Sirens at the Gates

by Daniel-Gleebits

I Wanna Have a Child!

Sirens at the Gate
The former Greek city of Saguntum,
Late Spring, 218BCE

The city was a hive of activity, excitable and chaotic. Adagio felt only contempt for it. She found she could feel little else at the moment.

Whilst she hadn’t expected to just be left to go back home after performing her “reconnaissance duty” for the General, she certainly hadn’t expected the response he’d given her. After two months of deliberation, instead of simply allowing her and the other two to remain in Iberia, or even in the city as scouts for the inevitable arrival of general Scipio and his army (thus perhaps allowing the three of them to escape their unjust and unwilling service), he insisted that they accompany him and his brother in their mad march on the Italian peninsula.

Adagio’s fury had scarcely to have been described. If not for her supreme self control and half-awareness of the baseness of these pathetic human beings, she’d have left his office decorated in a charming new colour she called ‘hint of disembowelment’.

On the plus side, fleeting and insignificant though it was, as a “mercenary” in the employ of the Carthaginian army, she’d been granted a wage. And she supposed grudgingly that it was a fair amount. Despite some little spending since she’d started collecting, the rough bag she carried still fairly jingled with silver as she walked towards the burned out business that she, Aria, Sonata, and Salicar were using as a temporary home.

Adagio supposed they were additionally lucky to get this building too. Most of the rest of the soldiers, mercenaries, drafted native Iberians, and other groups come to join the latest round of one tribe killing another slept around the city’s exterior in makeshift shelters of their own construction. For some reason no one wanted to either live with, or even kick the four of them out. Adagio allowed the corner of her mouth to twitch a little. Now that some of their non-human nature sat astride the ungainly rumour mule, she supposed it couldn’t hurt to take advantage of it from time to time.

As she entered through the partially burned and broken archway into the shop, she heard the definite commotion of activity in an adjacent room. She placed two fingers to the side of her head and massaged her temple as she stood before the wash-bowl to freshen herself.

“You two could at least put a belt on the door or something!” she called in the direction of a heavy wooden door.

The sounds of passion paused for a moment. Then she heard the distinctive sound of Aria’s stifled snickering, followed by a continuation of the previous activity. Adagio huffed and rolled her eyes, taking the bag of silver back up. She definitely wasn’t staying here to listen to that.

---

Her travel through the streets of Saguntum reinforced her earlier hypothesis about the people’s views of her. All but the most grizzled and weary soldier seemed to give her a wide berth, going out of their way to cling to the building fronts or drift casually to the other side of the street. Even the enterprising traders and merchants who had taken the opportunity to sell to the growing horde seemed to become quieter and more distracted when she came by. One man seized his child bodily as the youth made to run out from behind the stall, and clung to it as though he thought Adagio might decide that the fruit and grains of his stall couldn’t compare to the soft and juicy flesh of the boy.

The only one who didn’t flinch from her was too embroiled in ranting, raving, and threatening dismemberment, to spare her much attention until she stepped up to the stall and rapped her knuckles on the bare wood. The merchant looked around, and his eyes narrowed with recognition and loathing.

“Part of this little scheme, are you?” he addressed her. “What part were you supposed to play?”

“Sonata, what did you do?” Adagio asked patiently, ignoring the merchant.

Sonata, who looked as though she was preventing herself from tearing the man’s restraining hand off at the wrist with no little effort, pouted at Adagio as she tried to extricate her forearm from the man’s grip.

“I didn’t do anything!” she said indignantly. “This guy is making false accusations!”

Adagio raised her eyebrows in genuine surprise. “Four syllables.”

“The price of stealing from me is a broken arm!” the merchant growled. “I’d cut it off if I had a blade to hand.”

Sonata stopped struggling for a moment, her lip curling. “To hand,” she echoed, chuckling.

“What did she steal?” Adagio asked, giving the man a tired look.

