Completed Hooked on Playing Hookie (Noah Amuel)

[Letixia Raigner]

Winter 64, 513 Letixia was walking out the gates whistling lightly under the high sun. She'd already finished her training earlier in the day and had lunch. When she'd sought out her Patron, she found that he'd be busy for the entire day, so she'd have to attend to her studies on her own time. The air was still brisk and cold, but you could tell that Spring was right around the corner. She'd left her armor in her dorm room, but still had her sword at her hip and shield on her left arm. She had her pack carrying her fishing kit, her waterskin, her flint and steel, and her eating knife. In her right hand, she carried her fishing pole. She flashed a smile at one of the many guards, "You won't tell on me right?" The guards chuckled, but didn't say anything in reply. She made her way toward the mountains, a destination in mind, one she'd read about and heard in conversation, but had never visited. Silkwater lake, a place many fishermen insisted you must visit at least once. It would be quite the hike, a couple of bells or so. She marched her way through the fields, watching the farmers toil at the ground, getting ready for the coming season of growth. Many of them were clearing out rocks and debris, planning what to grow and where. She smiled and waved at them as well. She left the fields and broke into the rocky tree lines at the base of the Cobalt Mountains. She made sure to keep a steady footing on the loose, rocky soil. She took in the time to study her surroundings, keeping her ears open to try and hear for any sounds of danger. She couldn't hear much over the cold wind though. She could see a mix of trees that would have leaves return in the spring, and trees that had needles. Her dad called them summer trees and winter trees, respectively. She pulled her cloak tighter around her, and continued up the mountain, the lake her goal.

[Noah Amuel]

Noah led his fingers through the waters of Silkwater Lake. The tips were embraced by the coolness of the water; cool due the the season and its position in the mountains. He had been up here in the mountains for most of the day, making sure to rise early in the morning to make the lengthy trip here on foot to enjoy the the view and the tasty morsels that were the smaller animals, mistakenly foraging for food in the light of day. He had feasted on two squirrels and a mouse this day and dozed off midst the cover of the winter trees, or coniferous as they were called by some. It was cozy, the closeness of the branches and the lushness of the leaves despite the grip of winter this year. Coniferous trees weren't see very often in Zeltiva, however in the mountains they seemed to have no end, constantly arranging themselves in a belt of green beneath the white tips of mountains where snow poured endlessly and never melted. At least, that's what he mother said. And even in his adulthood he had seen no reason to believe otherwise. The day had been quiet, void of any humane or unnatural interruptions and Noah was allowed to feel at peace in nature. He stood and let the water drip from his fingertips back into its place in the lake before pulling his cloak, a white entwinement of wool, closed around his body. The hood lay down, leaving his head exposed to the elements: the calm wind and gentle sky. Noah turned to leave the lake however froze as his eyes took note of a distant ruffling and approaching of a figure, a woman by the looks. "Hello?" he called as soon as the woman was near and she was sure to see him. Speech | Thoughts | Fratavan | Eagle

[Letixia Raigner]

After a few bells of hiking, Leti saw a glint through the trees ahead of her, silvery, shining. She continued forward, and found herself in front of a massive, beautiful lake, the likes of which she'd never seen before. She exhaled delightedly, chuckling a bit. It was certainly going to be a splendid day. She'd come up from the south, and scanned the area, starting off to the west. Trees encircled this lake, the mountains provided an excellent back drop to be painted on the silvery surface. It was as close to perfect as she'd ever seen. And then she heard a man shout "Hello?" Her head snapped to the east, where she saw a slight man standing. Duty required her to be on guard, gripping her shield a little tighter. But this man didn't appear to be a threat, by himself that is. He looked shorter than her, and was quite skinny. She shouted back, "Good day to you." She approached him slowly, knowing that if trouble came, her shield would protect her long enough to drop her pole and grab her sword. She really hoped it wouldn't come to that though. She stopped about two arms' lengths from him, "I didn't expect anyone else to be up here. I'm Letixia Raigner, squire to Ser Ranqor Grayne. And who might you be?" As she waited for his answer, she made her way over to a small boulder at the edge of the lack, never taking her eyes off of him. She leaned her pole against it, and set her pack atop of it. He didn't look like a bad guy, but she didn't have much experience with that, other than those men that end up in the tank. And she'd been right, he was bit shorter than her and quite skinny. She didn't feel the need to probe him further though, assuming his answer didn't trigger any alarms. She'd enjoy her day here fishing, with or without this new face.

[Noah Amuel]

"Noah," he said pausing, inspecting the girl with his eyes. She was young, a late teen by the looks of it. "Amuel," he finished, watching the girl as she leaned her fishing pole on a rock. Further inspection revealed a sword and shield she clutched some some minor alertness. Her words rang true, he thought. There was no reason to doubt her occupation. However, What's a squire doing here? he wondered, taking steps in her direction, towards the rock and the lake. "I didn't expect anyone else to be here either. I was just about to leave actually, so we would've passed one another on my way down regardless." Noah looked to the lake, the sky overhead reflected from it in a pale blue. For this cruel winter this day had proved to be mild and cloudless. He looked to her again, he made sure to keep a friendly, yet respectable, distance away from her. She was slightly taller than him, no more than an inch or two and her hair was brown, like his much lighter. Her eyes were brown too, or olive, perhaps a dark hazel, much different than his: a shining blue or a darker indigo, depending on the light. "You're a fisher?" he asked, gesturing to her rod. Speech | Thoughts | Fratavan | Eagle

[Letixia Raigner]

Leti found herself a bit surprised at herself. She was a bit disappointed that the man was leaving. Though she'd been initially wary, she was much less so now. She lowered her guard further, setting her shield against the rock as well. She looked up at him, catching a glance of his deep, purple-blue eyes. Smiling, "Only in hobby. Not much of one anyways, still learning." She stood up and moved closer to him, extending a hand, "Sorry for my... distrust earlier. Never know what you might find in these woods." Whether he ended up shaking her hand or not, she turned to her gear. She pulled out her fishing kit, idling through what she would end up using today. "It really is too bad you're leaving so soon though. The idea of company while fishing sounds better than being alone. Pleasant conversation, some tasty fish... Sorry I'm rambling." Turning back to the task at hand, mumbling to herself now, "Now what sort of fish might be swimming in this here lake...? Trout maybe?" She sighed in frustration, "I'm getting ahead of myself anyways. Dad would tease me. I have to do my homework before I can bring home the fish." She turned to her new companion, "If you have some time, would you like to watch some fish eat?"

