The Fantastic Journey Fic: Gone Fishing
Mar. 19th, 2026 07:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
badly_knittedTitle: Gone Fishing
Fandom: The Fantastic Journey
Author:
badly_knittedCharacters: Jonathan, Varian, Fred.
Rating: PG
Setting: After the series.
Summary: Jonathan joins Varian scouting around while the others make camp; it ends up being more eventful than they were expecting.
Word Count: 1568
Written For: Challenge 497: Fish at
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fan_flashworks.Disclaimer: I don’t own The Fantastic Journey, or the characters. They belong to their creators.
Jonathan wasn’t sure what had possessed him to agree to scout around with Varian after they made camp for the night, when he’d refused every other time he’d been asked. Maybe it was because he was feeling a bit restless, or because he was afraid he might be conscripted into gathering firewood, which was tedious and mucky work. Whatever the reason, he’d surprised Varian and himself by saying yes instead of making some excuse not to, so here the two of them were, exploring the immediate area beyond their camp.
They’d called a halt earlier than they usually would have because they’d stumbled across a freshwater spring, and sources of drinkable water could be hard to come by. It had seemed sensible to make the best possible use of it, drinking their fill and thoroughly cleaning and refilling their canteens, so why not stay there overnight?
They could all do with a rest anyway. They were all footsore from the long trek, the weather was hot and dry, and even Jonathan had taken his jacket off and pushed his sleeves up. Wearing nothing but black wasn’t ideal on days like this, but that was all he had so there was no point complaining, although a change of outfit might have been nice. Perhaps next time they were somewhere civilised… Still, that was a matter for a future time, it wasn’t important right now.
Ambling along beside Varian, neither of them in any particular hurry, just looking around to see what lay ahead, was surprisingly relaxing. They talked idly about this and that, each of them curious about the time the other came from, and Jonathan began to see that these excursions for Varian were, at least in part, a way for the healer to check up on his fellow travellers one-on-one, see how they were holding up without anyone else listening in.
They were also for checking out the lie of the land, and attempting to locate where the next gateway might be, because there weren’t always people around willing to point them in the right direction, but so far they hadn’t spotted anything that might give them any trouble, and Varian wasn’t sensing anything. He wasn’t sensing people either, which Jonathan thought was probably a good thing, since not everyone proved to be friendly, and the two of them weren’t exactly well equipped to defend themselves. With nothing they needed to worry about, the scouting expedition was proving a pleasant interlude despite the heat.
They strolled slowly around a small lake, where fish could be seen occasionally leaping to catch insects. It was such a tranquil scene that halfway around, the two men paused their meandering and settled on a convenient rock near the water’s edge, gazing out across the gently rippling surface as it sparkled in the sunlight, letting the serenity of the scene wrap around them.
“It’s a pity I don’t fish,” Jonathan mused. “Freshly caught trout might make for a good evening meal. We’re getting a bit low on supplies again.”
Varian leaned back on his elbows, looking as relaxed and at ease as Jonathan had ever seen him. “The Arawak natives I lived with for a while were adept at spear fishing.”
“Really? I don’t suppose they happened to teach you, did they?”
“They tried.” Varian laughed. “Let’s just say I don’t seem to have the knack.”
“Oh?”
“I fell in, much to their amusement. Fortunately, I swim better than I fish. Although, I suspect my heart wasn’t really in it. Killing any living creature…” Varian trailed off, shaking his head. “It just feels wrong.”
“I had noticed you tend to avoid eating meat.”
“Wherever possible, yes. Most people in my time are vegetarians. In many ways it’s more practical on a journey like this; we can rely on the land when we need to.”
“Hm.” Another small fact about the future for Jonathan to file away, and another interesting insight into his friend, something he perhaps should have guessed at; as they walked, Varian would often forage for fruit, nuts, seeds, roots… Whatever he could find to supplement the supplies they picked up from the settlements they passed through. He seemed to know a great deal about what was safe to eat and what wasn’t; perhaps that was a more successful lesson the Arawaks had taught him.
Finally, Varian pushed himself upright and stretched. “We should head back. The others will be wondering where we are.”
“I suppose so. We don’t want them to worry.” Jonathan threw a final, wistful glance at the leaping fish, then got to his feet and followed Varian, who seemed intent on completing their circuit of the lake and taking a different route back. “How do you always find your way?”
“Instinct.” Varian smiled. “And a good sense of direction.”
“That’s a useful talent to have.”
“It can be.”
Despite knowing the others would be waiting, they kept to the same unhurried pace. Coming to a fast-flowing river that cut across their path and emptied into the lake, they followed it until they came to some tumbled, waterworn boulders that looked like they would serve as stepping stones. Jonathan was hallway across, when his foot slipped, and Varian automatically reached out to steady him, only to overbalance himself. With an almighty splash, he tumbled headfirst into the pool on the upstream side of the rocks as Jonathan somehow managed to regain his footing.
“Well!” Jonathan smirked down at his friend. “That was clever. Enjoying your swim?”
“Not particularly. I generally prefer not to swim in my clothes, but at least the water’s pleasantly cool.” Getting his feet under him, Varian stood up in water deep enough to reach halfway up his chest and floundered his way back to the boulders.
