Welcome to Gaia! ::

Keirro rolled her eyes. Typical male attitude. Still, the attention was nice and it had been while since someone had made such compliments.
"I brought a swimsuit. Thank god you brought one, I don't have to worry about you becoming completely in touch with nature. I had a hippie friend that was fixated on nudity." said Keirro.

"I'm fine, thank you, but the boy should eat something before we hike. I'm stronger than I look." said Keirro. She watched the toddler explore the unfamiliar surroundings. Keirro herself was unsure what she was really doing here with Silver and Ranis. Perhaps she needed to simply unwind and search for the cause of why she was always stressed out.

Ranis was already eager to explore. He turned over old logs and started to shove random insects into his mouth. Some were tastier than other and it wasn't long before the child started to spit out the bitter bugs.
"Bah!" Ranis spat.

Keirro smiled as she tightened the straps on her backpack. It was strange having the additional weight, but she could carry it. She and Silver obviously packed lightly. Her eyes scanned the woods. How far away from civilization were they? What would they do if they got hurt?

Keirro never felt so far away from civilization. Her cellphone definitely wouldn't work out here and she would be lucky if she saw another human out here.

"Do you snore?" she asked.

"Nom nom!" Ranis grunted as he shoved the jerky strips into his mouth. They were much tastier than the bugs out here and felt good in his mouth. Keirro never bought Jerky and Ranis instantly fell in love with the dried meat.

"Okay, you can sleep in the tent if you promise not to howl at the moon all night." said Keirro. She flicked her hair behind her shoulders and looked at the strip of beef jerky in her hand. When was the last time she had jerky? Keirro cautiously nibbled a corner of the jerky. It seemed to be fairly decent. She took a modest bite from the meat and waited for Silver's directions.

Keirro couldn't recall the last time she sweat so much. The suburbia that she had sought refuge in for the past two years had isolated her completely from nature. Every animal, no matter how common, was strange and new to her. Keirro then realized that she had never camped before. Her childhood was in a metropolis and her college years were spent as far from nature as possible.

She never felt so isolated from her surroundings. The skunk nearly caused her to panic, even as it lazily walked into the underbrush. The deer looked alien to her, as they watched her with thier large brown eyes. Keirro was relieved when they finally reached the campsite, but she had no idea how she was going to make it through the night.


Ranis, however, was having the time of his life. Everything was new, and delicious! He felt in tune with himself as something primal started to emerge from within. He felt at home amongst the bushes and new smells. He darted on and off the path several times, often finding new bugs or flowers to give to Keirro. By the time the group reached the lake, he had made a bouquet for Keirro, who seemed lost and distant from her surroundings.

Ranis ran wildly in the new open space. He cried out to Silver and pointed at the lake as he spotted fish swimming under the water's surface. The grasshoppers proved to be even more fun than any board game that Keirro could buy for him. The child even started to try to imitate bird calls that he heard.

"Kay!" shouted Ranis happily as he ran off to search for sticks. He scampered across the clearing and around the tree like a child at a amusement park.


Keirro was silent for a moment as Silver's question brought her back to reality.
"I'm all right." Keirro lied. She flashed the wolf one of her classic smiles and scanned her surroundings. she nervously bit her lip and folded her arms. She looked at her finely kept nails.

Keirro's heart nearly stopped when she was pulled so close to Silver. She usually preferred a bit of distance between her and the wolf. She then realized that the Fa'e was also strong enough to lift her. She knew he ment well, but the hug nearly made Keirro lose her cool. Had she really been so easy to read? What happened to her ability to mask herself and influence what others thought of her?

"And how can you tell?" was she could reply with as she struggled to regain her composure.

Keirro sat next to Silver, but wasn't ready to completely reveal her life story just yet. If she simply stated that she just didn't like nature, he would want to know why. Then she would have to explain why Keirro had to live her entire childhood in the city. Keirro hated admitting that she grew up poor. It was like admitting that she had a weakness. Keirro thought of some way to satisfy Silver with an answer without actually sparking his curiosity to dig deeper into her past.

Still, no one ever really asked her what was wrong with her. She was the one who usually asked the questions. If she could somehow get his mind off of her, then she could avoid having to actually answer him. Keirro couldn't believe that she was thinking about how she should think! Wasthe stress finally starting to get to her?

"I've never camped before." she simply said.