“Would you like to play a game?”

The hextet of campers from Keweenaw cabin looked around before spotting a were-vixen in anthro form. Clad in a light sundress, she stood several inches shorter than the group she addressed. Between the ankle length of the dress and the long sleeves, the only fur visible was on her head. 

Hesitantly, Naomi asked, "I don’t recall seeing you around before. What’s your name?”

A paw covered with a white silk glove touched her muzzle. “Where are my manners? I’m Vikki.”

This kicked off a quick round of introductions, though Naomi had the strangest feeling that the vixen already knew who they were. After Clotho finished the introductions, she queried, “Where are your cabinmates?"

Vikki shrugged. "Off playing tag. It's just not my speed."

Naomi pondered a second before asking, “What sort of a game did you have in mind?”

Before the fox could respond, Clotho chimed in. “Hopefully not global thermonuclear war.” The quip got a giggle out of her sisters and blank looks from the others. After an awkward moment of silence, she pseudo-explained. “Old movie. Never mind.”

The vixen blushed a little before answering the question. “I was thinking of knights and the dragon?”

Naomi pulled the somewhat tattered schedule out of her pocket. After checking her watch, she observed, “We’re supposed to be at the stables in 15 minutes for riding.”

Atropos frowned. “Normally, I wouldn’t suggest ditching a session, but I think we might be well served by doing so today. Unless you have the itch to roll around in a patch of poison ivy.” The off-handed statement got a wince from Naomi, Mindy and Annabell. The fate continued. “I think we can call it survival training, and the councilors will probably let it slide.”

Mindy eagerly chimed in with, "Who would be the damsel?"

Atropos got a strange look on her face, before muttering "Brain bleach! Brain bleach!" She took a deep breath, gathered her composure, then spoke in a normal tone of voice. "I volunteer as tribute."

Naomi looked vaguely concerned at the mutterings. The concern turned to surprise when the fate volunteered. "Okay… Who's the dragon then?"

Vikki bounced on her feet. "Me! Me!"

The level of enthusiasm stunned the other campers into silence for a long moment. Naomi tentatively stated, "I think we can work with that…"

The vixen took the statement as approval. "Yay! We'll go hide while you find some swords." 

The human just shook her head as the triplets giggled. Her face turned serious as she queried, “Shouldn’t you be in your human form like Mindy?”

In response, her form wavered, taking that of a wafish girl with a touch of asian ancestry. It stabilized for a few seconds, before reverting back to the anthro form. Her ears flushed as she explained. “I have a … skin condition. Don't worry, it's not contagious. But the effect it has on my concentration makes it difficult to maintain my human guise for long. Needless to say, I don't get many opportunities to go out and play with others.”

Mindy wrapped her arms around her fellow were in a gentle hug. “That sucks. It sounds like a pain in the tail.”

“Uh huh.” was all the vixen could say in response. After a few moments, the embrace was released, and the wolf shooed her away with a gentle hand motion. She turned and darted down the path, exclaiming "Come on Atropos!"

The fate in question followed after the surprisingly fast camper. As the rest of the campers from the cabin made their way to the crafts shed, the vixen's headstrong pace slowed. After a minute or two, she spoke. "If you don't mind me asking, what was that brain bleach comment about?"

Atropos ducked her head, then responded. "Oooff. How do I describe this? When I look at the threads of the average person on the street, they're all pointed in the same general direction. Kinda like the threads in a string."

"Why do I hear a 'but' coming?"

"Because you do. No offense intended, but I have no idea how I overlooked seeing you in the dining hall."

Vikki glibly riposted with “That was a low blow.”

The fate winced. “Sorry. Enough with the short jokes?”

The vixen grinned. “For a little while.”

Atropos pretended to hold her head in pain. “Arg! The Punmanship. It hurts!” After a few moments, they both broke out in giggles.  Once they passed, she continued as if the interruption hadn’t happened. "Because of this, I looked at your threads to try to get a sense of who you might become. In your case, your threads go a thousand different directions. I made the mistake of trying to look closer at them to understand the role they might play in our continuity."

