{"sf1_id":688397,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 11","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":5158,"posted_at":"2014-04-03T20:10:00.000Z","tags":["Gay","Human","M/M","Story Progression","merman"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/688397-aquata-cove-chapter-11","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/688397","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=688397\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Aquata Cove\nChapter 11: First Encounters\n \n \nAdam smiled with glee as he walked into the empty room, his\nfat, balding grandfather coming in with him. \"Is this one good, boy?\"\n \n\"Yeah it is!\" The teen said as he put the box of items down\nonto the floor, \"So, you and gramma are REALLY going to Germany??\"\n \n\"Not yet, son, you're still a minor. When ya turn 18 though,\nthat's when we'll start makin' plans.\"\n \n\"So, just out of curiosity why Germany, grampa?\" \n \n\"Well, ya know yer grandma, she loves chuggin the sweets-\"\n \n\"I HEARD that, ya bastard!\" Came the raspy call of grandma.\nGrandpa scowled as he turned around, and attempted to kick the door shut, yet\nonly halfway closed.\n \n\"If she ain't got her aids turned up to feckin sonic.\" Adam\nchuckled as his grandfather turned back around, \"Anyway, ya know chocolate came\nfrom Germany, and that's HER reason.\"\n \n\"And yours?\"\n \n\"Well, I figure I git in touch with our roots, ya know?\"\nAdam grinned and chuckled.\n \n\"I always that I was a mutt, grampa.\"\n \n\"Well, ya are,\" The old man stated, \"But my family on my\nmother's side is from Germany. I and I have a niece in Hamburg - you don't know\nher - and I hear she's struggling with a meat shop, so when ya turn 18 in a few\nmonths, me and your grandma are goin to live with her for a while to git her on\nher feet.\"\n \n\"If she's struggling now, then...\"\n \n\"We ain't leavin ya until you're 18, son,\" He said sternly,\n\"Your not gittin the house THAT easily,\" Grandpa then walked to the\nair-mattress, \"We're sending her a check a month to help her out. And when we\nget there, I can show her how to run that shop of hers.\"\n \n\"Oh, ok.\" Adam said. \n \nThe old man then patted the inflatable bed next to him, \"Sit\ndown, son, we need to talk.\"\n \n\"Again?\" Adam said, his smile fading, \"A-Am I in trouble?\nWhat did I do?\n \n\"Nuthin, but... We need to discuss something.\"\n \n\"Um... Ok....\" Adam then sat next to his grandpa, rather\nnervously.\n \n\"Now... We need to talk about... This disease of yours-\"\n \n\"It's not a disease, Granddad!\" Grandma called out.\n \n\"Well, it ain't feckin normal!!\"\n \n\"HERBERT!\"\n \n\"EHhhhhh! Irish blood, just like her father...\" He said as he\nswat the air with his hand, \"Look, son,\" Grandpa then turned back round to\nAdam, \"Look, son...\" He then shifted where he sat, taking a deep breath, \"Have\nyou ever considered that you may be... Homosexual?\" He said awkwardly.\n \nAdam blinked, and nodded, \"Yeeeaaahh... I thought you knew, I\ncame out last year.\"\n \n\"Is THAT why your parents kicked ya out?\"\n \n\"No! No, that's not it.\" Adam said, \"They're fine with it, I\njust wanted to move to Hawaii, and they needed to move into a cheaper place, so\nit was just convenient... You don't... Hate gay people, do you?\" \n \nBefore the old man could talk, grandma yelled out again,\n\"Heh heh, just about the same way he hates everyone else!\"\n \n\"Would ya SHUT it?!\" Grandpa shouted back.\n \n\"Ummm, look, grampa, I'm sorry, but I can't-\"\n \n\"No, nononono!\" The old man hurridly said, \"I'm not\nprejudice or nuthin. I just,\" He hesitated, and scratched his head, \"I uh... I\ndon't really get it... Are ya... Are ya REALLY following guys around?\"\n \n\"I'm 17, grampa,\" Adam said, with a slight smile, \"It's not\nlike I'm a sex addict or something. I've only been on a few dates with 2 other\nguys before.\"\n \n\"And?\" He said, his eyes squinting.\n \n\"And... It just... Felt normal to me... But I DID feel a little...\nNervous about it...