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Post by Justin Michael Case on Jun 26, 2010 13:15:07 GMT -4
Sun. Dance. Ocean. Beach. Summer.
These five words occupied Justin's mind as he strolled down the boardwalk. A breeze drifted past, twirling around him fluidly, teasing his hair, rustling the sea grass to either side of him. It was a beautiful morning; the sun was just beginning to show its face, adding a touch of warmth to the cool night air. There was not a cloud in the sky; it would be a lovely beach day. Justin wore nothing but his favourite pale yellow swim trunks, and a white beach towel folded over one shoulder. In his free hand, he held--of course-- his white iPod, fully charged and ready to go.
He stepped onto the white beach sand, not yet hot enough to burn his bare feet. As far as he could see, he was the only person on the beach at the moment-- well, it was only 6:12 A.M. Obviously, there weren't many other crazy morning people on the island that arrived at the beach before dawn. But that suited him just fine, it just meant he had more room. Justin had a sort of routine that he went through, every single morning, ever since he was eleven. It had always helped to set his mind off to an easy, calm start after a night of his father's abuse, helped him forget all the screaming and the fear and the anger that had taken up residence when his father lost his job. When Justin woke up each morning, he went straight to the shower, to start each new day fresh and clean. He would throw on a pair of sweats, and head out wherever he saw fit, to wake up his muscles.
When his feet felt a place in the sand that was firm enough, he set down his iPod, and turned it up as loud as it would go. The first song on his playlist was a soft, soothing song, almost with a Chinese sort of tone to it. This was his yoga song; he set himself right into all the poses he had memorized, eyes closed. This was how he got himself started, his form of stretching really. He had a stretch for every single muscle in his body, and took care to go through each of these as the peaceful music continued.
As the song ended, and a much faster, more addictive beat set in, Justin found that he had twisted himself into an extreme backbend, with his arms on the ground between his feet. He smiled at himself, and when a full count of eight had passed in the song, he kicked his feet up, and pressed himself into a handstand. He walked on his hands to the beat, and then rolled out, sending himself into elaborate leaps, making up his own bizarre choreography to the new song. He danced with every technically correct form he had ever known, and put all his power into it, always. Even in public, with people watching, Justin would push himself to dance as though he were dancing for his life. Sometimes, a crowd even gathered to watch him, and sometimes they even left money for him. But he never spent a dime of it; any money Justin made was sent back home to his mother. She needed it more than he did.
But for now, with his music echoing across the beach, with the soft hints of daylight beginning to set in, Justin danced for no one but himself, no audience, no one to judge him, just the ocean and the sand and him. And he loved those moments, more than anything in the world.
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Post by Brianna Caprice on Jun 27, 2010 12:29:09 GMT -4
(It's just you and me dancing in this dream)"whatever you do, don't wake me up" [/color] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/b][/center][/font]
She sat there cross-legged, fiddling with the frayed edge of her caftan with her fingers on sort of a rocky outcropping. Bree looked out over the ocean, eyes narrow slits to block the sunlight from reaching them. She watched as sea glistened majestically beneath the dancing warm rays.
Brianna didn't know exactly what anybody would doing at the beach at such an early hour, but she knew that she came to relax. School had her so worn out, and what better way to relieve the stress than the beach? It must have been 6:15 by now, yet she was still in the same spot doing precisely the same thing for the past twenty minutes. Nothing. Nothing but listen to the water splash against the rocks and feel the spray drizzle onto her skin, or taste the tangy briny scent that lingered through the air and stung the inside of her nose.
Brianna leaned back on her elbows and extended her legs out in front of her, one crossed over the other. She let her head hang back and allowed her senses to take over her mind. As loud and outgoing as she was, she couldn't help but admit that the stillness of it all was actually kind of nice. But of course, nothing would have been able to beat, or be as fun as her friends gathering down for a little beach party.
Still, the day was gorgeous. The cerulean sky had not one cloud, and the water was a brilliant turquoise green. Each and every tiny grain of sand shimmered like a diamond, and the boardwalk, the seagulls perched in palm trees overhanging the sand dunes, and the sea-foam rolling onto the shore made up a beautiful scene. The sun was almost grinning down at her, and she didn't hesitate to give a bright smile back.
It made her recall her first visit to the beach. Brianna was only a little girl, and the memory was distant, but still there, faded but somehow there. Her paranoid mother holding her tiny hand tightly as she brought her into the deep blue body of water. Bree remembered watching intently as her mommy pointed out all the pretty shells and colorful fish that swam by the rocks and coral.
It all reminded her of home, life back in sunny Fort Lauderdale, Florida. A pang of homesickness struck her when she thought of her old life. Just her and her mother. It's all she wanted, but Brianna knew that dream was far, far, away.
