Thistles and Weeds {Will/PM to join}

Ah yes, the sea side. Charlie could feel the salty sea air to moment she made her way out of the secret station, and Anubis trotting along right behind her. She took a deep breath in and sighed, though the day didn't look to welcoming, and far away you could see grey clouds looming, Charlie didn't mind. To be perfectly honest, Charlie had never been to the beach. Seen pictures, heard stories, watched it on t.v during the games when they went to district 4, but it was nothing like actually being there. Something in the air or the waves or the fishy smell just made it so much more, so! Well she didn't have time to see the sights, no her duties lay else were...although, seeing as she hadn't ever been to the beach. She looked at Anubis, who was happily chasing a crab as it scuttled across leaving little hash marks as prints in the sand. Anubis even likes it. she though as she smiled, he was so full of life.

Well, we might as well explore. she gave into her own desire, and with a sharp whistle called Anubis to her side again, him throughly covered in sand from his short excursion. So on ward they walked, down the street. Granted today was a very grey day, and Charlie wasn't sure what she was looking for, only to keep away from peace keepers, so her attentiveness was limited. In fact she had lost herself in thought, she thought about, if their were no districts, would her family have lived by the beach? Her mother had always talked about it, apparently she had gone when she was small, but she never took Charlie. She had heard the sea air was better for your health, so maybe if she earned enough money she could bring James and the rest of the family down here. Yes, she could see it, they could have days on the beach in the sun. James could read to her like he used to, and of course Percy and Mary would come down. Live in their own house, but they could be neighbors. Well James could read to her and Phillip could paint, he always loved to paint. He could capture the waves instead of painting cow and horses. And she James and Phillip could play with Anubis on the beach, in the sun, and what if father could...no, that was it. No more. Charlie frowned a little and kept walking, tugging on her bag a bit she drew herself out of her dream world. Father was gone, he couldn't see the beach.

She hadn't really been paying attention, and had gone who knows where. She had kept straight so finding her way back wouldn't be hard...but were was she now?

As it so happened, a certain Career girl was spreadeagled in the sand not far from Charlie's position, her dyed-red hair tangled in the sand.
The waves crashed against the shore, the seabirds shrieked their mournful calls, and her eyelids drooped. Days -- weeks -- months? -- of not sleeping were beginning to take their toll and Morpheus was drawing her to his realm.
She slept, only for an instant. But that instant was enough.
The sea was wild, far wilder than she'd seen it. "Stay home, Will" she'd been told, so she did...wood washed onto the shore, a familiar swirl of paint...blood, bright red blood everywhere...
Will jolted awake, a fist reflexively thrust into her mouth to silence a scream. Idiot, she thought furiously. Don't sleep, don't EVER sleep!
A rustling disturbed her. Someone was here, but who could it be? No one came to this beach except Will and that was that. She sighed and stood, brushing off her sandy trousers, then walked silently toward the sound. Damage control time.

"Little girl," she said softly. "You should not be here. This is no place for children." She hesitated, then continued. "There are very rough waves, and some of the people who frequent it are...unsavory. You could be injured, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Will smiled, her teeth showing slightly.

((Short post, sorry. Also, is it bad that I pictured her singing this when she first starts talking to Charlie? XD))

((I can totally see her playing the castanets XD))

Charlie jumped, she hadn't heard the girl approach her. Nice. Way to go Charlie. Way to wander in an unknown district and not watch-out for people who speak cryptically to you. Her eyes narrowed slightly, she wasn't fond of being called "little girl" this girl couldn't have been that much older than her. Sure she looked more hard core as you could see the scars and she didn't seem very, what some would describe as, docile.

"I suppose not, but you seem to be doing just fine out here alone." she countered, gripping her bag a little tighter. She wasn't one to travel unprepared, but she wasn't ready to jump to unnessiasry conclusions to soon. Her hazel eyes searched for others around, but so far it seemed to be just her and this girl. Brilliant she thought.

