#// we're not really active that much but uuuuh

[kaonarvna]

FROG UPDATE!

We're finally able to tell the frogs apart! And as such, we're finally able to figure out their personalities/different behaviours!

"Log" spends all his day in The Log™, and as a result his camo is BROWN all the time. Log isn't too active, but likes making lots of noise. He cronks often at night, and periodically throughout the day when he hears a cronky noise (car horns, some songs, certain doors, coughing). He doesn't like to jump when he hunts, he sits in place, waits for food to come in front of him, and shoves it into his mouth with his little frog hands. Brutal, but very efficient. He handles really well, doesn't put up any fuss when picked up, but cronks every time he changes location (main viv to feeding tank and back, lmao). (Below is Log, freshly emerged from his log)

And "Rog" spends all his day in a plastic green hide attached to the glass. So he's GREEN most of the time now, at least until late at night. Rog is a bastard. Rog has taken a liking to trying to climb me. If you so much as come near the vivarium doors, he'll lock onto you with intent to jump. You can see the schemes in his little frog face. He seems a little too eager to be handled, and doesn't want to be put down. He wants to climb me like a goddamn tree; he does not do this with my spouse. Just me. Rog seems to recognise me, and is comfortable trying to jump straight at me. Rog is a very eager eater, and prefers to jump at his food rather than shoving fistful of cricket into his mouth. He eats fast and aggressively. When it's time to return to the viv after eating, he doesn't want to let go of my (gloved) hand during transfers. He still likes to hang out on the rock (rog) at night, once lights are out. Rog croaks too, often in call and response with Log. If Log starts croaking for an extended period, Rog cronks in between his cronks. It's so fucking loud. You cannot imagine how loud two pubescent frogs having a screaming contest at 3am can be. (Below is Rog, locked onto me, ready to jump)

At night they both tend to go brown once Rog leaves his hide, and we can't tell them apart too distinctly. We're starting to figure out behavioural difference, though! Only took us uuuuh three months.

I swear frogs are liquid. Depending on how they sit they either look tiny or extremely chunky. They're lush. So happy they're healthy and comfortable in their viv, and have come to anticipate the routine of being fed every other day.

[shadow-pixelle]

9 People You Would Like to Get to Know Better.

Was tagged by @shootingstarpilot, ta very much.

Three ships: I'll go with one for each of my current main fandoms, so Jocasta Nu/Plo Koon for Star Wars (I am still here thriving on my pool floaty for that one), Dick Grayson/Wally West for DC, and Danny Fenton/Jason Todd for DCxDanny Phantom (yes that is still DC, no I do not care, there's enough crossover fics that it practically counts as it's own fandom ok.)

First ever ship: Uuuuh. Uuuuh. Y'know. I cannot remember for the life of me? Genuinely it might've been NaruMitsu, aka Miles Edgeworth/Phoenix Wright, from my original re-dive into fandom hell outside of just playing games.

Everything about that is a weird thought. I consider myself to have been in fandom stuff since like 2015, I didn't get into Ace Attorney until like 2018 or so because a friend was streaming their playthrough of it? And it was like another year or two later before I found that first fic (Saturation by TiedyedTrickster on AO3, lovely fic, genuinely wonderful). But I really can't remember anything else I actually actively shipped earlier than that? Like maybe there were a few things but I seem to remember that a lot of that kinda stuff was very much me glancing at a fic and going 'oh hey that chemistry's neat' but not really caring about it outside of that fic. Huh. Anyway.

Last song: Immortalized, Hidden Citizens.

Last movie: soft error sounds so I don't watch movies because my attention span is dogshit. I think the last thing that I actually full-force sat down and watched all the way through without my brain wandering off entirely was Moana, and that was over a year ago?

Man I need to watch more movies. I'm pretty sure I've got a watchlist somewhere.

Currently reading: I'm kinda sorta on a book break at the moment in that there are a lot of books I could be reading, my shelf is super full, but my brain is not currently capable of reading new things and so they're all sitting there glaring at me from a distance. If we're willing to talk fics though I'm rereading Commander by Drich with is a Planetary Annihilation Self Insert and also fucking incredible like everything else they write.

Currently consuming: I have my big jug of water (it's a 1L mason jar that I repurposed for drinking from because it means I actually remember to drink things) and am contemplating having a mooch through my snack box for chocolate.

