Chapter 48: The Great Outdoors!

Ever since ancient times, mankind has always had the ability to survive in the wild. Through the barren wilderness to the thickest forests, they learned to hunt, forage, and carve the tools necessary for their survival.

But now, such talents are saved for times of great necessity, or to challenge one's instincts against the primal forces of nature.

…Or maybe a family just wants to have a change of scenery and decides to go on a camping trip.

"Yay!" Cheered Xander, bundled in a soft winter jacket with a bundle of fishing poles on his back and the cold air making his cheeks rosy red.

"Oi! Don't wander too far ahead of the pack, ya little jumpstarter!" Called out his aunt Samantha from the porch.

Xander turned around and ran back next to his cousins and Vivi.

His cousins were holding onto some of the camping equipment, and Vivi had a cooler on hand.

"Honestly…" Spoke Sol.

"Do you EVER not get excited?" Ana added.

Vivi closed her eyes and erupted into laughter, "Ha ha ha! You guys were looking forward to this all week!"

The twins blushed together, "Were not."

Xander proclaimed, "Don't worry team! I'll lead us through the woods! You can count on me!"

Sol shook her head, "Honestly…"

"Too excited." Added Ana.

"Oh you two!" Vivi went and lightly bonked them on the head with her wand.

Samantha then stepped in and grabbed the wand by the jewel, "Remember, pixie…"

Vivi dispelled her wand and bonked her head with her fist, sticking out her tongue, "Oh humdrum, I won't use my magic, promise!"

Samantha crossed her arms and grit her teeth at her kids, "That goes double for ya squirts."

The twins rolled their eyes.

"Haaaa…" Samantha then grinned at Xander, "Least I don't hafta tell you that, kid!"

"Nope!" Xander proclaimed.

"Liar." Sol and Ana whispered under their breath, much to Xander's confusion.

"Shhh!" Vivi pressed her finger against her lips.

"Grhhh..!" Solaris could be heard grunting from the door, struggling to pull the packed tent through.

"Ah geez, ya getting soft on me, honey?!" Samantha dropped her supplies and got on the other side of him, where one last pull helped get the tent out.

Solaris then put the tent over his shoulder and huffed, "You know I've never been good with tight spaces…!"

Samantha smirked, "Oh I know."

The twins stuck their tongue out, "Ew."

"Gross."

"And how do ya know what we're talking about?!" Samantha barked.

The twins turned opposite directions and whistled.

After Samantha flashed them a glare, the group looked back in the house to see Michael was seeing them off.

"Sure ya don't want to come? Gotta have a day off sometime." Samantha asked.

"Eh, never been a fan of the outdoors. Reminds me of the bunkers…" Michael said drearily, "Plus, you know."

"Yeah yeah, just remember, you can change the wi-fi password on him anytime ya want." Samantha gave a sly wink, and Michael approved with a thumbs up.

He then leaned around her and said, "You have fun, Vivi. Hope you catch a BIG fish!"

"You got it brother! And remember, you owe me sushi if I do!"

"Sushi?!" Xander proclaimed, "Oh boy! I've never had sushi before!"

"Seriously?" Solaris raised a brow and then scoffed, "Boy, is my sister failing you big time then!"

He then pumped a fist against his chest and roared, "Then it's settled! We ARE getting a big fish on this trip!"

Samantha jabbed him in the gut with her elbow, "Calm it, macho man, this is about having a fun time with the kids."

"You know I'd catch a bigger fish than you…honey." Solaris taunted her, and though her face winced she closed her eyes calmly and crossed her arms.

"Save it. Ya ain't riling me up."

Solaris focused on the kids and pointed at his smirk like it was a victory worth celebrating. The twins just rolled their eyes, and neither Vivi nor Xander really got it.

Disappointed, he hauled up their tents onto his back and set out off the porch to take the lead of their little group.

"Alright, the day's young! Let's hit the woods!"

"Yahoo!" Cheered Xander, trailing directly behind his uncle, with Samantha ending up somewhere in-between him and the other three.

The trees were still shaking off some of the snow from a few days ago, and all the leaves were nowhere to be found.

There was a lot of mushy, cold, dirty ground to wade through to get to the fun part of the forest full of woodland creatures and the flowing river.

