GRACE OF THE SEA

♫ BASICS:

skeleton: Whirlwind

character name: Amara Marino

age & birthdate: 23 & august 25th 1998

gender & pronouns: cisgender woman / she/her

birthplace: the arctic

length of time in port vale: arrived Nov. 2021

occupation: Treasure Cove Employee

fc: Madison Bailey

Stella had really, really, really wanted to help with the efforts to keep the lighthouse going, but she had to unfortunately decide against that of that after climbing up and looking over a ledge. Apparently, yes, she was afraid of heights now. She felt badly about not being able to help out, but it was probably for the best not to chance her newly discovered neuroses. It was with great trepidation that she accepted Amara’s invitation to visit the lighthouse- but only because it was exploration of the indoor part. Indoor heights were less bad than outdoor heights.

Honestly, the story Amara spun was a little terrifying, and Stella was sure that she would have some weird nightmares whenever she managed to go to sleep. Or- If she managed to go to sleep. Getting trapped in the scary human cylinder already sounded probable enough.

She gasped dramatically, accidentally flashing herself in the face with her phone’s flashlight beam. “Oh my goodness. I can’t believe that this place might be haunted, so we definitely have to test this out. Or- well, you can test this out, and I can definitely be moral support. Promise.” Morals were definitely something that Stella had. She didn’t really know if she had much else to provide here besides subpar flashlight skills. Maybe Moray had the right idea of this after all… “Unless Moray is still in the lighthouse somewhere.” It had definitely not been a good idea to try watching the scary movie that was playing on television a couple nights back, but who was going to stop her?

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

Amara hadn't really considered Stella's fear of heights when she offered her to join her at the lighthouse. She didn't even really realize she had that fear at all (even after the incident at the park). But it seemed important to have her there with her so she was grateful for her presence regardless. If something spooky was going on in here, it could be fun to discover it for herself. In a way, it felt like one of those horror movies she enjoyed watching so much. It seemed unlikely that something life threatening would happen to them but if things did play out like the movies, Amara considered herself to be on par with the final girls that always made it to the end.

"I think it's only fair to test it out! There's going to be so many of us in and out of here for a while I think, if a spirit of some kind is lurking around, that could be bad news. At least that's what people say." Amara didn't know much about ghosts, and hadn't really taken a stance on whether they were actually real or not. But the kids in town sounded convinced, and who was she to say they weren't telling the truth?

When Stella mentioned that Moray could still be in the lighthouse, Amara felt like that would have been the perfect time for a thunder crack to follow. Unfortunately, it wasn't rainy weather that night, so she was kind of bummed about that. But to give the words the reaction it deserved, she gasped and began to turn her head around, searching for him. "Do you really think he could still be here? Like...do you think he's just hiding or that a ghost got him? Can ghosts hide bodies?" She would have assumed that the mayor searched the entire lighthouse for his brother before putting together this group but who's to say he didn't miss something?

"It'll be fine! Let's pick one of the rooms to settle down in. I think we're supposed to try and talk to the spirits and ask them why they're here. I don't know how exactly, like maybe if we ask they'll show themselves and sit down with us? Have a little chat. I don't know. Where do you think a ghost would like to hang out the most?"

Amara had been finding ways to entertain herself while staying the night at the lighthouse. She enjoyed herself for the most part, the only downside being the rotations where she was stuck with Stephanie. But that evening she was with Gemma which she was infinitely more comfortable with. Gemma had been extremely helpful when it came to her ability to blend in, to Amara, the way Gemma could so easily fit in the with the humans made her feel like she fit in by association. It was a win-win cause Amara just liked hanging out with Gemma and having what felt like a genuine friendship. That was her own interpretation though, hopefully Gemma also felt the same way.

"So what do you think all of this is about?" She couldn't help but wonder aloud, wanting to hear Gemma's insight as she lounged around in one of the comfy chairs. "All of this makes no sense to me, like I have no idea what that whole party was for, and that big speech? Is that a normal thing people do or did I interpret the weirdness correctly? Sometimes it's hard to tell."

