almost to the other s i d e [open]

Oh dear. Oh my.

Accompanied by an amused smile, a pair of piercing azure orbs had witnessed the whole violent ordeal. And while the queen was by no means a sadist, she couldn't deny that there was a shred of enjoyment in watching some creature struggle within a substance that she lived, slept and breathed in.

Like a starving shark, Meredith had been attracted by the scent of fresh blood. Her first thought had been that it was another brawl between the bipedal vermin and her merfolk. But upon closer inspection as she rose to the surface armed with her swords, the mermaid had discovered to her relief that neither race was involved. As she followed the trickle of crimson that saturated the sand, she was treated to a scene where three men had ganged up beat up another. Eavesdropping on their conversation had informed Meredith of the circumstances, though she couldn't find the will to care who she would align herself with.

At last they left, leaving a bloodied but defiant human on the beach, and the queen took that as her cue to approach.

He was close enough to the waterline for her to beach herself, though she was hardly concerned over her safety. Tsunami and Cyclone would protect her as well on the land as in the sea. With her right hand, she withdrew out a steel scimitar and with her left, she gripped the ground and lunged further up where the water lapped against the injured man.

"Well, well. What do we have here?" She crooned in a mockingly gentle voice. "You know, I don't really appreciate it when someone's blood stains my home."

To punctuate her point, (if she met no resistance) she would lay the flat of her blade onto the man's chest.

"Though I must admit that I find it pathetic and cowardly for three humans to deem it fair to go against one."

Surprise flickered as he had made no obvious attempt to remove her sword, though whether it was out of fear or fatigue, Meredith couldn't be certain. Her grip on the bloodied sand tightened as she edged closer, tossing her iridescent tail against the shallow tide to jerk herself an inch further. A fat droplet of water splashed onto her cheek, freezing her movements. She turned her gaze back towards the ocean she had risen from and then upwards to the sky that was darkened by the thick clouds. A moment later and the heavens had released their airborne dam, unleashing a torrent of water to the earth.

Although it was carefully hidden by a mask of amusement, Meredith was awestruck by the precipitation. Physics dictated that rain could never be experienced underwater and perhaps the closest thing available were the bubbles from exhalation. And while she'd experienced surface rain several times before, but the phenomenon had never failed to arouse a childlike wonder.

Her attention was drawn back to the human when he gave his excuse. Unfamiliar to the concepts of 'soup' and 'bread', she cocked her head to the side and merely blinked. "Unless you're a masochist, that's obvious. Can't help you with anything, except for 'thrusting water' onto you." Meredith paused in thought. "Or completely drown you, for that matter." Her tone was light hearted and her expression unreadable, leaving the man up to decide whether she serious or not.

Approval reached her voice as she spoke. "Nonetheless, you seem comfortable for someone who had almost drowned. Not bad for a human, I'll admit." Her demeanour did not waver as he claimed that he had previously experienced a situation similar to the current one and she merely raised an eyebrow. Curiosity sparked upon his final words, she leant forward so that her face was in complete view, albeit upside-down from the man's perspective. "Not the last? Are you too lazy to train harder?"

Meredith stared at the cut on his head until it was covered by his hand. Her remark about disfiguring her home had been offhanded, one that she neglected to think twice about. After all, he'd need more than a little blood to affect the ocean. As a response, she plucked a piece of seaweed and dangled it within his sight. "Don't insult me. There's no need for me to waste my energy in moving an old lump of flesh such as yourself. I can treat that head wound." If not stopped, she would flick his offending hand away from the incision and proceed to roughly bandage it with the aquatic plant, without concern over any additional pain it would cause, which the salt would surely do.

Before she began her crude imitation of first aid, Meredith removed her scimitar from the man and slid it back into the diagonal sheath on her back. She would require both hands to do the job quickly.

Along with the man's profanity came Meredith's look of parental-like disapproval. None so gently, she tightened the makeshift bandage and ignored his obvious discomfort. Although it had been cleansed by saltwater, the wound wasn't sanitised and some sand had likely been caught up within. If not probably treated, an infection was likely but that wasn't Meredith's problem. It wasn't as if she was ever going to meet him again after today.

As soon as the bandage was secured, Meredith's hands would shoot back, as if physical contact with a human was exhausting to maintain. At the same time, the man rolled over and assumed a position which brought confusion to the queen. Elbows on the sand… was that a gesture of affection, comfort or caution? Nonetheless, she regarded him impassively.

"You're welcome, Elwyn." Flicking her bangs out from her eyes, she mimicked his introduction. "And I'm Meredith. Meredith A'llyr."

"A favour, eh? The only thing I'd ask of you is to lure the Chief of the damnable Beastmen to me." The smile which she displayed was void of warmth. It was unlikely that the cowardly murderer would approach anywhere near a hundred yards from the ocean. Thus, it would be quite convenient to enlist the help of a land walker. But she didn't expect that this Elwyn would actually fulfil her request. Loathe she was to admit it, but chief was no fool.

