Hyungwon swam faster, ducking and dodging through odd rock formations and the razor-sharp coral that lined the ocean floor. If not for the overly large eyes common to his kind and his precise hearing, he would likely have cut his arms or tail as he sliced through the water, but his kind had spent thousands of years adapting to the unique environment of the deep sea. The coral posed no threat to him, and the faint bioluminescent quality of his tail, which propelled him forward through the water, helped give off just enough illumination to ensure that he didn't shoot straight into a rockface.

Changkyun, get back here, Hyungwon called forward in a series of clicks. As always, the sounds made a pleasant vibration in his throat and were carried on by the water.

Make me, taunted his younger brother.

The chase continued for some time. Changkyun was Hyungwon's youngest brother, an absolute bullet in the water. Nobody would race with Changkyun anymore; he was simply too fast. Still, Changkyun whined when the others ignored his calls to play, and Hyungwon was ever the doting brother, which was how he'd found himself pursuing Changkyun in yet another pointless game that he knew he wouldn't win.

Another series of clicks from ahead. Have you gotten slow, brother?

Hyungwon gnashed at his teeth, sharp triangles meant for tearing flesh from bone. Have you gotten arrogant, brother? he responded back.

The smart fish – the ones that knew what he was and sensed the danger hurtling toward them at a high speed – disappeared from sight, immediately blending in with rocks or the ocean floor, whereas some of the stupid fish stayed out in the open, their bulging eyes curious.

Hyungwon snatched one up as he flew past, sinking his teeth into the fish and immediately severing its spinal cord to give it a quick and painless death. Eating fish didn't do much to sate his true hunger, but it took the edge off.

As expected, Hyungwon fell too far behind Changkyun to catch up, so he changed course, instead heading back toward their cave. When he grew close enough to hear communicative clicks, he slowed almost to a stop, instead letting himself just inch closer without disturbing the water around him. He didn't want to telegraph his presence just yet.

Once he was right outside the cave, he sank to the ocean floor and laid back against a rock, carefully tucking his tail beneath the sand to trap its luminescence.

The ocean before him became nearly invisible. Complete, absolute darkness. If Hyungwon hadn't spent his entire life in this environment, he might have been scared. As it was, the darkness had become familiar, cozy to an extent. Not quite warm; the sun couldn't penetrate to these depths of the sea, so warmth wasn't really possible. But comforting, in a way.

Before long, the darkness was broken up by a faint glow that drew closer and closer. Changkyun was making soft, happy clicks to himself, swimming in a slow and lazy manner now that he was confident that he'd outswam Hyungwon. Just as he approached the cave, Hyungwon sprang up from the ocean floor with a strong push of his tail and latched onto Changkyun, arms encircling his torso and teeth carefully nipping at the skin between his neck and shoulder.

Changkyun's clicks turned panicked before he recognized Hyungwon's presence, and then he gave a few low clicks, disappointed at having been caught.

No fair, he clicked. You ambushed me.

You can outswim me, Hyungwon clicked back with a fond warmth in his tone, but you can't outsmart me.

Changkyun's clicks turned whiny and petulant as he swam, carrying Hyungwon's additional weight, into the cave.

They were met with a series of clicks from the rest of their choir, mostly greetings and a few clicks of amusement. Although their eyesight was poor due to the near-complete absence of light, Hyungwon could identify every member of his family by their unique tone. Hyunwoo's clicks were soft and contemplative with a rich timbre; Hoseok's were brighter and had a slightly scratchy quality about them. Minhyuk's clicks were fast and louder than the others, and Kihyun's were slightly higher in register. Jooheon's register was the second lowest, and his tone had a sharp quality about it. Changkyun had the lowest pitch of the group, and Hyungwon fell somewhere in the middle.

He had always been in the middle of most things – register, age, speed, hunting prowess. He wasn't the best at anything, but he wasn't quite the worst, either. Hyungwon was an entirely average siren.

