The Bitterness Of Failure (Solo)

(Continued from "The Great White North")

IC:
Wandering alone over the icy plains was a strange feeling for the blind man. Luke had gotten to be pretty self suficient but that was in a city landscape. To be in the wilderness was deffinately like nothing else he had ever experienced. Off in the distance he could hear the cry of some bird though he had no clue whether it was an eagle, hawk, or a falcon. With a slight breeze that seemed to moan as it moved across the lanscape everything had a desolate feel to it.

"I'm here to fish." Luke muttered to himself, focusing his sonar on the ground as he walked across the ice toward what would eventually be open water, "Focus on the task at hand."

After a few more minutes of walking Luke came to a stop. While the ice underneath him was not dangerously thin it was thin enough for him to cut through and begin ice fishing. "It would have been nice if Raina and I could have been doing this together." He murmured to himself, partly complaining and partly just talking so that there was some piece of humanity that he could focus on, "Maybe I can impress her with my fishing skills though. That ought to earn me a peck on the cheek."

***

About an hour later Luke was seated comfortable on the ground with his back up against his pack and a fishing pole gripped in his two hands. The ice saw he had used to cut the hole in the ice lay beside him as he pulled a piece of jerkey out of his pocket and began to gnaw on the dried beef.

"I wonder how CS is doing on his whaling trip." He wondered aloud as he paid careful attention to any tugs that might transmit through his pole, "He'll probably bring back more meat than any of us.

***

"This is a joke!" Luke finally said in frustration as he reeled in his line and set it to the side. He had been out here for hours and other than one scrawny, under-nourished fish he hadn't even had a bite. "The great white hunter I am not!"

Standing up Luke brushed off any powdered snow that might have clung to his pants and then picked up his pack. After attacking oth the fishing pole and saw to the pack he slung it back onto his shoulder and turned to begin the long treck back to base cam p.

"I sure hope the others had better luck than me otherwise dinner's gonna be pretty light."

(Continued in "The Great White North")