2024-12-25 - A Fishing Lesson

Is it a quiet day in the park, perhaps? Or just a day when magic and schedules combine, and Auggie and Lucien just so happen to be off of work at the same time? Whatever the reason. Auggie had chosen to seize the day and has proposed they make the long (well, not that long) discussed fishing trip out onto the lake.

Being as he is a qualified ferry captain, there are not a lot of questions asked when Auggie wants to borrow one of the smaller motorboats they sometimes use to shuttle various VIPs who don't want to wait on the more leisurely pace of the big old ferry boats around. They're a fair bit off from the nearest spellbound islands. However, they're still well within the magical bubble, and the islands themselves are still clearly visible in the distance, even if the noise they generate doesn't carry this far.

Auggie's heron buddy, Echo, is standing on the prow of the boat, though he eventually takes off and flies a wide circle around them before alighting once more. The boat bounces pretty rapidly along the surface of the lake, until Echo lets out squawk to let them know they've arrived at the spot he's been leading them towards.

Lucien has some time between training and practice to get out and about and do things for himself. It's not a lot of time, but it's enough that he can have some small semblance of a life outside of training. And today's adventure is going to be fishing in the frigid waters of Spellbound. The lake might not be frozen but it's definitely not warm and he's comfortably bundled up for this little adventure.

He sits in the boat, relaxing while Auggie follows Echo out toward wherever it is that they're going to fish. He's got on a pair of comfortable jeans, some boots, a grey turtleneck with a black fleeze on over it and a windbreaker over that to stave off the chill of the breeze over the water, and some gloves.

Auggie reaches over and gives Echo a friendly pat on the neck when he squawks to let them know they're in a good spot. He kills the engine on the boat, letting them come to a natural stop. The waters of the lake are relatively still today, so there's not really any more movement than a gentle bob once they do. Auggie isn't bundled up nearly so warmly as Lucien for the trip, in his favourite coral-pink sleeveless hoodie and a pair of boardshorts that fade from cobalt blue at the waistline to seafoam green at the lower hem. He has at least swapped out his usual flip-flops for a pair of slightly sturdier boat shoes today.

"Made it!" Auggie beams triumphantly at Lucien, lifting a hand to ensure the straw hat that sits atop his head is still firmly in place. "Echo was keeping an eye out for good spots," Auggie explains, gesturing to the heron, who squawks happily once again. "This spot is really awesome for trout!" Auggie beams before looking at Luc and asking, "Did you ever eat trout before? It's pretty great!" as he makes a final couple of checks to make sure everything is good with the boat, before looking toward the small pile of equipment of various kinds they brought.

Lucien is idly watching the water go by as they get closer to their destination, his gaze more on the depths beneath them than the islands as they get a bit further away. He can swim, and while he has no inherent particular fear of the water, he definitely checked out where the life vests were before they got going too far.

There's a little bit of a nod at Echo when they come to a stop and a quirk of a smile. He had figured that out on the journey out. "Cool," he says, and then nods, "Yeah. I've had trout before. It was pretty good." He's not quite as excited about it as Auggie seems, but he is here more for the process of fishing than he is necessarily excited about eating the fish.

"So," he says, "How do we do this?"

Once everything seems good, Auggie goes rifling around in the pile of gear he brought along with him and soon produces the extra rod he brought along for Luc. "This one is pretty good!" Auggie smiles, handing the rod off to Lucien to hold while he gathers up a couple more things. He then moves to sit beside him on one of the seats built into the side of the boat. One of the things Auggie grabs is a small plastic box, which, when opened up, proves to be chock full of various lures in different shapes, sizes, and colours, which he gives a little rattle, showing them off to Lucien. "Pick out your favourite, dude!" Auggie explains, pointing out "These big shiny ones are good..." poking at a few, and then showing a couple that look like little fish, or even frogs. "These ones work pretty well too, so just pick out what calls to you!"

Lucen takes the rod that August hands over to him, studying it and turning it over in his hand, getting used to the grip and finding the wheel used to let the line out and to reel it back in. He leans over to look at the lures when Auggie produces the box, brow furrowing a little bit. "Does it matter which one I pick? Like, do certain fish like certain kinds of lures?" He has absolutely no idea. But when August suggests one of the big shiny ones, that's what he reaches for, plucking a particularly shiny lure with some little tufts and things on it. "Okay, I'll go with this one."

