Continuing, several hours of high-pitched noises and speechless awkwardness later:

*nods* Yeah, they're pretty. *walks over to the flower bed and starts picking* This might take a while. Pick as many as you can hold in one hand; that's usually enough. If it's not, we can always go back for more.

~

*kisses Devin back* *gently pulls away after a moment*

Wow. Uh. Thanks. *gazes awkwardly at Devin* *shifts more androgynous* *looks down* I wasn't sure you'd...

*sprouts small, feathery wings* *blush recedes slightly* Is--Is it over, then? Whatever 'it' was? Are we... friends? 

So, I’m switching styles XD. 

Raven~~

Raven stood, the warm sand underneath her feet, the wind in her hair, the sun beating down upon her thin shoulders. The waves crashing on the shore seemed to build a song, a song of peace, a promise of a new beginning. But, if you listened further, there was a dangerous sort of sound to it as well. She could see Max’s head bobbing, in and out of view in the water. He was trying to climb back onto his surfboard after he wiped out on a large wave. Raven hugged a small, white book to her chest. In curly, neat writing, the cover read;

Ravena Aring Denderstale 

Ravens full name, her true name, her secret name. It wasn’t a true secret, for Max knew, and June knew, and Silvern knew, but it still felt like a secret. A secret she could keep as close to her chest a the small book was. 

She caught Max’s eyes, and, he was one of the only people she did this with, held his gaze. She moved her hand up slightly, and gave a small wave. He was now on his surfboard again, and returned her wave, before a Wave knocked him off again. Raven giggled, her eyes where lit up with joy, joy was a feeling she rarely had...she sighed, a sound like the first breath of a newborn baby, so quiet that if you weren’t listening very closely for it you would miss it.

She opened the small book, gently settling herself on the soft sand, and began to write. 

She wrote, in the same neat, curly penmanship as on the front of the book: 

Dear Diary, 

I am on the beach, as I often am, listening to the sounds of the waves crashing upon the beautiful shore. 

She paused for a moment, looking up from her journal, and looking around. Her eyes, once again, fell upon Max. She smiled. He was tumbling of Of his board again. She could hear his laughter, even with the sound of the waves and the wind. 

Max, my dear cousin, bashed by the viscous, yet gently, waves tumbles through the air yet again, before crashing into the endless sea. His laughter, louder even then the screeching of the wind, makes its way to my ears. 

Raven looked up yet again, her pencil hovering just above the page. She turned her head, her eyes finding Silvern, who was crouching in the sand, a large hermit crab in front of them, scuttling toward them. Raven smiled yet again. How Silvern managed to make animals trust them, even the most skittish animals, amazed Raven. Though, maybe it shouldn’t, because she, herself found trusting Silvern to come naturally. And she was just as skittish as any chipmunk. 

Silvern, oh Silvern, a mystery yet to be solved, is crouching in the cold sand near the edge of the shore, the waves crashing over their knees. A crab, a quite beautiful specimen, scuttles toward them, seeming to put full trust in the human in front of them. How I wonder how Silvern manages to gain every animal-they-have-ever-met’s trust. I marvel out how gentle Silvern can be, when they seem so, well, bold around other people. 

She glanced back up from the book, to see Silvern, still crouching, but the crab was crawling into their hands. She gasped. She had never seen a crab behaving like this around humans. She slowly closed her journey, watching Silvern, amazed. Silvern’s lips moved, as if they where talking to the hermit crab, who clicked its pinchers, almost as if it was responding. Silvern nodded their head, begging to stand up, slowly, the crab still standing in their cupped hands, and began to walk, slowly edging farther down the beach, away from Raven.

Raven couldn’t stop staring where Silvern had been, but was no longer. She didn’t glance away until she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She jumped and let out a terrified little shriek. 

“Wow, sorry Rave’s, I didn’t mean to scare you!” She let out a sigh of relief, it was only Max, her cousin, and best friend. She turned toward him. “Are you ok, Raven?” 

“Yeah, I’m f-fine...” she said, only stuttering slightly. Max put his wet strong arm around her thin shoulders. 

“Ok, then.” He said, squeezing her shoulders slightly. They just stood there in a beautiful silence for what felt like forever, his warm breath against her neck. She was warm, because he was blocking the wind from reaching her. 

“Max?” She asked, biting her lip slightly. 

“Yes?” He said, moving his arms off of her shoulders. 

“Nothing...” she said, and Max raised a eyebrow, she broke away from his gaze, staring out at the ocean. “W-we should find Silvern...I-It’ll be dark soon...” she said glancing up at the sky. Max nodded, and the two of them began walking along the shore, in the direction of Silvern. 

You can do this in real life, too (assuming I explained it well enough). It's pretty cool! I've actually never tried it with periwinkles before. They're all gone by now, but maybe next year...

I taught my brother how to do this once (he asked), and when we started he didn't know how to braid. I've been braiding stuff for so long that it didn't occur to me that anyone might not.

Mexi says xeda! Earlier she said mafi.

Now she says hopp! Where you hopping to, Mexi?