Chapter 2
Hiking
Alex woke up. He went upstairs. Alex looked for a mug and started the hot water for his hot cocoa. He looked for the bowls. It took a minute but he found them. He poured the Honey nut Cheerios in. Then he looked for milk. Someone bought a half gallon. He poured it in the bowl. Alex went to the living room and turned on the TV. It was showing a nature documentary. He took the little laminated card off the coffee table and read it. Alex punched in the number and watched cartoons.
Owen came in next. He got out the eggs and bread to make scrambled eggs and toast. Owen heated the frying pan, starting on the eggs. He was about halfway done when the kettle on the stove was ready.
"Alexander." Owen called.
"My cocoa is on the counter." He said.
"Would you like marshmallows?" Owen sighed.
"Yeah." He ate another spoonful of Cheerios.
Owen poured the water into the mug. He put a few marshmallows in and brought it to Alex. Alex sipped it. It was nice. The toast popped up and it was buttered. Owen plated his breakfast up. He poured himself a cup of coffee and put cream in it. Then he sat on the couch with Alex. They watched Looney Tunes until Fox and Xanatos woke up.
"Good morning, Owen. Good morning, Alex." They greeted.
"Good morning, sir." Owen said.
"What are we gonna do today?" Alex asked.
"We're going hiking today, but tomorrow we can go kayaking or we can go look at stores downtown, which do you want to do?" Xanatos asked.
"Um, kayaking." Alex thought.
"Alright." He nodded.
The Xanatoses made their breakfast. They had scrambled eggs as well. Fox filled their mugs with coffee. She walked over and took the remote from Alex. He whined.
"You're fine." She flipped through the channels.
"Mine…" Alex leaned back and looked at her.
"Go set up your Playstation." She ruffled his hair.
"Cocoa first." Alex sipped his cocoa.
Alex drank his hot cocoa. His parents sat near Owen and ate. Alex finished his drink and washed the mug out. He went downstairs into his room. He unpacked his entertainment bag. The TV in his room was too small. He checked Owen's, but they were the same size. He took his stuff upstairs.
"Alexander, what're you doing?" Owen asked.
"Finding a TV." He answered.
"What's wrong the one you have?" Fox asked.
"Too small." He walked into his parent's room.
Their TV was big enough. Alex plugged in his PS4. They whispered a bit but they decided it was better than letting him take over the living room. Then he went back downstairs for his laptop. He took it to the dining table. He turned it on and realized he didn't know the wifi password.
"What's the wifi password?" He asked.
Owen gave him a folder and he opened it. It had information about the house. He found what he needed and put the password in. Then he checked his emails and talked to some of his friends.
"Alexander, put your laptop in your room. We're going to leave soon." Owen said.
"Ok." He said.
Alex put in back in his room and got dressed. He wore a tee shirt and jeans. Then he brushed his hair and teeth. Owen used the bathroom next. Alex went back upstairs. His mother wore jeans and blue long sleeved shirt. Fox walked to her son and kissed the top of his head.
"Hi, Mom." Alex smiled.
"Did you sleep ok?" She asked.
"Yeah." He nodded.
"That's good. We'll just wait for David and Owen and then we'll go." She told him.
They finished up and came to the living room. Xanatos wore a short sleeved shirt and jeans and Owen had on something similar. They got some snacks and water. Then they went to the car. Alex saw the house for the first time since they got there. It was 2 stories tall and painted brown.
Alex got in the car. Owen drove. The drive took them out of Bend and onto the highway. There were forests for a while until they thinned out before they drove into La Pine. Then they were back. Alex watched the buildings go by. Soon, they left La Pine and turned left onto another highway. It was more desert scenery before they saw a small town. There were a few restaurants and houses. They turned left again and drove toward out to a ring of rock wall. It was dark brown.
"What's that?" Alex asked.
"That's Fort Rock. We will hike there for a bit then go get lunch." Owen said.
They parked in the small lot. Owen grabbed a couple water bottles and put them in his bag. They went to the bathroom. Then they looked at the picnic area on the other side of the parking lot. It was unusual; having several covered areas clustered together. It had some information panels about the sight and the history. The rock formation was formed by ancient lake. Also, apparently in a cave nearby, an archaeologist had discovered sagebrush sandals and human artifacts.
They left and started the hike. The path was sandy and it had some rocks in it. They went uphill. There were lot of plants growing. The weather was sunny with a light breeze. The family reached a flat spot over looking the parking lot. There were a bunch of sport cars in the parking lot now. There were a few red cars and yellow ones and a blue one.
"Why are all those cars here?" Fox asked.
"They like to drive on sunny days because they don't want to dirty their cars. I believe they chose this location because it does not lots of traffic." Owen looked at them.
"They'll most likely move on before we get back." Xanatos said.
They continued to on the path. They had walked up the hill and now went going down it. Alex was a little farther behind the group as he hadn't had much practice walking in sand. It wasn't dangerous, but the gravel in the sand made it easier to slip. Alex touched the non pokey plants. He sniffed a yellow flower. It smelt nice. They made it down and started toward the closest wall. The sun was getting higher in the sky. Owen stayed close to Alex. They walked up to the wall and touched it. It was rough. The rock on the inside of the wall was orange.
"We'll go a little more then get lunch." Xanatos said.
"Ok." Alex nodded.
"Do you like our hike?" Fox asked.
"Yeah, just not a lot to comment on. No animals, no nothing." He shrugged.
"They prefer not to be around humans." Owen told him.
"I suppose." Alex walked a bit farther.
