Closed Fisherman With No Fish

[Ricky Maze]

Fisherman With No Fish
Autumn 15th 514 AV, 8th Bell
Location: The Docks

Today the cool air felt great for a morning period of family time and Ricky had thought of a general idea that could make it all the more better, especially if he wanted to see if whether or not Martin would grow up like his own father and be a fisherman later in life. Although Telion still hadn't really recovered from her own sickness she did feel better enough to come along, which made the father feel all the more excited about taking his family out for some personal time fishing together. Syna's ascension had only just started by the looks of it but the Bay was beautifully lit by her presence, all while the chill in the air made the day feel like a breath of fresh air had been taken in by the city. Activity was about to surge no doubt, the locals of Zeltiva were no doubt getting ready to prepare for their part in the daily routine the city provided. Laborers and fishermen were already out and worked their trade at the docks, all while merchants and other folk wandered about the city to their destination as the city as a whole seemed to pulsate with life once again.

The new day had started, and there was no better time than now for the Maze family to arrive at the docks, the fishing gear in Ricky's hand while Telion carried their beloved son to the spot they were to roost at. When they arrived at a part of the docks less occupied by the laborers and sailors, the father placed the fishing rod and kit he brought along down before he turned to face his dear wife once more. "Looks like a good spot 'ere. 'ow 're yew feelin' love?" He asked with a soft smile on his face, hopeful that she wasn't pretending to be excited about it at all.

"I could be better, but I'll manage just fine. I think we need the time out together though, haven't done anything like this in a while after all." She reasoned with a wry smile cast his way, Ricky took it as a sign that she was more than happy to try and make this a fun day at least. Telion was a stall merchant at the fish market for the longest time of course, so she could totally understand and comprehend how Ricky felt about this. The best part though was the fact she actually wanted to be included in this, even if she hadn't felt completely better from the illness she's been recovering from. Poor Martin was the same in that regard, though his recovery had been more quicker than her's, he still suffered the occasional stuffy or runny nose along with a slightly warmer forehead. Of course with the amount of naps the child took, it was actually pretty good that he was almost better from his own sickness.

"Aye, it has been a while. O' course if yew ever git tired or feel like ya wanna go home, just say de word love an' den we can get roi on it." He issued with a gentle kiss to her forehead, he couldn't help but smile then when he heard her chuckle at the notion. He loved to be with her and Martin, every moment spent with them was precious to him after all. Which is why he wasn't all against going back home early if Telion started to feel a little ill once more, and all the more reason as to why he was excited about spending a bell or two fishing with the ones he loved most.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jad made his way up the hallway of The World's End Grotto to Black's room. Things were looking up again. This was the first morning he'd woken up with no serious stiffness in his shoulder. His boss at the shop where he worked had gone easy on him the last ten or twelve days, allowing him to do guard duty from a more restful position in an easy chair. His normal rotation as shop hand had been suspended until his injuries were healed.

It had cost him though. He'd spent 28 gold mizas on Rugberry and Iskyny tea,which provided for eight doses of the Iskyny and sixteen of the Rugberry. He'd been advised by the woman at the clinic to blend them every other time. The Iskyny helping him sleep despite the pain of his injured shoulder and ribs, and increasing the curative benefits of the Rugberry. She'd recommended some Chadast Oil as well. But at 40 mizas more, for only three doses, Jad had found a source of conviction to tough it out. Being broke was a great source of courage.

He'd gone through a quarter of his bandage material as well, and was glad that he hadn't cut it all into strips suited for wounds, as he needed much longer and wider ones to secure his set ribs. The tight wrap also served as a constant reminder not to do much bending, except for that done at the knees. The cracked ribs would be an ongoing concern for some time yet.

