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[seas_open]

April still hasn't made up her mind about this place.

That everyone is so open about the use of their magic, about being sirens is still something she's coming to terms with after an entire life of hiding who and what she is. Her meeting with Lara had confused her only because she's never been somewhere like this, where there are rules and expectations of her simply because of what she is and that alone is unsettling to her. She's never been very good at following anyone's rules but her own and now she feels, in some ways, as if someone is always watching, just waiting for her to screw up.

So far she hasn't had any real reason to use her powers. She'd sung to Bach, but only to make him feel better. She's hesitant to do what she might normally, she's reluctant to hum a soft tune just to get a man to do what she wants, and she doesn't like that feeling. On the other hand, living somewhere with people who haven't turned away from her simply due to learning what she is has given her a strange sense of belonging she's not used to. It's not something she's sure she likes very much.

She swims daily, but often tries to be done before sunrise. If she misses it, she'll go after sunset, when it's less likely someone will see her. There's probably not need, but she does it anyway, wanting to be back to herself and dressed again before the sun fully comes up.

Today, though, she's late.

As she drifts back toward shore, she realizes the sun is peaking over the tops of the buildings, that the first rays of light of stretching across the sand and people are out. Some are walking along the beach, others are jogging and there are more still on the boardwalk. She's made the effort to find a private place to swim, but even so, as she stands up in the water, her scales are visible, glistening and black, and she doesn't know whether or not she'll be seen.

[Timed to Tuesday morning. Catch her at any stage of her transformation or after she's returned to her human form and has gotten dressed again. >:D]

Comments

[wakingwakewood]

One day, Essie told herself, she would get herself back on a normal schedule. Or at least pick a time zone to stay in for awhile. But today was not going to be that day and when the sun came up, she found herself wandering the beach, still not having gone to bed yet. It was quiet and like all quiet times, her mind was wandering over and over and over things that she probably should have settled already.

Like was she really going to stay in Siren Cove or not?

When she saw the siren emerging from the sea she found herself staring. She was beautiful, and the way the breaking dawn glistened over her body and scales was just breathtaking. Essie had never seen anything like it. The magical races she'd encountered in the past, few that there had been, were so heavily closeted that they'd never consider anything like this and here she was, just walking back to her clothes like it was no big thing.

Belatedly, she realized she was staring and abruptly turned her head and put a hand over he eyes, cursing silently. Because what was one of the lessons she'd learned from Grandy? Don't piss off sirens. They will fuck your shit up. Not in so many words, but that had been the gist of it.

[seas_open]

April catches the other woman just as she looks away abruptly -- and not only looks away, but actually covers her eyes -- and though there's a quickening of her heart at the thought of being seen, she's more amused than anything. By the time she reaches her towel and clothes she's almost entirely back to being... well, not herself as she always feels most herself in the water, but almost entirely back to being human.

As she wraps the towel around herself, she flashes a grin, her teeth still sharpened into shark-like points. Her smile often looks predatory at the best of times and she thinks she should be grateful the other woman is looking away.

"Am I that horrible a sight?" she calls, her voice amused.

[wakingwakewood]

"Nope, just don't want you to think I'm peeping. Because I'm totally not that girl. Not that you're not worth looking at because, damn, but still." She figured adding a compliment wouldn't go awry, because it was an honest reaction. Seeing her come out of the ocean like that had been enough to give her chills and that didn't happen to Essie often. Sure attraction happened a lot, she was hardly a cold fish or anything and she had no problems dealing with all of that, but just... yeah, damn. Good morning Siren Cove. Maybe she would move here after all.

"I can totally leave if you want. And apologize, too, because I really didn't mean to stare."

[seas_open]

"I'm the one on a public beach," April points out as she dries off and then tugs a loose fitting t-shirt on as well as a pair of worn denim shorts. She runs the towel over her hair, squeezing out the excess water as she crosses the sand toward the other woman, a faint smile still curving her lips. Everywhere she turns there's a new opportunity in Siren Cove and while she has no idea what this woman might possibly be able to offer her, she's more than willing to put forth the effort to find out.

