It had been awhile since they arrived at the forest, a week maybe? The group had traveled for a while now, exploring the vast lands that were the forest. Today, they were camped around a crystal clear lake, drinking from it and hunting around in the surrounding area. It had been mostly peaceful, though Jack tended to lash out from time to time. Strangely, Ol' Mackerel seemed younger lately, mentally and physically. Maybe he was just over thinking things, but it was still unusual nonetheless. Nutmeg had been almost completely useless the whole time, only ever doing anything to help the group when they gathered around to cheer up from the dreary days. She couldn't even hunt! Tonight, the moon was full and the routine continued.

"So, what mistakes do you guys plan on making tomorrow?" Jack asked with a growl. He always asked the same question each night, predicting the inevitable mistakes the group would make. On day one of exploring, Nutmeg had led them to a cliff's edge in the middle of a wind storm, almost throwing them all off the side. On day two, Jackal had found some elk and got them chased for more than half the day to get the large animals off their trail. On day three, Elizabeth almost drowned. Those two days after that, Cinnamon got herself stuck way too often when she tried to fit through little spaces. On day six, Jack almost got the group stung by aggressive bees. Lemon remembered Ol' Mackerel shouting about them being 'wasps' or something. Speaking of the old dog, he was the only one who hadn't messed up so far, having found them the lake and calming Lemon down when he tried to chase a rabbit that ended up being eaten by a fox. All their close calls ended with them being saved by Ol' Mackerel.

"Hmmm, maybe get eaten by a rabbit?" Nutmeg said cheerfully, clearly joking but not showing any signs that was the case. Was she even joking? Did she think it was possible to be eaten by a creature that only feasts on the finest of grasses?

"How... How does a rabbit eat a dog?!?!? Has this happened to you before?!" Jackal cried, seemingly worried and very confused. "Rabbits don't even eat meat!"

"They can eat fur," said Nutmeg all matter-of-a-factly, "It's technically not meat. And, if you haven't noticed, I have quite a lot of fur."

The group fell silent for a while before Elizabeth seemed to have something to add to the conversation, "You do seem to have a surplus of fluff..."

"Indeed," agreed Lemon but with a confused expression. "But still, that doesn't count as eating a dog."

"But they ate PART of a dog, so it still counts." Nutmeg retorted, sticking out her tongue as if she had won and were already gloating.

"Nutmeg, you are not going to be eaten by a rabbit," a stern voice said, clearly giving itself away as Jack. "Get those silly ideas out of your head."

Nutmeg just sighed and muttered, "y'all don't get my genius..." before walking off. She disappeared into the woods without a trace, her pawsteps fading away moments after they were placed. Guilt radiated from the group, soon causing them to split away from the small circle they were in and padding over to their own places around the lake. Lemon sat down next to the large lake, nudging a rock into the cool water and watching it float for a while before sinking. How he loved to look at the lake. It reminded him of the pond his owner had before he had been sent to the pound. Not liking to dwell on his old owner, Lemon turned away from the cool waters and laid down. A chill ran through his fur just as his eyes shut, and he was whisked away into a dream weirder than any he ever had before.

Blue. Blue waves, blue glass, blue thoughts, and blue fur. Fur? The waves and blue shards of glass were suddenly picked up by a whirlwind of pure light, a figure appearing through all the blue. A light and dark blue charles spaniel emerged from the blinding light, their pelt sparkling in the light. "Do not fear the water, young one. It shall only aid you on your quest, not harm you," she said calmly, landing down in front of him as water rushed from her paws, though she never shrunk.

"Quest?" Lemon echoed, caught off guard by the angelic voice that boomed through the ocean themed cave. "What do you mean 'quest'? What is going on here? Am I dreaming?"

"You are asleep, but I assure you I am real. I am called Soothe, and I fear that is all I can tell you about myself at the moment. But, did you really believe you were led here for no reason. Listen, I don't have much time, but don't trust anyone who your gut tells you not to. I'll be with you throughout your journey. Goodbye and goodluck." And with those worried words, Soothe was gone, leaving Lemon utterly confused while he stared at a puddle of water.

Gasping, the golden retriever scampered into a sitting position, a wave of relief washing over him. It must've just been a dream. Hopefully. Looking around, he noted Nutmeg had returned during the night, and all the others had woken up far earlier than him or never slept at all. Among those who seemed like they hadn't slept was Jack, who seemed annoyed and irritated at something. Lemon got to his paws with a yawn and headed over to the group who seemed to be waiting for him to wake, huddled in a circle.

"So, where are we headed today?" He asked calmly, looking around at the uncomfortable group as confusion ran through him.

"We're not headed anywhere, not together at least. I think we should split up." Jack said, his voice rough from lack of sleep.