Dreams of the Deep : Gone Fishing
Fishing? Oh, September knew how to fish alright. And none of that weird stuff with the stick and line either. She could never understand why people sat on the shore and depended on a flimsy stick and hook to catch their dinner when their own two hands were much more trustworthy… In most circumstances at least.
September was perched on one of the many docks surrounding the Starwell. It was honestly impressive how quickly everything had gone up around the strange anomaly and she ogled the many booths and rides that had cropped up in a halo around the dark waters. The autumn coloured bird had been in Sor Solir prior to the pools appearance as she had taken to visiting in the summer after the whole Astrean Temple incident that had happened a few years ago. She always enjoyed wandering and finding little things on the beaches and in the surrounding areas since she had been shown what to look for by a tall colorful satyr and the whole atmosphere of the place was so relaxing and adventurous that it made the perfect getaway in the warmer months.
Shaking her head to bring her back to the present, September gazed into the dark, starry water. Her eyes were the only part of her that moved, scanning back and forth over the serene azure waters. The place was absolutely teeming with fish of all different shapes and sizes, sweeping through the water with a faint shimmer when the sun caught their scales. And while some thought the Starwell a bad omen, having heard many tales of strange and sometimes ominous dreams, September trusted the creatures more. Animals always knew when something was dangerous and so she didn’t think twice when a large fish about half her size with silvery opalescent scales and trailing fins crossed her path just close enough to the surface to be vulnerable.
September’s body tensed like a cat and then a small splash was all that was left of her on the surface as she broke into the marine wonderland below. A cascade of bubbles flowed behind her as all the air fled her fur to join the surface but with a quick thought a few bubbles moved to her mouth, creating a breathable pocket of air. Wind affinity truly was a useful thing and now it didn’t matter how long she spent in the depths.
The fish she had been aiming for started at her sudden presence, twisting quickly in the water and darting downwards, but it wasn’t quite fast enough to outrun the autumn coloured torpedo. September was well skilled at this. Her fangs dug into the creatures back and let out a mist of red as she bit down hard and wrapped her arms around its wiggling body. The fish was large and powerful but September dug in like a tick, releasing her bite momentarily before chomping down again. Twisting and flailing seemed to do the creature no good and in a last attempt at freedom the fish darted downwards, dragging September with it into the shadowy depth below.
September’s ears popped as the silvery fish drug her straight down for what felt like forever until it finally lost momentum, weakening as its life trailed behind it in a crimson cloud. Once it stopped struggling September released her prize, working a few scales out of her teeth with her tongue. They were a bit tougher than some of the other fish she had caught and one of the silvery things had bitten back, sticking in her gums like a popcorn shell. The autumn browbird held the deceased fish with one arm while she reached up and dug out the stuck scale with a claw.
That minor inconvenience dealt with September finally took a moment to look around her. The water here was dark but looking down proved that it was much darker where the fish had been trying to flee too. She surveyed that darkness for a while, feeling the cold water flowing through her fur in invisible currents. Below were still more fish and large, shadowy shapes that were just out of site save for dots of bioluminescence. For a moment she considered descending further to see just how far down the starwell went. Surely it couldn’t go down forever? Would she even make it to the bottom before her little bubble of breathable air ran out or the pressure became too overwhelming? And that wasn’t even considering what creatures might lie in wait for a stringy little browbird like herself to get too curious. September was confident in her ability to fight but fighting in water was another realm entirely. She wasn’t made for that no matter how skilled she was with her knife…
September shifted around in the water, pointing her body upwards and drifting like she was leaning back in a hammock. The light filtered down from the surface, azure and glittering, with small shadows moving in all directions. There were plenty more fish upwards then downwards (that she could see at least), more food waiting to be snatched up. And maybe she could play a couple tricks and tug on a few hooks on her way back to the surface. There had been quite a few other people out on the same dock as her, laying idly in the sun with their hooks in the water… September floated there for a good while, her catch stuck snugly under her arm, until she could feel her air running out. Finally she began to ascend though the thought of staying longer was very appealing. The depths were eerily calm and beckoning…