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A Pirate's Life, The Virus, and A New World
Chapter 5 Learning to Fish and Uncharted Island?

Chapter 5 Learning to Fish and Uncharted Island?

She kept standing there for the moment just staring out at the land. It was still a good deal away but there it was. She was unsure how this was supposed to work but the feeling was amazing. Of course the first thing that needed to happen was getting food. Alexandria was trying to decide if she wanted to go to the bow of the ship with Lyric or go back into the cabin to get food. Her stomach growled in protest at the decision making process. Lyric turned around seeing Alexandria just standing there still. The look of amazement was gone and it seemed she was trying to make a choice. Lyric walked up to her waving a hand in front of her face. "Hello, is anyone home there? What are you doing?"

Alexandria grabbed her hand in the air moving it so she could look Lyric in the eye. "Would you stop doing that dammit. I am the one that spotted the land but I am hungry so let's eat first."

Lyric pulled her hand out of Alexandria's grip, rubbing her wrist a bit. "Sure we can eat, no need to be forceful. I will get the food from the cabin. Would you like to sit on the deck?"

There was a bit of tension at the moment. Of course Alexandria wanted to do everything at once but Lyric was starting to get on her nerves a bit. She cracked her neck turning to Lyric. "Sure we can eat on the deck. Didn't you say something about fishing before? How would that work?"

That goofy smile Lyric wore reappeared as she danced her way back to the cabin. She was gone for a few minutes giving Alexandria a bit of time to look at the land they were approaching. She cracked her knuckles at the thought of everything she was going to be able to do. Taking a look at the map would be a good idea as well. She wanted to check and see if this place had already been explored or not. There was also the fact there could be a future crew member or even an animal to shift into. The possibilities are endless in that regard.

Lyric pushed a small table through the opening of the door, setting it not far from the mast on the deck. Going back inside, coming out a few moments later with two chairs. Alexandria turned around walking up to see if there was anything she could do to help. That was strange since again doing things like this was still a foreign concept to her. Lyric handed her a chair gesturing for her to sit down. She took the chair sitting down at one end of the table. Lyric placed the other chair across from where Alexandria was sitting.

Alexandria was wondering where all these things were coming from. She didn't see them the first time she went inside the cabin. Lyric came back out with a basket and what looked like two pieces of wood cut into circles. Placing one in front of Alexandria and then one for herself.

Setting the basket in the middle of the table revealing the contents. Alexandria peered inside to see a few pieces of bread, some cooked fish, and a few pieces of fruit.

Lyric reached into the basket pulling out a piece of bread and fish. Placing the fish on the bread, folding it over, and taking a decent sized bite. Setting the rest of the food down on her plate looking at Alexandria. "What's the matter? You wanted something to eat, why are you just sitting there now?"

The vulture above them shrieked as if echoing Lyric's questions. Alexandria looked up at the vulture giving it a sneer. "Hey shut the hell up! No one asked for you opinion." Reaching into the basket pulling out a piece of fruit. Looking it over, going through the rolodex inside her head with all the books she had read. She gave it a sniff deciding to just go for it. Biting into the fruit her eyes went wide. The slight sour taste along with the crunch was like nothing she ever tasted before. A bit of juice trickled down her face as Lyric's giggled disrupted her enjoyment.

Wiping her mouth she set the piece of fruit down on the wooden plate. "Why do you have to giggle when I am trying to eat? I believe that is called a pear. Where did you get them? We never got fresh fruits, only bread and some colorful mush." Grabbing the pear she took a few more bites quickly so that Lyric or the vulture didn't ruin it with their off putting sounds.

"Well I picked this up not too long before I landed at the rocky bank I found you at. I had just come from a small island and found some trees growing the fruit there. That is all that they had though. Is that why you didn't touch the bread because of the memories?"

Alexandria ignored the question, finishing off her pear and setting the core on the wood plate. She wanted to stop bringing up the past but it sprung up into everything no matter where she tossed the memories. Clenching her fists and slamming them on the table. Lyric grabbed her plate of food as the table bounced a few inches up and down from the impact.

"Ummmmm why are your arms growing feathers?" Lyric asked, taking another bite out of her fish sandwich.

Looking down at her arms she could see what Lyric was talking about. Her anger had brought on a slight shift. It was something that they were testing at the facility. Figuring out what caused it and how to control it would have been nice to do before she escaped. However staying there any longer wasn't an option.

