Indiana had not stayed in his house in Chicago for very long - he'd kept a rented apartment for longer. But, seeing the 'For Sale' sign come down on the front lawn and a 'Sold' sign put in its place put a pang in his heart as Marcus helped him load up his most important possessions in his car. The offer hadn't even been that great - he'd managed to sell at the perfect time to catch a down-curve in the property value. Still, he needed the money sooner rather than later, as travel to France would not wait for market value. With it, he believed he could at least afford a place where Anna could have her own space - though it might come at the cost of a yard.

The Joneses were not the only ones leaving the States. Brody's term with the University of Chicago had completed and productive deals with the National Museum had fallen through. The historian was set to return to his family estate in England for a while to find work with his old circles in the United Kingdom. He promised to visit once or twice a year, which would make him rather distant compared to Johan Richter, who would be arranging for travel every two months to meet his usual checkups.

Anna, meanwhile, was becoming more and more verbose. She loved to talk, and as she seemingly mastered more and more control over her mouth and vocal chords, she began to talk about all sorts of things with her father. Indiana had never been much of a chatterbox, which to his surprise only seemed to encourage her long, grammatically messy spiels as he smiled and nodded.

According to the books he had bought on parenthood, girls were more talkative than boys at a young age. While she had been a bit quieter and shy at the age of two, by the age of three she seemed to shed more and more of her inhibitions.

Unfortunately, in February of 1923, he found that Richard was still making his way down the West Coast aboard the Safe Travels, and thus couldn't come to see them off at the New York harbor. Indiana Jones promised to keep writing, and said that they would be back in America eventually, once Indy completed his studies. Studies that, at this point, could end with the end of his post-graduate studies at Sorbonne or continue on if he undertook the path to a dissertation and a doctorate.

Richard simply reminded him off his promise to grind Indiana down if he didn't get to meet Anna some day, before continuing to write about less threatening things.

Paris had changed quite a bit since he had last been as a boy. He had very briefly gone through the city in 1913, but most of his memories were still back when he was just nine years old and accompanying his father on a lecture tour. He remembered meeting some sort of crazy-but-amusing artist with a gun and an attitude. That had been back when he was into sketching... those were the days.

Now, there were automobiles everywhere, the fashion had changed, and the city was generally filled with a different kind of energy. The radio was becoming more and more common in the big cities. He'd seen them back in Chicago, which had its first radio stations in '21, and now Paris was experiencing the same sort of revolution. Big, chunky radio sets were in some upclass areas, broadcasting the latest tunes and the news to the public.

He briefly looked into how much the cost of a radio for himself would be. The price tag quickly turned him off with a nauseated gag.

He found himself a good lease on a two-bedroom apartment within biking distance to the University of Paris (which was the official name of Sorbonne). The lease would last just the correct amount of time, and had pleasantly low ceilings - no high spaces or gaps that Anna could escape him in. Of course, a lack of a yard for her to fly around in would surely drive her stir-crazy, but for that Indiana simply just had to commit to finding a good babysitter and taking her out to the park as frequently as he could.

A telegram sent forward had gotten him in contact with Belloq, the French student from the Egypt expedition. As soon as the place was presentable, Indiana invited him over, just a week before the first semester began.

The front door of the apartment swung open, revealing a young man dressed in a white coat-jacket, pants, and a blue undershirt. He wore a hat that matched his coat, a hat that Indiana recognized as being the same one he had worn to the dig in Egypt.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Jones!" Belloq greeted, sticking out his hand.

"Enchanté de vous rencontrer. J'espère que mes indications ne vous ont pas posé de problème," Indiana replied in accented French, before stepping aside, "Come in. Sorry for the mess, I'm still unpacking."

"Ce n'est pas un problème," Belloq replied, stepping in and taking off his hat, hanging it next to Indy's fedora on the rack by the door, "You have found yourself a good place, it seems!"

Indiana pushed the door closed behind his friend, "It was expensive, but the lease lasted two years. Just what I needed to get to graduation, pretty much."

"Very good proximity to most of the important parts of the city, too," René nodded, "Probably why the prices were jacked up, non?"

"Yeah, probably-"

"Daaaaaaaad! I think I sawh a- a- a big thing in the kitchen!" Anna called from around a corner, before walking around it on all corners and stopping, staring up at René, wide-eyed. The man in question stared back with just the same amount of curiosity, which seemed to be perturb Anna even more.

