The Siren's Call

Chapter 1

Thump...

Thump...

Th-smack

The sound reverberated throughout the depths of the hidden pond, before leaving the waters in silence. Light poured in through the round opening at the surface, trickling thin the closer it got to the two young sirens located at the very bottom. One turned her head to face the other, a mildly disconcerted look on her features. Her red brows were furrowed slightly, the pale skin of her face framed by fiery locks. This is Ashlynn, a youthful siren of 17, just two months away from turning 18. Her icy blue eyes met the chocolate colored ones of her friend.

"Mind telling me what that was for, Hannah?" she questioned, a tinge of snark lacing her words. Hannah, Ashlynn's best friend, had smacked her shoulder -- albeit relatively lightly -- in her vacant, pondering state in which she had been thwacking her tail against the soft, sandy floor of the pond.

Despite her asking, Ashlynn knew that she wasn't going to get a verbal response from the younger siren. Most know sirens for their melodious voices, their hypnotizing songs that lure in sailors before they meet their doom. Not Hannah, though. The other sirens used to whisper as she swam past, muttering pitiful words and gossiping in regards to her. Hannah had no voice. Sounds funny, right? A mute siren. A siren without a voice. No way to sing, no way to lure in the unsuspecting humans who would feed her with their love and adoration.

But that wasn't entirely true. In this population, those without a voice would find other ways to create music. Mutes often made use of tongue clicks and trills to add beats to the songs of the women, creating a beautiful, natural orchestra, and for that everyone was grateful. It added so much to the stunning chorus of sound. While they used their sounds to contribute to the music, they tended to use hand gestures to communicate with the other sirens normally. The same was true for Hannah.

She may have asked, but despite knowing she wouldn't get an answer, she didn't really need one either. She had made a bad habit out of thumping her tail when she was lost in thought, often to the displeasure of her fellow peers. In response to her sarcastic question, Hannah gestured to her tail and swished it a bit, as Ashlynn suspected she would.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm just caught up thinking about it again." She drawled out. She, like all the other young sirens, had dreamed of her 18th birthday all her life, where she would finally get to sing lead vocals during their musical gatherings, where all the females come together to put their voices together. However, instead of the excitement you would expect from a girl in her shoes, the upcoming event only served to stress her out. Every siren had to choose a song for her special day, but Ashlynn had been coming up blank for several months now. With the deadline closing in so quickly she was beginning to panic, it was all she could think about as of late.

Hannah looked back at her with sad eyes. It was a look that said "I understand, I feel for you". Who needs words when the eyes say it all? The chestnut-haired siren nodded her head in the direction of the water's surface, before looking back at Ashlynn. Immediately, the older siren got the message.

"Yeah, that's probably the best decision. I'll catch up with you later." She smiled, before pumping her tail, pushing her upward. Not stopping to look back, Ashlynn heard a series of clicks and trills bidding her goodbye, causing her to smile. Nodding at a few of the male sirens who were taking care of children, she passed through the more densely populated level of the pond. No one questioned her about where she was headed off to, as they were all quite used to her breaking the surface of the water. To her satisfaction, they allowed her the solitude she sought.