Caribou Coast

Alanala had decided to do something... Spontaneous that day, because fuck it... She needed to meet more people, make more friends, feel a better attachment to the island if she was going to stay there. Although that last thing was a bit hypocritical, she had no real attachment to Bramford, outside her family... But digressing a bit. She had her easel set up, and a canvas to paint upon, but a table set out with some... Um, foods, a lot of it she didn't exactly know how to cook, not that she didn't know how to, but because it was... Meat. She did have fake-meat food out for herself, burgers, hot dogs... All the likes, and two coolers, one full of alcohol and one full of soda. With a sigh she settled onto one of the beach loungers, squirting out some sun screen and applying it liberally everywhere. Albino skin was no joke man, ya burn. She was, other wise, dressed entirely for the beach.

Gracelynn could relate on needing more connections. Grace had been known to live in her own little world, and these days she was branching out. She wasn't much of a party-gal, but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy a nice day on the beach. And would you look here, there's.. a picnic of sorts? Hell yeah. She was donning a pair of jean shorts and a camo bikini because she had all the class of a fucking walnut but uh. You know. It was comfy and she'd gotten it on sale? Anyways, food. She really liked food. The alcohol would definitely go ignored, she wans't that type of gal, but burgers and soda? "Hey there," she said, grinning as she watched the woman apply the sunscreen. Grace knew that feeling. The freckles against her white as fuck skin said it all; she would burn up after too long, but she didn't worry about it quite as much. Werewolf healing, ammirite? "Am I crashin' a party if I ask for a burger?"

Ethen had been out of town for the whole; Bramford getting destroyed thing. It was...sort of relieving actually, since he could now focus on his skating and not worry about the other stuff. Well; at least it had been relieving, until his parents found a nice school...in a fucking ocean town. Was there even a rink here? He didn't know but it was close enough to Canada that he could ride the ferry and get to Vancoucer Island at least. To say he was annoyed was an understatement; but what was there to do about it? Nothing; so he did what any emo teenager would and found himself on the beach; idly walking along the surf and repping his country hard with them board shorts. It didn't take long for him to happen upon Alanala and her little feast. "Is this a thing here? People just...set up free food at the beach? Is it poisoned?" seemed like a totally logical series of questions. Especially that last one; because if it was poisoned, would anyone really fess up to that? Eyes flicked momentarily to Gracelynn; a moment needed before recognition dawned. "Small world...I remember you." and her little blonde friend too! Where was she at now?

Valerie Ravn burst onto the scene. She had just gotten off of work and she smelled food in the air. Twice in one week she got free food from random people! She immediately grabbed a plate and began shoveling whatever junk food she could get her grubby hands on. She waved to Alanala. "Hiiii! How have you been?" Friendly crow woman acted like Alanala was an old friend, despite talking to her exactly once before. What'd'ya know, Gracelynn was there too! Val really needed to talk to her more! She bounded up and gave a smile. "Hey, how have you been?"

Samir Kerem hadn't really thought to come to the beach, he was just walking around. He didn't have any real goal anymore, with the fire to both his apartment and up coming night club shutting down any advances in opening it. The fucking tall man just happened to be passing the beach and noticed...someone left out some food? Upon closer inspection, he noticed that he recognized Ally! She seemed to be putting on sunscreen. Samir looked around the beach, spotting a large umbrella and brought it over, planting it in the sand to shade the albino women. He eyed the others, pretty sure he'd never seen any of them around before.

Alanala looked up when she heard people approaching, a smile given to Grace and Ethen as they both asked about the food, brows furrowing together when Ethen asked if it was poisoned. "Wh-What?! No, why would it be poisoned?" She was a bit aghast by that question. Why would she want to poison anyone? "No party, but figured I'd just get drinks, make food for people to come and get as they like, take what you want." Seemed Val was only too happy to follow that notion, as she took a biodegradable plate(because of course Ally got eco-friendly plates and plastic ware), and piled it high with food. Ally couldn't help the grin that spread across her face. "I've um... Been better, thanks for asking... How are you?" Hand moved up to adjust the scarf around her neck, make sure no skin was left uncovered there... Still a sore spot for the young woman. When the sudden shade over-fell her, she looked up and grinned seeing Samir, mouth opening to greet when she paused and... "What are you wearing?" Suddenly, a little white dog, wearing a shark finned life vest crawled his way out from under the beach lounger at the new shade, and plopped himself down into it happily with a huff. "Thanks, I was about to do that... Sunscreen?" She offered him.

Gracelynn gave Ethan a Look. Oh yeah, she remembers you too, buddy. "Well ain't it fancy seein' you here," she said, though despite the playful irritation in her tone she didn't hold any ill will against his entitled ass. "Ignore him, he's jus' unfamiliar with how beach parties go," she encouraged Ally, offering her a friendly smile. Samir was given a quiet, "Thanks," for the umbrella, before eyes settled on.. "Val! Shit girl it's good ta see ya!" That was pack right there, so she didn't hesitate to haul her into a hug while she was trying to collect food. Speaking of.. Gracie needed to do that, but first she was hooking her arm through Ethen's. "C'mon we're gonna teach you how to have a beach party," she said, because fuck it. Maybe the little twit just needed to learn to socialize. She hadn't always been a friendly social flower, after all. "You like burgers?"

