Dragoncrest Cliffs Arowana

They didn't know. Of course they didn't, and she hadn't been there soon enough to stop them. She hadn't shared her secret with anyone, save for Etienne who might've had some idea that she'd become attached to one particular gull. She knew she couldn't hold a grudge against him, and she could tell that Quennell felt sorry, too. She sniffed, and lifted herself up, to touch the crown of her head against his shoulder. Forgiveness hurt, and it was hard. She wasn't sure she really did forgive him, as the grief still gouged her heart. But he was trying, and his suggestion that they do something honourable for the bird touched her. 

He could have insisted that she'd been foolish to befriend a bird. He could have insisted that they eat it and not let it go to waste- but instead, he validated her feelings, and the friendship she'd made, unlike Swordfish, who had abandoned the situation as soon as it had become too much for him. 

"We return 'im to de sea." She said quietly, and sniffled. "I t'ink...Dat be best. In a way, it created a balance. She owed a debt, she felt, and this had been what nature had come to collect. She stood up, and frowned with trembling lips as she looked down at the gull. It frightened her to see its eyes, staring but not seeing. "Will you come wid me?" She asked. She would carry the gull, but she wanted someone to wade in with her, and keep her steady.