The merchant seemed rather offended to be talked down to by someone who was a clear head shorter than he was, and considerably younger. Or so it appeared.

“She did not manage to steal it. I caught her and her child servants in the act!”

“That’s so not true!” Sonata barked, stomping her foot. Although no one else seemed to notice in the noise and bustle of the market, a hairline crack ruptured into the paving stone where Sonata’s foot landed.

Adagio cleared her throat meaningfully at Sonata, and then looked back at the merchant. “If she stole nothing, then let her go.”

The man sneered. “Ahh, yes, is very likely.”

“It is if you don’t want me to bring this to the General’s notice,” Adagio said, affecting a casual manner but with a biting undertone barely concealed beneath it.

The merchant glared at her, his narrowed eyes seeming to search her face.

“I just got back from a scouting mission for him,” Adagio went on. “I’d hate to disturb him whilst he’s taking our observations into account of the war effort.”

Several drawn out seconds went by. Then with a snort of contempt, the merchant threw Sonata’s arm away from him, and folded his arms, giving full vent to his dissatisfaction by giving the pair of them an impotent black look. Sonata vented her own feelings by returning the look, only with a rude gesture and a stuck-out tongue for good measure. Adagio let the man’s ire slide off her as she fished in the pouch at her waist and casually tossed a coin in his direction.

“For your trouble,” she said languidly, not looking back at him. “Well done restraining yourself,” she added to Sonata as both started towards the cloth merchant further up the road. “Even though they know we’re not like them, it doesn’t do for them to know what we can do.”

“I know,” Sonata said, fishing a hand in the money pouch and looking over the coins. “I don’t get money,” she added in a sceptical tone. “I mean, what’s it good for if it only has one use?”

“Who can tell what goes through these people’s minds,” Adagio said, giving the plaza a sweeping look. “No different than the ponies with their gems and gold coins. Perhaps we could have conquered the humans instead of the ponies if our pendants worked here.” She gave Sonata a sideways look. “Incidentally, what’s this excitement about you and child servants?”

Sonata exhaled loudly. “He was making stuff up. I was just getting the kids some food, and he straight up out of nowhere accuses us of stealing. I was going to pay!”

Adagio raised an eyebrow, curious. “You were giving the kids food? What kids?”

“Just some of the orphans around the city,” Sonata replied, shrugging. “I see them everywhere. Haven’t you?”

Adagio supposed that she had. Some alone, most in groups, a lot of children of one age or another haunted the shadowy parts of the city, orphans of the city’s original citizenry who’d either been killed or executed, or fled without their children. Apparently having enough empathy not to kill the children outright, the Carthaginian occupiers left them instead to starve slowly to death, ostracising the children as the spawn of their foes. Or at least a lot of them did. If Sonata’s story was to be believed, the merchant may be one such person.

Adagio frowned as her stomach twisted in that particular way it did sometimes when her indifference was challenged.

“Well, don’t go getting attached to any of them,” she said swiftly. “We’re not staying here, remember.”

Sonata said nothing to it, remaining quiet as Adagio finished her purchases.

“We’re not going back to the shop, by the way,” Adagio said flatly. “Aria’s busy.”

Sonata rubbed her chin. “Salicar?”

Adagio jerked her head up in a half-nod.

“So what should we do instead?”

Adagio gave the bag of silver a squeeze so all of the coins clinked. “I’m sure we can think of something.”

“You guys are ass holes,” Aria grumped, eyeing the colourful clothes Adagio was working on. The complimentary blue of Sonata’s new dress and the off-purple of Adagio’s had been expensive, although not nearly as expensive as true purple. Not that actual purple cloth had been available so far from Phoenicia.

“You don’t like wearing dresses,” Sonata said innocently.

Aria simply scowled and glared, no longer interested in plucking the chicken Salicar had bought. Adagio was content to allow the simmering resentment to continue, but Sonata evidently couldn’t contain herself.

