beyondtheline | Oh, there was a time when she'd lie in the grass, and imagine the places she'd never go

[It takes a few tries to get the hook tied onto the line in a way it won't just come right off when he tugs on it. This fishing line stuff, it doesn't grip itself the way a rope or string would, it kind of slides. But eventually he's satisfied, after poking himself in the thumb not just once but twice, and then he cuts the line and brings it on over. No rod needed, that would've been a pain to bring down here - he'd been hoping to find a stick but without is good too. A hook and bait should be fine, right?

He's on his way over when she exclaims about that juicy worm, and he fakes a gagging sound, then laughs and tousles her hair as he comes to sit by her.]

Doin' good here, huh? Here, gimme that juicy thing.

[He takes the worm, but then frowns as it occurs to him he has to impale it on the hook. And man, that kinda feels weird. He doesn't care a ton about animals and this is just a worm, it's a bug, but it's so helpless as it writhes around in his fingers. So completely clueless about what's about to happen to it. What can a worm even know? This shit he wouldn't have even thought of, wouldn't have flinched about, before realizing to some things out there, he's the one who's just the worm.

Man. Fuck it, guy's gotta eat.

Sorry worm.

He stuffs it onto the spiked hook as quickly as he can and hopes worms don't actually feel pain or care about much at all. It's still moving, so it's fine, right?]

There we go, bait on the hook. Cross your fingers!

[With one hand on the end of the coil of line, he tosses the rest out toward the deeper part of the river. And now they wait, so he settles his head on her shoulder.]

[There's about a minute where she feels bad for the worm. It was just living its life down there in the mud, and a giant hand just dug in and tore it out, only to have another set of hands impale it on a hook. She's been the worm once or twice in the past few months, and that feeling leaves her uncomfortable as she silently sits beside Johnnie.

That feeling thankfully is fleeting, and she leans her head over so her cheek is resting against the top of his head. This isn't exactly the type of fishing she was imagining, but she finds she likes it a lot. It's not often they're just still like this. Not in a way where they both can find some contentment in doing absolutely nothing.]

I have a whole box full of bugs, if you need them.

[Figuring it's time to break that quiet, she laughs and picks up the cracker box full of insects and puts it right into his lap.]

This is really nice. The whole trip so far has been fun, but this may be my favorite part so far.

[You know, apart from all the great sex they've had. But that should go unsaid. That's always amazing.]

[Mmm, cracker box full of bugs. Don't accidentally reach in for a snack, ew - but the thought makes him chuckle.]

Yeah? Sittin' here by the river, doin' nothing for a minute?

[It's nice. It's fine. It's definitely made better by the fact that she's here next to him, and that he's done running around for a little while. If he wasn't tired from that hike down he'd find this pretty boring.

At least they're in a beautiful place to sit around and wait. From down here, the canyon feels wider than he'd thought it would - but at the same time it completely surrounds them, towering so high up above that it's hard to grasp the size of it. They would barely register as spots on that cliffside up there if they were standing up there and looking down.

After a long while, he finally feels something tug on his line. It shakes him into alertness, and he gives an experimental pull just to make sure he hadn't imagined it, but no, there's something pulling back!]

I think I got one!

[Hand over hand, he draws in the line. It's not much of a fight, whatever this is - and sure enough a fin breaks the surface, then a fish, a round blue-gray thing no bigger than his hand. He snorts, amused, as he holds it up and lets it dangle from the hook.]

Well, I guess that's a fish but we'd need about twelve of these to make a meal.

[She jumps up to her feet while he brings in that little fish, and it doesn't matter how small it is. She's enthused that he's caught anything at all. Which of course means she's wiggling in excitement, and has to lean down to kiss at his temple.]

You did so good, babe! I found a lot of bugs, let's put that one back and see if we can catch something bigger!

[In fact, she'll go back to searching for worms right now. She hadn't corrected him earlier, but she feels like now's the right time to say something. She's hands deep in mud and grime, looking for earthworms, and hasn't ever been happier about getting to get dirty.]

This is what I like best, by the way. Getting to dig in the dirt.

[She finds a worm just then, and brings it over for him to use. Maybe they'll have better luck and catch something bigger.]

[Throw it back, or use it as bait?

That's the question he's asking himself when she goes back to digging in the mud, and by the time she's handed him a worm he's already tossed the little fish back into the water. Might as well give this a second try before he goes right to scaling up bait. A fish big enough to eat that last one whole probably isn't even in this river anyway, it's not quite deep enough for that, he has to figure.

