Talentless

"Come on, let me get you."

James was out by the lake trying to catch dinner. He could not afford to buy a fishing rod, nor did he have the necessary craftsman skills to make a proper one for himself.

Instead he wielded a primitive spear he made from a tree branch with a long vine tied from one end and the other end was wrap around his wrist so he was able to throw the spear and retrieve it without fear of losing it.

James is an average built man standing around six feet tall. He has a rough face and a slightly pale complexion. Currently his pale complexion was overshadowed by the share amount of filth that had accumulated on his body from "spear fishing", if you can even call it that. Not even his short black hair made him look remotely attractive.

"Got you!"

Overjoyed, James shouted. After numerous attempts he was finally able to catch a fish. "Well it's not the biggest, but it'll have to do for dinner tonight." He sighed inwardly. James was not very skilled in any particular area, which is why he had no job. He never seemed to be able to excel at anything but spear fishing. Even this he was just barely able to grasp. "It's getting late, I'd better head back to the village once I've washed up. Hopefully Drake had better luck getting something for dinner."

Before leaving the lake he washed off his body that was extremely dirty before proceeding to head home.

The village where they lived was a very poor one. It lie to the south, and was relatively close to the capital city. The village was called Ezmalis.

James managed to make it home just as the sun was setting. He and his brother lived in a rundown shack, it was the only thing their parents left for them after they upped and left to gods knows where. Honestly he could not even remember how they looked because they left when he was only four years old. There was but one bedroom which they all shared which was not difficult as he and Drake were so little at the time.

Drake was already home when James arrived. Drake was very burly compared to James. He was also six feet tall with a similarly pale complexion, however, he had a somewhat princely face that women adored that complimented his long black hair with a muscular figure to match.

"Manage to get anything good," Drake asked his brother with an excited look on his face. "Not much", James replied. "I'm guessing from the look on your face you've had better luck? I managed to get some money which I used to procure us some meat from the market. Some very succulent lamb that was butchered just this morning ." Drake pulled out a full rack of lamb from his satchel and placed it on the stone stove before throwing some pieces of logs under it. He used a rather primitive flint and steel once some kindling was down the light a fire.

James asked his brother with a stern look on his face. "Let me guess, it was money from that Leah?" Drake just gave him a sly smile, and with that James knew the answer.

"You know her husband is part of the village guard right? Of course I do! I'm no fool, him being part of the village guard is exactly why I chose Leah. I please her in ways her husband cannot, and in return she sends me to the market to get her supplies. Whatever money is remaining is mine and I can use it to get whatever I like." Drake sounded as though he was proud of what he was doing.

"You know, one day you're going to fall in love with a woman, and because of your past transgressions she'll end up cheating on you." James was not at all please with how his brother used women for his own gain, or rather their gain. At the same time he knew if not for his brother's acts of adultery, they would have gone hungry many times over. "Ha! I will never let that happen to me," Drake said proudly. "Yes yes, hand me a piece of that lamb." Drake handed him some of the lamb he had bought in the market which was being cooked along with the fish James caught. In return, James handed his brother half of the fish. "This fish is pretty good. Yeah, it's a lake salmon, though not a very big one." James exclaimed.

"What will you be doing tomorrow morning?" Drake asked James. "I'm not so sure yet. You know I really wish we were able to get decent jobs." James said with a disconcerting look on his face. Trying to change the mood of the room, Drake replied. "You know if things get really bad, I could join the village guard. Not if Leah's husband Thornwell finds out you're sleeping with his wife." James said in a humorous tone. Clearly his brothers attempt to cheer him up was successful. After eating a decent fill, the two brothers said their goodnights before turning in.