{"sf1_id":709206,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Aquata Cove - Chapter 25","author":"Mirron Tenshi","words":5130,"posted_at":"2014-05-25T06:13:00.000Z","tags":["Fantasy","Friendship","Gay","Human","Memories","Mermaid","Romance","Story Progression","erotic","merman","sadness"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/709206-aquata-cove-chapter-25","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/709206","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=709206\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\nAquata Cove\nChapter 25: Deep Lament\n \n \n \nAn eagle ray glides gradually along the water. It slowly\nflaps its flat wingspan as it breathes in the ocean, filtering peacefully as it\nflies steadily over in the water.\n \n \nSHINK!\n \n \nA tooth-lined spear suddenly shot right through the ray. A\nfew wisps of blood seeped through, but no more from the injured ray as it\nsimply floated in the water, instantly dead. A green tailed merman swam up to\nit, and took his spear, and looked at the ray. A clean kill.\n \nThe merman sighed sadly as he turned, and swam down,\nundulating his emerald tail moved up and down, sailing through the water, and\nfound other merfolk of his kind. He removed the ray from his weapon, and put it\ninto a sand bank with other prey. He turned around, and began to swim away,\nwhen a jellyfish mermaid came up to him.\n \n\"Brishen? What is the matter?\" She asked as she loomed up\nbehind him, and put her slippery, transparent hands onto his shoulders. The\nmerman sighed as he looked at his harpoon, \"You always love hunting... What is\nwrong?\"\n \n\"I used to be so sloppy... Playful... Now I am far better than I\never have before... But... I cannot feel the joy of hunt I aspired for...\"\n \n\"Brishen?\" Penina asked. Brishen put his free hand to his\nbrow, and looked up at the wavering surface.\n \n\"He was my friend... And I never knew the anguish he probably\nhas suffered all those years...\" Brishen inhaled a gulp of water, and turned his\nhead to Penina, \"I miss him... I will always miss him... Hunting shall never be the\nsame...\" Brishen closed his eyes as a thin wisp of glittering white wafted from\nhis eyes, \"Not without him...\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick looks over the sparking, orange ocean as he sat on\nthe cliff. The setting sun is illuminating the vast surface, reflecting the\nwarmth of the sun. He puts a hand on the top of his chest, and feeling it bare...\n\n \nOf all the times he's been on land, he has never felt truly\nnaked until his necklace was taken away.\n \n\"... What will happen to them now?\" He asked himself, \"... Who\nwill look after Sister, now that I am gone... Who shall guide Brishen to be the\ngreatest hunter in the sea?\" He shuddered as he whimpered, \"Who will be there\nfor my pod when Father...\"\n \nAs he listened to the rhythm of the waves, he slipped his\nhand to behind his neck. He felt compelled to cry, just from knowing it's there.\nThe mark that will always brand him, a symbol of his own shame as a merman, an\noutcast of the ocean.\n \nThe more he tried to look at the sea, the more his memories\nkeep spiraling in his head.\n \n \n===\n \n\"Greetings...\" Said a very young, green meryin, slowly\napproaching a young Adra Triton, \"My name is Brishen... I am not very good at\nhunting...\" He looked up to the other male, \"May I hunt with you so I can get\nbetter?\"\n \nMerrick would smile with glee as he nodded, \"Yes! I have\nalways wanted a best friend!\" The green male giggled excitedly.\n \n---\n \n\"Rrrgghh... That was a close one, Adra Merrick,\" Brishen said,\ninjured from an attack of a giant crab. Merrick had one arm tucked over his\nshoulders as he helped his friend swim.\n \n\"You should not charge into giant beasts like that, Brishen.\nYou were almost killed! Not even Tritons dare to challenge them!\"\n \n\"Heh,\" Brishen simply smirked, \"I cannot help it; it is my\ndream, Adra Merrick.\" Merrick sighed as he smiled too.\n \n\"Then at least get more careful about it. And please, just\nall me Merrick, Brishen.\"\n \n---\n \n\"Just watch!