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Tucked between the mountains where the Ice Tribe has resided for centuries, Felicia watches as the sun crawls ever higher into the sky, its beams so graciously illuminating the valley she calls home. Each day, the soft rays greet her and her people earlier and earlier, signaling the shift from winter to spring, and eventually summer. Such a season never lasts long, given their northerly climate. Nevertheless, Felicia spends every free opportunity appreciating the changing landscape before her, especially now, amidst the quiet of the morning.
As the ice of the lake groans beneath her feet, Felicia recalls the responsibility her father, Chieftain Kilma, had assigned to her the night previous. Being the more physically capable one between her and her twin sister, he had entrusted the observation of the ice floes to her. It is a necessary task this time of year, given the rising temperatures. No matter the weather, the Ice Tribe relied on the ice surrounding their home for countless day-to-day needs. Keeping track of where the ice had grown thin or spotting potentially bountiful hunting spots was of the utmost importance to ensure her people's well-being and nourishment. So had her father taught her, year after year as she and Flora followed in his footsteps. Felicia had listened adamantly to his words of wisdom in her younger years; had tried to mimic his every move when she finally became old enough to shadow him as he carried out his chieftain responsibilities.
Now, after many seasons spent training diligently to be able to recognize what to look out for, it is her chance to demonstrate her ability to stand on her own two feet and support those she cares for most dearly.
With a resolve to aid her people that stands in equal measure to her sister, Felicia bids the sunrise farewell, turning on her heel and beginning her cautious travels along the still snowy riverbank that runs northwest towards the sea.
Cloaked in the warmest clothes she could find in her trunk just before dawn broke that morning, Felicia observes that much of the ice remains intact, the clear blue surface not yet yielding under her weight as she zigzags across the river. It is one of the boons of living so far inland; sea ice consistently melts faster given the always moving currents, whereas the ice surrounding her home rarely ever disappears completely. Such conditions make it all the more vital to stay on top of how quickly the ice was melting, Felicia knows. One wrong step and anyone from the Ice Tribe could find themself taking a swim in the shallow yet frigid waters below. Without fail, such an incident occurs at least once each time the seasons change.
Perhaps, Felicia thinks, determined to not miss a singular detail during her inspection, this would be the one year such a fate is avoided.
It is not until she has trekked just over three quarters of an hour away from her village that Felicia notices the ice has started to grow thin in places. Now a stone's throw away from the mouth of the river, she watches as the ice flows much more freely, drifting further into the distance than her eyes can see. It is accompanied by the sight of her breath as she exhales into the frigid air, the feeling of the breeze chilling the apples of her cheeks, the sound of the river's swift current as it rushes nearby, and the refreshing scent of pine trees standing tall around her.
Captivated by the natural beauty and life of the world before her, the soft melody of an enchanting voice carried on the wind to her ears almost does not seem out of place.
It is not until the sound of an ice floe cracking away from the main sheet echoes throughout the area that Felicia breaks free from the daydream she had gotten lost in upon hearing the tune. Slapping the leather palms of her gloves to her cheeks to wake herself up a little more, she then forces her feet to move, keeping a safe distance from the roaring river while simultaneously seeking out the mysterious songstress. It originates from further down the river, she discerns, as she carefully weaves past pine branches heavy with snow. Any day now these trees would be freed from their icy prisons, the frozen condensation already melting under the gaze of the warm sun. One wrong move and an entire tree's worth of snow would come tumbling down with a deafening thud , Felicia knows, doing her best to avoid such a fate.
Finally reaching the edge of the densely packed forest which straddles the river on either side, Felicia takes one long look at the landscape before her. It is there, thirty feet away and curled up on the still frozen riverbank, that Felicia spots the one possessing such a spellbinding voice. While she had been expecting a human like herself, she feels no fear as she notices a tail instead of two legs. The bright blue scales glimmer in the sun like jewels, while her feathery tail swishes back and forth in the river's current. The creature faces away from her, staring off into the distance as she hums her song. It is as captivating as the natural world around her, and unlike any Felicia has heard sung to her as a lullaby in her youth. It compels her to stay, rooting her in place like the trees she seeks cover behind, causing her to lose track of time while she observes the performance unfolding before her.
Felicia pays no mind to the strong gust of wind that rushes past her, too enthralled by the siren's song to feel its blustering chill. A surge of dread does wash over her, however, as the tree next to her thunders with a familiar incessant creak. The scream she lets out blows her cover completely.
"WAHHH!! No no no no nooo!!!" Felicia jumps out of the way just in time, avoiding being buried under several feet of half-melted, bone-chilling snow. When she looks up after breathing her sigh of relief, two fluorescent yellow eyes stare back at her.
"Who goes there?" The creature asks, letting go of the strands of her azure-hued hair that she had been weaving into a braid while singing. Felicia stammers. The siren speaks again.
