Tyra stepped out from below deck. A soft summer drizzle pattered against the wooden deck of the ship. Yet despite the rain, the waters were calm.
"Morning captain!" Her first in command greeted Tyra with an energetic salute. "Winds are slow today, but we should still see land within the week."
"Very good," Tyra nodded. But something was off. "Are you getting enough sleep? Your eyes seem glassy today," She gently brushed the hair from her first mate's face, trying to get a better look.
"I-I'm fine," the other woman blushed. "But I oughta get back to the helm..." Before Tyra could respond, the first mate gave another salute and ran off.
Shaking her head, Tyra turned her attention back to the deck. A trio of giggling deckhands stood on the bow of the ship. As she walked over, she tried to put on a cordial smile, hoping not to scare anyone else away. "Wet morning, eh?"
The three gave a stiff salute, "Morning captain!" They shouted in unison, their smiles and laughter fading.
Am I really that scary?
Tyra wondered in disappointment. "Relax, y'all don't have to go acting so stiff."
"Well," One of the older deckhands--about the same age as Tyra herself--spoke up. "It's better to show respect. Especially if we want to keep order on the ship-"
Suddenly, a long song-like call filled the air. The ethereal voice reverberated, like a distant opera bouncing off the clouds. "Did you hear that?" Tyra asked, looking up at the gray sky.
"Hear what?" One of the deckhands tilted her head, puzzled.
"Hehe, maybe it was one of those monsters," the third deckhand spoke up, putting on a mischievous smile. "You know, the ones that come with the rain."
"What?" Tyra furrowed her brow.
"The Sirens of the Rain," the deckhand continued. "They say, on rainy days, when the winds are slow, you can hear their songs descend from the clouds."
"Skyrens..." said the older deckhand, with a more serious expression.
The second deckhand glanced between the other two, her eyes wide. "C'mon, that's just a myth-" But her words froze in her mouth.
The ship began to list portside. The entire deck lulled under their feet, tilting towards the left. Buckets fell over, splashing against the ground and the four grabbed onto the railing for stability.
"What in the blazes," Tyra cursed. "I'll go check it out."
She ran along the edge of the deck, making her way back to the stern. But both her first mate and helmswoman were nowhere to be found.
Cursing again, Tyra grabbed the wheel, wrestling it back into position. The ship slowly righted itself and she breathed a sigh of relief. But it was unusual for her crew to abandon their post like that...
As Tyra looked around, she realized the deckhands she had been speaking to had also disappeared. An eerie silence filled the barren deck. Only the gentle pitter-patter of rain echoed around her.
"Uhm, hello? Anyone?" Tyra called out, tying off the helm.
After locking the steering in place, she stepped away and up to the taffrail, peering down into the waters behind the ship. But no heads bobbed among the waves.
If nobody fell overboard... Where did my crew go?
Tyra thought with a shiver.
"What are you looking for?" A quiet, melodic voice whispered from behind her.
Tyra spun around. "Wha!?" She shouted, stumbling away.
"Is something wrong?" The melodic voice came again. The speaker--a pretty Mermaid with flowing brown hair--swam through the air. "Did I surprise you?" Her clear, euphonic voice asked in mock concern.
"Don't come any closer." Tyra put one hand on her cutlass. "Who are you? What did you do with my crew?"
The Siren giggled, a beautifully symphonic sound that Tyra's ears craved more of. She kicked in the air, swimming through rain like water. Her scaled lower half undulated as she swam, slowly rising and falling in graceful arcs.
Tyra kept her eyes fixed on the demi-human, unwilling to give up any more openings. But the Siren just swam around her.
She made a big lazy circle, her fish-like tail rhythmically rising and falling. The Siren's hair floated behind her, as if caught in eddies of liquid. Around and around she swam, making Tyra turn in circles just to keep her in sight.
"What did you do with my crew?" Tyra asked again as the Siren completed yet another full circle around her. But the demi-human kept leisurely swimming through the air.
