The deluge outside was pretty bad. Apparently there was a thunderstorm headed this way. The giants had prepared and done what they could, moving their supplies deeper into the cave and restocking on food. Eric was sitting— cowering— in a hole in the floor of the cave entrance he'd been given claim to as a temporary spot— something about making sure he wasn't stupid enough to go out by himself in the rain again... at least, that was Eric's best guess— which being in the opening chamber meant the wind could grasp at him and ruffle his hair and clothes. He tried to peek out, but he wasn't tall enough and could see nothing, only hear the pelting rain and the growling thunder as the storm roared louder and louder.

Then the wind shifted, and its angle berated Eric with delight as thunder cackled. He shivered and curled up at the bottom, trying to keep away and stay warm. He could just barely hear the giants' voices echoing distantly deeper in the earth, Marvin's most of all. Eric shivered and closed his eyes, wondering about his dad. Was he okay? Was he scared, like Eric was? Had he given up on his son by now?

"Oh shit!" There was a thunder of footsteps, startling Eric to open his eyes as Chase's looming face shadowed him. "I'm so sorry Eric, I thought you'd be out of the rain until we were done moving everything!" The giant reached in with his hand and carefully tilted it, pushing Eric halfway onto his fingers. Relieved, the human gratefully climbed on the rest of the way, curling up on his side and soaking up the emitting body heat as he was lifted out. "I should have accounted for the wind," Chase continued apologetically. As if to prove his point, a strong gale blasted them with raindrops, so much so that Eric almost fell if not for the fingers that curled around his body.

"Here, come on little dude." Chase cupped the damp human safely against his chest and hurried out of the reaches of the growing storm. As lightning flashed, enlarging his shadow and stretching it down the tunnel all the way to Henrik's office, Jackie came bounding up to meet him halfway.

"Is he okay?" Jackie asked over the howl of the deluge.

"He's fine! Just a little wet." They both hurried as far in as the cave system went, down to the storage chamber where the others were huddled up together. Schneeplestein had his coat over him like a blanket, which Robbie was stealing partially as he snuggled the doctor uncomfortably close, his head buried in his shoulder. JJ kept fiddling with his moustache and glancing upward, as if he expected the ceiling to cave in and a torrent of water to come rushing in like a great flood. Marvin was seated calmly amongst their most important supplies, thumbing silently through his dusty old book as he ignored the storm outside. He did look up however to watch Chase and Jackie come in.

"We're all good!" Jackie said cheerfully. He plopped down beside Robbie and JJ, and he crossed his legs and idly wiggled his feet. Both giants on either side of him jumped at a rumble of thunder, and JJ promptly clutched Jackie's arm whilst making broken gestures to express embarrassment. Jackie yelped before he let out a small laugh. "It's okay JJ, you got nothin' to apologize for!" He reassured. JJ gratefully scooted closer, poking the superhero's shoulder with his moustache in an appreciative nuzzle.

Chase kept his eyes on Eric as he sat beside Henrik. He caught a dry glance from the doctor, but he ignored it as he pulled his knees up close to his chest and kept his hands mostly cupped against his thorax. Eric's head poked from between his fingers, but then there was a crackle of thunder before a great boom barked through the tunnels, and he cried out and ducked back down into the safety of the giant's hands. Chase frowned and closed his fingers.

"It's okay little dude... You're okay. The storm can't hurt you. It's gonna have to get through us first." Eric huddled up in the small space, finding infinitely more comfort in the giant's warm hands than out there with the cold rain and stone and... Well, he could confess privately that he still had reservations about some of the other giants. Schneeplestein was rather scary, and Marvin... Who knew what went on in the magician's head?

Not to mention the one he had yet to see for himself, the "Anti" mystery that everyone pretended not to talk about.

Another boom of thunder struck the world, snarling so violently that there was a distinct vibration. Even Marvin winced slightly, and the others quailed uneasily as someone muffledly cried out in fright. Chase shifted his thumbs to peer at the source of the cry, seeing Eric curled up in a tight ball as he quivered in his hands. The thunder crackled again, as loud as a titan smashing their fists into the very core of the planet. Chase watched with empathy as Eric quietly cried out again with a flinch, putting his head under his arms in a feeble attempt to shield himself from the intangible threat.

"H-hey... It's okay—" When Chase tried to reassuringly rub his thumb along the human's spine, Eric cowered from the touch and curled up even more. Chase hesitated, and then he tried again. Eric flinched, but he had no where to go. A stifled whimper escaped his throat as Chase gently shushed him, rubbing his thumbpad up and down his tense back. The thunder rumbled outside, making Eric seize up again, but Chase calmly kept massaging the tightly knotted little muscles.

"The storm can't get us down here," Chase coaxed in a soft voice, "We're all okay."

"Unless zere iz a flood," Henrik suddenly muttered, "In vhich case nobody vill be around to pay my taxes." Eric let out a horrified noise, while Chase deadpanned at the doctor.

