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 Posted: Sat Jul 13, 2013 12:27 am
Morning found Shirin perched on a rock at the edge of a lake-sized pool. Given the early hour, she had her fishing spot all to herself for the moment, and from the soft smile on her face, she was enjoying her morning immensely. A well-crafted fishing pole in one hand, while a folded net, a container of bait, and a watertight basket with her earlier catches waited patiently on the ground beside her seat.
She kept a relaxed grip on her fishing rod, waiting for any signs of a bite on the hook. But really, the pressure was off now that she had already caught some fish. She could indulge herself a little, and she did, happy simply to let her attention drift. Her radaku Kamaria splashed about in the shallows some distance away, with the Wind girl watching contentedly. In the lake, the aptly-named rainbow fish darted to and fro, the ones closest to the radaku easily evading her sharp claws and teeth.
Shirin smiled. It was shaping up to be a perfectly relaxing day, and that was just how she liked it.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 12:45 pm
Today was Ogbonna's first day hunting with his father and his friends. At first, the prospect of going out with his father and being a grown up was about a thrilling as finding a mountain of gold under his bed. But, as the hours wore on and on without end, Oggie found himself growing more and more disenchanted with the idea of shooting arrows and throwing spears. Why was everything always about working? Where was there time for play?!
It didn't take too long for his breaking point to be reached. His tribe elder was hogging all the good snacks and telling him off for being "lazy and irritating", and Ogbonna was having none of that! As soon as all the hunters had turned their attentions away from him, he was out of there faster than a raging Mammu.
He eventually slowed down by a lovely little lake, which he had never seen before. It was sort of like the beach, but smaller, and filled with fish! He knelt down and marveled at the sheer amount of fish in the water. His aqua eyes followed them this way and that until he found a cluster of them circling around a particular area on the other side of the water. Instantly, his eyes snapped upwards, and locked onto Shirin. At first, he seemed to be just calmly observing her, until he simply leaped into the water and swam over to the other side.
"Hey! What'cha doing?" He inquired, ringing his hair dry as he sat down beside her.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 7:35 pm
Catching sight of a flicker of motion off on the other side of the lake, Shirin glanced over and offered a cordial nod. She wasn't sure that he could see it from all the way across, but they say it's the thought that counts, right? Back to fishing.
Or so she had planned. The splash startled her, blue eyes widening. Still, Ogbonna's swim gave her plenty of time to compose herself again. She had never gotten around to learning how to swim. Watching him move through the water, she wondered for the first time if it might be fun to learn. Someday, perhaps.
When Ogbonna found himself a seat next to Shirin, she gave him a small but friendly smile, calm as you please. It was as if she made the acquaintance of dripping wet boys on the edge of a lake every single day.
"Meeting some new faces and inviting them home to my family's noonday meal," she replied, her tone light and bantering. An airy wave of her free hand gestured toward her catches so far. Guests as protein-packed as these fish were especially appreciated after traveling on roots and berries. "And what brings you here this lovely morning?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:31 pm
Ogbonna, being the mirthful boy that he was, giggled as Shirin explained what she was doing. Inviting her lunch to partake in the lunch itself? That was very silly! The fish would be eating themselves! He shook his head at the thought, his hair flinging some excess water around as he did, and leaned forward to peer at the fish she had already caught. Wow! She was a really good fisherman! He only knew how to catch a fish with his toes, which he was VERY proud of, mind you. He turned to ask Shirin if she wanted to learn how to catch fish with her toes, only to pause when he was asked about what he was doing out here.
"Father is hunting, got reaaaaallly bored." He said, his tone childlike. "Didn't want to talk to greedy elder anymore because he was mean, so I ran away!" He nodded to himself and turned his attention back to the fish, before smirking up at Shirin. "I can catch fish with my feet!" He exclaimed. "Can you do that?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:03 pm
Shirin grinned as Ogbonna giggled. "I'd run away from boring hunts and greedy elders too," she admitted with a laugh.
Catch fish with her feet? Shirin's lips drew into a thoughtful line as she stretched out a foot. "No." She lifted her fishhook free of the lake and trailed a toe in the water. "I've never tried." She wiggled her toes on both feet, then looked at Ogbonna, her chin resting on one hand. "But I learn fast. Show me?"
Shirin's lingering grin crooked, turning impish. "Unless it's your secret fishing technique." Her left hand came up now to cover frost-blue eyes, though her fingers soon moved apart to let one eye peek out. "Then I solemnly promise not to peek." Fingers moved in close again, blocking off her view fully.
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Posted: Mon Jul 22, 2013 9:51 pm
A secret? His fishing technique? Pfft, he just stuck his feet in some water and smacked whatever it was until it died! There was nothing secretive about that! He gave a chuckle of his own and reached up to remove her hands from her eyes, shaking his head at her when she could see again. This girl was funny, he liked her! But, if she wanted to learn how to catch a fish with her toes, she would need to use her eyes! It would be very difficult to catch a fish without your eyes to guide you, he silently deduced, smiling at her.
"No secret, you can learn it!" He said, hopping up to his feet and jumping into the water. He made quite a splash and thoroughly soaked whatever was left of his dry clothes, which didn't seem to phase him. He didn't clean his own clothes anyway, his mother did that. Then, as if he were an animal stalking it's prey, he watched the water intently for any sign of a fish. Soon enough, a good sized fish came close to his leg, and he gently raised his foot like a hunter's spear before slamming it down upon the fish, pinning it down under the water. A second or so later, he snatched it out from under his foot and handed it to Shirin with a grin. "Now, you try!" He said.
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Posted: Tue Jul 23, 2013 12:18 am
Shirin's hand doesn't resist when the boy pulls it away from her eyes. When uncovered, those eyes are twinkling with mirth and curiosity. "I'll watch and learn, then," she said, settling down to do just that with rapt attention.
