The undersea sounded like a terrible place to reside. Clearly, they faced very different kinds of threats than the fairies did on land. The very name of The Place of No Return made Raine want to turn back around and flee the sea. Had the Herbalist, the King, known about the dangers? Had they known very well and told her to go anyway, without warning her? They had told her that they'd just discovered the option, and she hadn't been able to read anything about the berry herself. She knew nothing, and yet she had been told to go. The Queen was on her death bed, and she, the adopted daughter of the royal family, the one who loved them enough to do nearly anything for them, but the one they didn't love enough to send someone else in her place, would go without question. Raine didn't want to think of the possibility that they had known for a while and had plot not to tell her until the last minute, for if she knew, she might not have come. But that was a lie. Raine would have come, even knowing all the dangers. It was her duty, and even if it wasn't obligation, she would still do it.

"It sounds like the accord between your people and mine is not as secure as we were made to believe," Raine muttered, speaking to herself more than the merman. "So your mer-kingdom safeguards the plant for power?" The idea seemed outrageous. The selfishness to withold such a remedy baffled her.

Then another realisation hit her. "Wait, you said 'we'. Are you..." She wanted to ask him if he would take her, but maybe that was too forward and she didn't want to drive the only hope she had away. Raine studied the merman before her. "You know where it is, and it sounds like you have experience. Like you know where to go and how to get there. Do you?"

Tyler was slowly starting to swim back, not wanting to stay by Chaos's trench any longer. He knew the monster would get impatient and probably just eat them anyway, so he wanted to leave. Tyler swam with slow flicks, mostly because he was thinking. Why did he even care enough to help this new mermaid in the first place? Well, their Queen was dying. That was a big reason. Tyler found it a little amusing that if the mermen's king started dying no one would lift a finger to help him, but the Fae queen was dying and this lady was brave enough to change into a mermaid and face the dangers of the sea just to save the queen. It was sad, too. Tyler let out another slow breath, something he did commonly.

He snapped to attention when the mermaid started talking, tilting his head a little and listening intently. "Yes, they do, and yes, it is outrageous. They are cruel idiots." Tyler said flatly, not caring if that sounded absolutely horrible. It was true. All the mermen in the city cared about was power. All the mermaids cared about was getting rich with the mermen. It was a whole horrible chaotic mess.

Tyler glanced over as the mermaid spoke for the second time. He tipped his head slightly, realizing he had said *we*... and now the questions would come. "I do know where it is, and I have had experience." Tyler confirmed slowly, thinking back to when the war was raging. -Far too much experience- he thought.

Works out XD)

Raine followed the merman's lead, using the little energy she had to swim with him away from the Larchan. She listened, slowly processing his few words. He knew what lay before her on her journey to the plant. He knew because he'd been there. Raine fixed her gaze on him and cocked her head. He'd been beating around the proverbial bush for the last half of their exchange, offering his help without really offering his help. A couple of times it looked like he would come out and say it, but his reluctance had gotten the better of him. Raine wanted to be straight and ask, but she didn't know him from a bar of soap. He was much bigger than her and could overpower her in the blink of an eye, especially in her current physical state. Basically, she was completely at his mercy, whether she liked it or not.

The impression that the mer-folk were not as honourable as she'd always heard them to be stuck. It sounded like the merman didn't like them, or even that he might feel as strongly as to hate them. She wondered why that might be, because by the look of him, he'd been through a lot. And she had connect the dots- if he'd been a soldier and knew exactly where the plant is from experience, he'd probably been very involved in the war he'd mentioned.

"So," she hestitated, unsure how to proceed. "So, can you talk me through everything? Detail how to get there, what I might face, and how I might make out on the other side?" Maybe he wouldn't. Maybe it was a secret that he was safeguarding, or he just didn't care enough to share the information with her. But he was taking her somewhere to rest so maybe he did care, even if it was just a little.

Tyler kept thinking as he swam along, slowly enough as to not leave the mermaid in the dust. -Or water- Tyler thought with a very small smile, rather amused at how his brain thought. He had lived in the water all his life and still thought like he lived on land. Tyler had never even been on land.. so he really didn't know why that happened. He cast a glance over at the mermaid, who looked deep in thought. Probably about him, the berry, or the Fae queen. Most likely him, because Tyler could tell she was smart enough to connect the dots. -Shouldn't have let so much information slip out- Tyler thought, his eyebrows dropping slightly as he swam ahead a little.

