Camptastic!: Preparations and Wrong Turns

TheCuriousSeed

It's almost summer, time for some outdoor fun!

~Silver and Pearl were getting ready to go camping when the smaller Silver came by in her camping gear. She had a backpack, a cap, a sturdy camping shirt, camping trousers, socks, tennies and a special vessel for keeping her cold soup frigid for up to two days.

~"Where are the rest of our friends?" asked the taller Silver.

~Lavender came by in all her green glory. She came at least as prepared as the smaller Silver... maybe a little too prepared.

~"We don't need that much stuff, Lavender," said Pearl. "We're only going camping for ten days and that looks like enough for at least the entire summer."

~But Lavender figured better safe than sorry.

~The other 21 friends came too, but guess who decided to bring items that normally were no good for camping?

~"Foxglove, we don't need all that stuff," said Pearl. "In fact, we don't need any of that stuff you brought."

~"And risk smelling like the Wilderness all over again, Pearl?" began Foxglove. "Thanks, but no thanks."

~Labyrinth, of course, brought plenty of homemade Fairy Dust (not Pixie Dust because there was a very strict one cup a fairy a day rule in place again) made from the moulten feathers of normal doves dipped into a magical pond. She brought enough for each fairy for five weeks and it was almost as strong as freshly plucked feathers, which thankfully hadn't been done for the sake of Fairy Dust in a very long time.

~"We all ready?" asked the taller Silver.

~Everyone was ready to go camping, so off they went.

~The campsite was very far away by wing and would take at least three days to reach even if everyone was a Fast Flyer, so instead Daylily and Holly called for some...

~"Grizzlies?!" cried Foxglove.

~"Except polar bears, bears are generally hypocarnivorous," explained Holly. "That means at least 70% of their food is vegetation."

~The grizzlies took the 25 fairies on their backs and they rode for quite a while. Heidi picked the berries she knew were safe for fairies while the grizzlies got their own food.

~"Is it just me or is it starting to get warmer?" asked the taller Silver.

~It was getting warmer for a bit, but now it was starting to get cool again, then cold. Labyrinth changed all the girls' clothes to winter clothes because the grizzlies were headed towards an even colder part than the known Winter Woods. It was so cold, in fact that even Pearl began to shiver and she had a much stronger cold tolerance than any other Water fairy!

~"Ahhh," sighed both Silvers, revelling in the cold.

~The grizzlies couldn't venture any deeper, so they had the fairies fly off, then the grizzlies returned to the warmth. Miraculously, though it felt like twelve days, the trip really only took three hours thus far. Still, the girls weren't there yet and it was still too far to fly. Neverland was in a very gargantuan mood today.

~"We need some transport that can take us to our site quickly," said Daylily before calling for some Emperor penguins.

~"Are we even in Neverland anymore?" asked Gloriosa. "Because I don't remember Neverland having any penguins there."

~"Neverland's in such a huge mood that we were able to reach an area oft hidden from view even to the natives," answered Heidi.

~"We could really use a fourth Scout," said Gardenia.

~"Phoebe's sick, remember?" asked Holly. "In fact, her sisters are sick too."

~"And the other Scouts had no time to go camping," added Daylily. "The ones that were healthy, that is."

~Just then a new girl flew forth. Her name was Uma Turquoisepower and her long, black hair whipped across her face when she halted in midair.

~"What're you lot doing all the way out here?" she asked.

~"Camping," answered Pearl.

~"Well, it's too cold even for the likes of you two to survive here,"  Uma warned the group, pointing to the two Silvers. "I'm responsible for ensuring the comfort and safety of all wintry Chordates, especially rodents. I'm also responsible for producing winter storms for the Mainland, as you Neverlanders call it."

~"So we are not in Neverland anymore?"

~"Whoever heard of emperor penguins living in Neverland? They live in this continent called Antarctica and it's almost winter there. The emperor penguins head to the centre of the continent each winter to continue the lifeline and return to the water come summer. Many other penguins live in Antarctica too, but one specie that I know of doesn't: the blue fairy penguin. Blue fairy penguins, also called little blues or fairy penguins or little penguins, live in a warmer climate such as Australia, the only country that can also be considered a continent, New Zealand, a country of Oceania just like Australia and even Chile, a country of South America. You definitely won't find those here."

~"What're you saying?" asked Daylily.

~"I'm saying you made a wrong turn and should return to Neverland since you need wings and that special dust called Fairy Dust to fly."

~An ox came by, standing near Uma. She told the ox to return the fairies to Neverland before they froze to death, the ox obliged and it was back to Neverland.

~The ox had the fairies resting on her head as she walked them back to Neverland, specificallt the Winter Woods. After reaching the Winter Woods, Daylily thanked the ox and the fairies all continued on the head of a bison to the campsite. Once the bison was thanked for the ride by the Animal-Gifted, she left.

~"Time to set up camp," said the taller Silver.

~"Good, because I'm tired of smelling worse than Eau de Wilderness," said Foxglove. "Where's the nearest spa?"

~"What spa?" asked Pearl.

~"You mean to tell me we have no way to wash off this worse-than-the-Wilderness stink?!"

~"There's a stream nearby, but it's too deep for us to stand in," said the taller Silver.

~"Is it clean?"

~"Should be."

~While the others began setting up camp, Foxglove flew to this stream, but...

~"Eeeuuuwwww! What is this nasty goop in the stream?!" she exclaimed.

~Magnolia flew nearby and said, "Looks like some sort of black oil to me."

~Magnolia was right, for a small otter had been caught in an oil spill and decided this stream was perfect to bathe in.

~"Yecch," said Foxglove. "Good thing I brought all that spa stuff."

~"Actually, Foxglove," said Jessie as she flew over to Foxglove before pointing to a huge oil spill.

~"Oh no!" cried Daylily, eyeing the oily otter. "We have to help her!"

~"But how?" asked Onyx.

~"How in Neverland else?!" cried Holly. "We have to clean up that oil spill and the otter! Heidi, can you separate the oil from the water? Pearl, once the oil is out of the water, shape some of it into a comb and have your sister freeze it so we can comb that oil out of the otter's fur! Gardenia, form a bit into a globe and keep it warm, Onyx, prepare a soothing bath for this otter, not too hot or cold. Strawberry, can you build a huge horn that can also dry the otter without deafening her, then have Tansy blow into said horn as hard as she can."

~As each fairy worked to help the otter, Hickory suddenly felt like throwing up because the oil reminded her of that. She was feeling quite woozy and needed to rest a bit.

~"Hope the otter's okay," said Elva.

~"Yeah," said Jessie.

~Once the otter and oil spill got cleaned up, Daylily decided, "How about we don't dry her off, instead letting her swim about her merry way after letting her know to avoid further pollution?"

~"Fine by me, because I don't see anything safe enough to build a huge horn from here," said Strawberry.

~Daylily, Holly, Elva and Jessie let the otter know to try avoiding any further pollution, then said otter swam away safely. Here was hoping no more pollution was in the area.

~"What a conundrum," said Tansy.

~"Yeah," said Gardenia. "We need to investigate the reason for the pollution."

Hope you enjoyed this first part!