2021-05-18 - A Challenge, A Proposal, and a Shark

The day has dawned a bit misty, but otherwise promising sun later on in the day. But now? It was sunrise and the sky was slowly gaining in brightness as Kailey showed up at the docks with not one, but two ice chests. Dressed in layers for the day she also has a bag draped over one shoulder. One of the coolers has cup holders and it is in this that two coffee cups sit. Though there is a bit of coffee splash from navigating down and across wooden docks. As she gets to the boat she thinks is the right one she knocks on the hull, "Yo. Ravn! I gotta go back to the van for my pole and tackle box," She calls out, settling the gear near the boarding area of the Kings Cruiser. Then she begins to trot back down towards the parking lot. To return with two poles and a decent sized purple tacklebox. It is complete with all kinds of stickers from US pop-culture all over it. Across the top is a bumper sticker that reads: God Masturbates. Yeah, that's Kailey and her stuff for you. Next to it is a chibi Sailor Moon winking and holding up two fingers. It is also shiny.

That particular sticker does get a glance as Ravn waves Kailey aboard the Vagabond -- an old but well cared for little sail boat; not quite large enough to be a proper yacht or houseboat, but definitely large enough that one man and his cat can live on it quite comfortably (the cat, in particular, is not sorry about the absence of a shower). God's personal habits is not something the Dane devotes a lot of time to considering but he can certainly picture the look on his mother's face if she'd seen that, and that at least he finds amusing.

The boat's true owner, the queen of the aquatic kingdom, Her Felinity, Kitty Pryde, Second of Her Name, sits in the prow. The small black cat -- eerily reminiscent of another black cat, if a fair bit smaller -- eyes up the new arrival and the things that are brought on board. Soon reaching the conclusion that the purple haired lady is not a tuna, and her box is not full of tuna either, Kailey is dismissed as irrelevant.

"Don't mind my cat," Ravn murmurs to Kailey almost by means of a greeting. "She's a bossy little thing but unlike your Uncat, she is just a cat. Let's not go into the metaphysics of how you can befriend the ghost of my cat while my cat is still alive, we'll just get a communal headache."

Kailey gives Ravn a big grin as she bundles her things aboard. And though the box may smell vaguely of fish, the rest of her things don't. Both coolers apparently have ice in them. But she dissuades him from peeking into the one with the red top. "That's a surprise for later," She informs him as she turns her attention on Kitty Pryde. Her smile is warm for the feline as she crouches down and holds out a hand to be sniffed.

"Hello lil' queen. Sorry you had it so rough before. Would you like a sardine?" And she turns to the big bag she carried. Opening it up reveals several bait options she picked up. Canned sardines, herring, squid, and salmon eggs are all in evidence. "Well...I don't know if she is a ghost, or more a part of her spirit, if we want to talk semantics?" The purple-haired woman giggles as she goes about opening a can of sardines. "Do you have a little kitchen and stuff down there?" She asks as she ducks her head to try and peer into the dark interior. "I can cut these up for bait while you take us out, if you want?"

"Sure, go ahead," Ravn replies, watching as his cat upgrades Kailey from 'irrelevant person' to 'provider of fish'. This is a clear upgrade as far as Kitty Pryde goes -- and she is not exactly easy going when it comes to people managing to meet her approval (it's been six months or more and Ravn occasionally gets to pet her).

The interior of The Vagabond is by no means spacious but it is functional; a kitchenette occupies a small seating area which doubles as the sleeping area, depending on whether the bunks are made or not. It's definitely the kind of boat that requires anyone living on it to be good and close friends because the only option for privacy is disembarking. You can cross the Atlantic on a boat like this (and given that it's of Finnish make, somebody clearly did) but you'd better be prepared for getting really well acquainted with your companions.

Up on deck, on the other hand, the air is fresh and the sun shines. Ravn is wearing a knitted sweater (black, surprisingly) because the air still has bite at sea, and he whistles as he loosens the mooring ropes and feels the Vagabond take drift. Using his hands on the neighbouring boat's moorings to guide gently her backwards he waits for the current to take her far enough back for him to settle at the aft and start up the small engine; she's a sailboat, but navigating out of the marina and the many boats moored at buoys is easier done by power than by sail.

Kailey slips down the stairs and finds herself chuckling. "Don't think Everett would ever go for buying a boat, unless it was a yacht. He'd always be hunching," Kailey calls up from the kitchenette in which she gets to work. The bag is taken down along with something slipped from the 'special' cooler. Whatever it was Kailey takes care of it quickly before tucking it into the tiny fridge so it is out of the way.

"Fishy fishy," Kailey calls as she pulls a nice chunky sardine from the organic, all natural, yada yada sardines she brought. Holding it out to Kitty Pryde till the felines takes it off to wherever she may wish to eat it. "So I checked some of the local websites today," She yells up as she begins chopping herrings and sardines and such up. It begins to smell very strongly of fish. "We'll want to head towards the west head of Grays Harbor. That is where there was a strong run of coho yesterday."

"Yeah? Well, who am I to argue with someone who's done their homework?" Ravn grins back at Kailey as she emerges from below and proceeds to charm her way into Kitty Pryde's good standing; by now he's quite well aware that his cat a) doesn't like people and b) likes male people even less, and when push comes to shove, he's just grateful she tolerates him. Sort of. Grudgingly.

Fish are to be eaten in the prow. This boat has a small, hairy figurehead.

As the Vagabond swings around to face the sea and begins to weave in and out between the larger yachts at buoy Ravn has to agree though. "Everett would probably be miserable on a ship like this. I'm six foot three, and I certainly can't stand up straight under deck -- apparently no one in the 1970s was over six feet tall, ever. You get used to it to some extent but he's a lot taller yet than me. Imagine that he has to be picky about cars, too?"

