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Candace was on top of the world right now. She awoke that morning expecting to greet a smoking tablet as she had for several days now but had instead met the gaze of a very, very familiar pair of eye-like gems. Ever since then she found herself unable to wipe the stupidly happy grin off her face, chatting away with Atropos in the safety of her own head and recounting everything that she had missed. How could her weapon not remember any of that battle? She was there! How strange...

Even stranger was when her boot suddenly sank into the ground. Candace had been so excited and concentrated simply on Atropos, Atropos, Atropos!!!!! that she had somehow completely missed where her feet were taking her. She nearly tripped but managed to catch herself without too much flailing around like an idiot. Ah..the beach? Huh, weird. She hadn't been here since February...with Jerry. Her smile softened for a moment. ..You're not sad about that for once. Candace grinned again. Atropos~.

I have no reason to be. That seemed to get Atropos' attention, making a curious little noise in Candace's head. Haven't I told you enough stories? She teased the weapon with a chuckle, shaking her head and carefully stepping out further onto the beat. Okay, sand and heels didn't get along well, but she could still ******** try.

Wait, who was that? Candace stopped a few yards away from another Hunter who appeared to be lounging in the sand. Who...? Oh, wait. Sasha. She'd seen some lovely things from her lately, heard about them too, but then it was all from Rep...Jerry...men she was hurting. Men could sometimes be more sensitive and dramatic than a woman. If she was going to judge Sasha she could do it by her own experiences, not through the recounts of two scorned men.

Time to put on that happy face of friendship. "Hey there, pretty lady~." Candace greeted the younger woman as she approached her, stepping gingerly across the sand. "Fancy seeing you out here."

Ah, a fake smile. Off to a good start. Candace stayed standing for the moment, she wouldn't sit until she knew where she stood with Sasha. At the question she shook her head and looked toward the ocean, her hands in her pockets and everything about her body language giving off an air of relaxation. She was too happy over Atropos to let anything bother her today. It wasn't worth it. "I don't. Last time I was here was with Jerry..as his girlfriend." She shrugged, unfazed by bringing up her previous relationship with the man for once. She was over it.

"That was almost a year ago. Tells you how often I come out here though." She turned her gaze down to Sasha now. "What about you? Don't think I've ever seen you this relaxed before." Sasha was purring when to Candace she had never seemed the purring type. Was..that a bottle? A bottle of what?

Now that was interesting. Candace arched a brow as she watched Sasha, the way her smile transformed and even listening intently to the tone of her voice as she spoke. This was not the Sasha she had encountered last time she was here but this certainly wasn't the mega b***h everyone seemed to be making her out to be, this wasn't the girl whose tweets she blatantly ignored because frankly all she could do was roll her eyes at them.

Something changed. Something happened.

Candace found herself hooked on needing to know.

"The doctor is a generous man." Candace observed with a chuckle, moving to sit down beside Sasha in the sand. She had to know why Sasha was like this. The curiosity would drive her insane otherwise. "May I have some? It's been awhile since we spent any time together, we could catch up." And her company wasn't entirely unpleasant yet.

Candace waited patiently for the bottle to be passed, honestly not thinking anything of Sasha having one more sip before her. It was her drink to share or keep, but it was her words that almost got a reaction out of her. If Sasha was trying something Candace was not going to let herself fall for it. "I think he prefers taking." The bottle was taken and Candace took a small sip of the scotch, ever the polite 'guest' in the situation and not wanting to hog the girl's rightfully earned drink. Manners were important. "I've found he's as selfish as he is generous." And he liked to toy with her at every opportunity, something she gave him whether she liked it or not. Her eyes now on the rings on her fingers.

"I've been fine aside from how unsettling it was to not have Atropos. I found myself very surprised just how strange it was to not have her presence with me after a year, but I knew she'd be back." She was not about to tell Sasha of her weak moments. Not Sasha. The girl could never know of how she had cried to Molly or how she had nearly broken down in front of Rep when he pointed that damn knife at her. If she had Atropos back then he probably had Tracey back, which meant he had his shield back. Good, she could get him back for that scare without killing him.

a*****e.

Candace took a generous sip of scotch after that and passed back the bottle. That was all she needed. She wouldn't finish it. "Been busy with this and that otherwise. Nothing that would probably interest you." I don't want to talk about it. "And you? I'm curious how my dearest, sweet, innocent songbird became this smug little cat lounging beside me with a bottle of scotch in hand and men calling her a massive b***h." Candace couldn't help but chuckle, leaning back on her elbows and stretching out comfortably beside the younger woman. Sasha had told her once to be up front and honest with her, to not hold anything back, to treat her with respect like a woman. Fine, she'd do that.

She sat back and just watched Sasha. She was relaxed, calm, her voice had a certain..purr to it. This wasn't a b***h, at least not in Candace's eyes. What could it be--oh. Candace suddenly directed a slow, knowing smile at Sasha. "There's a very familiar look on your face," one that she often got 'from the doctor'. "And I don't think it's from the drink."

