Isamu didn't know if she wanted to consider this the best day of her life, or the worst. Today was Fall twenty seventh, or for short, the day this horrible abomination as she was called, was born to the earth and given away to the worst family a child could hope for. She hoped people were happy about that, she was turning a firm twenty years old and Alexander didn't seem to remember her birthday cause he proclaimed to stay home as she went out, claiming she wanted to spend time with Alexander for awhile. Really, she just wanted to go out with him for her birthday to spend some time, but he didn't even come with her for that stupid event of hers. She felt like just sitting on the beach and crying her eyes out. What kind of horrid birthday party was this? While she was trying to find a way to plan a birthday all by herself, Alexander was having fun at home not even caring about it. Of course, it wouldn't hurt her so bad if she had just met Alexander. But she had known him for a good solid four years, five years if you counted the next week or so. She was closer to him than she was to anyone else, and he was just sitting at home.

Plopping onto the beach, she propped herself up as her bare pale legs shivered at the wind, her shorts going up to her thighs, the usual black as everyday. Even though it was her birthday, she didn't dress up for it. She was still wearing the same outfit as always, her black string top and her overcoat. Slowly slipping her arms out as all her scars came out to the light, the coat made a slight plop into the sand behind her as she hugged her knees to her chest. Plopping her face into her knees. Sighing breathlessly to herself, she never thought she'd be doing this on her birthday. For the years she had known Alexander, he would often celebrate it with his specially made cake that was a bit sloppily made, the words happy birthday Isa with icing were written sloppily like a zebra tried to write, but she appreciated his effort greatly. She enjoyed blowing out candles with him, eating the cake with him, cutting it with him, she even enjoyed opening the presents he made for her. But now she didn't have any of that cause he was sleeping at home.

Burying her face into her knees, she let out soft sobs that soon turned louder than blue blazes. Her crying would wake up the whole neighbor hood if they weren't already awake, hopefully she wasn't caught like this either. She wasn't exactly the type to do this from time, but when she thought of her fun birthday parties with Alexander, and than the birthday's with her father, she thought the difference was a lot greater and she wished Alexander was there. He was a kid, but she loved him in a sisterly way. Maybe she was exaggerrating herself, but she thought spending a day with a little boy who tried to make cake for her, was better than having a birthday party by going out to the jewelry store in party hats and being forced to grab whatever she wanted, but she never did. It was just horrible, she just hoped nobody ran into her. She wasn't supposed to cry in her eyes, she was supposed to be the tough girl, the girl who guarded her friends from danger. Not the one with a soft weakness over a slightly forgotten birthday. Instead, she just cried instead of trying to stop, her sobs growing louder.

Today was one of the coldest days of Fall. Leave it up to Winter rolling in around the corner, but Nolan still silently complained from the sudden drop in temperature over the course of two weeks. He roamed town with a puffy, comfortable coat that had a fluffy hood and a pair of black pants. His hands were covered in smooth gloves to keep them warm and his sneakers were swapped with boots, bulking himself up for the day. Though Nolan didn't like colder weather, he enjoyed dressing up for it since he preferred his big coats over sleeveless shirts and shorts. With his day off from work, Nolan did his usual walk through town to catch up on the latest news and tour all the shops.

Nutmeg Beach was his last stop before heading back to the Inn for something to eat. Whenever Nolan wasn't working there, he was eating there and whenever he wasn't eating there, he slept there. Rosemary Inn might as well be his sanctuary since he spent the majority of his time loitering about the halls and rooms. Not his first choice in where to be at for the most of the time but having his work and home in one had good points too. Nolan didn't have to get up earlier for a walk over and he could sleep in a little longer. Though he wouldn't admit it, he was growing more and more fond of the Inn.

Walking along the shore, Nolan found that there weren't very many people out. The beach was most popular during late spring and summer so he expected there not to be many people out playing beach volley ball or swimming in the water. In one gloved hand was a plastic container of hot chocolate that he had been sipping ever since one stop at a restaurant, the warm liquid helping his craving for sweets and also keeping him warm. Nolan looked almost jolly walking down the beach with his cocoa and puffy, warm looking jacket. A figure was seen in the near distance, sitting all by herself. This didn't stand out to Nolan until he first noted her clothing.

Wasn't it a little cold to be wearing a 'shirt' like that? Nolan was shocked she wasn't freezing to death! Did she grow up in a cold climate so this was nothing to her? It wasn't drop-dead cold outside... just not bikini season. Oh well, if that's what she wanted to wear, Nolan didn't want to make a comment since it wasn't his business anyway. Taking a sip of his hot chocolate, he was close to passing by when he could clearly hear the cries of the girl. He didn't get a good look at her face but he recognized the sound of crying from anywhere. Nolan, despite not knowing this girl or even recognizing her, felt his heart break upon a lonely lady sobbing on the beach.

Pausing in his steps, Nolan stood a good few feet away from the poor young woman as he gazed at her sadly. The warm air coming from his hot chocolate puffed above like a wave before his face. Taking a few steps closer, Nolan's boots lightly crunched through the sand. "Excuse me, but... I couldn't help but notice you look down." He began slowly, his voice spoken louder since he wasn't standing very close to her but not from a large distance. "Do you need help with anything? I hate to see people sad like this." Nolan offered, trying to be kind as he gave a friendly gaze at the woman.

Taking a few sighs of air, her face still buried in her knees, the cries kept continuing a bit sadly like it was something she couldn't stop anymore. Really she couldn't and was practically giving up in trying, now she was waiting for the next step, someone coming to make fun of her for crying. Men always seemed to do it, or her father did at least. She was always told girls always cried, which made Isamu just like them. Though she liked to classify her, way farther past a wimpy girl. Maybe she was just being selfish cause she wanted Alexander to spend it with her, to remember it instead of running around the house. She hadn't even noticed her loud cries had seemed to make someone not to far from her start approaching, nor did she expect anyone to actually care about he crying and just walk past without a care in the world. Really, she didn't mind for company right now. She was tense around boys, sure, but she thought maybe some company, doesn't matter what the gender is, she didn't mind. As long as she got to talk to someone that wouldn't mind her for a few minutes, or however long.

Through her sobs, she could hear the voice of a boy and her shoulders instantly tensed as she brought up her dry, teary, crystal blue eyes that stuck out from all other features, it made her look abnormal in some peoples view. Putting her cheek on her knee as she continued to look at him, "Well, I can't say today is an exciting day for me like everyone else." she sighed lightly to herself, tears still soaking out of her eyes since it still saddened her. Looking over at his mug full of chocolate, she supposed he wasn't wanting to stay out long and shrugged a bit to herself, her whole figure tensing up around him already, even though he wasn't exactly close to her either. Picking up her jacket behind her, she slowly took a breathe as she looked down at the ground. A few things were happening in her head, one, she was around a guy who didn't make her grab the closet thing near her and start swinging. Two, she wasn't wearing her jacket which meant a little embarrassment for her since she didn't really like the questions about everything on her side, under her busts, and on her back since that was the major one. Of course the one on her lower waist to, but it wasn't exactly a happy topic.

Resuming back to her understanding mode, realizing she forgot to answer one more thing from what he had said. Tossing the jacket over her legs, it layered right at the top of her knees, one of the sleeves draping between her stomach and legs, she was still practically hugging her knees like a pillow. "I don't really know what I need help with, It's just something hard for me to explain." she chuckled lightly to herself, expecting him to walk away soon from her talking. Maybe she was talking to herself right now, and the boy had already walked away from the scene thinking she was a huge crybaby that just wanted attention or something.

Holding his mug a little tighter, Nolan brought the opening up to his lips before tilting it up so he could have a sip. No sound was made as he quietly licked his lips from getting some of the hot chocolate on his upper lip and somewhat burning it. Thankfully, the liquid wasn't as warm from when he first bought it and the chocolate didn't burn him like lava would. Hot chocolate might be something the young woman needed and town wasn't too far away, but Nolan didn't have any money left in his wallet. Plus, not everyone liked randomly being offered things by strangers. Instead, he gave a small smile down at the girl as he waited shortly for a response from her. Nolan's eyes didn't wander very much over her body-- at least, not in an inappropriate way-- but he did notice that the girl had multiple scars. Rather strange considering that one on her back was a criss-cross and for a second, Nolan's brows rose a little as he found himself looking at the more visible, standing out ones. He didn't mean to stare but he honestly never saw such visible, big scars on a person before, particularly on a lady. A lot of questions came to mind pertaining to them, wondering where she got them from and how. Had she not been crying Nolan might have already been going on about how 'cool' they were.

Peering her head up, the woman had very interesting eyes. They were the bluest Nolan ever seen and it almost started him, her glassy orbs seeming rather intriguing even through her tears and crying. He pulled his eyes away since he didn't want her to think he was checking her out or being an annoying, random guy who liked standing around staring at people. Looking down at his mug, Nolan heard the woman speak and his smile twitched up a little higher as his expression softened. "So... you're having a bad day? That sort of thing happens to us all, but that doesn't make coping any easier." He answered as he walked closer to the young woman so he wasn't standing as far away. Nolan didn't want to leave until he made her feel at least a little better, therefor he made sure to keep a warm, welcoming gaze at her to make sure she knew he wasn't going to suddenly attack her for being sad. Sitting down beside her but still keeping a distance, Nolan made sure to sit where the sand wouldn't be damp and stick to his pants. One of the things he hated the most about visiting the beach was shaking sand off of clothes or shoes.

Nolan had himself turned to face the ocean, watching the waves gently crash ahead and hearing the distant sounds of seagulls. Whenever feeling blue, this was a good place to visit. With the sounds all around to distract yourself and the cool breeze, he found Nutmeg Beach to be a comfortable place when there wasn't a bunch of half-naked people running around. "If you want to vent or anything, I'm all ears! Ranting to a stranger can be better than someone you already know. There's not any expectations to reach and I don't have anything to judge you against!" He offered cheerfully as he looked over at her, hoping she didn't mind the company of a stranger sitting next to her. If she really did tell him what happened, Nolan hoped it would help dry her tears.

As she turned her head back to look at the ocean, her arms lingering underneath her legs and holding them closer to her stomach still. Resting her chin on her knees, she continued to look out at the peaceful ocean. Though she did find it scary, imagining her mother coming to Saffron and actually finding her along with her own personal helpers. Out of the corner of her eyes, she stared at the boy who had his eyes targeted at his mug in front of him. After his soft words, she nodded without moving her head up from it's current position. "Of course, I pretty much am. But you are pretty much right about that." she sighed slightly to herself. She thought she was in the bad side of life right now, there were children in the streets somewhere back home. She remembered seeing all the children crouched by they're once alive parents back home by the crippling and crumbling buildings. That just made another tear fall down her face as she thought of it. Oh god, she was happy to be out of that horrible, corrupted, hell hole. But she was pretty scared of what happened to her sister, she was never told what happened to her afterwards. Did she run away, or did she get caught herself? Whatever happened to her, she was afraid that her own sister would turn her back on Isamu to. As she continued to watch him with caution, she was practically ready to grab the closest thing and swing it at him if she had to. And her only line of defense was using her jacket, sand, or her own fists which would probably be her first answer to it all. he made a seat in the sand, not to far from her and she took a tiny smile through her tears before it quickly turned back into her occasional frown of the day.

Once his words reached her ears, she softened up and lowered her shield for him the slightest. He didn't seem like her father or any of the people she remembered back home, so she was glad he was pretty much nice. Nicest guy so far, check. "To tell the truth.. I'm just a bit down in the dumps because it's my b--" she was beginning to talk as if nothing would happen, and she thought nothing would. Her words slipped carefully out of her mouth as her pale skin began to turn a little whiter from the slightly colder weather before another sound approached from behind the two, two shoes shuffling in the sound before a screeching voice came yelling in the two's direction like something was about to happen.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!"