Kailey chuckles and finishes cutting up fish. Dumping them into tupperware. Giving her hands a quick wash to erase the smell of fish from them for now. There will be plenty of time for that later. Coming up she says, "Yeah. Though he rides a motorcycle often as he can. That's probably why." The bait is tucked into the cooler with ice. That one probably intended for whatever catches they might make.

"Yeah. It's weird how society shapes the world. No one is ever fat. Nor tall. My van isn't very kind of Everett either. Though if the top is up her can stand up. The cookstove is still built for someone my height, do it comes up to, like, his knees," She says with a giggle. Maybe not really his knees, but certainly not his waist. "So what kind of fishing do you prefer? OH! One sec..." And she ducks back down to that fridge.

Pulling from it the two tupperware containers she had prepared first. Dark rye bagels with cream cheese and capers on the side, a bunch of grapes, neatly sliced up strawberries, and sharp cheese and sliced cold cuts. The top has a rose in an yellow shade with the tips fading to red. This is presented to Ravn with a smile that she is trying to hide any smugness from. "Now you can say you've been on a date recently," She tells him with a mischievous wink.

There's a whole process going on there in very short time. Ravn's face, usually quite composed -- to the point, even, where it's not out of place to get British and mention stiff upper lips -- plays through several things at high speed. First, surprise. Then, mild panic. Then, more surprise. Then, relief. And finally, laughter.

He lights up in a laugh and accepts the bagel, rose and all. "Do I even want to ask what prompted that? That's one hell of a sandwich though -- I need to associate with you and Vyv more, at this rate I'm going to end up losing my eating disorder." Beat. "I think I will keep this in a glass of water rather than eat it, though." The rose, obviously -- not the bagel.

The small engine makes a rhytmic duk-duk-duk noise that is not overwhelming and yet the Vagabond moves at a decent speed as it makes its way out to open water. Ravn refocuses a moment and glances in the direction of Grays Harbor and the point beyond where the land almost cuts the bay off from the sea to form an inland lake -- but only almost. "If we're headed out there, we should probably do so by engine -- and then cut to sails once we're where we want to be. That way, we can sort of glide all the way back at a leisurely speed, and maybe find some of those salmon as we go." He chuckles. "Not going to lie, I'm the lazy kind of fisherman who tells the worm to not wriggle too much lest it attracts something that might disturb my nap. I wouldn't mind catching a couple of good fish for a nice dinner, but I don't want to come home with a truckload, you know?"

Kailey watches Ravn's face go through all those phases with amusement as she pops open her own to pull out a strawberry. "I am a simpleton compared to Vyv, and the bagels came from his place," She admits with a chuckles. Swallowing the strawberry almost in one bite she ignores the mention of the eating disorder. Just smiling and then saying, "It is not edible, no. As to why, well...it was that look on your face the other day when someone thought you were dating the DA. She's nice and all, but I can read panic like that a block away," Her voice is kind though.

She sits on the deck with her breakfast and spreads the cream cheese on her bagel. "This gives you an excuse-shield, yeah?" She asks with a vague waving around at it all. "I mean, if you wanted to woo me this is the way to go, and certainly others. It's a friend date, yeah?" She admits with a laugh. The rose was yellow and not red. If one follows flower language at all. Sure it had red tips, but that was probably just good old flower flirting? Or something.

As he suggests their plan of sail she nods around a mouthful of bagel. A bit of cream cheese getting knuckled into her mouth after a moment. Then she makes something of a face. "Mmmph...sardine and bagel isn't my favorite. Thought I washed my hands enough, ah well," She says, shaking her head at herself. "I'm happy with catching a couple fish too. I did promise Grant I'd let him have a couple fillets. And I owe Aidan a fish for all the help and healing he's offered me. But we're trying to see who can catch the biggest, not the most yeah?"

Ravn looks positively sheepish as he locks the steering pin and picks up the bagel properly; the Vagabond bobs as her prow cuts through the waves at a steady pace, heading west -- little black cat sitting in the prow with the wind and the salt in her feline face like she's the queen of this world. It's entirely no one has informed her that the blue thing down there is water, and that if she falls overboard she's going to have to swim home.

Then again, it's Kitty Pryde. Maybe the ocean will part for her so she can walk on its floor.

"I have no idea why she wanted that picture," the Dane says with a small laugh, thinking back to the moment on the casino stairs where he for once in his life failed to dodge a camera. "If anything, maybe to see if riling me up would make me slip whether I work for Felix Monaghan or not -- but seeing as that I don't, you know?" He shrugs lightly. "Didn't expect half the town to pick up on it, not going to lie -- but I don't think anyone seriously believes I'm seeing Bennett. She's not exactly the trailer park guy kind of woman in the first place, and I'd rather hang myself in a tie than wear one."

Ravn glances ahead and then adds, bagel in one hand, "Let's be optimists and start out with bemoaning that we don't have the bill hooks for getting a sturgeon on board, shall we?"

"I don't know the woman. But given her personality, it may be her way of testing the waters. She seems a shark, so beware," Kailey growls and chomps at the Dane before giggling into her breakfast. "Oh! The coffee," And she is hopping up to go fetch the cups from the cooler's top. The tall dark with a shot of espresso is handed off to Ravn with a little bow.

The wind pulls at her pigtail braids and she sets her own coffee down to reach back and simply tie them together in a knot. Less face-whacking that way as the wind from the open ocean begins to get frisky. "Either way my best guess is she has the hots for you," And then she sips her coffee, with it's splash of chocolate and hazlenut, three sugars and cream. Sitting back down with her breakfast she smiles sweetly up at him. "So the question becomes...do you want my help fending off the shark?" She takes a savage bite of her bagel, before giggling at herself while chewing.

"Mmmm, I do have size 5/0 and 8/0 hooks in my kit and the twine for sturgeon...though haven't used the bill hook method before," Kailey says with a chuckle. "Or is that what you call the big fishing hooks?" She reaches over to pull open her box and extends the accordion innards. It is clear Kailey has fished enough to have a wide variety of lures, weights, twine, and hooks in her box. And all the tools for taking care of her pole. "I haven't gotten to fish much last two years," Which isn't surprising given baby. "Though...I think we can only catch white sturgeon. And then it's limited to one per person. Two a year is the max."

