overflows ; LIMELIGHT (various)

[vapour]

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[gottalearntoplayitright]

[Laughs, reaching up to pet his hair]

That was the deciding factor?

[vapour]

Yes, yes. You passed!

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Vanity… All Sirens are a little vain though. Our appearance is part of our job, afterall.

[vapour]

Most people are a little vain.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Now you’re forgiving me for it?

[vapour]

Nah. You'd have to be apologetic first.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Well, that won’t happen.

[vapour]

You do know the Arias share their Family name with sea cows, though, right?

[gottalearntoplayitright]

…

[Starts rolling away]

[vapour]

[ CAGES IN PLACE WITH ARMS. ]

No no, you need this biology lesson first!

The scientific order Sirenia, or sirens, also known as Sirenimeloidea, are sea cows like Manatee and Dugong. Amazing right?

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Is that so…?

[Glances up, arching a eyebrow]

Sounds fake. Are you lying to me, Mr.Murdoch?

[vapour]

Partially, maybe. But at least 50% is true.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Do you know any stories about sirens?

[vapour]

Depends. Yes if you're looking to hear a story, no if you're looking to tell one.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Maybe I’ll tell one if you tell me a good enough one?

[vapour]

Hmmm. Original sirens, right?

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Whatever take on the theme you want.

[vapour]

Hmm... a good enough story about sirens for a siren.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

Mhmm. Think you can manage that?

[vapour]

Time to find out, I guess. Let's start with a question to prelude our story.

Tell me, do the Arias believe in the ability orchestrate a perfect performance? Or is perfection unattainable?

[gottalearntoplayitright]

…there’s always room for improvement.

[vapour]

In a small fishing village, there lived a little girl that loved the sea and everything it had to offer. The girl went to the sandy beaches every day to collect shells, to swim with the fish, and listen to the most beautiful melody of songs she ever heard. She could always hear the music, beckoning and calling and filling the village with a tranquil peace. Isn't it the most beautiful song, the girl asked every villager on the road used for her daily visits to the beach. She made sure to greet everyone she could along the way. They would smile and nod, speaking wistfully in wonder if it was the sirens' songs blessing them or another's. The song of the sirens was considered most dangerous by the people, but for those in this particular village, it was like a blanket of protection that kept them from harm, or so they felt. The village had none of the troubles other places did, and never was the village completely silent, an always distant ethereal voice whispering on the winds.

One day the girl came upon a little boy at the beach, wet and crying. the girl approached, realizing he was not from her village. Have you lost your way home?

The boy stops his crying, looking at her in wonder before replying that her voice is so beautiful that it sounds like his treasured violins that he's been n looking everywhere for. The girl attempts to help him find his lost instruments, but they are met with failure as the sun sets. Even so, the boy's sadness over his loss is no longer so palable. Knowing he is not from the village, she takes him home for the night to make sure that he isn't by himself trying to find his way back in the dark. The village forbids nonvillagers from staying after the sun sets, but she knows it must be broken many times with the travelers that visit, as is.

The next morning, there's an eerie silence that wakes the girl. A heavy and oppressive silence that is broken by sounds of the fishing port bells, and the sound of disharmonious arguments between the villagers. The boy is gone, him having snuck out most and the girl wanders alone through the town, confused by the agitation and turmoil. Her mind is so distracted by the unfamiliar behaviors of her fellow villagers that is only once she reaches the beach that she realizes there is no longer any song on the wind for her to hear. Concerned, she asks the various adults despite their agitated natures if they can still hear the song. Most dismiss her, seeming to not have the patience to interact with her. Others are so lost in their own frustrations they outright ignore her. One adult even knocks her down and moves on like he hasn't even noticed her. In fact, that may be exactly what happened.

In tears now, the girl finally spots an old woman beckoning to her to come sit by the roadside with her to get out of the way of the cold and impersonal activity that has taken over the village. The girl finally asks if the old lady can still hear the songs from the sea on the wind.

The old lady says she once could but it has been a terribly long time since the songs graced her ears. She doesn't know of many—if any at all— adults that still hear the song.

No one has ever told the girl this before. Distraught that she may no longer be able to hear the song and rushes back to beach in hopes of understanding what has befallen her village and potentially herself, as well.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

What did she find at the beach?

[vapour]

As she got to the beach, she heard calming and reassuring music wafting through the air. It wasn't the song she had been hearing for so long since she could remember, but it did somehow sound familiar and similar to it all the same.

When she finally got to the shore, the boy she had met the day before was there playing one of his missing violins. Upon seeing her, he said because of her he was able to find his lost items on his way home. He came to play and wait for her as a thank you gift, as she was the only one that had been willing to help him search.

The girl is enamored by his ability and settles down excitedly to listen to him play, for the time forgetting her reason of urgent need to arrive at the beach in the first place.

[gottalearntoplayitright]

[Props himself up on an elbow]

What happened when he finished playing?