...

...

...

Well, that being said... 

...

I can see this getting pretty boring. Don't get me wrong, I like being in nature, y'know, lookin' at stuff, walking around and all that, but, doing that, you can, like, move, y'know? See new things, and stuff. Not a lot of that here. At least where we are now is pretty cool, though I'd wager that even this place will lose its luster, eventually. 

Well, at least it's easy work. If nothing else, the promise of money can occupy my attention for a while.

... 

Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, is that fair? I mean, all I really did was bring us here, and, honestly, I did a pretty crummy job of that. Am I right to expect payment? I just assumed we'd be splitting this 50/50, but, honestly, if she demanded that she get the whole cut, I doubt I'd reasonably be able to argue. Shoot... Well, I guess I've still got the whole day ahead of me. I can do a few more jobs. Sure, I've got a few errands to run, but I've plenty of time after those.

That said, I would like to knock those errands out as quick as I can. At the very least, I'd like to pay the lady at the inn as soon as possible. I feel pretty bad about that whole ordeal.

Hmmm... Maybe... I mean, since I'm older, the guild will probably hand me the money, right? I could totally... I mean, it'd be pretty greedy, but...

Maybe I just, real sneaky like, only hand her 12 coin, and deftly pocket the remainder. I mean, you wouldn't be able to tell at a glance, right? It's not like she's gonna count the coins like a cartoon gangster or something, right? 

I'd feel bad about playing a kid, but, I mean, for the sake of having a clean conscious, it's a small price to pay, right? 

Obviously, I'll apologize and pay the immortal back later once we run another job, so it wont be for long, anyways. 

...

Actually, speaking of the immortal, I still haven't asked her what her name is, have I?

... Guess now's a good a time as any.

"Hey, uh... You." I sat up and called out to her. Previously, I was laying down, with my back on the rock. I didn't really notice earlier, but my back's actually pretty sore.

The immortal showed no response. They just kept staring out at the water.

"Uh, yo." I said a little louder. 

Still nothing.

"Uh, yo." I said once more, a little louderer, cupping my hand around my mouth like a megaphone.

"Eh, uh, huh? Wha?" She said, as if snapping out of a stupor. 

These things always work on the third go, don't they? 

"Uh, it just occurred to me," I said, as if I haven't thought of this on several occasions and repeatedly forgot to ask all day. "I never got your name."

"Oh... Yeah, that's true, I guess..." They said, their voice trailing off.

...

Huh? Aren't you gonna...

"S-so... What is it?" I asked. 

The immortal sighed. "Dangit, I was hoping you wouldn't ask..." She began, turning her head over to me. 

"Oh, uh, sorry, if you don't wann-" I said, quickly.

"Nah, it's fine. It was bound to come up eventually, anyways." She sighed again. "My name, is... DYN2-A." She said, with a look of mild disgust and embarrassment on her face.

Wow.

Y'know, for a God, or part of God or whatever DYN2 is, he sure isn't very creative...  I guess I know what that's like. Huh, y'know, a majority of my friends got some goofy names. 

"That's... Quite a mouthful." I blurted out. 

"You're telling me. And it's not much of a name, is it? Just a... Collection of letters."

I opened my mouth to speak.

"And don't bother saying anything like 'that's what words are', because I don't wanna hear it."

I closed my mouth.

"Anyways," She continued. "I'm not a huge fan of my 'name'. Fortunately, it doesn't come up much."

"That's fair." I said. To be honest, I'm not too fond of my name either, but at least mines, like, easy. Hers has as many syllables as it does characters. 

She shrugged, and turned back to the water.

...

"So... What should I call you?" I asked.

"... Wha?"

"Well, I'll probably need to call you something, right?" 

...

"That's... True, isn't it." She said, sounding a bit in disbelief. "I guess... I've never thought about that..."

"... Really? Not once in... However many hours? Well, what do people usually call you?"  

"A little over 70,000. And... Well, nothing. It's just me and dad Up There. We don't really refer to each other, since it's just us. We just... Talk."

"Just the two of you? What about their friends or the other parts of themselves or however that works? The guys they went golfing with?" 

"Dad talks about them a lot, but I can't say I've ever seen them." 

"Huh... Does that ever get... Lonely?" I asked, hoping I'm not prying too much.

"I..." She looked kinda distant, down at the ground, and slowly began shaking her head. "...Don't know. To be honest, you're the first... Person I've talked to." She said, looking me in the eyes as she concluded. 

I was... Stunned, I guess. 

"Oh." 

I didn't really know how to respond to that, to be honest. Heck, I didn't even know how to feel about it. 

"Well, you're surprisingly good at talking, in that case. Better than I am, anyways, heh..." I said. I didn't really know what I meant by it. I didn't even know why I said it. I just... Spoke. Honestly... I felt kinda bad, saying it. Though, I couldn't figure out why. 

"I suppose. I've seen a lot from Up There. Across several existences, I've seen friendships, hatred, togetherness, brokenness... Everything else and in between, too. Guess I just picked it up naturally." 

70,000 hours, huh...

"Well... How is it?" I asked.

"How's what?"

"Participating, I guess."

She opened her mouth to say something, but paused. She looked up, thoughtfully. Then, she turned back to her rod, reeled the line back, and casted it out again.

"It's been okay thus far." She said, watching her line as it soared through the air, and back into the water.

"Well... That's good." I said.

"I suppose it is."

...

...

"Would you like a name?" I asked

...

"I suppose I would." She said.

"I'd be happy to help you find one."

...

"Okay."

...

I found myself smiling as she said that. 

"Well, what should I call you, in the meantime?" I asked. 

"Whatever you want, I guess." She said. "Anything's an improvement." 

"Okay... Sis."

She turned over to me once more. Her face showing just a little bit of a faded red. "Are you making fun of me?"

I chuckled. "Maybe a little. But that was good lie, earlier. I think people would believe it. Plus, it's not really a name, so it shouldn't interfere with anything." It'd suck if I just called her something random and it became her name, right? 

"That so? Well, I guess that's fair. That'll do." She turned back to her line in the water. "Oh, and, uh, thanks... Bro." She said, a little mischievously.  

I chuckled, and once again I found myself smiling. "No problem, sis."

...

I guess fishing's pretty fun, after all.