2019-08-12: Tiny Enemy Crab
- Log: Tiny Enemy Crab
- Cast: Elhaym van Houten, Riesenlied, Noeline, Fei Fong Wong
- Where: Djose
- Date: 12th August 2019
- Summary: Elly and Fei show Riesenlied, accompanied by Noeline, how to fish. But what lurks underneath the waters but... the title of the log which is a spoiler actually??
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
The tide rolls in... the tide rolls out... the wet sand glitters in the Spiran sun...
10 AM A COASTAL NOOK FACING OFF THE HIGHROAD CURRENTLY FREE OF BANDITS AND UNDERMINER ATTACKS
Elly van Houten seems subdued, but she has taken some pains to set things up. "I know these aren't the fanciest," Elly says, gesturing at one bucket which contains two-meter bamboo poles with tied-on strings and long hooks. "But I thought that they would do for the basics. If you think you like it, then we can look into finding a reel... but many people catch tons of fish - literal tons - without, you know, anything fancy..."
There is a smaller bucket, currently well shut.
"Once you get your rod, we can put on the bait. We'll be fishing over here... do you see that old machina sunk in the sea floor there?" (This area is well away from the Operation Mi'ihen zone; the machina has probably been there since before anyone here was born if they are not secretly Marivel.) "Well... that's the sort of place fish love to hide."
It is two full days after the encounter in Lake Macalania. Elly had returned there to fulfill the contract she had made (if less gloriously than originally hoped) and then subsequently rode ze shoopuf down to this neck of the woods.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied is here in part because of shortages of food for the refugees in Djose. There's only so much they can take from the land without stripping it bare, and as a fledgling nomad and Heritor of the Fereshte... she did not want to go against the principles of her predecessors. The marshlands of the Moonflow, the rocky outcroppings of Mushroom Rock Road have given all they can...
Which was why she's here to do something she-- she wasn't sure about... even if the Fereshte were hunters as well -- with a principle of taking what they need and respecting what they kill, and wasting nothing.
She didn't quite get to that yet, not being a hunter when she was young.
... but there's an ulterior motive on the cuccomind too, because... the image of being nestled by Noeline as they both fish and spend the time away is too strong to ignore.
"Thank you... and-- for doing this on such short notice too," Riesenlied bashfully smiles. "The Fereshte were fishermen too, but I was too young and small to... get invited." That's what she goes with, anyway. There might have been more to it.
She looks to the machina sunk on the floor, looking surprised. "Really? Do fish like to stay around machines?"
She carefully wheels herself over and stoppers the wheelchair using the lock. She's got a straw hat ready for the day, along with a chocobo-print smock over her clothing. A pause as she looks to Noeline. "Bait... what do... the fish like to eat?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline has a certain look on her face at the sight of the bait and fishing rods that have been set up, her eyebrows shot up as she tries to soften the amused smirk and the glint in her eyes. Wheeling Riesenlied to a spot on a rocky overlook is easy enough, but a moment's uncertainly means she steps away while her partner applies the stopper, coming back with a couple of heavy rocks to trap the wheels of the chair between them. "Just in case," she mutters, then rocks back on her heels as she nods in satisfaction.
"They will certainly do, I think," she answers Elly as she rubs her hands together in anticipation and then drags a seat next to Riese's position. She's got a pack with her, which she carefully stows under Riesenlied's seat. "I will readily admit I'm going to be extremely rusty, but this isn't going to be my first time with a fishing pole in my hands - and that time it was a great deal more improvized."
It's not just conventional fishing she's doing, dropping that bait into the conversation and leaving it there for someone to bite - but it's been a while since she's gotten the chance to pull this, grinning impishly as she sits down.
"It differs from fish to fish, but you aren't necessarily trying to get them food so much as something they'll react to. When I learnt, one fisherman used a spoon, of all things," Noeline huffs to herself. "It seemed ridiculous, but I couldn't deny the results. He said the way the light glinted off it would draw the bigger fish."
This is her very tactful way of completely avoiding the question of what's in the bucket, of course.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei isn't exactly happy about Loren totally falling to his death for sure but it's hard to be too depressed about it. The guy helped kill a man he was hoping to save and more to the point, tried to kill the woman of his life and didn't seem very inclined to change his mind about it.
But it does break him to see Elly upset like this and in that way even he can be upset about Loren's death at least a little bit. And since they're both upset-- FISHING TIME.
"It's all about patience, Riese." Fei says. "So you're probably going to be a natural since I don't know anybody as patient as you."
