Hello lovelies! Please enjoy this new chapter, afterward I shall be updating a few others. Please enjoy!
Ethan's eyes slowly opened as sunlight streamed in through the tent, birds chirping outside as he heard rustling from outside the tent. Ethan sat up and wiped his eyes, Benny no longer in the sleeping bag with him as he ran a hand through his hair. He crawled forward as he unzipped the tent and stuck his head out, watching as Erica moved around a few eggs on a skillet over the fire. Ethan turned his head over to see Hiccup rigging up something by the lake as Jack inspected the canoes with Benny.
"No one woke me up?" Ethan said, earning a smile from Erica as she giggled and scooped out the eggs onto a plate before throwing some small sausages onto the skillet.
"We thought you'd want to sleep in, but it's good that your awake now. Hiccup needs some help with his contraption over there." Erica said, motioning her head to where Hiccup was standing as he messed with a few plastic tubes. Ethan stepped out of the tent, stretching his arms out before trudging his way across the sandy lakeside as he began to hear Hiccup talk to himself.
"So what is the Mighty Haddock working on now?" Ethan said with a slight chuckle, Hiccup turning around to stick his tongue out at him before they both began to laugh at each other.
"I'm setting up a shower system that way we don't have to bathe in the cold lake. These four poles here will hold up the curtains and you just step inside and turn this lever and the tube sucks in the water from the lake and takes it over this small gas heater warming it up. Wanna test it out?" Hiccup asked, Ethan looking at the improvised shower system before shaking his head and stepping in.
"If I end up freezing cold, I'm throwing you in the lake." Ethan said, tensing his body up as he reached up and grabbed the lever. Ethan counted to five very slowly before finally pulling the lever, a few seconds going by before warm water sprayed out onto him. Ethan began to cheer and laugh as he heard Hiccup holler out in excitement. He stuck his head out from behind the curtain as he gave a thumbs up before looking back up at the shower head and smiling as he took his shirt off and let it drop down to the sand with a wet smack.
"I wasn't invited for shower time?" came Benny's voice as Ethan felt a pair of arms encircle his waist before Benny's body connected with his back, Ethan blushing before turning around and looking up into his boyfriend's eyes.
"Sly dog, we have company not far away ya know." Ethan said, tracing his fingers across Benny's chest as the water began to soak him.
"Yea I know, and I also know that these curtains can't be seen through so I'm good in that department." Benny said, leaning forward as he brushed his cheek against Ethan's before opening his jaw and nipping at Ethan's ear lobe.
"Okay lover boys, it was meant to be a test for one." came Jack's voice as he stuck his head through the curtain and looked at the two before giggling as Ethan splashed water at his face.
"It's called privacy!" Ethan said, still holding onto Benny as the both of them watched as Hiccup and Erica's heads popped in next to Jack's.
"Yea, we are in the middle of the woods on a lake. Privacy doesn't exist out here, if you want that then you need a door to hide behind first." Erica said with a giggle before Ethan grabbed the shower head and directed at the three of them, all of them shrieking before disappearing once more. Benny just shook his head as he laughed and looked down at Ethan who just rested his head against his chest in the warm water.
Later That Day
Benny sat behind Ethan as they rowed their canoe down a river rapid, both of them hollering out with joy as Hiccup and Jack paddled theirs in front of them. He looked out as the water churned around them before erupting into a mist around the rocks along the shore.
"Hold on!" Ethan said from up front as their canoe dipped down as they both erupted into a fit of laughter as they maneuvered around the rapids. Benny couldn't stop laughing as they came to a calm part of the river, looking over at Jack and Hiccup's canoe only to see the both of them soaked with water and shivering.
"Hey guys, you look a little wet!" Ethan hollered out, earning the finger from the other two as Erica came down the rapid after them shrieking in amusement.
"Adrenaline rush! Now that's what I'm talking about! Yea!" Erica screamed, fist pumping her hand into the air as she drifted up next to the others.