“You’re so easy to tease!” Sonata cooed, wrapping the large wolf fur she’d been hiding around herself. With a spin she bumped into Aria, winking cheekily at her. “How do I look?”

“Like a wolf I used to know,” Aria said, smirking. She yanked the pelt away from her, sending Sonata laughing into another spin. “Now, what was it I did to him?”

“Probably what you did to Salicar,” Sonata said in a sing-song voice. Her eyes flashed down to Aria’s face as a wicked smile came to her lips. “Or something close.”

Aria wrapped the fur around herself. “We all have needs,” she said lightly, pinching a section of the fur’s interior. “Glad I had time to put the salt on. When did you have this done?”

“Over a month back,” Adagio said, plucking a thread with her teeth. “Did you really not notice it was gone?”

“It needed drying out,” Aria said, shrugging.

“Do you like it?” Sonata asked.

“You even kept the face,” Aria half chuckled, cupping the long snout in her hands. “Now I can forever stare into his face and know the sweet, coppery taste of victory.”

“That’s kinda creepy, Aria,” Sonata said pleasantly, leaning away from her.

“Whatever. I can be as creepy as I want,” Aria said, pulling the fur around her as though it was a heroic cape. “We’re witches, and all that crap.”

“Something we need to be careful not to give too much away about,” Adagio warned. “The sooner we find a place to skip out on this nonsense and get back to our lives, the better.”

Aria let her arms fall to her sides, the fur going limp around her shoulders. As Adagio continued sewing, Aria seemed to be building up her gumption to say something. With a scowl of self-disgust, she forced herself to speak.

“I’ve been thinking about that recently,” she said a little stiffly.

“About what?” Sonata asked.

Aria flicked her eyes to Adagio for a split second. “You know. About being in the war and stuff.”

Adagio paused in her hemming as what Aria had said hit her. Her brow furrowing, she looked up, all of her attention on Aria’s colouring face.

“What about us being in the war?” she asked levelly.

Aria bit her lip. “Well... I was just thinking maybe,” she began in a rush. “Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad for us to... you know, change pace.”

Adagio’s brows rose high up into her fringe, her eyes turning glacial. She kept Aria fixed on her stare for a few moments, trying to think just what could have—

“Salicar,” she breathed, as though the name were some ancient and abominable utterance. “He’s got you hooked on this patriotism fix of his.”

“Ooooh,” Sonata cooed long and loud, her pink eyes going wide.

Aria gritted her teeth, snarling. “I knew you two would take it like this,” she growled. “It’s just my opinion.”

“Aria and Salicar, in the house of Tanit,” Sonata sang, shaking her hips to the rhythm. “He says he’ll give it any way she wants it.”

Adagio shook her head, returning to her needlework as Sonata dodged out of the way of Aria’s retaliatory swipe. “Whatever,” she sighed.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Aria said tightly. “It’s not like that. It’s just sex.” She glared ferociously at Adagio. “Are you of all people going to lecture me on keeping things physical?”

“Not at all,” Adagio replied smoothly. “But you’ve gone off with soldiers before, and I’ve never heard you spout any of this change-of-pace babble before.”

Aria shrugged uncomfortably, drawing the fur back around her. “But don’t you ever feel... I don’t know.” She made an impatient noise. “Don’t you ever feel bored?”

Adagio kept threading the hem, but internally the words gave her pause. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Sonata’s smile freeze and slowly fall from her face. Apparently taking Sonata’s reaction as encouragement, Aria went on.

“I mean come on. We were going to take over Equestria once. What do we do now? We hunt, survive, move, and then do it all over again. For hundreds of years.”

“It’s not our fault,” Sonata said quietly, sounding unsure. “Our pendants don’t—“

“Maybe we don’t need our pendants,” Aria interjected, a renewed urgency in her voice.

“We can’t do it without our pendants,” Adagio intoned decisively. “All of these civilisations are male-dominated. The powerful ones at any rate.”

