Rustlings. Yelps. The noises alerted her, reminded her that she was not the only one walking around in this woods – brought back to her the scent of horses. She was not alone!

So Syrena began to panic. She was not ready!! No no, this was not proper at all. Who would dare to approach her out in the open like this? Restless sea-water eyes flashed about as she tried to think about where she should go before settling in to fight instead of flee. If she were going to be attacked here in this strange wood she would make them pay for their mistake with their life. Without the waters near by her magic would be limited, surely, but it might yet still be enough. Yes their blood would be spilt and she would continue on the way things were supposed to continue on.

But before the deep warning noise in her throat became anything more than a small rumble, a white wolf appeared shortly followed by the stranger.

Oh, a mare! That was quite different.

All signs of aggression vanished in place of curiosity.

Of course she knew that there were mares not of her kind… but they were rarely seen. It had always been stallions that the sirens saw wandering about, hadn’t it? They had been the ones drawn to the inhabited bodies of water by the magic that compelled them closer and closer.

As far as she knew, the magic did not work on mares nor did she have any overwhelming desire to drown this soft-spoken mare and her… wolf friend. She even rather felt inclined to be friendly.

Reacting to the words that had been spoken, Syrena’s voice was gentle and distant as she wondered about this new land. “Helovia is it? I’ve not heard of it before.” Normally she cared little about the titles of the lands – her kind not one to pay attention to borders. They were beyond that, they had never settled for a permanent home.

With that name nonetheless floating around her mind now, she politely nodded at the introductions and this time when she spoke her voice was a little more certain. “It is a pleasure to meet you both.” Though she wasn’t sure how exactly to address a wolf, so she focused on the mare instead. A good, strong looking mare this Essetia was. It had always been taught to trust those of the same gender and Syrena saw no reason to deviate from that path. “My name is Syrena. I’m looking for… some water. A pond or somewhere I can make a nest.”

A small test? She wondered just how much Essetia knew about what was standing before her. Maybe nothing. Maybe this land had not yet been touched – and oh, wouldn’t that be just marvellous. Syrena relished the idea of being the very first.

Syrena

let the water take me