Blackbeak Bluff you got yourself in a dangerous zone

Though she caught a brief glimpse of the fear that passed behind his eyes at her promixity, he soon realized the intent behind her gentle ministrations and relaxed. She observed the tension in his expression melt away and, for the first time, she saw him as he truly was. Whip was a handsome creature—far more so now that he did not appear ready to skitter away like a bug exposed to sunlight at a moments notice. He was still scrappy and windswept, but she could see where he was beginning to fill out. For the first time, Akantha realized she pitied the Consorts—their lives were miserable, by comparison, and they were forbidden to blossom into their own. They were nothing more than tools to the Sirens.

Once again, Atlas' face drifted up from the fog and she wondered if fate would have treated him kindly had he been born a woman.

To avoid revealing the depths of her discomfort, she turned away and looked out to where the ocean lay behind the veil of timber. "I used to have a Consort," She began, a bout of courage driving her to share her story with Whip. "Atlas. All he ever desired was protect and serve, and he spent his entire first year training for the role. He was mindless in his servitude, and followed me blindly no matter what I asked of him or where I went." She frowned and looked down at the ground. "There were moments he questioned our ways, and it infuriated me. I punished him on occasion."

Akantha sighed. "Now I'm not so sure if I was right."