Currently craving: the inari nigiri and little mochi balls that they have at the Yo! sushi bar thing in my local Tesco. I had to go shopping earlier for some bits and thought about getting some for lunch but didn't cause I have food at home. Jokes on me, I guess, now I really want it but it's currently tipping it down with rain and I'm not going out in that to go get food when I've already eaten.

No pressure tags for @kalicofox, @greentrickster since I mentioned your fic, and @clockwayswrites, and also anyone else who spots this out in the wild and decides they'd like to!

[texasthegreatdestroyer]

OC x Canon ship excerpt. Trinity x Qrow.

The winter's draft nipped at her legs as she walked through the door of Brunswick Estate. Probably would have done her well to wear some proper leggings, or just pants in general, but after her time in vale, during those cold winters, she couldn't find it within her to really care. Her main concern was just past the door of the bar and entertainment room. Where she knew she'd find him sipping down whatever his cold, shaken hands could grasp at.

She opened the old, wooden door, tiptoed past the threshhold, as if to be weary to not set the dusty bird's nerves off more than they already were. The past two days had been... rough for him, and upon gazing at those beautiful eyes, a gut drenching sadness made themselves at home deep within. Trinity's plans to lay low in his presense failed however. "What do you want?" He sapped. "Look, I know you want to get all "touchy and feely" but I'm not in the mood, got it? Just leave me be." A lump was stuck in her throat as she tried to speak out. It was hard for her to breath. This man knew how to stab a girl's heart into the ground.

"... I wanted to apologize... for trying to force you to talk. I should have just given you your space... I just so badly wanted to save you... like you did me. I guess I'm not as good at emotional support as you are...." Qrow couldn't help but stare at her. Silence remained between the two, but just as Trinity turned to leave, Qrow poured another shot and slid it off to the side of him, leaving him with nothing but the bottle. Not like this was anything harmful to him. He lacked the class to avoid drinking from the bottle it self, and felt no shame for it. Trinity turned her head to the sliding noise, and what was originally just a brief stare turned into a full fledge turn around. This in turn irked Qrow a little. "Stop looking at me like a dork, sit down, and have a drink."

A sweet, gentle smile came to the gal's face, as she walked over to him, taking a seat over by him, and looking at the amber liquid in the glass. It had been awhile since she'd last had a drink. She quit when she met Qrow. Mostly for Mimi's sake, but when Mimi passed, she still couldn't bring herself to drink again. Not when Qrow veiwed her progress as satisfactory. He dragged her out of a rut, and the last thing she wanted to do was disapoint him by going back in... but now... he was handing her a glass of that same ol liquid regret that she forced herself to avoid. "I...haven't drank in awhile..." "Eh... What's stopping you now? The world's going to end, might as well go out satisfied."

She wanted to ask questions, she wanted to turn that forlorn face into a smile some how, but she knew better than that. The last time she tried, he actively avoided her the rest of the day, "I... don't know... I believe we can do something... I just don't know what yet." "How can you even say that. You heard lamp lady. We're done for. I know you're trying to be optimistic, but you'll just end up disapointed. So why even bother?" Trin's face formed into a scowl, as she looked over at Qrow. "Well it's better than sitting here and self loathing!..." Qrow looked to Trin with a hurt expression on her face. Trinity had begun to feel bad... wait... No! No she didn't! She was right and she knew it! "Qrow, I understand that you're hurting. No one is hurting nearly as much as you are right now. You lost a friend today, and you lost countless others to this unfortunate war. You devoted your whole life to this only for it to be futile. That's plenty of reason to want to give up, but what good does it do you? Why give up when you can go down fighting? And last time I checked, Qrow mother fuckin Branwen is one hell of a fighter!" Confidence gleamed through a bold smile on her face. Only the smile slowly faded as Qrow turned away. And so she stared down at the drink in front of her. She knocked it back real quick, and then stared down at the mahogony bar surface, which captured the light of the candles that had been lit.

"Ya know... I can't tell you what to do. You're a grown man. You can choose to roll over and give up, but I'm not. We need to keep fighting. Each day we push back is a day people have with their loved ones, and a day to take in the beauty this world has to offer, so I'm gonna keep fighting." Trin didn't take notice, but Qrow had turned away because he was hiding a smirk. Her words had touched him so. "I'm sorry..." The man's gravely voice hinted lightly of guilt and distress. "I've been an asshole. I'm not gonna sugar coat it. Ever since this journey started, you've been my cheer leader. You've always been in my corner, even when there were times you really shouldn't have been. I can't even repay you with some basic human decency. For that, I'm really sorry Tex..."

