*Drakis, Darius, Drannus, and Angeline are copyrighted to Eric Huston

*All other characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 2

Peter's Return

 

                Classes sped by for him as school coninued.  He couldn't get over the fact that he knew someone who was a friend of Ralf Rance himself!  It was almost too good to be true!  Tom jumped onto his bus and kept the other half of his seat open for Ingrid when she got on.  She thanked him and sat down.  Right then something on her forehead glinted in the sunlight, "What's that?"  He asked, "Why does it shine like that?"

                Ingrid gasped and covered her forehead, "It's nothing.  Just a birth mark.  That's all..."

                Tom laughed, "Since when does a birth mark shine in the sun?!  I wanna see it!"

                Ingrid sighed, "I promised my dad I wouldn't tell anyone about it.  He says I need to keep it secret."

                "But it looks so cool!  Why would you wanna keep something like that secret?"

                "My dad got angry the last time I let someone see it.  He never gets angry except when I don't try to hide this."

                "How do you hide something like that?  It shines like it's made of silver or something!"

                "Hang on, I'll show you.  She started rummaging in her backpack for something.  A hat with the name Deep Rockers came out and she placed it on her head, "See?  You can't see it anymore."

                "I guess that works...but that's so cool!  I promise I won't tell anyone about it!  Can I look at it, please?!!"

                "But my dad said--"

                "Forget what he said!  Please?!!!  I'm gonna find out if I can get a tatoo like that!!"

                Ingrid had a confused look on her face as she slowly removed the hat.  The scar on her head shined even brighter in the sun, as if it enjoyed being shown to everyone.  Tom reached out a hand to touch it, but she stopped him, "It's my stop.  I'll see you tomorrow!"

 

                Drakis tried to sleep that night, but whenever he was able to, he was plagued by dreams.  Dreams of Melody, of all of his friends and family, and the dragoness from hell.  He kept waking up sweating.  At this particular time he found he had to use his bathroom and quickly took care of business.  He finished and went back to bed, feeling tired just from the thought of how many times he'd woken so far, "What is this, my eighteenth?!  I need some sleep..."  By his bed was a glass of water and a bottle of pills.  He shook out two pills and drank them down.  When next he slept, he couldn't wake up from the dream.

                He saw himslf, next to Tamaria, until the dragoness from hell, the demon he banished under the mountain of Stolis, rose up trhough a fissure and grabbed Tamaria in its clutches. Gigantic, it loomed over him, cursing all of Drakis' life. The rage started to build, along with the protective thoughts that fill his mind like a silver light. He felt the beast inside him surge, begging for release, and was equaled by the silver light, commanding him to take action against this evil. He saw the demon stretch its hand, the one clutching his love, over the world, and he saw all that he knew, all that he cared about, all he loved, dead and destroyed. He saw his love, dead in the demon's hand. He saw his cousin, dead alongside her child and lover. He saw his children, their lives stopped so early. He saw his friend, Gareth, in his true form as a human, lying next to his wife and child.

                He saw his friends, the rest of the Deep Rockers, dead and broken, on a destroyed stage. He saw his parents, lying dead as they had that fateful night. And, as always, the pain came back to him, the unbearable pain that everything he had done, everything he worked for, every sacrifice he made, was for naught. The rage, the hate, the pain all rose inside him, the beast begged for freedom.

                And he let it go.

                He let it all out, all his pain, all his hatred, all his rage, in one purified rush of fury, wreathed in a silver light, the light of the guardian, and charged, brimming with electric power, at the demon who was the cause of all his hate. He charged, his silver light diminishing the demon's size but not its potency. He fought against that impossibly quick and strong creature, countered by his rage and righteous anger. Suffused with light, he banished the demon, as he had done in his dreams for years. and when it was all over, he knew that all he saw dead, were still dead.

                But, this time, he saw that they were at peace.

                And he could not grieve.

                Drakis woke up with a start, as he had always done when this nightmare had come to him. Fortunately, he thought, he did not disturb Tamaria, lying so peacefully next to him.  Eyes glowing red, signifying what he held behind them, he looked around the room, still trying to shake the fear of the dream, "At least this time I didn't blast anything." He got up, heading to the bathroom, where he splashed water on his face, and went through the same little excersizes he did whenever he had that nightmare so vividly.  He took a coin, and used his magnetic powers to hold it perfectly still, then sent it spinning.  Clockwise, counterclockwise, sending it flying up, down, in loops, and ever more complicated manuevers until the headache that always followed the use of his magnetic powers took all memory of the nightmare from him.  He went around the apartment, checking on his children.  Seeing that nothing was amiss, he headed back to his room, and fell into dreamless sleep.

