Scarlet Cove

A coral reef cove that are a mixed color of red and orange.

Along the sand ran a woman, long black hair flowing behind her, and what surprise people the most about her was the 4 foot long crocodile resting against her shoulder. Only one arm was wrapped around the creature, in the other hand a bag was held in a tight grip. No way she'd let that go. That was food for the crocodile and herself. Eventually she came to a halt, huffing as she set the large creature into the sand and dropped down beside him. Melinoe wasn't even dressed for being at the beach. She actually wore black leather biker boots, tight fitting jeans, and a black tank top. It didn't matter to her though, it was still a bit early for the groups of people that came.

Reaching into the bag Melinoe pulled out what she had been waiting to. It was a piece of raw meat, almost looking as if it was freshly killed. Certainly crocodiles often at rotting meat as well, but there was no time for that. She tossed the meat to the crocodile which immediately began to tear pieces off and swallow them. She looked into the bag at the other bit, already cut into smaller pieces for her human form. Looking around to be sure no one was around Melinoe's eyes slowly changed to look more reptilian as she reached into the bag and started to eat.

Esme needed to think, she needed to clear her head. The world of the digital had put so much on her mind, and no matter what she did he couldn't push the thoughts away any longer then to finish her work. She sighed, shuffling her tennis shoes in the loose sand. Esme was dressed like a slob, she always dressed like this when she worked and it was clear that she had been at work. Her red t-shit was covered in charcoal, and her sweat pants had a patch of fabric missing from the left knee. The lady didn't care, she had too much on her mind to care.

She contemplated her feet, leaving light marks in the sand just out of the reach of the waves. The salty air calmed her a little bit, but still the thoughts poked and prodded at her consciousness. That poor woman, having to deal with all of that. Why did life bless the few but curse the many she wondered, kicking a rock in the shallow waters to her right. A soft sigh escaped her lips, this was so much to wonder she fretted she'd go insane.

Melinoe finished the piece of meat she'd placed into her own mouth, but then she sighed and dropped the bag. She wasn't hungry. She looked over to the juvenile crocodile beside her. He'd already nearly finished the large chunk of meat she'd tossed him. "Jeez. You're not like a crocodile in the wild at all." She turned her head to stare forward as her eyes slowly dulled out in color and her pupils widened back up to normal. She'd spaced out enough that she hadn't noticed Chompers making his way towards the water until he was over halfway there.

Quickly she bounced into action, jumping up onto her feet and sprinting forward, "Hey, no!" She jumped and tackled him from the side, managing to roll him over. She laid on him sideways as his legs squirmed around some. "It's too cold for us..." She spoke in a quiet tone to the crocodile who'd clearly wanted to get into the water. "I'll take you swimming when we get home, okay?" She sat up and he slowly rolled himself back over, staring at her. "Don't look at me like that!" She leaned down and placed her chin on the top of his snout. "You'll get sick, and then you might die. I can't live without you, Chompers." She lifted a hand to run it down over his back.

The sound of sand being struck and it flying everywhere - including around her - made Esme snap her head up. It was that stranger - Melinoe and...was that a crocodile? She acted so friendly with it, that was her pet?! Esme blinked, standing still a couple meters away from the pet and owner. Esme had pieced together that it was Mel behind Drina, but had she done the same to find the true face behind the mage?

Esme sighed to herself, walking forward as she glanced at the two of them for a second in passing. This was not a good time to talk to her, she needed space...no matter how much Esme wanted to talk to her.

Melinoe lifted her head when she felt the crocodile under her chin starting to lift its head as well. She moved back so she was on her hands and knees instead of laying in the sand and then tilted her head to the side. His mouth opened and he let out that strange noise that crocodiles do. A mix of hiss, roar, and growl. Her eyes closed and she smiled brightly at him before laughing some. The actions made her face tinge red just under her eyes and across the bridge of her nose. "Alright, alright!" She leaned forward and placed her lips against his upper jaw while his mouth was still open. Suddenly she leaned back as his jaws snapped down and she gave him a somewhat cross look. "Excuse me, mister. We're gonna have some problems if you keep that up." A light giggle passed between her lips, but her head lifted suddenly once more as she heard someone walking by.

That hair was the first thing she recognized, "Oh, hey!" Melinoe seemed to be thinking then before she opened her mouth again to speak "Esmeralda, right?"

