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Lyza recognized the lady sitting at their camp tables. It took her a moment, but she remembered the woman from when they first arrived at Camp Connalake. She helped them pick out their campsite. Beside the mother koala was a boy about the girl rabbit's age, if not a little older. "Sis," the older rabbit said very softly, handing her the lantern, "Why don't you and Danny go over by the tents for a while... Tell him about the archery tournament." The younger rabbit looked up at her brother, her ears falling down very low as she craned her neck to look at his face. His hand patted her between the shoulder-blades, and, without really understanding the instruction, she took the light and stepped forward. "C'mon Danny," she said, speaking the name of the boy she just met. "Show'er 'a to ploay Hacky Sack," the mother said, batting her joey's arm with the back of her hand. Danny swiped the soft ball that was on the table into his hand as he somberly departed from the table. "So... Danny," the girl said idly as they trotted to the tents, "Your mom works here, huh?" "She volunteers," he replied, squishing the beads around in the loosely woven ball. "That's cool. My brother sometimes does volunteer work for school. He's in the Junior Leadership Organization... we call it Jello..."

The older rabbit sat down across from the mother. She could tell he looked troubled, like he was about to get reprimanded for doing something wrong. "M'Danny says... there's somethin' important he woants t'tell me." She said, in as clear an accent as she could. "How much did he say?" She shook her head. "He told me afta' din'. Said'e got'n some trouble an' a goi named 'Kev' wanted t'help e'sploain." "So he hasn't told you anything yet." The weight of that prospect appeared in his voice. "Oi hafta say, Kev. Oi'm a li'l worried. Danny don't normally ac' loik this." Kval took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Even though he felt this moment was going to happen since last night, he hadn't been able to prepare for it no matter how much he tried. "Miss..." "Becky's foin." "Becky." He stated. "Last night I was up late, still trying to fall asleep, when I heard some kids in the woods behind the tents." He pointed to the nettle work of trees behind the row of tent frames. Thankfully, the kids were sitting on one of the skeleton frames, out of earshot. "I went out to investigate. I surprised them--two boys. One of them ran away, but the other one tripped and I managed to hold him. Maybe that wasn't the most appropriate thing to do, but... "It turns out Danny was the boy I managed to catch. He and a friend--I don't know who--were sneaking around in the woods. I was trying to figure out why he was out there, where he came from, all of that. He wouldn't tell me. So I used the flashlight to look around and found a baggy on the ground not far from where we were." "And...just what was m'li'l joey doin' out in the woods in the mi'll of the noight?" "He was going to get high."

"That looks really neat. Who's idea was it?" "My brother's," the rabbit said, a little on-edge as the koala turned the tire-frame of metal scraps in his hands. "I did the straps and most of the rivets." "I should do metalworking, too. Maybe I'll make a robot arm..."

"How d'ya know he wan't juss' pokin' around the woods?" "He admitted it." Kval said flatly. "I'm not trying to get your son in trouble. In fact, he's not. He didn't even have real marijuana." The mom leaned back and crossed her arms. "How would'ja know that?" Kval took in a deep breath. "Becky... Can I tell you something?--Legal-guardian-to-parent?" At this the mom relaxed her crossed arms just a little. "Shoa." The rabbit blinked a few times, looking at his hands. There was a moment of silence before he finally parted his lips for a second, and then spoke with a heavy breath: "Not long ago... I was an addict."

"So that's what your brother was talking about the tournament, huh?" "Yeah," the rabbit said, as the koala looked over her targets. "There's this one guy I know, Russel, he's pretty good at it too." "Oh, I beat him today!" "Ha! Really? Bet that hit him in the gut." "His mommy dragged him away all upset." "Yup, that's Mrs. Capran. She's always saying no one treats Russel fair, but it's cuz he's a jerk. She doesn't get it." "And probably nev-ver will..."

"It started right when I got into middle school, pretty much. I was a 'wimpy kid'. Small, scrawny, weak; but smart. I wanted to be with the cool kids. My wish got granted when this one boy, we called him Buggy, invited me to his birthday party. It was a sleepover, me and a few other kids. After his parents went to sleep, he pulled out a box of weed... that night I had my first hit. "Eventually, it got to the point where I could get some from him to have my own stash. My parents didn't suspect it for a long time. Only my sister knew. Once my parents found out...well, it's kind of weird to explain. I never got caught by police. The whole family was a mess...yelling, screaming, lots of fighting between me and dad. "It went on like that until I got to high school. I made a friend who was a lot like me before I... got addicted. His name was Jimmy. I got him addicted, too. Things were going sweet until one day, Buggy got sent to Juvy for fighting. He was our...'supply'. But then I decided we should just start getting the stuff on our own. I'd never done that before, so...I made Jimmy do it. He said he would...but on one condition." "An' what'd that be?" Becky asked, leaning on the table and listening intently.

