Camp Lily

Night 1

Lily's Camp

The sun went down and night fell on the campers of the Execrated Forest. The first day proved productive, though Lily's camp did not accomplish quite as much as they set out to do. Even still, they successfully gathered firewood and found a reliable water source. However, It took some convincing to show Gumi that the waterhole was, in fact, not a giant bathtub.

Lily, Yuki, Gumi, Tei, kokone, and Maika gathered outside their tent after Gumi promised to light the fire. Maika initially suggested bringing flint on the trip, but Lily turned this idea down, believing it would ruin the fun of surviving in the wilderness.

"I don't need no firestarter, anyway! All I need is this big brain of mine!" Gumi boasted.

The others watched frightfully as Gumi ferociously spread friction to the sticks to create fire. This wasn't the first, or second, or third, or even twentieth time Gumi bragged to her friends about her ability to start fires. Usually, these moments of bragging came at the most inappropriate of times. Lily would never forget the formal dinner party that Gumi royally ruined. They would never be allowed in the Yamaha household again.

Everyone kept their distance from Gumi when sparks flew from the wood. When the flame grew, the green girl began to blow on it to support the rising fire. The others inched closer to get a better look, some were even ready to help when necessary, but Gumi had it handled pretty well. In no time at all, she had lit the very first fire.

"I knew those YouTube tutorials would pay off someday," Gumi chuckled.

The rest of the night was much less stressful than the events of the day. With all the work done, the campers only needed to rest and regain their strength. Lily made sure to tell Gumi how proud she was of her, then the six of them gathered around the campfire to enjoy a traditional campout night. Lily and Gumi sat together on a small log of wood, and kokone sat on the ground beside them. Gumi made sure to keep her handy bag of marshmallows near her. Maika, Tei, and Yuki sat spread out on the other side of the fire, each of them taking a load off from the busy day. That is, until Yuki reached into her small red backpack and pulled out a tiny book.

"What's that, Yuki?" asked Maika.

"I did a little bit of reading when we got back from the waterhole. Kiyoteru-sensei told me I shouldn't miss out on any reading even when I'm out here, and he gave me this book!" Yuki held the book up to show the title to the other campers. It read:

History of Synthania and the Execrated Forest

"I've read that before, but the movie was better," Tei joked.

"This is interesting, actually! It says the Execrated Forest is believed to be cursed! The legend says the old gods of Vocaloid cursed it to imprison people who rebelled against them. They became shadowy monsters and they still walk around the forest looking for victims! I only read the first chapter, though, so I could be wrong."

Gumi laughed and threw an arm around Lily.

"That's hilarious! That's nothing compared to what Lily and I've seen, right, Lily?"

"Right," Lily nervously chuckled. "We have seen Gakupo in a speedo, after all."

"That's nothing!" Tei stammered, bringing the attention to her. "If you wanna tell creepy campfire stories, I got one for you. One that I've heard personally, and know to be true!"

"Ooh, tell it!" Gumi encouraged the white-haired girl, reaching into the bag of marshmallows and preparing to roast one on the fire.

"I-I'd rather she didn't..." kokone said, quivering on the ground.