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(caden)

Since being caught by half the town walking out of the ocean in half-siren form, April has taken care to get her morning swimming done before there's much of a crowd on the beach. She's not ashamed necessarily, she's just still not sure how a siren like her fits into this town, how she's supposed to follow the rules. Before Siren Cove, she's never been part of a group of sirens, she's never had a matriarch and if she's honest, she's mostly been trying to avoid the situation.

It just makes things easier.

She's long since finished her swim this morning and she's dressed again, wandering the beach as she dries her hair on her towel. There are plenty of houses that line the beach and there's a part of her that still wonders if she can't give up the nice apartment she has to find a place closer to the water. Being out here, being in the ocean, it's as close to home as she's ever had.

But at the same time, she still doesn't have a job in Siren Cove and she knows moving into a house she shouldn't be able to afford will bring up questions. And given what she's been warned about when it comes to following the rules, she's not sure that admitting she's conned a good number of people out of a fair bit of a money over the past five years is going to go over particularly well. So she stays where she is, but she spends a lot of time on the beach anyway and she checks out the houses as she goes.

There's one home in particular she's looking at today. It looks like someone is moving in and April wanders closer curiously, her towel draped over her shoulder as she catches sight of the man who looks like he might be renting the place.

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Caden is a little stressed out.

For the last two nights he's been sleeping on a leaky air mattress in his new bedroom because for some reason he thought it would be smart to fly to his new home while all of his belongings were on a truck slowly making its way across the country.

California to Maine is quite the journey, but he's still near the ocean. It should be fine.

The movers have arrived with his things and there are just people everywhere, burly men calling out to each other, and Caden hasn't had enough sleep to deal with this. He gives vague directions on where to put the big things and then escapes out to the back deck. It was one of the main selling points of this location - a gorgeous redwood deck with stairs leading down into the sand. The ocean is right there, and Caden can be near it whenever he wants.

He's standing on the deck without wandering far from his french press, a hot cup of coffee in his hand as he stares out at the waves. Someone steps into his peripheral vision, and he's a little embarrassed to say that he does a double take at the sight of her.

With the circles that Caden is forced to run in sometimes, along with spending time in San Francisco and Los Angeles, he's no stranger to attractive people, but this woman is stunning.

She's looking at him and Caden swallows hard, cheeks going pink in a way that he hopes he can blame on the sun. He lifts his free hand in a wave, and then decides that it's about time that he start getting to know his neighbors.

"Hi," he calls out as he trails out onto the sand, feet bare under the cuffs of his jeans, toes digging in. He reaches up to scratch the back of his neck with his free hand and gives her a warm smile. "Or should I say 'howdy neighbor'?"

It's cute, the way he blushes, and April finds herself smiling genuinely, something she might not have done a few weeks ago. For all this place is unsettling and strange in its way, Siren Cove has opened her up to possibilities she's kept herself closed off from for a very long time and while she makes the effort not to tell Les directly that he might be responsible for some of those changes, she can't help but think it. As it is, he's away, on some cruise she could have gone on and opted out of and she finds she misses him a little.

Which is why she sees this as a perfect opportunity to flirt a little. Maybe test the waters. See if she's really as attached to Les as she thinks she might be. See if maybe there's not a way to break that attachment, at least for a little while, because April isn't used to genuinely wanting people around. Not unless they can do something for her.

"Hi," she answers, still smiling, wandering closer to him. "I wish I was a neighbour, but I can't quite afford one of these places. You've got yourself an incredible view out here." If she makes the effort to swim a little closer to his place in the mornings, she wonders if he'll mind. If he'll think he's going crazy when he sees a woman with shimmering black scales come out of the water.

He bites his lip when she mentions not being able to afford beachfront property, just because even harmless references to his wealth make him vaguely uncomfortable. It wasn't that long ago that he could barely afford ramen noodles, let along the crappy studio apartment he ate them in.

"Well, my beach es su beach," is what he finally says, and resists the urge to roll his eyes at himself. For someone who makes a living using his words, his kind of terrible at them in social situations. He settles instead for a sunny smile and walks over to her, switching his coffee so he can hold out his dominant hand. "I'm Caden; I'm just moving in. I just made a fresh pot of coffee, if you'd like a cup."

"April," she answers, draping her towel over her shoulder so she can shake the offered hand and her gaze drifts over him before she glances up at the beach house and then smiles. The people in this town are usually friendly, offering information without her needing to do much of anything to get it, but he's new in town. He probably can't offer much in the way of something that will help her here, but that doesn't mean he might not prove to be useful down the line.

More than that, there's the part of her she's trying to ignore. The part that maybe just wants to get to know him for the sake of getting to know him.

"That sounds nice," she says. "I haven't been here very long myself, just over a month. It's a nice town. Everyone's very... friendly."