"Were you watching me?"
"I-I-I...Sorry! Yes!" Felicia bows apologetically, her long ponytail falling over one of her shoulders as she begs for forgiveness. "I hadn't intended to! Please, spare my life!"
The siren laughs. "Do you think I eat humans?"
"Do you...not?"
"Is that what you've been told?"
"That's what all the stories say," Felicia confesses, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. "Father always warned that sirens were dangerous creatures. They lure you in with your song, then—"
"—then drag you into the depths?" The creature finishes the other's thought. As she hears her observer gulp, a knowing smirk inches across her face. "Despite knowing this, you still sought me out so you could listen to me sing."
"I...I could not help myself." Felicia feels the blush warming her cheeks. Beneath the layers of fabric she is dressed in, her heart beats with the strength of a drum. "I had been taking a break to admire the landscape...As I listened closer, I couldn't help but believe your voice was waking up the earth from its long winter's slumber."
The sound of the siren's laugh tinkles like wind chimes blowing gently in the breeze, Felicia takes note. From the way her hair shimmers in the sunlight to the rhythmic swishing of her tail, Felicia knows she is imbued with a magic far more ethereal than any she has previously witnessed before.
"What is your name?" She finally dares to ask, cautiously taking a step closer. Relief washes over her when the creature decides to answer, rather than create more distance between them.
"They call me Azura where I am from, though many humans know me as no more than the songstress who basks on the shore." Eyes of yellow amber aglow, Azura welcomes Felicia closer, patting the ice beside her in invitation. "And contrary to your belief, my song has nothing to do with spring."
"Oh..." Sensing no immediate danger from Azura, Felicia takes her seat. She watches as Azura begins to braid her hair once more, her slightly webbed fingers and elegantly painted nails working carefully to detangle the strands and resume her progress of weaving them together. "What is your song about then?"
Azura takes a few moments to think before she answers, humming a few of the notes as she looks out over the river. "It is a song of rejuvenation, I suppose. How life is in a constant flux of change, and how it is up to each person to decide which path they will walk as time flows ever onward. Much like this river we find ourselves at now."
"That sounds like it could be a song for spring to me." Felicia giggles, reclining the slightest as she leans back and puts her weight on her wrists. "No matter how much the Ice Tribe relies on the ice, it will always melt every year when winter turns to spring. And this year I'm responsible for observing it, so that my people can decide the best course of action for the coming months."
"Ah, so that is why you found me all the way out here," Azura muses. "My apologies for distracting you from your work."
"N-no, it's okay! Like I said, I was taking a br— WOAH! "
Absorbed as she was in her conversation with the siren, Felicia had neglected to notice how the extra weight she was placing on the edge of the ice floe had caused it to detach from the edge of the riverbank. Now reclining on less stable ground, Felicia loses her balance, hands meeting the frigid current of the river as she begins to tumble backwards. On instinct, she shuts her eyes, believing she is about to meet a drenched and icy fate.
To her surprise, it never comes.
"Are you alright?" Felicia hears Azura ask, the siren's voice resonating with the same magic as when she sings. Felicia finds that entrancing pair of yellow amber eyes staring back at her again when she finally musters the courage to open her own. Now, the siren's expression is laced with concern. It is then that Felicia feels the thick weight of Azura's tail wrapped around her middle, and the sharpness of her nails digging into her skin despite the layers of fabric separating them.
Azura had saved her.
"Y-yes, t-thank you," Felicia admits. She watches as Azura breathes her own sigh of relief, her lips a mere fraction away from her own as they precariously balance on the ice floe that is slowly carrying them down the river. Loose strands of Azura's hair drape around them both like a curtain, granting them a moment of privacy from the rest of the world.
Adrenaline rushing through her veins, Felicia blurts out the thought she has kept quiet since she first laid eyes on the siren.
"You have a beautiful soul, Azura."
Seeing Azura's eyes widen in astonishment reminds Felicia of her current predicament. The worry she feels over having made a social blunder is quickly dispelled, however, when the chime of Azura's laugh echoes in her ears once more.
"You are a funny human, Felicia. I quite like the clumsy honesty you have about you." As carefully as she can, Azura drags Felicia away from the edge of the ice floe, unraveling her tail from around the other's abdomen once they are both safely in the middle. Felicia peels off her wet gloves and lets them rest on the ice, bringing her hands to her mouth in hopes of warming them. The ice floe floats slowly down the river, following a leisurely path as the current rocks them gently from side to side.
"Hopefully you don't mind joining me for a bit of a ride," Azura jests, looking over her shoulder to her newfound companion.
With the sound of the siren's song once more drifting through the air, Felicia could not think of a more enjoyable way to spend the early spring morning.