Early in the morning, Bluey awoke due to her dad's snoring. She had forgotten about his snoring. Bluey shifted restlessly and covered her ears, hoping something would get her back to sleep so she could skip to a sunnier part of the day. But she was now wide awake, and her dad's snoring made sure of it. Eventually, she gave up and decided it would be better to find something productive to do instead. She figured she might as well see if the boys were still awake or had gone to bed.

She could still hear the firepit crackling so either they were keeping it alive, or the fire was still smoldering. She crawled out of her sleeping bag then unzipped the tent and looked around. Surely enough, Rusty and Jack were sleeping on the chairs while Mackenzie was nowhere to be seen. She supposed he decided to be smart and sleep somewhere comfortable.

She approached the firepit and the boys stirred but didn't wake. Bluey took the empty chair and hugged herself while she warmed by the embers of the fire. She wished she had brought some blankets or a jacket, but she didn't think about how chilly the mornings could be.

"Morning, Bluey."

Bluey looked over to who was speaking to her. "Morning, Mackenzie."

Mackenzie had a few logs in his arms. He set them neatly in the pit and started blowing on the coals. "You're up early, Bluey. Could you not sleep?"

Bluey yawned. "My dad snores."

"Oh." Mackenzie nodded in understanding. "Yeah, so does my dad."

Blue began to warm her hands by the fire. "How long did you three stay up?"

"All night, I think," Mackenzie replied, "I'm on sentry duty right now. Jack and Rusty already stood their duties and it's my turn now. I just went to get some wood since we were running low." The fire was ablaze and even from where Bluey was sitting, she could feel the warm heat make the chair a bit more comfortable to sleep in. That was probably why Jack and Rusty didn't have a problem with it. Then again, boys were weird like that.

Mackenzie stirred the coals of the fire and fixed the log placement, so they'd burn better. When he was satisfied with their position, he placed his poker stick down and stretched his arms then sat quietly in his chair.

It was quiet for a moment. Bluey stared at the blazing fire while debating whether or not she'd get more sleep in the recliner chair. Nothing was really going on anyway. And she was still tired. But then Rusty stirred in his sleep. He took a deep breath, shifted and stretched then seemed to go back to sleep. She thought she caught him opening his eyes, but he didn't seem like he wanted to get up. Mackenzie and Bluey stared at him to see if he'd sit up and wake, but he laid back down and was soon snoring again.

Bluey yawned. Even while she was tired, she decided the endeavor of going back to sleep was helpless. "Is anyone else here?"

Mackenzie turned his head. "Hmm? Oh, yeah! Chloe and Coco's families rented cabins up there. There's a few of them in the park. I think Indy's and her mum's got one too."

"Ooh." Bluey sat up. "Maybe we can play house. Or pretend we're survivors on a deserted island and that we built the cabin."

"Yeah!" Mackenzie smiled, his tail wagging in excitement. "That's kinda what me, Rusty, and Jack are playing… but we're soldiers cut off from our squad and trying to get back."

"Ooh." Bluey leaned it and sat up, ready to hear more. This game sounded more interesting!

"Yeah, then Snickers, Indy, and Coco pretended they were a local tribe or something. And Honey pretended she was the wildlife. She wounded me earlier." Mackenzie showered Bluey the poorly wrapped arm with real gauze and red marker on it.

Bluey tensed. "Ooh, that looks like it really hurts."

"Oh yeah," Mackenzie nodded, "It's awful. But I'm still a part of the unit because I'm tough."

Bluey pat his lap. "So brave. Can I join the game?"

"Sure!" Mackenzie replied, "Once Rusty and Jack wake up, we can see if you can be a part of the unit. Or maybe Snickers will let you join the tribe."

"Hmm. Okay, but…" Bluey looked up and thought, "I want to be a survivor too… But I don't want to be in the army," She said pointing at him.

"Oh, okay," Mackenzie nodded then thought to himself. "Then… maybe you can be a civilian who got lost or something."

"Yeah, I like that," Bluey nodded. "But my name's going to be Balinda."

"Okay," Mackenzie nodded, "My name is Sebastian, by the way."

"Hello, Sebastian," Bluey shook his hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine, miss Balinda," Mackenzie replied.

"Oh!" Bluey remembered something and sat up. "After we're done playing survivors, we should play a fairytale game."

