ArchivedLogs:In Which The Lake Is Empty And Plans Are Made To Fix That Via Fish Triangulation

In Which The Lake Is Empty And Plans Are Made To Fix That Via Fish Triangulation
Dramatis Personae Kyinha, Taylor	2016-01-08 "{Hell yes I would!}"
Location <XS> Lake
Bright, bright, bright; the lake glitters wide and expansive here, stretching off into the distance. Sunlight, moonlight, starlight, it catches them all. Lapping at the rocky shore, its deep waters are frigid in winter and cool even in summer. A stone pier stretches out a ways into the water, wide and smooth, though often icy in winter. The water teems with life nevertheless, home to myriad species of fish that provide for ample fishing or just lazy watching on a slow summer day, for those who want to take a boat from the boathouse out to the center of the lake, or perhaps lounge on the pier and try their luck. Even well before dinnertime it's starting to get dark, and plenty cold out by the water. This hasn't stopped Taylor from going for a swim, evidently. There's a pile of clothes (basketball shorts, sneakers, athletic tank, sweatshirt) heaped on the pier together with several towels (neatly folded in contrast to the heap of clothes.) A dripping snakey mess of limbs is writhing up out of the water, curling around the rocks to pull Taylor up out of the frigid lake. The teenager is tense but not shivering as he wraps a towel around his waist, using two others to start patting down his arms. There's a deep frown on his face, eyes turned out towards the water. Kyinha has been lying out on the pier in a shaft of fading afternoon sunlight with only a bright blue sarong covered with abstract fish patterns wrapped around his waist. His black skin looks even darker, absent the faint aura he usually exudes. He blinks reddish-orange as he wakes to the sounds of dripping water. Sits up sluggishly and frowns at the darkening sky. Then looks over at Taylor, "{Hello.}" "{Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt your nap.}" Several of Taylor's arms shake out over the water, his head turning to look back over his shoulder at Kyinha. "{Was it a good one?}" "{I didn't mean to fall asleep. Needed one, I guess.}" Kyinha scrubs the side of his face with one hand. "{It was nice. How was your swim?}" "{Eerie.}" Taylor is still patting down his arms; drying them all off is kind of a /process/. "{I was talking with Shane just the other day and had to see for myself. It used to be so -- full.}" Now he /does/ shiver, keeping one towel draped around his shoulders even while a third still pats at his arms. "{Kind of dead in there now.}" "{Overharvested.}" Kyinha nods slowly. "{Expected. It would take a very long time to recover on its own.}" He stretches and looks down at his hand. A faint aura surrounds it for a moment, then fades. "{Not a difficult fix, though.}" "{No?}" Taylor looks surprised at this. He reaches to tug on his shorts, first, before dropping his towel and pulling his tank top back on. "{How would you... uh. Fix.}" His mouth twitches up into a crooked smile. "{Sometimes I sing to my plants. I don't know if that'll really help so much.}" "{Nothing arcane, in thise case: put fish back /in/ the lake.}" Kyinha folds his legs up under himself. Looks out over the water. "{The timing is good -- ecosystem will be in low gear for the winter. Raise a lot of fish fry in tanks, release them in the spring.}" His smile is thin. "{Not /difficult/. But, still takes work.}" "Huh." Taylor frowns thoughtfully, shrugging back into his sweatshirt as well -- that, too, is kind of also a /process/. "{Work for -- who.}" His eyes turn back to the lake, considering. "{Shane probably knows more about the shit was living in there than most people. I mean, I /spend/ a lot of time in there but I -- don't know that much about --}" He shrugs. "{He's really /into/ ecology and marine conservation and all that shit, you know? On /top/ of practically living in there.}" One slim arm runs over the top of his head, several others folding his towels back up loosely. "{Wonder where we'd set up a fish farm.}" Kyinha's eyes narrow at the water surface -- as red as they are now, the expression of concentration looks cartoonishly sinister. "{I was going to offer it as an extra credit project in bio, at least, but couldn't hurt to shoot something to the schoolwide listserve.}" He looks back at Taylor. Nods. "{I know. Should shoot him an email if I don't run into him soon. See if he's got any advice, or would like to participate.}" To the last question he rubs at his chin, considering. "{Boat house, maybe? It's not used as much in winter, so there's enough space, but might put off some volunteers, when it starts getting /real/ cold out.}" "{Put some space heaters in it.}" Taylor moves off the cold rock to stand on his folded towels, now, toes curling down into the cloth. He crouches to start putting on his shoes, arms beginning to wind loosely around his torso. "{Don't suppose you'd want to give me extra credit in /Trig/ for -- fish. Keeping.}" His brows lift, a hopeful grin shot Kyinha's way. "{Fish triangulation.}" "{More efficient just to heat the aquariums, probably...}" Kyinha taps at his chin. "{Probably both, for the sake of the /people/ tending the fish, if nothing else.}" Never mind that /he's/ been napping topless on the pier and Taylor just climbed out of the icy waters. "{You know, trig is the /only/ class I teach where I can't think of an obvious way to tie in a project like this?} Then he smirks, a crooked fiery light behind his lips. "{But, hell yes I would!}" "{Fantastic. I'm going to Trig /all/ the fish.}" Taylor's brows crease for a moment. "{I hope it's not a problem I don't know shit -- uh, don't know anything,}" Taylor amends with a hasty sheepish half-smile and rub at the back of his neck, "{about fish raising.}" He scoops the towels up against his chest, tipping his chin up to Kyinha. "{You really should ask Shane, though. He's -- you know. Fishy.}" One of his tentacles uncoils just a little from his body, its club waving to the teacher as he starts back up the pier. "{Dinner soon. Don't forget.}" Kyinha chuckles, shaking his head. "{I'm a little hazy on the fine /details/ of raising these particular fish, myself, but so I welcome all the fishy expertise I can get.}" When he smiles this time, it's sincere and unironic. "{Don't worry, it'll be a group effort. Figure it out together.}" He flops back down on the pier, though the light's grown much too thin for sunbathing. "{Right -- supper. See you!}"