Then a light breeze ruffled her hair and Brianna snapped out of the trance. She turned her head in the other direction to keep the dark brown locks from flying into her face, when a figure caught her eye. She pulled off her aviator sunglasses to see a familiar physique dancing to the rhythm of an upbeat tune not far down the beach. Thank God, Brianna thought in relief. So there was life on this planet. She almost immediately recognized the boy as Justin, a classmate of hers and a fellow dance major-ist. He was just as outgoing and friendly as she was, so it wasn't very surprising that they got along pretty well.
Bree slipped back on her sunglasses, gathered her beach bag and sandals, and cautiously made her way down the pebbly slope. Of course she wasn't going to pass up an opportunity to socialize.
"Hey, Justin!" Bree shouted, though unsure if she should have. She wouldn't want to disrupt his routine, but oh well, it was too late now. Instead, she just gave that warm, amiable smile.
TEMPLATE CREDIT: xoxphantasmic of Blank Pages WORD COUNT: a horrid 621, poor, poor muse SETTING: beluga beach OUTFIT: outfit POST STATUS: complete ADDITIONAL NOTES: i'm so sorry it's this short and this crappy. my posts aren't usually as choppy and blegh as this.
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Post by Justin Michael Case on Jun 27, 2010 19:31:58 GMT -4
As the day began to grow brighter, a smile lit up Justin's peaceful face. He liked how the sun felt on his skin; like a soft layer of warmth creeping up his body, getting warmer as the sun got higher in the sky. He drank in the warmth, letting it fill him with new energy, and allowing him to dance longer. And when the sun got hot enough to make him sweat, all the better. If he got too overheated, he could just dance down to the waterline and let the waves carry him out to sea, and then he could ride the currents, rushing right back to shore. But as his song came to an end, he slowed down his movements, and then froze in a handstand, with his legs bent over lazily.
A light, happy voice pierced the air, right before the next song started. Surprised, Justin tucked his head between his arms and looked up to find a fellow dance major standing a few feet away. A wide grin lit up Justin's face, and he bent his elbows, and then pushed off, leaning forward and landing on his feet.
"Well if it isn't my favourite feline," Justin greeted her in his raspy voice, walking toward her with a bounce in his step. The girl's name was Brianna Caprice; she was a panther. Bree was the first friend Justin made when he arrived at Shifter Academy, and after three years she was still there. She was a very pretty girl, Justin thought, and to him, it was a wonder none of the straight guys had gone for her yet. Every little thing about her was dark-toned, and a black panther fit her very well as an animal shift. She had sharp, jet black eyes and curls that made Justin jealous. Bree always had a sweet, cute little smile on her face, and it just made her look so adorable, one couldn't help but smile back. His eyes then moved to her outfit, and he instantly recognized brands and quality, smirking at the knowledge of how expensive all of her clothing was. Justin wished he had such an extravagant designer wardrobe as hers, really he did; but all his money went to his family. That was just how he was, he always gave away everything he had, and it worked out well that way, because honestly, Justin was content with the bare minimum. All that mattered to him was dancing. He had decided a long time ago that he wouldn't worry about material possessions until he could literally throw out money and still have some to spare.
Justin took Bree's hand, and twirled in circles around her, stepping right back into the beat of the new song. "So Miss Caprice, what brings you to the beach so early in the morning? I thought I was the only one, I wasn't aware there was a perfectly good dancing partner just sitting around, now make yourself useful!" He chuckled lightly, twisting up into the air and landing a few feet away, with his arm stretched out toward her, waiting.
This was another sort of routine for Justin's mornings; if Brianna showed up, he would convince her into dancing with him, which was even more fun than dancing alone, he found. After a while, the two of them would always start to get really into the song, and then Justin would completely turn it around and do something goofy enough to mess up the entire thing and have both of them laying in the sand in hysterics, laughing. And that was just how he liked it-- seriousness did not suit him and never would, and the more he could joke around and have fun, the happier he was. And it was just a miracle to him that he had found a best friend who would be more than happy to do the same, any day, any time, anywhere. wordcount 656 comments Keep in mind .. I just typed up a sixteen paragraph, 1053-word history for my newest character ... I'm loopy x.x hahaha [/size]
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Post by Brianna Caprice on Jun 28, 2010 12:07:11 GMT -4
(It's just you and me dancing in this dream)"whatever you do, don't wake me up" [/color] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/b][/center][/font]
The sun seemed to drift higher in the sky, casting, for anyone else, an almost unbearable heat. Though Bree enjoyed the intense temperatures and stickiness of it all, embracing the warmth as it kissed her already beautifully tanned skin. Brianna couldn't imagine an entire day without the sun. How dull, and unhappy it would be to wake up with no light, just a dreary sky swallowed up by a cloudy fog.
