Salvatore had spent the last couple of minutes frantically apologizing as Seline shook her hair in an attempt to dry it. No matter how many times she said it was alright, he still felt really bad. "I'm really, really, really sorry…" Seline was decently dry by now, so she didn't feel bad when she gave him a hug. (It wouldn't have mattered anyways, he was always in a state of perpetual dampness.) "Uncle Salvatore, I told you, it's alright!" Even though he still felt bad, Salvatore decided not to dwell on it. I'll beat myself up over it later. While he was trying to figure out what to talk about, something occurred to him. "What were you even doing?" It took her a minute to remember. "Oh, I was looking for the phantom fish! Uncle Karl mentioned it, and I wanted to surprise him!" Salvatore quickly grabbed a picture. "You mean this?" The photo was a little blurry, but there was clearly a large white fish in the water. "People call it the phantom fish because of its color, and because it apparently 'falls off your line like a ghost.'" He was quiet for a moment as he reminisced about the days before his corruption, when he was an accomplished fisher. "I wish I could catch it, but I'm not strong enough by myself." Seline jumped up. "I bet if we worked together, we could totally catch it! Then we could show Uncle Karl how cool we are!" Salvatore gave it some serious thought. It would be something to do, and it would be fun to rub it in Karl's face… Plus, I heard the Duke is great at cooking fish dishes, which are delicious… "Let's do it! Follow me!" The two walked through the reservoir, with Seline keeping up a stream of cheerful chatter. Eventually, they reached the room where he kept the fishing rods. Most of them were taller than she was, but eventually Salvatore found a rod that Seline would be able to use. After grabbing a thing of bait (without telling Seline what it was, he didn't think she would enjoy stabbing worms on a hook) and baiting their lines, the two walked out to the river. "Now, you hold the rod like this… A little higher. That's better." Seline tried to copy his movements, but he still had to correct her. "Try doing the movements for casting it without actually releasing the line." She swung it, nearly poking Salvatore's eye out. "Try again, a little more carefully this time." After the two practiced for a little more time, Salvatore was convinced that she was ready. "On 3, okay? 1… 2… 3!" They casted their lines, and Seline didn't even come close to poking any eyes. "And now, we wait!" They sat and watched the water for a few minutes, until Seline felt something tugging on the end of her line. "Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! What should I do?!" Salvatore dropped his rod and stood behind her. "Pull it up, and slowly reel in the line. Don't panic! You've got it!" With some gentle coaching, Seline was eventually able to catch her first fish. It was really small, but neither of them cared. "You did great! I didn't have to help you at all!" That was a lie, and he knew it, but he still said it. "...What do we do with it?" Carefully, Salvatore pulled it off the hook. "We'll toss it back in and let it swim away."
Salvatore was so happy to get back into the fishing zone. He had forgotten how nice it felt to feel the tug of a fish on the line, and how satisfying it was when you reeled it in. It was even better to watch Seline learn how to fish. "Hey, Seline…" She looked up from the water. "Yeah, Uncle Salvatore?" He fidgeted nervously. "If you wanted to… You could come over and fish again. I really like fishing with people- but don't feel like you have to!" He was worried that he had said the wrong thing, but Seline gave him a big smile. "It's alright! I really like fishing with you and I'd love to do it again!" She was going to say something more, but she suddenly felt such a large tug on her line that it almost threw her into the water again. "WOAH!" Salvatore came and helped her reel the line in, and even he was struggling. "Do you think it's the phantom fish?!" She asked as the two pulled. "It can't be much else! It's putting up a real fight!" Seline started laughing even though she was out of breath. "A reel fight! Get it? Reel?" If both of his hands weren't on the fishing rod, Salvatore would've facepalmed. "That is… A terrible pun." Still, he couldn't help but giggle. "This fish is really strong!" They were pulling as hard as they could, and yet it seemed like the fish hadn't gotten any closer to being caught. "We're gonna have to chance losing it. When I say go, we're gonna pull back really hard, okay?" Seline nodded and looked determined. "Ready… GO!" They did their best to walk backwards, and eventually with their combined strength, they managed to pull the fish out. "Woah… It's the phantom fish!" And so it was. Salvatore studied the fish. "It's quite large! That explains why it was so difficult to catch." Seline jumped up and punched the air. "WOO-HOO! I bet we're the first ever people to catch it!" He didn't think that was true, but he didn't want to spoil her fun. "Should we let it go, or keep it?" Seline looked at the fish for a second. "We should let it go. That way, somebody else can feel really happy when they catch it." Salvatore tossed it back into the water, and they watched it swim away. "That was awesome." Seline said, and he agreed. "And now, you'll be able to tell Karl that you actually caught the phantom fish!" She nudged him. "Hey, we both caught it together!" That was very true. "You're right. We're the best fishers in the world!" And in that moment, where he was being silly with his niece, he felt happier than Mother Miranda had ever made him. Now, I don't feel as bad about lying to her. I think it's worth it, actually.
(A/N: We have a discord server! Just DM me at XellyXelmos#7083 and I'll invite you! Hope to see you there! ^^)