\" Brishen said as he looked up at Denizyr's\nsmirk, \"I will be the greatest hunter in the sea!\" Merrick smiled as he patted\nBrishen's shoulder.\n \n\"And I will be right here to make sure you will be,\" Merrick\nsaid, \"After all, you need to learn how to make a clean kill.\"\n \n\"Heh heh!\" Brishen said, \"What is a hunter without style?\"\n \n---\n---\n \n\"As the Adra Triton,\" A large, navy blue mermaid said to a\nvery small crystal blue and silver meryin, \"It is your privilege and responsibility\nto wield the trident,\" He said as he gave a simple, wooden staff to young\nMerrick, \"You must construct your own weapon,\" He then showed Merrick is own\nthick, heavy weapon, \"Remember, Son,\" He said, \"Three prongs. No more, no\nless.\"\n\nThe merman then backed away from a selection of various materials and items,\nall to assimilate his weapon, \"Chose well, my Son.\" \n \nThe small meryin accepted the thin branch, and then swam to\nthe items.\n \n---\n \n\"As a Triton, your abilities alone are superior to that of\nany other merman of the pod,\" Kaiken said as he and the Adra swam.\n \n\"How do you mean, Father?\" Merrick asked.\n \n\"You are able to see farther ahead. Your senses are more\nsensitive to your surroundings. Your combat intuition is much sharper than the\nnormal merperson. Your own mind is more attuned to the embrace of other\ncreatures. That is why we Tritons are the leaders of our kind, as they always\nhave been.\"\n \n---\n \n\"Your first catch,\" Kaiken said as Merrick carried a\nswordfish, motionless at the end of his trident, almost as big as himself.\n \n\"It was... Difficult, Father... It almost got away from me... I\ncan do it faster next time...\" Merrick said.\n \n\"Son, a swordfish is a swift and vicious opponent,\" He said\nwith a smile, \"Yet you have not a scratch on you,\" Kaiken drifted up to\nMerrick, and rubbed his shoulder, \"When I was an Adra, my first kill was an\neel.\"\n \n\"You have made me proud on this night, Son,\" Merrick smiled\nas his chest puffed out as pride welled up inside him.\n \n---\n---\n \n\"Your Father must be tough on you, Son,\" Umiato said as she\nrubbed young Merrick's back. She coddled him gently as he wept, having just\nreceived a rather harsh scolding from Kaiken, \"He is only trying to shape you\ninto the best Triton you can be.\"\n \n\"H-He... He-He was so... Scary, Mother...\" Merrick cried, \"He\nhates me! I can see it in his eyes, he hates me!\"\n \n\"No,\" The Noita said, \"He does not hate you. Anger and hate\nare not the same. His rage will subside soon...\" She said softly, \"You will see...\"\n \n---\n \n\"Am... Am I going to die, Mother?\" Merrick asked, as Noita\nUmiato pressed her glowing hands upon a nasty gash on Merrick's back.\n \n\"No, you will not,\" She said while mending the torn flesh,\n\"You have lost quite a bit of blood, so you shall rest.\"\n \n\"That creature...\" Merrick said, \"It came out of no where... No,\nI should have sensed it coming. This is my fault...\"\n \n\"It was a Fang Jelly, Son,\" Umiato said as she healed him,\n\"Their bodies are impervious to sense. It was not your fault.\"\n \n---\n \n\"Compassion for all, my Son,\" She said as she put a hand on\nMerrick's cheek. She had followed him after he went hunting in the trench, and\nsaw he has brought game to the young otter merman, \"Is a rare and precious gift\nthat eludes most of anyone.\" \n \nMerrick smiled happily at her, and hugged his mother. She\nembraced him back, and muttered low, \"I will not inform HIM if you will not.\"\nHe nodded before they then swam in the same direction.\n \nUmiato smiled happily, taking pride in knowing her son is as\ncaring and understanding as he is.\n \n---\n---\n \n\"Son, this is your Sister,\" Umiato said, simply glowing with\njoy as she held a bundle of a baby meryin, wrapped in seaweed. Kaiken smiled as\nhe held his mate's shoulder with one arm as the Adra Triton looked in wonder of\nthe small mermaid, \"Her name is Savarna.\"\n \n\"She is so small...\" Merrick said, \"I will always protect\nher!\"\n \n---\n \n\"Faster, faster, Brother!\" The young Adra Noita said as she\nhung onto Merrick's shoulders, \"We are losing!