A Change Would Do You Good.

[drownondryland]

The end of the year is the start of something new. A chance to leave behind the old and start over. An opportunity to begin fresh, to say to yourself, this time, I'm gonna do it better.

It had been a strange month. Granted, it had been a quiet month - even Christmas had come and gone with very little fuss, though Meredith was accustomed to even

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[playingsmart]

Sam had been out skating that day, now warm from the exertion and cold from the air. It was easy to recognise the woman walking in front of him. Meredith had a certain sort of stride when she was lost in thought that he'd noticed over the weeks. That it looked like one of those moments didn't stop him from calling out to her as he picked up his pace, "Mere!"

[drownondryland]

That was a distraction she didn't mind. Turning at the sound of her name, Meredith smiled. "Sam," she said, stopping to let him catch up with her. "Hello. I was just heading inside." He looked like he'd been busy. It was that or the cold, getting his cheeks ruddy like that. She liked the look on him.

[playingsmart]

"Me too," he was a little bit breathless from the jog up that last stretch of boardwalk. When the warm weather broke again - if it did - he'd have to make a bit more of an effort than usual with his trying to stay in shape. "There was a skating party out by the waterfall."

[drownondryland]

"Oh, that sounds fun." Meredith hadn't heard about it, but that didn't surprise her. It seemed like a lot of parties just happened around here. As she spoke, she started walking again. "Can the waterfall hold that many people?"

[the_support]

Ellie had just finished up skating, and was walking the opposite direction - toward her hut, of course - with her skates over her shoulders. She smiled when she noticed the familiar face walking toward her, and she raised a hand in greeting.

"Taking a walk?" she asked. It was a nicer than usual day, at least.

[drownondryland]

"To the Compound," Meredith said, quickening her pace just for a few moments to meet Ellie. "Eventually. In a roundabout way. Hi. You've got skates!" It looked like she'd been out enjoying herself. It was nice to see that other people seemed to be liking the weather. Mostly she heard people complaining. Big babies.

[the_support]

"I do! There's sort of a small ice skating thing going on down by the waterfall that I went to for a bit," she explained. She had been more than a little glad she went over to have a little fun earlier. "I don't remember the last time I skated. I was surprised I didn't break something."

[drownondryland]

"Oh, you can't be that bad at it," Meredith said cheerfully. "You're still in one piece. That sounds like it was fun." Maybe she would head down to the waterfall later on, before the cold weather cleared up. A change in routine would be nice, especially around here.

[fey_lawyer]

For Mia, not just the weather had changed. Things with Phoenix had grown pretty chilly of late, though she had to admit a lot of that was her own fault.

She'd pulled away from him once. Granted, she'd been dead at the time, but she was alive now and still the same thing was happening. Or was it? She wondered, sometimes, just why things were the way they were, but she hadn't managed to ask. Not in so many words. And Phoenix wasn't exactly volunteering the information, so she was on her own.

If it were anyone else, she would have pressed them. Shouted 'Hold it!' or 'Objection!' with a pointer finger in their face. Not this time, though.

This time she'd resorted to wandering around in the snow daydreaming about it. (Pathetic, Mia. Pathetic.) But what else could she do? She

[drownondryland]

Meredith had been lost in her thoughts, too, not noticing the woman coming toward her until it was too late and they'd collided. "No, no, it's okay," she said quickly, holding up her hands, "I wasn't looking either. Are you okay?" She looked a touch shaken, but not actually injured, Meredith thought, and she herself wasn't much worse than surprised.

[fey_lawyer]

"Fine," Mia said, rallying well, considering. She swept some wayward hair out of her face and mustered a smile. "Sorry," she said again. "I was - caught up in my thoughts."

(Obviously.)

[drownondryland]

"So was I," Meredith replied, laughing a little as she smoothed her hands over her sides. "Guess it's just an introspective kind of day. "I'm Meredith, by the way."

[lily_ofthefield]

Lily had been headed back to the Compound after taking a walk when she caught sight of Meredith on the path. Having been told before that the snow had lasted just a month in the past, meaning that it would be gone soon, she wanted to enjoy it while she still could. It wouldn't have seemed like winter without snow.

She and Meredith weren't especially close, but she'd seen her around often enough that she didn't feel too weird approaching. "Hey," she greeted warmly, biting back a grin as she fell into step with the other woman. "Enjoying the snow?" If Lily's own expression was anything to judge by, she, for one, was.

[drownondryland]

Meredith nodded, smiling as Lily approached. It was always good to see Lily outside, given how long she'd stayed indoors. "I am," she said. "I'm not made for so much sunlight. A girl needs to take a break once in a while from tanning and swimming." She trailed off a bit, rolling her eyes. Dark thoughts aside, hers wasn't such a bad mood these days. Most of the time, she was doing pretty well, like now.

[lily_ofthefield]

"Tell me about it," Lily agreed, letting out a short laugh. "I like the tropical weather as much as the next person, but after growing up in Canada, I can definitely appreciate a snowy winter." After ten months of warm weather, too, it was certainly something she could enjoy. That was just the first of things that were going well lately, though, and she'd be damned if she hadn't been acting like it.

[drownondryland]

"It was Boston for me," she said, nodding, "and Seattle. Not exactly tropical weather places. I'm not really used to this much sun." She liked the way it rained in Seattle. When she was in a good mood, it was strangely cheering, and the rest of the time, it just felt appropriate.