Solaris and Samantha were like a pair of tanks pushing through these obstacles with ease, and even throwing the kids onto their shoulders to help them over tougher obstacles.

Xander tried to bravely traverse a deep mud puddle by himself, but his small legs got stuck like he was stepping in thick chocolate pudding.

And as yummy as that sounded, even he wouldn't try to eat his way out of here and accepted his uncle's help to get out…

Only to get into a little more trouble as he saw a tall, towering oak reaching into what seemed like the heavens, and decided he wanted to climb it.

He jumped the trunk and wrapped his arms around it tightly, then started using the bark to get a few feet up.

Samantha stopped and shared a little worry, "Whoa! Ease up, kid, that's a little dangerous for ya!"

Solaris laughed, "Aaaah, let him go, we can catch him if he falls. Not like I ever got to climb a tree at his age."

Samantha veered his way with a blunt glare, "Ya wanna be the one to tell his parents we let him get scared of heights when he falls?"

Solaris scoffed, "Ah, sis will brush it off."

"Ah Hell, I KNOW Moons will. But Riku…?" Upon Samantha raising a brow, Solaris grit his teeth and sweated.

"Y-You know, I agree with your aunt! Wait until Spring, I'll teach you how to climb then!"

"Let me get to this branch, Uncle! I can do it!" Xander proclaimed with childish confidence.

The other kids stepped up and cheered him on.

With what felt like little effort on his part, Xander reached the first branch and hopped on top of it.

"I did it!" Xander proclaimed.

"Well I'll be damned…" Samantha scoffed with some relief, "He's a born natural."

"Yeah yeah, great job kid, now don't push it!" Solaris remarked.

"Do it, do it!" The twins 'subtly' cheered.

Xander waved his hand and said, "I'm coming down!"

Eliciting a pair of "Drats" from the twins and a sigh from Solaris.

But in his eagerness to get back down, his weight caused the branch to break off.

Solaris' eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets and he prepared to jump to save him.

But then Vivi moved her tiny legs so quickly they let her run up the side of the tree and grab Xander out of the air, where she then summoned her wand to make a fluffy cotton candy landing out of a nearby log.

Somehow though, this resulted in Xander holding her once they landed.

"Hee hee hee!" She didn't mind though.

Xander patted her on the shoulder and got off, "Thanks for the save!"

As the rest of their group caught up, Samantha firmly crossed her arms and raised a brow, "What'd I say?"

Vivi brushed the candy fibers off her coat and grinned, "That felt appropriate enough!"

"Alright alright, well let's not put ourselves in that kinda predicament again."

As they continued on their merry way, Solaris slowed his pace to hold his fist up at his nephew and whisper, "Not bad, kid. That took guts."

Xander bumped his fist, barely covering half the width of his knuckles, and was grinning like an idiot.

The twins pouted and then after looking at each other, ran ahead of their dad.

"Dad, we can do-"

"-just as good of a job in the woods too."

"Oh yeah?" Solaris smiled and brushed the back of his hand out, "Show me what you got then, daughters!"

Sol took the lead between them and helped push a few fallen branches out of the way, while Ana knelt at the ground and sniffed.

"There's definitely been some deer roaming around here. Look, you can see their poop in the dirt." Ana said all on her own.

"Heeey, you didn't wait for me!" Sol proclaimed in an offended tone.

Ana stood, pulled her head back, and was calmly smug.

Solaris walked up, bent down beside her, and nodded, "Yep, that's definitely deer shit."

He patted her gently on the back, "Good job! You've been picking up a few skills!"

"Thaaaank you!" Ana bowed proudly.

"Kiiiiiiiisss aaaaaasss." Sol whispered.

Ana turned and stuck her tongue out.

"Alright ya two, don't make this a contest," Samantha wedged herself between them and asked, "So whaddya think, honey?"

Solaris deemed, "It looks fresh, so we should probably veer to the right so we don't bother them."

"Sounds good! That'll detour us away from the river though…" Samantha weighed their options and decided to shrug, "Eh, whatever. We'll bend back around to it eventually."

While heading along the new route the ground started to get a lot less muddy and a lot more crispy thanks to all the fallen leaves in their path.