She was thankful for Anubis who had silently joined her at her side, he made her feel safe. He wasn't an attack dog or any thing but his company was welcome. He did make a deep growl sound in his throat but made no other move, he too seemed a little apprehensive of the stranger.

"I," she began, then stopped. "I am different. Mainly because I can do this." Fast as lightning, she drew a knife and threw it past the girl, directly into a windswept tree. The blade met wood with a satisfying thock, a thin twist of smoke spiraling up to be caught by the sea breeze. Will strolled over and pulled the knife out with ease, tucking it back into its concealed position. She smirked at the girl and continued, "As you see, I am in little danger from ruffians. And I assure you, I am a very strong swimmer." Her face twitched slightly, but the emotion quickly vanished. She forced a smile. "I'm sorry, sometimes I come across rather frightening. Nice dog, by the by."

When the girl pulled the knife with her lighting speed all Charlie could do was nod, knife fighters, district 4, got it.

"Ah....I see." Ruffians and thieves? Well Charlie could hold her own....most likely. As for swimming, they had ponds and lakes that you could cool off in when you finished your shift, but she had never been in the ocean. Anubis thumped his tail as the girl smiled at her, he was such a flirt, he loved the attention. And Charlie eased up a bit as she noticed the threat level wasn't so bad.

"Is every one working then? Thats were most seem to be these hours, aside from you of course." she tried to sound as cool as possible, she was looking for odd jobs not trouble. She shifted her bags weight a little, it seemed to get heavier as the day went on, she needed to relax.

They day was grey and stormy, not very good for fishing. In fact August’s lines and lures had become tangled and would take time to unravel, and he was not in the mood to do so. It was technically his free day anyway, though he hadn’t taken time off in ages, so now seemed the time to do so. So, dutifully neglecting his work, he grabbed his pad and his charcoal pencil to sketch an idea he had knowing at the back of his head. Ever notice how the under tow pulls you to one side and you have to constantly row/swim back to were you started? Well, so did August, and he had an idea for a suspension based tether that would keep you in place but would put little stress on you or your boat like an anchor would. He sat on the beach cross legged and sketched, occasionally squinting and sticking out his thumb to approximate size and distance. Only when he heard a distant thunk did he realize others were there. He turned around to see two girls talking, one pulling a knife from the tree. One looked spindly and pale, not a common apperance in district 4, but the other was certainly a career as she skillfully drew the knife from the tree. Intrigued by this un-orthodox meeting August investigated. He walked from the beach to the girls, and cleared his throat to announce his entry.

“You don’t seem to belong here.” He said to the smaller one, and flashing a smile he said “I’m August.”

((waiting for Charlie))

((she posted just before me...)

((Yes, but truth be told I have no muse at the moment, so...XD))

((Ah, we shall wait for Charlie then...))

((I see you went for the dashing suave type then August....well you shall be no match for Charlie's extraneousness effort to push people away!!!))

Charlie was a little rocked by this kid's ability to point her out of the crowd. Then again, she supposed she didn't fit in with the career types or the tan fisher types either. She looked at him, the guy had the gusto to even introduce himself...she sighed, she shouldn't be tearing this guy apart, he literally said 8 words to her...hmm maybe it was the smile.

"Well I suppose I don't then, congrats you win the gold prize." Her snarky sarcasm steamed from her raging fear she was just about to get caught, and Charlie's motto, when times get tough, get sarcastic...or just mean. She looked at the kid, who introduced himself as August, and then to the girl she had yet to be introduced to. Both looked tough and like they belonged. But over all they didn't look mean or vicious, or even spoiled for that matter. They just looked well fed, and in fact both looked pretty harried. Dang it, she hated reasoning with herself.

Charlie's hazel eyes darted to the sketch pad and the pencil, an artist? He hardly looked the type. But a thin smile spread across her face.

"So a knife thrower and an artist? For being in district 4 I would expect more...you know, fishermen." The hint of humor glinting in her eyes, she thought it might lighten the conversational mood.

