The ocean didn't seem bad. It seemed pretty tame as it lapped around Feliciano's toes, almost calming. If Lovino had seen him, Feliciano would have been dragged away and thoroughly lectured by his grandfather. As it was, Feliciano sat on the sand, watching the sun sink down beneath the waves.

Of course, it wasn't the ocean that was dangerous; it was the slithering things that lived in the water. Everyone had seen the carving outside of the docks—a huge, serpent like creature dragging a sailor down off his boat, the words ＢＥＷＡＲＥ ＴＨＥ ＳＩＲＥＮＳ emblazoned over the scene.

According to Grandpa, it hadn't always been like this. A few decades earlier, when the sirens still swam from fishing boats instead of tipping them over, children used to learn how to swim in the ocean, and coastal communities bloomed along the shore.

Feliciano sighed, wondering when Lovino and Grandpa would come home. The fishing boats had been gone for nearly a week now, and the whole town was beginning to worry. Still, this happened every month, so Feliciano wasn't too nervous. At least he could come down to the ocean when they were away.

"Hello, crab," Feliciano greeted, catching a hermit crab that had scuttled over his hand. "I bet that if Lovino was here, he would tell me to throw you back because you might try to pinch me. He really is a worry wart, and he yells an awful lot, but I think he just wants what's best for me. Goodbye," he finished, letting the crab continue on its way.

He watched the crab progress across the sand, until it scuttled around a conch shell. Feliciano let out a gasp, scrambling over on his hands and knees toward the shell. It was huge, bigger than his outstretched hand and the most beautiful shade of peach and creamy white.

"Oh, wow," Feliciano breathed, picking up the shell. "Wow, wow."

"Uh, hello."

Feliciano screamed, hurling the shell blindly at the water and throwing himself away from the waves. The voice had come from the water, he had heard it. But, looking now, he was the only one on the entire beach. And he had lost his shell.

A splash.

Feliciano stared in horror, realizing it had gotten too dark for him to see underneath the surface of the water. It took him a moment to realize that the shell had materialized back on the sand, the last fading rays of sunlight shining off the wet surface.

"Don't—"

Feliciano screamed again. Fear kept him rooted in place, eyes still fixed on the waves. He couldn't see a head, or any movement, but the voice definitely hadn't been his imagination. The seconds dragged by. Feliciano relaxed, slightly, and started to stand up.

"Can you see?"

He nearly screamed again, but he figured that if whatever was talking was going to kill him it would have already. What came out of his mouth instead was a half strangled sound. Feliciano stood uncertainly on the shifting sand, half ready to turn and run.

There was silence for a long time. Slowly, a glow approached the shore. A lantern filled with the brightest blue Feliciano had ever seen lifted out of the water, held by a very human arm. The man set the lantern on the sand before retreating slightly back into the ocean and the dark.

Only the sound of the waves.

"Is… Is that fire?" Feliciano finally managed to choke out, still standing.

"No. It's algae. We use it instead of fire."

"Are you going to eat me?" Feliciano whimpered.

"No."

"Are you a siren?"

This time the voice didn't answer. Feliciano slowly sat back down, eyes on the strange blue light. Slowly, ever so slowly, he crept toward the water on his hands and knees. He retrieved his shell. The siren had placed the lantern right behind the conch, and Feliciano thought he could just see a head. He remained near the light, watching the head.

"Do you like it?"

"The shell?" Feliciano looked down, running his hands over the bumpy outside of the conch. "It's very pretty. Did… Did you leave the other ones, too? The red one, and the one with the spots, and the white one that looks like glass? And the pearls?"

"Yes."

"Really?" Feliciano perked up, leaning forward over the lantern. "Why? Is it because you want to eat me? Because you're trying to woo me? And you know, how can you talk to me, because I thought you guys just looked like giant snake-fish."

The head moved closer, and Feliciano was surprised to see a normal looking blond man. It was shallow enough to see the man's arms and torso, though the rest of his body was hidden under the inky waves. The man made eye contact briefly before looking away, smoothing his hair out of his face.

"Oh, you look…" Feliciano let out a hum, watching the man. "If you're not going to eat me, my name is Feliciano. What's your name? Do sirens have names?"

"Ludwig."

"You don't talk much, do you?" Feliciano laughed, tapping the lantern. "You know, my brother always told me that sirens were evil. We have this big carving of one of you eating a fisherman, and all the little kids are scared of it. You wouldn't eat my brother, would you?"

The man almost looked amused. "No, I wouldn't. I only eat fish."

"Is that why you tip over our boats? Because we steal your fish?" Feliciano leaned closer, trying to see the bottom half of Ludwig.

"No. Not all of us agree with… Drowning humans." Ludwig shifted closer, resting on his stomach and stretching his arms out in front of him. His fingers were only a couple of inches away from Feliciano's foot. "You have a brother?"

"Lovino, and my Grandpa. This is so weird, because everyone in my town hates sirens, but I'm talking to you. If my brother knew, he would be so angry. But I guess he's not here, so… Do you have any brothers?"

"I—"

"Feliciano!"

Feliciano turned around, knocking over the lantern and dropping the shell. It was Lovino who had screamed, and he was currently sprinting across the sand, half hysterical. He slammed into Feliciano, forcibly dragging him away from the water. He kept screaming at the water, though Ludwig had long since disappeared.

"What is wrong with you?!" Lovino shouted, finally managing to kept Feliciano to his feet. "Do you want to get killed?! What were you thinking, talking to a—a—" Lovino grabbed Feliciano's arm and hauled him away, back toward town.

"Lovino, he was friendly," Feliciano tried, trying desperately to break free of his brother's grip, "He just wanted to talk, and he brought me a shell, and he had a lantern that glowed—"

"You're so stupid! Why do you think it was trying to talk to you? It wanted to kill you, Feliciano! How many time has Grandpa told you not to go to the beach? You think we're trying to be mean? We don't want you to die!" Lovino smacked the back of Feliciano's head, shaking his head. "Thank god we got back when we did!"

"Lovino!"

But his brother wouldn't have it. Lovino dragged Feliciano back home, where Grandpa proceeded to explain for the nth time how the ocean was dangerous, and how the sirens tipped over boats and drowned the fishermen. When Feliciano tried to explain that not all sirens killed people, Grandpa sent him to his room and barred the door.

...

Nearly a month later, Feliciano returned from the beach with a beautiful conch shell. No one in town knew where he had gotten it from.