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It’s a busy day in Shores of Manna, as usual. As the fisheries and docks continue to work, a man with long braided hair and a braided beard looks up from his map to see his wife looking anxious. He approaches her and kisses her forehead.
“Don’t worry about Cackling Cannoneer,” the commodore says softly. “He is always alright as he goes on another adventure.”
“And you know our son loves to recklessly partake in adventure that he comes home with injuries sometimes,” the angler replies and sighs. “Now I know where he got that adventurous spirit from.”
The angler looks at her husband, hoping he knows what she is implying. The commodore, understanding his wife's implication, laughs and kisses his wife's temple on her head softly, reassuring her with his affections. "I understand your worries, my dear," he says. "But do not worry, Cackling Cannoneer will be safe and sound. He knows how much worry you present whenever he comes home with injuries."
"Which brings him to hide his injuries and as soon as I find out, I will show much more worry than he has expected," the angler replies and sighs. "Ah, but I will not lie: I am glad he has taken such an interest in the sea and waters. He is truly skilled and knowledgeable in the sea and the harpoon."
The commodore smiles and continues to hold his wife close to him. He sighs and looks at the sea before them, appreciating this moment he's having with his angler. The seagulls fly high, the docks continue to be busy, and the shouts, calls, and talks of the fishers seem to never cease as usual on this busy day. Then, a young girl with braided pigtails calls her parents and rushes to them. The angler and commodore have wide smiles on their faces as they see their daughter rush towards them.
The young girl excitedly tells the commodore and angler the maps she has seen in the libraries of Vault of Knowledge. Then, an elderly boatswain joins the conversation. The family is still incomplete for the cannoneer is still going around in an adventure he has made for himself today.
☆
Thwack!
An arrow hits the bullseye of the target sheet that the cannoneer placed on the rock wall. He slowly puts down his harpoon gun as he continues to stare at the shot he has performed. He smiles and cackles happily, proud that he has hit a perfect bullseye. After letting out a hearty cackle, the cannoneer stands up and walks towards the arrow, taking it away from the target sheet.
As he was ready to go back home, he saw a herd of porpoise flying around. The cannoneer stops rolling the target sheet and watches the adorable light creatures fly around. He decides to follow and watch the porpoises. After picking up his harpoon gun and target sheet, he starts to follow the porpoises and admire them from afar in order to respect their space.
Animals of the wild need their space as well and that they shouldn't experience any distress.
As the cannoneer was following the porpoises and kept his focus on the flying light creatures, he didn't expect to bump into someone. The cannoneer and the unknown person both collide into each other and fall on the sandy shore. The harpoon gun falls as well and the sounds of papers and glass bottles falling are heard. The cannoneer begins to speak multiple apologies as he gathers the fallen belongings of the person he bumped into.
"No, no, it's alright!"
The cannoneer looked up to see a woman right before him. The woman has short, curly hair topped with a violet hat with yellow trimmings. The woman is wearing a violet mask with yellow trimmings, matching her hat. The woman is quite embarrassed by the events and continues to pick up her belongings. The cannoneer goes back to helping her. After a while, both people stand up and face each other. The harpoon gun and target sheet is still on the ground. The cannoneer is the first to break the silence.
"I'm still sorry for bumping into you," he says as he gives the woman back her belongings. "I wasn't looking while running. I was... following the porpoises that were flying."
Then, the cannoneer realized that the porpoises are now gone. A look of disappointment appears on his face momentarily before he replaces it with a look of concern as he faces the woman once more.
"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" he asks.
The woman smiles and shakes her head, finding the cannoneer's concern towards her quite adorable. "Oh, no, I'm not hurt. Thank you for asking," she replies. "And if you're looking for the porpoises, they're heading straight towards that... island."
The woman points at the west direction where a tiny island that is connected to the island she and the cannoneer are standing on. As the cannoneer looks directly at the location, he sees the porpoises lounging on the sandy shore. Some are even playing and swimming in the water. The cannoneer smiles at the sight and he looks at the woman who is looking at the porpoises with adoration in her eyes. Both make eye contact with each other. After a moment's silence, the woman smiles.
"Do you like porpoises?" she asks.
"Well, they're one of my favorite animals," the cannoneer replies and laughs heartily with a smile on his face. "They're adorable."
The woman giggles and nods. There was a moment's silence and both are trying to find a way to continue the conversation. Then, the woman has an idea and she goes through her belongings she brought with her. She's quite comfortable with sharing her talents and skills with others, especially to people she first meets. The woman is quite proud of her talents and such.
She wishes to show her talent and skill to the cannoneer. She also wishes that maybe this cannoneer will be a new friend of hers as well.
She shows her sketchbook to the cannoneer, telling him that he may look at the contents of it. The woman starts to flip through the pages. This catches the cannoneer's attention and he watches her flip through the many pages of her sketchbook. He began to wonder if the woman who is with him is a creator, like an artist or a writer.
After a while, she stops at a page and shows it to the cannoneer. The page is an unfinished sketch of a flying herd of porpoises. The woman must've been drawing the porpoises that were flying around as her next artwork. The cannoneer's eyes widen in surprise and a smile graces his face.
"This is beautiful!" he exclaims. "Did you draw this? I mean, I think you did because that's your sketchbook and your drawing of the porpoises in your sketchbook is amazing so it would make sense that you drew that drawing so—!"
The woman giggles at the cannoneer's remarks. She smiles at him and the man before her notices. He smiles as well, feeling happy to be spending time with someone he finds so endearing.
"Thank you... again," she says and laughs. "Ah, I don't know how many times I will thank you."
"You are free to thank me how many times you like," the cannoneer says lightheartedly, both joking and being genuine at the same time.
Both smile at each other. The waves crash on the shore, the seagulls fly high in the skies, and the porpoises are still lounging on the island. The cannoneer and the woman start to feel a connection between them.
"Nodding Muralist," the woman introduces herself and bows at him.
"I'm Cackling Cannoneer," the cannoneer follows and bows. "It's nice to meet you, Nodding Muralist."
The muralist's smile widens and she nods. "I was about to leave after drawing a sketch of the porpoises," she says.
"You're really skilled in drawing, Nodding Muralist," the cannoneer says with a smile.
Both go back to smiling at each other in silence. The cannoneer rubs the back of his neck, feeling an overwhelming sense of happiness crash onto him like a wave crashing on the shore. He's usually ready to strike a conversation and is quite extroverted, but for some reason, he is tongue-tied and trying to figure out how to make this conversation flow smoothly.
While the cannoneer was trying to figure out what to talk about next, the muralist notices the harpoon gun and target sheet on the ground that is near the cannoneer's feet.
"Are those yours?" she asks him, pointing at his belongings.
"Ah! Yeah! I, uhh... work in the docks and fisheries! I'm a cannoneer!" the cannoneer replies, picking up his harpoon gun and target sheet. "My family also works in the docks and fisheries! It runs in the family, you know! The sea and fish and... fresh seawater!"
The muralist giggles as she finds the cannoneer endearing as well. The man starts to feel incredibly happy that his stomach is now screaming in joy. What in Megabird's name is happening to him?
"May I see how a harpoon gun works?" the muralist asks. "And you're a cannoneer? May you also tell me more about what you do?"
The cannoneer's smile widens and he nods. "Of course, I would love to show you how a harpoon gun works and tell you what I do as a cannoneer," he says.
The muralist smiles and thanks the cannoneer. Both go to where the cannoneer was practicing his shooting skills while chatting with each other casually. As the two spend time and get to know each other, the porpoises finish resting and go back to flying high up in the sky.