((Extraneousness? I do not think that word means what you think it means.))

Will started a little when the boy arrived, but waited patiently for him to speak, rather than slitting his throat on the spot.
At the other girl's comment, she smiled slightly, but said nothing. Sarcastic little children? Okay. "Hello, August. My name is Will."
Upon being questioned, she raised an eyebrow. "I am a fisherman. In theory. However..." She hesitated. They were both young, and seemed relatively friendly. She had no reason to drive them away as of yet.
Then again, she had no reason to keep them around, either.
"However, I am also a Career." She paused. "This is the part where you run screaming for fear I tell the Capitol that you're shirking or some such nonsense."

August nodded to Will but kept his silence for the time being. He held his sketch pad closer to himself as he saw the smaller girl looking at it. It wasn't privet but still it has never been comfortable to have your art viewed with out your permission.

"I suppose you could say I'm an artist, but my art serves a practical meaning. And I was on break mind you, we do take those." He smiled a little crookedly, although it faltered when he heard Will's threat, whether she meant it or was simply being tough even August knew and felt the maliciousness of the capitol. And being turned in to the capitol from a district you didn't belong, you would become and Avox if you were lucky. With all the heat about district 13 now was not a good time to be wandering with any sort of rebel mark. Although given the circumstances August probably would be doing the same if he didn't have to care for his father.

He watched the out sider girl and wondered where she could be from. Certainly not any of the districts higher than7, she was thin and even if she looked fit you could still see her cheek bones. The dog only copied her look, fit but undoubtedly thin. Although both looked happy and that made August smile. Such it was to find a wild flower after the rain.

((Inconceivable! And I decided to make this a little more exciting...))

Charlie arched an eyebrow, run screaming in fear? She thought not. Although by the looks of the career the idea probably wasn't a bad one.

"I be not the one to shirk. Fisherman in theory sounds more like some such nonsense, but to each his own I assume." Charlie cast a glance at the August kid. He seemed alright. He certainly wasn't threating but their was a sort of vulnerable air that he carried with him. As tough as he looked she couldn't help but notice something a little...soft? No that wasn't it, but Charlie would think of this later, she was busy trying to keep her cool.

Anubis's tail wagged a little as Will threatened to tell the capitol and Charlie rolled her eyes at the dog. That dog was so peculiar. Honestly sometimes she could swear he knew english but then he would get all exited when their well being was threatened and all Charlie could do was sigh.

As she looked down at Anubis she could see him tense, and out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. Three of the ugliest peace-keepers you have ever seen strolled into view. It looked as if they hand quite seen the trio and Anubis but it was only a matter of time. Charlie felt her heart drop.

"Question...what are y'alls thoughts about the capitol, peacekeepers mainly." As she asked this she kept her eyes on the peace keepers dressed in white making their way down the street. Charlie was praying to God that the girl hadn't meant what she said about snitching, cause they would only have a second to run...

"You're asking me if---" Will broke off as she followed Charlotte's gaze to the Peacekeepers. "Ah, I see. Not a purely hypothetical question, then." She reached for a knife, then thought better of it and laced her boots tighter. "Milady." She swept an elaborate bow toward Charlotte. "Milord." Another bow, this one to August. Her lips quirked into a wry smile. "May I suggest we diplomatically retreat? At full speed? I highly doubt yon gentlemen are going to ask us in for drinks." She raised an eyebrow. "If you aren't too afraid to run with me, that is."

August followed Will's gaze as she had done Charlie's and raised an eyebrow.

"Ah." was all he could say. Yes he wasn't to fond of the peacekeepers, they were on more or less "bad" terms with each other. He tossed his hair out of his eyes and then got a better grip on his pad and charcoal. God he hated these people, but he knew enough to keep his mouth shut, especially in district 4, one of the major capitol influenced districts to be sure.

"I'm with Willow." he said with a nod and slowly started to back in the other direction.