We hiked along, following the trail, for almost an hour before reaching what I figured must be the good camping spot that Overwatch One had mentioned. Well, to be fair, it was my sister, Ainslee, and Karen who did the hiking while Poppy and I mostly rested on one of their shoulders. We did get up to stretch our wings once in a while, but we didn’t dare stray far from the group since our small size would probably make us tempting prey for some of the smaller predators in this forest if we ventured too far on our own. I did not want to have to try to fight off a badger, eagle, or something, and I was fairly sure that Poppy felt the same way.

The site we’d arrived at was very picturesque, and it would make it an ideal spot to camp out for a few days. It was a small clearing right on the shore of Lake Superior in a small cove that was well-shaded by a large oak tree. Beyond the cove, the waters of the great lake seemed to stretch on toward the horizon with no end in sight. The ashen remains of past campfires within a circle of stones showed that we wouldn’t be the first people to camp here, and the sheltered cove would probably be nice for swimming. I would also have plenty of water available if I needed to use my magic.

-I will begin to patrol the area around the campsite,- Moonlight offered as we arrived. -I will remain ethereal unless you specifically need me to appear for some reason. I do not wish to give away my presence to anyone who might be watching you until we are certain the danger is passed. I will be but a thought away.-

“Thanks, Moonlight, I’ll call you if I need you or when Overwatch gives us any intel,” I agreed.

“This is a nice spot, very scenic, and right on the shore too. I almost wish we had brought the twins along,” Ainslee said as we stopped to look the area over. Since we weren’t here entirely for fun and there was the possibility that one or more of us might be attacked, we had decided not to extend an invitation to Selina and Sammie for their safety. Besides, this was supposed to be a team-building trip.

“Ainslee’s sisters are twins, and they’re both Mermaids now,” my sister offered for Karen’s sake. Surprisingly, Karen didn’t scoff or snap at her for the volunteered information, and I wondered if we were maybe getting through her shell with this outing. Well, that or she was just too tired from the hike to put out the effort since she almost immediately sat on one of the two logs framing the fire pit.

“Yeah,” Ainslee quickly added as Karen looked her over with slightly raised eyebrows. “They take more after Mom’s side of the family, and I always looked more like my dad, so the scientists who studied us said we could go a long way toward proving that when people become Altered, the Wild Magic is influencing us based on something in our genes rather than being seemingly random.”

Karen looked for a moment like she was considering asking something and I was a little surprised when she took a deep breath and asked, “How the fuck does that explain our special abilities? As far as I can tell, those seem to be random. Are they genetic, too? I mean… look at me. I’m a fucking Dark Elf and… I got the most scarily evil power I can think of.”

“Karen, several studies have proven that special abilities are based on extremely powerful needs and desires,” I told her gently. “You didn’t get that power because you’re evil, or anything like that. I’ve been doing some studying, and the current theory is that, due to being changed by Wild Magic, Altered all possess the ability to tap into an extraplanar magic source. That ability doesn’t stabilize until we’re physically mature adults, though, and there is no set way for us to use that magic. They think that when we Awaken, intense emotions and instinctual need trigger that ability and a way to use the magic we’re tapping into in a way that will help us with whatever problem we’re facing.”

“My special ability came to me when you threatened Lily. I already thought I lost her and Kelly once, and I didn’t want to lose her again,” Ainslee added. “All that was going through my mind was the need to stop you from carrying out your threat and thoughts of protecting her. Do you remember what first triggered your ability?”

Disgust, horror, and fear warred for dominance across Karen’s face, her bitch mask slipping off almost entirely as she either lost the focus or just didn’t care to keep it up. We all watched her as a long silence stretched onward, and it was Poppy who finally broke it. “You don’t have to tell us if it’s something that upsets you, Karen. Say… It’s about lunchtime, so do you all want to eat lunch or set up camp first? I can get a fire going if someone wants to collect wood and…”

My girlfriend’s attempt to get the attention off Karen and get us doing something that might get her mind off whatever bad memories Ainslee’s question had brought up was much appreciated, especially since Poppy had been so quiet and lost in thought during the hike and beforehand. It looked like it was going to work, too, as Ainslee and Kelly both nodded and turned toward the hover-dolley with the camping gear and food supplies.

“It was…Alistair,” Karen admitted, her voice so low that I doubted normal humans would have heard her. None of us were normal or human anymore, though, and we all had excellent hearing. “He sent me… a package.”

