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Picking just one thing to specialize in was hard, really hard. Harder than Candace thought it would be. Just when she had a decision made something else interesting came up to make her question herself. And then she would choose that but oh no look at this cool thing over here isn't that interesting? Check me out I'm so awesome! Candace found herself suddenly wishing she was a smoker, something to just sit and relax with. Something not just sex or fighting. She wanted some zen, something different. Maybe she needed to broaden her horizons, find someone new to talk to.

For now she just sat outside the dorms sitting on the ground with her back against the wall of the building, trying to relax and just watch the sky. The foggy sky. It had sounded nice in theory but there were no white fluffy clouds to pick shapes out of.

Boring. Now she just needed someone to talk to or play with. She was getting too soft lately and she hated it. Perhaps she'd just bother the next person to walk by.

The door opened and Candace perked up. Who would she be tagging along with today? Someone she liked? Someone she knew? She was somewhat surprised to find it was Wash, someone she didn't know terribly well and didn't see all that often. Oh well! That just made this more fun!

She stood away from the wall and quietly hurried after Wash enough to catch up, at least until she heard the click of her heels giving away her little pursuit. Well there went that plan. "Hey, Wash!" Candace called out, slowing down her pace as she approached him. She was smiling. Hey man long time no see last time I saw you I was drugging my ex-boyfriend to make him happy again so how's life? "You bored? I was just on my way to find something to entertain myself with. Want to join me?"

Oh no, she caught the smile. It was impossible to miss a look that someone turned to you with, especially one as distinct as that. Candace knew that look, it was one that had her stopping in her tracks and looking very curious. Was...that for her? One brow arched high as she watched him, trying not to laugh as Wash's little look faltered. "Probably not the same thing you had in mind just now."

Of course she noticed.

Candace chuckled and gave a shrug, relaxing as the amusement subsided. What did she have in mind? A plaything sounded like fun, but would Wash be good for that? She barely knew him, she didn't know his buttons. "Honestly I'm not sure. Someone to hang out with and talk to would be nice to start. And then we could see where adventure leads us?"

It was the heels? Candace had to fight back the urge to pounce him with questions. It was the heels. Who else wore heels? Who could that look be for? Instead she simply smiled sweetly, looking down at her shoes. They were one of her favorites, a simple pair of gray Louboutins. She could only think of three other women on this island who wore heels...and well..Clarice seemed rather committed and Aria didn't like to be touched, nor did she trust other divisions. As for the third? Her smile grew for a moment as she looked up from her shoes to Wash again, simply keeping her attitude neutral and pleasant. "Ah, I see. My apologies, I didn't mean to get your hopes up." At least he relaxed, she'd hate for him to get all tensed up on her. Though that could have been fun...oh well, another time.

Her smile fell as Wash spoke of the island's condition, nodding in agreement and sighing. "I know how that is. It's like everyone's getting cabin fever or something and trying to...beat it out of each other..a break from missions is nice, but I'm starting to miss them. Just one little mission, that's all I ask." When Wash decided to keep walking she was quick to follow, falling in step beside the man with a little smile. He wasn't turning her away. Good. Wash seemed like a good man to her, especially after she'd seen how concerned over Jerry he had been. It'd be fun to see what he was like outside of dealing with a depressed Sun Hunter.

"Of course I don't mind! I've been reading a lot on different things. Aria wants me to look into specializing in something so I'm just pondering over my options. She wants me to be a mentor for trainees since I'm apparently good with people according to her." Candace chuckled, shaking her head. She wasn't sure if she entirely agreed with Aria's feelings on that. "And what have you been up to? I don't see you around much." He'd asked her first, it was only fair if she turned the question back on him.

Candace pouted her lips and even whined a little. "But I like cats."

Still Wash had a point. She could remember when Ro had told her everyone had given him a less than optimistic welcome to the island. Her own group's start had been fairly traumatic but at least they hadn't been depressing. It had been exciting, intriguing, a new start. "It'd be nice to have someone show you around who isn't completely depressed or jaded, yeah. Someone you can trust..." Being that person wouldn't be so bad.

Candace tried not to snort too much over Wash's remark of peace and quiet. "When you find peace let me know. And yeah...a spar is one thing, I'm happy to do that, but a fight just...to hurt each other..that's not right. It's a waste of energy and resources." And it was getting really annoying seeing the same people be responsible for it or get sent to the infirmary time and time again. Weren't there a couple trainees that seemed to live in an infirmary bed? She glanced Wash's way as he hissed, nodding. "You seem stressed. Everything okay with you other than restlessness?" That smile of his was so fake.

