Private Tales Coasting Along

[Acteon Cass]

The Cortosi coast is one of the highest trafficked trading lanes in the world. Ships laden with goods ranging from exotic spices to rich silks to the most refined of metals and woods. There was nothing you couldn't find with in its waves trying to get from one place to another in this western part of the world. But that also made it filled with dangers. Pirates and storms often trapped fresh sailors as well as the experienced with in the many islands that called the coast home.

Acteon had taken the portal stone near Alliria to the one between Vel Anir and Falwood. He needed a ship and it was near the sea. A strange letter had come his way about a relative of his mother's passing away and it seemed he, or rather her children, were entitled to some kind of inheritance. He just had to go in person to receive it. An odd request but not unheard of within the noble community of the Cortosi coast. So he took a ship towards his before unheard of relative.

======

Acteon hated boats. They were vital but the rocking was frustrating. He just wanted to walk along the deck and get some fresh air outside of his cabin before he locked himself in for the full moon night. But no. He had to look like a fool trying to adjust to the sway back and forth of the ship in the waves. It was only big ships he had these issues with. Rowing a boat or moving along a river boat he was fine. Him on these ocean bound vessels and he hated his life deeply.

The good news for the near sea sick man was that one of the sailors called out land. A smallish island, at least in the context of it was still big enough to earn a place on more global maps, had come into view to the west. A good sign. Trundling about like some kind of court jester, Acteon approached the nearest sailor.

"Are we going to land soon to resupply?" The Allirian asked truly wishing for a yes.

"No. The islands around here are not lived on. Still a couple days out for a resupply." The sailor responded before getting their next task yelled at them.

Acteon scowled hearing the news and just anchored himself on the side of the deck. He hated sea ships but at least they were not riddles.

 

[Andromeda]

Today, men were going to die.

Andromeda had ignored the call of the sea and her hunger for too long. The thought that she was about to drag men to their death barely bothered her anymore. She tried to target ships that might benefit her fellow pirates or herself - once, she had attacked a merchant ship simply because it was ferrying some tea she particularly liked and that was incredibly hard to get a hold of. Or sometimes it was because someone on the ship had annoyed or insulted her. Today it was the latter.

Several members of the crew of the ship she was following had insulted her new friend. A friend. Such a thing was rare for Andromeda - it was hard making friends when your very voice could make people do things they might not necessarily want to do. But this man had discovered what she was and had still sat and drunk wine with her. Perhaps a little more wary but they had enjoyed each others company. That was, until the crew of this ship had began bothering them. The flip side to her gift was always that men felt they deserved her attention. In fairness, her voice made them crave it. But most could control themselves enough to respect her when she said no. These hadn't. In fact, not only had they ignored her but they had attacked her friend. That wouldn't stand.

Ann had casually followed them to the docks and then slid into the ocean when they were a little way out. She was faster than their lumbering ship so she took her time, keeping her form hidden by swimming along the seabed amongst the brightly coloured weeds and reefs. As the men finished their main duties and settled into their more relaxed rolls Andromeda made her move. The man who had caused her the most aggro was leaning over the ships rail having a smoke. As if it were the most normal thing in the world she broke the surface and smiled. The man froze for a moment but, as was the case with most of their kind, he didn't want to leave. She disappeared back beneath the waves and popped up again where the ship was lower in the water so they could almost touch. He scrambled over himself in an attempt to follow her and she smirked to herself.

"Do you need a hand, ma'am, did your ship sink?" his voice had that edge that they all took. Dreamy, lost. He was already gone. She shook her head and used the rail to pull herself slightly out the water. The smoke dropped from his lips as he took in her slender form and realised what exactly he was dealing with. Before he could move she touched his hand and spoke.

"Would you like to join me for a swim?" her voice was powerful on land but the water, it strengthened it. He crumpled to his knees, a sheen covering his eyes. "It's awfully lonely down here," a soft sigh as he angled his face close to hers, the need a clawing thing inside of him. "The quickest way is by sailing onto those rocks. You don't want to leave me alone do you? Come to me."

As it turned out the man she had chosen was actually in charge of ensuring the ship stayed on its course. With her voice flowing through his mind he walked on auto pilot back to the wheel and began to turn the ship towards the rocks. Andromeda ducked back beneath the waves and swam ahead, setting herself up amongst the sharp and dangerous reef he was about to wreck his ship off.

Noting the subtle change in the prow of the ship her lips twitched and she began to sing so that everyone on board would hear her sweet melody.

 

[Acteon Cass]

Life was pain and torture. Acteon was getting close to throwing up his meager breakfast over the side of the deck. He was irritated, nauseous, and hungry. The period right before the full moon was always the worst for him in his human form. On land he would just eat more meat, avoid people who might piss him off, and just generally indulge his instinctive whims in the safest way possible. Out at sea he had none of those options and now he was also getting sea sick from how much more sensitive he was to the little things like sounds, smells, and movements.