[Noah Amuel]

"It's quite alright," he answered, taking Letixia's hand in his and giving it a polite shake. "It is wise to keep an air of caution around those that you don't know." Noah weighed the girl's over, mulling it over in his mind as he glanced to the lack. His eyes picked up the shimmering of scales as the fish writhed and wiggled through the lake, going about their lives oblivious to what might happen to them or their peers if Letixia took the fishing. It's only midday he thought, checking the sun's place in the sky to be sure. The bright orb stood center in the sky, over looking them and the forest around them. "I can stay a little longer," he answered. In truth there was nothing for him to do today and he'd be sure to turn up at work at the docks tomorrow. He'd need the money if the planned on going to Zeltiva during Summer's turn of season. The thought of Summer brought memories of home to Noah, home in Zeltiva where the snow melted before it hit the ground and the warmth of the salty sea brushed over the town like a guardian against the cold. "I've never fished before," he confessed. Not with a pole anyway, he reserved his thought. Unsure on how Letixia would react in the company of a Kelvic. He had learned that not everyone was as welcoming as others. Some thought of them as viscous animals, incapable of socially acting acceptable in a place of civilization. But this was the Woods. This was where their other halves lived and where some found more comfort than the concrete cages of cities. He peered into the lake once more and then looked to Letixia's pole. The hook looked like a cruel thing that was secured by a fine line of thread. He didn't understand how it was so effective at catching fish by the fishermen in Zeltiva often proved it's strength, reeling in great fish from the sea. As a boy he had always wondered about fishing but felt it unnecessary to learn. Why learn how to fish with a pole when you had talons to do the work with much more ease and faster? "Show me?" he almost demanded. Politeness and tone of voice had yet to become one of Noah's strong suits when it came to socializing with the likes of humans and other, perhaps, overly sensitive races or species. Speech | Thoughts | Fratavan | Eagle

[Letixia Raigner]

Her new acquaintance had accepted her offer, and she wasn't surprised he hadn't ever fished. For some reason it wasn't very common in Syliras, despite their city being on a coast, near a river, and having several nearby lakes. Perhaps because the farmers provided enough to eat so no one needed to learn it out of necessity? Another mystery that she would never unravel. But she had another problem to solve at hand. She needed to determine what kind of bait to use. "Well for now, we sit and watch and learn. You can't just cast a hook to catch a fish. Like any animal, you must learn about it before you hunt it." She placed her palms on top of the large rock, raised up on the balls of her feet, once, twice, three times before jumping, pulling herself upon it. She turned to face the lake, "Come on up." She patted the space next to her. Her eyes then began looking out over the surface, studying anything she could find. She started at the banks of the lake, studying the reedy plants there. They were quite short, so early in the season, but they did have insects flitting about them. She noticed bees flying around looking for flowers, and dragonflies always near the water. Both would probably work, but she knew no easy way to gather them. her eyes scanned further out into the shallows. From this angled vantage point, she could see many schools of tiny fish, darting about. Those, while difficult to gather, wouldn't be nearly as impossible. Thankfully her kit included her pail, which would be quite useful in bait catching. "See anything interesting yet? Like what sort of fish live here? What they are biting at or any of their habits?" Her eyes then gazed out further to the middle of the lake. Since she'd arrived she hadn't heard any of the telltale splashes of fish jumping out of the water. If that was indeed the case, then flying insects wouldn't be the best of choices anyways. Worms could even suffice if needed. But for now she would just watch, wait, and learn. "So what brought you all the way up here?"

[Noah Amuel]

Noah clambered awkwardly onto the rock, forced to sit close to Letixia for fear of falling off onto the half-thawed ground. Her questions came and rang in Noah's ears for a moment before the answered failed to come. The eagle Kelvic knew very little about the actually fish in the lake except for the fact that they tasted good... raw. "I didn't get a good look before you got here," he lied, looking to the lake, spotting a shimmer of scales. "And I've never fished with a pole before so I don't know about their 'biting habits'," he added, shifting on the rock and pulling his knees to his chest. Her next question came at the cost of some surprise on Noah's end. He hadn't expected it and he doubted that she actually cared about what he said. Still the truth came, "Came for a little rest from the city. It's very... suffocating, the city." He looked to her pool and trailed the line to the hook. "I stumbled on this place a while back and I thought I'd come out here for a little rest and relaxation." "Did you just come to fish?" he asked, nodding towards the rod. The fishing rod was an interesting machine... if it could be called that. It was very primitive, more of a tool than a machine used for who knows how many thousands of years for the same purpose over and over again. Putting it that way made the whole idea of fishing seem redundant and lacking of any interest. As an eagle, Noah could just as easily catch a fish with his talons, eat it, and then come back for seconds before the pole caught something. At least, he thought but who was he to judge? Speech | Thoughts | Fratavan | Eagle

[Radiant]

Noah :

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Socialization	+2 XP

Lores

Lore Earned

Letixia: Squire

Location: Silkwater Lake

Occupation: Fisherman

Fishing: Fishing Pole

Loots

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.