Closed If At First You Don't Succeed... (Rinya)

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 65, 513 AV

One of the things that really irked Jorin, even though he didn't even realize it irked him, was the fact that despite having been born in a city famous for its shipwrights, having lived most of his entire adult life near the sea, and meeting many interesting seafaring people, he himself barely knew anything about seafaring. He could barely swim, had absolutely no clue how to sail, and didn't even know how to fish. If he had been stranded on some deserted island and was forced to subside on the sea's bounty he would starve within half a season. Or less.

Fishing, especially, was something he figured he ought to know how to do. His own mate was a fisher hawk; he'd spent fifteen years in Zeltiva, and now he was living in Riverfall, yet another port city. Though, Jorin guessed that fishing from Laviku's realm would be a difficult task. At the very least, he figured to get some practice in, and what better teacher than someone who was literally built to fish?

Of course, Jorin considered the possibility that Rinya wouldn't actually be able to really teach him anything. After all, she fished like a hawk, and he could not really replicate that. And to make matters worse, rather than purchasing a fishing pole like a sane person, Jorin had been hoodwinked into purchasing a set of 20 "Fishing Arrows". Jorin had no idea how he'd been convinced to buy these; he barely knew how to hold and shoot the longbow he'd purchased to practice with Rinya, what chance would he have of hitting small, rapidly swimming fish underwater?

But the merchant had been very persuasive in his argument, pointing out that he would be able to retrieve his arrows later should he miss. And unlike arrows used against larger, more dangerous targets like bears or lions, fish would be relatively gentle on the arrowhead and therefore should he manage to catch one he could still likely reuse the same arrow at least a few more times. Jorin was not fully convinced by the argument; but nonetheless the arrows were not that expensive and he figured at worst it would provide him with the opportunity to practice his archery, which had been sadly lagging.

Nonetheless, despite having purchased the unusual-looking arrows, Jorin at least had the sense to also purchase a fishing pole as well. Though in truth, he did not know any more about how to use the pole than he did the arrows, but he figured that it couldn't possibly be that hard. After all, you simply put some bait on the hook at the end of the line, cast it into the water, and wait. How difficult could that be?

Jorin had also asked Rinya to join him on his little fishing expedition. The Bluevein River was his target; while he could have tried fishing out the bay like his mate often did, he felt that it would probably be easier at least at first to fish out of the river first. Not nearly as vast, or as deep, or as dangerous. And while it was true that technically, they would be outside the city limits, they were not too far out; the city was still visible in the distance, and Jorin hoped no predators would wander that close to the city.

Jorin strode more confidently along the river than he really felt, his longbow strapped across his person as he carried two buckets, one in either hand. Perhaps it was anticipating a bit too much, assuming he'd need a bucket. After all, at his level of skill he could've brought a teacup and still have plenty of space left over for all the fish he was likely to catch. Nonetheless, Jorin was determined to try anyway.

The Bluevein bubbled its way past him, cheerfully skipping over rock and stone on its way to the falls that gave Riverfall its name. Jorin had chosen to bring his quiver this time, and in it he'd put ten of the regular arrows and ten of the fishing arrows. He didn't expect any trouble, but he figured if there was any he could at least try shooting an arrow at it. Jorin would have brought a quarterstaff as well, but figured that carrying that much extra weight when they were so close to the city was unnecessary.

Jorin knew Rinya would appear on her own time. He merely made the suggestion that they fish together, and she had given him a look. Jorin wasn't quite sure what that look meant; and the emotions through the bond had been muted. Was she amused? Had she thought he was kidding? He wasn't sure, but she nonetheless agreed to do it, though once again he was not certain if she'd show up as a woman or as an osprey. Given what they were doing for the day, he guessed the latter, though really it could have been either.

Deciding he'd give his newfangled arrows a shot, Jorin removed one from the quiver and tried to remember the lessons Rinya taught him. First, he planted his feet in a diagonal pattern, right toe pointed outward, but not too much. He then set his shoulder, bringing up his right arm and nocking the arrow, making sure not to snag his fingers on his bow hand on the small barbs of the fishing arrow as he did this. Drawing the arrow back, Jorin took a breath, feeling the fletching tickle the corner of his mouth as he sighted down the shaft.

Now was the hard part. He was so bad with this weapon he was sure he'd miss even the easiest shots against perfectly stationary targets, so he was absolutely certain he'd miss fast-moving fish. But there was no substitute for practice, and besides it wasn't like he couldn't just retrieve the arrow and try again. Jorin tried to scan the river, seeing if he could spot the fish just under the water, trying to imagine what it would look like. Probably a flash of silver against the browns, yellows, and blues of the rocks and gravel under the water.

Jorin's lungs burned a bit and he released his breath, having not seen a single fish in the chime or so he was waiting. Taking a few more breaths, Jorin lowered the bow slightly, peering up at the sky for his mate and straining his ears to hear her distinctive whistling call. Rinya still hadn't arrived, so he shrugged and scanned the river again. But without his mate's keen eyes to point out the fish, it was like searching for a needle in a stack of hay. For another twenty fruitless chimes he continued to look without success and he was seriously considering just switching to the fishing rod if only so he could sit down when he spotted a flash of silver.

Eagerly, Jorin lifted the longbow again, arrow already nocked and prepared. Taking yet another breath he tried to aim carefully. Rinya had told him to take his time but the fish was too fast-moving; if he took too much time it would be out of range, or swim away, or any number of other possible things. The sense of urgency meant that Jorin could barely concentrate on his aiming as he fairly trembled with anticipation. If he could hit this one, he was sure Rinya would be impressed. With an exhalation of breath he let the arrow fly.

It dashed across the water and plunged in, missing the fish by a good ten inches. And that was when Jorin realized the second problem he would have today. Yes, the arrows were retrievable, technically. Instead of dropping to the bottom of the river it floated at the top, and it looked relatively unharmed probably because it had hit nothing but water; being light enough to float meant its tip did not hit the river's rocky bottom when he'd missed.

But now it was floating away. If Jorin wanted to get his arrow back he'd have to swim for it. Grumbling to himself, Jorin began stripping off his clothing. At least there wouldn't be anyone to see this except Rinya, and she wasn't here yet. Not that he was embarrassed to be nude in front of his mate any longer, but he didn't really wish anyone else to see it. Jorin decided it was quite fortunate that it was a rare warm day in Fall; usually it was much too bitterly cold to even consider something like this and he'd have to consider the errant arrow lost.

Wading into the water, Jorin tried to remember even more of Rinya's lessons, this time on swimming. He worked to keep his head above water, making sure to keep his arms in constant motion. One over the other, while kicking with his feet. The motion was unsteady; occasionally one arm would begin the motion before the other was finish and Jorin would find himself 'swimming' in a very jagged pattern. But he was getting closer to his arrow and the river was not moving so fast that he was not able to swim in a relatively straight line.

