Heretical Fishing

Chapter 48: Decoration

Sergeant Snips, first chosen of master Fischer, sentinel of these lands, and de facto leader of the local Rock Crab population, collected some rather lovely looking rocks.

She'd picked them for their pretty color, and as she inspected the pearlescent stones already piled up, she nodded.

Master will like them.

She and her squad of crabs hadn't collected many. Well, she supposed that was relative, but for her project, she needed much more than the meager collection piled before her.

Another of her crabby subordinates walked from the crevice and dropped two more of the rocks onto the pile, nodded to Snips, and walked back toward the cave.

They were located on Fischer's land, in a little-explored area of the southern coast. One of the Rock Crabs had flagged it for Snips herself to check in on, and her initial annoyance was quickly replaced by wonder, perhaps even a little gratitude. Not that she would tell the sadistic crab that—it was the same one that kept getting itself stuck in the crab pot, and she'd started to suspect it was doing so on purpose.

With a bubbled sigh, she set off into the crevice to look for more of the rocks—the sooner they collected enough, the sooner she could return and get started on the construction.

Making her way down into the hole, she pushed past three other crabs making their way up with stones, each of them cowering before her magnificently spiked body.

She followed the curve down to the left, opposite the tunnel to the right she'd taken earlier; the Rock Crabs were going that way, and she didn't want to squeeze past them.

Her mind wandered elsewhere as she moved.

She was thinking of how much she loved the master, and of ways to get Corporal Claws back for the stones she constantly threw, when she found it.

As Snips rounded a bend, she arrived in a large room. There was some sort of lump in the back of the space, and as she peered at it, light exploded, blinding her in the dark depths of the crevice.

She fell back and peeked at it through the gap of her claw, squinting to block out as much light as possible.

A pearlescent rock stood in the middle of a cavernous room, glowing with a spectrum of different colored lights and bathing each wall in its splendor.

Unbidden, her legs scuttled forward, drawing her in toward the stunning sight. Different aspects of light reflected from the rock, moving through churning water and causing the colors to dance.

Her eyes adjusted to the shift in brightness, and with a start, she realized the light wasn't coming from the rock; the sun was high above, its light beaming down through a crack above and bouncing off the pearlescent boulder.

The realization struck her with a sense of awe, and as it did so, the light faded, returning the world to darkness.

This stone, this source of such beauty, had sat here for untold years, undisturbed and unmolested. She had come along at the perfect moment, the single glimpse of time each day that the sun would hit the stone and reveal the hidden magnificence of this place.

She couldn't wait to steal it.

Master will love it.

***

Corporal Claws was lazing in the sun, dreaming of the perfect rock.

Her mind's eye imagined a quintessential stone, almost perfectly spherical, but with a small dip in one side that made it fit the paw just right.

If anyone had been watching her sleeping form, they would have seen her whiskers quiver in unbelieving delight. As it so happened, someone was.

Sergeant Snips upended the pot of sea water, pouring a steady stream of the cold liquid over the Corporal's illustrious face.

"Glbgglgblblgglb," Corporal Claws said, the stream of water flooding her mouth when she tried to screech in outrage.

She opened her eyes, and through the stream of water assaulting her, saw a crab blowing rather self-indulgent bubbles.

Diving to the side, spluttering and reaching into her pocket, she withdrew a rock.

Before she even hit the ground, her forepaw slung out, the stone flying and colliding with Snips' forehead.

Tink.

Snips rubbed her carapace, and Claws prepared for the crabs retaliatory charge, but it never came.

Instead, Sergeant Snips gestured her over with a claw as she walked for the ocean.

Corporal Claws, expecting a trap or some such underhanded tactic, followed at a safe distance, bristling at the rude awakening.

Snips lead her to the south. They passed the river mouth and continued further on. They had almost reached the mountains to the south, but before they could, the treacherous crab turned toward the rocky shore.

Corporal Claws chirped to herself in confusion when she caught sight of the other crabs.

They were outside a great crack in the underwater cliff of the shore, surrounding and protecting a gigantic pile of pretty rocks.

At the sight of the treasures, she swam past Snips, intent on inspecting the treasures. They were reminiscent of the stones held within oysters, but were larger and of poorer quality. Still, in other ways, they were better than the tiny oyster stones.

For one, they were large, about the size of the rocks she favored; she knew she could use one to crack open shells, bonk predators, or even as a projectile against her shelled nemesis, Snips.

One crab scuttled forward, clacking its snippers at her.

She cocked her head.

Crab wants to fight?

Before Corporal Claws could act, Sergeant Snips approached the crab, chastising it with a tap on the head.

The assaulted crab scuttled back, dipping its head in apology.

The otter nodded, accepting the show of deference.

In her magnanimity, she only pocketed two of the stones out of respect for the crab's showing of respect.

Sergeant Snips led her into the crevice, and they followed a winding path deep into the cliff-face. The ambient lighting got dimmer as they went, the only source of said light coming from thin cracks in the crevice above.