"Anna, this is René Belloq," Indiana introduced, placing his hands on his hips, "He's daddy's good friend, alright? I met him in Egypt."

Anna continued to stare, before slowly shuffling backwards around the corner.

"What do you say to René, Anna? You say 'Hi René'?" Indiana firmly suggested.

"Hi Renee," Anna muttered.

"Good to meet you, Anna Jones," René offered in return, giving a smile and a nod. With that, Anna seemed to take the excuse to shuffle backwards around the corner. No sooner was she in sight than the sound of cardboard rustling and luggage tumbling came as she no doubt went back to playing with the discarded packing equipment.

"You said you found her in Panama?" René asked, looking over to Indiana with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah," he shrugged, "We sent hunters to try and find more of her, but no luck."

"Interesting. I would've thought she would have originated from Greece, what with the, erh, wings and all..." Belloq observed, before shaking his head and reaching over to pat Indiana on the shoulder, "I am going to show you all the good times to be had in Paris, Mr Jones. And, I'm thinking, on our break we should take a trip to my family vineyard."

"Your family owns a vineyard?" Indiana asked.

"Where do you think all that wine I had in Egypt came from, Indy? I certainly wasn't buying local!" René gave uproarious laughter, raising his hand off of Indiana's shoulder before bringing it down again in a slap, "It will be good to get you away from all that prohibition nonsense in America! I cannot imagine being dry like that!"

"I really shouldn't be drinking myself into a stupor. I gotta take care of Anna through the evening, and the study..." Indiana trailed off.

René gave him an insulted look, "Drinking yourself into a stupor!? Someone clearly has not learned to properly enjoy wine! Do you think I graduated with honors last year by drinking myself to death every night? Bah! Besides, you know what they say in America about Jack and working without play?"

"Aaalright, well as long as it doesn't interfere with anything important," Indiana acquiesced. Having someone to show him around the city did sound like a good time.

Indiana and Belloq were fast friends. Between classes, work, and taking care of Anna, Indiana had found himself completely unable to have a good time. Belloq just had a certain charisma to him, and the fact that he paid for most of their outings especially helped. Even despite his initial reservations, Belloq had turned out to be fairly respectful of Indiana's time, sometimes moving an outing to be a dinner-at-home where Indiana could watch Anna while spending time with Belloq.

Studies progressed nominally. He still suffered from the usual things - lack of sleep, a busy schedule working part-time as an entry-level translator to help make ends meet, and taking care of Anna as best as possible. After much struggle, he also found a babysitter for Anna - the housewife of a veteran who was strapped for cash, and thus willing to engage with a strange child in exchange for a living wage.

Richter would take trips to France, usually being on his way through to Germany. His family were ailing under the effects of the post-war economy, and he was doing whatever he could to support them. Indiana felt remorse, having been a part of the conflict that caused the despoilment, but when brought up all Johan did was shrug. It was what it was.

Belloq got the opportunity to briefly meet Johan on a few of his visits. They apparently shared an interest in birds and discussed at length about Anna's wing anatomy.

In the summer of 1923, Belloq made good on his promise to take Indiana to his vineyard. They travelled by train from Paris to Marseilles, where the Joneses got treated to wonderful scenery of expansive, green fields, and the French Southern Coast. The ocean sparkled out of the right window of the train as it chuffed down the coast towards the city proper.

"Atlantic!" Anna confidently said, pointing to the window.

Indiana chuckled, before shaking his head and correcting, "No, Anna. That's the Mediterranean," he explained, before reaching into the gap between the seats and pulling out a map. With a marker stowed in his pocket, he began to sketch on the map, "We started here in New York, see?"

Anna watched with wide eyes as Indiana circled the city on the map, before drawing a long, red line across the ocean.

"Then, we went across the Atlantic Ocean to France," Indiana tapped the relevant names on the map, "And went to Paris. But now we're going down south to this ocean right here," he continued the line from Paris towards Southern France, "This is a difference ocean, see? This is the Mediterranean. Just over the ocean is Egypt, that's where daddy went to dig for treasure."

Anna looked between the map and the window, then back at the lines and the names. She had the beginnings of the ability to comprehend the written word, but still wasn't there yet. Still, eventually, some understanding came to her eyes.

