Green Canyon Magic - Ch.14 - Frustration & Fear (Patreon)

The remaining soldiers and scientists all seemed a lot more jumpy after just under half of them left with the injured man. Stef and Theo and I were able to track the departing group as they made their way south, retracing their steps back out of our territory the same way they came in.

Meanwhile the group who stayed kept themselves busy. The scientists and a couple conscripts began assembling one more shelter, while the rest of the soldiers and their commanding officer were divided up between guard duty and meal preparations. From what we overheard, it sounded like the newest shelter was going to serve as the scientists' office or lab while they were here. 

"It looks like there's a problem with their stove," I whispered.

Two of the younger soldiers had spent the past five minutes fussing with the thing, but they both finally backed away when their CO approached to have a closer look.

All three of us watched the officer mess around with it for another minute or two before Stef whispered back, "You're right, they're swapping gas cylinders. I don't think that's the problem though, as I could feel the gas in the air when they were trying to light it. Maybe it's a faulty igniter?"

"Or maybe it's magic," Theo added quietly, and from the tone of his voice I'd almost swear the cat was grinning. 

His tail twitched and a moment later he elaborated, "I can do more than start fires. I can also stop them."

That got both Stef and I smiling as well. My enbyfriend responded, "Very clever! It's such a minor thing but it's sure to frustrate them."

"Does that mean we're getting started?" I asked.

"I think we've waited long enough," Stef nodded. They reached out their hand towards the camp and a look of concentration settled on their face as they added, "Let's escalate things a tiny bit."

A few seconds later the scientists' newly-assembled shelter was suddenly blown over by a strong but isolated gust of wind. That got everyone's attention, but before they could even react to it a second surge of wind knocked down the make-shift kitchen shelter too.

The officer started barking orders, and a few of the conscripts rushed to catch the cooking shelter before the wind could carry it too far away.

Stef actually stifled a giggle as we watched. Every time someone got close to either of the two fluttering bundles of waterproof fabric and poles another burst of wind would blow it a couple meters beyond their grasp. And it was no coincidence the wind was moving in the direction they all came from, as if it was trying to blow their shelters back to Retz one or two meters at a time.

The cat-kin kept that up for a good two minutes before they finally stopped with a quiet sigh. "They're obviously frustrated, but that's not going to be enough to get them to leave."

"Not yet," I replied softly. "But you and Theo have given me an idea."

Stef gave me a curious look, "Oh? What idea is that, my little star?"

I had a little smile on my face too as I responded, "Let's let them get their shelters set back up again while I tell you."

Both of them agreed, and over the next few minutes I shared my idea while the three of us watched the humans reassemble their kitchen and working areas. Then a couple soldiers got started with the little gas stove again, while the scientists returned to whatever they were doing. And by that point I'd finished explaining my plan, so the timing was perfect.

"I like it," Stef grinned. "The only question is, how long will it take for them to get the message?"

"Some will probably figure it out sooner than others," Theo suggested.

I agreed, "Either that or they'll just get frustrated enough to want to quit regardless."

My enbyfriend reminded me, "We want them scared enough to leave their stuff behind, so we can't back down when it starts looking like they're thinking of leaving. And if they begin to pack up we'll need to pull out all the stops."

"I have an idea for that too," I smiled. "But for now, let's get started ok?"

The cat-kin nodded and reached a hand out towards the camp again. The first stage of the plan relied mostly on Stef's air magic, as they knocked the two shelters down with gusts of wind. And like the first time they played a bit, forcing the humans to chase the canopies around for a minute or two before finally letting the men catch them. Then we let them set things back up once more, before starting all over again.

In fact it only took two more rounds of that game before they gave up on the shelters entirely. Instead they just left the poles and tarps in a pile off to one side of the camp, while they all got back to whatever else they were doing. And that meant it was time to begin phase two.

"Does your magic work on the gas?" I asked quietly as Stef focused on the guys who were trying yet again to get their camp stove going.

"Not directly," they replied. "But I can control the air around it, to hold it all in one place."

After another second or two they added softly, "Ok Theo, your turn."

The wildcat's ears twitched as he changed tactics. He'd been suppressing any flames in and around the camp, to ensure nobody was able to light the burners on the stove no matter what method they tried. That also had the amusing side-effect of preventing any of the men from lighting cigarettes, which was another angle that hadn't even occurred to me. It fit in well with our plan though.

Now Theo focused his magic on the invisible bubble of propane that Stef was holding in place a couple meters above the heads of the men who'd been working on the stove. Basically all the gas that vented while they were trying to get the thing started was still right there above them, instead of rapidly dissipating into the air. Nobody saw the spark our small friend caused, but everyone saw the fireball of burning gas that lit up the whole campsite for a second or two. 

It was high enough up that nobody was actually injured, but the officer and a couple conscripts were near enough they definitely felt the heat radiating off it. Best of all, it had the desired effect on the humans. After dealing with rogue wind that kept attacking the two big shelters, nobody being able to smoke, and spending the better part of an hour trying to get their stove lit, having a big fireball 'explode' over their heads instantly shifted the mood in camp from frustrated to frightened.

My tall fuzzy ears picked up more than a few nervous comments some of the conscripts and even a couple of the scientists began whispering back and forth. They hadn't forgotten what that bolt of lightning did earlier, and the mountain was still crackling with energy on a regular basis. Now it seemed like at least some of the humans were scared of tempting fate any further. 

"That was awesome," I smiled. "Great work you two."

Theo's ears twitched as he responded, "Some of them are already talking about leaving."

Stef shook their head, "The officer's not having it though."

They were right. He ordered the young soldiers to give up on the stove though, which meant they were stuck eating cold food. It also meant no tea or coffee, and we could all hear a few of them griping about that. On the other hand that meant they had tea and coffee with them, and I definitely wanted to get our hands on that.

