Making A Splash

Chapter 13

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I must have been really worn out, because I slept for all of the morning and most of the afternoon, waking up just a bit before Elle and Mel usually arrived. After checking in with Felda, I spent the rest of the afternoon idly skimming over the atlas, focusing mainly on Torgard, since that seemed like the most likely to be relevant to my immediate future. I learned, for instance, that Torgard typically swam in a clockwise direction, except for one span of about a two hundred years when he swam counter-clockwise instead.

…

I wasn’t sure exactly how or why that would come up in the future, but now I was prepared if it ever did.

At some point, Elle and Mel arrived to help open the tavern, and I hopped up to join them. With everything that had happened that morning, I’d completely forgotten to worry about asking the pair out to the bathhouse with me. Unfortunately, they both immediately beelined straight towards me, and the reason was obvious.

“So, is it true?!” Elle demanded, her cheeks flushed green and her hands clenched in front of her.

“W-what?”

“Did you really fish up an eight-span rockodile and become a pro hunter this morning?!” Elle asked, and I furrowed my brow.

A… rockodile? Did I even want to know?

I shook my head, reaching out and placing both hands on Elle’s shoulders to steady her.

“Okay, calm down. First off, no, it was a four-span earthshaker catfish,” I said, and Elle's eyes widened, while Mel just let out a sharp whistle. “And second… Well, yeah, that part’s true.”

With a little flourish, I once again pulled out and held up my bronze hunting license, and Elle actually gasped, leaning back in shock before lunging forward to crush me in a hug, just like Felda had.

“By all the gods, Sammie! That must have been terrifying! What did you do?” Elle asked urgently, and after I pried my face out of the front of her uniform, I chuckled and shrugged.

“I just… fished it out? Don't tell Bart I said this, but it was actually kind of easy,” I said, and Elle let out a peal of nervous, wavering laughter and gave me another tight squeeze.

“Just like that, huh?” Mel asked, crossing her arms and grinning down at me.

“Just like that,” I agreed, patting Elle on the back before she pulled away.

“That is amazing, Sammie,” Elle said, giving me a quick peck on the cheek before she stood up again, and her and Mel broke off to change into their uniforms, then started setting up the tavern. I joined them—for the latter, not the former!—and after a few minutes, between breaks of Elle and Mel telling me what they’d been up to that day, I cleared my throat.

“Hey, uh…” I spoke up, pushing in one of four chairs around one of the round dining tables. Mel paused in the middle of doing the same across from me, and Elle looked over from another table, where she was laying out plates and cutlery.

“What’s up?” Mel asked, smiling and crossing her arms over the back of the chair in front of her. It was subtle, but there was definitely a difference in the way she, and Elle too, had been looking at me since I’d started dating them. There was a brightness behind their eyes, an almost literal light, that made my chest tighten and my stomach twist itself into knots.

“Sam? Hello?” Mel asked, waving her hand in front of my vision, and I jerked back slightly, my cheeks suddenly hot. Okay, so I’d gotten distracted staring for a second, so what?!

“S-sorry,” I stammered out, chewing on my lower lip for a moment to refocus myself. “I, uh, wanted to ask you two something.”

“Oh?” Elle perked up from across the room and stepped over to stand beside Mel, and she had the same look in her eyes too.

“Yeah, uh, well, the thing is…”

Uuuugh, damnit! Why was this harder than dodging flying rocks and diving out of the way of a mini earthquake? I was just glad Felda was still back in the kitchen, prepping something. Reaching up, I clapped my palms over both of my cheeks, giving them a light slap, and took a deep breath.

“Okay, here’s the thing,” I said, looking up at Elle and Mel with fresh determination, completely ignoring Elle’s delighted giggling. “I realized last night that I technically haven’t had a bath since I… arrived here, and Felda reminded me that this village has communal bathhouses.” So far, so good. “And, well, that’s… not something I’m used to, like at all, so I wondered if… if you two might want to, after work, you know…”

Ah, damnit, ran out of steam right at the finish line. Thankfully, that was still more than enough for Elle and Mel to get what I was asking for, and the pair didn’t waste any time giving me their answers.

“Aww, of course we’d like to go with you!” Elle giggled, bouncing on her toes and clapping her hands together in front of her.

“Yeah, that sounds great,” Mel agreed, reaching up and giving one of my ears a quick scratch. “We’ll be looking forward to it for the whole night, won’t we Elle?”

“Uh huh!”

Ah, geez, these two. My cheeks felt like you could roast marshmallows on them, but, still, mission accomplished! I whirled away from the pair, blurting out, “Okaythat’sgoodcan’twait!” in one quick rush before scurrying off towards the kitchen to hide. I mean, to see if Felda needed any help.

I caught Felda just as she was emerging from the store room with a wooden crate in her arms, and she smiled when she saw me.

