gold rush

"Not crazy at all," Eli soothed, lowering himself to the cat's level. "Conrad the cat, are you a distinguished gentleman, Conrad?" A jesting smile on his face as he used his thumb to rub between the cat's ears, looking for any obvious signs of health issues. From first glance he couldn't see anything wrong, but it wasn't unusual for pet owners to bring their animals in on a whim and something actually be wrong. They would cover all of Conrad's bases to make sure he was in tiptop shape. "I don't see anything glaringly obvious, but there's no reason why we can't take a closer look; you can go ahead and follow me." With one last gentle pat Elijah stood up, leading the blonde and her cat to an empty exam room.

Xanthe knew it was a little crazy but she couldn't help herself lately. Her dreams seemed so real, she knew she wouldn't relax until she had him checked. "Yeah, Conrad the cat. I think it suits him. The little ginger baby," she rambled on, watching the vet move to him. "Thank you, I do really appreciate this. It would just make me feel better and I'll pay for your time," she smiled a little, following after him.

Thalassa had learned to control the expression on her face as early as her childhood. When one had to hide a secret - the secret of her siren identitiy no less - in front of at least half the town and all of these tourists, it came in quite handy. But when the girl in front of her, the girl that looked like Athena, told her about those dreams it was hard even for Thalassa to not just... stare.

Xanthe knew she sounded crazy, the last several years of her life had felt so... but now she was in a town... that a dream had led her to. She was working here, her magic felt stronger here... and there was a girl who looked identical to her here. If it were not for having powers, she'd think it all to be insane. But with magic, maybe anything was possible. She could even sense the energy in the store.

Starter for @meaningofgray

Xanthe felt on edge more often than not lately. She had no idea what she was doing. Magical dreams had made her move here. It was crazy that she even had magic in the first place. Her adoptive parents had no idea about anything. They simply believed she had a good research job, making use of her university degree. In a sense she was... it was just, a lot more supernatural.

His mouth edged up in a sideways smile. "I'm from Crestle, moved away in my mid twenties though to travel the world. Came back..." He waffled his head back and forth as he thought, "Came back about seven years ago. Decided I'd been away from my family too long." Running from his family would have been a more accurate statement. "You talked like you were quite fascinated with Crestle Cove, what's kept you from settling here for longer?" The question might have been a little nosy, but Elijah couldn't help but speculate what the vampire had been up to in all her years of life. "I agree, magic is definitely to blame here, but does it not make you feel uneasy— I mean this magic in particular? I don't get the impression it's as harmless as it may seem."

"And how long ago was your mid twenties, may I ask?" Her voice was blunt and yet, she still held a softness. "Hmm, I can appreciate family. I have places I call home too." She had her vampire daughters, though her mortal family had died a long time ago. "Hmm, it holds some sort of sentiment to me. But I would be bored here long term," Claudia admitted. "Uneasy is not the word I would use, curious. I am curious. I get excited by it all," she told him. "I want to find out what it is. Hmm, I often find, in the supernatural world... that not much is harmless."

"You have?" Athena was intrigued and her eyes glanced to the sky. How could one question it and then forget it so easily. It confirmed to Athena all she needed to know. This woman wasn't lying about having been around. "A few countries, backpacking during college. But i always end up back here. Home is where the heart is, right?"

She looked over the blonde for a moment, petite, pretty, the sort of girl she'd enjoy making her own. Though the vampire kept her features relaxed, not once showing what was on her mind. "I have, there's a lot to see out there. Maybe you'll see more of it one day." She nodded. "Ah, she's educated woman." Claudia gave a smile. "Well, that all depends if you like where you live or the people in it."

"I am not sure crazy is the right word for what I have heard.", with both hands in his pockets the vampire kept his eyes on that place in the distance. He had lost his heart there, more than once, in the most gruesome ways one could imagine. Yet it had also given him purpose, for all these years. And that had to be worth something, right?

"Oh, I think crazy works very well for the majority of things in this town," he said with a small life. He'd grown up in this world, the supernatural. Nothing surprised him anymore but at times, it was still fucking crazy.

Aria didn't move her hands, holding the man up. Her eyes scanned his for signs of honesty. "Well you know something, because the note says you do so you're going to need to start talking. Fast." Her hand tightened on him.

Cailan knew more about it than she knew, he'd taken her memories.... to save her. But he was not lying, he had not sent this and he definitely didn't find it funny. He stared back at her, wanting her to see that in his eyes. "Okay, so I know something. But I promise, this was not me. But I'll be able to talk a lot better if you let me go," he added with a small smile. Though he knew it was no time for humour.

