» In The Deep

the Rift

TAIVAS & ROSCORRO

We are not here to harm you!

The siren's black, glassy eyes watch Taivas, giving no indication that she has heard Otem's call. Instead, she watches with interest that grows by the second, yet it is a cold, pointed thing, a hard to read emotion in an alien face. The easy, mundane things of life were not the interesting ones—the difficult choices were what defined us.

Both mare and dragon-stallion make their choice as Otem's voice rings out again. The light! We're just here to give you the light! But, the siren thinks as she watches Taivas's orb split, what does creatures of the cold, dark depths need light for? It is not a true question, of course; she knows well enough what the warm, bright light is.

She watches the pair leave, her eyes still cold and dark. Perhaps hope is not lost, after all.

EVERYONE

With a decisive, deft movement, the siren snatches up the orb of hope left behind by Taivas. She turns in the water, arrows through curtains of seaweed, heading for a place at the lake's bed where myths and legends were born and died a long, long time ago. She passes sentries, eyeing her with wariness, she passes warriors making bets about how long the equines will last.

And then, she floats before the stone basin, long since empty of anything but silt and dust and fish-bones. She's not sure this will work—she's not sure if she wants it to work—but with a hiss she tips the orb into the smooth-edged bowl.

For a moment, nothing happens.

OTEM, RIXEN, WAKER, K'YARIE, TAIVAS & ROSCORRO

The two attacking sirens care little for the pleas of Taivas; the one clutching to Waker's neck, teeth digging deep in muscle and its arms around the stallion, pays anyone little heed. The other, however, is momentarily distracted by Roscorro's earth-shattering bellow; enough so, that Rixen's hooves strikes the side of its body, smacking it away. It offers an ugly grin and an angry hiss to the gray stallion before propelling itself towards its new victim.

KIADA & AURELIA

Hooves catch the lower back of the attacking siren—it pulls up short, whipping around with a speed the equines could only dream of rivaling in the water. Baring its teeth, it launches itself towards Kiada's face.

EVERYONE

But then, light flares.

The small ball of light grows by the moment, so intense the siren turns to look away and closes her eyes. It burns through her eyelids, brighter and brigher like the distant sun, until the glow simply—explodes. It is a silent wave of pure light pulsing out; one moment you're in the murky dimness of the lake, and the next, engulfed in brightness and warmth.

In the aftermath, the three attacking sirens turn to look at each other. Tendrils of blood escape from Waker's neck and the mouth of the one who had bitten him—and as if reaching some kind of consensus, they disappear.

Hope has been restored to the Siren's Summit.

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