Closed Long Walks Along The Beach (Castor Riley)

[Lotvie]

Coonie sighed and accepted the coin. She knew from the slightly forced smile that he wasn't used to buying fish. I'll have to teach him how to cook it later.
Thank you. he said politely.

Then, he continued on to talk his way out of Fown's suspicion.
"The foothills? Why there are foothills all around Zeltiva. The town itself is closed in all around by mountains. I had heard that the foothills were lovely in Spring, various flowers carpeting the green. Though, this is merely the beginning of Spring, so I don't know that it will be as impressive as I've heard yet. Still, we would probably have a pretty good view of the town from there. If you're interested in that kind of thing of course. Or we could just go for a beer at the Grotto, either is fine by me."

Okay, so Castor hadn't been the smoothest, but at least there weren't any punches flying. Fown's eyes darted from one to the other. Catching Coonie's eye, he nodded. "The foothills it is."

Coonie had to contain the urge to hug him again. It was clear he would have rather gone to the Grotto but Coonie so badly wanted to see the foothills, and Fown understood this.
"Maybe I'll go hunting or something." He muttered, covering his tough guy ego.
"Suuurrre." Coonie drew out the word, then bounced away quickly, before his fist could find it's mark. They both knew that Fown couldn't hunt if the prey walked in front of his arrow. Fishing was much more his speed. With a skip in her step, Coonie headed towards the mountains in the distance. "Must I remind you? Keep up!" Coonie sang with a cheekish half-grin.

Fown shook his head. Half to Castor, half to himself, he muttered, "That girl's gonna push it too far one of these days." But even as he said it, a rare smile graced his face.

[Castor Riley]

'The foothills it is.' Coonie's joy at Fown's decision was almost palpable. Her face beamed with happiness. Castor himself had just thrown the idea out as the first thing that had come to mind, yet, seeing how happy the prospect made Coonie, he too found himself getting excited. 'Maybe I'll go hunting or something.' Fown went on. 'Do you hunt as well as fish?' Castor asked, impressed, as Coonie jumped in with a 'Sure' that sounded rather sarcastic, elliciting a playful attack from her brother. 'Must I remind you? Keep up!' shouted Coonie back at them mischievously. 'That girl's gonna push it too far one of these days.' Fown grumbled, yet, Castor noticed a smile playing across his lips. Suddenly, he felt a weight he'd been carrying lifting off of him. He didn't know why, but suddenly he wanted to run and laugh and be adventurous. He wanted to be himself again, not this person he'd become. Or rather, to bring the two together; accept the past and incorporate it into a better future. 'Keep up? I feel as though I've been issued a challenge!' He ran past Coonie, the fish securely grasped, yet flailing in the air. 'Last one to the foothills is a rotten egg!' he laughed, racing ahead.

[Lotvie]

"Last one to the foothills is a rotten egg!" The words whipped through the air as a figure whirred past her. Belatedly realizing it was Castor, Coonie hit the ground running.
In the face of a challenge, Coonie forgot all kindness. She raced forward, planting loud, heavy thumps on the ground below her. Try as she might, she was nowhere near as fast as Castor- her bulky build made sure of that. Even when she did arrive, her brakes didn't quite work. A kind rock fixed that for her. The face plant put a small dent in her mood, but she tried to stay happy.
I can't scare him off now. Thought Coonie. She rolled over just in time to watch Castor skid to a stop. A single one of my sour moods can make sure he never comes back.

Thoughtfully, she sighed and ran a hand through the think, soft grass. The smell of nearby flowers lay lightly in the air. The sunshine warmed Coonie's chest until she almost, almost understood why anyone would want to live on land forever.
Teasingly, Coonie plucked a flower from the meadow and tucked it in the side of her shirt. "How do I look?" She asked, siting up and trying her best to model the home-made corsage. At least for the moment, she was unaware of Fown standing on the horizon.