Gabi lowered her voice even more in a way that hopefully wouldn’t merit suspicion. “I can point you to some of the others like me and Gemma, if that would help.” Hopefully, Amara knew that meant sirens. “And I can assure you that none of them wants to stab you or cause you any sort of harm. And I don’t give assurances out casually.” Given, Gabi was concerned about how to politely warn Amara to stay out of the Bering Sea for her own safety. Even with that little wrinkle, she was sure that the majority of the other sirens still wanted as many decent selkies as possible to ally with them. “We can discuss this later, though. If you can enjoy other parts of the banquet, I want you to.”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

   xx

    “I’m Ridley,” She smiled easily, happy to make acquaintances. The siren was, of course, unaware of Scylla’s masterlist of names - and equally unaware that she would have no place on it. Without being a captain, a high ranking official, or part of the royalty in mermaids… Ridley had done little in her life to stand out, and as such, Scylla was none the wiser of her existence. If Amara hoped to find a clue by her name alone; she’d be disappointed. “Amara is really pretty. It’s sort of like my last name, Alara… so like, almost name twins!” She laughed lightly. 

    Nonchalantly, Ridley nodded, her expression considering the idea - the siren had little desire to pretend to visit for the ‘first time’, and she was now realizing she’d have to play the act if she showed up sometime while Amara was working. Perhaps she should’ve been honest, and just kept the stealing part quiet; sometimes her little fibs snowballed into things Ridley hadn’t quite realized would be so involved, so her smile this time was a little weaker as she nodded- “Yeah, I’ll totally stop by sometime and, like, check the place out. It sounds great, I’m sure you’re right!” 

   It was time to find a new central spot for shoplifting, and Ridley wasn’t sure Port Vale had anywhere else that could be worth the effort. Already there were few things she was left to want that could be obtained in the small town. 

    Amara’s philosophy was one that Ridley wished she could still convince herself was true. For the majority of her 109 years of life, that was what she, too, had believed entirely. Who cared about the details, as long as you had a good time? But then… Assyria began to crumble, and it was even worse than the war, in some ways. Her heart had been changing, and lately, Ridley had felt like she didn’t know her place or purpose, and that lacking piece had been heavy on her mind. Oh, how easier life was before the existential crisis - was this a human thing? “I used to have the answer,” Ridley supplied, unhelpfully, and gave a little sigh accompanied with a smile. Even when her mind was heavy, she kept her body language light and friendly. “You’re right. Maybe it’s not so bad. Maybe it means we still have plenty of time to figure it all out, and decide who to be. I think I’d like being famous. Would you be a good famous person? It sounds, like, totally hard but also… exciting, too. Everyone would know you, so it didn’t matter who you were. I don’t know, it sounds fun to me.” 

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

Ridley wasn't actually a name that Amara had been told about so her immediate instinct was that she would probably have to be more careful with what she said around her. She couldn't come across like she had only been a human for a few months in case she was human. Amara never really considered if Scylla only told the selkies the names of the captains and princesses because they were the only seafolk here or if she just didn’t think it was important to know the others. Maybe she would have to ask Gemma or Gabi later about how many non captain sirens or non princess mermaids were walking around.

For now, she had to focus on being on her best human behaviour. "Nice to meet you, Ridley is such a cool name." She grinned as she related her own last name to Amara's name and thought her name just got even cooler. She knew that humans didn't get to pick their full names like she could (or in this case as Scylla did for her) but that didn't mean she couldn't compliment it, and so far, Ridley gave Amara the impression that she would be as cool as her name was.

