seas_open | [Circle of Sirens]

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[Circle of Sirens] - closed to Caden

She goes to his place without calling, without thinking.

Les is gone, which doesn't make any sense. In a place like this where half the town has some kind of magical ability, where Les has powers she doesn't even know about, it doesn't make a goddamn bit of sense that he's missing. It seems inherently wrong and absurd and she thinks about calling Coop because she knows he and Les are friends, too, but when she finds she has her phone in her hands, she's not sure what to say.

He hadn't shown up for his plans with Corrine. He's not at home. He's certainly not at her place. No one can reach him, he isn't answering his calls or his texts. His front door had been left open. He's nowhere to be found and it doesn't make any sense.

She's on Caden's porch without knowing how she got there and she's banging on the front door and she's furious with herself because this behaviour is ridiculous. She isn't like this. She doesn't worry or overreact.

Les is probably fine.

Except no one knows where he is and what she's feeling is definitely worry. Because not that long ago, it had been her fault he'd been hurt. Not that long ago, she's the reason his safety had been threatened and now she can't help but wonder if it's her fault again.

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Caden is having such an intense staring match with the blinking cursor on his laptop screen that it takes him a second to register that the sudden loud sound is someone banging on his door. He gets up with a furrowed brow and stretches his arms over his head as he goes to answer it.

He's not expecting to find April to be the source of the commotion. She looks distressed and that's not something he's seen from her. Even on the night of the blackout when she was stuck on the beach, she had seemed a little anxious but mostly calm. This is something else entirely. Something's not right.

"April, what's going on?" He reaches out to pull her in for a hug because he isn't sure what else to do in that moment, and he wants to comfort her. He rubs her back and kisses the top of her head before pulling back to lead her into the house. The door shuts behind them and he puts his hands on her shoulders, thumbing at her collarbones as he looks at her with concern. "Talk to me."

"Is Les here?" she asks and she doesn't mean to push him away, it isn't his fault, but she's worried and there's panic ebbing into every single movement she makes and she doesn't like it. This isn't like her at all and she doesn't want it to happen, she hates that she's worrying, she hates that she feels this way when she's never felt like this before.

She tries to look around, tries to see if Les might be here somewhere and then she stops herself, closing her eyes, letting Caden rest his hands on her shoulders. He's just trying to help her, she has to remind herself, and she takes a few deep breaths before opening her eyes again.

"If he is, it's okay," she says. "We just need to find him."

He can't help but to feel a little embarrassed, and a tiny bit hurt, when she pushes him away and asks for Les. But it's okay. Les is her boyfriend. Caden is her... whatever he is.

But she accepts his hands on her shoulders, and he's glad that he can comfort her.

"I haven't seen him," he says once she finishes speaking, a little confused. Her behavior is starting to make more sense, and the implication feels like a cold stone in his belly. "Find him? April, what's going on?"

"Shit," she says on a sharp exhale even though she had known he wouldn't be here. Everything feels off and she knows it's entirely possible Les would come to see Caden on his own -- she hopes he has, in fact, she wants to encourage it -- somehow she had just known it wouldn't be the case tonight and she lifts one hand, pushing some of her hair off her face as she shakes her head.

"I thought maybe... he was supposed to see Corrine tonight," she tells him. "But she texted me and he hasn't shown up. He's hours late, he isn't answering his texts or his calls and when she went to his place... his door had been left open. She checked with Lara and I checked with Coop and I thought maybe he'd come here and just forgot to tell anyone. His phone was dead. You two were busy. Anything."

But he isn't here.

"Shit," he echoes, reaching up to bite his thumbnail as his expression turns into one of worry. God, he wishes Les was here, if only because that would mean he was safe.

He can't help but to think of his dad. They had thought he was missing too, at first. That is until the bank account was emptied and his boss called to say he'd gotten a letter of resignation in the mail. Turns out he wasn't missing. He had just left.

But that's not the case with Les. Caden knows it isn't. Les is a good man and Caden knows how much he cares about April. He knows how much Les considers Siren Cove his home. He has a million reasons to stay.

