Chapter Sixty-Six

The boys met at the park a few minutes later. River and Phoenix were swinging lazily on the swings, their feet dragging the ground and kicking small clouds of dirt and dust with each pass.

“Hey,” Jaxsen greeted.

The twins smiled, River waved. “Hey, guys,” Phoenix said, hopping off the swings.

“Are you okay, Basil?” River signed, a concerned look in his eyes.

Jaxsen translated and Basil looked back to River. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a hard day, you know?”

River read lips well, therefore did not need either Jaxsen or his brother to sign Basil’s answer. He nodded and patted Basil on the back.

“So what are we doing now?” Phoenix asked as they made their way to the empty pic-nick table.

“I don’t know. It’ll be dark soon,” Jaxsen pointed out. The sun was already beginning to dip behind the trees.

“Yeah,” Phoenix answered. “I wonder if they’ll be done fighting when we get back home.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed.