The Siren's Call

Chapter 2

Within the otherwise silent wooded area flowed a soft melody. One would not be able to hear it if they were too far from the treeline. A bit further in, Ashlynn could be found at the edge of the pond, arms folded beneath her chest as she used them to hold herself up, only half-submerged in the water. Her gentle, entrancing voice fell from her lips in words that one would find unfamiliar, forming a song that no one had heard of before, not even herself. She made up lyrics as she went, not quite caring whether they made sense. Her only goal was to lure someone in, anyone at all. It was all routine for her. She just wanted to see what kind of people exist outside of the woods. She had met people of many types, only to have them forget at her will. She couldn't risk the safety of her people.

She would never have guessed that she would meet someone the likes of him, a non-believer. Who follows strange voices in the woods if they don't believe in the supernatural? Yet here he was, looking down at her and scoffing as if the sight of her alone could send him into hysterics.

"Last I checked, Halloween was six months ago. What are you supposed to be, some kind of mermaid?" He sneered. At that, Ashlynn turned up her nose. That's no way to talk to someone you just met, now is it?

"And what's got you so sour on this fine evening?" she quipped back at him, frustrated. She had only wanted to talk and learn more about his people, so why was he being so rude?

The man scoffed, before turning to leave the pond and exit the woods. He would have, too, had Ashlynn not called out to stop him.    "Wait! Please," she piped up, reaching one arm out in his direction. The man stopped and turned back around. "don't go, I just wanna get to know your kind."

It was only then she got a good look at the male. He was rather tall, and she imagined that if she were to unfurl the length of her tail and compare herself to him she would probably come up to his chest. His hair was a sandy blonde color, not curled tight into small coils, but wavy enough to be noticed. His pale face was adorned with freckles, set below his eyes that resembled the amber that could be found in the trees of the surrounding wood.

"He's not bad-looking," she thought to herself. "it's a shame he's human, the sirens in the pond would love him."

The male stepped closer to the edge of the pond and kneeled, coming down to face her. After a few moments, he closed his eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Alright, fine. Let's say I believe you. I don't exactly have anywhere else to be right now, so I suppose it wouldn't do me any harm to humor you." He caved in, not yet admitting defeat. For Ashlynn, however, it was good enough at the moment. She gave him a thankful smile.

"I've never met someone like you before. The only people that have come here so far are believers." She went back to studying his face, waiting for his response. "...you really don't believe me, huh?"    "Is that even a question?" he answered rather quickly. "Finding someone out in the woods singing is already absurd, but them insisting they're a mermaid is even more crazy.""Siren," she corrected. "but we don't eat people. Our kind just sing to people and feed off of their love and adoration." To that, the man rolled his eyes and chuckled, obviously not buying a single word she said.    "I'm serious, you can touch my tail if you'd like. I don't mind." she offered. The man looked taken aback, and the two sat in silence for a moment or two. Reluctantly, the man nodded his head.    "Alright, fine. I don't have anything to lose, anyway." he muttered. Recieving his confirmation, Ashlynn leaned back and lifted her tail so that he could reach it. The blonde reached out his hand slowly, before gently stroking along the scales and fins running down the length of her tail. A look of mild shock crossed his features.

"This... doesn't feel like rubber..." he breathed, his widened eyes not moving an inch from the scales beneath his fingertips. Ashlynn donned a smug look, a smirk settling on her face as she held back from chuckling at his ignorance. But as soon as it appeared, it was gone again.

"Rubber...?" She questioned, but quickly shook it off, deciding that she wouldn't understand. They were from different societies, after all. "Nevermind, it's not important. On a more important note," She began, making him snap his eyes back to her face. She almost snickered at the drastic change in his attitude but decided she had already gotten far enough off-track. "Do you believe me now?"

The man opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. His eyes switched rapidly from looking at her tail and moving back to her face. Ashlynn realized that it would be too troublesome to try and get an answer out of him while he was in this state, and decided to say something for him.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced, so I'll go first. My name is Ashlynn, and I'm a 17-year-old siren. You?" she waited patiently for him to snap out of his stupor. When he finally gained his sense back, he managed to force out a small:

"A-Arthur."

And as soon as he managed to get the first word out, his entire demeanor changed again, as he began bombarding her with questions. How many more sirens there were if they could feel cold the way humans do, and with most emphasis: are the rumors true? Do they all really sing like they do in the fairytales? Ashlynn had to stop him, the questions were becoming too much. Taking his hand and gently moving it from her tail, she smiled.

"Y'know what? I like you. Normally, I would erase your memory after we finished talking, but I would like to talk to you again. Anyway..." She began to give him the details of living underwater. She told him of how the males tend to the children, about the mute sirens, and so, so much more. Arthur exchanged a few details about human life in return, to her satisfaction. They talked for several hours until they didn't know what to say anymore. It was only then that Arthur decided he had to leave.

As promised, Ashlynn left his memory intact. She happened to like his company, and despite the heaps of info they shared in their time together, she had a feeling he would be back for more.