So onto the hook the second worm goes.]

Never woulda guessed. But I guess it ain't somethin' you get to do on a regular day, huh?

[The baited hook lands in the water with a plop, and he settles back on his palms to wait with the line coiled around one hand. He looks up at her then, grinning.]

You look real good with a little dirt on you. I wonder what else there is to find down here? Maybe people up top accidentally drop jewelry an' shit down here. We could find us some stuff to pawn.

Guess we should've brought a metal detector down with us.

[Her grandfather had one, and used to take her brother out with it every summer when they went to stay for a couple of weeks. Once or twice her grandmother let her go out and do it too, and it was always fun.]

I'll let you know if I find any watches or rings or anything.

[So far, there's absolutely nothing. But there's a lot of ground to cover down here.

She goes back to focusing on digging, and after about five minutes her fingers grasp at something solid and cool. It's pulled out and she laughs as she sees it.]

Well, I found this.

[A quarter. She rubs off some of the mud before tossing it over to him.]

Don't spend it all in one place. Have you gotten any bites yet?

[See, now he's done it, now he's given her something else to dig for other than bugs. He's weirdly proud though, like he's helped her discover a true love of something she never had. And hell, maybe she'll find something good!

Like... a quarter! He laughs and catches it, then has a look at its worn surface.]

Nah, no bites yet. Hey, look at it though. It's a weird quarter, never seen one like that. 1822, it says.

[So maybe not "weird", just old. Definitely unexpected. It has different art on it too, a different face and different eagle. Must be they changed the designs a couple times.]

Lucky find. Maybe it's worth more than a regular quarter, but it's pretty beat up. Hey, you think maybe some a' those old guys left their treasure down here? Seems like some of 'em woulda had stuff they couldn't haul up. Especially if they died down here!

We should look around using the map at all their areas. I bet we'll find some cool things.

[Why aren't fish biting though? That worm she gave him was really good. It's hard not to take personal offense at the fact he hasn't caught any fish yet. They're both still really hungry and they deserve at least one big fish. Her head lifts and she looks out toward the water, silently begging it to give them some luck. After about fifteen or twenty seconds she gives up, and goes back to paying attention to all the dirt and mud.]

Hold onto that quarter in your pocket, maybe we can sell it to a collector in Vegas for some cash.

[Or they can keep at as a souvenir, she isn't particular one way or another. She is thirsty though, so she hops up and cleans off her hands as best as she can on her shorts before jogging back over to their stuff to get the water bottle. It's brought back over to where they're sitting so she can pass it to him once she's had her fill.

Rather than sit back down though, she leans over to peer at the river, her hands resting on her knees.]

We'll have to be careful not to find too much stuff though. As hard as it was to walk down here, it's going to be a lot harder to get back up to the top.

[A nice long drink of water sure is welcome. He sets the bottle down and goes back to leaning against her. This fishing thing is starting to get pretty boring after all, it was really only a matter of time.]

Yeah, nothin' heavy. But at least we'll go up with lighter packs from eatin' all the food we brought. Maybe there's an easier way outta here, too, maybe we'll find somethin'. Long as we get back to the car in the end.

[Oh, is there something on the line? He could swear he felt something just then, but it was barely anything. Well, might as well pull it up, and if it's nothing, maybe they should move. Hand over hand, he reels the hook in, only to find a tiny crawfish grappling with the remnants of that worm.]

The fuck is that, a mini lobster?

[He reaches to remove it, and just holds it awkwardly by the tail while its pincers flail in the air.]

I'd put it in the bug box but it might eat the other bugs. You think fish eat these?

It's so cute!

[She laughs as she leans in a little closer to get a better look at the little guy. If she wasn't worried about it dying outside the water, she would take it from him and toss it right into the bug box. Let him have a buffet.]

He looks like he'd pinch any fish that tried eating him. Maybe we should throw it back too. Hey, let me try throwing the line out.

[It's not like she thinks she'll do better than he has. It's all luck. But she wants a turn because it seems interesting and new.]

Can you grab one of the bugs and hook it on the line though?

[She'd do it herself, but it makes her feel sad and guilty.]

[Yeah, he doesn't need this mini lobster thing, or whatever it is. Back to the river it goes with a sigh, and then he reaches into the box and grabs some weird muddy bug thing and sticks it onto the hook. It's easier now than that first worm, he got over it quickly.]

Here, maybe they like these beetle things better than worms.

