#Chapter 233 – Camp

“Mama!” Alvin cries again, tucking himself tight against me as one of my arms goes around him. Ian almost knocks us both over as he comes to my side, shouting “mom!” as he slams into me in his eagerness to hug my shoulders. Alvin snuggles against me, his eyes pressed closed in happiness, but Ian looks over my shoulder back towards the forest.

“Where –“ he asks, but Victor steps into view just then and Ian lets out a little screech, running for him.

“Papa’s here,” I whisper to Alvin, assuming he just hasn’t noticed yet. “Do you want to go see him?”

“In a minute,” he replies, opening his eyes and smiling up at me. “I am happy right here for now.”

My heart melts at this as I hold him even tighter against me. “You can be my favorite today,” I whisper, kissing my sweet boy’s head.

“And tomorrow?” he asks, keeping his voice low.

“Probably,” I murmur. “But we’ll see.”

“Ahem!” Victor says, coming to stand next to us, Ian gathered happily in his arms. He stares down at us, a mock frown on his face. “Don’t I have a second child?”

“No,” I say, grinning up at him. “This one’s mine.”

“Yes you do!” Alvin shouts, scrambling from my lap and wrapping himself around his father’s leg. I’m shocked, suddenly, to see how tall he’s gotten, remembering the first time I saw him hugging Victor’s leg at the Quiz Nation taping. Had that only been a few months ago? How did he grow so tall?

“I thought so,” Victor says fondly, stroking his broad hand over his son’s hair. “I missed you, kid.”

“We didn’t miss you,” Ian says, definitively.

“Don’t listen to him, Papa,” Alvin interjects, shaking his head. “We did miss you.”

“Don’t lie, Alvin,” Ian says, rolling his eyes. “Only liars lie.”

“I don’t want to hurt their feelings,” Alvin hisses back, making me laugh.

standing with my family. “We didn’t want you pining away

wanted yearning, a firestorm of

cottage was so much fun!” Ian shouts, throwing his

brought us so

had a

filled

night,” I

at me, next time we can combine the two, and put you

him towards the cottage, wanting to go

looking down at Alvin as I take his hand as

he tells me, his wide eyes

blink at him, suddenly worried and glancing at

“They were so much

about their night. Apparently, they got just as little sleep as we did, playing all sorts of games with the phantom mists that came to care for them all evening. I had joked, earlier, that the cottage was their magical babysitter, but apparently I was more right than I had thought. A few hours before dawn the cottage had produced a pair of beds for them and the ghosts had tucked them in

follow, glancing around to see what the little cabin has in store for us. The two little beds are gone – no beds in sight

then,” Ian says, hopping down from Victors arms and coming to wrap his arms around my leg while I use a knife to cut a warm loaf of crusty bread, “we heard a rooster crowing, and we knew it was time to get up. Because

him.

purses his lips at me. “It was

asking questions after everything we’ve seen. Just time to lean in and accept it. I butter a slice of

father chew, curious. “So,”

“We met an old wolf in the forest who told us all sorts of secrets,

whispers, wrinkling his nose. “Baths are

around a mouthful of

bath outside, or a bath in chocolate syrup inside? Because you two

the chocolate, dad,” Alvin patiently explains. “We just dipped

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