The Shattered Kingdom; A Tale of Two Worlds

Icarus's gripes were met by nothing more than an exasperated groan, the female quickly finding herself growing tired of the kvetch she had unwittingly taken to assisting. "Again, I will ask you please cease with the caviling. It's giving me a headache," she remarked lowly, though she seemed to at least somewhat cut back on any harsh tones she may have had. Though, a small huff of amusement was earned at his claim that she too would be complaining if she were in his shoes. "I assure you, I've gone through scenarios just as wretched without uttering a word. Surely you can do the same, no?"

Apparently not, because he kept running that damn mouth of his. Ughhhhhh.

"So you are deaf, then," she concluded sarcastically, continuing to swim on with the dolphin apparently known as Semele just behind. "You won't die, so long as you're under my protection. You may be immune to my song- I presume due to lacking the mental capacity and intelligence to be controlled -, but the same cannot be said for the other occupants of this sea. Or likely anyone else, for that matter. Any opposition we may face can quickly and efficiently be deterred with but a simple hum, if I will it," she stated bluntly, though she actually didn't seem to radiate much pride about this fact. Not at the moment, at least. She appeared to think about adding something else, but lost the urge when she heard another call from her dolphin friend.

"...Is that so? Well, I'm flattered you've chosen to escort us, then," she remarked with sarcasm and amusement to the sea mammal. Recalling that Icarus was incapable of understanding her friend, she slowly added to her statement. "Semele wished to inform you that she is very capable in combat, as well. Or, at least, more so than you--"

"Eeeeeeee!"

"Hey! Alright, alright-- goodness, no need to raise your pitch," Rydia complained briefly. "Fine. The last piece was an addition of my own," she stated, looking somewhat miffed as she glanced to her friend. "Content? Good. Now then..." she mumbled, not bothering to look anywhere but forwards as she addressed Icarus's concerns about when they would arrive. "Yes, I'm certain your charming personality has gained you many a friend. I would be most unsurprising if it were to happen to be the case, truly," she remarked dryly. "More seriously, so long as we keep pace and don't encounter any obstacles, we should be able to clear the distance in two days. Perhaps even one and a half, but that is much less likely."

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty​
 
Rydia groaned at him. Yes, of course Icarus should've figured she would. "If you have the right to complain about me complaining, then I should have the right to complain about this horrid situation I've been entrapped in," he grumbled, showing no signs that he intended to stop his whining any time soon. He honestly hadn't been very fond of swimming even when he had a choice to do it in a safe, comfortable environment. So to say he wasn't fond of his current position was a major understatement. "I'm sorry you have a headache, but I'll have you know my arm still hurts."

When Rydia mentioned him being deaf, Icarus raised an eyebrow. "So you did notice," he mumbled, mostly to himself. "Maybe if you had the proper mentality you would know that a person being deaf has nothing to do with one's intelligence. It's something that can't be helped. And I'm not entirely deaf. I'm tone deaf. There's a difference. It means I can't hear certain sounds, such as music. Most of the time it's unfortunate, but in this case it means you can't sing sweet nothings in my ear to control me. Although, I am a bit offended that you even tried to do that. All I want is to go home, not be a play toy for a siren," he complained.

He paused when listening to what Rydia would translate for her dolphin friend, chuckling when Semele would correct the girl's statement. "It's official. A fish has more manners than you. At least she is trying to be nice to me. Maybe if you would be more polite, so would I," he said. He grumbled afterwards, shaking his head. "There you go again, now saying that I don't have any friends. This is another entirely untrue assumption on your part. I have plenty of friends back home."

Icarus was actually of the opinion that Rydia must've had very few friends herself. Although, he was still trying to be careful enough not to say anything too insulting to the individual who was saving his life--even if she was doing a rather shoddy job of it. If she was any kind of rescuer, she'd surely be nicer to him and perhaps be a bit more sympathetic to his feelings. Even if he wasn't very cold anymore, he was still exhausted, in pain, wet, and uncomfortable.