\" With a whole pod of dolphins,\nother young mermen and mermaids are swimming fast in a race.\n \n\"Hold on tight, Sister!\" Merrick said as he kicked his tail\nharder, and zoomed through the water. He passed, dipped and swayed around a pod\nof dolphins. Savarna squealed with laughter as the dolphins swam around the two\nAdras.\n \nFinally, Merrick surpassed the front of the pod, winning the\nrace. Savarna cheered as she loop-dee-looped in happiness, then proceeding to\nhug the Adra Triton, \"I love you, Brother!\" He smiled happily as he squeezed\nher tight in return.\n \n---\n \n\"Brotherrr! Are you ok???\" She asked as she had returned to\nher Sea Spot, holding his trident from the spot where Kaiken had just pinned\nhim to the reef. Merrick is crying almost hysterically. She swam up beside him,\nand put her hand onto his back.\n \n\"Please do not cry, Brother... It will be alright...\"\n \n===\n \n \n \nMerrick sniffed and cried as the memories wracked his heart\nwith pain and misery. He whined silently as he placed his arms onto his knees,\nand tucked his head down.\n \n\"I'll never see them again... All of them... I've lost...\nEverything...\"\n \n \n \n=== The Previous Night ===\n \n \nThe pod is gathered together in its usual formation... Almost.\n\n \nAdra Merrick is looking to his entire pod in front of him,\nhis heart going crazy in his chest as they all looked at him, with the Triton,\nNoita, and Razirah looking to him.\n \n\"Adra Triton Merrick of the Piscien merfolk,\" Razirah\nDenizyr said, \"You are presented before us of the Pod, accused, of breaking one\nof the Sacred Laws. You are guilty of contacting one or more humans, and thus\nunder the premise of consorting with the human world. Do you deny or confirm\nthis to be true?\" \n \n\"...\" Merrick closed his eyes and bowed his head, \"... It is\ntrue...\" The pod stayed silent as the merman's answer hung in the water.\n \n\"Very well then,\" Denizyr said, \"Thus, as the Adra Triton of\nthe pod, you are hereby granted the privilege of a second chance. You may-\"\n \n\"No.\" Merrick said. The merpeople gasped in surprise as they\nlooked at the young Triton. Merrick looked up at them, his eyes full of\nconviction, \"Tell them the truth, Father...\" He said. Kaiken leered at his son,\nshaking his head slowly, keeping his eyes on him. Merrick sighed, gazed upon\nhis pod... His whole family... Taking one last look at his one true home.\n \n\"I have mated... With a human male.\" \n \nThe pod broke into a shocked murmur, mumbling amongst\nthemselves at the sudden announcement.\n \n\"It happened on the night of the 3rd red moon of\nmy life,\" Merrick began, his body feeling racked with fear, heavy with\nreluctance as he spoke, \"Humiliated that I was not able to find a mermaid to be\nmy future Noita, I swam away so I could be alone. Soon after, I saw an Undine\nright before it disappeared - the red moon did not end just yet...\" Merrick held\nhis arm, and looked to the side. \n \n\"When the Undine disappeared, I heard a human singing on the\nland, and I was curious to see what it was. I went to the surface, and I found\na young man by the shore. He didn't see me, but when I saw his eyes, he began\nshining the aura of the Sea Mother's heart. And then I realized that I was\nilluminated as well. \n \n\"I tried to stay away from the human, trying to convince\nmyself that this must not happen, that it was a mistake... But I longed for him,\nso much...\" Merrick let go of his arm, and looked to his whole pod, \"Ever since\nthat night, when my bond was made, I go to find him when we come to these waters.\nI go to see my mate, and be with him.\" The pod mumbled further, all of them\nturning to each other and muttering. \n \n\"Very well then...\" Denizyr said sadly as he bowed his own\nhead, \"From this moment forth, Adra Triton Merrick... You are now Coshiton.\" \n \nThe large, grey merman swam up to him, his many strapped\nshell slices clinking and wavering on his body, \"As the Razirah of the Pod, I\nhereby relinquish the trace you hold to the pod,\" Denizyr took the necklace,\nand lifted it up over Merrick's head. Immediately, Merrick felt a strange sense\nof isolation enter his body when that necklace was removed from his body.