Aria’s lip twisted. “Maybe. Perhaps we couldn’t be the leaders. But we could have power. If we were important in the war, then maybe we’d get something at least behind the scenes. It doesn’t even have to be official, just something... I don’t know.”

Adagio on the other hand, did. Aria’s words stirred an idea in her head. Whilst it was true that none of them could safely be a visible leader of any of the known powers, perhaps it was possible instead to be a shadowy influence. Behind the scenes, working the powers that be out of the public eye. And Carthage was powerful. Rome was powerful too, sure, but there was no guarantee that they were going to win a war with Carthage. Perhaps it would do to wait and see, and then decide which side to choose.

Adagio mentally shook her head. “It’s a bad idea,” she stated. “We’ve stayed clear of human wars before for good reason. The sooner we can get out of this one the better.”

Aria compressed her lips. “Fine. Excuse me for wanting more than an eternity of playing it safe.”

With that she flounced out of the room, her wolf fur swirling behind her, and leaving a stodgy silence in her wake. The air was thick with uncertainty and resentful feeling, at least on Adagio’s part. Whilst she couldn’t speak for Sonata, the blue girl too seemed to be mulling Aria’s words.

Ridiculous, Adagio thought, internally shaking her head.

Unfortunately, a small, persistent part of her couldn’t help but consider the thought. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t at one time dreamed of overcoming the additional adversity of their stultified powers, and rise to prominence over this world in spite of what she was sure Starswirl had thought a foolproof method of keeping them out of trouble. This drive had died hard, lingering for decades into fruitless efforts to make their pendants work, use their superhuman strength and speed to rise through the ranks of human influence, or otherwise scheme their way into prestige and power. Each attempt had fallen flat, usually sooner than later, and many of them had come back to bite them. The varying degrees of misogyny found in most of the prominent cultures, their lack of presence in any established nobility, and their perceived age combined to render them powerless in every instance. Most powerful men and women didn’t want to listen to teenage girls telling them what to do, and even manipulations of the more vulgar sort were so tenuous and short-lived that they’d quickly given them up.

It sickened Adagio to her soul to think how much she’d internalised and justified it all in her own mind.

Setting down the dress she was making, unable to focus on it any longer, she contemplated for a second whether she should find a vessel to throw up in, or just walk it off. With no vessels to hand, she opted for the latter, leaving Sonata alone in the room.

---

Aria’s foolishness blew Adagio into a fearsome rage. Like a tiny flame let loose on a pile of dry leaves, it rose up, blown by contrary winds into a furore. The more she thought about it the angrier she became, and it wasn’t until she reached the city outskirts that she began to think of it in any way that might have been reasonable.

Hunger gnawed at her, and not simply the prosaic sort. Her ire drove her blood lust as naturally as thirst drove one to drink. She glanced around, her instincts taking subconscious note of the dimming light, the limited number of humans going about their meaningless tasks. At a quick pace she made for the closest line of trees set back from the walls. Her senses branched out, her hearing sharpening, her olfactory picking up minute scents upon the evening breeze. It was so easy to lose herself in the rhythm of the hunt, to let her senses overtake her mind. As though in reward for this surrender, her ears pricked up at a small sound.

A deer, prim and graceful, stepping carefully through the trees, its ears flicking in search of danger. Danger came, light feet treading quickly around fallen leaves and creaking tree roots. Before the deer’s large black eyes could track her, she’d decimated the distance between them and was upon it before its legs could make the crucial turn in the opposite direction. Whilst she moved she undid the sash at her waist, her garment falling from her as she shrugged the fabric from her shoulders. She and the deer crashed to the floor before the clothes even hit the ground.

The deer’s death was as quick as its fall. As usually, cruelty did not inform the killing method, and the deer’s blank stare into everything arrested its expression even as Adagio laid its entrails bare. Unfortunately, now that Adagio’s bloodlust was sated, her conscious mind began to reinsert itself, and questions began in the back of her brain.

