Closed A Different Kind of Fishing (Dust)

[Rinya]

Day 25, Season Summer, 513 AV Rinya was bored. And not the kind of bored that would be easily cured with a flight around the city, or fishing out of the bay. She wanted to explore. There was no way for her to keep track of how long she had been in Riverfall already—apparently she had slept for several days after she nearly crawled off the boat that got her here. But today was the perfect day it seemed for exploration. The clouds were heavy today, and stretched for miles in all directions. Judging by the look of them alone, it would probably be a decent rainfall by afternoon, but that left plenty of time for her to leave the city. Rinya wasn’t fond of sneaking out of her room nude, but trying to carry clothing over great distances wasn’t her idea of fun. Dodging across the halls of the refuge, she slipped into one of the halls with rooms that were currently unused. Throwing open one of the windows, she placed her mother’s braclet and a thin leather band to tie her hair with later on the ledge, before taking a deep breath and letting the change pull over her body. The feeling of shift was amazing. Stretching her wings outwards, she enjoyed the feeling of the new muscles beneath her skin. Giving a push from the ground with wings, she snatched her bracelet and hair tie in her beak and pressed out the window. Rinya didn’t pick a particular direction. Letting the breeze catch under her wings, she viewed the city from above. Even with the clouds hanging overhead, the color of the city was beautiful. But she had a purpose today, so she angled her wings to line up with the coastline. Shellfish were a much harder prey to spot, simply because they didn’t float on the surface of the water like fish. Instead of looking for the flash of silver beneath the water, her keen eyes instead scanned the lines along the ground for a mud flat—though she would probably have to settle for a sand flat instead. The city faded into the distance before Rinya’s luck paid off. A promising sand flat had formed from the receding tide, with the sight of crabs skittering across the silt. Gathering her wings to her body, she let herself freefall before flaring her wings back outwards to stall the flight altogether. Landing gently on the sand, Rinya shifted back into her human form. Twisting her bracelet into place on her left wrist, she went about braiding her hair back away from her face. Rinya hadn’t attempted this kind of fishing in a long time. She briefly wondered if the crabs were going to give her much trouble. They could be quite the pain to catch if she remember correctly.

[Dust]

oocSorry for the delay... Dust loved flying. Especially in the vivid summer sunshine, with the breeze blowing in from the sea and up the face of the cliffs. Or sometimes down the same. The quirks of air movement kept things interesting; so did the population of gulls and other shorebirds, who sometimes took umbrage at the raven loitering around 'their' cliffs. Even though she didn't have the slightest intention of eating their chicks! Evading one such pair of determined guardians sent the white raven to the sand below, where she shifted in a swirl of light -- an abrupt change of circumstance which confused the gulls to no end. They fluttered back at the peculiar sight, and after circling halfheartedly made their way back up to their own territories on the cliff face. Dust watched them go with a rueful grin, then blew out a huffing breath and contemplated what she should do next... Motion in the sky caught her attention, a shape darker and sleeker than the gulls falling towards the earth. It went down somewhere on the far side of a rocky prominence, and didn't come back up again. A raptor, certainly, from the stark speed of its plummet... hmm. Dust couldn't remember seeing a raptor around these particular cliffs; as far as she knew, they were unclaimed territory. Probably unwanted territory, given that, although she didn't entirely know what made some areas appeal to raptors and others not. In any case, her curiosity was piqued by the new arrival... and the raven Kelvic wasn't about to let her intrigue go unattended. Dust hopped up to her feet and padded around the outcropping to the sandy stretch on the far side. It was wider than the narrow strip she'd initially landed on -- and occupied by a dark-haired woman just as unclothed as she. There was no raptor whatsoever in view, and not many places it could hide... which made for an obvious conclusion in her mind. "Hello!" Dust greeted cheerily, with no evidence of hesitation or concern -- or menace, for that matter -- as she approached the stranger. "Are you the hawk I just saw? I'm Dust!"

[Rinya]

It had been quite some time since Rinya let herself actually enjoy feeling sand beneath her feet. With her hair out of the way, all that was left was actually finding the shellfish. Lucky for her crabs were easy to find. They skittered across the sand and puddles left from the receding tide picking at this and that for food. Further out, the tide had also revealed a small oyster field as well, but she wasn’t going to be able to reach it without getting soaking wet. Anything else she would have to dig for and she hadn’t actually thought to bring a spade with her. Granted she could dig with her hands, but it could take awhile before she found anything of worth.

