All that Glitters

[DragonSong]

More's the pity.

Still, it was rare she had the chance to actually speak with a human, and this one was at least a match for her own wit.

Interesting.

She smiled, and sharp canines flashed in the light. "Of course not. A man clever and bold enough to follow a siren's song is certainly no common lout."

Another smile and she leaned just a bit closer, her eyes sparkling like the surface of the sea in moonlight. "There are other stories, you know," she murmured, lashes half lowered. "I won't deny most of what you say is true-- or can be-- but we are more than sharks." She paused a moment, then glanced away. "And less..."

[Paladienne]

Kasim knew he had a decision to make in this moment. He could either stay and listen to the siren's stories and learn more than just stories about her kind, thus putting himself and his crew in slightly more danger, or he could abandon her, head back to his ship, and continue on his journey. But physical treasure just didn't have the same lure as the treasure before him. After all, how many humans could claim that they had not only talked with a living, breathing siren, but also learned from her?

So he settled down on the rock, letting his legs dangle over the side, closer to her but not close enough where he couldn't react if she tried to lunge at him to eat him, or whatever it is she might try to do.

"So, teach me," Kasim said, grinning. "Tell me what I don't know. I've got until sunrise. I can stay until then, but afterward, I have to return to my ship and crew. Whole and sound, if you get me. We're on a mission of sorts, looking for a treasure of some kind. It's a rather fun mystery, trying to figure out the clues and go where we need to go."

He leaned back on his hands then, his grin lessening to a more genuine smile. "But for now, I'm all yours, my darling lady. Beguile me with your stories."

[DragonSong]

"Ah." Morgana smirked and leaned back on her own hands, swishing her tail back and forth through the water. "Where shall I start, bold one? Would you hear the stories my sisters tell one another? Or would you rather the tales of sirens who did not claim the lives of sailors they beguiled, but rather had...other purposes?"

[Paladienne]

"Well, we could start wherever you wish to start." Kasim smiled, meeting her gaze without any sign of fear. "I will listen to anything you have to say. I'm yours until dawn."

He leaned forward then, winking at her. "But perhaps we should start with the beginning of all things. If we're going to be friends, you and I, perhaps we should know each other's names."

He knew he was taking a risk, but he figured one good turn was worth another, and she was about to trust him with her own stories, stories that, if he actually survived this encounter somehow, he could tell himself. While no one would really believe him, it didn't matter. He believed, and that was all that mattered to him.

He offered his hand to her then, like the beginnings of a peace offering. "My name is Kasim."

[DragonSong]

Another fang-tipped smile, though this one was somehow a bit softer. She reached out to take his hand delicately, careful of her sharp nails-- and intrigued to see what his reaction would be to the webbing between her wingers.

"Morgana," she murmured. "I am called Morgana."

She drew her hand back after a moment-- she wasn't foolish enough to attempt to drag him into the water at this first sign of trust-- and shifted slightly so she slipped a little further into the water. Her long, sinuous tail curved back and forth just beneath the surface.

"Not all a siren's victims are prey, you know," she said after a moment. "At least, not in a traditional sense."

[Paladienne]

Kasim's eyes widened at the sight of the webbing between her fingers, and despite himself, he gripped her hand tight so he could inspect her fingers even closer. He looked a little disappointed when she drew her hand back, and he met her eyes without fear.

"Morgana." Kasim said, tasting the syllables of her name. "A lovely name for a lovely lady."

He watched her sink into the water, very aware that she could, at any time attempt to pull him in with her. But he kept his eyes on her face, his lips curled in a small smile.

"Well, that's not what the stories say. They say that you eat the hearts of men, once they've become useless to you."

[DragonSong]

Morgana laughed, tossing her head back and letting the chiming sound echo off the walls of the cavern. "Well...I suppose that is true, after a sense," she chuckled, glancing sidelong at the sailor. "You use that term to describe your own kind sometimes, do you not? Heart-eater. It is not a...strictly literal term, no?"

She turned onto her stomach, holding herself up just barely out of the water, and folded her arms to rest her hands on them, still looking up at him. Her tail flicked up behind her, the thinner membrane of her fins like thin black silk.

"I will not deny we hunt humans," she said with a shrug. "We must eat, and it is in our nature. But there are other uses for your kind-- males, mostly, I believe. Men of my kind don't usually much care for humans females."

