Kara's first week blew past in a haze of menial labor with few distractions. It was nearly spring now, three more days. The weather was ready getting hot and she could feel the shift in the air and water, gearing up for a rainy season.
Raverden had a good amount of storms, but she was a lot closer to the ocean now.
Well, it couldn't get too bad, surely.
Kara was working outside for a change, clearing out what clearly used to be a garden. She was wearing a sun hat and shorts, a green button up, and had foregone shoes for the day.
Weeds had overtaken the poor garden, but she'd have it ready for new seeds in time for planting season by the looks of things. With such nice soil, Kara was actually excited to see what she could grow. Maybe she'd even be able to cook with fresh ingredients!
"Mmm, fresh peas," she mumbled, drooling at the mere idea. Too early for lunch, though, so she waved the thought away.
Adjusting her sun hat, Kara looked down at the space she had to work with. It was a decent plot, big enough for a small variety. She raked her gloved fingers through the dirt and found a few earthworms. They were the first living animal she had seen so far. No birds, no deer, nothing.
That was unusual for someplace that'd been abandoned so long. All that was left behind were prints... It was still technically winter, but she expected to see something by this point.
At least the worms were a good sign.
Kara continued weeding the garden and tossing rocks over the fence into a neat pile, singing to fill the silence. She wondered absently if a greenhouse would be better than planting straight in the ground.
So lost in her work, Kara didn't even notice a thumping sound until it shook the house. It sounded like someone knocking on the door.
"Outside," she shouted. Of course it was too much to hope for that she'd be able to finish her work free of interruption. Honestly, it was a blessing she made it three whole days unbothered.
At least she was outside and had no obligation to invite them in, they may be confused with how much she had accomplished in just a week.
"Kara? Hello? Where are you?" It sounded like the well-mannered child. Good, better him than his brother. Kara just wasn't ready to face Theo again. He was too complex for her overthinking mind to handle, his intentions a mystery to her. Undoubtedly rude, too, but she wasn't exactly winning any compassion trophies, either...
Well, in any case his little brother was far easier to be around.
"Over here," she called grumpily, wiping her face and tugging up more weeds. Blake came around the corner of the house and hanged on the fence with a grin, leaning over but not entering the garden.
"Hi, Miss Kara! Are you growing vegetables? Don't worry, I won't trample any." This was the only human who understood respect, Kara decided. Polite, respectful, thought about others.
What happens to humans when they grow up?
"Don't worry, there's nothing planted to trample on, yet. I do plan to grow something, though. First I just need to tame these wicked strangling roots," she told him, pulling out a thorny plant with a grunt. She tossed it aside and turned to face him, giving him her full attention. "Now, what can I do for you?"
"Oh, right! You're invited!" What? Wiping her hands clean, Kara lookes at him with a quizzical frown and beckoned him to continue.
"To another cookout?"
"Not this time! My birthday is in three days, miss, and I'm having a birthday party. You're invited," he sais excitedly, handing her a card. A birthday party? Caught off guard, Kara struggled to find some way to turn him down politely. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but a party would mean dozens of children, and dozens of children meant dozens of parents.
Humans all congregating and making their small talk... Yeesh.
"Oh, uh, I'm not sure-"
"Please, Miss Kara? It would sure mean a lot to me if you came," he said earnestly, giving her the biggest doe-eyed look she'd ever seen.
Darn his polite little vernacular! How is she supposed to say no to that?
Kara sighed and tugged her gloves off to take the invitation. It was bright yellow with her name scribbled hastily on the front in terrible handwriting. Inside was an equally hard to read message.
You are invited as a special guest to celebrate Blake Hart's birthday! Tiaras required.
"Alright, mister, you've convinced me. Where's this awesome party," she asked, her resolve to keep her distance crumbling. It was just one more get-together. It probably wouldn't even take too long. She could endure.
"It's just at my house. One o'clock, that's one p.m not one a.m. Just come right in, Mom and Dad won't mind." The idea of entering someone's home without express permission physically nauseated her. Then again, Blake was sort of giving her permission and to humans, home wss less of a territory and more of...
Something else?
Kara had never been clear, really.
"What would you like as a gift," she asked suddenly. Birthdays require presents and a child's present shouldn't be too impersonal. Plus, Kara couldn't be the only one showing up empty-handed.
"The planet Mercury."
"I can do Jupiter," she countered.
"Neptune?"
"You got someplace big enough to hold Neptune?"
Blake pursed his lips, a thoughtful look on his face before breaking out into a huge grin.
"I guess you just have to surprise me, then! Don't worry so much, miss, I like pretty much everything. And if you can't bring a gift, that's okay, too!" Before Kara could assure him she'd definitely be bringing one, they both hear a rustling sound. Kara tensed up, hands raising in case she had to pull Blake closer.
Just because she hadn't seen a wild animal yet didn't mean they weren't out there.
And humans were fragile. Kara couldn't just let a kid get hurt, even a human one.
"Hello?! Blake, Kara?" Ugh. Him? The tension drained from her body and was replaced with a deep-seated displeasure. Kara wasn't emotionally prepared for another conversation with Mr Disrespectful just yet.
"In the garden," Blake called back. Soon after, Theo walked around the house and took a look at Kara kneeling in the dirt and Blake practically sitting on the old fence, his arms crossed.