 

                Peter grumbled as he hid in the bushes outside Gareth's house, "I know where they live, but I can't do a thing about it!!!"  He brought his binoculars up once more, "There you are Hana...I've waited so long for this!!!!  Why the hell do I have to keep waiting?!!"  He could see everyone in that room.  Hana, Gareth, and the brat he was supposed to kidnap were all watching TV, oblivious to his prescence.  He growled and set the binoculars on the ground as he pulled out his cell phone, "Amy, this is definately their adress.  Why can't I just nab her when they all go to sleep?!"

                Amantha spoke from the other end, "Because, my lover, Gareth is an annoyingly light sleeper.  He'll hear you!  Switch places with a teacher or someone from the school and grab her that way!"

                "But that takes too long!  They are right in front of me; I could pull this off easily tonight!"

                "Yes, and get caught for it the next morning.  You'll have a head start if you take her from school.  Who knows?  Maybe the bus will have a 'malfunction'.  You could offer her a ride home."

                "We don't have a car, Amy.  She wouldn't believe me unless I had a car.  Tom met her today and told me all about her...she can think."

                "She's only six!  How hard can it be to fool a six-year-old?!"

                "Why don't you ask Tom?"

                "Fine, fine.  Just find a way to get her after you're in the school.  I'll talk to Tom and tell him not to talk about it."

                "I still think--"

                "Did you bring the tranquilizer?"

                "No."

                "Then you don't stand a chance.  You would have to wait at least another day with your plan."

                "Rrrrgggghhh...Amy, let me do this!  I can get in and get out without making a sound!  You know that!!"

                "Not tonight, Peter.  If you don't come home in the next ten minutes I'll--"  Peter cancled the call and started runnng back to their home in Yann City.  The last time he hadn't hurried home she had disappeared and nearly led the police to him on purpose!  He wasn't about to let that happen again.

                "Damn you, Gareth.  I'm not finished yet."

 

                Gareth woke staring into his wife's smiling face.  They had made love the night before, with such an intensity that he was surprised, and grateful, that Ingrid hadn't come in to ask what had woken her up.  Hana was still asleep, but the look of contentment she had either meant she was dreaming something wonderful, or her face had stayed that way all night.  Gareth chuckled and got dressed.  He walked over to Ingrid's room and gently shook her awake, "Ingrid, it's time for school."

                Ingrid yawned and 'got dressed'.  Gareth turned on the light in her room to make sure she didn't fall back to sleep.  She yawned again and asked, "Dad, why didn't you ever let me play with someone other than Ralf ?"

                Gareth tried to smile, failed and sighed, "Ingrid, the two of us are different.  We need to make sure we can fit in without cheating with our powers.  Do you remember the story I told you about how your mother and I first met?"

                "Yeah, you said she was running from a bad man."

                "Right.  Men and women like him are always greedy for power.  If you show them what kind of power you have, they'll either--"

                Ingrid cut him off and finished, "--want it or want to get rid of it."

                "Exactly.  Other kids don't realize this, Ingrid.  They haven't learned yet to tell good and bad anthros apart.  All they know is to not talk to strangers.  The two of us have to be extra careful to hide these powers from everyone we don't know, or trust.  If I had let you play with other kids and you let them see your powers, they would tell their parents.  Some of those parents wouldn't believe them, but others..."

                "But I wouldn't have shown them!"

                "Are you sure?  You weren't the same a year ago, Ingrid.  Two years ago you'd just discovered your powers.  Before that you could hear my thoughts if I showed you how to do it.  It's dangerous for us out there."

                Ingrid shrugged and hopped out of bed.  Gareth fixed breakfast for her and waved to her as she walked to her bus stop.

                Hana was waking up when Gareth reopened the door to their room, "Hana, Ingrid left for school.  How are you and the baby holding up?"

