A familiar face (Erebus)

[Tyri Lockehart]

It had been weeks since the meet and greet event she was forced to go to and so far she had seen hide nor tail of the crazy person. She had caught glimpses of him every now and then, of course, but she had quickly went the other way or made sure she wasn’t spotted some other way. It was giving her heartburn, trying to stay out of sight from him. And stress. And nightmares. She had always had nightmares, but lately they seemed to be getting worse; she would always wake up feeling tired and like something was right out of her reach like the feeling of not being able to remember a word but it was right there on the tip of your tongue. She hated it. And she was sure that it was all his fault. Who did he think he was, saying he knew her? Moron. That’s what he was. A crazy, stupid moron.

Tyri walked silently towards the beach, wanting to just get away from it all. She had thought in the hospital that she left her old life behind, had hoped she had, anyways. But it seemed like she was reliving it almost, just in a different place. The students here were too trigger happy for her, always at each other’s throats. She sighed a bit. All she wanted to do was relax, was that really too much to ask? She just hoped the beach would be deserted; the less people, the better. It was nearly sunset, anyways. Who would be at the beach at night? Well, besides her.

She smiled a little to herself when her feet hit sand and bent to slip off her shoes. She had only felt it a few times in her life -all here at Ashford- but she loved the feeling of the sand between her toes. Since the sun was close to going down it had begun to cool but it was still a little warm; the perfect temperature. She just stood there for a few minutes, wriggling her toes in the sand before moving on, holding her shoes by the heel.

She walked down to the water line where the tide came up, not minding as the water swirled around her ankles for a few seconds before moving out. She was finally starting to relax and breathe a little easier when movement down the beach. No…Her shoulders sagged. She wanted to be alone. She kept walking, not turning around and just hoping that she would go ignored or unnoticed. Either would be fine with her. She couldn’t make out the person from this far away but as she slowly got closer she began to see a familiar face.

….Oh no. It had to be him, didn't it? The one free moment she was able to find had to be interrupted by the crazy one. Seeing him had brought the nagging feeling back, like she knew him from somewhere. He had shown up in a nightmare or two of hers, but she knew that was ridiculous and only happening because he insisted she knew him. There was no way he was with her in that god awful place. There was just no way.

...Right?

[Erebus Ryder]

The boy took in a deep breath, his eyes closed, shirt sitting further up away from the water revealing his well toned body, covered in numerous scars, though those scars were joined by a few bandages wrapped around his. Erebus was recovering still from a late night fight he had encountered earlier that week with a battlefront member that had a vendetta against the Prefects for one reason or another. The fight had ended in pretty much a stalemate, though he felt is was more because of how caught off guard the other boy was as far as his combat abilities were concerned. He opened his eyes, looking down at a long, faded scar on his forearm, blinking at it a few times. It was a scar he got in training with an old friend, the memory actually bringing a small smile to his lips. He remembered how apologetic Tyri had been when it happened, and looking back he knew he should have been a bit more concerned about the injury.

He shook his head, catching a glimpse of someone out of the corner of his eye but not making a move. They were shorter than the red haired boy who had attacked him before. He closed his eyes again, calming his mind, trying to keep everything in his mind clear. He needed to relax, he rarely actually let himself relax. He wasn't trained in meditating, but it was something he did naturally. It helped him to relax, reflect on the events of the previous few days. However, when he opened his eyes again his mind was instantly distracted when he caught who had arrived at the beach out of the corner of his eye. The figure had been Tyri, who he only assumed didn't know about the curfew. He could care less about it,he was a night owl himself, but he knew other Prefects could be a bit more strict about the rules.

He let out a sigh, not really sure what to do about the situation. She didn't remember who he was and had probably decided to start assuming that he was just crazy. Know what? Scratch that, he knew her pretty well, he was crazy in her eyes at this point. He concluded not to move from his spot, instead letting her get closer slowly, not moving a muscle for a moment before shifting to a more relaxed position, uncrossing his legs and leaning back, looking out over the ocean as he brought one knee up to him, resting his arm on it as he propped himself up with the other. He had to at least give the island credit, the sunset was beautiful along with the sunrise, then again he had lived in New York and was not allowed outside very often.

