Hadama's stoic expression didn't falter, but at the place she named he drew slow, deep breath through his nose and then let it out in a controlled sigh that held no good emotion. There was a tightness in his jaw as he considered her words, and then a reluctant nod.
"If the tide is out, I will not be able to travel the Fingers," he admitted slowly. "But if it is deeply in, you may not be able to reach it and escape again before the tide returns." He watched her fishing thoughtfully for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. "Do you have experience fighting in the water?" A blunt question as he turned his gaze from the fish to the Queen. "Even at lowest tide there are places you must cross water in the Fingers." A pause and then a concerned tilt of his head. "Those waters are not always empty." His tail swept through the water, trailing lightly over the sand in the shallows and a number of smaller creatures - crabs, small stingrays, a few sand-burrowed fish - erupted from their disturbed hiding places and darted off in all directions through the small waves.
"If the tide is out, I will not be able to travel the Fingers," he admitted slowly. "But if it is deeply in, you may not be able to reach it and escape again before the tide returns." He watched her fishing thoughtfully for a moment, then seemed to come to a decision. "Do you have experience fighting in the water?" A blunt question as he turned his gaze from the fish to the Queen. "Even at lowest tide there are places you must cross water in the Fingers." A pause and then a concerned tilt of his head. "Those waters are not always empty." His tail swept through the water, trailing lightly over the sand in the shallows and a number of smaller creatures - crabs, small stingrays, a few sand-burrowed fish - erupted from their disturbed hiding places and darted off in all directions through the small waves.