Ethen was apaprently the only person with any common sense around here! Val's appearance and immediate shoveling of food was surely going to end poorly for her one day. At least it seemed like she knew Ally; so maybe she knew the food wasn't poisoned? Ethen wasn't sold on it...who was this nice really? It was a good thing he hadn't been around for the other free cookout; he'd only be even more suspicious. Samir's approach had the teen visibly taking a step back...apparently he had stumbled on the lifestyle of the poor and disheveled. He wasn't exactly stuck up...but damn, how much was a pack of t-shirts at Wal-Mart. Really? He was tempted to just; turn around and leave but he'd already made first contact...kinda meant he had social obligations now. "I dunno; why just give out free food to strangers?" he countered the question with his own; eyes turning to the food and than the cooler. Sealed drinks seemed safe at least right? He'd go for one of those; finding a bottle of water and popping the top off before taking a long drawl from it. He was keen to just watch and maybe slink off after a few minutes when he found his arm being hooked through. "Ah...okay?" it seemed her southern charm (or rather her fowardness) had caught him off guard enough to not argue! "I guess? Don't get much a chance to eat burgers." which was about to change right? "So you two..know eachother?" gesturing to Val as he spoke to Grace. He figured if he was going to be dragged into socializing he might as well...make a good act of it?

Valerie Ravn was still grabbing food, but somehow already had a mouthful of chips. Hunger birb. "I'm doing great, especially since I got free food today!" She gave a cheerful smile to Alanala. Someone was in a good mood. Somehow, her face lit up even more when the cutest little dog appeared. "Oh my goodness, who is he?!" She wanted to pet the dog, but her hands were full. She smiled when Grace pulled her in for a hug. "Man we REALLY need to meet up more!" As for Ethen, don't worry. Valerie regularly ate out of dumpsters. Her stomach was equal in strength to a vulture's. Val replied to Ethen, "Know her, of course we know each other, you know, since-" She cut herself off before she said more. "W-we're in the same friend group, ya know?" She gave Grace a nudge. "Hey, speaking of, are we meetin' up this Friday or what?"

Samir Kerem flinched some at two people thanking him, but didn't let that stop him from looking down at his outfit, then back at Ally. His hands got to work signing at her <F-I-G-H-T M-E> He grinned dispite the request for violance. What was wrong with his clothes? He liked this. A head shake was given to the offered sunscreen. Fishing out his phone now, he typed into it and let the robotic-like voice speak. "It's based on a Japanese fashion style. I'm going to grab some food." He would move over to the table and grab a soda, noticing Ethen just after he grabbed something from the cooler too. Wait, shit he's shirtless! At once, the giant of a man's face heated up and he looked away. Why were humans so free with nudity and partial nudity? Stupid weird cultures!

Alanala grinned widely as she would gaze at Grace who would speak to her, chuckling out softly, shaking her head. "Honestly, it's nothing... I'm Alanala by the way, but you can just call me Ally." She would tell Grace and Ethen. When Val gave her reply, and began asking about the little white dog she chuckled out. "Free food is always the best food, he's Winston." She introduced the fluffy little white dog. At his signed hands her brows went up, and she stood up, hands on her hips. "Oh, you wanna go? Let's go! I'll take you on!" Ally, he's a lot taller than you! Not that it mattered... She knew Samir would never hurt her. "I should beat you up anyways, you been avoiding me? You don't text me anymore!" Lightly she slapped his arm before he'd go to get himself some food. She would kneel down to her beach bag and retrieve the portable food and water station for Winston, pouring in some senior kibble before making her way over to the cooler to grab some water.

Gracelynn: Man this kid was bumming her out! "Don't get a chance to-" Ugh, she was going to have to take this one under her wing wasn't she? Wait, no, wings were Val's thing. Anyways. "Well eat one, it's good." She was making up two for herself. Werewolves gotta eat, you know? Mention of their shared 'friend group' had her snorting, because yeah you could call it that, before she popped open a soda and sipped at it, heading back towards Ally. Yes, Ethen, you're going to be social, we're doing this now. "We'll get together, yeah," she assured Val. "I was thinkin' about takin' a run anyways." She'd know what that meant, right? "Thanks for the grub," she offered to Ally. "Favorite thing 'bout this place is all the sand and the sun, even if it ain't always best friends with my skin." At least she wasn't red yet, right? She bit into her burger, humming around the taste. Yeahhh she was here for this party.

Ethen could do little else but nod at Valerie as she explained about group of friends. "I see; not sure how you expected me to know that...but thanks for the information." at least he was trying to not be a total dick right? On the plus side; it seemed Val was far too happy go lucky to really care about his piss poor attitude. Maybe hanging out with more people like her would go a long way with him? His parents seemed hopeful that if he was somewhere not the skate-rink he'd actually make some damned friends anyway. His attention didn't linger too long though, that mechanical voice of the phone catching his attention. Japanese fashion huh? Well; he couldn't help it if they looked like they dressed from a dumpster ok? He at least had the decency to not say that out loud; though a brow was arched as he caught the blush and embarrassement of Samir. "You've never seen a shirtless man before?" his interest was mostly genuine, reaching to the back of his shorts where his tank top had been tucked down into the waistband. For the sake of Samir he'd slip it on over his head and cover chest; turning back to the table at Grace's insistance to eat one. He grabbed up a bun, shoved a burger on it; added lettuce and tomato because vegetables were healthy, a slice of cheese and than figured 'what the hell'. A bite was taken; chewed through as he turned back to Winston and Ally. "Thanks...for the not poisoned food. It's good. Ally right?" manners! He had them somewhere. "Uh..Ethen...that's me." way to fail. At least he got his name out right? Turning back to Grace his eyes rolled at the comment of the sand and sun. "That's the worst part about this place; too much sun." he groused, staring up for a moment at the offending thing in the sky before going back to his burger. Maybe it was just him though; being a frost dragon in human skin sort of meant you preferred the colder weather. Hence Canada....not the beach!

Valerie Ravn watched Samir with curiosity. Was he part of some gang? Oh wait, no he was doing sign language. Val didn't know any sign language, but she did understand text-to-speech. "That doesn't look like a Japanese outfit to me..." Val smiled at the little dog. "Hi Winston! Who's a good boy?" She grinned at Grace. "I'll be there! I need to stretch out my arms, heh!" She rolled her arms in circles. Weird. She placed her plate down on a nearby table and took a bite into her burger. She looked at all of the other partygoers, then looked down. "Oh Ally, can you pass the sunscreen?" Just because Valerie was whole grain to everyone's white bread, doesn't mean she wouldn't burn eventually.

