#ccovestarter

[irischung]

Iris exited the Aegean cafe, tucking away her folder of resumes. It was the last stop in her hunt for a part time job. Though she had lived in the town for a year she had been struggling to connect with the people here. She had a few friends in her classes at school, so she couldn’t really complain, but she still felt that she was lacking something. Perhaps it was that she had discovered very little about her mother since she had arrived. Her father had given her the address her mother had lived at, but people were very tight lipped when Iris asked about her.

Iris had always had trouble socialising. She frowned and set off at slow walk toward her home. She had kept to herself most of her childhood thanks to her secret gifts. Now it seemed she would need to become closer to some of the locals if she wanted to get any more information about her mother from them and felt entirely unequipped to do so. Her musings were interrupted when she noticed a beautiful knife made entirely of white jade laying on the concrete before her. 

She crouched down and scooped up the blade holding it delicately, it seemed as though it was something very expensive and she would hate to break it. Unbeknown to Iris, the moment her hand came into contact with the smooth jade she, and the dagger, disappeared from sight. 

She turned the blade over in her hands marvelling at the craftsmanship. It lacked a sharp edge, it was probably just a trinket. She pulled her gave away from the dagger, thinking it a bit strange she was so enamoured with the thing and quickly searched for the owner. She found someone walking and short distance away from her and jogged over to them.

“Excuse me, I think you dropped this,” she said, offering them the precious dagger.

[skyler-the-wizard]

The Disappearing Act || Open

The salty wind rushing past, the sun blaring down relentlessly, subtle shimmers of something swimming beneath the water; Skyler couldn’t have wished for a more perfect day. He sped through the water, steering his dinghy with the expertise of an overeager apprentice. He jumped over the rolling waves and crashed back down into the water, giving a small “whoop!” every time. Days earlier, it had been too stormy for Mr. Altaz to happily lend him the boat but finally the water was calm enough. Of course this was no joy ride, he was on a mission to gather supplies from town which, according to the young wizard, needed to be done fast. At least that’s how he justified it as he leapt over another wave.

Soon enough, he came close to the docks he had become so accustomed to in these past six months and tied up the boat. Picking up his mostly empty backpack, he climbed out of the boat and strolled down towards the town centre. His mission was one of utmost importance, gathering food and drink supplies for an epic movie night on the beach. Mr. Altaz said he got stuff already but that guy’s idea of a delicious snack is dried seaweed and tiny fish. Skyler had learnt from previous occasions not to trust his employer’s taste in food. He headed to the Sunday markets and picked up a few homemade lollies and specialty drinks before going into the regular stores to get the staples, party pies and jelly beans. 

With his backpack filled beyond it’s max, Skyler cheerfully trekked back down to the docks. He whistled in appreciation of some of the larger yachts that must’ve come in while he was in town. When he came up to where he normally tied up his boat, he found that it wasn’t there. Figuring he must’ve parked somewhere else, he walked up and down the other jetties. He waved to the other sailors, chatted with some children playing, and petted some wandering cats while he looked. But still he couldn’t find it. Now he began to worry somewhat. 

He went back to his usual docking place and found the rope tied to the post led straight down into the water. Dreading the worst, he pulled at the rope and quickly realised it wouldn’t budge. This wasn’t good. He looked around for someone nearby.

“Hey, uh... You wouldn’t happen to know where my boat has gone, would you?”

[siennaleecyreus]

Fresh off the Boat| Open

Sienna held the jar of spread in front of her and read the label carefully as she exited the grocery store. Her brows pulled down into a slight frown as she noticed nothing more than a detailed description of the ingredients. This ‘Vegemite’ didn’t include any mystical herbs or a description of its true purpose, but Sienna suspected it might secretly be a witch’s concoction.

She unscrewed the lid and tentatively sniffed the black-brown substance. A strong salty, acidic scent filled her nostrils. She pulled back, screwing up her face and shook her head. That is definitely a salve and not meant for consumption, Sienna thought. A quick survey of the street revealed a nearby bench. The blonde leisurely walked over it and settled into it. She peeled off her cardigan and then dipped her fingers into the plastic pot of Vegemite, spreading the sticky substance over her arms.