"Hello!"

Of all the things Rinya expected to find out here this far, it was not another person. Just barely able to keep herself from jumping like a frightened cat, Rinya whirled around to spot a blond haired woman… clearly as naked as she was. Gaping for a few moments like a fish, she shook her head as if it would get rid of her shock. Normally such a surprise would send her into a cautious stance, but even if the woman meant harm there wasn’t much Rinya could do to defend herself straight up. Besides she didn’t really give off the allure of dangerous. For the moment Rinya wasn’t going to worry about it.

”Uhh… what?” Rinya stuttered for a moment before she registered the woman had asked her a question. Glancing around, Rinya belated realized from her words—Dust apparently—must have seen her from a distance. Well if that was the case there really wasn’t much denying it. Shrugging one shoulder, she shifted nervously on the sand.

”Sorry… uhm… yes. I was the hawk.” Twitching her nose Rinya watched a crab skitter across the sand towards her. Crouching down, she let the creature nearly move past her before reaching up from behind and underneath it in a quick swipe, just narrowly escaping the pinchers reaching for her during the grab. After examining the crab Rinya glanced back up at Dust before she noticed she hadn’t introduced herself. Her manners were feeling kind of poor today. And she actually felt kind of bad about it.

”I’m Rinya.” That was decent enough right? For some reason it didn’t seem like enough. She almost felt rude. Sighing slightly she held the crab out to Dust, its’ legs trying to find ground mid air. ”Would you like to join me… er fishing?”

[Dust]

Dangerous... no, the blonde woman didn't give off much of that vibe at all. She giggled at Rinya's patent surprise, then smiled brightly at her companion. "Pleased to meet you! I didn't really see what kind you were -- I just saw you diving and thought I'd come look. I haven't seen a hawk down here before." There was a momentary pause, and then Dust made her narrative into an actual question. "So what kind of hawk are you?" Then Rinya held out her crab, and Dust leaned in to examine it more closely. Carefully -- she did have the awareness to keep her nose away from its claws. It was funny watching it try to walk in mid-air. "Sure! I haven't done that in a while," she commented, peering around to find a crab of her own to catch. "How many do you want to get?" the raven Kelvic asked curiously. A small rock with a ring of water still around its base caught her eye, and Dust padded over for a closer look. It proved to have no crabs hiding in its lee, but there were some small fluffy plant-like green things -- more flower-like, actually -- stuck to the rock and one lonely little starfish huddled in the thin pool of water. Dust snatched the reddish starfish up and jogged back over to her newfound friend, holding it out for Rinya's examination. "Hey, do you eat these?"

[Rinya]

Day 25, Season Summer, 513 AV

"So what kind of hawk are you?"

”Oh I’m an osprey… fishing hawk in other words.” Cocking her head to the side, Rinya actually took a moment to observe Dust. She appeared to be the same height as Rinya, and even more toned. But that seemed to be the only similarities. Dust was light colored, where she was much darker. And Dusts’ whole being seemed to be filled with energy. There was something about the woman that Rinya liked immediately and she rarely refused her instincts.

"How many do you want to get?"

Oh… well that wasn’t something she had actually thought about. She had intended on coming here to basically eat, but she hadn’t intended on actually thinking about. Well either way, it didn’t matter. Dust wandered over to a pool of water, and pulled something from it. As she held it out Rinya blinked at it several times. For the life of her she couldn’t remember what it was called.

”No… I’ve never eaten one of those before. I don’t even remember what they are called.” Frowning slightly, Rinya was starting to realize eating either of these wasn’t going to be easy either. The crab had calmed down in her hand, but usually she needed a knife or sharp rock of sorts if she didn’t intend to kill it in bird form. Placing the crab back down, Rinya reconsidered the oyster field.

”But you know, the best are those out there. So long as you don’t mind getting wet that is.” Rinya grinned a little at Dust. She had the feeling Dust wouldn’t mind getting a little wet.

”By the way… are you Kelvic as well?” She didn’t want to be rude, but the girl was just as equally naked as she was, and since Dust had easily guessed that she was the hawk, perhaps she was one as well.

