"Come on Ruby!" Hazel was trying to encourage Ruby to head in the direction of their soon-to-be campsite.
"Maybe Levi will let us use the campfire for a portal this time. We'll just need to leave before sunrise and make sure to keep the fire burning throughout the night." Ruby looked uncertain.
"How are we supposed to travel through fire?"
"You'll see Ruby-bird. It's easier after we shapeshift. We just need to make sure we have a nice, hot fire burning and we should be fine. Let's find the tent."
Ruby and Hazel found Zoe and Levi under the acacia trees digging in their Travel Packs for supplies.
"Here's the tent!" Levi was yanking a big bundle of sand-colored fabric and folded-up aluminum poles out of his Travel Pack. He handed it to Zoe, who promptly looked over at Hazel for help.
"Here, Hazel can you unfold the poles?" Zoe handed the tent poles to Hazel.
"Ruby, can you help me unfold the tent? Then we can help Hazel with the poles. Oh, and ask Levi if the groundcover is in his pack or mine."
Ruby stuck her head almost into the bottom of Zoe's Travel Pack, searching for the tarp they used as a groundcover for their tent.
"What color is it?" Ruby was pulling everything out of Zoe's Travel Pack - socks, shirts, shorts, everything but the groundcover.
"I found it!" Levi shouted at them from a few feet away. He handed the plastic tarp to Ruby and started helping Hazel with the tent poles. Zoe finished cramming all her clothes back into her Travel Pack and a few minutes later, the tent was set up. They spread their sleeping bags out on the tent floor with Zoe and Levi on the outside. Ruby was next to Levi and Hazel slept in between Ruby and Zoe.
Next was dinner. Hazel and Levi started building a fire while Zoe went off in search of something small to hunt for dinner. Zoe returned later on with a few small birds that they managed to turn into a stew over the campfire.
"Are we going to be able to use the campfire as a time portal Levi?" Zoe wasn't sure how time travel worked with fire, but Levi was the expert.
"We should be able to, but I think it's kind of like using the time portal in the rainforest. We just need to make sure that our equipment is protected from the fire in some way. Sapphire is familiar with all the rules of time travel, so we'll have to rely on her as usual."
"What say we get some shut eye everyone?" Levi was yawning and stretching, so they cleaned up after dinner and crawled into their sleeping bags.
"Goodnight everyone!" Zoe switched off their solar lamp and they went to sleep.
Levi woke up sometime in the middle of the night and saw Zoe outside the tent adding more logs to the fire. Zoe stepped back inside the tent a few minutes later.
"We can't wait too much longer to time travel Levi. I just put a few more logs on the fire, but we need to leave before sunrise. Should I wake the girls?"
"Sure, might as well. I'll get Ruby, since I don't think she's ever time-travelled at night before. Can you wake up Hazel and make sure she knows what she's doing? Especially with the fire and everything."
"10-4 Levi." Zoe reached over and shook Hazel gently by the shoulders until she was awake. "Ready Hazel? Time for time travel. We need to leave before sunrise." Zoe was putting her shoes on.
"I'll help Levi with the tent. Can you get Ruby ready? Make sure she's ready for fire travel." "Sure thing Zoe. It shouldn't be too difficult for a sunbird, but I'll make sure she's prepared." Hazel reached over and shook Ruby's little kid sleeping bag up and down and back and forth, pretending there was an earthquake.
"I'm awake! I'm awake!" Ruby's uncombed hair appeared at the top of her sleeping bag.
"Come on Ruby! Hurry up! We have to get ready for time travel." Hazel explained, "We're going to use the campfire this time, so we need to be prepared. Where's your brush?"
Hazel finished brushing Ruby's long, blond hair and they ate a quick breakfast before taking down the tent and washing the dishes. They had to do everything by lamplight since it was still nighttime. After everything was cleaned up and packed away, Levi and Zoe waited at the fire for Sapphire and Ruby to appear. Before long, the owlet was visible in the night sky and Ruby sat down next to Levi's cape where she waited to further instructions.
Sapphire landed on one, long branch of the acacia tree behind their campfire and flapped her wings once or twice before settling down.
"Everyone ready?" Zoe always checked first before they travelled to make sure no one got left behind. Ruby was holding Levi's hand.
Sapphire flew off her tree branch and headed toward the fire. She circled around the fire and then flew directly into it. Instead of burning, the owlet shot up directly overhead and spun around several times before disappearing into the night sky.
"Whoa! That was awesome!" Ruby was excited this time.
"Come on girls! Let's do this!" Levi grabbed Zoe's left hand and still holding onto Ruby's right hand, they stepped forward and swooped up into the fire in Sapphire's path. Before they knew it, they were in the year 500 BC.
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