seas_open | [closed - Caden

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[closed - Caden - blackout]

She's out on the beach when the lights of Siren Cove go out and for a long moment, April only stands there, her toes in the cool sand, a light shawl wrapped around her shoulders, staring back toward the suddenly dark town. It's a bit of a coincidence, she thinks, the town suddenly going dark on Halloween, and she considers returning home to her apartment and trying to call Les before she realizes it's not just that the lights have gone out.

Even the sky is darker. Somehow it's like everything has been turned down and in a town filled with sirens and witches, April can guess it isn't an accident. She's near Caden's place, had been debating stopping by for a visit when the lights had gone out, but now that everything is dark, she's willing to bet he has his hands full dealing with his own place. Trying to find candles or a flashlight, whatever it is people do in a situation like this and so she decides not to bother him.

She should go home, but as she bends to hook her fingers in her shoes, she catches sight of something. A small shadow darts across the beach in front of her, zigzagging across the sand before it suddenly changes directions and charges directly at her. April takes two rapid steps back, shoving her free hand into her bag for her mace, but before she can close her hand around it, her foot catches on a rock and her ankle twists at a painful angle, sending her down to the sand.

"Fuck," she curses, still groping for the mace, but by the time she has it in her hand, whatever had been running toward her is gone. She's alone on the beach. Alone in the dark with a twisted ankle and... no cell reception. Of course.

Caden's house is close, but there's no guarantee he's even home and as April struggles to get herself back on her feet, she can already feel her ankle swelling. She's going to be stuck here all night unless someone finds her.

And it's then she sees another dark, looming figure glide across the sand and hopes someone finds her sooner rather than later.

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Caden raises an eyebrow at that, because of course he's heard of her, but he had no idea she was living here. There's also something in April's tone that makes Caden just want to drop the subject, and maybe it makes him feel less guilty for being here with April like this if Les is trapped somewhere with a gorgeous female friend of his own.

She talks about having magic of her own and Caden is instantly intrigued, but he senses that she may be a little nervous. He gets that. Not everyone can be as open about it as Les is, he's sure. He smiles at her and sits next to her on the couch, leaning in close to press their shoulders together.

"Les told me that magic was real and that he was a witch, and I still stayed in his creepy basement." He laughs and puts a hand on her back, patting reassuringly. "I'm fascinated by all this stuff. I've been reading and writing about it forever. So no, it wouldn't scare me. I just want you to be comfortable enough to share it with me."

It's a risk. It's always a risk. April wears her siren form as a kind of armor, too, because if it scares someone off, then that's it, that's all the proof she needs that they're not worth her time anyway. Les had stayed, but he's the only one.

Not that she makes a habit of showing this to many people. There are a few in Siren Cove who know, but most of them are sirens themselves and they're not bothered by the form she takes or the way her eyes go black.

It has nothing to do with her comfort. It has everything to do with gauging his reaction. She leans forward, just enough that he can see her eyes in the dark and she lets them go blow. She lets her teeth sharpen into jagged points. She lets the scales flow over her skin, though because she's dressed and on land, she limits it to just her arms, black scales that shimmer like oil in the candle light.

"I don't get cold very often," she says and even her voice is different, more musical, more commanding.

Caden gets flustered when April leans in, and he's ashamed to say that his eyes are on her mouth at first, and he's scared that she might kiss him and he'll have to pull away because she's with Les and this is all so complicated, but that's not what happens at all. He doesn't even have time to be embarrassed by his thoughts, because April is changing, transforming.

He scoots back a little, not out of fear, but just to see better. Her eyes are black and her teeth are sharp, scales like obsidian taking place of her skin, and Caden blinks. And blinks again. She loves the water, she's almost inhumanely gorgeous and when she speaks in this form, Caden feels almost euphoric, like all the stress of making decisions has been lifted.

After a moment, Caden's look of surprise turns into a lazy grin, and he reaches out to let his fingers hover over her arm without touching, looking up into eyes that are blacker than the sky outside. "You're a siren."

He almost touches her and April feels the urge to flinch back, to tuck into herself like she always wants to when the thought of showing someone what she is comes up. She doesn't even have to do it, she only needs to think it and she remembers the rejection, the fear.

But Caden doesn't look scared and he's not scrambling off the couch and asking her to leave. He's even smiling and so she doesn't retreat like she wants to, she doesn't try to hide it. This is what she is. It's saved her countless times in the past, starting as a child, and in Siren Cove no one really seems to mind.

"I'm a siren," she agrees, the words spilling out of her like a melody. There's no intention behind what she's saying, she doesn't want to make him do anything, but she could and sometimes the temptation is nearly overwhelming.

