Open [The Piers] Spring Fishing

[Rinya]

Day 25, Season Spring, 514 AV
10th Bell

It was spring. Something Rinya had been looking forward to since the first snow of winter. She had waited of course, for the weather to warm up and the nasty little stomach bug to pass by before even considering this venture. Just because spring had arrived, it didn’t mean everything had instantly turned warm… the water for instance. She had managed to avoid coming down with the stomach bug, but she had been infected with the need to fly since the waterfall had cracked and shown the moving water beneath it once again. She had been opsrey at home of course, but nothing could actually replace the sky… or the thrill of the dive into water after a fish.

Rinya actually felt a little bad. She had invited Jorin to come with her of course, but he still had prior engagements to attend to first - mostly he had training at the Kendoka first. He didn’t begrudge her of course, he had felt all winter how closed off she felt due to the cold weather. Her feathers weren’t meant to withstand the cold… that was why under normal circumstances her breed of bird migrated. So after the major rains had washed the remaining dirt away from the flooding, Rinya decided now was as good of time as any to finally stretch her wings. The weather was warm, and while she doubted the water had reached the temperature of the air around them… well waiting wasn’t an option anymore.

So as soon as Syna breached the the horizon, Rinya was up and out the window. She could have walked down to the pier, but honestly she intended to enjoy the day in her bird form. Jorin was looking to take another stab at fishing with a pole, and well - she had no idea how to use the thing. There was no advice she could give, no ideas she could honestly give him to help improve his chances. There was only one way she knew how to fish, and that was all feathers and talons. That would come later however. The first part of her morning she intended to enjoy the breeze that would come off the bay… and put off the fact that the water was probably colder than she could appreciate.

So she had taken to the air in a flurry of feathers. The morning air had a slight chill, but it was easy to ignore. Riverfall looked just the same as it had the previous season, the lines of building and city streets in line with each other. Everything was smaller from up above, like the buildings were smashed together into the space around the bay. Rinya wasn’t even sure how long she had been up in the air, letting the breeze carry her in circles above Riverfall. Given the light, it had to have been at least a bell. It wouldn’t be long before Jorin would meet up with her at the piers, so Rinya tilted her body, wings and tails adjusting instinctively to allow her to bank sharply and head for the piers.

It was partly instinct, and partly desire that nearly drove her to attempt to fish before Jorin joined her. Honestly it wouldn’t hurt either of them, but if she fished before he arrived, there was a good chance she wouldn’t notice his arrival. Hunting - or fishing regardless of how one looked at it - tended to take over her mind. She wouldn’t stop until she caught a fish, and knowing Jorin he wouldn’t be angry at her for it, but it wouldn’t excuse her promise. After all he had agreed to carry her bag of clothing, despite it being light enough for her to carry. In the very least she could wait for his arrival.

Rinya pulled her wings in close to her as her eyes began to skim the pillars that held up the piers. Her body dropped sharply as she spotted one particular pier… surrounded by gulls. Her wings spread at the last minute, beating several times to help slow her fall and the gulls screeched at her sudden appearance. They scattered quickly, making as much noise as possible as Rinya lit herself onto the pillar, talons digging into the wood to steady herself. She couldn’t help it… it was kind of enjoying watching them fly away. Didn’t matter what kind of predator she was - they flew regardless.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Day 25, Season Spring, 514 AV

The arrival of spring heralded warm weather, brighter clothes, and most importantly to Jorin, a happier Rinya. It wasn't that she was necessarily unhappy during winter... well ok, perhaps she was. Jorin couldn't really blame her; according to his wife, her feathers were not designed to shut out the cold. She often came home from the Warren patrols wet and miserable, complaining about how petching cold it was down there and how Rhys - and now Trynmal - was no help.

For his part, Jorin didn't like the weather any better than his wife did. Possibly worse since unlike her, he didn't even have feathers to help. But at the very least, the two of them had each other, which went a long way to making winter tolerable for them both. It was likely no winter would ever be comfortable for them, but at least they'd not be nearly as miserable as they would have been alone.

That morning, Jorin had awoken to find his wife almost bouncing with giddiness. He could sense her anticipation across the bond, an almost palpable thing that sang like music to his heart. Rinya was happy that spring had come, and every fiber of her being was shouting it to the skies. She'd invited him to celebrate by going to the docks together, and it was with tremendous regret that he had to tell her he'd meet her later.