She pointed out towards the sea, "Egypt there?"

"That's the Mediterranean, honey," Indiana corrected.

"Nuh-uh!" Anna wiggled her hoof at the window insistently, "Egypt across the Mediterranean!"

"Oh," Indiana blinked in surprise, "Yeah, yeah it is."

Anna stared down her hoof at the window for a moment, before her ears eventually fell flat against her head, "...I dunna see it."

"It's too far away for you to see," Indiana explained, a smile growing on his face.

"...Why?" Anna asked, before immediately adding, "Can we go to Egypt, daddy?"

"Maybe someday."

She pouted, "...I want to go to Egypt."

Indiana's mind drifted towards Marion and Abner Ravenwood. About her complaints about the heat and the sun. The strangest sensation came over him as he found himself relating to the old, gray archaeologist. Yet, despite its foreignness, it was a warm feeling, one that he embraced as he wrapped an arm around her and promised, "Some day, Anna. Some day."

The Joneses arrived at the Belloq estate, a charming, old manor with an expansive vineyard extending from its back. The entire property, while not exactly royal in its opulence, was clearly the product of several generations of success and wealth. Definitely enough to stir jealousy in Indiana's heart as he stepped out of the taxi, Anna hopping out right behind him.

René met them at the gates, wearing an outfit almost identical to the one he'd worn into the city, the white cloth somehow managing not to get dirty. He welcomed them in, and introduced him to some of his family. His father paid Indiana little heed, and his mother gave them a generous showing of hospitality. René explained that he had some siblings, but that most of them were older and had either moved away or were busy continuing the family business.

Anna quickly became the subject of much curiosity from the family and staff, though it seemed her shyness to others aside from her father and Brody was slowly being trained out of her. In fact, it was getting to the point where Indiana feared that the attention was going to get to her head. She puffed out her chest as she maneuvered through the air, causing those watching to giggle and cheer with amusement. Once or twice, Indiana had to discourage them giving her treats, as it was almost encouraging a circus animal-like behaviour that disturbed him greatly.

At one point, while Indiana let Anna out to fly around from the end of her rope, René walked with him.

"It must be great, to be able to fly like that," Belloq commented, giving a brief point up towards Anna, "See the countryside arrayed out underneath you."

"Mhh.." Indiana grunted half-heartedly, adjusting his grip on the rope.

"You seem vexed about something. You've seemed more melancholic in general recently, my friend," he asked, placing his hands in his pockets as they strolled.

"More of the usual," Indiana admitted, "It's the money. I've got a lot of debt stacking up," he sighed, "Taking care of Anna prevented me from getting enough work in to keep up with my bills, and now I'm just thinking... I can't put her in a school. You know what kids are like, they'll tear her apart and she won't learn anything. The only way to go is to get a private tutor..."

"And that will cost quite a sum more than even a private school," Belloq nodded with understanding.

"Yeah. That and... I think to really go all the way into archaeology I need to go for a doctorate, which means I need to go do a dissertation.. which will cost even more money, and also eat up even more time... I just don't think I can afford to do it, but I really need the stability something like a tenure would give me," Indiana muttered, voice low as he kept his head turned away from Belloq, partly in shame, partly to keep his eyes on Anna.

Belloq, however, kept his eyes straight ahead, "You will be a great archaeologist, Indiana. We both will be. I can see we share a similar set of skills..." a pause, before Belloq slowly withdrew a hand from his pocket and laid it over Indiana's shoulders, "I would not demean you by offering you my charity, Indiana Jones. But.. perhaps we may be able to help each other out."

Indiana's eyes finally turned towards René, eyebrow quirked.

"I have some contacts in the antiquity market," René said, voice unusually low, "My family has a bit of a history with archaeology, you see. These contacts, they offer a very good rate for certain artefacts with so little historical significance that museums would not even give them a second look."

Indiana frowned, "You're not talking something like grave robbing, are you?"

"No, no!" Belloq laughed, shaking his head emphatically and wiggling and index finger, "You think too little of me, Indiana. These are things more like... genuine carvings from isolated tribes that you can buy for a few shiny baubles and resell. Lost items of relatives, old model ships, things you'd find in an antique store for twenty francs that some aristocrat will buy for five hundred.

