“How many times today?” Lupita asked, with just a hint of a smirk on her face.

Sven let out a deep sigh. “Twenty-eight!”

Lupita’s brows shot up in momentary surprise. “Twenty-eight!” she repeated in disbelief.

Sven raised his arms in frustration. “It’s not even noon!”

Lupita bit her lower lip to keep from smiling. She cast a furtive glance toward Sabrina, who was wiping dirt from her wooden boomerang by brushing a sleeve across its smooth surface.

“She was too young to receive one of my knives or shurikens. I thought a boomerang would appeal to her,” Lupita remarked, rubbing her chin pensively.

“The damned thing has plenty of appeal, believe me!” Sven snapped. “She sleeps with it, carries it everywhere, and, unfortunately, never loses it.”

“I didn’t think it through,” Lupita confessed. “There are no clearings nearby.”

“She already killed three birds with it this morning,” Sven said with a hint of pride. “She’s going to become very proficient with it. The problem is, every time she throws it, the damned thing vanishes into the foliage, and I’m the one who has to find it.”

The young girl was about to throw her boomerang again. Everyone around her made a show of ducking their heads in exaggerated fashion, which made Sabrina laugh to no end.

“Maybe you should let her find it on her own for once,” Lupita suggested.

The tall man shook his head vehemently. “I don’t want her to wander alone. I fear the jungle might swallow her and not even spit her bones back to us.”

Protective, aren’t you? Since their unexpected crash on the Kamar moon, Sven had taken excellent care of all the children, but he had grown especially fond of the youngest. Everyone had, and none more than Lupita herself.

“The worst is, she only asks me to help her find her precious weapon. No one else will do,” Sven lamented.

Interesting! The girl had certainly become attached to Sven. When she was not following Lupita everywhere like a pup, she invariably followed Sven. This invariably led to funny scenes whenever the tall man needed to relieve himself. The little girl would not go away, pretending she needed to protect him while he was vulnerable. The funniest part was that she would scan their perimeter like a hawk every time Sven hid behind a bush. She did take her ‘duty’ seriously.

“Do you want me to take the boomerang away from her for the rest of the day?” Lupita asked. “It would give you a break.”

Without hesitation, Sven shook his head again. “Don’t do it! She would blame me for her punishment. At least when we look for her lost boomerang, I know where she is and don’t have to worry about her.”

“I thought she was getting better at handling the boomerang,” Lupita said.

Sven bobbed his head from side to side. “She manages to bring the boomerang back toward her more often, but this morning she hit Hans in the back, Melinda in the leg, and Sophie almost got decapitated.”

“Are they OK?” Lupita asked, alarmed.

Sven dismissed her concern with a wave of his hand. “We need to get used to the damned thing flying over our heads. It’s an adjustment for everyone.”

“If it is too taxing for you, I’ll replace the boomerang with a wooden staff,” Lupita suggested.

“I can handle it. Sabrina is a good kid; she never complains about the weather, her training, the food, or anything. Only the loss of her boomerang unsettles her. She’s afraid you might send her away until she retrieves her missing weapon.”

A twinge of guilt assailed her. Lupita had told them the story of her missing Starkosinium knife. Her mother, Lara, would not let her return until she had recovered her weapon. It had taken her weeks to find it at the bottom of a lake.

Sven stood, his face set in a determined expression. “I’ve got this! No need for you to do anything,” the tall man said, walking away toward Sabrina.

The young girl pretended to throw the boomerang directly at him. Sven instantly threw himself to the ground, prompting a widespread guffaw around the camp.

Sabrina threw her weapon, narrowly missing Sven’s head by a few centimeters. Her aim was definitely improving.

Swift as lightning, Lupita caught the boomerang as it flew past her. Sabrina applauded, then ran toward her to retrieve it.

Children!  

Lupita pressed her lips together, trying to suppress her amusement.