"You better hurry home. You know you aren't supposed to be here," Theo told his little brother disapprovingly. Blake just smiled sheepishly.
"Miss Kara was watching me," he insisted. At Theo's glare, he pouted and slid off the fence. "I was about to go, anyway," he muttered. He waved at Kara before running back towards the so-called trail in the woods.
Kara would have to put some thought into his gift, she knew. He was just so sweet, she wanted to get him something he'd really like. Only... What did human kids actually like? Guppies liked playing with other critters in the sea, and as they got older, most developed hobbies of a sort.
The Sea Folk who lived in pods and built their homes in the ocean even traded with each other. Jewelry, weapons, that sort of things. Was Blake more of a guppy at his age?
Kara was about to resume working when she felt a presence lingering nearby, still. Turning, she found Theo leaning on the fence with his arms folded over the old wood, watching her.
"Blake really likes you," he told her, expression unreadable. "You're basically his first real neighbor. The first one he can remember, anyway. It can get sort of lonely only very seeing the same faces. Plus, he thinks your cool for buying this place. Pretty sure he thinks it's haunted."
Right... Still staring at him, Kara waited in silence. Evidently, Theo had nothing more to say.
"So, are you here for... something in specific?"
"Right, yeah. I came to invite you to coffee. I wanted to talk." Kara stared up at him covered head to toe in dirt and leaves, her hands sore from weeding the soon-to-be garden.
"No thanks."
"Really?" Theo looked shocked at her rejection, truly shocked. Then again, an attractive human like him probably wasn't used to rejection.
"I'm too busy right now, so maybe a raincheck?" Speaking of a rain check, Kara wondered how much flooding there would be when the spring showers startes. Hopefully Blake's party wasn't affected, she was pretty sure it'd hit around that time.
And by pretty sure she meant completely certain. Sirens tend to be more sensitive to these changes in the weather.
"You're in a big hurry to fix this place," Theo pointed out, startling her. She hadn't realized he was still standing there, seemingly unable to get the hint.
"I am in a hurry. This is my home now and I want it to feel like home as soon as possible." Rather than just a place she happened to be staying.
"Why are you out here playing in dirt, then?" Kara sighed, a sound of annoyance and suffering. If there was one thing she hated, it was people who ask too many questions.
"The soil here is very healthy. It'll be good for planting and it's almost time for a lot crops to be planted. You see, certain crops have a season that they need to be planted in or the temperature will kill them. The sooner I clear it out, the better," she explained, as if gently teaching a child.
"Don't get your hopes up. I doubt anything is going to grow," Theo warned her. "It certainly wouldn't grow anything fifteen years ago."
So he had no problem talking about that time? At the cookout he looked furious when William was talking to her about it.
Whereas before he was all bristles and thorns, now he wanted idle chatter?
Kara had no idea if he was being genuine. Could it be he was pulling some kind of trick switching up on her like that? Ugh, all the possibilities were giving her a headache. It didn't matter what he wanted, she wasn't taking the bait.
"It'll grow or it won't." Kara stood up and held up Blake's invitation. "What does your little brother want as a gift? Besides the planet Mercury, apparently."
Theo shrugged his shoulders dispassionately and it really tool all of Kara's strength to not chuck the pile of weeds at him. That was entirely unhelpful.
"Any likes, any interests? A hint would be nice," she snapped. Theo looked startled by her tone, but he didn't get angry or defensive.
"You don't have to bring a gift if you don't want to. Trust me, he's one of the only kids in town, he'll get lots of presents." Huh. So that meant not a lot of other kids and not a lot of parents. The same crowd as before?
That didn't sound as unbearable anymore.
"Is he an artist," she asked.
"Do stick figures from when he was five count?"
"A musician?"
"Nah."
"Does he like to read?"
"He likes adventure," Theo offered. Kara brightened at that. "Stories and shows and games about exploration. Treasure hunting, expeditions, all that stuff."
Now that she could work with. It made sense, too. For lots of kids, the idea of discovering the unknown was alluring. Adventure awaited around every corner for them.
"Cool. Was that so hard, Theodore?" Theo's face soured and Kara smiled sharply. "What? That's your name, right?"
"Just call me Theo, please. Theodore is an old man's name." He didn't like his name. Good to know, Kara would use it against him when he was annoying her.
"Well, Theodore, I have a lot of work to do. So, raincheck on that coffee. Actually, if you want to talk, we can just talk at the party in three days."
Theo pushed off the fence with a dejected look on his face.
"The party? Nah, raincheck it is. How about next week?" Kara suppressed a frustrated groan.
"Maybe, yeah. Like I said, super busy. We'll just have to wait and see. Oh and tomorrow I'll be busy picking out a gift for your brother, so I won't be-"
"Then tomorrow is perfect," Theo interrupted. "I actually haven't gotten him anything yet, so we'll go together. It's decided. Bye, Kara."
What? That wasn't what- no, she didn't-!
"Argh, stupid..." Theo was already running off, though, leaving her unable to decline. He was gone in a flash and she had no desire to run through those woods chasing him barefoot. Groaning, she tossed her gardening gloves down and stormed inside to wash up. She refused to be outwitted by a human.
He wanted a coffee date? She'd give him a coffee date.