Together, they reached their lake destination and Gwendal tied his horse's teether to a low hanging branch of a large tree and did the same for the animal with the magic hamper on its back.
He hefted the hamper and was surprised at the weight of its contents. Anissina seemed to have brought enough food to feed an army of demons! He did well to hide the strain on his muscles he felt under the basket's weight.
He set it upon the ground near the lake and then returned to his horse to pull out the fishing supplies he'd brought. "I don't know if you brought bait, but I can round some up easy enough," he says.
He places his hand upon the ground and gently shakes the earth beneath his palm with his inner magic, upsetting some of the worms and causing them to rush to the surface. He plucked them out of the soil and held them out to Anissina as they lay wrigling in his palm.
"Take your pick," he offered before he chose a worm for himself and placed it upon his pole's hook. He allowed the remaining worms to scamper back into the soil.
He then walked towards the edge of the lake and sat down, lotus style and threw in his line, expression serious, ready to catch some fish. He realized that the point of this exercise was to relax, but that simply wasn't in his personality and he found himself concentrating on the most effecient ways he could catch the most fish with the least amount of effort.
He glanced over at Anissina, "Shall we have a prize in stake for the one to catch the most fish?"
Anissina laughed as Gwendal made the earth rock. "Wow... I thought that was only supposed to happen in a bedroom, a stable, kitchens, my lab, the hallway outside my lab."
She tried to make him blush with her lewd connitations. But of course, it was slightly ruined when he offered her a worm.
"Um... No. I'm fine." She repressed a shiver. "I think I'll just use an artificial bait!" She held up a tiny silver sliver of metal and hooked it onto the end of one of the most complicated looking fishing rods.
She smiled as she moved to a nice sheltered spot under a rather large tree at the edge of the lake. "Okay... But what are the stakes?"
She slipped off her boots and socks and let her feet dangle into the water.
A fish tugged on Gwendal's line so he pulled it to shore and unhooked it from his simple hook. He released the large 14 inche long fish into the bucket he has secured on the shoreline.
The first fish was his, that made him the favorite in the odds department regarding any sort of bet, especially given Anissina's complicated fishing pole. He had a feeling it wouldn't be quite an effecient contraption, of course it could always be surprise and be a functioning invention of hers, they did on occasion work!
"If I catch the most fish in both quality and quantity we skip tonight's party. If you win, we go."
"Hmmm..." Anissina thought. "Your mother isn't going to be happy if we don't show up. How about... We show up, smile happily for thirty minutes and then disappear. And if I win, you have to let me dress you and stay at the party until the end!"
Anissina felt a tug at the end of her line and started to reel in the fish. But it turned out to be a boot instead.
Gwendal's lip curls up at the sight of Anissina's 'catch' while at the same time there is another fish tugging at his line. "Acceptable," he agrees to her stake's listed.
Gwendal raked his mind for conversation, Anissina had planned this event so he should try to think of something to say. Something not related to the management of a kingdom.
He was in the library the day before, perhaps something he read would be a good conversation. Actually, it was an excellent topic given that Anissina wrote stories!
"I believe I have seen the Gretas reading your books before. How do you have the time to create stories?" There was one evening when he heard Greta reading aloud and the story had involved a heroic female, evil tyrant who seemed to be a wizard of sorts, and the male protagonist had be a rather serious and dour individual.
"Where do you find your inspiration?"
Was he supposed to be the dour, serious individual? His brow wrinkles into a frown, he wasn't dour!
Anissina blushed hard as he brought up the subject of her writing. She had no idea that Gwendal even knew she wrote anything besides scientific papers.
"Um ... I ... Well ... You see I got a little bored one day while waiting for Gunter to power up one of my inventions so I..." She bit her lip. "... kinda started to write while he pedalled and it just sort of went on from there."
She bit her lip again. I will not tell him that he's in my books. Definately not.
"Um, inspiration. Well, I think it's mostly just made up, but there are a couple of real people in there... Changed slightly of course." She smiled.
"Hn. Interesting. From what I heard I thought the protagonist characters sounded remarkably similiar to you and I." Gwendal pulled in a third fish and watched Anissina as he unhooked it.
"Does this mean I'm the man you picture when you envison a hero?" He used the final worm he had gathered to bait his hook before tossing the string back into the water. He set the pole by his feet and then leaned back, arms behind his head as he stared up at the sky.
"Tell me Nisa, if you could have anything, anything at all, what would it be?"
He waited a moment, "I'll tell you what I would wish for, it would be to speak with my father. To be able to confide in and seek his wisdom."
