Is that more Aussie optimism?
It’s a promise.He matched his strides to my own. But I sensed he was more uneasy than his words were letting on. Something was eating at him.
Whether out of consideration for those of us that had been on the mission, or just because he wasn’t inspired on that day, Alex led us at a fairly sedate pace. He also let Mari practice her pond bobbing rather than run. The rest of us panted our way to the end, and then Cody directed us out to the back field for fight practice.
I plucked a strand of seaweed off Mari’s damp tunic. “Does the lake have any big fish?”
She grinned, showing off her square teeth. “There’s a large one that lives under a rock near the center. Has whiskers longer than I am tall, and a mouth that could swallow you in one gulp. But I think he’s just a plant eater. At least, he didn’t try to nibble on me.”
“Crikey,” Matt commented. “I’d want to be sure of that, myself.”
“Hold that thought,” I said, and jogged over to Kitani. “Did you know there’s a bloody big fish living in that?” I pointed to the lake.
She stared out across the calm water. “How big?”
“Big enough to swallow me whole, apparently. Mari thinks it’s a vegetarian, but it might be worth looking into.” I gazed to where the twins splashed happily in a foot of water with Trix bouncing between them. “They should be safe so long as they stay in the shallows.”
Kitani headed for the twins. “Thanks for the head’s up, Anna.”
I rejoined a somewhat puzzled Mari, and an amused-looking Matt. We watched Kitani pull the kids into even shallower water.
“Are they afraid of the fish?” Mari asked.
“You don’t know for sure that it eats only plants,” I pointed out.
She looked occupied by her thoughts. Which, for an ogre, involved a wrinkled forehead and tapping her chin with one thick finger. “It did follow me for a little ways. Perhaps I should research the local fauna at the library.”
“That might be a bonza idea,” Matt provided.
“Preferably before you go swimming again,” I suggested.
“I don’t swim. I walk.” The ogress smiled. “And then, I bob.”
“Before you do any more bobbing, I’d be sure you won’t end up a shark biscuit,” Matt said.
Mari frowned at him. “Shark biscuit?”
“Fish bait,” I translated.
Her brows rose. “I wouldn’t try to bait a fish that size. I’d stand no chance of bringing it in.”
I stifled a laugh. “He meant you needed to know if it would try to eat you before going back in the water.”
“That might be sensible,” she agreed, but she still wore a slightly puzzled expression as we walked through the building and out onto the back field.
Matt provided his take on it.Maybe there aren’t many fish big enough to eat an ogre.
Well, that is likely true,I agreed.
Ryan and Cody awaited us in the back field, with twelve stations, one for each team. Each station had a table with crossbows sitting on them.
“Why do they look so odd?” I asked.
“Think they’re automatic,” Matt stated, lifting one. “See? This magazine loads the bolts so you can shoot fast.”
I raised a brow at him.
“I might have been poking around the weapons’ text,” he confessed.
