"Fairly close, yeah," Kato replied. "Close enough to swim to, at any rate. I wasn't aware there was a colony around here, though."

Elea blinked. I'm not part of a colony. I don't know any others of my kind. I live with my friend Lotus, but that's the only other person like us I know. She tilted her head, looking at him.

Kato blinked. A selkie not part of a colony? Curiouser and curiouser.

"I see," he replied. "That mermaid, then, I assume? Or is your friend human?"

Elea shook her head as much as she was able. The mermaid. Her name is Lotus. She's... around here somewhere. Elea drifted a little in the water, just kind of floating for the moment.

"My brother's normally with me," Kato said. "Not sure where he is, though. I left him home this time."

Elea nodded as much as she could, moving over to swim in a circle around him, inspecting him. She was curious, and he didn't seem to mind. Plus she'd never seen anything quite like him.

If you don't mind my asking, what are you?

Kato hesitated briefly in answering. His kind were very rare, enough so that it almost automatically branded him as one of the royal family.

"A uh... ah... a dragon," he finally said reluctantly. "You know... a sea dragon."

Oh. No, I don't know. Elea blinked at him. I've never heard of a sea dragon. Except in old stories, but those don't count.

Kato blinked.

"I thought everyone knew," he said. "At least, everyone under the surface." He didn't point out why, however. "But yeah, me, my brother, our parents... Sea dragons."

I didn't know. My mom raised me, and we were kind of loners. I met Lotus about five years ago, and she was the first one I'd seen that wasn't of my kind.

"Interesting," Kato murmured. "I've never seen solitary selkies before. Solitary mermaids are a bit more common, but still not typical. But I know there's a mer-colony not far from here, out in deeper water."

I've never seen a mer-colony. Elea blinked once. I didn't know they existed.

Kato nodded.

"Fair-sized communities," he said. "I've seen a few."

Elea blinked. Okay. I guess I could check it out. Sometime. The thought made her a little nervous, but she didn't want him to know that.

"Didn't say you had to," Kato pointed out. "I just said they were out there."

This is true. Elea was quiet for a moment, looking around at Lotus's normal lounging spots. Would you like me to introduce you to Lotus? She should be right around here.

"If you like," Kato replied with a bit of a shrug. "Really, I don't mean to interrupt your relaxation time."

Elea couldn't shrug, but she did just tilt her head at him. I don't mind. This has been... enjoyable. Much to her surprise.

"Glad to be of assistance," Kato said, giving a theatrical bow. He looked up at her and grinned.

Elea blinked in surprise before she snorted, amused. Well, someone's got a dash of the theatrical in him. Not that she really minded.

Kato shrugged, although he was grinning a bit.

"Not a bad thing," he said.

Never said it was, did I? Elea moved carefully a little closer to him. She was trying to figure out what his borders were, and what she was comfortable with.

Kato watched her move closer and stayed still. He didn't want to scare her off at all.

"Looking for something?" he asked after a moment.

No, Elea said, swimming around him again. I'm just curious. I'm sorry. I don't have very much experience with others. I'm probably being rude. She backed off a bit, although she was still looking at him.

"I don't mind," Kato replied, shrugging a bit. "It's not often I get to talk to a selkie, either." He picked absently at the scales on his shoulder, pulling out a bent one and tossing it aside.