"It happens. I have no idea when we'll be able to leave but..I'll be glad for when the day finally comes we can visit someplace for relaxation." She was watching Wash as they walked, trusting him not to let her walk into anything or anyone. He didn't look so relaxed anymore...was it the subject?

Peace with yourself? Candace chuckled. "You sound like my dad." Calm down, relax, forgive people, don't hold grudges, don't be so bitter. She didn't really listen to that advice much did she? Maybe she should, it'd probably do her a world of good.

"Oh, I didn't mean by your words." She reached out to give his shoulder a gentle squeeze, dropping her hand away right after. "Maybe I was just reading you wrong...but yeah, you're right. But I think mostly the higher ups expect us to stay busy with work. Duties, training, research, being productive. Instead some people just spend it with harassing others, or sex." Though sometimes sex was the best way to unwind..if you had the right partner. It'd been awhile since she had the right partner. "My kingdom for a television or gaming console."

"That sounds like an amazing idea. It's sweet how you call it making love though." She glanced back in the direction of the dorms for a moment. "I don't think I've ever made love though." Candace sounded almost sad as she said this but seemed to quickly shake it off, clearing her throat and fidgeting with her scarf. She forced the dreary thoughts away and smiled again. Wash was nice to talk to, he didn't expect anything of her. "I guess that's true. I've relaxed more here than I did before coming here."

You still stress out too much.

Candace shrugged. But I still unwind more.

At the suggestion of Deus of our Lives Candace laughed, moving to link arms with Wash and cling to him. "Bix and Ceres are back from the dead! Could it be? Are they really who they claim to be? Will Otto and Sasha's torrid love affair be discovered? Will Rep ever find his real parents?" She released him with a chuckle, finding a crack in the walkway and walking a few steps ahead to 'balance' herself along the crack as if it were a tightrope. "A lot of stuff around here really is very soap opera-like, huh?"

Finally she stopped, turning on her heel to face Wash again. "So before you came here what did you do for fun? Hell, even now." It was time to take a more active approach to their journey for entertainment.

Ah, so he was just being polite. The woman grinned and shook her head. "Nah, don't worry about sugar coating things around me. I'm a big girl, I can handle it." Her smile faltered when Jerry was brought up, and a strange look crossed over her face. What was it? Regret? Sorrow? Shame? She was quick to recover, smiling sheepishly and ruffling her hair a bit. Jerry was crazy about her for awhile. Only until she'd...yeah.. "Whenever we'd...it..I..." She frowned again, rubbing her lips together and looking away. She cleared her throat and shook her head. "He probably saw it as making love, but at the time I wanted...passion and..he tried but more often than not I was left unsatisfied, and it made me selfish. And then there were times where I just felt kind of...unwanted. Like he was scared of me or something." She shrugged. "And then the last time we were together he showed improvement but...I don't think it was me he was making love to. He never said otherwise but I could see it in his eyes, you know? Kind of a hard punch to a girl's self-esteem when she can't even keep the attention of the man she's with on her." She paused, realization apparently dawning on her. "...I guess I deserve that." It had been what she'd done to him. He hadn't been able to keep her attention, she'd strayed. She'd done a terrible thing to him. Had he really never noticed? It was a miracle she didn't call out H's name instead of his when they had been together. Candace was not liking this conversation. She had tensed up, her hands stuffed in her lockets and her shoulders hunched up like a turtle trying to hide in her shell.

The laughter and change of subject helped. Candace visibly relaxed, watching Wash practically kill himself laughing at her dramatic soap opera description of Deus. It was infectious, she found herself calming down and laughing along with him. All of it had been complete bullshit to her, simply using the first names that had come out of her mouth. She was glad he saw amusement in it. "You're right, it would be easy to spot them here. But I bet not in Scotland where he's from. Hey, you have red hair, is this your son?" She grinned again. This was better.

"I prefer bourbon over beer myself, reminds me of the home I grew up in~. Wife?" Candace's eyes widened. He'd been married? Huh! She'd never met someone who'd been married before coming here! "I went out sometimes. I spent a lot of time studying, y'know? But I loved shopping, it was my favorite pastime." She lifted one foot. "Especially for these." The foot was lowered to the ground again. "I also really liked going to museums. They have this really nice one in Boston, I loved going there. After I turned twenty-one I went to clubs, parties, the typical college experience. In Texas I tried horseback riding for a little while, but cheerleading kind of took over and didn't give me much time outside of that. I think the clubs were my favorite thing to do after a long week, my friends and I used to pretend we were totally different people if we went out far enough away from town just to see what would happen. It was fun for awhile. Can't exactly do most of that on the island though."