"I'm glad you came here," Caden says as he to tuck a stubborn lock of hair behind her ear before cupping her cheek. "We'll figure this out, okay? It hasn't been that long. We'll find him."

They have to.

Edited 2014-11-16 07:52 (UTC)

She's still thinking of the sirens that had come after her not that long ago, the way they'd hurt Les. At this point she truly doesn't believe it's them because she thinks Lara would know if sirens like that were back in town. She makes it her business to know everything she can about sirens and although that sort of pressure had felt very strange to April at first, knowing now that Lara has this town's back makes her feel a little bit better. At least about the fact that whatever has happened probably isn't because of her.

"I don't know what else to do," she says. "Corrine has checked with everyone." And she has resources and connections April could never hope to have. She'll be the leader of this, April is sure of it, and she's fairly certain she'll be willing to just step aside and let it happen if it means Les will be found.

"And it's too early for the police." Caden bites his lip and takes April's hand, threading their fingers together and leading her into the house. "How long has it been?"

He stands kind of hopelessly in the middle of the living room, gripping her hand tight and looking around like someone will pop out and tell him what to do. He's at a complete loss and he hates that. He wants to make it all better. "Corinne is taking charge?"

He's only met Corrine the one time, but she seems like a take charge kind of girl, and he knows that she and Les are close. "I'm sure he's fine. He will be. He'll come back."

But he doesn't know that and he grits his teeth in frustration because just doesn't know what to do. He turns to April and looks at her face, her hand still clutched in his. "Should we go to wear Corinne is? Or is there somewhere Les might go that he'd lose track of time?"

It's not uncommon for people to be unable to get a hold of Caden because he was out surfing for so long that he took a nap on the beach right after. But he doesn't really know much of Les's hobbies, except -

"Is there someone like him we could talk to?" Caden asks her. "Someone magic?"

"It's been about four hours now," April says, shaking her head, because she really doesn't know what there is for them to do. "Corrine spoke with Lara, his boss and she would know if there was any strange sirens in town. She's the matriarch here, she knows everything." And although Lara had saved her ass in a serious way, April is still uncertain around her. She's never had to answer to anyone before, but she's kept herself more or less in line since arriving and knowing what Lara has done for her has kept her from behaving too badly.

She's trying in Siren Cove. She really is.

"I don't know any witches in town except for Les," she tells him. "I don't... I have no idea where to start."

And she hates it so much.

"That's not too long." He doesn't say that it's too early to worry, because going by their reactions it obviously isn't true, but it is still early. He very well could have lost track of time somewhere, and he'll come back and be embarrassed for worrying everyone. Entirely possible.

Caden clings to this hope.

"So, it sounds like all we can do is wait," Caden tells her, but he doesn't sound that thrilled about it. "You can let Corinne know that we're available for anything, and until there is something that we can do, we'll wait."

It feels like he should be doing more, but he doesn't know what that could be. The police would turn them away immediately because it's only been four hours, and if someone has checked all the places he's likely to be, there's not much else to do.

"It'll be okay. We'll figure it out." They may sound like platitudes but Caden believes it. He has to. April is staring up at him and Caden wraps her in another hug, rubbing her back and pressing a kiss to her temple. "We can go wherever you want, here or your place or his, but I hope you'll let me stay with you."

It's against her very nature to let people comfort her, but she lets Caden hug her this time anyway, relaxing against his chest, her eyes closed. This is all difficult for her, for so many reasons he and Les don't know and maybe never will. She knows she hasn't been big on sharing and there are reasons for that, reasons she thinks are pretty fair, but maybe others don't see it that way.

But she can let him keep her company. She needs it, if she's honest. She's just going to drive herself crazy if she's alone and she thinks maybe she could go be with Corrine, but even now she's not sure how her half-sister feels about her being around. Right now there's too much pressure, it seems like a bad idea to risk an explosion.

"We can stay here," she says. "It's close to Corrine's and I don't want to go sit in his empty building."

Caden nods and keeps an arm around her, brushing her hair back with his free hand. He's not exactly sure how to react here, or how to treat April. He wants to hold her close and comfort her, seek comfort from her in return, but he doesn't think that's necessarily what she needs.