Samir Kerem grinned at Ally when she threatened to beat him up, even pretending to be hurt by her slap. To answer her question, he signed to her, <Busy>. Yup, just busy. Now at the cooler and interacting with Ethen, the elf licked his lip rings and his mouth hung open like he might speak, then shrugged. He tucked his soda under his arm and started to type into his phone. By the time he played the message, the teen had put a shirt on (praise the gods!). "My apologies. I grew up in a culture where nudity was reserved for sex and sex only," the robotic voice spoke. No point in lying. Just don't ask for my details please. He tucked his phone away and started grabbing food, filling his plate with chips and meats. Then he walked over to the the beach chairs and started to break up one of his burgers, then sprinkled it onto Winston's food. Tiny bite sized bits for the little dog!

Alanala grabbed a nice cool water from the water cooler, striding on over to the portable food dish when she saw Samir sprinkling in the crumbled hamburger, a brow raised but she grinned and shook her head. Opening the bottle, she'd pour it into the empty dish when the other three came on over. "Heh, I know what you mean... I prefer the cold myself to be honest, but summer and sun has its charms." She would tell her. "Can't go swimming in the ocean during winter..." She would muse softly as she would look over to Ethen curiously. "Mmmh, Washington coast isn't usually so sunny during the winter... It's really nice up here though." She explained to him softly. Then Val was asking for some sunscreen, she nodded and went back to her bag, offering her up the large bottle of spf 150 on it. "Anyone else need some sunscreen?" Sunburn was no joke. Winston finally got up out of the shade and began wandering his way around to everyone, starting with Grace, paw on ankle, soft huff given.

Gracelynn gave an approving nod to Ethen- there you go dude, you're gettin' it! Offered sunscreen was met with a slight shake of her head, more interested in Mr. Clothing Only over there. Well.. "Yer gonna see a lil' more nudity 'round here with the beach weather breakin'," she pointed out. Better get used to it, dude. This wasn't exactly a pants off dance off, but she was curious as to whether or not he'd be able to handle her dropping her shorts to dip into the water in her full bikini. Denim didn't soak well. With the pup at her feet she crouched down, shoving her soda into the sand so it wouldn't tip and putting her plate on her knees so she coudl eat and pet at the same time. Ah yes, very good day indeed.

Ethen was busy eating his burger, but paying enough attention to catch Val's statement about stretching arms. "Don't you..run with your legs though?" none of this was making sense to him and the clear confusion was in his face. Were they speaking in some kind of weird code that he wasn't in on? Probably...this is what he gets for being anti-social right? At least he had managed enough social graces to put that shirt on before Samir needed to explain. Not that the explanation really explained much, the teen just arching a brow and frowning for a moment. "Interesting; sounds like a boring place." he wasn't adverse to nudity and men's locker rooms had plenty of that going on. Samir was off to go feed Winston though and Ethen wasn't quite ready to do the whole following for conversation thing. He focused on Ally for a moment as she started to go on about cold weather and swimming. "I prefer the water frozen...hard to skate otherwise." poor boy, not everyone was as obsessed with figure skating as he was. Actually, almost nobody was, unless they were a fellow competitor and they weren't hanging around Caribou Coast that was for sure. "Too bad winter is over." his voice was only a bit dry, he was actually trying to be social!

Quenton was. . . kind of feelin' himself. Plenty had occurred for the demon in such short span, that it was difficult to actually fully process. And, despite all of 'that', why the fuck Quent' thought returning to the beach was a good idea -- well, that was beyond even the most astute minds. Some crazy shit had last happened out here that probably made Quenton question his sexuality, so there was a little apprehension on the demon's approach -- his gait was slow, a little too poise. Thankfully, it could be attributed to wanting to save face and keep balance amongst his peers. There was a noticeable pause when the demon noticed someone with their shirt already off; Quent' deciding to keep it not-classy, but garbed -- paired down in his all-too-familiar gym shorts and a regular, logo'd tank. His shoes were already off -- y'know, just in case the demon needed to bail early. Cough. Crackling emerald eyes, so bright they probably startled the youth, caught sight of Alana first, the demon quite obnoxiously -- though respectfully -- inserting himself into her conversation, placing himself directly beside. "Yo! It's my girl, 'Lana, was it? You still makin' out with my dude on the regular? I think he probably enjoyed it, despite how fuckin' awkward." In reality, Quent' was pretty fuckin' awkward -- what a way to introduce oneself to a conversation. Oh well, he was socially bereft -- thanks to literally being coughed up in the Coast with no recollection. "What up, my dudes?" Very 'politely' spoken to anyone else in the vicinity. He was. . . sort of playing matchmaker? . . . Maybe. Quent's motives were a little obscure.

Valerie Ravn slathered sunblock all over her body. She made sure to get the back of her neck; she always forgot it and would end up with a burned neck for days. "Well hey, I'm happy with the the heat and the cold! There's great things about both!" She scrunched her face at Ethen, confused by his question. "Oh, uh...well yeah! But you know like, when you run, you move your arms? Because, like, you don't want to hurt your arms..." Yep, perfect excuse. Definitely not actually a bird, what gave you that idea? She gave a wave to Quent, though she didn't know him.

Samir Kerem gave the little land-shark a pat on the head, positive the little dog would be pleased with some meat on his kibble. Kibble though...that was another topic. He looked up, popping a chip into his mouth and started to type on his phone. "I like warm weather over cold," the phone said. Which was odd, since people did tend to shed more clothing the warmer it got! He titled his head at Ethen's comment about skating, then his phone started to ring of all things. Who the heck calls a person who is likely mute?! He sighed loudly and got up, pocking the ringing item a moment. He balanced his food and waved at Ally for attention (while giving Quent a 'da fuqk u talking about' look for a moment) <I've got to run. Can you tell everyone else I say bye?> He requested.

