Fishing with Dragons
Icebreaker stretched his legs and wings, as he exited the cramped space of an igloo, feeling his joints pop and muscles flex. His back arched as he put his whole body into it. He yawned like a big, icy cat, flashing the world with an image of his maw, full of razor-sharp teeth.
Their family igloo might be cozy, but by great ice dragon did it get cramped at night.
He took a moment to work his jaw too, doing all sorts of weird faces. Until he earned a snowball to the snout, that is. Sputtering with the white substance, he threw an icy glare towards his sister, already juggling another cold projectile in her paw.
“Keep your jaw closed brother, or your tongue might freeze right off!” – She called out with a giggle, not even trying to feign innocence.
What a weasel.
“Why you little” – He snarled, starting to gather snow between his paws to form his own white ball of death and destruction. Frostbite grinned, her eyes sparkling with mischief, seeming to say – “Bring it on” – at least until they both heard another voice join them outside.
“Kids please, not first thing in the morning” – Their father said, in his usual gruff tone, voice additionally slowed down by the last bits of sleep leaving his body. Both of them dropped their weapons at his command, though the fire in their eyes left no doubts. There might be a ceasefire now, but the war was far from over.
Their mother’s head peeked outside through the entrance to their home. Her eyes tired, but happy as she addressed them all.
“Sorry I have to stay in again. I am sure the village could use another pair of claws…’’
“Nonsense, someone has to stay and keep the egg safe” – the bigger male contested. His head lowered to give his wife an affectionate nuzzle. Frostbite made a gagging expression at that display of affection, Icebreaker just rolled his eyes at her antics.
Snowstorm soon retreated into the safety of their igloo, and Frostbane turned his attention back towards his two already hatched children.
“I am heading out to the post, everyone know their tasks for today?”
“Going to school” – the smaller Icewing pouted a bit, causing her brother to silently celebrate the great victory of being older and thus able to choose what he would do by himself
“I am gonna find a Fisher!” – he announced proudly
His sister shot him a half-amused glare
“ I swear, you’re far too fond of them, useful though they may be”
He grinned at her
“You say that now. But you’ll enjoy these fish later!”
“Everything that brings food to the village is useful. Plus, it’s okay to be interested in the world. You never know when that might be come in paw” – their father agreed
Icebreaker shot his sister one last victorious smile, before spreading his wings and taking off. After a short run he leapt into the air and soon was soaring over their small village. Ascending with each beat of his membranous wings. When he was sufficiently high up in the air, he made a turn to take one more look at the scenery below.
The day was shaping up the be a beautiful one. The sun was slowly rising over the horizon, casting glimmering dancing light all across the snowy terrain. Nearby, the green hues of an evergreen forest contrasted nicely against the surrounding shades of white and blue. It might not be the royal palace, but Icebreaker wouldn’t exchange their small corner of the world for the highest icy spire in the capital.
Down below he could see dragons already going about their daily business. Icebreaker saw a couple of his friends going about their day, his sister heading for class, and his father gearing up for guard duty. The outpost where he and a couple other adults worked at was little more than a glorified storeroom where their gear was kept when not in use. Still, it was the only building in their village made of stone and mortar, rather than carved blocks of ice.
This far north, the power of the Queen was more… ceremonial, let’s just say. Frostbane’s armour was growing a bit rusty lately, but he always said he preferred the independence and the free spirit. In the capital, every dragon was always so serious and uptight, you couldn’t sneeze without offending at least 3 noble bloodlines and falling 3 levels in the rankings. That’s why he left in the first place.
Icebreaker circled the village one last time before finally taking off north. If he wanted to find a Fisher, he needed to head for the frozen lake on the other side of the evergreen forest. He knew the route by heart now, having flown it more often than anyone else from their home.
Getting there took some time, but he enjoyed the calm flight. There was no cloud in sight across the whole blue sky, and the wind felt great across his scales, as it blew away any remaining snow off his body. The sea of needles below moved quickly under him. Dragons were unmatched when it came to traversing great distances quickly.
