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Chapter Text

Camp Campbell had been the same for years; David and Gwen ran the show, Quartermaster was Quartermaster, Cameron was absent, each bus carrying a new group of mostly-eager young campers for the counselors to get to know and spend time with over the summer while attempting to keep up with everything that the camp had to offer.

This year was rather different.

Last year's group of campers was returning, along with a few new campers, all arriving on the same old bus as always, with "Camp Campbell" labeled on the side, beginning to fade by this point.

Near the front of the bus, a taller woman sat, a beanie on her head, wearing the green camp counselor t-shirt with a jacket thrown over it and a pair of ripped jeans, scrolling quietly on her phone while the bus drove along the quiet back roads leading to the campground.

Of course, it had been a while since they'd gotten a new counselor at Camp Campbell. Counselors didn't come around often, at least not qualified ones who were willing to work for so little. The camp always got underqualified applicants, ones who likely shouldn't be anywhere near a camp with children.

They'd finally gotten a qualified candidate, and she had been an almost instant-hire. Previous experience helped her out a lot, and if there was anything the camp needed right now, it was someone with a little bit of experience, and no criminal history.

As the bus pulled onto the road leading to Camp Campbell and came to a stop near the entrance of the camp, Tsuki slid her phone into her pocket, reaching over to grab the duffel bag she'd put underneath her seat. She lifted the strap up over her head to rest on her shoulder with the duffel bag resting on the other side, standing up from her seat. She waited until the bus made a full stop before she stepped into the aisle, glancing towards the Quartermaster, driving the bus as always. "Thanks," she said quietly before she stepped off of the bus, drawing in a deep breath as she took it in.

This little camp was going to be her home for the summer, and even for as often as she'd been here for interviews and training and the like, she was still amazed at how secluded it was, and how small it was. Admittedly, it was a little scary.

She stepped away from the bus and headed towards the wooden entryway, spotting a familiar ginger-haired figure standing there with a wide grin on his face, donning his trademark bandana, counselor t-shirt, brown vest and shorts. She'd met him every time she'd been here so far, and every time it had been a delight, even if sometimes his cheeriness got to be too much.

"Hey, Tsuki! Welcome to camp!" David called out as the new counselor approached, reaching his hand out for a handshake.

Tsuki took a hand off of the strap of her duffel bag to grasp his hand and shake it, a smile coming to her face. "Happy to be here. I hope I can live up to you and Gwen's expectations for me this summer."

"I'm sure you will. After everything this camp has seen..." David couldn't help but shudder, but he seemed to move past that pretty quick. "You go get set up in the counselor's cabin. Gwen should be in there. I'll handle greeting all of our new campers! You remember where the cabin is, right?"

"I think I remember from last time I was here, when you gave me that tour around." Tsuki hummed quietly in thought, glancing behind David at the camp. "I should be able to get there fine. Just come and get me whenever you need me, I'll try not to take too long getting settled in."

"You take your time," David reassured her as he stepped aside, "I can handle the first day activities just fine. As long as you join us around lunch or so, everything should be good."

Tsuki began to step past the other counselor, giving him a small nod of thanks. "Got it. Thank you so much, David."

With a small wave between the two of them, Tsuki headed off towards the counselor's cabin, going past the mess hall and through the camper tent area to make her way to a more secluded area that had the cabin in the middle of it. It wasn't a far walk at all, thankfully, meaning that the counselors were available to the campers whenever they were needed.

She approached the door and knocked before she headed inside, stepping into what seemed to be a little living room-like area, where Gwen sat in one of the recliners, glancing up from her journal as Tsuki came in. "Oh, hey, you're here. Was wondering when the bus was finally gonna show up." She closed her journal and stood up, stretching her arms above her head with a groan. "Our beds are just in this other room over here. It's, uh, a little cramped with a third counselor, but it should be fine. If we need to, we can kick David out and make him sleep out here. Or in a tent." She let out a lighthearted laugh, gesturing towards the door that led to another room. "Go get yourself settled in. We'll head to the mess hall around noon."

