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[farmgrown]

It's what she sees every morning as she wakes up, without the assistance of any alarm. Somehow, over the past couple of months, she's officially switched to running on island time, but it's a little hard to celebrate that milestone when Annie can't help but feel like she's regressing every time she catches a glimpse of the bracelet dangling from

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[theblindguy]

A routine has been pretty easy to fall into for Auggie, and here it's no different. He gets up early even though he knows he really doesn't have to, heads down to the rec center or, to mix things up, a jog. The jog's what he picked this morning, and the cane that appeared for him early that week makes things that much easier for him to do. By the time he gets to the expansive stretch of beach that the path leads him to, he slows down just to enjoy the warm morning. Swiping the light of his cane back and forth in a lazy arc as he heads toward the ocean. He pauses when the vibration in the cane indicates someone just about in front of him.

It's harder to differentiate between people here, but he still manages - Annie, especially, since he spends a lot of time with her. She doesn't say hello, and he assumes it's because she's probably not facing him and doesn't even realize he's there.

"You're up early," he comments, though from what he knows, she basically has about the same schedule he does most days.

[farmgrown]

The rolling crash of the waves make it a little harder for her to overhear who's coming, or at least to differentiate the sound of the ocean from the crunch of approaching footsteps in the sand. Annie's fingers curl around the bracelet to hide it by default reflex, and she reaches up with her closed fist to swipe a knuckle under her eye, trying to remove any remaining traces of the rising swell of emotion.

"Oh, I was just - " Her voice is what betrays her, that slight tremor and crack, and she clears her throat in an attempt to try again, to convince herself that it's only because this is the first time she's spoken to anyone all morning, of course things are a little rusty. "Couldn't sleep," she finally adds, and that in itself isn't entirely untruthful, as she turns her gaze away, the early morning breeze ghosting over her cheek and sending a few strands of hair across her face.

[theblindguy]

That tone of voice isn't anything he's expecting to come out of her. His eyebrows crease in concern, but he doesn't entirely voice noticing something amiss immediately. She doesn't just come out with things, and she might not want to talk about it.

"Bad night?" he asks instead, eventually coming to stand next to her. It's an open enough question that she can shrug off if she wants to.

[farmgrown]

"It's - I don't know, I was just thinking, I guess," she ultimately says. Again, it's truthful, but it's not the complete truth. She isn't sure she has it in herself to just unload all of that on him, even though she can already predict what he'd say - it's fine, it's no problem, it's what he's here for. It's that unvariedness that brings the tears back, or threatens to - but in a good way. In a better way.

"About Ben, about - everything." She can't hide this. What would be the point? He has a way of finding these things out where she's concerned, something she chalks up to an overt intuition.

[patration]

People who are content on the island are, surprisingly enough, never hard to find. There are worries and stressors that weigh down on every person, old or young, pessimist or optimist- that's something which can't be disputed, nor does Zhuge think that it should be fought. Worries are what keep a person on their toes, watchful, protecting themselves from surprise, and so he's willing to accept the people who proclaim themselves to be happy, never dares point out the flaws and the rough edges that may push them over in any given moment. It's not worth it

[farmgrown]

Lost in her own thoughts, the last thing Annie expects is any company - especially unfamiliar company at that. At the same time, just allowing herself to become distracted is something she's only been able to do since she first arrived here. Back home, allowing her mind to wander was reserved for the privacy of her own room, or even at her desk at the DPD - the latter of which she could never really manage unless she was looking for a stern utterance of her name from Joan's office. And in the field, forget about it. It's costly enough to let your guard down even for one second when the price could be your life

[patration]

It's not precisely an invitation, but there are times when a person needs to press through regardless, when it's that first step which may indeed make all of the difference. That thought is the one which drives Zhuge forward, walking around her until he can slide the robe over her shoulders, lips pressed in a small smile, one more concerned than anything else. He's never been the best at talking to people in a way that they might find comforting. His very job entails finding the cracks and weaknesses in another person and exploiting them; to find their strengths and bolster them is another matter entirely, especially with a woman whose name he doesn't even know.

"Then please, use this robe," he asks after, with a nod that begs forgiveness, rather than permission. "I would not want you to catch sickness. Even on an island that is very warm and has much sun, it is still possible to fall ill."

Crossing his arms, he steps to her side, staring off into the distance. "Your heart must be very busy, to forget to wear more in the morning."

[farmgrown]

"Oh," Annie softly voices, having expected to be reaching out for the robe by now. Instead, she's surprised to find it draped over her shoulders, and looks over one to meet him with a grateful smile. There's something so earnest about him, sincere, and while her training prepares her to look for the cracks in a guise, she's not very startled to find that with him, there are none. There are no ultimate moves, no ulterior motives to consider, and she nods gratefully, reaching up to pull the robe a little more snugly across her shoulders

[willimprovise]

Usually, it was only for Marvin's sake that Sam ever got up and out of bed so early. This morning, though, walking down the beach, he was alone. Whatever had kept him awake, he wasn't sure, but there was no sense trying to fight the impulse, however inexplicable. He was almost grateful for it, anyway, when he spotted Annie a little ways down the shore, automatically heading in her direction with a smile. The expression faded as soon as he got a look at hers. He didn't think he'd ever seen her less than pleased, and it was a little disconcerting, not just because he so rarely knew what to do when other people were upset. For her, though, he couldn't walk away. "Hey, Annie," he called softly, more to alert her to his presence than anything else. "What's up?"

