Sorrow's Paradise (Alaya)

[Rascal]

Alice sat on the shore, her fingers running through the sand, frowning as always. She wore a light blouse and some shorts that came down to her knees. Her feet were wet and sand-covered from wading in the water, and now the waves splashed up over her calves.

Artemis was having a blast, swimming through the water and gliding through the sand with such joy as a child at the circus. Her scales shimmered in the light one moment, only to disappear in a flash the next from the afternoon sun. Sand rippled as her long body crawled beneath it. When there was a pause, Rascal knew she was warming herself and enjoying the heat. "Having fun?" she asked her pet. Artemis was the only reason that she had come here. She deserved to get out, even if Ally couldn't enjoy much.

The snake's only response was a happy laugh as she writhed about over and within the earth. A smile twinged and Rascal's lips. The girl threw herself down on the sand, looking up at the clouds and the sky to frown again. Her hand reached up above her head, her fingers twirling in the small blades of grass. She raised her head to ask Artemis a question, only to lower it again and speak to herself. "Do you think he watches me?" she murmured, but to no one at all. The sound of the sirens' constant laughter and songs stopped flowing to her ears as she shut out all the sound in the world.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya walked along the white sand shore of the Clearwater Lagoon. She was wearing her usual pirates outfit of a dark, baggy, filthy shirt and pants with a cloth belt. Only thing about the outfit today was that her long black hair was not tided back and hidden by a bandanna but flowed past her in waves as the wind blew past her. She never really got a chance to come back home but now she could and she loved every moment of it. Being a pirate was fun but she never really could find a reason to travel to the Clearwater Lagoon, men would never venture to this place and she had to constantly pretend to be a male.

Seeker flew high in the sky ahead of her searching for more shells to add to Alaya's growing collection. Alaya walked silently, letting the water gently splash up against her ankles. She listened to the siren's songs not sure if she should go to them. It had been ten years and she didn't know if they would let her back in. The song they were singing was an traditional siren song to lure men to the lagoon.

"In the wake of the storm, on the brink of night. Leave your ships behind and come to my shores. Come to me and hear my song. Come under the cover of the stars. To hear my song..." Alaya sang under her breath with the others. She didn't even notice that there was someone else on the same beach not to far in front of her.

[Rascal]

Rascal looked up at the sky still, imagining her young husband's smiling face upon the sunbeams. She too didn't notice the other woman, singing so lowly and so near. All she knew was the sky, looking up at it with so much hope that never paid off. She wanted to see heaven through those clouds, and wanted to see Alex flying with the angles. Then, if even for a moment, she might be happy. But no such angles shown themselves, no such heaven, and no such Alex. These things were too good to be seen by mortal eyes, she knew. And by such, she was bound to a life of misery.

Artemis wasn't so deaf as her master. Wasn't so blind, even if under the sand. "We have company!" she hissed to Alice, but the girl didn't hear. "A woman! A pirate!" warned the snake, but still Alice's head didn't pop up in acknowledgment. She was in another world right now, for once. So the little boa slithered to the new comer and rose up in the sand, looking up at the human. They had made other pirate friends that weren't Sirens, but the likelihood wasn't great. She just hoped that she would notice her, and then they might know a bit more. Wise old Artemis, always thinking things through. Not like her owner, who would probably just accuse the woman of being a Siren on the spot.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya looked down at the sand as it shifted at her feet. A snake? that was odd. She looked up to see a girl in the sad. It must be her snake Alaya thought. She knelt down and bowed her head slightly. "Hello there" She stated sweetly to the snake. If there was one thing she learned from the Sirens was to respect the creatures of nature, because humans didn't. That wasn't always true but still the creatures of the world were the best allies in a tough situation. Alaya moved her dark hair from her face to get a better look around her making sure there was no one else on the beach. She didn't want to run into any human who knew her as Aaron or even Alaya.

