Wolves on the Water ((attn: Brig, Drew and friends))

Kai sat in a deck chair, her feet tucked to her bottom, her knees pressed against her chest, her hands wrapped around a steming mug of apple cinnamon tea. She'd spent the night on the boat, alone completely and blessedly alone. It had been some time since she'd be alone. Oh, she'd been by herself, but there were always people nearby. There was no one here and it was a silence she relished for its rareness. Friday after work, she'd met the board maker and had tested the new board on the waves off the beaches in the Park. It was a smooth ride and she'd spent several hours on it, before sunset brought her in off the water. The board was now secured in a surfboard rack on the port side of the boat and she was hoping there were some good waves that afternoon.

She'd talked with Drew Thursday morning and they'd ironed out details, and then she'd emailed Brig, letting them know that all the equipment they would need was provided unless anyone wanted to surf, then they had to provide their own board. The caretakers of the island were expecting them at three so that the couple could take a much needed day and night of shore leave. So Drew and his friends were supposed to show up around one. She'd told Brig to come anytime Saturday morning, but to be there by one. He'd not given her any indication of his arrival, only that he'd be there in time.

She had given herself the luxury of sleeping in until after the sun had risen, then swam the distance between the boat and boat house for an hour, showered and was sitting in a pair of shorts and a light green camisole, sipping tea as she awaited the arrival of the captain, first mate, cook and steward that were all employed by the Aquarium to man this vessel whenever it was needed. And Brig she was waiting for Brig.

She was nothing if not completely honest with herself, and while she was looking forward to meeting more pack mates and making new friends, she admitted that she was more looking forward to spending more than half an hour with Brig. The why of it still hadn't fleshed itself out in her mind and she rather enjoyed the mystery of that as well.

Drew 13 years ago
Reign had tried her hand at body surfing with he and the brothers but the sun, the ocean and the lack of sleep from the past few days caught up with her fast. She'd pulled on a pair of board shorts over her bathing suit and fallen asleep in the shade. Drew felt moderately guilty. He'd not even asked if she wanted to come, he'd just drug her. And he hadn't even asked how the tournament had gone.

But guilt didn't last long in Drew-land and he and the guys had started screwing around with the football. Running around on the beach, in and out of the surf and just having a good time.


"Ninja my ass."Â? Drew shot back. "You weren't paying attention."Â?

"Yeah, don't make me start telling stories."Â? Wil added. He was the older of the two and had no issues picking on his little brother. Of course if any one else did it he was a bit protective.

Drew had quickly learned not to get in between the brothers. He had sisters, well and a ton of cousins, so the etiquette came naturally to him. He rolled his eyes at the two of them and jerked his chin at Kai so she'd back up.

"Come on then let's see what those tiny girly hands of yours can do."Â?
Kai 13 years ago
Kai narrowed her eyes at him and straightened, effecting her professorial voice. "The ball doesn't care what size one's hands are. It cares only for trajectory and velocity. In other words, ya little runt, be prepared to run."

With a flash of her bright smile she pulled her arm back and launched the ball to somewhere beyond Drew. It flew straight and sweet with a lovely little spin.
Brig Jameson 13 years ago
Brig watched Kai run off and join the football scrimmage and just as he was kicking off his shoes to join, his pocket started to vibrate. With a sigh, he slumped his shoulders unhappily and sat down on the sandy beach, pulling out his iphone.

'Incoming call - Hammer'

The face-to-face option popped up and he grinned as he pressed the button to activate it.


'I thought you hated this thing?'

Hammer peered into the phone's camera and snorted unhappily. 'I do hate it, but your nephew had all the phones upgraded.' His cousin shook his phone and Brig laughed as Hammer's face jumbled around.

'Your timing is both perfect and horrible.'

'Am I interrupting your attempts to fornicate with the girl?'

Rolling his eyes, Brig snorted.
'She is a woman...and no, that's how its perfect yet still horrible. I already attempted and succeeded, but I kinda would like to attempt it again.'

Hammer shook his head and suddenly his gruff demeanor changed. 'I need you here, Brig.'

'I'll be back tomorrow, can it wait?'

'No,' Hammer ran his fingers over his missing eye's scars. 'There's something we need to talk about.'

Brig looked at the expression on Hammer's face. This is why he used the face-to-face option, so Brig could see the seriousness of his cousin's request. This wasn't Piper related, Brig realized, but personal - personal to Hammer.


'That bad?' Brig asked.

Suddenly something bizarre happened. Something Brig had personally not seen in some time, but the Beta looked back at the camera phone and...smiled.

'Are you in pain? I can't tell.'

Hammer grunted a soft chuckle. 'This is important, Brian. Important to me.'

