73 cents change, Gabrielle took the coins from the vendor with a smile and a few words of thanks before shoving them into the pocket of her jeans. Something about cotton candy had always delighted her, wether it was its color or overly sweet taste she could never seem to get enough of it.

Ripping off a generous piece of the fluffy sugar she put it in her mouth sighing happily as it disolved almost immediately on her tongue. The sweetness was a sharp contrast to the salty air.

Walking as she picked off small pieces of fluff from the cardboard cone watching as kids ran laughing into the water racing back out again before the rolling waves could even touch them.

Finishing the rest of her treat she wiped her hands on her heavy woolen sweater and stuffed her hands into her pockets. Today was a day that she did not have to rush for anyone or anything and she intended to take advantage of this as she walked slowly along the beach.

Cyris, Five feet nine inches. Black hair that hangs limply in his face and dark eyes that look more hispanic then white-American.

Alyssa, five feet two inches. Blonde hair past her shoulders and tossed up in a ponytail, pale eyes that are most definatly her fathers.

One would wonder if these two were even half-siblings. As it were, Alyssa was Cyris' sister, which was the reason he allowed her to sucker him into driving her and three other giggling girls to the beach this morning.

He would regret it by the end of the day.

But for now, he could enjoy himself in the only way possible on a beach, sitting in the heat, getting sand in his pants and burning his bare feet, monitoring four twelve year olds who were squeeling about cold water but swimming in it anyways.

Writing. But again, it'll have to wait. He's standing in the middle of a cluster of towels decorated with that new barbie-big-head, Bratz images, on a blue towel smearing white sun cream up and down the blonde child's arm. Alyssa was darkly tanned in her pale blue bathing suit. Next to her he's white, so a bare, thin chest reveals.

Very white. And he is not dressed in beach wear. Actually, he's wearing long pants, the sort that mothers nation-wide despise, with the chains. He's attractive enough, if the tall, dark .... very dark considering those pants, and artistic is your type. Half way through smearing the cream on Alyssa's arm she turned and darted away with a grin, running right into the young woman with the cotton candy. A hurried sorry and she darted around her before Cyris could grab her back.

"Lys! Ah." The frustred sound of dealing with an uncooperative child. "Sorry about that," and the apologetic look is hidden until he swipes his bangs off to the side.

So caught in her thoughts, watching the constant charge and retreat of the waves Gabrielle had not even noticed the girl until they collided the girl at a run and Gabrielle merely an object in her path, a small cry of surprise caught her lips and she murmured a small sorry not entirely sure who had been at fault for there the collison but it was of her habit to applogize no matter the circumstances.

Turning slightly she watched the girl run of, smiling gently to herself as she remebered herself at age, so similar in the way she was always in a hurry to get there even if she did not yet know where she was heading.

A voice brought her back to the present and she turned to meet a rather handsome young man, who seemed quite out of place but she had caught the slightly maternal tone and imagined that they were related in some way or another.

"Oh, Its alright" Gabrielle insisted easily, for she had not been put out at all by the incident "Perhaps I need to learn to watch where I am going" she added with a laugh, shaking her head.

Many often joked that Gabrielle was far too uptight at her job and far too easy going at other times, that she needed to strike a balence between the two but she had always believed that when the time came to be serious that she would.

It was taking some will power to not ask why he was wearing such swim appearal, for certainly things had not changed so much that people now swam fully clothes, It was a pecuiliar look indeed "Was that your sister I just briefly met?" she asked curiosuly but not in a way that was rude or interferring.

The child kept running, long legs gangly and unproportionat to her body. One day, she would grow into them, he mother promised. Cyris had. And her daddy had.

Cryis shook his head adamantly when she claimed the incidental collision to be her fault. He glanced at his hands, still covered in white lotion, looked around for a place to wipe them off and settled for rubbing a streak of white down his stomach, showing that he wasn’t entirely white. Just very close to it.

“No, she ought to learn to watch where she’s going,” he replied, making it clear it was Alyssa’s fault but his tone said that there was little he was going to do about it until later. To answer the unasked question, Cyris was wearing pants because he didn’t plan to get in the water unless one of his girls, lord have mercy he spent so much time with the young pack he was claiming them as his, drowned. And he’s certainly hoping that won’t be the case.

“Hm, yes. Alyssa. She’s a little bit,” he paused, rubbing the last of the lotion onto his pale flesh, reaching for a word. “oblivious,” he settled for. “I’m really sorry about that.” Hands on hips, his fingers covered jabbing hipbones in a way that said his hands and hipbones, at least, were proportionate to each other.

Garbrielle gave a very slight smile, barely a small notion in the eye that rarely made it to her lips if she did not wish it seen, from the brief flash of what she had seen of the tanned child and the one who claimed to be her brother besides the way they acted towards each other gave far more away then apperance.

"I have never seen you around here before" The moment the words left her lips she inwardly winced, it was one of her worse traits that she often blurted things out before thinking and it had often gotten her into trouble "I live just over there" she added quickly turning to point to a small grouping of homes a short distance over there.

