Fishing Trip Part 3

“This is stupid!” Sori declared as he waved the net in the air and kicked the water. “I’ve sat still like my stupid big brother told us to, and all I’ve caught is a hot load of nothing!” Mari snickered at the boy’s meltdown but couldn’t deny that he had a point. Other than the big fish that Azreal had helped her reel in, she’d only caught three pitifully small fish. “You’re not wrong. It’s exhausting putting in all that effort to get nothing in return.” She sighed, sticking her feet into the water as she sat on the waterline, having decided to take a break from fishing.

Sori glared at her. “You don’t get to say that ‘cause you’ve actually caught something.” He pouted. Mari giggled. “Well, yeah, but it’s killing me having to sit still like this! And, after that one nice fish, everything I've caught is just sad! For the effort it’s taking to sit and do nothing, that is a pretty pathetic return rate!” She swished her foot in the river and flicked water at her little brother’s face. “They might not be big, but Azreal is still catching a fish like every four minutes!” Sori squealed and wiped the water out of his eyes.

“So, do you wanna just be done fishing while we wait for him?” Mari asked after a moment. Azreal had gone back to the house to pick up their lunch, as they had somehow left it behind. ‘Well, pretty sure Sori wanting to drag us out the door the second we woke up had something to do with that.’ They’d already abandoned their poles, and neither of them were particularly feeling like sitting anymore.

“I sure don’t wanna sit around on my ass!” Sori snapped. He looked at the net in his hand and grinned. “I have a better idea!” A lightbulb went off in Mari’s head. “Oh, I get it! Trying to catch the fish without a pole? Count me in?” She bounced up. Sori raised an eyebrow. “You have enhanced speed and endurance, so isn’t that kinda cheating?” Mari rolled her eyes and poked him in the head. “It’s not a competition, kid! But if we could catch something before Azreal comes back...” She cackled mischievously. “I’d love to see the look on his face at that!” Sori’s grin spread from ear to ear in delight that his sister was on board. 

“Okay. You first. What’s the plan?” Mari prompted. “Well, the fish have been coming up here, but it’s like the bastards have a sixth sense and are taunting me! They come up like they’re gonna bite but then turn and swim away real fast!” Sori complained. “But if I stand still...-ish...in the water with the net partially in, then I can scoop up the little jerks the next time they come up and troll me!” He smirked and smacked the net against his palm like it was a weapon.

Mari nodded. “Let’s see what you can do.” The two stood in the water but, unlike before, they could at least talk and move their arms freely without Azreal to give them the evil eye. “I don’t understand why big brother doesn’t just do it like this.” Sori sighed. “He’s strong, fast and sneaky because of his job, so he could just spear the fish or use big nets like they have in Andressa. Why he wants to sit still and waste the whole  day I have no idea.” Mari smiled. "This is an activity, not a job. He’s doing it for fun so Azreal can fish however he wants. That doesn’t mean I find this super fun, though.” She added. “Hopefully, we have enough fish and can just go swimming after lunch.”

A small, silver fish slowly shimmied closer to the net, and Mari could feel the palpable desire to pounce immediately radiating from Sori. It inched closer and closer, finally swimming completely into the net. Instantly, Sori jerked the net out of the water and high into the air. “Victory!” His enthusiasm launched the fish out of the net and clear into the sky and, before he could react, the confused fish plummeted back into the river and shot off downstream. “Shit!” Sori cursed, quickly clapping his hand over his mouth. Mari laughed. “Perhaps try slowing your roll a tad?” She suggested. “We’re trying to catch the fish, not teach them to fly.”

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Shoulders drooping, Sori slouched over and threw himself onto the grass next to Mari. “I give up.” He moaned. “Well, to be fair, those fish are tricky little sucker’s” Mari said sympathetically. “You weren't wrong. Not even I was able to get them! They zoom out of the net, dodge it, or just suicide jump back into the water. I didn’t think it would be that hard.” The two had spent a sizable amount of unknown time trying to catch fish with the net without any success. “I’m hungry.” Mari’s stomach gurgled in response to Sori's whining. “It’s barely eleven, so I doubt we’ll eat right away when Azreal comes back.” She said, ignoring the hypocrisy. “I wonder though...” 

She leaned forward. “You think I could catch a fish with my bare hands?” Sori looked over at her like she had lost her mind. “Uh, you couldn’t even catch one with the net. What makes you think you can just throw down with a fish?” Mari laughed at him. “This is supposed to be fun, right? I just wanna see if I can do it! I can break rock with my bear hands, so why shouldn’t I be able to catch a fish with them, too? I just need to adjust and use some finer movements!”

