(Untitled)

[sallyslingshot]

Two months now, Alex had been on the island, a length of time that felt both impossibly long and far shorter than it ought to have. She had known from the start that it was nothing she was likely to get used to after a whole life spent on a different island, at least not any time soon, but that did nothing to make it more comfortable in the interim

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[gunbladescar]

Aries had waited for me to get out of my evening class about 20th Century Earth Pop Culture. Sometimes it's nice to have a dog, she's great for company and she's always in a good mood.

So instead of heading straight home, we find ourselves heading toward the beach. It's kind of silly since our hut is on the beach. But I guess we see that part of the beach all the time and I'm in a wandering kind of mood. As much walking as we do every day and it doesn't compare to traveling back home. At least there's no random encounters to worry about on Tabula Rasa.

I wasn't expecting company on the beach. Even though my eyes have adjusted to the dark, I'm too close to pretend I haven't seen her. I notice she's pointing up at the sky and I look just in case. You never know. "What is it?" I ask when I don't see anything.

[sallyslingshot]

Though Alex hadn't expected the beach to be empty, it still came as something of a surprise to be suddenly addressed. Sheepish at having been noticed, she blinked a few times to clear her head, then propped herself up on her elbows, just enough to be able to look at the person who'd spoken and his dog, finding neither familiar. She'd observed a lot over the past couple of months, but she didn't really know many people yet.

"Oh, it's nothing," she explained easily, dark hair falling in her eyes as she shook her head. "I was just... looking at the stars, is all."

[gunbladescar]

"That they're different, right?" I comment, glancing up at them too. It just shows how relaxed things are on this island that I'm not surprised to find a girl sitting by herself in the dark. And that I strike up a conversation with her and she's more surprised at being found than suspicious of strangers. It is a small island though. And there are more than enough of us between the ITF, the IPD and 'retired' heroes that someone you have to worry about in the dark wouldn't be a problem for long.

"Seen any shooting stars?" I ask after a moment of looking at the stars.

[sallyslingshot]

"None yet," Alex replied with a shrug, though she wouldn't have been surprised if there were any. In a clear sky like this, even one where the stars seemed to change as often as they did here, it didn't seem unlikely; it was just a matter of looking in the right place at the right time. "But yeah," she continued, "it's weird. Like they're never quite the same every time you look at them."

[gotanymilk]

It was, in a way, a familiar sight, seeing his daughter sprawled underneath the stars. He'd known, of course, of Alex's little ritual with Karl back home, though that was for the simple reason that there was very little Benjamin Linus didn't know about the happenings on his own island; he'd made it his business. While he had no power on this island, save for what patrons of The Winchester ate on Wednesday nights, knowledge would always have its uses, and so he maintained an almost fastidious record of things, sometimes written, but more often than not memorized. When he realized Alex wasn't in the house, then, he'd known precisely where to look for her, information gleaned from tailing her for the past two months. Rarely did he announce his presence, the nature of their relationship still on shaky enough ground that he didn't want to jeopardize it with his own tendencies, but tonight he saw no harm in it; after all, he could've just as easily been out walking on his own

[sallyslingshot]

While Alex couldn't say that she was altogether surprised at the sound of her father's voice, she still felt somehow as if she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to, though there was nothing inherent in what she was doing to categorize it as such. Still, this was an activity associated entirely with her deceased boyfriend, and she was sure he realized it, too. Her feelings on the matter not being anything she'd cared to talk about too much since showing up here, she couldn't help the self-consciousness that set in when she realized she'd been found in the midst of something so purely sentimental.

"Not at all," she agreed, thoughtful, shaking her head slightly before she pulled herself up so she was sitting, weight back on her palms. "I didn't know you were going to be out here."

[gotanymilk]

"Is that code for you want to be left alone?" he asked, his tone inscrutable; whether he was joking or not was left for her to decide, and there was nothing about his countenance to suggest one or the other as more probable. Regardless of her response, he wouldn't leave, anyway, but instead just disappear from view.

[sallyslingshot]

The question, the nature of which she couldn't quite discern, was one which gave Alex pause, teeth pressing to her lower lip. While she knew full well that her father's opinion on Karl differed vastly from her own, she wasn't sure she particularly cared to be left on her own, either. It was with that in mind that she sighed, somewhat resignedly, and shook her head. "No, not really."

[neverlanded]

Teenaged girls, much like the pets that they own require a bit of exercise and fresh air from time to time. The more time spent out doors the better, especially given how long the rain had lasted. Things were only now started to revert to normal, with ruined things thrown away and new stuff made to replace it.

Spying Alex a little further down the beach, Wendy smiled and waved in greeting. Sensing a familiar person, Rab barked as well though he did manage to not run pell-mell right towards her. There was something to be said for his patience. "Hullo Alex! Enjoying the day?"

