Lalochezia

"I can be dangerous." Athena continued to joke. "You just need a safeword" She laughed at herself, knowing that she was taking it too far. But she didn't care. She looked down at her box, taking a few things out. "Ah, you know... the usual kooky ghost hunting stuff. You get a lot of the paranormal sorts doing investigations out here."

"I think you'd be surprised how much I can take..." She answered tentatively, not fully understanding the situation. If her head could have done a 360 it probably would have, because how had she just gone from fearing for her life to flirting with a complete stranger— and kind of liking it. What the fuck is this place? "That's an interesting hobby, do you ever get any responses?"

The wolf's eyes never left her, concern on his soft features. His senses could almost smell her emotions, he could feel it. The weather had made him very perceptive lately. He held his hands up gently, keeping his voice soft as he spoke. He wanted to reassure her. "It's okay, yeah, I'm Reyes. It's okay," he repeated. "Not too long, just wandering. I heard you. Though my senses do feel heightened."

"Why does that happen? Did I startle you?" She hadn't thought about the fact that her crazed shouting might have shocked him. Someone had mentioned that people took hikes here, though Iris couldn't understand why, regardless she hadn't considered running into an actually person. "Reyes..." She muttered, as if processing the information and who he was. "...Do you like walking here? I can think of a couple places I'd choose to take a stroll instead."

Thalassa ignored the urge to step closer to her lover, she wanted to give Iris space, to let her breath and not heighten the already swirling emotions. She knew that Iris would not be threatened by her - at least the siren hoped that was the case - but when the fields had gotten into your head people tended to react in different and unexpected ways. So to stay away seemed the better choice in that very moment.

She hummed in acknowledgement, the town wasn't strange enough with it's impressive supply of unhuman creatures, only indecisive weather would fully round out the spooky experience. Thali masked her concern quite well, but Iris could still detect a slight down turn in her lips that only further embarrassed her. However, Thali could not be blamed for showing even a slightest sparkle of human decency, so Iris squashed her bruised ego and took comfort in the fact they had ran into each other when they did. Who knows what else Iris would have heard, hopefully she wouldn't have gone as far as to throw punches at the fog itself. Who knows though, she had begun to feel like she was losing her mind a little. "I doubt I'll have any desire to come back here, at least anytime in the coming future; I'd sooner go to the dump than here should I want to be outside," She added sourly, once again letting her irritation get the better of her. Despite some of the things Iris has said about Crestle Cove, she truly didn't hate it here; rather she hated all recent events she had become entangled in and Crestle Cove was something she failed to understand and produced endless questions. It was a perfect scapegoat for her to direct her ire. Letting a hesitant breath through her nose, Iris took hold of the other's hand, the feeling of a palm on hers was one she hadn't felt in some time. "Food sounds good— just anywhere but Sammi's diner, I don't trust the cook there. Maybe, but I think the reality of what I was doing here is gonna be much more boring than what you expect."

"I should have said hi or something from further away, I really didn't mean to spook you." Cleo curled and uncurled an auburn wave around one finger. "This place... it has a habit of doing things like that, playing tricks on people I mean." Maybe it was the unique topography of the land, of the flora that flourished there... Or maybe there was truth to the wild mythologies accompanying the war.

She couldn't say she was surprised, finding it easy to believe that others had fallen victim to the location's weird ambiance. Hearing about the fields from other people was enough for Iris to come to the conclusion that it remained a peculiar place, despite the events that occurred having happened many years ago. She might have still been wrapping her head around the idea of magic and ethereal creatures, but something made her hair stand on edge here.

The vampire could not help but chuckle at her words. "No, you are right. Despondence is a good word for it. It sometimes feels like this place is keeping old wounds open for the sake of remembering instead of moving forward to heal. Maybe I have learned that here, too." Or maybe the people of this town had learned it from them. From Hacke and Alistair, from Vincent, and Evie. Maybe it had been the vampires that forced this sense for immortality on them. And all Crestle Cove tried was to keep itself safe, whole.

