[FIN] Far From The Maddening Crowd (L'an & Finbar)

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

Whenever their ship returned after a long journey to the Northern continent, the crew was usually grateful for a chance to stay ashore for a while. Finbar, then, was the exception. If he ever spent more than a day on dry land, he would get anxious. But the uncertainty that came with those longer journeys meant that they didn't have much work lined up for them when they got back. Call it a restday, people would say. More like a rest sevenday. He never knew what to do with himself on land. So he did what he would always do on a restday if it were up to him.. He borrowed one of the smaller one-man sailing boats and set out on water, far enough away that only the sounds of the waves reached him, but not so far that the water was too deep to touch the bottom. Good fishing distance too.

Although he didn't have fond memories of doing it as a child, Finbar still dived sometimes as a hobby. And he'd been wanting to train Squall to help him chase fish into his net, like what Neri's clutch did, but on a smaller scale (which, in turn, was only what fishcrafters had been doing with firelizards for centuries, but on a larger scale). Finbar was deep underwater, watching Squall chase schools of fish around the ocean floor, when the shadow of something large passed over him and the water around him began to move. He looked up to see the hull of a ship moving over them. He must have been drifted a ways if another boat was passing over him. He was supposed to be directly under his own ship.

But what interested him more was how the boat was going so quickly when it was a was nearly windless day last time he dived down here, just minutes ago. It had been all morning, he knew that much for sure. He'd had to row himself most of the way out here. So how did it get here so soon?

Waiting until the long hull was well out of sight, Finbar swam back to the surface, taking a breath as soon as his head broke the water. Sure enough, he was about a hundred meters away from his anchored boat. Swimming back, he pulled himself on board before looking back at the other vessel. A dragon had been flying beside it, but he hadn't paid it much mind. He was used to dragons following their ships, working with Neri and the others. What was curiouser was that this ship had no sails. At least none out. It seemed to fly on a phantom wind that no one else could feel. Was he going crazy?

Curiosity overcoming timidness, he cupped his hands around his mouth; "Ahoy!" he shouted across at the other boat, before lifting a finger to point towards it. "How are you doing that?"  

[ShinosBee]

L'an was never one to miss a day of sailing and fishing. Never. Rest days came only once a sevenday or so, especially now that thread had returned, and so he'd be a sharding tunnlesnake to miss out on a day of his favored activities just because of something as silly and meaningless as there being no wind to speak of. Turns ago he'd figured out a plan to handle such days, though in true style to himself, he'd not gone trumpeting about the weyr with his ideas like some bronze the morning after a successful gold flight. It'd taken a bit of work to make it, well, work, but now the routine for a windless rest day was all but innate for him...and for Alcherath.

I think there's someone back there in the water calling to us, L'an dearest. The green cooed, voice as sweet and gentle as early morning mist. L'an'd noticed the boat anchored out as they'd sailed out, but he'd never been one to seek out company directly, and it wasn't the first time his bay of choice had seen other boats than his own. If someone was calling out to him though, flagging him down, well. Decades-old training wasn't so easily shrugged off, and when you grew up on the coast you learned just how quickly someone could drown, for instance.

With a mental gesture that was half nudge, half humming consent, L'an looked up over the lip of the boat, spotting the bobbing head against the otherwise calm sea after just a moment. Up and behind him, Alcherath turned in the air, twisting, and flew back towards the man. As they neared, exactly how he was 'doing that' would become clear. A unique-looking handle, made entirely of sturdy rope and a well-worn length of wood linked the dragon and the ship. Three long trailing lashes linked it to the front of the boat, and the handle itself was clutched firmly in the green's claws. She was towing the boat almost effortlessly, letting the handle go with a splash as they drew near. the boat itself, no longer being pulled, slowed to a bobbling stop just a few feet from Finbar.

"Like that," Came L'an's almost bored-sounding reply over the edge of the boat.

DruidTigeress

I was going to go with a proper harness to pull the boat, but then I realized how dangerous that would be if the boat were to sink for some reason. So he's made something rather like the sort of ropes water-skiers use, just dragon-sized, and on the front. He's got designs for a more 'lazy' version, used on days with wind—think a really wide, flat canoe with a handle built in. Dragon just lays on it, on their side, holds on, and stretches out a wing to take the place of a sail. And a few other ideas too, that he hasn't bothered to share.

