Drowning in stupidity (Lase)

[Bob Barton]

14th day of Winter 511 AV

It has been a while since they disembarked from Syliras and one thing was for sure as anyone would know. Being stuck on a ship is "boring!" It was the same with any other boat ride that Bob has been on and unless he could find something to do, that would be the state he will remain in. Bob walked around the ship he was on a little. As with his dog there was nothing else but to watch the rest of the crew doing whatever it is they were doing and given the strange nature of his dog, his only excitement came from struggling to keep it in line and making sure that it does not cause any trouble. Unfortunately it happened too quickly when Bob spied a man bent over the deck, trying to reel in some fish in the net which might be used for their dinner. "I hope they catch something nice Jinsen. I used to eat a lot of fis...Wait!" but it was already too late to try and stop the dog which acted from the word eat on the tantalizing looking pile of meat that was protruding right in front of it at the fisherman's rear.

"Yes, I am very sorry..." very, truly sorry especially when Bob could see the man still rubbing the spot Jinsen savaged. It was the sort of pain that he never wanted to receive himself but "I disagree. Where else can the term seadog come from?" Spending time with the sailors of Zeltiva did not seem like such a waste since he could use the sea language to defend his dog against the harsh words of it not being allowed on the ship. At least the crisis of Jinsen getting thrown overboard was averted and "I agree that you need to get it looked at" but Bob sure hoped that the man did not mean that he had to look at it. He never told anyone that his uncle was a doctor who tried to indoctrinate him into the profession so the man could not be suggesting that Bob try to fix it. Even the bloody horrors his uncle tried to get him used to were not enough to keep Bob from trying to avert his eyes from what he would prefer to be looking at on a woman. Finally he was able to give a smile because "you just need me to watch over the net? Why didn't you say so."

Bob was raised in Zeltiva so it should be in his blood to be able to handle something as easy as that. Holding fast on the net, he told Jinsen that "I will pull out a whole haul of fish to make up for your stupidity" and everyone will get a nice surprise too. After a while of waiting Bob gave a yawn because the net felt just as light as it did earlier. "You should go and rest somewhere else Jinsen. You are scaring the fish..." Bob said when he pulled out the empty net from the water. Because Bob never did like backbiting unless he was the one doing it and the lack of fish was mocking him that he was inept as a Zeltivan the way one of the people he knew used to remind him he lashed out at Jinsen with his frustration. "Jinsen...Go! To! The! Room!" pushing it away on the ground at the direction of the room. "You heard me, take a rest, a dump...wait I'll have to clean that up so just go chase your tail. Do whatever you want as long as it is not here" then, "DING!" Bob got an idea. "Why don't you go an play with Zenai. You like him don't you?" With a happy tail wagging of a good friend to Bob and Jinsen, the dog dashed across the deck.

Now things should go a lot better. Bob cast the net into the water one more time the way he thinks he remembered the seamen used to do back in the day. What he also remembered was that the net was supposed to spread out instead of falling in like a sack of rocks. "Alright, lets try that again..." Bob told himself pulling it back up and throwing it back in over and over until "that's how its done!" when it opened up wide and sank into the water. Now all Bob had to do was wait for the fish to come in but again not many went inside. "Jinsen!" he called out thinking that the dog might be near so that he could blame the failure on it but it did not come running in response as it should. "Damn it all...what am I going to do now?" he asked himself as he watched the fishes swimming in the water. Only a few going into the net and the rest swimming away from it. "If only there was some way to make the fishes want to go in..." he asked himself and then he realized that he could. If it worked the way he wanted that is.

It was obvious with the way Bob was blankly staring into the water that he had doubts but it would prove as a good method to see if it works the same way on fishes as it did on animals. Animals were never in the water when he did this so even if he did fail, it would be something useful to remember. He left and returned later with two messily drawn circles around his eyes. A remarkable feat on a rocking boat with only his reflection in the water to help him with the task. There was only...three incidents where the brush tip touched his eye and he had to run screaming for some water the last two times since during the first he had to scream more from the saltwater. Eyes all red but with the two glyphs working as a focus to help pierce whatever resistance the water might provide, Bob stared into the water one more time looking for the fishes. Whoever said that underwater physical training did not help Bob to find about just how restrictive the water was?

