Ana Todorov

I would say that they only met when Ana came to the island. I think Amelia kept to herself a lot before she came to Archeos (and even not kind of tbh). Also, I’m not exactly sure where in the U.S. she lived other than when she went to Harvard.

The way I kinda see these two is Ana is “wild good” and Amelia is “lite wild bad”. She’s not necessarily evil or anything, but the sparkle that Ana has for life has completely diminished from Amelia’s eye. That being said, I foresee a lot of their interactions being Ana trying to pump Amelia up a la her personal cheerleader. Amelia probably outwardly acts a little bit like it’s absurd and maybe even annoying, but I think internally, Amelia is really amazed and probably a little jealous of Ana’s spunk.

That works perfectly for me!  Ana is super outgoing and loves getting to know ppl and drawing them out!!  In that case, they’re basically just meeting atm, since Ana basically just arrived.  I mean, I think she’s been here a few weeks so like they’d ~know each other but they’re def still getting ~to know each other, if you see what I mean?

WILD GOOD AND WILD LITE BAD AKSDJFLKJSDF hahaha  Oh, Ana is prime personal cheerleader material!!!!!!!  She is so supportive and so believes in ppl!!!!!!  And wants them to live their dreams!!!!!  So yeah she will deF support Amelia and frankly push her, if it comes to that, towards attaining her goal.  And honestly she won’t let Amelia deter her hahaha  She’s had tough times herself, so she gets it, but she feels strongly that the things that really matter are worth fighting for, etc.

I think Andy probably thinks Ana (omg so many “A” names shoot me)  is a hoot and a half. I bet she wishes she had an Ana when she was going through her pregnancy like Cassandra does.

Cass had been counting down the minutes until Ana arrived.  

She felt like a kid as she impatiently walked from one end of the docks to the other, over and over again until she could see Ana’s boat on the horizon (completely obviously the entire time, to how annoyed the local fishermen were with her inability to stand still for two moments together).

Cass had been so eager to come here, herself, that she’d run off to the island almost the same minute she’d had the idea. It had felt like she was on the verge of drowning and she needed to escape before she did. She needed a fresh start as much as she needed air. Ana, on the other hand, had been more practical when it had come to moving and Cass had been here on the island nearly a week before she was joined by her friend.

There had been plenty to do and see since she arrived, but at night, when she went back to the house she’d rented for the two of them (and the baby), that’s when she missed Ana the most. It was was getting harder and harder to stay distracted in those moments: the quiet ones when she was all alone with her thoughts.

She’d never been happier to see Ana as she had been today. Cass had pulled her into a tight hug and then the two of them had struggled to haul all of Ana’s things back to the house. A quick tour followed, ending with them standing in the best place in the entire house: the balcony. It had been the spectacular views of the ocean that convinced Cass that this was the house they should rent.

“So am I!” Cass agreed, “It’s so beautiful and peaceful here … it’s like … the rest of the world’s melted away and there’s only this left: only this perfect island.” She didn’t think anything bad could happen here. How could it, when the sun was always shining so brightly on those perfect blue waters?

She turned to Ana, “Yes! It’s definitely time for a drink. Come on, let’s go into town. I’ll show you everything!”

Ana clapped happily as she grabbed her purse.  “Yay!” she exclaimed.  “You are so right!  I mean, I didn’t think I’d ever find somewhere I could live forever...but now that I’m here, I think maybe I was wrong.  God, this move was such a great idea!  I mean, you’d always talked about Archeos, but I don’t think I fully realized how awesome it was!” she babbled happily as they strolled towards the door.

Ana’s parents hadn’t been particularly stable in that way: forever picking up and moving and this was a habit both their children had inherited.  Permanence was a concept to them, not a reality, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t something that Ana didn’t think would be nice.  Granted, it also frightened her just a tinge, but that wasn’t something she was going to bring up just now.  Cass needed stability and so did her baby.  It wasn’t something Ana had ever had, but she could imagine it was very comforting in circumstances like these.  But then, Ana had always craved the things she didn’t think she could ever have.

“Ok,” she said as they walked down the charming street.  “You have to tell me how you’ve been settling in!  Got any routines?  Oh, any favorite spots?  What do you do for meals?  I mean, I’ve brought most of our stuff, so the house has been pretty empty.”  

