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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:02:13 GMT -6
In retrospect, screeching at the houluh turned out to be a mistake. At the time, Haix had been uncertain where or not the slave hound had found a way to open the tackle box. If the houluh had, there would have only been seconds for her to stop the houluh from shoving her nose into the pile of hooks or biting into one of the lures expecting it to be a toy.
But the tackle box was just as firmly shut as it had been when she left it, a fact proven when she crouched down in front of it to test the locking mechanism. The tackle box was fine, its contents secure.
Tin was not fine though, cringing to the side of Haix with her striped tail tucked between her legs. With a sigh, Haix sat down on the ground, calling the creature back over to her. She really needed to train out that reaction. 44
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:02:27 GMT -6
Tin came closer, sniveling with her head held low, and then stopped to lay down on the ground a few feet out of Haix’s reach. Another call to her, the net laid on the ground to show it was no threat inspired the creature to stand and take a few more steps before laying down just out of reach, paws tucked under her body.
Resisting the urge to snarl and reach out to drag the cowardly houluh closer to her, Haix patted the ground next to her again. Her tone was kept light as she glanced back at the supplies, grabbing one of the pieces of meat meant for her and tearing off a small piece. This she offered to the houluh, keeping he voice as gentle as the current in the small pond. Tin crept a little closer and sniffed the treat, then took it from Haix’s fingers with exaggerated care. ((Tin-24.0)) 45
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:02:49 GMT -6
With the slave hound now in her reach, she still did not reach out to the houluh, neither patting nor grabbing Tin. Even the calm words stopped suddenly as her eyes fixed on the bucket she had abandoned by the water when she had rushed to make sure the houluh had not injured herself or damaged anything. Tin stared at her, still uneasy from the loud and angry noise that had been made, then looked in the direction Haix was staring in.
The bucket was still there, unmoved by wind or the short amount of time it had been left there. What was moving was some small red thing in the shape of a teardrop that was circling the bucket.
With one last look at the tackle box to confirm the houluh would not be getting into it anytime soon, Haix stood back up. She began to stalk towards the little red thing. 46
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:03:07 GMT -6
It had eyes, something that the other things she had so far fished out of the water with the net currently held in her hands had not. She moved slower as it moved around the bucket, those eyes coming into view several times though the creature never stopped to match her stare. Its attention seemed to be locked firmly on the bucket it scurried around, its insectile legs weaving under it to keep it facing the bucket. Every few seconds it would stop its circling and ram the bucket with its pointed head, the sound like that of a claw impatiently tapping a metal drum. Then it would start circling again.
She was not sure if it meant to attack the bucket, its shiny surface annoying it, or if the crab-like thing was trying to fight its own reflection. Something brushed against her leg and she hissed for Tin to stay still, the houluh looking up at her with a tilted head. 47
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:03:19 GMT -6
The houluh stayed behind as she told her to. A step closer to the strange crab sent the houluh whimpering behind her, and a hissed command to be quiet went ignored. The crab turned towards her as she took another step closer, though whether it was because the rocks grinding beneath her feet, the hissed admonishment to the houluh, or the slave hound’s constant stream of crying, she could not be completely sure. She was willing to make a credit bet that it was not the first two though.
Rather than flee from her, the crab-thing pointed its pointed head at her. It was clear now that it had no pincers as one would have expected of a crab, but she doubted a hit from the pointed top of its head would prove any more pleasant than a pinch. It scurried towards her on its stilt-like legs, quarrel with the bucket forgotten now that she was there. 48
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:03:31 GMT -6
Being threatened by a thing that would hardly make a good snack after catching plants put Haix in no mood to tolerate the tiny creature. She did not slam the mouth of the net down onto it in hopes of trapping it on the rocky shore, but instead swung it from the side. The red thing’s legs buckled as they were hit by the rim of the net, and it pitched into the netting. The pole then was twisted so the mouth was now facing the sky, and she could see the thing trying to climb out. And failing miserably.
Like with the plants, she stuck the net into the bucket of water, but the crab-thing needed no aid to leave the net. It crawled across the bottom of the bucket until it reached the shell, and then climbed on top of that to wave its point at Haix.
The houluh’s whimpering ceased when she called Tin over, one hand ready to grab the houluh if she tried to each this creature as she had done with the fish. 49
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 3:03:44 GMT -6
Tin watched the red thing attempt to thrust its way into the sky, its tiny beak-like mouth opening and shutting silently. Haix noticed the houluh’s small body tense up, and she reached out and grabbed the scruff of the slave hound’s neck as Tin lunged at the crab-thing.
Instead of sending Tin back to the supplies and letting her rest more, Haix told the houluh to fish as she eyed the water, shoving the houluh towards the water with the net and repeating the command when the slave hound lunged at the crab-thing in the bucket a second time.