[Rascal]

Artemis bobbed her head in greeting. Her tongue flicked in and out, smelling Alaya's hand. Never before had it been stained by anyone's blood but her own, or sweated against the metal of a blade. "False alarm." she hissed back to Rascal, who still wasn't listening. She looked over the girl's face and arms. There were no scars from battle that she could see. Her presence was calming, and Artemis relaxed a little more than she did around other strangers. Carefully, giving a wondering glance over to Alice, she slithered up the arm of the girl.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya stood careful not to harm the snake on her arm. "So what do they call you?" She asked the snake before looking over the the girl. She walked over to the oblivious human. there was a slight smile on her face as the sirens started to sing another song. Alaya hummed the tune as she walked. She looked down at the girl. "So what brings you to these shores?" She asked.

[Rascal]

Rascal leapt up from her lying position, clearly startled. She fell backwards, and scrambled up to her feet. First she caught sight of the woman's clothing and assumed that, of course, she must be a Siren. But then two things changed her mind. One: Those were men's clothes. And two: Artemis was on her arm. Rascal gave the snake a warning glance, to which the animal only flicked her tongue and shook her head. No danger. There couldn't be, if Artemis would freely climb onto her arm. Sure, she might let others hold her. But only when Alice was fully aware of everything going on around them. This was a first for the snake, and it puzzled the girl. "Artemis deserves some time outside..." she said, still adjusting herself back into the world and trying to comprehend just what was going on.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya watched the girl stumble, holding back a laugh. "Artemis, so that is your name" Alaya said respectfully to the snake. "And who might you be?" She asked turning her head back to the girl. "You don't look like a pirate, then again I could be wrong" She looked the girl over. She hadn't seen her before so maybe she was safe. No matter she would still keep her guard up just in case something happened.

[Rascal]

"Name's Rascal." she said cautiously. "And I'd never be as filthy a dirt bag as those hell-bound demons." her voice was rough, but a glare from Artemis told her that she should be polite to this person. Alice scowled back at the snake. Sometimes she wondered who was the master and who was the pet. Her or Artemis. The snake flicked her tongue again and slithered further up Alaya's arm, burrowing her head in the warmth of her hair. "What's your name?" Rascal asked.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya laughed this time at the girls comment about pirates. "Well some of us prefer to stay at sea and not be bothered with everything else going on" She stated. Alaya smile and looked at Rascal. "My name is Alaya, but for all other purpose you might just want to call me Aaron. Considering you most likely won't see me like this again" She looked out at the sea enjoying the cool water that still splashed over her ankles.

[Rascal]

"And some of you are just killers who go around murdering everyone's lovers." she said, but with another glare from Artemis as she popped her head out from beneath the woman's hair, Alice was quiet again. A little calmer, she asked, "Why do you pick a boy's name?" Clearly she was female, and it confused Rascal. Her own nickname was slightly masculine, but she hadn't chosen it. Everyone had given it to her, and that's the name that she gave when asked of a title. That was what the asker would end up calling her anyways.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya laughed. "It isn't a nickname. It is an alias. If your not a siren then you have to be a boy to be a pirate. Besides the pirates I know aren't killers" She said wondering what type of childhood this girl had to hate pirates so much. To many they were ruthless but for her it was an escape from the land to sea. If she wasn't one she would have a harder time coming home.

[Rascal]

"Nice alias." she said. "And you just wait. They'll prove you wrong. All pirates kill." Rascal frowned, but she wasn't being angry anymore. She waded into the water, the soft sand shifting beneath her feet. "What brings you here?" she asked, realizing that she had told Alaya her reasons, but she had yet to tell Alice of her own.

[Alaya Seawitch]

Alaya turned her attention to the Lagoon. "Sometime it is good to get away from the boys. They don't come here because of the Sirens that will steal their hearts and then their life" She said half laughing half longing to go to them. She loved the peace she felt here and the singing helped a lot.

[Rascal]

"They've been singing all afternoon." Alice said at the mention of the sea-women. "They do have pretty voices." though there was no need to state the obvious. Artemis nodded her head in agreement. "Why do they kill men?" she asked Alaya. It was then that she saw the likeness of the siren creatures and the Siren pirates. Both killed men. Innocent men. But Rascal said nothing, for once.