“Fine dammit, say it's personal; tell him it isn’t something you don’t want to talk about. Say anything but that!” He barked back.

It seemed the two of them were being snappy, and although it was quite normal for people to argue and disagree this situation felt horribly sour. Dmitri wholeheartedly despised arguing, especially not with his companion. They were supposed to have each other's backs, yet all he seemed to do was get irritated at Aciel more and more as his companion continued speaking. The two were mirrored in the fact that they purposely avoided eye contact. He felt the frame of the bed shake lightly, and so he glanced over. Dmitri couldn’t have felt worse about saying those harsh words. It wasn’t like they could turn back time, so they would just have to hope that the man wouldn’t press on with any more questions of the same nature. After so much he truthfully doubted that the man was in any way connected with the lab, but he would still tread lightly just in case.

Grimacing at Aciel’s statement he hoped there weren’t going to be fish guts everywhere. Although the thoughts of fish guts weren't exactly pleasant, the feeling of the heavy boots weighing down his feet was even more displeasing. It made walking a lot more of a task and he wasn’t all too sure about spending the day with these on his feet. Kicking the singular boot he had put on off again, Dmitri frowned at it.

“We’ll just see what he offers ya?” Dmitri replied, as long as they were given some sort of eye-protecting he would be just as happy in the water as out of it.

Having given the idea of actually getting in the water some thought he was soon embraced by a sudden lingering doubt. Were there not dangerous animals in the water? His knowledge of the creatures came solely from children's novels that perceived such creatures as dangerous, and so he wasn’t all that confident with the thought of getting in so far out anymore. At the very least he would question the Doc before just hopping in the water to assure himself that he wasn’t going to pop up dead all of a sudden. That is if they were offered to get in the water at all. Carrying the boots by their brims he held them in a single his, his other embraced by his companion’s hand. Seeing the Doc and how he looked without that questioning face from before put Dmitri at ease. The man would proceed to throw each of them a separate towel. These towels were embroidered with childish designs of sharks and dolphins and both were a different shade of blue. Aciel was given a light cyan towel, while he was given a deep cerulean blue. They were heavier towels than once Dmitri had ever come in contact with, although this didn’t bother him whatsoever. Reluctantly he finally slipped back on the boots. His shoes from the other day were still soaked with water and would be even more uncomfortable to wear than the boots, and so he opted to just wear the boots. It was significantly more taxing to tread around in such heavy footwear, although it saved him from the numerous mud puddles which plagued the path. While it was raining most smells were wiped clean and he wasn’t able to pick up on many scents to familiarize the terrain with, but now there were many smells. Most of the odors were thick with humidity, and being such powerful scents on their own made his smelling them unpleasant. Most scents that would normally not bother anyone did bother Dmitri, it wasn’t that they were bad smells moreover that at such an enhanced level such a powerful scent became daunting. The candle from the INN was the only exception because he quite enjoyed that scent and it wasn’t bothersome if it was strong or not. Dmitri hung the towel over himself holding it up near his neck it protruded downwards covering his torso partially. Walking through the seemingly endless amounts of puddles that scattered the path, he was strategic in where he stepped.

“Yeah, I hope we don’t get sick because of it.” He replied acknowledging that the vessel’s swaying could cause one to feel uneasy with rapidly.

As they walked the Doc didn’t desire to add or ask anything more about the jumble of odd answers he had received a while before. He was a good man, and he hadn’t intended to tread on territory that may have been difficult to reminisce of. As they walked the man stayed ahead greeting people that went by. The Doc seemed to know his neighbors well and was friendly to everybody who passed by. Dmitri decided to hang back a ways away from the man. He was both cautious of getting questioned and unsure of how his neighbors might react to two completely new people walking beside the man. They had already provoked a few side glances and stares that followed them for a while, but he brushed it off as nothing more than a small community that knew everybody by name. Nothing truly out of the ordinary stood out as they walked, yet something kept Dmitri’s eyes glancing around constantly. For some reason that he couldn’t identify yet an odd feeling kept him alert. Glancing briefly over to Aciel it was difficult to tell if his companion had picked up on anything out of the ordinary; Dmitri himself could detect any abnormal sounds or see anyone that looked out of place. His mind was pacing for an answer to why this feeling suddenly embraced him, yet it wasn’t until they finally reached the edge of the town where the air picked up a heavily salted scent that it hit him. A smell. An extremely familiar smell.

