Between The Sea and The Sky

◈One with the Ocean◈

--- Three Years Later ---

Yeosang lay peacefully on the empty shore, eyes closed as the light breeze blew wisps of hair across his face. He buried his fingers into the warm sand as the waves gently crashed against him. With no clouds in the sky, the sunlight seemed to brighten the cerulean of his scales and darken the sapphire shadowing his draping fin.

While his siblings never got close enough to lounge on the shore, full of fear or hatred of those on land, Yeosang felt more than comfortable being near humans. It was an abnormal trait for a siren to have, one that his siblings used against him often, along with the mystery surrounding his mother.

While Chamis, Diovere and Seressa were children of other sirens in King Kyrith's court, no one apart from Yeosang and the king knew who Yeosang's mother was. Both sirens and merfolk alike were not fond of this secrecy. Despite being a child of the sea like his siblings, Yeosang was never made to feel welcome in Domari.

Lying alone on a sandy shore, away from the petty judgement from members of the court, was an escape Yeosang used often. It was his only way to experience genuine peace, even if only for a moment.

The serene silence he was enjoying was suddenly filled with the sound of seagull's cries, interrupting Yeosang's tranquil rest. He opened his eyes and titled his head to the left, finding the noisy birds flying in circles around a group of turtle hatchlings sprouting from the ground.

Releasing a sigh, Yeosang raised his left hand in a flowing motion, bringing part of the sea onto the shore to make a tunnel for the hatchlings. Every time a seagull dove toward the water determined to snatch one of the hatchlings, the water would flick up and send them flying back.

Hours passed, the sun beginning to set below the horizon, as Yeosang waited until the last of the hatchlings made it safely into the sea before releasing the tunnel. The seagulls cried at him angrily for a few minutes before flying away, earning a soft chuckle from Yeosang.

"Those foolish creatures will never learn," he mumbled to himself, closing his eyes once more to enjoy the moonlight rising in the sky.

But rest would not find him again. Somewhere in the vast ocean, a different sort of cry filled the air. Without hesitation, Yeosang dove into the water, quickly swimming in the direction of the one in peril.

The individual's cries reached Yeosang's ears even under water, which meant others heard them too. He flicked his fin rapidly, soaring through the ocean as fast as he could. He needed to make it there first. He had to.

When the cries suddenly ceased, Yeosang quickly swam to the surface. Roughly fifty yards ahead of Yeosang was a young man floating in the water, frantically looking at a retreating ship. For a moment, Yeosang wondered what had transpired for those still aboard the ship to abandon this young man alone in the middle of the ocean.

But that moment was interrupted by a sound Yeosang knew all too well. Echoing from beneath the water's surface was a haunting melody that quickly caught the attention of the young man.

Panic set inside Yeosang as he resumed swimming forward, fearing he was too late. As he grew closer, Yeosang watched as a beautiful being with flowing hair the color of wheat and almost transparent pale skin reached her hand up to wrap her long fingers around the young man's ankle.

Yeosang could only imagine the horror rising inside the young man as he was yanked beneath the surface, coming face to face with a siren. Seressa grinned wickedly as the poor man flung his limbs in every direction, desperate to free himself from her grasp. For a moment, she loosened her grip to give the man the sense that he was going to escape, only to grab hold of him again more tightly.