Auggie nods enthusiastically as Lucien picks out the shiny lure with tufts. "Sweet! The shiny ones are awesome for trout. Makes 'em think it's a little fish or something tasty and they go straight for it." Auggie nods affirmatively, seeming pretty confident of their chances. Over on the prow of the boat, there is the sudden flap of very large wings as Echo takes flight to do another circuit or two around the boat, making sure they're still in a prime spot for catching a tasty dinner!

The take-off only briefly distracts Auggie before he looks back at Luc with an easy smile. "Okay, next! We gotta get this rigged up!" Auggie explains. He grabs Lucien's line and carefully ties the lure onto the end of it, making sure the knot is secure and then reaching for a second plastic tub, pushing a wriggly-looking mealworm onto the hook before handing the rod back. "Sweet! You'll be good at the next bit...I think...! Auggie looks momentarily uncertain before almost immediately shrugging it off. "So hold onto it like this....and then you're going to pull back...." he demonstrates, moving behind Luc to talk him through the moves.

Lucien takes Auggie's word for it, since he has never fished before and settles on his shiny lure. He watches as Echo takes off and then turns his attention back toward his rod and his lure. Watching as August attaches the lure, he pays careful attention so that he can do it himself the next time. "So you just tie it on there," he says, nodding a bit. "Okay." He wrinkles his nose a little bit at the worm that gets pushed on the end. Maybe he'll let August continue to do that part.

But casting the line? That part, he seems a little bit more confident about. He holds onto the rod and places his hands where he's told, letting August talk him through the process of drawing it back and then flicking it forward to cause the line to drop into the water with the lure and its worm.

Yeah. Auggie doesn't know Luc super well yet, but apparently well enough to guess he wouldn't be wild about baiting the hook himself. Luckily, Auggie doesn't seem to mind in the least! He guides Luc through the motions of casting out his line and then cheers happily when the line goes flying into the air and lands in the water with a quiet "plop" a couple of seconds later. "Sweeet!" Auggie beams encouragingly, lifting a hand to give Luc a high five. "I figured you'd be a natural at that bit. You got that swing from skating!" he nods. "Now you just have to pay attention, and see if you can feel anything pulling on your line...so don't let it get way slack, keep a bit of tension on it..." he explains, showing Luc how to make a couple of adjustments and such to his reel.

August is perceptive that way! Lucien seems fine with casting once the worm is on the hook though! There's a very focused expression on his features as August helps him through the process of the casting, and when it does go in with that little plop, he grins just a little bit and returns the high five. "I'm not sure how that relates to skating but I got it in and didn't manage to hook myself, the boat, Echo, or you. So I am going to count it as a win."

"Okay.. this is the waiting part. I can do the waiting part." He makes the necessary adjustments with guidance and then sits there looking very intently over the side, keeping an eye on that line in case it makes the slightest twitch. He may be underestimating how long he might have to wait like that.

"Because you wind up, the push off and then thwooooosh...."Auggie explains, as though this is the most obvious thing in the world, miming out the actions he just showed Luc to demonstrate each stage. "Or I mean, I guess maybe that's more skateboarding. I figured ice skating would be kind of similar...maybe?" Auggie asks, wandering back to collect his own rod when Luc is situated. Auggie picks out another lure from the box and then baits his hook, the little grub wriggling around as Auggie steps up to the side of the boat next to Luc to line up his cast. "It's winter, so the fish are a bit more sleepy this time of year," Auggie explains. "But the middle of the day is when they're most awake, so we picked the right time for it," he affirms confidently.

Lucien squints just a little and it's clear that he's not entirely convinced but he smiles and shrugs, seeming to appreciate the confidence even if he doesn't quite understand the connection. "Either way, it worked," he decides, seeming fine with that being the answer. He keeps his attention on his own line and rod as August prepares his cast, very focuses on that line in case there is any sort of wiggle on it.

