Out on the Coast [Gemp]

[solegamer117]

I stood atop the cliff, a light, salty smelling breeze. I liked the Ocean. Few people come out here, which suits me fine, I don't like the company of others, I haven't ever since the death of mu parents.

Gulls called in the sky above. The wind blew through the branches of the trees behind me. I thought about going hunting, rabbits and deer were common in these woods, but I reconsidered it. I decided to just sit there and relax.

[Gempol]

The tangy smell of seawater immediatly hit my nostrils as I step out onto the coast. The distant cries of seagulls resonate to my ears, making my eyes wander to the gray sky where the birds were flying. But the sound of crashing waves made my gaze drift back to the vast ocean in front of me. It was a giant plain of water, stretching for miles and miles. All kinds of abundant animals lived in it's depths. The ocean is marvelous and at the same time mysterious.

I like it.

The wind makes my hair blow backwards as I breath in the thick aroma of the ocean. It always makes me feel at home, strangely, even though I was born in the luxurious District One. Some things you couldn't answer, and that fact was one of them.

I bend down and let my finger run through the soft sand, making a small crevice in the smooth surface. My finger hits a nice round stone, and I pick it up. It's blue, but not entirely one shade of the hue. It is both light and dark blue, a strange combination. I toss it around a bit in my hand before slipping it into my pocket. Something to remind me I was here.

The sand muffles the sound of my heavy boots, but you couldn't hear anything anyway with the screeching wind in your ear. I make my way to where the water hits the sand, and let the cool liquid slosh around my ankles. It feels good. I walk along the boundary between water and sand for a while, until I can see someone in my line of vision. A boy, no doubt. I can't make any features out of this figure, so I decide to walk farther.

My instinct tells me to reach my hand into my pocket, where my trusty throwing knife was. My voice of reasoning whispers in my ear; You better be prepared to throw the knife at a moment's notice.

[solegamer117]

I sat there, relaxing, when I heard an odd note under the crashing of the waves. Footsteps.

I whirl about, the bow at my side in my hands before I'm even facing the person, an arrow nocked before I ever see the person properly.

The girl was about an inch shorter than I was, with brown hair and blue eyes, and a thowing knife in her hand.

Neither of us dares move. If I shoot, she can get me with the knife before she's hit, the same thing happens if she throws the knife first.

I speak first, "Who the hell are you?"

[Gempol]

"Who the hell are you?" the boy, who I can now see has dark hair and tanned skin, says. This immediatly sets a scowl on my face. I do not want anyone to ruin my trip to the Ocean, the one place where I felt at ease. I feel like this boy can set me in a foul mood.

The wind whistles in my ears, and I glance at the weapon in his hand. It's a hand-crafted bow, with a thin arrow nocked in the string. It looks like it cost a lot to get it, but I'm not afraid to break it into pieces if need be. The gray clouds above me seem menacing, and I can't help but feeling that this encounter will end badly.

I lightly stroke the strange stone in my pocket, plucked from the very sand of the ocean. It makes me feels slightly better, and my shoulders relax and drop. If I act the right way, this will end good.

"My name is Annabeth, from District One. Drop your weapon and I won't attack."

[solegamer117]

"My name is Annabeth from District 1" she said, then "Drop your weapon and I won't atack". I snorted derisively, "Yeah right, I drop my bow and you gut me with that knife, how about you drop that knife? Now, and I won't attack".

[Gempol]

Ugh. He's got us a bit of a stalemate here. If I drop my weapon, I'll be vulnerable to any attack. And he'll refuse to drop his weapon, knowing I could slice him with my knife.

I grimace, wanting to get rid of this boy. He's making my whole trip to the ocean sour. All I wanted to do was have a peaceful adventure walk, without any fights. I didn't want any dangers, just peace. The truth was, I want to be alone right now. I want to try to get rid of the horrible things that happened in the past and enjoy happy thought about the future without anyone disrupting. My intentions are clear; go to the ocean and think, relax.

My face is a mask of annoyance, which will probably tick off this stranger. But I don't care. It's his fault for being here, on the day when I was supposed to relieve all my stress. I bite my lip, looking into this person's eyes. I don't allow myself to figure out what was behind those colored orbs.

All thoughts about peace and relaxation going down the drain as I stare into the face of this tanned boy, allowing the laughing wind to blow my dark hair this way and that. A tremendous wave crashes onto the shore, sending a torrent of water at me that hits my ankles. I try to reassure myself by rubbing my strange stone, but it doesn't work. Nothing will.

