only seventeen, but she walks the streets so mean--- private

It's like walking on pure shadows...

The thought had run through her mind more then once for the last while. Apart from the moonlight which was shining down from above (A full moon- it seemed like a long time since she had last seen one so bright, so alive), casting a gleam over the tarmac which just couldn't be mirrored by streetlights, there was no light to guide her way. She relied on her hearing, and the minimal sight she had- a few feet ahead of her, enough to see the tips of her fingers and a little more, but nothing else. 

And, strangely, it was comforting. Not seeing any of the sights around her, just black shadows upon shadows. Only hearing the occasional sound from the nightlife, an owl's hoot, a foxes bark, a sound which was almost like a howl... once upon a time, it all would have scared her. Well, it would have scared her without the sounds. She'd once been so afraid of the dark. Now that was a distant memory. Now, the darkness was a friendly companion which embraced her. The sounds would have terrified her, would have made her run back to the cabin and hide underneath mounds of blankets... now they were a sign that she was close to some other creatures which enjoyed the darkness. Just like her.

Her hair ruffled slightly in a crisp night breeze, but it didn't disturb her. Didn't make her pull her jacket tighter around herself, didn't make her turn around either. She was warm, in her own way. The jeans she wore, along with the tight jacket, they kept enough heat in. The only really cold thing was the chain that she had clasped around her neck. Where the metal touched her skin, there was an ice cold trail. It never really seemed to completely warm up, no matter how long she wore it. Or maybe her skin was always cold nowadays, and she just never felt it. A small smile crept onto her face as she walked down the road, black boots making only the smallest of sounds against the ground.

She'd been walking for a while now. How long, she couldn't tell you exactly. A while, that was all she could say. Kalina had left the cabin after the sun had set, so it had already been dark. She'd walked around camp at first, but her feet had brought her past Thalia's pine, out onto the road. And they'd just kept leading her. She probably should have turned back once she realized the way she was going but... she just kept in the same direction, kept putting one step in front of the other. It was like she wasn't really in control of her movements- it was someone else guiding her along the road. But no matter how long it had already been, she wasn't interested in turning around. She wanted to walk and walk, just to see where it took her. Could it take her some place she could forget everything? Probably not. But she'd be willing to see...


Kalina could remember playing a game similar to this before. Back in Bulgaria, one of the visits to her grandparents. Yana had been playing it with her friends, and she'd followed them outside to watch. She'd more been acting as a lookout though- if Mama saw, Yana would have been in a lot of trouble. But it hadn't been until someone else had taken over as lookout, and let her take a try, that Mariana had come running out, screaming at her, telling her to move.

She could see the image clearly. A bright road, a small house to the left. A huddle of friends on the sidewalk, watching, one girl watching the door. It had been very cold, at the time. She'd felt the cold through the layers she wore as she lay down. She could still remember the sight of Mama, running out of the house, her hair awry, her eyes panicked.

"Kalina! Kalina! Get out of the road! Out! Get up right now!"

Course, she'd been screaming in her native Bulgarian, but Kalina had understood it. She'd scrambled to get up, and ran over to Mama crying about how Yana had done it first.

Needless to say, both had been in a lot of trouble.

She didn't know how she'd ended up in the same position this time around. Arms splayed on the ground, she lay flat out in the middle of the road, her hair around her face cushioning her head. Surprisingly it wasn't as cold as the road when she was a child. It was actually quite comfortable...

Her eyes drifted closed without her really meaning to let them, her mouth still set in that thin line. She could think easier this way...

It was so... peaceful. Just lying there. The cold ground didn't bother her- yes, she knew it would be cold. It should be seeping through too thin fabric, chilling her skin and her bones. But it wasn't. It was warm, at least to her. Very warm, in fact. And calm. The sounds of the animals which lurked all around were soft, not scary. It was comforting to know she wasn't the only one out there, not the only one who lurked in the shadows.

The same memory kept replaying over and over in her mind, the images blending together seamlessly. She couldn't remember it all that well, but what she did remember made her smile a tight smile. Mama had always been the concerned type. She'd told her children where to play, where not to play, she'd taught them to steer clear of roads as much as possible because they were dangerous. It must have given her a heart attack to see her lying down in the middle of one of those dangerous roads, a grim, determined expression on her face because she was going to stay there the longest, she was going to be the bravest. The panic in her voice had been obvious as she had screamed, and it wasn't until now that Kalina really appreciated how much Mariana Nikolova loved her children. She'd screamed like Kalina had already been hit by a car, not like the road was deserted and she was telling her to get up before she got hit by a car.

Hurried footfalls were the first thing she noticed, and curiously she opened her eyes wide, searching in the darkness for the approaching figure. What if it was Chiron- or worse, Mr. D? Come to tell her off for leaving the camp at night, come to shout at her for lying down dangerously in the middle of the road. It wasn't like there were any cars, she'd say. It wasn't like she was in immediate danger.

The footsteps stopped, but the figure had stopped just far enough away that she could see him. The features were all too familiar... for a split second, she hoped that the familiarity was because this was Samuel. She'd give anything for it to be him. One of the only people she could stand to be around. But as her eyes adjusted a little bit more, it clicked in her mind why this person was so familiar-

It was Ron. One of the campers from her own cabin, someone she had spoken too before. A flash of memory passed in her mind- sitting at the lake writing in her diary, and meeting this boy. No shoes on, that was what stuck in her mind. He'd seemed... well, it was like he was haunted by something. And not a small something either. And maybe not a single something. But it didn't bother her. Wasn't everyone haunted nowadays? Or was it just her, and a handful of others who had allowed themselves to be broken so much by everything which had happened?

'Ron.'

Her voice cracked slightly, which was understandable since she hadn't used it or had a drink for a while at this point. Wetting her lips, she swallowed hardly, clearing her throat as she did.

'What are you doing out here?' she sounded like someone completely detached from their words, their feelings and their actions. Someone who had no control at all over what they said. And she didn't even realize it.

:/:/OOC: Sorry for the crappy reply gah. But yours was fabulous yes it was <3