Hooked

Writers: Mirren, Chelle
Date Posted: 20th January 2016

Characters: Zaeryn, Asley
Description: The two of them take that fishing trip.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 6 of Turn 8

The dining cavern was all but deserted this early. That suited Zaeryn, she didn't much care for crowds. She hefted a bag further up her shoulder, the fishing poles in her other hand serving as a counter weight. She spotted Asley easily enough and walked to meet her. "Good morning."

The blonde printer was drinking klah and eating a biscuit. "Morning. You want some?" Hopefully the weather would hold out for them. She saw the excited look on Zaeryn's face and gingerly fingered the mug, wondering if she'd be any good at fishing. **I don't want to disappoint her.**

"Oh, no I already ate." Zaeryn hadn't even thought about waiting and now she felt a bit bad. "We can wait until you've finished eating." She put everything aside and sat down.

"Oh no it's just klah and a biscuit." Asley drank the rest of the klah since there wasn't much left. The biscuit could be carried with her and she only needed a few more bites anyway. "Let's go. I hear fishing is better in the morning, right?"

"It's better to go before the tide turns, yes." Zaeryn jumped up again and started to pick everything back up. "We're not going too far though, just to the beach. There are rocks… well you'll see."

"I can carry some of that," Asley offered. Zaeryn was a smith so she was strong but it was the right thing to offer anyway. Some of her mother's long ago lessons surfaced from time to time.

Letting people touch her things wasn't easy, but the smith handed a fishing pole and a bag over. "That's better, thank you."

"You're welcome." Walking along in companionable silence, Asley remembered what it was like to have a female companion without any strings. It was pleasurable for sure but there was just something she got from it that a man couldn't provide, romance notwithstanding.

"Be careful where you step," Zaeryn warned as they approached the rocks. The closer they got to the water, the more they shone, some looking wet and slick.

Asley had been born and raised at a seahold, then brought to another one. She understood beaches and rocks, but she never said that Zaeryn. Instead, she focused on picking her way quietly, trying to choose the best spot to fish from.

Zaeryn had particular ideas about that. She reached the spot she wanted and placed everything down. "All right, do you know how to bait a hook?" This was messy and she knew some people didn't like it.

"No..." Allowing the smith to run this little expedition, she was content to watch. It wasn't that Asley was afraid of getting dirty. She was going to take pleasure in seeing Zaeryn get that way. It thrilled her that the other woman wasn't afraid of doing things associated with masculine pursuits.

"Oh." Zaeryn grabbed her pole and some of the small fish she preferred as bait. "Let me bait this and I'll do yours." She wound the fish around the hook and set it aside, then reached for Asley's. "Some people don't like this because it's smelly, but you can't catch fish without it."

"I don't mind the smell. I'm used to fish smell or even worse things like ink. How do you do it without pricking your finger though?" She made sure to seem impressed with how quickly Zaeryn had managed that.

"I just do it quickly and carefully," Zaeryn replied. "Do you know how to cast out?"

She took the pole in hand and hefted it once or twice to feel the weight, then played with it. "I think I can figure it out. You do yours and I'll watch first." Asley was thinking at least the weather was holding so far. A gusher would not be the best thing if they had to scrabble along on the rocks to get back.

Zaeryn nodded. She baited her hook, swung the pole back and flicked it forward, sending the hook, bait and line soaring. It landed in the water with a slash and sank. "Now I wait for a fish." Or just relaxed while fish ignored the bait.

Asley cast her line in a spot she thought would be good and adjusted her posture. When she was comfortable, she noted the way Zaeryn was sitting and how her muscles were arranged. "Do you really come out here to fish or is it more to think? I imagine the quiet with just the noise of the waves would be nice."

"I like to think," Zaeryn agreed. "It's easier here without all the noise of people doing…all their normal things. And the crowds. Sometimes it's nice to be away from all of that, fish or no fish."

"See I have that in my workshop. There aren't any other printers here anymore. So I can be in there and be as quiet as I want." Her workspace was her sanctum and she planned to keep it that way.

"The smithy can be busy and noisy, but I'm in the quietest bit." It had taken time for her to get used to it at first. Unless it was unusually noisy then she could manage.

"Maybe sometime I could see some of your work." Asley hadn't come across a lot of jewelry in her time. It had been mostly simple trinkets though gathers had afforded her views at more expensive options when she had lived at the Seahold.

"Of course," Zaeryn replied. "Maybe I could make you something." Something pretty; to match Asley's pretty eyes. The smith realized she was staring and looked away, blushing slightly.

"I'd be afraid I'd get it dirty. I seem to get everything dirty. Thank you though." Hazard of the job really. And anyway, Asley couldn't afford something like that. Not with her business just starting to build. She appreciated the gesture however. "Oh I think I have a tug..."

"But you'd look so - Oh!" Zaeryn set her pole aside and stepped closer to Asley. Their elbows almost touching, she said, "Bring your pole up and start winding the reel in toward you. Just slowly though…"

The printer did as instructed and was slow and deliberate with her movements, careful not to jerk the pole too hard. She reeled it in, watching the water for any signs of life. "Do you think it's a large one?"

"No idea until we see it." The water was churning as something thrashed below the surface. "Maybe…" Zaeryn leaned forward as the surface broke.

"Careful, don't fall in. Dunno if I can fish you out." Asley did know how to swim though if worse came to worse. Those rocks made her nervous though. Reeling, she finally saw a head. "I see something! Do you have a net?"

"What? Oh, yes of course." Zaeryn moved back, grabbed the net out of the bag and held it out. "Keep reeling, it's almost up."

And then, just a moment later, there was a fish in the air. Asley's eyes opened a bit wider and she kept reeling. "Do you have it?" She shouted above the noise of the water, careful not to move too much, lest the thing get off the hook.

"I… wait… almost… yes!" Zaeryn held up the net, the thrashing fish inside. "Do you want me to take out the hook?"

"Oh sure...but don't cut yourself. Be careful." Asley watched the thing wriggling in the net, wondering if that was average size or large or small. She couldn't judge it really.

"Of course." Zaeryn replied and gently worked the hook loose, before tossing the fish onto the rocks to drown. "It's a good sized fish and it'll taste good too."

"Why did you put it there? My brother always used to hit them with a rock and put them in a basket." Curious, the printer watched the fish with a funny look on her face.

Zaeryn frowned. "Hitting it will damage the meat. Fish aren't that meaty to start with. I can hit it if you want me to…"

"Oh..well if you don't have to.." Asley watched as the creature took its last breaths, moving around. "How does it damage the meat? You mean like if the rock shreds it?"

"It'll bruise or squish it," Zaeryn replied. "Don't worry, it won't take long to die." Some people did seem to object to animals suffering, although that didn't stop them from eating them.

Asley didn't focus on that. Instead, she tried to rebait her hook after watching Zaeryn do it that first time. She wanted to get it cast out again.

Zaeryn nodded approvingly. "You learn quickly," she said. It was better if she didn't have to explain things more than once.

Last updated on the February 23rd 2016

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Hooked