Flames poured from the minivan's gnarled roof, casting a cruel orange sheen across the bony plates of the Beithyr. Behind the shattered windows of the twisted shell, eyeless faces contorted in agony, mouths gaping as their sickening wails rose on the raging flame.

"Help us," they cried out. "Help us."

Charred arms began to crawl from the wreckage, flesh burned down to the bone. First three pairs, then more began to fold out of every gap and onto the street. Their fingers left streaks of red as they scratched at the pavement toward Lazula's unmoving form. No matter if she covered her eyes or turned away, the hellish scene continued to play out before her.

"Help us, help us!"

Lazula finally punched the ground with the hand that covered her eye, staring into the burned-out sockets of the nightmarish effigies.

"I can't."

Lazula jolted awake in the muggy tent, gasping for breath and dripping in cold sweat. With an attempt at evening her breath, she settled her head back down to her decidedly lumpy pillow. It was dark beyond the grey plastic of the tent, not even morning. Lilly slept peacefully at her side. Beyond her, Laurel. Snow spent the nights in the adults' tent, for whatever reason. It was the same way the year before.

"Glad I didn't wake them," she thought. "Night terrors aren't a good look on anyone." She settled back into her pillow and turned over, listening to the breeze rustle the dried out branches of the brittle tree just outside. Her eyes stung with lack of sleep, but she forced them open. "Right. Lago Del Sol," she reflected. "I'm in Vacuo. The attack is over."

"...For now."

The morning sun was too bright, and Lazula resented the fact it was already so damn hot outside. How could anyone live in Vacuo? Hot as hell, very little to do, near-unlivable when Grimm were still around. The burnt air hurt to breathe. And how were the others taking so long to change? Had she left alone, she'd be in the lake already. Lazula took a breath, and looked past the camp changing room at the canyon wall. She had only managed a couple hours' sleep the night before, and had little patience to spare. This was vacation, and one she desperately needed.

Lilly was next out from the stalls, in her maroon two-piece and straw sunhat wider than her shoulders. The second instant after their eyes met, Lilly's fell below Lazula's, and a look of concern washed across her face.

"Is that... from the attack?" she gently asked as she stepped closer.

Lazula knew she meant the mark from the Beithyr's tail. It had faded much in the weeks since, but the dull brown remnants of the wicked bruise crossed from her shoulder and down across her chest.

"Yeah. I'm glad you didn't have to see it before."

"I'm so sorry," Lilly consoled. "That must've hurt terribly."

"Sure, it did," Lazula thought. "But not nearly as much as being crushed by the Beithyr's claws. Not nearly as much as burning to death."

"Lazula?"

"Hm?"

"You had a rather unpleasant look on your face."

"I probably did." She abandoned the conversation with a shake of her head. "It's nothing, now where is everyone?"

In the rough year between each visit to the lake, Caspian forgot just how far of a walk the beach was. The main one, stretching from the sweltering concrete promenade to the water's edge, was baked by the sun and plagued by hordes of screaming children. What felt like a mile around the bay was the second park. Shaded by oaks and thickets of whatever hardy greenery managed to survive the heat, it was well worth the walk.

Plenty of others made the walk as well. A sandy shore on one edge of the park was the main draw. It had a concrete pier popular with teenagers that made a spectacle of trying to one-up each other on each dive. A couple parties had set up nets for badminton and volleyball. But with so much space, the park was still far from crowded.

Caspian lay on an innertube with hands behind his head, taking in the depth of the sky above. A thick layer of sunscreen and a splash of lake every now and then ensured the Vacuo sun didn't cook him alive. He wished Cattleya could be around. Having her floating around with him would be the one thing that could make vacation better. Well, maybe camping wouldn't be her thing. And she probably wouldn't enjoy the weather. Or the bugs.

A sloshing noise and an unwelcome splash rocked Caspian's raft and broke the peace. "Duuude!" Rowan hooted, shaking out his hair. "Your sister's ripped! Is that an eight pack?!"

