Words: 322

Sigrid

Braylar bobbed astride the river's current, watching just above the surface. Her stomach knotted with hunger, and she was hoping someone walked along. Drawn, perhaps, by the soothing sound of water against rocks or sloshing against the shore.

But there was no one.

The forest was quiet, and nothing bothered the tranquility of her self-proclaimed domain. Perhaps if she had chosen the lake as her home it would have been busier, but there were too many people. Witnesses around every corner to come to someone's aid. It was too loud; the river had been the better choice. She liked the current, anyway. Made it easy to drift lazily along when the mood struck her.

Now she was desperate, though. Pickings had been slim on this secluded island. It seemed everyone residing on it could sense something wasn't quite right. Or maybe she was picking the wrong marks. Back home, she'd only had naive villagers to lure. Now she was up against educated people.

Frustrated and hungry, she was close to giving up and just going into town to "buy" a raw steak or something. However, luck was on her side and she spotted what she thought was a person down the river. Excitement built in her chest, but she suppressed it and tried to focus. It was perfect: she was already in the water so all she needed to do was get someone else in the river.

Lonely girl looking for a swim partner, or drowning girl looking for a savior? she thought.

With only a split second to decide, she elected for the former. There was no guarantee that if it was a person down river, they'd be the type to rescue someone drowning. So, she ducked beneath the surface and conjured her glamour—a young lady in a bikini—and popped back out when she was close. Water splashed out everywhere, likely dousing anyone or thing nearby.

NOTES: ;m; ahh i hope this is good enough

Words: 191

Sigrid

She had the grace to blush and plunged back into the water so that only her shoulders up was showing.

Giggling nervously, she said, Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know anyone else was around. . . . I must have been carried down here by the current while I was swimming."

However, he didn't seem bothered by her "accidental" rudeness and even introduced himself. Braylar felt that excitement and anticipation growing again, and she fought to keep her composure. The last thing she wanted was to appear too eager and give away her intentions. Still, it seemed to be going better than she thought it would.

"I'm Braylar," she replied, wading closer and reaching out to shake hands with Sigrid. "Sorry again for getting you a little wet."

He was a little older than she had anticipated, but it mattered a not. A meal was a meal and she wasn't going to be picky. To think it was going to be as easy as shaking hands. . . . Oh, humans and their strange, wonderful customs. She'd seen them do it a million times and never understood it, but at least it was coming in handy now.

NOTES: so it begins. . . .

Words: 130

Sigrid

The simplicity of it all was too delicious. Had she been making a fuss over nothing? Had she overthought her situation and set herself up for failure? Of course, her prey had fallen right on her doorstep and that helped. Luring people to a body of water was a much harder task.

But this. . . . Ah, Braylar almost felt sorry for the man.

Almost.

Her gentle, friendly smile sharpened by a millimeter and she kept her grip on Sigrid's hand. Even if he wanted to let go, he'd find it quite difficult with her adhesive skin. Like a fly on sticky tape.

"Braylar is a kelpie name," she sneered, yanking him forward with a quick jerk in an attempt to catch him off-balance and pull him into the water with her.

NOTES: haha isn't she in for a surprise!

Words: 208

Sigrid

Nothing was right.

The moment he hit the water, she'd used the element of surprise to her advantage and dragged him deeper, going with the current until the river bottomed out, but it was all wrong. That much she had gathered within a few seconds. After centuries of dragging victims under, she was intimately familiar with the process.

Struggling. Gaping. Wide-eyes. Thrashing.

Sigrid was doing none of that. She still had his hand in hers, but her grip was faltering. The thrill of the kill faded and she gave him a confused and almost betrayed look. This was supposed to be her meal. Her moment of triumph. She was supposed to watch as he desperately tried to fill his lungs and overpower her.

Not. . .not whatever this expression was. Was he—smiling?

Braylar waited, thinking that it was perhaps a symptom of extreme shock, but nothing happened. He was fine. Her confusion turned to anger and she released his hand, nullifying her adhesive skin with palpable disdain. She expelled any excess air so she could speak coherently to him

"Explain!" she demanded. Gone was her sweet act, and she nearly lost control of the glamour keeping her disguise together. "You're supposed to be drowning! Why are you not?"

NOTES: haha isn't she in for a surprise!

Words: 169

Sigrid

"What?" she started. "No!"

So shocked was she that her glamour completely shattered, revealing the dark, emaciated kelpie for what she truly was. She swam back a pace, shaking her head, and her thin mane swished through the water.

A kraken? A kraken!

Despite the unintentional dropping of pretences, she kept speaking. "I thought you were human! I wanted to eat you!"

Of course. The stupid island. Nothing was as it seems at the damned place. She was destined to never eat flesh again; only what raw scraps she could purloin from shopkeepers or charm off of hunters. Never again was she going to taste the delectable flavor of human, or even witness the glory that was drowning.

"And I do beg your pardon," she huffed, setting hoof down on the river bed so she could stand. "But this stretch of the river is mine." She sighed and glowered at the imposter, irritated more at herself for being so foolish.

NOTES: don't think too poorly of her haha she's new