Lured (Klance)

5: Signals

Song Of The Chapter:
Sirens - Fleurie

There was the instant sound of typing as Keith and Pidge entered the boat the following morning, and in seeing Hunk, Pidge plopped down and immediately got to work.
Keith wasn't entirely sure what to do, so he decided to go out on deck and survey what had been done again.
There was still faint blood stains on the deck, something Keith couldn't bear to wash away. If it was the last piece of evidence they had, he'd use it.
There were gashes in the floor, as well, where sharp claws tore in effort to crawl and fight.
It was obvious, Keith knew, that this creature was no normal animal. Whether it be a new species or actually, truthfully a siren or mermaid, Keith wasn't sure.
But he would find out. He knew he would.
Keith turned away from the damage to look out across the bay, where ships sailed lazily by in the morning sun.

It was Friday. 11 days since Shiro's disappearance, and still no luck on finding him.
Keith, unfortunately, was starting to fear the worst. He couldn't fathom what Shiro could be going through, nor did he want to.
He was scared for his brother. So utterly scared they might be too late to save him.

~~~

"Hi there," Acxa greeted the merman. There were a few scientists lingering around, but since there was no major testing going on and mostly analyzing some things they already had, the siren was ignored for the most part.
Acxa came over an got the bucket of fish from the fridge, before making her way back over, up the metal stairs, and to the platform.
She opened the lid, already being greeted by those mysterious, luminous orbs of eyes.
"Hungry?"
She dropped a fish into the tank, allowing the siren to grab it before tearing at the pathetic excuse for a meal hungrily.
"I wish we could add more variety to your diet," Acxa thought out loud, throwing another pale fish into the tank.
There was the sound of footsteps, and Acxa saw Narti coming up the stairs of the platform. On a small notepad she wrote:

Do you need me to get anything in particular for the siren? I'm going to head down to the marketplace to see what seafood they have today.

Acxa hummed in thought, looking down into the water where the siren had shrunk down, a low, warning growl vibrating through the water.
"I'll come down and tell you in a moment, I'm going to try something out, but need you to go away. He doesn't trust anyone. He still struggles trusting me, even."
Narti nodded and turned to walk down the steps.
Acxa tapped the water with her hand, trying to gain the merman's attention.
His gaze blinked up at her, and that signalled she had his attention.
Making sure nobody was watching at the moment from down below, Acxa made a biting motion, pretending to eat an invisible food item.
The siren angled his body toward her more, and waved his tail.
Acxa pointed to him, before making the same eating motion.
Another nod.
Acxa, with her hands, made a motion similar to that of a jellyfish.

Do you eat jellyfish?

The siren nodded, swimming closer. He made a gesture of tearing, and she could only guess he was saying he doesn't eat the stingers.
She nodded, before continuing.
"How about crab?" She asked, trying to make a shuffling motion with her hands. That was unclear, and she laughed, pulling out her phone and searching a picture. The merman rose up to the surface more, intrigued by such a device. Seeing the photo, he nodded again.
"Alright," she noted, before searching up a photo of various fish types, clams, oysters, scallops, lobster, all in which the siren nodded to.
For experiment, she pulled up a photo of a shark.
A nod.
Well, that could confirm it was a siren who had been leaving trails of shark carcasses washed up on the beach and found by fishermen.
It wouldn't be a surprise, too, if it was this specific siren's doing.
Acxa thought for a moment, before searching a photo of a dolphin before showing it to the waiting siren.
There was a hiss at that one, and a violent shaking of his head.
Acxa put her phone away, humming in thought.
"I'll be back," she told him, before putting the lid back on and making her way down the steps toward where Narti sat waiting.
"Okay, I actually managed to get information out of him. I think he's willing to communicate with us if it's for his own sake."
Acxa listed off the various food items, and then said goodbye to Narti.
Acxa had to wait until they were fully alone to try something out.
For now, she knew she had to sit and wait.