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Post by Xentus on Jul 25, 2023 23:06:08 GMT -6
Fishing Trip #4 > Xentus, accompanied by...
This... This was not his brightest idea. Though even as he desperately fought against the shark's might did the leopard wonder whether or not he regretted his decision. "H-hey! Easy now!", the man shouted over the sound of thrashing water as he did his best to distance the fish from his limbs with a pole. His words meant little to the ravenous halberd shark. The pole he used to defense meant little to it as well. It continued to thrash and gnash at the border of water and air with all intent to maim the leopard. Metal clashed with the blade that jutted from the creature's head, threatening to throw the man off balance. But he stood his ground firmly. The integrity of his life and limbs depended on it. The buckle of a knee or falter in arm-strength would spell his end.
One might wonder, how did he even end up in this situation?
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Post by Xentus on Jul 25, 2023 23:25:40 GMT -6
It started with a heavily sedated shark. As all good stories did, of course. He'd find himself in possession of the giant fish thanks to the pacifying breath of his draconic friend. Then through no small amount of sheer effort did he manage to keep the vicious beast in his kennel for some time. Xio did a great job at handling the feedings and ensuring the shark tank was in fine condition until he found the time to try to tame this thing. And after one medicated fish, (plus another sheer amount of effort) the shark was brought out to open waters where it could terrorize the local fauna. And himself. Just as luck would have it, the shark had a pretty decent memory, and clearly remembered the stupid look of triumph he must've had when he fed it the tranquillizer-infused food, because immediately started for his limbs as soon as its senses returned to it.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 25, 2023 23:32:23 GMT -6
The tranquillizer lasted not nearly long enough. Or rather, it lost its effectiveness quite suddenly and in its entirety. See, he was hoping that while the fish was in a state of stupor, he'd be able to desensitize it to his presence and thus begin the taming process with a little more ease. He did have some more medicated fish to feed the shark if he needed to pacify it once more, and while this very moment when he was fighting for his life seemed to be a great time to utilize said fish, he found that there was very little opportunity to fetch the bait and chum the water while the beast was rampaging. His best bet at the moment was to pray that it tired far sooner than he would. Or hope that by some miracle the shark would suddenly begin to heed his plea for it to cease its mission of carnage.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 25, 2023 23:47:56 GMT -6
"Calm down!", Xentus snarled, "E-Easy! Easy!" His shouting mattered not to the shark, however. It was dead set on chewing on an arm or leg and dragging that blue furball trying to tame it into the water. A thrash and a clash with the metal rod nearly knock it from the leopard's hands. His teeth were grit as tightly as his grip was. This thing was immensely powerful. Worse yet, he had the feeling that the shark wasn't even at its full potential. Between some lingering sedation and the shallowness of the water he was standing in, it likely was struggling to put forth that much effort in this tussle itself. The thought made his stomach drop. If this was only a fraction of its full potential, he stood no chance against this thing once it sobered up fully. Tame it or become its chew toy. There were precious few other options available.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 25, 2023 23:56:23 GMT -6
One potential alternative was letting it go free. It would no longer be his immediate problem, but there was always the change it would bear a grudge and threatened to attack him in any future visits of his to the river. Such an alternative would also bruise his ego, as he'd fashioned his image to be that of a grand beast tamer. He wouldn't stand for that. Which was also why he'd decided he'd forge some kind of kinship with the shark before getting it returned to the kennel. Like some kind of rite of honor. Admittedly, it was hard to hold onto those ideals when faced with gnashing jaws of death snapping mere inches away from his fingertips.
"Calm! Down!", the leopard now roared, and flicked the pole up to strike the shark's nose. He didn't like the thought of resorting to violence, but in the case of the vicious shark, some rougher handling was deemed necessary.
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Post by Nadia on Jul 26, 2023 0:16:32 GMT -6
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Post by Xentus on Jul 26, 2023 23:54:57 GMT -6
The pole reverberated with a quiet din as it hit its mark. Xentus was immediately wracked with guilt for having to use force... But then an odd sense of relief followed as the shark recoiled from the strike and thrashed itself away from the source of disorienting pain. The leopard tried to take a moment to catch his breath, winded from this ordeal, but he'd have no time to recover before the waters stirred even more intensely. Alarmed, his eyes flicked between the various splashes that interrupted the surface. The biggest source was from the shark, as expected. Then another from natural whitewater. And there was this strange flash of pink in the middle of some splashing over there, followed by a slender shadow. Xentus barely had any time to process everything, but the sight of the shark beginning to chase after the thin shape was enough to set him to action. "Ah! No, bad, stop!", the man yelped in vain as he began to wade through the water after the beast.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 29, 2023 1:27:45 GMT -6
The shark now had its sights set on the whippersnapper, which in turn had its sights set on the squirt. The hunter became the hunted, as there was always a bigger fish. Xentus' place in this was to be peacekeeper. While he wasn't too keen on disrupting the natural order of things, the situation at hand was already beyond that sentiment thanks to his uncontrolled beast. Currently, his only modus of controlling said beast was through tranquilizer. It heeded no command of his after all. With little time to spare thinking about a plan, the leopard's eyes shot over to his tacklebox, which did happen to have some bait sitting on it. It wasn't his medicated pacifying bait, but it would still suffice to quell or distract ravenous predator. After a short detour through the shallows to grab the feed he locked his eyes on the thrashing disturbances of the shark and tossed a bit of bait into the water.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 29, 2023 1:37:48 GMT -6
