Mysteries in the Sand (vayne)

[mercy mcentire]

Mercy wipped her forehead with the back of her hand as they reached the beach. God it was hot out here. It was the one thing about the tropical little paridise she found herself on that she didn’t like. Back home it had been hot yes, but only for three or fours months out of the year. The summers were short, and the temperture highs had only been around +25 degrees celcius. Hot, but bearable so long as the humidity stayed down.

”Easy Tessa,” she said with a laugh as she leaned down an stroked her Nova Scotia Duck Toller’s head fondly. The poor thing was hot, and she wanted in the water, like now. Which was the big reason Mercy was here, the main beach was too crowed to let the hyper active retriever off leash. Here though? Generally there weren’t a lot of people, not until the evening anyways when the teenagers enjoyed their little parties and bonfires.

At the end of her leash, the little red and white dog whinned and pulled at the leash. She smiled before walking down to the sand, ”Wait,” she told her with a smile. Tessa dropped into the sit position and impatiently waited, her chocolate brown eyes flinting between her owner and the water. Bending down, Mercy took off her shoes and socks, stuffed the socks in her shoes and hung them over her shoulder. Next, she unclipped the dogs leash, ”Good girl, go play,” she tells her, the dog barks once before taking off at full speed splashing into the ocean.

Her owner was a little more dignified, but still made her way to the ocean. She sighed softly as her feet are covered by the warm, salt water. This was what she had been made for, the water. Growing up in Nova Scotia, surrounded by the sea and all it’s majesty, she couldn’t imagine not being around it...Ever. Maybe that was why as a shifter, she changed into a dolphin.

An Atlantic White Sided Dolphin to be exact. She had started shifting when she was seventeen, two years ago. Had it really been that long? Had she really been here and away from the land and people she loved for two years? Wow...Talk about a revolution.

Only another seventy or eighty years of this.

[/i] She thinks bitterly to herself. If she had her way, Mercy would be gone. She shifted into an animal that lived in the sea, she could survive there. Of course she’d need to turn back into a human once every couple of days, but that wouldn’t be hard..

A bark from Tessa had her looking up and a smile crossed her face. The little retriever was a nut job, running up and down the beach playing in the surf, picking up and tossing around seaweed and just enjoying life the way dogs did. This was her reason for staying on the island, at least for now. Tessa had been a gift from her grand-dad just before she left Pugwash. She reached up touching the whale fluke necklace at her neck, so had it. They were gifts from the one person in this life who actually gave a damn about her, and loved her.

The one person who she’d do anything to see again, and couldn’t.

Looking up suddenly, she notices that Tessa isn’t barking anymore. Instead the dog is just standing in the break water, a piece of seaweed hanging from her mouth, and her ears up, staring. She didn’t move, not even her tail wagged. Jogging over to her, Mercy grabs the dogs collar and clips the leash back on. If someone else was around, she didn’t want her over active dog bothering them.

”Come on Tess, let’s go, ” she says giving a small tug on the leash when the dog refuses to move. Instead of following though, Tessa takes a step forward, and whines a bit, “Leave it Tess,” she tells her, but the dog isn’t listening. Her tail wags once slowly, as she tries to move in the opposite direction again. “Seriously Tess? What do you have there girly?” she ask, pausing from trying to get the dog to move, and actually looking over towards where she was looking.
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[vayne aurelius]

"What to do now..."

This was about the only thought that passed through the young man's mind as he lied there on his black and white surfboard. He was using the board as a floatation device as he lied on it with his back to it as he floated about in the water like driftwood. The tides weren't too rough at the moment, but every once in awhile he would glance around and see how far away he had drifted away from land. If it was too far he would simply just paddle back into a safe distance before going back to drifting.

Vayne did this a lot on his free days. Usually he would spend it studying for his classes, but recently he's had quite a bit of free time on his hands. He sighed a bit as he continued to wonder what he could do on this island. Granted he was sent here a few years ago because his powers had suddenly surfaced, but he did eventually come to see this place as a second home to him. It wasn't like he could go back to his home...that place was gone now. Images of his foster parents shot dead on the ground started to flash through his mind, but he quickly shrugged the off as he sat up. His suddenly movement caused his balance to shift, which in turn caused him to fall into the water.

