song of the sea

A glint of metal caught his keen eye against the rich tone of their hand before it disappeared entirely. People could be so friendly in the rural places, where the pace of life was slower and your neighbour didn't tend to be a competitor in the rat race. "Thank you. I had meant to look up the tide times." Shen paused, "You must know the shore very well. Are you a sailor perhaps?"

"A sailor?", she shook her head, "My uncle owns a shop here in town, we've been in Crestle Cove all our lives. So I picked up a thing or two - especially given that it's part of my job to converse with fishermen. And you? Most people do not bother with the tide times before taking a wander." She considered asking his business in town, but it was an early morning and she did not wish to give in to the paranoia the witches had trained her in.

He'd gone through the motions for five years, going to coven meetings, keeping just how strong his powers were a secret. To his parents, friends, everyone. He didn't want the attention that came with it... good or bad. And right now, things felt like they were turning bad again.

He walked along the beach, letting out a breath. He was lost in his own thoughts until he heard the voice. "Oh, hey, morning" he smiled back, trying to pull himself together. Though he paused a moment, sure he could feel something in the air. "Oh, thanks for the warning, I guess I'm used to the weird weather doing things like that in Crestle. Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah, the weather is quite strange this time of year, but nothing we aren't used to, hu?", she kept her hands neatly in the pockets of her rain jacket, toying with the coin. Could he sense it? She was not sure if it was magic - but it definitely was something - and maybe she should have gone to the coven first thing. But the thought of someone else touching her coin already made her uneasy. How strange.

"I am good, thank you", the lie left her lips easily, aided by the charms of her siren blood, "I am just out here because of the weather, actually. Nothing that helps clear your head as much as the sound of waves and the wind tearing at your clothes, right? And you are quite welcome. If you get stuck out there I might be obligated to save you and no one here wants that, so yes, it is all for my own benefit", she laughed at her joke. And then, without a second thought, she added: Crestle has been weirder than usual though, hasn't it? There's a lot of nasty rumors swirling around."

I heard something, someone... It was on the tip of her tongue, wondering if she should share it. If she told Thalassa, there was a chance the girl would want context, and that was the hold up; a can of worms Iris would prefer not to keep close, if possible, she'd shove it a trash can and forget all about it. "Yeah, I'm done here, I've had my fill of the color red for today" Her breath had caught back up with her, but the human didn't feel anymore at ease, "Are you finished with your... stuff?"

"The weather so close to the sea is always a bit unpredictable", her voice was reassuring, not scolding and for a heartbeat there Thalassa even considered using her siren-charm to calm the other down. But she decided against it, tried it the human way first. "This place can mess with your mind. That much 's for sure. Maybe I can come with you next time if you ever want to explore it here more?"

Sooner or later everyone in town was drawn to the bleeding fields. After all they were the heart of the Cove, beating and filled with the blood of centuries. No one could withstand the call of all these myths for long. And she wondered what Iris had heard, especially given the recent rumours. "Yes, I am done here. At least for today.", she reached out a hand for the other to take, "You want to go and grab some food maybe? I am starving. And once we're back in town, maybe tell me why you chose this dreadful place for exploring? There's way prettier than these red flowers, I can show you."

She nodded. The dream had led her here... the girl had some connection to here. "Yes, I don't know you. I have been in town a while now, I've had dreams seen I was a teenager... of Crestle. I was being led here by a girl... I thought was some sort of version of me. But then I found her online," she rambled on. Her eyes followed the woman across the room. "So, I... believe you. That I look like someone. I'm Xanthe Waverly. I found out my birth name was Hayes."

"Your dreams have led you hear?", she blinked, "Okay... Let's just, take a moment, shall we?" She closed her eyes, bringing one hand up to rub them. A part of her was already shouting danger, reminding her that this could be some strange spell - or worse a ploy by some vampires trying to undermine the coven. And she was part of the coven, was she not?

"I know the girl you are talking about", Thalassa finally said, "Your story sounds strange, most mortals would not believe you. But here in Crestle... things are different." Even if this was all a trick - the girl's emotions felt genuine. And now that Thalassa knew her, she could at least warn the witches. "Dreams can have more than just meaning, dreams can have power. And I know the Hayes family, too. So what is it your after? Meeting them? Then you have come to the wrong place today, Athena won't be in till much later. But I can pass her on a message, if you'd like?"

He saw the look on her face and laughed at himself. "Sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I?" He nodded. "Me either actually, I suppose I quite like my job at times. I enjoy talking to people, I like listening to their stories. Finding out about their lives, even if I can help in some way." He knew he was still rambling but that was just him. "I suppose yeah, you can try and convince them to need things. I probably get the same tourists turn up at the bar," he said with a laugh. "Yeah, I'm good. Just strange Crestle weather at the moment. It's making me feel a little... heightened."

"There's times when this town makes me forget I was ever normal", she did not need to overshare that part of herself. If he was part of one of the packs or the coven of this town the guy in front of her would know what she was talking about - if not it was close enough to something a human would say, too. "I grew up in this town and I have learned that the weather is something you either get used to - or learn to ignore completely. But it always gives us something to talk about, does it not?" She took a sip from her drink before looking at him again, "But it has been rather strange lately, even for Crestle. You think there's something up with that?" After all, it was a full moon week and one could never be too careful during those.

She nodded, still in a daze, taking the cup of coffee. Her eyes scanned around the room again, this was definitely the place from her dream. The detail so exact... and she had never been here before.

The woman spoke and she glanced back up, snapping from her thoughts. She'd come a long way with her magic and she could feel something from the other, though she couldn't explain what. "Um, off. Sorry, yeah. This may seem really crazy... but a dream led me here."

