Adam grinned as the snake bit his boot.
"Oy! Yer a right good bloody bludger," he said in a broad, country accent. He stepped carefully for perhaps a hundred meters, stopping to snap his wrist each time the snake tried to twist up far enough to bite his arm, until he reached a cluster of bushes.
"Go on, now. Get stuffed."
Adam let go of the snake and leaped away. This time, the brown snake decided to retreat. Adam stood, staring after it until he was certain it had truly gone, and then he turned, his expression worried as he walked towards where I clung to Pippa, shivering.
"Did it bite you, Rosie?"
"I-I-I don't think so." I pulled Pippa closer. "I didn't see it until I almost stepped on it."
"Let me check." Adam's eyes shot down to my bare legs. "They've got short fangs, so sometime
