Immaculate

“Keep your thumbs clear of the saw!” Antares instructs, while Alunya studiously drags the copper sawblade up and down through the ice.

It’s a few weeks after the solstice, now, and after an intermittent spell of clear weather following the first snowstorm a few weeks earlier, another cold front had moved in from the southwest and ensured the land remained blanketed in snow, as well as freezing the surface of the river. This was the main river not far from the village, much deeper and wider than the little stream the two had swam in last fall.

“Like this?” Alunya asks, hesitantly, trying to hold the saw like his big brother had shown him while cutting out a circular disk of ice from the top of the river. It was hard work, especially since they were just kids, but with some effort eventually Alunya connects the cut back to where he had started, leaving a jagged, vaguely polygonal chunk of ice- it was not very thick, and Reia had forbidden they go out onto the surface of the ice as a result, but that at least made it easier to cut.

“There, good job! Now we just need to wait for a fish to swim by. The cold water makes them slow and sluggish, so they’re easier to hit.” Antares instructs, tossing Alunya a spear before laying down near his own hole in the ice. Although Reia had told him not to go onto the water, he is still lightweight enough that he reasons it would be fine.

Antares shows Alunya how to hold and thrust with the spear, and then they lay down and wait, Alunya imitating Antares as he prowls over the icy sheets. It is slow going, as Alunya blinks staring down into the dark, frigid waters.

Alunya clenches his jaw, doing his best to remain focused through the long wait. The cold slowly seeps through his clothes, and laying still there is making the boy progressively more and more tired, such that when a fish finally does come by the gap in the ice, Alunya had practically nodded off and didn’t respond fast enough to even attempt a strike before the quarry vanished again.

Alunya shakes his head in frustration and blinks his eyes, trying to rouse himself back to full consciousness. C’mon, you wanna learn how to fish, don't you? Alunya hefts his spear again and narrows his eyes, trying once again to keep focused. Eventually another fish does swim through and Alunya strikes, but it’s like the spear warps as it enters the water and diverts below the fish. Alunya gawks in dismay. What? But I was right on!

“The water shifts your view of the fish, it's deeper than it looks.” Antares advises. “Here, let me show you-” He creeps over to where Alunya is—A safer spot than Antares’ hole, perched on a rock next to the fishing hole. Antares guides Alunya’s hands, and prods at the river bed. “See? Look how far down we have to reach to find the bottom.” It is deep indeed, and as Antares pointed out Alunya can see the shaft of the spear does indeed look like it’s at a different angle than where it entered.

“Woah…” Alunya murmurs, entranced. Ari is so smart!

Antares cocks his head to the side, so that he can speak in Alunya’s ear directly while still guiding his arms. “You want me to show you?” Antares asks, and Alunya nods emphatically.

The two of them take up position on either side of the little water hole, and the next time a fish swims by, Antares strikes. From Alunya’s perspective it looks like he is aiming below his target, but instead it strikes the fish in the fin. The fire-hardened spear point isn't very good at keeping the fish though, and although it was a solid thrust the fish manages to slip off the spearpoint and flutter away in a mist of blood.

“Darn!” Antares complains, scratching his head and sitting back. Woah, he hit it on the first try! Big brother is so talented! Alunya claps, enthralled.

“Yay! My turn!” Alunya picks up his spear again and creeps over near the edge of the ice.

Antares shrugs. “Yeah, I guess that's enough of a show.” He says sheepishly. Alunya frowns. Why is he upset? He hit it right on, it was just bad luck.

It was a bit of a longer wait, and the two of them idly chatter on about different things; The new chores they’d done last fall, mostly. That dialogue went on for some time, with Antares doing most of the talking, but Alunya still has some to share. “...Mom’s been showing me how to mend clothes!” Alunya boasts. “Maybe once I learn how, I can make something cute for you to wear?”

Antares sputters at the suggestion, as if he was choking—at a bad time, since a fish had just entered his field of view, and by the time he’d recentered and struck it was already gone.

The splash of his spear entering the water startles the fish and it darts further along under the ice sheets, right past the other hole where Alunya is waiting. Alunya promptly strikes, aiming like his brother had told him, nailing the fish down to the riverbed. He blinks, startled at his own success, not knowing what to do next. I got it! I did just what Antares said and I got it! Ari is such a good teacher.

