Lysterac

Chapter Three

Siren trailed behind the two as they relentlessly chatted about unbelievably trivial matters. Their voices were like grating against her eardrums, as if they were trying to collect all the shreds from her ears until they were sure she was stricken deaf. Her jet-black ears twitched incessantly with immense displeasure, her head ached for them just to be silent even for a minute. The aggravated girl was about to put a padlock onto both their mouths when Floret asked why they were travelling to Larkin.

"Well, we need some herbs for Siren's wounds," Ky began bashfully, but his expression quickly hardened in seriousness. "I also want to ask about whether anyone else has encountered strange incidents, like Nightscreechers out of Maledi for example."

Siren could've sworn Floret's pale eyes wavered in alarm, even though it lasted for a split-second. "Oh really? That's frightening!" If she was in any way alarmed, she was doing a fine job of covering it up. Luckily, they were nearly at the edge of the village so Siren wouldn't have to listen to their insistent blabbering anymore.

While she stomped off in the direction of Larkin, she turned back to see Ky still stammering his goodbyes to Floret. Growling in exasperation, she stayed put until the lovebirds were finished, her black tail lashing from side to side. At last, the pretty blonde girl pecked him on the cheek and waved farewell as he stumbled away in shock, his soot covered hand cupping the area of her touch.

"Take care!" Floret's high voice faded in the distance as the pair continued their trek through the Hush, replenishing their water at the river that flowed past the village. Siren hadn't uttered a single word to Ky since they left the village. His face was still as red as a dragonberry even though he seemed to have turned back to normal.

"Floret's really nice isn't she?" He sighed absent-mindedly, staring into space with an dreamy expression.

Siren glanced over at him and gave a flat warning. "Hole."

"What do you m-" He was interrupted by his own feminine shriek as he tumbled into a ditch. Thud.

She stood there for a moment, nonchalantly contemplating the empty space where Ky used to be before he had so gracefully plunged into that ditch. A hand appeared and fumbled around the dirt for a reliable hold to pull himself up with. With a huff and a grunt, Ky scrambled out of the hole and swiped the dirt off his clothes and pack. His face was flushed atrociously, and Siren was about to hiss at him to forget about Floret, but stopped when Ky spoke.

"Handsome guys aren't supposed to scream." He complained, rubbing the back of his head in humiliation.

Siren glared at him. "Floret has made you disgustingly effeminate." She muttered.

Ky glanced up mischievously, eyes bright with a frisky light. "What'd you just say?"

"Nothing." She sighed, and kept on walking.

Ky bounded up to her, nudging her shoulder playfully. "C'mon, tell me! I'm the one who actually took care of your wounds remember?"

She didn't respond, seemingly indifferent to his nagging as she turned her head to the side to hide her smile.

Eventually, the palatial towers of the castle and its magisterial spire came into view just over the horizon. Its magnificently monumental wall that was so conveniently named the Rampart of Larkin could not yet be seen from their rather low vantage point. As a kit, Siren had heard of Larkin as a glorious city, overflowing with resplendent buildings for creatures of all races to lay their eyes upon. Many called it the second most powerful citadel in all of Lysterac, Charen Burg being the first of course.

"There it is!" Ky exclaimed, relief lining his excited tone. They had been trudging in the boiling hot midday sun for a few hours now and the water they had hardly quenched their thirst in the relentless heat. Twitching her ears, Siren spotted a lone tree among the soft blades of grass and motioned for Ky to look.