Completed In The Field

[Aladari Coolwater]

1st of Winter, 516 AV
They hadn't really even been together that long. It had been a week at most, Aladari was sure, even though she had not counted the days as they passed. Whether it was days or weeks, though, there was one thing that was certain- they were attached.

Aladari loved the Inarta. They were her kind of people, through and through. They celebrated every chance they got, lived boldly, and even when upset, cried loudly. It was refreshing, instead of trying to carefully read the cold eyes of closed-off thieves and other secret-keepers. Here, they understood her. Aladari hardly wanted to leave.

Yet, it was already their last day together. They had stopped in a decent sized clearing in the woods. It wasn't far from Syliras as the Wind Eagles flew, but it was far enough that they could be certain none would approach them. As soon as the clearing had come into view, Nik whooped.

"You see that?" He yelled back to Aladari. She did not see it, in fact, as she was rather busy holding onto the eagle for her life. No matter how many days she rode, she couldn't get used to the massive birds. However, at Nik's prompt, she stretched her neck to peek over the wing.

"See wha?" She asked.

Nik laughed. "That clearing! That's our stop, lass; that's our last leg of the trip."

Though Aladari didn't understand the flight terminology of "leg", she certainly knew the word "last", and so she grinned up at Nik. "Cool." He laughed again, which made her grin even wider. She loved that sound- so open and carefree. She wanted to be able to laugh like that someday. Perhaps Nik would teach her.

By the time they landed, Syna was already descending. The Inarta were mulling about, chattering amongst themselves, unpacking the night's necessities, and building fire pits to heat the already warm air. Aladari slid off the Wind Eagle and massaged her rear for a tick. She couldn't believe how long these people could sit without rubbing themselves raw! Nik caught her eye as Aladari was massaging herself and winked jokingly. Aladari's eyes flushed pink as her cheeks, but Nik simply carried on about his business, so, cursing herself silently, Aladari did too.

She didn't have many duties to attend to. The caravan was a well-oiled machine, and each person already knew exactly what they were doing. Some even had their tasks done, just chimes after landing. Aladari's only task was to gather food for her small assigned group, but seeing the others work so hard, she took it very seriously.

Waving to Nik and his crew so he would know where she was, Aladari picked up her fishing pole and headed off in the direction of the stream, trekking through the muddy banks with pride and excitement.

Is this what Avanthal is like? She wondered as she knotted her hook on the line. Ma and Pa always said it was a big, tight community. And everybody helps everybody out. I think this must be what that feels like.

Tying a worm over her hook and tossing it into the stream, Aladari sat down with a soft oomph. She sighed as she relaxed, taking in the sounds of the camp behind her.

I think I like it.

Word Count548

[Aladari Coolwater]

It only took a few chimes before the group was fully settled in. A hunting party passed Aladari by, waving as they went with bows and arrows. Aladari did not wave back for fear of missing the telltale wiggle of her line, but smiled and bobbed her head at them.

As their sounds of chatter and footsteps faded, the rest of the forest sounds surrounded her. There were birds giving off the first soft chirps of Spring hope, and squirrels skittering across the ground in search of food storage. Leaves rustled noisily as animals and wind moved through, and down the way, the brook babbled about some rocks.

The sounds were strange; Aladari couldn't remember the last time she'd been in a forest. Perhaps it was the forest around Zeltiva she had gone to when she was feeling rebellious. She still couldn't believe she'd never gotten hurt there, although Ma might've been watching her more closely than she thought.

Revelling in the memories of home and Ma, Aladari nearly missed the twitch under her thumb.

The first was faint- barely enough to draw her eyes- but the second was firm and decisive. She idly noted that it didn't feel as strong as it normally did. Instead of standing up for better footing like usual, Aladari held still for a full tick, then yanked up on the line shortly. She could feel the sudden panic through the pole, and did her best to begin reeling as the fish struggled.

It was surprisingly easy.

She had the fish flopping on the shore within a chime, and it was no wonder why when she saw it.
The fish was hardly a hand's width.

"The petch?" Aladari mumbled, plucking it off the ground. "This gonna take me bells to git done!"

Just as she expressed her frustration, she heard a chuckle behind her. Jumping and turning about, Aladari spotted a middle-aged Inarta with sun-wrinkled skin and an easy smile.

"That's freshwater fishing, for you." He told her. "I assume you're a sea girl, huh?"

As she was distracted, her catch continued to flop about and slowly but surely, he made a break for it. A soft splash marked the fish's departure back into the water, and Aladari cursed again.

"I can tell by that language you aren't going to want to hear it, but you're doing it all wrong." The man told her. "You want me to show you, or you want to keep doing it your way?"