Between the two of them, they found three more fish to add to the bucket, only one of them bearing small wounds from where the houluh had snapped it up from the water. Tin was still full, luckily for the fish, so she had dropped it on the shore without eating it, allowing Haix to seize it by the tail and toss it into the bucket. ((Tin-25.0)) 50
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 8, 2020 12:04:02 GMT -6
You find a bit of junk and some shells while wandering up and down the shoreline along with the fish you managed to collect for your bucket, but... what's that rusty red shape splashing in the water in the middle of the river? Could be worth investigating... if you're a good enough fisherman, of course.
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 13:33:47 GMT -6
After a while of marching up and down the stream, she had failed to find any more fish to catch, taking to picking up interesting things she found along the shoreline instead. One was a tin can much like the one she had traded for a little while before obtaining Tin herself, though this one’s vibrant colors were faded from the sunlight and water. Another shell was found that was nearly identical to the first, Tin having brought it over to her with such wagging that Haix had thought the houluh had taken the one from the bucket. But no, that one was still in the water, serving as a perch for the crab-thing, so she praised Tin and dropped the shell with the rest.
After finding a almost perfectly round shell-stone and adding it into the bucket, Haix had returned to the fishing rod and the supplies. Tying the hook in place was simple, knots being something she knew well, she had walked back to the water with the intent of casting it and leaving it propped up on some stick.
The splashing in the middle of the river stopped her, and she turned stupidly to watch the rusty shape flailing around in the water, the torrent of splashing making it difficult to see the source. What she could see of it made her reluctant to jump straight into the water to drag it out, and she snapped for Tin to halt as the houluh approached the water. It might have been someone’s young pliathor for all she knew, and it certainly looked big enough to eat Tin rather than the other way around.
She pulled the rod back and to the side, then flicked it towards where she thought the fish was facing, hoping that as the hook sunk beneath the water that the fish would take a bite. She did not want to send Tin in there. 51
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 8, 2020 14:12:54 GMT -6
When the hook struck the water, the splashing stopped instantly. For a moment, you might think that your actions scared whatever it was off entirely. Just as you'd begin to feel a bit sheepish though... the pole yanks it self forward, nearly flying into the water. You've got a bite! And a very strong one at that! Better start reeling!
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 14:23:45 GMT -6
The splashing stops, and her chance at catching something other than a few nibbles worth of fish disappears with whatever creature that was scared off by the slight impact of the hook on the water. With a deep inhalation and then an exhalation of equal length, her eyes shutting for a moment, she prepared herself to reel the unused hook back to her.
And then the rod nearly leapt from her hands.
Haix was dragged a few steps forward into the shallowest part of the pond, checking her stumble at the last second to keep herself from tripping on uneven stone. The reel hissed as whatever was on the line continued to pull, and Haix grabbed it and started reeling it back towards her with a laugh. This certainly was no weed drifting by that had caught on her line.
The houluh watched, tail wagging slowly at the laugh, head tilted as she had no idea what was going on. 52
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 8, 2020 15:05:57 GMT -6
The shape in the water becomes more and more distinct as it gets dragged closer to you, until you can see rusty red scales and an armored head. Every so often it surges back up toward the surface, flopping half out of the water and then diving back down to try and get free. Whatever it is, it's not going down without a fight! Still, it's about halfway to you from its original position.
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 15:19:20 GMT -6
She could see the heavy armor of its head at the fish flopped briefly free of the water, a head that she could not make out any sign of its eyes. The bulk of the fish was enough for her to remind the houluh to stay back, Tin doing so with a whimper as she saw the giant red fish. Thankfully for Haix, the houluh had not made the connection that Haix was fighting to pull the thing in, and therefore did not run in madly barking to 'help'.
It was strong, and Haix had to be careful to keep her fingers tightly wrapped around the rod and reel lest it be wrenched from her hands into the pond. Whatever the fish was, it made her extremely glad that she had not hopped into the water to try to drag it in with her bare hands and the aid of the houluh's tiny teeth. She worked the reel the best she could as she held the rod against the fish's rapid dives and breaches. 53
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Post by Fiera Ferella on Mar 8, 2020 15:39:56 GMT -6
After what seemed like ages, the fish slowly got tired. Its thrashing grew less and less intense, and the line slowly goes more slack. Finally, the fish is able to be reeled to your feet, exhausted and unwilling to fight anymore.
[You've tamed the ramfish! Congratulations!]
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Post by Alma on Mar 8, 2020 17:09:21 GMT -6
They fought for what felt like hours, her arms shaking from effort as she finally dragged the fish closer and into the shallows. It was fighting for its life while she wanted very much the same, though the fish would not have appreciated the statement even have it been able to understand anything that she said.
Watching it get closer, trying to drag it into the shallows where it would find it much harder to move, she got her first good look at the creature. It was a big fish, with the massive plates she had seen on its head and the reddish scales she had been able to make out at a distance. But its fins did not move like any fish she was used to, the fingers reaching out to grip the stony ground rather than the usually flapping motion she had expected.
And while she marveled over this strange beast, Tin noticed how dangerously close it was to her, and raced into the shallows, barking. 54
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