She sat back on her haunches, looking at the dead deer, lying in the stinking remains of its gore.

An eternity of playing it safe.

Adagio’s lip curled. It was still ridiculous. What was wrong with playing it safe? Did Aria think being recklessly stupid was the better course? Because they’d all lived long enough to know the grisly fates of some of those whom had thought like that. On occasion they’d even caused said fates when in a bad mood.

Adagio fingered a large, lumpy, blood filled chunk of liver, suddenly no longer quite so hungry as she first imagined she was.

Her ears pricked. Steps behind her. She looked quickly around, breath caught in her throat as she tensed to spring out of sight, only to find Sonata standing there.

“Hungry?” Adagio asked. “Dig in. I’m finished.”

Sonata didn’t move towards the deer, but picked up Adagio’s clothes from the floor, folding them over her arm. Her brow puckered, she looked deep in thought.

“You ran off so quickly,” she started quietly. “Did Aria get to you?”

Adagio scowled. “What do you mean, ‘get to me’?”

“Don’t you think she’s right?” Sonata asked, scratching her head for an excuse to look away. “Maybe not about going to war, or whatever...”

Adagio let out a deep, heartfelt sigh, her eyes still fixed on the deer’s black, empty stare.

“I don’t know,” Sonata continued when Adagio said nothing. “I don’t really have a problem with what we’ve been doing, but—“

“Don’t you?” Adagio asked, her voice hard. “Whatever Aria’s reasons are, I don’t think it’s too far from the truth that we’re just content with the status quo.”

“Haven’t we needed to be?” Sonata said quietly. “I mean, every time we do anything remotely weird, stuff like this happens.” She gestured back towards the city. “We’ve done it a long time now.”

Adagio considered that. Standing up, feeling the mild breeze on her bare chest, she thought about the centuries they’d spent trapped in this world. What Sonata said was true, she recalled even recent instances of them shying away from discovery, the idea becoming a natural part of their daily lives; simultaneously trying to stem the danger of discovery whilst pushing the boundary of it. It just about characterised their last few decades of life.

“We didn’t even realise that we’ve been playing it safe, did we?” Adagio asked, smiling a little ruefully. “Just trying to survive. Damn, now I’m starting to understand what Aria meant. It is boring.”

Sonata shrugged and smiled with equal awareness of the absurdity of their situation. “Like normal people,” she said, putting her head to one side.

“But still. War? Getting involved in human politics?”

“It’s not like we have a choice, is it?” Sonata suggested. “We’re in it, whatever now.”

Adagio gave her a probing look. “Do you agree with Aria? It doesn’t matter if you do, you can tell me.”

Sonata pursed her lips. “I don’t think she’s right. Like, ever. But this once, I kind of think maybe she made a few good points.”

“That’s the problem,” Adagio exhaled. “So do I.”

An eternity of playing it safe.

---

Sonata left Adagio to her thoughts, disappearing into the forest. The mood had been so heavy and sombre that she hadn’t even taken the time to try and steal a bit of Adagio’s kill; semi-acceptable behaviour amongst their kind, so long as one can lift the kill without engaging the owner directly. Consequently Adagio returned when it was a great deal darker, and re-entered the city through its blasted gate. Passing through a gap in the somewhat fixed heavy wooden gates, Adagio expected the square beyond to be empty, and at first it appeared to be so.

Looking up, she saw the shapes of the night-time guards marching along the walls. She’d avoided them easily enough, but as she made her way casually into the city, she felt something was off. Pausing half-way out of the wall’s enormous shadow like some half-formed apparition of mist and darkness, she considered her surroundings. In the almost perfect dark of the night, she permitted herself to rely temporarily on her sight, and tapped into the small part of the infra-red spectrum she had access to. For a moment, nothing, just cold spots that registered to her as inky blues and greens amongst deepest black. Then she caught sight of something brighter, a glow of red cut in half by a straight line of black. Once she saw it, it vanished, retreating into the blackness.

