[center][u][h1]Breathe Deep: Day of Peace[/h1][/u][/center]

[b]Jonas Landvick
[/b]
It was morning. Sort of. Jonas was hunched over a small desk in the corner of his room with a few pieces of lines paper scattered on it. The curtains were closed but the lamp was on, since Jonas found artificial light easier on his ebbing headache. Having seen the note on his door, he had decided to spend some time writing a letter to his sister. As he scribbled, his vague memories from last night seemed to come back together, piece by piece.

[center][hider=The Letter][i]Hey Amanda,

I know by now you've seen the return address. [u]Don't[/u] [u]Freak[/u] [u]Out[/u]. I know I lied to you earlier, and I'm sorry. Ever since we went fishing I've been more guilt ridden than ever. I promise you can smack me when I get home. Or punch, whatever suits your mood.

Are you calm now, sis? Good. Because it gets worse, somehow.

So, I didn't just up and fly to a different country on a whim. The morning I saw you, I found a briefcase in the house. There was a ton of money in it, my passport, and a letter saying that I'd won an all expenses paid trip to Germany. And I went. I know, I'm crazy, but what kind of scam gives away thousands of dollars? It just doesn't make sense. So here I am, trying to figure out what the heck is going on. 

I'm at this huge manor in this hills with no cell reception, in God knows where. There's other people who got invited too, so I'm not in the boat alone. I'll introduce you:

There's Kim. I don't know her last name. More guilt to the pile. She's a peach, though. Really into books. Kinda reminds me of you. 

My other neighbor is Thomas, we share a balcony. Energetic fella, from what I can remember anyway. Looked a little ragged after his flight, though. Seems like a decent guy.

Then there's Evelynn. Lynn for short, she says. Let me tell you sis, you'd like her a lot. She's very frank, in a good way. It's refreshing. Also one of the sweetest people I've met so far. She's already managed to get me out of a funk. Again, from what I can remember. And I thought you and Adrian were the only people who could cheer me up. I don't remember Lynn's last name, either. 

Next is Marci. Marceline? I can't remember. I haven't had much chance to talk to her, but she seems alright too. Neat necklaces. 

And last but not least is Graven Birch. Can't forget a name like that, really. Southern, I think, and really eloquent. Older gentleman type, the only one of us who looks like he should be here. He's got quite the interesting beard, and I'd know.

Anyway, back on track.

So, we get here and we meet our hosts. Long story short, a bunch of rich German folks. I gotta be honest, sis, the first day here wasn't all that great for me. There was a big fancy ball, and all I managed to do was get hammered and fall on my face repeatedly. Hard to believe I know, since I don't drink too much when I'm at home and all, but let's just say I was peer pressured by a pretty face with an ugly personality. You know me, it's par for the course.

But then, some even weirder stuff started to happen.

Tom and I were chatting on our balcony, well he was chatting and I was slurring, when we saw someone sneaking away from the building. Then we heard them jump into the lake, so we decided to check it out. So we get down there, and there's nothing around, except for a frog that scared Tom a little. Then all of a sudden we hear this freaky screamy waily kind of noise, and it didn't sound like any animal that I've heard before. So yeah, we ran like little babies. Babies who can run. 

Normally I'd think that I was remembering it wrong, especially since I was plastered last night, but Tom said he heard it too. I went to bed kind of late, so I didn't get as much sleep as I probably should. Momo would be wagging her finger at me if she were still alive. Anyway, I woke up way too early and spent the morning in my room, cursing the sun and every little noise I heard. Writing this is helping, though. In fact, I was thinking about heading out for a bit, getting out of this darn room.[/i][/hider] [/center]
---

When Jonas saw the dining room, he couldn't help but be a little bit surprised. Bits of older decorations had crept into the design of the room, including a rather long and heavy looking wooden table. There was a separate pantry that led to a dumbwaiter and some rickety looking stairs. Presumably they led into the kitchens. All in all, the room looked like it had seen better days. Even the flower vases seemed misplaced. Jonas stepped further into the dining room with his papers and his pen clutched in his right hand. The room was empty, save for Evelynn, who was sitting at the table and eating some mighty good looking food.  

“Hey, Lynn.” He greeted her as he approached the table. “I was just gonna try and get some breakfast, myself. Feels like I’m starvin’.”

Lynn looked up absently, crumbs from her food sprinkled across her lips and a little bit on her right cheek. It was bread, but with some kind of nut in it, maybe almonds. Also on the table was a jar of jam, reddish in color and with a German label. It looked amazingly fresh. It took her a second before she registered his presence, speaking with what must have been a mouthful of food that had yet to be swallowed. "Heya! You should try this bread, oh my god, it is [i]simply delicious[/i]." She went back to devouring her breakfast as Jonas neared the table, her eyes glancing at his little bundle of papers. "Whazzat?" Lynn asked in the middle of her feast, the question being barely audible through the chewing noises. 