[sallyslingshot]

Pulled from her thoughts by the sound of a familiar voice, Alex sat up just in time for Rab's approach, summoning up a smile for both girl and dog alike. She didn't know Wendy all that well yet, but she was the first teenage girl Alex had met in her whole life, and that wasn't an insignificant fact. It was enough that, at least for a few moments, she was sure she could manage to stave off thoughts of her dead boyfriend.

"Wendy, hey," she said, then nodded once in response to the question. It wasn't a lie, at least. "Yeah, I was just thinking. How are you two?"

[neverlanded]

"Thinking good thoughts or bad ones?" Wendy asked, being the innocent sort of nosy that seemed to plague teenage girls. It was born of her desire to be helpful, especially to those people whom she liked.

"We are quite well, do you mind?" Pointing to the empty space next to Alex, she smiled in an attempt to be encouraging. "I don't want to be a bother or anything."

[sallyslingshot]

"No, no, go right ahead," Alex said quickly, giving an emphatic shake of her head. She wasn't quite sure if they constituted as good thoughts or bad ones, but surely a little company wouldn't go amiss. Besides, she liked Wendy, and the distraction was bound to do her good. "You're not being a bother at all. It wasn't much of either, really, just sort of... thinking."

[provincialbelle]

Belle was slightly caught off guard when she saw someone out on the beach, in a place where she didn't typically see anyone. She inched closer, maybe because she thought that her mind was playing tricks on her and she just had to know. When she got closer, she was both too close to just sneak off and close enough to see that it really was a person. "Oh," was what she got out, as if she hadn't planned to say something. "Hello," she added nervously.

[sallyslingshot]

Alex had only just caught sight of the girl out of the corners of her eyes when she spoke, something that came, then, as just as much of a surprise. For someone else to be on the beach wasn't exactly unusual, but she hadn't expected at all to be approached. Still, propping herself up slightly and with wide eyes, she turned to face the girl who'd spoken, all thoughts of naming the stars temporarily set aside. "Hey," she greeted, voice somewhat low, though not nearly enough as to be inaudible. "You out for a walk?"

[provincialbelle]

Belle shrugged, not sure now how to exactly explain what she was doing lurking around, because she didn't feel like she was the best person to do it. "I suppose. I suppose I didn't think anyone else would be out here, especially not just lying around. But I shouldn't have presumed."

[sallyslingshot]

"It's really not a big deal," Alex assured her easily, sitting up further so she could hold both hands up in front of her, almost apologetic. It was probably for the best that she'd been pulled from her reverie, anyway, unexpected though it was. "I mean, it's not like you're interrupting anything. You want to sit?"

[blondieburke]

Juliet has always had an affinity for the beach, growing up in Miami and now living in L.A., though it was different in California. She had to drive a while to find a good beach spot, but once she did it was always the same. She sat down, cross legged in the sand and stared at the water. She's always loved doing most of her thinking that way, and that's what she's doing now on the beach.

She still wonders about the things she remembers but...doesn't remember, and that's what's on her mind now. She knows Carolyn is willing to help, but a part of Juliet doesn't want to know what her mind had blocked out. She's almost positive that other than her and Jack's honeymoon she's never been on another island, unless it was at some point in her childhood that she can't remember.

Leaning back on her hands, she notices the girl and offers a friendly smile, then looks back out at the water, deep in thought.

[sallyslingshot]

The wave caught Alex's peripheral vision moments before it prompted her to sit up, not about to overlook any kind of greeting despite the direction her thoughts had been going in. There just wasn't any sense in ignoring it. Looking in the direction of the woman, though, she found herself briefly stunned. As far as she'd known, she and her father were the only two from their island on this one; being well aware of the way some people here looked identical to others, there was no saying for sure that this was anything other than mere coincidence, but it was still hard not to hope, just a little bit.

"Juliet?" she asked, brows furrowing, voice conveying how puzzled she was. If her initial instinct was right and this was, in fact, Juliet, she would have thought there might be something more of an introduction than that.

[blondieburke]

She looks up, shielding her eyes a little and tries to figure out if she knows this person. She realizes she doesn't, but somehow she's known, so she smiles a little.

"Yes?"

She tries to remember if this girl was with them in dino territory, but she doesn't think so. Then again, things had been extremely chaotic.

[sallyslingshot]

The response was one that Alex couldn't wrap her head around. This was Juliet, then - the odds of there being another woman with the same face and the same name struck her as slim to none - but if that were so, then she ought to have been recognized, and instead found herself met with nothing of the sort. So much about this place was strange, inexplicable, and yet at least in the moment, this seemed to be more so than any of it.

"Are you -" she started, only to cut herself off, the corners of her mouth lowering in a frown. "Do you know me?"