Welcome to Gaia! ::

L'an was a bit flummoxed about why this was happening. Rest days came and went and came and went and before you knew it you'd had 27 turns of rest days, but some things never changed. Until today. Today he'd gone fishing. That itself was routine, and not at all shocking. Alcherath had gone along with him, again not surprising, nor was the blue firelizard perched atop his shoulder. What was unusual was that when he got down to the docks, there'd been someone in his spot.

No one used his spot. He'd stood stock still a full half minute before shrugging to himself with a grunt-like noise, and veering aside for another dock. Down inside, something of himself felt that this had to be some sort of odd dream, or strange vision, it was so atypical. Sensing his displeasure, Alcherath rubbed up against him mentally. She spared just a moment to regard the other man before she slid into the shallow water off to one side. Their spot or not, she wasn't about to let this stranger ruin her evening with her rider.

L'an's slow trundle towards the other dock ground to a halt with all the alacrity of a dimglowed wher's thought. His eyes were...disinterested, almost dull as he regarded N'var for an age and a day. Someone in his spot and someone talking to him? Inviting him to be...social? Oh, no, this was undoubtedly a dream.

I don't think this is a dream my dear L'an...I think perhaps that one simply wants company.

But from him? No, no, that made absolutely no sense. The dragon and pair shared a moment mentally entwined, comforting and loving each other with shared bemusement, before the green slipped further into the water, sliding under the surface and into the depths with nary a splash. She at least was intent on some fishing!

It took another...perhaps three minutes for L'an to decide. The winding in of his fishing line took another full minute, and it was a total of five minutes in all before the boards of the dock N'var was on creaked, announcing his arrival. It took another long stare to determine how much 'in his spot' this fellow was, and the setting up of his gear was silent and efficient. This counted as being social, right? He was here, wasn't he? So there was nothing for Alcherath to complain about.

The green chuckled, mentally scolding him, from beneath the water.

L'an paid little mind to N'var as he set up his gear and spooled out his own line. It was almost as if the other man hadn't even spoken, so small was the reaction (if any could be noted at all) from the older man. Another handful of minutes passed in silence and stillness, until with a flick of the wrist L'an tugged on his line, and then began sedately working to reel it in, shifting almost idly as the line occasionally seemed to shift and twitch. Another moment and he slid a rather long, silvery fish up from the water and into his lap. It flopped and twitched, and he was quick to slide his hand into the mouth to hold it still, and used the other to find a loop of rope he'd set nearby. The end of the thin rope terminated in a rather sharp looking needle, and without missing a beat L'an used said needle to pierce the lower lip of the fish, threading the rope through after. That completed, he unhooked his hook from the fish's mouth, and calmly flipped the fish back into the water. Before re-baiting his hook he secured both ends of the rope to a nearby loop on the dock.

Beneath the water Alcherath was doing much better as far as socializing went. She twirled effortlessly through the water around the brown, flicking at him with a wingtip or a tail now and then before diving deeper. Of course, Licerth. Come down here...we can help drive the fish up. Maybe then yours might catch something, hmm? I think him catching...anything...would make mine somewhat more inclined to like him.

L'an had almost managed to forget that anyone else was there, and then N'var went and asked a question. Ah, yes. Right. "Since I was old enough to stand," Was the answer, simple and vague as that might be. It was the truth for almost any child born to a seahold, to fishcrafter parents. Of course he hadn't been any good at fishing as a babe, but he'd had...what, four decades now to get the feel of it. His life might take place in the sky, or in a weyr now, but the sea would always be the majority of what bubbled through his veins.

Alcherath thrummed with amusement as Licerth apparently decided to try to drown himself. You've got to hold your breath. Don't drink it either, but it's not bad. Yes, but that's the idea. The usually air-headed green was at her most focused when helping L'an fish. She could see so clearly the way it all worked in his mind's eye, she barely needed to do any thinking herself, which of course was a great help. We swim over there. Then we swim down. Then we swim back over here, but below the fish. When we come up, they swim away...away up. Up to my L'an, and yours. And then they catch them, and sometimes we do too. She tried to share the mental images with Licerth, but they came across fuzzy, vague at best, and interspersed with other random thoughts, like how the swaying seaplants reminded her of a lady's hair, or how the water smelled when you got down deep where it was cooler.