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That's right. ....And there is one that is a whale, with the Urayans living within her. [ He may hear her sigh, as if steadying herself. ] I don't think anyone has been foolish enough to try to fish her for sport.

[ Amazing. She's actually talking about her world. It hurts-- ] Within her are these great, freshwater springs, and nearly all plantlife there is luminescent.

[ --But she's gotten better at it, and it helps at the same time. She knows it helps him, too, to keep the focus off of him. So, she continues talking. ] Uraya has one of the most unique biomes of all the great continents, constantly bathed in a twilight painted by her flora.

[ It helps that Uraya still lives. ]

[His head tilts as she speaks, brushing up against her hair from behind, quietly curious. He's listening to her tone, trying to gauge how safe this is on her end as much as his.]

Twilight... by flora.

[Bioluminescence... he's seen it, a few times; Galdin Quay had several fish that lit up with a blue glow when he fished at night. It was always comforting, a reminder of his magic or the warm, safe runes of a haven. This continent of hers sounds much prettier than the darkness he's used to.]

It sounds amazing. Have you been there?

Mmhm.

[ A quiet affirmation, a pause, and she continues as if she's testing something, like the handle of a door, creaking it open for the first time in so long.

Rivers, he had asked about rivers. This reminds her-- ] ...There are rivers too. They cut through valleys inside. The storms within her would blow blossoms throughout all of her thorax, and the lighted petals would stream downhill.

[ If she closes her eyes, she can imagine it.

If she closes her eyes, she can stop her vision from blurring. ]

As they flow through her rivers, it looks as if... Noct, the water looks as if it's on fire. Or-- like it's caught the sunset without a sun present.

[ It's magical. ]

[....

He tilts his head back so that it bumps lightly against hers, rather than simply brushing. He can hear it. It's subtle, but he can hear it.]

Sounds like... the kind of place you have to see to believe. You must've looked right at home there.

[A pause, and his voice lowers, soft and laced with concern.]

You don't have to say more if it hurts.

[The last thing he wants is for her to cause herself pain just so he can avoid his own.]

No, it's.. fine. [ She insists this gently, with a shake of her head. She is smiling. It's bittersweet, and it's actually not as hard as she expected. Months ago, she'd have never managed to tell this much without side-stepping the entire topic. Tears can be shed in private, but perhaps they won't be as much, this time. Her homeworld isn't the topic in particular that crushes her these days, anyway.

That, and it's a process. Moving forward is a process, and speaking of Uraya reminds her more of what she wishes to preserve in her homeworld. Juniberries, sylleblossoms, irises, and gladioluses. She wonders if and when Urayan cherry blossoms will find their way to this world, or if they would even survive in this alien environment. ]

It's... strange, but it's nice, telling someone about her.

[ "Right at home." She guesses what he alludes to, what with glowing herself, but Uraya had never been a home. She can't even think of the continents as her children. They are their own beings. She just doesn't want to see them die.

Saying that it's fine might not be able to convince him that it is, so she offers proof that this doesn't effect her as much as he might think. Drawing a breath, she says carefully: ] Perhaps one day I could show you, too.

[Strange, but nice... sounds familiar, and that familiarity is what relaxes him somewhat. More than a few times when talking about his home or his past, he's felt the same way. If she can admit to having any trouble at all, even if she still shares it- that's progress, isn't it? She's not simply changing the subject or throwing the question back at him. That means a lot.]

Show me? Like that time we shared memories?

[He very carefully does not mention which memory; he knows she'll know, and those topics are not safe for either of them right now. It does remind him about Ophion in King's Knight- they have yet to face it there, and he hasn't figured out where the item was buried... now that he's back, he should start searching for it again. He has the time for it, and the surprise might be nice for both of them.]

[ It's almost as if they're going through the same thing.

When he mentions memories, she of course thinks back to the time they had shared their own together. His memory had been something sweet, again to do with fishing. His Shield had been there. Her own had been about saying goodbye. This makes her think of a goodbye never given, a time she had walked up that same path with...

No one said it would be easy to maintain feelings one ought not have in the first place, but she cherishes them all the same, just as she loves those here. His love had helped him push forward. So, too, does Pyra's. Both ultimately head towards peace for their world... and themselves, for a future that both would protect but neither would see for themselves.

That, and memories, are far more difficult to think about than speaking of her world bittersweetly. ]

Mm... something like--

[ Oh. A hit. A big one.

Pyra stops herself just at the edge of the boat, struggling against the force that threatens to pull her in ] Er--

[ Fighting to stand upright, she heaves and manages only to pull back by an inch or two, gasping out. Surprisingly, the fishing rod bends but doesn't break. ] What...?!

[ A fish breaks out of the water in a dramatic splash, stopping in a mid-air glitch before it crashes back into the water. The impact sends a small tidal wave their way, violently rocking the boat, which at this point has her crashing back into him. ]

Whoa!

[He'd turned at the noise, so when she falls back against him he catches her at the shoulders, holding her on her feet. The glitch is a pretty clear sign of that happening again, so with an exasperated sigh he reaches down to grab his rod and yank the line in, holding it up like some sort of defensive measure.]

Uh, brace yourself for a fight. They still haven't fixed this part yet, seriously...

[That's all the warning he has time to offer before the fish launches up out of the water and lands on the other end of the boat, "standing" on its back fin, slapping the rest defiantly at them. Pyra's hook is even still stuck in its mouth.]

[ After she's steadied and finds her balance, she takes a few tentative steps upon the still-rocking boat to the side, allowing Noctis to take the lead.

As for the fish, it's... standing on its fin. How is it doing-- ]

They want us to fight this thing... with fishing rods?

[ That can't be right-- she tumbles back after being slapped by a fin, which knocks the fishing rod right Ouch. ]

It's not as bad as it looks. ...But yeah.