Though wait! Can Riesenlied... CATCH FISHIES and like be okay with that?? There are some very round fishes out there! Well, maybe he better not mention this and Riesenlied will be okay there.
"Well they like worms." he adds, grinning a bit too widely because part of him is that punk kid who rolls around in dirt a lot at heart. "Though you don't have to use worms, you can use all sorts of different baits and it works out just fine."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"It's alright," Elly tells Riesenlied, with a small smile. "How did they do it? I've heard of all sorts of things... but a lot of it is, I think, a little like cheating."
The smile fades. She takes a deep breath and lets it out, before handing out poles - the alert observer would notice they all have cork floaties well above the hook. "Noeline is right," Elly says, "but I can actually explain the spoon... some fish hunt by smell, and others, by sight. The spoon, flickering in the sunlight, looks a lot like a smaller fish... and they react, and then, well..."
Elly hands Fei a rod. "Hah," she says, not quite laughs. "They're like little sausages you find in the ground... ...someone I knew said that," Elly explains.
"Anyway," Elly says, "It's not that they like machines... it's that they make their homes in structures like that. You can see that there's a little coral growing on it... and of course, there are reefs out in the deeper parts of the ocean."
Elly opens the bucket. S T I N K Y
She reaches down for... well, it's breadcrumbs mixed into a loaf with fish leftovers, and she makes a little ball with her fingers and puts it on her hook. "This," Elly says, "should attract most of the fish around here... either by scent, or by attracting smaller fish to nibble. And I think there may even be crabs."
Can you catch crabs this way?
Elly baits everyone up, and then twists the pole around with a flourish, before hurling it out - plop! (She's not using the Reel Sphere today.) The cork bobber floats, and the water is clear enough that a clever eye can see the fish hook and its bait sink gently down, further, near the old sunken machina.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied smiles warmly towards Noeline as she props her chair up with rocks, though she definitely still has some ideas about how she wants to position herself once they get underway. "Rusty is better than not having done it at all... and-- that was in the Thames, wasn't it?"
A pause, as her horns wiggle as she sounds like she said something she shouldn't. "I mean, I'm thinking it might've been..." A pause, as she listens to the story of the spoon. "I see... so it's about attracting them too..."
Fei says that it's about patience, and Riesenlied nods as she says, "Thank you... I do try to be. Although- ooh?"
Well, Riesenlied is a gardener, so she doesn't have the potentially expected reaction of 'eww worms!'. "I see... I sometimes introduce worms and ladybugs to the gardens, since they're beneficial, but... I suppose this time it's part of a cycle."
Elly asks how the Fereshte fished. "... I only heard stories, since I wasn't allowed to go. But--" A blink, blink. "They would wear these great overalls and wade into the river and... fly? Fly while fishing??"
Riesenlied has the wrong idea bout fly fishing...
But as she recants the story, she looks down towards the bucket.
"I--I'm sorry, Mister Worm...!"
At least until Elly opens it up. It's not quite Mister Worm, but rather breadcrumbs and fish bits. "Oh, I see... by scent or by sight... and I see. It makes for a convenient home..." A pause. She watches Elly intently as she makes and hooks the bait, then tries to throw the line out--
"Hup!" she yelps. "... was that okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"Rusty in every sense of the word, yes, given the state of the Thames," Noeline confirms for Riesenlied's sake, humming pleasantly once she's sure that her beloved is secure safely in place - and then taking her hand as she offers a soothing reassurance through their link and offers a smile. "I wasn't all that interested in it at the time, but it's impossible to stay there for any long period without being exposed to it to some extent."
She has the grace to look a little guilty towards Fei when he mentions patience. "To be honest, I mostly used it as an excuse to read in the open air. I'm sure I must have let quite a few slip the hook in my time," she notes ruefully, then puffs out a breath as she flicks her hair, grumbling toothlessly. "Honestly, making a sport where it's far too easy to zone out."
"The struts of the Thames were an obvious spot for them to congregate, especially out in the open water. Of course, part of it was knowing when to fish, as well. Back there, you could reliably see the fishermen out at about two in the afternoon, if only because that was when the crane was usually powered up. The whole structure would jolt everything out of their hidey-holes," she caps off Elly's explanation - and though her eyebrows go up in recognition of the term Riesenlied's not sure about, she leaves it to the redhead to explain further.
Instead, she watches as Riesenlied casts, craning up a little to spy where the hook lands. "It looks far enough. There isn't exactly a fixed target."