"Nah, the bill hook is the large hook on a pole you use to get something big on board with," Ravn says with a smile. "I don't have one -- not a proper one. I do have a small hook on a telescopic shaft in case I need to fish something out of the water, but it wouldn't support the weight of a real sturgeon -- those things are what, two, three hundred kilos each?"

He watches with mild fascination as Kailey starts to unpack her gear. "Funny thing -- back home, very few women care much for fishing. They'll go for the sailing trip and the sunshine and the beer, but it's rare to meet a girl who actually has her own tack box. That's different over here, I've noticed."

The Dane pauses a moment and then shakes his head, finally circling back to where Kailey started; one could get the impression that he needed to think on it first. "I doubt it. I mean -- we've talked, what, three times? If she even knows my last name I'll be surprised. But yes -- she does seem to be the kind of woman who goes and gets what she wants, doesn't she? I'd hate to meet her in a professional context." He looks at his half-eaten and much appreciated bagel and then back at Kailey. "It's honestly not something I give a lot of consideration to. I've never really been much of a player on the dating scene, and Gray Harbor does tend to keep a man busy with all sorts of other things."

"Oh yeah. That. Okay," Kailey says when Ravn clarifies what he is referring too. "Yeah...we probably could wrestle one onto the boat, but we're here for Coho!" She says cheerfully. While she eats she goes about preparing her hook for the day.

Kailey looks up from her fine finger work with surprise. "Really? Mmm...my mom and I camped a lot. We had an RV though so...sort of camping. Anyway, when I went into foster care the agency always seemed to focus on how I LOVED the outdoors. Turned out I did, but at the time I was just a really messed up and grumpy teenager who took silent delight in being good at it," She says as she checks her length for the bobber. "I think my fishing club only had, like, three boys on it in high school. So always seemed like something everyone equally took part in."

Popping a strawberry into her mouth she smiles around her mouthful. "Hmmmm. Yeah I gathered. That's why I wanted to give you an excuse so you can dodge the scene if ya like. You can even hug me in public!" She looks up at him and makes an exaggerated expression, putting fingertips over her lips. Giving him a mischievously scandalized look before the giggles erupt.

"Oh! I wanted to test something. Say something simple to me in Danish?" Kailey is ever leaping around a conversation. Animated and happy is she. As the sun rises it glints off what looks like purple twinsel weaved into her braids so they sparkle.

"I don't think I've hugged more than maybe five or six people in my life," Ravn says, with a hint of amusement. "I have this touch condition? If someone squirms and jabs me by accident it might really hurt -- so I guess for me, it's pretty instinctive to keep people at a distance. I think Bennett found out when she grabbed my hand. My fingers locked up and I bloody well nearly broke hers. I don't wear these gloves because I think they're sexy, you know?"

He smiles at Kailey. "It's not that I don't appreciate it. I'm just not really -- used to thinking in these terms at all. I don't really date. I haven't since... 2013? '14? Not sure, does it count when you're engaged to somebody? My fiancee died in '15 -- and again in January this year. I haven't gotten around to even considering whether I want to get back on the dating scene in the first place. I've been single most of my life. Got a lot of baggage, more than I figure most people want to deal with for a summer fling."

Kailey listens as she methodically chews through her meal. She looks a little sad about the hugs, but understanding dawns when he explains the touch thing. "Well, it doesn't hurt that they're sexy, right?" She offers up with a smile and soft laugh. "But I can see how touch would be rough. I didn't know, I'll avoid hug-pouncing you from now on. It's a bad habit I've been told lately." She looks vaguely embarrassed, covering it with a sip of her coffee.

"That is fair. Totally fair. I didn't think you were the dating type. And sorry about your fiance. Losing anyone close to you is hard. When they are one of the few you let get real close," Kailey sucks breath through her teeth as she shakes her head. "Only YOU can decide when you are ready. But people in the states have a tendency to badger like they know better. I always had a 'boyfriend' travelling as a single woman a few years ago. It's just...safe yeah? Less needed for you except in fending off the occasional aggressive shark. It's so weird how a life changes when they come to this place, isn't it?"

She turns to look towards where the ship is heading before pulling out her phone. Using the fancy thing to check their GPS against her earlier researched area. "Got another mile. There'll be a rocky outlet and around that is a small river entrance. They were running it yesterday according to this," Kailey says as she holds it up for him to gander.

"If you ever just need someone to blather at, I'm a good listener. I'm glad you sailed into town and I got a new friend," And there may only be a slight emphasis put on that last word as Kailey smiles at him. "So...what's your tacklebox look like? You've seen mine, now show me yours."

"I keep hearing that from people -- particularly from those who think I wear them for some BDSM related reason. I wear them to prevent myself from getting shocks when I touch things." Ravn looks at his gloves and then laughs softly before shaking his head. "Hugging is not a bad habit. I think most people greatly appreciate being shown affection. I have a disability that makes physical things a little complicated, but that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the sentiment."

He falls silent a moment in that fashion of people who are looking back down Memory Lane a moment. Then he shakes his head. "It wasn't a healthy relationship. We were never really close, and it didn't end well. Might make you laugh, though -- I've done the same thing with the fake boyfriend while I lived on the street. Some guys don't take no for an answer unless they fear having to fight a bigger guy."

Then Ravn looks back at Kailey and adds, "I'm not -- fundamentally opposed to the idea of getting involved again, but my list of terms and conditions would frighten off most people. I love having friends. I love how Gray Harbor's little community has welcomed me and made me one of its own. I feel like I belong here. No one cares who I used to be or where I came from, or why I ended up coming here in the first place. All that matters here is what I do, who I am now. Believe me, if Bennett had any idea what kind of hornet's nest she was sticking her hand into, she'd have shanghaied some other bloke for that picture."