“Here.” Jonathan reached a hand down to help him out. “Looks like I get to do a bit of fishing after all, even if only to rescue you.” Then Jonathan’s foot slipped again, and with a startled yelp, he joined Varian in the pool, knocking the taller man off his feet, both of them vanishing beneath the water only to surface, spluttering.
“What did you do that for?” Varian scrambled upright again, frowning at Jonathan, and slicking water out of his curly hair.
“It wasn’t intentional! I slipped!” Willaway glared back at Varian, then began to smile. “I suppose it was karma, what I deserved for finding your predicament so amusing.”
“Well, there’s little point in trying to get back on the rocks now. We’re both soaked anyway, we might as well head for the bank.”
Getting out of the river turned out to be far more difficult than falling in; the bank was slippery, with little in the way of hand- or footholds, so they floundered their way further upstream. By the time they’d found a spot where the bank was low enough and had managed to drag themselves out of the water, they were laughing so hard that for several minutes they couldn’t speak. Varian flopped onto his back, trying to catch his breath, and Jonathan propped himself on one elbow. “We’re not very good at crossing rivers, are we?”
“Apparently not.” Sitting up, Varian stripped his shirt off and wrung it out, then took his boots off, emptying the water out of them, and wringing his socks out before putting his boots back on.
Jonathan, seeing the wisdom in it, did the same. He even tried to squeeze the worst of the water out of his trouser legs, but that didn’t seem to make much different
“Come on.” Varian stood up, socks in hand, slinging his wet shirt over one shoulder and offering Jonathan a hand up.
Accepting Varian’s assistance, Jonathan let the taller man pull him to his feet. “Is scouting around usually so eventful?” he asked, wincing at the way his trousers and sweater clung wetly to him as he fell into step beside his friend.
“Nooo,” Varian drawled, “but it’s not usually this entertaining either.” His blue eyes were sparkling with humor.
“Goodness knows what the others will think when we walk back into camp looking like this.”
“We could just tell them we went for a swim.” The expression of complete innocence on Varian’s face wouldn’t have fooled anyone.
“With all our clothes on?”
“Saves having to wash them?” Varian suggested.
That set Jonathan off again, and they were still laughing, and still wet, when they got back to where the others were camped.
Their friends stared at the pair in disbelief.
“What happened to you two?” Fred asked when he found his voice.
“River.” Varian said. “Stepping stones.” Chuckling, he shook his head as he draped his shirt and socks over a nearby rock to dry in the late afternoon sun, taking his boots off and turning them upside down so any remaining water would drain out.
“He fell in,” Willaway explained. “Then I fell in trying to fish him out. Next time I go swimming, I think I’d rather take my clothes off first. This is not particularly comfortable.” He dug in his backpack for his dry clothing. “And for the record, that’s the last time I’m going scouting around with that madman!”
Varian’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s hardly fair to blame me for this, Jonathan. I only fell in because you slipped.”
Shaking his head, Fred turned to Scott and Liana. “We can’t take those two anywhere.”
The End
They’d called a halt earlier than they usually would have because they’d stumbled across a freshwater spring, and sources of drinkable water could be hard to come by. It had seemed sensible to make the best possible use of it, drinking their fill and thoroughly cleaning and refilling their canteens, so why not stay there overnight?
They could all do with a rest anyway. They were all footsore from the long trek, the weather was hot and dry, and even Jonathan had taken his jacket off and pushed his sleeves up. Wearing nothing but black wasn’t ideal on days like this, but that was all he had so there was no point complaining, although a change of outfit might have been nice. Perhaps next time they were somewhere civilised… Still, that was a matter for a future time, it wasn’t important right now.
Ambling along beside Varian, neither of them in any particular hurry, just looking around to see what lay ahead, was surprisingly relaxing. They talked idly about this and that, each of them curious about the time the other came from, and Jonathan began to see that these excursions for Varian were, at least in part, a way for the healer to check up on his fellow travellers one-on-one, see how they were holding up without anyone else listening in.
They were also for checking out the lie of the land, and attempting to locate where the next gateway might be, because there weren’t always people around willing to point them in the right direction, but so far they hadn’t spotted anything that might give them any trouble, and Varian wasn’t sensing anything. He wasn’t sensing people either, which Jonathan thought was probably a good thing, since not everyone proved to be friendly, and the two of them weren’t exactly well equipped to defend themselves. With nothing they needed to worry about, the scouting expedition was proving a pleasant interlude despite the heat.
They strolled slowly around a small lake, where fish could be seen occasionally leaping to catch insects. It was such a tranquil scene that halfway around, the two men paused their meandering and settled on a convenient rock near the water’s edge, gazing out across the gently rippling surface as it sparkled in the sunlight, letting the serenity of the scene wrap around them.
“It’s a pity I don’t fish,” Jonathan mused. “Freshly caught trout might make for a good evening meal. We’re getting a bit low on supplies again.”
Varian leaned back on his elbows, looking as relaxed and at ease as Jonathan had ever seen him. “The Arawak natives I lived with for a while were adept at spear fishing.”
“Really? I don’t suppose they happened to teach you, did they?”