"Do you not think it's possible to heal from a grave situation but still remember the importance of it?" The way he spoke of Crestle Cove was curious, it wasn't necessarily with disdain but she also didn't detect a great amount of fondness. Iris wondered if he too was clinging to some enervative memory that originated here. So far his enigmatic demeanor, and his person as a whole really, fit perfectly within the strange picture that was Crestle Cove; if she found herself here too long, would she also start to speak in complicated, albeit poetic, sentences? Maybe that's what she needed, these days she might as well have grumpy realist tattooed on her forehead.

Reyes knew he shouldn't be going to the fields. He'd grown up in a well known wolf family. He'd heard all the stories from the elders in the pack, and yet, after seeing the sky the other night... he felt the urge to go there. He couldn't even explain why.

"Fuck." There was an undeniable quaver to her voice, his appearance was a surprise, she had not actually expected to get a response. It was unnerving how she hadn't been able to detect him approaching. His presence didn't make any immediate alarm bells go off, and she knew his words were meant to comfort, but she sort of felt like a cornered animal. Breathing deeply through her nose, attempting to calm her frazzled nerves, acquiesced to handle the threats as they came. For the moment, she would trust him, only because it seemed unlikely he had been the disembodied voice; unless voice masking was a supernatural capability of his... "You can stay right there, Reyes," She asserted, voice softening a little as she continued. "I'm okay... How long have you been here— Did... did you hear anything?"

Athena had felt weird a few days and she hadn't been able to explain why. Sure, going to the bleeding fields - a notoriously haunted and powerful spot in town was unlikely to help that issue. But she felt like she had to do something. "Fuck... me up? That better be a promise." Athena half smiled, trudging up the hill with a box in her arms.

Iris turned around with a start, looking quizzically at her new company. She didn't seemed fazed by Iris' threat, if anything, a little amused. Iris opened her mouth, then proceeded to close it, not quite sure how to respond; if she didn't feel so disoriented she might have even joked back. "Uh... Sorry, I thought... Could have sworn I heard something... dangerous?" She responded, not as confident as she would have liked to sound. Eager to change the subject, Iris nodded to the box in her hands, "What do you have there?"

The Bleeding Fields... such a name, for somewhere so ecologically biodiverse. A thriving habitat for wildlife, set against the rugged coast that the cove called home. The view was striking on a good day, let alone adding the slim figure standing further ahead of her. Though they seemed almost dazed, the sound of the unevenness of their footsteps and strange gait had perked Cleo's ear. She'd wanted to check that they were alright.

She nearly tripped over her feet when a voice came from her left, not the same voice she had heard, but one considerably more gentle and friendly. The sound matched the soft features of the girl, her expression didn't appear to be one of malevolence, but hadn't her mother always said the Devil came in the prettiest forms.

As if on it's own accord, the fog parted just enough to reveal another figure, one that looked much more relaxed than she felt. The response startled her, not truly expecting anyone to answer her threat. Iris wasn't inclined to believe this was the person she had heard sneering insults, she had never met this woman therefore there was no way of her knowing anything about Iris. Unless clairvoyance was among the skills supernatural beings had, did Aria say anything about that? Still, this woman's condescending tone only agitated her further, even if it was a valid question. "By any means necessary," she stated matter-of-factly, though hoping it wouldn't come to violence. In the past Iris had considered herself very capable when in situations where self defense was required, no one would say she couldn't land a solid punch. However, she never faced anyone who could possibly turn her into a frog with a wave of their hand, or tear out her neck in a blink of an eye. "I thought... I felt threatened, but frankly, I'm not convinced it to be your doing..."

"Woar, woar", Thalassa stepped closer, both hands raised, "Calm down, darling. Who are you yelling at?" She gave Iris a look over to make sure the other was all right but had to use all her self-control to not stumble backyard when Iris' emotions hit her like a wave. None of them were good. "And more importantly, what are you doing out here? In such dreadful weather that is?"

Thalassa materialized from the fog, and though Iris recognized her in an instant, she still took a step back. The voice had not belonged to Thalassa, that much she was sure of; she had heard the siren's voice in a myriad of different cadences, her favorite being the breathless lilt Thali got after... It didn't matter, the voice she had heard moments ago was slick with judgement and disdain, it didn't fit with the Thalassa she had gotten to know— had seen in their private moments. It took a moment to register the questions thrown at Iris as she once again glanced around, searching, though knowing the real culprit wouldn't reveal themself to her. "I was... exploring, the weather-" one of her arm's weakly gestured to their surroundings, falling heavily back to her side, "-it wasn't like this when I got here."

