Hold me down in the siren lights. (Open)

[suchgoodluck]

She's been restless all day, stocking books with itching fingers and rushing to pick up extra groceries for Jasmine with a twitch to her step. She'd rushed through this day with her thoughts whirling about her mind like a hurricane. Only at dusk, alone on a near empty beach in one of the more desolate corners, has Cosette felt at liberty to stop and take a breath, inhaling the salty air with the hunger of a vagrant poet.

That had been an hour ago. Now, she's fully formed as her siren self, the naked chest of a human woman and the lower body of a seal. She weaves in and out of the water, playing with some wandering fish and dancing in the waves. For a good ten minutes, she remains beneath the surface, taking pleasure at the distorted world held behind the water as though it were made out of glass.

She breaks through the surface when she feels the urge to recreate that particular scene from The Little Mermaid, even indulging a bit in singing part of "Part of Your World." She doesn't care who hears her.

As she reaches a particularly high note, she is suddenly and abruptly drawn beneath the surface.

Cosette barely has time to scream when she feels a strong set of teeth dig into the seal part of her body; she feels rather than sees the blood seep from her. She twists and shudders as much as she can with her upper body, managing to bring her attacker above the surface with her. She turns to catch a look at it, and what she finds horrifies her. A Beisht Kione, dark and vicious with teeth like swords piercing through her skin. She screams for help even as she fights it off with all of her might, using her fists to gather the energy of the water around her and shove it in the face of the beast.

The creature proves especially determined, sinking its teeth further into her and beginning to whip her back and forth like its next meal. She's losing blood, fast, and her vision is starting to darken at the edges.

"COSETTE!" She hears Spencer approaching, confused as her energy drains from her. She never even knew him to be on the beach, but he proves otherwise as loud splashes indicate his approaching presence in the water. She wants to warn him, to tell him to turn back. All she can manage is a strained groan, however.

(OOC: Cosette has been attacked by a mythical Irish sea beast sent by her relatives (not her parents) who feel her as a threat to the lineage in her former siren community. Spencer just happens to be nearby and well. Erika and I are terrible people and wanted to hurt our characters. This post is open to any and all rescue attempts, and eventually the beast will give up and slink back into the ocean, summoned back to its master.)

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[doublethepain]

He'd decided to take the scenic route home from the library today, having been overcome with the strange desire to hear the crash of the ocean waves and feel the sand between his toes. He's not much of a swimmer but sometimes he still feels the water's calming effects.

He isn't surprised to find the beach void of people, save for those who'd apparently been craving the same closeness to the atmosphere that Spencer had. The sun is just starting to go down and there's a chill in the air that Spencer is certain is due to something a bit more nefarious than just Mother Nature.

He pauses for a moment, setting his shoes down on the sand and leaning his head back so he can feel the rush of the ocean breeze over his face and through his hair. The corners of his lips turn up as he smiles to himself, enjoying the private moment of contenment, this one moment that he will allow himself to forget about everything else that's going on, everything's he's seen and learned over the course of the past week.

Of course, the moment couldn't have lasted long. When he opens his eyes, he sees a familiar face not far from the shore, placing her as Cosette. His smile is quickly replaced by a look of horror when he realizes she's struggling and he doesn't even think, he screams her name before barreling straight into the ocean.

He fights desperately against the waves, head ducking under the water more than once and his nose and throat burn from the salt water, but he doesn't stop. He can't stop, not if Cosette needs help. By the time he reaches her, he's gasping for air, kicking erratically to keep himself afloat and he really hadn't thought this far ahead. "Cosette, what--"

It's then that he feels it, a figure slithering beneath him and around him and before he can do anything else, he screams as he feels the razor sharpness of the beast's teeth clamp down on his side.

[suchgoodluck]

Cosette shudders when the beast releases her, glancing down through a hazy vision to find blood pouring from her seal half. She confuses pain with awareness, trying to distinguish why the Beisht Kione relinquished its hold on her.

She pales further when she hears a familiar voice shouting out in pain.

"Spencer!" She shudders again, heaving with strained effort as she moves to make her way towards her friend, both caught up in the sea and the beast inhabiting it. Without another thought, she dives beneath the surface, slamming herself against the creature until it loosens its hold on Spencer. She punches and she slams until she feels safe enough to go to Spencer.

She swims as fast as she can in her condition, reaching underneath his arms to keep him afloat.

"Don't tell me you can't swim, you...idiot..." She gasps, barely able to form words at this point.