Antares looks up, startled, to see Alunya had somehow caught the fish he had missed. How is he such a quick learner? I haven’t even caught one fish yet! Still, he doesn’t seem to know how to retrieve it, so Antares rushes over to his side, reaching into the frigid water to take a firm grasp of the fish and haul it up out of the water.

Alunya watches in some awe while Antares holds up a knife and quickly runs it through the fish above the skull, wincing at the spurt of blood. It is not the most pleasant experience, but Alunya seems positively enthralled while Antares works, so Antares explains what he was doing. “You just cut it open here to kill it, then you place the knife here…” Antares runs the knife in between the ribs on its ventral side. “...Then you draw the blade up to its gills, here.” Antares makes sure Alunya can see while he draws the blade up, releasing the guts and viscera of the fish.

With a few more steps, he finished processing it and stashes it in the snow, where the cold would keep it fresh enough. “When did you learn to do all of that, Ari?” Alunya asks, wondrously.

Antares scratches the back of his head, a little embarrassed. Although he’d acted like he knew what he was doing, in truth he’d just gotten most of what he knew from watching the men and other boys fishing while he was out doing laundry or other chores. “Ehrm, just picked it up here and there, haha.” Antares pronounces, not wanting to directly admit he’d never actually caught a fish before.

Alunya nods. “Ok, but next time you gotta let me try!” Antares nods back in acquiescence, and they return to their individual fishing holes.

[...]

“Wow Antares, you caught such a big fish!” Alunya gawks as he lifts the largest partially-butchered fish on the back of the sled he is sitting on, while Antares grunts from the effort of pulling the sled forwards. Between the two of them, they had caught five fish total—Three from Antares, two from Alunya—way more than enough to be worth the time and energy expended on their day out.

Antares huffs with effort as he drags the sled, Alunya peeking out from on top of the sled curiously. “Do you need my help, Ari?”

Antares shakes his head stubbornly, trying his best to put on a strong face. “Nu-uh, I got it! It's just a little farther and then we can be home.” He insists, as he strains to drag the simple wooden sled up the hill.

Antares stops, huffing and puffing, at the top of the hill to take in the sights. From here, he can just about see the whole village, all arrayed in concentric circles and terraces save for where the river cuts through the center, the same river they had gone fishing at, which winds around the hill and back down towards the middle of the village, with a couple of old wooden bridges quite a ways from Alunya and Antares’ house crossing the river. On the far side of the village, perhaps a half hour walk away, Antares can just barely see a big rocky outcropping that jutted over one side of the village.

Alunya hops off the sled and up to Antares, concern written on his face. “Um, am I too heavy? Maybe I should take my turn?” Alunya asks, but Antares just shakes his head, standing upright, brushing his hair back, and grinning widely with a thumbs up to Alunya.

“Not a chance! Just you watch, get back on the sled, and get a good grip!” Antares instructs, and Alunya hesitantly does so despite his misgivings.

Antares gets behind the sled and gives it a big shove- as it dislodges from the snow, he hastily hops on behind Alunya, one leg out on either side of him. It slides forward without much momentum for a second…

And then, as the front of the sled dips down onto the lower slope of the big hill, it picks up speed, the smooth underside of the wooden sled sliding on the fresh, fluffy snow.

Alunya gasps with surprise as his heart jumps in his chest, while Antares wraps both arms around Alunya under his arms to keep a secure grip while the sled picks up more and more speed, rocketing down the hill.

“Ari, we’re flying!” Alunya calls, enchanted, with his arms spread wide like a bird, feeling the air whip past his arms and his hair flowing backwards in the wind. Of course, the sled had not actually lifted off the ground, but that didn’t change how it felt to Alunya.

The two brothers' excited whoops blend together, echoing across the valley as the sled speeds down the hill, before slowly bleeding off its momentum as it skids across the plain at the bottom of the slope, some of the fish flying off into the snow as it stops. Alunya jumps up to his feet, almost falling over as his legs felt like jelly.

“Again! Again!” He cheers, jumping up and down in excitement.

Antares takes a moment to catch his breath, laying back in the sled, before opening his eyes and catching his balance. “You like it, huh?” His eyes shine, but then he hesitates. “...Only, I don’t know if we have time… If Reia catches us out playing too long we’ll get grounded again.” Antares points out.

Alunya puffs out a cheek and crosses his arms. “Ugh… Alright. I guess we’d better get the fish back while they’re still fresh, anyways.”

