Who would actually seek out fire, even if it was harmless fire? Fire was hot and miserable like Tallsun, and after this season, she’d had enough of fire to last a life time. The Falls keeps breaking out in little wildfires. The scorching sun keeps leeching the water from her ponds and into the sky. And she keeps finding herself forced to move to different ponds, and eventually, forced into the river near the base of the waterfall. It’s about the only place left that is still more water than mud. And of course, Isopia’s personal little pool, not that Syrena can go there. Or right, not Isopia, the Mountain that Knows. Knows what? Well, that’s a whole different question. Chick was ruder than Synrea, which was saying something.

Today, she ends up shoreline near the heart of Helovia. Why? Great question, and she has no good answer. Because she was wandering along the shorelines of Helovia, as she always did, when she noticed a seal flinging a turtle in the air and stopped to watch. Death didn’t scare her, or make her sad. Wasting death was something to mourn, yes. But death that served a purpose? She can’t fault the seal for wanting to eat, to sustain itself. And to do so required death of some sort. Be it a creature that seemed more obviously alive, like a turtle, or something less obviously alive but still alive, like the grass they all crushed beneath their feet without a second thought.

For her part, she ate the grass. But once, grass did nothing for her. Once, she drowned her victims and stole their souls, the years they had left on their life adding to her own. It was not quite immortality, but it was close. And she never felt bad or sorry about those deaths. They served a purpose in the vicious circle of this life, and that was all anyone could ask for. Perhaps that made her a monster. Perhaps it simply made her practical. But either way, fate had a great sense of humor apparently, because she was no longer a predator. She’d joined the damned world of prey.

After a moment, she notices the mare nearby, also watching the seal. She looks slightly more distraught at this whole scene, particularly when compared to Syrena (who never wears any emotion on her face anyway). But hell, Syrena might just be making that up. She can’t actually read facial expressions all that well, or normal social cues, or anything else. For a moment, she debates turning and leaving, hoping the other mare hasn’t seen her. But no, that’s not the version of herself she’s trying to be. She’s trying to be social and nice and make something of this hellish life she’s stuck with. So instead, she says, “Hello.” Alright, so not exactly social butterfly level, but it was something.


les words "chat chat"

Syrena

let the water take me