Sextus watches the water of the Gran Tarsha-Tarria-Ata as the boat rocks in the current, held in place by the flimsy little anchor he’d tossed down hours before. The only real difference between fishing now and fishing before the Revolution was that he wasn’t at risk of getting arrested by Imperial Guards for straying outside of his station.
(That, and the view of the blown-to-bits Imperial tower. Now that was magnificent.)
Speaking of fish and getting yelled at by guards— a familiar face bobs up in the water, gripping her catch and hauling herself over the side of the boat. Letting her tail drape over the edge, Keshu shakes the fish off her spear and into their steadily filling bucket.
“Nice,” Sextus remarks, grinning. “Fat one! I’d eat it myself, if it didn’t fetch us a fine flatter.”
“Of course it’s nice,” Keshu snorts. “How long have you known me?” She leans over the edge of the boat, scanning the water. “Hang on, hang on. How much you want to bet on where Fowler will pop up? I’ll put a red on over there.”
Before Sextus can even respond— let alone place his own bet— his diving bird resurfaces a hefty ways away from where Kesh was pointing, another fish flopping in their beak as they paddle over.
Keshu scowls as Sextus smirks at her. “Yeah, well. It probably would have been closer than you would have guessed.”
“Uh huh.” He gives Fowler scratchies as they air out their feathers, casting his gaze to the city. His eyes land on the Surin enclave, just barely visible from where their boat sits.
Following his gaze, Keshu gives him a nudge. “Here’s a thought: pound for pound, how much fish do you think the Surin catch?”
Sextus squints at her quizzically. “They’ve got a floating home and flying boats, and the first thing you’re thinking about is fish?”
“We’re fishermen! It’s relevant! And I swear I’m going somewhere with this!” She leans forward a bit as she elaborates. “So, take me, right? I’m pretty good at catching fish! I’m smart, I’ve got tools, I’m good at it!”
“Your bird, though, they’re not smart at all—“
“Hey!” Sextus covers Fowler’s earholes in offense, earning a confused honk.
“Let me finish! Fowler isn’t smart, compared to you and me. But! It catches way more fish than I do, relative to their weight!” Keshu returns to leaning back in her seat. “Because that’s all diving birds think about: catching fish. And they’re good at it.”
Sextus lets Fowler take off again. “And clearly,” he says as they dive back under the water, “they don’t waste any time jabbering like we do.”
“Ha! Right!” Keshu cackles. “Okay, okay, so. With all that said: how much do you think the Surin can catch?”
Glancing back to the Enclave, Sextus mulls it over. “Well,” he hums, fidgeting his ears between his fingers, “I’m sure they can make real fancy tools now, with all the strides they’ll be making with their Unweight. Nets that can float right out of the water maybe, no hauling needed!”
“Seems like a waste of a valuable resource, but go on.”
“But… they’ve got a lot on their mind right now. A lot. Making contact with their homeland, sorting out their infrastructure here, all that stuff.” He puts his jaw in one hand. “So with all the thinking they have to do, they probably don’t have much chance to learn how to fish in the first place, right now. So… probably not any!”
Keshu squints in a smile. “See, you get it!”
“Get what? What point are you even trying to make? ‘Too much smarts means not enough fish?’” Sextus folds his arms indignantly. “And you didn’t even include the Fluters in whatever it is you’re trying to say. What about their fishing-skills-to-smarts ratio?”
“The Fluters are a bunch of different cultures with a bunch of different food-gathering methods.” Keshu waves it off. “There might as well be no correlation.”
“Oh for— I wasn’t trying to make a point!” She huffs, frustrated. “I was just making conversation! I thought it’d be fun to think about!”
As if to punctuate her statement, Fowler resurfaces once again. Sextus watches as they drop another catch into the pail and immediately head back into the water.
“Well,” he remarks after a moment, smirking wryly. “While we’re having our riveting intellectual discussion, Fowler is continuing to prove their superiority in the matter.”
Keshu is clearly trying to stay mad, but nonetheless a smile is coaxed out. “Right, well. Like I said, they’re good at it.”
They sit together in silence for a bit, watching the water.
“… how much fish do you think the War-Men catch?”
“Oh, who even knows with them.”
Catching Fish by Maggs D
marineverdancy.tumblr.com
About the artist
I’m a marine biologist who likes to draw and write stuff every now and again!
Your favorite character in Vattu
The Weightless One, RIP. Such a fascinating character!