“Hey there, Sam,” Felda said, setting down the crate on one of the countertops. “What’s all the commotion out there?”

“Ah, well, I… asked Elle and Mel if they wanted to go to the bathhouse, like you said,” I explained, and Felda’s smile grew even brighter.

“Oh, and were they as excited to accept as I thought they’d be?” Felda asked teasingly, and rolled my eyes and nodded along with a smirk.

“I guess there wasn't really any doubt,” I said, then cleared my throat again. Well, since I was already here, and I didn’t want to have another thing hanging over my head until the end of the night, I asked, “Hey, so, did Bart… talk to you after I went off to sleep?”

“Mmh, yes he did,” Felda said evenly, looking back over her shoulder. She’d been pulling out some of the contents of the crate—a pile of large, pale mushrooms—but paused and turned around to face me fully, brushing her hands off on her apron and leaning against the counter.

“Ah, then, you already know what I’m going to say,” I said, doing my best not to break eye contact, reaching up to scratch nervously at the back of my neck. “But, that doesn’t mean I’m not going to say it anyway.” I paused, in case Felda needed to say anything else, but when she just waited patiently, I took a deep breath, and, for the second time, admitted, “My hearing is actually a lot better than I’ve been letting on, and I’ve… kind of listened in on you and Bart several times over the last few days.”

I was glad that I’d agreed to let Bart talk to Felda about this ahead of me. I could only imagine what her initial reaction must have been. At the moment, she didn’t seem to have any strong feelings about the news one way or the other. She still had a thin, understanding smile on her face, and after a moment of silence she pushed off from the counter and crossed the kitchen to kneel in front of me. I did my best not to tense up, and it helped that before even saying anything, Felda placed one hand firmly on top of my head and gave me a few gentle scratches.

“I forgive you, Sam,” Felda said, and I felt my heart clench in a different way before a tidal wave of relief rushed out of me in a protracted sigh. It was nothing less than exactly what I expected, but it was even more effective at disarming me than if she’d actually been upset. “I can’t say I wasn’t a little hurt to hear it, but I understand that you did what you felt you had to do, and I don’t blame you for it.”

“S-still,” I stammered, catching myself and steadying my breathing. I was not going to cry in the kitchen again! “Still, I’m sorry. You’ve both been nicer to me than I ever could’ve expected, and I feel really bad about invading your privacy like that. Like I told Bart, I promise I’ll do my best to keep it from happening again, even by accident.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Felda said, nodding and holding her arms open, offering another hug rather than pulling me in, and I appreciated the gesture, stepping in and wrapping my arms as far around her massive torso as I could.

“Well,” Felda said when we finally broke apart. “If you’re finished helping the girls out there, would you like to lend me a hand in here?”

“Absolutely!” I said, suddenly feeling like I could run from one end of the village to another.

“Great!” Felda beamed and laughed, patting me on the back and leading me over to the counter, reaching into the crate and pulling out a large round object about the same size, shape, and color as a softball. “Do you know how to chop onions?”

Ah.

Well, I did offer.

So I wound up crying in the kitchen again after all. But that shouldn’t count, damnit!

Eventually, with the sun hanging low on the horizon, the last of Felda’s employees, the taciturn bartender Viktor, arrived to take his place behind the bar, and five minutes later the first customers began to file in. I was tucked quietly into the corner booth that Bart and I typically shared, figuring he’d be along any time now. When a shadow fell over my shoulder, I looked up from my journal, which I'd been taking more fishing notes in, expecting Bart’s grizzled but distinguished visage, but was instead greeted by a pair of sailors I was vaguely certain I'd met before.

“Can we see it?” one of them asked.

“Wha—oh, uh, this?” There was only one thing I could imagine they wanted to see, and I reached into my pocket for my license.

“Cor…” the first one said.

“I told you I weren't lyin’,” the second sailor said smugly, the pair of them bustling away to find a table, leaving me alone again.

“...huh. Alright.”

I returned the bronze plate to my pocket, but no sooner had I done so when another group appeared at the edge of the booth, a trio this time. They also seemed familiar, and I realized after a moment they were the three who'd been drinking at the Hunters' Guild earlier.

“Hey, we're sorry to bother you…” the first one said, a tall human woman with long blonde hair pulled into a loose braid, standing a fair distance in front of the other two. Waiting behind her and half hiding behind a support beam were an elven man with light-pinkish skin and teal hair, wearing a loose shirt that showed off a little bit too much of his chest, and another woman with black hair and gray, tufted ears that I nearly mistook for another catkin, before I realized her bushy, black-and-gray striped tail was obviously that of a raccoon.

“D’you wanna see it too?” I asked, already pulling my license back out, but the woman quickly put her hands up and shook her head.