Sadly, the arrow did seem to float away just a tad bit faster than Jorin was paddling, and he worked his arms a little faster, circling them over his head and through the water as he kicked with his legs for all he was worth. As his head bobbed above, he looked about and noticed that, thankfully, the arrow had snagged on some reeds and had stopped moving downstream. Swimming over to it, Jorin snagged it before heading back to shore. If that was what he had to go through just to retrieve an errant arrow, Jorin wasn't sure how much longer he was willing to practice this form of fishing. That fishing pole was beginning to look better and better.

As Jorin slowly swam back to his clothes and dry land, he just hoped his beloved Rinya hadn't seen that. He would never hear the end of it.

Ledger-4 GM (Arrows, Fishing). -1 GM (Fishing Pole)

[Rinya]

Day 65, Season Fall, 513 AV

Jorin… wanted to fish. For Rinya, she had honestly wondered if he had been joking when he asked her to join him. He had never mentioned fishing before, and she had never known it was a hobby of his. Or perhaps it wasn’t a hobby yet, just something he wished to pass the time with. Either way, there was no way she was going to miss this. Not only was it a good chance to spend time with her mate—as if she didn’t do that enough now—but he was going to do one of her favorite past times. It even surpassed archery, and of course it helped that it was just part of who she was.

But Jorin was aiming for the Bluevein River. In general she preferred fish from fresh water rather than salt, but she almost always fished from the bay because it was easier. River fishing meant she would have to deal with the current. In the bay, if she couldn’t lift a fish from the water, all she had to do was use her wings with the help of the waves to get her to shore. Rivers… well if she got caught up in them she could literally drown from the weight of the fish. Ideally she would have liked to simply fish from a lake, like she had in Syliras. Pavi Lake was always a delightful fly from the city, and the water was just beautiful during the spring and summer months.

But there wasn’t a lake near Riverfall and Rinya dealt with it just fine. And in terms of fishing with Jorin, she knew if she wanted to join him it was going to have to be in hawk form. Still she debated on whether or not to go as a bird, or a human. She could bring along her own longbow for protection outside of the city—she loved her mate but he had no aim yet. On the other hand it seemed like such a… waste of time to walk the whole way only to change into her hawk form. And if she did take human form it wasn’t as though Jorin was opposed to her nudity. They both had adapted to that aspect of her race rather well.

So Rinya decided she might as well go in hawk form and had actually spent most of the day as such. Lounging around Lapis Park, watching the brightly colored fish swimming around their ponds. She never fished from them—she knew better than that. But they were interesting enough to observe along with the beautiful gems scattered around the park. Plus the park itself wasn’t far from the river, though when Rinya actually thought about it, Jorin never mentioned where to meet him. The slight pull from the bond gave her general direction… towards the river of course, but there wasn’t actually telling how far he was planning to go out.

So she just followed her instincts, taking to the air and gliding along the currents while her bright golden eyes scanned the ground below her. It was much harder considering the trees, so she flew much lower than she normally would have. The extra distance wouldn’t have actually helped if she couldn’t make much out between the branches, though with falling already half through, the leaves themselves had begun to fall off the trees. Rinya hadn’t even realized she had passed over Jorin once until she had doubled back. She had spotted odd movement in the river, and by the time she came back around she realized just what she had spotted.

Jorin was in the river of all things! If she had the ability to, she would have smacked her face with her palm. Her mate could barely swim! What made him think he could take on the current of the river? And what exactly could he have been going out for in the first place? Sighing mentally, Rinya dipped her wings into her sides, dropping down until she could land on top of a large boulder. It was tempting to whistle at him in annoyance but really he wouldn’t be able to understand that anyways. Hopping across the boulder, she let out a low whistle instead to alert Jorin of her presence as he swam towards the shore.

Shifting into her human form, Rinya tapped the rock in front of her, dangling her legs off the edge of the rock until her feet could touch the water. Judging by the spot Jorin had chosen—fishing was not a hobby of his. The water was rushing by much too quickly. Any fish in this area would be traveling to a calmer spot, probably a small pond of shallow water off the edge of the river. ”You realize you’re lucky not to be taken away by the river don’t you?” Rinya remarked sarcastically, even though it was technically true. Deep down however she was rather proud of her mate.

At this point last season he had nearly drowned in the ocean. After two attempting to learn swimming lessons he was able to at least keep his head above the water. But she really would have preferred him to stay out of it. The water picked up speed the closer they were to Riverfall, which in her opinion wasn’t far enough at the moment. There was no way she’d be able to save him from drowning… or quite possibly from going over the waterfall. Leaning back on her forearms, she kicked the water with her feet as she watched him. Well… stared was more like it. She couldn’t help it; her mate was incredibly attractive and was currently as nude as she was.

”Jorin if you wanted to be naked together you realize we didn’t have to leave the condo right?” She grinned brightly, dragging her eyes from his form to scan the water for more… appropriate forms to hunt. If Jorin wanted to fish well… who was she to tell him no? However by the looks of it his splashing through the waters had driven the fish away. Shaking her head slightly Rinya gave a gentle snort. ”You’ve driven the fish away with your little romp in the water my love.”

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 65, 513 AV

In retrospect, swimming in a fast-moving river was probably pretty high on Jorin's list of dumb things he'd ever done in his life. It was right up there with putting salt in his tea instead of sugar, or that one time he nearly got lost when the Thespians had taken in for the night and had forgotten to tell him the name of the inn they were staying in.

What had he been thinking? Truthfully, Jorin hadn't been thinking. He just figured to shoot at the first fish that he came across and when he found one he shot without really aiming. When the arrow hit the water he just dove in without a plan, and thinking back on it realized it was quite possibly the stupidest thing he could have done. A single arrow was not worth his life yet he'd risked it just to retrieve the petching thing; and if it hadn't been snagged on those reeds he'd have gotten himself wet for nothing.

Jorin heard the distinctive whistle that told him Rinya was there, and he was glad the water hid the redness of his face from her view. Well, he hoped it hid it from her view, but Jorin was well aware that Rinya's vision was excellent during the day and she may well have seen it. Great. Now he was going to hear about this for the rest of the year.

As Jorin pulled himself out of the water he shook the water droplets from his body and turned to Rinya, who had alighted on a nearby boulder, and she gently mocked him about his little dip possibly causing him to be carried off by the river. Jorin shrugged and grinned at her. "Uhh, well, it was good practice?" he tried. Truthfully, Jorin was not really thinking when he dove into the water after his arrow. In retrospect, especially after Rinya's light chiding, he realized just how potentially dangerous the stunt really was. No arrow was worth his life; he should have just let it go.

Jorin found himself admiring Rinya's form again, even though he'd seen it plenty of times. Rinya had on occasion implied through her reactions that she thought she wasn't feminine enough, but from what Jorin could see she was plenty feminine. He knew that it was probable he would never fail to feel desire every time he saw his mate, regardless of how many times they'd coupled or how often he'd seen her, and that really did not bother him in the least. But he tried to control himself.

"Well, nothing wrong with trying something new," he fired back with a grin of his own when Rinya mentioned they didn't need to leave the condo to be naked together. Truthfully he'd long since lost any modesty when it came to Rinya. They loved one another to such a degree now that it would have been rather silly for him to be embarrassed to be exposed to Rinya, despite the somewhat public nature of the location. Then again, the last time they'd mated in public it was rather dark. It would be nice to be able to see Rinya's face... Jorin gave a mental shake of his head. That wasn't what they were here for!

