Glitter Bombs. -Everleigh-

[rumour]

Burying her toes in the sand, Rumour watched the lapping waves, the foam in their crests, with nothing short of a blissful smile lighting up her features. For as long as she had been blind, to see the ocean was all she wanted... and even though she had had her sight back for weeks, months now, Rumour couldn’t get enough of it. There was just something the young woman found magical about it.... and it washed all of her stress out of her muscles in a way very few things could. Well. Very few things that didn’t have a tendency to return home sweaty, could.

Thinner than ever before perhaps, Rumour was still a little stressed, and had taken to popping caffeine pills to stay awake, energy shots so stop herself from falling asleep on her feet chasing three year olds round a nursery. Lifting a hand to her hair, she tried again in vain to get the rest of the pink glitter from her hair, shaking it out with her fingers. The result was a multi coloured snowfall that was mostly silver in the darkening sky, with only the moon to light it this far out on the beach, far from the harsh light of the street lamps from the board walk. Eurgh it made her head itch like murder... she was not letting tyler near the glitter tubs again. Next time she could have the little glue shakers... instead of a glitter bomb.

Glancing down at her phone, Rumour fiddled with the touch screen until she got it to light up, and then tried half a dozen times to get the thing to unlock. It had taken her nearly a month to get the hang of a landline... and then Thaila and Oregon had insisted on buying her a mobile, and she was still getting used to the way it worked. She had the embarrassing voicemails to prove it.

It was her fiddling in fact that meant she didn’t spot the other figure on the beach.

[everleighannemason]

The beach was one of her favorite places to spend time, even in winter. It was freezing but that didn't matter to the little girl. She loved the smell of the water and the sound of the crashing waves more than anything. This was the first time she had been moved someplace where there was the ocean and Everleigh couldn't tear herself way.

She zipped her heavy windbreaker as far as it would go, half hiding her face behind the collar but still she was freezing. The bitter sea air easily whipped through the thin material. It didn't deter the child though. She had a whole day and half of the night to waste and this was how she was determined to do it, at least part of it anyway. She very rarely spent any time in any of the homes that she was assigned to. In her experience hanging around foster homes only got you hurt and she wanted to avoid more bruises and injuries as much as she could. The beach seemed like a very peaceful distraction.

She had already been there for half an hour, just wandering shoreline and staring out at the waves. She was nearly numb now though. She could barely feel the part of her face not covered by the jacket and the part that was covered was barely any better. Still, it was good to have a place to think. The poor little thing had a lot on her mind. That was probably why it took her so long to realize she wasn't alone on the beach.

As she was turning to head up the beach she saw a woman sitting in the sand. The woman looked lost in thought too. She also looked very thin. Now the child was worried that she was freezing too. Without much more thought the child wandered over to the lady and stood nearby. ”Excuse me...but...aren't you cold?”

[rumour]

Right. If she pressed that button it brought up the text messaging function.... and that one brought up the some random game where you ran away from monkeys ( Rumour wasn’t very good at it) but she still couldn’t quite figure out what it was she wanted too. With a sigh she pushed the phone into her pocket, and looked up, surprised, at the little girl who ad apparently appeared out of thin air to question her condition.

Glancing down at her bare arms and legs, it was with surprise that rumour realised she was indeed cold, goose bumps risen on her arms, making her pale hair stand on edge. ”I guess i am.. yeah”She laughed, getting to her feet and brushing the sand from her bum and the backs of her legs. ”Guess i didn’t realise how late it had gotten.” Stood now, rumour looked down at the little girl, and then scanned around. She couldn’t be that old, and it confused her as to why she was even on the beach, this late, on her own... and talking to a complete stranger.

”hey.... what about you? You look frozen...” still looking around, she turned her gaze back to the little girl ”Are you out here on your own? Or do you have friends... parents?” Rumour couldn’t help herself, coming from her own life, she always presumed the worse in situations like this, and a natural sort of.. .Defensiveness, protectiveness, kicked in. ”You lost or something?”

[everleighannemason]

Everleigh was frozen. The jacket she was wearing was definitely out of season, more appropriate for late spring or early fall, but it was all she had. At least she was wearing a sweater underneath, though. Still, it didn't do much against the bitter cold of the oceanfront. She stepped back to let the woman stand, looking down and burying her feet a bit into the sand for better balance.

Her head came up again when the woman asked if she was cold. ”Yeah, I'm freezing but I like it out here. The water, I mean. I like being here even when it's freezing like this.” Now, though, Everleigh was ready to go. She was starting to feel like a popsicle. The ocean was nice but cold was cold. She couldn't really take much more.

When the woman asked if she was alone Everleigh frowned a bit in thought. She was used to questions like that. The little girl went everywhere alone. She shoved her hands in her pockets a bit deeper before she answered. ”I was just leaving.” Yeah, that didn't answer her question at all but the child never did know what to say to that. She was ten, after all. She knew enough to know that she shouldn't be wandering around town alone. It looked strange, especially to grown ups. ”I'm not lost.” At least that was true. The kid spent enough time wandering around town to know exactly where she was.

Notes: Sorry it's so short!

[rumour]

Romy could empathise with red haired pre-teen stood before her. She loved the waves too, from the sound of them rolling over one each other to the simple aesthetics of the foamy white horses that stampeded inland, only to be sucked back into the ocean once more. She could appreciate the latter perhaps a little more than most others, but it was not something she ever thought about in such a way – she had been blind and now she could see. It was truly as simple as that.

Well. Mostly.

Still, she could understand her want to be outside, Rumour herself would brave wind snow and rain to spent just a few moments watching her beloved ocean. It was one of the reason she loved the apartment she shared with her boyfriend so much; she could see the ocean from her window.

Attention once more to the little girl with the jacket, and smiled. Yeah, me too. It’s getting a bit too cold now to be hanging around out here. Hey... I’ll walk you back up the road. and with that, Rumour strode off, pausing a second to see if she was following.

[everleighannemason]

Since Everleigh was leaving as well she decided to take the woman up on her offer and follow her back to the road. From there she had no idea what she was going to do, where she would go but she imagined that leaving the beach would at least make her a bit warmer. She smiled a bit at the woman as she paused to see if Everleigh would follow and approached her slowly. Yes she seemed nice but she was still a stranger. Everleigh wasn't a dumb kid.

The walk back up to the road would take a bit, since it was set back from the water but Everleigh wasn't really good at conversation starters, especially not with grown ups. Still, it would feel awkward to just walk in silence so she tried to rack her brain for something to say. "So were you at the beach for a long time?" She knew that the conversation would turn to her and why she was out wandering alone but she figured she would avoid it for as long as she could by talking about meaningless things for a while. "I was only out there for like half an hour but usually I could be there all day...at least I can when it's not winter." Everleigh was just rambling now, fidgeting lightly with her hands in her pockets. Her eyes were on the road ahead of them instead of on Rumour. She couldn't bring herself to look at her knowing how nervous she looked. Strangers were always an uneasy thing for her to deal with, though she was a friendly child.