"Oh, uh, got it. Thanks, Gwen." Tsuki flashed a cheery smile, taking a moment to soak everything in. "I'm sure it'll be fine, I'm used to working with small spaces." She added, hoping it would be some sort of reassurance, if not for herself then for Gwen.

"I'm fuckin' with ya, it should be fine. Welcome to the team, just don't end up being a cult leader like everyone else." Gwen added, stepping towards the desk in the room and tossing her journal on top of many other magazines that were already sitting there. "I'm grabbin' breakfast while the mess hall's still quiet. Call me if you need anything."

Tsuki opened the door to the cabin's bedroom, glancing back towards Gwen as she spoke. "Heard. Have fun." She lifted her hand to wave to her fellow counselor before she headed into the bedroom, noting the situation. There was a bed in each corner, and she could easily tell which one was David's and which one's was Gwen's.

David's bed was adorned with posters on the walls above it, and a green water bottle on the windowsill, along with foresty bedsheets that just seemed so on-brand, based on everything she'd seen from him so far. Above the headboard of his bed was a corkboard, with many pictures from past summers pinned on it in a messy fashion, with seemingly no organization to it.

Gwen's bed, on the other hand, donned dark purple sheets and the only wall decoration seemed to be a calendar above the headboard, with small notes written on each date, and some already crossed off. Under her bed was a collection of books, barely visible with a blanket covering them, clearly to avoid getting questions about what they were. Not that Tsuki was one to judge; in fact, she'd probably end up asking Gwen to borrow a few of them over the summer.

Finally, the third bed in one of the corners closest to the door, adorned with a basic set of green bedsheets, which she knew would be hers. She stepped towards it and set her duffel bag on the ground next to it, sitting down on the bed. "Huh... Pretty comfy, actually." She murmured to herself, leaning down and unzipping her duffel bag.

She'd finally made it to the summer camp she'd be at all summer, now she just had to make it through the summer. Which wouldn't be too difficult, she just had to get through the first week or two, then it would be fine. Well, other than finding some better way to cover her head than a beanie.

Pretty hard to hide wolf ears from a group of curious kids in the hot weather, though.

Chapter Text

From the moment Tsuki stepped foot on the campground until now, it felt like hardly any time had passed, despite it being about four hours between arrival and lunch.

She'd taken her time unpacking her things and organizing her cozy little corner of the cabin. After all, she was told to, and she didn't want to be sitting around waiting for it to be lunchtime if she unpacked too quickly.

She checked her watch as she stepped back from her bed, having just slid her duffel bag underneath, noting the time. 11:45. She still had time to sit around if she wanted, or... she could be one of the first to the mess hall. Surely that would leave a good impression on her as a counselor.

With a confident smile on her face, she made her way out of the cabin, already hearing the sounds of campers getting settled into their tents, including a few picking small fights over who they wanted to have in their tent with them. It was easy to tell who was already close from previous summers, and who was still trying to get settled into their new dynamics.

She made her way around the collection of tents without drawing attention to herself, although there was one green-haired camper who seemed to notice her as she made her way by.

"Nikki! Focus! We gotta finish getting these tents put together." A black-haired boy in a blue hoodie spoke up, nudging the girl to regain her attention. "Can't fit three people in just one of these little tents. We need to combine yours and ours."

Nikki gave Tsuki one last look before returning her attention to the two boys she was talking to, causing Tsuki to let out a silent breath of relief. She didn't want her introduction to the campers to go wrong, and the security of David handling her introduction over lunch was keeping her going right now.

Quickening her pace, Tsuki continued on her way towards the mess hall, reaching up to adjust her beanie so that it sat a little more comfortably on her head. Damn thing was so irritating sometimes. Oh well.

None of the other campers seemed to take much notice to her, though she swore she could feel Nikki's gaze drifting over to her every so often as she passed by. Curious.

Tsuki caught sight of the mess hall and allowed herself to relax as she approached it, finally exiting the sight of the campers as she went around the wooden building to the large front doors. She pulled one of the doors open and stepped inside, her gaze immediately locking onto Gwen and David, who sat at one of the tables, talking to one another with some paperwork spread out between the two of them. "Hey, Gwen, David."

