Edymond was leaving the room he frequented when he bumped into another frequent flyer. A man in a midnight black suit with a crimson tie.
"My apologies." Edymond murmured with a slight bow of his head. Edymond felt the tug in his heart and he froze, narrowly avoiding the man's piercing gaze. "The fault is mine, I'm late to meet a patient."
Edymond nodded, "I'll be on my way then."
"Nīṅkaḷ avaḷai kaṇṭupiṭittuviṭṭīrkaḷ. Avaḷ eppaṭi irukkiṟāḷ? (You've found her. How is she?)"
"Iḻantatu. Viraktiyaṭainta. Kōpam. (Lost. Frustrated. Angry.)"
Outside it looked like two associates exchanging small talk.
"Kāṭṭēriyaip pārkkac colluṅkaḷ. Avar taṉatu nōykkāṉa kāraṇattaik kaṇṭaṟiyalām. (Ask the vampire to see him. He may find the cause to his ailment.)"
Edymond watched the man walk away. The vampire? Why would he ask the vampire? What does he know?
***
"Wow, Angalo, still got it." Axel praised as his brother coaxed the mermaid into their home. Kain looked up from his book interested, Edymond was in the forest working on his arrows, Tyler, Myriah and Mika happened into the room to see the blonde beauty.
"Are you referring to this girl as a possession?" Mika asked astonished. Axel shook his head, "Axel is complimenting Angalos success." Atoli mirmured, "See, Angalo is another gifted vampire with the sway of compulsion." Atoli explained, "whats the difference?" Mika dismissed, "I've seen you compel massive groups without breaking a sweat." Atoli offered a warm smile, "While Axel is mentally and spiritually strong." She murmured, "Axels gifts come from his empathy of those around him. He has a way of analyzing, breaking down and reconstructing one's will. That's the secret behind Axels compulsion." Mika slowly nodded. "Angalo, on the other hand is a whole other beast. Where Axel can appeal to emotion and will, Angalo appeals to the very nature of someone. Angalo is very interpersonal and direct. Charismatic and charming. His allure is the secret to his compulsion." Atoli explained. "Axel can do rescue and extraction better than the best. However Angalo can infiltrate and extract one at a time."
Myriah nodded, "so Axel is a soldier while Angalo is a spy? Both highly dangerous but powerful in their own areas." Atoli nodded, "exactly. Angalo is a made politician while Axel is a born leader. They're two sides to the same coin."
Myriah finally found the courage to look at the blonde beauty, and she was taken to a blue land.
'Ocean...' Myriah thought as her eyes bore into the blonde beauty's. Her hair was like spun gold, cascading down her slim figure. Her milky skin resembled a supple peach.
'This girl is beauty incarnate....'
Myriah could say she stood head to head with the slim girl whose pink petal lips were shaped in a curious 'o'.
Myriah blinked when the blonde beauty's arm was roughly grabbed by Axel. "Control it." The onyx eyed vampire ground out, his tone left no room for argument.
"Axel-" Myriah whispered his name and his pitch black eyes glared into her own, "look." He murmured as he pointed to a drooling Tyler and a dazed looking Kain.
"Mermaids have what most call an 'allure'. It's how they hunt their prey." Myriahs eyes widened, "what do they-"
"Mermaids feed on life force in the same way that Vampires siphon human blood." Axel explained as the newest member of their house hold tilted her head, watching his every move. "This girl is the first halfling to exist." Angalo gestured to the blonde beauty, "half mermaid, half nymph." "You are saying that she is like me?" Myriah whispered as she caught the girls hands in her own, excited and full of hope for the first time since joining Axel and his family. The blue eyed girl had no time to register what was happening when The girl called 'Myriah' pressed her forehead to her own.
'Tell me... who you are...' The lavender eyed girls voice filled The mermaids head and her blue eyes closed as she opened her mind to the girl in front of her.
'My mother named me Syrena…' Syrena opened her mind and gave all she had to Myriah, lacing their fingers together. After all this girl had eyes like her own: lost and confused. Hurt and filled with anger… In her short time in this world since being violently ripped away from her parents, she had only seen eyes full of fear and hate... to see eyes that mirrored her own gave her hope. And hope was something she didn't want to lose after finally getting her freedom...
'Where I was born was blue and beautiful...' images of the crystal blue ocean graced their linked minds. A woman who resembled Syrena appeared in the images- 'that is my mother. A mermaid is what they called her.' A man who was chiseled and handsome appeared and folded the woman in his arms, 'my sire... they called him a forest spirit. A nymph" Myriah watched the intimate picture shift into a beautiful family picture of the woman holding a bundle and the man with his arms wrapped around the mother and child. Both were looking at the sleeping babe with nothing but content happiness in their eyes. 'This is the memory my mother and father imprinted on me. The day of my birth.' Myriah blinked as the blue images disappeared and her connection to Syrena was severed. "She was brought in as a baby. Sixteen years ago. A week after you got the fever, so did she." Angalo supplied. Myriah and Syrena held one another's gazes. "At first they were going to experiment on her, when her blood came back they found she was a hybrid. Hybrids haven't been around since before the war." Axel murmured. "They rarely survive the fever, especially without a healer."
"In Alexander's data, she doesn't need the life force of another to sustain her own life like the mermaids do. She can perform the siren song and she does have the allure of the mermaids." Atoli rattled off as she made her way into the room.
"Syrena." Myriah murmured the crest fallen girls name, making her perk up. "Her name is Syrena." Myriah repeated. Axel nodded and Atoli blushed. "Yes, of course..." the Vampiress murmured, "Syrena can harness the energy of plants and flowers as most earth and water nymphs can. She can also influence the water and the life in it as per her heritage." "In other words: Syrena is a live female version of aqua man. With the gifts of poison ivy." Tyler summarized as he walked into the room having been cleared from his haze. "That's the best way to think of it." Atoli replied.
"So what are we going to do with her?" Tyler murmured, "that's for her to decide." Myriah whispered as she once more took Syrenas hands in her own.
"Whatever you decide to do with your life… is completely your choice."
Axel watched Myriah cling to Syrenas hands. As if the girl was a lifeline that threatened to be severed.
Curious, he gently guided Syrenas face to his and pressed his forehead against hers.
Syrena, despite turning tomato red, closed her eyes and let him in. Myriah frowned but still held Syrenas hands. Axel pulled away moments later and patted her head.
"Rest, you've been through a lot." He murmured as he wondered from the room. Angalo followed him, while Edymond who had entered the room was shocked.
'What did the vampire see?' The elf wondered as the mermaid fell into Myriahs form unconscious. 'No… What did he even do?'