Cass had run off so quickly, there had been time for almost nothing.  Not that that wasn’t something Ana completely understood: she’d done precisely the same sort of thing a thousand times over, but she also knew it was rarely a sign of happiness from personal experience.  “How has it been to see your sisters, again?  Oh!  I have to remember to thank Bex for this job opportunity when I see her again!”

The resort had been kind enough to offer Ana a position working there until such time as she got on her feet and found something more permanent she might want to do.  Of course, the big thing Ana wanted to do was music, but she tacitly understood that that was now on indefinite hiatus.  She doubted very much that Cass was feeling up to any of it, just now, and there was no way in hell Ana was going to put any pressure on her.  Hell, much as she loved it, even Ana wasn’t in the right headspace for it, just now.

Bex had been sitting at the front desk as she so often did when she needed to think. She wasn’t the sort of person who could be still, who could relax and process things. No, she needed a task (running the front desk) in order to keep her mind from running enough into a thousand different directions and focus on one line of thought.

Cass was pregnant. Matty was here. Emily was going to college. Chris was still awkward to be around. A light bulb needed replacing in room four.

Cass was pregnant.

She’d been through this before, with Andrea. It had been worse then– they’d been kids. Granted, in her mind, Cass was still a kid but she was more of an adult than Andrea had been at 16.

Bex looked up when she heard someone greet her. She gave her half a smile, her mind still elsewhere. She’d been a bit concerned when Cass had told her Ana was moving to the island out of the blue. Her sister was going to be a mother– did she really need a band mate around?

But then she thought about sixteen year old Rebecca’s grand scheme to run away to live on an island with her best friend, about how she’d finally managed to make that scheme a reality, how she’d watched Emily grow up and made a family alongside Andrea and all their friends.

Cass deserved the same thing.

“Hi Ana,” Bex’s smiled broadened, standing up from the stool behind the desk. Ana reminded Bex so much of herself,unsure of exactly what she’d gotten herself into, moving to the island.

“There’s no protocol,” Bex reassured her kindly, waving her hand to get the attention of the girl who was supposed to be manning the front desk before Bex had sent her on a two hour paid break. When the young woman had returned, she turned back to Ana.

“Drink?” she offered, hoping that might relax her a bit. “I know the bartender,” she whispered as if it were a secret.

“Weekends?” Bex pondered the question a bit. She knew what she did on the weekends: work. “Same as everywhere, I guess. If you’re exciting, go out on the town to drink and party. If you’ll a dull old woman like myself, staying home to do laundry and finish your reading latest book is perhaps the better option.”

“What can I get ya?” she asked as they approached the bar. “On the house.”

Ana felt reassured as Bex spoke and felt a smile round her lips.  She knew that Bex had to stressed, stressed as Ana, herself, was.  It was a lot that had just been dumped on Cass and everyone who loved her had to feel it.  Something that, ordinarily, should be such a source of joy was now mixed with so much sadness, Ana didn’t know exactly how to feel.  She did know, however, that they were all there for Cass, and knowing that she didn’t have to go through this alone was something wonderful.  It was also, in itself, something of a bond linking these two otherwise very different women.  No one knew what was going to happen next, but they all knew they had each other to help them get through it.

“Good,” responded Ana with a glint of mischief in her eyes.  “I’ve never been much good with rules.”  Her parents’ parenting style had always been very hands off, in that way, and Ana had never really learned much about how to comply.  If anything, she’d learned the opposite.  After all, her parents, had brought their children to dozens of protests and had always taught them the importance of thinking for themselves, especially if someone was trying to give them different instructions.  

“Not that,” she added, quickly, eyes widening with alarm as she remembered her temporary job working for the resort.  “That I don’t make an excellent worker, because I do.”  Unlike her brother, Ana had always been a hard worker.  Granted, she might be an unorthodox one, but she was the furthest thing from lazy, but then, she was going to have a chance to prove exactly that very soon.  “I just meant...in my personal life.”

Laughing at Bex’s quip, she grinned.  “Oh, God, yes!” she exclaimed.  “I haven’t been drinking around Cass because...you know...” she added, glancing around.  She wasn’t sure yet if Cass wanted people to know of her condition, but she did know for a fact that, at least, the two of them knew.  “She can’t drink, but...Cass isn’t here,” she added softly.  “And, if I’m being honest, I could really use one.”

Ana’s lips quirked with bemusement as Bex spoke.  “Ok,” she replied with a laugh.  “I’m glad that the island provides amusement for all types!  I’ll admit I usually think of myself as more the first type, but if I’m being honest, I do my share of both.”