City Limits

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Maya's ears perked up at Adrian's answer. The Great Depression in America had started in 1929. He wasn't just old enough to be her grandfather, he was probably old enough to be her great-grandfather.

At the next question, she had more of an answer than before. "Well, the reason I came here and my talent are two different things. I came here because I didn't like being homeschooled by my step-mother. My talent is singing. It sounds all cliche, but my singing is a little more complicated than the average human's." Maya thrust her arm up into the air and kept a straight face. "Go, Sirens."

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




"Ah, another Siren? I just removed one of your kind from the school the other day," he said, genuinely surprised at her answer. "Her name's Melody Shell, I doubt you've met her. She's quite a handful." He chuckled, although his cheeks turned a little red at the memory of the beautiful and buxom blonde Bunny. "There's quite a few Sirens at the school, but there's only really one that worth spending time around, and he's only a quarter. When you've got the time, go into the art classroom and ask for Peter. Just tell him Adrian Darcy sent you, and he'll lose that mean scowl and teach you a thing or two about painting. Just be sure not to get too close, or the teacher might try to bite your head off." He shifted gears as his speed increased, the wind whipping his hair about, but that only made the handsome man look even more rakishly attractive.

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, that's interesting. I'm only half myself, and I know it's rare to find others like that. I'll probably visit when we get back."

She began to take notice of the accented man now that she was not begging his pardon. His red hair made him look almost dangerous, but his expressions said otherwise. Although, that could not be said for the face he had made earlier when speaking of Lena. Speaking of which, Maya didn't know much about Lena, which could be problematic later.

"So, who is this Lena girl to both you and Nikolai? Obviously she must have special relationships with the two of you or this mess wouldn't even be happening."

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




Adrian thought for a moment before answering, not wanting anything to come out the wrong way. "Lena is the single most important woman in the world," was what he could could come up with. "She was once married to Nikolai, before he was brought back, I mean. They had a son named Dragon, a beautiful child cursed by hatred in his blood and of his blood, as well a curse that makes him older than he is. That's all I'll tell you about her. She can tell you the rest." He sighed deeply, reaching one hand to his hair to push it back, the red eyes watching that empty road in front of them completely exposed and his well-sculpted features further detailed by the sun's light on the slightly cloudy day.
Adrian was a truly good-looking man, considering he'd been forced to stop growing at the tender age of 18. His nose was a straight line until the curved tip, dark red and arched eyebrows settled nicely over his eyes that had thick and long lashes, and the Horseman's lips were a soft pink, the lower lip just lightly dark than the other from being bitten just a few minutes ago. His white shirt was a contrast to his sun-touched skin, his muscles outlined even through the cotton. Long legs moved as he pressed his feet around, arms flexing just a little in frustration as he noticed a car coming up behind them. Not bad to look at at all.

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mention of marriage was a bit surprising. Although, it's not so weird that a man like Nikolai could fall in love. However, the mention of a child struck her hard. She curled her knees in and hugged them close, missing the solace of a loving person.

"He has a child...but he didn't seem like a father." Then a thought occurred to her that she had neglected to ask Nikolai himself when he drank. "How old is he anyway?"

He couldn't be so old, could he? There was no way he was as old as the man beside her. He was too carefree and full off laughter to have seen anything more than twenty years it seemed.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




"Pfft, Hell if I know!" he scoffed, glancing over to her once more as he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Watching her for a few seconds, he moved his eyes back to the road and switched hands on the wheel, the one that was in his hair now and the wheel and the other on the girl's head in the most comforting way he could summon. His cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment, but hey, at least he was trying! "Hey, it was a long time ago. Don't get a look like that on your pretty face because of some guy's past." Taking his hand away, he set it on the wheel and smiled a little as they continued down the road. "I don't think you ever told me your name," he said suddenly, wanting to change the subject.

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The man's touch sent shivers down her spine. It wasn't custom to touch people without warning in Japan, so his hand on her head felt odd. Although, she didn't push it away as she was more focused on Nikolai being a father.

"My name is Maya." She paused for a moment. "How old is his son?"

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




Adrian hesitated once more, his hand that was on her head before now messing with the car's radio. "Well, Dragon was born about two years ago, so he's technically two. But when he was around a year old, he was cursed to be a teenager, so now he's eighteen. Headstrong, just like his mother, too." He chuckled, eyes crinkling at the corners once again fondly. "He's a good kid." The man finally stopped fiddling with the radio after it settled on a country channel, Luke Bryan's Drink a Beer playing softly from the speaker. He turned his head towards Maya a little, winking playfully. "Country's one of my favorite genres. Don't tell anyone, okay?" With a grin, he looked back forward, his grin slowly drifting into a kind smile. "So, Maya. That's a pretty name. You named after anyone?"

