#shysiren

Keema clenched his jaw and thought, “I should let you starve.”“And, you’ll suffer all the same. Don’t get clumsy just because she’s pretty. She’s strong. Now, get it.” The voice ordered.Keema sighed and pushed away from the wall he was leaned against. He had not been a thief for long. Keema used to be a river guide, a good one at that. His curiosity had led him to finding that, the thing that led to his scars and his curse. He worked his way through the puddle filled cobble road. Keema was careful to avoid bumping into anyone. He had no idea which pouch he’d have to reach for. He would have to tail her for a bit, and let his eye do the searching for him. He kept only enough distance as to not let anyone break his line of sight to her. She must be out shopping, he thought. She seemed to aimlessly wander the streets. His gaze kept falling to just below her waist, below the belt. Her feline tail was distracting. “Nice ass.” The voice broke his concentration. “Magical, one might say. But that is not what I hunger for.” Keema felt heat rise to his face. “I’m trying to find it!” he thought back. “It’s like its close to- It’s close to there.” He looked at her behind again. “Below it somewhere.”“You know what you must do.”Keema clenched his jaw again and picked up the pace. Most of his attempts had little planning. He hoped he’d have enough luck to swipe whatever she was hiding without too much trouble. This required some thought though. There was hardly enough space for another person to fill the gap between him and her now. He couldn’t just reach between her legs and find whatever was hidden. More heat flushed his face at the thought. He nearly bumped into her when she took a turn into a small shop. He kept his pace, passed the door up and stopped at a window looking into the shop. It was a clothing shop, Teeka’s Dresses, a nice little place along a small plaza. Different clothes of bright colors and pastels filled clothing racks and were folded neatly onto different tables. “Aha!” he thought, “Lucky again.” He said as he strode into the shop behind someone else. A small bell rang as the people entered in front of him. The woman was taking her time feeling through the different fabrics. After some time, she had stopped at a table that had several dozen different dresses on it. Keema looked to see if anyone was watching, and he crawled under the waist high table. “Really, you are quite lucky.” The voice spoke up, in his head, again. Keema brushed the intrusive voice off. He watched her legs, and waited for her to get close enough to the table that she nearly rested against it. Her leg had pushed through one of the side slits between a tabard and her robe. A small belt was strapped high up her thigh. He could see what he was after. An emerald stone was clasped onto the small belt. “That’s it boy, get it.” “Break my concentration again and we’ll be had.” Keema thought back. The voice silenced, for now. Keema reached out, carefully, toward the stone. He tested it with a gentle poke. The woman hadn’t noticed. The stone was clasped too tight for a quick snatch and grab. He’d have to work the belt off. The sphinx woman shifted her weight and the stone disappeared beneath her robes. Keema held back voicing his frustration. She backed up and wandered over to a clothing rack. No one had noticed Keema, so he stayed low. He crawled his way behind the clothing rack she was at. He inched his way between some long shirts and dresses. Keema could see it again, in a break between some clothing. He had to make his move now. His hand moved to her thigh once more. She backed up and the robes opened up around his outstretched hand. Keema froze. His fins rose from the scare. The woman stared at his hand, and stepped back startled. Keema rolled out of the clothing rack and bowed his head while he kneeled on the ground. “Forgive me! I could not help myself!” She blushed. “You shouldn’t touch people like that!” Keema winced at the words. “No no! It isn’t like that! I was just- Ah. I-” He couldn’t decide which would be worse, being branded a thief or a pervert. “I am sorry! Forgive me!” The commotion had drawn some attention. “What is going on over there?” A man spoke from the back of the store. Keema looked up to the woman. His fins drew back down and his head low. “I dropped something, sorry!” She spoke up. She couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He looked like a puppy in her eyes. A fish, man, puppy. “He was helping me! Everything’s alright!”The man gave her a nod before going back to his work. She lowered her voice toward Keema. “Are you going to stay there and hope for another touch or shall we take this outside?”