Then the ship suddenly jerked as the one at the wheel shifted their course. Along with the change in direction came his last bit of resistance against everything coming up. He held onto the railing for dear life as he spewed everything in him up. A confusion of the sailors erupted around him while this went on then suddenly singing seemed to just come from no where. Well for those with less sensitive ears it was from no where but for those like Acteon it was clearly coming from a rather deadly out cropping of razor sharp rocks away from the island they originally were heading close to.

This sudden musical moment had all the sailors go from shocked and confused to unnaturally calm and focused. Acteon felt something pulling on the back of his mind, a new urge from deep inside, but it was drowned out by the thousand other instinctive urges he had before a full moon. All hands began to go about getting the ship ready to move even faster towards the rocks, and the Allirian didn't like that.

Acteon got himself as righted as he could. He hadn't brought much with him on this trip aside from an extra pair of clothing to alternate between while traveling. This meant he pretty much had everything on him already. The thought of getting everything else he needed from his cabin crossed his mind, but the ship immediately picking up speed as the sails were righted to catch the wind changed his mind.

The Reachman got himself over the rail and leaped into the sea. The water was safer right now that a ship full of possessed sailors. After surfacing, Acteon got his bearings sorted out. Heading in a north east direction the ship he had been on already was beginning to rip itself apart on rocks hidden just under the surface. To his west, although not in a particularly comfortable swimming distance away was the uninhabited island. Every other direction was open water. He had no choice and so began to head west.

========

Minutes or hours since his little swim began, Acteon drug himself up onto the beach of the island. His body was exhausted from puking only to immediately swim miles right after. How much time it took to reach the safety of the shore he couldn't say but the day was closer to night than morning now. Wonderful. The only good thing was if the place did lack any sort of people then he could transform into a wolf without having to worry about his secret getting out. He could just run around and eat whatever little critter called the place home until the sun rose the next morning....

With that last thought in mind, Acteon drifted off into sleep as his body frantically attempted to repair itself following the unprepared marathon it had just endured.

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

People like to think that drowning is a peaceful way to die.

If she were the caring sort, she might have agreed to ease their fears but in truth it was an agonising death. Not only do you have the burning sensation as your lungs begin to fill with water but you also have to deal with the panic of feeling yourself die. Every breath brings that death closer and quicker to you, but there is nothing you can do to fight that primal instinct to seek oxygen to push out the water already in your lungs. The doomed cycled repeats and repeats until finally you die. Imagine, therefore, how much worse it is when you do not even have control of your body to fight your way to the surface and save yourself. No, instead you are locked in your own mind, screaming at yourself to swim for the surface as your body willingly gets dragged down to the depths by a beautiful woman.

That was the death that met every sailor on that boat.

Except, it appeared, for one.

After her feast Andromeda had lazily made her way to the closest shore, tired and sated for the first time in a long while. She truly had pushed her hunger too far this time, the edges of what was safe. Tonight she was going to sleep well and in peace. The transformation as her fins grazed land was a quick but painful one. The sound of a gentle swish of the tail against the sand was replaced with the padding of delicate feet. She dumped the soaking wet bag she carried with her when swimming onto the sand and tugged from it a long gypsy blue dress which she pulled over her naked form with a yawn. She enjoyed the feeling of the cool water on her skin even in this form, the cold not bothering her. Even in the late afternoon sun it would dry quickly.

As she padded further along the shore, admiring the bits of wood that were drifting into the safety of the islands banks Andromeda froze. Among the wreckage lay a man. A frown pulled her eyebrows together. She knew she had taken everyone to the bottom of the sea when the ship sank, nobody had been able to resist her call. Which meant this man had just happened to be shipwrecked from another boat or he had fled before her spell had taken hold. Picking up a piece of wood to act as a weapon should she have need, Andromeda slowly approached. He lay on his front so she was unable to tell if he was breathing or not. With caution she slowly used her foot to nudge the man onto his back and cocked her head to the side. Breathing, just.

Perhaps it would be a mercy to just kill him now, she thought to herself as her foot slid to the hollow of his throat and began to press her weight down.

 

[Acteon Cass]

A crimson moon. Ruby liquid. Wind rustling fur. A thousand scents. A thousand sounds. Slash. Bite. Howl.

Acteon was having the dreams. The full moon dreams. It was more accurate to call them memories. Memories of kills made. Memories of exploring the world from new angles impossible for his human form. A rush of power and lust for more. It felt primal. It felt consuming. Humans didn't understand. They call it a curse. They call it a lose of control. Release. Freedom.

But the dreams before the full moon were pleasant. After was always nightmares. The night Acteon saw people he spent days with torn apart. A dead town eaten by fog. Amber eyes glowing. Mocking. Taunting. They were hunted. He was hunted. One by one they all bled. Soldiers. Wolves. Him. A spiteful bite that forever changed him against his will. No time had he felt so little agency. Not even his days of military duties could. He could desert the guard. He could not flee the wolves. Those who did died. Those who didn't died. Only he survived. Only he was left with the memories of blood. Of horror. Of death.....