He waited a few more moments before speaking up, making sure he spoke loud enough for her to hear him, but not enough to be shouting. "It's beautiful isn't it? A lot cleaner than New York, especially without the smog." Whether she responded or not he didn't really care, he had decided that he'd let her remember at her own pace, and if she never did he could at least try to start over with her. Sure, she didn't know who he was anymore, but that didn't mean they couldn't at least be friends once more, right? Then again, he could have screwed up any chance he had at that when he dragged her out of the meet and greet.

Only time would tell how things would go between the two.

[Tyri Lockehart]

All she had wanted was a place to just get away from it all and relax, but it appeared that she wouldn’t even be getting quiet time anymore. Ever since she came to this island everything had been going wrong. She couldn’t get her powers to work how she wanted them to just yet, her body wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been before everything had happened, and she couldn’t relax for more than five minutes at a time and that was if she was lucky. She debated on turning around, but then cast the notion aside. She’d be damned if she turned around. If she did then that would look like she was scared of him or something equally stupid. She was anything but scared. Annoyed, yes. Confused, maybe. Scared? Not even close. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin a touch, refusing to back down even it was just walking by the psycho. If he tried to grab her again and drag her off somewhere like last time then she would be ready for it this time and fight him.

Her eyes narrowed a bit as she got closer, seeing the scars. The one on his arm...For some reason that one in particular got her attention. She scowled at it, as she did the bandages, wondering why it made her mind feel like it was reaching for something. She shook her head, putting a hand to her temple for a moment. The island was messing with her head, that’s all. The shock of being plucked up from a hospital and dropped in the middle of nowhere, that would mess with anyone’s head. She was just still adapting or...something.

“I suppose.” He confused her. She didn’t know quite what to expect from him but you never really could with crazy people. That is, unless you were a crazy person too. Now she was only a little ways from him, less than ten feet. Her eyes finally left him to look at the sunset, trusting her danger sense to alert her if he tried anything. She had put enough space between them that if he did make a move she would hopefully have a good shot. She had to admit; he was right. The sunset was beautiful.

[Erebus Ryder]

Ryder kept his eyes forward, not wanting to bug the girl next to him with any other statements. He half wished that he hadn't been sitting there without a shirt on, but then again Ty didn't recognize him so he wouldn't have to worry about her spazzing over the damage he received a few days previously. He closed his eyes for a moment, awaiting her response to his statement about how the sunset looked. He had been speaking the truth, then again he rarely didn't. He shifted a little, keeping his usual calm demeanor as he let his mind wander, barely catching her response to what he had said.

Ryder nodded a bit, keeping his eyes on the sunset, though noting out of the corner of his eye the distance she was keeping. She wasn't turning around and just walking away so that was a plus, it was still odd to him, though. She apparently remembered everything about her life save for the only person she interacted with that was her own age and not out to kill her. He tilted his head a little, turning to glance at her curiously. She wasn't running, but why? He'd have sworn she would have either excused herself or just walked away before even approaching the shoreline to begin with. He settled back into position, his eyes staring out across the ocean.

"Sorry about before. If you really don't think you're her then there's nothing I can do about it, and hell, for all I know you're just someone who looks a lot like her and just happens to have the same name, it is a big world after all," he stated, hoping to at least try to amend things. If he needed to start over he would, but until he was certain that it wasn't her he'd keep an open mind. It wasn't like he didn't have time, it was a slow moving island after all.

[Tyri Lockehart]

Her eyes squinted and narrowed on his torso when she looked over at him again, almost expecting him to do something rather than just sit there. Now that her attention was off of the scars, she noticed that he had other injuries, fresher injuries. He seemed rather...blunt? At least standoffish. It didn't surprise her that he would get into fights with other students. She herself didn't like to get into fights that much anymore. She at least wanted a reason to fight. A good reason, too. Not just because she was angry or felt like fighting.She didn't say a word about the injuries though, not wanting to seem like she particularly cared about him. She didn't want to give him a reason to drag her off again or something like that. She just settled for scowling at them like she did the scars before she turned her gaze back to the sunset.