 

[DruidTigeress]

Finbar nodded mutely, recognizing the contraption once the boat had turned back in his direction. It's like Neri's, only larger... he thought, surprised someone had come up with so similar a design to the same problem. Well, perhaps not the exact same problem. Though their dragons frequently towed vessels that were stuck on dead water, or in situations where sailing was difficult, such as pulling into a dock or delicately weaving through a rocky pass, with Neri he had a feeling it was less to do with winds more to do with sheer velocity.

He shook his head, letting a spray of water fly from his dripping hair, not unlike a canine, then pulled his shirt back on. He sat down on the side of the boat, his legs hanging in the temperate water on the side facing the other vessel. He hadn't seen this ship or its occupant before, and he knew these islands fairly well. He must be from farther afield. "Are you fishing?" he asked. "There's a school of reds around here. Should be a good spot." he said, but he lifted his shoulders languidly, as if to say he was under no obligation to remain. He was just passing along the information.

As if to prove his words, a moment later Squall burst from the water behind him carrying a far-too-large-for-him fish between his needle sharp teeth. He dropped the fish on the deck, obediently looking to Finbar first before he tore into it. Finbar had always been good with animals, but in this case he was mostly just lucky. It was rare to have a firelizard that craved attention more than it craved food. Squall would do just about anything for praise and affection, making him exceedingly easy to train. He waved a hand towards the fish, letting him know it was alright to eat, and the firelizard promptly began tearing chunks of flesh off of the bone, making a right mess of Neri's boat while he was at it. Table manners would have to be lesson two, he decided.  

[ShinosBee]

L'an watched with apparent indifference as the other fellow clambered up onto his own boat, shaking out the water from his hair and twisting to sit with legs dangling below. He shrugged a single shoulder at the question of fishing. He loved to sail and to fish, but hadn't planned on the latter. He had nets in a pile near one corner of the ship, but he was apparently not the type to have a firm plan. If in the moment throwing one out made him happy, he'd do it. If sitting still felt better, he'd do that. He had no quota to reach or obligation to do anything, so it all was down to his choice in the moment.

The splash of a firelizard erupting from below with a robust specimen of a red caught his eye, and he shifted his attention to how it tore at the thing with gusto. A clearly amused harrumph rippled up from his belly, and a corner of his mouth quirked up. "Reminds me of my blue. I swear they're just stomachs on wings, those little blighters." And as if summoned by the thought of him, a plain but richly colored blue firelizard -pop!- snapped out of between, screeching and trilling and diving down to shamelessly leap about on Finbar's boat, snaking his head in close to snag bites of Squall's fish any chance he could get.

Across the way, the green dragon who had been hovering took off, flying in a slow lazy loop to come back in for a landing rather like a waterfowl would do, kicking up a light spray as she pulled up alongside the crafts. She splayed one wing out just beneath the surface of the water, making happy burbling noises at the cool touch of the water. He's right, L'an dearest. Plenty of tasty little fish down there...  

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

Finbar lifted a hand to his eyes, watching the man's mouth as he talked. He was having trouble hearing him from this distance, but he was able to pick out the words 'stomachs on wings' and assumed he was talking about the firelizard. He laughed, nodding in agreement. "They are!" he agreed, and might have said more if, just as they were talking about, one such stomach on wings hadn't popped out of the air behind him and landed on his boat, making a move for Squall's catch.

Despite his rapid rate of growth, the baby brown was still not quite the size of the full grown blue. Not that he seemed willing to let that discourage him from protecting his rightful meal. Crouching over the kill, he hissed at the older flitt, snapping at him whenever he got close. Leaning on his other arm, Finbar lifted a hand and poked his 'lizard gently on the back. "Be nice." he said, but the otherwise well behaved flitt was not willing to let this once go. Sharing would have to be lesson three, it seemed.

Whether he wanted to share or not, however, it soon became clear that the fish was far too large for him alone to protect. And soon his angry hissing became a low whine of complaint as he turned pitiful eyes towards Finbar. It's not fair. That was his fish. The big one was picking on him!

Seemingly unconcerned at the potential of being bitten, Finbar shooed both 'lizards away long enough to steal the fish himself. He tore it in two, twisting the spine until it broke. He tossed one piece back onto the deck towards the blue flitt, then scooped up Squall with his other hand, placing the fish and the firelizard on his lap. Turning back towards L'an's ship, he nodded towards the dragon. "What's her name?" he asked, once Squall had settled down again in his lap, finding the renewed attention a suitable compensation for this intruder filching his catch. He was quite fond of his own little flitt, especially since he knew it was as close to dragon kind as he was likely to ever get, but he was more interested in the delicate green than her small blue cousin.
 

