In the Wake of Giants

Again Raban put his words of wisdom into the conversation. She snorted and shook her head. She hated it when he was right - there was too much to risk. She thought about it, and figured that she would’ve been too nervous in attacking the dragon…. Or maybe she would’ve wanted to kill the beast while it was still down… Both of those outcomes would’ve been plausible to her nature. Janine sighed as she glanced at her surroundings. Still going in the right direction? She honestly hoped so.

“Ugh, I don’t blame you. I don’t want to deal with dragons at the moment. Right now, we’re just normal people, riding on horseback in the forest. Nothing more,” Janine said with a small nod of her head. She caught Raban letting go of his reins of the horse, and tilted her head slightly. Raban had just gotten that horse - why let go of the reins? Surely he wasn’t that confident that he would just tame a new horse? He better have hoped that the horse didn’t decide to rear him off her back…. Unless…? No….

Raban’s voice entered her head, and Janine put herself in the present again. Confused, she tried to recall what he said, and when she did, her face was confused once more. “Wait… You’re not going to argue with me? You’d actually be willing to go hunting a talking dragon, who verbally threatened us with our lives if we went to find him?” Janine asked as she looked out into the distance of the forest. “Surely you don’t think we can do it? The two of us alone? I mean, we’re good at what we do, sure…. And we aren’t the average human, no…. But this dragon is…. Larger and more powerful than others that we’ve fought. Smarter too. Knows how the Order behaves. Why else would he have attacked the side where there were basically no Knights? He had that other dragon be a distraction, while he did what he wanted to do.” Janine said with a sigh. She looked back out into the dark distance between trees.

“But I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t want to kill the dragon. He’s too dangerous to let live…. But he’s also a creature that has lived longer than us. There’s no way he’s younger than any of us. I normally don’t want to kill wild animals - they have as much of a right to live like the rest of us….. And besides, where would we even begin to track this dragon? His tracks have to be long stale by now. And when the snow finally comes along, his tracks are sure to be long gone…. It’ll surely be scary to try and complete. I wouldn’t even know how to begin preparing for an excursion like that,” Janine said with a small shake of her head.
 
Raban nodded, it would be nice to at least pretend that they were entirely normal and that there was nothing remotely special about them. Just two Knights on a mundane outing. That'd make for a lovely change, he thought. Normal people had trivial things to worry themselves with. For him and Janine, there was just that much more on top. "Yes... Two very ordinary people," he agreed verbally. Chestnut just snorted at their wistful daydreams.

He seemed to have surprised her in what he said and he felt Chestnut's personal enjoyment out of that. She was a notorious people watcher and often would make up stories about them. Nothing good or decent, but he didn't expect much else of a fire demon. Her view of the world around her was far more blunt and clean cut.

"There's pros and cons for both paths, Janine. I won't shut myself off from at least considering it. A dragon is not the first intelligent creature to have threatened my existance. Not likely to be the last either. I'm used to that, to be honest. You have to be, being what we are. Someone is always going to decide that we're a threat to society or them and will try and 'right the wrong', that's just part of the course," he shrugged, having accepted that a long time ago. People were often afraid of what or why they didn't understand or didn't want to understand and would oft try to out it from their world out of fear or perceived righteiousness.

"You're not wrong... He is definitely older than use both combined, I think and definitly smart. Perhaps... a little too smart," he mused. "He said he disliked the cold... he may well move to somewhere that's warmer. If he does, that will give Amastad time to recuperate at least. If we do go after him... we'll need to prepare beforehand. No half arsed gigs. Has to be done right," Raban nodded firmly. "Even if that means he has time to heal and recover. I'd rather be prepared than not... Maybe there's something in the archives about Dragons and their life cycles. Or different types of dragons, for example. Must be some sort of beastiary we can look at."

"And I would like to get this... Greaves situation out of worry. To go dragon hunting with that on our heels? It's insane," he said, he was worried as much as he knew Janine was worried about it. He knew he had accepted a lot more of it but he was more worried should Greaves find out too much about him. The man seemed to be suspicious about Janine but only as far as being a werekind or knowing someone who was a werekind, which seemed more likely, than he seemed to be about demonry. It was to coincidental for his liking.

