Drowning in the Siren's Song

Chapter 26

"I heard you'll be singing?" Zoe popped up beside Naomi, sitting down gracefully. He replied the affirmative, noticing that even Artemis was in attendance, sitting opposite to him, behind the flickering campfire. 

Now that night had engulfed the forest, the flame was brighter than ever and was growing taller by ever second, dancing, as if influenced by their own excitement. He could see the smiling faces and eager hands as they passed bags and bags of fluffy white things, something he was slightly curious about. He made a mental note to ask Zoe what it was later. 

The hunters had gathered around, wearing cozy sweaters and carrying blankets, no trace left of their formal hunting attire. He didn't know that they were allowed to wear anything else since he'd never seen Zoe in anything other than her uniform and Artemis always appeared in hunting clothes as well. 

It was a refreshing atmosphere, but he was still very overwhelmed. It was going to take some time for him to get used to being around people, not that he wanted to. If given a choice, he would choose the company of spirits over people any day.

But still, he cherished the experiences. His face lit up in a blinding smile as he watched the hunters joke and tease around. He laughed along as stories were retold, their timelines varying. 

Then after a very particular anecdote finished, a girl with blonde hair and blue eyes suddenly started a song. It was different from how he knew. She didn't continue herself, but instead relinquished the song to another after a few lines and then it was passed along again and again, till everyone was singing. 

The song was catchy and repetitive, easy to learn and required no effort or talent to sing. It was truly a song where the singer took pleasure and not the audience. He loved it.

For the first few songs, Percy only observed with shining eyes, lips pressed into a silent smile. And as minutes went on, the nervousness he hadn't noticed melted away, leaving only an itching eagerness, something which he failed to hide.

He really wanted to join in now. There was just something in the air, something so sweet, so tempting. The smiling faces and the cheery laughs as someone was caught off key and was teased, or the stuffed faced filled with warm , melting marshmallows... it was all so alien to him. 

As if reading his mind, Naomi pushed a stick towards him and impaled a marshmallow on the tip, summoning it from what looked like nowhere. He looked at in fascination, never having seen it before, and poked it, curious. 

"Hungry?" Zoe got up from her seat, beckoning to him to follow along. He stuck behind her, pinching the hem of her shirt lightly to avoid being separated. There were many people near the fire, and since he was short, he ended up being pushed around a lot.

Copying her, he found a place right beside the huge fire and hovered his marshmallow over the flames. There were many more people doing the same thing, some with their sticks filled, staring wistfully at the darkening whiteness. 

Once Zoe deemed it roasted enough, they went back to their seats, relieving their spots for some other hungry hunter. Percy was quick on his feet as he showed Naomi his sweet, delighted. He figured it would taste amazing seeing others faces, but he couldn't wait enough to try it himself. 

Huffing and puffing he stuffed it in his mouth, the heat warming up his mouth as it melted everywhere. A moment after, the pain subsided and the flavor hit. My oh my, how sweet it was!

It was indescribable, with a gooey texture and fluffy bounce whenever he bit into it. It had a particular taste, sugary sweetness he was unable to familiarize. It was simply heavenly. 

He could see Zoe and Naomi laughing at him, but he didn't really care. His ADHD even caught Artemis smirking at him, enjoying her own gooey goodness. For the few moments where he simply devoured one after the other, nothing else mattered.

And yet even though his mind wanted to keep eating it, his stomach protested. 

"Easy now, Percy. You'll get sick." Naomi plucked his stick from him, ignoring his pleading eyes and silent complaints. 

"She's right," Zoe said firmly, "We can have them some other day." She relented a bit after seeing his puppy eyes, something which he knew worked since the dryads always listened to him when he did it. "One last? Please?" He hyped up the intensity, staring right in her eyes. 

She stayed strong for an admirable period of time before submitting to his 'power', handing him one last marshmallow before passing along the rest, sighing. 

"Dangerous," She muttered, making Naomi laugh. 

He laughed along, munching on his treat. He felt so much better after eating and felt so content listening to the upbeat singing that he completely forgot about his promise. 

"You ready, Percy?" A hunter called out to him, the very one who had started the singing. A daughter of Apollo, he realized. 

He nodded, taking a sip of water as comfort, his nerves back in full force. She gestured to the others, encouraging them to quieten down. Fortunately, the process took enough time for him to calm down and pick out a song for the night. 

And hearing the silence of anticipation, he opened his mouth and sang, careful not to put any power behind his lilting words.