Caspian glanced to Lazula, who seemed to have taken the lake trip as an opportunity for more training. She was born with the same slender frame as her twin, but had built upon it an empire of muscle. She sacrificed the majority of her free time to sparring or the gym, and it showed. She let out one more breath before falling back into the water. Rowan's count was correct, and her shoulders and arms rippled with each pounding backstroke. Caspian wasn't so proud of his own beach body anymore.

Another slosh and splash, and Ichigo's head popped up on Caspian's other side. "Gimme your innertube," he gasped, clutching the handle at Caspian's side. "Gimme."

"Oh- hey! Get your own!" Caspian protested. "Y-You'll pop it!" The tube rocked violently back and forth, and began taking on water. Despite his best attempts, Caspian knew he was going down, and covered his nose.

"KING OF THE TUBE!" Rowan shouted, heaving himself up next to Ichigo. He made it clear he had no intent to share, and Ichigo fell back into the lake in defeat.

Some distance away, Laurel draped herself over one end of an innertube next to Lilly's air mattress. "We've been here all of twenty minutes, and they're already making fools out of all of us."

Lilly replied with a resigned smile. "At least they're enjoying themselves."

Caspian found his feet just able to touch the gritty lake floor, and flicked water from his hair. He glanced from Ichigo's struggling hand to the shaded shore, where Snow sat on a folding chair with her second popsicle and her feet in the water. She lowered her Holoband as Caspian looked over, and looked to him with muted amusement.

After working up an appetite in the lake, the group all made their way to the shore for lunch. Rowan, Ichigo and Caspian were on one blanket in a spirited debate about something entirely mundane, like how toasted a piece of toast should be. Lazula was joined by Laurel, Lilly, and Snow. The three were quiet in comparison, enjoying the shade and the charcuterie board far too big for the four of them.

"Grimm! HELP US!"

Lazula flinched at the shriek that shattered the peace like a bullet through glass. She leapt to her feet, whipping around with a look of wild vigilance and grabbing the place on her hip a blade should be.

No one followed.

"Lazula?" Lilly gently inquired.

Lilly, her brother, and all of her friends still sat listlessly around the blanket, looking not to the Grimm, nor the voice, but Lazula.

Another voice.

"Lazula, is something wrong?" Lilly prodded.

"It's nothing."

"You seem a little on edge."

"A little?" Lazula reflected. "Sure." She couldn't handle their looks of confusion and worry, and looked across the lake instead. "I'm going back to camp."

"I can come with you," Lilly offered, setting her drink down and putting her hands beside herself to lift up to her feet.

"What, think I can't make it alone?" She turned away before Lilly's injured look could force an apology or explanation.

"What's with her?" Rowan muttered, watching her sulk away.

Lilly wrung her hands as she watched Lazula leave, before folding them and setting them on her lap. "Something has been wrong ever since the Red Claw's attack," she replied, keeping her voice low. "I don't know everything that happened, but something is weighing on her. I can tell."

Lazula kept her head down, and the grass at her feet transitioned abruptly to a cracked sidewalk. A young mother ushered her gaggle of toddlers out of the way as Lazula cut past. Humiliating, she thought. Drawing all that attention to herself, and snapping at Lilly after. She'd have to get used to the voices. Get used to the night terrors. Get used to the image of that burned-out van, and the sound of the Beithyr's tormenting wheeze of a laugh echoing long after its death.

The beautiful picture on Caspian's Holoband cast a pale glow across the table. He looked into the misty grey eyes of Cattleya's portrait, hoping he'd get to see them light up when her hologram replaced her still image.

No answer.

No answer, meaning the call went through, right? It's fine, she must be busy. It would be around ten in the morning there. Maybe she's still in bed? Caspian stood up from the picnic table, breathing in the late-evening air. The lingering warmth carried on the lightest breeze felt pleasant on his skin. Above, the first intrepid stars twinkled in twilight.

