but we still sing these songs well

The sun was covered by a thick layer of cloud, but there was no smell of rain in the air. An overcast sky made the day perfect for fishing. In the wake of Allegro's abandonment, it felt better to be keeping busy. There was less time to think about the anger and anguish roiling in his gut and forcing its way into his lungs. He rolled the sleep out of his shoulders, flexed his toes. Time to get to work. It began with hauling the net out of the storage in the very back of the shared den, carefully collecting it in his jaws so it didn't scrape on the ground and get caught on sharp rocks. Any holes in the net would likely lead to losing the catch while hauling it in. Speaking of which... Dropping it onto the damp grass outside the den, the alabaster male spread the large net out and began to examine it for any rips, tears, or holes. When he did find one, it became his next course of action to grab spare twine from storage to repair the hole. Luckily there was only one, so it wouldn't take too long to fix. He wrapped a short length of twine around two undamaged corners, and pulled them together with his teeth, carefully tying the twine into a knot. It wasn't elegant, but it would certainly get the job done. Utility outweighed aesthetic in Solo's mind.

Next order of business was to check that the anchor points for the weights to be tied along the bottom were still secure. There were no stones attached at the moment, but they would be easy to collect. Sure enough, the ties were still there, and didn't look to be going anywhere. He ventured back into the den to grab the leather bag that held the stone weights, each one with a hole bored through to allow a cord to pass through and be secured. As he passed Balthier's room, he paused. They had all taken the news hard, but his brother had been the one forced to deliver it. That couldn't have been easy, and perhaps it would be nice to take some time to be together, even if neither one said a word the whole time. "Balt?" he called softly, wondering if he was even in there. "I'm going fishing at the Rapids, if you want to join. The salmon spawn is coming up, so there's a lot of them right now, I figure we can stock up for winter." as soon as he realized he was rambling to a brother who might not even be behind the curtain, he shut his mouth. A soft sigh preceded his retreat to the storage area, where he grabbed the leather satchel and headed back out without stopping again.

Collecting the net in a manageable formation would take him a minute, but once it was all gathered up for carrying he would set off. If his brother wanted to join he was more than welcome, but it wasn't something he was about to force upon the other boy.

(Word count: 524/1500)

"Speech" thoughts "others"