Drowning in Mud [Siane/Open]

[acumbersea]

Drab greens were fading into saturated shades of yellow, vermilion and crimson, signifying the presence of fall and the hastily approaching winter. Rain tore away at the trees, fallen leaves violently tussling in the raging wind, flopping and slamming into slick cars, fences and houses, anything in their path. Nightfall shrouded the earth with darkness, but now that there was a heavy, relentless storm dumping buckets of water through the neighborhood and the power was out, it stripped any remaining light away.

A crack of lightning struck near a solitary two-story house, thunder rumbling loudly only seconds after, the walls shaking slightly from its sheer force. The wind whipped around, a sturdy dead tree that hugged the house shuddered against the outside wall of a bedroom down the hall, its sharp fingers raking and tapping loudly against a glass window like claws itching to get in. Azazel woke with a start, he sat upright in his bed, his hands gripped fistfuls of his satin silk sheets, chest heaving as his heart raced, skin slightly damp with a fresh layer of sweat, and his wide eyes darted around the room. Lightning struck again and thunder bellowed. He calmed himself and slipped over to the edge of the bed, his bare feet settling on the plush carpet. He sighed and rubbed his face, his fingers smoothly combing his messy blonde hair back. It was just a bad dream.. though, he did despite thunderstorms.. anything that related to electrocution. He couldn't stand staying here. But first.. a quick shower. He had to look good if he was going out.

---------------------

By the time he reached the cemetery the rain suddenly ceased. Being a creature from the sea, he knew how fickle weather was, even on land, so he brought one of his umbrellas with just in case. Popping it open, it was black on the outside and contrastingly white on the inside, including the wiring. He wore a knee-length trench coat, black slacks, leather gloves and boots, and carried quite an ebullient expression. Yes, this place lifted his spirits. Many good memories. Nearing the graves, his dark, but smiling, eyes skimmed over a name, which he read aloud. He broke out into laughter as he nearly finished the last name, nearly barking and snorting before he broke out into evil cackling laughter, which would probably be a little unnerving to any onlookers.

[siane]

Rain beat heavily on the windscreen and roof and poured in mini waterfalls as Siane pulled into the deserted cemetery car park. She both loved and hated storms, loved them because it was rain and lightning hated them because there also tended to be thunder and, being a mermaid who lived in a city, she couldn't just run outside and soak up the water.

She turned of the engine and sat for a moment, with the window wound down, absorbing the smell of wet earth and grass and the lingering traces of electricity. Soon enough, the howling wind died down and the rain stopped and she was able to get out of her car. Luckily, she had dressed for the wet and cold, in a pair of dark skinny jeans, boots and a green sweater, with a nicely fitted jacket over the top. She scrunched through the leaves, and taking care, to pull her gloves on before she touched the still dripping gate, let herself into the graveyard. She wondered for a bit, just enjoying the night and nodding to a ghost who seemed to hang out by her tomb quite a lot. Finally she found the stone she was looking for and brushed aside the tall grass that obscured. She gazed blankly at the name for a moment before she shook her head and turned to start walking back.

As she was making her way slowly towards her car she heard a wild kind of laughter that sent a slight, involuntary shiver down her spine. However, curiosity had always gotten the better of sense so far and so she walked almost silently towards it, keeping to shadows and stopping behind a tree to see what was going on. What she found surprised her slightly. It was a man, she couldn't tell much more about him from this angle except that he was blond and quite tall. He was also possibly mad, judging from the cackling that was coming out of his mouth. Amused and slightly unnerved Siane stood silently and watched him until he'd finished before she stepped forward slightly "What a nice change to find someone who finds death amusing" She said "It's so much nicer than moping" She was only being slightly sarcastic. Waiting to see what he'd do she smiled slightly. Maybe tonight would turn out to be more interesting than she'd first thought.

[acumbersea]

The man regained his composure as soon as he heard someone step towards him. A woman's voice rang out softly and he grinned, turning around to look upon her. She stood near a tall, gnarled tree. He made out several details of her face and noticed that she had dark hair. Was she alone? Out here? Maybe she was lost. Or like him, adventurous and a bit crazy. He hoped for the latter. “Bonjour magnifique(hello gorgeous),” he said under his breath, taking a slight bow in her direction before making a quarter turn back to gaze at the grave again, this time with indifference.

