Nothing like a beach party to get the family together. It was true. Your brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers all lead busy lives, and rarely do they ever free up for times of important bonding. So very tragic. But try, and you will have yourself a few get-togethers that should still rate in at more than acceptable.

It was late ? going on 10:00 P.M. ? when the rowdy locale of Silica Cottage decided it was time to relocate the party; it was time to put the youngsters to bed.

?Enough of you f*cks and c*nts drinking all my hooch and laying all over my furniture,? Techichi scolded while wearing a drunkard's plastered smile, ?Let's move to this ? what ? what's it called? In Hawaii? Corea??

? ? Luau,? she replied some time after from the porch outside the cottage. Yes, that had been the word.

? ? Luau,? Tetch repeated, ?Let's move this luau outside. It's time for the kids to go to bed, and I don't want my grandchildren hearing any more of your vulgarities,? panning the room with her pointer finger ? whose other fingers were wrapping a wine bottle ? she drunkenly dared anyone to remain behind while the party moved on, or else be branded a p*ssy.

?Oh Dear,? Lilith pouted out a plump lower lip, ?She's moved onto her wine. It is the absolute worst when she has moved onto he wine,? Lilith 'oh-dear' and 'oh my'd' on over to her to try and pull the bottle from her by first extending her reach behind her, but a drunken Ichi was a grabby Ichi. ?Eeee!!?

Meanwhile over on the sofa, a heavily-liquored Dagger Sasc began showing those tell-tale signs of too much to drink with drool dripping from his mouth, ?I told you I could outdrink you,? Aurast said.

?You sure did, buddy,? Seirichi said in true party companion code.

While he continued to make sure she understood that he had outdrank her, always been there for her, and wasn't a total failure, Seiri was slowly relocating him to the guest bedroom on the opposite end from where the children were.

She got him to that beautifully made and yet undefined bed, lacking any one personality, but enough of one to be so very inviting, just like a guest room should. A few more inches (or drinks) and Aurast would have gone over the deep end, and Techichi would have beat him viciously for throwing up anywhere in her house, after he'd cleaned it up, of course.

?Thank you,? Aurast whispered, another tell-tale sign that he had been done for the night. His thanks of course were to Seiri, who had understood all this. She grinned to him, fixing his baseball-hat hair and tucking him in; the peaceful thing he was. He was a real sweetie, and she knew it. Sometimes all you wanted after you've had too much to drink was a quiet bed to sleep in. And so with a flicking of the lamp off, Seiri backed out of the room, pulling the door to a close.

It was obvious that the tiff with her mom was on both their minds the more the silence lingered between them; but it was Seiri who had to speak up about his performance. ?Nice,? she said in a very unimpressed delivery.

?Don't you have rugrats to take care of?? he curved one eyebrow over one crimson eye. Again, she was unimpressed, but thinking on it for a moment longer, he was right. There were unattended children in that room, and breakable things!

?Um... I'll be right back,? she said, going into the room where shortly after her parental voice could be heard pulling rank and vanquishing all mischievous activity.

At long last, there was some sort of peace to be had. The living room was quiet, the children playing just in the room across the den were behind a closed door, and the incapacitated Dagger Sasc was sleeping off a very irresponsible over-intoxication. Farther off, the gaming from the beach could be heard, and the few tiki torches lit out there were faintly visible from the window.

He reared his head back and black bangs danced where they would. His chest inflated and deflated at a slow pace ? a relaxed pace. Finally he said, ?This is why I prefer living around mortals,? his eyes open to the overhead fan soon closed relaxedly again ? until a woman's voice spoke up from the screen door.

?Oh I don't know, things can be exciting with the meaner guys,? she said, peeking in with a head full of beautiful, Cimmerian curls. He looked her up and down and took note of her dark skin ? and a very apparent threat level ? but he kept his boot heel up on the coffee table, opting instead to spread his arms across the back of the loveseat while his irritated stare wore on at her.