Alanala looked over to Ethen curiously when he spoke about skating on ice. "I've been skating before... Was nice..." In Bramford, a nanny had taken her on a trip over to the more New York side, to the skating rink... She remembered it fondly, that nanny had been fired after though. "I had issues with nudity a long time ago... I kinda got over it? But not really?" Shrugging her shoulders, as she would take the sunscreen back from Val, only for Quent to come on over and loudly begin asking her if she was still kissing his friend. "Wh-What?! Yes?! Maybe?! NNH-NO?!" She was confused as she looked to Quent, feeling her face turning red, and her stutter coming back as she would try to defend herself. "It was an ah-accident! I mean, nnh-not that I wouldn't do it on puh-purpose, he's vuh-very attractive, but I mean... Oh guh-gosh." Just dig yourself deeper Ally! Squeezing hard on the lotion bottle, the top popped open, spraying thick white goo all over. Then Samir was leaving? Noo, don't leave her to the wolves! She would watch him go. "I duh-don't really know Heh-Henz, not that I wuh-wouldn't want to but... Um... I'm fuh-fairly sure he doesn't wuh-want to relive that?" Self-rejecting before someone else could, nice self-defense.

Gracelynn sighed long and loud, because you can't compliment someone apparently because then they're proving you wrong. Could be worse. "I forgot you were inta that skatin' thing." That had been the argument, hadn't it? Skating versus cheerleading? He'd taken it far too seriously ,and that was just fine. At least he had passion! Quent got her attention, snickering at his commentary. Well then. This was a party after all. "You accident'ly kissed someone?" she asked with a quirk of her brow. "Well god damn good for you." She was on a dry spell here but she didn't mind it; her last relationship had been a bit of a fucking fiasco and she wasn't exactly looking to go ruining more friendships with stupid kisses, thank you very much. She relinquished her petting to finish off her food, standing up and discarding the plate in the nearest spot she could without you know.. littering. If only Ally knew there were literal wolves here. "So we swimmin' or what?"

Ohanna had been on a jog through out the island town, when she came across the beach, a small gathering of people seemed to congregate there. Curiosity exploded within her. Deciding to take a chance and actually wanting to meet people other than those whom she met when she first got here. The petite woman made her way down the sandy slope, a breeze wafted up from the ocean, ruffling her short cropped platinum blonde hair. Goosebumps seemed to little her caramel colored arms as she for sure wore the wrong attire for being down at the beach. As she approached the group, they were deep in conversation, and the part that she happened to stumble in on was of the woman saying that she had 'a bit of a nudity problem' WHOOOOOA what did she come into. Cheeks flared red as the woman certainly was not prepared for a topic like this.

Ethen had his shirt off because it was the beach and that was normal...not because he wanted to make anyone question their sexuality! He wasn't even aware of the beach blowjob that had happened the last time Quent had decided to come down to the sands. His gaywakening crisis would not be resolved today, sorry friend. The introduction earned a loft of the brow; plate with burger set down as he reached for nearly forgotten water and drowned the taste of the burger off of tongue. "I'm not your dude." he spoke pointedly, before gesturing to Grace and Val. "And they aren't even dudes at all." clearly the turn of phrase was lost on the teen. Thankfully for everyone involved, there was food to distract them and he was back to eating his burger. At least until Val tried to explain to him about running with arms. "Um...if you say so." he was trying hard to not be a social idiot. At least this time there wasn't a blonde vampire poking at him and goading him into anger. Gracelynn wasn't so bad actually, though he was never going to be on her level of social graces. (Hah..graces...). The phone ringing saved him from his own thoughts, though before he could ask why the hell anyone was calling someone who couldn't talk; the tall strange man was already off. Oh well, maybe they'd cross paths again? Ally's mention of ice skating had him lighting up; nothing like the faint flicker of talking about something he loved to get his attention! "Yeah? I skate professionally so..quite a fan myself." he at least was only lowkey bragging this time! He was improving alright? Too bad his chance to further conversation was ruined by queistions of making out and Ally getting flustered enough to start stuttering. Oh boy...this was...this was not his area of expertise. He just...stayed out of it for now; though his burger was nearly done and he wasn't feeling another. Maybe he would just leave soon? Or maybe he'd take a dip in the water since Samir was gone and he could now shirk his shirt once more. "Sure; swimming is better than staying in the sun." and with that he'd toss his tank to the side and cross the distance to the water easily enough. He had thought of pulling Grace with him, but he was still 100% socially awkward and that seemed a little too familiar.

Lefu was sporting a red sundres with hair pulled high into a pony tail. Seemed like the beach was the place to be, gaze drifting over the sea of faces. Ally was noted and even Quent. She squinted just a bit and wondered if that was Ray...even if she didn't know the man's name. She glanced toward her phone before slipping it into her purse and moved toward the water's edge, slipping off her sandals for the simple pleasure of digging her toes into the sand.

