Crossing the entry hall, Mirkk gave the composed head of household a polite nod. The rest of the staff had been scurrying about that morning, acutely aware of Rohese’s habit of rising early. They were, however, surprised to see Mirkk up and about at such an hour. He caught Rohese briefly with her teacup in hand as he was on his way to meet her grandfather Earion. Their interaction was brief—much briefer than he preferred—but he did not wish to keep his host waiting. Rohese informed him of her intention to walk the grounds and he mentioned to her that he would meet her later.

The two men left as the fog was still thick and made the manor house emerge like an island from the sea. It reminded Mirkk of Caligos Isle and that he had Earion in mind when he purchased the ball of indigo fishing line there. Mirkk knew the land surrounding the house was beautiful, with its fields, groves, and vineyard, all surrounded in the outlands by thick forests. The last time he had visited, it was summer and the first leaf had yet to turn color, much less fall. He had hoped to catch a glimpse of the foliage this morning, but the grey shroud kept it from him.

The two didn't speak as they made their way through the mist down to the edge of the lake. It wasn't uncommon for the two to remain quiet as they fished. Mirkk didn't take it as a slight, or that Earion was perturbed by something. As they waited in silence, a raven quorked somewhere off to the west, likely watching from the branch of some bare tree.

Mirkk looked over at Earion who consistently watched his line. Mirkk returned his gaze to his own line. Finally, Earion broke the silence.

"There is a striking similarity between Rohese and my dear Sahese," he said quietly as to not disturb the fish that seemed not to be participating in that morning’s event. Mirkk again looked at Earion, who was staring at him. With what seemed almost like a sympathetic nod to Mirkk, he turned back to the fishing line.

“Rohese has stated as much,” Mirkk replied slowly as he began watching his line again, trying to be measured in his response. He wasn’t sure what Earion was trying to tell him with that bit of information.

"First, I should probably tell you something about my grand-daughter," Earion continued soberly. The tone was what caught Mirkk's attention, though he said nothing, only waited for Earion to continue. Earion’s line dipped and darted slightly in the water before ceasing abruptly, and he watched it keenly. After a pregnant pause, Earion added, "Last night, I found her standing in this very spot and simply staring into the lake. She was sleepwalking.”

Mirkk turned his head and looked at Earion. This wasn’t the first time she had sleepwalked, although it was a relatively new occurrence. Mirkk opened his mouth to speak just as Earion’s fishing line began to dart wildly in the water. Earion pulled back on his fishing rod slightly, watching it curve as the line continued its excited dance across the water. Mirkk set his own fishing rod down and purposefully moved closer to Earion. “Go ahead and gather the basket and net,” Earion stated in a tone that was both confident and eager.

As Mirkk picked up the net and basket, Earion leaned forward, easing the tension on both rod and line momentarily, allowing the fish a bit of freedom to swim and tire itself. A massive largemouth bass broke the surface, curving its olive-hued scaled body and slapping the water with its tail before disappearing again below the surface. Earion leaned back again and pulled hard on the fishing rod. Mirkk watched the rod bend and wondered it was going to break. Seeing the line move as close to shore as it likely ever would, Mirkk seized the opportunity and splashed his feet into the water, grabbing the line with his hand and hoisting up, displaying once again the speckled trophy bass at the end of Earion’s fishing line. Mirkk shoved the wood-handled fishing net under and scooped up the fish. He turned to face Earion with a grin that stretched from ear to ear.

Earion laughed at Mirkk’s reaction, and nodded approvingly at the bass as he took the line in his hand, pulled the fish out of the net and worked the hook its mouth. He held it up to appraise it with a grin of his own.

“Will you take it back to the house and have it prepared?” Mirkk asked.

“No, no,” stated Earion, “It’s catch and release today. It is quite a magnificent creature, though, isn’t it?” He looked back at Mirkk, and Mirkk couldn’t help but feel like Earion was once again studying him.

Mirkk opened his mouth in response. He didn’t want to press, but he also wanted to ask a pointed question to continue the conversation they were having just moments ago, but the opportunity was lost. That conversation was over. Instead, he simply replied, “Quite so,” as he smiled and nodded admiringly.

The fog never lifted, and the conversation never continued. For the rest of the morning, they were just two men enjoying fishing.