Life As a Fish [Open]

[addisonking]

Flowers blooming, birds chirping, happy little animals waking up from their nice winter naps; that's what it was about. Oh, Spring! Actually, it didn't even feel like really spring. It was chilly, 52 degrees, and a bit gloomy. Hey though, at least rain wasn't pouring from the sky...yet, and no one could say that for the any of the prior days. Ah, but such is the life in Oregon; Mr. Sun seemed to never want to show his face. Not that Addison was one to complain, she loved the rain, but a little bit of sunshine never hurt anyone.

It had to have been about 2:00 pm when Addison finally rolled out of bed, curly brown hair a rats nest of tangles and nature bits. Her hands and feet were both covered in dried clumps of mud, which fell off as she shuffled her way to the bathroom. She'd clean that up later, right now it was time for a shower. After a night of frolicking through the trees, she needed desperately needed one. Showering didn't take long. They never did. She wasn't the type to stay under the water until it ran cold. It was uneventful, no getting shampoo in her eyes and no strange masked man waltzing in while she tried to flush it out. Normally her hearing was better than your average human, now with the new moon, it wouldn't be hard to sneak up behind her. Once she was squeaky clean, she toweled off, got dressed and went to sweep up the mess she'd left. The girl heaved herself onto the couch, satisfied with her handy work.

It didn't take long before something in her stirred. Anxiety, a deep need to not sit still for too long. A quick glance out of the window confirmed that even though the sky was clouded, it wasn't pouring. Hm, what to do? The Pier was always nice for a walk, but it was the sun would be going down soon, and it was off putting for her to be there in the dark. Plus with all of the tourists families --Well, kids today weren't exactly nice.

Addison blink, if anyone were looking at her, they'd probably think the hamsters turning the wheels of her mind took a break to go get some cookies... Did hamsters like cookies? If they got cookies would they need a glass of milk too? Speaking of cookies, there was that old bread sitting on the counter. Since it was stale she wasn't going to eat it anyway, but ducks would! What a wonderful idea, to go feed the little duckiest in the pond! Oh, and the fish might even eat it! With that she hopped up off, went to grab her coat, and stuffed the left-over bread in her bag.

The park was always beautiful, even wet, even if the trees didn't have all of their leaves. The pond, was still, it didn't look as if the all ducks had found their way back yet. A few drifted along here and there, but not exactly in the numbers her mind had predicted. Addison frowned, that was poor planning. At least there were the kois, right? She found herself a nice little spot on a rock on the shore before pulling out the bread bag. Smiling at a jogger and her dog as they ran passed, she broke a small piece off and tossed it into the water. Almost immediately the inhabitants surfaced to investigate. What would it be like to be a fish? Swimming all the time. It was probably the best place to be on a hot day. Did they know the world was much larger than their lake?

So many questions, Addison ceased feeding them and just stared, lost in thought. Life as fish; how curious.

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin had been given a great deal to think about recently. He had spent the evening at Claire's. It had probably been one of the most liberating nights of his life, at that. He had shared his secret with her, something he had never done with someone outside of his own species before. He felt terrified and invigorated. His mind raced with the thought of what it all would mean. She was fascinated by him, excited almost. She wasn't nearly as terrified as he had expected her to be, but then again it was Claire. Claire was full of life and had a thirst for knowledge that seemed difficult to quench. That's what he loved about Claire.

Then it hit him. It was what he loved about her. Did Griffin love Claire? His mind spun with the thought of it. Of course he loved Claire. What wasn't there to love? He loved spending time with her. He loved her quirky sense of humor and the odd way she rambled on. He loved the color of her hair, and he loved how deep and innocent her eyes were, almost child like with wonder. He loved how passionate she was. He loved the way her freckles painted her skin like a Jackson Pollock piece. He loved how open she had been with him, even if it had taken a bit of coaxing on his part. But did that mean he was in love with her?

Griffin pondered this thought. He'd never been in love. In his nearly sixty years on this planet he had never encountered the emotion and really was hopeless when it came to spotting it. He could visit every country, read every book, listen to every song and still be completely useless when it came to love.

Perhaps, he though, he ought to talk to Flynn about it. Flynn knew of love, but only in the fictional way. Though she had at least had a companion for a time. Griffin, too, once had a companion but it had been short lived. They had been an Avisaille like him, but they just never connected in the way that Griffin thought he should be able to connect with a lover.

Claire, however, did.

He got on so well with her, but her inability to keep calm around him posed as a problem. Could she handle such emotion? According to everything he read there was lots of emotion when it came to love and relationships. Would Claire ever be equipped to handle that sort of relationship with anyone? Especially someone who would hold her back at times? Griffin would age much slower than she would. They could never go swimming in public together. Their life would be secret in some ways, never being able to truly file for a legal wedding. How would he explain his age? Not unless he had fake documents printed up, which he could. It all seemed so complicated. Griffin loved puzzles, complicated ones at that, but this seemed complex even for him.

The man sighed, sliding his hands into the pockets of his windbreaker. He decided he would try and not think on it too much. If he and Claire were meant to be, by all means, they would be. It would work itself out as all things in the universe did eventually. What sense was there pondering on it so much especially if nothing were to come of it.

His grayish green eyes moved to the overcast sky. It looked like rain. It usually did this time of year. At least the weather wasn't too bad; it as cool, but comfortably so. He liked the mid fifties; it was cool enough to chill your cheeks, giving them a nice rosy color, but not quite cool enough to make you shiver.