[farmgrown]

"Sam, hey," Annie says, forcing a smile on and lifting one hand in greeting as the other subtly slips the bracelet back into her pocket. It might not be the right time to officially get rid of it, but she's not sure she wants to spend the next few minutes explaining what she's doing, either. Her friendship with Sam has been fairly light and easy-going up until now, and the last thing she wants is to weigh it down with some of her own emotionally-charged baggage. She clears her throat, discreetly checks her cheeks for any incriminating tears, and finally glances up, brushing her hair back away from her face. "I didn't think this was the popular hour."

[willimprovise]

"Neither did I," Sam said, with a small, wry, almost self-deprecating smile. He was pretty sure it still wasn't - save for those people who took stupidly early classes, there was no reason for it to be - but they were both here, and now he wasn't sure if there was something going on, if he was interrupting, or if he'd just been imagining the seriousness he thought he'd seen on her face. After all, while he might not have been able to fall back asleep, he was still kind of tired. Still, there was no harm in making sure. Addressing feelings wasn't really his thing, but he did care about Annie quite a bit. "Everything okay?"

[farmgrown]

"Yeah," is Annie's immediate response, followed by a mini-scoff and a smile that she tries to pass off as convincing. The guilt is what creeps in afterward, buoyed by her realization that she spends way too much time keeping the truth from the people she cares about, and maybe that's the whole reason why she's here, to stop the lying altogether because she doesn't need to do it anymore. Some secrets, like her job, she's still not sure if she has to continue keeping, but something like this she ultimately doesn't see as too damaging to global security. "Ex issues," she finally explains, with a helpless shrug. "Fun stuff, right?"

[wishesandsmoke]

It's early morning when Eden heads for the beach. She has class later on in the day, but she has time before that and walks on the beach tend to be soothing for her. These days she needs it, thoughts still roiling on and off with the memory of how it felt to have an ability again. There's an itch under her skin, a craving to go back to all that and to avoid it as strenuously as she can all at once. She doesn't know if she really trusts herself with all that.

The sight of a familiar face provides a welcome break from her thoughts and she smiles as she approaches. "It's okay," she says, catching the aborted motion. "There are no littering laws. No laws, actually."

[farmgrown]

Annie can't help the laugh that ensues, first at the comment and then at the ridiculousness of her own action, looking down at the bracelet in her hand as she shifts it in her grasp, shoulders hunching forward in a slight shrug.

"So I'm guessing that means no laws against ditching stuff from an ex, right?" she adds, with a wry smile, finally glancing up in Eden's direction as she allows the bracelet to dangle from a few fingertips.

[wishesandsmoke]

"Oh, no, absolutely none," Eden assures her, coming closer. Briefly she touches her fingers to the back of Annie's arm. "In fact, we thoroughly encourage that around here. And then the island gives us other things to worry us instead. It's a whole cycle." She flashes her a smile, sympathetic, though she's had few exes herself and they rarely left anything to remember them by. If they had, she likes to think she would have been rid of it all long ago, anyway, for the sake of moving on, but she still has the gun that took her life in her house, in the event it might one day need to defend it. "You okay?"

[farmgrown]

"I am. Or I will be," Annie says, moving her hand slightly to let the far end of the bracelet swing up, looping up in the air before she catches it fully again. It's getting harder to ditch this thing than she originally predicted, and the more she holds onto it, the more difficult it becomes. Still, her reluctance to let go of the past is what's brought her to this point anyway, and she's not sure what holding on to it any longer will ultimately accomplish. "I've just been thinking lately. Wondering if this is the right time for me to finally move on from him."

[whoneedsadream]

Anatoly was not usually one for early mornings but the unexpected arrival of Florence had thrown him completely off his routine. Things were awkward between them, very much understandably so considering the revelations with which he had greeted her and he felt responsible for her well-being. Until they could find a balance, he was going to feel unsettled and anxious.

"Hello, Annie," he said as he came across her along his wanderings on the beach. "How are you?"

[farmgrown]

"Okay," Annie murmurs - and it's true, things could be better but they could also be much worse, and she has to keep reminding herself of that before she gets ridiculously overdramatic. She offers Anatoly a smile as he comes closer. There's something about him that she finds she has a soft spot for, and she knows part of it has to do with him being the first one to find her.

"How's it going?" she asks, studying him briefly. "You look like you're thinking about something."

[whoneedsadream]

"It is, as I believe the phrase is, going," Anatoly answered. "This place has decided to bring someone I knew from home and it has been... difficult adjusting to things, both for her and for me."

"But I suppose we will manage somehow," he continued with what he hoped was an reassuring smile. He didn't want to burden Annie with his issues, after all, especially when she seemed troubled her own self. "Are you sure you are all right? I don't want to pry but you seem thoughtful as well."

[farmgrown]

"Oh," Annie breathes, immediately frowning - not from anything having to do with her situation but for everything he's having to deal with. She's only had one person show up from home, but luckily, he's the kind of person she would much rather have here than not. In Anatoly's case, it sounds like the exact opposite is true.

"Oh, you know, trying to officially break up with a guy who's not even here. If you can call it that."