Quenton basically, just a lil' bit, enjoyed Lana's writhing -- I mean, yea' Quent' had good looking friends, okay? And dude could be a fuckin' wingman when his homie wasn't around, okay? "Chill," spoken very casually, very matter-of-fact (as if anything Quent' did was based off of fact and not impulse). His right hand would carefully outstretch, and would be gently placed on Lana's shoulder if she accepted his reassurance and didn't pull away. "The dude's got a nice ass, good personality, y'know," man, Quent' was a real fucking ham for this dude -- and he didn't seem to care about others' opinions on this matter. Except, maybe, Lana's. Valerie was given a once-over, a nod accepting her greeting, and a wink (without actual meaning). Gracelynn was given some kind of low-key 'hallelujah' type look when she commended Lana. "That's what I'm sayin', dude!" Quent' bellowed with pure enthusiam. "She actin' like it's some shameful shit. You liked it, huh, Lana?" When Ethen spoke, Quent's face was blank. "How you gonna' tell me my definition of 'dude'? Do I look like I read Websters? Dude is everybody, my dude." Quenton had never picked up a dictionary -- or a book, because let's be realistic here. He'd only 'existed' a couple of weeks -- bless. Where Ethen was socially awkward in the sense of distance, Quent' was socially awkward in the sense of proximity. Damn, what an oxymoron. If the dude had meant any harm, it was lost on Quent'. Completely. Before Quenton was making his way to the water -- to swim, or whatever -- Ohanna was duly noted. "Damn, you cold and half of us are fixin' to swim?" Just. . . kind of blunt. Not really any purpose, just painfully stating the obvious.

Valerie Ravn was faced with a dilemna. She wanted to go into the water, but she didn't have any swimwear on her! Truly a struggle. As she stuffed her face with food, she realized that, actually, it was probably better to just stay on land and chow down. So she did that. She fixed herself another burger. She offered a sympathetic look to Ally, but had no idea what was so embarrassing, because she was only sort of paying attention. Something about kisses? You know what's better than kisses? Food. She yelled her support at Quent. "Yeah, dude!"

Ohanna had needed something to preoccupy her mind, and seeing along with smelling the food made her stomach grumble. Rather than be bold and grab a plate, she just sat back in the crowd. It was a bit before one of her phobias started to kick in, the crowd, even small as it was, was starting to get to her. She felt a tightness in her chest, panic was in her eyes as they darted for an opening. Seeing it, she quickly moved along the outskirts of the crowd and went towards the water. Kicking off her sneakers and socks, the woman went barefoot into the lapping surf the chill of the water, seemed to help calm her nerves. Closing her eyes, she took several slow deep breaths of the salty sea air in. Once she felt the tightness of her chest loosen, her eyes opened back up and looking to her right she saw the woman in the red sundress. She seemed friendly, why not introduce herself. "Hello there, were you invited or just randomly show up like I did?" she asked, her voice was soft and airy, almost a whisper. It would have been easily lost of she hadn't came down to sit in the sand as well. Pale yellow eyes moved from the red dressed woman to the crowd that mentioned swimming. Oh that sounded like fun. Good exercise too, seeing how she hadn't finished her usual workout routine. Though she wanted to join then, she waited till they were actually in the water before she jumped in too.[e]

Alanala didn't mind being called dude, it was a gender neutral term as far as she was aware... At Quents further questioning she felt her heart doing skip rope in her damn chest, she didn't know if her face could get any redder. "I-I... Yuh-yes?" Swallowing hard she would look away shyly. "I just... I duh-don't have much... Experience in that area..." Putting down the bottle of sunscreen she would breath in deeply and exhale, trying to get her speech back to normal. "...Mmh-maybe you could get me a good in with heh-him?" She would ask him shyly before Grace was asking about swimming. "Oh! Yeah... Who wants to play chicken?! I'm in!" Untying the wrap from around her waist, she'd kick off her sandals and set her hat aside, tying up her hair in a black elastic band. Briefly, she knelt down and pulled a few more things, deflated pool toys, and a portable electric inflater from her bag. "If anyone wants luh-like a floaty or something..?" Offered up kindly before she would rush for the nice cool refreshing water.

Lefu listened the conversations going on about her, zoning out for a moment as she quietly watched Quent making a full of himself and then some. Her attention easily captured by Ohanna, at least she wouldn't get caught staring at the man. Ally's stammering hadn't been missed and there was a moment she wanted to offer the girl Henz's number but she was almost certain the shy girl had it. "He likes books." She offered absently, amber gaze sweeping over the woman who joined her. "No, cher. I wasn't invited. Just passing through." She honestly hated the ocean...something about deep waters and drowning.

Gracelynn laughed a little, because Ally was kind of adorable trying to wander bashfully through the discussion. At Quent's response to Ethen, she gave a helpless little shrug. "I'm tryn'a teach him t'people," she explained, so that Ethen wouldn't hear but Quent would. "He's gettin' there, don't worry." She hoped he was, or he was gonna be damn miserable around here wasn't he? It wasn't until chicken was brought up that the red head's eyes widened, and the grin on her face was absolutely feral. Oh. Yes. Oh fuck yes. "Who'm I facin' off with?" She had a competitive streak a mile wide, and she- oh shit this was perfect. "Ethen! Hey! C'mere, we're playin' a game!" she shouted, because hello this was definitely the worst idea in the world and she was running with it. "Lemme up on your shoulders, twiggy. Ya'll skaters can lift right? Or you wanna get on mine?"

Ethen hadn't even noticed Lefu's appearance because she did absolutely nothing to draw attention. Oh well, he was caught up with Quent anyway. Something about the definition of dudes? "You look like you don't even know what a websters is." he snorted, eyes rolling. So much for being nice! It was good while it had lasted...and it had lasted a lot longer than last time so props right? It seemed the party was moving to the water though and he was...sort of alright with that? His eyes followed Quent for a moment before catching Ally's words. Chicken? He had no idea how to play that in the water; but he was here trying to ... be social and all that. "Chicken?" he finally voiced his confusion; looking to Gracelynn. "What is chicken?" he came up close to her to lower his voice. He didn't want to look like an idiot infront of everyone after all! "Wait...what?" none of what she had just said explained anything but the attack to his skating manhood had him bristling. He was lithely built; but he could hoist her on his shoulders! At least...he would attempt to. "Tsch, I can hold you. I have no idea why; but let's do it." and with that he'd lower himself down enough so that she could hook legs onto his shoulders. Standing; hands gripped at her shins to keep her balanced as he gained his footing. It took a few steps but he'd make his way into the water until he was waist deep; staring at both Quent and Ally. "I still have no idea about chicken; but shouldn't you..." he paused, pointing to Ally. "Get on his shoulders?" indicating Quen. "And than..." he trailed off. And than what? He was still so fucking lost but hey! He was playing so you know...progress. Good job Grace, you can teach him!