A more imaginative person might perceive Bob's red eyes growing redder with power but there was no such thing. True the power that was flowing through all living beings like him was being concentrated towards one point and that was his eyes. Thanks to the glyphs, it was made even more effective for the djed that came from throughout his body to be absorbed even better through the border of the focus into his eyes. And then Bob was tearing, thanks to the strain on his eyes from the pain that came from the stupid brush and him struggling to keep his eyes open to find those fishes. All he could see at that point were dark shadows piercing through the deep blue and could not tell where the heads were though at least he could see which direction they were headed towards. For the ones that were coming towards him, he released the djed straight at them so let them know...actually make them want since fishes have tiny brains to keep going straight ahead into the net like it was something they have been thinking of doing all along.

Unfortunately, the more Bob did this the more his eyes began to get clouded up. This time with more better coloured blood tears! If that was not enough he also started to get affected by the residual djed that was reflected by the water's surface back into his eyes and he began to think as well that he needed to keep going straight ahead. When that happened he tripped over the barrier and fell into the water only to be trapped by the very same net in the same way he was trying to do to the fishes as well. "Help...help..." he gurgled out in panic as he tried to fight off the net. Practically blind and running out of air, Bob was in danger and probably regretting sending off Jinsen which would have went for help as well.

[Lase]

It wasn't every day Lase witnessed someone drowning themselves in a net. How they got caught in the net was another thing, but this obviously wasn't a Svefra. If it was, an unskilled one. She had watched him just walk off the side of the boat, but not before she got the strange feeling that she had to swim into the net. She could barely shake it off, but she knew that even if she did get caught in the net, she could get out sooner or later. But this human, well, humans couldn't hold their breath very long. Lase didn't want to be guilty with the thought that she could have helped him. Making her way over to the net, she could feel the air bubbles that were being made as he was thrashing about. It was a tickley feeling, and it wouldn't help her at all. If he would just stop thrashing about, she could get to the net and help him out. But with his arms and legs flailing she had almost no chance. It was by pure luck that he happened to pass out from lack of oxygen. Using the opportunity to get him out, she simply unraveled a few knots and pulled him out. He was quite short, so that helped. He wasn't that heavy, either, so she could carry him through the water. Lase's only problem was the fact that she couldn't easily carry him to the top of the boat. She didn't exactly know how to get someone conscious again, so she just pushed him against the side of the boat to get the water out of his lungs. Apparently it worked, because a few chimes later he started blinking and coughing up water. Lase doubted he could speak Fratava, seeing that he could barely swim without getting caught in a net. "Was it really necessary to get caught in your own net? " Lase hoped that this first bout of unfriendliness wouldn't be taken as such, but more of an, 'Are you kidding me?' statement. That wasn't so nice either, but someone must have gotten dropped on the head as a child seven too many times to let this guy in charge of nets.

[Bob Barton]

It was a very sad fact that Bob, a Zeltivan which could be said the next closest people to the sea besides the Svefra was drowning in the water but what could he actually do about it? He learned the basics of swimming in Zeltiva in case he might fall into the water each time he was at the docks and refined it a little bit more with some training with an akalak in Syliras but nothing prepared him for a net. Trapped as he was he could only work on instinct and muscle memory which worked against him. He wanted to go up. Up at where the air was and even if he was not sinking down thanks to the net, his same protector was his worst enemy. The mesh was barely touching his skin and at that moment he could only ask why. Why was he not going up despite him kicking his legs and pulling his arms like he should each time? The last time he saw was the shadows of her hands which he thought was fish trapped the same way he was before he finally passed out.