Vivi danced around on top of them to fill the air with a crispy sound, and eventually Xander joined her.

Solaris' guidance kept them away from the habitats of the local wildlife, and in a matter of time they started to hear the sound of rushing water.

"Perfect!" Samantha proclaimed, looking up at the trees with her hand over her eyes, "And the trees look pretty spread apart. Shouldn't hafta worry about stuff dropping on us."

"I get ya, honey," Solaris immediately dropped his luggage and started pitching their tents, "Hey Sol, Ana, help me out here!"

"Afterwards-"

"-we can go fishing?" They said with a hint of excitement.

"Sure! You can do that while I go get some firewood!"

So the twins shrugged and helped their father out with the tents.

Meanwhile, Samantha was foraging through their bags for some supplies, leaving Vivi and Xander to wander the area looking for the little finer things nature left lying around.

They found a few MASSIVE worms and kept them around as bait, and there were some sleek white rocks hidden under the leaves.

But the nicest thing they found was an old abandoned bird's nest lodged within a tree. They left it alone, but put one of the worms inside so maybe another bird would come and make it their home in preparation for Springtime.

"Walking in the woods is nice, but I must say I miss walking through the world of Moonleilei." Vivi commented.

Xander got in close and put his arm around her back, "We can go back soon! I promise! I got a fun new adventure planned for ALL of us! I want Cu'u to come with us too!"

"A-Ah yes, Cu'u, you haven't had the honor of introducing me to her yet." Vivi said, slightly squirmish.

"Don't worry, I will! I know you'll get along, Vivi!"

"Really? Ha ha ha! We'll just have to wait and see then!" Vivi said with canned laughter.

The two then returned to the campground where everything had been set up properly, and now the adults were working on getting the insides filled with blankets and other means of keeping the kids warm.

Sol and Ana had the majority of the fishing gear in their possession, "We have permission-"

"-to go fishin'."

Vivi laughed, "Ha ha ha! A good rhyme, twins!"

"Thanks?" The twins raised their brows.

Xander presented the worms he caught in his hands, "Look guys, I got good bait!"

"Impressive-"

"-but totally pointless." Ana added in a dry tone.

"Eh?" Xander recoiled.

"Those worms are TOO big for the fish around here, they won't bite-"

"-we'll use the stuff mom gave us." Ana held up a small bucket of pebble sized colored bait.

"Awww…" Xander pouted and then gently put the worms down, "Sorry little guys, maybe next time!"

"Doofus." Sol commented.

The four then ventured off from the campgrounds and towards the river a few minutes away. The twins took the lead even with Xander's enthusiasm in full swing.

"We'll show you both-"

"-how it's done." They said confidently.

Vivi stood next to Xander and whispered, "So hard labor is fine, so long as it's what they're interested in? Ho ho!"

Xander pressed his fingers against his lips and giggled, "It appears that way!"

The twins looked over their shoulder with a pout, "We can-"

"-hear you."

They then raised their brows mockingly, "You're not squirrels-"

"-or as stealthy as a mouse."

"Oooooh boo hoo." Vivi uttered.

The twins' brows arched with a serious tone overtaking them, "You need to learn discipline-"

"-if you want to enjoy fishing."

"What's that?" Xander sincerely asked.

The twins were not giving up the answers, so Xander ran in front of them and bounced around, "C'mon! Tell me! Tell me!"

Sol managed to grab Xander by the face and hold him in place, "See what you're doing right now?"

Ana poked him in the chest and said dryly, "Do the complete opposite."

Sol let go and Xander nodded like he understood, but the rest knew better.

Once the group made it to the river, the twins got the fishing rods put together and attached the bait to their hooks.

"Watch carefully-" Sol cast his line out first.

"-as I get the first bite." Ana cast her line out a little further and licked her lips.

Sol glared at her and muttered, "No you won't."

Ana's line tugged and she slowly panned her gaze over to her sister looking smug.

But then Sol's line was tugged immediately after, shocking them both.

"Oh ho ho! The fish are very bitey today!" Vivi proclaimed.

The twins started reeling in and lots of splashing happened on the surface.

"Nn nn…!" The twins grunted, forced to stand as the fish put up a darn good fight.

