Forest Overture III

"Sin..." Seth only muttered the name in disbelief. He cupped the tip of his chin, pondering. A strange name, he thought, and then he shrugged. "I'm Seth. A dragoon and dragon tamer of Scaleshire. Nice to meet you, Sin!"

"I didn't ask who you are," was all Sin responded as he began playing again. A gentle breeze picked up, and Seth hummed softly with a smile. The funny thing Seth noted this time was that Sin played with his eyes closed. Supposedly any masterful musician didn't need to see what they were doing, so long as their fingers were familiar, but something about it, well, everything about this person struck him as an oddity.

"I was just being polite. I don't mean any harm to you, I promise."

No response. Sin only continued playing.

"You said humans shouldn't be able to hear you. That means you aren't human yourself, right?" He stepped closer and it was then he noticed scales on the man's arms and legs. Gils was on his neck. Seth gazed in awe at him, eyes wide in amazement. "Music. Scales. Hmmm..." He brought a hand to cup around his chin again and looked Sin up and down for a moment. "Wait- are you a siren?! Did your music bewitch me or something?!" Concerned for a moment, his hand reached for his spear in the sand beside him.

The music came to an abrupt halt and Sin opened his eyes. "Certainly not." Sin's demeanor hardly changed as he raised his bow and resumed strumming softly, playing just a few notes while tuning his fiddle. "There is no such thing as a male siren. Even if there were, sirens live at sea and lure sailors to Death with their voice!"

"Well then what are you? Answer me, already! No one is even supposed to be out here! The whole kingdom is on a witch hunt. So unless you're what we've been looking for then it might be best for you to put your clothes on and go home!"

Sin only glanced up at Seth and then continued playing. "This is my home. Now if you're finished, leave me be and go back to your hunt if it's so important."

"The hell'd you'd just say?" Seth jumped to his feet and grabbed his spear, readying himself. "This isn't the time for games. Get out of the water right now or else I'm coming in after you! Ya hear? I'm not messing wi- "

"Seth?! Seth IS THAT YOU?"

A familiar voice thundered. Behind him, coming from the forest thicket, Leon was heading right for them and fast, panting and tumbling face-first into the dirt. Twigs snapped as they rolled over, brushing themselves off. Seth's attention was taken away from Sin to see Leon planting himself at the edge of the grass, eating sand. His salamander slowly emerged right after, sniffing the air before giving a soft bark in Seth's direction.

"Oof, ugh. Seth...hey. Glad I finally found you," Leon panted as he picked himself back up. "Who were you talking to, anyway?"

"What do you mean? I'm trying to get this guy here to…" When he looked back at the river there wasn't anyone in sight. Only the circles of gentle ripples and bubbles spouted from where Sin had been standing.

"Some imaginary friend of yours? An old fae of legend, perhaps?" Leon chuckled as he rested an elbow on Seth's shoulder. "No one's here but us."

"What? No! I saw it. There was this guy and he was naked and-" he spoke in a sporadic, hysterical fashion, looking back and forth between Leon and the river as he pointed his lance about. "He was standing right on those rocks and playing music - a fiddle - and then he was walking on the water and he just...he…"

"...and what?"

"...." Seth was at a loss for anything else to say.

"Well, I haven't been hearing anything but night owls this evening. Maybe you should have your eyes checked. Visit the cleric when we get back to make sure you weren't cursed or something, alright?"

"Stop messing around! I know what I saw!"

"A naked man playing the violin while walking on water?" It sounded absurd when it came out of Leon's mouth, even more so with his arms crossed over his chest. "That's still hardly threatening; more bizarre than anything else."

"I'm telling you, he was real!" Seth was becoming exasperated. "I heard his music and followed it here!"

Caught up in their argument, neither of them noticed Sal trotting to the river bank's edge, staring at the waterfall. He sniffed the air again, scanning the area as if trying to hone in on something unseen. "Grawwwww," he said roared softly.

"Well right now I wish you'd follow my voice back to the castle!" Leon shook his head and sighed for a moment. "Come on. It's late and we're both tired, aren't we? Even if it was real, this guy just sounds like a weirdo and that's not what we're looking for." He looked behind him towards the forest trail and then immediately spun back around, spotting his companion close to the water.

"H-HEY! Sal! Get back here! Don't go too close to the water like that! It's dangerous!" Quickly, Leon dashed ahead, past Seth to hoist his salamander a safe distance from the water. Yet, the minute he let go Sal only scurried back, sniffing out the air. "Graw! Grawwwww!" he roared softly.

"What's gotten into him?" Seth asked, a little perplexed.

"Don't know. Maybe he just senses danger." Leon laughed for a second. "Maybe he can sense your fiddler closeby!"

"Stop doubting me! I'm telling you, Leon, he's real!"

"Look, let's just get going. It'll be daybreak soon and we're going to be late. I want a drink more than anything else right now." Leon was determined, taking the first step to lead everyone home. "Sal! We're leaving. Come!"

It was unsettling for Seth, taking one last pan over the waterfall and the rocks before he turned to follow Leon and Sal back into the forest. He was gritting his teeth as he closed the lid of his helmet and marched forward. One hand curled into a fist and the other gripped tight around his lance as they walked. "What was all that? Did I imagine it all?" he thought.

The wind picked up again, sending a refreshing breeze over them both.

Seth's ear twitched and his attention was immediately snatched. He turned to gaze back down the trail leading to the falls. He could hear it again - the sweet music from earlier, only now being played on a different instrument. The dragoon's breath quickened and his heart skipped a beat. "Leon!" he called forward. "Do you hear anything?"

Leon looked back with an annoyed, pouty expression on his face. "Hear what?" He paused to focus, humoring his friend with a moment to at least try to listen. "All I hear is the wind! Com'on, Seth. You must have hit your head or something." Another step and Leon tumbled to the forest floor, tripping. A root appeared to have been in his path.