Even though his father and perhaps even his mother would be shocked by it, Jorin actually rather liked that Rinya tended to snort in a terribly unladylike fashion every now and again. It told him she was comfortable enough around him that she could behave like herself, something he appreciated greatly. "Sorry," he apologized with a sheepish grin to Rinya's statement about him scaring off the fish. Acting almost like a small boy eager to show his friend a new toy, Jorin took one of the fishing arrows and dashed over to Rinya.

"I bought some of these!" he explained, showing it to her, being careful not to get the wicked little hooks of the fishing arrow snagged on himself or worse, on Rinya. "The merchant said that I can practice firing the longbow like you taught me, and I can fish!" This time Jorin's cheeks did flush when he realized what he'd have to admit next.

"I, uhhh, kinda missed. That was why I was in the river. I was trying to get my arrow back... in retrospect I probably should've just let the arrow float off. No arrow is worth my life." Jorin looked properly chastened at his foolish decision, but then grinned brightly at Rinya.

"Well, I'm sure if I practice I'll hit a fish eventually!" he announced, full of confidence. Jorin would not give up. After all, that was one of the things that rather defined him, and with Rinya there, he was sure she could help him get better at this, seeing as she was skilled in the longbow if not in this particular type of fishing.

Going over to his equipment, Jorin considered putting his clothes back on. But he realized if he missed again, which was an extremely likely possibility, he'd just have to take them off again to retrieve his arrow. So instead he merely threw the clothes over his shoulder, grabbed his bow and slung it over his body along with his quiver and grabbed both buckets.

"Come, let's find a better place to fish," he suggested. Then he blushed and coughed slightly. "Uhhh, you lead the way my love," he continued. "I have no idea where would be a good fishing spot..."

Jorin looked at Rinya expectantly. He figured as an osprey she would know much better than he would where would be a good place to fish; hopefully he would not frighten off all the fish at the next location as well. Maybe put his new fishing rod to work. He did not really care if Rinya chose to fish as a woman or as a bird.

Jorin would be lying if he said he wouldn't miss looking - oh, alright, staring - at Rinya's body, but still as far as he was concerned he loved his mate no matter which form she took, and he'd enjoy her company regardless. However, he figured that for the purposes of fishing, unless Rinya was intending to teach him more archery, it was probable she'd spend her time with him today as a bird. And he honestly had no problem with that.

[Rinya]

Day 65, Season Fall, 513 AV

Rinya did indeed spot his rather red face, but she managed to keep it to herself. While she may have been joking, his embarrassment was something she still tended to avoid. Not because she was afraid of it, but mostly because she knew even being just with Jorin—embarrassment was not always fun. However, she would likely bring it up later in jest. For now, just knowing he had been spotted was more than enough. Besides as he pulled himself out the water, she had much more—important thoughts that were crossing her mind. Like watching the water sliding down his chest… Okay so it wasn’t more important, but it was enjoyable none the less.

And she was very much aware of his eyes on her as well. ”Something new? Well I wouldn’t call this new Jorin.” Rinya smirked at him. He wasn’t the only one reminded that this wouldn’t be the first time they mated outside of the condo, should they anyways. Though with light it would be different. ”Regardless, I am most certainly not complaining.” She held up her hands in mock defeat. If he was comfortable enough to swim naked she was most certainly not going to be the one to tell him no. Besides, it was only fair—seeing as she was completely naked. Even ground was always appreciated.

”Well honestly I doubt there was much fish in this area to begin with. Whatever you were trying to shoot at was probably just on the move.” Rinya muttered more to herself than to him as her eyes continued to scan the water. She could barely make out a flash of silver deeper within the water every now and then, but if they were going to fish Rinya figured he would have better luck at more still waters first. Jorin approached her with a boyish like excitement as he held out a fishing arrow to her. Tilting her head slightly she reached out a took the arrow from him, examining the arrowhead. She had heard of using arrows to fish, but she had never actually tried it before. Why waste Mizas on arrow when she had talons to do the job?

”Please don’t go out like that by yourself again Jorin. Sometimes the current isn’t always visible.” It wasn’t meant to be a scolding. In fact her voice was rather soft, a vague sense of worry in it. Even if she could be an expert swimming—there was little she could have done to save him. And he already knew it wasn’t a wise idea, so there wasn’t much point in dragging the subject on anyways. But she said it, and it made her feel a little better. Taking a deep breath, she shot him a grin and rolled her eyes. ”Eventually yes.” Standing up, she brushed a few pebbles from her skin and shifted her stance so she could view the river further up from them. While the rock didn’t give her much height advantage she was hoping she might be able to spot a calmer section of river.

”I”ve never used arrows for fishing myself. So it might actually take some learning. After all, the water distorts your actual view of the fish.” For Rinya, it was more instinctual… something she had learned over time as a fisher hawk how to account for it. But in all honesty she had no idea how to explain to Jorin how to adjust for it. As she took in the terrain she realized they weren’t actually too far from the section of river that she had fished from before. The fish she had caught for their first—disastrous—cooking lesson. Twitching her nose slightly, she hopped off the rock and twirled the fishing arrow between her fingers.

”This way then.” Rinya grinned as she realized Jorin apparently decided not to dress. Well—that really was new. And incredibly tempting too. Huffing inwardly she stepped up to him, leaning up on her toes to press a light gentle kiss to his lips. With his hands full she knew he wouldn’t be able to pull her closer. She made sure that their chests were close, but not pressed together. It would certainly lead to all sorts of activities other than fishing. And she owed him. After all the teasing he did from the night before while trying to teach her how to learn letters of the alphabet meant it was her turn to tease him. Rinya moved from his lips to nuzzles the side of his neck for a moment before pulling away from him completely. Whirling back around she pulled her hands behind her back—cautious of the arrow in her hands—and began to lead the way to the pond just off the side of the river.

”You know Jorin if you take to that longbow, I’ll have to eventually have to teach you how to hunt too. I haven’t had time myself to do anything other than fishing. I don’t like the Sea of Grass. It’s far too open.” Not to mention full of cats—and Glassbeaks. Two things she would prefer to avoid at all costs. After a few chimes, Rinya came upon the calmer water. The water was darker, indicating that it was deeper than other parts of the river itself, but she could still spy out the scales of a school of fish resting along the bottom. Though she wasn’t sure if Jorin could see them. Pointing out, she tilted her head to look at him. ”Can you see those?”

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 65, 513 AV

Jorin smiled as Rinya said she wasn't complaining about the situation. "Me either," he hummed, trying to be too obvious with his staring. It was not that he was embarrassed to be looking at his mate's body, more that he knew exactly where such thoughts would lead. And while he would be very happy to mate with Rinya he knew that if they got started on such activities, they would be too tired to do much else afterward. He did want to catch at least one fish today.