A pressure on Acteon's neck stirred him from the shifting from dream to nightmare. Not a conscious thought in his mind instinct took over. The predator took over. Ambers burst open. Short clawed hand gripped leg. Dagger was drawn. The slightly inhuman strength of muscle pulled as dagger searched for throat. A growl from his chest as the world came to.

It was a woman holding a bit of debris. Odd colored hair and eyes. Acteon didn't recognize her or the salty scent of coral that clung to her. He let go of her and put his dagger away. The full moon always had him so reactionary when roused from sleep. He got to him feet and would offer Andromeda Barbarossa a hand to help her up if she had fallen when he pulled on her leg.

In a hoarse voice from the growing thirst Acteon said, "Sorry miss. Bit jumpy lately."

 

[Andromeda]

Just a little bit more pressure...

Andromeda pushed her foot more firmly into the mans throat. She could see his chest rising and falling quicker as he struggled to take in air. Just a little bit more and he would be gone and there would be no witnesses to what she had done to this ship and its crew. Alas however it was not meant to be.

The mans eyes snapped open and the Siren froze, unsure of what to really do. Usually men didn't wake up once she was touching them, they surrendered the fight and let her end their lives. It was one of the most satisfying things of her entire being. Not only did he wake up, he grabbed her ankle and pulled. The motion sent her toppling off balance and crashing down onto the man himself. Considering she had been using her more dominate foot, the right, and he pulled with his right hand, it forced her stance wide and then wider still. With a curse she fell directly on top of his chest, straggling him, her right leg splayed to the side.

She gave his hand a kick to try and wrench it free but the man seemed to have got all his senses back and released her as she tugged. The result was she was able to scramble off him and into the sand on his left, blowing the hair out of her face in indignation.

"Bit jumpy," Andromeda repeated sarcastically. If only he knew how ironic that sounded. She looked at the hand, ignored it, and pushed herself to her feet and began walking back the way she had come briskly. She needed to get the hell out of here if one of them had survived. The sands could have him, he would perish on this island of solitude.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The gesture of help was ignored. Normally Acteon would pick up on how that meant she was upset about the whole knocking her off her feet and pulling out a dagger on her thing, but right now he was too distracted mentally. It was taking his focus just to keep the same three thoughts at bay. Eat. Breed. Bleed.

As thirsty as Acteon was beginning to feel and as much as he wanted to go in search of some water, he decided it would be best to not let the woman walk off on her own. She could be of some use later on. Maybe.... It was just as likely the three thoughts were influencing him far more than he realized right now. Hard to say which of them would be the driving force as to why he wanted her to stick around though until the moment of truth arrived and his instinct got the better of him.

Acteon hated the thinning line on his inhibitions.

The Allirian followed along behind Andromeda Barbarossa like a lost dog. It took no real time for him to catch up either. His normal control on how much of his enhanced traits he showed was always less than desirable before the full moon. The wolf always began to creep in early for him. He came in step next to her and sniffed the air hoping to find some trace of fresh water. He just smelled more of that salt and coral scent coming off of the woman. Salt made sense as even he reeked of it after that swim, but the coral was odd. Why would she smell of coral?

The question was lost as soon as it formed. Acteon heard the sound of a bird chirping further inland. It was not that of a gull or tern or other sea bird but more like that of ones found in forests. He idly looked in its direction distracted. Where palms were on the beach and nearest to the ocean there was other kinds of trees beyond them. Hope for water. The scent of grass also drifted his way for a moment when the direction of the wind changed before going back to its normal one.

"We should go further in to find water. Do not think anyone else survived that wreck." Acteon said in that hoarse voice from before. It had a casualness and rather matter of fact tone about it. His entire demeanor right now reflected this as well. A rare moment were his inner self and outer self were reflecting one another around a stranger. Normally he would have up whatever mask was needed on.

Amber eyes look at the woman next to him. "I am Acteon. Who might you be?"

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda seethed when she heard him following at a lope and then finally behind her. She needed to get off this island and she couldn't do that with him around. Not if he wanted to stay alive. There was only a handful of people in this world who knew her secret and they were people she trusted with her all. If he didn't leave her, she would have to kill him. She had already bloated herself on the men on the ship and sated the creature whom lived within her. There would be on real help there for it had no reason. It would be the pirate captains daughter who did the slaying this time, and that was a line she tried not to cross. If her two halves truly became one she wasn't sure what would happen.

Which meant she was stuck.

And that angered her all the more. At least he seemed to think she was a part of the wreck. Casually she watched him out the corner of her eye, taking in his profile quietly. She didn't recognise him from the night before either and now guilt warred and unsettled her contented monster; had she drowned innocents too? Foolish to dwell on it now if she had. They were lost to the waves now. Perhaps dealing with this man was her punishment. Dramatically she looked at the sky as if asking the Gods why she deserved such a fate.

