A Shifter's Letter from Camp

By Pat Cunningham

Dear Mom and Dad,

Sorry about the smudgy ink but they won’t let us have computers or cell phones here. They used to, but the coyotes kept hacking into the camp records and stealing PIN numbers and ordering pizzas and stuff so now we have to go techless. Gina, the head counselor, says you’re not supposed to have electronics in the woods anyway, that’s not what camping’s all about. She’s a wolf so figures she’d say that. I miss my Game Boy but Gina says we’ll get all our stuff back at the end of camp.

Except for that, Camp Metamorph is great! We do lots of hiking and hunting and stuff. I can ID six different prey animals by tracks and scent, and we’re learning how to tell a shifter in animal form from a regular animal. Gina yelled at Bob, the instructor, and said he should’ve taught us that part first. Kevin, the tiger in B Cabin, went after a deer that was really one of the other campers and he almost got his face kicked in. Alonzo – he’s one of the foxes – says this same thing happens every year and nobody ever learns. We’re not too upset but the kids at the herbivore camp are all ticked off.

This weekend we had our Camp Olympics with the Meaties vs. the Grassies. The horses get snotty because they always win the races but this year we had a cheetah on our team and he ran rings around them. You should have seen their faces! Of course the otters won the swimming contest. I thought we had the tug-of-war locked in because of all the bears on our team but the grassies had an elephant which is so unfair. I took second in archery. There was an eagle there who’s older than me and he won. He gave me a couple of pointers and told me to keep practicing. I bet I beat him next year.

We also learned a bunch of camp songs from the wolves. The coyotes and the foxes made up new words to the songs that are way better and we sing those when the counselors aren’t around.

I’m going to be sorry to leave here next week but on the other hand I can’t wait to see you and Mom again. Oh, please send more cookies. The raccoons keep getting into our foot lockers.

Your son,

Teddy

And now you know where shifter children learn their woodcraft. How many Girl or Boy Scouts are out there in the woods for more than a merit badge? Watch out for that kid with the yellow eyes …