Sirena

Sirena held on to the final note of the chord before cutting it off, listening to the echo of the sound against the rocky pillars fade away into eventual silence. She smiled and looked up into the stars. The Quasar Bay always provided just as beautiful a view of the sky as it did excellent acoustics. The neighboring grotto surely funneled the sound into a residing clan, but she didn't think about such things while she sang. All she cared about was the soft waves against the stone and the light breeze rustling her feathers. She took a breath and sighed it out. She would never get tired of this feeling.

She then noticed something felt off. The waves had a secondary sound to them. She realized it must be the oars of a boat, and quckly swiveled her head to scan the waters.

Just behind her was an approaching boat. She didn't realize it had gotten so close. Typically, the ships which approached her were large and manned by dozens of dragons. This one, however, appeared to only have one. Golden scales reflected the glow of a lantern on deck. The boat was so close that she could make out the face of the lone sailor.

She flattened herself to the rock precipice she was perched on, watching. The sailor got closer and looked up, unable to see anything unusual from the bottom of the cliff face. He placed the oars neatly beside himself and grabbed his lantern before flicking his wings open and taking flight. Sirena began to panic. She knew she wouldn't have time to flee, and barely had time to realize this before the sailor suddenly loomed over her, casting light on her dark scales. She looked up at him timidly.

"You're who's singing, aye?" He had a slight accent not unlike those of the pirate merchants she'd sometimes traded with by day. Pirates were typically bad news for her. This one, however, didn't sound angry or scared. Only curious. Sirena lifted her head away from the stone and nodded. Her muscles remained tense, but she didn't think this dragon wanted to hunt her like so many others had tried to.

"May I land here?" he asked, gesturing with one arm to the top of the stone pillar. Again, Sirena simply nodded. He landed, taking care to keep his distance - although the surface was relatively small and could barely provide the space for the two of them. He sat down his lantern. "For one with so much to sing, ye have little to say," he said. His tone wasn't condescending, just observatory and quiet. As if to speak too loudly would scare her away.

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you," Sirena mumbled. The sailor chuckled.

"Of course ye haven't! Rare to hear such beautiful song; you should hear me crew's shanties - sounds like a flock o' harpies." He lowered his head in greeting. "Me name's Crowley. Captain of the Asteri crew. Yours?"

"...Sirena," she said, not used to meeting friendly dragons while out singing. Usually, dragons who encountered her would flee or try to attack or capture her.

(to be continued)