"Andromeda," the girl sighed and came to a stop. No point leading him directly back to her belongings it might just make him more suspicious to see how little she had carried with her. Well. She had carried nothing truly. A bottle of wine to enjoy on the beach after her meal and the dress she now wore. It didn't look good. "I don't think walking into an unknown forest is a good idea," she pulled a face. Maybe if he thought she was scared he would go on his own and she could make a break for it.

 

[Acteon Cass]

An answer was given with a sigh and the man mimicked her stopping like an unsubtle shadow. Something was bothering her. All the little clues to it were there. How she moved. The tone of her voice.... Her voice sounded familiar.... But it was not fear. Acteon was a man of many masks. He recognized when someone else was using one on him. She pretended to be scared of the forest but really he figured she was just uncomfortable being with a stranger. Oh well. That was her problem not his and he still was feeling that urge to stick close for whatever reason.

A smile crossed his face. It was meant to be friendly but on this the hours before the full moon rose it could only look predatory. Despite this his tone was perfectly friendly as he said, "Do not worry. I am a sellsword by trade and use to be a guard in the past. Nothing dangerous will get close without me knowing."

The smile shifted into a smirky grin, still predatory despite how it should be playful. "Or should I be worrying that you might eat me up as soon as it gets dark?"

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Oh do not test me, land lover.

She could have almost punched him when he spoke so arrogantly of his status as a sellsword and history as a guard. Why was it that men always assumed a woman needed saving, though, of course, that had been the air she has been attempting to give. Still, it annoyed her. Probably more so than it would at any other time so close was she still to the memory of life and death in her hands. Back in this human form she was mistaken again for weak and nothing. She would show him, she would.

Breathe, Ann. She chided herself.

Oh but that smirk...

Andromeda's answering smile was one full of sin. It was closed doors, dark shadows, silken sheets. It was a hidden dagger, blood and death.

"Perhaps," the word a purr. Then came the snark as she seemed to make up her mind and turned towards the forest, waving her hand in his general direction dismissively. "You may hide behind me if you are scared."

 

[Acteon Cass]

Eat. Breed. Bleed. The three thoughts remained. Every passing minute saw his instinct grow stronger. Desires welled up that he normally ignored. Desires welled up that he normally never had. That smile given to him fueled the fire consuming his control. His inhibitions were growing thinner by the second and she wasn't helping.

Acteon just made a somewhat primal noise in response to the purr. It was hard to even say if it was something a human could make. All that was for sure was it was a clear sign that his desire for one of those three thoughts had grown well past the others. The man just kept that wolfish smirk as he followed along behind the woman.

Past the palms things began to change. No longer was it just a warm water beach. Sand had been replaced with dirt, which mostly had soft grass growing out of it. The trees shifted into similar kinds of those found on the main land, if slightly altered by the island isolation. Birds chirped and squirrels skittered through the trees, as did many other animals. It was as natural a scene as one could hope to find. Trails trundling through the grass and woods spoke of larger animals yet to be seen.

The thoughts of his mind were strangely calmed by this and yet also intensified them. Acteon felt a stronger need to hunt and eat. A stronger need to live. They were emotions and desires he always felt before the transformation, but being so deep into nature gave them an impact he was not as use to feeling. Even his senses seemed to be growing with the richness of nature about them.

The scent of fresh water caught Acteon's attention as he followed Andromeda Barbarossa through the woods. "Left at the next tree. Straight from there a ways." A rather involuntary direction had come from him. It felt as if he had been here before, although he had not. He was just tapping into the history of the scents around him. Animals taking trails to get a drink. The pathways that rainwater took to gather. It was something any with his heightened state of awareness could do.

If she followed his directions Andromeda would find a pond fed by a spring and rainwater. It was mostly clear with what looked like small versions of those in the reef in it. A short distance away would be the remains of an abandoned makeshift shelter and ring of stones with only cold ash in the center of it. It had been some time since anyone had been here.

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda had the very real sense she was walking with an overgrown mutt the way he shadowed her heels. It wasn't a comforting presence in all honesty. Usually she was used to feeling like the predator in the room but she didn't here. It made her more nervous, especially as they got further from the ocean and the strength of her power.

Her feet were bare so once they left the warm sand she picked her way through the forest, keeping to the softer grassier bits of the floor. She didn't question how he knew where the fresh water was and obediently turned left, though she did shoot him a raised eyebrow look. Another question for later, perhaps.

"Guess we're not the first people here," Andromeda skirted the water and made for the small structure, ducking inside it before coming back out again. It was a squeeze but it might fit a person inside. At least they would be snug. "It's not the Ritz but should keep you covered from the elements," the Siren announced before walking back to the small circle of stones and sitting on a stump of a tree someone had dragged there.

"Why were you on the ship? You don't look like a member of the crew."