\nDenizyr put the necklace on a hook-like appendage on his body, and faced\nMerrick, \"May the Waves of Fate always guide you...\"\n \nWhen Razirah Denizyr swam away, Triton Kaiken swam up to\nMerrick, his own long, strong trident mounted on his back, while he held\nMerrick's shorter trident in his large hands. Merrick looked up at his father,\ngiving him a defiant look, as Kaiken glared at him right back as he held his\nweapon, \"As the Triton of the Pod, I hereby destroy the weapon you carry as\npunishment,\" Kaiken then snapped Merrick's trident in half, The two prongs of\nhis weapon unfurled and detached from it, before Kaiken let the weapon drop,\n\"May the Guardian Leviathan have mercy on your soul...\" \n \nAs Triton Kaiken angrily swam away, Noita Umiato drifted up\nto Merrick. The palm of her hand is glowing a bright light as she came to him.\nMerrick's face softened as he looked to his beautiful mother. She looked sadly\nat him as she came close, \"As the Noita of the Pod, I hereby mark your flesh\nwith the symbol of your crime,\" Her other hand then rose up, and brushed\nagainst his cheek, \"And know... That no matter where you go, or what you do,\"\nWhite wisps began to seep from her eyes, \"You will always be, and forever more,\nmy Son. My beloved, little Merrick...\" \n \nMerrick's eyes watered as a whimper came as he hugged her.\nUmiato wrapped one arm around him, and the other hand, the one with the glowing\nlight, gently pressed upon his back, right between the shoulders, and just at\nthe base of the neck.\n \n\"ENNNGGHH!\" Merrick's clenched shut as his hands pressed\ndown on his mother, while his whole body tensed up as he felt the magic burn\ninto his flesh. He grunted, hissed, and whimpered in pain as the mystic energy\nsinged into his skin, like fire slowly painting an intricate symbol on his\nflesh. Umiato gasped and sobbed as she kept her hand right on Merrick, feeling\nthe magic burn her as bad as it did him, but not as much pain as what this\nprocess meant. Merrick's arms held around her tighter as he endured the cruel\nsting of the symbolization spell. \n \nThis is the agony Coshitons are given... The burn Arnaav had\nto embrace at such a young age... The one pain he wanted to spare his mother from\nas long as he could...\n \nMerrick panted as he felt the burning start to subside.\nGlittering tears seeped from his closed eyelids as the outer pain started to\nleave his flesh. His grip on Umiato loosened up as the burning energy slowly\nfaded away from her webbed hand. The light from Umiato's palm is gone, leaving\nher hand unmarred. The water around the back of Merrick's neck still has a\nresident fog of steam, as the intricate, heart-design symbol glowed faintly, as\nthe heat absorbed the chill of the ocean. \n \n\"May the Sea Mother Atargatis always protect you...\" She said\nas she gently rubbed Merrick, \"My Son...\"\n \nMerrick nuzzled his mother softly, before reluctantly\ndrifting from the heavenly mermaid, and swam away from the pod. He can feel the\neyes of his entire pod looking at him as he moved his tail up and down.\n \nNoita Umiato's body shimmered a blue sheen. More white mist\nstarted rising from her eyes as she brought her pearly hands to her face, and\nwept. She cringed and sobbed as she felt her son's melancholy aura move further\nand further away from them. \n \nThis is it... Her son is exiled... The Adra Triton of this pod\nis no more...\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"Hm?\" Adam felt a small tap on his cap, and looked up.\nClouds are forming up above in the sky. It was sunny all day, but now some grey\nclouds are rolling into the sky. He blinked as he felt a cold dab land right on\nhis cheek.\n \n\"... Rain?\" He said, feeling a few more cool dots tap on his\nface and hands, \"That's... Weird. The news said it's supposed to be sunny all\nweek...\" He then jogged over to the Fish House as the rain gradually intensified.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \n\"NOOOOOO!\" Merrick turned around, and gasped as he saw\nSavarna swim right up to him. \n \n\"S-Sister! Umf!