Welcome to Gaia! ::

Awen blinked and looked down at the arm looped around her webbing. She gave a small grin and nodded. This girl...certainly had a good energy about her, and made Awen feel a lot better about herself.

"Of course! It's always good to make new friends on this place. too much drama and hurt feelings!" Speaking of which... it reminded Awen to try Sabin's comm again.

"But hey... I think I'm going to head back to my duplex for a bit okay? Have to hydrate my skin again, and err.. read some of my new book."

The manta unlooped her arm and stepped forward, giving the girl a hug. "Nice meeting you Ivy!"

(( New RP ))



Kikue hadn't left her duplex much and she was restless. The heat had forced her out of her yukata today, too hot even for that. She changed instead into short white jean shorts and a white fitted top. Pulling her long hair back into a loose ponytail, she opened the door into the humid tropical world she'd been hiding from recently. The muggy air hit her face. Gods it was hot out here.

Kikue had remembered the night before that she was on an island. That had to mean water, somewhere. Only she had no idea how big the Island was. It didn't seem too big from the helicopter. I know I saw a stretch of beach from it, even. How do I get there?

She had no idea. So she tried to picture the view from the helicopter, and took off walking into the jungle. The smell of sunscreen was heavy in her nose after lathering up in it. "Too hot," she mumbled, sighing. Just keep walking...it's got to be here somewhere...

The walk was a bit long, and Kikue began to worry she'd gotten lost. About to head back to the village, something caught her ear. It was the distinctive sound of waves crashing. The sea!

Taking off at a run, the jungle floor gradually made way to sand. Pulling off her shoes as she hopped from one foot to the other, the beach came into view. A long stretch of sand, the ocean kissing right up against it with good-sized waves.

"I found it!" she exclaimed happily without thinking. Jogging toward the water line with her shoes in her hand, she dropped into the sand and starting pulling off her socks, too. Ocean!

Taken completely by surprise, Kikue only saw a blur out of the corner of her eye before the tawny fur dove into the water. Jumping up onto her feet, Kikue stared momentarily as the cheetah girl's head popped neatly out of the water with a greeting.

Somewhat stunned at first, it was hard to shake off the apparent cat-ness of the girl's face, but since she'd talked Kikue knew she must be an Islander. She seemed young, but didn't look it. Kikue smiled, still a bit startled. "...Hello," she said pleasantly, sitting back down on the sand. She pulled up a knee and put her arm over it watching the cheetah girl in the water. Wow. She must be one of the advanced Islanders, like Ambrose. She seems so happy though.

"I don't think I've met you before," Kikue said. She sat up Indian-style on the warm sand. "My name is Kikue." She smiled again. It was so hot out, she almost envied the cheetah-girl for her apparent lack of caring for clothes. As much as Kikue normally didn't like the ocean, she felt she would much rather be dunking herself beneath the cool waves than sitting outside in the heat.

I wonder who this girl is...

"Colche," Kikue repeated. "Is that your name?"

Kikue stood up off the beach, dusting sand from herself. She nodded enusiastically at Colche's invitation for a swim. Leaning down, she pulled her other sock off, and approached the water. First one foot, then the other. Giving Colche a smile, Kikue pushed her arms upward and dove into the sea. Her head popped up shortly afterwards. Ohhh it was cold! But it felt so good!

Laughing a little, Kikue played with the water, watching Colche. She wondered how long Colche had been here. "Have you been here a long time?" She tried to limit her questions since the cheetah-girl worked on simple statements it seemed, although Kikue didn't doubt that she understood things just fine. "I'm new," Kikue added, nodding. And I think I'm going to be a cat, like you...

Kikue didn't mind the splashing. She splashed Colche a little too. So her name is Colche. Swinging her arms in the water, Kikue forced a smile after taking in Colche's answer to her other question. The cheetah-girl must have been here for almost as long as Ambrose...although Ambrose had said he was the first. Was Colche on the same level of her animal that Ambrose was on?

Kikue dunked her own head beneath the water again and shook her long ponytail. "Me?" she echoed, trying to hold a smile still. The last few days had been hard. "I'm going to be...a snow leopard. A cat, like you are." She wondered what Colche would think of that.

"You're a princess?" Kikue couldn't contain the question, even though she was already thinking back to the last couple of days after mentioning the animal that had been in her dreams. A soft smile flickered across her face. "Wow."

"Really?" Kikue asked, feeling somewhat better at Colche's assertion that being a cat was fun. She wouldn't know herself until it happened. For now, though, it was easy to forget -- which was strange, because Colche should have been the constant reminder that everything was not what it seemed.

Splashing a little, Kikue stared. "Oh, wow," she breathed, seeing Colche's fur and markings up close. She recognized that they weren't the normal cheetah patterns, but didn't know what else it would be. "You've got different cheetah marks," Kikue said. Reaching out a tentative hand, she touched Colche's shoulder, the fur wet. It felt so real...which made sense, didn't it? Since it supposedly was.

Kikue let her guard drop completely, smiling, her hair plastered wet to the sides of her face, she smiled brightly. "I read princess stories. I like them a lot. Do you?" she asked, genuinely curious. The sun was still overheard, but harder to feel now that she was soaked to the skin with ocean water. For a moment, she realized she felt connected to the playful cheetah girl...moreso than anyone she had met here at all.

Kikue was memorized by Colche's ability to purr. Immediately she smiled; the sound was so familiar, and it made her think of home for some reason. It was amazing how Colche could do it. That means cheetahs must purr. Why, I didn't even know that...

Pleased with Colche's reaction, Kikue let her feet leave the sandy floor and treaded water for a moment. "I like those stories too," she said, feeling the urge to giggle. It was as if this was the first time she had really sat around giggling with another girl, having been so immersed in her studies as well as occasionally, well, being locked inside by her father. This, by comparison, was even fun.

"You speak very well," Kikue said brightly, thinking it was so. Something must have happened to Colche to make her like this, since her body betrayed the fact she was indeed older than she sounded. It must have been very bad, enough that, Kikue suspected, she might not have even known how to speak. She had heard of things like that before. Shivering a little in the water lapping her skin, she was glad at least that though her father had come close to doing such things as locking her away, it hadn't been indefinite. It had felt that way at the time, but she had always gotten free again...whether by his hand or her own...

"What's your favorite princess story?" Kikue batted some water between her hands cheerfully. "Do you know the beauty and the beast story? I like that one a lot." And the story of the Prince and the Raven, of course...