Sweetclover & Phelan

Sweetclover returned after heading to the Alleys to retrieve Phelan. She had informed the Lurkers of the new enemies, and now they were going out to investigate this new threat.

Phelan padded over to a fallen birch tree and climbed onto the slick white bark, trying to clear his head of all the truamatic things that had happened recently. He was no good with dealing with these sort of things.

Sweetclover watched her brother for a moment before walking over to him, ready to console her brother. But before she reached him, she heard a yelp. The log was very rotten, and the birch wood was soft to begin with. As the adolescent put his full weight on it, the bark collapsed and he fell into the mushy core of the log. In in instant, a colony of angery little ants began to swarm up his legs. He had fallen right into their nest. Yelping as the creatures managed to bite and sting at him, Phelan sprung ungracefully from the leg, twisting and shaking like a mad thing.

At first, Sweetclover imagined her brother had gotten bitten by a snake or had gone crazy. "Phelan! What's wrong!" She barked in alarm, hurrying over to aid him. But as she got closer, she could see the tiny ants scurrying over his fur. "Hold still! Wait, Phelan! Hold still so I can help!"

But Phelan wasn't to be consoled as the ants pinched at him relentlessly, marching through his dark fur to reach his tender skin. Finally, Clover grabbed her brother's scruff and dragged him to a nearby bog, forcing him into the water where the little insects would be drowned. "Dangit, Phelan! Hold still!" Clover said, trying to hold back a laugh as her brother continued to shake and twist about. "Ouch! Get them off! Get them off!" He yelped pitifully. She did feel bad, but knew that the ants couldn't so much as draw blood, much less be any threat to his life.

Aminita

The wolfess padded towards the bog where poor Phelan was having a time with the ants. Seeing how Sweetclover seemed to have things under control, the pup-sitter moved towards the water a few feet from the splashing youngster and quietly took a drank of water. "Life lessons are tough, huh?" She too found a bit of amusement out of this, but at least it was a good reminder for Phelan to watch his step at all times.

Sweetclover & Phelan

Most of the ants had been washed away, and Phelan's frenzy had begun to subside a bit. Soaked through and through, he looked to Aminita with a half-smile, "Yeah, I guess." He snapped fervently at his leg, where one particular ant got a good hold on him.

Sweetclover jolted as if she had gotten stung herself. But it was no ant; it was her father's howl. "Phelan, hurry! Dad's calling us..." Having a bad feeling about it, yet not wanting to agrivate Legosa, Clover encouraged Phelan to leave the water and race to the Marsh with her.