\" Merrick said as the young mermaid tackled\nher brother, crying profusely. \n \n\"You CANNOT leave, Brother! You can't!\" She squeezed him\ntighter, \"We need you, Brother! I will not allow you to go!\"\n \n\"Sister...\" Merrick said as he hugged her, feeling himself sob\nas well, \"I must... I do not belong in our pod anymore...\"\n \n\"I will not let you!\" Savarna said as she buried her face\ninto his chest, \"You will die! You cannot leave us! You are NOT Coshiton! I\ncannot live without my Brother, please do not leave me!\" The Adra pleaded,\nweeping hysterically, \"Do not leave, Brother! Stay close with us! Please\nstaaaay!\" Merrick cried too as his sister begged him to stay.\n \n\"I wish I can, my dear Sister... I wish with all my heart I\ncan stay with you...\" Merrick said gently, \"I love you, Sister... Look after the\npod... Please see to it that Brishen becomes the hunter he is meant to be... Please\nmake as many friends as you can... Sing better than any mermaid in the ocean...\" He\nmanaged to say.\n \n\"NOO! You cannot do this! No!\" She said. Just then, a strong\npair of hands came in, grabbed Savarna, and yanked her away from Merrick,\n\"NOOO! STOP IT!! Let me go!\" The Triton turned, and waved his massive tail out,\nhitting Merrick with the sharp tailfin, and pushing him away with the water.\n \n\"You cannot do this, Father! He will die all alone! Do not\nlet him die, please, Father!\" Savarna struggled helplessly in Kaiken's grip,\n\"Don't go, Brother! Please come back!\" \n \nMerrick turned around, and started swimming, as fast as he\ncan - hearing his sister's screaming is more than his heart can bear. \"NO!\nNONONO Please come back, Brother! Don't leave me!! MERRICK!!! Please don't die!\nMERRIIIICK!!!\"\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nThe merman cried as he pulled himself on the beach, his\nsilvery blue body still showing as he moved to the rock-reef that is part of\nthe cliff. He rolled himself onto his back, and growled in distraught aggravation\nas the rain continued to pour down upon him.\n \nMerrick sat up, feeling so ready to die right now... His\nsister's cries and begging is still ringing in his head, deeply cutting into\nhis heart.\n \nHe failed his father's legacy... He wounded his mother's heart...\nHe disappeared from his sister's life... He abandoned his friend's dream... He left\nhis pod behind...\n \nMerrick put his hand to the white scallop shell on his\nforehead, and pulled off the headband from his finned head. The white shell is\nadorned with ornate silver designs, as are the shells on his shoulders. His\nhand shook as he gripped the headband tightly, before chucking it at the rocks,\nbreaking the shell into three pieces. Merrick ripped off the left shoulder\nshell and threw it at the rock too. One belt of sharkteeth fell from his body,\nbefore he yanked off the other shoulder shell, and threw it right at the rock.\nHe took the two belts, and flung them away as well. \n \nHis webbed hand tucked at his silver bracelet, and almost\nyanked it off of him as well. He stopped short, however, as he realized that it\nwas his human that gave this token to him. \"... Adam...\"\n \n \n \nThe rain had came to a gentle stop as Merrick dragged\nhimself along the sand, and feeling the grass brush on his tail, which has\nalready shown a peach-colored hue and has a divide in the middle. He looked up,\nand saw the familiar land-ship, where his love resides in.\n \n\"Adam...\" He grunted as he pulled his weight along the grass.\nMoments later, his legs had parted, showing a bit of blue scales and a pearly\nsheen on his body as he stood up, and ran up to the back porch. He hit into the\nglass door, grunting in discomfort as he slapped at the clear wall.\n \n\"No! Not again!\" He said, hitting the invisible wall\nfrantically, \"Please, let me in! Adam!! Jamal! Yuri! ANYONE HERE?!\" He yelled\nout as he banged on the glass. He looked to the side, and saw the handle. He\nimmediately seized the handle, and yanked it hard. He grunted as he pulled with\nall his might, but it would not budge.\n \n\"How... Rrrggghhhh! By the DEPTHS!\" He slammed the glass hard\nwith his fist, \"How do I open this infernal door?!