His brain wandered over to the kingdom. Those mermen were literally evil. Someone's queen was dying and they needed a berry? The merman king would laugh, probably saying *one less enemy* or something cruel like that. Tyler despised them, how careless they were. Whatever solider that fought for them for years in a vicious battle, and ended up winning... got threw out to fend for themselves. He knew hundreds of mermen that died after they had won the battle for the lazy king because the king refused to help them. He wouldn't even let them stay in the city and get help. Tyler was one of the few that survived. He clenched his fists and grit his teeth at this thought, his gaze stormy.

As the mermaid spoke hesitantly Tyler cleared the angry look from his face, looking over. "Maybe. It's a little hard to explain." He said quietly, seemingly pondering her question. "Well, what I said before. Lot's of deadly things. Other than that, just the normal dangers of the sea. Animals, seaweed, differnt things floating around. Not anything too special." Tyler said slowly, tipping his head. "Once you are on the other side there is two miles of nothing. Literally like a desert underwater. Then you will reach another giant cave, guarded by different things. An animal, poisonous seaweed, underwater lava, like all the deadly things put together. Inside of that is the berry." Tyler finished. They were really close to the secret cove, now. He ducked through a small entrance, still barely fitting. "Silly small rocks..." Tyler mumbled under his breath, entering into his small home where the gardens were

Raine listened to his vague discription of the route and cringed. She was feeling less and less convinced that the King had chosen the right person to do the job. She rubbed her temples, trying to stave off the headache that was steadily growing. Noticing that the merman was swimming at a snail's pace to make sure that she could keep up, she smiled, gratitude flooding her chest with warmth. "That sounds like a long and tough journey to make alone," she mused. "But I'm not doing it without company, otherwise there's a bigger changce of me not making it back."

When he disappeared into a small gap in the rockface, Rain stiffened, and she would have choked had she not had gills. She peered inside as the end of his long tail disappeared. He barely fit, which mean she would fit just fine. But that didn't matter. From her vantage point, the gap looked more like a tunnel that seemed to stretch on forever. An really, it didn't matter how long it really was, or wasn't, it was narrow. Big no.

Raine stayed still, looking into the wrong side of the tunnel, the water still and quite around her. The atmosphere was eerie, and it chilled her to the bone. About a mile behind her lived a deadly seamonster, and right before her lay one of her worst nightmares. Which one was worse? She couldn't say. She guessed that this was the end of the line with this nice merman. He'd offered his help, and now she would just have to politely decline. Raine didn't think it would make much difference to him, though. he seemed like the time to prefer solitude. Her claustrophobia would let him off the hook.

"You know what," she called through the hole, "I think I'll be alright out here, thanks for your help with the seamonster, I hope you have a good life... through there." She wanted so desperately to just follow the guy, but her brain wouldn't let her. Just close your eyes, she told hereself, but her eyelids wouldn't move. It was almost as if she'd turned to stone, but she hadn't sunk to the bottom of the ocean yet, so that was a relief.

Forcing herself to look away from crevice, Raine turned and looked around her, focusing on the open space that stretched as far as the deep blue would let her see. Maybe she could psych herself up enough, trick her brain and just... zip on through. A hysterical laugh bubbled up in her throat and her eyes burned. This was awesome. So.... awesome. "Gosh, sometimes I can't even swim through a simple hole in the rocks, how am I going to make it to the damned berry." And then the laughter spilled out.

Tyler raised his eyebrow as no one appeared in the gap. -Can Fae be claustrophobic?- He thought with a slightky confused face, though he cleared it quickly. Tyler hated going through this gap, yes. He constantly got scratches and bruises because he was so stupidly big and the gap was so stupidely small. Tyler squeezed back through the gap and saw the mermaid practically hyperventilating.

Tyler cleared his throat and glanced at the gap before turning his black gaze slowly back to the mermaid. "Well I can't leave now, so sorry. You've already roped me into this and you're not going to let your queen die because you didn't want to go through a gap and gave up." Tyler's words may have sounded harsh but his voice was rather soothing. He racked his brain for any other way to get into the cove... -well if we could leap out of the water like dolphins we could go over- Tyler thought sarcastically, annoyed at his... interesting brain. He swam a little ways away, observing the outsides. There was that one place... it seemed pretty thin. Maybe... Tyler went back near the entrance and passed the mermaid, swimming backwards. "Excuse the noise." He said simply before barreling forward and slamming into the wall. It cracked and crumbled underneath the momentum and weight, buckling inward and leaving a hole big enough Tyler could get through easily. You could see straight through to the other side, where the long, wide gardens and small hut were displayed. He grit his teeth in pain for a moment, pressing his hand to a small wound that was already opening. "In." Tyler said slowly, flicking his tail and going through the gap towards the gardens.