Tex... A name the girl wasn't even sure if she owned anymore, as she kept digging herself further into a hole trying to save someone who veiwed himself as "unsavable." The name that had sought to hide her past, one that had only recently returned to her out of guilt. Her name was Tex... Not Trinity.... Tex... Atleast that's what he called her, the man who she devoted her life to, something foreign to him. "I wish I could be like you... confident... optimistic... But I can't. You're amazing, and I'm worthless... unworthy-"

"Mother fucker!" Qrow flinched at the sudden cut into his pity party. "You're fucking fabulous, amazing, adorable, brave, kind hearted, caring, outstanding, heroic, daring, stunning,-" "Uuuuh... Tex???" "Georgeous! Stylish! Sweet! Worthy of love!-" "Tex!" "Fanfriggintabulous!" "TEX!... Slow your role! I get it!" Finally, she'd settle down, watching with relief as he let out a soft chuckle, swishing around the contents of the bottle. "You know... Ya always say that you bring misfortune to those around you, but... honestly... You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. You're my good luck charm, my sweet little bird." Qrow's face flustered a bright red. His heart throbbed with ever word that fled from those soft, black lipstick lips of hers. He felt warm inside, a feeling that had seemed almost foreign to him these past couple of days. His arm rose from the bar's wooden surface, and he plopped his hand down onto the wolf faunus's head, petting over her ears ever so gently. Enough to get her to purrrrrrrr~ softly. A sound of which brought Qrow some peace and serenity "... That's my little cheer leader...."

-experpt end.

Welp, hope people liked that good ol cheesy bullshit. I do take writing criticism, however "Ew! You ship an OC with a Canon character!" Is not one I take, so don't even bother. And here's a pic of my gal if you're curious of what she looks like. The art is done by me.

In the story I'm writing, this 4'8 lil gal follows Qrow and his merry band of adopted children around Remnant. She's typically a rowdy, take no shit kind of gal, and the two are constantly goofing around like two pals. Their favorite form of banter is going back and forth with calling each other a dork because they both understand how cheesy of an insult it is, and they're just an adorable couple of goof balls. Feel free to ask questions about her. Well, I've contributed to the small pool of canon x oc content, time to go forget I ever made this life decision. :D

[rocksandrobots]

Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 21 - Fishing Trip

"So what do you wanna do this weekend?" Hiro asked Varian.

The other boy only shrugged his shoulders as he had no idea.

It was Friday and they were both walking home from school while trying to make plans for the weekend. All of their other friends were either away or busy due to Father's Day coming up. Fred was going to accompany his dad on a mission. Gogo was driving down to her father's for a few days. Wasabi had bought plane tickets to fly back to his hometown of Seattle. Karmi went back upstate for the weekend with her parents, and Megan was still grounded, but had a full day planned to butter up her dad. Even Honey Lemon was going home to spend time with her abuelo.

This left Varian feeling a little awkward. In Corona they had a Guardians Day, which was meant for both parents or caretakers in general, but for Varian it was always a day for just him and his dad to spend time together. One of the few times in the year when his father wouldn't work in the field, or go to market, or have business at court.

Varian knew precisely what a day like Father's Day meant and how special time spent with the man who raised you could be. He envied his friends, but mostly, knowing this would be the second year without his dad pained him.

In a way, he was thankful that Hiro shared his delima. Though he certainly wouldn't have wished his predicament upon anyone, it was still somewhat comforting to know that he wasn't alone.

They were a less than a block away from the Lucky Cat, still discussing things to do, when a sleek car pulled to a stop beside them. The window rolled down to reveal a man with blonde hair, a large nose, and a wide smile. He was wearing a plaid shirt and a tan floppy hat.

"Hey Hiro! Go grab your overnight bag and some sunscreen!" He joyously ordered. "Your new brother, cousin, thingy too. We're going fishing!"

Varian could only look on confused, he didn't know this man nor why he wanted to him and Hiro to go on a fishing trip with him. However, Hiro apparently did know him and was also apparently not onboard with this idea at all. He stood with his mouth a gape with a look of horror in his eyes.