Esme smiled softly when she watched the two of them. It was clear Mel loved the little animal...if you could call it little anyway. It was good to see her happy, at least she had something in her life to give her happiness. Esme stopped and turned to the woman when she spoke up, Esme was at first surprised that she could remember their short interaction. But people seemed to remember her easily...it was most likely the color of her hair. Esme put on her usual polite smile, letting the thoughts fade away and focused on the real world.
"Yes it is, Melinoe if I remember. Excuse the mess I am I just came here after working to clear my head a little bit. Stress had gotten the best of me."
Not only a good excuse but a believable one, it would seem she was the only one to know of the others real face.

Carefully Melinoe sat herself up into a more appropriate position than being bent over in such a way. She was a bit different in build than her avatar was, not have quite the curves that she did, but they were still there even if the tank top did hang rather loosely around the chest area. The woman blinked when the crocodile made a somewhat aggressive hissing noise from deep in it's throat. She turned her gaze to it immediately, and a similar noise began to build up in her throat. It escaped slightly but she quickly lifted a hand to her mouth and coughed that urge away as she lightly smacked the snout of the creature besides her. "Knock that off." The sound had been in a somewhat protective way for the woman that Chompers originally gave the noise to. She turned her gaze up to the woman standing there, a slight blush on her cheeks as she spoke somewhat softly, "I'm sorry...He gets jealous."

Now that incident was over she slowly pushed herself to her feet to address Esmeralda more directly. "Yeah, don't worry about it." She gave a soft smile to the woman standing there before questioning her, "So...Did you get it done? The thing you had to finish for your exhibit, I mean."

The crocodile hissed at Esme, before receiving a smack on it's snout from Melinoe. She scolded the creature, standing and apologizing for the creature. Esme waved it off with a smile, Maya got the same way when she would bring clients over to inspect her work, but when the guests got settled in she returned to her usual loving self. Mel stood up, she was different from her avatar but that was nothing Esme could complain about. she was quite different from Kira herself.

"Yes I did, all my piece are finished, just in time too the exhibition is this weekend."
Esme's voice couldn't sound more excited, this was a massive exhibition she was preparing for. Reino would be coming as her personal quest, she'd be adressing the guests and taking questions from them. She wasn't nervous in the least she was excited, extremely.

Slowly Melinoe lifted her hand to her face, taking her chin between her thumb and forefinger. She got that expression her face had held online when talking about who she was. Sad, lonely, and very, very thoughtful. "It's rather odd, but I guess you could say Chompers views me as his mother. He's still rather young. I think what he needs to remember is that mother crocodiles don't need protecting. They're much, much larger than he is, and can kick his ass any day." She shot a glanced towards the croc in a warning sort of way before she looked back to Esmeralda, her face immediately lighting up as she moved her hand away from her mouth and closed her eyes while laughing, "Though I suppose that doesn't apply here. Clearly I'm no crocodile."

Melinoe's eyes opened once more as Esmeralda said she finished her work. "That's good. I'm sure everything will work out great for you." She gave a warm smile to the woman as she spoke her words. It was true. This woman seemed rather successful.

Esmeralda smiled as Melinoe shot a glare toward the crocodile, seeing very well how the creature saw her as it's mother. Maya had seen Esme as her mother since the day she picked the little kitten out. She was no crocodile, that was true.
"I'm very excited, I have a lot going on these next couple of weekends. I'll be going backstage to a movie set to watch my friend who's starring it the film, then he's coming with me to the exhibition. It's going to be a lot of fun."
It was nice to have a calming conversation with her, but she still knew about Mel and Mel had no idea she did. It would have to come up sometime, but not right now.

"Ah...A movie set? I see. That's very interesting." Melinoe gave a very convincing smile though she almost felt a pang of jealousy. What was that for? She didn't get jealous when people liked spending time with others. She also didn't care about the fact that people tended to overlook her for those more "famous". "Well, have fun with that." She shot another bright and genuine looking smile. The phone in her pocket went off though. Quickly she reached in. "Excuse me a second." She turned away from the woman while reaching in and answering the phone. She looked rather miserable though with whomever it was on the phone. "Now? I see...They're on the way to my location? Yes, I understand it. No need to worry. I won't disappoint you." She hung the phone up and straightened before turning to Esmeralda once more.

"I know this is a really big favor to ask, but something's come up and I need to meet someone here..Could you maybe watch Chompers for me? It'll only be for a moment." Her face looked rather serious and there was a contemplating look on her face.

Esme tilted her head to the side as Mel turned around to answer her phone, sounding none too happy with the person on the other end. She blinked, watching her turn back around and say that she needed to meet someone. Watch the crocodile for a little bit? Esme had never watched a crocodile before...Chompers wasn't a very reassuring name either. But as polite as she was she kept smiling and nodded.
"Sure thing, he's in good hands."
She crouched down to the reptile, not sure how to great the animal or how to let it know she meant no harm. With dogs and cat you would let them sniff the back of your hand...that surely did not apply here.

