Camping in General

Day Five

"Do you always spy on them like this?" a half-yawned, half-spoken question arose.

"Yep," came the harmonized response from two men.

Nephlite and Jadeite were, once again, writing in Zoisite's (old) diary. They huddled together by the doorway of the tent, hunched over the book that the auburn-haired general was scribbling notes in. He wrote the events of last night – the amusing game, the entertaining answers, the order everyone fell asleep in and on whose shoulder they rested their head. Even Jadeite's peculiar encounter with the new couple from last night made its way into the diary. They each giggled and whispered to each other as more and more words went down on the page; there wasn't a moment in which the pen wasn't in contact with the paper.

"I think you're being rude. You're disrespecting their privacy, you know."

Jadeite sighed, twisting away from Nephlite and the diary as best he could in the little space he was given. "You're right, Raye," he smiled at her before awkwardly scooting back around to Nephlite. "C'mon, we should stop. They'll probably wake up soon, anyway."

"Ha! No way! I didn't stay up all night for nothing."

He hurriedly snatched the diary away from any more prying eyes and continued to write at lightning speed. There was no doubt that he wouldn't pass up this rare opportunity to take notes on the private life of Malachite, especially since the first general had finally (and unexpectedly) let his guard down.

Malachite had reluctantly given in to the weight of exhaustion on his eyelids just after half past five. He cradled his precious Sakura, hands still tangled in her hair, hanging limply in the aureate mess. It was a first for the other generals to see him so peaceful, so vulnerable, and yet so impossibly strong and terrifying. To catch a glimpse of their fearsome leader using another general's fluffy hair as a pillow was unheard of, and the mischievous pair certainly weren't planning to let this lucky chance to write escape them.

"Ouch!" Something hard hit Jadeite on the head. "What was that for?" he hissed through clenched teeth, wincing as he prudently rubbed his head.

He turned to see Raye carelessly rifling through a bright yellow bag, haphazardly chucking things out that were in her way. Eventually, she pulled out a glittery pouch and unzipped it, letting its contents clatter noisily on her lap. Everyone conscious abruptly froze as Mina began to stir, then slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey! What are you doing with my make-up?"

Fingers pressed to lips, all the sleepless occupants of the tent desperately urged Mina to keep her voice down.

"We," Raye paused as she tugged the lid off some scarlet lipstick, "are going to have my kind of fun." She finished with a devilish grin and pounced into action, grazing the lipstick gently across her fellow Scout's chin.

*

"What are you all doing out here?"

Malachite had not long woken up to the sound of a fire crackling, hushed chatter and a few quiet sniggers. The Sailor Scouts and other Nega-generals were all gathered around the roasting flames, toasting bread and sausages on sharpened sticks. Due to the chaotic storm, the campsite was a mushy, slushy mess; remainders of the broken tent were strewn across the mud and hooked onto bare branches that refused to let go. The few sections of tent that had escaped the fate of being shredded by the trees' grotty fingers were stretched out over logs, preventing the campers from getting wet whilst they ate breakfast. Nephlite, of course, was quietly grumbling about how much his ankle still hurt, claiming that he only forgot the pain the night before due to the thrill of the storm.