Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a beautiful day for a trip to the beach. The sun was shining, the sky was clear and the heat was so unbearable that Marie thought she might faint if they didn't reach the cool comfort of water or shade soon.

Clad in a pink bathing suit with small, yellow-polka dots and a pair of jean shorts, she trudged along behind her mother and her sisters. The expression on her face suggested that she would have rather been anywhere but venturing to the pine-needly path that led out of the small cluster of trees and into an open, sandy beach area.

The yells of joy and obnoxious laughter of the fun-loving beach-goers was everywhere. The sound was so positively enchanting that the little girl's spirits rose for a moment and she found herself looking forward to the feel of the cool, slightly green water sloshing around her ankles.

An uncomfortable itching in her right hand caught her attention and, to stifle the unpleasant feeling, Marie chewed savagely on the winter mitt she wore. The heat was making the stupid, woollen thing particularly unbearable.

It was unbelievable how horrible the heat made the wool fee against the skin of her hands. Marie chewed and nibbled on said annoyance, anything to stop the awful itchy feeling. She was so absorbed in the task of relieving the stress of her hand that she jumped back when Nyx, her older sister, tapped her on the shoulder.

"Who is that, waving to you?" Nyx asked curiously and gestured in Basira's general direction with one hand before readjusting the top of her black bikini.

One of the boys that was playing in the water was vaguely familiar to Marie. She could have sworn she'd seen him somewhere before but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"I don't know," Marie sighed and shrugged her shoulders, incapable of recognizing Basira with the skin and hair color change.

"Do you want me to go find Ma?" Nyx asked, panic-stricken. There was a stranger waving to her sister!

"Where is she?" Marie gave Nyx a surprised look. She hadn't known that their mother had left.

"She took the girls for ice cream," Nyx answered, eyeing the supposed strangers with a look that said, 'You better not touch my sister.'

"Oh," Marie replied, a bit hurt that Green hadn't offered to take her for ice cream too. Perhaps she would bring a cone with strawberry ice cream back for her? With a small sigh, Marie turned her attention back to the mitt that covered her hand and, at the moment, she was unconcerned with the woman waving to her, until a particularly loud splash drew her attention the boys playing in the water.

She definately knew that one!

Maybe, then, that woman was his gaurdian? She didn't look like the Basira she remembered.

"Hello?" Marie called to the not-so-strange stranger and waved her mitted hand at the trio. There was no harm in satisfying her curiousity.

((For IC reasons, Marie has to be wearing a long sleeved shirt. *thought the secretiveness only applied to her hand* I didn't know before, but let's say its there now. <3

And, starting tomorrow, I'll be gone until Thursday. ^^ Do you have AIM so I can poke you and let you know when I'm back?))

So, her sister knew these people, after all? Nyx relaxed visibly and waved back at Basira half-heartedly. She hoped that the woman hadn't been able to tell that she was angry.

While Marie couldn't quite place the name of the woman or the blonde boy, she remembered Kazmer's name almost instantly.

"Hi Kazmer," she replied quietly. There was a smile on her face that would have lit up a dark room. It was impossible for her to remain shy and uncheerful when she was greeted with such open friendliness.

"I'm fine," she told him, nodding for emphasis. It wasn't entirely true. Her hand still itched and small beads of sweat had begun to trail down her shirt-covered back.

"This is my sister Nyx," Marie gestured at the purple-haired girl with her hand that lacked a mitt, "Are you here with your gaurdian?"

She was particularly curious about the other boy who didn't look very happy to see her. Had she done anything to upset him?

"Likewise, kid," Nyx nodded at Kazmer and smiled. She meant it. Kazmer's genuinely friendly personality was contagious and Marie seemed to like him so, Nyx couldn't possibly see any fault in the kid.

The difference in his personality since she'd last seen him was very apparent and Marie found herself liking Kazmer more and more by the minute.

When Kazmer leaned towards her she leaned closer to him, eager to hear whatever it was that was only for her ears. Secrets, particularly ones that she was a part of, always made her smile.

"Antisocial people don't really bother me. Nyx is the same way," she whispered back at him and then giggled.