The morsel plopped into the path of the conga-line. The squirt was far too busy swimming (and inking) for its life to notice. The whippersnapper, now aware that it itself was in danger of being eaten, was also too busy swimming for its life. And the shark ripped by the small morsel, hardly giving it any notice in its frenzy. The leopard would need to try harder than that. He treaded hard against the river current into the deeper water to a spot where he hoped the creatures would pass through. If he could intercept them, he might be able to play with their fates here. The water reached up to his abdomen. He had no fear of drowning should he happen to fall in - the amulet he wore protected him from that. It was the jaws of the predators he feared the most. If he timed this poorly, and if he happened to be a more favorable target to chew on than the bait he clutched, he was going to be in trouble.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 29, 2023 1:53:15 GMT -6
Bait was readied in one hand and a metal pole in the other. The plan he'd come up with in the span of a few seconds was.. Iffy at best. And he had no backup. The man's eyes trailed keenly on the line of aquatic creatures and he adjusted his position with every dodge and flick the squirt made to maneuver away from the predators. Thankfully between the bright pink coloration of the jellyfish-like creature and the erratic splashing from the bladed shark, he had little trouble identifying where the three fish were. And just as he planned, they were soon aimed to cross paths with him. Xentus took in a sharp breath. He was ready. The remaining handful of bait was dropped into the river. The squirt wasn't interested in this, and was ready to shoot itself between the legs of the leopard if not for the sudden lack of water to jet through. It flailed its tentacles in the air and squirted water at the offending arm wrapped around it. The snapper, now deprived of a target, would've been interested in the delicious bait dropped in the water, if not for a threatening shark...
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Post by Xentus on Jul 29, 2023 2:04:26 GMT -6
A threatening shark that would soon be dealt with. Again, with a bit of heavy handed discipline. Xentus grit his teeth and quickly batted at the shark's nose with the metal rod as it came rushing in. He was sure if it could roar, it would've. Instead, it flailed with its jaws gnashing at the water aimlessly from the disorienting pain. The bladed beast quickly turned away, thrashing all the while, to recuperate. It would be back, this he knew, and he'd be dealing with its vengeful wrath soon enough. But for now, the two other creatures had some breathing room. Speaking of breathing, the squirt probably couldn't. Xentus quickly waded away to release the jellyfish into calmer, shallow water away from the snacking snapper, getting himself drenched in water and ink all the while. It was plopped into relative safety, along with a piece of lake lettuce he'd snatched up on the way. It... Probably would eat that? Xentus wasn't quite sure, but there was little time to mull on it. He returned to the area the snapper was left with bait to make sure it was safe from the shark and stood guard so the slender fish could eat in peace.
Using Fish (4 remaining) 10 - [Done]
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Post by Nadia on Jul 29, 2023 4:01:04 GMT -6
What a performance! The breathing room that you've afforded to the critters is of great value to them. In its dealings with the shark, the snapper seems to have temporarily forgotten about the squirt... and the squirt just seems grateful to be alive. Smart thinking! [Congratulations, you have successfully tamed the creatures!] Even better - your actions have stirred up some catches.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 30, 2023 14:23:12 GMT -6
There was a moment of peace. Ever brief, momentary peace. He could count the seconds which passed where the only disruptions were the sound of birds calling and water rushing. If only it lasted. His respite was interrupted by violent splashing of water. That shark again. Xentus tensed and tightened his grip on the metal pole, ready to defend life and limb from the beast's terrible jaws. Blue eyes scanned the water to pinpoint where the shark was coming from, and widened in surprise when they locked onto the splashing. The thrashing was stationary. There in the shallows where the weeds grew thick, it seemed the shark was stuck. How a massive beast with a literal blade on its head got itself ensnared in a tangle of weeds was almost a mystery to him, if not for his recollection of the disorientating strikes he inflicted upon the shark's nose moments before.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 30, 2023 14:32:04 GMT -6
Guilt pained the man's heart yet again as he began rushing toward the creature's location. What else was there for him to do to deal with the ravenous beast though? Even a wiurn could be dissuaded from taking a bite from his limbs with some fresh meat. But this thing? It was vengeful. It bore a grudge and would not be satisfied until it could taste his blood on its tongue. Or so was his impression. Given that it really didn't go after anything but living targets from what he's seen, he had little alternative to incentivize the thing against trying to eat him. A brief flashback to when he first encountered the beast passed his mind. Back in the canyon river, the shark was dead set on a whippersnapper chasing after a seapony. Without Akinai there to pacify it, he wasn't sure he he would've been able to do anything about its rampage.
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Post by Xentus on Jul 30, 2023 14:38:09 GMT -6
Mashiik was there with them back then, but there wasn't much she could manage to do against a shark as big as her. And for the leopard, he only had a fishing pole and his claws. A shudder raced down his spine at the thought he could've been close to death then. It didn't help that the only means of interaction he knew to have with the thing was either tranquilization or percussive discipline. But this would not dissuade the man. There was little that couldn't be achieved through time and effort. Even the taming of a vicious shark. If he managed to free the thing from its entanglement now, he might even begin to curry enough favor for it to not try to eat him. Granted if it was even capable of moving past its grudge against him. It was hard to see anything beyond bloodlust in those small black eyes it had...
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