Private Finished The Best Ships are Friendships

Nessie sighed as she stretched herself out on her beach blanket, enjoying the way that the sun warmed her skin. It was a rather quiet day at the beach - or perhaps it was just quiet because she'd picked a spot that was away from everybody else. She'd always been one who preferred the solace of isolation...though she had been able to make a couple of friends recently. She used the term 'friends' rather loosely. She'd met some people, that would be a more accurate statement.

Her genetics didn't really allow her to tan - Nessie had always been a pale redhead, no matter what she'd tried. Days in the sun only burned her skin, so she'd coated it generously with sunscreen before she'd come out to the beach, as usual. She didn't really need to be tan, anyways; there were plenty of tan girls at the agency. She was a rare fish; as far as she knew, there weren't many other girls that looked like her, which was what made her marketable.

She let her mind wander as she lay there in one of the designer bikinis that had been supplied by her work; a strappy black number that stood out against her fair skin. She'd hit a block with her artwork recently, which was why she'd come out here...perhaps the sound of the waves and the gulls would ease her mind.

Tags;; @Saber​

Someone said her name. Behind her round sunglasses, Nessie's eyes opened and she turned her head towards the source of the voice. Ah, Edward. She smiled at her friend and sat up, leaning back a little on her hands as she propped herself up on her blanket. She started to reach for her bag, then reminded herself that they shared a link...she was still getting used to the telepathy, despite the fact that they'd hung out a fair amount of times between their first meeting and now.

Hello, she offered cheerfully through their telepathic link, scooting over and patting the spot beside her on the blanket. She was also not used to having friends...but she was surprising herself with how willingly she was letting Edward into her life, however gradually. It's a nice day, she added after she gestured for him to come and join her.​

Nessie nodded at his comment about the ocean - she loved it, too. The vast expanse of water that glittered when the sun hit it just right was perfect both for capturing in her artwork or swimming around in. It was certainly bigger than her little pool at home, by far, though she'd retreat to the small puddle of water when there were too many people about out here.

You're not a bother at all, she replied, wondering why he would think so. The thought didn't last too long, as she realized that she had something new to share with her newfound friend.

This package showed up on my doorstep the other day, she told him, sifting through her bag and producing a leather-bound book filled with blank pages. Inside the front cover in a little fabric loop was a pencil that looked as though it were made entirely of glass. This was inside. I haven't quite figured out what it is, though. All there was with it was a note that said 'Enjoy'.​

Maybe. I dunno, she shrugged as she looked down at the book and slowly slid the pencil from the strap that held it. It looked breakable, but actually felt rather sturdy in her hand, so she stopped treating it like a delicate instrument and more like a normal pencil. She wondered if it even wrote.

Thoughtfully, she flipped to the first blank page in the book and set the pencil against the paper, drawing a little cat on the page. The pencil ran smoothly over the page, and tingled a little, heating up in her hand just slightly as she completed the drawing. Huh.

When she pulled the pencil away, she tilted the book to show it to Edward. The drawing suddenly slid off of the page and the cat from the drawing dumped out onto the beach blanket. It was greyscale, but three dimensional. It sat on the blanket and licked its paw. Nessie blinked. Was she seeing this correctly? She looked at Edward incredulously, not sure if she was going crazy or not.​

Magic book, Nessie echoed in agreement. She wasn't sure who'd given her the gift. There were a few people around who had been indebted to her, perhaps for a while...she couldn't specify who it was, though, just from that thought alone. There was no further evidence to suggest who it had come from, it had simply appeared overnight.

She watched the cat for a while, it didn't seem to do much. She wondered...if she had any control over it? With her mind, she watched as she made the cat lay down, stand up, turn in a circle...Nessie blinked and looked at the notebook again, leafing all the way through it. A small paper fell out of it and onto her lap. She looked at the writing on it.

Close the book on it to put it back.

Mysterious. Nessie reached out with the book open to the page she'd drawn the cat on and shut the book on the cat. It disappeared. She turned the book over carefully and checked the page. The drawing was right there where it had been. Nessie stared at the drawing. How strange.​