Hyungwon let go of Changkyun as they fell in with the group. Jooheon nipped at his shoulder in a friendly manner, and Hyungwon repeated the gesture back. Nipping was a sign of friendship and familiarity but above all else, a sign of trust. Their teeth were extremely sharp, meant for ripping apart the dense two-legged creatures from the Above, and they could do serious damage to other creatures as well. On the rare occasion when two sirens fought, it was nearly always to the death. But with sirens you trusted and cared about, a nip was a demonstration that you could tear into their flesh if you wanted to. Similarly, letting another siren place their teeth on your own flesh was a way to demonstrate that you trusted them unconditionally.

Hyungwon assumed that it was common in other choirs of sirens, but he didn't have many opportunities to confirm. Choirs were rare in and of themselves, and sirens were known to be very territorial creatures. His own choir had resided in this territory for many moon cycles now, but if the resources became scarce, they would have to move on and find another suitable place uninhabited of other sirens.

The strange urge to recall his parents hit him suddenly, but the memories were old and unclear. He couldn't remember any hazy images of their appearances, not the shade of their bioluminescent tails or the size of their large eyes. All he could remember was their clicking registers, tones unique to each siren. But his parents each belonged to separate choirs, and once he was old enough to survive on his own, his father had returned to his choir, and his mother had returned to hers. If Hyungwon ever had offspring, he would do the same. Finding a choir you trusted was too rare of an occurrence to abandon it over offspring.

Still, he felt odd thinking about them. Was he sad? Did he miss them? He didn't think that was quite it because he hadn't thought about them in many, many cycles.

What's wrong? Hoseok clicked, and there were a few other clicks from Minhyuk and Kihyun affirming Hoseok's question and directing it toward Hyungwon.

Nothing, Hyungwon clicked back, frowning despite the fact that none of them would be able to make it out in the dark. Even with all of them in the same confined space, all their tails giving off the faintest light, not many of their physical attributes were visible in any definition. Hyungwon didn't really know what any of his choir looked like; he knew the broad strokes from running his webbed fingers over their faces, tracing protruding slit noses and cupping large ears, but if they all lived in the Above, he didn't think he'd be able to recognize them by sight alone. That thought, in conjunction with the sudden remembrance of his parents, made him sad for reasons he couldn't quite ascertain.

What is it? Changkyun clicked, circling closer. The tip of his tail gently brushed against Hyungwon's scales in what was meant to be a calming gesture, an assertion of presence and support.

Just feel cold, Hyungwon clicked back reluctantly. He didn't like when they all worried about him, and while he could usually wave off the concerns of his older brothers, he found it difficult to hide much from Changkyun.

Of course, cold didn't really mean cold; in the deep sea, there was no true concept of warmth. What Hyungwon really meant was that he felt absence in some abstract sense.

Changkyun always knew what he meant without him having to explain himself, and he curled closer, shifting behind Hyungwon and tugging him backward so his back was against Changkyun's chest.

Warm now? he clicked softly, a hint of worry in his tone, and Hyungwon felt horrible for putting it there.

The biggest threat to a siren wasn't the two-legged ones from the Above or other creatures. No, the biggest threat to a siren was a breaking of the spirit, a sadness fathoms deeper than the ocean floor. It was an inevitable reality; the complete darkness they lived in sometimes swam into siren's hearts. Those sirens died slow, agonizing deaths in which they simply laid on the ocean floor, unmoving, until starvation ended their existence. Or some of them, so infected by the darkness, swam up, up, up to the light, craving the warmth and the light that the Above brought. Those sirens died quick deaths at the hands of the two-legged creatures.

That was why choirs had formed, why they were so important. Loneliness, in a siren, was a mating call to death.

Sorry, Hyungwon clicked back, sinking into Changkyun and sending out a reassuring click for the others so they would stop worrying as well.

No sorry, Changkyun clicked back, a bit of scolding in his tone, and Hyungwon felt the light pressure of teeth along his neck pressing down ever so gently along his most vulnerable skin. He stilled as Changkyun left his teeth there for a long moment, his way of telling Hyungwon that he was here and that Hyungwon could trust him with anything. After a minute, he let go of both his bite and his grip on Hyungwon, swimming forward so the two were facing each other. If they had better eyes and lighting, Hyungwon imagined they could stare at each other right now, but as it was, he could only make out the silhouette of Changkyun's figure and the deep pits of his eyes.