Fortunately even if he could not save himself, he was saved through the kindness of another brought to him with the greedy use of his abilities. Bob woke up in a world of blackish crimson shade. A fitting end to the enemy of fishes everywhere if he was dead but it was not his time yet. His eyes still stung with the combination of ink, blood and salt water trickling in a beautiful mix into the water that was added to with the disgusting excess being forced out of his mouth. There was some confusion in the beginning where Bob was trying to recall what was happening and with some water still clogging up his ears he only grasped the word "cau-gh cough" and then the reality hit him that he was caught...by a very beautiful thing he would never expect to find in the afterlife. Dreamily and with an unnatural happy tone he asked "am I dead yet?" because if he was he sure did not mind. He would prefer to remain a captive to this creature forever.

He would however find out that he was not whether from her lips or the fact that he was still in the water propped at the side of the boat. Staring at his saviour he could not help but wonder "who are you?" and not caring the way she asked him earlier introduced himself as "Bob." His mind already started working back to some of the stories he heard before and he could actually relate it to the situation he was already in right now. A mysterious beauty saving an awesome individual from drowning. Now all that was left was a happy ending and he decided he should try working on that. At least then he will have something to do on the ship especially on those lonely nights. By then Bob should already be able to float on his own in the water requiring only some slow kicks in the water to propel him upwards. Pushing with his arms he want towards the net and pulled on it to make sure it was secure before extending an arm in an inviting smile to ask "maybe you would want to come on board with me. I am sure its quite cold in there."

And then Bob began ascending. It was a good thing that the net was made for deep sea fishes which were big so he could rely on the strong and well made mesh to support him before going on higher. He only dropped down once into the water among the many times he nearly fell down because of the water which made the side of the boat too slippery for his feet to properly cling on. In his failure he only said that "normally I would let the lady go first but I the same (gentle)man in me wants to help you up" the same way she did for him. Up and looking over the deck, Bob stood fastened his feet through some holes on the barrier before holding his hands down. Ready to receive what very well is, the catch of the day. He really wanted her to get aboard with him so that he could have a chance of, boarding her. He needed her to trust him more for any chance of that and again despite the difficulty of keeping his eyes open after the ordeal and the lack of glyph which has been washed away to help him, Bob started to try and accumulate his djed into his eyes for something a lot better than fish.

But the pain started to come again, a lot worse this time and the djed which was flowing towards his eyes had to be redirected to the other outlet unless Bob wanted to risk the pain just for a chance. Something that the small man would never do. From the eyes, the remaining djed which was not used on stupid fish went into the mouth and straight out slowly building up emotions he hopes he can get a response for in the girl as Bob started to talk to her that "you can trust me to get you up." He had no doubts that the the fruits of the training he had to force him to go through daily during his time in Syliras with purple slavedrivers shouting until they were out of breath would be able to help him lift her up. Waiting until she made her decision he would try for one more push to either get her aboard if she had any doubts or seal the deal once she comes up that "you are going to love dinner and I am sure the rest would love to meet you" More like Jinsen actually since he did not trust his other companions like that petching prettyboy with different faces.

[Lase]

