Disclaimer: Kirby belongs to Nintendo and HAL Laboratory.
Some time later, Vesa, Elfilis, Kirby and Elfilin left the Lor Starcutter with camping equipment in tow. Vesa managed to make a checklist which she kept in a pocket in her shorts.
"At some point," Elfilis mentioned, "I'm going to leave for a couple hours to improve the intelligence of the locals so they have a breeding population. I've been given the go ahead to follow through with it and Leongar will be there to oversee it."
"Good to know," Vesa nodded.
Kirby and Elfilin watched and waved their arms as the Lor Starcutter took off.
"Did you decide on what you want to do while we're out here?" Elfilis asked her.
Vesa handed Elfilis the checklist, allowing them to read it.
"Looks like you have a few things in mind," Elfilis smiled, "that looks good to me."
"Thanks!" Vesa returned her smile.
Vesa observed Kirby and Elfilin as they stood along the shoreline of a lake. As she took a deep breath, she couldn't help but wonder how long before she could take on learning more advanced spells. She anticipated the idea of her partner formally taking her on as an apprentice.
"Say," Vesa asked Elfilis, "what element do you think I might be able to work on next?"
Elfilis perked up their feelers.
"If you are lucky," they answered, "it'll be something general or it could be something specific yet useful."
Soon enough, Vesa and Elfilis found a suitable campsite between the Beast Pack settlement and the lake.
"Testing affinities is simple enough, and they are linked to the soul to an extent as well so you might learn something about yourself this way too," Elfilis continued, "although it can be hard to determine what your element says about yourself without a lot of introspection sometimes. Other times like my siblings, it's really self-evident. After discovering your affinity, it can lead to interesting discoveries about yourself in a more physical way. There have been people who used their own body parts as alchemy ingredients for a weapon due to their affinity. It was easy enough to heal but lots of people thought they were crazy until they actually produced results that should have been impossible in practice, if not in theory."
"That's pretty cool," Vesa agreed.
Vesa and Elfilis began to set up the tent.
"Well," Elfilis shrugged, "I can't say I approve of how he did it. He removed a few of his ribs and mixed them with the gunpowder in some bullet casings, and used them to take down other mages who had broken the law, permanently severing their ability to do magic after he shot them. It was a long time ago, but it was a bit of a big deal at the time and not many people approved of his methods."
In a matter of a few minutes, Vesa and Elfilis finished setting up the tent.
"Alright," Elfilis told her, "I'd better get going. I'll be back in an hour."
"Take care," Vesa suggested, gesturing to Kirby and Elfilin, "I'll keep an eye on those two."
Elfilis ran their fingers through their hair before teleporting away. Vesa returned her gaze to Kirby as he pulled out a beach chair and set it along the lake. The pink star warrior blinked before locking eyes onto the human.
"Poyo!" Kirby waved his arm, "poyo?"
To emphasize his point, Kirby reached for a fishing rod.
"Uh, sure!" Vesa smiled, "I might need a chair and a fishing rod myself."
Vesa grabbed two more beach chairs and set them next to Kirby's. Elfilin perked up his large ears as a few Awoofies approached the lake nearby. The small chinchilla settled into one of the beach chairs. Kirby grabbed another fishing rod and handed it to Vesa.
"Thanks."
Vesa settled into the second beach chair while Kirby put on a bucket hat. The pink star warrior demonstrated how to handle the fishing rod, the human following along. He even cast the line and Vesa did the same. Elfilin watched while he started fiddling with a stick he created. The small chinchilla thought of making his own fishing rod, but wasn't sure how to make a reel. He settled for making some string to tie to the stick. He then brought out a barbed bone spike and attached it to the string.
"Hey, Miss Vesa?" Elfilin called, "I made my own fishing rod!"
Vesa paused and tilted her head towards Elfilin.
"Are you sure you don't want us to provide you one?" she asked.
"Poyo?"
"Do we have more?" Elfilin tilted his head sideways.
Kirby grabbed another fishing rod, handing it to Elfilin.
"Poyo!" he chirped.
Elfilin nodded before he gripped the fishing rod, which was a little big for him. The small chinchilla tried swinging and casting a line, barely managing to get it a short distance into the lake. The Awoofies swiped up the fishing rod Elfilin made. The small chinchilla blinked yet he shrugged. The three waited until an hour later, Elfilis teleported back to the spot where they left. The ultimate life-form perked up their feelers as Vesa glanced over her shoulder.
"Welcome back, Elfilis," Vesa smiled.
"They already had some animals gathered for me," Elfilis explained, "so it didn't take as long as I thought it might. I was half expecting to need to hunt down a lot of them."
