# Aquata Cove - Chapter 25

Author: Mirron Tenshi
Tags: Fantasy, Friendship, Gay, Human, Memories, Mermaid, Romance, Story Progression, erotic, merman, sadness


Aquata Cove
Chapter 25: Deep Lament
 
 
 
An eagle ray glides gradually along the water. It slowly
flaps its flat wingspan as it breathes in the ocean, filtering peacefully as it
flies steadily over in the water.
 
 
SHINK!
 
 
A tooth-lined spear suddenly shot right through the ray. A
few wisps of blood seeped through, but no more from the injured ray as it
simply floated in the water, instantly dead. A green tailed merman swam up to
it, and took his spear, and looked at the ray. A clean kill.
 
The merman sighed sadly as he turned, and swam down,
undulating his emerald tail moved up and down, sailing through the water, and
found other merfolk of his kind. He removed the ray from his weapon, and put it
into a sand bank with other prey. He turned around, and began to swim away,
when a jellyfish mermaid came up to him.
 
"Brishen? What is the matter?" She asked as she loomed up
behind him, and put her slippery, transparent hands onto his shoulders. The
merman sighed as he looked at his harpoon, "You always love hunting... What is
wrong?"
 
"I used to be so sloppy... Playful... Now I am far better than I
ever have before... But... I cannot feel the joy of hunt I aspired for..."
 
"Brishen?" Penina asked. Brishen put his free hand to his
brow, and looked up at the wavering surface.
 
"He was my friend... And I never knew the anguish he probably
has suffered all those years..." Brishen inhaled a gulp of water, and turned his
head to Penina, "I miss him... I will always miss him... Hunting shall never be the
same..." Brishen closed his eyes as a thin wisp of glittering white wafted from
his eyes, "Not without him..."
 