 

[Acteon Cass]

As the pond came into view the first thing Acteon did was head straight for it. Any thoughts of Andromeda Barbarossa from before were gone. All that was on his mind now was the need to sate his thirst. Not having any item to hold the water in and not caring about how he might look the man just dunked his head into the water enough to begin drinking like some kind of beast.

It took a moment but eventually Acteon forced his own face out of the water. One of the things the guard had taught him was that if you were in such dire need of thirst not to drink so much at once. It would just worsen the sickness. It was logical, proven by the college of Alliria's physicians, and tested by the guard itself to be true. But his instincts demanded he drink until he burst. Leave no chance for the thirst to ever return even if it meant death from hydration.

Acteon got himself up off the grass and began to head over to where his nearly forgotten companion had sat herself down. Cold ash. Abandoned shelter. This place was no longer home to anyone. It had not been for some time. The history of the place was faint and lost. The Allirian sat next to the woman on the stump, regardless of how much room there was.

"My late mother's relative past away. I was on that ship to go visit their grave and hear their last words." Acteon still had enough presence of mind in him to not blurt out he was expecting some coin. He would always have enough for such things. The wolf may bring with it primal instincts but the instincts of greed and pride and envy were much stronger in the man.

"I was sea sick and got thrown overboard. Before you ask." The last part was a lie, but not entirely so. The ship didn't thrown him over so much as he himself did. "What about you? Don't remember seeing you, but I spent most of my time in my cabin."

With blessed liquid once more within shrinking veins, the mind began to sharpen. Little details before noticed but unaccounted for began to resurface. Who was this stranger?

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda wasn't particularly fussed that his attention was elsewhere. Her eyes were searching through the trees for the line of the waves; she could just about make them out so they weren't too far inland. That was good. Absentminded she began to comb her fingers through her thick white hair. Breaking it into sections so it was easier to manage in this way. Her thoughts were broken when the hulking man lumbered back over to where she was. She had expected him to sit opposite but apparently the man had absolutely no idea of social spacing. Ann gave him a thin lipped look.

Thrown overboard? Ann couldn't keep the doubt from her face. That entire crew wouldn't have been able to do anything but hold on to get to the rocks - it was what she had told them to do. Which means either he had gone overboard earlier on or he had jumped before the spell had taken him. If it was the latter it meant it probably wasn't human.

"Hm," she said finally in response to his comment then began on another section of her hair. "I was a personal guest of the Captains, I didn't leave his quarters." a common thing for the Captain to take a woman. She had no shame in pretending to be so especially when it would explain why she had been seen by nobody. "It was quite obvious what was happening when the ship went off course so I plugged my ears and dived off before the rocks."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The seeming mimicry of his own excuses got Acteon's mind moving, finally, on the little details that had kept coming up. The strange familiarity of her voice, the scent of salt and coral, how he did not recognize her, and the oddity of her appearance. Too many little things were just off and that always meant something bad (or great) was about to follow. He figured it would be best to test the woman and see what she said.

"So you were Captain Gilworth's gal? A shame. You were wasted on that man." Acteon said in tone that sounded sincere. He even was about her being wasted on the likes the captain but the captain's name wasn't Gilworth. The captain of the ship was named Nori and a woman.

The second comment she made got a truly curious look from Acteon. It was just a mask as he knew someone had enchanted the crew from the way they acted, but it was all part of his now mentally functioning act. He asked in a voice with the same level of curiosity, "What did happen? I do not know much of boats so I am not sure why they made the sudden turn that threw me overboard."

Another half lie. Acteon's family made their original fortune and got themselves established off of the trading of otter pelts. It lead to them buying up the entire port where their original business was located and turned into both repairing and owning of ships. Not a bad location either as it was off a largest island where the Allirian Strait and Sayve river met. But he was distracting himself with thoughts of his family history. Right now was the time to focus on sorting this young woman out.

And Acteon was subtly taking Andromeda Barbarossa in as part of that. Young and attractive for the most part was the most immediate and obvious details to notice. The next were the odd coloration of her hair and eyes. It was not normal or that natural, which was coming from a man with amber eyes. She carried herself as a dainty gal but her body betrayed her. She was fit and likely was as capable of hauling sacks or pulling ropes as any laborer, or even Acteon when he had to on those less common occasions. It all pointed to a woman who was putting on a mask as much as he was in this situation. Could be dangerous.

This woman was dangerous though. The full moon would rise as soon as the sun fell. Acteon's instinctive drives were already at their peak and one of those drives was to mate. The urge was there and so was a pretty woman. A nagging thought in the back of his head was telling him to pin her and secure an heir. Something about this woman made this desire even more intense.

Acteon's eyes betrayed his growing desire.

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda snorted. Nice try. She did her research and it was not hard to ask about the crew who had literally fired a crossbow bolt through someones hand in the middle of a crowded bar.