"I heard that!" Nyx couldn't help but laugh for she new that her little sister had meant it as a joke, but, still, something like that couldn't go unpunished. She reached towards Marie's forearm, fingers prepared to pinch the flesh hidden by the purple shirt.

Marie let out a surprised squeal when Nyx's fingers clamped down around her skin, tugged herself out of the older girl's grip and crawled behind Kazmer so that she could use his body as a shield.

"Your mom has a pretty cool name, kid," Nyx told him as she tried to reach around his legs in order to pinch Marie again.

"Its nice to meet you, Miss Basira and Havel," The blonde girl managed to shoot the pair a somewhat shy smile inbetween giggles as she dodged her sister's persistant fingers.

((Added you. <3))

When Kazmer didn't budge and Marie still continued to successfully evade her fingers Nyx sighed, gave up and flopped onto her back. Marie could go and play with her friends if she liked. She was going to work on her tan.

"Hello," Marie grinned up at Havel from where she sat behind Kazmer, ignorant of the fact that she'd already greeted gaurdian and boy.

Then, Kazmer's legs had dissapeared entirely and the sand that he'd kicked up in his hurry to reach the ocean flew into her hair and eyes. Marie coughed, rubbed the her teary eyes and then shook her head savagely in hopes of getting rid of the sand that had landed in it.

Once she was content, she cast a longing look in the direction of the ocean and then turned to prod her sister in the shoulder.

"Aren't you going to come along?"

"No," Nyx sighed, "I'm comfortable here, thanks."

Marie fidgeted with the collar of her shirt awkwardly. Should she leave her sister alone? Playing with the boys was an appealing idea but a part of her confidence lay in Nyx, who she knew she could rely on to protect her and be there if anything even remotely dangerous happened. The absence of her sister while she frolicked in the ocean didn't sound at all pleasant.

"What're you waiting for?" Nyx grumbled and rested her head in her arms. "You're bound to be the rotten egg by now."

Marie stood up hesitantly and slipped off her shorts. It wouldn't do any good to get those wet, after all, jeans became heavier the wetter they got.

With Nyx pushed to the back of her mind, Marie hustled to reach Kazmer.

Marie let out a little yelp of shock when Basira swooped her up onto her shoulders. Well, that was certainly unexpected. The view was different than what she was used to and, to her surprise and delight, Marie found that she didn't mind the sudden increase of height, as lond as Basira's shoulders stayed where they were.

"No," she replied quietly, giggling all the way, "we can't!"

It was amazing how infectious their friendliness was. Marie couldn't remember ever feeling more welcome. Well, at least two of the three were especially nice.

Havel, she supposed, was a bit more like her. Shy and quiet.

...or, maybe, he just didn't like Marie at all and couldn't be bothered to interact with her. The thought worried her. What could she possibly have done to him? She'd only just met him, after all!

Hold on? HOLD ON?

To WHAT?

Marie wasn't often bitter, angry or even sarcastic but there were some moments that just screamed for it. She didn't like the way the boy's gaurdian was twisting and squirming. She didn't like the way the surface of the water seemed to loom dangerously closer the with the more movement that took place and she definately didn't like the idea of falling into the water.

The little girl glanced around wildly for something to cling onto and then wrapped her arms around the first think she could think of; Basira's waist.

"I'm holding," she cried desperately.

Yes, yes, yes! She liked being down. The feel of the ocean bottom beneath her feet was incredibly reassuring and much nicer than the stomach-tumbling twists Basira had previously submitted her to.

Marie watched with some fascination as the boys' gaurdian hoisted Havel out of the water. Why couldn't her mother be like that? Green wasn't as much fun as Marie would have liked her to be. She was bossy and far too involved with the younger children for Marie to be allowed very much quality time with her gaurdian.

A part of her was very jealous of Kazmer and Havel.

"Throw him back!" she declared loudly, having calmed down enough to start enjoing herself agin.

Then, Kazmer's voice caused her to turn around and stare at the boy with wide eyes. He hadn't been there a moment before, had he? Sneaky.

"I am," she told him honestly and giggled too when Havel fell back into the water. The water that danced around her hips and her legs felt cool and refreshing. With a few of her inhibitions gone, Marie couldn't help but steel a sly glance at Kazmer before splashing him with water.