After the carcasses were collected, the rfolk worked quickly and efficiently, gathering every last piece into their nets before swimming off toward the only store in the entire nation of Aquis Vanlur.
From what I had gathered so far, it acted as both a market and a storage facility for the community’s hunts.
I didn’t follow them. Instead, I stayed with Denus. He led back to his ho—The sa old cottage we had talked in before.
We settled at his dining table, where a al was already prepared. The food? Fishes—of course. A fish eating fish... I might have found it strange once, but now that I really thought about it.
It was just another fact of life here. In the ocean, the big fish ate the small fish. That was the unchanging law of the food chain.
Naturally, there was no fire for cooking. The fish was raw, sliced into neat, bite-sized pieces for easy eating. As a side dish, there was sothing green that resembled kelp, though Denus told it wasn’t.
The taste was surprisingly fresh and crisp, almost like cucumber, but with a faint briny undertone that reminded I was still beneath the sea.
We ate in silence, the sound of our chewing barely audible against the soft hum of the ocean waves. Once the plates were cleared, we moved to the lounge room and sank into the couch. Denus leaned back, groaning lightly as though relaxing into a long-familiar spot.
"Truthfully," he said after a mont, "I didn’t expect you to bring back so many fish. You’ve managed to break my non-existent expectations. Great job!"
I snorted. "Wow. Quite the way to congratulate soone. Can’t say I’m not impressed by your enthusiasm. By the way... do you think everything will go smoothly from here?"
He gave a puzzled look. "What do you an by that?"
I rested my elbows on my knees and exhaled. "I ant... don’t you think so of the other rfolk might cause trouble? Try to claim the hunted fish for themselves, maybe... stir up problems?"
Denus shook his head firmly. "No, they wouldn’t. Hunting is sacred. No one touches another’s catch unless the hunter declares it. Even if soone is a complete piece of shit, they don’t stoop to that."
I gave a small shrug. "Hmmm. Good to hear, then."
A quiet beat passed between us.
Finally, I stood. "Denus, is there anything you want to do? Or any work that needs to be done?"
He waved a hand lazily. "No, not right now. The next hunt starts tomorrow—that’s our main work here, aside from preparing als. And I happen to enjoy cooking, so I’ll handle that myself. If you want to rest, go ahead. Or, if you’d rather, you can explore the city. This entire region belongs to the Yellow-Tailed rfolk, and we’re not especially discriminatory... Also, a lot of people here already know about you."
I humd in acknowledgnt. "Alright. I’ll think about exploring... but not right now. At the mont, I’m just tired. I’ll turn in early."
He shrugged again. "As you wish. Oh—and tomorrow, there’s a celebration for our deity’s awakening. You might like it, seeing as you seem to have a taste for history."
Another hum from . "I’ll keep that in mind. Alright, goodnight."
I gave him a small wave as I swam toward the brown door that led to my room. Inside, I all but collapsed onto the bed, letting the deep pull of unconsciousness sweep away.
...
The next day followed the sa rhythm as before. I was up early, shared a simple al, and found myself once again standing beside Denus. He invited to join another hunt, and I accepted without hesitation. This ti, the other rfolk greeted differently.
It wasn’t that they had been unfriendly before—just cautious, reserved. But now, there was warmth in their eyes, smiles on their faces. They struck up small conversations, asked questions, even laughed with .
And soon enough, our chatter faded as we swam together toward the dark mouth of the Endless Gorge... plunging once more into its cold, shadowed depths.
Back in the crushing depths, the hunt began the sa way it had yesterday—each rfolk scattering into the darkness to seek their prey alone. The mont the shadows of the rfolks faded into the endless black, it was just , the water, and the faint hum of my own heartbeat.
I swam forward through the oppressive stillness, my movents steady but deliberate. The water here felt heavier. My eyes strained to pick out any flicker of movent, any shimr of scales in the darkness... but there was nothing. Not even the telltale glimr of an anglerfish’s lure.
That absence was unsettling. Yesterday, at least, I had felt the presence of life, distant shapes, hidden predators watching from the edges. But today? The gorge felt emptier.
Maybe the angler had wandered elsewhere, following its own hunt. Or maybe sothing bigger had moved into the area, sending everything else scattering.
Still, I kept going, scanning every movent, every ripple of the current. Minutes bled into what felt like hours. My muscles worked on autopilot, carrying deeper, yet the endless gorge gave nothing in return.
Frustration started to gnaw at . My interest for the hunt slowly drained away, replaced with that restless itch of wasted ti. And then, in the midst of that monotony, a thought struck .
’Wait a minute... why am I chasing them?’
The realization hit like a dart. If I couldn’t find prey, then maybe the prey should find . Instead of scouring the gorge for hours, I could make them co to .
The anglerfish’s trick imdiately ca to mind—how it dangled its eerie little lantern in the darkness, enticing foolish fish right into its jaws. A beacon in the darkness.
It was a perfect plan. Well... almost perfect.
"I don’t have the ability to produce light," I muttered under my breath. My athyst lightning elent could have been ideal for this, but it had been erased sohow, I couldn’t tap into it. I kept forgetting that frustrating little fact.
And as for my nothing elent? Well, that was the problem—it was literally nothing. Just emptiness. Not exactly a great lure.
I floated there for a mont, scowling into the darkness. ’If I couldn’t use light, what else could I use?’
Then the answer clicked. "Aha..."
I’d been swimming silently this whole ti, my movents smooth and controlled—exactly the kind of behavior that avoided drawing attention. But what if I did the opposite?
The ocean was full of predators that hunted by sensing vibrations in the water. If I made enough noise—enough chaotic movent—sothing would co looking for .
So I started.
First, I kicked harder, sending bursts of current rippling through the dark. Then I flung my arms out wide, swirling in tight, frantic circles. I slapped the water with my arms, twisted, darted, then doubled back again. The current churned around as I stirred the gorge like a living storm.
The darkness, once so still, now trembled with my wake. My heart beat faster. If anything lived nearby, it would feel this—and it would co.
And then... It happened.
From sowhere ahead, faint but growing stronger, I caught the first hint of movent. A ripple in the current that wasn’t mine.
I smiled.
I was finally getting rewarded for my work.
Reviews
All reviews (0)