Blackwater Islands searching for smoke in a stillwater pond

She was secure in her position as Matriarch, though she wondered if her loose grip style of leadership would lead to them all taking advantage of her passive nature. So far so good. She couldn't judge her success solely based on the actions of a drudge of course and, thankfully, Kalika was proving to be exactly the sort she valued as a leader. The antithesis to Akantha's suspicious nature; the ambassador. She would serve as the kindness and compassion that Akantha lacked, or so she hoped.

The pair walked slowly down the shore with no obvious heading. Walking helped keep her mind occupied and clear, so that she might focus on the conversation at hand. When he voiced one of the questions she'd been waiting to hear she looked back over her shoulder, searching Gabe with one shrewdly narrowed hazel eye, and smiled. "It isn't as simple as disliking men." 

The Matriarch fell silent to collect her thoughts and supply the young man with an adequate answer before beginning, "The Mothers birthed their daughters, the Nereides, and made them in their image. The Drowned God vomited forth the men from his mire to feast upon the land, or so I am told. It is a parasitic relationship, but unfortunately necessary if we are to survive. Men need more men to feed the Drowned One when they perish from this mortal world." She explained. "We need sisters to serve the Mothers in life, and bless them in death. So the sisters care for the men until they have served their purpose, and the men fulfill their duty in the hopes that the Sirens may take pity on the male children and rear them until they are able to serve."

Akantha frowned and swished her tail, potentially catching Gabe in the shoulder with the action. "I would tell you more of the Drowned One if I could, but I've forgotten most of it."