That's when she feels a familiar tug and finds herself under water again.

[doublethepain]

"I can swim," Spencer protests through ragged breaths, "just not very well." He wraps an arm around his waist and tries to push through the pain as Cosette steadies him, biting down hard on his bottom lip to keep from crying out.

The adrenaline helps, keeps his head above water and, but a quick glance back toward shore tells him just how far out they really are and between this thing in the water and the injuries they're both sure to have already sustained, it's becoming increasingly clear to Spencer that there's not going to be any easy way out of this.

It hardly feels like a moment has passed before Cosette seems to be pulled under again, dragging Spencer down with her, and as he opens his mouth to scream again, the salt water flows down his throat. His eyes widen when he feels something wrapping around him, what he imagines must be the tail end of the creature, and he can't see with the burn of the water but that doesn't matter because his vision would have started to fade anyway as the monsters tightens its hold on him.

[starsfallen]

Corrine is on her balcony, curled up with a warm cup of tea and a blanket tucked under her injured arm, staring vaguely out at sea. She's so lost in thought that it takes her a moment to register the shouts and commotion coming from the water line.

"Hello?! Are you alright down there?" Her first thought is that the dragon has been replaced by a sea creature. The second, that her arm will likely preclude her from diving in. And thirdly, the terror that its been 10 years since she last transformed and isn't sure she's ready.

"Do you need help?!"

[suchgoodluck]

Cosette's vision is uncertain at best, and she's far enough off shore that she can't be certain that she hears someone else calling out, asking if she needs help. Still, considering the circumstances, she can't take the risk that someone isn't calling out, so Cosette shouts again, waving one arm frantically in the air as she attempts to keep Spencer afloat in the other.

"Yes, please. Help us!" Her words are slurring together, as if she were drunk, and Cosette doesn't know how much longer she can keep her eyes open.

[just_another]

With the shop closed, Joel stands in the centre of the bookstore, internally debating whether he should simply retire upstairs for the evening or go for a walk. The problem (but was it a problem, really?) is that the last time he'd gone for a walk he'd found himself at Spencer's home without purpose and he doesn't want the same thing to happen again. Or maybe he does, but he doesn't want to dwell on the fact that he does.

Still, a walk might clear his head and so he heads for the door, locking the store behind him and purposely turning toward the beach. He can keep his feet from wandering, he can keep his focus on the water, he can rid himself of all the thoughts he's been having lately. In ten years he's kept his abilities fairly well guarded, but now people know. More and more people know. He remembers all too well what happened the last time too many people knew.

He's not so deep in thought that he doesn't immediately register the screams and his gaze snaps up toward the water. Before he has a chance to consider what he's doing, he's running, kicking up sand as he goes, stripping off the sweater he's wearing over his t-shirt, because he recognizes that scream. He recognizes both of them. "Cosette!" he shouts, kicking off his shoes before he plunges into the water.

[suchgoodluck]

Cosette manages to break through the surface again, arms flailing as she tries to hold the creature off and keep Spencer, dumb ass of the year, from drowning; if he dies trying to save her, she'll kill him. She takes comfort in that brief bit of snark that flashes in her thoughts; it means she's still somewhat coherent, even if her vision is unstable and the part of her body currently in seal form is bleeding profusely.

She starts when she hears a familiar voice close by; she turns and sees Joel running into the water as though the hounds of hell were after him. It both warms her heart and terrifies her, because the thought of him getting hurt trying to rescue her haunts her like a bad dream.

She tries to warn him to stay back, but as she feels another tug by the teeth of the monster in the water with them, she's forced to focus her attention on keeping herself and Spencer away from its greedy jaws.

[doublethepain]

A part of him wishes he had thought this through a little better. What good is a genius mind if he's not even going to use it when the situation truly calls for it, after all? Diving headfirst into something he's in no position to handle--he's 6'1", 140 pounds sometimes and very much a human without any preternatural skills to speak of--hadn't been his best idea but here he is, trying to play the hero and failing spectacularly.

He reminds himself to tell Cosette later, if there even is a later, that the Brainiac would never leave his sidekick behind; but right now, he's a bit busy having the life squeezed out of him by whatever this sea monster is. Better him than Cosette, he figures, not that he'd come out here thinking that if someone's going to die today, it's going to be him. In fact, he's still keeping the hope very much alive that neither of them will because that would be much preferable; but at the same, there's no way he could have just stayed up on the beach, not with Cosette in danger. She's the closest thing he has to family now, strange as that may be considering he's only recently been toying with the idea of actually inviting her to his home, and he can't lose someone else. He simply won't allow it.