Her focus returned to Justin, who was now in a slack handstand, legs hanging relaxed over himself. A smile of delight lit up on her face once Justin realized with a surprised expression that it was her, Brianna, standing only but a few feet away. She watched as he swiftly propelled himself into the air and landed back gracefully on his feet.
"Well if it isn't my favourite feline," said Justin in his typical hoarse voice. Brianna laughed at his liveliness, the whole energetic, glowing atmosphere that he carried around him. Justin was such a happy, positive person that it was hard to believe he had a very unpleasant past. They'd been friends- no, more like best friends since they both arrived at Shifter Academy, and since then, well you could learn a lot about a person.
But troubled history included, Justy was still the same carefree, tenderhearted friend she'd known since the beginning. Even Brianna had her own past, although not nearly as bad as how Justin had it. Having been raised with barely any money, without a father entirely. It was tough on the little girl who had grown up too fast. And then just recently she and her mother were contacted by her father, who was "sorry" that he left and thought that sending wads of cash would make it all better. She recalled an old expression her mother used to say whenever Bree and her friends had gotten into trouble, "sorry doesn't pay the bills", and even if the money that was being sent by her father was paying the bills, she still felt horrible for taking it.
"Well," Bree began, her charming smile still present on her lips. "If it isn't my tasty rodent friend," she finished, purposely emphasizing the word tasty as a joke. It might have come as a shock to one as to how cat and mouse were suddenly best friends rather than chasing each other in old dated cartoons, but Brianna and Justin went together like two peas in a pod. They both had the sense of humor to mess around with each other, without it getting too serious, and the energy to keep up with one another all day long. Besides, no matter how appetizing he looked as a mouse, Bree never thought of Justin in any other way than her loving best friend.
In fact, it was actually kind of fun to scope out boys when Justy was around. Teasing him in a lighthearted manner, of course, about which guy was the cutest, or had the best muscles. Brianna still fully accepts Justin's sexuality, it's simply in her nature to yank chains.
She laughed as Justin took her hand and improvised a few new impressive moves as the next song blared through his iPod speakers. Bree hadn't been to the Concert Hall in nearly a week, and her body ached when she wasn't able to dance. She was just itching to get into the rhythm of something. Unlike most of the students who took dance as a major at the Academy, Bree was more a hip-hop dancer. Though generally, Brianna could get into the beat of anything.
"So Miss Caprice, what brings you to the beach so early in the morning? I thought I was the only one, I wasn't aware there was a perfectly good dancing partner just sitting around, now make yourself useful!" Justin chortled, breaking away and displayed a well-organized 360 degree spin and landed farther away. He extended his arm toward her as an invitation. Brianna hesitantly took it and eyed him cautiously, unsure of what exactly he had in mind. Though she herself had a mischievous smirk on her face. "I might as well," Bree piped, followed by her very girly giggle.
TEMPLATE CREDIT: xoxphantasmic of Blank Pages WORD COUNT: 743. . . my word count is up but the post is still horrible. . . *sigh* SETTING: beluga beach OUTFIT: outfit POST STATUS: complete ADDITIONAL NOTES: jeez! i guess i'll have to give you some credit for that! :)
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Post by Justin Michael Case on Jun 28, 2010 16:48:41 GMT -4
Justin smirked devilishly when Brianna took his hand, and he twirled her in toward him. With a light chuckle, he shifted his hands to her waist, and hoisted her up into the air, spinning around and then running down toward the water. He knew she wasn't a modern dancer like himself, so she wasn't as used to lifts. Sure, Justin wasn't the biggest, toughest guy around, but he was definitely a great deal stronger than he looked. He had no trouble lifting Bree into the air-- but then, she weighed like, what, two pounds? Just about. He let out a wild cry, and leaped into the frigid ocean water, taking his best friend down with him. The sea's currents rushed up around them like ribbons of ice, tightening around Justin's body and raising extreme goosebumps on his skin. When his head came up to the surface, he squealed, and rushed out of the water without Brianna, and grabbed his towel hurriedly. He ran a hand through his pale golden hair, and shook out the excess water. "What the heck Brianna, get out of the ocean, it's like fourty degrees still!" Justin shouted to her over the roar of the crashing waves and the music blasting from his iPod, trying to reign in his laughter. "I mean come on, I knew you were stupid, but I thought you at least had a little more common sense than that. Now get out before you freeze your little bum off!"
Unable to control himself any longer, Justin burst out laughing, and fell to the ground, looking up at the sky as the sun beat down on him. He stretched out in the sand, and closed his eyes, smiling when the colour he saw was red instead of black. Justin really didn't like black, and part of it might have been because his father was always in black.
His father. Ugh.
