Annamarie Knight

[Annamarie]

September, 2008

Anna stumbled up the stairs of the apartment building, her vision obscured by the big box she had in her arms. She felt her way around the hallway, bumping into a few unhappy residents along the way (she hoped they weren't her neighbors!); she'd just give a strained "Sorry!", voice wavering as she struggled to find her apartment. She eventually knew she was close; she could here her mom yelling at the moving men.

"Don't drop that! It was my mother's! I'll charge you if you break it!"

"No, not there! By the window!"

"Did you bring in the armchair yet? Well go get it!"

".....Noooo, the other window!"

Anna smiled to herself, rolling her eyes as she made her way into the open apartment. She sighed heavily as she tossed the box onto the love seat in the living room, not really caring at the moment if its contents were ok. Smiling as she was able to get rid of the load, Anna made her way to the kitchen to scavenge for some food, when she heard a crash near the front door. And the subsequent matronly panic.

"What was that?! Is everyone ok?"

"Holy Cow! I'm so sorry! I totally didn't mean.... I can fix it!"

Anna chuckled to herself, recognizing the voice. She made her way to the scene of the accident, hoping that her mom hadn't started scolding Sam yet.

"Uh-oh, Sammy, what did ya do....?", Anna said, snickering as she saw her mom tapping her foot as Sam scrambled to get the nicknacks and trinkets back in their box. Only one thing had broken; a picture frame, which Anna's mom was now tending to.

Lana Knight 'tsk'ed as she picked up the broken frame. "Aww, Annie, look; it was the picture of us with your father at the beach...."

"Really? I'm so sorry!"

Lana sighed, bending down to help Sam pick up the rest of the box's contents. "Don't worry about it sweetheart, we're just grateful for your help. Here, Annie; take this picture and put it in an empty frame from one of those boxes I set by the TV."

Anna did so, taking the picture, careful not to bend it. Once she was alone, she studied the picture quietly. Her mom looked so young and happy, her hair much longer and her face free from signs of stress. Then her dad... he looked calm, with his small smile that Anna will always remember him for. And then there she was, Little Anna, just four years old; pigtails and all, her legs were dangling in between her parents as they held her up, laughing...

'And in just a few years, he was gone, and we never saw him again...'

Anna forced the sad thought from her mind; she didn't want to remember her dad for how they lost him, but for what life was like when they still had him. She liked to think, though, that he'd love what her life had become; sure, she and her mom had to up and move, but she knows he'd be so impressed by what she can do. She could almost hear his voice....

'Look at you, Annie! My Annie, sorceress of the high seas! Now see, why couldn't I get those powers, too? Then we could be like a father-daughter duo, fightin' back evil fish or something!' And then he'd laugh, that light-hearted laugh...'Ahh well, can't get everything ya want. But I'm proud of you, Annie. Don't waste this gift! '

She smiled sadly, placing the picture in its new frame, and setting it in the center of the coffee table. Stretching out her hand towards the flowers sitting on the table, she pulled the water from them, swirling it around her hand and arm, smiling. She watched the water dance around her arm, thinking about how she'd respond to her father....

If you could do what I can do, Dad, then maybe you'd still be here...

She laughed as she was brought back to reality with another crash down the hall.

"Oh, jeez, sorry!"

Anna snickered, re-hydrating the flowers before making her way back towards the scene of the accident...

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January, 2009

She could feel it happening again. She was so tired of this! The dance floor was too hot all of a sudden, and her body began to feel weak again. She knew she was beginning to sweat, and she felt clammy. Soon she'd begin to turn pale and shake, but she wasn't going to let anyone else see her like that. She needed to get out of there, and she knew it. But with all those people around..... no matter. She had dealt with this kinda stuff before; first, as always, she pretended to check her phone for the time, though she really couldn't care how late (or early) it was. After forcing a weak sign of unhappiness on her face, she did her best to give a convincing smile to the guy she was dancing with.

"Ugh, sorry. I really gotta get goin'. Mom won't be too happy if I'm late. Umm, call me?", Anna semi-shouted to the guy. He shrugged and smiled, nodding as Anna made her way off the dance floor. She took the time to give unfocused waves and smiles to a few of the people that saw her leave, so as to not freak anyone out, but she was still too distracted to here a few of the calls she got from her friends as she exited.... or to hear that cute guy shout back that he didn't have her number. She wouldn't of cared anyway. As she got out of their line of sight, she stopped her slow, relax walking, and began to speed walk, looking for the nearest exit. She was to focused on what she needed before she....

'Wait; what would happen?', she thought to herself as she rushed past one of the bars. She'd never allowed it to get that far.... but then again, she didn't really want to. Anything that felt like this couldn't lead to anything good...

"Anna! Where ya goin'? The show isn't over yet!"

Anna stopped and looked for whoever had called for her. She jumped a bit when someone tapped her shoulder, but was relieved to see it was just Sam. Still, she forced a smile and did her best to look like she wasn't freaking out. "Oh, heya!"

"You ok, bud? You don't look too good."

Anna smiled and nodded. "Oh, no, I'm fine. Mom just wants me home is all. I'll seeya later!"

She left Sam, who stared at her a bit before returning to the dance floor for the rest of Nelks' show, in a hurry. Rushing out the closest exit, she began to wonder where the closest train to Talos was...

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"No, mom, I'm fine. I'm just gonna be staying out a bit late with friends, is all."

"Oh, ok... you sure you're ok? You sound like you're in a hurry..."

"Mom, I'm fine!"....Anna paused, feeling a bit guilty for snapping at her mother. "Friends are just waiting for me. I'll be home later, 'k?"

