Falling Catch

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

  

For the first hour of morning, it had been relatively similar to the previous one. (F/n) had woken up, bathed, dressed in her own undergarments and a new dress, with it being an off-white color, and had some breakfast. Like before, the dish had been created with clinglobs, though; this time, it had been cooked in a pan with vegetables. It had been delicious.


During breakfast, however, she hadn't been able to shake off an odd feeling. Her right hand had felt strange since she had woken up. It was as though there should've been something there, but she hadn't been able to see it. The sensation had reminded her of when Will had healed her wounds upon first arriving here. Had he done something to her in sleep?


Towards the end of breakfast, a hand rested on her left shoulder. "Are you alright, Bluebell? You look troubled. Did you have a bad dream last night? You've been rather quiet this morning."


She knew very well that she had experienced no such thing. In fact, she had a simple, yet pleasant dream. For the whole time, she had been resting against Tarhuinn. That fact couldn't slip past her lips. "Yes, and it would explain why I woke up with the sheets partially off and my pillow off to the side."


Removing his hand, he took the last bite of his meal. After he swallowed, he asked, "Are you willing to tell me what it was about? Your husband, perhaps?"


"Yes, he was chasing me again. I dreamt that I hadn't found this cabin and that he had recovered from the wound that I had given him. He charged after me, and I ran for the lake. Having nowhere else to go, I jumped in and started to swim across. He didn't go in the water himself. When I looked back, he was gone as was the shore. I was in an endless sea of water before something started to float up to the surface." She paused as though she shouldn't say the next part. He motioned for her to go on. "And, it was a horribly mutilated body; it was your body, Will."


Fingers intertwining, she glanced over to him. His expression remained neutral before he smiled to her. He patted her on the head and stood to his feet. "If you're worried about your husband killing me, you shouldn't. I already told you that I'll be able to handle him. It's flattering to know that you're concerned about my safety, though."


A shy gaze crossed her face. It turned to her hands and stayed fixed there. "I feel that it's insulting to you. You've been so kind to me and promised to give me safety, yet I doubt your word as I'm sleeping in your very bed."


Picking up their dishes, he chuckled some. "Having someone apologize to me about dreaming about me is a new one. It doesn't bother me at all. You've only seen your husband fight, not me. So, you have no comparison to make. It would only be natural for you to assume that your husband could very well win against me. His actions probably overshadow my words at the moment. Now, how about I make you forget about that nightmare by showing you how to fish?"


Smiling a little, she nodded. "Thank you. I would like that." He returned the smile before putting the dishes in the wash bucket for now. When he came back to her, he held out his left hand for her. Hesitantly, she took it and allowed him to pull her up.


Leading her outside, he closed the door behind them and gestured her to go towards the lake. "Head over while I get the supplies. I'll meet you there shortly." She complied while he headed off to the back of the cabin. If she had tried to follow him, it would've most likely resulted in her death. The supplies were probably near the entrance to some secret area of his. (F/n) needed to see no bodies to know what he was capable of.


As she stood by the lake's shore, she glanced out over the water. In the middle of the lake, she saw Will's body come up again. She knew that it was just purely her imagination, but the way that his body looked could become reality. Tarhuinn was more than able to perform such damage on another living being. The incident with the tenlites had proved that quite well.


Hugging her arms, her attention went back to the chilled air. She should've brought a blanket out with her. Her dress was barely doing anything against the cold. Despite the low cut of the dress, the skirt was a little thicker than the blue dress from yesterday. If it had been as thin as the blue one, it would've been see-through.


Footsteps sounded nearby once more, and Will came up with two fishing rods and some bait. He seemed to note her state before he set the items down and ran back into the house. A few moments later, he came back out with a blanket in hand. "Sorry about that. I should've known that this weather wouldn't suit you." Will draped the blanket over her shoulders and pulled it around her front. "Better?"


"Much. Thank you. I could've gone in, though."


He waved his hand dismissively. "Nonsense. I asked you to wait here without any real protection against the cold. Of course, I should've headed into my home and grabbed you one." To that, she gave a small smile in thanks.


After that, he handed her a fishing rod with bait on the end. Standing close to the shore of the water, he demonstrated how to set the wired hook in the water. She followed his example. Soon enough, both of them were waiting patiently for a fish to bite. It was rather simple, but she needed to know how to make the tool in her hands. "Did you craft these poles, Will?"


"No, I bought them at the market in the village a day's travel from here. Still, I do know how to make one. It might be hard for you to craft one, though, if you don't have the proper tools. The pole itself will need to be made out of wood. Preferably, you'll want one that bends well for when the fish pulls. We're surrounded by pine trees, however. So, you'll want to break off a branch and trim it. It'll last some days before the wood dries out, but I would recommend using it only for small fish. Otherwise, your pole will have a high chance of snapping on you.


"As for the line itself, horse hair is common, but I haven't encountered too many wild horses out here. Then, there's the issue of getting the horse to lend you its hair. Normally, you could probably buy some off of someone in a market. So, you may have to end up using your own hair, which would take a lot more strands to have comparable thickness. For the hook, again you won't be able to purchase a hook in the middle of a forest. With that in mind, you'll want to find a small animal, kill it and carve one of its bones into a hook. Or, I could save you all that trouble, and you can keep the fishing rod in your hands. I have more spares anyway."


"You'd really do that for me?" Receiving a nod and smile, she curled her lips up into a sign of gratitude. "Thank you, then." A light laugh left own her lips. "I seem to be doing a lot of that recently. I think that you deserve an award for your hosting abilities."


Wearing a grin, he rested his right knuckles on his hip. If there were a boulder nearby, he would probably have a foot propped up on it. "I know; I'm ..." He never got to finish his line of thought as something tugged on his fishing rod. The force of it caught him off guard, and, in the attempt to pull it back, he fell into the water.


His catch probably swam away in the process, but as he sat up properly, a clinglob was found on his right hand. Covering her mouth with her free hand, (f/n) couldn't help but laugh. The incident was just too amusing not to. "And, you said that I knew how to fish. I think that you're the better in this instance," she chuckled out while he pursed his lips in annoyance.


Soon, though, a smirk started to form on his lips. "If that's the case, I need to show you how it's done, then." He swiftly reached over to her fishing pole, but she let it go in time. She jumped back just in case. A frown appeared on him as he took the clinglob off and placed it back in the water. Will crossed his arms over his chest. "I guess that you don't want to learn about fishing, then."


"Oh, I do, just not that method." She picked up her fishing rod and distanced herself from him a little. "Unlike you, I can't wave my hands around and heat myself up." Before he could speak, she continued, "And, I'm not letting you warm me up either, pervert."


"That's quite a shame, then." There was a playful grin on his countenance before he picked himself up and dried himself off. He grabbed his fishing rod once more. "Getting that dress wet would be quite beneficial to me as well."


Embarrassed, she crouched down and felt for a clinglob in the water. When something grabbed onto her hand, she smirked and lifted the fish out. With no hesitation, she threw it at him. He had been looking away, which allowed the fish to impact the side of his face. It fell back into the water, unharmed, and swam off swiftly. As for Will, he had lost his balance once more. Another splash sounded, leaving a victory smile on (f/n)'s lips. "Serves you right."


"I really should keep my distance from you when we're near water," he mumbled, rubbing the right side of his face. "Otherwise, you might make the population of clinglobs here extinct." She rolled her eyes and went back to focusing on catching a different type of fish.

You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net