somewhere beyond the sea

“Your sarcasm is well-appreciated, madame.” Abby pressed her lips into a thin line, one corner slightly tugging up to form a sardonic smile as she— despite her prior statements about the bath bomb— accepted the phone and watched the video with quiet observation. She still didn’t see the point, but she figured it’d be quite fascinating for someone who wasn’t her. The colors were, indeed, pretty and the chemical reaction was captivating. “My scented candles are very kind to the senses, thank you very much. Unlike these…. balls, who do nothing but fizzle and just… like that.”

“You know it’s not candles I have the problem with, but the names they give them. And just beach scented candles. They don’t smell like the beach, no one wants a candle that actually smells like the beach.” Lindy had a lot of opinions on scented candles, or anything that advertised as being beach scented. She’s subjected many a random stranger to her rant. And Abby, she hadn’t been spared and in fact had been subject to it a number of times. “The whole point of  bath bombs is that they fizz, turn the water colors, and smell nice. It’s for your relaxing bath. You know we would have driven Mama and Pops crazy with these.” The mention of their parents and childhood still stung a bit, a result of her guilt over leaving, but it was getting easier every day. The more she and Abby talked.

“They still look like balls, Lindy.” She rolled her eyes, scrunching her nose as she leaned away from the sphere shoved to her face. It admittedly had a pleasant smell, which lingered within your nose for quite some time if you sniffed a little closer for comfort, but Abby stood with her point. They were useless. “If you wanted the bathroom to smell nice, why not buy an air freshener? Or, I don’t know, scented candles? They’d last longer, I think.”

“Excellent observation skills, as your older sister it brings me so much pride that you can identify that something round is a ball.” Lindy said, rolling her eyes at her sisters reaction. “Look, here, I’ve got a video on my phone.” She pulled the device out of her pocket, tapping on the screen until she found the video she was looking for. It was something she had filmed one of the first few times she herself had used a bath bomb. She held the phone out towards Abby, exchanging it for the bath bombs. “It’s not about the smell lasting, it’s about setting the mood so that you can have a relaxing bath. You can light some candles along with it, although, really, you should know how I feel about some of those scented candles by now.”

Moz shook his head. “It’s just a game.” Moz enjoyed watching and playing Pokémon when he was younger, but never quite grabbed on as intensely as the others at school. When Pokémon Go came out, Moz wasn’t sure what the game offered beyond the nostalgia factor. But as the game continued to grow over time, Moz grew more curious. When Moz got curious about something new, he had the tendency to dive in neck deep. Passionate about Pokémon or not, Moz was determined to stick to it until he damn well caught them all. “How have you not heard about Pokémon Go?”

Pokemon. Lindy had heard of that. It was full of strange, charming animals. They had special powers that they used in battle and there was some element of connecting to it. “I’ve just never been into it and I’m not the best with technology.” At least mobile, touch screen technology. There were elements of it that she loved, but it generally just left her confused.

abby merely nodded in response to her sister, eyes downcast and fingers fiddling languidly with each other above the pillow. “it wasn’t easy,” she said, meaning more than what it probably seemed to someone else’s ears. “from home down the coast— i had to take a complicated detour just so i could reach another clue regarding your whereabouts.” a soft huff, sounding more like a bitter laugh. “it was quite a detour.”

it was far too awkward for abby’s liking. if circumstances have been different, abby knew this reunion wouldn’t be as stiff as it was, sat so far away from each other, fiddling with anything they could have their fingers on. she sighed, “a friend directed me here. i met him in san diego, worked with him in a cafe, and he shared to me stories of supernaturals in west hollow. i figured it’d be worth a shot to stop by and — i would have been on my way by now if i hadn’t seen you at the beach. i never stay long in places, regardless of how much i love it.”

pursing her lips, abby finally looked up to lindy — a frail attempt to establish a connection once again. “what have you been up to all these years?”

While she didn’t know the specifics, Lindy felt that she could make a guess as to what at least part of that detour entailed. It was probably the answer to why her sister still looked so youthful, despite all the years that had passed. A similar answer to why she was still so youthful. But how had she even known where to go looking for those sorts of clues?

“Regardless of the path that you took, I’m so glad that you’re here now, Abby.” Lindy said, blinking her damp eyes. Gosh, how many times had they only just missed each other over the years, if she had nearly missed Abby this time? Her chest ached just thinking about how many years they had lost that were unnecessary. “And I’m glad that your friend directed you here.

“Oh gosh,” Lindy said, letting out a sad sounding laugh. She held her hand out to her sister, wiggling her fingers in invitation. It had been so long, she just needed the contact again. “I’ve spent a lot of time in the water, just exploring the ocean and traveling up and down the coast. I crossed the country. I got into music. Well, DJing.”

Abby: Fine. I'll have them all to myself, then.

Abby: You're dreaming of unrealistic happenings, Lindy. The saltwater did that to you.

Abby: VINTAGE.

Lindy: No! It happened! You're the one with the faulty brain. You must have been too young at the time.

Abby: You do realize that we don't live together and I could very well just get a kitten without your knowledge?