He flapped his wings occasionally to maintain hight, but for the most part he was content to just spread them, and let the air currents carry him forward. The small net he collected from home earlier was fluttering madly in the wind. He made it himself, under his mother’s instructions. The feeling of accomplishment he felt when it finally came out right came back to him every time he used it. That was some time ago, but he still used the same net and maintained it. Dragonets of their village knew from the egg to be frugal with resources. Wasting anything was unacceptable.
He would need to replace it eventually though. Good as it was, the strings could not hold against the cold forever. Icebreaker probably should think about getting some more rope…
The young dragon was taken out of his thoughts by the sight of his quicky approaching destination. There was a river and a small lake north of their home across the forest, but you’d be forgiven for not noticing it right away. It’s whole expanse was in a perpetual state of being frozen over. The thick cover of ice being additionally cloaked in snow. Still, Icebreaker knew what to look for.
The sudden flatness of the terrain gave it away, and one could feel the slippery surface underneath when landed.
The young dragon used to worry about falling underneath, but has since learned the ice was much too thick this time of the year, or any part of the year really. He didn’t land right away though. For the next few moments he circled around the lake, until he spotted what he was looking for.
In the distance down below, a tiny, bipedal figure was waving to him energetically.
Dipping his wings, he arrested his flight and slowly glided down to where the small being was waiting. As he closed in, more and more detail came into view.
Miniscule, little guy. It’s body was clad from head to paws in thick furs and skins. Icebreaker has never seen one of them without this strange get up, but apparently they had no fur of their own, except than on the top of their heads, requiring them to make these ‘clothes’ from animals to avoid dying of cold.
Quite unfortunate, but it only served to show off their ingenuity, that they could survive in spite of this handicap. The only part of their body unprotected from the frost was their face. Strange, flat thing, with a endearingly pathetic little snout poking out from the middle of it. Big, expressive eyes, and a mouth. Currently stretched out in a wide arc, showing off it’s small, useless teeth.
Icebreaker has since learned that this snarl was a display of happiness, not aggression. Boy were those a couple of unfortunate misunderstandings…
As he neared the surface, the Icewing flapped his wings a few times to slow down his descent. Soon enough his legs touched the ice in a graceful landing. He folded his wings and settled down in front of the small Fisher.
The little creature stepped a bit closer, still waving its funny small limb in the air. Icebreaker returned the gesture, albeit with his wing. He moved his ears up to show his happiness, even if he knew that wouldn’t be understood. Still better than trying to show off his teeth, like these guys did. He didn’t think he ever saw that particular Fisher at the lake again…
Now that the greetings were done, it was time for them to get to work.
The little guy had already started, as a matter of fact. He stepped back to expose the little dent he started making in the ice with the help of his tools. It’d be a good size, for a dragonet who was just beginning to learn how to use his claws.
Icebreaker snorted in amusement and puffed his scaly chest out a bit, adopting a smug air of superiority.
“Allow me” – he said with no small amount of pride in his voice. This emotion must have been universal among the species, as the little fisher simply rolled his eyes with an amused expression.
The dragon made good use of his sharp claws. Soon the little dent grew to be a nice big opening in the ice. He peered down into the abyss. Below in the water he could see fish swimming about. He retreated and sat down nearby to let his friend do his thing.
Not wasting any time the little mammal walked up to the ice hole. From the confines of his body-wrap he produced a long, thin line, a tiny metal hook, and a short stick the whole contraption was tied to. Where he got the metal hook, Icebreaker had no idea. Surely it must have been some dragon’s originally?
The fisher got down, until he was lying flat on his belly, stuck some bait he pulled out of a small pouch onto the hook, and slowly crept forward until he was on the very edge of the opening. Icebreaker watched as the he lowered the whole thing down into the icy depths.
Then, for a long time, nothing happened. The only sounds was that of the wind, and icebreaker’s own controlled breathing. He didn’t dare move a muscle, and the little guy didn’t either. Occasionally he moved his line around , but that was it.
It was like this for a while.
Then, suddenly, the fisher jerked his whole body back. In one fluent motion he flung the arm holding the line back, and a long, silver shape was pulled out of the water with a burst of icy droplets.