Caspian heard a drawn-out zip from behind him, and the rustling of synthetic fabric. "Cas!" Rowan called. "You busy?"

Caspian looked to the Holoband he fixed to his wrist. "...No, I don't think so."

Ichigo and Snow followed Rowan out of the tent. "We're gonna play minigolf, wanna come?"

If Cattleya wouldn't answer, this was the next best thing. The course was open late, and less people at night meant the group could play at their own pace. He accepted, and they made their way over. Across the campsite on the corner nearest their destination, Caspian noticed two familiar figures on their way to the lake. One short with a ponytail of feathers, one a full head taller and markedly slim.

Caspian caught Lilly's flashing glance at the group, but she quickly turned her gaze forward. Laurel lagged behind as Lilly quickened her step.

"Oh hey!" Rowan greeted. "Where are you guys off to?"

Caspian could sense the effort behind Lilly's smile. "Oh, hello! We were just... going for a walk." Her words lost their feigned warmth as they trailed after one another. She shook her head, and whispered to herself: "Whatever, might as well," then looked to Caspian. "Would you like to come too?"

"Oh, no, we were going to minigolf so you two can enjoy your walk," Caspian offered with a wave of both hands.

"It won't be very long."

Caspian cocked his head in surprise. The invitation seemed out of place, if he could even call it an invitation anymore. Just seconds before it seemed as if Lilly wanted nothing to do with the group, now she practically insisted they come. Despite his confusion, he accepted. They walked in near silence past the minigolf course, and to the tables lining the boardwalk.

The camp's lights and the moon above cast their shine across the lake, each tiny ripple shimmering in the young night. Only a few tourists still milled about. Another group of younger teenagers made noise at the water's edge, and a young couple walked their daughter and dog back to their campground. The lights of an SUV cast long, stark shadows across the boardwalk before turning away.

Lilly sighed. "Here should do."

"Is something up?" Laurel guessed. Caspian was trying to bring himself to ask the same thing.

"I... guess you could say that," Lilly answered. She swallowed hard, and her fingers seemed to fight each other before balling into a fist and relaxing. "I feel like I've been hiding something from... most of you for a long time now, and I feel like it's time to say it. It's- I... I like women. Uh- only women."

Caspian merely nodded, having heard it several months before. He heard a small "Oh" escape someone's lips, but other than it, all was quiet for a few seconds.

"Thanks for trusting us," Laurel spoke up. "I'm pretty sure no one's gonna have an issue with that. And if they do, I'll have an issue with them."

"Two moms, here," Ichigo reminded. "Not an issue to me."

"Huh. I mean of course I'm not against it, I just didn't expect that at all, you know?" Rowan responded.

"Yes, well... that's another thing," Lilly continued. "I feel like I've been living in this bubble of what people 'expect' from me. Everyone knows Lilly as this polite girl who wears pretty dresses, and drinks tea, and keeps a garden on her dorm balcony. But it's starting to feel like I'm not me. Like I'm just playing a character rather than being myself." She granted herself a break, sighing and looking out across the lake before continuing. "Or, maybe Lilly is the character. I don't know. And it's not even that I don't like those things, I do. But I want to like other things too, without having to worry about what other people will think of me."

"Whatever, and whoever you're into, you're still my friend," Laurel offered. "You're still you."

"Thank you, Laurel," Lilly shook with a sudden giggle of relief. "I play your music nonstop when no one's around."

"Hey, wanna come play minigolf with us?" Caspian invited. "I hadn't invited you because I didn't expect you'd enjoy it much. I don't know if this is exactly what you meant, but if you wanna come..."

Lilly nodded once. "Thank you, that sounds lovely."

Rowan was first to stand from the table. "Well, let's do it!" He turned to Laurel. "Wanna come too? We can do teams."

"I'll pass."

Their conversation exhausted, the five set out and left Laurel at the table. On their way up the street, Caspian felt a light prodding at his sleeve, and looked down to see Lilly making a subtle bid at Caspian's attention. He matched her slowing pace.

