Halcyon Halls

Who: Summer and Kris
When: Around 6:30
What: A bike ride

Summer wasn't really sure if she was up for this or not but then again, Kris was probably the only person she wanted to see right now, the only person that she had even the slightest desire of being around. She had missed him, strangely enough, and the week thus far had been a difficult one. She could use a friend. He was it. He was the only one. The only one here or anywhere for that matter. Summer didn't make a habit of forming ties very often.

For the first time ever, or at least since arriving here, Summer had donned a pair of jeans. They fit here well, hugged the curves of her figure nicely, and the blue polo shirt that she had paired it with brought out the teal of her eyes nicely. She wore a pair of white K-Swiss, appropriate for biking, and pulled her long blond hair into a ponytail in the back. Her makeup was light, a little lip gloss and some eye liner and a small amount of shadow. Her smile was void as she made her way to meet Kris.

They would have to go by the bike shop to rent the bikes when they left since, well, it wouldn't make much sense for her to go ahead and get them and have to try to push them both back to the school. So she was waiting, free of bikes, her gaze focused towards the sky, a frown pursing her lips as she tried to focus all the emotions away. She was going to be so glad to get away from the oppressing feeling the school always filled her with.

Who: Kristi, Sydni
When: Thursday, Lunch
Where: Dining Hall
What: Munchies-R-Us

----

Kristi could not quite remember a time in his life when he'd had such a hectic, blindingly full schedule. He was three point five days into a five day week, and, so far as simple timekeeping and assignments were concerned, had managed to stay afloat. Much like his earliest swimming lessons during vacation, though, the ice-blonde European was crackingly positive that the motions he was going through were incredibly ungraceful.

He barely made it to class on time, especially after the short siesta gap he'd left for himself in the afternoon. Getting through the actual classes was a mixture between struggle and free-fall; it was virtually impossible to sleep through any of the classes he'd enrolled for, but Kristi was Kristi, and sometimes catnaps simply happened. It was Summer, wasn't it? Homework assignments somehow had to be done, and on this Kris was having very few issues - when he got over the nagging case of Chronic Procrastination that automatically dogged the steps of every student alive (or, in some cases, not).

Whatever the methods he used, Kris had yet to blow off classes, miss deadlines, or be called on his small classtime snoozes. Languages were no problem; they came as easily as breathing. Verb conjugation was simple logic in all cases, and the additional benefit of having a photographic memory only helped it. The morning classes were a little harder. Thus, as a companion to lunch, he had one of the books Teacher-WhatsHerName had recommended on the reading list. Something to skim through.

Kris did that skimming whilst eating; his lunch, as it was every day, was a half-hearted affair that involved an apple, some bottled water, and the occasional use of teeth. The book, as he'd expected, was drier than the Sahara, and frequently the blue of his eyes meandered over the people slash creatures occupying the dining hall. Distraction, salvation, whatever you wanted to call it, came in the form of a werewolf who hadn't yet eaten him. What did a werewolf eat for lunch? Pastries, if Kristi remembered right. He caught Sydni's eye, and snapped his book shut while beckoning her over.

"So what does a werewolf eat for lunch?" The question came instead of a more conventional hello, delivered in blithe, Kristi fashion.

Who: Kat, Kristi
Where: Cafe
When: Wednesday evening, 7pm.
What: Reacquaintance

--

The years had passed speedily, now that Kristi had time to consider it. He remembered a time previously when the days had crawled, every one the same as the day before, and likely the same as the one to come after. Unlike most children, Kristi had avoided school from as early an age as possible, separated by language barriers, education barriers, and, of course, a general level of difference that pervaded any and every fragile friendship the youngster had ever attempted. In all honesty, though, he hadn't tried very hard.

Here he was, though, twenty years old as of three days past, catching up on a friendship with a person he hadn't seen in... years. Wasn't it only old people who said things like that? Sure it was, but apparently twenty was the opening bracket for 'days of the elderly'. Not only were days flying past, Kristi himself was experiencing the distracted, flighty mind of a Senior Moment. lol.

