Mod Post: Round 3 Lightning Drabble Round (Open to Everyone!)
Hello!
The mod team (roebling and myself, almostblue) just want to say again that we are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has written, read, and commented for this third round of TBB. Thank you for your time and effort and talent! It's been amazing to see so much great enthusiasm and energy ( Read more... )
The mod team (roebling and myself, almostblue) just want to say again that we are so incredibly grateful to everyone who has written, read, and commented for this third round of TBB. Thank you for your time and effort and talent! It's been amazing to see so much great enthusiasm and energy ( Read more... )
It’s always dark when Yongguk gets up. He dresses by feel, a routine that has him setting his clothes next to his bed before he lays down to dream. By the time he’s finished, his eyes have adjusted to the dark. The path from his bed to the prepped fishing gear near the door is clear of obstacles. Yongguk finds his fishing vest, checking that the day’s artificial lures are in the right pockets. Even empty, the vest is thick. It doubles as a flotation device, easing some of the worry when he fishes. He packs the cooler with crushed ice from the freezer and hurries to the door, arms used to the weight. He steps into the beach shoes he bought earlier this year, grabs his fishing pole and hand net, and he’s on his way.
Outside, the moon is round and the scattered clouds pass slowly. The path to his favorite stretch of beach is subtle, private, not well-worn like the hiking trails in the mountains, or paved the like road to the marina. Nobody else is around now, except for creatures that thrive in the night, but he’s covered his legs against them. Yongguk prefers the solitude of day before the dawn.
The waves are calm this morning, but Yongguk tightens his fishing vest just in case. He preps his hook and line near the tree line, flashlight gripped tight between his teeth as his fingers work. Finished, he migrates his things further down the beach for when he catches fish. He turns the flashlight off and leaves it with the cooler and net. Once he gets out with the waves, he’s confident he won’t need his own light.
He wades out in the water until the waves lick his thighs. Yongguk inhales, the scent of the sea filling his lungs, and casts his first line of the day. It doesn’t take long before he makes his first catch, too small to take home. He sends the line out again, operating on rhythm and memory as his mind wanders. Another fish, too small. A chunk of seaweed. More fish, some of good size and decent quality, he lets loose again in the water. Light dims around him as a cloud lumbers in front of the moon.
Fingers tickle the backs of his knees, and Yongguk jumps. He jumps every time. “You’re here!” Yongguk says, turning around and grinning.
A head of dark, tangled hair breaks through the surface of the water. He doesn’t shake his hair or blink as saltwater drips into his eyes. The shape of his head is unusual for a human, broad and angled. The nose on his face is thick and round, nostrils clamped shut. His lips curl back into a grin, revealing his long, sharp teeth.
“Daehyun, I know you can rise taller than that,” Yongguk says, reeling in his line with caution. Daehyun makes a restless gurgle, rising higher in the water until his shoulders appear above the waves. Gills around the base of his neck seal closed as he opens his nose. He makes another gurgling noise as he transitions his breathing.
“Happy now?” Daehyun asks, eyelashes flicking seawater when he blinks. His voice carries a melody that stirs Yongguk’s attention. He is a siren, after all.
Yongguk pulls the hook free of the water, holding the fishing line just above the rig to the rod. He doesn’t want to accidentally snag Daehyun’s tail again. It’s quite beautiful.
And useful.
“Very,” Yongguk says, nodding. “Is your tail in? I’m casting again.”
“Yeah, it’s here,” Daehyun says, and Yongguk feels a fin flutter up his calves. Yongguk starts and Daehyun laughs. “You’re so easy to tease.” The reel buzzes as Yongguk casts the line. “Why are you doing that? I’m here now.”
“I like it,” Yongguk says. “It’s a human pasttime.” Daehyun splashes water at him. “Last time, and then I’ll ask you for the favor.” He doesn’t catch a fish, doesn’t leave the line out long enough to give himself a decent chance. Yongguk wades back to shore, pocketing the hook and anchoring his fishing rod in the sand.
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Fishing net in hand, Yongguk returns to Daehyun as the cloud passes the moon. Daehyun’s skin shimmers, an echo of the silver ribbons of moonlight painted on the waves. “Ready now?” Yongguk nods and Daehyun casts his gaze upon the waves between them.
The delicate spines in the flourishes and folds of his tailfin illuminate bright, beautiful blue. Daehyun lets his fin move under the water, a gentle suggestion for fish to come and investigate. Yongguk stands still, net at the ready. Since he met Daehyun and managed this bargain, his profit selling fish at the market has gone up. Nicer fish to sell means less fish needed to make enough money to sustain himself.
Moments pass in silence before enough fish gather around Daehyun’s fin. Yongguk takes swift action, slicing the net through the water and aiming for the largest of the bunch. He manages to catch it, and a healthy companion, but the others scatter. The tail dims, and Yongguk moves to set the fish in ice.
They continue this pattern along the shoreline: finding a spot, Daehyun only illuminating his tailfin, fish drawing in, and Yongguk making the catch. Time passes too quickly when they fish together. Daehyun talks, murmuring to himself and to Yongguk between the lures. He can talk about anything and everything in dulcet tones that lull Yongguk into peace. Tonight’s topic is a wayward child of the sea, orphaned in open water and welcomed into Daehyun’s community. But all too soon, light seeps over the horizon in the grey wash of false dawn, they agree on one final catch before Yongguk must go to market.
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