6005/Intro to spear-fishing

Intro to spear-fishing
Date of Scene:	18 August 2018
Location:	The Great Ocean
Synopsis:	A boat, a bull, and a bknight go fishing with spears. Hijinks and team building ensue.
Cast of Characters:	Haguro, 1137, Seifer Almasy

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Haguro has posed:
     Fishing wasn't a new concept to Haguro considering her nature, but spear-fishing? That was something she had only heard of and never quite attempted herself. Why would she? She had no shortage of bait, rods, and even explosives if she wanted to try a more rural method.

     Spears were a completely different beast, though. Spears had a certain element to them that just didn't make much sense to her. Still, it was something to try, and she sent the coordinates to Asterios and Seifer once she found a good spot out at some beach looking out towards an ocean. Which ocean?

     An ocean. She didn't have much prepared aside from a dozen spears, some harpoons, bait, and a couple of rods just in case. The shipgirl was already wading through the water in her usual uniform sans the stockings and jacket. Soggy socks suck, after all!

Asterios (1137) has posed:
When you spend your entire life in a dark, dingy dungeon, you don't really have many chances to go out and... fish.

Because, you know. If there ARE any fish in the actual mythological labyrinth, they're probably horrible monsters and/or massively toxic.

But! That just means that the wide-eyed, mythological minotaur is all too eager to give this bright new passtime a try! Plus, it's not just fishing. It's SPEAR fishing. And more importantly, Asterios already has a pair of polearms at the ready! They're... kind of huge.

And maybe a bit impractical, honestly.

But hey, that's fine! It's time to have some fun and not worry about things like 'that gigantic thing will probably straight up disintegrate the fish.' Asterios, clad in his usual red-and-ironclad outfit, stands in the gentle waves, his feet sunk ankles-deep into the sand. The minotaur wiggles his toes, stares into the roiling whitecaps in the distance, and then...

Just straight up flops into the surf and begins rolling around in the water. Is... Is this the first time he's ever been to beach?

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     Well it's not...ideal. But hey, it's something.

     Seifer Almasy has never spearfished before. Actually, he's never used a *spear* before. He's been a gunblade specialist for ever and ever, a one-weapon pony dedicated to turning that weapon into as many different tricks as he can imagine. And, frankly, he's not about to change his tune now.

     Seifer's here in white swim trunks, with an ammo bandolier wrapped around a bare chest and Hyperion leaning against his shoulder. His typical swagger is present as he makes his way into the water, ankle-first, behind Haguro, giving Asterios plenty of space to wriggle and writhe and whatever it is he wants to do in the water. Do cows usually do that? No, that's probably not a safe question to ask. Just...just let him do whatever he wants.

     "Hey," he says to Haguro, tapping Hyperion on his shoulder, "So are we aiming to actually catch lunch, or are we doin' some catch-and-release, or what?"

Haguro has posed:
     Spotting Asterios, Haguro giggles softly at the scene as she shoulders one of the spears, pockets a little baggie of bait, and strolls on over. "Good evening, Mister Asterios! Thank you for coming... Ah. Are you okay there?" She still seems more amused than concerned, at least, and she holds off on attempting to fish for the time being.

     Come to think of it, when was the last time she swam instead of skating over the water? Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to join him in his rolling... Thing he was doing. Hearing Seifer, she turns with a thoughtful look. "I suppose... Catching lunch would be better. That would give us some extra motivation to figure out how to do it right."

     That sounded smart! Maybe. After another moment, however, she giggles again while holding up the spear and tapping the tip lightly. "Plus, I don't know how well catch and release would work with these. Are you two ready to get started?" Another pause, and then she starts turning the spear around in her hand slowly.

     "... Do either of you know how to throw this properly?"

Asterios (1137) has posed:
There's something about laying in the rolling waves that just relaxes the soul. Apparently, minotaurs are not exempt. Asterios flops finally onto his back and rests in the sand as the seafoam sweeps up around him, only moving when Haguro approaches.

"Aa," the minotaur grunts, pushing himself back up to sit in the surf. "I'm okay. Just, this place reminds me of... Something," He shrugs, his massive shoulders likely somewhere near Haguro's head-height. "Familiar, I... think? Home was... Near the shore. I could hear this sound all the time, but never seen it before."

There's a beat as Haguro inspects her spear. The minotaur huffs and rises to his full height, summoning one of his massive poleaxes to hand. "Mmn. I remember, kind of. The army used to throw... Javelin. So, maybe something like that?"