"Yeah, I was wondering if fish hibernated or something. I guess not. But what do they do when lakes freeze? I get that the whole of the lake doesn't freeze, just the edges and only so far down, but I feel like.. they'd be hiding or something. But I guess people ice fish, so they still move around under there." He puzzles a little.

It seems pretty clear to Auggie, though he shrugs it off if Luc doesn't seem to make the same connection. "You're doing great!" Auggie confirms with a happy smile. He always enjoys being out on the water, and getting to share his hobby with someone else only seems to add to that, at least from his perspective. "Give it a little bob every couple of minutes so the lure keeps moving," Auggie suggests, looking towards Luc and bouncing the rod in his own hands lightly up and down a couple of times in demonstration.

"Yeah, so when the lake freezes, they go down deeper, because it's a bit warmer down there..." Auggie points towards the lake. As he does, he lines up his own cast and sends his line swishing out over the lake, the lure sinking a second or two later with another small plop as it breaks the water's surface. "Anyway, they're kind of on like...battery saver mode" Auggie grins as he explains. "But they'll still go for something tasty looking if it doesn't look like too much effort."

And it does seem that Lucien is genuinely enjoying learning how to fish. He certainly seems to be taking doing so pretty seriously, curiously learning each step as August teaches it to him. There's a nod at the suggestion to give it a little bob, and Lucien does just that -- perhaps a little over-enthusiastically the first time -- gradually getting the hang of it.

"That makes sense," Lucien says, of the fish going down deeper. "Do they get crowded down there? Like all smushed together under the ice?" He then chuckles at the idea of fish just sort of floating around in battery-saver mode. "Do they have screen savers in their eyes?"

As one might expect, Auggie is nothing if not an enthusiastic teacher! "Awesome!" he grins, giving a big thumbs up when Luc gives his rod a bit of a bob up and down. He laughs a little at whether the fish gets crowded and shakes his head. "Nah dude," he grins. I mean, there's a lot of fish, but fish are pretty small, and look how big the lake is!" he gestures around, and the lake is indeed, very large. "Plus, you gotta remember it's 3d! Auggie explains, gesturing up and down to indicate the lake is way deep. "You gotta think the water is average like three hundred feet deep...which is like..." Auggie goes briefly glassy-eyed as the wheels in his brain turn "...life fifty of us stood on top of each other. So there's loads of room," he assures. The question about the screen savers produces a happy laugh. "It's photos of their last vacay hiking the Rockys" he teases, poking out his tongue.

It is a giant lake and it is a deep lake -- not as deep as Superior, but still very deep. "Yeah, that makes sense. I guess I was thinking about smaller lakes and ponds than this one." But then he gives his rod another little bob experimentally to see if that helps attract any fish to his waiting bait. Then he gives August a little sidelong grin when he goes along with his screen saver joke.

Then there's a little jiggle on his line and his attention snaps back to it. "Oh.. I think I got something, maybe." His eyes widen a little as there's another jiggle and he looks to August "Uh, what do I do now? Do I turn the reel?" He does in fact start turning it, figuring that's the way to bring the fish up.

Auggie goes deathly still when Luc gets a pull on his line, a smile forming and then gradually broadening as they wait for the confirmation. When Luc gets another pull and starts reeling in the line, Auggie lets out a triumphant crow and bounds over to where Luc is standing to offer his sage advice. "Sick, dude! You got one on the hook!" Auggie congratulates him, nodding enthusiastically. "So you gotta keep the line pretty tight, but don't yank too hard or it'll snap! Let it have a little room to pull, but make sure there's tension!" Auggie explains, reaching over to check the tension on the line and then nodding approvingly. "If it starts pulling way hard, let it take a bit of line, but then when it slows down, reel it back in slowly. You gotta wear it down! You're doing amazing!" he encourages, absolutely delighted his buddy has something on the hook.

Lucien seems more than willing to take Auggie's advice. He's never done this before and thus far, the other has not steered him wrong in the way of fishing. And so he keeps the line as tight as he can, gently pulling back on it and then reeling it in and then gently pulling back and reeling. He's trying to do it slowly so that he doesn't snap the line. It's the letting it have room to pull but not letting the line go slack that he's having a little trouble with but he is making an admirable effort.

