Chapter Text
In the beginning, Elliott had been ecstatic for his name to be the second most common name in the rumor-mill of Pelican Town. News traveled quickly around here and newcomers were few and far between, the hope was that his name would leave the minds of his fellow villagers for at least a brief while. He should have told himself it didn’t matter what anyone thought a long time ago but sometimes a man needs to wallow and wait for something to change.
Surprisingly, he heard first from Willy about a first-hand encounter with the newcomer.
The owner of the Fish Shop had been pleased about the new arrival’s interest in fishing. Unfortunately, that was about all Elliott had gleaned from him after an entire meal.
“He walked in here. He picked up that rod real tender and I could tell when he put down the coin that he has the making for a good angler.” The man said proudly, miming his words.
"You and him might make fine friends. Did he seem like a real city-slicker or a humble outdoorsman?” Elliott asked, a gossiping grin blossoming on his face. Pelican Town almost made word-of-mouth seem more like a sacred ritual to bring connection than anything else. He was a fan of interpersonal relationships, at the very least his gossiping stayed with him and was only for research purposes not for ill-intent.
For the first time since Elliott had met him, Willy guffawed. It was a rough sound that filled the Fish Shop’s empty after-hours showroom.
“I told you, he looked like an angler.” Willy had no sense of character past fisherman or non-fisherman, so Elliott nodded like he understood what the requisites were and sat up straighter at the counter of the shop. The only ‘angler’ he had ever met really closely for comparison was Willy.
He would need to keep an eye out for a rough older gentleman then.
After a short while they both exited the shop and parted ways to enjoy their own admiration of the relaxing benefits on Pelican Town beach.
“Thanks for sharing your soup and your company, Willy. I hope you have a splendid evening, and that the sea treats you and your endeavors kindly.”
“Have a nice one!”
-
His theory about the newcomer being a gruff fisherman was refuted by Leah a day later. Upon meeting him for the first time she had phoned directly to Elliott’s place.
“He is so sweet, I think he’s our age.” She gave him no time to even greet her. “He came knocking on my door to apologize for stepping on some leeks out in the field. He thought they were mine!” She giggled.
“What’s his-“
“Oh!” She exclaimed, and Elliott thought he could hear her blushing through the phone. “Just bring them over to the kitchen, I will whip something up for us, my favorite salad. Did you see any bugs while you were out there?” Her hand pressed over the receiver only made her voice quieter but she was shouting across her small house. “Sorry, Elliott, I have to go. Yen just walked in with a few extra dandelions from the yard. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”
Before he could say goodbye, the receiver clacked and went dead silent. Yen, the sweet angler . Elliott chuckled at the arrangement of words, still trying to piece together what sort of man he might end up meeting when he finally had the chance. He decided to think of a good way to greet him when he inevitably ran into him in town.
*-*-*
14th of Spring, Year 1
Yen had been here two weeks, the first few days he stared at the daunting disaster of a farm that sat outside his new home in despair. He thought it would take a miracle to make this place livable. He was in desperate need of money already, seeing as he had spent all of it on this new bag and more seeds at Pierre’s, and a fishing rod that he thought he would use to relax when he was not farming.
He had set himself to ‘work’ mode. He couldn’t tell if this was any better than his desk job, it was certainly less money but he did get to meet lots of new faces and that was something he didn’t get in the office.
Two weeks went by and he had spent them doing back breaking labor. Cracking stones to bits, and splicing logs into wood. By the end of every day, he was beyond exhausted, sore, and alone. His new life was starting now, and he could not afford to shy away from the amount of labor it would involve. His house had decorations and a few necessities that someone must have been kind enough to set up for him. That alone had made his heart melt and the town had immediately become redeemable. His house had been scary, a cabin in the woods, at first.
He had lived alone before but there was something eerie about the way the owls hooted and the moon spilled in through the window across from his bed, filtered by tree branches shaking their shadows on the creaky wooden floor. The fright of it made him jump out of bed in the morning, excited to see what had occurred in the land overnight. It also made him run into his bed in the evening, illogically terrified of whatever stayed up at night in the unfamiliar terrain.
It was exhilarating when he finally felt ready to sow those parsnip seeds in his front yard. He had stared at the soil, waiting for the seeds to show any sign of movement. He sat there leaning against the giant log he couldn’t break and worked up a sweat doing absolutely nothing for an hour. When the seeds showed no intention of growing under a watchful eye, he heaved a sigh, pulled the training rod off the front porch, and tried to figure out how to cast it into his little pond in the yard.
He remembered Willy had offered him a set of instructions to get him started. When he pulled it out of his bag, it was just lazily scrawled notes of a sun-drunk man that said things like ‘Feel the rhythm of the line in the water’.
There was no rhythm of the water here in the standing ponds on his property. It seemed that water moved less with trash riddling its waters. And by Yoba there was a lot of trash. Some teens must have been using this creepy plot of land for hanging out, judging by the Joja Cola in the waters. It was almost as much work as chopping wood or breaking rocks. The trash was all interesting and most of it was heavy. The line bent and every time he brought it back up it helped him figure out how to pull it out of the water at just the right angle. The soda cans he somehow hooked would run right across the top and then swing up in front of him disappointingly.
