[Bronze Woods] Ready, Aim, Fish! (Flashback)

[Xalet]

36th day of Summer, 509 AV

Xalet had begun his morning with an intricately folded letter from his Patron. Inside of it mentioned her being involved with a meeting for much of the day, and for Xalet to partake in her newest training for him. He was requested not to eat within the barracks or the chow hall, but instead to head to one of the many streams just a bell or two from the city walls and do some fishing. The note itself, which had been fashioned into a cylinder with red ribbon surrounding it held a very peculiar burden, and once Xalet unraveled the long piece of parchment fully, he recognized that a group of bolts had been carried, falling softly upon the bedding of his cot. Yes, Xalet was to catch his meals with crossbow bolts. Crossbow fishing, an excellent way to test his perception, his aim, and his ability to make due and further understand the wilderness.

Sergeant Irine Braklin was not a fool, she recognized her pupil had essentially no skill in surviving out in the wilderness what so ever, but he was strong enough to protect himself so long as he stayed close to the city. This would be an excellent opportunity for Xalet to get his feet wet, learn a thing or two, and grow a bit closer to his chosen ranged weapon. The bolts Braklin had packed within the note were very particular bolts. Aquatic bolts. Xalet was thankful; he was going to need every edge he could get. Of course, as there usually was, a P.S. awaited him at the end of the message:

Be careful and have fun. Oh, and those are very special bolts, so you better not lose them.

It took some time, but eventually Xalet found a perfect spot. A wide creek flowed slowly, it's waters clear and peaceful. Width wise it was possibly thirty or fourty feet, and only three or four feet deep at the middle. As crystaline as the waters were, it was easy to see the water was bursting with freshwater trout. "No problem..." the Akalak squire thought to himself, lowering his equipment bag slowly to the ground by the waters edge. Pressing the stirrup of his crossbow to the ground, he pulled back the bowstring in a uniform fashion, preparing it to be loaded. Retrieving one of the aquatic bolts his Konti Patron had loaned him, Xalet dropped the specially designed shaft into the carved groove of his crossbow and pointed the mechanism downward, keeping an eye out for passing fish. His silvery spheres watched intently, his breathing slowed, and his body relaxed.

"There!" he tensed after a few minutes, seeing the first fish come into view, slowly moving down stream with the current. The shining, colorful scales of the fish revealed its nature, and gave Xalet a perfect target to fire at. Blading his body slightly as he was taught he steadied his stabilization arm and placed his fore and middle finger upon the trigger. Trying to quiet his breathing he followed the target, the glimmering form of the fish being watched just over the groove of the crossbow which carried its bolt. Then the time came, a soft squeeze was all it took for that bowstring to snap forward and send the bolt forward. The water splashed only slightly from it's entry, and Xalet quickly lowered the crossbow to look on at his connection...only to see the fish now bolting away, and his bolt stuck in some rocks at the bottom of the creek. "I...missed?"

[Xalet]

He sure did, it was a clear miss, but how? Xalet was no expert crossbowman, but from this distance, in a peaceful setting with no pressure, with the weather on his side and a slow, steady moving target, how could he miss? Clearly there had to be some sort of mistake. Perhaps his eyes simply had some drowsiness to them; he reasoned that he hadn't been sleeping well recently. "That must be it." his hands were already working toward preparing his weapon a second time. His huge foot made its way back into the stirrup while his arms worked diligently to retract the bowstring. With a soft click it set upon the nut of the holding mechanism and the crossbow was ready to be loaded and fired.

Picking up a second bolt, Xalet dropped it into place and took a moment to examine the fletchings and it's construction. The bolts looked to be in fine shape, perhaps even better than normal, hastily constructed bolts. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but everyone made mistakes. Things would go much better this time, he was certain of it. All that was left was to remain patient and wait for another target to present itself. Patience, preparedness, and careful observation, that was the name of this game. The squire's eyes moved slowly back and forth across the distance of the width of the stream, until finally he caught sight of another fish. The creature innocently swam through the water, unaware that Xalet was putting it's shiney scaled body in his sights.