The second time in so many months, the second time in YEARS, Hammer called Brig by his real name. The last time that happened, Hammer had about lost his temper and attacked Brig, grabbing him by the collar and telling him to back off of a subject that had always been sensitive to his cousin.


'Oooh,' Brig recalled the subject. Looking over at Kai and the others playing keep away with the football. He was going to regret leaving, he knew this, especially after what just happened with Kai. She hopefully wouldn't think he was schtuping and then leaving. God, hopefully she won't be angry.

Looking back at his camera phone, Brig stood and wiped some of the sand off his shorts.
'Alright then, Hammer. Come get me.'

'Thanks, Brig.'

Brig winked, 'Anything for my pookie-bear.'

Hammer shook his head with a grin and waved good bye as he ended the call. Tucking his phone back into his pocket, Brig grabbed his shoes and began his slow walk over to Kai to explain why a speed boat would be incoming soon for him and why she shouldn't shove that football down his throat after he said it.



Kai 13 years ago
Kai was currently running headlong after the pass Wil had thrown for her. With a shout of triumph, she jumped into the air and caught the ball. Spinning with her momentum, she caught sight of Brig coming down the sand with a most peculiar look on his face.

She flashed him a smile, before turning around and lobbing the ball at Jared.
"Be right back, go ahead and play amongst yourselves."

An impish little grin followed and she jogged the small bit still separating her and Brig.

"Everything okay?" She reached up and touched his arm, instinct causing her to want to comfort him. He looked like someone had just told him his dog died.
Brig Jameson 13 years ago
Brig explained the situation to her, all with a slight grimace of expectant pain on his face.

'I really am sorry. It's my cousin,' he paused feeling like a total asshole. 'I just don't want you to think...'

He let his voice trail off and he slowly blinked his eyes, fully expecting her to be angry, but hoped she'd understand. His phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his pocket. A text message from his Sergeant, Charlie, was waiting to be read.

Incoming, 15 minutes


With a sheepish grin, he turned the phone around and showed Kai the disply.

'I really...really...am very sorry.'


((ooc out pending response - I'm afk on vaca so net time is limited, if you can out us both with Brig getting into a speed boat, that would work for me.))
Kai 13 years ago
Kai's nose scrunched up all on its own as Brig explained. But it was smoothed out quickly when he apologized.

"It's alright, Brig. Well it's kind of not, but I understand. I'm glad you got to come even if it was just for a little while."

Her nose crinkled again when he showed her the text.

"This just gives you an opportunity to make it up to me is all."

Laughing softly she walked down to the dock with him, calling up to the captain to inform him of an incoming vessel. They stood on the dock, her small hand in his until the boat arrived.

Brig hugged her a little roughly, and kissed her thoroughly, before boarding the boat with Charlie. She stood there waving him off, and before joining the others again, grabbed snorkel equipment.

Jogging back to them, she held up the masks, snorkels and fins.
"Who wants to go look at fish?!"
Drew 13 years ago
Drew half watched the whole thing with Brig and Kai and filled it way to think about later. He rather wanted to know what was going on, but he couldn't justify asking. So he bit his tongue, it hurt, but he managed.

Reign sat up while Kai was gone, she looked... bleary. Like she hadn't quite finished her nap. That could be dangerous she was not at her best first thing in the morning. He fondly recalled her trying to clobber him with a book. Drew considered himself lucky she hadn't set Sirius on him.

Letting the brothers keep playing he moved over to her and absently started putting sun screen on her.


"Don't give me any grief pale face. I'm not going to listen to you bitch if you get burned and look like a lobster."Â?

Kai returned with another activity and Wil pipped up.

"Do we get to eat them?"Â?

Both of them trotted over with little hesitation. Celeste was not going to be amused if she heard about this. She was the jealous type and even though there was no flirting no nothing... well... Drew was glad he wasn't dating her.

Nudging Reign he managed to get her to her feet and to mostly agree to the suggestion. Speech was apparently eluding her for the moment.
Kai 13 years ago
"If you want to, but reef and barrier island fish are little more than flashy colors and lots of bones. So if you're short on calcium in your diet, go for it."

Laughing, Kai gave Wil and Jared their share of the burden, and gave Drew his and Reign's with an impish grin.

"Did you enjoy your nap Reign?"

They started the short journey to the other side of the island. The fish would be more prolific on that side as they were rarely disturbed by more than the occasional diver. It was likely they'd see a turtle or two as well. Kai was excited about that prospect.

They walk, which took just a bit more than twenty minutes was full of laughter and joking, and a great deal of Kai catching crap for disappearing into the woods with Brig. It was quite nice to have simply been accepted as one of their number, as though she'd always been. She gave as good as she got.