[ShinosBee]

Oh, yes, that seemed about right for Nogard. The little blue dung had been snatching fish from L'an's own nets and lines for well over a decade now, and had seemed to have learned that the wet flap of scales against a wooden deck was in fact a dinner bell. He made no move to call the clue off, despite the baby brown's dismay, and similarly seemed nonplussed by the other man's solution. It wasn't his boat they were squawking around on, nor his fish, and he was sure enough that it wouldn't lead to any injuries that he didn't bother to waste his energy or attention on it.

The blue, of course, was ecstatic when the not-his man just gave him half the fish. The tiny glutton leapt onto the partially shredded half and creeled in delight, tail lashing about and wings flaring to mantle over the food as he began to gorge away. He'd won!

At a thought, the green dragon slid about in the water to gently nudge the boat. It drifted a few yards towards Finbar's before settling to stillness again. They wouldn't have to shout now (not that L'an had planned to anyway). "She's Alcherath," He was blunt, only the faintest note of pride tinging his words with any sort of emotion. At the sound of her name, the green slid down beneath the surface of the water, leaving ripples but no splashes. A few long silent moment passed before she emerged, this time directly beside Finbar's boat. Her long neck arched upwards to aim a peering, whirling blue eye at him. "She says your boat isn't bad."

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

Sorry, Gaia got weird there for a second. xP

Though he hadn't planned to say anything about it, Finbar was glad when the dragon nudged the ship slightly, grateful that they were closer now and he didn't have to squint to try and follow what the man was saying. "She's pretty." he said in response to her name. He always did like greens. Though he might be a bit biased given it was the color of many of his friends dragons.

He continued feeding his baby flitt bits of fish in silence, keeping the conversation for our naturally. He'd never been to interested in small talk. Once he'd had his fill, the brown rested his head down on Finbar's knee and Fin tossed what was left of the fish into the ocean for the crustaceans and bottom feeders to have their chance at it. He put his hand back on the brown's back, scratching the skin between its wings as he leaned on his other arm. Squall chirped on his lap, almost aggressively happy. Like he wanted to show the other flitt how little he cared about its continued intrusion. For his part, Finbar didn't mind one way or another. He already needed to clean the boat before he returned it to Neri. A little more of a mess didn't make any difference to him.

He watched the dragon dive under the water, following her shadow until she popped up again next to his boat. "Thanks. It's a friend's." he said, smiling broadly at the dragon. "I like yours too."

Though he didn't exactly make an effort to meet people, he did like boats, and dragons, and had a good memory for both. And he hadn't seen either of these two around these parts before. "Are you from the Weyr?" he asked, directing his question to Alcherath, though he knew she couldn't answer him directly. Or at least, wasn't likely to. He couldn't remember how that worked exactly, he just knew most of the dragons in their group only talked to people through their riders. "I haven't seen you around here before." he said, explaining his question, although they could still just be travelers.  

[ShinosBee]

Alcherath of course all but glowed at the praise from the fisher fellow on the other boat. She was quite pretty, and she knew it. L'an was not the type to praise openly or loudly, but she knew the innermost places in his mind. He thought she was the most lovely dragon to ever grace Pern's sea or sky. She was perfection, as beloved as the water itself was, or his ship. It showed in that he'd even modified the ship so that she could be part of the process of sailing it.

"She's old," L'an noted. The boat? The green? He didn't differentiate, and the green didn't seem to care if he'd meant her. The boat, of course, had no strong feelings either way. "From the weyr, aye. Though only for..." He seemed to debate for a moment. "Shards. Ten turns?" A shrug. Time didn't matter terribly much. He'd stopped counting namedays so long ago now. "Hatched in Benden, if that's what you're asking of her." He'd begun baiting a line at some point as they talked, no pole attached, just a length of fine thin filament he was twisting with practiced ease into a knot that resembled a small insect. Honestly he didn't recognize the other man either, or his ship either, but L'an never, ever went out of his way to really make friends or introduce himself. He didn't mind if, like this, people came to talk to him. He just saw no reason to seek people out for company outside of specific occasions.

"Ista, before here," He eventually added. Most riders in traditional days didn't leave their home weyr, and he'd seen three, possibly more, as far as Finbar would know. He shifted, a flex of weathered skin dappled with almost glittering tattoos and firm muscle as he whipped the line out overhead and into the water. He let it slide along through his fingers, whatever hook or bait he'd rigged drawing it down down and down...until at last he pinched it to a stop with calloused fingers, holding gently but firmly to it.