Jonas finally sat down in the seat across from her, not fazed at all by her eating habits. He wasn't the most formal guy, either. As he sat down, he noticed some more of those sun emblems carved into the wood. “I was just writin’ a letter to my sister. Kinda lettin’ her know what’s up. It’s helpin’ me remember stuff from last night.” He put the papers and pen down on the table. “Most of which is pretty blurry.”

"Hm? Well, you met me last night, among other things." Lynn raised an eyebrow then dabbed her lips with an expensive looking napkin, getting some of her muted lipstick on it. "Uh...and I remember you saying that Sol was great at holding his alcohol, and...hm." She put her knife down and dusted off her lap, grabbing her heavy looking tote bag off the floor next to her and putting it on her lap. "And uh...something about some yellow drinks? I remember you getting real sad after the party, too. Oh. There was a party. [I]By the way[/i]." She laughed a little bit, joking around. "Maybe remembering that's a tiny bit fuzzy, huh?"

Jonas laughed along with her, though he smiled through the embarrassing memories that were surfacing. He scratched his beard and avoided eye contact, looking around the room. “You got that right. But I do kinda remember all the important stuff...it’s the bits in between that’re lost. Uh, by the way, sorry if I got all weepy last night in the lounge. Not sure what I said, but if I said anything dumb, just forget you ever heard it and pretend like I’m not a dope, okay?” 

"Oh, don't worry about it. I was having a pretty crappy night too." Lynn stretched her arms and her legs out, slinging her tote bag over her shoulder and prepared to stand up. She eyed the door over his shoulder and smirked at him. "As much as I would love to sit here and fill you in about just how pathetic we both must have looked last night, I'd rather do it walking. There's so much much to see here. You wanna grab something and come with me? I wanna go see all the beautiful green there is here." She punctuated this with a little twirl. "Besides. A long walk and more Sol in lederhosen is just what you need to recover. Trust me." Lynn winked at him knowingly, to which Jonas answered with a sheepish smile and a wink of his own as he stood up.

Grabbing his papers off the table, he said, “I like the sound of that walk, but lederhosen or no, I think I’ll try to avoid Sol the rest of this trip.” Once he reached the door, he opened it and let Lynn go through first. “I could definitely get back outside again though. I get cooped up pretty easy. More of a outdoors kinda guy, you know?”

"From what you were saying about him, I think that's a good idea." Lynn gave him a warmer smile in understanding when he reached the door, slipping past it fluidly with a grace she most definitely did not have last night. Jonas noted that it was probably her shoes, which had changed from last night's heels to moccasins. "Yeah, it seems like it's been forever since I've smelled the fresh green grass. That one night could've killed me." Lynn shuddered a little as they entered the eerily empty entrance hall together. "I'm not really always an outdoors girl. I hate when I get grass or sand in my clothes, or even bugs everywhere. But I don't get to see green like this often. So it really is a treat!" They paused to look up at the doors leading outside. More sun motifs. They were everywhere, apparently.

“I’m more used to white. And trees. Lotsa trees.” Jonas ignored the sun symbol looming over them and opened the door for her again, stepping after her. “Heck, if my darn GPS hadn’t gone missin’ I’d be creepin’ around that forest right now. So, if you’re not an outside kinda lady, you probably haven’t ever gone geocaching, then?”

"Geo...caching?" Her confusion was natural, even back in Minnesota not everyone was into it. Though her lack of outdoors experience was evident in her choice of hat, which she'd pulled out of her back. It looked like more of a fashion statement than something to keep the sun out of your eyes. "What's that? I...never been around trees either. Try concrete jungles all your life, huh? The city's a killer place." As they wandered around the grounds a bit, they were presented with a worn dirt path. Lynn started following it immediately. "Your GPS went missing, yeah I vaguely remember you saying. Still haven't found it I take?"

“Yeah, it’s too bad. I miss my treasure hunts. That’s pretty much what geocaching is, treasure huntin’. You use a GPS, or your phone or whatever and find hidden caches. I never liked goin’ into cities, they just ain’t my kinda place. Nothin’ fun to do. City people always miss out on the good stuff.” He followed along behind Lynn, stomping along in his hiking boots. He'd worn them with a plan to head outside anyway. “Campin’, skiin’, just slowing down in general.”