His head bobs above the surface for a brief moment and he thinks he hears a voice that has become all too familiar in the past few days; but before he gets the chance to search for Joel's face, he's pulled back under the water.

[just_another]

Having grown up near the ocean, Joel's a strong swimmer, but so is Cosette, something he's very aware of as he cuts through the waves to reach them and it's only as he gets close that he's rocked with a visual stronger than he's ever received before. His premonitions are usually so vague, but this is as clear as anything he's ever seen. The timing is less than perfect, but when he lifts his head to draw in a breath he sees something long and dark, something with sharp teeth, something that's come for Cosette and he realizes suddenly why they're struggling out here.

There's no time for him to be angry with himself for not having seen it sooner and he ducks down into the water, grabbing the first limb he comes across and whether it's Cosette or Spencer, he doesn't know. It doesn't matter. He won't get one without the other, so he shifts until he can get a better grip, locking his arm around their waist and pulling toward the surface.

He gets his head above the water, drawing in another deep breath so he can begin to swim toward shore and hope that whatever is in the water with them doesn't decide to come around for another bite. His mind is racing as he tries to think of something that can help, some curse, some muttered spell that might make it more difficult for the monster to see them and then he turns suddenly, using his free hand to stir the water, slowly, bringing up silt and mud from the bottom, making it difficult for anything swimming toward them to see.

[suchgoodluck]

Cosette loves Spencer like a brother, and she is beyond grateful that he has risked his life in attempting to rescue her from this hellbeast suddenly appearing in Siren Cove. But this is her fight; she knows, without a doubt, someone from her birthplace, perhaps even her parents, sent this creature for her. It's a sobering thought, one she can't entertain at the moment, but it lingers in the back of her mind, even as she kicks at the beast to get it to loosen its hold on Spencer.

"Fuck, I am not biting it getting bitten by some pissed off overgrown sea worm," she manages in between mouthfuls of water and her own blood. She goes under once more before managing to evade the creature and bring Spencer slightly closer to shore.

When she feels the pull of Joel's arm, it comes as a relief; his steadying grib is like an anchor, stabilizing them in a torrent of pain and blood.

[doublethepain]

He's really not very good at this, he thinks as he feels himself being pulled along the current. The water seems to get darker and Spencer can't figure out whether or not it's just his line of sight getting hazier because of the stabbing pain he's suffered from the bite. Cosette is going to revoke his superhero name of Brainiac, he just knows it, and he also knows that shouldn't be at the top of the list of his priorities right now but he's finding it difficult to focus.

It's getting more and more difficult to kick, to keep himself afloat, and he succumbs to the waves again after stopping for a moment--it had only been a moment--but when he sputters his way back up, he hears the determination in Cosette's voice and sees-- Yes, it's Joel, it's Joel, and what is Joel doing here?

It's strangely revitalizing, knowing that there's someone here to help them, and it encourages Spencer to kick against the current so he can make himself less of a burden on the other two. His burst of energy is quickly interrupted, though, by the disturbance in the water behind him. "I think the overgrown sea worm heard you," he groans, ignoring the pain as he tries to paddle more quickly along with his free arm. "He's not far behind."

[just_another]

There's a part of Joel that wants to tell them both to shut up, to stop talking and focus their energy on swimming so they can get away from this thing that's in the water with them. But he doesn't, he only swims as hard as he can toward shore, muttering incantations under his breath, spitting out salt water in between. The water gets darker and murkier the more sand is pulled up from the ocean floor with his words and it's not much, it's barely a spell at all, but he can only hope it will help. It's something, but he wishes more than anything he had a weapon instead.

They're both injured. There's blood in the water, he can taste it whenever a wave hits him in the face and it worries him. He has nothing with him, nothing with any magical properties that he can use to stop the bleeding once he has them on shore -- because he will get them to shore, he doesn't allow himself to think otherwise -- and there's only his sweater, sitting up there somewhere on the sand. It's not enough.

"Come on," he grinds out through gritted teeth, as if that will somehow make them magically arrive in the shallows any quicker.

[suchgoodluck]

"Yeah, well, the asshole took out a chunk of my seal parts, so he can suck it," Cosette manages, breathlessly from the effort of helping keep Spencer a float and trying to aid Joel in manipulating the water to keep the creature at a distance from them.

