She looks at Cáel. "So, where are we?"

He looks a bit taken aback by her abruptness and Astrila does as well. Kyma's actually surprised at herself too, she isn't normally this forward. Cáel shifts nervously.

"We're in a pocket realm." Kyma frowns, not sure what that means. Camden sees to notice this and nudges Cáel. "Let's say the main realm, the rest of the world, is a river. This pocket realm is a bubble on that river."

"And how do we get from one realm to the next?"

Cáel looks to Camden for this. He seems to take the role of the teacher easily, launching into his explanation. "We slip through the bubble's film using the weak spots, and we're so tiny that we don't pop it."

"And the . . . rivers are the weak spots?"

Camden nods. "Yes. there is only this one weak spot on this side of the bubble, but we can reach any of the rivers on the other side of it when we use the passage."

Kyma nods and looks forward. The trees in front of them are starting to thin. Kyma squints, trying to see what is beyond the trees. Cáel looks like he wants to laugh at her so she wacks him.

"Hey!"

Kyma holds back her own laugh. "If you don't want me to wack you, don't laugh at me."

He nods, his palm pressed to his arm where she hit him. "I certainly won't do that again, it hurts!"

Kyma winces. "Sorry."

"How long have you been strong enough to hit that hard just being playful?"

Kyma winces and Astrila reaches out an arm to touch Kyma on her shoulder. Kyma reaches back to take Astrila's hand, squeezing for a moment before she releases her hold. Cáel looks confused by what just happened and Kyma can't keep herself from giving him some kind of explanation, even if she can't give him the whole one. Not yet, she doesn't even know him.

"I had some . . . bad experiences, to say the least."

"And she knows about it?" Cáel looks at Astrila, his gaze intent. Kyma scowls.

"Yes. She's my cousin and my friend. And it doesn't matter who I tell. It relates to me, and my experiences. I am the one who chooses who knows that information and you don't get a say in it."

Cáel looks taken aback by this, but Kyma doesn't really care. He brought her anger on himself and even Camden is looking at him disapprovingly. Camden gives her a soft smile.

"You're right. It's your decision. And Cáel, you really shouldn't have reacted that way. You may be her cridhe but she doesn't know you. Why should she tell you everything?"

"But Ro and Andrian . . ."

Camden scowls at his brother. "Just because our brother and his cridhe are like that doesn't mean that you two will be like that. It's up to you and how you get to know each other, that is what will decide what your relationship will be like. If it's a friendship, something less, or something more."

Cáel sighs and looks at Kyma. "I'm sorry. My brothers always say I'm too hotheaded, I don't think things through."

Kyma's lips twitch up into a small smile. "I'm much the same. I'm not telling you what happened not just because we don't know each other yet, it's also too recent for me. It's still hard to talk about."

She glances to the side and stops in her tracks. When did they leave the trees? Has she really not noticed? The rest of the group slows in response to her sudden stop. Camden is looking at her with confusion, so is Cáel. Astrila looks like she's smothering a laugh. It takes her a moment to lower her hand from her mouth.

"You didn't realize, did you?"

Kyma shakes her head. "Nope. Where are we going?"

Cáel responds, his voice soft. "To our house."

"Why?"

"To talk?"

Kyma flushes. "Oh."

She starts walking again. Astrila flanks her on one side, the two boys on the other. Other kelpies are walking throughout the clearing. They wave at them and the two boys wave back. Astrila seems to want to join in, her habits from her home warring with her attempt at respect for the different culture here. The house they stop before is made of gray stone with a raised doorway.

There are steps leading up the door and Kyma can see a lip. Camden pulls the door open and waves them through. Cáel steps inside first, Kyma following. Her hand is at her pouch, a remnant from her fear of Dr. James. She can't shake the paranoia, she always wants to be prepared. The room beyond the door is small but cozy, armchairs scattering around a low table.

There is a doorway to a hallway on one wall, a door into what looks like a kitchen beside it. On one side of the table, there is a couch instead of armchairs, the same warm yellow shade as the chairs. Cáel sinks down into one of the armchairs and motions for Kyma to take a seat. She opts for the couch and Astrila sits beside her. Camden sits down in one of the other armchairs, the one closest to the door.

Camden smiles. "So, where is the Western Merrow Kingdom?"

"It's-" Kyma pauses. "Did we ever tell you our names?"

Cáel shakes his head. "No, but we didn't expect you to immediately give them. Names have power."

A pang of shock and fear runs through Kyma. "They what?"

"Some Aos Sí can control you if they know your true name. Names have power. You didn't know that?"

Kyma shakes her head. "No, I didn't. I've never even heard of that." she turns to Astrila. "Did you know that?"

Astrila shakes her head. She opens her mouth to ask a question when two other people come into the room from the hallway. Kyma tenses, watching the two new people through wary eyes. One is a boy who looks similar to Camden and Cáel, but his hair is a bit darker and he has freckles. The girl has bright red hair and dark green eyes. Really bright hair, actually. Her skin is paler than that of the boy.
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Do you guys know who just joined in? What's going to happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~Goddess of Fate, signing out.