                Hana rubbed her stomach.  It was so small!  This was the beginning of the ninth month in her pregnancy, and so far she looked like she was in her fifth!  She showed all the signs of a normal pregancy, but every scrap of food she ate didn't seem to make a difference.  Hana slowly got out of bed, "Well, it certainly feels like it's fine!  I--"  She gasped and fell back onto the bed.

                "Hana?!  Hana what's wrong?!"

                She pointed feebly to her stomach.  Her breathing shortened, she had to take a small gasp of air every few seconds.  Suddenly, she winced and started groaning.

                "Oh god...It's the baby, isn't it?!"

                Hana was barely able to nod.

                Gareth picked her up and carried her outside, then changed into as large a dragon as he could without looking like he was a giant.  He flew her to the hospital and got her into a room right before she went all the way into labor.

 

                Ingrid thought about what her father had said, "It still doesn't make sense.  Why would someone want to be so mean?  I don't know anyone like that..."  Tom was suddenly sitting beside her in her seat.

                "Hi Ingrid!"

                "Hey Tom.  Tom, has your dad ever been really mean?"

                Tom froze where he sat, then said, "What makes you think that?.."

                "My dad wants me to be careful about who I make friends with.  I just want to make sure you are a nice friend."

                "Then why did you ask about my dad?"

                "Because my dad doesn't want anyone to know about this."  She pointed to her birth mark, "He says that it could be dangerous."

                "What could?"  asked a boy in the seat in front of them.  He was sitting with another boy and a girl.  The girl was watching Ralf and barely paid attention to them.  The first boy frowned when she didn't answer, "Well?"

                Ingrid looked at the boy and said, "It's a secret.  I'm not allowed tell."

                "Yeah?  Well, if I showed you a secret of my own, would you show me yours?"

                "Darius, you know what dad said!"  The other boy looked up from some homework he was writing, "Don't you dare show her!"

                Darius looked upset, "Aw, c'mon Drannus!  Angeline would agree with me!"

                "No I would not.  I wouldn't want to emberrass myself..."  The girl looked dreamily at Ralf, who was just starting to notice them.  At the next stop, he sat closer to Ingrid.

                Ingrid smiled and tried to keep herself out of the conversation.  She would not tell her secret no matter what!  Ralf waved at the three in front of Ingrid and smiled, "Hey guys.  Ingrid, these are Drannus, Angeline, and Darius.  They're triplets of Drakis."

                Ingrid perked up a bit at the familiar name, "You're Drakis' kids?"

                "Yeah."  Darius had a mischevous smile on his face, like he was about to pull a prank on someone.  The bus driver yelped in suprise as a small, electrical bolt zapped her chair.  She turned and glared down at the triplets behind her, who all looked like they hadn't done a thing.

                Ingrid was amazed at how Darius had kept a straight face, but not at his little show, "Oh yeah?  I can do better than that."  She let herself change a little, making herself an electric dragon, but kept her color the same so they wouldn't find out about her.  She sent an electrical shock toward Darius, who smiled and dodged it to make it hit the bus driver again!  She blushed a deep red and let her hand fall to her side.  The bus driver just looked at her, didn't glare at all, then smiled.  Ingrid did not like that smile at all...

 

*Drakis, Darkarth, Darius, Drannus, and Angeline are copyrighted to Eric Huston

*All other characters copyrighted to Poseidon Simons

Chapter 3

Ingrid's Friend

 

                Ralf stared at the spot Ingrid's electrical bolt had gone, "She's electric?  But she doesn't even have the right color!  How did she do that?.."  Darius was trying in vain to hold back laughter, while Drannus and Angeline both paid him no attention.  He cleared his throat and looked at Ingrid, "Ingrid, what happened?..You never told me about that before..."

                Ingrid was trying her hardest to ignore everyone on the bus, but she did let herself look at Ralf once.  He asked her the question again, and this time she shook her head, "I'll tell you later, okay?  I'm not supposed to tell anyone, really..."

 

                Amantha hurried the kids off her bus and smiled, "Yes!  That girl is definately her father's daughter!  They'll rehire me for sure!"  She pulled out her cell phone the second the bus door was closed and dialed a number on it, "Hello?  I'm calling to confirm yesterday's suspicion.  She has the powers, sir."

                The voice on the other end somehow remained calm, "Good.  Bring her to us, and you can come back to your old job."

                "With pleasure, sir."  She cancled the call and dialed Peter's number, "Peter, how long?"