Quenton -- Valerie was the first individual who'd siphoned Quent's attention -- her very Intense Understanding of dude filled Quenton with a foreign sense of pride that would brighten his features into a rather glorious, beaming smile. Quent' had nice teeth -- his smile was worth it. The demon was a brazen, touchy type -- and if Val was close enough, he'd offer a tap to her shoulder, or a first bump -- whichever happened first. "You ain't swimmin'?" I mean, the gal' was pretty damn invested in the burgers. He'd have to get down with that shit after he swam -- because, safety. Gracelynn's words were fully absorbed, in perfect time for Ethen to clarify that his 'lessons' were still . . . in progress. "Shit, you got hella' work to do." But unable to withstand the very tempting position of retaliation, he'd look at Ethen. . . again. Blank. "At least I know what chicken is, dude." He actually didn't, but he was on his way to the water -- soo. . . he could play it off by ear. Jo' and Anna's conversation was going too swimingly for Quent', which was unfortunate -- for both of them -- because with the sheer power of a barabarian (or something) Quent' turned on his heel. "Aye, I got your money." As he literally scooped the both right off the fuckin' ground -- because he really didn't care about anyone's well-being. Shit was fine, right? With both of them under either arm; with that. . . Demonic Strength. . . he ran towards the water. They were all going in. "Lana, bring yo' ass. Chicken, my dudes!" Quent' was a little nervous about how this would play out -- Grace' looked like she knew exactly how to play and she was ready to throw down. If everyone came out of the water without a heart attack, maybe shit would . . . actually go swimmingly.

Valerie Ravn gave Jo a nod. "Hi, I'm Valerie! And you are?" Like Jo, the ocean gave Val a bad feeling. She didn't want to go for a swim. "Eh, I get it. I've had a long day at work and I'm tired. Better to stay on land." She sat back, instead deciding to just sit and enjoy the sun and sand. She understood the philosophy of dude-ism and totally fist-bumped Quenton. Val gave Winston a little pat and breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of the ocean.

Ohanna heard that the group was going to play some chicken in the water. That was a hard pass for Anna as she couldn't stand being touched. Tearing her gaze from the group as they entered the water, she looked back to Lefu with a warm smile. Soft voice, she asked, "Are you originally from around here?" as she waited for an reply, she smacked her own forehead, "Oh goodness, I am terrible. Please forgive my rudeness, I am Anna." she said as she went to put out a hand, but then withdrew it. "I...I would shake your hand, but I have this no touchy thing." speaking of no touchy, the woman was taken off guard as the brute strength of Quent had grabbed up her and Lefu in one fell swoop. Anna's brain was going into hyper drive as it was trying to figure out what was going on. Once it was registered that she was being carried, the tightness in her chest flared up, quick panicked breaths came from her as she began to flail and squirm, desperately trying to get out of his grasp. Oh the terror, the horror! The poor woman, this was the last thing she needed in her life. Small fists beat against the man's arms as she was desperate to get out of this, so much so that even as she tried to yell 'stop' and 'let go' was only mouthed, no sound came from her.

Alanala was just running in leaps and bounds into the water when she heard the remark from Jo, which she somehow knew was addressed to her, this made her pause briefly, brows going up. "Wh-what? Oh!" She would have to remember that. "...Do you know what his fuh-favorite genre is?" When Ethen would point to her and motion to get on Quents shoulders, she turned towards him only to see him carrying the poor girl from earlier, who was trying to get him to let her go. "Quent! Luh-let her go!" She would rush over to gently touch his arm, trying to get him to drop Ohanna. "Go get a drink from the cooler..." She'd tell her softly before glancing at Quent. "...Well um... Bend over!" So she could get on his shoulders, she wasn't exactly tall. "Okay, so the way you play chicken is you have to knock the other person off, understood?" She would ask with a grin, hands placed delicately ontop of Quents head, once Grace came close enough, she'd reach out to grab the other womans hands. "Ready? Go!" Winston appreciated the petting from Val, but sensing the fun was moving to the water, ran with a very odd senior speed, right for the water, then with a jump and a leap, was in the water too! Swimming towards anyone not involved in the chicken game, cause water pets!

Lefu caught the nod from Val and offered one in turn with a smile. Though she turned her attention back to Anna as she spoke. "Josette, it is a pleasure and it is no issue. I am not from here...Haiti though I grew up in the bayous of Louisiana." She stated quietly though as she was about to suggest them moving away from the water's edge she found herself (along with Anna) being scooped up. She could get over being scooped up into a well muscled arm but the act of going toward the ocean had some negative reactions. A palm would press against the demon's chest before she pulled back and awkwardly attempted to punch up while struggling to slam a knee into his back. "Put us down! No! No!" She protested and jerked violently, apparently it not really registering she could have just bewitched him into place. The ocean was too deep.

Gracelynn hoisted herself onto those twinky shoulders, eyeing Quenton as Ally took up her perch. "Alright, so we're gonna.. fucking try to shove her over. Mostly me. You just hold on tight and try to stay upright. Into the ocean we go," she told Ethen, and once they were ready to go? She grabbed ahold of those hands and did her best not to let the werewolf strength show up. That was.. you know, the opposite of what she needed to do. She could be competitive all she wanted, but she didn't need to be a cheating jerk about it! Still.. even without putting the extra oomph behind it, she was a strong gal. Ally wasn't putting her down without a real fight, and the struggle was real.. Until she lost her balance on those shoulders and went flipping back with a yelp. Damn! Laugh bubbled out of her, but she'd hold her breath if she slipped off all the way or if Ethen went down with her.