Old, dirty beggars that Justin walked by on the street were more of a father figure to him than his biological dad was. He hadn't even earned the title of 'father,' he was more of an overtired toddler who threw temper tantrums when he didn't get what he wanted. Justin was more of a father at age eight than his father was even to this day. That man was a monster, he was a creature straight out of a horror film, headed right for Justin's beloved mom and his baby brother. And there was nothing he could do to stop him. He couldn't stop the yelling. He couldn't stop the beatings. He couldn't stop the blood from being shed, and most of all, he couldn't stop the drinking. He had tried, oh he had certainly tried his hardest. But nothing could stop it. Nothing could end it. And now Justin was an alcoholic. He thought about drinking whenever he was alone, and sometimes would even think about it when he was in class.
Justin sat up, and looked out at Brianna, the smile gone from his face as he was lost in his own reverie. Bree hated alcohol, she hated heavy drinkers. Both of them knew it. Both of them knew what he was. He almost lost her, two years ago, when he had finally worked up the courage to tell her about it all. But she stuck with him. And he was eternally grateful to her for that. Nonetheless, Justin was ashamed of what he was, embarrassed that he was so weak, that he filled the stereotype in Brianna's mind. He only wished he could be better, if only to make her proud of him. She was his best friend, and he didn't want her to have any excuse to disappear. Being alone was what Justin feared most.
wordcount 626 comments excuse my rambling ._. I ran out of ideas xD [/size]
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Post by Brianna Caprice on Jun 28, 2010 17:53:37 GMT -4
(It's just you and me dancing in this dream)"whatever you do, don't wake me up" [/color] - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -[/b][/center][/font]
One couldn't say Brianna was actually caught off guard when Justin suddenly whirled her in toward him and raised her above the ground. She had half-expected him to pull a trick or just do something that was very. . . well, Justin of him. And then he went for the water, and Bree knew exactly where this game was going.
"Ah!" Bree screamed, clutching Justin's shoulders tightly, scared that if she made too much of a struggle she'd end up on the ground. "Justinnnn! Put me down! she yelled in some sort of a laugh slash high-pitched shriek. "Holy cr- Bree tried to shout out, but it was too late. She heard Justin's wild cry and, Splash! Into the sea she went. The spot was very shallow, no more than a couple feet deep, maybe three at the most, but that didn't change the fact that Brianna was fully soaked from head, to skin, to toe in the gelid water.
She had gone under for a few seconds, and Brianna came up searching for the air that was knocked out of her as she fell. The frigid waves crashed against her, sending ripples of chills down her spine and outward to the rest of her body. She wiped the mat of dark hair out of her face, watched as Justin darted past her, kicking up the beach sand to grab his towel.
Although shaky from the cold, Bree's jaw hung open in shock, eyes wide open as to say, "Did you seriously just throw me in?". Bree huffed, but as she looked at herself sitting in the ocean like that, she couldn't hold back the laughter any longer and erupted into hysterics. One, for being thrown in, and two, for being stupid enough to fall for it. "What the heck Brianna, get out of the ocean, it's like fourty degrees still!" Justin shouted, although barely audible above his iPod and the sea's own symphony of sounds. The seagulls, the waves, the rustling palm trees. But Brianna did manage to catch it, and it made her laugh even harder. "I mean come on, I knew you were stupid, but I thought you at least had a little more common sense than that. Now get out before you freeze your little bum off!"
Once she couldn't take the frothy tides nipping at her skin or Justin's teasing mockery any longer, she picked herself up out of the water and marched over to her beach bag and shoes, her bathing suit filled with sand and her hair and caftan dripping wet like rainfall. Bree took one of her sandals and chucked it at Justin. "That was for throwing me in, you bastard!" she laughed with a smug little grin, and threw the other one his way, too. "And that one. . . well that was for the fun of it."
Another breeze rolled by, causing goosebumps to rise on Brianna's arms and legs, and she completely regretted being to forgetful to bring a towel along with her when she saw Justin drying himself with his. She figured the best thing to do was take off her soaking wet clothes so she wouldn't freeze. So Bree removed her caftan revealing a light brown bathing suit that accentuated her tan skin, and walked over to Justin. She plopped down in the sand next to him cross-legged, that amused grin still plastered to her face. But Brianna's smile faded just as Justin's did. "Why're you so gloomy all of a sudden?" Bree asked, which was more of an attempt to try and get his mind off of whatever was bothering him than to be concerned. She shoved him in the shoulder lightly, wanting to get the joking mood back up and going again. Justin never did share his feelings very often, he usually just pushed anything hurtful or unhappy away. Even though they were best friends, Brianna was never really able to get very far to this side of him, and so she thought she wouldn't bother trying. "Somethin' bothering ya?"If it was something serious or important he'd tell her, right?
TEMPLATE CREDIT: xoxphantasmic of Blank Pages WORD COUNT: 760 SETTING: beluga beach OUTFIT: outfit POST STATUS: complete, finally! hahah ADDITIONAL NOTES: yeah, it's probably gonna sound like i'm rambling too. noooooo worries.
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