                "Soon, Amy.  I should be the school's new janitor within the next four days."

                "Four days, Peter?  She won't be in school then!"

                "That's why I told you it would take me a week, dear.  Listen.  You said we can't have Gareth follow us, correct?"

                "Yes."

                "Then how do we get the brat to Hop City?!  We won't be able to take the train!"

                "Hmm...What about this bus?  You could 'hijack' it from me and use it."

                "Still no good.  It's too noticable."

                "Then what do you propose?"

                "We're gonna have to walk.  Call your boss on monday of next week and hour after I nab the girl.  Tell them to look for us.  That way, Gareth won't be able to find her before your friends do."

                "Peter, what about Gareth's mind?  He'll just home in on her thoughts!"

                "Don't worry.  I have a plan for that."  Peter hung up, leaving Amy to wonder what he could do to make Gareth unable to follow.

 

                Six days later, Gareth brought Hana and their new son home.  He couldn't help but adore the small child he held in his arms.  Little Benjamin was fast asleep the entire flight home.  Gareth gazed at his son with immense pride, "I have a son...look at him, he's so beautiful..."  Near-white scales colored Ben's entire body, with just the slightest dark patch of green on his forehead.  The only blemish in his son was that beautiful mark on his son's head.  Gareth didn't let himself count the disfigured hands his son had.  If Benjamin had the same power as he did, those hands wouldn't matter a bit.  Gareth opened the door to their house and waited as Hana walked inside.  Ben squirmed a little and started crying softly.  Gareth handed him over to Hana and went to check on Ingrid.

                Ingrid was just finishing unpacking in her room.  She had a huge smile on her face, so Gareth asked her how her day went.  She beamed up at him, "It was great!!!  Tom and Ralf and Drakis' kids invited me to play at the playground close to our house!!!"

                Gareth's face grew serious at the mention of  Tom, "Ingrid, when do I get to meet Tom?  I know you two are great friends and all, but I'd really like to make sure he's...you know."

                "He's coming by with Ralf and the rest in an hour, dad.  You can meet him then.  Where's Ben?!!!"

                Gareth smiled again, "Your mother took him to his new room, Ingrid.  Just wait until you see what he looks like up close!!!"

                Ingrid's face changed a little as she laid it on her hand to think.  It grew slightly shorter, and the scales started to darken just a little more, showing how she herself had looked at birth, "Dad, will he be alright?  Was I like him when you brought me home?"

                "If he's like either of us, Ingrid, he'll be fine, and no, you didn't have the hand thing that he does."

                "It just looks so weird, though."

                "Not weird, Ingrid, different.  I know he's only got three fingers on each hand, but what does he have to worry about?  Did you know that some kids are born with no hands at all?"  Gareth started gently rubbing Ingrid's back, "He'll be fine.  I promise."  Gareth sighed, "So, should we get ready to meet your new friend, or what?  You haven't told me what he looks like at all, you know."

                "I know...I want it to be a surprise.  He's really nice."

 

                Tom walked along with the other four kids nervously.  This would be the first time he'd met a grown-up that wasn't part of his dad's group.  He wasn't too sure how to act.  Ralf was the one to knock on the door when they arrived.  There was a bit of a shout inside the house as Ingrid ran to open the door.  She opened the door and instantly grabbed Tom's wrist.  He struggled a bit, still unsure.

                "Dad, this is Tom."  She spoke to a huge black and white dragon that seemed to tower above everything else.

                The black dragon looked down at him the narrowed eyes, "Hmm...why do you look familiar, Tom?"  Tom shrank under the gaze, truly afraid of the dragon before him.  Something in the dragon's eyes changed, and he all of the sudden seemed to be the friendliest dragon Tom had ever known, "We'll, I know who you aren't.  Just don't start to rough-house a lot around my daughter, Tom.  She'd beat you easy."  The black dragon grinned down at him, laughter seeming about to burst forth from his eyes.  Tom smiled back and found himself still smiling when Ingrid joined them as they walked to the playground.