She jumped up and started wading out to the middle of the river. “I just want to try it, that’s all.” She looked back. “You gonna' watch me from there?” Sori sat up and nodded, so she pressed on.  Mari paused when the water was past her waist. ‘This is another chance to show off! Besides, my skills have gotten rusty over the years, and becoming domesticated and living in a village hasn’t helped any. If I want to knock Sori flat with awe, I doubt that he’ll have any interest in my magic and it’s not like there’s a bear I could wrestle.’ She watched as the water plants around her feet waved in the current. Fish stared casually passing by her on their way downstream. Even if she couldn’t communicate with sea creatures or insects, they still instinctively felt at ease around her.

Mari locked on to a medium-sized red fish loitering nearby. She took a deep breath. ‘One...two...three!’ Swiftly, she dove under the water with the grace and ease of a seal. Reaching her hands out, she felt them close around something cool and slimy. Keeping her grasp loose enough that the slime wouldn’t be effective, she smoothly sailed back to the surface and held the fish above her head. “Oh my god!” Sori jumped up cheering; his jaw dropping open. “You did it! That was amazing! You looked like a dolphin or something! It was like you naturally belonged in the water!” The fish jerked itself out of Mari’s hands. “Noooo!” She frantically tried to snatch it back, but it slipped out of her grasp each time her hands closed around it. With a heavy *plop!*, the fish achieved freedom. Mari pouted. “Seriously, all that work to catch it and I lose it? I’m actually annoyed now!”

Sori ran over to the water’s edge. “That was so cool!” He clapped. “Do it again! I’m sure you can catch it for real this time!"Despite its brush with doom, the red fish had only swam to the edge of the riverbank and was motionless under the overhanging shadow of a bush. Slowly, Mari crawled towards it until she was crouching in ankle-deep water. She eyed her prey in determination, shaking her behind like a cat ready to pounce. “Come here, fishie-fishie-fishie!”

“Um...I don’t think it’s going to come if you ask nicely, sis.” Sori snickered. “You look so weird right now.” Mari ignored him. She launched herself at the fish but, as being soothed by the unicorn’s aura didn’t make it dumb, the creature immediately shot off down the river. Mari plowed face-first into the shallow water. Sori snickered as she sat stunned in the water. After a moment, they both broke out laughing. “Not my most graceful moment, but the water sure feels refreshing!” Mari threw back her head and pushed her hair back.

“Oh my. What in the world is going on here?” The two immediately turned. A tall, skinny man with long periwinkle hair and pale skin had approached them while they were distracted. ‘How did he not make any noise?’ Mari eyed the man. ‘Well, it’s strange that he just showed up and somehow found us in the middle of the woods...but I’m not getting any sinister vibes from him.’ She looked at his calm, expressionless face and bright blue eyes. ‘His presence just screams 'cold’, like ice. But his aura is completely calm and I’m not getting any malicious intent.’

“We’re fishing!” Sori chirped excitedly, unbothered by the stranger. “My big sister can catch a fish with her bare hands! Well, it escaped...twice...but she did catch one! She did! I saw it and it was so cool!” The child rocked back and forth on his feet, causing the man’s lip to lift slightly. “A bit of an odd way to fish, no?” “Oh, we’re fishing with poles.” Mari clarified as she stood up and brushed the sand from her knees. “We’re just taking a break and playing around a little.”

“I see. Doesn’t seem like a bad way to spend the day.” The man nodded approvingly as Mari climbed out of the river. As she approached, she saw the sheathed sword at his hip. The spotless silver hilt gleamed in the late morning sun. ‘I doubt he’s going to try anything...but why would anyone be carrying a sword around here? There’s no monsters in these woods.’ “Oh, wow, that’s such a cool sword!” Sori exclaimed, oblivious to Mari’s caution. “Thank you. It’s a precious item to me and I take good care of it. I need it for my work.” Mari’s interest peaked but, before she could ask anything, Sori continued babbling.

“You’re probably strong like my big brother! He’s a mercenary and he’s amazing! I’ve never seen him use a sword though, but he’s fast! I bet you’re really fast too! Hey, do you think you could spear a fish with that? Could you?” Mari clapped her hand over Sori’s mouth in embarrassment. “Child! Shhhhh! Don’t be so nosey with strangers!” She turned to the man. “Sorry! Sori is...excitable. And likes to get all up in everyone else’s business.” The man gave a brief smile of amusement. “Can I help you with something?” She offered.

“There’s a village nearby that I’m trying to reach. I have a college I need to meet, but I seem to have  drifted from the main path.” The man’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, did you say Sori?”

“Sori, no. We are not spearing the fish. There will be no fish murder today!” Areal sighed as he approached with a large basket. “Gee, I leave you alone for half an hour...what were you two getting up to while I was gone?” He looked to Mari. “So, I ran into Remea and some of the kids in the village and invited them to come swim with us. That should give us about an hour to keep fishing, and Nanny packed extra food for everyone, so I was thinking we could just hang out once the other littles get here...” He trailed off as he noticed the pale man standing next to Mari and Sori.

“S-Sariel? What are you doing here?”