Fishing Trip (Part 1)

“Come on, hurry up big brother!” Sori complained, jerking to a stop and dragging Mari along with him. “You’re so slow!” Azreal rolled his eyes. “Sori, the fish aren’t going anywhere. There’s no reason to be in such a hurry.” Sori jogged in place. “But I wanna get to the river! You and sissy took forever to get up and I’m done waiting!” Mari sweated and laughed awkwardly. “What were you expecting? It’s your own fault you didn’t sleep and got up at 4am. Besides, Az is carrying all our stuff, be nice and cut him a break for once.”

Passers-by eyed the little family and smiled as the sassy young boy got scolded by his siblings in the middle of the town. “Looks like you all are ready to go on an adventure.” A middle-aged man commented in passing to Azreal. “Going to the river?” Azreal nodded. It was easy to guess. Mari was wearing a one-piece floral swimsuit with a short, frilly skirt that Nanny had made for her, and Sori was relishing the opportunity to ditch his shirt and shoes. Their clothes and the fishing poles  were a dead giveaway. “We’re going fishing. Mostly because the little guy’s been wanting to go swimming.” He looked over at Mari trying to pacify Sori as his little brother tugged aggressively on her arm. “Really wanting to go swimming.” ‘And Nanny got the burning desire to design clothes after not having a swimsuit to loan Mari on their vacation...Mari’s been dying to try out her new aquatic clothes.’ He mentally added. Sori was the one who’d been begging to go to the river, but Mari was just as excited when Azreal had discussed it with her. He didn’t have much of a choice at that point, since Mari was as much a child as his brother when she was excited about something.

A woman stopped and gushed over the three. “You kids are so cute! I’m glad that you brought Mari here, Azreal! She’s such a joy to have around!” While it was impossible not to be won over by her, Azreal wasn’t aware of just how popular the unicorn girl had become. ‘Well, I was gone for a couple of weeks. There are probably a whole bunch of things she and Sori got up to that I wasn’t here for. And with the way Nanny loves to talk, the whole village already knew of her by the end of her third day here.’

“Really? Does she get along well with everyone? She hasn’t caused any trouble for people, has she?” Azreal asked, genuinely curious as to what the villagers thought of Mari. “Of course!” The woman beamed “She’s this village’s flower! She’s such a ray of sunshine! Not surprising, though, with her being a unicorn and all. She’s a one-of-a-kind girl!” Azreal couldn't resist smiling at that. “Yeah, she is.”

“Hey, Az! An elderly man hobbled out of one of the stores. “I’ve been meaning to talk before you leave again! I My roof is worn out and there’s supposed to be heavy storms soon. Any chance I could bribe you to help fix it?” Azreal nodded, recognizing the old man from around “You know I don’t need to be paid to help, so don’t even think about it! It’s not a big deal and, anyways, your house is small so it shouldn’t take long at all.” As the two briefly made plans for Azreal to drop by the next day to evaluate what work needed to be done, the woman’s smile became even wider, making Azreal feel awkward. ‘Did I do something wrong?’

“Um, do you need something, too?” He asked as the old man left, causing the woman to laugh. “No, I was just thinking that you haven’t changed at all! You’re an adult now, but you’re still the same shy, helpful boy you were when you first arrived! You might be too humble to accept it, but you’re such an important part of this village and we’re glad you stayed.” Azreal started blushing. ‘It’s not like I’m trying to get attention or anything! I just help people because I like it and I want to do what I can to help others. It’s not like doing odd jobs and physical labor is anything profound...’ The woman covered her mouth as she giggled.

“Tehe! As painfully shy as always! That’s our Azreal, alright! It makes me happy to see that you’ve found such a sweet girl! You and Mari make such a lovely couple!” Azreal’s face felt like would melt off. “S-she’s not-! Mari isn’t my girlfriend!” The woman gave him a knowing look. “Whatever you say....But it looks like you’re about to be left behind.” Azreal looked up and realized that sori had dragged Mari off while he’d been talking, with the two reduced to a mere dust cloud in the distance. Immediately, he nodded to the woman and took off running.

“Hey! Sori! Mari! Wait for me! You don’t even know where we’re going!”

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“Eek! It’s so cold!” Mari shrieked as she hopped from foot-to-foot. Azreal stared at her, unimpressed. “It’s river water that flows down from the mountains. Of course it’s cold! If you think this is bad, try it during the spring thaw. You’ll get frostbite in three seconds.” While Azreal was unpacking their stuff, Mari and Sori had already hoped into the water. While Mari was trying to adjust to the water's temperature, Sori had promptly laid down in the pebbled shallows and was happily soaking in the water with his eyes closed.

“I know you two want to swim, but we’re going to fish first.” Azreal warned. “Aww, why?” Mari pouted. “Because this time of morning is perfect for fishing in this spot but, if we go swimming first, it will scare them away. Especially with how loud Sori is.” “Hey, I resembled that comment!” Sori complained from his lazy spot. “I’m capable of being quiet!” Azreal rolled his eyes. “Maybe you can be quiet for five minutes when you’re just relaxing but all bets are off as soon as it involves any sort of movement. I’ve fished with you before, kid ! There’s a reason I go by myself if we’re actually hurting for food. Oh!” He looked at Mari.