Part of Caden wonders why he's so readily accepting of all of this, witches and sirens and mysterious shadows in the dark, but he just is. Maybe it's been a part of his life for so long, in some capacity, that finding out that it's all real isn't that much of a stretch.

And she's still April, even with scales and sharp teeth. She isn't going to hurt him, and there's no reason to treat her differently for what she is. It's just another facet of her, something to make Caden even more interested. She's just enchanting, no pun intended.

Her voice is like a song and Caden smiles lazily, leaning in a bit and lowering his hand onto her arm, gliding his thumb across her scales to feel the texture. He realizes what he's doing and pulls his hand back, blushing fiercely. "Sorry, I shouldn't have touched you without asking. That was rude. I just - "

He cuts himself off and smiles at her, eyes bright. "Thank for you showing me. I know it couldn't have been easy and it means a lot that you'd trust me with it."

She shakes her head at his apology because if she hadn't wanted him to touch her, he wouldn't have. She wouldn't have let him and when his hand had hovered over his arm, she'd had the chance to make it stop and hadn't. But he blushes and she can't help but smile, letting herself melt back into the form she wears most often. It's not the one she's most comfortable in, but most other people are and she knows the benefit of making others comfortable.

"That's my big secret," she says, leaning back on the couch again. He's not scared of her, which makes it a lot easier for her to play it off as if it's not a big deal.

"So now I'm going to ask you something," she continues, smiling at him. She wants him to tell her, she doesn't want to try and force it out of him. "Are you interested in Les?"

He slumps a little in relief when she waves off his apology and watches her as she shifts seamlessly back into her other form. Caden lets her gaze linger on her face, blunt white teeth hidden by soft-looking lips, and is immensely pleased by how comfortable she seems to be with him, in his home.

"It's safe with me," he promises. His eyebrows raise expectantly at her mention of a question and then he blanches, eyes going wide and cheeks heating up as he scoots back from her. God, how embarrassing. Of course they both know. It's not like he's well-versed in this enough to know how to hide it.

"Uh, I mean." He swallows and looks down, fiddling with his fingers. He doesn't know what to say, but he knows he can't lie. He just doesn't know why she's asking if she already knows. "He's great. He showed me that magic was real. And he's - well, you know."

He furrows his brow and keeps his gaze on his fingers, unable to look at her. "I thought, maybe. Before I knew he was with you. I thought he was flirting with me, I guess. But that's just what you guys do; I know that now." He blows out a breath and forces himself to wrap up his rambling. "I wouldn't try anything. With either of you."

Wow, that was telling. Caden buries his face in his palms for a moment before swallowing hard and letting his elbows rest on his knees as he hunches forward, eyes on the flickering candle on the coffee table.

"That's just what we do," she echoes with a soft laugh, because she's never really thought of anything she and Les do together as something that's individual to the two of them. They're together, certainly, but flirting with Caden hasn't been something they'd planned on doing, it had just happened, and while she's happy, albeit sometimes a little confused, with Les, she's also never really been in a relationship before. The idea that they can't branch out a little if it's something they're both interested in just doesn't make sense to her.

And it's not exclusively about sex. While she certainly appreciates what Caden has to offer in terms of his physical appearance, she likes him. She likes being around him and she thinks Les does, too.

"It isn't, you know," she tells him. "Something we do. Les and I... it's all very new." And not just in terms of the length of time they've been together, but it's all new to April, too. This isn't something she's ever done before, she doesn't think of rules like other people might, and the further she gets into this relationship, the more she's beginning to discover she doesn't quite think of it in the same way others see as being normal. "I can promise you that the number of people the two of us hit on together is a very exclusive list of one."

There's Coop, of course, but Les has really only mentioned in passing that Coop is attracted to him. They've never really been around him together.

Caden lifts his head and slowly looks over at her, brows slightly furrowed as he listens to what she's saying.

"It's just me?" He asks softly, carefully, voice tinged with confusion and a little hope. He'd thought that April and Les were just friendly, flirty people, that maybe they liked seeing Caden blush. Some people tease him just for his reaction and he thought maybe it was like that, in a playful instead of malicious way.

He never really thought they actually liked him, not like that. But she's making it sound like they might? He isn't sure that he's following along.

After a moment he shifts a bit closer, back to where he was before with his thigh brushing April's. He licks his lips and turns his head to look at her. "So, I mean, you know I have feelings for you." He swallows hard and bites his bottom lip. "And Les, well. I like him too. I just - I wasn't going to say anything. You guys are together and I respect that. I didn't - I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable."