He was sputtering and splashing around until he finally started to regain composure and tread the water like a normal person. He was short, way shorter than Lase, and by the way he was staring at her and by the tone of his voice, he was still halfway in dreamland. He called himself Bob. What a boring name, thought Lase. She knew the Svefra custom of having a pattern to follow when naming children, and only by her mother's persuading was she named 'Lase' instead of a colour or anagram for such. He was definitely not a Svefra, as he was a terrible swimmer. Unless, of course, he was raised away from the Suvan. "I happen to be named Lase," she replied to his question of 'Who are you?' asked with the same dreamy tone he had earlier. She would come on board if she could, just for the chance to socialize. The lack of pod was saddening, and so was the lack of speaking, secrets, and everything that comes with one. This wasn't a pod ship, as far as Lase could tell. He started to ascend the net, inviting her along with him. Yes, it was indeed freezing in the water, but being half Akvatari she could handle it quite well. With the invitation she also realized that he believed she was a full whatever race, one with legs that could climb, not with a seal body instead. She could tell he wasn't so adept at climbing either, because he kept slipping from the side of the boat. She wasn't sure she would want him to help her up either; he didn't look strong nor did he look capable at helping anyone up when he could barely get up himself. He was speaking about trust, trusting him to help her up. Any effects these words had were immediately dispelled by the fact that she knew he couldn't help her up. "I am flattered by your offer, but I'll have to decline. I don't go well on land," She emphasized the word 'flattered' so he indeed did not take offense, but she realized that he would most likely be looking for more of a reason for her not to ascend the boat. Using all of the meager strength she had in her arms, Lase pulled herself onto the net, just enough so that part of her tail was visible. She could only hold herself up for a few ticks, but hopefully that was enough time for him to realize her predicament. "As you can see, I don't have legs," She said bluntly. So she waited to measure his response of either screaming in terror and running away, muttering 'demon' under his breath, fainting, or acting extremely confused and walking away as if in a dream. Those had happened countless times before, and she in fact expected them. There was always the off chance that he would be nice, but that was a miniscule and annoying chance that tugged in the corners of her subconscious every time she interacted with someone that had legs.

[Bob Barton]

His swimming was not that terrible because otherwise he would be sinking down into the depths which might be good as a chance to get mouth to mouth. A risk worth taking in Bob's books even for fishy woman like her but it was too late for that now, not to say that fishy women were a bad thing. The bad thing was that this Lase declined the offer and Bob really did take offence because she gave the excuse that she did not go well on land. More like she did not go well with him the same way other females did. "Fortunately for you, I am on a boat and not on land" even if the wood came from land according to what Bob knew about their construction though these weird svefra people might have other ways of making theirs. "Are you sure you don't want to come aboard?" Bob asked in nice convincing but boring tone since it was now utterly devoid of that exciting essence called djed. Why would he try using anymore when the earlier attempts failed especially with what he thought of as a success when he saw Lase trying to pull herself with the net happened with further attempts to convince her without it.

There was no knowing what was worse at that time. The pain from his eyes and mouth which were surrounded with little traces of blood or the fact that Bob was now looking at a tail? "One moment..." he told Lase while he was still in shock and got himself off the barrier to try and wipe at his eyes. With so many liquids it would not be surprising that he was seeing things but when he looked at her again he could see that it was all real. At a loss for words, Bob could only stammer "uhh...uhh...uhh..." in shock before deciding to petch it all. She still had a pretty face, sensational hair and awesome rack. The only things that would matter to get his mind off this boring shipride. Making sure that she was still floating at the net, Bob held it on his end tightly and gave a quick tug to hopefully trap her in it because "you don't need legs to have dinner." A horrible excuse given what Bob actually wanted to do. She was just a fish and could probably fetch a pretty price at a market somewhere as food after he was done. With great logic, he will not have a problem with it because she is not even humanish to be a slave.

Pulling his prize up was just like handling Sandy the sack and Bob worked with his arm muscles as if it was the most natural thing in the world. One arm forward, one arm back over and over but then unlike Sandy, Lase was a living thing and he could feel something like her fighting back. It could really have been her if she was not so trusting of him or it could have been gravity and the petching water that nearly killed him working against him. Planting his legs on the deck to put himself in a stranger position could only help so much so Bob tried talking to her to calm her down. The good thing was that seeing her tail jogged his memory to the rest of the story that he heard from the sailors and he recited it to her in between his grunts when he tried to maintain his breathing. Hopefully that story could make her more...accepting of her newfound position today. The story about "Crosh the adventurer. Have you heard about him before Lase?" Among all the stories about fishy ladies, that would be the most lovely one.