@Midnight Maiden​
 
Ugh. Now he was complaining about her complaining about his complaining. This was so ridiculously frustrating. "There's a difference between a request for something to be ceased and complaining," she stated, as though this were painfully obvious and Icarus was just an idiot. Which, at this point, it was more than likely that she thought just that. "Now, what say you we end this circle of complaining? Lest it may never end, and I certainly have no desire for that." Jeez. Could you imagine? Days upon days of naught but the male's complaining and her requests of it's end, in turn. The thought was enough to make the Siren shudder. What a painful journey this would turn out to be, should that occur. "In any case, if you're so concerned about your impaired appendage, I would suggest not exerting yourself worrying over it. Rest. Take air rather than waste it. Your sort need it, after all, don't they?" she added, half sarcastically. "I'm certain we'll find a healer in time."

"Of course I noticed. What do you take me for?" she scoffed, seeming offended by the implication that she wouldn't have caught on. "On second thought, don't answer that. Your acting attempt may have been admirable for an air-dweller, but us sea-folk are not so susceptible to trickery. Perhaps I could offer you lessons someday. Though unlike this rather charitable rescue for which I will not charge, I can't say I would do so for free," she teased, actually seeming... Playful, this time. Slightly. Just enough for it to not sound entirely malicious, anyways. "Ahem. Anyhow," she muttered, apparently not caring for her own attempt at being more gentle in her taunts. "I never stated your deafness was what rendered you impaired in the field of intelligence. Nor did I intend to turn you to my... 'toy'," she spoke, actually visibly grimacing as she seemingly forced herself to spit out the last word. "I'm interested in no such thing. 'No such thing' referring to both you and... the rather barbaric tactic to which you refer." In truth, she wasn't exactly fond of what she was. A human-Siren hybrid, neither of which species did she identify or agree with. It was as though each half of her was constantly at war with each other, their medium desiring to be neither.

Rydia huffed, on the verge of responding when she was cut off by an obviously perturbed wail from her aquatic friend. Something that made her sigh, seeming to grow more annoyed. "It would be appreciated if you would refer to her as a dolphin. She isn't fond of your chosen label for her," she complained. "But fine. I suppose if you're truthfully willing to be more polite, I will attempt to do the same."

It wasn't something she was keen on attempting, but she was even less keen on being bothered by Semele and or Icarus about. That said, she'd have to attempt to behave, no matter how difficult the boy in her arms may be, or how frustrating it was to do so when she had been treated so poorly.

@Klutzy Ninja Kitty​
 
"I suppose I can live with that," Icarus remarked, giving the female a small nod. "If we both stop complaining things will be a lot quieter, at least." But, on the down side, complaining about his situation made him feel a bit better. He had no power to change what was going on so complaining about it just so happened to be the next best thing. Still, that didn't mean he should keep it up forever, especially since his rescuer had actually asked somewhat politely for him to stop this time. "I'm trying not to move my arm very much, it's just a bit difficult to do when I'm not very used to holding it still for so long."

"I think I'll pass on the acting lessons. I honestly don't want to return to the ocean, so I can't see us visiting any time soon after this is over. Unless, that is, you can magically change those fins into feet and come on land. By the way, I was never taught much about mermaids or sirens. So if you do have those abilities, don't get on my case for me not knowing. It's not my fault that I don't." Icarus did notice the siren attempting to be more gentle in her taunts, however, so he did relax a little and ended up not speaking as stern himself.

"Good, because I'm not unintelligent due to my hearing," the male replied, more fixated on that bit of her explanation. "You could even call me a toy or whatever else you want, but verbally jabbing at a person's handicap is uncalled for," he said, obviously a bit sensitive about it. Sound was an important part of life and the fact that he couldn't hear exactly the way other people could was rather upsetting to him. He had grown used to it over time, but always hated when he ran into the people who would tease him about it.

"But she is a dolphin, isn't she? Why would she be offended by that? I'm a person, so I wouldn't be offended if someone called me one. I just--" The male cut himself off and uttered a relenting sigh. "Fine then, I'll go along with this. What exactly does she want me to call her?" Icarus wasn't exactly sure why he should try and be respectful to a dolphin he would probably never see again after this trip was over, but if it meant something to his rescuer he should probably try and be polite about it. After all, he could tell that she was somewhat making an effort to try and be polite now herself. It was only fair that he return the favor.

@Midnight Maiden​
 
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