The afternoon light sparkled on the surface of the lake like countless jewels as Anna looked out across its surface.

“It’s so pretty!” she said.

“If you say so,” Qrixit replied.

She shot him a poisonous look which he ignored before sliding off the wagon.

“Come on. We need to get Trinna unhooked,” he said.

“Fine,” she replied.

She slid off the wagon and started to help Qrixit with Trinna.

“Do you think there are monsters in the lake like in the river?” she asked.

“There is no doubt of that,” he replied.

“Oh,” she said sadly.

“It should be safe during the day,” he added.

“Really?” she asked.

“Yes, the sky terrors hunt during the day, so most things will stay in the deeper parts of the lake,” he replied.

“That’s makes sense. I mean, nothing wants to get swooped up,” she said.

“Exactly,” he replied.

They unhooked Trinna and tied her off a good distance from the lake before setting up the tent. As soon as they finished, she took off her belt, tossed it in the tent, then darted off to the lake.

“Don’t go in too deep!” Qrixit said.

“Yes, father,” Anna replied

It was Qrixit’s turn to give her a look and her turn to ignore him.

She reached the shore quickly and waded into the murky waters until she was waist-deep. She dove beneath the surface with her eyes open and looked around. She could barely see a foot in front of her face, so she summoned an eye and used it to look around.

She found herself surrounded by thick ribbon-like plants similar to the ones that were found in most freshwater lakes and rivers she’d swum in before. The fish, on the other hand, were nothing like anything she’d seen before. The most numerous of these strange fish were a small, spiked variety that had teeth so large they stuck out of the front of their mouths.

They swam around in schools in the deeper waters, chasing any other fish that came near them. She came to the surface and turned to see Qrixit right next to the shore with a worried look on his face.

“What?” she asked.

“I thought something got you!” he replied.

“I’m fine. There’s nothing nearby,” she replied.

“It’s not safe. You need to come closer to shore!” he said.

“I’m fine,” she replied.

She dunked back under the water and started to clean the dirt and other filth from her body. As she cleaned her hair, she noticed that several of the larger fish started to approach, swimming around her in a large circle.

I bet they want to eat my hair! Fish do like bright colors and wiggly things.

The fish slowly tightened their circles, getting closer and closer before one suddenly darted towards her, its huge mouth wide open. She spun out of the way, wrapped her arms around it as it swam by, and pulled it against her chest. The fish started to thrash around, trying to free itself from her grasp, churning up the water and nearly knocking her over.

She pulled the creature against her chest even tighter, so much so that she felt its bones snap. The fish struggled for a short time longer before going limp. She stood back up and started for the shore. Qrixit was there with a horrified look on his face.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I thought something got you!” he replied.

“I’m fine. I just caught a fish!” she said.

“GET OUT OF THE WATER NOW!!!” he shouted.

She turned to look behind her and saw that the water looked as if it was boiling a few yards away. She quickly looked through the eyes and saw hundreds of small spiky fish heading in her direction.

“SHIT!!!” she shouted.

She rushed towards the shore but wasn’t quick enough to outrun the fish and was swarmed. The small fish started to bite her. A few nibbled at the fin of the fish she was carrying. She adjusted it so they couldn’t reach it as she ran.

She felt one fish bite down hard on her rear. She let out a surprised yelp and ran even faster, darting out of the water and running several yards onto the shore before stopping. Qrixit ran over to her. She held the fish she was carrying out.

“Hold this!” she said.

He looked confused but took the fish from her outstretched arms. She turned around and grabbed the small spiky fish still attached to her left cheek and yanked it off so hard several of its teeth were torn from its mouth in the process. She held it up and glared at it.

“BITE ME IN THE ASS, WILL YOU?!?!?!” she shouted.

She threw it back into the lake with so much force that it skipped across the surface of the water like a smooth stone until it stopped around halfway across and slowly sank beneath the surface.

“Are you alright?” Qrixit asked.

She took a deep breath.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied.

She turned around and slapped herself on the rear.

“See, not even a scratch,” she added.

He looked down at her rear for a moment and then back up at her face.

“You have a thicker hide than I thought,” he replied.

“Yeah, I’m pretty tough,” she said.

A shadow passed overhead, and a huge splash came from the lake. They both turned in time to see a huge sky terror flying off with a mouth full of wiggling fish. They watched the huge beast fly away for a while before turning to look at each other again.

“You know, we should do something with this fish,” Qrixit said.

 “Yeah,” Anna replied.

She took the fish from him and went to the wagon where she got her knife from her belt before heading to the back where she laid the fish across the back.