Elfilis knelt next to Vesa, examining the fishing rods. Without warning, Kirby felt a tug on his fishing rod, so he began reeling in whatever he caught. Soon enough, the pink star warrior pulled up a thick trout.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
"Nice one, Kirby!" Elfilin cheered, waving his paw.
As soon as Vesa felt her fishing rod tug, she didn't hesitate to reel in her catch.
"Don't catch too much unless you plan to throw it back," Elfilis pointed out.
Vesa soon pulled up another trout, placing it in a bucket.
"I guess one catch will do enough for me," she shrugged.
"Very well," Elfilis nodded, "what do you want to do next?"
Vesa stood up and set down her fishing rod while Kirby and Elfilin continued to fish. She examined the shores until she found a seashell, so she picked it up. For now, Elfilis would simply keep an eye out for any more seashells and Vesa would collect them.
This peaceful moment was suddenly interrupted when the fishing rod pulled at Elfilin for some reason, eliciting a startled yelp out of him.
"Poyo?" Kirby blurted.
Elfilis twitched their feelers and turned their head only to watch as an unseen force pulled Elfilin out of his chair, dragging him into the water.
"Poyo!" Kirby panicked.
"Elfilin!" Vesa gasped.
Elfilis thought fast and used their telekinesis to lift Elfilin out of the water. The small chinchilla held onto the fishing rod. Kirby's eyes widened the instant a Squishy emerged from the surface of the water, dangling on the hook. Elfilis removed the water from the small chinchilla before setting him back in his chair. They released the Squishy back into the water.
"That was close!" Vesa sighed in relief.
"T-Thank you, Elfilis," Elfilin stammered, still shuddering from the incident.
"You're welcome," Elfilis nodded at their little brother, "you weren't in much danger of drowning."
"Whatever that critter was," Elfilin rubbed his head with his paws, "it was really scary."
Elfilis sighed and ran their finger along the small chinchilla's head. They scooped Elfilin into their arms and held him close.
"So what do you want to do now?" Elfilis asked Vesa.
Vesa set aside the seashells she collected while she observed the sun beginning to set.
"I suppose we should get dinner started soon," she mentioned.
Kirby put the recent fish he reeled in into the bucket.
"Do you know how to properly gut a fish?" Elfilis asked.
"I don't," Vesa shrugged.
Vesa observed as Kirby's face turned green at the thought, clearly appreciating the end product and not the process in between.
"I won't force you if you're a bit squeamish," Elfilis told Kirby.
"All the more reason for me to volunteer," Vesa remarked.
"Come on over, then," Elfilis instructed, "it's mostly about explaining what is edible and what isn't, and to keep the meat from getting contaminated by any waste inside the fish. You'll need to be a little careful, especially since we're using a knife to do this."
Vesa retrieved the bucket and approached Elfilis. Her partner created a wooden table. She set an unconscious trout onto the table, standing next to the ultimate life-form. From there, Elfilis began guiding Vesa through the step-by-step process. Under her partner's supervision, she pierced the fish's head. She then proceeded to rinse it. Elfilis was understandably surprised their girlfriend didn't flinch as she proceeded to remove the fins and scales, considering this specific kind of fish was colorful.
Kirby wandered off while Elfilin watched curiously. Vesa sliced open the fish and removed its guts before rinsing its innards. On the side, Elfilis explained to their brother the purpose of the different parts of a fish going into detail and even explaining certain functions of its cells. By the time the human finished gutting it, Elfilis supervised her in the procedure of filleting the fish. Once she got the hang of the procedure, she repeated this whole process for the rest of the fish in the bucket.
"How are you feeling?" Elfilis asked.
Vesa glanced over her shoulder.
"I'm just having an epiphany," she admitted, "you know, about what my people used to do in the ancient past, before we even started a civilization."
"Good to hear," Elfilis nodded.
Elfilin glanced behind him.
"Kirby," Elfilin called over, "we're finished!"
Kirby peeked out from behind a rock and toddled over.
"Poyo," Kirby sighed.
Vesa smiled softly and gave Kirby a pat on the head.
"On the bright side," Vesa told him, "it means we'll be getting a campfire going soon."
Vesa made her way to a spot where she gathered some rocks to form a circle. She retrieved a metal rack and a pan and placed it near the campfire.
"We might need some wood," she added, "you're welcome to make some."
"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to find some?" Elfilis tilted their head sideways.
Vesa paused for a moment before she stood up. Elfilin floated over to the table.
"I'll keep an eye out on our dinner," the small chinchilla offered.