 

                Gareth closed the door and wiped the sweat from his forehead, "It can't be...There is no possible way for Peter to have had a child.  Stop worrying, Gareth.  This Tom is probably just another cross-breed.  I don't have a thing to worry about."  Gareth tried to convince himself that the boy was no threat, but there was that nagging doubt, "He couldn't be Peter's!!...but what about his wings...they had golden tips on them, the only golden dragon I've ever seen is Amy..."  Thinking of her brought a rush of blood to his cheeks, as it always did.  He fought down the impulse and continued to try to calm his fears, "Maybe he's just a strange form of mixed blood.  He's the only water dragon with wings that I know of.  But his face looked so much like Peter's...He CAN'T be Peter's son!  HE CAN'T!!!!!  It's a physical impossibility for Peter to have any children unless he adopted!"

                "Gareth, what's wrong?"  Hana asked him from the living room couch, "Why do you look so worried?"

                Gareth sighed and sat down beside her, "Hana, it's Ingrid's friend."

                "Who, Ralf ?"

                "No, the one she made at school.  Tom."

                "What about him?"

                "Hana, it is impossible for Peter to have children, right?"

                "Unless he adopts, yes."

                "It's that boy...He looks so much like Peter, Hana.  He's got the same face, same color...he's even a water dragon!"

                "Oh, Gareth, don't worry.  There's got to be hundreds of blue water dragons on this island.  Peter's behind bars!  He's been behind bars for the last six years!  Stop worrying."  She put a hand on his shoulder.

                Gareth shivered from her touch.  He knew she was trying to make him forget, and what was worse, it was working!  He started to look at Hana, couldn't help his mind start thinking about her...he shook his head, "Hana, stop it!  I'm worried..."

                She lifted her hand and let it fall to her side, "Look.  You aren't going to feel better about this until you know for sure.  Tomorrow morning, fly down to Hop city and check the prison there.  If you see Peter there, then you'll know for sure that the boy can't be his son."

                "Alright..."

 

                "Damn it, he's right there!!!!!!!!!"  Peter shook with the gun in his hand, "I could kill him right now!  Why do I always have to wait?!"  His finger constantly tried to pull the gun's trigger.  Peter couldn't stand it anymore.  He pulled out his cell phone and called Amy, "Amy, why can't I get him now?!!!!  I have a perfect shot!"

                "We agreed that Ingrid has to be kidnapped, right?"

                "I know, I know!  It's just that I've been waiting for this moment for so long!  I can't help it!!!!!"

                "Keep trying, Peter.  You can shoot Gareth as soon as Ingrid is on the bus to school in the morning.  Just wait a little longer."

                Peter grimaced and hung up his phone.  He laid down underneath some bushes and waited for morning.  When it finally came, Ingrid was skipping down to her bus stop, waving at Ralf and three other kids as she approached.  Peter had to stop himself three times from just pulling out his gun and shooting right there, but when the bus pulled away, he smiled, "I made it.  Now I just need to get a clean shot at Gareth, then Hana will be all mine!!"  He stared at Gareth's bedroom window, watching for when Gareth would pass.  He knew he would.  Gareth was still under the effect of Amy's little seduction night from the train, "There you are..."  He straightened his arm, aimed it at Gareth's shoulder, and fired.  He chuckled to himself as Hana screamed, then left for Tom.

 

                Hana was waiting for Gareth on the bed.  She watched, horrified, as she heard a gun fire, then screamed when Gareth slumped over.  He was clutching his arm, which was bleeding as if the heart had suddenly decided to pump the blood right out through the opening.  She fell to the floor and crawled to a phone, "Hello, hopsital?  Get over here now!  My husband has just been shot!!!!!!"

 

                Amy shuddered.  Ingrid was sitting right behind her!!!!  This would be the perfect moment for an abduction if only they didn't have to act like everything was normal.  The kids had heard a gunshot, and to her surprise, Tom wasn't the only one who didn't get scared.  There were three children sitting behind Ingrid who acted completely different.  One was a girl, who instantly turned in the exact direction the shot had been fired.  The other two, both boys, were suddenly all protective, watching for anything else that might be a threat.  They were talking together, but with all the screaming from the other kids, she couldn't make out what they were saying.

 

                "Drannus, the shot came from Ingrid's house."

                Drannus continued to glance around, "I know.  We should make sure she doesn't get into trouble."

                Darius tried to hold in his smile, but he couldn't help it, "Finally, some real action!"

                "Darius!"  Angeline shouted, "How could you?!"

                "I can't help it.  I always get excited when stuff like this happens."

                Drannus merely nodded, "Whatever.  Angeline, you make sure that Ingrid doesn't get hurt.  Darius, watch for things that might attack everyone."