"What taxes?" Marvin let out a loud sigh and closed his book with an equally loud thud, making Eric jump again.

"If I recall, Schneeplestein, you still owe me for getting you out of that tree," the magician reminded.

"It vas a copse of tree branches! And I did not vant to rip my coat," the doctor protested.

"Oh yeah," Jackie piped up, "There was also that time ye ran away from a flock of geese. I wasted an hour of my life making those birds migrate early for ya."

"Zey ahr vicious animals! Zey rhyme with knees for a reason! To peck ze bones out of your legs!" Marvin rolled his eyes and flipped to a different chapter; Jackie shook his head, trying to come to a sensible conclusion as he ruffled his poofy bangs.

"Teeeechnically, geese and knees don't actually--"

"Silence!" Henrik adjusted his glasses with a bitchy determination. "I kill you."

"Go ahead! I've fought off loads of baddies, not even Ant--" JJ was quick to put his hand over Jackie's mouth, stopping the superhero from finishing his cocky sentence. Robbie growled uneasily, snuggling Henrik a little more tightly.

"[Are you trying to summon him?]" JJ signed with neurotic hands.

"No," Jackie sighed, pouting a little. Chase sighed, having moved Eric against his breastbone. He could still feel the little guy trembling, his little heart racing as he coldly sweated. The bro frowned, racking his own unsettled noggin for a way to calm down Eric— and to distract the others.

"... Hey guys, I've got an idea!" He suggested with sudden enthusiasm. The others all looked over curiously, and even Eric faltered in his trembling. Encouraged by the attention, Chase reached over to the nearest supply crate and pulled out a handful of his teabags. "Trick shots!" He declared.

"Nein!!!"

"[Trick shots? Are you maudlin again, or vandyking your way through another katzenjammer? I thought we got rid of all the nippitaty!]" Simply put, JJ looked so surprised and yet so not; Robbie was dozing lightly against Schneep's shoulder, frowning and snuggling the doctor's arm even tighter with every grumble from the storm.

"Chaaase, noooo!" Jackie whined, "I'm so bad at aiming!"

"Really, Chase?" The magician regarded him over the faded lip of the book's cover. "You want to pop-shot your way through a tempestuous storm, with the supplies that are crucial to our survival, and out of all the times to--" His cynicism faltered, his frown slacking with realization. His eyes flickered momentarily over the bro's occupied hand, and then he slowly nodded. "Excellent idea." His book snapped shut, releasing a puff of dust that made the magician immediately cough as he waved it away. Chase blinked. So did the others as they stared at the masked giant with surprise.

"R-really? I mean—" he quickly recovered himself, putting on that big grin, "— I mean of course it is! I just- I didn't expect you of all people to agree— n-no offense, Marv." Marvin inclined his head in a conceding bob.

"None taken," he replied coolly.

"Wh-wh-what are... Tri-trick shots...?" Chase beamed down at Eric. The young human had hesitated in his crying, currently only flinching as the thunder rumbled outside.

"Oh-ho-ho. You are gonna love it little dude!" He used the back of his pinkie to wipe away a tear he'd noticed dribbling down Eric's cheek; he shied away a little, but Chase definitely had his attention now. "Marv, if you will?" He removed his prized hat and tossed it like a frisbee; but before it could hit the ground, a green aura surrounded it, and it froze midair. Eric's eyes grew wide. He heard a pleased noise from Jackie as the superhero failed to contain his excitement.

Marvin's hand was outstretched and glowing the same color as he turned it, and the hat in conjunction turned upside down, exposing its ruby underside. He lowered his hand, and the hat gently rested on the floor in a bearing familiar to Eric. Jackie let out a little giggle and lightly clapped his hands.

"Never gets old!" He declared. Marvin ducked his head a little as he took an interest in the black polish on his nails, but Chase knew the magician was feeling lionized. He grinned and moved Eric to his left shoulder.

"See, the goal is to get the teabag in the hat..." As Chase explained the basic rules, Jackie was loading up on ammunition. Henrik tried to decline, but he quickly found himself with a handful of teabags, while Marvin was sweeping away any stray dust so that the failed shots would be reusable for safe consumption. It was a simple concept, yet Chase spoke with such enthusiasm that even Eric was perking up a little with nervous eager.

"Jackie, you wanna go first and demonstrate?" The superhero beamed.

"Hell yeah, watch this!" Jackie wound up and tossed— the bag missed by a mile.

"Ha!" Henrik scoffed, "You vere suppose to hit ze hat, not ze vall!"

"Oh yeah?" With a sly grin, Jackie chucked another teabag and hit the doctor square on the forehead. He let out an overly dramatic scream as he bowled over, leaving Robbie very puzzled and Jackie guffawing while Schneeplestein rolled on the floor.

"Dah, my beautiful face!!! How dare you!?!?"

"Hey, I didn't hitcha in the specs doc!"