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, I guess that's going to be a problem... Maya hadn't intended on changing anything but her opinion on her safety around Nikolai by the time she returned to the school. However, the affection was going to decrease towards him. She knew it would be uncomfortable to both parties if she was the same age as Dragon.

Maya only nodded slightly at Adrian's comment about music choice. She had never really had any particular dislike towards any genre, so she wouldn't be telling anyone else anytime soon.

She uncurled herself and sat upright again. "Well, my mother and father named me together for two reasons. The first being that, in Sanskrit, it means "goddess of illusion". My mother thought that fitting for a Siren. My father, however, named me after the mountain we lived near. Mt. Maya. They only liked telling me that story a million times." She laughed, thinking of her father and mother muttering to themselves over who brought up the name first.

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




"Hey, that's a pretty cute story," he chuckled, slowing as they neared the last stoplight for 50 miles. He took advantage of the stop, eyes suddenly caught by the pretty girl next to him. "Maya," he started quietly intense eyes on her as he moved closer and closer. He reached one hand up to her cheek, just barely brushing her skin--
And plucked an eyelash from her cheek.
He grinned cheekily as he leaned back upright, pinching the short hair between his index finger and thumb. "Hah! Eyelash! Here, make a wish." He held out his hand to her excitedly.

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Adrian leaned into her, Maya prepared to push him away. Inches from her face, she moved her hands forward, but heard him state there was an eyelash on her face. This man was beginning to make her jumpy. He seemed to mean well, but so did some of the men she met on the docks.

Instead of being rude and ignoring him, she closed her eyes and wished. Let Nikolai be innocent, and let me be strong enough to stay just friends when he is.

She blew on the eyelash after running the thought through a few times. It was childish of her to believe in any kind of magic, but some would say humans are childish for believing in Sirens.

"So, tell me about Lena. Is she cheerful or depressed? Does she walk on air or trip on it? The most important girl in the world must be interesting."

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




Adrian's eyes sparkled at the memory of the laughing young woman, tossing her hair over her shoulder as he did a terrible impression of her brother, dotting his nose with cake batter and trying (and failing) to sneak away before he notices and gets her back with a spoon filled with batter, and most of all, walking into the sitting room in the middle of the night and seeing her sitting on a rocking chair in front of the fire, calmly stroking her protruding belly and singing the chorus of a random rap song that she probably shouldn't have known as a lullaby. "She's sweet, funny, annoying peppy," he laughed, shaking his head before the car started moving once again. "Lena's clumsy as Hell, can't even walk longer than five minutes without stumbling, and she always tries to fix what she can't. She's... She's completely adorable."
The Horseman refocused himself on the road, blinking away the clear affection. "Anyway, she's interesting, yeah. Not like many other people I've met. You'd like her, I think."

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I can see it. I think I would like her."

She could imagine a faceless girl smiling and laughing without a care in the world. Most likely she was just remembering some memory of her half-sister or one of the Siren girls she had met. Mixing that idea with one of motherly care was odd to imagine, but an idea dawned on her.

"She's probably a lot like my mother. Besides the clumsiness. Sirens aren't really known for being ungraceful anywhere but on land. Knowing her, I bet Lena is extremely overprotective of her child. Was she like that with Dragon?" At Maya's own mentioning of the boy she thought up a plan for when she got back.

I'll sing to Nikolai, tie him to a chair, and ask why the heck he didn't tell me about a son. I mean, we barely met, but that doesn't mean you hide the son angle...

 

[Mayah Playah]

Adrian Darcy




"I don't really know," he said, shrugging "I mean, Dragon hates her completely, so she clearly wasn't the greatest mother. But with this next one? She won't have a choice." His tone was stern, almost fatherly now. "After all, his Papa isn't going to ever let his precious boy feel like Dragon did." Wanting to change the subject, Adrian suddenly laughed. "What are your parents like?"

TeddyAssassin33

 

[TeddyAssassin33]

Mayah Playah

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maya Lee
Don't listen when day turns to night
I won't be there to protect you then.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Well, my father is warm, clumsy, and not-so-bright. It took my mother a few explanations before he finally understood she was a Siren. The times he really lights up are when he tells his "tales" as he says. My mother, well, my mother is doting, lithe, and cruel. Not to me, of course, but to sailors. Watching her play with their bodies as they die is enough to tell that. They're odd people, those two, but they're family." The blood trail in the ocean of her mind caused her to shiver.

Too many times did she have to watch her mother and the others attack helpless humans. The Sirens would surface and begin their haunting melodies to allure sailors out of their ships. Every once in a while, the ship would be carrying sailors from the port she lived at. Her mother tried to avoid those ones, but it couldn't always be helped. The faces of the others when Maya got back were nothing less than painful.