As he fell underneath the clear ocean water, he quickly swam up and took in a breath of air. A simple smile appeared on his as the small beads of water started to fall off the sides of his face. He raised his right hand up to cover his eyes before he opened them. He glanced around him, and saw a small wave starting to build up ahead of him. Vayne figured that by the time it touched him, it would have enough momentum for him to surf on back to shore. He reached out and pulled his board towards him before he slid his body back on top of it and waited. As the wave started picking up speed and a bit of height, Vayne started paddling ahead of it with his hands while his body continued to stay against his board. When the waves caught up to him and his arms were no longer needed to propel him forward, he grabbed the sides of his board and carefully stood up on his board. With his feet planted firmly against the board, and his balance started to even out, he rode the wave back to the shore.

As he soared through the waters, his wet bangs were pushed the sides of his head by the gentle breeze created through his surfing. Vayne didn't get what he wanted, but coming out here and taking a dip into the water wasn't such a bad thing. He figured being stuck in his apartment, wouldn't be so healthy compared to going out and getting some fresh air. As he surfed closer to the sandy area of the shore, he hopped off his board and walked forward briskly to avoid being hit by his board. Once he was clear from getting hit he ran his right hand through his hair and exhaled, "Whoo! What a rush."

Now, that the fun was over, he was starting to wonder again about what he was going to do now, but his thought was interrupted by barking. Vayne looked around for the source of the barking and found a small dog nearby playing by itself. He had never seen this specific breed of dog before, but then again, he never raised a dog before either. Vayne knelt down on one knee and whistled for the dog to come to him. Obviously the dog wasn't just going to come over because he whistled, but it did eyeball him a bit. Vayne figured the little dog was just trying to see if Vayne had any ill intent towards it, but after awhile it did edge a bit closer to him.

It was about to get close enough for Vayne to pet it when someone came calling for it. It wasn't long until the owner came by looking for her pet. Now, most guys probably would've taken one look at her and would've fallen head over heals for her, but Vayne wasn't exactly your typical guy. He never really was good with people, and over the years he pretty much avoided people unless he had no other choice. When she came looking for her dog, Vayne got up from his kneeling position and walked over to his board. He picked it up and held it underneath his left arm. He waved at the young lady and said, "Sorry for distracting your dog." He was trying his best to sound totally sincere, but sometimes Vayne couldn't help it if he didn't match the tone he wanted.

[mercy mcentire]

Mercy looked up as the young man spoke. To be honest, she was a little bit surprised to see him here, but she hid it well. Instead she offered him a small smile, it's fine, she tells him, her voice soft, and gentle. Not that she was trying to be demeaning or anything, that was her natural tone. She had always been a very soft spoken person, even with people she knew.

With people she didn’t know? Well, she was a bit awkward. Years of simply having better things to do then interact with people hadn’t exactly helped her social abilities any. Growing up she had spent most of her time reading, writing or drawing or exploring the beaches and coves around their small community. All of this had been done on her own, no one else was around.

You know that stereo typical weird quiet girl that every school had? Yeah, Mercy had been her schools weird little quiet girl.

Beside her Tessa whined again and laid down before trying to crawl towards the young man. The dog looks back at her owner, the look clearly asking if she really was going to be like this, quiet and unsure of what to say. The dog snorts before standing up again and wagging her tail once, then twice and practically pulling her owner over to where the guy was getting his board.

And because dogs, being dogs, always seem to have a way to break those little awkward moments in life, Tessa trots right over and nudges the man’s hand with her nose. Sitting down on beside him, she looks over at her owner, who simply shakes her head. “I’m sorry, she says shaking her head with a small frown, “She’s a bit of an attention seeker. she adds on quickly.

It was very clear to Mercy now that Tessa wasn’t budging until she got at least a pet on the head. Mercy couldn’t help but pray silently that this guy didn’t have a problem with dogs. Last thing she wanted as to annoy the hell out of someone who was just trying to surface. She shook her head, and glanced t him, noting that he was extremely good looking...Like, drop dead gorgeous, good looking. Horrified at her staring, she looks back towards the water, before slowly looking back up the beach and catching sight of the surf board.

How’s the water today? she asks him, unsure why she felt the need to fill in the awkward silence, she just did...Wow...Generally when he walked away, she would have walked away too. Preferably in the opposite direction.

[vayne aurelius]

Vayne was already ready to walk away from this potential conversation, but he suddenly felt a gentle nudge against his hand. He glanced down to see the young lady's dog. Apparently the creature felt no cause for alarm resonating from Vayne and had decided to sit down next to him. This was a bit weird. Vayne never got the chance to find out if he was a dog kind of guy, but apparently this little one made his choice for him. Vayne placed the board back down, and got down on one knee. He started petting the dog gently on its head, when he suddenly heard the young lady say something.