"Time for phase three?" my enbyfriend asked after another few seconds. "It looks like they aren't playing with the stove anymore, so we can't use that trick again."

I nodded, "Yeah. Now it's my turn. You two stay ready though, ok? If they start to panic we want to direct them back the way they came. We don't want anyone else falling into the lake, or running off and getting lost someplace."

My two companions both nodded, then I placed my hands flat on the ground to either side of me. I closed my eyes and let my focus shift outwards through the soil and rock, until I could clearly see the camp and all the men in it, as well as the cliffs alongside the lake. 

It started with a slight tremor right in the camp. I didn't want to risk actually hurting anyone, or doing any damage to the cliff or the natural dam so I kept it weak and localized. Despite that it was still very noticeable, and the men were all instantly on their feet as they looked around nervously. 

Then while they were all on alert my attention shifted to that nice big staircase I made in the cliff earlier, to help save the injured guy from the water. I made it extra noisy as the rocks slowly started closing in from either side, until the two walls finally met and the stairs were completely gone. 

That left the men even more anxious, although the photographer managed to get a few pictures of the staircase as it vanished. I wasn't sure if he got a picture of the fireball since it didn't last long, but he also took some photos of the conscripts chasing their shelters around earlier. At that point their guide, the guy who'd dove into the lake to save the injured man, went to talk to the commanding officer. And thanks to our tall fuzzy ears, all three of us were able to hear what he had to say.

"I think it's clear we aren't welcome here," the guide stated. "Gaia said these mountains were her doing, and it seems like we've been given warning after warning to encourage us to leave."

The officer shook his head, "We have our orders, and we're prepared to deal with any minor setbacks and inconveniences."

"That mountain killed Bernard!" one of the scientists shouted angrily. "Are you calling that a minor inconvenience? You're going to get the rest of us killed too if we stick around here any longer!"

At that point the situation began to deteriorate into a big argument, between the officer and the civilians. Most of the conscripts stayed out of it, although they clearly wanted to leave. And the photographer just kept taking pictures and documenting everything. 

That's when I moved on to the last part of my plan, the step where I'd ensure they left their belongings behind no matter what.

Another tremor rattled through the camp and all the shouting immediately stopped. The shaking continued, and a moment later the ground opened up beneath their kitchen area. The folding table with the camp stove and all the supplies they had stored under the table dropped out of sight, swallowed up by the ground.

That was followed by two of the little tents. I made certain they were unoccupied first, before having the ground swallow them up along with everything inside. Finally I had some scary-looking cracks appear on the ground around the officer, two conscripts, and some of the civilians. It was meant to be a clear threat, and it mostly worked.

Two of the younger soldiers and three of the civilians pretty much dropped everything and bolted, fleeing back the way they came. The guide had the presence of mind to grab his backpack before he set off after the ones who'd already made a run for it, while the officer was shouting orders at them to try and regain control over the situation.

Then the ground beneath his feet dropped about ten or fifteen centimeters, just enough to make it clear how unwelcome he was. That seemed to be the last straw, and he finally ordered the others to retreat. Then he took off towards the trees along with the rest of them.

Stef looked like they were fighting a smile as they whipped up some fierce wind to 'chase' the fleeing humans, and help guide them onto the path that would take them back to Retz where they came from.

And in the end all three of us were giggling quietly as we continued monitoring the intruders' progress until they finally left our territory completely. 

Then as we got to our feet and wandered into the remains of the camp my enbyfriend commented, "I admit I feel a little guilty for laughing. That was a lot more fun than it should have been."

"Your plan was very effective my little star," they added, "But it also cost us half of the supplies. I hope there's enough left behind here."

I smiled and shook my head, "It didn't cost us anything cutie. See?"

My magic flowed through my bare feet and out into the ground, which carefully opened back up and returned the swallowed gear and supplies to the surface. 

"I told you I had an idea to make sure they couldn't pack anything up," I added with a smug grin.

Stef pulled me into a hug, "Very clever! Then again, isn't that something they say about foxes? They're clever, or crafty?" 

"Please! I'm a kitsune, not a fox," I pretended to pout. Except my tails were all swishing around happily while my ears stood up tall and proud, so I probably wasn't fooling anyone.

Sure enough the cat-kin giggled and gave me a kiss before suggesting, "Let's start gathering up the supplies, and see what goodies the nice humans brought us."

Considering it took two dozen men to carry everything into the camp, the three of us didn't have much chance of hauling it back to our new home in a single trip. Instead we took our time to sort through it all first.

The tents, poles, shelters, and tarps went into one pile, along with all the sleeping bags and blankets. That stuff would come in handy as we expanded our home, and would definitely be appreciated when winter arrived. The clothing wasn't so useful, unless we found a way to alter it to fit us. And none of it was really our style, but in terms of raw material it was better than nothing. 

Then there was all the kitchen gear. Thanks to Theo's magic we didn't really need the camp stove or the half dozen propane cylinders it came with, but I was sure we'd make good use of the pots and pans, dishes and bowls and cutlery. Plus there was a nice cache of condiments that would definitely be appreciated.

Our real prize though was all the food. In addition to a treasure trove of military ration packs there were also jars of instant coffee, boxes of tea, and containers of sugar and powdered whitener. Plus there was plenty of dried goods, like instant soup mix, rice, crackers, juice powder, and so on. 

"This should last us quite a while," I smiled. 

Stef smiled back, "It looks like they brought enough to feed two dozen people for four or five days? If we're careful this could last us two months!"

"Gaia will be able to supply us with fresh food long before then," Theo commented. 

"I'm sure she will," I agreed. "But for now this will do nicely. All we need to do is lug it back home with us."

*** This chapter is brought to you courtesy of Lucy who commissioned it! ***