Do you like Piña Coladas? [Mexico]

[Deleted]

There was nothing quite like the smell of the ocean. It was a sharp, robust, character building smell. It smelt of adventure, of home. It would no exaggeration to say the beach was Afonso's favourite place on the island. More so than his bed even; it was a sweeping sanctuary as far as the eye could see with perfect waters right from the east side of the island, right around to the south. It reminded Afonso of home more than anything else, and heading down to the beach after lessons ended when the weather was good had become so banal it was practically second-nature for the boy. It was a little temporary cure for the fairly severe case of homesickness he had been nursing as of late. The regular visits to the beach were always healing, relaxing.

Not today though.

He'd be a liar if he said he wasn't at least the slightest bit nervous. Thinking back on it, it probably wasn't one of his wisest moments; Afonso was never really one to think before he acted, and this was no exception.

It had all happened pretty quickly, from his perspective anyways. He'd finished gathering his things at the end of his last class for the day, packed his bag and was ready to go. There was nothing particularly special about today that had prompted his rash actions; but, being as impulsive as he was, Afonso tossed a folded piece of paper on one of his classmates' desks before skirting out the door. No explanation, no justification, just a few words haphazardly scrawled across the middle of the note for her.

"hey! meet me at the east beach after school? (-:"

Oh, yes. Very suave.

Afonso was not a bashful child by any means, he was fairly confident and self assured on the whole, but this was another matter entirely. He wasn't particularly well versed in the field of romance, and was more than a bit diffident when it came to making any kind of action. The boy was quick to flirt and tease, but making any kind of concrete action on having a crush was a new experience; and it would be fair to say that he hadn't gotten any beginners' luck this time.

The girl in question, Ana María, was in the year below him; and other than a few observations he'd made here and there, Afonso really didn't know her all too well, but wouldn't this be the perfect opportunity to do just that? She seemed pretty animated and happy, an affable, genuine young lady. From what he'd heard, she was also pretty fond of the beach and football too. Plus, she was pretty cute.

He probably had no cause to worry; while his advance was pretty clumsy and could have been executed a lot more skillfully, he'd tried his best. Plus, regardless of how things went, being as gregarious as he was, he could probably forge a friendship out of this in any case. It'd be nice to surf and play football with some company anyways. Yeah!

Until then, he'd just lay out in the sun and enjoy the peace.

[ooc: oh man this is pretty poopy ahaha uwu let me know if you want me to tweak anything lovely!!]

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Ana María had spent the last hour writing notes on her notebook and underlining the most important things for later study. This was one of the few class she actually enjoyed. They were talking about the development of social equality and economic stability in Latin America. About time. This class had dealt with social and economic issues in Europe, Asia and North America, but it had not taken the course of action that she had wanted. Ana María looked down at her notes, surprised by how neat they were. She stared at the seemingly endless words, turning to glance a the white board from time to time to see if she had missed any details.

For a moment she was amazed at how much attention she had put on the class. The dedication she had just ventured into in order to contribute to her education. She smiled to herself, thinking about how proud she felt with this new feeling of productivity. Not that it would last any time soon. She had more important stuff to do and a reputation to uphold. But once in a while it wasn't so bad. When class ended she started packing her things. For once she wasn't in such a rush to get out of class. She had enjoyed this and didn't want it to end. Besides, if she rushed to get to her dorm that would mean she would stare at the piles of homework that had stood there for weeks still waiting to be done. Oh joy.

However as she was almost done with her things a small folded paper landed on her desk. She picked it up and unfolded carefully, wondering if it was something important or just some doodling that had fallen out of her book. It read:

"hey! meet me at the east beach after school? (-:"

Ana María looked up again to see who had sent it to her but the classroom was almost empty and no one seemed to be staring in her direction. She wondered even if the note was even intended for her and had not just found itself to her hands by mistake. Either way she would take any opportunity to escape the ounces of homework that were waiting for her. Procrastinating was really her strong attribute. Besides, if it was all a big misunderstanding and she wasn't the one intended to receive the letter, she could just clear it up and find something else to do. Some of her friends would be out enjoying life too so what was there to lose?

Ana María hurried to her dorm to throw her stuff in there and get ready to go to the beach. She debated whether or not to change into something that wasn't her uniform but she was too lazy and just ran off to meet her stranger. She loved the beach. It was among her favorite places in the world. Mexico had such beautiful beaches and exotic places, especially down south by the Rivera Maya. When she was younger her father had taken her to the tip of the Yucatán Peninsula and while it hadn't be the southernmost point of the country, it was still the edge where it ended. That had been such a magical place, completely isolated and away from all the big cities. The beaches here were different, some of them were black due to volcanic stones, but they were pretty just the same.

As she approached the beach she saw another person laying on the sun. Ana María smiled and walked over to the boy. "¡Hola!~"[/color] She said in a sing-songed manner. "I'm supposed to meet someone here. Maybe you can help me?"[/color]

[Deleted]

The gentle, somnolent heat of the sand and springtime sun coupled with the rhythmic sound of the sea kissing the shore had near lulled Afonso to sleep. The boy had a poor tendency of drifting off at almost every given moment, and since there wasn't much to do, he'd taken advantage of the situation. That and he thought this would look pretty cool, right? A cool guy laying by himself on the beach. Yeah. Truly the epitome of desirable. Plus, he was just being himself, and that was really cool, wasn't it? He liked not doing a huge amount, and it's best to give an honest first impression, right?

He was probably being far too self conscious; but Afonso was certainly feeling somewhat more relaxed than a few minutes prior, and that was always a good thing. There wasn't any point in fretting over anything- but at the same time it really wouldn't do him any good to fall asleep while waiting for his companion to arrive, and yet while thankfully he wasn't away with the fairies just yet, his nerves were extremely dulled and he was dozing so heavily he nearly missed the little voice coming from above him.

"¡Hola!~"

Dazed, he flicked open an eyelid before registering someone had appeared next to him and moved to prop himself up on his elbows. "Ei~" Raising a hand up to his face, the boy rubbed the sleep from his eyes and blinked rapidly, trying to focus on the figure beside him. "I'm supposed to meet someone here. Maybe you can help me?"

Shit! She was here already? Suspended somewhere between conscious and dreaming, Afonso scrabbled to his feet. His nap had left him with the dexterity and poise of a toddler, and his clumsy movements were semblant to that of a newborn deer, but after righting himself and brushing some sand from his back, he turned to his newfound company. "Ahh, yeah, I can help you there!" The boy curled his mouth up into a smile and held his palm out, offering a handshake. "Ana, right? I'm Afonso, we take socioeconomics together."

Whatever consolation and calm his nap had provided had faded away fairly quickly, replaced with a painful whirling of nerves and breath hitching in the back of his throat. "I, guess you got my note then, huh?" Once again, this started to seem like more and more of a bad idea to him. Well, not inherently bad, but just really dumb. What was there to do now? It sounded awfully silly, but Afonso was more than a bit frightened, although he wasn't totally sure what he was scared of. Looking stupid? Pff, too bad, you've done that already. He really had no cause to be worrying as much as he was; there was plenty to do at the beach, and he had plenty to talk about, but something about the girl made him ridiculously nervous, and he really didn't understand why.

But she'd shown up, and she came over to say hello so, things were going pretty well so far, right?

"You don't mind if we move under a tree, do you? I think I might start to burn a little if I stay out here too much longer!"

[ ahhh this is really sloppy i'm sorry man let me know if you want anything changed! uwu/ <33 ]

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

It seemed for a moment that the boy was about to fall asleep. As Ana María looked down upon him, she noticed how peaceful he looked. She would've crawled next to him and lay on the sand if it hadn't been for the fact that he propped himself up on his elbows. She watched him with curiosity. It seemed like she had somehow startled him with her presence. Was he waiting for someone else? Maybe the note that Ana María had found wasn't meant for her at all. It would be such a shame if she had to turn around and proceed to something else. She was really looking forward to this. Why? She was not sure and in the few words and small seconds that they have spent together she already fell at ease. It was that feeling of meeting a stranger that feels like a long lost friend.

He scrabbled to his feet and Ana María smiled. He was really adorable in his controlled and a bit clumsy movements. She felt a tiny bit bad that she had woke him up. It wasn't something that she would've like to be done on her. People around here knew that if she was asleep, wherever that might be, they were not to wake her up. She wasn't the nicest person in the morning. Wasn't the nicest if she missed her siesta or if it was interrupted. Someone had better be dead if it was.
"Ahh, yeah, I can help you there!" He held his palm out and she took it before she could make sense of what she was doing. The smile that he had offered her made her feel a knot on her throat. "Ana, right? I'm Afonso, we take socioeconomics together."

A huge ounce of relief washed over her body. So the note that had stumbled across her desk was indeed for her. That was good, great even. It made her wonder though, what did he possibly want from her? Despite sharing a class, that she barely remembered that she took, she didn't know him all too well. It seemed like such a direct approach to just invite her here to one of her favorite places. Ana María didn't mind it, as it would be something that she would do if she liked someone and wanted to meet them. This realization gave her a small fuzzy feeling inside, one that she couldn't quite express or describe. "Si, I'm Ana María. It is a pleasure to meet you Afonso!"[/color] She held on for a moment to the warm touch of his skin before drifting her own hand away. She was pleased with the sunny afternoon. The heat just made everything better.

"I, guess you got my note then, huh?"

Ana María nodded as she placed the strands of hair that covered her face behind her ear. Oh yes that note, the cause of all her "worrying" and whether or not it was meant for her. "Si, I got it. I wasn't sure who it was for, it had no name. But then I figured that the person who sent it might be a little lonely if he stayed here waiting all afternoon. Even if it had not been for me, I love having an excuse to come to the beach. I love sand, even if it get stuck in my shoes for ages."[/color] She said with a soft, playful tone. As she finished her sentence, she leaned down and slowly took off her shoes, along with her white stockings. Yes, now that felt so much better. The sand between her toes, the small crushed shells under her feet. It was absolutely marvelous!

"You don't mind if we move under a tree, do you? I think I might start to burn a little if I stay out here too much longer!"

Ana María turned to look at him as she stood up once more. She chuckled at his remark. "Of course."[/color] She wasn't sure if he was European but that was her first guess. Most of the people she knew that were kept complaining about her precious heat, claiming that they didn't tan very well. She could understand that. Most of them were pale while her skin was a soft shade of gold. She didn't mind staying under the heat, it felt natural really. The sun rays on her skin were rejuvenating. But she wanted to make the boy a little more comfortable, for it seemed that something was making him nervous. Oh my. She wondered what he was thinking or why he had called her out here.

[Deleted]

The boy felt as though his cheeks were burning scarlet. He wasn't particularly sure if he was blushing noticeably, or whether the rush of blood to his face was of sheer embarrassment from his beautifully un-coordinated attempt at walking, or just from Ana María's response. It is a pleasure to meet you. A pleasure! Wow. He was about as giddy as a schoolgirl, yet ironically significantly less composed than the schoolgirl in front of him.

The girl's remark about the note elicited a sort of apologetic snicker accompanied by him gingerly rubbing at the back of his neck. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that! I guess I thought it'd be kind of more... exciting? Like a surprise or something, you know?"

"I figured that the person who sent it might be a little lonely if he stayed here waiting all afternoon. Even if it had not been for me, I love having an excuse to come to the beach. I love sand, even if it get stuck in my shoes for ages."

Well if he wasn't blushing before, his cheeks were certainly tinged a strong pink by now. He watched her carefully removing her shoes and nodded, "The beach is great. I think- it's my favourite place at Asher really, it reminds me of home, you know? The sand's a little bit of a funny colour, but you're right, it's a good feeling! Not as nice as the ocean though! There's something special about the water."

Suddenly becoming aware of how silly he was starting to sound, Afonso decided it'd probably be best to push all the sappy ocean talk to one side for the time being anyways. It's not like the beach was going anywhere anytime soon! But, the sun had places to be, and he didn't plan on wasting what little daylight there was in the early Springtime months chatting endlessly about the water- so now with Ana María's approval, he started walking off down the treeline of the beach at a good relaxed pace. There was no reason to rush too much at all, and a good stroll across the sand was always a nice thing to do in the afternoon.

In all honesty, Afonso wasn't terribly close to burning at all, but, safety came first; and since it was always better to be safe than sorry, he'd rather spend a cautiously extended amount of time in the shade than end up with burnt, peeling shoulders for the most part of a week. He was seeking out one tree in particular though; he'd left his things under a particularly funny looking palm tree earlier on in the day further down the quieter end of the bay. The one ridiculous looking tree was surrounded by a gang of almost equally amusing looking neighbours, their trunks twisted every which way as they'd grown up like little hands reaching higher and higher towards the sun. Funnily enough though, their leaves had formed a rather quaint little canopy, and the shade was more than sufficient to keep his bags shielded from the sun throughout the course of the day.

He wasn't sure if silly palm trees with impressively curly trunks were particularly romantic, in fact, he was almost certain they weren't; but the tree had certainly provided him with a good laugh on many an occasion, and who didn't enjoy a funny looking tree? He was pretty sure this was a wise decision. As they neared the little cluster of trees, Afonso walked on ahead a little and darted under the canopy for a few moments, before stepping out backwards onto the beach again, lugging a surfboard with him. He laid it down so that it rested about halfway in the sun, halfway in the shade, before calling back to the girl.

"Here!" He gestured to the sunny side of the board. "I wouldn't sit in the sand if I were you, it'd be a pain trying to get sand out of your uniform in time for tomorrow."

The boy gave a rather wobbly reassuring smile, before perching himself on the shady side of the surfboard and fiddling with the ribbon in his hair. He was rather pleased with how things were going so far! He hadn't said particularly much, or done much either. But in all honesty, just having some kind of company down at the bay was a nice thing. He felt comfortable again, under the familiar canopy of leaves- a new found alacrity causing him to grin like a fool while he re-tied his ponytail. This was going to be fun!

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Ana María's powers could feel the sudden display of emotions that was radiating around her. Quite honestly she had trouble controlling the emotional part of her powers. Well, she had trouble controlling every single aspect of her powers but at least she could manage to get those to act whenever she wanted, as opposed to this. Sometimes the aura of dark energy that radiated from inside her creeped around other people's energy, mainly to absorb and feed upon their own emotions, if not to make her stronger. At this times she could feel the general aspect of what they were feeling. She would take the strongest emotion and make it her own, leaving the rest of the weaker ones to grow in domain. It was irritating at times, for she did not wish to intrude in something so personal as that. While she could keep it at bay, and not have her power penetrate the other's mind, she was still aware of the emotions, especially if this were "negative".

Needless to say, even if her personality wasn't one to "read the atmosphere", she could sense the slight discomfort and nerves coming from the boy beside her. What was making him so nervous? That she did not know. But it wasn't a mystery either. Yes, at times Ana María was aware of her own influence on others. She knew she was an attractive girl; not only physically but with what was inside of her. She was actually happy of who she was, despite her many flaws and tiny little things that seemed to annoy others.

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that! I guess I thought it'd be kind of more... exciting? Like a surprise or something, you know?" Oh yes surprises. She loved surprises, but mostly the feeling of knowing there is something unexpected. Ana María was a person that got bored easily. She needed to do something different every once in a while. She would be like that princess from Disney, Belle, "there must be more than this provincial life". Her sense of adventure flourished from this very passion. Surprises? They were oh so very welcome and she was glad that he had thought about it this way.
"The beach is great. I think- it's my favourite place at Asher really, it reminds me of home, you know? The sand's a little bit of a funny colour, but you're right, it's a good feeling! Not as nice as the ocean though! There's something special about the water." That's when she noticed it for the very first time, the slight shade of pink perfectly painted over his cheeks. It was adorable really.

Ana María came from a world where man hid their emotions and they acted like tough guys. Machos, machismo, she didn't mind it that much. She loved when a guy was firm and tough, who wasn't afraid to toss a punch here and there. But a guy who also showed their emotions once in a while meant so much more than when a girl did it. Ana María loved the fact that Afonso blushed, maybe he wasn't even aware of it, but it was certainly cute. She was tempted to pinch his cheeks, and she would've probably done so if he hadn't turned to walk in the direction of a tree.

She watched curiously as the boy neared the cluster of trees, and such silly looking trees at that. Silly looking... It seemed like they were dancing, bending in movements that seemed unnatural. But, what was natural these days anyway? Ana María chuckled. Afonso sat down on what seemed like a surfboard. Oh my, did he surf? That was wonderful. She didn't really know how and hadn't really been interesting in learning but if he could teach her, well that would be awesome.
"Here! I wouldn't sit in the sand if I were you, it'd be a pain trying to get sand out of your uniform in time for tomorrow." And she smiled again as she walked over to where he motioned her to go. The gentle softness of the sand against her feet made her feel at home. It was warm, at times it seemed like it was burning with every new step, but she was used to it. It was comforting. When she reached him, she sat down on the other side of the surfboard. It wouldn't be that bad if she had to clean her uniform and get all the sand to come off, she had done it before.

"I wonder,"[/color] She started as she looked at his tiny ponytail that she had failed to noticed before. It made him look older. Afonso possessed, in her description, a mixture of toughness and a mixture of sweetness. "Where do you come from?"[/color] This question intrigued her more than any other. Maybe he was from a far away land, full of excitement and new things to explore. A place that could be seen through the warm shade of his eyes. Ana María felt a small tickle in her stomach. She was glad she was here with a perfect mysterious stranger.

[Deleted]

Now that he was comfortably perched on the surfboard and shielded from the brunt of the afternoon sun, Afonso couldn't help but gaze around the clearing a little bit, his mouth ajar ever so slightly. How did these trees get so curled up? It wasn't hugely uncommon for the trunks of palms to curl, he was sure he'd seen trees like this before. But just, never so many in such a tight space. While the boy wished it may have been something really interesting; perhaps the work of some volcanic ash cloud obscuring the sunlight like they'd studied in geography, or perhaps something more scientific, perhaps pertaining to the quality of the soil. Something told him it could just as easily have been chalked up to some inexperienced student testing their powers on the plant life of the island though- and while that seemed significantly more probable, it was so much less interesting.

Trees aside, he was much more interested in getting to know the young lady across from him.

Despite all his nerves and reservations, he was really relieved she'd responded to the note and came to the beach. Ana seemed awfully sweet; gentle and intelligent from what he'd gathered from attending socioeconomic with her too, and what good personality she possessed only emanated outwards onto her face just as fervently.

But personality, appearance and hobbies aside, there was something else he found oddly alluring about the girl; something that made him wildly nervous yet increasingly intrigued and captivated by her, and while that didn't irritate him in the slightest, the fact that this mystery quality had eluded him so well did bother him a little. He didn't know her all too well by any means- other than her name and a sort of debrief on a few interests of hers, she was effectively a stranger to him. Yet something about her had caught his attention; and he planned to figure out just what that was.

But, the first move wasn't his to make. "I wonder," Ladies first after all. "Where do you come from?"

"Ah~?" That was a fair question. Afonso hadn't ever seen such a large pot luck of nationalities quite like the students at Asher Academy. That wasn't anything unexpected; to have assembled a whole school's worth of remarkable children would certainly have taken some serious searching. That said though, it never managed to detract from the excitement to meeting a new student from a completely different place. It was an experience that never really grew old- the timeless novelty of learning countless phrases here and there from a multitude of friends was a very pleasant one.

"Portugal." Afonso cocked his head at the girl slightly. "And yourself, Ana?" The boy wasn't totally sure where she was from, but he was more than ready to give it a good guess. He recognised her initial greeting as Spanish, though her accent led him to think she couldn't have been European herself- and her affinity for the beach, she couldn't have come from a landlocked country by any means. He wanted to say Honduras, or maybe the Dominican Republic even. Her voice was laced with an odd twang he wasn't familiar with at all, and he looked forward to her response, in the hopes that he was at least somewhat near with his guesses.

Growing conscious of just how warm the afternoon was, the boy figured Ana was probably right to have taken off her shoes, and followed suit himself; turning to sit sideways on the surfboard and carefully removing each shoe and sock before replacing them in one of the bags he'd propped up against the tree earlier. Not wishing to be rude, but also not to draw too much attention to the statement, the boy continued to fiddle with the zipper of the rucksack while trying to maintain shaky eye-contact with his companion. "I'm so sorry to have called you out on such short notice like this you know. I'm, glad you came though." Yeah. That was fairly smooth.

Ana was an intelligent girl; and while she hadn't questioned the purpose of the note just yet, Afonso anticipated it happening at some point during the afternoon, but until then, it wouldn't hurt to skirt around it for a short while while they got a little better acquainted.

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Ana María played with small ounces of sand that covered the surfboard around her. She made little circles, little mountains of sand but her eyes stayed fixed on the boy. She wondered if he would like to do a sandcastle with her. This was one of the few vivid memories that she had with her mother. Somewhere between the ages of one and two, her family had taken a family vacation to Cancún. And as much as that beautiful place had to offer, all they did was sit around on the beach and enjoy the day. She probably wasn't even aware of what she was doing, just merely following the movements of her mother in going back and forth to the ocean to create this perfect mixture that shaped the castle.

The girl had that picture in her room, it was the only one that her father hadn't locked away in an old photo album with a million restrictions of usage. It was one that had fallen off and was somehow never retrieved. Unlike what others my think, she didn't take it everywhere she went. She kept that picture in a safe place, away from everything that might hurt it or damage it. The only safe place that she knew, the sanctity of the four walls that made her room. Her own space was the safest place in her world. The only place where that picture belonged.

Maybe that was the real reason why Ana María loved the beach so much. It reminded her of good times. Not only about her mother, but it also reminded her that despite everything nasty and dangerous that her country suffered, it still had plenty of beauty to have everything else simply washed away by the ocean waves.
And the sound, that glorious sound. It brought her peace and quiet. Away from everything she always felt more like herself. She didn't know how to describe the sound of waves against rocks. Was there even a word for it? Like the rustling of paper, mixed with the leaves of a tree blowing, and then the tranquil sound of an afternoon of leisure. It was the most relaxing sound in the world. It made everything else seem like a distant kingdom, a distant reality.

Ana María looked at Afonso, as he seemed to start to develop an answer to her question. That was the thing she loved the most about Asher. Everyone she met was different and unique, in the simple fact that everyone came from one remote corner of the world, miles and miles away from your own. How could different people, from cultures like opposing poles and believes that failed to match, interact in solemn harmony? How could they get along so well when they were so different? Well, they do say that opposites attract, and it was a truly wonderful thing that they could get along with no problems. And so, every new person brought with them a new mystery.

"Portugal." Afonso answered. Ah Portugal, in mighty old Europe. In every bit of honesty that she possessed she had to admit that she didn't know much about said country except from what she had heard during her history lessons. It seemed, like many of the other countries un Europe, like a far away land, filled with so many things left unexplored. What did Ana María want to do? More than anything she wanted to travel. That was all she wanted to do. If she could find a job that required just that it would make her happy beyond belief. So many places left unnoticed. She had the heart of an explorer, maybe even a conquistador.

"And yourself, Ana?" Wasn't this the question that she loved to answer. A small spark ignited in her eyes, a spark that grew when a smile formed across her face. She brushed the sand away from her hands and she placed the stands of stubborn hair away from her face. The wind was making it difficult to keep it at bay. She looked up at the sun for a moment, felt her irises grow smaller as it was painful to stare directly at something so powerful. It was amazing to think that the sun she was staring at was the same one that shined every morning in her beautiful city. "I am from México."[/color] She said as she turned to look at Afonso. "La tierra de enchanto. The land of enchantment."[/color] She winked at him in a playful manner, as she had rolled her r's with such affinity.

"I'm so sorry to have called you out on such short notice like this you know. I'm, glad you came though."

She chuckled. "You don't need to apologize Afonso. I enjoy the unexpected adventure. The note, I might admit, triggered my curiosity in its mysterious none addressed manner. I don't know how much you know about me, but it is amazing how you got it right. There is no better place that I would enjoy being than here. It feels so close to home, and yet so far, like I'm perfectly placed in the middle. I am glad I came too."[/color] Then she lifted some sand and placed it on a small space in the surfboard. She started shaping it, as best as she could for there was no water to keep it together, in the same way she would've shaped clay to make a beautiful piece of pottery. "So do share with me, things about yourself."[/color] She said, with an encouraging smile.

[Deleted]

Afonso groped carefully at the sand with his toes; having liberated them from the rather uncomfortable brogues, the cool sensation of the sand rolling about his feet was a very welcome change- though rather sudden. In his mind, it wasn't juvenile whatsoever- simply therapeutic and calming, and ordinarily he wouldn't hesitate to waste away the rest of his day at the beach playing with sand and swimming in the surf. But today wasn't particularly ordinary at all, in that he had company down at the beach with him.

While the beach at Asher, reminded him a little bit of home, it had never really 'hit home' in the same way. It was quiet and peaceful, and had a sort of rejuvenating quality to it; which was lovely, and while he appreciated it greatly, it didn't instill the same feelings in him that the beaches back home did. They weren't anything particularly different; a strip of sand, a sparse scattering of tree and rock and then an endless expanse of ocean- but they felt different. That sense of adventure, of longing and itching desire to just sail as far as the wind could take you would prick at his stomach relentlessly whenever he'd dipped his toes into the lip of the Atlantic. He'd never gotten that from Asher- and that was fine; it was nice to still have a beach to frequent, but it wasn't home, that was for sure.

He didn't feel saudades for his home just yet, but he yearned for it dearly. It'd be good to graduate Asher and be able to go home again; the East Beach really wasn't much of a place to be romanticizing about adventure at all; but more a place to sleep in the sun, relax in the sand and- what on Earth was she doing?

Lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't really paid the girl much heed, and didn't notice Ana moving about the sand on the board- her finger tracing languid circles back and forth over the thing, swirling the sand into tiny mounds here and there. Squinting hard, he wasn't entirely sure what she was trying to do, if he was honest. Her little creation looked somewhere between a sandy finger painting and some extremely dry and tiny sandcastles, which really only made him wonder more as to what she was trying to do over there. He planned to inquire, but was swiftly cut off by the girl's answer to his earlier question, which was- not at all to his surprise- full of earnest.

"I am from México. La tierra de enchanto. The land of enchantment."

"Ahhhh."He was close! Can't fault one for trying~ But that said, Mexico wasn't particularly his field of expertise whatsoever. He remembered doing a project on it's geographical features, but that must've been two years ago at the very least, and otherwise he didn't know a huge amount about the place. But Ana clearly did; and she seemed more than enthusiastic about her homeland- the way her eyes had lit up at its mention [not to mention tossed him a wink] coupled with the smile it had formed on her face warmed Afonso's heart a little. Where this girl had come from obviously meant a great deal to her, and that struck a good chord with him. Pride was a great thing in moderation, and it seemed to him to be something the pair had in swathes. "They call Portugal the nation of tease, but I can't really vouch for that much at all I'm afraid."

He listened carefully to her next response; which gave him some comfort. He wasn't hassling her at all- if anything she just seemed rather happy to be down at the beach under the little sanctuary of palms, which was relieving to say the absolute least. As their conversation was progressing, Afonso was coming to feel much more at ease, more fascinated than intimidated by this point; he felt suitably comfortable to continue with what he anticipated would probably end up being a little bit of a game of 20 Questions.

"Do share with me, things about yourself."

"Of course~" He wasn't terribly sure whereabouts to start, but Ana again seemed more than a little occupied with her sand-sculptures again, which gave him some time to gather his thoughts. "I'm in my Senior year at the moment here as a sidekick, I'm a Clairvoyant so I ah- find people? I can figure out where people are I guess. I really like coffee a lot, ah- football too... flowers are pretty great." He snickered and shrugged his shoulders a little. "I don't really know what else to say? So ah, what about you? ¿Cómo estas?" That was correct, wasn't it? His Spanish wasn't fantastic, but he could manage the odd phrase or two- and hoped the gesture may be appreciated somewhat. "And also-" Afonso scooted a little further down the board so he could get a better look at the sand mounds the girl was fixated on, before gesturing to them with a finger. "What are you making?"

[ooc: holy mackerel this is really late and really terrible i am so sorry]

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

The nation of tease. So many images were popping up in her head that she couldn't help but smile from ear to ear. Though Afonso himself didn't seem much of a tease. That could also be due to the fact that it seemed like she made him nervous more than she would've have expected. Ana María held that thought in for a moment. Wow, she made him nervous. She had never experienced that before. She wasn't particularly amazing at reading signals or knowing whether a boy liked her or not. She was a good enough flirt, and the way that she rolled her r's seemed to allure certain people. But nothing had ever really felt like this. Like knowing that the boy with which she was stood was trying to give her a good time. It was such a nice, warm feeling.

"Of course~" Oh my, that sweet Portuguese accents. It sounded so familiar yet so different than anything else. Warm and gleeful, she loved the sound of fellow latin languages. She loved the sound of his voice. He should talk forever, and then talk some more but in Portuguese. She would be able to tell certain words from another, or even have him teach her. "I'm in my Senior year at the moment here as a sidekick, I'm a Clairvoyant so I ah- find people? I can figure out where people are I guess. I really like coffee a lot, ah- football too... flowers are pretty great." Oh yes! He should definitely teach her. She would be such a good student. Always participating, getting inside his native tongue. And then she could teach him her own and it would be so nice.

Yet he was a senior, and that small piece of information did give Ana María a small feeling of sadness, because that meant he only had this year and then he was off to another place, back to Portugal most likely. But then again, that could make this year much more epic and nice and so so amazing. "Clairvoyant? What does that mean? And yes! Fútbol is awesome, and coffee is nice, and flowers they are so pretty. My favorites are Dahlias, with their bushy, tuberous aspect and bright colors!"[/color]

¿Cómo estas? ¿Cómo estás? ¿Cómo estás? Eep! That Spanish! It sounded so beautiful. Ana María turned to look at him, her brown eyes filled with this sparkle that mad e her want to wrap her arms around him and- That was what she did. Forgetting about her sand masterpiece, Ana María leaned forward and hugged the Portuguese boy without waiting to see his reaction. His skin was so warm and nice to touch and he smelled good too. "That Spanish! Oh my goodness, that was great! You sound so great! Si, si, I am great! Oh my![/color]

She sat back and folded her legs, before fixing her sand doodles. "Oh, that? Those are just some doodles. I love to draw, you see? Mostly I paint but sketches are nice too. It is just a habit, that's all. I make shapes with everything and anything I see."[/color] She said. "Afonso, would you mind teaching me Portuguese? I would LOVE to teach you Spanish! You already sound great!"[/color] Her excitement wasn't unnatural from the girl and she looked at him expectantly, as though he held the final say in everything that went on around them.

[Deleted]

"Clairvoyant? What does that mean?"

Pausing, Afonso held his tongue for a moment; he knew what clairvoyance was- but his understanding of it was terribly fuzzy though- probably not clear enough to offer a decent explanation anyhow. What abilities he had didn't line up very well with the definition associated with the word pretty well, he was only really partially capable of a few aspects, but that being said, wan't clairvoyance a pretty grey area in any case? He'd offer as concise a definition as he could string together, though it certainly wouldn't go unaccompanied by an excess of hand gestures.

"It means 'clear-seer'; we're meant to be able to, see things other people can't--? Objects, events, people, past and future and the like, you know? And ah, yourself, what's your power?"

Thinking on it, he really wasn't sure at all what Ana María's power could be. He'd only had her for one class, and up until today he hadn't really spoken to her at all- he had no sort of hint to what it potentially could be; though it had to be said the girl was pretty spontaneous and animated to say the least, certainly rather eccentric, that his best guess lay with something fire related. He'd gathered that students' abilities generally lined up with their character in one way or another, and she seemed the rather fiery sort, so it would definitely be rather appropriate- but then again, every case was different. He was interested to find out what it was in any case; that was the reason everyone came to Asher, and it was probably the most natural course for the conversation to take, in his mind anyway. She hadn't mentioned it at all when he'd brought up his power, but that was pretty understandable- the girl was swept up talking about her own passions and interests, so she'd probably just forgotten to respond, right? Afonso figured it was a suitably avoidable prompt if that weren't the case, though he'd certainly press to try and find out what it was at some point.

"...Fútbol is awesome, and coffee is nice, and flowers they are so pretty. My favorites are Dahlias, with their bushy, tuberous aspect and bright colors!"

"Dahlias? I'm not so sure I've ever seen one, I'm afraid!" Afonso had quite the strong affinity for flora, and the odd trip to Coimbra's botanical gardens was always a favourite outing back at home. It was a shame though; gardening wasn't a particularly great skill of his- his knowledge on caring for plants was limited, and he certainly hadn't a clue what a Dahlia looked like, or whether he'd even seen one before. Flower-talk always let the opportunity to be painfully cheesy arise though, and who would he be to turn that down? "A bright and colourful flower for a pretty colourful person sounds about right though, ei? I'm sure they're lovely!"

The boy's expression lifted somewhat after the exchange; he'd certainly been told right, she was indeed into the same kind of things, which was great news in his mind. It gave good ground to build from; though his smile was probably more attributed to the occasional Spanish that was being littered about in every sentence. It was close enough to his own tongue for him to understand, and the conversation was simple, it didn't bother him at all. If anything it was rather cute. The little quirk gave her speech a sort of easy-going warmth, which was really just kind of painfully adorable. He'd speak in his own mother tongue with one of the boys in his dorm on occasion; it was choppy and not without pause and some difficulty, but it felt all the more natural and familiar than the English that was heard day in and day out. It made him feel a little more settled and at home, and he appreciated his conversations with João a great deal.

Ana María certainly seemed to appreciate the small bit of Spanish. A lot. Probably a little too much for Afonso's liking for that matter.

He wasn't expecting that much of a response from the girl at all, [he really didn't anticipate more than a smile if anything] and his reaction in turn was about as clumsy as they came. The sudden, unexpected weight on his chest caught him by surprise, and coupled with the loose sand scattered on the surfboard there was really only one involuntary outcome- sliding pretty far backwards down the board. "That Spanish! Oh my goodness, that was great! You sound so great! Si, si, I am great! Oh my!" Afonso felt rather confused- he had asked how she was, right? Two words! Not enough to warrant this, surely. How was one meant to conduct themselves in this kind of situation anyways? He rested one hand tentatively over the girl's shoulder, planting the other deep in the sand to stabilize himself somewhat.Graceful. In any other circumstance, this probably would have been pretty great- but more than anything it just made him feel frightfully uncomfortable. The surprise had kicked up his heart rate a great deal and he was far too close to slipping off the board into the sand for his liking. The whole experience was just unpleasant. But it ended just about as suddenly as it started, which was some comfort.

It was probably more out of spontaneity than anything else, but Ana María'd returned to her little sand mounds- which was great, Afonso was keen to move on from the little hugging-episode and it was the sand-towers that had piqued his interest in the first place. "Oh, that? Those are just some doodles. I love to draw, you see? Mostly I paint but sketches are nice too. It is just a habit, that's all. I make shapes with everything and anything I see."

"Ah. They're pretty nice there- what kind of stuff do you like to paint then?"

His expression softened a little at her request though; "Oh, I could definitely try, if you'd like. Sure!" The elation and expectancy in her eyes was probably the strongest he'd seen it so far, and while he had no objection to helping teach her, he didn't really share her enthusiasm for Spanish. Really, he wasn't fond on learning it at all. The odd trip across the border back home had taught him enough little phrases to scrape by, but that was probably as far as he'd ever really want to take it, if he were honest. It wasn't a disinterest as much as sheer laziness; but that was far too brusque a reply. "Ah, maybe!"

He couldn't help but cock a brow at her though; her request seemed a touch odd to him. "Ana, I've got to ask- why do you want to learn Portuguese? Like, ah; what draws you to it?" The boy cupped one cheek in his hand, tilting his head at the girl a little. "I'm a little lost is all." Really, Afonso failed to see where the interest came from really. As far as he was concerned, the language didn't sound half as smooth and soft as Spanish; and while it sounded pleasant out of the mouth of the Brazilian in his dorm, that was the only exception he could really think of. Where was the appeal? It wasn't nearly as practical as quite a few other tongues- which only really made this all the more curious, if anything. He was pretty interested in hearing what she had to say.

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Ana María always seemed to mind things, with the notable exception of her apparent lack of personal space skills. Though she wasn't one to let the mood go by unread, the mood went by read actually but more often than not unacknowledged, she just wasn't one to mind touching others and the casual handshake, tap on the back, or even a hug seemed like the mandatory thing for her. She would've even gone the lengths of greeting others with a small kiss on their cheek, as was accustomed in her country, only to be forced to understand that some people found it uncomfortable. Being a student that learned by making, and therefore touching, it was only logical that she wanted to get to know others by all the different ways that there was. By listening to them, talking to them, and then finally by remembering the perfect line-art of their silhouette.

The girl smiled, as she listened to the boy talk about his powers. Clairvoyance did seem like such an interesting and fun thing to possess. Many images of ways she could use that, if she were the one to have such gift, came into mind. One in particular, but she figured that thought could be put on hold for the time being.

When Afonso asked about her power she was, however, taken by surprise. It was a silly thing to be, considering that they did went to a superhero school and therefore possessing superpowers was one of, if not the most crucial requirement for offer of admission. On a daily basis, Ana María enjoyed having people guess what power they thought was worthy of her. Most of the time they got it wrong, and the others would downright give up and just ask. On a personal note the girl wasn't really up to talk all the time about it, for she felt slightly ashamed that she didn't possess the same level of control over it as some people of her equal age and grade level. It was certainly her fault, for she was as good a student as she was an air force pilot.

However, despite all of that, she did comply with his answer. "I am a darkness manipulator. I can, well, manipulate the darkness around me and make it do all this silly yet quite interesting and at times terrifying thing with it. It's really nice, pero I do not practice that often." Or at all, for that matter.

"Dahlias? I'm not so sure I've ever seen one, I'm afraid!"

"¡Oh por Dios!" She exclaimed as she clapped her hands together. "I have some in my room, if you want to see. They are so wonderful and hermosas, and you have no idea all the explaining I had to do just to get them through immigration. I mean, the guy that I got while entering the U.S. was this close to taking away my visa. It was crazy." She chuckled then looked down at the now piles of sands that were in front of her. The vague sound of her aunts and grandmother began playing in her head. Things about how bringing boys up to a girl's room was beyond inappropriate and how it gave the wrong impression and blah blah blah. Oh well, she wasn't insinuating anything more than what she had said so there wasn't anything to worry about.

When Afonso addressed her about her painting skills, the girl blushed just a faint shade of scarlet. Why painting was something she enjoyed, it wasn't like she was something she was absolutely great at. More than painting, she enjoyed watching other people's paintings. It was like having an idea, and then looking at someone showing a better description of that same idea. Besides, to interpret what the painter wanted to portray was always quite an insightful thing. "Oh my." She said as she turned to look at him and placing her hair behind her ear. "Well, mostly I like to paint what I see, or rather what how I feel about what I see, so if I have this mess of colors and shapes in a canvas then that's probably a genuine interpretation of my confusion during math class."

"Oh, I could definitely try, if you'd like. Sure!"[/b] Ana María sighed in relief that he was willing to do this. It wasn't really the language, she could always ask João too, if he had said no, but rather because she was having such a nice time that maybe meeting him again wasn't bad. Even if it was for a lesson. "Ana, I've got to ask-" She looked up, wondering what was on his mind. "Why do you want to learn Portuguese? Like, ah; what draws you to it?" She smiled, finding the situation and his confusion quite amusing. "Oh, well, I love languages. I've been even learning some of the native american ones that they are, you know, before the Spanish arrived. But anyway, since you did the invite this time, then I could invite you next time for some coffee or something and then let you teach me. Spend some time together and stuff."[/color] Oh yeah, some coffee would be nice.

[AFONSO SILVA]

"I am a darkness manipulator. I can, well, manipulate the darkness around me and make it do all this silly yet quite interesting and at times terrifying thing with it. It's really nice, pero I do not practice that often.” The boy wasn’t totally sure quite what to make of that- her description was about as clear as mud, not to say his was any less vague, but the way she talked about it was somewhat disconcerting. What could she do with the dark that was so interesting, but also silly? Ana's response only served to make him more curious, but it didn’t seem right to press her for too much more. Students that recognised their own powers as “terrifying” were probably not to be trifled with; and though she hadn’t said so explicitly, judging from that power, Afonso didn’t doubt for a minute that she wasn’t a sidekick student. Something about it felt awfully amiss; such a jaunty, sweet person with powers related to the dark definitely didn’t sit right in his mind- and though Afonso was really itching to find out more, this was probably not the time or place. “I don’t practice that much either; I ought to, really-“ He rubbed at the back of his neck a little and tossed a meek smile. "I’ve only got one year left here and I’m still not great at locating people!”

Nobody wants to talk about things that terrify them, of that much Afonso was sure, and dwelling on the matter wasn’t going to help either of them keep the mood high. He’d bear it in mind though, it’d be something to ask her about in future, perhaps. It wasn't as though they had a shortage of stuff to talk about- her passion for flowers alone made that perfectly clear.

"¡Oh por Dios! I have some in my room, if you want to see. They are so wonderful and hermosas, and you have no idea all the explaining I had to do just to get them through immigration. I mean, the guy that I got while entering the U.S. was this close to taking away my visa. It was crazy.”

Afonso’s jaw fell open at her response slightly. “Whoa, seriously?” The more the boy learnt about Ana, the more unusual she was seeming. Free-spirited didn’t seem nearly as appropriate to describe her as wild did, but that was appealing in its own way. She was a fine sight more bold than he was; one small flask of alcohol was all he’d tried to sneak into Asher, and though that may’ve been a bit of a grey area for school policy, it certainly didn’t throw up as much suspicion as a plant could have. Whether that was a sensibly brave move or not really did depend on whether or not this flower really was as pretty as Ana was letting on- even so, going into her room to look at them? Out of the question. That was, definitely not allowed.

But then, was there anything particularly wrong there? He was only going to check out some plants, and Ana seemed more than assertive enough to vouch for him if any nosy roommates decided to ask. He had a vague idea of what flower she was talking about, but after hearing such a wild story regarding just how they got to being in school he was determined to see them, if only to find out whether or not almost-smuggling them in was worth the effort. It wouldn’t hurt to find out what kind of flowers she liked too, either, for future reference. Plus, she was offering, and it would be so rude to decline such a kind invitation, wouldn’t it? “I’d love to see them sometime if you don’t mind, actually.” That seemed a careful enough answer, right? He waited attentively, it’d be important to gauge her reaction, in case that was a step too far.

