Like Seeing an Old Friend..

[chihiro]

The beach. It had always been a place of solace for Chihiro. It was where she came to think, where she came when life overwhelmed her. Where she'd first gotten together with Aureus, and where they had eventually ended their relationship. It was where she had been when she entered service with Valekin, and now here she was again, alone.

After he learned her news, he had promptly removed her from the front line of action, sending her to be a 'field officer' in the place of her choosing. But why Long Beach? Why did she return? Her family didn't know where she was, after her father had kicked her out after graduation. But now, with everything that had happened, and what would happen, she knew she wouldn't be welcomed back. Her friends were gone, her boyfriend was gone, what was left here for her?

The beach.

A rock jutted from the sand a half mile down the beach from the tourist area, Chihiro sat with her back against it, dark hues trained on the ocean. Her shoes were off, laying carelessly to the side while her toes were immersed in the sand. Her knees were bent, arms resting relaxed on top of them. A gentle wind blew at her long raven hair and tugged at the fabric of her black gauchos and a gray long sleeved v-neck with a rose colored tank underneath. It was so weird to be wearing normal clothes again.

Her expression was thoughtful, if a little bit sad, as she watched the sun reflect on the water as it sat low on the horizon.

[seishounohana]

It's been over a week since Emily came back from Japan. For some reason, she felt drawn to this place.

This was the place she met Miria. This was the place she saw her brother floating around, wounded. It wasn't unnecessarily the most important place of her life, but this place was where Emily went off to to relax. She was sure a lot of people could agree with her on that.

... especially the girl that was just a few meters away from the spot where she usually went to. It wasn't so often she found someone get here... unless you count couples making out on the parking spaces nearby. She walked to be behind the girl, hoping to practice some of her newfound social skills with some conversation.

Honestly, Emily was still weary about talking to strangers... but this was something she had to work on to become a better person. To become more "sane."

"Relaxing place, eh?" She said, mentally shooting herself for such a boring greeting. There was nothing much in mind, really... dunno about this person right here, though.

[chihiro]

'Relaxing place, eh?'

A female voice, Chi dubbed non-threatening even before she looked over to the source. In her years Chihiro had learned to judge character very carefully, as it could be a matter of life or death. But this voice was kind, contributing to a conversation. Dark brown eyes looked over at her and the shadow of a smile fell over her face.

Black hair, young, she reminded Chi a little bit of her self. She couldn't pinpoint her age, but she was obviously still in high school. Chi'd only been out of school less than a year, perusing the college campus in Philly for four months until...a recent development.

"Hai..it is. I've been coming here for years."

Had her 'spot' been taken over in her absence? Whenever she encountered another like herself, trying to find a nice place to think, she almost felt bad. Like she was intruding on their peace, even though it had been the girl who intruded on her. And she couldn't be a tourist, as this place was a decent walk from the main beach area. But it just had that allure. That peace of mind you crave when the world tosses you around.

"You come here often?"

[Aureus]

Where am I going? Aureus asked himself, really meaning, "Why am I going there?" "There" was the beach, specifically Chi's spot. All the memories it held gnawed at him as he got closer. Looking back on his relationship with the brown eyed girl killed him now, but there had never been any real closure. He had walked out on her during their last conversation, it was never really official. He needed to see her again. Maybe they could at least be friends now that he had come to his senses. Who was to say she'd even be there though? After that last day he hadn't talked to or heard a thing about her. Why not try?

The sun was gradually melting into the ocean and the wind blew a hole straight through the Senior's chest. An unbuttoned dress shirt over a black T clung to Aureus' shoulders, a fedora sat hansomly on his head, glasses covered his eyes, and ragged jeans swooshed as he walked across the parking lot. Looking down to the shore, the schizo noticed two girls. One was definitely Chi. She looked much the same as she had a year ago, but there was also something new to her. A smile slowly creeped onto his face. After a moment of staring he remembered the other girl. No, he didn't recognize her. It'd be best not to intrude... The boy decided, taking a seat where he was.

[seishounohana]

"Hai..it is. I've been coming here for years." She said. Emily couldn't blame her, this place was quiet. A wonderful place to brood and think about things. "You come here often?"

Oh! A question! An Inquiry about herself!

This could be a good sign.

"Not really." She said. Emily had been here only once or twice since she'd moved here. "But this place is a great place to run off to when one is thinking of something, ne?"

[chihiro]

"Absolutely."

Chihiro agreed, her gaze drifting back off to the ocean. It was magnetic, this scene laid out before her. She would watch the waves for hours, the soft ebbing of the tide lulling her into a state of calm rivaled by no other. She turned back to the girl, glancing down at the sand then back up at her and smiled mildly.

"Please, have a seat. What's your name?"

It had been a while since Chi had had a conversation with anyone for the sake of conversation. It was all about business with her, idle chat always had secret agendas..but now? Now...she just wanted to talk. She hadn't noticed Aureus' arrival, he was still a distance away and behind them, and with her back to the rock she leaned against, her body was angled toward the ocean.

[seishounohana]

"Please, have a seat." The lady offered, which Emily wasn't hesitant to obliged. She sat right next to the woman and smiled. First offer to be sit next to someone. Emily was having a lot of firsts these days. Then the woman asked, "What's your name?"

Emily replied, "Emily. Sacricia Emily Lourdes Delos Santos. It's... um... pretty long, eh?"

Well, contrary to popular belief. Delos Santos was the entire last name. The Delos part wasn't really another name in itself. People have been calling her Santos too much in 259, but she just let it slide. After all, that name should be pretty rare in these parts...

Then again, at least she could start correcting the world with this girl, over here. "How about yours?"

