The Books of the Shadows III- Silver Tiger

10

After Silver instructed Senere what to do with the fishing rod, how to put the bait, how to throw it, how to shut up and wait for him to realize that he caught a fish and to shoot, they started together fishing. Of course, Moon got bored and let them buy the fish, while she went to gather wood and prepare the fire to save time.

-It moves, it moves even! Senere started screaming agitated.

Silver got up from his seat, where he had retreated a little to be quiet, because Senere was more agitated and tended to talk all the time.

-Get it out!

-How?

-Lift it up, come on!

-Like this?

-Yes, just like this!

Senere was glowing, as she pulled the fishing rod up and already caught a fish. Small, that's right, but it was a fish caught by her!

-Yeah! Moon began to applaud her, and Silver helped her off the hook.

-Well done! You are officially a fisherwoman now! You will not starve when you are alone on the lake from now on. Come on, next! Throw it again! Now you know what to do!

-Yes! I can fish now! I can fish!

-Yes, you can!

She threw again, and again, until she caught 6 fish. With the fish caught by Silver, there were already too many. And Silver took the fishing rod from her hand, which puzzled her.

-We keep it for next time. You just don't want to catch all the fish in the water now?

-We can't even eat them all, Moon said, and they all started laughing.

Senere looked at the knife Silver had handed her as if it were a piece of furniture, and a grimace of disgust appeared on her face.

-What do I do now? Looking at her, Silver smiled to himself.

-Now, clean the fish ...

-I?

-But who? Don't you want to eat today?

-Yes ... but ... eeww, it smells ...

-Yes; it smells like lunch ... delicious.

Silver took one fish caught by Senere and started to show her how is done. She looked helpless thinking how good he is with his knife. That day, she learned how to cut and clean the fish and it was not that easy, but she did it and she was so proud of herself.

Silver was amazed. He had never seen such a helpless shadow, even for her condition as a female. It was a mystery how she still lived, and how she had reached this age, even so, defended by the men in her family. He had seen shadow women who were not fighters and did not get their hands on weapons; they knew how to do other things and were good at work and physically strong. While this girl was delicate and weak, and she seems to break if you let her hold or carry something.

After they cleaned the fish, Silver drew a circle in the sand on the shore. Moon started digging. Silver stopped in astonishment, looking at Senere.

-Come on, what are you doing? Dig! We have to prepare the fish, or do you not want to eat it today?

-Oh, yes, this fishing made me hungry. But how... he started sticking his left knife in the sand.

-Just like that. Try it!

-Alright... Senere tried to do the same. She didn't look too clumsy as described. She just didn't seem to have a chance to learn many things, but she seemed eager to learn and was open to suggestions.

She did not complain excessively about the proposed things and the careless effort that had to be made and was reasonably compliant. She was open to new experiences and that was all that mattered.

When he accepted Moon's request to help her with the stranger, Silver was quite reserved, because hearing how her brother saw things and seeing her, he would not have said that a fluffy princess could have become a strong woman, or at least he had never seen anything like it before. But, it seems that this girl was determined to prove to him that she really can. He did not say no at all to any of what he proposed. She was determined to learn.

He watched for a while as he carefully imitated Moon, digging a hole large enough to lay the stones and then the wood to make the fire. Well, the fire was harder, but she struggled, tried, and that matters. Then she put the fish as Moon had taught her, covered the meat with stones, and left it to cook until it was done. In the meantime, they walked in reconnaissance through the area, to observe the surroundings.

Having the river bank wide enough to allow an outdoor walk, they checked the bushes and sank a little deeper into the forest. At one point, Moon shouted excitedly, pointing up to a tall tree:

-Look, Silver, apples!

-Eewww ... Its sour at this time, Silver replied, grimacing only at the evocation of the still unripe apple flavor.

-You'll like it, Senere, look, apples!!

-Apples? What are these?

-Fruits!

-No night!

-Yes, let's get some!

Moon had enough experience in the woods and began to climb like a monkey on the trunk of a tree to procure apples. Silver stood aside, watching the two young women crave apples. Senere, amazed, tried to imitate Moon, but she had no idea how to hold on to the trunk or how to climb and apparently climbed on the spot and did not move forward at all. Until, sullenly, she left the tree looking at the Moon that was already high in the crown.

-I can't! I can not!

-Come on, try it!

-But I tried! Senere grabbed the trunk with both hands, hugged the tree, and tried to somehow put his feet to support it, but it slipped.

-Try harder! Come on! Up!

Silver was looking at Senere. It's like she's never climbed a tree in her life, she was so funny! Raise one leg just to lower it and lift the other. He couldn't put both feet up and stand up at all. But when he got tired, he didn't give up. She found a branch on the ground and she was so happy; she used it to hit the lower branches of the tree, managing to take down some apples.

