Plenty of Fish in the Lake

Posted on Wed Jun 5th, 2024 @ 6:55pm by Kennedy Kelly & Shinobi Shaw

1,727 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: Skull Mountain - Savage Land
Timeline: September 12, 1990

Kennedy was still struggling with the quiet times since the death of her father and her falling out with Bobby. She had been hoping that the absurd fantasy and chaos of the Savage Land would remove any hopeless sorrow from her mind. But even here, the intrusive thoughts returned. It was only when she was busy that her thoughts would dull to a whisper over a roar. So Kennedy offered to catch fish from a nearby fishing pond to help feed the gathering masses. A primitive version of a fish farm, the locals fed and spawned fish into the pond from the rivers above.

Tying a vine to an arrow, Kennedy created a crude tool for bow fishing and stood on the pond’s edge. She patiently waited for a flash of silver in the muddy water before she fired. It was only after the arrow left her fingers that she looked up at the touch of movement in her peripheral vision.

“Oh, Hey Jace.” She greeted him before she began to retrieve her line. Kennedy pulled the harpooned fish from the water, it was a massive prehistoric looking animal with pointed teeth and a long angular body. She looked at it with horror and disgust. “I hate it here so much.”

Jace had been kicking rocks, literally, around the area. There didn't seem to be much to do around here except eat, sleep and fight dinosaurs. He didn't like the outdoors as much as a lot of other kids did. And that's all that this place was...outdoors.

He eventually found himself at a pond. He picked up one of the rocks he'd been kicking and was about to throw it when he noticed blonde hair shimmering in the sunlight. That could only be one person, Kennedy. And she looked like she was aiming at something in the water. He stopped and waited until she released the arrow before he continued walking up.

She only said two things to him after she pulled that monster out of the water. He put a hand on her shoulder and said, "It's not as great a place as you would think. I thought it was cool at first, you know...dinosaurs. Then a bunch of velociraptors attacked. Never thought I'd see one let alone have to fight one."

He paused and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Hopefully we'll be out of here soon and you won't have to worry about it anymore."

“Thanks.” Kennedy turned her head and smiled at Jace, a moment of happiness inspired by his consideration. “I’m going to take the longest bath ever and have ice cream for dinner rather than…” She pulled the arrow from the ugly fish before picking it up with only two fingers and quickly dropping it into the basket she had brought. “Yuck… hideous nightmare fish.”

She went back to scanning the waters for another fish, it would take a lot more to feed everyone in the camp. “You got dinosaurs?! We just got flying man-beasts, which between Niagara Falls and here, I can soundly say that I am not a fan.”

"Yeah, a T-Rex, it's kill, and a bunch of Raptors," said Jace. "Scary as hell and nothing like what you read in books or hear in school." He shuddered at the mention of the beasts at Niagra. "Sorry you had to deal with the Niagra Falls things again.'

He took his hand off her shoulder and moved so she could get a better aim. "You know, unless you really enjoy bow fishing, there might be another way to get enough of the nightmare fish to feed everyone. Take a small rock, energize it like you do your arrows, and toss it in the pond. Boom, fish."

“You mean like dynamite?” Kennedy considered his suggestion. It was either an incredibly brilliant or an incredibly stupid idea. “Sometimes my powers are a little unpredictable…”

She picked up the rock that Jace had been kicking and examined it for a moment. Kennedy was worried about killing all the fish in the lake if she made the charge too strong. Then again, they could always get more fish. Kennedy charged the rock until it was glowing with a shimmering yellow light. Once charged, she threw it into the murky water.

BOOM

The rock didn’t splash but rather it exploded on upon impact causing gallons of pond water to rained down on them. Completely drenching both Kennedy and Jace.

Jace stood there in silence for a moment with prehistoric pond water dripping from his soaked hair and clothes. "Unpredictable for sure," he finally said, pushing his wet hair back. "But you took the chance and look." He pointed to the pond that was slowly returning to normal. There were several fish beginning to surface. "Sometimes you just have to take that first step, risky as it may seem." He turned from looking to the pond to looking at Kennedy...drenched in prehistoric pond water. "Um..." Caught off guard, Jace smiled and winked.