When they made it too the opposite beach, Kai tossed her flip flips and wrap next to a largish rock, and weighed them down with a smaller rock. As the others got into snorkel gear, she checked the compass on her watch. It would suck to get turned around under the water.
Reign 13 years ago
There were days that Reign thought she kept the Boy around because he could be a bit touchy feely. She wasn't much on physical displays of affection, except with her family and even those weren't frequent. But human, or werewolf touch, wasn't something to be just shunned. She relaxed a bit as Drew made sure she didn't get burned.

"Whatever you say Tonto."Â?

She muttered while sleepily letting her head fall back on to his shoulder.

Wil and Jared made disappointed noises about something to do with fish as she and Drew got moving. Let it not be said chivalry was dead, the boys seemed to be doing all the carrying while she stumbled along still waking up a bit. She yawned and stretched as they walked.


"Yeah. Sorry between the ocean and this punk,"Â? She cheerfully shoved Drew who stumbled a few steps, "waking me up ungodly early the other day it was called for."Â?

It was Reign's way of apologizing for falling asleep.
Drew 13 years ago
Drew kept one arm companionably around Reign's waist as they headed to the water's edge.

"You know it really wasn't my fault. She shouldn't have driven all night like that."Â?

Wil and Jared set up the snorkeling gear and plunged into the water. It wasn't even especially cold to them having grown up on a lake in Wisconsin.

"We're not going to have to watch for jelly fish or anything freaky like that are we?"Â?
Kai 13 years ago
Kai took a deep breath, and looked up and down the small beach. "There aren't any on the sand, so I doubt you'll run into a great number of them. Though jellyfish are pretty much everywhere."

Laughing softly, she headed down to the water. "Hey Drew, don't forget to spit in your mask. Keeps it from fogging up."

A grin was flashed and she walked deeper in before diving under the waves, gear in hand. Surfacing she followed her own advice and donned her gear.

They frolicked in the waves for a couple of hours, pausing from time to catch their breath or share details of something they found. Kai was delighted to see a pair of sea turtles. She'd not really expected to, but they didn't disappoint her, and they were small and young which gave her a sweet hope.

Exhausted from the waves and reminded by the lowering sun, they headed back to the other side of island. When Kai stumbled over a hidden root, Wil carried her piggyback, making Jared carry his stuff and hers. Feeling the active day in her body, she was more than happy to rest her cheek on his shoulder and let him do all the work.

Trevor's dinner was even more sublime than his lunch had been. And the four wolves and their illamar ate until they simply couldn't put another bite in their mouths, making sure Trevor's efforts did not go to waste. As they'd descimated the meal, Brett was down on the beach getting the fire started and set out stuff for s'mores, the only cooked thing Kai would eat. She'd had them one night when docked at a small island similar to this one, and had fallen in love with the gooey treats.

With dinner finished, they disembarked and returned to the beach and the fire side.
Reign 13 years ago
Reign didn't hide her relationship with the Boy, not at all. However, she was much happier letting everyone think they were just friends. Drew tended to understand that and was OK with and respected it. But it had been a -long- day and even with her nap, she was still feeling a bit wiped out. So, she was just as happy to stretch out next to the Boy and use him as a pillow as she stared at the bon fire.

This had actually been a good day. It had taken her a while to settle into it but all in all, it did remind her of home and the days she and the guys would spend at the lake. It was a good reminder that she had a home here.


"Right. You realize this obligates us to tell ghost stories don't you?"Â?

She said through a lazy stretch.

"Unless you four want to go off on a run or something."Â?

Not that there was a lot of room on the island but she wasn't going to knock it. At least it wasn't a full moon. Thank god for that.
Drew 13 years ago
Wil and Jared were off trying to convince the bar tender to do something, Drew didn't even want to know what. Those two could be down right dangerous when it came to drinks. They were always tasty, but ... well strong. Jared had also mentioned something about s'mores. That, -that- he wasn't going to stand in the way of.

He was a bit surprised Reign would just crash on him, but he wasn't going to knock it. Sure she had a list of flaws a mile long, all of which she'd admit to, and they both knew the relationship wouldn't go further than friends but she was also a good looking woman and good solid people.

Still he snorted at her suggestion.


"You say something like that pale face and you have to start. Cause unless you want a plot synopsis of Friday the 13th part nine hundred I'm not much of a story teller."Â?

Which was a total lie.

"Come on Kai you must have some good Aussie ghost stories to tell."Â?

He goaded the hostess as Jared came back laden with what smelled like chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows.

"Wil'll be back in a minute. What'd I miss?"Â?
Kai 13 years ago
Kai had showered and changed into a pair of little white shorts and a purple camisole before dinner, figuring if they slept on the beach, she'd be dressed for it. Her tush was planted on a brightly colored towel, and her back was resting on one of the logs that had been placed around this fire pit a long long time ago.