"The Belloq family is a noble name, so our contacts will buy anything from us if it can be spun as mysterious or exotic," René patted Indiana's right shoulder, "I've never done it before, but my uncle has done it many times in the past. It's good money, and you need the money. I think if we can work together, we can get it done very easily this winter in the break."

Indiana Jones grimaced, keeping his eyes on René as he ran a free thumb down his jawline, "Where would be going?"

"Not sure yet, but there's an isolated tribe in the Amazon that I hear has gold burial ceremonies. It would take some doing to get to them, since nobody knows their exact location, but I think we could do it with enough research and the right guides," Belloq raised a finger, "And before you ask, we wouldn't be taking gold from the corpses. They don't have the same value for gold as we do, so we would bring along some trade goods and have a fair exchange then resell their products. If we can find things they carved and knapped themselves, we can sell it on as ancient goods from a lost civilization or something. If it turns out the myths are all shit, we can turn in their location for some credit in the field."

"I dunno, that sounds more like scamming them," Indiana pointed out, "And any of their cultural products should be studied by scientists, not sold off."

"They can just make more!" Belloq scoffed, throwing a hand into the air, "Come on, Indy. I wouldn't do it without you, but it sounds like you could really use the profit. I'll even give you sixty percent, you're more experienced with the jungle than me so you'll probably be more useful than I. Think about Anna, is telling a few white lies to some natives on the other side of the world really worth putting her future in jeopardy?"

Indiana looked up at Anna once again. Belloq was right, he did really need the money. It sounded like it would be hard work, trying to collate information and trek through the Amazon - the mother of all deadly rainforests - to try and find natives they hardly knew anything about. Did the fact that it was hard make it better? Was it morally wrong to begin with? Did the fact that it was for a good cause balance it out?

...He really wanted the peace of mind of having his accounts at least being put closer to being zeroed out.

"...Sure, sounds like it's worth a shot," Indiana eventually muttered.

In his heart, though, he hoped the gold was a myth.

The gold was not a myth.

Indiana sprinted, arms pumping as he charged through the rainforest. Arrows and blowdarts whizzed by him, hitting trees and brush as he jumped, vaulted and ducked thorugh the foliage. On his back, a sack full of gold and silver idols, raw nuggets, and ceremonial carvings thumped up and down with every step. A few paces behind him, René Belloq ran for his life as well, making the mistake of looking over his shoulder every once in a while and stumbling constantly.

"They're catching up, Indy!" René screamed, clothes tearing on a thornbush that Indiana pushed through with the help of his leather jacket.

"I've got a plan! Head for the ravine!" Indiana shouted back, reaching up to clutch his fedora as he made a turn, a spear bouncing off of a nearby boulder mere inches away from his face.

As it had turned out, most of the tribe they were trying to contact had ended up being unfriendly, extremely wary of europeans. However, they had gotten an in - as it turned out, some of them still traded in secret with travellers. Likely thieves themselves, they offered gilded items from their village in return for the guns and bullets Jones and Belloq had brought with them.

However, it seemed their leaders came to bust up the operation. Just after the trade had taken place, warriors ambushed them, killing their guide and several of the thieves before chasing them off into the jungle.

The ravine opened up ahead of them. To get to the village, they had to take a hike for several miles to circumvent the opening in the earth. If they tried to retrace their steps while being chased, they would no doubt run out of stamina long before the warriors, who were experienced in running through the jungle on foot, would do the same. Without missing a beat, Indiana threw his pouch of loot towards Belloq, who tripped and fell backwards as the item smacked him in his face.

Indiana unlimbered his whip, striking the high branch of a tree growing just next to the ravine. Carrying his momentum from his sprint, he clung for dear life as he swung across, planting his feet on the other side with a gasp.

"DON'T YOU LEAVE ME HERE JONES!" Belloq screamed from the other side, the bag in his hands.

Indiana had not, in fact, intended to make it seem like he was abandoning René on the wrong side of the ravine. He couldn't have made the swing with the gold weighing him down. Rolling his eyes, Indiana threw the handle of his whip back towards Belloq, shouting, "Throw me the gold! You won't make it with it!"

René caught the whip, looking up and down it with shock, then looking down to his bag, then back up towards Indiana. The hollering of the natives grew louder in the jungle behind him.