“Yeah…It can be risky.” Kennedy’s voice was barely above a whisper as Jace turned to face her. Tension filled the small space between them and it made her stomach fill with butterflies. Then he winked at her and that rakish charm that Jace possessed took over and Kennedy couldn’t help but fall for him. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, an innocent kiss that was more of a spontaneous dare rather than a sweeping romantic gesture. But there was excitement and an eagerness to her kiss that made up for its innocent nature.

Jace gazed into Kennedy's blue eyes as she leaned in, pressing her lips to his. Risky first steps indeed, but well worth it. She was so utterly captivating that it didn't matter in that moment that they were both drenched. It didn't matter that fish were waiting to be brought in. Even the wild expanse of the Savage Land faded into insignificance. The only thing that mattered in that moment was Kennedy. He brought his hands up to the back of her head and neck, his thumbs tracing along her jawline, and lingered a few seconds longer.

A murmur of approval resonated in her throat as Jace reached out and touched her. Kennedy leaned into him as his thumb ran the length of her jaw, the brushing of her body against his own was warm but also cold thanks to their soaked clothes. She parted her lips against his, an invitation for Jace to deepen their kiss.

Jace let out a soft groan as Kennedy leaned closer to him, closing the small gap between them. In that moment, time seemed suspended, as if existing in its own realm outside the natural order. He wished for this moment to last just a bit longer. Longer, as he surrendered to the unspoken invitation, deepening their kiss and offering her the same freedom. Is this what it felt like to fall for someone?

Kennedy wrapped her arms around his neck to embrace Jace as they reveled in each other. Nervous butterflies turned into anticipation as their kiss deepened into a crush of bodies and mouths. Admittedly, Kennedy hadn’t been in a good place since arriving at Xavier’s and the life she had been thrown into had been chaotic and demanding. It left her with the desire to feel wanted and accepted, to find people and connections that were genuine. So she savored this moment, one where Kennedy felt all the things that she was longing for.

The feeling of a flopping fish across her foot pulled her away from the kiss and Kennedy looked down to finally notice the couple dozen fish that had been blown out of the water. “Oh man…” Kennedy held onto Jace but kicked the large ugly fish away from her foot. “I didn’t think it would work that well.”

Jace was enthralled. His hands had moved down and he'd wrapped his arms around her, relishing every second. When she pulled away from the kiss, he hoped she wouldn't pull completely away from him. Not just yet. A sigh of relief escaped him when she held on.

He watched as she kicked Flipper's ancestor back. "Yeah, that's a great catch," he remarked. He still had his arms around her. "But mine's better," he added in a whisper. "Certainly more beautiful and delightful to hold."

A girlish fluster came over Kennedy and her cheeks turned pink thanks to Jace’s compliments. She couldn’t help but look away in a coy aversion as the butterflies in her stomach began to flip-flop. For all her confidence and charm, she suddenly became very shy, a reminder that she was still an inexperienced teenager.

Kennedy bit her lower lip as she attempted to stifle the grin that Jace’s words created before her eyes returned to his gaze. “So you’ve caught me… now what?”

Jace hadn't expected that reply and wasn't at all ready with an answer. It had, in fact, been several years since he'd gotten this far with a girl. His repartee needed some work and his quick wit needed sharpening. Thank you, reality, for reminding me how far I have to go, he thought to himself.

"Well, um...I hold on and we keep moving. No matter how wild the ride gets. And judging from this place, it can get pretty crazy around here and the school," he answered. Yeah, it was corny. "That sounded better in my head." With his arms still around her, Jace hugged Kennedy a little tighter. "You up for a wild ride, Miss Kelly?"

The idea of holding on to someone was a novel idea for Kennedy. She felt like she had been slipping and falling away from reality for months now. There had been no anchor to ground her or point on the horizon for her to focus on. Having someone to reach out for was a concept sorely missing from her life. Kennedy liked the idea of someone to endure this wild ride with, especially someone like Jace who wasn’t afraid of the rough patches or the challenges.

“Yeah, I’d like that a lot.” She tilted her head and kissed him once more as the fish continued to flop around them.

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