-You... are... an... idiot! I'm SURE there was another much safer and easier way in but you ALWAYS have to use brute strength... even if you don't even have that much strength anymore!- Tyler's brain was screaming at him, sending jolts of pain through the new wounds and his head. His brain worked in mysterious ways, including yelling at... itself. Tyler rolled his sore shoulders and went into the hut for a moment, trusting the mermaid had at least forced herself into the cove. He grabbed a cloth, pressing it against the wounds that were trickling bright red blood. "gahhh" Tyler half groaned, annoyed at bringing blood in here. That would attract sharks, which meant more wounds and agony. Fighting off sharks WAS NOT fun, he knew from experience. He swam back out and focused his eyes on the gardens of tall seaweed, making sure everything looked okay. Another otter swam down from the surface and sniffed his wounds, nuzzling them for a moment before staring at Tyler with a look that he could only percive as the *mother look*. This otter was one of the older ones, and she had many babies in her years, and literally whenever Tyler got hurt it felt like she would come down and rebuke him. A pufferfish, Lila, swam up and paddled a circle around Tyler before slowly making her way over to the mermaid. The whole garden came alive with chattering as the animals that could swim went towards the mermaid, then flinched away. The otters chirped, some angrily and some looking curious. The older one stayed near Tyler, twitching her nose as she observed the mermaid. "Don't be afraid of them." Tyler said simply, just in case. "And animals, be nice." He said gruffly, going past the otter to pull up some dead seaweed as he waited for the mermaid to speak.

Raine jumped when the merman re-appeared on her side of the gap, her hysterical laughter turning to hiccups. The sight of him brought more comfort than what she thought was acceptable for someone she'd just met. Even delivered in a gentle tine, his words were harsh. But they found their intended mark and stuck. The same thoughts had been running through her head, but they were tenfold more effective coming from a stranger. She watched him inspect a space a short ways away, trying to get herself in control. She gasped cried out when he collided with what to her looked like a wall of rock, shock blanketing her mind. "Oh my gaura, what have you done," she hissed, concern overtaking her frozen mind and driving her into action. She watched as blood seeped from the wound into the water. "You hurt yourself... for me," she followed quickly, absolute shame and humiliation kicking her fix-it personality into gear. With the clear sight of the other side and deep concern for his physical state Raine didn't hesitate to follow the merman through the gap this time.

Shock hit her again, but this time it was due to the sheer beautify of the scene around her. Different types of ocean plants almost covered the area, with sea animals of all kinds swimming between them. It was enchanting. A puffer fish swap before her, followed by what seemed to be a hoard coming to check out the stranger. She turned slowly, observing all the animals and laughing at the reactions of some.

Lost in the beautiful things before her, Raine startled when the merman spoke again. She was instantly reminded of his wounds, self inflicted for her, and gasped. She turned, looking around, but she knew nothing of the ocean plants. It was like being blind in a strange world. Something that came so naturally to her above water - plant remedies and healing - was suddenly so impaired it could be akin to missing a limb. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," she said almost frantically, "I want to help but I don't know how." Raine uselessly scanned the ocean vegetation again, but came up naught. "Above water, I wouldn't hesitate in knowing excatly what to do, but I know almost nothing about the ocean." She swam closer to observe his wound and winced at the broken skin and surrounding bruising that was already coming up. "If you tell me how to help..."

Tyler raised his eyebrows slightly at the mermaids very... unique responses. He nodded in response to her first comment, not really thinking of it as hurting himself. He wasn't exactly hurt... just very slightly wounded. Tyler could barely feel anything except for the small shock of pain which mostly came from the new wounds bringing the old ones back to life. His wrinkled eyebrows smoothed out slightly as the girl laughed... at least she wasn't terrfied, angry, or just distracted. Some otters swiveled their heads as she laughed, then came closer and sniffed her. Then they swam back up to the surface for air and got replaced with more otters. They all had different responses... some were very cuddly, some looked afraid, some stayed back grumpily, and some were a little wary... but curious. It made Tyler smile to watch all of the colony's reactions one by one. The older otter did not go any closer, though, just stayed by his side.

