Introduction: A New Home

For thousands of years, long before humans walked the Earth, sirens have swam the waters all around the world. This isn't something most, if any, humans know. There are some sirens, like the deep sea folk, who never see the light of day, choosing instead to live in the dark cold waters well below the surface.

Others stay in the shallows near ports and marinas. It's a simple life, often leading to adventure and exploration. There's nothing quite like following the boats across the world.

Then some sirens, like Kara, like to stay in fresh water.

Fresh water sirens spend more time on land than other sirens, often living close to shores alongside unknowing humans. They can even stay out of water for nearly two days straight and walk on human legs. If they get tired of an area, they can go into the water and will magically appear in a new body of water, carried by the magic that flows through them.

Kara herself has never had to leave her home, before. She's always been happy in Raverden. But Lake Clearwater is being drained, her source of life draining with it, and she cannot stay in Raverden without a water source. So, she does what any siren in her position has to do. Rids herself of her house, her belongings, sheds her identity, and dives into what remains of her lake. She emerges new from a water source that has what she needs to survive.

Somehow, that leads her to... Here.

Light Rock, South Carolina. A criminal downgrade from her beautiful lake in Raverden.

Kara looks at the lake, at the abysmal little house on the edge overlooking the water, and wonders if she should just go back down into the water and find somewhere else. As silly as it is, though, Kara has always trusted the water, and if this is where it spit her out, she has to believe there's a reason for it.

Kara explores the lake, first, diving down and moving through the water with ease. It's smaller than her home in Raverden had been, with murky shallows that would be easy to hide in. Even now, in the middle of the day, she doubts any human would be able to see her swimming below the surface.

There's many plants, too. Slimy plants. Kara surfaces and finds herself tangled in them.

"Disgusting," she mutters to herself, swimming back towards the house left abandoned. The sooner she adopts her new identity, the sooner she can rebuild. There is still the slight chance she won't stick around here, that the water made a mistake, but she's committed to trying. At least there aren't any humans around to bother her. Raverden may have been bigger, with a bigger lake, but the humans were always getting in it, trashing it, disrespecting the water.

The house is... Not what she would choose willingly. It may have been nice once, but years without a soul have left behind faded walls and broken windows. It's a wonder it hasn't crumbled from the weeds crawling up the side. Kara crawls out of the water onto the dock, blinking at the bright sun above that threatens to blind her sensitive eyes and the itchy feeling as her tail disappears.

"It could be worse..." Kara stands on new shaky legs and makes her way up the dock to the porch overlooking the lake. The wood is sturdy, still. A bit dirty, but good. The back door is even unlocked.

Inside, she finds an even greater mess. The broken windows have let in leaves and dust and all sort of animals. Kara is only glad to find none are currently living in it, still. She could never bring herself to remove a family from their home, be them bird or mammal.

Raccoon prints aside, there's no decoration or furniture to speak of. Not that she really needs any, but if others showed up they may think an empty house is strange. She'll at least need to furnish a room.

"First things first, who am I," she mumbles, making her way through the house with curious glances around. The rooms are mostly empty, but she finds the bathroom still has a bathtub in it, and a broken sink.

She looks into the cracked mirror hanging on the wall, eyes drifting over her tired face. Sometimes sirens change, when they disappear into the water and come out new. The last thing they need is to leave a warm gulf and appear deep in the cold North Sea as a slim bright-haired siren without any natural camouflage to protect them from deep sea predators.

Kara knows those eyes that stare back at her. Green. Green like the swirling waters of the lake just outside. She has never seen the shade before, and yet she knows them in an instant.

Her hair is shorter now, too. Darker. Black straight strands that do not tangle when she runs her hands through them. Less likely to become caught on anything in the water.

Her hands look pale, though. Paler than before. She had assumed that for such murky water, she would have emerged darker as well to go unnoticed, but perhaps the water knows something that she does not about this lake. Or maybe a greenish person walking around would draw more attention than a pale one.

"I am Kara," she states, dropping her hands and looking into the mirror once again. Her voice is strong, she's pleased to find. "Hello, I a- I'm Kara. My name is Kara..."

She's never been good with this part. Kara stays far away from humans when she can, not wanting to know them like some sirens choose to. But, it's necessary. "Kara... Bint. My name is Kara Bint."

It's unassuming. Unique, but not too unique.

"I just moved here. I came from..." From Raverden, from that beautiful crystal blue lake, from a safe place... "None of your business." She doesn't need to tell anyone where she's from and she doesn't need to be overly nice about it.

