2025-03-12 - Why Michigan?

Spotted sandpipers. Ringed-billed gulls. Double-breasted cormorants. Red-necked grebes and horned grebes and pie-billed grebes and who knows what other kind of grebes. The waters and the shores and the skies around Lake Michigan are home to a great diversity of avian wildlife, and they all have one thing in common: they shit, a lot, as anyone who's ever visited a dock can tell you. Someone's got to keep the benches and railings from looking like a Jackson Pollock painting, and today that falls to Carl. Armed with a good pair of rubber gloves and bucket and a cart loaded with his arsenal of scrapers and scrubbers, he goes about that noble duty now, occasionally looking up to nod or chat while he works with folks as they pass through.

As captain of one of those ferries that is currently and frequently docked at Crescent Island as it waits for its scheduled time to disembark, or enough passengers to make it worth the fuel, Kellin is a regular around here. One could say this is part of his usual stomping grounds. He seems be returning from a short break, as he has a bottle of pop in hand, or soda as it is called in places outside of this region of the country. As he makes his way across the dock of various employees getting on and off other ferries, he walks in the direction of his own, the Siren's Song, with the assistance of a cane, that does little to help with the limping gait his was as he walks.

He is dressed in the typical uniform of a Spellbound ferry captain, little epaulettes on his shoulder indicating rank. Since he is on the park islands route today, he isn't wearing his usual aviator sunglasses that hide is mismatched eyes. Kellin is one of those that looks perpetually grumpy, but he greets those people that greet him with a pleasant tone, even if that pleasantness doesn't reach his face. It has nothing to do with the people, his face is just that way. Carl gets a similar greeting "Afternoon. Hope it's a good one for you."

"Oh, hey Skipper. Yeah, you know it, living the dream," Carl says, speaking up a little over the rasp-rasp-rasp of his heavy-duty scrubber on the metal railing. "Islands of magic and mystery, a regular Avalon, or Tir na Nog. Wonder what kind of birds they've got to deal with." He leans in, putting his back into a particularly stubborn spot. Despite the apparent sarcasm, he seems to be in reasonably good cheer, flashing an easy smile when he takes a moment to look up. "How about you? Another day of adventure on the high, uh, lakes?"

That grumpy countenance breaks for a moment as a huff of amusement is let out. "I will interpret that as you having no worthwhile complaints." at least none that would be helped by complaining to Kellin about them.

The mention of the Land of Youth in Celtic mythology has him giving a shrug. "Ones you don't have to clean up after I would wager." he answers after just a beat to give it a few seconds thought. "If only my ferry was enchanted or I had access to Manannán's horse, we could take a quick trip there and find out first hand." if only such a place existed and they had access to it. Seems he knows his way around some Celtic mythology and gets the reference.

The question of his own day has him giving a glance out to the lake in question "Well as adventurous as it gets doing the first shift Crescent Island route." which means there is zero adventure "It's the late night island to island, and island to main land trips that sees any action."

"Yeah, well, if you find the way let me know how it goes. Leave it to me, I'd be the first guy in history to get seasick on a horse." Carl dumps his scrubber in the bucket and trades it in for a rag, getting to work wetting down the next length of railing. "Wouldn't be surprised if things got more exciting some time soon, though. There's new critters in the water, now. First I've heard of so far, except those weird crabs, I guess. I'd show you the pictures, but." He wiggles his fingers, gloved and soaking. He seems genuinely regretful, he's been showing everyone who'll look - not every day he gets to break the news on a magical happening. "Just little fellas now, but who knows? Could be dodging lake krakens and Ogopogos out there before long."

"We will get you some Dramamine and ginger chews. You'll be fine." says the man who has been on some kind of boat in the lakes around Michigan his whole, and then some. Kellin nods about the new water fauna. "I got an earful from one of the other captains about it. He wasn't thrilled about sharing the waters with magical creatures or the other magical creatures that are showing up. I don't expect him to be around much longer." he glances at the wiggled, glove covered hands "Yeah, don't contaminate your phone. I am sure there will be pictures posted on the employee forum soon enough." hint hint.

Oh look, it's an actual grin, small and fleeting, but it happens "Now I can get down with that." he does tilt his head in a quizzical fashion "Ogopogos? Is that the one in British Columbia? Similar to the one in Loch Ness and Lake Champlain?"

Louise has impeccable timing, happening along just at the right moment to overhear Carl's words. She was there, she knows exactly what he's talking about (or at least assumes that's gotta be the water creatures he's talking about) -- and since her ferry isn't here yet, she veers in the direction of the two fellows chatting so she can throw her two cents in. "God, I was sure someone was going to lose a finger," she says, finding a bare stretch of railing to put her back against and drop her bag to the ground. She's wearing jeans and and a cardigan that's probably two sizes too big, but that's all by design, see, so she can pull her hands back into the sleeves and tuck it in around her when there's a still-cool breeze blowing off the water. "Hi Cap!" she adds to Kellin, she knows him. "And you." To Carl. Who she doesn't. "I'm still holding out for real mermaids in the lake."

"Yeah, that's the one. Some lake in Canada. Just another Nessie, or sometimes a big sea serpent, like the ones on the old maps. I mostly remember 'cause it's fun to say, 'Ogopogo.'" He finishes wetting down the railing, and trades the railing back in for the scrubber again. Rasp rasp rasp. "Can't blame a guy for freaking out a little, but a bunch of tourists coming in and out getting magic powers worry me more than any of the little mascots we've had showing up, and we've been dealing with that for more than a year now." He waves over his shoulder at Louise when she speaks up. "Yeah, me too, but only because it seemed like some of those goobers were gonna stick a finger in their mouths. Something new shows up and everyone runs over to poke it." He shakes his head.