Jorin wanted to go with her, he really did. But he'd promised Sorhyn that he'd go to practice that morning. Rinya understood, and had asked him to carry her little bag of clothes for her when he arrived. He'd agreed easily - it was a small price to pay to spend a pleasant afternoon with his wife after all. Though the fact that she was asking meant that she'd spend most of it as a bird, something Jorin was looking forward to watching. Rinya was a very graceful flier, and he liked seeing her in her element.

Unfortunately, thoughts of the nice afternoon he was going to have distracted Jorin during practice, and he had been knocked off his feet no less than a four times in the span of less than two bells. It was really quite embarrassing, and Sorhyn made him feel it as the Akalak stared at him with cold, judgmental eyes. He did not say anything. He did not have to.

Still, even that could not dampen Jorin's mood. As he left the Kendoka and headed for the docks, Jorin checked to make sure he had everything. He'd abandoned the fishing arrows - for now. Besides, when he was fishing at the small pond that he and Rinya had discovered on the Bluevein, the arrows were relatively easier for his wife to retrieve. Out on the open sea - not so much. Besides, he was such an awful archer, he'd probably hit nothing but water anyway.

So he'd brought his fishing rod and associated fishing gear. At least he'd been intelligent enough to dig up some worms to use as bait this time - the last time he'd no clue what to do and probably would have tried to fish on an empty hook if Rinya hadn't been there. It was true that she wasn't used to fishing in any other way than as an Osprey, but her nature as a fisher hawk meant she had intuitive knowledge of how fish behaved, which at least gave him some direction.

Next up was Rinya's small bag of clothes. He remembered his wife winning it at Beautyfest - a very practical choice of prize if he did say so himself. The bag was small and light despite the fact that the clothes inside were more than large enough to quite comfortably cover Rinya's body. Jorin was rather impressed that the material could be compressed so much, though he did wonder what it was made of. The smoothness and durability of the material made him think it was probably some form of silk, though he couldn't be sure. Rosela would know for certain, but Jorin still hadn't really gotten into that woman's good graces.

In any case, he carefully tucked the small back into his backpack along with a few other odds and ends. Satisfied that he had everything, he started working his way over to the docks, taking in the fresh air and Syna's bright face shining down upon him. It really was a glorious day; the sky was completely blue and only a few small white clouds imprinted against an otherwise completely clear sky. The spring rains had washed away the snow, leaving only warmth and the promise of green behind.

As he approached the docks, Jorin heard an almighty squawk as dozens of seagulls rose simultaneously, their alarmed cries echoing across the area as their blue bodies fluttered into the sky like so many pigeons. Something had spooked them, and given the amused feeling he was getting across the bond, Jorin had a suspicion what, or more specifically who, that something was.

"Now, now, my love, what did those poor seagulls ever do to you?" he joked as he strode up toward the center of all the commotion. As he expected, he found the chocolate-brown and dewy-white plumage of Rinya in her osprey form perched atop one of the pillars of the pier. He grinned at her, reaching out to stroke the feathers of her breast.

Jorin knew that as a human, Rinya would be humming with happiness at that moment, but regardless of form the bond told him of her joy anyway. He spent a few more ticks lightly stroking her feathers before turning to the water.

"Well, let's see if I can catch anything today," he grinned at her as he hefted his fishing pole and inspected it. It seemed no worse for the wear despite the fact that if he remembered correctly he'd yanked it pretty hard back when he'd first fished with it. Ah, no matter. Jorin removed one of the small squirming worms from his pack, then carefully tried to put it onto the end of his hook.

"Ow! Dang it..." Jorin grimaced as the sharp edge of the hook pricked his finger. Well of course it did. With a sigh, he tried again, this time successfully impaling the small worm onto the line. With a confident grin, he cast the line into the water, the hook sinking into the waves a few feet away with a soft "plop!" Looking over at Rinya's perched form, he gave her a happy smile.

"I'll catch a bigger one this time, love. You'll see!" he promised. He would certainly try, anyway, but the truth was, even if he caught nothing at all, it would still be a fun day.

Spring had come. And both Rinya and himself were going to enjoy it.

