/ i'm sorry for my novel (skip to the last part if you don't want lame exposition) & obnoxiously happy son

the feeling of someone watch him became more consistent as he covered more ground. it had caused his fur to rise, ears to swivel around, and small yelps of surprise to tumble our of his mouth every time something touched him. with all these conflicting feelings within the male, it begged to ask as to why he had decided to come here in the first place, abandon the only place he's been comfortable with to trudge through heart attack-enducing lands. to him, home was once a lone cabin in a secluded forest, where the trickling of water in a nearby brook and cute little critters bouncing in and out of lush green foliage kept him great company. it was safe to set up a small text outside of the cabin and enjoy a night out eating s'mores, playing his ukulele, and watching the white-dotted sky above him. he'd even kept his door open for anybody passing by, offering them advice around the forest, giving them good, and patching up small injuries they've acquired with his limited knowledge on herbs. to anyone peering into his life, it'd seem extremely odd to figure out why he wanted to leave his a utopian-like lifestyle. and in all honesty, he wasn't sure himself. he loved his old home and the small critters he had as friends, as well as everything else. but that was the keyword: 'loved'. happycamper, a nickname he'd acquired due to his chipper attitude by those that passed by, had grown anxious to know how the outside world was. the peaceful atmosphere the meadow had to offer paled in comparison to the rough and tough (and exciting!) life others would tell him about. he yearned to drop everything and see how true their accounts were, even if it ended up killing him. well, perhaps he wouldn't be as interested if the chances of him dying were high, but he'd take the risk anyway.

so, that's what he did. happycamper took some time to clean up his cabin of any necessities he'd have to bring along. in an old forest green satchel his mother had given to him before she passed, the ginger feline tucked away multiple books (mainly camping manuals, cheesy romantic fiction, and guides on herbal remedies), bags of sweets he'd baked, and bundles of healing herbs. he slung his sticker-covered ukulele across his back. finally, he tied his yellow bandana around his neck, which he realized he should've done first. happy did some other things before finally leaving the cabin, but they weren't of too much importance to recall. after saying goodbye to the rabbits and birds he called his friends, the ginger male had set out in the direction to the most common area many travelers told him about. it was a newly claimed area, a loose group of sorts. he had planned to go out on his own, but he'd changed it to live with others and gain some more experience on the 'loner lifestyle' - one that didn't have all the possible luxuries he once did. it didn't take long for him to leave the part of the forest he knew best and into a swamp-area, one he didn't know existed. red fur managed to get ruffled up and covered in unknown mediums not even 5 minutes walking in it, and he was soon getting scared by everything around him. happycamper was almost ready to call it quits and go back to his cabin when he managed to slip out of the cabin area and into a somewhat-nicer looking forest. after a small break to freshen up, he continued on, until he stopped at what he assumed to be the border of this fresh new group. he didn't know the name of it or... well, anything about it, but he didn't think that would be too important. he was just so excited to be able to start off this new adventure! even though unpleasant things happened to him, happycamper still wore his signature cheerful grin and was practically vibrating with happiness. [glow=#000,1,400]"oh, hello there!"[/glow] the chipper male called out loudly, voice dripping with joy, [glow=#000,1,400]"my name is david, though many i have met have called me 'happycamper', and i'm here to hopefully join this wonderful place and become friends with you all! oh, and before i forget!"[/glow] he cut himself off to open his satchel and pluck out a bag filled with somewhat-warm cookies. he set them in front of himself, once again beaming, [glow=#000,1,400]"i made some sugar cookies for you guys, and they're gluten-free as well! golly-gee, i'm so excited!"[/glow] he finally finished, mainly saying the last part to himself.

happycamper wasn't sure what he was expecting to come and greet him. someone energetic like himself? someone ready to snap their jaws mere centimeters from his face? whatever it was, the sight of venus made him both cautious and relieved. cautious because, if the territory taught him anything in the past few minutes walking through it, it was to be careful of the surroundings, including those that live in it. relief because, well, gosh darn, someone did live in these... interesting areas! much like venus was observing him, happycamper did the same, but less calculating and more of trying to gauge her reactions and whatnot. the ginger feline stopped himself from bombarding them with questions, and instead let them speak first. "oh! um..." the question through him off guard for a bit, letting his ambient features drop slightly until they came back up once more. he'd never had someone ask him that before, even if he offered both names. everyone he'd ever interacted with had never called him by his real name, always calling him 'happycamper.' yet this time it was different, and he wasn't sure how to feel about it all. "i... would prefer you call me 'happycamper,' but if it makes you feel more better, then... go... ahead...." his voice soon slipped into nothingness as he tried to gather himself together, and quickly. 'no need to get all willy nilly over terrible memories now, you doof,' he chastised himself.