Even something as fundamental as raising his arm to knock on a door had sent pain lancing through his shoulder not long ago. And though he still intended to take it easy, it had definitely improved. Enough so that he'd gone to Balshu's Bait and Tackle the day before, and purchased two fishing poles and a general fishing kit. The Charoda there had assured him that the kit contained all the paraphernalia he would need, with or without the poles. But Jad wanted to do it right, so he bought the poles as well. All to the tune of twelve mizas.

He carried this all with him now as he reached Black's door. He grinned with the knowledge of how she, too, had been taking it easy on his poor injured body. 'Normally, her enthusiasm could easily match the physical strain of being run over by a cart.' he thought with a chuckle. It was still dark, but promised to be a glorious sunrise, the best time to fish.

OOC - 40 mizas spent - 12 on fishing gear, 28 on herbs

[Black Onyx]

Black shot up from her slumber, her brown hues snapping wide with fright as sudden pain shot through up her left arm. She gave a small cry as she pulled her left arm close to her form and she whimpered with the pain. Her gaze did a quick assessment of her room, making sure that nothing had been disturbed while she had fallen into a slumber that she had told herself not to fall into. Releasing her left arm, her right hand lifted to rub over her face as a sigh soon fell upon her lips. At least she had gotten some sleep, regardless if it had led to a nightmare, a nightmare that seemed to just follow her around. Was she having them because it was an irrational fear? Regardless, it was the same one, although sometimes the details changed, the nightmare was about the night of her parent’s death. Shaking her head, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and proceeded to stand up. She had fallen asleep in her under clothes, even though she had only wanted to just lie there for a moment. For some reason, the nightmares never bothered her while she was sleeping beside Jadlin. Although she had said that perhaps it was best that she slept in her own room, so then he could rest and heal. Never did she mention her arm, for he had enough to worry about rather than herself.

The young equine would then set about getting dressed pulling on her clothes, this took longer than it normally did, for every time that she had to move her left arm pain followed so she had to take breaks. Tying up her boots was the hardest task of all, for she had to also use her left hand to tie up the laces and it pained her to no great end. She grasped the black scarf that she had purchased and looped it around her neck, tying the ends together so then it could act as a sling for her arm. Once she had successfully done that, she settled her left arm into its welcoming embrace and a sigh of content fluttered across her lips. It relieved the pain to some extent but it also provided some security for her arm so then it didn’t hurt so much, but the pain was always there, throbbing and occasionally it felt as if she was being stabbed. Finally she pulled her cloak on, making sure that it covered the whole of her and not just a part of her.

A knock upon the door had her jumping and a frown creased her forehead as she began to wonder who was at her door. Her gaze shifted to view the door with suspicion before she finally moved towards it, pausing for a brief moment. She could only guess as to who was behind the door and she hoped that whoever was behind it, had knocked on the wrong door. Stealing herself, she finally opened it, only for it to reveal Jadlin. A smile curved her lips and she angled her head to the side, her gaze flickering over his appearance and spotting that he had some kind of gear with him. ”Jadlin! Why are you doing up so early in the morning? Shouldn’t you be resting?” While she enjoy seeing him, she was worried that he was not one hundred percent, that if he did too much, it would make him go back to the university’s infirmary and she didn’t want that. She had to admit though, her nightmare seemed to melt away and she visibly relaxed at the sight of him.

[Ricky Maze]

"Okay," Ricky took Martin as Telion handed the child over so she could sit at the edge of the dock, the father took the moment to coo at the boy and tease him with a few playful nips at the neck, while Telion giggled as she removed her shoes to place them next to the place she sat down at. When she seemed comfortable finally Ricky handed Martin back over to her, and the three spent the next few moments talking with the boy as he looked around curiously at the span of the ocean before him. The boy was no doubt just like his father in that regard, so curious and amazed to see the ocean that stretched out before them. For as long as Ricky could remember he'd always had an affinity for the sea, and to see that same trait passed on into his own child not only fascinated him, it also empowered Ricky in a different sort of way than he expected it to.

