At the Lakeshore..[Akee]

[krista]

Lakeshore was buzzing with people running between the water, the shops, and the theme park as the day began to give way. The sun had not quite reached the point of the horizon, but it was not far as it painted the sky in rich magenta and orange. It was a beautiful Saturday night, both visually and physically. The weather was perfect for a beach-side evening.

Kristabella moved quietly through the crowd, looking for somewhere to sit back and relax. It had been a long day, and Krista wanted some peace. Maybe Lakeshore wasn't quite the best place for a little quiet time, but she was sure she could find somewhere that was less crowded than the rest. A little commotion around her wouldn't be too bad.

She wore a pair of jean shorts and a faded orange tank top that clung to her body. This was accompanied by a short-sleeved white hoodie and similarly-coloured flip-flops. Her dark brown hair was pulled into a loose ponytail. Krista was carrying her Zune, with the earphones secure in her ears, music playing in an effort to cover up at least a little of the noise. She also had a Coke in hand, purchased from a vendor a short ways back.

She took a drink and looked around, taking in the activity. For a moment, she wondered if it would be more enjoyable to join in the crowd and get distracted by all the rides and shops, but she decided to stick to her original plan, if only because she wasn't carrying very much money at the moment, so admission and ride tickets would probably be too much. Well, she could do all that another day.

Krista made her way to the Docks, deciding she could hang out there for awhile, watch the sunset maybe. There were other people there, but not nearly as much as anywhere else, so it all worked out. The people that were there seemed to be interested in the same thing she was anyway, a little relaxation.

She found an edge of the dock that was unoccupied and sat down, hanging her legs over the edge, making sure to remove her flip-flops first. The cool water reached her ankles. Krista removed her earphones and set her drink aside, swirling her feet in the water gently, looking out over the surface toward the horizon, waiting for the sun to set.

[akeelah]

I think I gave him the slip.. the little shifter thief thought as she scanned through the crowd for any signs of her pursuer. She had a little incident again while she was lurking about the Lakeshore. She had snuck into the amusement park nearby to try her luck in getting some cash, things had been going well until someone spotted her in the act and tried to chase her down. It had been a close call but it looked like she got away this time. Too bad she didn’t get anything though; the man had caught her too early so she didn’t have the chance to pull the wallet out of her latest victim’s pocket before she was noticed so she wound up empty handed. It was a shame but not the end of the world; she at least was able to scrap up $70 while she was there. Unfortunately it was getting dark out and she didn’t have a place to stay. It was also too risky to wander about too freely since the man she had been running from might still be looking for her.

Akeelah moved silently through the crowd, keeping her eyes and ears open for her pursuer while she looked for a good spot to hide till things blew over. There weren’t many places to hide in and she couldn’t shift into her feline form and sneak out of this place with so much people around. What she needed was a spot with a little less people around that she could just lurk in and blend in with her surroundings. Anything would do so long as he didn’t show up. Her search eventually lead her to the docks, there were still people roaming about there, a few group of friends, and even some couples but there weren’t as many people as the other places. It seemed quiet and peaceful, someplace that she could at least hang around for a bit until she thought it was safe enough to move, and if the guy showed up she could easily see him coming and ditch.

She made her way over to the docks, looking for a place that she could sit down, preferably by herself but unfortunately for her there weren’t any other spots available. Well, wasn’t that just great, it looked like she had no other choice but to find a spot that was a little less crowded, maybe a spot with only one or two people nearby. Most of the places with two people though didn’t look too appealing most of them were couples spending some quality romantic time with each other and there was no way that Akeelah could stomach being next to one of them when they were like that. Her eyes eventually settled on a girl who was relaxing off by herself. It didn’t look like she was waiting for anyone; she must have come here by herself, maybe for a little piece and quiet. Well something is better than nothing… Akeelah thought, so long as the other girl didn’t bitch or became too annoying than Akeelah could deal with her for a few minutes till she felt comfortable enough to leave. The shifter walked over next to the other girl, “Mind if I take a seat?” she asked, might as well ask first to avoid a nasty confrontation.

