That was new. It never dawned on the prince that he could be called a finned qitari. If Raka hadn't sounded so sincere and his magnetic signature unwavering he would've been offended. Kanakwella's reaction to the stranger surprised him more that Raka's comment. Embarrassment maybe not as surprising as the vague familiarity, her magnetic wave altered enough to be similar but still out of phase with Raka's. This concerned Mermydon a little more for very political reasons. "That was Heroine, a rather odd zolnixi whom is an adopted cousin of my companion here." He pointed his muzzle towards Kanakwella. "It may surprise you to learn that you are not a qitari, you are a KELParie and unlike our distant cousins of the plains, we are apex predators, no longer lower chain herbivores. Your acknowledgment of their kinship to you does them honor, to raise up one so unlike their own. I am Mermydon of Shaledon, once prince and heir to that great ruin of which we speak. My companions are Princess Kanakwella of Hallenjax, whom fate and prophecy have bound her to me as my betrothed; and Mare Aleria Swifthorn, my trusted friend and confidant, her class not withstanding against her."

He swam forward a couple meters, keeping an open non-defensive pose and little concern or worry of Raka himself. "Your caution is wise, you were raised among the vegetarians and so naturally find yourself in danger with three predators flanking your route of escape. So, on my oath as lord of the lake, I will not permit you harm lest you seek treachery against me and mine. And I didn't ask you into the shallows so much to talk. You have a lake dialect, possibly of the Tranquility but I would ask you to dip your lines in the water that it may better tell us from whence you schooled. A voice can lie, but the lines cannot, and given that Kanakwella seems to have some familiarity with you it would do to know that you are not a spy from Hallenjax or their allies before I tell you about the fate of my kingdom."

Raka did not answer right away. He still did not know wether to trust Mermydon, Kanakwella on the other hand he trusted. He could not place exactly what it was about her that made him feel that way.
"A voice can lie, but the lines cannot, and given that Kanakwella seems to have some familiarity with you..."
That statement alone provided enough intrigue to coax Raka into the waters.

"I have suspected my whole life that I was no herbivore" He said as he waded into the water. "But you speak of ancient legends and ruined kingdoms. As good as it is to finally know by what name my kin are called, all of this..."

At this he looked directly at Kanakwella once more.

"He says you are from Hallenjax, where might I find this kingdom. And, if it is your home, why would you need have fear of a spy?"

kanakwella dove under the water and hid she noticed that someone had followed her

Raka did not know how he felt about Kanakwella's reaction, wondering wether he had said something to offend her he bowed his head submissively and addressed Mermydon.

"I am sorry... has your betrothed reason to take offence to my addressing her, if so I will not do it again. It seems I do not know how to properly address royalty."

Dhuka~Female~Morrko

She looked at the stallion her eyes narrowed as she did. "And are you going to make me?" she taunted with a devilish look in her eyes. She had been swimming nearly all of her life making her nearly as strong as any water dweller. And being a morrko she was naturally aggressive towards others upon meeting them. Now not only was this Kelpari new but he was also interfering with her hunt. She was cranky from hunger and from the interruption.

Meara~Female~Kelpari

The sunken ship certainly was something to gaze upon, even if it was half buried in the sand. It sure was magnificent though. With an elegant flick of her tail she swam up towards the surface. Had there been Kelparis here when she went down? How long had she been down there? Meara hesitated some before carefully ascending to the surface keeping an eye on the herd.

Not wanting to pry further Mermydon's eyes moved to see the wavelets the denoted Kanakwella's departure. All he could sense was unease and her general shyness when meeting someone new. [ "I am sorry... has your betrothed reason to take offense to my addressing her,.." ] "She tends to be nervous around new folks. When she met me it took nearly a full day before she would give me a single word. I'm certain there was no offense to her royalty, but she may have expected you to address just me." He smiled a little in the humor of the situation.

He swam closer and dared to swim past, stand in the shallows and pivot around with a wing and swim past the other way. In that one little pass the learned a great deal about one another. "You are indeed a son of tranquility lake, perhaps not born here, but you've lived among it's shores long enough to feel her heartbeat. For that at least I may welcome you to our school brother." He paused for a moment before remembering, "The qitari have herds, we have schools, and when we hunt it is called a chevron... Hmm, and you've spent too much time on land, we shall have to teach you how to swim properly, so forgive us if you feel like a babe among us for a little while.

Ready to answer Raka's questions, Mermydon started before being interrupted. "Where shall I begin on the ruining of..."

[ "And are you going to make me?" ]


He stopped and looked over at the Morkko mare. "Do I have need to wet nurse?" He challenged, though his life orb had yet to be invoked by the others. "I've no quarrel with you unless you intend to impede their travel east."

To even his own surprise, Raka let out a hearty laugh.
"Aha! I can assure you, I am quite accustomed to playing odd man out. It's practically my specialty."

Before he was able to catch Mermydon's response they were approached by a morrko who swam rather smoothly towards them.
Mermyadon exchanged a few words with the morrko though, with her low rumbling accent it was difficult to tell what she was saying. Raka watched them, quietly backing into the shallows so that he had firm footing again. Of all other predators he had ever encountered, morrko were the most stubborn adversaries. If she decided him to be a decent chance at a meal he could rear up on the base of his tail, spread his wings to appear larger and attack with his hooves. This was a maneuver which no one ever expected and thus had served him well in the past.
He shifted his tail in the sand and remained still and silent, allowing the two to converse. Ready to intervene if things turned nasty as they often did whe a morrko was involved.

Dhuka~female~morrko

She looked from one of them to the other. "Then why call out do me? I was not harming anything was I?" The morrko asked her demeanor softening a bit. They were heading to the east? For what? Was winter already approaching? This thought troubled her, she was not prepared for another winter like the last.

Meara~Female~Kelpari

They were traveling? How exciting! She would have loved to go with them though she knew not what their intentions were. What if they were mean like the last she had met? Who would know if she didnt ask and/or try to make friend with them? With that she narrowed her eyes and swam slowly towards them. "Traveling huh? Sounds like a lot of fun." She said loud enough she hoped they would hear.

Mermydon paused and blinked at the Morkko female. "I had not hailed you. I apologize for ye haven't given your name, milady. I hailed Raka of the Qitari and telling him of our group. I'm afraid you were simply among them." He replied to Dhuka. He was awaiting a reply from her or Grim Rose or any of the others ashore when another voice from behind him piped in.
[ "Traveling huh? Sounds like a lot of fun." She said loud... ]

He liked the way their numbers were swelling, especially among his own. He called aloud back, "Why yes, we are passing over the Seawitch, Ariel's domain and beyond into the river, unless that frightens you?" he called out. "Come, we will wait!" He wanted to say more but he would have to wait to tell them all at once about their adventure. So he chose to address Grim Rose. "I see the bulbori have fled."A matter of little surprise to him. "Grim will you grab my life orb and bring the others with you please?" He asked. As the others closed in upon Mermydon's position, he excused himself to Raka. "Give me a few moments Raka, I must attend to my future queen. On my word we can discuss what happened to Shaledon along the way to the river." After Raka's acknowledgement he dove down and searched for the princess, he wasnow well in tune to her signature and found her very quickly. "Is something bothering you my queen?" He asked hoping that her answer would not cost greater delays.

Kanakwella seen a white thing in the water it looked like it was about to bite some one and she went closer to the wall of the river side heroine landed on the ground more like a zolnixi pup than normal she was pouncing everywhere and ended up on the morrkos back