“Wait, as in the same Alistair who made those threats against you? The same guy we’re here to stop from…” Kelly trailed off, probably trying to keep from saying too much and triggering Karen further. Her face was already very pale for a Dark Elf. So, Kelly lamely finished with, “That asshole?”

“It… started with inappropriate touches when we were with our ‘friends’, and then creepy and lewd messages and dick pics sent to my comm code,” Karen began, looking at the ground so she wouldn’t have to see our faces or let us see hers. “I tried to ignore the messages and kept my distance from him when the others harassed me into spending time with them as a group. The day that I Awoke was when he sent me that package. There was a d-dildo inside and a note, it said that he had it made from a cast of his own… thing, and that I should… get a feel for it before he made me… take the real thing.”

Karen's voice caught several times as she spoke, like she was choking on the words, and I could see her starting to tremble. Still, she continued, though. “I… I was terrified and disgusted… I just wanted that… horrible thing gone, to never see it again.”

“I would, too. No wonder you got an acid beam,” my sister said through a very animalistic snarl. I could see the raw fury in her eyes as she sat on the log beside Karen and put an arm around her to pull her close. “We are not going to let him hurt you. If he tries, he’ll have to go through me first.”

“I’m going to carve that bastard a new one,” Ainslee added with a snarl of her own as she sat on Karen’s other side.

“He’s a Satyr, isn’t he?” Poppy asked pensively. “Don’t they all have some crazy pheromones that make the opposite sex go nuts for them? The whole species is kind of creepy, to be honest. If he was touching you and you weren’t affected, does that mean…” She seemed to realize that it might not be the best thing to say and quickly added, “It’s no big deal if you do like girls! I mean, the rest of us are lesbians too!”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure I’m bisexual now,” Ainslee quickly corrected, “but I’m not interested in guys mentally, and there’s only one girl I’m interested in, or ever have been, romantically.” She gave a faint smile as she looked over Karen’s hunched shoulders at Kelly.

Karen let out a long sigh between the two of them and muttered, “Fuck it. Lily probably already knows, it’s probably in that file she has on me, if it contains even half of the shit the Vice-Commander saw in my mind. I think I’m asexual. I’ve never been attracted to anyone, even before I became Altered, and the thought of sex in general repulses me and makes me sick to my stomach. So, can we please talk about anything else?”

I looked at Karen in surprise and replied, “No, I didn’t know that but thank you for sharing with us, Karen. See, we’re all getting to know one another better already.” My estimation of the Vice-Commander went up a bit at that. Honestly, I didn’t see how anyone’s sexual orientation or gender identity had any bearing on whether they would be able to do a job, and this was a personal thing, something that only Karen should know, and anyone she trusted enough to tell.

I was pleased that she had told us, though, maybe we were getting through to her after all. So, I did her a favor and changed the topic away from her. “Okay, everyone, let’s start getting the camp set up and get lunch ready. After that, we can have a bit of fun. Karen and Poppy, have either of you ever been camping before? Ainslee, Kelly, and I did some while growing up, though it was usually somewhere on the ranch or Aunt Maya and Uncle Gavin’s property, so we were always close to home.”

“Never been, I’m a city girl through and through,” Poppy answered as she took a look around. “It’s nice and peaceful out here, though, so I guess I can see the appeal.”

“Dad was pretty busy with his business, but we usually went camping a couple of times a year. We lived in Vancouver, and he would set a couple of long weekends aside every year for family time and we’d go camping in the rainforest or mountains,” Karen supplied, a faint smile forming on her face before she got serious again.

Kelly immediately frowned at the change in Karen. She crossed her arms, gave the Dark Elf a steady look, and stated, “Nope, none of that, Karen. You are not hiding behind that mask again. You’ve been opening up and we want to help you and be your friends, so no more bitch act. Let’s just all relax and enjoy this until it’s time to kick some ass.”

I nodded in agreement as I added, “And since you’re probably the most experienced of us all in the great outdoors, I’m putting you in charge of setting up camp, so tell us what we need to do.”

An hour later, we had set up camp to Karen’s satisfaction and were preparing a late lunch over the fire that my sister got going with Poppy’s help. Just as I’d hoped, Karen seemed to get into the familiarity of the situation as we set up camp and was starting to relax a little more. Now the four-person tent was set up for Karen, Ainslee, and Kelly, my little house was secured on a nice thick branch of the big oak tree for me and Poppy, and all the other gear was set up as well.

