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Post by Noa on Jul 13, 2020 19:24:31 GMT -6
Aster was taking a break from raising whelps. It was a welcome thing, to be sure, but he was starting to feel a bit strange showing up to the river side without a little entourage of peeping nuisances in tow. Or, for that matter, Nightshade--- Aster remembered that one or two of his recent trips had also been with the Wiurn, but even that felt like ages ago, somehow.
Well, he had a different nuisance with him today. A different Wiurn too, even. And considering the fact that Avander had been a Sarane once upon a time, and the very first whelp that Aster had raised from hatching to adulthood, maybe what Avander was was just a culmination of all the fishing companions he'd had up until now.
... Maybe the heat was making him woozy. No, probably not, since he tolerated heat pretty well for a humanoid, all things considered.
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Post by Noa on Jul 13, 2020 19:27:26 GMT -6
And perhaps he tolerated it even better now that he had a fire node of his own... No, that probably wasn't true either, though he knew that there were spells he could learn to make himself more heat resistant, to be sure. More likely it was some form of exhaustion, and from raising the aforementioned whelps at that, which was making him think in nonsense circles. Fortunately he could still choose what he broadcasted across their ribbon, and the inane putterings of his mind were not one such thing.
But whatever gripes Aster may voice about Avander, it was comforting to spend time with him. He was well trained, well behaved within reason, and they understood each other well. It was impossible not to, after so much time spent together, and so much effort put in to training Avander up. At this point the Wiurn was as much family to him as the Hara were.
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Post by Noa on Jul 13, 2020 19:30:09 GMT -6
Almost, Avander reached the heights that Summer occupied--- but only almost. Summer had known Aster the longer, and Summer had saved his life when he had been at his lowest point. Marric's family had done that too, but his feelings toward them were more complicated, and Summer's aid had been of a simpler, more fundamental kind.
Well, that and the fact that she was fused to his soul. That probably had something to do with it. You could do that with a Draconic too, but Aster certainly hadn't. And the less he thought on that topic, the better off he would be.
Just as a demonstration of how much easier to manage Avander was than Aster's previous companions, the Wiurn walked beside him without fuss. He did not have to be carried, and Aster did not have to take care to watch him for signs of bolting off after an insect.
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Post by Noa on Jul 13, 2020 19:33:37 GMT -6
Aster didn't have to worry about reading or misreading Avander's cues either, for all that his body was different now than it had been for the bulk of their acquaintance. Enough of the anatomy was the same, and Avander's own mind besides, that the mannerisms had for the most part carried over. And at any rate it was still Avander. Aster felt that even if the Wiurn were to turn into a Tat-lung, or a Murp, or a person, Aster would still know him as he knew few others.
They were nearing the edge of the water now, and idly Avander snaked his long neck around to inspect Aster's fishing gear. {Interesting choice of footwear,} the Wiurn said. {And how exactly do you catch fish with a stick?}
"You could always stab 'em with one, if nothing else," said Aster, giving a bland reply to what felt like a bland question.
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Post by Noa on Jul 13, 2020 19:36:47 GMT -6
No, that had been uncharitable of him. The comment on his shoes was meant as a little jibe, to be sure, but Avander's curiosity about the fishing pole was genuine, even if the Wiurn did phrase it in a slightly backhanded way. Avander knew, and Aster knew that he knew, that the fishing pole was more than just a stick; it was his wonderful personality that gave his question such a facetious flavor.
{You're really going to wade into the water and stab at a fish?} said Avander, who was not giving an inch. {I'd like to see that. Though I don't think the odds are very good for a fish dinner if that's your strategy.}
"Lucky for you, it isn't," Aster said. Privately he agreed; spear fishing was not something he had either the interest or the proficiency in. It was possible to learn, but also much more situational than a rod.
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Post by Nadia on Jul 14, 2020 16:09:38 GMT -6
The river is bountiful today.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2020 19:11:47 GMT -6
“Here, if you’re so curious, I’ll show you,” said Aster. He was going to start casting anyway, after all. With a flick of his wrist, he began the process of casting the line. The hook swung back and forth, drawing more line with it as it went, until Aster finally let it fly; and then it hit the water about mid-way into the width of the river, more or less as Aster intended.
Despite Avander’s flippant comments earlier, the Wiurn watched the proceedings with real interest, and went so far as to peer over the edge of the bank at where the hook had dropped into the water. Aster, watching him, felt a little amused by the sight. He had raised Avander from a whelp when he had been a Sarane. Avander had grown into a fine adult drake, and now he was a fine Wiurn in the prime of his life.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2020 19:12:26 GMT -6
And Avander would certainly have bristled if Aster tried to patronize him or call him cute now - not that Aster was inclined to try, since he wasn't the type to either. But there was something endearing about seeing him so genuinely curious and interested in something he hadn’t encountered before. It took Aster back to those days of watching his first Sarane whelp chase after bugs in the park, when he hadn’t known much about their kind at all.
