Unfortunately for Alex, the rain didn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon and continued to drop down in heavy sheets. Even though the thunder and the wind seemed to be dying down a bit, the rainstorm itself didn’t seem like it would be going away until nearly dinnertime.
However, that was only a minor issue as long as the counselors could keep the campers entertained indoors and didn’t lose anyone. But in the rush to get everyone indoors, it was easier than it seemed to lose track of a couple people, and even the best counselors in the world could lose a few in these circumstances. Throw a couple of those darned rabbit twins and triplets into the mix, and keeping an accurate headcount of all the squirming critters at camp became difficult, to say the least.
And that is exactly what happened, leaving poor Ricky and Jared out in the rain together.
+++++++++++++
“Uhh… Where are we, Jared?” Ricky asked, peering through the trees around them as they walked back from the obstacle course toward the main camp. He could feel a few drops falling down through the trees, but he hoped they could get out of the rain if they kept moving forward.
“Not really sure,” Jared responded, looking down the path and wondering if they’d made a wrong turn and ended up on one of the hiking paths. Despite both of them ending up with a few new animal instincts in the process of turning into teenage animal people, it seemed that tracking and orienting themselves weren’t among them.
They started to get worried as the rain picked up a bit, and they focused on finding anywhere that could get them out of the rain. Finally, Ricky spotted something that might work; an abandoned old car, covered in vines and foliage, one of many that had ‘mysteriously’ broken down as it wandered onto the grounds of the camp.
“Let’s go, Jared!” Ricky said, and they rushed over and started pulling the vines off the car. Using his surprisingly strong and lean muscles, he pulled at the back door and managed to get it to open with a rusty screech, and both boys piled into the back seat and slammed the door shut.
“Wow… talk about a lucky break,” Jared said with a grin as he got as comfortable as he could in the dusty old back seat. “A little rusty, so I hope you’ve had your shots.”
“Only rabies. Us raccoons don’t joke around with that,” Ricky said completely seriously, experimentally putting an arm around Jared, still thinking about the short kiss they had shared an hour or so earlier.
Jared frowned when he heard that from Ricky. Something about Ricky so casually talking about raccoon stuff seemed strange. “Rick… I mean, Ricky,” he said, feeling his head get a little fuzzy all of a sudden. “You’re not really… I mean, we’re not… Umm…”
He felt like his mouth was full of cotton, and he was having an even harder time speaking his mind than he usually did at the camp. Something else was going on here.
“Ricky… what were those vines you pulled off the car?” he slurred, feeling a purr rising up in his chest as he nuzzled his face into the raccoon’s furry shoulders. Ricky slapped his muzzle in anger at himself for being so careless.
“Damn it…! Jared, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking…” Ricky sputtered as the tiger proceeded to wrap his arms all around him. “Listen, we’ll get you back to the camp and over to the first aid cabin, s-“
He was interrupted by a big kiss on the lips from Jared, who clumsily and drunkenly tried to jam his tongue into the surprised raccoon’s mouth. Ricky did his best to pull away, not because he didn’t appreciate the affection but because he was worried so much about his friend’s safety. However, the car was so cramped that any escape was impossible.
“Please, Ricky… Don’t go…” Jared moaned. “Don’t leave me too… Jack… Jackie…” Ricky could barely make out what his friend was mumbling about, but he felt awful for the poor tiger having to go through whatever it was he was experiencing. And, surprisingly, he felt a little jealous hearing Jared still talking about Jack so much. Why did that bother him so much?
“Jared. Jack’s not here. I am, and I’ll keep you safe, okay?” Ricky said quietly, getting a little smile from the intoxicated tiger. He got his friend (though, were they really just friends at this point?) into a tight hug to keep him from squirming around too much. “Let’s just ride this out together until you’re feeling better okay? Just try to calm down, buddy.”
“Love you so much, Ricky,” Jared muttered dreamily. “My hero…”
Luckily for the two of them, Jared had only gotten a little whiff of the silver vine this time, so he settled into a happy buzz for the next half hour or so. They started to reminisce together in the rainy haze, talking about growing up together and blurring their human and critter memories into a happy blend of the two. The two teens chatted quietly as they watched the rain start to die down as the forest got darker, and soon they saw the beams of one of the counselors’ flashlights as they desperately looked for them. Ricky spotted them coming and waved them over so they could help get the dozing tiger in the seat next to him back to the camp. Naturally, he made sure to stay by Jared’s side the whole time, since the poor guy needed his hero to watch over him.