Grouse Thicket A black fly in your chardonnay.

Different, how? Asked the woman, looking around briefly, perhaps for the child she was caring for. She went on to speak of some benefits which Minerva herself had never considered; the easily defensible coast, the limited land, the restricted prey. Perhaps that last one wasn't so much a benefit - it meant they had to be careful over portions and allocations, but that was made simpler with the culling every season. There were never too many mouthes, everyone always earned their share. Of course, in a culture that was dismissive of men, it was unlikely that a man would earn a lion's share regardless of his devotion. It struck her then as unfair, but Minerva was not about to think ill of her people, nor was she eager to entertain thoughts of their bias; she was well conditioned.

There are dangers in every place, she calmly stated. My home, the island of my family — there were dangers, of course! The coastline, many hard stones, but... We are powerful swimmers, too. Minerva could have cited the power of the Mother Sea in this instance, for only She could control who lived and who died, regardless of an individual's skill; or so she was taught to believe. But she did not think her beliefs would be so welcome by this woman. Not that Wraen appeared untrusting or in any way unsympathetic to Minerva's beliefs, but... She was a heathen after all, not a blood-born Nereides, so she would meet resistance.

Our food is well... Organize? Organized. Controlled. Digging through her mind for her language lessons, she hesitates a bit as she tries to speak and dislikes the sound of her accented tongue. The sea provides, she says with warmth, and a wave of her tail. Here, there is so much more space — so much possible danger, yes? Easy to be lost. Easy, too, for strange people to find you. Which made the mainland very different; Kea Island had been difficult to reach and well fortified against invasion.