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei gets a rod in his hand. He looks it over briefly before nodding to Riesenlied. Pretty impressive...Riesenlied was even stronger than he expected...! He lets Elly continue the education without much assistance largely because Elly already knows everything he knows about it, and more, so he has a feeling that if he tried to jump in with EDUCATION it would just interfere with Elly's process here.
"Heh... well, the real challenge is after you get it in the water," Fei asides to Riesenlied. "Though--again maybe not for you," He laughs heartily ofr a moment before turning to focus on Noeline. "Mm? Hey it's okay. It happens! Nobody's here to judge anybody's past fishing mishaps. Unless you've got a real good story to go along with it."
He pauses. "The Thames..." Fei murmurs. "I've heard of that place before. I wonder...if it's anything like I've heard." He looks to Elly. "Maybe we'll get to go sometime. I've heard some real amazing stories."
He nods slowly. "I can really respect a true Man of the Sea. It ain't easy, that's for sure."
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
("Yes," Elly says to Riesenlied.)
Then she blinks at the mention of something called Thames, and Elly shrugs it off, because it's quite certain that nothing called 'Thames' will be important, any time soon. "It is very meditative," Elly says to Noeline, "but I never thought of... reading. I have just kind of found it to be, well.. meditative. It's helped me a lot..."
"If this place was like an island out in the deep water, it makes sense that fish would congregate there," Elly says. "Like a natural island..."
Time passes.
"What have you heard?" Elly asks Fei. "It hasn't come up for me at all, but I don't think I've ever even thought about leaving Ignas. It's funny... I've been to both sides of Lunar, but I haven't seen the other continents of Filgaia. Other than Arctica, of course."
SOMEWHERE
Mother would give a thumbs up BUT SHE'S FREAKING DEAD! :airhorn:
HERE THO
Riesenlied's cork bobber suddenly and quietly sinks down below the surface of the water. It might not stand out too much, in the light, and with the natural ripples of the surface..
"I think the fly thing is that they put together a sort of, imitation insect with bits of fluff and color," Elly says. "At least that's what Dr. Uzuki described it as. I don't really get it, but then, I'm not a fish! Maybe it makes more sense in some other language..."
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied relaxes a little as she listens to the story of the Thames, smiling just a bit at that... and maybe drifting her thoughts accidentally through the link towards... a pile of letters? And a dog beastwoman? Curious.
The thought disappears for Noeline, though, as she looks out and nestles a little bit closer. She looks to Elly as she muses not having seen the other parts of Filgaia.
"Me neither, Elly. But... I promised to Noeline. One day... we'll see it together. I'll get to go... where you went before," she whispers to her partner.
She turns her attention to the ocean. "I like the bobber... does that also help attract the fish?" Riesenlied asks. "Though you mentioned it was glints of light, not colour or roundness..."
A Riesenfish would get attracted by a bobber... wouldn't she...
Elly explains the fly, and how it's not... actually flying. "Oh... oh! I made a fake insect for some of the fishermen once with Nasrin. Is that what we made for them?"
She looks a bit more sedate to Fei as she tries to resolve up: "... I'm... I'm ready to experience what the fish feel. We are taking what we need, in order to make sure everyone can eat..." A pause. She looks like she's half putting on a brave face about this.
... a brave face that might get tested just now--
"Ah! Ah!" Riesenlied gets that familiar newbie panic. "I'm getting a pull! What do I do??" she holds onto the rod firmly, but she'll need help...!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"They weren't exactly mishaps so much as wilful ignorance," Noeline huffs to herself, but resists the urge to fold her arms and grump when she could instead hold onto Riesenlied's hand and reassure the other Hyadean. "Still, at least I'd like to think I was never cruel nor fishing more than my fair share, I suppose."
She pauses for a moment, knowing that she's prone to gushing a little too much about the Thames before Riesenlied has had the chance to see it - but she can't help a warm smile from coming to her face. "In many ways, the Thames is cut from the same cloth as Wayside. People coming together somewhere wildly improbable, from all walks of life, but full of light and laughter. Really... for a long time, I thought I liked it only because it was /interesting/," she puffs up.
And that puff instantly softens as she looks back to Riesenlied, tilting her head in recognition of their promise. "I will take you there. ... you'll adore the place, I hope."