Hyungwon snapped his teeth toward Changkyun in a light gesture, and the youngest did the same back to him, their own playful way of saying thank you and you're ridiculous and twenty other meanings wrapped in one.

He didn't need to worry about that strange chill he'd felt. He would never be lonely while he was with his choir.

--

Hyunwoo, Hoseok, and Kihyun were gone from the cave and likely wouldn't return a quarter of a cycle, which left Minhyuk, Hyungwon, Jooheon, and Changkyun. The missing members of the choir were the better hunters, so Hyungwon and the others who had been left behind could only laze about and wait for Hyunwoo, Hoseok, and Kihyun to return with food.

Hyungwon stirred as pangs of hunger pulled at his stomach, and he flicked his tail a few times, hoping the movement would break up the slight pain that was gnawing on him more and more with each passing phase. Sirens didn't need to eat copious amounts, but they did require a solid meal at least once every cycle.

Chase? Changkyun clicked, clearly seeking a new game, but Hyungwon just gave two tired clicks back.

Jooheon echoed Hyungwon, and there was a brief silence as they waited to hear from Minhyuk.

Fine, he clicked with great reluctance. But if you drag me out near the trench again... Several agitated clicks followed.

There was a trench not far from their cave, a deep crack that disappeared into the ground. Changkyun and Hoseok were fascinated by the trench, spouting rumors of a magical creature that could grant wishes, and they would take tiny adventures down there, but never far enough to get lost. Hyungwon, Minhyuk, and most of the others didn't hold the same fondness for it. It was silly for a deep-sea creature like Hyungwon to be afraid of a deep-sea trench, but he was. He hadn't been able to properly convey it to any of the others, but he'd always been secretly worried that if he voyaged down into the trench, he might lose his way and never be able to come home.

Don't play near the trench, Jooheon clicked sternly, backing up Minhyuk, and Hyungwon flicked his tail in agreement. Not while Hyunwoo is gone.

Hyunwoo was the unofficial leader of their choir. He was the best hunter, after all, and he was fiercely protective in his own quiet way about each of the sirens. He was the one who had defined and enforced their territory when necessary, and he had made calls about which places were safe and which weren't. Both Hyunwoo and Hoseok were strong enough and fierce enough to claim the title of leader, but Hoseok had ceded the position to avoid a fight for position in which one of the two would have likely died.

I won't go near the trench, Changkyun clicked in forced agreement, unable (or unwanting) to keep the whine out of his tone.

Good, Minhyuk clicked, and then the two were out of the cave, leaving just Hyungwon and Jooheon behind.

They'll be okay? Jooheon clicked, an uncharacteristic note of worry in his tone, and Hyungwon knew without asking that he was referencing Hyunwoo and the others.

They're strong, Hyungwon responded in reassurance. It was true that the act of hunting was extremely dangerous, but Hyunwoo and the others had been successful every previous cycle. Their choir was lucky to have two strong sirens like Hyunwoo and Hoseok, which decreased the danger of their hunting expeditions. Still, hunting wasn't without risk, but even though all seven of them could hunt together with better odds, Hyunwoo had time and again refused to let the younger sirens join them.

When you're older, Hyunwoo had always clicked out to Hyungwon's frustration, but he understood that what Hyunwoo really meant was When you're stronger. And Hyungwon knew, perfectly average siren that he was, that he would never have strength comparable to Hyunwoo or Hoseok. He would never be an asset to their hunting party. All he could do was wait along the ocean floor with the hope that they would return.

At least he wasn't alone though. At least he had Jooheon and Minhyuk and Changkyun to keep him company. They made the darkness not as dark.

Do you think Hyunwoo will ever take us with them? Jooheon clicked, sounding uncertain and a little sad, and Hyungwon swam closer, letting his tail brush against Jooheon's to deliver support in the only way he could.