"Cas, do you remember a few months ago, when I first came out to you?" she inquired, glancing ahead to the group that began to separate from them. "I told you I had a question."

"Oh, yeah," Caspian recalled. The curiosity that had long since waned sparked up anew. "I was wondering what it was for the longest time, but I forgot to ask."

"Well..." another sudden laugh. "Oh, this is going to sound ridiculous. But... do you know if there's any chance your sister's into women as well?"

Caspian's eyes widened in realization. He couldn't stop himself from a chuckle of his own.

"Don't laugh!" she pleaded, though whether she found the whole situation as laughably ironic as he did, or purely out of nerves, she nearly did the same. "This is serious!"

"Well... maybe? I mean, she dated Rowan for like five days years ago, but that's about the only interest she's ever shown in guys." He smirked. "...And I'm not sure I'd even call that interest. Honestly, she's never seemed very impressed by anyone. Has the topic never come up between you two? You talk all the time, I'd think you would have a better idea than me."

"No... and that's mostly my fault. She's not the type to gossip much in the first place, but whenever preferences, or 'crushes,' even, would come up, I'd change topic as soon as I could."

"Hm. Well, sorry. But that's about all I have."

"That's okay. Right now, I don't think that's the first thing on her mind anyway." She made an effort to put it out of mind. "Let's not leave the others waiting."

Lilly seemed to enjoy the round of minigolf, though by about hole two Caspian realized she hadn't the slightest idea how to play. The only two having a particularly good night were Snow and Ichigo. Ichigo's focus before each shot brought him just under par. Snow sank one hole-in-one after another. After continuing the trend on hole eight, the notorious and sometimes-skipped "rock maze from Hell," as the group had come to call it, Rowan spoke up.

"Wait, wait, wait," he interrupted, blocking the hole with his shoe before Snow could retrieve her ball. "Your semblance. What does it do again?"

"I can analyze nearly all of an object's physical properties, including mass, velocity, and chemical composition."

"So... with that, can you predict an object's trajectory?" Rowan prodded.

"Yes."

"I knew it, you cheater!"

Snow cocked her head. "Cheater?"

"You're using your semblance before you hit!"

Snow blinked, then pointed to Ichigo. "Ichigo's eyes light up before each of his shots. He's cheating as well, then."

"And you, Ichigo?! I expected better from you."

Ichigo turned on Snow. "So now you're a cheater and a snitch?"

It was a shame Moka couldn't come, Caspian thought. Something told him she'd find a lot of fun in the whole thing. He heard Lilly's laugh from beside him, and looked to her.

"Having fun?"

She lowered the hand that covered her mouth. "I am. And I'm... I'm just so relieved you all accept me. I threw a lot at you all at once, and things turned out well."

"What made you decide to come out tonight?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm not sure, honestly," Lilly admitted. "Just being out here on the lake, so far from home... it feels different. Something about it makes me want to get everything off my chest. I was going to start with Laurel, but we ran into everyone else." She nodded. "Then all that other stuff has been on my mind for a while now. You know- people have started calling me an 'old soul.' That isn't the compliment they think it is! It makes me sound like some boring old woman, but I don't want to be! I'm eighteen, and just like any other eighteen year old!" She swung her club, but missed the hole in the haste she had worked herself into. The ball bounced back and glanced off her shoe, putting it further away than its starting place. "...Any other eighteen year old hopelessly in love with her best friend."

"Hold up. Lazula?!" Rowan blurted.

"Yes, but I'd prefer if the entire campground didn't know."

"Ooh, right. I'm guessing she doesn't know?"

"Oh, no. Absolutely not."

Rowan grinned. "You should tell her! 'Yes' and 'no' are both better than not knowing!"

Lilly's fingers wrung her club's handle, and she watched Caspian's putt. After the shot sunk, she shook her head. "I haven't even come out to her. It's not even that I'm afraid of what she'd say, but... I think it's because I treasure the time I spend with her more than anything. I'm afraid that if she knows, It would make her uncomfortable and I'd lose that time with her. I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking things."

