Prompt 2 - Summer Drama (A Summer Gone Wrong)
username;; true knight
1220/1500 wrote:"This is the place, right? Where the siren lives?"
"That's what the villagers said, anyway. I don't think it's real."
"Oh, come on! Where's your sense of adventure!? Even if he's not a real siren, he's still supposed to be really attractive...~"
Osu's eyes sparkled with amusement as he heard the vicious whispers of his latest visitors, their uncertainty quite tangible despite the liveliness of their tones. Of course he wasn't a siren' he was a regular viscet with a talent for creation. Of course....it was nice to get the attention, so he had never corrected anyone on their stories or rumors. His tail swished rhythmically beneath the waves to keep him afloat as he listened, waiting for a nice cue to surface enough for them to see him.
He didn't have to wait long for it, of course.
"Uh....um.....O, Great Siren, show me your face so that I may take on your challenge!" a female's voice squeaked, and her two companions burst into laughter st her ridiculous tone. "Sh-shut up! I didn't know what to say!"
Amused and a bit sympathetic, Osu surfaced, his chin tipping up to make himself appear noble and mystical. His long, thick mane curled and traveled down his powerful shoulders in watery rivulets as his bright eyes sparkled with mirth, ears twitched back while his many accessories glistened in the moonlight.
"I heed your words," he hummed, "what is it you wish?" He winked and the female who spoke first was rendered speechless for a moment, gawking at him like a stunned deer.
"I.....um...I want...s-something that will help me fly," she managed at last, appearing to swallow the knot in her throat.
"Something to help you fly? Why, you've already made my heart soar, beautiful. Why would you need such a thing?" His voice was pure velvet as he gazed into her amber eyes, watching any attempt at a rebuttal fading from them as she became lost in his magenta stare.
"I...I s-suppose..." She had failed the challenge from the start, really. He supposed that she spotted the smirk on his face, for her head drooped as she flushed, tail twitching in embarrassment. "D-dang it..."
"Better luck next time," he purred, laughter laced in his silky tone.
The other two had been much more difficult to swoon, and they had gotten their victories: An item to make the other female more beautiful, and a quiver for the male, who claimed to be an aspiring archer. Simple enough for a task, and for his first visitors of the summer, he wished to make them the best they could be. With a farewell, he sent them away with instructions to return in a week to claim their wished items so he could set to work.
--
"I should really go looking for more pearls soon," Osu murmured to himself as he placed the last gemstone on the beautifully crafted headdress, hearing the gentle click as the shimmering pearl set into place in the center. Woven with stiff, yellowed reeds and delicate metals he'd had stored away from an old shipwreck, the headdress was adorned with pearls and shells and a ruby -- the only one he had found in quite a while. Now that it was complete, he believed it was gorgeous, and perfect. She'll love this, he thought with pride swelling in his chest.
His other creation, the quiver, was a unique craft with silver metals and taut leather that he'd been forced to craft on land for the sake of the leather keeping its form properly. He was quite proud of this, too, but not nearly as much as the gorgeous, shimmering headdress. Both were ready for their prizes, no matter which he admired more for himself.
When the night arrived, Osu was ready. Seeing the approaching forms on the pier, he swam to his cave swiftly to retrieve his creations -- and his heart nearly stopped as he noticed the destruction that had taken place there.
The quiver was fine. It was still intact, elegant as ever, but his beautiful creation - his pride and joy, the headdress, was gone. Rather, in its place were the remains of it, the reeds shredded and gems torn away with only the metal laying where the structures had once been. It was a pile of junk now, and likely the victim of seagulls who had become infatuated with the shine of gems.
"No," he whispered, eyes wide with horror. No! What was he going to do? He had never failed in this 'ritual'c before. He had done nothing but give his life to the visitors who made his life brighter, funnier, and now he had failed one of his challengers. His throat went taut as he imagined the disappointment on the female's face when she realized her gift was not there for her, the agitation that would follow, the news of the failure, the lack of new visitors...
He couldn't bear the crushing loneliness if his only company were to vanish. Panic welled in his chest as he looked around for a solution, anything, before his eyes dropped to his watery reflection -- and then locked onto the elegant crown of gold sitting atop his head.
"....." His crown. The only connection he still had to his old life, with the warmth and comfort of his mother, the gentle tales of the ocean she would murmur in his ears, the same crown sitting atop her head as she raised him. His first reaction was to look away, to resist the idea -- but he knew what he had to do. His dedication to letting a myth, the same kind of story that had given his childhood so much joy, live on in the hearts of even adults, had made the decision for him. This is my life now. His heart throbbed as he gazed down at his beloved crown, removing it from his head and closing his eyes briefly. A ruby stared back at him, embedded in the center just as one had in the headdress. I still have the memories, even if I give this away, he reassured himself, letting out a sigh before he gathered the quiver and swam to the pier, purpose in his strokes.
"Woah...this is incredible!"
"I love it! I love it so much! It's so beautiful....I can't thank you enough!"
"Gosh, you guys are so lucky," the challenger who had failed moaned, looking absolutely miserable as she admired her friends' prizes. Osu smirked in amusement, a pleased expression on his face as he watched the amazed archer and the female wearing his crown atop her head. His heart ached with longing for his memento, but he reassured himself with the thought that she would consider that a memento later in her life, when her visclings asked her about it with wonder shimmering in their eyes. Pain gripped him, but a smile rested on his muzzle. Sacrifice was a regular part of life; he knew that well.
"Do visit me again next year," he hummed playfully, winking at the failed challenger before he disappeared under the ocean waves, distantly hearing the swallowed calls of gratitude from the trio as the 'siren' vanished, laying in wait for his next group of foolish young visitors.
Viscets involved:
Misc. non-existing viscets
Osu