After processing this terrible news, Hiro could only sputter out, "But.. but why?"

The man in the vehicle began to offhandedly list his reasons. "Because fishing by oneself isn't any fun unless there's someone else around to show off to. Because I had an awful childhood, whose own father would never take fishing, and now I'm living vicariously through you. Also, you're still my intern and for the rest of the year, I still own you."

The man flashed another wide grin and Varian began to put the pieces together. This must be Krei. Owner of Krei Tech, the man in charge of the portals that brought him here, and also Hiro's boss. Though, this new revelation did nothing to stem the confusion in his mind. He couldn't for life of him see why he was being invited along on the trip nor did he understand Hiro's objections.

"But...but...b, but…" Hiro suttered desperately trying to think of way out of going.

"No buts! I've already talk with your aunt and got her permission, reserved the campsite, and I even bought you both fishing poles!" Still grinning, he reached down beside him and lifted the new poles up for Hiro and Varian to see.

Hiro let out a wordless half groan, half whine in defeat, before turning around and slumping towards the cafe. Varian blinked and looked back and forth between the two of them unsure what to do. Krei waved to him cheerfully, clearly excited for the upcoming trip, and Varian numbly waved back before deciding to follow Hiro and pack his own bag.

                                               ----------------------------

Varian found himself enjoying the fishing trip more than he had expected. The first day was spent mainly getting there and setting up the campsite. The second day was spent fishing, exploring, and just taking in the scenery.

Varian had been allowed to bring Ruddiger along, as Hiro had also brought Baymax. His pet was overjoyed to be back in his natural environment and Varian had to admit that he felt more at home here in the great outdoors than in the crowded streets of San Fansokyo. The big city was fascinating but he'd always be a simple farm boy at heart.

Krei felt much the same way. The businessman hadn't been raised in the countryside the way Varian had, but he had a great love of camping, fishing, and being out in nature. His passion stemmed from childhood summers spent on vacation at something called 'summer camp'.

Varian found he got along with older man well. They spent the ride up chatting about science and it's more practical applications, spent the trip sharing wilderness tips, and fishing out in Krei's boat. Fishing had never been Varian's favorite activity, but he now found a new sense of nostalgia for it and the praise Krei would send his way whenever he caught one helped to fuel his enjoyment of the sport even more. Plus he got a chance to show off his cooking skills after they had cleaned their catch. Not the most pleasant task ever, but Varian could stomach it much better than butchering other kinds of meat.

Hiro however did not enjoy fishing, or camping, or anything to do with the outdoors really. The other teen mostly sulked the whole trip. When he wasn't busy gagging at the worms used for bait or getting scared by the unfamiliar sounds of the local wildlife that is. Mainly he stuck close to Baymax and the tent, bored out his mind and annoyed he had been forced to come long. Varian's enthusiasm only aggravated him further and, if he was being honest with himself, he was a little jealous by how easy things came to the other boy. He'd spent half a year trying to get on Krei's good side and impress him, while Varian had managed it in mere minutes of meeting the CEO.

The only time Hiro came out of his grumpy shell was at night, when they built a campfire and roasted marshmallows. Varian had never had smores before, but they were tasty, if also sticky and a little too sweet. Ruddiger however went nuts over the fluffy sweets and had to be kept from stealing the whole bag of them. Hiro didn't really care one way or the other about the traditional treat, but was more than eager to share ghost stories with the rest of the group. Gleefully recalling with gory detail about the spirit of an ax murderer who apparently stalked the woods. Perhaps it was a little vindictive of him, to try his best and scare the other teen, but Hiro couldn't help filling a little thrill whenever Varian gave a little jump or clutched his pet raccoon even tighter in comfort.

Keri was only amused by the story. He'd heard similar ones growing up at camp. He laughed at the end of Hiro's tale.

"Ha! Kids are still telling that one? Let me tell you a real horror story."

It was about tax audits.

Both boys could only shrug at each other.

"I do not understand the purpose of a 'ghost story'." Baymax observed.

"It's suppose to be for fun." Hiro informed him.

"I see; an adrenaline rush within a safe and controlled environment can be considered a pleasant feeling for some people. However I do not understand how taxes figure into that."