Jorin just nodded - not really knowing what else to do or say - when Rinya mentioned that there probably wasn't much fish in the area. "Well, I'm a complete novice when it comes to fishing," Jorin confessed. "I had no clue where fish might be." Jorin shrugged. He felt no real shame about his lack of knowledge; he hadn't known how to swim either but with Rinya's help he was getting much better. There was no shame in ignorance as long as one worked steadily to defeat it, at least that was what he believed.

"I promise I won't," Jorin solemnly vowed when Rinya asked him not to go out into the river alone, his face serious as he sensed Rinya's worry. It was faint, but definitely noticeable. He knew how devastated she would be if something happened to him. He had plenty of money from his work at the Amphitheater, the worst case scenario was he went out and bought twenty more fishing arrows at four gold-rimmed Mizas a set. It was definitely better than leaving Rinya all alone, all over a single arrow. Jorin realized he needed to think more before he acted, if only for Rinya's sake.

Rinya mentioned that she never fished with arrows, and that the water distorted the view of the fish. He noticed that himself; when he shot the first arrow which missed rather considerably he noticed that the shot went way off-course. Now, he knew he was going to miss given his rather severe incompetence with the longbow (for now), but the degree to which he failed to hit was rather impressive.

Rinya sidled up to him to give him a quick kiss on the lips. Jorin tried to follow her but she retreated too quickly, and he couldn't help but pout, feeling a vague sense of disappointment when he realized the little kiss was all he was going to get. And with his hands full, he wasn't able to chase after Rinya to grab her for a deeper kiss. "And I'm supposed to be the tease?" he grumbled, but nonetheless he grinned at Rinya anyway. He frankly very much liked this light-hearted, playful, and teasing side of his mate.

As Jorin followed Rinya, trusting her to know where she was going, he mused over her suggestion that they hunt together. Jorin actually had nothing against hunting. Despite his general dislike of fighting, he was well-aware that people needed to eat. And he legitimately saw nothing contradictory about being fine with hunting but abhorring violence. "Hunting, huh?" Jorin mused. "Well, I'm sure between the two of us we should be OK," he suggested. "But beside the Sea of Grass, where else would there be to hunt?"

Jorin would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit worried about the two of them hunting together. Hunting was a dangerous pastime; he knew from stories in Zeltiva and from numerous plays he'd participated in that hunters often faced very dangerous beasts out there. He was already none-too-happy about the dangers that his mate faced in her job; he wasn't too sure it was such a good idea for her to put herself in even more danger. But at least if they hunted together, he could be there to protect her. Truthfully though, Jorin would go wherever Rinya went. He could not imagine simply letting her go out there alone.

As they approached the small haven of calm water, Jorin took in the simple beauty of the place. He liked places like this; they were quiet and calm and yet had an almost ethereal beauty to them that a city did not have. Riverfall came close, with the heavy emphasis on nature and ascetic beauty, but even so nothing really beat a scene such as this one.

Jorin set down his buckets and removed the bow from his chest, leaning it against a nearby tree because coming up to Rinya's location. He had brought minimal equipment; just the bow, arrows, quiver, fishing rod and associated line and hooks, his hunting knife, and the buckets. Jorin mused that he should have brought a staff; with it he could simply hook the buckets on each end and carry it across his shoulders.

But he put thoughts of that out of his head when Rinya pointed to what seemed like a random spot in the lake. For a brief moment Jorin didn't even realize she'd asked him a question; he was too busy admiring his mate. But then with a jolt he realized she had asked if he could see "those", which he took to mean fish swimming under the water.

Tearing his eyes away with yet another vague sense of disappointment, Jorin walked up to where Rinya was standing, and with a mischievous grin, snuck his arm around Rinya's waist to pull her closer to him as he looked where she was pointing. "I have to admit I can't," he replied, somewhat chagrined. "Guess my eyes aren't nearly as good as yours," he sighed. "It's possible the 'fish' I shot at before wasn't even a fish, but the sunlight bouncing off the water or something." Jorin shrugged.

"Maybe the fish need to be closer to the surface, or closer to me, before I can spot them," he suggested. "Or I suppose I could always try my luck with the fishing pole; but I really want to see if I can't make those arrows work..." Jorin didn't say it, but he suspected Rinya knew him well enough to know the real reason: he'd paid good money for those petching things and he didn't want their hard-earned Mizas to go to waste.

Squeezing Rinya to him a bit, he looked back over at her and waited for her to turn to him before leaning in for another kiss. Turnabout was fair play, after all, and if she was going to tease him, he wanted to tease her too. He chose to put just a bit of heat into the kiss, but mainly it was just a 'normal' kiss. Or at least as normal as their love-filled, heart warming, fiery kisses tended to go.

"Thank you for doing this with me," Jorin murmured as he pulled way. Even though the kiss was short, for some reason it left him breathless. Maybe it was the promise that it brought, or the frankly quite romantic location they were in. Nonetheless he knew that if Rinya did not pull away and turn into a bird soon, they might not get to fishing today. And truthfully he couldn't decide if he'd be happy that they'd actually get to fishing, or disappointed they wouldn't get to... other activities, if she did that. Probably both.

[Rinya]

Day 75, Season Fall, 513 AV

Rinya did her best not to laugh. If he was bound to complain well… they were in trouble. But it went without saying that while he wasn’t trying to stare, Rinya herself did very little to hide it. ”The novice thing was kind of obvious. It really just takes time to learn. Or if you lucky—it comes with natural instinct.” Rinya hummed to herself. It certainly did pay off, though even she still had to learn certain things. Like how to judge from the air how heavy a fish was—and even then she made mistakes. There were a number of times when she had to drag a fish to shore because it was just simply too heavy for her to carry.

”But I think the basic idea of fishing is easy enough to figure out. Or… for humans it is. Sadly, I think you’ll be having to learn that purely by trying. I don’t know anything about human style fishing.” Rinya shrugged helplessly. She could show him where the fish were, but not how to use the pole or even the arrows. Well… the arrows would be easy enough to figure out. Though she wasn’t entirely sure how much resistance the water would give the arrows—so figuring how deep an arrow would get and actually snag a fish was also a complete mystery.

Jorin’s promise to remain out of the water pleased her. She never actually asked much of him, only the things he could generally provide for her. And judging by his face, he understood her worry over him. However he apparently did not ‘appreciate’ the very short kiss she had decided to give him. She wasn’t sure if she was meant to hear his grumbling, but she glanced over her shoulder at him innocently. ”Tease? I have no idea what you mean Jorin. I mean… that would be like saying you were teasing me last night with my reading lesson.” Rinya smiled with a sweet voice.

Jorin mused that other than the Sea of Grass, that where else would they hunt. With a grumble of her own, she shrugged her shoulders heavily. ”I have no idea honestly. Even two people armed with bows—it’s incredibly dangerous. It’s part of the reason why I’m taking up learning the dagger I just bought. Or I plan to at some point anyways. I’ve already had to borrow one from the Warren… and it certainly would have come in handy against a Glassbeak.” Rinya realized she was skirting around the issue that she actually used the one she had borrowed. Jorin still didn’t know about the Warren invasion during their—seperation. And it wasn’t so much that she had lied to him… mostly she knew he would worry endlessly.