[Dust]

Oh, osprey. That wasn't a kind of hawk the raven needed to worry about at all. Though with Rinya being Kelvic, Dust had long since stopped worrying -- as distinctive as her own plumage was, a predator who knew her wasn't likely to mistakenly attack. Peering down at the thing she held, Dust shrugged. "I think it's a starfish," she ventured. "Anyway, it's star-shaped. ...I don't know if it's fishy." And she wasn't interested in finding out today, either; as Rinya had declared it not on the menu, Dust plopped it back into its pool. Rinya seemed to find the crab equally unappetizing, even though she'd been the one to start hunting them. Not that Dust minded. She glanced out to the low tide as the other Kelvic spoke, and grinned back at her companion. "Oh, I don't mind! As long as it isn't swimming wet. I don't really swim so well." Then Rinya asked if she was Kelvic, and Dust's expression became slightly apologetic. In a not at all repentant way. "Sorry! I forgot. I am!" she affirmed, as she padded down towards the surf, sands dimpling beneath her feet. "I'm a raven." She stopped where the seafoam washed over her feet, sweeping collected grains of sand from their tops. The damp earth beneath was pleasantly cool compared to the sun-warmed beach. Crouching down to peer into the water, Dust saw pebbles... she saw shells... and lines of white bubbles sweeping periodically across her field of view. "What's out here that you want to get?" she asked, sounding slightly mystified -- because she was. The nearest sea life was either over in the tidepools, buried under the sand, or out at closer to knee-depth -- not immediately visible in the shallow surf.

[Rinya]

Day 25, Season Summer, 513 AV

"I'm a raven."

”A white raven?” Rinya couldn’t but inquire with a tilt of her head. It was her understanding that most of the time Kelvics took on the coloring of their animal forms—at least that’s what her father insisted. In reality Rinya wasn’t sure if that was entirely true. After all, she had three different colorings to her own form, but her hair took on the brownish color of her own feathers even though white was probably the most prominent of the three.

Rinya followed Dust to the edge of the water, examining the depth closely before peering out to the oyster covered reefs that was still several yards out. Pointing to the reef, Rinya realized unless you were really looking, you probably would just think the rocks had formed oddly shaped sharp points with how closely the oysters sat clustered. If nothing else Rinya knew they could both shift to reach the reef, but landing on oysters was never graceful, and could be quite the pain. However Rinya reconized the tide was quite perfect actually, though it wouldn’t remain that way for long. Sliding into the water, she moved slowly through the pool of water between them and rocky looking reefs.

”They aren’t in the water anymore, though they will be shortly when the tide comes back in.” Rinya patted the beginning of a large reef in front of her before she glanced around for something to sit on. She wasn’t exactly the most graceful at climbing, especially since half of her was under water, but after a few chimes Rinya grinned back at Dust before pulling herself up onto a smaller boulder just next to one of the smaller reefs. Making as much room as she could on the boulder for Dust, Rinya looked back at the field spanning before her.

Rinya reached out, running her fingers over the oysters closest to her, before she snagged a large one. It took a little effort, but the shell finally snapped from its place on the rock. It was shame Rinya hadn’t thought to bring a knife really. ”These are a pain to get into, but they taste pretty good. Usually they’re under water most of the time.” Tilting her head a little Rinya glanced back at the small oyster field clustered on the rocks. ”Usually oysters make huge fields at a time… I wonder if there are more still buried under the water…”

[Dust]