 
~~~
 
 
Merrick looks over the sparking, orange ocean as he sat on
the cliff. The setting sun is illuminating the vast surface, reflecting the
warmth of the sun. He puts a hand on the top of his chest, and feeling it bare...

 
Of all the times he's been on land, he has never felt truly
naked until his necklace was taken away.
 
"... What will happen to them now?" He asked himself, "... Who
will look after Sister, now that I am gone... Who shall guide Brishen to be the
greatest hunter in the sea?" He shuddered as he whimpered, "Who will be there
for my pod when Father..."
 
As he listened to the rhythm of the waves, he slipped his
hand to behind his neck. He felt compelled to cry, just from knowing it's there.
The mark that will always brand him, a symbol of his own shame as a merman, an
outcast of the ocean.
 
The more he tried to look at the sea, the more his memories
keep spiraling in his head.
 
 
===
 
"Greetings..." Said a very young, green meryin, slowly
approaching a young Adra Triton, "My name is Brishen... I am not very good at
hunting..." He looked up to the other male, "May I hunt with you so I can get
better?"
 
Merrick would smile with glee as he nodded, "Yes! I have
always wanted a best friend!" The green male giggled excitedly.
 
---
 
"Rrrgghh... That was a close one, Adra Merrick," Brishen said,
injured from an attack of a giant crab. Merrick had one arm tucked over his
shoulders as he helped his friend swim.
 
"You should not charge into giant beasts like that, Brishen.
You were almost killed! Not even Tritons dare to challenge them!"
 
"Heh," Brishen simply smirked, "I cannot help it; it is my
dream, Adra Merrick." Merrick sighed as he smiled too.
 
"Then at least get more careful about it. And please, just
all me Merrick, Brishen."
 
---
 
"Just watch!" Brishen said as he looked up at Denizyr's
smirk, "I will be the greatest hunter in the sea!" Merrick smiled as he patted
Brishen's shoulder.
 
"And I will be right here to make sure you will be," Merrick
said, "After all, you need to learn how to make a clean kill."
 
"Heh heh!" Brishen said, "What is a hunter without style?"
 
---
---
 
"As the Adra Triton," A large, navy blue mermaid said to a
very small crystal blue and silver meryin, "It is your privilege and responsibility
to wield the trident," He said as he gave a simple, wooden staff to young
Merrick, "You must construct your own weapon," He then showed Merrick is own
thick, heavy weapon, "Remember, Son," He said, "Three prongs. No more, no
less."

The merman then backed away from a selection of various materials and items,
all to assimilate his weapon, "Chose well, my Son." 
 
The small meryin accepted the thin branch, and then swam to
the items.
 
---
 
"As a Triton, your abilities alone are superior to that of
any other merman of the pod," Kaiken said as he and the Adra swam.
 
"How do you mean, Father?" Merrick asked.
 
"You are able to see farther ahead. Your senses are more
sensitive to your surroundings. Your combat intuition is much sharper than the
normal merperson. Your own mind is more attuned to the embrace of other
creatures. That is why we Tritons are the leaders of our kind, as they always
have been."
 
---
 
"Your first catch," Kaiken said as Merrick carried a
swordfish, motionless at the end of his trident, almost as big as himself.
 
"It was... Difficult, Father... It almost got away from me... I
can do it faster next time..." Merrick said.
 
"Son, a swordfish is a swift and vicious opponent," He said
with a smile, "Yet you have not a scratch on you," Kaiken drifted up to
Merrick, and rubbed his shoulder, "When I was an Adra, my first kill was an
eel."
 
"You have made me proud on this night, Son," Merrick smiled
as his chest puffed out as pride welled up inside him.
 
---
---
 
"Your Father must be tough on you, Son," Umiato said as she
rubbed young Merrick's back. She coddled him gently as he wept, having just
received a rather harsh scolding from Kaiken, "He is only trying to shape you
into the best Triton you can be."
 
"H-He... He-He was so... Scary, Mother..." Merrick cried, "He
hates me! I can see it in his eyes, he hates me!"
 
"No," The Noita said, "He does not hate you. Anger and hate
are not the same. His rage will subside soon..." She said softly, "You will see..."
 
---
 
"Am... Am I going to die, Mother?" Merrick asked, as Noita
Umiato pressed her glowing hands upon a nasty gash on Merrick's back.
 
"No, you will not," She said while mending the torn flesh,
"You have lost quite a bit of blood, so you shall rest."
 
"That creature..." Merrick said, "It came out of no where... No,
I should have sensed it coming. This is my fault..."
 
"It was a Fang Jelly, Son," Umiato said as she healed him,
"Their bodies are impervious to sense. It was not your fault."
 
---
 
"Compassion for all, my Son," She said as she put a hand on
Merrick's cheek. She had followed him after he went hunting in the trench, and
saw he has brought game to the young otter merman, "Is a rare and precious gift
that eludes most of anyone." 
 
Merrick smiled happily at her, and hugged his mother. She
embraced him back, and muttered low, "I will not inform HIM if you will not."
He nodded before they then swam in the same direction.
 
Umiato smiled happily, taking pride in knowing her son is as
caring and understanding as he is.
 
---
---
 
"Son, this is your Sister," Umiato said, simply glowing with
joy as she held a bundle of a baby meryin, wrapped in seaweed. Kaiken smiled as
he held his mate's shoulder with one arm as the Adra Triton looked in wonder of
the small mermaid, "Her name is Savarna."
 
"She is so small..." Merrick said, "I will always protect
her!"
 
---
 
"Faster, faster, Brother!" The young Adra Noita said as she
hung onto Merrick's shoulders, "We are losing!" With a whole pod of dolphins,
other young mermen and mermaids are swimming fast in a race.
 
"Hold on tight, Sister!" Merrick said as he kicked his tail
harder, and zoomed through the water. He passed, dipped and swayed around a pod
of dolphins. Savarna squealed with laughter as the dolphins swam around the two
Adras.
 
Finally, Merrick surpassed the front of the pod, winning the
race. Savarna cheered as she loop-dee-looped in happiness, then proceeding to
hug the Adra Triton, "I love you, Brother!" He smiled happily as he squeezed
her tight in return.
 
---
 
"Brotherrr! Are you ok???" She asked as she had returned to
her Sea Spot, holding his trident from the spot where Kaiken had just pinned
him to the reef. Merrick is crying almost hysterically. She swam up beside him,
and put her hand onto his back.
 