it didn't take him long to compose himself, once again having a brilliant smile plastered across his spotted muzzle. it was almost like nothing had happened whatsoever - to him, at least. "thank you for welcoming me, venus, to... ah, tanglewood! i actually didn't know the name of this place, but it seems fitting, and i like it!" admittedly he had thought the group would have a somewhat more sinister name, one where it would send anyone coming along running back to their mother. yet 'tanglewood' didn't have such an effect. he wasn't sure if he liked that or not. but what he did know was that he was already going to love it here. happycamper listened intently to venus's words, feeling his smile stretch out even more, if even possible, "you're welcome for the cookies, kiddo! and hey, nothing bad in being too careful. you never know who might get something nasty by eating some gluten. they themselves might know know either! i promise it still tastes good even without that pesky little thing in there. would you like one? if not... well no worries, i have different ones anyway! or i can make you some later on, whatever you'd like- oh, maybe you could even help me!" he disregarded their strained smile, knowing too well what a genuine grin looked like compared to something fake. he was glad that they were holding up basic manners, at the very least. instead, he seemed pumped at the idea of being able to bake with someone. it was rare he could have others make sweets with him. it was highly unlikely venus would want to bake with him, but it didn't mean he would stop pestering them about it.

the next member of tanglewood caught him a bit off guard with the python wrapped around her in such a casual manner. he wasn't terrified of the reptiles, but a sense of wariness did cling to him. he was used to soft bunnies and songbirds that would often bring him gifts, like sticks. never had he dealt with a a predatory creature before, besides the few annoyed travelers he'd open his home to. soon the feelings were melted away by the presumed owner of the reptile speaking up and introducing herself. "hello there, miss amount! it's a pleasure to meet you, and big thanks for the welcome here!" happycamper gleefully stated. he was glad that someone had decided to address him by his preferred name, though he wouldn't have stayed mad anyway if she had called him 'david' - much like venus's case. his paw was still gently pressed against the bagged cookies, and small movement between the sweets brought his attention to them. "ah, sorry if this is becoming tiresome, but would you or your cute little friend there like a cookie?"

the next person to come up was someone he would've entirely missed were it not for his sweeping gaze accidentally locking onto the pair of shining eyes behind venus. a soft 'oh!' left his mouth and his ears unconsciously perked in surprise. his beaming smile shrunk into something more welcoming and gentle, a sort of natural relax to him whenever he encountered someone with a shy demeanor - and the pretty lady wasn't an exception to it. "hiya," he greeted back, voice mirroring his smile by lowering in volume and sliding into his more naturally deeper voice. one not elevated to something so loud and bubbly like he was before. happycamper kept his lively green eyes trained on belladonna, tilting his head slightly to mirror the female's own curiosity. he couldn't say himself that she seemed familiar, but there was something in him that made him want to question if she'd ever crossed his cabin before. maybe he'd seen her pass the cabin in a fleeting moment? that'd seem like the best bet. with his mind thinking about it, he'd almost missed her asking for a cookie. a boyish smile replaced his welcoming one as he fumbled with both the bag and his words, "oh, my apologies! i was daydreaming back there, really sorry. of course you can have one!" with that, he broke off his sentence and managed to open the bag. he pulled one of the warmest cookies from there (how they were still warm was unknown to him) and held it out to her, a soft chuckle tumbling out of his mouth. "made with love and adoration by yours truly! i hope they're good... sorry, miss, but what's your name?" he hoped he didn't miss it in his stupid daydreaming moment, or else he'd feel extremely terrible. probably up and leave if he had to.

once again (somewhat) entranced by belladonna's shy nature, he'd missed buggedout coming out of nowhere. the child's sudden loud voice caused happy to slightly jump. if belladonna hadn't grabbed the cookie by then, he would've surely dropped it on the ground. happycamper's emerald eyes snapped from the female to the young male in front of him, taking small steps backwards to give themselves some space. the annoyance dripping from bugged's foul words was extremely evident, and happycamper could only raise an invisible eyebrow as he tried to wrap his mind around both his ramblings and surprising amount of frustration within his small body. yet as he went on and on with both introducing himself and possible attempts to insult happy and his baked goods, he could only let his boyish grin turn into the original big and goofy one. "well lemme tell ya, kiddo, it's certainly a great pleasure meeting you! though i've gotta say, not that proud of the attitude you've got there. though no worries, buggedout kuryakin, we can work on some positivity later - if you'd like, of course! and i promise you these are not death cookies. like i said before, i made it with 50% love and 50% adoration - maybe with some hints of cinnamon tossed into the sugar, but that could be our little secret." it seemed like buggedout's attempts to bring down happy had only deflected off the male, and instead brought some intense curiosity over the child. he had an urge to ask where his parents were, but considering the area they were in and his attitude, he felt like asking would end up with bugged possibly tearing one of his eyes out. the more he looked at him, the more sure he was that he'd have to keep an eye on the kid. it might end terribly, but he didn't care. as long as bugged was safe, that was all that mattered. possibly not the best considering the obvious disrespect he'd given him, but happy, once again, didn't care. with his dazzling smile simmering down to something more smaller and manageable, happycamper let out a small laugh. "if you want, we can make some not-death cookies, even though these aren't death cookies at all. maybe i can show you some recipes to try out with your friends as well! doesn't that sound super duper awesome, buggy?" it was clear that happy wasn't going to leave bugged alone, especially after using a nickname that the child would possibly not like.