A few moments later the exposed skin on Sienna’s arms, chest, neck and face were tinted a patchy brown colour. She smelled awful and hoped the salve’s odour would fade with time like sunscreen did. Even if it didn’t, it was a small price to pay to ensure protection from one of this continent’s deadliest predators. 

Out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw a familiar face and their timing could not have been better. She raised her hand and gestured them over.

“Hey,” she greeted conversationally. “Can you give me a hand?”

[ashlynn-alex-layman]

A Mystery Awaits | Open

A speckled hand mirror sat in an ornate silver frame and beside it was a carved pale wooden jewelry box with gold accents that Ashlynn was certain was from the 18th century. She fiddled with her wedding band and leaned closer to scrutinize them better. Both were worth much more than this store was selling them for, but which would her customers want more. She was in half a mind to buy them both, but she knew her boss would not appreciate such impulsiveness. 

She pulled her phone out of her back pocket and brought up her husbands number. Whenever she was unsure she asked her other half, but today she felt as though she shouldn’t use her trump card. Perhaps I should see if I can find a fortune teller in town. It’s always better get a tarot reading when you feel something strange, she mused thinking back to earleir that day about if she had seen any signs for that sort of thing. She vaguely remembered the shop beside the cafe they’d had breakfast at had done readings... And she had suggested she and Emmett get a couples reading done, but then he had said he was going to do some nature photography because of the weather... That’s why she couldn’t call him! If his phone went off then it disturb the nature and the photo would be a huge mess.

“Then.. I will buy...” Ashlynn murmured, hand swaying between both of them, she was sort of hoping one of them would be haunted and that a ghost hand might pull her toward the object it was possessing. Niether one did anything special, just a slight gleam would have been enough, but they sat there dormant. With a groan Ashlynn grabbed both of them and marched outside, accompanied by an alarmed squark from the store owner.

She stepped in the way of someone passing and held both objects up toward them. She hoped they were a local who might know about the objects, or maybe a clairvoyant tourist.

“Hi! Do you feel anything when you look at either of these? Better yet, do you know anything about these objects?”

[marli-morales]

Fish out of water

The swim from the basin had been a long and exhausting three weeks for Marli. She had met up with her study pod halfway but was disappointed to hear that they weren’t assigned to the same area. Australia was a wonder to the archaeologist merfolk – surrounded by a seemingly endless ocean, much of it undiscovered by its own residents. Because it was such a large area it had only made sense that the interns would be assigned individually. Though she had hoped that maybe some of the others would stick around. She really didn’t want to deal with her old grumpy mentor alone. Still, she was excited to start. Marli had researched all the wonders of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef; the countless shipwrecks from early human explorers, and the ancient underwater kingdoms of the merfolk. However, she had been assigned to this small port town.

Marli watched the town before her. Most of the merfolk in her intern group knew something of it and she had already noticed the bustling society below the surface. Marli had never known human waters to have so many merfolk, surely the humans would have noticed something in their waters by now? She would have to ask about that.

Making sure she was out of the humans’ sight, she lounged on a rock and watched the town. The little dinghies bobbing in the harbour, the sun shining down on to the clear water, and the humans doing…well, whatever humans did. Marli noted a few merfolk among the crowds as well.

She suddenly got the feeling she was forgetting something, as if seeing the merfolk on land had sparked her memory. What had she forgotten this time?

Then Marli remembered her mentor’s stern face. ‘And Miss Morales, please don’t be late’. The sun was at its peak. Noon…She was supposed to be meeting him at noon…in the town. 

On land. 

She groaned, already imagining her broken human body limping hurriedly through the town only to be lectured again by that sour faced old man.

Reminding herself why she was doing all this, Marli made her way into the town.

After what seemed to be an eternity, Marli was finally set free, though she dreaded the walk back to the water and she didn’t dare ask her mentor why  they had to meet up on land. 

Head down, she limped towards what she thought was the harbour. Too focused on putting one foot in front of another, Marli didn’t notice the other person striding toward her. The force of the collision knocked her to the ground.

“Hey! Watch it!” 

