jasonwright | [CIRCLE OF SIRENS] Taken at the Docks

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circle of sirens

[CIRCLE OF SIRENS] Taken at the Docks

It's early Saturday morning, around 4am, when Jason kisses a half-asleep Iris and says his goodbye before he heads out of the apartment building. He agreed to work this Saturday on the boat, get some extra cash for the upcoming holiday, even if he'd rather still be in bed, wrapped around his girlfriend. Jason pulls his coat closed and zips it up as he walks through Siren Cove, the town quiet and most of its residents still asleep. It's a normal-looking Saturday morning, even with the fog that rolls in near the docks. It's really not that uncommon for Jason to walk though a thick fog so early in the morning.

The closer he moves toward it though, the weirder the fog feels. It looks normal, but it feels...different, heavy. And what draws him toward it is a voice. A voice he knows, crisp, clear, and beautiful, singing to him louder as he gets closer. It's Iris, humming one of her little tunes she usually sings, especially when she's happily cooking. Before he knows it, the world around him changes and he seems to walk through some kind of door. When he passes through the door, Jason immediately recognizes where he is. He's in his family's home in Alaska. Jason pauses and looks around. This isn't right. But Iris' singing pulls him further into the home, until he finds her in the kitchen, cooking Thanksgiving dinner with...his mom, his sister Ana, and his brother John.

"There he is!" John beams, looking up from a bowl of pie filling. Iris is hovering behind him, adding a few ingredients and instructing him on how to stir, but she looks up and smiles when she sees Jason. She crosses the length of the kitchen in just a few strides and throws her arms around Jason, nuzzling his cheek affectionately.

"There's my favourite husband." Her nose wrinkles in that cute way Jason loves and he feels his chest tighten when she calls him her husband. Ana is the next to move toward him and wow. She's beautiful, mature, and her smile is kind and inviting. This Ana is different from when they were children. She pulls Jason into a hug, one he's longed for for almost twenty years. They were rivals as kids. But the way she hugs him now feels like she loves him and sees him as her equal.

"About time you got home, sailor," she teases. "Iris insisted on making everything you love."

And then his mother appears before him and Jason instinctively takes a step back from her. She tilts her head and holds out her arms. "Sweetheart, come here. It's bad enough I'm third in line to get a hug from you." And before he can protest, his mom's pulled him into her and it's...overwhelming. Jason sinks into her arms. He's never been hugged by her like this before. There's love there instead of disappointment. "Now, go with Iris and wash up. We're eating in ten."

With a kiss on his cheek, his mom leaves him to go back to work on the feast and Jason feels a bit empty when she lets him go. But Iris takes his arm, folding her hand into his. "Come on, hon." She tugs him out of the kitchen and toward his old bedroom. Jason feels...complete right now. He's confused, but he has Iris and his family actually accepting him. But as Iris opens the door of his room, the memories he has of the bedroom fade and are replaced by darkness and dizziness. Jason feels Iris' grip slip away and he reaches for her again, but when he turns, she's gone. Instead he's met with a damp wall and he feels his breath leave his body as the coldness of his surroundings finally hits him.

Blinking for a few minutes, Jason looks around. He's definitely not in his family's home. And he's not at the docks. He's in a cave with a few other people, everyone looking confused and more than a little scared.

ooc: Jason never showed up for work at the docks or later that day at the shop with Davin. The captain of the boat would probably notice his absence and contact some people after they returned to the dock to see if he was alright~

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Iris is still comfortably nuzzled into the warm dent Jason leaves in the bed when her phone buzzes in her ear. Groggily, she hauls herself up and answers with a sleepy "Hullo?"

The captain of the boat Jason works on introduces himself before he asks if Jason's left for work yet. She frowns, sitting up properly and tells him that he left hours ago, why? It isn't until he informs her that he'd never showed up that she feels her stomach sink. That isn't like Jason. Not in the least. He doesn't ditch work, and definitely doesn't ditch without calling in to explain why. He wouldn't put his work on the line like that. Maybe, as unlikely as it seems, he mixed up his schedules and went to Davin's garage? Assuring the captain she'll keep him up to date, Iris calls, but no one answers. Its still too early for the garage to even be open.

Her chest is tight with worry now and some part of her can feel he's in trouble. Desperately trying not to cry, she grabs her phone and calls the first person she can think of who might be able to help.

"Lara?" she manages to choke out through the lump of tears in her throat. "I need your help."

Lara frowns at the sound of Iris's distraught voice when she answers the phone. "Iris? Okay sweetheart, you're going to have to calm down. Take a breath okay?" She says gently, waiting until she hears a long breath in and out. "Okay, what's happened?"