Nodding to Aciel’s statement he hoped neither of them would fall victim to this sea-sickness his companion described. The boat may even rock more than usual because of the storms, and so Dmitri lost a great deal of confidence about getting on a boat. If he hadn’t eaten a full meal only a short while ago maybe the thought of getting this sea-sickness wouldn’t have been as bad, but his stomach was full and he wasn’t all too keen on it suddenly not being full because of sickness. Aside from the fact that something was bothering him, the walk to the docks wasn’t all that bad. The town was connected right to the small neighborhood that the Doc lived in. Everybody knew each other and this was evident in how many people were caught speaking or greeting each other as if life-long friends. Most of the folk were around there mid to late forties if he had to guess, and although they weren’t around his or Aciel’s age they were not old either. Glancing up suddenly over to his companion he would wait a short while longer before finally replying.

“Yeah everything is fi-” Dmitri’s words came to a sudden halt as an ocean breeze hit him.

So that is what it was. A smell. He hadn’t realized it before because he was trying to ignore the many scents in the air, but when this new salt scent came over him he realized what it was that had been making him so agitated. A smell. That smell...it was like rubbing alcohol but on a more extreme as if whoever it was bathed in it daily. It was distinct now and stood out from the ocean air. Coming to this sudden realization made Dmitri want to hurry up even more, but when Aciel suddenly stopped it made his heart almost drop right out of his chest. Giving his companion a heavy tug on the hand he exchanged glances from the man ahead of them to Aciel numerous times. The smell was extremely familiar to Dmitri because most of the people from the lab wreaked of that odor. Whoever the scent was from was undoubtedly in the town or area surrounding it, but not close enough so that Dmitri could pinpoint what direction they were coming from.

“Come one...once we get on the boat we will be fine ya?” He questioned while giving Aciel another tug.

He could at least tell that whoever it was wasn’t close enough to do much harm yet, and so if they continued forward they might just be able to salvage the day ahead of them. Walking on the beach was a task all on its own. The sand was uneven and more than usual it was unstable. Each time Dmitri took a step he would sink in. It felt as if he had been walking for a lot longer than he had been because of the amount of energy he had to put forward to keep himself upright on the sand. And after just a taxing walk along the beach they arrived at the docks. The smell from before was significantly weaker, and they had no doubt put a lengthy amount between them and the person...that or the salt air was just that overpowering. Dmitri was now more occupied with the dozens of boats tied to the pier than the smell which didn’t yet grow any stronger.

“It's down there” The Doc finally said while making a subtle motion over to one of the boats tied father down.

Instead of going down to the boat as Dmitri and Aciel now were heading towards, Doc gathered the nets from the other day along with a few other items of gear. The man didn’t seem all that hung up on the previous events and was more focused on gathering gear and other supplies than asking them anymore questions. While Doc gathered what he needed Dmitri was scanning from boat to boat with a look of pure amazement plastered on his face. At last, he came to a halt in front of one of the boats, it was undoubtedly the Doc’s. The vessel was much larger than he had expected, it wasn’t huge but it was large enough that three people could be aboard and not feel cramps. It had a partial overhang that covered the middle part. Most of it consisted of the deck however and it was oddly clean. There weren’t any fish guts or anything of the sort, mostly everything in the boat was covered by a seemingly endless amount of water droplets. Dmitri jolted as the Doc finally joined them over by the boat, glancing between him and Aciel briefly he extended a hand motioning them to get on. Unlike how he would have usually been Dmitri was the first to get on with Aciel to follow.

“Ah, look it’s already deep here.” he bubbled while leaning over the edge partially.

Near the edges of the boat was a flat part where one could sit. Although it lacked railings and he found difficulty keeping his balance with the rocking ground. The smell from before had become more powerful, but with their departure only a few minutes away the threat was minimal.

Dmitri's answer did not put Aciel at ease, in fact it had quite the opposite effect, when his companion's voice faltered his confidence seemed to dip with it and it made him paranoid "I don't like this" he muttered but kept going, sticking close to the other. The place seemed friendly enough and he didn't recognize any faces-which he most certainly would have if anyone from the lab was near-or voices either, he had memorized the foot steps of their regular guards,doctors and scientists as well as the appearance of anyone who passed by, he had wished for a while that he was able to do that with his family but his sight wasn't the same back then. His sight at the moment was similar to that of a very high quality camera, he could pick out fine details and everything was very vivid, colors, light and shadow all were very distinct which is why the rain had overwhelmed him, seeing every drop fall past your face gave him a head ache. This was also why he suddenly froze, he had passed someone a few moments back who looked familiar and they had started following them. Aciel had taken a second to realize because they weren't close but he knew who it was "Dmitri it's that guard, the one who was always around our section, the one who has sight like me" he hissed through his teeth "he saw us, Im not sure if he knows who we are yet but he's trailing us" he added and with that he didn't need any more tugging to move. Aciel set off quickly, half leading half dragging Dmitri after him which wasn't made easy by the sand but his long legs came in handy for once

“Do you think I’m stupid? I know...just keep walking.” Dmitri scolded while pulling Aciel forward even more.

