Lou's Camp Intro

When Lou first discovered she was going to be shipped off to "make some new friends" at a summer camp, she was, understandably, quite nervous. She immediately tried to negotiate with her momma, claiming that it really wasn't necessary and she was happy exactly where she was. Maybe she could just find some new friends around here instead. But her mother insisted that it would be good for her to explore more of the world. She'd never been far from home before, and Lou would argue that there was nothing wrong with that at all. She adored her cozy life in a secluded area in Lavandul. All she really needed to be happy was a small circle of tight-knit friends and the unconditional love of her momma. Frolicking in flower fields alongside companions was a nice bonus, too. She liked how easy it was to simply exist in these spaces; she could be herself and didn't have to worry about any judgement. Nobody here even bothered to give a second glance at the way her snout was noticeably different than everyone else's, or the fact that she somehow constantly had dew drops adorning her fur in several places, no matter how often her tumbling about knocked them off. She was even convinced that she was the favorite among the lapines because of their matching noses, and some of the other fawns thought the water droplets she always carried were really cool and wished they had some of their very own. She was just accepted here, exactly as she was. Even as a young and naive fawn, she understood that there was something beautiful about that. She kept that feeling clutched close to her heart and was afraid to let go of it, like she feared it may never return if she let it wander too far.

So no, she wasn't exactly excited to go to this summer camp. And yet, here she was, unusually quiet, trotting alongside her momma on her way to be more-or-less abandoned for several days. Momma filled the silence by going on and on to assure her that she would have so much fun, it would be a great experience, she'd make so many new friends, have tons stories to share, and she would certainly look back on it fondly when it was over... and while Lou desperately wanted to believe her, she wasn't sure if she bought all of that. It could, just as easily, go terribly wrong. If she thought about it too long, she was actually horrified that leaving the comfortable bubble of the home she loved would expose her to the not-so-wonderful parts of the world. And once that door was opened, how could she close it? What if all she learned from this supposedly incredible camp was that the world isn't as beautiful as she thought? How could she possibly recover from that kind of revelation? Of course she was aware that she was different, that there were qualities about her that would be easy to pick on. Maybe the way her nose wriggled when she sniffed something or scrunched up her face in disgust, or how the dew danced along her body or left trails of raindrops behind her when she ran. She'd heard stories from the small community of faunids that she knew about meeting others that weren't exactly nice, and she was totally fine with never having such an encounter, actually preferred it that way. But being tossed in with so many strangers made it seem impossible to avoid an unwanted introduction to cruelty. Surely it would dampen her spirit in a way that could never be repaired. She didn’t think she was ready for that, but then again, would she ever be?

The first thing that stuck out as they approached Veritam was the mountains, which Lou could admit were very impressive. She'd never seen anything like them before, and was immediately drawn to the serene view. She wondered how it would feel to view the world from atop one of the peaks. Maybe it would make all of her worries feel small. The admiration of the new terrain was followed quickly by the realization that there was a serious lack of lavender in this place. And that meant that the scent that was ever-present in Lavandul, that Lou had been surrounded by her entire life, didn't exist here. She still carried the smell on her fur, but once that faded, she'd be left without any reminder of home. She kind of wanted to cry, but instead she took a deep breath, puffed out her fluffy chest, and forced a calm face. She was always a determined fawn, and although this whole thing felt way out of her scope, she was going to get through it. She would be brave for her momma, and for herself, too.

As they approached the drop-off area, she carefully surveyed the other fawns that were arriving. She noticed some of them were boisterous and energetic, and some seemed more subdued or shy, and some were in pairs or groups that clearly already had established friendships. She quietly picked out fawns that had come by themselves that looked like they could be nice, and was pleasantly surprised to find that her list of potential friends was quite long and was only continuing to grow as she made it to the front of the check-in line. She said goodbye to her momma, stole one last whiff of home from her mother’s fur, and then it was time to face this new part of the world on her own. Almost as soon as she stepped through the camp entrance, she was greeted by several friendly smiles and enthusiastic hellos from fellow campers. She was immediately welcomed into a circle of fawns that had started introducing themselves to each other, and no one seemed to notice, or at least, didn’t care, that she didn’t look like the rest of them. Perhaps momma was right; this wouldn’t be so bad after all.