Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was no answer at the door. Instead, there was a sign, well, a piece of notebook paper, with the words "In Back" on it taped to the doors. Voices could be heard coming from the backyard.

There was a table set up with chocolate bars, graham crackers, marshmallows, hot dogs, and Jiffy Pop set out. At the end of the table was a boom box, currently belting out "The Time Warp". And, near the middle of the yard was a pit, which was already packed full of twigs, a couple wooden skids, and pretty much any flammable object Stasia'd been able to get her hands, all piled up in a humongous stack. The air held a faint scent of gasoline; it almost made one wonder just how many fire safety codes this thing was going to break in one night.

Stasia grinned ear to ear; now everything was ready! They just had to wait for the guests to arrive, and then the fun could begin!

Matthias sat on one of the benches, looking just SO enthused. Bonfires weren't quite to his tastes, but hey, someone had to make sure Stasia didn't let things get out of control.

Ginger sat under the table, nomming on a candy bar she'd stolen off the table, chocolate already starting to coat her face. She hadn't seen why the needed to wait for the others to come; what did that have to do with enjoying nummy chocolate? She looked over, offering the bar to her brother.

Zemel shook his head. He couldn't wait till he could roast hot dogs over the fire! It would be just like cooking! And then there were the s'mores, and the popcorn in the pie tins. "Hope they hurry." the boy said, leaning against the table leg, watching as his sister went back to enjoying the stolen sweets.

Nataya stood off to the side, grinning brightly as she did the Time Warp right along with the song. She sighed as the song stopped, making her way over to the table, double-checking to make sure everything was in place. This was going to be SO fun!

Matthias blinked, looking up at the voice. "Oh....hello, Arisa." he said, greeting her formally and with a nod of his head. He then shrugged. "I am fine, I suppose. Just here in case of an emergency. And you?"

Nataya smiled, shaking her head. "No, I've got it...but let me know if you see Ginger and Zemel, okay? They went and disappeared. 'Zuba's looking for them in the house, 'cause we haven't seen them out here." She sighed, hoping the two hadn't gotten lost or anything.

Matth nodded. "Alright, then, Risa it is." he said calmly. He then paused, listening to her. "Next time you see her, give her my best regards." he said, his tone still just as calm and collected as ever. "Perhaps, when you take Joshua back home, you can take some s'mores for her."

Nataya blinked, she hadn't thought of that. She looked under the table, pushing the table cloth out of her way. "There you two are!" she said, smiling as she pulled them out....and thanks to Ginger, getting a smear of chocolate on her arm.

Ginger frowned, looking at Josh. "You no s'posed to tell on us!" she said, feeling betrayed. How could their best friend do something like that to them?

Matthias just nodded. It was obvious he wasn't quite used to idle chatter. Risa wasn't the only one who found it boring. It almost crossed the line between "boring" and "uncomfortable".

Stasia smiled; it was starting to get dark enough to light the fire. Pulling a pack of matches out of her pocket, she lit one and dropped it onto the pile. And a rush of gasoline-fueled flames, the bonfire was started.

Ginger frowned, crossing her arm and smearing more chocolate on herself as Nataya went into the kitchen, coming back out with a couple baby wipes. "No matter now." she said grumpily as her older sister began wiping the chocolate away.

Zemel didn't seem to mind being found. He was already making his way to the fire to watch it.

Nataya offered Josh a smile as she cleaned off her arm and her younger sister. "Thanks, Josh." she said, glad to have found the two. She finished up, tossing the wipes into the trash bag. "Want to roast some marshmallows?" she asked, motioning to said sweets.

Matthias paused a moment before answering. "Yes, I studied magic, and yes, I have my specialty in one particular area." he said, not elaborating. People tended to frown upon energy siphoning, so it wasn't something you brought up in casual conversation. "My favorite form?" He arched an eyebrow, then thought. "Well, I'd have to say this is my favorite form."

Nataya smiled, reaching for the marshmallows and finding nothing but empty table space. She blinked, watching as Ginger ran off with the entire bag of marshmallows, giggling like a mad woman. "Ginger, come back here with those!" she said, taking chase after the little girl.

Ginger ran as fast as her little legs were carry her, her arms clutched around the bag. This was her revenge for Josh pointing them out; no marshmallows for him! She let out a peal of laughter, moving across the backyard.

Zemel stood near the fire, watching Nataya chasing after Ginger. He let out a sigh, then ran after them. After all, someone had to be on Ginger's side, right? Right.

"Oh...." Matthias said. He then shrugged. "I suppose; though my specialty and favorite type of magic are kinda one in the same." He hoped that Risa wasn't the curious, prying type, but he had a feeling he couldn't be that lucky.

"Ginger, give those back!" Nataya said, gaining on the little girl. How were they supposed to toast marshmallows and make smores without the marshmallows?

Just before Nataya caught up with her, Ginger tossed the marshmallows to her brother. She found herself scooped up by her sister, offering a mischievous grin. Yes, she may have been caught, but the marshmallows weren't in enemy hands!

Zemel blinked, standing a second as he caught the bag before realizing what he had to do. He turned around, running in the opposite direction, back towards Mommy and Uncle Matthias.

Stasia was laughing her head off, sitting on the other bench as she watched the little chase scene.

Matthias was kind of surprised; well, Risa definately made one good point in his book."Yes, I do enjoy the literary arts as well as the visual arts." he said, offering a faint smile. "And animals? Well, I certainly don't have a problem with them." He glanced over, watching the small chase and shaking his head, chuckling once.

Zemel let out a squeak as he was lifted into the air, frowning as his mother plucked the marshmallows out of his hand. Aw, they'd lost. He sighed, squirming till his mother let him down. He'd failed!

Nataya smiled, retrieving the marshmallows. "Thanks, Momma." she said, grinning as she went back to the table to get the metal prongs they'd be using to toast the marshmallows.