Upon hearing her voice, the two counselors looked over, David's expression seeming to lighten up. "Tsuki! Have you gotten yourself all settled in okay? We're just going over the plans for the day," he explained with his usual enthusiastic smile, glancing down at the papers for just a moment. "We've already gotten the campers all introduced to each other, and they all spent some time doing some icebreakers this morning to get to know each other. Then I sent them off to figure out who they wanted to stay with in their tents, and once they all seemed to be doing alright, Gwen and I came here."

"What's the plan for after lunch?" Tsuki asked out of curiosity, coming closer to the table, sitting next to Gwen.

"After lunch," David continued, and Tsuki could already tell he was the one who made all the plans around here, "I'm going to introduce you to all the campers, and we'll either do more icebreakers so that the kids can get to know you, or I'll just let them ask you questions, or we'll take them for an activity and I'll have you help out with that. Whatever you would feel most comfortable with!"

Gwen couldn't help but let out a small laugh, nudging Tsuki. "Trust me, you do not wanna just let the campers ask you questions. You'll be here for hours. Cameron did that to David when he first started working here, and he was too nice to tell the kids that they were asking too many questions, so he just kept answering them while Cameron and I went and set up the activities field for the next day. I think it was dark out by the time the kids gave it up."

"Heyyyyyy, I didn't wanna be mean," David argued with a chuckle, his face growing a little red. "They were persistent. I couldn't just leave them hanging."

"Oh, I know. And so did they." Gwen turned her head to look at Tsuki. "So, what'll it be? One way or another, these kids will end up knowing way too much about you, whether you tell them or not. Just a matter of how much you wanna tell them directly."

Tsuki let out a quiet hum as she thought about it, trying to imagine just how it would go, based on everything she'd heard about the campers that were returning from last summer. "Well... I think just taking them for an activity would be the best way to go about that. Sounds like the best idea."

"That is a good idea. I was thinking of taking them hiking. It's just about the easiest first-day activity other than arts and crafts, but... unfortunately, we forgot to buy supplies for that for today. So I was thinking of sending Gwen into town to get supplies that we'll need for some of our earlier activities!" David began to collect the papers together, setting them to the side in a neat pile, then he reached into his pocket to get his keys. "Gwen, I assume you're okay with heading into town?"

"Is that even a question?" Gwen reached out to take the keys, shoving them into her own pocket. "Any excuse to leave this shithole until the campers are more accustomed to everything."

As Gwen stood up, Tsuki raised a brow, pausing before she decided to ask, "Is it really that bad?"

"Only sometimes. Catch you suckers later, have fun!" Gwen waved as she headed out of the mess hall, leaving David, who was sorting through the papers like this was the most casual thing in the world, while Tsuki was dumbfounded.

"That's normal." David reassured her, standing up from where he sat, making his way around the table to stand by Tsuki. "She's, uh... not exactly the happiest here. This is a temporary job until she finds something she's more qualified for."

Glancing up at David, Tsuki caught the memo and stood up as well. "Right... That makes sense, actually. I get it." She nodded, glancing around the mess hall. "I, uh... assume the campers are going to be coming in any minute now for lunch?"

"Yep! So we're going to make our way to the kitchen to get our food first, and get out of the way so the campers can focus on getting their food before they try to bother you." David began to lead the way away from the table, leaving the paperwork there. It wasn't anything important, just plans for the day from the looks of it, and Tsuki could only assume from the other counselor's confidence in just leaving it that this was a regular thing. Given that the table was tucked away in the corner, it was easy to believe most of the campers would leave it alone.

As David began to head towards the kitchen in the back of the mess hall, Tsuki eagerly followed him, part of her mind focused on not getting too excited about finally getting the chance to eat. The back of her jacket moving would be a dead giveaway of her more unique traits that she was trying to hide.

Entering the kitchen, she immediately caught sight of a couple large bowls of a tuna pasta salad that Quartermaster had seemingly been working on, along with paper plates and plastic silverware laid out next to the bowls. David stepped in front of her to grab a plate and fork, grabbing a second one of each and handing them to Tsuki. "Help yourself to some. Quartermaster can easily throw together some more if he needs to."