"I like a good solid plan... Very little comes out of rushing into things,"
 
Janine considered what Raban said. Being used to becoming a target throughout your life didn’t sound very pleasant. She blinked slowly as she looked down at her hands, thinking about how her life was now. As she thought about it, she did see that she was a constant target in the grand scheme of things. - from the dragon, to her mysterious attacker, to Greaves, even if it was indirectly. Raban may be his main target, but she is still connected to him, and therefore would be watched in the shadows. She’d rather be the one who watched in the shadows, personally. Much more comforting and secure. She snorted as she turned her head away from Raban. She wasn’t used to it, but Raban was? Sure he lived longer than her, but…. Why be accepting of that horrible feeling - that you’re always in danger, and that you won’t ever get a decent amount of peace? That wasn’t fair. But it was the world she and Raban lived in. Even so, she didn’t have to like it at all.

“Hopefully, we’ll be able to solve all our problems. Both abroad and domestic. I’d rather solve our problem with Greaves first - he’s our immediate threat since he’s literally in the city,” Janine said as she turned her head back to Raban. “And yes, no half plans. A fully calculated plan will be the only acceptable one,” Janine agreed. She nodded her head as she looked down at her hands.

She was soon thinking about her venom again. “I can’t shake this thought Raban. I bit the dragon… I never really gauged how deadly my venom was, and I never tested it out. I just used it on myself and rats, and that was it. But rats can die off the smallest bit of poison, so they don’t count. I had always entertained the idea of biting the dragon to kill it, but if my venom isn’t deadly enough to kill a dragon…. Then what? I don’t know if I just didn’t bite it long enough, or if my venom isn’t strong enough…. Maybe I should strengthen it,” Janine said softly.
 
"I hope so. It would be nice."

Raban was genuinely honest in his words even if he was a little more pragmatic to know that there was always going to be a problem to face, to solve, to deal with. Life was never that kind or simple. Not in his experience, at least. If it was not murderous civilians with screams and pitchforks, it was intelligent hunters... The list went on. In some instances, he had rumour of vampires using werewolves as if they were mere pets but he was unsure how true that was. He couldn't place much stock in it.

"I agree. He'll use the current situation of a lack of men at hand to deal with a potential threat now rather than wait for reinforcement to settle in," he agreed, glad that she seemed to follow his thinking at least. If she had wanted to chase after that dragon, he could not have stopped her and nor would he but he hadn't thought that plan all that wise. They may be walking into a situation they didn't full anticipate and Raban hated being without enough information on something that would allow him to anticipate and not underestimate his opponent. It had been why he had not come out with a shining record on that initial day that he and Janine had first met. The spines had surprised him.

He glanced to her, listening in his usual way as his body shifted on Chestnut's back, "You certainly slowed him down, Janine. Slowed him down enough to render him paralysed and that makes him vulnerable. He knows that, so he won't be keen on letting you get a bite on him again. It's one advantage we have," he said encouragingly. He would definitely take anything that slowed a creatgure down even if it didn't outrightly kill it. If you were too slow in battle, often it was what could get you killed.

"I don't, maybe a longer injection period might be sufficient to kill him... but then the longer you're head is stuck biting him, the more vulnerable it makes you. Perhaps many bites in quick succession? That could be a possibility? In any case, slowing him down is useful. Hesitation is not a good thing in a battle, makes you think twice, makes you doubt yourself and that too will have a play in that fight. We can use that."

"We just need to learn more about different dragon physiologies, I think. That may give more advantages,"
 
Raban’s encouragement cheered Janine up a little - she didn’t think about it like that - she may have not killed the dragon, but she did paralyze him. That could be a big advantage for them. But it would be harder for her to do it a second time. Maybe if the opportunity came along, she’d be able to render him unable to move again, and then they’d be able to kill him properly. She just had to find the right time.

“Maybe I could bite him quicker instead of longer. I would still give him the same amount of venom… It would be more difficult though. And as we’ve seen, the more wounds he obtains, the angerier the dragon gets,” Janine said with a slow nod of her head. “But I do like reading about dragons, no matter what the topic. It would be a bit entertaining to search for something that could help us…. At least for a short while.” Janine added with a small chuckle.

Venus looked around the forest. This was deeper than anybody had ever gone - and the equine wasn’t sure if she liked it. Janine patted her neck and chuckled softly. “Calm down now, we’re fine. Sure we’re further along than usual, but this is fine.”

Janine sniffed the air a little, picking up scents of water and moss. “Well, we’re nearing a body of water…. A pond perhaps?” She sniffed the air again. Of course she smelled more water further along, but they had traveled for a good moment. She hoped it was the river. If she could recall, their destination required that they'd follow the river upstream a bit. Surely both of their horses were trained for endurance, but that didn’t mean that they were to be pushed continuously. Either way, she wanted Raban to have a say. “Want to pause and give our horses rest for a moment? Or would you rather wait until we get to where we’re going?” Janine asked.
 
