[youtube]_-Z3-qzmKrg[/youtube]

As he stood near Jasper whilst they both awaited the mayor's reply, Hakuren was once more grabbed by the arm by the ever so exuberant white hare, Dissonance, and was taken towards her twin as evidence for the low damage the humans suffered during this "unfortunate event". The young man was wet from head to toe and so was Leila, the second talisman the bunny girl loved to keep around, yet he was noticeably less affected than the rest of his companions. Indeed, the lad felt cold and soaked, which were both quite unpleasant in the beginning, but his adaptation speed was fast, especially in new areas and situations. He had been awake in the lake, which made him grow used to the slimy feeling of the water, not to mention those few occasions when he had to go to Sweden in the middle of winter provided him with enough experience to distinguish mild from cold and chilly from winter's embrace. Out of the mentioned, on shore he felt the first, but the happenings around him were enough to make the lad forget his body's state.

Serenade, the black rabbit of the set of twin sisters, was currently quite exasperated. A peculiar sight, considering how calm and graceful her demeanor had so far been. Apparently, the cause of this infuriating fit was the fact that a certain someone had not informed them about the hazardous night song of the siren. This could be deducted from the manner with which she glared at the landowner, those two sharp blades sparkling in the dim light. The white lass attempted to lighten the mood up with her cheerful attitude and sought help from the two people she held hands with. 
[b]"Of course we're alright."[/b] the green-blue-eyed boy responded with a smile to her question. [b]"We were all going to have a swim in the morning, anyways. This was a good test of the water."[/b]
Just as she was about to give a comeback, Dissonance looked to the side. This movement drew in the youngster's attention and he also allowed his gaze to travel a short distance away from the gathered group of people and nobodies. The target was Mado, the only human who had evidently not succumbed to the siren's spell. While the snow bunny girl called out to her, cupping her hands around her mouth to allow her voice to sound louder, Hakuren simply put his hands in his pockets. Thankfully, there were no remains inside. 
Mayor Spicy Tuna finally, yet reluctantly, gave a reply to Jasper's inquiry, which was most likely on everyone's mind. The fish-man stated he had not the slightest clue about the mechanism of capturing the elusive melody, which resulted in Serenade sighing, but still glaring at him with fury. The black-blue-haired boy did not assume the governor was lying. After all, his mannerism whilst speaking suggested that he was not of that sort at all. Albeit it was still too early to judge, his actions so far sketched him out to be a rather ordinary official of a small lowly area. He didn't have much to take pride in, so everything he did was to gain one or two more sparkles. Showing some concern, yet uncaring in the end, his portrait gained a few harder darker lines as he told the band of newcomers one of the tales of this town after Harper found the courage to ask him for more information. Yet this was not a fairy tale, but a story of reality. There had once lived a woman in this forsaken place, whom had been accused of witchcraft. Despite her pleas and denials, she was sentenced to death by drowning in the waters of the lake. After this had been carried out, the deadly enchanting song appeared and wrecked havoc on the locals, killing many in the process. 

Hakuren only listened and did not speak. Everything became perfectly clear, now that they had acquired this scrap of important information. It puzzled him why they had accused her of being a witch. Perhaps if they learned that final bit, it would be enough to solve the mystery or at least lead them to another clue. But the fish was obviously unwilling to speak of this. He was a mayor of a cursed town and had to keep secrets, such as that witch hunt, hidden from outsiders' view, in order to maintain a good image for himself and his domain. How foolish. It couldn't be helped, though. Such was the way of those in power. Status before everything. 
As he was about to continue the interrogation of their suspect, pardon, their kind host, he was halted by Riddle's sudden outburst. That was rather entertaining, enough to make the young man let out a small "heh", a short laugh to remark his pleasure. Honestly, Harper was almost too human to be true. He was an open book to read and followed most cliché hero-to-be rules. It was amusing, delightful, perhaps even cute.
[i]'What am I in? A manga?'[/i] Hakuren asked himself as he sighed with a smile after seeing the tears in the young student's eyes. 
Hands nearly in the pockets of his coat, he walked towards Riddle and stood beside him just when Serenade, who had offered him the comfort of a hand on his shoulder for a few moments, left in order to talk to Sonbird and Brandy. Dissonance, who had been trying to function as a blow-drier on him, had now went off to assist Leila in getting her dry. The mayor went off to converse with Two-Thirds, his appearance becoming more and more like that of a fool trying to impress someone. Iro was shivering on the ground, ill physically and probably mentally as well. Mado was being her usual self, so was Jasper. Everything seemed to be getting back to normal, well, "normal" was still an abstract term.
[b]" "I'll do anything", was it?"[/b] Hakuren spoke with a smile to Harper, whose eyes had not yet dried. [b]"I don't care what you saw down there, but just forget about it. Stuff like those will only drag you down in the deep. We can't afford to be sea food, now, can we?"[/b]