Colors of the Sea (A DNF Fanfiction)

Chapter 19: Talk

TW: Captivity, mentions of war, Cursing?

*****************************

The two just swam in akward silence for a moment. "So...", George started, feeling a bit uncomfortable. "You're a siren." It wasn't a question, just a simple statement.

George sighed. He couldn't believe he was doing this. His father would probably kill him if he ever found out. "What's your name?" The siren thought about it for a moment. Odd. Does he not know his own name? Did he hit his head or something?

"Dream." "What? "My name is Dream."

Sirens sure have wierd names, George thought. "And you?" "I'm George." Dream smiled. "Nice to meet you, George." The merman wasn't quite sure if he could trust the peace. "Nice to meet you too, I guess...", he mumbled.

"So, what do you like to do?", Dream asked a bit too happily to prevent a new awkward silence. George decided to play along. "Well, I like drawing, exploring, collecting shells and hitting peoples sides with my elbow when they talk shit." "O-oh, nice I guess... I like exploring too, watching fish, skipping school and... running away from my father, I think that's it."

"A troublemaker, I see. Are all of you sirens like that?" Dream scratched his neck, thinking about an answer. "Most of them I'd say. But not everyone."

Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. "Look, I know we just met", he began, "but... what do you think about the war between our kingdoms?"

George was very surprised by the question and also by the quite uncomfortable tone the sirens voice had. As if he didn't like the war.

"I... don't know, it's... just always been a part of my life." He shrugged. "Honestly, you're the first siren I ever met and you don't seem too bad. Maybe peace would be possible if the other sirens agreed..."

"So you'd be open to a peace offer? And the rest of the merfolk?", Dream asked. "I don't know, they barely talk about the war. I think they're okay with it. Why are you so interested in this?"

Dream took a deep breath. "A lot of the sirens don't like the war. Me and my friends are planning to bring peace again."

George's eyes widened. All he ever heard was how dangerous sirens were and how important the war was and now that he finally talked to one, it told him they didn't like the war? That was just messed up!

Then George remembered the reason the war had even started. "Do you... do you guys still eat humans?", he asked.

Dream seemed surprised by the question. "Ew, no! It's true that we used to, but that was a long time ago. They hunt us down now if we ever dare to show a gill close to the surface." "Oh...", George mumbled.

"Then why even are we still fighting?" "Because no one wants to give up, even if it costs lifes."

"So... we've been killing eachother for centuries just because of pride?!" Dream looked down, avoiding to make eye contact with George.

"Yeah, basically."