Chapter 166: Chapter 146: The Tempest

When the morning came, a howling wind was blowing against our tent. When I sat up, the sensation of sand between my fingernails and toenails welcomed me. It was a new constant that took some getting used to, so I tried to put it out of my head. Agni and Zahra were hunched together in front of the tent’s flap. Keke sat on her knees behind them. The opening was cracked just enough so that they could see outside.

“Morning,” I said with a casual wave. Keke turned her head, facing me with a smile.

“Good morning, Matt,” she said in a hush.

Everyone else was still sound asleep. I wasn’t too surprised since Keke and I had turned in pretty early. We’d taken second watch, but other than that, the night was pretty uneventful. Although my back complained from the lack of support, my mind felt rested.

“What’s going on out there?” I asked.

“A sandstorm,” Agni said, clicking her tongue. “Gon’ have to wait it out for now.”

“Does this usually happen?”

“From time to time,” she shrugged.

“How long’s it been going on for?”

“At least an hour,” answered Keke. She leaned backward, pulling her knees close to her chin.

“I see.” I threw the covers off and stretched my arms above my head. Breathing out deep, I looked around, unsure what we should do next. “Should die down pretty soon then, right?”

“Not necessarily,” said Zahra. “Sometimes, they can last for the whole day. Depends on how the wind is feeling.”

I toyed around with the idea of waking up Lara to have her ask Wind directly, but the sound was kind of nice to hear after dealing with the breezeless, unrelenting heat for the last few days. As short as the reprieve could be, I was willing to kick back for a while and listen to the wind.

“Wonder if we should wake up the others,” I wondered aloud.

“Leave them be,” said Zahra. “They need their rest. Especially the boy.”

I cocked an eyebrow. “Tristan? Why?”

“He and—” Zahra paused, looking in Destiny’s direction. She tapped the tips of her ring and thumb fingers together in apparent thought.

“Destiny?” I offered.

“Yes, Destiny. Thank you. I apologize. There are a lot of names to remember, and I’m not too great in that department,” Zahra admitted.

I shrugged. “Lot of people to remember. I get it.”

“Those two were up late.” Zahra paused with the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “We should let them rest a while longer.”

“Was it something bad?”

A snicker escaped Keke’s lips. “Hardly.”

Okay, what is it that you know that I don’t?

Agni let the flap of the tent fall, then sat down in a cross-legged position. “Well, this might be a good time to teach ya somethin’ neat, Keke. You seem like a natural-born fisher.”

“Oh, well, thank you,” Keke said, playing with a lock of her hair. “Teach me what exactly?”

“Ever been sand fishin’?”

There was a pause. “You can’t be serious.” Keke scooched closer to Agni, her eyes alit with the wonder of a child.

“Oh, it’s true, alright.” Agni laughed. “We’ll hafta be careful with the storm an’ all, but I can take ya. Think ya can handle the sand?”

I already knew her answer.

Keke rose to her feet. “Handle it? I’ll master it, I promise. Please teach me.”

I smiled. Keke was clearly trying to keep her voice down around the others. Her tail swished rapidly behind her.

“Can I join too?” I asked.

“You can fish?” Agni asked as she stood up.

“Uh, not well.” I scratched the side of my neck. “Barely, I guess. But I’d still like to watch. Maybe I can learn something from it.”

“Sure. I don’t have any issue with that. Ya both wanna make sure your faces are covered just cuz of the sand. It hurts.” Agni ventured to one corner of the tent, rummaging through her [Cat Pack]. “C’mere, Keke. You’re gon’ want to switch up your gear some.”

Keke carried herself with quiet humility, but I could tell from the shake of her hands and how she sucked in her lips that she was struggling to contain her excitement.

By the time they finished, not a single bit of Keke’s skin—save for her eyes—could be seen underneath all the cloth. Fabrics of beige fell upon her in layers. Along the edges of the clothing were the stitched silhouettes of fish, diamonds, and waves. Tight, brown leather covered her arms and legs, coming up to her elbows and knees. It looked extremely comfortable.

“It’s a snug fit,” Keke remarked, opening and closing her hands.

“Sorry about that, it’s my sister’s,” Agni said with an awkward smile. She was putting on the last pieces of her own attire as she spoke. “It might be a bit small.”

“Not at all,” Keke said with a shake of her head. “That’s a good thing if it’s snug. I prefer that. Makes it feel like it was made for me.”

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“It looks good on you,” I said, making no effort to hide my wandering gaze. It hugged her curves and allowed my imagination to do some of the work.

“Oh my goodness, you look magnificent, Keke!” Cannoli squealed from behind us. Her sudden clamor had my heart leaping into my throat.

When did you wake up? Were you watching the whole time?

Keke let out a nervous laugh. “Thanks. We’re going to do some sand fishing.”

“Wait, really?” Cannoli’s eyes widened. “What can you catch out there?”