“They sleep so peacefully... I can't help but wonder what it's like. Being buried alive, drowning in mud.. it's not a quick way to go. What were their last thoughts?” He paused, his tone almost sounded..empathetic.. but then he continued on. “Probably pathetic babbling, but still.. my favorite part. People show their true character just before they die. It's fascinating to bet on which ones will do what when their time comes.” He didn't go farther with the subject, his interest shifting to her, wanting to alleviate the questions stirring in his head. “You remind me of someone I used to know. Did you lose someone here?” He said, tilting his umbrella down a bit to peer up at the cursed sky. The clouds were still dark and moody. The amount of rain that had fallen from them was probably all that was going to come during this night. He lowered his umbrella near the ground and delicately closed it, tucking it under his opposite arm, his attention undivided and focused solely on her now.

A sudden, chilly gust of wind kicked up, trembling the soaked tree branches behind her, throwing droplets of water towards them both. Azazel inhaled sharply and instinctively reacted. Ripping the umbrella from his side, he quickly pushed it open with a snap to guard his body from the oncoming sheet of moisture, especially the areas of which skin was exposed.

[siane]

The man turned when she spoke, showing his face. He was attractive. Very attractive and it made Siane a little wary. After all, she knew better than most what type of minds and personality's could be hidden by a pretty face. She took a step forward, not hearing his greeting and raising an eyebrow slightly when he spoke of drowning mud. She peered down at the headstone "They say drowning is a fairly peaceful way to go" She mused "I don't see it myself, I suppose it's not as bad as other ways, but it's hardly instant....Its described as very ....conscious, you can feel yourself dieing" She shrugged. "Still, probably nicer than being buried alive" A slight smile curved her lips up wards "Fascinating? I suppose it can be...all the begging and confessions, last minute repentances. Odd how people think that a muttered apology they don't really mean is going to help" She chuckled slightly.

There was a pause and Siane glanced up at him as he next spoke. "Do I? Hmm. No, not as such." Gesturing to the grave she asked "And you? Paying your respects to anyone in particular?".Her voice was neutral, not letting on that she thought paying respects to a pile of disintegrating bones, six feet underground was a waste of time. The sudden wind caught her unawares and she thanked her lucky stars that her jacket was waterproof with a high neck that prevented any water from touching her skin. Reaching back to brush any stay droplets off her hair she gave the man a long stare "Not fond of getting wet then?" She asked politely, finding his actions interesting. Wouldn't it be just too much of a coincidence to meet another mermaid in the cemetery?

[acumbersea]

The woman that stood before him did not scare easily, which of course intrigued him. There had been many times where he suggested death or murder, or hinting at milder things that were not even in relation to such things, that would spook the opposite sex, and here she was open minded and bold enough to listen and respond. On top of that, it was late, they were alone, and dark.. more-so than usual with the power outage. No human, or at least no average human, would be wandering around like this, freely advertising their vulnerabilities to a stranger. And apparently she wasn't here to grieve over someone. What was she here for? Certainly not to laugh at the remains of her past victims, like he. On the other hand, he would have some fun with her if he found any blatant evidence that she was in fact human. It would be more difficult to discern if she was than not, but some supernaturals didn't mind hiding it. "Respects to anyone in particular? Nah. Needed to get out."

"Wet?" He kept his cool. Gently shuffling the umbrella agitated most of the water from it, though this time instead of closing it and putting it under his arm again, he kept it open, setting the metal rod part of it on one of his broad shoulders. "Not this freezing rain... Nice weather, huh?" There was something about her that made him want to investigate further. Push the limits. It was like a teenager toying with a venomous snake. Stepping nearer, he leaned closer to her and the volume of his voice lowered slightly, "I know what you are.." he said, his tone heavy with conviction. He stared at her for a long while, a sly grin edging over his lips, waiting for her to crack under the pressure.