As their heels started dragging towards the edge, Vivi and Xander jumped to their aid, with Vivi going for Sol and Xander going for Ana.

"I got you!"

"Hold on to your horses!"

Ana blushed and dug her heels into the ground, while Sol remained stoic and focused, with Vivi being a surprisingly good support beam.

The two jerked their rod in the other direction to daze the fish and then continued to reel it in. And once they yanked it out, they put their whole bodies into it, managing to topple themselves and their support over onto the wet and rocky ground.

But two bass came flying out of the water and onto the twins' bellies.

They scrambled upright to maintain confidence and grabbed the flailing fish by the tails, "See?"

"Easy!"

Vivi and Xander rose and gave them a round of applause.

"Woooow! You guys are experts!" Xander cheered.

While Ana puffed her cheeks, Sol explained, "Dad taught us a few things-"

"-Apparently, he used to live on a world that had an entire village dedicated to fishing."

"It was his teacher-"

"-who taught him how to fish."

Xander gasped, "Uncle had a teacher?!"

The twins narrowed their eyes bluntly, "Duh-"

"-EVERYONE has one…"

Vivi chimed in, "I THINK he means a special, special someone."

The twins eased up, "Oh-"

"-Hmmm, yeah, I think dad mentioned her name before…Something-milion…?"

"She shared her name with a color…" Sol murmured.

The two shrugged and then put the fish away in a bucket, where they eventually took their last breaths and settled down.

They then handed the fishing rods over to Xander and Vivi, "Here-"

"-you give it a try."

Vivi waved her hand out like a fancy lady, "Ooooh, I'm good, thank you. I'll just stick by and provide moral support, ha ha!"

Xander got a little ahead of himself and grabbed both fishing rods to hold them together, "If one fishing rod can catch a big fish, then TWO fishing rods will catch a bigger fish!"

"...That's stupid-" Sol remarked.

"-VERY stupid." Ana folded her arms against her chest.

Sol ripped one of the rods out of Xander's hand and then helped him set the bait. She then stood by him and helped him achieve the proper posture.

"If you get too loose, it'll get away from you."

Xander nodded, "Too loose, got it!"

But his body was constantly producing energy that kept him wiggling even as he stood "still" and cast his line into the river, "HOOWA!"

The hook sank beneath the surface and he sat down, causing Sol to slap her head and mutter, "What did I just say?"

Xander was too entranced and hummed a tune as he waited for the line to wiggle.

After a couple of minutes of waiting around, Vivi cheered, "It's almost there, I can feel it!"

An exclamation mark appeared over Xander's head and the line tugged into the water. He grit his teeth and started reeling it in, but the fish tugged back harder.

"Uh oh!" He said with a carefree sense of worry.

When it looked like he was going to take a dip, he stood up and pulled the rod against his side, with Vivi approaching to aid him, "I got your back!"

"Thanks, buuuut, I almost got it!" Xander reeled faster and faster, with the fish getting no chance to fight back again as it was pulled free from it's home.

It was a whopper of a bass, bigger than the other two. And Xander pulled it in just the right way to make it land in the bucket, only to fall back face first into the dirt afterwards.

"Ha ha ha!" He lifted his head with a gleeful smile to face his cousins, who crossed their arms and pouted.

"Beginner's-"

"-luck."

Xander wiped the mud off onto his coat sleeve and the four of them stood over the bucket.

"This is a pretty good haul." Vivi commented.

"Yeah, we can come back-"

"-and catch some more anytime." The twins seemed pretty happy with themselves, all things considered.

"Then let's venture back to the camp!" Xander pumped his fist into the air and took the lead in their journey back.

However, it didn't take very long for them to stop and realize, "Uhhhh, which way's the camp again?"

The twins looked at each other, breaking from their usual talking habits to sling accusatory tones at the other.

"Ana, you were supposed to mark the trees with the knife dad gave us."

"Ummm, no, you were the one who had the knife. I have a signal flare."

Sol crossed her arms and got frumpy, "Dad would never give YOU a signal flare after how you handled the fireworks at New Years."

"But he did." Ana said smugly.

"Then pull it out right now." Sol egged her on by poking her in the chest repeatedly.