[Paladienne]

"I wouldn't know about 'heart-eater', but definitely 'heartless'." Kasim shrugged, as if to silently say he wasn't trying to argue with her, but rather give her a different term that he'd heard more often. "Ah, and 'heart-breaker'. I get that one sometimes. But I do try not to break hearts. It's a rather messy business, without being actually messy business."

He leaned forward, his eyes riveted to her face but distracted by her tail and her hair, floating through the water as they were. He was fascinated by her tail, watching it sluice through the water without effort for some time. Then, almost reluctantly, he dragged his eyes back to Morgana's face.

"Everything has to eat, and everything acts according to its nature. Or nurture. It depends on what you believe. Personally, I think it's a little of both." He grinned, his head canting to one side. "Other uses, huh? I can imagine what. And I doubt the men would be interested in human females, since I would assume they rarely see human females. Most captains view women on a boat as bad luck, but not me. I've a few women on my crew, and they're scarier than the men sometimes."

[DragonSong]

"Oh, as it should be," Morgana responded easily-- and it was entirely unclear if she was being facetious or not. "But it is more than that, when it comes to merfolk courting landwalkers. Mothers are more important."

She shrugged unapologetically. "A mermaid's children will always be merfolk, no matter their fathers. But a landwalker woman's children may be either-- born to land or sea."

She fell quiet a moment, then suddenly chuckled and leaned back onto her hands, letting her head lull as she glanced at Kasim. "Of course, that means a siren could simply...use a landwalker as was needed, then let him drown. But some of my sisters keep their prey." She shrugged. "They tell interesting stories, apparently."

[Paladienne]

"I suppose being kept is better than being killed once the deed is done." Kasim replied, folding his arms across his thighs and leaning on them. "But what your people do doesn't seem that much different from what humans to do each other. Once we outlive our usefulness, we're thrown away." He shrugged, his shoulders lifting and falling in a quick, jerky movement.

"Who tells interesting stories? The men your sisters keep or your sisters? Either way, I'm sure they're all entertaining." He focused on her eyes, holding her gaze for a while. Then he blinked and looked away. "Sorry, I meant no offense. It's rare one such as I gets the opportunity to speak with one such as you."

[DragonSong]

Morgana tossed her hair and shrugged carelessly. "Oh, some merfolk are fascinated with the stories of landwalkers' travels." She smiled at him. "And I'm not offended. You said you wanted to talk, to learn. That requires asking questions, no?"

Carefully, she turned onto her side, propping herself up on one arm. "You haven't asked the obvious question though," she noted with a small, sly smile. "If you were in my place-- a siren with an easy meal within arm's reach-- why wouldn't you have attacked by now?"

[Paladienne]

Kasim grinned. "Oh, that's easy. Either you've already eaten and therefore you're not hungry right now, or I'm just too fascinating to make a meal. At least until you've learned all you can from me and I no longer have a use for you."

He shifted, drawing one leg up so he could wrap his arm around it and rest his chin on his knee. His grin lessened into a smile. "Unfortunately, see, that's where we're going to have our differences. I can't let you eat me. I'm on an important mission right now. A treasure hunt. I have a treasure map and everything. And don't think I'm about to make a deal with you, Morgana. Trade my life for that of one of my crew or something."

Kasim paused then, an idea flashing through his mind. He blinked slowly. Did he dare make a deal with her to trade his life for that of the unwanted passenger? Sure, he didn't like the guy - no one on his ship did - but that didn't give him the right to choose whether the man lived or became a siren's meal. But, of course, he'd thought about it.

He focused on Morgana, realizing he'd been ignoring her in favor of his own little train of thought. "It's something I have to do, so I can't let anything stop me. Including you."

[DragonSong]

Morgana laughed once again, her smirk back in place. Firmly. "Oh, bold one." She leaned toward him and lowered her voice. "Just what makes you think you could stop me?"

She let the threat hang in the air for a moment, then leaned back again carelessly. "Treasure, hm? What kind of treasure do you refer to this time?"

[Paladienne]

Kasim's lips quirked at her obvious threat. What could he do to stop her? Plenty. He wasn't helpless and he wasn't unarmed. If she chose to attack him, he could very well defend himself. But he said nothing to refute her, instead leaning back with his weight on one side so he could easily spring to his feet if he needed to.

But he could answer her second question without too much of a problem. "Ah, see, that's the thing. I don't know what kind of treasure. I'm just following the map. I'll know when I get there."

[DragonSong]

"Oh of course, a map." She flicked her tail again, lazy. Bored.

