39th Ymiden, 718
With a slow trawl through the woods, Rey'na and Archie finally made their way to the destination. A small river running through Sweetwine, filled to the brim with fish. In her hands were a fishing pole and some other various items that would help the two complete their mission today - fishing. Usually, of course, Rey'na would be working for the Elements by patrolling through the town and ensuring that peace was kept throughout. But today her job was as simple as learning to fish.
Whatever reason Rey'na had decided on fishing, she was already regretting it. She could have been out hunting somewhere that wouldn't have constant water splashing around her, and where the animal in question wasn't relatively disgusting to have to touch or hold. Fish had never been muchb of Rey's thing. Then again, hunting in general hadn't been something she ever imagined she would do, so there wasn't much about this she would be looking forward to either way. All she could hope was that this was the last time she needed a task like this to be done.
"This should do it" Archie nodded to the girl, letting her put down what she was carrying. Despite Rey's unfamiliarity with the woods around them, Archie knew exactly what he was doing, as was evident when started to set up the area for them. With the fishing poles prepared and some bait at his side, he looked to the young girl and wondered how he should go about this. It was no secret that Rey'na wasn't the kind to go out and go fishing, but beating around the bush wasn't Archie's thing either. However, he wanted her to learn survival skills, not to hate the wild fish of Idalos.
While them an set up the fishing poles, he gestured for Rey'na to come and look, showing her how they worked. "When a fish bites the hook, you reel. It's as mundane as that, yet not knowing how to do it can be the difference between surviving and starving" he spoke to the girl, entirely serious. Learning to survive on your own was crucial, you never knew where you'd end up or what could happen where you are now.
"There are, of course, other ways of fishing. But for now we'll stick with this. Sit down and give it a try" he said, not showing her anymore than the brief explanation he had given her. While Archie was here to teach the girl to take care of herself, it was also best that she took it at her own pace and learned from her own experiences. There was, after all, only so much he could show her without her doing it herself, and Archie was a firm believer that throwing her in the deep end would be quicker.
With a little hesitation, Rey'na slid the bait on to the fish hook, a small worm for the fish to bite at. As the hook hit the water, small ripples rode over the surface before the water continued moving down stream. "Good, and now you wait. It could take a while though, girl. Are you willing to commit to that?
After a few trills of thought, Rey'na nodded. By her side sat her shield and spear, though neither were appropriate for the current situation. After all, she wasn't going to have to block a fish from trying to escape the water. Or so she hoped. Rey had seen some strange creatures, leaping fish would frankly be ordinary compared to the other beasts of Idalos, and especially Scalvoris. So long as their teeth weren't sharp Rey'na was sure the two could handle it.
After two bits had passed, the girl already found herself bored. For a busy river there was very little in the way of fish, Rey thought, though that might just be her impatience. A break later, though, and even Archie was confused as to what was going on. "Perhaps we ought to move the pole. I very much hope this isn't you being cursed with fishing like you are with making tea, girl" he said, coming over to look at the pole. As he arrived at the pole, however, there was a bite.
"That's more like it" he said, almost excited. As Rey tried to reel it in, however, she found herself struggling. Whatever this thing was seemed to be much heavier than what a fish should be, though Rey'na had never held one admittedly. Perhaps she had just caught a fatter fish than usual. Seeing her struggle, Archie quickly came over and helped, feeling the weight as well. Yet despite his age and frame, the man somehow had the skill to pull it off, twisting the pole at angles to make the fish easier to bring in.
"This doesn't feel like a small fish" he admitted. As they reeled it closer, however, it was soon very apparent what was in the water - black eyes staring right at them. Quickly, Rey grabbed her spear and shield, Archie stepping back as the large alligator leaped forward and out of the water, snapping down at where they had been standing. Immediately Rey slid on her spear, standing back as the ten foot monster made it's way out of the water, hissing at the two aggressively.
"Be careful, don't get too close" Archie ordered, having fought a few alligators before. It wasn't uncommon for some to be in Scalvoris, especially for someone that loved fishing as avidly as he did. It was a calm and peaceful event, one that allowed the man or woman doing it to just relax and wait for a while, yet still gain reward from it. Besides, nothing beat catching your own meal, the man thought. Even if that meant habing to fend off alligators sometimes.
As Rey circled around the creature cautiously, she watched as its eyes followed her. Risking a small step forward, the beast snapped for her, charging forward. With a quick panic and instinct, the girl let her shield raise, stopping the beast from coming forward by holding its head back and away from her. Despite stopping its bite however, she was now very close to the beast, meaning one wrong move could be incredibly dangerous for her.
