Another day, opening his eyes, getting up and preparing what he would need to catch fish, putting it in the hull and using it as a cargo basket.
Hiro:
-I think it's all set. The earlier I leave, the more time I'll have to rest and take a bath.
Smelling himself.
Hiro: -Well, hold on until the afternoon, it's time to leave the cave.
With everything ready, he hurried to the river carrying the helmet, while Liora watched him, a bit curious.
Hiro:
-I hope this will do the trick.
Hiro: -Ready, I made it to the river. The first thing will be to not make too much noise while I watch the fish gather. In the meantime, I'll prepare the bait.
Holding his helmet, he pulled out what he had brought with him: fruit peels, some rope, cloth and some stones. He pulled everything out and then arranged it. With the cloth, he rolled up the fruit peels and put them inside the hull. With the rope, he tied a knot to hold the helmet so that he could pick it up quickly. He placed the stones inside to make weight so that the hull would not float. Once everything was ready, he carefully threw it into the river. All that remained was to wait.
Liora:
-What is this human doing this time? Using the helmet like that?
Hiro:
-Thinking about it... how long will it take me to do this?
1 HOUR LATER
Hiro:
-Science... who said it would be easy? I hope I catch something.
2 HOURS LATER
Hiro:
-Hey! Why don't the fish come near the bait? Won't they like it? Shit... if it goes on like this, it will be all in vain.
5 HOURS LATER
Liora:
-It's been five hours altogether and he's still waiting.... It's funny that he keeps persevering. But the fish won't go near the bait, the hull is with the purple crystal activated, which repels any creature, no matter if it's hostile or not.
-He will have to deactivate it by touching it, but he doesn't know its function.... I'll have to help him this time.
Liora sighed at the situation, raised her hand and pointed it at the helmet, firing some sort of small spear made of ice. It hit it and deactivated the purple crystal, which caused an icy breeze that caught Hiro's attention.
Hiro:
-That breeze again... Ha, still no fish falling. No luck today.
-I'll have to call it a day, I think it's after 1 pm.
-Ah! I was forgetting, I have to take a bath.
-Looking around carefully, still no one is there. Luckily, I think... I'll take off my clothes at once so it won't get later.
Just as he was about to take off his trousers, he heard a noise in the direction of the helmet and, excited, he jumped without thinking into the river. He grabbed the hull and quickly lifted it up, seeing that inside were some minnows. Although they were not the big fish from before, Hiro jumped with excitement, as his bait had worked. He left the helmet on the shore and went for a swim. After he finished, he grabbed his gear and went straight to the cave.
Hiro:
-Although these fish are somewhat small, they are a sufficient quantity. I'll count them in the cave.
Suspicious...
-My buttocks are starting to hurt. It feels like I've been in the same place for more than four hours.
-We're here. I'll leave the stuff in front of the cave door, take out the cooker and start counting.
-I've got everything. To count minnow by minnow: one, two, three, qua... In all, there were 14 minnows.
Overjoyed at his achievement, he began to cook them. In the meantime, he looked at the helmet, held it up and looked at the stones on it. When he touched them, he saw that they emitted a light. When he touched them again, they went out.
Hiro:
-What are these two stones? They turn on and off when I touch them? Could it be a function of the helmet?
-For the moment, I'll leave it like this. I'll see what they're for later. Oops! These little fish cook quickly, I'll have to be careful or they'll burn.
After he finished cooking, he used the helmet as a plate to eat from. He sat outside and ate, watching the sky. Even though it was late, there was still enough light. With every bite, thoughts of his family came to him.
Sigh...
-Two days without meat... This is a feast. Well, I'm done eating.
-I think it's time for me to go into the cave, though it's a bit early today.
-Tomorrow I'll have to be energetic again.
Inside the cave, Hiro began to settle down to sleep. He fell sound asleep and woke up the next day, getting his things ready to leave the cave. Just as the doors opened, he saw a woman with purple eyes outside the cave. They both looked at each other in confusion. Liora was careless...