Four people stand at the lake's edge. There is a slight tension in the air as each pair is uncertain if the other is to be trusted. The silence is broken by the pleasant voice of a well built man named Gol.

"My name is Gol, and this is Cara. Who might you two be?" Gol's tone is friendly, yet firm.

Dar is surprised by how sincere the man sounds, but doesn't let it show on his face.

"I'm Tack, and this is Dar. It's nice to meet you." Tack answers politely.

"Likewise." Cara reciprocates Tack's intention, albeit she glares at Dar while speaking.

Dar breaks eye contact with Cara as she speaks, and prefers to instead look at the grass beneath his feet. Gol clears his throat before continuing the conversation.

"Cara and I have been looking for other people, but you're the first we've found. Have you two seen anyone else, or is it just us so far?" Gol's inquires with a friendly demeanor.

"We haven't seen anyone else. Dar and I both started by this lake, and haven't gone far from it." Tack responds honestly.

The four of them converse about their origins as well as their experiences thus far. Dar looks deeply troubled by the news of wolf packs living in the deep woods; Gol looks disappointed when he learns they have yet to catch any food. The conversation wraps up with Cara surveying the plants around the water alongside Dar, and Gol accompanying Tack to try catching fish.

~

Tack is standing alongside Gol with their legs submerged in a stream. Small fish nibble at the hair on Gol's legs while several minnows brush against Tack's ankles. The two of them are focused on the fish beneath them, yet after an hour of trying they have had no luck in grabbing their aquatic prey.

"Maybe we need to try a different method?" Gol quietly breaks the silence.

The fish don't react to the man's deep voice as he talks; Both of the men are relieved by this.

"If anyone can do it, you can." Tack says this with a bit of envy.

Gol glances at the young man, and realizes the boy is likely jealous of his muscular body. God created Tack with a lean younger body, yet Gol's physique is impressively chiseled.

"You know someday you'll be just as strong as I am. You've got a lot of life left to live."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Tack reflects on this for a moment before feeling sheepish about the whole thing. He shakes his head softly as if to shake off his childish jealousy. Neither of them say anything for several minutes; They glance at one another before plunging their hands into the stream simultaneously.

They both come up empty handed.

~

Dar walks through the trees near the lake with Cara in tow. The plant loving woman is eyeing his back cautiously, yet her attention constantly flits to the variety of plants she hasn't gotten familiar with. The reeds by the edge of the lake are new to her as well as the algae beneath the water, yet Dar is more concerned with trying to find another food source.

"You're taking me awfully far from the lake." Cara jabs at Dar verbally.

Dar stops walking, and turns to give the woman a rather offended expression. He sighs and steps aside to gesture for Cara to lead the way.

"I don't see why we need to go any further." Cara scoffs at Dar.

"We haven't found anything of note, and we're not even out of sight of the lake." Dar replies.

Cara gives him a smug smirk before knocking the back of her hand against the trunk of a tree. To someone like Dar this is just another oak tree, but Cara knows better. Cara's eyes widen slightly when a round red fruit falls from the tree's branches only to land directly on Dar's head.

"Gah! What was that?!" Dar rubs the top of his head.

Dar glances both up into the branches and down at his feed. There between his bare feet sits a slightly beat up fruit. The thing is somewhat firm and bright red. Dar gives Cara a suspicious look whilst holding the red fruit in one hand.

"I-I didn't mean for it to hit you." Cara explains hurriedly.

Cara frowns slightly while her apologetic expression melts into one of unbridled curiosity. She looks at the red fruit before reaching out a hand for it.

"May I look at it..?" Cara asks impatiently.

"Fine, but don't throw it at me." Dar replies in a grumble.

Cara takes the fruit before looking at it closely; Dar crosses his arm while glancing up at the branches of the odd tree.

"This is an apple." Cara remarks.

Realization dawns on Dar as he looks back at the red fruit in her hand. These are a good source of sustenance, and can be used to create new apple trees. Dar takes the chance to grab a low handing apple from the tree.

They both stop speaking to one another in favor of quietly munching on their respective apples. The red skin of the fruit falls away with each bite to reveal the pale interior; Juice drips down their chins as they devour the apples like hungry beasts.

~

The sun is dipping low in the sky now; The four humans have gathered around a flat rock on the beach. The birdsong has been replaced with a chorus of grasshoppers and the faint sound of the nearby stream. There is a stockpile of apples sitting on the flat rock beside them, and several apple cores litter the ground.

Gol has a disappointed expression on his face. His attitude is understandable as the efforts to catch a fish from the stream proved fruitless, while the foraging proved fruitful in the literal sense.

"Don't worry Gol, I'm sure there's a way to catch the fish." Cara reassures Gol.

Tack nods softly from across them and takes a bite of his apple. The juice drips down his chin as he chomps away at the fruit; Dar clears his throat before speaking.

"God wouldn't have taught us fish can be eaten if we couldn't catch them." Dar explains his observation.

"I hadn't thought about that. Maybe we're doing it wrong?" Gol nods at Dar's words.

The four of them chat about the prospects of catching fish to eat, and joke about the day's events. The conversation peters out as darkness sets in. They eventually drift off to sleep with bellies full of fruit.