\" Adam said with a sigh, \"It felt like I shouldn't have been\nthere, like I was breaking some kind of rule.\"\n \n\"Well, look, son...\" Grandpa said, \"If ya ever, ya know... Bring\na guy over... Have ya had THE TALK yet, son?\"\n \n\"... Again, I'm 17 years old,\" Adam replied, \"If I don't know\nby now, then I'd be a lot more awkward than this.\"\n \n\"Well, can't see how it can GET anymore awkward-\"\n \n\"HERBEERRT!!\"\n \n\"WHAAAAAAAAAT???\" Grandpa yelled out. Adam laughed as his\ngrandfather sighed, \"Look son, I'm tryin to wrap my head around it, cause I\ndon't know how it supposed to work with the gays.\"\n \n\"Just... Pretty much the way it works for other couples I\nguess...\"\n \n\"Well, whatEVER you gay guys do, at least wear one of them\nrubber things, would ya??\" Adam blushed and laughed.\n \n\"Yes, grampa, I'll be careful.\"\n \n\"Good...\" Grandpa sighed as he shook his head, \"I don't know\nWHAT you're supposed to do with each other, but-\"\n \n\"Oh, for GOD'S SAKE, Herbert!\" Grandma exclaimed as she soon\ncame into the room, yanking grandpa off the air mattress, \"Leave the boy alone,\nwill you???\"\n \n\"OW! Easy there, easy!!\" Adam chuckled as the two elderly\nadults stumbled out of his room.\n \nHe smiled as he opened up one of the many boxes of his room,\nputting up a few of his knickknacks on the wooden shelf. He was born in\nCalifornia, and raised there until he was 7 years old, and then he lived in\nWashington for 10 more years until he decided he wanted to live on the sand and\nsurf. \n \n\"Heh, I can't wait until I start collecting shells. I REALLY\nhope I can get a job at the pier...\"\n \n\"Adaaaaam!\" Grandpa called out, \"There's someone I want ya\nto meet!\"\n \n\"Hm?\" Adam set down his box, and then went out of his room.\nHe walked into the living room to see his grandfather, with an Asian girl,\nstanding there with both of her hands holding a rather large duffle with a koi\npainted on it, \"Who's this?\"\n \n\"This is your new roommate!\" He then looked to the girl,\n\"This here is my grandson, Adam! And this is uh... Yuro... Yura... I'm sorry, Miss,\nbut how do you say your name again?\"\n \n\"Hehe, it's ok, Mr Dietrich. My name is Umiyama Yuri. I am\nvery pleased to meet you,\" She then bent forward in a formal bow.\n \n\"Yes, her FIRST name is Yuri, but see Adam, she's from all\nthe way in Japan!\" He said in a hushed, fascinated tone, as if he was a safari\nranger showing a group of tourists a group of exotic animals.\n \n\"Um, it's nice to meet you too, but... Please don't get the\nwrong idea, but isn't it a bit soon for a roommate?\" Adam asked, looking up at\nhis grandfather.\n \n\"Ah don't be so selfish, son!\" Grandpa said, \"You can share\na room with a nice, pretty young lady, eh?\" He said with his eyebrows waggling.\nAdam blinked awkwardly. \n \n\"W-Wait, what?\"\n \n\"Oh, um...\" Yuri said, \"I'm sorry, but I don't think that's\nvery appropriate.\"\n \n\"Ah! Nonono, see, it's different, here in a America-\"\n \n\"Oh my God, Grampa...\" Adam said, putting his hands on his\nhead.\n \n\"C'mon, son, don't ya think she's pretty, eh?\"\n \n\"Oh God, I thought we went over this.\"\n \n\"Oh come on, don't knock it till ya try it~!\" He said with a\nsmile.\n \n\"Oh God, GRANDMAAA!!!\" Adam called out. The elderly woman\nthen came in, half her grey hair in curlers. \n \n\"What's the matter, Adam?\" She then saw Yuri standing there,\nlooking rather awkward and embarrassed, \"Oh she's the new girl? I thought she\nwas coming next week, we haven't even finished carpeting the new room yet.\"\n \n\"Grampa's trying to make her my girlfriend.\" Adam said\nwithout conviction. Grandma's eyes widened at that statement.\n \n\"He's tryin ta WHAT??\"\n \n\"WHA, I never!\" Grandpa stammered.\n \n\"Ohhhohohoh not MUCH ya never, ya perverted bastard!\nC'mere!\" She then came after the old man, \"I thought I told ya not to impose\ngirls on him!\" \n \n\"He also suggested that she and I share the room too,\" Adam\nsaid. Grandma's eyes and mouth opened wide in shock.\n \n\"Ohhhh ya improper feckin bastard!\" She then ran after\ngrandpa, chasing him out of the old house.