[Castor Riley]

Castor ran. He ran as fast as he could, allowing the exhilaration to cleanse him of his worries and burdens. The feeling of the wind pulling against his already messy hair was refreshing beyond belief. It had been a long time since he had last run like that, care-free and with all his might. He shoved off the ground with every step, pushing, almost leaping- faster, longer. The fish and the journal were jostling around, trying to escape his grasp, but he wouldn't let them. The burning in his lungs was getting to the point where it made them numb. At last and before he had realized it, they had reached the foothills. He saw Coonie, right behind him giving it her all. However, it was obvious she wasn't really much of a runner. He supposed one did not get much practice on a boat. Fown, on the other hand, wasn't even trying. Castor stopped, hunching over and taking in deep, ragged breaths. He was smiling fiercely. He looked back again only to see that Coonie had tripped and Castor was too sluggish from his recent exertion to go help her up. 'I believe...hah... we are now...hah... 1 for 1 in face...plants.' offered Castor, gulping in air and reminding her of his own embarassment to take the sting out of hers. 'How do I look?' she asked, a flower from the meadow plucked and placed in her shirt. The flower was a yellow wildflower. Castor quickly surveyed the surrounding area. He found a blue one, plucked it carefully and offered it to Coonie. 'This one would suit you better. It matches your eyes.' Castor noticed Fown approaching from the horizon, but the truly marvelous thing was behind Fown; a view of the city, with Matthew's Bay glinting in the noon-day sun, only the obelisks seeming out of place in this idyllic image. 'Isn't it beautiful?'

[Lotvie]

"I believe...hah... we are now...hah... 1 for 1 in face...plants." She may have offered a retort had it not been true. But then, when he picked a different flower for her, he spoke softly, all teasing gone.
"This one would suit you better. It matches your eyes."

Coonie sighed quietly. All her apprehension melted into a puddle at her feet. Accepting the blue flower, she replaced the yellow one. She racked her brain for something, anything to say, but nothing seemed right.
"Isn't it beautiful?"
Thankfully, Coonie turned to see what he was looking at. In the distance, the sunlight danced off everything it could find. Buildings large and small, the boats in the dock and the very people glinted.
"It's breath-taking." Coonie whispered. Castor himself looked in awe. His dark eyes shone and a tiny blade of grass clung to his hair. Coonie didn't brush it away though, she let it hang there, a reminder to herself of the little imperfections in the both of them.
"Do you come here often?" The cliché of the question struck her after she had asked. Too late now...

[Castor Riley]

'It's breath-taking.' Was Coonie's reply. What else could it be? He wondered abstractly whether the pre-Valterrian citizens - some of whose buildings still formed Zeltiva's skyline - had ever appreciated this beauty in the same way they were now. The past repeating itself. He felt Coonie looking at him. She asked 'Do you come here often?' 'Hahah, well no, today's the first time I've been here. I think I'll make a point of coming here more regularly though. One has to appreciate what one has while they still do...' he trailed off at the end. He thought about what he hadn't appreciated enough. And now he was gone and Castor was alone. Cautiously he began to speak, to share something of his life, something he had found too painful to do. 'You know I've seen a view like this before; in Syliras, when I was about 13 or 14, my father took me with him on a business trip. And as we rode away, I looked back and I could see the city framed against the backdrop of the Suvan Sea. Everything glinted like today. I think that the feeling I got when I saw that scene was what gave me the final push to leave the city; the realization of the beauty that lay in the world. But you've travelled. You've seen much more of the world and from a different perspective than I. What is out there to see?' Castor asked very seriously, looking Coonie straight in the eye. 'I want to see it. I want to see it all.'

[Lotvie]

Coonie could feel emotion rolling off Castor in thick waves. "Hahah, well no, today's the first time I've been here. I think I'll make a point of coming here more regularly though. One has to appreciate what one has while they still do..."
It seemed he wasn't talking about the view anymore, but she didn't know what he meant. Rather than interrupt, Coonie let him finish for once.
"You know I've seen a view like this before; in Syliras, when I was about 13 or 14, my father took me with him on a business trip. And as we rode away, I looked back and I could see the city framed against the backdrop of the Suvan Sea. Everything glinted like today. I think that the feeling I got when I saw that scene was what gave me the final push to leave the city; the realization of the beauty that lay in the world. But you've travelled. You've seen much more of the world and from a different perspective than I. What is out there to see? 'I want to see it. I want to see it all."
The way he spoke made her feel as though she had just been let in on a huge secret. Pride swelled inside her, pride for this strong man. In the face of loss and pain, he continued to be curious. He wanted to see more, even when everything he'd seen so far was negative.

Carefully, she planned out her answer before speaking, "Yes, I've been far. Lia even farther than me, but is that really what you want? I mean, of course, there is beauty out there, greater even than the foothills. Some harder to find than others, but every single place you visit has one- even here. Can't you stay and appreciate the beauty? Don't you love this...home?" The word felt foreign on her lips. She stopped for a moment to gather her thoughts before briefly adding, "The world isn't all flowers and rainbows, as I'm sure you already know. Travelling isn't worth it." She aimed a sharp blue stare at him, trying desperately to convey her message.
"If one thing I say sinks in, let it be this, whatever you value, whatever you want to keep, keep it close. Once you leave, it's gone for good."

