Of sunburn and bridges, [opened]

[DENALI RUSSO]

Denali groaned as the sun beat down on his neck violently. It was summer time currently and he was home from college for a bit. Sadly he had come back to find it freakishly hot out. The only thankful part out of any of was that it was a dry heat and did not feel nearly as hot as it truly was. Unlike like that of the costal states where it would be a humid heat and feel absolutely muggy the entire time one was outdoors; even in the evening. He reached back and covered his neck to relieve it of some of the heat that was radiating from the sky. Despite it all, however, he was happy. The birds chirped happily from their nests and the perches they took on trees. He could hear the light buzzing of the bees that flew around and pollinated the flowers that he so loved to be near if only get a scent of their intoxicating aroma.

His tension eased as he took a deep breath of the Iowa air. Ever since he’d moved to the state a few years ago he couldn’t help but feel that this place was where he would have chosen for himself had his parents not beat him to the decision. He never did take to making friends for the fear of hurting them somehow, so he felt slightly awkward as he walked into the park where all of the couples were gathered due to it being summer. Some were having picnics on their checkered blankets and quilts and others were playing games like volley ball, boys vs. girls. He was jealous of them for being able to get so close to other and not having to worry about killing them or turning them into a freak of nature like he himself was. His happiness was fraying at the edges as he looked around and saw how happy everyone was. Even in the burning sun, they were content and able to enjoy themselves despite the discomfort.

Denali reached the rope bridge and smiled. He and his father had explored the town together when they’d moved there and this was one of their favorite places to come as a family. His parents did still live close by, but after he had graduated from high school it was as if they had cut their losses and chose not to contact him unless necessary. Perhaps they just figured they needed to give him some space to figure things out. Right after graduation he had been the victim of a mental break down and he had run for sometime. Not away from home; just into the woods where he could stay and be alone without being judged. His frown didn’t lessen, even with the slightly reassuring thoughts.

He looked into the river at his reflection imagining all of the scar that he had hidden being plain to everyone’s sight. “What am I doing!” he made an almost animalistic growl. “I am not some overly emotional girl that wants pity!” He straightened his back and left the bridge to find a spot to relax by himself on the bank of the small river. Why should he be sad and angry when it was such a lovely day. It was full of all of the thinks he loved. Nature, pleasant scents, and sounds. He wasn’t alone, not technically, and even though he never made an effort to make friends with these people, it felt good to not be secluded in his own home.

[DAWN SUMMERS]

during the day time was when dawn missed california the most. the heat in iowa was different than the heat back home. it was too dry. it wasn't tainted from the ocean that were so close to her californian home. sure, she lived in a landlocked community -- now crater -- but she did enjoy the way she could still feel the ocean. she could feel it as easily as buffy could feel sp -- oh wow. gross mental slideshow. justin timberlake, orlando bloom, okay better. anyway, in iowa she couldn't feel the ocean. the heat just felt dry. it wasn't a nice heat that she liked. she missed humidity, though her hair was grateful for the lack of humidity. it was wavy but not frizzy. that was always a major plus.

she walked through the park, for once not being paranoid about vampires. unless they suddenly decided not to burst into ashes the second they saw the sun, she was pretty safe. it was day light.

her eyes scanned the park as she walked. it was slowly becoming a very comfortable place to her, with her main happy face somewhere in the middle of it. the rope bridge. she liked to sit on it, swinging her long legs over the side and just think about everything in her life. how she had gone from a big ball of energy to the newest watcher. not that she actually remembered the first part, but it was a nice thought.

but when she got to the bridge, someone else was already there. she frowned but walked there anyway. she looked at the boy -- omg hottie alert. -- and her cherry lips curled up into a smile. she didn't say anything to him, just walked to the side he wasn't facing and took a seat. she took off her yellow flip flops and placed them on the wooden bridge and allowed her feet to dangle.

she just didn't let her mind wander. she remembered when buffy got those super mind reading powers and discovered dawn had read her diary and that dawn was crushing on xander. since then, dawn avoided thinking serious thoughts when anyone was around.

she kept her eyes focused on the water, resisting the urge to look back at the very hot male behind her. paranoia trickled down her spine. paranoid much? geeze dawnie, it's just some kid.

[DENALI RUSSO]

Denali’s head snapped to the side as he heard footsteps approaching. As the outcast, there were not many people who would come near him with out another person with them out of fear. It was unexpected to hear someone coming so close to him. He watched her for a moment, slightly annoyed by the slapping sound of her flip-flops. They were not a thing that belonged to the natural sounds of the world, but then again many of the sounds that radiated through this park were not a part of nature. He could ignore most of them, but Jesus Christ! Her flip-flops were annoying! He sighed and looked away again. He was just being a pessimist again and there was no need for that.