\n \n\"I just thought he should try a girl at least ONCE!\" The old\ncouple ran out, with grandma slamming the door behind her. Adam groaned as he\nheld the back of his head as he huffed.\n \n\"Ok, look, I'm really, REALLY sorry about that.\"\n \n\"It's ok... And... Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't MIND going out\nwith you,\" Yuri said, \"But I just got here, and-\"\n \n\"Oh no, no problem at all!\" Adam said, \"Actually, I'm gay\nso...\"\n \n\"Oh! Oh, um then, why was he...\"\n \n\"He just found out, I guess. I don't know when he was told,\nI didn't tell him. I don't think he's homophobic, just doesn't really get it,\nyou know?\" Adam said, \"So what's YOUR story?\" He asked.\n \n\"I was born in Kyoto, raised in northern Colorado, I was\nalways around a lot of snow, but me and my parents moved here in Hawaii because\nmy dad is a marine biologist, and he's going to be studying the local tropical\nsea life.\"\n \n\"... How does a marine biologist manage in a mid-land area\nlike Colorado?\" Yuri laughed and shook her head.\n \n\"Long story, don't ask,\" She replied, \"Anyway, I'm planning\non going to school here to study on the medical field.\"\n \n\"Oh ok. And, again, I'm very sorry about my grampa being\ncreepy like that, I'll get gramma to shorten his leash.\" \n \n\"Yeah, that may be for the best,\" Yuri said, \"I'm not gonna\nlie, he REALLY makes me uncomfortable.\"\n \n\"Yeah, I'm sorry, he can be really inappropriate from time\nto time. Gramma takes a lot shots at him and does her best to keep him in line\nthough. If he ever gets on your nerves, just let her know, and she'll\nstraighten him out, and THEN some.\"\n \n\"Got it.\" She said with a curt smile.\n \n\"If it makes you feel any better, they're only going to be\nhere for about 4 more months. When I turn 18, they'll be moving to Germany, and\nselling me this place.\" Yuri smiled and raised her eyebrows.\n \n\"Oohh, I didn't realize I was speaking with my future\nlandlord.\" Adam chuckled at that.\n \n\"Heh, as if,\" Adam said. An energetic, jumping ringtone\nstarted to ring out.\n \n\"Oh, that's me...\" Yuri said as she reached into her pocket,\nand drew out her cellphone, flipping it open and bringing it up to ear, \"Moshi\nmoshi, papa... Hai, sou dess... Hai, mateh,\" She put a hand over the speaker, and\nlooked at Adam, \"It's my dad, he's coming to pick me up. He and mom wants to\ndiscuss about my living here.\"\n \n\"Ok, see you around.\"\n \n\"See you later. I'll keep you guys posted.\" She put the\nphone back to her ear, and walked out with her white duffle while speaking in\nJapanese.\n \nAfter she left, Grandma came back in, \"That durty bastard.\"\nShe growled, \"I outta knock his feckin head off,\" She then huffed as she sat on\nher chair, waving her fan on her face, \"What about that Asian girl? She run\noff?\"\n \n\"She was a LITTLE creeped out, but... Gramma, isn't it a bit\nsoon for a roommate? We only talked about me living here last night.\"\n \n\"We posted an ad a week ago, and I tought she was due next\nweek. We love ya, lad, but we don't want to leave a riley teenager on his own\nin our own home,\" Adam chuckled as he leaned onto the ridge of the old couch,\n\"And good lord, then your Granddad had to try and hook you uup togeter, as if\ncomin out of the feckin closet wasn't hard enough on ya.\"\n \n\"Yeah... So, where's he now?\"\n \n\"I sent him out to get the carpeting for the spare room.\"\n \n\"Oh ok, need me to help?\"\n \n\"No, he doesn't\" She said, \"That'd be his penance for scarin\naway that poor Asian girl. Why don't cha go down to the beach and look for dat\nfish you mentioned last night?\"\n \n\"Ok, call me if you need me, gramma.\" Adam said as he then\nturned to go into his room to change.\n \n\"Yes, dear.\" She said.\n \n~~~\n \nAdam stepped into the beach water, carrying a large fishnet,\nwearing only his swimming trunks, \"Ok... Wonder if that fish is still around...\" He\nwaded into the water, pulling out his goggles, and strapping them around his\nhead, before dipping into the cold water.