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[ 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...!]

[ She steps over one of the fishing rods, hands linked being her back. ]

It’s flat! [ Flighty laugher punctuates her words. ] Like a mop!

[ ....Huh. His hair is longer than she thought it’d be, completely down, framing his face like that. ]

Wh- it is not, come on.

[Vainly he starts trying to wring the water out, as if that'll help. VR doesn't have his fancy water-resistant hair gel, unfortunately.]

Anyway, speak for yourself! You lost all your curlies.

[ She lifts a hand to her own head, brushing back more of her wet, matted hair as it drip upon her shoulders. She lifts one strand, then lets it go, allowing it to flop back onto her cheek like another leaf of seaweed. No natural floof here. ]

H-Honestly, [ She laughs through her nose, brushing away the seaweed again. ] your hair doesn't look bad. [ The "mop" bit had been at tease, but she doesn't know exactly how to describe it. It's shiner, sure, and maybe if he combed it a little it would almost like he's getting ready for some stately event. ] You could pull it off!

[ A pause. ]

Better than having a boot atop your head.

Hah. I'll leave that particular fashion to you, if you don't mind.

[He still fusses with his hair, though, trying to fix it as best as he can despite the style too hopelessly damp to stay in place. He hasn't left his hair down for a long time, actually... hard to imagine going back. He could just log out of the game and fix it, but it's the principle of the matter...!]

[ Her lips part with a silent breath as she watching him to continue to fuss with his hair.

She's noticed. Ignis, Prompto, Gladio, him... they all style their hair, perhaps even using the same products. She muses about just which of them he had learned how to do his, or if it was something they all did being part of the same culture. Obviously it's his preference to have it styled, but she can't help but wonder if he is slightly self-conscious having it down.

In reality, he still has his hair styled. In this VR, perhaps...

She steps up to him. ]

...May I?

[He blinks over at her, slowly lowering a hand.]

Huh?

[She wants to... style his hair? O...kay. That's new, but he doesn't stop her.

Oh, wait. It isn't that new after all- she'd done his hair the month (months, months) before, with the flowers. No wonder she's commenting about the length, as he'd cut the excess as soon as it stopped stubbornly growing.]

Sure, I guess.

[ She lifts her hand, movement quiet and expression thoughtful as she begins by brushing back a few locks of his bangs to the side. She can't accomplish much here, not without a comb or proper products, but she can at least make his hair a little more presentable. With a few more gentle, light strokes, her fingers begin to sculpt the way the dark strands frame his cheekbones and the back end of his jaw...

His hair is softer in reality, she recalls, even with all of that gel in it. But this-- this is fine, too.

With one final comb through his hair, causing a wave to it, she backs away as soon as she's done. ] ...There.

[ He really does wear this style well, too. She smiles. ]

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