Titus surfaced and began to tread water. In a quick move, he slicked his hair back over his head with both hands then went back to keeping himself afloat. The fisherman turned himself in the water to allow the shark to swim past. Ushaka rolled onto his side and exposed his soft underbelly to his companion. Titus used his fingertips to stroke the smooth texture of the shark when a splash drew his attention. The predator must’ve sensed the disturbance as well for he righted himself, went up towards the ship and then curled back around. Titus watched and when the shark came zipping by he took a deep breath and grasped the dorsal fin with both hands then went along for the ride.
Titus loved to swim with Ushaka. The shark was longer than the man but not nearly as dense but it didn’t seem to matter. While Titus was shown how to swim, tread water and the like; the shark was built to be a speed demon. The Svefra scouted ahead though he was not practiced enough to identify species, he could make out shapes. A large fish was chasing a group of smaller fish. Titus remembered fish that were built like that from when he was a kid but the name escaped him. None of them were as large as Ushaka, however and the shark remained undaunted in his pursuit but Titus had other plans.
The human flexed his biceps which allowed him to pull his body up against the large, hungry fish. In a jerk, the fisherman half extended his arms then yanked back against the dorsal fin which sent Ushaka off course to starboard. Titus instantly released his hold and simply let the density of the water stop and hold him. In slow motions, sometimes a circle or a gentle kick; the Svefra used each of his four limbs to maintain his position just beneath the surface. He watched as the black-tipped reef shark swam in an arc out then began to circle back towards the fleeing smaller fish and the larger game fish that was still in pursuit.
Titus continued his holding pattern of the occasional kick, swipe, swat or any other motion that he deemed necessary to remain just below the surface. Within a chime, the smaller fish scattered and headed in all directions except the way they had been heading. Titus removed his harpoon, uncoiled the rope then looped it around his right wrist. He took the shaft into his hands, ready to throw. The bigger fish made a move to snatch one in his squared jaw then immediately turned tail and fled back towards the waiting fisherman. Through the haze created by Syna’s light piercing the surface of the Suvan, Titus could see a large shadow swimming swiftly after the larger fish which steadily made his way along the channel. When it was about ten feet away, Titus exhaled the breath he had been holding releasing a cadre of bubbles. The already frightened fish; silver and built like a ship, twisted and headed up and to Titus’ right. The fisherman popped up as high as he could with a massive set of kicks. As he rose into the air, he drew back the harpoon, eyes trained on the silver body already starting to dive back down. The fisherman hurled the weapon with all of his might the instant he felt gravity take hold of him.
The shot rang true and pierced some part of the fish’s meat. Titus splashed back down and saw blood in the water so he reached for the rope with his left hand while taking hold of the slack in his right. There was a sharp jerk on the line and for a tick, the Svefra thought he had won but then the line went slack. He pulled at the rope until he was holding his harpoon and staring at the blood as it washed off the tip. Titus turned to swim back to his ship when he noticed people on the beach. One had a little work station set up. The Svefra bobbed for a moment. He knew that Ushaka would chase down the wounded fish, kill it and eat it. Titus was hungry but he also had wanted to meet some of the residents that he had been catching glimpses of off and on since he arrived in late summer.
The decision had been made. The failed fisherman coiled the rope around the harpoon as it was before creating a sling of the rope then slipped himself into it. He rode the waves while alternating his arms in big arching scoops while kicking his legs in a full body effort that propelled him forward at a decent rate of speed. The tide had rolled out long ago so the stillness in the sheltered corner made his task easier though it was not entirely easy. Every second stroke of his right arm, Titus lifted his head to the left to exhale and take another breath. This familiar exercise was good for his soul and his body but the overall distance from his ship to the shore was several hundred yards. The exertion he put his muscles through made his arms ache, his legs wanted to cramp and his lungs burned. By the time Titus got to where he could put his feet down, which was still fifty or sixty yards out, he took advantage of the ability to rest and lingered for several moments while he regained a somewhat normal breathing pattern.
Once he felt able to speak, Titus called out in Fratava first at the man under the small canopy. The fellow was muscled and tanned like a Svefra so it was worth a shot. “Oy! What ya got goin’ on there?” The young man waited for a response but he began to half walk, half swim and half drift further into shore. Once he go to where the water was less than waist high, he just rose up and allowed the sea to fall from his body. Titus walked with no fear or hesitation towards the man and his little shop. The blue eyes scanned the fruit and the tools but were drawn to the creation upon the sawhorses almost immediately and everything else became a blur. “What’s that?”
FishI was using a Giant Trevally or Giant Kingfish as the bigger fish and yellowfin goatfish as the smaller ones. Not sure if it's of any imprtance but I wanted to share it anyway.
