Coyote and Tiger were playing chess one night when they decided to go on an Epic Walk. Well, I say Coyote decided, but it was mostly Tiger and Coyote was up for it. They decided to leave at the witching hour and walk in one direction until they met Sun. So then they went to round other people up from the dorm. Ferret was willing, but he always likes long wanderings at any hour, so that wasn't surprising. Gopher and Toad both said they'd come along, but Rabbit said he was feeling tired and wanted to sleep. "Call me when you need picked up, you won't make it as far as Sun" he told them. All the rest in the dorm weren't interested and most thought Coyote and Tiger were crazy.
Tiger wanted Lone Wolf to come along too, but knew he would be a hard sell. So Coyote suggested convincing Dove first - she liked random stuff like that, and if they could get her on board, she had a good shot of convincing Wolf. After all, she's not your typical Dove, too playful and mischievous for that, just like Lone Wolf is too anti-social to fit with any one pack long-term. Funny how couples work that way. So they went down to the Nest of the Great Jay, where Dove and Wolf were working until the witching hour anyway. Ferret, Gopher, and Toad wandered off to snag some snacks while Coyote and Tiger talked to Dove. "Come with us," they said, "we're going to walk until we meet Sun. We'll fun, and Wolf doesn't hang out with us enough anyway. We'll leave after you get off work."
Well, it took a little, but not too much, cajoling by Dove, but Lone Wolf agreed to come along with the crew. He hates Gopher and Toad, though he tolerates Toad for use as a target of abuse. The rest he liked, and Dove quite a bit of course. So the crew came back right before close and hung around while Wolf closed the store up and Dove helped him finish up. They needed to go back and change, which Ferret and Tiger grumbled about, but understood. So with all that taken care of, the seven friends set off.
Dove and Ferret started singing Les Miserables as they walked down the streets of the Virgin Queen City, and Coyote joined in. Then they all switched to The Lumberjack Song, which Tiger and Gopher led while the others chimed in. Well, I say led, but it was more tried to remember as best they could. Lone Wolf didn't sing, but was definitely amused by all this, and Toad followed along as best he could.
They hadn't picked a direction for sure yet, but had decided to walk out of Town on High Street. As they walked by Peace Alley, Wolf and Tiger staged a fight while Ferret took a picture. Then Dove climbed on some statue. This sort of thing would, of course, continue all night. The seven walked on, past the train station, and came to a fork. Decision time. To the left, a fairly well-lit street leading up to (and eventually past) the Old Folks home. To the right, a darker fork, heading out through some light woods into the Red Rose countryside, eventually perhaps to the River. A council. Toad and Gopher were fairly unconcerned about which fork - Gopher was getting cold, but with some needling convinced himself to stay. Ferret, Tiger, and Coyote were all about the right fork, but Dove quailed - theatrically, being a Theatre bird as she was. Wolf was convinced to go right, and Dove went along - insisting that none of the guys sneak off into the woods to jump out, as Tiger had been suggesting.
So right they went, Tiger leading the way. Then he ran off into the darkness, leaving the others behind.