"No time to argue! Throw me the gold and then swing across!" Indiana insisted, holding out his arms towards his companion.

Belloq shook his head in disbelief, before heaving the gold towards Indiana. The thornbushes behind him began to boil with the approaching warriors, urging him to quickly wind up and run into a swing across the canyon. He very nearly didn't make it, and was caught by his collar by Indiana, who held the bag with his other hand.

Throwing Belloq to the ground behind him, Indiana grabbed his whip and undid it just as an arrow, shot in a slight panic by the natives on the other side, clipped the brim of his hat. Scrambling up a bluff, Indiana and Belloq dove behind the cover of a natural earthen embankment just as another hail of projectiles impacted the dirt behind them.

For a moment, they both sat, crushed vegetation under their bodies and the angered shouts of the local dialect coming from behind them. Their lungs burned, their blood was more parts adrenaline than iron, and Indiana nearly felt nauseous with exertion. René coughed a few times, holding a hand up to his chest.

"We... made... it," Indiana said between gasps of breath.

"I told you we'd get some excitement on this journey," Belloq chuckled, rolling over to look down at the sack of gold lying between them. Undoing the buckle holding the lid down, he took out one of the pieces, gold sparkling in his eyes.

"I'm not sure. I'd still prefer Ravenwood's expedition to Egypt. There wasn't anything trying to kill us there aside from the sun," Indiana commented, a mirthful smile erupting on his lips.

René wiggled the object - a golden plate - at him indicatively, "We didn't make this much of a payday in Egypt, monsieur! Just like I promised. Forty for me, sixty for you," he stuck out his hand, a grin growing on his lips.

The smile was infectious, and Indiana's face grew a similar expression as he reached out and took Belloq's hand.

"Now, let's get back to the boat before they find a way around that ravine..." René sighed, replacing the plate in the bag and re-buckling the lid.

Aside from a case of jungle fever from Belloq, and a much more minor case of the same sickness from Indy, their return to civilization was triumphant. The cheque Indiana received from their winnings more than made up for the slightly unscrupulous nature of their quest - after all, the items had already been stolen. If those thieves hadn't sold it to them, they would've just sold it so someone else!

"Uncle Brody!" Anna shouted, running across the lounge towards the Englishman in question as soon as the door opened.

"Oh it's the birthday girl!" Marcus said, a large smile on his face as he crouched to accept the filly as she rushed into his arms, "How are we doing?"

Indiana came in behind Marcus Brody, closing the door for them both. As the latter man began to take his coat off, Indiana took it from him, a smile on his face as his gaze lingered on his daughter as she talked to Marcus.

"We went to France!" Anna said enthusiastically.

Marcus blinked, "You, erh, you are in France."

"Uh huh! And we went to France! From America! Across the Atlantic Ocean!" Anna nodded.

Indiana took off his own jacket and hung it up next to Marcus's one, "She's technically right, Marcus."

"And last yesterday we went to park and I catch a bird!" Anna raised her forehooves in the air, before lowering them as her ears flopped along with them, "...But daddy made me put it away because it was belegheghghe!"

"Very impressive!" Marcus chuckled.

"Last week, honey," Indiana corrected, "That was last week."

Anna looked at him dumbly, before eventually saying, "Can we have cake?" Her ears perked at that.

"Yes, we can have cake after dinner," Indiana said.

Marcus sniffed the air as he reached into a pocket of his coat from where it hung on the rack, "Done some cooking, Indy?"

"I figure if there's any time to learn cooking, it's while I'm in Paris," Indiana shrugged, "I made some pasta."

Marcus gave him a queer look, "But... pasta is Italian?"

"I couldn't figure out ratatouille in time, okay?" Indiana said, picking up an oven mitt that he had left on a nearby table and slipping it on.

"It's french pasta!" Anna said, fluttering her wings and jumping up onto a nearby chair, "Presents!"

"Not yet!" Indiana shouted from the kitchen, kneeling down and opening the oven... to the very comforting sounds of coughing and sizzling.

Marcus Brody gave an amused look in the direction of the archway that lead into the kitchen, before he sat down across from Anna at the table. Placing his briefcase down next to him, he clasped his hands in front of him and caught Anna's eye, "How's my favorite niece doing?"

"Daddy went Brazil!" Anna said, continuing her enthusiasm.