"Keep your shield on it's head and just don't let it near your legs, Rey'na" he said, almost sounding worried. While he wanted to test his new recruit, throwing her in to the deep end did not usually entail a deep end filled with gators. She could lose a limb, or even die if the Immortals were cruel. Nothing about that was alright. Archie was just starting to see who this girl really was, see the kindness she had and the honesty she wore. No, she couldn't die now. But if she was meant to be the hero she wanted, then she wouldn't. With a small sigh, he decided to let her handle things - for now.
As the beast slowly walked forward, Rey'na backed up gently, keeping her shield in front of the creatures nose to stop it from snapping down at her with any level of power and stopping him from jumping. Rey'na knew enough about alligators to know that she had to stop it from biting, but no more than that. Those giant, powerful jaws watched her as she backed up. In her free hand was the spear, but if she could leave today without using it then she'd be much happier. One of the things she knew Archie liked about her was her regard for all life, humanoid or not. This creature was trying for a meal, nothing more than that.
"Just keep calm, Rey'na" he muttered as she kept backing away slowly. "When I say go, you back away with a quick movement and shove the thing back in to the water, alright?" he said, trying to reassure her that it would be fine with his tone. It wasn't often he showed this kind of worry, not that he didn't feel it, but it seemed almost detrimental to the person in question. If he showed that he worried, it showed he didn't trust them to take care of themselves, and that often wasn't true.
"Now" he called out, Rey quickly responding. Her shield pushed the creatures head aside, causing it to lunge forward, but with the shield redirecting the blow the beast was launched to the side slightly, down the bank and back in to the river. Quickly, the girl moved away from it, stepping back from the bank. Slowly, the alligator swum away.
"Are you alright?" Archie asked the girl as she stood and caught her breath. After a few trills, Rey'na let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm alright, thank you. Just...wow. That was quite something" she admitted, adrenaline rushing through her body after the incident. Despite how scary it had been, something about it was also interesting. It was definitely a day she would remember for many trials to come.
After checking her for the injuries, the two continued with the fishing. Within ten bits, the man had managed to catch a fish. With that, however, the two decided to leave it instead of risking it further, returning back home with their meal for the night.
With a slow trawl through the woods, Rey'na and Archie finally made their way to the destination. A small river running through Sweetwine, filled to the brim with fish. In her hands were a fishing pole and some other various items that would help the two complete their mission today - fishing. Usually, of course, Rey'na would be working for the Elements by patrolling through the town and ensuring that peace was kept throughout. But today her job was as simple as learning to fish.
Whatever reason Rey'na had decided on fishing, she was already regretting it. She could have been out hunting somewhere that wouldn't have constant water splashing around her, and where the animal in question wasn't relatively disgusting to have to touch or hold. Fish had never been muchb of Rey's thing. Then again, hunting in general hadn't been something she ever imagined she would do, so there wasn't much about this she would be looking forward to either way. All she could hope was that this was the last time she needed a task like this to be done.
"This should do it" Archie nodded to the girl, letting her put down what she was carrying. Despite Rey's unfamiliarity with the woods around them, Archie knew exactly what he was doing, as was evident when started to set up the area for them. With the fishing poles prepared and some bait at his side, he looked to the young girl and wondered how he should go about this. It was no secret that Rey'na wasn't the kind to go out and go fishing, but beating around the bush wasn't Archie's thing either. However, he wanted her to learn survival skills, not to hate the wild fish of Idalos.
While them an set up the fishing poles, he gestured for Rey'na to come and look, showing her how they worked. "When a fish bites the hook, you reel. It's as mundane as that, yet not knowing how to do it can be the difference between surviving and starving" he spoke to the girl, entirely serious. Learning to survive on your own was crucial, you never knew where you'd end up or what could happen where you are now.
"There are, of course, other ways of fishing. But for now we'll stick with this. Sit down and give it a try" he said, not showing her anymore than the brief explanation he had given her. While Archie was here to teach the girl to take care of herself, it was also best that she took it at her own pace and learned from her own experiences. There was, after all, only so much he could show her without her doing it herself, and Archie was a firm believer that throwing her in the deep end would be quicker.
With a little hesitation, Rey'na slid the bait on to the fish hook, a small worm for the fish to bite at. As the hook hit the water, small ripples rode over the surface before the water continued moving down stream. "Good, and now you wait. It could take a while though, girl. Are you willing to commit to that?
