Doran
New Member
Posts: 17 
|
Post by Doran on Jul 29, 2023 4:57:14 GMT -6
|
|
Doran
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by Doran on Jul 29, 2023 5:52:17 GMT -6
Doran always prided himself on being a self sufficient man. There was no need to ask for handouts, or to seek assistance from those better off; he could fend for himself, even in the most dire of circumstances. A tough life would give you that skill. So, rather than waste what was left of the coin he'd arrived to the City with, he'd decided to scavenge for his own food. What was the use of carrying a fishing pole around with no intention of using it?It took him no time at all to find a decent spot, traipsing upstream from the docks. The tracks were worn, the banks sunkern with footprints. A popular pastime for inhabitants of the area, then. He'd been ready to cast his line and settle in with his journal, when--Bubbles. Tiny bubbles that just so happened to catch his eye, coming from around a dense patch of reeds.[1] |
|
Doran
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by Doran on Jul 29, 2023 5:56:36 GMT -6
There were certainly no drainage systems around the place that could be causing it. The only explanation was some sort of critter, and Doran's curiosity was piqued - it would be worth checking out what kind of catch he could expect, even if this one got away from him. So, he left his rod at the stone he'd chosen to perch on, and waded into the shallows. As he grew closer, trying his best to tread lightly, the bubbles grew more erratic, but nothing emerged. What was going on? Could it not move? He parted the reeds carefully, peering into the shade, and... there it was. Wiggling among the stalks, stuck fast, was an entirely too round little fish. When it blinked its enormous eyes up at him, it looked fit to scream, if that was possible. Thankfully, it wasn't. It would be cruel, to leave and let the thing's gills collapse. [2] |
|
Doran
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by Doran on Jul 29, 2023 6:06:35 GMT -6
"Come on, then..." Doran lowered his cupped hands down towards the creature, who responded by thrashing even harder. "Hush. Not gonna hurt you." But how was it to know? He supposed he understood. It nearly squirmed straight out of his hold the second he managed to scoop it up - fighting spirit, a good sign in regards to its chances of survival - but he managed to navigate out into the water with it. At a safe distance from the reeds, where the current was not likely to push the fish back into them, he crouched once more. His fingers barely grazed the water before it seemed to hop down, with a little anticlimactic 'splash'. His expectation was that it would swim off in its panic and leave him to his devices. Not so. A wiggle of its tail and it was creating some distance between them... but it turned to stare at him. [3] |
|
Doran
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by Doran on Jul 29, 2023 6:11:28 GMT -6
Doran couldn't eat it. It didn't look delicious, and even if it did, its size would make it a waste of the effort of cooking it. Would there even be any meat to be had from a fish so small? Did all fish look like that, in the area? That would be a terrible shame. (How was he to know that it wasn't a natural inhabitant of the river at all?) "Go away," He told it, turning his back to make his way to his stone, and his fishing pole. "Can't do anythin' with you." Why could he still see those little bubbles breaking the surface, even when he'd returned to his spot and readied himself to cast his line? The little jerk was going to get stuck again if it hung around. That didn't look like a concern for it, though. It just wanted to watch him, for whatever reason. [4] |
|
Doran
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by Doran on Jul 29, 2023 6:15:53 GMT -6
Oh well. Doran sighed, and cast his line, tapping the heel of his boot on the base of the rock. If the 'plop' of the bobber into the water didn't scare the creature off, something else would, eventually. But minutes crawled by. Along with no tug on his line, there was no movement from his current company. That was bizarre behaviour - all the fish he had ever known would flee from bigger, scarier beings entering their space. This one looked like it was goading him. "The hell...?" There was no point trying to chase it off, because it wasn't directly harming him or causing bother. It didn't even cast a glance at the bobber. It was too absorbed in watching, like a curious child. Why did it act entirely differently to anything he'd experienced before? What were they feeding into the water in this godsforsaken place, that fish were trying to psych you out? [5]
* |
|
|
|
Post by Fiera Ferella on Aug 8, 2023 9:13:37 GMT -6
 Looks like you hooked some river weeds instead of a fish! |
|
Doran
New Member
Posts: 17
|
Post by Doran on Aug 19, 2023 7:40:09 GMT -6
Doran was perplexed. The minutes crawled on, and the odd fish remained. Other than repositioning itself a few times, and being nudged by the flowing of the water, it stayed in the same general location, fixated on him as if he was the most fascinating thing it had ever seen. What a freak. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't keep his eyes off of it. Probably on account of its own comically bulbous eyes; they made up most of its face, and its unblinking stare only added to their strange uncanny appeal. If it was smart enough to understand that he had saved its life, how the hell did it get stuck in the first place? "Gonna stay there all day?" The fish should've considered itself lucky, because he was putting more words in a row for it than he had done for anyone in a long time. "Can't mind your business?" [6] |
|