Yes, like all stories it had to start from somewhere like "Crosh was the son of a failing merchant in Zeltiva and left one day in search of some treasure to take his family back to the stop." Just how many people in Mizahar would do that? More than enough Bob would say since that would only reduce what he can get if he wanted to hunt for some himself, if he took the effort like Crosh who "after a lot of searching, heard about some Point in the Suvan?" that had a very bad reputation to it. So bad that "there was no one who wanted to follow this foolish and untested man unless you wanted to count the stupid and the greedy." That was what a lot of educated Zeltivans who lived in their homes and labs like to say because "what was the treasure they found?" if the ghost protecting it could be called that. It was not the treasure that they wanted but "they say that she was beautiful with a voice to die for" and that was what would happen when people hear it "and the thing which stood out the most of her lovely body was her tail." With a silent chuckle Bob asked that "I hope you won't do anything bad to me after our dinner?"

She could probably go without the dinner since Bob was still pulling that run of mesh even with the help of the barrier. He realized that he had to finish this fast because after that near death experience he was tired and running out of breath really quickly. His arms were aching too after all that panicked waving in the water but to continue the story, "Crosh never came back to Zeltiva but some people always say it is good to die for love. In his case they like to debate whether it was love for treasure or love for the woman." Bob would never fall into that trap because he only just met Lase and the only thing he loved about her was her body and oh, the fact that she saved her. He really needed to return the favor properly and he was just pushing forward too strong when he said that "I hope that I will not end up the same way after this but if I do I want to go with a smile on my face?" Who cares anyway. He was not the captive at the moment. Finally, two more pulls and Bob was able to reach his hands out the net and haul it over onto the deck as gently as he could but "sorry if it was a little bit of a rough ride for you" while he tried to untangle the net.

Finally Lase was out and Bob could properly invite her with an outstretched hand. With a bowed head to try and hide his leering expression he asked whether "you want to go in or is there something you want to do out here?" which does not include any attempts of escaping. Hopefully it would not come to that since he would have to exert himself just to stop her. "I don't think that there will be any dinner now so..." it is all up to her how they were going to pass the time. "...is there anything special that you people like to do here?" Of course Bob actually meant fish people but the polite interpretation he was going for was people of the sea...Suvan Sea. That might not be too nice either but at least he was trying to make an effort.

[Lase]

It was too late to make her escape. Yes, she knew that legs weren't needed to have dinner, but they were needed to go anywhere. And to sit properly in a chair, and a million other things. Tails were useful, too. But only on water, not land, or boat. The next thing Lase knew, she was trapped in the net she had just helped Bob get out of. She didn't even think of the possibility that he would try to capture her. She did save his life after all. But no, the rough ropes and knots of the net bored into her skin, leaving red marks and scratches. The surface of the water was going further and further away, and with it any hope of salvation from the net. This was different than being trapped in a regular net underwater--this was being purposely caught. For what purpose? Who knew. But Lase didn't want to find out. She had no choice in this matter, though. It was sad for a second, and then she started to panic. She flailed around and tried her best to escape the net, but she couldn't. The only large enough opening was at the top, and she couldn't exactly stand herself up and climb out. The only part of this she didn't exactly mind was the story of Crosh. She'd heard many tales of Ryker's Point, but never this one. It was the same as the others, though, with only a variation of the name. And the fact that the ghost had a 'lovely body' and that part which stood out most was her 'tail'. Yeah, right. Her tail was a thing of beauty, but not to human eyes. To herself and to animals, it was lovely, but to regular people, it was a curse. Demon blood. Ugly. "You mean the Siren of Ryker's Point? I've heard of her," Lase replied. She wouldn't be able to do anything to anyone after any dinner in the position she was in. Never really one for violence, she could easily strangle or stab Bob to death at the moment. Or sing him to death on a pile of rocks. She was on the boat now, after being hauled roughly over the side. She landed in the pile of net on her left arm, directly on her armband. This didn't help with the painful red lines that crisscrossed her arms and back, either. The armband cut into her skin, making it bleed for a few ticks, but quickly started scabbing. As soon as she was free of the ropes, Lase rolled onto her stomach. The rough wood pressed into her skin, and it hurt along with everything else. Her chance of flopping over to the side of the boat and heaving herself over wasn't going to work, she realized. She would most likely get a splinter from that along with all the other injuries that had piled up on her body, most notable being the not-so-small-anymore cut on her arm, partially dried blood staining the end of her gold armband. What a wonderful way to treat your savior, she thought. She laid her head on her hands, feeling the rough timber of the ship. It was almost hopeless to escape from this, this torture. While her hair and tail were still wet from the water, her skin was beginning to dry out. This was a very odd and unusual feeling for her, considering she lived primarily in the water. She rolled onto her back again, facing his outstretched hand and bowed head. She most definitely did not want to go inside the ship, being on one was enough. Being in an unfamiliar boat would start to scare her, especially if everyone was like this. "I like to swim," she said, pushing a few stray wet strands of hair away from her face, "and read poetry. Is there any way you can let me back in the water now?" That question was one of her remaining hopes to get off this boat anytime soon. She would rather stay on here for a while and then leave than try to escape and end up with a plethora of wood pieces sticking out of her skin like tiny spears or arrows. She blinked a few times and sat up, stretching her arms horizontally across her body. Lase didn't want to be here for anything, but she had no choice. And it was terrible.