The girl was sure to leave after a while, so there was no need to be in any hurry or to try and scare her away. She seemed like she was enjoying her sun anyhow and who was he to take that away from anyone. As it were, he wished that everyone could take pleasure in the sunlight, or some form of the planets beauty. He lifted his face and, again, basked in the glow of the day regardless of the heat that continued to burn his skin. He would probably be sunburned if he kept this up. At the moment however, he didn’t care. Perhaps sometime during the week he would go and swim in the pond near his own home. Considering that he had not smelled a human presence in the vicinity of the water source he was pretty sure that there were no other who knew of it. But he could be wrong. He hardly had a quarter of his senses when he was a human; so it would be quite easy for him to make such a mistake. He would just have to go and see in a few weeks if he could muster up enough strength to control himself for a few extra minutes.

Denali inhaled deeply and smiled before quickly replacing it with an odd look and sneezing comically. Even though there was not anyone who he care if they saw, a blush stained his pale skin and he cursed under his breath. Perhaps he was just disappointed because he was going against his own rules in some form and throwing away his ‘perfect’ persona by sneezing in a public place. It was like being an alien and showing human weakness. He fell back on to the banking and drew his attention towards the sky where a few puffy white clouds had made it their home. He could still hear the girl that was sitting nearer to him than anyone ever had willingly and it was a bit odd. He wanted to ask if she was daft or just didn’t know who he was. He trusted his better judgment and didn’t; continuing to stare at the unambiguous sky while lounging in the bright sun.

[DAWN SUMMERS]

dawn allowed the rushing water and the breathing of the man behind her to add ambiance to her thoughts. she was thinking about those who she had lost. her mother, to a brain tumor. sometimes she wondered if her presense had put it there. she remembered up until she was fourteen, her mother was perfectly fine. then it came out of nowhere. she knew she was around fourteen when she was created into human form. the thought paralyzed her with guilt.

she thought of tara and how she had found her dead. the thought broke her heart. she missed tara, every single day she missed her. not in the way that willow missed her, but in a very unique way. in the way one would miss a sister that wasn't really yours. it was a deep longing to find a way to go back in time, just to tell tara she loved her one more time before she died. again, in the sisterly way. tara had never treated her like a little kid, instead treating her almost like an equal who just happened to be much younger. she knew though that she wouldn't tell tara what was about to happen. just because life had to work out that way, the natural order of things. otherwise, who knew what could happen?

then she thought of anya. anya of the comedic relief. anya of the ex-demon. she remembered a lot about anya. her dressed up as a charlie's angel for halloween. but missing anya wasn't as hard as the others who died and she missed. because while she loved anya as a member of their scooby family, she had never been necessarily close to the ex-vengeance demon. plus she played dawnie statue when that stupid demon paralyzed me.

she was about to think of more... of buffy and spike and how they both somehow came back. but instead she was yanked from her thoughts by a loud and rather comical sneeze. her head whipped aorund to see the boy behind her. she grinned and waved her pale hand. he reminded her somewhat of oz. except not. if her brain weren't already so clouded with thought, she'd try to figure out why he reminded her of willow's ex boyfriend. instead, she just decided to say one thing. "bless you."

then she turned back towards the water.

[DENALI RUSSO]

Like clockwork Denali’s head snapped around again. “Thank you?” he said politely, though questioningly. Whether she kind or mocking him, he didn’t know. So he would wait and see. The female could have just been being polite. No matter, however, he would be needing to leave in a few moments anyhow. He wasn’t used to being in the sun, and so he was bound to start feeling the effects if he didn’t get out of it soon, or at least move to a more shaded area. He could already feel the light burn on his cheeks and nose. He was surprised that it had not hurt him to sneeze as he had moments before, but then, he had experienced worse pains than a touch of sunburn.

Unthinkingly he continued to focus his eyes on the girl that had blessed him. It had become a habit over time, that if something or someone had captured his attention somehow, he would stare at them. Even if he wasn’t actually ‘looking’ at them, it was a way for him to figure the person out. Usually if the person he was staring at reacted to him he would base his judgment on their body language and words, if any were said. He shook himself out of his trance without waiting this time and forced himself to stand, bending to bush the grass and dirt off of his slacks. He moved around for only seconds before he found an empty spot under a large oak tree a few yards away from the place he had been sitting before.

It was a few degrees cooler in the shade, and for that he was thankful. Denali had not realized how hot it actually was out in the sun until the moment the darkened area had touched his reddened skin. He relaxed against the rough bark as a gentle breeze came through the relatively opened area. He delicately nibbled the inside of his lip as his eyes drifted back to the dark haired lass. He really wouldn’t mind trying to figure her out. Her body language was, oddly enough, muddled and he was un able to properly read it. He could easily have talked to her, but to him that was another one of those, ‘aliens with human habits’ things.