Rinya could feel Jorin’s appreciation for the spot she had chosen. Really, it was a quiet spot she tended to visit on days that she spent more as a bird than a human. And even as those days dwindled slightly, she was happy he could at least view it before winter tore it down into a dead wasteland. Well—her version of a dead wasteland anyways. As she asked him if he could see the fish, she realized that he wasn’t actually paying all that much attention… to the question. She didn’t comment, just raised a brow in his direction until he caught on to the words she had asked. She felt the brief flash of disappointment and tried not to smirk. Jorin distracted was rather… adorable. She tossed the arrow in her hands on the ground near his bow.

”Maybe if you focused more, you might be able to spot them.” She stated in an airy tone, keeping her eyes firmly locked on the water in front of her, trying to ignore the heat of his skin pressed to hers. There was no resistance, but with him being so close she could smell him, feel him—he was teasing her this time and she was determined not to let it get to her. He squeezed her and Rinya got the hint. She turned to face him, cocking her head to side slightly. He leaned in to kiss her and Rinya fought hard not to groan. That wasn’t fair at all… at least she had kept her kiss innocent. This was a challenge.

”You make it sound as if this was a chore.” Rinya teased lightly. She wasn’t having to do anything she didn’t already love doing, and this time she got to do it with someone she loved. Though she also knew he didn’t mean it that way either. Reaching out, she ran her fingers across his shoulders, down his chest until they rested low on his stomach. If he was going to tease with kisses, she might as well tease with touches. But it was harder than it looked, she let out a shallow breath, tempted to press further but she finally drew away after several long ticks. They felt long anyways. Clearing her throat slightly, she twitched her nose and headed to his bow, picking it up along with the arrow she had abandoned on the grass.

Making her way back to Jorin, she spied out into the water, before she spotted a relatively small fish, but it should be a decent target for him. Both of them knew he wasn’t likely to hit it, but if Jorin wanted to the practice it certainly wouldn’t hurt. Pointing at the bright green fish with the tip of the arrow, she glanced sideways at him. ”Well let’s see if you remember the archery stance shall we?” She motioned to him with the bow.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 75, 513 AV

It was... refreshing. How easily he and Rinya teased each other now, without any fear the other might take it the wrong way. Ever since the night after the disastrous afterparty, It felt like their relationship had taken an important step forward. Like as though he no longer needed to hide anything from Rinya, not that he really needed to before, but this was different. It wasn't just the big things but the little things as well, like the fact that he did love to tease her. He couldn't help it; she responded so well! Truthfully, he probably responded just as well to her own teasing.

And this newer, more open relationship meant that every single day he learned something new about his mate. Stupid little things that didn't matter, but Jorin treasured them nonetheless because they were little pieces of the woman he loved. And he knew she was learning about him as well, and he was glad to know that she was as happy in their relationship as he was.

Rinya confirmed that she knew nothing about fishing as a human. Well, he had figured that; as a fisher hawk she could just pluck the fish right out of the water, what need did she have to learn something as slow and clumsy as a fishing rod? Jorin had often seen fishermen in Zeltiva; in fact he remembered running into a man by the name of Ricky Maze who apparently did it for a living. Pity he never did ask Ricky to show him the basics; it would've come in handy here.

Though... did he ask Ricky to show him the basics? It was such a long time ago, Jorin couldn't quite remember the encounter. Or was it encounters? Jorin realized with a bit of a start; ever since he started truly living his life with Rinya, he'd forgotten most of his life in Zeltiva that did not include his family. And the damnest thing of all, it didn't bother him in the least.

"That's alright, Rinya, I'm sure I can figure it out," he assured her. "I'm a very smart man, you know!" he boasted, with an exaggerated grin and puffing out his chest a bit. Then he deflated with a self-deprecating laugh. Arrogance was never something Jorin could realistically portray; it was one of those things he needed to work on as an actor. But Jorin knew Rinya would see right through it anyway, so as always he never bothered acting in front of her unless it was quite literally a rehearsal for something.

Rinya's reply to his grumble brought a smirk to his lips. "I was just trying to see if my beautiful mate could operate under... pressure," he replied, smiling at her innocent look. "They say some people learn best that way," he justified, voice all innocence.

When Rinya went to talking about hunting, Jorin shrugged a bit, as best he could loaded down with all the things he was carrying. In truth, he was still concerned about the dangers of hunting. As Rinya herself had stated, even with two people, and even if he became fairly skilled with the longbow, they were still in quite a bit of danger if they ever planned to hunt. She mentioned the dagger that Jorin now remembered seeing that night he started teaching Rinya how to read. That was right... he'd forgotten to ask her about that.

"Oh yes, I remember seeing that dagger," Jorin mused. "That night when I started teaching you how to read... it was on the table, I think. You borrowed one of those from the Warren? Why would you need to do that?" But Jorin could sense that Rinya's lack of detail was deliberate, so he appended his question with, "you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, my love."

He made sure to use his nickname for her to put her at ease; he could live with ignorance if it was truly something she didn't want to tell him. Besides, he was quite sure if it became important, she'd tell him of her own free will sometime in the future. Of that Jorin was absolutely certain. The teasing continued apace, Rinya suggesting he'd be able to spot the fish if he 'focused' more. Oh he was focusing, aright. Focusing on Rinya's beautiful form... wait! Jorin gave himself a mental shake, and tried to concentrate. It wasn't working very well.

When he attacked her lips, Rinya apparently decided to fight back with soft touches, running her fingers from his shoulders down his chest to his stomach. Jorin couldn't help the shiver that ran through his body as she did this. She was definitely learning what could get to him. He briefly wondered if perhaps she was trying to make him lose control. If so, it was working. He could definitely feel the desire across the bond; he didn't need to hear her shaky, shallow breath or see her obvious indecision to know it was there.

Unfortunately, Rinya pulled away; though Jorin did note that the ticks felt like chimes and she had to clear her throat a bit, and her nose twitched in that cute manner that Jorin loved. She brought back his bow and the fishing arrow. She seemed determined to keep the lesson as innocent as possible, and Jorin wondered what she'd do if he kissed her like he had that day at the archery range. He wondered if she could keep it together. He wondered if he could keep it together.

Jorin was actually able to see the fish that Rinya pointed out. He was grateful that this one seemed to be a bit closer too; though for Rinya's sake he'd make a best-effort to hit it even if it had been a hundred miles out. But it seemed his mate was primarily interested in the basics. Well, the basics were indeed important, so Jorin just nodded. He actually hadn't had much chance to practice his archery, despite his sincerest efforts to work it into his schedule. He'd have to correct that at some point, but at least he could work on it now.

Jorin stepped away from Rinya a bit, and despite himself he already missed the warmth of her skin against his. Shuffling his right foot forward, he pointed the toe of the dominant foot toward the target, his left foot somewhat behind him on a diagonal. He straightened his back, already used to doing it from relentless quarterstaff training. The bow in his right hand was brought part of the way up as he took the arrow in his left hand, making sure to hold it in his first two fingers.