Another instant mental pinch Just keep digging the hole she thought to herself, already he undoubtly took her for some sort of raving lunatic, or some weirdo that had nothing better than sit around watching the crowd at the beach but never taking part Great, now all I need to do is adopt a few thousand cats and I'll be set

"I'm Gabrielle" she said at last, for it seemed like the most sane, normal thing to say at this point.

Cyris nodded. "That's because I've not been here before." He looked in the direction she'd pointed, then back to her again. "Alyssa talked me into being a personalized Chuffer today."

It would not suprise him to know that by looks they didn't pass as brother and sister. Had their parents been there, his nearly hispanic appearance and dark features to his sisters light hair and eyes would have been explainable.

"I'm Cryis," he held out a hand. Long fingers wore three silver rings. "We live in ner Duck Avenue." Which happened to be convenitly located near the university and the middle school. The Location was choosen to suit Cyris and Lyss's needs.

For the record, it just so happens that Alyssa (and Cyris though he's not likely to say so) adore cats. They'd have a few thousand if their mother weren't allergic.

Gabrielle lips joined to form a small "O" as she turned slightly as she did, feeling slightly foolish. Though her moments of embarassment never lasted long for they occursed so frequently that she was quite good at learning to laugh them off when they occured.

"It is very nice" Gabrielle replied, her light easy tone once again returning as she took his hand, feeling the cold metal of his rings pressed against her skin as she did, she was always mindful of shaking hands, for she had learned that it would often alter buisness deals. Too firm could hurt the person, yet a loose grip could suggest weakness of the character.

Never much one for wearing jewllery, Gabrielle had always suspected that this was related back to an early memory of her adoptive sisters each receiving a piece of inheritated Jewllery from there grandmother, who had been adement, even as much to Gabrielles face that she receive none for she was not considered true family in her opinion.

"I have never heard of Duck Avenue" Gabrielle said conversationally "I recently moved from way out of town and I haven't had a chance to learn much of the City, not as much as I would anways' she added.

"That it is," he replied. He'd only been within the city limits long enough to sign up for school and discover the library, mall, and the route to his sister's military school as well as mother and father's offices.

Cyris looked around and swept his arm down towards the towels around him. "I'd offer you a seat but all I've got are towels." His smile was white and straight but his upper canines were marked with two silver spots, indicating a retainer, indicating that he once upon a time had also worn braces.

"Where did you move from?" He sat down on one of the pink and purple towels.

Gabrielle took him up on his partial offer of a seat, though pausing for the slightest of moments to look at the colorful illustrations of the licensed towels, she shook her head slightly knowing that this was all the rage among the younger girls but could not see the appeal of the unproportioned characters, Though most would not understand the popularity of Cabbage kids that had been popular in her own youth.

Sitting on the towel she pulled her legs up towards her chest and wrapped her arms around them, looking out over the ocean where children played admist the wave "The middle of nowhere" she replied with a smile "If you take the interstate as far as it goes, Thats where I was raised, away from everything" she said somewhat wistfully "Thats where John and Annabelle live at least" The last few years it had become habit to call her adoptive parents by the first names and not as mom and dad, for as she aged it had struck her odd to call them such a thing "My adoptive parents" she said after a short silence answearing the unasked question that seemed to linger.

He'd been going to ask 'room mates?' but she cleared up the question for him and he nodded, making a soft 'ah' sound. "Must be hard," he commented, "you know. Getting used to the city after living out there, middle of nowhere and all that." He put his hands back to lean back on them but grimaced and lifted his hand again and frowning at all of the white sand stuck to the sun lotion that made his hands moist.

"We lived nowhere. Death Valley, the gateway to hell, so the locals called it." He grinned. "Ridgcrest Cali. Miss the people some. I don't miss it much."

His eyes stray to follow her gaze, then back slowly to watch the squeeling girls that made up his group.

"Ya" Came the soft response from Gabrielle, she sometimes felt guilty that unlike him she didn't even miss the people much, she had no real friends growing up for whatever reason she was never included in any games, so in return she often spent much of her time with the animals which again in return she was discluded even more.

"Death valley, at least that sounds intresting" Gabrielle replied with a grin and heavy emphasis on the word sounds "I have heard of it before, Is there a reason that its been called the gateway to hell, or is it just part of the name" she asked, curious.

Cyris noticed her 'ya' wasn't very heart felt. Oh, very observent Cyris. "Oh? You're...not so happy about that?" It's just observent. Not prying.

"Sounds." He looked at her again, done with his half an hour check up of the girls. "Well, Ridgcrest is the only city built that close to the actually valley itself. The only thing inside it is last chance stop gas station. Then you have a hundred miles of nothing but heat and packed sand. Death valley. Hell." It was so simple that it was rediculous. Cyris had actually liked the whole explination. Of course, Cyris liked the necklaces with the beads and cow bones too so it's not saying very much on his behalf.