Chapter 4: Fish and the Cat

Bright orange hues of sunlight beamed into the Inn's room. Hale rubbed his eyes with a drowsy look, sat up, and looked outside the window of the room with a blank expression and tousled hair.

Hale was feeling inexplicably calm. It was his first night not sleeping at home, and the unfamiliar furniture and curtains left him with a dissonant feeling. Hale lifted himself out of the bed and stretched. Outside the window from this angle, he could see Selby chewing on hay idly. Seeing her put him in a lighter mood.

He wasn't alone, in some sense, and this made him feel reassured.

A smell wafted from him. He lifted a single arm and sniffed, holding back a retch. He should probably shower soon, but he didn't have any other clothes besides the ones on his back. He scratched his chin as he tried to do the math. He'd just have to buy another set after selling more fish.

He picked up Selby's saddle from the back of a chair and his fishing pole from beside the door. His hands were full as he walked out, and on the way down the stairs, he accidentally bumped into the receptionist.

"Sorry about that, Mister." Hale awkwardly smiled apologetically at him. The receptionist just frowned at him with a cold look in his eyes, he was clearly irritated by him.

Bad Thoughts +2

(-3/10)

Hale continued down the stairs, distracted by his plans for the day. He threw the saddle onto Selby and headed to a general shop.

Inside the shop were a variety of things, from wicker baskets to shoes. He picked out a plain outfit, a short-sleeved shirt and thick jeans. Seeing the baskets he picked out one of those too, as it would make carrying fish a lot easier.

When he went to pay his back was coated in a thin sheet of sweat at the price. As he walked out the store, he kept the items tightly clutched to his side like a man carrying a gold filled pouch in a bad neighborhood. 

From now on, he would look at stalls first before heading into shops, the prices were exorbitantly lower in stalls in comparison. He was a man of price rather than of quality for now.

Hale headed to the river next, the sound of his stomach rumbling in his ears. Selby galloped out of the town and to the river smoothly. As soon as he hopped off she started to drink from the river. The water sparkled from the sunlight. It was a tranquil view setting a calm tone for the day.

It didn't take long for him to catch a bulky fish, its whiskers flickering at him as it wiggled. His fingers held onto the fish's mouth tightly, he wasn't about to lose his breakfast.

Hale threw the fish into the wicker basket and started to set up a small fire, luckily he had a flint and steel on hand. His mother had told him to bring it along in case it got dark on his way back home…

With a few strikes against some dead grass and the insides of a cattail, a light orange glow sparked and soon became a crackling red fire.

He went to the riverbank and grabbed a handful of cold wet mud and caked the fish in the light brown gloop. Hale threw it over the fire's hot coals and watched, the smell of cooking fish had him salivating.

Using some sticks he pulled it out and started to scrape the mud with a knife off of the fish, soon his hands were pulling out cooked meat and eating it with eager anticipation. It was just as good as he had imagined it to be, refreshing and tender.

Hale licked his lips as he looked at the hollow fish, only the skin was left but he could use that as bait.

After showering and a few hours of reeling in fish, he carried the new and now full wicker basket to the town's fish seller he visited previously. He put the basket on top of Selby's back and held it as he walked through town with her beside him. 

A low guttural sound was heard from the alley beside him and he looked over, it was that same cat he had met the other night. Staring at him with those mildly intelligent green eyes.

Hale plucked out a small fish from his basket and threw it at the cat.

(Good Thoughts +1)

(2/10)

After quickly grabbing it with its mouth, the cat bolted off. Hale could only shake his head with mixed emotions.

After selling his fish he counted his change, he made enough to stay another night at the River Bed inn. His thoughts wandered, he knew he couldn't stay in this small city for too long, he needed to start looking for clues on the purple flames that had engulfed his village. Though this city was the perfect place to start investigating because it was close to the incident.

Unfortunately his financial situation was more than poor, he would need to stay here for at least a month to gather money. He could investigate and also look for more skills in turn.

Hale wasn't in too much of a rush for his second skill, seeing as there wasn't anyone in this city that could provide him with a better one. Well besides that peculiar cat and the lady dressed in leaves he had met.

What Hale was more curious about with the system was how to upgrade his skills past crude and level up. He was curious to know the conditions for them.

Would using the skill often level it up? Would continuing to talk to the person who gave him the skill?

He'd have to test it out, and he quite liked the old man who had sold him the fishing pole. Hale seemed genuinely kind despite Hale's intimidating appearance, so he didn't mind furthering his friendship with him.

Half a month passed, and the summer heat began to rise. In this amount of time he had saved up quite a chunk of coins, making a few from reselling the items he had bought on his mothers list, though he'd have to dip into the money occasionally for certain daily necessities and a new fishing pole.

The black scraggly cat would sometimes appear on his path after his morning fishing session and wait patiently for him to give them a fish. It's good thoughts toward him had improved from a two to a nine. After today he would most definitely receive another skill. 