The Dane looks almost relieved when Kailey changes the subject to geography; more salt water, less mine field. He cuts the engine and gets up. "Let me get the mainsail up and we'll glide that way." First, though, Ravn fetches his tackle box and rod from below deck -- because after all, what's the rush? It's not like the Vagabond is going anywhere (or rather, it's going very, very slowly, without sail or engine). His is a nine foot Shimano Vengeance light rod for use with a float or light lure at sea -- not the most effective rig if you want to land large amount of say, tuna or marlin or other deep ocean fish, but perfect for sneaking around baiting wild trout or salmon in shallow waters. His tackle box is smaller than Kailey's -- and everything in it looks quite new." With a grin Ravn explains, "I only got this last fall when I rented the boat, I haven't actually put it much to use yet."

Kailey grins as she ties off the last know for her bobber and bait. Grabbing her pole she quickly ties things in place. When Ravn displays his goods she leans in. "Hey, you have what ya have. I was curious if you owned the boat or what. I admit there was a time I thought it would be great to buy a boat and travel the world," She says with only a hint of longing.

"But then I decided to buy my camper van and explore the stats my way. I've visited every state and their main attraction now, except for Hawaii...Hmmm...." Kailey speaks before getting a thoughtful look. She pulls out her purple glitter phone. Typing out something before stowing it away again. "We'll catch something with what we have between us. I did bring my heavy duty pole in case we saw something fancy, but...yeah," She laughs off losing her own train of thought and closes her box. "Can you show me how to do the sails? My fosters always just rented motor boats or we'd take the kayaks out."

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : We SO need to go to Hawaii when the babies are older. Think Bean would be up for it if we switch out?

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : switch out what exactly? you guys exchanging babies? i don't think lillian would mind avoiding the sun over there. should i ask?

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : Like...you and I or she and you go for a few days. Then she or I fly back and the one who stayed with the babies flies out.

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : ooh, so like someone's always at home? tell you what how about we do that for our honeymoon?

"I rented her, with a clause that I can buy her if I decide that I want to keep her. Owner was thrilled because whether I do end up buying her or not, I did end up renovating her -- which was badly overdue, I doubt she'd seen a paint job since 1985. Vydal called her the Good Ship Cannabis Discowhore which should tell you what she looked like before I gave her a make-over." Ravn pats the seat next to himself affectionately. "I ought to find something slightly larger -- just large enough that I wouldn't need to dry dock in winter and find someplace else to stay but honestly? She reminds me of home, in the good kind of way. This model is exceedingly common back home and I spent more summers that I can count on boats like her. It's a little silly, but she makes me feel I haven't cut ties entirely with who I am and where I came from."

He's happy enough to help Kailey help get the mainsail up; it's not a complicated process -- pull here, fasten those lines, watch the beam! The Vagabond shifts as the wind takes the sail and slowly, she glides towards the river mouth at a pace that leaves her passengers ample time to ready their lures, and for that matter, have another beer. Nothing rushed -- which is exactly how at least Ravn likes it. Life is hectic enough on land, the ocean is where you go to relax.

"I didn't think I'd stay here very long," Ravn admits. "That's why I rented instead of buying. Now I figure I will probably stay in Gray Harbor until some Veil creature eats me or I get lost on the other side -- but I keep thinking I should make up my mind whether I want to buy or rent a small house or apartment, or a bigger boat. Indecision and avoidance issues, I'm great with those."

Kailey is listening at Ravn tells her about the ship's past, bobbing her head and even glancing again at the ship. Her phone chimes an alert in Everett's unforgettable gravelly voice, "Sup?". Eyeballing the paint job more than likely before going back to typing something into her phone. The tip of her tongue is peaking out as she finishes her text. Then springs up to help Ravn with the mainsails. She does so with the potential for real skill and happily.

As they are getting tied off, watch out for the boom, her phone chimes with Everett's voice again. Kailey finishes the work and then is moving to sit down as she pulls out her phone and brings up the text. "Yeah, I think living on a boat could be real..." And she just stops talking and stares at her phone with wide eyes and a look akin to a trapped cat. Her hair is even frizzing up as if she had rubbed a balloon on her head. Only her pigtail braids keep it from being bad. It's almost cartoon-like.

Green eyes get real wide and she stares, mouth agape, hair literally rising up like some animate magical girl. Then she drops her phone and goes scrambling after it as the boat shifts and sends it sliding towards Kitty Pryde. "Fuck fuck fuck oh fuck," Kailey is wide-eyed and totally panicking as she tries to grab up the phone, only to drop it again. There's a soft crack that no one wants to hear and she yelps, picking up the poor phone with it's now-cracked safety screen. See kids? They do work!

"You all right there?"

It's not good news when someone with the shine looks like that. It's not good news when anyone looks at their phone like that, let's be fair -- and it doesn't get better when they proceed to drop the phone and swear a lot. It's the sort of display that says something is actually not just not good news, it's really bad news.

Kitty Pryde raises her head to look at her newly acquired cell phone -- much as if the cat is trying to decide whether the object was thrown at her deliberately, and if so, whether Kailey has really bad aim. Coming to the conclusion that no actual hostilities were intended the cat flops over again to lie on her side in the prow, letting the sun bake her belly. Cats have simple solutions to most things.

"Uhhh...yeah...just...uhhhh," Kailey swallows and begins to turn red as she holds the phone carefully. She casts the cat an apologetic wince and says, "Sorry Kitty..." Before sitting down within arms reach of her. Carefully she types out a reply with hands that are shaking. Even the deep and steadying breath in she takes is shaking.

"Just...uhh...Ev is...he said...ummm," The poor thing can't even quite put her words together right now. Though it may be because she is typing at the same time. "I mentioned Hawaii," She says in a distracted voice as she finished the text and hits send. The phone is carefully cradled in her hands and she looks up at Ravn. Blushing and looking uncomfortable she says, "He...he said we should go for our...uh...," And here is where she looks uncomfortable and shifts. "Honeymoon..."