Surprisingly, he didn't sound judgemental at all.
Rather, it was a genuine question, and sincere advice was sure to follow. Swallowing her pride with a forced gulp Aladari nodded.

The man grinned at her. "I knew you were smart. My name is Kyru. I've been fishing along this route since, oh," He gave her a look up and down. "Probably before you were born. So I know a thing or two.
And the first thing is, you got to throw away that pole. It'll do you no good here unless you're fishing just for fun. And I'd bet that you're looking for something a little more useful than that, huh?"

Word count521

[Aladari Coolwater]

Kyru paced back and forth as he talked, though in a more soothing than frantic motion.

"Fishing freshwater is a whole new game, so you can go ahead and throw away everything you know."
He told her. "You got two choices when it comes to fishing rivers. You can catch them where they eat or where they hide."

Picking up a net and gesturing for Aladari to follow,
Kyru began a slow trek down the stream, pointing at various sturctures as he went. "You already know where the fish like to hide, don't you?"

"Cool and dark." She told him confidently. It was fishing rule number one, location, location, location. Or, at least, something like that.

"You got it. So under those logs, around those rocks, those are all great places. And if you're fishing with a pole, you're only getting snags, you see?"

Despite initially feeling a bit of contempt toward the man, Aladari began to grow comfortable enough to ask questions. "Snags?"

"Oh, sorry lass. Forgot you weren't a Common-tongue Human. When your hook or line gets caught on something, or you can't get it back in, that's a snag."

"Anyway. Those are all fine and dandy as any man will tell you. But if you want the real secret, you gotta find where the fish feed. So," He stopped, turning to face his apprentice. "What do fish eat?"

Aladari frowned. It felt like a dumb question, and he knew she wasn't stupid. So why was he asking?
"Meat, an' corn, an' weeds...All kindsa stuff."

As if disappointed, Kyru hung and shook his head. "No, no, those are saltwater fish. These little babes here?" He pointed to the tiny swarms of minnows populating the river's curve. "Bugs. Bugs and eggs."

Aladari pulled what must have been a horrid face, because Kyru began to snort with laughter. "How's I s'posed to get bugs an' eggs to fish wit'? They won't even fit on a hook!"

"That's the thing," He told her, catching his breath. "You don't have to feed them. You just have to know what they eat. That's what the net is for."

Kryu leaned in close to her, one arm draped over her shoulder as he pointed out to a spot just above the water. "You see? Bugs flying everywhere. You've already got natural bait- won't cost you a copper. They're already coming, so all you got to do is stop the from going."

Kyru stopped and knelt to roll up the hem of his loose pants to his knees. Unaffected by the coolness of being damp, Aladati didn't bother, but instead watched her mentor with interest. Once he was finished, Kyru hiked the net over his shoulder began to wade into the stream. Aladari followed, examining the net curiously. It was different than hers. Hers had weights, large knots, and thick ropes. This one was so thin it looked like silk, and Kyru carried it as if it weighed as much.

Kyru stopped her when she was on one side of the cloud of bugs, and he on the other. "Come on. Enough talk. Let's get you some hands on learning!" He shouted as he tossed her an end of the net.

Word Count536

[Aladari Coolwater]

The net was even lighter than she had anticipated. When she caught it, her overcompensation for its weight meant her hands dunked into the water, momentarily chasing away the fish below. Kyru snorted, but refrained from full-on mockery.

Once she had recovered, Aladari held the net in both her hands vertically, mimicking the man's movements on the other side. Then, following his lead, she slowly lowered the net into the water, where it sat like a gate before the fish. She didn't want to take her eyes off the sight of the tiny fish, as beautiful as they were, but she heard Kyru's whisper from somewhere above her.

"Now, you just need to hold still for a few minutes and let the little ones settle. They're not the smartest, here, and they'll forget about us in a tick."

Even as he spoke, the fish returned in stronger numbers. They whipped here and there, nibbling at the surface where the bugs landed and then finding a hideaway to eat in. They ran over her toes, tickling her with their soft and small fins, and some bold ones even mouthed at her feet. Aladari couldn't help but think that the closeness she felt with the water was powerfully beautiful in that moment. The emotion must have shown on her face and in her eyes, because when she looked up again, Kyru was smiling too.

"Right", he whispered, "We're gonna turn this net flat and scoop under those fish real fast, then we'll throw it on the shore. Don't worry about them flopping around, got it? Just throw. On my count."

Aladari felt a sudden rush in her stomach. It was a familiar rush- the very same she felt when there was a tug on the line. Perhaps this wouldn't be such a boring way to fish.

"One."

Aladari crouched just a little lower in anticipation, angling herself towards the shore where she would throw the net.

"Two."

Her arms tensed, ready for action, and her leg muscles twitched. She took a sharp breath, and then...