"...Did he now?" Marcus asked, looking once again towards the kitchen with curiosity. This was the first time he'd heard of it.

"Yeah! He said he get..." Anna clearly struggled to find the words, so instead started making noises that sounded vaguely like arrows whizzing past as she flurried her hooves, "With Mr Belloq!"

"Indy! Is that true?" Marcus asked, raising his voice.

"Huh!?" Indiana shouted back from the kitchen.

"Did you go to Brazil this year!?" Marcus shouted.

"Oh! Yeah! Me and Belloq went to research some native peoples! Made a lot of money too!" Indiana said back, the sounds of cutlery and plates coming as the sizzling finally ceased, "Things are looking up!"

Marcus hummed, "That sounds great! Why didn't you tell me?"

Indiana came around the corner from the kitchen with plates of what seemed like lasagna - though the edges were black as coal and an almost soapy smell came from it. The man shrugged as he placed the plates on the table, "I dunno. Never crossed my mind, I guess."

"Well it sounds very exciting," Marcus noted, looking down at the sour excuse for lasagna on his plate with trepidation, "Erh- wh-what society did you do it with?"

Anna's face fell, once again long with her ears, as she gazed at the meal in front of her. She sniffed at it, before giving a huff that sounded almost exactly like a horse's whinny.

"It was more of an independent endeavour," Indiana shrugged, fearlessly stabbing into the oozing slab of overcooked pasta on his plate, "Belloq funded most of it. His family's rich."

"Oh. Well- you must've had your research peer-reviewed, though," Marcus said, poking his 'meal' and withdrawing his fork to examine the off-green material that had been impaled on the end.

Indiana paused for a moment, slicing off a piece of his own cooking and filling his mouth with it to buy himself time. Marcus wasn't the most perceptive man, but even he could tell Indiana was trying his best to come up with a lie, "...I didn't really publish any research," Indiana admitted, "We ended up just trading for some stuff and selling to private collectors."

"Oh," Marcus blinked, "How much did it all sell for?"

"Daaaaadyyy..." Anna suddenly said, spitting out a piece of the lasagna.

"That's a bit personal, don't you think?" Indiana said, not giving a glance towards Anna.

"Daaaaddyyyyy!" Anna repeated.

"Well, I was just curious. I've never really heard of an archaeological expedition ending in such a way-" Marcus began, but was interrupted by another complaint from Anna.

"DADDY DADDY DADDY DADDY DADDY!" Anna repeated, slamming her forehooves into the top of the table.

Indiana responded with a firm hand gripped to one of her forelegs, "Manners, Anna! Were you raised in a stable?"

"Horses go in stables!" Anna shouted back.

"Yeah and you aren't one. What do you want? Do you want your food cut up?" Indiana asked, reaching for the knife sitting next to her plate.

"Why food so bad!?" Anna shouted.

"Use your inside voice, Anna," Marcus interjected, using the distraction to take a slice of his lasagna and shove it inside his briefcase.

"It's not bad. Eat, or you won't get any ice cream cake," Indiana ordered, beginning to slice through Anna's lasagna.

"Are you sure this Belloq fellow is legitimate?" Marcus asked, leaning forward and trying to fix Indiana's attention, "It sounds like this expedition was rather.. unscientific."

"What do you mean? My expedition to Panama was pretty unscientific too," Indiana muttered, trying to avoid Marcus's gaze by chopping up Anna's food.

"Yes but you always intended to give whatever you found to a museum," Marcus tilted his head, "...And I was disapproving of you going on your own, without the support of a university or society."

"Yet if I had waited for them I would've taken months or maybe even years more, and by then those gangsters would've pillaged the ruins and moved on, maybe even with Anna in tow. She'd probably be some plaything for some rich crime lord or something," Indiana said, getting unusually flustered as he leaned away from Marcus back into his seat.

"Whaaaat?" Anna looked up from her still-untouched food with confusion.

"That's anecdotal, Indiana. There's plenty of stories of foolhardy explorers going into jungles and-" Marcus paused, before shaking his head, "This isn't even the point. You sold to a private buyer... and- I've never, in my entire life, heard of any kind of scientific expedition making money."

"Listen, we went in looking to do some research, we found some things to trade with the locals for, and we left in the green. Enough money for me to finally pay back the oldest of my loans. Nobody got hurt, honest!" Indiana said, before looking down at Marcus's half of his lasagna, "At least someone's eating!"

