It was early morning and time to go check on the garden as it was promising to be a hot day in Matori with no rain in sight. He stepped outside the door and nearly tripped on a package addressed to him. It was well wrapped and he knew it had not been there last night. How intriguing and utterly odd. His mate and kids knew nothing about it and he proceeded to carry it inside to the dining table. There was only one way to figure out this mystery and that was to open the darn thing. He was the only one now in the house and honestly he couldn't hold back anymore.
He picked at the wrapping and what was unvieled was quite unexpected. It was a fish, and a large fish of high quality commonly baked, grilled or used fresh such as this for sushi. The eyes were clear and bright and it must have come off the early boats this morning.
He smiled thinking of one particular hybrid fisherman who was as tall as they were and how he was a generous soul.
"Theriar, you shouldn't have." This would provide quite a feast for the family and he made the executive decision to make it into sushi and sashimi. It was a family favorite and it would go over better than if he were to cook the thing. Though they didn't mind his patented soya sauce marinade.
Still it was a good day for a long process. He severed the head, kindly the fish was already gutted otherwise. He filleted the spine, fins, ribs and tail off to use in stock later. Waste not want not and stock was always a good thing. then he pulled the tiny bones out with a special pair of tweezers made by the blacksmith hybrid on the beast ranch. They were perfect for the task with a wide bill and strong grip. It sure beat trying to dig the bones out by his fingers and potentially ruining the meat. From the looks of the fish it was a mature King Salmon. Delicious and known for its fat content. His mouth was watering already.

From there he made the sushi and sashimi. He need not worry about left overs as their family was sizable. Then he prepared some shrimp and avocado and rice with tiny fish eggs and made the rolls. It would be a great party later. AND he could now enjoy the rest of the evening now that dinner was prepared for later. It would keep in the coolest area of the house and it would be a lovely surprise as only he knew what had been in that package.
He also made a small packet of his favorite seeds and took them out to the ship that was at mooring at the dock. He tossed the seed pouch over the side of the rail. There a gift given and a gift received. He smiled to himself all the way home, thinking about the wonderful romance book he had gotten from Ikaika for his birthday. He was only on the third chapter but it was starting to heat up just like he wanted. It featured supernatural pairs that got up to really cool things while they fell in love. Apparently a local author wrote them. He wanted to meet said author one day and maybe he could get one of his beloved books signed.
The rest of the day was peaceful and filled with reading and tea. He dug out the food right before dinner and enjoyed the squeals of delight. Then after dinner he went for a long leisurley swim in the ocean, it was good for his muscles. All the while he thought of the good in the world and how communities were forged and maintained by the good souls that lived in them. He was so fortunate to live here on these shores and not (at least in his personal case), where he was from.

His parents had been an arranged marriage and they had wanted nothing better for him. He loved the family he had created with Ikaika and the community they shared with good friends around them. He wouldn't trade this for the world and it was in this community that their children got to be raised in safety. That was worth his weight in gold and more to his eyes. The love he shared and gave was more precious than all the waters of the sea.

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