Fishers

It was a fine day to dive. The sun sparkled on the water so hard it almost hurt Riksi's eyes before he hit it.

SPLASH

Underneath was a rush of bubbles and his fins and his spears darting darting stabbing stabbing into the bag fast into the bag fast come up for air come up for air

SPLASH

And up Riksi came, bag full, chest exploding outwards, lungs filling and mouth cackling along with all his brothers and sisters surrounding him and their sharp sharp teeth. Oh that was a good haul. The shoal underneath them was fat and broad and sturdy and this could keep them going for days. Quick, quick! Up onto the ledge, toss your bag in the pit and grab a fresh one and take the steps up to the nearest high perch. In you go! LOOK AT THE SUN SHINE!

SPLASH

Deeper deeper now they flee deeper they know you're coming after the first wave and you've got to push to thrust to drop farther down with your flippers to grab and tear and bag and spear and bag and pull back the bag's full the bag's a weight back up again to the air

SPLASH

Out again, and a new bag again, and off the cliff again

SPLASH

And again and again and

SPLASH

Again. His muscles were burning through his skin and the air was freezing up his lungs and ah the sun wouldn't stop SHINING! What a good day to be bored, to do something so very well that his body required no guidance at all! What a great time, to let every moment slip by in careless perfection! Watch me, he thought as he leapt. Watch me, because I don't need to.

SPLASH

Deepest yet looking for the stragglers the slowpokes the weaklings thrust and take and lunge and take and ahh in the eyes the sun the sun the sun is still bright down here how is the sun so bright down here there it is it's beneath how is it beneath it'sswimming away with bright little finsslow within range could take it but that sparkle that shinethat shineair

SPLASH

Riksi was out of breath and out of sorts and then he got onto the ledge and realized he was also out of bag. It must be down there somewhere, dropping into the dark and out of sight of all sunshine forever. What a strange fish. It had shone so very brightly. He'd never seen fins with quite that sparkle before, and he'd speared fish for years, and eaten them for twice as long, and even when he was very little and still fed milk and his eyes were gummy portholes he'd seen the scales littered across the floor of his home. What a very strange little fish, to pretend to be the sun down there. Everyone was coming in, the morning dives completed, the hunt fulfilled, the food gathered. Time to empty the bags and clean the catch and eat the best bits. He should be very pleased right now. Instead he went swimming again after eating, with all the bold tingles of a child that had been told by a trusted adult 'no, you will sink.'Of course like every child he'd done that anyways and learned it was all lies to keep the tiny and nervous and overly-inept from venturing out alone, but the feelings were familiar. A quick walk to the empty diving ledges, a jerk of his head to check for the lazy eyes that might ask awkward questions, and in he slid.