Ravn blinks. And then laughs softly. "Isn't that good news?"

He cants his head and looks at Kailey, still smiling. "Unless I'm misunderstanding something entirely -- getting proposed to is a good thing?"

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : What???

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : EV WHAT THE WHAT?!?!"

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : We talked about that stuff...

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : [...]
yeah but i figured if i didn't lockk that shit down now then some mofo's going to come by and sweep you off your feet and then whatever slab of meat that passes for my heart will die a thousand deaths without my kiki.

Kailey looks uncomfortable and a little sad as she looks back at her phone. Then reaches out to let Kitty Pryde sniff her hand before slowly offering her a petting. "Um...well...yeah...normally. But...like..." How many ellipses can this girl fit into her talking? A lot apparently.

"I'm on government assistance. And...uh...I'd get kicked off if we got married. Which...I guess is a shitty reason. But...I dunno," Kailey shrugs a shoulder and here eyes drop back to her phone. Waiting for a reply in a nervous manner.

Ev's says, "Sup?" From her phone again and her eyes are riveted to the reply. And she is suddenly grinning though trying to fight it. "Dagnabit...then he goes and does stuff like this," And she turns the screen to Ravn so he can read it, flushing a little darker red. "Like...I wanna, but...married? Me? I never saw myself doing it...okay that's not true. I never thought about it after my mom died." And maybe that's the crux of things?

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : [...]
actually i meant lillith's and mine. should i have mentioned that?

"Well, the sentiment is real, even if finances say 'not right now', I figure." Ravn keeps smiling as if to him, that's just a technicality -- it's the idea that counts, maybe, more than the paperwork.

Then, upon that second observation, he wipes the grin off his face and nods. "You've got issues to work through? Should maybe sit down and have a good talk about those issues, with Woods. Sometimes we do things just because we're expected to do them, and that's never a good idea. I proposed to my fiancee because -- it was the expected thing. I regretted it a lot, later. Not saying you'd regret accepting this proposal because you're not me, and from what I've seen? You two are happy. But find out what you really want, and then make it happen. Paperwork's the least of it -- hell, you can 'fake marry' and still have it matter to you, even if Uncle Sam doesn't recognise it."

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : UGH! You made me drop my phone with that! I broke it. 🙁

The phone is taken back as Everett's asks what is up again. Kailey looks at the screen and then sighs and rolls her eyes. "He was messing with me," She grumbles a bit, but one side of her lips is twisted upwards in amusement. Her fingers quickly trace a reply and her head faintly shakes.

Then something Ravn says seems to sit with her and she blinks a few times. "That...that is actually not a bad idea. Because we don't need the government to exchange vows and stuff," Kailey says. The way she is looking at Ravn is like he just answered the question to Life, The Universe, And Everything. "I could kiss you! Why didn't I think of that?!" Her eyes roll and then drop back to her phone.

Now she is smirking with mischief. What is Kailey typing?

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : I accept.

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : we'll get you a new one. but lillian's asked me twice. so i asked you and yeah, we talked about it. if she and i do, though, i'd want to do something with you. i know you don't want to but that doesn't mean we can't do something like i was looking into what the gays used to do: hand-fasting. so you know that i'm still commited to you, to mew, to us. maybe not in that order. maybe not the best thing to talk about while your on a date with another man 😉 we can talk about it anytime
accept what?

Ravn laughs again; with a hint of relief, maybe, because he certainly prefers to see people laughing and being mischievous over potentially having to handle a breakdown or emotional turmoil. "For me, marriage is the expected thing. I come from a very conservative background. I was dating this girl for some months, and that was expected to lead to a proposal, and then, to marriage. No one ever questioned it, least of all me. But it's the sort of thing that makes me think about it now -- that I'm not really the marrying kind of guy. But if I was with somebody, and I wanted to create some kind of deep bond like that -- I wouldn't let the government get to call the shots. Just like I shouldn't have let my family back then, either."

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : Your proposal. I accept. 😃

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : um. can we talk about it when you get home?

Kailey glances away from her phone and looks up at the man in surprise. "Really? I guess I was never pressured because, well, I was a foster kid. I mean, my last family is pretty cool. I still send them postcards I make," She admits with a shrug of one shoulder. "I guess that kind of expectation would be so confining. It's good you've been able to get space and see that, at least?" She continues to slowly pet Kitty, not looking at her so as to draw attention to this fact. Cats appreciate attention not being drawn to them accepting affection sometimes. And Kailey does have Kitty's alter-ego on the Veil side.

The phone beeps and she looks down and giggles with obvious delight. "Got him back," She tells Ravn with a little bit of glee. Then continues to type in something. "You don't seem to me like the marrying type either. You seem like the introvert type with me. Good thing I'm enough extrovert for the whole town, so you're safe," And she flashes a grin and wink. On her phone she begins to look up what appears to be very fancy purple dresses. They might be wedding dresses. (https://gray-harbor.com/file/kailey/weddingdresssearch.png)

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : Sure. Also it's a friendate! I told you that. Also look at these dresses OMG! https://gray-harbor.com/file/kailey/weddingdresssearch.png

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : they look like dresses, i mean, pretty. i know how much you hate purple. maybe mew can throw rose petals. and sure it's a frienddate, just make sure he knows if i catch him i'm going to do bodily harm to him. like throw something at him or something. also, delete the mushy stuff, i have a rep to maintain. 💏

Ravn finishes tying his lure on to the line and leans back a little for the cast. When the silver imitation fish hits the water with a small 'plop' he relaxes and lets it drift on the current, jerking the rod (no innuendo intended, sorry) a little every so often to make it dance somewhere down there in the depths, wiggle its fake little tail to attract the attention of hunting fish.