"Ah--" she adds, a flicker in the corner of her eye leading to her spotting the tug just before Riesenlied does. "Don't just yank on it. Try to hold the line steady until it calms down, past the initial rush. It's alright to let the line go further out a little if it feels as if it's going to break," she adds, as she helps brace Riese and offer her an extra pair of hands.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"Oh not much. But I think Franz has family there." Fei tells Elly "And anybody who can just live on the sea sounds pretty impressive to me. I don't know if I could handle boat life for that long! The trip to Elru was pretty bad already." Though to be fair part of that is self inflicted, Fei, because 'Elru' just existentially filled you with so much dread it was tough to really enjoy boat life! And there was the sea sickness... You persevered though! Kind of!
"Though...yeah if you asked me if I would've visited the moon before I visited Guild Galad, I'd have been like 'Well I'm obviously never going to Guild Gaad'." He laughs a little more before looking over to Riesenlied, though he might've been drawn to her speaking of Nasrin. Even if it's a different Nasrin. She wonders if 'Nasrin' is still in there somewhere.
"Oh--sounds like it, Riese." She pauses and adds, "Well... if you're sure about it." He smiles. "It's pretty mature of you. I'm glad to see you're taking this step forward."
But then Riesenlied panics. "Ahh!!" He says, stepping back. "Just keep calm! Worst case it gets away! ... well worst case it steals your rod or breaks it but that probably won't happen!"
Noeline speaks of the Thames having been there. Same cloth as Wayside? He just hopes he doesn't bring them trouble some day.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Elly's face flushes a little at the mention of a promise... but she's being asked a question. "Oh... I don't know. I think it's for us, more than for the fish, but it could be. Otherwise it would be easy to not notice a small bite, especially if the line is slack."
Then she nods once. Her attention turns towards Noeline and Fei, before she says, "Oh - well, hopefully we will get to go sometime. Especially if Franz has family there... You know, I never thought about it, but Franz would be well suited for the ocean, wouldn't he?"
...
>>!! BITE !!<<
Elly moves quickly to Riesenlied's side, reaching out to grasp her rod with one hand while her own ends up dangling. "It's alright -- Noeline's right, let it tire things out... there's no reason to rush, and a lot of reason to wait. The fish here shouldn't be that difficult, this close to shore, so -"
The tugging gets stronger. It has, in fact, a rhythm to it. TUG TUG TUG.
Elly blinks. "What?"
UNDER THE WATER
A crab the size of a dinner plate - it's not a fiend, just a big ol' blue crab - tugs impatiently at the hook dangling above its head, trying to get the ball of bait to dislodge.
One of its eyestalks swivels at another passing morsel. The big crab extends a claw...
ABOVE THE WATER
Fei gets a tug too.
"Don't worry about the poles," Elly says: "I used bamboo deliberately, so there's nothing to worry about if it goes poorly."
The tug Fei is getting turns into a deliberate dragging as if something is winding his line up and pulling it forwards. Is he gonna take that from an as-yet-unseen fish?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied scarcely has time to answer to any other follow-ups because of the urgency of
>>!! BITE !!<<
But inside her, somewhere still, a sleeping corpse stirs quietly where she's bundled up in a child's bedroom, perhaps awaiting another visit by a red-haired child. "... hmph..." She rolls over.
Any mysterious dog beastwomen and Riesenlied's strange thoughts of the Thames for Noeline is forgotten for now, though, since--
"H-hold it steady, okay--wah! wah!" Tug, tug, tug. "It's strong...!!" Noeline and Elly both are there to assist her, though, so she doesn't lose.
Riesenlied's cheeks puff up as she calls out to the water, "I'm not going to lose, Mister Fish!"
Little does she know it's not a Mister Fish at all. It's... an Enemy Crab!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Noeline does at least allow herself a glance at Fei, grinning at some private joke of hers - but in an upbeat fashion rather than a mischievous one. "I think a visit to the place would do you a lot of good," she says. "For one thing, the Thames is remarkably solid. For another, I am fairly certain you'd enjoy the place a great deal." Plus, she wants to see Fei get absolutely carried away in the Captain's wake.
"--that is hardly helping!" she puffs up towards the martial artist the next moment, clasping Riesenlied's hands in hers to offer some support - but loosely enough that Riesenlied has the chance to test her own strength first should she want to.
"When you start to feel it tire, that's when you want to begin winding!" the Hyadean calls urgently, nodding in recognition towards Elly's experience. "Bit by bit, until you start to feel it thrash again-- honestly," she grumbles as she watches the pole swerve towards Fei's. "If it gets the two of you tangled up, it's a great deal smarter than I gave it credit for!"
