Heaving himself out, Moss said as an aside to Kel, ‘Now it’s your turn, give ’em a fright if you can, it’s the only way we can get our own back.’
The temptation to even the score was too much, and Kel leapt to his feet almost before Moss had finished speaking.
Eager hands made a grab for Kel, but he was too quick for them and made a dive for the water. The huge splash he made soaked those who had rushed to the bank to try and stop him, much to the amusement of the others.
He swam out, not as gracefully as Moss had, but considerably further, and that caused an outcry from the watching females. They seemed reluctant to enter the water, and shouted and leapt up and down on the river bank, obviously very angry, much to Moss’s enjoyment.
A different cry suddenly went up, sheer terror in their combined voices, and Kel heard it. Instinctively he surged for the bank, arms and legs thrashing the water into a foaming mass as he accelerated forward. Eager hands grabbed him as he reached the bank, and only just in time as a pair of mighty jaws opened just behind him, to later shut with a deep thump.
The water monster, fully ten times the length of the onlookers, slid back into the deeper water, with only its stalk mounted eyes visible above the surface. It must have wondered how its prey had escaped.
‘What was that thing?’ exclaimed Kel, when he got his breath back.
‘We call it Great Snapper,’ one of the females said angrily, ‘and you nearly got snapped by it. It swallow you in one piece, and you then no more.’
‘Why didn’t someone say that thing was in the water?’ asked Moss, who was just as angry, but for a different reason.
‘Not see very much, last time seen, very long ago. Sorry,’ one of the females offered as some sort of possible apology.
The bathing party, having had enough excitement for one day, set off back to the collection of stone huts, several of them collecting fruits on the way.
‘You eat all the fruits and pods of this forest?’ asked Moss.
‘Yes, all are good. The bad ones we dig up a long time ago. We not let them live here.’ said one of the females, handing Moss a brightly coloured round fruit which he hadn’t seen before.
‘Eat, it very good.’ and he did, and it was good. Kel was handed one of the new fruits, and having taken a small bite, due to his naturally suspicious nature of the unknown, he too consumed the rest of it.
The pair held their hands out for more, but were only given one more each. When they again tried to acquire more of the delicious fruit, heads were shaken, and one or two of the females looked rather sternly at their companions, who had provided the fruit in the first place.
Kel’s suspicions were qualified when a little later, Moss began to giggle like a small boy, and he called out to him,
‘You’d better try and sick that fruit up, it’s not what you think.’
‘Don’t be silly, it’s lovely, I’m lovely, they’re all lovely.’ responded a very jolly Moss.
Kel tried to be sick, but to no avail, the fruit was inside him and he was feeling all right so far.
‘Funny lot, these females.’ he muttered to himself, stumbling several times but helped up by his female companion who never left his side.
Silently the little troop made its way up the hill towards the encampment, except for the occasional giggle from Moss and the quiet muttering of endearments from Kel’s companion.
Instead of going straight back to the main hut, which the pair expected, they were diverted off to one side and entered a smaller stone house on the outskirts of the group.
The whole party crowded in, and Moss and Kel were gently helped to lay down on a bed of soft fern like fronds.
By now the fruit had taken its full effect, and the two were in a state of euphoria, their eyes out of focus and their minds out of gear.
Moss began to make singing noises, but another mouth closed over his, and that was the end of the recital. Kel tried to sit up, but something soft and warm was holding him down and he soon gave up the unequal struggle and surrendered to the heady pheromone of the female’s hair.
It was dark when they came to, Kel’s little friend was still by his side, holding his hand and cooing softly.
‘What happened?’ asked Moss, the first to sit up, and trying to take stock of his surroundings.
‘I think I’d rather not know.’ replied Kel, knowing full well what had happened.
Moss was about to make a remark about his battered appendage when there was the sound of voices outside the hut. The Lesser Sun had risen and the soft silver light showed three older females entering the opening, and from the sound of their voices they were not in a happy mood.
One of them addressed Kel’s companion in a stern voice,
‘What you doing here?’
As she got no reply, she took the younger female by the arm and lifted her to her feet.
‘You go out.’ And she did, at full speed.
‘What’s been going on.’ asked Moss, all innocence in his voice in case he too was going to be chastised.
‘You not know?’ asked one of the females, ‘I am much surprised.’ and she bent down to smell his breath.
‘Not so surprised now. You feel good? You can walk?’
‘I think so.’ said Moss, staggering to his feet.
‘Good, you come with us.’ and Moss and Kel were led out of the hut, a little wobbly from their experience, but ambulant, with help.
It was only a short distance to the main hut they had found themselves in the night before, but to them it seemed a very long way indeed. Strong arms helped them along the way, but there was little of the jollity of the previous group