[He's not actually sure that's a beetle, but it sounds better than "bug" in his head for some reason. He passes her the coil of line, hook hanging from the end of it, then settles back to enjoy doing nothing for as long as he can tolerate doing so.

Which is not that long, but he grabs the map to look at, meanwhile, and comes right back. But standing, before he sits back down, he has another look at the river and the banks upstream.]

I guess if I was gonna bury treasure out here with the hope I might come back for it some day, it'd be up closer to the wall, not down here by the river. I bet if there's a buncha rain this whole thing floods. They'd lose their shit downriver if they put it too low.

Yeah?

[She glances over at him, but quickly looks back out toward the water. Maybe if she gives it intense enough eye contact, it will give her a huge fish.]

If I don't catch anything, let's just eat more peanut butter and then we can go walk along the wall.

[It sounds like a good enough plan to her, because her own attention span for this is starting to fade. Luckily, she feels a tug to the string only a few minutes later. And of course she jumps up to her feet and cheers, pulling it in as fast as she can.

The fish on the other end is different than what he pulled out the first time, and is bigger too. She has no idea if it'll be enough to eat, but she's proud of herself all the same.]

Quick, go run and get my camera! Please? I want to get a picture of my first catch.

Shit, more peanut butter sounds good no matter what.

[He folds up the map and tucks it into his pocket, then goes to get the crackers and the peanut butter for them to snack on while they wait.

And it's not much of a snack given how quickly she hooks that fish. He grins and gives her a cheerful slap on the back as he hops up to get that camera.]

Yeah, sure! First catch, an' biggest one of the day!

[He soon strides back over, camera in hand, and has her hold it up so he can snap a photo and grab it from the camera to shake.]

You think that one's a keeper? I bet if we got a couple more we could make it a meal. Not too bad, right? If nothin' else we can make fish tacos an' fill 'em with other stuff we brought.

[Like... peanut butter? Crackers? They mostly didn't bring the sorts of perishable things that go well in tacos. But they'll figure it out.]

[She almost doesn't want to cook it. It's her fish that she caught, surely they could find a way to just keep it, right? But traveling around with a fishbowl isn't going to happen, and neither of them are in a place where they feed themselves on a regular basis. She doubts they'd remember to feed a fish long enough to keep it alive.

So she nods and holds out the string toward him, because she has absolutely no idea what to do with the fish after catching it.]

Let's try to catch a couple more. We'll need somewhere to keep it while we're getting the others though.

[Her eyes go to that cracker box, and she waits until he takes the fish and the line and goes to dump it out. Goodbye, bugs. They get a second chance at life, and she gets a place to store her fish that Johnnie gets the honor of killing. Once the bugs are out of the box, she carries it over to him and holds it out at the ready.]

We can eat the rest of the crackers and some peanut butter while we wait for more bites.

[See, this part he can do, no problem. Why is it that he has no issue with killing a fish when the worm made him pause? Maybe because the fish is more obviously food, and food is food, not something to feel bad about.

He unhooks her fish, hands back the line in trade for the box, then gives the fish a good whack on the head with a nearby rock. That'll do it. Into the box goes the fish, then, out of the sun.]

Works for me. You better be the one to throw that hook in, I think you got some real luck on your side right now.

[Okay, so now his hands are covered in fish slime and that's kind of gross. He gets up to go rinse them off in the river - which isn't maybe the cleanest thing ever but it can't be that bad, what would pollute it out here? So that's good enough for him, and after wiping them off on his jeans, he comes back to get more peanut buttery crackers down, along with another gulp of water, and a short trip back to his backpack to grab a cigarette and his lighter before he sits himself back down to enjoy a smoke while they wait.]

[The second fish takes about twenty minutes to bite and reel in, and the third another thirty after that. But just about an hour later, they have three dead fish and Chrissy is ravenous enough to wash her hands in the river and devour crackers dipped in peanut butter without worrying about all the dirt.]

I think the little salt and pepper containers are in my backpack, so at least we can season the fish a little. Should we...cut off the heads? It's weird to cook them when they still have their eyes, right?

[She'd feel awkward if their lunch could look at her while it was cooking. That doesn't really matter if they can't even get a fire going. They're going to have to work hard to find enough material laying around to do that.]

[By that third fish, she definitely gets a round of applause before he dispatches it and sets it aside with the others. His girl, the fisherwoman! Who knew.]

Yeah, let's get the heads off. Gotta gut 'em too. And... scales? Shit, how do you get those off? Maybe we just don't eat the skin.

