He turned the topic to how things were in her own home and she assumed he must just be wondering how things had gone since he'd left, but there really wasn't much to tell. "Things remain much the same as they have this past year. The crown remains in Magnus and Nadia's hands, though new life has sprung up everywhere it seems. There is talk of betrothals between prides." Morrigan looked down then at her grey and black and white cloak, noting it was beginning to dry. That would be annoying if she still intended to exercise. "I was just planning on swimming back and forth across the Cay until I was tired if you'd care to do that while we talked?" She was no good at small talk anyway, but she needed the practice if she ever intended to go any further in rank she supposed and @Valhalla was good company.

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He would listen with observed silence, taking in the information of who still ruled the Hollow. And then the mentions of betrothals would cause for a snort to escape flared nostrils. "I never cared for those," he would reply, facial expression showing his distaste for the thing. His family had done them and believed in them but the colossal thought they were an archaic act. No lion should be forced in a marriage to someone they didn't prefer or wish to be with; he thought every lion should have a voice and choice in the matter.

@Morrigan would ask if he would want to join for a swimming exercise then and Valhalla would nod his head once again. "Might as well since I'm already wet." A shrug would be given before he would push back into the water, wading until he could barely touch the bottom anymore. Legs would move to keep him afloat, yellow eyes now flicking back to the woman as he waited for her lead.

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"I never had the experience, but my children won't be asked to do anything they aren't already interested in," she explained as he agreed to go swimming, standing and padding towards the shoreline, "Essentially arranging meetings between the children and hoping something works out. The benefit of having many children likely to be polyamorous, I suppose..." she was rambling almost to herself she realized as she wading out into the water, expecting he was following. "What was your childhood like, then? You seem to have been raised differently than the Valours." The water was still relatively calm, but she knew with the added weight of her fur it would probably only be a few trips back and forth before she'd have to call it a day. Enough time to know @Valhalla better if he wished.

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A nod would be given to @Morrigan as she explained her logic and reasoning behind arranged marriages. It was nice to see that at least they were giving their children a say in the matter instead of forcing them into being in situations or relationships they didn't want or prefer. So as the warrior waded out into the water and queried about Valhalla's past he would follow aside her, legs pushing and moving his body all the while in the water. "Ah, I often forget that many don't know about the Brynmawr." He was used to Amaryllis being home to the natives who, in turn, knew mostly every lion there by association or word of mouth. "My father, Asgar, was the head of the Brynmawr clan. The Jarl. He was a relatively levelheaded leader, aside from having to deal with my rebelliousness." A chuckle would escape him as he reminisced about his father, long strides continuing to carry him through the water.

"We grew up with battle engrained in our brains, but not like heathens. We were expected to be able to fight and defend for those that couldn't, and always follow your heart and never back from from a fight... Even if you're afraid." His words would be spoken a bit louder while the two waded back and forth, making sure that Morrigan was still able to hear him. "But as the years went on, and once Asgar passed and my mother was long since passed before my father, the clan fell into a bit of a... rut, I guess. At the time I didn't want to take the reigns because I didn't want the responsibility, and in our clan only firstborn sons were able to become Jarl. So, the clan made a decision to depart from Amaryllis to see what the greater expanse was about and I decided to stay here in a continued effort to rebel." Whiskers would twitch as droplets began to bead on them, ears pinning themselves back upon his head briefly before pricking forward. "And I guess that leads us to when you and many others found Amaryllis by Maua's guidance."

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As the pair of them paddled out into the shallow waters of the cay, Morrigan was content in Valhalla's company. He was an easy companion when things weren't chaos around them. He was also a willing workout companion, it seemed, so that might be useful for the future as well. She would keep pace with him as he spoke, so as to be able to easily hear his words over the waves. His life didn't sound so unfamiliar. Perhaps not for herself but at least for her ancestors. More mythologically ingrained than religious perhaps, but just as war-centered.

"That doesn't sound like a bad life at all. Perhaps a better version of what my parents were avoiding." @Valhalla wasn't so different either. She remembered her own pushing back against her parents' wishes, steel butting back against fire and stone, even knowing they only desired to protect their children. It was something she had grown out of eventually, but not until she'd lost them, only recently becoming reunited with her mother. "Maua's guidance, indeed." She agreed with that, as did many natives who came shortly after the passage opened she'd heard.

"My family was long scattered before three of us found our way here." Divine intervention seemed more likely than luck for a family who'd spent their days in self-inflicted exile in the cold north. The island paradise of Amaryllis was certain to feel blessed. As she pushed through the clear ocean waters she began to feel the added weight of her thick and now wet fur, but it only made the exercise more efficient she supposed. They would continue their paddling and sharing of stories until Morrigan was sufficiently tired enough to feel it had been a proper exercise before departing, feeling much more like she and Valhalla were closer to friends. exit morrigan

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