H?is eyes wandered to the people around who were enjoying the morning with him. He nodded and smiled politely at a jogger with her dogs and then spotted a girl feeding the ducks, what few ducks were actually still about. He admired her from the path, watching her like a picture in a museum. There was something delicate about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on. Her hair blew gently in the breeze, soft, messy curls that seemed to dance against her forehead. The water was a little choppy from the wind and the few ducks that swam about yelled softly at her for more food. He could see the the bits of bread on the water bounce, obviously being picked over by the fish below. Sometimes Griffin wished he had a camera.

Being the friendly sort he made his way over to the girl on the rock, taken with her. He didn't need to speak with her to know she was kind. Any friend to nature, was certainly a friend to him. "I'm sure they appreciate that." He said softly, just loud enough for her to hear over the splashing water and gentle gusts of wind, sweeping his own short hair this way and that. "That's probably the best use of stale bread in my opinion." He offered her a kind smile, letting her know he meant no harm before he let his eyes linger on a duck.

How nice it must be to be able to spread your wings freely.

[addisonking]

"I'm sure they appreciate that."

The masculine voice startled her back to reality with a slight jump. Addison turned to look at him and smiled. What a nice voice he had. It was soothing in some regard. Soft spoken, it was difficult to find anymore. Instantly she liked him, then again there weren't many people out there the girl didn't like. She just stared at him while he spoke and continued to even after. Not exactly polite, but she had to appreciate newcomers in her life. Everyone had something beautiful about them beyond their personalities. His eyes were kind and she admired the way his the corners of his lips turned up into a smile. It was not about physical attraction, he was just a very pretty man.

"Oh, I wasn't going to eat it anyway," she mused finally following his gaze back to the water. One of the mallards quacked impatiently, quickly getting rewarded with another piece of bread. "Sorry, duckie, I'm so slow." Her head tilted to the side as she looked back at her new friend, (Yes, they were friends now whether she knew his name or not. That was just how she was. Strangers were all just friends waiting to be made.) She pushed the bag closer to him and patted the rock next to her. What point was there in standing? Sure the rock was a bit chilly, but being next to the wild life was the most fun of feeding them. You made new little animal buddies. "Would you like some? You can feed them too, I don't mind sharing. It is sort of relaxing," Addison finished, voice trailing, looking back towards the pond. The fish still poking up to eat, the popping sound they always made was a bit silly. That's right little fishies, eat up. Bread probably tastes better than... whatever fish normally munch on.

That brought her back to her original thoughts: How it would be to constantly have fins and gills, and not being able to leave this pond. It was a sad thought, being stuck in once place. Sure, Addison was not a well-traveled individual. She had been to see her father as a child but he only lived a few counties away. Leaving Scriptor Bay for another town in Oregon didn't exactly count as an adventure. Still, it wasn't like as if the girl sat in her apartment all day everyday with no means of leaving. She shivered, whether at the thought or because of the wind was anyone's guess. Maybe it was both? Either way, she did the last few buttons on her jacket.

"What do you think of the fish? Do you think they like it in there or do you think they want to go somewhere else?" Possibly a strange question to ask someone you met not even ten minutes ago, but she needed another view or even some confirmation. Then it was time to work on master plot to relocate the Fernley Park inhabitants lake to the coast! If, you know, they could survive in salt water.

[GRIFFIN CARTWRIGHT]

Griffin was instantly taken with her kindness. She had a gentleness to her, an innocence he didn't often see in people. He wondered briefly if she was kin to him, but knew he could not say just yet. She cared for the animals and she didn't treat him like a pariah. She showed kindness and friendliness in a world often smothered with hesitation and expectations of the very worst in others. It was refreshing, like Claire.

When she patted the rock beside her he briefly thought he had misinterpreted her gesture. She was asking him, a strange man, to join her? "Would you like some? You can feed them too, I don't mind sharing. It is sort of relaxing," His grin grew and he gave a single gentle nod of his head.

His movements were slow as he made his way to the rock, sliding over beside her careful to give her room. This was mainly to show he meant no harm, though she obviously knew that, and also so she wouldn't accidentally brush against his harness. No need sending strange ideas into her head. He'd shared his secret more than he should already that week, though he had no regrets. Griffin was glad Claire knew. Relieved, even. "Thank you." He said thoughtfully, smiling at her before looking out into the water.

Griffin reached into the bag and pulled out a slice of bread and tore it into pieces. He hadn't even caught the young woman's name, but that didn't seem to phase him. If anything it made the moment more charming, having nothing personal between them yet. He tossed the bread into the water, watching the circles spread on the waters surface upon contact, the fish popping up to nibble at it as it bobbed, causing more circles to appear. Nature was so incredible.

"What do you think of the fish? Do you think they like it in there or do you think they want to go somewhere else?" It was a valid question and he pondered for a moment, tilting his head a little, his brows furrowing gently in concentration.

Griffin loved questions like these. They were completely up to the person, no answer being really right or wrong. It was an excellent way to learn, to begin to truly understand your surroundings in the world you lived in.

"I think they like it." He said truthfully, turning his head to watch the girl at his side. "The ocean would be too salty for them seeing as this is a man made lake and they are fresh water fish. They likely get a decent meal of bread crumbs a few times a week, maybe even a few times a day. Fishing is frowned upon here, so they have no need to fear the hook.. That and they have no knowledge of life outside this lake. This is the only life they know of." He explained, deciding it was a good enough answer.

"But personally.." He added, looking to the water, "I would never like to be a fish. Stuck in the water seems so confining. I'm content being me, here on land, as I'm sure the fish are content being in the water. That and I would miss my thumbs." He teased with another smile.

Griffin looked out at the water. "Do you come here often to feed the fish and ponder their happiness?"