“Oh, no no, that’s alright! We were there when you got it, actually,” she said, chuckling nervously and glancing back over her shoulder at her friends, both of whom flashed her a thumbs up.

“What’s up then?” I asked, turning slightly in my seat and propping myself up on one elbow.

“Right, I won’t waste too much of your time,” the blonde woman said, squaring her impressively built shoulders and placing a hand over her chest. “I’m Virginia, and these are my companions”—she half-turned, motioning to the elf and the racoon girl in turn—“Harvey, and Cassie.”

“Hey,” Harvey said with a curt nod, his voice surprisingly deep for such a scrawny guy. Cassie didn’t say anything, but raised her hand and gave me a shy little wave.

“Uh, nice to meet you, I’m Sam,” I said, waving back and looking up at Virginia. “So, did you need something from me?”

“Actually,” Harvey cut in, leaning slightly further out from around the support beam, putting on a voice like a car salesman. “It’s more about what you need from us.”

“Shut up, Harvey!” Virginia hissed over her shoulder, forcing a smile back onto her face when she turned back to me. “Sorry, I’ll get right to the point: my friends and I are hunters too. Well, you know that, you saw us at the guild.” Virginia paused, and her brow furrowed slightly. “You did see us, right?”

“Yeah…” I said hesitantly, growing increasingly confused.

“Right, of course.” Virginia nodded, mostly to herself. “Well, we just wanted to introduce ourselves to you, and let you know we're available, in case you ever wanted to… well, you know.”

I… What? I very much didn’t know! Were these three… trying to pick me up or something?

“See, Virginia, this is why I said I should do the talking!” Harvey piped up again, rushing up to shoulder past Virginia, slapping one palm down onto the table and cocking the other against his hip, flashing me a brilliant smile. “Hey there, Sam, I’m Harvey D. Goodberry, this is my half-sister, Virginia Valencia, and that”—Harvey whipped around to point back at Cassie, who I saw had buried her face in her hands—“gorgeous gal is Cassandra Masters. The three of us represent one of Rower’s Rest’s premiere up and coming professional hunting companies.”

“We’re the entire company…” Cassie muttered into her hands, her voice so muffled I wasn’t sure if the others could even hear it.

“In fact, all three of us here are certified iron-ranked hunters,” Harvey continued undaunted, whipping out a metallic plate almost identical to my own license except, obviously, made of iron.

“We just got promoted last quarter…” Cassie groaned. “This was such a terrible idea…”

“Now, we couldn’t help but notice that scene you made at the guild this morning,” Harvey said, his grin widening, and I let out a sputtering, choking noise.

The scene I made?! I just stood there while Bart did all the talking!

“By now, word’s probably spread all over town that there’s a hot new hunter in the game, and I can tell ya from experience: there’s about to be a lot of people with their eyes on you, wondering what your next move is gonna be.” Gravitas dripped from every word Harvey was saying, and I wasn’t buying an ounce of it. I still wasn’t even actually sure what these people wanted! The only thing I knew for sure was their names!

“I can tell you’re concerned,” Harvey said at my flat expression, lifting his hand off the table and making a sweeping gesture with both arms. “That’s where we come in. My friends and I are here to offer you the most invaluable resource a new hunter needs: experience in the field! We can show you the ropes, teach you some tips n’ tricks, anything you need really!” He leaned forward again, cupping one hand around his mouth and continuing in a conspiratorial stage whisper, “Us younger hunters gotta stick together, after all.”

I stared back at him for several long seconds, wondering just how long he could hold up that confident, cocky smile, but when he showed no signs of wavering, I gave up and let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry, I… are you trying to sell me something? Or are you asking me for something? What is happening here?”

Virginia, who had also taken to massaging the bridge of her nose with her eyes squeezed shut while Harvey’s spiel was going on, groaned and stepped up, shoving an elbow into Harvey’s ribs, causing him to let out a noise like a deflating balloon.

“What this horse's ass is trying and failing to explain is that the three of us wanted to invite you to come hunting with us sometime,” Virginia said, mercifully plainly, clamping a firm hand down on Harvey’s shoulder. “We could teach you about some of the local beasts, maybe train together a bit, and if this idiot doesn't talk your ears off, maybe you’d see your way to joining our party.”

“Oh! Oooooh… huh…”

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

So these guys were monster hunters? They didn’t look like much; Virginia was tall and well built, but Harvey was as lanky as they came, and Cassie was only a little bit taller than me, and seemed way too quiet and shy to hunt anything.

But then again, I supposed I didn’t look like much either, and I still managed to catch that catfish this morning, so who was I to say? The three of them had been drinking in the guild, and Harvey did show me his iron rank license, so they were probably the real deal.

And they wanted me to join them?

I opened my mouth, an enthusiastic “Okay!” ready to come flying out, but caught myself just in time and bit back my initial reply, so that only a strangled squeak came out.