Jorin figured that at some point, he'd be good enough that he wouldn't have to look down every time to nock the arrow to the string, but for now he found he needed to, otherwise he wouldn't find the index fletch. He did notice that it was set differently from the other fletches; it wasn't just used for nocking he realized. It was set that way so the fletching wouldn't strike the bow as the arrow left the string. Presumably more experienced archers like Rinya could feel out the index fletch without having to take their eyes off the target.

Jorin's eyes flitted back up, searching rather desperately for his target. He certainly hope it hadn't swam off in the time it took him to nock the arrow, but fortunately it hadn't. Taking a breath, Jorin lifted the bow and drew the arrow back, until he could feel the fletching tickling the corner of his mouth. As he did this, Jorin made sure to set the shoulder of his bow arm, like Rinya had taught him. His left elbow kept wanting to rise, and Jorin had to fight it down; and he took a breath and held it as he tried his best to aim down the shaft of the arrow, the bright green of the fish taunting him as it swam lazy circles in the water below.

He could feel the muscles in his arms and chest strain as he held the string taut, but his stance must not have been quite perfect because unlike before he did not feel the muscles in his core tighten as well. Hmm. Perhaps his left arm was not in quite the correct position. Ah well, practice made perfect. Regardless, Jorin figured he had better fire before the fish decided it had better things to do than swim in circles. With a whoosh of breath, Jorin released. The arrow sang across the water, and sliced into the liquid only to miss the fish by a good foot and a half. Wow. That was... quite embarrassing.

Jorin turned sheepishly to his mate, giving her an apologetic smile. He realized; he'd kept his clothes off for the expressed purpose of retrieving his arrow should he miss. But he'd made a promise to Rinya, that he'd stay out of the water, which meant that he essentially was keeping his clothes off for nothing. And yet, despite his upbringing, despite the rules of society telling him that as a human, he needed his modesty, he just couldn't bring himself to feel bad. It was Rinya. He'd never be embarrassed to be nude in front of his mate.

"Well, that was a spectacular failure," Jorin sighed, going back over to Rinya. "I don't think I had that stance quite right; I was supposed to feel the muscles here contract too, right?" As he said the word 'here', Jorin took Rinya's hand and pressed it low to his stomach, with a little grin that belied the surge of desire he felt when the contact was made. Every little thing she did was amazing, and Jorin just couldn't help but lean in to kiss her again.

When it ended, he looked out to the water, seeing the arrow bob up and down on the surface. "Don't worry about the arrows, Rinya," Jorin insisted. "We can retrieve them later. I mean, doesn't constant transforming between your shapes tire you? I don't want you to exhaust yourself, my love. We'll just practice and then we can pick up whatever arrows didn't float away into the rapids."

[Rinya]

Day 75, Season Fall, 513 AV

Jorin reminded her of how he was when they first met. Granted she understood at the time he was actually acting—to some extent. Considering he had told her that when they had met he was having one of the worst days of his life. The fact he was nearly willing to take his life was terrible. But she could remember his smile. Disarming and energetic. Completely contagious as it was now not to mention his excitement nearly causing him to fall over the edge of the railing as he introduced himself to her. It was hard to believe that he had nearly disappeared from the world entirely.

Before she hadn’t exactly been afraid to tease him, more of afraid of the chance that he wouldn’t like what he saw from her. And perhaps that was what held Jorin back too. She had seen his darker side, the side everyone was afraid that—if someone saw it—their view of who they were would be completely changed. But it had been so easy to accept even that side of Jorin. Which didn’t really surprise her in the end. Rinya had accepted him when she first met him—she never did that with men. Or most people in general. In fact… Jorin was the first person she had ever gifted as well. It may have been a simple blue feather, but he had treasured it—and it meant something.

Rinya cocked her head to the side as Jorin puffed out his chest in mock confidence. Despite the fact Jorin meant it in jest, the comment was very true. He picked up so many of the little details, that fishing would probably come fairly easy to him. He laughed, and like usual she couldn’t help but join in. Shaking her head slightly, she had been tempted to slap his chest just to get him to deflat further. While it was true, an arrogant Jorin he was not. And she wanted to keep it that way—at least in some aspects.

”Under pressure… you are tease and you know it!” Rinya snipped in a huff. She wouldn’t have changed the lesson for her life of course, it had been an oddly delightful way to start her lesson in reading, but Jorin was just as much of a distraction to her as she was to him. But his innocence was wasted on her, because there was no way he had entirely pure thoughts when he had started that little game—well maybe at first he did. Then again there was currently very little they did that didn’t end up in them exploring one way or another.

Rinya did her best not to wince at the mention of why she might need the dagger. He didn’t seem to mind if she didn’t tell him, but really she figured it would only be a matter of time before he heard about it despite the fact it had happened much earlier in the season. ”Well, it was before I was allowed back on archery. During our uhh…” Rinya tried to decide if ‘break-up’ was a proper term for them back then. They hadn’t exactly talked about what 'it' was, just what it had done to them. There had been light kisses, but nothing pressing. But at the same time when Rinya had fled from Jorin, the whole week felt like she had lost something so…indescribable. She could understand it now, as it was stronger than ever.

”Our week of separation I guess.” She shrugged slightly. ”We had intruders in the Warren, and since I didn’t have a weapon I was loaned a dagger. Which… did come in handy.” Rinya twitched her nose and sighed slightly, glancing at him. For as easily as Jorin had nearly been stolen from her with his landing in the hospital, she never really considered that with the bond blocked—if she had lost her life she had no idea if Jorin would have felt it.

As Jorin took the bow from her hands, she got to enjoy the pleasant view of him taking stance. There was muscles straining under his skin, his concentration on the fish so focused she thought he might actually hit it by will alone. But he wasn’t in stance correctly, and while Rinya considered correcting him she figured it might actually be better to let him make the mistake first before correcting. The arrow missed of course, but the arrow had come close enough to send the fish high tailing it from its current position. Jorin turned to her and gave her an apologetic smile. She was almost tempted to return it—seeing as she spent most of her time just staring at him rather than his stance. Again.

”Well it was just a test anyways.” She smiled softly at him as he approached her. His failure wasn’t anything that anyone new to the craft would make. Reaching out, he snagged her hand and pressed it to his stomach, lower than was probably required. But it had the effect he was obviously looking for. Rinya’s breath caught in her throat and she felt as though her eyes were glued to their hands on his stomach. Both of them surged with desire and Rinya wanted to whine about how he wasn’t playing fair again.

Instead he kissed her and Rinya tried hard to keep it proper, but she could feel herself draw closer to him, press into the kiss a little harder. But Jorin pulled away and Rinya literally had to bite her tongue. If he was going to play this game, than hai—she was going to play it better. ”I’ll pick them up in a bit. Stance first.” Her voice was unsteady, and while she normally would have cursed inwardly she was determined not to let him get the best of her. Retrieving another arrow from his quiver, Rinya went about spotting another fish—this one more gold hued and slightly larger—along the banks, as close as it dared apparently.

