Permafrost Tundra [Sniggle, Brenny & Cherry]

Landon drew his legs up to his chest and sat in the sand, watching the icy waves crash onto the shore. Snow fell from the gray sky in a gentle flurry, enough to make a beautiful scenery but not enough to really stick to the ground. The wind blew without mercy and nearly knocked off his hat.

He tugged it off and held it tightly in his hands, wrapping his arms around his legs. The wind whipped his hair back and fourth(I couldn't resist guys) and burned his cheeks, nose, and ears red. If he did notice, he didn't show any interest. Cold air, frost, it meant little to Landon. He was used to it, being the son of an icy goddess and all. He made sure to keep his hands covered by the over-sized sleeves of his dark blue sweatshirt to hide them from view. his skin was probably a blotched red and blue and purple and white by now, and one people questioned it he became irritated and flustered. Not like it was any of their business, but he had Raynaud's, which was less blood circulation to limbs such as the arms, and legs, and especially fingers and toes. Hence the different colors. It was followed up by numbness or tingling, but Landon's case was mild, so aside from the aforementioned effects, it wasn't harmful. Some people, he had heard, lost limbs to it. He shivered, not at the biting cold but at the thought of losing his thumbs.

The waves reached for the sand and smashed down, rolling back grudgingly into the ocean of water as if Poseidon was searching for seashells and was angry that he could find none. And with the wind whipping about, it was less than an ideal day for a stroll across the beach, which is exactly why Landon had come. He could be considered a recluse, with his shyness and lack of conversational input, but that was just him. No amount of therapy could change it. People had tried and failed, and Landon really just wanted to be left alone. So, he had come to the beach, where he didn't expect to see anybody else walking about. Why would they? It was below 30 and the wind was whipping about. Not even the water satyrs or nymphs were playing around here. Horrible climate, horrible conditions. But to Landon, perfection.

Landon heard a crunch and glanced up, somewhat curiously. What would've been moving along the beach in these conditions? He saw a girl heading his direction and and his expression fell to the ground so that he wouldn't lock eyes with her. who apparently. What was she doing crossing the cold permafrost tundra that was the beach right now? He recognized her to be someone from his cabin, so his half-sister. She didn't seem the type to be out here by herself, though.

Whatever, it didn't much matter to Landon. He'd just keep to himself, and hoped that she kept to herself. But... But maybe he should say hi. Everyone had told him to be more open with people, and he didn't want to come off as rude. Maybe he'd just casually wave or something, hope that she waved back and kept going. Or would that beckon her over? No, he didn't want that. It would mean he'd have to be social, and gods knew he was terrible at that. Speaking was certainly not Landon's forte. But, if he didn't, he'd come of as a complete jerk, wouldn't he? Gods, why were social rules so difficult to learn? He knew them once. where did his knowledge go?

As she grew near his heart raced nervously. He didn't know what to do and was losing time, so he went with his default idea and hesitantly raised his hand, flicking his wrist back and fourth in a wave. He forced himself to lock eyes with her, and was taken back by how cold and icy they were. Hah, cold and icy. That's a daughter of Khione for you. His eyes were blue as well, but they were much softer and darker. They also had similar blonde hair, although his was a ruffled mess now thanks to the wind, and hers seemed to keep perfectly in place, all tied up on the back of her head. Beauty queen material, Landon guessed. No wonder they had never talked prior. He guessed she was the social type, and obviously, he wasn't. Talking exhausted him, it seemed. And it was probably right up her alley, so it was no surprise they never contacted each other, even if they did live in the same cabin.

After a sufficient amount of time had passed, Landon awkwardly lowered his arm, wrapping it back around his legs, looking at his sleeves to make sure they covered his white fingers and purple knuckles. The last thing he needed was her inquiring about it. Talking was bad enough, but divulging personal information? Forget it.

Crap, Landon thought, suddenly growing an interest in the sand. He stared at the sparkling grains as flakes descended to the ground from the gray clouds above, mixing into the ground. He picked up a tan shard of a shell and rolled it around in one hand, not amused in the least. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. His mouth shut again and Landon exhaled, the warm puff of breath exuding visibly from his pink nose. He let the shell fall from his palm and sliding his hand across his jeans to get the lingering sand off, before rubbing the back of his neck.

Before he could muster up the energy and courage to say hello, another girl made her way over to the pair. Landon couldn't help but roll his eyes. This was just his luck. Say hi to one person, ten people come over. They were like pigeons.