There was a bird's nest near a little crevice. It was empty. Alex was too big to get into the crevice without getting stuck. The rest of the family came to see what he was looking at. They indulged their curiosity then started walking toward the other side of the Fort Rock. A large rock coming out of the ground big enough for several people walk on caught Fox attention.
"Alex, you wanna climb that rock?" She pointed.
"Can I?" He asked.
"I saw some people climbing on it earlier." She said.
"Ok." He smiled.
They walked to the rock. It was orange-y brown and fairly tall. Alex immediately went up the top. Owen got out his camera and took a picture. The others joined Alex on the rock. After all the photos were taken, they decided to go get lunch. They went back to the car. Alex grabbed a water bottle from Owen. He drank a lot of it in one go. They drove back to La Pine.
"What's Dollar Tree?" Alex asked.
Owen turned into the middle lane. "It's a dollar store, Alexander. They sell a variety of things."
They parked and went into the store. It was fairly clean and organized. They looked at the Easter decorations first since it was right next to the door. There were banners and lawn decorations. Alex looked at the candy. Fox told him they had candy at home. They went deeper into the store. They passed by the toys and office supplies.
"We're not actually going to get anything, are we?" Fox whispered.
"There's no harm in letting Alex look." Xanatos said.
"He wants to touch everything he sees." She looked at him when Alex came back with a couple puzzle books.
"Mom, look, they have crosswords here." He smiled.
"That's nice, dear." She said to her son.
"Are you gonna get it?" Xanatos asked.
"It mine now." Alex held it close.
"Did you find something too, Owen?" Fox saw he had a few books as well.
"Yes, Fox." He answered.
"Let's go pay." Xanatos said.
"Is that food?" Alex looked past the other aisles.
"It's mostly snack food, Alexander. We will get lunch when we leave." Owen said.
Alex pouted for a minute and then he followed his parents to the front to pay for his things. He was surprised that there wasn't a sales tax. So it only cost him 4 dollars for his books. Owen said Oregon had an income tax. He nodded. They went back to the car and drove until they saw a pizza place. Owen pulled in there because everyone was starting to feel hungry now. It was called Ponderosa Pizza.
The restaurant had a wood cabin aesthetic, complete with a set of deer antlers on the fireplace. There were lots of tables to sit at. They were sat down near a window and given menus and water.
"Alexander, you may order one small pizza or a sandwich. Not both." Owen told him.
"But I'm hungry." He whined.
"The sandwiches come with chips and a drink." Fox smiled soothingly.
"Fine." He looked at the menu again.
Their waiter came back. Xanatos ordered a medium Meat Lover's Combo, Fox got the Twin Combo, Hawaiian and pepperoni, Owen got pepperoni and Alex ordered a Honey Chicken Wrap. He chose chips and Coke for his drink. They talked as the waited for their food. Owen sipped his water. Alex was starting to plan a kitchen raid when the food came. Everyone ate. Alex liked his sandwich, but he still wanted pizza too. Fox shared a slice of pepperoni with him. They finished up and got some go-to boxes. Owen ordered a 12 piece chicken and spuds. It was fried chicken and potato slices. Then they drove back to the house.
The family rested from their hike for a while. Alex lounged on the couch. His parents checked their emails and watched TV. Owen did some crosswords. Around dinner time, Fox convinced Alex to take a bike ride with her. They took the bikes from the garage. The bike path was off the side of the road. Alex enjoyed the trees and nature. They went a couple times around before going back. For dinner, they had the leftovers from lunch. The chicken and spuds were good. Alex ate the rest of his brownie for dessert.
"You wanna go in the hot tub tonight?" Fox asked.
"There's a hot tub?" Alex furrowed his brow.
"Yes, Alexander. That is why we brought swimsuits." Owen said.
"I thought we gonna go to the pool." He shrugged.
They all got changed into their swimsuits and went downstairs. It was next to the laundry room. Fox was wearing a red bikini and everyone else had on trunks. Xanatos uncovered the tub and started the jets. They all got in. Xanatos and Fox sat on one side and Alex and Owen on the other. The water was steaming in the night air. The chair had some jets in it and blew water on their backs.
"This is nice." Fox sighed.
"Yeah." Xanatos agreed.
"Today was fun." Alex said.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." Fox smiled.
They chatted and soaked in the hot tub. Alex batted at the chlorine dispenser. It was floating in water and he couldn't resist. Puck briefly made an appearance because he wanted a turn in the tub. One by one, everyone got out. They dried off with the towels they brought with them. Alex was the last one.
"Alex, the hot tub will be here tomorrow. You need to shower." Xanatos said.
"...Ok." He got out.
Alex dried off and went to the downstairs bathroom. He took his trunks off, setting them off the side. He showered. When he was done, he got out and dried off again. He went upstairs. His mother and Owen were watching TV. Xanatos came out of the bedroom.
"Are you ready to go to bed, dear?" Fox asked her husband.
"Yes." He said.
"Good night, Mom. Good night, Dad." He hugged them both.
"Good night, Alex. Don't stay up too late." Fox kissed his cheek. Then they went to bed.
"So, what do you want to do, kid?" Puck asked.
Alex turned into a fox and flopped onto Puck's lap. He nudged his hand. Puck petted his head.
"Just for a little bit." Puck searched for something to watch.
They watched a episode of Nature. It was about bears. Alex grew bored and rolled onto his back. Puck scratched his tummy. His tail wagged. After the episode ended, they got up. Alex turned back into a human. Puck taught him how to make his voice sound far away. They had to be quiet because his parents were sleeping. It was a fun lesson. They said good night and went to bed.