Anissina blushed more as Gwendal pointed out the obvious. "No... No... That's just coincidence, I'm sure. There are a lot of broad shouldered sexy men with dark hair around." She pushed her hair back over her shoulder as she tried to concentrate on fishing.
"Hmm... Hero, not always. Annoying guy who keeps yipping at the heroines heels when she's trying to make the castle a better place mainly." She teased. "Or the love interest who convinces her that men aren't all chauvanistic pigs and should be listened to occassionally."
Something tugged at her line and she reeled it in. It was another boot! This wasn't going too well.
"Anything? Peace. Lack of fighting thoughout the kingdom." She sighed. "That's what I want. Everything else will come along in it's own time."
"Or the love interest who convinces her that men aren't all chauvanistic pigs and should be listened to occassionally."
Gwendal's eyes crinkle slightly as a soft smile crosses his lips while he continues to watch the sky. He heard her sound excited, looked over and saw she'd successfully caught another boot. Or was it the same one?
Ah...peace. That was a good answer, and certainly something someone as caring as Anissina would wish. "Is that the same boot? Or was a shoe store lost in the lake?"
He waited a moment before continuing. "Because if you keep catching the same shoe, not that I mean to give you hints on how to beat my score, but perhaps you should remove it from the lake so that you won't be tricked by it anymore."
Anissina laughed. "It's definately a different boot. Definately. Unless it's the same one." She sighed and tugged the tie from her hair letting it all fall loose.
"You might be right." Anissina pulled the boot out and threw it to one side. "But I'm still not using worms to catch fish. It's inhumane!"
She cast the line back and leaned back against the tree. "So I suppose you'll be wearing your formal uniform tonight?"
Anissina sneaked a look from the corner of her eye as she pretended to look straight ahead.
"Well, I have this lovely green velvet dress with white lace accents. It's just off the shoulders. Only thing I'm worried about is that it might be a little too low cut." Anissina paid careful attention to Gwendal without appearing obvious to see what his reaction might be.
Anissina said nothing for the longest while, concentrating on trying to save at least some of her dignity and of course, catch a fish!
She smiled as she stood to land the large fish. She tugged on the line, reeling it in a little and then tugging again. She could see the huge beauty under the water. It was coming closer and closer... Closer... Closer...
SPLASH!
She was in the water and she could swear that the fish was laughing at her. She looked at Gwendal, knowing that she looked a mess as she threaded water and started to laugh.
He tried not to laugh, he really did, but when she started to laugh at herself he figured it was alright if he joined in the mirth.
"No, I don't believe you're a very good fisherwoman either, however to be fair, that was a monster of a fish." He leaned over the edge of the lake and offered his hand. "Here let me offer your aid onto the dry shore. If you'll conceed my victory regarding the fishing we can do something else to pass the time."
Anissina smiled. "I think you're right. I conceed to your superior skill in fishing."
She stood up, the water still managing to come to her chest and took Gwendal's hand. With a sharp tug, she managed to unsettle Gwendal's footing and with another loud splash, he was in the water. She helped him to his feet and wrapped her wet arms around his neck, smiling up at him.
He hefted the hamper and was surprised at the weight of its contents. Anissina seemed to have brought enough food to feed an army of demons! He did well to hide the strain on his muscles he felt under the basket's weight.
He set it upon the ground near the lake and then returned to his horse to pull out the fishing supplies he'd brought. "I don't know if you brought bait, but I can round some up easy enough," he says.
He places his hand upon the ground and gently shakes the earth beneath his palm with his inner magic, upsetting some of the worms and causing them to rush to the surface. He plucked them out of the soil and held them out to Anissina as they lay wrigling in his palm.
"Take your pick," he offered before he chose a worm for himself and placed it upon his pole's hook. He allowed the remaining worms to scamper back into the soil.
He then walked towards the edge of the lake and sat down, lotus style and threw in his line, expression serious, ready to catch some fish. He realized that the point of this exercise was to relax, but that simply wasn't in his personality and he found himself concentrating on the most effecient ways he could catch the most fish with the least amount of effort.
He glanced over at Anissina, "Shall we have a prize in stake for the one to catch the most fish?"
Reply
She tried to make him blush with her lewd connitations. But of course, it was slightly ruined when he offered her a worm.
"Um... No. I'm fine." She repressed a shiver. "I think I'll just use an artificial bait!" She held up a tiny silver sliver of metal and hooked it onto the end of one of the most complicated looking fishing rods.
She smiled as she moved to a nice sheltered spot under a rather large tree at the edge of the lake. "Okay... But what are the stakes?"