Several seconds of uncomfortable silence passed between the three of us, neither of the pair moving an inch, before one of Harvey's eyebrows lifted he asked, “So… is that a ‘no?’”

“I told you guys we shouldn’t put her on the spot like this!” Cassie finally spoke up, her voice cutting through the tension as she rushed up to stand between the other two, giving me a sympathetic look. “I'm really sorry about this, I tried to tell them we should wait a day or two, but then Harvey got us all excited about the prospect of finally having a full-sized team and we got carried away, we'll leave you alone now!”

Cassie hooked an arm around one of Harvey’s and reached up to grab part of the jacket Virginia was wearing, and began trying to pull them both away from the booth, Harvey’s protests and Virginia's attempts to shut him up mixing with Cassie’s continued apologies.

“W-Wait a second!” I shouted, holding a hand up, and the trio froze, each of them looking at me with an expectant, hopeful gleam in their eyes. That only made me want to immediately accept their offer even more, but I had to contain myself and give them an explanation. I sighed, and motioned for them to come closer again. As one, the trio shuffled back up to the edge of the booth, waiting patiently for me to speak.

“Okay, so, you three seem…”—my eyes flicked momentarily to Harvey, who grinned lopsidedly—“...nice, and I really don't want you to take this the wrong way, but I don’t think I’m who you're looking for.”

“Well there’s definitely not another catkin in this town…” Harvey mumbled, and Cassie lightly elbowed him in the side again.

“No, what I mean is… I think I have to say ‘no,’ for both our sakes,” I said, reaching to pick up my bronze license from where I left it, running my thumb over the guild crest in the corner. “That fish you saw me bring in this morning was more of a fluke than anything, I was just in the middle of my fourth day, ever, learning to fish when that thing showed up, and the only reason I didn’t let Bart cut it loose was because I wanted to see what it tasted like.”

It was Cassie, shockingly, who laughed first, though she put the most effort into stifling it, but once she started snorting into the back of her hand, Harvey also started to chuckle. Even I was snickering a little, mostly at how much that amused them. Virginia was the only one who remained stoic, clearing her throat and holding up a hand.

“I mean, if it’s just a matter of confidence, we’ve all been there too,” Virginia said, and that just made me laugh again.

“It’s… it’s not that,” I said, catching my breath after the laughter wound down. “If anything, fighting that catfish gave me too much confidence. Like, sure, it scared the shit out of me when it jumped out of the water and threw a rock as big as my head at me, but I kinda just… moved out of the way? And after I got over that initial shock it was just like fighting with a normal fish.”

“Well now she’s just bragging…” Harvey muttered again.

“Shh! Be nice!” Cassie hissed.

“That's just it!” I said, pointing at Harvey, who jerked back in surprise. “I'm sure that if I got another crack at a monster fish like that I'd probably be completely fine, but I’m also convinced that the first time I try to apply that same thinking to something that actually has legs and teeth and claws and shit, I'd just get eaten. Or crushed. Or crushed then eaten!”

“So you're saying you're… both overconfident and underconfident?” Virginia asked hesitantly, clearly skeptical.

“I guess so?” I said, shrugging and leaning back until my head hit the back of the booth. “But that’s not why I think I have to turn you down. To be completely honest, I would actually love to join your group and train to hunt monsters, like, that would be so cool, but… well, you’ve heard about the competition, right?”

“I’d be surprised if anyone in this town hadn’t, by now,” Harvey said.

“Yeah, well, like I said, I’m trying to get as good as I possibly can at fishing, as fast as I possibly can, before the competition arrives, because if I lose it, I’ll have to leave this village entirely,” I said, which seemed to lessen some of the disappointment I saw in the trio’s expressions, and they turned to look at each other. I also hadn’t really wanted to think of the reality of how much higher the stakes had risen since I first foolishly challenged Bentley on my first day in this world, but I knew I had to take it seriously.

Clearing my throat, I held up a hand, drawing back their attention.

“But,” I said, and saw the group’s ears perk up, literally in both Cassie and Harvery’s case. “That said, if… when I do win the competition, I’ll be totally in the clear. And, until then, well… not to brag again, but I have been picking up this fishing stuff pretty quickly, so maybe I will have enough spare time for some monster hunting practice?”

“Well, there we go!” Harvey declared, clapping his hands together. “We'll definitely take a ‘maybe’ over a ‘no,’ and if it's just until the Midsummer Festival, we can wait that long. Right, ladies?”

“Uh, yeah,” Cassie said, nodding at Harvey and giving me a shy smile. “We'll, uh, be rooting for you in the competition, of course!”

“Great.” Virginia nodded in agreement as well, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb. “Well, you know where to find us if you do find yourself with time to spare, until then, we'll—”

“Are these three bothering you, Sam?”

