sixthiterationlogs | A boat without an anchor

WHO: Killian Jones
WHERE: The lake near 7I
WHEN: April 22
OPEN TO: All
WARNINGS: None

Killian has been going farther afield, and for longer periods, lately. With the disappearance of Moana too, there's not really anyone expecting him in the village anymore, and there are others who fish. If he doesn't provide any fish for awhile, the rest will still be fine. And the weather has turned a little warmer and stopped dumping so much snow on them, making longer trips possible again.

He packs supplies sufficient for a few days in the pack he arrived with, intending to do some exploring along the lake near the second village. It just so happens that he has a couple of boats from a couple of winters ago, so his plan is to travel along the shoreline and then camp on land overnight. There's less walking, and it should be possible to get all the way around the lake faster than if he went on foot. Theoretically. He doesn't actually know how big the lake is, but he's determined to find out.

He doesn't know what he's looking for along the shore, specifically, just that it seems that if he wants to make it across the lake, it's better to do it with land in sight, not knowing where he's going. He wishes he could make a map of it, but paper is scarce, so his memory will have to do. At least if this is successful, there will be someone in the village who knows the lake.

Then, even though he's not expecting to find anything, he sees something. To most people, it probably wouldn't look like anything expect a pile of rotting trees covered by weeds, but to someone who's spent as much time as he has around seafaring vessels, he knows exactly what they are: boats. Good, sturdy, wooden boats, not like this flimsy collapsible thing he's got now. He beaches the boat and pulls it onto shore behind him, then goes to examine the boats more closely.

They're not in as good condition as they had appeared from the water, in bad need of repair, but they're still obviously wooden boats. With one of these as a base, he could have a boat unlike any he imagined he could have in this place. He could maybe even rig a sail to it, and salvage some things from the boat Moana constructed; she won't need the parts now, and doesn't think she'd mind if he used them for another boat.

He reaches out to touch one of the broken-down boats, almost lovingly. "You just need a little repair, don't you." It's not strange at all to him that he's talking to a boat, and he doesn't expect that someone other than the boat might be listening. "Don't worry. I can get you good as new, and then you can go back to doing what you were made to do."

He takes a step back again, assessing the state of the boat, making a mental list of everything required for the repairs. It won't be fast or easy, but it's possible. He may require help with some of it, but that is the point of this place, isn't it?

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That one's better than none," he says, indicating the collapsible boat he arrived here in, "but this one would be even better." He tears a few of the overgrown plants away from the boat to make it easier to assess the damage. It won't be a fast fix, but it can be done.

"If you can use your hands and tools and take direction, then I can use your help." Skills can be learned, after all, and really, more than him giving and order and someone following it, this will be a case of someone assisting him with tasks he can't do alone.

"Never had a problem with either of those. It'll be nice to have a project. I know everything's changed in a big way," Raleigh says, "But a lot of the day to day stuff is still the same. I have to check the lines, clean fish, go to the Inn to drop off the catch. It's a routine I've been in for almost two years now."

Raleigh touches the wood of the boat, feeling it beneath his hand. "This will be a good way to fill some more time, make things better for us while we're stuck here."

"I'm certainly not going to complain about finding something like this." It will be a great benefit to them all, because even those who don't catch the fish, eat it, and they can catch more fish with a boat than they can without one.

He's just not going to think too hard about why this boat is here in the first place, or why it's so obviously abandoned. "There's plenty of tasks to do, but it will be nice to have this one." If only because this is the closest he's going to get to his previous life while he's still here.

"It's got to be nice to have something in your wheelhouse," Raleigh agrees. There's no giant robots or kaiju here so his skills run mostly to construction but for someone who is used to being on boats, finding a boat must be something that pleases Killian. The entire time Raleigh has been here he's had issues with feeling like he has a place, that he's useful somehow. Fishing has helped alleviate that somewhat. Maybe the boat will more.

"We got a lot of new tools when we woke up or whatever it was. Probably got what we need to get this boat back in good shape without having to improvise much."

"That will certainly be a help." He hasn't looked through the new tools yet, but he hasn't needed any of them recently. He's been more focused on exploring their new location.

"It's not the tools I'm most worried about," although they will of course be helpful. "It's some of the other supplies that are likely to be more of a challenge. Finished lumber, fittings, anything we need by way of rigging. It won't be a quick process, but we can manage it."

"No, it won't be quick, but I've been cutting lumber for almost two years now. I think I can do it reasonably fast."

He's no expert by any means but Raleigh's good enough at manual labor and strong enough to pick up tasks quickly. He's happy to dedicate that to this cause.

"We'll work something out. Besides, they used to send us things sometimes in boxes. Maybe they'll send some of what we need."

"You'll certainly be faster at it than I will." Cutting the lumber was one of his biggest concerns, since there are a lot of things he has figured out how to do with only one hand, but that isn't one of them. Having a volunteer to do it -- and without him having to ask -- is one major hurdle cleared.

"Perhaps they will. They do seem to know what's important and when."

A boat without an anchor

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