"Uuuuh, neither do we." Hiro admitted, "but I guess fear is subjective. Do you have any stories to share, Varian?"

Varian had to rack his brain on that one. His own life was more of a horror story then most ghost tales he knew, but he didn't want to devel into that. Instead he told a folk legend that his dad had once told him. It had been an old story from his home country; a parable about a rich man who was so greedy that he hoarded a well from the poor townspeople during a drought. Forcing them to pay him tribute lest they die of thirst, but he made the mistake of refusing water to a witch and so was cursed to become a vampire. To spend an eternity in thirst himself and to be forever alone, because he could no longer get close to other people without risking harm to them.

"And so a leader must care for his people, son," he remembered his father instructing him at the end of the tale, "He must share and give back to the community. He who sacrifices love for his fellow man in exchanged for selfish possessions, forfeits his right to live among mankind and to even be called a 'man' himself."

If only his father's words had been true. If real life had been as simple as stories, then Corona would have sided with him and not the evil king who kept the wondrous healing flower hidden away and who turned his back upon people need. But Varian conveniently left out this more personal anecdote.

"Wow." Hiro said flatly. "That's deep."

He wasn't used to horror stories having explicit morals attached to them and didn't know how else to respond. The tale hadn't been scary so much as eerie with an unnerving ending. Unlike his serial killer story, it wasn't anything you could be afraid of happening to you, yet questioning your place in the world was somehow more off putting than simple dismemberment.

The mood was broken however, by Ruddiger stealing Hiro's marshmallow off his roasting stick. It turned out to be last one as Krei had spent the majority of Varian's story battling the gluttonous raccoon over their food stores.

"I know racoons aren't 'mankind', but does this mean he's doomed to be a marshmallow vampire now?" Hiro joked as Varian got onto his pet.

"I don't know. Your robot looks like a walking marshmallow though." Varian shot back good naturedly.

Now out of food, save for leftover fish, they all decided to tuck in for the night.

                                              ----------------------------

Hiro hated the woods. He hated how unfamiliar everything was, how inconvenient it was, and most of all he hated how gross it was. He woke up irritated and sore from sleeping on the thin sleeping bag inside the tent. He couldn't find anything decent to eat for breakfast. He never stopped grumbling while he was forced to use the bathroom outside. To make an awful morning even worst, he couldn't shake the feeling of being stalked as strange animals hooted and howled. One bush in particular shook right when he pasted it. He nearly jumped out of skin when Ruddiger pop out of it holding the last of the fish in its mouth.

He groaned as he watched the raccoon scurry away and climb up a tree a little ways off from the campsite. He didn't much care for the creature, or for wild animals in general, but he knew how important the pet was to Varian and so had tried to be polite about having it around. Still Hiro's patience was wearing thin. The walking bottomless pit had eaten practically everything in the camp.

Hiro reluctantly followed after, debating if it was worth trying to get the fish back. Probably not, he didn't even like the taste of fish all that much to begin with. He stopped in surprise when an apple core fell from tree and nearly hit him. He looked up and found Varian sitting in one of the top branches, raccoon by his side, and reaching up to pick another apple off the tree.

The other teen paused when he saw Hiro. "Hey! Morning! You wanna an apple for breakfast?"

Hiro's stomach growled in response but all he actually said was, "How did you get up there?"

Varian laughed, "Climbed up here. How else you do think? Fly?"

Hiro looked up at him blankly. It was an obvious answer, of course, and he felt silly for having asked it.  

"Come on up!" Varian encouraged. "There's plenty of apples to go around."

"I..I can't." Hiro admitted sheepishly.

"Why not?"

"I don't know how to climb a tree." He mumbled.

Varian looked surprised by this revelation and before Hiro could do anything else, the other boy quickly climbed back down to join him.

“You never climb a tree before?”

‘Well, I did once, with Baymax’s help.” He rubbed the back of his neck self consciously.  

“It’s not like there’s a whole lot of trees in San Fransokyo to climb.”

“Oh, well, it’s easy. Here, I’ll show you. Just put your foot there, in that knot, and place your hand here on this bump in the bark.” Varian instructed, helping Hiro find the footholds. “Now you see that groove up here, place your other foot there, and as you hoist yourself up grab that lowest branch with your other hand, like climbing a really uneven ladder.”