“I bet you’ve never been fishing before, right Mari?” She stood up and looked back at him cheerfully. “Nope! Unicorns are vegetarians and I’ve eaten fish in my human form but never caught it myself.” Azreal silently resigned himself to the fact that there would likely no fish dinner tonight. ‘Between these two’s attention spans and hyperactivity, I can about see how this is going to go...’ Despite his internal complaining, he didn’t truly mind, though. The idea of a day at the river with Mari and his brother was something that he’d been excited about and anticipating for the last few days. He’d missed out on going to Andressa and being there for Mari’s first time visiting the ocean, so this was his way of making up for it.

"I’ll teach you. But I’m telling you now, there’s a lot of waiting and, whether you sit on the riverbank or stand in the water, you need to be quiet and not move around.” Sori slowly waddled over to join Mari on the shore as Azreal rummaged in through the basket of fishing tackle, looking for the bait bin. “Hey, sis?” He asked. “Can’t you just call the fish and ask them to jump into the net or something?” Mari laughed and tussled Sori’s wet hair. “Nope. I can’t talk to aquatic animals. Or bugs. Just land animals and birds. Besides that’s cheating!”

“Okay, you two grab a pole and I’ll show you how to bait it. Don’t stab yourself with the hook.” Mari and Sori crouched down next to Azreal and watched him impale a worm. Sori squirmed “Ewww! Worm guts! Why can’t we just use dead worms?” “Because the fish don’t like them.” Azreal said, mildly annoyed at having to constantly answer the same questions every time he took his brother fishing. Sori’s patience was practically nonexistent even on a good day. “Here, Sori, I can help you.” Having already baited her hook; Mari grabbed another worm and swiftly slipped onto Sori’s hook. “See? Not so scary!” She held it in front of Sori’s face as the child squirmed. “Perfect, Mari.” Azreal nodded in approval.

“Okay now the next step is to find a spot where you want to sit.” Azreal got to his feet. “I’m going to sit under that tree by the rocks. You’re going to want to be able to move suddenly if a fish bites, but it’s okay to sit down in a comfortable place because you might have to wait a while. And you can always move positions later, too.” As Azreal got settled into his area, Mari followed him. But, instead of joining him under the tree, she went further down the rocky outcrop so that she could sit on a rock with her feet dangling over the water. “Remember, Sori. Stand still!” Azreal called over as his little brother took up a standing position in ankle-deep water. “I know!” Sori groaned so loudly that it echoed through the forest. “You’ve told me a hundred times already!” Azreal smacked his face with his palm. “I give up.”

He shook his head and made himself focus. “Now, you just to hold the pole over your shoulder like this-” he demonstrated. “And then fling the line out into the water!” With a *plop*, the hook sunk into the water. Satisfied, Azreal got comfortable and propped his rod up in a crevice before he realized Mari was still staring at him. “What?” “That’s it?” Mari’s mouth fell open. “Well...yeah.” He shrugged. “Having to fight the fish to pull it in once it bites is where most of the work is. If you’re careful not to snag your hook on a tree or something, this part is easy.”

Mari looked at the pole before carefully picking it up. It seemed too easy but, if she could break stone with her bare hands and outrun even the most experienced warhorse, then she could get a little fish death-trap into the river! Copying Azreal’s stance, she gave the pole a quick, gentle flick and the line sailed seamlessly into the water. Azreal grinned and gave her a thumbs up. “And now we wait.” Mari sat down on a rock with her fishing pole in hand. “Do you need help?” Azreal called over to Sori in a teasing tone. “I know how to cast out, big brother!” Sori huffed.

Holding his pole behind his head with both hands, Sori wound up an aggressive cast. Azreal and Mari watched as the hook got caught in the fabric of his pants but, before they could call out, Sori gave the line a mighty yank. Eyes bulging in shock, Sori jerked his own legs out from under him and smacked face-first into the water.

“Child, how?” Azreal exclaimed, genuinely impressed at his brother’s botched cast. “That’s why you need to be careful where you swing that thing! You're lucky you didn’t get a hook in your eye or ears!” Grumpily, Sori sat in the river. “Shut up! I know what I’m doing.”

“Mmm-hmm, sure.” Azreal rolled his eyes. “See?” He turned to Mari, who had one hand clamped over her mouth to hold in her laughter. “This is why fishing with Sori is strictly for fun. We don’t exactly catch much of anything with that clown making such a ruckus.” Mari looked up at him “Is it that hard to catch a fish?” She sounded disappointed. “Not really. At least not for me. I’m good at staying quiet and still, but it’s different for kids. And the fish do bite good around this area.” He rested his arm on his knees. “You’re surprisingly into this, Mari.” “Well, I like water, after all.” Mari mused “Annddd...”

She turned and Azreal saw that she was drooling, with eyes the size of plates. “Grilled fish sounds so yummy...I haven’t had that in years and all Nanny’s food is so good!” Azreal snickered. “As food motivated as ever, I see. Well, if you wanna eat it, you gotta catch it.” After a pause, Mari turned back to the river, clutching her pole tightly and staring daggers at the line.

‘She’s such a weirdo. But she’s still cute.’ Azreal smiled to himself as the three lapsed into determined silence.