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Chapter 126: Santino’s Survival School Part 1
“Let’s go, mommy, let’s go,” Olivia said, tugging on Serena’s arm. Oliver and Santino were already walking ahead, and Olivia
was impatient to catch up. “We’re going,” Serena said with a chuckle.
“We are falling behind!” Olivia said with a dramatic wail.
“You can go and catch up,” Serena said. She pushed Olivia forward. Olivia ran off to catch up with her twin and uncle.
Santino had dropped by at their house for a visit. He said he had a special game planned for the kids. Serena couldn’t say no.
She wanted to see what it was that Santino had planned, and she wanted the kids to have the chance to get out and play in the
woods.
They were heading into the woods near her house. Despite not being a pack member, Santino seemed to know his way around.
He’d helped with some of the rogues, which meant traversing Night Sky territory. “Where are you taking us, Santino?” Olivia
asked. “It isn’t that much further,” he assured. “Where are we going?” Serena asked, picking up the pace so she could catch up
to her brother and her kids.
“There’s a place nearby with a stream,” he said. “I thought it was time to teach the kids some of their base survival skills. They do
have a rich heritage of surviving in the wilds.”
Serena chuckled and nodded. It was true, most wolves learned basic survival skills from a young age. “That sounds good to me,”
Serena said. They made it to the stream. The trees parted slightly so there was plenty of underbrush around the stream and
across the forest floor. The sun was shining brightly, and it was a good day to be out in the woods. Serena recognized the area
as where she’d almost encountered Logan in her wolf form. Santino took his backpack off. He set it down on the ground.
“Alright, kiddos, open the pack and see what is inside,” Santino said. The kids dove at the bag and started tearing it open.
Santino laughed and Serena stood beside him, looping her arm through his. “How intense are you going to get with this?” she
asked, knowing her brother could take things over the top a lot. “Don’t worry” Santino said. “Nothing too adventurous or
dangerous, at least not today,” he assured. Serena rolled her eyes, not believing it.
“There’s just two little knives in here,” Olivia said after the twins had torn the backpack apart
Olivia picked the purple knife and Oliver was happy to have the red one. Serena raised an eyebrow at her brother. Giving kids
knives wasn’t exactly what she had in mind for a tame, safe survival day.
“Knives?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Don’t worry, they meet all the safety requirements,” Santino teased. “They have a
catch so they won’t close on anyone’s fingers, and they have a release to open.” Santino dropped down on one knee to show the
twins how the knives worked. “The blades are sharp,” he warned. “Don’t ever touch those with your fingers. Practice opening and
closing them.” While the twins played with their knives, Santino stood beside Serena again. He reached into his pocket and
pulled out a full-sized pocket knife for her. Serena recognized it as the one her father had given to her when he was teaching her
the same survival skills. “Oh, memory lane,” she said with a chuckle. “I still have mine too,” Santino said, pulling his out of his
other pocket. Serena had carved her name into the knife handle. Santino kept his polished and in pristine condition. Serena
rolled her eyes at her brother.
“I got it,” Oliver said, holding up his knife and showing that he could open and close it safely. “Me too, me too!” Olivia said. Not to
be outdone, she stepped forward and showed Serena and Santino that she could also work her knife. “Good,” Santino said.
“Now, the first thing you need to do if you are in a survival situation is to make fire. It will come in handy for a lot of things like
warmth, cooking, sending up smoke signals.” “Fire?” Serena asked. “Santino, your definition of ‘safe’ is really...” she trailed off
when Santino shook his head at her.
“We learned all this when we were there age,” he reminded her. Serena sighed, but she nodded. “Okay, these are special knives
with special blades,” Santino said. “I can show you how to make fire in two different ways, one with your knives.” “That’s so cool!”
Olivia said, jumping up and down. “Show us, Uncle Santino,” Oliver chimed. Santino smirked at Serena. She rolled her 1
“Okay, first, I need the two of you to find yourself a rock. You’ll each need your own rock, and it has to be dry and free of dirt,”
Santino said. “Stay here by the stream where we can see you.” Olivia and Oliver toddled off to find their rocks. “You want to do
this too?” Santino asked.
“I’d rather watch,” Serena said with a laugh. “I remember what is was like to learn these skills from dad.”
The twins returned with their rocks and Santino inspected them. He nodded his approval.
“Okay, now you’ll need to collect a few more things,” he said. “First, I want you to find some really dry grasses. Whole bundles of
it. You’ll also need some tiny twigs and birch bark. Make sure it is dry and off the ground. Don’t cut anything from a living tree.”
here, won’t you?” Santino asked. He was at the edge of the stream, collecting rocks. Serena nodded and went to her brother’s
aid. They build a contained fire pit. Nothing big or overwhelming, but Serena didn’t want them to light a big, dangerous fire
anyway. Olivia and Oliver returned with their collected items. Santino explained how the grass would be used as a fire starter, the
birch bark would be the next level, then the tinder – the really small twigs – would go next.
He had them go into the woods to find some dry kindling and sticks too, explaining the sizes and what they were used for. He
also showed them how to tell if the wood was wet, dry, or too green. “They’re having a lot of fun,” Serena observed. Santino
grinned at her. “Did you think they wouldn’t be?” he asked. Serena shrugged. “No, I just forgot how much fun this kind of thing
could be,” she admitted. “A nice day with my brother and the kids, out in the woods. Feels like forever since we‘ve had a chance
to do something like this.” “I know what you mean,” Santino said. When the twins returned again, Santino showed them how to
set up their grass bundles and how to use the rock to make sparks against the knife blade until the grasses lit. Quickly, he would
toss birch bark on the smoldering grasses, then adding the tinder, kindling and sticks. The twins were in complete awe! They
clapped and laughed, getting all excited about making fire. Serena and Santino sat back and watched as they made their own
attempts.
It took a while, but soon the twins had made themselves little fires in the fire pit.
“This is so cool!” Olivia said. “I’m a fire master,” Oliver said. Santino and Serena laughed together. “What’s next?” Olivia asked.
“How do we make fire without the knife?” Santino stepped up to the fire pit. He had a canteen of water that he used to put the fire
out. He showed the twins how to safely put out a fire in the woods by sprinkling water on it so the coals didn’t float away and
cause a forest fire. Teaching Olivia and Oliver how to make fire with two sticks was more frustrating for the twins. They could get
some smoke going, but their arms tired out quickly. Serena hoped they wouldn’t be in a situation where they would need to light
their own fires, but at least they could do it with their knives. It would be a few more years before they had the strength and
endurance to light fires with the stick method. “Alright, you know how to make fire now. Who wants to learn how to hunt?”
Santino asked. “Me, me!” Olivia and Oliver both cried, jumping up and down with their hands raised. Serena sighed and rolled
her eyes. Of course, her brother would start with the big things first. “Alright, let’s make some traps,” he said. “Before we go off
and hunt, remember that there is plenty of water around in the woods. You can drink running water from a stream, river, or brook,
but never drink still water.” “Still water?” Oliver asked.
“A lake, a pond, or a puddle,” he explained. “Running water is cleaner and safer to drink. Understand?” The twins nodded their
heads. “Good, let’s go hunting.”
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