"And?"

"And your threads lead to some really strange situations. Situations in which your skin condition is on full display."

"You mean like showering here at camp?"

A shake of the head and a slight blush. "Showering here at camp would be a normal situation. These situations happen years from now. Or after … Oh, how do I explain it? For whatever reason, your threads tend to go sideways. Not sideways as in ‘taking a different path in life’, but sideways as in ‘jumping to a parallel universe’.”

Vikki flinched self-consciously as her cheekfur suddenly took on a slightly reddish tint, "Oh. I … uh … I’ve got memories. Except they can’t be memories, as I was older in them. Are they dreams?”

A measure of confusion was evident on the vixen’s muzzle. Atropos gave her a quick hug which yielded a slight squeak. There was an awkward moment of silence before the fate gently queried. "It sounds like you’ve already made a jump. So… how'd you get here? And don't tell me it was by school bus."

The vixen shrugged. "I went to sleep and I woke up here. I have no idea how it happens. It just does. I'd say this is a dream, but …”

“But it’s too real?”

“Exactly.”

The pair walked for a couple minutes listening to the sounds for the forest before Vikki spoke again. “So, you aren’t weirded out by my skin condition?”

Atropos thought for a moment, before shaking her head. “Other than the occasional squeaks, I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t looked. It’s different, but you do your best to keep it out of everyone’s face.”

There was a moment of confusion on the vixen’s part. “Squeaks? Oh. Oh! Right."

The fate shrugged. “Because you won’t be able to compete in the games, you won’t be able to pass the curtains module. But you will be able to avoid failing if you can figure out how to maintain your human guise.”

“Any pointers?” Vikki asked hopefully.

Atropos just shook her head. “Such things usually work out better if you figure them out on your own.”

The fox nodded a couple times. After a short silence, she spoke. "As the dragon, shouldn't I be taking the lead on where we go?"

Atropos giggled. "Technically, you are. You planned to stop by the ropes course, right?"

The confusion was obvious in the vixen's voice. "Yes… how did you know?"

The fate giggled again. “I’m just following the threads, trying to smooth out the weave as best I can.”

“You’re being awfully candid about your abilities.”

She gave a flick of the wrist, sending her yoyo spinning down, then back up again. “There’s no point in hiding them. You know what my sisters and I are, so trying to do so would just make things worse.”

They traveled a few dozen yards before Vikki queried, “Aren’t you concerned about disappearing into the woods with me?”

The query earned a head shake in response. “Not really. Lachesis is probably watching out to see if I’m distressed, and Clotho will be able to retrace our steps. But unless that happens, they’ll probably just go along with what the others are doing.”

She answered with a small voice. "Oh."

About 10 minutes later, they arrived at the entrance to the ropes course. Atropos stared off into space for a moment before wincing. She cryptically commented, "It's easier this way, trust me," before jumping over the gate. 

The vixen followed her lead, and the pair found their way to the storage shed. The door was unlocked, and the duo slipped inside. The fate scanned across the various coils of rope hanging on the wall before grabbing a couple, seemingly at random. She then prowled out of the shed, headed back towards the fence.

Another clandesdine jump, before Vikki took the lead again. Her wanderings took them to a small grouping of older trees on a slope. One of the trees appears to have been struck by lightning, years in the past. The trunk branched in a V shape, just above the ground. She looked at the spot for a long moment before speaking. “It’s not a cave, but it could be one in the mind’s eye. Plus…“ Her voice faltered as the tinge of red returned to her cheekfur. She swallowed, then continued. “Plus, it’s easier to tie you to a tree than a rock.”

Atropos giggled. “That’s why they invented rock cams. But you’re right. I don’t think there are any caves on the camp property.” She gave her yoyo another flick, before stashing it in her pocket. “How’d you want to do this?”