Taking a moment to compose herself, Iris tries to get her words together to explain.

"Jason left this morning but never showed up at work. He isn't at the garage either. And Jason doesn't skip work, not without a damn good reason and even then, he calls to explain. He's been gone for two hours now and I just-" Her voice breaks slightly and she pauses to clear her throat. "His phone goes straight to voice mail and I don't know what to do, Lara."

Already grabbing her keys, Lara nods. "I'm on my way over." She said. "Stay there. We'll figure this out okay?"

Lara makes it across town to Iris's place in record time and knocks on the door gently. "Iris, honey, it's me."

Iris darts to the door, flinging it open and practically tackling Lara with a hug. "I can't find him anywhere, Lara!" she hiccups. "This isn't like him!"

Lara smoothed a hand over the distraught young womans hair. "Okay, shhh. It's going to be fine." She said, letting her power flow over Iris, trying to sooth her. "Come on. We're going to make you some tea and we'll figure this out, okay?" Lara said, tucking Iris close into her side and leading her gently towards the kitchen.

Iris lets herself be led into the kitchen, lost in thoughts of worst case scenarios and the urge to run out and search for Jason herself, as futile as she knows it is. "I can... I can sort of feel him," she admits, her voice soft and hoarse with tears. "I know he's alive and he feels... scared. And angry?"

Sitting Iris at the table, Lara moves on instinct to make the tea. "You can feel him? That's good. It means he's still alright. Especially if he's angry." Letting that sink in, Lara finished up with the tea, putting a mug down in front of Iris. "A little scared and a lot angry is a good thing. Means he can fight back." She said quietly.

Iris takes the tea, cupping it in her hands and letting the heat of it warm them. She feels cold, even though the apartment is perfectly warm, and the tea helps. "I guess... I just don't like knowing what's making him scared and angry. It makes me sick to my stomach knowing that I don't know where he is to help," she admits, voice trembling with the urge to cry again.

Lara sat beside Iris and rubbed a hand over her back. "We'll find him. We just need to figure out where to start." She smiled reassuringly. "Where did you last see him?"

"In bed, this morning," she says, sipping gently at the tea as she fights back another wave of tears. "He got up to go to work and... kissed me goodbye and then I woke up an hour later with a message from his boss asking where he is..."

When Jason still isn't at the garage ten minutes into his shift, Davin doesn't think much of it. Not that Jason has ever been late before, but shit happens. He probably get held up somewhere.

Forty-five minutes into his shift, Davin still isn't worried, exactly. Okay, maybe he is. Jason seems like he would have texted him by now if he was running late. It's not like Davin would have been upset with him. He looks up at the clock with a furrowed brow, biting his lip.

"Oh, what, is the golden boy missing?" Mel sneers. "Can't do your work without something to look at, huh?"

"I'm glad you're aware of his beauty," Davin mumbles sarcastically, holding up his middle finger as he does. "Now go away."

Mel curls his lip and looks angry, like he might say something, but he ultimately turns and storms off. Davin distractedly goes into his office and shuts the door. Maybe Jason and Iris are together. Maybe they're.. busy. Yeah, that's probably it. Davin's gay as they come but even he can't deny that it'd be hard to get out of a bed that Iris is in.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to check. He brings up Iris' number and hits call, biting his thumbnail nervously as he brings the phone to his ear.

Iris is pacing the living room, trying to calm herself, when the phone rings. The number for the garage shows up on caller ID and she practically launches herself at it, snatching it up and answering it breathlessly.

"Jason?! Please say that's you..."

"Shit," is Davin's reply, because that doesn't bode well. "No, it's Davin. So I'm assuming he's not with you?"

Iris sounds scared and worried, and a knot forms in Davin's gut. If even Iris doesn't know where he is... well, it can't mean anything good.

"No, he's not," she says, shaking her head despite him not being able to see her. "He left to work on the boat this morning and just... never showed up."

Iris' voice breaks slightly as tears prick at her eyes. "I don't know where he is. His phone goes straight to voice mail and he would never skip work without at least calling in," she sobs.

"I know. I know he wouldn't, that's why I called." He swears under his breath and grabs his coat, switching the phone to his other ear as he pulls it on. "I'm comin' over, aye? Do ya want me t'call ya back on my cell while I head over?"

His first instinct is to get to Iris, because he doesn't want her to be alone. Then they can figure this out. Jason's fine.

He has to be.

"Its okay," she sniffs, grabbing a seat on the couch to wait. "You don't have to... I mean. I'd like it if you would so I know you aren't disappearing?"

Iris catches herself babbling and shakes her head. "Just come over quickly, okay?"