"Well, it looks like this is our stop. Any further and we'd be going down the falls, let's beach these canoe's and hike back." Erica said as they all began to row over to the rocky shoreline. Benny jumped out and into the water as Ethan joined him, both of them walking the canoe the rest of the way. Benny couldn't help but giggle more as he looked over and saw Jack taking off his shirt as he wrung it out along with Hiccup.
"Let me mark this place on the map so we can come back and get these later today." Erica said as she pulled out a small plastic bag with a map inside.
"So...where shall we hike to today?" Ethan asked, bending down as he opened up his backpack and took out a dry pair of shoes.
"I was thinking we could hike out to the base of Mt. Oster, it's about a two hour trek from here." Erica said, putting the map back into it's small bag before standing up and adjusting the straps on her pack. Benny looked down at the ground as he felt it begin to shake slightly, the tree's around them all rustling in the wind as the shaking became more prominent.
"Watch out!" screamed Hiccup as he pushed Jack out of the way of a falling tree as it collapsed onto the ground with a loud crash. Benny reached forward and pulled Ethan to his side as the shaking began to die down, all of them watching as leaves fell from the tree's and a few rocks fell into the river.
"Just a small earthquake guys...it's okay now." Erica said, looking up through the tree's as sunlight streamed through the branches.
"Are you sure? I've never felt a earthquake like that before." Hiccup said as he helped his boyfriend up from the ground, looking to Erica for answers.
"Yes I'm sure, this area is still a active point for small quakes. Back when Mt. Oster was still active, this place must have experienced plenty of earthquakes. I'm sure the tectonic plates are just acting up is all." Erica said, walking ahead of the rest of them as she scouted out a path to take.
"Hey, you okay?" Benny asked as he looked down at Ethan, brushing his hand through the smaller of the two's hair gently.
"Yea, I'm good. Just a little shaken up..ha, get it?" Ethan said with a giggle as Benny just pushed him away laughing.
"And you say I'm corny, right." Benny replied as they both jogged up to stay near Erica and the others.
"I have my moments." Ethan replied back, winking at Benny as they just smiled at each other before looking ahead, the forest enveloping them as they trekked through.
"So Erica, tell me more about Mt. Oster." Ethan said, stepping over a rotten log covered in moss as they walked.
"Well, it's the only volcano in Canada that I know of at the moment. It's dormant now, but it was explosive back in it's prime. Mt. Oster last erupted about two thousand years ago, back before settlers had even heard of this place but the Native Americans that lived in this area kept records of a massive explosion from the mountain. It was said that the sky went black as night as fireballs rained from the heavens, ash flows raining down from the side of the mountain. Whole villages were engulfed in the fires as the native's fled the forest, they believed that their God's were casting hell down upon them. Shortly after the eruption, it was noted that the Earth began to shake violently as huge cracks opened up into the side of the mountain and surrounding valley. The lake we are actually camped at use to be bigger, but a massive crack opened up in the bottom and the water drained into it." Erica said, holding the straps to her backpack in her hands as she ducked held back a branch for the others to pass by.
"Is that why the mountain had a huge crater in it's side?" Ethan asked once more, picking up a small rock and flinging it out into the forest as a bunch of birds flew off from surrounding bushes.
"Yes, when the mountain erupted it blew out a large portion of the surrounding rock as well. Kinda like how Mt. St Helen did when it erupted back in the eighties, now a big portion of the mountain is missing." Erica replied as they came into a clearing in the forest, the sun shining down as a few rabbits jumped away from them.
"Sounds like it would've been one hell of a firework show." Benny said as he walked alongside Ethan, his hand on Ethan's back as they walked through the forest behind the others.
"Enough of that though, let's enjoy this hike and what Mother Nature has to give us!" Jack said, running forward as he threw his arms into the air and laughed as the sun shined down upon them all.
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