Ethen was too busy trying to sort out this whole; hoisting Grace onto his shoulders thing to notice Quent literally grabbing Ohanna and Lefu. He wasn't sure if they were going to be yeeted into the ocean or not; but he managed to get Grace up on his shoulders in time to catch Quent's words. "Good for you..." he was only half-sarcastic as he steadied his grip. He still hadn't a clue what chicken was and hopefully someone would explain it to him before Quenton came charging at him. Oh Ally was explaining and apparently it was only going to be them duking it out atop shoulders? Alright cool he could handle this right? Right! He planted his feet shoulder widtch apart and found as best a footing as he could in the sand underneath the water. Okay...time to do this! Grace and Ally were duking it out above him; but he really wasn't built to hold a wriggling fighting person on his shoulders. As soon as Ally started to get the upper hand and Grace lost balance; well it was over for As soon as Ally started to get the upper hand and Grace lost balance; well it was over for them. Grace fell backward; her laughter almost immediately drowned out by the rushing of the water as he fell backward into it. The swell came up and pushed him over again, barely having time to catch breath before the water was washing over him again and knocking him over. His second attempt to get up was more successful; but he was still coughing out water and breathing in the salt water. Ugh...why had he agreed to this? "Congrats?" he was supposed to say that right. Oh and probably..check on Grace. Which he would; offering her a hand up if she needed it; though he was sure she could handle herself. She just, gave off that vibe.

Quenton was in the process of . . . having a good time -- well, Quent' thought so, anyway. Fluttershy was collected under his left arm, cooing something under her breath -- whilst his right side harbored Jo'. Both women were shouting, kicking, punching -- meanwhile, Quent' was entirely oblivious, merrily trekking along as if nothing else mattered. These fuckers were about to swim. . . Kind of? Quenton offered a rather. . . slow blink at the next chain of events that occurred; Jo' and Anna spared for the sake of. . . a game of chicken. The demon barely had enough time to deposit the two women just at the water's edge before Lana was climbing up his back like a fuckin' mountain goat. Henz had his work cut out for him -- that woman was agile, and quick. Quent' was chucked into one of those 'go with the flow' type moments, where he just gathered the woman's legs in the cup of either arm, turned to quickly mouth to Jo; and Anna, 'ya'll got fuckin' lucky' and move on to his his game of chicken which he was entirely confused about. Damn, this Ethen kid was a bitch! "Loosin' up, kid, damn," in the midst of their chicken game -- Quent' dodging and weaving like one of those stupid moles in. . . what was that shit? Whack-a-mole. Sure, whatever. Finally, despite Grace's 'i can actually handle myself' attitude, she was struck down by the fierce mountain goat atop Quenton's shoulders. Much to Quenton's absolute delight, Ethen went rolling through the waves like a bouy lost at sea. It was glorious. The demon peered over his shoulder. "Nicely done, Lana!" When Ethen straightened, Quent' casually cooed, "Don't need Websters to swim, bitch!" It was in good fun, of course. . . Not that Ethen knew what that was. Except skating -- maybe that shit.
Valerie Ravn was lucky. In the rush to play chicken, the one bird among them all avoided the game. She cheered on the participants. "Yeah, Grace! You get them-oh." Well so much for that. An absolute tragedy was unfolding before Val's eyes. She wondered if anyone needed her help...but it seemed like everything was okay. Besides, if she got close to the water, she might be dragged into the fight. Valerie didn't even know how to swim.

Lefu seemed to relax the moment she touched the sand, forgetting to respond to the question of Henz's favorite genre. Maybe the demon and voodoo queen would be in on playing match maker for the Henz and Lana. It would be something to consider later as she picked herself up and grabbed Anna's arm to the point of standing but that would be it. She understood the no touch rule and seemed content to move away from the water's edge. Note taken to avoid the demon while at the beach at all costs. She could watch from the safety of somewhere far away, maybe she would grab her shoes and start walking away from the gathering. She didn't want to drown.

Ohanna was dropped at the edge of the water, oh thank the heavens above. The was no more touching, she was free. Oh yes she was free. Though her mind was still in panic mode. It took ever effort under her belt to calm herself down. Her body was broken out in a cold sweat as she took several deep, salty aired breaths before the tightness in her chest subsided. Once she felt she was ready, she picked herself up, walked towards her shoes, grabbed them and joined Jo far from the water as possible. Sitting her ass in the warmth of the sand, her back to the water. Anna brought her knees up to her chest and just sat there. Trying to zen herself back to what she was like before the touching.

Alanala had certainly met a match in Grace, considering she didn't really know what she was doing... But she came out the victor! Arms went up as she would grin widely. "Yeah we won!" She cried out loudly, leaning down to hug Quent's head as best as she could. "Hey, Grace, you on my shoulders and go up against Ethen?" Ally wasn't strong enough to carry Quent, Ethen was twinky enough, and she didn't doubt the other womans ability, but battle of the sexes you know? She would vault herself off of Quents head, moving over towards Grace to offer her a place on her shoulders. Ally knew she was strong enough at the very least to carry the woman. "This is great, I haven't had this much fun in ages!" Hopefully she could have a lot more fun in the coming days too! Winston would swim laps around the fallen two-some before he would swim his way out of the water and go bolting over to Jo and Anna, shaking off before plopping himself between them, panting and huffing happily for pets.