Her eyes flashed an arc, and she saw many other little glows of red and orange, all obscured behind the edges of buildings. Then her ears picked up.

“Witch,” a terse voice rumbled. “I would have words.”

The Captain strode forward, descending a set of steps Adagio had not thought to look up to. He came unhurriedly, his eyes fixed upon her face, his own expression a stony representation of disapproval. His arm, Adagio couldn’t help but notice, was bandaged and splinted where she’d crushed his ulna and radius. Using her unique sight, she saw that despite his impassive expression, his cheeks radiated a stronger heat than should have been the case for someone walking down some stairs.

“I wasn’t aware my whereabouts were your concern,” Adagio said airily. “I answer directly to the general, you know.”

“I’m not interested in whatever sacrilegious devilry you and your heathen cohorts get up to,” he growled. “I just want to make one thing very clear to you.”

Adagio didn’t reply, but just looked up at him, her eyes cold and unconcerned. Genuinely, she was not afraid of him. He was a broad and muscular man, but her natural strength would be enough to overpower him, even if he tried to pull a weapon. The other three, four... no, six men standing by around the square however; they were more of a problem.

“You have humiliated me,” he breathed, stepping close. “I will not forgive this, and one day soon, you will be made to suffer for it.”

Adagio frowned. She glanced again at the men standing all around, hidden in their dark corners. She’d been anticipating retribution now whilst she was at a disadvantage. Why would he choose to tell her revenge was coming, and not do it when he had the chance? What was more, why were they all hiding instead of simply confronting her if that had been their objective?

Perhaps the moon above shone just enough light for him to see the question in her face, for he grimaced, an action somewhat like a smile. If boulders could smile, that is.

“Why not now?” he asked. “It shall come at my choosing, not before. I wish you to know it so that you may ponder when I shall strike, and be eaten up with the fear of the inevitable.”

With that, he turned casually, and walked away into the square. “Pleasant travels in the dream realm,” he said, echoing off the buildings all around.

Adagio allowed a scowl to form on her face as her lip pulled back in a leer.

“A time of your choosing,” she chortled scathingly, amused disdain creeping across her face. “You mean when the general isn’t expecting it. It’s obviously not me, a little girl you’re afraid of, of course. That’s why you got your little pankration team together here so they can hold me down while you do...” she let out a small chuckle, venomous as a cobra. “Well, whatever it is you do to fifteen year-olds. Far-be-it for me to question your kinks.”

The Captain had paused at her words, and now half turned, taking in a sharp breath. After a few moments however, he turned back, and continued up the street. Adagio saw the warm spots wink out as the other men departed as well.

To her disgust, Adagio found herself holding her breath. Letting it out in a controlled but shaky breath, she allowed herself time to calm down.

Despite what she knew to be the correct assertion that his stay of action was because of blowback upon himself from the General’s wrath, that didn’t mean that he was powerless, nor alone. As a captain, he had some influence, and she’d probably bolstered it if anything by proving herself useful to the General, since it had been the Captain who’d brought her to him. He could make trouble if he wanted to, and it irritated her that it was so.

An eternity of playing it safe.

Grinding her teeth, she made her way quickly back to the burned out shop.

Slightly to her surprise, she came back to find Aria still sitting up whilst Salicar slept. Adagio looked around.

“Where’s Sonata?” she asked.

Aria shrugged, her brow furrowing. “Dunno. Don’t know where either of you were.”

“So why are you still up?” Adagio narrowed her eyes. “Not like you to not take advantage of alone time.”

Aria’s mouth thinned. “Yeah, well, I might just have taken a few advantages,” she began darkly, “if not for a certain captain and his cronies sneaking around.”

Adagio’s insides squirmed, though she showed no visible sign of it. She allowed a curious frown to tug her elegant eyebrows out of alignment.

