Like a bird upon the wind, these waters are my sky

[berriedmemories]

WHO: Noctis and.... anyone near the water!
WHAT: Fishing!
WHERE: On the banks of the creek
WHEN: Early fall
WARNINGS: Check subject lines

SUMMARY: Noctis has one goal in life: to Fish. Luckily it's something really helpful he can do! Come help?

I. So don't you sit upon the shoreline

Noctis swiftly develops a routine, something that is possibly unexpected from those who know him. Staying up all night is a lot less fun when there's no technology, only terrible light given by candles that they have to make to replace. It's awful and maddening and Noctis has never been one for early mornings.

Yet, after those first few days of depression napping, he becomes a regular occupant of the riverbank just North of Town. In the grey pre-dawn hours it's easy to see the small lantern hung from a branch near the water and a sleepy figure sitting in the grass, already casting a line into the dark waters. By the time the sun is properly coming up, though, he's a little more alert, has a few fish already in a bucket, and will give a lazy sort of two fingered wave to anyone passing nearby.

II. Chose to chance the rapids

By the time midday rolls around Noctis' rod has been propped up by a small branch for support, a small bell looped onto the very tip of the rod. The boy himself is slouched back under the tree, baseball cap pulled low over his face, dozing through the late morning when the fish are less active. He's still vaguely aware, he's not foolish enough to fully fall asleep where anyone (or anything) could come up on him. The first round of fish have long since been hauled to the market, trout offered up to be currency for whatever else Ignis needs.

Really it's, if nothing else, a way to be useful here. He has no idea what else to do. No other skills that are all that marketable. Aside from fighting but his style of combat isn't the sort of thing one employs going after a deer or something. They're used to fighting anaks and sabertusks, much more vicious pack critters or absurdly large magic infused beasts. Especially when he can't warp anymore? No way he's tracking down a deer with his sword.

So here he sits, drifting off, waiting for another bite that's unlikely to come any time soon. Half asleep and bored out of his mind.

Comments

[miniroth]

"Fair." They're already so weakened, why beg more? Sure he was still healing faster than a normal person could hope to but it was much slower than he was used to, and that didn't even begin to touch on how frail he felt.

Although this is no mission, as far as he's concerned Noctis is a civilian and to be treated like one; when he finally stops, he looks fairly relaxed but it's no accident he's between the hypothetical prince and the equally hypothetically cursed forest. "It must be relieving to know the reports of his demise were inaccurate." That's what it would be right? Relief?

[berriedmemories]

That is enough to get Noctis to halt in his steps, staring at the ground for a moment before returning his gaze to Sephiroth with a solemn shake of his head. "They weren't."

"I dunno how this Charlie guy managed it but... Both my dad and Cor should be dead." For all that he tried to shrug off how much he loves his dad, to play it cool despite the weight of the conversation, it's clear here how deeply Regis' death impacted him. His brow knitting and gaze dropping again almost immediately. "At least... here they're okay."

[miniroth]

Without having seen the bodies, Sephiroth can only decide it must be a mistake. Noctis said it had been secondhand information.. saying so again was likely a bad idea, so he doesn't. It's obvious even to him that there was a considerable emotional attachment, prodding at it when it didn't really matter was pointless.

Of course Charlie didn't bring them back from the dead. Dead was dead.

"Bring him a fish," he suggests instead, gaze shifting away and to the forest.

[berriedmemories]

Dead was apparently not dead here.

Noct doesn't have time to get too deep into his head about it though because Sephiroth's suggestion has him snorting a laugh, his expression brightening to something cheerful and mischievous for just a moment before it settles back into that sullen neutrality.

"Good idea. He's the one who taught me how to fish, y'know."

[miniroth]

What sort of fish were in the river to bring? Was this a trout type river, or a bass type river? He frowns at the water, as if its answers might suddenly leap out.

No fish helpfully jumps. "What's it like?" He probably shouldn't ask, but maybe it's alright, after all Noctis' father was alive. It's not past tense, it's now. "Having a father, when he was not busy with a kingdom. Did he teach you other things?" Was fishing a 'bonding experience', or was it common?

[berriedmemories]

Noct blinks at the younger boy for a moment, startled by the question. It's the sort of thing that should be awkward to ask but there's that odd lack of understanding again and after a moment Noct is just tilting his head, considering how to respond.

"It's hard to just... summarize, y'know?" There's a lot of life and a lot of time, so many emotions and experiences that it's not the sort of thing he can just explain easily. He looks back at the water, nods to Sephiroth to follow him, figuring they can at least settle in and he can get a line in the water before he really has to start breaking something so big, so much a part of his life, down into something the silver will be able to parse. But he has the unique insight of his soul mate having asked a similar question once upon a time.

"He taught me a lot of things. And... there's a lot of things I learned that I never realized he was teaching me until I was older. He taught me almost everything. I mean, yeah I had tutors, went to school. But the foundational stuff was all him."

[miniroth]

When Sephiroth delicately picks his way after Noctis, it's still with careful mindfulness of where the fae forest is in relation to the hypothetical Prince and or King. He said he'd keep the faeries from being a problem, and he would.

It sounded like that went beyond simple educational subjects like math or reading. Those didn't really leave a lasting impact, did they? "Not regular education things."

What were the important things? What had he missed out on?

[berriedmemories]

Noct nods, confirming Sephiroth's assessment as he singles out a decent spot on the bank and gestures for the silver to sit in the grass with him. There's a slight furrow to his brow as he considers how to explain it, pulling his rod and the little binder of lines and lures with it. After a moment of flipping through the pages he stops on one, pulling a small round yellow lure painted to look like a thunder Bomb out and beginning to string it to the line.

"Like... anyone can teach you to read. But it takes a lot more to... teach you how to think about what you're reading. To find the meanings behind how things might be worded, symbolism, the message the narrator is trying to convey, stuff like that. It's a lot more in depth and not something you can just pick up out of a text book or something." As he's tying off the lure, trimming the extra wire and tucking the little pliers back into the pocket at the front of the binder, he looks up at Sephiroth, gesturing vaguely to the rod in his hand.

"Anyone can tell you how to take care of your rod, what lures or bait to use but how you use it is just as important. When I was six and Dad was teaching me how to fish I didn't know he was also teaching me to be patient, to plan ahead, to consider my surroundings, to wait for the enemy -or prey y'know- to make the first move... But he was."

If only that last one had stuck maybe Gladio wouldn't have needed to kick his ass so much. Oh well.