Her vision is still blurry, and she knows she is still bleeding. She grits her teeth together with as much focus as she can manage, trying to propel her tail to help them move faster when she realizes that it won't move.

"Shit, son of a bitch!" She curses as her tail hangs limply behind her.

[doublethepain]

Seal parts. Seal parts, his co-worker is part seal and Spencer doesn't really know what to do with that information. Selkies, he corrects himself, at least assuming he's caught up enough on mythology; but he thinks that must be watch Cosette is, a seal that can essentially shapeshift into human form once on land, and knowing that the myth is apparently not myth at all but a reality... isn't exactly surprising at this point but he certainly hadn't expected Cosette's secrets to run this deep, especially when truth be told, he comparatively doesn't have too many big ones of his own.

Still, between Cosette's immobile tail and Spencer's feeble attempts to keep kicking--though moving in general is really starting to sting now, he wonders if he'll need stitches because that would involve going to the hospital and he doesn't want to have to answer questions about what the hell had bit him--the pressure is all on Joel to get them closer to shore.

Spencer thinks maybe after this is over, he ought to extend his thanks for the fact that the other man has now saved him twice.

[just_another]

His arms and legs ache, his lungs are burning with every breath, but he can't stop. He's so completely focused on getting them to shore that he doesn't even realize when there's suddenly sand and rocks under his feet, cutting him through his socks and he stumbles, but he doesn't let go. Gasping for air, he continues to drag them along with him, splashing through the waves, clawing at the sand for leverage. A part of him wants to turn around see how close the creature is, if they're safe, but he's afraid of what he might see.

"Come on, come on," he chants, as if that will get them out of the water faster. He doesn't know how they're injured and he wants to look, but he wants to get out of the water and it feels like his mind is racing, trying to figure out where to go or what to do next. He's mentally two steps beyond the water already, it's the only way to keep himself from panicking too heavily. Panic isn't going to help anyone.

[suchgoodluck]

Cosette mutters a nearly silent prayer of thanks to whichever deity might happen to be listening when they finally reach the shore. She also realizes, through the haze in her mind, that she hasn't told either Joel or Spencer about her siren nature, a fact that is too late to remedy considering the state she is currently in.

"I'm doing my best," she says, wincing when she finally manages to feel sand beneath her desperate hands. She manages to crawl out of the water with Spencer before collapsing in a heap of pain and blood. Once she stops moving, she lacks the energy even to lift her head and check her injuries. All she knows is that it's bad.

[doublethepain]

He wants to check on Cosette because she's clearly in far worse shape than he is but once they're on shore, all he can do is try to cough up all the water that he's swallowed into his lungs before sprawling out on his back with his arm clutching his injured side. He narrows his eyes and grimaces when he sees his shirt torn to shreds from the sharp teeth of the beast, blood staining his hands and now the sand. He groans in discomfort as he shifts his weight more toward his right side because he's read about infections, he knows what could happen if he doesn't get this looked at and the same goes for Cosette.

He reaches out with his free hand, gesturing for Joel's attention, though his eyes are closed and he has no idea whether he's got it. "Hospital," he murmurs, slurring the word the slightest bit. "Gotta get her to the hospital."

[just_another]

"I have to get you both to the hospital," Joel answers, glancing between the two of them before he strips off his t-shirt and wrings the water out of it as best he can. It'll sting, but it's better than nothing, and he presses it to Spencer's side where he's bleeding, then grabs his hand and puts it over the shirt, pressing down hard. "Hold this."

Then he scrambles across the sand for his sweater, yanking his cell phone out of the pocket and dialing for an ambulance as he drags himself back to the two of them. His sweater is dry, thicker, and he looks down at Cosette for a moment, at a loss. He had no idea, but it doesn't matter now and all he can do is press his sweater to her wounds, hoping it's enough until an ambulance comes. "Someone's coming," he says when he finally lets the phone drop from where he's been holding it with his shoulder. Both his hands are busy, one holding the sweater to Cosette's wounds, the other reaching out to make sure Spencer is holding the shirt against his side. "Someone's coming, okay? It's fine... it's fine."

[suchgoodluck]

"My tail..." She croaks, more than speaks, her mind a haze as the ambulance approaches. The world around her blurs, and she can just barely distinguish the shapes of Joel and Spencer around her. Somewhere in the midst of the mess of her mind, the sensible part of her worries about what the doctors are going to make of her like this.

She feels a hand pressed against her, compressing the blood to keep it from spilling out. She wants to be useful and help, but she teeters on the edge of passing out entirely.