------------ Osiro ------------

Riding comfortably in her sheath, Osiro thought about what she would have to do when they eventually, inevitably, meet the Siren.

“Hmm… maybe if I turn into a spear really quickly…?” She thought out loud.

It could work, but she would have to bank on the chance that the Siren didn’t kill Dangou before she closed in to eat him. Or perhaps in the middle of their love making? No, Osiro screwed her face in disgust. She’d rather not have to witness something like that.

In the midst of her pondering, Dangou’s footsteps slowed to a halt. Realising that they had reached the destination, Osiro peeked* out from her sheathe and considered their surroundings.

Unexpectedly, the floor of the cavern was now covered by lush, exotic furs (mostly in the colour pink) and the walls hanged full of gold and silver heart-shaped trinkets. The air was thick with the smoke of incense and mounted fire pits ensured that the area was well lit. Finally, just slightly ahead of where Dangou had stopped, stood a small wooden doorway guarded by two particularly adorable puppy statuettes, with each carrying a sign that combined to say ‘Ms. Slithertongue’s Establishment’.

Osiro silently approved. If anything, this Siren’s sense of décor was certainly on point.

As Dangou walked up and knocked on the door, Osiro quickly slid back into the safety of her scabbard.

“Come on in!” said a high-pitched voice, “Although you’re uninvited, I did just finish baking some muffins!”

Dangou obeyed and crouched to enter the dwarf sized doorway, accidentally bumping his head on the way.

As they entered the room, Osiro was instantly hit with the sweet aroma of freshly baked pastry. Inside the room, she resisted the urge to see what their nemesis looked like and kept silent, listenning closely.

“So this is what you look like…” The siren said, sounding bemused, “Quite a handsome young man, aren’t you?”

Her voice was young, high-pitched and immature. Usually these qualities would be accompanied with quite a frail and petite body, but with a Siren, Osiro couldn’t be sure.

“Hmm…” The siren continued, humming and mauling over something on her mind, “You know… you can stop pretending to be charmed now that you’re here.”

Osiro fought back a gasp. Had Dangou been faking it all this time? No, no way. She couldn’t believe it.

But Dangou didn’t move.

The siren pouted, then giggled mischievously.

“We’re going to keep acting are we?” she teased, “Then how about this!”

Then suddenly without warning, the monster charged forward, took a firm grasp of Dangou’s arm and attacked without mercy.

------------ Dangou ------------

Standing at the entrance of the cavern, Dangou considered his options when fighting a beast such as the Siren. He recognised that they were powerful monsters, but physically he was quite certainly stronger, and mentally… well he didn’t know.

As music came funnelling toward him from the depth of the Siren’s Nest, he quickly formulated a plan. Casting a simple discrete spell** to protect his ears, he figured that the best approached was to approach slowly, pretending to be caught in the Siren’s trance and striking when an opportunity arose. Unfortunately, now that they were in the Siren’s domain, he couldn’t afford to tell Osiro the plan as Sirens have incredible sound detection besides their wonderful voices. So, she’ll just have to worry until they reached the nest.

------------ Dangou ------------

-In the Siren’s room-

The Siren, as Bor had mentioned, was indeed quite attractive. Or rather, cute, was the better description.

The little monster stood at shoulder height, had an exuberant crop of shiny black hair, big innocent eyes and a perky mouth which seemed to be made solely for pouting. It was young, in its late teens at most, Dangou guessed, but its every movement was alluring and suggestive.

As she spoke, Dangou made sure to maintain the spells on his ears which protected his freedom. But surprisingly, the Siren seemed rather friendly, at the very least not hostile. And by the way, was that seriously the aroma of freshly baked muffins he smelt?

Every new thing this encounter threw at Dangou had him more and more confused. But before he could shake aside his uncertainty, the Siren jumped, clutching his sword arm with a powerful grip and… began tickling him.

At first, Dangou struggled furiously against the urge to crack, but as the Siren increased the intensity of her assault, a smile slowly, but surely, emerged on his effort induced, beetroot red face. The little monster, however, was relentless, obviously unsatisfied with a mere smile. She allowed no breaks and continued her merciless barrage until at last, Dangou cracked, giggling and struggling as forced tears of laughter streamed down his face.

“Alright!” The siren declared, grinning in victory, “What do you want with me and my home?”

Realising that his spell had been broken, Dangou quickly covered his ears.

The little girl frowned.

“Seriously?”

“You look stupid.”

Admitting the truth in her words, Dangou reluctantly sighed and let down his hands in defeat.

“Righto!” The Siren smiled, celebrating with a fist pump, “Now, let’s introduce ourselves like civilised beings, shall we?”

Dangou nodded..

“Dangou Sheen, former Queensguard of the Empire.” He said, with a hint of sadness.

“Oooo Queensguard…” The siren commented, then proceeded to introduce herself, “I’m Eadrid Slithertongue, um… current resident of the Everglade Springs.”

Dangou chuckled.

“Nice to meet you Ms. Slithertongue.” He bowed and smiled.

Eadrid quickly bowed in response, blushing slightly at the use of her last name.

“S-so!” she stuttered and dipped her head politely, “For what reason did you come to visit?”

“Umm…” Dangou scratched his head, “We only wanted some water from the spring.”

“Oh!” The Siren smiled, “Is that all?”

Biting his lips in uncertainty, Dangou finished his explanation.

“…and to exterminate the Siren who destroyed Oakenbrew.”

“Oh.”

Eadrid looked obviously disappointed as she stepped back and sat on her pink décor bed.

“Sure.” She nodded, “That sounds reasonable.”

“Would tha-“ Dangou started.

“Just wait a bit.” Eadrid cut-in, smiling sadly, “Let me get some snacks and tea, we can talk as we eat.”

------------ The Siren’s Nest (2) End ------------

*Osiro can only see from the blade of her body, not the hilt! The more you know…*

**Yes! Dangou CAN cast spells! Wow!!!**