Submission (#6651) Approved

A swath of light rippled beneath the boat as an unseen predator snatched a smaller prey fish for its meal, startling the luminous plankton. Asche leaned over the side of the boat, watching the glowing trail slowly fade from one end to another. Each oar stroke had made similar glowing trails across the surface as the two kittoms took their boat to a known fishing spot. Below, the branches of Silveil's world tree stretched out, and looking down it felt as though Asche should be able to look up and see the tree above them casting the inverted reflection. Fat round jellyfish floated at different depths and almost appeared like decorative ornaments - or fireflies, underwater. Asche frowned as he splashed the water with a paw, causing a new ripple of glowing spray. Around them other fishing boats spread out, each group had their own special fishing spot they considered lucky or the best and they would come back with tall tales of new creatures they had encountered or giant fish that got away. Asche didn't care for any of that, as a kittom he was never allowed out on his own and Pearl was a no-nonsense type that wouldn't make up a fake story - though she might, maybe, let him exaggerate a few details. But that was only IF something actually happened, which it wouldn't. He sighed and splashed the water vigorously, trying to see how far the glowing foam would reach.

"Please stop that!" chided his friend, Pearl. She frowned and locked the oars in place. "You'll scare the fish."

They were supposed to be fishing, and gathering edible water plants for the upcoming celebration. Pearl cast her net carefully, a glowing hatchmark of squares spreading across the surface and blending together in one large rounded blob-shape as it sank. "First we'll try to catch fish, if we can't find many then we'll move to the shore and gather tubers that will be delicious for dinner." Asche wiped his wet paw on Pearl's tail fur as she turned to sit down, but quickly said, "Your tail is snagged on the seat." as she caught him holding it. "Oh. Thanks." Pearl said, sitting down. Pearl rubbed her tail and narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously, having noted the wet spot. Asche tried to swallow his laugh as he said, "Fishing is kinda boring." He rolled backwards into the keel of the small boat, his legs on the seat and his head against the large basket filled with ice to keep their catch fresh.

Pearl sighed. Knowing she couldn't prove he used her tail like a towel and not wanting to make a fuss, she reeled the net in expertly. Dozens of tiny wiggling shapes kicked up more glowing foamy water as they were snared and pulled up. Silently, maybe even sulking a bit, she detangled the net and began picking out the best fish while throwing back ones that would not be suitable for eating. Asche had pulled himself up and was picking at a piece of trash - a bottle? - that was stuck in the net. "Ahh, leave that. We'll take it back and dispose of it properly," Pearl gestured at a small basket beside her, "for now, just sort the largest pink, white or yellow fish into this basket and throw back any dark or green-spotted fish. They're no good for eating at this time of year."

Asche watched Pearl finishing up the rest of the sorting, only tossing a couple back himself. He was supposed to be helping, but mostly because his pilot lights were enough light to guide their way but not as bright as a lantern that would scare the fish. He had actually been volun-told to help out and was not in a very good mood about it at all. This repeated for a while, each casting of the net done in a new spot as they worked their way around their section of the lake. Slowly but surely their basket filled up, with Asche finding himself more and more exasperated with the smell and feel of the scaley things. He liked cooked fish, but he did not like their slime coating or wriggling when they were alive - it bothered him quite a bit.

"What's this one?" Asche pointed at a silvery pink wriggling fish with a long face and thick elongated body. Pearl looked thoughtful. "I think it's a type of sturgeon, it's pretty long. But it's the right color for what the adults said would be good, so keep it."

Asche picked up the wiggly fish and tossed it towards the bucket of water Pearl had been sorting into. It bounced off the side and flopped desperately between the bucket and Pearl's feet. She rolled her eyes and scooped the poor thing into her bucket. Together they shook out the little debris that could go back in the water - bits of plants, sticks, and so forth. The mucky bottle was the last thing they investigated, as Asche had shoved it up under the seats. It was caked with mud and filled with watery muck, the top part had broken off leaving only part of the neck attached to the main body. The body was cracked, too. Asche shook the bottle vigorously, swishing it in the water over the edge of the boat and then in the air, trying to clean it enough to see inside.

Pearl was getting exasperated. "Asche, there's nothing in it that would be worthwhile after being underwater that long. Just put it in an empty bucket until we get back to shore." Asche opened his mouth to reply but screamed as something slimy and pink wrapped around his leg, emerging half covered in the bottle muck. "YECH!!!" he flung the bottle away, but the creature was still clinging to his paw. It had several stubby legs stuck to his fur and two long feelers touched his elbow. The long ribbon body wrapped itself around his paw and started climbing up his leg. He screamed again and pulled it off, throwing it to the bottom of the boat where it writhed and thrashed around in a frenzy.

Pearl had tumbled behind the baskets at his scream, startled. She recovered and jumped to his aide, delicately checking his arm for injury. Relieved at the lack of wounds, she carefully turned her attention to the creature which was also calming down and exploring the sides of the boat, its body about the length of their legs but less thick in diameter. "I don't think it's anything dangerous - but we shouldn't keep it. There's no telling if it's poisonous, so don't lick your paws until we get back and wash thoroughly."

Asche froze, mouth open and tongue out, hovering over the back of his paw. Embarrassed, he leaned over the side of the boat and splashed his paws a bit to at least get rid of the slimy dirt. Pearl used the empty bucket to scoop the creature into a wire cage and let it back into the water gently - the creature did not sit still and easily squeezed between the wires to swim away, undulating up and down in little hills and valleys along its body. The two kittoms sat in silence for a few minutes before they looked at each other. "Well. I guess we'll have an interesting story for the feast tonight." Pearl remarked. Asche's ears twitched as his eyes sparked with mischief. "Yeah! That thing was as big as the boat! It tried to pull me under!"

Pearl rolled her eyes and pushed an oar into Asche's belly, "And I single handedly fought it off and saved us?" she asked as she gave him a second wallop. Asche doubled over dramatically, feigning injury. "With one mighty cry, Pearl hid behind the basket of fishes!" Asche giddily invented as he wrestled Pearl's oar, which was playfully trying to brush him out of the boat with renewed effort. Laughing, Pearl pulled the oar away. "I fell because you screamed so loud!" she giggled. Asche laughed and joined Pearl at the oars, fitting his carefully into the notch as Pearl did the same. Their hoots and laughter filled the air with teasing exaggerations as they rowed back to shore, the other boats in the distance also slowly making their way back. The city lights grew brighter, the lanterns being lit and colorful decorations, confetti and bits of paper dancing on the wind. Asche forgot he hadn't wanted to help with the festival, he forgot his disdain for the stinky fish, and he realized he was truly looking forward to the feast and the new year.