"Your mom is like my mom," Lyza said as she watched Danny hit the woven ball with his foot. "She's Australian?" He asked. The rabbit shook her head. "No, but she has a strong accent. Russian." "Really? How come you don't have an accent?" "Probably the same reason you don't." She said with a giggle. "I did when I was littler. But I lost it when I started going to school. 'Allo," she said, her soft voice taking on a thick inflection, "My nahme ist Lyza." The boy missed the ball. "I thought it was Liz?" He asked. She dipped her eyes. "Well, Liz is easier to pronounce. It's really Lyza." "Listhistha..." "Noooo." "Listheestha...?" She sighed. "C'mon, say it with me: Lits--" "Lits-zee-ya..."

For a few moments the brother looked at his sister and Danny in the pale light coming from the lantern set on the skeleton frame above their heads. "I'm not afraid to admit...I wasn't the best big brother at the time. In fact, she called me Big Bad Brother. Like the Big Bad Wolf. I did things I regret. Things I think she remembers but...she may not have gotten over them. Not completely. Not yet. "Anyway. Jimmy said I had to treat her better. He made a joke that because he was an only child with few friends and parents that didn't really pay attention to him, if he died the next day no one would even notice. "And then, Becky, he did die. I saw him--" Jimmy!!! The rabbit paused, and bit his lip. "I saw him featured on the news. The drug dealer suspected him of being bait for a sting. He was shot eight times." Kval, who now appeared much older than his actual age, looked down at his clasped hands. His shoulders were slanted so far down that it looked like his neck was a foot-and-a-half long. His eyes were weary from lack of sleep. His voice was getting hoarse, too. "Well," Becky finally spoke after a moment of silence. Her voice was more clear than it had ever been since Kval first heard it. "I sincerely hope that little confession did something for ya. But if it's all the same to you, I think my son just needs a good talkin' to. Thank ya for lettin' me know about it. An' I'll find out who else was--" "Actually, Becky--" They both stopped for a second, cutting into each other's words. Kval took the reigns. "Becky...there's something else you need to know. My little story was just...me stalling. I don't know how else to tell you this, so I'll just say it." The rabbit sat up straight, his ears at attention. He gained back much of the fervor that fatigue had been sapped from him in order to follow through with his words. "Danny was sexually assaulted."

"Can I ask you something?" Lyza's feet swung to and fro, her heel hitting the base of the skeletal frame. "Hm?" "You were the one playing the flute the other day, right?" "Yeah. I even played it during the campfire just now. Weren't you there?" Danny shook his head. "I was with mom. We had to miss this one. I'm sorry I didn't get to hear you... I liked listening to it before, though." "Thanks," she said. "It's still kind of embarrassing that you guys heard, though."