April is still a bit of a mystery to him, once that he's enjoying unraveling as much as he can without pushing. She's perfectly composed most of the time, whereas Caden's emotions are usually plainly visible on his face. She's not exactly forthcoming about her thoughts or feelings, and certainly not about her past, but she isn't cold either. She cares about Caden, in her own way, and he knows that. He might not have all the details, but it's enough. He'll take it.

She must know how Caden feels about her, to some extent. He's not very subtle about it. And whatever she sees in Caden, it's enough for her to want him around and welcome him into her life, or whichever parts of it that she's willing to share. He gets the feeling that there isn't a terribly long list of people that April cares about, but Caden hopes that he means something to her now. Maybe he's made the list. That's enough for him.

He pulls himself away from the hug with great effort, and runs his hands down her arms until he can take her hands in his own, looking down at her face. "What can I do for you? Whatever you need, just name it."

What she needs is for Les to be safe, but she can't ask that of anyone. No one can fix this and to even say as much, knowing it's not possible, might be hurtful. Another time, another man, she might have said it anyway, but she is trying and so she only shakes her head. Besides Les' safety, she has no idea what she wants right now. It's unsettling to be so unsure of things and she's full of twitchy, restless energy.

"I don't know," she says, shaking her head. "I... normally if something like this happened, I'd just get out of town." But she hasn't had anyone like Les in her life before and her normal doesn't apply here. It's frustrating and it's frightening. "I don't know."

She's trying to think of who in town might be able to help, but she doesn't know anyone. Spencer is kind to her, but he owns a bookstore, he's hardly the type to head into a fight. Corrine already knows. Her father... well, she's not sure what he can do.

As soon as the words leave Caden's mouth he knew that it was a stupid thing to say. Of course what April needs most is the one thing Caden can't give her. She just wants Les back, and Caden can't blame her. She's gracious enough not to point out his blunder, but he still feels bad for it.

He doesn't think he's ever felt so helpless in his entire life. In fact, he knows he hasn't. He has no idea how to help Les, and he doesn't know how to make April feel better. The man she wants isn't the one standing in front of her, and Caden is at a complete and total loss.

Her hands are cool and small in his own and he lets them go because she doesn't seem to need the touch and he doesn't want to crowd her. He wants to hold her, but he'd rather let her take the lead on this, on how they act around each other. If all she wants right now is a friend, he can be that.

"I don't know either," he admits, lowering his gaze. He takes a deep breath and squares his shoulders. "Why don't you go sit down and I'll make us some coffee."

That he can do, at least. And it looks like they're going to have a long night in front of them.

For a moment April just looks at Caden, her head tilted slightly. He's a mystery to her in a lot of ways. She doesn't understand him. He's awfully sincere and she believes, truly, that he's entirely honest and that's a rare thing. Most people she encounters are liars, at least about some things, and given that she has no leg to stand on, she doesn't ever see any need to call people on it.

Caden, though, is entirely honest. And sometimes she doesn't know what to make of that, but other times, like right now, it's a relief.

She rises onto her toes and kisses him firmly, holding his face between her hands. "Thank you," she says.

The way she's looking at him, like she's searching for something, makes him blush. He isn't sure what she could be looking for but he stays still for the scrutiny, hoping she finds it. The kiss comes as a surprise and he's frozen for a short moment before he melts into it and places his hands on her hips, grateful for it.

He kisses her back with warmth and affection and his lips are pink when she pulls back with his face in her hands. What she's thanking him for, he he has no idea, but he ducks down until he can press their foreheads together. "You're welcome."

They stand there for a moment and then Caden kisses her again before letting her go. "Now go sit."

He leaves her near the sofa and goes into the kitchen, blowing out a breath and running his fingers through his hair. His coffee maker is all set up and he just has to press the button, and he toasts some bagels while it's brewing just in case they want to eat something. He puts everything on a tray and brings it out, setting it on the coffee table before sitting down next to April and putting an arm around her. He doesn't really know what to say so he pulls her in and rests his cheek against the top of her head, biting his lip worriedly. "When he gets back, we should take way his pickles as punishment for worrying us."

