"Who says revealing yourselves to humans is a mistake?" says Flynn.
You raise an eyebrow.
Tamru narrows his eyes at you. "The whales," he says.
That's Tamru, always cutting straight to the point.
"Whales?" Flynn says. "The sperm whales, you mean? They really have that much sway?"
If you were being more nuanced, you'd point out that there are plenty of merfolk who would also prefer to avoid humans, and plenty of reading crystals filled with cautionary tales about attempted alliances with humans that ended poorly for whales and merfolk alike. And given modern human technology, the idea of a failed human alliance is even more ominous. There are a lot of merfolk who agree with the whales on this issue.