Welcome to Gaia! ::

Keirro reached out her hand and used Silver's to help herself up. She had never set up a tent before, so the experience should be memorable. She heard about different types of tents, but they were always already neatly set up in the store displays.

"So, when did you start camping? " said Keirro. She felt uncomfortable with silence when she was around Silver. Silence felt like a chasm between her and the wolf.

"You weren't afraid of what could happen to you?" asked Keirro as she helped Silver finish the tent. She looked around for any signs of Ranis, just when she started to worry for the child she saw the toddler leap out of the bushes and charge towards Silver.

"RAWR!" cried Ranis as he waved sticks in the air. The toddler was covered in mud, leaves and twigs. He looked like an absolute heathen as he charged towards Silver like a feral pygmy native. He had found a rabbit while he was gathering branches and had tried to chase it down, but to no avail. He had gathered an armful of twigs after that and was content with secretly watching Silver and Keirro until they had thier guards down.

"Ugh! He's filthy!" Keirro growled. She folded her arms and watched Silver play with the toddler with a cross look on her face. Still, Ranis seemed so happy out here and he was having such a great time. She couldn't fight back her smile as she heard the toddler laugh and watched the child wiggle and squirm away from Silver.

"Mama! Mama!" Laughed the filthy child as he tried to stop the tickle attack from Silver. HE loved it out in the woods! There were no icky neighbors or their yucky cats. No one made fun of him here like they did at school. Keirro even seemed to lighten up and show more affection towards him. Having Silver around was an added bonus.

Ranis laughed and splashed in the water. He couldn't recall ever swimming in a lake before. The little tadpoles in the water tried to escape the toddler's curious grabs. The minnows darted from the boy's feet as Ranis ran through the algae. The child managed tocatch a slimy tadpole and shoved the poor creature in his mouth and then flashed Silver a huge grin.

Keirro stood at the edge of the lake as she eyed the water cautiously. Weren't there leeches in the water? Keirro also had read about snake swimming up to people and biting them. The mud squished between her toes, making her grimace at the unfamiliar sensation.

Keirro laughed, but waded until her calves were in the water. She rolled up her jeans so the legs wouldn't get wet. Keirro gave Silver a defiant look and placed her hands on her hips.

"I'm in the water." she said with a smirk.

Ranis, inspired by Silver, also removed his pants. However, there were no swim trunks to cover him and the toddler was now naked from the waist down. He threw his pants at the shore, only to have them land halfway on the beach, with the legs still in the water.

The boy was grinning from ear to ear as he tried to convince his guardian to go deeper into the water.

Keirro couldn't help but laugh. She was a jogger and had even competed in track and field in high school. If Silver tried to catch Keirro, she was certain she could give him quite a run. She didn't know how well the wolf Fa'e could run, or if he was quick at all. Still, it would be a good workout.

Keirro placed her hands on her thighs and bent her knees. She could feel her competitive and mischievous inner personality leak through. She started to realize that she could be herself out here. She didn't need to portray herself as a static doctor or as a refined uptown girl. The revelation was liberating.

"Think you can catch me?" Keirro replied.

Keirro managed to dodge the pounce thanks to a little luck. She started to race across the water's edge. She gave a hearty laugh and looked behind her to see how far behind silver was.

"Prove it!" she cried.

Ranis joyously chased after Silver and Keirro. He had never seen his guardian throw caution to the wind like this and it was a huge relief to she her smile and hear her laughter. The boy giggled as he splashed in the shallow water.