Though when his companion took the lead it caught him by surprise and for a moment he just stood there before being forced forward. Aside from just smelling like the lab, every person also had their own unique musk that Dmitri could memorize. The only problem was with such intense smells outside it was much more difficult to single out that musk as it was rarely strong. Inside the lab, he had a much more leisurely time identifying people by the distinct smells, but now with what smelt like a million other scents that ranged much more powerful, it was a lot more of a challenge for him to identify who exactly the person was. Once he had finally realized that it was a smell that had made him so anxious, the ocean’s heavy salty breeze was already upon him making knowing the person's identity near impossible. And so even if he hadn’t known exactly who it was, Dmitri knew for a fact they were from the lab. It was only a matter of time that someone from that place would pop up here, after all, it wasn’t as if they had gone all that far away. His plan wasn’t to stay in this town for much longer than a few days, but in all honesty, he didn’t want to leave now.

The docks looked well maintained considering how run down most of the town was. It appeared that most of this town’s economy was based around fishing and the ocean. Dmitri would only shrug when asked the question if they had lost the guard or not. He didn’t want the last thing he said to Aciel to be a lie. Of course, he was already thinking of the worst-case scenario, which was that they die or get taken back to the lab. Sure he could tell that the guard was now a fair distance away, but without keen vision, there wasn’t a way for him to know for sure if they had fully lost him. As they got onto the boat it was an unsettled feeling that greeted Dmitri as the ground moved back and forth beneath his feet. This was where having those towels came in handy. Pulling the cloth off himself Dmitri tossed it onto the flat part near the edge of the boat before sitting down on it. He was currently dry and wanted to stay that way for as long as possible. His eyes were occupied with looking over the edge down into the endless abyss of blue water below. Dmitri could only vaguely make out what the Doc was saying, something about fishing and a multitude of descriptions that described the numerous tactics for catching fish. From nets, rods, and even with once bare hands they were quite intricate descriptions of all the different ways one could catch a fish. After they had started to move he removed his eyes from the water and just looked blankly downwards at the floor as the motion was already making him feel uneasy. It wasn’t until they had finally departed that something sunk in for Dmitri that made his heart drop a little.

“Those guards have a different smell, it's weaker than the one-” He thought aloud though still keeping his voice down to a mutter which would be difficult for even Aciel to hear.

Dmitri was like a dog with his keen sense of smell and hearing, and so it was true that he could smell the guard; the thing that made him feel so suddenly anxious was that the smell that stood out wasn’t of a guard. The guards only patrol and so they only ever smell mildly of that heavy odor, but nothing to the degree of the person he had been smelling. It was someone who worked in the lab, maybe one of the doctors or scientists. He couldn't clearly identify the identity of who that heavier smell belonged to, but it wasn’t the guard. This was troublesome for more than one reason. One reason was that there were now at least two people from the lab lurking around in the town, and two that a doctor or scientist was going to be able to predict them a lot better than a measly guard. There was always a chance that those people merely lived in the town and were taking their day off, but that chance became grimmer minute by minute.

Shifting uncomfortably in his spot, Dmitri's orbs at last rose up from the floor of the boat. They were already a long ways out and this took him by surprise seeing as last time he had looked up they were only just departing. It was a vast collage of millions of blue shades clashing together that he saw, such was an astonishing sight.

“I’m fine.” Dmitri at last responded to Aciel after several minutes of seemingly just ignoring the question.

It wasn’t a lie; sure something had made him feel even more anxious than before, but it was the sight of the bountiful colors of blues that made his statement not a lie. Dmitri hadn’t caught the full descriptions of what the Doc had described of fishing strategies, but he could remember a few which included doing so with a speargun.