The voice filled her ears as she turned her head to the voice calling her name only to find her face suddenly get splattered with cake. Keeping her eyes scrunched close, she licked her upper lick being knowing who it was. Only one person would bring her cake since not many people knew her that well on Saffron, It was obviously Alexander who had came. He hadn't forgotten her birthday, just played it off as he forgot, and... surprised her? Her eyes slowly opened to see the boy on the ground with a worried expression as if he just committed a huge crime. "O-Oh, I'm sorry Isa! Were you visiting with a friend? I thought since it was your birthday, I should make you a cake.." He went on slowly before turning towards the blonde boy and waving, Isamu turned her whole body in his direction slowly before beginning to wipe off the cake pieces in her face, a frown still implanted on her face. "But now I ruined your birthday even more, I'm sorry!" he began to push his own face into the sand a bit sadly. Isamu sighed before ruffling his hair and turned to Nolan. "Because it's my birthday."

While speaking with the young lady, Nolan heard sounds from behind them but at first they weren't loud enough for him to turn around and take a look. That, and he didn't want to appear uninterested or distracted when she was trying to talk with him. With nothing else scheduled for his day other than just enjoy his free time, he had no need to rush anywhere and didn't mind sitting and chatting with a new face to pass some time. For the rest of the week, there weren't events or exciting activities planned on the island... rather boring, especially for someone who liked having some kind of action going on. Hopefully sometime soon there'd be new postings of festivals on the local announcement board in the square. Maybe a Cooking Festival would come up so he could try some of the skills he learned with his new friend Evangeline! Or a Music Festival so he could rock out to some music or even audition to perform. Who knows, that could be his way of getting his name out! The idea thrilled him and he hoped with all of his might that a opportunity such as that would come up.

Before she could tell him what was on her mind, and before Nolan could either agree with her train of thought or come up with a comment to comfort her, they were interrupted by what sounded like a loud screech. Nolan, admittedly, was startled by hearing a sudden sharp noise calling from behind them and turned to look over his shoulder and see what it was. His eyes met with the sight of a young boy about to show a cake to them, or... her? Nolan could have swore he heard a 'Happy Birthday, Isamu!' in there and his eyes widened when he saw the cake about to smoosh into Isamu. Before he could even say anything, her face was already turned and the frosting decorated her like face paint. This definitely turned into the most confusing moment of the day to him-- finding a girl sobbing on the beach and some little boy shoving cake into her face. It almost was similar to a scene you'd see in those older comedy movies.

The cake did look yummy, though... Nolan could feel his mouth water from the sight of the dessert but he was snapped out of his daze fast. Looking at the woman, presumably named Isamu, his jaw dropped and he had the urge to wipe off the cake from her first but his hands clutched his mug tightly and he couldn't prevent himself from staring at them with one of his most surprised, shocked expressions he could pull off. "Woah! That was really random!" He nearly gasped, nearly sounding in awe. Okay, so Nolan was entertained. He couldn't deny that, but he also felt bad for Isamu getting food all over her face, having a worried gleam in his eyes. "It's your birthday today? People shouldn't cry on their birthdays, it's a time to celebrate!" He exclaimed and grinned cheerfully at the two, "And you have cake now, even if it's on your face! It's still a good thing, right?" Trying to brighten the mood was what Nolan did but at times, he ended up annoying people rather than cheering them up. He didn't want to tap-dance on anyone's nerves and when he realized that what he said could potentially be taken the wrong way, Nolan tried to look more concerned. "U-um, Happy Birthday, Miss Isamu!" He cheered, "Is this your brother?"

As Alexander put down the rest of the cake that had survived after the impact, he lowered his head a bit sadly. Even though he called her sis, if he did something wrong or messed up, he acted like she was his mother or the guardian of him, and if he did something wrong she would scold her. Of course, Isamu wasn't like that since she was reminded greatly of her father back home when she scolded people. Of course, she did get into fights momentarily if he got teased, or would scold someone near her age, she was never one to be harsh on another child unless they honestly deserved it. But she had no dignity in her heart that said he deserved being yelled at or scolded anytime since it was an accident, he was a clumsy walking disaster, so she understood if he did it once in awhile. Ruffling his hair so he didn't push his face further into the sand as he already had, she poked her finger into the icing and poking a finger into her mouth, a frown still formed on her face.

Listening to the boy, she smirked a bit to herself and sighed, wiping away half of the icing of her face, she'd have to go to the beach water just in front of her to wash it off in a minute after she answered him. Almost everyone had thought Alexander and she were brother and sister, though she wouldn't want him to be. Not cause she didn't want him to be her brother, but the fact he would've not lived well with her father would have haunted his life later on. She trusted Alexander greatly, and he was the only one who knew most of her history. Though he did get on her nerves over one thing, that was, he always accidentally would slip something out that gave a clue of what was wrong with her and it wasn't a happy sight for a person to see her covering a child's mouth really. "No we aren't related by blood, I found him alone in one of the mansions back home and took him in." she let out a tiny sigh, not cause she was frustrated at the boy, but because every time she thought of the same Alexander crying at the mansion, and the fact with the two bodies of his parents still in there, it truly made her cringe in a bit of fear.

"My birthday isn't something I'm proud of, but I don't think I'd be safe If I told you why." she frowned, pulling her knees to her chest a bit tighter. Maybe she gave out to information just saying that, but she didn't think it would make him ask or anything. If he did, she wasn't going to lie. But she wasn't going to go into details either. Maybe give him a few bits of information, but she was not going to tell him the single bit about being hunted down by the corrupted police, and her own mother at that.

Upon hearing that Isamu found the young boy at a mansion, Nolan silently wondered if this meant that they were rich or maybe even famous outside of the island. A lot of people who lived in mansions were one of those two. It sounded like they came from a different area, which also confirmed that there was at least some kind of agenda that they had. Many people moved to Saffron Island whenever they wanted a fresh start, get away from the action, or to find somewhere peaceful to settle down. Nobody who lived in the area were really ones to keep up with trends and all the famous folks on the other continent, therefor anyone looking for a place to just blend found themselves at home here.

Nolan grinned at Isamu and the young boy, finding that the two looked similar in appearance. One could easily mistake them for being related and he was sure that they were asked the question often. "Ohhhh, really? You two look a lot alike!" He replied with the same cheerful expression before taking another sip of his mug. The baked birthday cake was partially ruined now with pieces of it along the cake but she still ate some. Had his brother done something similar to his cake, Nolan might have ended up starting a food fight with him instead. "Huh?" Nolan questioned upon Isamu's comment about her birthday. That was sort of an odd statement-- why wouldn't she be proud of her birthday and not feel safe explaining why? Nolan considered that maybe her mother died during labor, but that was all he could think of... the young man's world was relatively small. "Why wouldn't you feel safe telling me? You don't have to but... I'm not a gossiper." He assured her with a small nod.

Looking at the two, Nolan decided that it'd be a good idea that they actually found out his name. As of right now, he might as well been some random stranger passing by that they wouldn't ever see again or remember. "By the way, my name's Nolan!" He greeted, holding one hand to his chest while speaking. Getting introductions out of the way could help with removing any awkwardness or tension, though Nolan didn't feel a lot of it.

Blinking a couple times after hearing his 'compliment', she stared down at the young boy who was now staring back at him, with literally no sand on his face which was quite amazing after pushing his face so far into it. "I guess we kind of do, other than the complexion part." She shrugged a bit to herself, not realizing it was her fault for not going aside so much after meeting Alexander. "But I guess that's my own fault for being so pale." she grabbed her skin, pinching it a bit with the light sting of pain going all through out her skin like volts in her skin, she stared down at it. She looked like paper, she could literally hide in the snow, she wasn't even joking. It was pretty much her top hiding spot in winter when it came to the fun games of hide and seek and stuff, she'd just stuff herself in the snow as quickly as possible, and cover her clothed body parts, and it worked easily. But it didn't work a lot depending on how much snow was on the ground. Hearing his next words, she frowned a bit more and held her coat to her chest. "It's not that I don't trust you, But I can't afford to be.. well..." stopping for a brief moment, she twiddled her fingers nervously. "Isamu isn't the type not to trust anyone, but she's afraid you might run in fear and call the people looking for her!~ Alexander chimed in childishly into the conversation as Isamu gave her the evil glare, it was the only time she had ever given him evil glares.

Smiling gently at him, she quickly felt her sadness wiping off the smile, before it quickly turned back into the same old frown she had implanted and glazed over her face the whole day so far -- might as will just consider it as super glued onto her face, her smile would never last long. "You already know my name I guess, but Isamu Mitsuo, This is Alexander." She grabbed his cheeks only to pull them, his eyes began to plead as if asking Nolan for help now with his teary like eyes, but he wasn't hurt or anything. It was something about him, if you touched his face his eyes began to water for some reason. She thought it would be funny to see his girlfriends reaction when she tries to kiss him, and he starts to cry. "But people call me Isa since some find it hard to pronounce Isamu." Shrugging her shoulders, she never got how hard it was to go EE-Sah-Mu.

Now that Isamu mentioned it, she did look pretty pale. Actually, considering everyone Nolan's met, she might have been the whitest one in skin tone. A lot of the people he met, both on Saffron and Peppertown, had at least some peach color to them. This girl could easily blend in with the snow with how white her skin was and it almost reminded him of a ghost. Nolan didn't think that Isamu's skin tone was bad or anything-- no, he actually found it to be a nice change. She'd totally make a good snow white with the black hair and pale skin! More so of a tougher Snow White, though, since she didn't have the bubbly atmosphere around her. Something about her seemed... tense. Nolan couldn't quite describe it but he could sense that she had some kind of mystery about her and one that she'd prefer no one finding out about. He had this impression for the past minute or so but once Alexander spoke up on the behalf of Isamu's reasoning, Nolan slowly blinked his eyes in thought. Huh... that sounded a bit suspicious. Why would Nolan run in fear if he knew? Several thoughts came to mind-- Spy? Secret Agent? Assassin? Ninja? There were multiple things that she could be but maybe it was just a simple thing, such as a misunderstanding with some people. Or, the little boy was just kidding. That was probably it. "Heh heh! You're pretty funny, kid." Nolan simply cheeped, laughing a little after the boy's accusation, "You guys must be really close!"

Seeing Isamu and Alexander together made Nolan miss his little brother. Sure, they saw each other at least once a week, but it didn't feel like enough. The connection between the two people next to him appeared very close and that was something special. After Nolan got back to his room, he now planned on calling his mother's house and seeing if he could get a hold of Basil. Even for just a few minutes to talk and plan something for them to do together. This time, he wouldn't ditch the kid either. Nope! A promise he made himself was to not let his eyes leave Basil while they were together. Standing up from the sand, Nolan gazed at Alexander in amusement as the kid gave him a pleading look while Isamu pulled his cheeks. "Alexander? It's very nice to meet you, young man!" He greeted as he knelt down, giving Alexander a small ruffle of his hair before standing back up. Nolan's focus directed back at Isamu before giving her a somewhat exaggerated bow, "And a pleasure to meet you as well! Isamu is a very interesting name, haven't ever heard it before. Where did you used to live before coming to Saffron?" Hearing stories always interested him and Nolan seemed intrigued, quietly sipping his hot chocolate while looking at the two.

Alex began to puff up his cheeks as he was called funny and shook his head angrily about the fact, Nolan basically thought he was joking. Isamu was actually happy about that fact, but it didn't show that largely on her face. Even though she was your natural girl to throw herself every which direction, even after Alexander came to try and cheer her up, she didn't even feel another glimpse of happiness. Maybe it was just one of those birthdays were she got all those haunted memories and kept thinking of them. "I'm not jokingggggggg!!" the slightly loud scream woke her from her thoughts as she cringed at the very loud scream of Alexander, before quickly cupping her hand over his mouth before he attracted any more people from the beach. That's all she needed, people running over there and thinking Isamu did something to the kid that they might as well assume as child abuse before throwing her behind bars. Like she needed that.. "Well, we have known each other for five years, six if you include today being my twentieth birthday. Bleh." She stuck her tongue out playfully at the thought, she wasn't exactly one who liked numbers, especially past twenty cause that meant she was turning old in her opinion, though she still acted like a five year old. Pulling her hand away from Alexanders mouth, he quickly stood up and grabbed her coat before tossing it over his own shoulders and running around in circles like a maniac.

Even though Isamu was quite comfortable sitting down right now, she stood up as did Nolan, and she began to walk to the water not to far from her before plopping onto her knees right at the shore line of the water, her knees getting soaked but since she didn't exactly wear long pants, it had not much of an effect on her clothing. With her knees tucked behind her, she bent over and pushed her face under the water, both her hands dug into the sand underneath the water, she may of looked like she was forcing herself to drown under the water or something, but it was just natural for her to do the instead of cup water in her hands and toss it in her face. As her longer twin tail fell over her shoulders and laid in the water, her shorter one just staid on her shoulders obediently. Pulling her face up, she quietly coughed to herself up some of the water she had swallowed before noticing Alexander magically beside her holding her coat. Grabbing it, she carefully began to wipe her face with her coat as Alexander trotted back over to Nolan. "Same to you!~" he cheered happily, both his hands tossed into the air as his face was up lightened, both his eyes smiling as his smile was to. Standing up, still wiping her face off she already began to turn around and walk slowly over there. Hoping not to bump into anyone that was, she plopped right back into the sand and handed over the coat back to Alexander.

Looking up at him, she thought about it. The exact name of the place she did used to live in wasn't exactly a good tip to give away, but knowing how she lived there most of her life she didn't expect Nolan to exactly know what the place was. It used to be a city, but all of a sudden became all corrupted and crap, it wasn't exactly a topic a kid like Alexander was used to, but he knew cause he lived in the woods not that far from the place. And cause of his own history, she decided he was completely used to it, even though she still didn't like the idea of talking about it. "Well, I can't say I remember the exact name of where we lived... But um, it used to be a city before.. Well, something happened, than people fled leaving only..." stopping before she mentioned the word criminals, which could give away the whole thing about her, "People who had no homes and money." Even though it wasn't exactly what it was full of, since it was basically the camp of the 'groups', people who had no money did stay there, meaning it was partially true.

As Alexander ran around in circles, Nolan's eyes followed the kid in a circular motion. It didn't take long for him to get dizzy from it and look away, his eyes feeling as though they were rattling in their sockets. Kids always had so much energy like they could suddenly run a mile at any given moment or pounce all over the place. Basil wasn't very hyper and never was that much of an energetic kid-- more so the type that would play and have fun, but prefer reading his books and taking scenic walks. A little weird considering the boy was Nolan's brother, you'd expect him to be a little prankster in training. Basil liked watching Nolan pull off some of his pranks but never really participated unless bribed or forced into it. In a way, Nolan was reminded of his father when thinking of Basil's nature. They both were mellow and relaxed about life, but still participating in all the exciting events of it. Nolan's smile warmed, though he seemed to be reminiscent while gazing at the two. Isamu went over to the water for cooling off by the looks of it, leaving Nolan sipping his half-empty mug while gazing off through the sand. His eyes lifted and looked back at Alexander when he spoke and in response, Nolan grinned broadly for the boy.

Nolan's expression brightened like a light bulb upon hearing where they used to live. A lot of people he'd been meeting lately used to live in the city or somewhere else other than the island. This sparked quite an interest for him as he always wanted to see what else was out there. "You used to live in the city? That's so cool! I always wanted to visit one!" Which wasn't a lie either and he did plan on taking a vacation someday. He just didn't have the money yet... or, really a money for anything. Rent for a room, buying candy and snacks, shopping for enough clothes to wear, and other random stuff that he probably didn't need ate up the majority of his paycheck. Nolan's happy expression became more curious and interested as Isamu went on speaking, unintentionally tilting his head slightly to the side like a curious little puppy. Pictures and movies always made the cities seem like colorful, wonderful places where dreams came true and anything was possible! "Really? I always thought the city was a place where all the action went on." Nolan commented as he rose the mug to his lips, "Since you used to live there, you'd know better than me though. Is it nicer here than where you used to be?" This question always received mixed answers-- they either completely agreed that Saffron was the place to be or stated that they could only afford to live here.

Looking up at him, she nodded only a little bit as he continued, she felt a small guilty look seem to plant on her face, though she had no reason to feel guilty. Alexander only peered a large smile at Nolan and her, as if nothing was wrong, which nothing was wrong. She just didn't feel like the real Isamu ever did today, she was a happy girl, yeah, but today it felt like some sappy old man took over her emotions today so she doesn't feel a single glimmer of pleasure or happiness. "Yes, I've lived in the city." She admitted slowly, forgetting she already nodded as if to answer his 'question', that really wasn't a question but more of a remark. Really, Isamu didn't like talking about being back home but it couldn't hurt, he seemed like the interested type to live in the city and kinds, but Isamu had only lived in two cities. The corrupted one for half her life, but than she got to visit a large one accompanied by Alexander, and a lot more of the residents were normal. The buildings not crumbling and dust falling over them, no fog on the grounds. Cars, large buildings, all the stuff. It reminded her a lot of the stories about new york city her sister had written her about not to many days ago. Even though the two girls contacted her, Isamu had a slight trust issue with her sister, since she was pretty much a cop now.

Shrugging her shoulders, she looked back up at him, smiling for once without the feeling of wanting to frown again, she felt a little better since Alexander was here, but that wasn't the reason. At least Nolan, or in her mind, Nolly, was talking to her the least. "Depends on what city you decide to go to. I was awoken in a city were there was dust everywhere, buildings about to fall off the bases, fog everywhere, deserted streets, homeless people, flying tumbleweeds." She joked on the last part, obviously showing sarcasm there the very slightest, and a tiny laugh peeping out. Alexander was only blinking at her with a confused frown. "Depends on which city you want to ask me about. My birth one, Not so great. But the one I moved to after meeting Alexander, I'll admit I liked it a lot more than Saffron so far." she smiled, remembering walking around the other city she lived in, she had lived in the small mansion with Alexander in the woods, but going to the real city that was across the woods from her birthplace, it was amazing.

"Have you ever been to the city though? We've been talking about the city for me, but come on. Don't you have anything you want to share?" A smile spread across her face as she put her index finger to her lips as if it was a secret not supposed to be told to anyone else. Pressing her hands against the sand, she began to push herself up before stretching her arms in the air, a loud pop sounding in her back before making her laugh a bit, a tiny wince came out of her mouth as she laughed. It wasn't that it hurt, but the thought of breaking her back when you popped it kind of scared her, Alexander was now standing up, wrapping her arm around her upper thigh yet again, his face resting right on her waist, both his hands gripping her leg tightly like a stubborn child. He always seemed to do stuff like that, but most people thought it was a bit to close for a girl, but she didn't exactly mind it now. Back in the days... was a whole new story.

Isamu's description of the city she was born in didn't sound like the types Nolan heard of at all. It sounded completely opposite than what he expected a city to be like. Honestly, if Isamu hated the city, Nolan would completely understand why. From how she described the one she came from, he'd probably hate the idea of going back as well. There were stories Nolan heard of homeless people in the city, or struggling with the high crime rates... but, from all the good stories he heard of it, he didn't think the crimes and homeless made up a large portion of what the city was like. Leave it to lack of exposure to the outside world for Nolan to think that things would still be jolly and happy like it was in Saffron Island, a place nearly isolated from everything else and kept alone in its peaceful little activities. Nolan felt almost glum while Isamu described it all but her joking about tumbleweeds managed to put a small smile back on his face. "Flying Tumbleweeds makes it all sound like a spin-off from a Western Tragedy." He played along, gazing at Isamu in interest as she continued speaking. Ever since... well, Nolan could remember this was the most interesting person he met. Everything about her seemed like one big mystery to slowly unravel-- though, he wondered if her secrets were something good or bad to find out about. She wasn't quick to let him in on much, which meant she either didn't trust people right away or she didn't want word to get out about something.

A brief gust of wind blew heavier than the slight breezes, making Nolan's bangs blow over his eyes. His hand rose to brush them out of the way so he could see better, resulting to his bangs looking messy but at least not covering his eyes. Nolan caught sight of Alexander latching onto Isamu, something that reminded him of siblings or a child with their guardian. In a way, it might have been odd for a little boy to be holding onto a girl like that when they weren't related, but Nolan more so saw it as an innocent bond between the two. Biting his lower lip in thought, he went over his travels in life which were very few. He went to Peppertown, visited the beach of a neighboring island... that was pretty much it. Nolan felt like he hadn't lived his life yet but maybe one of these days there'd be more of a chance to do things. "I don't have a lot of interesting stories about places outside of Saffron. My parents lived in Saffron their whole lives raised my brother and I. We all lived here as a family when I was growing up." Nolan began slowly, as though trying to figure out how to properly word everything. His life, to him, didn't sound very interesting. "After my dad disappeared, my mom shipped me off to Peppertown for years, but I ended up just moving back here. No city experience at all!" Nolan concluded and gave a light-hearted smile after sighing, "I always wanted to see one of the cities but don't have enough money for travelling. You could say I'm stuck here."

After speaking, Nolan grinned and his expression became more energetic. The cold beach and finding a crying young lady on the beach had put him in a split happy-solemn mood, something that was very strange to cope with and balance, but after thinking of his plans for the future he felt more energetic. "Not for forever, of course! I'm going to do something brilliant, whether it's here or somewhere else!" He chirped with determination, "It's good to set goals for yourself or else there's never really much of a drive to move forward!" His gaze went to Alexander and he ruffled the boy's hair slightly, not enough to mess it up. "A nice life lesson for the young man~"

Smiling at his comment, she nodded her head. She never really saw tumbleweeds walking across the aborted city, she was just being the slightest sarcastic but he seemed to be taking along. She wasn't that dumb, but she wasn't implying he was trying to say she was dumb either. "It wasn't like that, but it does sound that way." Isamu's smile gradually gleamed a little bigger, a bit of a giggle began to sound out of her mouth for once now, she didn't exactly find any reason to frown at that. Her humor was high, her happiness was high, but frowning after hearing that wasn't right for her.

Looking up at him, she shrugged. It wasn't like she was disappointed, she wasn't exactly one to enjoy the topic and since she was from two different cities, her name could be spreaded easily which scared her the slightest. "Ah..... I'm sorry about that." apologizing as if it was her own fault for his fathers disappearance, she took a bit of a breathe and sighed thinking about her own father. She wondered how he even let her sister shoot him, did he just give up or did she go in while he was sleeping? It made her slightly wonder if it was something she wanted to even know, but from how she was thinking at the moment she had no clue if she even wanted to know exactly anymore. "You'll make it there some day, That I can say~" raising both her thumbs, she gave an enthusiastic wink, on the inside she was kicking herself really hard like she was an idiot, which she believed she was.

Staring at him in shock, Alexander only hugged her leg tighter and smiled up at Nolan as if he was a superstar. "At least you already have your goals planned out. I have none, and didn't set any through out my life either." She sighed, obviously lying the slightest. Her only goal she had so far was to get the police off her back, she didn't enjoy the thought of people thinking she really was like her father and now, her own mother. She wasn't, and they made her out to be some type of evil demon from beneath, while her sister got away with all that type of stuff. Alexander snickered at is last comment and nodded his head. "I've always wanted to play with someone my age! Isamu is fun, but she's so oldddd." Alexander teased, snickering at Isamu as she sighed. "I guess you're right.. twenty years old is sooo old, I even have gray hairs." she smiled, pretending she did which she didn't even have gray hairs, her hair was still only black, not a single gray hair. Or dark blue, whatever.

Briefly glancing up at some birds flying by in a small little group, Nolan watched them though they were high enough to where they were only small, round objects in the sky. It was hard to identify what kind of birds they were but their chirps were rather small, if not a form of squeaking. They were cute together and they reminded Nolan of a family, travelling together for a vacation. His expression warmed as he watched them fly further away and he tilted his head back down to look at Isamu, his expression still warm. However, the moment she apologized about his father, Nolan's smile turned close to solemn. A lot of people usually apologized or wished the best to his mother's coping whenever they found out about his father. As a kid, Nolan was pained by it even though he knew they were just trying to be kind. Now that he was older, he grew used to such a response and handled it better. "It's alright... he disappeared a long time ago while off in a boat. Later in the evening, the tides were violent. There was a sudden storm that came in." Nolan explained quietly. The boat was never found, nor was his father, which gave a big enough answer to what happened in Nolan's mind. Some believed that he was shipwrecked somewhere but Nolan had a feeling that his father got killed. He never shared this thought with anyone since it was sort of an uncomfortable theory to discuss, someone's dad dying in a boat.

His expression brightened up a little more when Isamu encouraged him in his dreams, making Nolan grin and laugh a little. Her words of encouragement amused him but also meant a lot since he felt that his family didn't exactly support any of what he wanted. Nolan's aunt and uncle lived in the city but didn't keep in touch with anyone else, sparking a bit of a rough patch on the topic. His mother mostly felt that Nolan wouldn't be able to handle all that came with moving but Nolan, being the smartest, almighty 20 year old in the world, knew he could handle anything no matter what. "You think so? Thanks, Isa!" He chirped after laughing, spreading his arms by his sides enthusiastically before letting one drop and the other continue holding his mug before himself, "Maybe someday I'll be one of those famous people you hear about out there! That'd be pretty sweet!" Being famous sounded like a lot of fun-- fangs, signing autographs, being well known. It may have just been a dream, but Nolan still liked joking around about it. A teasing grin shown at Alexander and he gave a small shrug at the kid. When he was the kid's age, Nolan thought being 15 was like a 40 year old. "Do you think she's old enough to call Granny?" He questioned playfully, "I don't think Grannies are very good at moving around, though! Maybe Isa should prove herself to still be young and energetic, huh?" A challenging gaze was given from Nolan to Isamu, wondering if she'd actually play along or brush it off. He took another sip of his mug until feeling it was empty, almost frowning in disappointment.

Noticing the boy looking at the birds who were flying away innocently in the sky, she looked up at them and shivered. They didn't creep her out, but it was just one of those memory shivers. When it came to birds like black birds, or crows, she instantly thought back to her birthplace. Her memories were probably a lot more violent than Nolan's. "Isaaaa, I remember when the birds used to fly into my house, and you'd chase them out!" Alexander whispered quietly sharing the memory with her, but her attention was to lost as she turned back to Nolan who began to speak, Isa raised her index finger to Alexander and he nodded, a soft smile formed as he pushed his face even farther into her leg. "I wish I could say the same of my father." she chuckled a bit bitterly. Jerking her head back in his direction, she quickly brought her hands up in front of her face. "I-I'm not trying to compare myself to you or anything..." she swore that sweat was probably flying off her face anxiously at the thought of herself comparing his life to hers. His father was probably a lot more loving and gentle. And didn't celebrate birthday parties by taking him out to steal hot coco from starbucks in party hats.

Smiling gently as he began talking again, she chuckled in a non teasing way, not meaning it as if she was trying to discourage him. "Anybody can make dreams come true if they try at least. You can never fail if you try right?" she waved her index finger, Alexander followed it like a interested child, or as if he was being hypnotized by her finger. Alexander giggled at his next words though, "She isn't yet" Staring at him with the playful death glare, he chuckled at her yet again. Yet, Isamu could beat him at half the physical and logical games he played with her, though she never bragged about it since she was afraid it would make him cry or something. Raising an eyebrow at his words, she smiled challengingly at his own challenging gaze. "You challenging me? If we're supposed to be doing some type of race soon, I don't think it'll work out for you so well. Anything else?" she smiled back at him, the same gaze as her eyes followed him as she shrugged, as if ready for him to dash off with her close behind. "I'm up for it buddy." She winked challengingly yet again, Alexander blinked continously as he slowly backed away, Isamu's coat still in his hands tightly like a stuffed toy. "Ooooooooooooooooooo"

Whether the young woman joked about dreams of becoming a well-known person or if she meant her encouragement, Nolan still grinned in her direction after she spoke of it. Playing around and still being somewhat serious about life was easy around Isamu. She didn't judge him in what he said nor did she try to confuse him by pointing out several flaws in whatever 'plans' he had set for himself. Honestly, it was nice talking about this sort of thing without having the other person try correcting him or suggesting different, more down-to-earth paths to take. Instead, this girl let Nolan say whatever he wanted about what he hoped to do in the future and this made him comfortable discussing the topic with her. He set his empty mug down on the sand since Nolan didn't want to be holding it while he spent time with these two folks, Isamu and Alexander, whom he was gradually feeling more and more familiar with. "Not yet, but maybe she'll suddenly turn gray over night! Wouldn't that be so weird?" Nolan gasped, obviously just playing around. Isamu's hair was still very black/dark blue and he couldn't see her getting a single gray hair any time soon. As for Nolan, he still felt young and blond-- no white hair coming any time soon! Nope, and if his locks did turn white, he'd just dye it back blond or a different color.

Nolan smirked at Isamu, already feeling an extra burst of energy inside of him upon her challenging smile in response to his gaze. Since it is this lady's birthday, Nolan didn't want to completely beat her at something, but he thought that playing a game might add on to a day of fun. She didn't get a very good start but now that she had Alexander and some cake, why not try playing a game or two? Plus, Nolan wanted to do something on the beach anyway. Even if it was just skipping pebbles or collecting seashells. However, he wasn't sure if Isamu was thinking of that kind of game and Nolan started thinking of more active ones. "You say I wouldn't do well? That's sort of ruuuude~" Nolan chimed teasingly and grinned broadly, propping an elbow on Isamu's shoulder as he went around to the other side of her, "Well, challenge accepted!" Now the fun part: choosing something to compete in. "Pick your poison on which way I'll beat you! Birthday girl get's to choose!"

Staring back at Nolan with the same glare, but more deathly, it was obvious she was just playing around with her death stares and all that but one may think she means death right on spot. Especially if they knew her history, Isamu was really wanting to kick herself in the shin with how much she kept thinking about her past, it was really making her pissed off with herself. She came to Saffron to try and forget that, but she wasn't doing crap but remembering it, and comparing her life to the stupid crabs that crawled along the beach pinching women's bikini bottoms. "I'll laugh when you're hair does the same." she snapped back playfully, her death glare continued to look at him straight in the eyes as if she was about to roast him over a fire and eat his face in. But Isamu would probably tackle him and kick him in the valuable spot. But since she had no reason to do so, she saw no opportunity to do.. that.

"Sorry for being rude." she chuckled out at him before looking down at Alexander who had scooted away smiling a bit dangerously like he was about to make up a mischievous idea. Looking back at the boy, or Nolan, she shrugged at his words. "I'm fun with whatever you want to do." she smiled, her eyes literally showing mischief herself as she began to stretch her arms in front of her. Despite not being the best to rough house with since she might go to far, she wasn't exactly going to find herself tackling him down if they where to race and murder him, if it was rock tossing and stuff like that, she didn't know about that. Though she knew how much of a good throwing arm she had, she hadn't exactly pictured herself doing this kind of interactions yet. Back home she always threw rocks when she was mad, but they never bounced a lot like they did on the water, and she had never done anything she considered fun, other than running and fight practice. Not because she enjoyed the luxury of fighting, but the fact she had the opportunity to take it out on her father was better than anything. "So, what game do you wanna throw at me, Nooooooolan?"

Death glares were something that Isamu definitely mastered, almost sending a chill up Nolan's spine. She was playing around, this he knew since he doubted she could go from friendly to wanting to literally kill him, but he still couldn't get over how... scary that death glare looked. Nolan's smile became nervous but after she apologized, he simply brushed it off and waved his hand dismissively. "No worries here! Isa wouldn't ever kill me with that glare of her's! Right?" He chimed playfully, though deep down inside he was something serious about the last part of questioning it. Isamu looked like a tough girl-- and he wasn't exactly the most muscular guy in Saffron. No, Nolan was lean with nice toning but not much in the way of bulk. In his Highschool years, a group of splendid boys in Peppertown liked referring to him a Chop-stick, which got under his skin so badly that he eventually showed them that even a Chop-stick could have a firm punch. Actually, now that Nolan thought about all of that, he had a lot of moments when... well, let's just leave it at the Chop-stick story.

Taking his elbow away from its perch on Isamu's shoulder and putting a hand to his chin, Nolan let out a 'hmmm' while thinking. If Isamu didn't want to decide, then he didn't mind choosing something out. He figured he might as well let her have the option of picking out a game so he didn't seem rude or pushy. "Let's see..." Nolan murmured, trying to think of something fitting. He didn't know Isamu well enough to determine whether she was a rough houser, liked hardcore competition, or was more so into the playful, delicate games. Most of the girls he knew were on the soft side, therefore he was more used to being careful with the things he chose to do. "Alright, we can either have a race from that boulder over there all the way to the washed up kelp--" Nolan began, pointing from a large boulder on the far left and then moving his finger to the kelp on the far right, "-- make sandcastles, or if you're up for something more challenging..." A large, mischievous grin spread over his features as Nolan let out a chuckle. By how Isamu dressed, Nolan thought that his next suggestion could be possible. And no, it's not something inappropriate. "... We could swim out into the water~" Nolan finished, dusting his hands against each other, "I have swimshorts with me whenever visiting the beach, just in case, but if you're not up for a little water then that's okay."

"She has killed people!" Alexander chimed in with a smile, but Isamu knew he didn't mean it in a sarcastic and playful way, Isamu knew exactly what he meant. She didn't kill anyone actually, she never had except for the forceful times. But Alexander had always believed it after she had admitted about her history the slightest for him, she shook her head and looked up at Nolan before he actually believed the twirp. "He means it in a playful way." she informed a bit quietly, trying to sound exactly realistic and she did. Hopefully he wouldn't find it to be a lie either, cause she didn't exactly want that reputation so quickly with anybody. It didn't exactly sound like a great enthusiastic game for her, she'd rather drown or be buried alive than be chased with pitchforks and torches.

Putting her arms behind her head a bit as if she was a highschool tom standing against the wall, waiting for the boyfriend unlucky to have her, she didn't exactly like the thought of highschool since she didn't exactly go there before, but she was surprisingly smart for not going to school. Hearing his choice of challenges, she blinked and was about to refuse to the last one before Alexander chirped in happily, his knowledge of her swimming skills were limited and low, "Isamu!!! You should swim, You're already in a bathing suit all the time!" he smiled, throwing his arms along with Isamu's jacket into the air, than he blinked and remembered she was wearing shorts. "But are you going to swim in shorts?" he chimed in a bit curiously, tilting his head before pointing at them. Isamu twitched nervously, staggering backwards a little bit before she felt the heat rise all over her cheeks nervously. Ruffling his hair a bit teasingly with the embarrassed blush over her face. "Fine, I guess the challenge has been chosen." her voice showed no nervousness from the fact she couldn't swim, but it showed all on her insides, just not to the two in front of her. Honestly, she had no clue of why Alexander even mentioned the short part...