\n \nAdam swam around, and came to the rocks and reefs. He looked\naround, smiling as he saw a handful of colorful fish dart around. \n \nArmed with the large fishnet, Adam turned his head left, and\nthen right, before spotting a wavering white fin. His heart jumped as he turned\naround swam over to the spot. After reaching the spot, just barely INCHES away\nfrom grabbing the tailfin, it slipped from his fingers! He clenched his fist\nand softly hit the sand before kicking off from the bottom, and up to the\nsurface, where he gasped as he opened his mouth for air. He panted a few times\nbefore huffing, and diving back in.\n \n~~~\n \nMerrick loomed around the rocky pillar, and moved down to\nanother section of the reef. He observed the human he found, looking at his\nstrange weapon - it doesn't look sharp, or anything, what's it even for? If not\na weapon, what kind of tool is it? It's just a rod with a circle on top with a\nrow of lines criss-crossing over them. \n \nAnd what's with the human's eyes? What are those... Things?\nThey look like solid bubbles on his face. That sail on his lower body, it's\ndifferent from the one yesterday. At the very least, Merrick can see what his\nbody looks like at a better view.\n \nThe young merman can feel a strange tingle on his face as he\nlooked at the human's body. His form is so... Appealing. He can feel urges in\nhimself. He wants to touch this human, but he might get hurt; a human's skin,\nas they say, is as rough as a shark's hide.\n \nMerrick gripped his trident as the human ascended up to the\nsurface. Merrick moved himself up to a higher, closer rock, looking at the\nhuman more closely as he moved about. Upon observation, he can see a light\nlayer of dark baleen on the human's legs. He swam to the side, and looked at\nthe human's front side, seeing the baleen play on his stomach and his chest,\nalong with two pink spots on either side of his chest. The merman felt a warm,\nspiky tingling in his cheeks as he looked at the human's form, with his heart\nurging him to rub his hand along the human's stomach, with his mind highly\nadvising him to swim away as fast as he can!\n \n~~~\n \nThe teen sighed as he felt himself float along the water.\n\"Ahhhh... This is nice, at least...\" He muttered. His mouth then broke into a smile\nbefore he broke into a fit of harsh giggles. Adam held at his side with his\nfree arm as something is tickling his stomach. He gasped as he looked to see\nthe gleam of white and blue show in the water. He took a deep breath, and went\ninto the water.\n\nAdam swam quickly over to another area, having seen it again! From the looks of\nit, it has a long, thick blue body with large, wide white fins, with a line of\nruffle, thin membranes hanging from its sides. Maybe it's some kind of oarfish?\n\n \nHe grabbed onto the reef, and looked through the gap of the\narea, and then behind himself. \n \nNothing.\n \nHe's beginning to think this fish is playing Cat \u0026 Mouse\nwith him. That's new for a fish, isn't it? It's like it's toying with him,\nswimming away when he gets close, and picking a new hiding spot. Maybe it's a\nnew kind of dolphin? But what kind of dolphin has scales and fins like that? \n \nHe needs to go up for air again.\n \n~~~\n \n'Why am I still here??' Merrick thought as he watched the\nhuman look around his previous spot, 'This isn't good at all, but...' He then saw\nthe human swim up to the surface again. \n \n'Why does he keep doing that? Is he trying to find me or\nnot? Why am I even wondering??' Merrick thought, 'Human's are dangerous! But...\nThis human... Why... Why do I feel so fixated on him? How is this even possible??'\n \n~~~\n \nAdam panted as he rested himself on the rocks. He hefted\nhimself out of the water and sat down onto the rocks. He put the fishnet aside,\ndeciding that it's only going to slow him down at this point. \"Ah dang it, this\nthing is really getting to me...\" He looked on to the wavering surface, \"But\ndammit, I'm SO close, I'm not quitting now,\" He said to himself. Adam took a\nfew huffs of air, and then dropped himself back into the water.