Returning to Abed was a moment that he had urged for centuries. It had been the closest thing to a home that he could call a place. Back in his time, his reputation as a powerful Djinn had spread among the underbelly of the city, much so that he had once been housed by a particular cult and seen as a messiah sent by the old gods. Of course, it hadn’t been true but Sol did take advantage of their foolishness and had used them as pawns in his crusade against his father. But so much time had passed as he slipped through the city’s gates, and hopes of reviving the cult in his favor seemed like an impossible dream. Would he have to start from scratch? If so, then he would in for a long and rocky road. Much of his power was returning, which he was grateful for though his time of rest could have been spent in better settings. And by himself. Undine had wasted enough of his time already, but he wouldn’t raise a hand against her, out of a level of respect. She didn’t, after all, try to eat him like all her other victims.

Shaking himself from the thoughts of the siren, he traveled through the heat of Abed and soon found himself in similar territory, albeit much smaller than before. Many of the older circles and cults were dead or forgotten and he felt as sure that his own faded into the pages of history as well. Pity, but it wasn’t anything he wasn’t already suspected to deal with. Gathering very small cult members seemed to be a hassle and not as grand as the number of worshippers he was used to getting, but it would have to do.

Ten, ten men were in his stead, a laughable number, but it would only serve him in the long run. To build up his forces in a manner of his liking versus taking droves of people with established beliefs, it seemed to be a far better idea. The city cracked down on the underworld when it grew too powerful, so he would have to be smarter in the long run. Of course, he wanted a base in the city, but the main headquarters might have been best far from it though. So, when it came down to it, he and his men were set onto a ship heading to the mainland. Using the small fortune he had “borrowed” from a noble house, Sol had made sure that they at least traveled in style as he paid off the captain of the ship before settling his things into one of the more lavish rooms. The ship had only set sail an hour ago when one of his men called for him.

“Lord Sol, there’s a ship in our way.”

Curiosity festered in him as he came up to the deck and looked on with the rest of them as indeed there was a ship ahead of them, only it wasn’t moving.

It was easy enough to slink her way into the ship. Not many sirens had control over their legs like she did. The men stared at her up on deck probably because she was naked. “Miss, what are y–” One of the sailors began to talk to her but that was when her voice came out. It rose to the highest heights. “IT’S A SIREN EVERYONE RUN!” Oh… he had encountered one before and her eyes narrowed as she stopped for a moment. Her hand let a snap as the men started to jump over board. Her song continued after that. It was a heavenly melody.

The men who quickly went overboard to avoid her were met with her friends. There was heavenly screaming and chomping noises as the waters went red around the ship. On deck she was coaxing the sailors into a lovely play as they all grabbed rope and started to scale the masts of the ship. Her blue eyes watched in anticipation as they crafted the finest gifts for her. Oh, their knots were lovely.

One by one they showed her their love as the ropes lost their slack forming a chandelier of corpses. After she raided the ship she jumped up onto a barrel and her fins came back out as she rubbed them softly. She was very pleased as she used some oil she had found on the ship. It smelled like lavender and that was pleasant. It felt good on her scales as she continued to sing her song of love. She would have to eat later as she realized she went a tad overboard.

Undine knew she needed to get rid of the evidence but she had treasure stacked up by her, she had lovely oil on her skin, and now there was a ship just a bit off in the distance. Maybe just maybe she would have more victims.

Drawing closer to the vessel, it was eerily quiet. Too damn quiet as the men hushed whispers could be heard as if they were speaking out loud. Sol himself leaned against the side and wondered what was going on. A trap? It wasn’t uncommon by pirates to pull off something like that- make the ship look like it was abandoned only to surprise would be adventures or pillagers when they came onboard. He wasn’t about to sacrifice himself if that was the case…or perhaps better yet he would.

It seemed like an opportunity to test out how much strength returned to him. The situation looked even more bizarre the closer they came to the ship and the gruesome display of bodies dangling against it suggested something much more sinister than mere pirates. “You two, are coming with me”, he pointed to some of them before a bridge was established and the three head off towards it. Sol snooped around, each step on the vessel was a creaky and surefire way of giving away their position. It was with that he came up with the idea of splitting, perhaps not a move preferred by the other men, but they would do as they were told. A black fireball was summoned into the palm of his hands, a quite large one that was stronger than the average spell. Pleased with the sight of it, he descended into the lower parts, where the possibility of an ambush grew more likely. The darkness surrounded him, inched away only by the light of his flame. Many that would be in his position would have surely raced back up to their ship and sailed away.

But fear wasn’t something that came to him, no if anything was felt, then it was excitement at being able to fight. To kill again and not have himself be so restricted again like how he was when he woken up. Let them come, he was looking forward to it.