"Three!"

Almost invisibly fast, the pair scooped the net under the pool of fish, carrying them up and out of the water. Holding them up in the net, Aladari took a tick to admire them all tossing and turning. They really were beautiful; just as beautiful as they had been in the water. They were not the vibrant hues of ocean fish, but their dashes of color were even more impressive against the dull browns and greens. Blessed be Laviku. I still love you, but these freshwater fish are something.

"Lass!" Kyru scolded, the fish beginning to hop back into the water as she watched numbly.

"Sorry!" She shouted. Recovering in the blink of an eye, the pair swung the net once, then launched it far onto the shore, where the fish then danced on the dry ground fruitlessly.

"What were you doing?" He asked as they trudged back up the bank to gather their catches. "You nearly lost us that whole lot."

"I...I dunno." Aladari mumbled, slightly ashamed. Her eyes burned pink, so she hid them by looking down at the ground.

Kyru clucked. "Fine. Just get what you can. Bucket is over there. And, lass?" He paused, waiting to meet her eyes. "Don't worry about it too much. That's what the rest of the caravan is for."

Word Count562

[Aladari Coolwater]

As Kyru worked on collecting the last of the runaways, Aladari moved over to the bucket of water where the fish were kept. It was a large bucket, easily five gallons or more, and the fish inside had no room to swim. Aladari frowned at the sight. She usually kept only three or four large fish in this size bucket, and even then, she used ice to keep them still instead of letting them struggle. Without asking or even looking back, Aladari reached one hand into the bucket of water, and with her other hand, hugged the Gnosis on her shoulder.

"Morwen, spare them. Calm them with your cold. Bless us."

With her touch, the top layer of water began to freeze into thin shavings of ice. Although it would not stay melted for long, it was enough to keep the fish still for now. When Kyru returned with his hands full of fish, his eyes darted up at her with a brow raised. He did not ask questions, however, instead simply depositing his armful. With that, he picked the bucket up by the bottom and hugged it to his chest, before turning back in what felt like a random direction and walking on.

"Get the supplies, Lass." He grunted.

Aladari quickly grabbed the supplies that remained on the ground and follow Kyru back along his path.

The path he followed was uncrowded, almost carefully manicured, which made Aladari wonder just how often he walked the route. However, she stayed quiet as he did, not wanting to break the sense of teamwork that existed so delicately.

Upon reaching the camp, Kyru held the bucket up as if it were a gift from the Gods, and a few of the Inarta gathered around a small campfire cheered at him in agreement. Aladari followed in wonder, feeling all at once part of the group and a complete outsider.

As if feeling her emotion, or perhaps interpreting her eyes, Nik stood up from his spot next to the fire to greet her, and the apprehension faded faster than fog under Syna's rays. The young boy slapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her to sit next to him and the cooking pot over the fire. "How'd it go?" He asked loudly over the rest of the voices.

"Good." Aladari said shortly. "Kyru helped."

Nik smiled and nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah, good man, good man. He's my dad's uncle, you know." Aladari's face contorted at the seemingly random fact. His dad's uncle? That's hardly even related!

Nik shrugged at her expression, carrying on without a care as he always did. "Ah, nevermind. You wanna help cook?" He invited.

Aladari hesitated for a tick, her eyes catching the view of the rest of the caravan celebrating and pouring wine amongst themselves. They were all related in some way, she felt, but her? She was alone. Nik quickly interrupted her thoughts. "Sure ya do. Come on. We can bring some of the spirits with us." He gave her a playful wink, dragging her by the arm away from the crowd.
Word Count515

[Karyk]

 

Aladari Coolwater

Skills
Fishing: 3
Observation: 2
Socialization: 1
Land Navigation: 1
Lores
Thought: Is Avanthal just like the tight knit Inartan community?
Fishing: Freshwater fish seem to be way too small
Kyru; Well fished Inartan man
Fishing: A pole isn't most efficient in freshwater fishing
Fishing: Freshwater fishing is completely different from sea fishing
Common Language: 'Snag' means when your line gets caught on something
Fishing: Use a net where fish feed
Fishing: Fish will forget you if you're still and silent long enough
Fishing: Use Morwen's ice to keep fish still and calm
Fishing: Freshwater fish prefer to eat bugs and eggs
Fishing: Freshwater fishing requires a thinner, lighter net
Inarta: All family is close family

Miscellaneous

 

Notes and Comments

CS Checkmarked: ✓
CS Reviewed by Me: ✓
Season Request was Submitted for Grade: Summer 517
Season of last IC post: Summer 517
Season of last Paid Seasonal Expense: Spring 517
Eligible for grade? Yes

I do really enjoy your fishing threads Al. Very well done. Please mark your post as graded.