Blackwater Islands inner sanctum

The boy, Gabe, did not relax and Akantha felt her heart swell with pride. If she was to maintain order and keep up appearances that the Nereides were not a group to be trifled with, she had to be frightening. Fear was both an excellent motivator and deterrant. In that same vein, if she judged every outsider who tread upon these shores so harshly they might not have anyone left by the year's end. They needed males, and she was not about to go crawling back to Themiscrya and beg for a loan.

A quick smile whisked across her lips at his question, "Depends on what you want to know." She replied smoothy. "I do not know what Kalika told you, but we are a group of particular ideals. As it stands, we are unfortunately lacking males in our ranks. We lost one of our own the recent storms." Akantha slowly lowered herself to lie upon the rock in the hopes she appeared just slightly less intimidating. "If you were to join us, you would be cared for by the Sea. You would not go hungry, nor want for protection."