The Black Hound of Bakersfield

The New Hound Of Camp Bakersfield

Dinner was spaghetti with red sauce, which wasn't nearly as good as Frank's, along with a slice of garlic bread and salad. Max lay under the table at Lexi's feet, and she hand-fed him a noodle from time to time. Rex sat next to her on the left, but otherwise, they were alone at the table. Kate was sitting across the room with Iris and a group of girls. Jack was nowhere to be seen.

Someone plunked down their tray next to the two of them. Lexi saw a flash of blue hair and realized who it was.

"Oh hey," Lexi smiled.

"Hi again," Aislin replied, shoveling a forkful of noodles into her mouth. After she swallowed, she added, "Pasta night is the best, isn't it? Well, there's also beef stew night, that's good too! Oh, and in the summer, when we roast hot dogs over a fire, that's one of my favorites!"

"Do you come to Camp Bakersfield a lot?" Rex asked.

"Oh! Another new person, yay! I'm Aislin. And yeah, I'm here every other weekend, and then two months in the summer, plus every other Christmas. That's when it's my dad's turn to have me, but he works too much to actually take care of me, so he sends me here instead."

"I'm sorry..." Rex replied, not sure what to say.

"Don't be! I love Camp Bakersfield. All my friends are here. There's a lot of us who are here for the exact same reason. What about you guys? What brings you to camp this weekend?" Aislin asked.

"We're part of a group, Lorh, for teens with abilities. The adults had to take a training course this weekend, so we ended up here since there would be no one else home." Rex explained.

"Really? That's so cool! I've always wanted to be in one of those groups, but my parents won't let me. They say it's not safe. But when I turn 18, I'll join one!" Aislin grinned, and then turned to Lexi, "That means you are a shifter! I thought I could smell that you were, but I couldn't tell for sure."

Lexi nodded, and Aislin asked, "What's your shifted form though? I can't tell for certain... It's not something I've smelled before. Let me guess... A cat, of some sort..." Aislin sniffed the air around them, "Leopard, maybe?" She asked.

"Nope, but close," Lexi replied.

"Yeah, that wouldn't be right, I've smelled leopard before and there's something different about you... Cougar? But that doesn't explain the exotic scent that lead me to think leopard... Cheetah?" Aislin questioned.

"No, not either of those."

"Argh! Just tell me!" She smiled in anticipation.

"Tiger."

"THAT'S SO COOL!!!" Aislin shouted, and every head in the cafeteria turned to look at our table for a moment, before losing interest and going back to their own conversations. "I've never met a tiger shifter before! They're almost unheard of in this part of the world!"

"I'm one of four in the USA. One of nine, if you include all of North and South America." Lexi stated.

"This is awesome! Wanna wrestle after dinner? I bet I can beat you in a race! I've never got to play with another big cat before." Aislin began to scarf her meal.

"You're a leopard, right?" Lexi asked.

"You're close, I'm a jaguar." She answered.

"I guess I can accept that challenge, then." Lexi grinned.

..........................................................

After finished eating, Aislin led Lexi out to one of the far fields on the property. Rex took Max with him to go find Jack, and see if he could get Jack out of whatever trouble he had gotten into.