As for the not turning around, she didn't know for sure. She was just curious about him and the little niggling that she knew him from somewhere. Not because she wanted to be near him or talk to him or anything of that sort. She crossed her arms loosely in front of her chest in a defensive gesture, almost like she was trying to protect herself from whatever was going on. She silently listened to him talk, not giving any indication whatsoever if she agreed or not with him. What were the chances? There were only so many names in the world, it's perfectly common for two or more people to have the same name, but to look the same? Maybe, on it's own, but when you put the two together...She shook her head a little, looking down. Was she really beginning to believe him?

A few minutes went by with her doing nothing after he finished speaking, but eventually she crossed her ankles and sank down to sit cross-legged in the sand a few feet from him, not untangling her arms as she did so. He was so adamant earlier, but now he seemed to be admitting defeat, that she really wasn't this person that he claimed her to be. Odd. Was he doing it for her benefit? Or had he just gotten tired of her constant arguing that she wasn't? She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to figure out which it was.

She tried not to think about the dreams she'd been having recently. They were almost like flashbacks of things she did remember, but they had another person in them along with her. She hadn't seen their face, only their hair. It looked a lot like his.

[Erebus Ryder]

Ryder couldn't help but smile as she obviously simply scowled at him and turned around, not really at all surprised by her reaction. The fact that she simply crossed her arms and then ended up sitting after a moment, leaving her arms in the exact same position only amused him more, though he winced a bit as he shifted. Why he had been attacked by a Battlefront he really didn't know, but that was something he'd worry about another time. For not he was here, on the beach, with a girl that didn't remember him. He sighed a bit and shook his head before glancing back out over the ocean.

It was a pretty day, he had to admit it. It wasn't like he had seen the ocean often before his time at the island. Sure, he lived in New York but he rarely left his "home" to explore. And when he did, it was always dark out and he was more worried about avoiding trouble then anything else. He closed his eyes, opening them again and looking down at the scar that he had received from Tyri so long ago. Things weren't going to be the same no matter what, he felt. Either she was never going to remember him or she would and continuously try to atone for the fact she had forgotten.

Did he want that? Not really because she could be quite stubborn. Was that a great trait to have? Well that was up to whoever you decided to ask. It wasn't like she was the most endearing person to all. Her attitude being off putting was putting things nicely. Did he enjoy it though? Of course, it made things all the more fun when she was constantly bickering with you. Unless she decided to piss off someone, then you may just be fighting for your life.

[Tyri Lockehart]

She sat in silence, a little glad that he hadn’t made a comment on her sitting down by him rather than walking away or something like that. She didn’t make a comment either, even when she heard him sigh. He obviously had to be frustrated about this whole thing since he was so sure of himself, but at least he was calm about it? Huh. Calmly frustrated. That was nearly an oxymoron. She looked out at the horizon, letting her mind wander as she watched the sun keep slipping under the water. Soon it would be night and she would have to go back to the little shoebox they called a dorm here. She frowned a little, not really wanting to. It was one of those days where she just seemed to have an excess of energy, and she knew that even if she went back to her room she wouldn’t be sleeping for a long while yet.

She glanced over at Erebus out of the corner of her eye, debating actually talking to him and having a real conversation. It couldn’t hurt, right? And she might be able to learn a bit more about why he thought she was some girl from his past. And why he cared so much. She frowned a little for a few moments, contemplating how to actually go about having a real conversation with someone. It seemed like she hadn’t had one in ages. Though, it wasn’t like she actually tried very hard at all, either.

“So...If you supposedly know me so well...tell me something about me that no one else knows.” She said all of a sudden, her voice seeming loud to herself in the relative silence of the beach. If he was wrong and said something that was completely false, then her objections would be validated. If he somehow by some miracle got things right...well. She supposed she would deal with that if it ever happened.