"It would be, yes," he agreed, the dragon certainly would not be keen on letting her get another bite in let alone multiple bites. Janine had exposed a weakness that the dragon may not have considered or realised he had. Still, it was something they could work with. Even if it meant that Raban played the role of bait and distraction whilst she gave the slow and killing blow. He was completely all right with that setup. "Anger is not always useful in a fight. It's another advantage for us as long as we keep our heads collected. Anger can make him do things he would not otherwise do, it clouds judgement."

It was good to hear her laugh. He enjoyed those small, rare moments when she did. It gave life meaning. He nodded, "The more weapons we can add to the arsenal, the better I'd say." He knew some people liked to scorn scholars and research but often it would grant you the knowledge on how to kill something or how to create something. You couldn't always discover that out in the field.

He sniffed the air and found some of the scents new and foreign to his senses. He hadn't been here before and it seemed to upset Janine's mare. His own was as stoic and stubborn as usual as the sorrel mare continued on as if ploughing a field rather than transversing through forested terrain. There was a scent of algae in the air, moss and he could hear a croak of an amphibian somewhere nearby.

"Could be good to have a rest for a little while. Besides, that sounds like a river nearby, I'm sure these two would appreciate a drink. Could be some fish in that we can add to our picnic as, hm?" he looked at her and smiled. It would nice to add a little something to the pot. She had rushed off so quickly to organise it before that he felt a little unsure of what to get but getting some fish would feel like something of a plus. "Should be some trout... Trout's good to eat," he added, glad that he thought to bring his fishing rod. It was a simple thing but it was one of the few things in life Cadfael had been passionate in teaching him that didn't involve secrecy or Knight's work. The Knight had been a keen angler.

Chestnut instinctively turned her frame towards the direction of the river, leading the way towards the source of water. She was thirsty and it was not like she wasn't allowed her own say in matters. Raban looked at her and chuckled softly, nodding. He could not change her mind if she wanted to quench her thirst.
 
Raban had agreed to stop by whatever body of water they were nearing. He suspected a river as well, and she would be happy if it was the case, for that would mean that they were getting closer to where they were to be. She was happy with that in mind, so she smiled at the prospect. Venus nickered at the idea of drinking some water, which made Janine chuckle. She was thirsty as well. But something Raban said made Janine blink a bit. She turned to him with a curious tilt of her head. Fish? Like those that swam in the water?

“Trout? In the river?” Janine asked curiously. She knew what trout and the like were, but she was confused as to how he was to obtain them. Surely snatching them with his bare hands would require a lot of speed. Not to mention how to grab them - if she could recall, they were rather slippery when grasped thanks to the water.

“How are you going to catch them? Surely you aren’t going to use your bare hands?” Janine asked.

“And I’m assuming you want to eat them…. Don’t we have to cook them too?” Janine asked nervously. She hadn’t thought about eating fish. She’d never eaten a fish ever in her life. She’d seen other people eat them, but her….? She had always eaten land animals. Hell, she’d even eaten a duck before, and that was once or twice in her lifetime. It’s a miracle that she’s even remembered that dish. “I’ve…. Never brought anything that would require cooking with fire. If I’d known, I’d maybe brought something. I don’t know about this Raban,” Janine said nervously.
 
Raban liked fishing in that he found it relaxing whilst also being productive and answered some of his predatory nature that he didn't show to others he did not trust implicitly. It seemed that Cadfael, through his hobby, had found an outlet for his young charge. It had provided him something to do when he wasn't allowed to go elsewhere or had to provide for the table. He had found it somewhat irritating back then, he could recall how paticular his mentor had been with his angling. Sometimes he'd use hand and line and other times it was with a rod and in particular circumstances. The same went with baits and lures. He had enough with him to get what fish he needed. Raban wasn't going to be as fancy as Cadfael had proven to be.

Janine seemed a little surprised as he glanced towards her and he nodded, "Trout, perch... Maybe pike if we're that much up for a challenge." Trout and Perch by comparison were easy fishing when compared to the quickfire movements of a pike. Pike were fast, agile predatory fish that could could get to fifty inches and they weren't easy to bring in and often quite dangerous too for the seven hundred or so teeth contained in their jaws.

"Depends on the river and current," he replied with a little shrug. "If you have the time and know where to position yourself... it's entirely possibly. Even for a human. Though, I brought a rod with me, so should make it a little easier," he grinned, gesturing lightly to the elongated object he had tied to the saddle of his horse.

She seemed a little strange about it, "Can make fire easy enough and fish doesn't require a long time to cook either. Not what we'll likely catch anyway," he replied, curious to her nervous tone. She seemed unsure at the idea though even if they didn't eat it, Raban was equally likely to bring fish back and give it the landlord, have it for himself or sometimes he'd throw it back. Sometimes, just the act of fishing gave him what he needed rather than the result it brought.

"Never fished before?"
 
Raban talked about the different fish that would be in the river, and she found herself tilting her head curiously. She was never told about the different types of fish within lakes and rivers - she may have read about them in books from the book-keeper, but she never really stared at them in the rivers and lakes of the land and memorized their name. She supposed that Raban wasn’t like that either, but it was clear that he had the upper hand when it came to the slippery creatures. He even said something about a rod for capturing the fish. She followed his gesture towards said object, her eyes showing more curiosity as she eyed the stick up and down its figure. She wondered how she never noticed that before.

“Trout…. I’ve heard of them before. They’re the ones that have the rainbow on their scales right?” Janine asked. She was sure she’d read that somewhere. He then asked Janine if she’d never fished before. She chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of her head with a hand as she shrugged her shoulders. “Oh… Hehe. Is it that obvious? My father never got around to teaching me that stuff. He was more keen on teaching me how to hunt the animals of the forests. I don’t even know if he knew how to fish himself.” Janine said with a soft chuckle. “But apparently you have a knack for it. Do you fish often?” Janine asked.
 
Chestnut picked her way closer to the river, her sorrel coat standing out in stark contrast to the greenery around her. Venus blended in better than she did and for the moment, Raban broke up her body line at least. It wouldn't be too long before she reached it and Raban could use his own legs for a while.

"Aye, that one kind of Trout you can fish... What we're likely to be able to get anyway," he nodded gently as they moved in deeper towards the sound of a flowing current. The sound was relaxing and he hoped they could stay there for a little while before they moved on to wherever it was Janine had in mind.

"Assuming she has a spot in mind,"
"Let's hope... It's bit further out than usual..."
"Good idea really... What with that hunter freak running around like a loose cannon"

Raban looked to her again as he listened and then gave a nod to her in response, "I try to... Cadfael taught me. He was an excellent angler... I do okay at it. Something I enjoy and try to do when I can. Depends how busy we get," he smiled.

"Oh, here we are," he nodded, pointing out the river which was of a decent witdh and seemed to contain a few nooks and crannies where fish could hide. It looked a little deep with rushes dressed along the riverbanks in places. He would not be surprised if there were pike in there too. He dismounted and took a moment to collect the rod and a box from Chestnut's saddlebags before she snorted and moved to get herself a drink.

"That bit looks decent enough for a place to fish. You can have a go, if you like?" he looked back to her, resting the rod against his shoulder for now.
 
Janine and Raban finally reached the wide river, where the water was as blue as the sky, and flowed in a slow speed. She figured it would be easy to swim across if she tried, but it was much too cold for that. Not to mention that it was fall - she would be so cold that she would collapse with chills and ruin their day. And Janine was not about to ruin the day. She picked up her basket as she dismounted Venus, dropping to the ground with a soft grunt. After putting down her basket, she led Venus to the calm water, where the mare eagerly went to have her fill of water.

She turned her head as Raban said that his mentor taught him how to fish. She smiled at him and nodded. It was pleasing to her to know that he had a hobby. She’d never seen him fish before, but she would be able to see it now. It excited her a little - she’d actually be able to see how the activity went. Her eyes caught Raban’s fishing rod again, and she tilted her head as he mentioned the river and saw the many places a fish could hide. It would be exciting to see him catch a fish! It reminded her of a game of hide and seek, if he had to look for specific places to lure a fish.

Raban then offered for Janine to fish. The young woman chuckled and walked up to her friend a little closer before looking out to the river. “Um…. I’d like to, but after you. I would just look silly, trying to fish without even knowing how. I don’t want to accidentally lose your rod,” Janine said with a small smile.
 
The air smelt good here and the backdrop of water as it coursed gently through the forest was something he appreciated after weeks and months of too much excitement. It was incredibly relaxing and he felt like he could just forget about everything and not worry about what lay back home in Amastad. He also had a friend beyond Chestnut to share it with. He looked at Chestnut and Venus as they drank for a moment and smiled as he watched.

"We'll let them have their fill first. Allows me to do a little prepping that way," he nodded before moving to a suitable spot and placed his gear down. He went to retrieve a blanket which usually served as a spare saddle blanket for Chestnut on occasion. He laid that out before he glanced towards his friend as she joined him. He gave a chuckle, shaking his head, "I doubt that, but I'm happy to teach you."

He was genuine in that. It might even help her as it did for him. It was a good way to distract his mind from itself whilst still allowing him to think. It was a weird contradiction, he supposed but fishing from rivers like this required just enough attention to not allow a mind to get caught in its own cogworks. Raban shifted and sat down, unwrapping the rod carefully from its shroud of thin canvas. The rod seemed to have age to it, as if Raban had never paid thought to replacing it but it was well cared for. It was a simple affair, a singular rod with small hoops in which a line was fed through.

"Need to let the river have a pause anyway once they're done. Let the fish get back to what fish do," he added as he laid his rod to one side and retreived a small box. He opened it revealing compartments filled with line, hooks, bait and a could of bulbous sphere. One of which he removed and inspected but he seemed satisfied enough to take a length of line from a spool and attach it to the spherical object, which was thin enough to see the shadow of a finger from the other side.

He was after trout mainly but he knew that rivers were home to other fish such as Roach, little Carp, small Catfish and the infamous Pike he had mentioned to her earlier. There could also be Eels but he doubted he'd catch any of those this far into the forest.

"It's a good spot," he nodded softly.
 
“Oh, I’d like to know how to fish! It looks like fun,” Janine said with a smile. While she had never seen anyone fish, she figured it wouldn't be too difficult. Or at least she hoped. And as she looked up to Raban, he seemed eager, or at least willing, to teach her. Then she saw him pull a sort of box. Like a curious feline, Janine watched as he opened it, and was a bit surprised to see so many different things inside it. Things that looked like little hooks, thin wires, and some small ball and other shiny knick-knacks.

“Ooh. Is that what you fish with? They like to eat small little balls or something?” Janine asked as she looked over to the river. The river was steady with its calm pace, but she could’ve swore that she saw some sort of movement in the water. It maybe would’ve been a fish - it most likely was a fish, but she wasn’t sure.

“Can’t recall how big these fish can get, but I hope their mouths can open wide enough for them to swallow the ball. I thought they liked bugs….?” Janine said as she scanned the air for insects.
 
Raban looked at her and smiled, nodding with agreement. Fishing was fun and he also found it relaxing, even if he didn't catch anything. It was more the action of doing it that was enough to distract his mind from problematic things in life that would otherwise eat him. He could feel her gaze watching his hands prepare the lures. He prepared a couple of different ones for the different fish that could be lurking. He mostly focused on the bobber lines however. The others were for Pike and maybe carp if there were any. He doubted there'd be carp... they were mostly lake fish but there were always exceptions.

"Hm?" he glanced at up as he tied another spool of line and bobber. It was thanks to his fishing that his ability to sew had improved over the years. Needing a tight binding so that the inflated thin hide wouldn't collapse in on itself. He chuckled softly and shook his head lightly before he gestured for her to sit with him. He then raised a completed bobber line complete with a little hook on the end. "This is to emulate where in the water the fish we're aiming to catch would normally catch its food. Means it won't sink to the bottom," he explained patiently.

"Different fish require different lures as they have different eating habits. If we were after a bottom feeder, like the Catfish, we'd have a heavier hook on the line with no bobber. Might use a trailer sometimes, to stir the silt a little to emulate a movement but it's not always needed with Catfish. Hugnry buggars msot of the time," he picked out what he was talking about from his box in reference to show her before eventually putting it back in the box.

"Hm, trout mouths aren't too wide, but that's all right. I've brought a few worms with me. If I had more time, I'd search for live beetle larvae, but the good old earthworm will do us just fine," he grinned, nodding as he carefully hooked a worm on the tiddly hook.

"Fishing is mostly about the wait, tests your endurance in patience and I find it refines it to an art. Also allows me to think without growing bored," He hated getting bored, that was more due to the wolf in him as wolves were usually always on the go and had the longest endurances of most animals. It translated into his human half more times than he cared to realise most times. He attached the bobber securely to the main line before he smiled. "Rod's ready to go," he smiled before he stood again.

