[CLOSED] Mission log for sanity

[wilder]

Date & Time: December 14th (May 2010)
Location: North Shore, MN, USA
Characters: Zelos Wilder & Arya Stark
Summary: Mission for sanity, or fishing. Whatever.
Warnings: None!

[It was a beautiful late summer day on the Superior shore when they arrived. The trees and grass were green, and the waves moved in and hour peacefully with the sound of gulls. With the skies clear except for some clouds, the sun shone brightly and warmed the beach to much warmer temperatures than what the winter had been doing]

[They had come up on on the excuse of gathering supplies, but really it was more for a break of sanity. Zelos had promised to go fishing with the kid, and it was really nice to get away from everything back in Exsilium.]

[Zelos, promptly on arrival, took in the warm, snowless scenery, took in a deep breath and fell back into the soft sandy beach]

...Yeah. I don't think I wanna move for awhile.

Comments

[wolfchild]

[ arya takes her time wandering the shore. she keeps walking until she spots sleek silver bodies cutting through the water. she crouches to watch them for a while.

if she can get one, she can use it to bait snare traps. she could dig up some greens too, use those. rabbit will make for good dinner. she could even try to bait some fishing lines with its meat and see if fish will bite.

plan in mind, she returns, shifting her quiver on her shoulder. ]

Come on. The worms are going to dry if they stay out here. You get the poles, I've got the rest.

[wilder]

[he meanwhile waits until she returns, keeping himself warm by the fire since hey- it's great to be so warm after being in that wintery hell for so long]

[But when she comes back, he'll nod and get up. He at least seems to know what the poles are, because he'll grab those and head over to wherever Arya seems to have in mind]

[wolfchild]

[ arya runs through the process briefly. though she had never gone fishing herself before, and braavosi fishermen preferred nets to bring in large hauls every morning, she had seen her share of men and children cast a line from the bridges into the canals. it's not so different here.

with the lines in the water, she settles down to wait for the first bite. the breeze catches her tangled hair. could a net be made from hair? she tries to imagine what that would like, hauling in fish with a net made of her hair. it sounds like a story old nan would say. she thinks robb might laugh. jon would. jon would have tugged on her hair and asked her if it was strong enough.

her throat is a hollow ache. arya keeps her eyes on the water and her hands on the pole. ]

[wilder]

[And he listens to instruction. He's a bit clumsy at getting it all worked out, but he tries hard- you can give him that much. He's naive when it comes to these things, but he doesn't want to be dead weight either]

[Finally when it gets it all in the water, he sits for a moment in silence before he finally decides to broach a subject]

...Arya Stark, huh?

That's your name?

[wolfchild]

[ her back stiffens. it must have been in the letter. she draws circles in the sand around the end of her pole. she's quiet so long it's like she wasn't going to answer at all. ]

My father gave it to me.

[ the best lies are rooted in truth. arya has spun her great lie out of myriad truths. ]

[wilder]

[He's quiet again. he isn't going to judge someone for using a fake name. Since hey, can he really talk? So Kaneis just nods instead]

Which name do you prefer- Arya or Cat?

[wolfchild]

[ which name would she prefer? who are you, child? ]

I'd rather be no one.

[ no one has no holes. no one doesn't hurt. ]

[wilder]

Really?

[No one, huh? ...he can relate. He tried to be a no one for awhile when he came here.]

...You know, being no one? Doesn't make things hurt less.

[wolfchild]

Yes, it does. I was doing just fine. [ until robb. ] No one else knows anything about me and I like it that way. No one can do anything to me.

[ she sweeps her hand over the circles, destroying them. then she starts with squiggles. ]

[wilder]

You don't get lonely?

[wolfchild]

[ she smiles a little, throat aching. ] Hard to be with two direwolves and my brother.

[ yet somehow she feels lonelier then. ]

[wilder]

...Hm.

[he's not sure he buys that, but he falls silent now. Since really, he's not sure how much he can push before she starts feeling defensive]

[wolfchild]

[ she allows the silence to extend until long past any time she might had to answer. then she asks, ] Have you got any bites yet?

[wilder]

Uh...I don't think so?

[....]

How do I know for sure again?

[wolfchild]

Because you'll feel—oh! Oh, I got one!

[ her grip tightens on the pole as the line goes taught. she scrambles to her feet. she yells, ] I got one, I got one!

[ how can little fish fight so hard. ]

[wilder]

[!!!!]

[THIS IS A NEW THING. He watches, getting worried the kid is going to fall into the water]

Whoa- careful! Do you need help?

[wolfchild]

No! I can—

[ GET YOUR OWN FISH, FISH STEALER.

she nearly falls backward when she finally yanks it out of the water. the spotted grey fish wriggles madly in the air as she holds it aloft. arya stares at it in shock before a grin splits her face. ]

I got it! I got a fish! I got a fish!

[wilder]

[And he watches this epic battle ensue! He can't help but smile and laugh some because she's just so happy and excited about it. he sets his own rod in his lap so he can clap]

Yeah! Way to go!

[wolfchild]

[ she shortens the line so she can easily hold it in front of her. it's small, but it seems big to her and heavy. smirking, she swings the still wriggling animal toward zelos in the interest of making him scream. she does, however, take care not to let it actually touch him. she hardly needs him fainting for getting fish slime on his hair. ]

[wilder]

[!!!!]

[He definitely uses his reflexes to move away from the fish, but no screaming besides a "whoa!".]

...You're just determined to freak me out today aren't you?

[wolfchild]

[ C8 ] You're funny when you scream.

[wilder]

[....]

Thanks?

[So nice of you Arya. So nice]

Alright. What do we do now that we caught one?

[wolfchild]

[ congratulations on your new little sister. ]

You keep fishing. I'll put this one in the basket.

[ she freezes the inside of the basket and lays the fish on a bed of ice. then she recovers her pole and baits it again. she throws the hook back in the water and sits down to wait. ]

[wilder]

[he is so happy]

Alright.

[And he'll follow instruction, holding onto his fishing pole again and waits.]

[Damn fish where are you]

[wolfchild]

[ one long silence later: ] Did you hook your worm right?