[Gift] Field Trip Mishaps

Yet another pointless question that led to their group being behind and off topic. Matcha holds back a groan and shuffles his paws together. Only half an hour left until their venture through the forest is over, how bittersweet.

Asteroid Academy partnered with several other schools and organised a week-long field trip to Pinwheel city. Even though Matcha wasn’t one for outings, he’s been having a good time up until today. The trip to Spiral Museum yesterday had to be his favourite. If only he could spend the entire week there, be completely absorbed in the history, artwork, and tranquillity.

The excursion through Pinwheel Forest was awful. When you’re in Rona and Drona’s group, nothing was going to get done. They were great exam proctors in Asteroid Academy, but when it came to outdoor activities such as this…

“Uh, Hey! Is this on the test?” Copper snickers. A few students laughed with her, but Sleet had enough of the distractions. She was so close to slapping the other until Peppermint blocks it.

“Aaaahhh, the exam?” Rona taps a paw on her cheek. “I do not recall making an exam for this…what about you, Drona?”
Drona shakes her head. “I thiiink Nanami’s group planned a test.”
“Nanami’s group planned a test…? I thought it was Penelope…”

Sol frowns, “P-Penelope isn’t even a chaperone for this trip…” he mutters to Nightshade. The brown cat replies with a grunt and lowers their ears. They’re never going to learn about the special flowers that grow in the forest.

Matcha stretches his back and decides to lay down, paws tucked under him. If the disobedient students are going to continue tampering with the trip, he might as well rest his legs. The grass was so soft and warm that he ended up dozing off before Copper could ask another absurd question.

…..

“Really? They have that over here?”
“Is that even possible?”
“Of course! Why would I lie?”

Matcha opens his eyes, how long was he asleep? The group hasn’t left, and Copper is still messing with their chaperons. The chattering came from the left of him where Ika stood. The aquatic spacecat was in an invested conversation with Pixie and Marconi.

“It’s a pink and white flower,” Pixie explains. “It has mountain in its name, can’t remember the full name though.”

“Is it true that when you eat it, you gain a mythical characteristic of our choosing?” Ika twitches his nose. “That sounds too good to be true…”

“I want to get wings!” Marconi chirps.
Ika claps his front paws together. “I would love to shapeshift.”

“Then follow me! It’s not like Rona and Drona will notice us leave,” Pixie ruffles Ika’s hair. “We passed by them earlier, I know where it is.”

The three spacecats nod to one another and slip away from the group. Wait, hold on! Matcha scurries back up on his paws and nudges Verona. “Hey,” He whispers. “Ika and Marconi left with Pixie!”

Verona was too preoccupied with the butterfly dancing above her head. Matter of fact, all the students were in their own little world while Rona and Drona went on explaining how paper came to be. How in the world did they get to that topic?

Maybe I can catch them before they get too far! Matcha holds out an anxious yelp. But what if I get lost?

He raises a paw in the air, little to no wind at the moment. It’ll be safe to scatter a few daisy flowers on the behind him to find his way back to their group. Or they notice the party is short by four and follow my tracks. Matcha paws the ground and releases a few white petals beneath him. I’ll catch them before it’s too late!

 ---

“Ah yes, Sparkling Aria is very talented!” Rona nods. “One day I will attend a concert of hers…”

Peppermint releases an exaggerated yawn that spooks Sol. “Hm, sorry about that.” She chuckles.
“I-It’s fine,” Sol curls a tail around his paws. “I wonder how long this will go on…”

Peppermint quivers her whiskers in annoyance. All month she was looking forward to this field trip and exploring a new city. Her parents were here chaperoning too! And so many cats her age to befriend! It was going great until she’s dropped with Rona, Drona, and a bunch of rebellious cats. Peppermint has learned nothing about the forest, it’s backstory, or the special flowers that only resides deep within these woods. Nanami’s group is probably having the time of their lives, same with her father’s party.

Peppermint flexes her long claws in the grass. They need to regroup with the others in ten minutes, hopefully the other students will share the information they were unfortunately unable to receive. Maybe she could ask Willow how their outing went.

“Pssst!” A paw taps Peppermint’s back and shocks her, “Hey!”

Conductive Spacedust, must’ve been Sleet trying to get her attention. Peppermint turns around and notices an attentive Nightshade is with him. “What’s up?”
“What do you mean what’s up?” Sleet huffs, “Look at the group!”

“Huh? We have been…” Her voice trails off as she scans the assemble. All still in their own world or pestering the teachers. Everything has been the same for the past twenty minutes, until she reaches the back. “Wait…” Peppermint’s long ears perk up, “Where did Matcha go?”

Sol gasps. “Ika is gone too!”

“Marconi and Pixie vanished as well.” Nightshade spats, “Up to trouble, I’m sure of it!”

Matcha wouldn’t be one to run off like that, he doesn’t like the outdoors to begin with!

