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"Well, I'm guessing the little scamps wanted to have a picnic together," the bartender replied with a wry smile. "I'd say Snatch was a bad influence on my daughter, if I didn't think she could handle herself. How's Rick this morning?"
“A picnic with one fish isn’t much of a picnic,” Tanrial pulled out a seat near by with a sigh, “Rick seemed well, he’s still working on the new cabin and I suspect he will be all morning. But he seems good.”
"Glad to hear. He seems like he'll be a fine neighbor, maybe even help deter bandits from that direction." The bartender gave Tanrial a nod. "Something to drink? It looks like it's getting pretty warm out there, and I just made some iced tea. Fear has the power to make ice, you know, so I've been sending Rebka over to fetch some for the tavern."
“For a water beast I’m not surprised she can,” She chuckled lightly, “Yes, please, the iced tea sounds lovely. What about you two?” She looked to Bernon and Mike.
"Tea sounds great, thanks," Bernon said brightly, sitting down next to Tanrial. "Mike?….Uh, Mike?"
"Hm? Oh." Mike had been staring out the window, and only now turned to look at them. "Just water please. Looks like there's a couple kids heading this way. I think I recognize Wren. Rick said her family is staying with you guys now?"
The bartender nodded as he poured out their drinks. "We were a bit worried about feeding all of the at first, but they've settled in now and everyone's glad to have them. I expect they'll be excited to see you, especially the younger ones."
“It’s been a hot minute since we’ve seen them all,” She sighed, “I’m afraid to admit I might have forgotten some of their names… but I think that also comes with old age as well as being separated from them all.”
The bartender rubbed the back of his neck. "Don't feel too bad, I've been seeing them every day and I still can't keep them straight." He glanced out the window. "I know that's Wren, though, and the boy with her is Peter, the kid with healing powers. Their both so smart for their age, it's a little scary…but they're good company all the same."
The pair reached the tavern door and came inside, chatting. Both were wearing village clothing and developing a healthy tan. Wren in particular seemed much happier now, and the shadows under her eyes were finally gone.
Peter was the first to notice Tanrial and the others, and when he did his face lit up. "Tanrial! We heard you guys were back! I'm so glad to see you!"
Tanrial smiled back, "Peter, how have you been? Sorry we've been gone so long, had a few things to you know, attend to that went on for longer then we all hoped for."
Peter trotted over and gave her a quick hug. "We've been okay. We've been working really hard to figure out how we can help this village. There's some people here that have been sick for a long time, and I'm researching to see if my blood could heal them somehow. And Wren's going to start a school and be a teacher, right Wren?"
Wren smiled slightly as she came to join them. "I'm still just thinking about it. How are you three today?"
“Not too bad thanks Wren, we’ve been out and visited Rick and the gang so it was nice to see them. Snatch is… somewhere with Rebka but where exactly we aren’t too sure.” She chuckled lightly, shaking her head to herself.
"Oh, I know where they are," Wren said. "I saw them hiding in a rowboat underneath the dock of the tavern. They seemed pretty giggly, like they were up to something."
The bartender sighed. "They stole themselves some lunch, so that's probably why they're down there." he poured two cups of tea and handed them to Wren and Peter. "Has the group we sent to repair the trail to town come back yet?"
Wren shook her head. "Not that I've seen. They should be here soon, though." She glanced at Tanrial and the others. "They asked Jackie to help them, and with her strength they should be done in no time."
Tanrial nodded, taking a sip of her drink, “That’s good, then. Rick didn’t give a time for Snatch to be back but he did say that if she did get too annoying then we could send her back.”
"I'll tell Rebka to walk her home before dark, then," the bartender said.
Peter finished his tea and looked up. "Do you guys want to say hi to the rest of us? We should be all gathering in the beach for lunch soon."
“Sure, I don’t see why not,” She shrugged, “It’s been a little bit since we’ve seen you all and we won’t be here for much longer so.”