Alistair turned around, pointing at the spot of red in the distance. "The Bleeding Fields. Have you not heard of that terrible tragedy? Pretty sure the town has not forgotten about it in hundreds of years. It is as much part of the local folklore as all the stories about the veil water." He blinked, staring at the fields. Alistair had not been back there since his return to Crestle Cove, he dreaded that moment. Not because of memories but because of finding what he did not wish to be true. Or did he? "I am not a local", with a small laugh he turned to her again, "Well, maybe I am. It is hard to say these days. I have always had... some kind of connection to this town, this place. I come here every now and again, have done so... for a long time." Usually, it was not hard for him to speak about his past in a matter that made sense to mortals, centuries of training, but with the fields so close, with this place closing in all around him...

Her eye's followed where he pointed, the field of red in the distance would be hard to miss, even on a day with poorer weather. Iris had heard bits and pieces of what had happened there, and Aria informed her of several valuable pieces of information regarding Crestle Cove, though she was beginning to think the woman might be a little bias. Taking in his words, she hummed thoughtfully, "This whole town feels like it's shrouded in despondence." As soon as the words left her mouth she couldn't help but regret them, this town clearly had a rich history and people who loved it, to describe it so negatively seemed wrong. "I'm sorry, that was harsh of me to say, this town has a charm of it's own. Even if I sometimes have trouble seeing it. It's nice to meet you Alistair." Dropping his hand she moved to fiddle with the camera's strap, she didn't have the heart to tell him most of the things she photographed had neither beauty or should be preserved. Instead she offered a small smile, and a thank you. "Well Alistair, regardless of whether you were born here or not, seems like you have important ties. What's brought you back this time around?"

"Rain's always good for the trees", Alistair replied. He was no fan of too much, that was for sure, cliche as that was. "Makes the flowers bloom and all that.", he made a waving gesture with his hand, as if he was discarding his own words the moment they left his tongue. He looked at the new arrival for a moment, wondering if he had seen her before - in all those centuries. Lately, it was getting hard to tell who was immortal and who was still oblivious to the dark corners of Crestle Cove. But given that he had spent so much time away it felt as if the entire town was overrun with new faces, new bloodlines, new magic.

"What's the other place?" She pressed gently, her attention on the screen of her camera. It was indeed a beautiful place, there were smatterings of wildflowers at the feet of the crumbling walls and vines wrapped around the arches, making the scene look very whimsical. "Are you a local? You talk like you're familiar with Crestle Cove." Iris tried to be inconspicuous as she got a good look at the other. Was he human? If he wasn't it probably wouldn't be obvious. There's a reason the supernatural have been hidden. A wiry smile threatened to break her relaxed expression; Iris might have taken a picture of a pretty flower, or an especially vibrant bird, every now and again, but it wasn't the reason she had picked up the hobby. "Kind of, I guess you could say I'm more into documenting things — like my surroundings, and things I come across" She had yet to meet this man, and in the name of documenting, she should know as many people here as possible. Holding out a hand, she introduced herself. "I'm Iris, I'm new around here.

There weren't many people outside of her family that could melt the icy armor Thalassa was wearing most days, but Iris drew a smile from her lips every now and then. And this morning happened to be just such an occasion. She even chuckled upon hearing that first question. "Oh, so you have heard about Steve? That movie did him dirty, he's a very nice but big fella. Lives up the veil, wouldn't step on his lawn if I were you, though.", she joked.

"Steve? I'll make sure to turn the other direction if I hear that name." Iris pulled her thighs up to her chest, arms wrapping around her bent legs as she got comfy on the sun bleached wood. "Tell him to stay away from my dried up lawn and I'll stay off his."

status: open location: shadow ridge

Most of her days were either spent at Harbour Hearth doling out pastries or coffee, if not there Iris tried to explore the town as much as possible. Crestle Cove had an enigmatic atmosphere, that much was clear when she arrived, it made the nosey detective in her froth at the mouth. Having learned of the monsters— creatures, she doubted they would want to be called monsters, only confirmed the Crestle Cove had secrets. Secrets that she wanted to reveal, and hopefully along the way make more sense of things.