When Shàonǚ accepted Amanda's invitation to go on a camping trip, she expected more than an evening on her back lawn. However, Amanda was famous for always doing more with less in inventive ways. Even though Lilly, Adira, and Amy found Amanda's storytelling to be very engrossing, Shàonǚ, Maxine, and Fenric were preoccupied by other matters.

Meanwhile, Kennedy had other plans...

Original artwork by:
 Gekasso

Characters created by:

Front Row
 Sofia.exe
 DrawingPlayful
 AdiraShrinks

Center Row
 Pipolla
 MattytheMouse
 Agentxy14

Back Row
 VossFiction

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"THEN THE CAT'S long claws scratched along the wall. Her shrill voice moaned outside the mouse hole, 'Who took my squeaky toy!?' And the poor little mouse trembled and held her breath as she heard the scratching grow louder and louder."

Shàonǚ stifled her scoff, but could not hide her wry smile. Amanda was a good storyteller, of course. She held Lilly and Adira in suspense, while poor Amy was nearly terrified out of her wits. But the seasoned sorceress could think of several issues with the intricacies of her host's ghost story. Not to mention her own ways of how to placate or ward off the spirit of the vengeful cat. Yet, she was a gracious enough guest to hold her tongue. She was relieved to know that Fenric and Maxine were unbothered by the story. Yet this was likely due to their scientific backgrounds. The pair of them were dismissive of such "superstitious nonsense." Not to mention that they were sure that if ghosts were real, they could devise a method of dealing with them. Which Shàonǚ did not doubt. She had lived long enough and seen enough to know that it was unwise to dismiss such statements as idle talk. It was, after all, size reduction technology that made the grass around them seem like a forest.

It was just as well that Shàonǚ was not absorbed by Amanda's story. She had already detected the large female canine that had crawled through the grass towards them. Shàonǚ made no movement, nor said a word to alert the others, or the canine, of the latter's intrusion. The centuries old soldier had dealt with infiltration tactics enough to detect the dog woman, despite how carefully she moved. Shàonǚ was impressed, nonetheless. The canine had moved so slowly that there were no noises or movements that the other mice noticed. Were she caught up in Amanda's story, Shàonǚ would likely have missed the faint whispers of the grass and the scent from the dog's shallow breathing.

As the dog drew closer, Shàonǚ discerned her paw in the dim light beyond the campfire. The alerted mouse woman remained calm with her bemused expression and idle posture. She, likewise, moved slowly so as not to not alert the canine. The sorceress reached for her concealed scepter. Via illusion, it safely sat in its scabbard. She rested her hand on the scepter and waited to react the moment the canine made her move.

It was only then that Shàonǚ saw Fenric in the periphery of her vision. The only male mouse at the party had glanced up, bored with the story, and perceived the imminent threat. Shàonǚ held her breath, aware that total chaos was about to erupt.