Some memories would be better left forgotten.

[Violette]

It was early in the morning. The sun was bright outside, despite that the air was cold. With a sigh, Valentine got up and fixed himself up, changing into a shirt and jeans. "Callisto, I'm going out." he murmured in his twin's ear. "Mhm." was all she said, "Come back soon, okay, Val?" Valentine nodded, before grabbing his sketchpad and a charcoal pencil, and setting out. His parents were both still out of town (they were going to visit his mom's sister, who was having a baby), and probably had just arrived in Miami, Florida. Because Valentine and Callisto were supposedly "old enough" to care for themselves (and they had Matthias and Valerie, too), their parents had agreed to leave them at home. While this meant spending the day in the house for Callisto, as she didn't like being around her parents much, it meant exploring for Val. His parents always treated him like a baby. They thought he was adorable and didn't want anything to happen to him. Callisto, on the other hand, refused to be treated like a baby.

I'm thinking too much, he thought to himself, sighing. Valentine usually thought about how things were going and got lost in thought. Licking his lips, he continued to walk, realizing that he had ended up in the park. Without thinking or looking where he was going, he tripped on somebody's leg (he didn't know if it was on purpose or on accident, but somebody had been sticking out there leg). Even worse, he tripped and toppled on top of somebody. It was purely an accident. He didn't mean to fall on anybody, that was for sure. Opening his eyes widely, he realized that he had fallen on top of a girl. "I-i'm sorry. It was an accident... I tripped." he braced himself, ready for the girl to start screaming at him or so. "It was an accident... I-I'm sorry, I'm s-so clumsy..." he couldn't help but stutter. It wasn't just because he had fallen on top of somebody. It was a girl. He hoped that he hadn't hurt her. "U-uh... Are you okay? I-i'm so sorry...."

[Alisha]

That morning, Kacie had set out in search of peace. Her mother was going insane with preparations for the the upcoming holidays. Her mother loved Christmas, every bit of it. Sometimes though, she needed a break from all of the constant hustle and bustle she awoke to every morning, not to mention the christmas music. It was early when she left the warm confines of her home and the cold air bit at her skin. After a few minutes, she found herself walking into the park, her iPod playing music into her ears. Her bag bounced on her hip as she walked along the paved path, and found a spot leaning against a chain-link fence near the rear of the park, hoping to avoid running into anyone. She really needed some down time. Kacie pulled out her sketchbook and pen, and flipped to a fresh page in the leather bound book. 

When she drew, Kacie could have been considered dead to the world. She often zoned out, and it took a lot to disturb her. So, when something, or rather someone, tripped over her outstretched leg, she was more than surprised. She pulled her earbuds out, and stared at the large mark her pen had made on her paper, her mouth agape.  Kacie probably would have been angry had the person not been so flustered. She looked up at the boy, and let out a small laugh. He looked terrified, and it only served to make her want to giggle. So that's what she did. Her shoulder shook with the silent laughter as the boy continued to apologize to her. "It's cool." She said, reaching down to rub off some dirt that had gotten on her jeans. "It happens to all of us." Kacie looked at him, a small smirk playing on her lips. "I'm fine, don't sweat it. Are you okay?"

[Violette]

He stood up, brushing some dirt off of his clothes before leaning back down to pick up his sketchpad and charcoal pencil, which he had dropped. Thank goodness, she's not angry with me... he thought, chewing on his bottom lip in embarrassment for freaking out like that. Valentine was slightly surprised when she asked if he was alright. "Y-yeah." he told her, with a small smile appearing on his face. His cheeks were tinted a light shade of pink. "I'm clumsy, so it happens a lot." Embarrassed, he looked away for a few moments. When he looked back, a light smile appeared on his face. He was going to take the opportunity to at least get to know someone (maybe become a friend, if he didn't mess up that much, instead of just a quick apology and walking away. However, he hoped he wouldn't be troubling her too much. If she didn't want to talk, that was cool, too. Valentine held out his hand for a shake. "Um.. I'm Ignace, but you can just call me Valentine Or Val, if you want..." he introduced himself. For some reason, he was always awkward when it came to introductions...or any kind of socializing, actually.

[Alisha]

She just waved her hand when he made a comment about his clumsiness. "Everyone has little things they don't like about themselves." She said simply. "You can either embrace them or live your life trying to hide them. You tell me, what's more fun?" She didn't expect him to answer her question, it was merely rhetorical. Kacie raised her brown quizzically as she shook his hand, he sure did have an interesting name. Parents were getting creative these days... Ignace? Really? Kacie opened her mouth to speak, but let out a small giggle instead. "I'm sorry, but where in the world did your parents come up with that?" She wasn't teasing, only curious as to how a person could even come up with such a name. Her birth parents gave her an average name, though she did love it. Kacie Nicole. "Do you prefer Val?" Kacie asked the boy, a small smile forming on her lips. "I'm Kacie." She noticed how shy he seemed, and found it a little endearing. "What brings you here this early?" She knew she was probably asking a lot of questions, but that was kind of how she was. He was somebody she had never talked to before, and she hadn't seen him at school either. Kacie wasn't very shy herself, and was always open to making new friends.

