𝐈𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄, ( nihachu )

jolly sailor bold

"Upon one summer's morning, I carefully did stray," you start quietly, and the crew's scattered chatter descends into a hushed silence. You tried to ignore the sun's oppressive swelter, the heat on your neck, and the eyes on you, watching and waiting. The chords strummed on your lute echo into the air, accompanied by the noise of the choppy waves gently lapping at the boats.

"Down by the Walls of Wapping, where I met a sailor gay." You gaze at the shimmering water, but you don't spot any unusual ripples in the waves. You continue to sing despite the sinking feeling in your heart.

"Conversing with a bouncing lass, who seemed to be in pain,"

It's there almost too silently, piercing blue eyes staring at the man by your side in an all too alluring way. There's a slight smile upon her lips, long flaxen hair weighed down by the water beyond her bare back, barely covering her small and rosy naked breasts. She is beautiful, even with slightly pointed ears, the very strange gills that pulsate on her long neck and with the gray tail that breaks, sinuous, soft, the water behind her. And yet, your mouth grows dry at her appearance. It is a warning, a promise of a death omen to be fulfilled.

She is a siren, there is no doubt about that, and she is humming in front of you with small heart-shaped lips, but instead of being attracted to her as you would have expected, the pit in your stomach deepens with every verse you sing. Out of the corner of your eye, you notice more heads break the ocean's surface—more maidens, as beautiful and perfect as a newly-opened spring blossom. From his boat, your captain's grin widens, almost maddeningly so, and his finger twitches on the trigger of his pistol.

"Saying William, when you go, I fear you will ne'er return again."

The siren is singing with you now, and one of your crewmates—James—can't help but lean towards her. You would've stopped him if you could, but your captain's sharp gaze made your fingers restlessly play the old tune. Your other mates, Bonnie, Jasper, Lyra and Johnny are just as entranced with the sirens closest to them. You can barely sing out the words as one smiles at Lyra, clawed fingers playing with the curls of her hair.

"My heart is pierced by cupid, I disdain all glittering gold."

Your eyes flit back to James. The flaxen haired siren's lips are near his now, though she's edging away from any form of kiss. You feel acid crawl up your throat, skin prickling at the bite of the wind.

"There is nothing can console me, like my jolly sailor bold." She finished, leaning up onto the boat now, fingers brushing against James's collarbone. She kisses his neck, once, grinning, before moving back to his lips. James shudders, leaning into her touch. The other sirens move close to your friends, and your lute slips from your grasp, hitting the bottom of the rowboat with a dull thunk.

Her teeth elongate into sharp points and he's dead, deader than dead, when she kisses him. Arms wrap around his waist as she bites down, splits his tongue in two, pulls it right out of his mouth and he chokes on blood. He is sent over the edge and into the sea before you can unsheathe your saber.

The sirens, on another boat, start to pounce. One splits a man's stomach open, watching his organs spill out. Another catches one by his jugular, dragging him over the edge of his boat. Your saber gleams silver beneath the sun as it slides out of its belt hanger, and shrieks and splashes of water echo into the air. You slash at a siren that got too close to Jasper, making her let out an ear piercing shriek at the deep cut on her features before ducking back into the watery depths. Dark, crimson blood coats your blade.

Tendrils of smoky blood float to the surface of the sea, and chaos escalates from there. A shot rang out from your far right, gunpowder filling the air. Bonnie kicks one in the face. Johnny pulls her down as one leaps over the two of them, claws outstretched but failing to grasp at either one of the duo. The ocean soon turns into a blur of blue-grey-silver-redredred, and a fleeting glance at the coast just shows how utterly hopeless your predicament is.