She laughed a single laugh, ?Jeez, I think I've gotten friendlier looks from my biggest haters,? she said, holding her hands up as if to say she was unarmed and declared herself an ally. ?My name's Mia. I'm here for Seiri. Is she in the back?? That was when the door to the children's room opened and answered her question.

?The hell are you doing here?? she hushed, ?I said after midnight.?

?I don't know if you looked down recently, but you're not a baby girl anymore, Sei,? Mia said, going over to her with her sandals in one hand and an unopened bottle of red in the other ? which she held up to explain her surprising appearance. ?You can see whoever you want to whenever. Only one pair of hands tans that hide now,? she said, talking some real game and laying it down with some real lusty tone. The women grabbed each other's waists.

?I was wrong,? Declan chimed in before things could get any further, ?Being alone is best,? looking out the window away from the pair like he had been forced to ? like they had made him look away from their unashamed and boastful display.

Of course, this only fanned Mia's flames of interest. A smile came on plush, ruby-red lips, and she checked with Seiri in a secret conference of the eyes before turning that lusty tone and sexy swagger onto Declan. ?Sounds like Tall, Thin, and Red-Eyed doesn't know what he's missing. What do you think, Sei? It's only one bottle of wine, but he's good-looking enough,? she teased.

Seiri copied her game ? a game that she was born to play ? and chose to go a more reserved sort of flirt for herself and give her longer brown hair a few clutches for a very seductive toss, ?But that would mean confirming threesomes happen, wouldn't it?? and then she laughed, ? ? which they don't. Only in those cheesy sex novels. Their sales are proof. Lot of fans of fantasy things out there,? Seiri fixed her hair now. The jungle look suited her, but the joke was over now.

?So we going ? or what?? Mia asked, coming down on the fun of their brief little game. Seiri seemed happy enough that she wasn't busy. She reached out to Mia's very well-displayed cleavage that was mushed together by a tied, pink shirt also exposing her midriff.

?Let me grab my beach towel. We can sneak around to the other end of the beach on further down, and god help the walkers,? Seiri said, going to retrieve the thing from the tiny kitchen counter.

Mia grinned, ? ? Or maybe they'll be thanking god.?

But a very crucial part of this plan did not work, as Declan had realized, leaning over the couch now to regard the two. ?You are aware of the room full of unchaperoned children? Or is mothering so far down on the list right now...? a glare was cast that his attention had been bought in tandem with his anger. But Seiri just beamed.

?They'll be fine,? she said so happily, walking over and grabbing Mia's arm and walking her to the door. ?I'm sure you can put them to bed. Do you know any nursery rhymes? Nothing knocks them out as good as a long, boring story,? Seiri peace-signed him ? as did Mia ? and the two exited the house with all of the trimmings of a squeaky screen door and creaky porch planks detailing their departure.

Declan had stood in the excitement of the abandoning of the children's welfare into his hands. It was a stupefying expression brought on by a stupefying situation ? one that he was still in disbelief of ? but he wasn't letting their responsibility slip quite through his fingers like it normally would have. A stare was made over to the door.

He sighed; he sighed hard.

?Do I know any bedtime stories?? he repeated, coming over to Karaichi's bedside, passing it, and ultimately sitting on the side of Kellie's bed for the remainder of his pondering. ?Well I do know one... but I can only promise to tell it to you if you all go to sleep right after,? he proposed, looking between the three. They all nodded.

?Good,? Declan said, swinging one leg up on the side of Kellie's bed and thinking where to start. ?This story happened a long time ago. So long ago, that it actually occurred before the very first moment ? ever. Now, what's funny about all time before the very first moment, is that it actually takes place in the future,? Declan explained.

?Woooow,? Kellie wowed, quite literally.

?How does that work?? Karaichi asked.

?I forgot to mention: no questions at all during the story. Button up now,? Declan said, and Karaichi was very quick to look surprised and offended at the same time. But like any good boy, he pouted it out.

