Fisherman's Luck

Sneaking (II)

"Is this close enough?" Luc asked, peering over the top of the grassy hill.

"I can't see anything," River muttered.

"What type of grass is this?" Oren Tao asked, pulling a few pieces from the ground. "What happens if I smoke it..."

"Stop that!" River hissed, slapping the grass out of his hand. "A gentleman always completes the missions his lady gives him. You can't complete your mission by alerting the enemy of our presence."

Luc rolled onto his back and closed his eyes. The weather was perfect that day. Not too hot, not too cold. Perfect amount of breeze to nullify the effect of the stray rays of sun.

"Stop that!" River shouted, bashing Luc over the head.

Luc scowled and rolled onto his side. "We have a perfect view of the thing. Don't worry about it."

"A true gentleman keeps to his absolute word," said River.

"Well, you've said many times before that I'm not a true gentleman," said Luc. "Now buzz off and go chase some butterflies."

River kicked him viciously in the side.

"Holy Dragon okay!" Luc shouted.

-

Several minutes later they found themselves wading behind reeds in the water, keeping only the top halves of their heads above the water. Luc shot River a dirty look over his shoulder. He wouldn't forgive her for this. Especially if something bad happened to him.

There was work being done on the dock as usual. Workers walked around hammering wooden planks down in random places and shoving supports into the ground beneath the water. Several of the workers yawned and others joked around and threw tools at each other. It was quite a merry workplace.

"They're having so much fun," said Luc. "It's just like they're little kids."

"They're not actual workers," Oren Tao replied. "That's obvious, right?"

"...right," said Luc.

They lowered their heads under the water once more and continued on their way along the length of the beach. Hopefully the workers' awareness was just as lackluster as their ability to work.

The reeds ahead were quite sparse. Luc motioned for River and Oren Tao to stop.

"We might be seen after we move past this bush of reeds," Luc whispered.

"What do you mean 'might be seen'?" River asked sourly.

"We're going to need to go into top secret mode," said Luc. "All you guys have to do is follow my lead."

"Top secret mode?" River asked, eyes opening wide.

Luc smiled to himself. She would soon come to understand why Emora had come to him to get this job done. He took a deep breath and plunged down under the water. He glanced over his shoulder and made sure that River and Oren Tao followed suit. He realized that River was still standing. He resurfaced and looked at her dumbly.

"Do you really not remember?" River muttered, folding her arms and cheeks reddening.

"What?" Luc asked dumbly.

"I...I can't swim."

"Oh...right. Oren!"

"What?" Oren asked, quickly dropping the sharp rock he was about to impale himself with.