Virginia, Harvey, and Cassie all let out yelps of various volumes and spun around at the sound of Mel's voice right behind them. I leaned forward to peek past them and wave.

“Hey, Mel. Nah, they just wanted to talk about hunting stuff,” I said.

“I hate when you sneak up on me like that!” Virginia gasped, one hand still over her heart, then jerked her head from Mel back to me and motioned with her fingers. “Wait, you two know each other?”

“You two know each other?” I repeated, looking at Mel expectantly.

“Yeah?” Mel said, raising an eyebrow and smirking at me. “Me and Virginia run into each other at the training hall sometimes.”

“The what?” I asked.

“It's the place we go to train,” Virginia explained. “Technically, it's part of the church, y’know, but it’s open to anyone who wants to practice their martial discipline. Sometimes some of the priests of Love and War even give lessons, and also the guards train there pretty often too.”

“Oooh, like a dojo?”

The three hunters all gave me strange, confused looks at that, while behind them where only I could see, Mel winced slightly. Eventually, a look of realization crossed Cassie's face and she snapped her fingers.

“Oh, that's what it's called in Yuusha, right?” she asked, eyes wide. Behind her, Mel caught my eye and nodded.

“Uh, yeah, that's right,” I said, which only seemed to shock or confuse the trio more.

“I thought you were from—urk!” Harvey started to speak, but Mel’s foot shot out and struck him in the side of his shin, causing him to almost crumple to the floor. Cassie caught him and helped him stand up straight again, and he spent a moment balanced on one leg while nursing the other.

“Ffffffucking… thorns and brambles, Mel, that hurt,” Harvey groaned through his teeth, switching to Elvish halfway through.

I stared up at Mel in fascination.

“Wait, you fight? I mean, you know like ka— er, mar— uh, shit… you know how to fight?” I asked, struggling to avoid using any more specific or alien words in case I said something suspicious or impossible to explain again. Mel snorted and put a hand on her hips.

“Sam, if you weren’t so cute I’d be offended by how surprised you seem,” Mel said, giving me a quick grin. “Yeah, I know how to fight. I was actually thinking of inviting you to come with me sometime; Elle’s got all the ferocity and stamina of a hibernating squirrel, but I bet you and I could really work up a sweat.”

“Oh ho ho!” Harvey let out a suggestive laugh, sounding far too smug for someone who’d just been kicked in the shin. “Mel, do I smell fresh-tilled soil?”

“Shut up, Harvey,” Mel said dryly, having switched to Elvish as well.

“Shut up, Harvey!” Elle’s voice carried from clear across the tavern.

“Whaaat, I just wanna congratulate you two,” Harvey said, holding his hands up defensively. “I’ve been saying you and Elle really needed to grow out your roots more, and look at you now! And a cat gal too, huh?” Harvey slung one arm around Cassie’s shoulder, giving her a squeeze and a lopsided smile while she blushed furiously. “It’s the cute little ears, isn’t it? I get it, I get it.”

“You just said something rude, didn’t you?” Cassie demanded, but didn’t actually try to shake Harvey’s arm off. In fact, she had actually looped her around his lower back.

“He just said your ears are cute,” I said, and the suave, cocky grin fell right off of Harvey’s face, to be replaced with a look of wide-eyed alarm. Grinning back at him, I momentarily switched to Elvish and said, “And thanks, I think mine are pretty cute too.”

Harvey’s cheeks lost some of their vibrant pink color, and Mel burst out laughing, while Virginia and Cassie just exchanged looks of bemusement.

“Uh…” Harvey stammered, clearing his throat and tugging nervously at the loose collar of his shirt. “Well, uh… yeah, you’re… welcome?” he said, nudging Cassie and taking a step back. “We should probably get going now.”

“You sure? You don’t wanna stay and make an ass out of yourself a few more times?” Virginia asked dryly.

“Nope, nope,” Harvey said, shaking his head. “If there’s one thing Harvard D. Goodberry knows, it’s when he’s been shown up. Thank you for your time, Sam, we’ll, uh… yeah.”

With that, Harvey turned and made for the doors. Cassie moved to follow, but paused long enough to turn and give me another wave before shyly scampering out the door.

“Is he always like that?” I asked.

“Yes,” both Mel and Virginia said in unison, causing them both to chuckle again, Mel reaching up and giving one of Virginia’s shoulders a playful punch, which the other woman returned.

“Well, uh, thanks for putting up with… all of that,” Virginia said, looking down at me again. “I guess I’ll see both of you around. Let me know if you two do end up hitting up the training hall, I’d be happy to show you some moves even if you don’t end up joining us.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, I think I’d like that!” I said, giving her a bright, genuine smile. “We’ll just have to see how the fishing goes over the next few weeks.”