When the mermaid gasped Tyler's brain wisked back to the present, and he tilted his head slightly. -What?- He thought, trying to figure out what she had gasped at. His eyes flitted around quickly, but he could tell the sharks had not come yet. When she spoke his expression flattened out, yet he was slightly confused. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again as the girl continued. Tyler listened to what she had to say, flinching back slightly as she drew closer. Not from fear... from learned instinct. From an event in the past that trained his mind to never let someone get too close. "It'll be fine. It's a small wound." Tyler said slowly, lifting the rag a little to make sure it had stopped bleeding. To his surprise, it hadn't, so he settled the rag back on and pressed harder. Clotting the wound was the most important thing so the blood didn't attract predators.

Tyler glanced back over at the mermaid, who still looked worried. "Don't worry about it, I said I'll be fine." His voice was a little gruff and he swam a little ways away, checking on some animals. Tyler didn't mean to be rude, but it was just a small wound... and he had too many memories to do anything about the gruff voice. He then went to a patch of seaweed that was smaller, with less animals living in it. Tyler pulled out one plant and went into the underwater hut, grinding it into a sort of paste before putting it on his wound. It would help it clot faster.

Raine drew back, feeling as if she'd been solidly put back in her place, and nodded as the merman disappeared into his hut. Drawing her hands to her chest, she turned and observed the secret safehaven around her. The water light, everything below it illuminated by the sun that still hung overhead. The seaweed and other ocean plants swayed with the gentle swell of the water, little animals darting in and out between the different coloured plants and corals. The scene was devastatingly beautiful, and Raine could instinctively feel the merman's love for this place, for it quickly began to grow in her.

Raine swam around, letting the gentle sway of the water carry her body as she watched some clownfish pop in and out of a patch of anemone. On a patch of coral, a starfish was moveding to another position. A Shadow passed over the starfish and Raine flipped to watch a school of Anthis fish pass overhead, their orange colouring shining a beautiful gold under the sunlight from above. Curiosity took hold of her, and wondering whether she'd ever seen the seemingly enclosed cove from above, Raine swam up and broke the surface. She looked around, the break up air in her nostrils feeling almost foreign after oxygenating via her gills for the last hour or so. No landmarks stood out in recognition, but she carefully scanned the surrounds, committing the sight to memory before sinking back under.

Knowing that it was time they exchanged names and maybe a proper greeting, Raine slowly made her way over to the merman's hut, stopping every now and then to observe a creature or piece of sea plant or coral that caught her eye. She used the time to think up a what she would say, and was relieved when she finally got back to where he was.

After Tyler was done applying the plant pulp onto his wound and grabbed another couple strips of seaweed and wrapped it up tight. Then Tyler glanced around the small hut to make sure everything was clean, which wasn't hard because there was almost nothing. It was a small one room hut that was almost completely bare with just a seaweed bed in one corner and a bunch of cupboards holding various items. -If we are going to go on this very dangerous mission I may actually need to open the terrifying cupboards- Tyler thought jokingly, really just trying to cheer himself up. He flicked around the cabin before opening a cupboard, bringing out extra daggers. The next had a bunch of bottles in it, labeled with different plant names. The whole left side of the cupboards was literally all weaponry. Tyler then took old an old vest, raising his eyebrows at it. -Looks like I could get eaten by Chaos in this thing and stay alive- He thought with a slight shudder, memories sliding back into his mind. Tyler then pulled out a couple more pieces of armor before giving up and moving to the next cupboard. He probably didn't need armor, and he wasn't going to scare the remain halfway to heaven just by putting it on. Tyler then found his old helmet, with more scratches on it than his whole arm had. Believe me, that was surprising. Tyler almost threw it aside and went searching for more daggers and plants.

He rummaged through an old bin sitting in the corner, pulling out a couple spears and a net. -net, useful. Spears... way too big- Tyler thought, putting the spears aside before scrunching the net up into a small ball and looking for more. He finally took a quick break on searching for stuff he probably wouldn't need before glancing outside. A small smile split Tyler's face at the sight of the mermaid gazing around the garden in awe. That's how he wished everyone was... they should appreciate life and beauty, not want to stomp it down with wars. Tyler muttered something under his breath that might have included the two words *stupid, king* and possibly *merman*.

As the mermaid came in, Tyler looked up from where he was sorting through a tangle of nets. Tyler straightened up, waiting to hear what she had to say. When she finished he also held out his hand, giving hers a firm shake before drawing back. "I just want to help. I am Tyler Carter, with no special names after that. Pleased to meet you." He half joked, offering a small smile. -Raine... that's an interesting name- Tyler thought with a slight tilt of his head. He didn't even have parents names to share because they practically ditched him before he even learned their names. Plus he was never going to put himself through the dishonor of telling Raine the names of the parents that obviously didn't care.