_______________________________

Tagged: Kristabella
Outfit: Black hoodie and jeans
Notes: -
Words: 575

[krista]

Krista continued to swirl her feet around, watching the little ripples and patterns the water made. After a few moments, her gaze found its way to the sun, which seemed to be trying desperately to sneak below the horizon. It's vivid orange bled out into the sky around it, while darker colours-- purples and blues-- had started creeping in from the other side, beginning to reclaim the sky as theirs for the night.

Krista loved it. To her, the precursors of sunset, and sunset itself, created some of the most beautiful scenery she had ever seen. And for that matter, probably ever would see. She leaned back, her arms behind her for support, and closed her eyes, a smile finding its way to her face. “Mind if I take a seat?”

She opened her eyes, and looked up at the girl standing before her. With a small smile, she moved over a few inches to allow a bit more space. "Go ahead," she replied, pulling her flip-flops with her so they weren't in the way. "I'm Kristabella," she said after a pause. She didn't think sharing a section of the dock required many formalities or deep conversations, but she didn't see any harm in introducing herself.

Krista turned back to the sun, admiring the colours of the sky. And not just the sky, but the water itself. It, too, was painted in the sun's rich colours. I wish I'd brought my camera...

[akeelah]

Akeelah returned the girl’s smile with one of her own; sitting down next to her once she got the okay. So far so good, as long as this chick didn’t cause her any trouble she could just sit here and wait for things to die down enough for her to leave. At least the wait would not be too bad; the scenery this evening she had to admit was beautiful. The sight of the lake as the sunset in the sky was gorgeous; it was no wonder why so many people came around to see it. It was a shame really that she could not stay there and watch it for too long. Akeelah usually tried to find a place to sleep before night fall, thanks to that little incident earlier it would be a miracle if she could find somewhere to stay before then.

The other girl introduced herself and Akeelah nearly groaned. Great, the girl wanted to talk. Just what she wanted. It couldn’t be helped though; she was the one who started this. “Nice to meet you,” Akeelah said, keeping a light friendly tone. As much as she hated doing small talk like this it was something she had to do from time to time, just to keep herself out of trouble. Most of the time it wasn’t too hard, most people lost interest quickly once they realized just how little she had to say. With any luck this Kristabella chick was much of the overly friendly type of girl and wouldn’t say much. She wouldn’t have to keep it up for long anyway, she only needed to hang around for fifteen, maybe twenty minutes tops just to make sure the man chasing her down had given up.

“I’m Akeelah.” It wouldn’t hurt to give her name she figured since that’s what the other girl did. She turned her attention back towards the lake. Silently admiring the scenery. “Sure is pretty huh?”

[krista]

Kristabella sighed and leaned her head back, looking at the clouds above her, wisps of rich pink and orange amidst a darkening sky. 'I suppose I'll have to remember to bring my camera next time I come here. This is rather disappointing that all this beautiful is going to leave without any evidence of having been here,' she thought, smiling a little. 'Oh well.'

She glanced over her shoulder at the rest of the dock area. There still weren't many people on the docks themselves, but a lot of passersby had paused to watch the sunset. Some looked and continued on, while others moved around in effort to get a better view. Krista found it amusing that one simple thing that occurred every twenty-four hours could captivate and entrance so many people, including herself if she found the time to watch.

“I’m Akeelah." Krista turned back to the girl and smiled. It seemed to her that Akeelah was uneager to have much of a conversation, but that was okay because Krista hadn't really expected much of one anyway. “Sure is pretty huh?”
"Absolutely," Krista said with a smile. "But that would be an understatement."

[sorry, there's not very much to it =/]

[akeelah]

Akeelah chuckled in response, “That’s true I guess.” She admitted. At least this human could admire the beauty of nature, though it was only a small glimpse of it. Akeelah’s thoughts drifted back to the times she stayed in the wilderness, staying up late in the night so she could star gaze. It was nice to be able to see so many glittering lights up in the night sky, all the constellations and shooting stars, not to mention being able to bask in the moonlight just because she could. The wild as hard as it was to live in, especially for those that did not know how to survive in it, it was beautiful and most importantly it was free. There was this strong sense of freedom that she felt when she was there that she never really had in civilization. Humans had a really sheltered lifestyle, they lived their life within a small bubble and were so self absorbed in it that they closed their minds off to the rest of the world and forgot how to truly live.