"I would have been wasted on a man," the spark in her eyes was playful and full of amusement before she continued. "Nori however, knows her way around a woman. I was performing as a Singer in port and she offered me a lift to my next gig. We got drinking and... Well," a light shrug. "I mean - did you see Nori, would you want to leave her bed?" a wicked smile before she continued with her hair and mused over his next question. What had happened.

"A Siren, obviously," Ann let the superstition creep into her voice just enough to let it sound like it she had no real idea of what had happened but she was a superstitious girl like all those who sailed the seas. "My Da used to tell me all about them, could make a man throw himself into a Kraken's maw they could," she nodded. Of course her father had also fallen in love with one and killed himself once their daughter was raised so he might be with her always in the oceans depths. She had never forgiven him for leaving her alone after bringing her into this world.

"I hope such stories don't scare you," Andromeda dropped her hands, the tangles gone from her hair now and the subtle pastel hues of pinks and lilacs were not obvious. She turned the full force of his gaze onto him now, her smile a dangerous one. "But I'm sure a man such as yourself, a swellsword no less, wouldn't be scared of a such a beast?" Oh but he would by the end of today.

 

[Acteon Cass]

Acteon's little ruse about the captain did not go unnoticed it seemed. She knew the name and gender of the captain as well as enough to know her reputation for both liking other women as well as being rather attractive herself. But it was not enough to prove her innocence. He could easily have learned as much if he specifically was targeting the ship.... Which made things make more sense right now.

All the little details began to finally click in the jumbled mess that was Acteon's mind right now. Through the instinct and desires and urges his more logical thoughts came through. The color of her eyes and hair. The familiar sound of her voice. How she was on the beach, especially barefoot. How the ship seemed to be targeted and this woman knew details while him having no memories of her existence upon it. Her scent would have clung to Captain Nori if she truly was staying in her cabin with her. He always took account of those kinds of scents to keep a running tab on the number of people around him after all. It was all beginning to make sense.

And then the young woman said the one word that completed the little puzzle: siren. She had accidentally revealed herself. The woman before him was not human but a siren. A temptress of the sea and feaster on the drowned. By all accounts she was as much a monster here as he. That explained the weird reactions he was having just being so close to her right now. It explained the song and the possessed way the crew moved. It explained everything and he had gotten her a good distance onto the land. But he had a problem right now....

A primal sound came from Acteon when Andromeda Barbarossa made her little play at turning his desire filled gaze back on him. A very dangerous game was being played here and he knew she did not know just how dangerous it was for her. While he never truly lost control of himself, not so close to the full moon and not even while as a wolf. However this situation was pushing him over that line of control into a fully instinctive state. Something that had not happened to him in years.

Acteon knew he needed to focus and be subtle here. He needed to distance himself so that his head could clear. But he also just did not care. This was were his instincts told him to be. This was where he wanted to be deep down. Despite the wolf. Despite the moon. Despite his own sense of "logic." Acteon wanted to live in a very dangerous moment and see where this little gamble took him.

A wolfish smirk crossed Acteon's face. "I would be fine either way with Nori, but with you I certainly would not want to leave." He made sure their eyes were locked onto each other as he leaned in closer.

"As for sirens scaring me, you have yet to." Acteon's response was casual and relaxed. He was not holding back or masking himself right now. No reason to. This was his thoughts and his feelings. Normally he kept them held back. He had to hold them back. But between this enchanting young woman and the full moon so near he had enough of an excuse to actually allow himself to lose control.

"I have a secret for you Mistress Siren. The real beast here is me not you."

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda didn't move an inch as he leaned in towards her, tilting her head to one side slightly so that her hair cascaded down over one shoulder leaving the other and the curve of her neck exposed. Something about him wasn't human either. She didn't have his sense of smell but she had been in enough different ports to know when someone was not a normal mortal. There was an air about them. This one gave an air of danger, of the thick forests and moon-filled nights.

A started laugh was coaxed out of her at his admission he would not want to leave her bed. Not many did it was true. But then not many did alive. The laughter continued when he named her a Siren. It as only half put on, the absurdity of his guess. Of course she was not lying when she told him she was not what he expected.

"Alas, I am just a very good singer but no Siren. I will take it as a compliment that you think it was my singing that lured those men to their deaths," for she wasn't a Siren. Not truly. Only half. The conviction of her own belief in the matter made it easier to speak with conviction. At times she wished she was one or the other, it would make the war inside her easier to deal with.

Curious he should name himself a worse beast if he did believe her a Siren though. She squinted at him a moment as if debating whether to ask and then stood up abruptly, breaking the long silence which had begun to spread between them as they watched one another.

"It is getting dark, I'm going to go find some firewood." Ann announced, starting off towards the trees.

