Challenge Accepted

“We accept your silly dare!” Sebastian proclaimed. Stomping his paw against the ground stirring up the dirt and dust into the girls’ faces. Arthur hummed enthusiastically in agreement. They growled lowly and wiped their faces to rid the dust.

“Good luck fellas, no lynx has ever been able to stay the whole night in the haunted part of the forest.” Meadow stated matter-of-factly. “Not even the wolves could do it, they’ve all ran with their tails tucked between their legs!” Esmé exclaimed.

“Luck? Pfft. We’re the bravest of the brave! We don’t need luck!” Arthur continued, “Every animal is going to hear about us, we’ll be the hottest gossip amongst all the forest!” Sebastian paw-bumped Arthur in agreement. “The ladies are going to be all over us once they hear how brave we are. We’ll be hard to resist!” Sebastian thought aloud.

Esmé snorted, “Keep daydreaming, Sebastian. That’s all you think about. Typical.” Meadow giggled at Esmé, “Says you, Es, all I hear about is a certain Leo fellow.”

The boys bellowed a deep belly laugh as Esmé hid her face in her paws and groaned loudly. “Alright, alright, we’re heading off on our adventure to prove you wrong!” Sebastian stated wiping his eyes of tears with his paw. “Meet here at dawn?” Asked Arthur.

The girls nodded in agreement and retreated to their den to sleep. Sebastian and Arthur looked at each other before walking towards the darker parts of the forest. “Are we really doing this? I’m nervous” Arthur asked. Sebastian could see the nervousness in his eyes.

“Y-yes.” Truthfully, Sebastian was nervous too, but he has too much pride to back out. The boys continued to walk further into the darkness. “This isn’t so bad. It’s only a bit dark. Nothing to fear.” Sebastian told Arthur whilst his confidence started to grow again. “Yeah, sure. It’s still a bit scary in the dark.” Arthur said shakily. They looked around for a comfortable area to lie down for the night and complete this challenge.

In the dark, they could still see only a slight amount. There were crickets singing their songs in the distance. Small ruffles of earthly nature sounded here and there. A few owls made their presence known as well with hoots of hellos. “A-ha! This should do, what do you think, Arthur?” Sebastian asked. Arthur looked at their spot and agreed with him. It looks to be comfortable enough and it isn’t too far from the edge of the dark forest for them to escape.

Arthur began messing with the earth to make a comfortable bed in their spot. Noticing Sebastian was copying his movements, he laid down and proceeded to get ready to sleep. Both Lynx’s were on edge; this was new territory and there were so many stories about unfortunate forest dwelling’s ventures in these parts. Neither feline would admit that they were scared hairless to be out there.

“How do you think they’re holding up?” Meadow asked Esmé. She looked up thoughtfully, “I think they’ll be out before morning. I suggest a bet. If they’re out before dawn, you owe me twenty grass dollars.” Esmé proposed. “Oh, you’re on! If they make it ‘till dawn, then you owe me twenty grass dollars!” Meadow exclaimed. They shook paws and solidified their bet.

A loud rustling sound echoed loudly near the boys. Arthur’s head shot up and scanned their surroundings unnervingly. He looked to Sebastian who appeared to be asleep. “Just keep your eyes closed and pretend it didn’t happen” Sebastian whispered. Arthur nodded and laid his head back down and tried to go back to sleep. With already shaken nerves, the forest sounds got louder in Arthur’s imagination. He took some deep breaths to calm his nerves. The sounds had gone back to low murmurs and Arthur was able to lay down once more.

Growling and roaring had sounded that caused both Sebastian and Arthur to jolt up startled. “What was that?” Sebastian asked. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. Let’s find a different spot? That sound was too close.” Arthur said. Sebastian grunted and started walking off further into the forest. Arthur hesitated but followed in suit.

“This place gives me the creeps, and it’s only been a few hours.” Stated Arthur. He was scanning the area frantically, searching for any signs of danger. Sebastian had walked upon another spot that looked decent enough to sleep for the remaining hours of nightfall. “This should do, let’s get some sleep and not allow ourselves to be frightened” Sebastian suggested. “Okay, fine. Fine.” Arthur reluctantly said as he patted the earth to make a new bed to lie on. In truth, Arthur wanted to go back and get out of here, but he didn’t want to leave his pal behind. So, he sucked up his fears and settled onto the earth for rest.

Sebastian had followed suit and noticed Arthur was already asleep. He lay next to his pal on the earthly bed he made. It wasn’t so bad, but still not as great as their den. It was warm and cozy; there, they knew they were safe. Out here, there were eerie noises that made Sebastian’s heartbeat erratically. Only a couple hours left of nightfall now, they can do this Sebastian thought.

Dawn had begun to show itself through the treetops and the early birds were chirping happily about the worms and bugs. The felines stretched something big as they woke. Arthur looked around, seeing the dark forest in the light wasn’t as scary as the previous night. With big yawns and empty stomachs, they began to venture out of the dark forest with a triumphant attitude.

“We did it!” Arthur said in disbelief. He was stunned at their bravery. He didn’t think he could’ve done it alone. He was glad Sebastian was in his company. “I couldn’t have ever done that on my own. It was scary enough with company” Arthur exclaimed. Sebastian was excited to show up on the winning side of their dare.

The girls were waiting close to the edge of the dark forest for them to walk out. “I told you, gone already! Twenty grass dollars, please” Esmé thrusted her paw forward waiting for the payment.

“Turn around,” Meadow gently commanded. Meadow was wearing a facial expression of smugness. Esmé turned around and her smile dropped. She now had twenty grass dollars less. She pushed the grass dollars into Meadow’s paws. Esmé was flabbergasted; she just couldn’t believe it. They did it.

Sebastian and Arthur walked out grinning widely. “Who’s the scaredy cat now?”