It's not funny, not at all, but she huffs out a soft laugh at that anyway. April is not an optimist by nature and she's already begun to entertain the possibility that Les might not come back at all. She's begun to think about what she might have to do to get out of town.

She won't say any of that to Caden, though. All she does is laugh and nod and leans against him. And thinks about how long she needs to wait before leaving town.

"There's nothing we can do but wait," she says after a long silence. "Is there?"

Caden sits there with his arm around April and stares at the door, willing it to open and for Les to walk in. It's improbable that he'd just show up at Caden's anyway, but still. He hopes.

The comment April made earlier about how should would normally just get out of town gnaws at him. Caden doesn't think that he's enough to make her stay if... if things go bad. He can care about her and want her all he wants, but if she wants to leave, she'll just go. Even as he holds her, he wonders if he's losing two amazing people that he's only just found.

It wouldn't be the end of the world if April left; life would go on. He's just afraid that she would take some small piece of him with her. He doesn't want to lose her.

He doesn't want to lose Les either.

"I guess not," he replies, feeling helpless. He takes her hand and threads their fingers together, squeezing a little. "I'd do anything, if I just had any idea of what there was to do."

It should feel strange. She hasn't been like this with anyone but Les, she hasn't held hands or simply sat with anyone unless it was because she was trying to get something from them. And she supposes in a way she is. Here with Caden, she's looking for comfort, she's trying to have him fix things even though she knows he can't, but maybe that's just what people do. She's not trying to take his money, she's not lying to him, she just is with him and it should feel weird, but it doesn't.

"No, I think we're stuck just waiting," she says. "And I hate it."

She's good at plans. Making them, executing them, taking off before the aftermath begins. There's nothing to plan for here. It doesn't matter what she does, they have nowhere to begin.

"Me too." He skims his nose across her cheek and then kisses it, holding her close to him and looking out the window at the beach. It's cold outside and the moon is bright, and he itches to get into the waves. Being in the ocean always makes him feel better.

And then he remembers April's scales, the way they'd gleamed in the candlelight, and wonders if she might be the same.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" He kind of cringes as he says it, but it's still a valid idea, maybe. If it calms them down, tires them out enough to sleep. They can leave their phones at the water's edge in case there's any news. "I just - when I'm upset being in the water always helps. I'm calmer out there. I thought maybe you might be too? You looked at home in your other skin."

It's probably a dumb idea, but it's the only one that comes to mind. He feels pent up and stressed out and he wants to jump headfirst into the waves, swim until his muscles ache and his mind stops racing.

Her breath hitches at his suggestion and she's nodding before she realizes it. Les has seen her in full siren form, he's still her scales and her teeth, the way her pupils dilate, he's seen her cut through the water like a shark. Caden hasn't. He knows what she is, but he still hasn't seen it, not like Les has, and it occurs to her that maybe she owes him this. If they're all in this together, the three of them, then he deserves to be on equal footing with Les.

Because they will find him. He'll be okay.

"Alright," she agrees, standing up and reaching for his hand. "Let's go."

And it isn't a test this time. He's already shown her that he's not afraid of what she is and even though he hasn't seen it all, it's really not a test. Caden isn't going to run when she slips into the water and changes, she's sure of that, and she doesn't know why, but she is.

"Okay." He gets up and lets her lead him towards the door. He should get his wet suit because it's cold, but he doesn't want it. He just wants the water on his skin. Thankfully it's not as cold as it could be and Caden starts to pull off his clothes once they're on the deck, looking at her before pulling off his shirt. It's not a sexy moment. They're fulfilling a need. A need to be in the water, to distract themselves however momentarily from the pain that they're in.

Still, he leans in and kisses her on the mouth before heading towards the surf in his underwear, not stopping until the cold salt water is up to his thighs, and then he dives in all at once. The chill steals the air from his lungs and he surfaces with a gasp, shaking the water from his hair. He thinks about how much nicer it would be if maybe the water was just a little bit warmer, and maybe it's the power of positive thinking, or his body adjusting, but the chill subsides enough for him not to shiver.

He looks out at April on the sand and smiles invitingly, holding his hand out to her.

