Name: Avalon VanDyke
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Appearance: https://www.pexels.com/photo/brunette-woman-blonde-long-hair-in-white-off-shoulder-sleeve-at-daytime-90754/ (has greenish-blue eyes)

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Avalon let out a small sigh as she dropped her sunglasses down onto her nose. The sun reflecting out over the water was causing her eyes to water furiously, and she silently cursed her decision to not bring her nice pair.

She had had to beg some random guy on the street corner to buy her these stupid plastic ones from the boat tour gift shop, and she was still seething over his comments.

The memory was soon forgotten, however, as the boat rounded a small inlet and the mountains came into sight. A smile crossed her face, and it soon turned into a grin at the beautiful sight. There was still a tiny bit of snow at the summits, which made her heart ache for snowboarding season.

Avalon leaned down to dig through her bag for her camera. She needed a picture.

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He had a new charge, the assignment had only come in moments ago and already he stood on earth trapped once more in a human form. He stood on a shoreline overlooking a beautiful expanse of water. The beach was unoccupied and behind him mountains towered into the sky. At first he was confused. There did not seem to be any one nearby until he noticed a boat speed around a a bend. Ah, he thought to himself. He moved from the open beach to a rock gathering to keep himself out of view.

As a guardian angel people naturally ignored him, they did not see him as they passed by, he was nothing more than a shadow in the corner of their eye. Not to say they couldn't. Unnatural behavior and standing in the open were easy ways to be noticed, and that was not the rules of the job. He couldn't simply be on the boat either, where did he come from? That would draw attention. So he settled into the rocks, keeping the small boat in view, but staying out of the passengers.

He felt a tingle run up his spine, a tell tale sign that something bad was going to happen. He gritted his teeth. These were always his least favorite parts. A lot of his job was spent following, unnoticed and unneeded. A just in case, or at the most, averting little things and managing to avoid contact with his mark entirely. He had a creeping feeling this was not one of those jobs.

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Avalon rooted through her stuff for a few moments before finding the item she wanted, and quickly flicked it out and held it at the ready for when a good angle would come up. Soon enough, the boat began to turn again--heading back towards the harbor, she knew--which provided her with a view of the still snow-capped mountains, along with the tree covered valleys.

A smile once again crossed her face as she took a few pictures, and she dropped her camera back into her backpack before settling back into her seat to enjoy the views as the boat returned to its starting point. The only reason she had even paid for the ridiculously short trip in the first place was to see those mountains, and she was grinning ridiculously as the boat completed its turn.

The blare of a large horn interrupted her thoughts, however, and her grin turned into a frown as she turned to see where the noise was coming from. She wasn't able to see, though, as almost immediately the small tour boat was jarred by a large force, causing nearly all of the occupants to go overboard.

Except Avalon. She was stuck, rooted in place, her heart in her throat as what seemed to be a humongous ferry boat began to crush the bow of her current ride.

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This was it, this was his moment he watched as the ferry smashed into the small tour boat. In an instant her was standing aboard the rattling and quickly sinking boat. Most passengers were in the water already and the boat threatened to capsize on them. His eyes scanned the wreckage quickly, his mind purely focused on finding one person only, his mark. Though he was aware of everything going on around him, as a guardian angel their senses were always tuned into their charge. Everything in sharp detail around this one person.

He spotted her off towards the bow, stuck, frozen, probably in shock. He moved effortlessly across the crumbling boat and things seemed to move in slow motion around him as he closed the gap between himself and the girl. He reached out for her and and gripped her upper arm tightly pulling her from her place with ease. He did not speak to her, and only let his keen blue eyes meet hers for a second before pulling her into him. Protecting her with his body he turned from the boat and lept into the water. He could just appear back on the beach with her, but he couldnt make his presence to known.

Once in the water he keep a strong hold of her as he swam to the nearest land. A crop of rocks not far off with a flat enough surface he could pull her on to. It took him next to no time to arrive and he pulled her up. Now he need to make sure no permanent damage was done. He brushed her hair from her face and scanned her intently.

"Are you ok?" His voice was smooth and deep but relatively flat, only the slightest hint of concern hung on his words as he waited for her response.

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The larger boat continued to dominate Avalon’s attention, so much so that she didn’t even react when she felt a hand on her arm. The presence of the man didn’t register, either. She still didn’t react when the cold water of the ocean hit her skin.

Avalon continued to gape at the wreckage in shock as she was dragged away. It was only when she felt fingers brush her face, when her hair was moved aside, that she snapped back to reality.

She began to cough, more from imagining water in her lungs than the reality of that fact. The presence of the man nearby didn’t even register, not until after she realized that she had swallowed no water and that he was the one who touched her face.

Also the fact that he was basically staring at her was probably part of the reason for her realization.

She let out a small yelp, moving to swat his hand away from her face as she staggered backward away from him. Another yelp escaped her when she tripped over a rock during her escape attempt, and she landed hard on her butt, staring up at the man in shock as she tried to gather her thoughts.

Her attempt failed, however, and the only thing she could think to say was, “What the hell?”

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He immediately released her as she swatted and flailed backwards. He simply stood up and let her fall, that was certainly no danger to her, but he kept a close eye on her footing, ready to spring should she stumble back far enough. He watched her come back to reality and her exclamation assured him she was fine, just shocked. He removed his jacket and handed it out to her.

