"Do you like to run--?"

Her question is clipped of her own accord, quieted instinctively because he's begun speaking. And it is, in part at least, also due to the content of his comment.

You should visit sometime.

She barely knew this man. Quite literally a stranger that had walked into her evening to offer her a smile. It sort of felt like a dream, as silly as that sounded.

"Okay."

Maybe she would.

CIAN MAHER

The sun begins to set, sinking lower and lower into the sea. It should be beautiful- and it is, but that nugget of worry starts to squirm. The dark brings long shadows, stretching from still-propped umbrellas. Like long, insidious fingers, they reach.

Stop scaring yourself, Avery.

Warmth from Cian's thumb massaging shapes into her skin draws her attention away from the things that go bump in the night. She sucks in a breath, focusing on him.

"Look at that cloud over there. What does it look like?"

She points with her free hand, leaning into him incidentally with the effort.

CIAN MAHER

She'd seen it too, but she'd been hoping for him to say something else.

It looked like its mouth was open, with rows of cloudy teeth. She is thankful for his closeness, it offers comfort even if he doesn't realize it. And with him this close to her, it is inevitable that he could smell the subtle sweet scent she gives off. It is weaker than it might have been earlier in the day, wilting with the lowering of the sun.

"I see it. Does he look.. angry to you?"

The woman's voice is quiet, perhaps a little uneasy.

CIAN MAHER

Cold fingers of dread, similar to the shadowy ones that stretch further and further up the beach, trail down her back. She shivers even though it isn't cold, discomfort settling deeper and deeper the longer she stays.

"You're probably right. Just regal."

She isn't convinced, but he sounds so certain that she's willing to let it go. He points instead, to another cloud. This one is stained with the sunset by now, but she sees it just in time before it melts away.

"Why do you think it's pouting?"

CIAN MAHER

He laughs, and it smooths her bumbling nerves. In fact, he encourages her to smile despite the quiver in her throat. That, and despite the lull in their idle cloud-watching, he hasn't pulled away. They sit together on the beach, sort of huddled but it isn't awkward.

Well, she's awkward, but that's just Avery.

Of course, things need to get more awkward when he makes eye contact. It should have been fine, she thinks, except there is a look in those dark eyes of his that startles her. He asks her a question, something she's not expecting.

Avery... can I kiss you?

Her heart is beating loud enough she can hear it, and she's opening and closing her mouth trying to find a response.

CIAN MAHER

She doesn't flinch, but her reaction is something close.

Cian's hand is warm and gentle, and though there is no suggestion or indication that the gesture is unfriendly, Avery's gaze lowers anyway. She pulls a corner of her lip into her mouth, teeth holding it hostage in an uncomfortable, anxious expression.

"I-I've never been kissed before."

And there was something in his dark brown eyes, she knew, that worried her.

CIAN MAHER

It's sweet, she hopes, that he doesn't just up and leave. Not that she's ever been in a situation like this to give her any indication of the right or wrong way to react. But surely, telling a boy that she'd never been kissed before was alarming. Right?

His hand lingers but she ultimately, nervously pulls away. By now the sun has sunk long enough that the pretty sunset is nearly over. What should have been a romantic kiss on the beach was fading away, quickly.

"N-no.. I don't.. I don't know, Cian. It's getting dark."

The way she says it indicates she's scared. Without the sun, her powers of 'bright and cheery' wilt and fade away. It had only gotten worse since Shaymin had chosen her- something she was still yet unaware of.

CIAN MAHER