Back on his original railtrack, the Russian steepled his fingers on the cool surface of his chosen table at the cafe. As ever, he cut a sharp figure, conspicuous if only for the platinum shock of hair gracing his head, a polar opposite to the monochrome black fabric encasing him from the neck down. A milkless double shot of espresso sat beside his left hand, half imbibed and refilled with a shot of vodka left over from his jaunt to the kitchens with Summer, liquid that now sat invisibly beneath the slouching curve of Kristi's back. He was waiting for Kat, the girl from Vegas whose disappearance had been quite the coincidence, if one took burst water pipes and batshit nightmares into account. Not that Kristi did, of course, and not that he was pointing any fingers.

Somehow it wasn't too much of a surprise that Kat, of all people, was attending Halcyon, of all places - and had been, it seemed, for quite some time. Kris wouldn't exactly say it gave him the feeling of rainbows, snuggly toys and spiced wine at Christmas, but maybe, just maybe, having someone he already knew knocking around would help him get into the swing of things more smoothly. Vacation was great, of course, but who knew what would happen when rigid schedules and tasking teachers rolled onto the drawing board?

He took a sip from the citron-flavoured pitch of his bitter coffee, and mused to himself, brooding over the ripples in the liquid. A lot of things had changed over those past years, the many years. The shadow falling over his table suggested history was catching up, however, and Kristi's head lifted to greet it.

Who:  Sydni and Kris
Where: On a boat off-shore
What:  A morning joy ride

This was turning out to be a lovely morning.  After the disappointment of the previous night, it was good to be on the ocean with enjoyable company.  It's too bad the plans with Charlie had fallen through - that's ok; they'd reschedule.  Truth be told, with everything going on with Justina, it was rather upsetting.  She knew it was nobody's fault.  That didn't keep her from brooding all night long.  Even this morning, she probably hadn't been the pleasantest of people.  Poor Kris may have wondered what he'd bargained for when he'd met the testy-looking were on the dock.  She'd done her best not to bite his head off, figuratively, and so had limited herself to requests for aid in getting on their way.

However, once on the ocean, Sydni's mood improved considerably.  The smell of the salt air and the cool breeze lifted her spirits considerably.  Sydni had navigated some distance along the shore-line, never really going too far off-shore; she wanted to keep it in sight for the simple reason that it was a moving island.  Instead, she was looking for a hidden cove, or some more private place to anchor.  Having found one after about an hour, Sydni anchored the boat, first consulting the instruments to be sure there were no reefs in this area.  Last thing she wanted to do was harm the environment of this island.

After anchoring, Sydni had gotten out a light brunch she'd made.  She'd forgotten to ask Kris what he liked to eat, so she'd brought a little of everything - some croissants and jam and butter; some bagels and cream cheese; fruits and cheeses; juice; water.  She would have brought coffee if she'd have thought it would have stayed hot.  Anyway, as she laid out the food, she said, "I hope you're hungry.  I'm not eating all this, and I'm not taking it back to my room.  I didn't know what you'd like, so I brought a bit of everything."  She smiled amiably to show she was mostly jesting.  She really hoped she wouldn't have to take the whole thing home.

Sitting back on the deck, Sydni squinted up through her sunglasses into the bright morning sky.  She had brought sunblock in case Kris needed some, but she had made sure to spray herself down before he arrived.  She loved the feeling of the sun on her skin.  She wasn't really a sun-worshiper, but she liked to sit in the sun till she was hot, then go for a swim to cool off.  She'd worn her bathing suit under her clothes just in case.  She wasn't sure about the waters here, so she didn't plan on jumping in unless it really got hot.

Glancing over at her companion, she asked, "So, what do you think?  Good way to spend a morning?"

Who: Shoko and Kristi
Where: The beach.
When: Thursday evening.
What: Shoko and Kristi meet as they try to escape the heat.

Oh how much Shoko Okazaki hated summer. It usually put her in a horrible mood. This week, she has been staying in her air conditioned room but usually getting some fresh air at evening after dinner. On Thursday evening, it had been sunny which made the sunset look just that more pretty. The sky was filled with a variety of colors that were simply breath taking. Reds, oranges, pinks, blues.