Her song continued to haunt the halls of the lower deck. She was looking for any survivors. Undine was hungry and she had forgotten in the wake of her artistic creation that she needed something of substance… Though she might be stuck eating Abedian foods at this rate instead of her favorite young sailors. There was a sudden creak and she cut her song off as she dipped into the shadows of the ship. Her eyes latched onto a shadow of what was clearly a sailor of some sort.

Her tongue came up and licked at her teeth. Her mouth was salivating as she thought of how good his flesh would be. Without hesitation, she pounced from where she was and tackled down the sailor. Her true face revealed as she went in close to bite at that tender neck. She stopped on a dime and her mouth returned to normal as a smirk crossed it. “Sol?” She caressed the sailor’s face adding a light kiss to his tender flesh. A shame he did smell so good.

“What brings you to this humble little ship full of art.” She could feel the sailor under her shaking as she straddled his body and sat up. “I guess if this one is yours that I will let him go.” She pulled her naked form off of him and took a sigh. “I guess I did kill all of them.” There was a disappointed look on her face. Though the mischievous look came back as the sailor got up. She blew a puff of air at him and the boy about jumped out of his skin.

Bringing her hand up to her chin. “I got a little too creative… I’ve been so pent up that I momentarily lost control.” She began to stretch and play with her hair as the disappointment came back to her face. “This power is so troublesome at times. Do forgive the mess I made.”

He expected for pirates to ambush him, but after spending a few minutes traveling beneath the ship, dissatisfaction came to him in realizing that there was no one coming out from the shadows. Lowering the hand with the flame, Sol was just about to call for the others to leave the vessel when he heard screams coming from behind him. Rushing over towards the man’s direction, he spotted something over him, a creature in a feminine form. It didn’t much effort for him to realize who it was either, which brought out a small snarl from his lips.

“Why are you here?” Undine was the last person he wanted to see here, or anywhere for that matter. It was becoming clear what had happened to the crew that had previously been abroad the ship. For all that power she wielded, he considered her too lazy and gluttonous for her own good. “A ship isn’t usually without a crew so I wanted to see what happened. Now I know what did occur.” The cultist scrambled away from her when she released him, but then he was engulfed in wicked flames, scorching him alive while Sol held a seldom look upon his face as the fire streamed from his very own hand. Weakness would not do among his forces, even death should be embraced with welcomed arms instead of taking in fear like a child did. Sol took no pleasure nor remorse about this- it was only culling the weak, and simply that.

Within moments, the now burnt up corpse collapsed, the burning smell lingered in the air before the demon crossed his arms. While he was willing to teach that cultist a lesson, he also did it to serve to deprive Undine of a meal. “Sweet and simple. You lack control over yourself, or at least enough of it.” The other cultist made it back to him and looked at the body himself. “Go back to the ship and get a couple more men”, he instructed before looking back to her, ”Also, you will be in my debt since you had one of my men killed. Humans are plentiful vermin, but getting loyal ones is so difficult to find among them.” He had no time for these games of hers, but her talents were surely a different matter. Sol stepped over the charred body and circled around to behind her. He waited patiently before the cultists returned and gathered around her. "For your own good, I'm taking custody of you until further notice, any questions?" With a simple whistle, the men started in to grab her by the arms and legs while he stood by. 

There was a small pout on her lips as the sailor went up in flames. It looked like it was done out of spite. “I could have told you that my love. The spirit of the temple is vast and mature but the temple itself is too young.” She brought up a hand and touched the side of her head. “My body can’t handle the power even if my mind is willing and able. So every once in a while,” there was a yawn from her lips. “I lose control… and then I get tired.” She rubbed the corners of her eyes trying to stay awake. “In the past, I was made to sleep. Forced to mature the temple which my soul was given to. If I had grown into this power it would have been different maybe.”

Realizing she was in a bit of a pickle Undine merely rolled her shoulders at him. “I don’t have anything better to do. Loyalty cannot be bought. It’s why I prefer fish to men.” Her eyes lingered over the cultists who were around her now. “Careful loves I tend to bite. Also if that’s what you wish I’ll come but I am no prisoner.”

Taken by the arms she went willingly. They crossed over to his ship and she let out a low whistle. Coming up all around the ship was a large kraken. It let out a low groan. “Take the ship to father… As a present. Not this one… the other one. He’ll be angry with me if I don’t clean up. Wait for us to sail away…” The mighty beast of the sea went back into the ocean after it took the smaller end of a tentacle caressing her face with care. "I'm alright. Tell Father I'm fine too. Just visiting a friend. Please don't tell him the specifics of my new friends," she comforted the beast as it went back under. Waiting underneath at its master’s command. There was a displeased look on her face for a few moments. “He might still be angry with me for this situation.” There was a sharp TSK that left her mouth. It was never alright when she got in trouble.

