So I probably have a bit of explaining to do.

As an author, I try to avoid changing pre-established canon as much as possible – but sometimes, I have to. The nereids are one example of me doing that – if you’ve noticed the homepage doesnt take you to the case files info pages anymore, thats because a lot of data held in it is horribly out of date, with the nereid lore being the biggest offender. If you’ve heard the term retcon thrown around before, that’s what it refers to, being short for “retroactive continuity”, e.g. making something that was true in the story no longer true, or vice versa. That said, there are ways of doing this that don’t necessarily contradict pre-established information, and I will admit, I do that sort of thing more than you may think.

Kat and Akila’s relationship is an example of this. Originally they were meant to be close friends, and not much else, as Akila’s existence is mainly due to me wanting Katrina to have someone she could have close ties with that wasn’t involved in her backstory. That said, the idea of Kat and Akila being a couple was always there, but for the most part, pre – chapter 6ish, it was at most suggestion and if you had asked me about it I’d have probably have denied it. Eventually though, as Akila’s character changed from “Counterpart to Theo” to “Wise voice of reassurance”, I felt like Kat and Akila being a couple made a lot more sense. Akila’s general whole personal philosophy is “I’ll spend my immortality making the people around me happier”, and given kat is, to put it simply, troubled, it felt right for Akila would develop an attachment to her that was something more than she did with most humans.

As f0r why I’ve kept this under wraps? Well, I felt it was, to a degree, somewhat obvious, but Kat is a very tight lipped person about anything regarding herself. I don’t even think the fact Akila is female / not human that makes her not talk about it – she just is very reluctant to speak about it. in fact, I think that’s more the case on Akila’s side – nereids don’t form close emotional bonds with humans, so the fact that she feels the desire to spend her life with one is… a confusing feeling for her.

To sum it up: In story, Kat and Akila were always a couple, probably predating Theo showing up for about a year. Out of story, it was a decision I made around chapter six, but after deciding it, nothing in the story changed, and it gave both of them a lot more depth as characters.

See you nexr week.