"I thought that a brave man such as yourself could've been up to the challenge. I apologise for overestimating you," The female said, not sounding sorry at all. Coward. She hadn't wanted to save her favour for later, because of the fact that this meeting was likely to never repeat itself. Unless provoked, Meredith did not frequent the surface and she very much doubted that Elwyn would make a habit of bleeding into the sea to catch her attention.

Her eyes followed his head as it dropped to the ground. The abrupt movement had shifted his seaweed bandage marginally out of position. But his blood was yet to leak out so the mermaid remained silent.

Elwyn's next question entertained her and Meredith answered with a smile playing on her lips, "Oh where should I start? For one, everything is much more peaceful. Fights are rare." Her perspective of the land was skewed by the fact that she knew next to nothing, save for the occasional debris that floats out to sea and the violent scuffles on the beach. Her comparisons would probably wouldn't amount to much, really.

"The ocean is not tainted by dirt. Everything is lighter." Ah, the royal very much enjoyed ambiguity. 

As an afterthought, Meredith added condescendingly, "And we have music of such beauty that would utterly shame your land, so-called music."

She shrugged in response to Elwyn's apparent doubt regarding the extravagance of Lemuria music. There was no way she could prove her claims. It wouldn't be as simple as dragging the human into the ocean. Perhaps she would produce her lyre and strum a sweet melody... Meredith blinked. Why would she waste her time to do such a thing for a mere land dweller?

"Magic." She answered simply. "And if anything the water amplifies sounds." Not to mention that merfolk ears have adapted for both underwater and land use.

In turn, Meredith listened intently to Elwyn's description of the terrestrial environment, making comparisons of her own.
Trees, grass, flowers: Check. Coral reefs have their own unique splendour.
Tall buildings: Check. Lemuria has a proud architecture.
Sky: Check. The merfolk equivalent is the peculiar, yet dangerous Surface.
Magic: Check. Enough said.
Fire: ...

"Fire is something of uncontrollable destruction and chaos." At least that's what scholars have described it as. Deceivingly beautiful with great light and brilliance. A raging menace that, given time, can devour anything. "How in the name of Neptune, is fire a good thing?"

"And hot food?" Meredith wrinkled her nose. "Sounds disgusting." Not fresh but charred and blackened. The land dwellers must be stranger than she'd thought.

Although he portrayed the ocean as if it was as destructive as fire, the queen wasn't offended in the slightest. An outsider's perspective on her aquatic Eden was undoubtedly fascinating. What Elwyn said indeed was true and she couldn't fault him for that. Meredith hadn't spared much thought to the innocents who endangered their lives in perilous journeys in the ocean. She was no stranger to the shipwrecks littered on the seabed, along with the occasional skeletal corpse. "Even though you speak the truth, seafarers should've stayed where they belonged," She murmured apathetically, directing piercing gaze at him. Meredith did not react to Elwyn's statement about water's combative properties. She had already known.

"Of course," The mermaid drawled in a tone laced with sarcasm, a sceptical look on her face. No doubt that the temperature would change the taste of food – for the worse. Her lower jaw clenched over the mention of the consumption of fish. Elwyn's warning to not to be defensive would have no effect on her rising anger. Apparently he didn't pick up the shift in Meredith's mood as he continued to refer to the food, having the audacity to inform her about the way it was served. Her flawless face contorted into an expression of rage.

"Enough!" Reflexively, her hand had returned to the hilt of one of her swords. "Perhaps you mistake me for an animal because you don't seem to notice that I am disgusted by your twisted versions of a cuisine!" Upon realising her unconscious intents, Meredith released her hold on the weapon but instead leant forward and rapped her knuckles onto Elwyn's seaweed bandage, onto the area where it could cause the most pain while dealing the least damage. "Eating fish is revolting! It's like... me eating your kin." She hissed, oblivious to the fact that Elwyn had formerly been thinking about cannibalism. "Human flesh - boiled in blood and seasoned with salt!"

Now regarding Elwyn as a potential threat, Meredith withdrew several feet back from the man as he finally found the strength to rise onto his feet. Her immediate thought about his offer was that it could be a chance to poison her. "Fun? No. Interesting? Possibly." She had half a mind to reject his proposal entirely and return to her city, never coming back to meet with Elwyn… But loathe she was to admit it, the mermaid had not lied – her interest was piqued by his description and strange excitement over hot food. Heaving a deep sigh, Meredith said, "As long as the meat came from a mammal or bird... I'll consider it." She will sample his dish, after making sure that he and his friend did the same. That would eliminate the threat of poison. As for the merfolk cuisine she could present… it would be nothing too expensive, a human wouldn't deserve that standard of food.