kaiden
There is no shame in survival
Only strength
There is no shame in survival
Only strength
Kaiden recoiled as Hadama bowed his head briefly. "Uh... well... no big deal. You're welcome." Coughing slightly, the mershark looked away briefly, extremely uncomfortable with the obvious gratitude. It was much easier to focus on answering the other mer's question.
At least, it would have been. If Kaiden had actually seen the mentioned individual at the Refuge. Squinting, the mershark tried to recall seeing a jellyfish mer. Coming up empty, they shook their head. "I didn't notice anyone like that."
So maybe this stranger hadn't been abandoned. Maybe their companion had just died. Or both. Probably both. There was no use in sparing the mer's feelings. That would only lead to weakness. "She might not have gone to the Refuge." Kaiden half-shrugged before adding, "Or she's dead."
Even Kaiden was able to process how unnecessarily callus that comment was. The cleared their throat and added diplomatically, "Sorry, for your probably loss." There. Much better.