“They tried.” Varian laughed. “Let’s just say I don’t seem to have the knack.”
“Oh?”
“I fell in, much to their amusement. Fortunately, I swim better than I fish. Although, I suspect my heart wasn’t really in it. Killing any living creature…” Varian trailed off, shaking his head. “It just feels wrong.”
“I had noticed you tend to avoid eating meat.”
“Wherever possible, yes. Most people in my time are vegetarians. In many ways it’s more practical on a journey like this; we can rely on the land when we need to.”
“Hm.” Another small fact about the future for Jonathan to file away, and another interesting insight into his friend, something he perhaps should have guessed at; as they walked, Varian would often forage for fruit, nuts, seeds, roots… Whatever he could find to supplement the supplies they picked up from the settlements they passed through. He seemed to know a great deal about what was safe to eat and what wasn’t; perhaps that was a more successful lesson the Arawaks had taught him.
Finally, Varian pushed himself upright and stretched. “We should head back. The others will be wondering where we are.”
“I suppose so. We don’t want them to worry.” Jonathan threw a final, wistful glance at the leaping fish, then got to his feet and followed Varian, who seemed intent on completing their circuit of the lake and taking a different route back. “How do you always find your way?”
“Instinct.” Varian smiled. “And a good sense of direction.”
“That’s a useful talent to have.”
“It can be.”
Despite knowing the others would be waiting, they kept to the same unhurried pace. Coming to a fast-flowing river that cut across their path and emptied into the lake, they followed it until they came to some tumbled, waterworn boulders that looked like they would serve as stepping stones. Jonathan was hallway across, when his foot slipped, and Varian automatically reached out to steady him, only to overbalance himself. With an almighty splash, he tumbled headfirst into the pool on the upstream side of the rocks as Jonathan somehow managed to regain his footing.
“Well!” Jonathan smirked down at his friend. “That was clever. Enjoying your swim?”
“Not particularly. I generally prefer not to swim in my clothes, but at least the water’s pleasantly cool.” Getting his feet under him, Varian stood up in water deep enough to reach halfway up his chest and floundered his way back to the boulders.
“Here.” Jonathan reached a hand down to help him out. “Looks like I get to do a bit of fishing after all, even if only to rescue you.” Then Jonathan’s foot slipped again, and with a startled yelp, he joined Varian in the pool, knocking the taller man off his feet, both of them vanishing beneath the water only to surface, spluttering.
“What did you do that for?” Varian scrambled upright again, frowning at Jonathan, and slicking water out of his curly hair.
“It wasn’t intentional! I slipped!” Willaway glared back at Varian, then began to smile. “I suppose it was karma, what I deserved for finding your predicament so amusing.”
“Well, there’s little point in trying to get back on the rocks now. We’re both soaked anyway, we might as well head for the bank.”
Getting out of the river turned out to be far more difficult than falling in; the bank was slippery, with little in the way of hand- or footholds, so they floundered their way further upstream. By the time they’d found a spot where the bank was low enough and had managed to drag themselves out of the water, they were laughing so hard that for several minutes they couldn’t speak. Varian flopped onto his back, trying to catch his breath, and Jonathan propped himself on one elbow. “We’re not very good at crossing rivers, are we?”
“Apparently not.” Sitting up, Varian stripped his shirt off and wrung it out, then took his boots off, emptying the water out of them, and wringing his socks out before putting his boots back on.
Jonathan, seeing the wisdom in it, did the same. He even tried to squeeze the worst of the water out of his trouser legs, but that didn’t seem to make much different
“Come on.” Varian stood up, socks in hand, slinging his wet shirt over one shoulder and offering Jonathan a hand up.
Accepting Varian’s assistance, Jonathan let the taller man pull him to his feet. “Is scouting around usually so eventful?” he asked, wincing at the way his trousers and sweater clung wetly to him as he fell into step beside his friend.
“Nooo,” Varian drawled, “but it’s not usually this entertaining either.” His blue eyes were sparkling with humor.
“Goodness knows what the others will think when we walk back into camp looking like this.”
“We could just tell them we went for a swim.” The expression of complete innocence on Varian’s face wouldn’t have fooled anyone.
“With all our clothes on?”
“Saves having to wash them?” Varian suggested.
That set Jonathan off again, and they were still laughing, and still wet, when they got back to where the others were camped.
Their friends stared at the pair in disbelief.
“What happened to you two?” Fred asked when he found his voice.
“River.” Varian said. “Stepping stones.” Chuckling, he shook his head as he draped his shirt and socks over a nearby rock to dry in the late afternoon sun, taking his boots off and turning them upside down so any remaining water would drain out.
“He fell in,” Willaway explained. “Then I fell in trying to fish him out. Next time I go swimming, I think I’d rather take my clothes off first. This is not particularly comfortable.” He dug in his backpack for his dry clothing. “And for the record, that’s the last time I’m going scouting around with that madman!”
Varian’s eyebrows shot up. “It’s hardly fair to blame me for this, Jonathan. I only fell in because you slipped.”
Shaking his head, Fred turned to Scott and Liana. “We can’t take those two anywhere.”
The End
