The environment was both chill and warm, the fire crackling softly as the group settled into a more relaxed mood. The tension from earlier had started to fade, replaced by an odd sense of camaraderie.
Then, out of nowhere, Sam grinned and announced, "Look what I found!" Before anyone could react, he casually pulled a frog out of his pants.
The group erupted into chaos.
"WHY—SAM!?" Chingla practically fell over.
Ori scooted backward at lightning speed. "WHY WAS IT IN YOUR PANTS!?"
Shon's face twisted in horror. "How long has it been in there!?"
Jangla, completely unfazed, leaned in with interest. "Wait... is it edible?"
Roslin gagged. "Please tell me it's not alive."
Tsunami, completely indifferent, tilted her head. "Where did you even find this little guy?"
Sam, completely unbothered, held the frog up proudly. "Saw it hopping around on my way back, so I thought I'd check it out. Turns out, it's a frog. My new friend!"
The frog croaked loudly in protest, as if begging to be freed from this madness.
Ori buried her face in her hands. "I can't believe I share the same oxygen as this man."
Then, Ori demanding said to throw that thing away.
Sam asked "why, this little frog is cute".
"Sam... that thing is no frog. It's a damn toad." Ori said.
Sam blinked. "Ok? What's the difference? Same same, but different." He shrugged. "No money on honey."
The group collectively groaned. "What does that even mean?! "
Sam waved them off. "It looks like a frog to me, so it's a frog."
Toping shook his head. "That thing's a cane toad. It's poisonous if you lick it."
Sam, without a word, quickly tossed the toad behind him after hearing that.
Flower raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you say that was your new friend?"
Sam shrugged. "Yeah, but it was a toxic friend. Better to stay away from those kinds."
He then turned to the group and asked, "Anyway, why are you guys here? Are you here to witness the rare event too?"
The group blinked, confused. "The rare event?"
"Oh, the rare event!" Toping grinned. "Yeah, we're here to witness it tomorrow morning. It's gonna be so fun!"
Sam smiled. "It's such a surprise that both my old mates and current mates are here together."
Shon laughed. "Yeah, it's a big surprise for us too."
Toping added, "The event will be tomorrow morning. It's gonna be amazing!"
Shon nodded eagerly. "I can't wait to have fun."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "We can have fun today too."
The group looked at him, curious. "How?"
"We can play smash the watermelon!" Sam said, grinning.
Jangla tilted her head. "This is not a beach to play 'smash the watermelon'."
Shon added, "We don't even have a watermelon to begin with."
Sam smirked. "We have shopping heads as a replacement."
Toping screamed, "Why should I be the replacement?! and you got my name wrong its Toping, not Shopping!"
"Don't fuss over small things, popping." Sam said, getting his name wrong again.
Toping fumed, "You haven't changed a bit in these three years!"
"Thanks for the compliment," Sam said with a smirk.
"That's not a compliment!" everyone said in unison.
"What should we play then?" Sam asked.
"How about we play hide and seek?" Chingla said.
"Nah, you'll win every time because you're too small to find. Let's play something else," Sam answered.
Chingla nodded, "Say true."
Jangla chuckled, "Aren't you the one who tried to hide behind her when my mom was entering the room?"
Chingla, then got another idea. "How about we play Ice Water?"
Everyone's eyes lit up, filled with nostalgia when they heard the name "Ice Water". A game each of them played in their own childhood.