Hi, me again! So, I've been meaning to update since Monday, but ended up with three Artemis Fowl stories instead. Also, I signed up as a beta reader, and have gotten requests from two people to read for them, and sorting it out has been a little hectic. So, enjoy, and huge thanks to KaylaDestroyer and TimberPaw for reviewing. This is gonna be the fluffy-beach-teenager-bonding chapter. Review and I'll give you a free (virtual) doughnut. Donut for all you Americans. Or is it the other way round..?

HEY, GUESS WHAT?! Blue Sky Studios just called and offered me the rights to Ice Age! So I said... jk. They didn't. But you probably guessed that. In short, I own Ice Age no more than I own the USA.

Mia woke at about eight a.m. and for a second she couldn't remember where she was. She looked around. She was lying with the other spies in a spare cave about thirty metres downriver. It was quite small, but cosy. She could hear the rushing of water outside. The river. There was a waterfall a little further away, judging by the sound.

The other spies were still asleep, so Mia crept out of the cave to have a look at the river. She liked rivers better than the ocean. You always knew where you were with a river. The sea, however, was huge, empty and dangerous. She walked to the bank, looking over. It was shallow, flowing quickly over the stones. A few large trout were darting about, looking for low-flying insects for breakfast. "Hey." Mia jumped, almost falling into the river. Peaches was standing behind her with Louis.

"Oh, h-hey," she stammered, honestly quite scared of the mammoth's huge size," I was just admiring the river."

"Yeah, it's pretty, right? Anyways, I was wondering if you and Adsila would come down to the beach with us, meet our friends and stuff. I mean, if you're going to be staying here you should probably get to know some of the people, right?"

Mia nodded. "O-okay, I'll go get Adsila."

Adsila was curled up in a ball next to James, snoring quietly. Mia walked over and gently shook her arm. Adsila pulled it back. "Five more minutes, Sonoma." Sonoma was the kiwi healer of Adsila's crew. She was quite caring, for a pirate, and had played a big part in raising Adsila.

Mia persisted in her shaking until her friend's brown eyes finally opened. "What?"

"Peaches wants us to go to the beach to meet her friends."

"Just us?"

"Yep."

"Well, I'm in. When do we leave?"

"Now." The two crept out of the cave, careful not to wake the others. Peaches and Louis were waiting for them.

Peaches grinned. "Alright, follow me. It's this way." She started walking downriver, introducing them to the neighbors as they went. There was a family of fowl, of some sort. Artemis I, his mate Angeline, their older son Artemis II, and their young chicks, Myles and Beckett. There was another few birds living nearby, Holly, who was Artemis II's girlfriend, and two older ones, Julius and Raine. There was also a bearded molehog who popped out of the ground to say hello named Mulch. There were some wildcat siblings too, Domovoi and Juliet. Finally, a horse couple named Foaly and Caballine.*

All their neighbors seemed pretty nice, definitely the sort of people Mia would like to live near. She wouldn't though. Actually, she had never really thought about her future. What would she do after the spy mission was fulfilled? She couldn't live here, that was for sure. The surviving herd would hate her. Mia immiediately pushed away the thought. It wasn't important what the herd thought. It shouldn't be bothering her. So why did it?

They arrived at the beach early. It was completely deserted. The tide was in, nearly touching the rocks at the end. The path down followed the river, which became the waterfall that Mia could hear earlier, before flowing down the beach to the sea. It was a lovely beach, with bright, tropical turquoise water that merged to azure blue at the horizon. The sand was white and beautifully soft underfoot. Peaches led the way down the sand.

"They said to meet at the west end, by the rockpools. It's this way, come on." Mia followed, admiring the scenery, the smooth rocks, the rainforest, even the ocean, which normally scared her. It was lovely. Mia could see the shape of some mammoths at the end, near some large grey stones.

"Okay," announced Peaches," this is Ethan, Steffie, Katie, Meghan and Con**. Guys, this is Adsila and Mia." They all said hi, Adsila and Ethan fistbumped, and Peaches called a vote on what they should do today. She, Adsila, Ethan, Con and Katie all voted to have a waterfight, so that's what they did. Ethan started it by squirting a trunkful of water at Peaches, who shrieked and immediately retaliated. Con suddenly squirted Steffie from behind, and soon they were all in the water, yelling and laughing, all dripping wet. After about an hour, they decided to dry off and get some breakfast.

"Okay, what'll we get?" asked Peaches, looking around to see if anybody had any ideas. Louis spoke up.

"There's some nut trees nearby. We could go there." Nobody had any objections, so the molehog led the way off the beach to a lovely grove of little trees. Mia reached up and picked a walnut, bashing it off a rock. Nothing happened. She tried a few more times, all to no avail. Louis looked at it.

"Walnut?"

"Yes."

"Those things are impossible to crack, you know that right?"

"Worth a try though, right? My cousin Nord could crack a walnut. I still can't figure it out though."

"Can I try?" Mia wordlessly handed him the nut.

"You won't be able to do it, you know."

"I can. Without using my hands, I can get it open."

"You can't."

"Can." He looked up. "Peaches, could you open this please?" With her mammoth strength, Peaches had it open in seconds. Louis handed it back to Mia. "See, no hands." Mia giggled and took a bite of the nut.

After breakfast, Ethan decided to play a game of crunchball on the beach, using some rocks on either side as goals. Adsila managed to score three times. Mia and Louis mainly sat by the side, not really contributing. It was fun, though. Peaches announced that she, Louis, Adsila and Mia had to go home for lunch.

Mia smiled as they walked back. "That was really fun. Thanks for introducing us to your friends."

Peaches shrugged. "No problem. You guys are part of the herd now."

Mia felt a pang. She eventually had to play a part of these people's deaths. Forcing a smile, she answered. "Thanks."

* Those are all Ice Age-ised Artemis Fowl characters. I own none of them.

**Con is that guy who always says "Burn!". I couldn't really get through the chapter without naming him.

So, whatcha think? Like? Hate? Either way, I'd like to hear your opinions. REVIEW, PLEASE!