[Erebus Ryder]

Erebus had closed his eyes at this point, relaxing a bit and simply just letting Tyri be Tyri. He wasn't going to say anymore until she asked him something he had far from expected to be asked. He tilted his head a bit, raising an eyebrow at the question. Was she doubting herself now? If so why was she starting to now of all times and not earlier? Well, he could actually answer that himself. She was stubborn and didn't like to think she was wrong, but even then it was a surprise that she'd even ask that.

He blinked at her a few times, slowly shifting to a cross legged position before closing his eyes in thought. There were a lot of things he could bring up, but he needed a strong memory, something that would be extremely hard to forget. He started speaking after a moment, his voice coming out confidently, speaking about something he never brought up to anyone else. "We found a dog when we snuck out one night. Though we took care of it that night we knew we couldn't take it home because my parents weren't the pet types...at all. Unless you count us, then I guess they kinda were." He shook his head a bit, sighing a bit.

"We ended up naming her Artemis after our favorite Greek goddess at the time and took care of her whenever we could. Though that was only a few weeks before... that happened." He opened up his eyes and looked at the girl before him, awaiting her response. Was she going to deny it all happened or start to recognize him? He wasn't sure if he would be able to tell from her body language, but he could sure as hell try to. What was there to lose after all? It wasn't like he was making a gamble in the arena or anything.

[Tyri Lockehart]

She didn’t really remember the dog. She remembered flashes of it, knew it happened and knew that forever reason it was supposed to be something important, but it was almost like trying to remember a dream you had two nights ago. You could remember bits and pieces, maybe some images and snippets of sounds, but not much else. She never knew why she had never really remembered the pup and yet seemed to remember just about everything else that had happened to her. Maybe it was because that it had all happened just shortly before she...died. That’s basically what had happened, wasn’t it? She certainly thought she was dead. It sure felt like it, too. But that wasn’t the important thing here. He was telling her that he had been there with the dog, that she knew him before the accident. She didn't show it on her face, keeping the blank expression she had perfected over the years in order to avoid showing emotions.

She suddenly had a hard time breathing, having to work to get her lungs to expand and deflate properly so she could suck in much needed air. How did she forget him? Why? Why was he the only thing she didn't remember? Now that he had told her something that indeed no one else could possibly know about her, her memories were beginning to piece themselves back together. Slowly, at first, starting with the memory of Artemis. Now instead of just bits and pieces she was remembering it as a whole, with him in the memory now. She tried not to change her posture and give it away that it was affecting her, keeping her arms crossed over chest and resisting the urge to rub her scar when it started to irritate her. She looked towards the horizon instead of at him, not wanting to admit it yet. She didn't remember everything, not yet, but she was beginning to. Memories did not come back all at once when something like this happened, and she wouldn't be surprised if it took her more than a couple weeks to fully remember him and what had happened with them, but it was a start. That counted, didn't it?

She took deep, quiet breaths, her lungs finally loosening up a little to let her take normal breaths. She hadn't said a word this whole time, didn't even try to. What was there to say? What could she really say? Simply saying 'I remember' didn't seem like it was enough, but then again, what would be? Should she apologize for not recognizing him? Or should she just keep her mouth shut and let it be implied?

She let out a little sigh, closing her eyes for a long few moments as she thought of what to say. "I'm sorry for forgetting."

[Erebus Ryder]

Ryder watched her curiously as she took in what he had told her. Was she going to remember everything or prove to him that she was not who he thought she was? He had gotten the name right the night of the dance, and not many people had the same name and look to them. Or same voice but what would he know? He'd been stuck in a very 'sheltered' world and didn't know many outside of his small sphere of influences. He shifted, watching her body language closely, trying to see if there was any hint of her recognizing the story, even if he knew it'd be hard with the girl. She had that near perfect poker face after all.