Amara took a moment to wonder if being famous and well known was something she could ever see herself enjoying. Ridley made it sound easy but then Amara remembered all the stuff Silas had been doing with social media and getting people to like him and follow him. Social media wasn't for her so she shook her head, positive that fame wasn't for her either. "I don't know if I could handle being famous. So many eyes on you, so many people just knowing you freaks me out. I'd rather just do my own thing for the heck of it without having to worry about a whole bunch of people watching my every move." She hoped that the difference in opinion didn't make Ridley less likely to keep talking to her. Usually Amara liked to agree with humans on what they liked and make it seem like she liked it too but she was worried this could lead to attempts at becoming famous that she didn't want to be part of.

Amara didn't fully understand what was going on with these volunteers to stay at the lighthouse but even in her confusion she signed up anyway. She had been holed up at the inn most of the time and thought a change of scenery could be fun. She liked when she got to hang out or crash at the other selkies apartments which always felt so different from her room at the inn but she wasn't sure what looked more suspicious, staying at the inn or suddenly having an apartment of her own. Staying at the lighthouse for a bit to keep watch during the late night hours seemed like a good middle ground.

While she did have friends in her shift, she ended up inviting Stella to join her on exploring the place one evening. Give the others some time to rest while the two girls went on a little adventure to see what this place was all about. The inside of the lighthouse did not at all reflect how she imagined it would look based off the outside. Especially thanks to stories others in town had told her, she was expecting the place to be a lot more run down.

Gabi surveyed the room from her position, trying to make her body take as much space as possible so Amara could work in peace. Luckily, Gabi commonly glowered over crowds of people, so this was not suspicious behavior. “I didn’t see anyone watching, so you’re safe on that front, and the… germs front.” Human germs were not a topic that Gabi could claim expertise in. At the next comment, Gabi turned back, and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, we’re good. Gemma did tell me about you. I won’t bring that up to anyone else unless you want me to. We can discuss it later. Or not, if that suits you.” Her tone was slightly dismissive- but not on purpose. She wanted Amara to know that these were understandable secrets to keep, and that they would be kept safe with her. Amara was more useful to her satisfied than betrayed. Generally, it was not useful to betray someone else, and often came with guilt wrapped up in there as a consequence. Plus, hurting Amara would be like hurting actual seals, which was something she was unwilling to do. No, she would be good and do her best to prove herself trustworthy to the selkie.

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

~

Drying his hands on a clean towel, Adrian smiled at the question from the young selkie. He truly loved the idea of helping her try to find a hobby, of having this opportunity to take care of one of his people. “Don’t worry about the number of ingredients,” he reassured her.  “We’ll only be using a few of these … unless you decide you really like baking.  Then we can make more than one treat.” He waved a hand over the ingredients.  “I’ve got a handful of recipes for you to pick from and we’ll go from there.” 

He chuckled as he leaned back against the countertop.  “I didn’t want to pick your first recipe.  That’s something you should have some input on.”  And he’d made sure to take a while the night before to narrow down some choices that hopefully wouldn’t scare her away from baking altogether. “So, let me give you a few choices and we can get started. I did stick to sweet choices this time out.” Ticking them off on his fingers, he listed off his selections. “Cherry chip scones, lemon pound cake muffins, chocolate toffee biscuits, or banana beignets bites?”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

Amara let out a sigh as he reassured her that she didn't have to worry or be overwhelmed. The fact that he had gotten all of this prepared for her without any intention of starting big and using everything all at once was kind of a nice gesture. Adrian just wanted to make sure that whatever option she chose they would be ready and it made her even more excited to try this out. "Oh man, really? You didn't have to do all that. I kind of just thought you were gonna show me a recipe for cookies and call it a day." She told him, inspecting the different things on the counter as if to make the whole display a little less threatening. Soon some of these ingredients would be moved out of their way and she would probably feel more equipped to whip something up.

When he explained his reasoning to why he had so much prepared for her, she felt a little warm flutter in her chest. He made it sound so sweet getting to choose the first recipe she baked, like a life changing moment would occur the moment she picked one. Maybe that was the case. Maybe one of these options he had for her would end up making her love baking more than anything else she had experienced on land. Would this be that special moment?

.