"There's a bag of meat up there. You can give him some if you'd like." Melinoe watched Esmeralda's body language and thought she seemed somewhat nervous. "He won't hurt you, so you don't have to worry...but could you do me a favor and make sure he doesn't get in the water? The water is still too cold and he can get sick." Those were the only instructions she had for Esmeralda, and so she said softly. "Thank you for this." And then turned to take off in a different direction where there was actually a bit of a tree line ahead.

Disappearing into the trees Melinoe stopped to strip herself down into nothing before creeping along to spot who it was the phone call was about. This had been from the police, and so her target was actually a fairly well known criminal who had done many terrible things. Seeing him there she allowed herself to shift, dropping onto her knees as her bones popped and her skin tore. It wasn't too long of a process, but it seemed to take forever to Melinoe as her body shifted and twisted into a 33 foot long crocodile.

Twigs snapped under her weight of course, and that caught the man's attention. He drew a gun, but that was of no concern to Melinoe. Anyone who tried shooting alligators or crocodiles would quickly tell you it took precision, and a strong gun to break through the skin of such a creature. She emerged from the wooded area and the man immediately let out a cry and pulled the trigger of the gun. The bullet hit her chest but didn't do all that much as she lunged forward and took his hand off, swallowing it and the gun whole. The man turned to run but it was too late as she lunged once more and caught him around the waist in her jaws, teeth easily puncturing the skin as she went into a death roll and actually snapped him in half.

Slowly she leaned her head down and picked the lower half up into her jaws and tilted her head upward, opening and closing her jaws as she worked the limbs down her mouth and into her stomach, she then repeated the process for the other half, and when the body was gone she shifted back into her human self. She rocked back and fourth slightly as she placed her hand over the spot on her chest she'd been shot. "Oooow!" A large bruise was spreading over the area, it may not have broken the skin but it still hurt like hell. Quickly she shifted the sand about to hide the blood. She wasn't worried about it, rain would easily take care of that.

Turning back she ran back through the woods and found her clothing. She worked her way back into it before casually heading back over to where Esmeralda was, the only thing out of place being the large bruise that actually still seemed to be spreading across her chest, and the tiniest bit of blood she'd missed when cleaning her face.

Esme sighed to herself when Mel went on to say the crocodile wouldn't hurt her, and asked that she keep the animal out of the water to keep him from getting sick. As Mel walked away Esme sat next to the bag she had indicated before, and reached into it to toss a large clump of meat to the reptile. He caught it in his jaws, and began tearing pieces off it. The artist laughed, careful to avoid his teeth as she rubbed the top of his head. The creature made a sort of purring noise, but it sounded more like a gurgle to her. Either way the creature was happy, and so was Esme.

Until she heard something off where Mel had gone, gun fire. She jumped to her feet, the crocodile surprised by the sudden action and hissing. Esme calmed the creature down to where he began ripping chunks off the meat again, the female sighing softly as he calmed down. Mel cam back, a bruise on her chest and a bit of blood on her face.
"Mel what happened are you alright?!"
Esme asked as she approached Mel to get a closer look, Chompers waddling over to his owner as well.

Esmeralda came running over, and Melinoe was quick to jump into action with a story. She'd always been good at improv acting. She threw her hands up in slight frustration and disbelief. "The bastard shot at me!" That bit was actually true though. She couldn't believe the man had actually shot her. They didn't normally get a chance. "He turned when he saw me coming, pulled a gun out, shot, and then ran off! His aim totally sucks though. He completely missed! So I came running back through the woods and tripped. I must have hit myself pretty good when I fell...It really hurts..." She reached a hand up and rubbed at the bruise, flinching when she touched it.

Mel was shot at?! Esme face paled when she heard that part, Chompers circling around Melinoe's feet. The artist looked closer, trying to see how large the bruise was, the answer was very large indeed. It spread almost all the way across her chest, Esme flinched seeing how big it was.
"You should have a doctor look at that, it looks very nasty."
Esme brushed back her hair, noting only now that her finger tips were still covered in charcoal. Why did she like working with charcoal so much anyway? Now wasn't the time for that, Mel was hurt that was the focus here. Chompers put hi head on Drina's foot, trying to make sure if she was alright.