Gracelynn laughed at Ethen, accepting his help and patting him on the back as he coughed. "There ya go, now we're havin' fun," she told him, hoping that the encouragement would keep him from getting too huffy. "Ya gotta hang out with me more; pretty soon funs gonna be all ya know how t'do." Ally's offer to go again was met with hesitation.. but the idea of throwing Ethen off was definitely a plus. "C'mon, Ethen, hop up. Loser buys smoothies." She was planning on heading out soon; she did have other things to do, but one more round wouldn't kill her right? Might kill Ethen, but at least he'd have Quent to help stabilize him. Or mayyybe she would be a total dick and go full werewolf? Hard to guess. She'd hop up on Ally's shoulders if Ethen and Quent agreed.

Ethen didn't know why he needed to loosen up, but maybe he should've taken the advice as he went tumbling to the water. The insult about websters and swimming had him turning to Quent and finally coughing up the las tbit of salt water from his chest. "I don't think you understand the meaning of swimming or bitch." after all, you couldn't swim in shallow water and a bitch was what? A female dog? It was about time for him to get on up out of here. Almost drowning in the swell of the ocean was enough for him for one day...plus it was starting to get late and he probably should get back to his apartment. Oooorrrrr....not. Ally's words had him looking to Quent and than Grace. "Fun...right..." he was incredibly skeptical about that but none the less rolled shoulders before heading over to Quenton. "It's kind of personal now...a smoothie is on the line." he wasn't sure if the man would even agree; but if he did he'd get on shoulders and stretch. Once he was brought up close enough to grapple with Grace he would grip at her hands and try to push her over. Which he would give a damn good effort to; but lets face it...he was not built to wrestle! He was built to dance on the ice and jump...which meant he didn't have a ton of bulky muscle. None the less he'd give it a good effort, but it would become clear relatively quickly that he was the one losing this battle. <<

Quenton hadn't expected to be anyone's ride this evening -- but who fuckin' cared? Ethen had almost died once (that's how Quent' saw it, anyway), so why not make that twice? When Lana's suggestion was heard, Quenton was already scooping the rather morose dude up -- aiding him wherever he needed to assume the position. It didn't stop Quent' from chirping something along the lines of, "I don't really know how I feel about balls this close to my face, etc" -- but it wouldn't have taken much time for the demon to ready himself and his passenger. Wow, so this kid did like something -- deciding it best to participate for the sake of a smoothie. Quent' did his best bob-and-weave, but he really didn't trust twinkie with a victory. It didn't matter, though -- the demon was enjoying himself, all the same. Maybe Ethen would manage to knock Grace off; who knew?

Valerie Ravn clapped and cheered on Grace and Ally! "Wewwww! Heck yeah, you can do it!" Now she was jumping up and down from the sidelines. Look, they've gained a cheerleader!

Lefu would cheer on Quent from her vantage point because well why not? She made certain he heard her and even possibly looked over to see her waving at him. Why? Because she was leaving. The dog was regarded and she quietly distanced herself from the canine before wandering off down the street. She had books to read and sleep she need to catch up on. She didn't think to even say goodbye to Anna but had a feeling she would see the snow-capped beauty again at some point. She didn't even say bye to Val, the woman was cheering on the game and it was nice that everyone was having fun.

Ohanna managed to regain her compusre to see the end of the chicken fight. Though she didn't know who was ahead or what the score was, all that she saw was one team falling into the water, where the other was the victor. She smiled, though weakly as it was. With a sigh, she picked up her shoes and decided to walk home barfooted. It had been one long and exausting day for her. Without looking back, she rose a hand in the air as a backwards goodbye.

Alanala chuckled out when Grace managed to pull off the win, grinning widely she would let the woman down off of her shoulders after it was all over. "Nice! You should give me your number, we can hang out more often." She would tell Grace, stepping from the water she went to the lounge chair, beginning to dry herself off as she would look to Ethen and Quent. "Hey Quent, give me your number too!" She called to him. Once she was sufficiently dried off she felt, she knelt down, getting out a smaller towel from her bag and whistled to Winston, who came sprinting over, allowing Ally to unclip his life jacket, and then proceeding to get a dry down with the towel. She had had a lot of fun that day... "Whatever food is left over, you guys can take home." She'd tell them with a smile, tying the wrap back around her waist and sandals slipped back on, followed by her hat.

Gracelynn wanted that fucking smoothie; mostly because she was counting every penny and she might have been overzealous to make the bet. Oh well. Luckily, she sent Ethen down, down, down, and she reached down to high five Ally before doing a flip off of her shoulders and into the water. Make fun of cheerleaders again Ethen! She helped the boy up, grinning at him. "Nice moves, yo ualmost had me," she said. "Thanks for the food Ally! Nice to meet you.. dude?" She hadn't caught Quent's name, but you know. It worked. "See ya round. C'mon, party animal, we gota smoothie's t'find."

Ethen didn't catch the comment about balls near the face that Quent made. The figure skater was gayer than they came, but its not like he was trying to rub them on his cheek or something! It was probably good he didn't have that distraction either, since he was entering a losing battle as it was. The cheers from Val didn't help his cause any; apparently everyone was wanting him to lose! He was...not a good loser; so when Grace finally got him to lose balance he attempted to pull her forward even as he fell back. He'd lose grip on her hands though, sucking in a deep breath and crashing into the water more prepared than last time. It took only a few seconds to surface before he was running a hand through his hair and shaking head to send loose droplets everywhere. Grace's hand to help him up was taken and he murmered a quick thanks. The exchange of numbers didn't involve him, given he wasn't asked for his; so he'd just make his way back to where his tanktop was and tuck it back into his boardshorts. "Smoothies, sure." he agreed; making his way up to the boardwalk to find somewhere that was still selling them this time of night!

Valerie Ravn gathered up all the food she could stuff in her purse and her pockets. She ran up to Grace, smiling and offering a high five. "Hey, I want smoothies too! I'll help pay, come on!" She skipped along the boardwalk, tagging along after Ethen and Grace. She didn't do anything, but hey, like Grace said, cheerleader empowerment!