It was like the two switched roles. Dmitri now paid attention to Doc while Aciel seemed to be off somewhere in his head. The man went back over the types of fishing again although this time it was more brief and vague, just a quick overview. Of course this time he was paying attention and acknowledging all of the information. After the summary of the various fishing techniques, Doc went onto the types of fish and other sea creatures. The man wouldn’t go extremely into depth on all the varieties of fish and mammals in the ocean, but he went over most of the major ones they should at least be familiar with a few. The fish and mammals Doc described were either once they had the most likelihood of encountering either on the hook or actually in the water, and the ones that could hurt them if they didn't handle the situation properly; he soon went into detail on how to handle themselves if ever encountered any sort of fish or mammal that could possible harm them. This information put Dmitri at ease about the lingering fear he had of getting eaten. Seeing as it was supposedly extremely unlikely that this would happen as long as they handled themselves properly he was much more confident about getting into the water if he ever had to. Glancing briefly over his orbs followed his companion’s gaze to the vast blue water. Lightly prodding his elbow into Aciel’s side, Dmitri offered his companion a reassuring smile.

“Hey, it wasn’t anything but a smell so stop worrying about it.” He shot in a whisper.

Although it was unlikely, there was always a chance that he had mistaken the scents and it was only just the one guard; if not those people could have merely been enjoying their day off of work. Just a few moments ago Aciel had almost fully dropped the entire situation, but now because he had opened his mouth and said something his companion seemed to be getting worried again. Dmitri took the blame for Aciel’s now anxious demeanor, and he was beating himself up knowing he shouldn’t have voiced his thoughts aloud. Freezing, Dmitri himself had fallen into a sudden daze and had missed some of what Doc had started going over.

“It was something about deciding how you want to fish...or something like that.” He responded vaguely though it wasn’t too far off.

The Doc was expressing the difficulties of each method once more, although now he was encouraging the both of them to decide which type of fishing would suit them best. He had just stopped the boat so the two of them could decide what they wanted to do before going any further out. Doing spearfishing was a method that would require them to go close to shallower water instead of out deeper. The man had already previously explained what the correct fishing spots would be depending on which method they chose. Dmitri hadn't paid much attention to all the methods and had only heard the watered down version of them, and so he looked over to Aciel preparing to repeat whatever his companion voiced. The man had brought along a variety of supplies having been fully ready for whatever they chose. Teaching them to fish was something Doc was pleased to do and seemed excited for. Dmitri was almost positive the man wasn’t aware of the lab or their doings, and so he let his guard down, partially letting the otherwise daunting thoughts of what may lay at wait for them back at the docks go momentarily.

The weather was currently on the brisker side as the sun had only just broken the cloud-line. The main source of warmth was from the sun’s rays that doused them and the boat. The breeze had weakened significantly since they left from the beach, and so as they were currently stopped there was just a light zephyr that would fluctuate occasionally. Surrounding them the sky was near cloudless, a complete opposite to how it had been the day before. The boat itself was bobbing up and down with rhythmic creaks. Luckily everything on the boat stayed in place and didn’t slide anywhere as the vessel rocked. Although there wasn’t all that much stuff on the boat that could slide. Aside from the gear which Doc brought on there wasn’t anything else laying about. It was kept pristine. Now all the gear the man had brought on was exposed and Dmitri could see it. Most of the items went in correlation to the different fishing methods that had previously been described. For fishing with a rod, there were rods and lures. For fishing with nets, there were of course nets. Also laying out were the spearguns and wetsuits which seemed like they might fit them, along with many other items that would be helpful.

“I’m doing the same thing as you idiot,” Dmitri shot with amusement lacing through his voice.

Although the idiot part wasn’t truthful he would be doing the same method as Aciel. He wouldn’t be able to bear just staying on the boat all day much less being alone with Doc for that long, and so he would partake in the same activity as his companion. Dmitri may have not enjoyed the ocean as much as Aciel, but he didn’t mind it. His eyes trailed along the boat as Aciel left to go change leaving himself and Doc alone. Promptly the atmosphere between the two became bitter with tension, although not foul it was no doubt a result of the conversation earlier that caused such tension. It was silent of words and only the sound of the waves and boat filled the air. Aciel had gone to the opposite side of the boat away from Dmitri and Doc who were near the front part. Gazing out at the ocean with an anticipated gaze, he waited for his companion to return. The wait seemed hours compared to what it truly was, but Dmitri endured as he waited.

