Depths

2. Fishing

This chapter has been edited.

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The smell of salt was strong, and the sound of seagulls squawking was the most annoying noise in the world. It clashed with the sound of the water splashing gently against the boardwalk, the little boat that his father rented sitting innocently to the right of them.

Danny stared down at it, it was a 12 ft brown boat with two oars hooked on either side.

Yet, they were hunting for mermaids?

Even if they were real, how did his dad expect to capture something so wild, in a boat like that? Somehow he doubted that a creature like that would come quietly, even if his father were to catch one.

"Well now," another fisherman said as he walked up, carrying a bucket, "here's your bait," the fat man bent over and set the bucket full of, what even is that, in the boat.

"Remember," the fisherman with red hair said as Jack and Danny got into the boat, Danny couldn't tell if the man's accent was Australian or Russian. "The tide will come in within the next few hours, you don't wanna be out there when that happens." It could be Irish?

Danny looked out to the open sea, so beautiful and calm. Despite his father's bad planning and his over-enthusiastic dream of catching a mermaid today, he was still having fun.

Mermaids didn't exist, so this might as well be a regular fishing trip with his father. He had been wanting one of these since he was old enough to hold a fishing pole, especially when he was watching TV one time, and saw that this was something that fathers and sons did together to bond.

"Also," the fisherman added just as Jack Fenton was picking up the oars to row away, "Be careful where your heading, a lot of mysterious disappearances have been going on in that cove." His unrecognizable accent made his words sound more like a warning then what seemed necessary, and Danny's eyebrows rose.

The fisherman's demeanor changed, though his father didn't seem to notice the awkward air anyways, "Well, you best get off, want y'all to have as much time fishing as you can before that tide." The fisherman waved as they rowed off towards their destination, 200 meters away from shore. Where a cove stood beautiful and tall, its walls glistening from the crystal clear water.

The boat rocked as they chose to stop just outside the entrance, his father's equipment was all packed in a toolbox sitting between them by the bait.

Excited, Danny picked up his fishing pole, "Dad, how exactly do you work this thing?" He had never used one before, and he only just realized he didn't know anything about casting, or how to know when he's caught something.

His father smiled at him, happy to see his son was as excited as he was. "You see that U shaped metal latch by the handle?" Danny nodded, "Well after you firmly attach your bait, you hold that down and swing the pole out. The line will cast on its own, but, when you're satisfied with how far it went, then drop the latch and your good to wait."

Danny examine the pole, and did as his father said as he was giving instructions, it was easier then he thought it would be as he watched his bait disappear with his fishing hook into the water a good ways away. "How do you know when you caught something?" He asked, still watching where his hook disappeared, intrigued as the line sank slowly further and further.

"You'll know, trust me. A small fish might nibble, and you'll feel some tugging. If that happens then usually fisherman yank really hard suddenly and then real her in. I assume it would be the same for merpeople."

Danny rolled his eyes without his father noticing as the other man cast his line and sat down to wait with him.

Mermaids and merman were known in legend to be smarter then dolphins, so, Danny couldn't imagine a mermaid ignorantly biting onto a fishing hook, even if they were real. He would need a better method of capturing one, then a couple of fishing poles and some bait.