"My name is Kara Bint, I just moved in. I'll be busy fixing the place up, so I don't really have time to chat. Yeah, that sounds right..." A new life. A new her.

Kara looks down at herself and frowns, then. First things first, she should probably get some clothes on. The water is fickle today, spitting her out in such an ugly lake by an ugly house and not even giving her clothes.

Kara makes her way back to the dock outside, grateful that she's so close to the water. Out the door and barely ten steps. At least it's a short trip if she needs to get to the water quickly. And it makes this next part easier, too.

With shaky legs, she lowers herself down to sit with her feet in the water, wrinkling her nose at how warm it is. Some like that. She does not.

With her life source flowing around her swaying feet, Kara closes her eyes and does her best to picture a natural human look. She can feel the fabric forming around her skin, the magic settling on her softly. Touching the water helps center her, strengthens her magic. Nothing special, just shorts and a loose shirt, both black. It'll be easier to get used to this new body in unrestrictive clothes. She also makes a simple suitcase full of similar clothes and a few documents.

As far as humans are concerned, Kara Bint is now the owner of 14 Peach St as well as Lake Dreadful. What a fitting name, she thinks as she opens her eyes and looks the papers over. The suitcase is just next to her, full of everything she needs to go unnoticed.

Her new life. Folded up neatly in easy human appearances. Kara lets herself smile, then. While she's still upset about the loss of her home, feeling weak and miserable, this new place gives her just a slight bit of hope. Maybe things will be okay, here.

She starts to stand up, then, her legs shaking underneath her. It's going to be a lot of work to figure this new body out. Especially since Kara spent weeks in the water waiting to reemerge... As she turns around, she hears yelling.

A human? Already? Kara shoves her documents into the suitcase and zips it up in a hurry. The house isn't ready, she isn't ready!

Just as Kara takes one step forward, he bursts out of the treeline and startles her back. A human man. His eyes find her immediately, even at a distance, and Kara feels fear shoot through her. Why is he looking at her like that? Why is he here at all? Surely it's too soon for anyone to know the house is occupied...

He starts running towards the house, towards her, and Kara lets go of the suitcase and stumbles back, frightened. He's just a human, but there's something in the way he moves that terrifies her.

Her wobbly legs fail her and Kara trips over her clumsy feet, tipping back into the safety of the water. She stays under, thoughts racing, and tries desperately to figure this all out. What does she say? How does she explain her sudden appearance? Will he have many questions? Some human men aren't good. Is he one of those sort of men?

Kara considers swimming off, abandoning these frail legs and this new shaky life, and emerging somewhere new once again.

Before she gets the chance, the water ripples and bubbles around the sudden plunge the man takes and arms close around her body. Kara tries to pull away, but finds quickly that he's only pulling her back to the surface. It'd be easy to drown him...

They come up and he grabs the wooden dock with one hand, holding her tightly and sputtering.

"I've got you," he says against her neck as he hauls them both back onto the dock. He says it again and again. "I've got you. I've got you. It's okay."

Kara is more confused, now, as she flops onto the dock and looks the human over. He hovers, like many humans tend to do, and stares at her with eyes the color of soft dirt. It's a nice color, she thinks to herself as she watches his mouth move.

The water has plastered his light hair to his face and he swipes it out of the way, shaking her arm. His mouth is still moving.

"What?" Oh, he's speaking to her. Kara blinks away the wetness gathered on her lashes and really listens.

"-okay? Did you hit your head, does anything hurt? Can you breathe?" Ah, he's asking questions. Only, they aren't the sort she had expected. He sounds worried. Perhaps she misjudged him. His voice is low, rough. Raspy, even. Sick, or maybe just a deep voice.

"I didn't hit my head," she tells him and it feels strange to speak to an actual person finally. It's been so long, so very, very long. Usually, she just talks to herself.

Once upon a time, she had he mother to talk to...

"Are you okay," he asks again, his hands moving closer, but never touching her.

"I'm fine. It's just water," she insists, her racing heart finally starting to calm as she determines he's just a misguided human, no threat after all. Or, not enough of one to warrant running away. That may have been an overreaction.

Kara is willing to admit she doesn't do well under intense panic.

"Just w-! That 'just water' is the most dangerous lake for miles," the man says incredulously, his voice rising from a soothing calm to a terrifying outraged. "This isn't some tourist town, if you wanna go swimming, do it at a public lake! You're lucky you didn't drown!"

"I wouldn't have drowned. I was right next to the dock." Her tone loses some of its civility despite her efforts to hold her instant dislike back. It isn't his fault he's only human. They're loud, they're annoying. It's in their nature, usually.