"Sure, Annie. Be careful coming home. If I'm not up when you get back, good night."

Anna hung up without giving her mom a decent 'G'night!'. She didn't really notice. She was too busy stuffing her bag containing her clothes behind a nearby rock, making sure to turn off both her phone and comm. She'd found this little island a few weeks ago when this happened, and seeing as she'd never seen any people on it, she figured it was as good a place as any to use as her 'quiet place'. Wearing her favorite light green bikini, she waded into the water. The moment she had touched the water, she felt her body relax. Once she was out far enough, she pushed herself up on her back, floating on top of the water; the water was cold (it was a January night, after all), but Anna's abilities allowed her to resist temperatures in either direction, to an extent....

Which is why all of this was so weird to her. She only truly felt 'hot' when this happened. It usually takes a lot to make her sweat, and yet it would come onto her in an instant. There were no 'signs', no 'patterns' so that she'd be able to tell when it would happen next, so she was always unprepared. And it would always end the same way; her having to duck out of whatever situation she was in, just to get near some water...

And yet she didn't know what exactly 'it' was. It was nothing the doctors and scientists had warned her about, and when she told them about it, they shrugged it off, simply saying that her powers must give her a tendency to get overheated, and that the water cooled her down. But she knew it was more than that; this was more than just 'overheating'. Whatever this was... when it happened, she couldn't think straight. She felt weak, and she panicked, and she'd immediately think about where the nearest body of water was, and how long it'd take to get there, and which route she should go, and... it was too much....

It was more an impulse than anything. Maybe more like.. an addiction, almost. She figured that she had a lot of similar symptoms to an addict; start to sweat, and shake, panic, lose coherency, et cetera. But, an addiction to water? Was that even possible? It wasn't like her dehydration problem from before; she wasn't actually drinking or absorbing the water... so could it really be called an addiction?.... An obsession, maybe? But its not like she needed to be in water all the time; she loved it, ya, but she'd only need it when this happened. Most of the time, she could go on acting normal, and happy, and relaxed, like she usually was, but not when this happened.... so what was this?

Whatever it was, she knew she couldn't let anyone see her like this... Well, that wasn't true. Lotsa people had already seen her like this; they just didn't know what was up. She'd become too good at faking it... at least to those who didn't know her too well. Her mom could tell something was up. And Sam. Others probably could too, they just didn't say anything. They probably thought it wasn't any of their business. And it wasn't. Anna didn't ever want to explain to people what's happening to her when she has to get away like this. She'd feel too weak, too vulnerable. She knows she definitely wouldn't be able to fight her way out of a paper bag when she's like this, so she wouldn't want to give anyone the heads up as to when she's most vulnerable. No, this would have to remain her secret. Which she was ok with. She'd solve this problem on her own, and nobody would have to know. 'Course, she'd have to identify the problem before she could fix it....

Anna's thought process continued along this path until she finally drifted off to sleep on top of the water. She wouldn't wake up until early the next morning, and she'd explain to her mom how tired she got at the dance, and how she'd ended up crashing in one of the girls' dorms before the nuns did the bed check and sent her home. Her friends wouldn't know anything out of the ordinary happened, and her mom would get over it in a day or two. Anna would continue to live her life as usual; hanging with friends, being sure to make time for her lonely and homesick mother, being friendly, fun, carefree...

But this would happen again. And it wasn't going to go away on its own.

[Blitzen]

Anna! Sorry about the picture frames. And like the fridge and couch and fragile stuff. But hey, at least you and your mom are moved in!

When's meatloaf night?

[Thorn Hawk]

Hey, Anna is it? I'm Thorn. Hope you're enjoyin' your stay!

[Ty Cloud]

*waves slightly, smiling* Hey, I'm Ty. If you need help with those heavy books you let me know. *winks*

[D. Planet]

*rolls his eyes at Ty* Hey Ann. Hope this weather isn't gettin' to you too bad, I know how you miss home and all.

[Annamarie]

*shrugs* Ehh, yeah, but I'll get over that homesickness soon enough, Mal. Hopefully. The water around here is just gross, though. Don't think I'll ever get over that...

Oh, and Sam, I asked my mom if she knew how to make meatloaf, so we could have you over and stuff. She said she didn't, but you're free to come over whenever. Its probably worth mentioning that she got a recipe offline and plans on making it Monday night.... I'd recommend not coming over that night...

And don't worry 'bout all that priceless stuff you absolutely destroyed. *snickers* Nah its cool, mom wasn't bugged by it, she was just glad you weren't hurt in the process.

[Annamarie]

(( Issue 15 Update

Anna has adjusted generally well to Saint Joe's, and life in Paragon in general. Though she still gets homesick from time to time, she and her mother have both settled in nicely to their new lives. Anna has taken particularly well to patrolling, and tends to be a little more eager to take risks while patrolling than most. She also began dating Brandon Jordan, and is comfortable with where their relationship is at.

Towards the end of the year, Anna began to encounter difficulties with juggling school work and patrolling; she'd often neglect the former in favor of the latter, and her grades began to slip as a result. Though her mother was originally comfortable with her daughter's choice in extracurricular activities, she became more strict when Anna's grades began to slip. As a result, Anna was unable to patrol for much of the end of the school year, and instead was able to focus on her schoolwork. The summer months, however, brought Anna back into her usual pattern of living; with the cold months (which she had never experienced) over, Anna's been able to enjoy her new home much more.))

[Blitzen]

Anna!

You still owe me surf lessons. Sorry about the picture frames that got broke. And the sofa leg. And the fridge door. And the box of everyday dishes, even though I'm not entirely convinced that was my fault. Skateboarding still beats mountain boarding! You can keep the deck.

-Sam