"Your boat wrecked." He stated as if in response to her question. Though he offered little more. He rarely interacted with humans and as an angel, emotions do not come naturally. He glanced over into the water and watched as the rest of the boat sank under the sea and the flailing people desperately swimming for some type of land or something to keep them a float. They however, were not his charge. He turned his attention back to the girl.

"Help should be on the way soon." He added as he began to look for a way out of this. The longer he lingered the more she would remember him, but he couldn't simply disappear without reason. He had to wait for the rescue boat to make his escape. He frowned at the thought.

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Avalon swallowed hard in an attempt to relieve the dryness of her throat. The boat… The larger one had crashed into it, and all of the occupants went overboard…

Everyone but her.

A frown crossed her face as she tried to sort through what had happened, but nothing made sense. This man… He hadn't been on the boat. So how in the world had he managed to save her and drag her onto this shore without any of the other people noticing, and how had he reached the shore before them, with her in tow?

She squinted up at him, just now registering that he was offering his jacket. If she had known who he was, or had really been able to process the situation, but since neither of those reasons were true, she just scowled up at him.

She waited a few moments after he spoke to say anything herself, and her voice trembled slightly when she did speak, “Who… Who are you?”

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He noticed she wouldn't take his jacket. He shrugged and let his hand fall but he did not put the jacket back on. He stood resolutely still on the rock as he looked down at her. She was still recovering. He could physically watch her try and process everything that had happened in the last 10 minutes.

"Just a passenger." He responded with his best attempt at a smile, which really just ended up an awkward curl of his lips. He quickly stopped. Despite his many years being a guardian he never interacted enough to master even the simplest show of emotion.

"You are cold, you should take the jacket." He added, trying to distract from the failed attempt at acting human. That and she really was, and she could get sick, and that just over complicates his job. He isn't here to keep her from any harm, just major ones. And historically sickness leads to carelessness which leads to problems.

"Please take it." He said, this time successfully making his tone a little softer as he handed it out once again.

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Avalon coughed again, and began to curl her fingers tightly into fists as she slowly began to process things. This man… She could have sworn he hadn't been on the boat. She hadn't seen him at all until now, and the tour boat was tiny enough that if he had been on it she would have noticed.

She frowned at his failed attempt at a smile, but she was more worried about trying to figure out how he was here when she didn’t see him on the boat. When he offered her his jacket again, she scrambled to her feet, slowly backing away from him as she lifted a shaking hand to point accusingly, “You were not on that boat. There is absolutely no way you were on that boat.” She stopped walking when she nearly tripped again, and continued to stare at him, dumbfounded.

He wasn’t on that boat.

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He frowned heavily now and pulled the jacket back on. He took a step towards her as she neared the edge. He did not want to knock her out like he had done to others in the past, he couldn't be sure when she would wake back up. He only resorts to that kind of power in a place where they can be placed in a safe place to rest until they come back to.

"I was on the boat, I saw you were stuck and helped you get to land." He said, insisting that it was the truth. "Where else would I have come from? You are out in the ocean." He added to play on her logic side. Surely he couldn't have come from anywhere else right? It was humanly impossible.

He kept an eye on her footing as she neared the edge. He did not need her falling, but he felt if he pressed closer she would move back, but if she did fall, no human could cover that gap fast enough to catch her. He scowled again, scanning the horizon for the rescue boats.

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Avalon began to look around her for any sort of escape should the man try something. He was acting strange, almost… She shook her head to banish that thought before it was completed, then once again frowned at him as he spoke.

She took another step back, her voice shaking, “That’s the problem. You weren’t on that boat. Everyone who was on it fell off into the water, and you didn’t fall off or get on in the first place.” However, her resolve began to waver slightly at his second statement.

He really couldn’t have come from anywhere else, could he? She had been out on the ocean…

Without thinking, she continued to take a few more steps back, not realizing how close she was to the edge.

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He was about to speak again but she had stepped far to close to the edge. In an instant he was by her side, his arm around her waist and effortlessly pulling her back to the center of the rock. He would not be diving back in after her. That was a lie, of course he would, but he didn't want to.

"You need to watch your step." He scolded and quickly released her again. He was not much for physical contact. He did try though, to act partially human, it comforted those he watched over, frightened them less. He may look human, but he was so different from them.

"You have had a rough day, you are in shock. Just relax." He added trying to soften his tone.

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Avalon had begun to slip over the edge of the rocks, almost tumbling back into the cold sea before she was pulled back to a safer position, and once again she reeled away from the man, planting her hands in the center of his chest in an attempt at a shove.

“Get away from me, you freak!” She scrambled as far away from as was possible, and stared at him with her back pressed to a rock, starting to shake terribly.

“That’s… You couldn’t… There’s no way… What the hell are you?”

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He frowned. Nothing was working. He contemplated just putting her to sleep until the rescue arrived. Just a slight tap to the forehead and she would be out cold. He shook his head. That was a last resort. He wasn't lazy.

"What am I? What kind of question is that?" He asked, again playing on her logic. "What do you think I am?" Now he was going to force her to face the question herself. Make her think of what he could possibly besides human. Hopefully that would end things for awhile.

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