79th of Spring, 516 AV
Fishing had never been her strong point. Even as a child she'd always found an excuse not to, and once she begun to surround herself with humans, easily eating the meat that others had hunted, she never bothered. Since the rations she was given were hardly edible, mostly corns and green things, she'd come to the ocean with the intent to fish. It was hard to trade for meat with the humans, it was rare enough in the rations, but she still gave the repulsive plants that they ate to them anyway. No sense in wasting them. Fishing was meant to help her put some meat on her bones, as she begun to notice her jaw protruding more than usual, a sight that made the Iyvess uncomfortable now that she had daily access to the cracked mirror in her room.
Of course she had gotten distracted. Even though it was saltwater, a buoyancy this water snake was not used to, she was soon playing like a child. Exploring the seaweed groves beneath the waves and scaring the fish she was meant to hunt. She enjoyed their colorful scales that glinted in the sun, yet, like a child, she did not wander too far from the wall. Although able to hold her breath for hours, she had been coming up in short spurts to ensure the current had not carried her farther away from the wall than she intended.
Of course now she had to pay attention. The sun had reached the peak of high noon, and she was glad to be in the chilly sanctuary of the waves. Taking another breath of the salty ocean air around her, the snake sunk back into the waves. The docks, that were just far enough she couldn't make out the moving figures of fisherman, had seemed to dull in the last bell. The heat of the late spring day likely getting to them.
Until the sun was far from her eyes, and the long stalks of seaweed surrounded her, she didn't even begin to look. The waves of the ocean were gentler to her senses than the assault of a river bed, and it left the murky green water around her with a slightly eery feeling. Perhaps it was her anticipation for the hunt that had begun to settle in, brushing away the childish glee of finally releasing her scales that morning. Or perhaps it was the oncoming murder she was about to commit.
Oh, shutup, it is a fish. She rolled her eyes at herself before closing them. No longer breathing, she took a moment to feel the vibrations around her. With her tail resting on the mushy sand between the stalks of the seaweeds, she could feel the digging of shelled creatures beneath her, but only barely. A few ways off, there was a school of something, tiny fish. Not something she could catch or want. They skirted the edges of the seaweed surrounding her, but otherwise ignored her presence.
Hoping their reaction might calm the other fish who left at her presence, she continued to wait.
It was then that she got lucky. Trying to be as still as possible, since the water spread her vibrations more noticeably than air, Sezkero opened her eyes and looked up. A small school of snappers floated above her. They scattered at her movement, but quickly returned above the grove a few feet from her. Watching them carefully, she didn't recognize the fish all too well. She would have liked to think they were yellowtails, a popular meat in Nyka, although she didn't know enough about the fish to know for sure.
And she didn't really care.
Darting out from her resting place, Sezkero snapped one hand out, closing a webbed fist around the struggling fish. She felt monstrous doing it, but doing as her brothers had taught her, she latched onto the struggling fish with both hands, crunching down on its head with her jaw to kill it. Disgusting. The thought resonating in her as the blood of the fish washed out into the water, two crescents hugging it's eyes where she had bit it. She'd spent too long with the humans.
She'd easily scared off all other prey, but her maybe-one-pound fish, but Sezkero really didn't care. She was the worst fisher in her family anyway, it was a miracle she'd caught this one.
Like a human, Sezkero peeled the scales away, before tentatively taking a bite. The strong oily taste of sea-fish filled her mouth, and she was quickly pulling the rib bones from here teeth, picking the last bits of meat from the spine. It had been a small meal, but more than the rations had allotted her carnivorous diet.
Twisting between the wooden poles under the docks, she swam back out to the lighter waters, a little ways away from the boats. She was about to come up for the air she was quickly running out of, when she noticed she was not alone. The shadow that flickered above her was not the round shape of a boat, nor the scarred hands of a fisherman rinsing his tools. It looked as if the person above her was laying on the water, leisurely paddling his feet with his face turned upwards.
Unable to stop herself, Sezkero abandoned the remains of her meal, flicking her tail to urge herself a bit closer. With a mischievous grin the Iyvess reached one webbed finger up to trace it down the back of one of the waving calves, sure to disturb this leisurely swim. With a little more power, she shoved herself backwards, deeper into the water. The blue-green water around her was not as murky as the Suvan, but she only had depth to hide her so she stayed low, watching the strangers reaction.