She adjusts her towel and Caden's eyes start to drift downward of their own accord. Fortunately, he catches himself and jerks his gaze back up to her face. Sure, he wants to check her out, quite badly if he's being honest, but not quite as badly as he wants to be a decent guy.

"Good to meet you, April." His cheeks are pink and he smiles at her, turning to climb the few stairs up to the deck. "I uh, don't have deck furniture yet, so I hope you don't mind standing."

He feels a little like a terrible host, but it's not like he was expecting anyone so soon. He holds up a finger and ducks into the house, braving the hustle and bustle to grab another coffee cup and the small carton of half and half that he paid way too much for at the corner store. He comes back out onto the deck and sets the cup on the railing before grabbing his french press and filling it for her. "Next time you're over, I'll be more prepared. Promise."

He gives her a small smile and grabs his own cup again, leaning against the railing and looking at her as he takes a sip. "That's good to hear. You're settling in well, then? Gives me hope for the future."

"I think I'll forgive you this time," she decides as she follows him up the stairs and onto the deck. Turning out to face the ocean, she takes a deep breath, her eyes closed for a moment and she'd meant what she had said to him earlier. The view he has here is breathtaking and it makes her want to find some way to live on the beach more and more with every passing moment. She's meant for the ocean and it isn't such a hardship to have to walk here every time she wants a swim, but this is home. She can feel the pull of it here, something she misses in her little apartment in town.

"Thank you," she says when he pours the coffee for her, taking the mug between her hands. She notices the way he says next time, like so many people here do. Like they expect something more. And before Les she wouldn't have allowed herself to expect the same and, in truth, she still isn't sure what she expects of him, but it doesn't seem quite so terrible anymore. The thought of sticking around.

"I'm settling in," she agrees. "There's a lot of history here, though, a lot of very interesting feuds going on between people, between families. I've probably stuck my foot in my mouth more than a few times in that regard."

"How gracious of you," Caden replies with a flirty smile. He faces the ocean and tips his face up into the salty breeze, regarding the waves with the same fondness as her, if not quite the same intensity. "I heard about the rumors when I was looking into this place. Never knew what was true and what wasn't, but there really is an old rivalry? Huh."

He takes another sip of his coffee and turns to face her, smiling softly at the expression on her face as she takes in the ocean. "So, you like to swim? I'm a surfer, myself. Sometimes just a lounger."

"There really is. Apparently the families still hate each other," she says, looking amused. The feud really gives nothing to her and she doesn't have much interest in it, but she doubts it's as cut and dry as it seems. There's a good chance there are those are mingling a little more than their families would like.

"I love to swim," she answers, which is as close as she can get to how it really feels without coming out and telling him she's a siren. There are those she's trusted with that, those who have discovered by accident, and she knows she's in no place to tell anyone new. Not yet. She barely knows him, after all.

"Like Montagues and Capulets, huh? I had no idea that stuff really happened outside stories." He laughs a little and tops off his coffee, nodding at her eagerly. "Me too. I grew up in California, on the coast. I've always loved the ocean. It always felt wrong to be away from it, you know? Like I was too far from home."

A blush stains his cheeks and he chuckles at himself, but it's true. If he's too far from the ocean, he starts to feel... itchy, almost. He want camping with some buddies up at Tahoe once, and he did okay there, but it wasn't the same. It's like his homesickness has fixated on the salt water rather than the town itself.

He's about to open his mouth and say something else, but the sliding glass door jerks open and a sweaty moving guy with a beard steps out onto the deck, a large box straining the muscles in his arms as he holds it up. "Hey buddy, you know ya got a big ass box of all the same book here, right?"

Caden's gaze jerks down to the open flaps of the box, revealing identical spines with his name on them. He laughs nervously and gives him a jerky nod, gesturing towards the general area of the living room. "Yeah, they're uh, mine. Advance copies. I need to get them signed and sent out. You can just leave them on the coffee table, thanks."

The guy nods and shrugs at the same time, and he leaves the door open as he walks back into the house. "Yeah, guy's some sort of fancypants writer, I don't know, just - "

Caden slides the door shut with a nervous laugh, turning back towards April with pink cheeks that seem to be his default today. "Uh, sorry. Anyway."

"Not just a writer," she teases, "but a fancypants writer." She casts a glance back toward the house and she barely knows this guy, but there's something about the way he cheeks flush that she finds endearing and she doesn't particularly like the way that moving guy spoke to him. She reaches out carefully with a little part of her power, something she knows well enough wouldn't impress Lara, but Lara isn't here. What she doesn't know won't get April kicked out of Siren Cove, hopefully.

So she stands on the deck and she keeps her attention on Caden, but she lets that little bit of her invisible power unfurl across the house to the guy with the box. She doesn't do much, not given what she could do, but she uses enough of her influence to bring him back to the deck, the box still in his arms.

"I thought I heard you saying you were a fan," she suggests gently and the mover looks at her, then at Caden.

