Hypnovember 7 - Song
#7 of Hypno Stories
All characters featured are 18+
"Come to me my darlings! Let your hearts follow--" the hawk hovering above the ship suddenly stopped her angelic singing as her eyes laid on the deck. Naked as the day she was born, the hawk's only covering was the harp she held underneath her feathery breasts. In midair she somehow adopted a slumped posture as the wings on her back kept her upright. She groaned and gently lowered herself to the deck of the galleon. Every man on the ship had been tied down to various equipment on the deck. They all could be heard crying out lustfully for the hawk with tented trousers. Each one begged the ship's helm to come down and release them from their bondage so they might approach the source of that enchanting song. However, said helm, a polar bear sailor in his early thirties with a bushy thick black beard, simply ignored them as he addressed the hawk siren with a wave. She strummed her talons in impatience on the ship's railing. What came out of her beak next was still beautiful but lacked the hypnotic quality that had the crew spellbound. "Seriously? You again?"
"Yeah, what can I say? Them's the breaks," said the polar bear with a cheeky grin. Hand over hand, he adjusted the helm to pivot the ship in a northward direction--a shortcut out of siren territory. "And you can call me by my name, Estheria. It's Nate. I think we've hit that point in our relationship."
"Why is it _always_you?" The siren unfolded her arms and approached the polar bear. He didn't flinch as her talons nestled under his adam's apple. "I could just kill you here, you know."
"I know your curse, sweetie." Nate let the ship drift for a moment. He walked away from the siren. Her talons found no purchase along his skin. He then wandered over to the captain who was tied to the mast. The wolf ordered the bear to release him, shouting insults and gibberish as he despaired. Nate answered his plea for help by stuffing his muzzle with a wet rag. That done, he returned his gaze to the hawk. "Sorry, he was getting on my nerves. Anyway, I know you can only decide the fates of mortals you personally charm into the ocean. Since I'm immune to your song, I'm off the menu, hon."
Retrieving a cigar from a box in his vest pocket, the polar bear lit and stuffed it between his lips. Estheria waved at the remaining sirens, a signal that this ship was a dry well. The other hawks shouted obscenities in Nate's direction before they soared away.
"So, you've turned your infuriating immunity into a business, huh?" she said.
"Turns out folk'll pay mountains of gold if they can cut through this neck of the ocean." Nate puffed on his cigar, blowing a ring of smoke in the captain's face. He returned to the steering wheel, effortlessly steering the ship with one hand. "Saves about two weeks of travel time. I get the money they would've spent on extra provisions."
"Sounds like you have it all figured out. But have you considered my feelings? I haven't eaten a mortal in almost a month thanks to you!"
An incredulous smugness spread like butter over his ursine face. "I'm sure with your immortal intelligence you can tell why I'm not that sympathetic."
She grumbled. Her gaze shifted to each man still under her sway. None of them had come even close to rousing from their haze. Her fists clenched at the sight of so much food going to waste. "Can I at least have the short one?"
"Sorry. I need them all or I can't meet the contract--"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh,
_ Listen well the wind she blows from east nor'east,_
_ Our ship will scud ten knots at least,"_
A loud, melodious clamor washed over Nate. Over the sound of the waves and overpowering his own voice, the notes of an accordion danced in his ear. The most beautiful voice, a baritone as deep as the ocean blue flowed through his ears right into his brain. His whole body vibrated as a sensation of warmth began to consume him. The cigar fell from his lips. Estheria's voice shouted at him, but he could no longer hear her. Far away, another part of him might have heard her screaming at him--saying it's not fair--that it couldn't be that simple. But that part was buried underneath another verse of that enchanting sea shanty.
"The purser would our wants supply,
So, while with life we'll never say die!
And should we touch at Malabar,
Or any other quarters far,
Our purser he will tip the chink,
And just like fishes we will drink!"
Nate's head bobbed to the boisterous, gentle tempo. For several seconds, before the thought became buried underneath more smooth stanzas, he knew on some level that he had been charmed. But what a wonderful charm it was! Such a fantastic melody could be magic, sorcery, a devil's screech. Whatever it was, Nate needed more of it like a drowning man needed air. He had to find the source. Woozily, he stepped down from the helm. The ship would be fine. Everything would be fine if he could find that voice.
"Then at last our captain comes on board!"
Flying starboard to the ship he saw, accordion between both hands, a hawk with an impressive, masculine physique singing. Their eyes met and Nate knew he was in love. His voice caressed the polar bear's ears and he felt an uncomfortable bulge in his trousers. The hawk gave him a sultry look and Nate marched forward, a willing puppet to the beckoning beat.
"Our sails are bent, we're manned and stored."
Nate's arms stretched outwards towards his beloved. He waddled step by step, all while bearing a stupefied grin.
"The Peter's hoisted at the fore,
Good-bye to the girls we'll see no more!"
_ _ Unable and unwilling to recognize the danger, Nate fell over the edge. He careened into the ocean. The cold temperature brought sudden awareness as he breached the surface, gasping for air. However, before he could try and climb back aboard the ship, a pair of muscular feathered arms hoisted him out of the water. For a moment, as Nate became airborne, he looked into the face of the male siren--into his lustful yellow eyes that stared into his soul and knew what was about to happen. Fully awake, he opened his mouth to protest when he felt the hawk's beak plant itself against his lips. A warm, broad tongue intertwined with his and the leftover passion within him from the song reignited into a burning flame of love. His eyes rolled back. He moaned deeply into the hawk's beak. His thick arms wrapped around the bird's sinewy neck, utterly enraptured with the salty, musky scent wafting off his body.
"TIBERIUS!" Estheria's voice shouted. "Don't just take him! He needs to untie all the idiots on the ship first!"
As they separated, Nate grumbled. He much preferred this siren's--Tiberius apparently--operatic tone. The hawk winked at him and Nate fell in love all over again.
"One moment honey," Tiberius sang, soothing Nate in an instant. The hawk chuckled and locked eyes with Estheria. "Sorry, dear. But as the lad says. We decide the fate of those we lure into the ocean. And I'm keeping this one! It's not every day _I_get a handsome gentleman caller!"
"Tiberius you--"
With a flap of Tiberius' wings, Nate felt himself get carried away on the winds. Worries began to slip back into Nate's mind. Panic that he had fallen victim to a siren who now held his life in the palm of his hand. Shame that he had fallen so easily once he heard the right voice. Embarrassment at his current position, held like a bride in the hawk's arms.
However, as Tiberius winked at him again and his feathery chest expanded, Nate's heartstrings tingled. His ears perked up as did his anticipation for the wonders he was about to experience.
"Oh, for we know we're homeward bound!
_ Hurrah, we're homeward bound!"_
_ _ Nate sank into the siren's arms while his mind nestled into the song, heart swollen with contentment and desire. He nuzzled into his beloved's chest, cares forgotten.
"One day, the man on the look-out,
_ Proclaims a sail with a joyful shout!_
_ 'Can you make him out?' I think I might--I can;_
_ My new husband, ne'er again he'll touch land!"_