"I'll call ya back in two shakes, doll. I promise ya." He hangs up the phone and finishes pulling on his jacket, fixing the collar as he walks through the garage. "I'm takin' the rest o' the day, an' anyone who gives me shit gets a black eye."

He must look irritated enough that no one bothers him, and he has his phone in his hand dialing Iris' number as soon as he's out the door. She picks up and he just starts talking, assuring her that he's there. It's obvious by his speech that he's jogging, trying to get to her quicker. "I'll be there soon, okay? We'll figure this out."

It doesn't take him long to get to Iris's and he knocks on the door even as he tells her so. "I'm here. Let me in so I can hug ya."

Iris curls up on the couch, Davin's voice echoing through the phone the only thing keeping her from breaking into full blown sobs. Then he reaches the apartment and she darts to the door, throwing it open and practically flinging herself at him for a hug.

"I don't know what to do," she hiccups, tears streaking down her cheeks. "The police said its too early to file a missing person's report even though I told them that Jason would never just up and leave!"

Davin's heart cracks a little when she flings herself at him, and he gets them inside just enough to shut the door before he's giving her a crushing hug in return. His friend is in pain and another is missing, and Davin swallows hard as his mind races. "It's - "

He was going to say it's okay, but that's not a promise he can keep.

"We'll figure this out," Davin assures her, because that feels safer. He rocks her a little and kisses her temple, stroking a hand down her back. "I'll help however I can, okay? There has t'be a good explanation."

She attempts to breathe, to calm down a bit. "It just doesn't make sense. Something bad has to have happened. Jason wouldn't just... disappear on me," she says, voice shaking. "He'd tell me if he had to leave town or something. He wouldn't leave like this."

"He wouldn't. He loves you." He leads her over to the sofa and pulls her into his lap, keeping his arms around her. "Jason's really tough, okay? Whatever's goin' on, he's strong. He'll be okay."

He cups her cheek and wipes tears from under her eye with his thumb. "But Iris, ya gotta breathe, okay? Breathe with me."

A small hiccuping sob slips out but she nods, trying to slow her rapid breathing to match his normal rate. "Sorry..." she finally says, voice raw from crying. "I just don't know what to do without him. And I can feel something's wrong..."

"Hey, don't be sorry. You're upset, but ya just need to breathe. I've got ya." It can't be much of a comfort, because he's a hell of a step down from Jason, but he's here and he's not going anywhere. His brow furrows and he tilts his head, taking Iris's hand and threading their fingers together. She says it like it's more than just a normal bad feeling, and that might mean something. "What d'ya mean, you can feel it?"

She shakes her head, not knowing how to explain. "Its like... I can feel he's scared? And angry. I don't know how to explain it. Maybe it's a siren thing..." she says, chewing at her thumb nail again.

"Well that's a good thing then, isn't it?" Davin reaches up to gently tug her thumbnail free so she stops biting at it, and then cups her cheek and tilts her head so that she's looking at him. "That means he's alive, aye? An' if he's angry, that means he's fightin'."

He takes her at her word when she says it's a siren thing and nods a little, biting his own lip. "If it's a siren thing... have ya called Lara? She's like, Mama Siren, right?"

For a moment, she wants to yank her hand a way to gnaw at her nail again, but she fists her hands in her skirt and fights the urge instead. Iris nods slightly, timidly, as she wills the tears to stop. "That's true..." she says quietly. "I called Lara, yeah. She was over earlier. She's going to help me figure things out, she said."

"That's good. She'll be able t'help." He gives her a reassuring smile and squeezes her hand. "An' I'm here too, okay? I'm not goin' anywhere an' I'll do whatever I can t'help, I promise."

She nods, leaning over and letting herself fall against his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you, Davin. It means a lot that you're here for me."

"Of course, lamb. There's nowhere else I'd be." He holds her close and kisses the top of her head, rubbing her back soothingly. "I'll stay with ya an' we'll wait for Lara t'call. She'll be able t'help, I'm sure of it."

"Thank you," she hiccups, letting herself cry it out into his shirt. Iris is fairly sure she'd be having an absolute meltdown if not for him right now. "Thank you so much..."

"Hey, it's okay. I'm not goin' anywhere." He holds her close and kisses the top of her head, feeling his own eyes start to sting because his friend is in so much pain, and another is missing and Davin is scared by it all. He has no idea how to fix it, and that's all he wants to do.

But Lara, she'll be able to help. He's sure of it. For now, all he can do is hold Iris close and be there for her, and that's what he intends to do.

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[CIRCLE OF SIRENS] Taken at the Docks

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