"Breath slowly, don't hold your breath. Keep your arm steady, don't grip too tightly, follow the target, learn its speed and movement pattern. No problem...I've got it this time..." he recognized when the time was right, and squeezed the trigger of the crossbow, feeling even more certain about this shot than the previous. Once more his bolt passed right through the water, lodging itself securely in the rocky bed beneath with the fish spooked, leaving the scene of the attack as quickly as it's fins could carry it.

"Again...I missed again?" Xalet's hands began to fumble as he loaded another bolt. The bells passed by as the Akalak shot and shot, each time losing another bolt to the riverbed until he eventually had to strip down some of his gear and get wet himself to retrieve them. Dozens of attempts, all of them met with failure. If anything his shots were becoming more sloppy. Was it the crossbow? Had that old piece of wood and metal finally met it's end, so inaccurate that it couldn't even hit a target from ten feet away? The thoughts of his own incompetence or the breakdown of his equipment would have continued to eat away at Xalet's concentration, until a man showed himself finally.

"Hot dang kid, you still trying to catch something? The Sarge wanted me to check 'n make sure you was ok. What you been doin' this whole time?" the man, clearly a Knight had said. He wore lightly scaled armor, not the full plate of a typical Knight, but seemed every bit as well equipped. A Human, probably in his thirties, a few day old stubble was all that shaded his rugged features, while his bushy eyebrows hung down heavily on his brow, giving the appearance that he was constantly squinting.

[Xalet]

Xalet took a few deep breaths as he turned toward the Knight. So encompassed was he in attempting to hit his mark that he had totally failed to hear the approach of the Knight. "Ser Caromir. I'm...trying to catch one of these fish, but I think the sight on the crossbow is off. I've tried to compensate, but I just can't seem to hit them." How long had it been since Xalet started, he wondered? After being instructed not to eat within the confines of the city, his stomach was already beginning to become unhappy with him. He could feel it roiling beneath his wardrobe, uneasily rumbling from the lack of sustenance. That large frame needed a likewise large amount of fuel to keep it going, and the day had progressed without so much as a drop of solid food.

"Could be, could be. Eh, gimme that there crossbow, lemme take a look see." the Knight requested casually, holding out his hand as he stepped up to the edge of the stream. As the Akalak handed over his weapon the Knight checked the tension on the string, the straightness of the plate, and the bolts that Xalet was working with. "Hey, you got you some o' those watering bolts. They's good stuff. Could be a weakening in the bow itself..." he shrugged, lifting the crossbow up to one eye while watching a fish approach where the two were standing. With one deft click the bolt slipped into the water and jammed the fish, right in the skull. The kill was instant, causing the creature to rise to the surface. "...or not. Go git um quick squire! Don't let ma fish an' that bolt git away!"

Quickly the young squire hopped into the water, luckily having already stripped off his greaves from previously having to retrieve his many failed attempts. Picking the fish up the squire couldn't help but find himself in a state of total confusion, the same bolt he had missed with time and time again now sticking fatally out of the creature's skull. "I...don't get it." he admitted in his shock, climbing up and over the bank to where the Knight was standing. Xalet was sure he watched exactly what the Knight had done. Their stance and grip appeared to be exactly the same. Xalet probably would have wondered forever how his ineptitude was so easily out-shined by this man, until Ser Caromir finally brought up a key point.

"Lemme ask you this. Where 'bouts you aiming at squire?" Coramir asked, tossing the crossbow back over to Xalet, causing him to fumble and nearly drop the contraption, not fully prepared to receive the weapon back in such a manner.

"Right at the target, just like I was shown." replied Xalet, lowering the man's fish down upon the soft soil of the embankment.