Vayne was never much of a people person, and usually he didn't want to interact with anyone, but this time...he was going to make an exception. What drove him to suddenly decide to talk to someone? If there was a reason behind it, it would most likely be because of his foster family. Back then when he was with them, they always encouraged him to try and talk to someone. Interacting with other people is all part of being...well human. He never got around to doing what they asked, because of what happened to them, but...he owed them that much at least. He should at least try and do one of the very few things they ever asked of him...

Vayne glanced up at the young lady and said, "No its fine. Your dog is...well its a friendly one for sure." He rose up slowly from his kneeling position and shook his head to try and get the wet bangs away from his eyes. However, it proved a bit unsuccessful, so he had no choice but to reach up with his left hand and move the away from his eyes. Once this small task was done Vayne glanced back over at the girl and said, "Umm...well...Sorry, i'm not really good at conversations. Ever since I was shipped off to this island I've pretty much kept to myself and what not. So again, I apologize if i come off as rude, or...well I don't know honestly."

Then, when she asked him about the water, Vayne had a bit more to talk about not. He tried his best to muster up a smile, but he was pretty sure only a smirk came out. He replied back to the young lady, "The water? Well it was alright. Tide isn't too strong today so I spent most of my time just drifting about and getting a tan." Vayne wasn't sure as to what he should say next. Other than the talks he had with his foster folks, this was probably the longest conversation he'd had yet since his arrival to this rock. Then it hit him like a strong shot the chest.

Vayne smiled at her and said to her, "Damn, I'm so bad at this stuff. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm...well I'm Vayne Aurelius. Since you're also here on this island with me I assume you're just like me right? Someone with...a special gift i take it?" It wasn't till the question escaped his lips that he realized in his head that it might've been a bit rude of him to just assume she was just like him. Well, the question was out there now and it wasn't like he could turn back time to correct his mistake. Whatever. The balls in her court now, its up to her if she wanted to respond to him.

[mercy mcentire]

”That she is,” Mercy mutters with a small smile as she watched Tessa enjoying the attention that was bestode apon her. When the guy stood up, Tessa watched him, licked his hand and wagged her tail once before returning to Mercy’s side and laying in the sand, panting and happy.

She nods at his next words. Oh how she knew how that was, but at least she had work up at the school as the couch of the swim team, so she had some intereaction. Other then that though, it was just here and Tessa. Which was fine, the dog got her, and lets face it give a dog some food, love and walk it every once in a while, and they would love you like a god.

Which was pretty much what her dog was treated like, but whatever.

She smiles and nods, trust me, its not like I’m sort of social butterfly either,” she tells him honestly. More like a hermit,

[/s] She thinks to herself.

The water? Well it was alright. Tide isn't too strong today so I spent most of my time just drifting about and getting a tan."

His smile comes out in a small smirk, and she can’t help but like the look on him. He diffenetly wasn’t the type of guy she would normally associate with, but then... He seemed ok, at least for now. Her eyes swept across the beach, landing on the ocean, a kind of longing in her eyes, It would be a good day for that, and a swim,” she says, her smile turning a little sad. It was nothing like the rough coasts of Nova Scotia, where the rip tide was always a huge danger to people, but you took what you could get right? Either way, may be later she would go for a swim. Take Tessa home and come back, shift into the dolphin form an spend a couple hours enjoying the simple life.

Being in her alternate form was...Wow, just amazing. Growing up she had always wanted to explore the sea, and see the world through the eyes of the dolphins who followed her grand-dad’s fishing boats, both enntertining her and teaching her every day. Now she got to do it, and really she wouldn’t give it up for anything. Or at least that’s what she told herself.

She considered leaving at that point and letting the young man get on with his day, but he spoke first and introduced himself. She nodded, ”It’s nice to meet you Vanye,” she tells him, honestly meaning it. His next words take her aback a bit, but she shrugs, ”You assume right, why else would someone be here?” She asks with a sigh, thinking that even though she loved her ‘gift’ she’d love to be home even more.

Correction, she’d love to be home with her gift fully intact...But that was never going to happen, soooo....

She smiled and offered him the hand that wasn’t holding on to Tessa’s leash, and laughing slightly, ”seems like neither of us are really in practise for this,” she comments before adding ”Mercy McEntire, and I am gifted yes, as a shifter, what about you?”
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