Open Eastern Brisshal The Cat's Outta Tha bag

[Nyancy]

Ayeeee! That was a nice trick with the watah! Smaht thinkin'. Yea, you do that and I'll get the fish ready fah eatin'.

Nyancy began prepping the fish, which wasn't her favorite part of the fishing experience, to be honest, but it was an important one. Working on the fish, Nyancy called back to Kaminari.

So what do ya think yas gonna do after this? Explore tha world? Stay hea in tha fahrest and Honeyhome for a bit? I mean, the world's ya oystah ain't it?

Nyancy stopped and thought for a moment.

Me, I think I might take off and see the woyld with my own eyes. Figuah out what I'm gonna do and how tah do it, Yah know? As for yah, I guess the first thing ya gotta do is figuyah out what kinda person yas want tah be. Unless ah course ya already know that. Then it's just a mattah of makin' it happen, am I right?

Having finished cleaning the fish, Nyancy walked over to where Kaminari was working on the fire and waited patiently.

@Kaminari Arashi

 

[Kaminari Arashi]

Kaminari zapped her small pile of sticks, a few times, each time the sticks smoking but failing to ignite. She probably had piled them terribly, or her tiny intense burst of heat didn't last long enough for the flames to take. She gripped one of the sticks between her frail porcelain fingers, the occasional spark flying as she sent a powerful current through the it. The wood started to blacken and smoke, and after a couple moments it finally lit.

From there, lighting the fire was easy.

"Well, I don't know a whole lot about this world, or the factions in it. Or even how it works. So I guess I'll try to head towards a city of some kind, bigger than the towns around here, in order to find out. From there I'll probably join a group of some kind and just wing it from there." She explained her plan to Nyancy, finding it oddly coincidental that it sounded so similar to her companions. "I guess great minds think alike. I didn't join this game to play it, if that makes sense." She paused, thoughtfully running her fingers through her hair. "But since I'm already here I might as well, right?"

Just then, a loud splash could be heard from the direction of the pool. A large, pure white, majestic fish (the size of Nyancy) leapt up from the water, splashing down even more loudly before sinking back into the depths.

@Nyancy

 

[Nyancy]

Yep, if yah already hea ya might as well try an do somethin', else what's tha point ah being hea in the first place, am I right?

Hearing a loud splash Nyancy quickly turned to catch a pure white tail entering the water.

Did ya see that! Purah as tha driven snow and huge tah boot! That's gotta be it! The legendary fish ah whateva. Catchin' a fish like that's tha stuff legends ah made out of. Why, I wouldn't be suprised if wea some of only a handful of people that have eva even seen that monstah.

Nyancy was getting visible excited, and why wouldn't she be? The small Felis up until recently had been foremost a fisherman, or fisherperson if you prefer. Seeing a fish she'd never seen or even heard of before lit a fire under her that until this point had rarely been lit.

We gotta catch! Whaddya say? Yah in fah a fishin' adventuah?!

Nyancy readied her fishing pole with excitement.

@Kaminari Arashi

 

[Kaminari Arashi]

Kaminari was in a slightly better position to see the fish, having been facing the pool while attempting to build her fire. It was just as Nyancy described, although not in the same words the Magia would have. Her lips twitched, turning upwards slightly. The beastfolk woman's excitement was contagious, and seeing how excited she was getting over fishing was one of the more wholesome sights Kaminari had seen in her life.

"Of course I am!" She exclaimed back, the upbeat tone of her voice feeling alien to her. She wasn't used to feeling like this. It was the kind of emotion she couldn't bring herself to experience as herself. She had obviously done something horrible in another life and her whole life she had been paying for it. But here, maybe she could escape that, if only for an afternoon.

She stood up, removing her extremely crude fishing rod from the ice stand she had made for it and sitting down on the edge of the log seat. "Got anymore tricks we can use to snare this one?" She asked, eyeing the water intently but seeing nothing but shifting shadows underneath. Any one of them could be their quarry.

@Nyancy

 

[Nyancy]

Hmmm... tricks? Actually, ya just gave me an ideah.

Nyancy reached into the little bag she always carried on her person. After digging around for a few moments, she pulled two small, shrimp-like creatures. The two creatures were dead, but some how magically preserved.

I traveled north tah a big lake not too long ago and found these guys. They looked special so I kept 'em tah use ah special bait for a special fish. I think this fish hea meets the qualifications and all so let's go fah it. Not gonna lie, I'm not suah the bait will woyk but honestly, I got a good feelin' about 'em.

Taking one of the shrimp-like creatures, Nyancy set it on her hook doing it slowly so Kaminari could see.

Yah wanna put it on just like that. Ya gotta make suah it's secure else it's gonna fall off when yah cast.

Nyancy smiled and winked, then held out the second shrimp creature to Kaminari.

Hea ya go, do it just like I did.

@Kaminari Arashi

 

[Kaminari Arashi]

The Magia accepted the weird shrimp thing tentatively, almost not even wanting to touch it. It was probably their best bet for catching this fish though, so she worked through her disgust by pretending that it was made of plastic. She leaned forward, hair falling down in front of her face. She let out a huff, trying to blow it out of her eyes only for it to fall right back. Whatevah. Kaminari was mildly amused that she had thought that in Nyancy's accent, or as close to an approximation as she could do.