“Great!” Virginia said, pumping her fist, then immediately looking embarrassed about it. Turning it into a wave, she backed towards the door. “Bye Sam, nice meeting you, nice seeing you again, Mel.”

“Bye,” I called after her.

“Seeya,” Mel said, touching two fingers to the side of her head and flicking them out, like some kind of casual salute.

“Bye Ginnie!” Elle shouted out again, from… somewhere in the tavern.

Once Virginia was gone, Mel turned, smirking down at me.

“Glad to see you’re making some more friends.”

“I was literally just sitting here,” I said, closing the atlas with a thump. I didn’t think I was getting any more reading done that night.

“Well, there are definitely worse people you could be attracting attention from,” Mel said, shrugging and turning to survey the tavern. “They’re an alright bunch, even Harvey, despite… Ah, shit, we’re starting to fill up now. Talk later, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” I said, then braced myself as Mel leaned down and delivered a parting peck to my cheeks before hurrying off to rejoin Elle in seating and serving the incoming patrons. I sat at the edge of the booth, resting my chin in my palm and letting out a sigh, just watching them both work for a few moments.

“You’re really quite smitten, aren’t you?”

“Ach!” I yelped, jumping in my seat and spinning around to find Bart, already mid-slide into the booth opposite me, a wry smile on his grizzled face. “Wha… where the hell did you come from?”

Bart raised one eyebrow, then chuckled. “Nowhere in particular.”

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

“So what did those three want?” Bart asked, and I narrowed my eyes at him. Had he seriously been here the whole time without me noticing?

“They were at the Hunter’s Guild earlier,” I said, tapping my license. “They want me to join their hunting party, actually.”

“Ah, I figured,” Bart said, nodding. “Those kids’ve been at it for years. What did you tell them?”

“I told them I was busy learning to fish and should probably wait until after the competition, because that was the responsible thing to do,” I said, injecting exaggerated smugness into my voice.

“Heh, that can be difficult at times, can’t it?” Bart said with a chuckle and a smile, breaking through his usual demeanor. “At the rate you’re improving, I’d say it won’t be long until you’re skilled enough that Bentley may just choose to call off that senseless wager altogether, rather than risk humiliation.”

Huh. I hadn’t considered that. That would definitely be a huge load off my mind, but could I really get that good in time for it to matter? Well, no sense worrying about it now.

From there, the night progressed as usual, except for occasional visits from curious sailors, fishermen, or other hunters, who wanted to see my bronze badge with their own eyes. At some point, after about the tenth or so, I looked up from my notebook at Bart and asked, “Hey, so, Cynthia said there's ‘ranks’ to this whole pro hunter thing, right?”

“Yes?” Bart looked up from his own book.

“What are they? So far I know I'm in bronze, and those three I told you about said they were iron, but that's it.”

“Ah.” Bart lifted his head and nodded, holding up one hand. “Bronze and iron are the lowest ranks, in order, after that it goes from silver, to gold, and finally platinum,” Bart said, ticking the names off on his fingers, then holding up just his index finger again. “There is also technically a sixth rank, mithril, but hunters of that level of skill and power are so incredibly rare there are only a handful of mithril ranked hunters across the entire world.”

“Woah,” I said, blinking, then bent down to quickly jot down the ranks in my notebook so I wouldn't forget them. Glancing back up at Bart, I asked, “So, what rank are you?”

“I’m retired,” Bart said, lowering his head and picking up his book again.

“You know what I mean,” I said, rolling my eyes. “What rank were you, before that?” When Bart didn’t even bother to answer with anything more than a quick glance over the top of his book and a small smirk, I brought a hand up to my forehead. “You’re not gonna tell me, are you?”

“Perhaps,” Bart said, deliberately turning a page. “Perhaps not. I haven’t really considered it.”

“Uuuuugh,” I groaned, letting my head drop onto the table. “I’m seeing a whole new side of you too, Bart, and I hate it.”

“I am truly devastated to hear that, Samantha,” Bart said dryly. “You break this old man’s heart.”

“Bart, quit teasing her!”

I lifted my head from the table and found Elle waiting at the edge of the booth, an oval shaped plate in hand. Steam was rising from whatever was on it, and as I caught the first whiff I felt my heart quicken a little. Elle beamed at me and leaned forward to set down the plate, revealing a meal that had me struggling not to drool.

A sizable portion of the catfish waited in the center of the plate, crisped to a mouthwatering golden brown, and even blackened in some spots, with a visible crusting of herbs and spices. To either side of the filet were a small pile of glistening broccoli florets, coated in oil and lightly salted, and several golf ball-sized balls of something crisp and fried. Lastly, two thick wedges of lemon sat on the outer edge of the plate, ready to be squeezed.