"Oh, uh, got it." Tsuki took the plate and fork, holding them both in one hand and reaching back to adjust her jacket while David helped himself to a small plate of food. Once he'd stepped out of the way, she filled her own plate, following him back out to the main dining area.

Almost on cue, as soon as the two counselors sat down, the campers started filing in, all too caught up in their conversations to pay much attention to Tsuki and David. Which was good, in Tsuki's book, because she really just wanted to eat in peace.

"Most of the campers were here last summer." David started between bites of food, ensuring that he'd swallowed before he spoke. "So they know how this whole thing goes already. I think we have more campers slated to start coming to camp here, but that's in a month or so. I'll start telling you who's who now to hopefully make getting to know them easier."

As the campers started to get their food and settle in, David pointed each one out individually and named them; Max, Nikki, and Neil, the main troublemaking trio. Ered, resident 'cool kid'. Space Kid, young astronaut. Dolph, aspiring artist. Nurf, local self-aware bully. Preston, theatre nerd. Harrison, magic kid with actual magic. Nerris, LARPer who might actually be onto something.

They all seemed to settle into groups so naturally; Dolph and Space Kid sat together across from Ered and Nerris, Max, Nikki, and Neil sat together at a table, and Preston, Harrison, and Nurf sat together close to the main trio. They all fell into easy conversation, catching up on how the past school year had gone, how happy they were that school was out, and how happy they were to be back. That would likely be the only time they talked so positively about the camp.

While the campers were getting close to finishing up their food, David stood up, gesturing for Tsuki to follow him. They first threw their paper plate and silverware away, then David led her to a spot at the back of the mess hall, near the entrance of the kitchen.

The conversations seemed to slowly die out as the campers noticed the two, fading into quiet whispers that Tsuki couldn't quite catch onto, her beanie limiting her ability to hear.

"Listen up, campers!" David raised his voice to catch everyone's attention, enthusiasm laced in his voice. "First of all, welcome to your first day of camp at Camp Campbell! I know all of you are returning campers, so I'm sure I don't need to explain the individual camps to you all again. However, this summer is a little different. We have a new counselor joining us for this summer, and hopefully many more to come, and-"

"David, I swear to fuck, if this one's a cult leader again, I will burn this place down," Max spoke up from the table closest to the two counselors, shaking his head.

"No, Max, she is not a cult leader. We conducted interviews and background checks this time around," David sighed, having already expected this question. "Everyone, say hello to Tsuki. She will be stepping in as a counselor this summer, and later on in the summer, she'll likely be leading many of your camp activities. She's been a counselor before and is highly qualified for this position, so I want you all to treat her with the utmost respect during her time here. Tsuki, why don't you tell the kids a little bit about yourself?"

Trying to avoid the natural response of freezing up, Tsuki cleared her throat to speak up, ignoring the burning feeling of all of the campers' eyes fixed on her. "Hey, I'm Tsuki. I was a counselor at one other camp before this, and I had an internship with the Flower Scouts across the river last summer. Other than that, I work as a music teacher during the school year, but only for high school level, and I do some writing in my free time. I'm looking forward to working with you guys this summer."

"Ew, Flower Scouts." Nikki hissed under her breath, just loud enough for Tsuki to hear.

She chose not to say anything about Nikki's side comment, hardly even acknowledging it. "If you guys have any other questions, you can ask them later during our camp activity." She added, turning her head towards David and nodding to indicate that she was done with her introduction.

As the campers murmured amongst themselves, David placed a hand on Tsuki's shoulder, as if to silently reassure her. "Once you're done eating, make your way to the activities field, and get ready to go on a hike! We've opened up some new hiking trails to keep things fresh for you all this summer, so I'm sure you'll all be amazed by the new nature we get to see today! Tsuki and I will meet you there."

Almost as soon as David was done speaking, the campers all began to speak over one another, their voices turning into a cacophony of sound that Tsuki was too overwhelmed to understand.

David led her out of the mess hall while the campers distracted themselves and one another, sensing her growing discomfort. It was best to get away from that as quickly as possible.

