Leo hopped up from the patients cot and followed behind Balon. She looked at all of the cloth homes with interest, while also taking note of details that she knew her queen would want her too; how many of their people they had, what kind of defenses they had. Leo was actually kind of surprised by the lack of the latter. There seemed to be barely any defenses at all. This may be because of their short time here on the island but it was almost like they thought that there was going to be no indigenous people at all. Even though it was true that the mere city was under the sea there were several merfolk who preferred living above ground. Cherished the feeling of the wind more than the push of the ocean. The second a scout saw the ship headed straight for their island the queen set everyone on high alert. The merfolk bolted from their land homes back to the water. Leo remembered the chill that had ran up her spine when the shadow of the massive ship had passed over her city. Looking at these cloth structures it was no wonder they hadn't found and ransacked the merhomes that lay scattered on the island. Mere folk appreciated nature above all else and formed their homes around nature instead of making nature bend to them; forming their homes and caves and tucked away little enclaves.
Balon then showed her the massive ship that allowed these humans to skip above water, looking very fond of it he spoke "I don't know if you'd think me crazy, but sometimes when the loneliness of the sea got to me I would look out across the waters, leaning over the railings of the ship and I'd talk to her. How she was the only one who truly understood me nowadays, how I carried burdens like she carried passengers."Leo looked at him curiously, burdens? she wanted to ask, what burdens? "Well all need someone to talk to." she said said softly feeling like there were deeper meaning in his words, his smile faulted and she reached out and touched his arm in concern. He quickly paste his smile on his face and moved along. whats wrong? she wanted badly to ask but she just let herself be lead a huge beauty of a tree
"That's where I made my home. In the trees." he grinned, proud of his accomplishment, and as she looked she now noticed the ladder. "Now it wasn't easy climbing up that high with the material to build the hut, but it's my hut. And I did it anyway." Leo'oooo'ed looking high up into the tree "Thats so brave of you!" She laughed"but knowing you i bet the moment the idea planted itself in you brain, hell or high water you were going to get your home built exactly how you wanted."She leaned towards him and spoke quietly, "you're kind of hard headed like that, arn't you?" She looked back up into the trees, "You know this is actually very mer-ish of you, you forming your home around nature. Though ive never heard of one of our kind making their home in a tree, we are a people of the water and the land. "She looked at him out of the corner of her eye. "The sky kind of intimidates us."