“Oh my… holy… This looks amazing,” I gasped, leaning over the plate and taking a sniff. The scent was heavenly, so much so that I felt the corners of my eyes start to prickle. Damnit, how was it possible for any food to smell this good?!

With trembling hands, I reached for my knife and fork, and sliced off a good sized forkful of the catfish. It parted easily, and I wasted no time in raising the fork to my mouth and clamping down on the succulent-looking flesh. My eyes flew open wide, then squeezed shut tightly, and I had to slap a hand over my mouth to stifle the moan that erupted from my chest. The charred catfish was crisp on the outside, with a noticeable heat from the spices, but sweet and tender on the inside, practically melting before I even started to chew. I savored that first bite as long as I could, then swallowed, detecting a curious aftertaste that was like nothing I’d ever experienced before. My tongue and the inside of my mouth tingled slightly, but not from the heat of the spices, and I felt suddenly energized, like I’d splashed my face with cold water after just waking up. When I opened my eyes, the colors inside the tavern seemed brighter and more vibrant, and I think I was hearing things even more sharply than I usually did.

“Mmmffh… Felda’s outdone herself…” I said, speaking through the hand I had pressed to my mouth. Looking up to find both Bart and Elle giving me mixed looks, I turned the fork around in my hand and held it out to Bart, pushing the plate forward. “You have to try some of this!”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t—” Bart began to protest, but I shook my head vehemently.

“Yes you absolutely can! If it weren’t for you, I never would’ve caught this thing, so you should at least try a bite!”

Bart relented, visibly struggling to keep his face flat, and accepted the fork from me, using it to carve off a small portion of the catfish filet, raising it to his mouth. I watched as he chewed, grinning and swishing my tail, feeling a significant amount of personal satisfaction when his eyes widened seemingly of their own accord.

“Alright, alright.” Bart cleared his throat and returned the fork and plate to me. “It is… quite good. I had forgotten… ah, don’t mind me, enjoy the rest.”

“Elle!” I said, snapping my head around and grinning up at Elle so quickly she jumped. “You too, try some!”

Elle blushed, but didn’t offer nearly the same resistance that Bart had. I sliced off a portion for her and held it out, and she leaned down to take it off the fork, closing her eyes and covering her mouth, letting out a delighted squeal.

“Gods… I’ve had a lot of Felda’s cooking over the years, but… wow…”

“Right?” I scooted to the edge of the booth, leaning out and calling out, “Mel! C’mere real quick!”

Mel, who was just finishing setting out a pair of plates at a table across the tavern, looked up curiously and, after checking that the patrons she’d just served didn’t need anything else for the moment, hurried over, while several more curious diners also turned to look at the commotion I was making.

“What’s up?” Mel asked, her single visible eye brightening as she saw the plate. “Ooh, is this the catfish?”

“Uh huh,” I said, nodding excitedly and, once again, cut off a forkful and held it out for Mel to sample. Smiling, she leaned down, lightly touching the back of my hand to hold it steady as she took the offered bite, standing up straight and chewing, also letting out a deeply content moan.

“Mm-mmh! By the bough, the trunk, and the roots, that’s fucking delicious,” Mel declared, opening her eye again.

“Hey now!” a voice called from across the tavern, and Elle and Mel turned to look. “What’s that? I want some’a whatever’s got y’all all riled up!”

I leaned around them and cupped my hand around my mouth, calling out “Catfish! Earthshaker catfish, caught fresh just this morning!”

I could see the sailor who had asked, as well as the table he was seated at, confer amongst themselves, before the first one shouted, “Shit, alright, we thought it was a bit much but if it’s even half as good as you’re makin’ it out it’ll be worth it, we’ll take one!”

A susurration ran through the room after that, several more groups breaking out into discussion over whether they wanted to spring for the catfish filet. Elle and Mel exchanged glances, then glanced back at me, then hurried out to the floor, splitting up to take the sudden influx of orders. In the end, there were obviously more people who wanted to try the much-lauded catfish than there was to go around, but those that had ordered some all shared bites with their neighbors, and before long the whole tavern was praising it as one of the best things they’d eaten in months, and in some cases, all year.

“That was amazing,” Elle declared, seated in the booth beside me, she and Mel taking a short break while there were no new orders coming in or refills to give.

“Yeah, I still can’t believe how good it tasted,” I said, having polished off the last of my own plate of catfish, now moving on to the veggies, and the fried lumps that turned out to be little balls of some kind of fluffy dough mixed with corn and onions.

“No no, I mean… well, yeah, that fish was absolutely delicious, but I mean what you did,” Elle said, turning to me with a smile. “Even though she didn’t charge nearly as much as she could’ve, Felda was worried nobody who came here would buy any of the catfish, and you giving it to her would turn out to be a waste.”