"Maybe I should be the one apologizing," she says when she's close. "For getting such a late start to my swim. I'm usually out of the water and long back to... well, this before now."

[wakingwakewood]

Essie waited until she heard the soft zipper on the jeans before she dropped her hands and looked up. Yeah, she she was just as impressive sans scales. Definitely the kind of girl Essie would pick up at a bar, although Essie had the distinct impression that she'd be the one getting picked up and that didn't sit 100% well with her. She was too much the control freak.

"I don't mind, unless you do." She'd done her fair share of skinny-dipping, after all, just not siren-style. Which, she should ask, "You are a siren, right? I mean, I've never really met any face-to-face, but I know the basics and I know there are a lot here."

[seas_open]

"More than even I expected," she says with a nod, then smiles. "Yeah, I'm a siren." It's strangely liberating, to say it so freely. For a long time no one had seen her with her scales, no one had really known what she was or what she can do. Having revealed herself to Bach had been unintentional, but Lara had known what she was in an instant. Showing Les her scales had been less of an accident, her first conscious attempt at letting someone see what she can be, but she hasn't been in the water with him. Not yet, anyway.

"In fact, I've never lived anywhere with so many who are quite so open about what they are," she admits. "It's presented a bit of a learning curve for me."

[wakingwakewood]

"Amen, sister." Essie was a witch and she'd met more of her kind in the last few weeks than she had in the last few years. She'd run into one or two, maybe a handful as she traveled, but never this many in one place. And never this many that she thought she might be able to trust.

"This place is kinda a trip, right? It's not just me that thinks that?"

[aoife_coombs]

There was a half-naked woman on the beach.

Aoife halts in her tracks and turns the other way. Maybe it was just lack of sleep making her see things. Very aesthetically pleasing things.

She swallows before peeking over her shoulder. The woman was still there. Only this time - less naked.

[seas_open]

April is used to people looking at her and used to them stopping in their tracks, but there are so few people who have turned the other way that she has to laugh. She retrievers her towel, drying off before she dresses, pulling on a loose t-shirt and a pair of cut-off shorts before she wanders along the sand, toward the other young woman who finally glances over her shoulder.

"Should I apologize?" she asks with an arched brow when she's close enough to be heard.

[aoife_coombs]

"I don't think so. I can't remember anything about nudity being illegal on this beach."

She swallows again. "You just surprised me."

[seas_open]

April laughs, strangely delighted by that response, though she's not sure if that's true or not. Most beaches have some sort of law as to whether or not people are allowed to be undressed on them, but she also knows there are plenty of people who don't follow those rules.

"I'm sorry for surprising you," she answers, running the towel over her hair. "Were you planning on going for a swim? The water really is lovely."

[aoife_coombs]

"I don't swim n- I don't swim. But I'm sure the water is. It always is, especially for some people."

The woman shouldn't bear the grunt of her insomnia. "I come here when I can't sleep."

[seas_open]

"Especially for some people," April agrees with a smirk as she squeezes water out of her hair, turning to appraise the other woman. She's young, pretty, seems a little nervous, though it's not like that's the first time April has encountered such a reaction. It's always a little more fun to play when she makes a person at least a little uncomfortable.

"So you can't sleep this morning?" she asks. "Looking for company?"

[willcabot]

"Is it too cliche to say that in all the beaches in all of Siren Cove you just swam in to mine?" Will called out. His eyes lingering on the lithe, Dark, glistening scales and the way the water clung to her body. Finally looking away, Will bent down before picking up the pile of clothes with one finger before curling it towards her, beckoning her over. "Never could stand swimsuits myself either. They tend to get in the way."

[seas_open]

"Even if it is, I have no doubt you'll say it anyway," April answers with a sweet smile as the scales slowly melt away from her legs and her teeth lose their points. Her eyes, though, stay gold at the edges until she's close enough to take her clothes from Will, offering him a smile.

"Thank you," she says as she pulls on her cut-off shorts, then reaches out to take her t-shirt from him, her gaze drifting over him briefly before she pulls it over her head. "So I haven't been breaking any laws on this beach, then? Or do you just tend to break them, too?"

