Carol landed in the cleared area as she turned off the engines and opened the doors.
Everyone disembarked from the ship and looked around with curiosity.
Sassy let out a loud roar that was answered by other roars from the jungle, causing Sassy to sprint quickly into the jungle.
"Where are we?" Jane asked Damian, looking at him in confusion.
Erik and Darcy stared at Damian intently, wanting to know the answer. They hadn't dared to ask, wondering if it was some sort of secret Madripoor base.
"In this place lives an ancient, advanced civilization predating all known history. The habitat has remained intact, so there are all kinds of prehistoric creatures," Damian explained in simple words.
"Daddy, let's explore the surroundings," Ivy said, taking her father's hand and pulling him along with her sisters.
Damian complied with a smile and let them lead him wherever they wanted.
Seeing Damian in the distance with his daughters, Carol was left speechless. She was holding the disassembled tent in her hands, and he was supposed to set it up.
"I guess we'll do it ourselves, how hard can it be?" Carol said nonchalantly as she walked toward the lake and stopped about 10 meters away before dropping the bag and starting to unpack the items.
"Don't wander too far. I heard there are many prehistoric predators here, like dinosaurs or saber-toothed cats," Sophia said, watching Darcy wandering a few meters away.
Natasha and Ophelia approached Carol and helped her set up the tent while following the instructions.
Ana approached the lake and dipped her feet in the water as she gazed curiously into the depths.
"Daddy, look!" Alice exclaimed with excitement, pointing to some small dinosaurs grazing among the trees.
"Do you want to go touch one?" Damian asked, smiling.
"Yes," Alice nodded cutely.
"Go ahead," Damian said, patting Alice on the back to encourage her.
At the same time, Damian used his powers to keep the dinosaurs calm and unafraid.
Alice approached and gently stroked the rough skin of the dinosaur, her face lit up with a big smile.
The dinosaur made a guttural sound as if enjoying the petting.
"Where's a T. rex?" Ivy asked, looking into the distance.
"We can look for one later," Damian chuckled slightly while ruffling Ivy's hair.
Emma also approached the small dinosaurs with curiosity, though she wasn't as interested.
"Let's go deeper," Ivy exclaimed, tugging at Damian's hand excitedly.
Damian called for Alice and Emma before they all walked deeper into the jungle together.
They saw all sorts of strange plants, along with large insects and small mammals that occasionally scurried ahead of them.
The four of them walked for a few minutes until they spotted a small herd of triceratops grazing a few meters away.
The herd included some triceratops calves that looked incredibly adorable. His daughters looked at him, and he understood what they wanted, so he nodded before they ran toward the herd.
Damian had already calmed them down and made them friendly.
The girls approached the young triceratops and played with them.
Alice laughed as she scratched one of them under the chin, and it lifted its head to give her more space to scratch.
Ivy, who was more mischievous, climbed onto one of them, and the little calf ran while bouncing happily.
Emma was more interested in the adult triceratops and approached them, gently touching their horns with curiosity.
The three girls played for several minutes until Damian called them.
"Let's go back, you can play again later," Damian said, smiling at his daughters.
The three of them nodded happily before climbing into their father's arms and waving goodbye to the triceratops.
The herd made farewell sounds before returning to their grazing.
Damian led his three daughters back to the camp, happy to see their smiles.
By the time they arrived, several tents were set up around a circle of stones where a campfire would be.
"It looks nice," Damian said, approaching with his daughters.
"You could have helped," Carol jokingly complained.
"Son, can you bring out the chairs from the ship?" Sophia asked, looking at Damian with a smile.
Damian nodded before walking to the ship and pulling various necessary items from his dimensional pocket, such as tables and chairs.
Damian carried everything back and forth, gradually setting up and arranging the camp to look inviting.
With everything in order, Damian grabbed a drink and leaned back in one of the chairs, gazing out at the lake.
Ana, wearing shorts, was playing with the girls in the water. The sun's reflection on the water created a beautiful scene.
Ana, as if sensing his gaze, looked back at him and gave him a beautiful smile before returning to play with the girls.