[Violette]

He thought about her words for a moment; she was correct. Everybody did have flaws. It wasn't that he disliked being clumsy or anything, but it usually got him in trouble with other people. Not everybody liked it when he tripped or fell on somebody, or pushed them on accident. Sometimes Valentine ended up hurting himself, too... He stared into space (which he often did when he was preoccupied thinking), before hearing Kacie ask him a question...about his name. "My name? It's the French form of Ignatius. My adoptive parents are half French. And I guess they like unique names." Valentine smiled lightly. "Val is fine." he told her, "My sister calls me that." It wasn't that he was super shy. He wasn't even aware that he was stuttering most of the time. He was fine with making friends and talking to people, but was often awkward with these kinds of things... At least, that's what his sister had said to him before, when she had seen him trying to "make friends" with one of the neighbors. Kacie, he thought for a moment. He liked the name. It was cute. "Well, I'm new in Riverside, so I thought that I would go out and explore a little." he shrugged. "What about you?"

[Alisha]

Kacie nodded, committing the preference to memory. She still couldn't wrap her head around the strange name, but she knew nothing about the French, so she couldn't knock it at all. She gave him a small smile. Kacie had done her fair share of exploring when her family first moved to Riverside. Their time in MABtown had been great, and she often missed the sleepy little town, and the people in it. "My family moved here after a hurricane hit the town, pretty much wiping the whole thing out. Turns out a lot of families moved here too, which is a little weird. We moved here because my older brother moved before the hurricane even hit." She told him, glancing at her ruined sketch. "Which is okay I guess, because I like California." Kacie thought about her adoptive mother, who really was her mom in every way that mattered. "As for this morning, my mom goes completely insane during the holidays. I had to get away from the Christmas music and decorations." She laughed lightly, shaking her head. "I come to the park sometimes, when it's early. It's peaceful, good sketching atmosphere."

[Violette]

"That must have been terrible," Valentine couldn't imagine it. A lot of family members and friends must have died in that disaster. Valentine's family had moved because their parents wanted them to start anew. He wasn't sure whether it was just because they wanted to move randomly, and were getting tired of their home--or if it was because Valentine and Callisto had been abused and they didn't want them to live in the same place. It might have also been because of Matthias, having a daughter and everything was very troublesome for their family. "I'm not sure why we moved here... It probably was because my parents wanted to start anew. Everything else back in our past town was kind of a mess." he gave her a light smile, not bothering to explain why. Val laughed when she told him about her mother going insane during the holidays. "Oh. Christmas is my favorite holiday. And this will be the first time that I'm actually going to spend it with a family." When she mentioned the sketching atmosphere, he glanced at her sketchpad. "So, I'm guessing that you're an artist as well?"

[Alisha]

Kacie nodded solemnly. A lot of lives were indeed lost in the storm. Even though she knew a few people that had died, she herself hadn't been close to any of them. Which was both a blessing and a curse. Not knowing them had saved her the pain and loss, but it had also prevented her from ever getting to know them. "My family didn't loose anyone, thank god." She said, giving him another smile. "Riverside is a pretty nice place to be. I think they made a good choice." Kacie was left wondering just what had his family leaving behind their previous home. But, she decided not to push the issue because she knew everyone had their demons, even Kacie herself. "I like Christmas, too. I just need a break from all of the cheer sometimes. A little peace." She shrugged. "That's great, Val. Family is what makes Christmas so special." Sometimes she felt sad because her birth parents were robbed of seeing her grow up, and now her adoptive father couldn't see it either. But, she was glad to have her mother and the rest of her family. She had definitely lucked out with them. With his question, Kacie took a look at her forgotten sketch. "Yeah, I guess I am." She said with a small smile. "What about you?"

[Violette]

At least Kacie's family didn't suffer any losses. He still felt pain for those who did, however. If he ever lost Callisto, he didn't know what he would do. "Oh, yes, I understand that." Ignace nodded. Christmas was a great holiday because of the presents, cookies, and family time. But he completely understood how hectic it could be, and why Kacie would want some 'alone-time'. He smiled at her remark about family. "Yes." he said, agreeing with her. It was great to be able to spend time with his new 'family' this Christmas; last Christmas, he had spent it with Callisto - locked up in a room. Their past family didn't really care much for spending time together. His attention turned back to the lovely young lady in front of him. He nodded as well, "Yup." he told her, with a light smile. He looked down at her sketch curiously. "May I see?" Ignace knew that she wasn't finished. He probably had even messed up part of her sketch because of that whole tripping incident.