was hidden behind a series of shelves and stacks of books. She wasn't alone, however. Nick was sprawled out on the couch, his head resting on Judy's lap as he looked up at the comic book in his paws.
"I don't think Ed knows its even here," Nick said in an excited whisper. "Its super rare."
Judy chuckled as she watched the tod gush over the comic treasure he had found buried away in the piles of old texts.
"You think he would let me keep it?" Nick asked, his bright green eyes going up to Judy who simply beamed.
"Why don't you ask," Judy suggested as she ran a paw over one of Nick's ears.
"Think I will," Nick said as he began to flip through the pages of the comic book. "Seriously this has to be one of the coolest things."
"Really?" Judy asked as she raised a brow.
The doe's heart suddenly began to race as she looked around.
"Yeah," Nick said as he read some of the worn words on the pages. "I mean I think its the first one of the series. So it's hard to find and-"
Judy had grabbed Nick by the cheeks and tilted his head slightly. For such a small doe she had some strength to her. She leaned down and pressed her lips to Nick's nose, giving him a firm yet gentle kiss on the nose.
The young tod fell silent as a rather bemused grin crossed his muzzle.
"So is the comic still the coolest thing?" Judy asked smugly as she sat back on the couch, rather pleased with herself.
After a moment of silence, she glanced down at Nick who had his eyes closed as he let out the occasional dumb laugh. His tail swished back and forth uncontrollably as he just laid there, his head still in Judy's lap.
"I'll take that as a no," Judy said smugly as she glanced at some of the books that surrounded them.
-Campfires-
Activity after activity made the days at Camp Wewa just blow on by.
Though they were supposed to spend a week at the camp it felt like they had only arrived just a few hours before.
Sadly though it had come to a close.
Of course, Ed didn't plan to just simply end it, not without some kind of last memorable experience.
While all the other campers enjoyed a movie night in the mess hall, complete with popcorn and sweet treats, the youngins of the Pumpkin Army found themselves outside enjoying the night sky.
Right by the lake, a series of smoothed logs and rocks had been placed so they encircled an old fire pit.
The gang had gathered round as a fire roared in between the makeshift seats.
Mary passed around a series of smoothed and pointy sticks.
"What are we doing?" Sarah asked from her spot between Copper and Trisha, the multi-colored bunny having snuggled up to her pumpkin queen.
"Smoe's," Trisha said excitedly as she examined her stick.
"Whats a smoe?" Copper asked.
"Yeah who is Smoe?" Sarah added as she looked from the painted dog and then back at Trisha.
"You have never had a Smoe?!" Trisha nearly shouted.
On the other side of the firepit Judy giggled at her friend's antics as she rested against Nick.
"She yells alot doesnt she?" Nick asked before reaching out and taking two sticks from Mary before holding one towards Judy.
"She just has a lot of passion is all," Judy chuckled as she looked up at Nick.
"So uh….what is a smoe?" Nick asked in a hushed whisper.
"You have never had a Smoe?!" Judy asked in surprise, mimicking her bubbly brown friend.
Trisha's ears shot up and she looked across the flames at Judy who had an equally shocked look.
"Delta!" Trisha said as she stood up on her log and looked over at a rock where Delta and Atom were busy rummaging through a brown paper bag Mary had brought with the smore supplies.
Delta's circular ears twitched and he looked up suddenly, "We were gonna share promise!"
The painted pup realized however he hadn't been caught by Mary but it had been his bunny wanting his attention. A pair of brown eyes looked over at the doe who put a paw on her hip.
"They don't know how to make smoes," Trisha said as she waved her stick about. "Show them how it is done!"
Delta's tail flicked back and forth and he suddenly stood up and cleared his throat.
"Oh this is gonna be good," Mary mumbled as she took a spot next to Ed who looked over at the young painted dog with some intrigue.
"Step one," Delta began as he held up his stick for all to see, "You take yo smoe stick and put a marshmallow at the end."
Delta held his paw out to the side and waited. Seconds went by and Delta's tail stopped wagging as he looked over his shoulder at Atom.