I clutch my knife hard, making my knuckles white. All these thoughts and actions around me are making my mind wander. The ocean was a protective wall for me, blocking all the bad thoughts as my mind danced in euphoria. But this little encounter with the boy and the bow knocks the entire wall down like a wave crashing against the land. This stranger has no idea how sensitive I was, how one tiny little spark could produce an entire electrical storm in my mind

---

I'm not the one in the wrong direction. She is.

The stream leads through the District 13 ruins, yes. But that't not my destination. I would jump out of the stream when the time was right and make my way through the forest. I knew a place where I kept a hoard of matches, even stronger than my knife. Even though it was risky, I would light the forest on fire. It would bring me a lot of joy to see her being fried alive.

I'm turning mad, aren't I?

---

Can't you see that I'm don't care about you? Don't you see how my face turns, how my eyes glint? Did you just buy into my act, my faux happy attitude? Couldn't you see how I bit my lip every time you said 'I love you, Annabeth'? Oh, I know. I know your intentions, what you thought was right. You thought that just because you gave me all the glamor, all the money I needed, I would love you and be happy. You thought that spoiling your only child was the best bet. Well, I'll tell you right now. You were wrong. Dead wrong.

Money doesn't buy happiness. Or love.


---

The knife plummets from my hand, landing in the now wet sand. A naughty wave plucks it from the bed of rock and pulls it out to sea. The boy looks at the knife bobbing in the water, and then to me. I start to shake a bit, my eyes are glassy and staring into the distance. I look at my hand, and I see them covered in blood. A blink, and the blood is gone. I don't bother trying to wonder what's going on. Things like this happened all the time at home, and the image of my mother and father fretting over my shaking body makes me laugh.

That's right, darling! A little laugh or two will make you feel all the better!

Hehe, break that bow in half girl.

Stay nice and smile!

Punch him in the gut.

[/s][/b]

Suddenly, like a flash of lightning, I grip reality. I release a shaky breath, and fall to my knees. It was the disease again. Confused emotions and surprised thoughts burst in my head. I hadn't had a seizure, or anything like this, in ages. The last time it happened was when I started to run away from home. But I knew the symptoms well enough. I knew they could be caused by any little thing, like a pin dropping from the ground. Flashbacks, shaking, hallucinations, voices. All part of this messed-up seizure.

I can feel the boy staring.

OOC: Cliffhanger! OMG!

Words: 777
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[solegamer117]

I lowered my bow when she dropped her knife. The waves pulled it off the sand and into the ocean. Annabeth I think she said that was her name suddenly gave a little laugh, before she began to shudder. She dropped to the ground, I stare. Another wave come in and splashes her. SHe doesn't react to it at all, she just stays there, shaking.

I drop my quiver and throw my bow over to one side, out of reach of the waves, Don't want it going the way of her knife and run to her side.

"Hey!" I yell, poking her in the side Why would that wake her idiot, she just got hit by a wave, "Are you okay?", I ask, even if the answer is quite obviouly not going to be given in the affirmative

[Gempol]

I sit there, shaking, when a wave hits me. I get engulfed in the frothy liquid, submerged under the sea for one panic moment. I don't try to get out of the ocean's reach. I just stay still, like a doll, sucumbing to the strength of the sea.

After a few seconds a gust of wind hits me, and I know I'm back on land. My breath escapes me in short, ragged gasps. My copper brown hair is hanging in thin strips. I lay my palms on the sand, letting the smooth substance balance my shaky body.

I hear the boy toss his weapons aside. Thankfully, he threw his weapons away from the reach of the wicked waves. They wouldn't end up like my poor knife.

The boy crouches down to the sand, and pokes me in the side. He shouts a 'hey' and asks me if I'm okay.

Foolish boy, this poor girl here just got beat up by a wave!

Rats are a delicacy.

My response to his question and the voices in my head is a shaky laugh. The action nearly makes me crumple to the ground. My legs feel weak, and the blue stone I found just a few minutes before tumbles out of my pocket; hitting the sand with a delicate plop!

"I'm fine, thanks," a hint of sarcasm obvious in my voice. I look into his eyes and am shocked for a moment.

He looks like Ranvier.

Ranvier, the boy from District Four. He was such a nice person, who treated me well. We had grown close to each other. My heart ached when I thought of one of my best friends. The thought of him also made my head become flooded with memories. Flooded with happiness.