This has got to be one of the biggest freshwater fish I’ve ever seen! I wonder if it’s a carp? It kind of looks like a carp. There’s a lot of those in the river near Fishport. They used to bring in whole boats full of those things. I wonder if it’s going to taste like carp? Well, there’s only one way to find out.

She quickly filleted the fish and removed the skin from the fillets before disposing of the remains in the water. She watched the spiked fish swarm the carcass a few moments later despite the threat of the sky terrors looming overhead.

Fish really are stupid.

She walked back to the wagon to find Qrixit eating one of the fillets. She picked the other one up and took a bite.

I wish I had some salt, and dragon pepper, and butter, and a dammed pan! I’m so fucking tired of raw food!!!

She passed her piece to Qrixit who was nearly finished devouring his.

“You don’t want it?” he asked.

“I’m still kind of full, from the egg,” she replied.

He gobbled down the last of his fillet and took hers.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” she replied.

The sun sank beneath the western horizon, and stars filled the vast clear sky. Qrixit wandered to the tent and opened a flap.

“You coming?” he asked.

“Not yet,” she replied.

“Don’t stay up too late,” he said.

“I won’t,” she replied.

“And don’t wander off,” he added.

“Yes, father,” she replied.

“Stop saying that!” he said.

“Want me to call you daddy instead?” she asked.

“Absolutely not!” he replied.

She laughed.

“I just want to look at the stars for a while. Don’t worry,” she said.

“Alright,” he replied.

He crawled into the tent, and she waited until his breathing slowed before she summoned an eye and pointed it up at the sky. She watched the sky, mesmerized by the wonderous sight. She heard something moving in the grass and spun her eye around to look in the direction it was coming from. She spotted three figures crouched in the grass a few yards away from the wagon. Each figure held a spear in their hand and had a bag over their shoulder.

People then, and not friendly ones if I had to guess. Friendly people don’t sneak up on you.

She sent her eye away and turned to face them.

“I can see you,” she said.

The figures remained frozen for a moment before standing up. They were tall, standing well over six feet, with long thick limbs and a stout body. Their heads were shaped like upside-down pears with a slit-like mouth and two slits instead of a nose. Their eyes were huge and sat on the front of their face like any other predator she’d seen. They gripped their spears tightly and started to walk toward the wagon.

“You’re not welcome here!” one of the strangers said.

“Well fuck you, too,” she replied.

The three of them were clearly taken aback by her response, taking a few moments to recover before moving towards her again.

“LEAVE NOW!” the same stranger shouted.

She heard Qrixit rustling around in the tent before he crawled out.

“What’s going on out here?” he asked as he walked over.

“They want us to leave,” Anna replied.

He looked over at the three and suddenly looked terrified.

“We’ll go right now!” he said.

He grabbed her arm and pulled it.

“Pack up the tent while I take care of Trinna,” he added.

“NO!” the stranger said.

The three strangers closed in, pointing their spears at them.

“The wagon stays! You go!” the stranger added.

Qrixit looked shocked.

“But, I need my wagon,” he replied.

“GO NOW!” the stranger shouted.

She grabbed the lead stranger’s spear and yanked it out of its grasp before flipping it around and shoving it through its chest. Before its body went slack, she pulled the spear back out and slashed the throat of the stranger on the right, nearly severing its head. She spun the spear around in her hands and brought it down on the head of the last one, its skull shattering with a sickening crunch.

All three bodies fell limply to the ground, their blood soaking into the thick grass. She turned to find Qrixit frozen with shock. She reached over and shook him. He looked over at her, his eyes wide.

“Go and hook Trinna up. I’ll deal with the bodies,” she said.

He stared at her for a moment before nodding and shuffling off towards the huge lizard. She took the packs and spears from the corpses as well as a necklace of teeth and claws from the one that had spoken.

She tossed their things into the back of the wagon and then dragged the bodies to the lake, shoving them into the waters. She watched them float a few feet from the shore before the water around them started to roll. They disappeared under the surface and within moments were torn to shreds by the spiked fish.

When the water calmed down, she went back to the tent, packed it up, and then put it away before helping Qrixit with Trinna. When they finished, they got onto the wagon, and Anna held her hands out for the reins.

“I can see in the dark,” she said.

“You can?” he asked.

“Yes,” she replied.

He hesitated for a moment before handing her the reins. She took them and got the wagon moving, heading back for the road.

“Who are you, really?” he asked.

“It’s better if you don’t know,” she replied.

He looked away, clearly deep in thought. After a few minutes, he turned to face her again.

“Thank you,” he said.

“For what?” she asked.

“For saving me,” he replied.

“Oh, well, you’re welcome,” she said.