One in the Same Thing

by Snowflake Dissonance

Vow

Adagio swam quickly, glancing back to make sure Sonata and Aria were following. She herself was following her mother, Fioritura slicing through the waters as she led the three younger sirens toward safety. She had made a mistake in waiting so long, and now danger was upon them.

The quartet made their way across the ocean as quickly as possible. Behind them, the sounds of growling could be heard, their pursuers keeping on their tails. The snapping of sharp teeth could be heard and Adagio’s blood ran cold at the thought of being caught in those powerful jaws. Usually, Sirens would use their songs to avoid potential predators, but these were fish without the ability to feel vibrations. They relied on their senses of sight and taste, two things Sirens couldn’t combat.

Beating her fins furiously, Adagio sped after her mother. Something sped up from underneath them and Fioritura stirred up a swirl of bubbles trying to stop. The three younger sirens behind her crowded at her back as they stared in horror. Another group of predators was in front of them, cutting off their exit.

They had swam into a trap.

Adagio’s heart pounded against her Module. They couldn’t sing their way out, which meant fighting was inevitable. But Sonata wasn’t versed in fighting; she would be taken down immediately. Aria could hold her own pretty well, but against this many? There was no way she would survive for long. Worrying her lip, Adagio looked for any possible escape route. Thankfully, her mother provided one.

Fioritura gave a tremendous flap of her fins. Due to her size—around four shark-lengths—the flap was strong enough to ripple the water and throw their attackers off balance. It gave the trio behind her an opening to swim through quickly.

Adagio turned back as she waited for her mother to join them, but Fioritura shook her head and allowed the predators to close the circle once more. “Mother, what are you doing?” Adagio demanded, making to fight off the surrounding threats. Aria grabbed her under the forelegs, keeping her from going back.

“You have to go, Adagio!” Fioritura told her, keeping her eyes on the incoming attackers.

“What in Tartarus are you talking about?” the flaxen siren exclaimed. Fear tightened her chest. Her mother needed to come with them. Didn’t she understand that these monsters wanted to eat them? Why would she stay behind? They needed to go, but they couldn’t do that without her!

“Go, Adagio!” Fioritura shouted. “You need to go! Leave me behind and swim away!”

“Mother, we can’t leave you!” Adagio cried, fighting against Aria’s grip. “We can’t!”

Fioritura glared at her attackers before shouting, “You took an oath to do what’s best for your Orchestra, Adagio!”

“I know I did!” the yellow siren shouted. “But-!”

“I did not raise a liar!” Fioritura roared. “Are you going to allow your Orchestra to die because you made the wrong decision?”

Adagio clenched her eyes shut. Her mother was right. Aria and Sonata were her responsibility. She had taken an oath as their leader to protect them and do what was in their best interests. She grit her teeth. She hadn’t taken an oath to leave her mother behind, though!

Adagio pulled her tail up and slapped it against Aria’s muzzle, effectively dazing her best friend. Breaking free of the light purple siren’s grip, Adagio turned to Sonata. “Take Aria and continue on the path toward the mainland. I will meet you at the reef a few miles from here. Stay covered until I call for you. Do you understand?”

Sonata nodded and grabbed Aria under a foreleg, hurrying away. Adagio turned back to where the predators had surrounded her mother. Rushing forward, she slammed her head into the one nearest her. She slapped her tail into the side of another, gaining the attention of the rest of the group.

“Adagio!” Fioritura snarled. “I told you to swim away!”

Adagio ignored her and kicked out a hoof, smacking one of the predators directly in the mouth. The teeth dug in slightly, but Adagio retreated before damage could be done. Fioritura rolled her eyes at her daughter and absently swatted the head of one of the fish heading for her daughter. Her sheer size alone gave her an advantage over the fish. Still, with Adagio here, she had to be certain she didn’t accidentally hurt the smaller siren.

Swinging their fins together, mother and daughter kept the predators at bay and did their best to avoid the sharp teeth coming for them. However, the predators drew strength in numbers and Adagio began to tire. Her movements became sloppy and a stray bite nicked her hide. Blood leaked into the area around them, riling up the hungry pursuers further.

Fioritura swam protectively around the smaller siren, keeping the predators in her sights to the best of her ability. She needed to get Adagio out of here before they closed in for the kill. Gathering her strength, the purple siren wrapped her tail around her precious offspring and vaulted Adagio through the water.

Adagio cried out in shock at being propelled away from the fight. She flapped her fins desperately to right herself and turned back. “Mother!” she shouted, making to return to the fray.

“No, Adagio, you must swim!” Fioritura ordered. “Stay with your Orchestra! Protect them!”

Adagio bit her lip. Bowing her head, she nodded and turned tail, forcing her tired fins to push her toward the reef. Glancing back, she spotted her mother putting up a hard fight against the predators, but they were outnumbering her. Adagio averted her gaze as a set of sharp teeth finally tore into the purple hide. The scent of blood filled the water and made her want to gag.

Forcing herself to keep going, Adagio hurried on for the reef. Sonata and Aria would be waiting there for her. She needed to protect them. All they had left was each other.

Adagio stared around as she strode along the sidewalk with Aria and Sonata at her sides. Anyone who spotted them steered out of their way, most likely due to Aria’s death glare. The girl could glare a gang out of an alley if she was in a bad enough mood.