---

"Hi, I'm Ranvier. I am doing well, and yourself?"

This boy's voice was rich, deep, and melodic. It gives me a slight buzzing feeling in my chest. I look into those hazel eyes, and my cheeks are flushed with color. I try to hide my blush, but I'm unsucessful.

---

For the first time, he looks into my eyes. And I look into his. We stay like this for a few seconds when his fishing pole is rattling in his hands. He chuckles, refusing the offer now that he has a catch.


---

What he said hits me painfully.He loved his family.

He would never leave them.

it just wouldn't be fair to throw away what they have given to me

Well, I threw away what my parents had given me by running away. I threw away everything. I can feel tears in my eyes. They run down my cheeks. The hurt is so strong, the memories so real. I can see them, my parents, crying for me at night; wondering why their wonderful daughter would run away from them. The tears flow, I release months of withheld sorrow. I'm in no control. I'm risking my life by doing this. But I somehow trust this boy. Ranvier.

---

I drift out of the numbness of nothing, and make my way back to the painful reality. The boy is still crouched beside me, still worried. I don't think I'll have enough energy to stand up, let alone talk. But my chapped lips and my stretched vocal chords allow me to say one single word.

"Ranvier."

Words - 562

[solegamer117]

She doesn't look to be in the best of states. Of course, she had just had some kind of seisure, but she looked weak on top of that. She looked like she was to weak to say anything, let alone get up.

I'm proved wrong on that count by her sarcastic answer to my question.

A few moments later she looks at me properly, and freezes. She sits there in the sand, giving me a dazed look, like she's not looking at me, but past me, or not even looking at something at all...

She croaks out a word, "Ranvier".

I'm confused, "Who's Ranvier", I pull a flask out of one of te various pouches that I carry and press it into her hand, "Here, have a drink".

[Gempol]

In response to my one shaky word, the boy asks me who Ranvier is. He then proceeds to offer me a flask of a nice smelling liquid. I don't have the willpower to tell this stranger about Ranvier, or to accept the drink. My head feels dazed and confused, and now I don't know what is real and what is not anymore.

It could always be a dream...

This thought vibrates in my weak cranium, making my eyelids flutter wide open. If this was all a dream I would be laying peacefully on the sand, eyes shut and mind at work; making me different images to consume. If this were a dream, I wouldn't really be suffering all this pain.

If this were a dream I could get out of it.

I manage to prop myself up on my elbow. I whip the flask out of the boy's hand and knock it hard into my leg.

Ouch.

Hehe, silly girl. This isn't a dream!

I grimace, allowing the pain to set in. My mind registers one scary thought. This isn't a dream. It's all real. I fall back down on the sand and close my eyes. I don't know how I'll go on anymore, being a Wanderer. I estimate that I won't be able to move in days with my seizure pain, and the pain I just inflicted on myself right now. I sigh. Things couldn't get worse.

I realize this boy will be my only asset. He might know a good place for shelter, a place to get food. Those would be all I had to have to recover.

This guy is my lifeline.

But as I look up and see him staring at me as if I were a freak, the voices say what I was thinking right now.

This will be hard.

Words - 305

[solegamer117]

I look at the girl, she doesn't look like she can even lift the bottle to her lips, gently, I take it myself and pour a little water into her mouth. She seems unsure of what to do for a moment, but grudgingly swallows.

I examine her more closely. She looks thin. Too thin, I dpn't know if she's able to hunt herself or if she even can, but I decide to take matters into my own hands.

I walk over to my pack and remove another pouch, this one containging dried fruit and meat. I take it over to her and open it, showing her the contents.

"Do you want any Annabeth", for all I know, she can't even hear me, I hold out a piece of dried deer meat and say, "Annabethm you need to eat".

[Gempol]

I peer into the bag, examining the food that was lumped together in the sack. Dried fruits, small pieces of meat. Enough nutrition for about three days. I reach in and grab a piece of dried apricot, bringing it to my lips and tearing it open with my teeth. It tastes good.

Things seem a bit more clearer in my mind's scope, I can piece together logical thoughts. The shaking in my legs has weakened, allowing me to sit up on my knees. A tiny piece of the sun is visible through the gray clouds, while the wind still blows hardly. I blink the salt from my eyes.

What to do next?

I'm not sure if I should be accepting the food from this boy, who's name isn't known to me. They could be poisened, drugged. There were so many possibilitites. But I need to have some kind of food, and I doubt I would be able to hunt it by myself.

---not done---