\" He said in anger as he\ntried opening the door several times, but it would not move. Yuri opened the\ndoor for him before he left, and it was easy! Why will it not move now?! \n \nMerrick tried a few more times to open it, but to no avail.\nThe merman sobbed gently as he crouched down, and slipped back. He gasped and\ncried as he lay on his back, and turned toward the glass, curling up as he\nwept.\n \n\"Anyone... Please...\" He sobbed, \"Not again... Waiting on endless\ntime... I'm all alone now... So... Alone...\" Shimmering white tears kept pouring from\nhis eyes as he jerked and sobbed.\n \n\"Rarrrrr.\" Merrick gasped as he looked up, and saw the\norange cat looking at him from a windowsill. The feline looked at the blonde\ncuriously.\n \n\"... Ro... Roxas?\"\n \n\"Purrrraarr?\" The cat mewled as it let itself down, and\ntrotted over to the merman. Merrick sniffled and whimpered as the soft feline\ncame to him. It sniffed at his hand, before nuzzling it as he gently stroked\nalong it. Merrick moved himself to sit up, and Roxas stepped onto his naked\nlap, curling up and tilting his head back as those fingers scratched along his\nhead.\n \n\"... My pod...\" Merrick said, \"I am... I'm Coshiton now...\" He said,\nwith pearly white tears dropping from his eyes. Merrick spoke in the\npurring-like sound he did the night before he left. Roxas continued to purr as\nhe lay down onto Merrick's legs.\n \n \n~~~\n \n \nMerrick lay there on the porch. Just like before, he is\nwaiting on endless time, waiting for anyone to come home. Roxas stayed with him\nfor the majority of the time, keeping him company as they both waited. Merrick\nis half asleep, half awake at this time, feeling more dead than alive. He still\ncannot believe his worst nightmare has come to pass - exiled from his pod...\n \nVvvvvrrrrrmmmbmbmbmbmmm\n \nHe heard the distant, obnoxious rumbling. Roxas perked his\nears as he looked up, moved up, and got up. The cat jumped up into Yuri's\nwindow, and entered the household. He heard a pleasantly familiar voice.\nSeconds later, he heard a click, and the glass door raced open \"Oh my God!\"\nAdam stepped out and knelt down, \"Merrick?! What're you doing here?!\"\n \nMerrick looked up at his human, his lower lip trembling as\nhe looked into Adam's handsome, concerned face, \"Sweetie, what's wrong? Aren't\nyou supposed to be gone by now? What happened, and where's your shells? What\nhappened to your shark teeth?\" The merman whined and sobbed as he moved up, and\nthrew his arms around Adam. Merrick cried out, sobbing uncontrollably as he\nburied his face into Adam's shirt.\n \n\"Babe, what's the matter?!\"\n \n\"M-My pod! ... Th-They...\" Merrick tried to speak, but he\ncouldn't get in a straight sentence without the hysterical weeping.\n \n\"A-Alright, it's ok, sweetheart, it's alright,\" Adam said\ncalmly, holding the back of Merrick's blonde hair, and rubbing his back up and\ndown as the merman wept continuously, \"Here, lets come inside, alright?\" Adam\ngently tucked his arm under Merrick's knees and picked him up, turning and\ncarrying him into the house. Roxas meowed as he followed in, before Adam closed\nthe door.\n \n \n===\n \n \nMerrick tried to suppress any more tears as the thoughts of\nwhat has transpired haunted his heart. The fact that Brishen will never hunt\nwith him again... The look of utter disappoint on his father's face... The way his\nmother bid him a loving goodbye... The sound of Savarna's screams of sorrow as\nshe was taken away from her beloved playmate...\n \n\"Hi, Merrick...\" Came a soft voice. Merrick tried to stop\ncrying at once, and looked behind. There is Yuri with a pair of light blue\npopsicles. She slowly approached him, and offered him one. The merman sniffled\nas he accepted it, and she sat right beside him.\n \n\"Thank you, Yuri...\" Merrick said as he took it, turning it\nover, and looking at it curiously, \"... What is it?\"\n \n\"It's ice cream,\" She said, \"It's from a video game I like\nto play.\"\n \n\"I... I've tried ice cream at the pier, this doesn't look\nanything like it...