[siane]

Siane studied his reactions closely, interested. It was unusual to find people wandering about in this part of town late at night, even more so during a storm. "I see" She nodded when he said he needed to get out, she could understand. She felt that way a lot as well.

He kept his cool when she mentioned getting wet, which would be impressive if he was in fact, a merman. She still wasn't sure. He caught her unawares when he leant forward, but she managed to come back pretty quickly and hold her ground, giving almost no sign of her surprise and the fact that she wasn't comfortable with him being so close. "Do you?" She replied calmly, raising an eyebrow again and looking him straight in the eyes. "And what am I? A girl who enjoys walking in the graveyard at night and loves storms? You'd be right on both counts" She did not move, although she wanted to. It reminded her too much of another encounter, a while ago. She'd come out okay, which was more than could be said of the idiot human who had tried to kiss her. The memory brought a wry smile to her lips, it really was idiotic, the whole myth about how a mermaid's kiss would protect one from drowning. In most cases she'd heard of, the mermaid's kiss was what caused the drowning... She snapped herself back to present, looking back up at him, a neutral expression on her face.

The cold air made their breath cloud and although the situation was a little uncomfortable, Siane wasn't really scared, interested certainly, and maybe a little wary, but not scared.

[acumbersea]

Taking a small step back, the man's eyebrows wiggled a bit and his eyes blinked several times for a moment, as if trying to physically wipe out the mental picture he had formed within his visual mind. She was just a girl, wandering around at night enjoying the graveyard during the storm? Peculiar. "Oh whew. I thought you might have been a hooker," he said casually. "Not that you really look like one... you're just out here all alone at night," he paused and chuckled softly, glancing at the ground before looking back up at her, his fingers playfully tapping the umbrella at his side, "there have been a lot of strange things happening around the neighborhood recently. I've noticed hookers, actual hookers, strolling around here every night for the past week. A few arson cases happened nearby, and some people have reportedly gone missing from a couple of houses down from mine. I don't think the events are tied together, but who knows."

He kept a watchful eye on the current events of the city, especially his region. Being alert of the media and people in general meant he could watch his tail. People had reason to suspect, and he wasn't about to be sloppy about the people he had murdered. If they ever found anything, he would be quick to change up the trail and confuse them, often making innocent victims take the brunt of punishment for his ill deeds without the authorities knowing. In his mind, humans were disposable, lowly animals, that deserved to be punished. Simple existing for them was a waste of space and resources, unless.. unless they were for the purposes of merely serving others, as slaves.

[siane]

Siane tilted her head at him slightly and smiled "A hooker? Me? I'm very glad you decided on adding that I don;t look like one or I might have actually been offended.." She didn't say it out loud, but that would not have ended well, especially for him. People who offended Siane generally ended up either severely injured, humiliated or dead. Even if this man was a merman, nobody was going to insult her and get off lightly.

"Arson? Hmm..well, it's lucky I don't live around her or I might be suspected..I do love a good bonfire" Yes she had pyromaniac tendencies, and yes she did think it was slightly odd, what with being a mermaid and all. But stranger things had happened. She looked around the graveyard, wondering how long it would be before the missing people ended up beneath a headstone. Missing people usually did, in her experience, if they weren't buried somewhere already. "It doesn't worry you, being out at night, with that sort of thing going on?" She asked casually after a moment. She raised her eyes to his again "You must be very confident in yourself defense skills" She was wondering whether she could have some fun with this man, toy with him a little. People were so ridiculously easy to spook...but that rather depended on his being human and she wasn't certain of that yet. She stepped to one side slightly, as if to get a better look at him and deliberated stepping hard into a puddle but she was saved the choice when the wind picked up again and blew another spray of raindrops towards them. Pulling her hood firmly over her head, Siane hunched into slightly, feeling slightly uncomfortable with the risk she was taking by staying out here in this weather, but curious to see if he would flinch away from the water again or not.

[acumbersea]

The problem with attractive women.. the ones that were absolutely smoking hot.. is that they were the most difficult to approach and speak with. It took a load of confidence just to have a usual conversation with them. They had power. They could hurt a man's pride in an instant. Being turned down by such a creature, it was a risk. He didn't want to offend her. What was this? Azazel was caring about what a stranger thought of him? Unusual... maybe he was sensing something more about her that she wasn't revealing directly?