"It's not something I ever gave a whole lot of attention to," he admits. "It's never really been a big part of my life -- and I've never really attracted a lot of attention in that way, except from various friends of my mother's wanting to introduce me to suitable daughters who honestly weren't all that keen on meeting me, either. It's funny how much background matters, isn't it? Sounds like your foster family gave you a pretty good ballast -- also when it comes to not feeling you need to live up to expectations or norms."

Kailey snorts when she reads the last bit of text from Everett. "As if!" She says to herself before typing one last message. "Well, despite that you are brilliant. I like this idea of non-government wedding shit," She says as she finishes and carefully slides the phone into the inner pocket of her leather coat. Yes, the one with burns and a repaired slash in the side.

As Ravn reminds her they are here to fish she goes to pull out the bait she prepared earlier. Selecting herring for her Kingfisher Spoon lure. Adjusting the length on her bobber after checking her attachment. Then out sails her line to land on the other side. "They were the best of them. The kind that are in it to actually help kids, instead of just make money off 'em and do the bare minimum," She says with a sigh.

"I'm so good at-" Kailey finger-wiggles at Ravn, "-things because I had to manipulate adults to get food, or clothes, or what have you. I had one home, lasted a week because my running away triggered an random inspection. They still had the padlocks on the fridge and cupboards and other things, but yeah. I can't stand cheese whiz anymore," She makes a face and wiggles her rod temptingly. Here fishy fish.

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : I <3 you. I am not deleting those! They're my bad-moment smile makers now.

(TXT to Kailey) Everett : well if you got bad moments, i'll make you smike 🍆 💦 💦 😱 💞

"I did that all the time. That's how I learned I could do things," Ravn laughs as he wanders down Memory Lane a bit. "Figured out how to open window latches or the locks on doors and cars. Ran away all the time as a kid. Stayed on the street or followed grifters and carnies around until somebody eventually called social services and I got dragged home in shame. Got involved with low level pot trade, bit of burglary, stuff like that when I got older. Dropped out of that, though, when it dawned on me that the main reason that there always seemed to be a place for me as a spotter or getaway driver was that unlike the other kids, I had parents who could afford a good lawyer."

He shakes his head and laughs as the texts keep coming. "So, did you send him packing for Nepal yet, or should we start looking for wedding presents?"

Kailey flicks her phone around with another mischievous smirk. "I dunno, I think he may be sticking around. Hehehe. But he did say now was not the time to talk about it when I was on a date with another man," And she starts giggling at the revelation before putting her phone back.

Keeping one hand on her pole she notices the slightest little tug. Her attention turns back in time to see her bobber dip with another little nibble. Something has nibbled and after it goes down a third time she gives a tug of her pole. That is when it begins to bend and she gives the fish some line after ensuring her hook is secured in whatever has bit her line. Yep, she's been fishing before.

Ravn can't help laugh at that; because yes, of course he can see how some might read the situation like that -- a woman turns up on a boat with special lunch packed with a rose, and offers to save him from the proverbial shark -- and okay, let's just say, Ravn is probably the only man on the planet who wouldn't think of something like that as at least having date potential. He's a tad... tunnel vision like that.

He watches Kailey's response to the bite -- and doesn't comment on it because yes, actually, she clearly does know what she's doing, and definitely doesn't need some guy to mansplain fishing to her. Which suits Ravn just fine because fishing is a lot more fun when you don't need to worry that the next guy or guyette over is going to accidentally launch the lure, hooks and all, into your eye next.

"That's probably another good reason to not try to use you as a shield," he notes with a hint of amusement. "Unless Woods is very open minded, it's not going to be very convincing anyhow. I do appreciate the offer, though. If I ever do get set on by some absolutely determined she-shark, I might run and hide behind both of you, or something."

"Mmmmm...well...most folks know we're in a poly relationship," Kailey says as she works on tiring out the salmon before reeling it in. Letting it have some line, the reeling it back, a little closer each time. "Mph...offers is, oh this ones fiesty," The woman grunts as she wrangles the fish on her line. "Anyway, if you want it is there...I mean, I recognize that you're asexual. But I've got an open mind."

The salmon starts to bend her pole again and she goes quiet to focus for a few minutes. The pole weaves back and forth as does the line, making ripples in the water. A way out the fish takes a leap out of the water. Yep, that's a coho! Kailey is now grinning. "Maybe Cassidy does too and you just tell her you're not interested. Everyone has a laugh and no more worried about her grabbing you for publicity shots."

"I didn't," Ravn observes and reaches for the net, ready to yoink the fish when it tires enough and lets itself be pulled within reach. "But the idea itself is not foreign -- my friend Rosencrantz is in the same kind of relationship, you know? His boyfriend also has another boyfriend. If it works for everyone involved then I'm sure as hell not going to tell anyone they're doing it wrong. All of that is -- honestly not something I ever thought about a whole lot until I came here? I'm not really sure what I am -- mostly just oblivious, I think? I'm kind of happy the way I am, on my own, without complications. Relationships complicate things. I see people who are happy in theirs and I am happy for them, but at the same time I can't quite fit myself into the equation like that, can't quite see it."

Net goes in the water; the idea is to lure the fish to swim over it so that it can just be pulled up and out. Ravn is focused on it, but also clearly distracted by Kailey's words. "I don't think I need to worry about Cassidy. Women like that want someone who can push back -- someone who keeps things exciting. Also, she's the bloody ADA -- she moves in a layer of society I'd rather break my arm a few times more than have to endure. In my book, the only time you want to wear a tie is if you're trying to hang yourself."

Kailey finds herself chucking as Ravn compares ties to a death sentence. Her head bobs as she keeps her eyes on the fish. It is making a lot fewer bolts for it and she reels it in closer. "Yeah that is true. Plus she also doesn't have a shine. So it would get really weird explaining to her why you have sword wounds or other weird stuff. We''re lucky we had the excuse of a gas explosion for the basement. I've had to come up with so many stories for my various injuries. The hospital has sadly gotten to the point where they ask if I need to speak to a domestic violence advisor. Everett doesn't help it with his demeanor when he comes to get me," Kailey snorts and rolls her eyes.