Of course, if Asterios does chuck that massive monster of a weapon he's got, it's probably just going to pulp whatever poor fish he hits, so it may be wise to stop him before he finishes winding up that throw.

Or, you know, don't. And possibly risk the minotaur hitting something more dangerous than just a fish.

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     "Not a damn clue," Seifer says cheerfully, "'swhy I'm usin' this." He taps Hyperion on his bare shoulder again to draw attention to the sleek gunblade. "I mean, I guess I could use a spear, but I'm tryin' to impress you, an' I'm *real* not impressive with spears."

     There's a cavalier swagger to him as he moves a little bit deeper into the water. "And if we're goin' for lunch then, hey, I intend to eat, know what I mean?"

     He turns around and walks backwards for a second with a huge grin on his face, arms spread wide. "'sides, that guy's built like a mutant hockey player! All I got goin' for me is skill, y'know?"

     His walk backwards is interrupted as Asterios's massive javelin comes into view. "Holy shit, woah! Man, this is why I hate big guys, shit. Finesse! Finesse, dude! C'mon, ain't you heard of it?!"

     "You throw that thing and you're just gonna turn your lunch into some nasty fish paste! Try something smaller!"

Haguro has posed:
     Asterios gets a questioning as he mentions the beach reminding him of his home, and Haguro starts to say something before pausing. Just how wise would it be to ask the minotaur-man about his home?

     Probably not very, if the legend of the Minotaur was anything to be believed. Instead, she focuses on the height difference! It'd probably be more frightening if she hadn't spoken to him already, but right now? She seems about as relaxed as she normally does. "I see... Well! Now you're seeing it for yourself, so that's good. If there's anything else you'd like to go see some time, feel free to ask. And in exchange..."

     Smiling softly, she observes Asterios closely as he readies to hurl his poleaxe. "I've heard of javelin throwing before... I think that's one of the contests in the Olympics, right?" Another laugh comes out of the shipgirl as Seifer brandishes his gunblade, her gaze shifting to the revolver holstered at her hip for a brief moment. "That's true... Ah. But you don't need toimpress me. I've been impressed enough by the both of you already."

     She puts on a reassuring smile, but it soon dips into a more confused look. Did that come out wrong? Maybe they didn't notice. Haguro brings up her spear to mimic Asterios' stance, taking a moment to fish out one of the bait bags in her pocket and hurl it into the water. Soon, fish actually start to gather!

     "Fish paste could be good, too... Oh! We could try and make fish cakes out of that."

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     Seifer's grin widens a little bit. It's concealing a bit, though. /Both of you/ is not a great thing to hear in this context, but hey. Hey. He's not the kind of guy to let that sort of thing get him down. Seifer shrugs.

     "I dunno, the hell are the Olympics?" He says, leading the conversation away from the whole impressing topic as he steps back a bit into the water. His gunblade flashes down once - he doesn't bother to look - and up it comes with a fish flopping on the top of it like it's a saucepan. Seifer's grin shifts into an uncertain 'wo-o-oah' face as he tries to keep the fish on top of the gunblade, stepping backwards as he does so. It's sort of like watching someone work a pan over a fire, shifting, tossing, shuffling the fish around, and for a minute, it looks like it'll work out.

     And then he trips over something in the water.

     Seifer goes backwards, splashes down, and the fish goes flying. He sits up, wiping water out of his eyes and coughing.

     "Ahhhh, hell! Damn fish! Get back here and fight fair!"

     Yeah, he's yelling at the fish. He looks up at the air a moment later, still rubbing his eyes. "Oh, shut up. Like you know how to spearfi-"

     "...."

     "The hell, how do you know how to spearfish!? Since when did you know how to do anything useful!? Fine, show me!"

     "Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh."

     "...'throw the spear at the water' isn't helpful you giant grey jackass!"

     "'Don't miss the fish' isn't helpful either! Dammit! Why did I think you'd suddenly have somethin' useful for me, shit." Seifer pushes himself back up and slings Hyperion around in his hand a moment later. "Dammit."

     He slings the blade back over his shoulder and looks over at Asterios again. "You were in the army, huh? Yeah, you look the type. Big as hell. Musta loved you. Nothin' armies love more than big, quiet guys, 'cept obedient quiet guys."

     Yeah that's probably not personal or anything.

Asterios (1137) has posed:
What? Nasty fish paste!? Asterios seems briefly taken aback by this dire revelation. He might be getting used to French cuisine, but fish paste is just kind of weird! What kind of texture would that have, even? Probably nothing good! Grainy and slimy all at once, and--

Well, it's none too appetizing.