The mother was frozen. The little bit of light on the surface of her eyes wiggled just barely. Her fist curled. And curled. And curled. The veins in her right arm began to pop out from beneath her thin fur. "Please. Tell me ya jokin'." "I'm sorry," Kval admitted. "I want to say it's a lie, but the way Danny told me--" A tear beaded and fell from her left eye. Then one from her right. Another. Another. The tears melded into a small stream. The table jerked as Becky departed from it. "No, wait!" Kval tried to stop her, grasping the light as he followed her to the kids. As he approached, the mom had her hands on the son's shoulders and looked him square in the eyes. "Whoat did you do?" She spoke deliberately. "Whoat were you thi--" "Becky!" Kval snapped sharply. Lyza ran to her brother, standing half-beside, half-behind him. The mom looked at them more like a snake than a koala. "What?" She hissed. "Look at him." The brother stated, raising the light in his hands. Combined with the light sitting on the platform beside the boy, the mother could see her son's face as if they were in the clear of day. A thunderclap pounded in the distance. The look of terror in the child's eyes. The way his mouth was frozen like an up-turned 'D'. The tears that began to match his mothers'. "He needs your support." Kval pointed out softly. His mother's grip relaxed, and then he felt warm. Warm in her embrace. The cold, fallen night abated as he buried his face into his mom's shoulder, encouraged by the hand that stroked the back of his head. Lyza looked away, allowing them a semblance of privacy. She reached out to her brother and hooked her hand around his calf. He was shaking. Eventually, Becky looked up at the older rabbit and asked, "What should I do?" Kval lowered his gaze. "I'm not professionally qualified to tell you that." He glanced down at his sister. "One day I hope to be. But..." he looked back to the koalas, who were both focused on him. "Danny?" "Y..." The boy sniffled. "Yeah?" "I told your mother what you told me. About how you got the drugs. But you need to tell her exactly what happened, okay?" The boy curled his lower lip into his mouth, the nostrils on his large, black nose flaring apprehensively. Still, he nodded. "You need to tell her so she can tell the police. The person you got the drugs from...they need to be put in jail. Otherwise they could do what they did to you to someone else. Okay?" Again, the boy nodded. Kval nodded, too. "Okay." He looked at the mom. "Now it's up to you." Gently, she coaxed her boy to stand. She then took the few steps that distanced her and the Big Bad Brother rabbit. Timidly, she embraced him. "Thank you." She spoke with a quiver. "Don't thank me," he replied. "Just give Danny whatever he needs." She took in a deep, shaken breath. In silence, the four of them headed toward the entrance to the campsite. The younger sister took the light from the platform with her. As if this was a normal visit, the rabbit siblings said goodnight to the koala family. The kids waved at each other, a smile returning to Danny's timid lips. After their black forms melded with the shadows and their light became a distant glow, Kval fell onto the bench and slumped forward. His ordeal was over. The burden lifted. As he mentally loosened himself from that strain, he slowly looked up and opened his eyes. There, standing just in front of him and looking directly at him, was his sister. She rested a hand upon his knee, and spoke more softly than she ever had before. "Bad stuff happened to Danny, huh?" "Don't worry about it, sis. With his mom's help, he'll be just fine." Even as he said those words with as much truth as he could, he believed none of it. Recalling that--hallucination?--he had, as the boy emptied his eyes the night before, the rabbit couldn't help but feel like the odds were against Danny. "If she's anything like you, he will." She said with a smile. "Just like me." His spine turned into ice. The weariness began to return as he felt the weight of his own burden pulling him. Calling him downward. "Lyza--" She moved to the bench, clambering atop the seat. Facing him, kneeling, she placed her hands upon her knees. "Tell me about my flower," she requested, relaxing her forehead to allow the fleur de leis on her brow to bloom. He smiled, betraying his insides. "What do you mean? I already told you a long time ago." "Tell me again," she pleaded softly. He chuckled. "All right..." He swiveled to face her. "Long ago, before you were delivered to mom and dad and me, the Great Long-Eared One put a special mark on your forehead. It's a promise that you'll go back to Ever-Ever Meadows some day." The brother smiled at the sister, and the sister smiled at the brother. But then...the sister's smile wilted. "What are you not a professional at?" She questioned, as the rain began to fall around them. Kval felt a drop of water land on his scalp. He made no effort to wipe it away. For a moment they watched the rain fall, some of the light from their lantern sparkling off several dozen drops nearby. "I hope the tent is closed." "I closed it." She replied, a little proud of her forethought. "When I was done showing my targets to Danny." He tousled her head. "Smart kid." A soft thunderclap pounded up above. The raindrops began to grow, and the metal roof above their heads began to plunk and plink and bloonk in a natural dissonance that transcended into harmony. "I'm going to miss it, here." The sister said softly. The brother remained silent; a trail of water traveled from his scalp, between his eyes, down the left side of his lips, and slowly fell from his chin onto his hand. Finally, as if he just heard her; "We could stay longer if you want." She shook her head. "Mom and dad come home tomorrow. If they get home and we're not there, they'll freak." "I left a note." "They'll still freak." "They left us a note and we didn't freak." The sister looked at the brother flatly. "They'll still freak." He chuckled. "They'll still freak." He finally agreed. He wiped his hand on his jeans. "I hope...you feel like you've gotten good at something." "I have." She stated, curling her fingers. "Now you can go to school and when Ms. Hupp asks, 'So what did you all do for Spring Break?', you can raise your hand..." "Yeah." She said plainly, letting the scenario drift away. "I'll bet Rini will be impressed. You can rub it in a little extra, too. Talk about how you did a solo in front of the whole campsite and everyone sang along." "Yeah." She shifted, her left leg getting pins and needles. "When are we going to leave tomorrow?" He took in a deep breath, letting it go on the first word. "Oh... right after breakfast, I guess." Patting his knees he made sure, "S'that okay with you?" She nodded. The siblings waited for another half-hour at the tables. They listened to the rain and the occasional bouts of thunder as the storm threw a tantrum somewhere over the hills. Their light source slowly faded as its battery drained, until the glow gave them the appearance of half-existent ghosts, haunting the pavilion.

I wish you would have taken the chance... to solve your problems here, too.