"Though he was in a surprisingly jovial mood when he visited us at the hospital," Kailey adds as she reels in a bit more. They can see the fish just under the water a few feet from the ship. "Almost...You got that net ready?" The fish gives another last ditch flailing, which takes it up and out of the water again. The reason why is the great white that -just- misses snapping the salmon into it's jaws.

"HOLY SHIT! SHIT!" Kailey screams and leaps back towards the center of the boat as the shark shows up. "FUCK ME!"

"Bloody hell!" Ravn too is taken aback. Where he's from, sharks are small, harmless things that occasionally get caught, smoked and sold under the brand of 'royal eel'. Of course he knows that there are proper sharks in the Pacific. Like, big fucking ones with teeth like on TV. He's seen them -- in the Red Sea, at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia -- but not right under his own bloody sailboat.

He stares at the water where absolutely no salmon is currently flailing, waiting to be netted. "I think -- if that counts, then you definitely got the biggest fish. And I'm pretty sure we'll need a bigger net."

Kailey is quickly reeling on her pole which has bent again, but not like a shark was on the other line. "I THINK THE FISH IS STILL ALIVE!" She is still in loud mode from the surprise of the shark. And sure enough that salmon swims rapidly in the direction it is being tugged, along the hull of the boat. It is most definitely as freak as the people on the boat. And it is still hooked.

"I got it! GET THE NET!" For a second her voice had returned to normal. The shark's fin has broken the water about ten meters out from the port side. That is when she starts reeling the salmon for all she is worth. "HE GOT THE MESSAGE TOO!" Hard to tell who got what message, but she might remember to clarify when not pumped full of adrenaline.

"I GOT THE NET!" Ravn stares blankly at the water -- and really, really, really hopes that while the salmon might jump into it, the shark will not. For some reason his mind decides that now is a great time to reminisce about photographs hanging on the wall in a small café in Malta -- of that time a local fisherman in a boat smaller than this one somehow managed to fight off and kill the largest Great White ever caught in the Mediterranean. He had to attach it to the boat with lines and then drag it to the shipyard to get it out of the water. Its jaws were hanging on that wall too, and that was one hell of a big fish.

"Watch your footing!" He keeps a close eye on Kailey's salmon. But an even closer eye on that shark fin because falling overboard right now sounds like a really bad idea, and let's face it -- the Vagabond is not a large yacht. If something that size decides to ram it, she's not going to sink -- but the impact might very well send people on board reeling off balance.

There is an odd smell of ozone in the air and Kailey's hair is doing that static thing again. She has the tip of her tongue out between her lips and a look of intense concentration. That is when the Shark suddenly finds itself flipped onto it's back. And held there long enough to induce the tonic immobility. So the nice bright white belly, what gives the shark it's name, floats against the surface.

Kailey pulls a large coho salmon from the water. "GET IT GET IT GET IT!" Kailey is excited and happy and scared and somehow she manages to portray it all in those few words. The salmon wiggles, more terrified of shark than being out of the water and thus far more floppy. "YOU GOT IT! WE GOT IT!" And once the fish is on board she sets her pole aside and pulls out her phone.

In another couple seconds her flash goes off as she takes a picture of the shark on it's belly. Invisible hands flip it back over and the shark hands there for a few seconds. Then the tail lashes, splashing water around, and then it is taking off. But they get a good close encounter with a ten foot Great White. Kailey is breathing hard and fast, keeping her phone up as the shark swims off.

"Oh shit...Dude....watch the water...there's an Orca pod about 100 feet off that way!" Kailey points sharply off to the shark's right. "And they're hungry...but sad to say all the fish has fled this area now."

"Let's swerve and give them a bit of space," Ravn says and looks the way Kailey is pointing -- where his vision reveals absolutely nothing but waves and water and blue sky, because unlike Kailey, all he's got to look with is his eyes.

He moves aft to the rudder and changes the Vagabond's course slightly -- not pulling a hard turn because that'd be pointless; if killer whales want to catch up with a small sailboat moving only by its mainsail on a not too windy day, they most surely will. But there's no reason to sail right into them -- they are beautiful creatures and they've done nothing to deserve to be keeled or otherwise disturbed.

Phone comes out, though -- because if there's one thing whales of almost any denominations are known for, it's chasing off rival sharks. Dolphins and orcas in particular, and that is a show the Dane has no intention of missing.

"Need help?" Kailey asks as Ravn goes off, keeping her eyes and phone on a section of water. Then there is a breech of one large male orca's dorsal fin. Kailey catches it before all of a sudden a shark is flung partway up and out of the water from below by another Orca about twenty feet to it's right. It is about 120 feet away from the boat and quickly falling behind them, the action.

The poor shark was still shaking off it's tonic immobility and was a sitting duck for the hungry pod. Kailey gives a little gasp as there is blood in the water as the pod takes turns biting at the now very dead shark. "I can find us another good area...just follow the coastline and I'll let you know when we get near a herd of fish?" She says as she keeps filming the orcas feasting on shark. "This is so freaking cool! Can you believe this, Ravn?"

"This is just pretty bloody amazing," Ravn agrees, not putting his phone down either. "I've seen videos of them doing this -- playing with seals' bodies. Not with a shark, though. Makes you wonder if it's natural, doesn't it? I mean, we're in a shallow inland fjord that's almost cut off from the ocean proper, and there's a bloody great white. Anywhere else I'd say statistical improbability, but -- Gray Harbor. Where orcas and sharks clearly don't mind shallow water."

He's smiling. So the Veil may be the reason for this? Who cares? It's still awesome. "If we don't catch another thing for the rest of the day, that made the trip worthwhile, you know?"