[chihiro]

Long name...Chihiro's eyes widened a pinch as the slew of words falling from her lips formed a name. It was like her named formed a sentence on it's own. Well, maybe it was a bit of an exaggeration, but it certainly was long compared to the average American name.

"Amuri Chihiro. You may call me Chi. It's nice to meet you."

A mild smile graced the young woman's features. Not a smirk or a grin or a sly smile..but a genuine one. Mild, because it had been a while since she smiled just for the sake of smiling, just like she was now conversing for the sake of conversing. Slowly but surely...she could feel herself reverting to the way she had been before? No, not exactly. But she was changing, almost like the two halves of her lives were slowly falling into place like puzzle pieces. She wasn't the manipulative freshman, or the lovesick teen, or the broken girl, or the steel warrior...she was Chi. She was all of it mixed into one. Or...two.

Chihiro frowned slightly, her hand resting over her abdomen where she sat.

"So how old are you Emily?"

[seishounohana]

"Amuri Chihiro. You may call me Chi. It's nice to meet you."

"Same here, ... um... Chi." She said, smiling.

This conversation stuff was nice. Emily seemed to be making progress into learning how to socialize with her peers. Emily wasn't any of the usual stereotypes. Emily was a socially damaged person. Maybe in 259 there was a good number of students in a similar situation, but for now. Emily was still patching up the wounds of the past.

By talking to others, she aims to patch up more of her wounds... and learn to move on.

"So how old are you Emily?"

"I'm 15, ...you?"

[Aureus]

A few minutes had passed and neither girl had noticed his presence. Eyes glued to constant flux of the violet/golden water and the reddish clouds hanging lazily about the dying sun, Aureus searched the seascape and himself for what to do and what to say. He had missed Chi so much in the last year, but something told him things could never be the same between them. That didn't mean he had to forget her though. He needed a friend and the raven haired girl was the best he could think of. What if she didn't want to see him? At the very least they could both get some closure. The schizo pulled off his socks and shoes, tossed them behind a parking block, and started towards the pair of girls.

The rough texture of the sand brought a smile to his face. It'd been so long since he'd been to the beach, and the whole sensory experience of it was refreshing and helped him relax. Aureus would stop twelve or so feet from the rock with a simple "Hi."

[chihiro]

15? Not too bad...it had been a while since Chi had been 15, but thinking about that only made her feel old. Her gaze returned to the sea for a moment as a thoughtful 'hmm' passed her lips in reply to the girl. After a moment she looked back to Emily, 15, a small smile in place as she returned from her silent reminiscing.

"I'm nine-"

As her lips moved, forming words, another voice spoke up. A single syllable, but the familiarity rattled through to a deeper part of her, one that hadn't surfaced for a very long time.

"..teen?"

Chi's simple sentence ended in a questioning tone, but not because she wasn;t certain of her age, but because of the voice. Her gaze was now directed just beyond Emily, pupils widening as they landed on her old flame. Her chest tightened and she didn't know what to say to someone she'd heard neither hide nor hair from in almost a year.

"..Hi."

[seishounohana]

Emily was staring at the horizon, watching as orange became scarlet. This would've been a pretty relaxing moment.

"I'm nine-"

"Hi."

"..teen?"

Emily looked at the Direction of a voice. Well, it's a guy. Wow... suddenly the place became so popular with people. Emily began wondering if people have been a bit problematic here in long beach as to find that more people are flocking to the quieter places of the city.

"..Hi."

Emily then looked at Chi.

... then back at the guy, repeat.

She found herself having her hunches. Well, first thing to do would be to say 'hi' back. "Hello..."

Hopefully that was enough.

Suddenly things felt like it's going to be a bit awkward from here.

[Aureus]

Well if that wasn't awkward Aureus didn't know what was. It hadn't been his intention to completely ruin whatever conversation the girls were having, but he happened to be there and a few things needed to be addressed. Though perhaps they could wait. "It's nice to see you again, Chi." the dark haired boy replied with a soft smile. His eyes locked onto her's for a few seconds before he realized he was staring and looked away. Feeling weird as the only one standing, the schizo took a few steps forward and sat down.

Looking to Emily, the ex-pillar thought to introduce himself. "Err...I'm Aureus, nice to meet you, miss...?" Hopefully someone would think of something to say after introductions had been taken care of. For a brief moment his mind raced, then he blanked. What an inept situation...

[chihiro]

"Likewise...Aureus."

It felt like all the air had gotten knocked out of her lungs, and she took a moment to gather herself. Though it was impossible to be caused by it at such early a stage, the graduate could have sworn she felt her stomach swimming around. She drew her knees up, hugging her arms around them loosely. She couldn't look at him for a moment, though when he sat down and spoke up to Emily, she took a subtle deep breath and rejoined the conversation, her gaze floating between them as he introduced himself to her.

Maybe it wouldn't be awkward?

She wouldn't hold her breath. Or at least try not to.

[seishounohana]

"Err...I'm Aureus, nice to meet you, miss...?"

Ah, being noticed feels so nice. Guess an introduction is due. "Sacricia Emily Lourdes Delos Santos. Emily for you, I guess." Emily sighed, hands on the cooling sand.

She then stared at the sunset, a little more than just troubled. Well, she came here to the beach to relax. However, a certain someone's ... prescence ... makes her feel a little uncomfortable. Well, They never really talked one-on-one as much as some, but... last they talked, she was all shuttery and nervous as heck.

"If... a girl's feelings... were a disease... and being nervous around a certain person, blushing and becoming "uncomfortable" and nervous around him were symptoms..." she started, "... what would you call that disease?"

Biology reference for an emotion she never realized what.

Well, in the back of her head she knew what it was.

Her frontal lobes forgot to mention the fact that she could be hitting her companion's feelings.