Highland Shelter No. 2 [Atawhai / Open]

[Kiku Honda]

(( AAAFKAJFA. SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. ))

School had been cancelled that day in response to the predicted storm. 'The storm of the century' they were calling it, with winds exceeding 100 kilometers per hour. People were advised to stay indoors, reinforce they're roofs and even be wary flooding. The whole island was preparing for the worst. Shelters were already up and ready to take in any people unfortunate to be affected by the storm.

The storm was expected to make landfall early afternoon, by that time the marketplace was deserted, the streets were empty, stores were closed and the only souls you'd see on the street were those running to their houses with last minute supplies. Even the animals seemed to be preparing. The usual chirping birds were no were to be found and animals were distressed as the wind before the storm rustled the trees.

Expected time of landfall was predicted to be early afternoon. But, despite the evolution of mankind's technology thrown backwards, humans have will always, and forever, predict the weather wrong.

Among the few people still outside, a small black haired man was racing to get home, a few canned goods and a large jug of water in his hands.

It was a good two hours before landfall when Kiku set out to get some last minute supplies. And, after half an hour at the nearest convenience store, as Kiku stepped out, hands full with groceries, it was raining. Hard.

The storm had made landfall nearly two hours before initially predicted and poor Kiku was running through the rain trying to make it home. The winds were fierce and the rain stung Kiku's skin. The streets were flooding already. Kiku lived on a high hill street. And, as luck would have it, the roads leading to his street were blocked.

With hardly any choice and fed up with the sting of the rain, Kiku ran to the nearest shelter. When he arrived, there were barely any people yet. In low spirits, Kiku sat down, setting his wet goods on the floor and texted his mother he was stuck in a shelter. His eyes fell to the floor as the message got through. 'Now what?' he thought dejectedly.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

(No worries, dude!)

"And... don't talk to strangers while I'm gone, okay? I'll be right back." Atawhai said staring into the eyes of her smartest sheep, William. He nodded and began to bleat orders at the other animals in the shelter. Feeling a smidge more confident, Atawhai closed the shelter's doors, and made her way to the highlands.

Never, had there been a time where everything looked so deserted. She felt so alone.

So very sad and alone.

Once in the highlands, Atawhai quietly walked on the sidewalk to a little guitar shop. The owner was a good friend of hers, and the only person Atawhai would buy guitar strings from. He promised her a new G guitar string as an early birthday present. Atawhai's guitar had gone through months without this important string.

Minutes after Atawhai entered the shop and began to chat with the manager, it started to rain. Remembering the livestock left in the shelter, Atawhai thanked her friend and left. By now, it was raining much too hard for Atawhai to even think of making it home, and she made for the nearest shelter. It wasn't as full as Atawhai thought it would've been. She looked around and sat across a upset-looking young man.

[Kiku Honda]

'Beep beep' went the small man's phone. His mother texted back just telling him to be careful and not leave the shelter until the storm weakens enough. Kiku closed his eyes and ran his palm through his face, wiping away the rain from his eyes.

Just then, in the corner of Kiku's eyes, he saw a blond walk in and set across him. The black haired man set his gaze upon the blond for a second. Was he a boy or a girl? He couldn't tell. He swore they made eye contact for a second but his eyes fell back to the floor.

He was much too shy to actually talk to a stranger.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

Atawhai scanned the shelter for any familiar faces, but found none. She shrugged to herself and put her guitar in front of her. She was going to be there a while, and that G string wasn't going to restring itself. Atawhai took out the guitar string from it's package and straightened it out. She then proceeded to restring her guitar expertly.

She let out a happy sigh and looked at her now-complete guitar. Good as new. All that was left was to tune it. She played the G string oh-so quietly, trying not to disturb anyone in the shelter. After a little tightening at the pegs, a perfect, smooth sound emitted from the guitar. Atawhai looked up at the others and mumbled an apology. She knew now was not the time to be friendly and loud. People were worried and very easy to piss off at a moment like this.

"Hey...are you okay? You look like I'm some kinda monster, what with your eyes fixed on the floor." Atawhai whispered to the man across from her, who was apparently very interested in the floor in front of him.

[Kiku Honda]

Of course, it was a different story should the stranger talk to you.

The small man lifted his head up as the blond in front of him called him out. A light shade of red spread across his face, he had been indirectly impolite to the stranger in that way. Kiku straightened himself up and said, "I'm sorry,". Getting better a look at the person the blonde had quite the androgynous appearance.

"I suppose I am not in the best of moods right now. I really didn't expect to get stuck here. Although, I suppose neither did anyone else here." he continued smiling a bit, trying to be more empathetic to others in the same predicament as he.