The minotaur stares at Seifer for an uncomfortably long moment. He tilts his head, scratches his cheek, and then nods. "Aa, finesse...? Hmmn." Well, Haguro brought an extra spear, and it's not like Seifer's about to be using it, right? The minotaur replaces his massive poleaxe with Haguro's much more appropriately sized spare; it looks almost comically tiny in his massive hands, but it's better to be awkward than impractically huge, isn't it?

"Mmn, Olympics, huh...? Maybe," Asterios shrugs again, "I think... That was after me?" By a few hundred years, at least. But it's alright; he understands Haguro's meaning well enough. "Was never in the army, but... Sometimes, would see soldiers outside my home." That was always just for ritual demonstrations, but Asterios didn't exactly have much to do but to sit and watch what little he could see of the outside world during his time alive. But, then...

Seifer...

Starts talking to himself?

And scaring away all the fish...!

The minotaur tilts his head one way, then the other. He looks to Haguro, then back to Seifer, an expression that can only be called 'intense concern' finding its way to his face.

"Haguro," Asterios leans down and whispers, "Is that... Normal?"

Haguro has posed:
     "The Olympics? They're a contest between multiple countries to see whose athletes are the best at multiple sporting events. Most of them aren't specifically combat-oriented, though, and there's all sorts of rules about who can compete, but they're..."

     Haguro pauses, then strokes her chin in thought. "... I guess they're a way to get the countries' people to rally once in a while for something besides war?" She shrugs, then observes Seifer's technique next! It's impressive at first, complete with awed "ooh"s and "aah"s coming from Haguro, and then it's followed by a concerned chuckle when Seifer takes a fall and starts yelling at nobody.

     Wait. Didn't this happen once before? Turning to Asterios and handing over the spear, she gives him a slight shrug. "I believe so. The last mission I was on with Mister Almasy, he spoke with something that let him do... Something with me." She sounds fairly confused about it herself, and then she turns to the water again while readying another spear and squinting at the water.

     "What /did/ you do that time, anyway? With the ghost and that orb...?" The topic of armies and obedience goes untouched by the shipgirl, meanwhile, as she focuses on flinging her spear into the water. It does a few flips, splashes up some water, and then sinks a few feet down. At least she threw it pretty hard!

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     "Huh?"

     Seifer stares at Haguro for a moment, uncomprehending. "Ghost, what?" He looks between Haguro and Asterios for a minute before understanding dawns on his face. "Oh, you mean Gilgamesh. My Guardian Force. Hey, you! They wanna see you, get out here."

     A grey-skinned giant appears behind Seifer. It's dressed in a red cloak and a red mouth-covering, a tuft of white sticking up from a red hood for a bit of color. Four grey arms stick out of one side of the cloak; out of the other side are four cardboard cut-outs of arms, sticking off the side of the cloak pulled taut. The giant's probably about as tall as Asterios, but see-through, invisible, and just sort of floating there behind Seifer, his legs obscured by Seifer's body. Seifer jerks a thumb over his shoulder.

     "That's Gilgamesh. He's a, I dunno, some dimensional wanderer thing. He showed up after I ruined Odin's day, took the big guy's sword, and then joined up with me. That thing he does is called Draw, it's like...I took one of your powers and I can use it myself."

     The giant grey ghost waves its four big arms. At Asterios it gives a bit, wide, sweeping HEYYYY wave. At Haguro it gives a coy multi-finger wave. Seifer rolls his eyes and makes an elbowing motion, which Gilgamesh does not respond to. A moment later, the ghost vanishes into nothing.

     "He kinda lives in my head. I can't talk to him in my head, though. I've tried. He doesn't read my thoughts. It's inconvenient as hell, but I'd rather have him around than not, I guess. He also buffs me up like crazy. Like without him I'm just a normal human."

     Seifer flicks his gunblade up under the water and brings another fish up. "'cept this. This is all me, baby. Killed Odin on skill alone. Don't need to be superhuman to pull this stuff off."

     He does the frying-pan-fish trick again for a few minutes and winks at Haguro, moving it over towards the shore.

     "We ain't got anything like that Olympics thing. I guess we got a hockey match, but it ain't really friendly. That mutant hockey player thing wasn't an off-the-cuff metaphor, y'know?"

Haguro has posed:
     For better or for worse, Haguro doesn't seem all that perturbed by Gilgamesh's sudden appearance! If anything, she seems more amused and even offers him a polite wave in return.

     It's probably the cardboard.