Hiro did so, though not without some struggling, but eventually he pulled himself up onto the lowest branch.      

“Great!” Varian cheered and followed after with practiced ease. “The hardest parts done. Now all you gotta do is swing up the rest of the branches, like so.”

Varian took off, showing Hiro the best way to navigate the tree top. Hiro followed him, mimicking the other boys actions. With great effort he hauled himself up onto the final branch and heaved a ‘wooooph’ in relief of having made it up.

His sigh quickly turned to awe though when he caught sight of the view. The early morning sun sparkled on the lake. Further out a misty fog was beginning to disperse and you could see the opposite shoreline reflected in the water like glass. Beyond that giant redwoods poked out of the canopy of trees and way, way off in the distance you just about make out the tips of blue mountains.

“Woah.” He breathed. Hiro had to admit, you didn’t get scenery like this in the city.

‘Here.” Varian handed him an apple. It was smaller than the ones you’d buy in the store, with pink and yellow skin. Hiro tentatively took a bite. It was crunchy and very tart, but edible. Not to mention it was practically the only food they had left in the camp, so Hiro wound up eating it all and started in on a second one.

“So, where did you learn to climb?” Hiro asked taking another large bite of the wild fruit.

“Oh, I’ve been climbing trees since I could walk.” Varian laughed. “We owned an apple orchard along with the farm. Also the forest is right next to my village.”

Ruddiger joined them, procuring his own apple and sitting right on Varian’s lap to enjoy his meal. Varian scratched his pet’s ear.

“Does he ever get full?” Hiro asked.

“Nope.” Varian replied, and then they both broke into giggles.

Once the laughter had subsided Hiro commented, “I guess that’s why you’re so good at this outdoors stuff. This is the first time I ever been fishing, and with any luck, it’ll be my last.”

“My dad taught me.” Varian quitely confessed. “He’d take me on trips like this sometimes. Try to teach me how to hunt and fish. The fishing is a lot better than the hunting, let me tell you. I never could fire an arrow right and I can’t stand the sight of blood.” He cringed as if recalling a gruesome memory. “But, I guess he was just looking out for me. He taught me the skills he had to live on to survive. Apparently there were no farms where he grew up, the land was always baren. I guess that’s why he prefered gardening to being a knight.”

“Wait, your dad was an actual for real knight?”

Varian nodded, “Yeah, I found his armor after...after the accident. Along with a bunch of other important stuff he never told me about.” He added bitterly.

Hiro didn’t know how to respond to that. So he stayed quiet and let Varian dictate the conversation.

“Anyways, it worked. The fishing did come in handy. I had to do a lot of that, when.. when I was on my own.” He worked his jaw as he mulled over that last confession, his eyes gazing out to into the distance, clearly not seeing the breathtaking view before them.

Hiro’s heart dropped. He had a vague idea of what happened to Varian, but this was the first time it really hit home just how messed up the other’s teen’s life had been before now. He could empathize with losing a loved one, but he had always had his aunt and his friends to depend upon. If nothing else to be there and take of him as he sank into depression. But Varian had to do everything for himself, even while battling that same depression. The idea of having to catch or scavenge for your own food on top caring for you ill father was a nightmare that Hiro could barely comprehend. A nightmare that only somehow got worse.

“Fortunately, there’s a river that runs through my village, and I could set up lines overnight and just go check them in the morning, and we had food stored up for winter. Like oats, bacon, dried peas, that sort of thing. That is, until spring rolled around and the king's guards run me out of my house.” He said irritably.”Then I just had to forage or steal to survive.”

“Be...because you stole medicine?” Hiro asked disquietly. He couldn’t imagine a world so cruel and yet to his surprise the story got even worse.

“Oh no, this was before I stole the flower.” Varian said matter of factly and Hiro just stared at him in horror. Varian heaved a heavy sigh and went on to explain. “My father was the only other person who knew about the sundrop. The king kept it hidden from everyone. I guess when he found out that my dad, was, was ‘gone’, he decided to try and remove me from the picture, so as to keep his secret safe. He made a bunch of false charges about me ‘attacking the princess’ so that no one would believe me when I asked for help or told them the truth about the flower. Then he sent his elite guard to arrest me and I had to run.”

Varian gave a little shrug and added, “I guess after that, ‘treason’ didn’t seem like that big of deal. I mean they were going to throw me in jail either way, and not many people leave those dungeons alive.”

