The Sickened Whale was doing good business. A ship had returned to port, without much. And so, the sailors had gone to the bar to drink their night away. It was quite a group. They kept talking about how their ships failed to find good fish, or any fish at that. One large man started.
"It's those blasted sirens! They're stealing all our fish!"
"Then go after them! We know where they live!"
Another man slammed his drink down. "Why don't you go hunt them?" He pulled out a hand cannon, waving it in the air. An attendant walked over. The man saw this and holstered it.
The men at the table looked at him. "Son, have you ever heard a siren's call?"
"No, I've never been that far."
"Then you can't hunt them. The strongest man is the one who can hear the call, and resist."
"What do they even call about?" The man asked. The entire bar went silent as all the men stared at him.
"Sevron, have you even been on a ship?" A younger man asked, him concerned.
"Yes, Alex, of course I've been on a ship. What does that have to do with this?"
"Imagine, you're at sea for weeks. You haven't seen anyone except for your crew. For weeks. You're sweaty and gross and stink, and so do the men around you. What's the first thing you want?"
"A shower." Silence.
"That's it?"
"My own bed? A new book to read? What am I supposed to say?" Sevron asks, clearly confused. Alex stands up.
"Okay, you see a woman sitting on a rock, alone."
"Okay?"
"You don't do anything?"
"No, why would I?" Alex stares at Sevron.
"How do I say this?" Alex inhaled sharply.
"OH. Oh no. Oh no no no no." Sevron cringed. "Why? That's so gross!"
"Ew, no." Sevron raised his shoulders in. The growing audience continued to stare.
"What."
"I don't want..." Sevron cringed again, "that."
"Why not? It's great!"
"Is it? What about a good book, what about any of your first catches, what about the moment when you see land again after a storm, or standing on the crow's nest and seeing the open ocean spread out before you?" Alex pauses. "What about that." Sevron pants. "No wonder you all get lured into the siren's trap."
"You, you don't want any of that?" Alex started.
"No?" Sevron says, confused. "And I don't know why any of you would want it." He stands up and walks up to the door.
"You mean, you see those sirens, and you *don't* want to y'know..." He trailed off.
"No!" Sevron says, concern and confusion in his voice. "Those are literal monsters. They have killed people before? Why would you?" Sevron looked around the bar. "Wait. WAIT. You mean-" His eyes widened in realization. "Oh, come on! Are you serious? That's gross. That's so gross." Sevron shook his head. "Y'know what, I'll be back in a couple days. The sirens will be gone."
***Several Days Later***
The Sickened Whale was doing good business, mostly because of Sevron. He had promised to remove the sirens, and everyone expected him to fail. He was going to come back to this bar, and promised to bring in a siren's head. The owner decided to take all drinks half off, because of just how many people there were. Suddenly, the door was kicked open by none other than Sevron, holding a dripping siren head. The bar was silent. Then, the entire building erupted into cheers. Sevron made his way through the crowd to a table where Alex sat.
"Hi." He punctuated the end of his sentence with the siren head, landing on the table. "You bet against me."
"I did, but I did expect you to return."
"That part was right."
"So didn't even try?"
"I did not. That sounds unpleasant, to say the least."
"If you say so." Alex took a sip from his mug. "So, what're you gonna do now?"
"I think it's time to go, honestly." Sevron put the siren head into his bag, stood up, and waved to the crowd. "Goodbye everyone, you all are weird, and I'm honestly concerned! Bye!" He waved, sigils forming in the air. They combined, forming an ethereal doorway. He walks through.