Still, even though her fingers dug into her leg causing herself to bleed as she daydreamed… She let it go. There was resolve in those eyes. The amount of control she did have was good. “So… as your guest, for lack of a better word, what will you be having me do. It’s not every day that a man takes custody of a princess of the sea without repercussions. Not that you fear them of course.”

Sol shook his head in distaste. For all that power she boasted, her body wasn’t capable of using it for extended periods of time, or so she said. Clearly he didn’t quite trust her; that much his father could be thanked for. Xunatar wasn’t a fool and he made sure that his own children wouldn’t fall for such folly among anyone, especially those that were aligned with them. Still, it wasn’t to say that she couldn’t be of much use.

“Oh you are right about loyalty. But I don’t aim to buy it.” He let a small, but sinister smile creep up. “There are many other things that I can do to make sure of that. Some of which you may know.” Manipulation…fear…torture, hell Sol would do absolutely anything to make sure that they blindly followed his commands without question and to die for him. “Never said you were a prisoner. Just that I will be looking after you, since you seen to be reckless on your own.”

The men took her carefully by the arms; she wouldn’t be a prisoner like she said, but being called a guest was far too kind. Sol lead the way off the abandoned vessel and waited for the others to follow suit. While he had preferred to simply set the damn thing on fire, Undine had other motives for it. Sighing, he signaled for the captain take off while her little pet did its business.

“Perhaps, but its none of my concern at the moment.” He cared very little over demon lords and their little titles. Even his father was among that list, but there was still the need to surpass him and go down the chosen path he picked eons ago. With a pair of fingers, he signaled her to follow him down into his cabin while the others went back to work. “It’s simple”, he spoke as he closed the door and poured himself a glass of one of Abed’s finest white wines. The sweet nectar slipped into his mouth in a few sips before settling the glass comfortably around his fingers. “Titles won’t be needed. You claim to be spawn of a powerful demon, as am I, but for the time being, I will give you a purpose. To serve me with those powers of yours. I have goals that need to be fulfilled, and you can aid me in them. Simple, is it not?”

He took another look at her and shook his head, "Also, for the sake of my men, we will need you dressed. Parading about naked simply won't do."

She knew that smile well. For all the care that her father had for her, there was none for anyone else. All that care for landwalkers had been washed away by Cyprus years ago. Still she said nothing and moved with him. “Very well then. As you wish.” For now. She was persistent if anything and she could bide her time wisely when not angry.

The men were much more gentle than she had anticipated which was much better for their health. She noticed the shy from Sol and smiled. “We’re at sea. In Abed. If we light the boat on fire we’ll be swarmed. Sea battle is my game and even I would lose if outnumbered.” Her voice was calm as she watched the ship. “The people out here are ruthless. Maybe it doesn’t mean much to you but to me it does. I’ll watch it all drown someday.” There was a nerve with this place. A bad memory perhaps.

As they sailed away she watched as the kraken took the ship down. “She’ll stay nearby… She always does.” Her blue eyes caught his motion and soon she was following him down. She wrinkled her nose at the alcohol but maybe it was because she had so few experiences with it. “A sort of partnership then?” She let her fingers slide across the furniture in his room. “I’ll need water if we go on land. Or if you need me to stay on the ship water here… I can fulfill the goals you want easily enough. See, only certain things make me lose control. Pirates, filthy sailors, broken promises, and my mother.”

Tilting her head at him she shrugged and a beautiful dark blue dancing outfit appeared on her. It was Abedian in its make. Which made sense for where her home was. It was detailed with gold. Her hair had fine shells in it that pulled back her brown hair. “I will let you know something about me… for this help.” Her eyes went to him. “The reason why I am so out of control.” She approached him and put her hands on his cheek. “Long time ago… There was an innocent princess who loved the sea. She would become queen of her court. She met a sea demon and fell into deep love with him. She had his child but something snapped in her. The power he gave her to be able to support this child in her womb. She wanted more of it. So when this child was small and frail she took the child to the jagged high cliffs of her home… She threw the child into the rocks and mangled the toddler. The sea demon in all his rage and agony asked her why she did this. Her reply was that what does a demon care for his spawn and that she sacrificed their child for more power. So he gave this child… This dying being that he loved half of his power and grew her into a woman. He purged her blood and made her a siren of the depths. That child now a woman climbed her way out of the sea and tried to murder her mother. Because of her inexperience, she missed. She carved the land with her will and the angry sea. It made her tired so she slept for a long time.”