Immediately Coramir slapped a hand across his eyes, tilting his head back, "Well that's why kid! Ya'll ain't never gon' hit nuthin' in the water by aiming straight at it. Squire, ya gotta compensate for that there water playin' tricks on yur eyes. You gotta aim low, kid. Real low. The farther away, the lower you aim. Then, depending on how deep yur target is in the water, ya aim even lower. C'mere, stand right here next to me. Now, see where that first rock is? That one there that's half black and half white? Alright, something bout that distance take one finger and stick it out in front of you sideways, that's how low you aim. Now something two times farther, two fingers. Three times farther, three fingers. Then, for each foot down the target is, another finger. Then, when it doubt, add another finger. It ain't like firing at sumthin' far away, where ya aim high to compensate, now, in the water, ya gotta aim low. Here, load her up an' lets give it a shot."

[Xalet]

Xalet prepared the crossbow as he had done many times before, arming it with not just a bolt, but with this information he had learned for the first time. So firing into water...you needed to aim low? If someone hadn't come along and told him he could have been out there all day, why hadn't his Patron said something in the note? Who would have thought to aim in such a way? He had to keep himself calm. He had to prepare for the next shot, he couldn't allow it to miss, not after all the failures he had dealt with as morning turned into noon. He could do it, he knew he could. His arms ached from the repeated spanning of his crossbow. They shook slightly as he raised it up to his eyes, those arms having stabilized the weight of that large weapon for most of the day. Coramir was there with him, prepared to give some encouragement.

"Alright kid, that's it. Keep it low fer now. Let them there arms rest real nice. Be ready though, keep them eyes on the water. Archery is about watching, waiting patiently until the right time. The time will come, an' if the shot ain't no good, don't take it. In the field ya'll need to keep every bolt you can't, ya can't go abouts wastin' um all crazy like, or you'll be fresh out soon enough." the Knight offered up his years of experience with the bow and crossbow, crouching down a bit, his already naturally squinted eyes narrowing even further to deal with the glare upon the water. Soon enough, the time came, "Here she comes kid, it's a biggun'. Git ready. Now remember, low. Git that crossbow on her, follow real smooth like. Don't fergit to breathe now! That's it, through the nose. Alright squire...git her..."

Xalet worked hard to keep his hands as steady as possible, though the short break had done well for his tremors. His eyes followed the crossbow down it's plate to the fish, probably almost as long as half an arm. His tongue exited his lips to wet them slightly as he attempted to remember just how low he was supposed to aim. Then, just when he felt his aim was true he let fly his bolt. The shaft of wood slammed into the water and cut right by the fish, leaving Xalet to seethe through his teeth while the Knight slapped him on one broad shoulder.

"Shoot squire, that was close!" he laughed, though Xalet appeared to be less than pleased. Even now he couldn't tell of the man was joking with him, or honestly offering up some encouragement.

"It looked like all my other misses to me." Xalet grumbled, hopping into the water to remove yet another spent bolt without anything to show for it's use.

"Nah kid, it was close. Real close. I could tell. When folks fire a crossbow, or even a bow they have a tendency to want to blink their eyes just as they loose. Dun do that. Keep them eyes open the whole time, watch that there bolt from start to finish. Go ahead, load up again, we'll give it another try. As low as ya aimed, aim even lower. I'm not kiddin'. LOWER. Low is the name o' the game, squire. Here, get another bolt in there, I see a few more coming at us." the man brought the flat of his hand up to his forehead, trying to shield away the slowly dying light as the sun moved ever closer toward the horizon. Coramir knew he had to get Xalet making contact soon. Without the good light on his side, things would get even more difficult.

[Xalet]

Lower, Xalet kept trying to run that fact through his mind as he readied his crossbow yet again. Trying to remember the various intricacies of archery while firing at a moving target was tough, even if the environment and setting was in his favor. He had to take into consideration the distance, the depth of the water, and the fact that he had to aim below his apparent target. He choose one fish out of a group of three slowly headed toward his position. How far was it? Thirty feet, then twenty, then ten. As it closed to closer and closer he remember that he would have to aim less low, until finally his chosen target was within optimal range, given his current ability to distinguish distance and the refraction of the water.

