·Lemon Tree· (MCYT OC Insert)

Chapter 3

Not long after set up Penelope shooed her granddaughter away from the stand to go have fun before the game. So here Duckie was walking between the stalls of your average festival day games. Her eyes caught onto the small game of catching a fish, maybe it was her feline instinct of just interest in finding a friend but she found herself in front of the game. The stall owner looked up to the girl before shaking their head," this isn't a food stall kitty, i caught these salmon here fair and square to be given to good homes'' the owner taunted which made Duckie feel even embarrassed to approach the stall. Silence fell over the two before the owner let out a hearty laugh," im kidding!! These fish are too big to become pets! They are meant to be fried up!" They explained which made Duckie kind of squeeze up her nose. "Can I try to catch one, sir?" She asked hesitantly before he gave a nod," you got one free try before you gotta hand over some gold nuggets" he explained, handing her a wide net. Taking a hold of the net, Duckie studied the tool before noticing something by the net area... there were... magnets? Too weak to keep a hold of the net when catching a fish that's for sure. Her eyes trailed to the man who was now talking to another customer who seemed excited to have fish for dinner that night. Duckie eyed the small pool of fish that definitely seemed too crowded for any of them to move around comfortably. Kneeling down she placed the net into the pool and sat there before she sat a few wiggled their way into the net. Duckie looked over to the man who still seemed distracted with his new friend. The girl took this chance to reach into the pool and grab the bottom of her net before pulling up. Unfortunately it seemed the holes in the net were very big as well causing the smaller ones to squirm away back into the pool. "Excuse me sir i caught one" The feline called out as she held the bottom of the rigged net closed. " I had to grab the bottom because of how big the fish was" she made up an excuse as she saw the man about to say something. His gaze moved over to the new buddy of his who was waiting his turn, the stall owner seemed hesitant. "I win right sir?" Duckie insisted as she held up the net with the wiggling fish. The stall owner nodded and quickly grabbed a plastic clear bag and filled it with water before holding it up for the girl to place her salmon in. Duckie smirked as she held the net over the big bag before letting go of the bottom allowing the magnets to detach from one another and allow the fish to fall into the bag," oh gods, i didn't see that there" Duckie spoke out in fake surprise as the man seemed more nervous as his buddy looked to his own net in confusion and spotted the same problem. "This game is rigged! What the hell man! My son has been looking forward to salmon all week!" The other man demanded as he threw the net to the ground. This caused the stall owner to glare at the feline who quickly tied up the big bag with the fish in it," sorry sir! But if you don't fix your game you might get kicked out!" Duckie continued her act but even less loosely which made the man go to grab at her but she quickly moved back. Her face became shocked as she honestly didn't expect this to happen, yeah he was angry at her but to even try to grab her was another story. Lucky for Duckie his customer buddy grabbed him and pushed him away from her. Arguments between the two ensued as the cat girl took this time to hurry away. She felt her appetite slowly vanish the further she stalked away from the loud stall to only find herself right outside the loud streets of the tournament. Slowly looking down to the fish in her hand she spotted that the salmon seemed to be even a little pleased that it was at least in a space of its own," well... Now I feel bad for even planning on eating you after all that" Duckie complained out loud as she continued her trek around the streets and through the small forest. The salmon seemed to move around in response to what the girl said as the small adventure to the town's stream wasn't that far now. Finally arriving the girl sat down by the shore of the stream before opening the bag. "Here you can be free... it's your own fault if you get caught again" Duckie taunted as she emptied the salmon into the lake. The fish seemed to swim around a bit in front of Duckie before stopping to stare at the cat girl. "Uh you can go now..." the girl awkwardly pointed down stream, she already felt stupid for releasing the fish and now she had been talking to it. Silence rang a bit before a big splash hit Duckie causing her to back away from the stream alarmed by the cold water that hit her. " HEY WHAT THE HELL MAN!" Duckie yelled out shaking her head a bit before finally looking back to the stream in front of her. But before she could continue her rant she saw that instead of a normal salmon in front of her it was a fish tailed woman. "Sorry sorry!" the once salmon called out which made Duckie even more surprised as her tail pricked up and ears up high. "HOLY SHIT YOU'RE A MERLING?" The Feline ended up yelling before covering her mouth. The Salmon woman let out a light laugh before looking around herself," hush now! Don't need to alarm that stupid fisher man" The woman said before looking back to Duckie," thank you so much for getting me out of there! It means alot! I was out at sea before that damn man grabbed me by the tail with his grubby hands!" The woman explained with a small hostile tone. Duckie felt her pupils widen as she was almost entranced by the beautiful woman. "O-oh it's alright really! I mean that guy was probably gonna rig a bunch of families tonight! Luckily my super sense knew that guy was sketchy" Duckie stuttered out feeling her face heat up a bit when the woman's face in front of her softened," you should see his sad fisher man's cabin! Poor man probably lives off others' poor hopefully behavior" The Salmon woman sighed. Once again there was silence between the two, Duckie felt her tail flick side to side as she stared at the woman studying her orange and red mix curly hair that seemed to frame her soft tan skin perfectly. She had soft green eyes that clearly matched the kelp around her. Feeling her face becoming a little more warm, Duckie looked away. "My name is Sally by the way!" The Merling spoke up, reaching out her webbed fingers. Duckie glanced but felt a small smile on her lips," oh I'm Duckie, nice to meet you" the feline spoke, taking the Salmon's hand and shaking it. "Again I must thank you Duckie! I don't really wanna be someone's dinner... I still have to find a way back to my husband and son" She spoke up which caused Duckie to become surprised and even more curious," y-you have a family? Of other merlings?" She asked. "Not of other merlings really, a human husband actually! He has the sweetest eyes and plays guitar!" Sally spoke up as she hummed in a dreamily state. "We have a son... at least I think he should be born right now" Sally thought out loud. That statement confused Duckie, how did this woman not know if her own son was born yet? Was this an egg situation or what? Shaking her head she focused back on Sally. "I do hope they are alright... I'm just trying to get back to my own home so I can get some things for my son! But now I fear I'm lost and may never find them again" The Merling sighed sadly as she leaned upon the shore. Duckie felt sadness as she stared at the sad mother. She was about to ask if she wanted to travel with her but was stopped by the loud sounds of bells. Those bells signaled that the tournament was about to start soon.