"Well one of these days maybe one of the mermaid performers in Venture Cove will be able to turn into one." Kellin isn't totally convinced that a few of them can't already. Some of those mermaid tails look a little too realistic "Is that close enough or no?" does he greet her back like a normal person? Nope. He has spoken to her more than once so he goes straight to conversation without the awkward greetings getting in the way.

"I used to be skeptical about the sightings of those sea serpent creatures. I even visited Loch Ness a few times to check the whole thing out, but since the magical creatures started showing up here I am more willing to accept maybe there is something in those lakes." if there are singing mushrooms, snugglebunnies, and now shadowmanders, amoung all the other magical creatures, why not a big dinosaur in various lakes. Another huff of amusement. "I won't be surprised if a few gift shops starting selling merch with that If not friend, why friend shaped, saying on it."

"Right?" Louise agrees with Carl, putting a little eyeroll into the word. As though she were not, in fact, deeply tempted to do exactly the same thing, seeing those big green eyes on the critters. “No sense of self preservation.”

She twists a little, looking out at the water while she waits, just listening a little distantly. “Lotta things I used to be skeptical about,” she agrees musingly, listening to Kellin. "This places makes you more open minded by the day.” The rest she just listens too, until he gets to that end bit, his merchandising suggestions - that snaps her attention back to him. “Yes." Lou points a finger at Kellin when he makes that suggestion, and she does it emphatically, just to show the depth of her agreement. "That would be perfect. Embroider some little piranha dragon cats on it and phew." She shakes her head, like it's too much. Anyway, she'd buy it.

"If they haven't prototyped the plushies already someone needs to lose their job," Carl agrees with the both of them. He goes down on one knee to get the underside of the railing, putting in less work because there's less work to do. For all the weirdness around these islands, there aren't any birds that poop up, at least not yet. "And I know what you mean. I keep waiting to hear about something showing up somewhere else. It's got to be, right? Somewhere. It can't just be Michigan." From his tone of voice it's clear that things aren't supposed to happen in Michigan.

If Kellin had a free hand he would lift one to look at his own fingers, instead his fingers flex around the handle of his notched cane, part of the design, he didn't put them there. "I like my fingers on my hand, and not in the mouth of a piranha dragon cat. My own perfectly normal," if orange cats could be considered that, "is enough."

"Don't sign me up for the marketing department just yet, you two." He prefers the wheelhouse and monthly meetings, than a cubicle and daily meetings, thanks. "You aren't wrong." in fact Kellin is in complete agreement with Carl. "I would expect things like this in Greece, or the UK, even parts of Europe, but never here, in Michigan."

“There might be more improbable places,” Louise allows, leaning her elbows back on that freshly scrubbed, sparkling clean railing, thank you very much Carl. “But not a lot. Does make me wonder…like, it seems like things are getting stronger. Showing up more. Will it spread?” There’s an idea, magic powers reaching all the way to the mainland — but there’s her ferry, ready to take her off to whatever job she’s assigned to. “The bottoms of the railings?” She says to Carl, as she gathers up her things. “Have never looked better.” Chef’s kiss. There’s a smile flashed for each before she pops right off again.

Carl snorts a laugh and gives Louise a wave as she heads off, continuing to scrub-scrub-scrub. Nobody might see the results, but it's part of the job. "Right?" He nods back at Kellin's list of places. "And it's not even like the stuff that is showing up is out of the local stories. You'd think, I don't know, a Hugag, or a Snow Wasset, or... something older, out of the native stories. I'm not an expert, correct if I'm wrong, but I don't think there's any Ojibwe stories about snugglebunnies."

"Later, Louise." Kellin calls after the woman as she heads to the ferry that is ready to out. "That is the weirdest part, yes." Again he is in agreement with the other man. "I am more of a mythology guy, and less a folklore guy, but the two go pretty much hand in hand. There are no Ojibwe stories about snugglebunnies that I know about. My studies haven't much focused on the Native American folklore, more the pantheon part of it."

"Didn't figure," Carl says, standing up to move a little further down the dock to the next length of railing. Scrubber's out, rag is in, once again. He pulls his cart over to take up less space as traffic starts to pick up, the next bunch of passengers getting ready to depart with the turn of the hour. "Not exactly my field, either, but I've been doing some reading since I got here. Who wouldn't, right? Could probably start our own coven with all the amateur occultists this place has spun up. Actually, I got a book on the local stories I just finished, was gonna trade it in at the Winding Vine, but I could leave it with you next time I ship out, if you want?"

"Oh, mythology and folklore is my field of study, it's just not focused on the local cultures. I focused on more Euro-Asian cultures my first go round, and now I am focusing on the local stuff, but I just returned to college for my second go round, so haven't gotten past the intro stuff." full time ferry captain, part time college student "Never stop reading, never stop learning, you know." another grin "I think the place just draws people that are into the magic and mythos of places, there are exceptions of course. I may have read it, but there is a non zero chance I haven't." He points to the Siren's Song "I'm Kellin." just like his name badge says. "You know where to find me." he glances at the ferry where is first mate is waving. "And it looks like I am wanted. It was a pleasure chatting with you. Thanks for all your hard work." and then he is limping toward his ferry to continue with his own work day.