"Please do not cry, Brother... It will be alright..."
 
===
 
 
 
Merrick sniffed and cried as the memories wracked his heart
with pain and misery. He whined silently as he placed his arms onto his knees,
and tucked his head down.
 
"I'll never see them again... All of them... I've lost...
Everything..."
 
 
 
=== The Previous Night ===
 
 
The pod is gathered together in its usual formation... Almost.

 
Adra Merrick is looking to his entire pod in front of him,
his heart going crazy in his chest as they all looked at him, with the Triton,
Noita, and Razirah looking to him.
 
"Adra Triton Merrick of the Piscien merfolk," Razirah
Denizyr said, "You are presented before us of the Pod, accused, of breaking one
of the Sacred Laws. You are guilty of contacting one or more humans, and thus
under the premise of consorting with the human world. Do you deny or confirm
this to be true?" 
 
"..." Merrick closed his eyes and bowed his head, "... It is
true..." The pod stayed silent as the merman's answer hung in the water.
 
"Very well then," Denizyr said, "Thus, as the Adra Triton of
the pod, you are hereby granted the privilege of a second chance. You may-"
 
"No." Merrick said. The merpeople gasped in surprise as they
looked at the young Triton. Merrick looked up at them, his eyes full of
conviction, "Tell them the truth, Father..." He said. Kaiken leered at his son,
shaking his head slowly, keeping his eyes on him. Merrick sighed, gazed upon
his pod... His whole family... Taking one last look at his one true home.
 
"I have mated... With a human male." 
 
The pod broke into a shocked murmur, mumbling amongst
themselves at the sudden announcement.
 
"It happened on the night of the 3rd red moon of
my life," Merrick began, his body feeling racked with fear, heavy with
reluctance as he spoke, "Humiliated that I was not able to find a mermaid to be
my future Noita, I swam away so I could be alone. Soon after, I saw an Undine
right before it disappeared - the red moon did not end just yet..." Merrick held
his arm, and looked to the side. 
 
"When the Undine disappeared, I heard a human singing on the
land, and I was curious to see what it was. I went to the surface, and I found
a young man by the shore. He didn't see me, but when I saw his eyes, he began
shining the aura of the Sea Mother's heart. And then I realized that I was
illuminated as well. 
 
"I tried to stay away from the human, trying to convince
myself that this must not happen, that it was a mistake... But I longed for him,
so much..." Merrick let go of his arm, and looked to his whole pod, "Ever since
that night, when my bond was made, I go to find him when we come to these waters.
I go to see my mate, and be with him." The pod mumbled further, all of them
turning to each other and muttering. 
 
"Very well then..." Denizyr said sadly as he bowed his own
head, "From this moment forth, Adra Triton Merrick... You are now Coshiton." 
 
The large, grey merman swam up to him, his many strapped
shell slices clinking and wavering on his body, "As the Razirah of the Pod, I
hereby relinquish the trace you hold to the pod," Denizyr took the necklace,
and lifted it up over Merrick's head. Immediately, Merrick felt a strange sense
of isolation enter his body when that necklace was removed from his body.
Denizyr put the necklace on a hook-like appendage on his body, and faced
Merrick, "May the Waves of Fate always guide you..."
 
When Razirah Denizyr swam away, Triton Kaiken swam up to
Merrick, his own long, strong trident mounted on his back, while he held
Merrick's shorter trident in his large hands. Merrick looked up at his father,
giving him a defiant look, as Kaiken glared at him right back as he held his
weapon, "As the Triton of the Pod, I hereby destroy the weapon you carry as
punishment," Kaiken then snapped Merrick's trident in half, The two prongs of
his weapon unfurled and detached from it, before Kaiken let the weapon drop,
"May the Guardian Leviathan have mercy on your soul..." 
 
As Triton Kaiken angrily swam away, Noita Umiato drifted up
to Merrick. The palm of her hand is glowing a bright light as she came to him.
Merrick's face softened as he looked to his beautiful mother. She looked sadly
at him as she came close, "As the Noita of the Pod, I hereby mark your flesh
with the symbol of your crime," Her other hand then rose up, and brushed
against his cheek, "And know... That no matter where you go, or what you do,"
White wisps began to seep from her eyes, "You will always be, and forever more,
my Son. My beloved, little Merrick..." 
 
Merrick's eyes watered as a whimper came as he hugged her.
Umiato wrapped one arm around him, and the other hand, the one with the glowing
light, gently pressed upon his back, right between the shoulders, and just at
the base of the neck.
 
"ENNNGGHH!" Merrick's clenched shut as his hands pressed
down on his mother, while his whole body tensed up as he felt the magic burn
into his flesh. He grunted, hissed, and whimpered in pain as the mystic energy
singed into his skin, like fire slowly painting an intricate symbol on his
flesh. Umiato gasped and sobbed as she kept her hand right on Merrick, feeling
the magic burn her as bad as it did him, but not as much pain as what this
process meant. Merrick's arms held around her tighter as he endured the cruel
sting of the symbolization spell. 
 
This is the agony Coshitons are given... The burn Arnaav had
to embrace at such a young age... The one pain he wanted to spare his mother from
as long as he could...
 
Merrick panted as he felt the burning start to subside.
Glittering tears seeped from his closed eyelids as the outer pain started to
leave his flesh. His grip on Umiato loosened up as the burning energy slowly
faded away from her webbed hand. The light from Umiato's palm is gone, leaving
her hand unmarred. The water around the back of Merrick's neck still has a
resident fog of steam, as the intricate, heart-design symbol glowed faintly, as
the heat absorbed the chill of the ocean. 
 
"May the Sea Mother Atargatis always protect you..." She said
as she gently rubbed Merrick, "My Son..."
 
Merrick nuzzled his mother softly, before reluctantly
drifting from the heavenly mermaid, and swam away from the pod. He can feel the
eyes of his entire pod looking at him as he moved his tail up and down.
 
Noita Umiato's body shimmered a blue sheen. More white mist
started rising from her eyes as she brought her pearly hands to her face, and
wept. She cringed and sobbed as she felt her son's melancholy aura move further
and further away from them. 
 
This is it... Her son is exiled... The Adra Triton of this pod
is no more...
 
 
~~~
 