Staring over at Nolan, her eyes slowly softened up as she twirled her shorter twin tail nervously. "Errr... Give me like, a quick second." she sighed a bit nervously, turning around, placing both her hands over her chest nervously as her mouth quivered nervously. Pulling out both scrunchies from her hair, her long hair tumbled down, covering most of her back and the shorter one only covered her shoulder blades, making it seem like someone took a large half of a razor and ran it across from the tips of her first twin tail to her shoulder blades. Nervously grabbing her shorts, she took a breathe and stopped before flinging her boots off. Isamu looked odd with her hair down, as if she was some type of model as Alexander said, but he was just a horrible suck up for Isamu. Putting her hands back on her sorts, she felt her face flush even more. "We aren't going to gawk while you change Isamu!" Isamu turned towards Alexander and narrowed her eyes, he was obviously staring at her right now and she turned back around before quickly slipping off her shorts and turning around, both her arms crossing over her lower. Obviously she was fine with showing off her stomach and up, and below her thighs, but being nearly stripped from her clothes in front of a guy she hardly knew wasn't an everyday thing for her. "R-Ready when you are.." Isamu's voice mumbled, nervous about the idea of swimming. Hopefully she didn't drown..

Smiling cheerfully, Nolan clapped after Isamu agreed to a swimming competition. He hadn't done one in a long time and now that he finally had the chance to, he was eager to get into the water and go swimming for the first time all in autumn. The water shouldn't be cold at all since usually beach water was warmer but he had a feeling that getting out would be like a sudden trip into a cold blizzard since the air was on the chilly side. "Excellent! Once you get yourself all ready to go, we'll go over the rules!" He cheered before playfully holding both hands against one cheek, "Don't worry Isa, this will be looots of fun~" A small chuckle escaped from him, getting himself excited already.

Nolan slipped off his shirt from over his head while Isamu went to go change. He didn't peek or anything while getting himself ready, his sweatshirt on the ground before he pulled his shirt off as well. He folded the two, stacking them up on each other, before taking off his baggy pants. Underneath were Nolan's swimshorts that were pale blue with some dark blue spirals on them. "Almost ready?" He called as he turned around, only to be faced with the sight of Isamu in her swimsuit and her hair down. Nolan blinked before his cheeks almost blushed, nervously looking at the water. She looked like a model with how she was dressed but Nolan didn't want to sit and stare at her. Last thing he needed was people thinking he enjoyed checking out women in bikinis.

Stretching his arms for a warm up, Nolan got himself ready and walked onto the damp sand. The waves were gently, lightly crashing against the beach. Nolan was a little paranoid about violent waves coming in but the entire time they were standing around the water was peaceful, therefore he doubted anything suddenly changing. "Okay! See that little rock island in the distance?" Nolan asked as he pointed beyong at a cluster of boulders in the near distance of the ocean. Because of its size, the 'island' looked closer than how it really was but it wasn't very far from where they stood. "How about we swim out to there before swimming back!" He suggested with a grin, "Whomever reaches the beach first wins! Pretty simple, right?" Nolan walked forward enough to where his feet were covered in water but no higher than his ankles.

"Are you ready?"

Those words made her even more nervous as her hands continued to cross across her thighs nervously to keep from any more exposure from continuing. Sure, it was a daily thing, but she wasn't a swimmer so she wasn't used to wearing a bathing suit out in public. Sure, there wasn't much difference with a bikini top and a pair of, well, booty shorts, but she didn't enjoy the fact of showing off the rest of what she was wearing. What if someone suddenly stole her clothing? With her face dyed an unusual deep pink color of this type of embarrassing act, he was doing it for the sake of fun on her birthday. For the first time in years, she would celebrate it with someone other than Alexander. She loved him dearly but the same routine over and over wasn't enjoyable the least. She didn't mean that in a bad way, she just thought the same thing was boring. Back than, she paid no mind to it since it was better than how her father used to celebrate it with her. Y-yeah." she muttered looking up to see Nolan looking at her the slightest, his cheeks a little red which made her flush even more and covered his thighs even more.

Coming up a little closer to Nolan, her longer half of her hair blew in the wind while her smaller half rested smugly over her shoulders on her chest, looking at the rock he mentioned in the distance, she nodded making the slight 'mhm' noise to show she knew where. Her heart pumped anxiously as her feet felt the shores water touching her. What if she drowned and nobody knew other than Alexander, who's voice would be wiped away with the sound of the roaring waves. She wasn't showing her fear, but how she stood was showing how nervous she was. But with how she was covering her thighs, it looked more like she was nervous cause of her body. "Y-yeah.. I-It's so ea-easy.." she stammered, fear and a hint of nervousness still played with her voice as she stared at the rock in the distance.

Alexander stood behind them, his smile beaming brighter. The young boy was going to feel terrible after finding out Isamu couldn't swim, but for now he just plopped into the sand, sand flying up around him but didn't hit the two. "Go go go! I'm cheering for you both!" he smiled brightly, thrusting both his tiny arms into the air which made Isamu only feel a tiny hair more confident. Letting her arms dangle loosely at her sides, she took a deep breathe before turning her head the slightest towards Nolan who had also joined the shore before smiling at him as if saying 'good-luck-I-will-somehow-beat-you-and-laugh-in-your-face-afterwards' which was never going to happen, instead she just smiled and that's the impression people got. "U-Um.. Go-Good luck.." she whispered still nervous, her face still red and her whole body still shivering.

A hint of fear was in Isamu's voice and it made Nolan give a bit of a questioning, curious gaze. Did this girl really want to go swimming into the ocean? She didn't have to if she didn't want to... he'd feel bad making someone do something like this if they really just wanted to stay on the sand. Isamu did agree to it but Nolan had the impression that it was sort of a reluctant agreement. Her cheeks were red and she looked a little nervous, stammering as she spoke.

Checking over his shoulder, Nolan saw that Alexander was the exact opposite. The kid was all smiles and cheering them on to start. Maybe Isamu was doing this for him? When it came to Basil, Nolan would pretty much do anything for the kid, even if it was embarrassing or Nolan knew he'd feel. Seeing his brother smile was more important to him, though, and Nolan wondered if it were this way with Isamu and Alexander. They weren't related by blood but that didn't mean they couldn't have a sibling bond with one another.

"We'll do our best!" Nolan called over to Alexander in a cheerful voice, giving the kid a thumbs up. He himself was excited to do this little swimming race and he hoped that it wouldn't be too hard on Isamu. After all, its her birthday! She should be happy and do whatever she wants to! Facing the water again, Nolan smiled brightly. The waves weren't very violent and were gently crashing onto the shore. It was a good time to try going out before any of the higher tides came in. "Thanks! Good luck~" Nolan answered with a nod before smirking, "On your marks.... get set... GO!"

Right after his countdown, Nolan jumped himself right into the shallow right, splashing some around him once his body made impact. He started to swim out towards the rock island, their destination, and quickly tried using his arms to do big strokes through the water to pull him through faster. The waves bounced against him, making Nolan go backwards a bit every time and making it a little harder, but he was still determined to reach the rocks. Nolan hadn't checked to see how Isamu was doing but assumed she was right behind him.

Alexander continued to chant for them, but only with the 'go go go!' part instead of saying their names over and over. Honestly, Isamu was now officially more scared of dying and drowning more than upsetting Alexander for not doing what he wished for her to. Sure, she was going to break his heart for not swimming, but he had no clue she couldn't swim and would most likely kill herself trying. Hearing his count down, she instantly found herself tense up and stare at the waters. The last time she touched the waters, she found herself literally drown but somehow found herself back on the same shore at least, and alive. Her family didn't know where she was, or she wouldn't of drowned that was. Staring back at Alex, he smiled brightly with his thumbs high in the air than she looked over at Nolan with an uneasy smile, she was officially nervous.

"GO!'

Her whole heart stopped as she watched him dive in, and she stood there. Alexander stared at her confused before chanting her name a few times, she instantly began to ran before she got to the deeper waters and began kicking as wildly as possible, the water fighting with her and trying to push her back, she felt the water go into her eyes, up her nose and into her mouth. By the time he got to the rock and back, she'd probably be halfway. As she found herself stopping and kicking her feet underneath her now, trying to stay afloat, she took a deep breathe and covered her mouth and nose to keep any more water going into her mouth, slowly staring out, she only sat there in the water and looked around wildly with tears already feeling her eyes.

Badump

Her heart was beating nervously, her mouth continued to fill with water despite being covered and still above water, her nose stinging along with her eyes that were starting to turn the slightest red, her legs hurting worse than they would if she was to of ran down the whole beach ten times, she was a huge runner and used to the aches in her legs when it came to running from others, but when it came to swimming she had no clue, it hurt more than it should've. Her legs tiring out on her, Nolan was pretty much already at the rock as she started to fight just to keep her own face above the water.

Badump..

She found herself fighting to keep her head above the water, the waves pounding her face and her arms cupped tightly around her mouth and nose, her eyes squeezed shut to keep any more water from entering her eyesight. With her fighting, she almost thought she was going to die right there, and she was sure she was. Her whole body started to go under, but she fought and only her face tried to stay up as she took gasps of air everytime she tried. She was to far from the shore to swim back, and to far from the rock to hold onto it and cling to it helplessly, she was now about to panic into a rage of tears, but that was impossible. She was to scared to even cry if that made sense. Through all her panicking thoughts, she could hear the sounds of him. Alexander was already screaming, he had no clue how to swim or he probably would've helped her by now. "I-Isa-Chan!!"

His arms stroked through the water quickly and at a smooth speed, carrying Nolan through the waves though the frequently splashing of waves pushing him back was starting to annoy him. He accidentally inhaled some, making him cough and gag. "Ewww salt water!" He whined and shook his head, trying to get the rest out before he continued swimming. It didn't take much longer until he finally made it up to the island of rocks, most of which were smooth from the water frequently rubbing against them. Nolan really wanted to catch his breath, the horrid taste of murky salt water still in his mouth and accidentally swallowing some of it. Finally reaching the island entirely, his hand grabbed onto one of the rocks and he lifted himself halfway out of the water, holding on as he took deep breaths. "Whew..." He breathed, his hands remaining grasping the edge since if he let go, he'd just fall right back into the water.

In the distance, Nolan could hear screaming of some sort.... a name being shouted, maybe? He couldn't hear what was going on clearly but managed to turn himself half-way around to get a look. Luckily, his eyesight was still good and he could see Isamu struggling in the water and a panicked Alexander standing on the shore. Uh oh... that wasn't good at all. Was that why Isamu was so hesitant and nervous about doing this? She couldn't swim? Nolan let go of the rock, clumsily crashing into the water before his head popped up and he quickly tried reaching Isamu. He wasn't close enough to get to her within seconds, which he really wished he could because Nolan wasn't sure how long Isamu could keep herself up. "ISAMU! I'm coming!" Nolan called, trying to get his voice to travel over the loud waves.

Once reaching Isamu, Nolan quickly wrapped his arms around her to help keep her up. He leaned her body against his and the two lightly bobbed in the water before another small-ish wave crashed against them. "I won't let you go, okay? You're safe now!" Nolan tried to assure Isamu that she wouldn't have to worry about drowning-- she'd drown over his dead body. The race didn't matter anymore to him and he started to swim them back to the shore. Once reaching it, Nolan let his arms drop back to his sides and gave Isamu a concerned gaze. "Are you feeling alright, Isa...? I'm sorry, I had no idea you couldn't swim!"