With a laugh she took the skewer from Jared that he'd shoved several marshmallows on.
"I'm not much of a story teller, and while my pack was very ceremonially oriented, they didn't really have any ghost stories, and I never took the time to listen to the ones the crews of my research vessels liked to tell."


She set the white blobs over the fire, giving them some time to melt. "But if it's really that you just want to listen to me talk, I'm sure I can make one up."

Kai winked at Drew, before returning her attention to her marshmallows.
Drew 13 years ago
Drew grinned at Kai, but made no move to try his hand at story telling. Truthfully Drew didn't like to tell ghost stories. Too many of the ghost stories in his culture involved wolves, but in a bad way. Nope, he didn't share those stories, bad enough he'd had to grow up with them and with the kids from other clans knowing the stories and telling them while watching he and his cousins waiting for something to happen.

He was saved, however, by Jared starting in on a story, which he didn't stop even when Wil came back and handed them each something a little sweet, a little spicy and a lot potent. But it was smooth and drank easy. They all ate too many s'mores and Wil picked up the next story. Hell even Reign got into the act, although her story had a comic twist.
Reign 13 years ago
Wil's drink, the fire, the water and the s'mores had Reign relaxed to the Nth degree. Enough that she told an old silly ghost story about The Viper. She even managed to get the accent right when she got to the punch line about 'coming to vash and vipe the vindows'.

She stretched hugely, going back to the boat seemed like such an effort, sort of like keeping her eyes open. Hell even the sand felt comfortable, sot of soft and warm.


"You're going to think I'm either old or a total bore. I keep falling asleep on you."
Kai 13 years ago
Suffused with a lassitude that was wholly unknown to Kai, she laughed lightly at Reign's story. Somehow she'd managed to move her resting place from the log to Wil's chest, and she wasn't quite sure when that'd happened.
He'd handed her a mug of something warm and sweet and since she didn't smell or taste alcohol; she'd drunk the entire thing, in between gooey melty s'mores. The combination, along with the activity of the day, made her tired.


"I don't know Reign; I'm feeling a bit like sleeping right now too, though I just can't seem to find the energy to move from this spot. Wil, you make a pretty good pillow."Â?

Another light laugh and she found her attention once more taken up by the crackle and dance of the fire. Wil gave her shoulder a pat, and moved a stray hair from her face. A soft sigh moved her chest, and she wrapped her arms around her knees.
Drew 13 years ago
Apparently the girls were wiped out, after a few more minutes of idle chatter they both dropped off. Drew gave will a look over Kai's sleeping form. If Celeste ever found out about this, she'd have a fit and a half. It was all perfectly innocent, at least he thought it was, and he'd tell Celeste the same thing. If she'd listen.

Well he was no Romeo and he wasn't going to get involved. Instead, he and the guys followed the girl's example and passed out. It might have been more comfortable to sleep on the beach as a wolf but he didn't wait Reign to wake up surrounded by wolves, or even one wolf. It might freak her out.

No one woke up until the sun started to rise and some how Drew got it into his head it would be a good idea to carry a still sleeping Reign into the surf and drop her in the ocean. Damned, he didn't know she was that fast. The shouting and splashing woke the others up and resulted in some serious horse play.

Thoroughly awake and dripping wet they all headed back to the boat for breakfast, well brunch now. As they wolfed down their meal the crew set sail back for the main land.
Kai 13 years ago
Kai had awakened in a big puppy pile of arms and legs consisting of herself, Wil and Jared, to the sounds of cursing and splashing water. Sitting up consisted of the three of them working together to untangle everything, and Kai rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, and peered out to the water to see Reign and Drew splashing about. Before she knew it strong arms had picked her up and jogged her to the water, summarily dropping her into the drink.

The rough housing that followed was great fun, and made Kai even more hungry than she already was. After a shower, she dressed in denim shorts and a cami, forgoing a bra because hers was drenched in sea water. The ride back to shore was bittersweet for her, and she spent it chatting with her new friends and soaking in sun that was promising 100 plus degrees soon.

The docked at just after four on Sunday afternoon, and she wondered if everything was alright with Brig and his cousin. As the boat was tying off to the dock she went below to gather up her things, tossing all the dirty things into one bag and everything that was still clean in another. Once finished she returned and disembarked with everyone else.

After hugs and smiles and thanks, and setting up a lunch or two, she bid farwell to her new friends, and thanked the crew, before heading to her little car and heading home.


((Kai out pending response))
Drew 13 years ago
All things considered, Drew was damned satisfied. He'd gotten Kai out and to meet some people, he'd try and get her out again, without the over night so they weren't limited to family. Wil and Jared had had a good time and even Reign had admitted to having a good time.

Kai headed out where every she was, the guys both headed back to the den and Drew took Reign home.

Not a bad weekend.


((OOC... all out))