"What do you think all that inviting you over for dinner at his place was about?" she asks with a small smirk, tipping her head to look over at him. Before they do anything, she'll have to talk to Les, she knows that, but more and more, the idea of pulling Caden into this appeals to her. It appeals to the part of her that doesn't quite know what to do in a relationship, that isn't sure she's cut out to be someone's girlfriend. April has lied her way through countless fake relationships for the money she knew she'd get at the end, but she's never been in a real one until Les and sometimes she worries she's not doing it properly.

If nothing else, though, she knows before she does anything here, she has to talk to him. They might be working just fine without labels, but that's one thing she's sure he'd rather she bring up with him than just go ahead with.

"Tell you what, you come over for dinner like we suggested," she says easily, still smiling over at him. "I'll tell Les how you rescued me, we'll have dinner and it'll be fun." She might need to talk to Les first, but she saw the way he'd looked at Caden. She's fairly certain he likes him, too.

"Pity friendship?" He laughs to let her know that he's teasing and then looks at her curiously. He's not entirely sure what's going to happen at this dinner, but he knows that he'd be an idiot to turn down the invitation.

He thinks about what could happen with a blush on his cheeks, unintentionally giving her a bit of a smoldering look as his mind races, along with his pulse. Really, there's so many ways to take a dinner invitation after a confession of his feelings and the confirmation that they're both possibly interested in him. He's probably wrong, but still it's a good image, all exciting and new.

She's looking at him expectantly and god, he wants, so he allows himself to reach out and finally touch her soft hair where it's spilling into her face. It slips between his fingers like silk and he swallows hard as he tucks it behind her delicate ear, thumbing at her cheekbone just once before dropping his hand.

"Yeah," he says softly, surprised by how rough his voice sounds. "I think I'd like that."

She grins again when he touches her hair, when he tucks it back behind her ear and she's going to have to talk to Les soon, she thinks. Not tonight, there's no reception and he's with Corry anyway, but maybe she'll see if she can call him tomorrow morning. Or maybe she'll just show up at his place, see what he thinks.

"Good," she says, her lips still curved into a smile. "I like the sound of this plan. I'm sure he'll be grateful to hear about how you looked after me tonight." And she's teasing a little, but she means it as well. She likes to imagine what Les might think of the story, of Caden coming to her rescue on the beach.

"You make it sound like I wrestled dragons for you. Or climbed a tower," he laughs. He feels all jittery and excited, like he's sixteen instead of a few months shy of thirty. It's ridiculous. Then again, it is kind of new and exciting, if he's getting the right idea. And it's been a very long time since he's felt for anyone what he feels for April.

And knowing that there's hope, no matter how small a glimmer? That's enough to have his heart beating faster. He's not sure how all this works, or if it even can, but he's going to go to this dinner and find out.

He wants to touch her so badly, but he can't, so he practically sits on his hands as he leans over to look at her ankle. "How are you feeling, by the way? Do you need more ice? Maybe a glass of wine?"

He scrunches his face up in a smile as he laughs and reaches up to grip the back of his own neck, looking at her and then away again. He could probably use the alcohol.

"I heard there was a party going on next door," she suggests, knowing it's probably not a great idea for them to continue to be alone together right now. She needs to talk to Les first, she does owe him that much as someone who cares about him. They may not be calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but she knows that's what they are regardless of what they say. They're in a relationship and she cares about him and so, for the first time in her life, April plans on doing something right.

Even if the thing she's doing isn't what might be considered normal.

"You help me over there to hang out with Coop again, then make sure I can home safe and I'll call you my hero for the rest of my life," she says with a smile, offering Caden her hand. "Let's go."

Caden is almost disappointed when she mentions the party, because he'd been enjoying their time together, but after thinking it on a moment he understands. It's not that she isn't enjoying his company, but maybe nothing good can come of being alone together right now. Or that could just be wishful thinking. It's all so confusing, and maybe some time away from it will help him clear his head.

"Sure, that sounds like fun. Just let me blow out all these candles." He stands up to do so, leaving one burning on the coffee table that he plans on taking with them, and looks down at her hand, something small and delicate but has the power to drive Caden crazy with a simple touch. He takes it and helps her gently to her feet, lifting her arm up over his wide shoulders and curling a hand around her waist to help her walk. "I can drive you home later, whenever you're ready."

They make their way over to Coop's slowly, and the candle in Caden's hand seems to keep the strange shadows away. He looks over at April, a little breathless at the way she looks in the candlelight, blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. People are crowded at Coop's in the dark and the man himself is walking around shirtless, to no one's surprise. Caden can't help but to laugh as he helps April inside. "Happy Halloween."

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[closed - Caden - blackout]

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