[Kitsumi]

Nathanial
Jed is trading this lucain to me; it will be made official once trades are open again

This was what Nathanial lived for. He inhaled deeply through his nose, loving the smell of the salty ocean air. He smiled widely as he leaned dangerously far over the edge of the bow, one arm hooked in the safety rail with the other reaching out towards the cold spray of water below. The force of the fishing boat's movement caused it to feel as if the air were whipping around him, freeing a few strands of hair from his loose ponytail and sending them dancing around his face.

Turning back towards the woman who stood at the wheel, he wondered if they were almost there. She had insisted that she knew all of the best fishing spots, leaving him in anticipation. He was eager to learn her secrets, desperate to soak up all of her lessons so that one day, he could be an established fisherman himself.

[Jedi]

Belladonne

The sun kissed the horizon as they sailed on, merely a dozen miles from land. Belladonne stood at the captain's helm, steering the Cobalt Baron straightforward. "We should be gettin' far enough out!" she called to her first, and only, mate. The ship only crewed the two of them, as she couldn't afford any other help. Besides, she trusted Nathanial more than anyone else in the world. "Hoist the sails and tie 'em up. Then drop the anchor." She held the wheel taut, careful not to let it spin and send the boat turning. "An' for the last time. Stop danglin' off the sides. You'll get yerself killed, and I'm not throwin' you a funeral."

[Kitsumi]

Nathanial straightened his hand and held it to the side of his head. "Aye, aye, captain!" he said. He threw her a cheeky grin as he nimbly hopped back onto the deck, and did as she had asked. She had tested him thoroughly on the boat's rigging before allowing him to come out to open waters with her, so he was confidant in his abilities as he knotted the correct ropes. "Dropping anchor, captain!" he called out as he did so. Then he leaned against the side of the boat expectantly. "What now?"

[Jedi]

Her eyes glued to him, making sure he didn't make any foolish mistakes. She trusted him, but not so much that she'd leave him to screw up. To his benefit, he didn't manage to mess up anything. As he asked for further instruction, she obliged. "Git the hempen nets from under the deck. Make sure not to tangle 'em too much, or they won't be good fer shit." Now that the boat had stopped moving, she felt comfortable taking her hands off the wheel and following him. She went to grab the end of one, knowing he probably couldn't carry it up on his own.

[Kitsumi]

The net was huge, and quite heavy, causing Nathanial to stagger as he tried to move it on his own. Luckily, the captain came to assist him, and together they managed to haul it over towards the side of the boat. He suddenly felt anxious, worried that he would somehow mess this up. What if he tangled the nets, or worse, caused them to snag on something and break? These things took a lot of time to repair, and this was Donna's livelihood. He didn't want to do anything to cause her to lose money... or worse.

[Jedi]

Just as she expected, she could see him starting to stress over the minor chore. "Eh," she said following with a sharp whistle. "Get yer wits about you. We got a job to do, so I need you to calm down. Now grab that hook." She gestured to a large, metal crane arm built into the boat. From it dangled a long chain with a large hook fixed to the end. "All we gotta do is hook up the net. After that, we just lower it into the sea and let the fish do the work. Got it, mate?"

[Kitsumi]

His mentor's authoritative tone snapped Nathanial back to reality. He shook his head, clearing it so that he could focus on the task instead of his worries. "Got it, captain!" he said. Hoping to prove himself to Donna, he took the initiative in hooking the net. But he went slowly, allowing her to correct him just in case he was about to make a mistake. Once the net was securely attached, he nodded. "Should be all set. Lower when ready."

He leaned against the railing of the boat, wanting to watch the net as it descended into the water.

[Jedi]

She watched intently, but with crossed arms and no reaction. She didn't want him to react to her actions should she see something he did wrong. Instead, she'd let him learn from his own experience. He luckily didn't make any mistakes, but it seemed like he was taking his time with the matter. As he finished, she walked over to the crank and began to turn it. The net began its descent, gently breaking the surface of the water.

A few minutes passed by without any pull on the net. She figured she should make small talk while waiting for the haul. "You aint been on this boat long. These trips can take a long time, and often don't bring much reward. Don't be surprised if we come back to shore empty handed." Of course, the fish should be swimming closer to the surface, looking for the heat near the surface of the water. She knew they'd bring a load of fish back tonight.

