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His tail formed together as one again.
“Help me use my tail.”
“It’s all about instinct, Flipp.”
“I don’t think that I’ve ever totally embraced my monster side. I’ve been too busy just trying to survive as a hybrid.”
He looked at me with interest. “Sirens can easily overpower you. They are agile and quick, much quicker than you are. You can use your tail to your advantage. Just like I did to you.”
I practiced swinging my tail from one side to another, feeling as if it was something foreign on my body. It was long and lean, but I had never really used it much. It had always been easier for me to fight with my hands, or a weapon. I never really realized that my tail was a weapon, instead seeing it as just something attached to my body.
“If a Siren is coming at you, especially out of the blue, you can quickly take them off their feet with your tail, giving you the advantage.”
He was right. He had completely taken me off guard with his own tail.
“Why did you not stay and fight your enemies on Demon Isle?”
It was my turn to smile. “Not too many people can survive a battle of a hundred to one.”
“What did you do, Flipp?”
“I killed the man in charge. My own boss.”
Xagon looked reflective for a moment. He was probably thinking what it would take for him to kill Azil, something he would probably never consider in his entire life. Sirens were a loyal group, and even though I had only known Xagon and Azil for a couple of days, I knew there was no way that Xagon would ever betray Azil. The difference was, Xagon respected Azil. I had zero respect for my old mob boss. He was a perverted monster that only used me for his own gain. I may not have killed him on purpose, but I wasn’t mourning him, either.
“Why would you do something like that?”
“Would you believe me if I told you that I didn’t mean to? That it all seems like a bad dream now?”
He nodded.
“Fight me again, Flipp.”
My tail was long enough to swing around my entire body. I swung it instantly and it curled around his neck. Had I had enough practice I could have strangled him with it, but my tail was out of shape. I squeezed it gently as he stared into my eyes. Just to let him know what I could do to him if I really wanted to. His tail separated again, and with the two pieces he was able to pry my tail from his neck. His tails were much stronger than mine.
I stepped to my right and swung my fist around into a spinning back fist, but he blocked it with his elbow. I stumbled back into place and a look of respect briefly flitted across his face. He didn’t want me to know that he was impressed with some of my skills. There was a lot more that I could do, if I wasn’t inside the cramped bunks of the ship.
I considered asking him to go up onto the upper deck, so we would have more room, but I quickly dismissed that in my mind when I thought about the heckling that I might endure from the other Sirens who thought I was a useless piece of meat.
I threw a couple more jabs at him, hitting him both times. He grabbed a hold of me and swung me around, slamming me up against the wall. I looked upwards, wondering if Azil could hear me getting the crap beat out of me. Xagon was close now, so close that we were breathing the same air. Goosebumps speckled my arms as I stared back at him. I couldn’t move as Xagon had my arms pinned to the wall above my head. He leaned into me, and I thought for just a second that he was going to kiss me. I held my breath, and a deep growl came out of him. It was earthy and primal, and my breath caught. He leaned in quickly and slowly licked my face, as if he was marking his territory. I literally stopped breathing. Then, he released my arms and turned, leaving without another word.
I slowly lowered my arms and let out a long sigh. Shellshocked, I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. I did know that I was not sitting in that kimono for another minute.
I walked out of the bunk room and made my way towards the kitchen. My clothing was drying on a rack, and I pulled them off. I slipped into my leather pants and cotton shirt. I pulled on the steampunk suspenders and went back to the bunks. I slipped on my utility belt and suddenly felt like myself again. That was the last time that I would relax on a hammock, in a robe, and assume that I was safe in any way. The Sirens had proved that I could not trust them, and that the hate for me on the ship was still alive and well. It was starting to look like I was going to have my hands full with Xagon, and I wasn’t sure how to handle that. I didn’t want to do anything that was going to get me in trouble with Azil, as it was his ship.
