[Brianna Taylor]

Ah, it felt good to be up early.

Brie had fully intended to sleep in this fine Saturday morning. She was going to sleep in and get a full eight hours (or more...) of sleep. But, of course, her mind have a different idea. Somehow, she had managed to wake up at five thirty in the morning... on a Saturday. Yes, yes... this clarified it. She was most definitely crazy. But, instead of trying to go back to sleep like a "normal" person, she jumped out of bed and put on her running clothes. Within minutes, she was walking out to the back of campus.

Of course no one was up. Why would they be? Only crazy people got up early on a Saturday. And, you know, Brie would be the first to admit that she was crazy. As soon as the lake was in sight, she broke into a run. She had forgotten how good it felt to feel the wind rushing past her face and tinting her cheeks with red. Why had she waited so long to do this again? She picked up her pace as she rounded the lake the second time. She pushed herself and put all of her energy into the last stretch of land before...

Yes! She eased to stop slowly and fell backwards onto the soft bank of the lake. She breathed heavily, trying to focus on slowing her heart rate and calming down. It was such a rush to be out and running again. She loved it. It was almost as good as a feeling as finishing a really good book and you're left with so many emotions and thoughts that you can't contain yourself. And it's all just amazing and you just want to do it all over again.

But you don't because you're WAY too wiped out. Brie panted for a few more moments before propping herself up on her elbows and facing the rising sun over the mountains and the trees. God, how she loved days like this... Even if it did mean waking up early... On a Saturday.

[Mickayla Gartner]

"You have GOT to be joking." The rather irritated voice floated through the slightly-open window, which lead to a young, blond haired, green eyed woman, who was most definitely not pleased about something. "Whose bright idea was it to wake up at five fricking thirty in the morning? On a Saturday?" The seventeen-year-old angel (well, the seventeen-year-old looking angel, anyway) was growing more irritated by the second, sitting up in her bed and glaring at the clock resting on the wall opposite. Disgust and loathing of the early hour seeped into her voice as she continued her tirade against the clock, as though it were the clock's fault that she had woken up so early. And she supposed it was. If you think about it, it wouldn't be five-thirty if clocks didn't say so, right? "I can't believe it," Kayla Gartner continued. "One would think that even a stupid clock would know that you are supposed to sleep in on a Saturday, not wake up before the sun's even all the way up." Her vivid green eyes narrowed, glaring as if to say 'How dare you!' Of course, it might not be the most logical thing in the world to blame an inanimate object of the work of your biological clock, but don't tell Mickayla that. She could win an argument with a chunk of stone, if she wanted to--or just talk with it, if the fancy struck her.

Of course, the most logical course of action for such an occurrence as waking up too early would be to roll over, pull the covers back over you, and go back to sleep. The thing was, though, that didn't work very well for Kay. When she woke up, no matter how early, she couldn't get back to sleep--her biological functions wouldn't allow it. Kayla wasn't particularly sure, but she had the feeling that it might have been some kind of residual thing, left over from when she had been a human--she didn't know of any other angels that were beset with the same damnable sleep patters. Of course, she had never really asked, so for all she knew it could have been an angel thing. Still, she liked to believe that it was left over from her human life--that would make at least one thing about being human that she had not completely lost.

Kay shook her head, jolting herself out of her reverie. She was up, that much was undeniable and could not be changed. What she didn't want to do, however, was sit in her bed glaring at her clock for five hours. She would rather do something at least moderately productive with her time. She doubted she would be able to get much work done on her project, as surely there wouldn't be anyone else insane enough to be up at this unGodly hour--not to take the Lord's name in vain, but surely not even He was up this early in the morning on a Saturday! Kayla sighed, running a hand through her silky, golden-hued hair, pushing it out of her face and groping around on her nightstand in the semi darkness for a hair band with which to secure her hair. She knocked over several things on her already-cluttered nightstand (thankfully nothing fragile) before locating said hair band and twisting her hair up into a pony tail. "Much better," she murmured aloud, as she slid from her bed and padded softly across the hardwood floor of her room to her dressing table. She shucked the soft, white nightdress she had been wearing, opting instead for a pair of denim, low rise jeans and an emerald-green, long-sleeved turtleneck shirt. Completing the ensemble were a pair of black flip-flops, as she intended to head down to the lake. Not to swim or anything obviously, but to draw. She greatly enjoyed drawing--it was one of the few things that was completely free in this world, the joy one got from ones hobbies. Kay knew she wasn't a half-bad artist--pretty good, actually, to be honest. And she was sure that the sun rising over the lake would make a beautiful picture.

Armed with sketch pad and charcoal pencils, Kayla made her way through the school, exiting the doors and breathing in the crisp, cool morning air that filtered over the grounds. She loved the outdoors--always had, everything from the smells, to the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling, to the utter picturesque quality of any nature scene. In the early morning, when everything was tinged pink and gold and violet with the rising sun's rays, the campus looked like something out of a fairy tale, particularly the lake. So enraptured by the scene, it wasn't until she had sat down in a cross-legged position inches from the water's edge and readied her sketchbook and pencils and began the first strokes that she noticed there was someone beside her.

Well, a few feet from her was more accurate. The other girl had been there first, of that Kay was pretty certain, and she marveled at how she could have completely missed the human girl's presence. "Sorry about that," Mickayla said, pausing in her sketching to consider the human girl. "I guess I didn't notice you were there... silly of me, I know. If you'd like me to leave I will, if I'm intruding on anything. I just came here to draw. Lovely view of the rising sun," Kay added, as she turned her eyes back on the sun, rising over the horizon and tingeing the lake's dark waters with molten gold.

[Brianna Taylor]

Brie yawned loudly. And why had she thought this was a good idea? Her mind began to wander this way and that, thinking of the book she had finished last night. God, that was a good book, wasn't it? It wasn't one of those sucky books that left you wondering what happens. No. This one wrapped things up. She liked that. I mean, of course, the main character died, but you're not wondering what happened!

Hearing footsteps approaching, Brie froze. Was she allowed to be out here? Was that a teacher coming to bust her? And then, the person sat down. Without a word. She turned around, staring at the girl who had just sat down next to her. Okay, yeah, you can sit there... Would have been nice of you to say hello or something... Brie decided that if that girl wasn't going to say anything, neither was she. So she returned her attention to the sunrise.

Well, THAT was something she wanted to hear. That she was so invisible that the person can't even see her. She turned and smiled at the girl. "It's fine. You can sit here," she replied. Turning back, Brie scowled with her back to the girl once more. Please move, please move, please move, she prayed inside her head. Sometimes she just needed her alone time, and nearing six in the morning on a Saturday, this was one of those times! God! But she sure as hell wasn't going to kick some girl out because she was sitting too close to her. She'd just keep her back to the girl, that was all. They didn't need to talk... She hoped.

[Mickayla Gartner]

Now that Mickayla was actually paying attention, she was amazed that she hadn't noticed the girl earlier--she was practically radiating waves of hostility. Even a first year Angel would be able to sense that! the young Love Angel thought, mentally chastising herself, though outwardly she gave no clue as to her inner self-annoyance. She was very good at controlling the emotions she showed to the outside world--unless, of course, she was angry or upset, in which case she couldn't keep what she was feeling hidden if her life depended on it... metaphorically speaking, as she was technically already dead and probably couldn't die again. Back on topic--Kayla could probably guess quite accurately the reason for such hostility, even without the subtle powers of being an angel. Kay had intruded on the young human;s solitude, and the girl was resentful of that fact. Which was why, when the girl said "It's fine. You can sit here." Mickayla didn't buy it for a second.

Oh, but this just won't do! Kay thought, at the moment in a rare, serious mind, quite the contrary to her normally vastly overactive, hyper manner. The human girl had turned her back on Mickayla, but that didn't phase her. While eye contact was helpful, it wasn't totally necessary for what she was about to do. She closed her vividly green eyes, reaching out instead with her mind and her heart to the girl before her. Using skills gained as an angel, she did her best to soothe the girl's agitation and hostility, hopefully injecting some of her own light, care-free, companionable attitude as well--she really didn't want to deal with a pissed off human her first day at Kirkland.

"I am sorry for disturbing you," Kay repeated, as she opened her eyes, hoping her slight emotional manipulation had worked and that the girl would turn around a little more happy than she had been a moment ago. "It's a wonder I didn't sit on you; I was pretty out of it. It's less that I didn't see you, more that I was wrapped up in my own little world." Kay's lightly accented, lilting voice (a touch of something European, smoothe, perhaps French or Italian) carried a hint of laughter, at herself and her mannerisms. "It happens to me all the time; tends to annoy some people no end. If you would prefer to be alone, I'll happily go, but I haven't had much of a chance to meet anyone yet, so if you don't mind the company, I'll stay just as happily."

[Brianna Taylor]

Brie suddenly felt her anger diminish. Well, what kind of person was she? Completely snubbing a perfectly polite girl while she had the chance to make a new friend. She dismissed her previous agitated feelings with the excuse that it was just the lack of sleep. She was up at this ungodly hour, wasn't she? That was a topic they could talk about! Why was the other girl up so early? Insomnia? Okay, that would be prying, but it was something... Brie stored that question in her mind, making sure to bring it up if the conversation lagged.

It wasn't like her to suddenly change emotions. Actually, it was something very different for Brie. In a swift motion, she spun around and faced the girl. "It's okay, you're not disturbing me," she said, with a happy tone. "I'm Brie, by the way," she introduced herself, sticking out her hand. There, that was better, wasn't it? Nice and polite, introducing herself. That was the proper Brie, the person she should be all the time instead of letting petty emotions get in the way.

Brie smiled. "Yeah, I've had those moments too. Ran into a door once because of it." She laughed and pointed to a scar on her arm. "I got that because of it," she said proudly. Brie tilted her head. "Oh, you're new?" Well wasn't she just the freaking welcome wagon? What was with all these transfers? "That's so cool, I've been going here since freshman year." She shrugged. "So, do you like it here so far?" she asked, getting ready to do the whole welcome committee thing.