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration and only two people other than Landon were around, but that was still too many. He'd try to sneak his way out of the social clash and move to the cabin. Maybe he'd read comics in his bunk and listen to music. Or make snow castles in the forest or something. Activities he could do in solitude sounded appealing.

Then again, this girl did seem a tad familiar as well. Another cabin mate? Was the beach a meeting place he wasn't aware of? With a turn of his head in each direction, Landon glanced at his sides and scanned the perimeter for other people. He expected another dozen to suddenly emerge from the camp or the forest or even the ocean. Luckily, he didn't spot anyone else. So it was just these two girls, and they were quite possibly his half-sisters. That was...Well, it could've been worse. Maybe he'd even make friends? Highly unlikely, but he figured he'd give it a go.

Landon heard one of the girls speak, and blinked, realizing that the girl was addressing him. Landon...didn't have to talk? What? ...What? He looked the girl up and down. Long, beautiful golden hair. Large, blue, shining eyes that looked to be the color of the arctic. Thinned brown eyebrows and soft, feminine cheek bones. She was an exceptionally pretty girl. And she just wanted to sit quietly? With him? ...Was he hearing that right?

Involuntarily, the corners of his paled lips turned up into a sort of sheepish smile. It was something he couldn't help. Someone didn't expect a voice from him? Didn't demand answers? Suddenly, her company didn't seem all that bad.

Landon looked at her, but she seemed to be preoccupied with the scenery. He followed her example and looked out onto the ocean, watching the foamy water explode onto the sound and retreat to sea. Wash, rinse, repeat. But it never got tiring, never got old. Most Khione kids like ice and snow, typically. Who could blame them? Their mother was the goddess of snow. And Landon liked all that too, but he was particularly interested in the liquid form of snow: water. And there wasn't much better than sitting on the beach, taking in the cold, fresh air and just thinking. Apparently, the girl had the same notion.

Landon glanced up at the second girl headed their way, who was much closer now. His smile faded and his mouth relaxed back to a neutral position. He looked into her eyes and couldn't help but wonder what had possessed her to venture out here. Was she just here to look at the ocean, too?

Suddenly, people didn't seem so simple. Not these girls, at least. Most people weren't worth speaking too unless they proved otherwise. But, maybe they were with his time. And even more, maybe they'd be worth his words. He wanted them to strike up conversation with each other. He was curious as to what they'd speak about. Surely they'd talk about things they enjoyed. Maybe Landon would enjoy such things, too. And maybe, just maybe, he'd chime in with his own thoughts.

Landon locked eyes with the new girl. She seemed to be scanning him. Judging him. And from the look on her face, judging him rather critically. His gaze flashed to the ground and he tried to pull himself in, pulling his legs up further, clasping his arms around them tighter, lowering his head an inch, overall receding into himself. He shivered, feeling her eyes on him, knowing she was watching skeptically. What was she thinking?

A glance was stolen at the other girl sitting beside him, who seemed to be jumping back and fourth between hesitant and happy. When she spoke, her voice was restrained, quiet. But her tone was a rather joyous one. Strange, how that worked. She was looking up at the new girl, it seemed. No longer smiling, though her tone was upbeat. Was this some girl thing that Landon didn't get? Constantly switching emotions?

He drew his line of sight back to its default setting, at the ground. His eyes fixated on the tiny shell he had earlier been playing with. It sat in the sand, maybe a third of it buried, and looked alone. Billions of tiny sparkling grains, all the same color, same sparkle, same texture...And then there was this lonely shell--and it wasn't even a full shell. Only part of one, a broken fragment left to rot by itself. Something had carelessly thrown it around, smashed it without the slightest sympathy or hesitation. There was never a thought to put it back together or at least place it with the rest of itself. Now it had nobody.

Alright, that was a bit of a dramatic analysis, especially because they were all inanimate objects, but Landon couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor thing now. Maybe it was ugly, alone, and out of place because the sand didn't accept it. Maybe it chose to be alone...Somehow someone completely screwed it over. Maybe the rest of the shell's body couldn't stand that piece, and broke itself so it wouldn't have to stand seeing or dealing with it. All Landon knew was that now he couldn't just let the shell sit there.