Once outside, Tsuki let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in, turning towards David. "I'm just glad they didn't barrage me with questions right away." She said with a nervous laugh, following David as he started walking towards the activities field.

"They'll do that later. Don't worry, I'll send you with smaller groups at a time that way it's not too much. Are you holding up okay so far?" He asked, concern in his voice.

"For the most part. Just hoping to make a good first impression to these campers," Tsuki reassured both David and herself, taking everything in as they made their way to the field. "Are you going to be coming with each small group, or...?"

David stopped once they made it to the outskirts of the field, turning to face her. "Nope. Unless you feel like I need to come along. I'm just gonna send small groups with you, you'll take them along the trail for a little bit, and then come back and take the next group. I'm going to do what I can to split Max, Nikki, and Neil up that way they don't cause a lot of trouble for you... and I'll come along whenever Max goes," He explained, seemingly already putting the groups together in his head. "I trust you to make sure they stay safe and that nothing happens to them or you."

"Right... I should be able to handle that. Groups of two campers each, then, I'm assuming?"

"Yep! Since there are ten campers total, that seems like the most logical way to go about it."

Wrapping up their conversation, the two waited quietly, the campers arriving not long later. They all still seemed so wrapped up in their own conversations, yet their focus managed to lock onto Tsuki as they all approached. Because of course it would happen like that.

"Alright, campers. You guys are going to take turns, two at a time, walking along the trail with our new counselor. Please don't overwhelm her too much while you're out. If you're not part of the group currently going out, you'll stay here, where we'll catch up and think of some ideas for camp activities for this summer," David explained to the campers, not giving any of them a chance to speak so that he could send the first group on their way. "Nikki and Dolph, you two will go first."

Although Dolph walked slower towards Tsuki, Nikki ran right up to her, standing at her feet with a wide grin on her face. "New girl! Are you replacing Gwen?!"

"Starting with the questions right away? At least wait until we make it onto the trail." Tsuki said with a laugh, leading the way towards the path that David had pointed out. "Let's go, kiddos. And no, Nikki, I'm not going to be replacing Gwen. She's still going to be here."

"Well, where is she?" Dolph spoke up from behind both of them, a notable hint of a German accent in his voice.

She finally understood what David had meant when he'd told her not to think too much about it. "She had to go out and get supplies for some other activities. She'll still be around to help and run activities, she just might not be as present so that I can get a good amount of training in and be a better counselor next summer."

"You're gonna be back next summer, too?? Three counselors all summer?? Perfect! New blood to torment!" Nikki laughed just thinking about it, only making Tsuki wonder a little bit why she was taking this job. "So, why here? Why'd you work with the Flower Scouts? Are you here to spy on us?"

"Kiddo, there is nothing they or I would gain from me being a spy here," Tsuki decided to entertain Nikki's pushing questions, looking around at the trees and bushes surrounding them as they went. "It was the only job opening in the Sleepy Peak region last summer, and I needed a summer job. So I went to the Flower Scouts, it just... wasn't my thing. I didn't want to go back."

"Same here!!" Nikki interrupted excitedly, latching onto the one similarity they currently had. "They didn't like me, so they ran me out. Apparently communicating with wolves, bringing them to the camp to nap with, and being anything but girly makes you unworthy of helpings of food and a place to sleep. I stayed with the wolf pack for a couple nights, then came to Camp Campbell."

It took everything in Tsuki not to let her ears perk up at Nikki's words. "Oh, uh... Wolves, huh?" Another connection that Nikki didn't even know they had. "How did you learn to communicate with them?"

Without a moment of hesitation, much to Tsuki's surprise and Dolph's non-surprise, Nikki let out a series of barks and growls, Tsuki's eyes widening as she recognized what the young camper was trying to say.

Of course the kid knew how to communicate in a way that canines, including her, could understand. It was a rather simple sentence; Like this! It's easy once you get used to it.

"Oh, uh... I'm... Good job. That, uh, that works?" Tsuki found herself fumbling over her own words. How was she meant to react to a sentence she could understand as if she couldn't understand it?