[willcabot]

"I tend to break a lot of things," Will replied dryly, not adding 'usually other people's hearts' though it did pass through his mind for a moment. Holding her t-shirt out, he lifted it a little higher at the last second with a wicked grin before letting her reach out to take it from him. As tempting as April was, he was supposed to be playing it safe these days. "But luckily, this stretch of the beach is still Cabot owned. And I don't mind sharing it with beautiful women who decide to go swimming in their true form."

Will grinned, good humor tugging at the corner of his lips before he gestured to the water. "Did you make it to the underwater caves? You have to dive pretty deep to get there."

[seas_open]

He doesn't seem all that surprised by what he calls her true form and although she might not have made the assumption before meeting Lara, now she finds herself wondering if every other person she runs into is either a witch or a siren. "No, I didn't," she says, tugging the shirt on, though not in any rush. She has nothing to be ashamed of, she knows that, and Will seems to be enjoying the view.

"You'll have to take me," she says and although it's not a question, she's curious as to what his answer might be. If he can take her, if maybe he's not all that different than she is.

[willcabot]

"Oh I will, will I?" Will asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Smiling, he looked down at April as he pretended to consider the idea. "Well, maybe I will... If you can pay the toll that is."

[seas_open]

She adjusts her shirt before letting her gaze flick back up to meet Will's, a smile curving her lips. It's so easy with him, so easy to just flirt and fall into her usual habits and given how strange things have felt in Siren Cove in a lot of ways, it's something she appreciates. "The toll, huh?" she asks, biting her lower lip thoughtfully. "So what's your price?"

[tarnishedbadge]

A few weeks ago if Levi had seen a scaled woman walking out of the ocean while he was surfing he would have had a million questions for her. Despite living in Siren Cove most of his life he'd never actually seen a siren in their siren form. Of course, that had all changed in a big way and now it seemed he was running into them all over the place.

Riding a wave into shallow water near where the woman, who he now recognized as April, went ashore. By the time he got there she was dressed again, which was probably for the best. Sitting on his board in water just more than knee deep. he called out to her.

"Cutting it a little close, aren't you?" he asked. "Or are you a bit of an exhibitionist with the scales?"

[seas_open]

She's stretching when she hears Levi's voice, her arms over her head and when she turns and drops them, she smiles, giving an exaggerated shrug. As with so many of the people she's met so far in this town, he doesn't seem all that surprised to find out what she is and it makes her wonder about him. Les is a witch, Lara is a siren, the people she's met who seem to take her true form in stride all have something of their own.

Maybe Levi does, too.

"I got a bit of a late start," she answers, walking ankle deep into the water again. Her skin shimmers briefly, black scales rising, but she pushes them back again. "I'm usually done by now."

[tarnishedbadge]

Levi noted the black scales and wondered if color had anything to do with breed or family of siren. It was something he'd maybe ask Lara about, although he didn't want to put her in a bad position to reveal secrets that she shouldn't. He wondered if April was originally from here. There were sirens all over the world, he knew that, but this seemed a popular place for them.

"That's probably for the best, since I'm not sure how most people would react to the scales. Or the nudity. Actually, I know how most people would react to the nudity."

[seas_open]

"Do you?" she asks, an eyebrow raised as she walks through the water, looking at Levi in amusement. She had seen him at the party that night, she knows he's with Lara and while there aren't many people April thinks she needs to cater to, she does know she doesn't want to fuck with that woman. She knows better than to make an attempt to flirt with this man in earnest.

"And how would most people react?" she asks. "Run? Cover their eyes?"

[tarnishedbadge]

"Oh exactly," Levi said, smirking a bit as she neared. Levi would never cheat on Lara but being a flirt had been a part of his nature for so long he wasn't sure he could turn off. And April was fun to flirt with.

"At least a few people just fainting from the horror of it as well."

[seas_open]

"I am pretty terrifying," she agrees, the water moving easily around her calves. Even when she's not in siren form, she feels most at home in the water, right here, the sand under her feet, the cool water against her skin. It's natural for her. She misses it when she's elsewhere. "Legs for days and don't even get me started on my breasts. Horrible sight."