Lying around the camp was plenty of sticks and timber that had fallen during the winter, dry due to the lack of snow this year. It had been a dry season with very little snow in comparison to what would usually fall in the region. Thus, making it so Charlene did not even have to leave their little makeshift campsite to collect enough to get a decent fire going. That did not stop her from going around and collecting more than she would need for supper. Mainly because she loved curling up next to her sweetie beside a fire underneath the starry night sky. It was just something about the way that they all blended together that made it feel oh so right to her.

Meanwhile, Matis was having his own issues. Sheera was trying to help, and was doing everything in the proper order. She just happened to forget the first step, so she was constantly trying to help while being one step ahead. It took a few minutes to fix, but it had caused them to need to take everything down and start from scratch. The hardest part for Matis was figuring out whether the missed step was truly because Sheera had forgotten it, or if she was in a playful mood and had decided to mess with him for a bit. He could never tell with the large feline, as she had gotten the hang of acting years prior. Charlene had kept telling him that she had some obvious tells, but he just could never see them. It ended up taking them another fifteen minutes to finally get the hanging tent they had set up and ready for the night.

By the time they wrapped up, Charlene had finished getting the fire up to size and had already started grilling over top. Having thought that this was a possibility to happen, she had packed away food that could be cooked up for dinner inside a portable cooler. If they did end up heading home, she could have just thrown them either back in the fridge or straight onto the grill when they got back. After all, she had packed homemade burgers along with all the condiments they could want. The smell from them had wafted throughout the area, enticing Matis and Sheera to gather around her as the meat cooked above the fire. She just let the two do as they please while focusing on the food, though she did smack any limbs that were reaching for the food early. When she judged that the burgers would finish shortly, she popped the buns on top of the grill to toast them.

Once they were all finished, Charlene and Matis plated up the burgers and topped them. They of course took care of setting it up for Sheera as well, using only half a bun for each of the burgers and limiting the topping to barbeque sauce. This was purely out of a desire for her to stay healthy and not have any issues. They had her try cheese when she was younger in a small quantity, but like most felines she was lactose intolerant. They couldn't even get her to go anywhere near cattle-based dairy after that. Which that in itself was a good thing, as it meant that they would not have to deal with a sick and potentially vomiting sixty-kilogram cat. That would have been an issue all in itself.

As they sat down beside the still crackling fire and started to eat, Charlene decided to break the silence that had descended on the camp once Matis and Sheera finally got onto the same page. "So, what's the plan for the next week?"

Matis finished chewing what was in his mouth and swallowed before bothering to reply. "Well, tomorrow we will drive home and get everything we could need for a couple weeks of living on the road. Then the day after that, I was thinking of starting the drive down and stopping in Edmonton for a few days. Both to visit with friends and make sure that the animals that we brought there are in a better spot."

"Fair enough, we did end up rushing quite a few down in critical condition. It would be nice to see them and make sure that they are healing properly. The people there have a bad habit of not letting us know how the animals we have brought are doing after all."

"My thoughts exactly Dear. After that, drive down and arrive in Waterton on the twenty-first so that we are there for our little girl for her entire birthday. Maybe even go on a hike up Bertha or Carthew for the day."

"Then what about the return trip? Are there any plans for how that will go?" Charlene asked, after having just finished her burger. As such, she just pulled herself into Matis' side and just enjoyed being beside him

Matis just started laughing in response. "Plan? For the return trip? What do you take me for, I was planning just to see where the wind took us!" It took him a minute afterwards before he could stop laughing enough to start on his second burger. Charlene just giggled in response, already knowing that was the most likely plan he would come up with. They had not been married for twenty-eight years for nothing after all. Sheera just focused on eating the four massive burgers set in front of her, ignoring the conversation beside her as she devoured the food in front of her. After all the food was done, the three just cuddled beside the fire and watched as the stars came out above, causing Charlene to sigh in contentment. It did not take long though for them to feel exhaustion seep into their bones, causing them to climb into the hanging tent. With Charlene being sandwiched between the two fonts of heat, the three of them happily drifted off to sleep, with both Charlene and Matis dreaming of the surprise on their daughter's face when they arrived.

Huge thanks to my Elder Wolves Viktor, Saganatsu, Eeleater, John, Hades, Sir Hellington, Onean, Sebastian, Adam, and Kevin for supporting me and my writing! Remember that I keep Patreon ten chapters ahead at all times. Our next goal on Patreon will be getting up to 50 patrons, which I will then spend more time each month writing some side stories and shorts that show other perspectives throughout my stories!

 

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