Alice started splashing water gently at Ivy, laughing playfully.
Ivy didn't hold back either, and soon a water fight began. Both girls were soaked but had smiles on their faces.
Emma played with the water at her feet, staying close to Ana, who smiled at her and ruffled her hair.
At that moment, Alice and Ivy approached Emma, and they playfully pushed her to join them.
"Come on, Emma, let's see what's at the bottom of the lake," Alice said, pushing Emma from behind.
"Maybe we'll find treasure," Ivy added, tugging Emma's hand.
"Only go with your father," Ana said from behind before Emma could speak.
The girls nodded before running to Damian, who was sitting at the water's edge.
Damian, who had been watching them as he reclined, smiled as he saw them coming and got up from his chair.
"What's up?" Damian asked, smiling at them.
"Daddy, can you come to dive with us at the bottom of the lake?" Alice asked, grinning.
"Of course, sweetie," Damian said, kissing Alice's little cheeks before standing up and instantly changing his clothes, leaving only his swim trunks.
Once ready, Damian walked into the lake with his daughters.
Darcy, who was with Jane and Monica on the side, couldn't help but let out a low whistle as she looked at Damian.
"Hey!" Monica and Jane said simultaneously before looking at each other and laughing.
Damian reached the water with his daughters before approaching Ana.
Ana embraced Damian with a smile, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Mommy," the girls whined, seeing their mother monopolize their father at that moment.
"Don't make faces, or you'll look ugly," Ana said, pinching and gently moving Alice's cheeks as she laughed softly.
Alice cutely tried to bite Ana's hands to make her let go.
"Alright, go ahead and have a good time," Ana said, chuckling softly before releasing Alice, kissing Damian, and leaving the water.
Alice pouted and only stopped when Emma and Ivy took her by the hand and led her deeper into the water.
The four of them submerged and gazed at the bottom along with all kinds of fish they had never seen before.
Going deeper, unexpectedly, it didn't get darker. They found several phosphorescent plants that softly illuminated the surroundings.
Small fish swam among the plants, creating a truly fascinating and beautiful scene.
Damian led his daughters around various spots in the lake until he deemed it enough and signaled for them to come out.
As they resurfaced, they realized they were in the middle of the lake, so they began to swim slowly toward the shore.
Emma was the last one out of the water and couldn't help but look at the lake a bit longer. She only stopped when her father spoke to her.
"Did you like the bottom?" Damian asked his daughters once they reached the shore.
"Yes, it was very beautiful. Everything is so different from what we've seen before," Emma said, smiling.
"Everything in this place is different. I'm sure you'll be able to explore it little by little," Damian said, smiling at them.
"How about we go get something to eat?" Damian suggested.
"Let's go," the three girls said, smiling at him.
When they joined the others, everyone was seated and chatting. Darcy seemed to be recounting embarrassing things about Jane, who looked both embarrassed and annoyed.
Seeing them approach, Ana stood up and grabbed some towels from the tents, handing one to each person.
Ana wrapped the three little girls in towels before sitting them at the table with the others.
"Won't you help me dry off?" Damian flirted with Ana in a low voice.
"Maybe we should take off those shorts to dry you off completely," Ana whispered in a slow voice into his ear.
Damian chuckled softly, embracing Ana as they walked together to the table.
Darcy's eyes couldn't help but occasionally wander to Damian's broad and muscular chest as she got distracted.
Erik felt a bit uncomfortable with the family atmosphere and engaged in conversation with Jane, crafting theories about how such a place could be possible.
At that moment, heavy footsteps were heard from the jungle, capturing everyone's attention. Suddenly, Sassy emerged with what looked like a giant bird in its mouth, blood dripping from it. Sassy also seemed to have some wounds on its shoulders.
Damian quickly censored the blood and changed the shape of the dead bird in the eyes of his daughters, in his opinion three year old girls should not come into contact with such things.
Sassy approached and placed the large bird on the table before sitting back on its hind legs and softly growling, its tail swaying from side to side.