Duckie looked at the town before turning back to Sally," sadly i must go Sally but it was lovely meeting you! I hope you find your husband and son soon!" Duckie spoke up, reaching out as the two shook hands again. "And you too Duckie! I hope our paths meet again!" Sally spoke out happily with a splash of her tail. As Duckie went to let go she was dragged down to where Sally was really fast that made her stumble into the water right by the Merling. Alarmed and panicked, Duckie quickly went back to shore as she climbed up to land to be met with a giggling red haired woman who was covering her mouth," I'm so sorry Duckie! I didn't expect that to happen!" Sally cried out between giggles as she helped the Feline out of the water. Duckie seemed a little dazed at first before Moving quickly and got to her feet and looked to Sally who was recovering from her giggle fit. "I was trying to do one of those hand hug shakes but it seems i failed" The Salmon finally said after calming down. Duckie nodded but kept silent and waved quickly before hurrying away from Sally who just smiled and waved as well before diving into the water.

Duckie was quick to arrive back to the main area and getting weird stares as to why she was soaked. The poor girl didn't even have time to register the stares from just meeting a merling and then being pulled into cold lake water.. Now she was just hurrying back to her grandmother's stall. This reaction was more out of pure embarrassment and shock than anything else. The salmon lady was really pretty and sweet, like a big sister type friend since she realized that Sally must be way older than her to have a husband and son now. And she felt maybe it was her fault for falling so carelessly into the lake in front of the very pretty merling. Finally arriving at the stall her grandmother gasped," Duckie you are soaked and it's freezing out here! Quick quick come here before you catch a cold!" Her grandmother ushered as she pulled the girl into one of her wool filled coats that the young girl hung up earlier. Finally out of her thoughts Duckie was finally able to realize she was indeed more soaked than she thought and it was almost winter. She instantly started to shiver as she hugged her arms and quickly hurried to be inside the coat. "My gods girl! I don't even wanna ask and you start here in about a few minutes!" The older lady sighed, shaking her head as another person came back with two buttered potatoes. "Woah their mate! You're soaked, you'd go for a swim?" Phil teased a bit as Duckie rolled her eyes, "I accidently fell into the stream when I was releasing the salmon from that guy's booth" The young girl nudged her head towards the man who was now half packed and a sign by his stall saying he was shut down. "I didn't want to eat something from him" Duckie stated, if anything now she didn't wanna eat any type of fish if they could turn human and had whole families out there. Last week's dinner suddenly didn't taste so good now.

Duckie's grandmother laughed a bit," Salmon are tricky fish! You do know cats and fish don't get along sweetie" The old lady teased as she dug around her huge bag she brought her goods in. Taking out a towel she quickly tossed it at the girl to which Duckie accepted to try to dry herself up. "Yet we are hanging out with a bird man" Duckie shot back which resulted in the three giggling.

By the time Duckie was semi dry, she was able to change into her tournament clothes. Since there were so many people no one had yet assigned a color yet so everyone went by numbers. Upon the Feline's back was a big number of 27, lucky to Duckie, one of her favorite numbers. And now here everyone stood, at the starting line of this first game...

The obstacle course.