.i'm addicted to this darker love.

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Marina Coventina

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Marina perched on the edge of the low cliff, dark hair billowing gently in the summer breeze. Her ankles were crossed, legs swinging back and forth slowly, steadily, like a pendulum. As she sat and stared out over the horizon at the hazy light of the full moon, the girl could almost hear the whispering of her siren blood raging through her veins. Come to the ocean, daughter. You belong to the sea. You are a goddess of the ocean. Embrace your magic, it murmured temptingly. So close to the ocean, her siren half was restless, longing to work its magic, and powerful enough to silence her human half. The soft crashing of the ocean's waves against the cliff wall only added to the allure. But really, all she wanted to do right now was relax and not worry about magic, or being a siren. For the first time in a long while, she wished she had never been born a siren. Or at least, that she was pureblooded siren, and lived with one of the clans in the deep oceans.

Out of sheer frustration, she let out an angry half-scream and pushed herself off the ledge with her hands. She dove in head first, dropping towards the water as if pulled by an invisible force that was more than just gravity. Marina his the water with a splashing noise, and the familiar transformation began to morph her lower half. A shimmery, cyan tail began to appear in place of her legs, and her shirts was replaced by ribbons wrapping around her torso. Without her permission, her mouth opened, and let an unearthly sound pour out.

The emotions in the song wavered between uncontrolled spirit and frustration at not being able to control the siren in her. She thought she'd come to terms with it, but although it had allowed her to get away from her poor excuse of a father, it was also the reason behind her leaving. She didn't know whether to hate it or love it, but she had to admit it was fun to mess with the minds of males. After a while, the notes in her song began to smooth out, and became more alluring and enticing, rather than going back and forth between wild extremes. There was something so very freeing about letting the music pour out as she drifted on the waves, keeping her eyes on the stars above.

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Notes:

God knows why Kylar was out by the ocean so late. He wasn’t one of those moonstruck idiots who thought late night walks on the beach were romantic or anything. Just…yuck. But one thing he did enjoy was practicing with his powers late into the night. The moon was particularly bright tonight, and that made things really nice to work with. Currently, he had just a simple metal pot sitting in front of him, and he was almost entirely focused on getting the reflective properties just right.

Almost. Because suddenly, he heard some strange noise drifting out over the water. It was like nothing he had ever heard before. Curious, Kylar approached the shoreline, trying to see what the cause was. Was that a girl out there, making that sound? It wasn’t anything awful, but Kylar was hardly attracted by it either. It was just…sound. He was unknowingly immune. That illusionary control panel in his brain protected him by refusing the false charms the siren song held. “Hey!” Kylar called out over the water, still staying firmly on the dry ground. “Are you okay?” He didn’t think drowning people sounded like that, but it was always smart to check first. Otherwise, he really couldn’t think of a reason to be making such a racket.

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Marina Coventina

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Sure, she hadn't fully gone into a haze, so the power was weaker, but without meaning to, she had lured someone to the seaside anyway.  It took her a moment to process the masculine voice--it was asking her if she was alright.  That sent her into a state of momentary shock, cutting off the music, but she thought fast and let out a shrill scream.   Might as well try and do something, right?  For all she knew, the music might still have had a faint grip on him.  Hopefully she could rely on him having a conscience that would force him to at least come closer to see if she was alright.

She let herself sink in the rocking motion of the waves, then popped out of the water every now and then, sputtering.  "Help!" she choked out, spitting out water.  Marina was sure she looked completely disgraceful right now, but she almost didn't mind.  For some unthinkable reason, she felt a sudden, overwhelming need to have someone care about her--to be human and let the human side and emotions be in control for once.  She didn't want to be a siren with all the beauty and elegance or seductiveness she could want.  Nobody ever liked her or worried for her.  The only emotion anyone felt toward her was lust, and it was horrible.  She was always alone, always the outsider, and if they found out about her powers, the only thing they thought about was the possibility that she was influencing their emotions or that she was going to put them under a spell of some sort.  No one listened to her explanations that her power couldn't work without water, and even with, she had never had or would ever have the ability to truly control emotions.  Was it really too much to ask for someone to care for once?

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Notes:

Kylar was no hero. He was hardly about to just dash in the cold ocean to save a drowning girl he didn’t even know. To him, such actions were thoughtless, the result of stupid passion or a selfish desire for the spotlight. So he honestly had to think about it first and weigh his options. Diving in, he would be cold and wet and possibly in danger himself. But he could save the girl, be the hero, and maybe get a little thanks in return. Staying put, the girl could drown and it would be all his fault and everyone would know it and hate him. In the end, saving the drowning girl won out. What was a little cold and wet over doing the right thing?

