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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 15, 2008 14:38:42 GMT -5
Allen smiled at Susan and nodded back. "Don't worry about not being skillful, it is not hard. always keep the string tense, if you see the float sinks a bit or if you feel something pulls, you have to pull back and have good luck" he then looked at her dress, it was too good for getting dirty. "Try to find a rock to sit on, I guess you don't want mud on your clothes."
Allen turned around and started to walk toward the river, pulling his sheathed sword out of his bag and tying it on his back, it obviously seemed big on him, a sabre wasn't short, but the tip didn't reach the ground at least.
The ground was still a bit rocky and the sound of water could be heard very faintly in the distance.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 16, 2008 21:13:49 GMT -5
She looked at the pole, listening to Allen explain to her how to fish. Well, technically, she knew how to fish – but she didn't quite remember the skill; nor did she think she had any special talent for it. She remembered patience was something she needed to possess, and she wondered if she had enough patience today in order to fish. She'd find out soon enough. Susan looked down at her dress when Allen mentioned it and then shrugged nonchalantly, "Lucy dirties dresses better than this on a daily basis. It'll be okay, I'm sure." Another smile flickered across her lips and she tugged on the fabric in an off hand way. It was a nice dress, but not her nicest and certainly not the nicest either of the sisters had ever worn.
Without another word, she followed Allen toward the river, taking care not to trip over her feet or a rock. It wouldn't be good if she hurt herself – she had quite the journey back to Cair Paravel before night fall. As the river came into view, Susan took notice of Allen's sword. It looked rather cumbersome, out of place, perhaps. A bit too big, rather. And while she would have had issues carrying it (she wasn't physically as strong as say, Peter was), she wondered if he had any issues carrying it at all. She didn't ask, though, but tucked it away to the back of her mind for later.
They reached the bank of the river and Susan searched easily for a rock she could perch herself on that was close enough to the water to fish. Finally, she spotted one and easily made her way toward it – stepping up and tucking her legs underneath her. Then she looked at the pole and cast the line into the water, "So, Allen, what part of Narnia are you originally from?"
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 16, 2008 21:31:19 GMT -5
Allen smiled back shyly, never thought he would meet anyone from the Royal family and a smile seemed to mean a lot.
After Susan found a spot, he dropped his bag and sword on a rock near her and walked away far enough to not ruin her fishing, carrying the net. "I am from the Western Woods, almost at the shore of the formerly frozen lake. It is a small village, maybe 5 small houses?" He sat on a rock and looked for any unfortunate fish to pass close enough to get caught, Water was very clean and the bottom could be seen. It didn't seem too deep, but it certainly was at some spots.
After a bit a fish caught his attention and he watched it silently until it was close enough, then jumped into the water, net extended in front of him.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 17, 2008 11:46:37 GMT -5
With a careful look at the river, Susan pressed the toe of her boot into the ground in front of her to keep her balance. Her boots were already dirty, so there was no point in shielding herself from the mud, but her dress, however, was still rather clean and she didn't want to fall off the rock in the mud below. Her gaze flickered to Allen and she grinned when he answered her question, "Is it nice? Living in such a small village? All I've ever known is Cair Paravel, and…well, it's rather large, isn't it?" Of course, she knew of Earth before that, but those memories were limited and they probably weren't nice anyway.
She fiddled with the pole as she looked at the river, waiting patiently for a fish – though she doubted her would catch it. Susan didn't have much luck with things like this. She didn't have much luck in general. Her life, which had started off tragically in Narnia, had drifted into this state of bliss – but now doom was imminent and Susan just couldn't… deal with it all. It was times like these that Susan found herself wishing she wasn't a queen of Narnia, but then she felt guilty. Aslan had given her this honour, she should cherish it. And yet…
Bringing herself from sad thoughts, she spoke in a clear voice but in a rather thoughtful tone, "I think it would be nice. Knowing everyone there, being close to them," she shrugged mentally and physically here as she looked back over at Allen, "Have you always travelled? Or is it a new endeavour?"
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 17, 2008 12:02:18 GMT -5
With a fast move Allen managed to trap the fish in the net, then he swam up and out of the water with the net and fish. He shook dry, making sure not to get Susan wet. "It is nice. Everyone knows everyone, and it's calm." He then walked to Susan and put the fish down, on the grass, it wasn't moving, so there was no risk of it escaping. It wasn't very big, a bit bigger than a hand.
Allen nodded at Susan "yes I have always traveled but never got out of Narnia... been thinking about going to other kingdom but I don't think I will be very welcome. People are very different."
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 17, 2008 19:47:37 GMT -5
Susan sighed at Allen's answer, "Yeah," she said quietly as she watched river and willed a fish to bite. She had no idea what it was like to be in such a small place, with everyone knowing who you were – not because you were royal, but because there was only so many people there. She didn’t know how it felt to step outside and be asked to help with something. She had never felt that friendship between neighbours. She was a queen; even though she felt like a normal woman, like there was nothing special about her at all.
Allen had caught a fish, Susan noticed as she pulled herself from reverie, and now he was answering her about travelling. She shook her head when he mentioned wanting to travel elsewhere, "I wouldn't recommend it, really." Her tone was a bit bitter, but what could you expect from her? Just then something tugged on her line and she jumped a bit, "Oh!" Then, with a deftness she hadn't used in forever, she pulled the line back with a quick snap and the fish came flying toward her. With an outstretched hand, she caught it, trying not to look completely shocked that she had actually caught something.
"Well, isn't that pleasant?" she asked with a proud smile, then it dimmed and she looked at Allen in utter confusion, "What next?"
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 17, 2008 20:12:49 GMT -5
Allen nodded at her answer "thank you, I will not leave Narnia anytime soon then." He then looked at her as she got surprised and watched as she pulled. Allen smiled at her and giggled a bit at her sudden confusion.
"Just hit it against the rock, hard enough to kill it, try to hit it only once" He then started to prepare his fish for cooking, which didn't take long. Then looked up at Susan again. "how many do you feel like eating? Make sure to leave some space for when you get back to Cair Paravel, for real food, though." he smiled a bit wider.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 18, 2008 2:17:27 GMT -5
"Well, if you want to – go right ahead," Susan said slowly, almost cautiously, as if she were speaking against Narnia, "It is always interesting to see how things are different, but Archenland and Calormen aren't exactly fantastic places to go to…" she did not elaborate. She didn't want to explain why she was so bitter about the other kingdoms, even though it could be summed up in one name: Rabadash. She shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the Calormene prince. He just made her skin crawl and her body ache.
Susan looked over at Allen when he told her what to do next, her eyes frightfully wide. "But…that's positively barbaric…" She looked at the flapping fish in her hand, and realised that perhaps holding it above water was worse than whacking it against the rock and putting it out of its misery. But still, Susan wasn’t too keen on the idea of whacking a fish against a rock. As Allen prepared her fish, Susan decided that she should, too, if she wanted to eat. And so, with a sickening churning in her stomach, Susan killed the fish against the rock.
"I don’t eat much, so this should be fine with me – besides, I can't bear the thought of killing another fish…" Susan frowned, feeling a sadness overwhelming her. She was too gentle for her own good.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 18, 2008 11:23:35 GMT -5
Allen sighed deeply. "I am sorry for bringing you here, I shouldn't have..." he looked down a bit at how much killing the fish affected her. "Some kind of fruit would have been better for you, I think..." He took the fish away from her hand and wrapped it in a leaf so she wont see it again anytime soon.
He was a bit worried about all this. "Maybe I can go and pick some fruit for you...? or... should I leave you alone...?" He was a bit confused and not very sure of what would be welcome, should he leave her alone or should he stay...
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 18, 2008 11:45:54 GMT -5
Susan looked over at Allen as he seemed to beat himself up for asking her to fish with him. Well, she should have seen that one coming. She allowed him to take the fish from her and then she tilted her head when he asked what he should do next. Normally, someone asked that because she was a queen – but she had a feeling that he was asking because he was genuinely sorry for making her kill a fish. That touched her heart in a way, kindness was always something good in Susan's book.
"Oh, that's silly," Susan replied with a bright smile as she wiped her hands on the fabric of her dress, pushing herself from the rock and down into the mud again, "I'll go and pick some fruit for myself, and I'll be back – then we'll have a nice little lunch." She nodded affirmatively, her smile still bright on her face, and then she made her way toward the meadows that were just off the way from the stone table.
Her feet crunched into the grass as she looked around the fields for a tree of any sort. A few metres away there was a bush with some berries on it, but she wasn't in the mood for berries. She stood in one place and turned slowly, looking for an apple tree- and she spotted it. Susan made her way toward it, and with determination – she jumped and picked an apple out of the branches. It felt smooth in her hand and she decided she would get another for Allen, to show that she wasn’t upset in any way.
