sunsets

[kukaan]

Carella watched as the sunset from her place in the warm sand. She had come done with a group of friends and they had spent the whole day at the beach. A few were behind her setting up for a bonfire, but she had stopped to watch the sun say goodbye. The young woman felt a surge of sadness as she was bathed in the last light of the day.

Her mom and her had always watched the sunset together no matter what. She fought the tears as she thought of her mom somewhere out there, alone. "I wonder if you're watching the sunset too," Carella asked out loud, as though Lillian Fletcher was right besides her.

Her knees drew up and she rested her chin on top of them as she watched the rest of the rays disappear.

[~XIII~]

Away from the crowd that was still on the beach, an older teen sat, gazing out over the waters as though they would provide him answers. He had been searching so long for his sister, and still be had nothing. Him constantly being away had driven all of his friends away, so no matter where he was, he was alone. The only thing that drove him forward was Allison. He had to know what happened to her. Then, a sigh passed his lips. Even that wasn't going well...

[kukaan]

Finally the beach was dark. Carella rose from the cooling sand and wiped the near tears from her eyes. Her friends were kind enough to ignore this and all were smiles as the last of the drift wood was piled up. She was allowed to start the fire. The wood caught quickly and soon there was a raging fire illuminating the entire beach.

Steven, a broad shoulder blonde, brought out a guitar. The group started to sing along to the tune but in very obnoxious ways. Carella's own voice went way out of key and she totally butchered the Beach Boy's classic.

"Get around round round I get around/I'm a real cool head/Get around round round I get around/I'm makin' real good bread."

The guitar playing stopped and while everyone was laughing at their own sillyness, Carella noticed a lone figure. He looked lost in thought, but that didn't stop her from approaching him.

"Hey! Wanna party with us?" she asked in a very friendly voice.

[~XIII~]

Christopher looked up at the girl that had just approched him. She was pretty, no doubt about that. Friendly too. Sill, he wasn't really in the mood for partying. "Um... No thank you. Thank you for the offer though." He responded politely. He would probably drag down the spirits of the party with his sadness. "I uh, I'm not in a partying mood. I wouldn't want my being upset to drag yall down too. What your name?"

[kukaan]

His eyes look so sad, she thought as she sat next to him. She had the strong feeling that they had a lot in common and it would be in her best interest to stay close.

"I'm Carella,what's your name?"

[~XIII~]

"Christopher." He answered simply. He might have talked more, if it hadn't been for the sinking feeling that there was something nearby. "Do you feel that? They're here." No soon had he said that, several Shadows and Neoshadows rose from the ground. Christopher rose quickly, drawing True Lights Flight and finished them off quickly. Then he looked back over at Carella.

[kukaan]

Carella had in fact felt them, but by the time she had withdrawn her Wishing Lamp key blade, the stranger had already finished them off. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the boy with the True Lights Flight key blade. What were the chances that she would randomly stumble across another wielder?
There was a collective gasp from behind them and she turned back. Her friends were staring at the two in bewilderment, reminding Carella that she hadn't told them all about her and her quest.
She turned back to Christopher, feeling a lot of questions struggling to be formed inside her. "Who are you really?"

[~XIII~]

"Christopher Ryder. I'm... on a journey... I just stoped here to regain confidence in myself. Though me and my Keyblades are good, I becaome discouraged when I had found nothing in several weeks. Coming back to my hometown always makes me feel better." He explained as True Lights Flight vanished. "My sister vanished from here some time ago. I have a feeling shes not dead, but I don't know what happened to her. I am strong, but not enough to do this on my own. Would you like to join me? Another Keyblade wielder maybe just what I need."

[kukaan]

There was a squeeze on Carella's heart as Christopher told her about his sister. It was like her search for her mother. She hadn't had much luck lately either, which was partially her reason for coming to the beach. A night of fun to distract her and then she would start fresh in the morning.
She looked over the other Keyblade wielder. Obviously he was trustworthy otherwise he would not hold the weapon. Even though they had just met, she felt it would be a good idea to help him. Perhaps they would stumble upon her mother along the way.
"As long as you don't mind traveling with a woman child," she joked, extending her hand.

[~XIII~]

Chris accepted the hand with a smile. "Thanks. It means a lot to me. I uh... Don't have friends anymore. They all ditched me when I left." Then he thought. Where could the start the serch? "How about we start in the Pride Lands?"

[kukaan]

"Let's do it!" Carella said enthusiastically, punching her fist into the air.