"Poyo!" Kirby added, jumping up.
Vesa followed Elfilis into a forest.
"The kind of wood that normally works best is dry, hard wood, like oak," Elfilis explained, "as it burns hotter and longer."
As they meandered through the forest, they kept their eyes peeled for any twigs and branches.
"Of course," Elfilis continued, "you'll want wood that's more fresh but harder to burn if you want to attract or call for help. Examples like from birch trees create a lot of smoke which can come in handy for this regard."
Elfilis and Vesa proceeded to gather branches suitable for the campfire they needed. After a while, they returned to the campsite with plenty of sticks and branches in their arms. From there, they arranged the sticks in the campfire while Kirby and Elfilin watched.
"Now, are you ready for me to show you how to start a fire?"
Vesa nodded. Elfilis summoned some string, dry grass and a thick stick. She watched as her partner placed the grass on top of the branches.
"To start with," Elfilis explained, "you'll want to split the stick down the middle halfway, like this."
Elfilis took a small rock and gently broke the stick down the middle. They handed the stick to Vesa, allowing her to examine it.
"Next, we wedge some tinder into the crack in the middle," Elfilis continued, demonstrating as such on the large branch, "now we put the stick into the crack and wrap this string around it. The branch holds the dry grass and our stick here in place, and then we pull the string back and forth until it starts to smoke."
"Got it," Vesa nodded.
Under careful supervision, Vesa inserted the stick into the branch's crack and wrapped the string around it. She pulled the string back and forth at a rhythmic pace. After a few minutes, Kirby and Elfilin's eyes lit up as smoke started to ignite the grass.
"Keep it up," Elfilis encouraged.
Vesa nodded and accelerated the pace. Soon enough, she noticed the grass started to get a soft orange glow as it started to catch.
"Oh?" she blurted.
"Almost there," Elfilis told her.
Vesa kept up her work. Elfilin perched on Kirby's head. Before long, a small fire started to eat at the dry grass.
"All right," Elfilis instructed, "now we need to dump it onto the sticks and it will start properly."
With careful guidance from her partner, Vesa transferred the flame to the pile of sticks in the campfire. After a few minutes, the fire grew into a proper campfire. Elfilis placed the metal rack over the campfire while Vesa checked for ingredients. While she seasoned the fish, Kirby joined in as he helped prepare a couple side dishes including dough for flatbread. Vesa proceeded to saute the fish with some diced potatoes and vegetables. Kirby used another pan to cook some flatbread over the campfire.
Elfilis watched curiously, impressed that their girlfriend's cooking skill was improving. Within half an hour, the two finished cooking dinner.
"Thanks for your help, Kirby," Vesa smiled, giving Kirby a high five.
"Poyo!" Kirby chirped.
While Fecto Elfilis relaxed against a nearby tree, Elfilin began serving himself, followed by Elfilis, Vesa and Kirby before the four started eating.
"This tastes great!" Elfilin squealed happily.
"Poyo!" Kirby waved his arm at the small chinchilla.
Shortly after dinner, Vesa brought out packages of graham crackers, chocolate bars and marshmallows. She, Kirby and Elfilin placed marshmallows on skewers before they roasted the marshmallows over the campfire. Once they finished, they assembled the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers into s'mores. Elfilis didn't need to eat any s'mores, though they simply enjoyed the smell of marshmallows and burning wood from the campfire. Vesa was content to eat one s'more, though Kirby and Elfilin went on to make more s'mores.
As evening progressed into night, Kirby, Elfilin, Vesa and Elfilis entered the tent, nestling into the futon. The human snuggled in her partner's arms while the small chinchilla and the pink star warrior huddled close to the both of them.
"Hey, Miss Vesa?" Elfilin said, "thanks for inviting us to go camping with you."
"Poyo!" Kirby waved his arms.
Vesa gave Elfilin a soft smile.
"You're welcome."
As much as Elfilis was glad the tent was large enough for everyone to fit inside, it still didn't help that the discomfort from Kirby and Elfilin's presence made it difficult for them to enjoy sleeping in a tent. Vesa cupped their face with her hand and nuzzled their cheek, their tail swaying a little.
"Maybe next time," Vesa told Elfilis, "we can go camping by ourselves. Is that ok with you?"
As Kirby started drifting off to sleep, he held Elfilin close.
"I accept your offer," Elfilis nodded with a soft sigh.
Vesa smiled as she fell asleep in her partner's arms.
Feel free to make some fanart related to this fanfic!
And leave a review so Kirby can use them to buy snacks for him and Elfilin.