With both apples in hand, Susan walked back over to where they had been moments before, "You know, I've never caught a fish in my life before…" Well, she couldn't be sure of before Narnia – but in Narnia she hadn't.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 18, 2008 12:13:16 GMT -5
He wasn't feeling very well at all and let her go without any disagreement. He sighed very deeply again and slowly unwrapped the fish, then prepared it anyways, still not feeling very well, then wrapped the fish again and looked at the direction Susan have gone towards and waited.
Allen then started to brush his tail slowly, a bit nervously again, still waiting, until he saw Susan coming back and holding two apples. He looked up at her when she spoke and nodded slowly. "Seemed so... but I never thought you'd be affected..."
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 20, 2008 13:13:19 GMT -5
Susan shook her head at Allen gently, "Don't worry about it, really. I'm just too gentle hearted. This is why Peter and Edmund do the battle thing and I do the not so horrible things. I guess, there is a reason why Aslan crowned me Queen Susan the Gentle." She smiled and shrugged, as if this really wasn't a big deal, and it wasn't. She didn't like the idea of killing the fish, but she had, and it was one of those things that she would easily get over. She wouldn't fret over it, or anything of the sort. It was just something that she didn't like, and now that she had done it – it was okay; it didn't harm her. Allen seemed a bit shy about it, though, and Susan knew he probably felt bad for having her do it.
She handed him the apple and smiled at him again, "Honestly, it's perfectly okay – don't beat yourself up over it, hmm?" Her smile widened and she perched herself on the rock again before biting into her apple and chewing. She hoped he wouldn't beat himself up over it, if it was one thing Susan hated most it was the feeling that she caused someone else grief because of something she did. She was gentle, yes, but more toward another person than anything else. Feelings are fragile and she hated breaking them.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 20, 2008 14:01:00 GMT -5
Allen nodded and smiled a bit wider, feeling better. He took the apple and watched her sit, before biting it, he chewed and sat down again. "Alright. Glad you are okay." He looked at her a bit curiously "What were you going to do after visiting the stone table?" He bit the apple again, picked up the rod and started to untie the string while waiting for an answer. He also put his net and the untied string into his bag.
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Post by Queen Susan the Gentle on Jul 20, 2008 19:57:02 GMT -5
Susan nodded. She was okay, and she would remain okay. Usually that was how she was. She was able to bounce back from most anything. She didn't stay upset for too long, which is why this circumstance (not the fish one, but the present one involving Narnia, herself, and Archenland) was a special one. Normally she would be perfectly okay and willing to deal with everything, bounce back from it and be able to continue on with her life as if nothing were happening. But this wasn't the same as every other time. She couldn't deal with herself if she was the one being threatened.
She pulled herself from her reverie, her deep thoughts, and looked at Allen as he asked her what she had planned on doing after visiting the stone table. Of course, she had thought that visiting the table would give her insight into what she needed to do about the whole problem, but now that she had stumbled upon Allen, she didn’t see that one happening too soon. So, she had been hoping to return to Cair Paravel and track down Peter and explain her new plan to him, but that didn't seem likely at all either.
So, now, she didn't know what she was going to do when she returned home. After a moment of thought, she shrugged; "I'll return to Cair Paravel and read probably, or find Peter and talk about some things dealing with Narnia." It was an honest answer, but it wasn't completely truthful and Susan knew this. She felt bad for omitting some of the information, but then again it wasn't like she could go around and broadcast what was happening to everyone. Very few knew. In fact, only she and Peter and Rabadash knew what was going on. Even Lucy and Edmund were in the dark. It was deceitful, but necessary.
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Post by Allen Gorobel on Jul 20, 2008 20:24:55 GMT -5
"uh huh..." He took some dry grass from around the rocks and broke the branch he used as a rod, then put one piece down on the ground and rubbed the tip of the other piece against it, quickly. Cooked fish sounded better to him than raw, not as if they couldn't be eaten raw though.
He had his suspicions about her answer, usually if an answer to a simple question takes long, means they are lying, maybe he was wrong, but if not, royal duties weren't his problem and he shouldn't get his nose into that anyway. Why get in trouble when one can avoid it?
He then looked up at Susan again and thought for a bit, if it was okay to ask. "Umm... I remember there were many dry branches on the ground at the woods, I think they were close to where you got the apples... so umm... would you mind to bring me some for the fire?" He needed those to keep the fire alive long enough so he could go chop some wood, it was a nice place to stay for the night, he'd need a fire for passing Narnia's cold nights.
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