\n \n~~~\n \nHe's coming back! When his body left the water, Merrick\nthought the human would be leaving!\n \n... Hang on, that weapon he brought is gone. He left it\nbehind? Why would ANYONE purposely leave their weapon behind?\n \n'... Maybe human's aren't as dangerous...' Merrick thought, his\nheart racing as the human descended in the water, 'Maybe he can... Oh no!\n \n~~~\n \nAdam swam down, lower and lower towards the bottom. He's\nmore determined than ever to find this fish! He just HAS to find it! It's gotta\nbe a new species of fish, he's never seen anything like-\n \nSuddenly, an eel lurched at him out of nowhere! A cloud of\nbubbles flew out of Adam's mouth as he screamed under the water. The elongated\nanimal opened its big, wide mouth, and bit down on his arm!\n \n\"AHHH!!!\" Adam shouted as blood wisped from the eel's fangs.\nHe grabbed frantically at the slippery eel, trying to yank it off, but his hand\nonly slid on the eel's body. He clenched his eyes shut as he gripped the eel\ntightly, desperate to get it off his arm!\n \nSHINK!\n \nJust as suddenly, the eel let go of Adam's arm as something\nstabbed into its body! The next thing Adam knew, a blue/white creature is\npushing a harpoon into the eel, growling in an eerie snarl as it cranked the\nshaft into it.\n \nAdam kicked off from the floor, and shot up to the surface.\nHe gasped loudly as he clutched onto the rock. He coughed violently, squeezing\nhis fingers against the stone as his lungs and throat ached horribly, hacking\nup a splash of salty seawater out.\n \n\"Oh God... Hoh my God...\" He coughed again as his heart raged in\nhis chest, \"That... That was it...\" He said with a raspy voice, the shock almost\nnumbing the stinging pain of his arm wound. \n \nAdam groaned as he took a few moments to collect himself. He\nthen let go of the reef, and sank himself into the water. He swam down into the\nwater, rather hesitantly, biting his lip as the puncture wounds stung in the\nseawater. He came THIS close on that... Creature? He's not even sure it's a fish\nnow.\n \nHe then spotted it. The fish he's been looking for. It's\nstarring right at him, its long, fish-like tail waving up and down slowly.\nAround its head and shoulders are scallop shells, tied around its body with\nkelp. Its upper body is humanoid, with one webbed hand on the sand, and the\nother holding the weird harpoon. On top of its head is a field of sharp fins,\nalong with a fin on each arm. Adam looked directly into its dark and blue eyes.\n \nHesitantly, he swam down lower and lower, towards the...\n \n'... Oh my gosh...' Adam thought.\n \nAdam swam closer and closer, down until he was at the\nbottom, right in front of it. Judging from the flat chest, it's probably a\nmerman. He still can't even believe what he's seeing! \n \nThe merman purred a strange, echoing murr as Adam drew\nnearer. He felt a slight urge to back off, to move away upon hearing the noise,\nlike it's a gentle warning sign, but... He can only stop approaching it.\n \nAdam carefully held his hand out. The merman blinked and\nstarred at the hand. He is a little surprised... There's no claws on the human's\nhand at all. The merman looked at his own hand, and then back at Adam's. Their\nhands... They're actually very similar. Aside from the wide webbing of his own\nhand, they're the same. \n \nThe merman slowly reached his own hand out.\n \nAdam's heart pounded as his hand drew closer and closer to\nthe other, palms facing each other, and just inches away from each other. \n \nJust before their fingertips can touch, the merman pulled\nhis hand back. He uttered a panicked groan as he backed away, his tail flailing\nand kicking away, clouding up the small vicinity with sand, swimming as fast as\nhe can away from Adam.\n \n\"Wwwaait!\" Adam called out, then chocked as he realized how\nlong he's just been underwater. He rushed off the bottom, and shot, once again,\nto the surface, gasping for air, and hissing as the bite on his arm stung\nterribly.