 
"Hm?" Adam felt a small tap on his cap, and looked up.
Clouds are forming up above in the sky. It was sunny all day, but now some grey
clouds are rolling into the sky. He blinked as he felt a cold dab land right on
his cheek.
 
"... Rain?" He said, feeling a few more cool dots tap on his
face and hands, "That's... Weird. The news said it's supposed to be sunny all
week..." He then jogged over to the Fish House as the rain gradually intensified.
 
 
~~~
 
 
"NOOOOOO!" Merrick turned around, and gasped as he saw
Savarna swim right up to him. 
 
"S-Sister! Umf!" Merrick said as the young mermaid tackled
her brother, crying profusely. 
 
"You CANNOT leave, Brother! You can't!" She squeezed him
tighter, "We need you, Brother! I will not allow you to go!"
 
"Sister..." Merrick said as he hugged her, feeling himself sob
as well, "I must... I do not belong in our pod anymore..."
 
"I will not let you!" Savarna said as she buried her face
into his chest, "You will die! You cannot leave us! You are NOT Coshiton! I
cannot live without my Brother, please do not leave me!" The Adra pleaded,
weeping hysterically, "Do not leave, Brother! Stay close with us! Please
staaaay!" Merrick cried too as his sister begged him to stay.
 
"I wish I can, my dear Sister... I wish with all my heart I
can stay with you..." Merrick said gently, "I love you, Sister... Look after the
pod... Please see to it that Brishen becomes the hunter he is meant to be... Please
make as many friends as you can... Sing better than any mermaid in the ocean..." He
managed to say.
 
"NOO! You cannot do this! No!" She said. Just then, a strong
pair of hands came in, grabbed Savarna, and yanked her away from Merrick,
"NOOO! STOP IT!! Let me go!" The Triton turned, and waved his massive tail out,
hitting Merrick with the sharp tailfin, and pushing him away with the water.
 
"You cannot do this, Father! He will die all alone! Do not
let him die, please, Father!" Savarna struggled helplessly in Kaiken's grip,
"Don't go, Brother! Please come back!" 
 
Merrick turned around, and started swimming, as fast as he
can - hearing his sister's screaming is more than his heart can bear. "NO!
NONONO Please come back, Brother! Don't leave me!! MERRICK!!! Please don't die!
MERRIIIICK!!!"
 
 
~~~
 
 
The merman cried as he pulled himself on the beach, his
silvery blue body still showing as he moved to the rock-reef that is part of
the cliff. He rolled himself onto his back, and growled in distraught aggravation
as the rain continued to pour down upon him.
 
Merrick sat up, feeling so ready to die right now... His
sister's cries and begging is still ringing in his head, deeply cutting into
his heart.
 
He failed his father's legacy... He wounded his mother's heart...
He disappeared from his sister's life... He abandoned his friend's dream... He left
his pod behind...
 
Merrick put his hand to the white scallop shell on his
forehead, and pulled off the headband from his finned head. The white shell is
adorned with ornate silver designs, as are the shells on his shoulders. His
hand shook as he gripped the headband tightly, before chucking it at the rocks,
breaking the shell into three pieces. Merrick ripped off the left shoulder
shell and threw it at the rock too. One belt of sharkteeth fell from his body,
before he yanked off the other shoulder shell, and threw it right at the rock.
He took the two belts, and flung them away as well. 
 