She clapped her hands in glee as Ogbonna brought back a fish. After slipping the boy's catch into her watertight basket for safekeeping, she waded into the shallows herself. "I'm surprised more people don't do it this way."
As he had done before her, she waited for a suitable fish to come along, raised a foot high, then brought it down hard on the fish's body. She could feel the fish's slippery scales underfoot for a moment. A second later, however, her prey wriggled away again, leaving the girl to wobble in the shallows for a moment before regaining her balance.
Failure didn't dismay her, with a laugh escaping her lips instead. "I should've stamped down harder. I'll just do better next time, you'll see!" As practice, she lifted her foot one more time and brought it down quickly, raising a splash. "How have you got such strong feet, anyway?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 6:27 pm
Ogbonna nodded furiously. Yes, much harder, she would have to stamp down upon the fish as if her life depended on it! At least that's what he did. He thought about not having any food and finding a fish was his only way to survive and slammed his foot down as hard as he could in order to catch that fish. It was a good way to keep himself focused, yes it was. He was smart!
"Climbing, running and eating meat!" He exclaimed, grinning rather proudly. His feet were amazing! He was quite proud of how dirty he could get them and how much noise he could make with them. So far, his mother would make him wash his feet after three weeks and they could wake a pack of Raptri nearly a mile away. They were amaaaazziiiinnnng!
"You don't have strong feet?" He asked, doing a slight head tilt. "How do you run miles or climb trees without strong feet?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 29, 2013 7:40 pm
Tired of chasing after the fish, Kamaria walked out of the water to curl up by Shirin's temporarily abandoned fishing tools. From her restful seat, the Radaku watched the figures in the lake.
Shirin grinned back at Ogbonna as she listened to his proud explanation. "We're a bit short on meat. Maybe that's why?" She shrugged. "And I usually walk and climb mountains instead. It's more about balance than strength," she explained. She pivoted a little, trying to spot any fish close enough for her second attempt. "If I stamp down hard on a mountain, the mountain won't feel anything, but my foot will."
As another fish finally approached, she lifted a foot. "On the other hand, if I stamp on a fish..." She trailed off, bringing her foot down as hard as she could on the fish. Seconds later, she drew her latest prey out of the water with a flourish. "I think the fish felt it more than I did."
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 3:23 pm
Ogbonna broke into applause as Shirin caught the fish. She did it! He had taught her how to catch a fish with her feet! That was a very useful thing to learn, yes it was! He mentally nodded to himself again and again and a great sense of pride come over him! He turned to Shirin and grinned.
"Congratulations, you are a fast learner!" He chirped. "Now practice, practice! You'll catch five in one minute soon, like me!"
Then, his train of thought was broken by Kamaria, and he squealed. What was that thing?! It was so cool! HE. MUST. PET. IT! He scurried out of the water and knelt beside Kamaria.
"What is this? It is strange!" He squeaked, patting Kamaria on the head. "Is this a pet?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 30, 2013 6:28 pm
Shirin dipped a playful bow as Ogbonna broke into applause. "Well, I do have a great teacher," she replied with a flash of her pearly whites.
On the shore, Kamaria lifted her head at the sound of Ogbonna's squeal. She accepted the pat on the head with composure, then stood, sniffing at the boy's nearest hand.
"She's a radaku, from Jauhar. Her name's Kamaria," said the Wind girl, still standing in the lake. Gotta practice! She paused a beat, staring at a passing fish, but it swam away again. "Maybe you could teach her how to fish too. She hasn't been having much luck today."
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Posted: Fri Aug 30, 2013 2:34 pm
RA-DA-KU. It had a nice name, this odd little creature! He leaned forward again to pat Kamaria on the nose, grinning as he did so. She was so lovely and purple! He wanted one of these Radaku one day! He turned towards Shirin again, listening to her carefully as she spoke, and grinned. Jauhar, he'd been there with Natsu! That was when he ran fifteen miles in one hour and fell out of a tree! That was fun and terrifying!
"Jauhar has lots of trees and gems, right?" He asked, tapping Kamaria's nose. Then, he tilted his head towards Shirin and beamed. "Yes! I can teach Kamaria how to fish like me, too!" He stood and waved Kamaria towards the water. "Come! Lessons start now!"
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Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:25 pm
Ogbonna's description of Jauhar brought a grin to Shirin's lips. "Oh, yes, that's exactly it. Lots of insects too." A slight shiver shook her frame. She didn't normally mind insects, but some of those could be quite deadly. But her good cheer returned soon after. "Have you been there before?"
Kamaria sniffed inquisitively at the boy's hand as he patted her on the nose. Her gaze followed his gesture toward the water. After a moment's hesitation (or perhaps deliberation), she rose from the shore and paced toward the water, all languid feral grace. This radaku was ready for some fishing lessons!
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Posted: Thu Nov 14, 2013 6:58 pm
Ogbonna wandered back over towards Shirin as Kamaria padded over, and nodded feverishly at her question. He'd been to Jauhar a few times with his uncle and once on his own! The beach was his favorite place in Jauhar, it was much warmer than the waters of Sauti and there were all sorts of treasures in the water! He loved finding new things to bring home to his parents, even if they got upset with him for running off without someone to guide him.
"I go to Jauhar with my uncle, Natsu! He likes the beach!" He replied, wandering back into the water. "I also like the gems and the treasures! I found jewels in the water! They were sparkly!"
Then, he turned his attention back to Kamaria.
"Okay! You see the fish swimming?" He asked. "Watch me!"
He raised his foot up and waited for a fish to swim closer to him, before slamming down upon it and scooping it up into his hand.
"Now you try!" He chirped.
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