pastel horizon [open]

[Xandra Evergreen]

Darkness had begun to set in on Salem around 9. Xandra had set up her easel on the porch and brought out her oil pastels. Now, after a quick snack and a shower, she was back on the porch and ready to work some gorgeous colors across the paper set up on the easel.

As she tied her wet hair back in a pony tail, she studied her surroundings in search of something to draw. Nice little houses were lined up in every direction, all connected by little paths. Across from her house was a long break in the line of houses, and this is what made her love the location she lived in. From her porch she was able to see the rest of the town as well as the night sky above it. Within the vast, dark pool were so many brightly shining stars, and of course the moon. Then the sky was cut off at the trees far on the other side of town. Beyond that...more sky, but what else?

Xandra decided she'd draw the night's horizon with the trees and sky. Already she felt excitement and creativity build within her as the finished product was already forming in her mind: a perfect reflection of the real thing.

She glanced through her box of pastels for a moment. Some had already become quite short from so much use; Xandra decided she'd have to make another trip to the Marketplace soon. Hopefully someone would be selling pastels. She tended to buy almost every art supply that was shipped in, which wasn't very often.

Finally, Xandra decided on a dark blue pastel. It wasn't long after she'd started breaking into her potential masterpiece that she heard light footsteps coming in her direction.

[Freya Farson]

Freya's hand was jerked from her necklace as Bailey pulled on the leash towards Xandra. "Bailey," Freya lightly scolded, and kept the leash closer to her. She waved and smiled at Xandra, who was only slightly distracted from her work.
Freya knew Xandra was in a totally different world once she was in front of an easel. Bailey happily trotted onwards to Freya's house, right next to Xandra's.
Freya dug into her right pocket, where she kept her house keys. And then she checked her left pocket. Back pockets. And then she felt all around her right pocket again.
"Ugh!" Freya whined, Bailey standing at the door loyally. She's not sure when her parents will be home from that marriage counseling thing at church...

[Xandra Evergreen]

Xandra could hear an annoyed whisper from a vaguely familiar voice. Then small dog on a leash popped into Xandra's line of sight and was followed by Freya, the neighbor girl. She gripped the leash as her dog attempted to pull her over to Xandra. Xandra instanstly felt embarrassed to be the cause of the dog's misbehavior and kept her eyes to her work.

In her peripheral vision, Xandra caught Freya giving her a slight smile and wave, but she had already looked away when Xandra returned the smile. Another awkward moment for Xandra; she felt as if she should say something, but she wasn't sure if Freya was in the mood for conversation. Besides, though they lived next to one another, they had never gotten that close. Usually the smile-and-wave method was a sufficient amount of communication between the two.

"Ugh!" Freya groaned suddenly. Xandra glanced quickly at Freya only to see her digging through her pockets.

Finally, Xandra spoke up: "Hey Freya. Um, is something wrong?"

[Freya Farson]

Freya sighed irritably and looked over to Xandra, who had stopped on her artwork for her. "Oh," Freya said guiltily, "I...I guess I forgot my keys..." Freya slipped her charm bracelet off and started fiddling with it nervously. She could walk down to the church, or maybe just walk Bailey around until her parents come home, or visit one of her friends...though it would be rudely unexpected.

[Xandra Evergreen]

"I...I guess I forgot my keys," Freya said shyly. She began to fiddle with her bracelet nervously as she looked around, probably wondering what to do.

"Are your..." Xandra started, about to ask if her parents were home, but decided that was obviously not the case. She set her pastel down in her pastel box and continued, "I guess no one is home, right? You can stick around here for a while, if you want..."

[Freya Farson]

"Mmm," Freya considered, looking back over at Xandra. "You sure you wouldn't mind?"

[Xandra Evergreen]

"I'm definitely sure," Xandra said as she wiped her hands on a towel she'd left laying on the porch rail. "It's warm out, but you can come inside if you want." Xandra noticed Freya's dog had trotted back over to Freya and was now sniffing around by Freya's feet. "And your dog can come inside too. My parents don't mind animals."