[DAWN SUMMERS]

she smiled over her shoulder at him when he thanked her. then she looked away again. she wasn't one to stare. she remembered when people, crazy people, would stare at her. she was thoroughly freaked by it, so she didn't allow herself to stare. unless of course you had three heads and were doing the can-can, but not threatening to kill anyone. then she may allow herself to stare for a small moment. she allowed her back to face him, practically hearing buffy yelling at her in her head. he could be a big bad and her back is to him. she shushed her inner buffy.

but he was staring at her. or at least she was pretty sure he was. she could feel the tinglies going down her spine. finally, she turned around and offered a small smile to him. and he walked a few yards away to the shade. she raised an eyebrow and then stood up, walking over to the shade as well. she stood a yard or two away from him, not wanting to invade his personal space. her hands found her hips and she looked down at him, her blue eyes meeting his. "do i have something on the back of my shirt? because you were staring at it pretty hard." she grinned. oh god, what if he has x-ray vision and was staring at my naked back. or my boobs when i was turned around. i'm getting ridiculous.

she waited for the boy's response.

for some reason, she was slightly intrigued.

[DENALI RUSSO]

Denali’s eyes widened minimally as the girl he was watching stood from her spot and followed him to his retreated area. Great! he thought as he noticed her closing the distance. He was almost afraid that she was going to yell at him, and in public no-less. He dreaded even thinking about the attention that would be given to a scene of that stature. The name he had built, or rather hid, would be tarnished. He would be ruined and people would begin noticing him disappearing every month! Someone would figure him out! But how did you go about something like this? Play it cool. He muttered in his mind, not realizing he’d also said it allowed.

He looked away for a moment as she finally drew in and ignored the blush that he hoped was hidden by his seemingly sunburned face. Curse his human emotions…And skin! He opened his mouth to speak and turned back to her, but as it were, the girl beat him to the punch.

"do i have something on the back of my shirt? because you were staring at it pretty hard."

He bit his lip on the inside, a habit it seemed, and tried to think of a response. So far all his mind seemed to come up with was uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh or WHAT DO I DO!? He managed to compose himself though. At least to a point where he was able to speak without sound like some kind of ponce. “I apologize,” he got out calmly as he met the lasses bright blue eyes. It was almost entrancing and despite his better judgment he didn’t look away. “I didn’t mean to stare at you…It’s just a habit…I tend to stare at the person nearest to me.” It was a lie. He knew it was a lie, and the girl before him probably knew it was a lie also. But it’s all he could come up with and not get questioned excessively about why he disassociated himself from the community.

Perhaps this once though, he could introduce himself. Denali stood and brushed himself off again. “Allow me to introduce myself…I am Denali Bernardo Russo… He extended his hand in a common human gesture.

[DAWN SUMMERS]

dawn heard his response and looked at his face. he looked... well he looked lost and confused. like he wasn't used to people talking to him. it confused her. he didn't look like he had the plague, or anything else that would make people not talk to him. of course glory looked like a boy half the time and she was... well not a fluffy kitten now was she? she smiled a little and just nodded. she decided not to mention that he looked very confused and take his words at face value. did it really matter if he had another reason for staring? as long as her shirt wasn't gross. it was one of her favorites and she had been wearing it once on the road when a demon attacked. she had been more worried about him staring at some left over demon blood... or there being leftover demon blood.

"oh that's totally cool. i don't stare much because it freaks some people out but i mean if its a habit, its a habit. can't teach old dogs new tricks, or is it new dogs and old tricks?" she cocked her head a little to the side in thought and then smiled, shaking her head. "not that it necessarily matters." she bit her bottom lip. anything to stop the incessant rambling spewing out of her mouth. even though she had grown up a lot since sunnydale became craterdale, she wasn't so good at not rambling. she always made with the ramble.

then he stood up. her eyes followed his movement, just to make sure he wasn't, well evil. he extended his hand to her and pronounced his name. denali russo. that is such a cool name. why couldn't i have a cool name? her thoughts sounded whiny even to herself. "dawn joyce summers. your name is much cooler than mine."

she shook his hand.

[DENALI RUSSO]

Denali raised his eyebrows at the girl as she babbled on about teaching old dogs old tricks, or something along those lines and simply nodded his head, pretending to agree. Perhaps he should have just kept his mouth shut and walked away when she had blessed him. This much human contact was slightly unnerving to him and probably everyone else. Well, maybe not so far as everyone else. He was the one that chose not to talk to people, not the other way around. A frown marred his brow as he actually thought about the dog statement. What did teaching a dog tricks have to do with bad habits? And I thought I was strange.

The annoyance he felt only multiplied when he felt himself subconsciously take a more casual stance, placing his hand on his hip and jutting one out to the left. If he wasn’t careful, someone might think him gay, which wasn’t the case. Fully anyhow. The girl continued to ramble as he sorted through his own thoughts but he found himself being jerked out of them when she announced her name and took his hand. Dawn hmmm? his mind said. He smiled a bit.

Dawn was his favorite part of the day and at the same time, his most hated. It was a complicated thing. The smile that continued to sit upon his face turned into a grin as Dawn admitted that his name was ‘cooler’ than her own. He didn’t think so, but who was he to disagree. “I suppose my name is a bit more unique. I’m sure yours is also, however, I haven’t met many with the name ‘Dawn’… Then again, I haven’t met many at all.” Denali pulled his hand back having realized that they had yet to release their hands. He place it on his other hip and braced himself for another bout of incoherent words.