[Castor Riley]

'Yes, I've been far. Lia even farther than me, but is that really what you want? I mean, of course, there is beauty out there, greater even than the foothills. Some harder to find than others, but every single place you visit has one- even here. Can't you stay and appreciate the beauty? Don't you love this...home? The world isn't all flowers and rainbows, as I'm sure you already know. Travelling isn't worth it.' Coonie's reply wasn't what he wanted to hear. But then he figured people always wanted what they didn't have. He had spent his childhood cooped up in the claustrophobic appartment in Stormhold Castle and wanted to travel more than anything; Coonie was spending hers constantly doing just that. Perhaps she had begun to desire some stabillity? He saw that she wasn't done talking, so he waited patiently for her to finish. 'If one thing I say sinks in, let it be this, whatever you value, whatever you want to keep, keep it close. Once you leave, it's gone for good.' Her warning was a prudent one, he could see that. In this world, he knew, better than some, but less than most, that you could lose the things important to you from one second to the next. 'You're right. In the world we live in any parting is potentially a permanent one. However, just because you don't leave them, doesn't mean you won't lose them. No one can guarantee that you'll be able to hold on to the things that are important to you, just because you're with them. In fact, in my experience, holding on just means you'll feel it as they slip away. I'm not saying you should abandon the things you love, lest they cause you heartbreak; I'm saying that you should follow your own desires and do what you want to do, before you are no longer able to. If I had never left Syliras, I wouldn't have seen this view. I wouldn't have met you, either. Maybe for some, travelling isn't worth it, as you say. But for me, I can't stay still. I need to know, to see, to experience. And one day, when I'm full of all these sights, these people, these homes, perhaps I'll recognize where I belong.'

[Lotvie]

"You're right. In the world we live in any parting is potentially a permanent one. However, just because you don't leave them, doesn't mean you won't lose them. No one can guarantee that you'll be able to hold on to the things that are important to you, just because you're with them. In fact, in my experience, holding on just means you'll feel it as they slip away. I'm not saying you should abandon the things you love, lest they cause you heartbreak; I'm saying that you should follow your own desires and do what you want to do, before you are no longer able to. If I had never left Syliras, I wouldn't have seen this view. I wouldn't have met you, either. Maybe for some, travelling isn't worth it, as you say. But for me, I can't stay still. I need to know, to see, to experience. And one day, when I'm full of all these sights, these people, these homes, perhaps I'll recognize where I belong."
Castor's words hit Coonie hard. It was clear he believed them and wasn't going to settle for any less. Rather than argue, Coonie nodded mutely.
A new thought struck Coonie like a brick upside the head.
"Hey, I had never been here before. You said you've never been on a ship?" She asked, changing topics out of the blue. Typical for Coonie, she raced on without waiting for an answer.
"You should come by our ship sometime and look around. Just for fun, you know." Coonie watched the sun, quickly calculating. "Probably not today though. We have a solid trip back to the beach and then a ways to swim."

"Speaking of a long ways to go, I really ought to head back to the Grotto. I haven't seen Lia all day." Coonie sighed. She stood and stretched, trying to stall for as long as possible. She deliberately took her time, pulling individual pieces of grass from her shirt and pants, slowly picking up her bag, and shuffling with the tiniest of steps. "I guess I'll see you again sometime?" She offered hopefully.
She would have to go back to sea eventually, no matter what. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving, but better to do it sooner rather than later right?

[Castor Riley]

Coonie nodded after he'd finished his little impromptu speech, however he could see in her eyes that she had not changed her own mind. He accepted that though; everyone had their own path to happiness. Hers seemed to be a search for a place to call home. Castor's was just the search. Then Coonie broke the silence: 'Hey, I had never been here before. You said you've never been on a ship? You should come by our ship sometime and look around. Just for fun, you know. Probably not today though. We have a solid trip back to the beach and then a ways to swim. Speaking of a long ways to go, I really ought to head back to the Grotto. I haven't seen Lia all day.' she paused, gathering her stuff to leave. Castor felt it was too soon, but understood he'd already taken up so much of her time, and she was probably exhausted to boot, considering how he'd found her. 'I guess I'll see you again sometime?' 'Well, if it's not too much trouble and your mother wouldn't mind, I'd be honored if you'd show me your ship. So I think it's a safe bet we'll meet again.' replied Castor, smiling. 'How long are you staying in Zeltiva and where would I find you?' he asked in turn.