fandomtownies | The Beach, Early Sunday afternoon

Entry tags:

@beach,
rapunzel

The Beach, Early Sunday afternoon

After all the excitement yesterday with meeting newbies, and people who had been around that she just hadn't met yet, Rapunzel was looking forward to some quiet time on the beach. Away from where all the newbies were settling into the dorms, too. That was a bonus.

She'd probably do some baking later on in the day, and be properly welcoming, but for the moment, she was looking forward to the wind and the waves and the sun on her face.

And meeting a friend! That was fun, too!

[Expecting one, but totally open, too.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hey Rapunzel!" Ryan called out as she waved. She'd still brought her sandals despite yesterday's conversation about going barefoot, but as she got to the sand, she had stopped to take them off.

[SP for a couple of hours while I attend a birthday party.]

"Ryan!" Yay! Rapunzel waved back rather enthusiastically, and grinned at the sandals in Ryan's hand. "You made it!"

[Yay party! Have fun!]

"I did!" said Ryan, making her way over to Rapunzel. It was taking her a while, though. She wasn't used to walking in sand. "Seems like we picked a good day. It's not too hot or too cold."

"It is pretty much perfect!" Rapunzel agreed enthusiastically.

To be fair, she'd probably declare the same thing if it had been snowing.

"It's been too long since I've been to a beach. I was traveling through land-locked countries before coming to Fandom," said Ryan. "The African savanna is nice, though. But it doesn't have sand."

"Or waves?" Rapunzel was guessing, really, having never been to a savanna, but it was probably a decent guess?

Ryan chuckled. "No waves either, just grass and trees. It was still pretty in its own way, though. But I didn't get to stay there very long. Anyway, this place is much nicer."

"And you really haven't been out here before?" That was such a shame.

"I really haven't, not until today," said Ryan, feeling just a tinge of regret. For the past year, she'd been so overwhelmed by her illness that she kept to her room, feeling sorry for herself.

"Well, you're here now!" And that was what mattered. Rapunzel reached out, wondering if Ryan would let her take her hand.

It was probably about time that Ryan learned to enjoy the moment while she could. She tried to shake off the last of her gloominess and held out her hand to Rapunzel. "And now that I'm here, I'm going to have a blast," she said with a smile.

"I guarantee it!" Rapunzel accompanied her words with an energetic swinging of their joined hands.

"Want to go down and feel the water?" Rapunzel loved the way the waves would roll up over your feet.

"Sure!" said Ryan, grinning. "Do you swim? I haven't done that in a long time."

"Swim?" Oh, um... Rapunzel shook her head. "No?" She really should learn, though, shouldn't she?

"There was never a chance back home, and..." now it was time for her to duck her head in embarrassment, "I haven't wanted to bother anyone to teach me..."

"Really? I'd be happy to teach you, though it would be a lot easier to learn in a pool than in the sea. It would be fun," said Ryan. She paused, realizing she didn't know much about Rapunzel's home. "Where is home for you, actually? I never asked."

"Well, I never really had a name for it?" Rapunzel admitted. It had been a while since she'd had this particular conversation. "It was always just... home." If that made sense.

Ryan dipped her toe in the water to see how cold it was. "Did you pretty much live in the same place? My parents moved around a lot, so there was never one place that really felt like home. As soon as you got used to a place, their job finished and we moved on."

"Oh, same place my entire life," Rapunzel answered.

"It sounds like all the moving would be hard..."

"It wasn't all that much fun to have to say good-bye every time you made a new friend," admitted Ryan. "But I saw so many different things that not a lot of people get to see when they live in the same place. It was like one big adventure."

"I... can imagine." Rapunzel looked sad. While she did like the idea of traveling, and adventures, she wasn't sure she'd like it at the cost of saying good bye so often...

"And then one day, my parents decided that I needed more stability and better access to medical care, but they weren't ready to quit moving from place to place, so I had to say good-bye to them," said Ryan, unable to hold back a little bit of bitterness. "They were in Nairobi the last time I checked, but they never tell me that far in advance when they move on."

Rapunzel blinked. "What?" That made... no sense to her. Family that... left you behind? On purpose?

"I'm so sorry!" For even bringing it up.

As mad as Ryan was still angry at her parents, she still felt the need to defend them a little bit. "I can understand that they had a calling to help people in need, and they just weren't able to do that and meet my needs at the same time," she said. "And... Maybe it was for the best. If I was still with them, I wouldn't be able to visit the beach."

Wait. Something Ryan had said earlier finally percolated through for Rapunzel.

"You said you needed better access to medical care?"

"Yeah," said Ryan, looking down at her feet. "I got some sort of tropical disease from an insect bite, and there's no way they can cure it. But I'm fine as long as I take care of myself," she added quickly.

Or at least she would be until her weakened heart gave out. Ryan didn't like to think about that part too much.

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