 

[Acteon Cass]

The Allirian listened to the siren as she responded to his words. Denial. It made sense. He certainly had to do the same and hide the less than appreciated side of himself. Pretty much every werewolf is a cursed being filled with nothing but instinct and blood lust and now everyone is nervous. Never mind that undead and monsters roamed the land more freely and openly than any werewolf without having the same presence of mind or control most of those lunar cursed had in keeping their horror locked away. It was enough to make him sigh if he wasn't sitting next to this ever increasingly attractive young woman right now.

Silence had started up between the two however between his words and her response. Acteon had nothing to say right now as his mind was more focused on undressing Andromeda Barbarossa with his eyes. A fact he was not hiding at all. What was going through her head was impossible to say. He was no mind reader and doubted he could right now with his thoughts on fulfilling his desires and urges rather than attempting his usual social espionage.

Then she announced she was going for firewood. Acteon smiled at her. "Be careful. There are some potentially dangerous animals we have yet to see. Boars being one, but they are not the only ones. If you need me just yell and I will arrive."

Acteon did not attempt to stop her or follow her, yet. Right now his thirst was building back up again so he settled for getting more to drink. His hunger was also high. No meal yet that day that had stayed down and his need for fresh meat was high. Perhaps he would try to find one of those boars he had mentioned to her earlier. Or anything else he could catch with just his body and dagger.

So the man went to follow the siren's scent into the woods to stay close enough to aid her if any predator sprung up. They would think she was their prey when in reality they would be his if any potential harm should befall his companion. He still had use for her. Partly in helping him escape after the night, but mostly in his desire to pin her to a tree and ravage her.

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda breathed out when she was a little way away from where it seemed they were going to be setting up camp and leaned her back against a tree. It wasn't good if he did truly suspect she was a Siren; this far from the ocean she would have to use what gifts she had on land to deal with him. Perhaps when he was asleep she could slit his throat and go. After all, she was the daughter of a Pirate Captain. She was no stranger to violence.

With that thought in mind she squared her shoulders and started walking again.

It was natural for Andromeda to hum whilst she went about picking suitable logs and smaller bits that could act as kindling off the floor. The hum soon turned into a song.

"A bald young farmer courted me
He gained my heart my liberty
He gained my heart with a free good will
And i must confess that i love him still
I wish i wish but its all in vain
I wish i was a maid again
But a maid again that never can be
Since that young farmer lay still with me
I wish my baby little was born and smilin on his fathers knee
And i was dead and in my grave
With the green grass growin' all over me"

It was a sad song and her voice lifted beautifully on the wind as she walked, bent and picked a log and added it to her growing pile. The birds stopped singing in the trees to listen, and a few even flew down to watch this creature with a voice like gold. Content with what she had she turned and began to make her way back.

"There's a bird that sits in yonders tree
Some say hes blind and cannot sing
Oh i wish it being the same with me
When first i met with your company
But a marble stone at my head and feet
But a turtle white dove
To let the world know that i died for..."

The song trailed off. Andromeda hadn't paid much mind to his warnings on beasts in the forest. Probably an unwise things. In front of her stood a boar. It too had followed the sound of the singing, such a sad and beautiful sound was intriguing to even animals despite there being no power behind her voice on this occasion. She had stopped the minute they locked eyes but now she took a step back and it a hesitant one forward.

"Niiiice boar...."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The animals were hiding. You would think they would not be use to humans and so have no fear of them, but they were actively avoiding Acteon currently. Were they experienced with humans? Their behavior suggested it. After a bit though he began to hear something. It was a song. A song being sung by Andromeda Barbarossa somewhere out of view but not too far away. The fear of people was gone in them. Interesting.

But things changed when Acteon caught another scent. A boar. One had been lured in as well and hopefully would take off as soon as it realized what the source of the music was.

=======

The boar had been enchanted by Andromeda's song. It was not due to her inherit magic but rather from the creature's inherit curiosity. It had wandered over to listen while it had been rooting for fungi. The melancholy was as much a treat for it as the spongy goodies just under the soil.

But then the music stopped. The boar noticed it was before a human first then noticed her strange scent second. It confused the boar, but instead of running it just rose its ire. A large male who had made this part of the island his domain, the beast was not going to put up with this intruder. She might be a threat or worse might be after his meals. The simple thought was enough for him to make up his mind.

Without warning the boar rushed the woman at full speed. Despite being a rather large animal, he moved with surprising speed. Tusks lowered he made his way to gore the siren. But his first pass was off. She might notice one of his eyes was milked over. But it wasn't going to daunt him. He just got himself spun around and charged once more. His course this time was corrected and he was going charge straight into her this time.....

The boar did not know what happened to it. In one moment it was almost upon her and in the next it was flailing on its side. He thrashed about, but it did little to help. Whatever had charged him was on top and already had made all too precise stabs into his vitals. He struggled for a few more moments squealing as loud as his lungs could manage. Then he slowed and stopped as his life faded away.

======

Acteon stood up. He was covered in blood, most of it not his own. Several cuts could be seen on his arms from where sharp tusks had grazed his flesh. His dagger had been left in the now dead beast's neck. He turned to face Andromeda and smiled like a satisfied predator.