She slipped off her boots and socks and let her feet dangle into the water.
Reply
The first fish was his, that made him the favorite in the odds department regarding any sort of bet, especially given Anissina's complicated fishing pole. He had a feeling it wouldn't be quite an effecient contraption, of course it could always be surprise and be a functioning invention of hers, they did on occasion work!
"If I catch the most fish in both quality and quantity we skip tonight's party. If you win, we go."
Reply
Anissina felt a tug at the end of her line and started to reel in the fish. But it turned out to be a boot instead.
Reply
Gwendal raked his mind for conversation, Anissina had planned this event so he should try to think of something to say. Something not related to the management of a kingdom.
He was in the library the day before, perhaps something he read would be a good conversation. Actually, it was an excellent topic given that Anissina wrote stories!
"I believe I have seen the Gretas reading your books before. How do you have the time to create stories?" There was one evening when he heard Greta reading aloud and the story had involved a heroic female, evil tyrant who seemed to be a wizard of sorts, and the male protagonist had be a rather serious and dour individual.
"Where do you find your inspiration?"
Was he supposed to be the dour, serious individual? His brow wrinkles into a frown, he wasn't dour!
Reply
"Um ... I ... Well ... You see I got a little bored one day while waiting for Gunter to power up one of my inventions so I..." She bit her lip. "... kinda started to write while he pedalled and it just sort of went on from there."
She bit her lip again. I will not tell him that he's in my books. Definately not.
"Um, inspiration. Well, I think it's mostly just made up, but there are a couple of real people in there... Changed slightly of course." She smiled.
Reply
"Does this mean I'm the man you picture when you envison a hero?" He used the final worm he had gathered to bait his hook before tossing the string back into the water. He set the pole by his feet and then leaned back, arms behind his head as he stared up at the sky.
"Tell me Nisa, if you could have anything, anything at all, what would it be?"
He waited a moment, "I'll tell you what I would wish for, it would be to speak with my father. To be able to confide in and seek his wisdom."
Reply
"Hmm... Hero, not always. Annoying guy who keeps yipping at the heroines heels when she's trying to make the castle a better place mainly." She teased. "Or the love interest who convinces her that men aren't all chauvanistic pigs and should be listened to occassionally."
Something tugged at her line and she reeled it in. It was another boot! This wasn't going too well.
"Anything? Peace. Lack of fighting thoughout the kingdom." She sighed. "That's what I want. Everything else will come along in it's own time."
Reply
Gwendal's eyes crinkle slightly as a soft smile crosses his lips while he continues to watch the sky. He heard her sound excited, looked over and saw she'd successfully caught another boot. Or was it the same one?
Ah...peace. That was a good answer, and certainly something someone as caring as Anissina would wish. "Is that the same boot? Or was a shoe store lost in the lake?"
He waited a moment before continuing. "Because if you keep catching the same shoe, not that I mean to give you hints on how to beat my score, but perhaps you should remove it from the lake so that you won't be tricked by it anymore."
Reply
"You might be right." Anissina pulled the boot out and threw it to one side. "But I'm still not using worms to catch fish. It's inhumane!"
She cast the line back and leaned back against the tree. "So I suppose you'll be wearing your formal uniform tonight?"
Reply
"What do you intend to wear?"
Reply
"Well, I have this lovely green velvet dress with white lace accents. It's just off the shoulders. Only thing I'm worried about is that it might be a little too low cut." Anissina paid careful attention to Gwendal without appearing obvious to see what his reaction might be.
Reply
A smile spread across his face, "I'm sure it will go beautifully with my dress uniform then, seeing as it's green."
Reply
She smiled as she stood to land the large fish. She tugged on the line, reeling it in a little and then tugging again. She could see the huge beauty under the water. It was coming closer and closer... Closer... Closer...
SPLASH!
She was in the water and she could swear that the fish was laughing at her. She looked at Gwendal, knowing that she looked a mess as she threaded water and started to laugh.
"I don't think I'm a very good fisherwoman!"
Reply
"No, I don't believe you're a very good fisherwoman either, however to be fair, that was a monster of a fish." He leaned over the edge of the lake and offered his hand. "Here let me offer your aid onto the dry shore. If you'll conceed my victory regarding the fishing we can do something else to pass the time."
Reply
She stood up, the water still managing to come to her chest and took Gwendal's hand. With a sharp tug, she managed to unsettle Gwendal's footing and with another loud splash, he was in the water. She helped him to his feet and wrapped her wet arms around his neck, smiling up at him.
"Oh wow! Look what I caught!"
Reply
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