     "I see... So that's what that feeling was. I don't know if I really have any powers of note that would be useful for you, though." The shipgirl crosses her arms over her chest and hrms thoughtfully, eventually giving Seifer another intrigued look. "That explains why it seemed like you were talking to yourself, then... And having that much skill to back up physical strength does sound quite useful."

     The demonstration of skill via fish-flippery gets another amused giggle from the shipgirl, of course. It seems to be working!

     "I'm... I'm still trying to get stronger and more skilled as I go. I've been relying on everyone else for so long, but I think I've been making progress." As she speaks, she picks up another spear and adjusts her stance, then tosses it forwards once more with focus in her eyes and resolve in her heart!

     It does another frontflip and sinks. On the plus side, the haft did bounce off a fish this time!

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     "Ehn, I'm pretty creative with that kinda thing. Don't worry. I know what I got from you, and it'll be a hell of a lot of fun to Junction."

     "Oh," Seifer points at his blade, "Junction's where I stick the ability to my gear. 'show I use stuff."

     The Gunblade Knight watches her for a minute as she speaks. He puts his hand on his hip. She reminds him of somebody, though he can't quite put his finger on it. He scratches his head with the handle of his gunblade, watching her fish as he tries to piece it together. After a bit, though, he walks over.

     "Maybe try holdin' onto the spear? I dunno, seems like it'd be easier if you just stab the fish rather than throw it."

     Seifer motions to her. "I dunno how to hold a spear real well, but I do know that if you got somethin' you wanna do, the best way is to do it with all your heart, even if folk wanna tell you you're doin' it wrong. There ain't a wrong way to do stuff, y'know? Just your way."

Haguro has posed:
     Draw... Junction... The terminology is going right over Haguro's head, but she doesn't seem to mind much and just takes it all in stride. Focusing on trying to actually throw a spear properly is probably helping in that regard, although she does look a little thrown off at Seifer's next suggestion.

     "Stabbing? L... Like this?" It sounds absurdly simple, but what does she have to lose? At least she won't lose another spear this way. Wading further into the water, Haguro steadies her aim, watches for her target, and...

     A fish gets impaled! She looks a little too proud of herself as she holds it up overhead in victory, then goes stone-faced when it starts flailing about and splashing her face. Before continuing the conversation, the boatghost takes a moment to wade back to shore and stick the spear upright into the ground as proof of her victory.

     "That's... That's a good way of thinking about it. I thought I was doing something wrong joining the Concord instead of the Paladins when..." She pauses, then gestures vaguely in the air. "... When everything exploded? Broke? But nobody ever said I was making the wrong choice except myself, and after working with everyone here?"

     A beat, and then she smiles more broadly. "I think I did the right thing."

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     Seifer laughs as Haguro raises the fish only to get splashed by it. It's funny! He can't help it. He's not laughing /at/ her, per se...but he's also not laughing with her, either. "Yeah, you got it. Watch out for the spray!" He adds unhelpfully. It is definitely unhelpful on purpose. Sometimes Seifer Almasy is just an asshole.

     Seifer wades over to her, slinging out another fish from the ocean in the process and letting it flop on shore next to her spear. He heads over, sits down, and stabs the first fish on the end of the gunblade. "Yeah, I dunno anything about the other factions. I kinda passed that shit by and came straight here. Definitely more cute girls here than over there. Besides, I ain't really the orders type. The givin' orders, sure, but not the takin' 'em, not a lot. An' I like the place alright. Haven't met anybody who makes me really wanna deck 'em, haven't met anybody who really gets on my nerves. An' I think you did the right thing, too."

     "You got a fire set up? I, uh, these shorts make me look great but they ain't holdin' any flint and tinder, an' I ain't much of a shot with para-magic or nothin'. Probably better if we do that manually instead of shortcuts."

     He hesitates again, then grins at her, a bit salaciously. "Y'know this ain't quite what I had in mind when I invited ya out t' lunch, but the beach is pretty romantic anyway. Y'know, without the big bull guy around."

Haguro has posed:
     "I-it's fine. The spray builds character." Haguro says more for her own benefit than to answer Seifer, trying to ignore whatever else might have sprayed on her aside from just seawater.

     Best not to think too hard about fish anatomy there or those little weird bits. Seifer's own motivations for joining the Concord draw another laugh from Haguro, more in amusement rather than any sort of mockery. "I don't know if I could ever get behind that sort of... Erm. Motivation, but if the results are good, then... That's probably fine, right?"