He pointed towards a spot in the river, "Trout are a bit lazy, they wait for food to come to them, so you'll want to see where the river is slower, near steep or undercut banks or like here, where the rocks in the water create these slower eddies that trundle the food over and allow them to have an easier time fishing. Sometimes, if the river is tranquil enough and you have all the time on your hands, you can handfish them easy enough."

"With me so far?"

He smiled, allowing her time to respond as he readied his stance and the line, "Since you're a beginner.... we'll do this standing. Easier really. Sight where you want the hook to hit with the rod before you flick it back over your shoulder, like so, and then flick it back quickly again and that will set your line." He explained it as he did it, the bobber hitting the spot he had pointed out earlier with a soft plop.

"Now, here's the finer part to fishing. You'll feel the fish through the line and into your rod. Your first instinct is to yank the line at those first nudges, but don't. That's just the fishing testing, nibbling, so if you pull it straight away, the hook won't set in place and you've lost it. So, give it a little nose and you'll get harder tugs along the line. That's when you pull,"

"We'll see if the trout are hungry soon enough, I think,"
 
Janine nodded her head and sat down next to Raban at his gesture. She shifted around a little, eager to hear what he had to say. She almost looked like a kid with her gaze and smile. Her eyes even showed a bit of excitement in what he had to say, focusing on his hands while she listened to his voice. He then began to talk to Janine, pointing and lifting the various items needed for fishing. He explained what each item’s purpose was, and how it was to work in the water. He spoke of which fish would be most attracted to which lure, and how each fish behaved. And Janine nodded slowly every now and again.

Janine briefly looked out into the river again. She was hoping to see a catfish, or maybe some trout. She felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment when Raban talked about worms and bugs to lure the fish with. Of course fish ate bugs, how could she sound so silly? Fish didn’t eat small balls - so ridiculous. He spoke about fishing and how it was mostly just waiting for something to happen. Janine tilted her head a little - waiting? Her mind whirled about sitting and waiting for her target to come to her instead of going to her target - it was very much how snakes operated, but Janine often liked to be out and about. Maybe it was due to her father’s teaching and method of hunting; she remembered the many times she went with him and hunted deer, running through the forest in their other forms. However, he did teach her the values of being still and waiting for food to be in the right spot. That required patience, so a part of her figured that waiting wouldn’t be the slightest problem. Her brain could just think of other things to think of while she waited. No…. If she got too distracted, she’d miss her chance to get a fish. So maybe she had to focus on what was happening in the water instead of everything else.

When Raban said that he had finished making his lure, Janine’s gaze followed his hand, getting to her feet so she wouldn’t lose track of Raban’s instruction. “Yup, I follow,” Janine said in response to his question. She watched as he explained how to cast the fishing rod, demonstrating as he did so, and she watched as the little hook and ball went flying in the air, then landed in the water like it was supposed to. She blinked curiously, watching the water ripple as Raban explained the actual fishing. She nodded again, looking back between him and the water as he talked. It made sense she supposed. If the fish actually bit the hook, then she’d pull back against it.

“Okay, that makes sense. I hope there are some fish here. I want to see you pull one up,” Janine said with a smile.
 
Raban paid scant attention to the scenery around them other than the breeze and the water's surface, noting how the water moved and any breaks to its glassy topping. If there was danger that lurked, his sense would easily define it or even Chestnut's own would alert him, so he wasn't particularly worried about being ambushed. He wanted to enjoy the day that they got to themselves.

It was a novel thing for him to be able to pass down Cadfael's teachings from his time as a boy to Janine. The art of fishing was not an exact science and results were seldom completely all the same. He also knew it would have the potential to test her patience in different ways than to what she was used but Raban saw little negative to that. He had tried to remember how Cadfael had taught him and was pleased he had not forgotten all of it. She seemed to be following up with his intructions thus far as he explained baits and lures.

Raban smiled at her when she agreed that she would follow and the bobber floated on the water's surface with its prize of a juicy worm wiggling upon the hook below. What came next was a waiting game between man and fish. If they were lucky, they would land a fish and if they were luckier, it would be of decent size and weight. There was little point in eating ones that were tiddlers and equally Raban seldom ate the female of the species if her recognised the gender. If there was one thing he advocated and that Cadfael had made him promise to do was to look after that which he fished.