"...Can you play?" he asked the blonde. His eyes on the guitar that was in the other's arms.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"I was just playing, dude. I know it's hard to tell what gender I am. "Atawhai smiled knowingly. Even under these circumstances, Atawhai could still smile. Maybe because she didn't have any relatives she had to worry about. Or maybe because her smiles mean nothing to her... yeah, that was probably it. She nodded in agreement about not expecting about being there. She was worried about her animals overall. "I kinda knew I wouldn't be able to make it to the lowlands in time..." Atawhai said to herself.

"Oh. Yeah, I play." Atawhai said, taking a look at her guitar. It'd be weird if she carried around a guitar and didn't play it. It'd be like owning a horse but not riding it.

[Kiku Honda]

Kiku gently shrugged and gave a light smile. "I only considered the possibility that you may still be learning or you were delivering the guitar to someone else." he said trying to clear any misunderstandings. The small man's eyes drifted to the actual guitar. It seemed very well kept and maintained. When the other took some time to tune the instrument Kiku should have ruled out the delivery theory.

"I'm afraid I wasn't given any talent in music. I've always envied such people. I've tried my hand at several instruments as well and my mother said I was terrible at every single one." Kiku said, half way through the sentence his voice starting to drift, as if the last part was more for himself rather than the blonde.

"Would you perhaps feel like playing? I can't speak for the few who are here, however I'd love a nice song to lighten such a depressing atmosphere." he requested politely.

Looking at the shelter itself, it was certainly depressing. It was poorly lit, the smell of dirt seeping in from the earth being washed away by the storm seeping into the area. There was a small shop that sold snacks and water in the corner. Obviously they expected to do some business from whatever rich fold who managed to get themselves stuck in the shelter.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

While it was sad that his mother was so blunt with him, Atawhai thought he was very lucky to have his mother with him. She began to wonder what her mother was like... was she kind and pretty? Did she have a childish face and a curious demenor?

Atawhai was then broight back to earth when the man spoke again. Play? Here? She looked around. "Hey," Atawhai said, her voice loud enough for everyone in the shelter to hear. "Is it okay if I play?" and held up her guitar.

What she got were a couple of mumbles and nods. She smiled and thanked them. Atawhai placed her hand on the back of the guitars neck. She was trying to remember the tabs to a song she heard once, it was named 'All I want'. She began to play and soon her voice came to accompany the song.

"I'm always screaming my lungs out 'til my head starts spinning
Playing my songs is the way I cope with life
Won't keep my voice down
Know the words I speak are the thoughts I think out loud

I like to keep things honest
I'm a safe bet like your life's staked on it, for real
I'd hate to keep you all wondering
I'm constant like the seasons, I will never be forgotten man

Let's leave no words unspoken
And save regrets for the broken
Will you even look back when you think of me?

All I want is a place to call my own
To mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa, you know to keep your hopes up high
And your head down low
Keep your hopes up high and your head down low

Still got something left to prove
It tends to keep things movin' while everyone around me says
My last days are looming overhead
But just what the hell do they think they know?

I keep my head above the water
While they drown in the undertow
Let's leave no words unspoken and save regrets for the broken
Will you even look back when you think of me?

All I want is a place to call my own
To mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa, you know to keep your hopes up high
And your head down low

All I want is a place to call my own
To mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa, you know to keep your hopes up high
And your head down low

If you take it from me, live your life for yourself
'Cause when it's all said and done, you don't need anyone else
C'mon!

So let's get back to when everything seemed perfect
Not a worry in the world, tell me was this all worth it?
I get what I want so everyone's always judging me
I'm not afraid of anything, I've got the whole world in front of me

All I want is a place to call my own
To mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa, you know to keep your hopes up high
And your head down low

All I want is a place to call my own
To mend the hearts of everyone who feels alone
Whoa, you know to keep your hopes up high
And your head down low

Keep your heads down low
Keep your heads down low
Keep your hopes up high
And your heads down low"

[Kiku Honda]

(( ACK. MY APOLOGIES. ))

Kiku listened in intently as the other started playing. He hadn't heard the song before but the blonde's rendition of it sounded great. He couldn't help but tap his feet to the beat, his head swaying along as well. As Kiku let his gaze travel, he noticed the other people in the shelter seemed to be enjoying the song as well.