No doubt he felt proud to be Martin's father but there was certainly more than just pride and joy there, more than just a deep profound sense of unconditional love that grew between the two. Both Ricky and his son Martin were part of each other and would remain that way forever it seemed, and to have that kind of deep connection with something so precious made Ricky feel all the more happy to be where he was right now. "He's gonna be just like 'is ol' Pa when he grows up."

"And I just hope that's a good thing." Telion teased with a good laugh to follow, Ricky beamed of course as he stood to set up the fishing gear.

"Hey! Believe me it'll be a good t'ing, he'll 'ave me good looks an' yer beautiful eyes. Practically be throwin' ladies off o' 'im when he comes o' age." He joked further as he reached down to pick up the fishing rod and kit. Telion could only giggle more at his remark, as Ricky took to inspect the rod and see the fishing line had been appropriately applied to it. So far everything looked good so all that remained was to set up the hook and bait, and then from there they could get started with some good quality fishing time.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jad stood in the doorway, giving Black a look up and down. He loved her smile, and he saw a wave of comfort wash over her as she clearly relaxed at the sight of him. There was very little that could make him feel better than that. "Well, it's getting to where the backache I get from lying in bed all day hurts worse than my shoulder. And besides, what I have in mind is very restful and relaxing. Haven't you ever been fishing before?"

He didn't want to come right out and say that both her questions made it obvious that she had not. Not unless he'd just awoken her and her vision was still blurry. But carrying two fishing poles, and the fact of it being pre-dawn bells, were both classic signs of goin' fishin'. "I've only fished from a moving vessel so far; on 'The Badge' on the journey here; when I was done with my crew duties that is. Well, actually, sometimes fishing WAS my duty. But that's a whole different type of fishing. This will just be sittin' back, the line in the water, givin' it a twitch or two to trick the fish into bitin' it. No hurries, no worries."

He set the gear down and moved in for a long, slow kiss. He'd thought many times lately that it made sense for them to move in together into a single cottage. He paid no mind to her hesitation to bring both arms into the embrace. He was just glad to have her in his own arms. "Look, if you're busy, it can wait. I mean, if you have other things to do today. But it's a beautiful morning, I've got all the gear we need, AND I've already gotten you out of bed, so we're halfway there!" He grinned eagerly, practically willing her to agree.

He sat down, patting the seat beside him. He opened the box of gear and laid the pole across his lap so the crank mechanism was in his lap. He explained what he was doing as he oiled the gears and the lock trip, describing the function of the reel to pull the line in, and then lock in place when you stopped turning the crank. He showed her the release, and went into a little detail about the concept of wearing out the fish' resistance with the alternating crank-and-release technique.

Naturally, several anecdotes followed, conveying the comical antics of the crew of The Badge as they all took their turns at the poles. The snarled and snapped lines and poles, the hooks catching in the most inappropriate places. The bumbling attempts to bring the fish in by hand instead of by net. The bites and abrasions, the catching of various items of clothing and hair in the gears of the reel mechanism.

He was preparing a few leaders as well as he talked. It was good knot-tying practice anyway. He continued absently about his belief that the best poles were created through alchemy, so the wood was exceptionally strong yet flexible. Mostly now he was just killing time as he waited for her to finish getting ready.

[Black Onyx]

Black simply blinked at the mention of fishing, before she shook her head, stepping back so then Jadlin could come into the room. Once he had she peeked out to look down the hallway to make sure he hadn’t been followed before she closed the door, turning to smile at him while she listened to him speak. Fishing was a duty on a ship? She silently asked herself before she angled her head slightly to the right, her brown hues focused upon those lips that she wanted to tasted so much. However, she pulled herself out of those thoughts and brought them back to the ship. She probably hadn’t heard about fishing or knew about the duties of those upon ships because her skills were limited, so it didn’t surprise her. He set the gear down before he swept her up into a long slow kiss and her right arm lifted to curl around his neck as her lips pressed against his own, tasting him upon her lips. To her, it always tasted like she was coming home, well, what she taught would taste like coming home seeing as she had lived in a room for the past two years since her parents death. The taste of his lips, paired with his arms circling around her own form, made her feel safe, even though the press of their bodies together hurt her arm, she just couldn’t care. He was there with her in his arms.