Vikki had a blank look on her muzzle for a long moment before she quietly admitted. “I hadn’t thought that far.”

The fate had a distant stare of her own before she suggested, “What if you lashed my wrists together then tied the lashing to a tree?”

The fox’s ears drooped a little. “I suppose that’ll work. I sorta wanted to tie you up so I could interrogate you.”

A melancholy giggle slipped out of Atropos’ mouth. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather pass on the experience of being threatened with a feather. Just ask me what you want to know.”

Vikki’s ears perked slightly. “Oh. Ok. Uh… Wrists please?”

Atropos settled against the split tree and held her arms out, crossed at the wrists. With a touch of nervousness, the vulpine carefully tied the two together with a square lashing. As she finished, the fate tugged a little before giving a nod. “Solid work, Vikki.”

The seemingly ever-present blush returned to the vixen’s cheeks. “I’ve been practicing.”

“Keep practicing, it might just save a life.”

“I… I will.”

There was a long silence as Vikki tied a rope around a nearby tree. This time, Atropos was the one to add her voice to the sounds of the wilderness. “So, you had a few questions?”

Two white-furred ears perked all the way up. “Loads of them! Um… What’s the best meal in the dining hall?”

A loud giggle preceded the answer. “Believe it or not, it’s the chicken surprise.”

“That is a surprise.” Vikki settled in the fork of the tree, and the fate leaned against a tree of her own. The questions started small (‘what’s your favorite activity?’) and quickly grew larger (‘What’s the biggest prank Mindy and Annabell are going to pull?’). All too soon, the vixen’s ears twitched at the sound of a distant conversation. She stretched and commented, “My fair damsel, if my ears don’t deceive me, I do believe your knights approach.”

Atropos squirmed a little, but the ropes continued to hold fast. After a moment of thought, she called out, “My knights! Come save me! A horrible dragon is threatening to eat me!”

The call had the desired effect, and the search parties turned towards the sound of her voice. As they approached, Vikki gave a “Raar!” and pantomimed the act of blowing fire in a circle around the tree. A short ‘battle’ ensued, with Clotho, Annabell and Mindy all occupying the dragon’s attention. Meanwhile Naomi and Lachesis worked together to undo the knots in the rope.

As the final knot slipped free, Annabell tapped the end of her cardboard sword to the dragon’s chest and called out “Touché!” In response, she exclaimed “Alas! I am slain! Farewell cruel world!” before falling to the ground.

Everyone giggled as she lay on the ground for a few seconds. After the giggling passed, Atropos extended a hand and helped her to stand back up. As she stood, the fate queried, “Did you have fun?”

Vikki nodded in response, squeaking lightly as she did so. Naomi glanced at her watch before commenting “Well, time flies when you’re having fun. We probably should get going if we want to be at the dining hall in time for dinner.”

The fox nodded and responded. “You folks go on ahead. I need to return these ropes. No point in making everyone late.” To her surprise, Clotho lingered and helped her coil up the ropes.

When the task was done, the fate’s mouth twitched. She then spoke. “By the way, thank you.”

The vixen was a bit puzzled, but responded with “You’re welcome.”

Sensing the confusion, the fate explained. “In one of your threads, you caused the spark that created this reality.”

Vikki interjected, “My threads, plural?”

“Yes, threads plural. Despite all appearances, you’re only a short time into your current thread. However, this thread seems to be spun from threads that come from somewhere else. One of those threads serves as the anchor for this reality.”

The statement yielded a double blink of fox eyes. “That almost makes my head hurt.”

Clotho gave a quick hug in response. “It almost makes my head hurt, and I’m used to staring at people’s threads. Regardless. Without that anchor, we wouldn’t be here. If they knew, I think the others would also have thanked you. Well, perhaps not Naomi. But the only way to become a hero is to overcome challenges.”