(Untitled)

[halfafinger]

It had been a strange sort of month.

Arguably, any month - or week - or day - spent on an island such as this was bound to be strange, but Margot felt a little more unsettled than usual. Perhaps it was the fact she had been smoking only island-rolled cigarettes for some time now, or the business with Walter, Rorschach, or dealing with having a

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[more_keys]

Graham Dalton was a hermit who never used locks. Nothing projected the illusion of openness like an unlocked door. But he hadn't been close with anyone in a long time, and he preferred to be alone on the move. All of his belongings could fit into the trunk of his car, and he always kept the keys nearby. Ready for a quick getaway.

But now he was stuck, he couldn't make that clean getaway he'd been relying on for nine years, and the thought of locking himself away to keep the distanced he'd depended on was terrifying. His problems -- all those problems Anne had so neatly laid out on the table for him -- already controlled him enough as it was.

So, he walked, and luckily, even in a crowd of people, he was alone. But when he saw a familiar face -- a face with a name, no less -- he paused said, "Hello, Margot."

Graham Dalton was strange, not rude.

[halfafinger]

When Margot heard the voice, she could taste the phantom tang of fresh nicotine. She knew instantly it was the man who had given her her first real cigarette in a long time, and so she could not entirely be blamed for the instinctive, hopeful smile she flashed as she looked up.

It was there and gone in an instant.

"Hello, Graham," she said. Her gaze lingered on his mouth. It didn't look as good without a cigarette in it.

[more_keys]

Seeing where her eyes wander, he coughed out a laugh, letting his arms drop to his sides in a helpless shrug.

"I, ah-- I ran out the other day. I would've saved you one but I didn't know when we might see each other..." he trailed off, darting a look out over the water and squinting against the sun. It wasn't a line. He'd thought of her, lighting up the last of his Panamas on his porch the other night, but he hadn't been the type of man to make that type of gesture in a very long time.

"That doesn't look like your color," he observed.

[halfafinger]

Margot said nothing at first. She could not have reasonably expected him to save another cigarette for her - she had been lucky to get the first one, she knew. The unrealistic hope was just that; an unrealistic hope. It was easy to dismiss it.

Not so easy to dismiss the craving, though.

At least Graham distracted her with his question. "What?" It took a second for Margot to realize he was talking about her attire. Then: "No. I suppose it doesn't." She didn't appear concerned, however.

[agirlnamedchuck]

Misanthropic people were something that Charlotte Charles was no stranger to. In fact over the years, the bright and chipper girl had grown quite attached to those who did not wish to grow attachments.

"Hi!" she greeted with a wave. "Nice day for November, isn't it?"

[halfafinger]

It was that singularly cheerful woman who had been among the first to greet Margot upon her arrival on the island. She couldn't say she was particularly thrilled to see her again.

"I guess so," she offered, civilly enough. But she hoped she wasn't going to have to make small talk about the weather.

[agirlnamedchuck]

"You look awfully unhappy to be sitting outside. On a beach no less!" There were times and places to be miserable. Grave yards and in the pantry when no one was looking and things seemed to be impossible topped the list.

"You'll get wrinkles."

[halfafinger]

"Because I'm outside or because I look unhappy?"

It was hard to tell, but there might have been a trace of amusement in Margot's expression.

[inthedeadzone]

As the months dragged by, Capa found he had fewer and fewer things to keep him busy on the island. There was only so much work to be done, no matter how many different variations he found with the calculations, and he was finding himself closer and closer to accepting what he'd been told. There was no going home.

Still, it was with his gaze tilted up toward the sun that he was walking down the beach and he was so distracted he nearly wandered right onto the woman's towel. "I'm sorry," he said, glancing down at the last minute, swerving to avoid her and nearly falling into the sand.

[halfafinger]

That was the trouble with people - sometimes, they didn't even see you.

"It's fine," she said, even though the man's careless steps had kicked a small spray of sand across her towel. She concentrated on brushing it away, back onto the beach with the other grains where they belonged.

[inthedeadzone]

"No, it isn't," Capa insisted, cringing as he watched her brush the sand away. "I--"

Stopping short, he stared at her, his mouth still open slightly as if he was going to say something more. She looked just like Pepper, but for the differences that made it obvious she and Pepper were absolutely not the same person. For far from the first time on the island, he found himself unsure of what to say.

[halfafinger]

After a moment, Margot seemed to notice the man's silence, and she looked up at him to find him staring with his jaw on the proverbial floor.

It wasn't the first time Margot had garnered such a reaction from a man, especially while she was in a bikini, but somehow it seemed...more than that. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yes?" she prompted. "Is something wrong?"

[all_happening]

Penny'd had a similar idea in coming out to the beach, though for her, it was more about relaxing than avoiding other people. Still, she had been stretched out and, for the most part, keeping to herself until she noticed someone else nearby. At first, she thought it might have been that woman who'd done some of the camerawork for Gideon's movie, but a second look told her otherwise. She smiled anyway, lifting one hand in a sort of wave.

"Hey," she said, smiling a little. She couldn't really help herself; being out here alone had gotten kind of boring. "You haven't been here long, have you?" After two and a half years, not recognizing someone was kind of unusual.

[halfafinger]

At first, Margot didn't think the other woman was waving at her, but when she spoke she was definitely looking at her. She was forced to conclude, therefore, that she was the one being addressed.

Unfortunately.

Her shoulders lifted in a half-shrug, half-sigh, but she hadn't been brought up rude enough not to reply. "No," she said. "Not very long at all." Although it seemed it.

[all_happening]

"I'm Penny," she said, sitting up a little straighter so she could face the other woman better. She was nothing if not cheerful, though to her credit, she at least wasn't fucking chipper or anything like that. Figuring that she probably got the you look like other people thing all the time, Penny didn't mention that, instead adding, "Sorry, just, after a long time here, it's pretty easy to tell when someone hasn't been around."

[halfafinger]

"Is it that obvious with every new arrival, or just me?" Margot asked sardonically. She thought she had been doing quite well at 'settling in'. As much as one could in a place like this, anyway. She doubted anyone could fully settle in here.