They were out scouting a feeding ground together. No flashy clothing, of course. In the current world, drawing attention to themselves tended to make it difficult to stay in one place for very long. They had donned simple tank tops and jeans beneath their hoodies. Summer hadn’t quite gone, but fall was definitely on its way. The weather was cool enough to warrant the extra protection for them.

Adagio watched the streets around them, looking for a place that would work as a proper feeding ground. It needed to be somewhere the trio could easily conceal themselves while still having enough people to provide a decent meal. Her lip curled at the thought. The fact that they even needed to scavenge for a decent meal always made her angry.

“What about there, Dagi?” Sonata asked, catching the attention of her friends as she pointed out a hot dog shop. “It looks pretty full!”

Adagio observed the hot dog shop for a moment. It did seem rather packed and there was enough room for the three of them to remain unnoticed as they sang. However, a sign caught her eye and she sighed.

“It won’t be that way when we feed tomorrow, Sonata,” she said. “It’s only packed at the moment because they’re having a sale on some of their specials.”

“Oh.” Sonata lowered her head. She was only trying to help, but most of the places she ever suggested weren’t good ones. She wasn’t good at this like Dagi.

“Why don’t we head in now?” Aria piped in. “We could go in, grab a quick bite, and book it.”

Adagio shook her head and pointed to the overhead sun. The orb was high in the sky, taunting them with its very presence. “You know it’s dangerous to feed during the day. We’re more likely to be interrupted.”

Aria huffed and crossed her arms petulantly, knowing Adagio was right. They had tried a few times in this place to feed during the day since the beginning of the new century, but someone always ended up calling the authorities before they could finish. They would always need to feed twice as much because of it.

The trio continued their trek, looking for ideal places to restore their strength. The streets were busy, people bustling about their day-to-day business. The flow of it passed along as the three Sirens continued on their journey.

Sonata craned her head in every direction, hoping she could find somewhere suitable so that all of the work wasn’t on Adagio. Dagi always took care of them, so Sonata always wanted to try repaying her for her hard work. It usually fell flat, but Dagi congratulated her on trying her best. Still, Sonata wanted to contribute more than just her voice to their usual feeding.

Aria grumpily glared at the passersby walking around them. The nature of their current outfits was to avoid having attention drawn to them. If the people couldn’t get the hint, Aria would drive it a little more home. Adagio had enough to worry about with Sonata and finding them a place to feed. She didn’t need some googly-eyed prepubescent-looking teenager trying to make the moves on her.

Violet eyes glanced to the side at her leader. Though she was loath to admit it, Aria did notice the small bags under Adagio’s eyes. It had been a few days since they had fed at the bakery and in that time, the nightmares still hadn’t subsided. They could never pinpoint the exact date of her death, but it always plagued Adagio, just as much as the memory of her mother’s death did. Hopefully, they would fade into the background again soon. They needed Adagio at her best in order to feed properly.

Adagio, for her part, merely let her eyes rove the areas around them. She was looking for a place to feed, but she also needed to unwind. Her latest nightmare had left her emotionally raw that morning. Feeling the outside, taking in the scents and sounds of nature and the life around her helped her switch her focus from memories to her status over these pathetic creatures. Reminding herself of her own greatness helped to ease the pain of the memories and aided her in pushing them away.

Of course, there was always something else that helped to push the memories away. Or rather, someone.

“What about there, Dagi?” Sonata gasped, tugging her arm and pointing to a nearby restaurant. The diner appeared quaint and relatively well-kept. A steady flow of customers seemed to be going in and out of it. Glancing around, Adagio couldn’t spot any promotional material or special deals, which meant that the diner must have usually been this populated.

A small smile curled her lips. Perhaps she was rubbing off on her friends after all. Usually, as the leader of their Orchestra, it was her job to provide for them, to keep them safe. It was her Oath, her Vow, her duty as their leader. However, seeing her little Sonata finding a suitable place to feed didn’t hurt either.

Reaching out a hand, the yellow siren placed it against her friend’s blue hair proudly. “You may be on to something with this one, Sonata,” she praised.

“Can I go check it out?” Sonata asked excitedly, already looking ready to cross the street. Adagio caught her arm quickly.

“Remember that you can’t stray too far from me in this world, Sonata,” Adagio reprimanded her. Sonata was usually very good about remembering that little detail, but when she was excited, she tended to forget everything except what she was focused on. As it were, the blunette smiled at her sheepishly and remained in her place.

Adagio examined the diner for a moment, watching the people who walked in and came out. It appeared that it was a common hangout. Not quite as popular as the sweets shop down the street, but enough that they would get some decent energy out of the people there. Nodding to herself, Adagio smiled to her friends. “Looks like we’ve got our place to feed, girls. Let’s get home and rest up. We’ll need it for tomorrow.”

Aria and Sonata dutifully followed after her. And why wouldn’t they? She was their leader, she kept them safe and fed. It was her duty to protect them. That was the promise she had made, not only to them, but to her mother as well.

Author's Note:

Whoo, difficult figuring out exactly which flashbacks to put where, but since we're getting into Rainbow Rocks territory, not much I gotta do soon. Flashbacks almost done, shit bout to go down.

Comments

[FelSpite]

So far so good. Really interested in the upcoming interactions between the sirens and rainbooms.

GLHF!

[Snowflake Dissonance]

8194798
8143327 Thanks so much!

[Misdirection]

This looks pretty interesting. Hope to see more soon!