Across the way, the blue perked up at the motion. A decade of this? He knew more food might be on the way soon, and he chittered at the brown—friendly now that he'd gotten his 'rightful' share—to be alert.

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

He nodded at L'an's answer, a little more engaged than before. He was, admittedly, a little curious about the Weyr. He'd never seen one before, and could only picture it from stories he'd been told. Even many of their dragonriders had never been, impressing in Holds or Weyrholds instead. So many dragons in one place must be quite a sight...

'Hatched in Benden, if that's what you're asking of her.'

He lifted his shoulders. It wasn't, but it hardly mattered. He'd heard the name Benden once or twice before, but he'd never been there. He hadn't been more than a mile away from the coast, in fact. "Ista's nice." he said instead. "We just came from there." They'd been to Ista a few times, even if they usually stayed closer to the Southern Islands. Before he sighed up with Cal's group, he spent a lot more time around the Northern continent on trading ships around those parts. Tillek, more often, but Ista too sometimes.

He looked down at the lizard on his lap and smiled. "It's where I found this one, actually." he said, putting a hand on the firelizard's back and scratching between his wingblades until he was practically purring. That was a quite a trip, certainly. Though life at sea was rarely dull (at least, not to him) days as good as that one were few and far between. Squall and Darling had been doing their part to brighten up the ship since then. Hopefully, if his endeavor had any success, they could do their part to fill their stores as well.

As L'an cast his line and Nogard perked up, Squall lifted his head on Finbar's lap, warbling grumpily. But after a few more soothing scratches, the baby lizard sat up and trilled back at the blue, suitably consoled.

Fin leaned back on his hand, pulling idly at his nets and wondering if he should try to catch something. He'd only brought them to practicing training Squall with, and he wasn't hungry yet, so in the end, he left it and just settled on watching the man fish. It wasn't a style he was all that familiar with, in fact, mostly using a cast net himself. And he'd never had any proper Craft training, so it was interesting to watch.  

[ShinosBee]

The trouble with watching someone like L'an fish (or do anything else requiring skill or technique) was that they either took no notice of their audience, or else made no allowances for it. He made no effort of showing what his hands were doing, and explained naught. His eyes had roved, half-lidded with perpetual drowze or disinterest, up across the bow of the boat, over the water, along the neck of the green where it arched aloft, and down to the other man's face, all while his hands still twitched and shifted and adjusted on the line, subconscious or unconscious as they sought patterns proved productive in turns and turns before.

"Aye, you'll find plenty of those little pests in Ista. Not so bad a place, it was." It'd been turns since he thought of Ista before today, and turns since he'd pulled back the skein of vague memory to actually consider what the place had been like. In truth it had been as fine as any other place. He'd simply grown...bored. Nothing there to hold him, the same indeed as with Western. He'd never been the sort to make close friends or put down roots beyond what was needed to survive. Not since the sea had taken his father and brother to its depths, and sorrows his mother theirs.

Alcherath cooed lowly, sensing perhaps the twinge of melancholy in her rider, but made little of it beyond that. He was ever swit to reassure the green, though his expression was yet still, vaguely staring out over the waves toward the middle distance as his hands worked and worked the line.

A sharp tug snapped him from whatever reverie had claimed him, and in a practiced motion he heaved the line, hands and arms shifting to wind it not with fleshy hut calloused palms, but the jutting point of his elbow. In a half-minute of effort he plucked a fairly sized fish from the water into his lap, and Nogard, ever greedy, was up and creeling as it dove through the air, circling like any common seabird.

"He'll get fat if he eats it all. Send yours along too, then."

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

Finbar swung his leg in the water, sending cascades of ripples across the still water. He hummed mildly in response at L'an's assessment of Ista, but otherwise had nothing to say. His eyes remained on the fishing rod that fascinated him, making a short sound of surprise when the rod began to move and L'an skillfully pulled back the line until a large fish finally broke the surface of the water.

It seemed like more of a pastime than a practical method- he could catch a dozen more in the same time with a cast net. Still, it was interesting. He wondered if that's what they taught people in the Fishercraft halls. Did Cal and Neri know how to do that too? He looked down at his lap, one hand still resting gently on the firelizard's back. Squall was staring up at him eagerly. With an indulgent smile, Finbar nodded his head to the other man's boat and the lizard took off, chasing after the larger blue.