"Nothing wrong with that, it's true they need bodies. Plus you're in Life, they usually need medics here for when we come back." Candace shrugged. "Pet project?" She was genuinely interested in this. For once there was no ulterior motive behind her curiosity, she simply wished to know for the sake of knowing and keeping the conversation going.

Candace laughed at Sasha's protest and found herself resisting the urge to ruffle her hair. Adorable! "I like cats better than birds anyway. You're certainly not that fairy tale princess who practically sparkled with every sweet smile and said she wanted to be like me." A girl who had brought Candace so much rage just by existing at the time...maybe this was a better Sasha. She couldn't help but snort at Sasha's question, rolling her eyes and taking off her scarf to fold it up like a makeshift pillow and lay back comfortably in the sand. "Who do you think is calling you a massive b***h? Rep, of course. He was telling me about that time you kicked his a** while he was cuffed. Can't say I approve of that method but," Candace waved a hand dismissively. "I'm not judging you unless you give me reason to. What I'm seeing isn't bad it's just different from the Sasha I once knew. The Sasha whose very existence enraged me simply because she was near a man I had claimed as mine at the time and was everything I wasn't. I think I like this Sasha better so far." Surprisingly enough it seemed to be the truth.

Her next question got her a Cheshire cat grin. "Well, I know it's how I must often look after a visit with the doctor." Now she looked curious. "Was it him? Or has some other lovely man, to put it politely, made you into a woman?" She almost sounded...proud? Sure, why not. Candace was happy for her if getting laid meant she was docile and content. Why would she judge her negatively?

"Hard to remember what exactly he told me. He really doesn't need to tell me that for me to know. He despises nearly all women." She stretched out with a content sigh, closing her eyes and listening to the waves hit the shore. Landed him in the...it was her? Candace wasn't sure how to feel about this bit of news. Rep most likely deserved it but...to knowingly attack a hunter with no fear shield with your weapon? That didn't sit well with Candace. This negativity was getting too toxic. "I told him it was bound to happen. He was going to go too far, someone was going to get sick of his s**t. Dumbass." Apparently her anger at Rep was enough to overpower her disapproval over what Sasha had done for now.

Candace had no reason not to believe it was the doctor. Earlier in the year it would have upset her, she would have felt a pang of jealousy that she had no right to be feeling. Candace may have even hit her or something. No, not now. She had long since accepted he would never be just hers. Candace had always been well aware that she was not the doctor's only lover. "I swear, that man has the sturdiest desk on this island. Afraid?" She snorted. "I was like that at first, though I had extra reason to be worried. Just let go of any fears of getting caught, it's really not a big deal. He doesn't give a s**t if he's caught. It wouldn't be the first time or the last." Candace waved a hand. "That man doesn't have an ounce of shame in his entire body." Candace thought nothing of this. She had no reason to gossip about Sasha's apparent new sex life to anyone or any reason to be angry or jealous of who it was with; her prying had simply been curiosity for the sake of knowing. She had to know. Besides, her and Sasha now had something pleasant in common as far as Candace was aware.

Candace rolled her eyes despite them still being closed. "I usually just find him irritating and not worth my time. It's only fun to rile him up when I do it on purpose. He tried to stab you?" She actually laughed. "He tried to stab me too. And then what did he say? He wanted to talk." Snorting, Candace opened her eyes and looked up at Sasha with a small frown. No, she definitely didn't approve of that method..even if it had been what Rep had done to Ro. Pick on targets your own size or bigger, and a shieldless, weaponless hunter was neither of those things.

"It can be fun, yeah. I took him shopping once and he was rather civil while we were out; I think it's actually more fun to try and break him and see him trying really hard to keep being nice. There have been so many times where I've intentionally said something to make him react, and I can tell how badly he wants to, but he forces himself to be nice." Candace had no doubt that Rep would go after Sasha and this time he would have his weapon. There would be no cuff, no tablet, no lowered shield. It would be a fairer fight than any those two had ever had. "I fully intend to teach him why you don't threaten me next time I see him." Now she was purring as she stretched out comfortably, her thumbs rubbing circles around her rings. Atropos made a pleased sound in her head as a result.

The change of topic had her glancing at Sasha and then focusing her gaze on the sky above them. He was doing better. Her face softened. "Did he?" Candace sounded genuinely pleased by this news. Singing a song to the girl who dumped him so soon? Better than how he had treated her after he had broken up with her. "That's nice...I'm glad he is, too. He was starting to get really bad there, even going as far as not caring if his wound caught an infection." That idiot. "He just needs time and patience. He'll come out of whatever funk he's in, this is progress. I'm sure he must be happy to have Roar back." Especially since she had caught him cuddling half naked in bed with a guitar.

Seriously, Jerry. Seriously.

"You mentioned a pet project. Something fun?"