Bored was dangerous.

Reaching up to fiddle absently with the amulet she'd so recently acquired, Morgana sighed quietly as she watched the water droplets sparkle through the air. "You humans are always so concerned with the proper path, aren't you?"

[Paladienne]

For a moment, Kasim was absolutely silent. Then, laughter bubbled up from his belly to his throat, and even though he knew it was stupid and dangerous, he began to laugh, loud and long. He laughed until he ran out of breath, then sucked in air and laughed some more. When he finally, finally sobered, he grinned at her, showing far more teeth than an amused grin ought to.

"Morgana," Kasim said, "if I was so concerned with the proper path, I wouldn't be here talking to you. I would have sailed on, ignoring your little song. But life isn't about following the proper path. Life is about experiencing all it has to offer, making mistakes and learning from them, and not having regrets."

His eyes dropped to the amulet she was playing with, and his smile lessened into more of a smirk. Where had he seen that before? He was certain he'd seen a similar shape and style somewhere, but he couldn't quite place it. Yet, the amulet was familiar. And that bothered him, because usually he could remember where he'd seen things before.

"May I see that?" he asked, pointing to her amulet.

[DragonSong]

The laughter actually startled her, enough that she eyed him a little warily and for a few moments thought about trying to shift away.

But then he was asking about the amulet, and they were back in familiar territory, or at least she assumed. She tilted her head the other way, tracing two fingers almost teasingly around the outer edge of the pendant.

"Oh? Perhaps you are intrigued by traditional treasure then?" she baited playfully, lifting the amulet from her chest, closer for him to see-- though she made no move to take it off. "Be my guest...if you dare move so close to a siren as to examine it."

[Paladienne]

He watched the way her fingers trailed over the amulet, and his mind began turning, even as she lifted the jewelry to his view. Her words reached his ears, and he knew that he was starting to tread into dangerous territory. If he got closer to her, she was bound to try something. It wasn't like he couldn't defend himself, but he was in her domain, and home turf advantage usually meant that he would be hard pressed to figure a way out of this. Especially because he didn't want to die, and he really didn't want to hurt her. After all, she was only doing as her nature dictated. He wasn't a fool as to believe he was special. To her, he was intelligent food.

"It's only that I've seen something like this before," Kasim answered truthfully. He saw no sense in lying to her. Sure, he was intrigued by traditional treasure just as much as the next man or woman, but there was more to life than just treasure. "It's fresh in my memory, even though it feels like a dream."

What was it his father used to say? Opportunities are lost if chances are not taken. Kasim disliked his old man greatly, but he'd had sound advice. Here was an opportunity, which he would lose if he didn't take that chance. It was a dangerous chance, a chance that he would end up drowned and Morgana would use his bones to pick her teeth, but a chance nonetheless.

So he shifted, moving closer to her, reaching for her amulet to get a better look.

[DragonSong]

It would have been so easy. They were so close to the water, he was leaning in, off balance if not off guard. It would have been so easy.

But she didn't do it.

Rather than grab the intrepid sailor and drag him into the water with her, she lifted the pendant slightly higher and tilted her head back so he could observe it better.

"Has your memory returned to you?" she asked after a moment, eyes flicking over his face.

Honestly she wasn't sure herself why she didn't simply drown him. Perhaps she was simply full, or perhaps it was...something else.

[Paladienne]

Kasim reached out, carefully wrapping his fingers around the amulet and putting his face as close to it - and to her - as he dared. He was certain that at any moment, she would yank him into the water and try to drown him, but he was giving her a measure of a doubt. Still, he didn't want to tempt her any more than was necessary. So, to that end, Kasim quickly studied the amulet.

Yes, he'd seen this somewhere before.

There had been a faint drawing in one corner of the treasure map he'd acquired, as if someone had tried to erase the sketch after inking it on the parchment. Anyone else might have written it off as a mistake, but in Kasim's experience, rarely did anyone make a mistake when drawing a treasure map. The whole point of it was for one to be able to find the treasure again, and anyway, most people who hid treasure laid traps and snares for those foolish enough to go looking for what wasn't theirs. There was no need to put red herrings on a treasure map.

It couldn't be coincidence.

He looked up from the amulet to Morgana's eyes. "This amulet is drawn on my treasure map."

The wheels in his mind started turning.

"Well." Kasim said at last, after a long pregnant pause. "What would it take to get you to part with this?"