[Kitsumi]

As he had worked with the net, his anxieties began to melt away. He had practiced these movements so many times, he could practically do them with his eyes closed. And something about this work was incredibly relaxing to him. It felt as if he were at home out here, in a fishing boat, with not another soul in sight. Well, except for the captain, of course.

He quickly looked up as Donna began talking to him. Nodding thoughtfully, he smiled. "That's okay," he said. "I mean, I'm sure it's not good for you, so I hope that we do catch a lot of fish. But even if we don't... I just like being out here." He leaned back, his forearms and back resting on the rails. "That's why you do this, right? I mean, there are plenty of other jobs that pay better, and take less effort too. Being a fisherman - or fisherwoman - it's more of a mindset than a career. Isn't it?"

[Jedi]

Belladonne had known Nathanial since they were children. Back then, he was lucky enough to go to school and learn practical knowledge in life, while her poor father couldn't afford to send her. Instead, she spent all her days assisting him on the Colalt Baron, which had been her father's at the time. For some reason, he had thought that she was the lucky one, which always bothered her. He had a chance for an education, and instead followed around her like a lost puppy.

A couple decades past, and they were both adults. Now, Nathanial was learning under her on her boat. And she didn't mind the company so much. And she felt at home on the sea, even if it were because she had no other choice.

"I do this job," she said in her rough voice, "because it's what I know. It's all I've ev'r known." She could tell he didn't mean any harm in the statement, so she tried not to take any offense. "And what of you? I mean, you've been training under me for a few months now, right? Whatever happened to that fancy education or yers?"

[Kitsumi]

The swift change in her demeanor was not lost on Nathanial, although he was clueless as to what had caused Belladonne to suddenly become more stern. She had always been a pretty closed off, no-nonsense sort of person. But this was different. This was something close to anger, although not quite. They had been friends for a long time, so he could recognize her moods better than most others... but she was still incredibly difficult to read.

"I don't understand," he said slowly. "I thought you liked living like this?" When she asked about his education, he sighed. "I don't consider graduating high school to be a 'fancy education' you know. College is way too expensive for someone like me, who probably won't excel anyways."

[Jedi]

She knew that she shouldn't have let her sour attitude out. Belladonne usually had more control over her emotions and her reactions. But she had a soft spot for Nathaniel, or Nate as he usually went by. She gave him another stern look and stated, "Forget about it, Nathaniel. We both ended up in this life one way or another. There's no use in either of us moping about it." She gripped the rope and felt for any sort of vibration. To no avail, she could tell that only a few fish had managed to get caught in it. "Looks like we won't be getting much tonight." But then she felt something pull on it. "Wait, what was that?" A few seconds passed and the boat started pulling to one side. "What the hell is that!"

[Kitsumi]

It was rare for Donna to show her emotions so clearly, and Nate had half a mind to press her for more information while he had the chance. But she seemed to not want to talk about it anymore, and he didn't want to only make things worse by pestering her. So he decided to let it go, simply shrugging and nodding in agreement with her words. "Yeah, if you say so," he said.

He felt a bit disappointed when the nets were revealed to be almost empty of fish. But then when the boat began pulling, he braced himself, eyes wide. "I... I don't know," he said honestly. "What should I do? Captain?"

[Jedi]

"Let up the anchor!" she called out. She could tell whatever they'd caught would likely be able to overturn the boat, capsizing it. "Git those sails down af'er that! We'll need all the fight we can git!" She went to the helm, which had started turning at a million mph, or so it felt like. When she gripped it, her arms were nearly rippid out of socket. Luckily, her years on the rough sea had given her plenty of muscle to fight against the great pull of this aquatic beast. "Whatever this is, it'll be worth the catch!"

[Kitsumi]

"Aye, captain!" Immediately upon receiving the command, Nathanial jumped into action. He sprinted for the anchor, lifting it as quickly as he could while still taking the proper precautions. Once that was done, he made for the sails. It was difficult to do anything with the boat moving so erratically, but he eventually managed to compete the task, although his hands had been minorly scraped by the rope when all was said and done. He barely felt the pain, though. He was too excited - this was his first big catch!

"What do you think it is?" he asked. He wanted to lean over the side of the boat in an attempt to get a good look, but he had a feeling that doing so would only bring the risk of getting thrown overboard. So he instead entered the helm of the ship, bracing himself.