"What were you even doing out here," he demands, finally falling back to just sit and stare at her. His concern seems to have worn off, at last. Now he just looks... Angry, perhaps? No, that isn't anger. His eyes are too wide, brows not quite furrowed enough. Something close to anger, but not quite. Kara can't place it.

"Hey, idiot, I'm talking to you," he snaps. Actually snaps, moving his hand in front of her face as if she's a dog. She swats it away with an irritated noise. This is one of the many things she hates about humans. He comes to her home and rudely snaps his fingers in her face? Insults her? She's met fish with better manners.

Oh, wait. He wants to know why she's here.

Kara takes a breath, running the rehearsal through her head and plastering a smile on her face. It may be a bit soon but at least she's somewhat ready for this.

"I'm Kara Bint. I actually just moved in. I'm going to be busy fixing this place up, so I don't-"

"Are you crazy?"

"Excuse me?" Interrupting, now? How rude can this man possibly get? Kara sits up and swats his hands away once again when he tries to help. Her opinion of him is quickly nosediving.

"You can't live here," he says insistently. "No one can live here. You need to go."

Kara glares at him now and crawls to her suit case, unzipping it a bit viciously and grabbing the papers within. She shoves them at him, accidentally getting them wet in the process.

"I can, actually. Now get off my property," she hisses. She feels her chest vibrate with the words and takes a breath to calm herself down. It wouldn't do any good to accidentally use her siren song on him.

The man looks at the papers and flips through them with an increasingly shocked look in his eyes. "Why would he sell... thought he was going to just tear it down...?"

"Who knows," she snaps and then snatches the documents back. It isn't good to impose on siren territory. They can be a bit... Protective. Even other sirens know better than to linger in another's home. "I live here, I own this land, it's mine. Now go away."

Finally, the infuriating human slumps back in defeat. Every bit of strength seems to seep out of him and he stares at her with those big brown eyes full of... That look again. Not anger. He can't argue with the title of the house in her hands, in any case. What a wonderful day to be magic.

"Fine, you own it. Just stay away from the water," he shouts at her before standing up and storming off the dock. His volume shocks her into silence for a moment and she sits here, mouth open and eyes wide.

He's rude, he shouts, he's insulting, he acted as if she were dumb or crazy, or both.

He isn't going to be here often, right...?

"It's my dock," she grumbles under her breath with a deep possessive feeling in her chest. Kara tucks the papers back into the suitcase before using it as a crutch to stand up. If her legs felt wobbly before, now they're downright trembling. The mix of shock, outrage, panic, and terror-packed adrenaline has left her totally exhausted.

"I'm staying," she decides with a quiet mutter as he disappears back into the woods, following a trail she hadn't noticed before. She can just barely make out the top of a house above the treeline. So he's a neighbor. And he already wants her gone. "I'll stay out of spite if for nothing else. Jerk."

One way or another, this will be home. She won't be chased away and she refuses to let humans bully her out of another home.

After tucking her suitcase away in the cleanest room of the house and making herself a sturdy broom- plus still stewing over the rude man- Kara knows three things with absolutely certainty. Well, she likes to think she knows many things actually, but these three things stand out the most currently.

The first is that she's far too tired to get any real work done today. It's hopeless, she can barely stand on her new legs. She'll start sweeping, but the broken windows and heavy lifting will have to wait until tomorrow.

The second thing she knows is that her new body sucks. This might tie into the first thing, but the weakness isn't the only reason. She's shorter now. In Raverden she had been taller, probably because she'd been living in a much bigger lake with deeper water. Kara hadn't realized it before, but she enjoyed being tall.

The third thing she knows, which is becoming glaringly more obvious the longer she looks around, is that she is not sleeping in this house tonight.

There's nowhere to rest. There's nowhere to sit. There's not much of anything. Between the lake and this rickety old dump, she's picking the lake.

Sighing, she musters the strength to begin cleaning. With her broom, Kara starts to get the floors swept, dripping water as she goes. Leaves, sticks, dirt. It all gets swept right out the back door into a neat pile that she'll brush into the woods later. She's just thankful there isn't any carpet in the house.

Once the main room is empty, Kara is surprised by how spacious it really is. There aren't many rooms, either. The bathroom and bedroom, the living room, a small hallway... No kitchen?

Kara is a bit disappointed by that. If there is one thing that she enjoys about the human world, it's the food. Fish are good, of course, but there aren't cakes in the oceans or lakes. Maybe she can add a small kitchen to the living room. It's plenty big enough. Besides, the kitchen is the heart of a home for most humans.