"No way. I don't need a doctor. It's just a bruise!" If any doctor were to take a look at this they'd know that it wasn't caused by falling on something. There couldn't be any evidence of this happening, and this bruise would be documented. Her own face paled slightly. She hadn't been hungry before, and she'd just eaten an entire person, and she wasn't feeling too good now. "I think I'm gonna be sick..." Quickly she turned and moved her foot away from Chompers to put some distance between herself and the two of them before she bent over, hands placed firmly onto her thighs and began heaving before anything actually came up. Blood, bones, hair, and chunks of meet. It had only been brief, but she had high acidity in her stomach to digest it down this much.

Esme leaped back when she saw Mel run over to the side, saying she was going to be sick. Her face fell when she saw what came up, it grew even paler then before. Chompers hissed softly, Esme was sure he was worried about her. She didn't speak for a long time, not able to take her eyes of Mel. Her face went straight, and she looked to the side.
"It happened again didn't it Melinoe?"
This was crystal clear, Drina had only told one person and one person alone about this sort of thing. Esme remained still, refusing to run away from her because of this. Mel needed someone, the only person who knew.

Melinoe remained bent like that as she worked on catching her breath, slowly she glanced towards Esmeralda with a somewhat stern look on her face as she stated flatly, "I don't know what you're talking about." Slowly she straightened up and lifted a hand to brush her fingers through her hair almost somewhat roughly as she tipped her head back, "Shit...What am I going to do?" She had to think of someway to get rid of this mess. No traces. That's how it was supposed to be. This right here was quite the trace. There was only one way she could think of to get rid of the mess, and it was a rather disgusting thought. More because she had already eaten to much, not the fact that she had previously eaten what was on the ground. The older she got the more in touch she got with her animal side, and to her...Food was food, and you don't waste that.

Mel tried to wave off what she had said, throwing her head back and trying to figure out what she was going to do. Esme was sure what she would do, Chompers was already sniffing at the pile of former human. While Esme's stomach churned at the thought of it, she stayed firm. Her gaze hardened, looking right at Mel.
"You're the one who told me Drina."
She took a step forward, for a moment feeling like the mage again. Mel had told her everything, she knew what had happened. Chompers stuck his snout into the bloody mess, Esme felt her stomach lurch but she kept it down to stand firm.

Melinoe flinched as she heard the name come from Esmeralda's lips. She turned her somewhat hard gaze entirely onto the woman then, and watched her a moment. "Then perhaps you should know...This..." She motioned towards the mess, "Was on purpose." She turned her head some and saw what Chompers was doing. That took care of that problem then, but her eyes shifted anyway, lightening in color to a golden, but somewhat more yellow than the golden of her avatar's fox eyes, and the pupil's slitted. She slowly turned the new gaze back to Esmeralda. It was similar to the fox, but at the same time it was more dangerous, but still somewhat soft towards this woman. From her throat came a noise impossible for human vocal cords to make, that deep hissing that came as warning from crocodiles. Melinoe felt somewhat cornered, and when an animal was cornered they could sometimes get vicious.

Esme gave Mel room as she turned, hissing at her like a caged animal. Her hands lifted in front of her, palms facing outward in a calm manner.
"Melinoe, I'm not here to hurt you. I don't care if this was on purpose or not, I'm not afraid. Like I said before I know I should be but I'm not. I won't run from you, I want to hear your side of the story. Why did this happen?"
She gestured to the pile of flesh and gagged softly when she saw the crocodile down some of it. She shook herself of the sensation to vomit and turned back to Mel with a straightened face.
"You don't have to feel threatened Melinoe, I mean you no harm."

Melinoe kept the hiss going a bit longer before opening her mouth, allowing the strange noise that Chompers had made earlier to come out, but hers was much deeper than his had been. It was a bit of an intimidation move, but she knew that Esmeralda wasn't intimidated, and that frustrated her a bit more. Her mouth closed and the sound cut off, but her eyes remained like those of a crocodile. She reached into her pocket and tossed the phone to Esmeralda, "That's how it happened." The phone call. It had been from the higher ups of the police department, they used her to rid of someone. Swiftly she stepped forward, taking a hold of Esmeralda's wrists. The tossed phone had been more of a distraction. "Now...I have to do something about you...because there can be no evidence, no loose strings..."

Esme caught the phone, glancing at the previous call records. The police department, that man must have been some form of criminal. The phone fell into the sand and Esme jumped when Mel suddenly grabbed at her wrists. Loose ends? Esme tried to remain firm, but she was growing ever more fearful. She bit back her tongue though, knowing saying anything could anger her more. Esme didn't want to die like this, she had so much to do still, but if it was unavoidable she would accept it.