Fishing Trip (Part 2)

“Ugh!” Mari moaned so loud that it echoed throughout the forest. “Mari. Shhh.” Azreal tapped his finger to his lips. “Why? There’s nothing in here! We’ve been out here forever, and I haven’t gotten as much as a nibble!" Azreal didn’t look up as he removed a small fish from his hook. “I told you; fishing is a lot of waiting. And we’ve been out here for maybe an hour. If you’re that upset, move to a different spot.” He added the fish to his growing pile in the bucket. ‘They’re small, but we’ll have enough for dinner if things keep going at this rate.’ Azreal thought proudly.“I’m not having any trouble catching anything.” 

Mari crossed her arms over her legs and pouted. “Stupid Az, hogging all the fish.” Azreal smirked. “Maybe the fish don’t want to go to you cause you’re so loud. Even Sori has it figured out.” To their left, Sori had his fishing pole stuck in the sand and was laying on his back, staring blankly at the sky.” “Uh...I think he’s just disassociating.” Mari shot back. “You broke the poor kid, making him sit still for longer than ten minutes.” Azreal simply rolled his eyes as he reached for more bait. ‘Is it just me, or has she gotten sassier lately? Mari’s always been playful, but she’s been more sarcastic and teasing with me. Guess getting comfortable and my brother rubbing off on you will do that.'

“Hey, Az?” Mari asked suddenly. “How do you know how to fish so well?” “It’s not that hard, you know. It’s easy to figure out through trial and error. It’s a basic human action.” Azreal brushed off the indirect compliment as he cast out his line. “But...it’s not like anyone was concerned about feeding me when I was growing up. The law of the jungle was how things worked with the mercenaries. By the time I was ten, it was either feed myself somehow or starve. You figure things out pretty fast and learn to be creative when starvation is a constantly looming threat.” Mari looked down at the gently flowing river. She didn’t know what to say at times like this, when Azreal would casually talk about how cruel his childhood was like it was completely normal. If he was upset and crying like he was the other day, it was easier to know how to respond. What were you supposed to say to someone who was conditioned to accept abuse and horror as normal?

Suddenly, Mari’s pole jolted like it had been hit by lightning. It took her a moment to process what was happening. “Mari! Grab it!” Azreal shouted, jumping to his feet. Mari scrambled across the rock, slipping on the traces of water and skidding on her bottom. She drove her feet into the rock firmly and grabbed her pole once she had stopped. Instantly, the unseen force on the other end jolted her forward violently. With a shriek, Mari dug her feet into the edge of the rock even harder. ‘I’m strong, but geez! This thing is trying to pull me into the water with it!’ Mari braced herself and summoned all the strength in her core to pull back. “Come here, stupid fish! You will not defeat me!” The fight to not be pulled in by the fish alone was using muscles Mari hadn’t even realized she had. Her abdomen ached and felt like it was on fire. Despite the pain, she refused to give up. ‘This is a big one! It’ll be delicious! And I’ll also be able to say that I caught a much bigger fish than Az on my first try! I refuse to let this sucker go!' She groaned and gritted her teeth, fighting back as hard as she could, but it seemed like all she was achieving was keeping herself from being dragged into the river. Suddenly, the fish made a mighty, violent yank on its end of the line; a desperate attempt at escape.

Unprepared for the sudden force, Mari felt her feet leaving the rock. “Uh-Oh.” “Mari!” Just as she was about to go head-over-heals into the water, a strong, sturdy pair of hands wrapped around her waist. “Az!” Mari smiled as her friend set her back down on the rock. “Focus!” Azreal ordered calmly. “If you quit paying attention, that’s how you’ll lose both it and the pole! Put your back and shoulders into it and give a strong, consistent opposing pull.” “O-Okay!” The adrenaline coursed through her veins, but the arms wrapped around her waist supporting her kept her grounded. With Azreal’s support anchoring her firmly in place, she was sure that she could get this fish. “Don’t jerk it around.” Azreal cautioned. “That will just tire you out. You need to keep up a strong, consistent force that the fish has to fight against. The fish has the advantage in bodily force while it’s in the water, so you need to let it tire itself out first."

Azreal held Mari firmly and anxiously watched the tug-of-war between her and the fish. ‘I’ll support her, but I won’t help her pull it in unless she asks. She’s strong; she can do this and I want her to have the satisfaction of catching her first fish without feeling like someone else did all the work.’ “Wait for its movements to slow down.” He advised. “Once it’s tired enough that it faulters, that’s your opening!” Mari didn’t need to be told twice. Each tug was full of the fish’s life energy; even if she couldn’t speak to aquatic animals, she could read their movements just as well as mammals or humans. The moment she felt a slight pause; like a heart skipping a beat; she didn’t hesitate.

She pulled as hard as she could, throwing her body backwards and bracing against Azreal for leverage. She’d timed it perfectly and a giant blue and silver fish the size of a loaf of bread landed at her feet with a wet *thud!*

Mari panted heavily, trying to catch her breath. The adrenalin high made her heart feel like it was going to burst out of her chest. “Mari! You did it!” Azreal gave her a gentle squeeze and Mari looked back at him. Azreal had a giant; proud grin plastered on his face. A wide smile of her own spread across Mari’s face. “I couldn’t have done it without you, Az! Thanks for stopping the fish from drowning me.” Azreal shook his head. “Fish are strong. I’ve been knocked over by them plenty of times. That was...amazing honestly! You’re stronger than I realized, to catch a fish that big on your first try! I only stopped you from falling in, the rest was all you. This is completely your own catch.” Mari looked back at the fish and her eyes sparkled. ‘I did it myself...! It looks so juicy and yummy, too!’ She giggled and looked back at Azreal. The two smiled at each other in triumph for a few moments before Azreal realized his arms were still wrapped around Mari’s waist.

“Ah! Sorry!” He jumped back and let Mari go; his face turning hot and scarlet. Mari just smiled and laughed again. “I-I’ll get the bucket for it!” Azreal sad hurriedly, scrambling up the rocky incline to where he left his own gear.

Mari felt lighter than air, sure that her heart was going to stop soon from how hard it was beating. ‘Even if it was just for a minute...that felt really nice. I thought it when he came back from his mission but...his embrace is warm and comforting. It might have been to catch the fish, but he still held me. I guess I’m just affection-starved but I really just want to cuddle and be held sometimes.’ Regardless of how successful the rest of their trip was, Mari knew that this had already been a perfect day.