His webbed hand tucked at his silver bracelet, and almost
yanked it off of him as well. He stopped short, however, as he realized that it
was his human that gave this token to him. "... Adam..."
 
 
 
The rain had came to a gentle stop as Merrick dragged
himself along the sand, and feeling the grass brush on his tail, which has
already shown a peach-colored hue and has a divide in the middle. He looked up,
and saw the familiar land-ship, where his love resides in.
 
"Adam..." He grunted as he pulled his weight along the grass.
Moments later, his legs had parted, showing a bit of blue scales and a pearly
sheen on his body as he stood up, and ran up to the back porch. He hit into the
glass door, grunting in discomfort as he slapped at the clear wall.
 
"No! Not again!" He said, hitting the invisible wall
frantically, "Please, let me in! Adam!! Jamal! Yuri! ANYONE HERE?!" He yelled
out as he banged on the glass. He looked to the side, and saw the handle. He
immediately seized the handle, and yanked it hard. He grunted as he pulled with
all his might, but it would not budge.
 
"How... Rrrggghhhh! By the DEPTHS!" He slammed the glass hard
with his fist, "How do I open this infernal door?!" He said in anger as he
tried opening the door several times, but it would not move. Yuri opened the
door for him before he left, and it was easy! Why will it not move now?! 
 
Merrick tried a few more times to open it, but to no avail.
The merman sobbed gently as he crouched down, and slipped back. He gasped and
cried as he lay on his back, and turned toward the glass, curling up as he
wept.
 
"Anyone... Please..." He sobbed, "Not again... Waiting on endless
time... I'm all alone now... So... Alone..." Shimmering white tears kept pouring from
his eyes as he jerked and sobbed.
 
"Rarrrrr." Merrick gasped as he looked up, and saw the
orange cat looking at him from a windowsill. The feline looked at the blonde
curiously.
 
"... Ro... Roxas?"
 
"Purrrraarr?" The cat mewled as it let itself down, and
trotted over to the merman. Merrick sniffled and whimpered as the soft feline
came to him. It sniffed at his hand, before nuzzling it as he gently stroked
along it. Merrick moved himself to sit up, and Roxas stepped onto his naked
lap, curling up and tilting his head back as those fingers scratched along his
head.
 
"... My pod..." Merrick said, "I am... I'm Coshiton now..." He said,
with pearly white tears dropping from his eyes. Merrick spoke in the
purring-like sound he did the night before he left. Roxas continued to purr as
he lay down onto Merrick's legs.
 