Pulling in her line was way too much work, so she waved her hands in the direction of the pool, a small wave forming and carrying her hook along with it to the shore. Following Nyancy's lead, she carefully secured the bait onto the hook and prepared to cast. "What do we even do with this thing once we catch it?" She asked, brushing her hair back behind her ear and propping her hat up further on her head so she could see better. "Maybe it gives wishes..." The Magia woman muttered quietly. She had heard a folk tale once that seemed to follow a similar narrative, but she couldn't remember how it ended. All she could remember that it had something to do with sausages....

@Nyancy

 

[Nyancy]

Yah know what? Who's tah say? Maybe it will give ah some wishes. Thea's all kinds ah things in the woyld so who's tah say it won't. Honestly, I haven't thought much about what we'll do with it once we catch it, and we ah gonna catch it lemme tell ya. But I figyah we can figyah it out once we catch tha monstah.

Having attached the bait neatly to her line, Nyancy prepared to cast. Standing up, she readied herself.

Now we saw tha fish ova in that area so let's shoot fah just a bit outside of it, I'm doin a bit a guessin' hea but if I was tha fish, I'd be moving in... this direction.

Nyancy pointed to an area south east of where the fish had jumped out of the water.

Hea I go!

Taking her fishing pole, Nyancy cast leading her line to plop into the water in the exact spot she wanted it to.

Now it's just ah waitin' game. Say, if yah did have 3 wishes in this woyld, what would ya wish fah?

@Kaminari Arashi

 

[Kaminari Arashi]

Kaminari pulled back, releasing her line in a cast that totally missed the mark. Her hook plopped down into the water on the far right in the shallows. She started to pull it back in manually. Best not to mess with the water too much when Nyancy already had hers all set up where she wanted it. As she pulled in her hook she started to answer.

"That's a very tricky question. It's too easy to ask for things you aren't ready for. Things that once you have them you don't really know what to do with them, or can't appreciate them." She paused, having obviously given this a lot of thought prior to this. In fact, this was a recent prompt for an essay she had had to write for school.

"Wishes are dangerous things. And there really isn't much in this world that I want that I don't already have. So I'd have to say a shepherds pie." The Magia smiled, thinking fondly back to the rare occasions during her childhood when the orphanage had cottage pie. Shepherds pie was a step up from that, and since she had a wish she might as well dream big. Then it occured to her that she couldn't taste in this world. "Well, I have no sense of taste here, so I guess you can have my portion." The Magia smiled over to her companion preparing to cast once again.

@Nyancy

 

[Nyancy]

Shephads pie eh, that's a good choice! I think it's a bad idea tah ask fah things that yah could work fah and get yourself, like knowledge ah strength. Best to wish fah things that could nevah happen. If I had three wishes...

Nyancy thought for a moment.

I think I'd wish fah a fishin' rod like one in tha old world. Course someone hea could probably make it, and these sticks do fine, but it would be nice to have the feel of a real fishin' line ya know? Like how lots ah people want an excalibuh sword but mine would be like a holy sword cept fah fishin. Also, I don't have tha skills tah make a fancy one ah nuthin' so it's not somethin I can do on my lonesome.. Not much of ah craftah.

Suddenly, Nyancy felt a sturdy bite on her learn. She looked at Kaminari gravely.

This could be tha big one...

@Kaminari Arashi

 

[Kaminari Arashi]

"That seems like it would be a much more practical wish..." Kaminari pondered for a few moments, gripping her own fishing rod tightly, eyes intent on the water, but also her mind wandering slightly, a slideshow of different shepherds pies. It wasn't something she could afford in the real world, but maybe there was an equivalent here. She was starting to regret her lack of tastebuds.

Unbeknownst to either of them, the legendary fish lurked beneath the surface of the pool, uninterested in their bait. At least, uninterested in their initial bait. The fish that had bitten on Nyancy's rod was a fairly standard fish, but that had drawn the attention of their pure white quarry. The struggling fish on Nyancy's line was swallowed in one gulp, thus now hooking the very fish they were after. Nyancy would suddenly notice that the pull on the end of her line had doubled, or even tripled in strength.

Not knowing whether or not Nyancy could handle this on her own, Kaminari started to manipulate the water to take some of the tension off of Nyancy's makeshift fishing rod. Even if the beastfolk woman was strong enough to pull this fish in, it wouldn't matter if the rod or line broke. "I-I think you might be right about that..." She let out, voice a little strained.

@Nyancy

 

[Nyancy]

Nyancy held on to her fishing pole sturdily.

Alright, I'm gonna start tah drag it in. If yah can, use yah watah magic tah try and keep my line from breakin'. Wouldn't be faiah if we didn't catch tha fish just cause ah the line. Okay, hea we go!

Slowly but surely, Nyancy began to pull in her line. The legendary fish fought tooth and nail but Nyancy held fast.

Done alotta fishin' in my day but gonna be honest, I think this fish is somethin' special! It's really puttin' up a fight! Just like I'd expect from a legendary monstah!

Thanks to Kaminari's help, after a few moments the fish's pearly white head began to break out of the watah.

Look, we can see it! We just need tah keep it up and we got it!

Fighting the fish inch by inch, Nyancy dragged the fish slowly out of the water until.

That's it! It's on the land!

Rushing over, Nyancy grabbed the fish and held it over her head. It truly was beautiful. Pearl white with incandescent scales that shone in the sunlight.

Lookah hea, Kaminari! We did it!

@Kaminari Arashi