Hiro could barely process what was being told to him. He didn’t know what to say. His stomach churned and his breath shallowed. Varian’s past was far scarier than any ghost story.

Then suddenly he felt guilty. He’d been so caught up in his own grief and his own struggles with readjusting, that he hadn’t actually stopped to think about things from Varian’s perspective. He had thus far grinned and bared the discomfort of having his life turned upside down, because, well because that's what he thought he needed to do in order to be a mature decent person. And while that was true in part, it never occurred to him that this move was yet another upset in Varian’s life, in a long, long string of seemingly never ending upsets.  

Hiro found himself so easily annoyed by the other teen, yet he really had no right to be. Varian was readjusting to whole new culture and way of life in addition to struggling with his grief and trauma. So what if he cooked weird food sometimes, didn’t always know the appropriate conduct to certain situations, or was so super confident in nearly everything he did that it made Hiro self conscious and a little jealous at times. Deep down, Varian was suffering through something that no one in Hiro’s little corner of the globe could fully understand, and the least that Hiro could do was try to be a little more patient and a little more open about letting Varian into his life.

“You know,” Hiro slowly said, trying to ease the conversation and offer a little understanding, “I never really knew my dad. I was just four when he and my mom died. It was always Tadashi who taught me things, like how to ride a bike or how to hotwire a robot. Though he never taught me to climb to tree, so I guess that’s one I owe you.”

He smiled encouragingly at Varian, who nervously returned it. Once again Varian wasn’t used to praise or acknowledgement that he anything ‘right’.

“Maybe, you could teach me more outdoorsy stuff.” Hiro offered. “And I can teach you more about more modern stuff, like how to play Mind Smith II Turbo .”

“That..that’s that video game you like, isn’t it?” Varian asked as he tried to remember what Hiro even talking about.

“Yeah!” and with that Hiro eagerly launched into a detailed description of the game.

Soon the boys were interrupted by Krei emerging from the tent. He stretched sore back and tried to reheat the leftover instant coffee he’d brought. He then promptly spit it back out in disgust. The boys tried their best to suppress their snickers. Keri spotted them anyways.

“How ‘bout we pack it up and go get tacos instead?” He asked them.

“Yeeesss!” Yelled Hiro, who was more than ready to go.

“Sounds great!” Agreed Varian. “We’ll be right down!”

Keri went back in the tent to start packing and Ruddigger scurried down after him, hoping to maybe steal another treat from the camp.

Varian stood up and started to also make his way down when Hiro’s voice stopped him.

“Ummm...Sooo how do you get down exactly?”

                                              ----------------------------

The day ended with a trip to Yaki Taco and a huge feast of fast food nachos and deep fried burritos. Rudiger was once again confined to his carrying cage, but was allowed a cup of some cheese sauce to snack on. Baymax was let out of his charger case to kept an eye on the mischievous raccoon. All agreed it was actually the best part of the camping trip.

“Say, ‘cheese’.” The robot said, as he took a photograph with his internal camera.  

The three guys sing songed the the word even as actual cheese dripped off the burritos they held in their hands, plastering on dopey grins for the camera. Then a few more pictures with silly faces to complete the set.

“Fantastic!” Krei said. “I want copies for the office.”

“Why?” Hiro asked.

“So if any clients come in I show off ‘my family’ to them instead just the photo of my mother. I love the woman but she doesn’t necessarily impress the image of ‘family friendly company’.”

“I knew there was a catch.” Hiro scoffed.

Keri looked wounded. “Hey, I told you, my employees are my family.”

Hiro rolled his eyes but he couldn’t help giving a little smile at that. He knew Krei well enough by now to know that, underneath his seemingly conviving self-serving self, he had a heart, and he wouldn’t have invited Hiro and Varian along if he didn’t care.

“Aunt Cass put you up to this, didn’t she?” He prodded.

“I’m sworn to secrecy.” Krei insisted and they gave Hiro a knowing wink. Then more seriously he said, “I know what it’s like not having your dad around on Father’s Day. So, I figured, why not a fishing trip? It’s better than being stuck at home while your father’s away on a business trip to Tahiti that weekend.”

Hiro raised in eyebrow. Keri had a tendency of oversharing at times.  

“Buuut, enough about me. Who wants dessert!?”