"That was insane!" Narius practically screamed, looping through the water elegantly and coming to a stop just before slamming into Vahri who was still catching her breath.

"We can't go back there!" she panted, trying to become accustomed to the thin water around her, gasping more to deal with the changing oxygen levels in her lungs

They were still in shallow water but were covered perfectly by the shade of night that had fallen. But it would lift soon; life had begun to surge through the water, smaller fish beginning to come out of hiding. Dawn would soon be upon them

Narius just shook his head "We have to go back, Vahri. Those people, that place! It was wonderful…exhilarating!"

Vahri looked down at the sands beneath her. A few hundred metres ahead of them was the thin crack that would lead to their deep-sea crevice. She shuddered at the thought of crawling back into the dark forever.

"Let's go back" she smiled, gazing up at Narius "Let's go back, now"

He grinned at her "Yes! Vahri, this is brilliant" He grasped hold of her arms and squeezed her tightly but let go of her abruptly when she pulled away

"Vahri? What's wrong?" He looked at her, with his head cocked to the side.

She just shook her head "Narius, your eyes…"

Vahri couldn't explain what she was seeing. The milky white of his eyes was no longer solid. The very centre had a small amount of black fog in it. Just one circle in the middle, barely noticeable but from their close proximity, Vahri could see it beginning to break through the white that covered his entire eye.

When she told him all of this, Narius just shrugged it off and pulled her back towards laketown "I think you're hallucinating" he huffed

When they reached the town again, dawn had begun to break. Most people had returned home except for a few stragglers who were drunkenly lolling around loudly

In the pale light of rising dawn, Vahri and Narius could see a figure sat, dangling his legs over the edge of the outer pier. He hummed sadly to himself. He seemed cold in the night air but he had left his long brown coat beside him rather than wear it

"That's him" Narius whispered "The one who shoved us in the damned net!"

The two mer-folk swam silently beneath the pier and poked their heads up above the water, hiding behind the boys swinging legs as he glanced out onto the lake. Narius resisted the urge to yank the boy beneath the surface. He could still feel the raw edges where the scales had been rubbed raw by the old, fraying rope

"You stay here" Narius whispered beneath the surface "I'm going to check the safest way in. We don't have the cover of light anymore" And with that he disappeared below the surface and Vahri watched as the wake of water behind him stilled quickly

As he vanished into the main town, the boy began to quietly sing to himself. Vahri couldn't help but listen as his voice filled the air

The King beneath the mountains,

The King of carven stone,

The lord of silver fountains

Shall come into his own

His crown shall be upholden,

His harp shall be restrung,

His halls shall echo golden

To songs of yore re-sung.

The woods shall wave on mountains

And grass beneath the sun;

His wealth shall flow in fountains

And the rivers golden run.

The streams shall run in gladness,

The lake shall shine and burn,

And sorrow fail and sadness

At the Mountain-king's return

"You have the voice of a woman"

Vahri herself had been so entranced by the song and by trying to riddle its meaning that she hadn't heard Narius return from looking ahead. He had swum out in front of the boy and had popped his head out above the water to comment on his singing

The young man yanked his feet up above the surface with a yelp and in his hurry to get away from the male siren that had shocked him, he rolled backwards… off the other side of the pier

Vahri winced as she was splashed by the water and the boy emerged again after a few moments, coughing violently and trying to call for help

Narius only rolled his eyes as the boy scrabbled to get back onto the pier

"Need a hand?" he taunted

"No!" the human shouted, one leg on the pier, trying to pull the rest of himself up but he only toppled back in "Get away!" he cried

"Oh for the love of…" Narius rolled his eyes again "This is painful to watch"

Vahri, swam out from under the pier to get a better view and the boy shrieked again

"You're right" she muttered "Very undignified" Vahri folded her arms as they both watched the boy scrabble to get back onto the platform, which was a good foot and a half above surface level

He stopped struggling and trod water, turning to face the sirens and closing his eyes "Drown me if you want" he sighed in resignation "I'm not afraid of death. Or you"

Narius and Vahri just looked between themselves and reached forward, grabbing an arm each

The boy took a breath of air, prepared to be pulled below the surface before he gasped in surprise. The mer-folk had lifted him back onto the platform of the pier

"We're going to tell you this once" Narius folded his arms across his chest, ensuring to flex his muscles a little for added emphasis and perhaps just to intimidate the boy of slightly weaker build "We don't drown people"

Vahri tried to change the subject as the boy had begun to gape in surprise, his eyes not blinking and his mouth opening and closing "I'm Vahri and this is Narius"

"Tristan" the boy whispered, finally starting to come to his senses "I…err…" He sat up, slowly but leaned forwards on his knees to peer into the water at the two sirens

Narius smirked "Do you like the tails?"

"Don't tease the poor child" Vahri smacked his arm playfully

"I'm not a child" Tristan huffed "I'm 18"

Narius laughed "I'm over 200 years old"

Tristan just gulped audibly and scrambled up to his feet. He looked between the two beings in the water and shook his head. He bolted back along the pier and into the main part of town, disappearing from sight completely

"He left his coat behind…" Vahri sighed "We'd better return it"

Narius scoffed "You can do that. I'm going to explore"

And so the two split up with Narius swimming into the isolated centre of town and Vahri headed to where the boy had disappeared, seeking where his dwelling may have been if she had any hope of returning his belonging.

Vahri sighed in frustration as she tried to keep the coat above the water to ensure it remained dry. This could be an interesting morning