Archive of Our Own ^beta

“I’ve got it, I’ve got it, I’ve got it -”

“Sagrell, watch out -”

Splash!

“I’m not the only one who thinks this is dragging on for too long, yes?” Airmer asked.

Creth snorted. “Oh, absolutely not. This is getting ridiculous.”

The two of them, personally, were having quite a nice afternoon, when one didn’t consider the noise. They’d found a nice, wide, flat rock to sit on, deep enough in the forests of Dalentarth that they were in no danger of having unwanted mortal visitors, and had been able to simply relax and soak in the vibrancy of the forest around them. It was idyllic, apart from the fact that Sagrell and Farrara were hip-deep in a nearby river and screaming at each other.

It had seemed a fine idea, when Sagrell first brought it up. They were due to set out eastwards any day now. While they traveled, sustenance wouldn’t be a particular issue for the fae, but it very much would be for Sagrell. In the interest of saving her gold for other essential items, such as potions and repairs, she’d suggested that they try the mortal practice of fishing .

Her argument had been persuasive. As a mortal, she needed mortal food. She couldn’t subsist only on water and sunlight, as the fae could. Fish were plentiful in the rivers and lakes of Dalentarth. Sagrell liked fish. Sagrell even liked dried fish, which would keep well as they traveled. Therefore, it made sense to catch a few fish, so they could then be dried and preserved as rations.

It had very quickly become obvious that Sagrell hadn’t given the most thought to how, exactly, fishing was accomplished. Airmer was almost certain it wasn’t this . He was almost entirely certain that mortals typically had tools for fishing, and not just their bare hands.

“Have they even caught anything?” As Airmer spoke, Sagrell managed to struggle back to her feet in the river. She was holding onto Farrara’s armor with a white-knuckled grip, using his firmer footing to haul herself up. She was drenched and bedraggled, her hair hanging over her face and her robes in disarray. As they watched, she lost her grip on Farrara and was yet again swept away by the current. Farrara yelled wordlessly and dove after her, managing to catch her by the back of her robes before she went too far.

“Not a damn thing,” Creth replied drily. “Aside from a nice collection of bruises, perhaps.”

“I’m sure Green will be overjoyed .”

Below, in the river, Farrara was slowly but surely dragging Sagrell into shallower, calmer waters. The other knight hung almost limply from his grip, apart from both of her hands gripping onto Farrara’s forearm.

When the water was only ankle deep, Farrara helped Sagrell stand up, and the two of them surveyed the deeper water with their hands on their hips. It was not the posture of anyone who intended to behave reasonably and stop . 

“Let’s try…” Sagrell took a careful, measured step forward as she spoke. Farrara made a stressed noise.

“Sagrell, be caref- OH! ”

This time it was Farrara who slipped, yelling as he fell into the water and floundered in the current. Sagrell cursed, slipping and sliding over the river stones as she scrambled to get to her brother. Creth made a noise that might have been a laugh.

“Don’t be rude ,” Airmer scolded, but his tone was light and his shoulders shook with mirth. “I’m certain they’ll be successful…someday. Perhaps not today.”

Sagrell fell over again, crashing into the water alongside Farrara.

“...Most definitely not today.”

“The two of you are welcome to join us at any time!” Farrara yelled from the water.

“No, thank you,” Creth called back.

Had they followed Sagrell and Farrara out here with the intention of helping? Yes. Had their conviction… wavered somewhat as she explained her plan of wading into the river and trying to grab fish barehanded? Also yes.

Were they still dry and unbruised as a result of their actions? Very much so. Airmer could feel no shame for abandoning Sagrell to her own scheme.

“Wait - wait, I think I’ve got one!” Sagrell crowed suddenly, still sprawled out on the riverbed with her chin barely above the water. “Far, help! I can’t use my arms or it’ll escape, help me -”

Farrara continued floundering in the current. “I’m trying !”

“Well, I stand corrected! They actually did it,” Airmer laughed. “Would you look at that, Creth?”

Creth hmph ed. “They haven’t quite caught it, yet. I doubt they’ll manage to drag it out of the water.”

In the river, Farrara managed to pull himself to his knees, gathering Sagrell up as she desperately hugged the fish she’d grabbed seemingly by accident. They struck a ridiculous tableau for a moment, one worthy of a mural if only to immortalize their stupidity, and then Farrara was carefully climbing to his feet. He moved almost comically slowly, his eyes darting nervously around him as if searching for any treacherous patches of algae that might end up under his boot.

Sagrell had an almost feral grin on her face, clutching to her fish for dear life. The fish, for its part, seemed to understand it had made a colossal mistake by swimming into the mortal’s grasp. It flopped about frantically in her arms, as though it still had any chance of freeing itself.

“Do you suppose they’ll settle for just one?” Creth asked lowly.

“Almost certainly not,” Airmer murmured back, “but we’ll likely be able to convince them to stop for the day.”

Farrara waded towards shore, once again dragging Sagrell by the back of her robes. This time, he lumbered all the way onto the mossy shore, and a few extra feet for good measure. When he was far enough from the water, he dropped Sagrell unceremoniously, letting her fall on top of the fish.

“There’s one part done,” he announced. If Airmer wasn’t imagining things, Farrara’s breath was a bit labored. “Now what? I assume we kill it?”

Sagrell slowly sat up. By the way she moved, it was obvious she’d taken a beating in the river. She looked down and grimaced. “I think we might’ve just taken care of that part.”

Creth made a mockingly sympathetic noise. “Poor creature. To die crushed under a fool’s bulk…”

Sagrell and Farrara held no such reservations. Sagrell stood up, and the two of them examined the (most certainly dead) fish excitedly.

“We need another one-” Sagrell started, starting towards the river once again. 

“No!” Airmer shouted, a bit too frantically as he leapt to his feet. “No, I…believe one is enough for today, Sagrell. You still need to…prepare it in some way, yes?”

Sagrell and Farrara looked at the fish consideringly. “I…suppose,” Sagrell said at length.

“You could always come back tomorrow,” Airmer offered, trying his best to sound encouraging. He hoped that the one fish would end up providing Sagrell with all the food she needed, but he somehow doubted it.

He felt distinctly uneasy when Sagrell looked directly at him and smiled brightly. “ If you’ll help us tomorrow.”

Airmer, were he alone, might have allowed Sagrell and Farrara to continue “fishing” to avoid helping them on any subsequent trips. Unfortunately, he was not alone, and Creth had far too much fun at his expense.

“Of course he will,” Creth interjected before Airmer could reply. “I can’t imagine anything would make him happier.”

Airmer cast an utterly betrayed look at his brother. Creth smirked, unapologetic.

“ Perfect ,” Sagrell said, grinning madly. In what had to be a cruel joke by the powers that be, Sagrell didn’t try to rope Creth into fishing. “It’s so much fun, you’ll see!”

“I’m certain I will,” Airmer muttered. Privately, he wondered if he could find a way to shove Creth into the river the next day.