"Okay!" Mackenzie nodded and waited for her to explain. "Like knights and dragons?"

Bluey kept her back straight and started motioned with her hands. "Sort of, buuuut… more rules. My family watched this really cool movie with dragons and princesses and knights and stuff. But in this movie, the group of main characters had different abilities and different magic and only one was a knight. He wasn't even the main character trying to save the princess! And then they all could do cool things like cast magic hide in shadows and use light as a weapon and stuff. But we have to have to have one of us be the bad guy that's not a dragon. That way it's more interesting."

"Okay but why does there need to be a lot of good guys and not a lot of bad guys?" Mackenzie asked as he scooted closer. "Wouldn't that mean the bad guys would just lose easier."

"Maybe… but that's now how the game works. The good guys are supposed to win just barely, and the bad guys have to be super powerful."

"Oh!" Mackenzie drifted off in realization. "Yeah, that makes sense. Can I be the bad guy? I could be an evil wizard that wants to take over the world! Mwa ha ha!"

"Okay," Bluey nodded, "Then I'll be a swordman. But I'm still a girl. And I could have this…" Bluey picked up a nearby stick that was perfect for the game, "…cool flaming sword like in the movie."

"Yeah, that does sound cool!" Mackenzie exclaimed. Neither of them realized they were speaking so loudly that Rusty and Jack were waking up. "I want a flaming sword. Wait! No! I could have a lighting sword!" Mackenzie picked up another stick that had a decent handle and a curved imaginary blade.

"Well, wizards don't actually use swords but… I guess you can. It's just pretend."

"Yes!" Mackenzie pumped his fist.

"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Rusty asked, eager to hear about their new game. "It sounds really fun."

"We're talking about a fairytale game we could play next," Mackenzie replied.

"It's like knights and dragons. Expect we don't play knights and dragons!" Bluey explained. "You can be a knight. But you can be a thief and still be a good guy too."

"But thieves are bad guys!" Rusty said as he tilted his head.

"Well, yeah, usually," Bluey admitted. "But… it's just pretend. Maybe you steal for good. Like stealing food so a family can eat because they can't buy food."

"Oh yeah, I guess that's kind of good," Rusty nodded. "But I want to be a knight anyway. Because Knights are good guys and save princesses and stuff."

"Can I be a knight too?" Jack asked excitedly, "I really want to use a sword."

"You don't have to be a knight to use a sword," Rusty explained. "All kinds of people use swords. Soldiers used swords. Guards used swords. Even pirates!"

"Oh yeah," Jack nodded. "But… I'll be a knight anyway. I don't really want to be anything else."

"Yeah but…" Bluey said, "We can't all use swords. There are axes and stuff too."

"Oh. Then I'll use an axe," Jack smiled, "My dad brought an axe so we could chop wood if we needed to."

"Great!" Rusty gave him a thumbs up. "This game sounds more fun than survivors. We should tell the others."

"Okay," Bluey's tail wagged vigorously. She was excited to play this game with everyone. And they looked excited too. "I'll wake up Bingo. Maybe she'll want to play now."

"Yeah, I'll go see if anyone else is awake. Then we can decide who we'll be."

"And don't worry; I won't start until everyone's ready," Mackenzie vowed, "I promise."

"Thanks, Mackenzie," Bluey waved as she ran at her family's tent.

"Oh yeah," Jack turned his head. "What are you going to be?"

"I'm going to be the evil wizard that everyone has to fight. And I have a powerful lightning sword!"

"That sounds cool!" Jack laughed. They continued to discuss their rolls while Bluey ran into her tent and started to shake Bingo awake.

"Bingo. Psst. Bingo!"

"Hmm?" Bingo sat up and rubbed her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's really early," Bluey replied, "But me and the boys are going to play the knights and dragons we made up. You want to play?"

Bingo's eyes sprang open in excitement. "Is everyone going to play?"

"We're trying to get everyone now," Bluey replied, "Come on!"

"Okay!" Bingo sprang up and followed her sister outside the tent. They were very excited to get started.

They met at the firepit. Most everyone was there. Bluey looked around and did a quiet headcount. She saw Snickers, Coco, and Indy. Honey and Chloe just joined them. Mackenzie, Rusty, and Jack were there too. And she brought Bingo. "Hang on, where's Judo and Lucky? And doesn't your little sisters wanna play with us, Rusty and Jack?"

