Life on the Neverside

Chapter Nine

A/N) Disclaimer: I don't own the Wizards Vs Aliens universe or any of the characters in it, obviously. I do, however, own this disclaimer. And various other rights.

Lexi let herself be pulled along by Tom, half because she was tired - this place seemed to sap her energy so quickly - half because secretly, deep down, she did enjoy the contact of his smooth palm on her new soft skin. They were heading south, Lexi knew, but what Tom wanted to show her was so far unknown. He was good at keeping secrets, Tom. Lexi supposed it was because he had to keep the secret of being a wizard and what he did outside school from everyone.

"Are we there yet?" she found herself asking, just to break the silence.

Tom grinned back at her. "You sound like my gran on long car journeys."

Lexi made a face and a disgruntled snort. "Oh, thanks."

Tom laughed lightly, and continued pulling her along. "Nearly there. Only a few metres."

Still all Lexi could see was trees. But she could hear a curious sound, sort of swishing and whispering quietly. She voiced this to Tom, who just smiled secretly to himself and pulled her through a large mass of undergrowth, moving it aside for her so she could duck under the large boughs.

And on the other side was a river.

It was quite narrow but deep enough, Lexi could see. The water was cool as she dipped a hand in and enjoyed the pleasurable sensation of it lapping around her fingers. There wasn't much time to enjoy Earth water on the Zarantulus. Tom looked quite proud of himself with the discovery. On the riverbank was a wet flapping fish.

"You caught that?" Lexi asked in interest.

Tom nodded. "My dad taught me to fish a while back. I was never great at it but I'm not too bad now."

"It could be useful," Lexi contemplated with a small smile.

"Fish are good roasted," Tom agreed. "And I'm sure fish and three legged birds will make a good combination."

"We hope," added Lexi, attempting to pick up the fish. It was large and plump and very slippery, as it turned out.

"The fish here are big! Better than we have at home in the lakes," Tom said, watching with barely concealed amusement at Lexi's attempts to pick up the wriggling fish. Lexi grunted in response, trying to get a better grip on the slippery scales of the animal and succeeding only in making it jump up in her hands, resulting in a mad chase to catch it. Tom was chuckling, Lexi knew. And she hated being laughed at.

"Tom!" she said in exasperation, half pleading. Tom rolled his eyes and took the fish, grabbing it just behind the head and holding tight as Lexi washed her hands in the river. "Fish are stupid," she muttered.

"Fish might keep us alive," Tom corrected.

"Well I'll leave that fun job to you," Lexi told him. "Fishing seems to be much more your thing."

"True that," Tom agreed. A moment's silence. Then the boy grinned again. "But it was funny seeing you trying to grab hold of a slimy fish."

Lexi huffed. "It was not funny... you're laughing at me! Stop laughing at me!"

But Tom was chuckling despite himself, the mental image obviously stuck in his head. Now it was Lexi's turn to roll her eyes and stalk past him, muttering under her breath: "Stupid wizard teenagers thinking they're so funny..."

But later she would admit to Tom it had been pretty funny.