Her eyes latched to his. The seas began to groan. “I fail to control myself because of the power within me. Because my wretched mother threw me to the ocean for something as petty as power. I am sad she is dead because if sh–” The seas got a bit rough around the ship and off steadied her. She began to take deep breaths as the anger cooled down. “If… she was alive I would kill her myself. I hate only a few things in this life… Her, pirates, filthy sailors, and broken promises. I lost so many years of my life because of all of these things. Forced to sleep so my rage wouldn’t destroy me. Now I am awake but I still do get tired… I still yearn for the destruction of everything I hate. My body isn’t a suitable vessel for four thousand-year-old magic but I do try.”

While he wasn’t fearful of many things, Sol was one that had to be a thinking man. Of course, there were things where he couldn’t hope to succeed in, at least for the time being. He wasn’t too pleased with learning that a Kraken would be following him, but it couldn’t be helped and he shrugged it off as he took to his wine.

He gave out a look when she mentioned their arrangement as being sort of a partnership. It wasn’t what he had in mind, but if it meant that she would be more receptive to his needs and demands, then surely he wouldn’t stop her from believing such a thing. “Water won’t be a problem, here or there.” His thoughts went into a container of sorts, one made from reinforced glass that could keep her aware of everything around her while keeping her secure. That could be made in the coming days on the mainland, he was sure of. Pouring himself another, he was oddly surprised to find her within arm’s length and laid her hands upon him. Sol’s eyes narrowed but he didn’t remove them off him right away. Her tell of woe didn’t fall completely on deaf ears, however. Nor did the power that the sea surged from her mood. After he had heard all she had to share, Sol closed his eyes and chuckled softly as he paced about. Hers seemed tied to her emotions, something that was expected from the denizens of the sea. It wouldn’t be wise to anger her.

“Power is a corrupter to all, especially those that were ignorant of it at the beginning like your mother. It is a shame though that you couldn’t extract your revenge. To never be able to satisfy yourself of that need, it must kill you at the time.” Despite the way it was coming off, he meant no malice beneath his tone. He too sought for revenge, though it wasn’t as personal as Undine’s had been. The worse that happened to him was being locked away for so long, having to stew over his failures and his father’s actions that mocked him so. But with power, they did greater differ- Undine was granted the power she had by her father, while Sol had the natural talent of his and was molded into using it.

“As long as there are humans that will love to pillar and destroy, there will be pirates. Sounds to me like you want to fight a never-ending war with them. Perhaps if you manage bits of your power at a time, your endurance could be improved instead of just waiting naturally for it. I’d fear that it only would take quite some time. But the first thing to do is to not linger on your mother anymore. She’s gone and thinking about her still only inhibits you from having more control.”

“There are other things that I can get my revenge in. Time will heal all wounds and I will feel much better in the end. But I am not ready to share my secrets with you all the way. I’m not ready to tell you how I tick. Never have I let a man in…” There was a glimmer of lie there but it was all part of her not letting him in for the moment. “When I am ready I will tell you what it is that I seek. You say I do not have a goal but my goal has been before us this whole time. It is a private goal and once I get what I want… I will set a new one.”

This goal was precious to her. She would not let anyone else ruin it. “Not even Father knows my secret.” It was only her. “To find out that my siblings and yours were responsible for my mother’s death. You could say I can live through them but at what cost? I have found that I had many siblings and not all of them have made it because of her. In the oceanic world, we honor those older than us. I threw Eldora because she wasn’t respecting the hierarchy of the sea but in truth… I could feel the power she had.” Undine shivered a bit. “If she realizes that she potentially has more power than I do I might just come to regret my little flex of power. Oracles are scary creatures even in the deep depths of the ocean. Still… My little sister has grown. The other one, Lotus, she has grown too. My siblings are all so powerful but young. It appears only the strong have survived the purge.”

She shrugged it off and thought more about it. “I will not fight every pirate but there is a group I want to destroy more than anything… It’s part of my secret.” Her fingers drummed on her skin as she crossed her arms now. “There is something I want that would help with it… but it’s part of my goal.” The sea calmed down and she walked away from him. “Something that was mine that was taken from me. In the coming time, I will tell you about my treasure and why it was taken from me.”

Her eyes lingered on him now. “You will come to find that I am wrathful for a reason and that I am not so much out of control as much as I am uncaring. I will care if only for you but everyone else will not be so lucky. As promised I will leave your crew alone but I will need to hunt away from the ship from time to time. I can eat regular food but I am better sustained on the flesh of man.”

"We will come to know each other well, Sol."