fandomtownies | The Beach; Early Friday Evening [06/22].

Aloy had gone and mentioned fire and the ocean, and so now Astrid couldn't help thinking that there was still a much better place to hide that damn fish than the far back of Tip's closet. She'd spent a good portion of the day preparing, finding something that would make a good funeral pyre, plenty of sticks and kindling and kerosene.

So much kerosene. She didn't want to leave it to chance that this thing didn't get a good fire going. Which was going to be great for the environment as well as their peace of mind, really...

She had asked the team to meet her there at the beach as it started to get dark, so they could best enjoy the light of the fire, and she set up the little boat with the fish on it at the edge of the water. She had a box of matches in one hand and a long stick in the other, so she could nudge the flaming fish out into the water safely as they sent it on its way in true Viking fashion.

At least, true to the stories Astrid had grown up with. She looked up from the fish to her teammates. "Would anyone like to say a word?" she asked, feeling like it would be an appropriate time for some sort of send-off speech, but she herself couldn't think of anything much.

[[Astrid's here with her teammates, of course, but open beach is open, for anyone else wanting to pay their respects or do other beachly things]]

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"Dear Fish," Tip said. "You're horrible, and I'm not sorry. Except that I didn't get a chance to try filling your mouth with pink gap-putty to see if that would keep you quiet." She shrugged. "It probably wouldn't," she told the others. "I'm pretty sure this thing is cursed." She looked back at the Fish. "Please don't haunt us when you're dead. Bye."

"Now I'm almost sad we didn't bring gap-putty," Astrid said, "just in case."

But she nodded, solemn as the occasion clearly demanded. "Thank you, Tip. That was beautiful."

"Thank you, Astrid," Tip said. "For giving this fish the ending it truly deserves."

"I think fitting might demand more explosions," Astrid said, breaking slightly with the hint of a smirk. "But I think my ancestors would be proud."

Your ancestors are weeping.

"Oh totally." Not even a little. "You're vanquishing your enemy in battle."

"Defeated with friendship bracelets and, ironically, water balloons," Astrid shook her head slightly. "I'm still not sure exactly how we won, to be honest..."

"Yeah, I have no idea. I think the Dean just picked a winner out of a hat."

That at least made more sense than the idea that they had pulled ahead based on pure merit anyway.

"Still," Astrid mused, "I'm weirdly kind of glad that we won anyway."

It had won her cool roommate points last week, and this week, it lead her to doing something with her own peers, which was just...so novel and new. Sure, it wasn't exactly make-overs and pillow fights at a slumber party, but this was much more her style, anyway.

"I don't know why anyone came up with you," Aloy informed the fish, holding her spear loosely in a parody of a vigil. "Hopefully you'll burn fast so we can get this over with."

Astrid's head bobbed in agreement with Aloy's wise input. "A sentiment," she added, "we can all agree with, I'm sure. Thank you, Aloy, very well spoken."

"It's a gift," Aloy said wryly. "But really, let's get this over with."

Astrid fought down a grin, nodded again, and struck a match against the box to set it alight before holding it out for Aloy.

"Would you like to do the honors of the first flame?" she asked. And hoped Aloy accepted the task quickly before the match burned down too much.

She...was totally going to have singed fingers after this was over, wasn't she?

Why would Aloy let that happen? She'd been raised to be efficient and practical.

So she took the match quickly. "Gladly," she said. "Fish?"

Astrid nodded. "Fish," she agreed.

Then maybe stepped back a little, because, yeah, she had...not been stingy on the fuel there.

...and she was suddenly realizing she probably should have considered what this was going to smell like in about twenty seconds...

"Here we go," said Aloy.

She walked towards the edge of the water without ceremony. "May you never creep out another group of students."

Okay, a little ceremony, maybe. It felt appropriate.

She dropped the match on the little boat and watched as the neighboring wood caught flame slowly.

The Beach; Early Friday Evening [06/22].

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