aionlogs | [CLOSED] lizard times

[ Impressed as she is to see him take initiative, Himeka shakes her head. And to make it more clear, she moves to place her hand in the water close to where they are. ]

It's a little too shallow here. Most of the fish we're after won't come this close to the water's edge.

[ Taking up the other rod she brought, she skewers a little worm on her hook as well, figuring that a demonstration is in order. Pulling the line taut, Himeka brings the fishing rod over her shoulder before whipping it forward. The spindle spins quickly as the hook and line fly out further into the lake before hitting the water several yalms forward. ]

See? Just get some good air and you'll land it right in prime fish territory.

Ah.

[ dextera can do that. he has a great throwing arm, he just needs to make sure he doesn’t throw the rod into the water while he casts.

mimicking himeka’s posture, dextera tosses out the hook. it doesn’t look quite as clean or comfortable as himeka’s and lands short of the ideal distance, but it’s not hitting any shallows and there are the shadows of fish under the water nonetheless. ]

…

[ he looks at himeka again, cautious in every new thing he does. ]

[ It's not practiced but it's effective, and honestly that's all that matters. Himeka gives Dextera a hearty thumbs up with her right hand as she keeps hold of her rod with her left. ]

Well done! You're a natural at this already.

[ With that, she repositions and...yep. Stands there for a moment. Holding the pole. ]

And now? We wait... How long it takes depends on the bait, the fish, the day, et cetera.

[ She gives a small shrug. ]

But we don't have to just stand here while we do. We've got two other methods to get ready. So find a good place to stick your pole into the ground and we'll move on to the nets.

[ Himeka makes a hole into the ground with her toes as well as lines up a few larger rocks for the pole to rest on, shoving the end into the ground. ]

[ himeka is clearly planning to give him the full experience, and for that, he’s grateful. being kept busy is exactly what he needs; it may have been a few days since his desperate cry on the network, but the feelings don’t go away that easily. throwing himself into something with practical results, even if the process is simple and relaxing, keeps him from dwelling.

he digs out a little hole with his fingers and sinks the butt of his pole down until it doesn’t move. even if a fish does bite, it… probably won’t take the whole pole with it, unless dextera somehow manages to catch a giant. ]

…

[ he trots over to the next set of supplies, proactively gathering the nets in his arms. this, he understands the efficiency of. ]

[ Now that's a good sign. She smiles quietly to herself as she watches him manage the nets quite well on his own. ]

You said you hadn't gone fishing before, but you seem to know what we're going to do with these, right?

[ Himeka motions for Dextera to follow. ]

There are a lot of ways to use nets, so it's really how you want to. But I've found in this particular area...

[ The neck where the stream meets the lake is their destination. She hops onto a rock that is just a foot away from the bank. ]

We can catch several as they try to make their way back into the lake if we block off the whole side with it.

[ in a way, it’s not so different from the way he needs to think when he uses the various traps and labyrinthine layouts of the neuro tower. the matter here isn’t life-and-death, but the methods are the same: finding the best angle to strike from, setting up the elements, and then letting the predictable course of nature run through. ]

Hmm…

[ he seems to be taking to this even more naturally than the fishing pole, as a result. a quick glance at their surroundings, taking guide from himeka’s vantage point, makes it easy for him to figure out where to spread and pin the nets. he just needs to carefully… make his way over…

he slips on a rock despite his best efforts, crashing into the shallow water nearby. ]

Waugh!

[ He's doing so well. Is Himeka proud? Absolutely! He's taking to it like, as one may say, a fish to water. (A duck to water? No, fish are better swimmers.)

And then he falls right in.

The right reaction is to gasp and immediately go see if he's okay. But it's just water so surely he's fine? ]

...Dextera?

[ She hops over to wade into the water beside him. ]

Are you alright?

[ If he's under water he surely knows how to hold his breath! ]

…

[ dextera never learned how to swim. being caught in the sticky, still waters of the neuro tower were a death sentence for him, and even if he doesn’t have to swim in this little stream, his panic makes him take a big, idiotic breath when he senses his nose and mouth being covered. ]

—achk! [ COUGH. ] Gugh… hack!

[ he’s all good. ]

[ Oh.

Oh dear.

He's doing the thing that most people should not be doing, which is inhaling the water when they haven't been properly blessed by the Kojin or growing their own set of gills.

Himeka reaches in, grabbing Dextera by his collar and yanks him up above the waterline. ]

Breathe the air, not the water!

[ in theory he knows this, but his body just doesn’t want to accept that this is the correct thing he should do. he’s not able to breathe, so he should try to power through it—it gets a bit easier when himeka hauls him up, though there’s still something of a gurgling sound from his throat as he tries to catch his breath. ]

Gaaahh…

[ oh, he is drooling a little, but it seems like he’s got it now. he’s breathing! ]

[ He's breathing. That's good, because her next course of action would have been to try and squeeze the water out of him by force. And that would have been fun for...

...well, not Dextera. ]

Do you know how to swim?

[ Not that the water was that deep, but... ]

Uh— [ cough. ] Uh-uh.

[ normally just a shake of the head would suffice, but since his mouth is open, his body automatically responds as if he tries to speak and some more water falls out.

needless to say, no, he cannot. ]

[ Oh no, oh Dex... ]

...Well, I think we have more than fish to catch today, don't you?

[ Yes, that's right. He's been officially signed up for swimming lessons.

She does pat his back to help him cough up any water left in his lungs, though she continues talking all the same. ]

We'll get these traps set up, check on our rods, and then get onto swimming lessons. You'll need to know how to swim if you want to properly master spearfishing anyway.

Nn?

[ dextera finally wipes his mouth and tries to look like a capable human being, only because himeka’s rhetorical question throws him off enough to forget he was just choking.

does she mean— yes, she does. ]

…

[ he nods, grateful for her willingness to teach, but… now he feels like a bit of a hassle. ]

[CLOSED] lizard times

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