Kara woke up to warm rays trying to break through the murky water.
Day two, now. Her mission? Overcome all obstacles and get her new house livable. The obstacles in question; strange new body with wobbly knees, wet floors, broken glass, and them.
Kara heard the persistent knocking about ten minutes after she got inside. She considered pretending she wasn't home. It was early morning; she only just got up.
Maybe she would get lucky and they'd just go away? But then again, they may keep coming back and she'd really never get anything done.
With an exasperated sign, Kara left her work-aka a pile of broken glass- behind and made her way to the front door, legs shaking beneath her. At that point she wasn't sure if it was her new body or anxiety.
The sun was shining on the front of the house today and she could just barely make out the outline of three people waiting through the dilapidated cracks in the door.
These visitors were multiplying at an alarming rate, apparently.
Kara opened the door slowly, eyes narrowed as she peeked around it. A short woman stood there, even shorter than Kara, with greying reddish hair and a giant smile. Behind her was the kind child and the rude man from yesterday.
"Good mornin', neighbor!" Is it, though?
"Can I help you with something," she asked warily, still peering around the door and half hiding behind it like it was a shield. Kara had never been comfortable in groups of humans.
Too easy to get cornered, too easy to be overpowered. Especially on land.
The woman's smile didn't falter and Kara was relieved that her caution wasn't taken to heart.
The woman had a deep southern accent, her words flowing fast and her voice pitched high.
"We were hopin' ya might like t' come over for some lunch, today! Everyone has been just dyin' t' meet ya!" Oh boy. They wanted to invite her over? Could she possibly refuse such an offer? Kara looked at the rude man, who was glaring at her, and then Blake, who was giving her a huge grin and a thumbs up.
"When is 'lunch'," she asked with a defeated sigh.
"Oh wonderful! We were thinkin' you could stop by around noon. Now, the trail has gotten a little overgrown, so I'll have Theo come walk you over." She turned and elbowed the rude man, causing him to cough and hunch over.
So his name was Theo. Short for something, perhaps? Theodore?
"Yeah, I'll be here at twelve," he muttered. With that he turned around and walked off, leaving his fellow humans and her behind. Ass.
Kara opened her door a bit wider with her lips pressed thin in displeasure. Why was she so polite to these people when they were so rude to her?
"Oh, I'm sorry about him," the woman said warmly. "He's had a rough time of it here lately. That's my oldest, Theo, and this is my youngest, Blake. I'm Donna Hart."
"Kara Bint," Kara said, a bit unsure of this woman. She seemed kind. So far. "Does this lunch thing have a dress code?"
"You gotta wear a tiara," Blake told her seriously. His mother ushered him back, waving him towards their house.
"She does not have to wear a tiara. Ignore him, dear, you wear whatever you like. Heck, my husband spends all day workin' outside and comes home head to toe looking like he lost a battle with a mud pit, you couldn't track in more dirt than he does if you tried." Good to know. Kara would dress well, but not overly formal.
"Okay, I guess I'll be there, then. Um, I should really get back to work now." The kind woman nodded and guided Blake towards the trail between their houses.
"We'll see you later! You take care now," she called back at Kara before they reached the treeline.
Kara shut the door and slumped against it with a tired groan. This would be neverending, wouldn't it? They weren't going to stop these weird visits.
Well, at least she had a few hours to spare until that horrible man was going to show up. If she wanted this place to be spotless, every minute of the day would have to count. Back to work!
Three hours later, Kara wouldn't say the house is spotless, necessarily. She finally settles down on the dock to take a break and just stare up at it with a pleased smile on her face. The broken glass and damaged wood frames were all in the garbage now, at least. No more danger of cutting her feet just from walking inside.
Ugh. It was a wonder she got so much done, actually. Her limbs felt heavy and hard to move. She had thought she had more energy today, but evidently it was all gone now.
Ah, and it was almost noon Kara realized with a disappointed frown as she glanced up at the sky. That manwould be dropping by soon to walk her to the Hart house for lunch.
It probably wouldn't a good idea to show up in these filthy clothes she'd been cleaning in. An old rusty nail had ripped a hole in her shirt and there's a new stain on her shorts.
They'd dissolve back into water the moment she didn't need them anymore, so she wasn't too upset, but a quick change would be a good idea.
Okay. Something casual, then. Something easy going. Something so totally human, she would be completely ignored.
Kara shut her eyes and tipped her head back to enjoy the sun rays on her skin. It was warmer today, the winter chill starting to disapate.
It wasn't too difficult to imagine the mundane clothes she desired in her head. Boring blue jeans and a plain white v-neck shirt. An unassuming outfit that would help her blend in.
The magic flowed through her and Kara let out a pleased hum as she opened her eyes. It quickly turned to a shocked and outraged gasp when she took in her outfit.
Rather than jeans and a v-neck, she had on a flowy black skirt, threaded with shimmering blues and greens, and green button up. There was a sweater on over it, as if she'd get chilly.
"What... Absolutely not," she hissed, glancing down at the water with wide eyes. Had... Had that been her mother's doing? Had she interfered with Kara's magic to give her nicer clothes?
While she was still in the realm of casually dressed, this is far more... Attractive? Kara learned years ago to never be too attractive around humans. It drew too much attention.
"No, I can't wear this. I need-!" The sound of rustling sticks and leaves cut her off and Kara jumped up, flailing a bit on her shaky legs. It was too late, she could hear someone coming through the woods. If she tried to use her magic to change her outfit again, she could be seen and discovered as a siren. Well, she doubted any human would jump straight to the conclusion of siren, but they'd know she wasn't human and that'd be just as bad. Worse even.
The last thing she needed was to be at the end of a proverbial pitch fork.
Kara stumbled off the dock and into the house in the hopes of changing into one of her prepared outfits in her suitcase, but the moment she stepped inside there was a heavy knock on the door and she knew with sinking dread that she was doomed. With how uncoordinated she was, changing the human way would be a slow hassle.
Great. Thanks, mom.
With defeat dragging her shoulders down, Kara shuffled to the front door. It could be worse, she could have ended up in an ugly neon green tube top.
She opened her door and looked up at Mister Disrespectful with a frown.
Theo... Yes, that was his name. Theo looked her up and down, silent for a few seconds. Kara expected him to complain or insult her again, but he just looked away quickly without even acknowledging or greeting her. Then, he turned around and started walking.
"Keep up," he called back to her, his shoulders hunched almost as much as hers were.
Kara would like to throw something at him. Something heavy. What sort of escort was this? Why bother coming at all if he was just going to walk off like a jerk? It would be so easy to throw her shoe at him.
She settled for shutting her door and stepping after him unhappily. A trek through the woods sounded exhausting right now, especially in rude company and dressed in a long skirt, but complaining wouldn't help her.
This lunch better not take long.