Tisis

Gone fishing (N)

After my immediate thirst is quenched, I look at Sirus, who is still drinking from the crystal clear water and blood rushes to my face.

Not only did I allow him to overpower me, no, that bastard probably saved my life in the process.

Still, it is very careless of him to just drink so very carefree, for Garkla alone knows what creatures might reside within these...

Splash

I look up from my thoughts and over to Sirus, as he is splashing around in the small river.
He appears to have some sort of spastic episode, with his arms flailing all over.
I walk over and ask, "Unless this water is the most lethal poison I've ever seen, it's too soon for you to have spasms....so what the heck are you doing?"

"Hold on, I'll be...where'd it...no, you don't...ah, there you go!"

Sirus gets back up to his feet and triumphantly holds a rather substantial aquatic creature at its tail fin, which still tries to escape his hold.

"What...is that?" I finally ask.
"I was kinda hoping you could tell me...but for now, let's call it dinner?"
"Hmm...the creature is clearly of aquatic origin...it shares many traits with my ancestors. Let me take a look...it appears to have gills, just like I do..."

"Wait, you have...what now?"
"Gills. See, here at my throat. They are used to filter the oxygen from the water, allowing us to breathe while under water."
"...you...can breathe under water?"
"Which part of 'aquatic origin' didn't register with you? Hmm..."

I take the now limp creature in both hands, examining it in more detail.
It appears to lack teeth, which means it's probably a herbivore of some sort.
It is also cold and slimy to the touch, which means that it is most likely cold blooded.

I examine it a little more, when Sirus asks, "Erm...so can we eat it...or not?"
"Eh? Oh, err, sure...also, I think I know what it is now."
"Really?"
"It is a fish."
"A...fish?"
"Yes, a fish. I considered it to be a mammal first, like the creatures we encountered the other day, but this one is nothing like them."
"Yeah, for one it didn't try to eat me."
"...still, we need to be careful. While it may not seem like it is a predator, it may yet possess hidden dangers. It might be poisonous."
"Uh-huh, just like the water, huh?"

I look up from my study object and at the smug grin of Sirus' face.
I know I shouldn't, but right now I really wish for him to go down with at least a really painful case of diarrhea, if only to wipe that stupid grin off his face.

I sigh and discard the thought.
Instead I reply, "Well, good catch either way. However we can't have you get soaking wet each time...we'll need tools."
"Tools...? Like what? Hoes? Watering cans? Shovels?"
"I was more thinking about hunting gear like bows, spears or fishing rods. Oh and we definitely will need a canteen or some sort, if we plan on sticking around."
"And...where can we get these things?"

I give him a look and then point over to the half-finished pot, "Why, we need to make them of course. Just like your ancestors used to."
"...well, a shame that they didn't tell me how they did it."
"Don't you worry about that. It's not exactly rocket science to build some basic tools. I trust you will help me?"
"If that means I don't get chewed up the next time, I'm all for it."
"That I cannot guarantee, but it'll improve our chances."

While we're walking back to our cave, he asks, "So...what do we do about the fish?"
"...not much we can do. We need to eat if we don't want to starve...though I would feel a whole lot more comfortable, if we could test it for poison without eating it."
"What if we fed a part of it to an animal? If it dies or gets sick, we don't eat it?"

I stop dead in my tracks and look at Sirus in disbelief.

Just who is that guy?
Just when I'm ready to stamp him a bumbling idiot, he suddenly says something super smart.

Not that I can tell him that, if I want to keep some sense of superiority, though.