“Can you help us, Pepper?” Sleet looks up with large yellow eyes. “You’re the best at scouting, your father is a compass and all.”
“Their name is Compass.” She corrects him. “But that’s…” Peppermint begins counting, “That’s going to be eight cats now missing.”

“No, seven,” Sol inches closer to the three. “I don’t think anyone is going to notice. Verona is watching the butterflies and Copper keeps distracting the others. I’ll stay put just in case anything goes wrong...or worse, I-I guess."

“You’re the best, Sol!” The green and purple spacecat presses her nose against his forehead. “Hopefully we will be back before we need to regroup. If anyone ask, uh, say we went to the restroom!”

“Let’s get going then!” Nightshade jumps up. “I’m pretty sure they went this way. That’s where all the—”

“Hold on.” Peppermint stops them with their tail. The direction the smaller spacecat was heading to was back into the city, which seems like a reasonable route. However, a trail of white petals leading the opposite direction said another story. Away from the city? Deeper in the woods? Is Matcha crazy?! She recalls stories from Lucia about a frightening dragon that prowls throughout the woods at night, could that be their inspiration? But that was near Starville, not in Pinwheel Forest.

“You two, follow me.”

---

Curse these little legs! A few strides left Matcha panting and leaning against the nearest tree. He needs to catch them before it’s too late! Who knows what sort of trouble they’re getting themselves into? Or what if they are lost? Hurt? Please don’t let it be anything crazy! “Oh Ika, why did you have to follow Pixie out of all cats?!” His friend was smarter than that.

Matcha shakes his pelt and checks the line of petals, so far so good. No more time to waste, he continued with his searching. Look for pink and white flowers…Pink and white… He repeats in his mind. The brown cat spent so much effort thinking about it that he passed by a heavy batch several trees ago.

It all happens too fast. Matcha attempts to stop himself and ends up falling flat on his face, the petals he grew beneath him did not break his fall. No time to think about the dirt in his mouth and pain welling on his muzzle, he rises back to his paws and retraced his steps. As he draws closer to the cluster of pink and white flowers, a familiar voice rings in his ears. That sounds like Pixie!

Just in the nick of time, looks like they all found it around the same time. “Here they are.” Pixie traces a paw under the strangely shaped flowers. Strange, Match’s never seen a flower in a hexagonal shape before.

“Ah! They’re so pretty!” Ika’s whiskers quiver with excitement. “There’s plenty too, we can share them with the others!”

Marconi scoffs. “As if! I want wings and cool spacedust! Then if everyone gets them, we won’t look cool…just common, eugh.”
“We could sell them for lots of cloudcoins!” Pixie mutters under his breath. “I could make a fortune with two of these.”

“Hey! You three!” Matcha yowls. Only Marconi and Ika reacted to his call, Pixie was too busy picking out flowers.
“Matcha! Hhhiii!” The aquatic spacecat purrs. “Here to be mythical as well?”

“What? N-No!” He whines, “I’m here to stop you guys!”

Now Pixie decided to listen to him. She picks out two more flowers, hands one to Marconi, and flicks a petal on Matcha’s forehead. “Hm, stop us?” She laughs, “You’re so silly, Matcha! Will granting you the power to turn into a rabbit keep your mouth shut?”

Matcha’s neck fur rises. “A bride? Are you serious? Aren’t you even scared about getting in trouble?!”

Pixie dismisses his question. “Clearly you don’t know who you are talking to, little Matcha Tea. I am no way in trouble, I am the trouble.” She picks up the largest flower of the bunch, “Enjoy, my friends!”

“N-No!”

“Don’t touch that Don’t touch that Don’t touch that Don’t touch that Don’t touch that!”

Suddenly a flash of brown and pink zips past Matcha and collides with Pixie. She landed with a loud oof as flowers scattered around them. “Did you eat it? Did anyone here, NO!” The brown cat slaps the flower out of Ika’s paws. “Are you out of your mind?!”

“Nightshade?” Matcha gasps. There’s a search party! Is the entire group here? “You found us!”

A taller green and purple spacecat appears beside him. “P-Peppermint!” He squeaks, then a blue and yellow cat closer to his height pads on his right. “Wait, Sleet?”

“What in the world were you thinking?!” Peppermint hisses under her breath, “Wandering off like that? That isn’t you.”
“I was trying to stop them!”
“Should’ve told an adult…”
Matcha squints at her. “Does Rona and Drona know about your whereabouts?”
Peppermint’s tail dropped. “Touche.”

“Kalmia latifolia,” Nightshade lets go of Pixie and swipes the petals away from them, “Commonly known as calico-bush, spoonwood, or the mountain laurel. They’re highly poisonous.”

“You better listen to them,” Sleet flattens her ears. “Nightshade is usually a calm cat until toxicology is involved.”

“Touching it is harmless, however consuming even a fraction of its petals could be fatal. Unless you have the power to control and grow plants, don’t touch them!”