{Well?} said Avander. {Now what? Where are the fish?}
“The fish will come,” Aster said. “I have no control over when they’ll show up though. I’ve got to wait for one to bite.”
At this, Avander deflated somewhat, then snorted. {So you’re just going to spend the whole day waiting for something to bite your hook?} the Wiurn said.
“If that’s what it takes,” Aster replied.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2020 19:12:38 GMT -6
Avander peered back into the water, and was silent for a moment before speaking up again. {And how long does it usually take for something to bite?}
“It depends. If I’m lucky we’ll get something right away. If I’m not, we really might be here all day and go home empty-handed.” He thought about it a little more, then said, “On average… Maybe thirty minutes to an hour?”
{An hour? We’re going to be waiting here for an hour?} said Avander, clearly incredulous.
Aster sighed. “It’ll probably take longer with your giant shadow looming over the water like that. The fish can see you, you know, and you’ve probably scared them all off.”
Avander peered back into the water, and Aster began to rethink his choice of fishing companion after all. But just as he was about to reel in the line and maybe try again a little further upstream, Avander cut in.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2020 19:16:23 GMT -6
{No, you’re wrong,} the Wiurn said, tail lashing back and forth. {I see some right here.}
“Do you?” Aster said, frowning. Propping up the pole on the ground, he walked over to where Avander was standing, and peered over the edge of the bank so he could see what the Wiurn was looking at. And sure enough, there were fish - even a few big ones - swimming around in the shadow of the bank below. Apparently Avander’s presence didn’t bother them that much.
“Huh,” Aster said.
{Why don’t you try stabbing them? Even that has to be faster than what you’re doing,} Avander said. Normally those words coming from Avander would have carried a sarcastic sting, but this time Aster could tell the Wiurn was actually being earnest. And having seen what Avander was looking at, Aster couldn’t really blame him for thinking that way.
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Post by Noa on Aug 10, 2020 19:17:20 GMT -6
“Pass,” Aster said. “I’ll probably break my pole that way if I tried it. You might not think it’s all that useful, but that’s an expensive piece of specialist equipment, you know.”
{How special can it be, if it takes an hour to catch one fish?} Avander replied.
Aster didn’t dignify that with a response, but Avander’s proposition got him to thinking. “Hey,” he said slowly. “Why don’t you do it? See if you can catch one, I mean. You’ve got claws, haven’t you?”
Now it was Avander’s turn to be at a loss for words. The Wiurn’s head came back up, and he blinked at Aster for a moment. Then he seemed to mull it over for a while, before finally saying, {Why not? You’re right, my claws are just as good as your 'specialist' stick. Better, even.}
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Post by Nadia on Aug 10, 2020 19:25:12 GMT -6
  That's a funky looking shell. |
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Post by Noa on Nov 9, 2020 0:24:27 GMT -6
Aster had been working more with Nightshade as of late, but polishing the other Wiurn’s combat skills often made him think of Avander, and how Avander’s own skills could be improved. Maybe it was rude to think about a different creature when you were in the process of training a specific individual, but… Well, there it was.
Which wasn’t to insult what Avander was already capable of, of course. He was Aster’s best trained creature, bar none, and what he was capable of already was nothing to scoff at. But, and this was especially true since his transformation, there was always room for improvement; and he was capable of so much more now. And Aster still hadn’t gotten him to the point where he could use all of his new skills.
They were back at the river, since it was a nice scenic spot for a bit of training, away from everything else.
1 (new trip)
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Post by Noa on Nov 9, 2020 0:25:20 GMT -6
And contrary to what one might think given his reluctance to go into town, Aster wasn’t actually a homebody by nature. He liked to be outside, doing things, for the most part, unless the weather was bad enough to drive him indoors. But then, maybe it wasn’t possible to discover whether one was a homebody until one had a home, and for most of his life, Aster hadn’t really had one.
Even so. He liked to wander, and given the option he supposed he probably would have enjoyed travelling if he had the means, and wasn’t doing so under duress. It was just the people and the crowds he couldn’t bear. So getting off the estate grounds and wandering around other, different parts of the surrounding area that were mostly wild was perfectly amenable to him.
Not to mention, the river had plenty of space to offer Avander too.
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Post by Noa on Nov 9, 2020 0:26:10 GMT -6
The city had been, if not necessarily built with the creatures in mind, at least modified over the years to accommodate most of them with some degree of comfort; but even then Avander was large, and looked dangerous, especially to a trained eye. Mostly that was a good thing, since Aster didn’t exactly keep him around just for companionship, but it did make it a little… difficult when he wanted to get things done in a populated area.
Fortunately that wasn’t the case today. Today they could just enjoy themselves with no one else around. And if anyone else got any ideas about fishing along this stretch of river, well that was just too bad. Aster was here to fish a little, and do a lot of combat practice.
He set up his fishing rod, though not without much hope, while Avander made himself comfortable under a nearby tree.
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