As their lips parted, she smiled up at him, the happiness that she felt within, reflected within her muddy brown eyes. She shook her head at his words before she softly chuckled, ”You know that I always have time for you, no matter what I had intended to do before you came to my door.” Her smile widened before she shook her head, she had intended on going for a walk, but she guessed she could try this fishing thing. She grasped her hair brush before she sat down beside Jad, using the hair brush to brush through her black locks, straightening out the knots that had decided to appear while she had been wriggling about on her bed during the night. The young equine had avoided using her left arm throughout this whole time, but her left arm still throbbed. She put the brush down to the side and her right hand reached out to gently touch the tip of the pole. Listening as he oiled the gears and locked the trip as he called it. So the reel, which was the mechanism in his lap, pulled the line in?

”Alright, well I’m ready and I suppose fishing has to be done in the early morning, so let’s get to it.” She smiled as she moved to stand up, her right hand reaching out to help grasp a fishing rod so then he didn’t have to carry all of the gear. She waited for him to exit the room, before she exited herself, closing and locking the door firmly behind her. She pocketed the key before she followed Jadlin down the hall and out of the Grotto. ”So, I haven’t exactly done his before, as you know, so I may just ask you for a lot of pointers.” She blushed as she admitted that simple fact, ducking her head a little. She hated to admit that she couldn’t do, or hadn’t done something before, to her it made her feel limited and only reminded her of her lack of education. However, she didn’t mind admitting it to Jadlin, he was her safety line and she knew that he wouldn’t judge too much about her, seeing as they had first met because she had stolen a pouch of his which did not have any coin in it.

OOCI sort of just pushed them out the door to move them along a bit, seeing as she was mostly ready before she answered the door. If this is not ok, let me know.

[Ricky Maze]

Well, so far so good. Ricky thought after he checked the line thoroughly to make sure no knots or tangles were involved anywhere with the rod, next came the process of setting up the rod for fishing which wouldn't take so long. With the hook brought up he took the end of the line and slid it through the eye at the top, careful to get about two inches worth of line through before he went with tying the knot. Ricky took the line near the eye of the hook and proceeded to wrap the line around a few times, he counted each turn over of the line he did until he reached four. It was usually the basic number he stopped at seeing as how that tended to lead to a generally good knot, and when that number had been reached he proceeded to take the end of the line and pull it through the loop that was created between the bottom of the knot and the hook.

As a final step Ricky took the line that he tugged through and directed it into one last loop at the side of the knot, gave a few soft tugs for the knot to slowly form before he went to finish it. He placed the knotted area of the line in his mouth for a tick so that the rest of it would easily come together, as the lubrication allowed a more tighter constriction to follow without making the line brittle in the process. With that done he could then tie on the small stone used for a sinker on the side, which only involved a few made loops before a knot similar to the first one was created to hold it on there. Now that the rod had a hook and sinker on the line, it was ready for use and only needed to be baited before they finally started fishing. The whole time Ricky had been at work with the rod his wife Telion had been watching, save for the few times she had to cuddle Martin as he squirmed about some. Of course now that the moment of the bell had finally come to arrive, they were no doubt going to spend some quality time showing their son the trade his father did for so long.

Only... when Ricky opened the small case where there he usually kept bait, nothing but dust seemed to drop out as the case let out a sigh. It'd been completely empty for Laviku only knows how long, and by the looks of it Ricky hadn't gone to get any here recently since he'd been so busy with both work life and home life. His hand dropped to the docks and the case slightly banged against the wooden planks, which led Telion to look in wonder when she saw her husband's face in the other hand. "What? What did you do?" She asked curiously as though he made a mistake or something, along with a minor giggle to follow as she smiled at him with ease.