"Oh! Who would have thought, huh?" Jonas saw her hold her head high with a little huff. "That sounds delightful. I...yeah, cities aren't fun all the time. Though I grew up there, so it's hard to let go, huh? I've never been skiing...camping maybe once. To the desert. It was an experience I don't think I want to relive." Lynn whimpered dramatically for emphasis. "Oh...oh god. Wait, hey! What's that over there?" In the distance, the lake came into view, looking a bit less intimidating in the daylight hours. 

Jonas stepped up next to her and deadpanned, “That’s a lake. Geez, I’ve got some teachin’ to do…” 

"I!" Her face flushed a bright red. "I...thank you, Captain Obvious. If it hadn't been for you, I might have thought it was a puddle." Lynn pouted, getting a hold of herself after her little burst of immaturity and sighed exaggeratedly. 

They stood in silence for a moment, Jonas' eyes running over the lake. He turned to her hesitantly. “Say Lynn, lemme ask you...didjya hear anything last night? I mean, like after midnight? Any weird noises from the woods, or anything?” 

 Lynn faced him with her eyebrow raised, curious. "I spent some good time with Kim last night, but I didn't hear anything. I went right to bed after, so..." She shrugged. "Why? Did you?"

Jonas glanced at Lynn reluctantly at first, wondering how he should word it so he didn't sound crazy. Then he told her everything, all of it tumbling out at once. He told her all about how him and Tom saw someone, about them checking it out and hearing that god awful noise. He told her about the cellar, and about how it was locked. When he was finished recounting the tale, he asked her, “I know, it sounds a little nuts, don’t it?”

"Someone, out here, in the dead of night?" Lynn looked at him skeptically. "You sure? It...doesn't seem like something anyone would do...is all." She glanced out at the lake, his words seeming to sink in. "...th-though, what's the worst that could be so close to civilization...right? I...bet it was just the wind or something. Maybe a dog." She shook her head and looked up at him with an odd mixture of belief, disbelief, and curiosity. "It definitely does sound nuts. Tracks, a cellar, if I didn't know any better it'd seem like a Halloween prank."

Jonas squinted at the lake, watching the water move lazily as he thought. “Yah, that weren’t no dog though…” There was a natural path around the lake that he hadn't noticed the night before. He shook his head a bit and brightened up a little, trying not to think about it anymore. “Heck. Whatever it was, it probably won’t show up at the manor, anyways.” With that he began heading towards the lake, assuming that Lynn would as well.

"That's true." She let the matter slide soon enough and sighed, jogging a little to keep up with him. "Oh wow...it's such a pretty lake, too! I...I could just drink it all in forever if I got the chance, ah..."

“Looks nice for fishin’, at least. There's a good lookin' boat house over there.” He pointed at a boat house near the lake, another thing he hadn't seen in the darkness last night. “Don’t suppose you’ve been fishin’, either?” Jonas looked at her out of the corner of his eye, knowing that a city girl like her would probably say no.

"N...no..." Lynn covered her face in he hands with embarrassment, though she was smiling at him through her fingers. "I...fishing isn't something I needed to learn how to do. Don't tell me...right...now?"

Jonas chuckled under his breath, pretty amused by someone who wasn't used to outdoor activities. “I don’t think I need to teach you just yet, but you’re gonna learn eventually. Heck, it’s not even about catchin’ fish half the time. Least, that’s not why I do it.” Without preamble, Jonas sat down on the ground and started writing again, keeping the paper steady on his leg as he scribbled on it. “If any monster bears come tearin’ outta the woods, let me know.” He grinned at her through his beard.

"I'm going to learn, eventually, how to fish in the what, nine days we have left here?" Lynn crossed her arms the now sitting Jonas, though she smirked and eventually laughed a little herself, setting down her tote bag next to her she sat close to his left. She pulled out an A4 sketchpad and flicked through to a fresh new page, skipping past all the paintings in pen and watercolor and squinting at the lake. "I'll count on you if you count on me, though seeing as we're like this, we'll probably get torn to pieces." Evelynn suddenly gasped dramatically, raising the back of her hand to her forehead. "[i]Mein Gott[/i]!" 

Jonas chuckled and pretended to be scared, before giving up the act because he couldn't speak German. “Mein-...uh, yah. I dunno German.” Curious, he peered over he sketch pad. “You can draw?”

"Did art in highschool way back when. It kinda stuck." Lynn puffed her chest out proudly, evidently happy that someone noticed. “Say..." She reached into her bag for a bumblebee pencil and a tiny sharpener, holding it up to test the fineness of the tip. "If you manage to teach me how to fish, I'll try to teach you how to use watercolor. If we can find any. It used to be a pain but soon became my favorite medium. And then you tell me more about your sister, mm? Deal?"

“Deal.” Jonas said, shaking Evelynn's hand happily.