Gasping for yet another breathe, the feeling of her whole body being pulled down happened. She couldn't explain it, but she knew exactly what she meant. Her whole body was being tugged under the water, as if someone was underneath her trying to kill her. She quickly squeezed her eyes shut and felt her nose fill with water as she began to sink. She felt tears, but only got water instead. Her thoughts raced majorly as she felt herself asking for forgiveness over and over, as if she had sinned once before. She believed she had, she was forced to do things she would never of done, she wanted to scream out for forgiveness. For Nolan, For Alexander, anyone she knew.

Badump... Badump...

Her whole body quivered, cold, but she felt arms latched around her as she felt her body surface yet again. She felt herself coughing really hard, water slowly sputtering out her mouth and her eyes continuing to sting, her nose buzzing like nuts as if bee's and blood were about to fly out. Her eyes continued to water, the salt making the effect happen easily. She felt like tossing herself underwater from embarrassment, it all happened so quickly. She almost drowned, and was forced to be rescued by a new acquainted friend, she was already thinking of him like that to be honest. He hardly knew about Isamu, yet he still saved her from such turn of events. All of this on her birthday to. The gods never gave her a break.

Her eyes teared up as he tried to assure her, only her head bopped up and down to nod, more water going up her nose and into her mouth as she had opened her mouth to speak, only to swallow even more water. Feeling him start to swim back to shore was a huge weight off her chest, it really was. Despite literally panicking herself, Alexander, and possibly Nolan, she was happy he wasn't forcing her to swim on her own, though she wondered if she was really becoming a burden already. Feeling them suddenly reach shore, she sighed and felt like kissing the dirt, Alexander had already found himself running up to the two like he was the father of two children, one not knowing how to swim while the other was a professional at it. She felt herself sitting on her knees staring at the ground a bit embarrassed, her cheeks turning a violent red. Looking back up at Nolan, his words made her stare at him as if half expecting him to say 'just kidding'.

"Why would you apologize?" she felt herself blinking back tears as much as possible, Alexander was already handing her coat as she quickly grabbed it and wrapped it around her shoulders, not even caring about her body being exposed since she was cold, it wasn't exactly what you would call warm for her. "I chose to swim even though I don't know how to.." she felt herself wincing back, tears trying to flow over in her eyes but she was being strong, strong for both of them. She was already becoming a burden and she knew that. "I was afraid you'd laugh at me along with Alexander." she added, a single tear taking a stroll down her cheek and into the sand as she refused to let anymore go down anymore, blinking furiously to keep them from doing so.

Alexander draped the coat over Isamu's shoulders, providing some warmth for the girl who had nearly drowned in the water. If Nolan was any further away he might not have reached her on time before she sunk down into the water... the thought was actually scary and Nolan didn't like thinking about it. Even though Isamu agreed to doing it he felt he was responsible for the incident since he suggested it in the first place. If he had just left that out then it wouldn't have been brought up between them and Isamu wouldn't have had to go off into the water.

Trying to give off a smile but still looking guilty about the whole incident, Nolan shook his head and ran a hand through his dampened hair. When he got back to the Inn he'd have to rinse all the salt out, so he'd probably be heading back there right after this. "I suggested racing out into the water. I mean... if I kept me mouth shut about it, you wouldn't have drowned!" He guiltily admitted as his smile soon collapsed into a frown.

Nolan gently pat Isamu on the shoulder. Laughing at her would be an awful thing to do and he couldn't do that to someone. "No way! How could we laugh about that?" He answered in a warm tone of voice before raising his hands up before himself, "You can punch me if you want. I'm the one who got you into this, after all!" Nolan had no idea that Isamu had been trained in fighting before, therefor if she did punch him he expected a simple little punch at the arm and nothing else. Not literally a strong, swift knuckle to the face.

Really, though, finding the poor girl crying on the beach then getting her into this... Nolan did feel pretty responsible for all of it. "I hope you still are having a good birthday though, Isa." Nolan thoughtfully said as he kept his hands up, a thoughtful gaze at the girl. Birthdays were supposed to be full of fun and laughter, and that's what he tried doing by having a little game but he failed this time around.

Isamu felt terrible, she put this whole dramatic day ahead of her and never expected something so dramatic. Despite swimming once and drowning, she thought she could've at least of made it through once, swimming never looked hard to Isamu, but it was. Alexander was quietly sitting in the distance, guiltier than ever and it showed across his face. Isamu ran her eyes over Alexander, over Nolan, over herself of what she could see. All of them looked guilty, Isamu was on the verge of tears and Nolan, Isamu didn't want to jump to conclusions. For all she knew, he could've been laughing at her mentally, but had an expertise for poker faces. Her eyes continued to fill, but she continued to blink them out as much as possible. Her ears filled with his voice, she felt her lip quiver and her eyes fight to cry but she refused. "Swimming is a game that is common for people who live on an island." she whispered a bit quietly, but with the distance he could easily hear her. "It's not to long before winter, and swimming is enjoyable. I can't think of someone naming events without swimming." she added, it was true. Most people on an island were bound to go swimming, Isamu felt like an outcast and the only person who had no clue of how to.

Alexander had nodded slowly in the background at his words, though Nolan had said it Isamu didn't know if to believe it. She thought she was the laughing stock, she was supposed to be laughed at no matter the circumstance, but others believed other wise sometimes. His next words made her want to laugh, but she didn't. Punching him wasn't something she did, no matter how mad she was she didn't want to punch him. He wasn't guilty, she was. If she had of been honest and just told him, it would've been just fine. Plus, punching him would probably hurt him, she looked weak because of her size and how she dressed as people said, but she was a weapon expert and a real toughie when it came to fist fighting, she could break a bone in just a snap of the fingers, though she never chose to do anything like that. "I would never.." she muttered quietly, her eyes filling up slowly everytime she thought about it, she wasn't wanting to be thought of evil. She wanted nobody to remember her, nobody to know who she was.

But that was impossible.

Her hands clenched carefully against her jacket as she pushed herself off the floor, her hair continued to drip onto the floor, causing the sand to slowly dampen along with her back and legs. Turning around towards Nolan, her fingers continued to grasp tightly on the corners of her jacket as she looked at the sand. "You could say that, but I can't say I'm having a bad day." she admitted slowly, but it was true. Sure, in a regular persons eyes her birthday seemed to be terrible, horrible, and utterly stupid luck. But with how she was raised, she thought this birthday was probably categorized as a good birthday, it didn't seem that way but it really was if you compared her past ones.

Poor Isamu was on the brink of tears and Nolan felt his own eyes start to water. More than anything he wanted to just give her a big hug but he couldn't tell if that would be appropriate or not, figuring that they had just met and he didn't want to be throwing himself all over her like he usually did with people. Glomps weren't uncommon for him to do at all. As she spoke, he oddly didn't pipe in a comment between her sentences, listening to her and guiltily gazing at the girl in concern. As she turned to face him, holding the corners of her jackets, his eyes widened and glimmered from the tears before being unable to contain his yearn to hug her and threw his arms up. "AWWWWWWWW, ISA!" He gasped and nearly tackled himself into her, hugging her in the way of a bear hug, "You're so sweet, not wanting to punch me! You're such a good sport for someone not having a super great birthday! Awwww!" Nolan, obviously, found Isamu's behavior to be adorable in some way and wanted to comfort the girl trying to blink her tears away. It was in his nature to want to comfort people and make them smile.


Approaching the beach area, Mail was hesitant to come to this beach again. A week went by since he arrived at Saffron Island and so far, he'd gotten himself entirely situated in his new cabin home and took a few walks all around the Cumin District to get himself familiar with the setting. He didn't want to get himself lost and felt it was a good idea to familiarize himself with the neighborhood. There weren't that many houses compared to the city but he liked how peaceful everything felt. Often he'd bring his notes and write about the atmosphere, observing all that he could in the district and not going to the town once. Mail felt a little sea-sick after being on the ship for so long and also didn't feel like going to town where the majority of folks would be. He enjoyed the new quiet setting and needed some days just to himself, Besides, being a quiet fellow, it wasn't that hard for him to keep to himself for awhile.

His first trip into town since going to the Inn, Mail went to the beach. Why? Because that was the only place other than Rosemary Inn that he was sure of the location and he wanted to finish taking notes on this location so he wouldn't have to come here again until leaving. That, and Mail had sort of forgotten to take notes as soon as arriving at his house that night and needed to refresh his memory. On the other side of the beach, Mail had slowly toured the area while it was still morning, managing to avoid running into everyone. It was extremely nice compared to his last visit here. With his notepad, Mail's pen wrote nonstop as he briefly would glance up and silently calculate something in his head. He felt pretty accomplished so far and wanted to take as many notes as possible, wandering down the beach until hearing an extremely obnoxious 'AWWWW' nearby and his heart nearly skipped a beat.

His eyes widening, Mail looked up to see a blond haired boy hugging a rather fair-skinned girl. Oh god... his silence, ruined. "Isa, I'll buy you a birthday gift to make up for everything! You deserve it!" Nolan cheered happily, his arms hugging her as he playfully nudged his cheek against hers. Mail rose a brow and was so surprised by the sudden obnoxious group that he looked almost freaked out by it. What the heck was going on!? He didn't come here to see some weird, cheesy friendship circle! He came here to work! Rolling his eyes, a scoff escaped and he started to walk around them before abruptly stopping, eyeing the woman in a bit of a confused stare. Wait... she looked familiar. That's weird. He didn't think he'd run into anyone he was familiar with on this island...

"ISAAA-" Nolan began his hoochy-gooing once again before pausing and perking up with a curious gaze, his head leaning away from Isamu to look at the stranger, frozen in place while staring at them. Well, this was kind of awkward.

For a few seconds, the beach was quite before Nolan had.. well, 'Screamed' out the words you would intimidate over something cute, but in this case it was over the fact she was sweet enough not to punch him in the arm. He was lucky she knew he wasn't going to attack her or she probably would've done it as her own defense mechanism. It was rather common to see her react in such a way, but with how he was hugging her made it rather hard for her to even move her arms away from his grip; so she just smiled a bit softly as she swore she heard Alexander intimidating the same sound Nolan had made just seconds ago. "I-I'm glad you t-think so." she tried not to laugh, it wasn't much of a rare thing unless it was her birthday which made her whole personality seem a load different than it really was. She wasn't used to hugs on a daily basis, but she could easily say they were a lot more heartwarming. Alexander wasn't much to try and hug Isamu since his last time trying, he pretty much fell into the floor after reaching a level to hug her evenly, now he pretty much refused to try and hug her unless it was her leg, which really wasn't that much. Most people still found it really awkward to see him hugging her leg here and there, as if he was going to be stubborn and hang on her leg, which he would do on certain occasion or mood.

"Isa, I'll buy you a birthday gift to make up for everything! You deserve it!"

Her eyes slowly widened as a few tears rejoined, she had never heard of such a thing being mentioned much in her lifetime. Alexander could only afford hugs as a gift for Isamu, she had never been told about a gift being bought however. She could never find herself caring much about gifts on her birthday, nor, did she find herself wanting to go out to buy her own birthday gift since it ruined the surprise really. She was completely fine without gifts on her birthday, after so long you pretty much get used to it. But with him offering, she was more than just speechless. She didn't want to say sure, she thought it might make her sound selfish. If she said no, he might think she was being selfish even more, she didn't know why those thoughts came in but they did. Her cheeks slowly being bumped into by his, her thoughts raced as her cheeks reddened majorly.

Alexander had seen it to, cause Isamu had seen him running closer to the group but hid behind Nolan instead of Isamu, it was more safe that way. Her eyes darted along with the groups to a man with white hair, stunning purple-red eyes against his slightly 'pale' skin. Her eyes widened slowly, his eyes had looked a bit confused as if he knew her or something, which she wasn't going to say anything about it. Her hair slowly swaying in the wind, she held her breathe a bit frightened of it. The thought wasn't lovely, someone knowing who she was, her history, or her rumors of the police coming for her, she didn't want anyone to know. She wanted to restart life, but sooner or later they would probably search every sea, every part of the land just to find the 'violent girl' and put her behind bars for no apparent reason. Her blue eyes slowly began to interlock with the new strangers eyes, she was beginning to feel the slightest weird, being the only girl in the bikini at the moment. She would never, however, expect anyone to do that.