"Burning things does seem entertaining. With you saying that, I'm almost tempted to start one, but everything is completely soaked." There was a pause, where he allowed his eyes to dance around the area, peering off into the distance in search of scrap wood, curious if there happened to be any around despite it probably being in the condition he had just mentioned. "..Where are you from?"

"Worry me? Who would want to murder me?" He spoke hastily, accidentally letting his wordage slip. They were missing cases, not murders, right? Changing the subject in order to distract from his last questions, he hoped he hadn't incited curiosity within her. "I'm capable enough." He noted his unusual uneasiness. First he was caring about what she thought, almost like an equal, and now he was being unusually open and making mistakes with his speech? It was like she was disarming him with her presence alone. He wondered. It was possible she wasn't human. If not, what was she? The only species that were able to do that to him were his own kind, specifically the females of his kind. His eyes narrowed and his expression turned rather serious. He watched her carefully, becoming suddenly very interested in her. His head tilted to the side and he leaned a few degrees closer to her, pursing his lips together as his eyes trailed her facial features, studying them. She was so sexy. His fingertips lightly groped his jawline while a devilish smile edged at the corners of his lips. It was possible. Very possible. But meeting a mermaid here? Now? A rarity. There was still serious doubts he had, and besides, he purposefully avoided mermaids... they could influence him like no other and that meant bad news.

His mind had only seconds to dwell on the topic before he reacted again to the wind, suddenly whipping the umbrella out; it popped open in a flash, deflecting the water droplets. Not only did he flinch from the droplets, but from the rotten, baseball bat sized tree branch that toppled down, which landed on the soggy ground with a heavy splat, nearly hitting her. Fortunately he had fairly fast reflexes, but then again he expected to have some sort of risk of getting wet in this area. After the wind subsided he shook the umbrella again, but this time when he closed it down, didn't hold it as close to him. It was quite soaked, still dripping with water. The process of growing a tail did not occur, so apparently he was still dry, though he gave his clothes a quick once over to see if any stray droplets had hit his clothes. There was in fact several damp spots on his slacks near his feet. His socks had spared him. Too close for comfort. He had enough. Time to leave! "Gotta go.. uhh.. yeah.. have a good night!" he said eagerly. Turning sharply around he swiftly walked towards the gate to leave the cemetery. Although, where was he exactly walking to? Her car was the only vehicle in the whole parking lot..

[siane]

Siane tilted her head and watched him as he spoke, noting his unease. Her lips curved into an almost predatory smile as she looked up at him. "So it was murder then?" She asked casually after a pause. "What a pity..." Her eyes wandered to the headstones before she looked back at him one eyebrow raised very slightly. Siane had no idea whether or not this man had had anything to do with the missing people not did she care all that much, but she was enjoying
watching him become more and more uncomfortable.

Studying his face and carefully ignoring his question about her origins she leaned back ever so slightly when he leaned forward, still not at ease with him being so close. He was very attractive, unusually so. It immediately rang alarm bells in her head. Could he really be a merman? She began to really think it might be the case when he pulled out his umbrella again and jumped, as she did, to avoid the falling branch. How fascinating. Siane hadn't been so intrigued in weeks. It would be nice, she supposed, to meet another of her kind, and one who seemed to like hanging out in the cemetery like she did. Her sharp eyes noted that the brief subtle once over he gave his clothes, and the droplets that had appeared on his trousers. She smirked slightly. She was more than half convinced her was a merman, especially when he bid her a hasty goodbye and began walking away. She watched him curiously for a few seconds before following. She might like this kind of weather but it looked like it was going to really rain again any second and she didn't want to grow a tail quite yet.

She had to jog slightly to catch up with him, carefully avoiding the puddles. Reaching his side she said lightly "You really don't like getting wet huh?" She turned to face him, turning the siren charm full on. This was the final test. If he was human he would soon be following her like a puppy dog. If he was a merman, well... She smiled again, genuinely. This would be interesting. "If that's the case, perhaps you'd like a ride? It looks like more rain." Her vice became softer, almost musical. She watched him carefully, curious to see what his reaction would be.

