ocean city girl is fading
Veronica could hear her dad calling, through the roar of flames, the thick walls that enclosed her in darkness, nothing but the small red glow of a walkie talkie's light. "Hang on, honey," he called.
Oxygen and night air and her father pulling her free, until there was nothing to do but cling to him, whimpering in fear now that the ordeal had ended or nearly. "I love you. I love you so much. I knew you'd come, I knew you'd save me, Dad."
Veronica opened her eyes. No flame or heat but the warmth of the blanket, which she had kicked back in a nightmare panic until it lay tangled around her legs. Sitting slowly, she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dark of her Compound room, knowing she wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. She didn't want to risk nightmare memories of that night, not if she could help it. Fumbling in the dark, she found her jacket, then picked up the messenger bag with her camera in it. Dad came for me then. He'll find me here.
Making her way out of the Compound, she walked out towards the beach to stand on the shore in the early morning light. The crashing waves weren't hers; they weren't from the same ocean that beat against the beach stretched near her apartment back home. But just being near the ocean, sand shifting beneath her bare feet, was something of a comfort, as if that mass of saltwater could wash away some of the things that haunted her. Nine days on the island, and Veronica Mars just wanted to go home.
[OOC: Open thread. Feel free to tag in, if your character's liable to be on the beach in the morning. Dialogue from VM1x22.]
[Summary: Peter calls Veronica something no one else ever has, and it's a nice change from her high school. She meets Chase and they talk about where they're from, what they do, general familial bitterness, chastity belts, the usual. Hermione is less than thrilled to discover that her new roommate knows things about her that she shouldn't, WOE, and after a brief fight, they agree to pretend it never happened.]