\n \n \n--- The Next Day ---\n \nAdam walked along the beach. His left forearm is wrapped up\nin a bandage, and sealed in a waterproof sleeve. He's carrying a wrapped\npackage he got from the pier, and wearing a pull-on jacket, along with his\nswimming trunks and a new pair of sandals. He walked to the rocky area he was\nat again, and sat down to unwrap the package.\n \nA tuna, two crabs, a herring, and five small feed squid. \n \nAdam can still barely believe that he came face-to-face with\na merman. He felt so... Confused and excited about it, but he can't tell anyone\nabout it, because heck, who would believe him? \n \nAdam picked up the tuna, which is the biggest one out of the\nbox, and then drew a knife across it.\n \n~~~\n \nMerrick sat in the sand bank, at the very same spot where he\nwas swimming around the human.\n \n\"Why am I doing this... ?\" He asked himself, 'Humans are\ndangerous, and here I am practically playing with it.'\n \nEvery ounce of reason in his head is urging him to just\nreturn to his pod, but here he is, loitering in the tides for the sole\npossibility that the human just MIGHT come here again.\n \n\"Huh?\" The merman sniffed the water, sensing a strangely\nappealing taste. He looked up to see a half-gutted tuna. His tail unfurled\nbefore swimming up to see what's it doing here.\n \n~~~\n \nAdam sat and waited, starring at the filleted tuna, bobbing\nleft and right on the wavering of the water. \n \nHis heart skipped a beat when he saw the tail fin of the\ntuna drag it under!\n \n\"O-Oh my God! It's here!\" He said, \"Haha!\" He chuckled in\nutter excitement. Hastily, he picked up his fish knife, and carved into the\nherring.\n \n~~~\n \nMerrick just finished peeling the meat of the tuna off of\nits bone. He hasn't to eaten earlier, as recent events have caused him to\nforget to hunt for himself, and that tuna was tasty. \n\nThe merman picked up another scent, and looked up to see a smaller fish float\non surface. \n \n... Well, he is still hungry...\n \n~~~\n \nHis heart pounded as he saw the herring suddenly sank down,\njust like the tuna. \"Okokokok...\" He muttered. He then took the small tray of the\nsquid from the box, and strategically tossed them into the water, one by one,\neach squid leading to the reef.\n \n~~~\n \nSquid?\n \nMerrick tiled his head to the side as he watched the small,\nwhite, dead squids plop into the water. \n \nBlech, he doesn't like squids. But what's interesting is\nthat they seem to be falling from the sky. \n \nCurious, Merrick swam up, and moved his head out of the\nwater. His gills closed once again as he inched to the reef, where he spotted a\ncrap. He gasped as a three-pronged sharp edge launched out of the water, and\ncaught the crab between the upper gap. The crustacean simply got caught,\nmotionless as the trident pinned it down.\n \n~~~\n \n\"Hoh!\" Adam gasped as the merman's spear shot at his crab\nlike a blink of lightning! \n \nHe starred, mouth gapped as the half-man half-fish picked up\nhis weapon, and bringing in the crab to him. The creature turned it around on\nhis webbed hand, tilting his head curiously as they spiky legs tilted limply.\nHe then opened his mouth and bit into the crab.\n \nAdam, holding the other crab in his hand, set the empty,\nfishy box aside. He gulped as he watched the merman eat ravenously into the\norange-shelled crab. He waited for the merman to finish devouring the crab\nbefore making his next move.\n \n\"Ah... H-Hi...\" The merman's head then turned to him, startled,\n\"H-Hi... I uh... I have another crab for you...\" Adam took one step, and the fish\ncreature grabbed its trident, \"Nono, please, it's ok!\" He said cautiously,\n\"It's ok, I'm not gonna hurt you!\" He held his open hand with the other crab in\nthe other. The merman starred right at him. He opened his mouth and let out a\ncreaking noise, \"I-It's ok... You're just...\" He huffed as he chuckled excitedly,\n\"You just... Wow, you're beautiful...\" The merman tilted his head, his face contorting\nwith confusion.\n \nAdam set the crab down, and took a moment to take off his\njacket, wearing no shirt underneath - he doesn't want to soak his coat again.