Plehn, elder and Hafsa all listened to what the king had to say, eager for any explanation of things they might have missed to ensure his daughter’s comfort. And rather grateful that he kept his pace to theirs. They could, of course, move faster when required, but the effort was rather more than any of them wanted to make under the sun, and the two old mers were slow. They had more weight to haul over the rocks and sand-grown grass.

When he called over one of his servants once they’d all made it to the tree, the few other mers with nothing to do trailing behind to slump together into another pile and doze, Plehn drew the servant aside so they could discuss the needs of the princess once the ceremony was finished. There had, of course, already been much talk of living necessities, food and shelter, and drink once the mers had been made aware of its importance. There was a little floating cabin being made, but though it was looking very well-built, it was not yet finished, and they wanted to ensure that, despite the king’s reassurances, his daughter would be comfortable while she awaited its completion.

“Aaah? Ayana?” Apparently she had already gotten something wrong, but Ayana did not seem concerned by it. So, Iri tried again, the other girl still speaking a little softly for her preferences, but, being closer, she was hopeful she’d heard her name properly this time. And then their differences were brought up, and she realised that was a very good point. They had absolutely nothing to say to each other because the only thing they had in common was that they knew very little about the other. And [i]that[/i] was a good place to start. Asking questions and finding answers was a very good way of finding something to say without needing to worry that you might be making the other person bored. Or not like you. 

Curious, just as Ayana thought, she bent around farther so she could look more closely at the princess’ legs when they shifted. “Yes, legs are funny. Like crab.” She snorted and tossed her head to get her hair out of the way, looking up when she continued, her skin changing colour. Not quite as smoothly as a cuttlefish, but certainly just as fascinating for the moment. She hadn’t know that humans could do that. She lifted a hand to touch her cheek, and grunted in surprise to find it warmer than she’d expected. But had different thoughts just then that she wanted to address. “What is books? And pritty?”