[PQ] like that, but better

Animals seem intrinsically drawn to him during these types of gatherings, in fact Harper thinks fondly of the cat he’d adopted when he’d helped Nate with preparing kits for the last monsoon. She is living with a kindly old man for now until he finds more permanent lodgings, but he’s admittedly glad that he won’t have to figure out how to introduce her to a feathered sibling as the Hel departs. Harper shudders to imagine his cat walking across water with a Hel on its shoulder. He’d never take a bath again. Fighting off a terrified cat naked and wet seems like a deal breaker if the Hel decided to perch on the towel rack instead.

It seems the attention has been drawn to Rigby’s watery plight however, and with nobody speaking directly to him...well, it’s time to put a different kind of plan in action.

Harper is no stranger to acting. It all comes down to self-confidence and owning every action naturally. So he trails behind father and daughter, only to walk along the newly finished dock instead as he watches Seren’s magic from the side of his eyes with a real amount of awe. He goes along the dock, procuring the wrench he’d stored exactly for this reason to begin tightening down every bolt in sight to create a precedence - only then shielding the view with his broad shoulders and replacing them with the bolts Safrin had given him. Working his way diligently around the dock, he leaves no bolt unchecked and hums to himself all the while -  even as he sends the occa crinkle-eyed, amused glances at Rigby as the boy sloshes around.

Only when he’s done does he strip off his shoes and shirt and takes a running leap into the water, shouting “Look out below!” Emerging only to cheerfully try and shoo the mantas away with his own flailing limbs. I mean hey, it worked with the Hel didn’t it?

- - -

Harper goes along the dock testing all the bolts (and replaces five with the bolts given to him by Safrin) then strips and jumps off into the water to try and cannonball and scare the mantas.

Harper

all alone, open eyed, burn the page my little dark age

Rigby sifted through the waters, casually batting at any cloud manta that lingered while he scanned for anything below the surface. Unfortunately nothing turned up, no molted gems with magical properties, shed behind on their shores. All that Rigby had was wet clothes, a herd of cloud manta, and a group of fellow humans gathering around. Ugh.

The girl and hel-boy took their turns, first came the starry tiger shark aimed into the flock. Rigby's eyes widened, surprised and unprepared for the arrival, he stumbled back a few steps to watch. Next came Harper, splashing in behind. Rigby took a deep breath, why me, before stepping back to see how these new tactics played out, grumbling to himself and smelling like dog.

---

rigby grumbles to himself and splashes away

RIGBY

gladiator, picked a fight with the gods, i'm a giant slayer

Well that'll do it. No sooner has Ronin removed his shoes and lowered himself into the shallows with Rigby when Seren's celestial shark is easily dispersing the mantas. Unable to help himself (and maybe it's even better because Rigby looks so grumpy), the Star bursts out laughing and raises a hand to shield his face from the splashing water. The mantas quickly have enough of their shenanigans, and when Harper tops it all off with his cannonball, they are out of here.

Which leaves the dock looking much better than it did before, repaired, clear of debris and free of any poor plantimals that might get in the way of any skyships that come to town. "Thanks, everyone," Ronin says with a broad grin, glancing around at the little group - yes, even his daughter. They can have that difficult conversation later. "Come on, I can hear the Hanged Man calling to us."

---

Great work guys! The dock is repaired and this PQ is considered finished!

~FIN

bone shaker, dominator, freight train, wreckin' ball, i'm the gladiator

RONIN