"I didn't want to wake her," Rusty scratched his head. "She looked too tired to wake."

"And Lulu doesn't like waking up early. She get really grouchy," Jack explained.

"Judo and Lucky are running late. My mum was on the phone with Judo's mum. She said she'd have to come over today instead of yesterday," Mackenzie explained. "Lucky's dad wanted to get here last night but they forgot their tent. They decided to leave early morning today. They should be on their way now."

"Oh, good," Bluey smiled. "I guess we can play without them. We'll add them to the game later. So are we ready."

"I am," Mackenzie replied, "But I won't start until everyone else is. Does everyone know what we're playing?"

"Yeah," Snickers replied, "I guess I'll just fight with a sword or something." Snickers picked up a suitable stick. "I could be a knight."

"That's good," Rusty nodded.

"Yeah, but we can't all be knights and use swords," Bluey retorted. "The movie had all kinds of weapons. Jack, weren't you gonna use an axe? Why do you have a sword?"

Jack lifted his "L" shaped branch. "I couldn't use the axe for the game, so I found this branch. It's kind of like an axe."

"Oh, okay," Bluey's tail wagged. She liked he at least found an alternative to his axe so they all didn't use swords. But now there were a lot of knights.

"I don't know," Chloe hummed, "we don't have a lot of weapons other than sticks. Which make great swords." She placed her hands on her hips as she was lost in her thoughts.

Mackenzie looked around and smiled as he picked up a nice-looking stick. "This one would make a great wizard's staff."

Chloe's face lit up, but Coco had beat her to the punch. "Ooh! I could be an evil witch queen! And we can try and be taking the world together. That way there are two bad guys instead of one."

Mackenzie frowned. "But…I want to be the only bad guy."

Chloe rubbed her arms shyly. "And I really wanted to be the evil witch queen. That way I can freeze people!"

"Ooh, I like that too," Bluey nodded vigorously. "Maybe I can trade with you Coco? I'm a warrior with a flaming sword."

"What? We can have that?" Snicker asked. "I'll trade with you Bluey."

Bluey stepped back. "Uh, but then I'd be a knight. And we can't all be knights. Hey! I have an idea. Why don't Me, Chloe, and Coco be three evil witches and everyone else be good guys instead?"

Everyone cheered and agreed but Mackenzie's shoulders drooped, and Coco gripped her stick awkwardly. "Aw, but I wanted to be the only bad guy…"

"Yeah, Mackenzie did call it first…," Coco agreed, "And I called being the second bad guy."

"But I want to be the only bad guy," Mackenzie argued again.

"Sorry, Mackenzie… Maybe you can… be someone else with Jack and Rusty? Then you can be a cool hero trio. Like the three musketeers."

"Oh, I could be a friendly fairy that guides you on your quest!" Indy clapped her hands excitedly.

"Then I'll be a shapeshifter who can transform into animals and defend the forest!" Honey smiled as she went on her knees. Honey roared causing the children to laugh.

"And I'm a helpful warrior with a flaming sword! But not actually a knight. But I was sent to help them on their quest by a nice queen." Snickers raised Bluey's stick up high and everyone cheered.

Mackenzie sighed and Coco seemed a little disappointed. "Okay…"

"Who can I be?" Bingo asked, having been quiet this whole time.

"Oh…" Bluey hummed. "You could be…" Bluey gasped. "You could be my pet dragon!"

"Ooh!" Bingo jumped in excitement. "I'll be the meanest pet dragon every." She roared in front of Honey who was playing as a tiger and roared back. They had a slight competition before Honey stood up, "Now I'm a bear!"

Bingo backed up cautiously. "But I can breathe fire!" She roared at Honey again who proceeded to run away like a bear.

"So, we all know who we want to be?" Bluey asked.

"Yeah," the gang replied collectively.

"I guess," Mackenzie replied late.

"Okay, let's start!" Bluey posed. The others followed suit.

Rusty huddled his knights. "Alright, we, the three knights swear to vanquish the evil queens once and for all. Right?"

"Right," Mackenzie and Jack replied.

"Then let's…"

"Wait!" Rusty was cut short by Bluey.