He's seen her naked before and so she strips down without thought, always better in the water without any kind of constraints and by the time he surfaces, she's undressed and walking toward the surf. She's not even in the water yet and already she feels significantly better and the fact that Caden had thought to offer this brings a faint smile to her lips even at a time when she doesn't feel particularly like smiling.

She walks into the water a few steps before the scales begin to ripple across her skin, protecting her from the cold. By the time she dives under the surface, she's able to breathe under water, able to cut through it quickly, her power tail propelling her forward.

When she surfaces beside Caden, she's already swum around him a few times and she smiles as she lifts her hands out of the water to brush her wet hair back, her nails long and sharp. "I feel better," she says, her voice soft and musical.

Caden watches as she shifts with unabashed interest, not looking away as her skin is replaced with gleaming scales. She cuts through the water in a powerful, graceful movement that leaves Caden impressed and a little jealous. He's always felt at home in the water, but she is at home.

He looks over at her when she breaks the surface and smiles a little, feeling proud that he was able to do something, however small and temporary, to help her. "You look like you feel better."

She's watching him and he can't help the way that he just has to reach out and take her hand, his thumb gliding along the tops of her sharp nails before he slides his hand up to rest against the side of her neck. She looks so different like this, but then again, not really. She's still April. Caden will always think she's the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen.

"You're beautiful," Caden tells her, sliding his hand around to the back of her neck to pull her in and give her a soft, closed-mouth kiss. "I like seeing you like this," he murmurs against her mouth. "And I kind of want you to read me poetry in that voice, which very well may be one of the lamest thoughts I've ever had."

He chuckles softly, but he doesn't forget the gravity of the situation, or what it was that drove them out into the water. It's just nice, being out here with her like this. He can't help but to feel a little bit better, at least in this moment.

"If I read you poetry like this, you'd follow me anywhere," April answers with a faint smile and she's teasing him a little, but it isn't entirely a lie. If she wanted him to, she could make him do anything like this, she could sing a few simple lines of a song designed just for him and if she wanted to, Caden would kill someone for her. She's never been very good at resisting this temptation. She's used her powers for a vast number of things over the years and having to ignore it now, having to do things the way regular people do them is strange to her sometimes.

But she is. She hasn't once used her powers on Les or Caden. Not on any of the people in this town she's come to care about in her strange way.

Her tail flicks under the water and she rises and falls with the waves, not needing to move her arms at all to stay afloat. "When I was younger I used to think that one day I'd just live in the ocean," she admits. "I couldn't understand why I had to live on land when this was where I felt most like myself."

"Pretty sure I'd do that anyway." He laughs a little and puts a hand on her hip to pull her a little closer to him under the water, feeling the tip of her tail brush his leg every so often. He knows that she has the power to compel him, bend him to her will, but he's not worried about it. He smiles and reaches up to brush her wet hair out of her face. "I trust you."

He can't help but to grin, because it's the first time that she's ever really shared anything from her past with him. "I wanted to live in the ocean, too. I was out there all the time growing up, just floating on the waves. Things haven't changed much."

She feels different under his fingers like this, scales instead of smooth skin, and he lets his hands roam along her back, getting used to this new way she feels under his fingers. "Well, anytime you want to come out here like this, we can."

Les has touched her like this and she thinks she should be surprised that in such a short period of time she's met two men who are willing to look past the way she looks when she's like this. It's not the sort of thing April thinks of as attractive, not when she's seen other sirens, those with scales that shimmer and sparkle in all kinds of colours, those who seem to light up from the inside with their song. Her eyes are black, her teeth are pointed. She's not the kind of siren sailors mistook for mermaids.

And yet both Les and Caden find it appealing anyway. Without her powers, without having to compel him. They're here.

"Thank you," she says with a small smile, letting her hands roam over his shoulders. "I'm not very good at saying that as often as I should, but... thank you."

"You don't have to say it," Caden assures her, but he's smiling. "But you're welcome anyway."

He puts his fingers under her chin and kisses her again, pulling her into a hug for a long moment before letting go. His fingers curl around her shoulders and he looks at her fondly, jerking his chin out towards deeper water. "Go swim if you need to, but come back to me when you're done, alright? I'll be here."

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[Circle of Sirens] - closed to Caden

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