It has been two years but Kazimir was getting back into the swing of things well enough. He had already worked with Raina once and when he saw a request come up again he was pleased to learn a little more about her job and the area. After walking through the town, he came upon a warehouse. The last time they worked together he had not seen this, but it wasn’t far off from the laboratory.

Raina was waiting outside the warehouse and loading up some backpacks with supplies. The big doors were open wide and inside were walls stacked with a variety of supplies and food reserves. She walked patiently back and forth getting ready and waiting for the knight to arrive.
Kazimir walked up as she was reaching for another package of food. “Let me help you with that,” he said reaching out to grab the package beside her.

“Oh, Kazimir it’s you,” she said with a mild surprise because she was so focused on work that she hadn’t completely noticed him arrive. “it’s nice to see you again. Are you ready to help stop help the fish?”

Kazimir took the package to the backpack and slipped in in a side pocket, “Yes. How are the water levels doing by the way." He asked hoping that through her efforts things were getting better.

“Sadly, they have not improved and may be getting worse,” She said with a grimace on her face, “I just don’t get how people can’t care about water safety, but I’ll do what I can.” She placed the backpack on her shoulders with a shimmy to settle it in the perfect place.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Is that what we are going to deal with today?” he asked not knowing exactly what the task was. The more time he spent around her the more he realized how important it was and how connected things were. Helping secure the water was a way to protect people as well.

“Today we are going to help in a different way. We need to feed some fish to help preserve the biodiversity of a sea life near here. If that is altered, then it’ll have bad recurring impacts on the rest of the wildlife and even fishing in the area.”  Raina spoke as she blew a piece of hair from her face but that didn’t take away from the sincerity of her words.

Hoisting the last backpack on his shoulder and picking up a duffle bag filled with more supplies he stood ready to move. “I see. Well then let’s not keep them waiting.” Kazimir stepped next to Raina as she led the two of them to the shore.

“The area we are going to is a no fishing zone, so we shouldn’t run into anyone.” She added in a way to break up some of the silence of the walk. They chatted about some of the fish in the area until they finally arrived at a little part of the shore. The water was crystal clear, and some fish leapt out and splashed back into its aquatic embrace.

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Kazimir was taken away by the sight. Even with his time at the beach, the sea didn’t seem as serene as it did now. There was only one boat near the zone, a little too close for comfort but they hadn’t intruded in the waters yet. Raina kept a skeptical gaze on as she walked down the sandy shore toward the waters.

There was a small dock with a few boats tied to it. “These are just for trips out at sea. I have a small boat here,” she said headed up the old wooden steps toward a small rowboat. The waves sloshed across the sand with small crests. The sea was still today.

Raina shrugged off the backpack and let it slide down onto the wooden dock. She then pulled the rope that held the rowboat and eased herself into it. “Hand me the backpacks please and then join me.”

At her request, Kazimir lifted the bags and handed them down to her including his own. Finally, he moved to step inside. The rowboat rocked in the water. One misstep and he would be soaked. Raina saw his small imbalance on the dock trying to get one foot in and offered him a helping hand. Kazimir chuckled at the fact that he was supposed to be the talented knight, not the one who needed help. He took her hand and stepped into the rickety boat. It swayed under the new pressure but the two of them finally sat down. "Thank you," he said with a smile.

“Now that we are situated, do you mind rowing while I prepare the food?” Raina asked as she started to remove some of the packages from the backpack and untied the boat from the dock. Kazimir found the two oars on the floor of the boat and pulled them out. Sliding them in the water he felt the pressure against his arms as he pushed them backward and forward.

Once they were out at seam Raina began tossing some of the food into the water. Kazimir rowed gently, only stopping when she gestured for him to slow down. Within minutes a few fish had surfaced to nibble on the food. More fish slowly filtered in of varying colors. With each new arrival, Raina took it upon herself to explain all the different types.

It was something Kazimir had only talked about briefly when he was with the water clan and was fascinated in learning a bit more, “You know a lot about this area. As expected from the top marine biologist.”

Raina looked a bit surprised at his statement, perhaps not used to getting compliments, “Thank you. It has been hard work, but I spend a lot of time out here. Oh, look!” She exclaimed pointing at a vibrant colored fish that had just arrived. “That’s one you don’t see very often.”

In her excitement, she had not noticed the small fisherman rowboat that came up from their side. They had the appearance of men with ill intent. Not wanting to ruin her moment, Kazimir said, “Wow! That is beautiful!” masking the movements of his spell in a gesture of excitement. He swirled his arms in a circle and thrust one hand towards the boat. A whirlwind surrounded and capsized it. The men now angry swam away realizing the situation.

“What was that?” Raina asked but Kazimir quickly sat back down, “Just some rowdy men out for a swim.” Raina reached into her bag and gave him the reward. They spent a few more hours at sea and then rowed back in to finish out their days.

Word count 1121/1000