Siren

Chapter 1

Author's note:

I'm sorry it took so long to upload this. I was working on another story that I'm thinking of uploading too.

This is an unedited and unrevised chapter and it may (but probably won't) change.

Ok, I hope you enjoy reading and don't be a stranger!

(The pic above is what I imagine Audra's tail)

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14 years later (present day)

Audra is jolted awake by the screeching of a nearby creature.

It doesn't scare her anymore. She's use to it by now. She doesn't know exactly what is making that noise, she only saw the tail of it once, but she does know it lives South of the entrance and that it only screeches.

Audra uncoils herself from her sleeping position.  She raises her arms above her head and stretches all the way out, from the tips of her fingers to her tail

After her stretch, she lays on her back, bent at the waist, and watches her tail sway slowly. She admires the wispy, flowy end. If anything, Audra loves her tail. The way it reminds her of the flowy bit on a jellyfish, the way the color starts off a pale blue and fades into a lighter purple which darkens then finally fades into a beautiful grey.

Still sleepy, Audra turns onto her stomach to catch a few more hours of shut eye. Just as she finds the best position, she picks up on the faintest scent of blood in the water.

This is isn't uncommon when living at entrance and she is about to ignore it when a deep thrum echoes throughout the ocean from the same direction of the scent. While it could be mistaken for the call of a whale somewhere off in the distance, Audra knows it's not. She has heard it only a few times before but knows it better than the sound of her own voice.

The Purple Puffy fish.

A few years ago, during a hunting trip, Audra came upon a nest of big, fat, and round purple fish. Their scales glittered in the light and their little fish lips and eyes were puffed up and bulged. Thinking it was funny, she named them the Purple puffy fish.

She didn't think much of her find and was about to continue on her way if her stomach didn't growl at that exact moment, Audra had just gotten over a slight sickness and was famished. Knowing it would be hard to hunt in her current state, Audra decided the puffy fish would be her meal and dug in. When the fish realized they were being preyed upon a sort of alarm was sounded, a deep thrum coming from each fish. However, they were too slow and Audra caught one before it could get far.

They were fat creatures and she knew this fishy would satisfy her until a proper dinner could be found. Quickly, to stave off any upcoming hunger pains, Audra bit into it. Her mouth was instantly filled with a thick, salty and slightly spicy liquid. As she kept eating, she decided that this liquid flavored the meat of the fish perfectly!

After months of searching, studying, hunting, and chasing these creatures, Audra discovered that the liquid was a sort of venom that was supposed to keep predators away. It wasn't strong enough to do her any harm and it made them taste amazing so Audra didn't see the harm in perusing the species.

However, while they are fat and slower than her, The Purple Puffy Fish have proven to be exceptionally good at evasion and hiding. They also weren't from her area and only came by every now and then so the taste of these fish quickly became a delicacy to her.

But she always looked for glittery purple scales during her hunting times and always kept an ear put for the deep thrum.

Knowing that she couldn't pass up the opportunity to dine on these miracles of the sea, Audra swam as quickly as possible in the direction of the faint blood smell.

With her tail moving at full speed, she quickly finds herself at the edge of a trench. This is around the area where Audra saw the tail of the screeching creature, and while she really wants that Puffy Fish, she also doesn't want to get acquainted with a foreign sea creature. Especially when Puffy Fish are sounding the "Predator near" alarm.

Cautiously, Audra swims along the edge of the trench, sweeping her eyes from left to right looking for anything even resembling the color purple.

Just as Audra's eyes lock onto a glittery tail, there is a distinct itchy, tuggy, pulling feeling in her tail. She knows what it means but it can wait, she's so close.

As stealthy as possible, Audra glides towards her deep sea treat. She is only a few yards away and can practically taste the spicy liquid already. She is so close, but the feeling in her tail intensifies.

No, no, no, no! Five more minutes!

The purple fish is just a few feet away now and Audra can feel her mouth salivating and her breathing quicken.

This is it! For the first time in seven months, I'm going to be graced with the yummiest king of all treats!

Audra's arm reaches out, slowly at first, and just as she's about to pounce on her prey, the feeling in her tail rises to an intensity that has Audra's teeth clenching, her hands raking at the sand, and has a small groan leaving her lips.

The feeling dies down a bit, but with the small freak out she just had, Audra knows the Puffy Fish is gone and probably won't come back for another seven months.

Defeated, Audra makes her way west quickly before the feeling comes back. She knows that if she wastes anymore time, the feeling will just get worse. One time, it got to the point where she was withering the whole journey there and the uncomfortable feeling stayed with her for a week.

Not wanting to be defeated, and extremely uncomfortable, Audra hurried off to the only person who could be calling her.