He stretched his arm out and his sleeve pulled back slightly as his fingers emerged. He slipped the cracked remnant between two fingers and drew his arm back. With the tip of his blue sweatshirt sleeve he wiped the cruel, harassing sand off each side and slid the piece of shell in his pocket.

Then Landon blinked, realizing he was still in the real world. And in the real world, nobody did that. Nobody stopped to help. Not anyone he knew, anyway. Nervously he looked back up at each of the girls for a quick moment, viewing their faces and expressions, trying to decide whether they thought he was a total freak or not yet. He swallowed, his throat dry, and shivered at a sudden chill, whether from shyness or the wind, its origin unclear.

He couldn't quite tell what the other girls were thinking. Maybe, with luck, they hadn't seen. Maybe if they had seen, they just assumed he liked the shell. Collecting shells, not very manly, but it would be better than them knowing the sorrowful thoughts about it. Better than the two girls knowing why he thought that way. How he could relate to the shell, and how life had screwed him over, too. It was almost symbolic to him, the iota of sea shell he had taken. It probably belonged closer to the water, but was driven away but the merciless waves. It probably had to make a new home, and a new life with the sand. The sand that was nothing like the shell, and treated it like an outsider. Both the sand and the shell could see they were different beings.

Just like Landon knew he didn't belong in this camp. He was a social recluse, an outcast by his own standards and the standards of society. He had legitimate reasoning for his strange behavior, but the reason was a secret, a painful part of him that wouldn't be easily given up to the likes of others. Likewise the shell would never tell the true story of how it ended up so far away from home. But it didn't need to. Landon would accept the shell for whatever it was, and would bring it back to camp with him, where it would have a rightful, well-deserved spot on the dresser in the Khione cabin. Now all he could hope for was that his siblings wouldn't thrust it back out in the cold.

Landon exchanged glances with the girl sitting by him before blinking up to the new girl. They seemed oddly irritated with him suddenly. He raised one eyebrow in question. What had he done? His fingers dug into the sand somewhat nervously as he waited for a chance to put himself into the conversation, preferably once the girls weren't angry at him.

Kara was feeling a bit confused. What was this boy doing? "What?" she asked as the boy looked at her as if she had done something wrong. She felt a bit irritated by the boy's behaviour. It wasn't as if they wern't letting him in the conversation, it was just that he was excluding himself from it. It wasn't her fault, it wasn't like she was telling him that he couldn't participate in this conversation.

"FFFF--" Landon nearly flipped over backwards. He scurried a few feet away, putting distance between himself and the snowy white beast with piercing golden eyes. His chest rose and fell unsteadily as he tried to catch his breath. The girl next to him began speaking to it with a smile on her face. He exhaled shakily as his breath normalized, then ran a hand through his hair. "Crap..." He muttered. "What's with that thing?" He didn't know much about animals, but it seemed kind of feral. Or maybe like it wanted to have a staring contest.

His cheeks turned red in embarrassment once he realized that the other girl wasn't afraid of it at all. Well, he'd just managed to make a complete full of himself. That's just great. "I...uh..." He fumbled for words, digging his fingers helplessly into the sand again. His voice was weak, barely above a whisper, like when someone finally speaks up for the first time in a while. And in front of a group of superiors, no less. "Y-you know this thing?" Oh god please don't act surprised that I talked, oh god, oh god, oh god...

Got a secret,
Can you keep it?
Swear this one you'll save
Better lock it in your pocket
taking this one to the grave

Kara personally loved animals and reached out to pet the creature. She had wanted a pet for a long time, but her father would never let her, saying that it was too big of a responsability to take care of an animal. "He's so cute." she said quietly as she stroke the animal's head.

Landon's jaw clamped shut. Oh. Welp. These were not good first impressions. He laced his fingers together and twiddled his thumbs, ignoring the itch of the tiny grains. "Uh...s-sorry.." He chewed his bottom lip nervously, watching the actions of the girls. They both seemed to be completely fine with the animal. Landon looked at the feathered creature hesitantly. He felt like he should maybe pet it, if for no reason other than to fit in and prove he wasn't as easily scared as he let on to be(despite the fact that he was) but the bird was... well it was large, with piercing eyes. A shiver ran down his spine. This was an owl. Weren't they supposed to be, like, creatures of Khione? Or at least snow or cold or something? And he couldn't even pet one. Great. I bet this makes mom real proud. A small sigh escaped him in a warm puff of white air that streamed through his pink nose.