Grim as Ever.

Morgana and Nikki left the house, making their way to the beach that was only about a twenty minute walk. "So, did you like Brian?" Morgana looked up at her sister and chuckled, "He seemed really into you."

She was happy when her feet hit the sand. She immediately took her shoes off and grabbed her wallet out of her bag, stopping by a pop up shop to grab some sunscreen.

---

After Brian managed the search crew, he told the two police officers there to put a strict curfew on the woods for a few weeks. He knew people liked to go into them hiking, hunting and camping but for the moment it just wasn't safe.

He headed down downtown and parked his car, walking up onto the boardwalk to get a beer. The breeze from the ocean ran through his hair and he could smell the salt water from the bar he chose to sit at. He pulled his phone out and called Matt, "How'd it go?"

Nikki took her shoes off as she walked into the sand, hearing her sister’s question, she shrugged slightly, “I guess, I mean he seems nice and he’s really good looking, I’d like to get to know him more...” She hadn’t been in a relationship since highschool and hadn’t been looking for one.

“What about you, it seemed like you and Matt were hitting it off once you got comfortable?” She asked, looking over at Morgana and putting some sun screen on.

---

“Well, they’re pretty convinced it was a bear, they didn’t find anything suspicious so I think we’re in the clear,” Matt said quietly as he walked to his car. He could hear the sound of the waves through the phone, “You at the boardwalk?”

He figured Brian would need a drink after doing damage control, “I’ll meet you there, Alright?” Matt said as he got in his car.

@ dezzy

Morgana smiled and shrugged as they walked down the beach and found a good spot next to the water, but not to close. "He was cute." She smiled, thinking about him. She threw her beach towel down and sat down, making sure to put on a lot of sunscreen, she never got tan, she always burnt, but it was just a precaution as there wasn't much sun out anyways. It wasn't cold, but Havenport was very gloomy.

She looked around the beach at all the other people who didn't seem to care that the beach was more gray than anything from the overcast. Kids were still building sand castles and girls still seemed to be trying to get a little bit of sunbathing in. "It's kinda weird that they were so keen to just take two girls to dinner who were standing outside their gate." She chuckled, "What are the chances of that?" She pulled out her sunglasses.

---

Brian was on his second beer when he saw Matt walking up the beach. He waved his friend over and slid him the ice cold beer he had already ordered him. "Oh, I also told the police to put a tight curfew on the woods until we can make sure no one else was killed." Brian felt really guilty, even though he knew there wasn't much control he had over it. This town was his home and he looked at everyone who lived here like family almost. "We have to figure out a way to control ourselves." He looked up at Matt, practically whispering as he looked around to make sure no one was listening in.

“This whole town gives a bit of a weird vibe, but it’s still nice,” Nikki said softly, running a hand through her hair as she took in the little bit of sun that was peaking through the clouds. “They’re both cute,” she laughed softly looking out at the water.

She turned her attention to her sister, “I mean, they pretty much run this whole place, maybe they just like to know everyone.” Even as the words left her lips, it still sounded creepy.

---

Matt sat down and took a drink of his beer, listening to Brian, “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” He hated thinking that there was the possibility of them hurting someone else in town, especially since they knew everyone. “What can we do? It’s not like we have anyone else around that would help,” he said softly.

@ dezzy

Morgana blushed, covering her mouth as they gossiped. "I know, they are. Brian's bone structure is godly." She couldn't help but laugh, her face turning a slight pink. Morgana dropped her arms back down by her sides and shuddered a little, "It is weird that they just own the whole town, don't you think? Like what other place is like this?"

---

Brian frowned and brought his hand up to his mouth, stroking around the corners. "We'll just have to find someone to help us then." He knew it was easier said that done though. He looked down at the beach and let his eyes skim over all of the kids he saw playing in the water and building sandcastles and being buried alive in the sand, knowing that they had could've just killed one of their fathers. It made him feel horrible.

Nikki smirked, “Oh yeah, that mans face is just, mm.” She laughed, relaxing slightly. “I mean, I guess so, but it’s a really small town and I’ve heard of families running towns before, but I never thought I’d live in one of those...” She sighed, looking over at her sister.

---

Matt knew Brian was feeling guilty, he took a drink of his beer, “Brian, focus, we can’t dwell on what we can’t change...” He whispered, looking down at the beach. “We need to make sure this doesn’t happen again...” he didn’t know why, but he was suddenly afraid that something could happen to the girls if they didn’t get it handled.