"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?"

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."

Cleo actually faltered at that, staring down at her indeed shoe-less feet. She forgot to be afraid for her life briefly and instead wished the sidewalk would open up beneath her. "I'm having a really, really weird night." Cleo attempted to explain, which was impossible without context to the pretty waif of a girl who had appeared, though the thrumming twinned cords of excitement and terror in the wolf would be clear to anything that could hear a pulse. "You should really head home, it's not safe out here right now."

Claudia's dark eyes glanced over the girl, physically she looked older than her but for the 500 year old vampire, she often felt protective over women. Even when she did not admit it. "It looks like you are, darling. It doesn't look like my idea of a fun night." Claudia couldn't hide her smile at the girl's next words. "Oh sweet girl, do not worry about me out here. Whatever is out here, is not safe around me."

open / town / 3:07am

Claudia enjoyed the night. It was quiet, less annoying humans about. She had been on earth for many centuries now and as much as she denied it, the world around her was intriguing. She had felt that way since she was a girl. Her recent note, the fear of her maker once more, she'd found herself wandering late. Though she had not anticipated catching a scent at this hour. Her senses followed it, finding the young woman. Her eyes glanced over her. "Darling, you have no shoes. What are you doing?"

Teddy waved as a parent swept their eyes across the front of the fire station, the kid scrambled back across the cement toward them. "Right? I could never look that cool in the helmet." Teddy sighed as though this deeply wounded him, then perked up at the sight of the coffee stand, he ambled over smiling affably then thumbed his wallet out of his back pocket. "What did you order? Looks good."

Reyes gave a soft laugh, nodding. "Oh the kid won, hands down. Sorry, my man." He smiled, looking down at his drink. "Oh, I am a simple guy. It's a black coffee with a splash of milk. Do you want one?" he asked, holding his hand out. "Reyes, I may have seen you around? I work in the local bar."

"We should team up then", Thalassa said with a shrug, "Sending tourists from one spot to the other when we realise they have a story to tell." She smiled, looking up at the sky above them when he turned her attention to the weather.

Reyes gave a soft laugh, nodding. "Yeah, I put posters up of your store in the bar, you do the same in your store. Share customers," he replied, taking a deep breath. He really did enjoy being outside. And the summer air was still slightly warm.

Chris sometimes felt like the only grown up in town, but then likely because he had been doing this since he was just a young man. He nodded as Reyes spoke again, he knew if anyone could help find her it was a Henrikson. "You're old dude." Chris joked.

Reyes patted his back gently. "Come on, man. We'll find her. I promise." He gave a small laugh. "Yeah, I'm starting to feel it. My back definitely hurts after a long shift," he joked.

"Elijah Burgos." He nodded to her, head dipping a little lower in respect, her polite way of speaking hadn't gone unnoticed; even if she hadn't been someone of great status, wasn't it only right to have some sort of admiration for her? Disregard whether she could be called a good or bad person, either way she had managed to survive for, arguably, six lifetimes. That was pretty impressive in his book. "Do you find yourself back here often? Out of all the places on earth I can think of a few I'd rather spend eternity at," He responded thoughtfully; his brother's face appeared in his head, a stab of guilt shortly after. Eli would go where ever his family went. Recentering his head on the conversation, he sat himself down on the nearby stairs, "What do you make of these lights— kind of weird, yeah?"

"Elijah Burgos," she repeated, trying to decide if she had heard the name before. She had not. "Where are you from?" she asked, keeping her same formal tone. Now she knew he was a vampire, she didn't have to pretend to be so human.

Athena narrowed her eyes. She looked the same age as her , but the way she spoke was different. "I bet..." Athena felt uneasy, starting to shift away. "No... but well pretty weird things here happen all the time. You seem to know all about... otherworldly things. I mean if you've travelled a lot. You'll have seen a lot?"

Claudia gave a small laugh at her reaction. She could see the way the girl was looking at her. The vampire was used to it. "You bet," she repeated. "Do I? Well, I must say, yes. This is a strange little town. But, believe it or not. I have been to stranger. Yes. Have you been far?"

status: open / @crestlestart location: the beach close to the old lighthouse

Cailan felt sick to his stomach, it was all coming back to haunt him. All of it. His powers he'd been hiding, the memory spell he'd done to Aria... and some magical fire, the warning at work. His work place... with humans. Someone knew about him and he didn't know what to do. He didn't want this.