“All kinds of interesting Encroachers,” said Zahra. “Some of them make great meals if you have a method to preserve them.” She glanced at Agni. “I’m assuming you have a way to do so?”

“You betcha! No shortage of salt here!” said Agni.

A slew of questions came to mind as they were talking. If they were sand fishing, did this mean that none of the fish were underwater, just sand? So, did that mean they breathed through the sand? Then again, I was working under the assumption that whatever they were going to pull out of the sand was actually classified as fish.

“Are there actual fish in the sand? Like, the same kinds of gilled fish you’d pull out of water? I’ve never been to Ichi Island, so this is a new concept for me,” I asked.

“There are,” said Zahra. “I understand that pulling fish out of the sand can sound strange if you’ve never done it.”

“You said there’s no sand fishing from where you all came from, yeah?” Agni asked.

Keke, Cannoli, and I shook our heads.

“No such thing on Ni Island,” said Keke. She felt around her neck for the hood of her cloak, then pulled it over her head. “I’ve heard rumors from some other girls on my island. I thought they were making it all up—the beach is the closest thing we have to dunes, and those are a far cry from what’s out here.”

Thank you. I’m glad for once I don’t feel like the only one who doesn’t know what’s going on.

“There’s going to be more than fish out there. Lots of different Encroachers like to come out for the storms. The clouds cast a lot of shade, making the heat more tolerable,” said Zahra.

“Oh, I see,” Cannoli said barely above a mumble.

Agni reached into her [Cat Pack] and pulled out a compass. “There’s a great spot just west of here. It’ll be clear of some of the more annoyin’ roaches, too. Let’s get movin’ before the storm dies.”

—

My heart skipped a beat when we reached the sand fishing spot. It was a bizarre sight. We stood at the edge of a giant crevasse filled with sand rushing from east to west like a fast-flowing river. Occasionally, an Encroacher would breach the surface of the sand, soaring high into the air like a bass trying to climb a waterfall.

“Are you sure this is safe?” I asked, swallowing. I’d seen too many movies where the heroes fell into pits of quicksand, never to return.

“Ya ain’t fishin’, so don’t ya be worryin’ ‘bout it!” Agni screamed through the buffet of the storm.

“This is so exciting!” yelled Keke. She stood at the edge of the crevasse, undaunted by the sweeping sand river. “So, how does this work?”

Agni set her pack down behind her and yanked the fishing rod off the side. “First of all, ya’ll wanna make sure you keep one foot frontin’ the other!” She demonstrated the stance, her fishing rod held out in front of her. “Just like this! That way, if somethin’ snags ya or surprises ya, then ya don’t get pulled in! Got it?”

“Got it!”

Oh my god, it can happen. Unpleasant images of being swept away beneath the sand clouded my thoughts as Agni continued.

“Secondly! I take it you’re aware of [Fisherman’s Sense of Danger], yeah?” Keke nodded, and Agni carried on. “Don’t hafta worry ‘bout it here! Sand fishin’ don’t have that kinda danger!”

That didn’t seem right to me. So far, the Defiled threat didn’t seem as bad here as it did on San or Shi Island, but I had a hard time believing that a Defiled could never show up, especially in a giant river of sand.

 “Are you sure?” Keke seemed as uneasy about it as I was.

“Yeah! Don’t worry ‘bout it. Really!” Agni confirmed.

The entire situation made me uncomfortable, but I wasn’t in a position to argue with her. She was the native, and we were the foreigners. When in Rome, right?

Beyond the proper stance, there wasn’t much more to sand fishing than to regular fishing. Even so, I couldn’t resist the urge to stand directly behind Keke. You know, just in case. 

The sandstorm calmed to a dull roar, enough to where we could finally talk to one another instead of screaming. The clouds still coated the sky like a spotty layer of paint, but it was noticeably cooler than the day before. 

“Matt, really. I’m fine,” Keke said.

“I know. It’s always important to have a spotter. Take it from someone who learned the hard way.”

Keke giggled, pecking me on the cheek from behind her veil. “You’re always so thoughtful. Thanks, Matt.”

I rested one hand on Keke’s shoulder, watching as she and Agni pulled Encroacher after Encroacher from the sand. They wildly varied in size and shape: cubed roaches with tentacle-like tendrils, gray monstrosities with leathery skin, rainbow-scaled dwarfs that glimmered in the short bursts of sunlight. As Agni said, there was plenty to catch in there. 

An assortment of bugs and lizards emerged on the banks, crawling and slithering past us without a second look, including some that were disturbingly reminiscent of giant centipedes. I shivered, glad that they paid us no mind.

When Keke snagged her last catch, all I could wonder was how all of this would taste later.

Can’t wait to see what Cannoli and Agni make out of these. I glanced at the gray giant that lay at Agni’s feet. There’s no way that’ll fit in a frying pan.