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[Rinya]

Despite her enjoyment of watching the gulls scatter, Rinya could feel Jorin’s amusement before she even saw him, though not from lack of eyesight. Her vision had already narrowed to the water off the pier, scanning the blue water instinctually for possible targets. Honestly all the flying had left her hungry, but the last thing she wanted to do was fish off the dock. While the fishing was usually easy, she would most likely scare off the fish, and that meant Jorin wasn’t likely to catch anything at that point. The fishing rod seemed to have limited distance, much shorter than her own of course - scaring off could come later.

Rinya cocked her head to the side to catch the sight of her husband approaching, his face reflecting his amusement. His question however caused her to whistle low and sharp in answer. It would have been fairly easy to shift into her human form to give him a proper answer, but it wasn’t entirely required. It wasn’t anything she couldn’t give a more solid answer to later, but really she might have still held a grudge against the gulls for pulling feathers during the last summer season. Gulls tended to be brave creatures, and while Rinya might have normally respected that - from human or animal - when it came to her feathers she wasn’t one to bend.

Of course that might have been partly because she took excellent care of her feathers, even over the winter season. Actually being stuck inside, there was little she could do other than preen and make sure they were in shape for spring while perching next to the fire. Jorin reached out to stroke the well cared for feathers, and she leaned her head down to gently nip at his fingertips in a show of affection. Eventually however he pulled away and Rinya chirped at him, watching him pulled his attention back to the fishing pole.

To Rinya it didn’t look terribly difficult. Actually of all things, the worms looked harder to deal with than the fishing pole. How Jorin actually managed to dig them up in the first place and hang onto them in the very least. The concept was simple, however the execution apparently was not. Rinya could feel the sharp sting of pain across the bond, brief but very much there. The only reply she could forge was a soft whistle, though most likely he would understand her intent through the bond, with a mute concern she couldn’t help but feel.

The hook itself probably didn’t cause much damage, but she outstretched her neck and body to try and see better, wings slightly spread to help her balance. Regardless Jorin was resilient and tried again, so she settled back on the pillar, content to simply watch again. With a more successful second attempt, Jorin cast the line and Rinya watched as it hit the water. The smaller fish skimming the surface scattered at the intrusion, but they were hardly big enough to be worth catching anyway.

If Rinya could have given a Jorin a snort at his comment to catch a bigger fish she would have. He hardly knew how to use the fishing pole… and considering he had to do nothing but wait, he didn’t get much choice in the size of the fish he would snag. In fact her eyes caught sight of a school of tiny fish swimming by, inspecting the worm on the hook before swimming on. Rinya wondered if Jorin could even see them, given the how the light reflected off the surface.

Rinya knew at this rate, the fishing game was mostly a wait game. She ruffled her feathers up as she settled further onto the pillar, head cocked and scanning the water not just around his bait, but as far into the water as she could. Without the height of flying however her vantage point was slim. This wasn’t a kind of patience Rinya had to use often. Fishing in bird form could take time… but it was rarely a sit still and wait kind of fishing.

[Jorin Ertihan]

The last time Jorin had gone fishing with his wife, she'd been in raptor form too. Jorin briefly wondered if perhaps this would become a thing with them - that Rinya would choose to be an osprey when they decided to fish together. He supposed there was some poetic symmetry in that. After all, she was a fisher hawk, it only made sense she'd want to fish in the form she felt the most natural doing it in.

Besides, the bond allowed him to feel the swell of joy from simply feeling the wind under her wings. It was true that he could never fly like his wife, but at least the bond allowed him to peek at what it must be like to be able to soar above the city. No longer did he have to rely entirely on his imagination.

Rinya's whistle when he asked her what the gulls did to her caused him to chuckle slightly. He could feel the slight annoyance across the bond, and he imagined there was probably a story he could tease of of her when they got back home. Regardless, he continued to stroke her feathers gently.

And as usual, Jorin noted what an attractive bird Rinya was. As far as he was concerned his wife was beautiful no matter what form she was in, just in different ways. And all the preening she did during the winter months certainly kept her feathers nice and carefully maintained; not a single one was scraggly or out of place. The feathers on her chest were fluffy and soft, and he couldn't help but smile gently at her when she nipped his fingers slightly.

There was a warm sense of contentment and happiness that hummed across the bond, and Jorin couldn't help but smile at it. Not that they were necessarily unhappy during the winter, but the chilly weather meant that most of their time was spent either cuddled together in bed or seated before the fire.