Antares nods, and the two of them dig through the snow to collect the fish that had been flung from the sled, placing them back, before Alunya takes up the reins. “I’m pulling the sled the rest of the way back, though. You take a good rest!”

Antares opens his mouth to protest, but the steely look Alunya shoots at him quickly makes him shut it again and just walk alongside Alunya as the two of them make their way back to their stone hut.

Alunya pulls the sled up by the door and quickly loots its contents before running inside. “Mom! We’re back!” Alunya announces, running up to Reia, who pauses in her work to face her two sons. “Lookie lookie! We caught these!” Alunya drops everything he’s holding except for the two biggest fish, holding them up to present to Reia.

“Wow, those are some big fish!” Reia chuckles and leans down to pick up Alunya. “Did you have fun?”

Alunya nods emphatically. “Uh-huh! Antares showed me how to prepare them for cooking, so we can eat them for dinner now!”

“Easy now, I don’t think I have time to cook them tonight. I still need to make sure we have enough firewood chopped.” Reia states. “I’m sure they’ll keep if you leave them outside in the cold, as long as no animals find them, then I can try to find time tomorrow.”

Alunya puffs out one cheek, standing up as tall and straight as he could- Almost 150 cm tall, tall enough that he just about comes up to Reia’s chin. “C’mon! Ari and I can cook them! We did a good job on the ribs last fall, right?” Alunya pleads. “Right, Ari?”

Antares rubs the back of his head, embarrassed. “But that’s a girl’s job…” He mumbles under his breath- quietly enough that nobody could hear him. Still, the thought of fresh fish for dinner is far more appealing than yet another day of dry, cold cornmeal. So reluctantly, he nods. “Um, yeah, Alunya and I can cook it.”

Reia pauses, the edges of her mouth twitching downwards. It probably isn’t a good thing that Alunya is always so eager to do a woman's chores, but she supposes that is just the reality of their situation; There is always more work than she can get done alone; There was a reason the firewood hadn’t been chopped back in autumn, and Antares and Alunya were still a bit young to be using a hatchet unsupervised. “Alright, alright. I’ll chop more firewood, you two can start a fire and roast the fish.”

“Yay! You got it!” Alunya winks and strikes a pose before rushing off to take what firewood had already been cut and placing it in the fireplace. Between him and Antares, the two are able to get a fire going, and by the time Reia has finished chopping a supply of firewood to last the next few days at least, three of the fish they had caught were being roasted over the fire, sans their heads and guts.

“Mhm, that smells good-” Reia remarks, setting the firewood down in a corner of the room. “You got a good haul today, huh? That’s plenty for dinner.” Reia reaches over to pat Alunya’s head, causing her son to coo contentedly.

“We caught more than this!” Antares boasts, standing upright. “There's another couple of fish we stowed in the boxes outside! We caught five fish today total!” Antares announces, proudly.

Reia blinks. “...That many? And during the winter, too..?” She mutters softly, surprised. “...Well, I guess we can eat some fish stew tomorrow with the leftovers. Make sure to collect all the fish bones from your fish today, I’ll need them for the broth.”

“Mm-hmm! Roger that!” Alunya salutes his mother and nods his head, before removing the fish from the fire. Once all of the fish have been plated on the round stone tablets that serve as dishware, the family gathers around the table and digs in. By the standards of another culture, the fish might have been a tad bland, lacking in seasoning and being a little dry from being roasted over the fire, but to Alunya and Antares anything beyond dried cornmeal was a king’s feast.

After dinner, it was Alunya’s turn to scrub the ‘plates’ clean, and by the time he is done the sun had disappeared below the mountains. He wasn’t exactly tired, given how short the days were during winter, but there is precious little to do after nightfall, being too cold to spend time outside at night even with heavy clothing.

But, at least the fireplace provides some heat and light. Antares had already gotten his blanket and curled up by the fireplace, and so Alunya runs off to grab his own from his bed, trailing it into the living room as he plops down right by Antares’s side, leaning lightly against his older brother.

Deep into the night, the two boys would recount the day’s exploits and plan out all the other things they wanted to do that winter. But as the conversation eventually ebbs away, Alunya finds himself captivated by the flickering flames, curling around the wood as it slowly crumbles away to ash and embers.

Alunya would not have thought he would be falling asleep anytime soon. It hadn’t even been that long, he could swear. But before long, he finds himself nodding off, leaning up against his older brother who had already succumbed to restful oblivion.

And so, another day filled with fun and excitement vanished, along with the boy’s fading consciousness.