"Come on...hit it..." Xalet prayed. It was such a trivial thing, but now he simply wanted to prove that he had the ability and capacity to strike a fish, he couldn't go home a complete failure. Eyes narrowing, he squeezed the trigger. He could feel the burn in his forearm, tortured by the repetitive motion and constant burden of holding the weight of his crossbow. The bolt tore through the water, disrupting its surface before jamming itself deeply into the tail end of the fish. The creature whipped around in place, stunned by the forceful impact of such a missile.

"Git in there an' grab it kid! Quick!" the Knight yelled, pointing a finger down at the struggling trout, causing Xalet to abandon his crossbow on the shore and jump into the cool, calm water, sending a large splash outward. Quickly he waded over toward his target and managed to get a hand upon the thick shaft extending outward from the fish, pulling it free from the water and holding it high. Finally he had gotten one, after all that time. It was such a tiny triumph, but his heart shook with the feeling of accomplishment. Coramir could be seen a distance away, arms crossed against his chest, nodding sagely, "An' that's how it goes, squire. See that? Just like I said. Alright, git us one more, then I'll show ya a thing er two 'bout cleaning and cookin' um. Think you can do it?"

Xalet removed himself from the water, climbing back onto the shore after tossing the second fish next to the first one Coramir had shot previously. Standing up while brushing some of the dirt and sand that clung to his breeches, the squire nodded, feeling much more confident in his actions now that he understood the trick to firing into the water. "Yes Ser. I think I understand now." he replied, his energy renewed at the prospect of success and also finally being able to get something to eat. With a bend of his waist he lifted up his crossbow by the rear end, leaving the stirrup upon the ground before slipping his foot through and pulling back the string. Locked and ready to go he prepared a bolt and turned back to the stream. It had caused him quite a bit of trouble, but now it's bounties were his for the taking.

[Xalet]

Patience, discipline. That was what Xalet needed to exercise as he awaited his final fish. Coramir left the squire to his devices, choosing to prepare the necessities required for building a proper fire. He worked to clear an area, roughly three foot in diameter of all sticks, rocks, leaves, and other debris. The Knight felt he could describe to Xalet the steps in making a fire later, but things would move faster if he got the busy work out of the way first. The squire had the harder job anyway, which was keeping his eyes on the water and preparing for his next target.

Several minutes had passed before Xalet finally found what he was looking for, another unwilling sacrifice for the bellies of the hungry. To Xalet there was no crime in what he was doing, although animal lovers everywhere would have probably hung him for bowfishing as he was. The Akalak had decided that the fishy victims would not lose their lives in vain. They would serve as fuel for the Syliran Knights. Yes, the fish themselves were catalysts toward a better future, although probably not quite in the way they would have liked. Eyes looking over his bolt shaft, Xalet took a few breaths and did the best he could to quiet his arm tremors. He had enough shots under his belt now to understand the workings of his crossbow quite well, and with the valuable information from the Knight, simply following the instructions could nab him another fish.

"Now!" his instincts told him, causing him to pull upon the trigger and send his bolt down and out into the water. Another solid hit, good enough to make the Knight proud. It was a good thing that man hadn't been around to see just how many times Xalet had completely failed to hit his mark. The shot from the bolt was an instant kill this time, causing the fish to float upward to the top of the water before bobbing softly as it continued down stream. Xalet's interference as he jumped back into the water was the only barrier to stop that fish from moving with the current, and after retrieving the deceased creature, he gathered up the three fish and moved over to where Ser Coramir had gone to work upon the fire.