Jorin felt Rinya's muted concern - and noticed her leaning in to see - when he snagged his fingers on the fishing hook. He understood that she was worried he might have hurt himself, but he gave her his best smile to allay her fears. "Well, looks like I'm still as clumsy as ever," he grinned as he finally managed to hook a worm and cast it into the water. "Don't worry, my love. I'm just fine," he insisted.

Jorin's eyes were not nearly as sharp as his wife's, nor were they designed to pick out the tiny silver fish that inspected his worm before passing it up. His boast about catching something larger this time was met with amused skepticism across the bond, which Jorin just grinned at and sniffed with mock hurt. "Hey, I can too catch a big fish!" he insisted, before smiling and turning back to the water.

Looking up at the clear blue sky, then over at Rinya, Jorin smiled gently. "Why don't you fly out and enjoy the nice spring breeze, love?" he suggested. He knew how much Rinya loved to fly - almost as much as she liked to fish. The fishing pole in his hands was quiet; it did not seem that many of the fish nearby were particularly interested in biting.

"I don't think these fish like me," he laughed good-naturedly as yet another one, unbeknownst to him, inspected his worm before moving on. "But I'm glad for your company," he added genuinely. And he really was. While he knew how much Rinya loved to fly and to fish, if she was willing to keep him company while he attempted to catch something, he certainly was not going to complain.

Sighing and turning back to the water, Jorin settled into a more comfortable seat, glancing out at the clear blue water reflecting sunlight off the surface, his human eyes missing almost everything he was sure Rinya's sharp osprey eyes were picking up instantly. The wind blew gently across his face as the dock groaned and creaked under the gentle motions of the waves - and Jorin's occasional shifting of his own position on it.

In truth, Jorin still did not know what to do. One of the few things that his parents had never actually done when he was a boy was take him fishing - probably because neither Kari nor Rosik actually knew how despite the family living in Zeltiva. As such, the only things he knew was from trial and error, "general knowledge", and what Rinya knew instinctively as a fisher hawk.

Still, Jorin found the act rather relaxing. After all, once the hook was baited and cast into the water, there wasn't much for him to do except wait. Turning to Rinya, he shrugged and decided to talk to her. Even though he knew she couldn't reply as a raptor, it was nice talking to her anyway, regardless of circumstance.

"You know, back in Zeltiva I knew this fisherman," Jorin mused, looking out to sea. "He was this bear of a man. Huge, really. Arms the size of tree trunks." Jorin grinned and shook his head, looking back over at Rinya. Taking one hand off the pole, he reached out to stroke her feathers again. Somehow he found the action calming, like when they cuddled up in bed at night. And he could feel the warmth of their mutual love hum across their bond.

"Well, alright maybe that might've been an exaggeration," he confessed, "But when I was a child they sure looked like tree trunks. Never did learn how to actually fish from him though. More's the pity. Zeltiva's a fishing town, you know?" Jorin shrugged as he continued to calmly stroke Rinya's feathers, being careful not to accidentally tug on them. He remembered how difficult it was at one point to accept that stroking her like this was not like treating his wife like a pet. It was so hard back then, and now it was second nature. Yet another way to show her love.

"I think you might like it there," he mused, turning to the waves when he thought he felt a small tug. After waiting a few chimes, though, he realized what he'd felt was probably just the waves moving his bait around. "Big open bay, beautiful cliffsides, and I hear the fishing's really good," he explained. In truth, Jorin had a romanticized view of his birthplace. After years of not having lived in Zeltiva, he'd forgotten some of the less-pleasant aspects of the place.

The brutal winters - even worse than Riverfall. The constant food shortages. And of course, the Kelp beer. But for the time being, a sense of nostalgia settled over his heart as he regaled his wife of tales of his homeland. Jorin rarely ever felt homesick, but for some inexplicable reason, sitting there on the docks with Rinya that day, Jorin felt a sudden urge to want to show Rinya his birthplace.

"Maybe I could show you my birthplace someday," he mused. "Still, it's not my home," he insisted. Jorin looked over at Rinya and gave her a smile. The same smile he'd given her the first time they'd ever met, full of happiness and the conviction of what he was saying.

"My home is wherever you are," he declared. And even if the firm conviction in his voice was not sufficient to convince her, there was not a single trace of deception across the bond. To Jorin, home was Rinya. And he knew she felt the same about him.

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