So, guys! Today is a celebration! Wanna know WHY? My brother has been in Kuwait with the troops for a year and half, and he's COMING HOME! TODAY! WHOOHOO! God bless America! God bless the troops! He is coming HOME! Amen! As you can see, I'm fairly excited.

Chapter Three:

Old Acquaintances and New Emotions

"So...anything going on with you and...that guy?" Astrid asked, obviously oblivious to a thing called "privacy".

"Not exactly," Aravis answered. She gave a little snort.

"Not exactly?" Gibbs asked. She looked up from her grotesque, fattened...er, delicious, healthy...meat.

"Only some old relationships," she finally said. She glanced around. "Where'd Crevan run off to?" Astrid sighed, knowing it was only a sidetrack from the present conversation, but she did notice that Crevan was nowhere to be...noticed.

"Oh, my GOSH!" Astrid and Aravis flinched. "What if she's nowhere to be FOUND? Whatever will we DO!" Aravis curled up on her chair in fright. Astrid whimpered.

"Gibbs, did you just say that?" Crevan asked, holding Keanu's halter. She gave him a skeptical look, but it was soon replaced with a "You're the weirdest person I've ever seen and you're embarassing me" look.

"Crevan! Hi! Where'd you go?" Astrid asked, but Gibbs wasn't over with his hysteria.

"She's GONE! She's never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever..." After the 15th "ever", the three girls just sort of blew off Gibbs' vocal cords.

"I went to get Keanu, so we could look around the island."

"Oh, okay! That's fine with me," Aravis agreed.

"Okey-dokey, but we need to run by the ship, because I left my lance there, and-" Aravis got a glazed-over look in her eyes. Astrid stopped talking for a second.

"Ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever EVER gonna come back!"

"I mean it! Get the heck out of here!"

"No, Jack. Maybe I was a sucker to you before, but I'm not gonna this time!"

"If you're gonna be that stubborn, then just come over here."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

"What do we DO?!"

"Jack...I love you so bloody much..."

"NEVER!"

"Well, if you love me so much...BYE!"

"JACK!"

"She got abducted by aliens!" Aravis clicked back on, and she and Astrid and Crevan stared at Gibbs. They were stunned.

"What did you just say?" Astrid finally asked, since the other two were so weirded out that they couldn't do much more than stare, gape, and...scratch their heads.

"Why? Why? Why?" Aravis heard herself-and Gibbs, too-saying. Crevan put her head in her hands.

"Anyway, let's go," Astrid said. The three girls walked away. Anamaria stayed behind to try and get Gibbs out of his...stranganoia. "So, let's head to the ship!" And they did. And they gathered up their belongings, as they were going to stay a few days. They headed to "The Silver Stallion", which they remembered from their visit two years before. Well, Crevan and Aravis did, but Astrid hadn't been a part of the "crew" then.

"Can we get three rooms?" Crevan asked as they walked inside. A girl in all lime strolled slowly up to them.

"For how many?" she asked.

"Six," Aravis said. Astrid elbowed her.

"Five," she corrected. Aravis swallowed. She was ;) still in denial.

"Okay..." the girl said slowly. She scribbled down some numbers on a piece of paper. "Are you guys joining the Tournament this week?" she asked as she shuffled around, trying to find the right keys.

"I am." Aravis looked around the inn. It was basic, but comfortable, and had a bright look. The walls were trimmed in very bright colors, and the floor had a white carpet.

"Sucks for them if someone spills their rum on that floor," Astrid whispered to Aravis, and they both grinned at each other.

"I'm Kai, by the way, nice to meet you." The girl handed them their keys. "Are you a swordsman, then?"

"Yeah, it's my...job, I guess you could say."

"Follow me to your rooms, please. And what about you two?" the lime-woman asked, as she led them down a bright hallway.

"I take care of the camel," Crevan said bluntly.

"I help navigate, and she's the lookout." Astrid rolled her eyes at Crevan, but smiled.

"I do that too." Crevan nodded her head, and grinned back at her friend.

"Well, look who's here! Nice to see you again!" Aravis turned around. A big grin crossed her lips.

"Nye! Hi!" Astrid and Crevan looked at each other-and at Kai.

"Yeah. She digs him."

;) LOSING IT!

Goodness, this is starting to sound like one of my parodies...anyway, it WILL get sadder as the story continues...hopfully...BUT MY BROTHER'S COMING HOME! YAY!