"As amusing as it is to watch Schneep squirm, I do believe hitting your teammates is against the rules."

"Yer right Marv. Try the hat again, Jackie."

"Aww, fine. But teasing my friends is part of my duty as a superhero, keeps 'em on their toes." The second toss was a little closer, but it still rebounded off the wall— this time almost hitting JJ. Luckily for them, the mute had nimble hands, and once shock had worn off he passed the bruised bag back to its rightful owner.

"... Maybe somebody else take a shot," Jackie decided. The others chuckled in agreement.

"Eric, you wanna try now?" Eric winced at a rumble of thunder and shrugged uneasily. He didn't miss Jackie's surprised echo of "Eric? That's his name?" followed by the doctor's muttered "Apparently"; he flushed red and wrung his foulard.

"I... I-I mean- I-I guess-I guess so?" He peeked over Chase's hand. It was a long drop, even with the giant sitting, and the hat was so far away... How would he even toss a teabag?

"Come on, we can do it together— teamwork!" Chase was smiling encouragingly as he handed a bag over to the little human. Eric immediately almost dropped it, but he managed to keep his arms around his ammunition. Though he let out a breathless grunt as he fought to maintain his grip.

"Come on Eric!" Jackie had recovered and was now cheering in a low voice. "You've got this!" He whisper-shouted. JJ offered a double thumbs up with a bright smile, and even Robbie was paying attention. Eric began to sweat nervously as Chase shifted closer to the hat.

"Here, to make it fair for ya." He held his hand a reasonable distance above the hat. Eric peeked between the pale trunks of his fingers: the familiar ruby insides of the snapback stared up at him, geometric pattern bestowing the same calming sentiment as each time he had been placed under its roof of comfort. With a nervous swallow, Eric reminded himself to breathe, like Chase always did, and then he summoned what strength he had and heaved the tea bag. It fell... And it landed right next to the cap. Eric deflated.

"Oh," he sighed, not expecting any different.

"That's okay!" Chase, to Eric's confounded relief, only smiled and picked it up. "You'll get it, little dude, I believe in you!" The young man turned red as he took the teabag— he was getting that warm sick feeling again— and peered down at the long drop below. The hat sat there, waiting with its gaping maw, eager to catch his ammunition. Eric shivered nervously, took a breath, and then he threw it.

It landed on the rim. The cap wobbled as the bag fell inside, landing in its ruby embrace. Eric barely had enough time to process the success before everything went blurry, as Chase was jumping to his feet and cheering.

"OHHHHH!!! OHHHHHHH!" He whooped, doing a couple of small hops as he held a dizzy Eric to his chest. "You did it!!!!!" He shouted ecstatically, while the others laughed and even clapped a little. The shock wore off, and Eric found himself giggling as Chase spun him around.

"I-I, I did! I did it!" He gasped, then he groaned and buried his face in the giant's shirt. "Ohh... Dizzy...!"

"Oop, sorry!" Chase settled down and smiled at little Eric. "But ya did it! And on the second try too!"

"I-I missed the-the first though..."

"That's okay! What matters is that you made it in— it takes me sixteen tries usually!"

"I mean, ye also did way better than me," Jackie chipped in, and then after a second he added with a soft smile, "Eric." Eric flushed red and cast his eyes down, still finding it a little weird to hear his name on any tongue other than Derek's...

"Vell, you did not assult me vith a tea bag, so zhat is something," Henrik grumbled, shooting Jackie a look. The superhero only snickered.

"Don't be so mordacious, doc~!"

"I do not need your sass, Jackie!!!"

"Yer all better at it than me," Chase chuckled. Eric frowned.

"N-no, I-I don't think that's true...!"

"Really? Watch this." Chase moved back until he was a good distance from the hat again; picking up a tea bag he aimed and then tossed, quickly turning his head away in expected resignation. But as Eric watched the teabag sail through the air, it's path of flight suddenly jerked, and it shot out of orbit and went straight into the cap.

The others exclaimed in shock. "Chase, ya made it!" Jackie cheered. Chase looked up and blinked in surprise.

"I... I did? ... I-I mean, heck yeah, I did!" The giant perked up as his cheeky grin found its way back over his face. "And I didn't even look!" He crowed playfully. They laughed and clammored humorously, but a glint of green caught Eric's eye. He peeked past Chase's thumb and spotted the last of fading magic around Marvin's hand, which was tucked behind his cloak. The human tensed nervously when those veiled ice-blue eyes landed on him, and the magician's mouth curled slightly around the edges before he subtly put a finger to his lips. Eric blinked and looked at the others: no one else seemed to have noticed, and Chase looked so happy...

The magician was already turning away and going back to his book. Eric decided to abide by the little secret, and so he smiled a little and sat back, listening to Chase chatter. He closed his eyes and let out a little sigh, his worries about the storm fading like the clouds aboveground.

Maybe... If he messed up with his dad... Then maybe, just maybe...

This could be his second try.