Peter looked somewhat sad at her final comment. "You're leaving soon? But you just got back…."
"Well it's gonna be a long trip," Bernon said apologetically. "We'd like to set out while there's still plenty of summer left. But we definitely didn't want to leave before we said goodbye to everyone."
Peter nodded. "I understand. Wren, do you mind if I go find the others and make sure they're not late for lunch?"
"Go ahead," Wren replied, then turned to the bartender. "Polla asked me to talk to you about some things regarding the new school when you have a moment."
Mike watched them converse for a minute, then leaned over to Tanrial and Bernon. "If you guys are done here, how about we head outside and check on Snatch, maybe make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble on our watch?"
Tanrial nodded, finishing her tea before she stood, "Probably a good idea. Hey, we'll see you and everyone else a little later, yeah Wren? We're just gonna go check on Snatch."
Wren glanced up and gave her a small wave. "Okay. We'll see you later, then."
Mike walked them to the door and stepped outside, squinting in the bright sunlight. "I guess it's getting pretty close to noon, isn't it? Maybe we should eat with the kids when they have their lunch, if you guys are getting hungry."
"I sure am," Bernon replied. "Spending a lot of time outdoors really boosts my appetite." He glanced around, then hopped off the porch and circled the tavern to peek underneath it. "Snatch? You there?"
A muffled giggle came from the shade under the building's stilt-like foundations. "Who goes there? Be warned, we're very dangerous!"
Tanrial held back a snort, "Oh sure, you're the most dangerous person I've ever met, that's for sure," She sighed, "We just came to check up and see if that dangerous person is okay and wanted any lunch if they hadn't eaten already."
"Uh, we're doing okay," Rebka called, sounding a bit guilty for being associated with Snatch the Troublemaker. "And don't worry, we have plenty of—ow!"
"Hold on!" Snatch told her in a very audible whisper. "Don't tell them that! Watch me get us two lunches, heheh!" A moment later she yelled at Tanrial and the others again. "We're suuuuper hungry! Where's th' food?"
Bernon smirked. "It's not ready yet, kiddo. We're gonna join Ryker's kids on the beach for a picnic pretty soon. You can both come too, if you want."
"Oooh—okay! We'll be right there!" More muffled giggling.
"Hm, I dunno Bernon, I heard a rumor that those two took a couple fish. If they took that then they wouldn't need any lunch. And liars don't get extras," Tanrial sighed loudly and dramatically, "So unless the rumor is incorrect I suggest they own up."
The giggling stopped abruptly. "What? No, that's a lie! We didn't take two fish, we only took—mmph!"
Now it was Rebka's turn to quickly interrupt Snatch. "Please don't get us in trouble!" she called to Tanrial in a dismayed voice. "It was just a small fish! At least let us come to the picnic with you, please? We won't steal anything else, we promise!"
“So you did take a fish? Well, I for one suggest you apologise to your father Rebka, you as well Snatch, and as long as you both promise to behave then you can come, okay?”
Both girls came out into the sunlight–Snatch looking grumpy, Rebka looking guilty and embarrassed. "We promise," Snatch huffed. "C'mon, Rebka." Grabbing Rebka's hand, she dragged her friend around to the front of the tavern so they could go confront the bartender.
Bernon sighed. "Sucks to be a spoilsport, but better that than a bad example, I guess. Anybody else wanna go wading in the lake while we wait for them to come back?"
"Sure, I'll join you," Tanrial quickly rolled up the end of her trousers, making sure they wouldn't get wet and stick to her skin afterwards, "You comin' Mike?"
"Join us, Mike," Bernon encouraged cheerfully, already knee-deep in the shallows. "It's not a break day unless you mess around in a lake at some point."
Mike paused, then shrugged and started pulling off his shoes. "Okay, okay, I'll be right there. Watch your step, though, there might be broken glass or another bulldozer down there under the water."
(le gasp Hold on, was that….a joke? From Mike?? It's a miracle! XDD)