"You brought me this?" Carol asked, laughing as she looked at Sassy.
Sassy let out a couple of roars before thumping the ground with its paw.
"Alright, alright, I'll cook it for you," Carol said, laughing, thinking that this would count as her forfeit for losing the race.
Sassy grumbled in agreement as it licked its paw and tried to clean the blood off.
Darcy and Erik tried to see if the others had a strange expression seeing her talking to a tiger, but they only saw everyone smiling as if they understood.
Carol lifted the bird off the table before carrying it to the center, where the campfire was set up.
Using her energy, she quickly plucked off all the feathers before looking at Damian.
"Can you help me?" Carol asked, smiling at him.
"Sure," Damian nodded, quickly conjuring a large structure and handing Carol a big metal skewer.
Carol impaled the bird on the metal skewer before placing it on the structure Damian had created.
This way, the bird could rotate over the fire and cook thoroughly.
Carol approached Damian and whispered something to him. Damian only smiled faintly before nodding and doing what Carol asked.
Carol began to sprinkle large amounts of salt and spices before giving Damian a sidelong glance.
Damian secretly activated his magic circle before causing the salt and spices to spread evenly all over the bird, ensuring it would be flavorful.
Seeing Damian's look, Carol smiled happily before lighting the fire and starting to roast the bird.
Soon, a delicious aroma wafted through the air, causing everyone to salivate unconsciously.
"Mama, is it ready?" Alice asked, watching the meat intently as it turned.
"Not yet, sweetheart. It still needs some time to cook on the inside," Carol said, rotating the meat.
Alice groaned in frustration and pouted.
"Let's play cards," Damian suggested, smiling as he pulled out a pack of Uno cards and placed them on the table.
"Alright!" Alice said cheerfully, getting distracted from the enticing smell.
"Anyone else wants to play?" Damian asked the others as he shuffled the cards.
"Oh, I do," Darcy said, smiling.
Jane and Monica also joined in, indicating that they wanted to play.
"I think I'll play with my baby," Ana said, placing Emma on her lap, hugging her, and kissing her on the cheek.
Emma giggled cutely as she took the cards Damian had dealt and looked at them carefully, making sure no one saw.
Ophelia, seeing this, also held Ivy in her arms, but Ivy wasn't as pleased. She wanted to play by herself and win on her own.
Alice was the only one with a big smile since she was playing solo, her cards spread out in front of her as she looked from side to side at the others.
As there were already many players, Natasha and Maria didn't join in; they sat beside Carol, taking turns to turn the meat while having drinks and chatting.
Emma played, her eyes shining slightly, and she smiled softly as she looked at her cards.
Emma always seemed to know which card would be on the table or which card she would draw from the deck. She made sure to use this information to her advantage.
Damian, who wasn't using any special abilities, chuckled softly when he saw Emma with just one card in her hand and an almost mischievous smile.
Finally, Emma managed to win, prompting complaints from Alice and Ivy. They vowed never to play those kinds of games with Emma again.
Finally, the meat was ready, and Carol took out a large knife, skillfully cutting the meat into equal pieces and distributing them.
"Mmm, it's delicious, much better than what we used to cook when we were young," Maria exclaimed, widening her eyes in delight as she savored the taste.
"It's yummy, Mommy," Alice said, her mouth full of meat grease.
Silence fell over the table as everyone enjoyed the meat, Perhaps because of the sudden silence, several dinosaurs approached to drink water, even though they were considerably far away, it was still pleasant for everyone to eat while watching all kinds of animals.
Finally, when Carol finished eating, she looked at everyone and spoke.
"By the way, what kind of animal was that?" Carol asked.
"I don't know, tasted like chicken," Jane said, licking her fingers.
"Well, let's take a walk," Monica said, standing up excitedly before pushing Jane and Darcy to see if they could find something interesting.
"Daddy," Emma said softly, capturing Damian's attention and partially that of the others.
Damian looked at Emma, surprised to see her eyes shining intensely, with stars that seem to rotate inside, giving the impression that there was a universe inside their eyes.
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