“Oh,” I said, shrugging. “I didn’t really do anything, I was just really really excited for you to get to taste some too. I didn’t even mean to make such a scene, but that first bite just got me so jazzed up, I had to share.”

“‘Jazzed’ up?” Mel said curiously, seated on the opposite side of the booth with Bart. She seemed to take an extra moment just considering the word, before her eyebrow raised. “Oh, you mean… oh, yeah, that was probably the rush of mana you were feeling.”

“The wh—” I started to say, but caught myself when Mel’s foot tapped urgently against my ankle, much more gently than when she’d done so to Harvey. Right, Bart was still sitting right there. Clearing my throat, I started again. “Oh, right, yes, the mana, of course. How could I forget that?”

Okay, maybe I laid it on a bit thick, but Bart didn’t seem to notice, although Mel did roll her eyes. I really wanted to ask what she meant exactly, but I figured it could wait until later.

“Though, speaking of mana…” I began, realizing for the moment I had both Elle and Bart sitting right next to me. “I’ve been thinking, y’know, that if there’s a possibility I might end up having to fight other, uh, magic fish, that just being able to move out of the way can only get me so far. I was thinking that maybe it would be good if I had some kind of… offensive option, too?”

Mel, who had already caught on to what I was driving for, snorted and snickered into the back of her hand. Elle glanced at her for a moment, then a look of realization crossed her face, and she mouthed a silent, “Oh.”

“So, y’know, I’ve got you both here, and I did ask both of you at some point if you’d be willing to teach me some… magic?” I looked expectantly from Elle to Bart, but Elle only followed my gaze, looking wide eyed at Bart as well.

Bart took in our shared expressions and cleared his throat, motioning towards Elle.

“Ah, I did, but you two… er, you three, that is, are… perhaps it would be best for you—”

“No way, Bart!” Elle cut him off, shaking a finger towards him. “You and I both know which of us is the better mage here. I’m still just a student, and sure, I’ve picked up a lot, but you can do a lot of spells I’ve never even heard of! If anyone should teach her, it should be you!”

“She is right,” Mel said, turning to Bart and propping herself up with a fist on her cheek. “Both of them, I mean. You said so yourself, one misstep during that fight and Sam could’ve been crushed by a rock. You know fishing better than me, and I know you’re not planning on doing that again any time soon, but if there’s a chance she could end up in a similar situation, don’t you think she ought to have one or two spells under her belt, at least?”

I was grinning like a loon by now, and I hadn’t even had to say anything. Bart looked from Mel, to Ell, and finally to me, before he leaned back into the booth and let out a heavy sigh towards the ceiling.

“Alright, alright,” he said, making a placating motion with his hand. “Give me a few days to prepare. I am no teacher, and it has been a long time since I received my own schooling, but I promise I will try to teach you some basic spellcasting within the next few days.”

“Awesome!” I said, pumping my fist, then holding my hand up to Elle for a high five. Elle, somewhat predictably, just stared at it, then gave me a confused look.

“What…”

Holy shit. There was no way, right?

“It’s a high five?” I said, and when I received blank looks from all three of them, I almost burst out laughing. This world had magic and monsters and floating islands but hadn’t figured out the high five? I was deeply disappointed in all the other Outsiders who came before me, and vowed that I would right the grievous mistake.

“Here, I’ll show you,” I said, reaching for one of Elle’s hands and lifting it up. “Put your palm flat, like mine, and then hold it still, but brace yourself.”

“Uh, okay?” Elle said, clearly confused, but seemingly excited to try whatever new thing I was trying to show her. I held up my own hand again, palm out, and slapped it against hers. Not too hard, of course, but enough to make it a proper high five.

Elle blinked, lowering her hand and looking at her palm.

“What was that?” Mel asked.

“It’s a high five,” I repeated, resisting the urge to roll my eyes. “It’s like… it’s for saying ‘congratulations!’ or ‘hey, good job!’ or ‘that was great!’ or stuff like that.”

“That’ll never catch on down here,” Bart said, a dubious frown on his face. “It works well enough for you and Elle because you’re about the same size, but you’d never pull that off with an orc and a dwarf. Not to mention those claws of yours, there are other, ah, demihumans with ones even bigger, and some types of seadwellers who don’t even have hands.” Bart crossed his arms and shook his head, repeating, “It’ll never catch on.”

Hrmph. We’ll just see about that…

Soon enough, Elle and Mel had to return to work. I wanted to pester Bart for more details about when and how I’d be learning magic, but I didn’t want to annoy him. Eventually, the night wound down, the tavern emptied, and I put in my usual contribution to helping Elle and Mel and Felda close up. When it came time for Felda to pass out the night’s payment, I tried to tell her she didn’t need to include any extra from the sale of the catfish, but she was insistent.

Then, finally, it was time to go with Elle and Mel to the bathhouse.

(Continued in Part 2)