when the metkayina had taught neteyam and his siblings their ways and the sea's secrets, he hadn't missed when they had spoken of sirens; creatures of the sea that possessed a beauty so enthralling that it lured the most strong-willed warriors into the depths of the water. lo'ak - of course - had immediately asked what they looked like, but none of the younger boy's questions could be answered; no one had ever lived to tell of their looks

neteyam had found it silly, how people made such a fuss about mythical creatures like that, how his little sister tuk got scared as if they were a serious threat and how lo'ak's eyes beamed with mischief as he secretly plotted to find one. back at the omatikaya base they had had myths and fairytales, too, but they were known to be nothing but stories

the omatikaya had forgotten about the silly talks of sirens and supernatural beings in the water over time; he paid no mind to those sort of legends while reaching for his crossbow. today he had finally gotten permission from tonowari to hunt with the tribe's most skilled warriors

though when he caught a glimpse of you in the corner of his eye he knew that he had listened to aonung when he had told the safety precautions. neteyam could not help himself; without the others noticing, he slowed his ilu down, turning in the water so he could look at you properly

you were breathtakingly beautiful

the boy's ilu started to get nervous at the sight of you, and neteyam quickly got fed up with it as it didn't want to swim closer to you; the boy smoothly slid off the animal and disappeared in the water, swimming towards you like a moth to a flame, breaking surface near the rock you were sitting on

"who are you?", neteyam inquired, his voice laced with a heavy foreign accent not familiar to your people. his amber eyes were slightly wide, his pupils dilated as if trying to take in every inch of your appearance

"you are beautiful," he whispered, his voice slightly raspy while he tried to think straight; he should get back to the others