"It ain't what Oi did, it's what Oi didn't do. We canny really fish wit'out any bait, an' Oi just 'aven't 'ad de time t' go out an' git some now." He explained as he took to sit on his bum then, he side as he looked to his beloved with a slightly disappointed look. "Unfortunately Oi didn't t'ink 'bout goin' t' buy any t'day because Oi didn't t'ink about it." He added with a bit of amusement.

"Well darn," Telion sighed, "That kinda defeats the purpose y'know."

"Yeah, Oi know." Ricky agreed as he looked up to the sky in thought, he had to figure out a probable solution that could work for this minor setback they had encountered.

[Jadlin Hayes]

Jad stood in the doorway of The Grotto, breathing in the dawn air. He loved the early mornings. Though they greatly resembled the evenings, they felt completely different. Not only was there the sense of a fresh start, an opportunity for a flawless day, there was the feel of safety. Crime was an element in any city, but the early morning bells were the least likely time to run into trouble of that sort. Not only were the night owls tired, but the approach of daylight made them reluctant to begin any new misdeeds.

Shadows were now just a stark counterpoint to give artistic flair to the cityscape, not a haven for cut-throats. The echo of distant activity at the docks gave a pleasant undertone of hubbub. The gray silhouettes of buildings slowly embraced the colors of sunrise, blooming with rose and violet highlights to sit within the dark outlines like framed artwork. Jad and Black's boot steps were a warm rhythm as the murmur of the shoreline slowly came to life around them.

Jad tried to ease Black's worry about tackling a new activity for the first time. "As I said, I did my fishing from a moving vessel, so I'm not some old hand at casting from a dock. You're just as likely to do this right as I am. Or I'm just as likely to snag my line on a piling as you are." he grinned, "Don't forget how sharp my aim was with a short bow under pressure." he teased, recalling his lousy marksmanship in the face of a Yukmen attack not long before.

There was one dock in particular that was far less busy than the others. This was also reflected in the greater expanse of accessible water, unimpeded by vessels that would make casting difficult. He suggested they try their luck on that pier, seeing only a couple of other small groups of what looked like folks fishing. They found a spot sufficiently isolated as to give them plenty of clear space to cast, and Jad set down the fishing kit.

"This looks good. Plenty of room for you to make mistakes." He winked mischievously, prepared to duck any playful punches Black might throw his way. He was not looking around to see if he knew anyone already settled in to fish.

[Black Onyx]

Black laughed and she shook her head, sending a playful punch his way using her right hand, although he quickly ducked out of the way and she simply shook her head. ”Hey you, just because I prefer my feet upon solid ground.” She softly blushed before she turned her gaze out to the ocean. It was true, she did prefer to have her feet planted firmly upon the ground and although she did go for a dip occasionally in the waves of the sea, she never went too far in that involved actually swimming, having her feet firmly planted upon the sandy beach. Often she had wondered exactly was out under the ocean where the human eye couldn't reach, what dangerous creatures lurked underneath? Silently she pulled out an apple from the folds of her cloak to bite into that white flesh inside, having not exactly eaten before heading out. Not that she ever really ate in the mornings, but she had a feeling that she was going to need the energy that the piece of fruit could provide her for this particular activity. She chewed slowly, before swallowing, shifting upon the spot that she stood on. Indeed, she hadn’t exactly become a big fan of isolated places of late, preferring crowded places. Too many events happened while she was alone and it was beginning to make her jump even at her own shadow.