Shoko watched this display right at the edge of the ocean with her butt on dry land but her feet right where the waves reached. Each time the water came in, it left sand slowly burying them. It was refreshing. She wore a yellow tank top and jean shorts. Her flip flops, she took off and placed them beside her on dry sand. She sucked on a blue popcicle she got from the cafe as she watched the show of nature. Her snack had the look of ice that began to melt then quickly re-froze. Shoko hardly ever had problems eating ice cream. She only had a problem if she didn't have it particularly near her for a while.

While her mouth looked rather blue, Shoko seemed practically mystified by the sunset. She wondered what it is life of the races who can't be out during this time. Like vampires. Do they remember their last sunset or sunrise that they enjoyed. She imagined the thought of sunrise frightened vampires greatly. Maybe she should ask a vampire the next time she'd get talking to one.

Then she thought of all the beautiful sunsets she saw before. She'd have to say the most beautiful ones tend to be in late summer and early fall. The leaves in the fall made the sunset always seem to glow with a haunting orange. It was like the countryside was lit on fire. While Shoko watched the show, she seemed to be oblivious to everything around her. Nope, she just continued to suck her treat calmly as she took in the slightly cool breeze that slipped off the ocean.

Who: Sydni, Kristi
When: Tuesday (early morning)
Where: School: Swimming pool.
What: Swimming 101

---

The first day or two of Kristi's stay at the school had proved pleasant. It was a far cry from his expectations, although it must be said, his expectations had been markedly slim. When you hear a school has supernaturals, surely you instantly think 'lol, smoking much?' in the direction of the person passing along the information. Kris was no exception, despite having been clued in several years before of his heritage. He'd read the Harry Potter books just like everyone else in his age group, and, just like everyone else, he'd closed the books at the end, put them on the shelf, and gone back to his usual jaunts, haunting the sidewalks of Las Vegas' neon strips.

He'd never investigated any further than the details his father had given him during that first, awkward talk. Adjusting to the idea that he, Kristi, was not human, hadn't been easy - and therefore the teen had simply done what he did best, and ignored it. His father had made enough money that Kris would never have to work a day in his life, should he wish. He did wish, and had no intention, at that time, of studying for anything. That unspoken little vow included any unnecessary facts about his own lineage. He was half Russian, half Bulgarian, and a smidgen American - and as far as Kris was concerned, he'd stay that way until the moon turned blue.

Of course, that hadn't got him very far, had it? Let's see, he'd dropped out of school before completing even the last year's of elementary, knocked down his house, killed his own father... They hadn't been exceptionally close, as parents and children go, but 19 years of being a single parent family had to count for something. Guilt was a nasty emotion, and one Kristi was only now learning to experience. It was that guilt, rather than the worry of hurting someone else, that had brought him to Halcyon. A debt, you could say, to fulfil the wish his father had expressed several years before.

Timezones, Kristi thought, were a funny thing. Through his life, he'd passed through half the world's slots of time, and although jetlag was rampant amongst the planet's populace, Kristi himself had never previously conceived any form of problem... until now. Here was an island which had a timezone Kristi wasn't even sure about. As a result, the usual daily schedule which kept the Russian's bodyclock ticking smoothly was suffering a slight bout of hiccoughs.

So, here he was, after proclaiming himself a comfortable early bird, leaning against the tiled wall of Halcyon's swimming pool, eyes slitted against the assault of the flourescent floodlights pooling on the water - dozing. The displaced European was waiting for his recently drafted swimming coach, a girl he'd met randomly on a beach, and organised a boat trip with. Thankfully, his self-admitted lack of swimming skills had been well received, and Sydni's subsequent offer to teach him had been welcome.

Kris only hoped he could hold up his eyelids long enough to keep from drowning, because that would really kind of suck.

Who: Summer and Kristi
When: Afternoon
Where: Halcyon School Grounds

Bullshit. Absolute bullshit. They wasted no time getting her here and now that she had changed her mind and had decided to leave, they wouldn't take her. She was obligated to at least stay and give it a chance. If she didn't like it after a couple of months, they would be more than happy to send her on her way, but they couldn't do it now, wouldn't do it. She was absolutely livid! Who the fuck did they think they were trying to tell her what she could and could not do?!? She was Summer Victoria Stone and she would do whatever the hell she wanted. Bullshit! It was complete and utter bullshit.