                Darius shivered with excitement.  He sighed in disappointment when they reached the school and nothing else had happened.  He turned to Drannus, "Who do think shot the gun?"

                "No idea yet.  Maybe dad'll figure it out with Grandpa's help.  We should tell him what happened."

                Darius nodded and joined his brother and sister in a mental link, "Grandpa, something happened."  Drannus spoke, "There was a gunshot."

                "Where?"  Darkarth's voice echoed in each of their minds.

                "At Ingrid's house.  We don't know who did it, but we thought you might know."

                "I'll tell Drakis for you.  Keep watching Ingrid."

                The mental link broke after that.  Darius came out of his trance with more excitement than he'd had on the bus.  Maybe there would still be some stuff to do!

 

                Drakis finished speaking with Darkarth and explained what had happened.  Kia was the most shocked, "Someone's been shot near Gareth's house."

                "WHAT?!!  We need to help them!"

                Pik tapped her shoulder, "But this is one of our trips to Bay City.  We can't stop the trip until after we've gone there.  We promised!"

                "Then we'll hire a bodygaurd when we get there.  Drakis, you should head back right now."

                "Thanks guys."  Drakis smiled and walked down the train to an empty bedroom car.  He glanced to make sure no one was in there with him, then opened the window and jumped out.  It'd take at least an entire day to get back to Yann city, but at least he'd make it back.

 

                An hour later, Gareth woke in a bed at the hospital.  His arm was bandaged to the point where he wouldn't be able to move it for a month.  Sarrah was waiting for him to wake up, "Sarrah?  How bad is it?"

                "You'll be in the hospital for a minimum of three weeks, Gareth.  If we want to play it safe, then double that time before you can even hope to get out.  The bullet hit one of your arteries.  You nearly died back there!"

                Gareth moaned.  How many times since he'd been here had he heared that?  He was grateful that Hana was in the room as well, otherwise he might have gotten up out of the room just to prove her wrong, "Can we make it three weeks?  I'm worried about Ingrid and Ben."

                Hana came up and laid Ben in his arms, "Here's Ben, and Ingrid's at school.  I'll bring her here once school's out."

                Gareth looked up at her, "Are you sure it's wise to wait like that?  I mean, she's just a kid.  Maybe we should go pick her up right now."

                "She needs the school, Gareth.  She hasn't had a chance to make many friends.  We need to give her time to fit in, otherwise she'll be an outcast all her life.  Don't make her pass up an opportunity to make friends."

 

                Ingrid was nervous through the entire school day.  She had heard Angeline, Drannus, and Darius talking.  Recess seemed to drag by that day, and classes were nowhere near as much fun as they had been.  She was greatly relieved to hear the final bell ring and walked outside to wait for the bus.  Tom ran up beside her, looking really happy for some reason, "Hi, Tom."

                "Ingrid!  My dad said you could come with him and me to go camping!"

                "Huh?  But I have to get home..."

                "It's okay.  He says he called and they said yes!  C'mon!"

                Ingrid stayed where she was.  Her dad had always made sure she stayed home whenever Ralf had asked if they could do that very same thing.  He wouldn't let her go unless he got to come along as well.  She sighed, "Is my dad coming?"

                "No, it'll just be us and my dad."

                "I'm sorry, Tom.  My dad would never let me go anywhere without him."

                "But my dad said..."

                "Can I meet your dad?  Maybe that'll help."

                "Oh.  Okay."  Tom led her back inside the school, to the lunchroom, where a solitary water dragon was mopping up some dried up pizza, "Dad, this is Ingrid."

                Inrid looked at Tom, "Your dad's the janitor?  I thought you said he was always home."

                "He changed his mind and got a job here.  My mom said that she wouldn't be able to drive any kids home today, so we can use the bus to go camping.  I've already got a bunch of stuff packed for both of us."

                "I need to go home and get another pair of clothes..."

                "You sure about that?"  Tom's dad said as he winked at her.

                "He knows?  But I thought that I had kept my powers hidden."  She smiled back at him and sat down on a chair, "Well, I guess not..."

                "Great.  Then it's settled.  We'll leave right now.  You'll like it, Ingrid.  We've got stuff for smores, we can cook hot dogs, and I brought a tent big enough for six of us!"