After a few trills of thought, Rey'na nodded. By her side sat her shield and spear, though neither were appropriate for the current situation. After all, she wasn't going to have to block a fish from trying to escape the water. Or so she hoped. Rey had seen some strange creatures, leaping fish would frankly be ordinary compared to the other beasts of Idalos, and especially Scalvoris. So long as their teeth weren't sharp Rey'na was sure the two could handle it.
After two bits had passed, the girl already found herself bored. For a busy river there was very little in the way of fish, Rey thought, though that might just be her impatience. A break later, though, and even Archie was confused as to what was going on. "Perhaps we ought to move the pole. I very much hope this isn't you being cursed with fishing like you are with making tea, girl" he said, coming over to look at the pole. As he arrived at the pole, however, there was a bite.
"That's more like it" he said, almost excited. As Rey tried to reel it in, however, she found herself struggling. Whatever this thing was seemed to be much heavier than what a fish should be, though Rey'na had never held one admittedly. Perhaps she had just caught a fatter fish than usual. Seeing her struggle, Archie quickly came over and helped, feeling the weight as well. Yet despite his age and frame, the man somehow had the skill to pull it off, twisting the pole at angles to make the fish easier to bring in.
"This doesn't feel like a small fish" he admitted. As they reeled it closer, however, it was soon very apparent what was in the water - black eyes staring right at them. Quickly, Rey grabbed her spear and shield, Archie stepping back as the large alligator leaped forward and out of the water, snapping down at where they had been standing. Immediately Rey slid on her spear, standing back as the ten foot monster made it's way out of the water, hissing at the two aggressively.
"Be careful, don't get too close" Archie ordered, having fought a few alligators before. It wasn't uncommon for some to be in Scalvoris, especially for someone that loved fishing as avidly as he did. It was a calm and peaceful event, one that allowed the man or woman doing it to just relax and wait for a while, yet still gain reward from it. Besides, nothing beat catching your own meal, the man thought. Even if that meant habing to fend off alligators sometimes.
As Rey circled around the creature cautiously, she watched as its eyes followed her. Risking a small step forward, the beast snapped for her, charging forward. With a quick panic and instinct, the girl let her shield raise, stopping the beast from coming forward by holding its head back and away from her. Despite stopping its bite however, she was now very close to the beast, meaning one wrong move could be incredibly dangerous for her.
"Keep your shield on it's head and just don't let it near your legs, Rey'na" he said, almost sounding worried. While he wanted to test his new recruit, throwing her in to the deep end did not usually entail a deep end filled with gators. She could lose a limb, or even die if the Immortals were cruel. Nothing about that was alright. Archie was just starting to see who this girl really was, see the kindness she had and the honesty she wore. No, she couldn't die now. But if she was meant to be the hero she wanted, then she wouldn't. With a small sigh, he decided to let her handle things - for now.
As the beast slowly walked forward, Rey'na backed up gently, keeping her shield in front of the creatures nose to stop it from snapping down at her with any level of power and stopping him from jumping. Rey'na knew enough about alligators to know that she had to stop it from biting, but no more than that. Those giant, powerful jaws watched her as she backed up. In her free hand was the spear, but if she could leave today without using it then she'd be much happier. One of the things she knew Archie liked about her was her regard for all life, humanoid or not. This creature was trying for a meal, nothing more than that.
"Just keep calm, Rey'na" he muttered as she kept backing away slowly. "When I say go, you back away with a quick movement and shove the thing back in to the water, alright?" he said, trying to reassure her that it would be fine with his tone. It wasn't often he showed this kind of worry, not that he didn't feel it, but it seemed almost detrimental to the person in question. If he showed that he worried, it showed he didn't trust them to take care of themselves, and that often wasn't true.
"Now" he called out, Rey quickly responding. Her shield pushed the creatures head aside, causing it to lunge forward, but with the shield redirecting the blow the beast was launched to the side slightly, down the bank and back in to the river. Quickly, the girl moved away from it, stepping back from the bank. Slowly, the alligator swum away.
"Are you alright?" Archie asked the girl as she stood and caught her breath. After a few trills, Rey'na let out a small chuckle. "Yeah, I'm alright, thank you. Just...wow. That was quite something" she admitted, adrenaline rushing through her body after the incident. Despite how scary it had been, something about it was also interesting. It was definitely a day she would remember for many trials to come.
After checking her for the injuries, the two continued with the fishing. Within ten bits, the man had managed to catch a fish. With that, however, the two decided to leave it instead of risking it further, returning back home with their meal for the night.