@ dezzy

Morgana laid back on her beach towel and shut her eyes. "I guess it just seems so old fashioned?" She looked up at the cloudy sky. "And why do people think they're werewolves? If dad was telling the truth." She pointed out.

---

Brian frowned and just tried to shake it off. "Let's just put it behind us for the moment. I don't want it to ruin my whole day." He said as he started to get up. The wind started to blow and Brian perked his head up. There were some advantages they kept even out of wolf form, like their keen sense of smell. And at that moment, he could smell the same perfume Nichole had been wearing the night before.

"The girls are here on the beach." Brian smirked.

Nichole did the same, sighing softly as she closed her eyes, “Who knows, maybe it’s just one of those small town things...” She really didn’t understand it, but it was an old town and it had time to come up with stories.

---

Matt agreed, he could smell Morgana’s perfume as well, “Should we go pay them a visit?” He asked, finishing his beer as he got up, the girls seemed like they could be the perfect distraction for the day.

@ dezzy

The boys walked down the dock onto the beach, following the scent of the girls fragrances. Brian smiled as they came upon them, a slight blush rose onto his face as he looked down at Nikki in her bathing suit. "Hey, girls." He smiled, standing right above Nikki's head. He let his eyes drift over her body for a moment, glad he wore sunglasses. This was a perfect distraction. "Enjoying the beach?"

---

Morgana had her eyes shut, just enjoying the sound of the waves crashing and the overwhelming scent of suntan lotion and sea salt. She only opened her eyes when she heard heavy footsteps inches from her head. She ran a hand through her hair, tucking it under her to make sure no one would step on it, but she was also wondering why someone was walking so close to her.

She looked up to see Matt blocking the only few single rays of sunlight coming down through the clouds with his body. "Oh, hi." She blushed, crossing her arms over her stomach. She didn't know why he made her so nervous.

Nikki was relaxed by the sound of the waves crashing, almost enough that she could have fallen asleep. She was surprised when the few rays of sun that hit her, were suddenly blocked by someone standing over her. Opening her eyes, she blushed softly as she heard Brian’s voice, “Um, yeah..and hey, what are you up to?”

She slowly sat up and looked at him, she felt a bit nervous and a little exposed, “What brings you two to the beach?” She asked, thinking it was a bit odd that she and Morgana had just stopped talking about them before they showed up.

---

Matt was thankful that he had decided to wear sunglasses, seeing Morgana in her bathing suit, he let his eyes roam her body before she noticed them approaching. He smiled as he saw her blush, “Hi.” He thought it was cute that she seemed nervous when he was around.

@ dezzy

Brian smiled lightly as he shoved his hands in his pockets, "Did you guys hear about the bear attack on the news?" His smile faded immediately, "We just came downtown to do some damage control. Decided to come get a beer and saw you two down here. You stick out like sore thumbs." He chuckled, not meaning it in a bad way. They stuck out too. He pulled a hand out of his pocket and ran his hand through his hair, trying his best to just forget about what he had done last night.

"Are you enjoying the beach?" He asked Nikki, walked around to stand next to her rather than above her head. She was gorgeous.

---

Morgana propped herself up on her elbows before deciding to just sit up entirely. Damage control. She thought, looking at the two boys, wondering how often they had to handle things like this. She could tell Brian seemed a little upset by talking about it. "Yeah, the beach is great." She smiled, getting up on her feet and standing on her beach towel. "We didn't have one back where we lived."

Nikki sat up when he mentioned the bear attack, “Yeah, we heard about it this morning.” She looked at him as she stood up, “Does stuff like that happen a lot around here?” She asked curiously, he seemed really upset about the attack so she was glad when he changed the subject to the beach, “Yeah, it’s nice to be able to walk here rather than drive for an hour.” She smiled over at him.

---

Matt nodded as Morgana talked, “Its nice to have one so close, that’s for sure. It seems like everyone really enjoys it.” He wanted to keep the subject away from the attack and focus on the girls. It was a welcome distraction from the problem, that much was true.

@ dezzy

Brian shook his head, "No. The last one was like eight years ago." He rubbed his hands together and looked around the beach. He wanted to spend some time alone with Nikki, to get to know her better. "Would you like to go get some food or something?" He asked her, looking around the beach at the couple of pop up shops that sold things like shave ice and drinks. "Have you been up on the boardwalk?"

He looked over at Matt and fixed his jacket. As much as the attack was weighing on his mind, he was sure Nikki could preoccupy him.