Moving further into the house, she's pleased that the floors and walls truly are in good condition beneath all the grime built up. This was probably a lovely home at some point. It just needs a little attention and it'll be beautiful again. Kara already has some ideas in mind.

As she's sweeping the hallway, Kara notices a string taped to the ceiling. It's attached to a square outline, some kind of hatch or door. A crawl space? The house is rather tall, does it have an attic?

Kara is just about to try and reach up for it when a knock makes her jump. Surely not that man again...? Slowly, she makes her way to the front door and opens it, broom in hand. She won't just silently let him disrespect her or her new home again.

It's a different man waiting on the other side.

No, she realizes upon closer inspection. Not a man. Not quite yet. A boy. Though, he does look very similar to that man. The same brown eyes, the color of the beautiful rich earth. It's a kind color. He stands with his shoulders hunched and his hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie.

"Good evening, miss. I'm Blake Hart, I live just through those woods there if you follow the trail. I think my brother might have said some mean things to you?" Huh. Well-mannered, gentle, soft spoken. Kara looks him over skeptically and opens the door wider. Now this polite child she will happily allow into her home.

In her- albeit limited- experience, human children aren't as terrible as the adults. They're inherently kinder, they have empathy, and such creative little imaginations. Sometimes children would play in her lake back in Raverden, pretending they were mermaids. So cute.

Besides, even sirens know it's cruel to turn away a child.

"Kara Bint. Come in." She walks back inside and leaves him to follow. It's a show of good faith allowing him into her home when it's still so new. Some sirens don't allow others into their territory until it reeks of them. Kara isn't that territorial, though.

Two unannounced visitors on her first day here. She'll have to add a sign to her list of chores, it seems. Maybe a big one right out front that reads, go away.

Blake follows her inside cautiously, looking around the house with an uneasy look in his eyes. When they reach the living room with the light streaming in on the swept floors, his tensed shoulders relax slightly.

"So it's just you here, then," he asks.

"That's right."

"And you really bought this place?"

"Yep," she says. If by 'bought' he means magically acquired, that is.

"Cool." He continues looking around and Kara blanks. Is that the end of the interaction? Did he come here just for that? Maybe he's waiting for her to say something more. In Raverden, visitors sometimes wanted coffee, but she has no coffee or coffee maker.

"I'd offer you a place to sit, but as you can see..." She looks around the room with her lips pressed thin. What a terrible host she's making. It isn't her fault, though. She only just got here, there hasn't been any time to make the place presentable.

"That's alright, I shouldn't stay long. It isn't as bad as I thought it would be in here, actually. A little empty, but not scary." Scary? Kara wonders why so many humans fear empty houses.

"Yeah, I've cleaned up a little. Is that what you wanted? To see the house?" The boy crosses his arms suddenly, chin up and a stern look on his face that makes her want to chuckle.

"No, um, I just wanted to say sorry. For my brother, I mean. He didn't say much to us, but there was something about yelling and falling in the lake? Judging by the look of your clothes, he was serious. I'm, uh, sorry if he was mean to you." She is still a bit damp, but at least she stopped dripping. The hot sun dried her clothes fast. Clothes aren't her concern, though.

"There's no need for that. We don't apologize on another's behalf where I'm from. Besides, I'll be busy fixing this place up, so we won't be seeing much of each other anyway," she says with just enough force to show she's serious. While she doesn't want to be mean to the child, putting him off coming back is probably a good idea. "No harm done. I'll just keep my distance."

"Well... Good. That was really all I wanted to say, I guess," Blake mumbles sheepishly now, his brief flash of confidence seemingly over. He shuffles back towards the door as he speaks and Kara opens it for him. "I should go. Good luck with the house! See ya around!"

She closes the door behind him as he walks home, her energy even more sapped. On second thought, cleaning can wait until tomorrow as well. With a tired sigh, Kara sets her broom down and goes out to the dock.

"What a day," she mumbles, sitting down and kicking her feet in the water. The sun is starting to set behind the treeline, casting orange flames throughout the sky. "Why here, Mother? It's beautiful, but that can't be the only reason."

A small glance towards the house. Broken windows, plenty of burgeoning work to be done. "Maybe you felt like I needed a good project? Or maybe you were sad about how empty it is..."

The water is still and calm. No answer. There's never an answer anymore.

"I'll find out or I won't, I guess. Whatever the reason you brought me here, I have a lot of work to do." Kara slips out of her clothes and slides off the dock into the warm water. She sinks down as her legs fuse and her tail unfurls, resting on the bottom of the lake.

Tomorrow. She'll get more done tomorrow.