The girl's eyes interlocked with Mail's and he felt his own eyes narrowing, starting to look less curious and more suspicious, as though there were gear turning in his head. Gears that one would fear to know were turning about, either plotting or coming to a realization. Nolan's eyes blinked slowly at Mail before starting to feel uncomfortable with this guy staring. What was up with that? Some random guy, walking down the beach, then stopping to stare at them... kind of freaky. Actually, it was super freaky. "Ummmm..." Nolan murmured before finally taking his arms back to his sides instead of hugging Isamu to death while the man was staring. "Can we help you?" He asked, seeming very puzzled and confused by the situation.

Mail, on the other hand, just kept staring before suddenly smiling, the suspicious glimmer still in his eyes and his smile seeming rather fake. Almost to the point of being cold. "I am sorry for staring... I don't mean to be so rude and interrupt your... hugging." He 'politely' told them as his hands held the notepad and pen, continuing to stare right at Isamu. She looked extremely familiar and it was bugging him since he couldn't quite pin-point it yet. However, she looked rather... well, dark. Tense. Not the type of person he'd find at a business meeting dressed in fancy clothes. She almost reminded him of some random person he'd see on the streets or on the television.

Nolan didn't know what to say. The white-haired man obviously had something for Isamu, whatever the heck it was, and he rubbed the back of his neck. "You look very familiar to me, which is why I stopped. Have we met before?" He asked casually, trying to come off as polite though it was more so strange with his suspicious eyes. Nolan looked at the man, then Isamu with a questioning gaze. "You two know each other? Ohhhh!" He said in surprise, not really waiting for Isamu to respond but he figured for the guy to randomly stop they must have known each other somehow, "I thought he was just some random weirdo stopping to stare at us!" Mail looked at the blond haired man and his eyes nearly were like daggers at him, really not wanting the spazzy commentary. His moods weren't the greatest and he generally had a low tolerance for random energetic behaviors when he was trying to get information. The fact was, Mail knew this woman was from somewhere and he wanted to know exactly from where.

For the few minutes the two talked, she just stared between Nolan and Mail, having almost no clue of what to say to either two of them other than 'No problem', seeing he had apologized for staring. Alexander was still holding onto Nolan's shoulder like a rather scared little boy, which he pretty much was if you looked close enough. Reaching into her pockets, she slowly began to pull out her two hair scrunchies. Her eyes lifting out of his began to stare slowly into the sand in front of her, leaning her head down, her body slowly leaving Nolan's arms, she began to grab the smaller half of her hair before putting in the first twin tail. Grabbing the longer half, she than put it into the next twin tail, her hair going back to the normal style that most people knew her from. "It's... Fine." she said finally after being silent for awhile, her arms finally going into her coat, her shorts not to far out of reach but seeing she was still on the beach, she didn't really see the point of putting them on even if that meant her being nervous over her legs showing.

"You look very familiar to me, which is why I stopped. Have we met before?"

Her heart instantly stopped.

Her whole face went pale, it was already white as paper but she somehow still managed to turn paler than before. Her eyes instantly turning back up at Mail, wide in shock. "I-I don't recall.." she stammered, nervous and fear all in her voice showing plainly. If it wasn't for the fact her day had already been a little dramatic, she would've sounded more calm and not showing her fear, but with what day it was it showed easily, her mind wandered through past memories. The kids crying in the dust, people laying on the ground, her father robbing shops. It all drifted to her head and stayed there on her birthday, it never failed. "I'm sorry.." she muttered quietly under her breathe, fear still lingering. Really, she didn't acknowledge the fact Nolan had believed they knew each other.

Feeling that Isamu was holding onto his shoulder, Nolan had started to get a little worried about this stranger and his happy features turned a bit protective. Though she had slowly leaned out of his arms after Nolan dropped his own, he couldn't get rid of the protective feeling he had and gave not really a glare, but a form of a warning stare at Mail. The dagger eyes Mail was giving him sent a shiver up his spine and the blond man laughed nervously. "B-but that's obviously not the case!" He laughed in almost a chatter. Something about that look... the smile and dagger eyes... goddess, he had no idea what the man was thinking! "Of course not." Mail replied in a calm voice before removing his eyes from Nolan and looking back at Isamu, studying her. Though the coat covered a lot of her upper body he could still see some visible scars and it all just seemed very strange to him. What kind of person had so many scars, and a tattoo like that? Mail might have been over-analyzing it but he thought that Isamu didn't look like your average person walking around. Especially comparing her to the islanders here that all looked casual and happy. She stood out like a sore thumb.

The woman's face went extremely pale and it was then that Mail fully observed that she didn't want him to recognize her. His smile broadened as though something clicked in place in his thoughts and he slipped his notepad inside his coat pocket. Nolan felt like an idiot for automatically assuming they knew each other and blushed, awkwardly sliding his foot in front of him in the sand to form a line. "Are you sure about that? I want to say that we might have met somehow... I highly doubt there's someone out there who looks like yourself. No offence, of course, but those are some interesting scars." Mail started speaking once more as he stared directly at Isamu, "Those must have been from very painful wounds... I'd assume one could only obtain them from doing quite some dirty work." Okay, so Mail was pushing it, but he was starting to slowly remember that the girl had not the best reputation outside of this island.

"H-hey, that's sort of rude!" Nolan snapped at Mail in hesitance, not liking some stranger walking up and making those comments. Sure, he was kind of right that those scars were a bit weird, but he didn't have to right to be so nosy! "Today is her birthday and she doesn't need someone picking on her!" Nolan added with a glare as he put an arm around Isamu's shoulders, pulling her closer against him while glaring at Mail, who had raised an eyebrow at the two.

Her fingers clenched at the dirt as she stared down, avoiding eye contact to keep from him knowing how nervous she was about the whole ordeal, her heart pumped angrily and furiously in her chest. She was surprised it hadn't splat against the floor and bleed out, it would save her the trouble of living behind bars at least. The voice began speaking yet again, talking about her appearance and she felt her eyes begin to fog and tear, her fingers tightening in the ground angrily, her mind saying to punch him in the face and than scream at him to make herself feel better. But she knew doing such a thing was wrong, but her habits of taking anger out on her father during training made her react so. "Shut up.." she muttered under her breathe, showing a more aggressive side in her tone instead of another fearful and sad tone. She hated this, she should've never been born. That's what she wished for, why be born if she was only going to be known in a bad way? Why was she even alive still, it was deathly surprising. Many would've said she should've been dead years ago after seeing her scars, the reason was only because her sister know how to handle scars, blood, broken limbs, all those things that you would have to be rushed to the clinic for. That's why she always got hurt but never stayed that way for long, she may break her leg but not many days later she'd be back in practice because he would either rush her to do it, trying to train her not to care about injuries and keep fighting.

Hearing Nolan start speaking, she politely stopped speaking and lowered her head. It was a usual habit from time to time, seeing she often got beat on the top of the head if opposing to anything or looking at him while he spoke, it wasn't what you could call fatherly love either. Her mother usually sat in the back of the room and did nothing all day, often just watching the three train or get hurt, she'd only cook than go back to sleeping or reading her book. "I'm used to it.." she whispered with a slight frown on her face, it wasn't very see able due to the fact she didn't lift her head. her father probably would've smacked her across the face, often saying it showed no respect when not looking at someone when you talked. An arm around her shoulder suddenly pulled her back, causing her face to finally lift up and stare straight back at the new stranger she didn't like already.

"What do you know about me than, if you think you know." she finally shot back, her own eyes narrowed at him, one of her fists starting to clench angrily in the sand, turning red majorly as she stared at him, the urge to punch him still stood. "Sure I have scars, but that doesn't mean it's from dirty work." tears slowly strolling down her face as she bit her quivering lips. That's when it happened, Alexander suddenly started to play hero and ran out from behind Nolan and ran right into the older man, starting to pound his fists against his stomach. "You don't know anything about Issy-Chan!" he yelled a bit childishly.

Nolan didn't get to hear the murmured words from Isamu nor did he seem to see the slight aggression in her body language and tone of voice. In his mind, Isamu was still the sweet girl who had fallen victim to almost drowning and so far having a horrible birthday, whether she'd admit it or not. Being alone on the beach, receiving a cake that got ruined, almost drowning in water, and now being confronted by a stranger who was partially mocking the fact Isamu had scars like he thought she was either a freak or did something bad. Nolan's arm tightening around her shoulders, he kept glaring at Mail and this time actually looked quite furious.

Mail was no idiot. He knew that the girl had the urge to punch him and he knew that her friend was merely on the brink of wanting to tell him off. However, he didn't care. He didn't know these people and he had no plans on staying on this island. They could glare at him all they wanted but that didn't change that Mail knew something that the woman would prefer him to just drop. "Getting upset so soon? You know, that's a sign that I'm right for you to get so defensive this fast." He calmly replied as he folded his arms, his eyes coldly glaring at the girl. Mail looked rather cool in atmosphere despite his body starting to warm from the fear of getting himself beat up but he tried pushing that to the back of his mind.

Then the little warrior came rushing into him and 'beating him to a pulp'. Mail stared down at the boy with his eyebrow somewhat twitching upwards once more in irritation. He hated kids-- hated, and it appeared that they hated him too. Babies liked throwing their rattles at his head, infants enjoyed crying at him. Even kids under the age of 12 enjoyed doing something to annoy him beyond belief. The punches didn't harm Mail and only got his blood boiling. "Knock it off, kid." He growled before shoving Alexander away. It wasn't hard enough to knock him down but it was strong enough to make the kid stumble back a bit. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were hiding something." Mail spoke, this time using a more aggressive and harsh tone, "I know you from somewhere and let me say this-- your reputation outside of this island is far from good."

What... was going on? Nolan found his heart beating harshly in his chest and his palms starting to sweat. No, he didn't fear this stranger, but he was getting very worked up. "Wh-what?" He questioned in disbelief and gave a frown, his glare softening into a solemn gaze at the man. Really, this was just sad. Nolan couldn't feel any worse for Isamu than he already did. "Leave her alone! Saying crap to her is making you nothing more than a bully. Isa is a nice girl and doesn't deserve this!" He defended as his arm kept the girl beside him, trying to keep her safe just in case something bad happen but also not wanting her to try picking a fight with this guy to make matters worse. "Also, you shouldn't shove kids. How about you go back to what you were doing, alright?" Nolan growled in a threatening tone of voice, wanting to be stern and get his point across.

Her eyes darted at him, tears beginning to fall down her face. This jerk was assuming things and didn't even know a single thing about her, he didn't. Something pulled at her heart deeply, she knew that people thought of her as a criminal, the ones who had heard her name and seen her picture, people assumes right away she was needing to die in a chair, or put behind bars. But nobody knew she was innocent and it was the corrupted police who had began the rumors with the real police, she was scared of her own sisters opinion on her. She was biting her tongue, trying not to snap back at the man angrily. He looked so calm and collected compared to her and Nolan, she wanted to just yell him out and show him what he needed to be shown. It's what she believed in, he needed to be taught one tiny lesson about people and judging them. He knew nothing about her, yet here he was talking about her. Her scars were no more than marks of her trying to help hostages and her father getting angry, going to violence with her daughter and giving her deep cuts in her skin.