"Ok I will!" Ana stepped back, rustled her hands through her coat pockets, and then froze up, "Ummm…"

Sol crossed his arms and looked even more smug, "I'm waiting~"

Ana furrowed her brows and started poking Sol, "YOU show me your knife!"

"I just said YOU were supposed to have the knife!"

Vivi eventually stepped up with a stoic but blunt, "Are we lost now?"

The twins turned and said together, "Yes."

Xander then faced Vivi and said, "Couldn't you use your aura vision to find the camp?"

"Ah ah ha ha ha…well about that," Vivi twiddled her fingers around, "I never learned how to use it!"

"Go figure." Sol uttered.

"A pixie's only good for sweets…" Ana sighed.

"Oooooh I really oughta whack out both on the head!" Vivi said, playfully wagging her finger at them.

Xander grinned and hustled them all together with his hands, "It's ok guys! We'll find our way back, no problem!"

The twins shrugged, "True-"

"-dad sticks out like a sore thumb."

Xander turned around and raised his fist to lead the way, "Let's go go go!"

Five minutes later…

The four were standing in front of a group of fallen trees, with the twins looking at each other and then commenting, "I know they were-"

"-only a three minute walk away…"

Vivi tapped her chin and leaned back, "In hindsight, how DID we get so lost?"

Xander turned around and stuck his tongue out with innocence while he rubbed his head, "S-So maybe I'm not as good a navigator in the real world!"

"...Well now that we've established THAT fact for the future-"

"-how the hell are we going to find our parents?"

They heard rustling in the distance and heavy footsteps followed. Xander remarked, "Something's coming!"

The twins hosted a little concern in their voices, "That sounds too lumbering-"

"-to be a deer."

Through the cold fog, came the shadow of a mighty grizzly bear, looking a little on the edge.

The twins then smiled and said in unison to each other, "Coooool."

Vivi, however, kept her head on straight, "Hang on, this doesn't feel right…"

The mighty beast crawled out of the fog and had all the fur, fangs, and deadly claws of an actual, real-life grizzly bear, with a bit of saliva dripping out of its mouth.

"Who cares?" Sol smiled.

"We get to fight a bear!" Ana proclaimed.

"Best. Camping Trip. EVER." The twins said together.

The bear's pupils shrank and with a heavy growl it stampeded at them.

The twins were ready to hold hands and throw down when Xander performed a mighty leap over them, summoned a gigantic toy hammer, and bonked the bear on top of the head.

The bear's head flattened like the top of an anvil and his teeth stuck out like piano keys.

Xander then bounced back and put the hammer away, swinging his hand out to proclaim, "Back away from my friends!"

The bear shook the effects off and then rose to tower over them, slamming its claws down as it roared like a thunderclap straight into Xander's face.

Not a hair on Xander's head budged as he smiled, "...Guys I think the bear's mad about something."

"Well unless you know how to calm it down-"

"-we're gonna hafta fight it." The twins then held their hands together and summoned a faint fire aura around their bodies.

Vivi groaned, "Oh you dunces! Your mom said no powers!"

The twins looked over their shoulders, "Yeah but you broke the rules first-"

"-so we get a freebie!"

"That's not how-! Oooooh, fine!" Vivi summoned her staff, "I'm gonna give you both a real smack on the head when we get back!"

"Heh!" The twins faced the bear and Xander bravely stanced up prepared to fight.

However…

"HEY!" A familiar roar broke the tension and made the bear hesitate to act.

For Solaris came running at him like an entire stampede of bulls had come to life as a single man, "You leave my kids alone, grizzly bitch!"

"Dad…?" Sol said, not out of surprise but disappointment.

Ana pouted, "Awww, just when we were about to have fun."

The bear made the foolish mistake of trying to stand up to intimidate the god of the sun, but this just Solaris leeway to tackle them in the gut and then grab them by the claws and hold them down with ease.

"He's all yours honey!" He shouted.

Samantha dropped down behind the bear and wrapped both her arms around its waist, "I'm gonna enjoy this!"

She then lifted the mighty beast up like they were a sack of potatoes, and suplexed them into the ground behind her.

Xander's eyes lit up and he started clapping, "Go Auntie!"

