Snowshell Fishing contest - Where's that fish??
Snowshell Fishing contest - Where's that fish??
“SNOWSHELL FISHING CONTEST, JOIN NOW!”
A huge wooden board made out of maple with bold, golden letters caught Taro’s attention. A fishing contest huh…? This might be his chance to meet new friends who also love collecting fish and discovering new species. The past 10 years or so Taro has spent collecting fish in his free time, especially sneaky malaka’s! He felt like those were his family due to having a similar color as he did. Taro would always feel a little sad when he saw a food stand with BBQ'd sneaky malaka’s, though he doesn’t resent others from eating em. It’s the food chain after all, Taro eats other fish too so that would’ve been hypocritical. His favorite fish to eat is probably the prismatic sailfin, a rare fish wielding a sword like bone right above its beak. Its location is still to be revealed, most Symprites and Aramelles seem to be secretive about its whereabouts when Taro asked. Probably to keep it a rare delicacy? They are rather expensive when served freshly caught! Perhaps a chef would know more about its habitat and share some knowledge. Atleast, that’s what Taro would hope.
He wandered into town and saw a restaurant he had never seen before. Perhaps it’s one of those shops that are pulled by a giant crab? Those seem to be rather popular lately traveling over the whole continent. An alluring aroma caught him off guard, what is this fragrant smell? He took a whiff as a wave of garlic, parsley, tomato and freshly fried fish entered his nostrils. As he peeked through the windows, he spotted a bunch of Symprites slurping down some spicy noodles, decorated with colorful fried Kiril’s. A soft growl emitted from his stomach, all this walking had definitely worked up an appetite. Once inside the dishes seemed rather familiar. The bulky chef that had once served him a rather exquisite plate of Prismatic Sailfin sashimi seemed to be working here too. Though last time, the chef’s knife wielding skills intimidated Taro a bit to the point he didn’t dare to ask anything. A shiver shot up his back, better stay polite to avoid any sharp objects. Taro’s growling stomach started to attract a little too much attention so he quickly ordered a bowl of Sweet Deathfish noodles and a plate of steamed Golden daggerfish. Its ink gave the noodles its signature black color! The paralyzing ink gives a light numbing effect to the dish too. Bright white colored Iceberg Kirils as a topping make the dish complete! As for the Golden daggerfish, steaming it made its skin easier to peel off revealing its juicy flesh. A puff of steam popped up as he gently cut the flesh with his chopsticks. Taro picked up a cup filled with sauce emitting a golden sheen, yet was very much clear and gently poured it over the white flesh. Finally, it was time to eat! Buttersmooth flesh and a delicious umami flavor! He couldn’t get enough of both dishes. As he munched on the noodles, Taro tried gaining some info about the Prismatic Sailfin. Though none of the servers knew about it, or perhaps they didn’t want to say anything. *CHOP!* The sound of a blade hitting the cutting board made Taro quickly turn around.
“Prismatic Sailfin huh…?” It seems like the bulky chef who had most likely prepared all the food had overheard Taro’s attempts at gaining info.
“I- uhm- Yes! Do you maybe?- Perhaps know where I could catch it?” Taro couldn’t help but stutter. The chef didn’t look up from his cutting board but paused for a few seconds before answering.
“Who is asking?” The chef slowly looked up, a wide grin had formed on his face revealing a bunch of sharp teeth. Definitely not someone you want to mess with. “Hunters don’t reveal secrets for free.” *CHOP!* The knife hit the cutting board once more.
Taro hurriedly finished his food and paid before hastingly leaving the restaurant. He for sure felt an eerily glare when exiting!
“Well, maybe I’ll just stick to catching Sneaky Malaka…” He mumbled to himself.
A few days later Taro had entered the fishing contest and to his surprise… The chef from the restaurant seemed to have entered as well! Taro almost dropped his box of caught fish after seeing the large Symprite with a gigantic fish flung over his broad shoulders. Not one… Not two, but three! THREE PRISMATIC SAILFINS!!?? It seemed like the chef had noticed Taro staring a little too long as a wide grin popped on his face again. This time he laughed loudly, perhaps he found Taro’s dumbfoundedness rather funny?
“Who… Who are you??” Taro uttered, speechless.
“The name’s Blade.” The Symprite smirked as he got handed over a 1st prize trophy for catching the biggest amount of rare fish.
Taro was already happy with his consolation prize of a squishy Flicker frog, but the fact that Blade was able to catch those fish filled him with determination. He’ll do better next time!