Her eyes narrowed and her heart pumped angrily as she watched the jerk talk to Alexander in such an intimidating like way to her, "I'm not a kid!" he protested, continuing to punch the man in the stomach angrily before being pushed back. With how Alexander was, a normal klutz, he fell onto his back and laid there without getting up. He was a klutz born nature, one kid might've been able to survive such a push back, but with him having the worst luck and feet to dance with, it wasn't easy keeping his balance like everyone else. Her eyes darted back up at Mail with a furious look in her eyes now, "Shut the hell up." she shot back, more angry tones in her voice as she began protesting out loud. Her ears buzzing angrily, her face growing red from anger along with her fists.

Listening to Nolan, she softened the slightest but anger remained in her face, the tears gone and Nolan had tightened his grip around Isamu. The boy quickly shot up and ran towards the two with tears in his own eyes.

That was it.

Forcing herself out of Nolan's grip, he stood up and marched her way in his direction. "Just who the hell do you think you are? Pushing a child who lost his parents right in front of his own damn eyes. If you want to hurt someone, it's best not to do it to him or in front of me." she growled, her forehead touching his as she felt the urge to punch him straight in the face, not caring about his opinion on her. Sure, she just told the story of Alexander to him, but almost everyone knew. Her fists clutched at her side, she was ready to start this fight if he peeped another word out of his mouth.

Seeing tears roll down Isamu's cheeks made Nolan even angrier with this guy. Who the heck did he think he is?! He'd never even seen this young man before, yet he came up to them and began talking so calmly yet with words chosen that were nearly sharp enough to slice through still air. The guy didn't even look one bit guilty about ruining their happy moment and it was like after one incident happened, another came hurling at them. Man, if Nolan's birthday ever turned out close to this, he'd be extremely upset about it. However he doubted that Isamu was sad about that right now-- being judged in such a way was definitely hurtful. "Isamu..." Nolan murmured in concern as his arm remained around her.

That is, until the kid was shoved and after Nolan got done warning off the guy, resulting to Isamu's anger being flipped on. She got away from his grasp and Nolan watched with wide eyes as she went up the man. "H-hey, let's not fight here!" Nolan stammered and looked over at Alexander, checking to make sure the young man was alright. He tried smiling for the boy, patting his head affectionately, but he was concerned by how close up Isamu got to the man. Hearing the story, Nolan was a bit surprised. He wouldn't have guessed the young boy had lost his parents and sadly looked down, the thought of a child losing their family being quite depressing.

Mail almost jumped when Isamu came storming up to him but tried to keep his composure. Letting her know he was afraid of her didn't sound too smart and he kept a calm glare at the woman as she came face-to-face with him. Her forehead touched his and Mail had his eyes glanced off to the side, trying his best to seem perfectly confident rather than how he truly felt-- scared that he'd end up with a black eye or bloody nose."I have no intentions of hurting anyone, miss." He replied with a mocking smile, trying to put on the best poker face he could possible. The story of the boy was sad but Mail wasn't the type to back down and beg for forgiveness, especially to people he didn't even know or get off on the right foot with.

He should have kept his tongue bit down and not said another word but out of embarrassment, fear, and annoyance that these three people were all against him simply for pointing out she looked familiar and had strange scars, he just had to make the comment... "Unlike you, who has murdered and beat harmless citizens. I bet your friend didn't know that, now did he?" The words stung coming out yet he looked so... untouched by the emotions around him, like he had no emotions whatsoever though he truly wanted to go run away from the beach area and go back home. "You're a wanted murderer. Not the best role model for a little boy." He added before suddenly, Isamu was nudged to the side and Nolan grasped Mail by the collar.

"You don't know anything about her. You're just trying to scare her and that poor boy." Nolan glared at Mail, having the huge urge to punch him in the face. For a split second, Mail looked genuinely shocked by the sudden action from the man before putting on a blank expression, a small smile remaining over his lips. "I'm only warning you both." He simply said before Nolan just shook his head and pushed the man back. "Forget it. I'm not wasting any moooore time on this!" He sighed, folding his arms. This was really just an aggravating situation but with how Nolan's expression was, it was obvious he felt disturbed and questioning about it all. "I-Isamu, none of this is true? Right?" He asked the girl worriedly as he looked over at her with a pleading expression, desperately wanting this to be just some huge misunderstanding. "Why would she admit it? Obviously, she came to this island so she could hide away and not get captured." Mail sighed heavily, still feeling his heart pound rapidly since he didn't know if the girl would be up in his face again within seconds.

Her eyes darted at Nolan for a second, her features softening. She had no such intentions of hurting Nolan however, but she did not wish to have such violence on the beach and her birthday also. But this guy was pushing his lucky really bad in fact, it wasn't every day she got that certain urge to punch someone in the face. She wasn't going to say it was common, but it wasn't exactly rare to see either. Her eyes darted back towards the white headed jerk as she narrowed her eyes, her teeth beginning to grit yet again. Who did this guy seriously think he was? He showed no sign of caring about the boys poor state, nor did he show a emotionless face. He smirked like everything was just completely fine and hilarious to him. Her own fists were beginning to turn red she could swear her fingernails would dig through her own skin soon.

"Unlike you, who has murdered and beat harmless citizens. I bet your friend didn't know that, now did he?"

Her heart pumped anxiously in her chest, but she showed no sign of fear of him anymore in her eyes, she only showed minor annoyance and the need to punch him in the face even more. Her eyes darted to Alexander after his words who looked shocked himself, she found her eyes tear but she was strong enough to bite the tears back. This jerk seemed to feed off of fear almost, if it wasn't that, she didn't know why he continued to do it. "You're wrong! Issy-Chan would never do such a thing!" the childish yells sounded behind her, but she refused to look back at the child who now knew about her false want. Her mouth was sealed shut, as she continued to stare at the man with furrowed eyebrows and an angry gaze, you could easily taste how angry she was. When she was nudged to the side, a huge weight felt like it was lifted off her shoulder as she stared at Nolan who was now taking the step in front of her own last moves.

With her heart pounding in her throat, she stared at Nolan with pleading eyes. She opened her mouth but was quickly interrupted yet again by the man who acted like he knew everything about her, despite not knowing anything at all. He was only thirty percent right about her, she was wanted and was accused of murder. But she had never thought of laying a single finger on any innocent person back in the city she lived in. With the words, she triggered another rampage, but went even farther this time as she sped up in his direction, her feet lifting out of the sand and as she stood in front of him, she was practically breathing angrily already. Her fists still clenched at her sides, her eyes narrowed, it was already obvious of what she had been going to do. With only a quick motion, she had already punched him in the face with tears spilling out of her own eyes, the punch was enough to make him stumble backwards and most likely leave a bruise. "Shut up, Shut up, Shut up shut up shut up shut up." she repeatedly said it over and over again, tears beginning to fall out her eyes as her fists dangled to her sides. She didn't feel any pain in her fists despite the punch, she was just hurt emotionally however. Tears were droplets, but soon became more of a waterfall. "Nothing you've said is true!" her sobs were enough to make it sound like she meant it, which she did. "You just assume crap without thinking anything through." she added, her tears making their way, plopping one by one into the sand, her legs began to quiver a bit as if she was cold.

Her arms crossed over her chest, holding her shoulders as she shook her head wildly. She was afraid, and was already feeling her legs about to give out as she felt like plopping into the sand and crying her eyes out, not even caring about anybodies opinion or if Nolan suddenly became afraid of her. She didn't even care that she might of hurt the man by punching him in the face, all she wanted was for him to leave her alone. She was fine with Nolan being around her. Her eyes began to go red from irritation already, her eyes darted towards Nolan who she had already expected to have ran away.

Before Isamu could even answer Nolan, the stranger had practically answered for her in a way that made Nolan's pleading gaze at the woman turn annoyed and cross as he turned his head to look over at the man. "That was Isamu's question, not your's!" It wasn't far for him to be blurting out all of these judging comments about her being a criminal without even letting her have much say-- Isamu couldn't be any of what the man said! Maybe she hadn't been entirely denying all of it but all of this was so sudden, he was sure that she just was baffled and unable to find the right words.

All of the hostility around him made Mail extremely uncomfortable though he did his best not to show it. He'd been trying to get information out of Isamu by pushing her the best he could while keeping himself from threatening her but found that it wasn't working very well. All he was getting was that she had an over-protective guy with her, an annoying kid who thought he was tough, and that she enjoyed getting up in people's faces when annoyed. When she sped in his direction without answering Mail then knew that he finally had initiated a trigger to be pulled, one that he'd have been better off avoiding. Mail had taken a few steps back, feeling his heart nearly drop as she was up to him within a matter of seconds. Nolan was surprised by Isamu's quick rushing over and before he could even speak or do anything, a swift punch was socked right into Mail's face.

"A-ah!" Nolan gasped in surprise, his jaw dropping from seeing Isamu literally knocking Mail back with her punch and him almost falling over. He pretty much did, being brought onto one knee as he held a hand over his face while keeping it down. Nolan jogged over and nervously glanced between the two with his eyes as big as they could get and a purely stunned face worn. "Y-you punched him? Ouch, that looked like it hurt!" Nolan nearly gasped in a babble, being quite thrown off guard by the action since he'd never think that Isamu would do that. Then again, he didn't know her to well but... she just seemed so sweet and innocent! Glancing between the two some more, Nolan felt bad for the man since he was hiding his face down and probably in pain, but the tears in Isamu's eyes and her dampened cheeks made him more concerned as his shocked gaze melted into a sad one. "Isamu, don't listen to him, alright? This... isn't a good way to spend a very special day." He suggested as he tried smiling for her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "How about we go to another part of the beach away from all this?"

Mail's entire face felt throbbing, numb, and sore. The impact of her fist was more than he'd expect and sent him almost down onto the ground had he not managed to bring a knee up to support himself from entirely collapsing. His hand held his face, his bangs going over his fingers as he held his face down and away from the two. Mail didn't want them to see himself because he couldn't hide his own tears and the swollen cheek that was gradually puffing more and more. More footsteps came thundering over and Mail's shoulders tensed in fear as he worried that the man might have been coming over to only beat on him some more. In a way, Mail was trying to hide from them but felt too dizzy to actually move and run out of the way. God, this freaking hurt! Why did she have to punch him like that!? Mail wanted to yell at her, to punch her back and call her a dirty criminal, but... in all reality, he knew he deserved it. He deserved getting punched for trying to get information out of someone who was potentially dangerous, for not minding his own business and casually strolling by. All Mail had to do was file a report to the police that he saw someone who looked similar to a wanted person, but now he could already feel a bruise coming on and his tears streaming his cheeks without any control.

The other man didn't even care. He acted like it was amazing how she punched him so hard and so fast, then suggested that the group left Mail to sit on the ground like some unwanted, stupid idiot who had no emotions. That's how he ended up portraying himself, however--his father taught Mail to act unaffected by the world and not attached to anyone else as though he could never befriend them. He was afraid of growing to trust a person and then get hurt-- becoming close to someone only to be thrown aside was the most awful feeling Mail ever felt and he didn't want to be put through it, not again. Even if it made others hate him like these two strangers probably did, it was better than being used. As hard as he tried not to get involved with anyone personally, when he came to this island he met the first person who ever challenged him to come out of his barrier-- the first person who Mail actually smiled at and admired. What would that young man think of Mail now? The thought of it made Mail want to die inside.

Forcing himself onto both feet, Mail's legs shook massively and anyone could see it. His hand remained over his face though lifting only a little so that he could at least see. "G-go off and continue your happy little day. D-don't think I'm not going to report this to the Town Hall." He stammered, a lump in his throat and making it very hard for him to utter any words though he still tried his hardest not to be afraid, but by now it was obvious he had been extremely shaken up by the moment. Turning around, he did a speed-walk as far as he could away from the group. Mail didn't want to see them, hear them, or get anywhere near those people. He got punched in the face from what society had titled a criminal with a want for her head... all Mail wanted now was to go home and crawl into his bed.