He looks a little nervous and a lot focused, trying to make sure that he does all the things that August tells him at once. Slowly, slowly, the fish gets closer to the boat as Lucien continues to reel. "Uh.. what do I do.. when it gets to the boat?" he asks, because that seems like an eventuality that they're going to face sooner rather than later.

Auggie is practically vibrating with excitement as Lucien works on reeling in his fish! He's leaning far, far out over the edge and peering into the water, looking for any sign of Luc's fish as he works on reeling him in. When, at last, there's a flash of silver in the water, Auggie lets out a triumphant crow and reaches over to give Lucien a hearty slap on the shoulder. "You're totally doing it dude! It looks like a big one! Hold up and I'll get the net!" he imparts breathlessly before scampering off to the other side of the boat. Luc will hear some brief rummaging before Auggie reappears with a large fishing net in hand. "Sweet dude...keep going..." Auggie offers encouragingly as he goes back to leaning over the side and watching for the fish. Finally, when it seems Luc's got it all the way to the top, Auggie plunges the net into the water with a big sploosh! as he attempts to scoop it up.

Lucien stumbles a little forward when August slaps him on the shoulder but manages not to tip into the water, or lose the fish! He focuses on trying to keep getting it closer and closer to the boat as Auggie goes off to rummage. He glances over his shoulder once or twice to see what he's doing, but then it's back to the focus of getting the fish up to the boat.

It is not a huge fish, but it is a pretty respectably sized catch. It flashes beneath the water's surface as he gets it up to the boat. And when Auggie scoops it up in the net, it thrashes a bit, but is caught.

Auggie does precisely that! When the fish is pretty close to the surface, he plunges his net into the water, deftly scoops up the fish Luc has been busily reeling in, and brings it up onto the boat. Auggie's eyes go wide, and he exclaims, "Dude! This is awesome! You caught a trout!" with the widest and proudest of smiles as he (without a care in the world for any weird fish sliminess or the like) scoops it up and presents it to Luc. "This is so awesome man..." he beams. "If you want to eat it we can cook it up right here on the boat!" Auggie offers, "Or if yo're not into that we could take it home for the cats, even..." he frowns a little, seeming to think this is a poor use of such a great trout! "We gotta get a photo of you holding it first though!"

Lucien seems as surprised as anyone that he actually managed to catch a fish and watches with interest as Auggie manages to get it up into the boat. Eventually, when it stops thrashing, he finally gets up the courage to go over and take it from Auggie in order for a picture to be taken with his cell phone or August's in order to commemorate his first fish catch. Does he look a little uncertain that the fish isn't going to suddenly wriggle away or bite him? Maybe. But he looks proud, too.

"Yeah, let's maybe take it home and cook it? Unless you have everything you need to cook on the boat. Then, I guess we could eat it here. I like trout," Lucien says. It's not a huge fish. It's likely that it could make a lunch for the pair of them easily enough. After that is settled he grins and says, "Thanks for teaching me."

Auggie smiles brightly when Lucien eventually takes the fish off of him and poses for a couple of photographs. "Say Cheese, dude!" he chatters away excitedly, taking a couple of photos each on both his and Luc's phone to commemorate his roomie's first-ever catch. Once that's dealt with, Auggie volunteers to take care of the messy business of the dirty business of dispatching and then gutting the catch, kind of assuming that that might be slightly beyond poor Luc's comfort level. When Luc suggests taking the fish home and eating it there, Auggie nods agreeably and makes sure the precious cargo is stashed away in the cooler he brought (see! Auggie can be prepared when he needs to be!). "You're totally welcome broski," Auggie beams, extending a closed fist towards Luc for bumpage. "You about ready to head back? Or you want to try and catch another?"

Lucien doesn't know how to properly gut the fish, so while he lets August do the work, he doesn't shy away from watching how it's done and asking questions. Maybe next time he'll get up to the point of baiting his own hook. Once the fish is set aside in the cooler he considers and says, "Let's see if we can get another one, or maybe two."

He then settles in a little more comfortably. His next cast is a little bit easier. And by his third cast, he is baiting his own hook. See? The boy can be taught!