Maybe you, Hyungwon clicked back in answer. He meant it to be reassuring to Jooheon, but it sounded equally sad as his friend's voice.

You too, Jooheon insisted, but Hyungwon shook his head, disturbing the natural flow of the water around them.

Not enough, Hyungwon clicked back, shying away from Jooheon now and immediately missing the sensation of his tail against another's. But he felt weak, and he hated the feeling. Not strong enough, not cunning enough, not dangerous enough.

Enough, Jooheon clicked back, his tone firm as he slowly swam after Hyungwon, making lazy flicks of his tail.

Not, Hyungwon clicked back, unable to disguise the slight agitation in his tone now, and he continued moving, keeping several lengths ahead of Jooheon in an attempt to refuse whatever reassurances his brother would try to provide. You. You are enough. Hyunwoo will take you with next time, I'm sure of it.

Jooheon's motion slowed, and his clicking grew uncertain and inquisitive once more. You think so?

Yes.

They were quiet for a long moment before Jooheon clicked out with clear hesitance, Won't leave you.

Yes, Hyungwon clicked back, his agitation rising. If he asks you, go. I will be fine.

He will bring you too, Jooheon clicked, swimming one length closer, and Hyungwon didn't bother avoiding him this time, just let him slowly close the gap between them. He didn't bother responding either, just listened as Jooheon made some soothing clicks.

Maybe, Hyungwon clicked back after a while, sensing that Jooheon wouldn't let the matter go until they'd finished their conversation in a hopeful manner.

Just want to help, Hyungwon finally clicked out, and Jooheon swam right up to him and made several soft clacks by tapping his teeth together.

You help, Jooheon clicked, all soft tones and muted clicks. Help so much. He tapped Hyungwon's arm with his fingers, and Hyungwon gave a soft warning hiss. Sirens weren't made for physical contact. The sensation wasn't painful, but it was more odd than pleasant in the cold waters. Their skin was toughened to protect against the cold, which meant that there wasn't much sensation behind touch other than a bit of pressure or weight. Hyungwon had only let Changkyun tug him around the other day because, well, Changkyun was the youngest and he pretty much got away with everything. But Jooheon was older and he knew better than to poke at other sirens.

Jooheon heeded the warning and put a bit of space between them but still hung near Hyungwon. You help, he clicked, and Hyungwon made a deeper click in his throat to put an end to the matter.

Jooheon stayed quiet after that but never ventured far from Hyungwon, always staying within several lengths of him and occasionally disturbing the water with his tail as though to remind Hyungwon of his presence, and Hyungwon appreciated it even if he didn't respond. Jooheon knew that he tended to get a little depressed whenever the others left them behind, and he was just trying to be a good brother. Hyungwon didn't fault him for it, even if he didn't particularly welcome his concern.

Minhyuk and Changkyun returned not much later, Changkyun making happy chirrups and Minhyuk chiming in about some interesting things they'd spotted along the way. Hyungwon kept his clicks inquisitive but short, deflecting the conversation away from himself and more toward the others. Jooheon kept quiet but lingered nearby, and despite the fact that Hyungwon could barely make out the contours of his face, he could sense Jooheon watching him.

--

Hyunwoo, Hoseok, and Kihyun returned after two phases, and the cave was loud with fast sequences of clicking as everyone welcomed them back and immediately began eating for the first time in nearly a cycle. Hyungwon could hear in Jooheon and Changkyun's tones how hungry they were even if they hadn't said anything; younger sirens tended to feel hunger more acutely than older sirens after all.

Thank you, Hyungwon clicked to Hyunwoo, who clicked back a simple acceptance of Hyungwon's gratitude. Distantly, Hyungwon wondered if Hyunwoo really would take Jooheon with them on their next hunt, if he'd pass over Hyungwon even though Hyungwon was older.

He would ask, maybe, but not now. The mood was festive and bright, and Hyungwon didn't want to bring it down.

He'll take me with next time for sure, Hyungwon thought to himself, eating slowly despite the cramps in his stomach that demanded he tear flesh from bone as quickly as possible.

Next time.

--

published 05/03/21

3187 words