Kiache smiled, and bumped her hip against Jacks, "We all go at our own pace - don't worry about it. It is just taking you longer to adjust, and that is fine." She hoped there was some comfort in her words. Jack was a good friend, and someone Kiache knew she could rely on, and she didn't want him to feel bad about anything.

Quinn hadn't quite realized how bad things were for the Mer kingdom. Everyone seemed so calm and put together. Quinn wondered if Kiache even knew, but as she glanced back at the princess, she noticed the extra muscle that didn't form by 'lighlty working out' that she claimed to have been doing, and how she was alert even as she was talking with Jack.

Kiache definitly knew.

"If you really wouldn't mind, I will take you up on that." Quinn wondered how well her storm magic would work underwater, and if it would be reckless to use it to help the Mer.

At the mention of her shirt Quinn unconsiously picked at the flimsy fabric, her stern exterior faltering for a moment, "It is habit at this point. It may not be physically protective, but it is protective in its own way to my mind. I... have been in the human lifestyle so long that I feel like I need something."

Jack restrained himself from practically lighting up, and he refused to allow himself to give away that the small touch had sent butterflies charging through his stomach. Instead, he gave Kiache his own, rare big smile, and filled his inner voice thing with gratefulness as he spoke. "Thank you for trying to help me. Your words mean a lot." they truly did, her reassurance was the best thing for him and his doubt.

"Ah wonderful! I won't go easy on you, I want you to become just as fit as me, and if you're lucky, maybe even more." Ripley said this as if it was a practically impossible feat, though it really wasn't. They were very in shape yes, but it wasn't impossible for someone like Quinn to catch up quickly. "And I can get that, I'm sorry you two had to go through the humans like that. They are horrible. If you want, I can try to find someone to patch up your shirt thing, as well as Jack's. It looks like you two went through a war. Especially his', it's all ripped and torn like he was about to get murdered or something." The shrugged, eyes flicking back to Jack's mess of a shirt. There were still even dark spots on his shirt, like he'd been bleeding or something.

Kiache tilted her head, glad to see Jack smiling but unsure why he was doing so. She hadn't said anything special. Humans were odd, Kiache thought to herself, but she couldn't help smiling back at the boy beside her.

"Perfect. I wouldn't want to have you go easy. It is way more dangerous to think you are stronger than you actually are." Quinn crinkled up her nose. Although she also didn't particularily like the human race, it kinda stung to hear someone say that they were bad. Ripley's offer was kind, though, and Quinn would definately take them up on that, "It would be nice to get them repaired - thank you for the offer."

Ripley grinned as Quinn accepted their teaching strategy. They definitely wouldn't be going easy on her, because Quinn had the makings of a good soldier in her blood. Ripley could see it. "No problem, the patches probably won't be made of the same material unless we can scavenge something up. Other than that, we it should be the same."

Ripley stopped and suddenly seemed to listen intently as vibrations filled their ears. "Ah, we're nearing the marketplace." The vibrations in the water slowly turned into the rhythmic beats of music, Mer music.

Kiache shot up a few feet in the water and twirled, then a flip, sighing happily. She now included Ripley and Quinn in her mind conversation, "Ahhh... It's been so long since I've heard...." She fell silent, although it was simply because she was listening to the beat, "My favorite!" She cried, grinning widely, her mind voice as happy as it could be for a relatively emotionless way of communicating.

Jack watched as Kiache practically glowed with happiness. The music thrummed through him, and it managed to coax a small smile from his lips. Music has always been his thing, music had been the way he had bonded with Kiache.

Ripley giggled softly, their red scales shifting across their skin. "I'm sure they heard that our princess has returned. We can go there first, we can listen to a few songs, but we have to get you guys moving after. Okay?" Ripley grinned as their own body hummed with happiness in response to the music. It was such a vital part of Mer culture, and music affected them in a much different way than humans.

Quinn listened curiously to the music. It had a strong beat, which she liked, but it did not strike the same cord within her that it did with Kiache and Ripley, and even Jack.

Kiache's face reddened, and her smile grew shy, "Wow..." They reached a point where they could look into the market, and there they were: her people. They swam and smiled, and Kiache quickly hurried ahead of the group and into the crowd. She gently touched hands and smiled and had conversations with everyone. If they wanted her attention - they got it. The Mer were polite enough to wait for her to finish with one citizen before trying to draw her attention to be next.

Quinn looked over at Ripley, "So... I guess Kiache was pretty popular."

Ripley stayed back, nodding in greeting at a few of their fellow apprentices who grinned at them before disappearing into the crowd to say hello to the favorite royal Mer. "Yes, she always had a way with the people. Nobody could ever hate her, she treats them with kindness no matter what. Kiache was born to be royalty." Ripley shrugged as Jack looked around, his white eyes filling with curiosity. This was so much better than he'd ever imagined.

"Huh," Quinn remarked out loud, and not in the mental conversation. Bubbles escaped from her moth, and she went back into the mental conversation, "She is royalty, yet moves among people so easily. Like there are not status barriers." It was admirable. In the human world there was a distinct divide between the wealthy and the poor, and then there was the Elite. Quinn glanced over at Jack briefly. His family had been involved in running the city - one of his parents was even the mayor. She was on the far side from that.

Ripley nodded, their eyes flicking from the happy Kiache to Jack, who ooked like he didn't quite know what to say. "Yes, us Mer are not like the brutal humans. From what I have heard from the few Mer that ever have come back, the human system is rather unfair. Everyone here is treated equally, though royalty is often more respected, but that's more because they make decisions that no other Mer would have the strngth to make. Royalty may sound like they're better than the res tof us, but we are all made of the same things, there isn't a real reason to treat anyone differently than anyone else." Ripley shrugged, as they had known no other way in life. Meanwhile, Jack looked rather confused, as he had known much different with the mayor as his father.