"I got it, Ser." Xalet displayed the fish in his hands, meanwhile Coramir was on his heels, crouched down and appeared to have made several piles of different forested items. Twigs, branches, leaves, and rocks. All sorts of things laid down near him as he looked up toward the squire.

"See kid, easy right? Take a seat here, let me show you what we're going to do. It's hot out, so we've got to get to work on them fish right quick so they dun spoil. I got the fuel for the fire here, but lemme show you what you'd need. You want to get twigs of a few different sizes. You'll want tiny ones, like say as big as yur pinky, an' bigger ones, right bouts the size of yur thumb. Now ya'll also want them there branches see, but only dead ones. Ones that have fallen an' are good an dry, like those there. See now what we do is take these leaves here and tear um up a bit, makin' strips." the Knight instructed Xalet, gesturing for the Akalak to come over and help him rip the dried leaves appropriately. Both men worked together, as the Knight continued to explain, "These are gon' make our middle o' the fire, see? We're gon' light this here, an' we're gon' surround it with them there twigs."

After a bit of preparing their small kindling, the Knight began to lean various twigs in the center, forming a type of pyramid with them. Beneath those was their ripped up leaves, "Now we lean the twigs like this here, an' this is our middle all done. See them big branches there we'll lean in once we git it started, an that'll control how big the fire gits. Not too hard right? This is the very first thing everyone should know 'bout, specially when yur in the wilds. Take care too, ya don' want it gittin all out o' control an' burnin' the place up."

[Xalet]

"I've seen that there is more than one way to build a fire. Is there any reason for this?" Xalet asked, crouched in a similar manner to the Knight, both men building up a teepee made of sticks and branches before moving to surround their wooden pyramid with large rocks in order to prevent it from spreading or getting out of control.

"Well sure kid. There's plenty o' ways to build a fire. Mainly there's two styles ya'll use. This'n here is a pyramid style, it generates a lot of heat, so survival wise it's probably the best one to have. See then there's the stacked, or log cabin style. You'd put that kindling there like we did, but put big sticks in a square and stack um upwards, like a log cabin. Folks use that fer cookin' mostly, cause the surface is flat an' ya can put pots er pans on it. We'll be cookin', but I wanted to teach ya this'n first, cause I think it's easier to keep going, and it'll essentially feed itself as the branches fall inward." the Knight explained, going through his pack in order to retrieve his flint and steel. In the summer the ability to make a fire was a bit more simplistic than in the spring or winter. It had been dry all day, and without the rains of the spring or the cold and snow of the winter producing proper kindling and adequate branches was not difficult.

Handing the products over to Xalet, he had the squire strike them together until the sparks ignited the dried leaves, softly curling up those browned edges and beginning to spread to the twigs. "That's it, ya cin blow on it if'n ya want, give 'er some oxygen." the Knight demonstrated by leaning in on his hands and knees and slowly exhaling across the smoking kindling. Eventually the fire spread, and flames began to rise up into the twigs. As it continued to grow, the Knight went into the next part of his lecture, properly preparing the fish.

"Alright, while that's growing we're gonna prepare these fish here. You ever clean a fish before?" he asked the squire hopefully, though Xalet could simply shake his head in response. "Alright alright, no problem kid. First time for everything. Grab um and come on over by the stream." the man stood up, brushing some of the dirt and debris from his uniform as he walked over toward the edge of the stream. Xalet went about gathering up their catch, following close behind as the Knight held out his hand to accept one of the fish. "Ok, first things first, ya gotta gut um. Ya take a good knife like this'n here and ya stick it into their tail hole right here underneath see. Now not too deep, ya dun wanna puncture all them guts. So ya bring it up, cutting slowly until you get just below the gills here." the Knight proceeded to do just what he spoke of, taking out his eating knife and carving into the tender flesh of the fish.