Turning his attention back to the sand swirls on his board, Afonso nodded quietly and listened to her reasons for painting before studying the patterns a little more carefully and huffing quietly. Well, mostly I like to paint what I see, or rather what how I feel about what I see. Outside of finding that remarkably sweet, he couldn’t quite figure out just what she was doing with the sand. What was she seeing exactly? The palm trunks were curly, which explained the spirals but then what were the little mounds for? Unless this was a “feeling” painting and not a “seeing” painting~?

He was stumped. But he wasn’t going to give up- he probably just needed to get some perspective, right? To move a little closer for a better look wouldn’t be too bold, surely- Ana had already thrown herself onto him, and wasn’t it cool to take initiative? Time to shine.

He was certain she wouldn’t mind at all, yes, and it’d be a shame for the swirls to go by not being appreciated properly, right? “So…” Afonso hitched up his trousers just enough to spare them from the sand before shuffling out of the shade and sitting on his heels beside his companion, craning his neck a touch to better imitate her viewpoint, trying to figure out the drawing. “… what are you feeling?” The boy gestured to the tiny masterpiece before tilting his head at her, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, well, I love languages. I've been even learning some of the native american ones that they are, you know, before the Spanish arrived.”

“Ah, isn’t that very difficult?” That sounded incredibly impressive. As far as he was concerned, people learning any kind of language was very cool because God is that a lot of hard work, there was no way Afonso could work that hard at anything. He’d only learnt English rather begrudgingly since it was an academy requirement and communicating in Portuguese was rather limiting, given how little it was used on an international basis. He’d only really talked to João in Portuguese, but even then that had a whole host of problems of its own- dialects & vocabulary differences often meant lapsing back into English for sake of simplicity. But learning an old language? That must’ve been terribly hard work- how well were things like that documented? It seemed an inordinate amount of work- the thought made his head hurt a little- but very impressive, nonetheless.

"But anyway, since you did the invite this time, then I could invite you next time for some coffee or something and then let you teach me. Spend some time together and stuff.” … oh. OH. Well that was very nice of her. A guaranteed “next time” sounded like a pretty sweet deal, and the offer killed off whatever nerves the boy had left by that point. He definitely wasn’t being a bother, in fact she seemed pretty keen on seeing him again, which was reassuring. Keen and not terribly subtle, the more he thought on it; inviting him to see some plants, offering coffee and a “next time”? Afonso held back a little snicker, her offer was almost syrupy sweet, but still so smoother than he ever could’ve tried to be. “That’d be really nice actually, I’d love that.” He’d have to make sure to pick up some of her tricks sometime.

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Ana had a tendency to be more than a little naïve when it came to certain life matters. She had always considered herself as someone who could decipher different aspects of life such as the psychology of a person, the reason behind their actions or fears, mostly due to her own ability to infiltrate other people’s dark side as well as her own. But when it came to something as simple as being asked out and remaining ignorant to that same fact, well it seemed at times that she wasn’t as intuitive in those aspects as many people thought.

Which only proved to be true when Afonso leaned towards her and whispered so close to her ear that she could’ve have sworn that her whole skin light up in this unmistakably fierce red color, which anyone would’ve thought was almost impossible since her skin was too tan to actually differentiate the tone. But she felt it, right there in her face. The whole color impregnated by the soft echo of his voice and it made Ana María slightly uncomfortable. It wasn’t in a bad way. People knew she was flirty, heck her whole status in this school was based on her boldness and her ability to say just the right things to the right people and using her charisma and flirting skills to get what she wanted from whom she wanted. But Ana was so used to using this qualities on others than when someone approached her in such a way without her knowledge, without giving her time to prepare, it made her vulnerable. For a moment at least.

Ana María turned to look at Afonso, who stood just at the side of her though it seemed that his presence overthrew hers. "So…" he had said. "…What are you feeling?" Ana María could feel her heart racing, her pupils dilating and her mind entering into this unknown place that made her brain freak out and stop working. She looked down at the sand, her fingers still tracing half a loop with no real intention. When she had explained what her doodles were about, she had never really thought that they would go into this extensive talk about what it meant. They honestly meant nothing. She had to think of something clever. "Well," Or not clever. It just had to be words. "Swirls are very lively and very flexible shapes. I don’t even think that they are shapes. I’m just feeling very gleeful. It’s such a beautiful day to be outside and the waves of the ocean kind of remind me of swirls as well. I guess it’s just this mixture between being completely at ease and yet still being in motion."

Taking her fingers off the sand when she finished her swirl, Ana María placed her hair behind her ear and seemed content enough with her answer. She liked art but she was never honestly serious about it. It was the same thing with everything. She had this ideal that the stuff she loved would only be as fun if they were done as a pastime, as a hobby, the moment that she had to turn them into an obligation they would lose all its charm, which was one of the reasons why she always seemed to find herself without a clear path as to what to approach next in order to make a plan for herself. It wasn’t really a great situation to be in, taking into consideration that after these two years she had no room for fooling around. Sometimes growing up was much more frightening to her than joyful.

Pushing those thoughts aside and having recently regained control of the conversation, Ana María returned to having her cool exterior that seem drawn plenty of people unto herself. "It is kind of difficult but we have a maid back home who is fluent in some of these languages so she was helping me prior to the beginning of the school years. So I’m getting better, though what makes them hard is that they have a completely different root that’s in no way Latin so I honestly think I sound like a goof, hehe." She smiled at him remembering how long it had taken her to get that flower here. Although she knew she could’ve have just snuck it the same way she had with her bottles of Tequila, that is by covering them up with shadows which technically meant they did no longer existed due to the fact that darkness was the absence of a being. But she wasn’t sure if her flower would endure being in such a state for such a long time so she opted to risk it. The reason it was so special was mostly just because it was her mother’s favorite flower and every year she got a different one for her birthday and attempted to keep it alive for the whole year. So far her flower had made it, which gave her great delight. "That’s good to hear then! I mean this has come to be such a nice afternoon, I see no reason not to continue it."

Yes Ana María seemed quite pleased with herself the way this situation was turning out. When she had first agreed to meet him at the beach, although unknowing who it was, she had expected to be a casual thing, nothing special really. But as the minutes went by it was clear to Ana that there was something drawing her more and more towards the boy. She hadn’t really experienced this kind of unsettling feeling before. Not in this way at least. There were different types of attraction and this one made Ana want to stroke the strands of Afonso’s hair.