"I said put a marshmallow at the end," Delta repeated.
Atom, however, had his head buried in the brown paper bag, his tail flicking back and forth.
"Oi! Marshmallow!" Delta barked.
Atom pulled his head from the bag, his cheeks were puffed out and the reason was clear as a marshmallow popped out, having no room inside the painted pups muzzle thanks to the liberal amounts of marshmallows already inside.
"And that is why I brought two bags," Mary whispered to Ed who was laughing at the funny sight before him.
Atom dug his arm back into the bag and produced a single marshmallow and held it so Delta could reach out and grab it. As delta did however Atom quickly opened his mouth and stuffed the puffy treat into his open muzzle.
"I am trying to teach a smoe class here," Delta said as he waved his paws at the other campers who were laughing at the two painted dog's hijinks.
Delta finally managed to grab a marshmallow from Atom. He skewered the white puff of sweetness and held it over the flames.
"Now you can either turn it round and round to make it an even golden brown," Delta began.
"Prefer dark brown," Trisha chuckled.
"Yeah!" Sarah chimed in.
"Or," Delta began before plunging the marshmallow into the flames. It raised it and showed everyone around the campfire the now burning marshmallow. The painted dog brought the flame close to his muzzle and blew it out. A trail of smoke rose from the now burned treat.
"Ew," Emily mumbled as she strolled over and grabbed her own marshmallow.
"Ew?!" Delta asked in shock. "That is perfectly cooked."
"Its burned," Emily pointed out as she raised her own marshmallow over the flames. After a few seconds, the vixen raised a perfectly golden brown marshmallow for all to see. "Now this is a smoe."
"So it's just a toasted marshmallow?" Nick asked as he tilted his head.
"It's not done yet cuz," Emily said happily as she turned to Atom and held out her paw.
Atom beamed at Emily before placing two pieces of graham cracker in her paw.
"Thanks, Atom," Emily said sweetly before placing her now toasted marshmallow on the crackers, smooshing between the graham before raising it above her head. "The perfect smoe."
"You mean mine is," Delta said as he raised his paw out towards Atom, expecting some crackers to be placed in his paw. Instead, they smacked him against the head, causing the painted dog to look over at his grinning friend.
It took a few attempts but soon everyone had managed to pretty much master the art of making the perfect smoe.
As the night carried on the young campers sat back and enjoyed the feeling of full stomachs and a warm fire.
"So same time next year?" Trisha asked as she looked around at her fellow tired campers.
"I am game," Copper said with a smile.
"Same," Emily said with a happy sigh.
"Come back here you-" Delta could be heard as he chased Atom around in the darkness behind the logs, the other painted dog having stolen one of Delta's smoes.
"You dudes are always welcomed," Ed said with a chuckle as he looked at the stars.
"Can't wait," Judy whispered softly. The bunny had her eyes closed and was enjoying the warmth from both Nick and the fire. The bunny grabbing tufts of the tod's shirt as she curled up against him.
After a few moments of silence, Mary finally spoke up, "So anyone know some good campfire songs?"
Emily and Trisha looked at one another with a pair of smiles.
As the smoke from the fire rose into the brilliantly blue night sky the campers settled in, singing songs, eating hot smoes, and laughing as Delta chased after Atom who continued to stuff marshmallows into his mouth.
Judy's ears flicked slightly as she dozed on Nick, breathing in his scent mixed with the campfire. Her tail would flick occasionally as she felt a pair of young fox paws hold her close.
"Can't wait for next summer," Nick whispered to the doe whose lips curled into a pleased smile.
Hey there Campers.
So first off, sorry for the huge delay on this one. Life has been kinda busy for me as of late and also finding the drive to write has eluded me a little bit.
Glad we could finally get this summer chapter done, and it's only just now fall :P
I am going to try and get the Halloween chapter going ASAP because let's face it, need to write that because its where it all started right?
I hope you enjoyed the fluff-filled summer mini-series.
Till next time.
Cya in Manta Bay!
-Blue