The twins flashed a brief smirk, "Sometimes-"

"-they can be cool too…"

Samantha stood up and stretched her back muscles with a slight crack, "Ah SHIT, haven't pulled one of those off in a while."

She then crossed her arms like nothing had just happened and glared at her kids, "So you mind telling me why ya two were about to throw hands with a bear?!"

The twins pointed at Xander, "He got us lost."

"Guys?!" Xander seemed a tiny bit offended.

While Samantha was about to drop some stern life advice, the bear stood up and towered over her.

"Oh no no no!" Vivi zapped the bear with her staff to freeze them in a solid block of ice.

Samantha looked back quickly and then over to Vivi, "Thanks, pixie!"

"Tee hee!" Vivi bonked the top of her head.

Solaris then stood beside his wife and tapped his arms, "But seriously, a bear? Were the fish not biting enough or something?!"

"..." Solaris then paused for a few seconds and turned around to look at the bearsicle with an utterly baffled expression, "Wait a damn second…we're still two months off from the bears being out of hibernation. Something must've happened to this guy…"

A few subtler, worried growls came from nearby, and the group looked around to see a few cubs hiding out behind the large trees.

"...Make that a girl." Samantha commented.

"Awww, bear cubs!" Xander said, entranced by how cute they looked.

Solaris crossed his arms and grumbled, "Ah, now I get it, something must've pushed them outta their den early, and that got mama bear riled up."

"So whaddya want to do?" Samantha whispered.

"Well…" Solaris patted his hand against the ice block and started melting it while licking his lips, "Only one thing to do!"

A few minutes later, the group was back at their camp chowing down on some thick, cooked chunks of meat.

"Uncle Sol, you're the best!" Xander proclaimed.

"Heh, you know it!" After Solaris took a nice bite out of his meat, he passed it over to the mama bear resting next to them.

"Go on, the rest's all yours!"

The bear sniffed the meat and then started eating it, with her cubs eating some broken up meat in a pile next to her.

"Heh…" Solaris then looked at his wife and told her, "After we're done, I'll go head out and help them find a new den to rest in."

Samantha pinched and tugged his cheek, "Awww, look at my big softie."

"Mmm…" Solaris blushed a little, "Yeah yeah, so I'm a nature freak…"

The twins giggled, enjoying a bite of their caught and cooked bass.

Meanwhile, Vivi was off tending to her own fire, making some celebratory chocolate and caramel smores to enjoy afterwards.

Xander looked his uncle in the eyes and asked, "How'd you get so good at living in the outdoors, Uncle?"

Solaris leaned his head back and looked up at the sky, "Well, it's all thanks to my old spitfire teacher."

"What was she like?" Xander wondered.

"Well in short terms: 'ruthless'. She MADE you into a survivor. Like, if you two…" He gestured to his kids, "Thought your mom is strict? You wouldn't have lasted a day under Vermilion's training."

The twins shivered at the thought and then quickly looked at their mom, "Did we ever mention-"

"-how much we love you?"

Samantha raised her brows and then faced her husband, "Yep, she made ya into the only man worthy of handling me!"

"Heh! In a lotta ways, you reminded me of her," Solaris said softly, "But you…? Are WAY more attractive."

He then pointed at her face, "You got both your eyes, for one."

Samantha crossed her arms with intensity, "And who would win in a fight between us?"

"Honey, I thought we were trying to enjoy a nice, peaceful camping trip." Solaris said playfully.

"I would've liked to meet her!" Xander proclaimed.

"Ehhh, bad idea, nephew. But…I wish I could've seen her one last time. Never got to give her the fight of her life she wanted…" Solaris pulled his head back and muttered under his breath, "Fucking. Gabriel…"

He then looked at Xander and snapped his fingers, "Here's a word of advice kid."

Xander nodded along attentively.

"Don't leave stuff unfinished. You never know when you'll have to say goodbye."

"Don't worry Uncle! I always clean my plates, and I always turn my homework in on time!"

"Heh, you goof…" Solaris chuckled and then had to deal with the mama bear rubbing up against his thigh as thanks.

He winced a little, then petted the bear back.

Xander went back to enjoying his nice warm meal and the crisp winter air.

"I love my family so much!" And his heart was just as full of thanks as his stomach was full of meat.

Next Time: Ego Death