Ocean Tales ((Ana Collins))

It was winter time, so the weather should have been cold, but District 4 always had a nice way of surprising Alana. Instead of the cold snap expected, when Alana peeked out the window, she saw the sun out. Just to make sure it was real, she stepped outside, and the warmth confirmed that today would be a nice day. Her parents had probably already taken their supplies and gone out fishing for the day, which meant Alana was alone. But between it being a nice day, and Saturday to boot, that wasn’t too bad.

Stepping back inside, Alana quickly changed into a simple white t-shirt, some jean shorts, and flip-flops. Clothing she hadn’t expected to use until summer again, but why not take advantage of the day? Combing her fingers through her hair quickly, Alana deliberated on where she should go for the day, but the decision was made quickly. Today would be a day where she wouldn’t focus on school or training, but just be a nice relaxing day. But she still picked up a couple of nets to take with her to the ocean, District 4’s main attraction. She could at least get a little fishing done, although the catch wouldn’t be nearly as great as if she’d gone out on the boat with her parents. Alana was an only child, and her parents were used to her disappearing for the day, so Alana left everything else alone, and without further ado left the house, directing her feet down the familiar path that led to the beach, and where some people docked their boats.

Being careful not to let the nets drag behind her, Alana walked slowly, and let her mind wander. Nothing in particular, just small tasks she had yet to do or her busy schedule during the week. But when the rough earth changed to sand Alana focused back on the present, and headed right towards the water. The ocean was fairly calm today, small waves lapping against the shore. The real monstrous ones were further away, and far enough Alana wouldn’t have to worry about her or her nets going astray. Stopping abruptly, Alana kicked off her shoes, leaving them on the sand. Dropping the nets, Alana knelt down, untangling the mass in front of her. She’d just use them a bit, then maybe play around or swim in the water. Living in District 4 her whole life, Alana had learned not to mind letting her clothes get wet, to the point where she didn’t mind entering the water in them. There was no one else around at the moment, which was a bit strange for a Saturday morning. Must still be asleep or perhaps taking advantage of the day to spend extra time in the market or ocean itself.

Alana walked into the water slowly until she was nearly thigh deep. Good enough for what she wanted to do, maybe even a little too deep. The net she had brought had weights, and the idea was to cast it into the water, and have it scoop up whatever it could find. Afterwards, when she picked it up again, she could release any unwanted catch, and keep the wanted one. A useful type of fishing, since you could do it alone, and without much trouble by hand. So Alana gathered up the net, and checked one last time to make sure everything was in order. Then she cast it, waited a moment to allow it to sink, before quickly hauling it back in. When she examined the contents, there was nothing of interest, so she released the unwanted fish, and tried again.

The time must have gone by faster than she thought, because by the time Alana had gotten enough fish to merit a break, the sun was high in the sky. During the time, some others had passed by, but most had left quickly. A few others had begun fishing, but they stayed far enough way to allow each to have their own radius of fish. Alana gave a sigh, and headed back to where her shoes were. She wasn’t hungry, but was getting a bit hot, and a bit tired. Maybe that was enough fishing for now. Alana sat down in the sand, running a hand through her hair. She was using the other net she had brought for storage purposes at the moment, and she examined the few fish she’d managed to catch. “Not bad for the morning,” she muttered, tying up the net to try and shield the fish from the sun.

After doing so, Alana sat back, and watched the other people in the area. Nothing immediately caught her interest, so her mind wandered off again, leaving Alana completely distracted.

((Sorry for the late reply and shortness! -_-"))

Ana Collins decided to go to District Four for some...fishing. She loved to fish despite her father who wouldn't let her go. He was protective of her - a little too protective sometimes. The girl hopped off and immediately went for the waters. She had a net which her father bought when he had came to District Four for a business trip. She had never fished in her life, which made her a newbie at this. She tried to catch fish, but honestly failed. She only managed to catch a normal-sized one that got itself tangled up in her net. Ana Collins bit her lip to stop herself from cursing. She had no idea how to fish. She saw a District Four person sit down and quickly made her way to her. If Ana was to learn how to fish, she'd have to learn from another District Four person. Ana dropped beside the girl, smiling. "Hey," she said. She left the fish flopping around in the net. "My name's Ana Collins, and I'm from District Eight. Could you teach me how to fish? I am kind of a fail at it. She gave a small nervous chuckle.