Gabi considered the purse in front of her. She had already tried storing loose food in her own, and it had not been an effective endeavor. But Amara seemed confident that this would work, and who was she to argue about something that wouldn’t negatively impact her. “If you think it will work without mess, go for it. Let’s not be the reason all of this food goes to waste.” There. If anything went wrong, it still wasn’t her fault, and it wasn’t her job to clean. “We don’t need to share, but it’s a good idea. I’m considering this a one time only event because I don’t think I’ll be able to make the leftovers work well.”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

-

as surprised as amara was of her offer as astonished was lumi that she was surprised to begin with. of course, she would help amara if someone was after her. “if you are from my ocean, you are under my protection even if we are on land,” lumi said solemnly. “it is my duty to keep you safe.” she often wondered how she had ended up as a princess, what the purpose of being a princess of an ocean kingdom even was. the only purpose she had found was to keep everyone in the arctic safe, if they considered the arctic sea their home, lumi would move mountains to make sure they were not harmed. “if stephanie is not from our kingdom, i will always be on your side, and i could not care less what the rest of assyria, or stephanie, has to say about it,” she confessed with a shrug. it was no big deal really. despite the library being empty, she took a quick look around before answering her amara’s question. “of course. i was trained in combat by a mermaid almost from the very moment i was born into this world, and i have since trained other mermaids — mostly how to fight with a spear though,” lumi explained, hoping to make amara understand that she was more than capable. “tell me more of stephanie and why she is after you,” she prompted after they had finally left the library. 

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

Amara just stared at Lumi, eyes wide but full of hope. This kind of dedication to those who lived in her ocean, even if she didn't know them, it was incredible. She smiled softly and instinctively, without really thinking about it first, she wrapped her arms around Lumi in a tight hug. The grand offer to protect her no matter what meant a lot to Amara. She may have had the other selkies who had her back from time to time, but this was the princess of her home and she wanted to help her, take care of her and protect her.

Once she realized what she was doing, she quickly pulled away from Lumi, not wanting to make her feel weird or anything. "Sorry about that, sorry I probably should have asked first. But thank you...that really means a lot to me to hear you say that." It was also a plus side to have someone on her side when it came to Stephanie. She was troublesome and the fact that Amara had gotten on her bad side from the start just made her even more of a threat. With Lumi to back her up, it could either end very well or very badly, especially since she wasn't sure what kind of plan Lumi might come up with to handle Stephanie. They were talking about fighting, but the thought of a fight breaking out could make more problems then it solves.

It probably wasn’t a good idea to recommend someone else stare at a storm, but Stella would chase hurricanes and tropical storms if she was allowed. She’d done it before, and was looking forward to chasing land weather now that there weren’t that many people that could stop her. Still, she couldn’t suggest that to somebody else.

These all sounded like really good suggestions- way better than anything she could have come up with. The one suggestion that stumped her the most was the pool, though, because she knew that most humans wore waterproof costumes when they went swimming. Stella did not have one of those yet, so she would have to avoid that. Crashing a party sounded dangerous, and Stella wasn’t sure if that kind of trouble would be worth it. “Uhm… I haven’t tried the hot chocolate yet there.” She hadn’t tried any hot chocolate before, but that wasn’t something to just tell people if you didn’t know them well. “We could try one of the other things after, maybe, but a drink sounds like the best time to me. Good for talking. And good for watching people and imagining what their lives are like or trying to hear what they’re chatting about.”

Speaking of crashing, Stella had to remind herself to breathe so as not to go barreling into Amara. She imagined Amara catching her, and that sounded relatively safe, but she didn’t want anything to have to get that far. Before she knew it, she was on the ground and everything was actually fine. “Okay! Okay. All right. Hi. You’re real. And you want to hang out with me? I don’t have a lot to give in a friendship except some peanut butter pretzels.”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

Amara was actually relieved that Stella made the choice to go for hot chocolate. Sure, going for a swim or showing up at a party uninvited could have been fun but nothing topped sitting in one of those comfy cafe booths with a mug of hot chocolate with the sweetest taste. "Yeah! Trust me, you're gonna love the hot chocolate, whatever they're doing to make it taste so good, it's working. And watching people sounds like a great plan. I'm sure we can imagine up much more interesting life stories and conversations than they might actually be having." Amara wasn't going to point out just yet that if they tried to listen in then she would have most likely been able to hear what they were saying. She had no interest in scaring someone away with her non-human abilities.

~

“For the most part, I do,” Maya nodded, her eyes crinkling in amusement.  “It’s got a feel of the past here, secrets and shadows that all but demand you wonder and ask questions. Who lived here? What did they do? Who did they love? It’s almost got a feel of magic to it, as if you would see or hear something if you could just quiet the noise of your mind enough.”

Her eyebrows went up, curious about the other woman’s casual attitude towards her potential thievery.  That was an interesting reaction.  “I don’t think bits of glass or nature are really things you can ‘steal’,” she pointed out.  “I’ve found interesting stones and bits of glass around the Caste. Interesting little bits of nature or history that I want to reuse in some way.  Something to take the old and broken, but to remake it into something to bring beauty again.”

Color and light - when she used the stained glass or the sea glass in her windows, it reminded her of the sun filtering through the ocean.  Then she got to enjoy the fabrics and the textures of the land as well by what she would buy. In many ways, she had started to figure out how to blend the best of both worlds.  

Maya snapped her fingers.  “The thrift store,” she nodded.  “That’s where I’ve seen you.  I enjoy browsing the shelves when I actually decide to go in and shop.” Her shoulders rose and fell as she gestured at her outfit. “I believe my style has been described as bohemian – and my home reflects the same.”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

The thought process she explained fit perfectly with what Amara was thinking about. She was sure that the humans had their fairytales and their lore about a place like this. The kids she befriended didn't seem to say much about it though, maybe they just didn't care. "I like the sound of that. Have you gotten any answers yet? It seems like it would take a lot of imagining to figure it all out though." She remarked as she looked at their surroundings. There wasn't much left to give anyone a definitive answer about anything.

Amara raised her eyebrows at her defense, not exactly knowing what the difference was. She assumed it counted as stealing as long as it didn't belong to you in the first place, but maybe that wasn't actually the case. "I don't know, what makes you say that? That sounds like an excuse to not get into trouble." She had a mischevious smile on her face, only teasing the woman since, really, Amara didn't have any room to talk. But maybe if her answer was good enough, she could use the same line of reasoning if she ever got caught taking something herself. "What are you thinking about making? Is that something you do often? Find bits and pieces of stuff around town and try to make it into something pretty?" As well intentioned as the activity sounded, to Amara, it sounded like a lot of work. Why did so many things take so much effort to accomplish? Even when they were meant to be calming.

Amara was still trying to find her thing, something to make Port Vale fun, make her actually enjoy her time as a human. Vera had her books, Silas had taken to social media, but neither of those really felt like the right thing for Amara. She still was having trouble thinking of something on her own, so when Adrian had the idea that perhaps she would like to try baking, she decided it was worth a shot. She had heard the saying third times the charm and maybe this would be the human activity that she would be capable of handling.

Adrian’s place was pretty small but still much more spacious than her room at the inn so she couldn't complain. Maybe it was also thanks to all the ingredients across the kitchen counters that made the place seem smaller. She hadn't even realized so many different ingredients went into making the sweet treats she liked picking out at the bakery. With her hair tied back and an apron on she looked over everything before turning to Adrian. "So...all of this is gonna get used for this? I wasn't expecting this to be so overwhelming."

.

“That’s fair enough.” Gabi liked that land food and drinks took aesthetic into account. It tasted differently, somehow, when it looked better. Not that Gabi had figured out how to make appealing-looking food for herself. She was an artist, but that didn’t mean she knew how to do every kind of art. Food preparation and design was a big hurdle at this point. Free banquet food was a real treat. Pursing her lips, she considered what Amara was suggesting. “Go ahead and take some for later if you don’t think it will spoil. I’ll cover for you if anyone that thinks they’re in charge comes by. I don’t like to think too much about what happens to leftovers, but I don’t expect them all to get eaten.”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

.

