Renzie wasnât sure how to deal with hearing what herâŠcaptain, Ridley said? That was rather military-esque, which was also a little more alarming that âprincessââŠ.anyway. What her âcaptainâ said about humans. It was vile and overwhelming, even if Steph and Renzie had touched upon that concern as well. Renzie didnât like thinking about the gory details of what would happen if sea people got in the hands of bad humans.
âDonât bad sea people exist too?â he asked, carefully. âLike bad to each other, even. Itâs the same way with humans. We canât all be good, but weâre not all bad either. Itâs more about power - who has it, and who uses it to make enemies. I mean look at us - you and me, standing right here. Between the two of us, right here - Iâve never killed anyone. Have you?â
Renzie felt a part of his mind protest - the part that no amount of therapy could shake free, but. He wasnât going to go into childhood regrets over deaths he couldnât control, but felt convinced he somehow couldâve.
Again, the whole ânot all humansâ floated into Renzieâs mind at Ridleyâs question, and as a guy he felt embarrassed saying that.  âBecause humans arenât a monolith, Ridley. We donât all think the exact same way or want the exact same things. A lot of people want me dead, just because of my religion, and the colour of my skin. I mean, I donât expect you to understand that. Maybe itâs more useful to lump all humans as the same, so you sea folk can go about your own business. Iâm sure humans were the last concern you had when you were home.â
Nodding, Renzie hummed at Ridleyâs manifesto. He didnât ask her for anything in return - not her allyship or her loyalty to him. In Renzieâs mind, this exchange was entirely one-sided: he was in service to her. She had the power.
âOkay - well - I mean to be fair, I was extremely confused and my entire world-view shattered when I saw Siobhan shift into a seal, dude. Iâve changed since then, and honestly I think Iâm doing a pretty good job adjusting to everything so fast. My headâs spinning - itâs a huge adjustment for me, okay? I donât expect you to understand or care; I just want you to know that Iâm trying to do whatâs best for you. All of you. Iâm gonna make mistakes though, because me and Steph donât even know what the hell the sea people need or want. ButâŠâ
Renzie nodded.  âYeah. Now you can tell us what you want, and weâll try to do it, huh?â He gave a tentative smile, spreading his hands a bit.  âThatâs what Port Valeâs good at, Rids. We treat our tourists right, we wanna make your experience pleasant and your stay comfortable. Thatâs all we want.â
  Though Ridley knew Renzie was trying to make a point with the question... she took it quite seriously. Donât bad sea people exist, too? Of course they did; the mermaids, obviously. They claim all he kingdoms and condemn the sirens, fight them and push them further into the murky water, took lives and.... Ridley frowned. If he were asking a mermaid that question, without hesitation, would they not say sirens? It wasnât so simple. Everyone was a bad guy, in some version of the story. Even Renzie. For a moment, heâd been her villain. He would the worst of the humans, had the seafoam legend been more fact than fiction. Ridley would never understand those blurry lines between bad and good, evil and angelic.Â
  He was right about power, though - it seemed in both Assyrian history and human history that those with the power got to be written as the good guys, regardless of the actual story that played out. Perhaps that was why mermaids were revered, even in this town; they were gifted power from the Goddess herself. Of course they would be viewed as the victors.Â
  If the sirens had been successful in the war in their original goal, and had truly forced the mermaids all away from their realms... would they not be the victors in the story, and hold the power? Ridley blinked, overwhelmed by the sudden morality thrust into her vision, and decided to ignore the hypotheticals and focus on something she did know.Â
  âIâve never killed anyone,â She admitted, knowing this may be a bad time for honesty. Would Renzie grow comfortable, knowing his life was not at stake? Ridley used to feel shame for the fact her hands were without blood - sheâd done nothing to defend the Black Sea, to protect her siren sisters, to stand up against the royal mermaid forces; and yet, now, standing here, she felt... validated. Surely Renzie would see her in a different light if she had, and Ridley realized that she didnât want to be seen that way. Not by him, not by a human who just wouldnât understand the impact of a war that spawned for centuries. Her eyebrows couldnât help but wrinkle - she could understand Assyrianâs wanting Renzie dead, but other humans? âThat seems like an, um, extreme reaction to something like color,â She observed, but wondered if it were really all that different from the divide between sirens and mermaids.Â
  Truly, Renzie seemed to come from a good place. Ridley was sure her smarter, stronger siren captain friends would call his bluff, but.... she was convinced. âGold star for you then,â the siren frowned, despite her secret agreement that he had managed to stay sane through all of this, which was, well, surely some sort of achievement. Heâd confronted her right then, and even when he looked scared, Renzie had stayed. And was negotiating. Ridley almost thought heâd make a better captain than she would - do diplomatic, and eager to please. She looked back out to the seals, and sighed. This had been a lot for one day, and now that she had done her job in establishing Renzieâs loyalty, well... Ridley wasnât sure what the next step was. âI will have to, um, discuss with the others,â She lied, knowing full well this conversation would go entirely unreported to the captains and other merfolk in town. Ridley wasnât about to be branded a traitor; how would that help Nereida win her sea back? No, she had to do this discreetly. âAm I-â She hesitated, turning to him then, eyes seeking and less guarded. âAm I the first one you, like, figured out? I- I mean, is there others, that have... like, been caught? Or just, you know.... just me?â