Shining hopped off the sled as it came to a halt, his father joining him shortly afterward. The two of them looked out over a flat patch of snow, extending across a vast stretch of ground before ending in a patch of trees and rocks on the opposite bank. "You're sure this is it?", Shining asked.
"Ice is covered by the snow, but this is it", Tenebrae said. "I've been fishing here since I could hold up a pole for any length of time."
"Alright then", Shining said. "Let's get started."
"Not so fast", Tenebrae said, returning to the sled and pulling out a small box. "We have to make an offering first."
"To the spirits?", Shining asked.
Tenebrae clicked his fangs, nodding. "That's right. You've caught on."
Tenebrae opened up the box, revealing a few strips of some kind of red meat and several carved sticks. He removed the meat in his aura, he passed the box to Shining. Shining in turn took out the sticks, carrying them tightly as he followed his father to the edge of the lake.
"Put four of them in a square, then lean the rest of them against one another", Tenebrae explained. "We want it to look like a pointed dome."
Shining followed his instructions, placing the sticks in the indicated manner. Tenebrae removed a small piece of shredded wood from his jacket and placed it in the middle of the sticks. His horn glowed, and black flame sprouted on the wood. It lept to the sticks, until a small fire roared in the morning wind.
"Great Spirits", Tenebrae intoned, throwing one piece of meat onto the fire. "We thank you for your kindness, in allowing us to live within your domain. We thank you for your generosity, in allowing us to take from you. We ask for your allowance to once again take from your home. We offer you this offering in exchange for what we take. May this be worthy of your acceptance, and may we bless your humble servants."
Shining and Tenebrae both stared into the fire as the last of the meat strips was thrown in. The smell of the burning meat smelled faintly pleasant, the soft white smoke blending with the cloud-filled sky. After another few moments of silence, Tenebrae raised his head, nudging Shining's shoulder. "Come on. Let's get started."
Shining followed his father back to the sled, helping him to remove a smaller sled from the front compartment. The smaller sled was filled with several tools, including a shovel, the ubiquitous weighted pike, and a hafted saw being the ones that Shining first identified.
Tenebrae dragged the sled behind him, Shining following behind him as the two of them headed out onto the lake. Shining could feel the transition between frozen mud and ice as they marched onto the frozen body of water. It felt like walking on glass; while it held firm, Shining could almost feel the ice shift under his hooves.
Finally, Tenebrae stopped, nodding to himself. "This is a good spot", he said, dropping the rope the sled was attached to and removing the saw.
"How can you tell?", Shining asked.
Tenebrae waved the blade around, gesturing at the ice. "Ice is thick enough to not crack when we open it up, and thin enough to breach easily." He levitated the pike out of the sled, tossing it to Shining. "Make a few holes leading away from it. One every five steps or so."
"Uh...", Shining said, looking away from where his father was standing.
Tenebrae sighed, shaking his head. "Nevermind, sorry. Slipped my mind you've never done this before. Alright, you cut the main hole."
"What do you need me to do?", Shining asked.
Tenebrae exchanged the pike he gave Shining for the saw, then pointed to the shovel also in the sled. "Clear off the snow and cut a hole in the ice. It should be about as big as the sled; maybe a little bit bigger. We want to be able to lower a net into it."
"Ok", Shining said, hefting the saw in his telekinesis as he got used to its weight. "I can do that."
"I know you can", Tenebrae said, clapping his shoulder. With that encouragement, he headed off, leaving Shining alone.
He put the saw back in the sled and pulled out the shovel, scraping it against the surface of the lake to move the snow away and expose the solid ice. It shown a strange bluish-black, reflecting the small amount of light that flickered down through the clouds. As it was cleared away, Shining swapped it out for the saw.
He lifted it up into the air, driving it down in a single deep thrust. The pointed tip broke through the ice easily, resistance dropping off almost immediately after he broke through. He began to lift it up and down, the serrated teeth ripping through the ice like a knife through butter. He twisted it after he reached the edge of the spot he cleared of snow, continuing his sawing motion throughout the rest of the section.
He finally finished after minutes of strenuous labor, finishing off back where he started. He pulled the saw out, shaking off the water that clung to the blade. He turned to his father, who was still driving holes through the ice further out. "What now!?", he yelled.
His father looked up from the hole before yelling back, "Stick one of the hooks through the block you cut out! Then slid it under the ice! I'm almost done!"
Shining said, "Ok, ok." He once again checked the sled, moving aside a few of the poles and the bundled-up net. Finally, he found the hooks: a crescent-shaped piece of brass attached to a thick length of rope. Also grabbing one of the poles, he began to push the block under the surface ice covering the rest of the lake. After a bit of it was underneath the water, he drove the hook into the piece that still stuck out above the surface.
As he finished pushing the rest of the block under the ice, he heard the crunch of snow that signaled his father's return. "Alright, good", Tenebrae said. "Well pull that back out and reseal the ice when we're done. Come on; let's get a quick bite."
Tenebrae pulled out another box that had been placed in the sled. The lid was flipped up, revealing a few dumplings. Despite having breakfast not two hours prior, Shining could feel his stomach howl in need, and so he didn't hesitate in grabbing one.
He bit the thing in half, sighing in bliss as the mix of meat and onion danced in his mouth. As he finished swallowing the bite, he asked, "So what's next?"
"We put the net in place", Tenebrae said, swallowing his own large bite. "Then we use the holes I cut to drive the fish towards the net. We do this once or twice, and we should get a decent haul."
"And you do this for a living?", Shining asked, sucking in a deep breath. "This is almost as bad as drills."
"The Spirits provide much, but ask as much", Tenebrae said. "Come on. We should get to work so we can be back for the festival tonight."