“I have no idea what it is. Ask someone who staffed the thing if you wanted to know the logistics. It’s rather salty, though, which is nice. And the shape and colors are appealing. But perhaps you just care about taste? Go ahead. Take some.” She gestured for Amara to do so. While it would be within her instincts to hoard a little bit, this was a one-night-only sort of deal, and there was more than enough to go around for everyone.

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

"I guess the looks don't really matter as long as it tastes good. Though I guess if it didn't look as nice as it did I might be worried it would taste awful." Amara approached closer to Gabi and to the food hesitantly. The offer was given to her but given the last time she spoke to Gabi things had gotten weird by the end and she was still trying to figure out how to act in a situation like this. Trying not to make too much eye contact, she reached for one of the hors d'oeuvres and took a bite and was happy to confirm it tasted as good as it looked. "Okay, now I see why you're hoarding these ones for yourself. They're great. You know, I was thinking that there's really like...a lot of food here. There's no way everyone can eat it all even if there's a lot of us here right now. What do you think they're gonna do with all of the stuff that doesn't get eaten?"

~

Maya rose as she turned, the piece of stained glass still in her hand.  She eyed the young woman, cataloging any details she could make out.  Not a mermaid and … probably not a siren – and yet something of the sea seemed to cling to her.  Then Maya’s lips curved into a smile, mostly due to amusement at herself.  On an island such as Port Vale, the sea clung to everybody.  Putting the thought aside, she tilted her head in consideration of the question.

And did she recognize her?  Where had she seen her before?  Somewhere …

“No,” she replied, letting the back of her mind comb through her memories. “I’ll be headed away long before the party starts.” Her hand, the one not holding the glass, waved towards the Castle.  “It’s an interesting place to let yourself think or imagine, but the party-goers aren’t really the most … conducive to that.”

Tucking her piece of glass into her pocket, Maya offered the other a small smile. “My apologies if this sounds rude, but I could swear I know you from somewhere, but I can’t quite place it.” One shoulder rolled a bit in a half shrug. “Generally speaking I’m very good with faces, so it’s … I hesitate to say it’s bothering me, but I feel like I’m poking at a blank spot in my head.”

❆ °。° ❆ °。°❆

If Amara was being honest, the woman didn't exactly look like the party goer type so her answer didn't surprise her. She was a little curious about what she had been doing here though, if the intention wasn't to scout out the party location before the party began like Amara had just done. "So that's all you're doing up here then? Thinking and imagining? I don't know too much about this place, I just heard it's the best spot to throw a 'rager' which, yeah, doesn't make me think they're all coming up here to do some imagining."

But she could see what she was getting at. A torn down place like this, she bet in the snowless months you could sit there daydreaming about this castle in its prime long ago and the different types of people who came in and out through the years.

When the other went to tuck the piece of glass into her pocket, that was when Amara had taken notice that she had it at all. The woman had been crouched over doing something when she came. "Oooh, that's what you're here for?" she asked, gesturing towards her pocket. "You're here to steal things, you could have just said that you know." Her tone was carefree, not bothered by the idea that she was taking something that didn't belong to her. She assumed everyone did it after all.

Her mention of knowing her from somewhere made Amara pause, trying not to show fear or concern over somehow being recognized. The woman said it in such a friendly manner, it wasn't accusatory or intended to throw Amara off guard but there was that paranoia that she knew something. "Uhh, I don't know. I'm new around here, I'm staying at the Inn right now, and I mostly going back and forth between there, the café, and the thrift store. Maybe you've seen me there?" she suggested, hoping that was the case. There was no way she could have been recognized for not being human but that didn't mean she was going to stop holding her breath until she knew for sure.