[acumbersea]

"Something like that." Azazel's compassion was not extensive, and certainly withheld from humans. His eyes glided towards the direction of her gaze that settled upon the cold headstones that stood in neatly lined rows before them. He took delight in knowing there were lesser amounts of distasteful human flesh-bags entangling the city, thanks to him. When she withdrew from his close proximity, it elicited a brief chuckle from him. He liked knowing that he had the ability to push people with his physical presence, without having to actually touch them. Although, that thought passed quickly. He was too distracted with getting away from both this place and the new woman to deeply enjoy himself. He had a goal, and it was to leave without his real identity and true form being discovered by this mysteriously intoxicating stranger.

All was going well, he could see himself getting away in the clear, right up until he heard her quickened footsteps nearing him. His skin crawled with the thought of being vulnerable and he visibly shuddered. Something had stood out of him as she approached, her pattern of walking was weird and uneven, and he turned to glance at her, catching the sight of her avoiding the puddles. Drawing in a silent gasp, his head whipped away, staring ahead. He knew it. She was at a disadvantage in this environment as well.

Soon she was close enough to almost touch him. Peering at her out of the corner of his eye, he cleared his throat nervously, watching her as she moved beside him. He talked to himself mentally, which was immense at easing his agitated physical state. "You don't seem too fond of water yourself, the way you were avoiding those puddles. I already told you.. I don't like the cold, what's the big deal..?" He flashed a charming smile. That same smile waned as she used her powers, his eyes bulging slightly. His pace slowed to a stop and his body became on edge, like she had awakened a primal beast to stir within him. He knew this game all too well, why resist playing it? Happening to be a very good actor, he mimicked the patterns of a normal human male under the influence of a mermaid's power. His expression was blank like a possessed drone, aside from his eyes, which followed her as if he was suddenly obsessed with her. "Yes, please.. take me.. anywhere.. you want.." he whispered, waiting for her to make a move. He would follow her if she did decide to take him somewhere, as he was curious what she normally did with humans. "You're so.. gorgeous.." he said in a deep, sultry voice, presumably drunk on her beauty.

[siane]

Siane gave a chuckle "You'd be wrong there. I happen to love water. But puddle jumping is more entertaining than it looks. It's a bit like not stepping on paving stone cracks. It gets to be a habit" The words flowed smooth and easy, she was so used to lying. She was good at it too, but then she had to be.

She felt her heart drop slightly when her voice took hold of him. She'd been hoping for one of her own kind more than she'd realized. She kept the smile on her face but it was no longer genuine. Siane was bored of humans to tell the truth. Supernaturals presented much more of a challenge. "I can think of lots of places I'd like to take you.." her whisper was slow and sultry as she looped her arms around his neck and leaned in close, locking her eyes on his. She paused, there was something off about him, something almost familiar, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Maybe he wasn't human? The situation was confusing her slightly, 10 minutes ago she'd have been willing to bet he was a merman, but now..she wasn't sure anymore. She'd never had occasion to observe someone faking the hypnoses that came with listening to siren song because it worked on everyone except other merpeople. Her mind ran over the possibilities of what she could do with him. She supposed she could always get him to do stupider and stupider things until he got killed....then again, she didn't really feel in the mood for violence, maybe she'd just play with him a bit, see how far her voice could push him while she still had legs. She knew that with a tail, there were no limits to what people what do for her but she'd had less experience in her land form.

Just at that moment a large drop of water landed on her glove, then another on her hood. "Shit!" She dropped her arms and grabbed the man's umbrella, holding it over them. She could feel her heart pounding, that had been close. Far too close for comfort. Thank goodness the umbrella was a large one, even so, in order to completely avoid the raindrops Siane had to stand almost on the guy's toes. She could feel his breath on her cheek. Her eyes met his again and she gave another slow smile, covering her agitation. "Well , this is cosy isn't it?" She couldn't quite keep the sarcastic edge out of her voice however. She very much wanted to have a solid roof over her head at that moment.