Mackenzie groaned and facepalmed. "Bluey, not again!"

"Do you smell that?" Bluey asked sniffing the air. Everyone joined her.

"Smells like breakfast," Snickers said as he started to salivate. "And I smell sausages!"

"Oh, my mom's pancakes!" Indy exclaimed giddily. "They're really good. You should try some."

"Well maybe we can play until they call us over," Bingo smiled.

"Good idea, now let's start." Mackenzie got into position, as did the other children.

But before they could, Chilli shouted for them. "Kids! Breakfast!"

"Breakfast!" The children all scurried or ran over, taking their sticks with them and joining everyone at the patio.

"Ah," Daisy stopped the children and eyed them with a funny glare. "No sticks, kids. Go wash."

"Okay mum," Honey smiled and ran off with the others who rinsed their hands off at a spigot.

There weren't any real bathrooms nearby accept a few outhouses. And those didn't have sinks or soap.

The children returned and sat down at one picknick table. Indy's mother set a platter down with some plastic plates. "Who's ready for some special pancakes, kids?" Each child replied excitedly, and she served them one or two by their request.

"Could we please have the maple syrup?" Bluey asked politely.

"Sure," She replied, placing glass bottle in the middle of them as well, "I've got some special syrup to go with them."

Indy was the first to grab it and poured a modest but helpful serving then passed it down as she began to eat. "Mm, delicious."

Next was Rusty and he took a mouthful expecting them to be as good as Indy said. Instead, he was slightly disappointed. They weren't awful, but they weren't better than regular pancakes. "It tastes a little funny."

"That's because it's pure maple syrup. That's why it's watery too," Indy explained. "It's way better then store-bought syrup. It's healthier too."

"Um… I'm not sure it's… better. And I don't think pancakes are supposed to healthy," Bluey said, still trying to be polite. She didn't hate them either… but she was hoping for something sweeter and yummier tasting.

Jack spit the pancakes out and gagged. Rusty elbowed him trying to get him under control. "Jack! Don't be rude!"

Jack didn't mean to be rude, but he couldn't help it. "It doesn't taste like pancakes and syrup at all!"

"Jack," His father called, "Don't be rude! It's not polite to spit food out like that!"

Rather than be offended, Indy's mother laughed. "It's alright, kids. I didn't expect you to like them. I just wanted you to try them. You can have regular ones if you want. They're almost done.

"Are there any sausages?" Asked Snickers as he forked the pancake.

"Right here, kids," Jack's dad replied, bringing the plate over. "Jack, apologize."

"I'm sorry, Indy's mum," Jack rubbed his arm, a bit disappointed in himself for his display.

"Jack, dear, your fine," Indy's mother assured, "Like I said. I just wanted you to try them. You don't have to eat it if you don't want to."

"I like them," Coco said, "They're very delicious!" Of course, having spent time at Indy's she had gotten used to the pancakes and syrup they made. She had eventually even come to prefer them.

"Thanks, Coco," Indy's mother smiled. "Alright, Indy, More for us. And you too Coco, have as many as you want."

"Pancakes, kids," Bandit smiled bringing a platter of pancakes to them. Most of them, the exclusion being Bluey, Snickers, and Jack, had finished their previous pancake before going for the sausages and pancakes their parents brought them. Indy and Coco helped themselves to Indy's mother's pancakes instead.

As they ate, they talked about a series of things. Most notably, their road trips and the funny things that had happened along the way. Eventually, their game came up. They were deciding on a story and the way their game was supposed to go.

Mackenzie was quiet for the most part, but eventually decided to speak when Bluey had finished talking with Bingo, Chloe, and Coco about their roles. "Bluey, are you sure I can't be the only wizard bad guy? I did talk to you about it before we started picking everyone's parts."

Bluey bashfully shuffled in her seat and shrugged. "Well… I don't think we can now. Now that everyone wants to play this way. Sorry, Mackenzie."

Mackenzie sighed again. "That's okay, I guess." Bluey felt a pang of guilt. She wanted Mackenzie to have fun with them, but it would be hard if he had a part he didn't want.

"Don't worry, Mackenzie," Jack smiled, "You'll make a great knight!"

Mackenzie rested his head on the table. Their conversations carried on without him. He quietly sighed then said in a small voice, "But I don't want to be a knight."