It was already decided, as she walked quickly across school grounds, that God, if he existed, hated her. Why else would he send them all here? Had she really been that bad of a person to deserve that sort of punishment? Just when she was starting to get over him, over the whole situation, here she was, and there it was right in front of her face again. Fucking bullshit!

Her steps suddenly halted as a realization hit her. Someone had just come around, not that long ago, asking questions. Was it coincidence that, weeks later, she would come face to face with the very person in question. Summer didn't believe in coincidences. "Someone set this up." She said, and then looked back towards the school. But how? How could someone know about her and make all of this happen? It didn't seem possible and yet it seemed quite probable.

And now she had something to think about. Stay or go? Sure, they told her she had to stay for a while, but she was confident she could find a way to leave if she wanted to. And then who was responsible, what did they want from her, what were they expecting to happen? Someone had to have gone to a lot of trouble. Or maybe it was fate intervening, bringing her here for a reason.

She was starting to sound like a crazy person.

Rolling her eyes at herself, Summer began to walk again, heading towards the path that would lead her eventually into town. She had to think about this, figure this out.

Just to the edge of the grounds, the heel of her shoe found the only hole that there was, sinking in and causing her to lose her balance. Her ankle twisted as she went down and the gravel scraped her knee which was left uncovered by the length of her denim skirt. "Fuck me!" She yelled, more out of frustration than pain. This was not turning out to be a very good day.

Who:  Sydni and Kristi
When:  Morning
Where:  Beach
What:  Walking and talking, hopefully

Sydni loved the feel of the ocean breeze on her skin.  Nothing was quite as refreshing.  It made her feel like she could breathe in all the good in the universe in one deep breath.  Surprisingly, she was starting to feel better.  Well, perhaps not better... restless maybe.  But it was better in that she had been closing herself up in the school for too much of her time.  She felt like Justina was annoyed with her, perhaps, for being clingy, even long-distance.  It's just, she had nothing to do with herself.  She waited for people she knew to sign on online or reply to her e-mails, and practically pounced when someone finally did.  With Justina, sometimes she didn't even wait for a response before sending a new one.  Maybe she should try snail mail.

Frowning a little when she realized she was again starting to drag herself down, Sydni moved on.  The breeze was tugging lightly at the wrap she was wearing.  She loved the way the fabric looked being blown around like that, and that was why she wore it.  Normally, she was a jeans and tee kind of girl.  Since she was feeling less emo, she had 'dressed up' this morning and worn something a bit springy and light.  Sydni normally would never characterize herself as emo, but she really had been of late.  She was annoying herself with her sucky attitude.

The only problem with the breeze was that it blew her fine hair into her eyes.  She hated having her hair in her face, and this morning she had been constantly brushing it back out of her way.  This was made a bit more difficult since she was carrying her flip flops in one hand, so she could only brush back one side at a time.  She made a slight sound of annoyance and was startled to hear it come out like a growl.  She wasn't really pissed, just slightly frustrated.  And the growl startled the frustration right out of her.  Instead, she sighed at the ridiculous situation she was in.  A werewolf?  That definitely blindsided her.  Of all the things that could have fucked up her life, that was not on her list.

Pausing and turning to face the ocean, Sydni wrapped her arms around herself and stared out over the waves.  She wanted to be out there, desperately.  She would be going out there with Charlie next week, but she wanted to be diving.  She needed to be with the creatures she loved.  She felt alive around them.  She hadn't been in the water the whole time she'd been here.  Perhaps it was her stubborn streak.  If she couldn't be out in the water the way she wanted, she wouldn't be out in the water at all.  Of course, that was rather like cutting off your nose to spite your face.  Sydni thought that perhaps today she would come out.  Lay on the beach until she was too hot, then go for a swim.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  There seemed to be a lot of surfers at the school, and although it was the last day of finals, maybe she'd have some company.

Sydni stared unseeingly at the ocean.  It was not yet so bright that she had to squint her eyes against the light dancing off the waves, but her eyes weren't taking note of anything, really.  Just the utter vastness of it all.  She felt a bit like she was in a Romantic Era poem.  The single individual contrasted against the vaulting beauty of the natural world.  It was a bit comforting to think like that.  Really, how big could one person's problems be when the world was so large?  There was so much more.