Abby: ... What vase. What are you on about, silly woman?

Abby: YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

Lindy: Yes, but I'll have no part in that. This whole thing started because you wanted us to share a pet.

Lindy: From that fancy party we went to at one of Dad's work friends houses.

Nova’s eyebrows shot up, shocked at the frank admission and excited by the prospect of gossip. She sipped her coffee, taking a moment to consider her next words carefully so as to not offend. “Yes, I can see why you’re struggling.” She allowed with a bemused smile, hoping it wouldn’t upset that she couldn’t really empathize. All of her own siblings knew she was alive, knew she could kill them. “That’s quite a lot to ask of music.” And it was to her mind, she’d never placed all that much significance on melodies and lyrics. “I hope your sister was pleased to know you’re still with us, I hope whoever had her believe such a cruel lie will get a good talking too.” 

Lindy wasn’t sure why Nova was the person that she decided to unload all of this onto. Perhaps because she was a safe option in her mind. Not that she wouldn’t be judged, she did know Nova after all. But she knew Nova, there were things she wouldn’t have to waste time explaining to her. “I suppose that it is a lot to ask of music. But it helps me process things, get my thoughts in order.” She shrugged, absently tapping the side of her iPod. “She burst into tears and then didn’t let me go. It was actually our other sister. She hid the letter I left for Abby.”

Abby: The hamster will go just fine. I've had one before until he died of old age.

Abby: I know!

Abby: I'll have you know that I schooled my expression very well.

Abby: Then again, I never hid the fact that I adore old things.

Lindy: Be that as it may, we're starting with JUST a hamster.

Lindy: I'm sure you did. The same way you schooled your expression when you broke that vase?

Jace laughed a bit, sheepishly smiling and nodding. He always felt like he had people to take care of - his family, his friends, Mystery Inc. (which felt like a combination of both.) But he never minded this. Despite being an orphan, it meant he had no shortage of people to love who loved him too. It was a good thing, no matter how tiring. 

“A ranch?” He blinked. “Wow… I’ve lived here almost my whole life. How was that like? Did you have horses? My little sister loves them.”

“We had more land than animals. We had a horse once, but it was mostly smaller animals. We didn’t make a living off of it or anything. It was just for fun.” It had been ages since Lindy had talked about her childhood and what it was like on the ranch, but she found that it wasn’t that difficult. It helped to shape the person that she was. Just like taking care of her sisters, and going on adventures with them helped to shape her.

Abby: Well, yes. WE CAN SWAP.

Abby: Or, have playdates.

Abby: No. Hamster AND kitten.

Abby: Also, did I ever tell you about the AUTHENTIC quill I got from someone?

Abby: [quillandink.jpeg] !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Lindy: Let's just see how the hamster goes, okay?

Lindy: Woah! Cool!

“Also very true…” The park was really rather large but beautiful. It reminded him a little of Louisianna which triggered a small sense of nostalgia for the state he had called home until recently. While he didn’t miss his actual home or family, he did miss the state and the vibe it held. There was a bit of it here, surrounded by budding greenery and people just out enjoying their lives.

Told her name was short for Linda, Luan’s brows furrowed in confusion a moment as he wondered how the hell they got Lindy from Linda, but soon he smiled. “That’s pretty cool. How did that get started, if you don’t mind me asking?” He didn’t mean to pry, but he was curious. It was always strange to him when he was reminded that families had little quirky traditions or things that bonded them more than the blood they shared. His family wasn’t like that at all. The only thing that seemed to pass down through generations was an unquenchable greed and the delusion that they were somehow greater because of their species and name. He never understood it and often as a child he longed for the kind of family everyone else seemed to have. One that was loving and felt like an actual family rather than power hungry assholes who happened to share the same roof and DNA.

The park was certainly nothing compared to the fields of her childhood home. But that was to be expected, considering that she grew up in rural West Virginia and was now living in a costal town in the North Pacific. Those were two wildly different environments. But at the end of the day a green, grassy park was a green grassy park.

“Having parents named Tommy and Angie and being their first child, I suppose. My younger sisters were Ginny, short for Virginia, and Abby, short for Abigail.” There was some friendly teasing about their mom not being a ‘proper’ part of the family, because her name didn’t end in the same letter as the rest of her family, only ending in the same sound. She knew that some of the other residents of the town thought that they were a somewhat strange family, with how they let their daughters run so free and how they named their children. But there was no animosity towards them, because they caused no trouble around town and were always kind to their neighbors.

“All I’m saying is, I wouldn’t be offended if you were,” he said, an easy smile on his face. It was definitely an odd thing about him, the fact that he worked at a library yet he seldom read himself. Not that Lindy would know, of course. “I’m not much of a reader, so take this with a grain of salt, but I highly recommend it. It is a movie, too, though,”

“I try not to judge people until I get to know them. Call me old fashioned.” Really, Lindy didn’t know enough about Charlie to judge him for his reading habits. And she really wasn’t one to judge people based on what, or how, they read. “Well I suppose I should put it on my list now. Both versions.”