\nHe picked the crab back up, rose his foot again, slower this time, and\ngradually moved towards the aquatic humanoid.\n \n\"Thaaaat's it... Stay right there...\" He said softly, \"I just\nwanna look at you...\" Adam came closer and closer, the merman faltering just a\nlittle, but didn't move away. The teen approached closer and closer,\n \nTo be safe, Adam placed the crab onto the rock, and pushed\nit a few feet away from him, and backed away. The merman looked at him, then at\nthe crab, and then back at Adam, its face looking a little more confused. \n \n\"Um...\" Sat down onto the rock, \"So uh... My name's Adam...\" He\nsaid, \"Do you... Do you have a name?\" Adam asked. He huffed and ran his fingers\ninto his hair as he ducked his head down between his knees, \"Oh my God, I'm\nTALKING to a merman!\" He moaned as suppressed a rush of excitement. He\nscratched at his scalp with both hands, and looked back up again, having\nreceived no answer. He noticed that the merman seemed to have moved closer. \n \nAdam gasped lightly at that. He gulped as he moved forward,\nvery slowly, and crawled on his hands and knees. \n \nBoth of them moved until they were a foot away from each\nother. Adam reached his open hand out, slowly. The merman hesitated before he\nmoved his own hand up from the water, and reached up as well.\n \nAdam is on pins and needles as he slowly moved his hand to\nmeet the other. The blue/white webbed hand flinched a little, before finally,\ntheir hands touched. Both of them felt a chill run up their spines as they\ntouched each other.\n \nTheir fingers pressed against each other, and then the\npalms. Adam shook as he pressed his thumb along the web, and onto the slimy,\nslick palm. The merman's hand curled his fingers in as Adam's fingers slipped\nover the merman's hand. He felt the back of the merman's hand, and then onto\nhis wrist. The merman let a scared noise, \"No no, it's ok, you're ok...\" He said\nas he moved his hand along the side of his hand.\n \nIn turn, the merman held at the teen's fingers, feeling\nalong the smooth skin along. His fingers moved along, and interlaced with\nAdam's fingers.\n \n\"Wow...\" Adam panted. \n \nJust as suddenly, the merman pulled his hand away, and\nflipped into the water!\n \n\"NO!\" Adam called as he reached out, \"Nononono, don't go!\nPlease!\" Adam groaned as he moved back, and sat back on his rump, \"Oh my God,\nwhat just happened??!\" He said, his heart still going nuts inside him, \"Oh my\ngosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!\" \n \n~~~\n \nMerrick swam rapidly away, panting and moaning in fear as he moved. 'That... That\nwas FAR too close! By the depths, what just happened?!' He thought. That human\ncould've yanked him out of the water and hang him up to the sky!\n \nThe merman stopped, and paced around, resting back onto a\nnearby sand bank, and took a minute to think.\n \n\"... That... That human...\" He remembers how the human moved. They\nway he came to him... Holding that crab... And he didn't even personally give him\nthe crab, he just put it down, pushed it forward, and backed away.\n \n\"Was... Was that human... Scared of me?\" He wondered... 'Humans...\nWhen they see an animal, they just kill them, right? But... That human didn't try\nanything at all... He... wanted to touch me...' Merrick thought as he looked at his\nown hand, 'He DID touch me...' He thought, 'And I touched him... His hand... His\nskin... It wasn't at all like a shark...' Merrick thought. \n \n'This... This has to stop...' He concluded, 'He's a human, and\nhumans are dangerous... But I need to touch him again, I need to FEEL him!'\nMerrick held his hand with the other, and held it to his chest. \n \n'I shouldn't be doing this! I can't come here again! I can't\ntell ANYONE about this!' Merrick thought before he swims forth, picking his\ntrident back up, and loomed away, pledging to never return to that reef ever\nagain.\n \n \nTO BE CONTINUED...\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/687413-aquata-cove-chapter-10.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/689893-aquata-cove-chapter-12.json"}