”That one.” She muttered determinedly before she faced him, handing him the arrow. Rinya belated realized that even if Jorin put on his clothing it wouldn’t be enough to deter her from driving him to distraction. She would have to shift into her hawk form. It brought a bought of disappointment through her stomach and she did her best to ignore it. At first she went about correcting him through his stance. Making sure his frame stood straight and that this time he would be using his lovely stomach muscles.

As she circled around behind him, she couldn’t help herself. She leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his spine, between his shoulder blades.

[Jorin Ertihan]

Season of Fall, Day 75, 513 AV

Jorin grinned at Rinya's accusation that he was a tease, not denying it in the least. He was certain his mate knew he didn't tease anyone else except for her, so he had no problems teasing the hai out of her whenever he could. It did result in them not always getting to whatever thing it was they were originally doing, but then again few things were really that important that they could not afford to be distracted.

Hunting, perhaps. If they were out hunting, Jorin instinctively felt that Rinya would not be nearly as receptive, and honestly Jorin would not be nearly as teasing, if at all. The truth was, if both he and Rinya were in a location where the danger was so prevalent, so real, he suspected they would both be all business. No time to mess around when both their lives were at stake.

Rinya's admission of using the dagger during their week of 'separation' was a difficult thing to swallow. Jorin didn't like that week any more than Rinya did. It hadn't been fun being separated from her, to feel the emotions that now flowed so freely across the bond disappear into muted nothing. If Rinya had been hurt - or worse - would he have even known? It had taken everything he had just to see Rinya in the hospital; and that was when he had the bond to tell him something was wrong.

It made his own pain from being beaten to a pulp in the Kendoka seem silly. While he'd been distracted and took a well-deserved beating for it, Rinya had been fighting for her life against an unknown assailant. And she was using a weapon she'd never utilized before, and from what Jorin recalled from the few times he'd ever seen the Warren, she couldn't see either given how dark it was down there. And it was cramped too... what were they thinking, making Rinya fight in a place like that?!

"You... you were hurt, and they made you fight...?!" Jorin's voice spoke of his shock and disbelief. How could they ask that of her? Well, truthfully Jorin wouldn't want RInya in danger even if she was completely healthy but how could they just shove a dagger which she had no training into her hands - when her arm was still recovering no less - and then expect her to fend off intruders?

Sighing deeply, Jorin tried to calm himself down. It seemed all sorts of bad things happened for both of them during that week. So Jorin decided he needed to request it of his mate one last time, even though he knew she already agreed to it. Every time something new about that week came up, it was never anything good. "Rinya," Jorin called, waiting for her to turn around before he continued. He wanted her to look at him when he said this. "I... I know I asked this of you before, but... please, don't ever block our bond like that again."

Jorin knew he was practically begging her at this point, but it did not matter. The one week she had blocked their bond had nothing but bad news for both of them. Jorin had missed her, he realized, and more than that thoughts of her had distracted him so entirely that he'd been all but nonfunctional. And despite it being almost certainly a coincidence, Rinya had found herself in trouble during that very same week. And without the bond Jorin wouldn't have even known if something happened to her.

But serious time was over when Jorin took the bow and attempted to fire at the fish. He'd suspected his stance was off slightly; after all it wasn't something that he'd been practicing regularly. And he couldn't help the grin when he saw that his pressing Rinya's hand to his stomach had exactly the effect he wanted. The kiss triggered the same fire it always did and Jorin was quite certain Rinya felt it too, and he could tell her control was fraying from what he was doing.

Unfortunately, Jorin had promised Rinya he would not enter the water, so his entire reason for remaining nude was gone. Since he was not to dive in to retrieve his arrows he really ought to put his clothes back on, or else they were guaranteed to be driven to distraction by one another. Rinya had with apparent effort managed to snag a bit of self-control, telling him that she was looking to correct his stance first.

He felt a bit bad; Rinya had taught him this stance to begin with and he'd apparently forgotten it. It wasn't anything Rinya was unhappy about; she seemed more than happy to help him correct it, but she really shouldn't have to. Jorin made a mental note to practice archery more. Rinya's lessons shouldn't go to waste. Rinya had already snagged another fishing arrow and handed it to Jorin, and as she scanned the water for another fish Jorin made sure to try to get the stance correct this time.

The legs were perhaps too close together the last time, so Jorin decided to spread them a bit further apart. Not wide, but just a bit separate. The index fletch was once again set against the string, Jorin cursing inwardly when he realized he still wasn't used to archery enough to do it blind, having to still look down to see the white fletch rather than feeling it with his fingers. If he didn't have his mate here to help, even if he'd spotted a fish he'd probably miss it after being forced to look down every few ticks.

Jorin made sure to keep his right arm firmly set against the shoulder, but not gripping the bow too tightly. Rinya had gone around to the other side, gently correcting small parts of his stance. Her fingers were on his left elbow, dragging it even further down since it seemed for whatever reason to like to rise whenever he drew the arrow, and she pressed a hand against his back to straighten it even further.

With a few more adjustments to his bow arm, bringing it slightly more in-line with his core, and Jorin realized he could now feel his core muscles tighten with the strain as well, as he remembered Rinya stating that they would if he did this right. He tried his best to memorize this stance, even though he'd technically been taught it before and should've remembered it from then.

It was Rinya's soft kiss on his back that nearly caused him to release the arrow early, however. She'd never done anything like that and Jorin felt a shiver throughout his body. It felt so nice to receive Rinya's attention like this. It was almost as though there were no other people on Mizahar. Just the two of them. And that suited them both just fine. Shutting his eyes, Jorin tried his best to concentrate. Rinya had earlier pointed out a golden-colored fish flitting about fairly close to the bank. Jorin opened his eyes again and searched for it.

There! Jorin found it once more; the fish having swam a few feet to the left. Adjusting his aim, he took a deep breath like Rinya had taught him to, eyeing the target carefully while the strain on his shoulders, chest, and stomach burned pleasantly. But the burn in his lungs were not nearly as pleasant; the lack of air causing them to protest as he tried to aim carefully. A slow chime passed as he very carefully adjusted his aim, waiting for the fish to stop moving so much.

When it seemed to be mostly still, Jorin unleashed the arrow with an exhalation, the missile singing across the gap and closed the distance quickly, but as he expected he missed again. At least this time, he came a fraction closer to hitting the fish; the target was larger and he aimed for longer. Nonetheless, missed by an inch might as well have missed by a mile. Jorin looked at the golden fish dart away, frightened by the sudden disturbance in the water, and sighed. This was going to take him a while, he just knew it.

"It just takes practice," Jorin mused. "I'm pretty sure if I do it long enough I'll get good at this." Of course, 'long enough' was a relative term. Without Rinya there, could he practice on his own? He would have to; Rinya could not always be there. She had her work at the Warren after all, and he had his own work at the Amphitheater. Times like these when Rinya was available to teach him were probably not going to be that common.

Turning to Rinya, Jorin smiled softly at her, closing the distance between them almost instantly. He had already discarded the bow, tossing it toward the rest of his belongings. "I really appreciate you being here to teach me, my love," he murmured to her as he snagged her by the waist. Leaning in, Jorin placed his chin on Rinya's shoulder, breathing in her scent and smiling.