That gear included a set of eight magitech spikes driven into the ground around our campsite. Those were wards that were supposed to keep any dangerous animals from getting too close to our camp while we weren’t there or were asleep. Unfortunately, they probably wouldn’t keep out Davenport and anyone he brought along with him since they were designed not to bother humans and humanoid Altered like they did wild animals.

It was while Kelly, Karen, and Ainslee were cooking some hot dogs over the fire, and Poppy and I enjoyed some dried fruit, granola, and nectar, that we got our first update. “Honeypot, this is Overwatch Two. Your tail has landed, and we listened in on a transmission. There was no encryption at all. These guys are amateurs. He's been ordered to follow your trail, keep an eye on you for now, and wait for reinforcements. It sounds like the target is planning to make his move tonight when you’re all asleep, and he’ll be bringing company. We’ll pack up our gear and move closer to your location.”

“Not letting the grass grow under his feet, is he?” I muttered bitterly as I saw Karen almost drop the stick she was using to cook her hot dog. “Thanks for the update, Overwatch Two. Overwatch One, do you still have eyes on the trail?”

“You bet your ass, we do,” the leader’s feminine voice replied. “We have your tail in sight, too. We’ll keep on his ass and then get set up to keep an eye on things near your camp. Don’t worry about us getting spotted, we’re stealth ops for a reason. Just try to relax and act natural, and remember the plan, we’ll have you covered when shit goes down.”

Despite the reassurances of the two stealth teams watching our backs, we all had a bit of trouble relaxing and acting naturally while knowing what was coming. It was especially difficult for Karen, who grew more and more nervous as the afternoon plodded along into evening. I couldn’t blame her for being nervous, so we all tried to keep her mind off the heavy stuff by trying to make the most of being in the great outdoors.

First, we went on a nature hike. That took us a good two hours, and we were able to spot a large variety of wildlife during that time. As for Moonlight, she spotted our tail and kept me posted on what he was doing as he followed us clumsily through the woods. From the amount of complaining that she said he was doing, I was going to guess this guy was a city boy and not used to being outdoors.

He also either overestimated his stealth capabilities or underestimated our senses since we didn’t even need Moonlight to tell me he was following us. We all had sharp ears, and most of us sensitive noses as well. We were downwind of him for the first half of the hike, and he was following our trail a bit too closely so he wouldn’t lose us while tromping through the woods, stepping on twigs and dry leaves, and constantly cursing. My sister, Karen, and Ainslee could have both heard and smelled him at three times the distance he was keeping.

When we got back to camp, we spent the rest of the afternoon swimming and goofing off in the cove, having a water fight (which I won), and skipping stones across the water to pass the time until we got hungry. For dinner, we put a grille over the campfire, and my sister cooked up some steaks we had brought and some baked potatoes. Once everything was finished, my sister cut a bit off her steak and scooped out a bit of her buttery potato to create Sprite-sized portions for me and Poppy so we could share the wealth.

Karen seemed to be a little more relaxed and looked like she was enjoying the meal, but she was still well aware of the man out there watching us as she muttered, “I hope that asshole can smell this, and that he’s hungry.”

We all stayed around the campfire, talking and getting to know Karen and Poppy a bit better until well after dark, and the notification that Davenport and his goons had arrived to join his patsy. Unknown to them, they had both Moonlight and two stealth ops teams watching their every move while we chatted the evening away. I tried not to focus on them since Karen was letting us in, even if she seemed pretty reluctant about it. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if that was because she didn’t know how to make friends anymore or if she was still terrified about getting close to people and losing them, maybe it was both.

I knew all that I needed to know for now about those jokers watching us anyway. There were eight of them out there in total, and Alistair Davenport seemed to be the only one who was Altered, or at least obviously so. One or two could be Altered who never lost their human appearance, but I doubted that since they were all packing heat of some sort.

We let the fire burn down to embers, and then Poppy and I retreated to my little house while Karen, Kelly, and Ainslee all piled into the tent. They spent a little while moving around, as if getting undressed and into their sleeping bags, before finally turning off the lantern. Then, after the tent was dark, I turned out the lights in my house as well, and Poppy and I sat and talked quietly by the front door as we waited.

It was a little more than half an hour later that Moonlight’s voice entered my thoughts. -They are preparing to attack.-

At the same time, the feminine-sounding leader for Overwatch One alerted us. “They’re on the move, be ready, girls. Operation Honeytrap is a go. Remember, we need them to make the first move, so activate your armor and try not to get hurt. As soon as they’ve attacked, we’ll be there to back you up.”