A Haunting Melody: The Golden Lyre

10 | Xi

The symbol Xi (ξ) is often one of the very first marks a Hunter receives. A Hunter is gifted this mark once they have successfully killed their first Siren. This mark gives Hunters the ability to resist the often hypnotic advances of Sirens.

***

After losing the first game by forty points, Astrid huffed and set out with even more determination than before to win the next game. Although Daniel had always been well-aware of her competitive nature, he had never seen her express it quite as blatantly as she did now.

He found the whole situation incredibly entertaining and often taunted her to aggravate her even more.

"You've got to lighten up Astrid. It's just a game," he smiled widely at her as she glared back at him.

"It's easy to say that when you're winning," she grumbled, walking over to retrieve her ball.

"Well after this we can do something else if you want," he shrugged.

"Fine," she mumbled.

She hoped it would be something she was actually good at.

***

The second game went a little better than the first, now that Astrid was able to refine her technique a bit. Sadly, Daniel also had the chance to improve and had moved from consecutive spares to consecutive strikes.

"I told you that you'd get better," he said, looking over at her with a good-natured smile.

Astrid just scoffed at him and kept playing. She hated it when people spoke to her like a child.

By the time the third game had begun, Astrid had lost interest in the outcome and was beginning to get distracted. It was a nasty habit of hers, losing interest in things the minute she knew she couldn't be the best at it. She supposed it was her perfectionistic nature.

As she walked up to the edge of the lane, she watched intently at the man in the lane next to her. He had been getting strikes all night.

She watched as the muscles in his arms flexed when he swung the ball back and then threw it forward with deadly precision. The ball sped down the middle of the lane and crashed into the pins, knocking every single one over.

She wondered if she needed to change her strategy. Staring straight ahead at the pins, she gripped the ball tightly and swung it back before throwing it forward with all her strength. She bit her lip as she watched the blue ball tumble down the centre of the lane and crash into the pins, knocking them all over.

Everything felt still for a moment before she glanced at Daniel, who seemed just as shocked as she was.

"Sweet Artemis," she mumbled to herself with wide eyes.

Before she knew what was happening, Daniel had gone up to her picked her up before swinging her around and yelling the word 'Yes' over and over. She failed to stifle a giggle as she was swung around in his gentle, yet firm embrace.

When he put her down, she suddenly realised how intimate their interaction had been and instinctively jumped back from him slightly. Daniel immediately noticed her unease and his hand flew to the back of his neck as he began to blush, a nervous habit no doubt.

"It's your turn," Astrid eventually mumbled awkwardly, unable to meet his gaze.

"Right," he smiled shyly, walking briskly towards the balls.

She wondered if he had noticed her blushing.

Unsurprisingly, Daniel won the final game. As much as Astrid had tried to replicate what she did when she got a strike, it just hadn't worked out.