"Yeah, they seemed to understand it. Now it's kind of a party trick to show people. Can you do anything like that?" Nikki seemed to be growing nearly attached already... That, or she was just really curious.

"Wish I could. I mean, I'm... good with animals, I guess. But I can't say I'm as good at it as you are," Tsuki turned her attention to Dolph, noticing that he was rather quiet, his focus on the nature around them. "You holding up okay back there, Dolph?"

Dolph turned his head to look at Tsuki, nodding with a smile. "Thinking of meine next painting! Nature is an excellent muse."

"That it is. Are you thinking of doing a landscape painting?" Tsuki moved her gaze back and forth between Dolph and Nikki, trying to make sure Nikki didn't run off. "What did you have in mind?"

The artist's eyes seemed to light up at Tsuki's questions; perhaps he didn't have the chance to be able to talk about his interests much outside of camp. "I was thinking of a simple natural scene, a clearing in the middle of a forest, with sunlight pouring down over flowers in the middle!"

The detail, however little, was impressive for someone so young. She'd never encountered a young child so interested in something like this. "That sounds like it'll be beautiful, kiddo. I'm looking forward to seeing how that turns out. You'll have to show me whenever you finish it!"

As they reached what she could only assume was a turning point to go back along the trail, she couldn't ignore the sound of a low growl somewhere in the woods close by, putting her on edge. Surely David had walked this trail beforehand, right? If there was any threat, they wouldn't be going along this trail.

"Alright, let's hurry back, now. I still gotta take everyone else along this trail, too. Any other questions you guys have for me?"

Tsuki glanced towards the two campers, although somewhere between glancing into the depths of the forest and turning her attention back to the campers, Nikki had managed to run off. Of course she managed to run off in the span of two seconds.

"...Shit. Dolph, you stay right here. Did you see where Nikki went?"

Dolph glanced into the forest, pointing towards where the growl had been coming from. "I think she went that way! I will stay right here and wait."

"Thanks, kiddo. I'll be back, if anything comes at you, run back to the camp," Tsuki's mind was in panic mode by this point, although she was trying to stay calm externally, seemingly succeeding, given that Dolph seemed so calm about it.

With that, she took off into the forest, straying from the path they'd set out on. "Nikki! Come back towards the trail, this is not the time to be wandering off!" She called, reaching up to pull at the edges of her beanie so she could hear a little better, listening for footsteps other than her own, or the growling from just a couple minutes ago.

She heard something brushing against leaves on the forest floor, although she couldn't catch onto much else, forcing her deeper into the woods. Of course this would happen on the first day.

The rustling got louder the further she went, along with occasional growls, her breathing quickening. She had to hurry up and find Nikki and get out of here.

She broke into a clearing, where she noticed Nikki wrestling with a wolf, yet... she didn't seem injured. The wolf didn't seem to be trying to harm her; it was more of playful behavior than anything, which was rather easy for her to be able to recognize.

"Nikki!" She shouted, causing the two to split up, the wolf crouching low to the ground with his eyes fixated on her. "What do you think you're doing out here?" She lowered her hands from her beanie, allowing it to rest uncomfortably against her head again. "I told you not to wander off."

"I'm sooooooorryyyyy, I couldn't help it... I haven't been here in a whole eight months!" Nikki huffed and crossed her arms, seeming oblivious to her wolf friend beginning to stalk closer to Tsuki. "I just wanted to see my friend..."

Tsuki let out a sigh, attempting to calm her heart rate. "I get that, but..." Her green-eyed gaze turned towards the wolf, narrowing her eyes. Another couple moments and he would pounce. Her gaze flicked towards Nikki, then towards the wolf again, knowing she wouldn't be able to hide her secret. Nikki would totally know something was up, just from witnessing this communication.

"Back off. I'm one of you. Just let me leave with the girl, she can come back later."

"I can come back later?!" Nikki's eyes lit up, any amount of embarrassment or sadness gone. That was quick. "Waaaiiiit a minute, I thought you-"

"We'll talk later." Tsuki stepped forward and grabbed Nikki's arm gently. "Let's go, before David starts to worry."