[He reaches out to help her again, swinging his rod around and smacking the end against the fish's tender underbelly with his free hand. It bubbles aggressively in response, waddling closer to get back in range with them.]

You've still got 'im hooked, we can use that to keep him off balance!

[ Helped up by his hand, she releases it when he goes to strike at the giant fish. Pyra carefully reaches for the fishing rod again, and after she takes it into her hands and stands, giving it one testing tug... And this is when she gets an idea. ]

Noct-- the bucket! [ Maybe they can just plop the bucket right onto its head and capture it that way. Easy! ] Could we use that?

[ In either case, she's prepared to hold her own against the fish, using her weight to pull upon the line, keeping it in place. It staggers forward as a result, causing the boat to rock again. This thing is going to flip if they don't put an end to it soon! ]

Uhh...

[His gaze darts to the bucket, hesitating a moment - their fish, though! their great catches! what if they fall out? - but the fish flops onto its belly at the bottom of the boat, rocking it wildly once more, so he shrugs and lunges forward, using the fish's back to flip over it and reach the bucket on the other side. It's already struggling to its feet once more by the time he gets there, so when he turns back, bucket held aloft... ah.

It's too tall.

He holds the bucket over his head, peering around the fish's big, wriggling body to glance insistently at Pyra.]

Can you get it down again?

I'm-- [ From the opposite end of the boat, it sounds like she's struggling. ] trying.....!

[ This is hard.

But she's got this. He's taught her. She can... do this!

Taking in his advice and turning the reel and the fishing rod to the side, she gives one last heave. The biggest bass in the entire video game world falls upon the boat again, leveling out its height. She can't hold this tug for long as it continuously flaps its fins at them. ] Now!

[Noctis isn't just standing idle on the other side; as she struggles to pull the fish forward, he lifts his foot and gives it a solid kick from behind, and between the two of them it can't hold its balance, tumbling over at last. From there it's a simple step to stomp over its wriggling body, wobbling his way towards the opposite end - it's slippery! - and finally smacking the bucket over its head.

For a long moment, everything goes still. The game world around them fizzles, as if experiencing another glitch, and then the fish evaporates under Noct, dropping him to the bottom of the boat with an inelegant thunk. Above them, a giant, lit-up WINNER sign is flashing, and Noctis picks up the bucket to turn it around and check...

...and then turn it towards her.]

You'd think they would at least count that one as a shared catch!

[But nope, the big beast was on her line. That's Pyra's victory.]

[ The force of the line suddenly releasing has her literally reeling backwards. She catches the tail end of what he says, she sees the flashing sign of “winner” above as she tumbles to the side. She lets go of the fishing rod in favor of grabbing the nearest thing for support— his arm— knocking into him... and over the boat.

For someone who had been entombed and sunken below the sea within a battleship for five hundred years, she definitely doesn’t have her sea legs about her. ]

Wh- oh, shit-

[As she falls, he lunges forward to try and catch her, but between her reaching for him, the proceeding stumble, and the still-rocking boat, he can't hold his balance and goes tumbling into the water right behind her. So elegant, so victorious.

He surfaces with a splutter a moment later, bangs sticking to his face, eyes wide as he looks around for her to make sure she made it up as well.]

Hey!

[ Pyra resurfaces with a splash, wiping at her hair across her eyes. Karma does not exist in her world— she would know— but the principle is entertaining enough that this must be some delayed form of it for pushing him in a month ago during King’s Knight.

She grins through the water that drips over her face. Yes, yes she’s fine. ]

You didn’t drop the bucket in the lake, did you? Do I still win? [ Because that’s the most important thing. ]

I... think I dropped it when I fell? Either way-

[He points a finger skyward, where the "end game" status is still displayed.]

Pretty sure the game's gonna count it. [A beat, and then-] You realize now that I'm gonna want a rematch.

[ Her treading water isn’t going to stop her from leaning in, answering his challenge with a coy smile. ]

Oh, anytime.

[ She’s going to defend her crown! —Which she won’t use such wording even to joke about. Because glass. Besides, she’s certain he has the overall high score in this game anyway on his own. ] You made the mistake of teaching me your tricks. There’s no turning back now.

Yeah, well, that just means I don't have to hold back anymore.

[She gets a returning smirk. She's challenging the fishing king, now.]

And don't think I taught you all the tricks. Some things you'll have to learn by experience.

...You were holding back?

[ Whaaaaaaa--- okay, no, she guessed as much that he would, what with also giving her the handicap of allowing her to fish in a more RNG-friendly location. Otherwise it wouldn't make the little competition as fun.

Rather than be offended, though, she seems to view it as an opportunity. She'd like to see how he is when he puts all his skills into fishing.

..She'd like that a lot, she realizes, because he could let himself enjoy a hobby without any restraints of simultaneously teaching a novice fisher. She only has to get to that point to keep up with him. ] You’re leagues ahead of me.... I’ve got some catching up to do.

Was that a double pun?

[He scoffs faintly, taking it as such whether she meant it or not, and kicks over to the boat to heft himself back in. Once he's balanced and the boat seems stable enough, he reaches over to offer one hand to her if she needs an assist, the other braced on the seat to keep steady.]

Maaaybe. [ She giggles as she swims after him, taking the hand to help her onto the boat, giving him thanks for the assistance.

Stretching her arm as she parts from him, she glances over, and-- ]

N-...Noct. [ A laugh staggers out. ] —Your hair!

[ It's so flat. (Hers, too, because it’s usually so... fluffy. Now the length stretches to her shoulders.) ]

What?

[Noctis reaches a hand up to pat at it, searching for whatever must be in it now to get her laughing. Seaweed? A stray fishing lure? Where is it...!]

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