"I think there should be. It's good waters for trout and others of similar behaviors. Who knows, maybe even a pike might feel hungry enough for a worm," he was doubtful a pike would take the bait. Quick lures were better for tempting them out of the reeds and shadows of the waters below. His fingers kept a light touch on the line, 'feeling' the tension in the cord that fed from his spool to the end of the hook. He would know soon enough. "I do not think you will be disappointed," he grinned.

It was a little while before Raban gave a little exhalation of brief, "Oh, see that? The tip of the rod twitching as if a rabbit's ear? Fish is checking out our little present." He explained with excitement, quite enjoying the fact that he would never quite know what was on the end of the line till he pulled it in. The tip twitche ever so slightly as the line fed out a little more and the bobber shifted somewhat on the surface betraying the presence of something below.

Raban patiently waited for it to take the bite and sure enough, the line twitched harder before actively reeling outwards of Raban's hand. The bobber moved more steadily now, creating a small wake before the fish pulled it under. Raban grinned, "He's taken it. Here comes the trickier part. I will now start to pull him in, but he won't like that. He'll try and swim off so it turns into a game of tug'o'war, really. Essentially, you have to 'lead' it when it pulls, meaning let it have the line. That tires it out. When you feel it take a rest, you pull it as much as you can before it tries to swim off again. Rinse repeat after that..."

Raban soon put his explanation into show as he pulled the line in and it immediately went taught before the man had to let it have the line again. After a few moments, it slacked off and he pulled in again. It took several rounds of this before the water's surface broke with splashes and the fins of the fish raised upwards as it thrashed trying to free itself. It was a decent sized trout with the rainbow down its flanks. It was currently more of a dulled rainbow colouration but he knew that if this was a male, they'd brighten come the spawning season.

"The more you tire it out in the water, the easier it is to land it... Though only follow that rule if you don't intend to release it. Some fish can't handle the stress and then being landed that way... but this is for dinner, so, we'll keep him... here... here we go..." he raised the rod sharply and the fish bounded outwards, flopping on the bank between the man and woman in panicked jerks of its body. Raban did not hesitate in putting it out of it misery, killing it cleanly with a quick thwack to its head. The fish stilled and he removed the hook before holding it aloft by the tail.

"There we go. Trout," he nodded towards Janine before he moved and placed it carefully to one side next to his box. He checked the hook and saw it was good to be used again, so he applied another worm before holding the rod out to Janine, "Your turn."
 
Janine watched with rapt attention as Raban cast his line. She watched the hook land in the water with a plop, and waited with a mixture of calm and excitement. He often spoke of the fish named Pike, so she thought that maybe he wanted to catch it the most. She wouldn’t mind seeing a Pike or whatever. Mostly, she just wanted to see a fish being caught. She smiled when he showed a friendly grin. He seemed to be excited about this as well. Which was what she wanted today, for Raban to focus on something else today.

She and Raban waited for a little while until something began to happen. Janine perked up with a soft gasp, watching as the line began pulling and tugging against Raban’s grip. What was this? Was it a fish? She watched with bated breath as he explained what was happening with the creature in the water. So it was like tug-of-war? Interesting. She was always up for a test of strength. Or was it endurance? Maybe it was both? Perhaps. The man pulled and released the line multiple times, and each time Janine wondered when he would finally bring it up. As she watched, Raban had lifted the line and presented the flailing fish. It was a nice sized one, and she nodded as the man explained the supposed rules concerning a caught fish. She watched silently as he hit the fish on the head, flinching a little as the fish stopped moving. It did seem more humane to kill it quickly. Wait…. Eat it? He was going to cook it for the picnic?

Oh… Janine wasn’t sure about that. She wouldn’t openly state her discomfort, but she was nervous about it. What if she didn’t like it? Would he hurt Raban’s feelings? How would they cook it again? But didn’t he say that it was able to be eaten raw….? Perhaps -

“Huh?” Janine blinked as she was suddenly handed the fishing rod. Wait, it was her turn already? She grabbed the pole and was suddenly flushed with nervous energy as she took a position to prepare to cast the line. “Oh jeez, I didn’t think I’d already be offered to fish,” Janine said with a nervous smile.

She looked at the line and hook as it swayed back and forth, muttering to herself before she leaned her hands and arms back to prepare the throw. With a bit of an awkward motion, Janine managed to get the hook into the water, but she threw it a little further than Raban did, and it landed into the more active part of the river.