With a nod towards the wolf, who had backed up just a few steps, Tsuki and Nikki made their way back towards the trail, an uncomfortable silence hanging over them. Part of the secret was out; it was just a matter of what Nikki would say to others.

"...So, uh, you lied," Nikki spoke up, trying to fill the silence. "Why?"

"Sometimes," Tsuki started, thinking of the easiest way to say this, "an adult has to lie for the sake of herself or others. Just do me a favor and don't run off like this again, okay? You had me really stressed back there."

A quiet grumble left Nikki as she crossed her arms, sighing. "I know, I know... I'll ask next time..."

The two dropped the conversation as they reached the trail again, where Dolph was sitting on the ground, tracing random designs into the ground with a stick. Upon hearing them return, he looked up and got to his feet, smiling. "Nikki! Welcome back."

"Thanks, Dolph." Nikki said with a casual smile, falling quiet as they continued on their way back towards the camp.

Nikki and Dolph hurried ahead as the trail opened up into the activities field, while Tsuki took her time approaching David. Her voice dropped to a whisper when she got to him. "There's a wolf somewhere out there, heads up. Nikki ran off to have a little play fight with him, or something. I can still take the rest of the campers out along the trail, I just wanted to let you know."

David's eyes widened a little bit, glancing towards Nikki before focusing his gaze on Tsuki again. "Right. If you're comfortable, take them along the trail, and just keep an eye out. Or, if you want, you can stay here with the campers and get to know the rest of them while I take the groups along the trail."

"I think I'd rather stay here. Especially to keep an eye on Nikki so she doesn't run off again. She seems... eager to reconnect with nature," Tsuki noted, crossing her arms. "Thanks, David. I'll make this up to you somehow."

"Don't worry about it. It's just what friends and soon-to-be friends do." With a smile, David turned to address the rest of the campers, although what he said seemed to go in one ear and out the other for Tsuki.

After a near panic attack over Nikki running off, she could barely focus on anything around her, much less any looks that the adventurous girl was giving her, both of curiosity and of amazement.

By the end of the hiking adventure, Tsuki's head was practically whirling with information, trying to remember everything about each camper, along with trying desperately not to let anything else slip about why she was able to pull off canine communication to Nikki. She was just so persistent...

In the counselor's cabin at the end of the night, each counselor sat on their own bed, the lights dimmed so that they could hardly see each other. In the security of the darkness, Tsuki allowed herself to relax, changing into a comfortable pair of purple pajama pants, donning only a crop top on top of that. As long as David and Gwen didn't look too hard, they wouldn't see anything.

"So, how'd that hiking activity go?" Gwen, although engrossed in whatever she was writing, still felt the need to catch up, sounding curious.

"Well, Nikki ran off. Per usual," David spoke up, laying down on his bed, with his blankets pulled up to his chest, staring at the ceiling. "That was while Tsuki was out with them. Which, Tsuki, I think you handled that very well."

Tsuki let out a quiet, nervous laugh, leaning back against the headboard of her bed. "I tried... At least I know what I'm in for this summer. I'm actually prepared for it now. Mostly."

"Yeah, that's pretty much how Nikki operates." Gwen hummed quietly, nodding. "She's the wild child of the bunch. Once you figure out how to handle her, you can handle anything. That's what David and I learned from our time here."

"That," David chimed in, a yawn escaping him, "and that it's exhausting keeping up with all of them. But now that there's three of us, surely it won't be as chaotic as previous summers. I'm gonna call it a night... Sleep well, you two. Back to it tomorrow morning."

"Night, David," Gwen and Tsuki said in near unison, falling silent afterwards.

Thanking all that was holy for the fact that they hadn't noticed anything yet, Tsuki stretched her arms above her head, her wolf tail beginning to wrap around herself.

What a day. She thought to herself as she laid down, pulling her blanket over herself and rolling over to face the wall. Hopefully tomorrow goes a little better... and Nikki doesn't harass me with too many questions again. They'll find out eventually.

With the reassurance of her own words, she closed her eyes, letting out a quiet sigh.

First day down, and many more to go. Hopefully these kids wouldn't continue to cause too much trouble.