He shifted his position a bit, his eyes drifting back out over the ocean. He had to admit at least one thing, it was a lot nicer on the island than New York City. The ocean looked cleaner and the air wasn't as smoggy, making him feel like he could breath better than there as well. It just overall felt cleaner compared to his old home, though he couldn't really say too much about it being less violent. There was definitely just as much aggression on the island as he was used to back in Manhattan. He sighed a bit at these thoughts before his attention was brought back to his partner on the beach, his eyes widening a little bit.

She remembered?

Even if it was only a start of the memories it was still something. It'd make the loneliness of the island a little less lonely if he had her to at least hand out with every now and again. The question was, though, would she still want to at least be friends? He had no clue what she was going to think of him after close to a year of being apart. If anything he could be blamed for the wound she suffered. He smiled softly, closing his eyes as he collected his thoughts. The least he could do is be himself around her, right? "It's alright Ty, people forget things. It's not like you ended up forgetting forever, right?"

[Tyri Lockehart]

The girl kept completely still, her eyes closed as she just stood there on the beach and tried to make sense of everything that had happened in the past months. She had almost died, she didn't have any trouble remembering that part of the whole thing, she had gotten carted off to this godforsaken island because her powers decided to manifest at that moment. During it all she somehow forgot her best and closest friend, and thought he was some maniac stalker when he was just trying to get her to remember again. She hadn't liked him, had been annoyed with him and wanted him to just go away when she didn't know who he was, and she felt horrible. She knew she couldn't be blamed since it wasn't exactly her fault that her memory was broken, but that didn't change how she felt about the whole thing. She took a shaky breath and began to rub her arms lightly, still not touching he scar. This day was just turning out fantastic.

"Still. I thought you were some psycho." She admitted with a sigh and opened her eyes again, looking down at the sand at her feet. She didn't feel like herself, didn't feel like the same girl she had been when they were friends and when she didn't forget him. Maybe it was the near death experience talking, but she thought she had changed, even just a little bit. She was more wary than she had been before, if that was such a thing, and she hated being touched by people she didn't know well. She was a little self conscious about her scar but did nothing to hide it, even though she wouldn't miss all the questions about it if they suddenly stopped.

She didn't exactly know what she was anymore, and that irked her. She hated not knowing what was around the corner, hated being at a disadvantage in any capacity, and now it seemed like that's all she was at anymore; a disadvantage. She was off her game still because she hadn't been able to practice while she was recovering. She was off her game because she couldn't remember alarmingly big chunks of her own life. She was off her game because she still didn't understand why or how she had powers in the first place.

Even if one of them had saved her life.

[Erebus Ryder]

Ryder raised an eyebrow at the girl's response. A psycho? No, whoever woulda thought that a teenager that could summon swords at his will and was trained in an arena setting and was a bit socially awkward would be a psycho. He would have never guessed that anyone would think he was a psycho. He couldn't help but shake his head, letting out a light chuckle before looking back at the girl. "Me a psycho? Well I kinda did fight to the death for a living before coming here so maybe I am a bit crazy." He smirked a bit at the girl before glancing back out over the ocean, closing his eyes for a moment. Yes, he was in pain but that was the least of what was on his mind at that moment. Tyri was finally coming to, though he doubted she was the same girl she was years ago.

A near death experience, something he hadn't experienced himself. He wasn't sure how to feel about the fact he had let her get injured the way she did, or even that she survived. She had amnesia obviously, though how extreme it was had yet to be revealed. He glanced back at the girl, tilting his head a bit before speaking again, his words coming out carefully, not wanting to tread on anything she didn't want to talk about. "How did you survive though, Ty? All I remember was you getting stabbed through the chest, me forming a sword after being disarmed, and then being turned in at the local station partially out of fear, partially so that those jack asses could save their own hides." He tilted his head a bit at the girl, curious as to what her response would be.

He didn't mean to pry on anything she didn't want to talk about, that wasn't the intention at all. He just wanted to try to catch up on lost time with a girl he cared about. He didn't like keeping secrets from her after all and he had always imagined she felt the same way, but then again the experience she had gone through may have awoken a side of her that was more focused on protecting than anything else. If that were the case, at the very least the swordsman could at least match the feeling, aiming to protect her as much as she wanted to protect him.