Aww Tyler is such a sweetie-pie!!))

Raine's heart thundered in her chest as she tried to propell herself forward. But her body still ached from her transformation and her falls over the rocks, and she was too weak. She hadn't been in the eater for even a full hour, and already she was failing on her mission. Completely lost, cold, alone, and scared out of her skin, Raine was about to cry out until she spotted another figure approaching. Her mind whirled in its frantic state. Something else ready to hunt her? Her throat burned in desperation, even as the voices registered. Her mind cleared enough for her to see the figure before her, a merman. He was big and dark, and marked with scars. She wondered what had happened in his life that he looked like that, a curiousness niggling at the back of her thoughts. The initial sight of him chilled her, before she realised that he was trying to ward the monster off her. He called her stupid, but she wasn't stupid, just lost.

Raine tried to still her movements, but her body shook. She watched the merman and what looked to be a tentacled sea monster exchange words, words about her. She didn't know whether to say something, but kept her mouth shut lest she say something to put herself in more danger. If she was eaten, the Queen would die without a hope, and she would be forever lost without her fae family knowing what had happened. As the monster and merman talked, she inched backwards, putting as much distance as she could between herself and them.

Short one- got assignments! If you want paragraphs, press the Div tab>Blocks>paragraphs, but you have to do it every time, I don't think you can make it a default unfortunately))

If she wasn't so exhaused, Raine would have cracked up laughing at the 'floppy sunfish' comment. But she was more than exhausted and didn't have the energy for humour. She could picture it though. The sight of her must be quite alarming for such a comment from such a merman.

"I admit, I feel horrible." She was truly suffering, and it obviously showed. Just as it showed in him. Indeed, she'd noticed. The deep scars, the cold expression but sad eyes, she'd seen men like him before. He was a soldier, or had been at some point. The whole demeanour screamed 'suffering', in one way or another. Maybe he had in the past, or maybe he still was. Raine got the feeling that it was the second option. Everything about him seemed hard, like he'd built up walls that would not be easily broken. Her extemely empathetic heart cried for what he might have been through.

Raine let her gaze lock with his, and what she saw there, his resolve softening, compelled her to accept whatever he was offering. She knew nothing of him; not his past, nor personality, nor the motivatons behind his words. And yet, his appearance failed to frighten her. She held his gaze and slowly nodded. "I accept your offer of help. And I think you're right. I won't make it two miles to the city..." Like he said- if she tried to make it now, she very well might wake up on the bottom of the seabed days later... or not at all. The thought was not a pleasant one. She cocked her head and narrowed her eyes. "You won't show me the way to the city now, or you won't show me at all? I need help, I don't know where I'm going... And where am I to go for rest, exactly? Is there a small community nearby?"

Tyler kept an eye on the mermaid, though he glanced around warily. You always had to be on the lookout when hanging around just talking at the entrance to the biggest trench in the ocean holding the biggest monster in the ocean. He could see, though, that the mermaid seemed to be... lightening up. Or, drooping down if you wanted to be exact. In any case, it seemed like she might agree to what he had proposed. Tyler could also tell that she wasn't an idiot, so she would most likely agree because she knew she couldn't get more than a couple miles.

Tyler stiffened a tiny bit when the mermaid locked gazes with him. He just wasn't used to that... he was used to being treated like the bottom of the food chain. The underdog, as the people above said. When she said she would accept his offer of help -Mind me, which was very harshly given- Tyler thought grumpily, though he cleared those thoughts from his mind. "That answer can go two ways. If you want to find the flower as fast as possibe, I won't show you at all. If you want to take quite a while finding another guide in the city to bring you to the flower, then I won't show you right now." Tyler said simply, though he knew his answer seemed complicated. When the mermaid asked where she was going to rest Tyler didn't move, but he thought for a moment. -Nobody out here is brave... or stupid... enough to make their home this close to where Chaos dwells. That means... technically... the best option...- Tyler knew he was stalling in his mind. "I know a hut, over there. Maybe only a mile." Tyler said quietly, deciding not to announce it might possibly be his because he was very unhappy about this.

Raine nodded again, taking in his words. He was adamant not to show her to the city, but whether that was because he hated the city, didn't care enough to tell her where it was, or both, she didn't know. Either way, he wasn't going to show her at all, so she'd have to find another way to get there or find accompaniment. But would she find someone willing to help her get to the plant? The merman's demeanour suggested that it was a dangerous trip, and maybe not one worth taking in his opinion. If he was reluctant, others would be.

"I think I can make a mile, thank you," she said, the edges of her mouth twitching up in a hesitant smile. She would be better off with some rest. Her body and mind needed it for would could possibly be a journey to the edge of death itself. The thought clutched her mind in a vice grip and she shuddered.

"How dangerous is the way to Oprianna's Seaberry, exactly?" Raine had a feeling that he knew, but whether he would tell her or not was the real question.

Tyler thought about what he was comitting to at the moment. -So technically I'm okay with dying? Well it might be better than the life I have at the moment- He thought sourly, but then focused on what would happen if he did help this mermaid and show her the way to the berry. -I would have to show her the whole way there, help her get the berry, then come all the way back. Sounds easy- Tyler thought to shine some hope on the hopeless situation. He actually felt slightly bad for the Fae's... having a Queen die would be something you needed to prevent. At all costs. -Maybe they are nicer than the mermaids and mermen- Tyler thought

He then focused his attention on the mermaid. "You're quite welcome." Tyler said rather gruffly, still thinking about what was going to happen if this worked out perfectly... and what would happen if it didn't work out at all. When the girl asked the dreaded question, Tyler tipped his head with a slight sigh. "The lie... we'll be perfectly fine and get there in a couple days." Tyler arched an eyebrow. "The truth? It's hell underwater." Was what he finished with. "First you would encounter the underwater volcanoes, which are deadly. Then the underwater hot fountains, which are deadly. Then the trenches and caves, which are deadly. And last the valley of monsters, where hundreds of animals like the one you just met live. Also deadly." Tyler explained the best he could, while putting it nicely. "The whole land is called different things... Danger Zone, No Man's Water, Place of No Return..." Tyler trailed off with a slight huff of air.

"You're other option is to go to the city. They have a heavily guarded berry there. You can plead for help for the next three months, just to have them say no." Tyler offered unhelpfully, knowing that sounded easier than the other way... but it wasn't. "Sadly if you choose that path, you're queen will be dead before you even see the mermen's king." Tyler said sourly, looking slightly anrgy. Not at the mermaid, though. He left out the part that he had gotten through the Danger Zone before... mostly because she hadn't asked and Tyler wasn't going to just say something like that.