Akeelah took a quick glance behind her, luckily that guy had not shown up here yet and so long as luck was on her side he would not come by this place at all. She could not help but relax a little, for now she was safe so there was no need to leave yet. She turned her focus back onto the lake, not wanting to give away what she was doing to the person next to her. If she kept looking over her shoulder too much this girl might get suspicious and that was the last thing she wanted. She did keep an ear out for any sounds of trouble. She could not keep her guard down too low that would just be stupid. For now she just kept quiet and looked out across the lake. She did not have much that she could say to the other girl at the moment and she needed to pay attention to what was going on around her.

[krista]

Krista looked toward the water, at the ripples that seemed to yearn to be waves. She watched as she twirled her feet slowly, causing imperfections in the pattern of the water that gently lapped at her ankles.

She turned her gaze back to the sky, where the darkness of the encroaching night had continued to slowly push back the remaining light of day. An ephemeral battle between two opposites. 'The only beautiful wars are in nature,' Kristabella thought, smiling lightly. In the edges of the darkness, the glimmer of stars had become visible.

"I wish I could watch this every day," she said quietly, partially to herself, "This and every other beautiful thing humans haven't been able to ruin yet."

[ooc- sorry it took so long. I know there isn't much there =/]

[akeelah]

The girl’s words caught Akeelah’s attention and she looked back at her with interest. It was a little surprising to hear that coming from a human in a way. Most people, particularly those that lived in the city did not really care too much about the natural world. They were too wrapped up in their own selfish needs to care about anything outside of their life. That was the reason why the natural world was in danger; no one cared enough to consider what kind of damage they did to the world. There were some humans that did care though, those people tried to fight and make the rest of the world aware of what was going on and genuinely cared for nature. It would be amusing if this girl was anything like that, if she was then Akeelah certainly didn’t mind talking to her then.

“You like nature huh?” she asked, even if this girl was not an environmentalist it was at least a little nice to be able to talk about nature with someone. Even if it was only for a little bit to avoid being caught for stealing. “If you like stuff like this kind of stuff then maybe you should move to the country side.” Akeelah suggested. “There are a lot more sights to see, much more greenery than the city. It’s not too bad…that is if you don’t mind living around farms.” Akeelah was not a big fan of cities; she hated the crowds and the smell of pollution. But what she hated most of all was not being anywhere near forests. Forests weren’t just great for hiding in but it did give her some freedom to shift. She couldn’t run around town as a wolf or any of her larger animal forms whenever the mood struck her. She had no other choice but to try and blend in. It wasn’t fun but it was the way things were.

[krista]

Krista considered what Akeelah had said. "Yeah, I've thought about it. On several occasions. I think I'd enjoy it very much. But the truth is, all I can afford right now is the rent for my little apartment," she replied, smiling. Eventually she'd get a better job, and save up enough money to buy a house of her own, but that day was not very close. Some day, though.

"I do go outside of the city quite often, though. To get away from it. The countryside is completely different, like a breath of fresh air. It'd be nice to live out there."

Looking back at the sky, Krista discovered that dark was closing in with a fierce determination. Only a small amount of the sun's colours remained, while deep blues and purples took over the sky. She wondered if she should stay past nightfall, perhaps to admire the stars for a bit. She didn't have anywhere else to be.

[akeelah]

Akeelah nodded in understanding. It wasn’t easy looking for ideal places to live, houses cost a lot now a days so one had to make do with what they got. Though unlike Kristabella Akeelah had no place to call home. She just couldn’t afford it; even if she could she wasn’t sure if she wanted to make this place her permanent home. There were some benefits here though; thanks to Saben she would make more money from break ins till she found some better way of earning money till she had enough to at least afford an apartment. For now she was stuck with what she had.

“Yeah it’s really nice over there, I’ve been around to many different places before but I still say the country is the best.” Maybe she should try to settle down in the countryside next time. Even if she couldn’t afford a house she could just live in the forests nearby, it wouldn’t be the first time that she had done that. There was always some risks to that though, either being caught by humans or hunted down by mistake. But it did offer a bit more freedom when it came to shifting for her so it was definitely worth it.