[siennaleecyreus]

Obsidian Pyramid - Precious  || Open

The blonde stormed out of her house, slamming the door with the wrath of a storm. Cassian, her landlord’s son, had been his usual spiteful self this morning. He was like a blowfish wearing a person costume. They had started out with their usual early morning bickering, but it had escalated to name calling and Cassian had gone so far as to say that she looked like a disco ball because of all the jewelry she had been wearing. Sienna had taken the high road, rather than calling him something horrendous, she had simply taken off her jewelry and hurled it at him while screaming in rage. Unfortunately the supernatural aspect of her voice had made the boy’s ears bleed so she had left quickly before he could ask any questions. She could figure out an explanation later.

She marched through suburban beach front streets, certain a swim would shake off her rotten mood. She needed to hunt tonight and it was hard to be charming and non-threatening when you fuming. The sea was so painfully close, but the public beach was too popular with tourists and locals to allow a siren to transform unnoticed. There was a small beach at base of the cliffs just outside of town though, you need a boat or a set of fins to get there from the water. By land you had to cut through the forest to get there and the climb down the cliffs was treacherous so it was rare for humans to come that way too. In other words, it was perfect.

The houses stopped and thick trees bordered the road. Sienna rolled her shoulders, and check the street for stray townies. Finding it empty she plunged into the forest and deftly picked her way toward the cliffs. As she walked she hear a metallic ping and saw something bounce off of her shoe. Frowning she turned in a slow circle looking for it. As she was searching she noticed a fine purple mist emanating from deeper in the forest.

“That’s weird...”

 She crouched down and waved a hand through it. It didn’t feel remotely like water. Maybe it wasn’t mist. She leaned closer and took a deep wiff. It didn’t smell like smoke, in fact it didn’t smell like anything. She leaned back and noticed something glimmer beneath the mist. The blonde reached down and picked up a small ring. The gold was dull and the design was very rudimentary, but despite that it was a pretty thing. A large scarab was carved into jade and set in gold. 

The siren slide it onto her finger and admired the jewelry. It looked even better on. It had a classic kind of beauty to it. She dared Cassian to make fun of this one! She glanced toward the cliffs and then looked back at the purple mist. Did she want to go for a swim or go on an adventure? The choice was easy. 

She set off in the direction of the purple mist. It got thicker, the deeper she ventured, until eventually she barely see her feet through the purple haze. The  trees stopped abruptly and an enormous black pyramid towered before her.  She took a quick step back startled by the towering structure. 

“What the heck is this?”

[bloodstainforurpain]

Arrival

Zola arrived by boat. It was the best way to travel anywhere, according to their now-deceased sire. He was a fan of stowing them away in cargo holds and hiding in a more comfortable part of the ship, but Zola had a little bit more self respect these days. They supposed that came with the agency of being not-a-minion.

The boat had arrived at sunset as scheduled, so Zola lured a worker off into the trees, had a meal, and rested until the next night before exploring. They never could sleep on boats. Nasty things.

It was still early in the night when they left their hideout. They popped the collar of their jacket and checked their face for blood. The reminder made them consider grabbing another snack before figuring out where to settle in for their stay. Zola walked along the docks and then turned toward the shopping district. Their lips curled when they spotted a person in the distance, hunger curling in their stomach and predatory instincts pushing at their teeth.

[island-fever]

Island Fever

Ace rubbed his hands together. Excitement bubbled inside of him, leaking into his growing grin. Today was the day. He would finally be opening the doors to his brand new restaurant- Island Fever. Ace had worked for nearly a year, raising money and securing a lease and spending countless nights kept awake by aching muscles and stress. He’d been so determined- so set on fulfilling his dream- that he’d barely made any friends on the island. Which was definitely out of character.

He walked to the front of the store, smiled at the tired waitress, and checked his watch. It was a bit early, but.... To hell with it, today was the day!

Ace unlocked the door and flipped the sign. Glancing through the windows, he hummed. Then he walked back to the counter and waited. And waited. And waited. Ace’s grin had fallen and his waitress had snuck her phone out by the time the door finally chimed, a sweet harmony to the background music’s soothing Jimmy Buffett verses. Ace stood up straight, excitement rushing back full force. “Hello!”