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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]

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"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?"

"No, it's not just you," April says, glancing over the woman again before she closes the distance between them enough to offer her hand. It's still in her nature to fish for information, discover what a person might be able to do for her, but at the moment her guard is down a little and she's not sure if it's the early hour or that she's just been caught in her true form or the few people she's met that she thinks she might be able to trust, but whatever it is, she doesn't feel the need to put on her act. Not right now.

"I'm April," she says. "I'm relatively new to these parts."

"Essie and ditto. I live in a hotel right now, doesn't get newer than that, right?" She took the hand and hoped the siren couldn't tell how jumpy she felt. She knew that all sirens weren't all bad, just like all witches weren't bad, but it was a brand of power Essie was not familiar with and wasn't sure she could defend against.

She just didn't like things she didn't know how to fight.

"I mean, I'm looking for a place, maybe, I'm not sure. I just came here to visit and now...?"

"And now you're not so sure about moving on that easily?" April asks with an arched brow. She glances around the beach, up toward where she knows Les is staying, considering everyone she's met so far and everything she's learned. "Yeah, it seems to have that effect. I'm never quite sure what to make of it."

Her gaze flicks back to Essie and she smiles, her mouth curving slowly. "I can't say I don't enjoy the view I'm offered nearly everywhere I turn."

"It is a very beautiful place, isn't it?" Essie didn't know if she was really flirting with the other woman or if she was reading too much into it, but regardless, this was some of the silliest fun she'd had since her arrival. Who knew running into a naked siren on the beach would be a highlight of her day?

"And I've been looking at a few ads, maybe making a call or two. It certainly seems like this is the place to be."

April stretches, then uses her towel to squeeze more of the water from her hair before she nods her agreement. "It's a surprising place, I'll give it that. I might kill to get a place on the beach, though, but there's just no way."

The rent is insanely high and she's still trying to keep a relatively low profile on the financial side of things. It's hard to explain away a small fortune when one doesn't work.

"I was thinking the beach, too." After all, if she was really going start delving into her affinity with water, she should live as near to it as she could get. Not that she really knew what she was doing half the time, she just reached, felt and asked and she was pretty sure there had t be more to it than that.

"Swimming's better, less distance to run if someone swipes your clothes. Not that anyone here ever would..."

"You never know," April answers, her gaze sweeping over Essie as her smile grows a little wider, a little suggestive. "Someone might." She's hardly the type to swipe someone's clothes if she wants to see them naked when asking has worked so well for her in the past. When it comes to getting people into bed, she prefers not to use her influence, not because she has any real moral problem with it, but because she just prefers knowing someone is with her because they genuinely want to be.

At least for a night, which is usually all she's looking for.

Essie wondered if that was a challenge and decided that maybe it was. Something she'd certainly consider and she made a mental note to come walking here around daybreak more often. Could be fun. Lots of fun actually. "I think I'll have to take my chances. I'm a little disappointed I didn't get here while you were still in the water, I might have joined you."

"Next time," April says, though she's never been quite so bold about inviting people to see her in her siren form. Before this town she'd only revealed herself in bits and pieces; only once in her full form and while he hadn't exactly run from her, it hadn't been a positive reaction either.

She's still not sure if it was the tail or the mouth filled with pointed teeth.

"I'm here most mornings," she offers. "If you're interested."

"I am. Interested." I what could be a lot of things, Essie was willing to admit. She wasn't shy to admit she had itches to scratch and while this wasn't her normal mode of going about things, she could be adaptable. Although, belatedly, she wondered if maybe she shouldn't. If she was going to stay here, she didn't want to establish the wrong reputation.

On the other hand, fuck it, right? She really didn't need to live her life to other's expectations.

Maybe she should consider going back to the hotel and actually getting some sleep.