Lycanthropy and Me: The First Semester(mlm)

Day 70. Friday, Waning Crescent (Part Two)

Day 70. Friday, Waning Crescent (Part Two)

Hunter gave his companions appraising looks. Thanks to the mushroom macer incident, the mood had soured. There were no fervent talks of fungi or whatever hyperfixation Ashley and Grayson were focused on that week.

They moved mostly in silence for a while, checking the trees for more traps. Eventually, their path along the creek grew wider and brought them to a small clearing. The trees seemed to spread apart from each other before slowly bunching together back into denser clusters.

At Notes' suggestion, they moved away from the water and headed for a patch of dirt surrounded by trees.

"Looks like someone's been here before," Ashley remarked.

There was a small pit in the ground surrounded by stones, perfect for a campfire. A fallen log wasn't far from it, just tall enough to serve as a bench or chair.

"Seems too perfect," Grayson replied, examining the site with clear skepticism.

Ashley pulled the cart aside a three and inspected the log. "Wait! What's this?"

Notes and Grayson came to her side quickly to inspect the discovery. Hunter peered from behind Grayson's protective stance. A different mushroom was growing on the log.

"It's Hen of the woods." Notes explained. "Grifola Frondosa. Non-toxic and purchasable."

"Should we check around it for traps?" Ashley was weary.

Grayson nodded. "Better safe than sorry."

After finding nothing out of the ordinary, they slowly began to unpack.

Hunter helped Ashley set up the chairs and cooking gear before assisting Notes and Grayson with the tents--at which point Hunter was made to rest against the log.

"I got this." Grayson crossed his arms. "You should rest for now."

There was no desire to argue. With his eyes still itching and his nose threatening to run once more, Hunter found himself deflating. It was as if the energy was being leeched from his body.

He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, listening to the sounds of his friends working, the birds cawing in the distance. There was something about being in the middle of nowhere--far from the constant hum of electricity in the walls, the myriad of voices coming from all directions, fluorescent lights, lectures...So much noise that he constantly had to tune out, now gone. With no tasks that had to be done write away, no assignment to research, or definitions to study he could just...doze off.

So he did. And when he opened his eyes again, Grayson was done with the tent, camp setup was complete and the three were discussing finding firewood.

"Be careful to only take what has already fallen." Notes advised. "And take only what we absolutely need. We don't want to have an effect on the forest or any wildlife here."

Shaking off his sleepiness, Hunter stood and stretched. "We heading out?" He asked.

"We're going to get firewood," Grayson replied.

"Yeah, you wanna come?" Ashley asked.

Hunter nodded. He could rest later.

The four began to wander through the trees, finding the ground oddly scarce of wood.

"Maybe someone was here recently." Grayson shrugged. "I mean, the spot we picked was definitely used before."

"Hey, what about that trick the girls used?" Ashley asked, looking back at Grayson.