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Eris thumped her tail against the floor, "Yeah, well... I can do something you can't!"

"You mean aside from swim fast, breathe underwater, and cast magic spells?"

"There's more!" the mermaid's lips curled into a confident grin, and she crossed her arms, "The power of the voice."

"The uh... what?"

"I'm sure you know. The stories must have mentioned it somewhere."

Isaac thought back to the various books he'd read, and quickly realized what she meant. Every story had mentioned the mermaids' most powerful tool: their voices. "Oh, right. The voices that can charm mortals and lure them to their deaths."

"Do humans really still write stuff like that?" Eris made a look of distaste, "That's ancient history."

"So are the books..."

"Shush!" Eris floated upward once again and put her hands on her hips, "No human can resist the song of a mermaid. Our beautiful voices soothe the soul and erase all worries, and compel the weak minds of land dwellers to follow the source of our haunting melodies."

"To their dooms, right?"

"No! We don't do that anymore!" Eris smacked Isaac on the head, a grin spreading into her features, "I'll even prove it to you."

It seemed to Isaac that this was less about proving her good intentions and more about one-upping his pirate stories. Saying so, however, would likely provoke another smack, and he was curious about this supposed vocal power of hers anyway. What harm could it do? "Alright, go ahead."

"I will. You won't be so smug then!"

"But I wasn't--"

"Shush!" the mermaid swam backward a few feet and took a couple deep breaths. "You should count yourself lucky, Isaac. Very few humans ever get to hear a mermaid's song nowadays."

"Not like you're giving me much choice." Isaac mumbled lowly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Eris glared for a long moment, her deep blue eyes filled with determination. "You... You'd better listen, Isaac. I've never done this for anyone else."

Even with the old stories of the horrible results of listening to a mermaid's song still fresh in his mind, Isaac couldn't help but feel flattered. Apparently this was a point of pride for Eris, and perhaps all mermaids. And she was sharing it with him. "I'll listen." he said, sitting up straight, "I promise."

The seamaiden's expression softened a little, and she breathed out a sigh. Without another word, she drew in another breath and shut her eyes. As she exhaled, she produced a low, melodic sound that immediately sent shivers up Isaac's spine. All the musical instruments in the world could not produce a sound like this. The sound gradually rose in pitch, reflecting off the cavern walls and ringing in Isaac's ears. Then she stopped, opening her eyes and giving him a mysterious smile. "That was just a bit of a warm up."

"It felt... weird." Isaac admitted. "Like someone ran their fingers up my back."

"Just relax." Eris took another breath and produced the same sound once again, drawing it out in a long tone, increasing its pitch gradually until it reached a high note, and then stopped. She watched Isaac for a moment, giggling a bit when he shifted in place. "Again?"

"Yeah. The stories weren't lying, apparently."

"You've heard nothing yet." Eris steadied her breathing once more, and this time the note she produced was different; it was more like a word than a solid tone. A string of words and notes flowed from her lips, rippling through the water and reaching Isaac's ears. The notes strung together in the beginnings of a song. This was no longer a warm up.

The effect of the mysterious melody was immediately apparent. That tingling sensation returned, but other strange feelings arrived with it as well. Isaac felt a strange dizziness wash over his head, and his vision blurred slightly. Eris' song resonated throughout the cavern, producing a haunting echo that only seemed to enhance its soothing properties. Isaac had to force himself to stay sitting upright, as his body began to slump forward. It was as if his muscles had instantly lost all their strength. Eris' enchanting melody played out at a slow, relaxing pace, and the mermaid gradually moved closer in Isaac's blurred vision. Somehow, she remained clear even through all the fog in his head. That song drowned out all the sounds of the ocean around them, and everything apart from Eris and her beautiful voice just seemed distant, unimportant.

Eris drew closer, closer, closer. Her song grew louder, clearer, more intense in Isaac's ears. The spellbound human's gaze followed Eris' face as it moved in his vision, his tired muscles moving all on their own. It was as if the song itself had permeated his very being and now strung him along like a puppet. Not a thought in his mind could surface unless it pertained to how beautiful and intoxicating that song was. His body, and even his mind, no longer belonged to him. They belonged to the haunting melody now. They belonged to Eris.

The mermaid settled in beside Isaac and positioned her tail behind his back. Truly as if possessed, Isaac's body responded without even needing to see that tail; he let himself drop backward, falling gently onto the smooth blue scales and resting there. Eris placed one hand against the back of his head, the other on his cheek as she leaned in closer. The song was so intense now, and Isaac's eyes focused in on their source: her lips. Those soft pink lips, moving so elegantly to produce the most beautiful sounds he'd ever heard. Those lips moved closer, gradually ceasing their movements and pursing, moving out of his peripheral vision...

Eris stopped. Her deep aqua eyes gazed down into Isaac's unfocused brown irises. Isaac could feel her hands trembling against his skin and the back of his head. It had gone oddly silent in the cave now; Eris' song had ceased. Her lips had fallen still, and now hovered half an inch from Isaac's. A dark shade of red had crept into her cheeks, and her eyes were so wide, so vivid in Isaac's vision. She was so beautiful, and only now, in this strange, peaceful emptiness of mind and thought, did he notice this.

"S-Spirits above and below... What am I doing?" Eris voiced the question aloud, though it seemed more like she was asking herself, rather than Isaac. Despite questioning herself, however, she didn't move from that spot.

The fog over Isaac's mind began to lift and vanish, and the vague beginnings of thoughts began to finally resurface. He was so comfortable and felt so safe right now, and it took him a long few moments to consciously realize he was being held. He blinked once, which apparently startled the mermaid whose face was now so close to his. Isaac watched Eris snap back into reality and back off a few inches, and he finally found the energy to voice a single thought, "Eris? What's going on?"

"Isaac... You're awake?"

"I... think so." he stretched his arms out to his sides. Everything felt so loose and refreshed, save for his memories of the song. He could remember a little bit, but it was like looking through a veil; everything was blurry, likely from its relaxing and mind-altering effect. Isaac stared up at Eris, having just now noticed how close she'd gotten. "Did I fall asleep sitting up?"

"N... No, I..." the mermaid's cheeks were beet red. She averted her eyes and began to shrink away, floating backward and releasing Isaac from her hold, "I'm sorry... I don't know what came over--" she stopped short as Isaac reached out and grabbed her wrist, her bright blue eyes widening again. "W-What?"

"Eris..." the boy pulled her back toward him and laced his fingers with hers. He might not have known much about girls and their strange ways of doing things, but he wasn't stupid. He could easily see what Eris was about to do. That fluttering feeling returned, and this time it came in force. His heart beat swiftly in his chest, and he could feel the heat rise up into his cheeks. Before he even consciously willed his muscles into it, he was inching closer to the mermaid, gazing into her beautiful blue eyes.

"I...Isaac..." Eris placed a hand on his shoulder and drew herself closer. The two bashful teens brought their lips so close, just short of locking together. There was a long, heavy moment as they just floated there, lost in a sea of confused and racing emotions, all trying to organize themselves within their hearts. Eris shut her eyes, and Isaac did the same, and the two leaned in close...