From Where the Silence Echoes

-8- A Caprice for the Foolish

"Oi! I know you're out here, you bastard! Show yourself!"

Polnareff trudged along the beach, cursing the soft sand that grasped at his boots with every step he took. High tide was just beginning to roll out, making the sand barely able to tolerate his weight. It was well after midnight, but his determination to find out the source of Kakyoin and Avdol's agitation far outweighed and fatigue he felt. He had already been suspicious of their strange houseguest from the beginning; but this entire situation served as confirmation of his worries.

"Don't get all scared now! I heard the singing! C'mon out, if you're not a coward!"

Truth be told, Polnareff had no idea who (or what) he was yelling at. The shoreline was blanketed with an uncomfortable quietness, and the crashing waves provided little in the way of comfort. It was simply him, the sand, and the ocean, as far as he knew; and the mere thought of that fact sent chills down his spine. Perhaps slipping out in the cover of night in secret wasn't the brightest of ideas. He began to pick up his pace slightly, drowning out his quickening pulse with shouts as best he could. 

"I'll give you to the count of three! One..."

Polnareff was hit all at once with the feeling of being watched. He glanced about warily, foolishly praying that his silly intimidation tactics had worked.

"Two..."

He stopped dead in his tracks, taking a moment to glance at the sky. Clouds had gathered around the moon, casting an all too dark shade over Polnareff's surroundings. Water lapped at his heels gently, making his anxiety skyrocket.

"T-Three—!"

Something that wasn't water grabbed at his ankle suddenly, dragging him towards the murky sea. The Frenchman yelped in horror, clawing at the damp sand to no avail.

"Mon dieu! Let me go, you slippery cur! There's no way in hell that I'm—"

"Hush."

Whatever had manhandled him let him go with a slight chuckle, leaving Polnareff to scramble back onto dry land with heaving breaths. Staring back at him from the water was a being beyond belief. He was clearly not entirely human, which was all too evident by the fins he had for ears; but that only raised more questions on Polnareff's end.

"Listen, I don't know what the hell your deal is, but just know that I'm not afraid of you one bit!" Polnareff stammered hastily.

"Yeah, sure." the creature replied, amusement dotting his baritone voice. "And next you'll be telling me that you're here to put an end to my musical reign of terror."

"Wh... You're the thing that's been singing all this time?!"

All the pieces fell into place at once, making Polnareff's head spin. He had heard things from the townsfolk about a siren, but he had foolishly passed these rumors off as nothing but fairy tales. But with the proof staring him unabashedly in the face, there was no way he could deny it any longer.

"Huh. And here I was thinking that you were an idiot. I guess you're smarter than you look, stranger."

"Don't get snarky with me, you... You... You overgrown fish!"

The siren's face darkened at this, causing Polnareff to shudder slightly. He then bared razor sharp teeth at him, snarling all the while.

"You wanna say that to me one more time? I don't think I heard you all that well."

"You... I... It doesn't matter what I said. What matters is that your singing is a menace!"

The siren rolled his eyes and sat back in the water, flicking his tail a few times to shower Polnareff in tiny droplets. His disinterest in the conversation was more than apparent, and from the looks of things, this conversation was doing nothing but serving to irritate him.

"And I should care about what you think for what reason, exactly...?" 

"Well, frankly, it's quite unfair that you get to loaf around and sing all day without a care in the world. Have you ever considered how badly that effects the people of this community?" Polnareff scoffed at him, fully laden with the knowledge that what the siren was saying was correct. " Why, just the other day my house guest got severely upset at your incessant ballades. Kakyoin's already having a hard enough time recovering, and frankly, if I were him, I'd-"

"What? What do you mean Noria- Kakyoin, is having a hard time recovering? How do you even know who he is? Avdol sure as hell never mentioned you when we talked."

Something about the siren's tone rubbed Polnareff the wrong way. Despite his words being purely bitter, there was a clear cut layer of worry hidden behind the aforementioned. It almost made him pity the poor beast, and the way he had sat up suddenly in the water at the mere mention of Kakyoin's name wasn't helping one bit. As much as he wanted to deny it, it was all too apparent that this siren and Kakyoin shared a bond that ran deeper than Polnareff thought was possible.

"Hey, hey, no need to get so defensive, pal. Avdol and I live together, so I've gotta watch over Kakyoin just like he does."

"That doesn't answer my other question, though. Why is he getting sicker, all of a sudden?"

"Well, he's not really getting sicker, it's, uh, well– It's complicated. And I don't think that you'd wanna sit here and hear me blabber on, so—"

"I've got time. And Kakyoin's more important than anything else to me, so I don't give a rat's ass about how complicated things may be. So I'll ask you again; Why is my boyfriend not recovering?"

Polnareff's eyes darted around nervously, searching fruitlessly for an answer he knew full well he didn't have. His original comment had been nothing but an intimidation tactic; and he sure as hell wasn't expecting for such a harsh reaction. The siren kept shooting him angry glares, and if looks could kill, Polnareff would be a dead man by now. Backed into a corner by his own brashness, Polnareff decided to do what no other man would have the courage to do; lie like a dog.

"Kakyoin's condition... May be more serious than we had initially believed."