Anna took another cautious bite, before spitting it out and shaking her head vigorously, greyscale mane tossing around her shoulders.

Marcus Brody gave Indiana a long, uneasy look, before eventually shrugging and saying, "Very well, I believe you. I don't want to bring a bad atmosphere to Anna's birthday."

"Daaadyyy! I don't want any!" Anna insisted, pushing her plate back and making the flakes of the diseased meal on it bounce as it slid across the table.

Indiana, seemingly calming down at Marcus's words, finally took a sniff of his own lasagna and frowned, "Why does it smell soapy?"

"I have absolutely no clue," Marcus spoke in total honesty.

"I'll let you get away with it this once, on your birthday," Indiana said, patting Anna on the head and taking both his and her plate back to the kitchen.

Marcus opened his briefcase, reaching inside and retrieving a gift-wrapped package from inside. After shaking off the gluey remains of the half of his meal that had fallen onto it, Marcus smiled and held it out towards Anna, who leapt into the and grabbed the gift.

Marcus kept a hold of the gift for long enough for Indiana to notice and scold from the kitchen archway, "What do you say, Anna!"

She stayed silent for a moment, looking at him as she crinkled the wrapping with her iron, mysteriously magnetic grip.

"What're the magic words, Anna?" Indiana probed, tilting his head towards her in a stern look.

Anna lowered her head in a way that only one with equine anatomy could, "...Thank Uncle Marcus..." she said in a voice that was almost louder than a whisper.

"You're very welcome, Anna," Marcus said, finally letting go of the gift with a bemused smile.

She tore into it at a fever pitch, allowing pieces of ribbon and wrapping to fly across the room. It was a heavy gift, and everybody knew that heavy gifts were the best kinds of gifts! Inside was a cardboard box that contained a pair of brand new binoculars - made out of the lightest materials he could find that still promised some endurance. She looked at it, at first confused.

"Those are binoculars," Marcus said, picking them up and holding them to his eyes, "Look through them like this."

Anna curiously took them, the weight forcing her to land. Clumsily, she held the wrong side up to her eyes... and closed her eyes. With some help, she turned them around and looked at them the right way around.

"Whoaaaaaahhh..." she said as she began to look around the room. Though, soon, the weight became too much, and she toppled over backwards, hitting the ground with a squeak as the binoculars thudded onto the carpet.

Some tears of pain later, and Anna was restored to her seat and in front of an ice cream cake. Johan Richter had, after several exposures to puppy-dog eyes, made the assumption that if ice cream and chocolate were truly toxic to her, she'd have shown symptoms or died by now. Ever since Indiana had failed to find a proper cake last year, in the fuss of moving to France, and instead just slapped a bunch of ice cream together and called it a cake, Anna had been requesting the same for her next birthday.

Indiana definitely wasn't going to fuss. He wasn't completely blind to his lack of skill in a kitchen, and after watching his lasagna stick to the ceramic plate like glue he became glad he didn't have to try and bake a cake.

"Only two more years and Anna will be old enough to start her education!" Marcus said, gladly trading his half-'eaten' lasagna for the ice cream, "Are you excited to go to school, Anna?"

"What's school?" Anna asked, muzzle smeared in white, foamy melted ice cream.

"School is where some children go to learn things, like how to read," Indiana explained briefly to his daughter, before turning his head to answer Marcus's question, "She's not going to go to a school. She'll have to have a private tutor."

"Oh you're probably wise in that," Marcus nodded, "Kids can be so cruel, especially to those who stand out."

"I want to go to school..." Anna muttered.

"Your daddy didn't go to school," Indiana said, patting her on the head, "She had a private tutor named Miss Seymour..." he trailed off, and eventually frowned.

Marcus looked up from his ice cream, "You never told me what happened to your tutor, Indiana. You two were close, weren't you? I tried looking her up while I was in Oxford, out of curiosity."

"She's dead," Indiana said in a clipped tone.

"She's wha?" Anna asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry Indy," Marcus said, wincing.

"Last time I talked to her was before the War, and she told me I should try and make things up with my father," Indiana muttered, "Then she got influenza and..."

"Infooenza," Anna scrunched her muzzle as her brain processed the unfamiliar word.

