S'mores and Meteors
"Can I have some more s'mores, Mommy?"
"Just one more. You've already had three."
"Actually, make that three and a half."
"What? Danny no! Why would you…ugh, fine. You have to help her with this one though, and I'm keeping my eye on you two."
"YAY!" Annie Fenton plopped herself down on the fallen tree trunk next to her father, who was sticking another marshmallow onto one of the skewers they had packed before he leaned forward to help her twist the fluffy treat above the campfire like a rotisserie chicken.
Sam watched her family as she finished rearranging a few items in the tent. Her husband and five-year-old daughter were busy making s'mores while her eight-year-old son, James, had taken to climbing a nearby boulder, already running off his sugar high. She had finally gotten all three of them out of the house and away from the city, ready to immerse herself in a weekend in the great outdoors.
They had found the perfect spot for their getaway, too. Danny had remembered it from years ago, when he and his father had come up to the area for a fishing trip (although Sam had vetoed bringing the fishing poles this time around). It was a clearing situated on a small cliff just off of Lake Eerie, providing a spectacular view of both the water below and the wide, unpolluted sky above. There had even been a campfire area already set up from previous campers, with two logs flanking it arranged to look out over the valley.
In short, it was perfect for the family.
Danny had gotten better with marshmallows and fires over the years, thanks to practice mandated by his children. As he pulled Annie's flaming marshmallow towards them, he nudged her to blow quickly to put it out, finally helping her to trap it in between two graham crackers and a few pieces of dark chocolate. Annie squealed with delight, running over to the adjacent log and sitting down to savor her treat.
Sam joined the two momentarily, sitting next to Danny as James decided he had had enough of his boulder for the day and sat next to his sister. All of them took a few minutes to take in the sounds of the surrounding nature: an eagle ca-cawing up in the air, crickets chirping along the edge of the forest, the fire snapping and crackling in spite of the growing darkness, and the lake water down below lapping at sand and rocks.
It was James who spoke up first. "Do you guys know any campfire stories? I'm getting bored again." Although he had amused himself for most of the afternoon on his own, James had been reluctant to go on the trip in the first place, citing that he had a very important sleepover at a friend's house to attend instead. That hadn't stopped Danny and Sam from saying that he could always go another weekend, but this one he was going to be forced into Fenton family fun, whether he liked it or not.
"I think I got one," Danny offered. Sam couldn't be sure, but she could have sworn she saw him wink at her. "Years ago, your mom, Uncle Tucker, and I came up to this very area for summer camp with our school. What was that, honey, the summer after tenth grade?"
Sam only nodded as the memories of that summer came back to her.
He continued on, the fire dancing shadows on his face. "Right. Anyway, the place was called Camp Skull and Cross Bones, and boy, it lived up to the creepiness of the name. Everything was all normal at first, but then some of the campers started to disappear for no reason…" Annie and James began to hang onto their dad's spooky tone, leaning ever-so-slightly towards him.
"It was so strange. Two campers would go out for a walk, and only one would return, telling all of us that their friend had been taken by a monster. Naturally, your mom, Uncle Tuck, and I were the only ones really on the case, but even as we looked for clues, Uncle Tucker was taken by the monster as well."
Sam smiled to herself as she finally realized what Danny's wink was all about.
"We eventually found out that Walker, the big ghost jail warden, and his goons were the ones taking all the campers. But you know who else we found?"
The two children shook their heads, all while keeping their eyes on their dad who had paused for dramatic suspense.
"WULF!" Annie and James screamed and jumped nearly three feet in the air as a Danny Phantom duplicate shouted the last word from behind them, having snuck up on them in the middle of the story. Danny and even Sam laughed as the duplicate gave a mischievous wave and grin before being reabsorbed by the original. Meanwhile, the kids had stumbled their way over to their parents, wedging themselves between the two and sitting on the dirt ground as they leaned against the tree trunk, protecting themselves from further pranks.
"Aw, come on, guys. You're not scared, are you?" Danny asked as he settled on the ground next to Annie, who was already starting to giggle nervously.
"N-not at all," James answered, his actions betraying his words however as he clung absentmindedly onto Sam's leg.
"Uh huh. Sure you aren't."
James stuck his tongue out in fierce defiance of his emotions, but maintained a look of wariness against his family.
Sam was still laughing as she joined the three on the ground, removing James from her leg and scooting closer to him for comfort instead. "Don't worry, James. Your dad has given me a fair amount of scares over time as well." She gave Danny a daring, rebellious smirk that incriminated him on the spot, earning her a sheepish grin in return.
"Shooting star!" Everyone's head whipped up at Annie's announcement, taking in the fleeting trail of dust left by a meteor against the black velvet of the night sky. Thousands of stars shone down, leaving the four in awe of the sight. The stars certainly didn't shine like this back in Amity Park, given the blankets of both air and light pollution.
"Oh yeah! I almost forgot that the Perseids peak this weekend!" Danny's eyes sparked with child-like excitement, fully fixating his gaze on the sky.
"Purse-what, Daddy?" Annie asked, bewildered by the strange new term.
Danny laughed. "The Perseids. It's a meteor shower, one of the biggest of the year. Hundreds of shooting stars will come down, so you gotta keep looking up so you can make some wishes!"
Both James and Annie joined Danny in staring at the darkness, waiting for the next streak to cross the void. They gasped in amazement as a few more rained down, providing them with multiple chances for wishes.
Danny pointed to the north. "If you look right over there, you should see the constellation, Perseus. That's where most of the shooting stars should be appearing from."
Sam spoke up at this. "There's actually a story behind Perseus, a Greek myth." She readjusted and stretched out her legs to be more comfortable before beginning. "There was once a land ruled by King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia, who had a daughter, Andromeda. The queen was very much in love with her own looks, and one day this caused Poseidon, the god of the sea, to send a monster to ruin their land to teach her a lesson about vanity. The king needed help, so he asked a wise man what to do, and he was told that the only way to stop the monster was to sacrifice Andromeda to it."
The kids were still listening, but between the fire, the story, and the night sky, their eyes had begun to droop. Sam started to stroke James' hair, before continuing on, "The king had Andromeda locked up on the shore to wait for the monster, but while waiting, the warrior Perseus happened to walk by, coming back from killing Medusa. Perseus thought Andromeda was so beautiful that he wanted to save her and be her hero."
Danny caught Sam's eye at this point, giving her a smile over their shared memories of him rescuing her from the clutches of danger. "So that's what Perseus did. He took out his sword and killed the monster, and then he freed and married Andromeda."
"So they could be together forever," Danny finished for Sam, taking her hand in his on the log behind the kids' heads. Annie and James had finally fallen asleep, their little chests moving up and down in light rhythmic snoring. "You forgot the part where Andromeda had to save the hero on more than one occasion."
"Well, of course. But I would need all weekend to do that, Mr. Hero." Sam laughed quietly as Danny poked her in the shoulder. "Besides, I'd rather look up instead of talk for a while. It really is a perfect night."
"It really is," Danny said, but he was still gazing right at her. He took this chance to stretch his arm to her far shoulder, encompassing his entire family in his wingspan.
"Okay cheesy," Sam giggled as she attempted to hide her blush. "Alright, now it's your turn. Greek constellation myth. Go."
This was for Phanniemay 2015 "Stories" prompt (and to recover from "Big Shot").
Annie and James belong to thickerthanectoplasm and saisai-chan (on Tumblr), respectively.