"Now, ya take yur knife an make a cut just below the mouth of the fish, straight across. Now where that cut is, go straight through the gills, you'll feel a snappin' noise, that's the hard area of the gill yur cuttin' through. Now, ya simply take yur thumb, put it into that there hole ya made under the mouth and pull downward." As morbid as it was, Xalet couldn't help but be intrigued by the efficiency of the Knight, it hadn't even been a chime since he started, and like clockwork as the man pulled down on that cut, all of the insides of the fish came out in one go. The Knight tossed them aside and continued onward to skinning the fish.

"So then take yur knife and cut off the fins, dun worry about cuttin' off a little meat with um, just get um cut off and then take the head like so an' bend it back, then pull." the man continued his demonstration, gripping the body of the fish firmly in one hand while his other wrenched what was left of the fish's head toward the rear, pulling it off, and peeling the entire length of skin along with it. By the look in the squire's eyes, he found it difficult to believe that it was so easy, "See? That's all there is to it. Now ya just rinse the insides in the stream here to clean out the rest of the blood and you've got a freshly prepared fish. We've got two more, so pick 'er up and give one a try."

[Xalet]

The Knight certainly made it look easy. Xalet bent down to pick up a second fish, looking over it momentarily before retrieving his knife. The first part was simplistic enough, put the knife into the tail area and begin cutting upward. "Good good, not too deep now." he heard the coaxing of the Knight whom was rinsing out the first fish, while Xalet worked on the second. The knife's blade cut easily enough through the underbelly of the fish, with Xalet following the arc between the two fins across the bottom of the fish and moving upward toward the gills. He stopped there, pulling free his knife and attempting to remember exactly what came next. Another cut, wasn't it? Made somewhere below the mouth, "Right below the mouth now, cut right across so you cin make a spot fer yur finger. Then cut through the gill area, right..."

Xalet worked his knife as best he could as the sun began to set, slowly dropping out of sight. In the distance the fire crackled ever more loudly as more of the branches began to succumb to the flames, shooting a large center of reds and oranges upward. The gooey innards of the fish felt a bit foreign to the squire's finger, but Xalet knew this was no time for weakness. Indeed, even this was training. With a quick pull, the squire yanked out the guts and tossed them into the river, trying to stay clear of any wayward organs. The Knight seemed pleased enough, "Yur a natural gut puller kid. Now fer the skin. Git that knife there and cut them fins off, all of um. Ya cin leave the tail on or cut it off, dun matter none. Then, ya grip the body nice an tight and pull backward on the head. Take the head, an the skin will come with it."

Xalet, true to the Knight's words, began meticulously cutting away the fins. He had neither the speed or precision of the Knight, but the task itself was easy enough for any beginner to accomplish with enough focus. With the fins removed, Xalet found himself taking a breath, gripping the body and the head, and yanking backward, impressed at how the entire skin came off, it was almost like magic. "That's it kid, gimme that one there and I'll git um ready fer cookin'. Do the last fish by yurself and then meet me over by the fire." the Knight requested as he received the fish and began rinsing out the blood line in the stream, massaging any remnants of blood away with his thumbs.

As his instructor walked away, Xalet found himself with the third and final fish, all to himself. The process went like clockwork as he jammed his knife into the belly, only to find he had cut a bit too deep, puncturing something and allowing bile and blood to run down his knife. "Ugh." the squire shook his hand off, dunking it into the river in order to rinse away the slick juices before continuing. Before he knew it he was pulling away the guts using the notch cut beneath the mouth and tossing them away, and then cutting through the fins and perfecting the end result. With a confident pull, Xalet twisted the head to the rear and drew the skin away from the pink flesh, discarding the head and skin and bringing the remains over toward the Knight near the fire.

The Knight had taken two long sticks and had placed the bisected fish atop them, jamming the sticks into the dirt and leaving the carcasses to roast slowly above the flames. "Ya got it eh? Good job kid. Last is cookin' um. Now ya don't want to put them fish right into the flames, they'll burn. So put um above the flames see? The heat rises up and cooks the meat, but watch ya dun over cook um, cause they'll still catch fire if'n they cook long enough. So ya take a good long stick see, and ya put the part ya cut in two, that belly area right on top of it so it'll hug the stick. Make sure it's good an secure, ya cin even put it through some meat so it dun fall into the fire. Then hold it above the fire an wait."