?Now, way back in time before the very first moment, there was a man who was walking on the grassy hill of the largest planet in the universe ? which was also the first planet in the universe. It was said to be the site of all life, some believed, as the limbs of its magnificent trees were said to bud all of the other planets and drop them out into the sky they climbed all the way up to when they were ready. Well... this man was quite bored,?

?Gee! I sure am bored!? Declan said, stretching his arms up to the skies and then down again. The vast field ahead of him, so lush and beautiful, but it was nothing he hadn't seen already, really. ?I wish there was something new to see; somewhere I haven't been.?

?Was he really done seeing all there was to see on the largest planet in the universe?? Kellie asked in disbelief.

?Normally I would have killed a man for disobeying such a recently given command,? Declan explained deadpanned, ?But I will let it go. The young man could not age, as was understandable with all those who were able to find the means to walk upon the mother planet, and because of this he had much time to explore all that she had to offer,?

?Those forests over yonder are tall and eerie with their immortal darkness and choir-like winds, but that is all. And the great falls that create the mist that become the clouds are only very wet, and I am not in the mood to swim,? Declan sorrowfully explained to himself, just cause. ?I never knew how lonely it was until I had seen everything.?

?And that was when a stranger arrived, projecting his deep voice over the field to the young man, and telling him he could show him somewhere he hadn't been,?

?I can show you somewhere you haven't been,? a man's voice said.

Declan looked over to where the voice had been coming from, and to his surprise, all that he saw was a red fox sitting upright, but facing him.

?Who is there?? Declan called, but there was no answer. Only a breeze blew in response, and more silent moments filled the air afterward. But when his head began to stray from the fox ? that was when the voice came back across the hill.

?Me. I am here,? he said.

Declan looked back at the fox in time enough to see that it was where the voice had been coming from. Coolly, he walked over to it and then stopped to assess it and whatever magic it was using. ?How are you talking??

The fox stared at him, tilting its head like an animal might, but not sounding like it should ? not at all. ?I can talk no matter what I look like. I just happen to look like a fox right now,? it said.

?What did you mean? How can you show me a place I haven't been when I have seen everything there is?? Declan asked.

?Oh, I am sure you have not been here. Come on,? the fox said, getting up and shaking like a dog. ?I will take you there.?

?The young man seemed unsure about the fox. He had shown up out of nowhere, and promised such a bold claim, he could hardly resist the offer. So he agreed to go with him,? Declan explained to the children.

?Okay, but what do I call you?? he asked.

The fox looked at him curiously, ?I do not have any set name. You may call me whatever you like.?

?Very well. You say that you do not always look like this, but I have not seen you as anything else, so I will call you Fox,? Declan decreed.

?Very well,? Fox said.

?And the two embarked off on their journey together across the planet to get where the young man had never been before. First they passed around the falls, and the fox had gotten ahead of him while leading the way, and the young man did not see him again until he had taken the form of a beautiful young woman bathing in the waters that the falls poured into,?

?Keep up!? Fox said, ?I will grow old and wrinkled at the pace you're going,? Fox teased, collecting her long gokden hair at the back of her neck and draining the water from it.

Declan had been marching through the gunky mud beside the river, and the sight of this only startled him for the moment.

?Just keep going. I've already seen these falls before?? he said.

?They next went through the dark forests that birthed the planets I told you about. It was a long forest, and again Fox got ahead of him. When he next caught up with Fox, he was in the form of a young girl this time, about your age,? Declan pointed to Kellie, ?and like you, she was all full of energy,?

?Come on! You're too slow! Hurry up!? Fox nagged.

?Then stop going on so far ahead,? Declan complained, ?I've already seen this forest, too.?

?So they came to a cave next, and Fox went on inside. The young man followed after, but he had again lost track of his escort. He next saw Fox in the form of a bat, hanging from the cave ceiling and stretching his mighty wings,?

?We'll be there soon, real soon,? Fox said, enthusiastically; looking up at Declan upside-down.

?Well I hope so, because I've already seen this cave before,? Declan answered, feeling out the walls of the cave because it was so pitch dark inside. But eventually, he worked his way out.