Skye Evans.

To a new Year.

    After lugging her salad all the way from her ride to the beach, the girl was content. Such healthy food choices even came here, to the potluck. It'd be one of the dishes she'll be eating that night.
      Another year gone, filled with yet another series of strange battles and occurances. Her gaze lingered on the food for a moment more, before she tore away, running to where her leafwing friend stood. "Natalia!"

    Wearing a pink frilly swimsuit underneath a shear cover-up, Natalia held a basket of baked goods between her hands. Her green gaze was focused on the sand, making sure to be extra careful when stepping on the lumps of sand. Although, her gaze shot up immediately after a certain skywing shouted.
    She smiled, seeing her best friend. "Hi, Skye!!" She chirped, adjusting the basket to wave with her left hand.

      Sinking into the sand without care, Skye placed a hand on her hips. "Wanna go mess around by the water? I think I saw Kai over there. After what we did at the lake, I wonder how he can still stand to be around it," she chuckled.

    "Yes, obviously!" She giggled, recalling the moment between the trio at the lake. I don't think Kai had much luck when it came to water. The brunette placed her basket on a nearby table and took Skye's hand.
    "Lead the way." She hummed, looking around the sea of students to see if she could spot the flamewing.

       The flamewing happily munched on his meal, having spent the better half of the day preparing the ton of kabobs. The blend of grilled chicken, bell peppers, and other veggies melted on his tongue.

       Healthy and delicious. Kai set there, staring out into the sparkling ocean. Sure, his friends had thrown him off a cliff into the waterfall in a poor attempt to cheer him up, which was terrifying but it wasn't enough to keep him from water.

       He was already planning on taking a swim after eating, in a much better mood compared to when he went to the lake with the girls.

    After spotting the boy in the distance, Natalia's smile grew wider, dragging Skye towards Kai. "Hi, Kai!" She chirped, practically yelling into the flamewing's ear. The leafwing waved with joy, excited to see (and mess with) her bestfriend.

       An excited shout of his name broke the string of thoughts, sending the boy jumping onto his feet with a hard flinch. He paused upon noticing Natalia and Skye. "Oh. It's just you two."

       He sighed, plopping back down into the sand, waving back before twirling a sharp stick between scarred fingers. "Hey." Kai greeted, glancing around to make sure he didn't drop any kabobs before looking back at the pair. "Have you guys grabbed food yet?" He asked, proceeding to rip off a piece of chicken from another stick.

    "Oops, my bad." She blinked, noticing how much Kai had flinched from her sudden shout. She should probably work on keeping her tone lower. Letting go of Skye's hand, Natalia shook her head to the boy's inquiry.
    "I left my basket of the food I brought on a random table. Whatcha' got there?" Natalia hummed, pointing to the kabob's in his hands with wide eyes. The girl was a vegetarian, so she had never seen any of those stick thingies before.

      "Ooh, that looks good," Skye mumbled quietly, watching her two friend's interaction from the side.

       "Grilled chicken kabobs with vegetables." He responded, holding out the container filled with a few of them to her. "Want to try one?" Kai offered. Sharp canines soon digging into two sliced vegetables to rip it off the stick, chewing on it while awaiting her answer or next move.

    Natalia glanced down at the dead chicken in front of her. She blinked slowly, taking the stick from Kai. The brunette didn't want to be rude in refusing his food, she figured she'd just eat the vegetables...
    "Thanks." She gave a half smile, trying to mask her slight discomfort in the animal she was trying to avoid eating. The leafwing nibbled at the vegetables, chewing happily at the taste.

      Skye nudged Natalia with her elbow. "I can eat the rest once you finish the veggies." She walked a bit forward and sat next to the boy, dragging her finger through the wet sand. No picture in mind, just random squiggles, for now at least.

    Fixing her gaze towards Skye, she slightly nodded, a look of relief written in her softened eyes. The girl continued to eat the vegetables, until all that was left was the poor chicken. She handed off the stick to Skye, joining the two as she plopped down into the sand as well.
    "I can't believe this year's over already." She said, staring up at the cloud-filled sky. The girl attempted to pick out certain shapes in the clouds, rolling her tongue against her cheek.

      "I know! It felt a lot.. longer, than the last one, if that makes sense. And I didn't see you two that often either!" Between words she'd take bites and chew quickly, before continuing.

    "Yeah...I really gotta fix my attendance." She giggled, looking back at Skye while shrugging. The girl had spent most of the school year not in school, but there was always next year.

      Kai remained silent, listening to the two talk once more, quickly finishing another stick. The taste having dulled. He didn't comment on his absence from school, already planning on fixing his attendance in the coming school year.