     It's certainly consistent with what she's heard from him so far. "I don't know if I could ever outright hit someone in authority even if I disagreed with them, but it's refreshing to work without so much restraint."

     The question about getting a fire set up actually gets a more confident nod from Haguro! "I do, actually! We'll need to gather some sticks, but flint is something I've made sure to carry ever since the last time I got lost at sea." The grin from Seifer has her blushing more visibly, though, and she even stammers incoherently for a few moments while trying to sort her thoughts. "Eh? R-romantic? I thought this would just be a... A good bonding exercise!"

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     "I'm the kinda guy who likes to live at his own pace. Somethin' like the Paladins wouldn't work for me. Plus, Concord pays real well, y'know?" Seifer elaborates on his motivations a bit further. "So it was a no-brainer. Let me be independent, pay me for doin' things my way? The place to be, as far as I'm concerned."

     "Ehn, there's always some asshole up the ladder who wants t'lord it over ya and show off how much better he is than you. I jus' don't take that kinda crap. People who wanna use rank instead of skill to show off just make me tired." Seifer lays on the beach, resting against his arm, "So I'd probably beat the crap out of a guy like that, and let the consequences come what may. But I ain't met nobody like that in Concord yet."

     "Ah, we need to get some more driftwood, huh?" Seifer's relaxed pose shifts as he swings his legs around and stands up, dead fish still pinned to his gunblade. The other fish he caught has tired itself out by now, and lies dead on the sand. "Aight, I'll take care of that. I'll be back in a few."

     He winks at her. "Romantic's a kinda bondin'."

     "Nah, don't worry. I knew what this was. I'm just messin' with you."

Asterios (1137) has posed:
'Without the big bull guy around' you say!?

Well! That's only because Asterios decided that it might be a better idea to instead bypass the whole 'i might accidentally awaken cthulhu by throwing my javelin straight through the sandbar and into the sunken city of R'lyeh' thing and instead go straight into the sea! He can hold his breath for quite a long time, you see. It's part and parcel with the whole 'has gigantic lungs' thing.

It's just, you know, it takes him a bit. To catch a fish in their own natural habitat.

But soon, soon the water breaks around the bullman's horns. There's a bit of old netting stuck to one of them. His forehead emerges next, adorned with a very confused starfish. Then the rest of him follows, his great white mane soaked completely with briney saltwater. But...

There, under his arms...!

DOUBLE TUNA.

"I," Asterios declares, puffing his chest out triumphantly, "Caught fish!"

Haguro has posed:
     Haguro had to admit: Getting paid a lot certainly wasn't a bad thing. She didn't doubt that the Paladins would pay fairly well, but the other philosophical considerations just sealed the deal for her. "I can't disagree there. I can't fault anyone in the Fleet for joining the Paladins, and they don't fault me, but... Going my own way is part of my training, too."

     The rank versus ability thing also had its own merit to the cruiser. "The Concord does seem to be the sort of organization that would welcome advancement through skill and merit quite well, yes... Eh?"

     What's with all the flirting?! That throws Haguro's concentration off again before Seifer finally relents, and she eventually gives him an exasperated chuckle. "How bold... I-I think you would get along well with my sister. She would appreciate-"

     And then there's suddenly movement in the water! Haguro blinks slowly as she tries to make out just what's happened as Asterios seems to be emerging rather than swimming or wading, and then it all starts to make sense.

     She's looking rather proud, of course, even if it's not technically spearfishing any more. "Great! That's... Is your neck okay holding that much?" She hurries over to assist him should he need it, but considering the size difference... Well, she's trying anyway!

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios probably doesn't understand that flirting is a thing that people do. He's literally lived in his parents' basement for all his life. 'Socialization' was never really at the top of his list of things to do.

But at least it seems all that time spent in the dark has made him one hell of a fish wrassler.

"Aa, it's fine!" Asterios says, setting his catch down on the sand bank and flopping over in front of the nascent firepit. There's only a small cloud of sand that kicks up when he sits. He's wet, and most of it ends up sticking to him. "I am strong enough, for twona."

Beat.

"So. What were you... talking about?"

Haguro has posed:
     Letting out a relieved sigh once those giant tuna are off Asterios' head, Haguro finally takes a break from stabbing fish to retrieving those spears she had hurled into the water earlier. It takes her some doing and a bit longer than it should for any normal person in the water, though, since completely submerging herself is...

     Frankly, it's rather terrifying. She hadn't explained the whole Abyssal thing to anyone before, has she? She's come this far, though, and it wouldn't do to just panic over going less than a foot under the surface of the water!