[Bob Barton]

She wanted to get back into the water after all the trouble which it took to get her up on the ship? "You really don't like me do you? Then why did you save me?" or come near the ship Bob asked slowly raising his head to reveal to her his saddened face. It was nothing new. Even kids, like when Bob started this trick used this method to guilt people but it only worked depending on the emotions which the person it was being directed to experiences. In this case, he could tell that Lase was quite unhappy about this situation. He needed to find another reason, even better than dinner to get her to stay on the ship with him and while he was admiring the free spirited woman, he got it. He could see the bright red lines appearing on that fair skin, something that he ruined because of his desires. Bob made a grab of the arm to hold it up towards him giving a look like a master of the craft that his uncle wanted him to be before he remarked that "maybe you will allow me to try and fix this first? To repay you for saving me and the trouble I caused?" Again he gave the fake smile hoping that she will accept.

Yes that was something that Bob offered but he also needed to give her something that she might want to make it seem like staying was her own choice and maybe avert some suspicion. "How about while we get on that you teach me some Suvan poems like...about that Siren? She seems interesting" just as the tailed woman in front of him. Poems and stories were so closely related to one another and what Bob knew about stories is that sometimes they contained truth, hints and information about the things they were about. Maybe what she could tell him he can use for this Ryker's Point as well if he passed through it. Just because he was going to Alvadas it did not mean that he will never return home unless he was dead but that was something he never tried thinking about. "You don't even have to do it over dinner if you want though I think that a meal would be more pleasant" unless fishes were her relatives or something. "Some people say I make really interesting food..." Another lie to try and get her to stay but then the truth about Bob never ever attracted anyone to begin with.

And then, Bob turned around and headed into the cabin to try and find some medicine. After seeing that depressing display of Lase trying to get her non existent sealegs, he was pretty convinced that she would not be able to escape without putting in a whole lot of effort or unless she has some help. She was also covering her body at time, deterring Bob from a wonderful view and telling him that she did not trust him yet. Easily remedied when he hunted for doctor in their party, far better than Bob who only knew what he bothered to learn from his uncle but he was not going to get his help. All he wanted was probably tinctures, ointments and bandages because he needed to do it by himself. "Dhalllll" he quietly called out when he peered his head through the door but the symenestra was nowhere to be found. Now was his chance and Bob quickly hopped into the room and rummaged through the bags that he could find. This doctor really kept a lot of weird things and none of them were medicines that Bob knew. Because he did not want to risk using something wrong, he had to leave the vials and bottles in the end.