-Ha! I succeeded!! Yes! Look! She came to Silver, victorious, and handed him an apple.

After two weeks in the woods with the prince, Senere looked for her brother and asked him to spend the day with her for at least a short time, which Kaion gave her. And what did she know to do better than what she had learned with Silver and Moon, so she took him for a walk in the woods near the walls of the capital.

-Come on, I'll show you what I have learned! Senere was all glowing and running all excited in front of him.

Kaion could not understand why was she in a hurry, he just wanted to sleep, but what else could he do but follow the female... Females?? The Goddess... The goddess immediately emerged from behind a tree, clinging to them, so as not to leave them alone.

She was dressed in a short linen shirt, a light material that caught them well in the summer heat, while he realized how uncomfortable the material of his shirt was, expensive material from Zicon, of course, but here ... useless.

Her shirt was tucked into her gray pants and molded to her long legs, which highlighted her gazelle's suppleness. She was wearing suede boots, and she walked through the forest as if she were walking through her own rooms.

It was a wonderful company, but really? He just wanted to sleep... but either way... he was the man after all.

Arriving at a small cove, on a small sandy beach, where it seemed the most unfavorable place for fishing... how to fish on the beach? Without stones on which to perch and from which to throw your spears? Where else has such a thing been mentioned? Who fishes on the beach?

Senere is looking for a stick... wait, a stick?? What to do with an unsharpened stick? How to fish with a rod?? And after finding what she wants, Senere ties a string to the stick, which she somehow throws into the water and sits down on the sand, looking at him with a wide smile, from one ear to the other. What the hell is this woman doing? What did these savages teach her?

Senere made a perfect fishing rod herself, like a professional, she even made one for him, and she took out the tactical bait, slowly, slowly, so that Kaion would have time to marvel at that strangeness that does not exist on their lands.

She sat tactfully and silently fishing, and for the first time, Kaion felt useless. His sister didn't ask him stupid questions, forcing him to answer childishly, she didn't make him do things for her, in fact, she didn't make him do anything but sit ...? In silence?? Incredible! Did these savages civilize Senere in two weeks as much as his world did not manage to civilize her in 16 years?? Incredible!

Not to mention that as soon as he saw some gross thing she touched, and that was incredible as well, and she put it into her hand??

-What is that??

-Oh, this? Just some bait...

-Bait?

-Yes, for the fish, you know? Wait, you will see...

Senere behaved as if she knew clearly what that bait contained and clearly knew what she had to do and did it perfectly. Kaion looked at his younger sister, who suddenly seemed older and omniscient, unlike him who had learned nothing about this world in which they were currently doomed to live. He was only concerned with finding out about portals as she learned new survival skills in this world, and he realized that in fact, if he failed to put together the information about the portals, they would be forced to stay here and he had not yet explored the surroundings at all.

Looking somewhat calm and submissive, without his specific arrogance, he sat down next to Senere, looking quietly at the ongoing process. Senere seemed very serious about fishing. And on top of that, the fishing rod jerked, and she jumped to her feet, pulling it out of the water; she caught the first fish.

Shining with happiness, she put the fish in Kaion's arms, who barely managed to catch it and was so overwhelmed with amazement that she dropped it on the floor. In order not to be laughed at, he quickly picked him up from the ground, and struck him with a stone, as if he knew what to do. Moon, following him, laughed at him and said:

-Come on! He needs firewood! go and get some!

And he obeyed the females. Again. On the way, looking for the vines and picking them up from the ground, she thought of how Senere shone with the fish in her hand. He had never seen her happier. And he never saw her manage to do anything on her own. How did they manage to get her to do this? And so good?

Leaving her fishing alone, as he picked up the wood, at one point he noticed Moon beside him, and panicked, looking back:

-Did you leave her alone???

-Of course.

-How could you??

And he ran back, jumping over the branches to get to the place where they left Senere as soon as possible as if she were in the greatest danger.

-Hey! Stop!

-Get aside!

-Hey, stop! And a stick or something resembling a long branch intertwined between his legs, preventing him and making him lie on the carpet of moss as long as it was.

-We're close, let her handle it. And because he seemed to be staring at her, not understanding what she was saying, Moon explained:

-How do you want her to handle it if you don't leave her? You can't be with her in every moment of her life! In these weeks, she did without you. She did well without you, let her learn.

They were indeed close to her. Looking at his younger sister through the foliage of the forest, she seemed safe and carefree. She was fishing, continually alone and quiet as if she had been doing this for a lifetime.

-Come on, bring her the wood because she has to light the fire today! Moon showed him the fallen wood at his feet, pointing toward them with her bow, which she had used as a cane against his feet.