Sirens And Sins {HIATUS}

3. Propinquity

It felt like a dream. The wind was whipping Ariel's hair everywhere, and the waters churned around him. The smell of salt and magic filled Ariel's filled Ariel's lungs, making it impossible to breathe without feeling faint. Ariel was getting dizzy with the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Here was a ship coming from a land Ariel had only ever heard about in stories, and he had the opportunity to not just see it, but also destroy it. This is was all Ariel ever wanted.

Well, that wasn't true. He also wanted to scavenge some human treasure.

"Did it pass yet?" Miranoe asked, lurking behind Ariel's rock. Her eyes didn't venture beyond it to watch the ship. She instead refused to participate in anything that might happen concerning the ship.

Ariel stole a glance at his sister. "No, not yet. I think I can see some humans running around." He hesitated before asking, "Are you sure you don't want to see?"

She didn't say anything, but her silence was just as loud as the storm swirling around them. She lowered her eyes and swished her tail under the water. Her posture was timid and submissive, something Ariel didn't like seeing on her. 

"I don't know why you're acting like this, Mira," Ariel said, stretching himself farther on the rock. His tail was half in the water, half out. He splashed her playfully. "You should feel excited. Imagine all the treasure we'll be able to plunder after we drown the humans."

Mira murmured something. 

"What was that? I can't hear you, the storm is getting bigger. Do you think the storm's going to last long? We won't be able to kill anyone if-"

"If you talk about killing the humans one more time, Ariel, I will drown you myself!" Mira exploded, her gills twitching with every word.

No translation needed there.

Ariel's mouth opened, but he wasn't sure what to say. This side of Mira was new to him, and he wasn't sure how to handle it. Once she got started, it seemed like she couldn't stop. "Every time a ship wants to pass, we drop everything just to inconvenience- no, kill innocent people. Humans don't do anything to us! They don't harm us in any way, yet we constantly-" She let out a groan of frustration. 

"Mira, I-"

She interrupted him. "No, Ariel, listen to me for once. We could choose to ignore their existence and live on gaily. Instead of killing them, why don't we, I don't know, save them? I'm sick and tired of hearing you and everyone else go on and on about their deaths when we can keep them alive. There's no reason to- no reason to-" But Mira couldn't seem to find any more words. She ducked under the water in frustration, unsure how to get her meaning across. She peeked at Ariel and looked at him with pleading eyes. He knew she wanted him to understand what her point, but he struggled to understand. 

"Mira? How long have you-" The sound of the ship coming closer made Ariel pause. He looked at it in yearning, then back to Mira. "The ship with all that gold," he whispered. Mira's words still echoed in his head, but his body was already trembling with anticipation and magic.

"Please?" Mira's voice was small and helpless as if she knew what choice he was going to make.

"They're just humans."

"I know."

"C-Can we talk about this later? After we get back home?"

Mira frowned at him but didn't say anything. 

Ariel's head was getting fuzzy, making it hard to focus. He shut his eyes and began humming, hands curled up at the sides. All the tension in his body slowly began dripping out as his voice warmed and he got into it. The music came easily to him, like a second skin. It was soft and slow like a whisper. Ariel knew what would happen next. The tempo would increase along with the human desire. A siren's song was more responsive to human emotions than anything else, and the more emotion they had, the stronger the song would be. And humans are emotional creatures.