She lifted her gaze and peered away from the sea to make sure that no one else was lingering around to jump out at them. ”So… What exactly do you have t…” Her words fell short of completion as those brown hues fell upon the one man that she was doing her best to avoid. This also had the hand that held the apple pausing as it was rising to her lips. Ricky was here, along with his boy Martin and a woman. A woman that she guessed might be Martin’s mother and the wife of Ricky. She drew in a long slow breath before she bit down on her apple once again, chewing as she flickered back upon past events. He was dangerous, this much she knew, but he was also Jadlin’s older brother, a blood relation. The young equine just didn’t exactly know how to act around him and she had hoped that she could avoid running into him again, but she was quickly beginning to realize that he was going to be around every corner that she turned. ”Hm… Seems like we have company my love.” She pressed her lips together before she glanced away down back the way that they had come from. ”Your older brother Ricky seems to be having a family outing of some sorts.”

The woman rocked back onto her heels and focused upon the activity of eating the apple that she was now very much focussed upon. The kelvic even focussed upon chewing the piece of fruit up until it was nothing but mush within her mouth. It seemed that she was retreating further and further back into her thoughts and they were slowly eating at her. Lately, it was beginning to get much easier to focus upon the pain of her arm rather than the current events. She wasn’t exactly sure as to whether he would want to talk to his brother but she had a feeling that one or the other would initiate conversation. Jadlin seemed to be on good ground with his brother ever since the event at the university, so she wasn’t going to rock the boat. Things were nice the way they were between Jadlin and herself, but she half expected for things to go sideways. Plus, of late she had realized that her life was being continuously being threatened by one person or another and the lines between friend and foe were beginning to blur. She half expected that someone would deliver the killing blow, a killing blow that would happen in an alleyway that seemed like bad luck in itself. Before she knew it, she had worried away most of the white flesh from the apple core, her teeth sinking into the core itself. Slowly she sighed and dislodged her teeth from the core, turning it within her fingers. What was she to do?

[Ricky Maze]

He could only sigh as he hung his head in defeat, seeing as it would involve an extra trip into the business district of the city. There wasn't many options for him to consider though, since they had no bait to use and that was by far an important thing to have along. "We can just try the rod without the bait, or maybe even just relax here for a little bit. Besides Martin's not old enough to catch his first fish yet." She teased with a bit of a giggle to follow, which led Ricky to grin and chuckle as he turned to look down at her as well.

"Aye, still Oi wanted 'im t' experience de moment o' when a fish bites an' de feelin' o' pullin' it outta de water." He admitted as he moved over to stand near them, he knelt down next to them with a humble smile on his face though, as he padded Martin on the head gently in thought. "Yer roi t'ough, he is quite young. Probably wouldn't remember it as well as he would later on."

"Yeah, but we can still admire the morning as Syna rises." She looked at him with a bit of a croon in his head, the manner of her expression suggestive before she went into another short giggle. Martin had already grappled at his dad's own hand and said "Ga!" once or twice in the process, leading the parents to laugh as they took it as a form of agreement in the baby language the child spoke.

"Well t'en Oi guess we can do t'at." He mused as he looked over his shoulder at the gear he brought along, as much as he hated a wasted trip the least bit they would get out of it is personal family time together. Then of course his eye caught a familiar person, namely because she wore the same outfit as usual, and that in turn led him to see that both Jadlin and Black had come to the docks today to do a little bit of fishing. "Well Oi'll be damned..." He murmured under his breath, yet the act was enough bring Telion's attention, her eyes followed the direction of Ricky's stare until she found the point where two others were getting ready to fish as well.

"You know them?"

"Yeah, t'ey 're de ones Oi told ya 'bout. Jadlin an' Black." He responded as he rose to his original height, Telion gave a quiet "Oh." as she continued to watch them while Ricky cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey Jad! Aren't ya a bit inexperienced t' be wavin' rods 'round?!" He called out with a smirk on his face, curious to see how the younger brother would react to such a taunt. Needless to say he should've expected a bit of banter to follow, but of course it was a welcomed greeting given that he thought of the man as family already. Of course with Black by his side there was a bit of wonder as to whether or not she might feel tense about Rick's own outrage the other night, as he still felt quite terrible for the loss of control he had that.