Kailey shoots Ravn a big grin and says, "I watched a thing on Orcas. There's pods that teach hunting techniques to their young. Even going up onto beaches to snag seals and stuff. And Great Whites are all up and down the pacific coast, so one swimming in here isn't totally unlikely. I know they found another one a few years ago here. One of the guys at Two if by Sea, before your time, told me about it."

Kailey turns to her actual catch finally. The shark and orcas losing interest after the sixth time part of the carcass is tossed in the air. Apparently by one of the younger ones of the group if it's smaller size compared to the others is any indication. "Yeah, today is already perfectly awesome! I'm fine with just kicking back and getting a tan while drinking the cider I brought for us. Maybe we'll see more Orcas?" She says hopefully.

Her eyes fall on the salmon that has stopped flopping in the cooler filled with ice. Still wrapped up in the net the cold has probably dazed the fish. Taking a small hammer from her tackle, specifically for this, she strikes it between the eyes hard. She is quick and efficient in killing the fish, muttering something under her breath as she does so. It sounds like some sort of thanks or prayer, though of what variety is hard to tell.

"I'm no shark or whale expert," Ravn admits cheerfully. "Back home, we have dogfish but only in deep water, and we've got porpoises -- those are the regulars. There are others but they're rare, and most of them don't come near the coast. Denmark's very shallow water-- we're basically an archipelago of old sea floor, after all. A finwhale swam into the fjord by my home some ten years ago and died there -- turns out it was more than a hundred years sold so it likely went to beach itself because it knew it was dying. But that's the sort of thing that biologists are still talking about, and its skeleton is still touring the museums and exhibitions."

The fat, red coho is measured while they talk. And she looks pleased with the results. "Really? That's old! I know some sharks can get several centuries. I think it's Greenland sharks? You guys get Beluga's too right? I love those guys," Kailey asks, finally calm but in a great mood if the toothy grin is any tell.

This girl even has a portable weight in her kit, holding it up and dangling the fish from it to weigh it. "27 inches and 17 pounds! That is a damn nice size for a Coho," She says as she sets it down on the cooler lid to begin cleaning it. Before that she pulls out her phone and sends Everett the video and pictures she took of the shark and whales. And as an afterthought a picture of the salmon awaiting cleaning. Which probably is going to get Kitty's attention. And she gets all the gut goodies.

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : <image.jpg> <image.jpg> LOOK! It's HUGE!

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : WE GOT ATTACKED BY A SHARK! <video.mpg>

(TXT to Everett) Kailey : :sends a picture of the shark laying on it's belly in the water. The second is of the salmon laying on the cooler. Then, finally, the video comes in. About ten minutes later. It's a big file.

"Pretty sure belugas don't make it to the North Sea," Ravn says, although from his tone, he's aware that he could be wrong. "We have whale sharks in the deep water, though? I swam with one, once -- they come up to the surface to hunt and they don't mind if you hold on to them and get dragged. They're plankton eaters and utterly indifferent to people."

He grins as Kailey busies herself bragging on the phone. Let's be honest here -- he'd do the same except that he's pretty sure no one on his contact list are all that interested in fish. August Roen, possibly. Maybe he'll send him the video later.

"My fiancee used to ride her horse out on the sand banks back home," he says absentmindedly instead. "Sometimes, curious porpoises would swim in and circle them. They're not very afraid of people either -- it's not unusual if you're boating to have them come so close you can almost touch them."

"That is SO cool, Ravn, you have no idea! I would love to swim with a whale shark. I've watched some videos of them. Too cool," Kailey says, looking up at him with this sort of awe. "Closest I've gotten, beyond just now of course, was the aquarium where you could pet bat rays." And she seem to remember even that fondly. "Have you gotten to swim with porpoises?" She asks,

Kitty Pryde is given the innards in a tupperware left in the cooler for just such thing. "Kitty, more dinner for her highness?" Except she has kept the liver out. She lifts a finger and sketches a circle in the air. It vaguely glows purple and she tosses the liver through it. There's a flash of yellow eyes before the Veil door snaps shut.

You don't need to tell the Uncat's real life model that twice. More dinner? Might as well ask, is water wet? Kitty Pryde strolls up to Kailey with a demanding mao and clearly expects to be served like a celebrity in a Michelin star restaurant. When it comes to bossy, the Uncat definitely takes after her, uh, 'mum'.

Ravn shakes his head. "They don't usually come up to swimmers -- human swimmers. To boats, sure, and to people on horses. But not to humans in swim trunks. I'm not sure why, to tell you the truth. Deer are the same -- you ride into the woods they'll just stand there and look at you. Get off the horse, though, and they're gone." He pauses. "Not that I'm much of a rider -- that was my fiancee's thing, and she did drag me along a few times, on a very old and docile horse."

"Oh, I've done horse back riding too. But I prefer hiking on my own two feet. But it is fun," Kailey says as she continues to dress the fish she caught. "Oh, I think there's a school of something big enough to think hungry predator thought that way." And she points to direct Ravn along. Indeed the rest of their friend-date is spent waiting for nibble.

There is cider and Kailey even prepared Thai lettuce wraps for lunch and brought veggies and hummus for dipping. She clearly put a lot of thought into the day and planning. She is happy and cheering when Ravn lands himself a coho. A twenty incher weighing in at 15 pounds which Kailey offers to clean. Though this time Uncat gets the majority of the guts, which Kitty is served the rich liver and heart.

At the end of the day Kailey finally manages to hook something else. It isn't a salmon though. It's a freaking ling cod and she definitely needs help. Almost loses it over the side, but manages to bring it in. All told there will be fish food in both houses for months to come. Cod are huge even when small, after all. Kitty Pryde is likely pleased with these people's tributes to her greatness, and the Uncat too, no doubt.

"Fish and chips for days...Ev is gonna hate me."

(TXT to Aidan August) Kailey : Do you guys like fish?