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
IS FEI GOING TO TAKE IT?
ARE you going to take that, Junior? GET THAT FISH Poor Nasrin might have to wait just a little longer. This act is a chill-Id act!
Fei grimaces at this latest bizarre torment of Id's and instead calms his mind as best he can and starts a-reeling the fish in. He has enough experience that he isn't about to fumble his rod or anything. He says, "Don't lose hope...!" to Riesenlied though he does look over to Noeline. "It's not?? That's what I tell myself... Is that why it doesn't work that well???"
He pauses. "Well sometimes the fish ... outwits you yeah."
He sweats faintly.
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
Fei's line and Riesenlied's line come together, gradually. They seem to be - not tangling - but they're pressing nearer and nearer. The tips of their rods bend as some kind of weight enters them, and it seems pretty big - and that's shared between the two of them.
But the tension growing is not because of the fish being hooked. Oh, no. With an abrupt scuttle and one last pull the water BURSTS -
("This isn't what usually happens!" Elly says in despair.)
The crab rises...
Lunges...
Spreads its claws...!
And lands on its back with a wet "bonk" right near Noeline's feet. The legs start to kick and scuttle.
SPIRAN BLUE CRAB
"... whose catch does this count as," Elly says, astonished.
She almost gets clawed in the ankle. Those claws are pinchy! Though, well, the crab seems to be at something of a disadvantage here, unless it can learn Bubblebeam really quickly.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
... despite knowing all kinds of plants and botanical knowhow from her time gathering with the Fereshte nomads ...
... despite having travelled a fair bit and seen all kinds of things and gone through a number of Ruins together with her friends ...
Riesenlied....
"W-what is th~aaaat???!" Riesenlied screams in shock and horror, tears gushing out a little as she clings tightly to Noeline's side.
... does not know what a crab is?
She yelps and tries to jolt away from its pinching claws! Oh no!
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
"All I'm saying is that 'worst case you break your line' isn't exactly going to make a beginner feel all that much better--" Noeline starts to grouse playfully back to Fei, but she's interrupted by the way the water breaks in much too large a fashion. She's already realized their prey is much stronger than most fish ought to be, and she's prepared for something major to crest the waves and onto their perch.
What she's not expecting is for the impact to be rather solid as shell meets rock, and the crab nearly bounces to a stop next to her foot. It's been a long time since she's seen anything of the sort, but she doesn't need to be told twice to stay away from one of those claws as it snaps at thin air, and in the blink of an eye she's jolted a step backwards.
In another blink of an eye, Riesenlied has sprung up and is very nearly crawling up her side in fear; she breaks into a sympathetic laugh she can't stop, and tugs an arm around Riesenlied's side as quickly as she can, very nearly picking the Hyadean straight up. "--it's alright! It's alright!" she does her best to cut into Riese's panic. "It's--..."
... ... she trails off, looking expectantly at Elly. Hey!!
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
"W-well I mean, that's not a big deal! That's what I'm trying to say. It happens all the time!" Fei stammers, feeling the brunt of PURE NOELINE FURY!!! Oh okay PURE NOELINE SASS. Luckily by this point most of the work in reeling in the fish is done and--
-oh.
Uh.
Fei stares at this nonsense.
He blinks a few times blankly and he says, "I'll take care of it!" as he dives in to protect his friends and the woman he loves from this dastardly crab!
PINCCHH
Only to of course get the crab pinching right into his foot with an inhuman death grip! Or perhaps a crablike death grip. Those are...both the same thing.
FEI FONG WONG: DEFEATED IN CRAB BATTLE.
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Fei's in a pinchi!!
Riesenlied panic ablrbrbrbrrr
<Pose Tracker> Elhaym van Houten has posed.
"It's - it's a -"
Elly twirls round a fishing pole and
- crnch*
"It's a crab," Elly says.
"... Riesenlied, it's okay! And... you know, if there's a lot of crabs, and they like this bait, there's another way we can do this. We just need baskets."
Baskets? To contain some kind of a CAVE DEMON?
<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.
Riesenlied's mind is currently echoing from Elly's words with
a lot of crabs
a lot of crabs
A LOT OF CRABS
A LOT OF CRABS
"I--I have baskets back in the Fereshte!" Riesenlied takes the linaweyul option.
<Pose Tracker> Fei Fong Wong has posed.
Fei Fong Wong is last seen reaching out towards the dotted outline that was once Riesenlied...! ;o;