Roland watched the girl with the spear curiously. He hadnâ€™t seen many people that did that inâ€¦ how long was it now? Not that it mattered. The important thing was, he knew this girl. She didnâ€™t know him though, and that was a treat! Even though he hadnâ€™t seen her or given her a second thought in years, he recognized the baby girl instantly.<br/><br/>With a toothy half smile, he looked up at her from his place crouched on the end of the dock. What a question that was! His first instinct wasnâ€™t even to tell her the truth, as it hadnâ€™t been for anyone. Instead, he told her, â€œThey tell me thereâ€™s a mean olâ€™ pike around here. Bit a manâ€™s fingers off once. The pike wasnâ€™t always a pike though. A long time ago, the pike was a little, wrinkled, old man. The old man had a temper and the only thing that ever calmed him down was fishing for pike. He liked the way they fought. But one day, he caught the wrong fish. It was a little one, but it wasnâ€™t just a pike. It was Fish, the spirit of all the northern fish. The old man refused to let Fish go, even though he begged and even promised to grant any wish. So, Fish turned him into a pike instead. Fish even dropped a magic stone into his belly so that heâ€™d live forever. Or at least until some fisherman caught him and gave the mercy to him that he didnâ€™t show to Fish, turning him back into his wizened old self to live until the end of his days.â€<br/><br/>Roland tugged on his empty line, pulling it up to the surface as if he were checking for a bite. â€œAnd thatâ€™s why Iâ€™m here. I think Iâ€™ll eat him if I catch him.â€ He laughed, a harsh, raucous sound, more akin to the<span style="font-style: italic">quorking</span>of a raven than the laughter of a man. Once again, he cast out the empty line and let it sit near the edge of the weeds on the far side. â€œWhat about you, Lily? Dinner or pleasure?â€