"I hope you are unharmed Mistress."

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda didn't even drop the logs she was so stunned. Perhaps it was the part of her that wanted to die, that wanted to not have to deal with the two halves of her warring anymore. Gorged by a boar seemed pretty heroic - great kings had met the same sticky end. She simply braced for impact. But the poor thing was clearly old. One eye was milky and there were quite a few scars over his body showing the fights over the years. It veered entirely off course. Andromeda hadn't even needed to flinch.

Perhaps... she would not die this way. Curiously she turned to see if it would give it another shot. She was completely detached now from the thought of her death. If it happened, it happened. But so far the boar had proved inept at being a thing to be scared of. This time it turned its head slightly so it could sight her with its good eye. Maybe he would get lucky this time, she thought in amusement, still holding the logs in her arms.

But there was no chance for the boar. There was a blur and it was gone from the path. Andromeda froze, her eyes going round as she watched it taken down. At first she couldn't even make out what had attacked it, a wolf? No.. a man... the man. The only other man on this blasted bit of rock.

She wiped the shock from her face and eyed the pig up warily then glanced back to him and the scratches.

"More so than you it seems. That was a reckless thing to do; he could have killed you."

 

[Acteon Cass]

The bloody man walked over to the siren as she held onto firewood and studied her over. No sign of impact or cut or even fright. Excellent. Acteon smiled to her after her words. "He could have tried, but would have failed. I have no reason to fear a boar. Unlike those sailors you lure into the sea I can take the charge and out muscle the beast to the ground."

It was half true. As a wolf and so close to the full moon his body was stronger than any man could hope to be. Outside of those times he was still above the physical capabilities of any human but not to nearly the degree as right now. But that was also why he was so willing to be this reckless. Nothing here could stop him with just brute strength alone right now. Even the cuts on his arm would heal more quickly than his already heightened recovery.

"Besides, I do not wish you to die. My reasons are not altruistic. Rather selfish. But you can be sure I will not harm you or allow you to be harmed while we are here." Acteon said to her in an all too casual way. It was a pure expression of what he considered to be simple fact.

The man went over to the boar and pulled his dagger out of it. After getting it roughly clean once more he put it up. Then he lifted up the huge boar and threw it over his shoulders. It was not a simple feat. The beast was heavy and large yet he treated as if it was a sack of grain. He held it in place with one arm and then extended the other one out.

"I can carry that wood if you do not mind foraging for some mushrooms and other foods. I am starving."

Andromeda Barbarossa

 

[Andromeda]

Andromeda's lips pressed into a thin line as he carried on with his siren train of thought but she didn't correct him or attempt to deny it this time. To keep doing so would probably be more of an admission of guilt than her silence. Her peach coloured eyes held his for a few seconds longer than necessary. What was he? The way he spoke as if he had plans for her was also a little unnerving to say the least but at least the boar would be filling enough, so fish was definitely off the menu for tonight.

Hopefully.

Quietly she watched him lift the boar. She would be lying if she said she wasn't impressed with his strength. She knew men aboard her fathers ship who had struggled lifting far lighter things. Andromeda considered herself quite reasonably strong by mortal terms, though the Siren half of her helped in that regard. Even still she didn't think she would have been able to lift that beast.

"Yes M'lord, let me just go aforaging for your banquet of wild boar. Would my liege also like me to rustle up an apple pie?" Andromeda snorted lightly but after a moments hesitation she did hand the firewood to him. At the end of the day he had saved her life, whether she had wanted him to or not. She brushed past him pausing only slightly beside him to brush a little bit of blood off his lip before giving him a smirk and walking further into the wood to find something suitable.

 

[Acteon Cass]

"A pie would be lovely. Perhaps even some wine and candles for the evening?" Acteon responded back to Andromeda Barbarossa comment. He raised a brow when she stopped and showed no sign of fear or distrust when she touched his lip. A primal sound just came out of him as he smirked back at her. His instincts were clearly his guideposts right now.

The boar and wood was delivered back to their little camp and both were set a safe distance away. The boar was further out so that when he butchered it the smell of blood and flesh would not bring scavengers right into their living space. It was something all the Allirian guard had to learn for when they had to camp out for the night. The wood was just far enough away from the firepit so a spark would not set it ablaze by accident. It was yet another thing he had learned in the guard. Strange how prepared for being stranded his time as one had left him.

Acteon went about getting the fire started and going while Andromeda was away. No flint and steel meant he had to do it the hard way, which was frustrating and annoying. It was done however and once life was within the flames he moved on over to deal with the boar. There was no vines or rope or anything of the like he could use to hang the thing up so he had to just deal with a very bloody mess. He took out the choice organs, a likely too large portion of the flesh, and then left the rest where it was. Holding what had been selected for the meal was carried back in his arms. Blood was getting everywhere on the moon crazed man.