36 River Quost

It was Clober who had pointed out the river. Three hours after they had set off again in the morning, Brightise's little sister had raised her right index finger as she sat on their horse and pointed it to a space between two bushes, where a shimmering light could be seen in the sun.

"Water!" Clober yelled joyfully.

Brightise shared her joy wholeheartedly. The river was a sign that they were close to their destination, but it was also a pure source of cool, fresh water. The two of them hadn't cleaned properly ever since Syd had created that rain. If first impressions mattered at all, then Brightise would rather she didn't look filthy when she entered the Amazon Camp and asked for shelter.

Her muddy, bare feet were a disgusting enough sight.

Clobber did not even ask for permission to jump in the river. She just scrambled off the horse, ran a few meters on her short little feet and dove right in.

"Take off your clothes first!" Brightise yelled, when it was already too late.

Clober pretended not to hear her, which was exactly what she expected her to do.

In the end, Brightise just shrugged, took off her outer layer of clothes and followed her sister, who was already splashing around in the water. No one could have guessed the girl's secret heritage by watching her play on the shallow river bed. The thought made Brightise relax.

When Clober got tired of flicking water drops in Brightise's eyes, and Brightise got tired of pretending to scold her, the two of them got out and lay down on the soft grass, stretching their limbs as they let the sun dry their clothes. Brightise felt so relaxed that she let her eyes drift shut. As she heard the soothing sound of birds in the distance, she allowed her mind to wander.

The desire to know what kind of Fire Power she possessed burned the back of her head. She hoped it was something cool and deadly, like breathing fire into her enemies, but she would be satisfied with something even half as useful as that.

Suddenly, Brightise felt three water drops land on her face.

"Clober!" she yelled with her eyes still closed.

"What?"

"Stop that!"

"I didn't do anything."

When Brightise opened her eyes, her sister was still lying next to her, looking at her with a puzzled expression.

"I felt..." Brightise trailed off in confusion. "Sorry, I must have imagined it."

As soon as she shut her eyes again, what seemed like an entire bucket of water landed on her chest.

"Hey!" Brightise sprung up and looked around her, scanning her surroundings quickly.

Clober was still on the ground and her lips were closed, but Brightise could have sworn she had heard something. When she strained to listen, she heard it again.

It was a gurgling sound that sounded a lot like laughter.

Brightise turned her eyes to the river and saw a bunch of bubbles bobbing up and down on its surface.

"Who's there?" she shouted.

The bubbles suddenly multiplied, as if the person or creature producing them was laughing even harder.

"I can see you!" Brightise yelled in challenge, sounding braver than she really felt.

A few seconds later, the bubbles disappeared and the blond head of a young girl broke the surface of the river.

Clober shrieked in surprise, but the girl, who seemed to be about Brightise's age, just shook her wet hair out and smiled in greeting.

"That's why they don't send me on secret missions!" she said with a giggle.