"Yeah," he says and April is pleased to see that now he's the one who's blushing. "I am. Sorry. I was sort of a dick. I just... I was too nervous to ask if maybe you'd sign one for me."

Caden's eyes narrow when the guy returns and he looks vaguely confused at the exchange, but it ends up with him blushing again. He really needs to get a handle on his face. This is getting ridiculous.

"Uh." He blinks, a little taken aback. "Sure. Hold on."

He pats his pockets on instinct and lets out a noise of triumph when he finds a pen. He's rarely without one and it's not uncommon for him to jot down notes on the insides of his forearms because while he has a pen, he always forgets paper.

"What's your name?" He takes the book, squirming a little at the attention and wrinkling his nose at the photo of him on the dust jacket.

"Dan," the guy says, watching him with keen interest. Caden nods and rests the book on the railing of the deck and writes out a standard message, signing it with a flourish before handing it back.

"This isn't out yet, so keep it on the hush, alright?" He winks and caps his pen before sliding it back into his pocket. Dan sets the box down to take the book, looking a bit glazed over as he heads back inside. The box of books is at their feet and Caden shifts his weight, biting his lip and wondering if he should over her one. That seems presumptuous. He decides against it and looks back up at her through his eyelashes, chuckling a little. "That's always a little awkward."

"I wouldn't know, I don't have any fans," April answers with a smile, returning to her coffee and letting her gaze drift out over the ocean. It's such a small thing, but it's a return to what she's used to. For years she's influenced people to do things for her with her powers, with the right set of notes strung together, with a glance in just the right direction, but she's tried not to use it here. She's not used to living with rules, but she doesn't want to leave Siren Cove yet and so she's doing her best.

This, though, had been too perfect. And no one gets hurt.

"What kind of books do you write?" she asks, glancing down at the box at their feet. She doesn't recognize his name, but that doesn't mean much. In the past ten years, she's spent too much time moving from place to place, too much time making plans to keep herself afloat to really spend much time reading.

That's still so weird, to think that he has fans. It's not something he thinks he'll ever get used to, but at least he's a little better at dealing with it now. He bites his lip at her question and reaches up to scratch the back of his neck as he sips from his coffee.

"Supernatural mysteries," he tells her. His last two books made the New York Times' Best Seller list, and he's really proud of that, but he's never figured out a way to tell people that doesn't sound braggy. "You know how the monster - " he does air quotes around the word - "is usually the bad guy? I like to turn that trope on its head, and make them the hero. Sure, there are bad werewolves or whatever out there, but there are bad humans too, right? It's always the big bad wolf, but maybe he's got a family, his own problems, you know? Maybe those three little pigs were dicks."

He realizes that he's rambling and cuts himself off with a quiet chuckle, rolling his eyes at himself. He ducks down to grab a book from the box, looking down at the glossy black cover. It's titled Big Bad and that takes up most of the cover in large white font, and under a pair of glowing golden eyes is his own name. He can't help the rush he feels when he sees that, even still.

"Here," he says, thrusting it out at her. "This is my newest one. It's about a werewolf who has to figure out who murdered his sister's fiance."

April listens, a smile curving her lips and a huff of soft, surprised laughter when he says maybe the three little pigs were dicks. There's something about the way he's talking, though, something about the idea that maybe even the monsters aren't all bad that appeals to her in a way. She's been described as a monster before, between the scales, the way her teeth sharpen to points, the blown pupils of her eyes when she's in her siren form. Even here, in a town with an apparently huge siren population, she's gotten the distinct feeling some people aren't very comfortable around her and while she knows she isn't one of the good guys, it's not such a terrible thing to think she might not be one of the bad guys either.

She takes the book -- and she hasn't even had to influence him to give it to her -- and turns it over, looking at the cover before she sets it on the rail of the deck beside her coffee. "I'll let you know what I think," she says and she means it. She'll find the time to read it, which she doesn't imagine will be too difficult, not in Siren Cove. Everything moves at a slower pace here. She has more free time than she expected.

"So how many books have you written?" she asks. "Oh, do people write fanfiction based on your characters? That's when you know you've really made it or so I've been told."

"This is my sixth," Caden informs her. That means that he's put out a book a year since his first, along with doing signings and appearances. There's even a plan in motion to turn one of his books into a film, which still completely blows his mind. "My editor heavily suggested that I take my time with the next one, which is kind of why I'm here."

When she mentions fanfiction, he cracks up and flushes deeply, laughing a bit. "Yeah, actually. In the book before my last one, the female protagonist had these two male friends, one a werewolf and one a wood nymph. They apparently have quite the following."

He's never read any of the fanfic, but he was pretty obvious with the subtext so he isn't exactly shocked. He knows it exists for all of his books, but that's the most popular pairing. "It's flattering, I guess, that people saw something in my characters that they want to expand on."

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