Submission (#3036) Approved

Quest: Resonance - Act # 3 [RQ-SU-1] Go Fish
Act Type: Support
Word Count: 1327
Adult Elnin Present: N/A
Regional Affinity: Palu'au
Claiming Regional Affinity for: Hanabi [ELN595]
[Rank Name] Rank Unlock Mini-Requirement: N/A
(Bellmoril)

After working with Tufts, Hanabi had made a few connections of her own, including a few more agreeable fishermen. While her mother tended to her shop, Hanabi had opted to do odd jobs for money and to see more of the island. She’d heard of the Rainbow Reef from the fishermen, not only in its beauty but the stories of their wild catches and amazing fish. One told her of a glowing fish he had found that gave off a pink hue. Another swore he found a fish with heads at both ends. More unique and crazy combinations, all while enjoying the clear waters and beautiful scenery. They also mentioned the difficulty of catching them and explained their offerings to anyone that helped catch the weirdness.

            Hanabi wanted in on that, and all the islands had to offer in their beautiful, misleading shallow waters. She managed to borrow a small pole with a hook and secured a small bucket of cheese before setting out for the shores around the best spot on the Rainbow Reef. It was a long walk through the tropical jungles, which varied in bright and dark green hues at the edges of the well-worn path she trotted through. She turned down the path towards the long, curved shoreline and gasped as she cleared through the thicket of palms. “Wooooow!”

            Like elsewhere in Palu’au, the water was a crisp and clear blue, but the water reflected back from the darkened cascade of rainbow colors from the coral danced under the waves. Pale rocks sat in different spots along the shore and stuck out above the reef, where spots of rainbow prisms seemed to dance on their surfaces. Overhead the shade of the trees felt nice to her and she took a moment of rest before moving out to the exposed shore with a happy grin on her face. Wait until mom sees me catching fish and selling these weird things!

            The warm sand under her paws made her happy and she moved over to sit at the edge of the wave line, watching as the ocean playfully teased her paws as she sat close by to it near the mid-arch of the crescent-shaped shore. Nearby she could see crabs moving along the shore and the birds overhead with loud caws. Her eyes noticed a trail of rocks leading around the righthand side to curve towards the bright images of the coral in the shallows below. With a few hops, she managed to get out to a flat rock, where the water gently splashed at her but didn’t overtake it.

            “This is the spot.” Her giddy voice shuddered as she grabbed the pole in her paws, sticking a large piece of cheese at the end. “Okay fishies, if this cheese is good enough for me, it’s good enough for you!” With a fast swish, she flung the line into the water and sat, staring back at it with a wide grin.

            The white foam on top of the waves swirled around her line and settled to clear as the yellow cheese block bobbed under the water. Shadows moved around it and she stared back at them excitedly. I wonder if there are any unicorn fish down here! Carefully she watched the rainbow coral from the end, seeing the colors of the fish mixing with the bright corals. It’s going to be soon! She thought, in pure optimism.

            After ten minutes she was groaning, staring at the line and giving it a strong shake or two, staring back. “Come on!” She groaned again, watching the shadows near her scatter again and she sighed, pulling her line back. To her worse dismay, she was looking back at an empty hook and stuffed another cheese cube on it, tossing it again. Okay, this one.

            Splashes of seawater hit her feet and her fur stuck to her body as she sat under the warmth of the sun on her rock perch. Her ears wiggled as she could hear the birds cawing back at her, as she pulled another empty hook off. “Wise guys.” She muttered, using yet another cheese block, only to repeat the process several times. From the fisherman she spoke to at Tuft’s smoothie bar, they had mentioned that the fish in the area were a little harder to catch, and she’d played it off.

            Now she realized what they meant – all the fish cared about was a free lunch! Wiggling her pole, she felt a bite and proceeded to yank it back, only to slap herself in the face with a wayward piece of kelp and no cheese to be found. “Bleh.” She spit out the saltwater, wiped the slime off her face, and stuffed another block on the hook, moving it again. “Come on!” She yelled, huffing as she looked back to her little catch bucket with only a couple of sunbaked cheese blocks left.

            Patience was never her strong suit and she took in a few deep breaths and gently pulled back her line again, staring at the reflecting fishhook with a hateful glare as she pressed a cheese block on slowly. The last remaining block sat in the bucket and she blinked, pushing it on the hook as well so one sat in the middle and the other higher on the hook and on part of the fishing line. “Okay… calm.” She said, swishing it carefully and letting it settle by a bright red coral dome she’d been eying.

            Minutes passed. Then longer followed as she watched the wind move over the waves. She pretended to be the rock she was un, unmoving as the ocean moved around her. Calm. Boring. Her paws itched to move outside of her gentle tugs, and she felt her legs start to buzz with numbness of the same position for a long time. My butt is falling asleep!

            Another good chunk of time passed and she felt like she wanted to quit when suddenly there was a tug on her line. She blinked. Another tug! Quickly she grabbed the pole tightly and let it go again and she cheerfully pulled back. “Ah!” It was stronger than she anticipated and she yanked it harder, twisting her body to pull it back. “Come on… you… fish!” She took a few steps to pull along, feeling it finally moving up. Then it tugged back, and she tugged more. “I am not a free lunch!!!” She shouted, yanking the pole up and seeing it move up, staring at the visage of a fish.

            It sailed her way and she grabbed her bucket and she heard it fall inside, wiggling around and she grinned, staring slowly into it. Would she find her unicorn fish? One that glowed? One with two heads? Her bright eyes peered down into the bucket and she blinked at the odd little fish in her bucket.

            It was yellow, which caught her eye, but instead of a gasping mouth, there was an octopus beak sticking out from the edge. The body looked hard and unmovable, more like a heavy creature like a shark or marlin. However, the most distinctive feature was its large, unblinking eye that stared at her. It took up more than half of the body and she blinked back at it a few times and sat back on her haunches.

            She caught a fish. She caught a weird fish. Do the fishermen really want THIS thing? Somewhere inside she was a little upset, had she caught something pretty she thought she might keep it but now had an optic buddy. Shrugging, she grabbed the bucket, at least able to feel some twinge of pride in the fact she caught a fish. A single fish in half a day, but a fish all the same. Now she had a story to share and hoped the fish might catch at least some money since she didn’t entirely like the idea of eating mostly eyeball. *Maybe I’ll try again tomorrow too!* She thought as she headed back along the white sand to the denser jungle, heading back to the small town and lines of huts, filled with a market just waiting to see her and the weird yellow eyeball fish in her bucket.