Clothes already soaked, Finbar slid into the water beside his boat, moving around the back with one hand on the hull. He gave the small boat a quick shove, sending it gliding along in the nearly still waters, then swam after it, following the lizard. Why he would interpret 'send yours along' as 'come over yourself', was anyone's guess. But it seemed like a friendly enough gesture that he felt comfortable moving his boat closer. He climbed back onto his own deck as the boat coasted to a halt, the two small vessels now only stepping distance apart, arriving just as the brown flitt glided down to the deck.

Squall landed somewhat more politely on the other man's vessel, eyeing up the fish hungrily, but looking to L'an first with a short chirp, as he had with Finbar. Finbar, meanwhile, was too busy eyeing up the fishing rod. "Can I try?" he asked, pointing a finger towards the rod.
 

[ShinosBee]

L'an had swiftly tugged the fish across to himself, paying just enough mind to the sharp quills of the fin so as not to jab himself as he twisted the hook free. It was dangerous to let a hooked line swing free to grab his knife, so without hesitation he swung the fish, slapping it hard against the corner of the deck to stun it with a wet clap. He tossed it a few feet off then, and the blue dove to start tugging and tearing at it. The smaller lizard, for all his politeness, got little more than a wave of the hand to motion that he was welcome to join in if he liked.

The man was set to rebaiting the hook as Finbar moved his boat closer, and he flicked the line out without thought beyond care to make sure it'd not tangle between the joined ships. "If y'like," He grunted passively, and handed off the slender rod to the dripping man who'd come across to join him. "Less reliable than a net, but if you're only fishing for yourself, no real need to haul in so many. If you've patience and no great need..." A shrug. It was about as much as he'd offer in way of explaining the allure of this form of fishing. "Something like long-lines, but just the one hook." Sea holds often used those as well as nets, for certain fish.

From a small box nestled atop the ship he casually withdrew another length of line. No rod was attached to this one, but a small pile of glinting hooks were pooled beside it in the box, just in case the line snapped or a hook was lost. With the kit in easy reach of them both, L'an reclined a bit to relax. The green dragon had slid beneath the water now, and would occasionally resurface across a length of water, or flick by as a dark shape beneath the waves.

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

ShinosBee

A wave of the hand was all Squall needed before he dove hungrily towards the fish. He landed on the deck, crouching low and narrowing his eyes suspiciously at the blue. Then he pounced, pulled off a small chunk of fish, and scampered away, as though testing the waters of what this larger 'lizard would allow.

Though usually a careful and attentive owner, Fin was now mostly oblivious to the antics of his firelizard. He smiled eagerly, stepping onto the other man's boat to take the rod from him. "Mmmm..." he hummed, as though in agreement. A sure sign (to those who knew him) that he'd already stopped listening. In any case, he didn't need to be convinced. He was naturally curious about anything and everything that had to do with the water, practical or otherwise. Or with dragons.

"And now I just wait?" he asked, though it was really more of an assumption than a question. His eyes bored into the water like that could somehow induce a fish into biting. It wasn't long, however, before he felt a tug on the end of the line. Copying the man's movements as closely as he could remember, Finbar heaved on the line, pulling it in until a medium-sized fish had been hoisted from the water. "It worked!" he cheered proudly, grinning ear-to-ear. At least, for a moment. But then...

He frowned at the fish, still dangling from the end of the line, then looked back up at L'an. "Now what?" he asked, with a sudden dawning panic. He'd intended to let the fish go (Squall would make himself sick if he ate any more, and Finbar himself wasn't hungry) but it had swallowed the hook, and having only ever worked with nets before, he realized he had no idea how to get it out.  

[ShinosBee]

L'an had observed Fin's efforts with only partial attention, though he had lifted his chin in aknowledgement when it looked like the younger man had something on the line. Pulling it in on the first go was lucky, or he thought he'd heard something like that before somewhere. Sailors had so many mantras about luck and superstition...

It took him another minute once the fish was landed to realize that Fin might not know how to unhook it...but anyone who'd baited and pulled in longlines should know that. Oh. Ah. That was a bit trickier then. "Want to toss it back?" They certainly didn't have to. Alcherath could eat it, or the kitchens use it, but it was the boy's fish. Instead of arguing, L'an just reached out a hand, hooking his thumb in the poor flopping fish's mouth to look down the wide, gulping gullet. "Gut hooked for sure. Well. Hold this." He handed the fish back, hefting his knife with one hand, and holding the twitching maw open with the other. "Tricky to cut the line in deep enough...and we'll lose the hook..." Well, he had more. Now if he could just get the blade in deep enough without stabbing the thing itself.

"The hook won't kill'm," He added as an afterthought. Nothing to worry about.

DruidTigeress