The lure of a siren was a dangerous one, usually leaving those passing by in ships dead and food for the bloodthirsty merpeople. Sailing through the ocean, through Poseidon’s domain, meant that he and his crew were guaranteed to run into them.

Odysseus had already lost so many men due to his unwise decisions, and he would be a fool to lose more. He already let the cyclops live, and in turn had destroyed his trust with Athena.

So as they sailed through the darkest part of the sea, where rocks of all kind littered the sides and tricky maneuvers had to be made in order to steer past, Odysseus kept his eye out for a siren.

A sudden movement in the waves caught his attention, and he quickly stood at the railing, his gaze focused and clear. He and his men has beeswax placed in their ears, to avoid the temptation that was a siren’s song, yet when one of the filthy creatures poked its head up from the water… no song came from its mouth.

Instead, as the ship slowed in case it did sing, Odysseus noticed the siren made no effort to speak. It stared at them, at him, and then sunk back into the water. Only then, a few minutes later, did it appear when its sister sirens began to sing.

None of the men paid any mind to the lyrical lies being thrown at them, a net slowly lowering down into the ocean to snatch the one siren that made no sound.

The men holding the net cried out suddenly; the siren was caught.