Never heard of a siren? Essetia admitted that she wasn’t sure she knew that Syrena meant, which was oddly delightful. She wondered just how much she was going to be willing to share with this one. Would she tell it all, eager to push the limits and see just how much it would take for the invitation to the Hidden Falls to be revoked? “Monsters, Essetia, my family are monsters. Stories used to scare foals but where I come from – they exist.” She was so in love with the idea of introducing that entire world to someone that there was hardly even any passion in her voice, just calm explanations. She craved Essetia’s shock and most of all her awe. Syrena did not know she could want so much from another, yet here she was – being led into a strange land untouched by the magic she knew.

The little tidbit about the souls seemed to be particularly shocking, and Syrena had to do her best not to show her own discomfort – to not let her own hooves stumble on the rocky pathway. Was it really that strange? Surely it would make her work a little easier if it was unexpected but… Syrena hadn’t been expecting to be the only omnivore. “It’s a magic we do.” She was quick to explain when prompted about what would possess her to consume souls. “As a siren, or a kelpie, we live in ponds – we’re tied to a body of water because that is where our food source is. We eat the vegetation, yes, but we drown others to stay young – the life we take from them flows into us and we get the years they would have lived.”

Dark grey eyes watched her companion for a reaction, utterly confused as to why this would be a shock. It was natural. “It’s the way I was built to survive.” Predators, in whatever shape they took, provided balance to the world. Syrena may indeed have more in common with a spider than she did with the mare currently leading the way along a tricky path, but she could not live among spiders or converse with them. For whatever reason her form was primarily equine so it was among them she was more likely to be accepted.

Though she had to wonder if, perhaps, Essetia wasn’t feeling quite so accepting anymore. She found that, in this moment, one thing that she did not crave from Essetia was the other mare’s discomfort. “You’re in no danger from me, Essetia. Males are my targets.”

For a brief moment, she considered offering the promise to not hunt within the Hidden Falls as a sign of respect for Essetia but… well, perhaps a little later in their conversation. She had mentioned it was a peaceful land and, certainly, she had a couple questions that she could ask about it but there was one she most wanted to bring up in this moment. “Are there many of them around here?” The question was asked in an innocent voice but the accompanying smile was wicked.

A poor joke, though the scaled mare was quite amused.



@[Essetia]

Syrena

let the water take me