He rather fancied himself good at fishing after an afternoon of practice. Willy didn’t appear the type that would laugh at your failings but Yen thought that this achievement was surefire to impress him once he found the confidence to fish by the docks.
Too desperate for money he could not settle into fishing yet. It took a lot of energy and he hadn’t figured out how to make trash into cash or a meal.
On his third go at fishing he had decided to move to the Cindersap pond and fish off the dock there. It was early morning when he began, the sun was not yet out but the bugs were. The fluttering insects skidded across the pond and left lines in the water. It had felt like a lucky morning, even the tv fortune teller had welcomed him to town and said the spirits were in good humor. Yen could have figured that out by himself, looking at the way the sun was coming up over the trees in the distance and the sound of birds that had woken him up that morning.
He hooked his first fish ever in that forest's pond. Its body slid through the top of the water as he reeled it in, and when he pulled it up he couldn’t believe that there was a fish on the end of his line, shining in the mid-morning sun. The glee built up in his body and quickly turned into anxiety when it jumped, still stuck on the hook. He took off in a rush through town, crossed the bridge, flew by a stranger on the dock, and into the Fish Shop.
Willy did not startle at the bell, he probably had heard Yen bounding on the docks outside well before he opened the door.
“I caught a fish! Help!” Yen shouted, feeling suddenly childish for his incompetence.
“Oh! Splendid catch, kid!” He exclaimed, noting the wild smile of concern and jubilation on the young fisherman’s face. “How’s about you sell it to Willy here at the shop? I’ll give ya thirty-seven gold pieces for that sunfish, she’s a nice size.”
Thirty-seven gold pieces?!
“Absolutely!” He nodded, handing over his entire fishing rod.
Willy laughed and led him over to a particularly gruesome looking countertop that would never be clean no matter how much it was scrubbed. He kindly showed him how to remove it from his hook and dispatched the fish. With new knowledge, Yen was able to sigh his relief and exchange some gold. He would be on his way back to Cindersap in no time.
He stepped out of Willy’s Fish Shop and was greeted with the smell of salty air and a few gulls sounding out their hellos to the afternoon. Part of him wanted to stay out here all day.
It was a gorgeous afternoon now and the water lapped against the wooden dock legs. As calm as it was he thought he better stick to his lucky pond and started back up the boardwalk. Around the corner of the shop was an individual, still standing halfway up the dock. He had not even greeted them on his run by earlier.
Better late than never, he thought.
Yen wiped his hands on the seat of his jeans, there were no fish guts on them but it sure felt that way. There was earth still caked under his nails and sweat on his brow. Sooner or later he had to meet everyone and there was no room for personas around here. His dirt-filled life was part of his new persona and there was no hiding it.
The man on the dock did not strike him as a fisher, in fact he was staring at a seagull on a rock not too far from the dock, hands folded behind him thoughtfully. His jacket was a deep red that was darker than the hair that tumbled over his shoulders, everything about him looked clean, even from back here. He looked out of place.
“Hi,” Yen waved as he walked along, giving the man an opportunity to give a simple pleasantry or engage further if he wished.
The truth was that there was not a soul in Pelican Town who had given up the opportunity to do more than just exchange pleasantries.
“Ah, the new farmer we've all been expecting.” His words sounded almost rehearsed when he turned to regard him. “And whose arrival has sparked many a conversation! I'm Elliott.” He held out a, unsurprisingly, clean hand and Yen shook it. “I live in that little cabin by the beach. It's a pleasure to meet you.”
“I’m Yen. Likewise, friend.” Yen greeted, all kindness at the forefront.
Pleased with the introduction, Elliott turned back towards the seagull but continued to speak.
“I saw that gorgeous glittering fish you ushered in just now. I suppose you sold it to Willy, since you no longer have it?” His eyes drifted towards the empty pole.
“It was my first catch ever actually! I was hoping Willy could teach me a few things but he seems to be–-retired maybe?” Well, he seemed to be not busy at all but also constantly unavailable.
“Willy spends a lot of time at the counter, selling his catches of the day. You would do best to find him in the evenings when the door has closed. He is not exactly an adventurous fisherman anymore, he drops his line at the front door to the shop when the sun sets. You still might not find him suited for lessons at that time. But he will talk with you if you are around long enough and express your inclination to fishing, I’m sure.”
“Do you fish, then?”
“No, no I don’t fish.” He admitted, glancing out of the corner of his eye at him, cheeks flushed with an embarrassment that Yen did not quite understand. “I’m a writer. I prefer to observe the fish rather than to catch them. Plus, I have no penchant for the latter.”
A writer, huh? He wondered why he seemed embarrassed to be a writer or to not be a fisherman, but daylight was wasting and Yen had learned when to stop prying at people around here. It was best to stop a conversation short of further personal questions. It made it easier to get a pleasant goodbye.
“Well,” Yen started, in an elongated southern drawl that didn’t actually suit him any, “Elliott, it has been nice to meet you. Hopefully, I’ll see you around?”
“I’m sure you will.” Elliott nodded, and he didn’t extend a hand out but his smile was still friendly.
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