“Sorry! Sorry. Outside. We can talk more outside.” He could not stop himself from apologizing. His mind raced for a way out of this situation. “Relax Keema, you’re making me nervous.”  The voice taunted. “She’s very... Cooperative with us right now. She may need something. Hope may not be lost on you yet.”Keema rose from where he kneeled. He nervously followed the woman’s lead. A light rain had begun to fall again. They took shelter under an awning near a cafe. “Is there anything I can do to make up for my act?” The words flew from his mouth, impatiently. “Stop that!” He thought to what was inside him. She smiled. “If you can help me find something, perhaps, yes.”He hadn’t expected that. “I am Keema Wayfinder! A guide, I am great at finding!”“Sisi.” She bowed. Sisi gave a small laugh as Keema bumbled through his words. “Then I think you can make up for trying to grope me.” “I-i! It wasn’t like that!”“Then what could it have been? Hmm?” She taunted. She could hardly stop herself. Keema’s fins rose and fell with every reaction he had. His emotion was so easy to read, so entertaining to her. “It’s that, I.” He sighed. “Yes, I can make up for it. What do you seek?”“We’ll get to that. Why don’t you follow me back to the inn?” His fins rose as high as they could. “O- Of course! As you wish.”****************************** “Seriously Sisi. I send you out to get some less revealing clothes, and you bring back a fish?!” Eldir pointed angrily at Keema, who was shyly poised at the door. “Eldir! Be nice! He is a guide! He can help us search.” “I can search, I can read maps. I don’t smell like days old bath water. And, I rarely make it obvious that I’m staring at your tits. We don’t need a fucking pet fish following us around.” Keema’s gills fluctuated. “Oooh, anger. I haven’t even gotten that kind of anger from you, and I tried to kill you twice!” The voice agitated him more. “What is covered in hair and smells like shit?” Keema spoke up and stepped from his spot. “You!”Sisi’s jaw dropped. “Uh, boys... Now...” Eldir growled. “You listen the fuck up, gatorbait. First, don’t insult me with a stupid fucking riddle. Second, I have less than no reason to trust your sorry ass. You say you’re a guide. What the fuck is that on your face? Why are you all scarred up? Do you have any proof? She said you helped her pick up something she dropped? What was it?”Keema tensed his body. He lowered his stance and readied to launch himself at Eldir. “Now now.” The voice spoke up. “Don’t go getting us killed.” “Shut up.” Keema thought back. “Just gonna do him a favor, give him some gills.” He pounced. Eldir smirked and readied for the attack. “Stop!” Sisi shouted. A golden glow shone from behind her visor. “Do I have to put you two outside for the night!?” Keema was frozen in mid air, and Eldir stuck in an awkward pose. She seemed to have frozen them in place, or time. The glow faded and Keema dropped to the floor. Eldir nearly lost his balance and fell, too. “Eldir, if you want to keep travelling with me you will have to accept that it will not always just be you and I. We need help. Keema can help us.” “Whatever. He does one thing wrong, and that’s it, he’s gone.” Eldir turned his back to the two and took a seat at the small room table. “Forgive me Sisi, I had to defend my honor!” Keema slowly stood up.“If you aren’t careful with him, you’ll be defending a lot more than honor.” She walked to the bedside stand and picked up a small book. It had no title. She opened it and flipped through the pages until she came to one with a picture of a large city in a bubble. “Do you know this place?” “Ahlylir.” Keema knew immediately. She flipped a few more pages. There was writing that was strange to Keema, and a picture of a necklace with an amulet on it. He glanced up at Sisi’s necklace and gasped. “The sirens. How do you-” “My mother. We search for more information about her.”Keema gazed at her, dumbfounded. “Real mother?” “Yes, I am two halves Keema. Can you take us to their hall? Do you know its location?” “I have never been, nor seen the Hall of Sireena. I do believe I know who can get us there. Yes, we should go to Ahlylir.” “Now hold on. You can’t just abandon feeding me to go off on some adventure.” The voice intruded. “Where we go, there will be plenty for you. You hunger now, and ready yourself for a feast then. That I can promise.” Keema thought back. “Great!” Sisi added. “When should we leave?” “Tomorrow.” Eldir cut in. “Yes, we can start tomorrow.” Keema added. “Though I must gather some things. I shall meet you in a few hours. We’ll want to leave before daybreak, to follow the lights.”