[Xalet]

"Wait for what?" Xalet responded, not so clear in his query. More defined, his question involved just how long to wait before a fish was edible. Cooking was not his forte, and even as he assisted his mother sometimes in the kitchen his skill was mostly preparatory.

The shortness of Xalet's wonderings left the Knight blinking for a moment, before he sought clarification, "Fer what? Fer the fish to git cooked? Oh, yur sayin' yur not sure when a fish is cooked then?" Coramir rubbed his chin a bit absently as Xalet nodded his head, to which he took a moment to point out the flesh of the fish, "Well, each fish is different, ya know. Some cook differently than others, an sometimes the way ya prepare them is different as well. Like them bottom feeders, them catfish can't be skinned like we did with these here trout, their skin is too rubbery an' won't come off like so. But, for these fish here ya wait until the flesh turns an off-white to pink color. See now how it's reddish pink? As the heat cooks the meat through, it'll become more and more white."

"That's not all, often if a fish is slimy, it ain't ready to eat. When any fluids run clear, that means is right on the time to git about eatin'." the man detailed, leaning back onto his behind to rest his knees and thighs. All that was left to do was wait, after all. Then the two men could enjoy a fresh catch. Xalet was hungry enough to consume just about anything, and the soft crackle of the flesh as it cooked, the smell that wafted away from those three trophies of crossbowmanship left the squire's mouth moist.

The air became quiet as the two men sat silently, Xalet often not being the one to strike up a conversation, but not being so shy as to hold his tongue when it came to interjecting any words he had to add to one. The various things he learned rolled through his head, everything from watching a moving target, to targeting something beneath the surface of the water, to cleaning a fish, making a fire, and even cooking his catch. Armed with that information the wild somehow seemed just a tiny bit less intimidating. As he stared into the flames the soft embers danced against the disk like silver platters of his eyes.

Suddenly the Knight pointed out, "They look just about right squire, go ahead an' grab one." the man went to quickly removing one of the sticks from the fire and bringing the fish up to his nose. With a brief sniff, the man tentatively took a bite, a satisfied expression crossing his face. "Haven't lost my touch, just 'bout right. Go ahead, give it a bite." the man paused just long enough to mention to Xalet before continuing to eat around the bones of the fish.

Xalet, meanwhile, had retrieved his pack and removed a small vial from it's contents. Inside was a red leafy substance, which after removing a stick from the ground he began liberally sprinkling onto his fish. After the outside was liberally coated, he took a bite, leaving the Knight a bit curious, "What's that ya got there? Lemme give a try?" his hand held itself outward, receiving the vial and sprinkling some of the chips onto his own fish. When he bit, a red flush crept up upon the Knight's cheeks, leaving him coughing, his sinus's running, "What in the blazes is that stuff? Ugh, ya cin keep it kid." The spice was far too brutal to consume without the aid of a waterskin, leaving the Knight to brush the remaining flakes from his fish, tossing the vial back to Xalet. "Anyway, hope you learned somethin' important today, keep up the work with yur crossbow, an eventually you'll even take a bird straight out of the sky. When you've had yur fill, feel free to return back to the city, Sergeant's orders."

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Xalet Skills Weapon: Crossbow- 5 XP Observation- 4 XP Wilderness Survival 4 XP Cooking- 3 XP Bodybuilding- 1 XP Lores Aim Low A Mentors Guidance To Build a Fire Preparing Fish Comments : A nice solo thread here! I'll admit I was skeptical about a fishing thread, but fishing with a crossbow? Now that's what I'm talking about! If you have any objection, then shoot me a PM!