[But he can try. Fish heads, those go in the river, something else will eat them. Fish guts too. Better the water carries it away from their campsite so they don't attract vultures or coyotes or fish-eating aliens.

The scales, well, he does his best to scrape them off with his blade even though it's not strictly necessary, and he thinks he does all right. If she can catch fish, he can at least do some magic with his knife to make sure they're delicious.]

All right! So I guess... Shit, we hardly got much to start a fire with down here do we? I guess we can burn some of these bushes, the more dead ones. An' the fish can just sit right on the fire, they're wet enough, they won't burn. You wanna season these an' I'll get a fire going?

[He passes the fish off to her to season and do whatever she wants with, while he kicks down scrubby sagebrush and spindly twigs from the bushes to make a small pile to burn. It's hot and smoky, but that'll just make the fish taste even better.]

[While he's prepping the fish to be cooked, she goes to find a rock that can act as a decent enough surface to season the fish on. It takes her a few minutes, but she finds something not too far off from where they're setting things up. She goes to grab the fish from him and sets it out, using salt and pepper to try and get it ready to be cooked.

Fish are pretty gross looking before they're cooked though. Ick.

Once they're seasoned she goes to help him finish gathering some brush and twigs to get a fire going. It's going to burn bright and fast, and she worries about keeping one going if it gets cold down here at night. That's a problem for later though.

They work together to get the fire made and the fish on the fire to cook. And then they sit in the shade a good distance away, because it's just too damn hot to sit right beside it. This time, she rests her head on his shoulder, and fights dozing off for a nap.]

I really need to rest a little after we eat. You don't mind, do you?

Naw, that's fine. I'll keep an eye on things around here. Wouldn't want any lobsters to come run outta the river an' pinch your nose.

[He grins and pinches at her nose with his fingers, because apparently he's now a lobster, then snickers as he watches the fire. Yeah, this one won't last, but as long as it gets the fish cooked it'll be fine and they can deal with bringing it back to life later tonight.]

Maybe I'll keep my gun ready for any rabbits, see if we can't get us some rabbit for dinner. So if you hear a gunshot, uh, sorry. Figure it ain't any real danger. But that's only if I see a rabbit, an' it's been real quiet down here.

[No, he can't handle it, he has to get up and poke at the fire, flip the fish over. There, cooking.

Off in the bushes, something moves, and his head snaps toward it, hopeful that he's just summoned a rabbit on command - but whatever it is, it scurries off without him even getting a glimpse. Might've actually been a rock rolling down off the canyon wall, and that thought gets him to look up the wall in speculation.]

Okay, well, that's a kinda noise I wasn't hoping for. That shit better not come down any time soon. 'Course, it's been there how long now? Fuckin' thousands of years? Hundreds of thousands?

[How old is the Earth anyway? Who knows.]

[His nose pinching antics make her laugh, and she forms a claw with her hands and pinches at his cheek.]

Well, as long as you're using the gun to protect me from mini crabs or hunt dinner, I guess I can't be angry if you wake me up.

[An apologetic kiss is pressed to the area of his cheek she just pinched, but her mind is too focused on that sound they just heard to be fully playful. It's hard not to wonder what that movement was, and she hops up to her feet to edge in closer to the bushes so she can try and figure it out.

Her footsteps fall silently against the ground as she tiptoes in closer and closer...only to have a bird hop out at her and fly directly at her face. She shrieks and covers her head with both hands, and drops down to a crouch so it can fly over her. ]

Shoot that bird! It's a menace!

[She's laughing though, because there's no way a little bird like that would make a good dinner.]

[Oh he watches, tense, ready as Chrissy approaches the source of the sound, and boy does he fucking get ready when she screams, though by habit his hand goes to his knife, not the gun. Of course, just as soon as he's done that, it's obvious what happened and he laughs, practically doubling over where he stands.]

Fucking bird! Shit, I was ready to stick whatever it was in the eye. Get outta here bird!

[No chance of shooting it now, it's long gone. Still laughing, he links his arm with hers and tugs her back to where they were sitting, then eyes the fish. Not quite done yet, but getting on their way.]

Well, better that than a rock, last thing we need's a rockslide down here. Hey, maybe if we leave crackers out though, we can lure some birds in for dinner. I want big ones though, not fuckin' pigeons or whatever that was.

[He gives it a few more minutes, then goes to his bag and gets the little camping mess kit he'd grabbed, stackable bowls and foldable forks. The fish go into one bowl once he fetches them out of the fire by the fins, then he sits next to her and passes over a fork and the other bowl.]