Not just kind of a fail at it, I am a fail at it, Ana thought, but bit her lip from saying it out loud. Ana looked at the girl before showing the girl her net. "This is what I used to catch the fish. I think I was supposed to spear it first, but I don't think I have anything to spear it with. Do you think this net is okay? Or should I buy another one? Do you think I should buy something to spear it with?" Questions flooded out of Ana's mouth, all having to be related to the same topic: fishing. She had never found this type of curiousity before. Curiousity about a District or how it functions. No, Ana had only ever asked about her mother. Her mother who left her when she was really young. Her mother who had ditched them. The girl gave the other girl a shy smile, "I'm not scaring you, am I?"

Sitting on the beach, Alana disinterestedly watched others fishing, noting the small changes in fishing style that varied from person to person. Most of the fishermen knew what they were doing, but there were always the occasional few who had never fished before, and they were easily distinguishable. Alana began to pick them out, before finally settling on watching a woman who had obviously never fished before try it herself. Alana considered offering her help, but the sun was up, and she was starting to feel a bit lethargic, feeling perfectly content to just sit back for a while before getting up again. But as it turned out, Alana didn’t need to get up to help the woman, as she was obviously looking for help herself.

As she seated herself next to Alana, the other girl began to talk immediately. Giving a small wave at the other’s greeting, Alana’s eyebrows raised when she said what district she was from. District 8? Textiles. What was a person from District 8 doing here? “District 8?” she repeated out loud, voicing her thoughts. “I wasn’t aware fishing was the new fashion in other districts,” Alana replied nonchalantly, using a hand to brush some hair away from her face. “I’m Alana,” she continued, just to get her name out there. When Ana asked if Alana could teach her how to fish, Alana grinned. Easy. Most everyone in District 4 knew how to fish. Of course, it wasn’t the only job, there were others who treated the fish after it had been caught. Alana had learned from her parents, but the techniques and such were taught in school. Couldn’t live in the fishing district without knowing something about fish.

Examining the fish Ana had managed to catch, Alana noticed it was still wriggling. Looks like she hadn’t killed the fish yet. Since Alana didn’t have anything to hit it with, she used the back of her fist, in the knuckles area, hitting the fish in the back of the head. It promptly stopped moving after that, with the occasional twitch. “Once you catch the fish, you need to kill it. Hit it in the brain area, right near the back of the head,” Alana said, pointing to the spot on the fish. “It’s still moving because its nervous system is shutting down, but it’ll stop soon enough,” she continued, putting the fish back down. “Nice fish, though, you can sell it in the market later, with the rest of your catch.” That was Alana indirectly agreeing to help the girl. She wasn’t going to outright say it; that wasn’t really the way things were done here. You didn’t ask for help in the Career district, you just gave it. Better start with the information.

“Spears…just one way of fishing. Nice if you don’t want to get wet,” Alana said with a shrug. Used in rivers, on the shore…very clean, but you needed to have very good aim. “But it’s not needed; we’ll just use your net.” Now Alana picked up Ana’s net, running her fingers through it, straightening everything and undoing certain knots, to redo them again. She’d done this her whole life; she knew what she was doing. “It’s a good net, I didn’t know they sold nets outside of the district,” Alana commented, continuing to examine the net. Very similar to one of her’s, but it was newer. Not used as much, not as sea worn. Oh, it’d do. Waving aside the woman’s last comment, Alana stood up, picking up one of her nets. She could fish and teach at the same time. “Off to the water we go.” With that, Alana headed straight back towards the ocean, giving a small sigh of contentment when she first made contact with the water.

“Now, this type of net,” Alana began, showing her net. “Is called a cast net. It’s round, and has weights, kinda like yours. What you have to do is throw the net so it spreads out. Let it sink for a while, then reel it back in. Take what catch you want, throw the rest back in. That’s called net casting, or rather, net throwing. Simple, easy, good for beginners, and great to do by yourself,” Alana said, trying to summarize everything up. Did she miss anything? “Got it?” she asked for confirmation. The way Alana had learned was also by watching, so she decided to give a demonstration. “Just watch me first.” Alana turned back out to the ocean, knee deep now. Getting her net ready, Alana then cast it out in a circular motion, using both her hands. Letting it sink for one, two, three moments, she quickly reeled it back in, checking to see if she’d caught anything. Happily, Alana examined the two fish she’d caught, fish she’d been trying to catch since morning. “Like that,” she offered to Ana. “Now you try,” she assertively said. “And I’ll be right here, so don’t freak out.” With that, Alana kept a hand on her net, while waiting to see if she was anything close to a decent teacher.