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Relonyrd had been rejected. The wounding of it stung deeper then any manta-ray and lingers longer then the touch of a jellyfishes poison. Relonyrd had spent the next following days waiting for Rowan to return to the grotto. He put off working on his protective coral wall or tending to his gardens in the hopes that Rowan would appear on the horizon somewhere. He had hoped that Rowan would return in time for him to witness the opening of their babies shell...

It came to be that he had to accept the fact Rowan was gone, and his first shell was not going to be enjoying the little garden or berries he had so carefully set up for him or her. Relon worried that perhaps he had somehow failed to impress Rowan. Was there something wrong with the grotto? Had he missed something? Rowan flicked his tail as he slowly wandered through his territory and attempted to find something that was clearly wrong here.

He swam carefully around his territory, it was not a very small piece either. He was a proud betta and had chosen what he believed was a reasonable piece of land suitable to just how wonderful he was. Even after his first mates disappearance, he wasn't questioning his worth enough to relinquish even a few feet of his territory. So when he spied a fin draped over some sunning rocks, his side fins flared in agitation. Someone had invaded his territory! With a flick of his tail, Relon darted up quickly to the top of the sunning rock. His side fins were already flared and stiff, even his pink hair seemed to billow out a bit as he made ready to confront the.... girl?

Relonyrd paused and blinked. His sunning rock had attracted him a girl? He was stunned for a moment, then with a shake of his head, he crossed his arms over his chest. "Well hello there... Are you enjoying yourself?"

She was rather pretty. Relon tilted his head so he could look over the lounging female when she rolled. The fins that had been flared and ready for battle flicked and spread into a peacocks fanning. Slowly he moved towards Royal, a small smile on his face. "These are my sunning stones. I pulled off every plant and scraped away all the moss so they remained clean, then I moved all the plants from this general area so they would not over grow and cast a shadow on them. You are in my territory, but I do not mind if you stay for a bit...you just need to tell me your name."

"Royal?" He repeated as he watched the female edge away from him. Clearly she was a shy sort, that would be hard to attract. Rowan had been more desperate and needy, that had proven to be to Relons upper hand. With this girl though he needed to hold back a bit. Well...maybe not too much..

"It's a suitable name, you look like a princess." He said with a smile. Relon brought himself down on the opposite edge of the rock, so it was clearly between them, and he folded his hands in his lap. "I am Relonyrd. And yes. This is all mine." He gave a sweeping gesture with his hand to bring in the view of the gardens and stone spire. "I have been working on this for years now. Do you like it?"

He gently swayed his tail back and forth so the billowing transparent fins flared out like a proud mans flag. He wanted her to notice them, thus noticing him and how handsome he perceived himself to be. "I only chase away the dangerous things. Sharks, turtles, eels. Things that would damage my gardens or be a danger to any shells." He replied with a firm nod. "Or, you know, any rivals that may try and steal my territory. But that is the way it is with any male right?" He gently questioned.

Royal seemed to making a unhappy face. Relon watched her, studied the expression with deep thought. She had to come from a place with much fighting to look like that. Or maybe she just had a belly ache. "There are no troubles here. You can stay as long as you like. It is nice and peaceful." He attempted to coax the female with a small smile. "I could show you my grotto. I worked very very hard to make it look nice. I could use a females opinion of it even."

Oh how fun! Rather then looking dissappointed in Royals reply, his eyes actually lit up with delight. She was a sharp tongued thing, so much for the shy act! With a firm smile on his face, Relonyrd chuckled softly. "I was not implying anything Royal. It is just that a females opinion would be useful, as I am trying to make my territory as inviting as possible for future mates."

With a push of his hand he gently drifted upwards. With that same hand he made a coaxing gesture. "Come with me. If we swim high enough I can point out the markers of my territory to you and explain what I have set up."

Hmm... were all females going to be so standoffish? Relon supposed it was a good sign. It meant she probably did not swim off to copulate with any mer that winked at her. Taking heart that she may in fact be a good future mate, he swam upwards through the water to reach a height where he could see all of his territory. Relon turned to look at Royal, then with a very proud sweeping of his hand he gestured downwards.

"This is my territory. I transplanted most of the red coral down there, and I've done my best to encourage it to grow around my territory. One day I hope to have it completely encircle my territory, thus making it harder to sneak into. Those there are the sunning rocks you were on, and a little ways away you can see my garden. I planted all the edible plants I could find there. I think it's enough for my family when it get's to a noticeable size. And that darker area there is the Kelp garden where I harvest the leaves to weave blankets and mats and such. Oh and there are some flowering plants over there next to the coral wall. And of course my grottos. I live in the biggest one. The second is not done yet."