---

"I like that there's not much sun." She joked, covering her mouth a little as she laughed. Morgana bent down and grabbed her flannel that she had been wearing over the bathing suit and pulled it on, feeling a slight chilly breeze start to come through, but it still wasn't cold. Morgana didn't want to ask any questions about the attack or what they had been doing to prevent future ones, or anything like that. Stuff like that really freaked her out, so she liked to leave it alone, but then she remembered how close it had happened to her house and she felt a shiver run down her spine.

Hearing Brian, she glanced over at Morgana before agreeing, “Yeah, that sounds good.” She grabbed her t-shirt and leggings and put them on, “I haven’t had a chance to go up there yet.” Nikki let her sister know where she was going before she started walking with Brian.

---

Matt nodded, smiling, “Yeah, that’s nice too.” He watched as Brian and Nikki walked away, thankful that his friend had the same idea he did. “So, how are you liking it here?” He asked as he looked around them.

@ dezzy

Brian led Nikki away, towards the boardwalk. "Here let me get that for you." He grabbed up her towel and bag and packed them for her. "We can throw this stuff in my car, if you'd like." Brian looked around the beach. There weren't a ton of people here today, which was unusual for a Saturday, but after last night's events, he guessed it wasn't strange.

He led Nikki to his car that was parked on the main street, not far from the entrance to the boardwalk. They put her stuff in the trunk of his car and then started for the boardwalk. "So, you liking Havenport so far? Not as boring as you first thought, I hope." He smiled, looking down at her.

---

Morgana said goodbye to her sister, trying not to feel worried. She sat back down on her towel and pulled out a bottle of water from her bag and patted the spot next to her for Matt to sit down. "It's nice." She smiled, "A lot quieter and smaller than where we lived in Louisiana, but it's cuter." She smiled and took a drink of her water.

“Thanks,” Nikki said as they walked up to his car, she was excited to spend one on one time with Brian. She looked around, smiling as she saw everyone walking around. They all looked so happy and peaceful, like they didn’t have a care in the world, “I do, it seems like everyone here is so happy.”

---

Matt smiled as he sat down next to her, “Its pretty quiet here, that’s for sure.” He said as he looked out at the water, he couldn’t help laughing softly when she said it was cuter than where she lived before. “It’s cuter?” He asked, glancing over at her.

@ unholy confessions;

Brian nodded, "Yeah, we try to make sure we can keep them happy. I just hope they can move past what happened last night sooner rather than later." He hoped. Brian stopped at a food stand, ordering them some shaved ice. Something told him Nikki could help him out with his problem. He handed her a cup of the ice and sat down at a seating area.

---

"Yeah." Morgana chuckled, "Its like the kind of town you see in movies." She took another drink of her water and pulled her knees up to her chest. "Do you think it was a bear?" She asked, looking up at Matt. "I know you probably don't want to think about it right now, just happened pretty much in our backyard...."

“I’m sure something will come along and everyone will push last night to the back of their minds,” Nikki said, hoping it would ease his mind a little. She felt like he had so much going on and she wanted to help him lighten the load. Nichole smiled as she got her shaved ice and sat down with him.

---

Matt smiled, listening to her, “Yeah, that’s for sure. It’s too perfect to be real.” He laughed slightly at his own comment as he looked over at her, “I’m sure it was, there’s nothing else in that woods that could tear someone up like that.” Matt felt bad for lying to her, but he couldn’t tell her what was really going on, not yet anyway.

@ unholy confessions;

"Hopefully." Brian rubbed his arm and dug a spoon into his ice. "So, you said you weren't going back to college until the fall, right?" He looked up at her. "Any plans for your summer?" It was nice to just be out of his house, having a nice conversation with someone new and not having to much to worry about. After all, he had a little while before the next full moon.

---

Morgana nodded, feeling a little more relieved at his answer. She looked back up at him and bit her lip, deciding to go out on a limb. "You look really nice today." She complimented him, reaching out to fix the collar on his dark red flannel he wore under his jacket. "Red suits you."

“Right, I was thinking about finding a little part time job for the summer or something like that,” Nikki said, as she ate a spoon full of the ice. She smiled over at him, “Know of any places that would be hiring?” She asked, laughing softly.

---

Matt couldn’t help smiling slightly at her compliment, “Thank you.” He looked her over, “You look pretty great yourself, I mean, you looked good yesterday and today.” He was a little embarrassed to sound so awkward.

@ unholy confessions;