"She was right, you know," Marcus frowned, "You really should tell Henry about Anna. He deserves to at least know."

Those words left Marcus's lips with a pang of guilt. Henry already knew, perhaps not everything, just that Indiana had an adoptive daughter and was struggling. Clearly, Henry Jones, Senior, had not taken Marcus's advice on attempting to rebuild his relationship with his son, judging by Indiana's upcoming reaction.

He shook his head firmly, "I deserved to get my war letters answered, Marcus. I deserved to have somebody there for-" he cut himself and gave an exasperated sigh, "Why am I unloading all of this on you? Sorry, I'm fine."

"Daddy, are you okay?" Anna asked, swallowing the last spoonful of her ice cream, "And more?"

"No more," said Indiana with a shake of his head, grabbing a napkin and wiping Anna's muzzle, "You'll give yourself a tummy-ache. Time for Daddy's gift, okay?"

While initially disappointed at Indiana's refusal of her request, Anna brightened at the mention of more presents. Her ears perked along with it, "Presents!"

"I've got something from Johan as well," Indiana said, walking towards a closet and opening it, reaching to the middle shelf and grabbing two gifts and a small slip of paper, "Even Richard gave you a card."

"How thoughtful of him!" Marcus renewed his smile, watching as Indiana walked back over with his handful of gifts.

"Look at the card first, he drew you a pretty picture," Indiana said, redirecting Anna's hooves - which were reaching out towards the presents - and placing the gift inside of it.

Anna gave a cursory glance at the card, before looking back up at Indiana and pointing at it, "Ship!"

Indiana nodded with a smile, and turned the card towards Marcus. The curator squinted his eyes and leaned forward to examine the card. On it was a hand-drawn, miniature painting of a steamship moving through a great ocean. The waves were beautifully illustrated, foam licking off of their edges, and puffy white steam coming off of the smokestack. The caption read "Happy Birthday Anna - 'They that go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; These see the works of the LORD, and his wonders in the deep' Psalms 107:24-25."

"Mr Simons is quite the artist!" Marcus noted with amazement.

"He apparently discovered his talent fairly recently," Indiana nodded, folding up the card before turning his attention towards Anna, "Richard says happy birthday, Anna. Remember Richard? From America?"

"America, across the Atlantic!" Anna said, reaching once again for the closest present - the one from Dr. Richter.

"That's from Uncle Johan," Indiana pointed to the tag on the wrapping as Anna tore it apart.

"Thank you Ohan!" Anna said as she tore into the ribbon with her teeth.

"What a polite lady, thanking people not even in the room!" Marcus chuckled.

Johan Richter's gifts were of assorted toys. Carved birds with hinged wings, and a small horse with wheels on its legs and a string for pulling it along. While Indiana thought the last toy was in slightly poor taste, Anna seemed to love it, immediately reaching up to bop it on its wooden nose. She was nearly consumed in immediately playing with her toys, but her attention was redirected towards her final present.

"This one is from daddy," Indiana said, a proud smile on his face as he folded his arms and looked down on his gift - a shoddily-wrapped rectangular prism.

"Thanks daddy!" Anna repeated, though seemed slightly disappointed when her previous show's laughter never came, and repeated louder, "THANKS DADDY!"

With a single chuckle, Indiana ruffled her mane, "You're welcome."

Scrunching her muzzle, Anna ripped apart the wrapping and revealed the book within. Gold text on the front read, "WORLD ATLAS". It was an adult release from a respected society.

"Isn't she a bit... young for an atlas?" Marcus commented.

Anna, however, defied expectations when she opened the book and immediately widened her eyes as she began to examine the maps within. Indiana began to ball up the discarded gift wrapping, "She's really fascinated with maps, for some reason. She can't really read yet, but she's starting to learn. I just think she likes the colors or something."

"How unusual!" Marcus hummed, looking towards Anna and asking, "Are you going to become a cartographer when you grow up?"

"Nuh-uh! I'm gonna become an arkakalologist so that I can go to school and look at books like daddy! And go Egipt!" Anna responded.

She smiled as she, once again, caused both men to break out into laughter.

Author's Note

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle is a good game.

I am now considering how destructive it would be and how much of my life it would consume to write it in. I'd actually appreciate some thoughts about it.

...It's even in the perfect time for Anna to come along with him on it, dammit.