Doc looked up as a fissure of air ran past him as Dmitri stood up and exchanged spots with his companion. The man looked over away however when he heard a voice speak out against the waves. The weather? Typically the weather may interfere with the ocean’s behavior, that day it was choppier than usual. However, the weather rarely interfered with the water’s temperature, with such a large body of water like that of the ocean it was extremely difficult to change in temperature overnight. It would presumably be the same temperature as it had been the day before if not a mere degree cooler.

“It’s a lil’ choppy cause of yesterday's weather, but other than that it should be the same as yesterday,” Doc concluded.

The man was cautious when addressing Aciel as the thoughts from early hung heavily over his head. It was difficult to perceive what was true and what wasn’t, and so he didn’t dare try to spark any further conversation in fear he may ask the wrong question or receive a baffling answer as he had once before. Doc occupied his time by untangling one of the nets that managed to become entangled with itself.

The sea breeze intertwined with his hair as his gaze met with the vast endlessly blue abyss of the ocean. This was the first time Dmitri had been somewhat alone excluding when he took a shower the day before which didn’t give him the same longing feeling. He could still identify the faint murmurs of Aciel and Doc seemingly immersed in a conversation. Leaning slightly against the railing as he stripped some of his clothes before pulling the wetsuit on. At any moment he expected something in the water to pop up from underneath, although with the waves it was difficult to identify if the movement was another life form or just more water. The air was thick with a salty piscine scent. Shifting the hair from his eyes Dmitri looked towards the general direction of the shore although he was unable to see it. The sun doused his body and now the wetsuit in which he wore; the garment he wore consisted of only dark shades of gray and black, it wasn’t all that flashy with colors but the fabric appeared to be high-end. The wetsuit fit well enough, it was slightly loose but not enough to complain about. He wasn’t in a rush to go back to Aciel and Doc after getting ready, moreover, he would gaze out towards the nearby waves for a while. The sky was a clear and cloudless azure with only the soft yellow rays to interrupt the void that was the sky. Taking in a deep yet raspy breath he, at last, pushed himself away from the railing. Pacing his decision to go join the other two over in his head Dmitri wasn’t confident in his decision, yet he had already made his way over by the time he had received these doubts. His orbs traveled upwards as his companion’s voice met with him, and he would nod as a response.

Aciel grinned hearing Dmitri would join him "Great! you're going to have to help this idiot out though, to bring back the bigger fish" he said holding up an arm "because I don't exactly have the physique for heavy lifting" he chuckled and walked around to the other end of the boat

Aciel took a few seconds to look at his arms and sighed at the scars before pulling the sleeves over them, he wanted to talk Dmitri about them at some point, it bothered him so much and talking to his friend always helped, Dmitri would talk to him and make him feel better, that's what he was hoping anyway. When he had put his thoughts in order he walked back out and smiled at Dmitri your turn" he could see his companion was stressed so he felt a bit bad for making him wait so long, Doc and Dmitri weren't on the best terms, to be honest he wasn't exactly on good footing either but he seemed to talk to people more easily. Aciel hadn't expected to be the extrovert because in the lab he had been pretty shy, he would blame that on the environment and leave it for now

He listened to what Doc said and sighed "thank goodness, I was worried I would freeze all over again, I doubt Dmitri would carry me out" Aciel said, the other he was talking to seemed to be treading lightly with what he said so he decided to let the conversation die out

Letting the talking stop wasn't the best choice because Dmitri took longer than expected, it was stressing Aciel out a bit but he hadn't heard anything, not a splash or a shocked cry so his companion had to be on the boat. Aciel chalked it up to his friend just taking a bit of time to clear his head and sat on the deck pulling a net towards him and toying with the nots, careful not to let it tangle. When Dmitri came back he got up and nodded back "alright then, Doc?" he asked turning towards the other "are we going closer to shore now?" Aciel remembered something Doc had said about having to be in shallow water for spear fishing

Aciel went over to Dmitri's side and leaned his arms on the railing looking down at the water "Dmitri? do you think everything will be okay?" closer to land meant there was a chance they could be spotted again and he was getting anxious all over again, he hated putting the stress on his companion but he was hoping Dmitri would be able to talk to him about any worries as well, they really only had each other so this was important, the trust behind it and all. Aciel knew that Dmitri wanted to trust him so there wasn't a complete disconnection but there was still so much he didn't know...he was certainly going to make an effort, maybe when they were alone in the water where they wouldn't have to worry about Doc

As they got closer to the point where the boat would stop he started scanning the coast line, starting at the Bay and making his way across to check for any people he knew from the lab, so far so good but Aciel didn't let his guard drop