Teemo had been around for a while, and had seen a lot of changes made to Bandle over the course of his life. Changes were made to the Scouts too. There were kids now, for one.
He deeply disapproved of the Jr Scouts program, not because it was a military program aimed at children, or because it could very easily lead to said children getting hurt, but because it meant Teemo would have to deal with children.
Regular grown up people were unpleasant enough, but children were irrational, unpredictable, and generally disgusting.
It was a nice day in Bandle City, with weather that was warm but also breezy and a robinās egg blue sky with fat white clouds scooting heartily across it above. Teemo smiled warmly at the group of three Jr Scouts that were lined up in front of him, all looking up at him with such obvious hero worship it made him want to burst out laughing. Kids were stupid, but at least they were easy to manipulate.
āIām told you did well on your last assignment, Jr Scouts,ā he told them seriously and the three of them looked like they might explode with pride.
āWe always do our very best, sir!ā declared the leader of the Jr Scout patrol, the girl with the glasses. Teemo didnāt sigh, but the enthusiasm made him tired.
āThat is the Scout way,ā he said instead, nodding, ābut your success means you need a new assignment.ā
The three young yordles looked up at him with huge eyes and Glasses even started bouncing on her heels. Teemo smiled at them again instead of sighing or rolling his eyes. The task he was going to give them was menial at best, but they were children, so that described pretty much all the tasks they were given.
Teemo produced a sheet of paper, ostensibly a page from his journal, although in actuality it was a copy he had made for this. He wasnāt in the habit of ripping pages out of his journal. On it was a list of plants and other ingredients needed to make a sleep concoction that he sometimes used in darts when he had been ordered to go non-lethal, as well as the longitude and latitude of where to find them in the forest that surrounded Bandle. Technically he grew all of them in his greenhouse and didnāt need anyone to go get them for him, but the kids needed something to do.
He handed Glasses the list and explained their task. āFind me all these ingredients. Use your map and compass to reach each location and your field guides to identify each ingredient correctly, do not eat any of these plants, theyāll make you sick if you do.ā Better safe than sorry, he figured. None of the plants were lethally toxic, but they could cause vomiting and such and Teemo wasnāt keen on getting yelled at because he didnāt warn them.
āWeāll get them all, Captain! You can count on us!ā cried Glasses, and the other two yordlelings agreed fiercely.
āGood, Iāll count on you to do it then,ā Teemo gave them all a stern look, āRemember to watch out for traps and other hazards. No landscape is without danger, remember that.ā
āYes sir!ā The three cried in unison.
āGood,ā Teemo replied with a nod, āThen off you go, you have three days.ā
The kids didnāt need telling twice and with a chorus of āyes sirā they saluted and then ran off.
Teemo sighed just a little and pinched the bridge of his nose.
āWhatās this?ā said Tristana who had been not so inconspicuously listening in from where she sat on a crate nearby cleaning her weapon, āThe great Captain Teemo, tired out by a couple kids?ā
Teemo gave her a wan smile, āTheyāre rambunctious,ā he told her and she laughed.
āThey love you, T,ā Tristana replied with a huge amused grin, āJust keep smiling at them and say āgood jobā now and then and theyāll worship the ground you walk on. No worries.ā
āIāll keep that in mind,ā Teemo told her dryly. She clicked her tongue and gave him a pair of finger guns before getting back to her Boomer Cannon.
Teemo left to go do some actual work and put the kids out of his mind.
Two days later their parents reported that the three Jr Scouts hadnāt come home.
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