Kylar tugged his shirt off over his head, caring a little bit more for the clothes than for the girl, truth be told. He only had so many good clothes, after all, as they cost money and his funds were drying up steadily. So the shirt was left on the safe shoreline as Kylar finally dove into the waves. He might not be the best swimmer in the world, but he was a determined one. Luckily, the girl wasn’t all that far out either. “Hey, hey,” he called out, finally reaching her. Kylar grabbed onto her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders and waist in an attempt to keep her still. “Calm down, I’ve got you, it’s okay.” It was tougher to keep himself afloat if she wiggled around too much, and he definitely didn’t want to drown either.

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Marina Coventina

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Her efforts were rewarded when the boy stripped off his shirt and dove in.  Sure, his hesitation proved that he was not under her spell, but that was okay.  She was almost glad.

The next time she pretended to sink in the water, a pair of arms pulled her up.  Marina coughed, inhaling the 'precious' air as if she had actually been rescued from certain death.  His arms were surprisingly warm, as was his voice when he told her to calm down.  She willingly obliged--she was getting tired, anyways.  The girl to care to keep her tail away from him, and wished that she could control her transformations.  It would have definitely worked better if she could change back into a completely human form before they got out of the ocean.  Unfortunately, that was out of her control.

She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked at him with an expression of absolute gratitude.  "Thank you so much.  I thought for sure I was dead," she confessed.  Her tone was breathy and tremulous at the same time.  

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Notes: Sorry it's kinda short, I dunno what else she can do without Kylar moving first haha

The girl calmed down, and Kylar couldn’t have been more relieved. There, now he could at least hold her properly. Kind of. She seemed to not want to get close to him for some reason, her legs seemed to be going in all directions. Huh. Well that was a first for him. Normally girls would be tripping over each other to be in this very position with him. If the water wasn’t so dark and slightly choppy, he would’ve noticed the tail for sure. But as it was, Kylar was way more focused on other things. “Yeah, yeah, okay,” he grunted dismissively, adjusting his grip on her so it was sturdier. “Well, you’re not dead. So let’s get out of here, okay?” Really, hot British guy saving your life? Every girl’s dream. He fully expected this one to milk it. Hey, at least she was beautiful. Oh yeah, he noticed.

It was a struggle, but Kylar slowly made his way back towards the shore with the girl in his arms. When he finally got to the point where he could tough the sandy ocean floor, Kylar just stood up and carried her. He wasn’t super strong, but the guy worked out. And she wasn’t all that heavy or anything. He managed just fine. Setting her feet first on the beach, Kylar then flopped down next to where his shirt lay, panting from all the effort. He better receive a nice thank you from all this, or what would be the point?

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Marina Coventina

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His answer to her thanks was rough and brisk, which surprised her a bit, but she kept the mask of gratitude.  She was a gorgeous siren, right?  Most boys tried to steal her heart and failed.  This one was different, apparently.  This will be interesting, she thought.  But maybe that was a good thing; after all, it wasn't like she'd enjoyed her old life.  Maybe it was possible to start over at a place like Foresta, where having powers was the norm, where it was accepted to be able to do things most people couldn't.

She tried not to be a dead weight in his arms, but it was hard to do that without actually getting up and swimming.  It didn't seem to be much of a struggle for him, though, and he set her down before laying on the sand and resting.  Her legs had already begun to re-form, and the ribbon garment and tail had been exchanged for her previous low-cut tank top and tight shorts.  Every time it happened, the transformation was getting faster and faster, like it should have been, but Marina couldn't help but feel that it was still slow progress.  She was used to being good at things or learning new skills fast, and it irked her to have to be patient for anything.

"Thank you so much," she repeated, letting the words gush out like an infatuated schoolgirl.  "I don't know how I can ever repay you!  If you ever need me to do anything, just ask.  I promise I'll do whatever I can."  The forced tears in her eyes glimmered in the moonlight, highlighting the green in her hazel eyes.  She knew it was a dangerous promise to make, but in her experience, most people never actually took the debtor up on it.  Marina threw her arms around him, keeping the act of 'overjoyed, indebted, incapable princess'.  It was hard, as it was a character almost completely opposite of her own--besides that very last word--but she was an adept actress.  

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Notes: