A couple days later, Anne and the Plantars were packing for a camping trip. Sprig was especially excited because he wanted to teach Anne how they hunt compared to how she hunted. Even wanted to teach the family hunting dance. Anne on the other hand was scratching like crazy.
"Dang fleas." Anne said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a flea collar.
"What's that?" Sprig asked.
"A flea collar. Helps keep fleas off me." Anne said as she put the spiked collar around her neck, "It's not uncommon for a lot of people to wear them. And since I'm currently living in a swamp filled with bugs... I'VE BEEN GETTING FLEAS LIKE CRAZY!"
"Something tells me you don't like fleas." Hop Pop said, with ringing in his ear.
"You wouldn't like them if they kept biting you ALL DAY!" Anne said as she scratched her hair to get some fleas out of her hair.
"Well, they don't bite us, but I happen to lick some fleas." Polly said as she stuck her tongue out to catch the fleas and eat them. "They're surprisingly crunchy for small guys."
"Polly, what have I told you about doing that?" Hop Pop said.
"Only do it if they're prepared correctly?" Polly asked.
"Exactly." Hop Pop said, "Don't worry, Anne, when we get there, you can jump in the lake to get those fleas off."
"Good." Anne said as they loaded up Bessie and prepared to head out.
"So, where is this place, HP?" Anne asked, still scratching.
"Just the Plantar family camping spot." Hop Pop said to her.
"Okay, where is that?" Anne asked.
"Just a few miles outside of Wartwood. Don't worry." Hop Pop said to her.
"I hope we get there quickly." Anne said, scratching more, "Ugh, why is this collar not working!?"
"Maybe it only works on Earth fleas?" Sprig asked, not fully understanding a flea collar.
"If that's the case, you'll just have to wait to take a bath in the lake when we get there." Hop Pop said to her.
Anne growled and scratched behind her ear.
'God damn Amphibia fleas! You just had to be stronger than normal Earth fleas!' Anne thought.
She was scratching all the way to the camping spot before Anne rushed off Bessie and into the lake!
After a few seconds she re-emerged.
"Ah... sweet relief." Anne said.
"We've got some soap if you need it." Hop Pop said as everyone else got off of Bessie.
"I'm good for now." Anne said, "I just needed them off."
Anne continued to wash herself in the lake as the Plantars set up camp, not caring if her clothes were getting wet. She just wanted to get the fleas off and the itching to stop! She got out and shifted into her wolf form, shaking herself dry before returning to normal. She didn't know how but her clothes somehow became dry as well. Another advantage of being a wolf.
"Nice, dry, and itch free." Anne said with a smile.
"Great, now that you're all done, I want to see how your hunting does compared to the Plantar way." Sprig said.
"Really? Even after I've got attacked by a red mantis last time?" Anne asked him.
"Yeah but that won't happen this time. We've been coming here for years and no mantises have ever come here while we're here." Sprig said with a hand wave.
"Uh huh, and you're sure that it's safe?" Anne asked.
"As sure as the world is flat." Sprig said.
'Does Sprig go to school, or is the world here actually flat?' Anne thought.
Anne wasn't too sure about this, but this is the first time she could truly show that she's a powerful hunter, even without the pack. Anne decided not to ask any further because the answer may be more confusing that she things it will.
"Okay, lead the way." Anne said.
Sprig took Anne by the hand and lead her away from camp, showing her all a Plantar does when hunting for something. Including... the Plantar Family Hunting Dance.
Anne watched as Sprig performed the dance, finding it strange yet also enticing. Like a hypnotic spell was being placed on her as Anne saw some sort of energy was coming out of Sprig.
'Whoa.' Anne thought as she shook her head, fending off the hypnotic trance. 'That dance really does work.'
"And that's how we Plantars Hunt." Sprig said, "What do you think?"
"I think… it affects my wolf as well." Anne said.
"Really? Cool! It works on Earth animals too! Now you can use it when you get home!" Sprig said to Anne.
"Hmmm, good point." Anne said while rubbing her chin.
'This dance is gonna make things CRAZY when I show it back home.' Anne thought before they began hunting for something.
"Alright, Anne, you try and track something down, then I'll do the Plantar Family Hunting dance." Sprig said.
"Sure, but be careful where you point that dance." Anne said before shifting into a wolf, sniffing the ground.
She walked in a circle a little before picking up something. She bit on the back of Sprigs shirt and tossed him onto her back. She took off into the woods.
"Yeehaw!" Sprig called out, enjoying the sudden ride, "We should do this more often!"
'Of course he would say that.' Anne thought to him.
Anne could focus more on that later after she and Sprig found something to hunt. Sprig got off and looked around.
"Somethings... wrong." He said.
Anne heard a crack in the woods and growled. Sprig got ready for anything as he pulled out his slingshot. Something was coming to them.
"Stay ready Anne, who knows what's coming." Sprig said.
'You don't have to tell me twice.' Anne thought as the scent of this creature was getting strong and she could smell blood mixed in.
A LOT of blood mixed in, proving this was a dangerous creature. VERY dangerous as a paw came out from the bushes. Anne barked at it, trying to scare it off. This didn't seem to work as something came out, something big and ferocious. Almost as ferocious as Anne.
'What the heck is that?!' She thought as she looked to Sprig.
"Anne... we need to get out of here." Sprig said.
The creature was a muscular beast covered in grey fur with 4 glowing yellow eyes set on the front of its head with possesses mandibles, a pair of expandable jaws lined with sharp teeth that can retract, and a long scorpion tail ending with a hooked stinger!
"That's a Scorpileo, one of the worst predators you can come across. Even worse than a mantis!" Sprig said.
'Scorpileo? That is one messed up horoscope.' Anne thought, getting between Sprig and the beast, then growling.
Sprig didn't like this or the fact that the Scorpileo acknowledged Anne as a challenge by growling back.
"Anne, no! You cant fight it! It's too dangerous!" He said to her.
"Ruff!/(I have too!)" Anne barked to him.
Anne looked at Sprig, nonverbally saying that he needs to run. He didn't want to, not if it meant leaving Anne to this beast! She growled at him again, giving him extra incentive to leave or she would MAKE him leave.
"D-d-don't worry, Anne, I'll go get help!" Sprig said running off.
Anne turned back to the beast and jumped. The Scorpileo roared before jumping at Anne, it's Naw opened to bite into her! The two hit each other, knocking each other to the ground. Anne got up first and ran at it, biting down on its leg, only for it to shake her off and throw her into a tree.
"YIP!" Anne let out in pain, looking to the beats before dodging it's stinger!
She ran and circles around it as the beast returned its stinger to its side. She was quickly running out of energy, she knew she wouldn't be able to do this forever, she needed to think of something to stop it long enough for her to get out of this situation. The Scorpileo cornered Anne and began stinging at her again, forcing Anne to dodge in the cramped space.
'Think! Think! What could I do to beat this thing?!' Anne thought.
Anne tried to run past it and was knocked away, hitting a rock and shifting back from exhaustion.
"Think Anne, think!" Anne said, "What can possibly stop this beast!"
That's when it came to her... the Plantar Family Hunting Dance.
'If it can work on me, it can work in this creep.' Anne thought as she took a breath, calming herself and remembering what Spirg said to do. 'Calm my breathing, listen to the rhythm of nature, let it guide you and become the hunter.'
Anne closed her eyes and listened to the woods around her. The growls of the Scorpileo faded away as the noises of the woods became a like song to Anne, making her move into a frog hopping position as she nodded to the song. She started to repeat the dance, first shaking her body in specific movements. In the eyes of the Scorpileo, Anne began to give off the same hypnotic energy as Sprig did to make it follow her movements.
"I am the leaves. I am the evening dew." Anne said as she choked the air above her. "I am the wolf….and I am the hunter!"
She jumped forward and back before flopping on the ground like a fish. She then stood up and slap her cheeks with her mouth open to make nose! Then, spinning and busting a shuffle dance move! A wood pecker began tapping a tree before Anne grabbed it and began slamming her head into it repeatedly! She finally slammed her hands on the ground, which made the Scorpileo charge at her. Anne shifted into a wolf and used her speed to run out of the way, with the Scorpileo's head getting stuck in a space between two trees.
'HA!' Anne thought as she turned and shifted back.
"In your face, Scorpileo!" Anne said.
The trees started cracking and Anne quickly began to run before it got free. She made it back to the camp grounds as Sprig had just finished telling them of what happened with the Scorpileo before he left.
"Anne, you're back!" Hop Pop said in relief.
"Yep, and we're finding somewhere else to camp." Anne said.
"Wait, you didn't kill the Scorpileo?" Polly asked with wide eyes.
"Nope! We need to go, now!" Anne shouted.
"Alright, kids, let's go!" Hop Pop said, hearing a roar, "I think camping is overrated anyways."
They all loaded the wagon and headed back home before the Scorpileo found them.
"Good thing we left, right Anne?" Sprig said.
"Yeah." Anne said before she started to lightly scratch and then start scratching more, "AH! I got fleas from that stupid beast!"
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