While the WereOrca was quite obviously stunned to learn of the existence of WereSeals, Arya was less so surprised by his existence. While she hadn't met any other aquatic Were, outside of her own species, in person until this moment, she had relatives in Scotland who had told her stories of their interaction with a WereDolphin pod that owned a fishing company not far from where they lived. So it didn't seem far-fetched to the woman that WereOrcas could exist in the world somewhere; and as she just found out, that they could live quite literally in the same city as her. What was most surprising about the interaction, outside of almost being eaten moments before, was just how...bizarre the man was. His sheer insistence at being her bodyguard, protecting her from other ocean threats, was something she both didn't expect and had no idea how to respond to. He was volunteering out of guilt, which is something she definitely didn't want, and truthfully she just didn't need a bodyguard anyway. Outside of this one instance today, she'd never had an issue avoiding predators and trouble -the time she got shot with a harpoon gun was another outlier that she didn't count.- Yet...despite her insistence that he didn't need to do anything for her, his exuberant nature just drowned her out. She couldn't help but mentally sigh and give in, she supposed it couldn't be that bad to have a swimming buddy in the very least.

"I suppose it would be nice to have a swimming buddy,"she said, her words soft. He wasn't wrong, it did get lonely sometimes swimming by herself; the only weres she knew in Sacrosanct, until now, were all land mammals. Despite how stunned Arya was by her newfound companion, she couldn't deny her amusement either. That toothy attempt at a grin was actually...pretty dang cute. Arya had a soft spot for all marine life, and, while her pinniped cousins were obviously her biased favorite, she also really liked cetaceans, the whales and dolphins of the world. The rescued dolphins at her aquarium were always so lively and fun to work with, such smart and social creatures. It was intriguing to see just how this WereOrca's personality seemed to align with that of his wild cousins. It made her wonder if other people drew the same comparison about her, that her own personality was very distinctly seal-like. He was so friendly and social, she couldn't help but wonder why he was out here alone. Orca's were very family driven animals, all dolphin species lived in pods and it was incredibly rare to see a solo animal unless it was sick, injured, or lost. Perhaps he had been like her, left his family behind to start a new life in a new city, yet that...just didn't seem to fit her new companion. It was none of her business though.

Big brown eyes widened as they watched the were shift partially. She'd never seen another with the ability to partial shift, truly it was jarring to see a male human torso with whale tail flukes; like a strange merman. She followed him to the surface as he choked on water, seemingly having forgotten his new human lungs and needs to breathe through his mouth rather than a blowhole. Arya couldn't help but stare as he took a moment to adjust. He was...very handsome. If Arya was human, her face would be as red as a lobster. He had really beautiful tan skin, black hair, and facial structure. It was hard to ignore the way the water droplets clung to his muscular frame. Her amber gaze is quick to dash away innocently as she makes an effort to communicate in seal noises, no longer able to find the link in her mind to him now that he was mostly human. She barks slightly in surprise as he reaches out and squishes her seal cheeks, exclaiming how cute she was with a pat on her head. As an introvert, she was utterly baffled by him and just how friendly he was with her, a complete stranger.

And then just as suddenly, she finds herself amused again as he shivers lightly. No longer protected by a thick layer of blubber, his human half was obviously cold. How strange that an ocean based were could not handle the cold water in his human form. It reminded Arya of all the times she had rushed into the ocean as a child even when it was freezing outside, or those days she trained in the much more frigid deeper waters for one of her highschool swim meets. She supposes not everyone was like her, she spent just as much time in the ocean in her human form as her animal form, she had long ago built up a tolerance for it. Soft brown eyes watched as the man continued to talk and question the small seal, still seemingly unaware of her inability to communicate back. She nodded her head in response to his questioning of if she lived in Sacrosanct. With a tiny flipper, she attempted to point in the general direction of where she lived, not right on the coastline, but not deep in the city either.

Luckily for Arya, her companion clues in to her inability to respond, quick to shift back completely into his killer whale form and return that mental link that she could use to communicate through. She snorts lightly at his insistence that she is tiny as a seal, small air bubbles leaving her nose. "You're just really big," she replied, in a friendly retort. Arya was hardly small, smaller than the massive killer whale yes, but not small compared to humans. Finally he introduces himself as Zach, offering also a nickname that seemed way too much of a stereotype to be true. Willy? Like free Willy the kids movie? She hoped people didn't call him that to make fun of him, even if it didn't seem to bug him. Arya did a small spin in the water, her grey figure now upside down in an incredibly cute display. "My name is Arya, it's nice to meet you Zach," she replied, her voice soft as she introduced herself. "And yes I do live around here, what about you?

In another burst of energy, she watches in amusement as Zach once more begins to ramble, this time worrying about fish and wondering if he had eaten any werefish. She just stares in confusion as he gently pushes her into her with his big melon head, her small flipper resting on his head in a form of reassurance. She had never truly even thought about there being werefish. His worry was almost contagious, and she had to try and fight her own panic at the thought. No...no there was no such thing as a Werefish, and if there was they would be smart enough to never get caught. "I don't think there are Werefish, maybe Weresharks at the most. I think we're both safe to keep eating fish,"she said, trying her best to reassure him as he continued to swim around dramatically. Reaching out with her empathy, she gently attempts to calm him once more. Oh man was he a handful...what had Arya gotten herself into.