     Haguro does indeed get the spears soon enough with another too-proud (and only mildly pants shattingly) smile on her face as she emerges from the water and finally takes a seat nearby. "Earlier? Ah... About the Concord. Why we joined, why we're doing what we're doing. There's some... Motivational differences, but the reasoning was similar." Turning to Asterios, she gives him a curious look before reaching up to try and get that starfish out of the way. "What about you? What do you want to do here?"

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios' neck muscles are mighty. His thews are great. Do not worry so much, small water girl. He will be alright.

Mostly.

The minotaur takes a few minutes to dry himself off while Haguro is busy retrieving her missing javelins. Asterios is only mildly concerned with how long it's taking her, but only just. He figures she's probably just enjoying the surf like he was, so there's little need to worry.

He has no idea just how wrong he is.

But Haguro returns soon enough, right as Asterios begins the process of filleting his catch. He looks up and stops before making that first, terribly bloody incision, interrupted by the ship-girl stripping his head of its starfish hat. "Aa?" Asterios cants his head, then shrugs. "Here? Fish, eat, swim, listen to the sea."

There's a moment that passes before Asterios cottons on to her actual meaning, responding with a mild shrug. "Oh. You mean. In the Concord? Hmn."

...

...

"How much," Asterios asks, "Do you know? Of my legend."

Haguro has posed:
     Setting the starfish next to the other non-starry fish, Haguro takes a moment to process Asterios' first response. Once it clicks for her, she smiles reassuringly and nods once he too seems to get what she meant! "That's right. Here specifically is... Well, what we're doing now. Talking, trying something new, eating..."

     She glances towards the fish, then flops on her back to watch the sky idly. "Your legend? Um... Only the broadest strokes. There was a labyrinth with the Minotaur trapped inside, and people got thrown in as punishment for their crimes. I heard that the Minotaur ate them, but you don't seem to be the sort that would."

Asterios (1137) has posed:
Asterios is silent for a good long time. His eyes turn skyward, watching the stars begin to emerge as the sun slowly sinks beyond the horizon. "Mmn. No. That... is correct." Asterios answers, a deep undercurrent of sorrow rumbling beneath his words. "I am. The son of Pasiphae and the White Bull. Was... Thrown into the Labyrinth. There I... Did bad things."

That's putting it lightly.

The minotaur sighs and clenches, then unclenches his fists. "Very. Very bad things. But what I want, is to change that. Yes? To... do better, now. Make a new legend. A better legend."

"And to help master," Asterios adds at the end there. "She gave me a new home. New family. So I will protect her."

Haguro has posed:
     Haguro listens to Asterios intently, the sadness not last on her as she offers him a sympathetic look. She hesitates at first, but steels herself and reaches over to pat the minotaur's hands. "Mm... Wanting to change that. That's what matters. Even if you did those things before, it's..."

     A pause. "... I guess it doesn't change what happened before or make what happened before okay, but people can change and get better. Your... Erm. Master saw that, too, I assume, and so did you. Knowing that is a lot better than most people can manage, so..." And then a regular smile!

     One that still reeks of fish spray, but still. "Good work~"

Seifer Almasy has posed:
     Seifer comes back with armfulls of firewood. He sets it down in the middle of the group. "Aight, sorry about that. I had to chase one of these things down into the surf, an' I pried some of 'em off a washed-up boat, an' you shoulda seen the crab that fought me on this one."

     He claps his hands together and sits down. "So! Let's eat, huh?"

Asterios (1137) has posed:
    "...Mmn," Asterios nods and gently opens his hands around Haguro's. The difference in size there is... probably even more pronounced. "Thank... you. It's nice. To hear someone say that." Sometimes, he finds it hard to believe he can really change. But hearing someone else tell him...

It makes him feel warm inside. It's a pleasant feeling.

But then, Seifer reappears! With firewood! Asterios looks up at him with a grin and a nod. "Aa. Food! Did you... bring back any crab?"

Haguro has posed:
     "Anyone can change. So far, it seems like we're managing it for the better." Haguro pats Asterios' hands once more, then gives Seifer a grateful wave as he returns. "Welcome back! Ah.. You didn't get hurt or anything, right?" She shakes some of the sand off the back of her shirt, only then realizing that laying down in the sand in a damp blouse probably wasn't the best idea.

     Live and learn. At least she looks comfortable enough (or oblivious) about it.

     "This should be enough to get a good fire started... Yes, let's get started!"

     If nothing else? Haguro's a pretty damn good cook over an open firepit.