Auggie positively beams when Luc seems into it enough to stay longer and try and catch another fish or two. "Awesome!" he enthuses, smiling brightly as he watches Lucien cast his line out again. "Awesome, you're gonna be a pro before long," Auggie assures him. Once Luc has his own line cast out, he picks out another lure and baits a second hook before casting out his own line, just as he had shown Luc how to. Even Echo has had some success and lands back on the prow of the boat to devour a fish he's caught before taking off again for another circuit or two around the lake. Once they're both set up, calm quickly descends, and Auggie finds a comfortable position to sit where he can easily watch his line and chat with Luc. "My dad is way into fishing. That's how I started. He's got his own boat," Auggie explains. "It took me quite a bit to get used to fishing in the lake here and the different fish, but it's a pretty awesome spot," he nods approvingly.

Lucien grins when Echo returns with a fish of his own and gives the bird a bit of a salute in greeting. "Looks like nobody's going hungry tonight!" Not that anyone would. If there were no fish, there was always pizza. With his first fish successfully caught, Lucien seems a little more at ease and a little less intense in his focus and concentration. He at least knows what it feels like to pull in a fish, and what the tug on his line feels like.

"Why's that?" He asks, "Does your dad do like deep sea fishing or something?" There's no disagreement about the spot. It's calm and quiet out on the water, and Lucien seems content to be there.

Auggie smiles over at Echo as he's successful at catching his supper and then takes off looking for dessert. "Echo never misses!" Auggie beams, explaining about his Heron buddy. "I learned a lot from him about being patient and keeping my eyes open," Auggie explains, giving his line a little wiggle as he does. This is the bit Auggie really likes about fishing. Catching fish is exciting, but getting in some quality one-on-one time with someone is even better. Looking back to the line when Luc asks about his dad, Auggie lifts a hand and wobbles it from side to side, "Not like Deep Sea, nah" he shakes his head. "That's when you vanish off for weeks and go way, way out," Auggie explains. "We'd usually stick within a few miles of shore. A lot of the best fish are right where the sea floor drops away..." he demonstrates, holding out his arm to indicate a wide, flat plane with a sudden sharp drop off at one end.

"Oh," Lucien says, looking puzzled. "I thought it was just where you took a boat out on the deep water." Admittedly, his fishing knowledge is limited, so he easily accepts this explanation. But then Auggie says the best fish are where the sea floor drops away and he asks, "Doesn't that make that.. deep sea fishing? Or is that not deep enough sea fishing?" His brow furrows just a little bit, but then there's a tiny wiggle of his line. But it must have something just floating by as there's no pull and no fish -- not yet.

"Well, I guess maybe it's kind of deep sea fishing," Auggie agrees, looking vaguely blank. Lucien has just toppled his whole worldview with simple logic. He ponders this a moment and then explains further! "Deep sea fishing is more like, with trawlers and stuff. Plus, the fish are different." Auggie explains. Hey! There is some knowledge in that pretty blond head, after all. "So, how about you? Auggie asks, turning the conversation back towards Luc. "Are you enjoying being moved out and away from your folks?" he asks curiously, giving his own line another wiggle as they go.

Lucien just accepts all of this and moves on a with a smile and a shrug, trusting that the boat captain knows more about what happens in the water tan he does. When the question turns to him he says, "It's been good, I guess. It's nice not to have my brother around all the time, and it's nice not having my folks put pressure on me. Lets me focus more on my training and performances and feeling like.. I'm in control of my own life. So I guess it's been good."

"I was an only child, so I always kind of wished for an older brother," Auggie responds, his expression less exuberant and briefly more thoughtful. "I guess maybe it's not always so great, huh?" he adds, leaning over to give Luc an easy nudge with his shoulder. "Well, in the meantime, since we live together, we can be island bros, right?" Auggie suggests with a smile, offering his fist for a quick bump. "Anything you need dude, just give me a shout," he smiles and nods agreeably.

"You can borrow mine," Lucien offers. "He's actually not really a bad brother. He's just .. a lot to live up to." He smiles just a little bit wryly as he dips his line again, remembering to do that every so often. The suggestion of being island bros gets a little bit of a laugh. "Sure. Island bros works." Reaching over, he gives Auggie a fist-bump in return. "Same."