Ballad of Kyanoko: Going Camping

Prompt- Summer activity in Lyra's Winter-like landscape

Word count: 300

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“I’m still surprised you’ve never camped before,” Ginger piped up as she came back to the camp, her back bent backwards to compensate for all of the branches and sticks she had gathered. “You know, with you traveling on the roads all the time, it seemed like it would be part of the job.”

“I have a travel wagon- why wouldn’t I use it?” Kyanoko responded, holding out her arms to help the ginger tabby with her load- which the cat rejected. “And I’ve never been this far away from civilization or a traveled path before. If I called anything I did camping, it’d be a mockery of the activity.”

Ginger began to arrange stones in a circular pattern on the bare ground where Kyanoko had swept away the crystal dust. The tanuki was tasked with tent duty. As much as Kyanoko liked the aesthetic of the classic ridge tent, Ginger had advised heavily against them. Instead, she was setting up a dome tent, which despite its more complicated appearance was far easier to pitch.

Kyanoko had planned to ignite the fire using her magic, but she heard the small crackles of flame. She turned to see that the cat had already arranged all of her sticks into a tee-pee shape and set it aflame. Ginger sat in the dirt, unbothered by how it may muddy her clothes as she stared into the fire with a smile on her face. Kyanoko, on the other hand, unfolded a camping chair.

They had finished setting up their camps and not a moment too soon as the sun slipped behind the mountains. Kyanoko closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of Lyrian nature. She felt peace swell in her soul and was at ease for the first time in a long while.