King Keltin nodded in agreement, easily following the direction of the Hafsa. There was not much to be said as they walked towards the comfort of shade, merely explaining that the princess only needed solid ground to stand on over a rocky surface, that her more boyish nature tended to give her an advantage of not having to mind a minor hike of sorts. Of course, there was also the mention of the servants, but it was not a stretch to keep them further away on the softer ground - the distance being more than enough for humans to hear from at least. They only needed the ribbons, which they brought, to tie their hands together after the speaking. Other than these things, the king did not feel there was much else to discuss besides getting to work on preparations. He waved over one of the head servants, explaining that he and all the other servants were at the Mer's disposal.
After Iri's squeak and an obvious plead for guidance, Ayana pursed her lips to the side in thought. Slowly, she snuggled herself slightly more onto Iri's tail, hoping to comfort the Mer even though it brought a slight blush to her cheeks again. "It's okay," she reassured her softly. "And it's Ayana - but you were really close." She smiled, biting her lip for a second, surprised that she was going to be the one leading the conversation for the moment. It was endearing though, in a sense, seeing this forward woman being so nervous - it was actually a little cute. "Well... she started, brushing back her brown hair with her fingers, trying to think of something to talk about. "I figure humans might be a bit strange to you, huh? I mean, with us having legs and all.. among some other things.. like much softer skin." Ayana wiggled her legs a little and watched Iri's reaction with intent curiosity.
"I guess I worried a little.. if you might find me pretty, but, uh...." Ayana looked away for a second, feeling her cheeks glow again - goodness, she was blushing a lot! "And you are different.." Again, she slid her hand across Iri's tail before looking back up. It was true, when the Mer smiled, it almost seemed like a predator - but what facial expressions there were, she could tell it was meant out of happiness. In a way, it had it's own beauty, she only had to get used to it. "But.. I actually think your scales are very pretty.... and.. um, I'm.." She rocked side to side very slightly, looking up while she rolled her eyes, smiling. "I'm a bit of a learner.. I read books a lot, so... uh, I guess.. I like looking at you - you're very interesting." She only hoped Iri would enjoy the compliments, or that she would take them in the way Ayana meant them, and not have some odd cultural norms skew their intentions.
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