\"\n \n\"Heh, I know, that's what I first thought too. It's more\nlike an ice cream bar,\" She said as she nibbled at the top of her treat, \"Try\nit,\" Yuri said before she licked her popsicle.\n \nMerrick hesitated before he licked his blue bar. The very\ntaste of it made him want to cry all over again.\n \n\"... It tastes so much like the ocean...\" He mumbled. Yuri\nchuckled at that.\n \n\"Yeah, it's called Sea Salt Ice Cream.\" She said as she\nslurped it, \"It's an exclusive flavor though; it had to be imported all the way\nfrom Japan.\" Merrick starred at his ice cream. The flavor is so sweet, and it's\nso nostalgic of where he was born. He took another lick. Again, a refreshing\nrush of cold and sweetness. He took another lick. It feels and tastes great\nafter being out in the sun all day, looking over the sea. He took another lick.\nSea and sweet, just like a few loved ones he will never see again. He took a\nbite. The taste is so nice and painful at the same time.\n \nHe rose the ice cream bar to take another bite, but he\nstopped. He closed his mouth as he slowly lowered it back down. His eyes\ntwinkled again as he slowly hunched over.\n \n\"... Adam told me what happened to your pod...\" Yuri said,\nlooking at Merrick seeing a tear peek from his eye, and slipped along his\ncheek, \"I'm sorry... It must have been a terrible attack...\" Yuri looked as\nMerrick's popsicle dripped in the heat, \"I can't imagine having to fight a two-tailed\nmermaid ambush on my family...\" Yuri looked to him, and put her hand on his back,\nas his shoulders shook.\n \nYuri sighed as the Sea Salt bar slipped from Merrick's\nfingers, and dropped into the ocean, stick and all. \"You know that we're here\nfor you, right?\" She asked softly as she rubbed his back.\n \n\"... Stop...\" Merrick said, his voice thick and shaky, \"Please\ndon't touch me...\"\n \nYuri blinked, and removed her hand from him, \"Sorry, I was\njust trying to-\"\n \n\"It's not your fault... I don't deserve your kindness...\"\nMerrick sobbed, covering his eyes as he cried. \n \n\"... Look, Merrick. It's not your fault that you ran away.\nAnybody would be scared.\" Yuri said, trying to find the right words to console\nhim.\n \n\"Lies...\"\n \n\"What?\" Yuri asked, not knowing whether or not to feel offended.\n \n\"Lies...\" Merrick repeated, \"That is all I truly am... Lies,\nlies, lies!\" Merrick said as he shook his head.\n \n\"Wh-What are you talking about?!\" Yuri asked, a little taken\naback by this sudden outburst. \n \n\"For 5 years... I have lied to my pod... I have lied to my\nFather... I have lied to my Mother, my MOTHER!\" He said, \"She is the Noita of the\npod, she should have seem right through me! And I have fooled her for so long!\"\nHe sobbed, \"The fact that I as so good at deception disturbs me! Even to my\nlove...\" Merrick moaned as he looked at his hands.\n \n\"Even to my mate... Adam... He even believed me... And he told you\nmy lie...\" Yuri opened her eyes in surprise at the distraught merman.\n \n\"... Merrick?\"\n \n\"I lied, Yuri...\" Merrick whimpered, \"I lied, I always lie...\"\nIt is all he can do without breaking down completely, \"Because the truth is so\npainful to me... It has always been agony to hide all this time, but I had no\nchoice... My pod was so precious to me, I had no other choice... And now I have\nlied to the man I love!\" Merrick cried, \"I don't even deserve to live anymore!\"\n \n\"Hey- Merrick!\" Yuri said as she stared at him, \"Merrick...\nWhat happened?\" She asked. She knew it's probably impolite to ask him at this\ntime, \"What are you lying about...?\" Merrick dug his fingers into his hair as he\ncried. Her dark eyes narrowed, before widening, \"Ohhhh... I think I see...\n \n\"Your pod wasn't ambushed... Was it?\" Merrick gasped and\nshuddered, looking at her, and back down, shaking his head, \"Merrick? Look... You\ndon't have to tell me if you don't want to...\" Merrick sniffled and looked\nstraight into the sea.\n \n\"Yuri... Please promise me you won't tell Adam about this... Not\nyet...\"\n","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/708226-aquata-cove-chapter-24.json","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/712067-aquata-cove-chapter-26.json"}