Then he went on a hunt for the stock on the ship finding something that he knew how to use. Bandages and the ointment to go with it and then he went back to the place he left Lase only to find "Jinsen! What are you doing here?!?" Bob swore that he made the dog go back but for some reason it came back with its great potential to mess things up for him. Bob was a little bit at a loss of what to do now but it did not look like Jinsen did much to Lase so he straightened himself up and went to her, showing the bandage on one hand and the ointment on the other so that it would be easier to convince her that "I am going to make it all better?" After that he grabbed Jinsen by the collar to pull it away whispering into its ear that "you are going to go back right now alright?" and that is what it would do because obviously Bob did not want it around. Jinsen was the kind of dog which really liked people so if everyone in the deck was not interested in it, it had no reason to stay. Without waiting to see what Jinsen would do, Bob turned back to Lase asking if "you can let me do this?"

[Lase]

She had never really hated someone before. Maybe annoyed for a few days, or unrealistic hate between her cousins, but not actual Hate. Not the feeling of Hate that she felt burning even more than any of the injuries she had received. She hated Bob. She wanted to strangle him right now and feed his lifeless body to some fish. But that's not a way to solve anything, is it now. And at the moment, he was the only way she could get off the boat. There must have been other people on the ship, but she couldn't see them. Heard a few people yelling, but most people were probably inside or working around the ship. "I saved you because you were drowning. What I didn't know was that you were going to trap me on the stupid boat. Why?" She asked the question fiercely, almost angrily. She was obviously of no use to him, at least as far as she could tell. There wasn't much she could do without legs. She didn't want him going anywhere near her, either. If he even so much as touched her, she would freak. Unless he was helping her off the boat and back into the water. The possibility of getting back into the water was the only thing that kept Lase from flipping out. She might even pretend to be nice and tell him a few poems about Ryker's Point. Maybe. "I'm not hungry," she replied to his comment about dinner. She had the tone of voice of a little kid, but she didn't care. What gave him the right to kidnap her and then decide, 'Oh hey let's have dinner.' When he left, for a reason Lase didn't know. Being out of the water made her feel incomplete, helpless, worthless, naked, like she lost a part of herself. The water was her life, and water gave her life. Her skin felt too dry, and she absentmindedly groped for the water, too distant, even though she was on a boat. She heard an odd snuffling sound beside her. Turning her head, she saw the weirdest creature she had ever seen. It had shaggy long fur, and plodded about on four padded paws with it's tongue hanging out. Staring for a few ticks, she stuck out her hand slowly, cautiously, and poked it. Its fur was soft, but not that soft. It was a freaky animal. She raised her eyebrows at the thing sniffing around her seal parts, and then she pushed it away. Soon after that, Bob came back. Telling the creature, Jinsen, to go away. He was carrying bandages in one hand and ointment in the other. Oh sweet Laviku, he didn't think about trying to help her? He was the reason she was all injured anyways. She could lie and say that she could help herself, but she had no idea how to do anything healer-wise. If she got a cut, the sea water cleaned it out and it healed by itself. Although really, what could it hurt? His intentions were most likely not to harm her. "Sure," she replied, with a fake smile which probably looked more like a grimace, "bandage me up." She really didn't want him to touch her or be anywhere near her, but the ointment would probably help the rope burns she had received from the net.

[Bob Barton]

Everybody hates Bob, that could actually be a good title for a sitcom if it was not sadly true in reality. Everyone hates Bob initially, or maybe Bob hates them and that would mean that either one side had to win the other over or one side would take a lot of effort to avoid the other. How would this meeting turn out? That remains to be seen and it already started off bad because Lase kept labeling Bob's invitations full of good intentions as trapping but at least he was trying to make a good effort now and she was complying to let him try? Actually he was at a loss. He knew that he had to put the ointment to prevent the wounds from getting worse according to his uncle and he was not going to doubt the wicked man who had no problem showing his nephew such disgusting sights. However, Bob also had the funny feeling that he was forgetting about something else. As though he knew what he was supposed to do he checked over the wounds which were dirtied by blood, skin and some sea waste.