Snips rounded a bend, and stopping in place, gestured for Claws to move past.

For a moment, Corporal Claws thought she had made a mistake, and that she'd walked right into the crab's trap. That brief bout of paranoia disappeared when she saw the rock in the middle of the room.

A crack in the crevice above had been recently widened; debris of the slate stone was piled to one side of the space. The light of the day above highlighted the boulder, and her eyes went wide.

Before she knew it, she was at the pearlescent stone, and she ran her paws over it.

It was... beautiful.

Each day since she'd awoken, Corporal Claws had understood more of the world she occupied. It was an entirely alien experience, yet completely welcome. She felt more whole, like each bit of information brought her a bit closer to completion.

Alongside her growing awareness, she understood more of Sergeant Snips' bubbles and gestures each day.

So when Sergeant Snips joined her by the glittering stone and blew a stream of bubbles, accompanied by a slew of gestures, Corporal Claws understood her.

She wants my help to lift the rock out...

Claws nodded, chirped, swam to the surface to get a lungful of air, then darted back down through the column of water.

With both powerful pincers, Snips hefted the stone out of the sand and walked toward the wall. A full half of its size had been obscured beneath the ocean floor, and Claws swam under it, helping her hard-shelled rival get to the sheer rock.

When they got to the wall, Snips started climbing it, her spindly legs digging deep into its surface and easily taking hold. Corporal Claws helped hold it steady, her powerful body pushing it further toward the surface.

The boulder stood no chance against their combined efforts, and they easily pushed it up and over the side of the crevice above.

They both crawled up beside it, and Corporal Claws couldn't take her eyes off their resplendent haul.

The sun shone through the rock, sending rainbows of light out to color the surrounding slate. She held a paw to it, taking comfort in its study touch.

She pulled a rock from her pocket, one of the ones she'd requisitioned from the pile below. Holding it up, the light did the same thing to the stone, just on a much smaller scale.

Snips blew reprimanding bubbles, and Claws just chirped, shrugging.

What was she supposed to do—just leave the rocks? That went against everything she knew.

To change the subject, Claws gave a questioning chirp.

Snips nodded, and together, they moved the rock back toward the ocean.

***

From atop her glittery throne, Corporal Claws reassessed her opinion on the brown-looking crabs that served under Sergeant Snips.

Despite their relative inadequacy, they had their uses—such as carrying the pearlescent boulder currently serving as her chair.

Snips walked alongside the other crabs, her lone eye diligently roaming the seascape for any threats. As they traveled, Snips explained her plan, and Claws couldn't help but admit it was a good one.

Her moment of leisure ended when they returned to Fischer's shore; both Claws and Snips headed for the saltwater pond.

As per Snips' plan, they resumed their excavation, making the hole deeper and altering its shape.

As they worked, the crab squad collected the rest of the iridescent rocks, making a pile of them on the sand.

With a clack and a bubble, Snips told Claws to stop, and they both climbed a wall, peering down at what they'd made so far.

The pond was significantly deeper, the sand having been scooped up and out by their combined efforts. Before, the sand had filled in over time, and the hole had, hour-by-hour, gotten shallower.

So began the next step of Snips' plan.

Using previously collected rocks—those of the normal, bland variety—they laid a bed of stones along the bottom and side of the pond. At first, the placement had been haphazard, but as the normal rocks diminished, each stone was placed with deliberate care.

Next, Snips gestured at a collection of larger rocks, all plain, but much bigger than the others. Claws' head tilted all the way to the side as she considered the stones.

She let Snips place most of them, unsure of what she intended to create, but jumped to help in lifting the largest few—they were bigger than the massive pearlescent boulder, and even with Snips' impressive strength, their size made them unwieldy.

Finally, it was finished, and they appreciated their accomplishment together.

The entire pond was lined, a mesh of dark stones holding back the sand. In the center, Snips had created a cave, the stones placed ingeniously to make a tunnel that was deep and winding yet structurally stable.

Claws wondered about its purpose, but she didn't have long to consider; it was time for Corporal Claws' favorite part of the plan, after all: decoration.

They collected the pearlescent stones, and with careful deliberation, spread them intermittently over the carpet of rocks. They glittered in the afternoon sun, casting colorful reflections. The darker stones drank in the light, but that didn't diminish the scene's beauty.

Snips tapped Claws on the shoulder, and when she turned to look at the crab, Snips pointed toward the ocean, where the boulder awaited them.

Together, and with help from the squad of crabs—who were largely ineffective, but tried their darndest—they walked the pearlescent boulder to the center of the pond.

Snips had left a dip in the top of the constructed cave; the boulder easily settled into it, a final testament to Snips' planning prowess.

The sun, high above, came out from behind a wispy cloud, transforming the world. Its rays beamed down, hitting the boulder and painting the landscape. The colors were contained within the walls of the pond, the shifting spectrum of light a stark contrast to the sandy vista beyond.

"W-what?" a voice asked from behind them.

Claws and Snips both turned, eyes widening.