But the emotions she was picking off of the other told a whole different story.

So she stayed silent for a moment, listened - not only to the words but how they felt. And then Thalassa put on her best siren smile, the last thing she wanted was to scare this girl away, Athena or not. "So you do not remember me at all? And you say that a dream led you here?" Without further hesitation, Thalassa stepped to the door of the shop, where the sign closed was still proudly displayed, and lowered down the blinds. She wanted to make sure no one would interrupt them, yet not give off the feeling of them being locked in. "This might sound very weird to you, too, but you look like someone I know. Not just a resemblance but... This isn't some joke, right? You're not kidding? What's your name?"

She sighed, looking up at colleague. if you could call the boss' niece a colleague. "It's going to be a quiet day." Athena grumbled, flopping down behind the counter. "You are way too optimistic to be here this week... what's been put in your coffee? I want some."

With the smile still on her lips the siren got up and walked over to the coffee machine, leaving her own cup on the counter. "You know, Athena, I am this cheerful because today is a wonderful day. I like storms. The water coming nearer to the land, it's like a cold hug from mother ocean.", she poured her colleague a cup and then turned around, "And I was looking forward to seeing you. I mean, if it's not my place to ask feel free to not answer, but... How long have we been working together here?" She walked over, holding out the cup of tea, "And why did the woman that walked in here this morning look exactly like you? Like a hundred percent like a creepy clone? Care to share?"

Status: Open

The bleeding fields; if what she had heard from Aria and Alistair was true, than the crux of many problems in Crestle Cove lay buried beneath her feet. It was difficult to wrap her head around all the information she had been acquiring recently— and believe it. But Iris did believe that something significant had happened here. There was a heavy feeling that followed her as she ambled along, like she was dragging a large comforter or walking through water; a thick fog had also settled shortly after she arrived, but the painfully red flowers could still be seen bobbing in the wind. Thanks to her job, unsettling places were nothing new to her, but the bleeding fields inspired something else; desperation, maybe? Humiliation? Panic? ...Iris...

Her head whipped around, body freezing mid step. No one was behind her, but would she even be able to see them in the mist? The voice had sounded so close... as if whispered right against the crown of her ear...

...robamaridos...

Anger and shame filled her at the word, taunting her into action. "Whose there? This is hardly funny... and if it comes to it, I will fuck you up..."

Thalassa was never one to disclose her identity openly but right now she was more than happy that she had been very clear and very honest with Iris, right from the start. She still wasn't sure if they would ever move away from the friends with benefits status - she wasn't sure if she wanted to, this was easy, this was fun. She enjoyed her time with Iris, the calm, the gentle. The moments that belonged only to them and not to reality. But no matter what their relationship was or was not, the siren was grateful that she did not have to lie about her own reason for being at the Bleeding Fields.

She hated this place, hated it with all her heart. So many bad things had happened here, so many dark emotions that still lingered here. It was as if every blood red flower spoke to her not of the beauty of nature but of death, violence, and the hatred that had sowed these flowers to begin with. But the Coven of Crestle Cove tolerated her and Thalassa was doing her part in protecting the town in return.

"I am here for a quick check on... not-human business. But I am about to head home. Do you want to join me? You seem... shocked, to put it mildly."

She wasn't sure why but she'd been drawn to this place and it wasn't for the fish. Her nose wrinkled slightly as she walked in. It was for her sister. "Hey, that's okay, take your time," she said with a smile. "To be honest, I don't even know what I'm exactly doing here. So no emergency."

"No, I like that logic. A mental health break. Those are important and well, coffee is my language."

When she passed the other woman she got a wif of her emotions, her powers - if you could call them that - were always more of a strange sensation, a feeling at the back of her skull, than a real conscious decision to listen in. It was as if Thalassa was looking in one direction and then caught something at the corner of her eye.

And this time what she caught confused her even more. With time she had realised that people's emotions and were just as individual as style or personality, as if everyone used the same colors but in different hues. And this girl... Well she was all out of tune today.

"Are you all right?", Thalassa stopped in her tracks, "I cannot pinpoint it, but you seem... off."

Status: Open

Most days Elijah rarely found himself at the actual clinic, majority of his work was done through house calls, and that's how he liked it. Not only did this make him able to converse with more of the Crestle Cove residents, but it was always better socializing with the animals in their own environment. Due to homebase, as Eli lovingly called it, being short staffed, he found himself in the shoes of a veterinary assistant for the day.

He pushed through the swinging door into the waiting room, taking in the various patients with their furry(and some not so furry) friends. One in particular caught his attention, unable to resist he approached with a giddy smile. "Alright, who is this absolute rockstar— is it alright if I pet?"

As if on command the black dog shook himself, fur flying in all directions. Thalassa was normally not one to easily worry when it came to the antics of her uncle's dog but given that Noah was on vacation this was just wonderful timing on Benji's side. "He's my uncle's and since said uncle is currently on vacation I thought Benji was just being a bit sad. But he hasn't eaten in two days and he's all... I don't know, weird."

As soon as Iris sat down Thali leaned a little closer to bump the other's shoulder in greeting. She enjoyed being around the human woman, more than she had expected at first for sure. Maybe it was the fact that it was so uncomplicated, maybe it was because she did not need to think about the coven, the vampire rumors... All the things that were so inherently Crestle Cove and had lingered over her head like the sword of Damocles since her birth.

"Excuse me?", she exclaimed in half-played shock, "My coffee is very good. It helps you wake up, with a firm but gentle kick. Anything else I can interest you in instead? And harpoon guns are in the back if you ever need one. Don't use it on me, though."