Lilly brushed a white curl away from her eyes as she focused in for another shot. She really was beautiful, Caspian admitted to himself. And all that time he had feelings for her, hers were for his sister. He pushed the thought aside. It didn't matter anymore. His feelings persisted for years, but they were entirely a thing of the past now. Besides, the Lilly he had a crush on was only the Lilly he thought he knew. Who the 'real' Lilly was, remained to be seen.

The pier rocked gently, and Caspian closed his eyes to take in the lapping of waves at its edge. There was just something about being out on the lake at night. All the day's bustle was done, though the instant the sun rose again it would return. But for now, Caspian sat with Snow, feeling the still-warm breeze on his skin, and appreciating the kind of night sky he couldn't find anywhere in the city. So many stars shimmered above, woven into the faint silvery swath of light Caspian could only see at Lago Del Sol.

Ichigo had turned in for the night, and Rowan off bothering Laurel at the table. She held her hands together and an orange glow sparked between them. After a few seconds, she raised it to her mouth. None of Caspian's business, but he hoped Rowan didn't come over stinking of smoke.

As if he could hear his thoughts from the edge of the beach, Rowan walked over a few minutes later. Another smell hung on his clothes, sharp and sour.

Caspian groaned. "Were you sprayed by a skunk?"

"Huh? Nahhh, man." Rowan shook the pier as he plopped down next to Caspian, then laid back with his arms behind his head. "You guys ever think about how old the stars are?"

"What?"

"You know... they've been there a long time, and will still be there like, five hundred years after we all die and no one knows who we are anymore," he continued. Caspian could tell he thought he was saying something incredibly important. "Or like, most of them will still be there? I don't know, I'm not into astrology."

Caspian sighed. "Laurel wasn't smoking a cigarette, was she?"

Rowan's odd chuckle was all the answer Caspian needed.

He whipped upright. "A popsicle sounds freakin' bonkers right now. Wanna get one?"

"No, no," Caspian insisted, forcing him back to the wooden deck. "You're not going anywhere near our parents."

"But I want one."

"Look, I'll get you one, just- stay here." Caspian stood up, and turned back after a couple steps. "Snow, stay here and make sure he doesn't fall in the lake or something."

"Okay."

The walk back to camp wasn't more than five minutes, and considering Rowan had slumped back down onto his side, there was little risk of him wandering anywhere. Caspian grabbed a popsicle for Rowan, and a second for Snow. She had about five raspberry ones earlier in the day, so it was a safe bet she had taken a liking to them.

To Caspian's surprise, Lilly had joined Laurel at the picnic table by the time he returned. He steadied himself against the pier that swelled and subsided with each lazy wave, and walked out to Rowan and Snow. Snow still sat facing the water, and Rowan had managed to push himself upright as well, though his head was slumped under his shoulders, between his knees.

"Snow hates me."

"I don't hate Rowan."

"Why do you think Snow hates you?"

Rowan's head whipped up. "It's the way she responds. She sounds so bored. And monotone, like she doesn't wanna talk to me."

"Do you... know Snow?" Caspian assessed. "That's kind of how she is."

Rowan's sudden bout of animation almost caused Caspian to flinch. He held his arm out, opening and closing his fingers toward the pink wrapper in Caspian's hand. "Gimme that one."

"No, Snow gets this one for having to watch your dumb ass."

Rowan leaned in, and his eyes failed to meet Caspian's exactly. He pointed a finger between Caspian's eyes. "Language!"

"Raspberry is my favorite," Snow replied, holding the modest gift in her hand. "Thank you."

"I noticed you seemed to like them."

Conversation continued for a bit longer until no one had much more to say, and the three simply enjoyed each other's company in silence. Caspian laid back, and looked to the stars that would persist five hundred years after everyone had forgotten his name.