#sorrowsofsymphony

He wasn’t quite sure what he was doing here. When he saw that the village was hosting ballroom dance classes in the Town Hall, he’d shrugged it off and ignored it. It took him walking past the poster three times before he even thought of signing up. On the seventh walk by, he gave in and signed up. But now that he was actually standing in the hall, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly awkward. The class had yet to start and people were easily mingling, chattering about anything and everything. Once upon a time, small talk had been Arthur’s forte. He could natter away for a millennia about nothing in particular but nowadays he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Instead, Arthur opted for the perfectly respectful choice of trying his best to blend into the wallpaper and look busy fiddling with shirt.

It wasn’t until the class had started and they’d been paired off that Arthur became really nervous. He never was one for women, but he wasn’t blind. The woman he’d been paired with was absolutely beautiful, almost ethereal. She was all soft lines and delicate features, though she towered over him. In fact, he wasn’t even quite sure why they’d been paired up; she had to be at least a foot taller than him. Nonetheless, he held out his hand, determined to not let his manners slip.

Underneath the waves, which lulled over the surface of the sea in relaxation, the whispering tendrils of moonlight filtered through the water. It illuminated the deep navy to green, growing ever darker the further down we go. More life began to show, from a school of fish to jellyfish bobbing along in the currents.

It was at sights like these that Josephine found herself content, the warmth of the water against her skin as she swam the waters of Treowa. Her slender black, scaled body shifted with ease and grace, her flowing lilac fins drifting around her.

In the distance, she could see a figure, passing by idly. She recognised them, but couldn’t quite make out who it might be just yet. Narrowing her coal-like eyes, she swept aside her black hair, which has swished in front of her face. In a moment, she was swimming towards this figure, smiling sharp teeth glinting as she spoke, voice disturbed by the water, “ah, Roderich, how have you been? Heard anything among the sea creatures of late? I’m awfully out of touch.”

The dark of night was a time Roderich felt more at ease swimming out of his secluded cavern. It was certainly hard to be spotted underwater regardless of the time of day, but the light of the moon brought a sort of calm with it. So, he’d wandered out, hoping to catch himself something to eat. 

As he swam through the pleasantly warm water, he sensed someone approaching, tensing momentarily before recognizing them as Josephine. Roderich spoke to the other siren on occasion, feeling something like solidarity for anyone like himself. He greeted her with a light nod and a neutral expression.

Even though she had just installed a little bell on the corner of the door frame, Konstanze still had a bad habit of tuning out everything else while she was working. Thus, when the woman behind her spoke up, she jumped a little bit, not entirely realizing someone had entered the shop.