Then he remembered something his uncle told him from the time he had to treat someone and got a stinging ointment on his arms for a bell for forgetting a few steps. "This has to be cleaned first or it would get injected..." Infected he meant but trying to remember something he hardly used after so long was tough enough as it is. As long as he remembered what he had to do, he could care less what Lase heard "...so let me get some clean water first." Like earlier, Bob left for a few chimes returning with some water and lifted Lase's arm before him while he started to slowly clean out with the slow flow of water. Thankfully he would not have to make another trip for more because the blood soon washed away leaving only a line which stood out in her skin. "So I will apply the ointment now?" Bob asked unsure himself and lathered it over Lase's arm but it was running. "Opps...I should have dried it first right?" Where was Dhal when he was needed? Oh wait. Bob did not want him around to begin with.

Lucky he brought enough bandages and taking a dry piece he started to wipe off the solution around Lase's arm before trying again one more time with applying the ointment. Since it was with the bandages, it had to be the right one and "it will help you recover faster" but that was only for the physical scars. For the mental one Bob had nothing to do other than to do the expected attempt to get Lase to stay again when he told her that "food will keep up your strength too. Fish is good" for Zeltivans since it was most of their meals and "I can make some of that later?" Now it was time to bandage it up and Bob started to wind up the bandage tightly around Lase's arm until he tied it up and "there you go" for the big cut. As for the rest they will heal on their own. Too small and too many Bob was just lazy to work on them and that was a good thing too since it will cut everything short. Done Bob took a seat on the deck and said that "I guess you need to teach me some poems" with a smile forgetting how much Lase should hate him since he did the good thing or treating her.

Its not like she can go anywhere else because of the convenient excuse that "you should keep that dry" and by that he meant the bandage around her arm that he was pointing at. Actually "this too" which was the coat he had around him that he tried to put around her because "its getting cold." Maybe she could tolerate the temperature in the water but how about the land? Bob did not really care though since this was all about keeping up an image, a good one that he was trying to build. "Is there anything else you need?" Hopefully not because Bob thought that he had done enough already, for now.

[Lase]

He was almost completely incompetent with anything that had to even remotely do with healing. She just closed her eyes and ignored what he was saying, because whatever was spewing out of his mouth wasn't worth her time. It took Lase a few chimes to realize that he told her she should keep dry. KEEP DRY. What annoying fool would tell someone who has a body of a fur seal for legs and lives in the water to keep dry! This was ridiculous! "You incompetent fool." She muttered under her breath in Fratava, clearly frustrated and annoyed. She wasn't hungry, cold, or tired. Yes, the ointment helped, but seawater would do just as good in this case, as it did in all the cases where she received a slight injury. He wanted to hear poetry? She could give him poetry. He wants poetry, eh? she thought. I can give tell him poetry. What better way to insult someone than through poetry? "You are a...traitorous hasty-witted whey-face!" She shouted in Common, new insults already popping into her mind. Sure, these weren't poems, but they were poetic. That counts, right? Right. "You ruttish rude-growing scut! You are a beslubbering full-gorged canker-blossom!" Why was this so fun? It just was. Using her love of poetry and slight poetic skills to belittle someone was quite enjoyable, and she wondered why people didn't do it more often. Mizahar would be a much more exciting place. "I don't need anything from you, you weedy dread-bolted minnow! Go back to the slimy cavern you were propagated in!" This was extremely fun. Mean? Yes. Fun? Very. It was cruel, totally out of her nature, but Lase didn't care. Anytime is the time to use your poetic license, be it a nice poem or slew of insults. "You reeky dismal-dreaming coxcomb! I should have never let you escape Dira's grasp!" She finished, satisfied that she had been so creative. His reaction would surely be interesting.