The song ended and Kiku clapped his hands softly. "That was very well done." he said, giving the blonde a smile. The other's clapped a bit, too. "You are a great musician," he complimented. "May I ask what's your name?" he said a bit shyly. He'd gotten better at socializing but Kiku felt like he'd never not feel nervous when meeting new people.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

((I THOUGHT I REPLIED. HFGSDGFKWI))

This song meant a lot to her, it wasn't just a song... it was so much more. It was a story of unfortunate Lowlanders, even if it wasn't the original idea. The song gave hope, and it worked on Highlanders too. Atawhai smiled and took a little bow. It was nice that everyone could enjoy a little music during something so scary and possibly life changing. She hoped everyone was okay.

"Thank you," Atawhai smiled at the man in front of her "My name..? Atawhai Charlie Kirkland, at your service." Meeting new people was Atawhai's pride and joy, she couldn't be the least shy, even if she tried.

[Kiku Honda]

(( AAAAND MY BAD. FSLFMKSFNSKFN. ))

The smaller man nodded. The name sounded very foreign. While the island was one big cultural stew, he found there was always someone that came from somewhere that pops up right in front of him.

Kiku stood up and walked over to the blond. His social skills were, as much as it strains everyday life, abysmal. Now that he actually thought about it, this was the first time he'd ever made the first move to actually try to get to know a stranger. Reflecting again, however, he'd never really had much luck with strangers. He's pretty sure fifty percent of them tried to mug and rob him.

Giving the stranger a pleasant smile, he extended his arm for a handshake. "It is very nice to meet you, Atawhai." he said, trying to mimic the other's pronunciation as best as he could. "Kiku Honda." he finished, introducing himself.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

((GFHDSJKARUEIWBVNCJN SOSOSOSOSOSORRY.))
Atawhai took the young man's hand in hers and gave him a firm handshake. He had such soft hands compared to her rough and calloused palms. "Nice to meet you, Mr.Honda." she smiled and put her hand back on her lap. She looked up at the man from her seat and came to one, abrupt conclusion. He was a Highlander. At this point, Atawhai wasn't sure if she should countinue to talk to him, thinking that eventually she would get too relaxed around him and her unclassy country-bumpkin traits would show and disgust him.

[Kiku Honda]

(( SOB. ))

"So how did you end up here, Atawhai?" Kiku asked, trying to strike up some conversation. The blonde seemed quite nice. This past year, he'd actually gotten a thriving social live. He'd gone and met quite a few new people, some scary and some quirky. This one, however, seemed very open and kind. Making a reference to a game he played, Kiku figured it might be easy to level up should a social link develop.

Kiku sized up the blonde again. While Kiku found it impolite to judge based on appearance, he figured Atawhai was a lowlander. He nodded internally, agreeing with the conclusion. This was good. This made him/her, still unable to put a finger on the latter's gender, his third lowlander companion. The nicest, in that sense, as well. "I hope you didn't get too drenched in the rain." he followed up.

[Atawhai Kirkland]

"Well, I came to pick up a guitar string and the storm just caught me, y'know?" Atawhai smiled sheepishly. This was the third highlander she had met so far. He seemed to be a bit buisness-driven, but also very nice. People like that are usually a prince in a lowland fairy-tale. Atawhai let out a small chuckle. Judging by what she knew, he already had a princess in mind.

"-and he's making her wait," Atawhai accidently said above a whisper. She looked up and and hoped Kiku hadn't heard her.

"Oh, I don't think I'm too wet. I think I'm dryer than swimming a few laps in the ocean. But just by a bit." Atawhai said, trying to get her shirt from sticking on to her body.

[Kiku Honda]

Kiku nodded in affirmation. "I'm afraid I was caught in the storm by similar circumstances. Ironically, I was picking up some last minute supplies for my mother. While I don't question my house's structural integrity, I'm worried for my mother. To be honest, if I were permitted, I'd would have gone through the storm and try to make it home." Kiku sighed, glancing to the door, the sound of hard and sharp rain hitting the steel. "But it can't be helped. I just hope she can brave the worst of it without me." he said in a tone, though discreet, was more like it was meant to reassure himself rather than his companion.

The black haired youth thought he heard Atawhai say something but he saw the latter purse their lips so he figured he shouldn't ask about it.

The small man gave a lighthearted chuckle, the blonde's positive outlook on her own situation being a bit contagious. Quite frankly one look and one could tell he was much dryer than Atawhai. "I'm certain you could have stressed 'by just a bit' much more." he joked. A click in Kiku's brain, however, and he realized he had forgotten a gesture that should have been made since they first met. He knew, after all, she was drenched.

Kiku put his hand in his pocket and produced a completely dry handkerchief that had been spared by the rain somehow. He then offered it to the blonde. "Here, use this to dry yourself somewhat. Compared to you, it looks like I walked through a carwash rather than swam the ocean for awhile." he said sincerely.