“Oh damn, that wasn’t where you threw it.” Janine said as she watched the ball bob up and down in the water. She reeled it in a little bit to get it closer to where she saw Raban throw the hook. When she was comfortable with its position, she stopped and sighed, shaking her head a little as she kept herself still. She didn’t think that she was doing a good job so far, so she felt even more nervous than usual. Maybe a fish wouldn’t bite the hook since it moved around. A short groan pushed itself out Janine’s mouth, worried that she might not be able to do as well as Raban.
 
He was enjoying the moment. Catching fish was always a plus but it never concerned him if he got none at a sitting. The act alone was enough for him and it in turn delighted him that he could share in his pasttime with one of whom he now considered a close friend. He smiled to himself. THey had come a long way from work colleagues and mutual acquaintances.

The fish was strong but given what Raban was, there was no real match of strength. he could tell it was not anything bigger than perhaps the length of his forearm from how it pulled and writhed in the waters below and sure enough, the trout was not very big. However, it didn't look like it was a female, which he tended to throw back in so it had been worth the keeping.

He tilted his head as he held out the rod to her. She seemed to be in a world all of her own and he wiggled the rod slightly when she realised he was waiting for her. He smirked, "No better way of learning than doing it. I can only tell you about it for so far," he replied, clearly amused.

He watched as she cast the line and it landed further out than he had aimed it. "No problem, just reel it in to where you want it. You're in control," he explained patiently before he looked her stance over a moment. He reached to scratch behind his ear in what was an unconscious habit drawn from his wolf more than himself.

"You need to relax. You're doing just fine, but you can relax," he grinned as he sat back down, resting his forearms across his knees.
 
“Okay Raban…. Easier said than done,” Janine said with a small sigh as she looked back to Raban. He had moved to sit down, watching with a grin in his lips. She sighed, unnerved at the speed in which she felt all her uneasiness within her. She was just fishing, not performing in front of a whole crowd…. But she felt like she was doing just that. Maybe it was because she knew that Raban was watching. She huffed at herself, and faced the water once more as the waters flowed along the river. Still rather calm where she cast her hook. Okay, that’s good.

Janine sighed as she tried to remember what Raban had explained to her over the last several minutes. It seemed easy enough, but when she was nervous, it was hard to remember stuff. But for as much as she knew, at this point, she wasn't supposed to do much if there wasn’t much activity. She had to wait for a fish to bite. So with a short huff, Janine forced herself to try and calm down and just watch the river. She was quiet, but she kept fidgeting, even if a little. It annoyed her, and distracted her from focusing on the river. A few minutes went by before a sudden jerk of the pole made Janine still herself to attention, but she stopped herself from taking action. She waited a few moments to see if it would happen again, but nothing happened. She let out a short huff of frustration again.

“How do you do this? You don’t get anxious or nervous at all….? Or impatient?” Janine asked as she looked back towards Raban.
 
Raban smiled and shrugged with a tilt of his head. Things usually, by default, always were easier said than done. Even rarer was that things done more easily than they were said. He could read the tension in her shoulders, how it moved into her arms and legs. She huffed a second time but seemed to try and see it through. The attempt spoke in the least and he couldn't really have asked for more.

Her frame stirred constantly and his eyes watched as it shifted into the rod and more tellingly into the line. Raban kept his silence though, wanting to wait and see how far she might get in her attempt. Sometimes, it was hard to sit back and watch others do something he knew he could do without as much thought but he also understood the merit in doing so.

He watched the rod jerk a moment before it stilled completely again and her frustration displayed itself. His eyes shifted to meet hers and he did not immediately answer. He smiled softly before he rose to his feet. He moved to stand behind her.

"Perhaps a little anxious at what I might get on the line, but nervous? No," he gently put his hands on her shoulders and carefully massaged the muscle, working out the kinks and knots that he found.

"Relaxing is the hardest thing for a predator to do. Speaks against everything we learn on hunting. We're always on guard," he noted, his tone amused knowing she'd recognise the fact as much as he did. "But you forget. I'm a wolf. We're patient, we outrun our prey. It's using that patience to endure the hunt that lends to the art of fishing."

He frowned, "You need to recognise what you do when you know patience is required. Use it. And relax," he breathed, "Or your unease, your tension, it reads through the rod and the fish, they're smart enough to read it. So, relax and fool the fish, then you win your prize." He continued his work with his hands for a moment before he was satisfied it would help her and then retreated a few steps back before moving to the side.

"Try again. Recast, remember what I've said. I believe you can do it, Janine," he grinned.
 
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