"A white raven!" Dust asserted, grinning at Rinya and ruffling a hand through her own telltale hair. "I've never seen another one," she added offhandedly, as she gamely followed Rinya out into the waves. It wasn't long before walking through the water became a slog -- partly because of the depth, and partly because half the time, the water wanted to go the opposite direction. Rinya directed them to the rocks, which even when worn down by uncountably many years of erosion remained not nearly as pleasant as sand to walk on. Dust clambered up on the rock after her, peering at all the narrow-edged shells turned outwards. They were even less comfortable than the rocks against bare skin -- though thankfully not sharp enough to cut -- and left angry red lines on her hands and knees. "So you just come out here and pull them off?" Grabbing one, the raven Kelvic wrenched at it in imitation of her companion. "They're really stuck!" she exclaimed, the moment before it finally popped off into her hand. It was even more difficult to pry the shell halves apart, as Rinya described and Dust promptly set out to disprove. She tried to wedge her fingernails into the join, and failed; bashing it on the side of the rock didn't seem to help, either. "Huh. They're as hard as walnuts!" Though with those... she knew a trick. "Maybe we can drop them on the cliffs. That's what I do with walnuts sometimes -- take them up really high --" Dust raised the oyster over her head to illustrate. "And drop them on a big rock. Usually, they crack open. Enough, anyway." Following Rinya's gaze out towards the deeper water, Dust shrugged. "Probably! They grow in water and all. We don't need more than what's here, though, do we?" She looked back over her shoulder to the sand behind them. "Kinda wish I'd brought a bag..." But oh well! Maybe they'd just make several trips.

[Rinya]

Day 25, Season Summer, 513 AV

Rinya observed Dust, watching her pull one of the shells off the rock as well. Rinya realized however as Dust tried to pry apart the shells that she hadn’t entirely thought out her whole “fishing” plan. It had been so long since she had done this, and she had been so desperate to just get out of Riverfall for space in her own head, that she had let her excitement get away from her head. An unusual thing for her actually, her father probably would have scolded her for such an act.

”Walnuts?” Rinya inquired curiously. To some extent Rinya knew what the nut was that Dust spoke of. Her father had been the one far more interested in such items; he was the forger between the two of them. A skill Rinya herself never could get the hang of actually. Dust explained that perhaps dropping them for a large height might break the shells open, and it seemed like a plausible idea. ”That could work. These guys are a little slimy on the inside, but all we need is a good crack. I would suggest trying with our beaks but—well cracked beaks are never pleasant.”

Wincing slightly as she shifted her weight, she could feel the indent of the rock below her. Sometimes she swore human form was more of a hassle than it needed to be. ”Well since we will be flying, we could always just peel a good number of these suckers off and toss them into the sand first hand and just snag as many as we can carry at a time to the cliffs. They certainly won’t go crawling off.” Grinning sheepishly at Dust, Rinya shrugged her shoulders.

”Normally I would have brought a small knife to wedge into them or something, but I was kind of in a rush to get out of Riverfall. Sometimes the Akalak unnerve me just a little.” That was putting it very gently in her opinion. Tossing the oyster in her hand as far out into the sand as she could, Rinya reached back over, scanning over the oysters for a moment before selecting another large shell. ”While your idea sounds simple enough, you’ll have to show me just to be sure. Maybe even take a crab or two.” She mused for a moment, trying to imagine dropping a crab from that height. It would be interesting trying to wrestle one of those and gain altitude at the same time. Shaking her head slightly, Rinya glanced over her shoulder at Dust. ”Do you live in Riverfall?” The shell in her snapped off with a loud pop, and Rinya tossed it into the sand along with the second one.

[Dust]

Rinya pitched her shellfish onto the beach, and Dust leaned up to follow suit, throwing hers just about as hard as she could. "That's a good idea," she agreed, watching the shell arc out over the water and plop down into the sand, well above the tide's immediate reach. She looked to the other oysters studding the rock's surface and set about wrenching another one off. "Crabs?" the raven Kelvic echoed, wrinkling her nose. "I don't know about that. How could you hold on to one without getting pinched, for long enough? I guess if you grabbed both pinchers, but they seem like they'd pull off." Throwing the second oyster up by her first, she grinned at her companion, a good-natured challenge. "You show me how that works, and maybe I'll do it." She continued prying at shellfish and tossing them onto the sand while Rinya turned the conversation to more personal matters. "Kind of. I come to the city a lot. I'm staying at Sanctuary, though, which is... oh, maybe five chimes' flight up the river." Dust paused to examine her hands, which were starting to feel a bit dry and rough from all the salt. But she tugged off another oyster anyway. "It's a bit longer walk. I've been there for a couple seasons now. What about you?" Eyeing the last oyster in her hands and the dark orbs scattered on the beach, Dust held her latest find up for Rinya to regard. "You think this is about enough? My hands are getting kinda tired." Fortunately, they didn't equate to the muscles her raven form most needed for flying.