"I couldn't imagine a better teacher..." he whispered, knowing full-well what effect that would have on her. Simultaneously, he brought his hand up to her back so he could press her against him. No space at all - and he liked it that way - enjoying the warmth of her skin against his. Jorin pulled back, grinning mischievously but also lovingly at his mate.

"This is totally your fault. You're just too beautiful," Jorin accused, with a little wink. And when Rinya opened her mouth to retort Jorin covered it with his own, kissing her strongly and intensely, slipping his tongue in to amplify the intimate act. Desire raced across their bond as he pressed her closer, and all thoughts of fishing, and archery, vanished from his mind, replaced by thoughts of Rinya.

Later. They could fish later.

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It never ceased to surprise Jorin how intense their mating could be. Like it was the last time they would ever be able to touch each other so they had to make it count. In some sense that was exactly the case; if his encounter with Zulrav's wrath was any indication, Dira could steal one away at any time. In any place. There as no telling when an errant bolt of lightning, a random boulder, or something or other would come along to steal him from the world.

Life's unpredictability meant he needed to live each moment, and live it like it was his last. Because someday inevitably, that would actually be true. Still, Jorin had to confess it was nice being able to see Rinya's face. And despite the 'public' nature of where they were, they were far enough away from the city that their cries of passion were unlikely to be overheard. It was rather perfect really; they were close enough to the city that danger was unlikely, yet far enough away that few if any people would come along unless they knew where to look.

Jorin and Rinya had been laying on the grass, with Rinya curled up against him. As was her usual wont, Rinya had slipped a leg between his and was pressed up against him, and Jorin was tracing lazy patterns on her stomach with his fingers as he held her close. It felt so warm just being with her like this; and he'd love to just stay next to her and petch the archery and fishing, but that would be a waste of their time. They could cuddle when they were at home in bed later that night. For now, they had things to do, and so Jorin disentangled himself from his mate, reluctance clear from his face and from the bond.

"Well, let's see if I can't hit something today..." he grumbled without much heat as he strode over to his clothes. He had to put them on, he mused as he proceeded to do just that. Otherwise, they'd just end up distracting one another yet again, and they'd never get any fishing done.

[Rinya]

Day 65, Season Fall, 513 AV

”Jorin, relax. Raistren was actually trying to keep me away from any sort of strenuous activity. He didn’t like the fact that I strained my healing muscles when I—corrected Farline.” She shot a meaningful look over her shoulder. She could feel his shock, and while it certainly wasn’t his fault she decked Farline—well she would have been back on active duty a lot sooner if it wasn’t for Farline’s meddling. But it was… mostly water under the bridge. She shrugged slightly. ”Besides it was safer for me to use a weapon I don’t know anything about and follow Rhys, than stand alone in a room just waiting for someone to come out of the shadows. Besides,” Rinya huffed slightly. ”I did very well with that dagger.” Rinya left it unsaid that she had actually used it, Jorin was bound to pick up on it anyways.

Really Rinya didn’t want to worry him anymore than necessary. Much like the Glassbeak attack there wasn’t anything he could do to change it. The danger had already come and past; and she had escaped with a few bruises that barely last several days. He said her name however and Rinya blinked, turning around to face him. His request to never mute their bond ever again was something he had requested before, but it was an easy promise to keep. The torture they put each other through over the course of one week’s time was hard enough. Doing it again, knowing the damage it could do, would never be worth it. "I promise Jorin. Never again." She murmured softly.

Honestly Rinya hadn’t expected her simple kiss to affect Jorin so much though. And she hadn’t actually meant anything by it—she had just wanted to kiss him. And his skin seemed to taunt her seeing as outside of the condo she never actually got to see him in such light. So she just simply kissed him. And the shiver that ran through him was visible even to her. Luckily it didn’t seem to distract him to the point that he dropped his stance. Once his concentration refocused, Rinya made it a point to take several steps back. She didn’t want to distract him further—after all he was trying to hit the fish.

Jorin actually did a fair job of trying to hit the fish. But it didn’t surprise either of them when he missed again. This kind of archery was even harder than just a normal stationary target. ”Well we have a ‘long time’ to try.” It was the first time Rinya had actually admitted—despite her lifespan—that they really had the time. Of course she always knew there could be things that could change those words, but for now the words were true. Jorin just turned to smile at her, tossing his bow off to the side almost carelessly. In the back of Rinya’s mind she thought about scolding him—he knew better than to treat a weapon that way!

On the other hand, his appreciation was hard to fight off. He pulled her close, resting his face on her shoulder and—whispering—that he couldn't imagine a better teacher. Somewhere down the line, Rinya would absolutely insist that Jorin was the one with the lack of self control. That she had been well behaved and wasn’t even touching him when he came to her. Which was all true of course… however Rinya knew she was the one who actually folded. The words caused her to reach out and wrap her arms firmly around his neck as he pressed them together completely. And the complete lack of hesitation as she kissed him back as passionately as she could. He could blame her all he wanted. She’d pretend that she was going to retort something against the ‘beautiful’ remark, even though she honestly had no argument over how he saw her.

She folded, but she wasn’t going to let him know that.

-----------------------

Rinya had been dozing in and out while Jorin cuddled her close across the grass. The unusual warmth of the day was something she fully intended to take advantage of, and lying sprawled next to her mate made it easy to appreciate the day in itself. And while she knew they wouldn’t stay lying where they were for long, Rinya saw no issue in letting herself relax completely. But Jorin finally decided to get up and Rinya grumbled under her breath, rubbing her fingers across her eyes before sitting up on her forearms.

”You did hit something. Water.” She grinned at him as she watched him dress. ”If nothing else the entire day was certainly not wasted.” Rinya hummed, pushing herself to her feet and over to his bow. Snatching it up she tugged on the string slightly, testing the poundage behind the string. It felt similar to hers—perhaps a little more. Nothing her arms couldn’t handle. Reaching out she grabbed a fishing arrow and made her way to the water. Glancing backwards at Jorin for a moment, she turned back to the water and focused down at the fish again. She nocked an arrow, holding the string loose until she could spot a fish to her liking. They had settled during their—other actitives—and Rinya took aim of another green scaled fish.

Lifting the bow, Rinya took her own stance. It was natural to her now, back straight with shoulders slightly bent forward. Her left arm taunt, but not over extended as she held the bow in her hand, with her index and middle fingers of her right hand pulling the string back until the fletching touched her mouth. It was done in a smooth movement, one that she had practiced since she was big enough to hold a bow and arrow. Breathing in deep, she held her gaze on the fish below the water. The only issue she was worried about was the water distortion. From above it was slightly different, but she tilted the bow none the less.

Rinya released her breath, letting the arrow fly as she did so. The arrow cut through the water, but missed the mid section of fish as she was aiming for. Instead it cut straight through the base of the tail. The fish startled, but the weight of the arrow just didn’t allow it to swim as it would have liked. Rinya pursed her lips slightly as she watched the fish flail in the water, close to the surface. ”You know… even if you killed a fish with the arrow, you’d still have to swim out to get it.” She mused before grinning at Jorin, holding out his bow.

”Looks like I have to go out and get it either way.”