There we go, we can split these up. Man, that smells good though, huh?

[Her eyes look from him to the fish, and she bites at her lip as she nods. It does smell good, a lot better than she was expecting. There's a surge of pride at the fact she caught the fish, and he was able to cook them up so nicely. They really do make a great team, and they're out here handling this survival thing with no real issues at all.]

I'll grab the tortillas I put in my backpack, I think there's only a couple. We probably don't need to add anything else to make tacos.

[Unless he brought the jar of salsa, which isn't likely, but also might be a very real possibility.]

You didn't grab the salsa, did you?

[It sounds like such a ridiculous thing to bring along in his backpack that she giggles as soon as she asks it, and hurries over to grab those tortillas she mentioned. As soon as she's back, her attention goes to grabbing one of those little folding forks, so she can work at shredding the fish to make taco filling.]

We should catch another couple of fish. Crackers won't lure in a big bird, but dead fish sitting out might. But I guess it might also lure in bears. Do bears even live around here?

[Her head tips upward as she looks around those canyon walls. It doesn't seem very bear-y out here.]

Wish I had, but nah. No salsa.

[Fish in tortillas sounds great to him though, he's not picky, and eagerly waits for her to shred the fish so he can take his share and wrap it up in a sort of taquito.

And goddamn, if the peanut butter on bread was good, this is even better. He's never had fish better than this, fresh caught and cooked right away. And man, he has to thank the inventors of the tortilla for making the perfect edible on-the-go food container. Who need plates or anything? Thanks, ancestors.]

Mmmmm. Hm? Bears? Dunno, but I'm gonna say no. We woulda seen some up top with all our food around. Hey, this fish is perfect, though. Damn, we make a good team.

[But meanwhile, he has to think. Leaving out fish might bring in big birds, but probably not the kind they want to eat. Ravens and vultures sound gross. Things that eat dead stuff taste like dead stuff, he has to figure.]

Well, maybe we don't leave out our food to hope somethin' we wanna eat shows up, 'cause if it's just mice or crows then we're out food an' don't get anything for ourselves. Man, though, who cares! This fish is the way to go. I got more hooks I think, maybe we just set some lines out while we explore this afternoon, an' come check 'em later.

[She's downright beaming when he says they're a good team. His praise is always well received, but it means more when she was thinking the same thing just a minute ago. Being on the same page is always a great thing.

All that pride isn't going to get in the way of her eating though. As soon as she's got fish wrapped up in a tortilla, she's digging in. And gosh, she's so hungry she could probably eat five of these before taking a nap. They need to conserve what supplies they have though, so she'll just content herself with one and eating any remaining fish with her fingers.]

Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.

[Her taco sadly is gone in about three big bites, so she settles in to picking up what's left to nibble at.]

If I'm not awake in an hour, come wake me up, okay? I want to do some exploring too.

[They're eating, but that's no reason not to lean in for a quick kiss. It's shaping up to be a great afternoon, and she's in a really content mood.]

[This fish hits the spot, and so does that cute kiss. There aren't many people he'd rather be stuck in a canyon with, he has to figure - oh, he'd have tons of fun with his brothers, with his friends, but it's special to share all this adventure with her.

Once his hands are empty, he returns the kiss along with a squeeze.]

You got it, babe. 'Course, I don't got a clock out here but if you don't get up an' I'm gettin' too bored I'll wake you up, how's that?

[He'll wash their dishes up, meanwhile - river water and a drop of soap should do the trick. Then they can set out to dry on some larger rocks while he pokes around through the brush and the river-worn stones, looking for lost treasure or things to shoot. It really does make him feel like he's in those old stories, or the new ones set in older times, anyway - looking for lost miners' gold, living off the land, fending off potential threats.

It's that last one he has on his mind as he watches the heat waves ripple in the canyon and swears there's a shape to them. But maybe it's just that the canyon walls are vertical, maybe the heat waves ripple off them only to create the illusion that something rests between them, filling the negative space. He's convinced himself that that's all it is until he sees the footprints.

They haven't moved, they're old, but they're fucking enormous, spanning across most of the river so that he'd missed them at first. They're not neat, well-defined tracks because the thing has used the river as its path, and here and there just a single toe has marked the muddy bank.

Man, whatever that was, it almost looks like the footprint of a huge fucking bird. Or a dinosaur. And that? Is very cool. He's quick to backtrack so he can keep an eye on camp, but nothing emerges to eat him, so probably it's fine.]

Hey Chrissy, you up? I found somethin' real crazy! You gotta see these!

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