His relationship with the fishing pole vendor, Mr. Mahi, as he had come to know, had also improved significantly over the course of the month, going from a zero to ten. Unfortunately it wouldn't budge any further than that no matter how much he spoke with him. The issue was a glaring one, he'd have to do more than just speak with him. The conditions for getting past the barrier were unclear though and would probably take time.

He hadn't run into anyone else in this small city with a unique aura. Overall the best possible candidate was the cat, he was also curious about what skill he would receive.

Would it be something cat related, he wondered.

He also wondered how he received this ability… it was too coincidental that he'd receive some strange ability after the disaster. Was his ability and the disaster related to the mastermind? 

He couldn't tell anyone of this strange ability for answers either. He could only imagine what would happen to him. He'd be seen as crazy.

Questions piled in his head. Were there any disadvantages to having this ability? Would it affect the person he's taking the skills from?

He couldn't avoid people forever, but he couldn't deny that without these skills he wouldn't make it far enough to learn who was behind his mothers death. He'd have to take advantage of this ability even at the risk of unknown consequences.

His mind would thrum with pain from the overthinking.

Despite the occasional bouts of loneliness and anxiety, he would stick to his money making routine. 

Each day was a strict routine of fishing and selling, only established to distract himself from the fact that he was alone in this world. Hail subconsciously rejected sitting and marinating in his thoughts, but like all beings you can't avoid the unavoidable.

Some nights he'd wake up in a cold sweat, the lingering feeling of purple flames being whisked onto a wind and hitting his face were clear yet obscure in his dreams.

He relied heavily on Selby's presence to ease him. The familiar feeling of her dull brown fur like an anchor, the saddle his mother had bought on her back making him mercilessly reminisce. While sitting at the riverbank, fishing pole in hand, he'd sometimes think back on his childhood too.

Hale was raised slightly better than most. She had taught him everything he needed to know and more, growing up with the lack of a fatherly presence his mother had assumed that role.

Giving Hale a good whack during his rebellious days and turning him into a tall, muscular young man. He took care of the farm, letting his mother finally breathe after years of work.

Remembering her sunburned and tired appearance when he had left home that day was etched into his mind. Her slightly curved back from hard labor, her calloused hands that could scratch tender skin. It was all still so vivid to him. 

Was he even allowed to feel sad? If only he had gotten home sooner…

As Hale was coming back from his usual fishing, he had once again crossed paths with the ragged cat. Bending over he tossed a big fish toward it, unlike the usual though, it stayed and ate the fish in front of him.

Good Thoughts +1

(0/20)

Language- Crude (Permanent)

Can understand languages, spoken or written, with a sixth sense passively.

Hale could innately feel that at its current level he'd only be able to sense the meaning behind what they say, like a fuzzy concept of something. Being able to grasp the emotional tone more than the words. If they were to say anything too complex he'd be completely lost. 

At a higher level he could understand languages better, comprehending them more in depth. The words unfolding instinctively, they would also stick to him and he'd soon be able to speak and write in that language if he was exposed to it enough.

It was a skill that truly utilized a sixth sense.

This skill was going be incredibly helpful to him, if he had to travel far out for information he wouldn't be blocked by language barriers. He smiled to himself before the smile slowly dropped, why did a cat have this ability?

Hale hesitantly asked, "Can you… understand me?" His eyes looked into the cats green ones. An answer that needed no words was received, the cats green eyes widened like saucer pans and its hair raised high.

It turned around and ran off, "Wait!-" Hale called out but it didn't stop. Leaving Selby with the 'stay' command he ran after the cat. He chased the cat from closely behind, the scraggly cat careening its way through the alley.

He called out to it several times but it landed on deaf ears. He ran even faster, but the difference between the agility of a cat and person was too much and the distance only grew larger.

Reaching the end of the long alley he knew he was going to lose sight of the cat. Suddenly a figure walked past the alley and Hale called out without thought, "Stop that cat!" Hearing the shout the figure stopped and looked over stiffly.

The cat paused between the two of them, the end of the alley blocked by the mysterious figure and behind was Hale. The cat had nowhere to escape.

Hale slowly made his way closer to the cat, its fur raised high and its green eyes glared at him.

Bad thought -10

(-10/20)

Well that was just great, this cat hated him with a passion now. "I won't hurt you. I just…" the cat only kept hissing angrily. Hale sighed, frustrated and not sure what to do.

The figure that had been standing in front of the alley walked quickly and snatched the cat up by the scruff, immobilizing the enraged animal. It caught Hale off guard, he stood there and looked at the man.

Looking at them closer he realized they looked oddly familiar, "Blaise?"

The other turned and looked at him, his large brimmed stetson hat lifting up and showing his face. It was indeed someone he knew, someone from the village.