 
~~~
 
 
Merrick lay there on the porch. Just like before, he is
waiting on endless time, waiting for anyone to come home. Roxas stayed with him
for the majority of the time, keeping him company as they both waited. Merrick
is half asleep, half awake at this time, feeling more dead than alive. He still
cannot believe his worst nightmare has come to pass - exiled from his pod...
 
Vvvvvrrrrrmmmbmbmbmbmmm
 
He heard the distant, obnoxious rumbling. Roxas perked his
ears as he looked up, moved up, and got up. The cat jumped up into Yuri's
window, and entered the household. He heard a pleasantly familiar voice.
Seconds later, he heard a click, and the glass door raced open "Oh my God!"
Adam stepped out and knelt down, "Merrick?! What're you doing here?!"
 
Merrick looked up at his human, his lower lip trembling as
he looked into Adam's handsome, concerned face, "Sweetie, what's wrong? Aren't
you supposed to be gone by now? What happened, and where's your shells? What
happened to your shark teeth?" The merman whined and sobbed as he moved up, and
threw his arms around Adam. Merrick cried out, sobbing uncontrollably as he
buried his face into Adam's shirt.
 
"Babe, what's the matter?!"
 
"M-My pod! ... Th-They..." Merrick tried to speak, but he
couldn't get in a straight sentence without the hysterical weeping.
 
"A-Alright, it's ok, sweetheart, it's alright," Adam said
calmly, holding the back of Merrick's blonde hair, and rubbing his back up and
down as the merman wept continuously, "Here, lets come inside, alright?" Adam
gently tucked his arm under Merrick's knees and picked him up, turning and
carrying him into the house. Roxas meowed as he followed in, before Adam closed
the door.
 
 
===
 
 
Merrick tried to suppress any more tears as the thoughts of
what has transpired haunted his heart. The fact that Brishen will never hunt
with him again... The look of utter disappoint on his father's face... The way his
mother bid him a loving goodbye... The sound of Savarna's screams of sorrow as
she was taken away from her beloved playmate...
 
"Hi, Merrick..." Came a soft voice. Merrick tried to stop
crying at once, and looked behind. There is Yuri with a pair of light blue
popsicles. She slowly approached him, and offered him one. The merman sniffled
as he accepted it, and she sat right beside him.
 
"Thank you, Yuri..." Merrick said as he took it, turning it
over, and looking at it curiously, "... What is it?"
 
"It's ice cream," She said, "It's from a video game I like
to play."
 
"I... I've tried ice cream at the pier, this doesn't look
anything like it..."
 
"Heh, I know, that's what I first thought too. It's more
like an ice cream bar," She said as she nibbled at the top of her treat, "Try
it," Yuri said before she licked her popsicle.
 
Merrick hesitated before he licked his blue bar. The very
taste of it made him want to cry all over again.
 
"... It tastes so much like the ocean..." He mumbled. Yuri
chuckled at that.
 
"Yeah, it's called Sea Salt Ice Cream." She said as she
slurped it, "It's an exclusive flavor though; it had to be imported all the way
from Japan." Merrick starred at his ice cream. The flavor is so sweet, and it's
so nostalgic of where he was born. He took another lick. Again, a refreshing
rush of cold and sweetness. He took another lick. It feels and tastes great
after being out in the sun all day, looking over the sea. He took another lick.
Sea and sweet, just like a few loved ones he will never see again. He took a
bite. The taste is so nice and painful at the same time.
 
He rose the ice cream bar to take another bite, but he
stopped. He closed his mouth as he slowly lowered it back down. His eyes
twinkled again as he slowly hunched over.
 
"... Adam told me what happened to your pod..." Yuri said,
looking at Merrick seeing a tear peek from his eye, and slipped along his
cheek, "I'm sorry... It must have been a terrible attack..." Yuri looked as
Merrick's popsicle dripped in the heat, "I can't imagine having to fight a two-tailed
mermaid ambush on my family..." Yuri looked to him, and put her hand on his back,
as his shoulders shook.
 
Yuri sighed as the Sea Salt bar slipped from Merrick's
fingers, and dropped into the ocean, stick and all. "You know that we're here
for you, right?" She asked softly as she rubbed his back.
 
"... Stop..." Merrick said, his voice thick and shaky, "Please
don't touch me..."
 
Yuri blinked, and removed her hand from him, "Sorry, I was
just trying to-"
 
"It's not your fault... I don't deserve your kindness..."
Merrick sobbed, covering his eyes as he cried. 
 
"... Look, Merrick. It's not your fault that you ran away.
Anybody would be scared." Yuri said, trying to find the right words to console
him.
 
"Lies..."
 
"What?" Yuri asked, not knowing whether or not to feel offended.
 
"Lies..." Merrick repeated, "That is all I truly am... Lies,
lies, lies!" Merrick said as he shook his head.
 
"Wh-What are you talking about?!" Yuri asked, a little taken
aback by this sudden outburst. 
 
"For 5 years... I have lied to my pod... I have lied to my
Father... I have lied to my Mother, my MOTHER!" He said, "She is the Noita of the
pod, she should have seem right through me! And I have fooled her for so long!"
He sobbed, "The fact that I as so good at deception disturbs me! Even to my
love..." Merrick moaned as he looked at his hands.
 
"Even to my mate... Adam... He even believed me... And he told you
my lie..." Yuri opened her eyes in surprise at the distraught merman.
 
"... Merrick?"
 
"I lied, Yuri..." Merrick whimpered, "I lied, I always lie..."
It is all he can do without breaking down completely, "Because the truth is so
painful to me... It has always been agony to hide all this time, but I had no
choice... My pod was so precious to me, I had no other choice... And now I have
lied to the man I love!" Merrick cried, "I don't even deserve to live anymore!"
 
"Hey- Merrick!" Yuri said as she stared at him, "Merrick...
What happened?" She asked. She knew it's probably impolite to ask him at this
time, "What are you lying about...?" Merrick dug his fingers into his hair as he
cried. Her dark eyes narrowed, before widening, "Ohhhh... I think I see...
 
"Your pod wasn't ambushed... Was it?" Merrick gasped and
shuddered, looking at her, and back down, shaking his head, "Merrick? Look... You
don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." Merrick sniffled and looked
straight into the sea.
 
"Yuri... Please promise me you won't tell Adam about this... Not
yet..."

Source: https://sofurry.com/view/709206

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