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The feathers looked similar to the vulture's that was perched above in the crow's nest. Taking in a few deep breaths trying to calm herself. She didn't want to shift right here and now. It was powerful but still under construction as the saying went which she read in a book a while back. Her breathing slowed as the feathers fell off drifting softly to the ground. Looking up her eyes shifted back from the red and yellow to the cool green which freaked out Lyric for a moment.

"I have said before that I can shift. When I know more you will know more." Alexandria knew that was a bit much however it was a bit of payback for earlier. She did want to try the fish but preferred it the way those primitive slobs had cooked theirs. Taking another pear from the basket to eat while looking out at the ocean.

Lyric giggled tilting her head to the side just watching her eat. Taking a few more bites out of her sandwich when she remembered they could fish since the waters were calm. Finishing the rest of her food she moved towards the side of the ship. Kneeling down she picked up what looked like a stick with a bit of string or wire tied to it. Gesturing for Alexandria to come over and join her. Finishing her apple she walked over to join Lyric at the edge of the ship.

"So I did say something about fishing. Do you want to try or just watch?" Lyric took one of the sticks which had a hook at the end. Reaching into a bucket nearby she pulled out a worm. It wiggled in her hand before she impaled it into the hook. Alexandria wasn't sure how to react to what she was seeing. It was a bit disgusting but also intriguing as to how that was going to catch a fish.

"How about you just show me how it is done? I will watch and if you get something I will give it a try." She went back to the table grabbing both of the chairs, setting one down for herself and placing the other next to Lyric.

"Alright, watch the master at work. All you really have to do is drop the line into the water and wait for a fish to bite. It may take a bit but there is always something new to find under the water." The line about finding something new grabbed Alexandria's attention. That was something she was interested in especially since there could be something down in the deep she could shift into. Leaning forward in her seat intent on watching every move Lyric made.

Lyric took the stick putting it above her head and with a flick of her wrist cast the line into the water. A soft sound echoed back to them riding the ripples of the water it disturbed. Now it was time for the waiting she had mentioned earlier. Alexandria hoped it didn't take too long since pears were not enough to satisfy her hunger.

Pulling the chair up under her Lyric sat down pulling back on the stick just a bit so the line moved with the calm waves. Alexandria took the time to look out towards the island they were heading towards. She really wanted to get there now. The rush of going through a new place was vibrating through her entire body. Taking a deep breath making sure to keep herself calm. There wasn't much here to keep her attention and focus on the task at hand. Up until this point discovering new things had kept her inline. Now it was all about waiting. Maybe she could try a shift just to stop her from changing back into that vulture.

That shift was the most intense she had ever experienced. The best part was the flying since she had never done that before either. Looking out just at the water this time made her think maybe a creature from the ocean would make things better. She had experienced flying and scurrying across the floor. Maybe it was time to go for a swim. That was the problem though she didn't know how to swim. Jumping into the ocean would be ill advised especially at the beginning of her journey.

At that moment the boat jerked as Lyric stood up. "I think we have a live one on the hook." Alexandria turned to see Lyric pulling back on the stick, placing both of her feet against the side of the ship so she wasn't pulled into the water. "If you want to come over and help me that would be great. Unless you want to do all this on your own?"

She moved over to Lyric, getting behind her wrapping her arms around the waist. "Alright when I tell you too pull me back but not too hard or we will break the line."

"Alright, I can handle that, just tell me when." Alexandria took a deep breath trying to center herself like she did after a shift at the facility. That was the only reason she was able to get by most of the time.

Lyric held on tight pulling the line a bit with each tug. She was waiting for the right moment when the fish tried to really swim away. Right now it was just playing with the line. They both sat there just waiting from the right time to move.

The line jerked forward and this was the right time. "Go pull me now!" Lyric yelled as Alexandria pulled back on her waist while Lyric pulled the line with each jerk. Slowly the line was being pulled up onto the ship. It felt like the line lasted forever. The ship jerked a bit and a fish flopped onto the deck. Alexandria had only seen pictures of them in books. This one was real right in front of her. Of course it wasn't something she could shift into.

Lyric untangled herself from Alexandria's arms making her way over to the fish. She stepped on the line pulling a small knife from her boot and stabbing the fish in the eye the tip of the blade going into the deck. The impaled fish flopped around a bit before finally laying still. Lyric smiled looking in Alexandria's direction gesturing with her hands.

"That is how you catch a fish. There are different kinds so it isn't always the same kill method. However with this one you can't really eat the eyes. So that is the best place to deliver the killing blow. You could also let them sufficate and die on their own but that doesn't sit right with me."

Being impaled in the eye sounded much better then suffication. She needed to go write all this stuff down in her journal. Taking one last look out to the horizon at the island that was slowly getting closer as they sailed towards it.