Icebreaker hummed cheerfully.
The fish flopped out onto the ice, trashing and convulsing in the open air for a moment, before it was mercifully silenced with a firm punch to the head. The fisher held it up triumphantly, teeth again stretched in a happy, triumphant snarl, before placing it in a secure spot, and going right back to work.
That’s how it went for a while. Both of them enjoying the silence and each other’s company, and celebrating the occasional catch. The lone fish soon grew to be a modest bunch.
Icebreaker had no idea how these tiny creatures even came up with the idea of hunting fish like that, but it was damn good effective. He supposed even the Seawings would struggle to get as many catches in these freezing waters.
He observed as the little creature hauled yet another fish out. He heard from his teacher that these little guys were called Scavengers in the rest of the continent, because they scavenged a lot. Out here however, they were mostly known for their fishing, so they were called Fishers.
Icebreaker thought that, perhaps, his kind was not the best at naming things…
Another one flopped onto the ice.
No one in his home could say with confidence when this partnership started, but dragons from their village would occasionally seek out Fishers to assist them, and get a bounty of fish in return. It probably began when an Icewing tried to snack on one of them, but settled for some of their fish instead.
Icebreaker has been doing it more often than others. He was a bit fascinated with the small creatures. He heard that beloved Prince Winter himself was an enthusiast, so surely there couldn’t be anything wrong with that?
At the first glance, it seemed that the Fisher was doing all the work, and then Icebreaker would reap the rewards. So far, he only helped with making the hole. It’d be a daylight robbery, except he had his own job too.
Speaking of which, his ears twitched. He turned his snout to the wind and took a deep sniff, it was time to get to work.
The Icewing stood up, causing the Fisher to glance up at his giant form. Spines bristling with threat, standing up as if Icebreaker was an angry porcupine. He raised his wings to seem bigger, and got into a pouncing stance. His whole body tensed, muscles coiling, preparing for action. A deep, angry growl reverberated out of his throat, carried far and wide through the icy air. He could feel his ice breath swirling deep in his chest…
In the distance, a polar bear chose to look for an easier meal.
Icebreaker snorted – “That’s right”
Below him, the Fisher made that happy snarl of his again, and an even weirder gesture with his paw. He squeezed his tiny digits into a ball, and extended the shortest one up above the rest.
Icebreaker had no idea what it was supposed to mean, but appreciated it nontheless.
Their routine resumed quickly after the incident.
Icebreaker didn’t have to scare off any more predators on this day. A pack of wolves came close, but his mere presence was warning enough for most of them, leaving the little Fisher to continue his hunt.
By the time the sun started its descent in the sky, the small pile of fish grew to be an impressive mound, enough for both of them to share. He always felt kind of bad for taking the lion’s share, but the Fishers never seemed to complain… at least he thought so, and its not like their bodies needed as much food as a grown dragon’s, or a growing dragon’s for that matter. He packed his fish in the net he brought and soon it was time to say goodbye.
Icebreaker stretched his wings, preparing to take flight again with his reward in tow. His friend was packing his stuff up as well. All of it plus the fish got bundled up, and placed on this sort of wooden plank. It was perfectly flat and smooth, with a curved front and a rope attached to it for easy pulling. How the Fishers made this sort of stuff when they were supposed to be simple animals, Icebreaker had no idea.
Maybe the scrolls were wrong on that account?
Maybe they should even get a new name? It seemed these crafty creatures did a lot more than just fish or scavenge. What to name them though? Crafters? He wished he could just ask one…
The little guy finished his preparations and was heading out. He waved icebreaker goodbye with one of its tiny paws, and the dragon once again returned the gesture with one of his wings.
He watched as his friend disappeared between the trees. Each time he felt a bit worried, but the Fisher knew what he was doing. Nothing had eaten yet, after all.
He grabbed one of the fish from his net, and tossed it into his maw, quickly gulping it down for a bit of energy before the flight home. He made sure his net was secure against chest… and after a few leaping bounds was back in the air and flying back towards the village. He couldn’t wait to boast his bounty in front of Frostbite’s snout!