Marconi scratches her ear. “Sooooo, I’m not getting wings?”

I’ve never seen them act so…headstrong and vocal. Nightshade is typically so quiet and relaxed. “That means if I ate it…nothing will happen?”

“Why in the world would that matter?” Sleet rolls her eyes, “Geeez, let’s head back already. Peppermint, time to be a compass like your dad.”

“For the last time, they’re not a compass! Their name is Compass!”

---

“How in the world did you lose that many students?!”

This is a rare sight. Leif is in visible distress and yelling at Rona and Drona. “First you were fifteen minutes late to the meeting spot and now you’re short by seven cats?! How is that even possible?”

And while the clover spacecat went on with his shouting, students and adults alike try to calm down a trembling Compass. “Ooooh, she’s gone. Peppermint is gone.” they circle around the pavilion, “My daughter is gone, I-I’m never going to see her again…”

Sol blocks their path. “Now hold on!” Ey yelps, “I-I’m sure Peppermint and the others aren’t that far.”
“Doesn’t kit have a special compass too?” Verona chimes in, “Even if Peppermint was lost, she can find her way back no problem…” She eyes the smaller cat, “Right?”

Their reassurance didn’t help in the slightest. Compass went on pacing and believing the worst, Leif wasn’t going to calm down, and there’s still seven cats missing. What a great way to end the day.

“How in the world do you even lose seven cats?” Copper sticks her tongue out, “One or two? That can happen, but seven?! Talk about bad chaperons!”

“Now hold on!” Blackthorn snarls, “You spent the entire excursion messing with Rona and Drona!”

“How do you know? Where is your proof? You were in Nanami’s group!”

“Isn’t it obvious?! You did it yesterday, the day before, during the bus ride—"

“I need all of you to be quiet.” Nanami steps between the two quarrelling students, green eyes blazing. “Now is not the time for pointless arguments, this is a serious matter! Doesn’t matter how it happened, what’s done is done.”

Blackthorn and Copper scowl at one another before taking a few steps back. “Whatever…” The darker one growls.

“Huh…” Verona flicks an ear. “You’re rather calm about this, Ms. Nanami.”

“I’m trying my best—” She hisses quietly. “One adult needs to stay stable, and unfortunately I take that title until further notice.”

Thankfully Leif manages to calm down and asks any students if they knew the other’s whereabouts. All of them gave the same story of Copper distracting their chaperones and staying in one area for only half an hour. Only Sol gave a different answer and explained they went to the restroom. “Peppermint, Nightshade, and Sleet left together,” he explains. “The others, I’m unsure.”

“Knowing they left together is a good sign.” Leif sighs, “Now where in the world would—”

“Hhhhiiii!” A cheerful cry burst into the pavilion. All the concerned cats whip their head at the same time and greeted with a bright Ika waving at everyone. The rest of the missing cats stood behind it. “Sorry about that, we are okay as you can ssseee!”

“Ah, there they are.” Rona tilts her head heavily to one side, “I knew they would make it back safely.”

“There was this—” Peppermint gets cut off as Compass crashes into her in full speed and pulls their daughter into a tight hug. “H-Hey! It’s hard to breathe!”

“Thank goodness you’re okay!” They cried out, “I-I thought I lost you! What in the world were you thinking?!”

“Aaah, heeelp me…”

“All of you have some explaining to do.” Leif shakes her head in disappointment. “Separating from your group like that? You should know better.”

“Especially you, Matcha.” Nanami’s eyes lower. “Were you thinking at all?”

Peppermint couldn’t respond, Compass’s embrace was so powerful that all her words came out as strained wheezes. Ika and Marconi eye one another, Pixie refuses to speak, and Nightshade kept avoiding the adult’s stern looks.

“Guess I will explain,” Sleet straightens her posture. “Pixie’s fault.”

“Hey!”

She ignores Pixie’s outcry. “Causing trouble as always then got Ika and Marconi involved. The rest of us went searching for them. Peppermint thought they were looking for a dragon but turns out they were messing with flowers.”

Leif flinches at the mention of a dragon.

“Hmm?” Drona raises her head, “Are you alright, Leif?”

“Y-Yes, fine.”

“Sorry…” Matcha shuffles his paws, “We didn’t mean to

“What matters is that everyone is safe and sound, then— Goodness, Compass.” Nanami pulls them away from their daughter, “Let her breathe!”

Poor Peppermint almost collapses from the lack of weight on her. Sol hurries to her side as she tries to regain her strength, Verona asks Matcha if there were any unique bugs he found while searching, and Nightshade mutters a quiet “thank you” to the others before meeting up with her cousin Sleet.

All was well for now; they can finally return to the hotel with their worries behind them. “When we get back to Starville…” Leif mutters to Pixie, “I’m going to have a long talk with your mother…”

Peppermint snorts, serves him right.