Kiache also giggled at Jack, but was a bit more sympathetic than Ripley, pausing by the boy to rest her tail comfortingly on his, "It's okay. Ripley has gotten knocked over by a fish before - they are just too proud to admit it."

Quinn went on to swim ahead of the two, as Kiache seemed content to swim by Jack's side, and she didn't want to feel like a third wheel.

Ripley kept up their quick pace though they turned back to look at Kiache and Jack for a moment and just rolled her eyes. The spark between the two was so unbearably obvious that it physically hurt Ripley to look at Jack's smile for more than a few seconds. Out of the two, he was definitely the worst at hiding his obvious feelings for Kiache.

"Seriously? They seem so... collected. I could never imagine them getting knocked over by a fish, let alone smacked by one." Jack lightly blushed at the tail touching, it was different and definitely unusual. He didn't think Kiache actually meant something by it, but still. For someone who'd just gotten his tail, it seemed like an intimate gesture.

Quinn snorted, causing a ripple of bubbles heading towards the surface, as she also looked back at the two. She was going at a faster pace than the lovebirds, so she had passed them quickly, and was now swimming a little slower than Ripley's pace, although she made sure to stay clear of the Mer. It was clear, at least to Quinn, that Ripley wasn't too fond of her. Perhaps it was her personality, or the fact that she had tentacles instead of fins.

"Well," Kiache sighed, deciding to not completely ruin Ripley's appearance as 'collected' and a 'warrior', "keep in mind we were probably as large as the fish at that time. We were just kids, and it was before Ripley started training as a guard.... but you can still totally imagine it that Ripley of now got flattened by a fish."

Jack snickered softly, he could just imagine a fish sized Ripley getting bowled over by a fish and being all grumpy afterwards. He was happy that it wasn't just him that got attacked by wild fish. Though he supposed that a Mer of his age shouldn't be getting threatened by anything other than sharks, and the occasional giant squid.

Kiache was glad she could make Jack smile. It made her feel... warm inside, "Have you tried using your magic at all down here?" Kiache remembered Jack's ice powers. The water around him was cold, but it wasn't overly so, and she hadn't seen any other traces of his magic.

Quinn glanced over at Ripley, then back at Jack and Kiache. She was in between the two... like a third wheel that wasn't even a third wheel.

Jack had almost forgotten how little he used to smile, everything had been so different back then. Now, he had Kiache and Quinn, and they were his friends, even if Quinn didn't particularly want to be his friend. They made him laugh and smile like no one else had in the past years.

Kiache's question startled him, but he replied immediately. "No, and they haven't been very accessible either. It's like they are fighting me and I can't even control them. Luckily, they aren't actually causing any damage, I just can't use them for whatever reason." 'Just like how I can't use my tail, somehow I'm still useless even after almost dying and being transformed into a Mer.' He continued in his head privately. Sometimes, his parents' words still came to him. And sometimes they did affect him.

He just tried not to think about it.

Ripley turned back at Quinn, they figured they could at least try to understand the weird Mer. They slowed down, now only slightly in front of Quinn, their elbow level with Quinn's face though they turned a little to look at her. "Those two are quite the pair huh? Both are stupidly oblivious to the other's feelings. I have no idea how you've dealt with that for this long." Ripley grinned, conversation was hard to strike up but Jack and Kiache's obvious liking of each other was easy to talk about since everyone else knew except them.

Kiache nodded, thinking before speaking, "Maybe it's because of the Mer fire in you. It's probably dormant since you aren't a natural born Mer - like how it is for Quinn - but still there and fighting off your ice. Maybe your internal fire is being used up trying to push back the ice, which is why your energy and tail movement is low?"

Quinn let out a long breath that said, "Believe me, it's been a struggle." What she said out loud, or mentally, rather, was, "I haven't had to for long. They knew each other long before I met them. I don't even know how I got stuck with them... but here I am. It was either this or death, most likely so," Quinn shrugged. She didn't like talking about her experiences, "What is your training like?"

Jack's eyes widened, a war going on in his own body? He did not like the sound of that. His ice powers had always been distant, but he'd thought he would finally be able to keep them under control with Kiache's Mer fire necklace, which still hung faithfully around his neck. Plus, if his energy was being stolen because of this struggle inside of him, maybe that was not a good thing? Like at all? "That would make sense, it's kind of scary though, if that's the case, then I'll never be normal huh?" Jack looked at Kiache with his white eyes, an intense look on his face. He supposed that only Kiache, and maybe Quinn, would be able to see how sad he was. He'd always wanted to be normal. Was that too much to ask? After everything?

Ripley chuckled at the whole struggle part, they could tell that the two Mer were annoyingly close. Close enough to be more than friends but not close enough to be mates. It was an odd thing, as many Mer could recognize that the other liked them and eventually the two would pair up. She supposed that since Jack had been in captivity practically his whole life, he just wasn't getting the hint. What an idiot.

"Ah, my training, well it's sort of hard to describe. It ranges anywhere from physical combat, to creating underwater explosives, to endurance and blending in with your surroundings. Granted, my lessons have been getting interupted more and more recently due to the fact that some Mer can't just stay on their own turf and have to bother me, of all Mer, during my lessons." Ripley obviously felt strongly about this topic, as they grit their teeth before continuing.

"Normally though, they are challenging and each Mer has different training specific to them. We each get a mentor, though some have to share one, and they help us with whatever we need work in. Don't get me wrong though, the help is definitely not easy and the mentors strive to make every single thing difficult for their apprentice." According to Ripley's mentor, it just helped the apprentice learn to be patient and become stronger.

Ripley was just positive they were messing with the students as one big joke.

Kiache shook her head, "Well, I think eventually one side will win, or it'll reach a point where both sides accept that they aren't winning. I'm not sure what exactly can be done except for waiting. I could redo the fire in your necklace, as it might be running low, but other than that, it might just be waiting it out."

Maybe Quinn was slightly self conscious about how healthy and fit Ripley was, and how they were able to learn all of these interesting things, "I think it is really interesting. I..." Quinn didn't know how much she could say without revealing she was a human. Or used to be a human, "...always liked to be physically active and work out, although it was mostly because I had to fight things in order to survive. It must be nice.. being able to learn in a time of relative peace." Quinn coughed. She probably hadn't said that much to Ripley before, and it was still weird talking to other people.

Jack nodded, trusting Kiache's answer immediately. Kiache had gained his trust long ago and as their friendship had progressed, so had his trust. She represented a lot of things for him, a best friend, the first person he'd spoke to happily for a long time, hope, safety, new beginnings. He didn't know where he'd be right then without her. "I'm sure you're right, I'm just worried a little. I don't want to hold everyone back."

Ripley released a wave of bubbles, the underwater version of a snort of humor. Their gills flicked back and forht before replying. "It is no longer a time of relative peace. The attacks grow by the day and the outskirts of our kingdom have been evacuated closer to this main area, so it's easier to protect everyone. Soon, we will have to push the other Mer back, into their kingdom. We all know we don't have the numbers for it though, the other Mer have many, as do we, but we've lost so many recently, both to the war and the land people." Ripley frowned, their brows furrowing before they pulled themselves together.

"If you want, once you get used to the open ocea again, I can start training you on how to get your tail stronger, your top half seems decent enough. I can help you with that as well of course, but that's really up to you. Also, these... shirts that you and Jack wear. Why is that? They aren't protective like armor, why do you still wear them when you're free?" Ripley seemed genuinely curious, and they were. There was no malicious intent behind their words.