“Did he confront you?” she asked in a low voice.

“Yeah,” Aria said slowly, giving Adagio a knowing sort of look. “You too?”

Adagio gave a curt nod. “What did he say?”

“Not much,” Aria shrugged, putting her hands behind her head. “Asked where you were, and if Sonata was around. I don’t know what his little crowd of buddies gathered behind him was supposed to be there for though. Salicar thought maybe he was coming to arrest you.”

Adagio considered this information. If she understood rightly, the Captain’s entourage hadn’t been hiding when they came to see Aria, so why had they been hiding just now?

“When was this?” Adagio asked.

“Hours ago. A little after you and Sonata left actually.”

A tension filtered into the room as both of them recalled. Adagio gave her head a sharp turn as though shooing away a fly.

“Speaking of whom,” she said in an affectation of boredom. “Where is the idiot?”

“Right here!”

Sonata swanned in, swinging her arms in a wholly unnecessary way, her face bright with merriment and her clothes grubby.

“Did you really just answer to where is the idiot?” Aria asked monotonously.

Sonata shrugged, her face still split in a smile.

“What the hell have you got to look so happy about?” Aria demanded, clearly irritated by Sonata’s overt cheeriness.

Instead of answering the question, Sonata turned to Adagio, leaning slightly so that her finely curved hips and shapely shoulders presented an attitude of supplication that nicely harmonised with the I-want-something look on her heart-shaped face.

Adagio, still caught up in her speculations regarding the captain, didn’t notice any of this until Sonata’s face was uncomfortably close to her own, and even then she opened her mouth to ask a question rather than attend to whatever Sonata was bursting to ask.

“Sonata, did you happen to come across—“

“I wanna have a child!” Sonata interrupted.

-To be Cotninued

Comments

[grammar404]

I'll be happy to provide, I guess?

[Arroz]

Wow, This, This is nice.

I wonder if they'll find themselves embroiled in the rest of the chaos that follows in the Classical world?
The Civil Wars? Social Wars?

I imagine them commenting on what the history books might've gotten wrong by the modern day.

[Daniel-Gleebits]

8342314
I'd like to think that they would, but that won't really happen in this story. Except upon things that already happened before this point, such as the Macedonian conquest, the Greek-Persian war, etc.

[Arroz]

8344001

Of that i'm sure, maybe they have some choice words to describe just how creepy Alexanders mom was.
Looking forward to what happens next. Fics relating to the Sirens meandering through history are nice.

[Daniel-Gleebits]

8344020
You mean the snake woman? Oooh, I wish I'd put something in there about her now

[Wandering Eye]

welp, thats a cliff hanger. im starting like to see the Captain strung up right proppa.. or be a "casualty of the war" somehow. it's amusing to see where this all can still go, and the setting is something i certainly don't see enough.

I do hope more is written!

[Daniel-Gleebits]

8439923
There will be. I've been doing a comic recently to help reset my mind from writing. I was having real trouble putting finger to keyboard with how frustrated I was about certain real-life things. But I haven't forgotten this.

[Wandering Eye]

8440148

ahh. Take th' time you need, at times there's only so much one can make happen, and a natural flow is required. This Eye will keep watchin' for when the time comes.

[Ice Star]

8440148
Even if it's been a few years, this is still good to hear. :)

[jupitermoon]

I absolutely love stories that follow the sirens throughout history and there aren't nearly enough. The writing style is beautiful and has tons of awesome vocabulary words that create a wonderful atmosphere. The lore is fascinating and this world has so much potential. The interactions between the sirens are golden, as always. Really good stuff, with so many questions and so many places to go. Like Aria touched on in this chapter, what's their long-term plan? Do they still hope to return to Equestria? What will become of their pendants? Is Sonata ready for the trials of motherhood? Great piece of work that I thoroughly enjoyed, unfinished or not.